꧁*｡ﾟ"I Wɪʟʟ Nᴇᴠᴇʀ" | 𝙼𝚊𝚡 𝚡 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛 *｡ﾟ꧂

Ch. 17 | Max or Harrison

- The fading glare of the sunset reflected off the rivers surface. The end of the day was calm and relaxing. In a zoomed-out perspective. If you reached into the image, you could see a lot more.

"Why the long face?" Max snickered, crouching down at the edge of the river. You huffed and climbed out of the water, giving him your best death glare. "I'm so sorry," he said sarcastically, leaning forward. You rolled your eyes and stormed past him silently. "I'm sorry," he repeated, scampering after you. "Hey-" You felt him grab your wrist. "What?" You snapped, looking back at him. "I'm sorry, please don't be mad at me." 

"Hmm.." You narrowed your eyes. "Please?" He tugged your sleeve. "Hmm, alright." Nikki emerged from the bushes with Harrison and Neil. Nikki wore a smug grin while the two boys looked uncomfortable. Harrison more than Neil. You dragged your gaze over to them, slightly embarrassed at your lack of.. dry clothes and social distancing. "I have arrived," Nikki said, straightening and brushing off her signature overalls.

You narrowed your eyes at her. "Yeah, and I see you brought company." She shrugged, "I needed someone to cover my eyes if I saw some unholy activity." Max snorted, "you and I are both 16, Nikki." She stared at him as if she expected his comment. "You and Y/N do things.. things I can't unsee." She shuddered and looked at her feet. You rolled your eyes, the worst thing you two would do is get overly touchy- but nothing severe ever happened. You and Max were only teenagers.

"Wow," was all you could bring yourself to say. Harrison walked over to you and tugged your sleeve, which was starting to stick onto your arm. "Couldn't you just take a shower?" He asked, concerned. You flickered your gaze over to meet Max' for a split second. "I could-" you snorted, jabbing a thumb back at him. "-But goody two-shoes had to inexplicably push me into the river." Harrison let out a low chuckle, and he wiped strands of hair out of your face. "You're alright," he grinned.

"Ehehe- cool," you felt yourself melting into his touch, but you quickly shook off the feeling. You were dating Max. You liked Max. Speaking of Max, he was growling behind you and repeating no touching while kissing the back of your head and hugging your neck. It still confused you, even though he'd been doing it since the start of your relationship. He never seemed like the clingy type. Jealous? Yes, but clingy? Almost definitely not. It was like whenever he felt jealous he would drop his "bad boy" act and get all soft.

"Jesus Christ, Max, you don't let her do anything." Max glared up at Harrison. Even though your back was turned to him, you could tell that his stare was drilling holes into Harrisons. "I'm looking out for her, something a magical pussy like you wouldn't understand." Nikki and Neil were dragging their gazes from you to Harrison. Their expressions were smug, and you knew something was going on in their minds. Something they wouldn't outright tell you in front of Max.

"I think I'm gonna go dry off now," you announced, pulling away from Max and marching into to your tent. You shuffled through your bag and pulled out a white short-sleeved shirt along with some F/C pajama pants and a towel. "Hm, not the best but it'll do.." You carried your clothes over to the bathroom cabin, humming gently. With a grunt, you swung them over the stall at the very end of the cabin, stepped inside, took off your clothes, and turned on the water. It was oddly comforting, and you started singing your favorite song.

When the song was finished, you wrapped up your shower and grabbed the towel, drying yourself off and pulling on the clothes you selected. Max' face was the first thing you saw when you opened the door. "Jesus!" You shrieked, slapping him with the towel. "Shit!" Max stumbled backwards and fell onto his butt, but since he was grabbing one end of the towel and you were grabbing the other, he pulled you down with him. It gave you Fan-Fiction vibes. "Girl clumsily falls onto boy and they share a moment."

You tried to slither off him before things got awkward, but he grabbed your waist and kissed your forehead. "I love you," he whispered, letting you go. You felt as if your face was burning up, "I-I love you, too." The words felt half-hearted. Harrison was always on the back of your mind, but you couldn't tell if it was love or just a friendly image. Whenever he touched you, your heart fluttered. Whenever he smiled at you or just said hello, you would get butterflies in your stomach. But it felt wrong. You continuously told Max that you loved him, and you felt as if liking Harrison would betray him. You liked both of them. That was your final answer. It was a terrible move, but you couldn't decide on who you truly loved. Sure, you and Max were in a relationship, but you still couldn't call off the butterflies you got whenever you did as much as interact with Harrison. 

"Hello? Earth to Y/N?" Max waved a hand in front of your face. "Eh?" You blinked and shook the thoughts out of your head. "You were spacing out," he reported, helping you to your feet. "Sorry.. I've just had a lot on my mind." You swung the towel over your shoulder and walked past him thoughtfully. "Hey.. hey! Wait up!" He sped after you and grabbed your wrist like he had done earlier. "Come here," he pulled you into a hug. You felt the same sparks you had felt with Harrison. But this time the feeling was slightly duller.

"..I'm sorry, Max." You wrapped your arms around his waist and buried your face into his chest. "Sorry for what?" He asked, scoffing. "I'm.. I'm just sorry.." you whispered. Max ruffled your hair and bent down to your level, lifting your chin so you looked into his eyes. "I don't know what I'm forgiving you for.. but yeah, I forgive you." You smiled and pulled him into a quick kiss. "Thank you, dick-face."

"No problem, princess." 

"Ugh.." you stuck out your tongue and gave him a dramatic glare. "Come on, let's go get you some food before we go to bed," Max straightened and linked his pinky with yours, leading you over to the Mess Hall gently. Once you opened the doors, the room quieted. The campers instantly looked at Harrison. Max looked unbothered, and you were grateful that he didn't understand why they were doing such things. "Come on, let's just get something and leave," you said urgently. Harrison was sitting at the corner of the room, looking at you with a soft expression.

"..Give me a second," you walked over to him and laid your knuckles on the table. "Harrison.." you began. "I'm sorry," he interrupted, looking at your hands. "Sorry for.." you trailed off to let him finish "..For making Max angry all the time," he said guiltily. "It's just in his blood, Harrison. I think it's my fault though, to be honest. I'm the one who can't decide.." You paused and looked into his eyes, expecting to see disappointment, but all you saw was.. love. Your cheeks flushed and you fiddled with your fingers. "I think you should go over to him now," he said, looking over your shoulder.

You followed his gaze and saw Max glaring at him disdainfully. "You're right.. see you later, hopefully?" You looked over at Harrison, "yeah.. see you later." He hesitantly kissed his fingers and pressed them to your hand. You smiled at him before skipping off to meet Max, who had already gotten two trays of mashed potatoes. "What was that all about?" He asked, handing you a tray. "Oh, nothing. Just a.. a meeting between friends." The word friends stuck sourly on your tongue. "Alright," he balanced his tray on one hand and held your hand with the other, leading you out to your tent.

You jumped onto your bed and crawled to the corner, instantly finishing your food. Max, on the other hand, took his sweet time. You dropped the tray on the floor on top of his and pulled the blanket over yourself. "Hey.." he grabbed one corner and pulled it over his leg, then flopped down beside you and snuggled his face into the crook of your neck. "Good night, Y/N" he muttered sleepily. "Good night, Max." -