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Chapter Text

this story will be almost entirely based on the songs "trees" and "trees II"  by mccafferty

Father -The Front Bottoms
Twin Size Mattress -The Front Bottoms
Lone Star -The Front Bottoms
Beachboy -McCafferty
Alligator Skin boots -McCafferty
Trees -McCafferty
Trees II -McCafferty
Loser. -McCafferty

these are all the songs it's gonna be based on

let it be clear; i do not support mccfferty, those songs just give me travis vibes.

EDIT: hello! 90% of this chapter was written in april of 2021, but this part is from june of 2025! if you check the comments someone explained how nick from mccafferty has put in the work to get better, so i want to say that i don’t support his past actions, but he isnt the horrible person he used to be (only leaving this here so that their comment still makes sense) 

just in case u guys didn't read the description, sal is trans

and its set in modern day

about the slurs that will be said; i can reclaim all 3. im a gay trans man, i can say faggot, tranny, and queer. 

ok!! u can continue to the story now!!

Chapter Text

tw// homophobia, f slur

travis pov

i sat up from my bed, pulling myself out of the warm covers. today was the first day of school, sophomore year. i grabbed my phone from my nightstand, and checked my notifications. nothing. there was always nothing. i put my phone down and sighed. i placed my hands together and tilted my head down. i said a prayer about letting me have a good first day at school, then i got dressed. i pulled on my blue jean shorts, as well as a long-sleeve purple shirt. i put on a gold cross necklace and looked at myself in the mirror. my right eye was swollen. i touched the bruised area lightly and gasped softly. it hurt to touch. 

i put my hands down and picked up my backpack. i ran down the stairs and quickly left the house. the hill to get to the main road was steep, so running down it wasn't a choice. i walked down the hill, trying not to fall on my way down. i got to the bottom of the hill, slightly stumbling when i reached the flat land.  

i saw larry and his stupid group of faggy friends standing at the bus stop, but there was someone else with them, someone i had never seen before. i assumed it was a girl, due to the long hair the kid had. this girl was short, i mean like really short –even the ginger kid, someone of average height, towered over this girl– she had blue hair that was up in pigtails, and the pigtails came down to her chin. two straps were connecting in the back of her head, maybe from the mask that was on her face. the mask made her look like a total freak. i brushed it off and started walking to the bus stop, and i stood a few feet away from the group.

after a few minutes of waiting, and occasionally glancing at the new kid, the school bus came into view. i looked over at the new kid one last time, and now she was on larrys back for some reason. the bus stopped infront of us, and we all walked on. larry and the new kid sat in the back, ashley and todd sitting a few seats infront of them. i sat in the middle and waiting for the ride to be over.

after about 10 minutes, i saw the school infront of us. i pulled my locker number and combination paper out of my pocket. i got off of the bus with everyone else and headed inside. i got to my locker and started putting the number in. 

"oh you have got to be FUCKING kidding me." i turned to see larry, standing next to me

"what the hell are you doing?" i asked, looking slightly up at him

"standing at my locker." larry snapped, knocking on the locker right next to mine

"oh well isn't that fantastic," i said sarcastically.  i decided to just try and ignore larry for the entire year. i opened my locker and put my bag in there, pulling out the paper that had my schedule on it. first-period science. i grabbed a random empty binder from my bag and shut my locker, looking at larry as i did. larry was putting his stuff away and he shot a glare at me

"got a fuckin problem, blondie?" he spat. 

"no. just buzz off, faggot." i spat back. larry glared at me but didn't say anything else. i walked to my class and looked at everyone else inside. there were only a few others, so i just sat down in the front of the classroom. more people started to come in, and i saw a familiar blue-haired, masked girl. her and the ginger kid, she was walking with this morning, walked in together. she walked to the seat behind me and sat down.

"alright, hello students. my name is mr. webb, and i'll be your biology teacher this year. you learned about biology in 7th grade and last year, and you'll be learning more about it this year." the teacher explained

"now, let me call roll. if i pronounce your name wrong, or you go by a different name, please tell me." he started listing off names

"sally fisher?"

"i, uhm, go by sal." the girl behind me said. her voice was an odd pitch. the deepness sounded forced. more names were listed. including the gingers, todd morrison. i made fun of him for being gay last year, a lot. and i probably will this year too, he's still a fag. the teacher pulled out a stack of papers, and placed some on the front desk of each row. the syllabus. i took one and gave it to the person behind me, sal. she started to take the papers out of my hand, and i let them go before she had gotten them all. the papers fell on the floor.

"oh- sorry." i laughed softly, watching as she got down to get them all up.

"it's fine." she mumbled, her voice sounded significantly higher. she handed to papers to the person behind her, and that continued for the rest of the row. 

-

the day went by fine, and i was now walking home from the bus stop. larry and his group were walking the other way, because that's where their apartment building was. through the whole bus ride, i kept looking at sal. once i got home i walked up the hill and to my front door. i was out of breath when i got there, and i barely had enough energy left to open the door. i just sighed and opened the door, going to the living room so i could lay on the couch.

"travis, dear?" i heard my mother call

"in...in here" i breathed out.

"how was school, sweetie?" mother asked

"fine...there was a...a new girl.” i yawned.

"oo! that's nice. i'll leave you alone now so you can nap, dear." i could hear her smile.

"good night..." i closed my eyes and immediately went to sleep. 

-huge time skip bc i don't know what to write here-

we were in the 3rd nine weeks now, so i'd known sal for 6 months. that was long enough for me to start to fall for her. at least i think i was. i've never liked someone before. she was a little weird, not exactly a christian girl, but i can change her. that's what my dad did with my mom, so. 

sal seemed to have made her opinions on me, probably given to her by larry and his friends. i hope i can change them. i don't want her hating me. 

i was in biology, sal sitting behind me. we were taking a test, and i was almost finished. i heard sal flip her paper over, meaning she was finished. todd had finished way before everyone else, so when sal finished they just started talking. 

eventually, everyone had finished and the bell rang. we all left the classroom, and went to our lockers. as i left the class, sal bumped into me

"oh uh, sorry." she apologised. her voice had deepened a little since the beginning of the school year. i smiled a little. 

"it's fine." i shrugged.

i pretended i didn't notice larry when he came over, but that was hard to do when he slammed my locker shut.

"w-what the hell?" i looked at him.

"don't touch sal. don't even talk to sal. i know hes in your first period, but don't talk to him. i don't want you hurting him, prick". larry snapped

him? what did he mean him? sals a girl. right?

"h-him? i thought sal was a girl-"

“well, he’s not. he's a boy. and i don't want you talking to him.

i liked a boy. why does the liking for sal feel stronger now? i can't like boys. that's gay. gay is wrong, homosexuality is a sin. i'm not a sinner. i just nodded at larry and then opened my locker again. he walked away and i saw him pull sal into a hug. 

-

next day

"hey, uh. sal, was it?" i turned to her. we were in biology, and he had just gotten to class.

"what?" she looked up at me

"i really can't tell, are you a girl or a boy?" i asked. i knew the answer, he was a boy. larry told me. i just needed to make sure for myself.

"boy. i just have long hair." sal said, seeming slightly annoyed

 "people are gonna mistake you for a girl if you keep your hair tha-"

"i like my hair long. so what if people mistake me for a girl? they're wrong." 

"whatever. your hair makes you look gay."

"ok. i am, so i like it that way."

i stared at him, slightly taken aback.

"what? got a problem with me being gay? think i might hit on you or some shit?" he put his binder on his desk

"homosexuality is a si-"

"i'm not christian." he spat, looking down at his binder as he flipped through the pages.

Chapter Text

travis pov

in junior year, i still had a locker next to larrys. i hated it. i started making fun of that sal kid more, for being gay. it made me feel better about how i felt on him. i didn't like him, that was just anger. i didn't like him. 

i didn't like him. i didn't like him. i didn't like him. i didn't like him. i didn't like him. right?

i slammed my locker shut, half startling larry, and walked to my 3rd-period class. i had that class with sal. i saw him talking to the ginger kid he was friends with at the door. 

"yeah ms hera wants to get pictures of all of her art students, and put them on the wall outside of her room to like leave until christmas. me, larry, and ash are planning to do a little photoshoot for that tonight, in front of the woods, wanna come?" sal was explaining to him. i purposely bumped into him on my way inside. the bump forced his back to hit the wall harshly. i almost felt bad for hurting him. 

"ow..." i heard sal groan. he soon walked inside the class and to his seat. his seat was a little behind mine, so he stomped on my foot as he walked by. he stomped really hard, so it hurt. it also hurt emotionally, because i knew he didn't like me. he probably hated me. i pulled my foot in and glared at him. he threw down that stupid messenger bag he always brought with him, and sat in his seat. 

