It Had to be You

Chapter Nine: Dinner

The room was full by the time Max and David arrived. Gwen had herded the unruly bunch of kids into the dining hall about ten minutes ago. The group had almost fully recovered by now. Everyone was separated into their respective groups and talking like nothing had happened. Well, everyone but Nikki and Neil.

They were sitting together, as usual, but there was the distinctive lack of, well anything, at their table. Nikki was sitting almost still, poking at her mashed potatoes with a fork. Neil sat next to her, notebook open in front of him, pen on paper but his hands laid still.

And then Max walked in. And the hall went silent.

He was wearing the hoodie David had given him, the sleeves trailing over his hands. Without saying anything, he walked to the counter and grabbed a tray of food. Then he silently walked towards Neil and Nikki, sitting down at the table next to them.

Nikki reacted first. Jumping up she ran over to Max, and before he could do anything wrapped him in a giant hug. Neil was second. He grabbed his and Nikki's trays of food and set them on either side of the startled boy. Sitting down in front of his meal, he gave Max an awkward side hug before continuing to eat. After a good ten seconds Nikki released Max and did the same.

Nurf stood up, his face apologetic as he opened his mouth to speak. Nikki glared at him, expression almost deadly, telling him to back off. Nurf sat back down, stare still affixed on Max.

To be fair, everyone was watching Max. Their eyes bored into him like drills, he could feel their gaze on his skin.

Pulling the hood of his jacket over his head, he started cutting up his meat. He wasn't quite sure what it was (maybe beef?), but it tasted okay when he took a bite.

By the time he had finished his food, the dining hall was still silent. Every time he glanced up, he could still see everyone's eyes still on him. He wanted to stand up, tell everyone to fuck off, that it was none of their business. But he was scared. Max scared. It was an uncomfortable feeling.

Feeling very self conscious, he picked up his tray and carried it over to the dishes counter.

When he came back, he found both Nikki and Neil staring at him expectantly.

"Are you okay?" Nikki asked, her eyes wide.

Max sighed. "Yes," he finally said. "All of the scars and bruises are at least a month old. I'm fine."

Nikki looked relieved. "Can I ask where you got them?"

"No," Max responded, flatly.

"Okay," Nikki said, awkwardly. "But you know you can tell us, right?"

"Yeah," Neil added. "We won't judge you or anything."

Max knew. That didn't make him ready to tell anyone though. "I know," He said simply. A minute passed. "I'll give you two questions each."

"What?" Neil said, confusedly.

"Two questions. You may each ask me two questions, as long as it's not 'tell me everything that has happened in your life that has contributed to this moment'," Max grumbled.

Neil asked his questions immediately in quick succession. "What happened to you on the beach and where did you go?"

Max answered easily. "I had a panic attack, David took me to the counselor cabin and gave me some hot chocolate."

Nikki, in a weird role reversal, thought for a moment before asking her question. "How did you get those scars?"

Max thought for a few seconds about how to respond. "My mom and dad weren't exactly model parents."

"Oh," Nikki said. "That sucks, I'm sorry. I guess my second question is are you okay? Like are you safe now?"

Max smiled faintly. "I think so."

Nikki nodded, as if she knew all she wanted to know. Max knew she didn't. He could see the curiosity burning in her eyes, but Nikki didn't press further.

"I'm glad you're okay now," she said, grabbing her tray and standing up. Reaching over the table, she grabbed Neil's now empty tray and stacked it on her own. "I'm going to put these away." And off she walked, as if nothing had just happened.

The room had stopped watching Max now, people going off to their normal dinner time routines.

Max was safe. And that was all that mattered.

An: Another part! This chapter is dedicated to @pumkincoffi ! At this point you are basically my motivation. Thanks so much for commenting, it really helps me find the drive to keep writing. Another part out soon!