Because I Don't Have To

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Hey guys I fixed the Swing Scene 3.0! 👏🏻👏🏻

Please enjoy this short thing I wrote on a whim, while waiting for me to continue to try to motivate myself to finish the hanahaki au oneshot I've been writing on & off since April🤦🏼‍♀️ (besides that I also already have seven other ideas in drafts ranging from February to July😬)

•••

Stepping out of his house, TJ started to walk down the sidewalk. He was planning on going to Red Rooster to check if they had any new records to buy. Maybe he would head to The Spoon after and see if Cyrus was there. He was about halfway to his destination when suddenly he heard an irritatingly familiar voice call out to him.

"TJ!"

He turned to see Kira hurriedly crossing the street towards him. Just what he needed. Not. After subtly rolling his eyes, he stopped walking and put on a fake half-smile, greeting her as she caught up to him.

"Hey," he said, somewhat blandly.

She stopped in front of him, barely 3 feet away. And still, that was just a bit too close for comfort in his opinion. Well, at least she wasn't jumping on his back again like the other day. He tried to look on the positive side. That's what Cyrus would do, right?

"I was just heading over to the park to feed the ducks," she informed him. "Wanna come with?"

No, I would not; in fact, i'd prefer if I could just never see you again, but sadly that's not how it works with manipulative insolents, he thought to himself.

"Actually, I was on my way to Red Rooster," he tried.

"You mean that dingy building where they sell old records?" she asked with a smirk.

"No, I mean the store with new and old records that does open mic nights, and has a wide selection of music to buy," he refuted, apathetically.

She rolled her eyes, "sure, whatever, just come feed the ducks with me. Stop playing hard to get."

Who does she think- I've had enough of this girl.

"I'm not playing anything, I just wanted to buy some records," he mumbled before sighing. "Fine, let's just go."

With a self-satisfied smile, she grabbed his arm and pulled him in the direction of the park.

•••

On the way there, TJ felt his phone buzz in his pocket, so he took it out as they walked.

It was a text from Cyrus.

~~~

Underdog :)
Buffy, Jonah, Andi and I found a
bunch of new clothes thrown out
by a clothing company who
couldn't sell them. We're putting
on a free sidewalk sale.

Underdog :)
I found this cool shirt among all
the stuff, what do you think? Do
you want it?
{Attachment: 1 Image}

TJ
👍

Underdog :)
You should come by the sale, it's
amazing!

TJ
I'm at the park

~~~

"Who are you texting?" Kira suddenly asked as he sent the last message.

"Uh, nobody, sorry," TJ lied as he shoved his phone back into his pocket.

He already knew Kira didn't like Cyrus, and he definitely did not want to make this situation worse than it was. Another thing was that she could use it to bring up her blackmail from costume day again, which he didn't want to think about.

Instead, he tried to deflect the conversation by pointing over to the pond, reminding her of why they were there in the first place.

"Let's go feed the ducks," he said, not noticing what they were currently walking towards.

"Let's do that first," she motioned to the swing set in front of them.

Upon looking at where she was pointing, TJ furrowed his brows and questioned, "I thought you wanted to feed the ducks?"

"I'm allowed to change my mind," she flirted, nudging his chest with her shoulder. Gross. "Come on, it'll be fun."

As she jogged over to the far swing (where Cyrus would be, he thought), TJ let out a forced breathy laugh and said, "um, I'm not five."

He slowly got closer, dreading her next words.

"It's been so long, you forget how much fun it is to swing. It's like flying!" she told him, as she started to pump her legs, swinging higher. "I wonder if you could get this high."

He looked away. "Pfft, I'd be way higher."

"I guess we'll never know," she remarked.

TJ struggled, fighting with himself in his head, before finally coming to a decision.

"That's right," he spoke, flatly, looking directly at her.

"Excuse me?" She stopped swinging, putting her feet to the ground.

"We won't ever know, because I'm not going on the swing with you."

"And why not?"

"Because I don't have to. I'm done."

"What do you mean you're done?" she glared.

"I'm not gonna just follow you around and do whatever you want," he asserted. "I'm leaving."

As he stepped back to turn and go, Kira questioned cynically, "where are you going?"

"Free clothes," he shrugged, simply.

She laughed, cuttingly. "You can't afford to buy clothes?"

"For your information, I can, but I'm not going to turn down free ones of good quality," he stated in a matter-of-fact way.

"I'll pass," she said, after scoffing.

"Suit yourself!" he told her, turning around and walking off. Not like you were even invited, he thought.

Once he was a fair distance away from the swing set, he pulled out his phone and texted Cyrus.

•••

Cyrus was halfway to the park when his phone buzzed. He checked it and saw TJ had messaged him again.

~~~

Teej
I'm on my way to the sale

Cyrus
Oh, okay, see you there :D

~~~

Minor inconvenience, he thought. But at least he agreed to come!

Turning around, he headed back the way he came, looking forward to seeing TJ again. Hopefully Kira wouldn't interrupt them again like the other day.

•••

Hey, I hope you enjoyed that. And I will try to motivate myself to finish that AU I mentioned. But I can't promise it will be really soon, unfortunately. Hope everyone is doing okay in quarantine! Have a great day/night, and take care of yourself.

'Til next time,
Amber

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