The nap Sal and I were taking somehow turned into a sleepover, but I mean- I'm not complaining. He ended up just taking off his hoodie to reveal a black T-shirt and changing into sweatpants in his apartment before returning. I woke up before Sal, which was a huge mistake, because I had to sit there for an hour doing nothing. He does not like letting go, even in his sleep. I pretty much had to carry him to the kitchen, as well! The dude was putting like half his weight on my shoulders as he "stood" behind me. I love him, but Jesus Christ.

"What do you want for breakfast? We've got cereal, frozen waffles... I can make you some eggs or pancakes if you want. Oh, we also have chocolate chips for pancakes..." I trailed off, rummaging through the pantry.

"Actually, I have an idea, if you're open to it, that is," Sal looked at me with an excited smile.

"Sure, but-"

"No buts, I'm gonna be back in 45 minutes!"

Before I could say anything, he was out the door. Okay, then. I carried on with my normal routine and showered, brushed my teeth, put on makeup, etc. When I got to my room, I noticed Sally Face had left his hoodie on my bed. His room always was somewhat messy, so I wasn't sure what I was expecting, honestly. However, this was potentially a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to steal it, so I didn't hesitate for long. I put on a pair of shorts and a tank under the hoodie to find something to wear with it.

I chose a choker with matching pentacle garters to start with. To my great frustration, the garters were kinda stiff, since I'd never worn them before and the leather was quite stiff as a result. I struggled with them for a few minutes before I thought about texting Sal, but I opted not to. I just had to mess with them a little more...

"Damn, is it always that hard to put that on?" I jumped at the deep, obviously unexpected voice. I looked up to see Sal staring from the doorway with a subtle smile and faint blush.

"Ah- how long have you been standing there...?" I asked, my face turning an uncomfortable red. Him seeing me struggle with this specific accessory is embarrassing enough, but the shade of my face was only making me more embarrassed.

He chuckled, "not long enough to see anything I shouldn't."

"Promise?" I eyed him suspiciously.

"Promise. I only came back for my mask. Hey, is that my hoodie?" He crossed his arms and leaned on my doorframe with an unreadable expression.

"Pfft- no." He raised his eyebrows at me, "okay yes."

"I thought so," he gave a soft laugh and came over to ruffle my hair and kiss my forehead, which did not help any blood to drain from my face. "This might sound weird, but can I choose what you wear today?" Sal gave me a cheeky grin.

"Uhh sure, I don't see why not. Don't let me freeze to death, though. I can help you with layering, 'cause you'll definitely need it," I shrugged and unbuckled the black leather strap from my thigh. "Oh, skirts and socks are over there, everything else is in there. Corsets don't look good with hoodies, though," I pointed to my closet and dresser, in addition to some shelves with boxes organized by colors and types of accessories.

I showed him what makes coordinating easier, and how layering works. He nodded along and to my surprise, was actually listening and seemed to be genuinely interested. Someone needs to get this man a boyfriend of the year award.

Eventually, he ended up picking the same garters (much to my dismay) and the matching black choker with a buckle, spikes, and pentacle. He also picked up a beanie, mini backpack, fingerless gloves, and a pair of knee-high boots, all the same shade of blue. And to keep the garters relevant, I suggested black thigh-high socks. Lastly, he asked if a specific blue skirt still fitted me, to which I answered yes, but asked if he was sure, since it was kinda short- even for me. It's hard to function when you're always worried about your skirt not being as long as it needs to be.

"Okay, I'm kicking you out for a minute, bubs."

"What? But I'm your boyfriend!" Sal teased.

"Fine, but you have to turn around when I put the skirt on- and no peeking," I let out a breathy laugh. I didn't really mind, I trust him to be respectful.

"Heh, deal."

I quickly changed from my shorts and let him turn back around. He sat next to me on my bed as I put on the rest of my outfit and I begged him to tell me what he had in mind for our breakfast. Sadly, he didn't cave. I let him put the collar-like choker on my neck while I faced the opposite direction and tried to put on the other leather accessory, which he ended up having to help me with. It felt strange to have him kneeling in front of me and gripping my thigh with one hand as he occasionally glanced up at me to talk about whatever came to mind.

