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Japser had never been fond of bears.
Of course when he was a kid, he thought they were cute. Of course he did, everyone did. But that didn't mean he wanted to run into one. They were tall and scary in real life, deadly too.
But after what happened at camp almost 13 years ago, it was worse. The panic that surged through his body even at the mention of seeing one. But it's not like seeing one was common.
Hell he managed to last for a month and a half without seeing the animals. But good things never last do they?
_
"Gooood morning Jasper! You ready for today's hike?"
Jasper sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes.
"Morning Davey."
He said with a yawn. Rubbing his face, he stood up and started looking for his uniform. Japser peeled off the t-shirt and shorts he was in before getting dressed.
"So, about the hike, is it anyone in specific? Or are we just taking the whole camp?"
Jasper asked, tying up his shoes
"I was thinking in groups of three, I would say two but I'm not sure I could separate Nikki Neil and Max."
David laughed a little.
"Never could get those three apart huh?"
"Nope, but I'm glad they made such close friends. They kinda remind me of us."
Jasper smiled a bit.
"Yeah? How so?"
"How close they are. I mean, when was the last time you saw them apart?"
"You have a point."
He laughed a little.
"Welp, come on Davey, hiking awaits."
_
The pair had already done a couple of hikes, the kids in them being mostly behaved. David was thankful since Gwen was out sick with 'lady sickness' as Nikki called it. The next trio of campers on the list made Jasper groan a bit. Max Nikki and Neil.
It's not like Jasper didn't like them, far from it. He was just tired and didn't wanna have to pry Nikki from a tree again. They called them up, and they were on their way.
"This is dumb, couldn't we just have a free day or something?"
Max complained. It was a far from rare occurrence.
"Nope, hiking is fun, just give it a change!"
David chimed. It was followed by an eye roll by the boy. Nikki was the complete opposite. She was hopping all over the place, occasionally stopping to look at something.
Neil complained too, but was getting interested in the bugs they found. He ended up finding a stick bug and named it 'Baby Neil'.
Finally, they made it up the mountain, and started heading back. It took around a half hour, not including the time it took to pry Nikki out of a tree that she found a birds nest in, (proceeding in Jasper whispering "I called it." to David.)
The hike was actually more fun then he expected. All until Nikki stopped in her tracks.
"Nikki? What are you doing?"
David asked, questioning what the girl was staring at.
"Shh!"
She yelled, and pointed in awe. Everyone looked at what she was pointing at. It was a brown bear, around what looked to be three years old. It was almost as tall as David.
Jasper paled, and he froze. It felt like all the air got squeezed out of his lungs. The bear had already passed, and he could vaguely hear Nikki excitedly shouting about it. But it was hard to decipher over his growing hyperventilating. All of a sudden, he wasn't on a hike with some of his favorite campers, he was in the woods again.
Jasper was trying to find David and Campbell again. Being pulled away by bears, screaming for help. Crying, hoping someone would find him. Being tugged, scratched, and bitten. It was terrifying real. He heard his name being called, and prayed that someone was coming to save him. The voice got louder, it was David.
"Jasper? Jasper you gotta breathe."
He was back. He wasn't being attacked anymore, but he felt his knees start to buckle.
"Woah! Okay, let's sit down."
David said, slowly guiding the two to the ground. Jasper stared at the red-head before gripping onto his hand. Oddly aware of how hard it was to breathe.
"Hey, Jasper, you gotta calm down. You're safe, nothing is going to hurt you."
He hastily looked around, expecting some sort of danger, but just seeing the concerned glares of the kids. It made it a little easier to breathe.
"Okay, there you go, now just keep trying to take deep breaths okay? Like this."
David brought the hand being gripped onto by Jasper to his chest. He started taking deep breaths, trying to get the blonde to mimic. Eventually, it worked, and Jasper was leaning against him.
"You okay?"
A simple nod was given in response. Silence filled the air.
"What the fuck just happened??"
That was until Max shouted.
"Max."
"What?? He just freaked out, I wanna know."
He continued, although he lowered his voice. Jasper fidgeted a bit.
"I-I panicked."
"Panicked? Why? You're a camp counselor aren't you supposed to not be afraid of animals or something."
Japser let out a sad laugh.
"Y-You'd think."
David looked a little worried that Max would go too far and upset Jasper, since Max didn't show his love in the way most do. But saw the blonde was calming down, so he kept quiet.
"H-hey Davey? How about we head back."
He shakily stood up, David following him.
"Sure Jasp, come on kids."
They started back. It was calmer on the way back, and Jasper was thankful Nikki didn't try and attack another squirrel.
When they got back he was told to sit in the counselors cabin for a second. He could vaguely hear David explaining to the campers who hadn't gone that they'd continue tomorrow. Before long he joined Jasper in the cabin.
"Hey, how ya doing?"
He asked, claiming the spot next to him.
"Better."
Jasper responded, the room going quiet after.
"I'm sorry for ruining-"
"Nope, none of that."
David said firmly.
"It wasn't your fault, and you did nothing wrong, so no sorrys."
Jasper smiled a bit.
"Fine. I guess I'm not sorry for this then."
He laughed before punching him in the arm, albeit lightly.
"Ow! You're mean."
David giggled.
"It's kinda my thing."
They both laughed. Sometimes camp can suck. But when you have yourself a David, who cares?