Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

By the end of the first summer, Max hadn’t found Camp Campbell to be quite as horrible as he had in the beginning. Not that he would ever admit that. It was better than home, at least. Though even school was sometimes better than home.

He had made two friends there; best friends. Something he’d never had before. He was almost looking forward to the third summer he would share with them. Only that time never came.

Neil had intended to sign up for science camp; he’d managed to stay at Camp Campbell for a second year, but when his mother found out what sort of place it was, she insisted he go to a legitimate camp thereafter. Nikki had loved Camp Campbell and come back again for a third summer in a row. Max was hit with a bombshell when he arrived home after his second summer. His parents were having a baby.

It hadn't been some happy, joyous occasion. It was an insignificant event his parents had casually told him about, and Max hated it. He knew what this meant. It meant that he would end up being their babysitter despite being twelve fucking years old by the time the baby came around. He resented the child before it was even born.

But when the time had finally come, that changed. After his mother had given birth, his father had taken him to the natal ward, where he pointed to the little girl in her bassinet. Max had looked at the ugly little thing and then at his dad. There was no look of pride or joy on his face. Only indifference. And that’s when Max knew he and this kid were going to be in the same boat from then on.

He’d spent that summer helping take care of his little sister, Leslie, when his mom and dad worked or decided to spend their time not being decent parents. Despite the dirty diapers and crying, Max had grown surprisingly fond of the baby, whom he affectionately referred to as "the brat." Now he wasn’t completely alone in that house.

Fortunately, once he turned thirteen, he was able to hang with his friends. He had managed to convince his parents to let him to work by taking on odd jobs for their neighbors so he could buy tickets get on a bus to visit Nikki or Neil, sometimes both, when they decided to meet up somewhere. He got an actual job working part time at a bodega when he hit fourteen. A few months later, he had saved up enough to buy a cellphone and managed to convince his parents to put him on their phone plan, arguing that he’d need to call them “in case Leslie and I accidentally burn down the house or some shit.” He finally had a way to keep in touch with Nikki and Neil rather than the monthly landline calls, and with unlimited texting, he ended up talking to them often. Complaining about his parents, listening to Neil nerd out, and reading whatever crazy shit Nikki had been up to; it was actually pretty fun. And when Neil hit sixteen and got a car, they finally had a way to hang out more often.

One Saturday in May, seven years after his first summer at Camp Campbell, Max had been playing with his sister. He drove a remote car around the kitchen while Leslie chased it, occasionally steering it close to the wall in an attempt to see his sister run into it for his own amusement.

After a few minutes, their mother, who had been sitting at the kitchen table reading her magazine, groaned and slammed her reading material onto the table. “Could you two be quiet for five minutes? I just need a moment to myself.”

“Seems like you always need a moment to yourself,” Max replied, unafraid to sass his mother, and he could hear his little sister stifle a giggle.

“You little…” she muttered. “God, summer can’t come soon enough.”

“Looking forward to having us home 24/7?” Max said sarcastically.

His mother rolled her eyes and took two pieces of folded paper out of her purse, put them onto the table, and slid them in her son’s direction. Curiosity got the best of Max, and he sat down next to her and unfolded the two documents.

“You’ve gotta be shitting me,” he said.

“What is it? What is it?” Leslie said, bouncing up and down on her toes. Hearing Max swear was nothing unusual for her. Her first word had ended up being "fuck," after all.

On the table were two forms, one a junior camp counselor volunteer form and the other a registration form for a child. Both were for Camp Campbell.

“She’s old enough to go now, and you’re seventeen, which is old enough to be a junior counselor. You can go there this summer. You liked it when you were little.”

“Liked it?” Max said incredulously. “The fuck are you on? I clearly said that place was shit when I got home at the end of each summer.”

“Did you now?” his mother said, clearly uninterested as she picked her magazine back up. She shook her head. “Just fill out the damn forms, Max.”

She got up and walked to her room with the magazine in hand, and Leslie came over to Max, doing her best to see over the table and look at the text despite being unable to read. Max sighed and leaned back in his chair, when his cell phone chimed. It was a notification in his group chat with Nikki and Neil. He opened it up to find a message from Nikki.

omg you guys it’s hapeniiiiiiiiiiiing!!!!!!!!!

Moments later he received a picture, and he felt a smile tug at his lips when he saw the Camp Campbell volunteer counselor form.

Max put his phone on the table and looked at his sister. “Get over here, ya little shit.”

Leslie smiled and opened her arms. Max picked her up and put her onto his lap. He grabbed a pen and pulled the papers towards him.

Maybe this wouldn’t be too bad.

Chapter Text

The moment Nikki had arrived home after her first summer at Camp Campbell, she already missed it. Having adventures every day with her friends and befriending the animals (or attempting to, in many cases) had been so much fun. She had been thoroughly disappointed when she eventually found out that Neil would be going to boring science camp and Max would be staying at home on the third summer, but Nikki still made the best of it and had a great time.

She attended Camp Campbell for a total of four years before David and Gwen had informed her that she would be too old to attend the following summer. Of course, she’d had a total breakdown, and her mother had to apologize and ask them to not make her pay for any damages Nikki may have caused. After that, Nikki had spent her summers at home.

Home. Nikki loved home. She loved living with her mom and sometimes her dad. Her parents would get into arguments until Candy would finally tell Nikki’s father to pack his bags and leave. Her mom would sometimes make a new friend during the time he was gone. The men she’d take home for Nikki to meet were always so nice. Every now and then she’d make more than one friend before her dad would return home. He’d always come home months later with a bouquet of her mother’s favorite flowers, and Candy would always forgive him. The flowers would sit in a lavender vase in the middle of the table they’d all sit around and eat happy meals together at.

This was normal for Nikki. This was life for Nikki, and she hadn’t thought there was anything unusual about it until she was thirteen.

“Hey, Nikki, wanna come over to my house this Saturday?” her friend Jamie asked one day during lunch.

“Sure, that sounds fun. I’ll see if my dad can drive me. Mom’s having a spa day with her friend Carol on Saturday.”

“Your dad? I don’t think I’ve ever met him before.”

“Really?” Nikki said, and she tried to recall the times in the past when she’d invited her friend over. “Oh yeah, I guess he and Mom weren’t together then.”

“Oh, your parents got back together? That’s nice.”

“Yeah, can you believe it took six whole months this time?”

“...This time?”

“Uh-huh. Usually it’s three months tops before dad comes home and asks Mom to take him back,” Nikki said before chomping into her burger. She looked up from her meal and at her friend, who stared at Nikki with a strange look on her face. That’s when Nikki realized she shouldn’t have said that. That’s when Nikki realized this wasn’t normal.

Still, it remained normal for her throughout the years, and she loved her parents all the same.

“Uuuuugh, I’m so bored,” a seventeen year old Nikki said one day.

“If you really want to change the channel, that’s fine, Nicolette,” her mother said while painting her nails.

“But there’s nothing good on. There’s never anything good on. Television has gone to trash. And soon it’s going to be summer!” Summer was always a fun time for Nikki; she’d either go to camp or have adventures with her dad (ones that would usually get them into trouble with Candy and on occasion, cause a split-up). But her dad was gone for now, and Nikki was too old for camp.

She was going to be bored out of her mind. That, and she didn’t want to be home all summer. Sure, she loved home, but it wasn’t the same as when she was a kid. Memories of things that she had seen as normal had started to make sense to her over the years. How her mother would tell Nikki to go to her room, put her headphones on, and watch a movie on her portable DVD player while she and her father "talked." Her mother’s "friends" that would visit and were so nice. The times when Candy would tell Nikki to go play outside while they spent some "quality time" together. These memories made Nikki cringe now, and long periods of time at home with nothing to do would make her think of them.

“Well, I don’t know what you want me to do, baby girl,” Candy said.

“I wish I could go back to Camp Campbell. That was the best place you’d ever sent me to.”

“Camp what?”

“Camp Campbell?” Nikki said, giving her mom a confused look. “The camp you sent me to for four years?”

Candy stared blankly at her daughter.

“The adventure camp?”

Nothing.

Nikki sighed. “I had a friend there whose dad had health insurance.”

A look of recognition appeared in Candy’s eyes. “Ooooh, was that the place you met Max and Neil?”

“Exactly!”

“Right, right... How’s Neil’s father doing these days?”

“Married.”

“Huh. Is that so?
“Look, Nicolette, they told you that you were too old to go back there. I don’t know what you want me to do.”

“Can’t I get a summer job there or something? Ered got one, once. They must have openings!”

Candy sighed and gestured to the laptop next to her on the couch. “Take a look. Be my guest.”

