the plan ↬ tyrus

TWO

TJ KIPPEN was totally comfortable with his sexuality. His only problem was the people who weren't.

Countless times TJ wished that the Kippen family lived anywhere more progressive than Shadyside, (which, to be fair, left plenty of options, but that was beside the point). Sure, he knew it could be worse, but that constant fear of judgment followed him everywhere he went.

This is why he surprised even himself when he decided to come out to Cyrus in such a casual manner. TJ knew deep down that his friend would be fine with him being gay, even if he was absolutely terrified to take that chance. After that simple text, 'i think i might be gay', was sent, their conversation continued normally, Cyrus letting him know he would support him no matter what.

The boy got the feeling that Cyrus was holding something back, that he had something he wanted to be said, but TJ figured it probably meant nothing.

Probably.

This he pondered as he laid on his bed, facing the ceiling, not quite ready to get up and face the day. There was an internal debate going on in TJ's mind, whether to study for finals which he knew he would have to do eventually, or to tag along with Amber and her friend, Iris, to the mall.

"TJ!" speak of the devil, his thoughts were interrupted by his sister, opening his door and letting light from the hall flood in, illuminating the polaroids and band posters that covered the dull grey paint TJ foolishly chose himself when they moved in.

"Amber, what do you want?" he let out a sigh, not in the mood to be bothered. TJ loved his family unconditionally, but Amber could be... annoying at times.

"Are you gonna come with Iris and me? I need to get Andi a present and-"

"...and you don't know what she would like so you need all the help you can get. Yeah, I got it." TJ recited what Amber had voiced many times before, tired of hearing it. "I'll go, maybe I'll see one of my friends."

The blonde girl smiled deviously, a look he was all too familiar with. "By 'one of your friends,' I'm assuming you mean Cyrus- Ow, Tj!" her teasing was put to a halt after being playfully hit with a pillow that was previously set on her brother's bed.

"Can we not talk about Cyrus right now?"

"Fine, but I still know you're in love with him." With that, she dashed out of the room, narrowly avoiding being hit with a pillow a second time.

Okay, so maybe TJ had a little bit of a crush on his friend, and maybe Amber liked to remind him of it at least ten times a day, but he knew better than to actually do something about it. He had made that mistake, trying to turn a friendship into something more, before, and it never turned out well. TJ was tired of being rejected. It was because of this he had learned to be cautious. Perhaps this was his fatal flaw, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

The blond got up, picking out clothes (a hoodie and jeans, per usual) and brushing his hair out of his face. He was too lazy to find contacts so he put on his glasses, trying not to focus on how Cyrus though he 'looked adorable in them'. TJ had liked his glasses a lot more after that comment.

"Teej! Iris is here, are you ready to go?" Amber's voice broke him out of his thoughts once again, as he ran downstairs and hopped into Iris' car, which was parked outside.

TJ greeted the driver with a fist bump - something he and Iris had picked up the habit of doing a few years back - and buckled his seatbelt, rolling down the window.

"Please don't play that trashy music again, guys."

The girls in the front gasped in faux offence, Amber reaching back to hit her brother lightly on the arm. "Excuse me, but Ariana Grande is amazing and you can't change my mind."

"Whatever you say," he rolled his eyes playfully, but allowed them to pick out a song. Almost against himself, he mouthed the words quietly, having heard the tune many times before.

Iris continued to belt off-key, enjoying herself too much to care that she, in TJ's very informed opinion, sounded like a dying goat. "Iris, you're gonna blow out your vocal chords if you keep trying to sing like that, honestly."

She paused for a second to smirk at him through the mirror, "Do I look like I care, Tyronius Jackson?"

"Damnit, Iris! I thought we agreed you'd stop calling me that! It's not my name!"

"And I thought we agreed you'd stop making fun of my singing."

At this, TJ laughed, muttering "touché" and going back to drowning out the singing Iris had resumed.

The thing about Iris is that, if the pair were straight, they'd definitely be dating. Everyone thought they were at least, mainly because of the way they teased each other. Dating, in the eyes of their peers, was the most logical next step, because they thought that being conventionally attractive and popular was the best foundation for a relationship.

Maybe if they both got dates, people would leave them alone? Last time he checked, Iris was flirting with a girl named Libby. TJ made a mental note to ask her how that was going later.

The drive to the mall was short, and as soon as TJ stepped in, he regretted it. He could spot nearly ten kids from school instantly, including the self-proclaimed Good Hair Crew, in the middle of a very heated discussion. He waved to them, and they greeted them back quickly, returning to their prior conversation. A smile still lingered on his face moments after the small interaction, not going unnoticed by Iris.

"Still obsessed with your boyfriend?" Iris's eyes were teasing, a smirk evident on her features, as she looked between him and Cyrus with a knowing look.

"He is not my boyfriend!" heads turned to look at a flustered TJ, his outburst loud enough to capture the attention of most of the people in the food court. After a moment, chatter resumed as the blonde gave Iris a pointed look and made his way to a group of people in line for bubble tea.

On the other side of the food court, however, the moment was not forgotten.

"TJ has a boyfriend?" Cyrus looked at his friends for confirmation, shocked with this new potential information.

"Why? Are you jealous?" Andi took an obnoxiously loud sip of her iced coffee, glancing up from her phone.

"No, just curious, that's all. I should know if my best friend's dating anyone."

Buffy, Andi, and Marty exchanged a knowing look from across the table, unsure if he was trying to convince them or himself of the latter.  It was painfully obvious to, well, basically everyone, that Cyrus was falling for TJ, but they assumed he had known it too. Maybe they would have to give him a little push in the right direction. 

"Well," Andi continued, "you heard what TJ said; that guy wasn't his boyfriend, so whoever he was talking about isn't dating him anyway."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Ugh, I wish I had a boyfriend. Then maybe I wouldn't have to seventh wheel all the time. Not like I don't hanging out with you guys, but it's hard to see everyone in a relationship but me-"

"and TJ," Buffy whispered to her boyfriend quietly, making him roll his eyes and suppress a laugh.

"-and I'm honestly just ready to be in a committed relationship again." Cyrus' mind immediately wandered back to TJ, as it always did in times like these. As much as he hated letting himself linger on any potential thoughts he may have, it was hard not to imagine being more than friends with the boy. Maybe...

Snap out of it, he told himself.  Those emotions were scary, and he wasn't ready to address his possible feelings quite yet. He needed a distraction, something to get his mind off of anything TJ-related for the moment.

"Hey, do you guys know anyone you could set me up with? Like, it doesn't have to be anything serious, but just on a couple of dates or something?"

The group once again shared a glance, nodding in silent agreement, before Buffy spoke up again with a grin. "Yeah, I have someone in mind."