swingsets and dance routines ; tyrus

chapter #1: the book club meeting

Cyrus could confidently say he had been on time for every single one of his book club meetings to date, but that fateful morning found him rushing through the streets about 5 minutes after the start time, silently cursing his luck as he tugged on a jacket.

He swore the universe had been out to get him from the start - he woke up on the floor for one, which meant that his shoulders were so stiff he could barely move them, then when he went to check his phone he discovered that it was out of battery. In turn, that had him jolting awake in an almost comical fashion and rushing downstairs to check the time. There were 10 minutes until the meeting would start, and he barely even had time to think as he grabbed his phone, a portable charger and bolted out of the house.

"Sorry!" he apologised for the hundredth time, hurtling left around a corner. It was Friday, and the streets were already bustling with anticipation for the weekend ahead. The sky was dreary though, which only seemed to add to the list of things dampening his mood.

He arrived at the glass doors of a small coffee shop and practically threw them open. He didn't even realize how worn out he was from running until he began to calm down slightly, his face tinged red and breathing laboured.

The café was small and usually unpopulated, which was Cyrus' favourite thing about it. The furnishing was all retro, with coloured walls and bold paintings hung everywhere.

"Hey Sophie," he greeted (or rather - panted) as he approached the counter.

She gave him a knowing smile. "Hey, Cyrus. The usual?"

"Please. I'm running on pure adrenaline and a few hours of sleep right now."

She clicked her tongue in disapproval, typing the order in. "A few hours of sleep? That's not very you."

"I was up doing summer vacation homework," he admitted with a sigh.

"That's...not very you, either."

"Hey!" he defended, "I'm only human. Besides, everyone procrastinates their summer vacation homework. It's a universal thing."

"I didn't," said Sophie with a smug smile as she began to busy herself with the coffee machines.

"Geez, can you spare me some work ethic? Junior year is killing me."

"Junior year?" she asked with a laugh. "Wait till you get to college."

"Hey - what have I said about putting me off college?"

Sophie just laughed again, sealing the cup and writing his name across it in her usual scrawl.

"Here you go, Cy."

"I love you so much," he said seriously as he took the cup from her hands.

She shook her head slightly at that. "I love you too. Now get going! You looked like you were in a rush."

Cyrus' stomach dropped at the reminder of his book club meeting, and he turned around with a dramatic sigh. "You're right. Bye Sophie!"

He made for the door, but someone on the other side beat him to it. He was tall with dirty blonde hair, and - were those green eyes?

He didn't even realize he had frozen until the boy stepped inside, an amused grin on his lips.

"Hey there. You okay?"

"Yeah!" he said quickly, very nearly dropping his coffee in attempt to compose himself. "Sorry."

They were in close proximity now, standing in front of the doorway. They both moved to one side, then the other, and the boy began to laugh.