tyrus oneshots

empty

*third person*tw*

tj sat in his bed, he had already been lying down for hours. for most kids, summer meant being carefree, hanging out with friends, and relaxing in the sun. this wasn't the reality for tj. his summer was spent tired, cold, and isolated.

once he walked out those heavy doors that surrounded the middle school on june sixth - he wasn't tj the strong basketball captain. he became increasingly weak, empty, and light headed. none of which did tj enjoy, but he slowly became used to it.

he was undoubtably hungry, but none of that mattered when nothing had changed. the numbers on the scale as he looked down, the reflection he faced in the mirror, and the words that echoed in his head at all hours of the day.

any glimpse of his reflection cause him to wince, the sight alone was enough to make him internally scream. this wasn't new to him though, he was used to it. anything but empty was the uncharted territory he got lost in.

something that was new for tj, though, was cyrus. the small neighbor who had just moved in a few weeks back. his perky attitude was the only thing that never failed to make tj smile these days.

the conversations between the two were minimal, but tj wanted to get to know the boy better. it was the first time in a while he wanted to try something other than distance and isolation from the human race.

he and cyrus had been texting back and forth for a while. tj was never really up to go outside or "hangout". he was always too tired.

that was going to change this thursday. cyrus was having a 4th of july celebration with his family. cyrus had brought it up in june, tj had only remembered because apparently they're a lot of fun...and it was something to do with cyrus.

he had to find a way to gain some energy, he didn't want to sulk around the entire time behind cyrus. he wanted to have fun.

cyrus: bring a bathing suit! pool's up!

normally, cyrus' texts brought a smile to tj's face. this text...it filled tj with anxiety, immediately thinking of excuses. he got up from his bed, walking over to his mirror.

he allowed his lights to stay off, letting nothing but the soft, subtle light the moon set into his room light the area. taking a deep breath, he slid off his sweatshirt, then his tshirt underneath.

the silhouette of himself brought physical pain to him, causing him to turn away. the comfort baggy clothes brought him was unbeatable. it masked his insecurities on the surface and it made it harder for people to notice anything.

there was no way he could wear a swimsuit in front of all those people. not if he looked like this. a few months ago, he'd already be working out to burn up any calories he could on sight. at this point, he couldn't. he was too tired, exhausted to be quite honest.

he slid his layers of clothing back on, calming some of his nerves when he was covered again. he had to make up an excuse for cyrus. he couldn't tell cyrus about any of this yet. he hadn't told anybody this before, let alone the boy he met last month - he'd scare him off.

tj: okay.

he surely could talk his way out of it tomorrow. there was no way all of these months, years of hiding this would fail him this time.

the moment he began laying his head atop his pillow, his head spun. he ignored it as per usual, closing his eyes and quickly falling asleep.

•

tj woke up, a sudden feeling of energy flooded him. he didn't know if it was excitement or what, but he wasn't exhausted. he felt...great.

cyrus: gm! my parents confirmed that guests could start arriving at 2.