Sometimes when Cyrus was feeling hopeful, he couldn't help but think his interactions with TJ were becoming somewhat flirty.
He knew the idea was bizarre, but there were a few undeniable moments where everything seemed to fade around them, and his breath would catch, and their staring would last a moment too long to be friendly.
At first he thought he had been imagining TJ's furtive glances, or the way his lips twitched up in what seemed to be small, private smiles directed at him. The more time they spent together though, the more moments he had to go home with and think about all night.
He didn't dare mention any of this to his friends, because they would all tell him exactly what he wanted to hear; that despite seeming like the straightest guy on planet earth, TJ somehow liked him back. That TJ had the same urges to close the gap between them when they were close, that TJ also spent his nights wondering what it would be like to kiss Cyrus.
When he really thought about it, these ideas were comically far-fetched, so he kept all of them locked away as much as humanely possible.
On one particularly restless night, he couldn't keep himself from going over a few of these moments in his head. He had tried just about everything to fall asleep, and he ended up resigning to the fact that he'd be a tired mess the following day.
"I'm warning you one last time that my athletic abilities are shocking. This is your last chance to turn back, TJ."
TJ turned to him with one of those bright smiles, his eyes sparkling with their usual playfulness as he took the basketball out of Cyrus' hands.
"The point of this is that I'm teaching you how to score a basket. I'm not expecting you to be perfect right away."
"Okay." he responded, and really - sue him if he was slightly distracted by the way the sun was currently tinging TJ's hair gold. It looked far too ethereal to be allowed.
The athlete stopped in front of the basket and gestured for Cyrus come over, that bright smile still on his lips. He did just that, all while desperately telling himself that he wouldn't allow TJ being in close proximity to distract him this time. Absolutely not.
"Okay, so you'll wanna hold the ball like this-" TJ murmured, and dammit - Cyrus was beginning to think that low tone would be the genuine death of him.
"Now, just move your feet apart slightly...yup! That's great."
TJ was standing a little bit to the side now, his hands holding the basketball over Cyrus'. His touches deliberately seemed to linger after each instruction, and Cyrus was beginning to feel slightly weak at the knees.
"So when you actually shoot, you'll wanna position your elbow so it's under the ball, like this-"
TJ shifted slightly so he could gently raise his arm, and the new position only seemed to bring him closer to Cyrus.
"When you shoot, you'll also wanna jump forward slightly, and push the ball upward with your shooting hand - this one - yup! Like that."
He didn't dare tilt his head then. The boy was ridiculously close now - so close in fact that Cyrus could feel TJ's warm breath ghosting over his skin. He honestly tried not to shiver, but he couldn't help it. TJ noticed it if the way he immediately faltered was any indicator.
"And then - um, you'll wanna...uh - follow through! That's what you wanna do. Follow through."
He stepped away then, and the moment ended as quickly as it had started.
Then - there had been that interesting afternoon at TJ's house.
Cyrus and TJ were sprawled across the couch, with TJ's leg casually kicked over the side and Cyrus' arm draped dramatically over his own face.
Despite the pair of fans they had set up on the coffee table, the heat was almost unbearable, and doing anything apart from lounging around seemed like an effort.
A comfortable silence had settled around them, which was why Cyrus was so shocked at TJ's sudden words.
"Do you ever feel weird?"
Surprised laughter escaped Cyrus' lips, and he propped himself up onto his elbows to give the boy a bewildered look.
"Are you really quoting Love, Simon right now?"
"Maybe." he responded with a teasing grin.
Cyrus found himself laughing harder at that for some reason; he couldn't help but think that the heat was getting to him, because it really hadn't even been that funny.
TJ's grin faded into something fonder as he watched the boy, and Cyrus eventually calmed down enough to give him a puzzled look.
"What is it?"
"Nothing." he assured with a smile, bashfully averting his gaze.
Cyrus didn't press any further.
And then - that moment from two days ago, where he had inquired about TJ's recent shift towards using no hair gel. And wearing glasses instead of contacts.
Cyrus was subtly observing the boy across from him as he read one of their assigned school books. It wasn't an overly interesting book, if the way TJ's eyes kept wandering was any indicator.
He honestly tried to keep his gaze on his own book, but it was proving difficult when the cutest boy on the planet was sitting right across from him.
Okay - maybe not the absolute cutest (although Cyrus really did beg to differ), but TJ's hair was gel-free at that moment and there was an adorable pair of glasses perched on the bridge of his nose.
Two of Cyrus' total weaknesses when it came to TJ.
It was almost as if the boy knew what he was doing. But he didn't. Did he?
"Hey," he said quietly.
The athlete looked up with a smile, seeming pleased at the distraction. "What's up?"
"Is there a reason you've switched up your look a bit recently or is it just...'cause?"
TJ's eyes widened at that, and he hastily looked back down at his book.
"Um," he began, clearing his throat. "I uh...just wanted to try something new."
He raised a disbelieving eyebrow at that, but nodded all the same and returned to his book.
If TJ's goal was to seem suspicious, he had certainly accomplished it, Cyrus mused.
He groaned dramatically into his pillow - something he had found himself doing an awful lot recently.
Was he just over-analysing, or was there a tiny chance that TJ could like him back?
He let out an exasperated sigh.
Stupid boys.
A/N: Cyrus? Being less oblivious? Whoa.
YOU ARE READING
chalk ; tyrus {completed}
Fanfiction"He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, very convinced that he was just seeing things, but when he opened them again the scene hadn't changed. He was still in his bedroom, looking at his neighbour's house, and 𝘛𝘑 𝘒𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯 was still sitting c...
