Chapter Text
Staying at Sal's home felt right.
There was no screaming,which already made it a huge upgrade from Travis' house,and now that he had finally made peace with that side of him he had tried to suppress for so long,life was finally worth living again.
Travis was kinda anxious about Friday,sure,Sal would be there,which made it worth it,but he wasn't sure how they would deliver the news to Sal's little friend group.
He asked this while the other was looking for a game for them to play,and he simply replied with
"they don't need to know for now, if you're not ready"
to which Travis asked
"are you ready?"
Sal Came back to the couch and sat next to Travis.
"they're my friends Travis,they don't give a shit about my sexuality"
"that's…not what I meant"
"Oh.i see"
Sal laid all the games on the table so that all their titles were visible.
"It's me they will worry about.i never doubted about them being accepting of you or whatever.i Just think they won't accept me"
"I'm sure they'll understand once I explain it to them"
"are you…sure?"
"yes Travis,I am"
He said, before landing a Kiss on the blond's cheek.
"Now,Mortal Kombat or Final fantasy?"
"um,Neither?"
"Mortal Kombat it is"
Friday came a lot sooner than Travis had planned,and that's when he realized he wasn't mentally prepared at all.
Travis squinted his eyes because of the light coming from the window,he then looked at the time on the alarm right next to the flowers he had picked for Sal a few days prior:9:30am
He still had till 5pm to find a way to make the evening as little awkward as he could.
While he mentally went through every social skill he had ever encountered,he suddenly felt someone moving next to him in bed.
" 'rning"
"good morning"
While still lost in his thoughts,Travis felt Sal embracing him from behind,laying his head on the blond's back
"Today is the day ain't it?"
"I…I guess"
"I hope you're ready"
"if I have to be honest I feel more hopeless than anything right now"
"that would make a great lyric for a metal song actually"
"you think so?"
"absolutely.You're a lyrical genius Phelps"
Travis would be lying if he said he didn't blush a little every time Sal complimented him(yes,even when he was being sarcastic)
Sal suddenly jumped off the bed,as if he suddenly remembered something.
"That means I get to dress you right?"
"I could still wea-"
"oh no no you're absolutely not gonna wear a fucking sweater. You're going to faint from the heat"
Travis looked away as he nodded towards his harms.
They were full of bruises.
"Ah,I guess we can-um.How about some foundation?that should cover them up"
“I don't know if you've noticed,but i'm not exactly the same shade as you”
“There's a convenience store not far from
Travis looked at the distant hills from the room's window and wondered what it meant to be truly free.
"I guess"
The 3 hours before the hangout were dedicated to choosing an outfit for Travis,which turned out to be a lot harder than expected.
"too satanistic" "too bland" "too much"
"My goodness Travis just choose one already"
Travis walked toward Sal and started to rummage through the dresser as the other watched.
Travis stopped. He found the one.
"mmmh Queen.It was my dad's"
It was a very simple tee with a design on the center and a word at the bottom that spelled "QUEEN".
That band was what brought them together after all.It was somewhat comforting,and absolutely perfect for the occasion.
After returning from a trip to the convenience store,Sal patched up the blond’s arms with makeup. Travis stayed in the bathroom and Sal went to his room to change.
Travis looked at the clothing in the sink.
It's not like he wanted to change in the same room as Sal, that would be weird wouldn't it?
But they're….dating,right?
stupid stupid stupid
It's way too early for that level of intimacy.
Sal knocked of the bathroom door.
“you ready yet?”
Travis reached for the handle.
it was nothing astronomically fashionable:he paired the t-shirt with a pair of Bermuda pants,Sal was wearing more or less the same thing,but his hair was tied up in a bun instead of the usual pigtails,and his shirt read “Sanity’s fall”, probably one of the bands he listens to,Travis thought.
“oh you look way cooler than you actually are Travis”
“is that…a bad thing?”
“absolutely fucking not.You’re very handsome”
Sal blushed after he processed the words that had just escaped his mouth,Travis exhaled and did his best to not be extremely cringy (at least,while Sal’s dad was around),instead,he said:
“that's a gay thing to say”
“I’m sorry???”
Sal jokingly pushed Travis,it was a light,gentle push,yet Travis’ mind couldn't help but flash images of his father right in front of his eyes.
