Your mother was cozily sat upon the living room couch, silently reading the newspaper to herself before she was interrupted by the sound of knocking on the front door. She glanced over at the clock up on the wall, 9:45AM. Not too early but still unusual, considering she wasn't expecting anyone and didn't think any teenagers would willingly be up so early. Setting down the paper, she hurriedly walked over towards the door, glancing through the peephole and smiling when she saw who it was, wasting no time in opening the door, "Sal! How nice to see you, dear. You're up early considering how late you kids were out last night.", she remarked with a chuckle.
Standing in the hall, Sal also chuckled before letting out a small yawn, he had clearly just woken up. It was easy to tell by his messy loose hair and the droopy eyes within the eye holes of his mask, "Yeah, heh. Sorry if it's a bit early for me to come around but, I was just wondering if Y/N was awake yet...? She mentioned last night about going to the arts and crafts store today and I wanted to see if I could go with her.", he explained. "Oh honey.", your mother gave him a sympathetic frown, "I'm sure she would've loved that, but unfortunately Y/N woke up with a nasty cold earlier this morning. She took some cold medicine and completely knocked out, I doubt she'll be awake anytime soon. Silly girl went out last night without a jacket, even though I warned her it'd be cold.", she said while shaking her head.
Sal frowned underneath his mask, concern for you instantly growing within him, "Oh, geez, really? She's sick? Man, that sucks. We tried to tell her last night that she could borrow mine or Larry's jacket, but she can be so...so-", finishing his sentence, your mother chimed in, "Stubborn? Because she definitely is, always wanting to be tough and not ask for help.", she said with a laugh, making Sal laugh too. "Yeah, she can definitely be pretty stubborn sometimes. Anyways, I guess I'll head back home, don't want to interrupt her sleep. Could you please tell Y/N I hope she feels better soon, and to maybe use the walkie talkie we gave her last night to keep us updated?", he asked.
Your mother couldn't help but smile at how polite your masked friend was, she could tell he genuinely cared for you, "Of course dear, I'll be sure to tell her. Have a nice day, Sal.", she said to him, Sallyface returning the sentiment as well before the door was closed and he returned to his apartment. Feeling deflated, Sal trudged back to his room and flopped back into bed, scaring Gizmo who was in the middle of a cozy cat nap.
He removed his prosthetic and began to take slow, steady breaths, eyes shut in an attempt to relax and hopefully drift back off to sleep. "Tired...my eyes feel strained...just fall...back alseep....", his dull sleepy thoughts however were quickly shoved aside, being replaced with your name instead, "Y/N...Y/N.....", flashes of what had happened the previous night began to play through his mind as if it were a steamy scene from one of the many horror movies he's seen, the trope of two teenagers making out with each other before the killer slashes them to death.
He remembered how terrible it felt to argue with you for the first time, how nerve wracking it was to hear you say you'd kiss him, and how absolutely heavenly it felt to have his lips against yours within the cozy, dark confines of the treehouse.
Letting out a long, content sigh, Sallyface couldn't help but reminisce upon how beautiful you looked last night. Your soft yet intense makeup that made you resemble some sort of goddess of the night, your perfectly styled [H/C] hair that framed your adorable face perfectly, the black velvet dress that complimented your figure so wonderfully, you just always looked so angelic to him.
"Her dress...was the fabric velvet? I couldn't really tell in the moment, but by the way it felt-", suddenly, he felt his face and ears instantly become incredibly hot as he thought about the fabric of your dress, the fabric of the dress his fingers were gripping onto so tightly yesterday. His grip that had caused you to let out...that noise. Shooting up out of bed, he frustratedly began to tug at the messy blue strands of hair upon his head, ashamed of just how excited he got every time he remembered that sound that had escaped your lips the night before.
