#despite all the stuff jonah went through with buffys friends

[sapphirebluejewel]

Endless List of Platonic Relationships I Love - Jonah Beck and Buffy Driscoll

"And before we know it, I'll be better than you." "And then I'll wake you up because you'll be dreaming."

[tjkiahgb]

Episode Recap: 3.19, “A Moving Day”

Can you believe we only have 50 or so minutes of content left with this show?

I want to love every single one of them and not take any for granted. Each minute feels truly precious.

Never mind.

Folks... we got ourselves a Toast-Off!

Cyrus has brought Jonah, Buffy, and Andi together to make toast. I wish I had more here, but that’s the extent of it.

Jonah presents his toast first. It’s burnt.

Andi says toasters are the trickiest appliance in the kitchen, which is true. Sure, anybody can figure out how to put the bread in, but when it comes time to select between the settings of Light, Medium, and Dark, too many people just twist the dial all the way past dark to Burnt to a Crisp. Avoid that setting. That’s where most people get tripped up.

Jonah advises Cyrus to not eat his burnt bread, and Cyrus agrees.

Buffy presents her toast, which is more like the concept of toast.

Buffy claims it wasn’t fair because Jonah was using the toaster. To think, if only Jonah had used the toaster less, both he and Buffy could’ve made decent toast and been in the running to win... I don’t know, something. I really don’t know what we’re doing here.

Anyway, because Jonah sabotaged both his and Buffy’s chance to win the Toast-Off, Andi can walk away with the competition if she’s just made a piece of non-ruined toast.

And, of course, Andi went extra and made some kind of toast chicken coop.

Seems like an easy win, but Cyrus can’t declare it thus until he’s had a taste.

He thinks it’s pretty good, but there’s a flavor on it he can’t place. What is that, he asks.

Cyrus spits it out as Jonah and Buffy chuckle about one of their friends almost poisoning their other friend.

I guess it was only right to get one last random cold open in before the show ended. Here’s to the nonsense cold opens: the Toast-Offs, the extended oral hygiene montages, the projects for school about eggs, the bad coffees made, the phone chargers stolen, the games of Scrabble played, the times the Mack family argued about what to eat or what to watch or who stole clothes from whom. Oh, random nonsense cold opens, you were always... there, and we shall sometimes remember you.

49 or so minutes left. Each one from here on out? Truly precious.

At Celia’s, Celia has gathered her family around to do an aggressively large jigsaw puzzle.

Frankly, I’m a bit worried for her. This puzzle size is the type you buy when you want to make a statement: No, I don’t have anything better to do and no, I don’t plan on leaving the house for the next week! This puzzle is my life now.

Bex comes walking in, finishing a phone conversation. She tells the family she won something. The family guesses what she won, but they don’t come anywhere close to the right answer, which is a free meal cooked by famous chef Raoul Ricci. No one’s heard of Raoul Ricci, not even Celia, which you might think would tip them off that something’s afoot here, but no one seems interested in digging for the truth.

Even a quick Google search would’ve told them that something was wrong, as it seems the only known Raoul Ricci is an Italian dentist.

Or, as they call them in Rome, a dentista.

Anyway, Bex explains, through a long and bewildering story, Raoul Ricci was famous and had restaurants, but then he didn’t want to have restaurants anymore, so he left to be a hermit.

Andi’s like...

...oh, can we keep him?

Bex explains the prize is that he’s going to cook for them. They just have to go out into the forest and find him. Once they do, though, he’s going to make them the meal of a lifetime.

I can’t stress enough how shady this sounds. There’s a 75% chance this ends with Raoul Ricci chasing the Macks through the woods in some kind of “Most Dangerous Game” type scenario.

Bowie and Andi are in. Celia’s like, this sounds like an awful pain.

Bex warns her if she doesn’t go, the whole family is going to “rhapsodize” about this meal forever. Quick question: where does Bex get off? Just dropping rhapsodize in a sentence like that? Who does she think she is? I’m offended for Celia and I’m offended for us.

Celia is still not interested, despite the threats of rhapsodization, so Bex turns to Andi and Bowie for help. They basically say they’re not going to do puzzle-time with Celia unless she goes with them to the woods, so she relents, with one condition.

A puzzle so big it causes you mental anguish just thinking about it. It ain’t a real puzzle unless your fingers are bleeding by the end.

Meanwhile, Cyrus, Buffy, and Jonah walk around, somewhere, and talk about that “thing” they all have tomorrow. Jonah’s worried he won’t be able to make the thing because his family is moving. Cyrus and Buffy agree to help him move, but Jonah asks Buffy if she will be able to, given her foot and all.

Buffy’s like, of course I can...

Okay, but I’m pretty sure a strong gust of wind could lift Cyrus. I would require stronger proof. Jonah, however, doesn’t need to see more than that minor show of strength, and agrees to let them help.

The next day, the Mack family is all loaded up in Celia’s SUV that we’re seeing for the first time this entire series in the penultimate episode. Celia goes through a long series of things to get ready to leave: moving seats, checking mirrors, putting on gloves, searching for sunglasses. It’s agonizing.

Eventually Celia puts on her suit of knight armor and night-vision goggles and chugs an entire large coffee and she’s ready to operate a motor vehicle.

I do want to warn her though, she should make sure all those production lights and reflectors are moved out of the way before she starts driving.

Wouldn’t want to run over one of the crew members.

Celia drives off. They head for the mountains.

And in a hurry, too. Celia seems to be doing at least 80 on these winding mountain roads.

Me? I’d be worried about ice or sudden hazards or taking a turn too fast, but I guess the Macks trust Celia’s driving ability more than I trust my own.

The Macks all sing songs and make jokes and-- OH MY GOD!

LOOK OUT FOR THAT BUS!

THEY’RE BOTH DOING 70 ON A TWO LANE MOUNTAIN ROAD AND HEADING RIGHT FOR EACH OTHER!

IS EVERY DRIVER IN THIS TOWN MAD?!

The family survives that hairpin turn, though, and makes it up to Mount Washington, named, of course, after America’s most famous obelisk.

Bex leads them onto the trail at Panther’s Hollow, which naturally leads Celia to ask if there are panthers around. Bowie’s like, no, no. Well, maybe one.

And then he scares the hell out of an already nervous elderly woman.

Everyone has a good laugh about it and they set off walking to find the hermit.

Then we get about twelve minutes of footage of the Mack family walking through the woods. I’m not going to include screencaps. I’m just adding that for posterity’s sake.

Over at the storage unit the Beck family rented to put all their stuff in, Cyrus and Buffy help Jonah move said stuff into trucks.

Cyrus comes across a crate of old VHS tapes and DVDs and screams when he sees their contents.

He calls Buffy over to show her.

It’s Judy Bartholomew!

Who’s Judy Bartholomew? She’s an old workout video lady who became a meme. Cyrus feels like he has to show Buffy the video, so he pulls out his phone.

They both have a good laugh about it. Cyrus is surprised to learn she’s real. He’s like, I can’t believe how big a fan Jonah’s mom is. She must be to have the entire Judy Bart collection like this.

Then Jonah’s mom shows up and she’s like, hey Jojobear, can I finally meet your friends? The ones you’ve been good friends with for like a year and a half now and that you won’t let me be around for some reason?

She walks over to Cyrus and Buffy who are shocked to see the Judy Bartholomew standing right in front of them.

Jonah’s like, yeah, it’s her.

Honestly, I’m impressed Jonah’s been able to hide his mom from his friends for this long. Did they never hang out around his family? Did she never come to pick him up from some place?

And doesn’t she wonder who his friends are? When he’d talk about the stuff they’d done together, would she just sit there going, “Oh, that sounds nice, Jonah. Sure would like to meet some of your friends one of these days.” And would Jonah be like, “Uh huh, yeah, you should,” and then he’d just continue putting it off for 15 months? Just kept kicking that can down the road?

Anyway, I still appreciate the show broaching this subject. Media so often lacks in representation of children whose parents have become internet memes.

Back out in the woods, the Macks walk through the woods. All but Bex grow restless. They ask her for proof that she knows where she’s going, like a map.

This doesn’t make them feel comforted.

Bowie pulls Bex aside and asks her what’s really going on. Bex is like, you trust me, right? Bowie says of course. Bex is like, okay, good, back into the forest we go and she walks off.

Bowie tells Andi and Celia it will all be worth it, like a liar, and they start another walking through the woods montage. Bex carries Andi. Bowie carries Celia.

This episode has more characters carrying other characters than any other episode the show has done.

Back at the storage unit, Judy Bart teaches Cyrus and Buffy how to trot.

She’s doing like this locomotion move, very simple.

Cyrus is like, AM I DOING IT?!

As he twists his body back and forth and throws his arms out.

Like, no, man. You can’t tell that what you’re doing is nothing like what Judy is doing? That it’s like, almost the opposite of what she’s doing?

Judy tells Jonah to show them how to do it, so Jonah steps up and does a whole dance routine that I’m also not sure is what Judy was doing.

But it looked good and had a nice finish, so whatever.

Jonah says he’s been doing that since he was six and it’s permanently ingrained in his head now like so many childhood scars.

Then Judy’s like, hey, didn’t you kids have to be in the mountains right about now? And they’re like, oh yeah, we have to get changed and get to the mountains, so they leave her in the storage unit.

Speaking of the mountains, the Macks find rocks.

They collapse on the rocks.

Bex is like, no, don’t sit on rocks now! We almost made it. The family doesn’t want to believe her, but she convinces them it’s true. She leads them around the bend where they find a fancy set up and...

Cyrus?

You see, Cyrus, for three years now, has been posing as celebrity chef Raoul Ricci and sneaking off to the mountains to prepare three course meals for random tourists.

No, wait.

Buffy appears from out of nowhere and this whole thing reeks of a setup.

How in the world did these two get up here so fast from the storage facility? Helicopter?

Andi’s like, what is going on? Where is the hermit I was promised?

Bex tells everyone there’s no hermit. This was all made up to trick everyone into going to the mountains. Bowie asks why.

Bowie’s like, oh, is that back on?

Cyrus and Buffy bring them rings and flowers.

Bowie’s says finally and they embrace.

They all head for a gazebo.

Jonah plays Bowie’s song, “You Girl”, on the guitar.

Andi walks Bex to Bowie.

The two take each other’s hands as the officiant begins doing his officianting.

Where did he come from, too? Did Jonah and Buffy and Cyrus ride up here with him? Carpool?

The wedding goes as weddings do. You know, rings and stuff. Bex and Bowie are about to kiss when--

Everyone looks around trying to figure out whose phone that is before Andi realizes it’s hers. She shuts it off and the music and kissing starts again.

They complete the kiss this time.

Bex is like, I know... it’s been a lot. Thanks for not fleeing.

Later, Bex and Bowie delight in calling each other husband and wife. Everyone is sort of shocked it actually finally happened.

The Mack family (the ones we’re still counting) share a hug.

That night, Cyrus shows Andi the Judy Bart videos and then he brags that they spent the day with her. Jonah says he introduced her to them. Andi doesn’t believe he knows her, but Jonah’s like, yeah, I do.

Andi’s stunned. She feels bad, but, in fairness to Andi, it’s super weird that Jonah kept her hidden this long anyway, especially from Andi of all people. She couldn’t be expected to make that guess.

Jonah’s like, don’t feel bad, the whole thing is funny. He used to be embarrassed about it but he’s over it. Andi says she can’t wait to meet her. And then they talk about meeting Jonah’s dad. Buffy makes a joke about his dad being one of the hairy guys from the workout video and Jonah’s like, yeah, he is.

Everyone sits around thinking about this for a second before they all decide Jonah’s joking.

He’s not.

I don’t know what makes them think Jonah has suddenly acquired a subtle sense of humor. Jonah’s idea of jokes are jump scaring Andi and “S’less.” You really think he’s got a level of clever beneath all that that he’s been hiding for a year and a half as if it was his mother?

Jonah leaves without saying another word.

Can I just take a quick second to try to piece together the history of the Beck family, because I find it fascinating.

So, sometime in the 1980s/early 1990s (I assume based on the fashion), Judy Bartholomew makes it big as a workout video star. Jonah’s father, Mr. Beck, is hired at some point to be a background guy in one of her videos.

I assume this is where they meet and fall in love. Later, they get married and have Jonah.

In the years that follow, Jonah’s dad undergoes a full-body transformation, getting buff and changing hairstyles and retires from the workout video business to coach little league, and, I guess, control the finances of the Judy Bartholomew workout empire.

Eventually, Jonah’s dad invests the Judy Bartholomew fortune unwisely, and the family loses their house, and they’re homeless until very recently when he gets a new job. Doing what? I have no idea. I can’t begin to assume what his area of expertise is.

I guess my question is this: does any child in this town have a quiet, average family? Buffy’s mom spends half her life in foreign countries doing work for the military and Buffy’s family is still somehow the most normal of the group’s.

Later, Andi wanders off from the group and checks her phone. That call earlier? It was from SAVA.

The school left her a voicemail. Andi listens to it and gets sad, but I don’t think in the “rejected from a school” way.

Plus, I don’t think schools call you just to tell you to screw off. “Hi, this is Caroline from SAVA. Is this Andi Mack? Okay, great. Just calling to tell you you weren’t good enough to get into our school. Have a nice evening.”

Bex and Bowie sneak up on Andi and scare her.

God, this poor girl must live in constant fear. Why is everyone always doing this to her?

As the episode ends, Bex and Bowie talk about how happy they are right now. Andi says she is, too.

Though, as TJ would say, “Tell your face.”

Speaking of TJ...

Aww, this is the last time I get to be excited about seeing TJ in the scenes from the next episode.

One more to go, people. One more.

[anarcoqueer1994]

Request: TJ and Cyrus find out bench swings exist

So this was a cute idea. I am so sorry ahead of time for grammar mistakes bc me and sleep aren't on the same page.

