a bundle of sticks
orphan_account
"You wanna see a magic trick?"
Max jumps, visibly shaken. He whips his head around quickly to face none other than Harrison in all his weirdo glory.
"Dude, it's like-. 2 in the fucking morning. What?" Max asks incredulously because okay, most of the kids here are super odd and he wouldn't put it past Nikki to jump scare him at ass o'clock in the morning but?? Harrison?
"I asked if you wanted to see a magic trick!" He exclaims, grinning wildly. There's something ominous about his tone that Max doesn't enjoy but whatever. He'll play along with it if it means getting this kid to leave him alone.
"Yeah, sure buddy. Go ahead," he agrees with an eye roll and an annoyed sigh. No one said he had to be happy about it.
Harrison bounces on his feet and takes his hat off with a flourished bow. "Now watch as the amazing Harrison pulls..." He reaches into his hat, pink tongue poking out in concentration. Max briefly contemplates if he could actually die if he thunked his head against a nearby tree hard enough. "... a bouquet of flowers out of the hat!" He yanks a bundle of sticks out of his hat instead.
"Wooow, I'm soooo amazed!" Max drawls. His annoying companion averts his gaze downward for a few seconds, probably trying to figure out how exactly he fucked up that badly.
"Wait, no, that isn't how-"
“I don’t care," interrupts Max. He just wants some alone time, is that so hard to wish for? With fucking David lurking the camp grounds 24/7, it was rare for him to have a moment’s peace to just sit down and think about life.
"But that isn't how the trick goes..." Harrison says dejectedly. He tosses the bundle of sticks aside and joins Max on the damp forest floor, hugging his knees up to his chest. “I’ve been practicing that one all week, and I still can't get it right."
"Did you ever consider that it's because you're a shitty magician?"
Harrison side eyes him but doesn't disagree. They sit in silence for a few minutes, with only the sounds of the forest and Nikki's loud snoring from her tent for ambiance.
"Maybe you're right. Nerris tells me that all the time too, and I thought she was just a jerk but- if you think so too... and of course Neil thinks I'm a horrible magician..." He trails off with a downtrodden sigh, staring at his discarded hat forlornly. "Should I just give it up already?"
"Harrison..." Max starts, opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of water. Why is he even the one in this situation? Literally anyone but him should be allowed to comfort someone. He stops when he hears Harrison sniffle and aggressively wipe his eyes.
"I should," he mumbles after a short while. He peels his sweater vest off and chucks it at the cabin, leaving him in his plain yellow shirt and black pants.
"No, wait, dude..." Max hesitates, torn between going after his clothes or just leaving the kid here to sulk. God, life is just one never-ending headache for him, isn't it? Except it isn't because he kinda feels really bad for Harrison and listening to him ramble about how he should give up on the only thing he's passionate about is doing unpleasant things to his heart. He's just about to get his ass up and retrieve that ugly sweater vest for him when he feels a head drop on his shoulder. “What the fuck are you doing?”
“Nothing.”
“No seriously, ew,” complains Max as he shivers violently. Harrison gets with the program and sits up straight, and Max surprisingly finds himself wishing he didn’t do that.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to,” he apologizes, wringing his gloved hands together nervously. He looks so pathetic that Max is tempted to smack the frown off his face. Anything to make him stop looking like a kicked puppy.
Some otherworldly force is clearly at work actively possessing Max, because that’s the only justification he can grant himself for giving Harrison a one-armed hug. It lasted only for a fraction of a second, but Harrison’s eyes still widen large enough to pass for flying saucers.
“Did you-“
“No.”
“But-“
“Nuh-uh.”
A smug smirk slowly overtakes Harrison, causing Max to back up and cast his eyes elsewhere. “You just h-“
“Mention it to anyone else and so help me God I’ll strangle you with one of your fifty million scarves,” threatens Max. Harrison predatorily smiles at him, before launching himself at the unsuspecting boy. Max groans loudly and kicks him off futilely and maybe it might just be unexpected adrenaline causing his heart to beat a little faster.
Or perhaps it’s something dumb enough to worry about in the morning.
