Chapter Text
Travis's eyes bore into the blank piece of notebook paper in front him.
Anxiously biting his lip, he looks up at the clock, it reads 3:30 AM.
He should really, really get to sleep. He didn't need his dad screaming at him for waking up late. He'd scream at Travis one way or another during the day, but he would prefer to not get yelled at the crack of dawn.
But yet the persistent voice in his head nagged him to stay awake, and write what he felt on the paper that he could never muster the courage to say.
Travis, you see, was in love.
In love with someone with blue hair, constantly worn in blue pigtails.
In love with someone with blue eyes, like an endless sea of blue, so easy to get lost in.
In love with someone with the most goregous laugh, the sound of it immediately filled you with warmth, the kind of warmth you felt after being out in the snow playing all day and finally go inside to cozy up by the fire.
In love with someone who was so sweet and caring, a compassionate soul. They are as sweet as cotton candy.
In love with a.. In love with a boy.
Sal Fisher.
The boy who once he arrived at Nockfell has never left his mind.
And, he couldn't help but lash out at the poor boy any chance he got.
He never meant to, he couldn't help it. Well, he could help it if he tried a little harder, but when your the son to the pastor here, it's kind of hard.
Ugh.
Travis felt self-hatred to his core for this, he felt it was wrong for him to be in love with another boy.
From a young age, Travis's father had drilled the idea into his mind that a man must marry a woman, loving the same gender was an abomination, a sin, and those who participated in it were sent to hell.
The blonde boy wondered how his dad would feel if he knew his son was an "abomination" and a "sin".
He'd probably get beat more than he already does.
Travis sighed, cramming the paper of what was going to be his confession to the boy back into his school bag and plopping on his bed, his mind an endless pool of thoughts before he soon dozed off.
The next day was here before he knew it, the blonde and bruised boy groaned as he got out of bed, slowly making his way over to his closet.
Ah yes, his closet, a place for clothes and also himself.
Travis wanted to switch up his outfit today, maybe something to catch Sally's attention more, or hopefully it would.
Travis decided on a light blue sweater with some nice gray suit pants.
Typically, he wore a purple sweater. Father said purple stood for Christ, associated with repentance for sin.
Travis didn't really like purple.
He longed to just wear jeans like all the other kids at school did, but as the pastor's son, heaven forbid he wore something that wasn't formal.
Travis soon grabbed his school bag, letting out a sigh as he made his way down the stairs and to the dining room.
His father was reading the newspaper at the table while his mom was doing the dishes.
Pastor Phelps never did anything but work. He was so strict on morals and saw cooking and cleaning as a "woman's job". Travis was a sweet boy though deep down, and would help his mom cook and clean when his father wasn't around.
"Where did you get that sweater, boy?" His father grunted, making Travis freeze up as his whole body seems to want to give out.
Travis's father stood up from the table and walked over to the small boy, bringing his had sharply across his face.
"I asked you a question young man!" Mr.
Phelps roared, anger seeping into his eyes.
Travis's mother could do nothing but watch in fear and sadness, scared to interfere.
"I-I've had this sweater, sir. I just don't wear it very often." Travis sputtered, the pain on his cheek making it hard to focus.
Great. A new mark before school.
"After today, I don't want to see you in that sweater again. Understood?"
Why?
"Yes sir." Travis said, nodding as he walked out of the door.
Why didn't he want to see him in it again? Was it too girly? Travis didn't think it was.
But, father knows best, right?
He could feel his eyes fill up with tears, so he wiped at his face aggressively.
Father once said real men don't cry, so he did his best to never cry. Though, once in a while, it would all pour out.
Eventually, Travis got to the school and entered through the double doors.
Right away, he spotted Sally Face's bold blue hair, which was up in their signature pigtails.
About immediately after Travis entered, the two locked eyes, but Sal's eyes travelled down just a life farther.
Travis could only assume he was looking at the welt on his face that was probably only beginning to look worse.
He shot a glare at the short boy and made his way to the bathrooms.
Where he could be alone.
In peace.
And quiet.
...
Sal stared at Travis as he rushed away to the bathrooms, concern settling within him for the boy.
He had noticed yet another mark on the boy, a quite common occurrence.
Curiousity also settled within the boy, he wasn't sure why he was so concerned about Travis, as he was such a jerk to him.
Sal excused himself from the group, saying he'd be right back and he started his short journey to the boy's bathroom.
...
Travis felt the tears well up again as he sat on the cold dirty floor of the stall's bathroom.
His crumbled, wordless paper still in his hand.
As he was about to try and put his thoughts into words, he heard the bathroom door creak open.
Great, just what he needed.
He knew the bathrooms weren't just his, but every morning he would come here and no one else usually did.
But of course this morning out of all of them someone shows up.
He heard feet shuffle over to the stall he was in and stop. Whoever this person was then turned to the stall and gently knocked.
Travis sneered, "This stall is taken, dumbass! Can't you see?"
Ignoring the rudeness of the blonde, Sal spoke up, "Uh, it's Sal. I just wanted to check up on you, you seemed upset."
Travis could feel his cheeks grow red and his eyes widen.
Why him of all people, especially right now?
"I'm fine, pigtails. Now go away." Travis said harshly, cringing at himself and his mean words.
There was a long pause, before he heard the shuffling of bags and the sound of someone sitting down.
Sure enough, Sal was sitting on the floor in front of the stall, back towards him.
Travis was bewildered, wondering why the boy couldn't just leave him alone.
Yet, his body let a warm, fuzzy feeling overtake it at the fact Sal cared. Or at least he thinks so.
"You know... " Sal began to speak, his eyes fixtated on the tile in front of him, "...we could always hang out sometime, if you wanted to that is."
Travis could feel his heart leap in his stomach, his heart was beating so fast it could probably win in the Olympics.
"Uhm..s..sure, yeah, maybe sometime." Travis said timidly, wiping the tears from his eyes as he got off the bathroom floor and opened the stall door, making Sal startled.
Sal stood up too, gazing at the boy and his eyes that were puffy from all his tears. Sal hadn't noticed until now, but he looked amazing in that light blue sweater.
"Maybe hanging out right away would be too much, so would you like to exchange phone numbers?" Sal asked, his soft voice echoing only slightly against the bathroom walls.
Travis nodded, and the two exchanged phone numbers and ran off to their seperate classes before the bell rang.
Just before class started, he checked his phone just in case, and saw one text from the blue boy which simply read...
"Hey! This is Sal, just so you know! :))"
"Cute." Travis thought to himself before feeling his cheeks heat up and quickly dismissed the thought, putting his phone away.
Yet, Travis could feel an unavoidable smile curl slightly on his lips.
What was he getting himself into with this boy?