Gwen's Worst Nightmare (One Of Them At Least)...

Chapter 6: Water Under *And Over* The Bridge

Nikki hid in Max and Neil's shared tent. She was sobbing quietly on Max's cot, holding on tight to Mr. Honeynuts. She'd seen Gwen get angry, but for her to lash out at someone that WASN'T Max was a new level. The rustling of the tent flap didn't even prompt her to respond. "I'm sorry for borrowing your bear, Max. You can ha-" Nikki wiped her eyes and held out the stuffed animal, thinking Max was there to check on her. "I'm sure Max will appreciate it." A familiar monotone said. Nikki recoiled into a ball when she saw Gwen, hoping she wouldn't get yelled at again. "Do you....Need a minute?" Gwen asked, not wanting to step over any boundaries. Nikki shook her head, still terrified of the counselor. "Gwennnn. I can't seem to find- Oh, there you are!" Max said, also peeking his head into the tent. "Go back to the cabin, Max. I'm trying to have a word with Nikki." Gwen said. Max simply held out his hand, making it obvious he wanted his comfort object back. "First. Bear please." Max ordered, Gwen handed him the stuffed animal and he left quietly. 

Gwen took a minute to get her thoughts organized, but it was harder seeing how scared Nikki was. The look of fear in her eyes made her feel even worse. "Nikki." She said before making her way inside the tent. Nikki still felt scared by Gwen's presence, but could tell by her body language that she came in peace, so she let her guard down just a little bit. "You fucked up-" Gwen said before being cut off "I know, Gwen. And I'm sorry, ok?" Nikki said as tears rand down her face. "But..." Gwen paused. "I also fucked up by losing my temper. The things you've done were accidents. And well... Shit happens." Nikki could detect the sincerity in Gwen's voice, so she just nodded in response. "Do you forgive me?" The counselor asked, Nikki hugging her in response. "....I'll take that as a yes." 

Back at the counselor's cabin, David was busy organizing some paperwork and letters from the campers' parents. He looked through all of them and like always, Max's parents didn't send a single note. "At least they sent him another hoodie..." David said, frowning at the result of the jaded camper not getting a proper letter. He perked his head up at the sound of the door opening. Gwen entered the cabin, she had a look of guilt in her eyes, and didn't even bother to look at David when he greeted her. She wasted no time to just flop onto her bed, wanting to isolate herself from everybody for the rest of the day. "...Everything alright, Gwen?" David asked, Gwen dodged the question by turning to face the wall. "...What happened back at the lake?" David said, hoping Gwen would respond this time since he was eager to try and help her. "I don't wanna talk about it, David." Gwen replied. "Gwen... Bottling up your thoughts and feelings isn't-" David tried to speak before he was cut off. "I SAID I DON'T WANNA TALK ABOUT IT!" Gwen snapped back as she sat up. Both of them froze. David was speechless while Gwen had her hands over her mouth. The only thing David could muster was a nod as he sat back down on his office chair and continued with the paperwork. 

Nikki was actually feeling bored for a change, compared to when she would normally be doing something outside the norm like pretending to be a dog or trying to have two ants racing against each other, instead she was just sitting under a tree by the campgrounds. "Whatcha doin there, Nikki?" Neil asked, approaching the girl. "Nothing much. Just sitting. Waiting for something interesting to happen." Nikki replied as Neil sat on another end of the tree. "So.... About that incident with Gwen..." Neil said. "Oh no need to worry about that, Neil. We've made up. It's all water under the bridge." Nikki answered, seeing as she had gotten over what had happened since she forgives people easily. "I dunno... What Gwen did was REALLY out of character!" Neil tried reasoning with Nikki that, yes, he was glad things were mended, but he noticed Gwen had been acting strange these last few days. "Yeah, you tell me." A voice said. Nikki and Neil turned their heads to see Max approaching his friends. "Max. You've been staying with David and Gwen. Have you noticed anything... Strange?" Neil questioned. "Other than Gwen talking in the bathroom, not really." Max replied as he leaned against the tree next to the one Nikki and Neil had been sitting under. "Talking.... In the bathroom?" Nikki asked. "Yeah, but I couldn't tell what she was saying." Max shrugged. "Is that normal at all?" Neil questioned. "Who the fuck do you think I am? David?" Max answered. "If you wanna know so much about Gwen, you'd might as well take it up with him!" He pointed to the cabin with his free arm. Neil remained quiet while Nikki began to talk Max up about something she saw on her way back to the campgrounds. 

"Attention campers!!!" Announced David from the center of the campgrounds, resulting in everyone (except Max), flocking towards him. "I just looked over our lesson plan, and it looks like we have time to do ONE more activity before we break for lunch!" David said, causing mixed reception. "What KIND of activity will that be, David?" Asked Dolf. "Well um..." David thought for a moment. Which activity had he not focused on in a while, and it dawned on him. "Today, we will be doing Extreme Sports Camp with Ered." He finally announced. Most of the kids were excited, but Neil, Harrison, and Dolf weren't sure about this idea. "Awww man. Not Extreme Sports Camp!" Neil moaned. "I'm not good at that kinda stuff either, Neil." Harrison added "...And I haven't even gotten my brother to reappear yet!" Max didn't even wanna bother joining, so he decided to turn to the counselor's cabin. Unaware of what had happened before. 

"Don't mind me, Gwen. I'm just here because David is forcing everyone to do-" Max said, entering the cabin. But something caught him off guard. Something that would require the one thing he wasn't good at... Patience.