It wasn’t as if there had been anything out of the ordinary with Max lately. He didn’t seem particularly mad or upset as far as David could tell. If that had been the case, maybe he could have anticipated this, at least on some level. Granted, there wasn’t anything in the world that ever could have prepared him for the sight of his beloved son sitting in his room holding a gun. It wasn’t what he’d been expecting to see as he opened the boy’s door with a bowl full of spaghettios for him, to say the least.

If it were anyone else, common sense would have told him to run. He would have dropped the bowl and gotten out of there as fast as he could, hand flying to his phone to call for help, but this was Max. There was no attempt to flee- no attempt to get out of the way. His head tilted to the side, expression taut with concern.

     “Tadaa!” He burst from his cabin mid-exclamation, spinning around like a child showing off their picture day attire as if Mabel had never seen the garment before in her life instead of being the creator of such a masterpiece. And that’s certainly what David considered the sweater to be. It was a masterpiece in every meaning of the word, and one that David would hold dear to him for as long as he lived, even in the unlikely event that he someday outgrew it. The yarn itched at his skin, but he didn’t particularly mind. It was of a slight discomfort, perhaps, but more than worth it to parade the sweater around prattle on about how talented the camper who made it was.

     While initially confident in his abilities to play the game despite never having anyone to play with back home on account to his general unpopularity with other students at school, not much of that confidence remained as he lost his last of his pogs to the other. His mouth hung open in disbelief until he suddenly snapped his mouth closed, scowling in an attempt to contrast the shock he’d shown, not wanting the other boy to laugh at him for it. A roll of his eyes was given as he crossed his arms in an overly dramatic fashion.

     “MAX!” He yelled as he shoved opened the door to the boy’s cabin, frame shaking slightly with the amount of force as the wooden slab tapped lightly against the wall of the cabin. His face was flushed in an obvious look of exasperation, fists shaking slightly as they hovered in the air over his chest, silently fuming for several moments before taking a deep breath as he did his best to calm himself down. That’s it, David. Breathe in, breathe out. 

     He frowned slightly at the other counselor’s reply, but not really because he was hurt by her words. If it were someone else he might have been slightly upset, but he’d learned over time that Gwen said things like that out of love. Well, maybe love was a bit strong of a word, but she said them out of some sort of friendship, at least, even if it was just the sort of friendship you had with your annoying neighbor out of convenience.

His current expression was in place, mostly, because he couldn’t help but feel a bit bad about his words, worrying if he’d upset the other in some way. However, it didn’t take long for him to shift back into his cheery demeanor, a small gasp escaping his lips as he clasped his hands together in excitement, smiling brightly.

     “All RIGHT, Jasper!” While he’d been relatively silent as the pair had approached the camp together, the second they made it through the gate, David couldn’t hold in his excitement any longer. His arms were thrown up eagerly into the air as the words escaped him, an especially bright smile gracing his lips as he beamed at the other, practically radiating glee as the sun radiated its warmth to the camp. 

     Initial worry quickly washed away into a forced facade of disinterest as Jasper assured him that he was all right. A roll of his eyes was given as let out a little, sardonic “pff” sound, arms crossing themselves over his chest as a grumpy little pout settled on his face, gaze not quite meeting the others’. It was likely evident how embarrassed he was that he’d shown such drastic concern for the other, despite how desperately he tried to hide it.