Work Text:
“Are we there yet?” Todd groaned as he carried far too many bags for his comfort, including a large backpack.
Sal and the others were wandering through the woods up in the mountains, trying to find the campsite.
See, it was finally summer, and Larry had insisted they do something memorable and got them connected to nature.
Honestly, Sal couldn’t say he was excited. It sounded like a lot of work and just like a very uncomfortable experience. Todd had felt that way too.
But Ash had been for it, and they decided to flip a coin since they couldn’t agree on what to do.
Andddd Larry and Ash won.
So here they were, carrying a bunch of camping supplies through the woods under the scorching sun.
“Almost.” Larry chuckled, leading the way as he held up the map. “It should be right around…”
“HERE!”
To their surprise, a voice besides Larry’s rang out.
Looking up ahead, the group was surprised to see Travis, Philip and two more of their friends.
Travis made eye contact with Larry and sneered. “What the hell are you guys doing here!?”
“Uh, camping? What does it look like?” Larry questioned dryly. “This is our spot.”
“No way. We got here first.” Travis argued.
Philip shyly chimed in. “Actually we arrived at the same time…”
Sal walked up to get in between them, trying to keep the peace. “Guys, let’s just flip for it, okay?”
“Shut up, Sally Face.” Travis mocked, shoving him.
Larry shoved Travis away from him, scowling warningly. “Pick on someone your own size.”
“Guys, stop it!” Ash snapped, storming over.
“Why can’t we just share the area?” Todd asked dryly. “We’ll stay over here, you guys over there. It’s not a big deal.”
The others began to murmur in agreement as Larry and Travis opened their mouths to protest.
Finally, Larry grumbled. “Fine then. But you and your buddies better stay away from us.” Larry hissed before storming off back to the bags to start setting up.
“That’s my line, fags!” Travis barked and went do deal with his own stuff.
Todd gave a deadpanned stare. “Well this trip’s gonna be fun.”
Ash and Sal sighed heavily.
Maybe Sal was an idiot to think it would actually work out fine by sharing the space.
It’s like Travis was waiting to antagonize him.
The first problem arose when Sal was trying to set up one of the tents. He’d been just about done when the whole thing suddenly collapsed.
He looked over to see a smirking Todd holding one of the stakes and a hammer. “Oops, was this yours?” He asked innocently.
“Seriously?” Sal huffed. “Don’t you have anything better to do? Like setting up your own tent?”
“I am setting up my tent, but I was short a stake.” Travis told him simply, walking away with the item.
Before Sal could protest, Todd set a hand on his shoulder. “Relax, I packed a bag of extras just in case.”
Sal smiled at him in thanks behind his prosthetic before frowning over in Travis’ direction.
The second problem came when Sal was trying to gather wood for the fire.
Travis oh so conveniently decided he’d gather firewood at the same time, and every piece Sal went to pick up? Travis took it first.
“Dude, we need some wood for a fire.” Sal snapped when Travis grabbed yet another piece from him. “Don’t you have enough already?”
“You pickin’ a fight, Sally Face?” Travis sneered, looking ready to smack Sal over the head with the branch.
Honestly, Sal just didn’t have the energy for it. This was supposed to be their vacation.
“Fine, just get your pieces and go.” Sal conceded with annoyance, going to lean against a tree.
Travis watched him with narrowed eyes for a moment, obviously irritated Sal was no longer playing along, and walked off back to the campsite.
Apparently deciding to try and ignore Travis’ antics was the wrong move, because it only made things worse.
It was everything. If he even so much as walked by Sal he made sure to tug at his pigtails, to the point where Sal finally just took his hair out of its ties so he’d stop. Or if Sal was talking to Todd or Larry, he’d obnoxiously yell that Sal was a fag. Or if Sal tried to grab something from one of the bags, Travis was there and kicking the bag over.
He just wouldn’t stop, even when his own friends were telling him to stop causing problems.
It wasn’t until he kicked over the buckets of water Ash had collected earlier that Sal finally slapped.
