below the surface

please stay

tj waited anxiously in first hour, with 3 minutes to the final bell. he kept looking at the empty seat next to him, shifting his attention to the door when he heard it open.

all he could think about was his dm to cyrus, and how cyrus didn't answer or read it. why wasn't cyrus here? tj sat nervously.

his phone vibrated in his pocket, his heart jumped at the idea it could be cyrus. however, he was drastically let down.

[rachel: you hangout with goodman now? i swear tj, i'll make his life a living hell too.]

[tj: please don't, he isn't doing anything.]

tj couldn't let rachel hurt him too. he already got hit, he didn't need to be harassed at the one place he's ever been safe.

he still waited for each notification to be cyrus, but it never was. the first four hours of school went by slowly, cyrus never showing up or answering his dms. it dawned on tj, would cyrus' dad be at work? could tj cut class and go to cyrus' house? tj knew where he lived, but only the street. cyrus had said something about a sign that said 'the goodmans' above the door though. which is easy enough to identify.

tj had walked out the doors by the gym, heading the two streets over to the street cyrus said he had lived on. every house he passed he looked for the sign that said the goodmans on it. spotting it at the end of the street, in bold letters over a brown plaque.

he stepped up the stairs, knocking on the door. he heard slight movement, it had to be cyrus. there were no cars in the driveway.

cyrus peeked through blinds beside the door, instantly regretting getting up. he opened it anyways.

"why are you here, tj?", he asked groggily. a fact that confused tj, it was 1, cyrus always said he woke up early.

"to ask if you're okay, because you didn't answer me when i asked over the phone.", he said sympathetically.

"so you came to ask in person?", cyrus asked in an 'are you dumb?' tone.

"what happened last night? why are you acting like this?", tj's voice was raised. he was frustrated, why was cyrus being rude about this? all tj was doing was checking on him.

"acting like what?", cyrus asked, yelling, even though it had hurt his head to do so.

"like an ass! i find out you're being abused because you're gay and now you're acting like me asking if youre okay is unacceptable!", tj yelled.

"don't.", cyrus stated, "don't say that."

"say what?", tj asked, lowering his tone, confused.

"that i'm gay.", cyrus said bluntly.

"are you not?", tj asked.

"i don't want to be.", cyrus said.

"so am i not allowed here either?", tj asked, getting angry again, "should i just pretend i'm not too since thats what you think is the best move?"

"of course not.", cyrus said softly.

"honestly, maybe i shouldn't be here.", tj said, fighting tears of frustration.

"tj, please stay. i'll talk to you.", cyrus offered, praying that tj wasn't going to leave him here alone.

"okay.", tj said, he just wanted cyrus to talk to him. if that's how he was going to get that, then that's what he was going to do.
-
"what happened last night?", tj asked, walking to cyrus' room with him.

"my dad pushed me into the door, i didn't come to school because i hit my head. i'm okay though.", he said.

tj grabbed cyrus' hand, squeezing it tight to let him know he was there. "please cyrus, come stay with me at my house.", he began, "at least for the weekend. on sunday, you can figure out what you want to do."

cyrus had to think about it. would his dad let him stay at a boys house for a weekend? would he have to lie? would he know what to do if he got caught in a lie?

"i don't know, tj....", cyrus shook his head, speaking quietly.

"just say you're hanging out with amber.", tj said, grabbing cyrus' hand.

"amber?", cyrus asked, tilting his head.

"my cousin. she'll be there this weekend too.", tj started, "he won't know i'm there, i promise."

cyrus breathed heavily, having a glimmer of hope for this plan to work. he bit his lip before answering.

"i'll ask.", he answered.

"just text him, maybe we can make it out of here before he gets home.", tj suggested, gripping cyrus' hand tighter. tj was desperate for cyrus to leave this house with him, and even though he said cyrus could make up his mind on sunday - tj had every intention to call the police. he just didn't want cyrus to be there.

cyrus had grabbed his phone, inhaling before starting his text. he simply said 'could i hang out with my friend amber this weekend? i can text you the address.'

he set his phone down and looked at tj, he wanted to be at tj's this weekend. he didn't want to be here. what if-

his thoughts had been cut short by the buzz of his phone, with a screen that said, 'ok'.