David took a deep breath as he relaxed against the tree. This situation he was in was less than ideal. Max was currently sitting beside him, neither said a word as they both rested. Currently, the side of David's face was beyond throbbing. Well, he supposed that entering a fight would do that.

How had this all started anyways?

It was well past the time for the campers to be picked up, and Max was the only one that was left. While he was in the middle of leaving his parents the thirtieth voicemail in the last five hours, he heard a loud screech outside.

Quickly hanging up, David hurried outside to see Max being dragged into a car.

"EXCUSE ME!!" David yelled as he ran to the two, Max used his parents surprise as a way to get away. He snatched his arms from their impossibly strong grips (he was probably going to receive bruises from this later, but he was used to this by now) and ran to hide a bit behind David.

"And who might you be?" Max's mother asked. The female had a loose bun, curls falling from her face as she wore tight jeans and a stained blue t shirt.

"I'm the counselor here at this camp, though I should be asking who YOU are." David said as he narrowed his eyes at the two.

"This little shit's parents. Now get out of the way." A bulky man asked, though David could clearly say that it was true. They were indeed Max's parents. His father was tall, big, and his eyes were just like Max's, but they held a dangerous glint in them.

"I will not get out of the way." David countered back as the mother glanced at her phone.

"Jesus christ! Haven't you heard of messaging you fucker?! 30 fucking voicemails." She muttered as she went about deleting each one.

"You wouldn't have received so many if you answered the first time." David retorted easily.

"Enough small talk. Get out of my way before I make you move." Max's father threatened. David was quick to see that Max tensed, and was about to move towards his parents (possibly to save David from the world of hurt he was about to be in), but David placed a hand on Max's shoulder.

"Max. Do you want to go back home with them?" David asked, looking down at the boy. Max felt his eyes widen slightly as he looked up at David.

A choice? Specifically one he had to make? He wasn't offered many choices. David was the only one who ever gave him a choice.

"You're letting him choose?" Max's father asked, an amused tone was heard. "That's the stupidest thing I've heard." David just ignored him.

"You don't have to come home with me or live with me if you don't want to Max. We'll figure this out together, I'll be there for you at the very least. But if you don't want to go home, I won't let them take you." David said softly as the father narrowed his eyes.

"YOU'RE going to stop ME? I'd like to see you try."

Max hesitated, it took all of his strength to not burst out crying right there and then. He could feel his father's glare burn a hole straight through his tiny body. "Maxwell. Get. In. The. Car. NOW!" His father roared and Max flinched.

"I want to be with you, David!" Max yelled as his father raced toward him. Max crouched and covered his head. David was quick to take the blow as he received a harsh punch to the side of his face. He fell on the ground and quickly thought.

This was a fight. In any normal, good fight; he would have easily lost against this man. But this wasn't a normal or a good fight. This was a fight he had to win. If he didn't, they would take Max and than only God knows what would happen next. He wouldn't let that happen. David felt something sharp.. A rock? He held it in his hand and returned a punch right to Max's father's nose. A disgusting, spine tingling crunch was heard as Max's father held his bloody nose.

"You know what?! Keep the little shit! I don't care." Max's father yelled as he stumbled back into the car. Max's mother tossed a few documents on the ground as the drove off, crumbling one of the papers and ripping another in half. David hesitated slightly as he picked up the trash. Only to find it wasn't trash at all.

Max's birth certificate was crumbled to hell... He could straighten it later. Social security card... Oh! A baby picture? It was ripped in half, but it was still cute and it made David's heart swell. They tossed such important things out like they were nothing?

Max slowly came up beside him. "David..."

"I'm sorry you had to see that Max." David said as he ruffled the boy's hair gently, Max didn't fight him. In fact, he hugged David tightly.

"What are we going to do now?" He asked as he looked at the ground.

"You said you wanted to come with me right?" David asked as Max nodded slowly. David smiled bright. "Well then, let's go home!"

The two finished packing and were currently enjoying the sight of the stars and the lake before they left. David took a deep breath and stood up. "Ready to go home?" He asked as he offered Max a hand. Max stared at his hand for a moment before smiling slightly.

"Yeah."