#ajjknnk

[abnormalpsychology]

The Bully (the thrilling conclusion)

[aHhHhHhhHhhHh] [im deceased and I’m scheduling these posts] [imagine the anxiety when I post them] [its 11:30 my phone is on 5% and I haven’t done my homework yet] [TYRUS HAS DESTROYED MY LIFE THANKS JOSHUA]

The kind lady had explained to T.J. what had happened and led him away. Buffy was there now, sitting next to Cyrus on the park bench. Someone had given him a water bottle. Everyone had been kind and understanding.

“Happens to the best of us, kid,” the lady had said, grinning, although not unkindly.

“Thanks,” he’d mumbled, closing his mouth.

“What the hell happened?” Buffy asked for what was probably the twentieth time.

“I told you, nothing happened, Buff. I just... fell off the swings like the clumsy idiot I am.”

“You couldn’t hang on to the swings? You really expect me to believe that?” She crosses her arms, and huffed quietly. “You don’t have to lie about it.”

“I’m sorry, I—“

“I know, you didn’t want me to get mad. It’s fine, Cyrus. We don’t pick our… soulmates. Although I’d like to think that maybe the universe made a mistake this time.”

“Because… he has weird hair?”

“Because it’s T.J.!” Buffy shouted, then threw her head into her hands and groaned for a long time. “My mortal enemy! The bane of my existence! Your future husband!”

“Oh.” That was certainly… a thought.

“I don’t care who you like, Cyrus. I’m happy as long as you’re happy. This… this will just take me a little while. But I will… think about it. And try very hard to be happy for you.”

“I’m sorry for lying.”

“Yeah, you should be. But I get it. I can be difficult.”

“Understatement of the century.”

“Oh, shut up! Just because you hit a life milestone doesn’t mean you get an automatic noogie pass, Goodman!”

“I…”

He gulped, tears returning quick to his eyes as he stared at Buffy. Gently, like a person handling a baby animal, she took his shaking hand.

“Hey. What’s wrong?”

“I’m going to have to talk to him. He’ll… he’s gonna think I’m a lame little nerd! He’ll never like me. This is really bad timing; I just got used to the whole Jonah thing, and now—“

He went quiet. She smiled reassuringly in that way that always made Cyrus want to cry from how good a friend she was.

“Cyrus. Again. Because you seem to keep needing to hear this— you’ve always been weird, but you’re no different. And I won’t treat you that way because of T.J. Maybe you’re right, about… about soulmates getting better. About changing. One thing I know for sure? This day is going to pass, and it’ll all be okay.”

He smiled tearfully and hugged his best friend as hard as he could, not wanting to let go.

“I love you.”

“Awww, stop being all mushy on me,” she laughed. “It’s what any friend would do.”

“Also that was two things.”

“Stop ruining your moment... I love you too.”

They stayed like that for a while, both processing everything that had just occurred. Cyrus was okay. If he had Andi and Buffy to get him through this, it was going to be okay. He had a whole future ahead of him. It was inevitable, yes, but it was also all going to be just fine. He was going to be so happy.

“Thanks, Buff,” he said, pulling away. “I think I have some explaining I have to do.”

“You aren’t the only one,” Buffy sighed, looking past over his shoulder to the park.

And there was T.J., sitting alone on the bench opposite the playground, keeping the same cautious distance he’d held at the beginning. The smile was gone. Cyrus and Buffy watched him for a second, thinking about how differently they both saw the same kid. How different he must feel, too.

“I’m gonna tell I’m secretly Spider-Man,” Cyrus whispered, breaking the tense silence. “That’s why I glow; the radiation. Not because we’re destined to be together or anything.”

Buffy broke off her laughter to shoot him a toothy grin. “I’ll kill that boy if he messes with you.”

“I thought you already had plans to kill off T.J.”

“That would be why this right here is so difficult, yep. Exactly that.”

He smiled. “He really isn’t so bad. You should sing him the Swing Song. That’s how he ended up touching me— an underdog.”

“But you hate heights?”

“But… T.J. doesn’t. I was trying something. He made feel a little less afraid.”

