Post by Shrimp on Oct 7, 2017 19:30:28 GMT
David x Shrimp
Fanfiction
{WIP}
Shrimp is a new counselor at Camp Campbell, and she has no idea what it's like at a camp. But suddenly, she meets David, an innocent, kind, perfect counselor.
Shrimp would breathe nervously, staring at the door of Camp Campbell as she held a medium sized suit case in her sweaty right hand. She had never been in a camp-- as a camper or a counselor, so she was nervous. What would the camp be like? She wasn't very strict, and she disliked yelling and anything like that. Shrimp would stare down at her feet, but by the time she realized she had been standing there at the door for a long time, it was too late. The door had swung open, and she had jerked her head up. She had felt her face heat up with embarrassment, a large smile tugging at her lips as she stared at the friendly face that had greeted her. "Hi!" The other had said, a ear-to-ear smile on his face. Shrimp stood there for a few awkward seconds trying to get herself to speak. "H-hi!" She had said, her face turning red. Either he had totally ignored it or he hadn't seen it, because he simply welcomed her in. She had walked into what seemed like many ten year olds enjoying their breakfast, which caused her stomach to get jealous and begin to growl. The other that had greeted her had noticed this. "Oh, I'll get you some food!" Shrimp was tempted to say no thanks, but he had already turned and she was quite hungry. Soon he had returned and handed her a bowl of cereal, the smile still on his face. Shrimp had thanked him then allowed herself to sit at an empty table as she began eating. She had her back turned to the others but she could feel their eyes glancing at her curiously. That was when Shrimp had realized she hadn't told the guy her name. She had winced-- she didn't like her name, it was odd and most made fun of her for it. She could hear the loud talking and laughing behind her, but she simply ignored it as she sat there eating. She had gotten lost in her thoughts and hardly noticed that the other sit next to her. "I'm so sorry!" He had said, causing Shrimp to jerk her head up with surprise as she turned her focus to him. "I never introduced myself.
I'm David," he was still smiling ear-to-ear somehow. Shrimp's face was already hurting slightly from all the smiles she had stretched on her face. "I-I'm well.. Uh..." Her face had become red as she paused, a bit embarrassed to share her name with David. Should she lie? No, no! The camp wouldn't like that, what a foolish idea. But still, David was different from the others-- he made her sort of nervous. Or maybe it was just because he had the power to fire her. David had tilted his head. "What is it?" Shrimp had shook her head, blushing. "N-nothing... It's just uh... A silly name, that's all.." David would laugh a little. "Oh, don't worry about that. Just tell me!" His voice was so cheerful, so happy. She decided to trust this David and hit him with her strange name. "I'm... I'm Shrimp." David had let out a laugh, causing Shrimp to look at her shoes with her face bright red. She could feel some of the campers stare. Her eyes stung and she began to regret coming. David had noticed this and placed a warm hand on her shoulder, causing her to feel a shiver down her spine. "Oh, no, I wasn't trying to laugh at you! I'm sorry! It's a special name, mine's just plain 'David'." Shrimp glanced up at him. "I like your name though." David had smiled, then stuck out his hand in front of her. Shrimp paused a moment before shaking his hand with her own. "Breakfasts about over. You ready for some activities?" He grinned, jumping out of his seat joyfully. "Y-yeah!" Shrimp said, standing up as well. But, being her clumsy self, she had spilled the remains of her cereal. "Ahh!" She had screeched, picking up the bowl before it tumbled over the edge of the table. Milk had smiled on her camp shirt and she was beginning to panic. "Oh, don't worry!" David had said, skipping over to the paper towels before cleaning up the mess. "Is that your only shirt?" He had asked her, and Shrimp nodded silently. "You can barrow one of mine, might be a little big though!" He chuckled, then dashed over
to get one of his shirts that looked just like the others. Shrimp had let out a stressed sigh as she allowed herself to sit back down. I've been here for a few minutes and I've already embarrassed myself like five times. David soon returned and handed Shrimp her shirt. "Thanks.." She had said, standing up as she held the clean shirt in her hands. David pointed her to the restroom where she had changed and quickly came out. The shirt was large on her, since Shrimp was shorter than the tall other. Though they both were quite skinny. David smiled warmly at her as she thanked him once more. "Alright, lets introduce you to the campers. Then we can do some activities!"
Shrimp had nodded, a smile still on her face though it was getting sour. She had taken the bowl with a small bit of milk left to the kitchen before follow David outside. He had called the campers out and Shrimp would hide her hands behind her back, nervously standing next to David. She kept glancing at him for some reason, though once the kids were settled she began to study them. "Who the f is this?" Spat one of the kids, wearing a blue hoodie as he glanced at Shrimp then at David. "This is Shrimp!" David had stated. Shrimp felt as if she had shrank as the kids began to laugh at her name, staring down at her dirty black shoes. She felt herself blush as she listened to their giggles. "Hey! That is-- not very... Polite!" He said, struggling to say anything near being rude. Shrimp hid a small smile at this. "What is her real name?" The same kid had asked again, this time looking at Shrimp as if he wanted her to answer. "It's Shrimp, like I said." Shrimp glanced up as they giggled again. "Wow, really?" He had
laughed. Shrimp poked the ground with her shoe, still staring at the ground. "I happen to really like her name!" David stated, putting his hands on his hips as he glared at the campers. "It's okay... You don't have to lie..." Shrimp said softly, her eyes stinging again. "Pfft, no one cares Shrimpy." The blue hoodie camper had snorted. "Max! I'm tired of your attitude!" He said, then walked over closer to Shrimp who seemed close to tears at the moment. Shrimp was expecting one of those pats on the back and a 'tough it out' things, but instead he wrapped his warm arms around her. She felt her face turn a bright red as she was suddenly being hugged. Her mouth had opened but nothing had came out, and she could hear the campers giggle again. Once he pulled away from the hug he had said, "Hugs always make me feel better!" The camper known as Max had rolled his eyes. Shrimp stood there, frozen. The hug had made her feel better, all thanks to David. "Anyways!" He said, standing up straight as he casually laid his arm on Shrimp's shoulders. Shrimp raised her head and smiled kindly at the campers, acting as if she had never embarrassed herself. Though she had already messed up so many times and was feeling quite small, the hug from David and the fact that his arm was laying on her shoulders gave her a boost of confidence. "Like I said, this is Shrimp. She's our newest counselor!" Shrimp's smile became smaller as some of the campers groaned, though some happily greeted her. "This isn't gonna be like the last one right? As stupid as you are you probably just hired Daniel's wife." Max huffed coldly, glaring at David. "What? No! She's not even--" he paused and suddenly looked over at Shrimp's hand. Noticing the small ring on her left hand, he pointed it out. "Wait Shrimp, you're married?!" He pointed at the small pink diamond on her hand, shaped as a heart. Shrimp gazed up at David's face, noticing his smile was now gone. This was the first time she had seen David without his
smile. "Huh? No!" Shrimp had said, glancing down at her hands. "Oh, engaged then?" David stared at her hands then looked up at her. "N-no..." She said, confused. "You're not dating anyone either-- right?" He asked, his blue eyes staring into her own. "Nope..." Why was he suddenly so interested in her sad little love life? "Okay!" He said, the smile snapping right back onto his face as his cheerfulness suddenly returned just like that. Shrimp gazed down at her shoes with her face red, though she soon forced her head back up to look at the campers. David had explained the activities and such they would be doing that day, and to Shrimp's surprise they had so many things to do. "Alright! Lets get this day started!" David took his hand off Shrimp's shoulders and turned, getting ready to lead the pack of campers. "You can stay by me Shrimp, I'll show you around!" A smile grew on her face as she happily made her way to his side.
Hours had passed and they had done so many activities that Shrimp was actually panting. Her feet ached and she could tell the campers were just as tired, though she knew that they had been doing this for a while. Though what surprised her but at the same time didn't, was that David was still dancing around happily as if he had no care in the world. "C'mon, campers! We'll be late for dinner!
Gewn made spaghetti tonight!" He giggled happily. It was a bit funny; a hyper cheerful adult leading a tired bunch of kids. It was then Shrimp noticed how empty her stomach was; she had skipped lunch and the fact that she had been moving around all day made her hunger worse. She sped up a bit at the thought that food would be at the end of this trail. She was trying to copy David who was so full of energy and skipping along the trail as the campers followed. It was at that moment, that quick little moment, that she had realized no one can be like David. She should of known that before, but she had learned her lesson as she felt herself suddenly slam into the ground. Though she put her hands out to catch herself, she still landed face first into the hard nature floor. She ignored Max as he attempted to make her feel bad and simply laid there for a few moments. "Ahh! Shrimp!" David had screeched, pausing in his tracks to rush over to her. He helped her into a sit and began studying her to see where she was injured. "Are you okay?" He asked, his voice so worried, yet so soft and caring. Shrimp was frozen, trying to figure out what had just happened, and it had taken her a few moments to answer the question aimed at her. "Y-Yeah... I think.." She whimpered quietly. "Shrimp! Your hand!" David had screeched, suddenly grabbing Shrimp's wrist and pulling her hand towards him. Blood was leaking out of a cut on her left hand, and though it wasn't so horrible, it had made Shrimp feel light-headed watching blood spill out of her hand. David was now holding her hand up with his own right hand, and used his left to grab his shirt and pull it up to dab at the blood on her hand. Shrimp looked away, tightly shutting her eyes. "Okay, lets get back to fix this up." David said, standing up. Shrimp opened her eyes and glanced up at him. Suddenly he picked her up as if she couldn't get up herself, and Shrimp felt her face turn a bright red as she got to her feet. She felt so helpless,
like she was just a little child again. She knew she didn't need help getting up, she had simply tripped and cut her hand, that was all. But at the same time she felt so loved, so happy with David's company. David had laid his arm on her shoulders and began to walk with her by his side. It was as if he was protecting her, making sure nothing dared to hurt her. A small smile formed on her face and she gazed down as she did so. But David was such a softy, such a happy, happy softy. And she loved that about him. A few minutes had passed and they reached the door. David took his arm off Shrimp and pushed it open and allowed all the campers to run in. They got into the line for dinner where they served the campers their spaghetti, then sat down at their tables to begin eating. "Okay Shrimp, follow me," David called, and Shrimp did what she was told. David took her into his small little room and began going through the things in his dresser. She gazed around his small but nice little room. The walls were bare, and there was a large window right by the head of the bed. A small breeze blew through the large window, and Shrimp would shiver though it was quite nice. His bed was small, too. It was made of wood and had plain blankets covering it, though they looked quite soft. "Here it is!" David happily screeched, pulling bandages out of his dresser. "Okay, c'mere." He opened the small door that was by his desk which was covered in papers. The door lead to a small bathroom that matched his room. He took the cloth that was resting on the counter and turned the water on before slipping the cloth in the water's path, causing it to get soaked. He then turned off the water and turned to Shrimp before grabbing her wrist again. He softly dabbed at the cut, so softly that Shrimp hardly felt it sting, and cleaned up the blood and the dirt on the cut. He then took her back into his room and sat her on the bed where he wrapped her hand up with bandages. "There!" He said happily, then
sat next to her on the soft bed. "Thanks David.." Shrimp had said softly, offering a smile to the cheerful other. "No problem. Does it feel okay? Do you want anything else?" He yipped. Shrimp simply shook her head. "No, its fine really, thank you... So much.." She said, suddenly slightly embarrassed. David simply smiled, then suddenly stood. "Well, you hungry?" Shrimp just nodded. "Lets go then!" He said excitedly, then skipped out the door. Shrimp stood as well, then hid her hands behind her back again as she walked after David. Once she entered the room she gazed around confusedly, wondering where she should go. Suddenly David popped up in front of her, smiling still, holding two bowls of spaghetti. "Here!" He yipped, handing her one of the bowls. David then turned and walked over to Gwen. He sat down and began eating with her, which caused Shrimp's stomach to suddenly hurt. Disappointed, she walked over to another empty table as she did before and sat down her food, though she didn't begin to eat it. She just sat there, staring at it, though her stomach was empty her mind was full, and she suddenly felt quite lonely and replaced. By Gwen? Shrimp sighed as she sadly began to play with her food, spinning it around the fork but not bothering to shove it into her mouth like everyone else was doing. Suddenly she felt a hand tap her on the back. She turned and saw David who smiled warmly at her. "Hey, why didn't you come sit with me and Gwen?" Shrimp simply shrugged. "C'mon!" He grinned. "Um.. I'm okay..." She said, turning away. He was silent for a while, and Shrimp guessed he had left. Though suddenly he sat down next to her and caused Shrimp to look up at him. "Gwen doesn't care anyway..." He shrugged, still smiling. They had spent the rest of dinner laughing and talking until they noticed how dark it was.
The campers had already gone to bed and David and Shrimp found themselves still sitting there together. Gwen stomped up to David, her hands balled up into fists as she came up from behind him. He didn't notice, though Shrimp did-- but said nothing about it. Gwen then slapped David from behind and David let out a sharp yell of the sudden pain. "You idiot! I just put all the campers to bed because you were too busy making out with your Shrimpy girlfriend!" She hissed, holding her hands back. The sound David had made nearly made Shrimp want to cry, and now Gwen, the other counselor in the camp, was making fun of her. "W-what? We're just friends!" David screeched, putting his head low as he expected another blow. "Friends.." Shrimp mumbled. The thought made her blush slightly. "Best friends!" David suddenly added, reaching out to grab Shrimp's farthest shoulder and pulling her into his side. Shrimp felt her face turn a bright red as he did this. How had they became best friends in only a day? But there was no doubt, Shrimp wanted him to be her best friend. Gwen groaned and attempted to slap him again, but Shrimp couldn't bare see it and all she could think of at the moment was tugging him away. She quickly wrapped her arms around him and tugged him down-- it was then she realized this was a horrible idea. Shrimp fell back and landed on the floor, and David landed right on top of her. Sure they had dodged the slap, but this was way worse. "I-I'm sorry Shrimp!" David screeched, struggling to get off of the other he was crushing. He stood then bent over to grab Shrimp's hand and quickly help her up. He then turned away and sat down again, embarrassed. Shrimp thought she saw a blush on his face, and it made her shiver. "Really, idiot? You just fell on her!" She huffed. David was still turned away, his hands covering his face. "Ughh. Anyway, at least show Shrimp her new room, I'm tired of doing everything." With that, Gwen turned and walked to her own room. David hadn't
moved, and Shrimp was just awkwardly standing there. "D-David?" Shrimp said softly. When she got no reply, she nervously tapped him on the back. David turned his head to her, a light pink still on his face. "Sorry," he said, then stood up again. Dang, this guy was tall. Shrimp gazed up at him, so badly wanting to do something, anything. But instead David walked over to the restroom, leaving Shrimp to awkwardly stand there. She let herself sit down again, staring at her nearly empty bowl. Soon David returned, his smile right back on his face. "Lets show you your room!" He said happily, skipping over to where her room would be located. He soon stopped at the door next to his own, then turned to Shrimp. "Here it is!" He then turned back to the door and opened it. The room looked a lot like David's; a bed, a dresser, and a desk, a small bathroom and a smaller window. The room was quite small, slightly smaller than David's, but it was enough, and quite cozy. "Well, if you need anything, I'm right next door!" He smiled. Shrimp walked over and sat on her bed, suit case in her hand which had been laid on her bed this morning by Gwen. Shrimp gazed over at David who had already been looking at her. They stayed like that for a few, long, seconds. Then David slowly closed her door and softly whispered, "Goodnight, Shrimp." Shrimp smiled warmly before reaching over to the dresser where the small lamp laid. She switched it on then opened her suitcase. It was filled with clothes which she put away in the dresser, though she had no shirts. That was when she realized she was still wearing David's shirt. She blushed slightly at this but continued to unpack. She pulled out a little stuffed animal; a soft, grey wolf. She knew she shouldn't have brought him; if anyone saw it they would make fun of her for it... Even David. And with how evil these kids were they would probably tear him apart. And Shrimp knew the sight of that would make her break down right there, right then. But at the
same time, the thought of David wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into a warm hug made her somewhat happy. Even if it was stupid, even if he knew that, she knew David was too soft, too kind, too happy to ever hurt someone. And he would walk over and sit down right there next to her and hug her. Shrimp smiled at the thought, and she was now laying down. She slowly would close her eyes and fall asleep, the light on, the covers still laid on the bed under her, and her suitcase wide open for anyone to take. But Shrimp didn't care; she simply feel asleep to the thought of David.
One day, about two weeks later, Shrimp's eyes had slowly opened, and she would of just turned over to a more comfortable position and fallen back asleep, but she realized something. She sat up in her bed and looked around her room, confused, then noticed something at the door. She quickly gazed up and saw David, standing straight and just as cheerful as always. A large ear-to-ear smile was on his face. "Good morning, Shrimp!" Shrimp blushed slightly as she forced herself to speak. "Good morning." How long had he been there? Before she could think about it David nodded then stepped out the door. Shrimp quickly changed into the clothes she would wear for the day then stepped out of the door where David was patiently waiting. "Lets get some breakfast!" He said, suddenly grabbing Shrimp's wrist and pulling her down the hall. Shrimp simply followed, her mouth opening as if she wanted to say something yet nothing came out. They soon entered the room where the campers were enjoying their breakfast. David handed Shrimp a plate of pancakes then grabbed one for himself. Shrimp turned and gazed around the room confusedly, not knowing where she should go. Before Shrimp could run off and sit at another lonely table like before, David grabbed her wrist again and led her to the table Gwen sat at. "Mm," Gwen mumbled with her mouth full, lifting her syrup covered fork and pointing it at the two. "Finally sitting with David rather than David sitting with you, Shrimp?" Shrimp shrugged and brushed it off, gazing down at her plate as she stabbed the pancake. "David, has she been distracting you?" Gwen suddenly asked, frowning at the other. "Huh? No! I've got everything planned today-- okay?
