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“Dad! I’m going out for a bit.”
Max closed his bedroom door with a slam, zipping his hoodie up, running down the stairs skipping a step. He frowned when he didn’t hear a reply. Weird.
“Dad?” He called out. Nothing.
Worried from the unusual silence, Max searched in every room, checking to see if his dad was in one of them. Bathroom, running back upstairs to his dad’s room, running back downstairs to double check the living room, hell he stepped into the small workshop his father made in what was once a storage room!
By the time he reached the kitchen Max noticed the sticky note on the fridge. Walking up to it he grabbed the yellow note and read what had been written on it.
‘Had to run some quick errands, running out of fabric. Order some food, I left money on top of the fridge. You’re a big boy now, I trust you can handle being alone for a while. - Maddox.’
“Of course he left,” Max mumbled to himself, crumbling the sticky note in his hand before tossing it into the trash. Whatever, he can’t get too mad right now, it’ll just ruin the fun for tonight. He left the kitchen, grabbing his house keys on the way out slamming the front door shut with a loud thud.
Maddox wasn’t home, and Max wouldn’t be home either by the time he came back.
The town was interesting.
Interesting in a very.. Unique way.
It’s not like Max hated living on the Isle, it was just… different from Wonderland.
A lot different.
Dull colors, paint peeling off the walls, a lot of trash lying around on the streets, more trees.. Which was basically just more forest surrounding the town, and the need to steal from a few markets.
Everyone knew each other here. Once a rumor begins it spreads like wildfire.
Unfortunately Max and his dad seem to be the talk of the town.
And unfortunately there never seemed to be a consistent pattern.
It often switches from being about Maddox’s charm and useful smarts to help continue his business of the “Hatter’s Repairs” to flourish. Or stories about the “crazy man” who was caught digging through trash in Auradon claiming that someone had stolen from his shop.
The rumors about the Hatters spread to both the Isle and Auradon. Their reputation had become wonky. “Hatter gone mad!”. People in the Isle would pity them, a few mocking. Auradon would label it as another incident that they swore would never happen in their own town.
Yeah a real bunch of assholes.
It should’ve caused his dad to close the business, right? At least for a few weeks? Nope.
Years later, Hatter’s Repairs is still open, Maddox is still working, yet his mental health isn't. Still, it never seemed to stop his dad from retiring, or at least allowing Max to handle more of the shop by himself. Max knew they needed the money, hell, everyone in the Isle needed money. It was a miracle they haven’t had a drought since the last two years.
Maddox was insistent that Max wouldn’t give up on school just to help his father out. All Max wanted to do was to help take some stress off of his dad, he knew that Maddox was running out of his pills, and soon Max would have to call the local pharmacy for a refillment before his dad forgets he even has a son. Or worse, sneak off to Auradon in the middle of the night again.
The little incident had been six years ago, to this day he still wasn’t sure what his dad was screaming about. It doesn’t matter anymore, because whatever Maddox had tried to accuse had set both him and Max’s reputation down the drain.
So much for fresh starts, right dad?
But if there was anything that he hated the most was going to the school in the town thirty minutes away from the Isle; Auradon, the rich town filled with prissy nepo-babies worse than the few assholes Max has met from living in the Isle.
They actually had the proper resources and better quality of living environment and education, better clothing and food, no droughts. They know they have it easy.
And they like to rub it in with their festivals and activities.
Meanwhile over here there was hardly anything to do in The Isle.
Not to mention that there’s nobody here besides his dad that Max cares about.
“What took you so long? We were just about to leave without you!”
Okay, maybe there are a few people…
Max looked both ways before crossing the street. He smiled widely at his friend. Patting Felix on the back who frowned at him.
“Sorry man, I had to look for my camera.”
Felix sighed, “Again?” He said, shaking his head, a small smile crept up on his face. “Only you Max Hatter could lose a camera.”
“Hey! I didn’t lose it!” Max scoffed, looking away, his cheeks glowing with a pink tint, “It was just..buried in my closet…”
Felix laughed softly, wrapping an arm around Max’s shoulder, the two boys walked together towards the park’s entrance. Three other teenagers stood there talking to each other, their laughter growing louder as they walked closer.
