Breathe || Max X Reader - Camp Camp

Ⅸ

Y/N's POV
Word Count: 1,527

     It had only been two whole days at Campbell, and so much had already happened. I promised myself going into this that I wasn't going to resort to my desperate, love-yearning tendencies. Evidently, my body was at conflict with my mind. Max was literally all I could think about. And yeah, I was mad about it.
     "I bet you'll never guess what we're doing today!", Nikki screamed. I wasn't interested, but I thought it'd only make sense to listen to her heads-up. "Yesterday David said we had to do an acting camp activity for Preston's birthday! I'd rather work on making my ant farm, but I don't know, I guess acting could be fun."
     Thank God I listened to that. Acting was my secret "thing". I was great at it. "Awesome!", I shrieked. "Nikki, it's gonna' be so fun!" I paused to think for a minute. "Wait. Who's Preston?"
     Nikki raised an eyebrow. Crud. I'm supposed to know who he is, aren't I? "He's the acting kid. Preston.", Nikki explained. That rang a bell. I was pretty sure I knew who he was, but I wasn't certain. "Goodplay. Preston Goodplay. He's got a bowlcut. Poofy shoulder bits. Really loud. He's 'out there'."
     Yeah, I remember Preston. "You know, you're right out there with him.", I joked. Nikki laughed. "Then again, I could say the same thing about everyone here." While Nikki and I continued to chat, I went ahead and picked out my outfit. Considering that it was the middle of summer, it only made sense to pick the lightest colors and the most breathable materials. It resulted in a pretty ugly fashion choice, but it was practical.

     About an hour later, all of the campers assembled near Preston's stage, waiting for David and Gwen to come and give instructions. I may as well use this time to meet Preston, I guess. I went ahead and walked over to the kid who fit Preston's description from earlier. "Hello," I greeted. "I'm Y/N. You're Preston, right?" It was an awkward way to introduce myself, but I found it to be the most straightforward way.
     Preston laughed. "Of course," he mused. "I'm the only me there'll ever be. And, I tell you what, that might be a pretty okay thing." I chuckled. I like this kid. He's interesting. "Can you act?"
     His energy inspired me to leave my comfort zone. "I think that I can.", I replied. "And I think it may be comparable to you." I smirked.
     Preston let out a hearty laugh in disbelief. "We'll just have to see about that.", he debated. "I'm sure you have talent, as everyone does. But, I'll have you know, I've been acting since I was six."
     "Five," I challenged. Preston raised an eyebrow. "I've been acting since five. Never professionally, but trust me when I say that I have." While I haven't been featured in popular acting projects, I have been acting for friends and family since I could speak in full scentences. Maybe Preston was better than me, but I knew I was talented. He wouldn't take it away from me.
     Preston and I were interrupted by, of course, David. "Hello, campers!", he burst. I liked David, quite a bit. Though, to be fair, he did always show up at the most annoying times. "Today we're going to act! But, since it is in fact Preston's birthday, we're going to let him manage everything. First, he asks that we do auditions for our parts. Preston, go ahead and take over."
     "Well, first of all, let's make a line to the stage. I will assign you guys some lines to speak once you make it onstage.", Preston explained. I see. He wants us to act on a whim, without being ready. My stomach started tighten. "Okay, make a line! Chop chop! There's limited time in one day!" My hands started to sweat. I went to the back of the line.
     One by one, everyone filed through and auditioned. Ered went first, and she was mediocre at best. Then Nerris, Harrison, and Neil. They all didn't do too hot. Of course, I didn't want them to do bad, but it certainly helped me look just a tad better.

     Finally, everyone had gone. It was just me. This was a bad idea. Now everyone's watching me. As I walked onto the stage, I used my left hand to sheild the side of my face the campers would've seen. Whatever foreign confidence I'd built up from Preston and I's conversation had diminished. "So, Y/N, are you ready?", Preston asked. I gulped, but I nodded. "Okay. Your lines are; 'What? Me? But, I'd done nothing wrong. Sir, I don't get it.' Now, for this last part, your character is very frustrated. 'Look, just go! I-I don't want to talk to you anymore!'. Got that?" I nodded.
     This isn't beyond my realm of capability. Just get into character. You're mad. You're angry. You're confused. You want answers. I took a moment to myself before I began. I closed my eyes. I let in a long breath, and let it out. Finally, I opened them, but as my character. "What?", I began. To convey an emotion of upset, I let my voice shake a bit. "Me? But, I-I'd done nothing wrong!" You weren't supposed to stutter. Look, it's fine. Just keep going. "Sir, I don't get it." For that part, I began pacing across the stage, waving my arms in a manic fashion. I made sure I was confused, and angry, and frustrated. Finally, I stopped before Preston. As nervous as I was, I took the liberties to, quite literally, put my foot down. "Look, just go!", I screamed. After my scream, I backed up. My character had regretted what she'd said. As a last stitch effort to be alone, she finished up her speech. "I-I don't want to talk to you anymore." That last part wasn't supposed to be in a whisper, but I whispered it anyways. I gave one last look to Preston, one of longing and sorrow, and I walked away.
     And that was my audition. "Wait!", Preston pleaded. I let out a huff of air. Crud. I turned around, now myself again, and walked back over to Preston. "That was incredible. You sold me. You became the character. T-That was perfect! You even improvised, and you did it well! You took something so two-dimensional and made it into a masterpiece."
     "Thank you.", I mouthed. I snuck in a weak smile and shuffled offstage. I wasn't so sure about how I felt. I was proud of myself, but I was scared. People always knocked on the theatre kids. Worse yet, Max had watched. I wasn't interested in what he had to say about my performance.
     As I entered the crowd of conversing campers, I was flocked with comments. I was getting things that ranged from "flawless" to "that was 'different'". I hated that. When people described things as "different" offensively. "Y/N!", someone called. Through all of those various words flooding my ears, hearing my own name had caught my attention. I looked in the direction of the voice. It was Max.
     Obviously, I dreaded what he had to say. But, of course, I just had to go see what he wanted. At least he won't talk about the kiss. He wouldn't dare mention that in front of everyone. I squeezed my way through the crowd and made my way to Max. "You know, Preston's such a little bitch," he started. Yeah. That's Max for sure. "I'd have to say, though, that was impressive. I mean, it was weird. I never thought I'd see the Little Shit open her mouth that wide. Always thought you were too nice for that."
     Oh no. "That's not really me!", I asserted. "I-It's just acting. That's really all."
     "Calm down!", Max ordered. "I didn't mean it in a bad way. I-I mean, acting is really weird and awkward, but, it was entertaining, I guess. Whatever. Just thought you'd want to know."
     I smiled. That was a compliment. It didn't sound like one, but it was. With Max, you had to read between the margins to figure out what he was really saying. "Thanks.", I replied. "That was kind of you."
     "Hey, stop being an ass!"
     "No, I really meant it.", I insisted. Which, was true. "Thank you."
     Max loosened his expression. "Oh.", he mouthed. He started cracking his knuckles. "Yeah, um, you're welcome?"

     Ten minutes later, it was time for the results. I already knew that I'd gotten a good role, but I was excited to see where everyone else landed. I was drenched in anticipation.
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A/N - Woah! We've hit 200 reads. I am honestly beyond humbled. I thought I would've never gotten to this point. A big thanks to you all! ☁️

Comment Question of the Chapter:

How did you guys feel about the Lake Lilac Dance Special? I loved it! The character development in that episode was great, I think. I have a much bigger appreciation for Erin.