Disclaimer: not Maxvid, don't kill me
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"Okay Max, the only source of drinks are in the Mess hall's kitchen. This camp's so stupid, the only place we can get water is the river!" Nikki then shook Max's arm to make sure he was paying attention, "You listening?" She asked, her short friend nodding in response.
"So, you sneak in the mess hall before making sure that QM isn't there. Then, you walk to the kitchen, grab two juice boxes, and run outside. Got it?" Max looked at Nikki with a puzzled expression, "Why can't I just enter the Mess hall normally, grab some juice, and walk out?" He asked, Nikki knocked on Max's head, causing him to rub it afterwards.
"Would you rather get caught in the act, or not? I swear, you can be so stupid sometimes..." she snapped, mumbling the last part, "Now go! We don't want to stick here for too long!" The green haired female then pushed her friend out of the bushes, "Okay! Okay!" He whisper-yelled, running towards the Mess hall.
***
"Get juice, run out. Get juice, run out. Get juic-" Max stopped when he saw the shoes of a familiar co counselor he recognized, "Oh no..." He then slowly looked up, one eye closed, just to meet two pairs of dark green eyes, glaring at his light green ones, "Oh yes, you're coming with me buddy" David then picked up Max by his hood, since his hoodie was a tad bit oversized, he didn't choke.
Meanwhile, Nikki was still hiding in the bushes nearby the Mess hall. Basically right in front of the windows. And because of that, she could clearly see that Max got caught red-handed, "Fuck!" She gasped, completely forgetting the fact that David wasn't with Gwen. She had to do something, one way or another.
The redheaded co counselor set the small boy on a chair in the counselor's cabin, "Okay," he sighed, "Explanation." Max looked up at David's piercing green eyes, he did not want to fuck with him at the moment, "Well, I..." Max bit his lip as he played with his fingers, clearly visible that he wasn't going to talk any further, it wasn't his choice, he was nervous.
"Why aren't you with Gwen? You're always with Gwen! Unless..." David observed Max, head to toe, "What have you been doing?" He then took out a leaf from Max's hair. But, to be honest, it was pretty normal for Max to have certain objects in his hair, including gum that came straight out from Neil's mouth. Disgusting.
"Not talking, huh?" The redheaded male sighed and covered his face, groaning loudly, clearly unhappy to be dealing with children at the moment, he wasn't in the mood, "Don't leave, you're staying here 'till Gwen and everyone else comes back." He informed, walking away from the young boy and towards his desk, where a cup of coffee was sitting.
Max sat on his chair in silence, swinging his legs back and forth out of boredom, "Hey David," He said as David was sipping his cup of coffee. He hummed in response, but unenthusiastically, "Why didn't you go with Gwen on her activity?" David widened his eyes and set his cup back on the table, "I felt tired." Max tilted his head in confusion, "Gwen said you didn't feel good..." David sighed, "Yeah, and that..." Max grinned, David don't like the look on his face.
"If you're sick, a doctor must take care of you! Good thing I am here! There there Mr. patient, Doctor Max is gonna take care of you! Now, go lay down in bed, I don't want my patient getting even more sick!" He then pushed David towards a bed in the counselor cabin, making him fall onto it, "I'm fine, Max. I'm just feeling a little tired, that's all." He sighed, rubbing the back of his head.
"Nonsense! You're unwell, and I'm going to take care of you so you feel better in no time!" The raven haired boy pushed the co counselor onto the bed even more, making him lay down so he could spread a blanket across him.
Meanwhile, Nikki was observing the whole situation through a window in the counselor's cabin. Previously, she wanted to help Max escape David's beady eyes, but now, she just felt pity for him being babied by Max. On the other hand, this could be good blackmail. So, Nikki decided to intersect, and basically walk in the counselor cabin as Max was in the middle of shoving a thermometer into David's mouth.
"What... are you doing?" She asked as she practically barged in the cabin, walking towards the bed David laid on, "What happened to you?" The magenta eyed female pointed at David, a smirk growing on her lips.
"Nikki, what're you doing here? More specifically, why aren't you with Gwen?" David questioned, sitting up, a thermometer still in his mouth, "David, I thought you were smart, you know that Gwen's activities drain life out of my poor-fucking-body," She then dramatically put a hand on her forehead, swinging back and forth like she was going to fall, like what Nurf did in his gay Shakespeare plays.
"Hey Nikki," A voice yelled across the room, it was Max's, he was near the desk, rummaging in the drawers. Nikki simply hummed and walked towards where Max was, "What?" He looked at Nikki with a serious look on his face, "David is sick, and we have to take care of him," Max grabbed ahold of Nikki's hand—his other hand clutching a first aid kit—and basically dragged her towards David's bed. He climbed onto the bed, dropped the fist aid kit near the co counselor's legs, and rummaged through the box filled with certain healthcare items.