“Guess who finally decided to join us!” Felix exclaimed.
“Max!” Squirmy and Squeaky yelled in sync, running up to Max ambushing him into a hug causing Felix to step back before he would get jumped too. Max laughed softly, feeling both of the twin’s arms wrapping around his body.
“Hey guys,” Max’s grin widened as Hazel walked up to him. “Captain.” He nodded his head, mocking a salute. Hazel rolled her eyes at him, both Squirmy and Squeaky released their hold onto the Hatter, making room for Hazel to reach closer.
“Took you long enough.” She punched Max lightly on the chest who winced knowing damn well that there was no strength being used.
“Yeah well I had to make sure my house doesn’t burn down,” He slid his backpack down his shoulders, letting it hang from his arms as he unzipped it, taking out a few things and handing a few small packets of fruit gummies out, “My dad went out, so we’re in no rush this time. Sorry again for making you guys wait.”
Hazel waved him off, “Relax, Hatter. Y’know we don’t give a shit if you’re late. Unless it’s for getting food, I will kill you.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything else.”
Their group was an odd one.. No one really batted an eye at them in the Isle, unless it was for the news of being in Auradon’s Police station or the petty thievery.
The Hat Trix were chaotic, but it was better than being alone. Besides, Max wouldn’t dream about trading his crew for anything else in the world.
“So, what are we doing this time?” Squirmy asked, ripping open the candy packet hovering it over his mouth letting the gummies fall out.
Felix took out his phone, “Well, I couldn’t find us a new building to explore,” his fingers tapping onto the screen before shoving his phone back into the pockets of his hoodie. “So I was thinking we should check out Sherwood.”
Hazel groaned loudly, “Great, we’re gonna be fucking around in the woods then?”
Squeaky huffs a laugh, rubbing the back of his neck. “At least we’re close to home.. Right?”
Squirmy shook his head, “No we’re definitely goners by the end of tonight.”
Felix cleared his throat, glaring at the group before relaxing as their attention went back on him. “Anyways.. It should take like an hour and a half to get there,” He looked up, the sun’s usual golden light was fading away as the night sky rose.
“We better get moving now before it gets dark.” Felix turned his gaze to Max.
“You brought flashlights?”
Max nodded his head.
“Good,” Felix said with a nod of his own. “We’re going to have to be careful though. I’ve heard that some of the other kids from Auradon are exploring Sherwood now.”
A chorus of groans came from the group at the mention of the town next to theirs.
“Okay…” All eyes landed on Max, “How are we going to get there?”
Felix’s lips stretched into a smirk. Eyes glistening with mischief.
“I’m glad you asked.”
“HAZEL, SLOW DOWN!”
“The moon is already up, I’m not wasting our time!”
Hazel grumbled angrily to herself, flashlight in one hand as she stomped forwards. The Smees followed from behind, flinching at every noise that came from the darkest areas of the woods.
Felix and Max on the other hand tried their best to keep up.
It was not going well for the both of them.
“Hazel!” Max panted, stopping at his tracks, his hand clutching at his chest while Felix stood at his side, draped over the Hatter like he was a wall. “Please…hah… please slow down! I don’t think my legs can handle this… ugh.. anymore!”
Actually wait… Max turned his head, narrowing his eyes at Felix who was practically on top of him wheezing ugly.
“Why the fuck are you tired!? I’m the one carrying all of our stuff!”
“God forbid.. fuck my lungs… god forbid a boy gets tired from running!”
Max rolled his eyes, shoving Felix away from him, “You’re breathing so damn hard in my ear.”
“I’m not sorry for that.”
Before their bantering could move up a notch, a large stone was thrown at them, barely missing the two of them.
The two boys snapped their heads to where the rock was thrown from and were met with Hazel’s unimpressed glare. She stood a few meters away, one hand on her hip as the other tossed another stone that was rougher around the edges into the air.
“If you two don’t shut the hell up within the next five minutes and hurry up you both will become a myth by the end of tonight.”
“Hazel relax, please! We’ve been walking for like an hour now!” Felix wheezed, kneeling over as his legs gave up on him causing the teen to fall down onto the dirt, dropping his flashlight in the process. “Just.. just let me lie down real quick.”