One Year Together

TJ paced his room anxiously, while Marty and Jonah sat on his bed, listening to the taller boy ramble. "It has to be perfect, you know? Like this is a big deal. As of this Saturday…"

Marty cuts him off "As of this Saturday, you and Cyrus have been together for a whole year. Dude, we know. You have told us at least 100 times. Plus you forget, Buffy and I share the same anniversary so I definitely know how important Saturday is."

"Sorry, I know I keep talking about it, I just want him to have the best time."

"Teej" Jonah speaks up, "Literally Cyrus loves everything you do. I don't think you should worry so much about it."

"Easier said than done. What if my plan doesn't work out? I want it to be sickeningly sweet and romantic." TJ flops down on the chair near his bed. He gets this day-dreamy look on his face. "Can you imagine? We grab lunch at The Spoon, and then I surprise him with tickets to that traveling dinosaur exhibit that is coming this weekend. It's going to have these lifelike models of dinosaur robots who's heads move and stuff placed around the entire thing.We would walk around it together and I would listen to him talk about each one in such detail. God he is so smart." TJ gushes before continuing on. "After a while I would pull out a homemade chocolate chocolate chip muffin and give it to him. Then when we leave, I would take him to the park and we could swing together. And then just as the sun starts to set, I would say it. I will tell Cyrus I love him."

By this point, both of his friends are giving TJ weird looks. Jonah subconsciously rolls his eyes. He still doesn't get the point of all this romance stuff. 

Marty asks "Since when is TJ Kippen  a planner? Aren't you more of a wing it and see what happens kind of guy?" 

"I mean usually but I don't know, man. I just want to do this right for Cyrus."

"Just relax okay? Whatever is meant to happen will happen. "

"Is that right?" TJ asks sarcastically "So are you telling  me you have nothing special planned for Saturday with Buffy?"

"I didn't say that. We are actually going to rewatch White Fang and order take out. So yeah, I have plans but I am not stressed about them. I know Buffy likes me or we wouldn't still be together. Just like you should know that Cyrus likes you and he will probably love whatever you do."

TJ knows objectively that Marty is right. Cyrus cares about him. He shows him that everyday in the little things he does. Cyrus, since he has met him, has always been on his side. He has been the one to believe in him even when he hasn't believed in himself. But that is the exact reason this Saturday has to go right. Cyrus deserves it. Plus, he has never said I love you to him before but he does love him and he wants Cyrus to know.

So despite his friends' advice he keeps worrying. In fact he spends everyday until his anniversary worrying  and working out everything that could go wrong.

The night before the big day, TJ hardly sleeps. He is too excited? or maybe nervous? Maybe both. Anyhow he gets up really early. A little later  Amber finds him in front of his bedroom mirror trying to style his hair just right.

"You know he likes your hair better when you don't put all that gel in." Amber replies from the doorway.

"How do you know? He has never said that to me." TJ says defensively.

"No but Andi told me that he literally spent 20 minutes raving about "how cute your hair was when it was super fluffy" in their group chat. "

"Crap. Really?" TJ says panicking.

"Yea but don't worry. I'll help you out."

Twenty minutes later they have the extra gel rinsed out of his hair and Amber is helping him pick out the perfect outfit. They go with a teal shirt and a nice pair of jeans. Not too dressy, but he still looked nice. When they are finally satisfied by how he looks, Amber gives him a big hug.

"What was that for?" He asks when she pulls away.

"I just want you to know it is going to be okay. " She smiles at her little brother. "Cyrus is going to like whatever you do."

"Everyone keeps saying that but what if he doesn't. What if because of some horrible twist of fate, tonight he realizes that I am not good enough for him?"

"That is not going to happen. Now, go. You told Cyrus you would he at his house 5 minutes ago."  

TJ glances at the time on his phone. "Shoot!" he practically runs out the door while sending Cyrus a text.

-Be right there, I'm so sorry.-

Not too long after, he arrives at Cyrus' front door. He nervously knocks on the door. He tries to remind himself to breathe but somehow even after a year of dating, Cyrus had this effect on him. He blushes at the thought. 

When Cyrus answers the door, he gives TJ one of the biggest smiles he has ever seen. Cyrus steps out onto the porch. "Hey Cy," he chokes out. "Happy Anniversary." He steps closer to the other boy, resting his arms on his waist, while Cyrus responded by placing his arms over either one of TJ's shoulders.

In a soft voice the brunette responds "Happy Anniversary...Thelonious."

TJ throws his head back in feigned annoyance. "Oh way to kill the mood."

Cyrus pouts playfully. "I guess we'll just have to call this whole date off."

"I mean I am already here, we might as well still go, but only because I don't want to waste these tickets." He takes one of his hands and digs through his pocket before pulling out tickets to the dinosaur exhibit. 

When he sees Cyrus' eyes light up, he can't  help but smile at him like a dope. God he was whipped.

"Really TJ?! We are going? I thought tickets sold out months ago!"

"They did but I was one of the first people to order. I've been planning this for a while."

"You are so sweet…oh that reminds me." He pulls free from TJ and runs back into the house. He returns moments later with a small box wrapped in shiny blue paper. "For you."

TJ takes the box and delicately unwraps it. Cyrus obviously put a lot of time into wrapping it. He pulls off the lid to find a small note that says "Thank you for being the "somer" to my "sault." Around the words are little doodles of a smiling sun and a salt shaker. Under the note it a bracelet that looks handmade. It is simple, it just uses the little plastic beads. Some are white with letters on it. They spell out "Not so scary basketball guy." Surrounding the letter beads are other beads in a simple rainbow pattern. 

Cyrus shifts awkwardly watches TJ opening the gift. "You don't have to wear it. I know it is kind of lame."

"Are you kidding me? This is a great bracelet. I love this bracelet." TJ says truthfully before sliding it on. 

"Really?" Cyrus says nervously. 

"Really." TJ affirms before pulling Cyrus in for a hug. "I really love y...the bracelet."

Thankfully Cyrus doesn't seem to have noticed his almost slip up.

************

Before long, the two boys are off, making their way to the diner before heading to see the dinosaurs. The boys go in and sit in a little booth in the corner. The waitress comes and to take their order. Knowing what his boyfriend wants, TJ orders.

"Two orders of babytaters and a strawberry milkshake with a strawberry milkshake with two straws please."

The waitress smiles "Sorry hun deep  our fryers down for cleaning, and milkshake maker isn't working. We are having a guy look at it this afternoon. Can I get you guys something else?"

TJ looks at Cyrus. Cyrus says "Just a coke and a piece of pie then."

"I'll take the same." TJ is a little annoyed as the waitress walks off. He wanted this to go perfect and that included getting Cyrus' favorite meal. Cyrus sees the look on TJ's face.

"Is everything okay, Teej?" 

"Yea, I just feel bad that you couldn't get the food you wanted."

"Eh so what? I'm still on a date with the cutest guy in town."

TJ blushes "Thanks, Underdog." What he doesn't say out loud is that he could say the same thing.

After they eat their food, they make their way to the dinosaur exhibit. As they walk up to the building, they see a lot of people leaving. There are a couple fire trucks outside. TJ looks around confused. He stops a woman heading to her car. "Hey can you tell me what's going on?"

"One of the dinosaurs short circuited and caught fire. It set off the sprinklers, which damaged some more of the exhibit. They are evacuating everyone."

TJ's face drops. He thanks the woman for her help and turns to Cyrus. "I am so sorry about the exhibit."

"It is okay! You couldn't have possibly known this word happen." TJ still look sa so sad so Cyrus tries to give him his brightest smile. "TJ, I promise it is okay!"

TJ gives a small smile in return. "I guess we can still go to the park."

"Yeah, the park sounds great." 

So they walk hand in hand over to the park. As they walk though, something hits TJ. Right now would be the time to give Cyrus the homemade chocolate chocolate chip muffin he worked so hard on yesterday. Except in his rush to leave early, he forgot it on the kitchen counter. He tries to hide more disappointment from his face.

What happens next though, causes him to snap. When they walk up to the park, the entrance is closed. The ground around it looks flooded and there are some workers trying to figure some stuff out. You see, it had been a weird winter. The temperatures kept changing between freezing and just slightly chilli all season. That meant that the water kept rapidly freezing and melting again, leading to a water pipe bursting. The foreman says in passing "Sorry kids, the park is closed until we can get this cleaned up."

With that, TJ threw his hands into the air and turned and walked away. Cyrus went after him.

"TJ wait, don't go!" He calls out

Of course TJ couldn't just ignore him so he freezes in his spot. Cyrus walks up around him only to see frustrated tears forming in the jocks eyes.

He puts his hand on TJ's shoulder. "Teej is this over the park? I don't care if we can't swing, I just want to be with you."

"You keep saying that but this date was a disaster! I had it all planned out! But first I was late picking you up. Then the Spoon didn't have babytaters. And the dinosaur exhibit literally went up in flames. I forgot the stupid muffin at home, and finally we get to the park, the last sliver of hope for this date and we can't even go in. There isn't even a bench nearby for us to sit at.

Cyrus wraps his arm around TJ. TJ continues into Cyrus' shoulder. "I wanted it to be perfect for you. I wanted to do all the things that are our things. The swings, muffins, the Spoon together, maybe a bench. I just wanted us to be able to do that together."

Cyrus pulls back so he can look TJ in the face. "TJ I love all those things but they don't define us. I love them because they remind me of you. We give them meaning but not vice-versa. We would still be TJ and Cyrus without them. We make other things our things. Anything we want."

TJ doesn't  know how Cyrus does it but somehow he manages to make all the things that were bothering him melt away.

TJ smiles at shorter boy and says "I have an idea." Without another word, he pulls the other boy down the street, with Cyrus happily letting it happen. They stop in front of a house a few streets over.

Cyrus scrunches his eyebrows together. "Is this Marty's house?" All the lights are off.

"Yea but don't worry. His parents are out of town this weekend and he is at Buffy's."

"TJ we are not breaking in there, are we?"

"No." TJ laughs. Of course not. We are just going on the porch."

"Why? What for?" Cyrus asks defensively.

"You'll see, just trust me." TJ smiles.

Cyrus, for his part, let's TJ lead him again, though this time a little more reluctantly.

When they climb the stairs and head to the corner of the long porch, TJ's eyes light up. Cyrus loves the way his green eyes sparkle when he is happy. Except he doesn't know why the boy is so happy, because TJ is just looking at a porch swing.

As if answering the unspoken question,  TJ says "Don't you get it? It is a swing, like the swings we say at the first time we ever talked. But It is also a bench, like the one from Andi's party. The party that happened a year ago today. It is like two of our things wrapped into one."

Cyrus can't help but gleam back at TJ. It always amazes him how clever his boyfriend could be. "We should sit." Is all he can manage to get out.

TJ sits down with the shorter boy following suit, resting his head on TJ's shoulder as the latter wraps his arm around Cyrus. From where they are sitting, they can see the sun starting to set. TJ thinks the better view though was looking down at his boyfriend. He will never understand why he got so lucky, but he did. Cyrus meant everything to him. TJ places a little kiss on the top of Cyrus' head.

 Then without thinking he says "I love you..

" It is almost too quiet to hear. TJ's breathe catches in his throat when he realizes what he said. 

The next few seconds pass excruciatingly slowly before Cyrus say "I love you too, Teej." 

(Also Idk may fuck around and do a Muffy one for the same period of time)

@abg-blah @luzawithoutu @thebisexualweirdo @suzzysangster @galaxy-flowergirl @iloveboyz27

[rosedavid]

I honestly don’t know how I wrote this much, but it just happened. 

Tyrus ‘what if’ oneshot based on these lines: “I’m sorry.” // “I was probably deluding myself anyway.”

Tag list: @swingsetsandmuffins @chlarkthe1st @turtle0verl0rd

Why does it hurt so much?

Cyrus asks himself this question a lot nowadays. When TJ’s text notifications light up his phone, when he spots TJ standing at his locker between classes, when TJ sits with Kira during lunch. Every time, a lump forms in his throat and unshed tears burn his eyes. His friends tell him to stop wasting his energy on TJ, that he doesn’t deserve Cyrus anyway. So Cyrus tries to ignore him and pretend like everything is okay. Somedays, he wakes up and thinks that today will be the day that he feels like normal again. He’ll be able to walk right past TJ without even noticing him. That day still hasn’t come. 

Of course, Buffy and Andi have noticed the subtle changes in Cyrus’s mood. Although he’s admittedly much better than right after costume day, when he went and cried into his pillow in his room, he still feels a hole in his life. He smiles a little less and laughs a little quieter. More often than not, he’ll reject hanging out with his friends unless they’re at someone’s house because he worries he might run into TJ.

Due to these changes, convincing him to come to The Spoon after school is a difficult feat.

“Come on, Cy, it will be fun,” Andi prods. “Don’t you miss baby taters?”

“Not when my parents can get takeout and bring them home to me.”

Buffy decides to chime in next. “I know you’re still hurting, but you can’t let TJ ruin things for you! He’s not worth it. Please come, you know the two of us would never let anything bad happen.”

Cyrus knows she’s right. With everything going on in their lives recently, they all deserve a nice day to relax. He looks at his best friends who eagerly wait for his response. Finally, Cyrus let’s out a deep breath he didn’t know he was holding.

“Yeah, you’re right. And I’m sorry I’ve been so out of whack this week.”

“You lost a good friend, of course you’re out of whack. Besides, I think all of us are struggling with stuff right now,” Andi sighs, placing her head in her hands. Buffy nods in agreement.

A good friend.

Why does it hurt so much?

