Precariousness

Chapter One

In life, there are many things people are certain of. From having parents to having friends, or even knowing with certainty that school work was finished on time. However, for others, it was not the same. Especially for Sal Fisher.

Sal Fisher was not exactly..."normal" or what anyone would call as such. From seeing ghosts to losing his mother in a tragic accident and his face and many other things, he was definitely not normal. However, Sal did have his own certainties. Despite how chaotic and unpredictable his life may seem, he knew he could find foot holes in places and people in his life.

Ash. Oh, Ash. That was a definite certainty to sal. He had liked her since the first time he had met her and was always certain of that. It never really crossed his mind whether he liked other people or not; his mind was always on Ash. Among many other certainties sal had, Ash was one of the core certainties.

You could say sal was timid, but not really. He was the quiet type until he got to know someone well—then the can of worms that was sal would fumble out and surprise anyone who was watching from the outside in. despite that, he still had trouble; he had trouble expressing his like for someone. Not the "I like you as a friend" like, but the "I wanna date you" type of like.

That's where this story takes off and, not to break the fourth wall or anything, but this is going to be one hell of a ride.

2:38 Am. Sal had stayed up laying in bed all night. Nothing unusual about that. Ever since he was a kid he had learned to live with his nightmares. Sometimes he just wouldn't sleep. Thank god his prosthetic covered his face, who knows how worn down his eyes really looked underneath it. Sal blinked slowly, taking in the darkness in his room. He often just laid there staring up at the ceiling or wall, letting his imagination do what it will with the darkness.

A deep sigh came from his chest and he found himself thinking about the few certainties in his life. He always came back to Ash. A picture formed in his head of her; she hadn't been to Nockfell in a good couple of years. After graduation, ash dipped in hopes of going to college and well...getting away from Nockfell. Truth was that the whole bologna incident made her uneasy, despite her being a dignified badass.

Sal turned over on his side, facing the wall, his covers laying above his hips. He kept imagining Ash. All he really had left of her was a shitty polaroid picture he kept under his pillow. Many times he would just stay awake staring at the picture, willing her to come back. As said before, sal only ever knew he liked ash...a certainty that kept him going. Or was it?

Who knows.

Sal was never the type to..well..experiment. even in high school, he refused to experiment. Something about just hooking up to hook up made him feel icky. Hell, he still hadn't had his first kiss and he was 21! What a loser, am I right?

He only knew he liked ash. No, not just a blanket statement like "girls", or "women". Just...ash.

He blinked a few more times before putting the picture away and sitting up. He glanced to his side table next to his bed and flicked on the lamp sitting on it. The dismal yellow light illuminated the room dimly. Next to the lamp was a full glass of water, which sal grabbed and sipped on.

Being an insomniac that has nightmares, sees ghosts and has to take so many prescription pills that, honestly, sal himself wasn't sure how he hasn't died from kidney failure, makes one thirsty and bored at almost three in the morning. With a grunt he chugged the water and got up, wobbling a bit.

Fuck my weak body. He thought.

He headed towards the door and left his room. Ever since he had the money to, him, Larry, Todd and his boyfriend Neil had all decided to room together in a nice cozy house a few miles away from the Addison apartments. It was like a dream come true—frat house, but with two nerds, a stoner and...whatever sal was. He considered himself just a person and didn't care much for labels. Although he was the same as Larry, just add on a shit ton of prescriptions and there you go!

Sal left his room only to be greeted by a dimly lit, smoky living room and the sounds of guns coming from the tv.

"playing COD again?" sal pondered out loud, glancing at Larry sitting on the couch. The brunette had his hair pulled up in a bun, stray hairs gently shaping his face. He had a bong sitting next to him (presumably having been used, seeing as the room was foggy as shit) and a few empty chip bags laying on the floor around him on the couch, on the floor and the coffee table.

"Yeah, my dude. Trying to see how far I can get in zombies. You wanna join?" larry paused the game and grinned, his eyes a hazy pink color. Sal smiled from behind his prosthetic.

"as much as I would love to, I'll pass and settle for watching you for now," Sal chuckled, scratching his messy blue hair. When was the last time he brushed it..? ah, who cares. Not like he was going to be going anywhere anytime soon.

Sal lazily walked over and flopped onto the couch, stretching out and laying his feet on Larry's lap—a normal occurrence. Larry never seemed to mind, but recently things have been different. Odd. Uncertain.

"u-uh dude..the feet gotta go, smelly ass," larry chirped, brushing sal's legs off of his lap and crossing his legs.

Sal raised an eyebrow. Was he missing something?

He stared at Larry. Was it just the pot or was his face red from something else? Sal knew from high school that Larry never had a preference in dudes or gals, he just liked anyone he got along with.

Sal stopped thinking; he really didn't want to go down that road about larry. Ash was the only thing sal wanted. Or thought he wanted.

"Jeez, sorry," sal shrugged it off, sitting up and deciding to smoke. He was going for the bong when he felt his phone buzz in his pocket.

Weird. Sal thought. Til he opened the phone and saw a familiar name.

Ash... sal felt a tingle in his back.

Ash: Hey! I know its late, but I'm finally done with school for a good bit! I'm in Nockfell!

Sal: gr8 how goes it?

Ash: idk, come to the door and find out! ^.^

Sal Blinked a few times, his face heating up. This wasn't a dream, was it..?

Without a word, sal got up and trudged to the front door. His heart was thumping loudly in his chest as his hands trembled and slowly edged towards the doorknob.

And with one turn, he opened the door.