Campe Diem! || Max x Reader

2: Scout's Dishonor My Ass!

A/N: Some of you may be wondering why the episode "Mascot" is skipped. My story excuse is that you needed a couple of days to recuperate under doctor's orders (cause last chapter you got a concussion). My irl excuse is that "Mascot" is a... meh episode. I wanna make sure that when you add yourself into the story, the plot feels different, not like you're reading a crappy version of the transcript. How different would things be if you were added to a search party for a mascot? Yeah, not that much. So... onto this chapter!

(Oh, and P.S.: remember, these are 10-year-olds. Most of them. Just reminding you because they don't know a lot of things like we do, so keep that in mind not just in this chapter but throughout the whole book. "Why don't they understand this really easy thing?" because they're just elementary school kids.)

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It was fucking midnight. You wanted to get some rest, but no! As soon as you got better, you couldn't have a single fucking minute of peace. I mean, yeah, you had those two days of relaxation, but that was because you had a concussion to worry about because a group of 10-year-olds thought they knew how to drive a fucking bus! You just wanted one day of non-concussion peace. According to Max, that wasn't allowed.

As soon as you got signal to move, you did so. This was an adventure, and all adventures have some fun to them, but, at the same time, you wouldn't mind getting caught and being sent back to your tent. Hey, at least you could get some fucking sleep. Sleep without pain since the past couple of days.

The four of you ran over to the docks as quiet as you all could.

"Alright guys," Max said. "Our first attempt to bust outta this godforsaken hell-hole didn't work! But tonight's gonna be different because we have a secret weapon." Oh Jesus, again? Well, you had to go along with your "I'll just entertain you" story. Otherwise, you so would've gone back to bed. Oh yeah, and you would've ratted out the rest of the group, too. No hard feelings, of course. You just liked to see the look of pure horror on their face.

The lake had some fog to it so it was hard to see who or what was there. All you knew was that there was a secret weapon Max had and you could see a shadowed figure from the other end of the dock. The shadow walked up, revealing itself.

"Billy Niksslip," Max introduced.

"Call me Snake," the guy said.

"He's an ex-Wood Scouts," Max explained, "and he's one of the best. Isn't that right, Billy?"

Snake took a bite out of his candy cane. "Got my search and rescue badge in two weeks. Got my wilderness and survival in one." Damn, he was impressive. How did Max even know this guy? Probably talked to him on one of the days where you were stuck in your tent.

"That's amazing!" Nikki said.

"I never had a choice," Snake said.

"The Wood Scouts are some of the most intense militant campers on Lake Lilac. Billy here escaped."

"And why is he helping us?" Neil asked suspiciously. 

You thought for a moment. "Yeah, Neil does have a point." This kind of seemed suspicious, you told yourself.

"I'm not doing this for you," Snake said. It was unsure who he was talking to specifically. "I made a vow." 

Uh huh, you thought. Definitely suspicious. Why did Max even trust this hella shady guy? Most likely too blinded by the light at the end of the metaphorical tunnel to even think twice about who he's talking to.