AN: I do not own anything recognizable.
Chapter 11
Cyrus's talk with Bex and Bowie sure left a lot to be desired. There was only so much they could do for him, and Cyrus understood that. Although they cared, they weren't exactly as adept at consoling him as some of his friends were.
He decided that once Andi was back from her trip at the museum, he would talk to her about his situation. He also knew that she would worry since they hadn't actually spoken to each other since she and Buffy walked him home after the emotional encounter with TJ at The Spoon. He called her up on the phone.
"Hey!" she answered, glad to hear from her friend, "How have you been doing?"
Cyrus told her what was going on. He explained everything to the extent that Andi could understand the situation as much as Buffy. Once again, his biggest point was about how TJ hadn't been talking to him and that it was freaking him out. Even through the weekend, TJ hadn't reached out.
"He hasn't said anything to you?" Andi asked for clarification.
"Not a word," Cyrus responded disappointedly.
"I'm sorry," Andi said, as she lacked helpful advice and the words that might actually make Cyrus feel better.
In a desperate reach for normalcy, Cyrus decided he just wanted to have a regular conversation with Andi. He asked her about her museum trip, which she seemed to have greatly enjoyed. She talked on about her fascination with different styles of art and the history that influenced them. She had gone to art school based on her crafting, but even in a few weeks, she developed such a deeper and larger appreciation for so many different kinds of art.
Cyrus was glad to be able to have a normal conversation for once. Of course, his situation wasn't great, and it couldn't really escape his mind, but he wanted to remain a good friend to others despite the fact that he was going through hardship. He was happy for Andi, truly.
They talked for a little bit about things other than TJ, in an attempt to get TJ off Cyrus's mind. He couldn't shake the thought, but at least their conversation provided a temporary distraction.
"I have to go," Andi said after a while, "I'm visiting Cece today. Let me know if you need anything. Just hang in there."
Of course, this comment reminded Cyrus of his predicament with TJ, but he was grateful that Andi would be there for him as a friend.
They got off the phone.
Andi prepared to go to Cece's house. She had been so busy that she hadn't been able to interact with Cece very often. They both mutually decided that it was about time for a check-in.
Andi left, and when she got to Cece's house, Cece was elated. She was excited to see the granddaughter that she had raised as a daughter. It had been weeks since they met in person because Andi had so many projects and trips.
"How is art school?" Cece asked excitedly.
"It's been good," Andi laughed cheerfully in response.
"Did you meet any new friends? Are you getting good grades? How are your teachers? Oh! When is your first art show?"
Andi expected to be bombarded with questions, but Cece's extreme enthusiasm was quite a bit much for her to handle. "Woah, slow down," she laughed.
"Ok, let's start with the first question. Did you meet any new friends?"
"Yeah," Andi replied a little calmer, "I like the people in my classes. They're really cool and really into what they're doing. They really complete the experience of being there." Andi took a moment to reflect. "I do miss my old friends, though. I don't get to see them as much."
"Well, you all are so close. Of course you miss them!" Cece responded. "I'm sure they miss you too." Without delving further into that topic, Cece decided that it was time for the next question. "How about your grades?"
"They're good," Andi said, "I have A's in all of my classes except for art history. I have a B in that."
Cece gave Andi a scowl, "You don't have an A in art history?"
Andi struggled more in that class than some of her other classes. She had just never really been much of a history person. "It's still a B. That's not bad," Andi defended.
"Alright," Cece said skeptically, "just try to bring that up."
"I'm doing well in everything else!" Andi sort of laughed this declaration light-heartedly.
Cece brushed off the inadequacy of a B in favor of having a pleasant afternoon with her granddaughter. She moved onto her next question. "How are your teachers?"
Andi told Cece about how some of her teachers were rather eccentric. She said that they were sometimes difficult to keep up with, but it was worth it because it made classes really fun.
"And your first art show?" Cece asked excitedly.
"After Thanksgiving," Andi replied. "I'm not going to have a prime spot, but I will have work hanging in the gallery. I'm taking more basic classes right now."
"Well, I'll be there! I can't wait!" Cece exclaimed. She was very proud of her daughter for having such an outstanding talent. She was at first skeptical about the prospect of her daughter going to art school, but she was glad that Andi was taking a path that suited her so well. "What else has been going on?"
Ignorant of the previous situation with Cece and Cyrus, Andi brought up his situation with TJ. "TJ and Cyrus are having a feud. Apparently, TJ won't even talk to him." Andi knew that Cece was aware of the relationship, but she didn't know what Cece thought about it.
At this remark, Cece shifted in discomfort.
Andi's expression changed. "What?" she asked.
"Well," Cece hesitated, "I just don't know if I feel comfortable helping with this problem."
Andi was confused. "Why not?"
Cece didn't want to explain this to Andi. She had a feeling that their views would differ, and she didn't want to have this conversation.
"It is a shame that they're not talking," Cece conceded hesitantly, "but I just don't really support two boys in a relationship."
