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

Ch. 25 | Reconsideration

- The food-fight abruptly came to a stop when David burst in. "Hello, campers!" He greeted cheerfully, ignoring the disheveled state of the Mess Hall. "I have a special announcement!" Gwen walked in next to him, eyes dark. "David, for the love of god- this isn't-" she began. David stuffed his clipboard into her face, muffling her words. "Today, a special someone stopped by!" He said, flashing his giant smile. You winced at the glow. "I hope you treat her well, she's really really important to me," he said hopefully, his smile slightly faltering.

You looked around. The campers had lined up in front of him, breathless and sticky. Max was covered head to toe with mashed potatoes and so were you. Harrison couldn't seem to catch his breath while Nikki was staring blankly at David, formulating a dark plan in her mind. Poor David, they're already plotting against him. You straightened and looked at him levelly. "I'll make her feel as welcome as I can!" You said cheerfully. David flinched, nobody ever listened to him.

He leaned down and ruffled your hair softly. "Thank you, Y/N. This means a lot to me, it really does." You tapped his hand and nodded. The gazes of your friends burned into your head. "What?" You asked, looking at Nikki. "You shouldn't go along with what he says," Max replied before she could get a word out. You blinked, wordlessly inviting him to continue. You didn't think he would understand, but he clearly did. "He's the.. camp loser," he continued silently.

"Max, shut up," Harrison warned through gritted teeth. "You shut up, magical shit. I'm just-" He began. You frantically tugged on his sleeve. "Max, seriously." He froze when he noticed your expression, then looked up, confused. Gwen was giving him a demonic glare, teeth bared. She's like David's older sister, you thought, smiling. Max stiffened beside you, "it was auto-correct?" 

Gwen opened her mouth to give him a snarky response, but David interrupted, clearing his throat. "It's alright, Gwen" he said simply. She froze and stared at him, then at Max. His expression was smug. "Yeah, Gwen." You rolled your eyes and released him. "Lets go meet our guest!" David said cheerfully, leading the campers outside. Gwen lagged behind, her face was now stuffed into her own clipboard. You could tell she was frowning

"You alright, Gwen?" You asked, slowing down to walk beside her. She lowered her clipboard, exposing her face. Anger was written all over it. "David needs to stop letting himself get pushed around," she hissed "..I agree," you sighed. Gwen blinked, confused by your agreement. "Do you think we should do something about it?" You asked. She tapped her clipboard against her chin. "I do, but what?" She projected her thoughts out loud. You lowered your gaze. "Maybe we should toughen him up?" Gwen snapped. "Yeah, he's done it before, he can do it again!"

"How do we do it, though?" You asked. Gwen's eyes were practically glowing. "David's girlfriend stopped by, she hates guys like him." You snorted, Gwen was mad at Max for insulting him, yet she was doing the same. "Like what?" She pressed a finger against the top of your head, "weak, overly cheery guys." The campers suddenly halted, causing you and Gwen to bump face first into them. "What?" You straightened and craned your neck to see what was going on. David was standing in front of some woman. "Everyone, this is Bonquisha," he said.

She was wearing a.. weird shirt, jeans, and purplish boots. Her black hair was pulled up in a ponytail and she was rocking golden hoop earrings. "David, who are all these kids?" She asked. "They're the campers I told you about!" He responded. "Oh," her eyes flickered "..Did you forget?" He asked, his voice betraying sadness. "Ehm- of course not," she said, forcing a smile. David looked at her as if he was reading her soul, then turned to the campers again. "I hope you'll make her feel welcome here!" He said.

"Oh, we will." You looked over, trying to find the person who delivered the ominous line. Even though you didn't see it directly, you knew it was Max. You finally found him standing at the edge of the crowd, sneering at Bonquisha and David. "You'll feel very welcome," Nikki added. David's smile widened with fear. His eyes darted sideways, then back. "U-um, lets move onto activities!" He said, ushering them off to the Activities Field where a rock wall was posted. Tires lay in the middle and a tower with two ropes was at the end.

 "What is this, the army?" Harrison narrowed his eyes. "This looks fun!" You said encouragingly. "I guess," Max agreed, inspecting the course. "Are we forming teams?" Neil asked half-heartedly. He looked nervous. "Sure! Y/N, Max, you'll be the leaders. Pick whoever you want," David said. "I pick Nikki!" You shouted immediately. Max whipped around and gave you a playful glare. "Wow, Y/N, taking away the most skilled camper?" He snorted. "After me?" You responded simply.  

He blinked and extended his hand, taking it in yours. "We'll go easy on you," he promised, shaking it. "No need." The campers lined up along the side of the course, their eyes were anxiously glued to you and Max. "Okay, lets see.." Nikki, Harrison, Space Kid, and Ered were on your team. Nurf, Preston, Neil, Dolph, and Nerris were on Max's. "Alright, are you happy with your teams?" David asked you and Max. "I am," you said. "I guess," Max added. 

"Okay, Max, Y/N, you'll go first since you're the leaders." You and Max stood side by side in front of the rock wall. He glared at you and cracked his knuckles. "I'm soo intimidated," you cowered sarcastically. "When you're ready," David called. You whipped around and flexed your fingers, mentally preparing yourself. "Go!" Max jumped onto the wall, climbing up instantly. You copied his actions, staying stubbornly by his side. You glared at him and sped up, hopping through the tires. He ran after you, huffing.

With a grunt, you jumped up and grabbed a rope between your hands, wincing at the burn. Max hopped up next to you. "Don't trip, Princess!" Princess. You froze and stared at him, eyes wide. He was climbing above you, looking completely unbothered. "Y/N, go!" You heard Nikki call. "Oh!" You dug your fingernails into the rope, scampering up quickly. "What the hell?!" Max stared climbing faster, glaring at you. "I'm a smooth criminal!" With a final grunt, you jumped up onto the platform and planted your feet on it. "How the fuck.." Max climbed up next to you.

"One point for Y/N's team!" David said, blowing a whistle. Gwen gave you a thumbs-up. You looked at Max and flashed a toothy smile. "Good luck, Maximilian." He narrowed his eyes and stuck out his tongue, making an exaggerated bleh sound while pointing at it. Max helped you down and you two watched your teams from the side. The final round came, and it was a tie. Nikki and Neil. Surprise, surprise, Nikki ended up winning, scoring the final point for your team.

"..Aaand we win!" You shouted as David blew the whistle. Max rolled his eyes, "my team is ass." You leaped to your feet and ruffled his hair. He pouted slightly and stood up. "Good game, though." You reached out and grabbed his hand, shaking it vigorously. "Good game," he echoed. Your team carried Nikki off on their shoulders, cheering. David and Gwen followed, leaving you alone with Max. You fiddled anxiously with your fingers. "Ready to talk?" You asked quietly.

Max looked down at you, eyes wide "..I don't know," he admitted, looking away. His mouth twitched and he looked like he wanted to add something, but he stayed silent. He tried again, but his cheeks flushed and he pulled his hood over his head. Awe, he's flustered."Its okay!" You reassured, holding up your hands. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked away, his face was a blushing mess. You sighed and scratched the side of your head. Gwen appeared from the bushes. "Progress," she said bluntly. "Huh?!" You whipped around. -