3rd Person

The food was shitty.

I mean, what did Max expect, really? A restaurant? Please, this isn't the Flowerscouts. It was much worse.

The cafeteria was loud and obnoxious, people yelling and shoving each other to get to the food. Max was pretty sure a fight broke out in the middle of the room.

Max himself sat at the only table without anyone sitting at it, leaning on his hand with his elbow on the table. He'd pushed his food around a little bit before taking a hesitant bite out of the potato.

And, let me tell you, he would've just spat that shit right out and walked away, but he couldn't.

He had this strange feeling that someone was watching him from the kitchen, but he didn't dare look up and potentially catch someone's eyes. He could've gotten beaten up. Again.

So instead, he just swallowed it down, trying not to gag too much.

After the terribly lonely and frankly quite scary dinner, Max walked back into his and YN's tent, seeing her laying down on her bed reading again.

She had changed into a short sleeved grey shirt and long black pants. Max assumed that this was because it rained every night, making it feel cold even in summer.

That's when Max realised it. He had no clothes to sleep in. They had already taken away his Camp Campbell shirt and jeans, and his hoodie was covered in dirt and mud.

He groaned, dragging himself over to his shitty excuse for a bed and flopping down onto it.

It was silent for a few seconds until YN spoke up. "No pjs?"

Max hummed angrily in response, lifting his head out of the pillow and turning it to look at her when she chuckled.

"What's so funny?" He asked, making sure not to swear again. YN glanced over at him before turning the page of her book. She shrugged and Max groaned again.

"I hate everything," YN laughed again before switching off her lamp.

"Go to sleep, you've got an early start tomorrow," He heard YN shuffle slightly, and he sighed quietly.

"I was hoping you forgot about that," He mumbled. He felt YN's gaze on his face through the darkness.

"I never forget, Maxwell," It was silent for a few seconds before Max turned around in his bed to face the tent wall, "Goodnight."

He mumbled a response, letting himself fall into a deep slumber quickly.

It's been a long day for him. And YN had been a bit harsh on him, too. But she knew that he just needed a push in the right direction.

She stared in his direction, trying to figure him out. He was a strange boy, one unlike any of the obnoxious horny teens at this camp. She knew he would eventually break and become just like them, but she secretly hoped he didn't.

He was a quirky kid, one who acted and seemed older then he was, but still just as childish. It was as if an adult and a child were in the same body, fighting over control.

YN assumed it was just because he had shitty parents or something.

She sighed, listening to her own breathing and heartbeat as she did every night, but this time there was another.

Max was breathing evenly, in a deep sleep and hearing nothing around him.

It was weird having another person in the same tent as her, and hearing him breathing and living just felt unnatural.

YN had been used to the lonely breaths of her own, but it kinda felt comforting knowing she wasn't really alone anymore.

She synced her breath with his, smiling to herself and shuffling to face the tent roof. Closing her eyes, she relaxed into the crappy pillow underneath her head.

An hour passed in what felt like ten minutes. But YN was used to this, falling asleep an hour or so after settling down. It was natural, for she was a night owl. But, with nothing to focus her mind on, her brain just quietly and slowly shut down.

She could feel herself start to drift off, like a boat sailing away.

A sharp breath interrupted her drifting, and she turned her head to the side Max was on, eyes wide and awake.

He had moved so his body was facing her and he was hugging himself. YN's eyes had adjusted to the darkness, so she could see him pretty well.

His face was scrunched up, like he was in pain or something. Probably because he was clutching his stomach pretty tightly. I mean, bruises and whatever else was under his shirt don't heal in the course of a few hours.

Max began to mumble something under his breath, shuffling around a little bit. YN sat up in her bed, hanging her legs over the edge. She felt the cold air brush against her arms, and she felt kinda bad that Max had to be in shorts and a T-shirt.

He started to hyperventilate slightly, moving his hands up to his head and pulling at his hair.

YN stood up, assuming he was having a nightmare or something, and walked over to him. She crouched beside his bed and placed a hand on his shoulder.

He flinched back and covered his face in fear. At first she had thought he'd woken up, but he was still asleep.

"Maxwell," YN reached for his wrist and tried to pull it away from his face. But he just kept yanking it back, muttering a series of 'no's and 'please's under his breath.

YN pulled harder, pulling his arm away from his face and his eyebrows furrowed in a silent look of terror. He let her take his arm away, and he gripped the sheet with his free hand.

"Let me go, it wasn't my fault I swear! Please, please, stop please," he kept repeating quietly, his mumbles slowly turning into loud whispers. YN noticed his shaking and saw small tears start to fall from his eyes.

"Maxwell, hey kiddo wake up!" She yelled quietly, letting go of his wrist and grabbing his shoulder again.

He pulled his arm back instantly, hugging himself again. This led to more wincing and more tears.

"Maxwell!" This caught his attention and he woke up almost instantly, sitting up quickly.

"Y-YN?" He stuttered out. YN reaches up and brushed away his loose tears. He looked around him and adjusted himself so his legs hung off the side of the bed.

YN stood up, about to sit down beside him when he jumped off his bed and wrapped his arms around her torso, nuzzling the side of his face under her chin.

She instantly wrapped her arms around him and held him close to her, resting her chin on his head.

He was shaking slightly, and he started to sob quietly. Pulling away, YN took his hand and lightly pulled him over to her bed.

He noticed through his tears that she had a proper thick blanket, and her pillow was slightly bigger than his.

She sat down on her bed and held out her arms, non-verbally asking him to let her hold him in her arms. He silently obliged, hesitating slightly before.

He crawled into her gentle embrace, feeling the warmth of her body surround him.

It was kind of... comforting. He had never been in a hug for this long. He'd barely been in a hug.

His sobs quietened down to nothing and he stopped shaking. YN began to brush her hands through his hair, thinking about what possibly could've made him so cuddly all of a sudden.

She remembered the pain killers she gave him before dinner, realising that they had a few side effects to them. There was also the whole deal about the concussion, which had a few crappy things linked to it too.

Max began to doze off in her arms, feeling safe and secure for one of the first times in his life.

He wouldn't admit it out loud, but he was extremely grateful that YN was there with him. Usually his nightmares ended in fear and sleepless nights, without anyone to break him from it.

She had not only broken him out of his deep sleep, but she had accepted his sudden embrace.

It was as if he had called out for a miracle, and YN had answered, loud and clear. It was possibly one of the best things that had happened to Max. But it was very unlike him.

He had always tried to be the kid who had no fears, who didn't give a shit. But everyone has a fear, and his wasn't a typical one.

No, it wasn't common like fear of spiders or whatever. Max was afraid of adults. Yeah, it's weird, but it makes more sense then you might think.

He was afraid of adults yelling at him, getting angry at him, hitting him, doing anything unkind to him in general.

It was mostly his parents faults. They weren't kind or caring. They paid no mind to him, they really didn't care at all.

Max shook the thoughts of his parents out of his head. He sat up slightly and wrapped his arms around YN's neck, surprising her slightly.

She continued to hold him in her arms, not really wanting to question him. She didn't want to embarrass him or something.

In reality, she just wanted him to feel comfortable around her, otherwise they wouldn't bond. And everyone knows that if you want someone to do as you say, you had to get them to trust you. And if YN wanted to be a good leader and hopefully make Max into a decent guy, she had to gain his trust.

Although, she had to admit, she liked him the way he was.

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Unedited

Final word count: 1 649