At some point they had all fallen back asleep, light still on in Larry's room. Travis was the first to stir due to feeling unable to breathe. Turns out Gizmo was sleeping on his ribs, as cute as he is he's quite heavy. He lightly rubbed the top of the cat's head to wake him up, making sure he didn't fling him off when he went to sit up. Gizmo yawned and stood up, causing Travis to wince in pain, his paws felt pointy and were digging to every possible spot on his torso. He hopped off quickly however, and made his way to snuggle up to Sal, who had fallen asleep with his mask on. Gizmo nudged his way under his arm, Sal's eyes fluttering open in response. "Hmm. Mornin Giz." He mumbled in a groggy voice.
He sat abruptly and groaned. 'I left my mask on.' He thought, wincing in discomfort. Looking over at Larry, Sal noticed he was still dead asleep, as to be expected. He then shifted his gaze to Travis, who was now sitting up. Travis's eyes met Sal's for a moment, then Sal closed his to signify he was smiling. "Good morning Travis." He said, still in a tired tone of voice. Travis quickly turned his head away, hoping Sal wouldn't see his blush. They made eye contact and he sounds so cute when he's just woken up, he couldn't help it. "Hmm." is all he could muster in response.
Sal stood up, bringing Gizmo with him "So what do you wanna do today?". Travis looked up to Sal, squinting due to how bright the lights in the room were. "Uh I don't know. I don't usually 'do' things on weekends. Is there anything to even do?" Nockfell was a decently small town after all, he couldn't imagine there was too much entertainment here. "Hmm. We could go roller skating?" he pondered out loud. Travis proceeded to give Sal a look that only said 'Are you kidding me dude'. "Do I look like I know how to do that?" Travis mumbled. Sal shrugged "I can teach you. If I can do it half blind you can do it easy, Travis." he said reassuringly.
He went to open Larry's door, looking back behind him. "Just let me get ready and we'll head over. Do you need to go back home first?" Sal asked, looking at Travis who was still in his clothes from yesterday. Travis looked down and back up at Sal "Yeah I should probably change." he agreed. Sal nudged his head to signal Travis to follow him. He rose from the floor and trailed behind Sal "But wait what about Larry?" he asked. 'Never thought I'd say those words.' he thought, surprised. "He'll probably sleep for a few more hours, no chance in waking him either, he sleeps like a dead man." Sal answered, waving his hand in dismissal. That would make sense, actually.
They once again entered the elevator and rode it up to Sal's apartment. Once inside, Sal released Gizmo back into his natural habitat, where he ran off to god knows where. "You can sit on the couch while I get ready, I'll be fast." Sal spoke, gesturing to the couch in front of the TV. Travis awkwardly nodded and made his way to sit next to Henry, who was watching TV. 'Well this is surely going to be uncomfortable.' Travis thought while lowering himself onto the couch. Sal went into the bathroom first and shut the door, informing Travis he was now alone with Sal's father with no buffer.
"So, Travis huh?" Henry turned to look at Travis, trying to strike up a conversation. Travis looked terrified. He had no clue what kind of parent Henry was and if he was the over protective kind he knew he wouldn't make it out alive after how he's treated Sal. Henry noticed to look on Travis's face and gave a comforting smile "I'm sorry if I worried you last night, I was only trying to tease you. I don't think you're a bad kid. I'm quite glad you and Sal are hanging out. He talks about you a lot, in a concerned way. He's not mad at you for the stuff you do, just frustrated because he doesn't know how to help. You know?" he tilted his head. Travis looked back at Henry in shock 'Does he really talk about me like that?' he questioned "He actually cares about me and all I've done is torment him." he whispered. His eyes widened as he realized he unintentionally said that out loud.
Henry raised a hand and rustled Travis's hair "Don't worry about it so much, it's in the past, as long as you try to be better and work past it." He encouraged. The bathroom door then creaked open again as Sal walked back to his room, hair up in pigtails again. "Dad, I really hope you're not saying anything weird to Travis." Sal said in passing. "I was actually just about to show him your baby pict-" Henry jabbed back, cut short by Sal simply yelling "Absolutely not!" before clicking his bedroom door shut. Henry chuckled, he enjoyed bantering with his son, he missed the normality in their house.
Travis let out a small laugh at their ribbing, sitting back, more relaxed now. He felt a bit better knowing now that Sal wasn't trying to be friends simply to get him off his back. No one's ever really been able to see through Travis like that. Everyone's always just seen him as a homophobic asshole without a cause. Sal's the first person to actually figure out that was just a facade. Not that Travis would let him know that. Yet at least. He had to try to be nicer but still not let him past the wall he'd built. He was already breaking his own rule agreeing to try and be friends with Sal in the first place.