Buffy stared at him.

“What?”

“You’ve just… never said that before.”

“Because I never tried.” Cyrus shrugged.

“Hmm.”

“Yeah.”

“Go get him, then.”

“Buffy!” His face promptly turned into a raspberry. “Stop that!”

She smiled as she got up from the bench. “Text me if he tries anything shifty. I love you, C.G.”

“What, so I tell you a secret and get a cool nickname now?”

“Nope, just this once. It’s a special occasion. Your parents are gonna throw a party.”

“Ugh,” he groaned. They probably were going to make a huge fuss when he told all four of them, which is why most kids didn’t tell their parents when their marks glowed. That was a decision he didn’t want to consider right now. “Bye, Slayer. Thank you.”

“Anytime.”

She disappeared down the path, past the swingset, heading in the direction of the Spoon. Now Cyrus had another fun conversation he had to have, he thought as he proceeded in the opposite direction.

“Hey.”

T.J. looked up, eyes wide and expression of concern stretched across his face. The kind woman must have not told him everything— he still seemed to think he was injured terribly. This was going to be fun.

“Cyrus, hi. You okay?”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m totally fine. Actually, I know why that whole weird thing happened over there. I’m not actually hurt.”

“Oh, good. I… I thought I might have done something on accident there for a little bit.” He smiled faintly. “You scared me, Underdog.”

“Two nicknames in one day, wow,” Cyrus muttered to himself. “You really get some cool stuff when you meet your soulm—“

OH NO.

HE’D SAID IT.

And now T.J. was watching him frantically try to stammer his way out, to take back the words not at all presented in the careful, all-feelings-considered manner he was going to say them with. It had all gone wrong.

“I’m so sorry.”

“No, no, no! It’s okay! It’s fine! I knew already!”

“What?”

“W-when you, uh, fell and I was trying to keep you from dying or whatever, that was kinda stupid of me—“

“Keeping me from dying is not a stupid thing, T.J.!” Cyrus laughed. “I would much prefer that to the alternative!”

“Well, um. Not. Sorry then.”

“It’s fine, you don’t need to apologize for anything.”

They stared at each other for a second, both shell-shocked by all of the weird bonding rituals they’d been forced through today. If anyone had told Cyrus that this was how his day was going to go, he would have never believed it.

“Just when… you pushed me off, because you were fine—“

“I’m sorry—“

“No, no, you’re-you’re good. You just touched my hand… and it lit up too.”

“Oh.” They both looked at the intricately lined handprint on T.J.’s palm, now thankfully just tinted darker then normal skin instead of the bright, toxic-waste color the glowing had been earlier. It really wasn’t that bad, actually— it was a green that reminded Cyrus of tea, plants, and calm things. It reminded him of relief from worries, moments when he felt like things really weren’t so bad. Moments like now.

“So, yeah. I didn’t know I was gay, actually,” T.J. told him, rubbing his neck. “I… just thought I’d eventually like girls. Like a phase… that had lasted my whole childhood and life. But it never happened. I guess it never will.”

“Wow.”

“Wow.”

“I actually have a crush on another guy,” Cyrus blurted, scratching his neck nervously. “I know that’s probably awful to say right now, but I do.”

“That’s not a problem, Cyrus.”

“Really?”

“Nah, no way. I’m not gonna, like, propose on the first day we meet.” T.J. laughed, face red. “This is so weird. Not you, just… all this.”

“I can definitely get how finding out this way would be weird.”

“I hope you don’t�� hate me now.”

“Why would I hate you?”

“Well, there’s Buffy and I’s whole thing. And then this on top of it? Not exactly a recipe for the best friendship.”

“True,” Cyrus said, nodding professionally. “But don’t forget that you got me a muffin. Don’t underestimate the muffin, T.J.”

The two boys smiled at one another, the bully and the nerd. Soulmates. Swinging buddies. Friends.

Maybe this was a terrible way to meet. Maybe it was the most uncomfortable way ever. But, sitting there, something profound and epiphany-like occurred to Cyrus Goldman for the first time in his life; maybe the Universe knew what it was doing.