"For fucks sake, stop being a horny teenage boy, Sallyface! Jesus. You share your first kiss and make out with the girl of your dreams once, and suddenly you can't even think about her without wanting to pass out.", he paused, looking over at his cat who was looking back at him with a comically wide eyed expression, making Sal laugh to himself before once again letting himself fall back into bed, "Alright, maybe that is a valid reason to pass out.", he said with a smile.
Staring up at the ceiling, he began to wonder what last night would mean for the two of you, "W-was it a one time thing? Did she do it just to prove me wrong? N-no, that can't be it. I mean, the way we were...the way we just couldn't seem to stop, there was obviously something there, right? Then again, I've never done anything like that before so I might just be reading into it too much. But, that was Y/N's first time too...and we both have the same opinion, that in order to kiss someone, you actually have to feel something for them...does that mean...she feels something for me too?", he rubbed his temples, clearly confused on how to approach the situation, "I need to talk to her about it. We can't just act like nothing happened...b-but what if nothing did happen? Was it just the heat of the moment? Man, this is a lot harder than I thought. I'm gonna need to get some help with this...", continuing to think to himself, he glanced over at the walkie talkie upon his nightstand.
Knowing what he had to do, he reached over and picked it up, pressing down upon the button, "Larry? You up?", he asked. Despite it taking a few seconds, he received a grumbly grainy response, "Barely, what's up dude? Did you need something?", Larry groggily asked. Sal didn't hesitate, "You know Ashley's landline number, right? I'm gonna need you to give it to me, I need her help with something.".
* * *
Achoo! "Ugh, geez, not another-", Achoo, achoo!, "God damn it.", you mumbled to yourself, rolling over onto your side to reach for the box of tissues upon your night stand, blowing your nose in an attempt to relieve yourself of the annoying sneezing fit. Sitting up, you tossed the used tissues into the little metallic waste bin that was on the floor next to your bed, placed there just in case you felt like blowing chunks.
You took a deep breath, blinking slowly as your vision adjusted to the lighting of your room and catching a glimpse of the clock which read 11:45AM, nearly noon, "Shit, I didn't mean to sleep in so late. I wonder if mom-", the door to your room was quickly opened, your mother with a concerned look on her face hurrying in with medicine in hand, "Y/N, I heard you sneezing so I assumed you were up, are you feeling any better? Did you throw up? Let me check your temp-", your gentle laugh interrupted her worried rambling. Looking up at her with tired eyes and a sickly red tint across your cheeks and nose, you smiled at her while shaking your head, "Mom, I'm okay, really! It's just-", a nasty sneeze interrupted you mid sentence, "...a cold. I'll be okay by Monday most likely, all I need to do is sleep it off.", you assured her.
Placing the medicine on your nightstand, your mother ruffled your hair and gave you that loving motherly smile she always did, "Maybe next time you'll bring a jacket with you, silly. At least you and your friends looked cute in your costumes, those Polaroids you took were so cute-oh! Speaking of that, Sal came by earlier asking for you but I told him you were under the weather, and most likely wouldn't be able to hang out today.", when she said his name, it ignited a wave of memories to come flooding back to you all at once of the night before.
The Halloween night that would be known to both you and Sal, as the night of your first kiss. "Sal...you came to see me? W-was it so we could talk about what happened last night? I mean, we did completely avoid the topic last night after Larry and Ash came along, and after Todd and Neil came we were too busy watching horror movies to get the chance to talk about...the kiss. Okay, kiss-turned-makeout session. We couldn't just casually bring it up. I think we...we were still kind of in shock that it even happened. It wasn't just a peck, it wasn't just a platonic kiss between friends...there was passion there, and there's no denying it. He had to have felt it too. But I'm too embarrassed to face him, I can't. Not yet. How can I...", a hand waved in front of your eyes, snapping you out of the millions of thoughts going through your head, "Y/N, did you hear me? I said Sal mentioned a walkie talkie for you two to talk through, you can use that for now so you don't get him sick too.", she said, causing a lightbulb to go off above your head.
