Last Names | Tyrus/Muffy

Part 12

TJ's POV

I wake up feeling confused. I'm positive I just had the strangest dream. It couldn't have been real. There's no way Buffy's my half-sister. But then was everything with Cyrus just a dream too? Did he never kiss me in the drizzle a fountain? That seems more likely than the too-good-to-be-true idea that it could've actually happened. 

Right when I've settled with the belief that everything was a dream, I open my eyes and I realize I really am in Buffy's house, and she really is my half-sister, and Cyrus really did kiss me. I roll out of bed and plant my feet on the carpet. It's much fluffier than the carpet at my house, which suggests that it must be much newer than mine. 

I slump down the hall to the washroom where I steal Buffy's toothpaste again to brush my teeth. Once finished in there, I trudge down the stairs like a brick thudding down each step. Sunlight filtering through the curtains hits my feet, and I wonder how different mornings here will be from mornings at my house. The second I turn into the kitchen and smell pancakes cooking, I realize that mornings will be very different. 

"Good morning," Pat says. "Did you sleep okay?"

I nod and go over to the island to stack three blueberry pancakes onto a plate. I sit down at the table, and Buffy is already there, finishing her last few bites of breakfast. 

"You wake up late," Buffy comments, a smirk paired along. 

"You wake up early," I counter.

"It's eleven o'clock," Buffy informs me. 

"It's Sunday," I reason. 

Buffy chuckles to herself and shakes her head. Pat seems both pleased and confused by this new banter we have going on between us. She stares at us from the island, distracted enough to nearly let one of the pancakes on the pan burn, but she notices the simmering smell in time to flip it. 

"No fighting?" Pat questions. "This is new."

Buffy shoots her mom a sharp look, responding, "I'm just doing what you said: being the bigger person."

"Whatever works," Pat says with a shrug. "Do either of you have any plans for today?"

"I do in the evening," Buffy replies. "I'm meeting up with a . . . friend."

I know who she's referring to, but I pretend not to be affected by it. I thought Buffy was smarter than to get caught up in Colton's charm, but I guess, when it comes down to it, she is ultimately just another girl, and few of them can seem to see past his pretty face and alluring smile. 

"That's nice," Pat says. "What about you, TJ?"

"Oh, I'm doing something in the afternoon. I'm going out with . . ." I debate what to call him, but I figure, since nothing's been made official yet, I should stick to the safe word: "friend." 

Buffy's eyes flick up to me, suddenly far more interested, but I just try to continue eating my pancakes. 

"Cyrus?" Buffy asks quietly.

I nod. "We're going to see a movie."

"In the middle of the day?" Buffy questions, but then she understands. "Oh, right, Cyrus."

"He says theatres are too crowded at night," I say. 

"I know," Buffy responds with a laugh. "He refuses to ever go to any movie that starts after 4:00 pm."

"I don't mind," I say. 

"What movie are you seeing?" 

"The Lion King. It was Cyrus' pick," I say.