#also it cuts off kinda randomly because i literally ran out of good clips to use

[late2000shistoricalreenactment]

✨️They're best friends✨️

Song: best friend by saweetie and doja cat.

[hxt1b]

A Boy Like Him

Jeno x Reader

Requested Prompt 13 Pretend Girlfriend for  @deepangelchaos

Genre: Fluff, maybe a little angsty  

WC: 2.8k

Warning: Swearing, Mental Health (y/n has a panic attack)  

Masterlist 

Prompt List, for any requests anyone may have. 

There were many moments in a day you wondered 'what the fuck is my life?' Many times you'd look in the mirror and it would be hard for you to remember what your life use to be like. The past four months had been a fast blur of media, paparazzi and fake public cuddles. You weren't made for this shit but somehow you literally drew the short stick. 

"You want us to what?" Aera asked looking at your manager shocked. You could tell your best friend was not pleased by what you'd just been told. Sena also grumbled from your left. 

"It's only a year." He said looking at the three of you expectantly, "only one of you has to do it and its exposure. Come on." He wasn't selling it very well. You sighed. 

"Why us?" Sena asked. 

"I don't know they just asked us." He replied. 

"Why now?" Aera asked. Your manager shrugged again. 

"Look it'll be good for your YouTube careers, that's a lot of people who will want to know who you are and they'll watch you. A lot of new fans!" He said. 

"A lot of fucking hate too." You said glaring at him. 

"Good comes with the bad." He said. You sighed weighing his options. 

"Just think about it." 

So the three of you thought about it, in the end, he was right. You could steadily grow your YouTube channel, you already were, but this would make it a lot faster, and it couldn't really hurt could it?

"Are you ready?" Jeno asked snapping you out of your thoughts. You nodded closing your laptop lid and standing up. 

Sena fluttered out of the other room, her energy high not matched by anyone else in the room. Aera followed her hands tucked into her pocket. One glance towards Jeno and she had a scowl growing on her face.  

You laughed awkwardly getting in between her and Jeno. You realized that you were the reason for the anger directed at the boy however that didn't make the situation any less awkward in your head. 

"Let's film?" Sena said clapping her hands. Jeno nodded not saying anything and let you and your friends lead the way to your filming studio. 

You watched as Jeno walked up to the two seats set up for you both and sat down next to you. Sena slipped behind the camera, and Aera took a seat next to a table with a laptop on it off-camera. 

"Okay rolling in 3, 2…" Sena pointed at you. 

"Hello, my dudes." You started clapping lightly getting the attention of every mic in the room and the viewers. You launched straight into a short intro. "Welcome back to our channel. Everyone has been asking for this video a lot so here we are today, as you can probably tell from the title of the video we're doing the boyfriend tag." You looked over at Jeno a smile on your face, he smiled back at you his eyes disappearing. 

Your stomach turned, that fluttery feeling that you'd rarely ever felt. And your awkward smile fell to a much more relaxed one as you looked at him continuing to speak to the camera. It was sad though, and you knew it, your crush on him. 

"This is fake you know what right?" He clarified the day you met. You nodded quickly irritated in your head, you'd read the damn contract. 

"Good okay we're supposed to 'hang out' together for a couple of hours and make sure that we get spotted by the paparazzi." You nodded as he explained that he was going to walk around with you for a few minutes and then you'd be coming back to his dorm to sit around. Little did you know that after your very very short walk around the park that when you'd get back she would be here. 

So there you were stuck in NCT dreams dorm while your fake boyfriend didn't even want to get to know you on a basic human level. 

He told you to watch TV while he went into his room with his actual girlfriend. Lucky for you Chenle came into the living room only seconds later. The younger boy didn't say anything just sat down next to you and watched the anime you'd put on. 

"He's not a bad person." He randomly said you just nodded not knowing what he was saying."I mean you know why the company made the contract right?" Chenle asked. 

"How did you two meet?" Aera asked. Her voice flat. You glanced over at her keeping the smile on your face. 

"Well," You started. 

"At the park." Jeno cut you off, adjusting in his seat. "I was on a bike ride. These three were at the park taking photo's they asked me to take a photo. I thought they meant with me but they meant of them, it was awkward." He chuckled and you also laughed lightly. That had happened. The first time he met your friends you'd all gone to the park, Sena had asked for a picture. 

"He's grumpy today." You sighed as the three of you sat on the bench overlooking the green field after taking the pictures. 

"He seems to always be fucking grumpy," Aera said rolling her eyes. 

"I mean cut him some slack his girlfriend did leave him," Sena said. Aera snickered. 

"She was a bitch and everyone knew it. His friend knew it the company knew it. That's why this contract exists in the first place because if word had gotten out that he was dating her his reputation would have plummeted so they looked for someone that would make him look good." Aera sneered in the direction of Jeno, he was on the phone talking to Jaemin. "When she was done with him she left." 

After that Aera never warmed up to him. 

In all honesty, you regretted telling your friends. Aera was too quick to judgement, Sena was kinder sometimes too kind. You needed a good medium, someone who would complain but not hate, but they were what you had and together you got the balance, but there were moments where you didn't. 

You stared at Jeno as Aera and Sena began to debate how he should react and how he should handle it, but you'd been there when she'd left him. You were on the couch with Chenle watching your fifth anime together in the three weeks that you'd been coming over. 