The door to Sal's room finally opened and Sal strolled out, fully dressed and ready to leave. Travis stood up and turned around, only to be in awe of what Sal was wearing. A black and white checkered skirt and pink shirt. Black roller skates with teal laces and wheels flung over his left shoulder. "Alright dad we're going to the roller rink." He said nonchalantly moving towards the door. "Have fun boys!" Henry beamed. Once out the door Travis came to a full stop "Sally Face you're wearing a skirt." he stammered. "I am, nice deduction skills." Sal replied.
He continued sauntering to the elevator, Travis still confused at what he was seeing. "But you're a guy." He stated, trying to get Sal to explain what in the hell he was doing. "I guess, but dude clothes are just clothes. You can wear whatever the hell you want no matter what you are. I have long blue hair and a pink and white mask for a face, if the fact that I'm wearing a skirt is what confuses you about my appearance I'm a bit concerned." He declared, pressing the button to the main floor "Plus skirts are just more fun to skate in.". Travis pondered that statement for a moment, then nodded. He wasn't wrong. "I didn't think we could do that." He breathed. Sal shifted his eyes to the side to look to Travis 'I wonder how much he's missed out on that he wants to try, but can't because of his dad.' he wondered, sorrowfully.
Travis could feel Sal's eyes trained on him 'Why is he looking so intently at me?' he returned the stare. They retained eye contact for what seemed like forever when the elevator finally chimed, breaking their concentration on each other. They walked to the door and exited the apartment complex in silence, neither really knowing what to say. Sal sighed after they'd begun their walk to Travis's house "Well if you ever want to try anything you never could, I'm down to help. I'll even let you borrow my fun clothes." he spun around making his skirt twirl. "M-my clothes are fun!" Travis tried and failed to defend. Sal chuckled "You dress like a grandma in the 80's." gesturing to his attire. "I do not!" Travis stomped in an attempt to try and save himself.
They continued to playfully bicker back and forth on the short trip. Travis was enjoying it, he was actually able to talk to Sal like a person. Sal was happy, Travis was finally putting some of his guard down and having fun. They approached his house eventually, Sal stopping in his tracks a block away. "Why are you stopping?" Travis jerked back in response to Sal's absence beside him. "Well I just know your dad isn't too fond of people like me. Especially because I'm in a skirt right now, don't think that's such a good idea." Sal remarked, leaning back onto a tree besides the sidewalk.
A zap of pain hit Travis in the chest at that. This is exactly why he wanted to keep Sal at a distance, because now not only was Travis walking a tightrope with his father, now he's dragged Sal onto the rope too. He thought ahead though, to Travis's surprise. He was completely expecting Sal to bust in his house, guns blazing, saying 'This is me and fuck you if you don't like it!' he didn't like that Sal felt the need to hide himself though. He was fine with putting on an act for his father and anyone else need be, but didn't want Sal, notoriously unique, to feel like he had to.
Travis crossed his arms and closed his eyes, trying to seem unaffected and not at all upset. "Well lucky for you, my dad's not even home right now. He's at the church preparing for tomorrow." He informed Sal 'Truth is he's hardly ever home, only for meals and sleep. He doesn't like to be here as much as possible. Which is fine with me, I just wish he'd leave permanently in all actuality.' He spat in his mind. His brows furrowed, eyes still closed, in frustration with his home life. At least he only had to endure one more year. Sal noticed the change in his expressions, but didn't want to pry for the reason. He pushed himself off of the tree and returned to closing the distance between them and the house.
Dropping his ten ton backpack onto the porch, Travis began fumbling through the pockets to find his house key. When he found it he quickly unlocked the front door and stepped onto his old, creaky, hardwood flooring, alerting his mother that he had returned home. Sal followed close behind him, not knowing how to feel about being in this kind of environment, even if his dad wasn't here. "Sunshine is that you?" Travis's mother called happily from the kitchen. "Yes mother it's me, I brought Sal. I just came to change real quick, we're going to the roller rink." He replied, blushing from embarrassment at the nickname his mother had called him.
Footsteps approached them from down the hall at a quick pace "You stay right there, I want to meet this friend of yours!" she chimed excitedly. Sal sidestepped out from behind Travis, his mom didn't seem that scary. She came into view around the corner and her eyes lit up at the sight of Sal "Well aren't you just the cutest!" She exclaimed. Travis put his hand up to his face, trying to hide both the embarrassment from what his mother said, and the smile that had also crept onto his face.
