Travis was really not having a good time. How could people find this entertaining? It's so gory and gross, you can't relax because then something pops up and scares the shit out of you. Well, Sal and Larry seemed to be slightly amused by how scary Travis thought the movie was. They'd seen this movie hundreds of times and had actually seen real dead people, this really paled in comparison. Sal could at least hope that he hadn't greatly upset Travis at any point tonight. He is a wildly different person, there's not much of a 'middle ground' to meet in. Even if Travis wasn't enjoying the movie very much at least it was less threatening to him than meeting actual ghosts. Travis wouldn't admit it but despite disliking the movie they were watching and everything else really that they had done that evening, he was enjoying spending time with Sal. It didn't matter what they were doing. This is the only place he could be close to him. At school he has to put his guard up to not bring attention to himself. Even being here scared the shit out of him, what if everyone else at school caught wind of them hanging out? Then they would know his aggressive front was a fraud.
It made him a bit sad though. Sal already told him he wasn't going to put up with him taking his issues with himself out on him anymore. Which meant Travis would at least have to be standoffish at school, no more shoving, no more name calling. He had to play tolerant. No matter what though he couldn't be friendly with him in public. Everyone in school knows that everyone in that friend group is… not straight. Travis wouldn't be afraid of getting teased by other students, he's dished it out for years, he could take it himself just fine. He was afraid of it getting back to his father. He doesn't know much about the group but other people do and if they happened to 'warn' Kenneth about the people his son associated with, all hell would break loose. Travis didn't push Sal away just to protect himself, it was to protect Sal as well.
Travis snapped out of his panicked overthinking because a familiar hand was waving in front of his eyes. The movie had ended and the tv was static now, Larry was making his way to turn on the lights and quiet the god awful sound of the tv. Travis turned to Sal who's eyes showed concern. "Are you ok dude? You kinda spaced out there for awhile. The jumpscares weren't even affecting you anymore." Travis shook his head, pushing Sal's hand away from his face. "Yeah yeah I'm fine. The movie just got boring." a blatant lie. Travis bit his tongue in anger at himself, he didn't need to use such a snarky tone he knew Sal liked that movie. He could see a split second of disappointment flash in Sal's eyes before he hopped off the couch and threw his arms into the air "What do you wanna do Travis? We picked the last two things, why don't you decide now?" he shouted excitedly.
Travis shrugged, there wasn't much to do. All he did every night was read or study. He usually was asleep by this time anyway. "Go for a walk? I guess?" Travis weakly proposed. He didn't get to go outside very often for long periods of time, he wanted some fresh air. "You two go ahead, I'm gonna finish the painting I was working on before Sal came down earlier. I've had enough physical activity for the night." Larry dismissed nonchalantly as he drifted back to his easel. This was Sal's mission to befriend Travis, not his. Larry figured he'd give them time alone, he was also getting drained from being around Travis for an extended period of time, he wanted some peace.
Sal nodded in understanding, making his way to the staircase that led from the basement directly outside. Travis began to panic again, at least with Larry with them Sal would be mostly distracted and talk to Larry more. Now he has to be alone with him. This was a blessing and a curse. Travis didn't know how to act around Sal when they were alone, it's never happened before. He really didn't know what to expect tonight either, the original plan was to be alone with Sal for hours, how would he have survived that? It's just a short walk, it probably won't be that bad.
Travis trailed shortly behind Sal as they both trekked up the stairs. The door opened and they stepped into the cool, autumn night air. This was the last attempt to salvage their attempts to become friends, they both thought. Their stroll began in still silence, neither knew what to say to the other. They didn't have much to talk abou really. "So…" Sal began, trying to break the awkward tension "It's a nice night." he trailed off. Travis clicked his tongue "We're talking about the weather?" he chuckled. Sal let out a snicker "I guess so.". Travis looked down to the concrete beneath his feet, watching every step he took. "So Sally Face. I'm sorry about uh. Tripping you at school today." Travis barely whispered. He figured if there was any time to apologize about anything he did, it's now. Even if tripping him was one of the lesser things he's done in a pile of hundreds.