-

i was leaving the building, and sal was coming up behind me. he was looking at the floor, so he didn't see me. i stopped walking, and stuck my foot out. he looked up, but not at me. he neared me and then looked down. he noticed my foot right as he started to trip over it. he stuck his hands out but fell directly on his face. or well his mask. i think i heard it crack. i just walked away without looking back at him. i heard larry scream his name, but i just walked faster 

sal pov

i felt something hit my feet as i came up next to travis, so i looked down at the ground. i noticed his foot and mine had clashed and i was starting to fall. i stuck my hands out quickly but they did nothing, they just slid out from under me and scraped against the concrete. my mask hit the pavement and slammed against my face. my nose was definitely bleeding now. i heard the mask itself crack. 

"sal!" i heard larrys voice. he picked me up and helped me to my feet.

"are you ok, dude?" he asked, pulling me aside to help me get my mask off. he grabbed the bottom of his shirt and started wiping my face with it. that shirts gonna be stained with blood now. i could tell that some scars on my face had reopened, it stung badly. larry pulled out a napkin from his pocket and placed it on my bleeding face. he held it there as he reattached my mask. we walked back out to the group and i stayed looking at the ground. larry wrapped his arm around my shoulder and i heard him mutter "i'm gonna fuckin kill travis"

we got back to the apartments and larry took me down to his room. i took my mask off and he started to actually clean and take care of the open wounds.

-

next day

travis pov

i watched sal walk in the school, and he looked at me. i could barely see his eyes but i knew he was glaring at me. why do i still like him. he's  a boy, and so am i. it's not right. and i even hurt him yesterday!

i went my locker, but before i could open it, larry got in front of me, leaning on my locker.

"what do you want, fuckass." i spat.

"why." he glared at me

"huh?" i looked at him. why what?

"why did you do that to sal yesterday? trip him." larry got off my locker. 

"o-oh. i don't know, i just felt like it. now let me open my l-"

"not a good enough excuse. why?" larry glared at me.

"get out of my way, asshole!" i shoved him a little, making him stumble to the side. we opened our lockers, but i could feel larry still glaring at me. i grabbed my stuff and quickly ran to my first-period class. my first period was next to the art room, and i saw pictures of students on the wall, specifically sal, larry, and ash. sals mask had tape on it. i'm gonna have to see those stupid fuckin faces for the rest of the semester. i got to my class and sat down, tapping my pencil rapidly.

-

class went on as normal, and when the bell rang i left the room. i saw sal walking out of the class next door to mine, and noticed one of his shoes was untied. he had quite a lot of stuff in his hands... i walked behind him for a little until i noticed him start to stumble he stepped on the shoelace and fell onto the tiled floor. there was another crack from his mask. he seemed to hit his stomach on whatever was in his hands, because he started taking shallow breaths. 'he winded himself' i thought. i almost leaned down to help him but i remembered my reputation. travis "friends with the athletes, son of the preacher, perfect" phelps. i kicked his stuff out of my way and walked on. it hurt to leave him like that but he wasn't my problem. i looked up and saw the photo of him. he looked nice in it. no. he didn't look nice. he's a fag.

i walked to my next class and sat down, ripping out a piece of paper to place my emotions on. 

i saw the loser trip and fall. i saw his picture in the hall again. i feel bad that i didn’t help. 

i shook my head and scratched that last part out. i didn’t mean that. i mean, i meant it, but still. fuck. i don't like hurting him. he's not a bad guy. he's nice. im just a dick. shit- what am i saying? it's his fault for being a fag. i shook my head. i'm beating his ass in 3rd period.

i started scribbling over the words so that they weren't legible, but i ripped the paper. even better i guess. i crumpled up the paper and threw it into the trash can.

Chapter Text

sal pov

i walked out of my 1st-period class and started walking down the hallway to my locker. there was a lot of stuff in my hands, so i had to be careful. i was almost there, so i started walking a little faster. i held the stuff in my arms up and i stepped on my shoelace, falling over and hitting my stomach on the stuff in my hands. i started taking small breaths, not being able to fully breathe. i saw a green shoe kick my stuff towards me, and looked at the tan leg. it's travis. i watched as he just kept walking. i sat up and i took in a full, deep breath. i gathered my things and stood up, walking to my locker. i got to the locker and opened it quickly, putting my stuff away. my stomach still hurt. i had my next class with larry, and i usually walked with him. i walked towards his locker, and he was standing there, waiting for me.

"there you are! what fuckin took you so long?" larry asked as we started walking to art.

"i tripped and winded myself, not fun."

"oh, yeah i don't think it would be." larry laughed. we walked to art and entered the class right as the bell rang.

"well, you two are just on time. take your seats before i mark you tardy." mrs hera said sweetly. larry and i nodded and ran to our seats next to ashley.

-

the class went on as normal, and soon it was time for math. the 1st class i had with travis. the other class was PE.

i started leaving the class and larry tapped my shoulder

"hm?" i looked at him

"there's a sub in ms carter's class. she's a bitch." larry explained. larry had that class before me. i nodded and walked to the class. i walked in and saw travis already glaring at me. i walked to my desk and set my stuff down.

"i am ms callie, i'll be ms carter's substitute for the day. you respect me and i'll respect you." 

the teacher started calling role, and when she got to my name she glared at me. maybe larry had said something about me, about my mask.

"fisher?" she called, looking up from the role

"here." i raised my hand. she continued with the role and waited till she finished to talk to me again

"excuse me, fisher. take that mask off now, and give it here. it's a distraction to the rest of the class." the substitute snapped, holding her hand out. the entire class went silent. they all knew i had to wear it. i tapped my fingers and i shook my head.

"excuse me?" she looked at me

"i have to wear it."

"Uh-huh, sure. and i have to take it up. give it here, sir." the teacher held her hand out. 

"i can't take it off. ma'am."

"fisher, give me the mask. you don't need it." 

"it's a prosthetic. i do need it. and i doubt you'd tell a kid with a prosthetic leg to take it off. or a prosthetic arm. or any other prosthetic." i snapped. she looked at me and blinked.

"o-oh i didn't- i didn't know i'm sorry-"

"whatever." i sighed. larry was right. she was a bitch.

travis pov

"o-oh i didn't- i didn't know i'm sorry-"

"whatever." sally face sighed. the class was silent. ms carter never asked sal to take off his mask, or even why he had it, not even on the first day of school. she never even mentioned it. no sub had ever mentioned it either. that means she must be new. 

sal pov

class ended eventually and i stood up. i grabbed my bag and started to leave the classroom. i made it to the door but felt someone tug on my arm and start dragging me somewhere. i looked at who it was. travis. i started pulling my arm back but he just tightened his grip. he pushed me into the boy's bathroom and shoved me onto the floor. i tried to get up, because that floor is disgusting, but he stepped on my chest. 

"what the hell, dude!?" i yelled, trying to travis's foot off of me.

"why do you make me feel this way" travis snapped quietly, placing more weight on his foot. my chest was starting to hurt.

"feel what way?" i snapped back, shoving his foot off of me for a second. he quickly shoved it back to my chest.

"feel so- so WEIRD. i look at you and i feel nauseous! when i hear your voice it gets stronger! but the thing is, it's not a bad a kind of nauseous! i like that feeling! why do you make me feel that way!?" he yelled, kicking me in the side. i didn't really think about the pain. i was thinking about what he said. does he like me? that'd be surprising. the guy that calls me the f slur and is really homophobic is actually gay. and...gay for me...of all people.

"what?" i looked at him. 

"you heard me! you make me feel so fucking weird but i don't want it to stop! what the hell are you doing to me!?" travis screamed kicking me again, but this time he didn't stop. the pain didn't kick in at first, i was just thinking about what he said. i started to think about every interaction with travis i've ever had. i had we had our next class together, but now we are going to be late. like really late. the pain finally started to kick in, and it was hurting really bad

"s-sto-" i was cut off by him sending his foot somewhere else.

"shut up!" he screamed, kicking me directly in the face. or well kicking my mask. i rolled over so that i was facing away from him and i breathed in deeply. he seemed to falter for a second.

"w-wait did i break it- i'm sorry i wasntreallythinkingaboutthatshitimsorry-" [i wasn't really thinking about that, shit, i'm sorry] he dropped to the floor next to me and started apologising

"it's fine." at least he understood that the mask was too far. i slowly stood up and hissed as my stomach flared in pain. 

"we should get to class." i said, grabbing my bag and walking out of the bathroom. 

we had our last class together, gym, next.

Chapter Text

travis pov

i stared at sal for the entire period. except for when we were changing out. he went into the bathroom and changed in there. when we walked out, he made a point to stay as far away from me as he could. it makes sense hed be angry at me, i just broke his mask. and he was pretty upset on our way here.

"look sally face im sorry about breaking your mask i-"

"its fine. i have tape." he cut me off

"yeah but i shouldn't have made it happen. i know i treat you like shit regularly but this was too far. please, im sorry."

