TJ's Playlist | Tyrus

Nobody's Baby

Monday at school, TJ got dropped off by his dad before he headed off to work. They had all sat down at dinner on Sunday and agreed to stay in Shadyside. It'd be much better if his dad just commuted. TJ felt a tiny tinge of disappointment. He wouldn't have had minded the move.

He couldn't help but feel a little more alone. He knew why, but he wasn't going to text Cyrus as much as Amber nagged him to do it. He still had all his basketball buddies, but he didn't talk to them like he talked to Cyrus on some nights. It wasn't the same thing.

TJ started wondering if he was exaggerating, but he decided it would be better to just not think about Cyrus and avoid him at all costs. Cyrus was the confrontational one, and if he wanted to go and apologize eventually, he could. TJ wouldn't back off, but he wouldn't approach Cyrus.

TJ felt weird going to tutoring after school, knowing that Cyrus wasn't telling Mrs. Pierson some silly joke as he walked in. TJ was biting his tongue as he walked towards the classroom, hoping Mrs. Pierson wouldn't bring anything up. He had hoped she took a hint when him and Cyrus didn't pair up that day during class as usual. Cyrus was partners with Jonah for once, and it honestly bugged TJ. But he didn't even want to look at Cyrus, so he tried to play it off like he didn't care. He ended up with one of the girls that messaged him occasionally about The Giver. Her name was Lizzy Larson, and she was beautiful. But TJ was in no sense attracted to her like he was attracted to other boys. He kind of regretted not sitting with Gabriel Parks. That would've really riled Cyrus up.

TJ opened the door, and his eyes immediately went to the desk where Cyrus would always sit. He wasn't there. Instead, next to Mrs. Pierson was this older lady he had never seen. Mrs. Pierson stood up and motioned TJ to go over with a swift motion of her hands.

"TJ," she smiled, "come here. Meet Mrs. Luo. She'll be your tutor from now on except on Wednesday's and Friday's." TJ forced a friendly smile to Mrs. Luo who also looked like she hated her life with the grim expression she wore on her face. Mrs. Pierson looked around, "No Cyrus today? Is something wrong?" TJ hated that she skipped right to that question.

"Everything is fine," TJ lied. He didn't really feel like gossiping with Mrs. Pierson. Mrs. Pierson raised an eyebrow, and he had a feeling that if Mrs. Luo wasn't there, she would've pressed it. He decided he liked Mrs. Luo.

-

He loved Mrs. Luo. When TJ walked out of the classroom, he definitely felt a lot better about math. She assigned him some extra things to do, but he didn't mind. If his grade was good enough for him to stay on the basketball team, it was great for him. TJ walked out of the classroom after an hour like always, and he felt how cold the empty spot next to him was now that Cyrus wasn't walking next to him. He shook off the thought and looked up from his shoes as he continued to walk the halls. There wasn't a lot of people, just some kids in clubs and Fall sports. Then he caught Cyrus' eyes.

Cyrus was leaning against his own locker, almost as if he were waiting for TJ to walked by. TJ guessed he just wanted to see if he went to tutoring again. TJ stopped in his tracks and looked at Cyrus, not letting a single muscle on his face twitch. Unlike him, Cyrus' face was painted in a clear frown. TJ didn't want anything to do with him, so he looked away and kept walking. He walked past Cyrus, feeling his brown eyes follow every step he took.

Cyrus didn't say anything to stop him, so he didn't.

-

Cyrus waited at a booth at The Spoon until the rest of them arrived. He had his earbuds on, and he was looking out the window. He stared at one couple for a little too long as they walked by, hand in hand. One of TJ's playlist was playing, and it happened to be full of love songs. Cyrus wondered how many of those love songs applied to the couple he was watching. Cyrus was almost scared that TJ would make the playlists private. He had so much music on them it was impossible to go through every song in a few days. He tended to add a few new songs every morning, but he hadn't added any since Saturday night.