It's Mutual
otakunerd247
"Hi, mum and dad!" Nerris happily greeted her parents as soon as they got off the bus. She was excited to see them even though it had only been a few weeks into the camp, regular phone calls and writing letters didn't fill the empty void that hung around her ever since she got here in the first place.
"Hey, Nerris," her mother smiled warmly at her and gave her 11-year-old daughter a hug.
"Nerrie!" her dad said excitedly and picked her up in his arms. Nerris laughed.
"Da-ad, don't embarrass me in front of my friends!" the young dungeon master complained.
"Ah, you must be Nerris' parents!"
David and Gwen appeared next to her, they were enjoying getting to know the kids' parents and what kind of family they all came from. Well, at least one of them were.
"Yes, we are," Nerris' mum smiled, holding out a hand for David to shake, then doing the same for Gwen. "You two must be David and Gwen. Nerris has told us about you in her letters before. Is she settling in okay here?"
David smiled down at Nerris. Gwen's expression was neutral. "Yes, she most certainly is! Apart from a few incidents with a certain young Harrison, she's doing just fine."
Nerris frowned. She was hoping no one would mention him. Speaking of Harrison, where was he? She realised that Harrison's parents were standing away from everyone else, but the young magician was nowhere to be found. That stupid idiot, I bet he got lost somewhere. Nerris' parents were still talking with David and Gwen, so she let them be and went to go find her nemesis.
"Harrison!" she called as she walked around the vicinity of Camp Campbell. Something was definitely off, why would he have disappeared somewhere rather than not spend time with his own parents? The DM frowned as she walked past the tents. "Harrison." Nerris poked her head inside his tent - she found him sitting on his bed, with his knees up and his head down.
"Harrison! What are you doing in here? We're all outside you know, dummy... you're supposed to be showing off all your lame magic tricks to your parents!" she scolded him as she walked inside. She then realised that was the wrong thing to say as he looked up at her - he'd been crying.
"N-Nerris," Harrison sniffed as he tried to wipe his eyes, and hide the fact that he'd just been crying. "Leave me alone."
Nerris knew there was something wrong now. She knew she could just abide by Harrison's wishes and leave, but something compelled her to stay put.
The DM quickly walked over to Harrison's bed and sat down next to him. Regardless whether or not they were enemies, they had developed a mutual understanding of one another during their time at camp. "Why are you inside crying, Harrison? Is it something your parents said?"
Harrison sniffed again. "Y-you wouldn't understand..." he murmured.
"Oh yeah? Try me."
"M-my parents are afraid of me, Nerris. They don't like my magic..." Harrison started to say.
They're not the only ones, she thought, but didn't dare say it out loud. She didn't want to hurt Harrison's feelings when he was already so visibly distraught.
"Is that all? Surely you wouldn't be so upset over something I tell you every day here at camp, would you?" Nerris prodded gently.
Harrison let out a small chuckle. Nerris smiled.
Harrison's face turned grim as he continued. "They... they also say I made my brother disappear."
Nerris felt her eyes grow wide. This was something no other camper knew about Harrison. She had a choice - use this as ammunition against him, or be a lawful good person and console him instead.
"Why on earth would they say such a thing?!" the young dungeon master yelled.
Harrison flinched. "I-it was an innocent trick. It was my fault that I made my little brother vanish, there's no other explanation for it..."
"What are you saying?! Harrison, you don't deserve anything other than the love of your parents! You're just a kid, how could you have made your own brother disappear?!" Nerris' outburst surprised Harrison, he thought for sure she'd make fun of him once she knew the truth. He breathed a sigh of relief.
"Nerris..." Harrison said softly. "They don't love me. They tell me that all the time. I'm just used to it by now, I guess. So don't go making a huge deal out of this, please."
Nerris was fuming. She grabbed Harrison's shoulders as she spoke. "Are you even listening to what you're saying? I don't care if we hate each other, no one deserves to be treated like that by their parents! Especially not you, Harrison. Your parents are messed up for telling you those things. You deserve to be loved."
Harrison's eyes filled with tears. He couldn't help himself, he just started sobbing. He then did something completely unexpected - Harrison hugged Nerris.
The girl was shocked, at first she didn't know what to do, but then she responded by hugging the magician in return, letting him cry into her shoulder.
After a few minutes had past, Harrison's crying had been reduced to sniffling. "It's okay, Harrison," Nerris said as she held him close.
"Nerris! Nerris! Harrison!" someone yelling in the distance made them both jump apart, Nerris hadn't realised how long she'd been gone for. "Uh oh," she said as she stood up. Before she turned to leave, she said, "Aren't you coming?"
Harrison glanced at her. "In a bit. It would be weird if we both came out together from a tent, don't you think?" he replied.
Nerris felt her face grow hot. "You idiot! That's disgusting."
Harrison laughed. "Hey, Nerris?" he said, before she left.
Nerris turned around. "Yeah?"
"Thanks."
"Don't mention it. I still hate you, you know? So don't think this changes anything!"
Harrison grinned. "I wouldn't change it for the world."
