𝙼𝚊𝚡 𝚡 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛-𝙱𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚖.

Chapter 3

Needless to say - after that moment, there was no doubt you'd have to be spending your summer with this group. They seemed to be the only kids who accepted you. As your mind ponders on how much mischief you'll get up to, you keep coming back to the same thought. Their names - they keep on repeating inside of your head.

Nikki - the seemingly oblivious, loud and optimistic kid.

Neil - the obvious brainiac of the group - probably the one with the most common sense.

And then, there's Max..the cynical one who supposedly cares about nothing. You can't seem to understand why he hates this place so much.

Suddenly, Max hops off the table. You watch as he makes his way to the exit and leaves the Mess Hall, not a word spoken. You turn towards Nikki and Neil to say something - but they're too busy eating.

So, you take this as an opportunity to leave, too.

You hop off the table and walk towards the exit - only to be stopped by David just as you're leaving.

"Now where do you think you're going, Y/n?" He gives you a somewhat small smile.

You needed to think of an excuse - fast.

"Well, uhh..Max just went out, so..I figured I'd be allowed to go as well?"

David's face goes from cheerful to..less cheerful..in a matter of seconds.

"Oh darn - that boy always gets up to no good. He shouldn't even be out there! Could you do me a favour and go and bring him back inside, please?" He puts his hand on your shoulder and grins.

"Uhh..okay..?" His optimistic attitude makes you somewhat uneasy, but as he removes his hand from your shoulder your mind wanders back to what you wanted to do in the first place.

You exit the Mess Hall and take a small look around the area.

Max isn't anywhere around here..

You walk down the same dirt path Max walked you through and find yourself at the docks. Taking a moment to look at the lake, you notice a familiar figure in the distance.

There he is.

"Max!" You say, waving your arms at him.

He turns around, somewhat surprised.

"What do you want, Y/n?" He says snarkily.

"Oh, uhh..I saw you go outside and I wanted to see what you were doing. Also, David wants you to come back inside!"

As Max walks up to you, you notice one of his hands behind his back.

"David can go suck a d—"

"What's that?" You say, pointing to the object in his hands.

"Nothing. Why do you care?" He moves his hand further away from you.

You attempt to get a closer look, but Max swiftly puts his hand in his pocket.

"Seriously, why the hell are you even out here? There's no point in following me! Just go away."

Clearly, attempting to reason with him wasn't going to get you anywhere. Without thinking over it, you grab Max's clenched hand and retrieve the object.

"H-hey! Give that back, dumbass!" He tries to reach for it, but you're too tall for him.

You look at the object, only to see..

..a stuffed bear?

"Seriously, I will murder you!" He jumps up, and grabs the bear from your hands.

You don't really know what to say. You just took that from him without warning, and now he's furious.

You stand there in silence as he looks at you with a foul scowl.

Finally, Max breaks the silence.

"Don't tell ANYONE about this. I'm not going through all of that humiliation again."

"..I..wasn't going to.." You give him a weak reply.

"S-sorry.. I didn't know it was..well, that." You look down, clearly ashamed.

"Yeah, well - maybe you should think before death gripping people's hands and stealing their belongings!"

Max turns back and begins to walk away. You follow, trailing just behind him. Thinking of what to say, a question pops up in your mind.

"What's his name?"

"Oh my god, leave me alone."

"It's not like I'm gonna go and tell anyone else! I barely know you guys."

Max stops in his tracks and pinches his nose. After a moment of silence, he says:

"Mr. Honeynuts. That's his name."

You smile, and say:

"I like that name, it's creative."

"..Shut up."

"Listen - I need to bring Mr. Honeynuts back to my damn tent. You're coming with me so I can make sure you won't tell anyone about him."

Seeing that you didn't really have much of a choice, you nod your head.

Oh boy.