Max and Nico {Official}

I didn't actually eat much that morning. I was way too busy worrying about that Nico kid.

Something had happened to him in those last few months -something that had finally really broken him, maybe permanently. I wasn't about to ask what that was, though I was curious. He wasn't sitting at table thirteen, like he should have been, and I began to worry that he'd left again.

"Hello? Earth to Max! Wake up, lightning rod!"

If I'd have jumped any higher, I would have hit the ceiling. I did a full 180 in my seat and glared at the dark haired and green-eyed girl who stood directly behind me. I didn't have to tilt my head much since she was pretty short -compared to the average fifteen-year-old girl on Long Island, anyway.

"Danielle, what do you want?"

"What do you think I want?" She nodded toward my hardly-picked-over breakfast plate, "You gonna eat that?"

I pursed my lips and shook my head, handing her a piece of Bacon. She took the rest of it instead, and said, "Eat that. You can't go hungry..."

"I'm not hungry," I protested.

"This wouldn't happen to have anything to do with that creepy kid disappearing, would it?"

I don't know exactly why I did it, but I lied in his defense, "He's not creepy!"

She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms in front of her chest accusingly, "Mmmhm..."

I sighed and shook my head, "don't be rude, fishlips."

"So what? He can't hear me!"

"It doesn't matter," a snapped as I shot up from the bench and smacked my hands down on the table, "He's a good kid and he doesn't need you or anyone else talking like that! You'll just spread rumors that aren't true!"

The hand that wasn't holding the plate shot into the air, "Woah, there! Getting a little defensive, are we?"

I realized I was. What was worse was that I also realized that almost every eye at the dining pavilion was on us. I just shook my head and scrunched my toes, "Look...he just needs a friend. Besides, you don't know him, so you have no right to be talking about him."

Danielle's eyes searched me for a minute before she barked at the rest of the campers to 'mind their own beeswax!'

"sorry," She sighed, finally, "Guess I should stake my own advice, then... Anyway...You busy after breakfast?"

I shook my head, "Not until four."

She nodded, grinning, "Good! Then we can hang!"

I smiled, "Yup!"

Notes