Andi stared in amazement at Cece's reaction. She was upset, but not shocked that Cece felt this way. She had always known that Cece was more old-school, but she hoped that Cece would at least be accepting of this.
"It's just like anyone else in a relationship," Andi tried to educate Cece.
"It's not natural," Cece said uncomfortably.
Andi decided that this was the time to push a little bit. "You know, the reason TJ is mad at Cyrus is because he wants to come out and Cyrus is afraid. And he's afraid to come out because of people like you."
"I'm just traditional!" Cece tried to defend herself.
"Sometimes tradition isn't always the best criteria," Andi rebutted.
"Besides, it's not like he doesn't know what my feelings are on the situation."
"What? When did he talk to you?"
"When we were planning that thing for Jonah."
"What did you say?"
"I just told him not to let his phase with TJ get in the way of his other relationships."
Andi was amazed. She was also upset. This is something she really hoped Cece could actually help with. The only reason she told Cece about Cyrus's situation is because she wanted to be able to give Cyrus better advice. Now, she had to educate Cece instead of the other way around.
"They're relationship isn't getting in the way of our friendship," Andi clarified, "We support them fully."
"Well, then, I guess that's up to you."
All Andi could do was roll her eyes at this remark.
"It's not like I told him that I think there's something wrong with him," Cece said.
"It's not what you say that matters," Andi stated, "it's what you believe. And the fact that Cyrus knows that you believe it's wrong is enough."
"Well then, I guess it just is what it is, because you won't change my mind."
Andi was frustrated. She knew that there was nothing she could say to truly educate Cece. She spent the rest of the day there, but that time was full of tension, similar to the tension that had existed between them before.
On Cyrus's end, after he got off the phone with Andi, he had plans to hang out with Buffy and Jonah. He needed the day to get back to some normalcy. He couldn't let his feud with TJ get in the way of his other friendships, even with Jonah. Unfortunately, though, this also meant that Cyrus would have to tell Jonah what was going on so that they could be careful not to misstep.
He went on his way, and he met Buffy and Jonah in the park around two o'clock in the afternoon.
"Hey," Buffy said when Cyrus arrived; Buffy and Jonah were both already there, "What's up?"
"I just talked to Andi," Cyrus told her, "about what's going on with TJ and everything."
"That's good," Buffy said, "I'm glad you got a chance to talk to her."
"What's going on with TJ?" Jonah asked, "And man, I haven't heard from you in a while. Is everything okay?"
"About that," Cyrus started, "We have quite a bit to catch up on."
"I'll say!" Jonah said.
Cyrus began to explain the situation. He completely glossed over how recently he had told Jonah about his former crush. He told Jonah about TJ's jealousy, and explained what happened at The Spoon. He went into detail about how emotional he got and how irrational TJ was being. He said that he was really upset that TJ hadn't talked to him in over a week.
"I thought that you were afraid to talk to me because you told me about your crush," Jonah said.
"No," Cyrus clarified, "I wasn't hanging out with you or talking to you because I was trying to be careful about what TJ saw. I didn't want him to become more jealous because he saw me hanging out with you. I thought that might make the situation worse. I'm sorry I haven't talked to you about it; I just didn't want it to weigh on you too."
"It's okay," Jonah said, "On one hand, I'm actually kind of glad that you weren't scared about what I thought. But I'm really sorry that this is happening. Is there anything that I can do to help?"
Cyrus thought for a minute. He really appreciated Jonah's offer to help. No one had been able to give him any advice as far as how best to handle this problem. He wanted someone to help. But then he realized that there probably wasn't anything that Jonah could really do.
"I'm not really sure if there is," Cyrus replied. "Thanks, but I think TJ and I are going to have to work this out on our own."
"Yeah, I think that would probably be the best course of action," Buffy chimed in.
"Alright," Jonah said, "just let me know if there is anything I can do at some point.
"We just have to be careful when we hang out together. TJ can't see us together, or he's going to flip. We didn't break up, but I'm afraid that if he sees something that he thinks confirms his thoughts, he might actually break up with me."
"Got it," Jonah said. "I totally understand."
"For now, though, I just want to have a nice day and try to forget about TJ," Cyrus said.
"I think that's a great idea," Buffy agreed.
The three of them hung out for a while. They took a nice walk in the park. It was a nice day in mid-October, and they wanted to enjoy it. Being in Utah in autumn, they had no idea how long this weather would last, so they wanted to take advantage of it before it went away.
For quite a while, they just had a great time and enjoyed themselves. They hiked around, jumped in piles of leaves, and just found a lot of fun things to do. They spent the afternoon laughing and playing around in the park. For the first time in weeks, Cyrus's worries melted away for a few hours. Not only did he not think about the fact that TJ was mad, he didn't think about anything that was giving him problems. The thought of coming out to his parents didn't cross his mind. He didn't think about Cece at all. All of his homework was done, and so were all of his chores. He was finally able to take some time for himself without worrying about the things that stressed him out.
