||What Lies Under|| - Salvis

Chapter XVI

    Sal watches the sun rise, laying down on the couch with Travis half on him, finally out cold after multiple hours of giggling and sleepily talking to Sal. He takes out his phone from his hood, which he had to hide since Travis kept trying to take it to mess around. He goes to his and Phillips messages, absolutely exhausted yet knowing he will forget to text him if he rests now. He tries to start the conversation normally, rather than jumping into the conversation.

5:28 AM— Sal Fish: Hey man, Trav is very different in his behavior when high

    He doesn't get an answer right away, which is to be expected considering it is just sunrise. In the meantime, Sal writes down in his notes everything he had gotten from Travis, just in case he can talk to Larry later. Maybe it can be useful. A notification pops up on his phone, from Phillip, and he goes back to the conversation between them.

    5:34 AM— Philly: Oh yeah he does. I didn't know he was high today, I assume you've dealt with him? You're up really early.

    Sal smiles at the response. Like he can talk, he is up just as early as I.

    5:36 AM— Sal Fish: Yeah I practically babysat him. He kept us up for a while. I didn't know about how truthful he gets, though.

    No response comes for a while after, almost making Sal think Phillip had gone back to bed. He checks on Travis, brushing some of the blonde hair out of his face. His dark complexion almost completely hides his freckles, and his purple sweater lays lazily on him. He looks peaceful. His head is resting on one of Sal's arms, causing Sal to only be able to move his hand without waking him. Phillip finally answers him back, his response significantly shorter than the rest.

5:47 AM— Philly: how so??

    Sal moves his free arm away from Travis, phone in hand, explaining to Phillip everything that Travis had said to him the night before. They agree to have Phillip talk to Travis by themselves and after that they can move on, and Sal feels Travis shift by him. He puts his phone away, glancing at Travis and seeing him stir enough to move off of Sal before going back to sleep. It's almost 6, anyway. Sal gets up off the couch, stretching and rubbing his eyes through his prosthetic. God, he is tired. He grabs his bag off of the floor by the couch, remembering putting it down in an attempt to get Travis on the couch, who kept trying to lift up his prosthetic in the first place. It isn't like it was the first time he had seen under it, but even now it's still nerve wracking and who knows what would've come after. Travis wasn't thinking straight. He slings the bag around his shoulder, crouching to put on his shoes. He glances at Travis as he ties his shoes, a small smile hidden under his prosthetic. He stands, finding a nearby blanket and draping it over Travis's body, also fixing a pillow under Travis's head. He then leaves the house, letting Travis peacefully rest.

    Phillip packs up a bag, full of water bottles, flashlights, food, and other small trinkets he felt was needed. He finally got the time to talk to Travis about the fight between him and Larry, and Travis had offered to take him exploring in order to compensate for his wrongs. To Sal's request, he had not talked to Travis about him and Larry being friends in the past, and them splitting up due to family issues. He zips up his bag, hearing his chain along his belt loops go against his ripped jeans. He had decided to wear his favorite outfit for exploring. A black skin tight long sleeved shirt with a looser yellow shirt on top, with a face with two x's through the eyes and its mouth having its tongue hanging out. It was the symbol for Nirvana, one of his favorite bands. His black fingerless gloves match the skin tight shirt, and his gray ripped jeans prove to be perfect for running and sneaking around. His yellow converse is tied neatly and is drawn on with little stars and smiley faces, and marks from running across grass and mud is smudged around the edges. He grabs his phone, and checks the percentage. 87. That should be enough for today's trip. He texts Travis, letting him know he is ready for them to go exploring, opening his window. He was on the first floor, but his parents wanted him to stay home today, to take a break. That just won't do. He slips out of his window, his feet finding the wet grass, as it had just rained the night before. He stands up, closing the window behind him and running across his lawn. He has to be out of sight, and fast. He darts away from his neighborhood, feeling a buzz against his leg where his phone is stored in the fabric. He pulls out his phone, deeming himself far enough to slow down, and he sees the message from Travis giving him the okay to come over. A second message pops up as he goes to reply, and his eyebrows raised. Sal has decided to come along as well. Phillip answers back with a thumbs up, going back to running to the Phelps household to meet up with the others. Once he sees Phelps ministry come into view, he smiles, knowing that his destination is close. The Phelps household has always been almost eerily close to the ministry, a minute's walk over at most. The Volker family has been really close to the Phelps family, attending church every sunday and even sometimes for extra events like setting up for gatherings and formal party-like get togethers. Phillip shudders, remembering when he and Travis had gotten close enough for Travis to finally tell him about his father, how violent he really is. He shakes the memory out of his head, getting to the house and not bothering to knock on the door before opening it. He is welcome, after all.

Word count: 1047 words