"The walkie talkies! I nearly forgot about those! Thanks mom, I'm gonna talk to him right now and let him know I'll probably be okay by Monday.", you remarked with a smile upon your face as you got out of bed and went over to your bookshelf, grabbing the walkie-talkie off of the top shelf. Glad to see you were still your usual self, your mother smiled to herself as she fluffed your pillows before beginning to exit the room, "Alright dear, don't strain yourself too much and make sure to take your medicine, okay? I'm going to run some errands, I'll even bring back the ingredients we need to make your favorite dinner tonight.".
You gave your mother a smile before climbing back into bed, "Thanks, mom. Be safe, I'll see you when you come back, love ya!", you called out before pulling the covers over your head, your mother laughing as she shut your door behind her, "Love you too, Y/N.". Once you heard your door shut, you began to examine the buttons upon the device, seeing there were three buttons for you to choose from, two of them marked 1 and 2 respectively, and the third button clearly marked for group communication. "Uhh, which one was the button I press to talk to Sal? One or two...?", thinking briefly, you shrugged and pressed the button marked 1, beginning to speak, "Uh, hello...?", you shyly asked.
Hearing nothing at first, you were about to speak up again before static started up, a voice coming through, "Yo, Y/N! You're finally up, how're you feeling dude? Heard you were feeling shitty, was the single hard lemonade you drank last night enough to give you a hangover?", it was Larry's voice who was joking around with you right now. You laughed before responding, "No, Larry, I am in fact not hungover, I've got a cold is all. Wait, how'd you know I don't feel good? Are you and Sal together right now?", you asked him, raising an eyebrow.
"No, Sal's with Ash right now, he told me you didn't feel well over the walkie talkie earlier when he asked me for Ash's landline. He's probably at her place or she's at his. I couldn't hang out today though, gotta keep an eye on my mom. She isn't feeling too good either.", Larry explained to you. "Oh no.", a bitter taste began to form within your mouth, not to mention that sudden pit you felt in your stomach, "Okay Y/N, don't jump to conclusions. You're fine, everything's fine. They're your good friends, they can hang out without you if they want, nothing to worry about...right? There's no need to feel...jealous?", you anxiously thought to yourself before Larry spoke up again, wondering what was holding you up, "Y/N? Still there?", he asked.
Realizing you hadn't responded to him, you quickly composed yourself before resuming the conversation, "O-oh, yeah, sorry. Just had to blow my nose, heh. Sorry about your mom, Larry, tell her I hope she feels better! I'll leave you to it then, I have to go scrub the sick off myself in the shower now, see you Monday morning after I get over this cold?", you asked in a kind tone, Larry responding with a, "For sure, take care Y/N. See ya Monday little lady.", and with that the two of you said your goodbyes and the static cut off, leaving you in silence within your room.
Slowly, you let out a small sigh, both of your hands placed upon your face as you attempted to calm your nerves, "Sal and Ash are hanging out together, that's...totally fine? There's no reason for me to freak out, they're friends! My friends! Friends...besides the fact that Sal used to have a crush on her...okay, Y/N, stop overthinking it. You sound like a psycho.", you said as you pulled off the layers of blankets upon your body, placing your feet on the ground.
After standing up, you grabbed some clean clothes from your closet before heading over to the bathroom, desperately in need of a hot shower to soothe your cold, and to clear your head of any unnecessary toxic jealous feelings. The usually bleak bathroom felt cozier than ever as the mirrors became clouded with steam, your head tilted upwards facing the shower head, allowing the warm water droplets to hit your face and drench your hair.
"Okay...", hands full of vanilla-scented shampoo, you scrubbed your scalp thoroughly as you quietly mumbled to yourself, "...how should I...? What exactly should I say to....arghh!", soap suds began to cover your entire head as you pouted to yourself, "I don't even know what to say to him! I-I mean, I can't just waltz over there while he and Ashley are hanging out, and be like, 'Hey Sallyface, hey Ash! I need to talk to Sal about how we totally sucked face yesterday.'", you loudly and sarcastically exclaimed.