When it got a little later, the group got hungry. They weren't very close to The Spoon, so instead, they went to a different counter service restaurant that was closer to the park. It was like The Spoon, but the draw to them at the time was just that it was closer. They were planning to return to the park in the evening for a night of looking at the stars, so they didn't want to go too far.
Buffy and Cyrus were still able to order their usual baby taters and a chocolate shake. Jonah decided to follow their lead and get the same thing. They sat down and remained quiet for a while as they ate.
As Jonah sipped his milkshake through his pink straw, he reflected on what Cyrus had told him earlier. He felt guilty. He knew that he didn't do anything, but he still couldn't shake the feeling that he somehow held a certain amount of responsibility for the feud between the two.
"Are we okay?" he asked Cyrus out of the blue.
"Why would you doubt that?" Cyrus questioned.
"I feel like I'm a big part of your problem right now," Jonah answered.
"No, that's not true at all," Cyrus assured, "you didn't do anything wrong at all. We're fine."
"I'm glad to hear that," Jonah gave a sigh of relief.
Buffy decided to relieve some of the tension, "I'm glad we all got to hang out today."
"Me too," Jonah and Cyrus both agreed, one after the other.
"I'm really glad that I could get TJ off my mind for a while," Cyrus said, "thank you guys for today."
"Of course!" Buffy assured him. "I think you just need to take time to focus on yourself."
"Yeah, and today was great for that," Cyrus added.
"I'm glad you're having a good time," Jonah said in lieu of just having found out about Cyrus's week old relationship problem.
Into the door walked a familiar face that no one expected to see at a restaurant that wasn't The Spoon. Amber looked just as surprised to see Buffy, Cyrus, and Jonah as the three of them were to see her.
"Hey," she greeted them to be polite before asking, "What are you guys doing here?"
"The better question is," Buffy began, "What are you doing here? Don't you work at The Spoon?"
"Yeah," Amber replied, "but sometimes I come here when I don't want to deal with my coworkers or when I'm off work. It can be kind of awkward to go into your place of work as a customer."
"That makes sense," said Cyrus, as the three of them accepted her logic.
"We were just hanging out in the park and didn't want to go all the way to The Spoon," Jonah explained. "Want to sit with us? We're not leaving for a bit."
"Sure," Amber replied.
They started a conversation, and got to talking about TJ. Amber didn't know about it yet, and they kept cycling through the same talking points. Because of how close Amber had become to the group, it was only a matter of time before she found out.
"Let me get this straight," Amber said, trying to make sense of what she was hearing, "You broke up with Iris because you discovered you were gay?"
"Yep," Cyrus replied.
"And you discovered you were gay because you had a crush on Jonah?"
"Uh-huh."
"So that means that you, Andi, and I all had feelings for Jonah at the same time?"
"I guess so."
Jonah sat by feeling a little bit awkward about the conversation about who liked him when.
Buffy came into the conversation a little bit more, once again to ease the tension. "Wow, Jonah, you're very popular," she joked, soliciting a sort of uncomfortable laugh from Jonah so that he felt less tense.
"Well," Amber remarked to Cyrus, "I'm sorry you have to go through this. I hope everything works out."
The four of them talked on a bit, and then the original three went back to the park. It wasn't dark yet, so it was not yet time for stargazing.
"What do you guys want to do next," Buffy asked as she led the trio from the front.
"I'm fine with just walking around a little while longer," Jonah said, "It's good exercise."
"Yeah, that works," Cyrus agreed.
They decided that they would take that time to walk and wind down from the rest of their day. It was mostly quiet at this point, as they didn't want to talk about any drama or bring themselves down. They just enjoyed each other's company.
Suddenly, Buffy stopped in her tracks. The mood shifted. "Why don't we walk the other way?" she said in what was an obvious attempt to distract the other two from something.
"What's wrong?" Cyrus said with nervous laughter.
"I just think we should turn around," Buffy stated a little bit too matter-of-factly, "In fact, I'm getting tired. Maybe we should go home."
"What about stargazing?" Jonah asked.
Before Buffy could answer Jonah, Cyrus, unable to contain his curiosity, pushed past Buffy to see what was going on in front of her. He immediately regretted that decision. He stopped and his expression dropped. Buffy looked at him with sympathy. Jonah observed what was happening, and he couldn't help but to feel pity.
"Let's go," Cyrus said gloomily as he turned around and led the group out of the park and back into town.
At this point, the sight of TJ with Kira on the basketball court was just too much for him to handle.
Chapter 12 Coming Soon(ish)!
Hey guys! I am going to have to stop updating for a while. I have plenty of plot left that I have planned out, but I haven't been able to keep up with writing chapters because the semester is keeping me very busy! I will have more content probably around Christmas. I am going to try to write the rest of my chapters before I post any more so that the rest of the story runs smooth. But there is definitely more to come later, so stay tuned!