You can trust me Gwen!" David had said, grabbing his yellow bandana and allowing his fingertips to run across it. Gwen nodded and shrugged, then continued to eat. "Just.. Don't make me put the kids to bed again." David simply nodded and put down his fork, then stood and put his food away. He hardly ate anything, but Shrimp decided not to point it out. Shrimp continued to eat, awkwardly sitting there with Gwen. She decided not to look up or else Gwen would try to speak to her again, and she doubted her words would be as nice as David's. After a few moments Shrimp gazed up and noticed David hadn't sat back down. He seemed to be pacing near the door. Shrimp wiped her mouth and stood, carefully grabbing the plate and setting the fork on top of it before putting it away. She then walked up to David who had tried not to notice her, and when he didn't she placed a hand on his shoulder which caused him to come to a sudden stop. He stood up straight and took his hands away from his back, turning his head towards Shrimp as he smiled kindly. "Do you need help with anything?" Shrimp had offered, and David shook his head in reply. "I have it all set up.. But thank you." Shrimp smiled, slightly disappointed. She turned and began to walk away, before hearing someone shout, David! She jerked around and saw it was the camper from before, Max. She couldn't tell exactly what he was saying, but he had a smirk on his face as he began pointing up at David while speaking at him. Shrimp folded her arms over her chest and frowned. David had his hands on his hips as he stared down at the ten year old, a little frown on his face as well. "Now, Max..." David had said, followed by some sort of lecture or something. Max had barked something back, and whatever it was, it must have been hurtful because David's frown had turned into some sort of sad look. David stood up straight, the expression on his face looking slightly hurt and nervous, though he tried not to look too sad. Shrimp had walked
over and gazed up at him. "What's wrong?" "Nothing!" David had said, forcing a smile to stretch across his face. "Okay, c'mon kids." Gwen had said tiredly, casing the campers to stand with a moan before putting up their plates and such. They followed Gwen outside and David began to follow as well, but Shrimp grabbed his arm and pulled him back. "David, tell me. What's wrong?" Shrimp asked again, staring at him with a concerned look. "Nothing! Fine, fine. Gotta get to--" Shrimp cut him off. "I saw that sad look." She pointed out, a small frown on her face. David sighed and the smile on his face quickly turned up-side-down. "I don't think the campers like the activities..." He sighed, hanging his head. "Why would you think that?" Shrimp questioned. "Max and his friends.." David said quietly, looking away. Shrimp snorted, suddenly feeling rage but at the same time sorry for David. "Well, why don't we show how amazing it really is?" Shrimp said excitedly, hoping to get David happy and excited too. And it worked; David straightened up and his smile returned right back on his face. "Yeah! Lets go!" He quickly grabbed Shrimp's hand without thinking and dragged her outside. Shrimp blushed lightly but ignored it; he had done this a few times yet her heart still skipped a beat every time.
Shrimp was panting and her feet ached, trying to keep up with David. They were returning from their long hike which was actually pretty nice; she had always loved the forest, how peaceful with nature everywhere you looked. The campers were dragging their feet behind her along with Gwen who copied them. Though as always, the cheerful counselor skipped ahead, leading everyone else. Shrimp admired him for this; while everyone was complaining and tired David was different... As always. Shrimp smiled at the thought, and she quickly noticed she wasn't paying attention to what she was doing. Luckily, she didn't fall or embarrass herself in any way. And she had learned that no one could be like David, so there was no use copying the other just to fail and embarrass herself again. Shrimp then glanced down at her hand, the bandages hiding the cut from weeks ago. "Ugh. I'm tired." moaned Neil. "Can we do some science shit tomorrow?" David stopped in his tracks, causing the followers to pause as well. He slowly turned around to face Neil, then pointed his finger towards him with a frown. "Heeeyyy.... Language." Neil snorted, crossing his arms as he rolled his eyes. "Could you just answer the question?" David straightened up and placed his hands on his hips again, then thought for a moment. "Well--" he began, though he was rudely interrupted by another kid. "Ooh! Ooh! Can we do rockets?" Shrimp turned her gaze to the camper who spoke, who looked sort of... Weird. He was short, though that wasn't the first thing Shrimp noticed. The first thing she noticed was the astronaut helmet he wore on his head, which made her question what color his hair really was. Since the helmet was hiding his true colors, it looked more like light-blue skin, indigo hair, and blue eyes. The second thing she noticed was the odd style of how he wore his pants. Instead of hiding the underwear inside his pants, he wore it on top of his grey pants. It was pretty obvious how obsessed with space he was,
you could tell just by glancing at his helmet. "W-Well, sure! That sounds like a great idea!" David said happily, though Shrimp thought she caught a bit of shakiness in his voice, which added to the nervous smile on his face. "Lets go, campers!" He then said, quickly turning around before he began to lead them again. Neil sighed and shrugged, then began dragging his feet again as he walked after David. Shrimp turned and ran up to David's side, then attempted to keep up with him. "Hey, David?" She had said. David quickly turned his focus towards her, his blue green eyes staring into her's. "Yes, Shrimp?" He said, slowing down so that they could talk easier. "Are you okay?" Shrimp asked, her voice soft as she walked by her friend's side. "Of course! Why wouldn't I be?" David replied, smiling towards the other. "Well... You sounded a little upset... When they asked to do an activity," Shrimp replied. "Oh, no, I'm fine!" He chuckled. "Okay..." Shrimp said, turning her head away. She stayed by his side awkwardly, and after a few minutes of silence she spoke up. "D-David?" She said, turning her head towards him again. "What's wrong, Shrimp?" David asked, tilting his head a little. "Would you tell me if something was wrong? Even if it was small-- just anything?" Shrimp asked, wanting to add more though she couldn't. David's smile slowly faded away, and he began to get slower. For seconds which felt like minutes, he simply stared into Shrimp's eyes. He then let out a breath and turned his head away. Shrimp waited for a reply, making sure to walk slow enough so that they were side by side. It looked as if David was thinking, trying to decide if he should lie or tell her. "I-" he began, slowly turning his head towards her. Suddenly he stumbled sideways, tripping over a stick in his way. He fell right into Shrimp's side, though luckily they didn't fall to the ground. Shrimp paused and quickly lifted her arms confusedly as he fell into her. David found his face pressed
into Shrimp's stomach as her hands hovered over his back. It had all happened to fast and neither knew what they were doing. David made a squeaking sound as he quickly pulled himself away, blushing madly. "D-David?" Shrimp said quietly, her head spinning. "S-Sorry! I'm sorry!" David screeched, covering his bright red face. David was forcing the tears back, embarrassed and flustered at what he had just done. "N-No! I-It's okay!" Shrimp squeaked, carefully and slowly touching his shoulder. He made a whimpering noise as he suddenly lifted his head up from his hands. "Lets go!" He said in a shaky voice. He then began skipping ahead quickly, causing a large gap from him and everyone else. He was trying to get away from everyone else, and Shrimp was slightly hurt by this. She hid her hands behind her back as she walked after him, her head towards the ground. It was silent for the rest of the trip, except for the loud and quick beating of her heart. D-David... I'm sorry. She thought to herself, her face still burning. Once they had gotten back it was so quiet and awkward between her and David for the rest of the night. Though they did eat together it was silent and short since David wasn't hungry again. And this made her extremely worried; he had hardly eaten anything today. He took a bite or too for breakfast, skipped lunch, and took a few quick and small bites for dinner then put his plate away. After finishing his last meal he had gone to his room, leaving Shrimp to sit alone at the table. Once everyone had finished their dinner Shrimp heard stomping. She turned her head to see Gwen angrily stomping towards David's room. Once she got there she began violently knocking on his door. "DAVID YOU LITTLE BITCH!" She roared. Shrimp quickly stood up and walked over to the scene. "What's going on, Gwen?" Shrimp asked quietly. "That little auburn boyfriend of your's is gonna make me put the kids to bed AGAIN!" She yelled, then continued to hit his door. "DAVID IF YOU--"
suddenly the door swung open, interrupting Gwen. Gwen, ready to smack the door again, had her hand up and was unable to stop herself. She swung at David and stumbled forward, causing her to fall into him. David fell back and soon they were on the floor with a loud thump. "Ah! G-Gwen?!" David screeched, confused and embarrassed. Gwen mumbled a stream of curses, flopped on top of David. Shrimp had been standing there, watching the entire time. Her hands balled up into fists, her heart racing. She was feeling anger, and something else... It was obvious, but she didn't want to think of it. Jealousy. She felt such strong jealousy watching the two. She was trying to figure out if she wanted to stay frozen or stomp off. Gwen pushed herself up, then once she was in a stand she glared down at David who was still on the floor. Before he could push himself up, Gwen stepped on his stomach as hard as she could, causing David to yelp. "N-No!" Shrimp squeaked quietly. "Oh, shush. He deserves it. Never mind you, David. I'll put them to bed, but you're doing it tomorrow and I swear you will." Gwen then stomped off, leaving Shrimp and David alone. David slowly pushed himself up into a sit, then tucked his head between his legs so that Shrimp couldn't see his face. "D-David..?" Shrimp said softly, slowly getting down into a crouch on the floor in front of David. When she got no reply she softly tapped his shoulder, but that didn't work either. Shrimp then slid over to his side, so close that their shoulders where touching. "Davey, it's okay. You can talk to me. I'm your friend. Your best friend. Please answer me.." Shrimp said, slowly pressing closer to his warm side. He didn't answer, and for moments there was silence. He then turned away, his back towards her. "David..." She said softly, then quickly wrapped her arms around him even though he was turned the other way. She then pulled him towards her and hugged him tightly, berrying her face into his shoulder. David raised his head
as he was being hugged, his mouth flying open. His eyes widened and tears began to run down his cheeks. They stood like that for a few minutes; David turned away and Shrimp hugging him on the floor, right outside David's door. Finally the sun had left and caused everything to darken. Suddenly David pulled away from the hug and stood, then held out a hand for Shrimp to take. Shrimp gladly grabbed his hand and was pulled up from the ground. She chuckled nervously, tears beginning to escape her eyes. David smiled warmly, still holding her hand. With his free hand he carefully wiped the tears away. "It's dark..." He said quietly. "You need your rest... Go to sleep." Shrimp's smile faded a little, somewhat disappointed. She nodded sadly, gazing down at the floor. David pulled her in for another hug, and before he pulled away he planted a small kiss on her cheek, causing them both to blush madly. "Goodnight, Shrimp." David said. Shrimp opened her mouth to speak but failed, then simply smiled and turned away. She walked into the door next to his which belonged to her own room. She hardly remembered anything after that; she just simply flopped onto her bed and fell asleep.
Shrimp gasped and lifted her head up, her eyes quickly widening as she was suddenly covered in water. The water was so hot that it burned her skin, and she was extremely confused as she pushed herself into a sit and gazed around the room. There, standing by her bed, was the evil little camper with the hoodie, smirking up at her. "Good morning, Shrimp." He laughed, holding an empty bucket in his hands. It was then Shrimp realized what had happened: Max had poured a bucket of hot water on her while she was asleep. "W-- wh-- h-huh?" She stammered confusedly, water dripping from her hair. Suddenly she heard the door swing open that was joined with David's voice. "What's going on in here?!" Shrimp jerked her head over as David opened the door, gasping and covering his mouth with his hands. "D-David...?" Shrimp mumbled quietly. "Max!" David roared, stomping over and picking the ten year old up. He then carried the camper out of her room and left, leaving Shrimp to sit there alone, confused. A few minutes passed and the door flung open again, and once again David entered her room. "Shrimp!" He said, running over to her bed. "I'm so, so sorry!" Shrimp flung the green blanket off of her and stepped out of her wet bed. She made a small moaning sound as she realized how soaked she was. She gazed over at David who had his hand covering his mouth as he watched her, making small whimpering noises. "David, it's okay. It wasn't your fault." David removed his hand from his mouth as he got ready to argue. "But it's my job to make sure he doesn't get in here!" Shrimp rubbed her eyes, deciding she didn't want to say anything in reply. "Can I just get a shirt?" Shrimp asked. "O-Oh, yes! Sorry!" David screeched before running out of the room. He returned shortly with a folded green shirt with a tree on it that matched his own. He handed it to her then stepped outside while Shrimp changed. Once she opened the door David smiled nervously at her. Shrimp gave little effort into her fake smile towards him and simply walked off to get breakfast. "Hnnng..." David mumbled, bringing his hand up to his mouth before biting into his nails. He walked after her and once he entered the room he looked over to their table. Empty. He then glanced around the room and caught sight of her at a different table alone. He then made his way over to that table and sat down next to her, still smiling. "Are you not gonna eat?" He asked, noticing she hadn't gotten any breakfast. "I'm not hungry." She replied, laying her head down on the table. "S-Shrimp? What's wrong?" David asked, staring at her. "Nothing." She replied, turning her head away from the counselor. "Hnng. Shrimp..." David squeaked, suddenly wrapping his arms around her and jerking her into a hug. "Please, please don't get mad at me. I'm sorry!" Shrimp wrapped her arms around him and hugged him back. "D-Davey... I'm not mad at you.. I'm sorry..." David smiled and held her tighter before pulling away. "Come on Shrimp. We have archery today!" David said happily, standing up. Shrimp stood as well, slightly disappointed. "Wait, I thought we were doing rockets?" Shrimp pointed out. David's smile was suddenly wiped off his face as his eyes widened. "Oh... Yeah.." He ran a hand through his auburn hair and inhaled deeply. "Um... Uh..." He brought his hand up to his mouth and began biting his nails again. "David? What's wrong?" Shrimp questioned. "N-Nothing! Everything's great!" He said, adding a fake, nervous smile. "Stop lying to me and just ask for help for once!" Shrimp frowned. David straightened up and stared at her, shocked and hurt at this. Shrimp noticed his hurt expression and her face turned soft. "David, I--" she began to reach out her hand to him, though she was cut off. "I expect that from the campers... I expect that from everyone else... But not you, Shrimp..." David then turned away and walked off. Shrimp pulled her hand back and placed it on her chest, then placed her other hand on top of it."D-David..." She whispered, her eyes filling with tears.
Soon it was time for the daily activities and though Shrimp tried to speak to David, he was too busy and she couldn't get herself to do it. "Lets go, gang!" David had said happily, leading everyone outside. Shrimp crossed her arms and ran her fingertips over her skin. She stayed away from the others as much as possible, following behind David and Gwen. Her mind was full and her stomach as empty through the whole day. Finally it was time for dinner and bed, and they hadn't gone far from camp so there was no long walk with David. Once Shrimp had gotten her dinner which tonight was chicken, she noticed David was already at a table though it wasn't the normal table they sat at. Gwen was at the normal table, though. Shrimp decided to approach David. She walked up and sat her tray down on the table then sat next to him. "Davey..." Shrimp said softly, slowly touching his shoulder. David had his elbows on the table and his head was in his hands, hiding his face. "Please... I'm sorry. I was trying to help..." David lifted his head and looked at her. Tears were in his eyes though he kept blinking them away, staring at Shrimp. He was so innocent and sensitive, and Shrimp knew she shouldn't have yelled at him. "I promise I won't do anything again. I'm sorry Davey." Shrimp then wrapped her arms around the other and pulled him towards her in a tight hug. David pulled away after a few moments and smiled at Shrimp. "It's okay Shrimp, I forgive you." He then turned his head away and Shrimp gazed down at her food. She picked up her fork and stabbed it into a chunk of chicken before stuffing it in her mouth. Suddenly she realized David hadn't gotten any dinner. "David," Shrimp said, her voice worried. "You haven't eaten hardly anything in two days..." "Oh! I'm just not hungry, I guess." He said, turning his head towards her. "You need to eat." Shrimp replied, tapping the plate with her fork. "I-I'm okay, Shrimp. Really!" David
smiled. "You don't have to worry about me so much." Shrimp frowned. "No, David. You need food. You're already extremely skinny." Shrimp pointed out, lifting her fork and pointing it towards his stomach. "N-No Shrimp, I--" David began, though he was interrupted when Shrimp suddenly stabbed another piece of chicken and started pushing it towards his mouth. "N-No--" David squeaked. "C'mon little Davey, eat your dinner!~" She said, forcing the chunk into his mouth. David's face heated up as he began chewing, since there was nothing else he could do. Shrimp stabbed another piece and stuffed it into his mouth, and she began laughing as she did this. David's face was so flustered; there was nothing he could do. She was feeding him, a twenty-four year old adult. He began to sweat as he just stood there was if he were a toddler that needed his mother to feed him. Shrimp laughed. "Open up, little Davey!~" He giggled, continuing to feed the other. "Oh my god, look at David!" Max laughed, turning and pointing towards him. "Hehe, good Davey wavey!~" Shrimp giggled happily, pausing with a piece of chicken still on the fork as she watched him. David pulled his feet up on the seat in front of him and turned away from Shrimp, his hands flying up to hide his bright red face. "Po--of!" He squeaked, sweat beginning to run down his face. Shrimp couldn't stop herself from laughing at how cute the other was, she just sat there giggling uncontrollably. "Davey!" Shrimp laughed. "You're so cuuute!" She squealed, then wrapped her arm around the other and pulled him into her side. "I swear... I wouldn't trade you for anything." She then turned and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him. David was madly blushing, his heart racing and his head spinning. Shrimp didn't care that everyone was staring and probably thinking they were crazy, she was overjoyed by David. She wanted to say something, something more and something that could explain how happy he made her. Soon they heard a loud and
familiar yell. "David! Quit being all lovey-dovey on Shrimp and put the campers to bed!" Shrimp pulled away from the hug, her heart sinking that it all had to end so soon. David got up without glancing at Shrimp and herded everyone to their tents. Shrimp patiently waited at the table, quietly giggling to herself. What was this feeling? So happy and so attached to someone. Soon David had returned, his face still red. "Hnng... Mm..." David mumbled, walking up to Shrimp with his hands balled up into fists. He smiled at Shrimp, his smile obviously nervous. He scratched the back of his neck with one hand and kept the other balled up. His cuteness was too much for Shrimp and she stood up and flung her arms around his neck, standing up on her toes since he was so tall. She berried her face into his shoulder, grinning happily. "Never change..." She whispered to the other. David was frozen, his face becoming even redder as he stood there, his whole body trembling. He then slowly wrapped his arms around her, hugging back. For some reason, whenever he was around Shrimp, his stomach hurt and his heart thumped loudly. What was she doing to him? Shrimp began to nuzzle into him, still hugging him as tight as she could. "Uh.. Um... S-Shrimp?" David suddenly said. "Yes, David?" Shrimp asked, pulling away from the hug and smiling up at him. "W-Well.... I..." He began, though suddenly Gwen walked up angrily, as always. "C'mon, love birds. Time to get to bed." She snorted, then stomped off. "Aw.. Well, what is it that you wanted to tell me?" Shrimp asked, staring up at David. "Uh... Never mind." He smiled, then turned and began to walk off. "Lets get to bed." Shrimp nodded and followed. They soon arrived at their doors of their rooms. "Goodnight, Shrimp," David said, turning towards her with a smile. "Night," Shrimp replied, turning towards her door. Though she quickly spun back around and forced herself to reach up and quickly leave a kiss on his cheek, then turned away with a large
smile pulling at her lips and a red face. David stood there frozen for a few moments, watching as Shrimp entered her room. He let out a breath and reached towards the door, getting ready to knock on it. But he stopped himself, giving up. He then turned away and entered his own room.