Hazel’s face scrunched up watching as Felix’s sweater collected the grime from underneath him, “Let’s just use this area as our investigation spot.” She decided. Felix raised his hand, giving a thumbs up to Hazel before flopping his arm back down beside him. The Smees deadpanned at the sight of their friend.
Max shrugged, crouching down beside Felix opening his backpack. All of them ignoring the groans coming out of Felix.
“It was your idea to take the shortcut.” Squirmy stated.
“I forgot how rocky the trails were!” He exclaimed, lifting his face up from the ground.
The corner of Squirmy’s lips turned up, “That’s a you problem then.”
“Go kill your–”
Squeaky shushed the two boys. The argument died down, the four of them turning their attention onto Squeaky whose eyes searched over the trees cautiously.
“I heard something.” He said, pointing his flashlight to the direction in front of him. Hazel narrowed her eyes, leaning down, her hand reaching to her boot bringing a rusty-golden hook out of it.
“What did it sound like?” She asked.
“I don’t know,” Squeaky gulped, his gaze unchanging, “I thought I heard someone walking around that area. Like leaves rustling.”
Max frowned as he helped brush off some leaves that stuck to Felix’s hoodie, handing him his flashlight after.
“It was probably just a squirrel.” Max suggested.
Squeaky shook his head, “I know what I heard. It sounded like footsteps!”
“Listen, we’re in the middle of the woods right now,” Hazel said, “It’s dark, nobody but us are out right now. I think you’re just letting your nerves get to you.”
After a few seconds, the shorter-blonde let out a small sigh, his grip onto the base of his flashlight loosened slightly. “I guess you're right…” He mumbled out, Squirmy patted his back in hopes to comfort his brother. Hazel frowned, walking over to Squeaky placing a hand onto his shoulder.
“Relax, alright? I’m not gonna let anything happen to us.” She smiled softly at the blonde, “And if someone dares to try and mess with us they’re gonna have a talk with my hook.”
That earned a quiet chuckle from the shorter twin, Hazel gave a firm pat on the shoulder before releasing her grip, strolling on over to where Max and Felix sat, both Smees quickly following her. The three of them sat on the dirt, the Smees sitting next to each other as Hazel huddled close to Max.
“So why’d ya’ pick Sherwood?” Hazel started. Felix shrugged.
“There was literally no other building to explore.. Well, there was but I thought it’d be better if we lay low… especially after last time…”
The five of them winced. Yeah, their last investigation did not go so well. Which wasn’t surprising considering the building they explored was literally falling apart, although that was every single abandoned area they found. In their defense, they were not expecting that staircase to crumble after a few steps.
It was just supposed to be a simple adventure, afterall what else are you supposed to do in a small town with literally nothing to do?
So yeah. Maybe they had gained a few injuries here and there, had to deal with some annoying cops and listened to an unwanted one-hour lecture from Morgie. But was it worth it?
Not really, but was it fun to run around for a while? Absolutely.
Sigh.. such good memories. Even if it happened three weeks ago.
Felix smiled to himself until snapping back into reality once realizing Hazel was still waiting for him to continue.
“Right. So uh.. Sherwood was the better option, everyone knows that the best place to ghost hunt is in the woods.”
“And,” Felix continued, “I heard this forest was cursed.”
“Cursed!?” Both the Smees immediately held onto each other, eyes bug-wide turning their head in every direction as if they would see a ghostly figure standing. Max shook his head, biting back a smile at Squirmy and Squeaky’s jumpiness and the smirk that Felix wore on his face.
“Ignore Felix,” Max said, “Those are just rumors made by the neighbors to scare kids into not exploring the woods alone at night.”
“You’re such a party-pooper.” Felix pouted.
Max stared at him blankly. “I’m being logical.”
“Techincally,” Squeaky piped up, “Wouldn’t we be the ones that our neighbors are trying to scare? Since we’re the ones exploring at night?”
Squirmy elbowed his brother, “Kids, Squeaky. We’re teenagers.”
“We’re still underage!” Squeaky glared at the taller blonde, elbowing him back. The sight of them was a bit pathetic.. Which was an undertone as the two started getting into what seemed to be a poor attempt at a slapstick fight.
