misunderstood. [sallyface x reader]

v. perfect

after an hour of waiting for a response, i give up and grab my bass. i connect it to the amp and begin playing. as i'm playing, i stop thinking about sal. everything from a few hours ago, i try to forget. i just need to focus on myself.
suddenly, my phone buzzes.

bzz!
i'm fine.

i pick up my phone and read the text. i think about what to say before replying back.

y/n: i just didn't know if i did or said anything wrong earlier.

...

bzz!
no, it's okay.
bzz!
wanna come over and play some music? larry's not here.

i smile at the text,

y/n: yeah! I'll be over in a bit.

i quickly grab my bass and put it in the bag. i put it on like a backpack and then i grab my amp. "where are you going?" ash asks. i turn around, "oh, sal invited me to play some music!"
"ohh sick," she responds, "i might not be home when you're back. a couple of girls invited me to a dinner party thing." i nod, "nice, have fun!"
i walk out the door and make my way to sal's dorm.

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i hear sal playing his guitar as i walk down the boy's dormitory. the door is slightly cracked open and so i walk in. "hello?" i call out. the guitar stops, "oh, hey."
i set my amp down and begin setting up. "i'm sorry for, uh, shutting you out earlier. i didn't mean to," he sighs, "it's just... personal stuff."
i look at him and smile, "sal. it's alright! i promise."
"yeah, thanks."

he starts playing his guitar again as i set up my bass. eventually, it's ready to play. "sooo, what song do you wanna do?" i ask, playing around. he shrugs, "i'll just make a tune and you can join along." i nod as he messes around.
he finally makes a tune and i add the bass in. it's going well together, i actually start to get into it.

i notice sal bopping his head along. i do the same and before i know it, we're jamming around the dorm. we never made this tune before but it matches perfectly. kinda like sal and i.
the music gets louder as we get more into the tune. i sway my hair back and forth and he sways his. "this is great!" sal yells out.

"yeah!" i respond back. we continue swaying our heads around until i notice something flying across the room. i see that it's his mask and without processing it, i stop playing. "oh! i'll grab it for you," i say.
"NO."
i turn around and see a glimpse of sal's face.
his real face.

it was only for a moment but i got to see. scars lay across his face with his lips and nose cut. his eyes are widen as he stares at me.
he quickly covers his face and runs to the mask. he's crouches down by it, breathing rapidly.

"sal-"
"just leave me alone and don't look!" sal cries out. i look down as he struggles putting on his mask. i feel my heart hurt for him. "but why-?"
"WHY ARE YOU NOT AFRAID OF ME?"

right then and there, sal collapses on the ground, sobbing. he's holding his mask as he looks away. i stand there for a moment before walking over.
i then go over to him and wrap my arms around him. he flinches as i rest my head on his shoulder, "oh sal," i whisper, "how could i ever be afraid? you're perfect."

we stay there for a moment until he turns towards me. he looks at me with his eyes, puffy from crying. i smile as he hugs me. he hugs me for a while, "thank you, y/n."
we break the hug and he grabs his mask. he puts it on quickly and takes a deep breath.

"we only just met but you mean so much to me, sal," i say. he looks at me, "you mean a lot to me too," he responds, "thank you. seriously. and maybe, uh, don't tell anyone about this." i sarcastically pretend to seal my lips, "of course, sal."
"wanna, maybe, find a movie to watch?" he asks. "yeah, actually, that'd be great!" i say, happily.
he may have his mask on but i know he's smiling.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

i get the popcorn out of the microwave and sit next to sal on his bed. he puts a movie on the tv while i open the bag. "larry and i used to watch this movie together all the time when we were younger," sal explains, "i didn't like it at first but it grew on me."

i love hearing sal talk about his life. "that's awesome," i respond, "y'all have a great friendship."
he nods, "he's the best."

we continue watching the movie as we are next to each other. as much as i want to hold his hand, i choose not to. suddenly, i feel his hand hold mine. as if we were thinking the same thing. we don't say anything and focus on the movie. i try to hide my smile and manage to secretly text ash with my other hand.

y/n: ASH!!!!!! OH MY GOSH OMG HSOFKASHJ

...

bzz!

ash: OMG WHAT?

...

y/n: WE'RE HOLDING HANDS HAASSHSAJ

ash: OH MY GOD???
ash: YALL ARE IN LOVEEEE
ash: omg. AHHHHH IM FREAKING OUT WITH YOU GIRL

i put my phone down, trying not to blush. we're still holding hands as larry walks in. "woah," larry says. sal and i let go of each others hands. he's looking down at his, "hey lar."
"yoooo i love this movie!" larry shouts. "heh, i know. i was telling y/n about how we would always watch it." he does handshake with larry. "kinda rude you didn't wait for me ," larry sarcastically says.

i get up, "well you can watch the rest with him, i'm probably gonna go to bed." sal follows, "oh, let me walk you to your dorm then?" i smile, "you don't have to!"
"oh he insists," larry butts in. sal hits him and larry laughs. "sure," i say.

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sal and i walk back to my dorm in silence. i think about all that happened today. him being weird about my aunt's death... holding hand... his... face. it all happened so fast and it's almost hard to process.
"i hope i didn't make anything weird between us," sal speaks. i look over at him, "no... why would you think that?" he shrugs, "i... don't know."
we continue walking.

we make it to my dorm and i grin, "thanks for walking me back." he nods, "of course!"
we stand there for a while. he's looking at me as i look back. after a few seconds of that, i take a breath, "okay. well, i'll see you tomorrow!"
"oh, yeah, see ya," he waves at me, walking back to his dorm.
"bye," i softly say.

the first thing i do is lay on my bed, staring at my ceiling. what a day.
ash isn't home yet and it's already late so instead of waiting, i choose to get ready for bed.

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i'm not trying to rush things so the next chapter will be a time skip!!