Rinsing the shampoo out of your hair, you grumpily applied conditioner and began to wash the rest of yourself, the hot water providing a soothing sensation for your body despite how irritated you were within your mind. After finishing your shower, you blow dried your hair and quickly got dressed, pulling on a slightly oversized black turtle-necked sweater and your comfiest pair of jeans, along with a surgical face mask, not wanting to spread your cold with anyone you came in contact with.
It probably wasn't the best idea to go out while you weren't feeling well, but you knew what you had to do couldn't wait any longer; you just had to confront Sallyface about the elephant in the room. As long as you were warmly bundled up with your sweater and facial covering, you would be just fine. "Alright Y/N, don't fuck this up.", you sternly warned yourself as you walked out your front door and over towards Sal's, giving it a sturdy knock but hearing nothing back, no movement from within the apartment whatsoever. You felt nervous, wondering why nobody had come to open the door after your solid knock, it couldn't have gone unnoticed.
"Okay, one more time, if no one answers then they're not here...or they're too busy doing something else to come to the door...or...they're purposely ignoring you.", a sour taste filled your mouth as those unpleasant ideas popped into your head, causing your face to take on a worried expression as you raised your hand once again, about to knock once again. That is, until you saw the doorknob turn and heard the door slowly creak open, being greeted by the sight of a tired Mr.Fisher who offered you a polite smile, "Oh, hey Y/N! Sorry it took a while for me to open the door, I was doing some work. You looking for Sal?", he asked.
You nodded, adjusting the straps of your mask as you began to speak, "Oh, sorry Mr.Fisher, I didn't mean to interrupt you while you worked, but I just really need to talk to Sal. I'm a bit sick right now but it's nothing to worry about, I've got my mask on. Talking to Sal is what I'm more focused on right now.", you explained to him. Mr.Fisher took a sip of his coffee mug while you spoke before giving you a prompt reply, "Oh, he left not that long ago with Ashley, said they were going to hang out outside for a bit. They're probably somewhere around here.", he suggested. "O-oh, alright, thank you, Mr.Fisher. I'll go see if I can find 'em, sorry again for interrupting your work! Bye!", you said as you began to walk towards the elevator, Mr.Fisher calling out behind you, "See you, Y/N, get well soon kiddo.", before shutting his door.
Your stomach kept turning as you approached the elevator, wondering where and why Sallyface and Ashley were hanging out with one another. You knew that these thoughts were a bit toxic, Sal has every right to hang out with Ash if he wants, they're close friends. However, when having a crush, these sorts of thoughts can never really be avoided. Those nervous, anxious, antsy feelings are unavoidable when you like someone that much, especially when you know they're alone with their former crush.
Your eyes looking down at the ground, your finger instinctively pressed the elevator button before you noticed there was no mechanical whirring, confusing you at first before you lifted your head and saw the taped on sheet of paper, big bold red letters scribbled across the paper reading "OUT OF ORDER". You sighed, annoyed at yourself for not noticing the broken elevator sooner and annoyed at the fact that you had to use the dingy stairwell, but oh well, nothing you could do. Standing at the top of the stairwell, you began to descend it as you thought to yourself "Alright, let's go find Ash and Sa-", achoo!
* * *
[ 15 Minutes before Y/N had knocked on Sal's door. This part will be in the Third Person. ]
"Woah, you rode the motorcycle to get over here? Aren't you still learning how to work that thing?", Sal asked Ashley as she walked into his living room, fixing her helmet hair, "I'm getting the hang of it! I'm here in one piece, so it's nothing to worry about.", she remarked with a laugh, sitting upon the living room couch and outstretching her arms.
