"Take Me To Church" - Hosier

Chapter Twenty-Two

Travis closed his locker. Something was gonna go wrong, he could feel it. The pounding head ache the way every sound was to loud. Something was gonna happen.

And apparently that something was right now.

"Travis!" Said a voice he didn't recognize.

Travis turned around. It was some guy from his chruch that he didn't remember the name of. "Yes?" He asked. He had a bad feeling.

"I never expected the son of the preacher to be gay." The boy said.

Travis scoffed. "Excuse me?" He snapped.

"What?" The boy laughed. "I mean just look at you-"

bam!

Travis had swung at the boy. The boy quickly recovered and swung back.

"Hey!" Someone has shouted. "Back the fuck up." Larry grabbed Travis by the shoulder yanking him behind him. "I'm only gonna say it once."

The other one waved his hands up. "fucking sycho." He whispered.

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Travis leaned against the wall, his head tilted to look down. "Travis look at me." Sal said reaching over to grab his face. "Trav come on."

"It's not that bad." He said, carefully pulling Sal's arm down.

Sal scoffed. "He punched you in the face."

"Which I deserved." Travis responded.

Sal shook his head. "No you didn't."

"Kind of did." Travis said.

Sal shook his head. "Come on baby let me see." He grabbed Travis' face again. "Travis." Sal sighed. "Love please just look at me." Travis sighed and carefully glanced at Sal.

Sal smiled and ran his thumb underneath the bruised skin. "I'm sorry." Travis said, leaning into Sal's touch. "I shouldn't have picked a fight with him."

"From what Larry said he was being dick." Sal said.

"I shouldn't have been offended." Travis corrected. "Like he's right I am- I'm- I'm into you, a boy."

Sal shook his head. "Travis, you're barely coming to terms with it we is. Don't expect to just be okay with someone trying to use it as an insult." He laughed. "I mean I've been called it my entire life and it still pisses me off sometimes."

Travis sighed. "I just- I feel horrible. I can't even say it." He leaned against Sal. "Like fuck how pathetic can I be?"

Sal grabbed his face forcing him to look at him again. "Pathetic? Travis you're the furthest fucking thing from Pathetic. You have grown so much in the passed few months." He lifted his mask. "I mean fuck just a few months ago you were calling me slurs and writing love notes in a bathroom." He pulled Travis so close there foreheads were touching. "And now you're dating a guy who you've admitted you're in love with."

"I am in love with you." Travis reassured.

Sal smile. "And I do 100% believe that. You are not pathetic or weak because a guy pissed you off because he called you gay." He kissed Travis' nose. "You just told a boy you loved him. How is that pathetic?"

Travis bit down onto his lip. "He didn't even say much. He just called me gay and I punched him. That's what pathetic."

Sal shook his head. "My love no it's not. It's called being fucking human. That shit gets frustrating listening to someone call you insults all because you mayhaps like boys."

That's when something clicked in Travis. He did the exact same bullshit to Sal. Everyday all most. It wasn't fucking fair. "Sal I- I'm sorry for the shit I put you though." Sal shook his head.

"Baby please." He said. "I don't need an apology, because I understand I know why you did that and you've grown. Fuck dude you've grown so much."

Travis closed to small gap in-between them. His lips were rough and panicked, making Sal fall against his lower back. Sal returned it with just as much passion.

Travis sperated, and hovered over Sal. "Sal I don't think you understand how much I appreciate and love you." He inhaled through his nose. "Like honestly, you've made my life so much easier."

Sal smiled. "Trav I appreciate you just as much. You make me feel like I'm actually worth fucking living, which yea my friends do but with you it's so much different." He kissed Travis again. "Like sometimes you can just look at me and fuck it makes me feel so happy."

Travis wrapped his arms around Sal, knocking all the way down. "Sal. Promise you'll never leave me."

"I promise." He said without a second thought. Sal drapped his arms around Travis' neck. "I love you."

Travis kissed Sal's cheek. "I love you."

For a little while they just laid down like that. Tangled in each other's.

Sal struggled up, to which Travis groaned. "My love get up. I need to get ice on your eye."

Travis rolled her eyes. "Fine." He stood up and stretched.

"You wanna just go to my house?" Sal asked.

"Uh. Sure."

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Sal opened his door, hushing Travis. They quietly enter the home.

"Who the hell- Sal? Shouldn't you be at school?" A tall slender woman said. Which made Sal drop Travis' hand

Sal sighed. "I needed to handle something. Sorry Lisa. I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's okay Sal. But I don't think your dad is okay with you skipping school." Lisa said.

Sal pulled Travis in front of him by his arm. "I know, he just really needed ice for his eye."

The woman jumped toward him. "Oh my God. Are you okay?"

Travis swallowed hard. "He's okay. Some guy was being a dick, they got into a fight, Larry broke it up."

"Oh, you poor boy do you need anything?" She asked.

Travis smiled. "No thank you." He said, moving back behind Sal.

"I'm gonna go back to the room. just yell if you need me." Lisa said.

Sal smiled, moving toward the kitchen. "Thanks, I will."

Travis closely followed. Sal reached into the freezer and grabbed an ice pack. Sal jumped up on top of the counter. "Alright come here." Travis moved toward him, allowing Sal to put the ice on his eye.

"Hey Sal?" Travis asked. Sal tilted his head. "Why do you always sit on the counter?"

Sal laughed. "Because you're fucking tall, and it's just easier to meet you at eye level." Travis smiled. 

"Sal maybe you're just short." Travis joked.

Sal shook his head. "No I'm pretty fucking short but fuck you are tall." Travis does his eyes.

Sal smiled. "I'm glad." He lifted the ice pack. "The swelling is going down a little bit."

Travis wrapped his arms around Sal, resting his head on Sal's shoulder. "I love you."

Sal smiled and ran his hands through Travis' hair. "I love you."