The Warmest Blue

Chapter One

     Who said school wasn't exciting? ... Oh yea. That was Larry. Those exact words had left his mouth this morning as he, Chug, and Todd all made their way to the prison. It was cold outside and the new semester had just begun. He had tried to fake sick to get out of it, but he had done that one too many times during the last semester and his mom was catching on. She was much smarter than she admitted and Larry accepted his fate. He groaned out of boredom and slammed his head against his locker.
"Woah, dude, don't hurt yourself." He heard Ashley laugh out and voice her concern. He shrugged and mumbled something about hoping he gets a concussion. The hallways were buzzing with the same dull excitement as every other first day back from break. Everyone was showing off their new shoes or airpods. Damn those airpods. Larry hated every fucker that wore them, especially Travis. Suddenly, it felt as if the air stopped around them as every background character to his own story paused. They all gazed at the front door where a small boy was standing. He was clutching his notebook close to his chest, his backpack straps slightly longer than they needed to be so his bag hung low on his back, only making him look shorter. He had this vivid blue hair pulled up into twin pigtails, and a mask. Larry couldn't help but stare. He watched as the boy lowered his head and tried to sneak among the crowd. He wanted to blend in as much as humanly possible, and quickly let out a soft apology every time he neared someone. Larry felt a firm slap at his shoulder and he jumped, tearing his eyes away from the other boy.
"Ow! Ash, what the hell?" He whined, hating how much stronger she was than him. She made an aggressive motion with her hands, almost like she was trying to push the air towards the new arrival. Larry sighed, understanding that she wanted to befriend him but didn't want to seem like the creep. She always forced that role onto him, but its not like he minded. His laid back personality helped him acquaint himself with just about everyone in the building. Slowly, he let his eyes find his target and began to walk towards him. He watched as the smaller boy methodically toy with his locker. He silently cursed at himself when he got the combination wrong and Larry was just about to step up and give him the ol paper clip trick, but he didn't beat Travis to the punch.
"Hey! You know uh, a much easier way to do that is with a paper clip. Here, look." He offered. The other nodded graciously and stepped out of the way, leaving room for Travis to successfully open his locker. Travis had really come to terms with himself this year and even came out about mid fall. Everyone was welcoming and even helped him find a place to stay after the fight with his dad, but Larry still had bad blood with him.
"Thank you." The blue-haired boy spoke. He had a calm voice, but it was soft and sounded like it could break at any given moment.
"Of course! I'm Travis, welcome to Nockfell." He smiled warmly and motioned to the school around them. He saw the corners of his eyes crinkle ever so slightly from behind the mask, hinting at a smile, however small.
"I'm Sally. Most people call me Sal, or my friends called me Sally Face." He answered, holding a shakey hand out to officiate his welcome. Travis happily took his hand and smiled.
"Well then, Sally Face, let's compare schedules, yea?" and with that, Travis stole their chance. Larry huffed dramatically, earning a glance and a glare from Travis, and made his way back to Ashley.
"Tough luck, man. He looks nice." She said sadly before shutting her locker. "Come on, we'll be late for Chemistry."

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