Jeno had cried. She was bad for him, but he'd loved her. 

The questions continued, and the two of you continued to tell half-truths, stories you'd both been told to create. You didn't flinch outwardly when Jeno pulled your chair closer to his pulling you into his side, and you tried your best to keep calm when his arm circled your waist. It's just for the camera you told yourself. 

"Now for the fan questions," Aera said, turning the laptop towards you two. You turned your head squinting at the screen. 

"Can you bring it closer?" Jeno asked for you. Aera moved the table in front of you and set up the laptop. 

"Press play." You leaned forwards and did as you were told. A video played on the screen, a clip of an anime. A boy was walking holding two popsicles, he sat on a bench next to a girl and passed her both the treats. 

"They're both mine?" She asked looking over at the boy shocked. He just nodded. 

"You like both flavours right?" He asked as he grew embarrassed. She smiled up at him in the cute anime fashion. 

The clip ended and cut to a paparazzi video of you on a bench, Jeno sitting next to you as you held two popsicles, his arms were crossed over his chest as he looked away from you. You looking at him in amazement much like the girl from the anime. 

"The question that was asked was, 'did you intend to re-create an anime or are you guys just that damn adorable?" Your cheeks flushed as you stared at the laptop. Jeno next to you was also frozen. 

"I guess we're just that damn adorable." He quietly replied. You looked up at him and giggled lightly. He was smiling at you again, you were afraid the butterflies in your stomach were going to kill you. You looked away from him quickly. 

"I don't think we've even seen that anime." You added to his answer. 

"Why can't I have a guy like that." You whined to Chenle as the two of you watched a cute anime couple stand in the middle of a crowded plaza, his hand in her hair as he ruffled it. He'd just told her that he knew her after she accused him of not knowing a single thing about her. He'd proved that he in fact did by handing the character her favourite flower, a rare type of lily. 

"I thought you didn't like romance anime?" Chenle teased. You threw your pillow at him. 

"Shut up." Chenle laughed loudly at your reaction making you laugh. 

You jumped when Jeno walked into the living room scaring you. 

"Want to go for a walk?" He asked. You nodded. 

"Sure." 

You'd ended up at the park as the sun set. 

"Wait here." He'd said motioning for you to sit on the bench, confused you'd sat down as he ran off. He'd come back minutes later with the two popsicles. Handing you them both. 

"Strawberry and Lime." He said, "I know you like both the flavours and I know you have a sweet tooth." 

"Not going to lie, kinda creepy that someone took a video of you two like that," Sena said turning the camera off after you'd closed off the video. 

"It was a paparazzi." You said getting up from the chair. 

"Just gotta go to the bathroom." You added and quickly left the room. Sitting that close to him was always hard for you. That popsicle incident was a month after he'd gotten dumped, he'd hung out with you a little bit more before the day at the park and your interactions had only grown after that but they were all friendly not enough to call you guys good friends though. 

You turned the faucet on letting the water cool your sweating hands. Your heart was racing and you couldn't calm the damn butterflies, your head replaying the way he pulled your chair to him, flashing you the memories of him giving you the cold treats. 

"It's fake." Aera's voice said in your head. 

"It's fake." You muttered to yourself.  

After drying your hands you pulled the door open and jumped when you almost bumped into Jeno. He was leaning on the wall right next to the bathroom. 

"Are you waiting for the bathroom?" You asked, he shook his head, his hand reaching out and grabbing your sleeve. He fiddled with the thumb hole of your hoodie, the butterflies you'd been trying to stomp out coming back. 

"I was waiting for you, it's really awkward being in a room with Aera she keeps on giving me a death glare." You laughed, bringing his eyes up to yours. 

"Y/N," He started his voice quiet. 

"Y/N!" Sena yelled running out and barrelling towards you a huge smile on her face. 

"WE JUST HIT A MILLION SUBSCRIBERS." 

"WE DID?" You asked your hand flying to your friend forcing Jeno to let go of your sleeve. 

"HELL YEAH WE DID," Aera said running into the hallway as well, as Sena pulled you in for a hug. Aera slamming into the both of you not even a second later. 

—

You typically never paid attention to the hate, but as your numbers grew so did the rude and obnoxious comments. 

"You're not watching," Chenle whined as you scrolled on your phone. 

"Sorry." You mumbled as you tossed the phone onto the couch, your eyes caught Jeno's as you turned back to the TV. He'd started watching with you a couple of weeks ago. 

 You didn't keep your gaze with his long, just turned to the screen. But you couldn't watch, your brain was reeling with the hate. It was like they forgot you were a human being. Some people would act like you having other friends was a crime. There was a portion of the internet rioting over a photo of you and Jaemin. 

Renjun had wanted the boys to go get lunch together at a restaurant, complaining about being stuck inside all the time. No one had the heart to say no, not even you. 

The picture was taken as you all exited the place, Jaemin had grabbed the back of your shirt as you'd tripped, but it looked odd. The next photo was of him pulling you into him. 

That was a week ago the two of you were being called all sorts of names. Chenle had told you to ignore it, that it will blow over, but it was easier said than done. Not being able to focus as your eyes blurred you excused yourself to the bathroom. 

Taking your phone with you. Your hands shook as you locked the bathroom and sank to the floor, you were determined to not cry over the hate but it was starting to feel like you couldn't breathe.

