Someone Still Loves You | Max x Neil [Camp Camp]

3] Selfless Individuals

*

The next day, I wake up to the obnoxious sound of tinkering. Then I hear David scream, making the tinkering stop. I squint my eyes, looking up at the ceiling. It won't be like yesterday, I think. Sitting up, I grab my bag, looking through it as I take out a jacket. It's a darker shade of blue.

I go take a shower, changing right after and grabbing the dark blue jacket sitting on my bed. I put it on, zipping it up halfway. By the time I reach the Mess hall, I'm eating at our table but neither Nikki nor Neil is here. Ered isn't even here. Space kid is though.

I go for the clearing and I see Neil already working on the final potion. Nikki is sprawled on the ground, watching ants. They don't notice me immediately. I walk closer, coming up from behind.

"Are you finished?" I ask Neil. "No, almost." He replies.

I wait.

One, two, three-- He jumps. "Oh my god, Max." He hisses at me. I smirk. "Hi."

Nikki rolls over on the ground to look at me, "Max?-- Hey!" I kick her while she's still rolling around in the dirt.

"That's for pulling me into the lake." I say, trying to sound resentful but I'm smiling slightly. "And this is for not apologizing." I kick her again.

"Ow! I'm sorry!" She wheezes in pain, although she's cackling. "You should've seen the look on your face when I pulled you in!"

"You fucking made me choke on water!" I argued. Neil is smiling.

"You looked like a really pissed off cat." He admits, but he goes back to working on the final potion. Nikki narrows her eyes at Neil curiously. "What are you making?" She asks Neil as she goes to stand and peer over his work station. Neil pushes her hand away when she tries to poke one of the beakers.

"A love potion." He says blankly. I turn to stare at him.

"Neil." I say.

"What?" He asks, unfazed.

"You told her!" I hiss at him. He shrugs nonchalantly. "Only three of us then. It seems to weird to keep a secret from her."

"But she's a girl. She can use it to her advantage."

"Girl?"

"She-devil." I deadpan.

"I can hear you, you know. So what's this about a love potion?" She says, grinning mischievously.

"It's for Max." Neil smirks. Nikki awes, but abruptly stops. "Hold on, why would you need a love potion? You in looove, Max?"

"No." I denied apprehensively. That's the problem. I stressed.

"Anyway, the thing about love potions is that they're not exactly what they say they are. They aren't magic."

"Scientists used oxytocin to make the things, you could practically bottle it up and say it's a love potion." He scoffs, "They called it a 'love hormone', honestly, it isn't completely accurate. Oxytocin is supposed to increase as it's role in bonding and reproduction, it also influences brain activity. It originally wasn't meant for drinking, but in this case, you need to actually drink it-- don't ask how they used to put it in their system. It's the queerest thing ever."

I sigh, "Don't say that, Neil."

"What? Queer?" He asks, puzzled. I give him a look.

"What are you guys talking about?"

A series of screams erupt from the trio. That includes me, but oh my God, Nikki practically squeals, "Ered!"

I turn to look at said girl.

"Queer shit." I offered, replying to Ered in the most irritating way possible.

I look at Neil, expecting him to shout at her to - "Stay away, this is private!" - but he's just standing there unmoving and not hiding the fucking potion on his work station. As if he's starting to remember, he moves forward, blocking it from Ered's view.

"You can put a love hormone in a drink? Is that even possible?" Ered says, sounding interested. "Is it a drug?"

"No, it's not a drug. Get out, Ered." I shout at her. Leave it to Ered to eavesdrop. I feel a hand come up my shoulder. I stare at it, then I look at it's owner. Nikki.

"Can she stay? Please?" She begs. I glared at the hand, shrugging it off my shoulder.

"What? No, this is between the three of us!" I look at her disbelievingly. Seriously. What has gotten into her?

"Why do guys keep saying it's a drug? Also, we do not word it that way, Ered." Neil sniffs at the word love hormone.

"Do you guys need it tested? I'm cool with it." She offers. Like hell am I going to let her drink that.

"Fuck no." I say abruptly. I can feel Neil staring at the back of my head. "I mean," Saying slowly, "you aren't qualified."

She raises an eyebrow and looks back at the both of them. "I wouldn't mind being a science experiment."

"Yeah." I nod, "Whatever. Go for it." I say nonchalantly, stepping aside, and ignoring the fact that she was talking to Nikki and Neil.

Neil silently hands over a glass bottle filled with a pinkish liquid, what I assume is the prototype, to Ered. My eyes are fixated on the potion. Honestly, I thought the potion would be something other than pink. I raise my hand.

"If Ered dies, I'm pinning it on Neil." I say in disdain, giving a salute to Neil. "See you in Super Guantanamo, Neil."

"No one's going to Super Guantanamo." He snaps, then calmly faces Ered. "Just drink it, we'll see what happens."

Ered is now holding the potion, and I can't be fucked for not giving a shit if she does die. She uncorks it and slowly, very slowly-- brings it to her lips.

"Fuck that. Give it here." I say, quickly reaching over to grab it by grabbing her arm. She yelps, and the liquid sloshes violently. "Max! What are you doing?" Neil hisses incredulously at me.

There is something seriously wrong with Ered because she won't fucking let go of the stupid bottle. "Saving her fucking life!" I shout at him, trying to pry her fingers off the bottle. "Let go, Ered!"

She stumbles from having me tugging at her arm haphazardly. It sends us tumbling to the ground. "Fight! Fight! Fight!" I hear Nikki hollering loudly. Neil shouts at her, distressed for not helping.

She finally lets go of the bottle and I fall back. It's chaos and they're shouting. Meanwhile, my head's being tipped back and the potion is directed right at me. I shout for Neil when the liquid splashes onto my face and into my mouth and I swallow.