“Yay! Thanks, Mom. You’re the best!” Nikki jumped onto the couch and pulled her mother into a bear hug. Candy quickly grabbed for her bottle of nail polish before it fell over. She sighed and rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t help but smile and pat her daughter on the back.

It would be just like old times.

Chapter Text

Just as he had six and seven years ago, Quartermaster had pulled up to Max’s house and picked him up. Somehow, the old man hadn’t aged a day. Nikki had eagerly greeted Max and talked his ear of the entire bus ride to camp. While he was happy to see her, he couldn’t help but worry for his sister, who wouldn’t be arriving at camp for another week. She’d never been left alone with their parents for a long period of time before. That is, left alone. Sure, they'd make sure she wouldn't starve to death or anything, but otherwise, she was on her own.

After what seemed like forever, the bus finally pulled into Camp Campbell.

“Volunteer counselors are here,” Quartermaster said after opening the bus door, introducing them as he always introduced his bus passengers.

Nikki eagerly jumped down the steps and out of the bus. She landed on the fresh grass and took in that beautiful, clean nature air.

“Aaaah, I’m home,” Nikki said happily. Max rolled his eyes but couldn’t help a small smile from forming on his face.

“Welcome, volunteer counselors!” said an annoyingly familiar voice, and the two teens stared at their two old counselors standing in front of them.

“David!” Nikki cheered.

“Shit, it’s already begun,” Max said in dread.

“It’s great to have you back,” David said happily. “It’ll be just like old times!”

“Loving the enthusiasm, bros,” CJ said, walking up to stand next to David.

“That’s what I’m worried about,” said Max, still stuck on David’s comment as he rolled his eyes at the entrance of yet another irresponsible counselor.

“Oh Max, same as always,” said David. “How have you been? You never respond to my letters.”

His letters. His stupid letters. Knowing that Max’s parents were neglectful, David had sent Max letters throughout the years to check in and let Max know that he was thinking of him. It was annoying as hell, but a small part of Max appreciated it. He’d die before he ever admitted that, though.

“There’s a reason for that, you know.” Max raised an eyebrow when he noticed a familiar woman next to the two male counselors. “Gwen? What are you doing here?”

Max’s old camp counselor sighed. “Unfortunately, my piece on this crap camp was one of my most popular. Bosses want a follow-up.” In almost an instant, Gwen’s demeanor changed from one full of annoyance and despair to one of caution and suspicion.

“But don’t think I didn’t come prepared,” Gwen said, giving Nikki and Max an accusatory glare. “Listen here, you little shits. Don’t think I don’t know how this goes. You’re seventeen and hormonal. I don’t want any funny business. That means you, Max.”

“What? Why me specifically? Nikki’s crazy.”

“Heeeeeey,” Nikki said, slightly dejected.

“You’re a teenage boy. The lowest of low.” She turned to Nikki and handed her a whistle. “Nikki, blow this whistle if he touches you.”

“What the actual fuck?” was all Max could muster.

“Not gonna lie,” CJ said, clearly amused, “I kinda missed this chick.”

“Okay now, let’s all be calm,” David said nervously. “Now, why don’t we go over the list of campers who will be joining us before we go have lunch?”

“Oh boy, get to it!” Nikki said excitedly. “I am pumped!”

“That’s the spirit!" David said. Max groaned.

“Aw, come on, Max. It’ll be fun!” Nikki assured him.

“Easy for you to say. You’ve never had to help raise a kid.”

“‘Raise a kid’?” Gwen said, then shook her head in disappointment. “Huh. Figures you’d be the one ending up a teen parent.”

“The fuck is that supposed to mean? I’m talking about my little sister! And you’re not in any place to judge. You’re in your thirties and still single. The biological clock is ticking, Gwen.”

“Who says I’m single?" Gwen said, crossing her arms.

Max stared at her, a dare in his eyes, before she finally conceded. “Little shit,” she muttered.

David cleared his throat. “Alrighty then. First, let’s go over the activities we offer here at Camp Campbell: we’ve got archery, hiking, scuba diving, biking—”

“—You’re not doing the fucking song, David,” Gwen said, snatching the clipboard from David’s hands and giving it to CJ’s. “Let’s get this over with so we can go eat.”

CJ took the clipboard from Gwen, who seemed to already be done with this job despite it technically not having even started. “Alright, here’s what we’ve got coming, as follows:
“Jason Jimenez: Soccer Camp.
“Megan Johnson: Art Camp
“Freddie Barker: Nature Camp.
“Cora Brigham: Baking Camp.
“Michael Gold: Astronomy Camp.
“Lucas Haggerty: Computer Camp.
“Aiman Crawford: Swimming Camp.
“Giuliana Scardaci: Musical Theater Camp.”

“So like old Preston but worse,” Max concluded.

“Essentially,” Gwen said.

“And finally, Leslie Rajan,” CJ continued. He and Gwen spared Max a curious glance, obviously recognizing the last name. “Adventure Camp.”

“Adventure Camp?” said Nikki, her voice tinted with both excitement and curiosity as she turned to look at Max.

“What?” he said, rubbing the back of his head in an attempt to hide his embarrassment. “She wasn’t sure what she wanted to do. I suggested the first thing that came to mind, and she liked it.”

“I was the first thing that came to your mind?” Nikki teased, pointing to herself.

Max frowned. “Shut up, idiot.” He punched her shoulder.

Nikki quickly pulled the whistle Gwen had given her out of her pocket and blew it as loud as humanly possible.

“Jesus, Nikki, that’s not what I meant!” Gwen shouted, covering her ears.

Chapter Text

It had been a week of training as volunteer counselors. Nikki had been rooming with Gwen and Max with David and CJ. Both Gwen and Max had had just about enough of their roommates, and Nikki was pretty sure that Max was plotting David’s murder at this point. Now, today was the day.

Nikki was practically bouncing up and down in excitement as the bus full of campers pulled up. She enthusiastically greeted each child that came off the bus, earning eye rolls from a few of them. Finally, the youngest of them, a little girl around six, emerged from the bus.

Nikki gasped. “Oh my god, it’s a mini-Max,” she said, running up to the child and dropping to her knees to get a better look at the girl. Tan skin, partially pulled back black hair, and bright green eyes the same as her brother’s. “Oooh, I just wanna put her in my pocket.”

“Please don’t,” Max said as the little girl ran from Nikki and latched onto Max’s leg. A small smile crept onto his lips, and he ruffled the young girl’s hair. Nikki couldn’t help but smile. Max had changed since Leslie was born. A good change. He was more caring and open to showing that, but he was still the same, oddly lovable asshole. He looked up at Nikki, grinning. “She’s shy at first, but I’m sure she’ll get used to your annoyingness pretty quickly.” Nikki felt that familiar squeezing in the pit of her stomach. How long had it been like this?

She remembered when Neil’s parents had finally allowed him to apply to college at the age of seventeen. Of course, he had gotten in. Sixteen-year-olds Max and Nikki had seen him off, Max punching his shoulder and Nikki giving him a crushing hug as she gave a tearful goodbye despite the fact that his school was only an hour from her house.

Nikki’s dad had driven Max home, and Nikki gave her friend a hug goodbye, as she often did. On the odd occasion, usually when it had been an especially long time since their last meeting, Max would return the hug by wrapping his arms around her for approximately half a second. But that had been the first time in their six years of friendship that Max really hugged her back, having felt sentimental that day. Her heart had fluttered at the unexpected gesture.

After that, when Nikki would see Max, she would occasionally get that fluttering of her heart and that squeezing in her stomach. It was a funny feeling, but a nice one.

She wasn’t sure what it was at first, but eventually, she recognized it. That feeling was familiar. It was the look in her mother’s eyes when she took back her father. That smile she bore when she received the flowers from him. That desperate look on Nikki’s father’s face as he begged Candy to take him back. After realizing that, that funny feeling, that nice feeling Nikki would get when Max smiled at her, became one that she sometimes dreaded. She saw the love between her parents but also the painful memories.

Nope, nope, nope, Nikki thought to herself as she shook the feelings away. She didn’t want that.

“So where’s the pool?” a boy with goggles on his head asked.

“Pool? They have a pool here?” a pink-haired girl asked. “I suppose swimming would be an amusing recreational activity.”

“Recreational? This is Swimming Camp,” the boy replied.

“What? No, Camp Campbell is Computer Camp.”

“It’s obviously Musical Theater Camp.”

Max sighed as the children started arguing at once over which camp they were at, the rest simply watching the arguments, likely return campers who had dealt with this in the past. Nikki pulled out her whistle and handed it to him. He nodded in appreciation before blowing it, catching the campers’ attention.