Deep down, Cyrus knows the answer. He just doesn’t want to admit it because if he does, everything will change for the worse. The special moments between them, the words of encouragement, and lingering touches will mean more; therefore, the heartbreak, the sense of betrayal, all of it will be stronger. So he pushes it back.

At one point in time, Cyrus did have hope. In fact, TJ asking him to do the somersault costume gave him the most hope of all. He felt wanted and perhaps even special. Then, it all came crashing down.

Despite everything that TJ has put him through, Cyrus can’t bring himself to despise him. He can’t even bring himself to be indifferent about TJ. Instead, all he feels is sad and lonely, and he hates himself for it. He still has Andi and Buffy and Jonah here for him, but TJ always filled a different part of his life. Now, that part of his life is an empty chasm.

The remainder of school drags on. The only thing that makes it go faster is that Cyrus doesn’t see TJ once. Nevertheless, lately he fixates on the other boy whenever his mind is wandering. Once school finally does end, he gets excited to hang out with his friends and distract him. Whenever he’s around them, they make him happy.

“Hope you’re hungry for baby taters,” Andi says as they walk to their typical booth in The Spoon.

Cyrus chuckles. “Always. Don’t forget the milkshakes.”

Buffy grins, sliding in beside him. “So, you guys will never believe what happened today in biology…”

That gets them started. Cyrus finds himself not even thinking about TJ.

The bell above the door chimes. That’s when everything goes wrong.

At first, Cyrus pays them no attention, his back to the door. Then, he notices Andi’s face drop at the same time rambunctious laughter starts up. He turns his head toward the front of the diner. It’s some of the members from the boys’ basketball team, and of course that includes TJ and Kira. Are they ever apart? Buffy turns to look as well, face turning into a sneer immediately.

“Don’t worry about them, Cyrus. Just ignore them.”

Cyrus hears Buffy’s voice in the back of his mind, but he’s more concentrated on TJ. This is the closest the other boy has been to him in a long time. He can almost make out the freckles along his cheeks. Then, TJ catches his eyes. Blue lock onto green. Cyrus can’t make himself look away. TJ swallows, opening his mouth slightly as if to speak.

“Oh look, we found the loser table,” Kira taunts, pointing at them. Beside her, TJ says nothing. He drops his mouth closed, eyes moving down toward his feet.

Cyrus can’t deal with this any longer. He rises from his seat, pushing past everyone to go straight out the door. This time, he can’t prevent the tears from leaking out. Seeing him right there with Kira, so close yet so far, it hurt too much. He didn’t even do anything, like he didn’t care. Did he ever care?

“Wait! Cyrus!” Andi calls after him.

He keeps going, not sure where he’s headed. All he knows is he needs to get as far away from TJ as possible. His feet carry him farther and farther, vision blurry from tears and breath short. He still hears footsteps behind him, signifying Buffy and Andi following him.

He’s at the park. This is where everything with TJ started, so it’s only fair it should end here, too. Cyrus can’t bring himself to sit on the swings, so instead, he heads for a bench nearby. Soon, Andi and Buffy come into sight, both wearing sorrowful expressions. They sit down, as well, sandwiching him between them.

“Are you okay?” Andi asks.

Cyrus laughs bitterly. “It just hurts, seeing TJ there with her. It reminds me that he chose her over me. I can’t even blame him! Most boys would’ve chosen her.”

He kicks at the dirt beneath his feet, trying to calm down. His tears slow but refuse to stop completely. Meanwhile, Andi and Buff wrap an arm around him to pull him into a side hug.

His breath hitches. “The worst part isn’t even that I liked him, it’s that I thought he was starting to like me back.”

With the gentlest voice he’s ever heard from her, Buffy whispers, “I’m sorry.”

“I was probably deluding myself anyway,” Cyrus admits with a sniffle.

It hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts

Suddenly, Andi and Buffy tense up beside him. Cyrus brings his head up and pales. He starts to make a move to leave in a hurry. His friends seem to agree with him, following in his footsteps. That’s when TJ speaks.

“Please, wait,” he begs, voice gritty. Cyrus realizes this is the first time TJ has said one word to him since costume day.

“Come on, let’s just go,” Andi urges, but something compels Cyrus to stand his ground.

“Why should I?” He questions. “After everything you’ve done, why should I listen to anything you have to say?”

TJ steps closer. “Just let me explain, please. After that, you don’t have to talk to me ever again if that’s what you want.”

For a split second, Cyrus considers just walking away and not listening to what he has to say, but he can’t. Something seems different about TJ, and not in a good way. Even though they haven’t been talking for a long time, Cyrus knows him. He’s acting off. Maybe it will make things worse, but Cyrus decides that he at least needs some kind of answer.

“Ok.”

“What are you doing, Cyrus?” Buffy worries.

Cyrus turns and smiles slightly at her. “It’s alright, I promise. Wait for me over there?”

The two of them cast him lingering glances before they warily walk away to give them privacy. Cyrus collapses onto the bench. TJ perches on the opposite end. The space feels greater than ever before.

“I miss you,” TJ sputters out.

The desperation in his words make Cyrus want to forgive him then and there, but this time won’t be so easy. “Why did you do it, TJ? Why did you abandon me?”

“I didn’t want to! I was really excited to do our costume, but I just…I couldn’t.”

Cyrus throws his hands up. “That’s not an explanation TJ! Do you know how hard this has been for me? Seeing her with you all the time, knowing that you chose her, it makes me feel like you never really cared about me.”

“That’s not true, I swear!”

“You made me feel special,” Cyrus says, voice cracking. “For once, I didn’t feel like the second choice. But I guess, in the end, I was.”

“You never were, Cyrus,” TJ promises. “I shouldn’t have abandoned you on costume day. I’m a horrible person, but I would never choose Kira over you.”

“You already did.”

“She didn’t leave me any choice!” He shouts. “She didn’t…I had to.”

This throws Cyrus off. “What are you talking about, TJ?”

“I’m a coward, okay? I’m a huge coward. The way she said it just set me off. I couldn’t risk it.”

“Risk what?” Cyrus asks, feeling more and more concerned.

Beside him, TJ is close to hyperventilating. He has tear tracks on his cheeks and runs a hand through his already tousled hair. He looks so unguarded, unlike anything Cyrus has ever seen from him, even when he was coming to terms with his dyscalculia.

Cyrus scoots closer so their shoulders just barely brush. “Hey, you can tell me anything.”

“I don’t want you to hate me,” He murmurs.

“Honestly, I don’t think I could ever hate you,” Cyrus admits. “Even after the whole costume debacle, I tried so hard to hate you, but I just couldn’t.”

TJ brings up a hand and wipes it over his face. His fingers clutch a bundle of his hoodie. After debating with himself for a moment, Cyrus places his hand on TJ’s shoulder. This movement causes TJ to startle and glance up. Cyrus flashes him a gentle smile.

“Kira, she said it was weird of me to be doing a costume with you instead of her,” TJ explains, “and the way she said it…it sounded like she was implying something that I wasn’t ready for people to know.”

A beat of silence.  

“I’m gay.”

Cyrus tugs him into a hug. His heartbeat pounds against his chest. TJ exhales shakily into his hair, causing Cyrus to grip him tighter. Neither of them moves for a while, but finally Cyrus pulls back as he has something to say.

“Thank you for telling me. You’re no different, TJ,” Cyrus emphasizes, remembering back to when he first came out to Buffy. “I just can’t believe Kira did that! I’m sorry.”

“I’m the one who should be sorry for putting you through all of this.”

“You don’t need to apologize. I understand now.”

The two of them move closer as if they’re being pulled by magnets. Cyrus has never been this close to TJ before. He can almost count the individual freckles on his face. He sees the flecks of gold sparkling in his green eyes.

“There’s one more thing, though,” TJ stammers. “Another reason why Kira made me so nervous. She also insinuated that not only would I rather do a costume with a boy over a girl, but that I’d rather do a costume with you specifically because I kind of really like you, Underdog.”

A blush tints Cyrus’s face. “I kind of really like you too, Teej.”

He places a hand on the side of TJ’s face, grinning. He grins back. They both lean in at the same time, closing the small distance between them. TJ’s lips are soft and warm and taste like mint chapstick. They kiss only for a second, but it sends tingles racing through Cyrus’s body. When they separate, they accidentally bump noses and giggle.

All the sudden, they hear gasps from nearby. It’s Andi and Buffy, both standing there with wide eyes and slack jaws.

“What the—” Buffy frowns, tilting her head. “I don’t understand.”

Andi agrees, a dazed look on her face. “Me neither.”

Cyrus glances up at TJ, waiting to see his response. To his surprise, he doesn’t look angry or upset. In fact, he appears joyful. Leaning back Cyrus lets him take the lead in this.

TJ starts, “Well, it’s a long story…”

[tj-hearteyes-kippen]

looking for love in all the wrong places

a soulmate au where everything you lose ends up in your soulmate’s possession somehow  (on ao3 here)

or: a few times Cyrus was a disaster gay and one time he was still a disaster gay but differently

or: solemates 

Cyrus wasn’t disorganized, per say. Just a little… absent minded. That’s what he was going to call it. His water bottle would slide out of his bag without him noticing until he got home, or he would get too caught up in some conversation to remember his pencil case on his desk. Never big things, just useful ones. He hoped his soulmate appreciated it, cause he’d lost a number of really nice pens.

Cyrus had gotten small hints to his soulmate’s personality, little things that showed up in his room or in his bag that certainly didn’t belong to him. When he was younger, sometime in elementary school, he’d freaked out a little when he thought it was Buffy. He loved her, for sure, but he knew they weren’t meant to be together like that. He’d brought the running shoe to school in a panic, shoving it in Buffy’s face as soon as she got there. “You didn’t happen to lose this, did you? It was in my closet this morning and I know it’s not mine.”

She wasn’t phased. “No, mine dont look like that. Besides,” she said, wrinkling her nose a little, “that looks like a boy’s shoe.”

So. An athletic boy probably. Cyrus could work with that.

He had tried to “accidentally” misplace the shoe later that day so his soulmate could have it back, but the universe didn’t work quite like that. He always found the shoe right where he left it, and he eventually just gave up and brought it back home. He put it in the wicker basket where he kept all of his soulmate’s things, tucked in the corner of his room by his desk.

When Cyrus and Jonah had first met, it was really easy for Cyrus to get a little carried away. For as long as he knew that his soulmate was probably an athletic boy, he didn’t really have any guy friends. But Jonah was a boy, and he played ultimate, and he was really cute and nice and Cyrus would have really loved for Jonah to be his soulmate.

Andi’s soulmate never lost anything that gave her particularly good clues as to who they might be. So it was a little unfair of Cyrus, but he never put a lot of stock into Andi’s crushes. It didn’t really mean anything that she liked Jonah. Not if Cyrus didn’t want it to.

Buffy was generally pretty tight lipped about her soulmate and whatever crushes she did or didn't have, which gave Cyrus’s imagination a lot of room to work. Cyrus would never tell her for fear of death, but when they first met TJ he thought for a second that he could have been her soulmate. He had told Andi this one day and she made him swear to keep that thought to himself. “She would have bothyour heads on a spike. Besides,” she said, turning her nose up slightly, “Buffy deserves better than that jerk.” Cyrus agreed, mostly, but he hadn’t met TJ yet. Once he met TJ though, things were a little different. Cyrus couldn’t explain it. He just knew there was something about TJ that everyone else was missing. He wanted to figure it out.

Anyways, Buffy was less pressed about analyzing the clues and finding her soulmate at this age. She was always trying to be the voice of reason for Andi and Cyrus, reminding them that things would just happen when they were meant to. That was a completely reasonable and logical approach and it was also way less fun. Why would the universe even bother with all these clues if not to overanalyze them?

It wasn't even a particularly dramatic moment, in reality, when Cyrus learned for sure that he had been a little off base. Jonah had reached into his pocket for something, probably his phone, and came back out with a tube of chapstick instead. Chapstick that Cyrus had certainly never owned and therefore couldn’t have lost. “Soulmate,” Jonah laughed. “They lose stuff like this all the time.”

Cyrus laughed along politely but he felt a little crushed inside. It had been reckless to let himself think it could have been Jonah, really, and in the long run it was probably better to find out sooner rather than later. It still sucked.

He pretended to get a text from his mom so he could go home. “Bye Cy-guy!” Jonah said in his usual chipper way, completely unaware of what Cyrus was feeling.

“See ya.” He said back numbly and then went home to lie face down on his bed for the rest of the day. He called up Buffy, later, and admitted the whole situation to her despite his embarrassment.

“It really felt like I was meant to meet him, you know? Now I just feel like I got way too attached to the idea of having him in my life.”

“Sometimes I think the universe gives us people we’re meant to keep who aren’t our soulmates. Like you, me, and Andi. You guys are still friends, Cy. That doesn't have to change.”

“I know. I just thought…”

“I know.”

So. Cyrus was never letting himself do that again.

It wasn’t even that hard to not do it again, once he got over Jonah. He mostly hung out with the same people all the time and he probably would have noticed if it was one of them, he figured.

Instead, Cyrus chose to spend his time imagining the moment he and his soulmate finally found each other. In his head he was very suave and he could only hope that all of this practice being dramatic and romantic would pay off in reality. Maybe it was for the best he hadn't found his soulmate yet. He probably would have said something dumb.

Not to say that he completely stopped thinking about who it might be. Every time they were at one of TJ’s games Cyrus would look at all the boys on both teams and decide if he thought it could be any of them. He was not ogling, despite what Buffy and Andi said.

(Ok, maybe just a little bit of ogling. All he's saying is if the universe wasn't there to pick an athletic boy for him he probably would've done it himself.)

In the end he was really there for TJ though, not his teammates. “Underdog!” TJ said happily as he bounded over after the game. He moved to give Cyrus a hug, but Cyrus was faster than that.

“Uh, no thanks, sweaty basketball guy.”