Both Felix and Max side-eyed each other before quickly looking away from one another once they caught a glimpse of Hazel’s expression.
“Smees! Cut it out!”
“Sorry Hazel!” They yelled at the same time, keeping their hands to themselves. Hazel facepalmed herself, grumbling to herself.
Ah yes.. Just another regular night.
Max handed a camera to Squirmy, making sure the boy didn’t drop it immediately before he pulled out a small black device.
Both Squeaky and Squirmy’s eyes glimmered with curiosity, eyeing the object in Max’s hand like it was some new shiny treasure. “What’s that?” Squeaky asked.
“It’s that spirit box Felix mentioned last week,” Max answered, waving the object in his hand.
“Does it actually work?” Hazel raised a brow
Max shrugged, “We’re about to find out.” He gave a nod to Squirmy who knew immediately what to do. With the camera in his hand, he turned it on, smiling widely as it recorded the scenery.
With a curse underneath his breath, Max slid the power switch on, after changing the frequencies they were surprised by a loud static noise echoing yet they didn’t make a sound. Staying quiet for a few minutes. It was weird.. Just sitting in the forest at night with nothing but radio noise.
“So uhm…” Squeaky frowned, “What do we say…?”
“I guess we just ask questions.” Hazel stared intensely at the device in Max’s hand, smirking, she grabbed onto Max’s wrist, bringing his hand close to her. “Hey, if I should kill Felix right now, give us a sign.”
“Oh yeah, fuck you too.” Felix scowled.
“I’m kidding Facilier.” She teased, releasing her grip from Max. “Seriously though, someone ask a question. I’m already getting tired of hearing the stupid static.”
“How about you ask one? Since you started it.” Squirmy chirped.
“Fine.” Hazel sighed, “Is there anyone here with us?”
They waited for what Max could guess was about ten minutes, every second passed he could tell that the rest of the Hat Trix’s patience was wearing off. He could feel his own annoyance rising, not realizing his hold onto the spirit box tightened.
“I’m pretty sure this thing is a scam.” Max concluded, shoving the device into Felix’s hand.
“Come on, we only just asked one question,” Felix crossed his legs, “We can’t give up so quickly! Hey, if there’s anything here with us, are you human?”
Squeaky’s eyes widened, “Don’t ask that!” He squeaked. “It could be a demon!”
“What if it says it was a human?” Squirmy questioned.
“Uh.. Demons could lie about being a spirit, duh. It’s like basic common sense.”
“If it’s a demon we’re leaving. I don’t mess with that shit.” Hazel was already grabbing the old bag from behind Max, zipping it open before she stopped, noticing that Max’s head was looking from behind, flashlight in hand pointing far from where they sat.
“You okay?” She whispered.
Her heart raced, an uneasy feeling swirling inside of her as she waited for a response from the Hatter.
Hazel opened her mouth, ready to repeat her question until she was beaten by Max who seemed to snap out of whatever trance he was in.
“What..? Oh Yeah.. Sorry,” Max rubbed his eyes with his unoccupied hand, “I felt like someone was watching us.”
“Ew, don’t say that.” Squirmy grimaced. Max chuckled lightly.
“Five.”
The group stilled at the sound of the robotic voice, sharing glances with each other.
“It does work!” Squeaky yelled, Hazel quickly shushed him. Felix’s eyes widened, his eyes glittering brightly.
“Holy shit… our first answer!” He practically squealed. “Is that how long you’ve been dead for?” Felix asked, staring down at the spirit box in his hand.
The group flinched at the sound of something rustling in the dark, someone was nearby.. Another crunch faintly echoed. It could just be a wild animal of course, or maybe it’s whatever they’re talking to.
Or even better, preferably, the noises were just in their heads.
Unfortunately that might not be the case as a much louder snap of a twig left from within the woods.
“You guys hear that, right?” Squirmy whispered, camera in hand recording the left side of him, the trees unmoving.
“Ignore it,” Hazel turned her head back, expression serious, “Let’s not give whatever this is our attention.”
“Again, it could be a squirrel.” Max repeated, voice steady. Squeaky gulped.
“I don’t think a tiny squirrel could make sounds like that.” He stammered, glancing between at the screen of the camera and the spirit box.
“People.”
