Last Names | Tyrus/Muffy

Part 2

Buffy's POV

I use the gold-embroidered napkin to wipe up the water I just dripped on the table from my glass. This is my mom's favorite restaurant, though it's far too fancy for my liking. Glass lights dangle over our heads like stars falling from the sky. My mother looks through the steak section of the menu while I try to find a basic pasta to eat. 

"I can't believe my daughter is a basketball star," my mom comments. 

"It's middle school basketball," I remind her, "not the olympics."

"I'm still proud of you."

"Thanks," I say. 

I never thought she'd be this happy to see me play one of my games, especially considering we lost. I was clearly mistaken about how much of a proud mom she could be. 

"You got almost all of your team's points," Mom goes on.

"If I were still playing with TJ, I'd have to fight to even touch the ball," I say with a chuckle. "So I'm glad you came to this game instead of one of those."

"Oh, he can't be that bad," Mom insists. "It looked like he was cheering you on."

"He was only doing that because he's friends with Cyrus," I respond. "He doesn't actually care."

"Well, if he's as horrible as you say he is, why would Cyrus be friends with him?"

"Because Cyrus could look at a pile of ashes and insist that it's not burnt, just blackened." 

My mom laughs and looks back down at her menu, but I'm reminded of something I was curious about earlier. 

"Hey, do you know TJ's mom?" I ask. "I saw you look at her."

My mom seems surprised by the question and takes a few seconds to reply. 

"Yes, I thought she looked familiar," she says. "It turns out we went to high school together."

"Wow. Small world, I guess."

She puts on a grin, saying, "Yeah." 

Then she points to her menu and changes the subject.

"Wow, this looks yummy."

Obviously, there's something she's not telling me. She can lie to anyone easily, but she's always had a harder time lying to me. I decide to let it slide for now, tucking it away in my mind to bring up later. 

________________________________________

TJ's POV

Cyrus' hand keeps touching mine as we walk back to my house, and I'm not sure whether he means to do it or if he's even noticing it, but I'm struggling to pay attention to his words and not everything else about him. I've already studied his face, from the mole on his cheek to the soft slope of his nose, but I somehow can't stop staring. 

"I can't believe I get to finally see where you live," Cyrus says. "I can see if it's like what I pictured."

"Well, what did you picture?" I wonder. 

"You know Spongebob's house?"

"Yeah."

"That," he says.

"You thought I lived in a pineapple?" I ask with a laugh.

He shrugs and lets out a giggle. "I imagined it."

"Well, sorry," I say. "You're about to be disappointed."

"You could never disappoint me," he cuts in.