"How do you do this every day? I seriously don't understand," he laughed and rested his chin on my knee while gazing up at me with sleepy eyes.

"Well, that's new leather, so it hasn't been broken in yet," I ran my fingers through his hair and smiled.

"How do you come up with new outfits, though? Like, you have a ton of clothes, but how do you pick stuff out every single day?"

"It takes practice. Anyway, this took way longer than expected, you ready to head out?" I asked brightly and lifted one hand from his fluffy hair to reach for his prosthetic.

"Yep. You ready, pet?" the boy clipped the mask on after kissing my cheek as he stood up.

"Pet?"

"Bunny? Kitten? My love? Love of my life? Lovely? F-"

"Okay, okay. Whatever you wanna call me," I covered my burning face in my hands, to which Sal only grinned at. "You really like getting under my skin, huh?"

"Mmm nah, I just like seeing you flustered."

I was internally freaking the fuck out for obvious reasons. Whoever gave this man the audacity, let alone the right to-

"Aye, stop hiding your beautiful/cute/handsome face from me and let's get going."

"I could say the same to you," I replied, although I obliged. "Anyway, did you know the word blush is just short for blood rush?"

"No, actually. But I do know you love the Fall, so I think you'll really like this!" Sal is so adorable when he's excited.

-Time skip, Sal drove you guys to your destination-

"This is the place," the blue-eyed teen sighed happily.

The two of us stepped out of his car and I ran to his side to hug his arm. I traced the seam of his thick, black denim jacket as we walked through the entrance of a cute, barn-style building with a neatly hand-painted sign spelling out "Franklin's Cider Mill" above the door. It was like entering a whole other universe, a place illuminated only by yellow-tinted lights and covered in warm colors and tasty seasonal treats from top to bottom.

"I can't believe you took me to a cider mill before we've even made battery acid together," I joked.

"Hah, we can do that later if you want. I'm sure you have the stuff for it," my boyfriend smiled brightly. "We need to eat first, though. I'm starving."

"True. What donuts do you want?" I asked, releasing his arm to take out a $50 bill from my mini backpack.

"Dont worry about that, I'll buy them. I took you here, remember, angel?"

I quickly averted my gaze and put my money back in my bag. "Alright-"

"Sally Face?"

"...Ash," Sal's demeanor completely shifted from his usual humorous, gentle manner, to cold and deadpan.

"How come you haven't been texting me back? I miss you! And Y/n too! Gosh, it's been forever guys!" I looked up to see Ash beaming from behind the counter wearing a uniform hat and apron.

"Yeah, right. You know exactly why. Find someone else to project on, okay?" Sal held my waist tightly and kept his eyes locked on her figure. I rested my hand on his to silently suggest he loosen his grip, but he only tightened it. I wasn't in pain or anything, but I was definitely pressed against his side.

"I-I don't know, actually. Oh, you mean that text! C'mon, it wasn't that big of a deal, Sal. And Y/n forgives me, right? Don't they?" Ash crossed her arms and gave him a smug look.

"They don't even know about that. What they do know is that you treated them like shit regardless. You abandoned them and left them to themselves on their first day. I remember my first day at Nockfell High. Don't talk to me and especially not Y/n ever again, or I will rip you apart. Got it?" the words slipped from Sal's mouth naturally, I nearly missed the fact that he had just threatened her... And mostly for my sake, too. I've never seen him lose his cool like this, even if he still spoke calmly.

Ash said nothing and the teen holding my waist adjusted his hand to lay comfortably on my hip as he turned and stormed out of the building, taking me with him. The moment the door slammed behind us, I flinched as I felt my lover's fingers press into me. I glanced down to see his knuckles turning white.

"Ah-"

"Sorry."

He released some pressure from my side before I tipped his mask back a bit and stood on my toes to kiss him. Of course, we were both upset by this unlucky situation, and even though I had no idea what Ash was talking about, I just wanted out, and I'm grateful Sally Face got us out with a satisfactory statement. He deserves the world and more.

I pulled away, "I'm sorry it didn't go as planned, Love. Thanks for uh, standing up for me."