"Nikki, come up here, you'll be the nurse that'll be helping me. And I'll be the doctor, okay?" Nikki rolled her eyes, but came to a realization that she could basically torture David while taking advantage of the fact that Max had no idea on what he was doing. So, she played along with Max.
"Yeah...? Yeah! I'll be your trusty nurse, Nikki. You need any help with the patient, Doctor Max?" She smiled mischievously, which made Max light up like a Christmas tree, "As a matter of fact I do! I need your help to gather the cold water needed to put on David's forehead." He ordered before Nikki saluted and ran outside to grab a bowl of water. More specifically, a bowl of river water.
"Meanwhile, I will be keeping track of your temperature," Max glanced at the thermometer inside David's mouth, and yanked the thermometer out, "Huh, 38 degrees, you're pretty ok. But I'm still gonna nurse you back to health!" He exclaimed before popping the thermometer back in David'a mouth unexpectedly without warning, causing him to gag a little, and eventually spit out the thermometer.
"Now, where's my trusty nurse?" He thought aloud before the door burst open, revealing Nikki on the other side, holding a bowl of—what looks like—cold water, "I'm here!" She yelled, carefully walking towards the young raven haired boy without spilling the bowl of water.
"Great, now soak a towel and-" "I know what to do, I've been sick before. So shut the fuck up, and let me do it myself. You do what you need to do." She snapped, pulling out a small towel out of nowhere, soaking it in the bowl. David widened his eyes in surprise, that was pretty harsh.
"Anyways, since you're the nurse that knows a lot. Do you know the medicine I'll have to feed David to make him feel better?" He asked, hopping off the bed. Nikki, looked over at Max, this was her chance, "Of course I do, why?" She asked, smiling a tad bit, "Well, I'm not so sure what type of medicine makes David feel better..." He chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head.
Nikki was now smiling, "That's okay. Where's the large variety of medicines that made you confused?" She questioned, "In here." Max walked over to Nikki, held her wrist, and pulled her to the desk's drawer, "There's six bottles labeled antidepressants, rubbing alcohol, anxiety pills, Zo-pi-clone, and this one..." He took out the last bottle and handed it to Nikki, "What's this one? The label's unreadable."
Max then rubbed the label which had wet ink and some sticky substance, which left a stain on his hand, "Oh my, I don't think this is okay..." He murmured, putting the bottle down, "I think the medicine is this one named... Zo-pi-clone?" He said, unable to pronounce the name correctly as he picked the bottle up. Nikki is losing her chance.
"No no! I think this... bottle is the actual medicine," She quickly lowered Max's hands which contained the Zopiclone pills, and lifted up the other unidentifiable bottle. She opened the cover and sniffed it, immediately pulling it away from her nose, "yep, definitely the one..." she forced out, almost gagging at the rancid smell, "Are you sure? It looks like it's a hundred years old." Max replied, unsure of Nikki's decision, "Well, as I always say, 'The older it is, the better.'" She replied proudly, receiving a side glance from Max,
"Wait-"
"Just give it to David!" Nikki then pushed Max towards David, who was busy reading a book peacefully, "Hey David, do you feel any better?" He asked, climbing into the bed the co counselor laid on, "I don't know...?" David replied unsurely, "Well, I surely think you'll feel much better when you take this medicine!" Max exclaimed, holding up the unidentifiable medicine bottle, "Are you s-" but before David could protest, the young boy opened the bottle and shoved it in David's mouth, keeping it in, causing David to lose his grip on the book he was reading. And if you thought of it, Max looked like a lunatic while doing it, even Nikki thought so.
"Nikki said that she saw the bottle before, and she said you had to drink at least most of it. I'm sure you feel better in no time!" Max beamed before removing it from David's mouth, the bottle only a quarter full.
Nikki, on the other hand, was enjoying the display set right in front of her, but she couldn't help noticing David looking a little pale, his eyes wide. Without warning, he clasped his hands over his mouth and ran outside the cabin. Not a moment too soon, both Max and Nikki could hear the sound of gagging, followed by the vomit splattering to the grassy ground outside. That medicine definitely did not make him feel better. If even, it just made him feel worse. The taste was as horrid as the smell, if not, worse.
The sound of vomiting stopped eventually, filling the cabin with an uncomfortable silence, both Max and Nikki had no way of breaking it. The sound of the door hitting the wall violently, caused both campers to turn their heads towards the source of the noise. Through the opened door, stood the tall co counselor, who raised his right arm and wiped his mouth with it. His piercing glare was shot at both Max and Nikki, the young boy looked away from the adult's glare fearfully, as for the young girl, she glared back, smiling mischievously.