TJ gave him an exaggerated pout. “But I played so well!”

“Which I will reward you for after you’ve showered.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” TJ said, then noticed Buffy and Andi standing off to the side. “Buffy, Andi,” he gave them a bro nod, “thanks for coming.”

Once TJ had made his way back to the locker room and plans for a post-game meal at The Spoon had been settled, Buffy gave Cyrus a look. “Careful,” she said, and Cyrus genuinely had no idea what she was talking about. He said as much, and Buffy just raised her eyebrows and shook her head, getting ready to head out. “Nevermind. We’ll meet you guys there, yeah?”

Cyrus knew there was more to TJ than everyone initially thought, but it still surprised him sometimes when TJ would show off an unexpected new layer. A freshly showered TJ was at The Spoon talking animatedly about this book he’d been reading, and book nerd is not something Cyrus ever would have pegged TJ for. The author of the book he had been talking about sounded familiar, too, but Cyrus couldn't place them. He told TJ this and TJ just shrugged. “I mean, I’ve probably talked about them before. I love their work, so.”

It wasn’t until he got home that day that he realized where he knew the name from. Cyrus’s soulmate had lost a book by that author before! He thought, a little ridiculously, that he was glad TJ and his soulmate would have stuff in common so they could be friends. TJ had become pretty important to Cyrus, so it would suck if he had to play mediator like he used to have to do with TJ and Buffy.

The next morning got off to an unfortunate start, which is how Cyrus should have known that the universe had shenanigans in store for him that day.

Rats he thought as he rummaged through his bag, realizing his snack had disappeared somehow. As usual, he hoped his soulmate was grateful. They should really thank him when they finally meet. Cyrus only lost stuff that could be useful to anyone. (Except that time he blessed them with a mud soaked shoe, but he liked to pretend that didn’t happen). His soulmate, on the other hand, managed to lose an entire basketball last week. How does one lose a basketball? What was Cyrus even supposed to do with a basketball? He shook his head and headed towards the vending machine to get a replacement snack before his next class.

“Hey,” TJ said, sliding into his usual seat next to Cyrus right before the bell rang. Cyrus smiled at him and then turned his attention towards their teacher.

At the end of the period she explained their homework before dismissing the class. TJ gently kicked Cyrus’s shoes. “Want to work on that together after school?”

Cyrus’s legs were not long enough to kick TJ back from where he was sitting. “Sure! My house?”

“Perfect! Later, Underdog.”

Cyrus knew that he and TJ were always the face of focus when they worked together so he anticipated incredible amounts of productivity from the two of them that afternoon.

...Okay, so maybe the homework had gotten slightly derailed.

TJ was sitting on the floor sifting through the drawers in Cyrus’s desk while Cyrus was trying to make increasingly complicated paper airplanes to throw at TJ’s head. “Hey,” TJ said, apparently out of drawers, “What’s in here?”

Cyrus looked up to see TJ peeking into the wicker basket. “That’s where I keep my soulmate’s stuff.”

“Oh,” TJ sat back. “Sorry, I should have asked before I looked.”

“No, I don’t care. Go ahead.”

Cyrus focused back on his airplane. He gave it a test throw and it turned and went to the side of the room. He got up to get it from the floor.

“Hey, I used to have a pair of shoes just like this! One of them fell out of my bag though and and I could never find it…” TJ trailed off before looking up at Cyrus in stunned silence.

Cyrus turned to see TJ holding the shoe from his soulmate basket and froze. TJ? It couldn’t be. But then he thought about it. TJ was athletic. TJ was a boy. TJ was an athletic boy that Cyrus had an unexplainable bond with since the moment they met and suddenly it all made sense. He wanted to kick himself for being so caught up on Jonah when he met TJ that he had forgotten to overanalyze such an obvious candidate.

TJ was sitting on the floor with the shoe still in hand, frozen in place. He was always cute but the doe eyed look of shock was really, really cute.

Every coherent thought Cyrus had suddenly chose to vacate his head. “Uhhh,” he started and then paused, trying to think of something clever to say. TJ was his soulmate. They would remember this moment forever. “You're welcome,” is what his mouth settled on without consulting his brain.

That was enough to shake TJ out of his stupor, his eyes lighting up as Cyrus could feel his face heating. He slowly put the shoe down next to him and leaned forward with delight. “I’m sorry, did you just say ‘You’re welcome?’”

“Um, no?” Cyrus said, but it was too late. The damage had been done. Cyrus couldn’t believe himself. All that practice and for what?

TJ was way too amused by the whole thing. He had a big, stupid grin on his face as he said, “I mean you’re great and all but that’s pretty confident to assume I would thank you for the honour of being your soulmate.”

“That’s not what I meant!” Cyrus tried to salvage his dignity even though it was long gone and he could tell TJ was just messing with him. “I just meant-- because I lost some pretty good--”

TJ shrugged, cutting him off. “I mean, I would though. I think I got pretty lucky.”

Cyrus warmed at that a little and let the reality of the situation sink in for the first time since he opened his stupid mouth. Soulmates. Soulmates. “TJ, thats… I did too. Hold on, I want to say something really sappy but I need a minute to think before I speak, apparently.”

“Just come here,” TJ said with a laugh and wrapped his arms around Cyrus after he sulked over. Cyrus rested a hand on TJ’s chest and looked up at him, suddenly shy.

“Hi,” TJ said softly.

“Hi,” he said back.

Cyrus forgot to indulge in all of his cliche love story fantasies like counting TJ’s freckles and looking for the flecks in TJ’s eyes as TJ leaned in. Instead, he let his eyes slip shut as TJ pressed a soft kiss to his lips.

At school the next morning Cyrus was excitedly telling Andi and Buffy about how magical it all was when TJ himself came over and threw an arm around Cyrus, handing him a muffin. Cyrus looked up at him happily. Forever. The universe decided he gets to have this forever. Cyrus leaned into his side a little. “Thank you.”

TJ couldn't hold back his grin and Cyrus figured that he was having a similar moment. That is, until he looked Cyrus in the eyes with a wink and very deliberately said, “You're welcome.” Cyrus groaned and buried his head into TJ’s chest. Yup, he did this to himself. He did this to himself and now he was stuck with it forever.

He was looking forward to it.

[thirteen-beaxhes]

So yah you made my soulmate cry about your not Tyrus Endgame fic so like if you could make an alternate tyrus endgame chapter that would be great and i wont fite you with bacon

hello hello my dude sskskskssk iM SORRY I DIDNT WANNA HURT ANYONE but i actually had panned out an alternate ending for ‘Our Last Words’ but ultimately scrapped it for the original so i pulled out those notes.

SO this is set after Chapter 7 of ‘Our Last Words’. To recap: the chapter ends with them finally confessing and kissing dramatically in the rain, but Cyrus confessed his fear of losing TJ if he is his soulmate, but TJ reassures him it’ll be okay. But he’s still scared. 

LINKS IN REBLOG 

~~~~~~

With or Without You - U2

Cyrus wished, at that moment, that he had never met TJ.

He wasn’t even sure what the argument had started about, but now they were fully yelling in each other’s faces, hurling insult after insult at each other. Cyrus knew he didn’t mean any of what he was saying, but his mind was stuck in a storm and there was no getting out.

“You can be so infuriating sometimes, Cyrus,” TJ yelled, wildly running his fingers through his hair.

“Oh really? How come?” Cyrus hissed, glaring at TJ.

“Are you serious? All past year, I’ve been so patient, and understanding, never asking why you would just up and leave in between dates or hanging out, trying to not let it upset me. But you never said why, you just kept doing it. And it sucked. But what sucked more is you never said a word. You always just left.”

“I’m sorry, okay? It’s just, I,” Cyrus stammered, unable to find the words. How was he supposed to tell TJ about his nervousness about soulmates and the numbers and letters printed on his shoulder, without sounding paranoid?

TJ just turned away from Cyrus, pinching the bridge of his nose, leaning against the kitchen counter in his house. He took a deep breath but kept his head down.

“I’m gonna go,” Cyrus mumbled, grabbing his phone from the table. TJ scoffed.

“Are you serious right now? You’re literally doing the same thing again!”

“I just have to go,” Cyrus started, his tone pleading.

“Why, Cyrus? Why can’t you just tell me?”

“I can’t! Okay? I can’t tell you!” Cyrus yelled, the tears filling up in his eyes, as he moved to the door. He grabbed his coat and left TJ’s house, the cold air of winter hitting him in the face as soon as he walked out. All he heard was TJ’s sigh as he shut the door behind him.

As he walked away from the house, Cyrus let the tears fall. This had been their worst fight yet. They didn’t fight very often, only irrelevant arguments every now and then. But this one seemed different. And despite how much it hurt, Cyrus knew that it was warranted in some sense. He had been so caught up in his fear of TJ being his soulmate that he had not considered how TJ would be feeling with him leaving abruptly almost every time they hung out.

Were they still together? Cyrus asked himself as he made his way to the Spoon. He really hoped they were, and that this was just another obstacle they would get over. But for some reason, he felt unsure. And that just left a weird feeling in his gut. He shook his head slightly as he pushed open the door of the Spoon, just wanting to settle down with some baby taters and a milkshake.

“Oh, Cyrus! Hey,” a voice said from behind him, and Cyrus turned to see Walker sitting in a booth, waving him over. Cyrus rubbed his nose, which was quite red, and smiled back, heading over to him.

“Hey Walker,” Cyrus said, sliding into the seat opposite to him. Walker furrowed his eyebrows, looking at Cyrus in concern.

“Are you okay, bro? You look hassled.”

Cyrus just waved him off, sniffing. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just, cold and stuff.”

Walker didn’t look convinced, but nodded his head anyway, as the waitress set down their food. They spent the next half an hour just talking about nothing in particular, Cyrus starting to feel a bit better about things. He hadn’t really spoken much to Walker before, what with all the drama involving him, Andi, Jonah and Buffy. It was a big mess that Cyrus wanted no part of. But, as he kept talking to him, Cyrus realised that they actually got on pretty well. If things were different, they could have been really good friends.

All the while they were at the Spoon, Cyrus itched to check his phone, desperate to see if TJ had texted him, said anything. At various points, he caved and checked, but the notifications were blank. He tapped his fingers against the table repeatedly, his underlying nervousness growing. Walker wasn’t blind, he picked up on his actions soon enough, and finally, he grabbed Cyrus’ hand, forcing him to stop tapping.

“Are you sure everything is okay, Cyrus?” Walker asked, looking Cyrus in the eye. Cyrus forced himself to look back at Walker, taking a deep breath.

“TJ and I got into a huge fight before this,” Cyrus said with a sigh, looking at the empty baby tater basket before him. “And I don’t know if we will still be okay.”

Walker shook his head. “You don’t need to worry about that. Your friendship is strong enough to last anything.”

Cyrus gave a short, emotionless laugh. “Friendship, maybe. But a relationship is different, I guess.”

Walker looked confused at first, but then realisation flooded his face, as he leaned back in his seat. “Oh. I’m sorry, I didn’t know you guys were-”

“It’s okay,” Cyrus interrupted, holding up his hand. “I know what you meant.”

Walker nodded. “I’m sure you guys will be okay.”

Cyrus sighed, taking the opportunity to check his phone again. Still nothing.

There was an awkward silence between them until Walker snapped his fingers. “Oh! I wanted to tell you. There’s an art exhibition tomorrow, and one of my paintings is gonna be there as one of the featured artist works.”

“Whoa, Walker, that’s amazing. I’m so happy for you,” Cyrus said, smiling as he bumped fists with him.

“Thanks, man. Anyway, I’d love it if you could come by and see it.”

“Really?” Cyrus asked.

“Yeah,” Walker shrugged. “I still haven’t told Andi or anyone, so you’re the first person I’ve told.”

Cyrus smiled, taking the flyer which Walker had passed over to him. “I’ll try my best to make it.”

“Cool,” Walker replied, smiling warmly. “Tomorrow?”

Cyrus bumped fists with him again as he slid out of the booth seat. “Tomorrow.”

*

Cyrus walked home, the temporary happiness from hanging out with Walker wearing out. He appreciated Walker trying to make him feel better, and it had worked for a bit. But after he left, he looked back at his blank phone screen, the worry setting in. Logic dictated that he should call TJ and talk this out. But when had his logical side ever won against the side holding irrational fear?

Cyrus walked back to his room, throwing his coat on his bed. When he did so, he caught a fleeting glimpse at his watch.

6:17 pm.

Cyrus sighed, heading over to the bathroom. He knew there was no real reason for him to check, he hadn’t been around TJ at the time on his shoulder, but old habits die hard. He pulled down the collar of his shirt, his gaze sliding over, but he did a double take and gasped.

Grey.

What? How? Who could it have been? Only people he had spoken to were TJ and…

Oh.

As if he was stuck in slow motion, Cyrus picked up his phone and shakily clicked on Walker’s contact, typing out a ‘hi’. Holding his breath, he pressed ‘Send’.

This message could not be delivered.

Cyrus gasped, dropping his phone onto the bed, covering his mouth in shock. He hastily typed out many more messages, checking if it wasn’t just a fluke.

This message could not be delivered.

This message could not be delivered.

This message could not be delivered.

Cyrus felt tears prick his eyes, but they weren’t of sadness. Of course, he felt a dull pang of pain, knowing he would never get to talk to Walker again. He really had a great time with him that day, but in the end, they just didn’t know each other well enough. He would miss a friend, though.

But…

TJ wasn’t his soulmate.

That realisation hit Cyrus like a ton of bricks. In the best way possible. TJ wasn’t his soulmate. He wouldn’t lose him. He didn’t need to be scared anymore. He didn’t need to be scared.

“TJ,” Cyrus whispered, as he left his coat and bolted out of his room, down the stairs, out of the doors, into the streets as the sky began to grow darker. Under the darkening sky, Cyrus ran. He ran a record distance for him, all the way trying to call TJ, but receiving no answer.

He reached TJ’s house, but he didn’t knock. Instead, he went to the side of the house, and climbed up to TJ’s window, from where he could see the light on, and a figure walking around the room. He had only climbed up to TJ’s window once, and it had almost ended in a trip to the emergency room. But desperate times called for desperate measures. Cyrus made his way up the drain pipe, very nearly falling off at least 5 times. But eventually, he made it up, rapping his knuckles on TJ’s window, catching his breath after the unbelievable amount of exercise he had done.

He saw TJ pace about his room, his eyes visibly red. At Cyrus’ knocking, he turned around abruptly, his jaw dropping to the floor as he walked up to the window to open it.

“Cyrus, what are you,” TJ started but was cut off by Cyrus pulling him in for a kiss, wrapping his arms around his neck, pulling TJ as close as he could. TJ was knocked back in shock, but soon enough wrapped his hands around Cyrus’ waist, melting into his touch. Cyrus pulled away, but grabbed TJ’s face, kissing it all over, whispering, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” over and over.

“Hey hey,” TJ said, moving Cyrus back so he could look him in the eye. “It’s okay, Cy. It’s okay.”

“I’m so sorry for hurting you TJ,” Cyrus mumbled, his face red, a stray tear falling down his cheek. “I was so scared of possibly losing you, that I just forgot everything else. And I didn’t realise how I was hurting your feelings.”

“Cyrus,” TJ whispered, pushing Cyrus’ hair back, trying to hold the tears back himself. “It’s okay. I’m sorry too. I said some awful things too. But I told you, you won’t lose me.”

“I know that now,” Cyrus said, looking at TJ with a bright smile of relief.

It took TJ a minute to understand what Cyrus meant, but soon he realised. And he grabbed Cyrus and hugged him tight, spinning him around his room, kissing his cheek, his forehead, his lips. He had never felt more relief in his life.

“We must be the first losers to be so happy that we aren’t soulmates,” Cyrus laughed, bumping his nose with TJ’s.

“So, are we okay?” TJ asked nervously, looking at Cyrus.

Cyrus just smiled, and pulled TJ in for a kiss, nodding his head.

“Yeah, we are. Of course we are.”

They stayed like that, hugging and kissing, high on a different level of happiness. After a while, TJ turned over to Cyrus.

“I don’t care what the universe says,” he whispered, holding Cyrus’ hand. “But you are the best person for me, Cyrus Goodman.”

Cyrus smiled, kissing the tip of TJ’s nose. “And you’re the best person for me, TJ Kippen.”

