New Beginnings (Camp Camp fanfiction)

The Talk

Max sits in the car, his elbow resting on the door as he stares out the window. He hears the radio turn onto the Farmer's Almanac. "No fucking way, David. I'm not listening to this shit." He says, turning to face David.

"Why not? It's educational!" He says with a slight frown. "I've always loved listening to this!" Seeing the disgusted look on Max's face he sighs. "Alright, you win. What do you want to listen to?" He asks defeatedly.

Max blinks, somewhat surprised that David gave up his precious Almanac that easily. With a look of triumph, he leans forward to turn the radio station. He changes it to a station with classical rock music. David gives him a look of slight surprise. He wasn't expecting that. He isn't sure what he was expecting, but it certainly wasn't that. "What?" Max says in a slightly annoyed tone.

"Nothing, Max." He says, giving him a small smile.

Max looks at the road ahead of them. His eyes grow wide with fear as he looks back over at David. "David, watch out!" He yells, his hand going to the handle above the door as he braces himself. David looks at the road, using one hand to swerve around the deer that had wandered onto the road. His other arm stretches out in front of Max on instinct, ready to protect him from impact.

The car swerves, barely missing the deer. It goes off the road, but miraculously doesn't hit anything. David automatically looks over to Max with his heart pounding. "Max, are you okay?" He asks the wide-eyed boy gently. Max only nods, his chest heaving. "Seeing as nothing is hurt, we should keep going." Max doesn't bother arguing.

David slowly drives back onto the road, the deer now gone. Max goes back to breathing normally, looking over to the man that was so ready and willing to protect him. Is this what a father is supposed to be like? He thinks to himself. He sits there watching him for a while, not even paying attention to the radio.

"Is something wrong, Max?" David asks, briefly giving Max a concerned look before turning to the road again. "We can go back if you're not feeling well." He says, ready to turn around if his adopted son is hurt at all.

Max shakes his head. "No, I'm fine. Just a bit freaked out, I guess." He says, crossing his arms as he turns back to the window. He's too busy thinking to try and get out of enrolling to school. "David, can I... Can I ask you something?" He says seriously, looking over at him again.

"Well, you just did." David replies, chuckling softly. He notes the serious tone in Max's voice and glances over at him. "Of course, Max. What's wrong?" He asks in a concerned tone.

Max sighs as he watches his hands in his lap, not entirely sure how to ask. He decides to go straight into it. "I heard a little bit of what you said to Gwen this morning. David, what are you so worried about? What happened to you?" He asks, looking up again.

David goes pale, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly. He didn't expect to tell him so soon. "Max, I... I think you're a bit young to talk about this." He says quietly. He turns his arms slightly to hide his wrists without thinking.

"Come on, David. It can't be that bad. It's not like you were doing heroin or some shit like that." He says, sounding slightly less concerned and slightly more annoyed. He notes the fact that David is now hiding his wrists and begins to put it together. He's so young; He shouldn't be able to figure it out. "David, what did you do?" He asks quietly.

David sighs, keeping his eyes focused on the road. "Max, I don't want to talk about this right now. We can talk about it another time, okay?" He then goes back to his usual cheerful manner. "For now, how about we just listen to the radio?" David reaches over, turning up the radio a bit as he gives Max a small smile. "I promise we will talk about it. Just... Not so soon, okay? Let's wait until you've stayed with Gwen and I for a bit longer."

Max sighs defeatedly. "Alright, fine." He goes back to his usual manner as well. "So, David. Where is Gwen gonna stay? I mean, she can't drive to your house every morning and then drive home every night." He says with a slight smirk, although a hint of concern for David still runs through the back of his mind.

"Well, she'll stay in my room, of course! Where else would she stay?" He says without hesitation, although he begins blushing a soft shade of pink.

Max rolls his eyes, his concern slowly ebbing away. "And where are you gonna stay? You can't sleep on the couch every night." He says, his smirk growing as he teases David.

"Well, I--Why not? I think that would be fine. I mean, it's not like we can sleep in the same bed. We're not--We're not together." He rambles, his blush growing with every word. He glances over at Max, giving him an embarrassed smile.

Max snorts at his innocence. "You don't have to be together to sleep in the same bed as someone. You've shared a bed with a friend before, right? This wouldn't be any different." He says mischievously, watching his reaction.

David opens his mouth to speak before closing it again, realizing that he's right. Plus, what better way to try and get a relationship started? If they start sharing a bed, it's only a matter of time before they get together. "I guess you have a point. Alright, I'll talk to her about it when we get home." He says before pulling into a parking lot, several cars filling the small space.

Max looks out his window, noticing they've come to a stop. "Fuck." He says as he looks at the building. He looks around and notices a couple of vaguely familiar vehicles. He furrows his brow as he looks at them, trying to place them as David gets out of the car.

The tall, lanky male follows Max's gaze and scratches his head as he opens the boy's door. "Hey, don't those cars belong to-" He begins, but he's cut short by Max darting out of the car and towards the school building.

"Nikki! Neil!" He yells, running over to the two vastly different kids. He slides to a stop right in front of them, panting. "I didn't know you guys went to the same school!"

Neil is the first to respond, looking happier now that he's been in an air-conditioned building for a while. "Well, yeah. That's why we were on the same bus to get to camp." He says with a smile.

Nikki groans, not looking too good. "I want to go back to camp. I need nature." She says miserably. She looks longingly at the sparse trees at one side of the school.

David walks up with a wide smile. "Hey, you two! I didn't know you went here!" He says happily, placing a hand on Max's shoulder. "You'll have to come over to our house sometime! But for now, we have to get Max signed up for school this year."

"See ya around, Max." Neil says, waving with a small smile as David starts walking Max into the building.

"See ya." Says Nikki soon after, lifting a hand to wave. Max turns to face forward, a small smile on his face. Maybe this year won't be as bad as he first thought.