Chapter Text
Max sighed. He wishes he could be doing competitions and spending his time doing important things, but instead he’s being sent back to Camp Campbell.
Max is 15 now, and the past five years he spent dancing.
Yes, you heard that right. Dance. It was his escape, and he’s pretty good at it. It’s basically the only place he’s 100% nice. His teachers adore him.
He’d been taking classes since he was 4. When he turned 11, he finally was old enough to do competitive. He and his team almost always won first place (they all were very skilled) and Max had gotten many duets and solos over the years.
His studio, however, got set on fire right before the summer started. (No, Max didn’t cause it.) Without enough time to try and join a different team as the building was being recovered, he was sent to Campbell with a hastily written “Max, 15,
Dance.”
No contact information, of course, but at least they got his camp down this time. He only hoped that no one would read it. Especially David.
He didn’t know why he didn’t want David to see it, but he just felt like it would cause some unnecessary drama.
To be completely honest, Max really took on the “male dancer” role. Most of his shirts and sweaters were either crop tops, partially see-through, frilled, casual competition garb, muscle shirts, or some combination of the above. He personally loved it, but he knew the campers would be… shocked. Because not only did he wear either very gay or very dancer-like outfits, his stature also got extremely feminine. His hips and legs were curvier than any guys’ should be, even if only by a little, and his face was rounder. He still looked extremely masculine-he was born a male-but his muscles and abs could easily blend in with his smooth skin.
Putting on a black crop-top with black see-through sleeves and black, high-waisted jeans, (he swears he’s not emo despite his eyebrow piercing and the small duds in his ears) Max headed outside with his luggage at his side.
He waited next to the bus stop, plopping his bags next to him. He only needed a small backpack when he was 10, but now required a large suitcase and small baggie (housing his bathroom utilities). Now thinking about it, he may have brought too many clothes, but he knows that the camp doesn’t cover for camper shirts anymore (probably Campbell’s doing) so he doesn’t even have any extra shirts. He was actually sad to hear about it. He wanted to see how he could match the shirts to make an outfit. Oh well.
Anyways, Max knew that he wouldn’t get any of his garments dirty. All of the campers wore basically the same 3 outfits every day, and despite getting them extremely messy all of the time, they never ended up with a single tear or stain after washing them. It was just one of those things that happened at Camp Campbell. Even if he did ruin any of his things, he wouldn’t care. All of his things he did like he left at home.
His thoughts getting cut short, Max came face-to-face with a beaten down yellow bus. He inhaled deeply, stepping into the dirty thing.
The first thing he noticed was the people. Somehow, he knew each of them. He could easily identify the old campers.
First was Nerris, seated near the front of the bus across from Harrison. She was curvier, a tight shirt complimenting her leggings. She also appeared to have elf-ear-shaped earrings. There was nothing to note about Harrison, as he was wearing a similar suit and hat like he did back when Max first knew him. He did seem to grow a foot or two, more than Max ever could. Nerris was probably Max’s height, if not a little bit taller as well.
Then was Space Kid. He was far more muscular and about the height of Harrison. He had on a NASA shirt with a pin from some event he must’ve gone to. He was talking to Dolph, who thankfully started to look less like Hitler as his hair became less organized and more jagged.
Behind Space Kid’s seat was Preston, talking to himself. He mumbled lines, his skinny arms waving around dramatically. He also was larger, (why is everyone bigger than me?) his hair in a small ponytail. He lost the Shakespearean attire, a long sweater now over gray yoga pants.
There were other kids from previous years, but he didn’t care about them.
In the back, there they were. Nikki and Neil.
Nikki got both more muscular and curvier. She had on a loose shirt with some school spirit logo on it. She also had basketball shorts, plus a large bandage over her shin. She probably had some crazy story on how she got it. She was taller than Nerris, though it was hard to tell with how much she was jumping around in her seat. That meant she was definitely larger than Max. Damn it, Nik.
And finally, Neil.
Holy shit.
When the fuck did he get hot?
Neil was doubtlessly the third tallest there, behind Harrison and some other kid. Something close to 6’. He hated how much he liked it. He was still lanky as ever, but definitely had faint traces of muscle. He doubted he worked out, so puberty probably did that to him. His blue eyes were brighter than they were five years ago, shining in the faint light coming in through the window. He had a small smile as he listened to Nikki, it gorgeously complimenting his mostly-acne-free face. He had a vest on over what Max remembers him wearing at camp, making him look more mature.