"whatever." his voice wavered. he was about to cry.

i walked outside with the rest of the class, and noticed sal hadn't come out with us. in fact i dont think he came out of the locker room. is he ok? 

sal pov

i was laying on the bathroom floor, sobbing while holding the two parts of my mask. the tape, from when travis tripped me, ripped when he kicked me. i wiped my eyes amd inhaled sharply. i stood up off of the floor and wiped my hands on my binder. i ripped off some tape from the tape dispenser on my bag, and tapped my mask back together. i grabbed my gym shirt and put it on, stuffing my regular clothes in my locker. i left the locker room and stared at the empty gym. shit. i looked at the outside door and saw a few kids outside. so that's where we are. i ran outside and pretended i was out there the whole time. 

i saw travis looking around, and eventually, his eyes locked on me. he stared at me for a second but soon got hit in the chest with a ball, making him fall over. i snickered a little and walked the other way from him.

travis pov

as i was playing catch with my (sort of) friends, samuel and phillip, i noticed sal sitting on a tire, and wondered if he had been there the entire time. i couldn't help but stare at him. he looked so nice like that. fuck. not nice. stupid. stupidly pretty. my train of thought got cut off by getting hit in the chest with a ball, followed by me toppling to the ground. 

"phelps! we're playing a game here, stop daydreaming." samuel snickered. i glared at him as i stood up, wiping off my chest and shoulders. i picked up the ball and rolled it around in my hands for a second. i looked back at samuel. i threw the ball back at him as hard as i could and it hit him in the face. he stumbled back and put his hand on his nose. he pulled his hand away and it was covered in blood. 

"travis, what the fuck!? i was trying to be funny, what the hell dude!?" samuel yelled, shoving me. he got his blood on my shirt.

"you threw it at me first!" i yelled back, shoving him

"yeah! as a joke! what the hell, dude!?" samuel yelled, tackling me back onto the dirt. his blood kept dripping on me. i hated that. i hated being dirty. 

"get off of me!" i yelled, pushing against him. 

"you fucked up my nose, asshole!" samuel punched me in the face. 

"woah! sam! calm down, dude!" phillip came over and tried to pull samuel off of me. samuel just shoved phillip away and started punching me repeatedly. 

"boys!" i heard a coach yell. samuel jumped off of me and looked at the coach. i rolled over to face the coach, my head throbbing. sal was standing behind the coach. 

"sal, help mr phelps up and get the blood off of his face, i need to talk to mr hayward for a moment." the coach said. hearing someone call me 'mr phelps' made me want to explode. i hated it. mr phelps is my father. i am NOT my father. also, i had blood on my face? i guess it makes sense, i was just getting punched. sal hesitated for a moment but then walked over to me and grabbed my arm. i started to shove him away, but i was already being lifted up on my knees. he pushed my body up until i was standing and looked at me

"you ok?"

"..im fine. dont fuckin touch me after this though." i shoved him. he nodded.

"whatever. come here." he started dragging me off to where he was sitting before and pulled a cloth, a roll of bandages, isopropyl alcohol, and some gauzes out of his bag.

"what is all this for, freak?"

"you're bleeding, asshole. a lot too." sal snapped, starting to wipe my face with the cloth. he placed a bandage on my cheek and made sure it stuck.

"here, put these in your nostrils." he handed me two rolls of paper. i nodded and put them in.

"i can't breathe like this, sally face." i glared at him, yanking on his pigtail.

"breathe through your mouth, asshole." sal said, putting his stuff away. i shoved him harshly. im not an asshole. he looked at me and just kind of stood there. so, i shoved him again. he sighed and started walking away, and i felt myself get sad. god damnit. i hate him so much. 

the coach came back to me and sat next to me. 

"i called mr. hayward’s parents, and i decided against calling yours-" he kept talking but i wasn't listening. he decided he wouldn't call my dad. thank god

"-and that's all! go change back out, you can go now." i zoned back in as he finished and nodded. i walked inside and changed out of my gym clothes. sal exited the locker room after me, and i couldn't take my eyes off of him. every step he took seemed so perfectly planned like he could make no mistakes. even when hed stumble or fall, it looked almost pretty. his hand is so soft, like his voice. except i dont think hands can have jersey accents. if his hands are soft maybe his lips are too. his lips are probably really soft-

 what the hell. what the hell. what am i thinking. im not a fag, why was i thinking that. why was i thinking that. i grabbed the cross on my necklace and held it tightly in both hands, leaning my head down and starting to pray. i could fix myself like this. 

"oh sick, we're talking to our gods?" i heard sals smooth voice, with a new jersey accent, call as he say next to me.

"g-gods? plural?" i looked at him, trying to suppress the blush surely forming on my face.

"yeah! you believe in the whole follow the father son and holy spirit shit, and i believe in follow the devil." sal explained, pulling out a pentagram necklace and putting it on his neck.

"dont get near me with that, devil worshiper." i snapped, scooting away from the devil star. 

"dude, i dont worship the devil, i just believe in what he teaches. prick." sal laughed. 

"you're going to hell!" i glared at him 

"that's the point." sal looked at me. i held the cross on my necklace tightly.

the bell rang and i quickly jumped up and ran off. i ran into the bathroom and threw myself into a stall. i clasped my hands together and started praying. 

i couldn't be gay. my dad would kill me. id be fucking dead if he found out. id go to hell. that's where sals gonna be. ill get to be with sal. god im making it worse. i can't stop thinking about him. i just want him to get out of my head. i felt my jaw started to quiver and my eyes start to sting. 

"nonono stop crying stop crying stop crying stop cryinstopcryingstopcryingstopcrying" i did not stop crying, in fact i started sobbing. everything just sucks and its never going to get better. maybe i deserve to burn in hell. im still thinking about sals lips. i kept wiping my eyes but the tears didnt stop. the more i kept crying, the angrier i felt. all i could feel was anger. i put my hand into a fist and started punching the stall door. my knuckles started to bleed after a few minutes but i didnt care. i kept punching the stall door and choking back my sobs. i eventually couldn't close my hand fully anymore and i had to stop punching the door. my hand was bleeding pretty badly. 

i opened the stall door and went to rinse my hand off in the sink. it stung like hell, but i had to get the blood off. why am i so mean to sal. he means so much to me yet im such an ass to him. he doesn't deserve that. 

but he's going to hell. he's a sinner. a devil worshiper. he's going to hell.

and on his way down

  ill be right there next to him.

Chapter Text

tw// abuse description, f slur

travis pov

a few weeks had past, and every second that was spent near sal was torture. he was just so amazing and yet he hated me. 

christmas break was in 1 day. i wouldn't have to see him for two weeks. i could pray these feelings away, finally. i hate sal. i hate so him much. 

i walked into the school building, heading straight to my locker. larry was already at his locker, sal standing next to him. his height compared to larrys was surprising. i know sals short but compared to larry he's an ant. larry  pulled some boots out of his locker, and they had some platforms on the soul. he handed them to sal and I watched as the blue haired boy put on the shoes. he became a regular size next to Larry and it was kind of funny.

"move it, phelps." i got shoved out of the way, and almost fell onto the floor. it was samuel who had shoved me. i walked over to my locker as sal was walking away. even through the door of my locker separating us, i could feel larrys glare burning into the side of my head. i quickly put my things away before shutting my locker. as i shut the small, metal door, i was met with a harsh shove from larry. it pushed me into the wall. i looked at larry, confused.

"what the fuck!?" i shoved him

"just felt like it." larry gave me a shit eating grin. i rubbed my cheek and glared at him. i walked to my class and sat down. why is larry such a dick? i looked up at the teachers white board to see what we were doing for class today.

MRS SMITH

ENGLISH

THURSDAY 

DECEMBER 16

DAYS TILL CHRISTMAS BREAK: [1]

TURN IN ALL MISSING WORK BY WEDNESDAY (YESTERDAY!!)

PLANS- FINISH MOVIE

the movie we were watching was ferris buellers day off. the teacher walked in and started saying her daily things and then pressed play on the movie. i reached down to grab my notebook, the one i always wrote my feelings in, but it wasnt there. shit. i left it at home.

-

it was gym class, and i walked out to the field. we didnt have to change out today. i saw sal laying down on the tires, facing away from everyone. it looked like he wasnt wearing his mask. i turned away from him and started walking around the field. philip was sitting alone in the grass so i sat next to him.

"what are you doing?" i asked

"nothing, just sitting." philip muttered, staring off. i looked at where he was looking, he was just staring at the fence. 

we talked for the rest of the period, then the coaches told us to come back inside. 

-

the final bell had just rung, and on my way out of the gym, into the main hall, sal bumped into me. he was trying to get somewhere quickly, though im not sure where

"hey, freak! watch where  going!" i snapped. sal turned back slightly but then kept walking. he walked out of the building and ran to a man with similarly coloured blue hair, and a blue beard. his dad i guess. larry also ran up to him and all 3 of them got into the bearded guys car. i walked outside and saw my father leaning against his car, staring at the doorway for the school. he was wearing his usual church attire, black dress pants, black clergy shirt. he immediately spotted me and waved me over. i hesitated for a second but quickly made my way to my fathers car. i opened the passenger side door and got in the seat, setting my bag down in the backseat. 

"how was school?" father said, starting the car. 

"it was fine." i shrugged. 

"today is the day you get let out for christmas break, correct?"

"that is correct, father." i stared out of the window.

"did any of your teachers do anything special for today?" father asked

"yeah, my first period teacher played ferris buellers day off." i shrugged, looking at the passing trees.

