Against All Odds | Tyrus

24. Fear

❝The relief he felt after hearing what his parents had to say was indescribable. And he was excited to tell the GHC about it, right after he told TJ.❞

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Buffy and Andi had texted Cyrus all Sunday, asking about his date. They asked what he wore, what TJ wore, where they went, and what they did. But Cyrus refused to talk about the date. Instead, he told them that his parents were all supporting him now. Buffy and Andi both expressed their joy for him, nearly forgetting about the interrogation they were in the middle of. The moment Andi brought up TJ again, Cyrus stopped answering their messages.

On Monday, TJ sat in the cafeteria with Buffy and Andi; Cyrus was yet to arrive. He was busy retaking a test, which gave his friends time to grill TJ for information.

“Hey, how was your weekend?” TJ asked them, unwrapping the liner from one of the chocolate chocolate chip muffins he had in front of him.

“Mine was... eventful,” Andi answered. “Bex and I proposed to Bowie.”

“Congrats!” Buffy exclaimed.

TJ's eyes widened, “Aren't you a little young to be getting married?”

“What? Oh, no! It's my parents; not me. I was helping my mom propose,” Andi laughed.

“What a relief,” TJ sighed. “So, how did the proposal go?”

“Not great, if I'm being honest. Bowie's bandmates asked him to go on tour with them the same day.”

“Oh,” he frowned with sympathy.

“What did Bowie say?” Buffy asked.

“Bex and I convinced him to go on the tour. It's too good of an opportunity to miss. I think we're going to try proposing again once he gets back. And I'm sure Bowie will say yes!” Andi rested her chin on her hand, “But enough about my weekend. How was yours, TJ? Tell us how your date with Cyrus went!”

“Oh,” he looked away sheepishly, “you guys don't wanna hear about that.”

“Oh, trust us. We do,” Buffy said.

“Please? Cyrus wouldn't tell us anything!” Andi added.

“In that case, I really shouldn't talk about it.” He took a bite from his muffin in an attempt to end the conversation, but Buffy and Andi were determined.

“C'mon, it'll be fine. And I'm sure you want to talk about it.”

Buffy nodded, “Yeah, you've been crushing on Cyrus for the longest time. You can't just not talk about your first date with him.”

“As of today, I've only known him for seven weeks, so I wouldn't exactly call that ‘the longest time.’ But you're right. I do want to talk about it.” TJ smiled softly, “He was so cute. Actually, he's always cute, but he was extra cute on Saturday. We went to this indoor amusement park and went on a bunch of rides! He was practically clinging to me the entire time. I had to keep myself from freaking out. Then, after we ate, I won him a dinosaur. I was so scared I was gonna mess up the game. Like, I know I'm good at basketball, but I was super nervous the whole time. Oh, and I got Cyrus to play the game too! He made a basket and was so happy. His eyes lit up, and he had the biggest, cutest smile on his face. And we were standing so close to each other. I thought I was gonna explode!”

Buffy and Andi stared at him, their mouths wide open. TJ's sudden burst of energy from talking about his date had left them quite literally speechless. He watched them, expecting a comment — or at least to be teased by Buffy — but they only continued to stare. TJ cleared his throat to push for a response from them.