How to (Unsuccessfully) Get Over a Guy | Tyrus

Part 12

Cyrus' POV

The world comes back to my senses when his lips leave mine. Our eyes stay together for another moment until I can't help but laugh, and I fall back onto the rocks. TJ does the same, lying beside me with his shoulder up against mine. It feels like a dream. I still don't fully believe that this is real. This can't be real. But when I look over, he's still there. TJ is there. 

"I can't believe it," I say with another chuckle. "I've been writing you this whole time."

"I know," TJ says. "I was trying to get over you. I failed miserably at that."

"Get over me?" I repeat. "You liked me?"

"Obviously, I liked you," he whispers. "But you didn't like me until—"

"I liked you too," I correct him. "I really liked you."

He smiles at that, turning his eyes upward at the star-spotted sky.

"We could've saved a lot of time," TJ says. "I was too scared."

"Are you still scared?" I ask. 

"Yes," TJ responds in a whisper, "but not of you. I'm scared to tell my parents. I might just wait until after the wedding. That way, if it doesn't go well, at least I won't have to put up with a long and uncomfortable family gathering."

He goes silent, but I can sense that his thoughts are unfinished. 

"Are you okay with that?" I question. 

"No." He brings his hands to his face. "No, I'm not." The rocks clink as his arms drop back to his sides. "Cyrus, I want to tell everyone about you."

He looks at me with worried eyes, and I feel the need to help in some way. The first thing I can think of is to lace my fingers through his—something I've never done before. Initially, I'm a little unsure of how he'll react, but when I wind our hands together, a smile grows on his face, and he closes his hand around mine. 

"Tell whoever you want," I say, "but don't let fear be the reason you don't."

TJ's eyelashes flutter when they blink, reminding me of the swaying tall grass at the edge of the rocks. If this were yesterday—if I hadn't just kissed this boy—I would've looked away to avoid being sucked in. But I don't have to do that anymore. 

"I love you," TJ tells me. 

"Those might be my new favorite words," I reply.

He smiles then moves on, saying, "I'm hanging out with my brother tomorrow."

"How will that go?"

"Not sure," he breathes.

"Well, feel free to tell me all about it after."

"I will," he says. 

TJ lets my hand go, worrying me for a second before he wraps it around me instead. He pulls me in closer to him then presses a delicate kiss to my head. While we lie there together listening to the sound of the trickling water, I count the minutes until I wake up and have to accept that this is all just a fantasy. But I never wake up. 

________________________________________

Across the table from me in The Spoon, Andi blinks, trying to understand the hurricane of a story I just told her. Buffy and Jonah are just as confused, but they're also in the middle of eating a plate of pancakes together, so Andi's the only one who can actually ask any questions. 

"Can you start again?" 

I sigh, but summarize my story, saying, "TJ was the one who left the letter. TJ is Seven. I found out. Now we're boyfriends."

Andi nods. "That's . . ."

" . . . a huge coincidence," Buffy finishes for her, talking through a full mouth. "Obviously you and TJ are meant to be together."

That makes me smile. "I think we were made for each other. And I think the universe knew that, so it couldn't let us get over each other, because then it would fail its job." 

"The universe knows what it's doing," Andi says. She picks up her fork to poke at her eggs while next saying, "I hope it knows what it's doing for me too."

"Andi, it does," I assure her. "Just be patient."

"Yeah," Buffy agrees. "You'll find someone. You're only fourteen."

"Buffy's right," Jonah says. 

"Easy for you guys to say," Andi says to the two across the table. "You're already in a really adorable relationship."

Buffy tenses up, responding, "Uh, we're not in a relationship."

"Hey, Buffy," Jonah cuts in, getting her attention. "Can I talk to you outside?"

"Uh . . ." Buffy flicks her eyes to Andi and I then back to Jonah. "Sure."

Jonah gets up from the table, and Buffy follows him out the door. Andi and I glance to each other when they're gone, both curious about what they're going to talk about. Unfortunately, our two friends move out of view of the window, so we can't try to read their lips to get a clue about their conversation. 

"So," Andi says to me, "are you excited to be your boyfriend's date to his brother's wedding?"

"Yes," I say, "and nervous. I'm not sure if he's going to tell his family about us before it or not, but, either way, I'm meeting my boyfriend's entire extended family. If I mess up, I could make a bad impression to his whole family, and I only have a few days to prepare."

"You don't need to prepare. You'll be fine. Just be yourself."

"I just really want them to like me."

"Okay, but TJ really likes you," Andi says. "That won't change even if you do make a bad first impression."

"What if I do something really horrible? I could accidentally step on someone's dog."

"Someone's going to bring their dog to the wedding?"

"I don't know," I reply. "But they could."

Andi shakes her head, chuckling a little. "Cyrus, relax. If TJ's family doesn't like you, I will personally go up to each and every one of them to explain why you're the best person I know."

I smile. "Thanks, Andi."

The chime grabs our attention, and we look over to see Buffy and Jonah reentering The Spoon. They sit down, both with smiles etched into their faces. Buffy scoots her seat in toward the table a bit and turns her eyes ahead to Andi and I. 

"We're in a relationship," she says.

A/N: Hola. I know this is short, but I wanted to save the next part for the next chapter. I love y'all. Thank you for reading! Have a dandy night, and I'll see you in the next chapter.