One morning, about a week later, Shrimp pushed herself out of bed just like any other day; dressed and brushed her hair, then headed out for breakfast. Once she had gotten her waffles, she made her way over to the table David was sitting at. Though, Gwen wasn't there today, which wasn't really a problem. "Good morning, David!" She smiled, lifting her fork and stabbing it into a piece of the waffle. "Morning, Shrimp!" David replied excitedly. Shrimp then noticed he had no plate in front of him. "Oh, David. You're not gonna make me have to feed you again, are you?" Shrimp teased, pointing her fork towards the empty space in front of him. "N-No!" David squeaked, blushing lightly. The topic always seemed to bother him; embarrass him. "I'm just... Really excited today!" He grinned. "How come?" Shrimp asked, taking another bite of the sugary waffle. "Well... It's the first day of July. That means the summer is half way over..." David began. "So I've planned a nice little thing to do today!" Shrimp swallowed the piece of waffle and looked at him, interested. "What are we gonna be doing?" She questioned curiously. "It's a surprise!" David said, leaning slightly closer to Shrimp and winking. Shrimp felt her face heat up a bit as he did this. Once Shrimp had finished she put her dishes away, and not long after the campers were told to do the same. "Alright campers! Lets go! I have a surprise for you all today!" He said, then turned his focus to Shrimp. He quickly grabbed her hand and yanked her to his side before he began to walk outside. They began following a trail they had never been on before, David leading them. "We're doing something special, today. I'll be taking you to my favorite spot of the forest where we'll hang out for the day!" David explained, skipping ahead. The campers seemed somewhat happy about the day off. Though it was silent for the first few minutes while they walked, David suddenly broke the silence. "I know you'll love it, Shrimp." He smiled.
"At least... I hope you do.." Shrimp smiled, attempting to keep up with him so they were side by side. "I'm sure I will." She replied, staring into his blue green eyes. David laughed nervously in reply and turned his head away. Shrimp, her mind wandering off, didn't notice the large log in front of her. "Whoa! Shrimp!" David screeched, quickly grabbing her arm and yanking her towards him. He had pulled so hard that he stumbled backwards, causing Shrimp to fall into him. Why does this always happen? Shrimp found herself on top of David who was laying on the ground. "S-Sorry!" She squeaked, pushing herself back up. She then offered her hand to David and he gladly took it. It took quite a bit of strength to pull up the other, though soon they were both back on their feet and walking again. "Sorry Shrimp... I was trying to help..." David said, glancing down towards the ground. Shrimp looked over at him, noticing the light blush on his face. "It's okay, could of been worse." She had replied with a friendly smile. Minutes passed, and Shrimp kept glancing over at David every once in a while, and she noticed how tense he looked. "Hey David?" She suddenly said after glancing over at him biting his nails. "H-Hm?" David suddenly said, pulling his hand away from his mouth. "You okay? You seem stressed." Shrimp gazed at him with a concerned look, tilting her head. David was nearly jogging now, and Shrimp was struggling to keep up enough so that they could speak. "Y-Yeah! Of course! Everything's great!" David replied, forcing a large grin on his face. "J-Just.. Hoping the trip will go well!" He added, trying not to sound like he was lying. Shrimp nodded and turned her head away with a sigh. Not long after, the rude little camper in the hoodie seemed to notice David's behavior, too. "Ha, David," he began, trotting up to them. "You're acting like you got a crush on Shrimpy." He smirked up at the other, an evil look on his face. "W-W-What?!" David squeaked, jerking his head
around to stare down at Max. "N-N-No..." He said, feeling Shrimp stare at him. His face heated up and caused it to become bright red. Shrimp began walking slower so that they would pass her up, and soon she found herself at the back with the campers. "M-Max... Go back to your friends." David ordered weakly, trying so hard not to glance over at Shrimp. "Whatever," Max said, shrugging before returning to Nikki and Neil's sides. Shrimp began to tremble, gazing down at her shaky hands. She had developed such a strong crush on David-- and she couldn't help but wonder if he felt the same. "S-Shrimp?" A familiar voice called, causing Shrimp to look ahead. David smiled nervously as they made eye contact, as if he were trying to ask her to come back. Shrimp grinned in return, then sped up so that she was walking beside him again. "We're almost there..." He stated, then suddenly slipped the backpack he had been wearing off his shoulders. "W-Would you mind getting everything out while I talk to the campers?" He asked, offering a shy grin. "Sure," Shrimp replied, grinning back. David handed her the backpack and he nodded towards a large cedar tree. "I'll come get you once I'm done." Shrimp nodded in reply and walked over to the tree, then crouched down on the ground as she began to open the pack. Minutes had passed and she had soon sorted everything out, the food and the blankets and things to play with, and not long after David walked up with his hands behind his back with a nervous look on his face. He gazed down at Shrimp, studding all the work she had done. "Good job, Shrimp!" He cheered, followed by a little giggle. He reached out a hand and Shrimp took it, easily pulling her up. She had never noticed it before, but David was surprisingly strong. Though he was soft, innocent, and skinny, all these years in nature seemed to really improve his strength. Once she was on her feet, David bent down to gather everything in his hands after slipping the backpack on his shoulder.
"Do you want me to carry something?" Shrimp offered, since David had his hands filled with things. "N-No! I can handle it." He laughed, then walked off as if it were no problem. Though she could tell all that was a little heavy, even for him, but David wanted to show off his strength to her. Soon they reached David's favorite spot of the forest. It was beautiful; different types of trees were surrounding them, birds were singing so happily, a small, beautiful blue lake, and there was even a little open space decorated with so many different flowers. The campers were gathered in a little circle on the grassy floor with Gwen, and David carefully sat the supplies down. Shrimp watched as he crouched down beside Gwen and whispered something to her, and Gwen had rolled her eyes and nodded in reply. David then pushed himself into a stand and walked over to Shrimp. "David! This place is amazing!" She grinned happily. David was overjoyed by this, a large smile forming on his face. "I'm glad you like it..." He mumbled to her, scratching the back of his neck. "C'mere, I wanna show you something." David then forced himself to grab Shrimp's hand, making them both blush. He then led her to the beautiful lake that Shrimp had noticed before. He let go of her hand and sat down by the water, close enough that the water nearly touched the tips of his shoes. Shrimp sat down beside him, her heart racing madly. "Look!" He suddenly screeched, pointing towards a part of the lake. It was then Shrimp noticed there was something in it; something living. It was a fish, it's scales shimmering in the sunlight as they watched it. "Whoa..." Shrimp said, slowly reaching forward as if she wanted to touch it, but instead she softly touched the cold water of the lake. In seconds, several more fish had swum up, and Shrimp began to watch them all swim around the lake. She did this for a while, and David simply watched with an ear-to-ear smile on his face. His mind began to wander off as he watched, and Shrimp glanced over and noticed this. She smirked, then dipped her hand in the water and cupped it, then quickly flung it out of the water and towards David. This caused the water to splash onto him. When David felt the sudden cold wetness he jumped up in surprise. Shrimp laughed, so hard that David thought he saw tears in her eyes. He smiled, then suddenly dipped his own hand in the water to splash Shrimp in return. Shrimp squealed and giggled, and they began splashing each other back and forth for a few minutes. Finally once they were soaked enough they just sat there laughing for at least a full minute. "Well," David began, still grinning, "It's about lunch time. Wanna get some food?" He offered. "Sure!" Shrimp replied, standing up. David stood up as well then bravely took her hand again and led her to the supplies. The campers were already enjoying their meals in their little circle. David grabbed two sandwiches for the two of them, then took Shrimp away from the others and to a log. He then sat down on the log and Shrimp sat beside him, before David handed her one of the sandwiches and began eating. Shrimp had finished her's before David, so she simply sat there with her head resting on her hands. He let out a small sigh as she gazed up at the sky. It was now mid afternoon, and so far she was enjoying this day and never wanted it to end. David quickly finished up his lunch and stood up, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Shrimp stood up too, and David began to reach for her hand but instead of grabbing it himself, Shrimp reached out and grabbed his hand first. She looked away, her cheeks lighting up. David then decided to show her around the forest, and by the time they had finished it was time for dinner before hiking back. This time they had gathered with the rest of the campers to roast hot dogs in the fire. Though, instead of doing it herself, David insisted that he cook Shrimp's food. He looked so focused while he did it, not wanting to screw it
up and embarrass himself. He then handed Shrimp the clean stick which was piercing the hot dog, smiling. "Thanks, David," she replied, then took a bite out of it. "I-Is it okay?" He asked, staring at her with his blue green eyes as she ate. "Whoa," she mumbled. "This is amazing!" She looked over at David, smiling as she continued to eat her meal. David smiled, relieved that she liked it. "Heyyy," spoke one of the campers. "I want David to cook mine, too!" Shrimp gazed over at Nikki, who had already eaten about two or three hot dogs. "I-I don't think you need anymore," he pointed out. "Meh," Nikki simply replied, shrugging. Before cooking his own dinner, he roasted another for Shrimp and gave it to her. Once everyone had finished their meals, Gwen began packing everything away again before slipping the backpack on. "Lets go, campers." She ordered, turning and walking towards the trail that would lead them back to camp. Shrimp pushed herself up and began walking after them. David jumped up and ran after her, then grabbed her hand and yanked her around to face him. Shrimp stared at him, confused. "I-I... Um..." He began, still holding her hand as he glanced around uncomfortably. "I made a deal with G-Gwen... We can stay a little longer and... I can show you my favorite spot." He inhaled nervously. "I-I mean... If y-you want to..." He gazed down at the ground, his face heating up with embarrassment. "Oh," Shrimp said, her face lighting up. "Of course! I'd love to see it!" She grinned happily, making David look up and smile nervously. He then led her to a clear space with many different trees surrounding them, the ground decorated with flowers. "Wow," Shrimp said, standing in the middle of it all while still holding his warm, shaky hand. "This is beautiful!" "It gets better," David replied before leading her to the edge. He sat down and let his feet dangle off the edge, and Shrimp copied him. She gazed down and saw it wasn't even a long fall, and there was only more
soft grass. "Now," David said, reaching over and lifting her chin up to gaze at the sky. Shrimp's mouth dropped open and her eyes widened, unable to speak. Right in front of her was the most beautiful sunset she had ever seen; there was nothing blocking it, and it was surrounded by nature like it should be. "Whoa....." She whispered softly, her eyes locked on the sky. David smiled happily, instead of watching the sunset he watched Shrimp. He loved the way her eyes sparkled, the way her long hair blew in the wind, he loved everything about her. Then, came the panic. What if he wasn't good enough? He then realized the sun was slowly going down and it would soon be dark, and he had promised Gwen he wouldn't be out too long. David breathed deeply, gazing around nervously. Suddenly he caught sight of a flower near them. It was red, Shrimp's favorite color, with a green stem, David's favorite color. He carefully ripped it out from the ground and stared at it for a few moments, then tapped Shrimp on the shoulder. Shrimp blinked and turned her head, being woken up from her day dream. David stared at her for a few moments, forgetting what he wanted to do. "Uh..." He then remembered and shoved the flower in front of her, turning his head away so she couldn't see how red his face was. Shrimp's heart skipped a beat as she slowly took the flower from his hand, her face turning red as well. David then turned his head towards her once he felt his hand was empty, offering a smile. He then glanced at the sunset which was turning darker and darker with every second he wasted. Do it. Do it. Do it. His head was spinning and his heart was racing, he glanced down at his hands and noticed his whole body was shaking madly. He slowly pushed himself closer to her, their shoulders were soon touching and Shrimp felt her face heat up even more as he did this. "S-S-Shrimp... I-I..." He stammered hard, sweat rolling down his face. "W-W-Would y-you like to..." David paused, reaching a hand up to run it through his auburn hair. "W-W-Would y-you go o-out with m-m-me?" He forced out. He had done it. He had finally asked the question he wanted to ask for such a long, long time. His face was as red as it could get and his heart was racing, and his stomach was full of butterflies. Shrimp was shocked by the question, her eyes were wide and her mouth was open as she stared at him, still holding the flower. Tears slowly escaped her eyes and rolled down her cheeks, and she could hardly hear over the beating of her heart. "Y-Yes..." She sobbed, bringing her hands up to cover her face as she cried. "P-Please don't c-cry..." David squeaked, lifting his weak arms and wrapping them around her, then pulling her into a tight, tight hug. Though as he said this, tears began to leak from his own eyes. Shrimp's hands left her face as she tightly wrapped her arms around his neck, sobbing into his shoulder. They stood like that for a long time, just hugging and crying on eachother's shoulders, both extremely happy. After a long while they found themselves on the ground, still hugging. And soon they had both fallen asleep on the grassy floor, not caring that they were supposed to be back by now.
