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