"That's true, you got here fine so I'm guessing you're getting pretty good at steering that thing. Anyways, thanks again for coming even though we didn't plan on hanging out today, I just...", he paused, taking a seat next to Ash upon the couch, nervously rubbing the temples of his prosthetic, "...I need to talk to you specifically about this, I uh, don't think Larry would be much help. I guess I just need another girl's opinion.", he stated, making Ash's attention peak.
Attempting to hide her excitement, she offered Sal a reassuring smile while giving his back a few pats, "Of course Sal, what's up?", she asked, internally shouting to herself, "This is it! He's finally going to ask for advice on how to ask Y/N out! Okay, try and give him the best advice possible. Has Y/N ever mentioned her favorite kind of flowers? Maybe carnations? No, that's not-", her thoughts were interrupted by the door of Mr.Fisher's room opening.
Empty mug in one hand, he used the other to wave at Ashley, "Hey there Ashley, wasn't expecting you to be here today. How've ya been?", he casually asked while walking to the kitchen to refill his mug with that sweet, sweet caffeine he basically lived off of. "Good, Mr.Fisher, thanks for asking. I came to hang out with Sal for a bit.", she replied while Sal looked over at his dad, then back at her, "Let's go outside, I don't want him to embarrass me if he overhears us.", he whispered as he stood up off the couch.
"We're going outside, dad. Be back in a bit, don't overwork yourself.", Sal said to his dad as he and Ash began to exit the apartment, Sal's dad waving goodbye to them instead of responding as he was too busy taking a large swig of his black coffee. Now in the empty hallway, the pair looked towards the elevator and saw the sign upon it, settling on using the stairwell instead. Halfway down, Sal looked around and decided this was as good a place as any, quiet and secluded, turning to Ash and saying, "Let's sit here for a bit, nobody's around and it's too cold out to go outside. Y/N even caught a cold because of it, that's why she couldn't hang out today.", he explained as he settled down on the beige steps within the bleak stairwell, hardly illuminated by weak fluorescent light.
Ash took a seat besides him, her face taking on a worried expression, "Aw man, Y/N caught a cold? That sucks, she must not be used to Nockfell weather yet, huh? Didn't she mention she moved here from sunny California?", she asked Sal who nodded in response, "Yeah, she did. She's always going on about how much she loves the weather here but she can't handle it so well yet, even when she's wearing a comfy hoodie she trembles like a leaf. Heh, she's so cute.", he cooed, picturing you wearing your favorite Sanitys Fall hoodie within his mind.
Seeing how he adoringly Sallyface spoke about Y/N made a big smile spread across Ashley's face, proud that he had come out of his shell so much since he's arrived, enough so that he felt comfortable enough to ramble on about his crush to a trusted friend. "So...", she began to speak, "...something's telling me Y/N is who you wanted to talk about, right, Sal?", she asked as she gently nudged his shoulder, still smiling from ear to ear. Sal flinched a little when she mentioned her name, not expecting Ash to have caught onto him so quickly, and with a sigh he spoke up, "Uh...yeah. Was it that obvious?", he asked, looking over at his brunette friend with an embarrassed expression underneath his mask, ears beginning to take on a red tint.
"Weeeell...", Ash began, "...it's not blatantly obvious, but it's just that...you and Y/N definitely have something special going on. The way you look at her, the way she looks at you, how effortlessly you guys seem to connect with one another, how shy you get around each other when your feelings even slightly begin to peek through.", as she listed all those things, the butterflies within Sallyface's stomach only fluttered harder and harder, his hands nervously tugging on those bright blue pigtails.
"Sh-she looks at me the same way I look at her...? You've...seen her do that...?", he shyly asked Ash in a hushed tone, clearly surprised at her observations of how Y/N acted towards him. "I don't want to speak for Y/N, but, honestly...", she placed a hand on his shoulder and gave it a friendly squeeze, "I think she's just as head over heels for you as you are for her, Sal.", and after hearing that sentence, Sal simply couldn't contain himself. He felt as if his heart was about to jump out of his chest, his stomach feeling like a hoard of monarch butterflies were living within him, he loudly and abruptly began to ramble.