Shrimp's eyes fluttered open, and she would of rolled out of bed and gotten dressed like any other day, but she wasn't in bed. In fact, she wasn't in her room. Shrimp gasped and pushed herself into a sit, panicking. At first she didn't know where she was or what had happened, until she remembered last night. It was then she glanced down and saw David's hand laying on her lap. He had had his arm around her as they slept, and it had slid off when she pushed herself up. Shrimp quickly shifted and his hand slid off. "David!" She called, shaking him awake. He awoke almost instantly and popped right up as if he didn't need sleep. "S-Shrimp?" He squeaked, realizing where they were. "Oh no... Oh no... Oh no..." Shrimp whined, panicking. Her body began to shake and David sat up in front of her, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Shrimp. It's okay. Calm down." Shrimp felt tears in her eyes and she quickly stood up, exhaling deeply. "W-We gotta get back..." She cried, still shaking. "S-Shrimp, it's okay..." Shrimp shook her head and crossed her arms, gazing down. "J-Just take us h-home..." David's eyes widened at this. "You think of it as your home?" He asked, tilting his head. "P-Please David!" She pleaded, tears beginning to escape her eyes. "N-No! Don't cry please! I'll take you home!" David grabbed Shrimp's arm and lead her back to camp, trying to go fast yet trying to comfort Shrimp at the same time. Finally they had arrived, Shrimp was wiping tears from her eyes and David had one arm swung around her shoulders in a protective and loving way. As soon as Gwen saw them, she growled deeply and stomped up. "What. The. Fuck. David." She roared. "Do you know what time it is?" She questioned, pointing at his chest. "U-Um... N-No?" He said, holding Shrimp tighter to him. "It's freaking eleven! Where the hell have you been?!" She hissed. "I-I'm sorry Gwen... I-I fell asleep... And Shrimp doesn't know her way back..." David had replied. Shrimp looked at him, confused. He waslying to his co-counselor and taking the blame all for Shrimp. "Shrimp!" Gwen hissed, looking as if she were ready to hurt her. David yanked her even closer to him as Gwen did this. "Why didn't you wake him up?!" Shrimp looked around, then at the ground, unable to speak. "I was in a deep sleep Gwen... You know I've been up all night for the past few weeks..." Gwen then turned towards David. "And? What for?" She placed her hands on her hips and glared at him as she waited for an answer. "I-I was thinking about S-Shrimp.." She said softly, causing Shrimp to blush. "Ugh. Just wait until I tell Cameron David, just wait." With this, David's arm slipped off Shrimp's shoulders as Gwen turned and walked off. David ran after her, and quickly stopped her. "No! No, please! I'm begging you, Gwen! Please!" He pleaded, tears in his eyes. "Shut up David. Nothing you do can stop me." Gwen hissed, turning around to shove him away which caused David to fall. "B-But Shrimp's innocent!" He argued, now on the ground on his hands and knees. "I didn't say I was telling on her," Gwen replied before slamming the door. David sighed and placed his hands on the ground, gazing down at the grass. "D-David!" Shrimp cried, running to his side. She sat down next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her and forced the fakest smile she had ever seen on his face. "I-I did it Shrimp! Y-You're not g-getting fired!" He said, trying to sound joyful though he sounded so broken. "David... I'm not staying if you're not..." She replied, staring into his teary eyes. "B-But Shrimp--" He began, though Shrimp cut him off. "I've made my choice. I want to be with you." Shrimp said, wrapping her arms around his neck in a hug. "S-Shrimp..." David squeaked, his voice sounding as if he was about to break down. "I don't wanna leave Camp Campbell..." He began to sob into her, causing Shrimp to panic a little. She simply stayed silent and let him cry, holding him tight to let him know she cared andthat she was here for him. A few minutes passed before David pulled away and looked at Shrimp's face. "T-Thank you..." He said, before quickly hugging her again. He then stood and helped Shrimp as well. "We better go help Gwen," Shrimp reminded. "Oh," David said, wiping his eyes. "Do you want to relax for a little?" Shrimp offered, seeing David still looked upset. "N-No, it's--" "Davey, I can handle it. Just a short break. You need it," Shrimp said, cutting him off. David simply nodded, then pulled Shrimp into another hug and kissed the top of her head before pulling away and walking off.The day felt longer than it was, both David and Shrimp were worried about their jobs. Not only that, but them. David was able to relax in his room for about an hour which left Shrimp to do twice the work and deal with an angry Gwen. Once he had returned she was much happier, often glancing over at him just to get that burst of happiness that he always gave her. Finally, it was time for dinner. Shrimp hadn’t gotten a chance to speak with David since this morning, and was excited to be by his side again. Tonight they were having simply pizza, since they were all so behind and needed something simple. They were all fine with that, of course. After Shrimp had gotten her two slices she happily walked over to the table David sat at. “Hey, Shrimp.” David had said, looking up from his plate as she sat down. He offered a smile and Shrimp gave one in return. Shrimp had begun eating and a few minutes had passed before David spoke up. “Shrimp?” Shrimp laid her pizza slice back on the plate and gazed up at him. “Yeah?” David wiped his mouth quickly though there was nothing on it and scratched the back of his neck nervously. “W-Well... I’ve been thinking... I don’t think I’ll be able to... Take you on that d-date anytime s-soon..” He sighed, beginning to stutter. Shrimp felt her face heat up as she stared at him, panicking. What had she done? Why was he changing his mind about her? Who had changed his mind? Shrimp’s head spun with questions which all added to the sickness she began to feel. “O-Oh... O-Okay I under-s-stand...” She had replied, pushing her dinner away as she glanced down at her hands. She didn’t want David to see the tears in her eyes and she was forcing them back. “P-Please don’t be mad... Once I have all this worked out I’ll have enough money to take you where you deserve...” David had said softly, reaching out a hand to touch her shoulder. “W-What?” Shrimp squeaked, lifting her head up to stare at him. “S-So... You didn’t change your mind?” She asked, wanting to be sure. “About what?” David replied. “About... L- uh... Ta- um...” Shrimp stuttered, her face becoming red. “Oh!” David suddenly gasped, the confused look on his face fading away. “N-No Shrimp, I’d love to take you out... I-I just don’t know i-if I’ll still have my job... So I don’t know if I’ll have money...” David explained. “D-David... You don’t have to spend any money on me..” Shrimp replied nervously. “But I w-want you happy, Shrimp.” David answered, staring into her eyes. “But I’m happy right now.. I’m happy always... I’m happy as long as I’m with you.” Shrimp’s face had turned into a bright red color by now, her palms sweating. “R-Really?” David questioned. Shrimp nodded. “But... How can it be a date if I don’t take you somewhere?” Shrimp thought for a moment. “What if I take you out?” She offered, though she regretted it since it sounded so odd. “W-What? W-Why? N-No, you don’t have to...” David squeaked quietly. “Like you said, I’m going to be able to keep my job, so I’ll have the money. We can plan it out and take a vacation day and spend the whole day together..” Shrimp noticed she was thinking out loud. “Hnng...” David whined, bringing his hand up to his mouth as he began to chew his nails again. He wanted her happy, and he did want to go out with her, but it felt so wrong to make her pay for everything. “O-Okay... I can just... Take you out anyway.. Just a little money won’t hurt...” David said, giving up. “David, no. I already offered to pay for it all, why don’t you just let me?” She stared at the nervous other who kept making nervous actions. David let out a loud whine as he placed his elbows on the table and laid his head in his hands. Suddenly they heard Gwen stomp over. “Get your butt up, David.” She hissed, grabbing his bandana and tugging it so tightly that David let out a coughing sound. Suddenly, there was a different sound and at first she didn’t know what it was. She glanced around the room then figured out it was right in front of her. She gasped as she watched the yellow fabric of David’s bandana begin to rip apart. “G-Gwen! N-No! Please stop!” David pleaded. Gwen let go, not noticing what was happening. “Er, oops. Sorry David.” She then pointed towards the campers who were putting away their dishes. “Bed,” She simply said, then turned away and walked off. Shrimp looked over at David and her heart quickly sunk. He had untied the bandana and it was now laying on his hands in front of him. Tears began streaming down his face as he stared at it, and he looked quite odd without it. Shrimp knew Gwen would get angry soon so she stood, not having time to comfort David at the moment, so she simply reached over and planted a quick kiss on his cheek before leading the campers to their tents. Once she had returned David was still sitting there, his face now berried in his ripped bandana. “D-Davey...” Shrimp said in a kind tone, sitting down next to him. “It’s okay. Don’t cry please...” she begged, her hands laid softly on his shoulders. “Do you have a sowing machine here?” She asked. “No one knows how to use it...” He sobbed. “Where is it?” David simply nodded towards a closet and Shrimp stood, walking over to it. David opened his mouth to speak but Shrimp had quickly yanked the door open. Suddenly an avalanche of tons of different things piled down on her, knocking Shrimp over as she screeched in terror. “Shrimp!” David called, putting down his bandana and rushing over to her. Shrimp whined in pain over all the heavy items that had fallen on her. “I’m so sorry!” David cried, then quickly began lifting things off her and setting it aside, once more showing her how strong he was. Shrimp’s eyes seemed to sparkle as she gazed up at him. He quickly reached his hand out and Shrimp hesitated a bit before grabbing it. He easily pulled her up and she then suddenly wrapped her arms around him, then pointed towards the sowing machine that was against the wall. She then gazed up at David, his face looking simply shocked and confused. She then pulled away and picked up the machine. “Can I have your bandana?” She asked kindly. David paused and gazed at the yellow item that meant so much to him that laid on the table. “P-Please... Be careful.” Shrimp nodded to him before grabbing it, then she would walk into her room to set it up. “Goodnight then, I guess...” David said sadly. Ever since they met they had said goodnight before bed, but now Shrimp had forgotten. His heart sank even though he knew he should be thankful that she was fixing his bandanna. But before he could walk into his own room and whine to himself, Shrimp came running over to him out of no where. He panicked a little, as if he was expected to do some sort of trick with her. Instead, Shrimp flung her arms around him and hugged him tightly. “Goodnight!” She smiled. David gazed down at her, his face heating up. He then hugged her in return before watching her skip into her room.
Shrimp lifted her head from off her hands, then gazed around her as she noticed she wasn’t in her bed. She was sitting at her desk, leaned over so that her head laid on the table. She quickly switched off the lamp since there was no need for it, it was already morning. She gazed down at the bright yellow bandana that her hands rested on. She pulled her hands away and gazed at it, realizing she had slept on top of David’s bandana. It smelled just like him, which wasn’t surprising since he wore it all the time. She wasn’t sure how to describe it, though it smelled somewhat like nature. She ran her finger across the place it had been ripped, now sowed back together neatly. She had tried to get it so perfect and it had taken so long that cone she had finished, she simply fell asleep right there. She turned her chair towards her bed and dresser where her clock rested. She then pushed herself out of the chair quickly, realizing breakfast was half way over. She quickly dressed herself and got ready for the day, leaving the bandana on her desk as she did this. Finally, she grabbed the bandana carefully and opened the door before sort of rushing down the hall to the cafeteria. She gazed over at the normal table Shrimp and David sat at and sure enough, just as she expected, he was sitting there. She quickly speed walked over to the other, gripping the bandana in her hand. “Hi David!” She chirped happily, sitting herself down next to him. At first he hadn’t noticed her, focused on his meal. He felt so exposed and weird without the bandana covering his neck. Once he heard Shrimp’s voice his head jerked up and immediately a smile stretched across his face. “Morning, Shrimp.” He replied, his eyes beginning to dart everywhere in search of his bandana. She had been hiding it under the table and as she saw the nervous look on his face, she brought it up so that he could see. “O-Oh! Shrimp! Thank you so much!” He cried happily, reaching out his hands to grab the item as Shrimp loosened her grip so that he could take it. He quickly spread it out to stare at it, amazed about how perfect it looked. He excitedly tied it around his neck again and gazed over at Shrimp with a toothy smile. “Thank you!” He repeated, reaching out to her before pulling her into a hug. “No problem,” she yawned, hugging him in return. He pulled away after a few short moments and was getting ready to continue his breakfast before realizing Shrimp hadn’t gotten breakfast. “Here,” he suddenly said, stabbing the piece of pancake and pushing it towards her. Shrimp panicked for a moment then decided to simply open her mouth, accepting the food he was offering and biting it off the fork. Her face heated up a little as she giggled, her face turning light pink. “Still hungry?” David laughed. “I’m good,” Shrimp replied, chuckling again. “But really,” David began, “We still have time for you to get some breakfast.” Shrimp simply shook her head and turned towards the table. She placed her elbows on top of it and laid her head on her hands as David continued eating his pancakes. Soon it was time for their daily activities and everyone had put their food away like normal. “We’re doing archery today!” Exclaimed David, skipping outside as the rest followed. “We’ll have to take a small walk to a little clearing near the camp where I have everything set up!” Shrimp followed close behind, simply walking like everyone else since she wasn’t as full of energy as David. After David had skipped ahead for about a minute, he slowed down so that he could be near his friend. A few short minutes had passed, the two walking side by side silently and only stealing glances every once in a while. One of the times, though, they had glanced at each other at the same time and their eyes locked. They had stared at each other for a few short seconds before they both turned their head away, their faces glowing a bright red color as a little smile tugged at their lips. Shrimp hadn’t noticed, but David had stolen another quick look at her after she had turned away, a goofy grin on his face. A few minutes passed and suddenly Shrimp had turned her head towards David, seeing that he had lifted his hand and pushed his bandana up to his face, pressing onto the tip of his nose. He inhaled the scent of the clothing and turned towards Shrimp, letting go of the bandana. “It smells like you!” He giggled goofily. “I— yeah, I kinda um... Fell asleep on it.” She admitted, wincing as she said it. “Wow, really? You didn’t have to work that hard, Shrimp... I didn’t mean to keep you up all night.” David had replied, his smile fading as he suddenly felt guilt for causing her to be exhausted. “No. It’s okay.. S-Sorry..” David suddenly moved closer to her, his hands now lifted toward his bandana. “No Shrimp, you have no reason to be sorry. You spent enough time trying to make it perfect for me to make you exhausted. And yet you were still on time to come and brighten up my morning. Plus...” David paused, sliding slightly closer so that they were only a few feet apart. “Y-You smell good.” David spat, though he realized how good it sounded in his mind wasn’t the same when he said it out loud and in front of Shrimp. “H-Huh?” Shrimp squeaked, her heart thumping loudly as she blushed. “I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean for it to sound creepy!” David stuttered, his hands flying up to cover his madly blushing face. “I s-swear I w-wasn’t trying to b-be!” He spat out, now walking slower as he pointed his hidden face down so that Shrimp couldn’t see. “I-It’s okay...” Shrimp responded softly, her own face becoming redder. For the remaining time it took to reach the clearing David spoke of, they walked silently and extremely awkwardly near each other the whole time. There were moments where David would speed up and leave Shrimp behind, but he would always slow down so that he was next to her again. Finally they had reached the area where they would spend the rest of the day instructing the campers on how to use a real bow and arrow.
"Davey?" Shrimp had called, speeding up so that he was by his side. They were now on their way back to camp, and poor David had had a bad day. "Are you okay?" Shrimp asked in a concerned voice, reaching up to place her hand on his shoulder. "Y-Yeah.. It's okay Shrimp. The arrow didn't hit me.." He replied, glancing over at her. "David, that was close. Please be careful next time!" Shrimp whined at the clumsy other. He had accidentally moved in front of Max's target while he was getting ready to shoot, and Max, being the little piece of crap he was, pulled the arrow back and let it go towards David. David remembered how quick it all happened, his heart skipped a beat as he heard Shrimp's terrified scream. But, luckily, Max had failed to shoot him and it simply stabbed the ground in front of him. "I-I'm sorry Shrimp..." David in an ashamed voice, dipping his head. "P-Please... I don't wanna loose you..." Shrimp squeaked, quickly wrapping her arms around the other and hugged him. After a few moments she pulled away and suddenly asked, "David, why have you been acting so different today?" David sighed and turned his head towards her. "I-I'm scared, Shrimp.." He simply responded. "This morning... Gwen told Mr. Campbell about my mistakes..." David inhaled deeply, shutting his eyes for a moment. "D-Davey..." Shrimp squeaked, suddenly latching onto his arm. "He can't fire his best counselor.." She said softly and calmly."He wouldn't. And he won't." David turned his head towards her, revealing his sparkling eyes as a smile spread on his face. He suddenly took his farthest arm and swung it towards her, grabbing her warm shoulder and pulling her closer to him. Shrimp's face became red as her face pressed into David's shoulder, walking slowly now, keeping up with him. David nuzzled into her silky soft hair, breathing in the lovely scent. He then found his lips pressing onto her hair, slowly sliding down her head until his lips met just above her eyebrows, and his lips lingered there for a few moments before he pulled his head away. Shrimp smiled as she lifted her head off of his shoulder, a blush spreading to her ears. Slowly his hand slid off her own shoulder, then fell by his side again. David carefully placed his arm around her shoulders softly, keeping her next to his body. They sped up a little, realizing the rest of the camp was right behind and watching. Though they decided, Why should we care what they think? The only thing holding David back from pressing his own lips onto Shrimp's was the fact that whatever her reaction was, it would either break him or build him, and he was too afraid to take the risk. So, he simply kept his arm around his beloved one in a protective yet sweet way, allowing the weight of his job to fly off his shoulders temporarily. Before they knew it, the counselor's cabin came in sight and David's arm slowly slid off Shrimp's shoulders as he skipped ahead, leaving Shrimp to quietly giggle to herself in such a goofy way that Max actually gagged. Soon they had set up dinner, which was once again spaghetti. Neither Shrimp nor David had gotten any, though, their stomachs too full with butterflies to make room for food. Shrimp had noticed Gwen no longer sat with them, she had guessed Gwen had gotten tired of how close they were. Shrimp suddenly raised her head hopefully, hearing the sound of her beloved David approach. He glanced up at her nervously, holding an object in his hand that Shrimp hadn't seen him with before; his phone. It had a green case with a darker green tree on it, matching his shirt's design. He slowly slid onto the seat next to Shrimp, propping his elbows on the table as his hands shakily held the object. "M-Mr. Campbell sent me something," he inhaled fearfully. "You'll be okay, David," Shrimp said softly, scooting closer to the other as she attempted to comfort him. The terrified David slowly tapped the messages app on his screen with a '1' above it. It soon opened up his messages and Shrimp attempted not to glance at his contacts and invade his privacy. Letting out yet another shaken breath, he tapped the new message from Cameron. Shrimp's eyes began to dart curiously across the screen as she read it, nearly touching David now. It read: 'David. I am extremely disappointed to hear you not only fell asleep on the job, but missed nearly a whole day of camp and put all the work on Gwen's shoulders. Not only that, but kept the other counselor from working as well. Being the founder, I have no choice but to come up there myself, tomorrow at about noon and speak to you about this face-to-face.' A hand quickly flew up to Shrimp's mouth as she read, shocked and angered by the message. It was then Shrimp gazed over at David; sweat was slipping down his forehead and he had lifted a hand to scratch the back of his neck, not bothering to glance at Shrimp or anything but the screen. "D-Davey..." Shrimp said softly, her hand reaching up to lay upon his shoulder. "Teh-heh." David laughed sarcastically. "I'm gonna loose my fucking job." Shrimp gazed up at him, tears threatening to flow down his face like a waterfall. She was somewhat shocked by his words, though in this sort of situation, she wasn't. "He didn't say that," Shrimp said calmly, lifting up her hand as she wiped the tears from his eyes softly with the soft fingertip of her thumb. "He just wants to talk Davey... What the hell would they do without you?" Shrimp moved even closer to David, wrapping one of her arms around him in a comforting way. "I promise to you David, you are not leaving this camp. Okay? You do believe me, right? Don't you trust me?" She stared up at him, who still refused to look at her and instead was just staring at the screen of his phone. Fine, if David wanted to act so helpless, Shrimp would just take care of him for him, so what? Slowly she reached out a hand and slowly wrapped her fingers around the object and David let her slide it out of his hands. One hand still around David, she used her other hand to type in reply, 'Yes sir.' She then shut off his phone and let her arm slide off of him, standing. "Let's go to bed Davey, we've got a big day tomorrow." David simply nodded in reply, looking as if he were half asleep and just staring off into space. She slowly reached and slid her fingers into his hand, pulling him up from the chair. "Come on Davey." She spoke so softly, carefully leading him to his room. "Please don't stress. Sleep. You need it." She demanded, turning towards him. "Goodnight, my little Davey." She reached up and softly kissed his cheek, her lips only lingering there for a few seconds before she pulled away. David hung his head, not bothering to reply, then turned towards his door and entered his room.
