Home is Where You Feel Safe (Camp Camp Dadvid)

Gone

It had been hours. It was getting late. His legs were tired. He was extremely exhausted. But even in all of those conditions, Max continued to wait at the front of the camp. David was there too but he wasn't saying much. They both knew that they weren't coming and just didn't want to admit it. Gwen got tired and retreated to her bed, giving Max her number before she did and saying goodbye. She said things along the lines of 'You're a good kid' and 'Enjoy the rest of your bratty life'. She even teared up a little bit. But Max was in no place to judge her since he basically broke down when Neil and Nikki left. He wouldn't let them leave until exchanging phone numbers, however. He doesn't know how he'll contact them without his own phone, but he'll manage. Maybe steal Regina's...

But even so, Gwen was chill enough, for an adult. They both realized how awful life is and got to complain about it to each other. Max accidentally slipped one day and went on a rant about horrible parents. Gwen suddenly became interested and he quickly changed the subject. It's not like Max was hiding anything. Unlike David, Gwen wasn't ignoring the shit that Max was in; even if she didn't even know the half of it. 

"I have half a mind to tell your parents how late they are when they get here." Max heard from his left. And then there's David. He's the total opposite. Forgives people on the drop of a dime. Way too nice for his own good. He always assumed that people would always do the right thing. And most of all, he won't give up on those who are bitter and cynical. That might be one of the reasons that Max started softening up to him. No matter what Max put David through, he would always bounce back and believe in him again. David gave him hope and other feelings he had not felt since before Elizabeth died. When his biological mother abandoned him, Liz was the one who found him and took care of him. Looking back, he really couldn't bring himself to hate his biological mother for it; she was only 15 after all. She could never hope to take care of a child at that age. But he was mad that she just left him to die behind a dumpster. He was also mad to hear that he was not the last child that she abandoned. But when Elizabeth eventually found him, she handed him over to CPS. When he was put in the foster system, she was one of the first ones to request to foster him. Things were good and happy for a while. But Max learned that nothing good lasts forever. When he was six, Liz died in a tragic car accident. Max was then immediately relocated without the system even letting him grieve. He was shoved into a bunch of different foster families that didn't stick. Max found out later that Liz's last words were 'At least Max is okay'. When he found that out, it broke him. The system assumed that it was because of the home and relocated him again. Eventually, he was put in a home with 7 other foster children in that same house. The couples' names were Charles and Regina. They were very strict and harsh with punishments. When they weren't strict, they didn't care about them. It was very clear early on that they were only doing this for the money. 

Max snapped out of his daze and was about to say for the tenth time that his 'parents' weren't going to show up, but he was stopped by headlights coming down the driveway. David straightened up as his smile widened, ready to greet the driver, while Max was baffled that they actually showed up. The car skidded to a stop and Mia stepped out of the car. Mia was another one of Max's foster siblings. She was the oldest and was 17. Mia was actually loved when she was first fostered but as she grew older, they slowly started to pay less and less attention to her. They then fostered more kids and left it up to Mia to take care of them, even if some were only months younger than her, and others were only a few months old. Max did feel bad for Mia; he often found her breaking down in the bathroom, questioning if they stopped loving her because of something she did. Max and the rest of his foster siblings would often show how much they appreciated her with gifts or small parties. She was always very grateful. 

Max found out that the couple would sometimes only foster children because of their name or to make them look better. For example, Max, Corey, and Bo were fostered just because of their race. (Bo is Chinese) Or Ivy and Hyacinth were fostered because of how unique their names sounded. James was fostered because he is transgender to make them look accepting. (even though they really disapproved of him, often misgendering him and using his deadname, Jenna) One thing is for sure though, they all help each other out. When one is locked in the closet and forgotten about, the others would spend the day slipping them food and trying to pick the lock. When one was locked outside and not allowed back in, the others would keep them company by talking through the window. When one forgot to do a chore and Charles was about to come home, they would help finish it or distract Charles to give the others some time. Sometimes they got away with it, and other times they didn't. Max actually felt that his foster siblings were his family. They could tell each other anything and not have to worry about them telling their foster parents. They would cover for one another constantly and no one would even hesitate to help anyone of them. He never got that feeling with the foster parents. The only person who really filled that role was Liz, but Max learned early on to not get too attached to adults. They were either assholes or going to be taken away from him. It's why he tried not to get too attached to David and Gwen. The keyword is tried. He really tried to push them away but he ended up trusting them, even if only a little bit. He knew that the day would come when Max had to say goodbye and never see them again. If he's being honest, Max really cares for David and Gwen. 

