Neil x Reader
There was a special balance to the friendships you had made at camp Campbell.
Nikki was the first. The 'original' as one may say. You met her before camp, and she is as dear to your heart as your faces were to dirt. You act however you want with Nikki. Any stupid, dangerous idea that crosses your mind will always be executed under the assurance that the mint-haired girl will follow along for a good laugh. You were your mothers' nightmares. You were affectionate with Nikki, and you could get physical; tussling and hugging; without her ever saying much of a word on it or teasing you (too much) about it. She was the ride or die. And a single tear from her mud covered face could move you to do the unthinkable. There was no denying how attached you were.
Max was complicated, and simple all the same. He was asshole-cyanide, and you had been born with asshole-antidote in your blood. Any insult he dished you could take, throw it back, reverse it and even laugh it off. Your talks lacked any filter; and as much as you had the certainty that Max would always come back and hang around no matter how angry you made him; Max rest assured you'd never truly hate him despite dissing your entire existence. You didn't talk about feelings. Both of you masked that part of you with excessive, caustic humor, or excessive caustic coldness. You respected each other masks and kept distance...most of the time. Together you caused the type of chaos that would get any child in a straight line towards juvenal hall.
Then there was Neil.
He was your third friend.
He liked science. He was tall, and wore an unfashionable yellow sweater. He made contraptions for Max's schemes; sometimes helped you fix your amplifier. He's a good cookie.
...
You and Neil rarely spoke to each other without the other two parts of the trio around. It was just awkward. There was no better way to describe it. You were too boisterous, touchy, a text-book extrovert. Neil shrunk on himself or outwardly took distance when you tried to make contact. And you had no experience interacting with kids that made A's in school.
Sure, you both enjoyed being the solace of the counselors. But it was clear that there was a hard line to his troublemaking that you had crossed ages ago; and he wasn't about to walk all over it just to shake your hand.
It was also clear that you both recognized this impasse in your relationship, and politely tried to avoid being alone together.
SADLY, fate is a vindictive and merciless dick.
_
You fidgeted with a scrap of metal that had been left from the machine. You wondered if you could make a shank from it like they did in prison. You weren't planning to do anything with it, you were just bored out of your mind.
You looked up. Neil was fixing some details on the catapult he was building from the remains of the defunct skatepark. He seemed pretty focused on his task. You considered asking him what you could use to make your piece of iron sharper, and what to use as a handle just to see his reaction; but you quickly convinced yourself out of talking to him.
The tall boy finished adjusting the gears of the inner mechanism of the catapult. There was a strange piece of metal on one of the support columns. It was the result of using second hand materials. Still, it could be a hinderance to their plan. The piece was a little too high for him to reach, and he wasn't exactly athletic enough to climb and get it.
'If only Nikki hadn't left...' He thought. His brain finally reminded him he wasn't alone.
Neil pulled his hands against his chest as he usually did, an uncomfortable expression on his face while he watched you stare off into the forest. He debated with himself for a quick moment before clearing his throat. He got no reaction from you. He tried to clear his throat harder; but this ended up with him actually hurting his pipes, the boy bending over himself as he was now suffering through a coughing fit that certainly got you glancing at him in puzzlement.
