[PAUSED]Through the Screen | Sal Fisher x Reader | Sally Face

Chapter 5: Group Bonding

You were carried back to the apartment by Sal as Larry and Paxton chased after and everyone paused to catch their breath as Sal set you down. "Jesus! You're fast, even with someone on you!" Larry said in-between huffs as he caught his breath, watching you and Sal with a chuckle. "Well, y/n isn't that heavy! You could probably carry them," Sal said with a snicker as he leaned on you, his breathing heavy. "I don't remember how much I weigh," you said with a shrug before opening the front door to the apartment building, "let's just get inside. You wanna come down and spend time with us in the basement, or do you wanna go back to mom and dad?" You asked Paxton, "I'm gonna go back to our apartment, but I'll let them know where you are." He said as he walked to the elevator and went up, leaving you, Sal, and Larry to wait on the first floor. "Pax is a neat lil' dude," Larry said with a hum, Sal nodding in agreement, "He has a good choice for games, too. Maybe I'll let him borrow some of my Gear Boy games." He said and then pushed the button to the elevator, and when the doors opened the three of you stepped inside. "Yeah, he's cool." You said with a smile...you were stuck as the youngest sibling in the "Real World", and it was the worst. So, being the eldest sibling was a dream come true.

    "I just realized—I never said thanks when you complimented my outfit earlier, Sal. Thank you." You snickered a bit, "Oh, yeah! No problem, y/n!" Sal said and stepped out of the elevator when it opened on the basement floor. You and Larry followed after, before walking into the apartment and heading to Larry's room...glancing into the kitchen again, you decided to bring up the topic of ghosts once in Larry's room.

"Hey, random question—do you guys believe in ghosts?" You asked, waiting for Sal's eye to light up in excitement. "Do I?!" Sal whipped around and stared at you for a second, "Hell yeah!" he said as Larry shrugged... "Not exactly...? It's hard to explain," Larry said and sat down on his bed. "What made you ask?" He then questioned, "Oh...uh, just randomly thought of it." You said with a nervous chuckle. "Well...since you brought it up, I do think this place is haunted," Sal said and stood with you. "I've seen some stuff...maybe we can talk about it sometime." He said happily, before he went and stood beside Larry's music player and you followed. "Is that why you were on the 5th floor when I met you?" You asked and Sal sorta froze for a second, "Y-Yeah...how did you guess?" He asked and tilted his head to the side a bit, the sight reminding you of a curious puppy or kitten. "Just a lucky one, I suppose." You answered and proceeded to sit criss-cross on the floor. Sal was now a little skeptical, but brushed it off. "Thanks for the snacks, by the way," Sal said and sat down as well, nibbling on a packet of gummy worms. You took a sip of your monster with a smile. "No problem! I didn't even realize I had $100 on me until I reached in my pocket." You said and set the can aside, before sighing contently. "What if we had a sleepover some night? Maybe binge some horror movies or something?" You suggested and looked from Sal to Larry. "That would be cool!" Sal said with a chuckle, "Last time Larry and I watched a horror movie he screamed like a girl," Sal teased and Larry groaned in embarrassment as he was reminded. "SAL, DUDE—" He gave Sal a glare, "They don't need to know!" He grumbled and crossed his arms, looking away. You managed to stifle your laughter, just imagining that scenario.

    "So...would you be down for something like that? You didn't answer," You said to Larry who looked over, "I guess, just—don't make fun of me if I scream like a girl." He said with a huff. You nodded, promising you wouldn't...not in front of him at least.

As the day progressed, Larry got you a blank canvas and let you paint; and you ended up painting a scene of a bunny in a graveyard. (This being the painting - it's a picture I took while in Boston once!)

Both Sal and Larry loved it, and both were astonished by it. Sal also ran up to his apartment and grabbed his guitar, bringing it back down so he could teach you how to play.

    "Alright, I'm back!" Sal announced as he walked back into the room, his guitar over his back. He sat down on Larry's bed and patted the spot in front of him, "Come sit and I'll teach you the basics, y/n." He said and you got up off the floor, going over and sitting where he patted—you couldn't help but blush a bit as you felt his chest against your back and his arms were soon around you as he was helping you hold the guitar and keeping your fingers in the proper placement. Larry watched and snickered a bit, thinking to himself: 'I ship it–'.

    After learning how to hold the guitar, Sal began to guide you on the cords. You listened carefully—your heart racing in your chest. His hands were on yours, as he led your hands along the instrument—helping you play the game's title theme from the "Real World", Memories and Dreams.

You were a quick learner, so after a few guided attempts, you began to play the tune on your own. Both Sal and Larry were impressed, but you were surprised, since it was a lot easier than you thought it would be. Sure you screwed up a few times, but Sal was very helpful in telling you how to correct those mistakes.

    Eventually at around 5:00 pm, you decided to head back up to your apartment since your Mom texted, letting you know that dinner was gonna be done soon. However—you decided to ask if Larry and Sal could join in, and your Mom happily agreed. The three of you went up to apartment 404, and had a bountiful dinner that consisted of steak, mashed potatoes, and carrots with a salad.

    After eating, Sal and Larry decided to head back to their own places, so you said goodbye to Larry, before walking with Sal to his apartment. "So...next chance we get, do you wanna go back up to the 5th floor and show me who you were talking to up there?" You asked and he thought for a moment... "Sure! Uh...she can be kind of shy, but I think she might like you." He said before you reached his apartment. "Welp...have a good night, y/n!" Sal said, "You too, Sal! I'll see you tomorrow." You replied and watched him disappear inside the apartment, before going back to your own. When home, you went to your room and shut the door, before slumping against in a private panic.

'I can't believe I practically sat in his lap!! AND he's fucking strong—" You thought to yourself as you covered your face with a groan—your face a bright pink as you recounted the events from the day. With Sal heavy on your mind, you got ready for bed rather early and hung out, doodling in a random notebook little drawings of Sal. After a while as time dragged on, you shut the book and set the pencil aside, letting out a long sigh before deciding to lie down and try to get some sleep.
You made sure your blue lava lamp was on again, before climbing under the sheets and cuddling your plush tightly—still thinking about Sal as you closed your eyes and drifted off to sleep once again.

1347 Words ~ 12/16/23