"Max! Wake up, we're going shopping!" David called as he pounded on Max's door. After Max had fallen asleep in front of the TV last night David had carried him to bed, he was just so cute when he was asleep.
"Fuck off David. It's too early. Go back to sleep," Max mumbled.
"Nonsense. The sun has been up for a good thirty minutes!" David said, finally managing to unlock the door with a small screwdriver. Max dove under the covers as David strode in and threw open the blinds, letting in the morning light.
"Fuck, off." Max mumbled from inside his nest.
"Come on sleepy!" David said cheerfully. "You need new clothes, those old things barely fit you." He nudged some discarded clothes on the floor with his foot.
"Come back later. In like, never." Max said.
"Max, you should know the early bird catches the worm."
"And the second mouse gets the cheese. Leave me alone."
"I've had just about enough of your sour attitude. Get up." David yanked back the covers to reveal a shirtless Max. Now that on it's own shouldn't be surprising, but Max's arms and torso were covered in nasty bruises and cuts, even young scares.
David froze in shock as Max yelled. "WHAT DID I FUCKING TELL YOU DAVID! LEAVE ME ALONE!" He tried to yank the blankets away from David but his grip was like iron.
"Max," David whispered in shock, a sound barely audible above Max's shouts.
"JUST GET OUT DAVID. FUCKING GET OUT! Leave me alone." Max gave up fighting for the blankets, tears welling up in his eyes. He curled in on himself and lay on his side, sobbing softly.
David slowly sat on the bed next to him. Gently, he placed a hand on the boys side, but Max flinched and David pulled his hand away.
"What happened?" David asked softly.
"What do you care?" Max muttered.
"Of course I care Max. No one should ever have to go through this." David looked down at the grubby back pack on the floor that held all of Max's possessions. He didn't fully understand what had happened to the kid, but he could guess enough.
Max's sobs quieted, and David gently touched his shoulder again. This time he didn't flinch away.
"I'll be right back," David said, standing up and leaving the room. He came back a moment latter with his first aid kit and a towel. Max looked over his shoulder at him, understanding what he wanted.
After Max had taken a shower, David cleaned and bandaged his wounds, carefully wrapping the gauze around the more tender bruises. Max stayed quiet throughout the whole ordeal.
"Are you going to tell me who did this to you?" David asked softly as he placed another bandage around Max's arm.
"No," Max grunted.
"Okay," David concluded.
"What?" Max ask surprised.
"If you don't want to tell me, that's fine. But if you ever want to talk, I'm here. There. Now get dressed. We still have a lot of shopping to do." David smiled and tousled Max's hair which cause Max to swat his hand away.
"Okay, here we are!" David pulled into a parking spot at Target. He got out of the car and Max followed him into the store.
"Go nuts," David said waving his arm around the store.
"Seriously? I'd pegged you as a walmart guy." Max grumbled marching toward the clothing section.
"Walmarts fine and all when you are on a budget, but Target just has such a friendly atmosphere!" David followed behind Max cheerfully pushing a cart. Max randomly started throwing clothes into the cart, mostly blues and blacks; a few yellows here and there.
"What about this one Max?" David held up a T-shirt with a kitten on it.
"Fuck no," Max declared.
"Max, language," David scolded.
Max shrugged and marched off toward a rack of hoodies. He pulled out a blue one much like the tattered one he was already wearing and tossed it into the cart.
"Are we done yet?" Max asked looking at his haul.
"You still need shoes, Max. And you can get more than just clothes. I don't expect you to be bored this next month while I'm at work."
"You work? I mean, besides Camp?" Max asked unbelieving.
"Oh course! Camp is wonderful, but it hardly pays the bills. If you must know, I teach Pre-School," David declared proudly.
Max burst out laughing. "I should've known. Only someone as stupidly happy as you could deal with four year old snots all day and not kill himself."
"Now I doubt that is true. Many people teach those little angels and get on just fine," David said with a sour face.
"Yeah, whatever. Where are the shoes?"
They left the store with a cart load of clothes, sugary snacks, cereal, and even a brand new game console. Max had only be half joking when'd he'd asked for it, trying to see just how far he could push David, but David had agreed on the spot, even going so far as to get more than one game.
"Why do this? Why don't you just stick me in school for the month?" Max asked as they loaded everything into David's car.
"Do you want to go to school, Max?"
"Hell no."
"I figured as much. There is only a month left of school before summer break. That's not really much time to learn, and get acquainted with a new place and new people. I thought you might like a break from all that." David smiled gently at Max, who nodded satisfied and hopped into the car.
I got enough of a reaction that I figured you guys would like some more. So TA DA! More set up for the real fun. CAMP! Please review, it really inspires me to keep writing.