Sal reached out his hand to Travis's mother "It's very nice to meet you, I'm Sal." He said meekly, still taken aback by being called cute. She giggled and took his hand and shook it "Nice to meet you Sal, I'm Beth, Travis's mother." offering him a sweet smile. Travis let his hand drop back to his side and cleared his throat "Well I should be getting changed." He interjected. He walked around the pair and started up the staircase. Travis could hear his mother and Sal continuing small talk with one another while on the second floor. It brought him peace to know that at least his mom didn't judge Sal for who he was, and in fact liked him. At least there was someone on his side for once.
After quickly brushing his teeth he flung open his closet door to find something decent to wear. Sal was right, he did kind of dress like a grandma. He wanted to seem cool to Sal, there's got to be something in here, anything at all. Digging for quite awhile, he came across a pair of jeans that had been balled up and shoved into the back corner of the closet. He picked them up and unfurled them to see they were a pair of his old jeans that were riddled with holes. He then remembered he wore those jeans on a day he got in a fight with someone at school, a physical one. During the fight due to being shoved around, he accidentally tore holes in his jeans. When he got home he managed to run upstairs before his dad saw them, changing into different pants, throwing the old ones into the abyss so he wouldn't get in trouble for ruining his clothes.
'These should work, I guess…' he thought hesitantly. This would be the first time he would leave the house purposefully looking like what his father would describe as "a mess". In all honesty, all of Travis's life was a mess, and he was also an absolute mess, so why not own it at this point. He threw them on and began looking for a shirt. It was too nice out for him to wear one of his classic old lady sweaters. His best bet was probably wearing one of his plain t-shirts he wears when he rarely goes out on casual days when it's warm, or as an undershirt when it gets especially cold out. There weren't many to choose from, so he settled on the black one.
Quickly exiting his room, Travis bounded down the steps back to his mother and Sal, hopefully before his mother mentioned anything embarrassing. They both turned to look at him, which made him feel like he was in a teen romcom, when the ugly duckling comes down the stairs for prom and she looks totally different. They were both definitely looking at him strangely. "What?" Travis mumbled, he didn't like being stared at. "Those pants are cute, when did you get those?" Beth asked "Wow you actually look like a 16 year old Travis, good for you." Sal said with a smirk. Travis glanced at Sal, letting out a small "Thanks." and shrugged to his mother. He didn't want to tell her about the fight, she worries about him enough as it is.
Travis continued down the stairs, making a direct track to the door, he wanted to spend as much time away from home as he was allowed to, even though his mom was a delight to hang out with, he wanted to spend as much time with Sal as he could. He didn't know if this would be his first and last chance to do so. They both said their goodbyes to Beth and made their way out the door once again. There was a slight breeze outside, rustling the leaves in the trees above Sal and Travis as they walked the few blocks to the rink, their shadows following close behind. "Your mom seems nice." Sal broke the silence, turning his head to Travis, awaiting a response. Travis tilted his head toward the sky, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. He was enjoying the weather and the walk outside. He hoped this wasn't a segway into questions about his father or home life. He trusted Sal and would be willing to talk to him about it, but didn't want to scare him away at the same time. It was a lot to deal with.
"Yeah she's sweet." Travis said in an admiring tone. Beth truly was the nicest person he'd ever known besides Sal. She was the only safe space he had, until now. "I'm glad she likes me, I was worried she wouldn't." Sal admitted. Travis snapped his head to Sal, making an extremely puzzled face, did he hear that right? "You were- you were worried my mom wouldn't like you? Why?" he questioned, why on earth would Sal care about something so trivial, so what if Beth didn't like him? Why would it matter? "Well if your parents didn't like me I wouldn't get to hang out with you, thats why." Sal stated matter of factly. Travis continued in silence besides him, blinking in bewilderment. It was still hard for him to grasp that Sal genuinely enjoyed spending time with him. He was going to make a comment about how his "parents" wouldn't like him, just his mother but again, that would probably lead to some questions he didn't want to pile onto Sal right now. It made him feel a bit happy though, knowing that Sal actively wanted to hang out with him more.
They continued their stroll, making small talk here and there. It was peaceful, something Travis hadn't really experienced before. It was nice to have a friend to simply talk about the weather to. He often had to keep his simple thoughts to himself. After a walk that seemed to have gone too fast, they reached the front doors of the desolate roller rink. "No one really comes here, I'm usually the only one unless I drag Larry with me and he refuses to skate." Sal spoke softly as he opened the door for Travis, motioning him to go in. Travis looked around the echoey building. It wasn't terribly big, there were a few party tables, a counter with skates behind it, and of course, the rink. "D-does anyone… even work here?" Travis whispered to Sal as he followed in behind him. Sal turned his head to the counter and nodded, out of seemingly nowhere, an older short man emerged from behind the shelves containing stacks of skates.
