Max's Camp (MaxNeil)

Chapter 2 - Crushes

Max hopped off the grimy bus. He and his friends were situated at the back of the crowd, not needing to retain any of the information droned at them. They've been there before, and not much had changed since Max was a camper.

Neil and Nikki stayed close to his side as they walked around the camp. David (and Gwen, unsurprisingly still at the camp) led the crowd. It was not as large as it used to be, but it was decently sized, at least.

Max had to keep himself from looking over to Neil and staring. It was so fucking hard. No pun intended.

The trio was respectively quiet for the duration of the tour. Max assumed the two had matured like him. That was nice. He wasn't really up for much craziness this summer.

The campers were dismissed to their tents at the end. Max ushered his friends away so that he could talk to David.

And Gwen. Can't forget about her.

The counselors were talking. David's peppy attitude overrode Gwen's pessimistic nature. Max was grateful that not much had seemed to change on that front.

"Sup, fuckers?"

David turned around, gasping loudly. Gwen just lazily shifted her body to face him, arching an eyebrow.

"Language!"

"I don't know if you remember, but I don't really listen to you, camp man."

Despite the rude comment, it brought a slight smile to Max's face. Ah, memories. It was so fun to mess with David.

David gasped again, bringing his hands to his face in delight. His eyes sparkled with glee.

Gwen's eyes widened for a fraction of a second, and then she sighed dejectedly, rubbing her temple.

"Max! Golly, you've grown so much! Me and Gwen missed you!"

"No, that's just him," she scoffed.

David glanced disapprovingly at the woman. She only shrugged.

Max's grin widened and he headed over to David. He had to crane his neck uncomfortably to meet his eyes, but that was the norm for him.

Not taking a second to reconsider, he hugged the man.

"...'ve missed you, fucker."

David squealed happily, his beam stretching impossibly wide. He wasted no time in wrapping his strong arms around the teen, bending down a bit.

Gwen gaped silently next to them, surprised by Max's actions.

Max pulled back. He still wasn't used to physical contact, but he felt that he had to do that. He rubbed his neck awkwardly, suddenly unsure of himself.

"So... long time no see, I guess?" He commented.

David was practically vibrating with glee. He nodded. "What have you been doing these past years, Max?"

He rolled his shoulder, mulling over an answer. "Competitions 'n shit, y'know. School, too, of course."

David cocked his head to the side, and Gwen finally snapped out of her shock to stare at him quizzingly.

"Competitions? What kind of competitions?" she asked.

He shrugged again, not wanting to give himself away just yet. "You'll find out eventually. Probably."

David bobbed his head; Gwen narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

After a bit more conversing, Max wandered off to meet up with Neil at their tent. The sun was almost completely gone by the time he made it.

He moved the fabric of their entrance to the side, stepping into the dim area.

Neil was awake, a small lantern illuminating his section. He was sitting on his cot, hunched over a book. He looked up as Max entered, smiling at him.

Max's face burned up. Thank fuck for the dark interior.

Neil gestured Max over to his bed. Max swallowed down his nerves so that he could join him.

"What were you up to?" Neil inquired. He set down his book on a nearby tree stump as he faced fully to Max.

The emerald-eyed teen took a minute to register the question because he and his crush were sitting knee-to-knee.

Finally getting his bearings, he waved his hand dismissively. "Just caught up with David and Gwen. Nothing important."

Neil smiled at him. Max wished his deepening blush wasn't too obvious.

"You know, you're a lot nicer now," Max nodded, shifting a little more towards Neil. "I like it."

Max had to stop himself from tensing in shock. Instead, he smiled at him.

"Yeah. I'll probably be a lot more chill this year. Less adventures - or none. That cool?"

Neil gave him a thumbs up. Then he yawned.

"About time we sleep, huh?" he asked.

Max got off the bed. He secretly wanted to stay and cuddle, but he didn't think that Neil would be OK with that.

"Well... goodnight then, Neil."

Neil grumbled a "night," in response. Max's fried brain finally noticed how deep his voice got when he was sleepy.

It was kinda hot.

Max tried to sleep, but only got a few hours before David's voice boomed throughout the camp.