This talk wasn't what he'd expected.
"Christ… Max, you need to tell someone!" He exclaimed desperately, placing a hand firmly on his shoulder. "T-This is wrong! You can't just ignore it! It's clearly upsetting you!"
Max shook his head angrily. "No! No, Neil, you don't get it! David and Gwen can't do shit because of what went down! David's probably killed them so there's no point going to the police– h-he'll go to prison."
The brunet swallowed thickly. "That man tried to rape you, Max. You're ten."
"So what? I took the bullet for someone else, at least I know that I did some kind of good."
"Fucking listen to yourself!" Neil threw his arms in air in frustration. "You're happy to be rape victim?! Is that it? You're happy that you spent last night in floods of tears, stuck in an endless cycle of trauma and panic as you felt deserving of it? Max, you need to talk to them! Talk to Gwen, talk to David – talk to me! You're so full of shit that I don't even know what you're saying is true or not! You can't seriously think that you deserved all this, can you…?"
The raven fell silent as he stared down at his feet. "I'm sorry Neil…" He muttered coldly as he wiped his eyes roughly with his sleeve. "I didn't mean to make you feel so angry…"
The taller boy sighed. "It's fine… I just want you to slow things down, that's all. You need to tell me slowly and accurately what happened. Then I can help you."
Max cleared his throat as he straightened his posture, scooting closer to his friend. Yawning, he let his head lean against the boy's shoulder and sighed tiredly. Neil chuckled hastily as he looked down at him. "You tired?"
"Mmhm."
"D'you wanna talk about this later, then? When you've got some rest?" The question was rhetorical, despite Max nodding in confirmation. The two sat quietly for a moment or so, both enjoying the comfort of each others' company.
Neil felt sick. After hearing the truth behind Max's bruises he wanted to throw up. His body was tense despite his frequent twitches of anxiety, as well as the apparent sweatiness of his palms. Subconsciously his grip tightened around his friend. There was nothing for him to protect him from… so why the sudden action?
He carefully positioned the raven more comfortably against him and sighed. He hoped that fucker was dead. He really did.
"Neil…?" Max groaned from the brunet's shoulder, fidgeting slightly. "I think I'm ready to talk to you about it more…"
Neil gulped.
"Well, if you wanna talk the go ahead. No one's stopping you, Max. Just say what you can remember."
"I remember – I-I think? – it happened when I was washing m-my hands… I remember him standing next to me, for quite a while actually… and he kept trying to start up a conversation or something like that…" Neil nodded patiently. "He said he was hitchhiking with us and that he rec-recognised m-me from earlier – I must've been asleep. I asked him why he was talking to me, and he said that it would make the journey less awkward… I think he said something about me looking tense? I don't know but whatever he said lead to him trying to give m-m-me a back rub… I swore at him and called him a creep, expecting him to defend himself or at least back off. Guess not, though." He sniffed. "I… I barely remember what happened from then onwards… It hurt a lot when he, he got me in some kind of hold wh-where he had one hand over my mouth, a-and the other was down-d-down… and h-he wouldn't stop and he wouldn't let me go even though I kept fighting s-so th-th-then he kicked m-my legs so they buckled and for the re-re-re-rest of the time we-we were in the st-stall-"
Neil watched as the shorter boy trembled uncontrollably, pretty much breaking down in his arms. He shifted him on to his lap and held him tightly, eyes stinging as he forced back his own tears. "Jesus Christ, Max… Y-You didn't have to have an entire vent-"
Max burried his head into his friend's chest, the sudden flow of tears soaking through his shirt. He sobbed miserably as the elder hugged him protectively, feeling equally as distraught.
"He's gonna be dead, Max. A-And if he's not? Then he better be in prison." Neil told him firmly.
"I'm gonna kill myself, Neil…! I-I'm gonna drown myself in the la—"
"Shut up, Max! Don't say shit like that!" He suddenly yelled, feeling Max tense instantly. "I've never seen you like this and it's not nice, Max! You are not going to die and you are going to fucking listen to me. I know you're upset and I know you're in a lot of pain, but for the love of God stop saying the first things that come out of your mouth! Just… just look at me for a second."
Max inhaled and exhaled heavily as he peeled his face off of the brunet's shirt and sat up straight, looking him tiredly in the eyes. His face was flushed and sweaty, with random hairs sticking to his damp face. Tears stained his cheeks messily as new ones continued to fall silently. He started at Neil blankly, all signs of emotion completely gone.
"You're miserable, Max." He sighed. "You need some rest." He paused. "I'll go and get Gwen to see if she can help you – she does psychology, doesn't she? She knows more than I do."
"I guess so…" He sniffed once more, licking his lips. Quietly he sat up more comfortably on the brunet's lap, wrapping his legs around his waist and his arms over his shoulders. He looked Neil in the eyes with nothing less than gratefulness. Neil hugged him close once more as Max placed his head in the crook of his neck comfortably. "I'm sorry i annoyed you earlier…" He spoke, slightly muffled.
Neil rested his chin on top of the raven's head, smiling to himself. "Don't be sorry… you were just upset, that's all."
"Thanks for talking with me… it… it really helped…"
The elder felt his cheeks heat up. "That's what friends are for, Max. And, uh, thanks for talking to me about it. It's nice to know that you can trust me with things like this…" He sighed. "You will have to explain this all David and Gwen, though. Don't expect me to tell them, either. This is your issue, Max. You need to tell it from your perspective."
"Not yet… later on…" Max scrunched up his face uncomfortably and hissed in pain. "Ah- Fuck-"
"You okay?" Neil pulled him away as his gaze flickered over him in concern. The raven winced and turned away, considerably more pale than before. The brunet watched in horror as Max's eyes rolled back and he collapsed in his arms. "M-Max? Max?! Christ…" He grunted as he awkwardly cradled the small boy and placed him on the floor, chewing his lip as he tried to remember the recovery position. "Out of all the times… had to be here… great…"
"I know a spell to wake him up~"
Neil snapped his head up towards the tent's entrance, growling in annoyance as he was greeted with that oh so familiar smirk. "Not a good time, Harrison. Go be a dick somewhere else."
"What's got Max so upset?" He began questioning, strolling into the tent. "You two seemed quite intimate-"
"Fuck off. First of all - in case you're blind - he's currently passed out! And secondly, for the love of God-"
"I said I knew a spell."
"Go away."
"You're doing it wrong, for a start." Harrison crouched down next to him and began adjusting Max's position. "See, a little help never hurt nobody. I kinda need to know this stuff for when things go wrong in performances. Anyway, whilst I go and find David, I'm sure you wouldn't mind staying here with him? Yes? Okay then." He grinned and patted Neil on the shoulder as he exited the tent.
"Be quick!-" The brunet called. "Please be quick."