"hey, look at me when im talking to you, travis." father snapped. i quickly turned my head and looked at my father as he drove to our house. the drive was short, and when it was over i quickly got my bag and started up the dirt path. 

"travis. may i speak with you about something?" my father called. i nodded and walked back towards my father. 

"i was looking around for my car keys this morning, and i found something on the coffee table." father reached into his back pocket, but he didnt pull anything out.

"w-what did you find, father?" i asked. in response, he pulled out a small, black and white striped notebook. 

"fuck..." i said under my breath. that was my notebook.

"theres a lot written in here. however, i’d like to focus on some of these pages in specific 'sal is so pretty, he shouldn't make me feel like this. his hair is just perfect, his body is just perfect.' who is sal?" father shut the notebook with a glare

"t-thats not- s-sal is a kid in some of my classes but, t-thats not m-mine. it b-belongs to my friend...philip, i w-was holding onto it for him." i lied

"the inside cover of this journal begs to differ, 'property of travis phelps'. or did i misread that?" father closed the notebook again

"f-father i-"

"you are a liar. to your room, now. i’ll meet you there in a minute." he threw the notebook at me. i caught it and ran up the dirt path. i opened the door and saw mother at the counter.

"hey, dear. how was school?" she smiled

"f-fine." i said, running up the stairs. i got to my room and threw my bag down on the floor. 

i heard my father's footsteps and i started to panic. my door opened and i stared at my father. he didnt say anything, instead he just walked towards me. i backed away but he grabbed my wrist. he pulled me closer to him and punched me in the face. i fell to the ground and i was met with a kick to the stomach.

"f-father-"

"silence, faggot. youre a god damn monster." father spat. he kept kicking me, until he got tired of that. he leaned down and picked me up by the collar of my shirt. father punched me in the nose, causing blood to start dripping out. some blood ended up on his shirt, it showed up more on the white collar of the shirt. he wiped the blood from his fist onto my shirt and punched me again, getting more blood everywhere. he dropped me to the floor and got down on he knees and looked at me.

"tomorrow we will sit down, in the church, and cleanse you. we will fix you, travis." father placed his hand on my face, causing me to flinch at first. he looked at my hair and sighed.

"wash your hair thoroughly tonight, theres blood in it." father said before he stood up and left my room. once he was far enough down the hall i stood up and went to my desk. i grabbed the napkins from it and wiped my face down, getting as much blood off of my face as possible. there was blood on my shirt, so i surely looked disgusting. i know i felt disgusting.

i went to my window and grabbed the notebook. i opened the window and threw the notebook as far out as i could. i saw it bounce off of the roof of the church and roll down the hill. i shut the window and started sobbing. dad shouldnt have seen it. the only other person whos ever read it that wasnt me, was philip, and he barely even read one page. 

my thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock on my bedroom door.

"travis? sweetie?" my mother called.

"c-come in, mother." i called back. she walked in and saw me on the floor.

"oh baby... im so sorry. what happened, dear?" mother sat next to me.

"f-father got angry at me, th-thats all." i explained.

"he shouldn’t treat you that way...im so sorry, love. if i could stop it i would, i promise you." mother kissed my forehead.

"its alright, mother. i’ll be ok." i forced a smile. mother nodded and stood up.

"dinner will be ready soon, dear, i love you." she smiled.

"i love you too, mother. ill be down in a minute." i smiled back softly.

Chapter Text

sal pov

i was walking around the park, making sure to not go too far away from mommy. there was a dog standing somewhere down the hill. a weird looking dog, but it was still a dog. 

"mommy can i go play with the doggy now,?" i asked, looking over to her.

"lets wait for your father to get back, then maybe." mommy smiled. i nodded and ran back to the blanket, sitting next to her. mommys phone went off and she looked at the phone. she stood up and looked at me.

"your father is here, lets go dear." mommy held her hand out to me. i reached out for it then heard a loud noise. i covered my ears and closed my eyes.

"SALLY!" mommy screamed, pulling me infront of her and holding me close. something hit me, and it hurt alot. i screamed from the pain and mommy fell to the ground. that thing must have made her sleepy. i shook her leg while i was crying, telling her to wake up and get me a bandaid. she didnt wake up, so i just got up and started walking to the parking lot. dad probably had a few bandaids. it was hard to walk, i think i fell down a couple times. 

my face really hurt, and i was still crying. i looked back towards mommy, and she was still asleep. i saw dadas car and i started running to it. 

"dada? i need a bandaid, mommy fell asleep so she couldnt give me one."

"huh? oh yeah sur- OH GOD" dada yelled that last bit. he jumped out of his car and picked me up. i put my head on his shoukder as he started running to mommy. maybe he could wake her up. he saw her asleep on the grass and he put his hand on his mouth.

"can you wake her up, dada?" i asked, but dada didnt answer. he just pulled out his phone and called someone

"911 whats your emergency?" i heard the other person say

"yeah i think- i think my wife a-and daughter have been shot, my daughter- she- she doesnt even know shes hurt, but shes bleeding alot from her face. a-and i think my wife is dead. my daughter said she was 'a-asleep' but shes on the grass not moving and bleeding alot, from her stomach." dada explained to the person

"whats dead? is mommy not asleep?"i asked. dada didnt answer and just listened to the other person

"y-yeah ill stay on the line." dada nodded. i looked over to mommy, and she looked lighter than a second ago. 

i heard sirens getting closer to the park and i covered my ears. a van pulled into the parking lot and the sirens stopped. the van had a big red word on the back, but it was too big for me to read. the people from the van got out and pulled me out of dadas arms, and the put me on a rolling bed.

"weeee" i smiled as we rolled. the van people looked at eachother and then kept pushing the bed. i saw them put mommy on a similar bed and then putting the blanket over her head. she must be really sleepy.

"when is my mommy gonna wake up? the thing that hit us made her really sleepy." i asked

"hey, kid, you should rest, you must be in alot of pain." one of the people said

"i am! can i have a bandaid?" i asked.

"a bandaid wont help you, whats your name kid?" the other one asked

"sally! sally fisher!" i told him

"well sal, you should get up. sal, we're going out to breakfast cmon, kid." i woke up, with my dream fading into my dad waking me up. i sat up and looked up at my dad

"are you ok, kid?" dad asked

"i had a dream about mom again" i looked at my blankets. i could feel dad tense slightly.

"sal..." dad put his hand on my back

"its fine, lets just go get breakfast. are lisa and larry coming with us?" i smiled. dads smile returned and he nodded, standing up and leaving my room. i grabbed my fake eye and popped it in the empty socket. i got of my bed and went to my dresser, opening the drawers and grabbing some clothes to get dressed in. i put on my binder, then  a black, long-sleeve sanitys fall shirt, as well ask the black shorts. i put on my mask and ran into the living room. 

“are you really gonna wear shorts in december? i mean if you like the outfit, thats nice, but wont it be cold?" dad questioned

"ill be fine." i shrugged. we walked out of the apartment and to the elevator. i pressed the bottom button and waited for the elevator to get to us.

-

larry and i kept punching eachothers legs while on the car ride to breakfast. 

"hey, mom, where are we going to eat?" larry asked

"waffle house." lisa smiled. larry smiled back

"fuckin love waffle house, dude." he whispered to me. i chuckled and nodded in agreement.

we pulled into the parking lot and larry and i both jumped out of the car.

"we'll save you two a seat!" larry smiled, picking me up and running inside. he found a booth and sat me down on the insude, taking a seat next to me.

"why do i have to sit on the inside-"

"because im older and taller, now shut up." larry smiled at me. i groaned and elbowed larry in the chest, causing him to laugh. i decided to unclip my mask and take it off.  larry looked at me, confused at first but just went with it. our parents came in and looked around the restaurant, soon spotting us. dad walked over, holding lisas hand. they sat in the booth across from larry and i, my dad on the inside snd lisa on the outside. a waiter quickly came over to us and smiled. she had long black hair, with bangs that laud straight against her forehead. she had a bunch of ear piercings, and her ears stretched, not very big but still. she had a septum piercing, snake bites, and both eyebrows pierced, she just looked cool.   

"hey! my name is julia, and ill be your server today! can i start you off with anything to drink?" julia smiled

"sprite please." lisa smiled

"coffee please." dad smiled at the waiter

"id like a coke." larry said, leaning back in his seat. 

"i want a coke too, please." i nodded.

"ill be right out with that! and i like your prosthetic eye, i have one too."  julia smiled at me, tapping her left eye with her pen. i smiled at her . she walked off and into the back

"how did she know my eye was fake?" i whispered to myself

"your fake eye didnt move down when you looked at your menu" larry whispered back.

"i forgot it does that sometimes" i smiled

julia came back with four glasses. she gave us all our drinks and pulled her note pad out.

"do you guys know what you want to eat yet?" julia asked

"i want a classic waffle with bacon, please." lisa smiled

"i would like cheesesteak omelet."

"2 or 3 eggs?" julia smiled

"2, and i want hashbrowns and regular sausage." dad looked up at julia. she smiled and wrote that down.

