The Bathroom. (Sal Fisher × Travis Phelps)

part 04: lunch..

Travis made his way to the lunch room to go eat lunch, and he was excited to eat because they were serving his favorite, bologna. As he made his way to the lunch room, he saw sal in the halls talking to Larry.
"Smh... Hey Larry, get over here!" Yelled Travis from across the Hall.
"What do YOU want travis?!"
"I want you to get over here." Said travis, trying to not be rude, but still being rude anyways.
Larry and sal both walked over and gave travis a death stare.
"No stupidhead I asked for Larry not.. You." Travis said while giving sal a dirty look.
"Oh, sorry. Larry? Meet me in the cafeteria when your done!" Said sal to Larry. He wasn't mad, just confused more then anything. He had a sinking feeling because he was worried they'd get into a fight like usual and the principal would have to call Lisa and Kennith. But, sal made his way to the lunch line and sat down with chug, maple, ash, and Todd.
"Hey sal!" Ash said, smiling and waving.
"Oh hey!" Said Todd
"heya!" Mouthed chug, while shoveling food down his throat.
"Hi guys, whats up?"
"Haha, hey guys! Hey maple!"  Smiled sal.  " Oh and before any of you ask Larry is with Travis."
"I'm sorry what?! Travis!?" Ash said, putting her fork down and staring at sal."
"Yea i have no clue why but I guess we will see." Said sal. He was a little worried for Larry since they get into a fight every time things like this happened.
As soon as they all finished talking Larry comes over and sits next to sal.
"Hey man Travis wanted me to give this to you I guess." Larry said
Sal smiled. "What is it?"
"Pfft I have no clue, If I had read it in front of him he wouldve killed me" Larry replied, laughing.
Sal opened the note.

"From Travis
To s̶̶̶a̶̶̶l̶̶̶l̶̶̶̶y Sal

Hi. 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. My father would kill me but I can't live in his shadow forever I just... I love you, I really do. And as I said before, I know this isn't how a boy should feel, I know I'm gross and just a sinner, but I can't get you out of my head. I had Larry give you this note because I couldn't give it to you myself, even though you know I wrote it.

I'm sorry for everything, Travis."