~~~~~~~

Hope that was okay lol

Send me prompts cuz im uninspired and I’ll do them in a few days!

[myshipshipsitself]

Skipping Stones

Title: Skipping Stones Fandom: Andi Mack Character(s): Cyrus Goodman, TJ Kippen (Andi Mack and Buffy Driscoll mentioned) Ship(s): Tyrus Summary: When TJ teaches Cyrus how to skip stones, he also learns more than he expects. (Idk, I’m bad at summaries). Word Count: 2,031

Notes: Set after One in a Minyan. Not really any spoilers, but just fyi.

Cyrus wasn’t answering his phone. Not texts or the one call. He wasn’t answering at all.

There wasn’t any particular reason why TJ was calling Cyrus. It wasn’t like he was dying or anything. But it was still a bit odd that Cyrus wasn’t answering, and it was the day he’d invited TJ to come to a party at Andi’s. Some end of the school year thing that Cyrus and his friends were almost scarily excited for. Seriously, what happened at these parties? They acted like they’d all get superpowers or sprout wings or some crazy crap, the way they all went on about it.

Still, the excitement was infectious—at least Cyrus’s was—and TJ couldn’t help but be looking forward to it as well. Except that now Cyrus wasn’t answering him.

So he did the only logical thing, and went to the park. But when he got there, Cyrus wasn’t on the swings.

He frowned a bit, looking around. He could try Cyrus’s house, but— TJ paused, seeing a familiar looking figure standing over by the lake. A small smile curled across his lips as he made his way over to where Cyrus was throwing rocks into the lake.

As he got closer, he could hear the huffs of frustration each time Cyrus threw a rock into the lake, and watched in bemusement as he picked up another and threw it in the lake.

“What are you doing?” TJ called out once he was close enough.

Cyrus jumped and turned around, a looked of fearful surprise morphing into a warm smile. TJ couldn’t help but smile back as he leaned his arms against the back of the park bench a few feet away from the boy.

“Trying to skip rocks,” Cyrus said, his expression looking more defeated as he looked back sullenly at the lake.

“Do you want some help?” TJ asked, making his way around the bench to stand beside Cyrus.

“It’s hopeless,” Cyrus said with a dramatic sigh. “I’m just not destined to be good at skipping rocks.”

TJ laughed and shook his head. “Nah, you just need the right teacher,” he said. He crouched down closer to the lake, looking through the rocks until he picked out a flat, smooth one. “First lesson is picking out the right rock. One that’s not flat enough will just sink. You need one like this.” He held it up, turning it over in his palm before holding it out to Cyrus.

Cyrus took the rock, frowning at it as though it had already failed him. “Now pull your arm back, and just—“ He broke off when Cyrus threw the rock like he would throw a frisbee, too hard and too high, and it just plopped into the water like the rest of them.

“See?” Cyrus said sullenly, but TJ was still smiling at him.

“All I see is that you’re ready for lesson two,” TJ said confidently. He picked out a few more smooth, flat stones and held another one out to Cyrus. “So lesson two, it’s all in the wrist.” He showed Cyrus the right way to hold the stone, to pull his arm back, and made a slow motion demonstration of flicking his wrist the right way as he swung his arm around. It took a couple more tries, but the look on Cyrus’s face when his stone skipped once on the surface of the lake before plopping beneath the surface was worth it.

“Did you see that? I did it!” Cyrus was practically bouncing as he said it, warm, bright eyes staring at TJ for his approval.

“You did, that was amazing!” TJ said with a short laugh, clapping Cyrus on the shoulder as he looked back around to the lake as though in disbelief of what had just happened on it’s flat, shiny surface.

When they made their way back over to the bench, Cyrus chattering on excitedly about finally being able to skip stones on the lake, and being able to do a somersault, TJ listened with rapt attention. He was as interested in the stories and odd anodes coming out of Cyrus’s mouth as he was just listening to his overly excited voice—which sounded as cheesy in TJ’s head as he expected, and he wasn’t intending to dwell on it too much.

“Oh, you were calling me,” Cyrus said, picking up his phone when he sat back down not he bench and saw the amount of unanswered texts and missed call. “Sorry, I didn’t even hear my phone.”

“It’s alright, nothing important,” TJ said with a shrug. He resumed his place standing behind the bench, bent forward with his forearms leaning against the back of the bench beside Cyrus. He’d really just wanted to talk to Cyrus before the party; not for any reason in particular, just to hear his voice—which also sounded as cheesy in his head as he expected. That happened far too often, he found, when it came to Cyrus. “Just wanted to know what time you were gonna head over to Andi’s, but we can just head over there together, if you want.”

“Oh, yeah, the party,” Cyrus said, his smile fading a little. Very much unlike every other time he’d talked to TJ about the party, during which he’d sounded and acted like an overexcited puppy.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, brow furrowed in concern at the boy’s sudden change in attitude. “You were excited about the party yesterday.”

“Yeah, no, I was—am, I am excited,” Cyrus said quickly.

“Could’ve fooled me,” TJ said.

Cyrus shifted a bit uncertainly, pointedly avoiding looking TJ in the eyes as he spoke. “It’s just, Andi and Buffy— They’ve been…hinting at stuff lately, ever since the Shiva.”

“What kinda stuff?”

“Nothing—Nothing important—No, it is, important, I mean, but it’s not. It’s,” Cyrus stopped himself and took a deep breath. Despite Cyrus’s obvious discomfort, TJ couldn’t help but smile just a little at how very Cyrus his behavior was. “They just—They think I should talk to you, about something. And I don’t know that I can yet.”

“Cyrus, you know you can talk to me about anything, right?” As odd as the words felt coming out of his mouth, they were true. He’d never been very open with his friends before, he’d meant it when he said Cyrus was the only person he could really talk to, openly and honestly. He hoped Cyrus knew that the same was true in return. “You don’t have to, but you can.”

“I know,” Cyrus said slowly. “And I want to. I’m just. Scared,” he admitted quietly.

Without thinking about it, TJ reached over to put a hand on Cyrus’s shoulder, squeezing it lightly. “You’ve dealt with me through my dyscalculia, helped me make things right with Buffy—you actually thought it was worth it to even help me make things right with Buffy, and didn’t treat me like some jerk, idiot jock. There’s nothing you could possibly want to say to me that you need to be scared to say.”

“I’m gay,” Cyrus said it in such a rush that TJ wasn’t sure he’d heard it correctly. Or rather, it took a second for his brain to process. “And that’s not all.” Cyrus still hadn’t turned to face TJ, just staring determinedly at the lake, though TJ could feel him shaking a little under this hand. “I-I like you. And that’s—I know it’s weird, and it’s not okay, because you’re my friend—“

TJ only half heard the panicked rambling that was coming out of Cyrus’s mouth. Cyrus liked him. His best friend was gay, and liked him. He couldn’t keep the bright smile form his face. “Cyrus,” TJ tried to interrupt the rambling, but the younger boy wasn’t pausing for a breath.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t want it to be weird, but I know I made it weird, and—“

“Cyrus!” TJ said a bit louder, but Cyrus still didn’t stop. The smile was starting to fade as it looked like Cyrus was about to be able to relate to Jonah on having panic attacks in about .2 seconds.

“And you probably think I’m weird, and you don’t want to be my friend—And I don’t want that. TJ, I don’t want you to stop being my friend, I’m sorry for making it weird, I didn’t mean to—“

TJ cut him off in the only way that made sense in his mind—actually it didn’t really make sense in his mind, but it was an idea that popped into his head, and he had a bad habit of just grabbing the first semi-logical or illogical idea and running with it.

TJ put a hand on Cyrus’s cheek, turning his head so the boy had no choice but to face him, and pressed a firm kiss against his lips.

It succeeded in stopping Cyrus’s nervous rambling, but TJ realized about a split second after he did it what he had done. He let himself enjoy the warm glow that seemed to engulf him for about two seconds before pulling back to see the look of complete shock on Cyrus’s face. He opened his mouth to say something, then realized he had nothing to say, and closed it again.

He hadn’t really thought this plan through very far.

It was probably only a second or two, but it felt like hours before Cyrus broke the silence. “You kissed me,” he stated, his voice a mixture of shock and awe.

“Yeah,” TJ answered, unable to form any other words. The smile seemed to from on Cyrus’s face in slow motion, lighting up his face in a way that made it impossible for TJ to not smile back at him just as brightly.

“You like me back?” Despite the answer being obvious, Cyrus’s tone still formed a question, and TJ had to force down a laugh.

“And here I thought I was being subtle,” TJ said in a deadpan tone that made Cyrus crinkle his nose and shove at TJ’s shoulder. TJ laughed and leaned back to knock his arm against Cyrus’s shoulder, though more gently than he’d been shoved. “Now that that’s been cleared up, wanna head over to Andi’s?”

“Yes!” Cyrus cried out so excitedly that TJ had to laugh. He stood up, holding a hand out to Cyrus over the back of the bench, and watched Cyrus’s face, if it was possible, brighten even more. Cyrus was—and TJ hated how cheesy it even sounded in his head, but there was no other way to describe it—glowing. His eyes were wide and bright, his smile brilliant, his entire body bouncing as he stood from the bench, he was practically exuding pure light and energy as he reached out to take TJ’s hand.

TJ was starting to walk around the side of the bench to join Cyrus, but the younger boy apparently had other plans, and TJ watched with no small amount of concern as he stepped up not the bench and attempted to hop over the back of it to join TJ. Except that his foot caught the back of the bench and he nearly face planted on the ground, if it hadn’t been for TJ’s arm instinctively shooting out to catch him around the chest. He laughed, holding onto Cyrus until he had both his feet properly underneath him again, and shook his head.

“You could’ve just walked around the bench, you know,” TJ teased.

Cyrus made a face at him, shoving his chest, though TJ held on tight this time, one hand clutching Cyrus’s at their sides, the other wrapped around Cyrus’s back. Tj couldn’t help himself, and leaned down to press a brief kiss against Cyrus’s cheek before pulling back so they could walk side by side, hands swinging between them and shoulders bumping against each other as they walked.

Just before they reached the edge of the park, Cyrus stopped, his head falling back and a long groan escaping his lips.

“What is it?” TJ asked, stopping beside him and watching the odd expression on his face.

“Buffy’s gonna say ‘I told you so.’"

[thinkingaboutyoungroyals]

The Perfect Moment (Chapter 4)

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?

If you’d like to be on the tag list, please let me know here or send me a DM or a message! Or, you can also find my story on AO3 and subscribe!

Thank you!

(Last time, the chapter didn’t show on the tags so I figured it might have been because of the links. So, I’m trying not to add any in but if you need the other chapters, just go on my tyrus perfect moment tag or DM me!)

Despite his little accident, Cyrus was still ready to continue filming the next day. Time stopped for no one and neither did his deadline. If he was to become a real filmmaker, he couldn’t let something as small as getting hit in the face with a basketball and a bleeding nose stop him. Besides, his dad had taken him to the hospital the day before to make sure his nose wasn’t broken (it wasn’t).

So, the next day, after filming a short Dance scene at the gym (which Andi had decorated), he gathered his cast and crew and headed off to the park to film one of the most important scenes in his movie.