“AUGH! LOOK WHAT YOU DID!” Sal exclaimed furiously as Ash looked at the water buckets with devastation. “IT TOOK ASH FOREVER TO CARRY THE WATER BACK AND FORTH AND YOU JUST RUINED ALL OF IT!” He shouted at Travis.
Travis scoffed. “Pipe down, fag. It’s just some water-“
“No, it’s not just water, it’s every damn thing you do.” Sal hissed. “You’ve more than ruined this trip for us already, and for your own friends too. How about your stop annoying everyone with your presence and go home?” Travis’ eyes widened.
Everyone watched as Sal grabbed the empty buckets and stormed off in the direction of the stream, intending to go grab more water.
“Well, Sal finally snapped.” Todd noted.
Larry scoffed. “It’s about time. He’s too nice for his own good. Should’ve torn into Travis a lot earlier.”
“Or get him expelled.” Ash muttered.
Travis heard their words and couldn’t help the gnaw in his chest that he was fairly certain was guilt.
Shit, maybe he really did go too far.
Philip hesitantly approached, setting a hand on his shoulder. “Why don’t you go help him with the water?”
“No way! I’m not helping Sally Face!” Travis sneered.
Philip’s expression turned stern. “You did mess up, you know. They’ll need that water to put out the fire tonight. Come on, Trav, this was supposed to be a fun trip to get away from everything for a while.” He pleaded.
Travis knew he was right, and he did feel bad…
“Ugh, fine, just don’t cry about it.” Travis snapped, storming off in the direction Sal went.
He found Sal working to fill the second bucket out of four. Sal noticed him approach and scoffed. “Travis whatever you’re planning, just stop. Or I really will sick Larry on you.”
“I could take him.” Travis retorted, even if he did feel a tad more nervous at the idea of taking Larry on in a fight. “Move over and hand me a bucket.”
“You can’t take our buckets!” Sal snapped.
Travis rolled his eyes, grabbing one of the buckets himself. “What are you, stupid? I’m helping you fill them.”
It was hard to tell what Sal was thinking because of the prosthetic, but he sure was staring a lot. “You feel bad.” It wasn’t a question.
“Philip practically begged me to come help.” Travis snapped. “That’s all.”
A tense silence fell over the two.
Then Sal spoke bitterly. “At least before, you had the guts to take your shots at me. But I won’t stand for you messing with my friends.”
It explained his outburst. Sal never cared much when Travis practically tormented him, but the first time he did something that messed with one of Sal’s friends, he lost it.
The idea made Travis burst out into laughter. “Seriously?”
“What?” Sal hissed.
“I beat the snot out of you all the time and I’ve been giving you grief all day, and all you care about is that I made your little girlfriend feel bad?”
“She’s not my girlfriend.” Sal snapped. “But yes. I don’t take kindly to people fucking with my friends.”
Travis smirked, shaking his head. “Incredible. Just incredible.”
“You really can’t go two minutes without making fun of me, can you?” Sal asked dryly.
“What can I say, you bring it out in me.” Travis mocked.
Sal bristled and clicked his tongue. After a few moments, he spoke softly. “Travis, why do you hate me so much?”
“Why wouldn’t I hate an ugly, fucked up fag like you?”
“You don’t even know me.”
“I know you’re a freak.”
Sal’s movements paused, and finally he just sighed. “I don’t know why I even try, you’re never going to be real with me. You’re just gonna keep spewing bullshit answers.”
Travis’ jaw set. “Don’t push me, Sally Face.”
“I’m not pushing you, I just want you to stop being a prick and actually talk to me!” Sal snapped. “Maybe then I’d actually understand what the hell it is I did to make you bother me everyday at school!”
“AUGH, YOU JUST DON’T GET IT, YOU DRIVE ME CRAZY!” Travis exclaimed furiously before he could help himself.