The alarm startled Shrimp as her eyes quickly opened. She reached out a hand to slap the clock so that it silenced so no one else would be awoken. She then pushed herself out of bed with a yawn, quickly slipping into her new clothes. She glanced over at the clock again; 4:21 AM. She let out a small, sleepy sigh as she turned towards the door, carefully opening it. Hours later, she heard footsteps come near her. She jerked her head up, pausing as she scrubbed the table. "Oh, good morning David," she greeted, offering a warm smile. "Uh, morning?-- Whoa," David paused, freezing in his tracks as he glanced around the room. It was sparkling clean from top to bottom. Shrimp let out a small giggle as she set down the wet rag on the table, her eyes sparkling. She turned towards him and let her hands fall down by her sides, before grabbing one of her own wrists and holding it there. She gazed up at David with a shy smile, a sweet look on her face. "H-How? Why?" David began to question, walking up to her. "I just got up early. Thought it might help if the camp looked nice for the one you look up to." She grinned, folding her arms over her chest. "Oh, Shrimp--" David began, covering his mouth with shock using one of his hands as he began to gaze around the area again. "You wanna know something?" He suddenly said, turning towards Shrimp again. She simply nodded, tilting her head slightly. "You're the one look up to," he forced out, his voice cracking slightly with nervousness as he spoke. Shrimp smiled at him, but it was a somewhat weak smile. "I mean, I don't know how long that will last," she mumbled under her breath, turning around again before reaching for the rag so she could continue to wipe down the table. "Huh?" David asked, quickly reaching out to grab her wrist before she could begin to slide it down the wooden surface. "I just mean," Shrimp began, letting out a small sigh as she allowed him to stop her. "I won't be much of a hero if I make you loose your job." She regretted saying it; Shrimp knew he was stressed enough about this but at the same time she didn't want to lie to him. David was silent for a moment, freezing up a bit. He then reached over to Shrimp's face and softly grabbed her chin, then carefully pulled her head towards him so he could see her face. "Shrimp..." He began, taking a deep breath. "No matter what happens... You'll mean more to me than anyone or anything else in this world." Shrimp's jaw dropped in awe, her blue eyes staring into David's. She felt her face begin to heat up which caused a redness on her face to spread to her ears. She was leaned over the table, one hand on the rag and the other against the wet wood, and David was leaned towards her, one hand on the table and the other holding her chin as they gazed into each other's eyes. It was then they suddenly heard the sound of many footsteps hit the ground, becoming louder as they came closer. David's arm fell as he let go of Shrimp's chin, straightening himself up as he backed away. Shrimp hardly moved; she was still leaned over the table frozen, her eyes following the kind man she was falling for. Many children entered the room, demanding food as they sat down at their tables. Shrimp quickly grabbed the rag and backed away from the table before she could get run over by whoever would sit here. Though as she began to back away from the table and head for the sink where she was planning to toss the rag in, Shrimp felt a sudden pain shoot through her foot like electricity. Nearly letting out a yelp of distress, she froze up and looked around for whoever stomped on her foot. In front of her stood a roundish boy with spikey chestnut hair. Shrimp's mouth opened as she began to speak, but before she could get a full word out the boy suddenly swung his leg back before shoving it forward, knocking right into her shin. This time, she was unable to silence the scream of pain that ran through her leg. David, who had been getting breakfast ready for the campers, spun around at the sound of Shrimp's yell and sprinted forward. "What's wrong?!" He cried, reaching out his hands that eventually touched her shoulders as he gazed worriedly at her. "RETARD!" Nurf shouted, his finger flying up to her face as he rudely pointed towards her. Shrimp stumbled back a little at the sudden yell and finger pointed in her face, bringing her hands up to her chest. "W-Wha? Re-- Nurf!" David stuttered, a frown forming on his pinkish colored face. "That's the last thing you should be calling her! Look how hard she worked to make this place so beautiful! Now, if you'd kindly just get your breakfast and sit down, we wouldn't have to continue this conversation." He protectively spat, his grip on Shrimp's shoulders tightening. "Oh, oh, oh, wait... Are you guys dating?" A voice behind them shrieked, casing the two to turn around. "I-- Well... Uh--" David squeaked, looking away from Nikki and down at the floor. He let go of Shrimp's shoulders and as one arm fell to his side, the other flew up to scratch the back of his neck nervously. Shrimp, pretty tired of all the drama that had already happened this morning, simply walked towards the sink where she laid the wet cloth, then sat at the normal table. David coughed a little towards Nikki and the others who were staring at him, then decided to follow her. Once he sat down, it was silent for a few minutes, before suddenly Shrimp's hand found it's way to David's shoulder. As he felt her warm, soft hand lay upon his shoulder, he jerked his head towards her and a smile crept up on his face. "Davey," she said softly yet seriously, "I know you're scared but... Don't be. Be brave, okay? For me..." She gazed into his eyes, wanting to say more, wanting to protect him, wanting to comfort him. He simply nodded and sighed, lifting a hand and lifting it towards his face so he could gaze down at his watch. "He should be here soon," he announced, his voice shaken.
"Did someone say, Campbell?!" The sudden yell caused literally everyone to jump, jerking around as the doors flung open and revealed the large man with grey hair. He proudly placed his hands on his hips as he grinned at everyone smugly. Shrimp rolled her eyes but noticed David begin to tension up majorly. "Davey!" He yelled again, followed by loud footsteps coming nearer. David, startled and overly nervous, popped right up and turned towards Mr. Campbell. "Yes sir!" He said, for once acting more serious. "I suppose we'll need to have a little talk. Is it okay here or would you like to go in private?" David felt a slight bit of relief since he wouldn't be humiliated in front of all the campers. "Well, if it would be alright--" he began, though suddenly he was cut off by Mr. Campbell. "Alright! Right here it is!" A nervous 'hnng' escaped from David's mouth as Cameron slapped his back roughly, making him jerk forward. Cameron lead him to the middle of the room and Shrimp could feel her anger begin to boil up. He was trying to hurt him. The poor innocent David grinned nervously, sweat beginning to slip down his forehead and travel down his face. "Well, Davey," Campbell began, once again making his proud and annoying pose. "You stayed out late, leaving Gwen with all the campers, forced her to take care of them for the night, didn't get back until eleven," he paused to take a breath, ignoring the fact that David was literally falling apart in front of him. "And not only did you fall asleep on the job, but not even at your job, AND, to make it worse, you dragged Shell into this." He crossed his arms over his chest as he glared at David with a fake disappointed look. "Uh, it's Shrimp..." Shrimp pointed out quietly, only to be ignored. "Y-Yes sir, I-I apologize for that--" he began, looking like a mess. "David," Campbell said, his voice deep and 'serious'. "I feel that I have no choice, but to fire you from Camp Campbell." Shrimp's eyes widened and her jaw dropped with awe at his words. David, oh poor little innocent, sweet David. He froze, staring at the tall man with his terrified blue green eyes. He opened his mouth to reply but only made horrified, quiet noises. He stumbled backwards, nearly missing the chair as he flopped into it. His hands covered his face, salty warm liquid streaming down his cheeks and leaking from his eyes. Mr. Campbell puffed out his chest and pretended to act tough or something, but before he could say some other stupid crap the anger began to spill out of Shrimp. "Um, excuse me, Mr. Campbell?" She said loudly, the anger obvious in her voice. She stood up, walking over to the large man. "Yes, Shell?" Shrimp laughed sarcastically. "Oh, again, it's Shrimp. And might I ask why you are kicking the only person keeping this place together out over something as silly as missing a few hours?" She hissed, attempting to make herself seem bigger by standing on her toes and puffing out her chest. "Well, Shrimp, I don't think David's the only person. In fact, he's ruining it with his mistakes. You and Gwen can handle it." Shrimp let out a 'ha' as she spun around, then glared up at him again. "Mistakes? Who said we're perfect?" Mr. Campbell began to get angry, since Shrimp was actually right. "Excuse me, Shrimp, but you do know I have the power to fire you too, right?" "Oh," Shrimp said dramatically but in a sarcastic way. "Please don't. Then it'll only be Gwen, just like before right? But it'll be okay, because that's nothing compared to a few hours! I'm sure she'll love taking care of fifteen kids by herself because she already loves sharing them with two others!" Mr. Campbell growled, glaring down at her; his hands balled up into fists. "Yes, I'm sure she will. Right, Gwen?" He turned towards Gwen who was sitting at a table alone, reading another one of her weird books. "Um, no. I can get another job if I want to," she shrugged, kicking her feet up on top of the wooden table. Cameron frowned and looked back at Shrimp. "He can't stay here," he simply replied. "Why not?" Shrimp spat in return. "He broke the rules," he hissed, bending down so that his face was in front of her's. "Oh, Mr. Campbell. Don't you break the law?" Shrimp responded slyly, a smirk stretching across her face. With this, Cameron pulled his face away and stood normal, gazing around the room as if he were looking for something. He folded his arms over his chest and for the longest time he stood there, thinking. "Okay, fine, David. You can stay. But one more mistake and you're gone!" He added, trying to sound scary again. "OH! Thank you Mr. Campbell! Thank you so so much!" David screamed, jumping right out of his seat and leaping up to Cameron. He nearly wrapped his arms around him as if he were his father, but he caught himself and pulled his arms back, grinning. "Aha!" Mr. Campbell laughed, making his cringey proud pose once more. "No problem, Davey!" As he walked out of the camp, Shrimp glared at him. After all of that, bravely standing up for him and risking her job, David thanked the one that was trying to fire him?! She knew she should be thankful it all turned out alright, but she couldn't help being disappointed that she got no reward from David. She was about to sit down again, her heart aching a little with disappointment, and simply rest there for a few moments as she waited the normal activities. But, before she could, two warm, skinny arms wrapped around her neck and rested upon her shoulders. He leaped up on her so excitedly and suddenly that she fell over, pinning her down to the ground. "Shrimp," She heard him squeal, nuzzling his face into her neck. "T-Thank you, so much... You saved me..." These words caused a blush to spread on her face, along with her heart racing. She could feel warm little droplets of liquid roll down her neck, which caused her to realize David was crying. She awkwardly laid there on the floor, David on top of her and crying into her. He seemed to realize how weird it must be for her and pulled his arms away before using them to push him up. He found himself right on top of her, their eyes locked. His face became red and he quickly moved off of her and sat down. Shrimp pushed herself up into a sit as David wiped the tears from his eyes. "Shrimp," he suddenly said, gazing over at her. "Would you be free tonight?"
Fanfiction
{WIP}
Shrimp is a new counselor at Camp Campbell, and she has no idea what it's like at a camp. But suddenly, she meets David, an innocent, kind, perfect counselor.
Shrimp would breathe nervously, staring at the door of Camp Campbell as she held a medium sized suit case in her sweaty right hand. She had never been in a camp-- as a camper or a counselor, so she was nervous. What would the camp be like? She wasn't very strict, and she disliked yelling and anything like that. Shrimp would stare down at her feet, but by the time she realized she had been standing there at the door for a long time, it was too late. The door had swung open, and she had jerked her head up. She had felt her face heat up with embarrassment, a large smile tugging at her lips as she stared at the friendly face that had greeted her. "Hi!" The other had said, a ear-to-ear smile on his face. Shrimp stood there for a few awkward seconds trying to get herself to speak. "H-hi!" She had said, her face turning red. Either he had totally ignored it or he hadn't seen it, because he simply welcomed her in. She had walked into what seemed like many ten year olds enjoying their breakfast, which caused her stomach to get jealous and begin to growl. The other that had greeted her had noticed this. "Oh, I'll get you some food!" Shrimp was tempted to say no thanks, but he had already turned and she was quite hungry. Soon he had returned and handed her a bowl of cereal, the smile still on his face. Shrimp had thanked him then allowed herself to sit at an empty table as she began eating. She had her back turned to the others but she could feel their eyes glancing at her curiously. That was when Shrimp had realized she hadn't told the guy her name. She had winced-- she didn't like her name, it was odd and most made fun of her for it. She could hear the loud talking and laughing behind her, but she simply ignored it as she sat there eating. She had gotten lost in her thoughts and hardly noticed that the other sit next to her. "I'm so sorry!" He had said, causing Shrimp to jerk her head up with surprise as she turned her focus to him. "I never introduced myself.
I'm David," he was still smiling ear-to-ear somehow. Shrimp's face was already hurting slightly from all the smiles she had stretched on her face. "I-I'm well.. Uh..." Her face had become red as she paused, a bit embarrassed to share her name with David. Should she lie? No, no! The camp wouldn't like that, what a foolish idea. But still, David was different from the others-- he made her sort of nervous. Or maybe it was just because he had the power to fire her. David had tilted his head. "What is it?" Shrimp had shook her head, blushing. "N-nothing... It's just uh... A silly name, that's all.." David would laugh a little. "Oh, don't worry about that. Just tell me!" His voice was so cheerful, so happy. She decided to trust this David and hit him with her strange name. "I'm... I'm Shrimp." David had let out a laugh, causing Shrimp to look at her shoes with her face bright red. She could feel some of the campers stare. Her eyes stung and she began to regret coming. David had noticed this and placed a warm hand on her shoulder, causing her to feel a shiver down her spine. "Oh, no, I wasn't trying to laugh at you! I'm sorry! It's a special name, mine's just plain 'David'." Shrimp glanced up at him. "I like your name though." David had smiled, then stuck out his hand in front of her. Shrimp paused a moment before shaking his hand with her own. "Breakfasts about over. You ready for some activities?" He grinned, jumping out of his seat joyfully. "Y-yeah!" Shrimp said, standing up as well. But, being her clumsy self, she had spilled the remains of her cereal. "Ahh!" She had screeched, picking up the bowl before it tumbled over the edge of the table. Milk had smiled on her camp shirt and she was beginning to panic. "Oh, don't worry!" David had said, skipping over to the paper towels before cleaning up the mess. "Is that your only shirt?" He had asked her, and Shrimp nodded silently. "You can barrow one of mine, might be a little big though!" He chuckled, then dashed over
to get one of his shirts that looked just like the others. Shrimp had let out a stressed sigh as she allowed herself to sit back down. I've been here for a few minutes and I've already embarrassed myself like five times. David soon returned and handed Shrimp her shirt. "Thanks.." She had said, standing up as she held the clean shirt in her hands. David pointed her to the restroom where she had changed and quickly came out. The shirt was large on her, since Shrimp was shorter than the tall other. Though they both were quite skinny. David smiled warmly at her as she thanked him once more. "Alright, lets introduce you to the campers. Then we can do some activities!"
Shrimp had nodded, a smile still on her face though it was getting sour. She had taken the bowl with a small bit of milk left to the kitchen before follow David outside. He had called the campers out and Shrimp would hide her hands behind her back, nervously standing next to David. She kept glancing at him for some reason, though once the kids were settled she began to study them. "Who the f is this?" Spat one of the kids, wearing a blue hoodie as he glanced at Shrimp then at David. "This is Shrimp!" David had stated. Shrimp felt as if she had shrank as the kids began to laugh at her name, staring down at her dirty black shoes. She felt herself blush as she listened to their giggles. "Hey! That is-- not very... Polite!" He said, struggling to say anything near being rude. Shrimp hid a small smile at this. "What is her real name?" The same kid had asked again, this time looking at Shrimp as if he wanted her to answer. "It's Shrimp, like I said." Shrimp glanced up as they giggled again. "Wow, really?" He had
laughed. Shrimp poked the ground with her shoe, still staring at the ground. "I happen to really like her name!" David stated, putting his hands on his hips as he glared at the campers. "It's okay... You don't have to lie..." Shrimp said softly, her eyes stinging again. "Pfft, no one cares Shrimpy." The blue hoodie camper had snorted. "Max! I'm tired of your attitude!" He said, then walked over closer to Shrimp who seemed close to tears at the moment. Shrimp was expecting one of those pats on the back and a 'tough it out' things, but instead he wrapped his warm arms around her. She felt her face turn a bright red as she was suddenly being hugged. Her mouth had opened but nothing had came out, and she could hear the campers giggle again. Once he pulled away from the hug he had said, "Hugs always make me feel better!" The camper known as Max had rolled his eyes. Shrimp stood there, frozen. The hug had made her feel better, all thanks to David. "Anyways!" He said, standing up straight as he casually laid his arm on Shrimp's shoulders. Shrimp raised her head and smiled kindly at the campers, acting as if she had never embarrassed herself. Though she had already messed up so many times and was feeling quite small, the hug from David and the fact that his arm was laying on her shoulders gave her a boost of confidence. "Like I said, this is Shrimp. She's our newest counselor!" Shrimp's smile became smaller as some of the campers groaned, though some happily greeted her. "This isn't gonna be like the last one right? As stupid as you are you probably just hired Daniel's wife." Max huffed coldly, glaring at David. "What? No! She's not even--" he paused and suddenly looked over at Shrimp's hand. Noticing the small ring on her left hand, he pointed it out. "Wait Shrimp, you're married?!" He pointed at the small pink diamond on her hand, shaped as a heart. Shrimp gazed up at David's face, noticing his smile was now gone. This was the first time she had seen David without his
smile. "Huh? No!" Shrimp had said, glancing down at her hands. "Oh, engaged then?" David stared at her hands then looked up at her. "N-no..." She said, confused. "You're not dating anyone either-- right?" He asked, his blue eyes staring into her own. "Nope..." Why was he suddenly so interested in her sad little love life? "Okay!" He said, the smile snapping right back onto his face as his cheerfulness suddenly returned just like that. Shrimp gazed down at her shoes with her face red, though she soon forced her head back up to look at the campers. David had explained the activities and such they would be doing that day, and to Shrimp's surprise they had so many things to do. "Alright! Lets get this day started!" David took his hand off Shrimp's shoulders and turned, getting ready to lead the pack of campers. "You can stay by me Shrimp, I'll show you around!" A smile grew on her face as she happily made her way to his side.
Hours had passed and they had done so many activities that Shrimp was actually panting. Her feet ached and she could tell the campers were just as tired, though she knew that they had been doing this for a while. Though what surprised her but at the same time didn't, was that David was still dancing around happily as if he had no care in the world. "C'mon, campers! We'll be late for dinner!