(And by cast and crew, he only really meant Buffy, T.J., Andi, and Jonah. The others were done shooting for the day and had gone home.)

“Okay! In this scene, Logan will do his monologue while watching Quinn from afar,” Cyrus explained to them. “Buffy, you’ll stand at the gazebo and look contemplative. Jonah, your camera will do a wide-shot, with T.J. close and Buffy in the background.”

Jonah gave him a thumbs up.

“Andi, will you fix Buffy’s makeup, please? We’re starting in five.”

The equivalent of the infamous balcony scene, Logan and Quinn agree to meet up. Quinn sneaks away to the gazebo and Logan follows her after. Then, the two do their individual monologues and then their confessions.

“You ready?” Cyrus asked T.J., who was standing on his spot, reading his script.

He was dressed in a lavender button down, black slacks, matching suit jacket, and a purple tie to match Buffy’s purple cocktail dress.

The taller boy shrugged. “As ready as I’ll ever be. You know… as long as Buffy doesn’t kill me after.”

Cyrus chuckled. “Well, then, you’ll be thrilled that I replaced the kiss with a hug.”

T.J. scrunched his face, looking disgusted. “She really would have killed me then!”

Shaking his head in amusement, Cyrus stepped forward and reached up to take hold of the purple tie.

“Your tie is all crooked,” he stated, fixing it. Then, he smoothed T.J.’s suit jacket, picking off some stray lint. “There, all handsome.” He looked up to smile at the other boy.

T.J. was red as he stared down at him.

Cyrus’ eyes widened in alarm. “Are you okay?!”

He placed a hand on the other boy’s forehead, wondering if he had a fever. Was he sick?! Had Cyrus been pushing him too hard?!

Despite his panicking, T.J. just chuckled and shook his head. “I’m fine. Really. I think it’s just a little hot out.”

Well, that made sense. It was a little humid that day. They better wrap up this scene so they could all go home soon. Plus, they all had a pretty long day at school. And it was Friday!

“I’ll get you some water, then! Don’t want my star to be dehydrated!”

And with that, he bounded off to get T.J. a bottle of water. (He was well-prepared with snacks and hydration!)

…….…….…….

He practiced his monologue all night, in front of his cat. Sure, Simon didn’t give a damn about the words he was saying to him as long as T.J. gave him his dinner, but still, he had felt confident.

So, when the time came to shoot, T.J. was proud to say that it went flawlessly. Okay, maybe he stumbled once and forgot a few words the second time, but by the third and fourth take, he had perfected it.

“Cut!” Cyrus called out. “That was great T.J.!”

His heart swelled with joy at the other boy’s compliment.

“Buffy! Get ready for your scene!”

As they moved the cameras closer to Buffy’s spot, T.J. found himself staying by Cyrus’ side. He subtly leaned in and pressed their shoulders together while the other boy adjusted his camera. Cyrus briefly turned his head to smile at him before going back to his task.

“Okay, Buffy! You ready?”

“Yep!” The girl gave them a thumbs up.

“And… action!”

“Logan… where are you?” Buffy said out loud as she looked out into the distance. “Is this really okay? Can we be together like this and not hurt our friends?” She sighed, loudly. “Does it really matter whether you’re in their team or not?”

Buffy’s voice droned on in T.J.’s ears. He knew he should be watching her because everybody else was. But, he couldn’t tear his eyes away from Cyrus.

The director’s concentration was firmly on the camera screen, barely breathing as his teeth subtly gnawed at his lower lip. He had really plump lips that stood out whenever he pouted. 

Not for the first time, T.J. wondered what it would be like to kiss Cyrus.

“Cut!”

His voice broke through T.J.’s thoughts. Realizing what was just running through his head while staring at Cyrus, he blushed.

“Okay, that was great!” Cyrus called out to Buffy, oblivious to T.J.’s red face. “One more take! This time, try to act a little more…dreamy! You’re in love, remember? You’re daydreaming about him!”

T.J. knew all about daydreams.

Then, Cyrus turned to him. “We’ll do two more takes and then we’ll do the next scene, if you want to look at your script again.”

“Okay!”

He was smiling but on the inside, he was groaning. He and Buffy were supposed to hug in this scene after spewing some flowery stuff at each other.

But, he had to keep remembering that he was doing this for Cyrus. It was all for Cyrus. Just like in all of his other scenes, he just had to pretend that the person in front of him is the person he liked…which was Cyrus.

So, while Buffy continued to film her scene, T.J. read through his script again, memorizing and feeling the emotions behind those words. And even though the words were cheesier than The Spoon’s mac-and-cheese, they were words written by Cyrus…and he had a way with them that just reeled T.J. in.

Soon, he found himself standing under the gazebo, Buffy across from him and Cyrus in between them, explaining what he wanted them to do.

Walk to Buffy. Stand close. Take one of her hands and put it against his heart. Then… hug.

“Ready? And… action!”

T.J. got into character and sauntered over to Buffy. “Quinn,” he called out.

Buffy spun on her heels and smiled at him. “Logan. I thought you would never come.”

“Of course, I would.” T.J. took a few steps forward. “I promised you I would.”

“Are we doing the right thing? Keeping us a secret from our teams? Our friends?”

“You know what will happen if we tell them. They won’t forgive us.”

“I know but…”

This was the moment when T.J. was supposed to take Buffy’s hand and put it against his chest. So he reached out to do exactly that.

“Cut!”

They both turned to Cyrus, confused. Neither of them made a mistake on their lines.

Cyrus sighed. “You’re standing too far, T.J.”

The athlete looked at the distance between him and Buffy. It seemed like a respectable distance. He took a step forward.

“Like this?” he asked.

Cyrus left his camera to walk up to the both of them. Situating himself in between, the shorter boy gently placed a hand on T.J.’s back and pushed him closer to Buffy, who took a step back. Cyrus took her arm and pulled her back in her original place.

“Like this,” he stated, matter-of-factly.

Buffy looked up at T.J., lips in a tight line and hands clenched in fists at her side. He knew that she was holding herself back from punching him in the face and running away.

“Buffy, why do you look like you want to punch him?” Cyrus asked, looking at her. “You have to be in love!”

“I’m sorry! But his face…”

T.J. sneered. “Yours is no work of art either, Driscoll.”

“Why you-.”

“Guys!” Cyrus stepped in between them. “This is supposed to be the perfect moment and you’re ruining it!”

Buffy raised an eyebrow. “Perfect moment?”

Cyrus sighed again. “In every story, there is a perfect moment. The timing is right, the mood is set, and everything else fades away into the background. It’s the moment that captures the audience and sticks in their memory the most. This is the scene where Logan and Quinn pledge their love for one another and swear not to let anything get in between them. The perfect moment! So, please… get this right? For me?”

He was practically pleading at that point and T.J. felt guilty that his lack of romantic chemistry with Buffy was causing problems.

“I’m sorry, Cy, it’s just… really hard,” Buffy explained, looking sorry. “I mean… look at him!”

She gestured at T.J.’s face.

Cyrus looked up at him. T.J. grinned. And Cyrus blushed and cutely looked away.

“I see nothing wrong with his face,” he stated. “In fact, he looks quite handsome... and you’re very pretty!”

T.J. resisted the urge to blush. 

“How about this?” Cyrus continued. “Close your eyes, both of you.”

“Why?” Buffy asked.

“Just do it, please.”

Obediently, T.J. shut his eyes. It took a moment but Buffy must have closed hers too as Cyrus cleared his throat and began to talk.

“Now, imagine that the person in front of you is the person you like.

T.J. pictured it in his head.

Cyrus standing in front of him, wearing that cute eye smile as he looked up at T.J. like he was the most amazing person in the world.

“The words on the script are the words you want to say to them.”

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

“Picture how they look at you when you do. Are they happy to hear you say those words?”

No, Cyrus wouldn’t be happy. He knew how important basketball was to T.J. and would never let him give it up. In fact, he would probably be angry if T.J. tried. He would still look cute, though. Like a puppy trying to bark.

“How do you feel about them?”

T.J. would still give it all up if Cyrus asked him to.

“Now, open your eyes.”

T.J. obeyed and the first thing he saw was Cyrus looking up at him with a soft smile.

“There’s the look I needed,” he said, turning his head away to look at Buffy too, who now looked less tense than she was earlier. “We’ll resume in five, okay? Take in those feelings just now.”

He patted them both in the back before walking back to his camera. T.J. watched him go, worried because Cyrus just looked stressed out. He wanted to help him.

“Let’s get this right this time, okay?” Buffy’s voice interrupted his thoughts and he turned his head back to look at her.

The girl no longer looked like she wanted to kill him, which was a relief, honestly. That would make this scene easier to act out when she wasn’t glaring at him. It was just so easy to banter with her. He supposed that that was just what their relationship would always be like.

“Yeah, definitely. We should,” T.J. agreed. “I don’t want to make this any more difficult on Cyrus.”

Buffy flashed him a strange look. “You know… you should just hurry up and make a move.”

That caught him off-guard and he immediately felt the blood rush to his cheeks. “W-What?” was all he could manage. “W-What are you talking about?”

Buffy snorted. “Oh, please, you’re not exactly subtle. Practically everyone knows.”

His throat was suddenly dry and he swallowed. “E-Everyone?”

Buffy shrugged. “Everyone with eyes.” Her eyes softened. “Look, T.J., I may not be… fond of you.” She wrinkled her nose. “But, me and everyone else can see that you care about Cyrus. And Cyrus cares about you, too. Trust me, I’m his best friend.”

He almost felt touched at that. But, that didn’t mean she was right…was she? Could Cyrus care about him in the same way? Or maybe it was the kind of care that he felt for all of his friends. Cyrus was a caring person, after all.

“I don’t know…”

Buffy snorted again and punched his arm. “At least try to make a move on him or something!”

He resisted the urge to rub his arm (damn, this girl could punch!) and, instead, ran a hand through his hair.

“I should…” he agreed. “But… what should I do?”

Buffy snorted again. “Well, don’t expect me to help you there.” She smirked. “Unless you beg.”

T.J. huffed. “I’m good, thanks. I’ll figure it out myself.” He hesitated before asking in a soft voice, “You think he cares about me?”

Buffy laughed. “You… are… oblivious,” was all she said before punching his arm again.

…….…….…….

“They seem to be getting along well now,” said Andi, looking towards the gazebo.

Cyrus followed her gaze and watched Buffy laughing before punching T.J. in the arm. From Buffy, that was practically a sign of affection.

Something twitched inside his chest and Cyrus turned away to look at the script again. “T-That’s good,” he said.

“You okay, Cy?” Andi asked, concern in her voice.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

“You just seem… bothered.”

“I’m fine,” he insisted before clearing his throat. “Anyway, we should start soon.” He turned back to the two under the gazebo, ignoring the way his chest twitched again. “Get ready!”

The two paused their conversation and got in their place. Cyrus positioned himself behind the camera and checked to see if Jonah was ready, too.

“Okay… Ready… And… Action!”

Up ahead on the gazebo, T.J. began.

“Quinn.”

Buffy turned around smiled. “Logan. I thought you would never come.”

“Of course, I would.” T.J. took a few steps towards her. “I promised you I would.”

Buffy looked down at the floor. “Are we doing the right thing? Keeping us a secret from our teams? Our friends?”

T.J. moved a few more steps closer until he was at the spot Cyrus had shown him. “You know what will happen if we tell them. They won’t forgive us.”

“I know but…”

T.J. reached out to take Buffy’s hand.

Cyrus’ heart was pumping hard and fast against his chest as Buffy raised her head to look at T.J. And, there it was… the look. The look that Cyrus wanted. The soft, loving look that spoke volumes, even through a camera screen.

“I’d give it all up,” T.J. said.

Buffy’s lips parted, slightly, in shock at the declaration.

Cyrus felt himself swallow as he zoomed in on T.J.’s face.

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

And with those last words… T.J. leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Buffy, who wrapped her own around his torso.

Cyrus felt the breath leave his lungs at the sight.

It was beautiful.

Perfect.

And, then, T.J. lifted his eyes to look at him. The look brought him back to reality.

“C-Cut!” he managed to call out.

The two broke their hug and stepped away from each other.

“T-That was great!” he called out, with a small smile. “We’ll do one more take from another angle! Great job, you two!”

He turned his back to them and slapped his cheeks a little. They felt way too warm. He needed water.

…….…….…….

After two more takes of the gazebo scene, Cyrus had T.J. and Buffy do a few scenes around the park for a montage.

They took a walk around the park while holding hands. Sat on the swings while talking (they didn’t have a script for this one but Cyrus wasn’t planning on having any conversation for the montage anyway so the two just talked about basketball). And sat by the pond, watching the ducks.

It was cute. Adorable. Sweet, even.

It stressed Cyrus out, for some reason.

But, after all that was done, they packed up everything and got ready to go home. 

It was Friday so they weren’t shooting over the weekend. His project was due next Friday so he had a max of three or four more days to finish shooting everything. Plus, Mr. Spencer had asked him to re-write the last scene and so far, Cyrus hadn’t come up with anything.

“You okay?” T.J. asked, breaking through his worries.

The jock was walking him home, still dressed in his formal clothes but with the suit jacket neatly folded in a bag. Both tripod bags hung from his shoulders, as they didn’t want to go back to school to return them so Cyrus was keeping them and the cameras for the weekend.

“Yeah, just… worried,” he confessed.

“About what?”

“Not finishing this movie on time.” Cyrus sighed. “I have to start cutting the clips and editing tonight. In fact, that’s what my weekend will consist of.” He let out a frustrated groan. “This is harder than I thought it would be.”

T.J. gently bumped his shoulders with his. “Hey, it’s okay. I’m sure you’ll finish on time, you never leave anything up to the last minute like I do.”

Cyrus felt his lips twitch into a smile.