Sal sputtered. “HOW!? THE ONLY TIME I’VE EVER EVEN SPOKEN TO YOU IS AFTER YOU’VE ANTAGONIZED ME!”
“MAYBE THAT’S THE PROBLEM!” Travis shouted, throwing the bucket to the side.
Sal stared at him. Even with his prosthetic on, Travis could imagine his lost expression. “What?”
“Just forget it.” Travis grumbled, standing up straight. “You’re so…infuriating. You just go about your day being annoying and…and faggy, with your stupid fake face and your dumb ripped jeans and you’re pretty hair and your-“
Sal did a double take. “Wait- What did you just say?”
Travis froze, thinking over what he’d just spewed out. “Uh. Nothing, moron.”
“Did you just say pretty hair?”
“NO! I WOULDN’T SAY THAT. THAT’S WEIRD. GOD, DO YOU HAVE TO MAKE EVERYTHING WEIRD AND GAY SOUNDING, YOU DAMN HOMO!?” Travis’ felt his face heat up with humiliation as he began to walk away.
But of course Sal had to abandon the water buckets and follow him. “Dude…you’re kind of sending me mixed messages here.”
“I’m not sending you any messages.”
“Uh, you kind of are. You’re constantly bothering me-“
“Shut the fuck up!”
Sal was undeterred. “But then you say part of the problem is what? I don’t pay attention to you? And then you called my hair pretty.”
“GOD, WOULD YOU JUST DROP IT!? STOP READING INTO EVERY LITTLE THING!” Travis’ face grew hotter and hotter as he turned to glare at Sal, hands balled into fists at his sides.
Sal stared at him dumbly. “Travis…do you like-“
Before he could finish his sentence, Travis was tackling him down out of panic, too scared to let him finish.
Unfortunately, he failed to notice the cliff they were right next to, and before either of them knew it, they were tumbling down painfully.
When they reached the bottom, they were covered in dirt and grime and groaning in pain.
Travis sat up, rubbing his back. “Oh great, now look what you did!”
“Me? You’re the one who tackled me!” Sal protested as he sat up.
Travis turned to face him properly. “Only because you were being such a- AHHH!” He jumped in alarm.
Sal’s eye widened, and he suddenly gasped as he realized: His prosthetic was lying on the ground, having come undone from the tumble.
And now Travis could see just how fucked up his face was. A hole by his mouth allowing his teeth to show even with his mouth closed, scarring going across his entire face, especially over one of his eyes which was now replaced with a glass one.
It was not a pretty sight.
But it made Travis speechless. Not because it was ugly or because he was horrified; but because he’d never seen Sal’s face before.
He’d never seen the alarmed expression Sal could wear. He’d never seen Sal’s emotions before.
When he was behind the prosthetic, it was easy for Travis to not treat him like a person. To talk down to him and make fun of him, because if it hurt Sal, he couldn’t tell.
But now he could tell. Sal looked horrified, if not ashamed.
And it was his fault.
“We…We need to get back to the campsite-“ Sal snatched up his prosthetic and rushed to stand up.
“Sal-“ Travis started, only to be cut off by Sal letting out a yelp of pain.
He fell back to the floor, wincing in pain as he clutched his ankle with his ankle. “Ow, ow, ow…”
Travis’ eyes widened. “Shit! Don’t move, you idiot!” He quickly approached and knelt down, grabbing Sal’s foot to look over the ankle.
Sal stared at him in utter disbelief; too shocked to protest or move, or even put his prosthetic back on.
“It’s probably just sprained; it doesn’t seem broken.” Travis muttered, mostly to himself.
“I- That’s good.” Sal said dumbly.
Travis clicked his tongue, looking back up at the cliff. There was no way in hell they could climb back up it. “We’re gonna have to find another way back. Preferably before night.”
“Right.” Sal carefully tried to get up, making Travis stare at him like he was an idiot.
“What are you doing? You can’t walk on it! Are you trying to get an ankle that will match your face?” He snapped.
But he instantly felt bad when Sal flinched. A lot less confident without his prosthetic, it would seem.
