Mutual Hatred (ONC Entry) | Max x Reader

Chapter 10: Bonding

Max's POV

I couldn't breathe.

No matter how much air I sucked in, nothing helped. My chest felt too tight; I could do nothing to get more oxygen.

All of a sudden, I was freezing under my hoodie, even though it was in the middle of summer. An overwhelming fear possessed me. I... I had to get away from here. I had a feeling if I stayed any longer I'd have a breakdown or something. I couldn't let anyone see that, especially Y/n.

So I ran.

*****

Y/n's POV

I hurtled through the forest, dodging trees, trying not to trip on debris. It almost felt like that dream I had back at the Wood Scouts camp, except instead of running away from something, I was running towards it. And I was pretty sure that the Jasper kid wasn't with me, though for all I know he could've invisible at the moment.

"MAX!" I called frantically. He had to be here somewhere. Sunlight filtered through the branches above me, lighting up some places, and casting shadows in others. The result was kinda trippy, I'd be blinded one moment by a brilliant shaft of light, then darkness would force my eyes to adjust, making it all the more difficult to avoid obstacles.

Suddenly, I stumbled into a random clearing and spotted him. The bright blue hoodie stood out among all the greenery, thankfully. Filled with relief, I sagged, and suddenly pain flared back up in my leg.

 The adrenaline that had possessed me up until that moment immediately drained away and all the aches and pains from my little dash through the woods with a messed up calf rose up to take its place. In all the panic, my crutches had been left, forgotten, back at the amphitheater. 

Even though I had found Max, I didn't immediately run to him. The boy was currently hugging his knees, hood pulled up, eyes screwed shut. One flashed open and registered I was there, and he just curled up even tighter.

"It's okay... it's okay," I soothed, slowly walking towards him, talking like I would to an injured animal. And from what I could gather, that's exactly what he was. Not physically, but whatever David had said was clearly painful at an emotional level.

When I was closer, but still a good few feet away, I sank down on the ground, palms up in a placating manner. I tried to sit and felt something stopping me. Looking behind, I realized I had accidentally brought my guitar with me. I shrugged it off, setting the instrument onto the grass.

I sat there, cross-legged, and began to talk. Most of it was meaningless, but the important part was my tone. At some point, I had switched to telling him about those weird dreams of mine, describing all the odd stuff, from the gremlins to the cervitaur David, even about Jasper the friendly ghost.

"Jasper is real," Max rasped. Startled, I stopped my rambling.

"Well that's unsettling," I blinked in surprise. That dream was just rendered even less original than before since Jasper wasn't someone I made up. I guess my imagination was too lacking to come up with its own characters.

He relaxed his tight muscles with a small groan. "Yeah, he was some kid who died on Spooky Island a while ago; about the time when David was a camper. He disappeared one day, and apparently got killed somehow, since he's a ghost now."

"That explains the 90's theme."

"Probably."

"Can I..." I gestured coming over to him since he seemed to be kinda himself again. He gave a small nod and I scooted forward.