TJ's Playlist | Tyrus

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes

They asked me how I knew my true love was true   

I of course replied "something here inside cannot be denied"

TJ thought he could feel Cyrus' heart hammer against him as he rested his chin on top of the short boy, but he painted himself lucky as it was. It was a blissful five seconds. TJ didn't know why he pulled Cyrus in for that hug, but it felt right. Cyrus had done so much for him already. "Thank you," TJ mumbled into Cyrus' hair before pulling away. It became ridiculously hard to make eye contact, so he quickly turned towards the door.

"Yeah," Cyrus whispered behind him, "that's what friends are for." The word friend bit into TJ's throat, but he knew it was the truth. "I'll come directly to Mrs. Pierson's classroom after school, okay?" TJ knew there was no arguing with Cyrus, so he muttered another thanks before they exited the restroom and went back to class. When TJ walked in, nobody stared at him. He was starting to be glad that other people still found him scary. Jonah Beck was the only one who made eye contact with him, and he gave TJ a small nod and smile. TJ just gave a small nod back before sitting back at his desk. Mrs. Pierson immediately continued the lesson as if nothing had happened, and TJ was appreciated of a math teacher for once.

The rest of the day dragged for TJ. He didn't know if time was moving slow on purpose, and if it was because he just wanted to see Cyrus after school. He knew it'd mostly be a one on one with Mrs. Pierson, but he felt a lot better knowing that Cyrus would be there with him.

When 3PM came, TJ walked into the math class where Cyrus and their teacher were already talking. They were laughing about something until they heard the door click. Mrs. Pierson smiled at him and said, "Hi, TJ. I'm really glad you decided to come." TJ didn't say anything and just went towards her and Cyrus. He took a seat next to Cyrus in the desks in from of Mrs. Pierson and noticed there were already papers set out. "Cyrus agreed to help me tutor you," Mrs. Pierson told him, causing TJ to quickly turn to look at Cyrus. "He's really good with the subject, and I think he's the perfect one to help you out." Cyrus gave a TJ a toothy grin that made TJ smile and shake his head.

For the next hour, Cyrus and TJ went through problems, over and over again. They didn't get really far in going over the test, but by the end of it, TJ was able to do five of the problems without any help. He had gotten four of those wrong on the test. Cyrus was extremely happy to be able to help out, even if Mrs. Pierson did a lot of the work. TJ was also a lot more comfortable. Something about having a friend help out made everything less stressful and embarrassing.

"Okay, TJ," Mrs. Pierson told him at four, "a lot of the practice you have to do will have to be at home. I'm not asking for hours every day. At least give yourself half an hour or forty minutes, and if you can't figure something out, you have to ask. Got it?" TJ simply nodded at her, but she still smiled. "You have dyscalculia, correct?" TJ looked over at Cyrus who gave him a reassuring smile before nodding at her. "It's fine, TJ. I'm here to help."

-

TJ and Cyrus were walking home in silence, bird songs filling the air along with the occasional crow screaming. "How do you feel about the tutoring?" Cyrus asked him. "Do you feel okay with me being there?"

"It's perfect," TJ told him. "I think I feel a lot better having a friend there, you know?"

"I get you," Cyrus said back, "I'm glad you don't feel like I'm intruding."

"You aren't," TJ shook his head, "trust."

"Good," Cyrus said. "What days do you work?"

"Saturdays, Mondays, Wednesday, and Thursdays right now since there's no basketball. When the season starts, I'm going to work around practices and games if I have to."