You Were The Only One | Tyrus

13; Keep Yourself Alive

~Cyrus's POV~

We were in the final quarter of the boys basketball game. If they won, they'd move on to the playoffs. Buffy, Marty, Jonah, Andi, Amber, Walker, Kaitlin, and I sat together as we watched the whole game unfold. I peeled my eyes away from TJ to look to the scoreboard.

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"Come on! We need two more baskets to win!" I said. Jonah chuckled as he put his hand on my shoulder.

"I'm glad you've figured out basketball, Cy-Guy." He laughed.

"It's the least I could do considering four of my friends play the sport. Two of which being my best friends." I replied. I would've said one of them being my boyfriend, but I don't know what TJ and I are exactly.

"Should I go see Reed at the end?" I heard Kaitlin ask Buffy.

"Definitely." Buffy replied, her eyes fixated on the game.

"It's so obvious that he likes you." Marty chimed in as Kaitlin blushed.

Shockingly, both teams failed to score for a few minutes. As the clock continued to tick down, we began to lose hope. However, we did continue to keep cheering the team on.

Reed passed the ball to TJ while there were ten seconds left on the clock. TJ shot from, what I think, was the three point line. Before the buzzer rang, the ball went through the net.

They won!

The gymnasium was loud with cheers from the Grant High School crowd. I managed to fight my way down the bleachers. I was then in search for TJ. I saw Reed, so I went to him first.

"Congrats Reed!" I exclaimed.

"Thanks Cyrus!" He pulled me into a small hug as he looked into the crowd.

"Kaitlin said she wanted to find you after, so you'll find her soon." I smiled and his face lit up.

"That's... great." He smiled wider as he went to look for her.

I kept pushing through the celebrating mass of people for TJ. However, I managed to find someone that I wasn't looking for. Near the bleachers farthest from me, I saw the sinister figure of Lester.

I spun around on my heels before he could see me, and I darted for the nearest exit. I whipped my phone out to text my mom to come get me, but before I could do so, someone joined me in the hallway.

"Cy-Guy, are you alright?" The voice belonged to Jonah which was obvious from the nickname.

I gave myself a second to process his question. Was I alright?

My palms were sweating along with my face. My breathing seemed to grow faster and faster every second. My brain felt like a cluster, and I barley knew that I was in a hallway in that moment.

"Cyrus, what's wrong?" Jonah asked as he got closer to me.

I couldn't form any words. My breaths were getting sharper and sharper. I backed up and collapsed down the lockers behind me. I began to cry.

Jonah quickly rushed to my side and put his arm around me.

"Hey, it's alright Cyrus. I'm right here. This isn't going to last. Just breathe and listen to my voice. You're going to be okay. You're safe. Nothing is going to hurt you." He spoke softly as he rubbed my back.

All these years, we were each other's panic attack cures. He'd help me with mine and I'd help him with his. It's one of the reasons why we're such good friends.