Sal stopped walking abruptly and jerked his head over. "Did you just… apologize to me?" he blurted in astoundment. Travis only looked away, and didn't respond. 'I'll take what I can get I guess. It's progress.' Sal thought as he started up again. "Thank you." Sal spoke sincerely. Though it was only one thing, it meant he had realized what he was doing hurt and that he at least felt remorse for that pain. That tugged at Travis. It made him happy to see Sal happy. He wanted to be the cause of that.
"I have a question though. And you don't have to answer if you really don't want to, I'm not gonna force you or anything but. Why?" Sal peeked out of the corner of his eye at Travis, Travis glancing up from his feet in confusion. "Why what?" he asked nervously. He knew what the question meant, but he was hoping Sal would say something different. "Why do you only pick on me? Like yeah you're mean to other people but you only seem to go after me. Is it because I'm gay?" Sal began mumbling halfway through his interrogation. It made him more confused, all this time he had chalked Travis's bullying to him being gay but… he didn't mess with the others. Yeah he'd comment about them once in a while but he never actively attacked them. It was still a possibility, sure, but it still raised more questions.
Travis opened his mouth a few times to answer but would close it again. He didn't really know what to say. He couldn't just outright say 'It's because I have feelings for you but being gay is wrong so I take my anger towards not being able to have those feelings out on you because you're openly allowed to have them and that's unfair. It's also because I want to push you away so I don't have to admit those feelings.'. Simply thinking about all of that filled Travis with dread. Travis was just as confused as Sal really. Tension grew between them again.
Sal cut in front of Travis to sit on the curb, patting the spot next to him. They both stared at the desolate neighborhood street, illuminated by two yellow street lights. Sal propped his elbow on his knee and rested his head on his hand. "You don't have to tell me anything, but I want you to know you can. I won't judge you over anything." he let out a lone cuckle "Hell, look at me. I'm absolutely not fit to judge." his breathing relaxed. "I know you don't actually hate me. And I don't hate you. I want to help you." Sal closed his eyes, tilting his head back towards the sky.
Travis had realized he wasn't breathing that whole time and gasped for air. "I know." he muttered. He wanted to open up, he really did, but he just couldn't. He was afraid of having another person know too much about him. "I have no clue what you're talking about though." Travis tried to sound confident but faltered, making Sal giggle. Sal tilted his head to the side, eyes remaining on the road in front of them "Keep telling yourself that, buddy." now glancing in Travis's direction. "My offer still stands though" he huffed, standing suddenly "We've all been there." Sal sighed and resumed walking on their previous trail.
Travis deflated 'He really isn't gonna let me off easy is he?' sluggishly standing to keep pace with Sal once again. Sal began humming a song to fill the dead space. Despite it being slightly muffled by his mask, Travis could hear his voice relatively clearly, and it was no wonder he was the vocalist for the band. Travis thought he had a nice speaking voice to begin with but now can hear he had a charming singing voice as well. "What are you humming?" Travis asked, not recognizing the song. "Oh it's one of the songs I wrote a while ago for the band. I'll have to play it for you sometime." Sal tossed up finger guns and winked. He would take advantage of any opportunity to play in front of someone for once.
"I'd like that." Travis spoke, followed by a yawn. Sal took that as a sign that they should turn around and get back home, he was getting a bit tired as well. The walk back was quiet but a peaceful quiet. 'I think we're on better terms after that.' Sal was filled with optimism. They reached the apartment building once again, Sal stepping ahead to open the door to Larry's room. Walking down the steps they were greeted by Larry covered in paint and pillows and blankets scattered on the floor. "Were you building a pillow fort or someth-" Sal was interrupted due to tripping over a pillow and face planting in the sea of pillows. The room went still for a moment until Larry doubled over in laughter. "It must be 'trip Sally day'." Sal exclaimed, more muffled than he usually is. This caused Larry to laugh even harder.
Travis began to feel bad. This was a funny accident but the first time was out of malice, and it was his fault. Until Sal started to laugh too. Travis whipped his head between the two, greatly confused. After a few moments, Sal sat up gasping for breath. "Ok but really why is all this here?" he recalled his question from a few minutes ago. Larry abruptly stopped laughing and glanced from Sal to Travis and back to Sal "I just thought it'd be better if we all stayed down here." quickly donning a reassuring smile "More room!" he added. Travis looked to Sal in hopes of getting an answer as to why Larry was acting so strange to see Sal looking at the pillow flooded floor. Feeling eyes on him he turned to meet Travis's gaze, Travis could see worry in his eyes, until Sal closed them in a way Travis would interpret him as smiling as well. 'Alright they're definitely sacrificing me in my sleep now.' Travis settled in his head.
