Does God See the Way I Look at You? || A Salvis fanfiction

Chapter Five: Grocery Store

Sal didn't even register his mask was off, what he cared more about was that Larry was hurt. He took a step forward, freezing up a bit as blood dribbled heavily from Larry's nose.

"Dude are you okay?" Sal gasped, concern crossing his face.

"Yeah... I think so," Larry replied, moving his hand from his face.

Sals eyes widened as realized Larry was staring at the naked, mangled flesh of his face. They were both silent, both waiting for the other to say something. Sal opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. He suddenly felt tears forming.

"Wait- why are you crying Sal?" Larry asked, frowning.

"You didn't look away," Sal murmured, smiling through tears.

Larry smiled, and unsure what to do, began hugging Sal. Sal let out a shuddering sigh, relief washing over him. Larry had never seen his face before- even Sal's own father didn't look like looking at it. Having someone look at his mangled face with no spark of disgust, just a stunned interest, was all Sal had ever hoped for.

The two eventually stopped hugging, and Sal sat on the beanbag, holding his prosthetic in his hands.

"Nobody's ever really... seen my face before," Sal murmured.
"Not even your dad?" Larry asked.

"Well yeah, him... but he doesn't like it when I walk around the house without it. He doesn't like... seeing it," Sal murmured.

"That's bullshit. It's your damn house! I'm sorry man. You're free to stop wearing it here if you're comfortable with that," Larry offered.

"You mean it's not scary? Or gross?" Sal said, confused.

"Honestly its fucking gnarly dude, but in a cool way," Larry replied.

Sal laughed a bit. At least he was being honest.

"I've wanted Ash, Todd, and the others to see it too, so I don't have to wear my mask all the time. I'm just not sure how to go about it," Sal added.

"If it makes your life easier and happier, why not?" Larry replied.

"What if they... I don't know," Sal murmured.

Larry didn't reply for a while. He was tempted to reassure him they would never react in a bad way, but there was no guarantee.

"Maybe ask them?" Larry suggested.

"What do you mean?' Sal questioned.

"Ask them if they'd be okay with you taking it off around them," Larry explained.

"Hm.. maybe that could work, but when would be a good time?' Sal asked,

"How about we have a sleepover at my house this weekend? Celebrate the start of the school year or some shit, have everyone over," Larry suggested.

"That sounds fun. Yeah, let's do that!" Sal agreed.

Travis walked down the sidewalk, heading into town. He had a small wad of cash stuffed in his shorts- about 30$ or so. With his father gone so often, grocery shopping was mostly left up to him. Luckily it wasn't very far, only about five minutes down the road. Travis loved to cook. He had a culinary class in middle school, and not only did he learn, but grew a love for cooking.

The sun was setting, and the sky was painted orange. It was around six thirty in the afternoon. Travis's green shoes splashed lightly in the small puddles littering the town from the morning snowfall.

The blond haired boy jumped a bit as he heard a friendly meow from a house he was walking past. A big fluffy orange cat sat perked on the fence, staring at Travis with a friendly look. Travis could hear the cat purring, and he gently extended his hand. The old cat licked his finger, rubbing against his hand. Travis smiled, running his hand through the orange cat's thick fur, which was tinged with gray and white. He knew the owners went to church, and they'd been acquainted. Travis hoped petting the old cat would be alright with them.