"and for you 2?" julia looked at us

"ill take a chocolate chip waffle." larry smiled

"what he got." i pointed at larry

"fuckin copycat." larry jokingly elbowed me, causing julia to laugh. 

"alright! ill be right put with that!" she smiled.

-

we got our food, and as we left, julia and i talked about fake eyes some more and how we lost our real ones.

"i was actually born with a fucked up eye, so ive just always needed one. you?" julia asked

"oh, well, uhm. i was- it was kind of- i was shot in the face when i was four." i explained with a laugh

"oh- oh shit- wow. i mean that explains the scars but, are you ok?" julia looked at me, still smiling

"yeah! its fine now, its been 12 years. im fine now." i smiled. she smiled too and nodded

"well im glad youre ok, and i hope to see you again!" julia waved. i waved back and ran outside with larry and our parents

"she was nice." i said to larry

"happy to hear it." larry chuckled. 

we went home and larry and i walked to his room and i sat on his bed. larry popped in a sanitys fall cd and we talked for a while.

"so what do you wanna do today?" larry asked

"walk? we can go do stupid stuff around the town?" i looked at larry

"im down. where to?" larry stood up

"anywhere really." i shrugged, standing up with him. i attached my mask and larry told lisa we were leaving. i we left through the exit in his room and made our way around the building. 

as we walked, we passed the phelps ministry. i looked at the church, then the house behind it, then just the landscape around the place. at the bottom of the hill i saw a small notebook. i looked both ways before running across the street to grab it. i ran back to larry and showed him the notebook.

"whats that?" he asked

"travis's diary or something." i laughed. i flipped through the pages but didnt read them. i was just gauging how many were filled in. most of them were.

"we should read it-" larry reached out to grab it but i wouldn't let him

"no, that would be rude. ill give it back to him when i can. besides, it's probably boring." i laughed. we continued to walk and eventually stopped at coffee shop.

-

travis pov

i had been awake for awhile now, it was around 11:20 in the morning. my dad hadnt spoken to me all morning, and instead he just glared at me. i sat up off of my bed and walked to my desk. i opened one of the drawers to pull out my notebook, but then i remembered the events of yesterday. i groaned and stood up, getting ready to head outside. i walked down the stairs and to the front door.

"where do you think your going." i heard fathers voice from the kitchen.

"i-i was just gonna go outside for a second, sit on the porch. i wasnt g-going anywhere." i told him. technically that was true. 

"go on then." father said. i sighed in relief and walked outside. i walked down the steps and looked up, stopping dead in my tracks. sal fisher was holding my notebook, and walking across the street to larry with it. he opened it and- oh god he wasnt reading it was he.

i walked down the hill a little, just to see if he was talking about it to larry.

"whats that?" larry asked

"travis's diary or something." sal laughed at my expense. he flipped through the pages, probably reading everything i wrote about him.

"we should read it-" larry reached out to grab it but sal put it out of arms reach of larry

i blocked everything else out and just watched as sal laughed. i started to walk more down the hill bit i heard the front door open.

"that doesnt look like sitting on the porch to me, travis." father said, glaring at me.

"i-i saw a kid f-from school, h-he had something of mine." i explained.

"deal with it. you can get it back later. get your ass back inside." father snapped

"yes sir." i quickly nodded and ran inside.

Chapter Text

travis pov

it was sunday. i was getting dressed and getting ready for church. i put on dress pants, and a black collared shirt. i grabbed a white tie and tied it around my neck. i looked out of the window and saw the snow flat on our yard. id give 2-3 inches worth.

"travis! are you ready?" i heard father call.

"y-yes father!" i called back, slipping on my shoes, grabbing my black blazer, and running down the stairs. i slipped the blazer on as i slipped down the stairs. i fell on my ass and stopped at the bottom of the stairs.

"ow f-...ow" i almost swore, but my father was right infront of me

"travis?" i heard fathers voice. i looked up at him and scrambled to stand up.

"are you alright, travis?" mother places her hand on my shoulder. i nodded and softly grabbed her hand off of my shoulder. 

"are you seriously wearing combat boots to church?" father asked

"m-my other shoes hurt my feet, and the only other sh-shoes i have are t-tennis shoes." i explained. father scoffed but nodded.

"lets get going. we have alot of work to do with you, travis." father glared at me. he opened the front door and mother and i followed him out and to the church. 

-

church had ended, but father wouldnt let me leave. he had sent mother back home and now it was just us.

"stand, boy." father spat. i nodded and stood up. the second i was in my feet, father grabbed a fistful of my hair and pulled me to the back of the church. he threw me onto the ground and looked down at me.

"get on your knees and tell christ what you wrote and apologise for it." father gestured to the huge golden cross infront of me. it had a crucified jesus carved on it, it was also gold. 

"f-father-"

"tell him." father raised his hand, as if threatening to slap me. i quickly got to my knees and pulled the cross necklace out if my shirt and held it firmly in my hands. i started mentally praying, but fathers voice interrupted me.

"out loud, travis." he crossed his arms.

"d-dear christ, i have a c-confession. i-"

"why are you whispering? you believe he can hear you at that volume?" father interrupted me again. i slightly raised my volume, but apparently not enough.

"louder." he snapped.

"christ-"

"louder, travis!" he said, his own voice raising. so i got louder.

"louder!" i was at a conversational tone now

"louder!" i was yelling a little. my jaw started quivering and my eyes were stinging.

"LOUDER!" i tried to get louder without crying, i couldn't.

"LOUDER!"  i was crying alot more that i wanted to be.

"LOUDER!"  i started yelling, hot tears streaming down my face. my hands started to hurt from how tightly i was holding my necklace.

"LOUDER!" i felt the necklace snap into my hand.

"LOUDER, YOU FAGGOT!" he was full on screaming at me, and i was sobbing on my hands and knees, my necklace pressed firmly to the ground under my right hand.

"DEAR CHRIST I WROTE SOMETHING ABOUT MY DISGRACEFUL THOUGHTS TOWARDS ANOTHER BOY AND IM SO SORRY." i screamed through my tears, my arms slightly caving. father seemed pleased and he looked at me. 

"good. but we arent done." father sighed. i was breathing heavily, and i could see my tears dripping to the ground.

i just started to calm down when i was kicked in the stomach, causing me to fall onto my side. i quickly sat up and looked at father. i started backing away, but father grabbed my leg and pulled me back. he stomped on my stomach and i took a painful breath in. i tried to squirm away from father, but his grip was strong. he crawled on top of me and started choking me. i coughed and grabbed his wrists, slapping his arms as hard as i could. he let me go eventually, and i coughed while holding my neck. i could feel my eyes watering due to the lack of air i had been getting. 

"father phelps? are you still in here, i need to ask you a question about something." one of the regular church goers called from the lobby. it felt weird to hear someone else call him father, but i know that was part christian faith

"ah! ill be right out! give me a second!" father called back. he let go of my leg and walked to my head. i looked up at him, still taking in shallow breaths. he moved his foot up and it slammed down onto my wrist. i held back a scream and grabbed my arm in pain. i rolled over and i heard father open the door.

💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟

"what was your query, johnson?" he seemed so sweet. i crawled over to the railing on the wall and hoisted myself up.  i stood up and held my stomach and took a deep breath in and exhaled. i could breath easier now, so fixed my clothes and walked out of the back.

"ah, travis, right?" i looked up at the man my father was speaking with. father looked back at me and glared at me.

"y-yeah. tr-travis phelps." i nodded. 

"travis, thank you for helping clean up. you can get back to the house now." father smiled sweetly and ruffled my hair. i flinched a little, but i smiled and ran out of the church and to the house.

i opened the front door and pulled the blazer and tie off of my body.

"travis? are you alright?" i heard mother ask

"just p-peachy." i said breathily. mother walked over and looked at me.

"what happened, baby?" mother asked.

"its...i-its nothing ,mother." i lied. she sighed and nodded.

"tell me if any else happens, ok, dear?" mother grabbed my hand softly. i nodded and smiled at her

"i will, i promise, mother." i nodded. i walked up to my room, and dropped the blazer into my laundry basket. i shook my shoes off and flopped onto my bed, lifting my face out of my pillows. i rested my chin softly on my pillow and stared at the wall. i heard my door open and i quickly sat up and looked over. it was father.

"you should go for a walk. fresh air is good for you." father said, leaning on the door frame. i nodded stood up. i knew he was just saying that to get me out of the house, so he could argue with mother. i opened my dresser and pulled out my purple shirt, and grabbed a pair of pants. i heard my door shut and i looked over. father had left. i unbuttoned my shirt and pulled the other shirt over my head.

once i had finished changing, i grabbed a scarf, and my phone, and walked down the stairs. i walked out of the house and started down the hill. there was a park near the house, so thats where i was walking. when i got to the park, i just sat on a bench. i pulled out my phone and started scrolling, just looking at stupid shit.

all my thoughts were interrupted when a small notebook fell in my lap. my notebook. i turned around and saw sal standing above me. shit. 