"Sheesh.. Well that wasn't expected." Said Larry, suprised. "You good man?"
"Err.. Uh.. I'll be back, I'm gonna go to the bathroom." Sal said, as he turned around and ran into the men's bathroom. He stood at the sink at took off his mask. He looked into the mirror and sighed then he washed off his face with cold water as he tried to process what just happened. He couldn't believe it! The whole time he'd just been bullying him because if his stupid internalized homophobia?? That just didn't add up. He decided to go into a stall because he had to go to the bathroom. As he pushed on the third stall he realized someone was in there.
"Oh sorry man, I didn't know someone was i-" He paused as he looked down at his shoes and realized it was Travis. "Travis?"
"Who is i- Sally face?! What are you doing here?? Travis snarled
"Calm down, I'm likely just doing what your doing, chill." Said sal calmer than before. "Anyways, look man, I read your note, you don't have to act all mean and tough anymore."
"Larry already gave it to you!?" Said Travis, completely shocked.
"Yea, was he not suppose to?"
"I told that idiot to give it to you after school!!!" Yelled Travis.
"Oops." Said sal. "Well at least you don't have to hide it from me anymore. I'm here for you to talk to and be a friend, but before we make anything serious I'd like to think about it. I mean dating my bully is a little cliché, so lets hang out for a while and as I said before, I'll think about it."
"Your actully.. You know.. That way? I didn't know, I just called you guys queers because I thought you would take offence to it, not that you actully are." Said Travis a lot calmer now and more shocked than mad.
"Yea, I like people for who they are, not for what they are." Sal said with a soft smile that could melt a heart.
"Oh wow, that's wonderful. I would really like it if you could give me a chance to change my ways, and I could prove to you that I'm not all that bad." Said Travis. This was the calmest sal had ever seen Travis.
"I know you aren't bad, Travis. I always have been able to tell you were stuck in your own mind and couldn't escape easily. I knew that you were in there but never in control."
"Was it that simple to tell.?" Asked travis.
"No, I think im the only one who realized. I'm good at reading people though, I always have been." Said sal, he really cared, and he wanted Travis to know he was there for him because he knew what went on at travis' house.
"Why are you being so nice to me? I've always been so mean to you, I deserve you being mean back." Said travis, you could hear him trying to keep down tears.
"No no no. nobody deserves hatred when they couldn't control what was happening Travis, really." said sal, trying to comfort him. Sal had always been the sort of "therapist" Friend, and he just wanted to make travis happier. "Nobody deserves what you go through. "
"You dont know what I go through, you would never understand." Travis rudly said. Travis wasn't trying to be mean but he just had thought that sal would never comprehend it fully.
"You'd be surprised." Said sal, quite calmly. "I've seen it happen, stop trying to hide it from me, remember that time that your father came to pick you up because you got into a fight with Larry? I went to go check on him in the nurses office and you and your father were in one of the recovery rooms, I saw through the window him yelling and slapped you, hard. You'd started crying. I had to still make sure Larry was okay, you got hit pretty hard there. But I didn't want to intrude on your problems, so I stayed out of it."
"You saw that..? I really hoped nobody saw that. Sheesh, that was embarrassing.." Said Travis, more humbled now.
"No worries I literally see ghosts for fun, that's not something insane to me." Sal chuckled, then went back to serious talk.
"True." Travis said, smiling just slightly now.
"Oh shoot- Travis hold on." Sal turned around and quickly put his mask back on. They were both sitting face to face in front of a stall. "I'm sorry. I forgot I had that off." Sal said, almost as if he was emotionless.
"Not an issue, you can take it off if you'd like. Its more personable to talk to you face to face." Replied travis.
"Oh.. Really? I didn't expect that one haha.." Sal said taking his mask back off. His cheeks were a bright red color, as he smiled.
"It's nice to actully see your face. The only other time I'd seen it is when I broke your mask in half, but you were covering your face, sorry about that.."
"Not a problem, I've dealt with worse." Said sal, trying to make travis not feel any worse then he already does.
Travis put his hand on sals shoulder. "Look sal, I really want to say, I'm sorry for everything. I realize now what I've done is wrong, and your probably have quite negative feelings about me now. But I really do love you. I'm sorry I couldn't express it in a different way, yet I realize now I'd never been taught how to deal with this currently. Are my feelings wrong? I just don't want to be a sinne-" Travis got cut off by sal
"These 'feelings' your having, are not wrong Travis. I know that's what you've been taught and what you'll likely believe until your freed from your fathers grasp, but they aren't. People feel the way you do all the time, 100 times a day at that! but they aren't going to hell, right? They're just living their happy life." Said sal, comfortingly.
"Your right.. I'm sorry again though. I hope this can take steps to a friendship, and maybe one day more." Said Travis smiling.
"Travis, I've got to admit, I've liked you for a long time now. I don't know what made you attractive to me, since you bullied me and was flat out mean to me for so long, but I feel like some day something could work." Said sal, blushing again, but this time smiling.
"Sure, I'll take that as an answer. :) " Said Travis. "Well, I think I'll be going now, I believe my class starts soon. And I can't be late, you know, dads rule."

They both left the bathroom and sat down separately to hang out with their friends before lunch finished. They had both agreed to meet up to hang out after school, because Travis' dad didn't care how late he was out.
"DUDE ARE YOU OK? WHAT HAPPENED MAN?! DO I NEED TO BEAT HIS LITTLE A-" Larry got cut off by sal.
"Chill" Laughed sal. "It's ok, he was Apologizing about everything."
"Oh wow, wasn't expecting that.. " Said Larry
"Yea trust me me neither."