Chapter Text
It was storming pretty badly that night, so it was a wonder David heard the knocking in the first place. Gwen was on a ‘girls’ night out’, so he was alone for once in the large cabin they both rented. The television played in the background, barely audible underneath the screams of the wind. David was heating up some leftover noodles when it came. At first he thought it may just be the pitter-patter of acorns hitting the roof, but it was too deliberate and rhythmic. He peeked through the curtains, wondering if Gwen had forgotten her keys, but only his car sat in the grassy yard. Strange. The knocking came again, more frantic than before.
He cracked the door open and was shocked to see a small, unintimidating figure shivering in the rain. He couldn’t make out their face in the dark from underneath the hood of their jacket, but it had to be a child. What on earth was a kid doing out here in a storm, so far from town?
The child shoved past him, shutting the door. In the dim light, David could finally see his face. He couldn’t have been older than 10. The boy leaned against the wall, catching his breath.
“Uh, hey kid!” David started. “I’m David. What were you doing out in the storm?”
“Can I stay here ‘til it’s over?” He asked, ignoring the question.
“Of course, but where are your parents? I can call them if you’d like so they know you’re okay.” He offered.
“Nah.” The boy’s shoulder slouched forward in relief. David waited a moment.
“What’s your name?” David asked.
“Max.” He answered simply.
“Well, I was just heating up some food if you’d like some, Max.” Max looked up at him suspiciously, as if he didn’t quite believe he was real.
“...Sure, whatever.” He muttered.
David smiled, skipping into the kitchen to plate the food. Max wandered into the living room, sitting on the floor in front of the television. A report on some foreign war was on. When David returned with the noodles, he noticed this and frowned. He put a plate in front of Max and grabbed the remote, changing the channel to a kid’s show.
“Dude, what’d you do that for?” Max asked.
“Well, there’s just some things kids shouldn’t see, I think. Enjoy!” He began to eat, and Max picked at his food for a second before deeming it edible.
Once they were finished, David went to pick up the dishes and he heard Max mutter something under his breath.
“Thanks, I guess. Most people wouldn’t do this for some random fucker in the rain.”
David shrugged. “Guess I’m not most people!” He responded, turning off the television.
“You should probably get some sleep.”
Max glanced around the room. “Is your couch sacred?”
“Nope! Let me go grab you some blankets.” As David sprinted upstairs, Max reached into his little backpack and pulled out a well-worn teddy bear. By the time David returned, he’d safely hidden it underneath the couch cushions.
“Sleep well, Max!” David gave him the blankets, hoping that Gwen wouldn’t kill him in the morning for this.
David went upstairs and pulled out his laptop. He rarely slept anyways, so he had plenty of time to figure out who this kid was. He poured through pages and pages of missing kids, trying to commit every single one to memory just in case he found one. Hours later though, and there were still none that fit Max’s description. Maybe he hadn’t been away long enough for an official report to be filed? If so, then he was going to have to keep Max by his side until he could find his parents.
No kid should ever be alone, he thought. Until David found out where Max came from, he was just gonna be stuck with him, he supposed. Good thing David had experience as a camp counselor! He figured that he was pretty good with kids!
~~~
The storm raged on, and at one point he heard someone come in through his stupor, but they went straight upstairs, so he didn’t bother to get up. Max eventually fell into an uneasy sleep. Mr. Honeynuts rested on his stomach as he dreamed of blissful nothing. Without his bear, his sleep was always disturbed with horrid nightmares of things he’s never seen and people he’d never met - and never would. They always died at the end, and he’d wake up screaming.
He would have to be careful when we woke up to make sure David or that other person didn’t catch him trying to escape. As grateful as he was for the food and roof, he knew eventually they’d try to contact the authorities. It was just what people did. He didn’t blame them, but it was also the last thing he needed right now.
In the dark, a hand tried to pull the blankets Max had kicked onto the floor back on him. Mr. Honeynuts’ single button eye glowed softly, and the hand pulled away as if it had been burned.