“Okay, listen up. Welcome to Camp Campbell. Each of you has been scammed by a—”

“—Oooookay, Max,” David said, stepping forward and grabbing the whistle from his hands, “that’s enough of that.
“Well, campers, each of you is right! Camp Campbell offers a wide range of activities and will give each of you the camping experience you signed up for!”

There was a moment of silence until one boy finally spoke up. “That’s bullshit.”

“This one gets it,” Max said, pointing to the kid who had just spoken.

“No worries, campers!” said CJ. “Back when my dad ran this place, he made sure that even though the ads may have been misleading, we’ve been cleared by the government after a thorough investigation, and none of your parents can sue us!”

“Why would that make us feel better?” one girl asked.

“I’m pretty sure he was saying that to reassure himself more than anyone else,” Gwen said.

“Anyways, we’ll show you to your cabins now!” David said enthusiastically. “Nikki, you and the girls go with Gwen. Max, you, CJ, and I will take the boys.”

“Dammit,” Max muttered. Whether this was because he would be stuck with David or separated from Leslie was unclear to Nikki. Perhaps a bit of both. He crouched down to look at his nervous little sister, ruffling her hair again. He looked at her and then nodded towards Nikki. “I promise she doesn’t bite.”

Nikki nodded, reassuring the girl. “Not without being provoked.”

Max gave her a disapproving look, but Leslie giggled.

“Onward, children!” Nikki said to the girls, running in the direction of the cabins. The young girls protested as they hauled their luggage and tried to catch up with Nikki.

Gwen sighed and gestured for them to follow her instead. “Let’s get moving.”

Leslie waved at Max and followed Gwen and the other girls towards the cabin. Max looked at Nikki in the distance, still keeping a steady pace towards the cabin. He couldn’t help but grin.

Chapter Text

The four girls looked skeptically around the cabin.

“This has to be a joke,” said a pink-haired girl wearing a beret who was eying the place in disgust.

“There aren’t even ladders. How do we get to the top bunks?” asked a copper-haired girl who was probably just barely four feet.

“Don’t pick the top bunk if you’re short?” Gwen suggested with a shrug.

“Come on, it’s not that bad!” Nikki assured them, slapping the side of a bunk bed affectionately, causing it to let out a loud groan. “...I’m sure that’s safe.”

“It’s fine,” said Gwen. “Based on how things were back when I worked here, I’m guessing their parents all signed waivers.”

“That probably should have been a sign that something was wrong,” said a girl with box braids who wore a disappointing frown on her face.

“Alright then!” Nikki said excitedly. “You can all pick out your beds now!”

As if a horn had sounded the start of a race, each of the girls ran towards their desired bed, aside from the smallest, who stood there looking anxious and frightened by the sudden enthusiasm of her new roommates.

“Top bunk!” the gorl with box braids, throwing her backpack up onto the bed.

“Bottom!” said the one with the beret and the one with copper hair, placing some of their own items onto their chosen beds.

“Really?” Gwen said, shaking her head in disappointment as she spared a look at Leslie, who was hopelessly jumping in an attempt to make it to the only remaining bed. “You’re giving a top bunk to the kid who’s not even four feet tall? This generation really does suck.”

“No worries,” Nikki said. She picked up the tiny girl, who flinched in horror, and placed her onto the top bunk. “We’ll just do this at bed time.”

Processing that she was now sitting on her bed and the reassuring words of her new camp counselor, Leslie smiled and nodded affirmatively.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

“Okay, first come first serve,” said Max nonchalantly. “Pick your beds, and try not to kill each other in the process.”

The boys each ran for it, jumping on top of the beds they wanted, and it wasn’t long before arguing broke out, as well as one wrestling match.

“Calm down, boys!” David said. “I’m sure we can talk this out.” He looked at Max and CJ pleadingly for help.

“My money’s on the fat one,” Max said, apparently having no intention of intervening.

“I’ll put down fifty on the short yet sturdy one,” said CJ, taking out his wallet.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

One split lip and a lecture from David (to both the campers as well as Max and CJ) later, the boys headed towards the center of camp to meet with the girls. When they finally arrived, the girls all looked extremely bored. One was leaning against a tree near the edge of the woods, arms crossed and eyes closed; another picked at her nails and was mumbling something to herself; the third lay down on the ground, staring directly into the sun. 

“What took you guys so long?” Gwen said as she gestured for the camper near the forest’s edge to come back towards the group.

“There was a little—please don’t do that,” David said, noticing the camper who had been staring unblinking at the sun for the past ten minutes. “There was a little disagreement between some of our campers, but it all worked out in the end.”

Max had noticed the three other girls and Gwen, but he realized he hadn’t laid eyes on his sister or Nikki. He scanned the area and noticed a little while away sat Nikki and Leslie, who were in a deep conversation in which Nikki seemed to be doing 95% of the talking.

“Hey, Nikki, get over here!” Max shouted.

Nikki and Leslie jumped and turned to look at Max. With lightning speed, Nikki jumped to her feet. “Hiya, Max!”

“He said get your asses over here, Nikki!” Gwen reiterated.

Nikki gave a thumbs up and turned towards the younger Rajan. She held out her hand, and to Max’s slight surprise, Leslie took it. The two of them ran over to the rest of the group, Leslie’s little legs trying desperately to keep up with Nikki’s longer ones. Once they had caught up, Leslie and Nikki went to stand next to Max. In the middle of the two, Leslie kept one hand in Nikki’s and used the other to latch onto the bottom of her older brother’s hoodie.

“Alrighty, campers,” David said. “Before we get into things, we’re going to introduce ourselves!”

“How did you do that?” Max whispered to Nikki, nodding towards his little sister. Nikki just winked at him in response.

“—So all of us will form a circle on the ground and go one by one.”

“But there’s dirt on the ground,” one child argued.

“We’re outside,” another replied, looking at him like he was an idiot.

“And I thought I was going to be inside while I was here.”

“And you can talk all about that during your introductions,” Gwen said.

After the campers and their counselors had formed a pathetic excuse for a circle, they each began to introduce themselves until only two remained.

“Alright, and why don’t you go next?” David said, his eyes seeming to sparkle in excitement for this next camper, causing Max to roll his eyes. “What’s your name, kiddo?”

“Leslie.”

“Uh-huh, and how old are you, Leslie?”

“Five.”

“And what camp did you sign up for?”

“Adventure.”

“And do you have anything you want to share?”

“No.”

David was unsure of how to respond to the child’s minimal talking, but Gwen had no problem speaking up.

“Can she say more than one word at a time?” she asked Max.

“Yeah,” he said. “She’s just shy at first. She also probably doesn’t like you.”

Leslie nodded in confirmation. With her brother sometimes doing more than her parents to raise her, Leslie lacked in some departments, including manners.

“That’s alright. I’m sure we’ll all be friends in no time, Leslie!” David assured her. The girl crinkled her nose, unsure of how to feel about this. “Which leaves us with one more friend. Take it away, Max!”

Max sighed and rattled away the requirements David had listed. “My name’s Max, I’m seventeen, and I hate this place.”

“Oh, Max,” David said with a laugh. “Still have that great sense of humor. And you forgot something. You were a camper here, too, years back! Why don’t you tell the kids what camp you went to…” David trailed off at the end, only just seeming to realize what he was saying. His eyes dimmed when he remembered that empty space on the form he’d seen seven years prior.

Despite knowing this all too well, Max seemed unaffected. He was passed caring that his parents didn’t. There were definitely times it hurt, but now, now he had people by his side. He glanced at Leslie, then at Nikki. On his face was the smallest hint of a smile.

“Camp Camp.”

Chapter Text

“A lake,” said Aiman in disbelief, staring blankly at Lake Lilac. “I signed up for Swimming Camp, and you people are having me swim… in a lake?”

Max shrugged. “Water is water.”

“Do any of us even know how to do swimming drills?” Nikki softly asked her co-counselors.

“I know the word ‘backstroke,’” Max said unhelpfully.

“Don’t worry, counselors,” David said optimistically. “I’ve done plenty of research. We’ve got this covered!”

CJ clapped, either also fully prepared or simply not caring. Likely the latter. “Alright, kiddos. Jump in.”

A few children excitedly jumped off the pier, David trailing behind them to start lifeguard duty, while several others, including Aiman, stayed put. “Just like that?” said Aiman. “Shouldn’t we stretch?”

“Knock yourselves out.”

Nikki plopped onto the ground, either excited to jump in as soon as possible or to start counseling. 

“Alright, campers, get ready to stretch,” she said as she began to bend. “Do exactly what I do!”

“Jesus Christ, Nikki,” Max said as he, the campers, CJ, and Gwen looked on in a mixture of disbelief and horror. “That’s not stretching; that’s contortion.” 

