Fucking Harrison.
Neil was pissed. Okay, to say pissed is a bit of an understatement at this point but whatever. This is the fifth time this week that the camp's resident Houdini knockoff has given him a headache.
It all started at that week's camp activity, magic camp. Not the dnd "magic" camp, the stereotypical- not to mention completely fake and nonsensical- magic camp. Neil was only pointing out the logic behind the tricks to the non-believers, and once again Harrison had something to say about that. From there, the disagreement, because it couldn't be called an argument since Neil's not a complete child, dissolved from the camp counselors interference. Only for the dispute to turn into a full-on prank war.
It started simple. Both boys stealing something of the other's, something they wouldn't really miss but got upset at the fact that it was stolen.
Harrisons hat. Neil's blanket. Little things. Items that eventually escalated to Neil's toothbrush bring stolen. He needs that.
Grumbling angrily under his breath, Neil slid onto his seat in the dining hall, picking at his food half-heartedly. "Whoa, what's got your panties in a twist?" He looked up to see Max smirking at him with wide eyes, looking amused. The prick, he's enjoying this.
"Harrison," Neil replied curtly, not in the mood to talk.
"Oh." Max turned his attention back to his own plate of subpar camp food, looking suddenly disinterested. It's something Neil has noticed. The blank look Max gets every time he mentions that snotnosed wannabe chump of a magician. Oh well, it's not his problem. He has bigger fish to excavate and fry in boiling oil. Namely, Harrison.
"Have you seen him? He stole my-"
"Yeah, don't care." Max slowly chewed his food, avoiding eye contact with him. What's his damage?
Neil stared at him. Stared and stared and stared, hopefully making the other boy uncomfortable with the weight of his gaze. They ate their food in silence, the entire table quiet since Nikky was hanging around Arid like a puppy that day. The noise from the other tables only emphasized their lack of conversation. Eventually, Max sighed. He scowled like he was reluctantly talking himself into doing something. Slamming his fork onto the table, he looked Neil in the eye. "He's at the lake."
Neil immediately shot up and ran out of the hall, but not before shooting Max a thankful look. He saw Max wave.
He didn't see Max clutch at his arm as he watched Neil's retreating figure leave the hall.
---
"Harrison!" Said boy turned around, a smile on his face.
Neil slowed his stride down until he was standing before the boy, hands on his knees and panting. "J-jesus.. fucking.. christ." Out of breath, Neil took a moment to collect himself, with Harrison surprisingly waiting for him to catch his bearings. All the other did was quietly giggle, seeming to find a disheveled Neil quiet funny. His chest bubbled with anger along with this weird.. feeling of warmth.
He hopes that feeling doesn't mean he's dying.
"Okay Harrison, where is it?" Despite his legs feeling like jelly from running so far, Neil chose to tower over Harrison, who was sitting, just to make a point. A rather petty point but he doesn't particularly give a fuck at the moment. His foot tapped impatiently.
Harrison only patted the space next to him. The two boys stared at each other, until Neil relented with an annoyed grumble as he sat next to the boy who he currently wanted to strangle.
The boy who-he-would-like-to-oh-so-very-much strangle smiled at his compliance, then turned to look at the dim moon's light softly reflect off the lake. It was rather scenic, but hard to enjoy while enraged. Which Neil was. Even more so now that they were sitting in silence.
"Where's my stuff, Harrison?"
Silence.
"Harrison I swear to God-"
"I didn't take your stuff."
Neil stuttered and choked on his half-baked threat. Confusion, yes that was what he was feeling. Confusion morphed into suspicion, as logic started to numb his brain. "That's bullshit. Who else would?"
Harrison looked at him from the corner of his eye, still refusing to fully turn to face him. "Believe me, I didn't. Or don't. This isn't why I called you here, though." Neil was even more confused.
"You didn't call me here. I came to find you." That's when the other boy finally turned to look at him. One look at his face slightly relieved Neil. Glad to see he wasn't the only one confused.