“And I can help you, if you want.”

He raised his head to meet T.J.’s gaze. “Really? You would?”

“Yeah, totally! I mean, I’ve never edited a video before but if you tell me what to do, I can learn. I wanna help!”

Cyrus considered it. T.J. had been a big help to him throughout this entire week. And he just couldn’t resist when the taller boy looked so hopeful and excited.

So, he agreed.

Fifteen minutes later, they were both on Cyrus’ couch, glasses of lemon water sat on coasters on the coffee table and laptop computers in each of their laps. Cyrus showed him how to scroll through the clips, pick out the best clips, write them down for Cyrus to keep track of later when he edits, and move them to a new folder.

Side-by-side, with headphones on and barely any space between them, they spent an hour doing exactly this and mostly in silence, the only sounds coming from the clips and the scratching of pencils against paper.

A few times, Cyrus couldn’t help but peek at T.J. from the corner of his eye. And each time, he felt that same twitching in his chest that he swore to ignore. But, how could he when seeing how seriously the jock was with helping made him feel all warm and fluttery? It wasn’t T.J.’s grade on the line, but he was taking precious time to make sure Cyrus would pass with flying colors.

T.J. turned his head to look at him. “What’s wrong?”

Cyrus blinked and realized that he had been staring too long this time. “Sorry, I spaced out,” he half-lied before removing his headphones. “I’m a bit tired now. Let’s take a break.”

He moved the computer from his lap to the coffee table and leaned back against the couch, closing his eyes. He felt T.J. moving beside him. Soon, a shoulder pressed against his.

He opened his eyes and turned his head to T.J. “Thank you for everything. Once this is all done, you are definitely getting free milkshakes from me.”

T.J. grinned. “It’s a date.”

Cyrus blushed and looked away. He knew that T.J. didn’t actually mean a date. But, his heart was weak and he tried to quell the brimming hope threatening to take over.

“Besides, I’m having a ton of fun,” T.J. continued, oblivious to Cyrus’ turmoil. “Maybe I can help you with your next video project, too?”

Cyrus’ body betrayed him once more and he felt his ears heating up. Nonetheless, he turned to the boy next to him and smiled.

“Really? I won’t let you back out, you know.”

“I won’t back out,” T.J. swore, looking serious and determined.

Cyrus laughed. “What if it’s a film about two men falling in love?” he joked.

“I’d still star in it.”

He blinked, surprised. “Really?”

T.J. nodded, eagerly. “If it means helping you out, Underdog, I’ll play any role.”

Ahhh, he was so sweet. Cyrus wished his heart would stop beating so fast. It was way too loud and he was afraid T.J. would hear it.

They continued working on cutting clips throughout the rest of the afternoon until night fell. Cyrus’ parents arrived on time for dinner and they invited T.J., who accepted the invitation. They talked about Cyrus’ project, asked T.J. questions about school, and whatever topic came up.

After dessert, T.J. announced that it was time for him to leave for home as his curfew was approaching.

Cyrus walked him out. “Thanks, again, T.J.,” he said as they both stood out on the porch.

The jock grinned. “Any time. If you need me to help you out more this weekend, just let me know. I’m working until 3 tomorrow, but I’m free for the rest of the day and Sunday.”

“I’ll make a note of that, thank you. Good night.”

“Good night.”

With one last wink, T.J. turned on his heels and walked away, not realizing that he left Cyrus’ heart doing somersaults.

Tag list:

@lemon-boy-tj @homosexualearthworm

@disastrxlogy

@new-to-the-phandom

@tyrusgoingfast

@tj-cyrus

@multifandom-bxitch

@completelysterling completelysterling

@spike-heels

@thedampjofangirl

@i-am-confussion confussion

@buffyshirley

[tjkiahgb]

Episode Recap: 3.10, “The Quacks”

The episode picks up not long after the last episode ended, with Buffy asking her friends just what in the hell that Secret Society scheme was all about.

Her friends, who were super excited to help Walker out last week, waste no time throwing him under the bus now.

Jonah didn’t like the Secret Society stuff.

Cyrus didn’t like the robes.

Andi thinks it was kind of a sick way to ask someone to a dance.

Walker watch out for the bus oh my god he has airpods in he can’t hear us! oh my god!

Buffy reels off a list of the things she didn’t like about what happened: no to surprises, no to being put on the spot, and no to predictability. The candles were cool though.

Andi asks if Buffy still likes Walker and she gives a resounding ehh. Buffy explains that Walker made her shoes like how he made Andi shoes once, a long time ago. Andi thinks that is so wrong. Buffy says it’s his “signature move.” Andi and Buffy imagine Walker’s given shoes to every girl in town.

Am I going crazy here? He’s an artist? He makes artsy gifts for people? This would be like getting mad at Andi for making you a craft gift. It’s what she does! It’s not like Walker’s going around giving everyone cheap store-bought gifts like horrible little gnomes or neon green shoelaces. As long as he didn’t copy the exact mural he made with Andi that one time, what’s the problem? It’s a homemade gift. He had to spend time working on it. It’s still really nice. By this standard, would he have also not been allowed to make a drawing of Buffy as a gift? He’s already done that for Andi so that’s off the table. Find a new way to be creative, Walker. Make a necklace out of discarded soda can tabs or make a headband out of an old belt or something. I know art is your thing, but, sorry, you’ve played that card. It’s over now. Move on.

By the way, Andi and Buffy assume, with zero evidence, that Walker is going around town giving shoes to every girl like an unfixed cobbler in heat. Why?

They also assume all those girls would wear those shoes he gave them as gifts to public places like the school dance, despite not being in a relationship with him. I do feel like most people wouldn’t wear something an ex gave them while currently being in a relationship with another person. That’s so thoughtless. Wear shoes Walker gave you as a romantic gift while hanging out around your current boyfriend? Who in the world would behave like that? That would be crazy. A monument to poor decision making. I simply can’t imagine.

Aaaaaanyway, Cyrus assumes that’s it then. Buffy’s breaking up with Walker. And Buffy’s like, yeah, we’re done. I’m ghosting him. Cyrus tells her that’s not good enough. Talk to him. Break up with him in person.

Feels like Cyrus could save himself a lot of energy by recording a voice memo on his phone that says “YOU HAVE TO COMMUNICATE!” and just playing it for his friends over and over again.

Buffy thinks Walker knows, but Jonah assures her he doesn’t because: “He’s a guy.”

The pinpoint accuracy of those three words rattles Buffy to her core.

At the dance studio, Cyrus... dances?

...has a seizure?

...gets attacked by a swarm of gnats?

...reenacts the Ides of March?

...is possessed by the spirit of an evil marionette?

I’m just not sure.

Amber shows up and asks if he’s rehearsing being electrocuted.

Ah. Damn. That’s a good one.

Cyrus tells her he has to come up with an original dance for his choreography final and perform it. Wild that he’s already got a final exam. His dance class was like a month long. No wonder it seems like all he’s learned to do is flail his arms about. Amber volunteers to tutor him in the art of dance choreography.

Wait, does Amber know how to dance? I mean, I guess she did at the house party that one time. But can she really teach Cyrus to capture the raw, super strange energy of this performance?

I have my doubts.

Over at Bex’s, Bowie presents Andi and Bex with a surprise.

That’s right! A plank!

Andi wants to know who the Quinns are. Bowie thinks they all will be, after the marriage. Bex isn’t so sure. (Maybe hyphenate?) Bowie thinks it’s important, bonding them all together as a tribe, but Bex also thinks it’s important for everyone to choose their own identity. (Hyphenate?) Mack is part of who Bex is. For example, it’s on her bowling shirt. (Hyphenate. Stitch “-Quinn” right on to the end of that bad boy.)

Andi proposes they mash up their names but they realize that would make them the Quacks and abandon that idea so quickly they never even consider they could also become the Mann family, which is pretty sweet.

Back at the dance studio, Amber asks Cyrus to touch his toes. He can’t, but in fairness, he’s only been at this dance thing for like two weeks.

Amber tries to get him to do some moves but Cyrus says it’s too hard, so Amber hair-slaps some sense into him.

At the gym for the first Spikes game, Buffy watches the opposing team warmup and settles into some depressing fatalism.

Her teammate, who the end credits tell me was named Kaitlin, says the team is well-aware of that because Buffy’s been saying it all week. Kaitlin tries to get Buffy to say something that builds confidence in the team but Buffy’s not interested.

The team’s coach shows up.

Her name is Mrs. Deborah Mendenhall. She’s the guidance counselor. She’s also late to the game, knows nothing about basketball, has the gait and posture of an elderly woman, and is dressed like a flight attendant for some reason.

On the bright side, she brought orange slices.

So at least no one will get scurvy.

Kaitlin points out that the good news is they don’t have enough girls to even play. Buffy’s shocked no one else is coming and wants to know why. Kaitlin tells her it’s probably because Buffy’s spent the entire week telling everyone they were going to lose and be humiliated.

Look, say what you will about TJ as a team captain, but he only went after one player on his team. Buffy recruited this girls’ team, then spent several weeks alienating and insulting them and eventually got 2/3s of her team to quit before they even got to play their first game.

I hope she’s cleared her calendar for a ton of redemption arcs.

Buffy says the loss would have been really embarrassing, but now they’re going to have to forfeit, which she feels is way worse.

I disagree. You can forfeit with some dignity. Floundering around the court while the other team beats you down leaves barely any room for that.

It’s like this. Say you’re going to a party, but right before you get there, you get mud all over the back of your pants. Huge stain. Can’t get it out. Just go home, right? Forfeit the evening. You walk into that party and everyone’s going to think you had a horrible accident. You can desperately try to explain it’s mud, or you can try to own it in some weird way I can’t even imagine, but let’s be honest, all you’re going to get is a mean nickname and an unflattering reputation about town.

The lesson, kids, is if you have a chance to forfeit, forfeit.

Buffy decides, instead, she’s going to try calling the team.

Up in the stands, Andi asks Libby if she’s still planning on breaking up with Jonah. Libby is. She then points at Jonah and mimics him texting like a dope. Jonah, who is good at picking up subtle hints, wonders if these two are talking about him.

Buffy has no luck convincing anyone from the team to come get publicly humiliated. I say call TJ. Tell him to grab a wig and race down to the gym. Worth a shot.

Instead Buffy looks into the stands to try and find a replacement. She spots her artsy friend who’s shown almost zero athletic ability over the years...

...and thinks, yep, there’s the ticket.

So, Buffy drags Andi out of the bleachers and to the locker room to change as Jonah and Cyrus head up to sit next to Libby.

Cyrus greets Libby with sign language.

Oh, by the way, Cyrus also knows sign language now. Where did he find the time? I can barely commit to the 10 minute Duolingo Spanish lessons on my phone.

Jonah asks Cyrus to do some translating. He wants to know if Libby is mad at him. Libby wants him to learn sign language. Jonah apologizes through Cyrus, but Libby walks away.

Cyrus tells Jonah texting Libby used to be an okay way to communicate, but now the two have been going out for a while. Perfect opportunity for him to pull out his phone and play the “YOU HAVE TO COMMUNICATE!” message.

Also, a while? It’s not been like, a couple weeks? Cyrus’s dance class is over already, Buffy’s team is just now having their first game of the season, Jonah and Libby have been dating two years and I’ve lost complete understanding of the timeline again.

Jonah says he hasn’t learned because he’s afraid he’ll be bad at it.

Cyrus says it’ll be enough if he’s making the effort, but I just want to put this back on the table: forfeit the relationship. Take your mud-stained pants and go home.

At Bex’s, Bex approaches Bowie to do some compatibility testing of their relationship by asking some big questions and jotting down some answers to compare.

Bowie asks her about calzones. I’ll take this one, Bex. It’s pizza with excess bread. It’s hard to get a good cook on the stuffing. The toppings are rarely dispersed in a satisfying way. Not worth it.

Oh? Guess Bex and I are more compatible than I thought.

Bex wants to play seriously though, so they jump in. Bex asks if Bowie would ever want to have more kids, to which Bowie is like...

I mean, why not? If it all goes wrong, Celia’s still around, right?

Buffy brings her newest basketball recruit out to the gym so the game can finally begin. Things don’t start so hot.

Andi gets a pass and then takes off running with the ball like a halfback on a football team.

She forgot about dribbling. Bad sign. Dribbling is probably the second rule almost all people know about basketball behind knowing that the ball has to go into the basket to score points. God, I hope she remembers that at least.

Things don’t get much better from there. The public humiliation of the basketball team happens just as it was foretold.

Mrs. Mendenhall, meanwhile, spends time handing out snacks to the opposing team.

I’d normally be mad about this but she clearly has too many oranges. There’s only five people on Buffy’s team. Might as well not let them go to waste.

Andi gets the ball again and immediately turns it over.

Buffy was worried about being embarrassed, but honestly, Andi’s taking the brunt of it here. Maybe stop giving her the ball? Save her from herself.

Buffy mercifully calls a timeout to think things over.

She pulls the team into a huddle. They think she’s going to chew them out, but instead, she thanks them for showing up. She apologizes for being a bad captain and says she’s realized losing is not the worst thing ever. It’s great that those who showed up are there and that they’re in the game.

Or, basically, isn’t it nice to just be alive and doing stuff? Which is a decent message for life but a really low bar to hurdle for team sports. Congrats to us all on not dying.

They start playing again with a newfound, joyous outlook. I’m glad they’re happy with this, but their play is hurting me physically.

Kaitlin catches a pass and goes up for a lay-up from about a foot away from the basket and nearly misses not just the hoop, but the entire backboard.

It thuds off the side of the backboard and makes a noise that’s like nails on a chalkboard to me. This should be a wake up call for Kaitlin to get her vision checked. Or some kind of medical checkup. Something’s wrong.

