bien-être

[TW: Blood]

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6

The hallway was silent compared to the normal busy day. It was dark and the crickets chirping could barely be heard from the outside. A small lantern lightly creaking through the bottom of a door.

The handle swung softly, creaking as the door opened slowly. Pink poked their head out of the door, glancing from left to right before exiting the door to the room they shared with Quint.

Pink continued down the hallway, walking out into the cool night air, taking a deep breath in.

Ever since Pink saw Melvin last, they couldn't help but feel worried. He looked awful.

Pink knew that only the medic and the leaders were allowed to see him, but they couldn't help it as they kept walking, entering the main hall and placing down the lantern when they noticed the glow from the medical room.

They raised their eyebrows, tip-toeing to the door and opening it ever so slightly to peek in.

Pink saw Shep sitting across from Melvin as his gaze was set on the young boy, his knee nervously bouncing.

Pink frowned slightly, knowing how nerve-wracking this must be for Shep since they were practically brothers. Shep was the closest to Melvin ever since the beginning. The only one who could ever come close to the friendship Melvin and Shep had was probably Aidan, and even then, Aidan didn't seem friendly to anyone.

Pink inhaled slightly, opening the door further and expecting Shep to notice, but he didn't move his gaze. Pink took the lantern as they walked inside.

"Boo," they said, their hands in their pockets as they chuckled slightly. He jumped, turning towards Pink and exhaling in a sigh of relief.

"Don't do that! I almost had a heart attack!" he huffed, crossing his arms in frustration. Pink chuckled, their eyes glancing at an unconscious Melvin laying on a padded bed.

The first thing they noticed was the subtle tear stains on Melvins face. Pink's heart sank.

"You know, you're not allowed in here," they spoke, looking away from Melvin and back to Shep.

"I'm not going to leave," Shep muttered slightly, his gaze going back to the kid, "I want to stay here, besides what are you doing here?"

"I was worried for Melvin too." Pink admitted, "may I sit next to you?"

"Of course," Shep spoke softly as if he was tired. Pink sat down next to Shep, taking out the notebook they always carried and flipping through the pages.

It was silent as Pink wrote the main events that had happened that day. So much happened in just one day, yet they were still nowhere close to getting out of the place.

"Where's Aidan? I thought you two were attached to the hip." Pink asked. Shep chuckled bitterly, a small scowl on his face.

"Didn't want to come," Shep muttered.

Pink nodded slightly, noticing the glare in Shep's eyes. Pink glanced back at Melvin, watching his stomach rise and fall. At least he was breathing.

Shep sighed, pulling his knees to his chest. "I shouldn't have let him go off by himself… if he just stayed with me…"

Pink frowned. "Hey, don't get your head in the gutter. You had no idea that was going to happen. Don't blame yourself for something you had no foresight on."

Shep shook his head. "I could have done something-"

"You've done everything you could, Shepard. Don't bring yourself down."

Shep glanced at Pink, a confused expression on his face, "Shepard?"

"I dunno- I thought it sounded cool." Pink shrugged and Shep giggled.

"You're weird," Shep murmured, a small smile on his face.

"Says the one who got stuck up a tree."

"That was one time-"

There was a knock that interrupted the two. Pink glanced at the door, seeing Aidan leaning against the door frame.

"You guys were being too loud."

Shep rolled his eyes. "Sorry, I didn't know you needed your beauty sleep."

"I never get any sleep because of you." Aidan rolled his eyes, his eyes slowly wandered to the bed Melvin was sleeping on.

"I thought you didn't want to come," Shep said bitterly.

"I told you we shouldn't, but you never follow the rules anyway, I'm just making sure you don't do anything stupid." Aidan crossed his arms.

"Huh-uh- admit it, you care about me."

Aidan rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

A groan shut both of the guys up as Melvin moved slightly in his bed. Shep immediately stood up, prompting Pink to stand up after him. Melvin groaned again, before opening his eyes softly.

"Ow…" he whispered slightly, his voice sounding grave and dry. Shep smiled slightly.

"Hey Bud, are you doing good?" He asked, his face now bright and excited. Pink couldn't help but smile because by how excited he seemed. Melvin started to get up slowly.

"Everything hurts." Melvin groaned, raising his hand to his mouth as he coughed out.

Aidan walked over to Shep, holding a glass of water and bending down to Melvin, handing the water to him.

Melvin moved his hand from his mouth, red liquid on the palm of his hand, which was still covered in bandages. Aidan hesitated before handing Melvin a towel. He took it, wiping the liquid off.

Melvin took the water, graciously gulping it down.

"Don't drink too much or you'll get sick," Aidan murmured to him. Melvin nodded, then he took a deep breath.

"Sylvien-?" Melvin started to ask, before being sent into a coughing attack. Shep's face grew worried, while Aidan patted his back.

"He's perfectly fine, probably asleep in his room." Shep answered, "I missed you so much- Lou told everyone we couldn't visit you but I couldn't just leave you here by yourself."

Melvin nodded slightly. He looked down at his bandaged hands, he tried to move his right hand but then he winced.

"I'm so proud of you, Melvin!" Shep smiled brightly. Melvin looked up at him, a dazed expression on his face.

"I didn't do anything." Melvin muttered, "Slyvien saved me."

Shep shook his head, "You hung onto the wall, even if you wanted to let go. You did amazing, Melvin! That was the coolest! You're so cool!"

Melvin cracked a small smile, but he still shook his head slightly.

"I should get the Medic to let him know Melvin is awake-" Aidan started to say, but Shep glared at him.

"He's just going to kick us out! I'm not leaving Melvin." Shep yelled. Aidan rubbed his temples, sighing.

"First of all, too loud. Second of all, Melvin needs medical attention, Shep. You don't want him to die, do you?" Aidan asked.

Shep glanced back at Melvin, his face nervous and anxious, "B-But-"

"I'll be okay, Shep, pinky promise." Melvin smiled. Shep sighed, turning his head to Aidan and nodding slightly.

"Don't break it," Shep spoke softly.

"I'll be right out, I just want to talk to Melvin for a second." Pink stated. Aidan nodded, exiting the room with a disappointed Shep following behind him.

"Why did you want to talk to me?" Melvin asked, "We don't normally talk all that much."

"I just wanted to see how you were doing… and to also ask about the Craindre. I asked Slyvien but he didn't want to talk about what happened. Would you be willing to? Not today, of course, but maybe in the future?" Pink asked.

Melvin didn't hesitate, "Of course. Anything to help."

Pink smiled. "You know, you are super cool. Shep's right." Pink messed up the boy's hair, who chuckled slightly. Pink was glad to see the smile on his face.

"See you later, Mel." Pink waved, taking the notebook out of the medical room and walking out into the silent night.

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We gotta love wholesome chapters, right? Well, mostly wholesome. It's fun to write about the camp and the relationships they have... Thanks again for the Beta, Marie! Don't worry, it's not always going to be this wholesome. :3