"Church Boy."

Caught

We sat there for a few minutes, I was massaging his back and he was resting his head on my shoulder as his tears dried up. "You ready to go?" I ask, slowing the pace I was rubbing his back. "Mhm..." he muttered. "Okay, let's go..." I say, helping him stand up. 

I made sure to walk slowly as we climbed down the steps. Once we reached the ground, I pulled him into another hug. Larry was standing in shock. His arms were tense, and his shoulders were brought up close to his chin. 

"What do you want to do?" I ask, letting go of him as his hands slowly fell off of me as our distance grew. "Nap. I'm so fucking tired." he answered. "Larry, I'm gonna take Travis back to my room. I'll see you later." I said, grabbing Travis' wrist and leading him back to my apartment. "Alright, I'm going to...be up in the...the treehouse..." Larry said, fumbling over his words. 

I walked Travis to my room, helping him into the elevator as he could barely pay any attention to his surroundings. "This way." I say, stepping out of the elevator and walking to my room. I grabbed my keys and unlocked the door, walking in with an exasperated Travis following behind like a lap dog.

We entered the apartment, and I guided Travis to my room. He fell onto my bed and turned over onto his back. "Sal, can we just...talk?" Travis asked, putting his arm under his head. "Of course, Travis." I assured. "Do you like video games?" I asked. "Dunno never played one." he answered. 

I wasn't even surprised. He didn't seem like the type to be allowed. "Do you want to?" I asked. "Sure, guess so." he said, shifting to lie on his side, supporting his head with his hand. "Gimme a sec, I'll get my Gear Boy." I murmured, searching under my bed for the game. 

Once I found it, I picked it up and crawled out from underneath the bed. "Found it!" I shouted, sitting up and onto my knees. "How do I play it?" he asked, holding it by his index and thumb as if it were a dirty diaper. "Here, let me show you." I said, crawling onto the bed and resting next to him.

"Ok, so, you press this button to move and that one to pick up stuff." I explained, helping him as I walked him through the first level. "Oh, ok." he said, continuing his gaming session. Once he got the gist of it, I watched him as he sped through the levels that even I had struggled with at first.

Once he got to the level I was on, I watched as he quickly figured out what to do and finished the game. "How the fuck...?" I mutter, in complete and utter shock. "That was fun!" He says, smiling profusely. "Did you really just...beat the game?!" I ask, eyes wide. "I guess so." he said, oblivious to his accomplishment.

After I got over my shock, I pulled out some card games and taught him how to play those as well. He caught on quickly and was soon speedily laying down cards until the inevitable happened. "Uno!" he shouted. "Dude!" I yell. He chuckled a little and waited for me to lay my card so he could win. "Uno out!" he yelled, smiling hard and obviously proud. 

After a few more rounds and a few more losses, we decided we were hungry. A few hours had passed, and it was now around 10 at night. "You hungry?" I ask. "A little." he answered. I stood up and walked to my door. I gestured for him to follow me, and he did. 

We walked into the living room and Travis effortlessly lifted himself onto the counter. "What are you hungry for?" I ask, opening my fridge. "Kinda whatever, just hungry." he said, shrugging his shoulders. "Um...do you want a sandwich and chips?" I ask, grabbing for the cheese and bologna.

"Sure." he said, glancing around the room. "Wheat or white bread?" I ask, grabbing two paper plates. "Either one, I'm not picky, Sal." he assured with a chuckle. "Sorry, ha. Not used to making food for others. Just me and my dad, and I already know what he likes and doesn't like." I joked, slathering some mayo on my sandwich. "Any condiments?" I ask. "Nope!" Travis answered, hopping off the counter and walking over to me.

*Time Skip*

We talked while I finished the sandwiches and grabbed some chips from the cabinet. We walked to the living room and sat on the couch. I turned on the TV and switched to some show, for background noise. 

We sat down and I unbuckled the bottom of my mask. "Just take it off, I've already seen it." Travis said, eyes not leaving the screen. "You sure? I don't want to make you uncomfortable with..." I stopped. "You aren't as ugly as you think, you know that, right?" Travis said, stealing a quick glance at me. 

"Shut up..." I murmured. "No, really. You aren't. Not to me, at least. If you don't want me to, I won't look. I just want you to eat comfortably." Travis said, putting his food down and looking at me. Sincerity filled his eyes as he stared at me. "Ok..." I said, unbuckling the rest of my maks and letting it fall into my lap. 

"Am I allowed to look? Or no?" Travis asked, head facing the opposite direction. "Sure, just don't stare." I said, watching as he turned his head to face me. As his eyes darted from place to place on my face, I watched as his cheeks grew a deep red. "You're really red." I pointed out. "I am?" he asked, not believing me. "Yep." I assured. 

He jokingly rolled his eyes and took another bite of his sandwich. As we finished eating, the door rattled open, and my father walked in. "Sal? Travis? What are you boys doing up?" my dad asked, eyes heavy and arms weak. "Just got hungry, we were about to go to bed anyways. Right, Travis?" I said, glaring at him so he gets my point. "Yup!" Travis said, giving a weary smile. 

"Alright, just get some rest. It's already 12." my father said, retiring to his room. "Are we actually going to bed?" Travis asked. I smiled maliciously. "Nope!" I whispered, gently tapping his nose. He sarcastically rolled his eyes and smiled at me.

I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. Picking it up and checking it, I saw that it was a message from Larry. 

"Dude! Neil's having a prty! U coming?" he texted. "yea! Gotta ask Trav first!" I texted back. "Trav, you wanna go to a party at Neil's place? You don't have to-" I was quickly cut off by Travis flipping out and aggressively agreeing to go. "Yes! Yes! Yes! I've never been to a party!" he said, practically bouncing off the walls. "Alright! Chill, if my dad wakes up we can't go!" I whisper-yelled. 

"Sorry! I'm just excited!" he replied, stifling his energy and walking with me to my room. "If we're going, you gotta dress right." I joked, pointing to my bed, watching as he sat down quickly. I pulled out a black turtlenecked sweater and some red ripped jeans. 

"Can't I wear this?" he asked. "Yea, you can. I was kidding about the clothing thing." I explained, smiling sweetly. "Oh..." he said, now understanding the joke. "If you want you can, only if you want, though." I said. "Turn around." 

He did as I said and faced the wall. Once I was done changing, I let him turn back around. He gave a thumbs up and a sweet smile. "So, you wearing that?" I ask, eying him up and down. He was wearing a purple shirt and some jean shorts with deep green sneakers. 

"Guess so." he answered, shrugging his shoulders. "Okay, let's go meet with Larry." I said, guiding him quietly through the apartment. 

*Time Skip*

Larry met us in the lobby and then drove us to the house. He knew his way to the house, must've been a few times. "We're here!" Larry yelled.

Travis' eyes grew wide, and a large grin was now plastered on his face. "You ready?" I asked, nudging shoulder with my elbow. 

"Ready."