He rolled his eyes and wordlessly walked towards the bed—passing both campers—and collapsed on the hard mattress, too tired to pull the blanket up to his chest.
Max, the young, isolated boy thought about how the co counselor glared at him, a cold and disappointed glare, daggers that were shot at him felt as if it just pierced trough his body, painful and slow. He took that gesture as a sign that the tall, redheaded adult was highly upset with him. And he felt guilty for what he caused, he knew that the medicine did not give him a good feeling, but he forced it down David's throat anyways.
Max felt as if he had to make up for his mistake, he felt like he was obligated to, he needed to. And if he didn't, he won't feel very happy and satisfied afterwards. Yes, he did take care of David when David was sick, but that was it, there's no additional help he did afterwards, he felt as if he wasn't really worth it.
Anybody can take care of another sick human being, anyone younger than the sick person can take care of them. Anything that he did wasn't special, it wasn't like nobody else did it before. Like Nikki said, She's been sick before, and she knows what to do. She took care of herself and took care of someone else too.
But Max? He admitted that he didn't know what he was doing, he didn't know what he was doing at all for the past hours. Granted, he knew that medicine and a lot of liquids could make the sick person feel better. But he wasn't sure if it worked, he never took care of someone before, not even his own parents, and his old memories too blurry to process a single one of him getting taken care of when he was sick.
As Max snapped back to reality, the first thing he was presented with, was Nikki snapping photos and taking videos with David's phone of him sleeping and muttering some unidentifiable words. Max wanted to make it up to David after what he did to him. So, he'll try to make it up to the co counselor, "I'll be back..." muttered the young boy before running outside the cabin. Nikki had no problem on staying in the cabin, she didn't feel like running anyways.
***
Rapid footsteps could be heard nearby the tents, a short, young boy seemed to be the source of the noise as he entered one of the tents. It seemed like there was nobody there but him, or that's what he thought.
The sound of the tent flaps hitting against each other as the entrance closed. Max had just opened his small bag, in search for at least a water bottle for David. Like what Nikki told him, the only source of water are in the rivers, even Max thought that was disgusting. So, he thought some water would make David better. Max looked around, then pushed the bag under the bed, it wouldn't be unexpected if some of his belongings went missing without a trace, he already knew who took his things, it was obvious.
Before he walked out, he stopped for a moment and turned around to see his teddy bear, Mr. Honeynuts, sitting peacefully on his bed. Even if the small ragged doll was dirty and worn out, it did a number on helping Max through tough times. What if Max gave his teddy to David? But that'll mean he won't be able to sleep with it until David gets better. It was a tough choice, Max was having a mental argument with himself whether he should give the bear to David, or keep it. He reluctantly decided on giving the bear, for David's sake, a small good luck charm for David.
He then grabbed the bear and walked out of the tent just in time to see Neil standing in front of it, hands on his hips while his comrades stood behind him, arms crossed, "Hello, Maxwell. I saw that you've made a new friend." He said, towering above Max. Calling him by his full name made him feel nostalgic, but not in a good way, "Hi Neil. Yes, I did make a new friend." he mumbled, avoiding eye contact with the brunette, afraid that he'd do something with him.
Neil smirked and snatched Max's teddy bear, "Hey, give it back!" He exclaimed, extending his arms to reach the bear—which was obviously out of his reach since Neil was much taller than him, "Gosh, you really are pathetic." He smirked, pushing Max to the ground, "Do you want this back?" Max nodded before Neil tossed the bear to the ground, stepping on it. He looked back at Max, his face decorated with a deep, serious scowl. Max trembled in fear, backing away from Neil.
Before he knew it, Neil walked up to him and grabbed the collar of his hoodie, causing him to drop the small water bottle, "You fucking pussy," he muttered, pushing Max to a tree's trunk, "Tell me Maxwell, how did you become friends with Nikki?" He asked, glaring at him, "W-well... I..." he stuttered. Neil's patience wore thin as Max stuttered, he then hit Max's back against the trunk again, making the young boy wince in pain, "SPEAK UP!" He yelled, his comrades backing up in mild fear, "I don't know! I don't know... please... don't hurt me... please..." Max whimpered as Neil dropped him to the ground, sobbing, "Since you're not capable of telling me some simple information, how about we make a deal?" Neil offered, crouching down to face the crying boy, "You stop being Nikki's friend and we won't bother you, but if you choose to rebel or tell Nikki, there will be consequences." Threatened the brunette, still glaring at Max's glassy eyes which still had some tears falling out of, "Is that a deal?" He asked, not getting a response whatsoever. He stood up and growled, walking away as his two friends followed him behind.
Max, who was still on the ground, trembling, still didn't know how to process what just happened. All he remembered was the part where Neil yelled at him, and when his back was hit against the rough surface of the tree's trunk. There were some things he caught up on when he was on the ground, something about a deal that Neil spoke about.