Sal picked out a pillow and blanket and got comfortable on the floor before reaching to unclip his mask. "Shit." he whispered, remembering Travis was there. He wanted to be friends with him but he wasn't going to jump into boiling waters like that yet. He really didn't want to sleep in his mask, that was greatly uncomfortable. Shooting up from the floor with an idea, Sal walks to Larry's door. "I'll be right back!" he says quickly before leaving the room with no explanation.
Larry and Travis were now extremely aware of each other. Sal was their buffer, without him in the room the feeling of hostility skyrocketed. "So Travis," Larry started in a cynical tone "What are your intentions?" finishing with a glare. Travis recoiled, what could he possibly mean by that? What the hell does that mean? "Like are you just playing some fucked up joke on Sal by going along with his friend plan and then you're gonna go back to your old bullshit to spite him or what?" Larry growled. He wanted to be nice to Travis for Sal, but not if Travis was just going to turn his back on him. Travis held back a sigh of relief. He really thought Larry was going for something else there. This wasn't much better but at least he wasn't as intuitive as Sal was.
Travis pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration "No, Larry. I get that I'm an asshole but do you really think I'd do something that fucked up?" he was too tired to make any smart remarks. "Yeah! I do Travis!" Larry shouted, just then the door opened. Sal standing on the other side, holding a surgical mask and a blindfold. He was about to greet the two when he noticed the heated expressions plastered on both of their faces. He can't leave for two minutes can he?
Sal simply pointed at Larry as if to say 'Watch it' before shutting the door behind him and sitting on the floor. "Travis, close your eyes." Sal called across the room. "This again?" he was exhausted with this game. "Seriously dude. And I swear to god if you open your eyes before I tell you to, you're dead." Sal said impatiently. Travis quickly snapped his eyes shut. He still won't take those threats lightly. Once Sal was sure Travis wasn't looking, he removed his prosthetic and replaced it with the mask and blindfold, effectively covering his face in a way that would be comfortable to sleep in. "Alright you can open your eyes now." Sal huffed as he fell back onto his pillow.
Travis opened his eyes and looked over to Sal, unsure of what in the hell he was wearing. "You look ridiculous." he jested "Better ridiculous than horrifying." Sal chuckled back. Travis was slightly taken aback by his self inflicted insult again. He highly doubted Sal looked that bad and no matter what he didn't like when he tore himself down like that, even as a joke. Despite the fact that he himself did the tearing down most of the time. Shaking the thoughts from his head, Travis set up camp on the other side of the pillow puddle, facing away from Sal. Larry turned the lights off again and plopped down on the couch, almost immediately passing out.
Rustling of blankets was the only noise that filled the room. Sal continued to toss and turn, Travis could feel it. He wondered why it seemed Sal was so anxious, unable to sleep restfully. Travis lied awake for a short while. Not thinking about much, just feeling content, at peace. He felt like he could relax more here than at home, even if he still held back a lot here. At last, sleep overtook him. For a while at least.
Travis was jerked from his slumber without warning. He couldn't fully process what was going on around him, it was pretty dark, all he knew was it sounded like someone was screaming. From beside him, Larry leapt off the couch and rushed to turn on the lights, dashing back to crouch in front of Sal. Travis now remembered where he was, but couldn't understand what was going on. "Sal hey, calm down it's ok. It's Larry you're safe in my room." Larry whispered while tearing the blindfold of Sal so he could see where he was. Sal had stopped screaming but was still hyperventilating.
Lisa burst through the door to check in on everyone during the commotion "Is everything ok? What happened?" she panted in a panic. "It's ok mom. Sal just had another night terror." Larry replied, putting a hand on Sal's shoulder. It was something to help comfort and calm him down, but also ground him. Most times when Sal wakes from a night terror he doesn't know where he is, even if he can see it still takes him a bit to figure out what's going on. "Should I call Henry?" Lisa said, quieter this time. "No, I think he'll be ok. Give him a minute to come back and I'll come get you if he needs him or Gizmo." Larry sounded sure of himself. He's done this plenty and usually knows exactly what Sal needs. Sal reached out and grabbed Larry's sleeve which usually meant he wanted a hug, which Larry was more than happy to deliver if it would help Sal feel better. After a few moments Sal let go and sunk back down.