"F-fuck, dude! I'm so into her that it makes me feel sick sometimes. Talking to her about meaningless silly shit and stuff we have in common is so easy, we can literally talk for hours on end about anything and everything! B-but, the thought of talking to her about...how I feel...", his voice changed from booming back to quiet as he looked towards the ground, fiddling with his hands, "...admitting how I feel about her is going to be one of the hardest things I've ever done. I just- I can't bring myself to tell her the truth. What if she doesn't feel the same way, and I end up fucking up our friendship? What if she likes someone else? What if....agh! It's just so fucking nerve wracking. I like her so much, and I want her...to know how much she means to me.", Sal finished his heart felt speech with a sigh, turning his head back to face Ash, his eyes holding a worried look, "Think you can help out a hopeless romantic here, Ash? I need all the advice I can get. Please.", he pleaded.
Ash had never seen her friend so distressed about something, and she had never in her life ever seen anyone so lovesick as he was. This isn't just some silly crush or meaningless infatuation, this boy is in love.
This was serious, but she wasn't going to back down now, her friend is in need and she was going to do everything in her power to make sure that Sallyface and Y/N end up together! "Oh, Sal, you're going to give me a cavity with all this mushy gushy sweet stuff. You really like Y/N, and I know it isn't easy to admit it to her, but...", she paused and looked over at her friend, who was looking back at her expectantly with wide eyes, ready to absorb all the advice he could.
She continued, "...but you're going to have to get better at expressing yourself and how you feel first. I mean, you can't just go up to a girl and blurt out, 'I like you, please date me!'. Well, you can but it's not ideal, yknow?", she explained with a small laugh, Sallyface laughing nervously as well, "Y-yeah, I figured. I've never really been the best at expressing myself, especially when I can't even smile at the girl I like.".
Hearing him say that caused her smile to turn into a sympathetic frown, she hadn't really taken into account the fact that his mask might cause some feelings of insecurity for Sal when he spoke to Y/N, "Oh, that's right...his mask. Me and Larry have our faces to express our emotions for us when we talk to each other and Y/N, but Sal...it's not as easy for him. Man, not being able to smile at his crush and not being very good with words? This isn't your average love story...but that doesn't matter! Give him the best advice possible, Ash! You got this!", and after finishing her internal monologue Ashley perked up and looked around the vacant stairwell.
"I've got an idea.", she said, and Sal was immediately at full attention, "Yeah? What is it?", he asked, voice full of hope. Gesturing to the empty steps before them, she began to explain her idea, "Okay, so, you get all choked up when talking to Y/N face to face about how you feel about her, right? Well, she's not here, but you can pretend she is. Just start talking, whatever pops into your head, say it! There's nothing to be embarrassed of because she's not here. Consider this practice!", she finished, smiling excitedly at him as she awaited a hopefully positive response.
Sallyface thought about it for a second before slowly nodding, turning his gaze to the empty space in front of him, "Y-yeah, I can do that. Just pretend like she's here, but I have nothing to be afraid of, because she's not actually here. Sounds simple enough, I think...", Ashley responding, "Exactly! Nothing to worry about. You get to say what you want to say to her, without her actually having to hear it. Not yet anyways!". Sal smiled underneath his mask at Ashley, she never seemed to fail at always being supportive no matter what, and always being there whenever she was needed. He took a long, deep breath, adjusting his mask and running his hands through his thick blue hair, and then he began, "O-okay, don't laugh at me either. Here goes nothing, u-um, so, uh, Y/N...".
* * *
[ Back to your perspective! ]
"One step at a time, Y/N. Don't let your stuffy head make you fall down this damn flight of-AH!", your foot slipped slightly as it touched one of the steps, causing you to stumble slightly but luckily you were able to grab onto the railing just in time. Your cold was messing up your sense of stability slightly, so you made sure to carefully make your way down the stairs, sniffling quietly before you began to hear a faint sound; muffled voices?
