I Hate You Too (Salvis)

The Lunch Table (rewritten)

Weeks go by of the same routine. They'd walk together, pass notes sometimes, Sal would leave his apples at Travis' table, and a new addition of them skipping class once. Only once, and they still were very quiet.

Sal was getting comfortable with these little things. He didn't know if the same could be said about Travis, but he hoped so. If not, that'd be a little uncomfortable.

Sal walks up and greets Travis the same way he usually would, and to his surprise, Travis subtly welcomes him back. He smiles and walks on.

Their shared class went by faster than he wanted it to. There was lunch to look forward to, but his one and only interaction with Travis would be over the second it started. Sal eventually goes home for the day, either alone or with his friend group.

He begins to realise just how little time he actually has to know him. It feels weird to be disappointed about that, he's only made up with him weeks ago, and as they stood now, they still weren't really friends.

As he absentmindedly stares at a point on the ceiling, his thoughts are interrupted by the gritty buzz of his walkie talkie. His mind makes a connection in the blink of an eye. He looks at it and stays to himself to reflect before responding to it.

The next time Sal meets up with Travis, he pays extra attention to their interactions. He grows uncomfortably aware of how silent they've been and continue to be. It didn't bother him before, now it's a little odd.

"Hey," Sal hesitates to break the silence, "wanna skip?"
Travis looks at him and then checks around themselves. "Sure, I guess."

Last time they skipped, they were just in the bathroom like any normal highschooler would. This time, Sal leads him to the back of the school, where the handle had rusted so much that it was impossible to lock properly. Travis gives a wondering look but keeps his questions to himself.

Sal sits on the sidewalk and leans back on the red brick, Travis follows suit.

Sal remembers that he actually has to bring up his thoughts somehow, so he spends his time stringing together phrases in his head to find the one that would work.

He knew that what he was asking for was a stretch if it was from Travis, and he felt he'd have to go about it carefully. He fidgets with his sweater sleeves and stares at the ground.

When he finally decides he's ready to speak, he turns to look at Travis, and he pauses as some new little details catch his eye. Travis with relaxed shoulders? That might be rarer than a gem.

Sal just watches his eyes pass around at anything that caught his attention. It's hard to pinpoint exactly where he's looking, but he notices a pattern of trees that were shedding leaves, and patches of dandelions.

It's only just the start of the classes they were supposed to be at, and it reminds him that he doesn't need to say anything right away. It helps relieve some tension, and give him extra time to think.

Though, this extra time is cut short when Travis turns back to Sal, not expecting Sal to already be looking.
Sal's first instinct is to whip his head back around in embarrassment, and his next action was to commit, which ended up with him not knowing where to turn his eye.

"What?" Travis asks plainly.

Sal is still embarrassed, but he takes this as his cue to speak.

"Oh, I was.. wondering if you'd wanna come sit at our table. Maybe talk to my friends, make up with them too," He explains.

He sees Travis' eyes widen and his mouth fall ajar. Travis crosses his arms and averts his eyes to think.

"Err.. that's a nice thought, but ya know... People talk." he starts, "There's no way that kinda change would go unnoticed. And, besides that, your friends don't really have good opinions of me."