You scrolled through your contacts and called your friends, neither answered. Their phones off. You knew they'd gone to see a movie today, but you'd hoped that maybe their phones wouldn't be off. 

You went to the sink and turned on the water, watching the cold water swirl into the drain as you tried to calm your breathing, it wasn't working. 

A knock on the bathroom door startled you. 

"Y/N" It was Jeno. "Are you okay?" He asked. 

You looked at yourself in the mirror, your eyes were red with unshed tears and you looked frazzled. 

"Y-yeah." You replied your voice shaking slightly. 

"Can I come in?" He asked. You froze for a second before turning off the faucet and unlocking the door letting him know he could come in. 

He opened the door slowly as he came into the bathroom. He looked at you for a second before his arms came around you pulling you into his chest. You began to cry, as he shushed you. He didn't say anything further, just held you until you calmed down. 

An hour later you were sat on his bed Jeno next to you as he told you about his favourite anime that he wanted you and Chenle to watch with him. You nodded as he spoke taking in every word that came out of his perfect mouth. 

You couldn't help but want to kiss him as his enthusiasm about the anime grew. His eyes were shining. You hadn't seen Jeno like this, and it wasn't helping with your feelings. Your heart was doing summersaults, he stopped talking as you stared at him. 

"Are you listening to me?" He asked snapping you out of your daze. 

"Of course." You replied crossing your legs on his bed as he moved closer to you. 

"Are you sure?" He asked, and you laughed awkwardly, "what did I just say?"  

"Are you sure?" You answered smartly, a teasing tone as you smiled at him. He narrowed his eyes at you, his lips pouting. 

You opened your mouth to say something, but the words flew out of your brain as Jeno pressed his lips against yours, his hand snaking around the side of your face as he pulled you to him. 

Shocked you pulled back, looking at him; eyes wide. 

"Sorry, I shouldn't have done that." He said moving back from you. Your brain was in overdrive, so many thoughts flooded in as you stared at him. He was moving away from you. 

You ignored everything in your head and grabbed his wrist. 

"Don't apologize." You said and pulled him back to you, moving your lips to his again, you kissed him slowly taking in the way he felt against you. The way he still tasted like the chocolate he'd just eaten, and given you half of. 

You breathed heavily when he pulled away from you again. 

"Fuck." Was the only word that left his mouth as he stared at you before grabbing you again. 

The next day he texted you asking you to go to the park with him, you met him at the bench he'd given you the popsicles at. He was smiling at you as he approached you, his hand tucked behind his back. 

He came to a stop in front of you, and you looked up at him a curious expression on his face. 

"I got you something." He said and moved his hand towards you. A Levi pop animation bobblehead in his hand. 

"It's your favourite anime right?" You looked up at him shocked and nodded. 

"I knew it." 

[forgotten-daydreamer]

"The Last Airbender" honest commentary by me

-> I remember I watched this once, when I was something like 12, and I think my mind FORCED me to forget about it, and now that I'm 20 I feel the urge to watch it again. I saw clips on YouTube so it's not like I know nothing at all, but very very little. I'm honestly scared. I'll point out the things that I like too, if I find something like it. So... bring it on.

---

What is that gibberish in the background even supposed to mean? As someone who studies Japanese I am deeply disappointed. "But A:TLA's words are in Chinese!!" yes. But, for those who don't know, Japanese imported them as kanji so I can recognize them even if I don't speak Chinese, for these characters are written in the same way, even if pronounced differently. Or, well, I could recognize them if this gibberish meant anything. But it doesn't.

Not a fan of the prologue written onscreen as Katara reads it aloud (I suppose it's her?) to be honest. Especially when it's in... English. At this point why not changing that ugly gibberish into the English translation of the words? It would've made more sense, even if it doesn't.

Katara and Sokka sure are very... huh... White. Watching the racism and whitewashing jump out is too painful. Damn, I'm already upset with this movie and I'm only 2:35 minutes in.

A:TLA Sokka would never raise a finger on his sister- never in a million years. This dude straight up grabbed her arm! Not. Cool. Dude.

"I thought about Mom, isn't that strange..?" no Katara, it really isn't. She's your dead mother, it's not strange to think about her. That sentence just seems forced, it's got nothing to do with what's happening.

Okay, Sokka following his father's teachings is actually accurate, nice one.

I take it back. Sokka, what the actual fuck- why would you break the ice right under your feet?? A:TLA Hakoda would be very disappointed.

Oh, look, Aang's white too. How surprising.

Katara, the kid just woke up from a coma, stop asking him a thousand questions, cut Aang some slack!

Acting skills sooo not on point. Maybe the actors are actually good, and maybe it's just the dialogues that are... off. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and see how it goes.

I apprecciate the effort of trying to make Aang's tattoos look "cool" but next time, please don't.

This camera work is giving me a headache. The angles keep changing rapidly with no reason, and sometimes the camera's too close to the actors... Who did this?

Are Katara and Sokka the only white people in their village? I'm... confused.

"I am Prince Zuko." uh???? Where's your scar? Come on, that is literally one of the main points around which his story revolves, you can't just not put it there. I'm so upset.

Oh... that's the scar? Dude, I have a worse scar on my knee, I'm not even joking.

Of course Katara and Sokka's grandma is white, makes sense. So there's three white people in this village while everyone else is Asian, from what I saw. So it's okay to cast Asians as extras but not as the main characters? Holy shit, this movie is so problematic already.