Gewn made spaghetti tonight!" He giggled happily. It was a bit funny; a hyper cheerful adult leading a tired bunch of kids. It was then Shrimp noticed how empty her stomach was; she had skipped lunch and the fact that she had been moving around all day made her hunger worse. She sped up a bit at the thought that food would be at the end of this trail. She was trying to copy David who was so full of energy and skipping along the trail as the campers followed. It was at that moment, that quick little moment, that she had realized no one can be like David. She should of known that before, but she had learned her lesson as she felt herself suddenly slam into the ground. Though she put her hands out to catch herself, she still landed face first into the hard nature floor. She ignored Max as he attempted to make her feel bad and simply laid there for a few moments. "Ahh! Shrimp!" David had screeched, pausing in his tracks to rush over to her. He helped her into a sit and began studying her to see where she was injured. "Are you okay?" He asked, his voice so worried, yet so soft and caring. Shrimp was frozen, trying to figure out what had just happened, and it had taken her a few moments to answer the question aimed at her. "Y-Yeah... I think.." She whimpered quietly. "Shrimp! Your hand!" David had screeched, suddenly grabbing Shrimp's wrist and pulling her hand towards him. Blood was leaking out of a cut on her left hand, and though it wasn't so horrible, it had made Shrimp feel light-headed watching blood spill out of her hand. David was now holding her hand up with his own right hand, and used his left to grab his shirt and pull it up to dab at the blood on her hand. Shrimp looked away, tightly shutting her eyes. "Okay, lets get back to fix this up." David said, standing up. Shrimp opened her eyes and glanced up at him. Suddenly he picked her up as if she couldn't get up herself, and Shrimp felt her face turn a bright red as she got to her feet. She felt so helpless,
like she was just a little child again. She knew she didn't need help getting up, she had simply tripped and cut her hand, that was all. But at the same time she felt so loved, so happy with David's company. David had laid his arm on her shoulders and began to walk with her by his side. It was as if he was protecting her, making sure nothing dared to hurt her. A small smile formed on her face and she gazed down as she did so. But David was such a softy, such a happy, happy softy. And she loved that about him. A few minutes had passed and they reached the door. David took his arm off Shrimp and pushed it open and allowed all the campers to run in. They got into the line for dinner where they served the campers their spaghetti, then sat down at their tables to begin eating. "Okay Shrimp, follow me," David called, and Shrimp did what she was told. David took her into his small little room and began going through the things in his dresser. She gazed around his small but nice little room. The walls were bare, and there was a large window right by the head of the bed. A small breeze blew through the large window, and Shrimp would shiver though it was quite nice. His bed was small, too. It was made of wood and had plain blankets covering it, though they looked quite soft. "Here it is!" David happily screeched, pulling bandages out of his dresser. "Okay, c'mere." He opened the small door that was by his desk which was covered in papers. The door lead to a small bathroom that matched his room. He took the cloth that was resting on the counter and turned the water on before slipping the cloth in the water's path, causing it to get soaked. He then turned off the water and turned to Shrimp before grabbing her wrist again. He softly dabbed at the cut, so softly that Shrimp hardly felt it sting, and cleaned up the blood and the dirt on the cut. He then took her back into his room and sat her on the bed where he wrapped her hand up with bandages. "There!" He said happily, then
sat next to her on the soft bed. "Thanks David.." Shrimp had said softly, offering a smile to the cheerful other. "No problem. Does it feel okay? Do you want anything else?" He yipped. Shrimp simply shook her head. "No, its fine really, thank you... So much.." She said, suddenly slightly embarrassed. David simply smiled, then suddenly stood. "Well, you hungry?" Shrimp just nodded. "Lets go then!" He said excitedly, then skipped out the door. Shrimp stood as well, then hid her hands behind her back again as she walked after David. Once she entered the room she gazed around confusedly, wondering where she should go. Suddenly David popped up in front of her, smiling still, holding two bowls of spaghetti. "Here!" He yipped, handing her one of the bowls. David then turned and walked over to Gwen. He sat down and began eating with her, which caused Shrimp's stomach to suddenly hurt. Disappointed, she walked over to another empty table as she did before and sat down her food, though she didn't begin to eat it. She just sat there, staring at it, though her stomach was empty her mind was full, and she suddenly felt quite lonely and replaced. By Gwen? Shrimp sighed as she sadly began to play with her food, spinning it around the fork but not bothering to shove it into her mouth like everyone else was doing. Suddenly she felt a hand tap her on the back. She turned and saw David who smiled warmly at her. "Hey, why didn't you come sit with me and Gwen?" Shrimp simply shrugged. "C'mon!" He grinned. "Um.. I'm okay..." She said, turning away. He was silent for a while, and Shrimp guessed he had left. Though suddenly he sat down next to her and caused Shrimp to look up at him. "Gwen doesn't care anyway..." He shrugged, still smiling. They had spent the rest of dinner laughing and talking until they noticed how dark it was.
The campers had already gone to bed and David and Shrimp found themselves still sitting there together. Gwen stomped up to David, her hands balled up into fists as she came up from behind him. He didn't notice, though Shrimp did-- but said nothing about it. Gwen then slapped David from behind and David let out a sharp yell of the sudden pain. "You idiot! I just put all the campers to bed because you were too busy making out with your Shrimpy girlfriend!" She hissed, holding her hands back. The sound David had made nearly made Shrimp want to cry, and now Gwen, the other counselor in the camp, was making fun of her. "W-what? We're just friends!" David screeched, putting his head low as he expected another blow. "Friends.." Shrimp mumbled. The thought made her blush slightly. "Best friends!" David suddenly added, reaching out to grab Shrimp's farthest shoulder and pulling her into his side. Shrimp felt her face turn a bright red as he did this. How had they became best friends in only a day? But there was no doubt, Shrimp wanted him to be her best friend. Gwen groaned and attempted to slap him again, but Shrimp couldn't bare see it and all she could think of at the moment was tugging him away. She quickly wrapped her arms around him and tugged him down-- it was then she realized this was a horrible idea. Shrimp fell back and landed on the floor, and David landed right on top of her. Sure they had dodged the slap, but this was way worse. "I-I'm sorry Shrimp!" David screeched, struggling to get off of the other he was crushing. He stood then bent over to grab Shrimp's hand and quickly help her up. He then turned away and sat down again, embarrassed. Shrimp thought she saw a blush on his face, and it made her shiver. "Really, idiot? You just fell on her!" She huffed. David was still turned away, his hands covering his face. "Ughh. Anyway, at least show Shrimp her new room, I'm tired of doing everything." With that, Gwen turned and walked to her own room. David hadn't
moved, and Shrimp was just awkwardly standing there. "D-David?" Shrimp said softly. When she got no reply, she nervously tapped him on the back. David turned his head to her, a light pink still on his face. "Sorry," he said, then stood up again. Dang, this guy was tall. Shrimp gazed up at him, so badly wanting to do something, anything. But instead David walked over to the restroom, leaving Shrimp to awkwardly stand there. She let herself sit down again, staring at her nearly empty bowl. Soon David returned, his smile right back on his face. "Lets show you your room!" He said happily, skipping over to where her room would be located. He soon stopped at the door next to his own, then turned to Shrimp. "Here it is!" He then turned back to the door and opened it. The room looked a lot like David's; a bed, a dresser, and a desk, a small bathroom and a smaller window. The room was quite small, slightly smaller than David's, but it was enough, and quite cozy. "Well, if you need anything, I'm right next door!" He smiled. Shrimp walked over and sat on her bed, suit case in her hand which had been laid on her bed this morning by Gwen. Shrimp gazed over at David who had already been looking at her. They stayed like that for a few, long, seconds. Then David slowly closed her door and softly whispered, "Goodnight, Shrimp." Shrimp smiled warmly before reaching over to the dresser where the small lamp laid. She switched it on then opened her suitcase. It was filled with clothes which she put away in the dresser, though she had no shirts. That was when she realized she was still wearing David's shirt. She blushed slightly at this but continued to unpack. She pulled out a little stuffed animal; a soft, grey wolf. She knew she shouldn't have brought him; if anyone saw it they would make fun of her for it... Even David. And with how evil these kids were they would probably tear him apart. And Shrimp knew the sight of that would make her break down right there, right then. But at the
same time, the thought of David wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into a warm hug made her somewhat happy. Even if it was stupid, even if he knew that, she knew David was too soft, too kind, too happy to ever hurt someone. And he would walk over and sit down right there next to her and hug her. Shrimp smiled at the thought, and she was now laying down. She slowly would close her eyes and fall asleep, the light on, the covers still laid on the bed under her, and her suitcase wide open for anyone to take. But Shrimp didn't care; she simply feel asleep to the thought of David.
One day, about two weeks later, Shrimp's eyes had slowly opened, and she would of just turned over to a more comfortable position and fallen back asleep, but she realized something. She sat up in her bed and looked around her room, confused, then noticed something at the door. She quickly gazed up and saw David, standing straight and just as cheerful as always. A large ear-to-ear smile was on his face. "Good morning, Shrimp!" Shrimp blushed slightly as she forced herself to speak. "Good morning." How long had he been there? Before she could think about it David nodded then stepped out the door. Shrimp quickly changed into the clothes she would wear for the day then stepped out of the door where David was patiently waiting. "Lets get some breakfast!" He said, suddenly grabbing Shrimp's wrist and pulling her down the hall. Shrimp simply followed, her mouth opening as if she wanted to say something yet nothing came out. They soon entered the room where the campers were enjoying their breakfast. David handed Shrimp a plate of pancakes then grabbed one for himself. Shrimp turned and gazed around the room confusedly, not knowing where she should go. Before Shrimp could run off and sit at another lonely table like before, David grabbed her wrist again and led her to the table Gwen sat at. "Mm," Gwen mumbled with her mouth full, lifting her syrup covered fork and pointing it at the two. "Finally sitting with David rather than David sitting with you, Shrimp?" Shrimp shrugged and brushed it off, gazing down at her plate as she stabbed the pancake. "David, has she been distracting you?" Gwen suddenly asked, frowning at the other. "Huh? No! I've got everything planned today-- okay?
You can trust me Gwen!" David had said, grabbing his yellow bandana and allowing his fingertips to run across it. Gwen nodded and shrugged, then continued to eat. "Just.. Don't make me put the kids to bed again." David simply nodded and put down his fork, then stood and put his food away. He hardly ate anything, but Shrimp decided not to point it out. Shrimp continued to eat, awkwardly sitting there with Gwen. She decided not to look up or else Gwen would try to speak to her again, and she doubted her words would be as nice as David's. After a few moments Shrimp gazed up and noticed David hadn't sat back down. He seemed to be pacing near the door. Shrimp wiped her mouth and stood, carefully grabbing the plate and setting the fork on top of it before putting it away. She then walked up to David who had tried not to notice her, and when he didn't she placed a hand on his shoulder which caused him to come to a sudden stop. He stood up straight and took his hands away from his back, turning his head towards Shrimp as he smiled kindly. "Do you need help with anything?" Shrimp had offered, and David shook his head in reply. "I have it all set up.. But thank you." Shrimp smiled, slightly disappointed. She turned and began to walk away, before hearing someone shout, David! She jerked around and saw it was the camper from before, Max. She couldn't tell exactly what he was saying, but he had a smirk on his face as he began pointing up at David while speaking at him. Shrimp folded her arms over her chest and frowned. David had his hands on his hips as he stared down at the ten year old, a little frown on his face as well. "Now, Max..." David had said, followed by some sort of lecture or something. Max had barked something back, and whatever it was, it must have been hurtful because David's frown had turned into some sort of sad look. David stood up straight, the expression on his face looking slightly hurt and nervous, though he tried not to look too sad. Shrimp had walked
over and gazed up at him. "What's wrong?" "Nothing!" David had said, forcing a smile to stretch across his face. "Okay, c'mon kids." Gwen had said tiredly, casing the campers to stand with a moan before putting up their plates and such. They followed Gwen outside and David began to follow as well, but Shrimp grabbed his arm and pulled him back. "David, tell me. What's wrong?" Shrimp asked again, staring at him with a concerned look. "Nothing! Fine, fine. Gotta get to--" Shrimp cut him off. "I saw that sad look." She pointed out, a small frown on her face. David sighed and the smile on his face quickly turned up-side-down. "I don't think the campers like the activities..." He sighed, hanging his head. "Why would you think that?" Shrimp questioned. "Max and his friends.." David said quietly, looking away. Shrimp snorted, suddenly feeling rage but at the same time sorry for David. "Well, why don't we show how amazing it really is?" Shrimp said excitedly, hoping to get David happy and excited too. And it worked; David straightened up and his smile returned right back on his face. "Yeah! Lets go!" He quickly grabbed Shrimp's hand without thinking and dragged her outside. Shrimp blushed lightly but ignored it; he had done this a few times yet her heart still skipped a beat every time.
Shrimp was panting and her feet ached, trying to keep up with David. They were returning from their long hike which was actually pretty nice; she had always loved the forest, how peaceful with nature everywhere you looked. The campers were dragging their feet behind her along with Gwen who copied them. Though as always, the cheerful counselor skipped ahead, leading everyone else. Shrimp admired him for this; while everyone was complaining and tired David was different... As always. Shrimp smiled at the thought, and she quickly noticed she wasn't paying attention to what she was doing. Luckily, she didn't fall or embarrass herself in any way. And she had learned that no one could be like David, so there was no use copying the other just to fail and embarrass herself again. Shrimp then glanced down at her hand, the bandages hiding the cut from weeks ago. "Ugh. I'm tired." moaned Neil. "Can we do some science shit tomorrow?" David stopped in his tracks, causing the followers to pause as well. He slowly turned around to face Neil, then pointed his finger towards him with a frown. "Heeeyyy.... Language." Neil snorted, crossing his arms as he rolled his eyes. "Could you just answer the question?" David straightened up and placed his hands on his hips again, then thought for a moment. "Well--" he began, though he was rudely interrupted by another kid. "Ooh! Ooh! Can we do rockets?" Shrimp turned her gaze to the camper who spoke, who looked sort of... Weird. He was short, though that wasn't the first thing Shrimp noticed. The first thing she noticed was the astronaut helmet he wore on his head, which made her question what color his hair really was. Since the helmet was hiding his true colors, it looked more like light-blue skin, indigo hair, and blue eyes. The second thing she noticed was the odd style of how he wore his pants. Instead of hiding the underwear inside his pants, he wore it on top of his grey pants. It was pretty obvious how obsessed with space he was,
you could tell just by glancing at his helmet. "W-Well, sure! That sounds like a great idea!" David said happily, though Shrimp thought she caught a bit of shakiness in his voice, which added to the nervous smile on his face. "Lets go, campers!" He then said, quickly turning around before he began to lead them again. Neil sighed and shrugged, then began dragging his feet again as he walked after David. Shrimp turned and ran up to David's side, then attempted to keep up with him. "Hey, David?" She had said. David quickly turned his focus towards her, his blue green eyes staring into her's. "Yes, Shrimp?" He said, slowing down so that they could talk easier. "Are you okay?" Shrimp asked, her voice soft as she walked by her friend's side. "Of course! Why wouldn't I be?" David replied, smiling towards the other. "Well... You sounded a little upset... When they asked to do an activity," Shrimp replied. "Oh, no, I'm fine!" He chuckled. "Okay..." Shrimp said, turning her head away. She stayed by his side awkwardly, and after a few minutes of silence she spoke up. "D-David?" She said, turning her head towards him again. "What's wrong, Shrimp?" David asked, tilting his head a little. "Would you tell me if something was wrong? Even if it was small-- just anything?" Shrimp asked, wanting to add more though she couldn't. David's smile slowly faded away, and he began to get slower. For seconds which felt like minutes, he simply stared into Shrimp's eyes. He then let out a breath and turned his head away. Shrimp waited for a reply, making sure to walk slow enough so that they were side by side. It looked as if David was thinking, trying to decide if he should lie or tell her. "I-" he began, slowly turning his head towards her. Suddenly he stumbled sideways, tripping over a stick in his way. He fell right into Shrimp's side, though luckily they didn't fall to the ground. Shrimp paused and quickly lifted her arms confusedly as he fell into her. David found his face pressed
into Shrimp's stomach as her hands hovered over his back. It had all happened to fast and neither knew what they were doing. David made a squeaking sound as he quickly pulled himself away, blushing madly. "D-David?" Shrimp said quietly, her head spinning. "S-Sorry! I'm sorry!" David screeched, covering his bright red face. David was forcing the tears back, embarrassed and flustered at what he had just done. "N-No! I-It's okay!" Shrimp squeaked, carefully and slowly touching his shoulder. He made a whimpering noise as he suddenly lifted his head up from his hands. "Lets go!" He said in a shaky voice. He then began skipping ahead quickly, causing a large gap from him and everyone else. He was trying to get away from everyone else, and Shrimp was slightly hurt by this. She hid her hands behind her back as she walked after him, her head towards the ground. It was silent for the rest of the trip, except for the loud and quick beating of her heart. D-David... I'm sorry. She thought to herself, her face still burning. Once they had gotten back it was so quiet and awkward between her and David for the rest of the night. Though they did eat together it was silent and short since David wasn't hungry again. And this made her extremely worried; he had hardly eaten anything today. He took a bite or too for breakfast, skipped lunch, and took a few quick and small bites for dinner then put his plate away. After finishing his last meal he had gone to his room, leaving Shrimp to sit alone at the table. Once everyone had finished their dinner Shrimp heard stomping. She turned her head to see Gwen angrily stomping towards David's room. Once she got there she began violently knocking on his door. "DAVID YOU LITTLE BITCH!" She roared. Shrimp quickly stood up and walked over to the scene. "What's going on, Gwen?" Shrimp asked quietly. "That little auburn boyfriend of your's is gonna make me put the kids to bed AGAIN!" She yelled, then continued to hit his door. "DAVID IF YOU--"
suddenly the door swung open, interrupting Gwen. Gwen, ready to smack the door again, had her hand up and was unable to stop herself. She swung at David and stumbled forward, causing her to fall into him. David fell back and soon they were on the floor with a loud thump. "Ah! G-Gwen?!" David screeched, confused and embarrassed. Gwen mumbled a stream of curses, flopped on top of David. Shrimp had been standing there, watching the entire time. Her hands balled up into fists, her heart racing. She was feeling anger, and something else... It was obvious, but she didn't want to think of it. Jealousy. She felt such strong jealousy watching the two. She was trying to figure out if she wanted to stay frozen or stomp off. Gwen pushed herself up, then once she was in a stand she glared down at David who was still on the floor. Before he could push himself up, Gwen stepped on his stomach as hard as she could, causing David to yelp. "N-No!" Shrimp squeaked quietly. "Oh, shush. He deserves it. Never mind you, David. I'll put them to bed, but you're doing it tomorrow and I swear you will." Gwen then stomped off, leaving Shrimp and David alone. David slowly pushed himself up into a sit, then tucked his head between his legs so that Shrimp couldn't see his face. "D-David..?" Shrimp said softly, slowly getting down into a crouch on the floor in front of David. When she got no reply she softly tapped his shoulder, but that didn't work either. Shrimp then slid over to his side, so close that their shoulders where touching. "Davey, it's okay. You can talk to me. I'm your friend. Your best friend. Please answer me.." Shrimp said, slowly pressing closer to his warm side. He didn't answer, and for moments there was silence. He then turned away, his back towards her. "David..." She said softly, then quickly wrapped her arms around him even though he was turned the other way. She then pulled him towards her and hugged him tightly, berrying her face into his shoulder. David raised his head
as he was being hugged, his mouth flying open. His eyes widened and tears began to run down his cheeks. They stood like that for a few minutes; David turned away and Shrimp hugging him on the floor, right outside David's door. Finally the sun had left and caused everything to darken. Suddenly David pulled away from the hug and stood, then held out a hand for Shrimp to take. Shrimp gladly grabbed his hand and was pulled up from the ground. She chuckled nervously, tears beginning to escape her eyes. David smiled warmly, still holding her hand. With his free hand he carefully wiped the tears away. "It's dark..." He said quietly. "You need your rest... Go to sleep." Shrimp's smile faded a little, somewhat disappointed. She nodded sadly, gazing down at the floor. David pulled her in for another hug, and before he pulled away he planted a small kiss on her cheek, causing them both to blush madly. "Goodnight, Shrimp." David said. Shrimp opened her mouth to speak but failed, then simply smiled and turned away. She walked into the door next to his which belonged to her own room. She hardly remembered anything after that; she just simply flopped onto her bed and fell asleep.