"Sal! It's been a bit since I seen ya last! Where ya been kiddo? Been quiet!" Sal's eyes smiled in response as he made his way to the counter, motioning Travis to follow. "School and band practice has been kicking my ass, I never have any free time anymore." he replied nonchalantly. "You guys preppin for a gig or somethin?" the skate clerk prodded, cocking an eyebrow. Sal chuckled and shook his head "Not yet. I still don't think I'm ready to be in front of a crowd like that. Just trying to get better for when we do eventually." he sighed.
The man made a disappointed face in response "I get ya kid, ya need to build up some confidence though! It's not just gonna be there when ya wake up someday y'know." he remarked, resigning in a shrug and leaning back against a shelf. Travis looked over to Sal, he couldn't see his expression but he knew it was a defeated one. Sal felt bad knowing he was holding his friends back from performing simply because he's unsure. It's not something he likes to think about too much, it only makes it worse. He didn't really know exactly how to work on it though. It's not like lifting weights to build muscle. Sal shook the thoughts from his head, he was here to have fun with Travis, not to wallow in self pity.
Reaching into his skirt pocket, he pulled out a cd case. Travis had a bewildered expression 'Where'd that come from?! Is he gonna pull a rabbit out next or what?' clearly never having seen skirts with pockets before or knowing that they're that deep. Sal extended his arms across the counter and handed the case to the clerk. "Your music choice for today? I'll be sure to put it in for ya. Your friend gonna need skates? I know the tall one never does." Sal turned to look to Travis to answer the question, tilting his head to the side. Travis stammered "Uh- I-I mean I guess. If I have to." he ended on a sarcastic note. Sal went to sit at a table to put his skates on, while waiting for Travis to join him. He felt the weight on the bench shift with a creek, notifying him that Travis was here now. "Do you need help lacing your skates?" he offered quietly. Travis scoffed in reply "I know how to tie shoes, Sally Face." mentally scolding himself for responding in a bitter tone. Sal rolled his eyes "I know that Travis, skates are different though." he retorted, leaning over to tie his skates for him. Travis impulsively yanked his foot away as Sal's hands approached, Sal simply glanced up, his eyes saying 'Seriously, dude?'.
Travis had his head turned out of embarrassment. He wasn't a little kid, he also wasn't sure about letting Sal touch him. It was just a small gesture of tying his skates sure, but in his house that's just not something guys do for each other. In fact, any form of contact at all was considered 'weird' by his fathers standards. He leaned over quickly and began tying them himself. Sal, taking this as a hint he didn't want help whispered "Just make sure to pull them tight." to make sure he would do it in a way he wouldn't fall. Travis appreciated the tip, glad Sal wasn't too mad. If it were him he probably would've just let the other person do it their way and then laugh when they fell.
Sal stood up, awaiting when Travis was done so he could help him. Standing up in skates for the first time is no easy task. The moment he realized he was finished, Sal held out a hand for Travis. He knew he was probably not going to grab it, but wanted to offer the option anyway. Travis looked at Sal's hand and then down at the ground, placing his hands on the bench instead and pushing himself off the seat. He did it so abruptly however, this caused him to immediately fall forward, slamming his face into the bright, multicolored floor. "Oh shit! Travis are you ok?" Sal shouted a bit too loud, crouching down besides him, using a finger to brush away his hair to see his face. "I'm fine Sally Face." he replied in a muffled tone "Now I know how you feel all the time." he continued, pushing himself back up onto his knees.
Sal tilted his again to get a better look at Travis's face. "Are you bleeding?" he asked in a concerned tone. Travis blushed and quickly looked away again "I'm fine will you quit worrying?" he was very much too close. Sal stood up, offering his hand to Travis once more, hoping he would do the smart thing and take it this time. Travis, despite still refusing to look in that direction, knew his hand was there. He also knew he probably would be unable to get up without his help. 'Dad's not here. He's not going to turn up here either. He's not going to see me grab Sal's hand, he's not going to get mad at me for something he won't see.' he mentally reminded himself, before giving in and grabbing Sal's hand.
This action shocked Sal a bit, but he smiled anyway. He was glad Travis was feeling more comfortable with him. He leveraged himself and hoisted Travis back onto his feet. Travis looked absolutely petrified, rolling slightly to and fro with every small movement he made. Sal turned around and started to slightly glide forward, moving towards the rink. "Watch my feet and how they move, copy the motions I'm doing." Travis sceptically followed the instructions, not entirely sure he was doing them right to begin with. "Well just know if I fall you're probably coming down with me!" he called in a shaky tone, causing Sal to giggle in response. "You'll be ok, just don't let go, ok?" he responded.