One Big Cliche [A Tyrus Fanfic]

Chapter Six: My Real Friends

{Warning: Suggestive Themes}

T J

My alarm woke me up. It shrieked at me to get up while I groaned and tried to ignore it. After about thirty more seconds of it still blaring right next to me, I finally got up with a huff. I turned it off and climbed out of bed. I yawned and scratched my head as I went downstairs.

I went straight to the fridge and grabbed the carton of orange juice. Popping off the lid, I took a swig of it.

"Tj, that's disgusting," Amber grimaced from the kitchen table.

I just wiped my mouth and put the lid back on, giving her a smug grin. She rolled her eyes. "Why are you dressed so early? The bus doesn't come for another half an hour, and that's if the bus driver shows up on time," I said. The bus driver always had a habit of showing up late.

Amber sighed. "Mom is taking me to another one of those fancy places where they teach girls to act all 'lady-like.' The stuff they do there is ridiculous! It's so boring and stupid," She groaned, putting her head in her hands. I sighed, knowing full well how awful those classes could be.

Our parents were your ordinary snobby rich people. They wanted every little thing to be perfect, and even if it were slightly imperfect, they'd try to change it until it was. Nothing I nor Amber did was ever good enough for them. In fact, for the 16, going on 17 years I've been alive, I've never heard them say the words 'I'm proud of you.' It's always 'You could do so much better if you did this' or 'What a shame if only you did that.' That was just the tip of the iceberg. They would always set Amber and me up on dates with their snobby rich friends' kids. It was always painfully awkward for both parties. I always told them it would never work out due to the lack of connection, but I knew the real reason.

I could never tell them the real reason. In fact, no one could know. Well, besides Reed and Amber. Speaking of Amber. "Why are you looking at me like that?" I caught her staring at me with a quizzical look.

"You're so deep in thought. Is this about the guy you were with yesterday?" She gave me a smirk, and I rolled my eyes, ignoring the fact that my face was growing hotter.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said, turning not to meet her gaze.

"Aww, my little bro has a cruuuuush," She teased, making my face grow even hotter.

"No, I don't; shut up. Whatever, I'm going to go shower," I quickly left the table and ran up the stairs. I didn't like Cyrus. Correction: I couldn't like Cyrus even if I wanted to. If I did, my reputation would be ruined. I'd be the laughingstock of the school, and my parents would disown me on sight.

But I couldn't help myself. Cyrus was just so... adorable. His doey, brown eyes that I could stare at for hours. His bright smile that warmed up my heart. It was so rare to see, and that made it all the more heartwarming. And his lips, his soft lips that I just wanted to kiss. 

"Oh, geez. I'm such a creep," I said to myself, realizing all my daydreaming led to a physical issue downstairs. I shook my head, deciding to take a cold shower to cool myself off and rid myself of these thoughts before they got worse.

The first bell rang, signaling the start of the passing period before first period.  I was at my locker, taking stuff out for said period, when I felt someone tap my shoulder. It was Kira. Great. "Hey, Kira," I said with a slightly forced smile.

"Hey, Teej. So are you going on the camping trip?" I grimaced at that nickname. I hated it when she called me that. The camping trip was a week away, and it was all everyone kept talking about. Honestly, it wasn't all that fun. Everyone just wanted to sneak away to some quiet corner in the woods to make out or something.

"I don't know, it doesn't sound all that interesting," I shrugged. She pouted and walked with me when I tried to walk away.

"Well, I think you should consider going. I think you'd have a lot of fun," She said with a suggestive look. I looked around for any excuse out of this conversation. I looked down the hall to see Cyrus. His back was against a locker while two guys were snickering at him.

"Yeah, sure, whatever," I said, ignoring her calling my name, my mindset on what was in front of me. "Hey! What are you guys doing?" I reached the three of them, and their eyes fell on me. Cyrus gave me a pleading look while the two other guys, Adam and Nico, I think, gave me amused looks.

"We were welcoming the newbie to the school, is all. You should join us," Adam suggested.

I looked at Cyrus, and he stared at me, his eyes filled with fear and sadness. I shook my head. "Knock it off, guys, or I'll have a little chat with Coach about this," I warned them. They looked confused.

"Aw, come on, Tj, don't be such a buzzkill. Since when do you pass up the chance to mess with a new kid?" Nico asked.

"Yeah. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're protecting him like he's your boyfriend or something. I didn't take you as a qu-" My fist slammed into the nearby locker, shutting them both up.

"I said. Back. Off," I growled, making them raise their hands in surrender and running off.  MY heavy breathing calmed as I turned to Cyrus, who was looking down at the ground, slightly shaking. I kneeled to his level, sitting beside him.

"You didn't have to do that," I heard him say. I turned to look at him. He was crying, tears slowly sliding down his cheek. It hurt seeing him like this.

I swallowed, not knowing what to say. "I know, but I wanted to. I hate seeing people picked on," I told him.

He shook his head. "You're popular. You guys always pick on guys like me. They even said you're not one to miss a chance to pick on the new kid."

I sighed. "I never really have a choice. I always take it easy because I hate going along with it," I explained.

He turned to look at me. "But you do have a choice. You could just not go along with it. Like you did now. Why should this one time be different?" He asked, looking away.

I didn't know how to answer that question. "Because you're my friend, and I don't like seeing my friends hurt," I told him seriously.

"Aren't those two of your friends?" His eyes met mine again.

I gulped again. "My real friends," I said softly. We stayed like this for a few seconds, staring at each other intently. The hallway had emptied, most likely since everyone was in class, so it was just us. It was perfect. He was perfect.

I felt myself involuntarily looking from his eyes down to his lips and back to his eyes. Losing all self-control, I leaned forward. I licked my lips as my face drew closer to his. He began to lean forward, as well. His face was red as he chewed his lip.

"Don't do that," I said huskily, making him gulp. Our lips almost came together when...

RIIIIINNNNGGGGGGGG

We jumped apart as the tardy bell rang. I stood up quickly, shaking my head and the thoughts of what I had almost done. "I uh gotta get to class," I said quickly and speed-walked down the hallway. Why did I do that? I could've ruined everything just because I couldn't control myself.

I shook my head, thinking about how I had almost kissed Cyrus Goodman. The panic had left my system as a giddy grin found its' way on my face as I thought about it again. 

I almost kissed Cyrus Goodman. And he almost kissed me back.

And that's the chapter. This is the third week in a row of me updating this story, and I'm honestly so proud of myself. I feel my motivation and desire to write slowly coming back to me, and it feels so incredible to be able to write and regularly update again. I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far because I'm having a great time writing. I'm actually already working on the next chapter so expect it either later today or tomorrow. Until then, byeee

~Ash