After Max and CJ told the kids they just needed to try and touch their toes, the rest of the campers and CJ headed towards the water, some more excited than others, while Gwen sat back in a beach chair she’d brought with her and pulled out her pen and notepad and a book for light reading. Nikki noticed one of the campers, a young girl around Leslie’s age with copper hair, grabbed onto Leslie’s hand and excitedly pulled her towards the pier, the little girl willingly being pulled along like a rag doll.

Nikki’s eyes widened in horror at the sight, and she practically shoved Max, who had been staring at the remaining, unmoving camper, in an attempt to get his attention. She started to run, but he grabbed her by the wrist, looking annoyed. “The fuck was that for?”

“Leslie!”

Max looked over at his indifferent little sister being pulled along by the other little girl off the pier and into the water.

An equally indifferent Max raised a questioning eyebrow at Nikki before it suddenly clicked. “Oh,” he said, letting go of her wrist, “she’s fine, Nikki. Leslie knows how to swim.”

A small blush appeared on Nikki’s cheeks as she registered that she had just freaked out in front of him over nothing. “Oh, I didn’t… sorry.”

Max disguised a laugh as a cough, and Nikki glared at him as her cheeks turned an even brighter shade of red. Then he smiled at her. He nudged her with his shoulder; his slightly annoying way of showing affection that was just so quintessentially Max. She loved it. She also kind of hated it for that very same reason. 

“Thanks, though,” he said. “I didn’t know how to… you know… Well, my parents never took me out. We don’t really ever do… family stuff. The beach, the public pool. So I never learned to swim. And I didn’t want Leslie sitting at the edge of the pier or pool like I always was, so…” he rubbed the back of his head, not used to "feelings" talks, “thanks again. You and Neil.”

Nikki’s eyes were wide. Max didn’t talk about his parents much. They were a subject to be avoided. Whenever he talked about his family, he talked about Leslie. The only family he needed. His friend’s expression changed. 

“Shut up,” was Max’s response to her cheeky grin.

It was a good memory. Of Nikki and Neil dragging Max to a public pool one summer five years ago. Candy had driven them; she’d laid back in a lounge chair, ready to tan, and told them to go have fun and not drown. They’d brought along a pool noodle that had been retrieved from the depths of Nikki’s dad’s mess of a storage closet that Max would float on as his two friends coached him. Nikki’s dad had bought her a whistle which she would blow whenever Max began to falter, until a lifeguard eventually threatened to kick them out. After a long afternoon of coaching and Max learning the basics, they all went for burgers. Despite having been mortified from using a pool noodle and getting whistled at by Nikki in public, it was a good day. And Max wouldn’t have to sit and watch anymore after that. 

Of all the fucked up and shit memories Max and Nikki had of their childhoods, there were good ones. And among those were ones of the three friends, so different yet inseparable. 

Finally, Max approached the one camper left standing on the pier, looking nervously at the children in the lake and trying to hide how much it bothered him that he couldn’t join.

Max sighed, almost annoyed with himself for doing this but wondering what it would have been like if things were different seven years ago.

“Jason, right?”

“Hmm?” The eldest of the campers turned to look at Max. Sometimes it was the ones you least expected.

“Do you want to get in with the others?”

“What? No, I’m fine,” he scoffed, trying to seem unbothered. Maybe that shit would get passed David or Gwen, but Max knew. “Swimming is for little kids, anyway.”

Max pointed at Nikki, who had just kicked off her sandals and was now running towards the edge of the pier, screaming.

Jason tried not to squirm, determined to stick with his cool-headed attitude. “Okay, so I just don’t like swimming. I-it’s no big deal.”

Max sighed sympathetically. “Look, kid. There’s nothing wrong with not knowing how to swim. Some of us—”

“—What?” said Jason, sounding both confused and mildly offended. “I can swim! I’m fourteen, for fuck’s sake!”

Max raised an eyebrow, slightly pissed off but trying to remain patient. Only then did he register that Jason was wearing a baggy tee-shirt.

“Oh. Are you at that part of puberty where you get all awkward about your body?”

Jason turned bright red, silently answering Max’s question. “Fuck you!” he yelled before jumping into the lake.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Nikki was taking a short break in her and Gwen’s room while David, CJ, and Max dealt with the campers now that it was at an hour of the day when they were usually mostly tired out. Gwen, who had also decided to take some down time, was sitting in a chair reading, her feet resting up on a table, while Nikki counted the floorboards out of boredom.

“What are you reading?” Nikki eventually asked for a change of pace.

“Jane Austen.”

“Gwen,” Nikki said in disbelief, “I know that David’s been making you use book sleeves of highbrow literature whenever you read during your stay here.”

Gwen angrily slammed her book on the table and turned to glare at Nikki. “‘My Best Friend’s Brother Is a Werewolf-Vampire Hybrid’ is highbrow literature, Nikki.”

“My what is a what?”

“You wouldn’t understand the complexities of monster erotica.” Gwen paused and curiously scanned Nikki, as if just registering that the young girl she once knew had grown up. “...Or would you? Do you have any experience with this genre?”

“Uuuuuh… my friend once made me read tentacle hentai.”

Slowly and carefully, Gwen used her foot to push the other chair towards Nikki.

“Sit.”

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

David, CJ, and Max had led the campers to the mess hall for dinner, but after about ten minutes of waiting, David suggested that Max go to Gwen and Nikki’s cabin to check on them and tell them it was time for dinner. Without bothering to knock, Max entered the women’s cabin, only to find the two huddled around a table, staring at a book as Gwen read its contents aloud.

“He drew his claw along the line of her jaw, the sensation sending shivers up her spine. She knew if he chose to press down any harder, he could draw blood, and yet somehow, the thought exhilarated her.
“Ivory Mania Sparrow Way knew she should try to get away. Every bone in her body screamed, ‘Run!’ but she couldn’t move. She didn’t want to move. She was just a woman, he a man, yet something more. He stared her down, sizing up his prey. She should have felt fear, but all she could think about was him pressed up against her. The feeling of his hot, throbbing, werewolf-vampire—”

“—Gwen, what the fuck are you doing to Nikki?”

“Reading me highbrow literature,” Nikki answered, phased neither by the contents of the book nor by Max’s sudden arrival. “It kinda just seems like porn, though.”

Gwen frowned, setting down the book and crossing her arms. “It’s not my fault if you don’t understand the nuances of—”

“—Okay, we’re going now,” Max said, grabbing Nikki by the hand and walking her out. “You keep reading your porno. Or come eat. I don’t care. They don’t pay me.”

Max shut the door behind him, muffling the sound of whatever curse words Gwen had sent his way as he and Nikki headed for the mess hall.

Sometimes it made Nikki nervous, being alone with him. It was never like that before, and during the times Neil would visit or they’d all video chat, there was a protective wall between them. The Great Wall of Neil, as Nikki thought of it. Of course, there were times when being with Max just felt so natural that she wouldn’t overthink it. Then in moments like these, where they walked together towards the mess hall, Max either having forgotten to let go of Nikki’s hand or just not having bothered to, Nikki was stuck in her head. It boggled her mind how she was capable of simultaneously feeling like jumping for joy and throwing up, and she’d never had anyone to talk to about it. 

She’d once tried talking to her mother about a crush she’d had on a classmate in middle school. She had always been comfortable telling her mom pretty much anything, but it became apparent to Nikki fairly quickly that she and her mother had very different views on approaching relationships. Candy approached life tactically, whereas Nikki just jumped in and saw where things would take her. But when it came to relationships, Candy was more like her daughter, while Nikki was something else altogether. Candy saw no problem with swooping in and taking a risk, whereas Nikki was more of a "I would rather die in a hole" kind of gal. And Max? Oh god, if she talked to her mother about Max? No. Nikki would sooner get the shovel and dig the hole herself.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Hmm? How do you know I’m thinking about anything?” Nikki said, her tone almost posing a challenge.

“True enough. You usually don’t think,” Max teased, “but you look like your mind’s somewhere else. Did Gwen’s porn traumatize you? We could ask Neil the number for his therapist. Not that either of us could afford her.”

Nikki chuckled. “Nah, I’m just thinking about my mom’s shit advice.”

“On?”

“Relationships.” Oh god, did she really say that out loud? Dammit, Nikki, you couldn’t have made something up?

“Oh yeah, our parents are definitely experts in that area,” Max said sarcastically, yet he was clearly amused. “Why are you thinking about that, anyway? Gwen’s book got you thinking about your own love life? Don’t worry. Gwen may be reaching menopause, but we’ve still got time before we get old. Relationships. Responsibilities. Let’s at least wait until we graduate high school.”