Zuko, for fuck's sake, stop yelling. Aang's right in front of you, you two are, like, three inches apart. Stop screaming!

Firebenders need firepits to draw fire from..? Just bring a flamethrower with you next time, it'd be more efficient than your attacks anyway...

I'm not even 11min in and I want to stop already. I can't endure another 1:30h of this. I'm not strong enough.

"[Our mom] would have fought!" she didn't, that's the whole point. She surrendered to protect you, Katara, and the others. I get that the producers changed the story a little, it's normal, but- you can't change these things.

These dialogues... I want to rip my ears off. So little logic, so little pathos, such a poor timing- I want to cry.

Okay, this Iroh seems pretty similar to A:TLA's, thank goodness they didn't mess him up too much.

That is NOT how you pronounce Iroh!! I was a fool to think that there was one character that hadn't been completely ruined in this movie.

Nice nod to Hama, not bad.

Grandma casually has a map next to her when she needs it... Okay, I guess.

The scene on the ship- I'm speechless. Negatively speechless. I want to wash my eyes with bleach.

I love how Zuko just watches Aang fly away, like- "oh, there he goes". A:TLA Zuko would've jumped into the freezing ocean and swam toward him if he had to.

I can't get over their pronunciation of Aang. Ahng? Ohng? What is the reason behind this- why did they change it? He's literally the main character, you just don't do that.

With all due respect, the CGI is bad. I get that this movie is kinda old, but... No. There are older movies with better special effects. Low budget, maybe? I don't know.

"Souuka and I-" it's Sokka. Not Souuka. Sokka.

Zhao is hateful and annoying, which is accurate. I miss the ugly sideburns though.

Iroh calmly sipping tea while Zuko kicks ass- spot on, I can't deny that.

I hate Sokka so much. He's completely out of character, too annoying, uncharacteristically angsty and so boring. How can someone completely mess up a cool character like him?

"There is earth right beneath your feet"... oh my God, for real? Wow, how did they not notice that sooner...

"It's time for you to stop doing this!" reminds me of that one vine with the kid that yells "whEn wiLL yOu LeArN tHAt yoUR aCTioNs hAve ConSeqUEnceS!?", I don't know why.

Katara pushes a Firebender. She pushes him. He could burn her to a crisp and she- okay, you know what, I'm just going to ignore it.

Again with the firepits, I can't even-

It takes six Earthbenders to lift the rock the size of a chair..? And they also have to make a little dance to do that..?

The extras in the background don't even move- guys, at least pretend to dodge or be afraid, or cower backwards, don't just observe while you stand still looking as if you were glancing at the horizon.

Literally everyone in this movie is portrayed by Asian and Middle Eastern actors except for the main characters... Who allowed this, who said that this was okay? Seriously, who. Please, fire this person.

If Aang can't bend the other elements, what was that on Zuko's ship? Were the fire, the rock and the water acting up because Aang was there? It makes no sense.

"Avatars can't have a family." are you sure? 'Cause Roku did, even Wan (and Korra, after Aang) in a way, and many other Avatars too, I'm sure. That's not why he ran away, not at all.

Again with the fake Chinese characters... I mean, I think they were trying to imitate Chinese cursive writing, but... The lines are so straight, so stiff, so clean- there is no way that authentic cursive looks like that. Have you ever seen Japanese cursive? The characters are unrecognizable, but the lines are fluid and curved, not like that.

The scene with Katara and Aang practicing by the river confuses me because- I don't see any water being bent. Is it just me? I'm serious, maybe I just didn't see it..?

Ozai asking about Zuko and acting mildly concerned and almost caring is off-character. It makes it look like he feels guilty, when A:TLA Ozai does not. Also, let's say that this Ozai feels guilty, why doesn't he just welcome his son back, then? But he doesn't, 'cause he indirectly says so, so it makes no sense.

More gibberish. Please, stop. Don't do that again. I beg you.

"-sentenced to Agni KEE." goddamn it. Agni KAI. Not KEE. KAI! Why is that so hard for these people to say things right?

I still don't see any Waterbending. Are they just moving randomly? Are the practicing without actually bending the water..?

Oh, alright, now there's water moving, that's better. Still, so many movements for a little stream of water being lifted in the air- almost like that dance the Earthbenders did earlier. Seems excessive.

Is that monstrosity supposed to be Appa? Why is his face so- human? Oh Spirits, forgive them!

Again with this "I can have no family." thing- did the producers even watch the whole show or just read the summary of Wikipedia?

You know what, the Blue Spirit mask is accurate, in a way. Old masks used to have wigs attached sometimes, so it's not as bad as it seems. His stance though- that's a big no.

Zuko's swords don't actually hit anything most of the times he swings them around- just saying.

"What is this?". Ugh, Zhao, Aang's an AIRbender. Get it? AIR. So he is moving the AIR. I mean, you know he's an airbender, why are you acting surprised that he can redirect the wind?

Yue's white too... I checked online, and I discovered that the actress has Mexican origins: this has nothing to do with Asia and the Middle East so I personally consider this as a desperate attempt to include diversity- as if there were no actual Asian and Middle Eastern actors out there, but fine, I guess. What was I expecting at this point? Oh, I also know that this actress is Asami's V.A. which doesn't change much but since I like Asami I'll pretend to like this Yue too, a bit.

