40 Blaze It
Travis rummaged through his bag for quite a bit. There were books and notes, papers, a pencil case, basically everything he needed except food. Which he neglected to make for himself in hopes that his father wouldnât take him to school today. He sighed, checking the other pockets and finally finding a breakfast barâprobably really, really old but he wasnât going to chance looking at the date.
He didnât smile at Ben at first, but he breathed out and felt a lot of his anxiety melt away. âNormal,â he replied, placing his âlunchâ on the table and sliding Benâs notebook over to him. âsorry about all the writing and doodles.â he rolled his eyes, smirking lightly. âHad to do something to ignore everyone.â he paused, grabbing his lunch and opening it. âWhat about you?â He didnât look at him as he bit into the bar, examining it awkwardly. His notes were more organized this time. "Please donât call me that, I might have to cut you. Unless you want me to start calling you Benny Boo, and I think we can both agree that it totally does not suit you. So letâs stick to names that are fine and at the least, borderline straight. As mentioned before, Coach Callen is a close friend of my dad. Well, family friend, whatever. My dadâs in special forces, so heâs away from home a lot. Callen has had to babysit me a lot before, and yeah, it really sucks. Donât ever let him come over to your house, itâs a nightmare. Iâd love to, and I do own one. But it might be a while, I have to convince my dad I have a friend first so he doesnât think Iâm sneaking out or something. I also have to convince him Iâm stable enoughâŠso, yeah.â The next page consisted of very intricate designs of swirls that resembled smoke and blood splatter, with the words âkill meâ in small text in the middle, with a small silly looking crying face. Travis swallowed, shrugging as he mentally told himself the bar was safe enough to continue eating. It wasnât great, it tasted a little stale, but it wasnât horrid. He chanced looking over at Ben, but it was quick. Callen frowned and narrowed his eyes, not even bothering to look at his coworker. He sighed. âItâs all fine. I think he made a friend.â his features fell into something sorrowful, but he didnât look over to let him see. Instead, he looked down the line, waiting. He looked over at the ginger with a stern expression, breathing out. He tried not to be self conscious, but he looked down, grunting and shaking his head as he reached down his shirt, pulling out his stupid ID. âWhatever.â he said, not putting his hands on the tray. âMaybe we just have our minds elsewhere, David.â he sighed again, grabbing his tray and sliding it, making a lot of noise with his jerky movements. He had to place a hand on his chest to avoid frustrating himself with the sound of his few neck accessories.
Ben thumbed through the notebook, finding their spot. He pushed his lunchbag over to Travis. "Dude, eat this. I'm not hungry, anyway." He muttered, sitting back to read the things Travis wrote to him. He laughed at first, and then got serious. He frowned and then put the book down, closing it on the table in front of them.
"...Callen's...not your dad. I'm sorry you have to deal with him, man, but he could still be your father and that would be just terrible." Ben grimaced, his frown quickly turning to a smile. "Hey, what do you say about me coming over today? After school. You give me your address and I can pop over, and--and your dad will have to believe you!" He practically beamed at Travis. "And--we could ride to school together!"
David huffed. "Cal, you're a problem. Did you know? You're just so scary that half the time I think you're about to kill me." David laughed, shaking his head and moving along with Callen. He wasn't watching and bumped him a bit, muttering a quick "shit, sorry".
"Are you having a good day? You're seeming a bit...stiff. Nerves about baby Wakely?" David looked more serious, grabbing some pizza and glancing up at Callen, knowing that he was going to judge him. "...you should try pizza some time. Its so much better than leaves." He laughed nervously, sliding the pizza onto his tray.















