𝐂𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐁𝐨𝐲 『 𝐒𝐚𝐥 𝐱 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐬 』

Day out

As the birdsong began and the sun's rays filtered through the leaves of the trees, Travis shifted uncomfortably in the structure he fell asleep in. His eyes lightly fluttered open, the light just barely stinging them to make him aware of its presence. He slowly sat up and rubbed his eyes, the warmth of the summer morning slowly setting in. He tugged at his hoodie before pulling it off, revealing his navy blue shirt underneath. Travis took a moment as he sat silently at the old playground; the sound of the morning just barely made it to him, the sound of cars and faint chatter broke the immersion his oasis came with.

As he let the morning sun sink in, another revaluation came with. Panic, then dread, overwhelmed Travis when it set in that he had fallen asleep. Not only did he fall asleep, but he slept until morning. He checked his phone, the clock read 10:12 am. He mentally smacked himself, he knew his father would be pissed at him.

He pushed himself off the structure, grabbing his hoodie with him. He paced for a moment, unsure of what to do. He couldn't go home, not yet; Kenneth would be so upset. Travis pulled at his phone case, peeling it back to reveal some extra cash. He pulled it out and pushed his case back on before showing his phone back into his pocket. Travis counted the bills, coming up with thirty dollars in two tens and two fives. He smiled as he wrapped his hoodie around his waist, not wanting to get any hotter. He thought maybe he should go shopping, maybe get breakfast; hel new he wouldn't get any at home.

He began his treck to Nockfell, taking the longer route to get into town from the park. Nockfell wasn't that large, but there were still a few nice places there. One was the shopping district, it was more of a cluster of only a few places, but he thought it still counted. It helped that it was the opposite direction of his house, so more time until he had to go back to his house.

Travis was, actually, pretty excited to do some shopping. He rarely ever got to go; and when he did, he barely bought anything. That was mainly thanks to his father, who hated all fun and happiness. Travis thought back to when he was younger, Kenneth was kinder, actually loving. He tried to ask himself what changed, but he didn't know. He really wished his did, though.

Travis looked around as the buildings and tried to decide where to go. His gazes eventually fell onto a small sweets shop. A large, light-up sign sat atop the building, 'To A Tea' was spelled in pretty, cursive letters. It looked nice, so he decided to go there. When he stepped in, he was immediately hit with the smell of chocolate, a deep, rich chocolate. Travis smiled as he took everything in.

It didn't take long for him to look around and grab what he needed. He decided on a chocolate-chip muffin and a bottle of iced tea. It wasn't much, or bery healthy, but it would be fine for that morning. Travis approached the counter and rested his things on it, pulling Jo's money back out as the cashier checked everything out. Travis couldn't help but stare at their nails, which were painted a deep black; he always wanted to do his nails.

"Nine dollars even." The cashiers voice snapped Travis back, and he quickly nodded. He grabbed his ten and placed it on the counter as he fidgeted with the sleeve of his hoodie. When the cashier was done, Travis thanked them and quickly turned around. "Enjoy your food." Their voice echoed out, and Travis barely mumbled out a thank you.

Once he got outside, Travis pulled his drink out of the small, reusable bag and pulled off the lid. He slowly sipped out of it, taking in the cool temperature and sweet taste. He had only ever ordered from that shop once before, and so far, they looked quite nice with all his experiences with them.

As he slowly walked down the pavement, Travis decided to stop at the park; the newer park, that is. He walked through the large metal gates and walked around the path until he found an empty bench to sit on; it was decently far away from everyone else so he could relax. The new park wasn't really a kid's park; it was judt a large grassy area with places to walk dogs, play sports, or have gatherings. There weren't any playsets, so most people there were teens or adults. Travis didn't really mind, though, he wasn't a big fan of kidd, or most people for that matter. He was glad it was an early Saturday morning because there weren't too many people at the park. Most people had something better to do at ten in the morning.

Travis sat quietly, not much going through his head. He decided to eat his food, he didn't want the muffin getting cold. When he unwrapped his food and took a bite into it, he sighed in relief. It was bot only still warm, but really tasty. He and his mother used to make muffins during holidays, it was their tradition. He missed it, her, a lot... He decided not to dwell on it and finish his food and drink. He swished around the last little bit of his drink in the bottle, no longer cold. He still decided to drink the last little bit and shoved his trash in the bag. Travis slowly pushed himself off the bench and began walking back to the exit. On his way out, he threw his trash in the trash can and his bottle in the recycling bin beside it.

He thought about what else he could do while in town, and he decided to stop at the book-shop; it couldn't hurt. He still had quite a bit of money, so he could afford a nice book. When he entered the shop, a worker welcomed him and hecwaved back. He walked around before landing in the young adult section. He knew almost anything in this area would not be allowed under Kenneth's roof, so he would have to hide the books. He was used to hiding things, though, if he didn't, his father would take it. While Travis looked, nearly nothing really caught his eye, not until he saw a small book with a white cover and red text. He picked it out and read the title, 'Suicide Notes'... He turned it over and read the synopsis. After reading it, he thought it sounded good and decided to buy only that.

He bought the book and waved the cashier bye. He smiled as he moved his focus to the book and decided to double bag it. He shuffled with itt, trying to do it the most effective way possible and not drop it. He eventually got it, but not paying attention to his surroundings, he bumped into someone.

"Oh, shit!" Travis tumbled back, nearly falling but steadied himself and brushed off. "Sorry, are you," Travis looked up but paused when he saw who was standing in front of him.

He saw none other than Sal Fisher, Sally Face.

His mind raced as he panicked on what to do. He cursed himself, and his heart dropped as he saw the Johnson boy standing behind him. Travis was taller than both of them but still felt incredibly nervous near him. But that wasn't the point, he wanted to leave as soon as possible.

"Travis?"