Dye | Tyrus/Ambi

Part 17: Now You Have

Cyrus' POV

The door to the stairwell flies open, and Jonah rushes in. Buffy, Andi and I all sit on the floor in the corner, tucked underneath the shadow of the stairs which ascend out above us. This space between the walls and the underside of the stairs is the perfect place to come to vent about everything that just happened, and two of my friends have been listening thoughtfully for me to pour out everything I have. 

"Where have you been?" Buffy asks Jonah. "We texted you fifteen minutes ago."

"Sorry," Jonah says as he lowers down next to Buffy. "I was with Walker and wasn't checking my phone."

"You were with walker?" I repeat. "And you were so into whatever you two were doing that you weren't checking your phone?"

Jonah nods, looking uncomfortable with the subject, so I move on and decide instead to explain again everything that happened with TJ in the gym. The whole time, Jonah silently takes it in. 

"He said you were nothing?" Jonah says when I'm finished. 

I nod. "Yeah. Nothing."

"I knew he was going to hurt you," Buffy mutters.

"You couldn't know," I tell her. "I didn't. I thought he really liked me on Saturday when we were playing pool, and he kissed me. Well, I guess I kissed him." I sigh. "Maybe I am nothing. Maybe he decided I wasn't good enough for him or something."

"Cyrus, you are definitely enough," Andi says. "You're better than enough. TJ doesn't deserve you."

"Thanks, Andi," I respond. Then I let out a laugh, thinking back on the situation. "Neither of us knew anything about pool, but he put his arms around me to guide me anyway. I thought it meant something."

"Walker's really good at pool," Jonah mentions, smiling to himself. 

Buffy is both surprised and confused as she whips her heads to face Jonah. 

"When did you two hang out?" she questions. 

"Yesterday," Jonah answers. "We went to the same place that TJ and Cyrus did."

"Jonah," I say, getting his attention before making a serious request of him. "If you like Walker, stop pretending you don't and just ask him out. Don't make him wonder whether or not you like him."

I don't want Jonah to do the same thing to Walker that TJ's doing to me. I want Jonah to be better than that. 

Jonah laughs awkwardly as he says, "Yeah. I, um . . . Yeah, okay."

At his vague response, Buffy and Andi turn their attention back to me. 

"Stop wasting your time with TJ," Buffy says. 

"I'm with Buffy, here," Andi agrees. "I know he's my girlfriend's brother and all, but he clearly doesn't know what he wants. If you stay hung up on him, it's just going to end up with you getting hurt even more."

"I know," I say, not sounding anywhere near sure enough to convince Buffy and Andi. 

"But you're not going to listen to us, are you?" Buffy responds. 

"I don't know," I admit. "I shouldn't care so much, but I do. He takes up way too much space in my head and certainly causes me more stress than I need, but I still really like him."

Buffy sighs. "You're too soft."

"You know, you should try being soft sometime," I argue. "Maybe if you showed a little vulnerability, you'd have a boyfriend by now."