“Woods.”
Hazel’s eyes narrowed, “Wait, is this thing describing us?”
“Friends.”
“Danger.” This stupid robotic voice is starting to get on Max’s nerves.
“Guys,” Felix’s eyes widened, his voice wavered, “I don’t like where this is going.”
“What does it mean by danger?” Squeaky squeaked.
“Just relax.” Hazel glared at the spirit box. Squirmy’s hand began to shake, trying his hardest to keep his grip steady on the camera. Squeaky on the other hand was obviously starting to become paranoid, his head snapping at every direction from whatever sound created by wildlife.
“I’m here.”
A nervous huff of laughter escaped Squeaky, “Oh hell no.”
“Is Sherwood actually cursed?” Felix asked, Hazel reached over to him, smacking him harshly against his shoulder.
“Ow!”
“You get scared by this piece of crap and then continue to ask more questions?!” She exclaimed, crossing her arms.
Felix pouted, “Squirmy is recording!” As if emphasizing his point, he gestured towards Squirmy, his frightened demeanor long gone, replaced with a cheerful grin, Felix smiled back at him before waving Hazel off. “‘Sides, I doubt this thing is actually going to answer me.”
“Haunted.”
Hazel glared at the boy, “You were saying?” She gritted.
Felix smiled sheepishly at Hazel, “Uhm.. it could mean anything?”
After being quiet for a while, Squirmy gained a newfound confidence, “How far are you from us?” Squirmy’s words floated through the air, a sudden tension filling the atmosphere, the static coming from the spirit box felt like it was buzzing in each of their ears. Felix was about to turn it off until he was interrupted by the robotic voice.
“Near.”
Max shivered, his hand reaching for the back of his shoulder. Was it just him or did the temperature lower? He glanced behind him, only to be met with the eerie darkness of the forest. His heart rapidly beating against his chest. He seriously needs to relax.
Why is it getting harder to breathe? He’s fine, they’re fine. Everyone is fine. It’s just the stupid device saying nonsense, it’s a scam.
He placed a hand against his chest; ignore it, just ignore it. Nothing is going to happen. Was there a fly near his ear? The buzzing annoying his eardrum grew louder, almost ringing.
“I know you feel me.”
What the fuck?
“Felix turn that thing off!”
“Right, sorry!”
They all released a sigh of relief as the static was gone. Not noticing the tension in each of them that had built up. Felix handed the spirit box back to Max.
“I think that stupid box was a scam.” Max muttered. Felix nearly twisted his neck off with how fast he turned.
“A scam?! That thing was basically describing our exact position!”
“It could’ve been programmed to say random words“, He furrowed his eyebrows, narrowing his eyes at the object.
“He’s not entirely wrong,” Hazel answered, her lips curved downward, seeing the tinge of annoyance across Felix's facial expressions, “Don’t look at me like that! You know I’m not a big believer in this type of thing.”
“So you believe in mermaids and fairies but not ghosts?!
“I don’t believe in this type of equipment,” She scoffed, “Max is right, who’s to say that this stupid spirit box or whatever wasn’t designed to be a cheap scare?”
“But this is our first time using it!” Felix protested, “I say we keep the spirit box. If it doesn’t answer any of our questions then we won’t use it anymore. But we can’t say the device is faking anything until we have more proof!”
The rest of the group members stayed silent after Felix’s words, recognizing the tone in Felix’s voice, the one that screams for people to shut up and listen. They’ve heard it many times in school, the few times where they’re watching him argue with some jerks in his dad’s shop, and in police stations when they’re behind bars.
Despite Hazel’s stubbornness, she knew better than to keep debating against Felix, especially when it came to anything supernatural related.
“Fine,” Hazel gave in, “We’ll keep it, but that doesn’t mean we’re always going to bring it with us to these type of hangouts.” She couldn’t help the small smile that crept on her face at the sight of Felix’s joyful expression. He eagerly nodded his head.
“Great, glad we could agree!” Squeaky exclaimed, his face obviously straining a smile, “Now can we please get the heck out of here? It’s starting to creep me out.”
Squirmy tilted his head, “I thought we were going to keep exploring the woods?” Squeaky’s eyes widened, a sense of dread washing over him. Hazel took notice of the change in his demeanor.
