Denial (Salvis)

A Warm Welcome {17}

"Are you coming or what?" Larry's greasy, dark hair was draped over his shoulders, the inky circles under his eyes made him look even more menacing. 

"I-uh, I don't really know." Travis couldn't hide the fear in his voice. Ever since Larry almost choaked Travis into unconsciousness, his unease around the metalhead was severely increased. Even with his poor posture, Larry still loomed over almost everyone at school, including most teachers. 

"Get up, Sal won't be happy with me if I leave you here." Travis didn't move, his limbs didn't obey what his mind was saying. Agitated, Larry grabbed the smaller boy by his bicep and yanked him from the bench, practically dragging across the cafeteria to the full table. He dropped Travis to the ground with a loud "thud". Travis groaned in pain, he'd landed on a sore spot from an encounter with Kenneth.  

"Lar, don't hurt him. I'm so sorry about that, are you alright?" Sal bent down to help, lending Travis his hand, which was ignored. Travis winced and forced himself to his feet, still clutching his ribs. 

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." All eyes were on him, Larry's smug grin reawakened a familiar anger in his gut. He spun to hurl an insult, but Sal, once again, spoke before the words could escape.

"I'm glad you decided to join us!"

"I didn't have much of a choice." He shot a glare at Larry, who'd already sat down at the table next to Sal.  

"Oh, well, yeah I guess you didn't. Either way, you're already here, so sit down!" Travis looked at the only available seat, across from Ashley and right beside Todd, the kid he'd mercilessly bullied for years. He reluctantly sat down after the red-head patted the bench next to him, gesturing for Travis to sit.

"So, Travis. What are you planning to do post-graduation?" .

"Uh, I haven't really thought about it yet." Todd's question caught him off guard, he didn't expect anyone to engage with him, other than maybe Sal.

"I always assumed you were going to do stuff for the Church." Ashley chimed in.

"I probably will, it's what my Father wants me to do." He ignored the knowing look that Larry and Sal shared. 

"You don't have to do whatever your dad wants for you, it's not the right way to live." 

"Well, I don't really have good enough grades to go to collage or anything, and I'm not the one who decides that stuff."

"If you wish to improve your academics, perhaps I could be of service?" Todd's nasally voice interjected. 

"Guys, you're not hearing him. If he wants to be miserable for the rest of his life, let him be that way! It's not our problem he doesn't try."

"Larry, stop!" Sal raised his voice, the cafeteria quieted. He'd never heard Sal yell before, and he definitely didn't like it. 

"It's not that I don't care, or I don't try," Travis began quietly, after the long silence, "No matter what I do, it's never good enough. That's not just for my grades either, it's also- I owe you all an apology. I've treated you like shit for no good reason, and I'm sorry. I don't know if I was scared, or jealous, I really couldn't tell you. Todd, you've never done anything to hurt me, I don't know what made me torture you like that. Larry, I've always instigated fights with you, and I don't think I'm fully to blame, but still, sorry. Sal, I think you already know what I'm going to say. You're one of the kindest people I've ever met, I'm sorry for making your life a living hell." The only people at the table who didn't look awestruck were Sal and Todd, Sal was beaming with pride.

"Thanks, Travis. Why are you doing this now, though?" Ash made eye contact with him for the first time that day. 

"I've always known it was wrong, but I never really had a reason to talk to you all before this. I felt especially guilty after I- after I attacked Sal around two weeks ago. I'm not sure, it just kinda put things into perspective."

"I appreciate your apology, Travis. It takes a lot of courage to admit when you've done something wrong." Todd nodded, everyone turned to Larry, awaiting his response.

"I don't know what you all want me to say. You've never targeted me directly, but just saying sorry doesn't get rid of the fucked up shit you've done. If you really want me to believe that you, you need to prove it." Larry folded his arms over his chest defiantly.

"How?"

"That's something you'll have to figure out."

"Actually," Todd pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, "There may be something you'd be able to help us with. We cannot speak of it here, would you ever be able to come to the Addison apartments? You would be a vital part of our investigation."

"Woah, woah, woah, Todd, you can't be serious. You think we can trust him?" Larry was almost outraged at the idea of Travis joining them on a mission, which gave Travis a sense of pride.

"He's out only option, he's the only person who can easily get in and out of the Ministry."

"What? Is there something going on with the Ministry?" Travis's glee quickly dissipated, replaced by the constant twinge in his stomach.

"He's not ready for that yet, he completely freaked out when he met Megan, imagine what'll happen-" 

Larry interrupted Sal, "You showed him Megan? Why didn't you tell me? I would've loved to see that little preacher shit his pants!"

"Please, let's just talk about this later, we don't want to scare Trav away so soon." Sal placed a hand on Larry's shoulder, successfully silencing him.

"Trav?" Ash repeated, covering her mouth as she giggled, Travis shrunk away in embarrassment. 

        The rest of the lunch period was mostly Larry and Ashley bickering like children over menial topics. Travis hoisted his bag over his shoulder and exited the school, ready to enjoy his walk home in complete silence, other than the song birds in the nearby trees. 

"Hey, Trav, wait up!" Travis fought a smile off of his mouth as he turned around to face Sal.

"Sorry about Larry at lunch, I'll try to get him to chill."

"It's fine, Sal. I don't expect any of them to accept my apology or like me, but what was that? About the ministry."

Sal swallowed, obviously uneasy, "It's difficult to explain, but I don't want you to worry about that right now. Do you think you'll take Todd up on his offer to help you with school stuff?"

"Uh, maybe? I'm not sure yet, I'd like to, but Father doesn't like if I'm out too much."

"I think you should do it, just as long as I get to teach you math still."

Travis laughed, "I'm sure we could work something out."

Sal paused for a moment, "I really do like hanging out with you, Trav. Are you busy tomorrow? I want to show you someplace cool, you'll love it."

"I can check once I get home, but I can probably figure out a way to go."

"Perfect! Oh, and, Trav?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't avoid me again, man. That really hurt, I know you don't intend to be mean, but I care about you a lot more than you think." Sal's eyes were full of compassion, Travis desperately forced the blush from his face.

"It won't happen again, Sal."

"Great! I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

"See you tomorrow."

Everything Travis had been yearning for over the past two years was finally falling into place, but he was still unaware of it.

Word count: 1894