“Ugh just…” Travis ran a hand through his hair before kneeling down. “Get on.”
“What?” Sal did a double take.
Travis turned his head to glare back at him. “Are you deaf? I said get on. We can’t stay here all day.”
“Why don’t you just leave me here then?” Sal retorted stubbornly.
“Because your friends will have my head if I return without you. Would you just get on already? We’re burning daylight.”
Though reluctant, Sal knew they didn’t have many other options, and after quickly clasping his prosthetic back on, he reached out and set his hands on Travis’ shoulders, allowing Travis to lift him up by his legs.
And like that, he was getting a piggyback ride from Travis Phelps.
The next ten minutes were…quiet. And tense. Neither really knew what to say, and without a map they were stuck wandering.
Finally, Travis found himself speaking quietly. “Hey…Sal? You’re um…you’re not gonna tell anyone about…about what I said, are you?”
Sal didn’t need to ask what he was referring to. His mind had been playing the words on repeat for the last ten minutes anyways.
After a moment of contemplation, Sal sighed. “Well…how about this. I let you off the hook and you treat me like a person and just hang out with me for real instead of getting on my nerves.”
Travis’ eyes widened. He paused his steps to turn his head to look at Sal in genuine awe.
Once again, he had no clue what Sal was thinking or feeling with his prosthetic on, but he felt Sal’s grip tighten on his shoulders.
“Who knows, if it goes well you might even get a date,” He didn’t need to see Sal’s face to know he was smirking. “If you can handle it, that is.”
Travis’ cheeks grew warm as he sputtered. “Shut the fuck up, Sally Face.” He kept walking, ignoring Sal’s cackles.
And if a smile started to form on Travis’ lips, well, Sal didn’t need to know that.
“WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU TWO BEEN!?” Ash shouted furiously as she grabbed Travis by the front of his shirt, scowling dangerously.
Travis yelped, nearly dropping Sal. “We fell down a damn cliff and had to find another way back!”
“What happened to you, Sal?” Todd frowned.
Sal sighed heavily. “I sprained my ankle.”
“Shit man, come here, let me see.” Larry insisted concernedly, taking Sal off of Travis and setting him down on the ground to take off his shoe.
“I’m fine, I’m fine.” Sal insisted. “Travis carried me back so I didn’t walk on it.”
Ash looked stunned. “He…did?” Everyone looked at him skeptically.
Travis swore his face was on fire. “Yeah well, I wasn’t going to listen to you guys bitch about me leaving him behind! Now if you don’t mind I have a camping trip to get back to with my friends.” He turned to leave.
“Hey Travis,” Sal called, making him pause. “You know, if you want, you and your friends can join us in our trip.” He ignored his friends’ protests.
Travis’ heart thumped in his chest. “Um…thanks. But they really wanted it to just be us, and I’m sure your friends feel the same way…” He shyly added. “M-Maybe we could hang out some other time. Or something. Whatever.”
“Yeah, whatever.” Sal mocked teasingly. Todd side-eyed him suspiciously.
“Okay well…” Travis went to leave again.
“Travis?” Sal gestured for him to come closer with his hand.
Travis approached hesitantly. “…Yeah?”
Sal reached out and grabbed his wrist, smacking something into his palm. “Call me.” He stated teasingly.
Looking down into his palm, Travis found a paper with a phone number on it.
Sal’s phone number.
Quickly, Larry glanced at it and choked out a gasp. “Holy shit you gave him your real number.” Ash elbowed him in the gut.
“If- If I feel like it!” Travis insisted in embarrassment, taking off before his heart thumped out of his chest.
“Dude, what happened?” Larry couldn’t help asking.
Sal smiled behind his mask. “An understanding.”
Philip looked at Travis awkwardly. “Uh…Travis? Are…Are you okay?”
Travis was lying on the ground, looking up into the sun with wide eyes, stunned. The paper rested in his palm.
“Philip, I am so gay.”