Dye | Tyrus/Ambi

Part 4: Wanna Come?

TJ's POV

I walk alongside Reed, Lester, and Daniel and Ross, two guys who used to be on the middle school basketball team with me, around the third floor. We've made three laps already just to waste time talking. None of us really want to work right now. 

"TJ," Ross says, "I heard from Trina that Chloe wants you to ask her out."

"Yo, you should do it, man," Lester says. "Chloe is smokin'."

"Why doesn't she just ask me out?" I question. 

I don't particularly have any interest in Chloe, but I do wonder why the girls we hang around always do stuff like this. Why can't they just talk directly to us, rather than letting information get around through rumours? 

"That's not how it works, dude," Reed responds. 

As we pass by the library again, I glance over at the open door and notice a brown-haired boy standing between two bookcases. Seeing him causes me to stumble over my foot, and Reed turns around to figure out why I've fallen behind. 

"You good, man?" he asks. 

"Yeah, I, uh, just remembered I need to sign out a learning guide," I lie. 

"Okay, whatever," he says.

He shakes his head at my need to do work and continues walking around the corner with my other friends. As they disappear, I look over to Cyrus in his turquoise, button-up T-shirt and take a breath before stepping into the library. I slow to a halt by his side, and his head turns to me silently with a blank face.

"To Kill a Mockingbird," I say, observing the book he just took from the shelf. "Good choice."

"You've read it?" he responds, surprised. 

"Nope."

That makes him laugh, which results in him being shushed by the librarian from a distance. 

Cyrus shuts his mouth to wait a second before whispering, "You got me in trouble."

"Didn't realize I was such a bad influence," I joke. "Sorry."

"You should be," he responds, seriously at first, but then he breaks into a slight grin. "What are you here for?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm getting"—I pick up the first book my hand touches on the shelf—"Death of a Salesman. I'm, uh, getting a head start on my English."

"I see," Cyrus says with a nod. "Two grades head start?"

He's right. Death of a Salesman isn't something we read until grade eleven, but I didn't think about that when I picked it up. 

"Uh, yeah," I say, stuffing in back in the empty space on the shelf. 

Cyrus shakes his head, chuckling a little. I open my mouth to explain, but I quickly realize I don't have an explanation. I'm not sure why I feel the need to be around Cyrus like this. There's just something about him that pulls me in. I don't know where it came from, but I know it's there, and I have no idea how to get rid of it. 

"Changed your mind?" he says. 

"Yeah," I respond. "I just remembered I'm too dumb for grade eleven courses."

"You think you're dumb?" 

"Well, I'm not smart."

Cyrus takes a moment to look me down and up. "I don't believe that."

"Believe it," I retort. 

"I would," Cyrus starts, "but I don't succumb to peer pressure."

I sigh. "Then I'll just have to show you."

"That would mean you have to talk to me more," he points out. 

I smile, letting that sit for a moment before saying, "I'm cool with that."

Cyrus smiles back, his chin up in a playful yet confident way. "So am I."

______________________________________

Andi's POV

Buffy sits in front of me in the science room, with Cyrus and Jonah in the desks beside us. We all work quietly on our individual assignments, low murmurs sounding out around us. Voices from the science lab area carry over into the rows of desks, creating an overall chatter-friendly atmosphere, making it easy for me to tap Buffy on the shoulder and talk to her. 

"I'm going to get my history book," I tell her. "I'll be right back."

"Yeah. No problem," she responds with a smile. "I'll make sure you don't get cleared."

Getting cleared. That is another Grant thing. It refers to when the teachers remove the belongings from desks that have nobody sitting at them. Theoretically, if you leave your stuff on your desk unattended, it will get cleared, but that's not so common in practice. Almost everyone leaves their books on their desks when they get up to go to seminars, tests, or to lunch. Also, nobody steals things; it's ingrained in the culture. People leave their laptops, phones, and wallets on their desks, and they never get touched. 

"Thanks," I say before getting up.

I enter the hallway and start toward my locker, but the sight of a blonde girl in floral Doc Martens today catches my attention. She leans against a locker, noticing me as I approach. 

"Amber," I say. 

"Andi," she responds with a smile. 

The sound of my name in her voice gives me goosebumps, and I don't know why. There's just something peculiar about hearing her acknowledge my presence in such a specific way. 

"What are you doing?" I ask. 

"I'm waiting for my friend, Iris," she explains. "We're going for lunch."

"Lunch? But it's only 10:30," I respond. "Lunch isn't for another forty-five minutes."

"You know you don't actually have to follow that rule," she says, tilting her head. 

I raise my eyebrows in question. "So you're just leaving in the middle of the day? But it's prime time."

Prime time: how the teachers refer to any hours in the school day that aren't the hour and a half reserved for kids to choose their own half-hour lunch break within. 

"It's not a big deal," Amber insists. "We're coming back." She pauses for a moment before adding, "Wanna come?"

To anyone else I would say no. But she seems to have an effect on me that hinders my ability to deny any opportunity to spend time with her, even an opportunity I probably shouldn't take. Her blue eyes stare up at me from under her eyelashes, making my mind has go weak in an instant. 

"Yes," I say, sounding so sure of my answer that you wouldn't think I have a single doubt. Oddly enough, I don't have any doubts. My response just feels certain, like it's something I have to do to satisfy some subconscious request inside my head, like I just have to get to know this girl. 

A/N: A little late, but I did it. I wrote another chapter. Now I have to go rinse out two shirts that I tie-dyed today. I'm a bit of a hippie, if y'all haven't figured out already. Anyway, have a good night. I love you guys a lot. I hope your day goes well tomorrow, and I hope none of y'all get sick. Bye!