|-| IDFC |-| Travis x Larry

Chapter 3: Anxiety

[Anxiety]

Travis sat up and immediately went pale. I sat up and turned my head around. Sal quickly shoved his phone in his pocket. "Uh, sorry, am I interrupting something?" Sal asked, as if he didn't just take a fucking picture. Sal is basically my brother, but dear lord I kinda want to punch him. I get he was just joking or some shit, but damn, Travis looks like he's about to pass out. I can only imagine what's going on in his head right now. Ah fuck knuckles, this can get very misinterpreted. Travis quickly stood up and started to make his way to the apartments. "Th..thanks for helping and talking to me, I guess I should go home now. See you at school." Travis said in a raspy voice as he walked further away. Shit, I can't let him go home. His dads going to hurt him.

I jumped up and ran after him, quickly catching up because of Travis's limp. "Travis, it's okay, I think you should stay here tonight." I offered. He turned his head and looked at me. His dark eyes were glazed over, his face clearly ridden with worry and a shit ton of anxiety. I grabbed his hand and squeezed it. He took a deep breath and shook his head. "Larry, I can't, I don't deserve your help. I've done too much shit. I hurt you and your friends, I'm a fucking disgrace to everything." Travis took a shaky breath as he started crying. Goddamn I wish I was better in this kind of situation.

I awkwardly wrapped my arm around his shoulder and started walking toward the apartments. "C'mon, let's sort this out at my apartment." I insisted. Travis nodded meekly as he continued to cry. Fuck, I don't know what to do. When we made it back to my apartment, I let go of Travis and sat on my bed. I patted next to me, signaling him to sit next to me. He hesitated before carefully sitting on the bed next to me. I took a deep breath. "Okay, so no matter what you tell me, I'm not letting you go home to your dad." Travis opened his mouth, probably about to say hell no, but I quickly interrupted him. "Travis, I'm not stupid. I know damn well he's probably the one hurting you. So, please just work with me here. You're staying here tonight, okay?" I said firmly. He paused for a moment before nodding. I gave him a small smile and stood up. "Okay, so you can sleep in my bed, and I'll sleep on the floor." I said.

"Larry, this is your bed, and you've already helped me enough. I already feel like a piece of shit. I'll just sleep on the floor and you can sleep on the bed." He offered. I sighed. There is no way in hell i'm letting him sleep on the floor after the day he's had. "Well, I guess we're both sleeping in my bed then." I insisted, ignoring the blush creeping up my neck. This is just me being a good person, nothing else. I think. Travis's eyes widened and his cheeks went scarlet. He sputtered something incoherent before looking down and nodded slowly. I smiled and pushed a long lock of my hair behind my ear. Damn, he can be cute. I felt my face heat up at that thought. Fuck, I'm delusional. I looked over at him.

"Okay, go take a fucking shower. You smell like shit." Travis nodded and walked into the bathroom. When I heard the shower start, I took a deep breath and laid down on my bed. What the fuck am I going to do? Am I just going to keep him here forever and beat the fuck out of his dad if he comes here? I decided to try and take my mind off all the bullshit and started on a new painting. "Uh, Larry? Can I borrow some clothes?" Travis yelled from the doorway. I turned my head towards him and dropped my paintbrush. He was standing in the doorway with a towel around his waist. That was it, nothing else. I've never seen him so uncomfortable before. I felt my face heat up as Travis awkwardly shifted in the doorway. Fuck. My mind went blank as I stared. I quickly blinked and shook my head. "Uh, sorry. Let me get those clothes for you." I laughed nervously as I looked down. I was really caught off guard. Why do I always put myself in these awkward situations?

I scrambled to my closet and grabbed an old, red Sanity Falls shirt, sweatpants, and a pair of boxers. I walked over to him and awkwardly handed him the clothes, avoiding eye-contact. Travis smiled softly, thanked me, and walked back in the bathroom. I took a deep breath and ran my fingers through my long, greasy hair and realized two things: one, I really need a fucking shower. Two, I can never look him in the eyes without thinking of that fucking moment. Where the hell is my normal confidence? It's like I look at him, the way he really is, and turn to fucking mush. When we were talking in the treehouse, I learned that he's actually really cool. Bit of a smart ass, but way different then normal.

About two minutes later, Travis walked out of the bathroom fully dressed, his cross still hanging around his neck. The shirt was too big for him, so it kept falling off his shoulder, making his collarbone and shoulder visible. I quickly changed where I was looking to avoid more awkward shit and looked at his face. Once again, he looked extremely anxious. Like, I was worried he was about to puke or something. "Hey, dude, are you okay?" I asked. Travis took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah, yeah I'm good. Just fucking horrified of what's going to happen when I have to go home to my father." Fuck, if I'm worried about his dad, he must feel like shit. "Hey, if it comes down to it, I'll beat his ass and you can stay here." I offered, smiling widely. He smiled and snickered. "Thanks, Larry. I'll probably go home tomorrow, though." I nodded.

For the rest of the night, we just talked as I continued my new painting. We did have a few arguments. This is still Preacher Boy, he's still a bit of an ass, but hey, Travis hasn't said any slurs all night. At some point Sal came back down to apologize and say goodnight, and the entire time Travis was glaring at him. When Sal left, I elbowed him in the ribs and told him to stop being an ass to him. He sighed before nodding reluctantly. I looked at the clock and cursed under my breath. Ah fuck-knuckles, it's three in the morning. I looked at him. "Dude, should we go to bed or skip school? I don't really give a shit, I won't really pay attention in class and probably skip it anyway, but you should probably sleep if you want to focus." Travis sighed and nodded.

"If I skip, the school will tell my father, and I'll get my ass kicked worse than I already will." I looked at him sadly before nodding. I crawled into the bed and laid against the wall. Travis stared at me blankly. "C'mon, I don't bite. Unless you give me a reason too." I said smirking. He blushed, sputtered something incoherent, and nodded quickly. Travis awkwardly crawled into my bed and turned around, his back now facing me. "Night, dude!" I yelled. He mumbled a soft "Goodnight." in return. I sighed and closed my eyes. For fucks sake, have tomorrow be okay. I felt myself drift into sleep as my mind wandered.

~morning~

My alarm was blaring. I groaned, and tried to stand up, but something quickly pulled me back into the bed. I looked behind me to see Travis sleeping peacefully, his head nuzzled into my back and arms around my waist. He looked fucking adorable I'm this state. He looks at peace. Damn, I'm loosing my shit. My alarm continued to scream. Travis stirred in his sleep, mumbling something coherent. Fuck knuckles, we need to get up. I carefully moved his arms and stood up, stretching my long-ass arms and legs. I turned off the damn alarmed and turned to Travis. His blonde hair had fallen in his face. I smiled fondly and shook my head. He's a little shit, but he's getting better.

I woke Travis up, we got ready, and went to school. At lunch, me, Sal, Todd, and Ashley we're talking about the schools shitty bologna. I looked up and saw him. Travis looked up at me, gave me a watery smile, and waved. Damn, he looks like shit. His eyes were glazed over and red. I smiled and waved back. His cheeks dusted over pink. After that he just picked at his food before dumping it in the trash and running to the bathroom. Huh, weird. I should check on him later.