chalk ; tyrus {completed}

chapter 19 - the storm (day 3)

It was around midnight when Cyrus' eyes fluttered open. He remained still for a few long moments, listening out for the noises that had woken him up in the first place. The sounds of zipping were unmistakable, and he knew then that TJ was leaving the tent.

He remained there while the boy stepped out, zipping the tent back up again, then he quickly sat upright. It took a few more moments for his eyes to adjust to the dark, but when he was confident that he could at least stand up without tripping over something, he wriggled out of his sleeping bag and slowly got to his feet.

Making an effort to dodge the clothes that were strewn across the floor of the tent, Cyrus slowly made his way to the entrance and unzipped it, cringing slightly at the noise.

"TJ?" he whispered once he had straightened again, lingering outside of the tent for a moment. His heart began to race slightly as he stepped forward, surveying the area for his friend.

The forest looked haunting now that it was pitch black, and it honestly took everything within him not to just run back inside. Instead - he remained there, trembling like a leaf. The campfire had long been put out, which meant that the surrounding logs were barely visible. There were angry grey storm clouds above him, and harsh wind was beginning to whip through his hair.

Just as he was contemplating turning back around, he felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist. His heart jumped, and he whirled around in alarm to find-

"TJ!" he whisper-yelled, staring at the athlete accusingly. "You can't just do that to someone!"

TJ smiled and dropped his arms, much to the other boy's disappointment. "Sorry." he whispered back, although Cyrus could tell he didn't mean it. He had scared him on multiple occasions before this one, always insisting that Cyrus' responses were 'too cute.'

"What are you even doing out here?"

"I realised that I left my hoodie by the campfire." TJ explained, holding it up.

Cyrus laughed slightly. "Of course."

Neither of them spoke for a moment.

"Lets go back inside." TJ murmured eventually, glancing up at the sky. "Looks like it's gonna rain soon."

As if to prove his point, light rain was beginning to fall, leaving splatters across both of their shirts. Cyrus had no intention of sticking around for the storm, so he gave the boy a quick nod.

There was something different about the way TJ was looking at him as they walked; something uninhibited. His stares blatantly seemed to linger, and his eyes were alight with a mischievous sort of confidence that made Cyrus want to grab his face and kiss him breathless.

Obviously - he refrained from doing this, but the thought was still very much there as they stepped inside the tent, TJ's hand lingering on the small of his back.

There was nothing furtive about the glances that TJ was throwing him now, and the very idea of that made his heart race. The athlete stepped around him, flicking on the small lantern they had hung from the roof.

The tent was illuminated by warm yellow light now, and Cyrus wasn't even pretending to hide his interest as TJ turned around to face him. Although the boy looked dishevelled at that moment with his tousled hair and his creased pyjama shirt, Cyrus had somehow never seen him look so perfect.

"Why'd you turn the light on?" he murmured, moving around TJ to sit down on his mattress.

The athlete hesitated for a moment before responding. "So I could see you."

"Why would you wanna see me if we're going to sleep?"

Cyrus' voice was teasing now, and TJ seemed to pick up on it if the smile on his lips was any indicator.