Classic.

ix.

It was ten in the morning.

TJ didn't pass out until four in the morning, his high had left him and he definitely smoked again before going to bed.

It was set. TJ liked being around someone and he didn't get too caught up in other thoughts when people were around.

Oddly enough TJ didn't actually have work this Saturday, which had been a bit depressing because whenever Cyrus planned on leaving, that was exactly when TJ would wallow in the silence of his large house.

He hated complaining, but couldn't his parents just downsize if they weren't even gonna be there?

"Wow I'm- this is weird, the after high type of thing," Cyrus said when he sat up.

TJ, half asleep on his bed while Cyrus rolled in the blanket TJ had put over him, spoke with a gruff voice. "Slumped," he called it.

"Slumped?" Cyrus questioned.

"Schlumped," TJ said, clicking his dry mouth and raised his eyebrows with his eyes closed.

"Weird, that's what you call that?"

TJ yawned, "Yes."

"Huh. Any other terms you'd like to enlighten me on?"

"Faded, dabbing, smacked, munchies, greens, bowl, haze, plug, ganja," he mumbled with his eyes closed.

"You're very educated on this stuff," Cyrus said and TJ hummed. "You know I could sleep all day."

"Mhm, yeah," TJ said sleepily.

"You don't seem that excited."

"I didn't exactly fall asleep at midnight like you did Cy."

"Well when did you?"

TJ yawned again, "Try four."

"Four?!"

TJ chuckled. "Gee, don't tell me you've never stayed up that late."

"Actually I haven't, I cannot make it past two for the life of me," Cyrus admitted.

"Huh," TJ scoffed and nodded, "lucky you."

"What do you mean?"

TJ groaned, "Cyrus how are you so loud?"

"Sorry, a blessing and a curse, I am a morning person."

"Shit," TJ rolled his eyes and tossed over in bed to sit up. "I'm fucking not and it's... 10:15 okay. Wake and bake it is," he said, dragging himself out of bed and towards the bong.

"You really go hard huh?"

"You have no business talking in slang," TJ said, loading the bowl once again.

"Says who?"

"Says me, you're like... supposed to be fucking softy or some shit."

"Sorry, but people don't fuck soft."

TJ grinned and couldn't help but laugh.

"Where did Cyrus go?" TJ asked.

"I don't know, go find him, I'm scared."

"My God Cy."

"My God Teej," Cyrus mimicked.

TJ pointed a finger at him, "You're not funny."

Cyrus smiled, "Whatever you say T. You've got an addiction."

Yeah and it's coming on rather strongly, it's... scary.

"What can I say? Numb is the way to truly live."

"If that's what you think, we should probably get you a new hobby."

We.

"It's lonely out here," TJ said, then tapped on his own temple, "too busy in here."

TJ broke the eye contact, it was killing him but Cyrus erupted in... silence. Why had that of all the things TJ had been hinting at make him go silent?

Did he get it? Understand? Feel that way, too?

No, Cyrus was a busy kid. Too many things around him to let him get stuck inside his own head like TJ did. Hell, he had a family that loved him.

Why was he being so rebellious? Because either way, the daringness of getting high behind his parents back, or the simpleness of being him and friendly? TJ was still going to be impressed and it didn't matter in whatever situation because Cyrus was way different from the clowns he had met on this cracked road of his.

Cyrus could be that tar in the cracks though, holding the earth together, but one way or another, the scars covered, they're still visible.

"Tar," TJ muttered, frowning to himself and blowing out smoke.

"What?" Cyrus asked.

"Nothing, just thinking."

"About tar?" Cyrus raised an eyebrow, almost like he was concerned, yet interested.

"You know, how they put it on the cracks in the road? Why do they do that? Is it supposed to be appealing or something? You can still see where the cracks were, no use in covering them up. Is it something to do with pot holes? Easier to make with cracks in the road? Why not wait until the next layer of asphalt is laid?"

"Jesus, are you already high?"

TJ sat back and shrugged and blew out his second hit. "I'm a lightweight, it's pretty convenient actually, but no. I was just thinking about that. Like just... why do it?"

"Well... it's like you said. They do it so the road will last longer. The cracks can get bigger which will cause the road to deteriorate even faster. They want it to last until the next paving rather than having it degrade and having to pave faster than it was scheduled to be redone. It's the stress that causes the cracks you know? They need a temporary fix."

"Temporary sounds stupid," TJ said, speaking his mind. "I want things to last. Why not make something so they wouldn't have to tar it up?"

Cyrus shrugged. "You can't fix something you don't know how to fix. If they had roads that didn't have be done until a decade had passed, the government would be thriving with the tax money they could put forward somewhere else."

"Well I hope the tax money would be going somewhere else, maybe not commons people, inflation and such." Cyrus shrugged again. "It's ass. Doctors get paid so much, but do the people teaching the doctors get payed anywhere near it?"

"Well actually... to be a professor or teacher for medical school, they have to be certified in whatever field they're teaching."

TJ shut his eyes tightly. "Right, right, you're right. I forget that sometimes. They can't just have some uneducated and inexperienced spaz teaching stuff like that."

"You're a spaz," Cyrus grinned. TJ lightly hit him on the shoulder.

"I'm no spaz, I play basketball yeah?"

"That doesn't make you less of a spaz."

"Well I don't exactly go around with big emotions either do I?"

Cyrus sighed. "You might just have more friends," he suggested.

"Well if they all turned out like you maybe I'd like to make more friends, but unfortunately it's me or them that's not good enough."

"So what? I must be in between?" Cyrus asked curiously.

"No, in this case... I'm afraid to say I'm not good enough."