You figured someone was coming up the stairs as you were going down, but the voices didn't get closer, they only became more audible as you continued along. Weird, you thought, but shook it off as probably just disembodied voices of ghosts somewhere within the stairwell, that is until the voices started to sound familiar as you were now only one flight of stairs away from them, "Wait, I know that voice, that's Sallyface who's talking!", you thought to yourself, but before you allowed yourself to eagerly turn the corner and surprise him, you decided to stop.
A single set of stairs and one corner separating you, you stood there silently before your head peeked out ever so slightly, allowing yourself to see your two friends sitting besides one another halfway down the stairs, completely unaware of your hidden presence. You couldn't really put your finger on it, but something was telling you to listen in on what was being said. "Is this like, my intuition or something or am I just being snoopy? Whatever, I can't just eavesdrop on them like this, I'm going down.", was the last thing you thought as you were about to take a step, before what was being said caught your attention.
"Th-this is probably pretty obvious, I kn-know...", Sal stuttered with his words, clearly anxious about what he was saying, "...b-but, I have to tell you this directly anyways. I can't just keep ignoring it, we can't keep ignoring it. The thing is, I-...I, really, really fucking like you.". Hearing those words come out of Sal's mouth hit you like a truck. Your heart sank, stomach turned, and your body began to feel even worse than it did when you had first woken up this morning, all stuffy and disoriented.
Your mind wasn't able to process what was happening in the moment, you didn't want to process it. A lump formed within your already sore throat, face becoming even warmer than it already was as you continued to listen in on what was being said, no matter how much it hurt to hear. "I can't keep hiding it, I really can't. Whenever I'm around you...I just, I can't help but want to reach out and hold you, and be able to...to call you mine. Maybe I'm being selfish by saying that, but I want you to...only smile at me. I want you to only look at me with your p-pretty eyes, I want you...all to myself.", from where you stood hidden behind the stair well corner, head slightly peaking out, it seemed like you had just watched Sallyface, the boy you adored more than anything, just admit his romantic feelings to your friend Ashley.
"O-okay, okay-", tucking your head back behind the corner, you placed a hand over your mask-covered mouth as you attempted to stifle your anxious and unsteady breathing, at this point you couldn't even tell if it was your cold or your broken heart causing your symptoms. Sal's voice, as much as you wanted it to stop, kept talking, "I, uhm...I think I'm in love with you.", and that was the final straw, you absolutely could not bare to listen any longer. Not caring whether they heard you or not, you decided to fully sprint back up the stairs, knowing if you ran fast enough, you'd make it back to your apartment before they could catch up or even see you.
Nearly slipping several times, you managed to return back home where you hurriedly whipped your front door open and slammed it shut behind you, ripping off your face mask to allow yourself to breathe comfortably, panting from how winded you were. Standing against your door, you kept repeating the same phrase within your mind, "Don't cry, don't cry, don't fucking cry Y/N.", lips quivering as you regained your breath, body feeling weaker than it had before, "I-I'm okay, don't cry over this, you told yourself you'd never cry over a boy, so god damn it don't do it now! Sh-shit...".
Finally having regained at least a little bit of your composure back, you slowly made your way back to your room. Your eyes looked upon the black dress you had worn the night before sprawled on the floor besides your closet, then at the Polaroid photos you had taped onto the full body mirror in the corner of your room; specifically, the first picture you had ever taken within Nockfell. The dark rainy photo of Addison Apartments , the same day you had first met Sal.
And with that, your eyes simply couldn't contain the tears that were on the brim of flowing over. A steady, hot stream of tears began to trickle down your sickly face. "F-fuck.", you internally groaned to yourself as you crawled back under your sheets, hand reaching over towards the cold medicine on your nightstand, "I guess what happened last night did change something after all. It made him realize he still isn't over Ash, kissing me probably made him feel...nothing.", you thought as you took a dose of the bitter liquid medicine, making your face twist with slight disgust, but at least it'd make you drowsy.