He would never admit this to them, however. He only was thinking of how to phrase it to his foster siblings. There was no doubt that he was going to tell them. 

Then David starts talking, "Are you Max's mother?" Mia scoffs at him before saying, "Do I look like his mom?" It was true that Mia looked nothing like him. He was clearly African with black hair and very prominent green eyes. Mia was caucasian with blond hair, hazel eyes, and freckles. David stutters a response before Mia replies, "I'm his foster sister." she then looks at me before saying, "You're lucky that I noticed Regina's phone going off the hook or else you probably would have been left here. Anyway, just get in the car. I brought the red blanket." Max suddenly perked up at the sound of the red blanket. Before Max got in the car he could hear David say, "Who was calling you for you to come here?" Mia responded, while yawning, "Some chick. Said she was worried that Max was still here. Name started with a G or some shit." David gasped and said, "Aww, Gwen! How sweet!" Max then shut the door to the car and let the two of them talk while he wrapped himself in the red blanket. 

The red blanket was the softest blanket that Max had ever seen. It was Mia's from before she was put in the system. She has a hard time talking about where it came from but Max could tell that it meant a lot to her. Even so, Mia would always let one of her foster siblings use it for long trips, or traumatic experiences, or even just nightmares. Max reclined the car chair while thinking to himself. 

Max caught on pretty early in the year that Gwen and David both had feelings for each other. It wasn't until halfway through the summer when he finally convinced David to ask her out. And, as he knew, she said yes. Ever since they have been going on little dates in the middle of the night so they don't interrupt camp activities. 

His car door then opens and David is standing there. Max leans the chair up as David says, "It was really nice to meet you, Max. I don't know if I'll ever see you again, but I'm glad that you came here. I hope you are too. I know that you're not too big on hugs but..." David then holds his arms out, in a silent questiony way. Max sighs and says, "Fine, but make it quick." David then clings around Max in a hug. Max bathes in the feeling of David's comforting grip around him as he breathes in and smells the calming smell of pine and maple. Max closed his eyes as he realized that for the first time in a while he felt safe like this. Granted, it was very uncomfortable but neither one seemed to mind. Max wished that they could stay like that for a few moments longer, but David backed up and said, "Goodnight, Max." he then shut the door and walked back towards the camp. 

Mia got in the car and started to drive away. Once they were on the main road, she said, "Tell me everything. Every person. Every moment. Every feeling. Tell me!" Max chuckled as he began to tell every event that happened that summer. Once Max got to the counselors, Mia asked, "How do you feel about them?" Max smiled and said, "I'll tell you when I tell everyone else." Mia nodded and continued to listen. About halfway through the drive was when Max finally nodded off. Mia saw that she still had about half an hour left of driving. She checked the clock as it blinked '4:36' in green neon. Mia sighed as she pulled up to a stoplight. She leaned into Max's bag and pulled out Mr. Hunnynuts, the only thing that he had left of Liz. She put it in Max's limp hands and then started driving again. 

Once they got home, Mia shook Max's shoulder. "Hey, Max. Max! Charles is up." Max then shot up as he looked into the apartment window that faced the parking lot and saw that the kitchen light was on and the living room light was on. "Shit," Max said as he prepared to climb the tree and into one of the bedrooms. All eight foster siblings had to share two bedrooms. They all decided that all of them would sleep in one bedroom, and use the other to hide or work or just chill. The room that they would chill in, was only accessible through their bedroom. The tree that led to the window, led to the bedroom that they all shared. While in the tree, Max knew that Hyacinth would be awake because of her insomnia. Max broke off a trig from the tree and tapped it against the window. He waited until he saw a figure come to the window. Hya opened the window and allowed them to enter silently. As soon as Max laid on the floor with his sheet and pillow, he was out like a light.