Extra™ moves to create a 10ft tall tornado... Okay, Aang, you're the boss.

Pakku is white too, hm? I don't know what to say anymore. Should I just stop pointing out this cast is so, so wrong? Probably. Will I? No.

Sokka's face when Yue tells him her hair's white because she was stillborn- that is the only realistic face he's done so far. Also, Yue's acting is not that off, and I actually like it! She's better than others.

More waterbending without water. Budget cuts.

I take that back, Yue is basically smiling when Sokka tells her that the Fire Nation is there, like, come on! Yue, I believed in you...

The dialogues are so fake, nobody talks like that! I'm sure that this is among the reasons why the actors seem incapable of doing their job- I'm sorry for these people, maybe the poor performance is not entirely their fault.

I'm trying to figure out what's up with Zuko's hair, and I'm not talking about the fact that it doesn't grow where the scar is, that's normal. What bothers me are those spikes he has on the front and on the back- or whatever they are. I am confused. Better than ponytail!Zuko, worse than all the other haircuts he had in A:TLA.

Zuko's actor is the best one in this movie so far, in my opinion. He's believable. He yelled a lot in the beginning, but now (1:12h in) he's not that odd.

How to understand when a scene has been not thought through: when characters don't do something that normal people would do. Zuko throws fire at Aang when he tries to escape, and then he just stands less than ten feet apart as Aang hides- he watches him, he stands there like "okay, I can't attack you now because the script says I'm not supposed to". Then do not include him in the shot! Or, at least make him say something- no, he just stands there and watches as his enemy is literally three seconds away from him. He could reach him with a little leap, without even running!

They showed Azula for a split second in the Agni Kai scene and then Zuko mentioned her once. Is that all? I hope to see her more, even a little something. Not including her would be a huge waste.

I don't ever want to see Appa again. So ugly he's scary. Who is the person that created the CGI for our amazing flying bison that we fell in love with? This isn't Appa, it's... Something else, something terrible.

The scene where Yue passes out when Zhao kills the Spirit- the secondhand embarrassment is real there. I had to look away, it's so bad.

This Zhao is maybe the most out of character person in this movie, and it's hard to beat Aang and Sokka so that sure is something...

If they say "Souuka" one more time I'll cry. I'm serious. I'll do it.

Alright, alright, the scene where Aang saves the day is pretty cool, I liked it, despite the questionable CGI.

Why do Katara and Sokka keep Aang upright by gripping his upper arms so tightly? That hurts! There are different ways to do that, less painful and more efficient.

Ozai looks like he has no idea of what he's talking about, he looks like me when I read maths.

There she is, Azula!! Wait- are we seeing her again?

...okay, we're not.

---

What can I say... Disastrous. No cabbage man, literally only five seconds of Azula, everyone is out of character, bad casting, bad pronunciation, gibberish wannabe Chinese characters, odd CGI... Everything is wrong.

[thinkingaboutyoungroyals]

The Perfect Moment: Chapter 6

Summary: When Cyrus is assigned to create a modern re-telling of “Romeo and Juliet” for English class, he decides to produce a movie. His stars, however, may pose some trouble. Will he finish his movie on time?

A/N: This is the second to the last chapter! Thank you so much to everyone who read, liked, and commented!

“I like this shot but the lighting doesn’t look right.”

Cyrus leaned in to peer at the clip T.J. was pointing at on the laptop. The jock was right, the glare was too much. But, it was a really nice shot of T.J. and Buffy at the park. Maybe they could fix it with a filter or adjusting the brightness?

“Add it in and leave me a note, please,” Cyrus said.

“Okay, boss.”

He resisted the urge to blush but flashed the jock a grateful smile before returning his attention to his own laptop.

It had been 3 days of non-stop filming and after each shoot, T.J. would walk him home, stay for a few hours to help him pick out clips and edit, they would do a little homework, then he would have dinner with Cyrus and his family before heading home.

They only had two more scenes to film the next day. Then, Cyrus would finish editing and submit his finished work on Friday. Mr. Spencer said that they would show his film in class and he was half-excited and half-terrified about it. On the one hand, he wanted his work to be seen by people other than his friends but on the other, he was afraid that his classmates would hate it and cast him aside as a social pariah. 

No pressure. 

“So… we’re almost done, huh?” T.J. randomly said out of nowhere.

Cyrus hummed. “Yeah, time flew by pretty fast. I can’t believe we managed to get here with minimal injury. Though, I think my nose will always remember.”

Both boys chuckled at that. The bruise had faded by now but Cyrus had been embarrassed and even considered sneaking some of his stepmom's concealer to cover it up.

“That’s your battle scar, Underdog,” T.J. replied, nudging his shoulder. “You braved through it.”

Cyrus could feel his ears burning again. “Thank you.” Clearing his throat, he turned away. “Do you want to take a break from this? Maybe we can rehearse your lines?”

T.J. was already closing the laptop and putting it on the coffee table. “Sounds good.”

He picked up the new script beside it while Cyrus dug his copy out of his book bag. He flipped to the end. Folding his legs under him, he turned his body around so he could face the jock.

“I’ll be Quinn,” he stated, fighting a blush.

T.J. mirrored his position and smirked. “Go ahead… Quinn.”

Cyrus tried to ignore the fluttering in his chest. Instead, he looked down at the script and began to read.

