Love Letters

 Travis stifles a sob as he listens to the front door slam open and closed. His hands quake against his mouth as he hides behind his dresser.

"Travis, get your sorry ass down here!" The booming voice echoes up the stairs. The blond hesitantly gets up, removing his hands from his mouth and opening his bedroom door. He slinks down the stairs, wishing he could just disappear.

"Care to explain this?" The previously enraged voice is clamer now, and colder than ice. Travis freezes, his eyes landing on the notes in his father's hand. The notes from Sal.

A few weeks prior; April 12th

"Shut up, faggot!" Travis' voice came off more harshly than he meant it to. He didn't even know why he was doing this, treating Sally Face the way he was. He didn't hate Sally, but he just couldn't bring himself to be kind to him. Travis is hit with a sinking feeling as Sally mentions his father. Without thinking, he lunges forward, his fist making contact with Sally's prosthetic. Warmth seeps onto Travis' hand, and his heart drops. Blood. Travis immediately runs away, seeking refuge in the boys bathroom. He quickly runs water, thoroughly washing the thick red fluid from his knuckles. His fist aches, but he knows the blood wasn't his own, it belonged to Sally Face. Travis' breathing quickens as he shakes, leaning over the counter. He reaches into his pocket, quickly pulling out a neatly folded sheet of lined paper. His cheeks grow damp with tears as he reads over what he wrote. As he's reading through his letter, his father's voice echoes in his mind.

Sinner.

Faggot.

Disappointment.

The blond quickly pulls out a pen, making quick work of crossing out the last few sentences of the letter. A sob rips through him, and he crumples up the note. The paper suddenly feels like it might burn straight through his palm if he holds it any longer, so he tosses it towards the waste bin, locking himself in a stall. Once surrounded by the scribbled-on walls of the stall, Travis' tears increased.

Sally walked towards the science lab, planning on meeting his friends to investigate further into the Bologna. As he walks by the restroom, he pauses. Despite not having a reason, he enters, spotting a crumpled paper near the waste bin. He picks it up, gently uncrumpling it. His eyes scan over the words, realizing it was a love letter.

"I know we don't really know each other and you probably have your opinions of me. I thought maybe if I told you how I feel, things could be different. The truth is, I can't stop thinking about you. I'm crazy about you. I think you're amazing! But I know these feelings are wrong. It's not the way a boy should feel. Shame swallows me whole, just writing these words. My father would kill me but I can't live in his shadow forever I just..."

Sal's curiosity peaks as he notices the scribbled out lines. He slips the note in his pocket, turning around. As he's reaching for the door, he hears a strangled sob. He turns around, going through and knocking on each stall door. He reaches the last stall.

"Anyone in there?" He calls out, wondering if the writer of the letter ever left the restroom.

"No duh, fuckwad. Buzz off!" Sal's eye's widen as Travis' voice sounds from behind the stall door. However, something about his voice is different. It's less hostile than usual, more vulnerable.

"Travis? Were you just... crying a second ago?"

"Sally Face? I - No! what the hell? Can't a guy get some privacy?" Sally feels a pang in his chest as Travis' voice breaks, returning to its usual hostility.

"Why do you hate me so much?" He didn't mean to sound so sad, but his voice betrayed him.

"Because you and your friends are a bunch of homos! It's sick! It's not right! God will never love you! Why should I?" Despite Travis' attempt at sounding sincere, Sally saw through it.