"i believe this is yours. i found it by your house." sal shrugged. his hair was down. he was wearing a black hoodie with a white circle that had and 'sf', and the f had an arrow pointing down at the bottom. he also had blue gloves and blue ear muffs on. he looked so pretty.

"why do you have this? you should have just left it, asshole." i glared at him, putting it in my pocket.

"i didnt know what it was, i wanted to see it." sal scratched his neck.

"y-you...you didnt read it, right?" i stood up, now looking down at him

"what? no, of course not. that would be a total invasion of privacy." sal put his hands in his pockets. i cleared my throat and rubbed the back of my neck.

"...thanks. for bringing it to me." i put my hands in my pockets as well, one hand gripping the notebook tightly.

"its nothing, you probably wanted it back anyway." his electric blue eyes stared up at me

"what are you even doing here?" i asked

"i wanted to get out of the apartments. and my dad said he didnt want to look at  me. you?" sal explained. seems him and i have more i in common than i guessed.

"my father told me to take a walk, which is just phelps talk for 'i need to argue with your mother, get out'." i sighed, leaning on the bench. we stated quiet for a second, but then sal spoke up

"hey, travis?"

"yeah, sally face?" i looked down at him.

"you have a bruise on your neck. what happened?" when he asked that, my blood ran cold. why does he care? what does he gain from knowing? why should i even tell him?

"its none of your fuckin business, sally face, why the hell would you care? i bet youre not actually asking because you want to know, you just want dirt to make fun of me with. i bet you did read the notebook, you just said you didnt so id trust you. well guess what? i dont. and i never will, freak." i glared, shoving him into the snow. i gathered saliva in my mouth and spat it at his feet. he moved his foot out of the way and looked at me.

"i was just making sure you were ok. sorry." his voice wavered, and he seemed genuinely hurt by my response. he stood up and backed away, turning to run back to the apartments. 

fuck. fuck. i fucked up, didn't i? now he really does hate me. why did i say that? god damnit, travis. what the hell is wrong with me? i am such an asshole. sal didnt deserve that. why would i say that to him? fuck.

Chapter Text

sal pov

it was a normal morning for the most part, larry and i sitting in his room, talking about mundane shit. i decided to head back up to my apartment, so said bye to larry and lisa. the elevator ride was quiet, no music, and i eventually made it to the 4th floor. i walked into my apartment and i saw my dad sitting on the couch, flask in hand. he looked up at me and took a swig from the flask.

"you remind me of your mother." he gestured at me a little. i touched my face and looked at my feet. when ever dad said that, he never meant it in a good way

"i know, dad."  i sighed. 

"she was beautiful, sal." dad slumped down on the couch. 

“i know, dad.” i nodded.

“i miss her so much.” das started crying a little. he was always like this when he was drunk.

"i can leave for a while, if you want." i grabbed my coat and gloves, expecting him to say yes. he nodded, and i walked to my room and put my prosthetics on. i saw travis's notebook on my dresser and i put it my pocket, just incase i saw him. once the mask was strapped on i walked out of the apartment building, and down the street to a small, nearby park.

i liked snow, everything coved in white, the small tingle in my fingers due to the below freezing weather, the snow crunching under my feet. it was just nice. i got to the park and immediately recognised a tuft of blond hair sitting alone on a bench. i pulled the notebook out and walked up behind him. i dropped it in his lap and he snapped his head up at me.

"i believe this is yours. i found it by your house." i shrugged.

"why do you have this? you should have just left it, asshole." travis glared at me, putting it in his pocket.

"i didnt know what it was, i wanted to see it." i scratched my neck.

"y-you...you didnt read it, right?" he stood up, now looking down at me. it strained my neck just to look up at him

"what? no, of course not. that would be a total invasion of privacy." i put my hands in my pockets. travis cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck.

"...thanks. for bringing it to me." he put his hands in his pockets too.

"its nothing, you probably wanted it back anyway." i stared up at him.

"what are you even doing here?" he asked suddenly

"i wanted to get out of the apartments. and my dad said he didnt want to look at me. you?" i explained.

"my father told me to take a walk, which is just phelps talk for 'i need to argue with your mother, get out'." he sighed, leaning against the bench. we stayed quiet for a second, but then i noticed something on travis's neck. it looked like a bruise or something.

"hey, travis?"

"what, sally face?" he looked down at me.

"you have a bruise on your neck. what happened?" i asked, genuinely worrying about his safety. this seemed to deeply upset him though.

"its none of your fuckin business, sally face, why the hell would you care? i bet youre not actually asking because you want to know, you just want dirt to make fun of me with. i bet you did read the notebook, you just said you didnt so id trust you. well guess what? i dont. and i never will, freak!" he glared, shoving me into the snow. he spat at my feet, and i moved my foot out of the way and looked at him. what the fuck.

"i was just making sure you were ok. sorry." my voice wavered. my eyes started to sting, and i stood up and backed away, turning to run back to the apartments. fuck. i ran around back and went to the treehouse. i just sat there for a while, saying and doing nothing. 

after about 30 minutes of sitting alone in a cold treehouse, i heard the ladder for the treehouse creek softly. i looked up and  saw larrys head pop up into the treehouse. he didnt see me until he looked up, and he almost fell out of the tree house, swearing as he did so. 

"uh...hi, larry" i waved a little, resting my chin on my knee

"what are you doing up here all alone?" larry asked, crawling up into the tree house them walking over to sit next to me. i pulled off my mask and explained what happened to larry. he didnt say anything, instead he just sighed. his head perked up, as if a light bulb popped up over his head, and he pulled something put of his pocket.

"wanna smoke some weed?" he asked, catching me completely off guard. the tension of the situation immediately evaporated and was replaced with confusion 

"what?" i laughed a little

"well its just- ok that was kind of out of no where, but i promise i had a plan. its just that it calms me down when i need it to." larry laughed too. i thought for a minute but then nodded. larry smiled and handed me the joint in his hand. i put it between my lips and watched as he pulled out a lighter to light it for me. i inhaled and coughed, and looked at larry

"thats normal for someones first time smoking, smoke, like, irritates your throat, but ya get used to it." he took the joint from me. we passed it between eachother for a while

"am i supposed to feel hungry right now?" i looked at larry.

"thats normal yeah, here i have snacks for that reason." larry chuckled softly, getting some food from the chest. 

-

larry and i had been in the treehouse for about 3 hours now, the joint having long been put out.  larry was right, you do get used to the smoke. 

"hey, larebear?" i chuckled at the nickname. larry just rolled his eyes at it.

"whats up, sally dude?" he looked at me.

"thanks, this really helped." i smiled, a small laugh in my words.

"im happy to hear it. lets go back inside, moms probably making dinner by now." larry smiled, helping me stand. we climbed down the ladder and i noticed some generic cologne, that larry always uses, in the snow.

"is this to cover up the weed smell?-"

"-cover up the weed smell? yeah" we finished our sentence at the same time. he sprayed himself down lightly, but enough to hide the smell. he handed me the cologne and walked towards his door. i repeated what he did and ran up behind him. we walked in together and immediately headed to the kitchen. lisa was standing infront of a pan that looked to have bell peppers and other vegetables in it.

"hey, mom." larry called, waving at his mom as he flopped on the couch.

"hey, larebear. oh! and hello sal!" she smiled at me. i smiled back and sat next to larry

"i didnt see you come in, were you outside?" she asked

"yeah, i was up in the treehouse with larry." i told her. she nodded, stirring the food in the pan.

"dinner will be ready in about 10 minutes, ok, boys?" lisa turned to us.

"sounds good to me." larry shrugged.

"same here" i nodded. lisa smiled and went back to cooking. when she finished the food, she called larry and i into the kitchen. larry and i ran into the kitchen and grabbed some plates.

-

after the 3 of us ate, larry and i went to his room.

"do you wanna sleep over?" larry asked, flopping on his bed

"let me check in with my dad first." i sighed. i put my mask on and waved to lisa as i left the apartment. the elevator ride was dreadful. the second i got to my apartment, i opened the door. dad was sitting on the couch, gizmo on the opposite side of him, and they were both watching tv. dad a flask in his hand, so i just shut the door. i walked back to larrys apartment.

"so your staying with me tonight?" larry looked at me 

"seems like it." i sat down on larrys bed

Chapter Text

~time skip to after christmas break~
travis pov

i wrapped my arms around sals small figure and kissed the top of his head. sal spun around, pulled me closer to him, and rested his head on my stomach. i smiled and ran my fingers through his hair.

"you're really cool, travis." his smooth voice, crisped with a jersey accent, said softly.

"so are you, sally face." i smiled. i tilted his chin up and stared at his face. part of his jaw was incredibly disfigured, his nose was practically completely gone, and his lips we practically scarred off. he had so many other scars across his face, and he was missing multiple teeth. he was still beautiful. i felt myself leaning in towards his lips, as if i was about to kiss him. right before our lips touched, i woke up. i started breathing heavily, and put my hand on my chest. i felt my face get warmer at the thought of sal and i reimagined his face. i had never actually seen it before, but that's what my brain made up for it. i shook my head and placed my hand on the cross next to my bed.