“It’s getting late,” Hazel said, taking her phone out from her back pocket, the time reading 12:23 a.m. Damn, they’ve been here for about two hours. “We should start heading back to town now, I don’t want another stupid lecture from Morgie if we get caught by the cops.”
“Agreed,” Hazel smiled at Max, he firmly nodded his head, “Everyone has their stuff ready?”
Felix and Squeaky quickly patted themselves to make sure they didn’t forget anything on them.
“All clear.”
“Wait!” Squirmy interrupted, frantically looking down at the ground, his hands patting onto the pockets of his jeans, “I can’t find my keys!” Squeaky groaned.
“Are you serious!? Dad’s going to kill us!” Squirmy narrowed his eyes, “Where did you put them?”
“My pockets!”
Squeaky rushed over to help search for him and his brother’s house keys, dropping down to his knees to search the grass. This was going to take a while.
“Why didn’t you bring a bag?” Questioned Felix, “Or even better, give the keys to Max?”
“I didn’t think I was going to lose them!” Squirmy exclaimed, his voice rising three pitches higher. Hazel cringed at the change in tone. “If my dad finds out he’s going to totally freak,” His nervous eyes met with Hazel’s, “Can me and Squeaky crash at your place if he does?”
“Y’know we always make room for you both.” Hazel answered. “I’m sure we’ll find your guys’ keys. Max, come help.”
Before Max could even make a move, a sudden loud snap of a twig echoed sharply in the air with a faint scream. The group had fallen silent, unmoving for a few seconds.
“I’m not the only one who heard that noise, right?” Felix whispered, glancing at the other’s expressions to see that he wasn’t the only one who was currently freaking the hell out. Squeaky and Squirmy were literally shaking! Now listen, he’s usually the type of person besides Squirmy to relax and be chill in these types of situations… most of the time… but right now he was close to shitting his pants.
Just why the hell did there have to be so many noises tonight?!
“Shh.” Max brought a finger close to his mouth, his expression serious. Of all times to have chosen to not bring in that pocketknife his dad insisted on buying him.
He knew Hazel had a literal hook in her boot, Felix had whatever free-styled weapon on him and the Smees.. Well.. their fists would have to do. Whoever is trying to scare them could easily be taken on if it gets physical.
“Why the hell are we just standing here? Let’s get moving, now!” Hazel hissed, hook in hand already.
“Is anyone out there?”
“..guys I think I heard someone nearby.”
Shit…
“Oh my god we’re going to fucking die!” Squeaky wailed, tugging onto his red beanie to cover the top half of his face. Squirmy jumped at the sudden loudness. Max internally facepalmed, so much another “relaxing” Thursday night.
If Maddox gets another call that his son spent the night at the police station in Auradon he’s going to get grounded until college… And that is not the type of attention he wants from his dad right now!
“Uh.. Hello?”
A strange voice popped up from the shadows. Catching the group of teenagers off guard yelling in sync while both Squeaky and Squirmy let out a shockingly high-pitched scream. Their frightened behavior seemed to catch the person, or group, off guard as they took a step back.
“Robbie?” Hazel raised a brow, lowering her hook.
“Hey guys!”
Robbie ran up to the Hat Trix with a grin,“Felix, my dude!” Okay nevermind that was for him. “I had a feeling you guys were hanging out here!” The boy exclaimed, Felix smiled back shyly, patting him on the back gently before removing his hand quickly like Robbie was some sort of fragile artifact.
The other four members shared a knowing smile as they watched the two boys interact. Both boys made it really obvious about their feelings.. Even if they refuse to admit it.
“How’d you know?” Felix asked.
Robbie’s eyes widened, he held a finger up as he pulled away from Felix, digging his hand into his jean-pockets, taking out a pair of keys with a rusty anchor charm dangling.
“Our keys!” Squeaky and Squirmy exclaimed in sync.
“I found it near the trail,” Robbie said with a smile, tossing the house-keys to Squirmy, “That’s how I knew you guys were here.”
“Thanks Robbie!” Squeaky chirped.
“Robbie!? Did you find the people yelling?”
