uuuhh its salvis

Travis suffers some more

Travis was paying attention.
Very good Attention.
He was completely focused on the teachers talking, and NOT on any other students.
Not in front of him or behind him.
Certainly no one sitting behind him.
He was focused.
Focusing.
That's why he was tapping his pen so loud.

" Mr Phelps!"

Travis's attention bolted to the teacher,
Even though it was... totally.. already there.
"Stop with a pen. you're distracting the class."

He could hear the students snickering as he apologized immediately. He snarled at his desk.
He imagined they were all laughing at him. He hated them for that.

But he didn't hear sal laughing.

...
At least there's that.

He waited for the teacher to continue lecturing, made sure no one was looking at him and subtly turned to look behind him.

Just wanted a quick glance at him. Wanted to make sure he wasn't laughing or staring.

He wasn't, in fact he was dozing off, head propped up by his hand.
The teacher must not have noticed from the way his mask hides his eyes,
He wondered if Sal was getting enough sleep.
His hair looked a little Messier today, maybe he woke up late? He was kind of cute the way he threw his hair together, he must really have balls to wear such a girly hairstyle at a school like this.
The roots of sal's hair caught Travis's attention, growing in a dark chestnut color.
It looked nice compared to the rest of his hair, and the color strangely match with the pink part of his mask.
Something about the way sal looked May Travis feel like he was floating.
Like it was barely possible sal was real at all.

"MR PHELPS"

Travis yelped and his shoulders shot up, he turned to the teacher.

"I've called your name three times already, Phelps. What did I tell you about the pen."

I guess Travis didn't stop tapping.

" I heard your father is a revered preacher. He would be disappointed in your carelessness."
The teacher snarled.

"You complete the ignored your teacher and purposefully disrupted the class.
You'll be in detention this afternoon.
I hope your proud of yourself."

Every muscle stiffened in his body.
Oh god
Oh no
He's going to kill me.

Every remaining minute of that class Travis spent imagining the ways his father would punish him.
He was so screwed.

An eternity later the lunch bell ring.
Travis rushed out of the classroom like his life depended on it.
He could feel himself starting to cry
Certainly not by choice.
He had the secret he didn't want anyone knowing, and it's that he cries really easily.
But if anyone ever found out about that it would completely ruin every ounce of reputation he holds.
He cannot be The Boy who cries.
It's just a flaw he has to overcome, a part of him that he has to fix,
overtime he'll teach himself to man up and eventually it'll feel like it was never a problem.
Because it isn't.
It's just something he has to snap out of.

He turned to the bathroom hallway
Prepared to cry shamefully
during the lunch period.

A hand stopped him.

It made his shoulders tense again, he wasn't expecting to interact with anyone.

He turned to see a set of pigtails on a short masked boy,
Staring up at him with the softest blue eyes.

Suddenly his blood felt like it was carbonated.
Shit. Shit. What does he want.

Travis locked eyes with him, determined to not speak first.

Sal took the opportunity.

"Hey Travis I was meaning to ask you something, do you have a sec?"

What

What the hell?

What is he up too?

"What is it?"

What was he going to say? no?

"I was wondering what exactly you do at lunch. I mean I've seen you around the cafeteria but you usually disappear after that. And after talking with you in the bathroom I just thought-"

"WE DON'T NEED TO TALK ABOUT THAT-"
He blurted in a panic.

There were people around... He didn't know what Sal was going to say around so many people... Oh God... He yelled ...
Sal probably hated that..

"We should talk somewhere else!"

He said with a major voice crack.
He b lined the other way and Sal followed.
They found an empty classroom and Travis closed the door, making sure it clicked completely.

Sal watched patiently.
Mostly unfazed,
but a little bit concerned.

....

No one said anything...

Travis stared at the floor.

Sal decided to continue.

"So the bathroom.. I know you probably don't want to talk about it."

Travis looked up at sal

" But I was wondering how often you do that at lunch."

There it is. Shit.
Instead of carbonating his blood felt like it was boiling.
He could feel his heart thumping violently and he regretted creating this situation in the first place.
He tried to make his face look angry but it came off more flustered and panicked.
It was getting really hard to hide that he was scared.

"That's none of your business, Fisher"
Responding let him breathe a little easier.
A bit of confidence came from that aggression.
He started to feel more like himself.

"Well if you don't want to talk I could go"

"WHAT? YOU-
YOU CANT-
I MEAN-"
He argued, DEFINITELY not disappointed.

His face was kind of mahogany with frustration, there's no way in hell he would say it but he didn't want sal to go.

Sal turned back to him

He tilted his head curiously, studying Travis's mannerisms.

For whatever reason Sal seems completely relaxed.
He was usually anxious and unsure
But he very naturally took control of the situation.
He seemed strangely confident.

He moved his head a little to the side and laughed.
He laughed for a minute like Travis told the funniest joke.

Travis's face started burning an even deeper mahogany.

"What the hell??" Said Travis.

"You just seem so different when your not about to beat me up"

AAAH shit
'what am I supposed to say to that??'
" Yeah, that's like.."

He trailed off into nothing.
Sal spoke again.
"So why did you hit me and stuff? I won't get mad, don't worry."

'He's not mad? He should be mad though what the hell?'

" Why do you want to know that?"

"I mean I don't really need a reason.. are you gonna answer?" sal respond

...

"Can you like.. keep it a secret"
He said quietly

"Of course, trav"
He said sweetly

..'
TRAV..
Oh my GOD '

He swallowed the lump in his throat.

"I just don't know what to do around you"
He said in a quiet begrudging voice.

Sal waited for him to continue.

"Because"

"Uh"

The room was unforgivingly silent.

There wasn't a single word Travis could come up with.

Sal spoke instead.

"Was that your letter in the bathroom?"