“Max, you’ve been helping take care of your little sister since you were twelve,” Nikki said, smiling at the young man who was practically a full-time babysitter acting as though he didn’t have a care in the world.

Max frowned, but Nikki could tell he wasn’t upset; it was a thoughtful frown. “It’s hard to explain. I mean, it’s not like I always cared about Leslie, to be honest—don’t tell her I said that, though. She’d cry—it took me a good few months to warm up to her. It’s like, there’s someone in front of you. They’ve been there all this time, and then suddenly, it changes. You realize that you couldn’t imagine your life without them. That they make it special.”

“I understand,” Nikki said without thinking. It was the words that described that feeling. That stupid feeling she only recognized from the bad things it brought. But the way he described it, it sounded different. It almost made her want to reach for it. Almost.

Max continued. “So suddenly the hard work doesn’t seem like such a big—wait, you understand? How? Who? Spill!”

Shit. Um. What? “...Paco.”

“Paco? Your dog, Paco?”

“Yes.”

Max scratched his head, thinking the odd comparison over. “I mean, fair, I guess,” he said as he opened the door to the mess hall. 

Nikki immediately spotted the little girl with the unmissable bright copper hair and lilac eyes. Sitting right next to her was Leslie, who nodded along, seeming vaguely interested in what her fellow camper had to say. Nikki wondered whether or not she was actually listening.

“Who’s that kid again?” Max asked.

“Megan,” Nikki said after a brief moment of thought. “Art Camp. Looks like she’s decided she and your sister are friends now. Is Leslie gonna be okay?”

“Leslie’s fine with being dragged around as long as she’s mildly entertained,” Max said, waving off Nikki’s concern. “Won’t talk much unless she knows you well or likes you, though.”

“And I am now heartbroken by my one-sided conversation with her from earlier.”

Max let go of Nikki, and her hand suddenly felt cold. He chuckled at her comment and gave her a hard pat on the back. “I’m sure she’ll like you soon enough, Nik. She didn’t bat your hand away after you held it. That’s progress.” He gave her a grin that sent a shiver up her spine. Oh god. Was she turning into Ivory Mania Sparrow Way? “Besides, you grow on people.” He turned from her and headed towards the serving counter, adding, “Like fungus.”

“Hey!”

Chapter Text

So I’ve finally finished the very short season 5 (RIP Rooster Teeth). All the chapters have been updated to reflect new canon and prevent joss-ing because I hate that so so much lol. So now I can attempt to continue writing, but as I said, it still is pretty difficult since I’m bad at long term things. I’ve got a number of more significant chapters written, but it’s the smaller ones that’ll be put in between that are hard to do. I’ll probably give it a shot every now and again, but if anyone wants to shoot ideas between the two of us, it would be very welcome and probably make the process a lot easier.

Chapter Text

“Got any fours?” Max drawled.

“Fish.”

“It’s ‘go fish,’ Leslie.”

“Fish.”

“Can somebody tell me how this is supposed to qualify as Computer Camp?” Lucas asked angrily. CJ, Nikki, and Max all simultaneously pointed to the 1983 Apricot desktop in the corner of the room that David had been trying to get to load for the past hour.

“Don’t you worry, Lucas,” David assured the camper, a fire of determination lit behind his eyes. “We have several more hours of daylight remaining, and I’ll be darned if a little lag is going to ruin this day!”

“You can’t fix ‘lag’ with willpower, David,” Gwen said, not even bothering to look up from her fake copy of Wuthering Heights.

Leslie sighed, dropping all her cards and lying down on the splintering wooden floor in defeat. “Max?” 

“Yeah?”

“I’m bored.”

“Welcome to Camp Campbell, Leslie.”

“...Fuck.”

“Yyyyyyyep.”

“Max!” said Nikki, disappointed both by his attitude towards one of her favorite places in the world and by the fact that he was likely responsible for swearing being as unconscious a habit as breathing for Leslie, from what Nikki had noticed by now.

“What, you want me to lie to the brat?”

Nikki used her free hand to punch his shoulder. He flinched in feigned pain and collapsed next to his sister. After a few seconds, he sat back up.

“Wanna bail?”

“You’re just going to say that right in front of me?” David said, so used to Max’s behavior that he couldn’t even find it in himself to be offended. “Not whisper or anything?” 

“What’s the camp motto again?” said Max. “‘Seize the day?’”

David gasped, taking a screwdriver from CJ, who was just pulling random tools out of a toolbox at this point. “I am both extremely touched that you remember the camp motto and appalled that you would use it against me, Max.”

“What would we even do?” Giuliana said. “We’re just in the woods.”

“First off, I never invited you, you little shit,” said Max, the bratty young girl having already earned a place on his shit list. “Anyway, we could go to town and—”

“Are you trying to kill me, Max?” said Nikki, setting her cards down. 

Max rolled his eyes. Not this again. “You live in the middle of the city, Nikki.”

“Our complex has a yard. I have a green sanctuary! But in that town…” Nikki pulled at her hair, beginning to panic. “That horrible, horrible town. There is nothing. There.”

“Okay, Nikki. Calm down!” Max sighed. “You have any suggestions, then?”

Nikki hopped to her feet in seconds. “Let’s go exploring!”

Max held back a groan. “Isn’t that more ‘Adventure Camp’ territory?”

“Any day is a good day for exploring,” Nikki argued. “We can take Leslie and Megan and explore the woods.” At this point, Leslie and Megan were a package deal. Leslie seemed indifferent with being Megan’s self-proclaimed friend.

Nearly as fast as Nikki, Freddie hopped to his feet. “Exploring the woods? Really? Can I come?”

“Sure!”

“Yes!” Freddie cheered. Almost sinisterly, he added, “I will find Bigfoot.”

CJ rolled his eyes. “I’ve told you, little dude: Bigfoot is a conspiracy created by the government to convince people to get rabies shots so they can inject us with microchips to herd us like sheep.”

Freddie thought about this for a minute. “I mean, I guess when you think about it—”

“—Ooookay, so Freddie’s coming with us,” Nikki said, slowly stepping the boy farther away from CJ.

“CJ, I appreciate your effort to educate the children, but once again, please keep your… fun facts to yourself.”

“Just trying to prepare them for the world, David.”

“I gotta hand it to you, CJ,” Max said. “I’m impressed. Making me grateful for my parents is a very hard thing to accomplish. Promise me you’ll never have kids.”

Nikki noticed Leslie frown at Max’s comment, and she couldn’t help but wonder if the little girl felt differently about their mom and dad.

Gwen flipped to the next page of her book, casually remarking, “No woman would ever procreate with him, anyway.”

“Say that all you want, Gwen,” said CJ, “but there’s no denying the sexual tension between—AH!”

“Whoops, I accidentally nicked you with a live wire,” David said, his voice lacking any genuine concern as he dropped the wire. “Now, let’s get back on topic:
“While I try to foster and nurture our campers’ love of the great outdoors, going off and exploring unknown areas of the forest can be very dangerous. If you insist on going out, I’d prefer you stick to the areas you know.”

“Oh, come on, David,” Nikki said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “Half the fun is—”

“—No, Nikki.”

Nikki flinched at the sudden shift in David’s demeanor, and the cabin went silent, even Gwen looking up from her book in mild surprise. It was rare that they heard David so stern. In his eyes there was a far off look, and Nikki felt it best not to pry.

“Okay,” Nikki said meekly. “We won’t go far, then.”

Just as quickly as it had come, David’s cold demeanor was gone, and he smiled happily at Nikki. “That’s great to hear. You be safe, then. I’ll text you when we get the computer working.”

“‘If,’” Max said. 

“Alright, who else is coming?” Nikki asked, and Max nearly groaned, having no desire to have any more campers tag along.

Aiman looked on at David smashing his fist against the computer, then screeching and jumping back as it shocked him. “Honestly, I’m kind of curious to see where this goes.”

“Same,” Jason agreed.

“I’m super happy you asked, but we’re at an absolutely amazing part in this book we’re reading,” Cora said, looking up from the book she and Michael were reading, and the latter nodded in agreement.

“I—”

“You’re still not invited,” Max interrupted Giuliana.

Lucas merely shook his head and crossed his arms as he laid on his back and tried not to have a meltdown over how horribly his camping experience was going.

“That makes one, two, three campers,” Max said, gesturing for the three to follow him and Nikki out the door.

“Allows campers to wander off into the woods by themselves…” Gwen mumbled to herself as she quickly jotted down in her work notebook.

As soon as the door closed behind them, Max turned to Nikki. “Okay, what the fuck is wrong with David?”

Nikki scratched her head in confusion. “Like… in general?”

“What? No, I mean back there.”