"You didn't read the card I sent you?"
"What card?"
"The one that I gave to M-" Harrison stopped himself, eyes widening with realization. "Nevermind, it doesn't matter."
"So let me get this right. You didn't steal my stuff." Harrison nodded.
"Which means I came out here for no reason." Neil sighed, rubbing his temple.
Silence settled over them again. Neil fidgeted. No longer having his brain clouded in anger gave way to his good old friend, anxiety. Why was he still here? He really has no reason to, since his still missing toothbrush isn't going to be found, not here anyway.
Harrison awkwardly chuckled, making Neil's eyes snap over to the sound. Despite the boy's lopsided smile, he isn't in any better state than Neil. Index finger tapping a random beat in the boardwalk, and with his other arm awkwardly rubbing his neck, nothing else comes to mind except the thing that's mixing inside Neil himself at the moment. It seems like a bad case of nerves is plaguing them both.
"So, what was on the card that you sent me?" Curiosity finally allowed Neil to break the awkward atmosphere. The question just made the other buzz with nervous energy.
"I- Ah... um" tripping over words. The other, always seeming infuriatingly composed while Neil was ready to have a fit because of his unexplainable "magic". He was tripping over words. It was so funny that Neil couldn't even hold back a snort before laughing. A5 first the other seemed stunned, before joining in.
Maybe they were realizing how funny the situation was. Or maybe they were both doing insane. Who knows, who cares? It's not like there's much of a difference.
All this week they were having petty squabbles, never forgetting to one-up the other, and now they didn't know what to say. It's so stupid that its funny. Completely hilarious.
When the laughter died down, Harrison looked at Neil, still wearing that goofy smile of his. " Hey, Neil?"
"Yeah?"
"We're pretty dumb, aren't we?"
Neil makes a noise akin to a scoff, but his tone was too light to be one. "Correction, you're an idiot, while I just had a lapse in good decision making."
The response only earned him a playful shove to his arm and a giggle.
They stayed quiet until the magician shifted, scooting closer to Neil. "Can I do something even dumber?"
Neil raised an eyebrow. "I dare you."
Harrison held his hand. The glove he wore was warm from the hand covering it. Neil felt his face get warm, his chest light.
"This. This right here... This is, really fucking weird."
Harrison chuckles and leans in closer to the other, gloved hand covering his naked one. "
Yeah, it is. But you could also say that it's. Magical-"
'Harrison I swear to fucking God, don't finish that sentence."
This time, the shaggy-haired boy laughs louder, a twinkle in his eye when he looks at Neil. "Okay, I promise."
Neil... is okay with this. This thing, this moment he's having with Harrison. It's very okay with him. Feeling the other squeeze his hand makes his stomach flutter with butterflies, and the floaty feeling in his chest increase.
Nerves settling down, Neil gets comfy. He decides to spend time talking to Harrison about magic.
It seems like they both had a great time arguing and learning more about each other.
---
Max looks at the two from behind the tree he's next to. Seeing them hold hands makes his chest tighten.
But he doesn't care. He doesn't care he doesn't care he doesn't-
The gross and painful feeling went away. Taking out the note in his hoodie pocket, he reads it over for the nth time since Harrison gave it to him.
"Hey, Neil.
Meet me at the lake before lights out tonight? "
-Harrison.
Max frowned, frustrated.
A mistake. This whole thing was a mistake. The note, telling Neil, his feelings and himself. Just a pile of mistakes, that's all Max is good at being.
He crumpled the note into a tight ball and threw it behind himself as he walked away.
Eventually, he knows he'll get past the dead feeling inside himself too. Until then, the least he can do is throw them away.
The crumpled note lays on the ground, stepped on and forgotten.
---
A\N I hope you enjoyed! I love angst and camp camp and my friend ItsPhoenix2213. This fic goes out to them!!
Also rip Neil's toothbrush. It lost its life during the war that is Nikky.