A/N: Hey, it's that second chapter that only took me MONTHS to actually write. For such a short chapter, you'd think that it would have been out faster. Oops. Sorry. Hope you enjoy it, despite the wait!

Max didn't know what to think.

He still wasn't sure what had just transpired. David didn't seem as depressed as he had on the way there, but he still seemed way too much like a legitimate adult for Max's taste; it was just too weird. This whole evening had been so out the ordinary (even for Camp Campbell) that he wasn't sure what to think of it all. What was he supposed to think?

No one cared.

So why did David care?

Why would the male counselor, whose life Max has tried to make a living hell, care so much about his home life? It wasn't any of his business, none of it was. And yet, David seemed to have a gift for prying into Max's life. He continuously asked Max 'how he felt' and if he was 'enjoying camp yet', even after being shut down time and time again.

So again:

Why did David care?

He shifted his weight in the back seat, uncomfortable thinking about David's intrusive nature. He didn't like when people tried to help him; he didn't need any help. And he certainly didn't need any help from David. But what he and Gwen had done, taking him out for pizza, seemed so random. Why was it that made them feel the need to do that?

"So…" Max spoke, breaking the silence that only he seemed to find tense. "I know that the pizza was supposed to cheer me up because my parents-" he faltered, looking for words, "suck, but why do you guys care, or even know, about these things?"

Gwen shrugged, speaking when she hit her left blinker. "Well, when we saw your file at the show…"

Max waited for her to continue. David's speech minutes earlier had been so heartfelt, but Gwen had stopped there. Max didn't see her point. "And?"

She glanced into her rearview mirror for a second to lock eyes with Max, and then directed her gaze at the road again. Five seconds of silence later, she elbowed David and he spoke next. "'I'm here because camp is where kids are sent when their parents don't want to deal with them.' That's what you told me the day that Nikki and Neil arrived at camp. I'd already gotten used to your antics and...didn't know how literal you meant it. I never bothered to look into your file. So when I did, and saw that your parents didn't bother to sign you up for any specific camp, I had to do something."

"So why take me out for pizza?" Max asked, feeling emotions stirring inside of him (he hated when that happened), "What was this escapade supposed to accomplish, other than possibly getting your precious camp shut down?"

Max could see David shrug, the man still not having turned around to look at him. "It was supposed to make you feel like a kid, Max - going out for pizza. Because you're allowed to be a kid."

A snappy reply was already ready to leave his mouth, but he held it back. Why? He wasn't sure.

David's words had affected him. Why? He didn't want to think about it.

"Was that really more important than saving Camp Campbell?" Max asked, unable to suppress the bitterness in his tone. "That place means more to you than your own life."

David chuckled lightly. "Believe it or not, Max, but you are more important than the camp. To me, at least. I told you, that camp has been falling to shambles for years, but you have an entire life ahead of you. What's the point of throwing that away at such a young age?"

Max was speechless. David had… He admitted to… Did he choose to make me happy over keeping the camp up and running safely? Something like that went against everything he pegged David to be. The man clung to that camp like it was his reason for living. His care for the place went far deeper than cheerful childhood memories and nostalgia. And yet…

"Just remember," David added, momentarily breaking Max out of his stupor, "that people care, Max."

The pulled up to the counselor's cabin, and Gwen shut the car off. Max hadn't even noticed that they had turned onto the camp's road. Exiting the car, he was silent. He ignored his friends when they tried to explain what happened after he disappeared. He walked into his tent and lay down, pulling the covers up over his head. He tried to pretend that he didn't notice the burning in his eyes, or the lump in his throat.

"Pretending like things are okay when they're not doesn't help anything. I'm sorry that your parents don't care enough, Max."