Max furrowed his eyebrows. Pointing his flashlight at the people standing in front of him, his mind immediately clocking who they were from their appearances.. Oh great, it’s–
“The HKs?” Max scoffed, “The hell are you all doing here?”
Luis returned the sour welcome, cautiously looking over at Max and his friends. “We should be asking you guys the same thing.” He grunted. “It’s a school night.”
Felix huffed, stepping forward with a look of annoyance in his eyes, “Doesn’t seem like it’s stopping you guys from coming here either.” Luis just scowled at the boy, clearly falling for his teasing. “You didn’t answer our question.”
“Why does it matter?" Chloe chimed in, “You guys going to snitch on us?”
“We’re not stuck-ups like you, Charming.” Hazel said with an eyeroll, “I’m surprised you rich-brats decided to come here to Sherwood.” A soft huff left the blue-haired girl’s lips.
“There’s nothing left for us to do.” She said, the Hat Trix shared a confused expression.
“You guys literally have a mall, an arcade, a whole movie theater and more,” Squeaky counted each fact onto his fingers holding them up, “There’s literally a fair coming to Auradon next week. What isn’t there to do?”
The kids of Auradon looked away from the Hat Trix, not wanting to admit the slightly better places their town provided.. The most entertainment that the Isle had was a small arcade, a library and a music store. And the park, but that place was literally falling apart.
“They’re not entirely wrong..” Pink murmured. Holy shit Max didn’t even notice her standing there. Wait a second.. If Pink was here, then that means–
“Well when you’ve done everything it starts to get boring.” Chloe grumbled. “Now what about you five? Hm?” She tilted her head, hands on her hips eerily copying Hazel’s stance, “You never answered our question.”
“Same thing as your little crew, Ms. Charming,” Max sneered, clutching onto his bookbag tightly, “Except we genuinely have nothing to do in the Isle.”
“Right,” Luis said, his face clearly revealing his suspicion on the other group, “So this hangout or whatever you’re doing has nothing to do with what happened last week?” Felix scowled at the latino.
“Watch it, Luis,” Felix snarled, “My business has nothing to do with you.”
Luis took a step forward close to Felix, who refused to back down, even with Hazel warning him. “Really?” He asked with a huff, “I think it does as captain of the tourney team when my teammate comes in high out of his mind–”
“Watch the tone, Madrigal.” Hazel brought her hook close to Luis’s neck, he fell silent, shocked at the sudden weapon pointing at his throat. “What we do doesn’t concern you rich kids.” Hazel mimicked a sickly sweet tone that creeped out Max. Chloe did a poor job at hiding her annoyance, Luis raised an eyebrow.
“Guys.. How about we just calm down?” Pink hesitated, shuffling her feet as she watched the heat between them.
“Well what else could you guys be doing?” Seriously, does Luis even have a brain or is he just one big muscle?
“Wouldn’t you like to know, pretty boy?” Max smirked, Luis flushed at the comment, turning his head away. It’s honestly sad to see how easily embarrassed the other boy gets by just a few words. Seems like some things just don’t change. He was about to tell his friends to start walking until a familiar voice interrupted him.
“Max…?”
Max froze, his mouth suddenly dry as a red-headed girl stepped forward, her brows furrowed eyes analyzing every detail of his face. He swallowed the lump in his throat, taking a deep breath in.
“I didn’t expect to see you here.” She said
“Hey, princess.” He grumbled, avoiding Red’s eyes.
“You two know each other?” Chloe asked, Luis and Robbie watched in confusion. Pink on the other hand seemed to recognize the situation that was occurring.
“We don’t.” Max stated, beating Red from answering Chloe’s question. For a split second he could see the hurt in Red’s eyes. A little lie doesn’t hurt anybody. Not like it matters anyways since no one would even believe him or anyone from the Isle.
“Hey…” She responded weakly, the silence stretched over between both groups, the past argument long forgotten. Red frowned, clearing her throat awkwardly. “Look, uh.. We didn’t mean to cause any trouble, we just wanted to use this spot to hang–”
“Yeah whatever, go at it.” Max abruptly cut her off, “We were just leaving anyways before biceps over here decided to attack my friend.” He full-on glared at Luis who didn’t respond back for once. Probably a good thing since Hazel looked like she was one sentence away from slitting his throat.
