Lost Boy (Chapter 5: Learning New Things)
Summary: When his family moves from San Francisco to the town of Shadyside, T.J. thought his life would change. And it did. He just didn’t think it would come in the form of the ghost of a boy who haunted his new bedroom.
Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4
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@mirrorslover, @opatrickr, @lesbianrelateddeath,@mirrorslover,@opatrickr, @justkimberley, @burning-hot-pan,@green-lemonboys, @anotherangelfromspace,@thebisexualweirdo,@likelightning-inabottle,@thedampjofangirl, @fizasdr, @awkward-bisexual-alien, @whipashwhipash, @abg-blah, @atthemomentimintothis, @emberofthefrost
Sweat rolled off his back and forehead while his lungs burned from the exertion. Every muscle in his body was tight and ached. And his cheeks were red and heated.
A whistle rang in his ears just as he caught the ball passed on to him.
“Alright! Ten-minute break and we’ll dive right into a mock play!” announced the Coach.
T.J. tossed the ball into the nearby cart, gave Buffy’s friend (a guy named Marty) who was his partner for the drill a fist bump, and headed for one of the benches by the bleachers where he left his bag. He rummaged around for his water bottle and took a generous gulp. The cold water soothed his throat, cooling him down.
“Hey, T.J.! Great job out there!” Andi had come down from the bleachers, Libby behind her.
He smiled at her. “Thanks. You think I’ll make it?”
Libby made a few signs in ASL. Unfortunately, T.J. wasn’t familiar with it yet but Andi or Walker often interpreted for him.
“Libby says they’ll be crazy not to let you in! And I agree with her! You’re a natural!” Andi grinned
“Thanks, guys. That means a lot.”
He turned his head to see what the others were doing and spotted Buffy talking to Marty nearby.
He lifted a hand and made his voice as loud as possible. “Buffy! Hey!”
The curly-haired girl turned her head, catching sight of him. She waved back and jogged over, the brunette boy following behind her.
“’Sup, Kippen?” she grinned. “You really gave Marty a run for his money!”
“Hey! He has longer legs so he’s naturally faster!” the boy protested.
T.J. laughed and turned to Andi, whose smile had dropped slightly. He pretended not to notice and gestured to her.
“This is Andi and Libby, by the way. Andi and Libby, this is Buffy. And Marty.”
“From the party,” Andi blurted out before blushing. “Sorry, force of habit.”
Nonetheless, Marty laughed and Buffy’s lips twitched in amusement. T.J. wondered what the story behind that was.
Andi managed a small smile as she turned her attention to Buffy. “Hi, Buffy.”
Buffy returned the smile, rather sadly. “Hi, Andi.”
He could practically feel the tense electricity in the air. Even Libby looked a little awkward, her gaze moving from Andi to Buffy and back to Andi.
T.J. pretended to look confused. “You, guys, know each other? Oh, wait, Andi. This is the Buffy you were talking about?”
“Well, there’s no one else at this school named after a famous vampire slayer,” Buffy joked.
It made everyone laugh and, for a moment, the atmosphere was a little less tense. From the outside looking in, they probably looked like a group of good friends.
If only that were truly the case.
When the laughter died down, the awkwardness returned. Andi and Buffy couldn’t look at each other in the eye. Libby was staring at Andi, her hands twitching like she desperately wanted to say something. And Marty kept his gaze on the floor, though his arm made its way over Buffy’s shoulder.
“Well, this is great!” T.J. forced perkiness into his tone, cringing at how fake he sounded. “We should all hang out! After tryouts? We can go to The Spoon.”
He grinned expectantly at everyone, even showed some teeth. If Cyrus could see him now, the ghost would no doubt laugh in his face because he was clearly trying too hard.
Instead of the enthusiastic agreement that he was hoping for, the tension only grew. Buffy looked a little hopeful but still, she didn’t say a word.
“Um, Libby and I are actually helping Walker with a mural later,” said Andi, softly.
Beside her, Libby nodded in agreement.
Buffy’s face fell as she looked away, refusing to meet their eyes. “And Marty and I already have plans. Sorry.”
T.J. felt his heart sink. “Oh…”
Meanwhile, Marty cleared his throat. “Maybe another time?” he offered.
T.J. nodded. “Yeah, definitely.”
Another awkward silence fell upon them as he racked his brains for something to break it. He wished he had something, anything, to get them to start talking.
“Uh, I need to go to the bathroom,” Buffy announced, already turning away. “I’ll see you, guys.”
He, Andi, and Libby just watched as Buffy and Marty walked away from them and through the door to the locker rooms. Sighing, T.J. turned back to the two girls.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t realize…”
Andi shook her head. “It’s okay. I mean, it’s not like Buffy and I don’t like each other anymore. It’s just…we lost touch. She became preoccupied with sports and I wanted to concentrate on art.”
And the silent third thing was there: there was no Cyrus to glue them back together, anymore.
T.J. wished he could offer more comfort, given the knowledge he had about their friendship. But, he could only keep his mouth closed and look sorry as much as he could.
After all, they didn’t know that he knew exactly why they stopped talking.
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