Nikki shrugged as she gestured for the campers to follow her, then started walking. “I mean, there was that time he came back to camp with a cast on. I think he said he got lost?”

“I figured he just got that injury doing something stupid,” Max said, either not having registered that Leslie was now gripping his hoodie or just being used to it at this point.

“Um, where are we going?” Megan asked.

“If I told you, then it wouldn’t be a surprise, silly!”

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

“Are we almost there?” said Megan.

“Just five more minutes!” Nikki replied.

“You said that an hour ago, Nikki,” Max said. “Just admit it: we’re lost.”

Nikki guffawed. “Excuse me, I know exactly where we’re going. There, when we take a left, there’ll be a nice little area with a bunch of flowers and a little pond filled with a bunch of colorful fish.”

Upon taking said left, Max sighed. There was no pond to be found in front of them. Instead, before them was an old and decrepit cabin, the closest thing to flowers being the weeds surrounding it and several thorn vines crawling up its sides.

“Where’s the pond, Nikki?” Max said.

“Uuuh, maybe we were actually supposed to take a right?”

“Jesus Christ,” Max said, sounding more disappointed in Nikki than annoyed with her.

“This isn’t exactly the nature journey I was expecting,” Freddie said nervously.

“It may look a little… ominous, but hey, it’s a chance to explore!” Nikki said, trying to keep the campers upbeat. “I mean, just look at it. It’s probably been years since someone was last in there. Who knows what we might find?“

“Max, am I gonna die in there?” Leslie asked, phrasing the question as though this would be more of a minor inconvenience than anything else.

“Whatever’s in there can’t be any worse than Auntie Priya,” Max replied nonchalantly.

Leslie shuddered at the thought. 

“Adventure awaits!” Nikki exclaimed as she ran towards the old cabin.

“Are we really going to have an adventure in there?” Megan asked as she, Max, and the others took their time walking after Nikki.

Max couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle. “With Nikki? I’m sure we’ll manage to find something.”

Chapter Text

The four stood in the living room at the entrance of the house, Nikki already having wandered further in by the time they got there. They all looked around the old, oddly decorated room. Max turned away from the mounted head of the three-eyed buck to check on the kids, only to find Leslie wasn’t joining in on their little adventure. He approached his sister, making sure to keep his voice down enough so that the other two didn’t overhear.

“Leslie, you’ve been quiet a while now,” Max pointed out. She was a quiet girl in general, but there was a limit even for Leslie, and Max knew that better than anyone.

The little girl merely shrugged. Her brother sighed in response, moving his head around and letting the bones crack as he prepared to head into battle. That is, a conversation that might involve emotions. He may have loved his sister, but there still existed things difficult even between the two of them.

“Alright, come on,” Max said, bending down to meet her eyes. “What did I do?”

“Why don’t you love Mom and Dad?”

Max’s eyes widened and his mouth dropped. Was this an actual question? Was this really happening? He’d thought in the past of all the different conversations he might have to have with Leslie as she grew older to help her cope with the reality of their family, but this was not one of them.

His mind raced a mile a minute, somehow managing to race through a million things while not actually managing to think much of anything at all.

“That’s,” he started. “I mean, I—”

“—Maaaaaaaaax,” came Nikki’s voice from afar. “I thought I saw a coin down the sink drain so I tried to grab it and now my hand’s stuck.”

For once grateful for Nikki’s ridiculous behavior, he turned to Leslie. “Nikki’s in trouble, so uh, I gotta check on her. We’ll talk when we get back to camp, okay?
“Freddie!” Max earned the attention of the young boy and Megan, who turned around to look at him. “I’m gonna go help out Nikki before she tries to gnaw her arm off like a wolf.”

“Such sacrifices are sometimes necessary in the great wilderness!” came Nikki’s voice from the kitchen.

“Shit, she’s considering it again,” Max muttered to himself. He turned back to the boy, the oldest among the small group of children. “You’re in charge, Freddie, got it?”

“I’m twelve.”

“Yeah, well, Megan’s six, so the two of you combined are an adult,” Max said, brushing off the boy’s concerns and heading to the kitchen as quickly as possible. He spared a glance back at his sister. She wore an expression on her face that her older brother had never seen from her before. Disappointment. In him.

He stepped through the threshold into the kitchen. It was about as dilapidated as one would expect from a long abandoned cabin. Decorated with cobwebs and unidentifiable substances he didn’t dare touch, Max spotted Nikki by the smudged windows that were so far gone they let in practically no sun, the only light coming into the room being from a hole in the roof. She shifted back and forth to try and get the best light from the makeshift sunroof onto her reddened wrist.

“Dammit, Nikki, again?”

“Okay, but I’m pretty sure it was an entire dollar coin this time,” she said. “I’ve still got a hold of it.”

“Let go of the damn coin while I grab your backpack,” Max ordered her. Nikki whined softly but complied, unfurling her fist and hearing the disappointing clink of the coin falling farther down the drain and beyond her reach.

“You still got that special gel Neil made you for these situations?”

“Back pouch.”

Max sighed, grabbing the container and approaching his friend who could only smile sheepishly knowing that they were in this situation once again. “I mean, at least it’s not a beehive this time, right?”

Nikki was met with silence, much to her confusion, the only noise being the slight tap of Max setting the lid of the small jar onto the counter. “Uh, Max? Isn’t this around the time you’d be telling me what a dumbass I am and that you don’t know why you even bother?”

“Yeah, well, you know the spiel,” he said, taking a handful of goop from the jar and reaching into the sink. 

This was generally a job for Neil, and Nikki attempted to keep herself calm. She let out a small squeak in the back of her throat upon skin contact, but Max didn’t seem to notice.

“Okay, something’s going on,” Nikki said, her concern ultimately outweighing her internal freak out. “Come on, Max, speak up.” 

Silence.

“Maaaaax. Come on, Maxie,” she said, poking his cheek with her free hand. 

“Call me that again and I’m leaving you here to starve to death,” Max said, swatting her hand away.

Nikki smiled at the response. “There we go. That’s more like it.
“What’s going on, Max?”

He should shut her down. Tell her it was none of her business. That it was personal. What on earth could Nikki offer in this situation? Advice? What could a girl showered with love possibly know about what it meant to receive none? But her smile was kind, and her eyes showed genuine affection. He sighed. He hated that she’d learned how to get him to let down his guard over the years.

“Leslie asked me why I don’t love our parents.”

They stood in silence for a moment, a wide-eyed Nikki trying to process the comment. She wasn’t sure what to say, so she just said the first thing that came to her mind.

“Well… do you love them?”

Max opened his mouth to answer, but he stopped when he realized that he didn’t know what the answer to that question actually was. All he could say were the things he’d contemplated a million times before.

“I… No? Maybe? Sometimes? It’s… complicated. I don’t know how to answer.”

“‘Complicated’ can be an answer,” Nikki pointed out. 

“Leslie and I… we don’t really have the same memories of our parents.”

“What do you mean?”

“My parents had twelve years with me, so when Leslie was born, they made sure they knew how to deal with her.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

“Deal with her, Nikki. Not care for her.
“Leslie wants to sit on Dad’s lap and cuddle while he’s watching TV? He lets her so she’ll shut up and he can continue to watch his show. Leslie asks Mom to tuck her in? Mom tucks her in because one time she said ‘no’ and Leslie started crying, so it’s easier to just get it over with. They talk to her a lot and sometimes read to her? It’s because they don’t want to deal with taking another kid to speech therapy.
“Leslie gets the bare minimum, and every time I can tell she’s starting to wonder if something is wrong, I have to swoop in and give her the affection she isn’t really getting.
“But what drives me fucking crazy is that seeing Leslie get the attention I didn’t, even when I know it’s not genuine… sometimes a part of me can’t help feeling almost… annoyed? She has good memories of them. I have… none.”

“It’s normal to want attention from your parents, Max.” Memories of trying to be heard over screaming played on a reel in her head. “Even if the attention isn’t coming from a positive place.” Of being lovingly shuffled away to shield her from the ugly truth. She wondered if she could remember how old she was when they stopped bothering. “But even if you say she has good memories, one day she’s going to realize what they really were. You swooping in won’t be able to distract her forever. You get older, and… you realize what’s around you.”

Max tilted his head, both contemplating Nikki’s words and wondering why a girl he’d seen doted on firsthand could understand what he meant so well. He snapped to attention when he felt Nikki’s hand finally pop out of the drain. He shook his head to unscramble his thoughts, and he pulled Nikki’s hand over to get a better look at it. Her hand all clear of any injuries, he carefully slid his hand up to hold hers and get a better look at his wrist. He mumbled some annoyances when he saw the bruising was already starting to show. Max looked up at Nikki to tell her his findings, noticing that she was uncharacteristically quiet. He noticed her eyes fixed not on her wrist but on his hand carefully holding hers, and suddenly his eyes were stuck on it, too. Just for a moment, after which he seemed to snap back into reality and quickly threw away her hand as though he were dropping a dead fish.

