Camp Camp Oneshots and Ministories (normal version)

"He took me out for pizza": Part 1

So I saw this mini Tumblr story about something similar happening to David and I was wondering if anyone had done it with Max.

I'm not giving any details because I kind of want it to be a bit unexpected.

David watched the poor boy in a dull silence, the beeps of the heart monitor being the only noise in the room. Max was laying in a small bed with his head wrapped in a cast. The hours he spend by his side felt like a lonesome eternity where he didn't know what his camper would be like when he finally woke up. The only thing that gave him comfort was the small hand in his own.

It was supposed to be like any prank at the camp. The notorious trio tried to set up yet another inconvenience to David or Gwen's day or week . Nikki and Neil explained to him on their first visit to see their friend that the three had went into the woods together for different reasons. Nikki wanted to see wild animals, Neil wanted to look for possible ingredients for his experiments and Max went looking for materials to prank David. It seemed like the usual thing the trio would do.

They had apparently gone off the trail and got lost in the woods. Max was the first to spot the trail again and ran towards it in a hurry. Neil and Nikki's faces darkened with guilt when they told the man about how Max fell through the bushes and fell down a cliff that was too familiar to David. Unlike Jasper, Max didn't make it out unharmed but there were no bears to tear him to shreds.

He could never forget his panic when Neil and Nikki lead him to the boy in what once was a bear cave. He wasn't as lucky as Jasper, he wasn't even saying a word. His entire right side was bloody and twisted as blood seeped out of his head. He didn't even know if Max was going to survive and had no idea what to tell his friends, if they didn't already know the severity of the situation already.

Four days the boy was asleep. The doctor said that he would recover from his physical trauma but there was a strong possibility of brain damage. David had no idea what it would mean. Would he be able to function like he once did? Would he even be able to come back to camp? The thought of camp without Max would always make the counselor choke on the tears building up in his throat.

David was left waiting there, not knowing what would become of his camper. The bright spirit that livened up the camp was laying on a hospital bed, lifeless aside from his breathing. Gwen knew better than to convince him to go back to camp when he wouldn't be the same without Max. The campers came to him instead and made Max get well cards while expressing their concern for their friend. It was funny how the different campers that would often clash could have a united sorrow.

A soft knock at the door, that was too familiar to him, brought him back to reality. Even before he looked up from his chair, he could still hear the concerned murmurs of his campers. They were all crowded around the door with Gwen behind them, each having something in their hands.

David turned to face the boy that was hooked up to all those machines. He wondered if Max could hear them come in or even know that they were there.

"Look Max," David choked, "you've got some visitors. We all miss you buddy."

Gwen had always said he got too attached to his campers and she was right. David would always cry at the end of camp when he saw everyone go home. Max was different, not like any other child. Never before had he met such a challenge and such a spirit. Ironically, he reminded him of Jasper.

There was something about Max that always intrigued David and, although they were polar opposites, he grew on the man. Especially since Parent's Day, David couldn't help but feel a fatherly connection to him, even though he knew it would only break his heart when the boy had to go home. He knew it was wrong to pick favourites but who could blame him for taking a liking to the young sparrow?