Hopefully enough to help you fall back asleep in order to avoid these bullshit heartbroken feelings, "W-well...", body slowly getting into a comfortable sleeping position, you rested your head upon your pillow, a few tear drops staining the fabric, "At least that kiss helped him realize he's still in love with her. I'm...glad I could help somehow. Good for them...". Puffy damp eyes staring up at the ceiling, chest slowly rising and falling with every deep breath you took, you couldn't help but loudly declare to yourself, "This...fucking sucks!", before allowing yourself to quietly indulge in a good crying session, eventually falling asleep as your medicine, and heartbreak, lulled you to sleep.
* * *
[Third Person Perspective, back to Ash and Sal]
From where the pair sat, loud, quick stomping could be heard above them as someone seemed to hurry up the stairwell, causing them to jump from where they were, obviously startled by the sudden and unexpected noise. The sound had stopped a little while after it began, and only then did one of them speak, "Wh-what the fuck? What was that? Someone was going up the stairs without even going fully down them?", Ashley confusedly asked as she glanced over at a red-eared Sal, staring up the stairwell, "W-was someone listening in on us? What the hell? Wh-who-", he sputtered, embarrassed and agitated at possibly having another person having heard him pour out his guts about a very personal subject.
Thinking quickly, Ash interrupted him before he could completely panic, "A- a ghost! That's probably what it was, right? I mean, cmon Sal! The place is riddled with them. We didn't hear them come down at all, just the sound of them running back up, so it had to be a ghost. It makes sense, d-doesn't it?", her attempt at a possible explanation was believable, but even she herself didn't completely believe it. She just needed Sallyface to believe it, and to not feel like his privacy was invaded, especially since she had never seen him be so open about his emotions before. After all, he was passionately pouring his heart out about the girl he was in love with.
Eyes still glued upon the stairwell above them, Sal quietly spoke up with a slow nod, "Uh, yeah. That could be it.", he said as he began to once again tug upon his pigtails. The thought of another person possibly listening to what he said, spying on him and Ashley, sent a shiver down his spine. "O-of course the one time I let myself be vulnerable something like this happens, but maybe Ash has a point? A ghost...that's totally reasonable. Yeah, a gh-ghost. That's what it was...", as he convinced himself of this idea within his head, he felt a hand being placed upon his back as it gave him a comforting pat, "Anyways...I'm proud of you, Sallyface.", Ash said with a kind smile.
Confused, he tilted his head, "What for?", Sal curiously asked. "For opening up like that. I know it isn't easy, especially for someone who usually keeps to themselves, like you tend to do. Seeing you talk that way...hearing you express how you feel about Y/N, it makes me so happy. I just know the two of you are meant to be.", Ash's words were once again, some of the most supportive words that could be spoken, providing comfort to a lovesick and nervous Sal.
Looking down at his hands, he reminisced on the sensation of how he had cupped Y/N's face within his hand the night before, a hopeful smile along with a gentle blush grazing his cheeks underneath his prosthetic, "Thanks, Ash. I really can't thank you enough for helping me out today. After letting out all my pent up feelings about Y/N, pretending she could hear me, I feel a lot more confident in myself. I...I'm going to tell her. Hopefully sooner than later. I just need her to know that...I'm in love with her. She's the apple of my eye.", he chuckled, "The one that isn't my glass eye.", he joked and Ash gave him a playful shove as she began heading down towards the stairs, "You've got this dude. Now, let's go see what Larry's doing, all this romantic stuff needs to be balanced out with some Larry antics.".
Nodding, Sallyface couldn't have agreed more, "Yeah, thinking about her so much is going to make my heart implode. Man, I wish she could've heard everything I just said earlier. Some time soon, she will, I hope, as long as I don't chicken out.", he unknowingly commented, unaware of the fact that, Y/N had heard what he said, but misinterpreted it, terribly.