“Um, Nikki, I…For hearing me out…”

“Oh my god, it’s a secret passage!” Nikki said, her terrible attention span saving Max from having to engage in any further genuine dialogue.

Max sighed and walked after Nikki, who was using her foot to brush dust and cobwebs off a door on the floor. “It’s a trapdoor,” Max said, unimpressed. “You discovered the door to the cellar, Nikki.”

Nikki scoffed, grabbing the handle of the trapdoor. “A secret cellar, Max.”

“No, I’m pretty sure it’s just a cellar.”

Ignoring him, Nikki used all her might to pry open the door. As it hit the ground, a small, dim light flickered on in the basement, barely lighting the dirty floor beneath. “I’m going in. You coming?”

“I will honestly be surprised if there isn’t some sort of torture room down there, so I’m gonna pass on this one. I’ll check on the brats. You… try to avoid dying.”

“Always do!” Nikki said, waving him off.

Max walked out of the kitchen and back into the living room, where Megan and Freddie searched the room, already having found some interesting trinkets to take as souvenirs, while Leslie sat in the corner, a sour look on her face.

“Hey there.”

Leslie harrumphed, looking away from her older brother.

“You can’t ignore me forever, Leslie.”

“Yuh-huh.”

Max held in a chuckle. That was Leslie. He took in a deep breath and sat down next to his little sister.

“Look, Leslie, I… I don’t… not love Mom and Dad, okay? Sometimes family is tricky. You know how you and I have a different relationship together than we do with them?” Leslie nodded, well aware that the love she received from Max was different than the love she received from her parents. “Well, I have a different relationship with them than I do with you. It doesn’t mean I don’t love them.” Had he ever even fathomed using the word “love” when describing how he felt about his mother and father? Maybe when he was younger. Maybe when he was Leslie’s age and the word “love” described what he so desperately sought from his parents. He had wanted a big, happy family. It’s the same as what Leslie wanted. “And just because I act different around them, that’s not gonna change how I act around you.” He put a hand on her little shoulder and gently squeezed it. “Got it?”

Leslie looked down at the ground as she processed his words, and the ghost of a smile began to form on her face. She loved her parents, but sometimes, sometimes it could be lonely. But whenever she was feeling lonely, her older brother would jump in. And even if that’s all she had, it was enough to keep her sane and feeling loved.

“Got it.”

Before either of them could get in another word, the sound of a door being slammed open reverberated through the old house. The young campers and Max turned to see Nikki rush into the main room, having clawed her way out of the basement trapdoor.

“Max, we have to get out of here,” Nikki said, her face white as a sheet.

“Huh? Why? Nikki, you look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Not a ghost,” she said. “Much, much worse.”

The sound of tiny footsteps caught Max and Nikki’s attention. The children looked on in confusion, and Megan turned to her counselors, seeking answers.

“Max, why is that squirrel wearing an eyepatch?”

“Run, Megan,” Max said.

“What?”

He grabbed onto Leslie’s hand, as well as Nikki’s, who was closest to the beasts. As the squirrels charged forward, the campers and their counselors ran out of the old cabin, screaming as their tiny tormentors ran after them. 

As Max dragged her forward, Nikki looked back to see the rodents running after them. She turned back to look at Max, who now had Megan hoisted over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes as Freddie clung to his leg. Nikki and Max’s eyes met, and Nikki knew he was thinking of their old camp shenanigans, just like she was. He rolled his eyes and squeezed Nikki’s hand tighter as he picked up the pace, and she started laughing.

Chapter Text

The day having come to an end and David and CJ gone to get the next day’s activities prepared, Nikki had gone into theirs and Max’s cabin, the two friends having planned to video chat Neil. They laid next to each other on Max’s bed, talking to Neil like they always did, only this time, Nikki and Max were together.

“So for ‘Baking Camp,’ David just bought ten or so Easy-Bake Ovens that probably hadn’t been used since before we were born,” Max explained. “One of them short-circuited and caused a fire.”

“On the bright side, the cookies were edible,” Nikki said.

“They were completely burnt, Nikki.”

“But edible.”

“Nikki, it concerns me how often I have to tell you not to eat food that has been burned, spoiled, or dropped on the ground,” Neil said.

“It hasn’t killed me yet!”

Neil sighed, knowing all too well at this point in their friendship that Nikki was not one to listen to reason. “You’d think with however much money Mr. Campbell has stashed away, the camp might not look like it hasn’t been touched in decades.”

Max guffawed. He grabbed Nikki’s hand and positioned her phone more towards the middle of them so he and Neil could get a better look at each other. “The only money Campbell has at this point that he isn’t spending solely on himself is probably stashed away so he can flee the country when the feds inevitably catch up with his latest Ponzi scheme.”

“You still don’t believe Campbell has changed for the better?” Neil said. “I hear he’s done a lot of good these past several years.”

“Yeah? And when was the last time he spoke to CJ?”

Neil blinked in surprise at the comment, uncertain as to how he should respond. There was a brief, uncomfortable silence between the two boys. Despite his parents having been separated for years and having new families, Neil’s family dynamic was much more normal and healthier than both Max’s and Nikki’s, whose parents were (most of the time, in Nikki’s case) together. Nikki looked back and forth between Max and Neil, watching cautiously. 

“Max, I didn’t mean to—”

“—Neil!” came a woman’s voice offscreen. “Grab your sisters! We’re going out to eat!”

Neil had a perturbed look on his face, not wanting to leave on such an ill note.

Max guffawed, waving his hand dismissively. “Geez, Neil, don’t take everything so seriously.”

“I… okay,” Neil said, a look of confusion on his face as he tried to gage how seriously to take such comments from Max. “Then, I guess I’ll get going.”

“Tell Erin I said hi!” Nikki said, not sure how genuine that moment of tension had been but glad to leave it behind. 

Neil smiled. “Will do. You two make sure not to overwork yourselves.”

“Neil, I can promise you that I will never work myself while I’m here,” Max assured him.

A laugh came from the other end of the phone. “I would expect nothing less. See you!”

A beep sounded the end of the video chat, and Nikki looked over at Max, who was looking at a bug bite on his hand.

Sometimes it was hard to remember that things that seemed like a big deal to others were simply meaningless and casual remarks or jokes from Max. Because what looked uncomfortable or upsetting to others was a reality Max had become numb to a long time ago. Nikki shifted to her side to look at her friend. “By the way, Max, I was wondering—” Nikki was stopped halfway when the two heard the click of the cabin door opening.

“Max, we’re ba—” David stopped in his tracks, a look of grave concern on his face when he saw Nikki and Max laying together on the latter’s bed. CJ simply gave Max a thumbs up.

“Max,” David said cautiously, “I’m aware that your relationship with your parents is complicated, so I don’t know if they’ve talked to you about the bir—”

“Jesus, David!” Max snapped. “They’re not completely incompetent! …My dad handed me an informational brochure while avoiding eye contact, and we called it a day.”

“I want to die,” Nikki made known.

“Right. We were just talking to Neil. No need to make things gross.”

"Gross", Nikki repeated in her mind. Ouch.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Leslie had to admit, some of the campers were beginning to grow on her. Particularly Megan, who was closest in age to her. As for her other cabinmates, Cora was a little too bubbly for her liking but easy enough to get along with, and Giuliana seemed like an entitled little bitch who didn’t know nearly as much as she thought she did. 

With what little downtime was left, the girls each spent it on their own things. Giuliana worked on the one–woman musical she was writing, Cora painted her nails, and Megan introduced Leslie to the seven stuffed animals she had somehow managed to fit in her backpack.

“Hey, Leslie,” Megan asked after introducing her red stuffed dog, Sniffer. “You’re really close to Max. Are you two related or something?”

“Of course they are, stupid,” Giuliana butted in. “They look exactly alike, and she sticks to him like glue.”

“Well, I think it’s nice,” Cora said, taking a pause from her sparkly neon green nail-painting to drop a nicety. “I’d love to have a brother or sister. …Does my cat count?”

“No,” Leslie answered. “Max is not a cat.” Actually, now that Leslie thought about it, he was rather similar to one of their neighbor’s angry cats.

“Then are you related to Nikki, too?”

Leslie shook her head. “Don’t know her,” was Leslie’s curt reply.

“Really?” Megan said, surprised. “She and Max are friends, though.”

Leslie shrugged, not sure how to respond or how to feel about that fact.

