Who Am I Without You | Camp Camp Max

Chapter 1.

"Just please tidy your tent today, Max. It's the least you can do after almost setting it on fire yesterday." David sighed, clearly desperate for the teenager to help him out a bit.

Max simply scoffed and rolled his eyes at the camp counsellor. Which, in retrospect, was not the smartest idea as David was now coming over to sit on the end of Max's bed. Oh boy, here we go-

"Look, I know you don't want to be here. But I try my best to make things enjoyable for you, I-i don't know what else I can do." David spoke quietly, slightly saddened that Max couldn't see how great camping really is .

Max winced slightly, God he was so sensitive.

"I understand that- if there is anything going on at- if there is anything wrong, you can always talk to me right?" David stuttered his words, clearly struggling to find the best way to reach out to him.

There was a silence, followed by a deep sigh coming from Max. "I mean, there's always shit at home. That's why they sent me as far away as fucking possible for the summer to get rid of me." Max snapped, eyebrows furrowed in concentration at the ground. "They- they don't want me there, clearly." Max muttered, his eyes suddenly widening at the realisation he'd said too much out loud.

Before Max could act out, David gave him a soft smile which strangely comforted him.

"I understand Max, thank you for opening up. I know you don't want to talk to me but Gwen and I - and even Neil and Nikki - are always here for you.

Max finally looked up and met eyes with the smiley red head. He hated feeling so vulnerable. Emotions were not his strong suit.

"Oh my goodness!" David practically squealed, shocking Max right out of his trance. "What time is it? The new camper is arriving any minute now!"

"New camper?" Max questioned a frantic David who shot up and peeped out of the tent.

Max groaned to himself. He already hated 90% of the people at this camp, another person joining this hell hole would just mean more dumb shit heads to deal with everyday for the rest of summer.

David seemed pretty excited though.

"Aren't you gonna come out and meet them?" David asked eagerly, not taking his bright green eyes off of the road.

"Uh- yeah whatever I'll be out in a sec" Max rolled his eyes and reached for his blue hoodie.

"David, will you get the fuck out?" he demanded, turning back around. However, David had already sped out to the road as soon as a distant rumble of the dysfunctional yellow bus could be heard.

Max went to splash some water over his face, attempting to feel at least a little more cleaner on the outside than he did on the inside. He ran his hands through his thick, dark curls that were beginning to slightly cover his green eyes. "Fuck!" Max yelled as he kicked over his beloved (and secret) teddy bear. Taking a moment to calm down, the tanned boy squinted his eyes and exhaled sharply. Shit, maybe Gwen's dumb theraputic sessions were actually useful. He began to focus on the sounds around him. Bird song, swaying trees, laughter?

It was coming from outside.

Slightly prying his tent open, he spied David and Nikki, excitedly bouncing around. There was another, the new camper he presumed, a brunette girl around his age.

Her eyes followed David and Nikki as they began to show her around. Her laughter seemed to echo around the camp; a sweet sound that possessed a shy warmth.

The other campers began to swarm around the new girl, sharing greetings and introductions.

Her name was Maria.

Max could no longer hear the bird song, or the swaying trees. The darkness of his tent consumed him, shutting out any tiny gaps of sunlight that tried to reach through the opening.

He didn't have the energy for this today. Anxiety is a bitch.