•The Note• {Travis x Sal}

13

Travis POV:

Travis followed behind Sal closely, glancing around anxiously. If Sal was going to act like nothing happened, then so was he. The clearing came into view, a small and empty area of patted down pine needles.

"Sorry it's nothing crazy cool, Larry usually sets up his easel there." Sal said, pointing to a darker spot in the clearing, some of the dirt had been forced up in different spots as to show where Larry would set up.

"Nah, I like it. It's nice."

Travis let his knees give out as he sat down on the grassy area, eventually falling onto his back. He felt Sal lay down next to him. It was nice to simply have the sky in contact with his face.

He didn't see Sal, only the swirl of trees and the blue sky overhead. He loved to look at Sal, obviously, but this scenery was more comforting than what he was used to.

"Hey, Sal?"

"Yeah, Trav?"

"I think I'm gay."

"Proud of you, Trav."

"Thanks."

Travis held back a laugh, breathing in deeply through his nose and letting out a soft exhale. He felt oddly comfortable, like he could melt into the ground below him. He lost feeling in his lower body, only feeling the warmth absorb into his skin and face.

"Have you ever felt this peaceful?" Travis asked, not turning his head. "Not in a while, no." Clicking sounds were heard, assumably sal taking his prosthetic off. "Don't look, Kay?" Travis hummed in response.

"Muchhh better." Sal sighed, Travis taking note of how clear his voice sounded. "I like hearing your voice."

"You hear my voice all the time, dingus."

"Well, I mean, like—clearly. I get to hear you and not the muffle behind the mask."

"Gee, thanks, Trav." Sal laughed, moving his hands to lay on his chest. "I like the sun on my face. I barely ever get to do these types of things."

"It must get tiring, covering your face all the time."

"Nah, I'm used to it."

"Has anybody seen your face?"

"Just my dad and Larry."

Travis hummed again, closing his eyes. "This is nice."

"You've already said that," Sal said, raising an eyebrow. "I know, but it's true." Sal sat up slightly, resting one elbow on the ground and laying his head on his hand. "You need to get out more."

"Says you." Travis laughed, eyes still closed. "Let's do this stuff more often." Sal proposed, looking at the trees in the wooded area behind the clearing. "You know this won't last long, after this project we won't have any excuse to hang out."

"True, true. We'll find a way."

"If you say so, my dad's a hard nut to crack."

"Well, maybe he doesn't have to know?"

Travis scoffed, then laughed in a mocking tone. "You're hilarious, Sal. True kidder." He said in a sharp tone, causing Sal to lift an eyebrow. "I'm serious, Trav."

"And my dad's an Atheist."

Sal leaned back down on the grass, more like falling and let out an irritated Ughhh. "You're unbearable sometimes."

"Gee, thanks, Sal." Travis taunted, clearing all of his ridiculing behavior hadn't tapered off yet. "I'd rather not get my skull cracked open."

"I can come up with something."

"I'm sure you can, Sally."

"Seriously! It'll take some thinking, but I can get you out of there for at least some time."

Travis shrugged, realizing Sal really didn't know much about his dad. "How much have I told you about my dad?" He asked softly, curious.

"Well I've learned that he isn't so apologizing with his hands, bible freak, and a complete asshole that torments his kid?"

Travis had to hold back a laugh, silently hoping that god wasn't listening in on him shit-talk his dad. It was an itching fear he always had.

Someone, something, was there watching, listening in on every thing he did. One hiccup in his life and he'd be perma-banned from the gates of gold and clouds of warmth.

He'd be impaled with a stake through every limb and burnt to a crisp for eternity, tortured and tormented like all the other damned for simply not doing as the headmaster—his father—of the house said.

Travis shivered at the thought, feeling invisible paints through his forearms and legs, the silent feeling of metal spikes protruding through them. He swallows hard and stared up at the sky, wondering how such blue bliss could hold such tight rules.

So strictly bound with no loose edge that even one mistake, gone not forgiven, would put ol' Travis James Phelps in the eternal inferno.

"I guess that's right." Travis decided to cut the conversation short, not in the mood to elaborate anymore.

"How'd you know you were gay?" Sal asked—and innocent question, but to Travis it felt like a worse stab to the stomach than the impending doom-spikes. "Uhm...I don't know."

"Well, you gotta know, somehow at least." Sal said curiously, making an interested expression as he turned to look at Travis. "I guess, there was this boy."

"He drove me crazy, I wanted to strangle him sometimes but he made me feel unbearable things. Like a light in the dark. A hand to hold when I'm scared. But he also made me mad. Like gut-wrenching, sweat-bolting mad."

"Do you not like him anymore?"

Travis sighed, already embarrassed enough. "I do, I think."

Sal nodded, although Travis couldn't see. "I'm happy for you, Trav."

"Don't be, I'd rather not have a crush at all like this. Especially when I know I'll never have a chance."

"I'm sure you do." Sal said, clipping his mask back on. "You wanna head back?"

Travis sat up, pine needles and stickers attached to the back of his mauve sweater. "Yeah, I don't mind."

He stood up and stretched his arms out, realizing that he was quite a bit taller than Sal. He'd never paid attention to details like before, but it was funny to him. It put sal in such a perspective point that Travis found himself unable to take Sal seriously, until it came to a moment needed for geniality.

"Next time we should bring something out here, like paint."

Travis nodded, though he'd never really painted before. He saw Sal getting lessons from Ash, and other than art class itself he'd never felt the artistic pull to brush and color.

"You wanna crash the couch and watch tv?"

"Sounds good to me."

A/N: it's so rushed I'm sorry but I wanna get something out so bad 😭 this was meant to be a WAYYY longer chapter but I'm gonna break it up like always, I don't feel like writing big angst rn and keep y'all waiting. <3