"Nikki" was a name that Leslie had heard throughout the years. It was a word that seemed to have a positive connotation, but the idea of Max not sharing something he liked with her was equal parts curious and suspicious in Leslie’s eyes. Seeing her brother talking on his phone with a smile and a roll of his eyes, letting out a dry laugh while texting, and sometimes leaving home for hours or even an entire day, leaving Leslie behind. It was abnormal.

Leslie didn’t completely know how to feel about the mystery that was Nikki, but the young woman seemed kind enough (even if she could be odd at times). More than that, she could sometimes make Max smile. There were very few things in this world that could do that. And as uneasy as this mystery girl may have made Leslie, she was grateful for that.

Chapter Text

“Alrighty, campers. Today we’ll be doing a fun activity for Nature Camp!”

“Yes!” Freddie cheered, his emerald eyes gleaming as he happily bounced up and down.

A faint groan could be heard coming from Lucas, who at this point Nikki had noticed complained about just about any activity that took place outdoors.

“What is Nature Camp?” Cora asked, twirling one of her box braids.

“Kid’s got a point,” Max said. “That’s extremely vague.”

David’s eyes lit up in wonder as he thought back to his early days as a camper at Camp Campbell. “Think of traditional camping! Making fires with kits, taking hikes, learning about all the wonders of nature!”

“That sounds like my kind of camp!” Nikki said enthusiastically.

“Please don’t let Nikki anywhere near the fire starting kits,” Gwen asked of David.

“No worries—today, we’ll be starting with a much simpler activity that I read about that will introduce us to some of the fun things nature has to offer.” David pulled out a sheet of paper divided into various colored squares. “A rainbow hunt!”

“A rainbow hunt?” one camper repeated in confusion.

“That’s right! You’ll be searching the woods for items that match each of the colors on this paper!” He started passing out the sheets of paper and handed over several rolls of tape to Max, who sighed and began to pass them out to the children.

“And no dead animals,” said CJ, and Max couldn’t help but wonder if that had been an issue in the past.

Once the materials had all been handed out to the campers, David nodded in approval. “Everyone make sure to stay in sight. We don’t want any of you getting lost! Alright, campers. Get ready. On your mark, get set… go!”

Several of the campers got running starts, more interested in the hunt than they had originally expected to be, while a few others trudged off begrudgingly.

David looked on happily as he saw the rest of the campers move off. He scanned the ones who had already started their hunt. His eyes widened. “Wait, Michael! That’s poison ivy!”

As time passed, everyone moved deeper into the woods, but they all remained together.

“Orange!” said Leslie enthusiastically, surprising her older brother. The shy and quiet little girl had seemed to have been slowly coming out of her shell as she became more comfortable with the camp, even having approached Megan first to suggest searching together. Leslie proudly held up a flower, her partner standing next to her and clapping at their success.

“Nice job, little dudes!” CJ said.

“What kind of flower is it?” Megan asked curiously.

“It appears to be a California poppy,” David said. “Its scientific name is… oh, come on, David. You know this…”

“Eschscholzia californica,” Nikki said without thinking.

“Exactly!” said David. “Great job, Nikki!”

“Since when are you an expert on this kind of thing?” Max said with a grin. He nudged her with his elbow. “Remember your lessons from flower arranging classes from when you were with the Flower Scouts?”

“No, I just remember that one,” Nikki said. Max couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow in response to her lack of reaction towards his gibe.

“It’s so pretty,” Megan said, and a smiling Leslie nodded in agreement.

“Really?” said Nikki, tilting her head. She looked at the small patch of poppies on the ground growing close together, looking almost like a bouquet. Like the bouquets she’d seen so many times before that were then placed happily into a lavender vase on an old kitchen table. She’d found them so lovely at first. “I think they’re kind of ugly.”

Her words seemed to dampen the girls’ spirits. They deflated, as though they feared they had somehow done something wrong.

“The poppy works great for orange, guys,” Max said, uncharacteristically supportive in his role as a counselor. Lowering his voice, he turned to Nikki. “The fuck, Nikki? What was that for? They’re little kids, and you’re their counselor. They care what you think.”

“I just said what I thought,” Nikki said. “Why can’t I say what I think?”

“Just think about what you say before you say it. It might not be,” Max couldn’t believe he was actually saying this, but it was for his sister, “nice.”

Nikki guffawed. “Oh, I am not hearing that from you,” she said with a laugh. Why was she being like this? “Since when do you have the moral high ground? You’ve never given a shit about anyone but yourself in your entire life.”

Max’s hands balled into fists. “You know that’s bullshit.”

“Right, right. Your little sister,” Nikki said with a derisive laugh. “The only reason you sometimes bother with acting even remotely like a decent human being.”

“Okay, counselors, let’s calm down now,” David said warily as the campers began to stop what they were doing and stare. 

“Mind your own business, David!” the teens shouted in unison. They glared at each other in response to their shared words.

Nikki growled. “Forget it. Screw this.
“David, CJ, I’m taking my thirty.”

“Nikki, please wait!”

Nikki either didn’t hear what David had said or just didn’t care, and she trudged off to go and calm down. She looked back to see a conflicted Max looking between his friend and his sister but ultimately choosing to check on the latter. Good. He should choose her. He was a good brother. That was one of the things Nikki liked about him. Catching that stray thought, Nikki started knocking on her head to make it go away. Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut uuuuuuup.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Stupid. Stupid. She hated that she got like this. How easily upset she got by her parents’ breakups and makeups. How even the sight of those stupid flowers was enough to upset her. Her eyes stung. No, no. No tears.

“You’re such a strong girl, Nikki,” her father had once told her when she was thirteen, after he’d had a little too much to drink. “Always putting up with your mother and I.”

And strong girls didn’t cry.

“You wanna tell me what’s going on?”

Nikki looked up at Max standing over her, hands in his pockets and an unsure and vaguely uncomfortable look on his face.

“Max, what are you… Shouldn’t you be with Leslie?”

“I was, but when I approached her, she scowled at me, pointed in the direction you’d run off to, and said, ‘Don’t be a dick.’”

Nikki chuckled. “She’s a good kid.”

Max smiled. “Yeah… God knows where she gets it from.”

“You’re a good person, Max,” she said, her earnest tone expressing regret for what she had said to him earlier. “You always have been.”

Max blinked in surprise. Nikki bit her lip nervously, rethinking her words. “I mean, she’s little. She could still end up an asshole like you,” she said in an attempt to lessen the seriousness of her previous comment. 

“Right… So what exactly are you so pissed off about?”

Nikki shrugged. “Flowers.”

Max raised an eyebrow. “You mean the poppy?”

“Yeah. They, umm… well, it’s kind of embarrassingly stupid.”

“Nikki, when we were twelve, I saw you run around your house high on Pop Rocks, wearing nothing but an oversized poncho and screaming about an invisible gorilla,” Max said, leaning against the tree she was sitting next to. “I think we’re passed that point in our relationship.”

“That’s fair,” she said with a chuckle, rubbing her cheeks in an attempt to make the blush go away. “Um, it’s… my parents.”

“Your parents?” Max repeated, somewhat surprised. Max quickly reflected on her parents, wondering what the issue could be. Her mother didn’t seem to pay all that much attention, and her father seemed to be extremely irresponsible. But despite this, they both obviously loved their daughter, and Max couldn’t help but be envious at times. Even with what little Max knew of their marital issues, the three were still more of a family than his own was.

“I think I mentioned it once. A long time ago. How my dad brings my mom flowers when he wants her to take him back.
“I used to think it was the most romantic thing in the world, but after a while… After a while, they stopped bothering to make sure I wasn’t around when they were fighting. So every time my dad came back, flowers were just a reminder that it was going to start all over again. That we’d be happy for a while, and then it’d all go to shit.”

“And… he’d get her poppies?” Max guessed.

“Yeah. Her favorite. I got sick of them after a while.”

Max hummed thoughtfully. He slid down the tree, now sitting next to Nikki, their arms touching. She resisted the urge to squirm away and couldn’t help but feel frustrated by how unaffected Max seemed to be.

“It’s Count Chocula for me.”

“Huh?” Nikki replied, clearly confused.

“I was eating Count Chocula when my parents told me they were having a baby,” he elaborated. “Leslie is great, but it’s not a good memory. Dropping on me that they were gonna have another kid who they would ignore and that I was going to have to help out with it and basically do everything for myself. Even more than I had before. I finally had friends, and they were taking that away from me.”

“But they didn’t,” Nikki pointed out. “We’re still here.”

A small smile formed on Max’s face, and he nudged her affectionately, making her heart flutter and her stomach flip. “Yeah. You are.”

“So… are we good?”

“Always.”