Better Than I'd Thought | Sally Face x Travis Phelps

five

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"Hey," Sal asserted, "I'm sorry about what happened at Larry's." He mumbled. "He'll come around. He just-"

"He doesn't trust me," Travis responded, crossing his arms.

Sal winced, shrugging. "Does he have any reason to?" He shook his head. "Sorry. That was harsh. Larry is very protective of me. He doesn't want me to get bullied."

"How romantic, " Travis rolled his eyes, "are you going back to hang out with your stoner boyfriend again tonight?"

"Who? Larry?" Sal's eyes widened.

Travis hesitated and then nodded.

Sal chuckled, putting his hand in front of his prosthetic. He shook his head. "No, Larry's not my Boyfriend." Sal laughed. "He's my stepbrother."

Travis' cheeks flushed, and he looked away, "Stepbrother?"

   "Yeah," Sal nodded, "Our parents are like dating and stuff."

   "Oh, okay..." Travis swallowed, feeling embarrassed that, for a second, he was jealous of Larry.

   "Hey, do you wanna watch a movie or something?" Sal took a seat next to him on the couch. "You can even pick which one if you want to."

   Travis shook his head. "You can pick." It was the least he could do to make up for how much of an asshole he'd been recent.

"Thanks." Sal's prosthetic shifted as he smiled. He grabbed the remote. "What kind of movies do you like, Travis?"

   He shivered, liking the sound of his name spoken with Sal's voice. "I-I'm fine with anything."

"Then I'll pick one that I think you'll like." Sal stood up and turned the lights off before sitting back down, almost on top of Travis.

Travis's face turned red. It didn't seem like he noticed.

"Hey, kiddos." Henry walked into the room. "You guys are up late." He glanced at Travis. That kid was always either scowling or blushing.

"Hey, Dad," Sal said. "We're gonna watch a movie."

"I just wanted to say goodnight." Henry waved. "Don't stay up too late, alright?"

"Alright, " Sal called back as his dad walked away, "Goodnight!"

Travis frowned, wishing he could have a similar relationship with his father.

"Are you okay?" Sal mumbled, tilting his head. "How has your eye been feeling?"

Travis swallowed, glancing at him. "Better. Thank you; for the ice pack."

"I'm glad." Sal offered a small smile.

Travis watched as he filtered through potential movies. He realized that he could see a bit of scarring around the edge of his mask. Travis couldn't help but wonder what the prosthetic was hiding.

He doubted that Sal would ever willingly show him or tell him what happened to make him need the mask.

Maybe one question wouldn't hurt. "Hey, " Travis's eyes drifted over to him for a moment.

"Yeah?" Sal kept his eyes on the screen as he searched for a movie.

"Does that ever... Get annoying?" Travis pointed at his face.

"Huh?" Sal looked at him, reaching his fingers up to brush against his prosthetic, "Yesh, I guess so." He mumbled, turning his attention back to the television.