“We need to talk,” he said, getting in the role of Quinn.

As Logan, T.J. nodded, solemnly

“I think it’s best that we stop seeing each other.”

“What? Why?”

“Logan…” Cyrus sighed. “We’ve hurt our team and ourselves, quite literally. The more we keep pushing our relationship, the more we’ll hurt everyone around us.”

“They’re going to accept us. They have to.”

“It’s not about acceptance. It’s about us just… losing ourselves in this thing we think is love.”

T.J. waited a few beats and, in a soft voice, said, “Don’t you love me?”

Cyrus swallowed. “I do…”

“But, you don’t want to be with me anymore?”

“I…just need space and time. And I think you do, too.”

T.J. grabbed Cyrus’ hand (he tried not to jump because T.J. was simply playing a role). “But, I love you.”

Cyrus hesitated before reaching out to place a hand on T.J.’s cheek. “I love you, too. But, it doesn’t mean that we’re meant to be. At least, not right now. I’m sorry, Logan.”

“Quinn…”

They waited a few beats before Cyrus smiled. “That was great, Teej!”

T.J. beamed, squeezing Cyrus’ hand (which he just realized the jock never let go of).

“Buffy is supposed to pull her hand away after that,” T.J. replied.

“Y-Yeah.”

Cyrus dropped his hand from T.J.’s cheek but the latter still didn’t release his hand. The jock’s hand was much bigger than his and kind of rough from all the sports he did.

“So… um… what do you think of the ending?” he asked.

T.J. pursed his lips. “It’s kinda sad. After going through a lot to be together… just to have it end like that…” His thumb absentmindedly stroked Cyrus’ knuckles. “it’s not death, but it’s still pretty…”

He trailed off.

“Tragic?” Cyrus supplied.

“Yeah. It’s tragic. But, I guess it happens?” He turned on his seat (still holding Cyrus’ hand) and leaned back against the couch. “I can’t imagine saying that I’m so in love with someone and just giving up on them like that.”

Cyrus followed his move. “It’s not like Quinn is giving up. She’s just… giving themselves more room to grow. And if they’re really meant to be, they’ll get together, one way or another. I mean, T.J., they’re still in middle school.”

He turned his head to see T.J. frown. “So, you’re saying that you can’t fall in love in middle school? Or if you do, it’s not real?”

“No, that’s not what I’m saying,” Cyrus replied, quickly. “I think what they have is real. It’s just… not the right time for them.”

“Then… when is the right time?” T.J. sounded genuinely upset about that.

Cyrus hesitated to answer. He didn’t want to say the wrong words.

“Sorry,” T.J. suddenly said. “That was a convoluted question. Don’t mind me.”

“No, not at all. I guess… I don’t really have an answer for that.”

“That’s fair.”

They sat in silence for a moment.

Cyrus became even more aware of the hand in his. He wasn’t sure if T.J. was holding his hand on purpose or just forgot that he was. Either way, Cyrus was savoring the feeling. It was nice, holding hands. He liked holding hands. He found it quite intimate.

“Hey, Cy.”

Cyrus turned his head to him. “Yes?”

T.J.’s hand tightened in his as he visibly swallowed.

Cyrus felt himself scoot closer. “What is it, T.J.?”

T.J. slowly leaned in. “I… um… So I…”

Cyrus bit his lip. “Yes?”

“I…”

The sound of a lock turning made them both freeze. T.J. released his hand and leaned back just as the door opened.

“Hey, kids.” Cyrus’ mother entered, hands full with her purse and what appeared to be groceries. “Hard at work, I see.”

“Yeah,” Cyrus managed.

“We’re almost done,” T.J. added.

Sharon smiled at them. “T.J., you’re staying for dinner, yes?”

The jock nodded with a smile of his own. “Wouldn’t miss it.”

“Perfect! It will be ready in an hour!”

Sharon headed to the kitchen, leaving the two of them alone.

They sat in awkward silence, not sure if they should continue their conversation or not.

Finally, T.J. grabbed the laptop on the coffee table. “Let’s finish up?” he asked.

Cyrus silently nodded, reaching for his own.

They worked in silence until dinner.

……..........

“Don’t you love me?”

“I do…”

“But, you don’t want to be with me anymore?”

“I…just need space and time. And I think you do, too.”

“But, I love you.”

“I love you, too. But, it doesn’t mean that we’re meant to be. At least, not right now. I’m sorry, Logan.”

“Quinn…”

“Good-bye.”

“Quinn!”

“And… cut!”

T.J. broke out of character and turned to Cyrus who was beaming at him from behind the camera.

“Great job, you two! Let’s move on to the hallway and film the last scene!”

Nodding, T.J. followed him and Jonah out of the classroom and into the hallway, where the extras along with Buffy and Andi were waiting.

The last scene shows Quinn and Logan passing each other in the halls. They look at each other for a moment and continue to walk on. The two Captains notice them ignoring each other and show a brief look of regret for driving a wedge between them.

It was a simple scene but Cyrus said that it spoke volumes on the tragic way their relationship ended.

T.J. and Buffy positioned themselves on opposite sides of the hallway. Jonah’s camera was on Buffy while Cyrus’ was on T.J. With them were the members of their team, acting as extras.

“Extras, ready?”

They gave the affirmative.

“And… action!”