“Come on guys, lets go,” He turned his back already a few steps ahead of his friends, ignoring the last yell for his name by Red.
He did not want to talk to her right now or Pink. Actually scratch that, he doesn’t want to see anyone from that damn group.
Max didn’t bother to look behind him to see if the rest of the group was following him, he already knew. I need a smoke break, Max thought to himself bitterly.
“Ah! Be careful Squirmy!”
“I’ll be fine Felix!”
Max watched in amusement as Squirmy climbed up the pointed-roof of the playground set, both Felix and Squeaky watched as the taller blonde stubbornly continued his idiotic plan.
“So what’s the deal between you and Ms. Hearts?” Hazel asked, bringing the soda can to her mouth taking a long sip before placing it down beside her onto the grass, “You never really told me much about her.”
The air’s temperature had lowered, the group’s investigations had come to an end, and now like usual they’re burning off whatever little energy they had left by doing other stupid things that’d get them in trouble at school. It was close to three in the morning, most of the people in town were already asleep, giving the Hat Trix the freedom to cause as much mischief as they want.
Max took a long drag of his vape, giving a short shrug as he watched the swirls of smoke leave his mouth.
“Honestly, I don’t even know her much,” Max admitted. “I kind of remember Red from the city I used to live in.. According to my dad he used to tutor her,” He frowned, “I used to play with her.. I think?”
“You still don’t remember much about your life before the Isle?” Hazel asked, Max shook his head after sitting still for a while. If he’s going to be honest, it’s kind of upsetting that he can’t remember his supposed first childhood home, most of what he knows about the city was from his dad before his condition got worse.
He knows that there were bright and beautiful flowers everywhere, kind neighbors, schools made for technology and innovation, or according to Hazel, nerd schools. Max used to live in a freaking cottage! A cottage! No droughts, better food, no.. madness in his father's mind. Maddox told him that their lives in Wonderland was amazing. Perfect even.
But Max doesn’t remember any of it, he doesn’t know the real reason why he and his dad moved to the Isle, he doesn’t know why he can’t seem to remember Red or understand why she seems so determined to talk to him despite what happened between them last year. Fuck Luis. He’s an Isle kid, trash to the people of Auradon. It doesn’t matter what his few years of life was before moving or what he used to have because all of it was gone.
His home was and is forever the Isle.
“I don’t really care,” He said softly, “I know my dad misses our old home.. He makes it obvious whenever he tells me stories about it.. But.. how can I miss our old city if I can’t remember any of it?” He scoffed lightly, taking one more drag from the vape in his hand before passing it to Hazel. “Is it bad that I can’t seem to find myself wanting to learn more about my first home?”
“No,” Hazel responded, “Home can be a place, but it can be a group of people too.” Max’s mouth twisted.
“Are you giving me inspirational life quotes right now Haze?”
Hazel menacingly glared at Max, “Tell anyone about this and you’ll be the decor for Morgie’s diner.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it, Hook.”
He leaned in close to Hazel, resting his head on her chest, snuggling close to her on the grass beneath them allowing her arm to wrap around his shoulder. Max took her hand, gently pressing a kiss to the back of it, sighing contently as he felt her fingers run through his hair gently.
“HAZEL! HELP I’M STUCK!”
Both Max and Hazel snapped their heads up, sitting up before being taken aback at the sight in front of them:
Felix was currently trying to lift Squeaky up –and failing miserably– while the shorter blonde tried his hardest to reach Squirmy who was currently holding on for dear life on top of the roof of the playground.
“ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!”
Max deadpanned, letting out a small ‘oof!’ noise as Hazel released her hold onto him, he flopped down on the ground, grumbling as Hazel rushed towards the other boys. Well that was a great five minutes.. He sat up, rubbing the back of his head watching the scene play out, Max couldn’t help the small twitch at the corner of his lips.
The amusement he felt inside vanished, a small shiver sent through his body. Slowly he turned around, maybe it was all in his head, but Max felt like there was someone watching him..
Just what is happening?
“I’m watching too many horror movies..” He whispered to the air, rubbing his face.
“Max! Come over here and help!”
“Coming!”
Whatever, it’s nothing, just another thing about this town he hates.
It drives people crazy.