Chapter Text
The streets were always empty at night in Nockfell and that night was no exception. Sal and Travis walked in the middle of the street on their way to the apartments on the outskirts of the already rural town. Travis was oddly talkative. Sal noticed that he asked a lot of questions.
Maybe he just wanted to know him better.
“I feel so dumb talking to you now, I went so far to get your attention,” Travis walked ahead and with this opportunity, Sal got to stare, take him all in without the punch to the face that he’d normally get.
“Like what?”
His hair was a dirty bleached blonde with the brown roots showing, horrible old neo green shoes, and something he wished he hadn’t seen, marks on his neck and arms. He didn’t question it, at least not at the moment.
“Well, I used to write letters, until my dad found some. Most of them about you.” As soon as he said that Sal could tell he regretted it. The lighthearted look on his face seemed to fade and he tensed up.
“Did you write that note in the bathroom? You know from when I found you there crying..?” Fear flickered in his eyes. He blinked once, and then twice. “Maybe..” he said guiltily.
“Well, I had my suspicions.” Sal chuckled lightly.
“So you don’t think it’s weird? That I write letters about you I mean.”
“Everyone has their way of coping dude, if you need to rant about me go ahead. I’m just happy it’s not you yelling insults at me.”
Travis laughed, that answer seemed to calm him down.
“Do you perhaps have more alcohol at your house?” Sal grimaced ‘perhaps?’ people do say funny things when they're drunk but perhaps? Really?
“My dad has loads, knock yourself out.”
They started to get closer to the apartments. No more streetlights and only a few spread-out houses were around. Travis bumped shoulders with Sally as he walked. Sal smiled, it was a nice change from the usual shoulder shove he’d get in the hallways.
As they walked through the door Travis recognized the familiar scent of alcohol and cigarettes, it stung. They walked to Sal’s room in silence and he saw a man passed out on the couch with the tv on a bottle in his hands. Sal’s dad.
His room was a drastic change from the blandness of the Appartement. Album covers and posters of bands Travis had never heard of filled the walls. A bed with barely enough room for two, clothes piled on the floor and a desk filled with papers, some sheet music, others school work filled with little doodles.
“Very roomie in here.”
“Thank you, Travis,” Sal chuckled.
“Don’t say that.”
“What.”
“My name,” Sal looked over and low and behold Travis was red-faced over just his name. “I say your name all the time..”
“It’s different now!”
“How so?”
“Because we’re friends..?”
“Yes Travis, we’re friends”
There was a pause as Travis seemed to be finding something to respond with, Sal was expecting some heartfelt statement or for him to ignore the subject, not..:
“Sweet I finally have friends.”
“Travis!” Sal laughed. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry for laughing at that but you’d never say something like that sober.”
“I wouldn’t do any of this sober.” He frowned in realization.
“Ouch.”
“Sal, we both know the reality of this situation. So why not enjoy it while it’s happening.” There was no malice in his voice, he was simply stating a fact and as sad as it was they both knew it was the truth.
Sal let it go and sighed. He sat in his bed and Travis awkwardly followed. He reached under his bed and pulled out a bottle of vodka and tossed it to Travis. He stared at it, honestly over the whole drinking high, now he was tired and loopy. He wasn’t even that drunk anymore but decided to just roll with everything, he wanted this after all.
The number of times he’d imagined himself talking to Sal so casually like this, he’d tried, but always ended up getting embarrassed or started with the whole self-loathing and ended up just insulting him.
While Travis was stuck in his own head, Sally was desperately trying to find a lighter, he swears those things have legs. He snagged a cigarette from his pocket and pulled his mask up over his lips. He honestly forgot Travis was there even if he was staring bullets into him. Struggled with the lighter- again. And finally lit his smoke.
Travis had seen Sal smoke before, and he thought it was the hottest fucking thing ever. And now he was right beside him, not across the street or behind the school RIGHT. FUCKING. INFRONT. OF. HIM. He could see his lips up close, the way he held it in between his lanky fingers with chipped nail polish.
If it were any other day Travis would have beat himself up for these kinds of thoughts but today was his night. His father wasn’t breathing down his neck and nobody else would see or judge. Only him and Sally face.
Sal finally notices Travis’s starring, for someone who hunts ghosts his natural instincts weren’t all that good. “What? The smoke? You want a puff?”
“What? No no not that-”
“Good. Smoking's bad for you,” he gave him a light shoulder nudge. “Oh god,” Travis groaned dramatically. “Spare me the talk, I know.” He paused. “You’re like.. Such a dad man.”
Sal laughed “What the fuck does that mean?”
“I don’t know I feel like you tuck me into bed, make me soup or some shit.”
He giggled, sorry to use Christ's name in vain but by god was it the most beautiful sound he’s ever heard.
“That’s how you see me?”
“No.. You’re like a dorky little loser.”
“WHATJA.”
“I’m just kidding.. I think you look cool.” There was silence, a shocked silence from both ends, Travis was thinking oh my god did I just say that?? And Sal thinking.. Well about the same thing. Before either of them could break the silence the door creaked open and instead of his father peaking in the room, there were big yellow eyes. Gizmo.
Sal gasped happily and jumped off his bed, discarding his lit smoke in the ashtray. He shuffled to the door and lifted up the cat, snuggling it. “Gizmo! Did you come to see our new friend?”
The cat stared at Travis with the evilest and most judging eyes he’d ever seen, and he lived with his father. “Travis I know you’re drunk but please don’t have a staring contest with my cat.”
“It’s not my fault it’s looking at me like that!”
“It’s a cat man! Not everything is out to get you.” He let Gizmo down and he disappeared into the apartment.. Closing the door behind himself? Travis was probably just seeing things right?
He looked at the time, 1:48. “I think I should be getting home now, it’s kind of a long walk.”
“What! You are not walking home alone drunk at almost 2 in the morning. You’ll stay here, you can go home in the morning.” Travis didn’t have the heart to tell him he wasn’t that drunk anymore, he often questioned the word of god, not out loud of course, if these sins were so horrible then why did they feel so natural.
“Fine.. I’ll stay. But I’m going to bed now I can barely keep my eyes open.”
“You don’t want to change? I could lend you something.”
“No no, it’s fine.. Who wears pyjamas anyways.” He layed down on Sal's bed and turned to the wall and in under seconds, he was out cold.