"Sally, you've seemed so distracted by something, are you alright?" Larry nudges me, a worried expression on his face, Ash peaks over her canvas, nodding in agreement.
"Huh? Oh, I'm fine." I nod my head, trying to reassure them. "I promise."
Ash and Larry eye each other before Larry nods. "Pinky promise?" He holds out his pinky finger, making me laugh.
But I move my hand towards his, my pinky wrapping around his pinky. "Pinky promise." I repeat, and he smiles before he goes back to sketching his next painting.
I guess... I have been a little distracted with Travis. But, it'll be worth it in the end. I hope. I mean... He didn't reject me last night, so I think we're moving in the right direction.
By a lot.
Though, I've noticed that he's starting to get worse, sometimes even ignoring Phillip. I know last night was a big step, and a brave one at that, but...
I just hope I can get him to open up to me.
~~~
I watched Travis from across the lunch room, and he was staring blankly at nothing at all. Phillip would occasionally turn to try and talk to him, but he didn't even glance in Phillip's direction.
He looked like he wasn't even alive.
"Sally!! Are you gonna eat your burger?" Larry pokes my burger bun, and I glare at him in response, a hole now in my bun.
"Not after you poked it, you freak!" I reply as he grabs my burger off my tray and starts to eat it, grinning as he does.
Out of the corner of my eye I see someone walking towards our table, then I realize it's Travis.
He glances at me, and tears instantly gloss over his eyes. He looks away quickly, leaving the cafeteria in a rush.
"Take the rest of my food if you want, I forgot I left something in the art room earlier."
Larry nods eagerly as he grabs the fruit off my tray, and I quickly gather my stuff and leave the cafeteria, following after Travis.
Something had to of happened when he went home.
The last time he cried in front of me was... At Phillip's party. And Travis is the type to never cry, not even in public. So, he has to be really upset.
I step into the bathroom, and he's in the usual stall, this time the door is unlocked.
I push the stall door open, and Travis was sitting against the wall, his arm covering his face, and I could see his lips quiver.
He was crying, but didn't want me to see it.
I find myself moving before I could stop myself, and I slide my bag off my shoulders and onto the floor, shutting the stall door behind me as I sit down in front of him, my arms wrapping around him.
Seeing him hurt so much makes my heart break. I always remember how I was treated by my father before we moved here- How horrible he could be sometimes.
But I know it compares nothing to what Travis goes through.
"I'm sorry-" Travis chokes out, his body tensing under my weight. I can only imagine the pain he goes through, every single day.
"It's okay, Trav. I'm here." My words seem to snap something inside of him, and his arms slowly untangle from his face and wrap around my body, his fingers gripping my shirt as he rests his head against my shoulder.
I didn't force him to talk. I didn't force him to say a word. Because I know that if I was him, I wouldn't want to talk about it. It would just hurt me even more.
So, he just cried.
He cried in my arms for the rest of lunch, and most of next period.
We sat there, in the bathroom, on the floor, saying nothing at all.
But I didn't need to hear his words to know how much he's hurting. He's bottling it all up and it's making things worse.
But I don't know how to open up to him.
I fear...
~~~
We skipped the rest of the day in that bathroom. Sometimes, guys would come in and out, but nobody ever noticed us. Not that I know of.
Not that I give a shit.
I was now sitting across from Travis, watching him silently as he stares back, his expression blank.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to break down like that." Travis runs a hand across his face before leaning his head back against the stall wall.
"But you needed to." I reply, my arms resting on my knees as I find myself staring at the bruise on his eye.
Travis sighs deeply, his hand still covering his face before it drops into his lap. "I... I don't know what to do anymore."
"Then, I'll help you figure it out. I'm here for you, Travis. Even if you don't want my company."
He manages to smile, even though I could tell it didn't reach his eyes. "You're something else, Sal."
"Well, obviously. I have a prosthetic. I'm definitely something else."
That time, I saw a glimpse of genuine joy in his eyes, making me smile under my prosthetic.
He's so beautiful. I just wish he knew that.
"Yeah... I thought you were a girl when I first saw you." Travis shakes his head, and his words make me laugh.
"Really? Was it the pig tails?"
"Definitely. You looked... Nice, with your hair down."