"stop. stop. stop. don't fucking think about him. don't." i kept repeating to myself. it didn't mean anything. i don't like him. i stood up and walked to my dresser. i pushed the thoughts of sal out of my mind and got dressed in my purple sweater and some blue jeans. i grabbed my green tennis shoes and put them on. i grabbed my phone and walked downstairs.

"good morning, sweetie." mother smiled. she was standing over the sink, washing dishes.

"good morning, mother." i smiled back. i walked into the kitchen and grabbed one of the biscuits on the kitchen table.

"these are really good, mother." i took a few bites of the one in my hand.

"thank you, dear." mother smiled softly. i nodded and went back upstairs and grabbed my bag. i ran downstairs and said goodbye to my mom before walking outside and staring at the hill. i walked down it slowly and then headed to the bus stop. i stared at sal as he leaned against larrys arm. larry had no sort of reaction to this, so i assumed sal usually did this. once the bus got here, i watched sal and his friends get on the bus and all head to the back. i sat a few seats in front of them and stared out of the window.

once we got to the school, i got off of the bus as fast as i could. i ran inside and to my locker. i quickly put my stuff away and grabbed what i needed. i shut my locker and started to walk to my first period quickly.

"what's his hurry..." i heard larry ask

"no clue. maybe he's really into this first class. this is the second semester, so he's probably got a new class." sal said. i clutched my binder tightly and blocked them out. i sat down in my first class and rubbed my face.

sal pov

larry and i went to his locker, talking about sanity's fall on our way. when we got to the locker, travis was rushing to put his stuff away. he slammed his locker shut and walked away quickly.

"what's his hurry..." larry asked

"no clue. maybe he's really into this first class. this the second semester, so he's probably got a new class." i said.

"probably got like...uhhhh...christianity class or some shit." larry said. i laughed and nodded.

"yeah maybe." i smiled. after larry put his stuff away, we walked to my locker. i put my stuff up and pulled out my new schedule. i gave larry the piece of paper and let him compare it with his.

"we have a total of 3 new classes together, sally face." larry smiled.

"which ones?" i asked.

"1st, 2nd, and 6th, as well as 3rd but we had that one together last semester." larry handed me my schedule back.

"that's cool." i put my schedule in my pocket

"i had this teacher 4th period US history last year, so i know where the class is." larry grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the class.

"is she nice?" i questioned

"not even a little. she always got on my case for having long hair because 'i'm a boy, so i shouldn't have long hair' so i'm sure you'll go through the same thing with her." larry sighed. we made it to the class. travis was sat in the first seat on the row closest to the door. lary and i looked at each other in disbelief, trying not to laugh. i sat in the back with larry and stared at travis. he was just sitting at his desk with his head down, hands clasped tightly together, and one leg bouncing rapidly. he wasn't praying. no. he just seemed to be panicky.

"good morning, ladies and gentlemen. i am mrs. evans. i am going to be your computer sciences teacher this semester." she smiled. i ran my fingers through my hair and stared up at the front of the room. she started calling role, and i anxiously waited for my name.

"sally fisher?" she called and looked up and around the room.

"i go by sal." i made my voice slightly deeper than it actually was, although it was sort of deep enough to pass already. she stared at me for a second.

"great, a goddamn tranny." she whispered. my eyes shot up and i stared at her. i looked at larry, confirming if he heard what i heard. he turned to me with a shocked expression, confirming he heard her too. she continued with the roll as if nothing had happened, and when she said larrys name, she said it through gritted teeth. he smiled at her, and she just glared back at him.

"great to have you again, johnson." she said sarcastically.

"it's great to be back, mrs. evans!" she continued with the role, saying meaningless names that i didn't care about, and when she got to travis's name, she smiled.

"travis phelps. i believe i had you for english in your freshman year." she smiled at him

"y-yep." he tapped his fingers quickly. she continued with the role and looked around the room when she was done.

"i don't have a set seating chart yet, but i do know i want mr. johnson and mrs. fisher in the front." she snapped. i stared up at her for a second.

"i'm a boy." i said. she glared at me.

"mrs. fi-"

"i'm a boy. stop calling me mrs." i looked at her.

"fine. whatever. i want mr. johnson and mr. fisher in the front." she sighed. she went up to two kids in the front, and pointed to the back of the room. she then motioned for us to move up closer to her. the two kids sitting in the front stood up and moved to where we were sitting and larry and i moved to the front. i took a seat next to travis and looked out of the window. mrs. evans looked at me for a second.

"that mask is a prosthetic, correct, fisher? it is necessary, i mean?" she looked at me.

"yes." i looked up at her. she nodded and walked back up to the front of the room. she went on about what she would be teaching in her class.

i looked over at travis for a second but quickly looked back to my desk. is it bad that i think he's just a little pretty?

-

the bell rang, and larry and i gathered our things. we stood up, and headed to the door.

"i'll see you in 3rd, sally." larry and i high-fived and parted ways.

-

school had ended a couple of hours ago, and now i was just laying on larry's bean bag as he played five nights at freddys on his laptop.

"5 am let's gooo- HOLY SHIT!" i jumped up and looked at larry. the laptop played the staticky sound that comes with the game over screen, and larry had his hand on his chest.

"you alright there, bud?" i asked

"i wasn't expecting it. i was doing so well. i was doing everything right." larry laughed, spinning around in his chair to face me, and hanging his head down.

"ya hate to see it. you got this man." i waved. he turned back to the game and nodded, muttering "i do got this!" under his breath. i laughed and watched him play the game. i unclipped my mask and set it next to the bean bag. i stuck my fingers into my right eye socket and pulled out my fake eye. i placed that on top of the mask and just relaxed into the beanbag. i don't think i ever realised how comfortable beanbags were. very comfy. before i knew it i was asleep.

-

when i woke up, i was on larrys bed, tucked in under the covers. i sat up and realised i was the only one in here. i grabbed my phone and checked the time 8:30 pm. i got off of the bed and went into the main room.

"rise and shine, sleepy head. mom bought pizza." larry waved. he was sitting on the couch with one leg crossed over the other.

"mornin." i sighed.

"it's not morning, dude." larry laughed

"shut up." i rolled my eye. i walked into the kitchen and grabbed a slice of the pizza. i sat next to larry and started eating it.

"are you staying over tonight?" larry asked.

"yeah, my dad already knows i'm here so he won't care that i'm staying over." i pulled my feet up onto the couch and yawned.

Chapter Text

travis pov

i used to like my first period because sal wasn’t in it, i got to spend my first 2 classes away from him, not having to face him, but now here we was. it almost felt like a divine punishment for being such an asshole to him, but god would never side with a satanist over his own follower. i think. i threw my stuff down on the floor and sat down at my desk. i crossed my arms and my leg started bouncing rapidly, a nervous tic that i always hated. larry and sal walked in and sat in their seats, and sal glanced at me for a split second. i furrowed my eyebrows and glared at him. he and larry were always so happy. they were the best of friends, they always had eachother. why couldn’t i have someone like that?

they talked for the entire beginning of class, until the bell rang. mrs evans walked in and set her stuff down by her desk.

“good morning, class!” she smiled, and i, along with a few other people, said it back. she went up to the board and wrote a prompt down, telling us to write a paragraph revolving around this prompt, and once we were all done people could share what they wrote. the prompt was “christmas”.

she started a timer for 30 minutes, and we started writing. sal and i were the first two to turn in our papers, with about only 15 minutes left on the timer.

“you two finished quickly. are you sure he didn’t copy off of you?” mrs evans glared at sal, but she was speaking to me. sal sighed and placed his paper on the turn in stack. she always accused sal of shit like this.

“y-yes, ma’am.” i mumbled, and we went to sit back down. i looked over at him, and he was messing with his hair while he waited for larry to finish. he had pulled his pigtails out and had tied his hair into a ponytail. he put the unused hairtie on his wrist and laid his head down.

most people used the entire 30 minutes for their prompt, including larry.

“does anyone want to share what they wrote?” she hummed, smiling at the class. a couple kids raised their hands and shared their writings, both about kids getting good christmast presents. it reminded me that i didn’t get any presents this year. i didn’t care when it happened, but now that i’m realising everyone else got presents it stung a little. i knew better than to complain, but it didnt make me feel any better. i wished i could have gotten something, anything. even a pair of socks would have sufficed. instead, we spent the entire day in church, focusing on everyone else. it was only a few days after the incident my father and i had regarding my confession to christ. i felt my heart rate quicken as i remembered that event. i was starting to panic, not wanting to remember that at all. the second the bell rang, i dashed out if the classroom. i heard larry and sal say something, laughing to each other. they were laughing at me, i assumed. those fucking assholes. always laughing at me, when they were the weird ones. i ran into the bathroom and locked myself in a stall. i steadied my breathing and held onto my cross necklace tightly, mumbling a prayer to myself. once i’d calmed down, i sighed and sat down on the toilet, taking in a few deep breaths.

i left the bathroom and walked to my second period, my body still shaking from the aftermath of whatever that was.