Max gulped down the lump forming in his throat, sitting down across from their shared seat. Nikki immediately turned to look at Max, bright smile stretching impossibly over her face. Neil quirked an eyebrow, somehow getting more attractive by the second.
“Hi newcomer!”
Nikki’s energy was untamable, something that wasn’t a surprise to Max. He pulled a hair tie off of his wrist, tying his hair up and away from his eyes. It formed naturally into a bun.
“Newcomer?” Max huffed out a laugh, “What are you talking about?”
“I meeeeaaaaannn,” Nikki drawled out, “that you’re new and I want to know your name!”
Max quirked a smile at her. Despite his green eyes, caramel skin, and black curly hair, (that was now significantly longer) he was basically unrecognizable.
“Max,” his smile developed into a devious smirk, “or do you not remember me?”
Nikki’s eyes sparkled with delight from the information she was given, basically vibrating in excitement. Neil’s eyes shot open in understanding. Max chuckled.
“Oh my god, Max. It’s been too long,” Neil commented with a grin. Max thanked his darker skin for hiding his small blush. Damn teenage hormones.
“Yeah, Max! Oh my God, I love your outfit.”
Max grinned in gratitude, thanking her. Both of his previous friends scrunched their faces up in confusion at the genuine positivity.
Max was still cynical, of course, but dance helped him cheer up a little. He would never tell anyone that, though.
“So, what were you doing for all of these years?” Neil tilted his head in questioning
“Competitions, mostly. It took up a huge chunk of my time. I couldn’t compete this year because our building burned down.”
“Did you cause it?” Neil spoke up again, raising an eyebrow. Max shook his head.
“Ooh! Competitions? What kind of competitions? Gangs? Sports? Math?”
Max cut her off with a wave of his hand, “one, I’m not in a gang, two, do I look straight enough to do any sports? Three, I’m not that smart.”
“Well, you certainly don’t look straight,” Nikki giggled, “but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s a possibility!”
Max knew his friends wouldn’t care if he was gay or not. When they were at camp years ago, Neil came out as gay to his two friends. Neither of them were surprised. They didn’t comment on it much either, only poking fun at him for a second before admitting that it didn’t bother them.
“You never answered her question, Max.”
Max sighed, wanting to admit his passion but also not sure if he wanted to reveal himself yet. “It doesn’t really matter.”
Nikki whined, wanting to get an answer from the teen. Max didn’t cave.
“Well, is it a team thing or solo?”
Neil gazed at Max, looking him up and down like it would give him the answers. Max started to blush again.
“Both,” he coughed, “I do a lot of stuff with my team, but I’ve done solos and duets.”
“Oooo, is it a singing competition? That’s gay enough.”
Max rolled his eyes, grinning at her small jokes, “no, it’s gayer.”
It was Neil’s turn to roll his eyes, “why do you two insist on making it about how homosexual it is?”
They shrugged. “It’s funny.”
“Plus, none of us are judging,” Nikki tagged on.
Neil smirked leaning on the side of the rumbling bus, “fair, but still.”
“Anyways!” Nikki jumped in, startling the duo, “have you ever won an award?”
“All of the time.”
Neil scoffed halfheartedly, trying to fake a glare at Max. “Really?”
Max only smiled, chuckling. “Yes, actually. My team is really good. And I get a lot of solos because I’m top of basically all of my classes.”
Nikki’s eyes brightened, trying in her own head to put the pieces together. “So, it’s a team activity that can be turned into a duo or solo thing,” she put a finger to her chin, “and whatever you’re doing involves classes.”
“That’s not solid evidence, Nik. Everything can be considered a class. Like… boxing. I don’t know,” Neil nudged Nikki in the side. She hit his arm in response.
“OK, you two, calm down. How have your years been?”
The trio conversed for at least a half hour as they picked up more campers. (Not including Ered or Nurf, though he assumed they were too old now.)
As the bus pulled up to the camp along with a very girlish scream coming from outside, Max grinned. He was actually excited for this year.
And to be fair, he did kind of want David to see his papers.