I've Never Been On The Outside... (Salvis)

now i'm in exile.

Hey y'all i'm back and you prob think im insane because of the story Harper told but yk what else is new lol? TW: outing, f slur, homophobia. The title of this chapter is from Exile (ft. Bon Iver) by Taylor Swift.

The walk to the cafeteria was awkward to say the very least. Larry and Ashley still didn't trust Travis in the slightest but Todd and Monica were much more welcoming, making slight conversation with him. He could hear Harlo and his friend snickering behind him and to put it lightly, he was terrified of what was going to happen when they got into the cafeteria. The doors opened and they all got in line to grab breakfast. Travis got a small bowl of cereal. He wasn't that hungry. Well, he was mostly nauseated by fear but whatever. He sat down next to Sal and pretty much just stayed silent the whole time. That's when shit went south.

Harlo had finished eating when he made his way over to Travis's table. "Hey, Church boy!!" he yelled. Travis kept his head down and held back tears. He was silently praying that Harlo wouldn't do what he thought was about to happen. He came closer and sat on the table in front of Travis and Sal. "Dude, get the hell off the table." Sal demanded. "Nah I think I'm gonna stay here." Harlo teased. 'Shit shit shit shit fuck shit shit' Travis thought.

Harlo reached into his pocket and pulled out the one thing Travis wished would disappear. The note. The godforsaken note that he wanted to burn with his own hands. Travis's eyes began to water and his hands started shaking. "Oooh what do we have here?" Harlo taunted. "Awww is church boy gonna cry? Suck it up." Travis wanted to curl up in a hole and die when he started to reveal the note. Harlo laughed reading it back. "Guys you have to see this! Who would've guessed that church boy is a faggot?"

Sal immediately stood up. "Harlo. Quit it. You're not funny." he stated. Travis had never heard his voice so angry. Harlo ran to the center of the cafeteria. "Guys! Look at what little church boy Travis wrote! 'I know we don't really know each other and you probably have your opinions of me but I thought if I told you how I felt, things could be different.'" He was saying this so loud while staring at Travis. He felt hot tears stream down his face at what was happening. Sal began walking over to where Harlo was but he continued to read off the note. "'The truth is I can't stop thinking about you. I'm crazy about you. I think you're amazing! But I know these feeling I have are wrong. It's not the way a boy should feel.'" Harlo read in a mocking voice. Sal began running up to him. "Harlo! Fucking stop it!" he said a bit louder. Then of course, Harlo's friend held Sal back from taking the note away. The cafeteria filled with whispers and laughter. He continued to read the note. "'My father would kill me but I can't live in his shadow forever.' Oh my god you really are a fag, aren't you?" he laughed. None of this felt real to Travis. He thought that this was just bad a dream and he would wake up soon but he never did. Because this was reality. All of Sal's friends were stunned. Without thinking, Travis sprinted out of the cafeteria. Sal darted up to the front and took the note away. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" he screamed before running after Travis. "Travis! Travis wait!" he called out. Travis just kept his head down and continued walking back to the cabin. Sal ran as fast as possible and stopped in front of Travis. "Travis, hey it's okay." he reassured. He put his hand on Travis's shoulder. Travis looked up at him and Sal's heart broke at his tear stained face. "Is my dad gonna find out?" he asked with a shaky breath. 

"I don't know. Travis, listen to me. If he does find out, I need you to get the hell out of there. Do you understand?" 

Travis nodded and looked back at the floor. "I just don't want him to hate me. If he doesn't hate me already then he definitely will." His voice keeps breaking and is drowned in panic. Sal placed his hand on Travis's cheek. "It'll be okay. If he does hate you for it then that's his loss." he said. 

"We should report this to Julia." he suggested

"No, no what if she calls my dad?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

Travis nodded and they both went to the cabin to tell Julia what happened. When they opened the door she was sitting on the floor, setting up an activity for the little kids that were here. "Hey y'all what's up?" she began before noticing the tears on Travis's face. "Travis, what happened?

So they explained what happened. They told her about the note and how Harlo found it by Travis's bed. They told her about how he read it to everyone and called him a faggot. She nodded and then spoke up. "Thank you for telling me. I'll talk to him. Would you like me to call your father?" she asked.

"No!" Travis exclaimed. "Sorry, I mean no.'

Julia nodded and dismissed them to gather by the campfire early. They walked to the campfire in silence. The only thing Travis could think about was the incident. He really hoped that nobody would believe Harlo but he knew that he was going to be socially exiled for the rest of eternity. He really hoped that everybody would forget what happened but he knew that Nockfell was a small town where gossip spreads like wildfire. And he knew that the town was small enough that the information would get back to Kenneth in no time. He was fucked.

They sat on the log by the campfire. "What's on your mind?" Sal asked abruptly.

"I just... I just hope that my dad doesn't find out, but it's Nockfell. Why do I have to live in fucking Nockfell, where everyone knows everything about everybody else?"

Sal rubbed his back and spoke again. "Hey, we'll get through this together." Before Travis could reply, all of the students followed behind Julia. "Alrighty y'all, here's the campfire. Joey, would you start it for me while I have a little chat with Harlo?" she requested. The crowed echoed "Oooooh"s as Harlo followed Julia to the cabin. Joey, one of the students, began to start the fire and Sal tapped Travis on the shoulder. Travis turned to see what he wanted and Sal got closer to his ear

"Wanna go spy on Harlo and Julia?" he whispered. Travis smiled and nodded his head. Sal took him by the hand and they ran in the direction of the cabin. They laughed as they darted through the crowd of students. When they reached the cabin Harlo and Julia were on the porch. "What was going through your head when you humiliated Travis?!" she exclaimed. Travis and Sal hid behind a tree next to the cabin and laughed quietly. Harlo stayed silent and kept his head down. "Answer me Harlo." she demanded. 

"I don't know! I just thought it would be funny!" he admitted. 

"You thought making Travis cry and feel humiliated would be funny? Are you insane?!"

Harlo stayed silent at this. "Okay, today you're staying in the cabin all day. We'll bring you lunch and dinner but I'm not going to let this slide. Understood?" she said. Sal and Travis were kind of surprised at how demanding Julia was. She usually was chill and positive. Harlo nodded and made his way into the cabin.  Sal and Travis ran back to the campfire before Julia could find them spying. 

At the campfire, Julia explained what Harlo said (even though they already heard it).

Maybe this trip won't be so bad with Sal and his friends after all.

Authors note: IM SO SORRY THIS CHAPTER TOOK SO LONG MY MIND HAS BEEN ELSEWHERE. So yeah don't expect a chapter for the next week or so because I have tech week and I have to act like a hippie all week. Not to mention the amount of school work I have. I have a book report due next month and I haven't started a book yet. HARPER TELL THEM ABOUT HOW ANNOYING OUR QUARTERLY BOOK PROJECTS ARE!!!!