-

when third period came, i felt dread pool in my stomach. i shared that class with sal. i didn’t want to look at him. it was his fault that what happened in the church happened in the first place. if he didn’t exist, i wouldn’t have been so enamoured with him, and i wouldn’t have had anyone to write about in the journal that my father found. i pushed the anger at sal aside and walked in, taking a seat at my desk. sal was already at his desk in the back, and he was faced down, likely asleep, on his desk. he had taken his pony tail out, and his blue hair was sprawled all over the desk. his hair was so pretty .

i ignored that thought and pulled out my notes, getting ready to take more so i’d be ready for the test. as the teacher went on to explain many things about angles and such, she turned around and looked at the class.

“who can tell me what the vertical angle of angle BC is, and why?” mrs carter smiled. i raised my hand, and she looked around the room.

“hmm…sal!” she smiled, and i felt my anger grow. he was asleep and not paying attention, and got picked over me, WHO WAS PAYING ATTENTION.

“uh, it’s 13°. because, uh, CE is 13. and the vertical angles are always the same.” sal explained. it was really hard to hate him when his voice sounded like that.

“correct! good job, sal.” mrs carter smiled and wrote that down on the board.

i turned around and stared at him. he was doodling something on his paper. how the fuck was he so good at this class when he didn’t even pay attention? he looked up at me and i quickly snapped my head away from him.

-

since it was still snowing outside, we were made to stay inside during pe today. we did still have to change out. sal and i were the only two still in here, and i felt the anger towards him creeping back up. i left the locker room before i could look at him again, knowing if i did i was going to do something i’d regret immediately. i sat next to philip in the corner of the gym, and just talked to him. he was the only person that could calm me down in times like this.

“not to, like, assume things, trav,” philip started, and i looked up at him, “but it really doesnt sound like you hate this guy. sounds more like you want him to like you but you hate that he doesnt.” philip shrugged. i stayed silent. i started to think he was probably right, but i stopped myself. i couldn’t be friends with sal. ever. he was the epitome of a freak. i couldn’t be seen with that. i knew i wanted to be close to him. i knew i wanted to hug him, to hold him, to take his mask off and kiss him, but i also knew i couldn’t. the closest i could get to touching him was when i would punch him. i glanced over at him, seeing him sat in a corner all by himself. he was so fucking beautiful. i looked at philip and sighed, burying my face in my knees.

“i’m such a dick.” i mumbled.

“you are,” philip sighed and rubbed my back, “but you arent incapable of change.”

i glared at him in response.

-

as sal walked out of his 5th period, a class just down the hall from mine, i speed-walked slightly to catch up to him. i grabbed him by his shoulder and pulled him away from the exit he was heading to.

“h-hey, what the hell? travis-“ i pushed him into a bathroom and shoved him on the ground. i started to kick him in the stomach, kicking him as hard as i could. when he covered his stomach with his arms, i dropped down and got on top if him, punching him in the chest and on his mask as hard as i could. i yelled out with each punch, just trying to channel all of my rage into hurting him. punching his mask probably hurt me more than it did him, but i didn’t care. i was just so angry.

“fuck you! fuck you! i fucking hate you!” i screamed, slamming my fists down onto sal’s body. he mumbled a question, and i just barely heard him.

“what did i do?”

on the drive home from school at 3:00, that was still on my mind. i stared at my shaking, bloody hands as i played those words over in my mind. truthfully, he had done nothing. he didn’t deserve that. god, i was such a dick.

“what happened to you hands?” father asked suddenly. i hesitated before glancing at him

“…got into a fight.” i mumbled.

“why? with who? why wasnt i informed?” he glared at me.

“i-…i don’t know. he was just some fag, i think. he’s friends with, uh, larry johnson. and i forgot to tell you, i guess. i wasn’t caught during the fight so i didn’t get in trouble.” i explained quickly. i felt horrible reducing sal to “some fag” but it’s not like father needed more information. father processed the information before placing a hand on my shoulder.

“well. good on you, son.” he sighed and pulled into our driveway. i recalled whenever i’d get into fights with larry, he’d always be proud when i won. i suppose if he didn’t like the person i was fighting, me fighting them was a good thing. if fighting sal is what it takes to finally get my father to actually tolerate me again, maybe it’s worth it. it’ll probably even help me get over my weird feelings for him.

i followed my father inside and went up to my room. i laid down on my bed and sighed, trying to ignore the guilt creeping up in my chest. i sighed deeply and laid on my back, staring at my ceiling.

“what did i do?”

Chapter Text

the bell rang loudly through sal’s ears, waking him up and signalling class was over. he lifted his head off of the desk and grabbed his things. he stood up and started to walk out of the class room. however, he’d forgotten to reattach the second strap of his mask fully, so it fell off once he was out of the class.

"shit," sal mumbled. he leaned down to pick it up, but a tan hand got to it first.

"ooo, sally face lost his face, eh?" travis laughed.

"oh god,” sal groaned, “just give it back, travis" he mumbled, not looking up.

"what does your face look like under the mask?" travis laughed again. 

"travis. just give it here." sal held out his hand, using the other one to shield his face from anyone who could possibly see it.

"nah...i think i'll keep it. reminds me of my least favourite faggot."  travis smiled.

"please just give it back." sal pleaded. he was usually composed, but he couldnt help how sensitive of a topic this was for him.

"why should i?" travis asked, inspecting sal’s mask, "it's not like you actually need it-"

"it's a prosthetic, you asshole." larry suddenly snapped, ripping sal’s mask out of travis's hand  and helping sal put it back on. once it was on again, he looked up.

"so what? it’s not like an arm or a leg, that actually helps. or is it, like, for other people? so they dont have to see his fucked up face?" travis teased. larry just glared at travis. somehow, despite this being a deliberate choice on travis’s part, he looked almost regretful. like he didnt want to do this. why he continued to do it anyway, sal couldnt figure out.

”i’d watch it, preacher boy, you’re on thin ice.” larry stepped closer to traphis.

"whatever, stoner. sally face should have checked if his mask was on right if he didn't want me to pick it up." travis stuck his tongue out. sal just sighed and walked to his locker, larry close behind. maybe sal was making things up, but he couldnt help but sense a small..hesitation from travis. almost like he was forcing himself to go through with these things.

"you ok, sal?" larry asked when they got to their lockers

"yeah, nothing im not used to," sal hummed and looked up at larry

"if you say so. still, i can kick trav’s ass if need be," larry smiled, elbowing sal’s shoulder. he tried to elbow my side, but he's a lot taller than me, so he settled for shoulder.

"he didn't actually mean it. he's not that kind of guy." sal blurted out. he didnt even know why he had that thought. ever since their conversation in the park, over break, he felt something was off about travis’s behaviour. he clearly didnt like doing the shit he did, but sal couldnt explain why he’d keep doing it if that was the case.

"what? how would you know?" larry asked with a laugh.

"uh..i just dont think he is, man.” sal shrugged. he looked at the floor and stared think about the altercation from minutes ago.

why was travis so intent on making hi life a living hell? maybe it's because his already was. who knows. their conversation over break changed sals opinion of him so much. he remembered when travis yelled at him for making him “feel weird.” travis clearly hated what he was doing, yet he still did it. although he always tormented sal, he still liked to look at him. is it stupid, because he made it abundantly clear that he cant be nice to sal for more than 5 minutes without having to start something? yes. yes it is. but does that change anything? of course not. he wondered if he could ever convince travis to drop the act, and actually be..nice, without switching two minutes later.

he was getting ahead of himself. he put his stuff in his locker and pulled out his lunch box. he wasn't eating the school food today, it was bologna day... god that shit grossed him out, and all his friends. it didnt taste like any store bought bologna he’d ever tried. he walked to the lunchroom with larry and sat by their friends.

"sooo, how have everyone's days been so far?" ashley asked with a smile on her face.

"pretty good! maple and i got partnered together in a class project!" chug smiled, looking at his girlfriend. sal smiled a little under his mask. 

"mine has been going pretty well, neil and i are planning on going on a date later tonight." todd  said, resting his chin on his palm.

"mines been fine, travis was a cunt." larry sighed

"how so?" ashley looked at him

"my, uh, mask slipped off, and travis picked it up, and started making fun of me. larry happened to show up at the same time." sal explained. everyone just nodded and they all ate their food. sal looked across the lunch room and saw travis eating a bologna sandwich and smiling. it was fascinating how much he liked those sandwiches.

sal laid on his bed, tracing his fingers on the split between the colours of his mask. he wondered about it travis more, more about why he was always such an asshole when he clearly hated doing so. maybe it just worked out better that way in travis’s brain. who was sal to judge. sal was pulled from his thoughts as his dad knocked on and opened his door.

“dinner’ll be ready in 5,” was all he said before he shut the door again. sal hummed softly and rolled off his bed, hitting the floor with a soft thud. he stood up and stared at himself in the mirror on his dresser. He didn’t know why he was so set to defend travis, after everything he’d done, but sal just couldn’t find it in his heart to believe the boy was truly bad. one day he’d probably realised he had some repressed homosexual feelings and change his ways. the homophobic ones are always the gayest, sal thought.