AN: I hope you guys like this chapter. I couldn't write it without getting emotional.

This scene contains material from the show which are Disney's ideas. I do not take credit for anything other than additional commentary added to the dialogue. I do not own anything recognizable.

Chapter 14

On Sunday afternoon as he returned from his trip, one very strong memory came back to Cyrus that had stuck with him clear as day since it happened.

Cyrus walked into The Spoon feeling maybe as anxious as he had ever felt in his life. This was it. He didn't know if he was ready to say anything, but he felt that he had to. He had a girlfriend, and last night, his feelings for his best friend's crush couldn't be clearer to him. It had just dawned upon him that people who were just friends didn't necessarily have that much longing and desire for each other. With everything happening so quickly around him, it was time.

When he got to The Spoon, he waited for Buffy, who he had texted earlier. He found a table in the corner away from where large crowds of people usually sat so that he could have a relatively private conversation with Buffy. He ordered a couple of waters for them as he waited. Although he wasn't sure how long he waited, it felt like over an hour. He sat there, anxiety-ridden, wondering what was going to happen when he finally told the truth. He was afraid and he shook so much that it seemed The Spoon was turned into a human freezer.

As he contemplated what he was doing and what would come next, he didn't notice Buffy walk in until she sat down at the table across from him with an upbeat demeanor.

"Hey!" she greeted Cyrus with enthusiasm.

Cyrus, however, did not show anything near the level of enthusiasm that Buffy had expected. In fact, he showed none at all. He sort of mouthed the word "hey" and gave a half-hearted wave with his eyes half shut and his straight face bordering on a frown.

Buffy was immediately concerned, and her smile faded. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Cyrus sighed and shook his head.

"Did you already order the baby taters," she asked with more enthusiasm, wanting to cheer Cyrus up with the prospect of food. She was also trying to move the conversation along, to figure out what was going on. Cyrus hadn't told her why he wanted her to meet him. He didn't even as much as say 'I need to talk to you.' He just sent her a text that read 'Meet me at The Spoon.'

"I don't want any baby taters," Cyrus responded with a depressingly candid certainty.

At this point, Buffy was very concerned. "You're scaring me," she said to her friend, who was visibly shaken.

"I'm scaring me too," Cyrus gave a sort of nervous unsettling laugh that scared Buffy even more about her friend's well-being. He took a deep breath, as he only got more afraid the closer he was to telling Buffy.

"What is it?" Buffy only got more deeply concerned with every remark like this that Cyrus made. She looked at Cyrus apprehensively.

Cyrus took a moment to collect himself, and he began to speak. "Last night, when we were watching Andi and Jonah," he began softly and paused briefly before continuing, "you asked me 'am I happy for Andi?'"

"Yeah?" replied Buffy, listening intently.

"And I said yes, I'm happy for Andi," Cyrus recounted the events of the previous night. He paused, and he sighed, on the verge of tears. He had to get it together before he continued. "But I'm also not happy," he said, worrying Buffy deeply. Cyrus got more and more nervous.

"How come?" Buffy asked, confused.

Cyrus's silence and hesitation to answer the question gave Buffy some time to think about scenarios in which Cyrus wouldn't be happy for Andi for getting into a relationship. Suddenly, it hit her, and without waiting for Cyrus to respond, she asked about what she believed to be the big revelation. "Are you jealous?"

Cyrus nodded, with a look on his face of nervousness and sadness. Buffy couldn't stand to see Cyrus this way.

"Cyrus," Buffy started, "do you like Andi?"

Cyrus didn't want to say it out loud. He didn't like Andi that way. He sighed and shook his head, showing that he was nervous. He shook and shook.

Buffy looked confused at first, but then the realization came to her. "You like Jonah," she whispered her realization.

She figured it out. There was no turning back now. Buffy knew. Cyrus hesitantly shook his head and took a deep breath, anticipating Buffy's reaction to the news. She looked at him with a little bit of shock about the news, but also with empathy for what she thought he might be going through. She was speechless. She wanted to be silent for a second and listen to what Cyrus had to say.

"Buffy," Cyrus started, still nervous, "I feel weird." He paused for a moment. "Different." He took a deep breath, his hands folded nervously, looking into Buffy's eyes in the hopes that she would understand his pain.

Buffy hated seeing her friend this way. She began to shake her head, in shock that Cyrus would put himself down this way. "Cyrus," she said comfortingly as she gently took ahold of his hands across the table, "you've always been weird," she said with some humor and then looked right into Cyrus's eyes, "but you're no different."

That was it right there. Cyrus just felt a huge weight off his shoulders. Cyrus held back tears of relief. His friend was there for him in exactly the way he needed her to be.

"I'm glad I told you," said Cyrus, visibly relieved. He kept breathing heavily, but now out of the concerned state that he was before.

"Me too," Buffy assured softly.

Cyrus brought himself down a little bit again. "But the thought of telling anyone else-"

"You'll be okay," Buffy interrupted to assure him, "I promise."

Cyrus took in his friend's support, and nodded with understanding, while continuing to hold onto Buffy's hands across the table.

"This is really bad timing," Cyrus continued, "I just got a girlfriend," he laughed softly, but not out of the character of the moment.

Buffy chuckled a bit, glad to see that her friend could still connect with his sense of humor, even in a very serious moment for him.

They laughed together, and Cyrus, in that moment, was okay.

As Cyrus reminisced about that day, he remained in deep thought about his parents, TJ, and how far he had come from what was one of the scariest and most cathartic moments of his life. This was Cyrus's first major step in proving to himself how strong he really was.

Chapter 15 Coming Soon!