"Of course, pet. Please look at me, are you okay?"

"Um- my side hurts a bit," I said hesitantly, refusing eye contact.

"Oh- c'mon, let me check it in the car, I'm so sorry. I never mean to hurt you, you know that, right?" I nodded and hugged his arm once again as he led me to his car. He kissed my forehead before pulling me into the passenger seat with him.

"Hey, there's only-"

"Is it okay if I move your clothes a bit to see?" Sal searched my face for approval while he pulled me on his lap to face him.

"Uh... Alright, you can," I pulled his hoodie over my nose, already blushing madly.

"Let me know if it hurts and where..." he trailed off. I nodded my response.

He gently shifted the cloth covering the affected area. I flinched as his finger laid light pressure on my hip. He noticed and looked to see the damage.

"Shit, that's gonna be a nasty bruise," the boy muttered.

"Sal, your phone is buzzing."

"Oh. Larry texted..." Sal's face immediately dropped as he looked at the screen. Without saying a word, he showed me what he saw.

It was a picture of me on his lap, with the side of my skirt shifted on the side facing the camera, and the location of Sal's hand on the other side was unknown. It didn't help that I was blushing and covering my face, in addition to what many people associate my clothing with. Not a good look for the new kid, or their boyfriend. Although the picture was taken from a distance, it was still very clear, and it was obviously Ash who took the photo, and Ash who would be sharing it with all of Nockfell.

His phone buzzed again as I adjusted my clothes back into place and tried to suppress the tears blurring my vision. Ash sent that 2 me, Travis, and like 8 other ppl in a gc fyi the screen read.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Sal shouted. "A group chat..." He was furious. I hugged him tightly. I wasn't expecting this kind of reaction at all. I was surprised by what he said to Ash a few moments ago, but this had me a bit shaken up.

"We can just tell people the truth, okay? You did nothing wrong. If they don't believe us, that's on them," I whispered.

"Shit... I guess," he sighed and his breathing slowed back to normal.

"Alright. So, what's the plan now?"

"I... Do you wanna get Ash fired with me?" Sal gave me the second cheeky grin of the day, his demeanor changing completely as a brilliant idea lit up his face.

"In the name of revenge, I absolutely do. I better not get punched for this, though," I laughed as the threat of tears faded.

"Cool, let's go."

We got out of the car and approached the building once more. I hesitantly pushed the door open and Sal asked for the manager at the register, as Ash was stocking some candy apples to our left. She looked like she had something to say, but she kept silent while I lingered beside the doorway. She glared at me while Sal was showing a woman in a matching apron some screenshots on his phone. The manager seemed to be very displeased.

"I am so sorry this happened, she will be laid off, as we don't allow our employees to photograph customers without consent, and especially not like this. Let me get you guys some donuts to compensate," the woman frowned and came back with two dozen of the fried rings, half with sugar, and the other half plain.

"Thank you so much, we'll take a liter of cider too, please," Sal pulled a ten from his pocket and took the change and food before grabbing the drink from a nearby cooler and leaving.

"Oh my god, I love free food more than I love myself," I said as we settled into his car and he took off his mask.

"Pfft- haha, okay."

I ate as many donuts as my stomach would allow and watched Sal devour the rest in amazement. The both of us drank straight from the plastic jug and laughed about how the English teacher always adjusted her cardigan after every other sentence.

"Soo what was it that you didn't tell me about?"

"What do you mean?" Sal asked through bites of the last donut.

"When you were arguing with Ash," I suddenly felt vulnerable, but I didn't want to unnecessarily dampen the mood, so I tried not to show it.

"Oh. Don't worry about it, I took care of it," the boy gave me a lopsided grin and started the engine.

"It sounded like it was about me, so it sounds like it's my business. You don't have to protect me, Sal," I said calmly.

"True, but I want to. And like I said, I took care of it. She texted me some stupid, obvious lie about you, so I screenshotted it and sent it to Larry and Todd," he sighed and we pulled on our seatbelts.

"Oh."

The rest of the drive home wasn't awkward, but it was kinda quiet, so I turned on the radio and listened to Sal hum along.