Moonbow | Tyrus

Eleven

Cyrus's POV

TJ opens the front door of his house, and I step on in with a smile on my face and no invitation to come inside. Of course, TJ doesn't mind at all. He already texted me last night to tell me how he came out to his parents, which I'm incredibly proud of him for, but he also said that there was something else I needed to see.

"Okay," I say. "What did you want to show me?"

He grins and takes my hand, leading me up the stairs to his bedroom. When he stops and spins me around, my jaw drops into a huge smile. The six stripes of the rainbow flag have taken over his wall with their gayness. 

"Oh my gosh," I say. "I love it so much."

"Thanks," he says. "I spent all day yesterday on it."

"A day well-spent," I add. 

He smiles and squeezes my hand a little before moving on, saying, "Should we get going? We don't want to be late for the clothing swap."

"Yes," I answer. "I don't have any clothes to give, though. I only brought, like, ten shirts to my dad's, so I can't really get rid of any."

"That's okay," he responds. "I have a ton of stuff to give, and Amber gave me a ton of her clothes too."

"Good."

He starts out of his room, and I come along with him. At the bottom of the stairs, there's an unexpected stop in our path when TJ's mother enters from the living room. Her eyes brighten at the sight of me, and she looks back and forth between me and her son. 

"TJ, who is this?" she asks politely. 

"Uh, this is Cyrus," he replies. "He's my boyfriend."

His mom takes a second to let that settle in before she smiles and says, "It's great to meet you, Cyrus. I'm TJ's mom, but you can just call me Heather."

His mom is so nice. I glance over to TJ with a beaming smile before returning my sight to his mom. 

"It's nice to meet you too," I say. 

"Well, we're gonna head out now, so I'll be back later," TJ says. 

"Okay," his mom responds. "Be safe."

TJ thanks his mom and opens the door for me, gesturing for me to go first. I catch a glimpse of Heather's smile and big eyes as if she's looking at something as adorable as a baby's first walk. I have a smile of my own, knowing TJ and I definitely deserve that reaction from her.

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TJ's POV

The clothing swap is held at the central library in one of the rooms that the public can book for meetings and events. The glass walls make the activity inside visible from the outside, which draws in more people. Tables of clothing are set up, and about twenty or so people buzz around them, rummaging through the display. 

As Cyrus and I walk in, Leilani comes over to greet us. 

"Hey," she says. 

"Hey," I reply. "There are a more people here than I thought there'd be."

"I know," she agrees. "I definitely thought this would be a flop."

"Well, it turned out great. I'll go lay my stuff out."

Cyrus helps me neatly place all of the clothing we brought onto the tables, although the stuff already on it is kind of a tangled mess due to all the hands that have been poking through. Once we're done, I go back to Leilani, but she doesn't stay long, for she spots something else.