Shrimp gasped and lifted her head up, her eyes quickly widening as she was suddenly covered in water. The water was so hot that it burned her skin, and she was extremely confused as she pushed herself into a sit and gazed around the room. There, standing by her bed, was the evil little camper with the hoodie, smirking up at her. "Good morning, Shrimp." He laughed, holding an empty bucket in his hands. It was then Shrimp realized what had happened: Max had poured a bucket of hot water on her while she was asleep. "W-- wh-- h-huh?" She stammered confusedly, water dripping from her hair. Suddenly she heard the door swing open that was joined with David's voice. "What's going on in here?!" Shrimp jerked her head over as David opened the door, gasping and covering his mouth with his hands. "D-David...?" Shrimp mumbled quietly. "Max!" David roared, stomping over and picking the ten year old up. He then carried the camper out of her room and left, leaving Shrimp to sit there alone, confused. A few minutes passed and the door flung open again, and once again David entered her room. "Shrimp!" He said, running over to her bed. "I'm so, so sorry!" Shrimp flung the green blanket off of her and stepped out of her wet bed. She made a small moaning sound as she realized how soaked she was. She gazed over at David who had his hand covering his mouth as he watched her, making small whimpering noises. "David, it's okay. It wasn't your fault." David removed his hand from his mouth as he got ready to argue. "But it's my job to make sure he doesn't get in here!" Shrimp rubbed her eyes, deciding she didn't want to say anything in reply. "Can I just get a shirt?" Shrimp asked. "O-Oh, yes! Sorry!" David screeched before running out of the room. He returned shortly with a folded green shirt with a tree on it that matched his own. He handed it to her then stepped outside while Shrimp changed. Once she opened the door David smiled nervously at her. Shrimp gave little effort into her fake smile towards him and simply walked off to get breakfast. "Hnnng..." David mumbled, bringing his hand up to his mouth before biting into his nails. He walked after her and once he entered the room he looked over to their table. Empty. He then glanced around the room and caught sight of her at a different table alone. He then made his way over to that table and sat down next to her, still smiling. "Are you not gonna eat?" He asked, noticing she hadn't gotten any breakfast. "I'm not hungry." She replied, laying her head down on the table. "S-Shrimp? What's wrong?" David asked, staring at her. "Nothing." She replied, turning her head away from the counselor. "Hnng. Shrimp..." David squeaked, suddenly wrapping his arms around her and jerking her into a hug. "Please, please don't get mad at me. I'm sorry!" Shrimp wrapped her arms around him and hugged him back. "D-Davey... I'm not mad at you.. I'm sorry..." David smiled and held her tighter before pulling away. "Come on Shrimp. We have archery today!" David said happily, standing up. Shrimp stood as well, slightly disappointed. "Wait, I thought we were doing rockets?" Shrimp pointed out. David's smile was suddenly wiped off his face as his eyes widened. "Oh... Yeah.." He ran a hand through his auburn hair and inhaled deeply. "Um... Uh..." He brought his hand up to his mouth and began biting his nails again. "David? What's wrong?" Shrimp questioned. "N-Nothing! Everything's great!" He said, adding a fake, nervous smile. "Stop lying to me and just ask for help for once!" Shrimp frowned. David straightened up and stared at her, shocked and hurt at this. Shrimp noticed his hurt expression and her face turned soft. "David, I--" she began to reach out her hand to him, though she was cut off. "I expect that from the campers... I expect that from everyone else... But not you, Shrimp..." David then turned away and walked off. Shrimp pulled her hand back and placed it on her chest, then placed her other hand on top of it."D-David..." She whispered, her eyes filling with tears.
Soon it was time for the daily activities and though Shrimp tried to speak to David, he was too busy and she couldn't get herself to do it. "Lets go, gang!" David had said happily, leading everyone outside. Shrimp crossed her arms and ran her fingertips over her skin. She stayed away from the others as much as possible, following behind David and Gwen. Her mind was full and her stomach as empty through the whole day. Finally it was time for dinner and bed, and they hadn't gone far from camp so there was no long walk with David. Once Shrimp had gotten her dinner which tonight was chicken, she noticed David was already at a table though it wasn't the normal table they sat at. Gwen was at the normal table, though. Shrimp decided to approach David. She walked up and sat her tray down on the table then sat next to him. "Davey..." Shrimp said softly, slowly touching his shoulder. David had his elbows on the table and his head was in his hands, hiding his face. "Please... I'm sorry. I was trying to help..." David lifted his head and looked at her. Tears were in his eyes though he kept blinking them away, staring at Shrimp. He was so innocent and sensitive, and Shrimp knew she shouldn't have yelled at him. "I promise I won't do anything again. I'm sorry Davey." Shrimp then wrapped her arms around the other and pulled him towards her in a tight hug. David pulled away after a few moments and smiled at Shrimp. "It's okay Shrimp, I forgive you." He then turned his head away and Shrimp gazed down at her food. She picked up her fork and stabbed it into a chunk of chicken before stuffing it in her mouth. Suddenly she realized David hadn't gotten any dinner. "David," Shrimp said, her voice worried. "You haven't eaten hardly anything in two days..." "Oh! I'm just not hungry, I guess." He said, turning his head towards her. "You need to eat." Shrimp replied, tapping the plate with her fork. "I-I'm okay, Shrimp. Really!" David
smiled. "You don't have to worry about me so much." Shrimp frowned. "No, David. You need food. You're already extremely skinny." Shrimp pointed out, lifting her fork and pointing it towards his stomach. "N-No Shrimp, I--" David began, though he was interrupted when Shrimp suddenly stabbed another piece of chicken and started pushing it towards his mouth. "N-No--" David squeaked. "C'mon little Davey, eat your dinner!~" She said, forcing the chunk into his mouth. David's face heated up as he began chewing, since there was nothing else he could do. Shrimp stabbed another piece and stuffed it into his mouth, and she began laughing as she did this. David's face was so flustered; there was nothing he could do. She was feeding him, a twenty-four year old adult. He began to sweat as he just stood there was if he were a toddler that needed his mother to feed him. Shrimp laughed. "Open up, little Davey!~" He giggled, continuing to feed the other. "Oh my god, look at David!" Max laughed, turning and pointing towards him. "Hehe, good Davey wavey!~" Shrimp giggled happily, pausing with a piece of chicken still on the fork as she watched him. David pulled his feet up on the seat in front of him and turned away from Shrimp, his hands flying up to hide his bright red face. "Po--of!" He squeaked, sweat beginning to run down his face. Shrimp couldn't stop herself from laughing at how cute the other was, she just sat there giggling uncontrollably. "Davey!" Shrimp laughed. "You're so cuuute!" She squealed, then wrapped her arm around the other and pulled him into her side. "I swear... I wouldn't trade you for anything." She then turned and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him. David was madly blushing, his heart racing and his head spinning. Shrimp didn't care that everyone was staring and probably thinking they were crazy, she was overjoyed by David. She wanted to say something, something more and something that could explain how happy he made her. Soon they heard a loud and
familiar yell. "David! Quit being all lovey-dovey on Shrimp and put the campers to bed!" Shrimp pulled away from the hug, her heart sinking that it all had to end so soon. David got up without glancing at Shrimp and herded everyone to their tents. Shrimp patiently waited at the table, quietly giggling to herself. What was this feeling? So happy and so attached to someone. Soon David had returned, his face still red. "Hnng... Mm..." David mumbled, walking up to Shrimp with his hands balled up into fists. He smiled at Shrimp, his smile obviously nervous. He scratched the back of his neck with one hand and kept the other balled up. His cuteness was too much for Shrimp and she stood up and flung her arms around his neck, standing up on her toes since he was so tall. She berried her face into his shoulder, grinning happily. "Never change..." She whispered to the other. David was frozen, his face becoming even redder as he stood there, his whole body trembling. He then slowly wrapped his arms around her, hugging back. For some reason, whenever he was around Shrimp, his stomach hurt and his heart thumped loudly. What was she doing to him? Shrimp began to nuzzle into him, still hugging him as tight as she could. "Uh.. Um... S-Shrimp?" David suddenly said. "Yes, David?" Shrimp asked, pulling away from the hug and smiling up at him. "W-Well.... I..." He began, though suddenly Gwen walked up angrily, as always. "C'mon, love birds. Time to get to bed." She snorted, then stomped off. "Aw.. Well, what is it that you wanted to tell me?" Shrimp asked, staring up at David. "Uh... Never mind." He smiled, then turned and began to walk off. "Lets get to bed." Shrimp nodded and followed. They soon arrived at their doors of their rooms. "Goodnight, Shrimp," David said, turning towards her with a smile. "Night," Shrimp replied, turning towards her door. Though she quickly spun back around and forced herself to reach up and quickly leave a kiss on his cheek, then turned away with a large
smile pulling at her lips and a red face. David stood there frozen for a few moments, watching as Shrimp entered her room. He let out a breath and reached towards the door, getting ready to knock on it. But he stopped himself, giving up. He then turned away and entered his own room.
One morning, about a week later, Shrimp pushed herself out of bed just like any other day; dressed and brushed her hair, then headed out for breakfast. Once she had gotten her waffles, she made her way over to the table David was sitting at. Though, Gwen wasn't there today, which wasn't really a problem. "Good morning, David!" She smiled, lifting her fork and stabbing it into a piece of the waffle. "Morning, Shrimp!" David replied excitedly. Shrimp then noticed he had no plate in front of him. "Oh, David. You're not gonna make me have to feed you again, are you?" Shrimp teased, pointing her fork towards the empty space in front of him. "N-No!" David squeaked, blushing lightly. The topic always seemed to bother him; embarrass him. "I'm just... Really excited today!" He grinned. "How come?" Shrimp asked, taking another bite of the sugary waffle. "Well... It's the first day of July. That means the summer is half way over..." David began. "So I've planned a nice little thing to do today!" Shrimp swallowed the piece of waffle and looked at him, interested. "What are we gonna be doing?" She questioned curiously. "It's a surprise!" David said, leaning slightly closer to Shrimp and winking. Shrimp felt her face heat up a bit as he did this. Once Shrimp had finished she put her dishes away, and not long after the campers were told to do the same. "Alright campers! Lets go! I have a surprise for you all today!" He said, then turned his focus to Shrimp. He quickly grabbed her hand and yanked her to his side before he began to walk outside. They began following a trail they had never been on before, David leading them. "We're doing something special, today. I'll be taking you to my favorite spot of the forest where we'll hang out for the day!" David explained, skipping ahead. The campers seemed somewhat happy about the day off. Though it was silent for the first few minutes while they walked, David suddenly broke the silence. "I know you'll love it, Shrimp." He smiled.
"At least... I hope you do.." Shrimp smiled, attempting to keep up with him so they were side by side. "I'm sure I will." She replied, staring into his blue green eyes. David laughed nervously in reply and turned his head away. Shrimp, her mind wandering off, didn't notice the large log in front of her. "Whoa! Shrimp!" David screeched, quickly grabbing her arm and yanking her towards him. He had pulled so hard that he stumbled backwards, causing Shrimp to fall into him. Why does this always happen? Shrimp found herself on top of David who was laying on the ground. "S-Sorry!" She squeaked, pushing herself back up. She then offered her hand to David and he gladly took it. It took quite a bit of strength to pull up the other, though soon they were both back on their feet and walking again. "Sorry Shrimp... I was trying to help..." David said, glancing down towards the ground. Shrimp looked over at him, noticing the light blush on his face. "It's okay, could of been worse." She had replied with a friendly smile. Minutes passed, and Shrimp kept glancing over at David every once in a while, and she noticed how tense he looked. "Hey David?" She suddenly said after glancing over at him biting his nails. "H-Hm?" David suddenly said, pulling his hand away from his mouth. "You okay? You seem stressed." Shrimp gazed at him with a concerned look, tilting her head. David was nearly jogging now, and Shrimp was struggling to keep up enough so that they could speak. "Y-Yeah! Of course! Everything's great!" David replied, forcing a large grin on his face. "J-Just.. Hoping the trip will go well!" He added, trying not to sound like he was lying. Shrimp nodded and turned her head away with a sigh. Not long after, the rude little camper in the hoodie seemed to notice David's behavior, too. "Ha, David," he began, trotting up to them. "You're acting like you got a crush on Shrimpy." He smirked up at the other, an evil look on his face. "W-W-What?!" David squeaked, jerking his head
around to stare down at Max. "N-N-No..." He said, feeling Shrimp stare at him. His face heated up and caused it to become bright red. Shrimp began walking slower so that they would pass her up, and soon she found herself at the back with the campers. "M-Max... Go back to your friends." David ordered weakly, trying so hard not to glance over at Shrimp. "Whatever," Max said, shrugging before returning to Nikki and Neil's sides. Shrimp began to tremble, gazing down at her shaky hands. She had developed such a strong crush on David-- and she couldn't help but wonder if he felt the same. "S-Shrimp?" A familiar voice called, causing Shrimp to look ahead. David smiled nervously as they made eye contact, as if he were trying to ask her to come back. Shrimp grinned in return, then sped up so that she was walking beside him again. "We're almost there..." He stated, then suddenly slipped the backpack he had been wearing off his shoulders. "W-Would you mind getting everything out while I talk to the campers?" He asked, offering a shy grin. "Sure," Shrimp replied, grinning back. David handed her the backpack and he nodded towards a large cedar tree. "I'll come get you once I'm done." Shrimp nodded in reply and walked over to the tree, then crouched down on the ground as she began to open the pack. Minutes had passed and she had soon sorted everything out, the food and the blankets and things to play with, and not long after David walked up with his hands behind his back with a nervous look on his face. He gazed down at Shrimp, studding all the work she had done. "Good job, Shrimp!" He cheered, followed by a little giggle. He reached out a hand and Shrimp took it, easily pulling her up. She had never noticed it before, but David was surprisingly strong. Though he was soft, innocent, and skinny, all these years in nature seemed to really improve his strength. Once she was on her feet, David bent down to gather everything in his hands after slipping the backpack on his shoulder.