He was tired,so tired of the ghostly presence of his father following him all around,everywhere he went.It helped as a reminder that Travis would never break off the chains,not fully at least,ever.
Sal noticed immediately something was wrong with Travis,he had gotten surprisingly good at recognizing when the blond was having an episode.If you focused hard enough,you could see it in the way his face Twitched,the way his eyes felt detached from the rest,almost as if he wasn't even there.
“Hey Travis?can you hear me”
Travis’s eyes lit up again
“oh.Yeah i’m-i’m fine” except he wasn't,his hands were still trembling,his eyes still distant.
“Can you feel this?”
Sal put his hand on Travis'
“What question even is that?of course I can”
“Then focus on it.Focus on my hand,oh and deep breaths”
Travis did,it helped him at least enough to make him at least appear stable.
“let's go back to my room”
Sal sat Travis on his bed,he joined him soon after.
“Your Dad's coming back tomorrow”
“I know”
“you can't stay here forever”
“I…know” his words were bitter,why would Sal remind him?Travis knew it already.
“Unless you make a good impression tonight,then maybe we could…I don't know…work together and…get you out of that hellhole of a house?”
The prospect seemed bright,being away from his father wouldn't be the solution to all of his problems,but it would solve at least some of them,which was still better than none at all.
“the bottom line is:please be on your best behavior.i don't want to choose between you and them,nor do I wanna lose you because of some stinky old bastard”
“how did you know he stinks?”
“sweat and incense?”
“that's…pretty accurate, actually”
Sal smirked, satisfied by his guessing skills.
Travis looked at the clock,he got up and offered Sal his hand.
“I think we should go”
“Trav,it's still super early”
Travis looked away.
“i-i want to stay with you a little before we go to the lake and…meet with the others”
Sal nodded,he reached for his mask on the pillow, put it on and then got the sandals from under the bed.
They wandered a little through town and looked at a few shop windows in the meantime.
Sal pointed to an entrance.
“it's the music shop,wanna check it out?”
Travis raised his shoulders in indifference.
Sal took his hand and led the way.
It was, like,very small.
Music instruments almost had to be put one on top of the other to fit them all in.Dozens of things Travis had never ever seen anywhere else surrounded him from all sides.Despite the clutter,that place made Travis feel at ease.
Sal started wandering around, although “wandering” isn't quite the right word,he more so walked in a circle,and Travis followed behind. At first he thought it was kinda useless to keep going through the same spaces over and over again,but in reality,every time he passed he noticed something new he hadn't seen before.
A song was playing, judging by the way Sal hummed and spun along it must have been to his taste. He was adorable when he did that,and surprisingly,Travis didn't feel guilty for thinking that.Maybe some of the blue haired boy’s positivity had rubbed off on him.
Sal suddenly stopped and ran to a very specific shelf not far away from where they were.
“Travis come here!!”
Travis obliged,and right before he was close enough to see what had caught Sal's attention,said thing was being slapped in his face.
“I can believe they actually have this CD!I've been searching for it for ages!”
He kept flipping it back to front,in complete awe.
“Maybe you're my lucky charm,Trav”
Travis blushed a little,he had been called with weirder terms of endearment,but usually the stranger ones were the ones that got him the worst.
Sal reached for his pockets and whispered to himself disappointingly.
“No money” he announced.
Travis reached for his own pockets and took out a 20$ bill.
“Would this be enough?”
Despite the mask’s shadow,Sal’s good eye clearly lit up at the sight.
They walked out the store,Sal with a bag in hand.
“gosh Travis thank you so so fucking much!!!”
He then promptly embraced him in a tight hug,making sure his gratefulness seeped through him and onto Travis.
They stayed like that for a while,to the side of the shop Door.
“Do you think they’ll ever forgive me?”
Sal released him and brought him to a secluded area behind the shop, away from nasty glances.
When there,he unbuckled his mask and softly yet firmly placed a tender short-lived kiss on the other's lips.
“I'm sure they will eventually,as long as you put in the effort”
Travis stared into his real eye to make sure he was telling the truth,despite knowing Sal would never lie to anyone about that,much less
Travis.
“As long as you're there to make sure none of them kill me”
Sal chuckled in amusement.
“I wouldn't let that happen for anything in the world