They moved, walking up and down the hallway, chatting.

“Okay, T.J. and Buffy, go!”

T.J. walked forward with his head down and a slight limp, emphasizing Logan’s leg injury. When he reached the designated spot, he looked up, the same time that Buffy did. She had a cast on, to show Quinn’s own injury. They looked at each other for 5 seconds before Buffy looked away first and continued walking. T.J., too, turned his head away and walked on.

After they left the shot, the two Captains meet in the middle, looking forlorn. They looked at each other, regretful, before they also parted from each other.

“And… cut!”

“That was perfect, guys!”

Cyrus looked excited as he looked up from the camera, beaming at all of them.

“We’ll do two more takes, okay? Re-set!”

T.J. went back to his original spot. Andi came by a minute later to fix his makeup and his hair.

“You, guys, did great,” she complimented.

“Thanks, Andi.”

Nodding at him, she bounded off.

“Is everyone ready?”

Everyone gave the affirmative.

They shot the scene two more times. At the end of the last take, as soon as Cyrus yelled, “Cut! That’s a wrap!”, everyone broke into applause.

Buffy and Andi both ran up to Cyrus, hugging him. T.J. wanted to do the same but he stayed in place, wanting to them their moment. He would try to ask for his later.

His teammates surrounded him, instead, clapping his back and congratulating him on a job well done.

“Everyone, thank you so much for being a part of this project!” Cyrus called out over the noise. “I’ve had such a thrill working with all of you, especially my stars! T.J. and Buffy!”

Everyone clapped, hooted, and whistled. T.J. felt pride blossom in his chest at having accomplished something amazing.

“To reward you all for your hard work, milkshakes on me at The Spoon! This Saturday!”

That declaration received another cheer.

While everyone cleaned up and gathered their things, T.J. finally managed to pull Cyrus aside.

“Congratulations, Underdog!” he greeted.

Cyrus beamed up at him. “Thank you! But, my work is not done! I still have to cut and edit today’s footage!”

“I’ll help,” T.J. replied with no hesitation.

Cyrus didn’t seem surprised anymore at his offer. Instead, he surged forward, wrapping his arms around T.J.

“Thank you!”

He pulled away much too quickly and the jock lamented the loss of the warmth. Nonetheless, that brief hug made him happy as a bee.

“Hey, Cyrus. Congratulations,” a new voice joined in.

They both turned around to the newcomer.

“Marty!” Cyrus exclaimed.

The track star grinned. “Hope you didn’t mind if I watched that last take? Sorry I couldn’t help before.”

“Not at all! It’s fine!” Cyrus looked over at Buffy, who was busy talking to some of her teammates to notice Marty. “I think Buffy was more upset that it wasn’t you who starred with her.”

Marty pursed his lips. “I heard she and Kippen here made things hard for you.”

T.J. would be offended at that if it wasn’t true. Fortunately, Cyrus didn’t seem to take it to heart. In fact, he laughed.

“At first, they did, but they ended up being fantastic actors! Especially T.J.! His heart eyes are spot on!”

“Is that so?”

The track star flashed T.J. a look. He simply shrugged in response.

“Well, congratulations again.” Marty looked over at Buffy. “I’m gonna go congratulate the Slayer.”

He patted Cyrus’ arm, nodded at T.J., and went on his way.

Together, they watched him approach Buffy and surprise her with a poke on her cheek. And even from afar and even though Buffy acted irritated, they could see the joy in her eyes at seeing the track star there.

“He really likes her, huh?” T.J. couldn’t help but comment, wishing he had Marty’s guts.

“Yeah,” Cyrus agreed, smiling at the sight. “He would have made a great Logan. Not that you weren’t great!” he added, quickly.

T.J. had to laugh at his panicked tone.

“Because you were a fantastic Logan!”

T.J. decided not to tease him for now. Instead, he reached over and ruffled Cyrus’ hair.

“Thanks, Cy.”

He was pleased to see the cute blush appear on the other boy’s cheeks.

……..........

They were on his couch again, backs lazily against it, as they stared at the open laptop in front of them.

After an hour and a half of cutting clips, editing, and rendering, Cyrus was finally done. His movie came out to 28 minutes and 45 seconds, cutting it very close to what Mr. Spencer required of him. Now, the video was loading to a DVD and he would make a copy on a flash drive, just in case.

So, he and T.J. were just relaxing now while they waited for it to finish.

“I know I said it so many times already, but it really was fun, Underdog.”

Cyrus hummed and turned his head to look at him. “I’m glad.” He sighed. “I’ll have to admit, doing this project was exhausting, but it’s brought back a bit of my confidence. Now, we’ll just have to see if the class likes it tomorrow.”

“I’m sure they will.” T.J. grinned. “You had some great actors.”

“Yeah, Buffy was amazing.”

T.J. wrinkled his nose. “Ouch. You wound me so, Underdog.” He chuckled. “But, I’ll let it go for today because I like you.”

The unexpected statement caused Cyrus’ brain to stop working for a hot second.

“Uhh… I…”

A short alert sounded off from his laptop, indicating that the movie had finished transferring to the DVD. Clearing his throat, Cyrus practically flew off the couch to his laptop, hoping T.J. didn’t see his reddening face. 

By the number of times he had been blushing this entire week, Cyrus might as well turn into a tomato and grow in his step-mother’s garden.

