TJ's Playlist | Tyrus

Easy Living

"I might be," Cyrus answered, leaning all the way back into his locker at the boys all gave each other glances, Cyrus' fist clutching tighter on his hall pass.

"For sure you're Cyrus?" one of the boys asked, making Cyrus raise an eyebrow.

"I just said, yes, do you need to see my birth certificate? Passport? Fun card to Avalanche Arcade? I carry all types of identification on me" Cyrus asked him, causing some of the boys to erupt with laughter. He just wanted to get to class.

"You actually have those on you?" the same boy asked. "Can I see them?"

"Sam," a boy put his hand on his shoulder, "it's him."

"Hey, you never know," Sam shrugged, "anyone would be lucky to be TJ's boyfriend." Sam looked at Cyrus who was starting to get a small smile on his lips, feeling safe that they wouldn't beat him to pulp. "You're his boyfriend, right?" Cyrus nodded, all the boys suddenly erupting in loud cheering.

"Aye, I told you guys we'd find him A-S-A-P," a boy Cyrus recognized by the name of Gustavo told them with a huge grin. Cyrus was so confused, and suddenly, he didn't want to get to math anymore. He was realizing something, and it was starting to hit him like the weight of bricks.

People knew.

"Wait, wait, wait," Cyrus got them all to shut up immediately, "how do you guys know?"

They all looked at each other momentarily before Sam raised his hand low and said, "Someone-"

"Me and Jordon," Gustavo interrupted.

"Gustavo and Jordon," Sam rolled his eyes, "saw you guys holding hands at the movie theatre, and we all asked him before school started today. He told us you were, how do I quote him, 'his boy', but somehow, he said heart emojis out loud."

"He's hella whipped for you, dude," another boy said. "He talked about you for like five minutes straight." Cyrus began smiling, puzzle pieces starting to come together as he realized that the basketball team wouldn't give TJ a tough time.

"We just wanted to ask you to take care of him, okay?" Gustavo patted the side of Cyrus arm real fast, all the other boys coming up to him afterwards to give him a fist bump or another shake of the shoulder, murmuring yeah dude's and take care of him's. All the boys started dispersing in different directions, making Cyrus remember that he still had to go to class.

If the basketball team, knows, other people know.

Cyrus thought that to himself as he barely reached his class a minute after the bell. He gave Mrs. Pierson the note at her desk before heading to sit his own, the class stiff silent.

They all know.

Cyrus turned to look at Jonah who was quietly tapping a beat on the desk as usual. He didn't greet him like he usually did.

Jonah knows. Which means

Cyrus gasped, a few heads turning to him, including Jonah who quietly asked him, "Are you okay, Cyrus?"

Cyrus rubbed the heat on his face and said, "Yeah. Can we talk after class, though?"

"Is it what I think it's about?"

"TJ?" Cyrus whispered. Jonah simply nodded and gave him a friendly thumbs up. Cyrus sighed and started reaching for his notebook and pencils.

Andi and Buffy know. It wasn't me that told them.

-

Realizing they no longer had to hide anything, Cyrus immediately went to TJ at the end of class, Jonah trailing behind. Cyrus quickly ignored the fact that he had his ex-crush and boyfriend with him at the same time, saving that giggling fact for some other day.