~~~
The morning sun was an hour away from showing its face when David got up to get ready for the day. He was eager to make Gwen and Max a nice breakfast, as yesterday had likely been rough on both of them. He made a side trip to grab some pills for Gwen and set them on the counter in case she had a hangover. On the way, he passed Max curled up in the corner of the couch, as if trying to hide. And, was that a… teddy bear? Gosh, that was just adorable! It looked a bit worse for wear though, and David wondered if Max would allow him to patch it up a bit.
As the sky lit up in brilliant pastels, he began to consider the ingredients in the fridge and pantry. He knew Gwen liked omelettes, and pancakes were fairly universal, so he chose those. He was just mixing some blueberries into the batter when he heard a creak from the living room.
‘Gwen couldn’t possibly be up at this hour,’ he wondered. ‘It must be Max!’
He peeked his head around the corner to see the young boy tiptoeing towards the front door. How considerate of him to keep quiet and let everyone sleep! Perhaps Max also liked taking walks in the early morning? The two of them were more alike than David thought!
“Good morning Max!” Max jumped, startled. “Do you want some breakfast? It should only be a few more minutes! If you want, you can watch some TV while you wait!”
“Uh…” He seemed a little shocked. David hadn’t meant to frighten him! Max nodded slowly and moved robotically back towards the couch. David went back to cooking when he heard the kids’ show playing in the background, smiling.
When it was all ready, he called Max in and the two of them ate in silence. Max practically inhaled his food, in vast contrast to his wariness the night before. He got seconds without asking, but David let it go. David stood up and made a third plate.
“This is for my roommate, Gwen,” he explained.
“Oh, so that’s who that was.” Max replied nonchalantly. “She your girlfriend?”
“Oh, golly no! We’re just friends. We met a couple of years ago. We both work here during the summer as camp counselors!”
“Wait, this is a camp?” He looked up, eyebrow raised dubiously. “I thought it was just some kind of hobo hideout. This place is a wreck. How the heck is it legal for kids to stay here?”
“Well, uh,” David felt uncomfortable. “I’ll go take these to Gwen.”
He snatched the pills he’d set out earlier and brought the food up to Gwen’s room, setting everything on the little hallway table outside of her room. It was best to not disturb her when she was sleeping… and sometimes when she was awake. But hey, what were CBFLs for?
~~~
Oh God. Why couldn’t the sun go back to sleep like every SANE person? Gwen shoved her face back into her pillow and groaned. At least she hadn’t gotten shitfaced enough to be seriously hungover, but she did have one hell of a headache and the SUN was NOT HELPING, GODDAMNIT. She threw on whatever she grabbed first and opened her door just enough to grab the food out in the hallway.
Omelettes, huh? She smiled a little. As annoying the fucker was, David was sweet. She was a bit confused at the pancakes though. She didn’t dislike them, but David didn’t usually make them unless someone was over for the night, which itself was rare. And were those… blueberries? Hadn’t David said something about saving blueberries to make a cake, or something? Gwen shrugged it off and ate. It was too early to analyze her fucking food.
When she went downstairs, glanced in the living room and was thrown off-guard. David sat next to a young boy, and the two of them were playing some old video game on the TV. (David was getting his ass kicked, but that wasn’t important.)
“Who the heck is that?” She asked, pointing at the boy.
“Your girlfriend’s awake,” he muttered without looking away from the screen.
“Oh, good morning Gwen! This is Max!” David grinned up at her. His character died and he didn’t even flinch. Gwen knew in that moment exactly what was going on.
“David,” she glared, “you can NOT just take in a kid off of the street! It’s not like with stray fucking cats!”
“Language, Gwen!” He gasped dramatically. “There are little ears listening!”
“I’m not a fucking idiot, David. I know how to curse.” Max countered, saving the game.
“Oh my God,” she rubbed her temples. “Whatever. I’m not getting involved. I’m going to work.”
“Okay, see you!” David chirped. As she went back upstairs to wash up, she didn’t see Max watching her with a curious expression on his face.
~~~
It was the bear. Or was it the boy? He couldn’t tell. Either way, they were dangerous. He had to get them away. He knew David meant well, but this situation wasn’t something David couldn’t handle. He had to protect David. That meant getting rid of Max.