Breathe || Max X Reader - Camp Camp

Ⅺ

Y/N's POV
Word Count: 1,560

     It was around noon, so I knew that I only had about four hours to make this extravagant party. I knew that whoever I picked to decorate the party and plan it had to have Preston in their best interests. As sad as it was, that immediately cut out Max. Nikki wouldn't do either, as she had a short attention span. Neil, however, seemed great for the job. He was very intelligent and attentive.
     I decided that I'd recruit Neil and then ask him who else was best for the job. I trusted him.
     His tent was quiet, so I assumed everyone was sleeping. I slipped my hand through the plastic and slowly pulled it apart. Neil was seated at a small makeshift cardboard desk. His head was in the cardboard, obviously sleeping. To my dismay, I had to wake him, I couldn't have waited any longer. I tapped his shoulder. Nothing. He was so peaceful. This is so freaking mean. "Wakey-wakey, eggs and bakey!", I hollered. I thought if I said something dumb, it wouldn't have sounded as aggressive.
     "What?", Neil muttered, lifting his head. He scratched his head and rubbed his eyes. "Y/N? What do you want?" He pressed his thumb and index fingers to the bridge of his nose.
     "Sorry, Neil," I apologized. Neil rolled his eyes. He crossed his arms and leaned back into his chair. "I need your help. David and I, along with a few people I choose, are going to plan and decorate a surprise party for Preston's birthday."
     Neil smirked. "Look, I don't want to hurt your feelings or anything, but this isn't really a big deal to me.", Neil confessed. "Plus, I thought you were obsessed with Max, not Preston."
     I went silent for a little while. "Um, no!", I defended. "Look, that's not the point!" Was it the point? I mean, I never considered feeling anything towards Preston. I couldn't be thinking about feelings right now, I had to get to the point. "Look, if you help me do this, you'll get out of whatever activity Gwen decides to do in place of Preston's play. Are you in or are you in?" I smirked.
     Neil rolled his eyes. "Considering my wide array of options, I guess I'm in.", Neil jested. He started clearing off his desk.
     "That's great!", I cheered. "Now, first of all, I need you to help me pick someone else to help plan and decorate. Who here do you think is the most level-headed? Who's perfect for the job?"
     Neil burst out laughing. "This entire camp is full of asses!", he burst. "Nobody cares!" I don't think he meant to be rude, but that sort of took me by surprise. Somebody had to care. I frowned. "Okay, look. Our best bet is to see if the other Neil will help us. He's a little off, but he'll do whatever we tell him to, so he's extra hands to get things done faster."
     Oh, that's the space kid, right? I think it is? "Alright," I approved. "I'll go see if he's willing to help us out. Are you coming?" Neil nodded and stood up. I left the tent, checking to make sure he was following me.

     About fifteen minutes later, I arrived back to David's office with Neil and Other Neil. I went ahead and let myself into David's room without knocking. I doubted that he would've cared.
     David had just gotten off of the phone, and was putting it back on it's wall mount. "Hey there, kids!", David greeted. "Are you ready to help make the party? I just finished ordering the cake! Luckily, we can have it right before the party starts."
     "Yay!", Space Kid cheered.
     "Yay indeed!", David agreed. "But, we do have to kick it into high-gear if we're going to be ready! The party has to start at five by Gwen's request, and right now it's one. We only have four hours. It sounds like a lot-"
     "but it's not.", David and I finished in unison. "I know, I've done stuff like this before.", I added, alone. "I think we should go to a dollar store and see what kind of stuff they have."
     "I know.", David replied. "Normally, the parents have to sign an agreement form before I can take you guys out of the camp, but they don't need to find out about this, it'll all go smoothly." I laughed. It was unlike David to bend the rules. "Let's go to the car. We can ride into town and see what's there."
     I nodded. "Thank God, I haven't left this camp since I was, like, ten!", Neil burst. "Let's go!" He jogged outside. Space Kid and I followed him while David stayed behind to shuffle through a drawer for his keys.
     The three of us waited at the car for a few moments until David finally met us there. Without a word, he unlocked the car and we all climbed in. It was really exciting to be able to see how David acted in public. I was wondering if he treated adults any differently than he treated kids.
The second he started the car, a bunch of guitars and drums started going wild. Everything was insanely off key and sounded like a child orchestra. The lead singer was screaming. "Woah!", David screamed, in shock. He immediately shut off the radio. "Uh, erm, sorry about that, kiddos. Gwen used the car last."
Neil burst out laughing. He didn't say a word, he just kept laughing as we drove off. Right before we left the camp, when we were in view of all the other campers, I rolled down the windows and waved at everyone, mocking them. "Sucks to be you!", I hollered. Everyone chuckled, except David.
"Y/N! You know better than to mock the other campers!", David berated.
I sighed. "Fine," I whined.

Preston's POV

     Is that Y/N? Where the heck is she going? I scratched my head. I knew that she was going to convince David to let me do my play, but I didn't get how that could've equated to leaving camp. "Where are David and Y/N going?", I asked Gwen.
     Gwen cupped her chin with her free hand. "Um...", she trailed. "I think that she needed to talk to him about something, but I'm not allowed to talk about what the kids tell the counselors. She was uncomfortable in the office, so David's taking her on a supply run."
     As an actor who spent most of my time reading people, I knew she was lying, and I knew for two reasons. First of all, she started her statement with a drawn-out crutch. Secondly, Y/N showed no signs of upset in that car. "Where are they really going?", I pressed.
     Gwen didn't budge. "Preston," she sighed. "I just told you. A supply run. Camping stuff." She was clearly annoyed. I decided to lay off and drop the subject.
     "Okay, whatever you say.", I replied. I walked away, heading towards the tents.

Y/N's POV

     Town was void of pedestrians. All of the little shops looked sad. There were only a few homes. The outskirts of town was mainly shops.
David pulled over and parked near a Dollar Tree. The camp was far too poor for anything more, but the Dollar Tree normally had some interesting and fun finds anyway.
"I wish I had my phone.", I grouched. "This town is so photogenic. It'd be nice to get some pictures here." Neil nodded. We all got out of the car and started walking.
We passed several stores. However, one stuck out to me the most. "See that store over there?", Neil whispered, pointing to an old, worn-down sex shop.
"Yeah?", I replied sheepishly.
"That's the Quartermaster's top pick!", Neil joked. I laughed.
"Kinky."
David pointed to the Dollar Tree, now just a few yards away. "That's the store we're going to. You guys can go wherever you want, but stay in the store. Remember, we have an allowance of thirty dollars for all of this, excluding the cake, which Gwen is paying for.", David warned.
I was looking forward to ditching the heat for an air conditioned store. I was burnt to a crisp, and certainly didn't need anymore of the great outdoors for one day.
And there it was, the store of everyone's dreams. Everything was dirt cheap, and the craft section was always superb. I took in a big breath of fresh air, and stepped into paradise.
__________________________
A/N - Two chapters in one day? Yeah, I know, it's a little crazy. But sometimes you just get that creative flow going and you can't resist! ☁️

Comment Question of the Chapter:

What do you predict will happen to David after Cameron frames him for his crimes? I think that David will go to court, and maybe have charges pressed, but then the plot will work a way to free him and prove that Cameron is a criminal, because David just has way too much plot armor to actually get into any long-term trouble. Maybe Max will do something to save him, and will therefore complete Max's character arc (because he finally did something good from the heart)? I'm not sure. Leave your thoughts below!