Andi gets a pass, then, for some reason, spins, runs the wrong way, and hucks a wild shot up from half-court at the wrong basket.

It goes in as the game ends. Everyone celebrates for different reasons. I’m light headed.

Are we really sure that wasn’t worse than just leaving early? Are we really going with the lesson here of: “Kids, it doesn’t matter how terrible you do, as long as you do.” I hope no one growing up to be a doctor or pilot feels that way. Please, do those jobs well or don’t do them at all. No one’s gonna cheer you if you put the wrong organ inside your surgery patient or get lost and crash land into the ocean.

At Bex’s, Bex and Bowie review their answers and find themselves to be really compatible.

I think the biggest sign of their compatibility was that neither of them thought to ask the other any of these big, important life questions before agreeing to get married.

Lack of forethought and an improvisational approach to life problems suits them well, I guess.

Jonah meets Libby outside the school. He asks her to teach him sign language in sign language.

If he really wants to learn, he should hunt down the 5th grade teacher who made everyone else so fluent.

Libby agrees to. She tells Jonah she likes him.

Jonah says he likes her, 2. They seem to have reached a good level of understanding in their relationship. Amazing what COMMUNICATION! can do.

At Cyrus’s dance class, Cyrus prepares to deliver his final. Amber psyches him up, he heads out onto the floor, and...

Guys. It’s no good.

I mean, he’s doing this march walk thing.

And this scuba move like he’s dancing at a party from some 1960s beach movie.

And the robot.

His big finale is the sprinkler, of all things...

...followed by the Glee throw-your-fist-up-and-look-to-the-sky move.

I just don’t see how Cyrus passes this.

How do you watch that as a dance teacher and not go, “That was the laziest collection of basic, stock dance moves I’ve ever seen. Did you learn nothing? Did you even practice?”

Is this all another lesson about just showing up and doing a terrible job and being happy with that? Again, it’s good to have a positive attitude, but that’s not going to save your GPA.

At Bex’s, Bowie sits Andi and Bex down for a new surprise.

That’s right. Another plank!

Bowie probably should’ve learned to get everyone on board with his decision first before committing to a plank. That “The Quinns” plank is basically expensive firewood at this point.

But Bowie wins Andi and Bex over with this one.

And the news that he intends to take the Mack last name. It really was a foregone conclusion. Doesn’t he know what show he’s on? It’s called Andi Mack, not Andi Quinn. There’s already all tons of merchandise. What are you going to do, render that stuff worthless? Pfft. Good luck going up against the Disney Corporation’s profits, bud.

Bex wants to know if he’s sure he wants to be a Mack, and deal with all of the things that come with being a Mack. But Bowie’s in.

So, the Quinn names dies with Cookie. Long live the Quinns.

At school, Buffy takes out her phone and makes a call. The person on the other end of the line picks up. Buffy’s like, hey, last time I saw you, I don’t think I handled things very well and can we please meet up to talk?

And who’s on the other end of the call?

This guy!

Oh, who is this guy again? God, it’s on the tip of my tongue. It was a weird name. The kind of name they stopped giving babies in the 1950s.

I wanna say Harry? Ronny? Ralph? Was it Ralph? I feel like there was a Y in there.

Let’s just call him Not Walker for now until I can dig through the Andi Mack wiki for answers.

[tjkiahgb]

Episode Recap: 3.05, “That Syncing Feeling”

Bex and Andi wait for Bowie at Red Rooster. They want to go see a movie. Bowie says there are a bunch of trailers before the movie, so chill, but Bex wants to see those trailers. (They’re all already online, Bex.)

Andi demands to be in charge of popcorn-related decisions this time. The big complaint is that Bowie puts too much butter on the popcorn, which is almost certainly not true. It’s not too much butter until the bag is dripping onto the floor. If you’re not creating a slipping hazard, you’re not sufficiently buttering your popcorn.

Bex says we’ll get chocolate and mix it in with the popcorn, but Andi’s a firm “no” on that. They decide they’ll all just get their own popcorn instead.

It’s fine they went this direction here and now, but they’d better figure out a cleaner way to deal with stuff like this once they start living together or they’ll find themselves eating meals from three separate restaurants every night. It’ll take hours to get anything done.

It’s about finding compromise. Being clever and resourceful. Like, for example, how about just lightly buttering the popcorn? Is that nuts? Am I talking crazy here? Maybe. But sometimes someone needs to say something truly crazy to really make improvements in this world, and if that man’s gotta be me, so be it.

The next day or whenever, Buffy and Walker skip rocks on the lake while Andi and Cyrus watch.

Good height. Great speed. That’s a damn fine rock skip.

Jonah shows up and is like, “Buffy and Walker, huh?” Wait, weren’t you at the Color Factory when they were on a date? What did you think that was? Maybe he’s just trying out new conversation starters.

Andi thinks those two really like each other, and that’s unfortunate. Cyrus tries to talk about Walker, but Andi’s like, let’s talk about something else so Cyrus tries to talk about something else (geese and their thoughts on schoolyard games) but Andi’s like, “Freakin’ Walker! Always showing up!”

You know what, I kinda love how outwardly hostile Andi is towards her friend’s relationship in front of her other friends at this point. She’s done with this, all of this, and doesn’t care who knows it.

Buffy shows up and shouts “Canoes!” and so they decide to canoe.

Two to a canoe, so Buffy and Walker go together in one canoe and Cyrus and Jonah get into another canoe. This leaves Andi with no one to canoe with. That’s just math, unfortunately. The cruelest of all school subjects.

Andi wanders off to build herself a crown of flowers. Her ability to do crafts anywhere is truly impressive.

Suddenly, Amber comes out the woods like some kind of forest monster.

Never sneak up on someone from the trees! Nothing good comes out of the trees!

Turns out, Amber’s here with her family. Well, she was with her family, but I guess she left them to go sneak around in the woods. Which is a thing she should absolutely not be doing.

Amber wants to know why Andi isn’t canoeing. Andi doesn’t have a reason other than her friends are all canoeing, and, again, math. Also, isn’t it weird how words start to sound strange after you say them a bunch of times, like canoe?

Anyway, she has an Amber as a plus one now, and one plus one is two, which is just the right amount for a canoe. I learned that in the Eagle Scouts.

So Andi and Amber get in a canoe. Turns out, Amber doesn’t like canoeing. I don’t know what kind of exhilaration she thought she was going to get from it, but, surprisingly, it turns out it’s just a bunch of putting your oar in the water and rowing.

Amber gets excited when she sees another canoe, though. Why? Because she would like to ram it and see what happens.

Dark thoughts Amber is back.

Andi’s like, that isn’t the point of canoeing, but Amber’s like, come on, how often do you get a chance to capsize a boat and potentially drown someone in a lake and get away with it?

Andi seems like she’s kind of giving in to the idea, but then sees it’s Buffy and Walker and doesn’t want to ruin their day. I mean, if it was just strangers in a canoe, sure, knock ‘em over and make them swim to shore. But not your friends, obviously.

Andi rows them aside and allows Buffy’s canoe safe passage.

Buffy’s confused to see Andi and Amber in a canoe. Walker doesn’t understand, so Buffy tries to explain why it’s weird by explaining what everyone’s relationship to Amber is, but it turns out there isn’t really a solid answer to what exactly Amber’s relationship is to everyone.

“Our mean waitress” is basically as close as Buffy can get.

Meanwhile, Jonah and Cyrus row their boat, until Cyrus just straight up drops his oar, which is inadvisable when you’re in the middle of a lake.

At Cloud 10, Bex bunches Bowie’s hair into puffs.

Bowie laments the fact he has another lesson with Shaun, who is bad. Bex rightly points out that the child is nine years old, but Bowie thinks he’s a failure of a teacher. Bex thinks it’s too early to give up, but Bowie thinks it’s too hard. He just wants to teach people who don’t need teaching. Getting paid to not really work? That’s the American Dream.

Back at the lake, after Andi has explained the entirety of the relationship drama from the start of season 2B until now, Amber tells her that Buffy’s at fault because “Girl Code.”

Andi’s like, what exactly are we talking about here, this “Girl Code” you speak of? Amber tells her that the first rule is you don’t date people who dated your best friend. Andi’s starts to say that she and Walker didn’t really blah blah blah... but Amber’s firm in her stance that Buffy is a “Girl Code” violator.

And Andi’s like, hmmm... your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

And at that moment, like a perfectly-timed sign sent from the Universe about the perils of listening too closely to Amber of all people, their canoe starts sinking.

Amber and Andi try to paddle to shore but Andi thinks they should abandon ship. I feel like it’s going to be a problem when they go to return the canoes and they don’t have a canoe. At least it’ll make Cyrus’s lost oar look not as bad by comparison. I’ll tell you this much, though: all these kids’ mugshots are going up on the “DO NOT RENT TO THESE PEOPLE” wall inside the canoe rental company’s office.

Amber stands up in the canoe, breaking the first rule of canoeing as laid out in the Ten Commandments of Canoeing. The second rule is “Don’t go out in a canoe your best friend has already gone out in.” The third rule is “Have fun!”

The two fall into the water and have to paddle to shore.

Amber and Andi realize that, despite sinking, they actually had fun out on that there lake and maybe, just maybe, they’re friends now?

That’s what they say about canoeing: it brings people together like nothing else.

At Red Rooster, Bowie gives Shaun an electric guitar to try and see if he can get through to him. Bowie tells him to say “Rock on!” and Shaun says “Rock on” in the least rockstar way possible. He says it like it’s the middle of the sentence, “Hey, there’s a rock on that table that needs geological analysis.”

Every interaction with Shaun is like another little needle stabbing Bowie in the soul.

Bowie tries to teach Shaun a power chord. Shaun strums off-key and that’s the last straw. Bowie gives up. It took one and a quarter lessons and Bowie is utterly defeated. He tells Shaun he can’t teach him, but Shaun’s ok with this because he doesn’t even want to play guitar. Victor wants Shaun to play guitar. Bowie is thrilled, but Shaun tells him he still needs to keep giving him guitar lessons because if he could tell his dad he didn’t want to play guitar, he wouldn’t be sitting in this room trying to play guitar.

Plus, let’s be honest, it seems like Victor really needs this in his life. He feels like the kind of guy who’s one more life disappointment away from building himself a crying shed in the backyard. Oh, you don’t know about crying sheds? It’s just a nice little place to go have your daily cry. 3:00, 3:30 in the afternoon maybe. “Shaun, I put a snack on the table. Don’t hurt yourself. Daddy needs an hour.” And then you just go out there and let loose. Get it all out. Feels good. Feels refreshing. Gives you enough fuel to juuuuust make it through to the next day. Nine years until Shaun’s out of the house. Counting down the days. Then you can finally buy that motorcycle you’ve always wanted. Travel the country like you’ve always wanted. Let the wind run through your hair. Maybe follow Jimmy Buffett around on tour. Anything to finally feel alive again, you know? Like you’re not just going through the motions but really living, dammit. Someday, Victor. Someday.

Anyway, Bowie tells Shaun they'll break the news to Victor together.

Celia shows up at Bex’s to try and get her to go eat wedding cake. Bex, unsurprisingly, is not interested. Andi is, though. She just needs to put on her cake pants.

I’m not a fan of cake pants. They don’t protect the torso. I’m more of a onesie guy myself. Put one on anytime I’m eating so I can just go to town. Do I get looks from the other people eating at Olive Garden? No. Because they’ve come to expect this behavior from me by now. I’ve broken their will. You can normalize anything with repetition.

Andi and Celia partake in a cake-eating montage. They really overdo it. It’s a cake tasting, but they ate like half or more of some of these cakes.

They find themselves miserable from overconsumption of cake, and worse, at odds over what the best cake option is. This could be the end of a peaceful Andi/Celia relationship.

The two return to Bex’s with their cake options, practically screaming at each other over them. They’re also hopped up on sugar. They’re a mess.

They want Bex to pick the cake but Bex doesn’t want to so she mixes up the boxes and blindly picks one. It’s like cake Russian Roulette in that it’s random, dangerous, and leaves everyone in the room feeling kind of bummed out afterwards.

Later that night, Bex returns to the cakes and tries them and it turns out one is actually very good. She hopes it’s the one she picked for her wedding, and, if not, well, she’s learned a valuable lesson about not eating free cake that’s put in front of you. Always take free cake.

At Red Rooster, Bowie sits Victor and Shaun down for a talk and lets Victor know Shaun doesn’t want to play guitar. Victor says that he does, but then Shaun comes out to Victor as someone who doesn’t want to learn guitar. It’s a touching moment between father and son.

Bowie asks Victor if he plays and Victor says yes, air guitar. And then he does air guitar with a sense of sadness far greater than even I expected.

You see, Victor only does air guitar because he wasn’t ever cool enough to play real guitar. I didn’t know they checked that sort of thing before allowing you to take lessons, but I guess that’s the case. Victor thinks it’s too late now, but Bowie tells him it’s never too late. He shows him a guitar chord and Victor plays it. Bowie feels like he can teach again and gets excited. They start playing together. Just a couple of dads rocking out.

Walker, Buffy, and Cyrus eat grilled cheesesus. (Grilled cheesesi?) Walker goes off to get Buffy extra napkins. Cyrus asks if they should invite Andi.

Buffy’s not sure she’d want to come. They decide to invite her next time but Andi just shows up out of the blue like some kind of Walker.

She’s very upbeat about the whole situation because she’s got a surprise of her own: Amber! Appearing from out of nowhere for the second time this episode. Her sneak skill is maxed out. She’s loaded all her skill points into it. She’s practically a ninja at this point. Andi and Amber basically skip off together to get lobster rolls.

And even though Andi wasn’t invited to their group hang in the first place, Buffy still feels ditched. There’s a lesson here, but I’m not sure what it is.

Don’t stand up in a canoe?