As he rubbed his aching back, he saw his small, worn teddy bear on the ground which had a large footprint on, and was squished flat. Some of it's stuffing had escaped from a small hole, making it look even more damaged. Max crawled to where the bear was and hugged it tight, small apologizing mutters escaping his mouth, he should've never brought the bear out, but then again, it was for David to hold onto until he was better.
Still clutching the small toy tight, he wiped his wet eyes with his sleeve, getting rid of any evidence that showed his encounter with Neil. Max took his water bottle and stood up slowly, walking back to the cabin.
***
Max had been gone for a fair amount of time, Nikki had also finished taking embarrassing photos of David sleeping and was now making herself comfortable on a couch in the cabin. It wasn't the best place to rest, but if she had to choose between sitting with a sick adult and an uncomfortable couch, she'd rather not catch a cold than feel unrelaxed. While waiting for her small friend, she entertained herself by playing games on the co counselor's phone, it was better than nothing.
The creaking sound of the cabin's door filled the room as Max entered it. Nikki lowered the phone just to see a dirty-looking Max with red eyes, clutching both a teddy bear, and a water bottle.
Since when did he have clean water? Why didn't he tell her that he had water? "What happened to you?" Nikki asked, putting the phone down, walking up to Max.
She noticed how unfocused Max was when she saw him, not to mention the part when he jolted when his name was called, "Oh! No no, I'm fine." He smiled, "Are you sure? Because a little something happened there, and there." She gestured towards his eyes and his face, "This? Nah, I just fell down and hurt myself." He lied before rubbing his eyes and walking towards where David lay.
"Is he still asleep?" Max questioned, climbing onto the bed, examining David, "Yeah, he still is.... I think." She half-joked, expecting a small giggle or a laugh from Max. Surprisingly, she got none, except a long, tired-sounding sigh from Max. She was not one who knew Max well yet, but there was definitely something wrong, "Max, are you sure you're okay?" She asked as she walked towards the bed David slept on and climbed onto it.
Max tensed up when she put a hand on his shoulder, "I'm fine, really!" He smiled, in hopes that Nikki believed him. There's no point in getting the word out of him, he's to scared. Who know's what'll happen to Max if he blabbers to Nikki about the whole incident.
Nikki huffed in frustration, if she wanted to get information from him, she'd have to wait until he tells her, forcing it out won't do good. She let out an exaggerated sigh, clearly tired of what happened today, "Actually, I wanted to give something to David so he feels better. And no, it's not some medicine," He said, squinting when the word 'medicine' was said, "And since Mr. Honeynuts always makes me happy when I'm not feeling well, or when I'm unhappy. Maybe Mr. Honeynuts will make David happy like what he always did to me." He said shyly, holding out the small, worn out teddy to show Nikki.
Nikki smiled slightly, this was wholesome as fuck. Maybe giving the medicine to David wasn't really a good idea, since it probably made Max guilty, thinking it was his fault. But look at the bright side, photos were made, very embarrassing ones for sure, "You know what, Max?" Max tilted his head, "Maybe David will feel better because of that, good thinking, Max." She encouraged, Max lit up like a Christmas tree, his signature smile was back and the stars in his eyes have returned, this was much better.
Nikki climbed onto the bed and sat next to Max, who was sitting next to David's feet, "Let's wait for David to wake up. In the meantime, tell me more about Jasper."
"Okay!"
***
It was nighttime in lake lilac, the moon was up, dominating the sky once again. Small splatters of white filled up the empty, black space that was left out in the sky. Soft snores could be heard throughout Camp Campbell along with the chirps of the crickets and the hoots of the owls. Gwen had finished the camp activities for the day and just realized that Max and Nikki were missing throughout the day. So, she went to find David to help her search for the lost campers the second time.
The sound of the door creaking open filled the room as she entered the dark cabin, when she stopped near the bed when David slept, she saw two familiar campers, peacefully asleep next to David's feet. Soft snores were heard from them while they were sleeping. Gwen sighed in relief and smiled, they were here all along, she always wondered how Max got along with Nikki, the camper who hated everything. Gwen chuckled quietly and rubbed both of their heads,
"Goodnight kiddos...."
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I AM SO FUCKIBG SORRY FOR HOW LATE THIS CAME OUT TO BE!!! I don't know what happened, but half of the progress was deleted and that killed two days worth of writing time just to bring back the progress. At least it's done and finished. Don't worry, I'll write a chapter of the continued story of how Max met Jasper. But that'll be delayed due to a lil something I wanted to write to show my gratitude for how thankful I am to reaching 600+ reads! Thank you all so much I can't even! ♥️
(Plus: I did a lil somethin somethin in chapter 2)
Anyways, I'm RP and Goodbye!
-🃏