He busied himself by opening the CD drive and removing the disk. Then, he popped in a flash drive and saved the movie there too.

He turned to T.J. with the disk at hand, smiling. “Wanna watch it?”

“Heck yeah!”

Cyrus bounded over to the T.V. and crouched down in front of it. He turned on the DVD player, popped the disk in, and grabbed the remote. Settling himself back on the couch, he pressed play.

They, first, watched the movie in silence. The acting was mediocre at best, Cyrus had to be honest about that. From the corner of his eye, he spied T.J. flinching and looking away whenever he saw himself onscreen. Cyrus had to hold back his own giggles.

And, then, the gazebo scene began. The acting, by this point, was better. T.J. and Buffy had gotten into their characters a bit better than in the previous scenes.

“My hair looked good,” T.J. commented.

Cyrus finally allowed himself a laugh. “You’re so humble.”

But, he couldn’t argue with that either. T.J. looked handsome, especially with the lighting and the way his eyes looked as they gazed at Buffy. He was really good at looking in love.

Cyrus’ heart was racing, unable to tear his eyes away.

“I’d give it all up for you. The team. My position. Everything if it means I can be with you.”

He knew that those were Logan’s lines but a part of him couldn’t help but wonder…

“You’re right,” T.J. said, softly. “That was the perfect moment.”

Cyrus chuckled, gaze still on the T.V. “And you did it, perfectly.”

He felt a shoulder and a leg press against his side.

“Do you know… who I was thinking about the entire time?”

Cyrus felt himself tense up. “I told you guys to think about the person you liked.”

“Yeah.”

His chest twitched and he absentmindedly scratched at it. “So, you were doing that, yes?” he asked, casually.

“Yeah.”

A lump formed in his throat and he swallowed. “My technique worked well then.”

He turned to look at T.J. to smile but froze when he saw that T.J. was already watching him with the soft look on his face. His eyes were the same as the ones he showed when he was Logan, the eyes that made hearts speed up and knees buckle.

“It wasn’t just your technique, you know,” T.J. said.

By now, neither of them were paying attention to the movie.

Cyrus couldn’t find the words to say so he stayed silent.

“It was you,” T.J. continued, smiling.

Cyrus felt a hand over his and briefly looked down to see T.J.’s fingers intertwining with his. He looked up again, his heart beating fast against his chest and loud in his ears.

“M-Me?” he managed.

T.J. hummed as he nodded. “All of my scenes with Buffy? I would close my eyes and open them and see… you. After every one of them, I have to look at you to make sure that you’re there.”

Cyrus felt himself release a soft gasp of realization. He thought back on the past couple of days, filming with T.J. The jock wasn’t just looking at him to confirm if he did his scene okay. He would look at him because… he wanted to.

“Why are you telling me this?” Cyrus softly asked.

T.J. chuckled. “Isn’t it obvious?”

Cyrus swallowed, unable to find his voice.

“The right timing. The right mood. Everything feels like it’s disappearing and it’s just you and me.” T.J. squeezed his hand. “It’s the perfect moment.”

And with that, he began to lean in.

Cyrus’ breath caught in his throat, but he didn’t move. His heart was beating faster than ever and all he could see in front of him were T.J.’s green eyes and pretty lips that looked really soft and his own eyes were closing and…

The turn of a key and the door opening felt like a lightning bolt fell in between them. The two boys broke apart, their hands leaving each other. 

Cyrus couldn’t help but be disappointed and lament the loss.

“Hi, boys! Working late again?”

“H-Hi Sharon,” Cyrus managed.

“Hi Miss Frank,” T.J. followed, his voice steadier than Cyrus’.

His step-mother entered the living room.

“We’re actually done.” Cyrus gestured to the T.V. where his movie was still playing.

“Oh, I see that! We should all watch it after dinner! T.J., you’re staying, yes?”

T.J. coughed before standing up. “Actually, I have to head home a bit early tonight, Miss Frank. I’m sorry. Another time?”

Cyrus looked up at him, eyes wide and confused. Weren’t they just having a moment?! Why was he leaving?!

“Of course. Thank you again for helping Cyrus with his project.”

“It was my pleasure.” He smiled at Sharon before turning to the other boy, who was still frozen and seated on the couch. “I’m sure your film will be great, Cy. I’ll see you at school.”

And with that, the jock turned on his heels and headed towards the door.

“Cyrus, honey? Are you okay?”

Breaking out of his frozen stupor, Cyrus knew that he couldn’t just let T.J. get away. Why confess something like that and just leave?! That was so unfair! He didn’t even get a chance to answer him!

“I’ll be right back,” he said to his step-mother before moving towards the door.

He stepped out to see that T.J. was already halfway down the path.

“T.J.!”

Immediately, the jock turned around, looking adorably confused.

It could have been adrenaline. Or excitement. Or some inner brave part of him. But, Cyrus’ legs moved on their own and he let them. He ran up to T.J., meeting him right there in the middle. For a moment, he only looked at him and T.J. gazed right back.

Lifting himself up on his tiptoes, Cyrus kissed his cheek.

“Good night,” he said. “And thank you. Again. Get home, safely, okay?”

Feeling embarrassed at his sudden act, he ran back into his house, closing the door behind him.

He could feel not only his face was red and warm but his entire body, too.

Oh, god, he kissed T.J.!

Tag list:

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