He was now leaned over, face in his palms, shaking. Travis looked to Larry in worry, genuine concern. 'It's ok.' he mouthed to Travis in an attempt to alleviate his unease. "What time is it?" Sal spoke weakly in an uneven voice. Travis checked the watch on his wrist "It's 3:39 am" he spoke gently, as if Sal would break merely by hearing sound. "I'm sorry." Sal peeped, a sob escaping his lips. "Hey man, it's ok it happens. Do you want anything?" Larry inquired. Sal looked up "Gizmo. And some water maybe." he choked out. "Will you be ok by yourself for a bit?" he tested. He knew leaving Sal by himself after all that can sometimes send him back into a panic so he tried not to. It was easier for him to get Gizmo however, since Gizmo knew him better than Lisa.
"I won't be alone. I'll be ok." Sal said, shifting his glance to Travis for a split second. Larry nodded standing up and leaving his bedroom. He came back with a glass of water and exited again, followed by the buzzing sound of the elevator rising. "I'm sorry you had to see that. I hope I didn't scare you." moving his mask slightly to take a sip of the water. "You just startled me is all. It's fine I'm just glad you're ok." Travis stated, looking towards Sal to offer a look of consolation. He could now see only his eyes. Well, eye. Sal had taken the other out before coming back to the basement. Travis noticed claw marks around the eye that was missing, they travelled down beneath the mask.
Sal noticed Travis studying his face and quickly picked up his prosthetic from next to his pillow. He had almost forgotten he was exposed like that. Clicking it back into place he felt a little safer. Travis realized what he had been doing and jerked his head in another direction "Sorry I didn't mean-" Sal raised his hand, halting Travis from continuing "I know. Don't worry. I don't like when anyone sees, not just you." he admitted. Even when it's Larry, he still puts the prosthetic back on as soon as he realizes. The elevator turned on once again and began coming down. Sal was grateful Lisa was understanding enough as to allow Gizmo to be in her apartment. He was more than just Sal's pet after all.
Metal doors rumbled open and shut again, noting that Larry was back with Gizmo in tow. Sal perked as he heard soft thudding footsteps approach the door. Larry entered carrying a slightly disturbed Gizmo, he was rudely awakened from his peaceful slumber by Larry kidnapping him. He lowered the ball of fur into Sal's arms, not saying a word, then returning to sit on the couch. The boys sat together in silence, the sound of Gizmo's purring as the only noise filling the room. Travis quietly fidgets with his own hands in his lap, not knowing what to do now. He couldn't just lie down and go back to sleep, that'd be rude. Plus the lights are on and after being awoken in such a manner, he didn't think he could go back to sleep even if he tried.
'I guess this is why Larry thought we both should stay down here. Thank God for that, I wouldn't have known what to do if it was just me.' Travis sighed, sinking his head deeper. He loves Sal but doesn't even know the first thing about him, or how to be helpful to him. 'I really am useless aren't I?' he questioned, resting his head on his now propped up hand. This wasn't a new feeling to Travis, not in the slightest. His father constantly made him feel like a waste of space, even when he was trying his best to give meaning to the space he was taking. Nothing was good enough for Kenneth.
Travis felt a small pressure on his leg, bringing him back out of his thoughts. Gizmo had wandered over to him and put a singular paw on his leg. "Uh Sal, your cat thing is touching me." he said in a confused tone. Sal snorted "He's checking on you. He's trained to notice when people are upset and go to offer them comfort. He's basically asking if you want to hold him to feel better." Travis blinked. Was his inner turmoil that obvious that even a cat notices it? He reached down to grab Gizmo and place him in his lap. "Yeah, sure. Come here hairball." he gave in. He was soft and warm and smelled like Sal. Maybe he was what Travis needed for comfort right now. Gizmo started purring again, seemingly in agreement with Travis's thoughts.