"Do you want me to carry something?" Shrimp offered, since David had his hands filled with things. "N-No! I can handle it." He laughed, then walked off as if it were no problem. Though she could tell all that was a little heavy, even for him, but David wanted to show off his strength to her. Soon they reached David's favorite spot of the forest. It was beautiful; different types of trees were surrounding them, birds were singing so happily, a small, beautiful blue lake, and there was even a little open space decorated with so many different flowers. The campers were gathered in a little circle on the grassy floor with Gwen, and David carefully sat the supplies down. Shrimp watched as he crouched down beside Gwen and whispered something to her, and Gwen had rolled her eyes and nodded in reply. David then pushed himself into a stand and walked over to Shrimp. "David! This place is amazing!" She grinned happily. David was overjoyed by this, a large smile forming on his face. "I'm glad you like it..." He mumbled to her, scratching the back of his neck. "C'mere, I wanna show you something." David then forced himself to grab Shrimp's hand, making them both blush. He then led her to the beautiful lake that Shrimp had noticed before. He let go of her hand and sat down by the water, close enough that the water nearly touched the tips of his shoes. Shrimp sat down beside him, her heart racing madly. "Look!" He suddenly screeched, pointing towards a part of the lake. It was then Shrimp noticed there was something in it; something living. It was a fish, it's scales shimmering in the sunlight as they watched it. "Whoa..." Shrimp said, slowly reaching forward as if she wanted to touch it, but instead she softly touched the cold water of the lake. In seconds, several more fish had swum up, and Shrimp began to watch them all swim around the lake. She did this for a while, and David simply watched with an ear-to-ear smile on his face. His mind began to wander off as he watched, and Shrimp glanced over and noticed this. She smirked, then dipped her hand in the water and cupped it, then quickly flung it out of the water and towards David. This caused the water to splash onto him. When David felt the sudden cold wetness he jumped up in surprise. Shrimp laughed, so hard that David thought he saw tears in her eyes. He smiled, then suddenly dipped his own hand in the water to splash Shrimp in return. Shrimp squealed and giggled, and they began splashing each other back and forth for a few minutes. Finally once they were soaked enough they just sat there laughing for at least a full minute. "Well," David began, still grinning, "It's about lunch time. Wanna get some food?" He offered. "Sure!" Shrimp replied, standing up. David stood up as well then bravely took her hand again and led her to the supplies. The campers were already enjoying their meals in their little circle. David grabbed two sandwiches for the two of them, then took Shrimp away from the others and to a log. He then sat down on the log and Shrimp sat beside him, before David handed her one of the sandwiches and began eating. Shrimp had finished her's before David, so she simply sat there with her head resting on her hands. He let out a small sigh as she gazed up at the sky. It was now mid afternoon, and so far she was enjoying this day and never wanted it to end. David quickly finished up his lunch and stood up, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Shrimp stood up too, and David began to reach for her hand but instead of grabbing it himself, Shrimp reached out and grabbed his hand first. She looked away, her cheeks lighting up. David then decided to show her around the forest, and by the time they had finished it was time for dinner before hiking back. This time they had gathered with the rest of the campers to roast hot dogs in the fire. Though, instead of doing it herself, David insisted that he cook Shrimp's food. He looked so focused while he did it, not wanting to screw it
up and embarrass himself. He then handed Shrimp the clean stick which was piercing the hot dog, smiling. "Thanks, David," she replied, then took a bite out of it. "I-Is it okay?" He asked, staring at her with his blue green eyes as she ate. "Whoa," she mumbled. "This is amazing!" She looked over at David, smiling as she continued to eat her meal. David smiled, relieved that she liked it. "Heyyy," spoke one of the campers. "I want David to cook mine, too!" Shrimp gazed over at Nikki, who had already eaten about two or three hot dogs. "I-I don't think you need anymore," he pointed out. "Meh," Nikki simply replied, shrugging. Before cooking his own dinner, he roasted another for Shrimp and gave it to her. Once everyone had finished their meals, Gwen began packing everything away again before slipping the backpack on. "Lets go, campers." She ordered, turning and walking towards the trail that would lead them back to camp. Shrimp pushed herself up and began walking after them. David jumped up and ran after her, then grabbed her hand and yanked her around to face him. Shrimp stared at him, confused. "I-I... Um..." He began, still holding her hand as he glanced around uncomfortably. "I made a deal with G-Gwen... We can stay a little longer and... I can show you my favorite spot." He inhaled nervously. "I-I mean... If y-you want to..." He gazed down at the ground, his face heating up with embarrassment. "Oh," Shrimp said, her face lighting up. "Of course! I'd love to see it!" She grinned happily, making David look up and smile nervously. He then led her to a clear space with many different trees surrounding them, the ground decorated with flowers. "Wow," Shrimp said, standing in the middle of it all while still holding his warm, shaky hand. "This is beautiful!" "It gets better," David replied before leading her to the edge. He sat down and let his feet dangle off the edge, and Shrimp copied him. She gazed down and saw it wasn't even a long fall, and there was only more
soft grass. "Now," David said, reaching over and lifting her chin up to gaze at the sky. Shrimp's mouth dropped open and her eyes widened, unable to speak. Right in front of her was the most beautiful sunset she had ever seen; there was nothing blocking it, and it was surrounded by nature like it should be. "Whoa....." She whispered softly, her eyes locked on the sky. David smiled happily, instead of watching the sunset he watched Shrimp. He loved the way her eyes sparkled, the way her long hair blew in the wind, he loved everything about her. Then, came the panic. What if he wasn't good enough? He then realized the sun was slowly going down and it would soon be dark, and he had promised Gwen he wouldn't be out too long. David breathed deeply, gazing around nervously. Suddenly he caught sight of a flower near them. It was red, Shrimp's favorite color, with a green stem, David's favorite color. He carefully ripped it out from the ground and stared at it for a few moments, then tapped Shrimp on the shoulder. Shrimp blinked and turned her head, being woken up from her day dream. David stared at her for a few moments, forgetting what he wanted to do. "Uh..." He then remembered and shoved the flower in front of her, turning his head away so she couldn't see how red his face was. Shrimp's heart skipped a beat as she slowly took the flower from his hand, her face turning red as well. David then turned his head towards her once he felt his hand was empty, offering a smile. He then glanced at the sunset which was turning darker and darker with every second he wasted. Do it. Do it. Do it. His head was spinning and his heart was racing, he glanced down at his hands and noticed his whole body was shaking madly. He slowly pushed himself closer to her, their shoulders were soon touching and Shrimp felt her face heat up even more as he did this. "S-S-Shrimp... I-I..." He stammered hard, sweat rolling down his face. "W-W-Would y-you like to..." David paused, reaching a hand up to run it through his auburn hair. "W-W-Would y-you go o-out with m-m-me?" He forced out. He had done it. He had finally asked the question he wanted to ask for such a long, long time. His face was as red as it could get and his heart was racing, and his stomach was full of butterflies. Shrimp was shocked by the question, her eyes were wide and her mouth was open as she stared at him, still holding the flower. Tears slowly escaped her eyes and rolled down her cheeks, and she could hardly hear over the beating of her heart. "Y-Yes..." She sobbed, bringing her hands up to cover her face as she cried. "P-Please don't c-cry..." David squeaked, lifting his weak arms and wrapping them around her, then pulling her into a tight, tight hug. Though as he said this, tears began to leak from his own eyes. Shrimp's hands left her face as she tightly wrapped her arms around his neck, sobbing into his shoulder. They stood like that for a long time, just hugging and crying on eachother's shoulders, both extremely happy. After a long while they found themselves on the ground, still hugging. And soon they had both fallen asleep on the grassy floor, not caring that they were supposed to be back by now.
Shrimp's eyes fluttered open, and she would of rolled out of bed and gotten dressed like any other day, but she wasn't in bed. In fact, she wasn't in her room. Shrimp gasped and pushed herself into a sit, panicking. At first she didn't know where she was or what had happened, until she remembered last night. It was then she glanced down and saw David's hand laying on her lap. He had had his arm around her as they slept, and it had slid off when she pushed herself up. Shrimp quickly shifted and his hand slid off. "David!" She called, shaking him awake. He awoke almost instantly and popped right up as if he didn't need sleep. "S-Shrimp?" He squeaked, realizing where they were. "Oh no... Oh no... Oh no..." Shrimp whined, panicking. Her body began to shake and David sat up in front of her, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Shrimp. It's okay. Calm down." Shrimp felt tears in her eyes and she quickly stood up, exhaling deeply. "W-We gotta get back..." She cried, still shaking. "S-Shrimp, it's okay..." Shrimp shook her head and crossed her arms, gazing down. "J-Just take us h-home..." David's eyes widened at this. "You think of it as your home?" He asked, tilting his head. "P-Please David!" She pleaded, tears beginning to escape her eyes. "N-No! Don't cry please! I'll take you home!" David grabbed Shrimp's arm and lead her back to camp, trying to go fast yet trying to comfort Shrimp at the same time. Finally they had arrived, Shrimp was wiping tears from her eyes and David had one arm swung around her shoulders in a protective and loving way. As soon as Gwen saw them, she growled deeply and stomped up. "What. The. Fuck. David." She roared. "Do you know what time it is?" She questioned, pointing at his chest. "U-Um... N-No?" He said, holding Shrimp tighter to him. "It's freaking eleven! Where the hell have you been?!" She hissed. "I-I'm sorry Gwen... I-I fell asleep... And Shrimp doesn't know her way back..." David had replied. Shrimp looked at him, confused. He waslying to his co-counselor and taking the blame all for Shrimp. "Shrimp!" Gwen hissed, looking as if she were ready to hurt her. David yanked her even closer to him as Gwen did this. "Why didn't you wake him up?!" Shrimp looked around, then at the ground, unable to speak. "I was in a deep sleep Gwen... You know I've been up all night for the past few weeks..." Gwen then turned towards David. "And? What for?" She placed her hands on her hips and glared at him as she waited for an answer. "I-I was thinking about S-Shrimp.." She said softly, causing Shrimp to blush. "Ugh. Just wait until I tell Cameron David, just wait." With this, David's arm slipped off Shrimp's shoulders as Gwen turned and walked off. David ran after her, and quickly stopped her. "No! No, please! I'm begging you, Gwen! Please!" He pleaded, tears in his eyes. "Shut up David. Nothing you do can stop me." Gwen hissed, turning around to shove him away which caused David to fall. "B-But Shrimp's innocent!" He argued, now on the ground on his hands and knees. "I didn't say I was telling on her," Gwen replied before slamming the door. David sighed and placed his hands on the ground, gazing down at the grass. "D-David!" Shrimp cried, running to his side. She sat down next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her and forced the fakest smile she had ever seen on his face. "I-I did it Shrimp! Y-You're not g-getting fired!" He said, trying to sound joyful though he sounded so broken. "David... I'm not staying if you're not..." She replied, staring into his teary eyes. "B-But Shrimp--" He began, though Shrimp cut him off. "I've made my choice. I want to be with you." Shrimp said, wrapping her arms around his neck in a hug. "S-Shrimp..." David squeaked, his voice sounding as if he was about to break down. "I don't wanna leave Camp Campbell..." He began to sob into her, causing Shrimp to panic a little. She simply stayed silent and let him cry, holding him tight to let him know she cared andthat she was here for him. A few minutes passed before David pulled away and looked at Shrimp's face. "T-Thank you..." He said, before quickly hugging her again. He then stood and helped Shrimp as well. "We better go help Gwen," Shrimp reminded. "Oh," David said, wiping his eyes. "Do you want to relax for a little?" Shrimp offered, seeing David still looked upset. "N-No, it's--" "Davey, I can handle it. Just a short break. You need it," Shrimp said, cutting him off. David simply nodded, then pulled Shrimp into another hug and kissed the top of her head before pulling away and walking off.The day felt longer than it was, both David and Shrimp were worried about their jobs. Not only that, but them. David was able to relax in his room for about an hour which left Shrimp to do twice the work and deal with an angry Gwen. Once he had returned she was much happier, often glancing over at him just to get that burst of happiness that he always gave her. Finally, it was time for dinner. Shrimp hadn’t gotten a chance to speak with David since this morning, and was excited to be by his side again. Tonight they were having simply pizza, since they were all so behind and needed something simple. They were all fine with that, of course. After Shrimp had gotten her two slices she happily walked over to the table David sat at. “Hey, Shrimp.” David had said, looking up from his plate as she sat down. He offered a smile and Shrimp gave one in return. Shrimp had begun eating and a few minutes had passed before David spoke up. “Shrimp?” Shrimp laid her pizza slice back on the plate and gazed up at him. “Yeah?” David wiped his mouth quickly though there was nothing on it and scratched the back of his neck nervously. “W-Well... I’ve been thinking... I don’t think I’ll be able to... Take you on that d-date anytime s-soon..” He sighed, beginning to stutter. Shrimp felt her face heat up as she stared at him, panicking. What had she done? Why was he changing his mind about her? Who had changed his mind? Shrimp’s head spun with questions which all added to the sickness she began to feel. “O-Oh... O-Okay I under-s-stand...” She had replied, pushing her dinner away as she glanced down at her hands. She didn’t want David to see the tears in her eyes and she was forcing them back. “P-Please don’t be mad... Once I have all this worked out I’ll have enough money to take you where you deserve...” David had said softly, reaching out a hand to touch her shoulder. “W-What?” Shrimp squeaked, lifting her head up to stare at him. “S-So... You didn’t change your mind?” She asked, wanting to be sure. “About what?” David replied. “About... L- uh... Ta- um...” Shrimp stuttered, her face becoming red. “Oh!” David suddenly gasped, the confused look on his face fading away. “N-No Shrimp, I’d love to take you out... I-I just don’t know i-if I’ll still have my job... So I don’t know if I’ll have money...” David explained. “D-David... You don’t have to spend any money on me..” Shrimp replied nervously. “But I w-want you happy, Shrimp.” David answered, staring into her eyes. “But I’m happy right now.. I’m happy always... I’m happy as long as I’m with you.” Shrimp’s face had turned into a bright red color by now, her palms sweating. “R-Really?” David questioned. Shrimp nodded. “But... How can it be a date if I don’t take you somewhere?” Shrimp thought for a moment. “What if I take you out?” She offered, though she regretted it since it sounded so odd. “W-What? W-Why? N-No, you don’t have to...” David squeaked quietly. “Like you said, I’m going to be able to keep my job, so I’ll have the money. We can plan it out and take a vacation day and spend the whole day together..” Shrimp noticed she was thinking out loud. “Hnng...” David whined, bringing his hand up to his mouth as he began to chew his nails again. He wanted her happy, and he did want to go out with her, but it felt so wrong to make her pay for everything. “O-Okay... I can just... Take you out anyway.. Just a little money won’t hurt...” David said, giving up. “David, no. I already offered to pay for it all, why don’t you just let me?” She stared at the nervous other who kept making nervous actions. David let out a loud whine as he placed his elbows on the table and laid his head in his hands. Suddenly they heard Gwen stomp over. “Get your butt up, David.” She hissed, grabbing his bandana and tugging it so tightly that David let out a coughing sound. Suddenly, there was a different sound and at first she didn’t know what it was. She glanced around the room then figured out it was right in front of her. She gasped as she watched the yellow fabric of David’s bandana begin to rip apart. “G-Gwen! N-No! Please stop!” David pleaded. Gwen let go, not noticing what was happening. “Er, oops. Sorry David.” She then pointed towards the campers who were putting away their dishes. “Bed,” She simply said, then turned away and walked off. Shrimp looked over at David and her heart quickly sunk. He had untied the bandana and it was now laying on his hands in front of him. Tears began streaming down his face as he stared at it, and he looked quite odd without it. Shrimp knew Gwen would get angry soon so she stood, not having time to comfort David at the moment, so she simply reached over and planted a quick kiss on his cheek before leading the campers to their tents. Once she had returned David was still sitting there, his face now berried in his ripped bandana. “D-Davey...” Shrimp said in a kind tone, sitting down next to him. “It’s okay. Don’t cry please...” she begged, her hands laid softly on his shoulders. “Do you have a sowing machine here?” She asked. “No one knows how to use it...” He sobbed. “Where is it?” David simply nodded towards a closet and Shrimp stood, walking over to it. David opened his mouth to speak but Shrimp had quickly yanked the door open. Suddenly an avalanche of tons of different things piled down on her, knocking Shrimp over as she screeched in terror. “Shrimp!” David called, putting down his bandana and rushing over to her. Shrimp whined in pain over all the heavy items that had fallen on her. “I’m so sorry!” David cried, then quickly began lifting things off her and setting it aside, once more showing her how strong he was. Shrimp’s eyes seemed to sparkle as she gazed up at him. He quickly reached his hand out and Shrimp hesitated a bit before grabbing it. He easily pulled her up and she then suddenly wrapped her arms around him, then pointed towards the sowing machine that was against the wall. She then gazed up at David, his face looking simply shocked and confused. She then pulled away and picked up the machine. “Can I have your bandana?” She asked kindly. David paused and gazed at the yellow item that meant so much to him that laid on the table. “P-Please... Be careful.” Shrimp nodded to him before grabbing it, then she would walk into her room to set it up. “Goodnight then, I guess...” David said sadly. Ever since they met they had said goodnight before bed, but now Shrimp had forgotten. His heart sank even though he knew he should be thankful that she was fixing his bandanna. But before he could walk into his own room and whine to himself, Shrimp came running over to him out of no where. He panicked a little, as if he was expected to do some sort of trick with her. Instead, Shrimp flung her arms around him and hugged him tightly. “Goodnight!” She smiled. David gazed down at her, his face heating up. He then hugged her in return before watching her skip into her room.
Shrimp lifted her head from off her hands, then gazed around her as she noticed she wasn’t in her bed. She was sitting at her desk, leaned over so that her head laid on the table. She quickly switched off the lamp since there was no need for it, it was already morning. She gazed down at the bright yellow bandana that her hands rested on. She pulled her hands away and gazed at it, realizing she had slept on top of David’s bandana. It smelled just like him, which wasn’t surprising since he wore it all the time. She wasn’t sure how to describe it, though it smelled somewhat like nature. She ran her finger across the place it had been ripped, now sowed back together neatly. She had tried to get it so perfect and it had taken so long that cone she had finished, she simply fell asleep right there. She turned her chair towards her bed and dresser where her clock rested. She then pushed herself out of the chair quickly, realizing breakfast was half way over. She quickly dressed herself and got ready for the day, leaving the bandana on her desk as she did this. Finally, she grabbed the bandana carefully and opened the door before sort of rushing down the hall to the cafeteria. She gazed over at the normal table Shrimp and David sat at and sure enough, just as she expected, he was sitting there. She quickly speed walked over to the other, gripping the bandana in her hand. “Hi David!” She chirped happily, sitting herself down next to him. At first he hadn’t noticed her, focused on his meal. He felt so exposed and weird without the bandana covering his neck. Once he heard Shrimp’s voice his head jerked up and immediately a smile stretched across his face. “Morning, Shrimp.” He replied, his eyes beginning to dart everywhere in search of his bandana. She had been hiding it under the table and as she saw the nervous look on his face, she brought it up so that he could see. “O-Oh! Shrimp! Thank you so much!” He cried happily, reaching out his hands to grab the item as Shrimp loosened her grip so that he could take it. He quickly spread it out to stare at it, amazed about how perfect it looked. He excitedly tied it around his neck again and gazed over at Shrimp with a toothy smile. “Thank you!” He repeated, reaching out to her before pulling her into a hug. “No problem,” she yawned, hugging him in return. He pulled away after a few short moments and was getting ready to continue his breakfast before realizing Shrimp hadn’t gotten breakfast. “Here,” he suddenly said, stabbing the piece of pancake and pushing it towards her. Shrimp panicked for a moment then decided to simply open her mouth, accepting the food he was offering and biting it off the fork. Her face heated up a little as she giggled, her face turning light pink. “Still hungry?” David laughed. “I’m good,” Shrimp replied, chuckling again. “But really,” David began, “We still have time for you to get some breakfast.” Shrimp simply shook her head and turned towards the table. She placed her elbows on top of it and laid her head on her hands as David continued eating his pancakes. Soon it was time for their daily activities and everyone had put their food away like normal. “We’re doing archery today!” Exclaimed David, skipping outside as the rest followed. “We’ll have to take a small walk to a little clearing near the camp where I have everything set up!” Shrimp followed close behind, simply walking like everyone else since she wasn’t as full of energy as David. After David had skipped ahead for about a minute, he slowed down so that he could be near his friend. A few short minutes had passed, the two walking side by side silently and only stealing glances every once in a while. One of the times, though, they had glanced at each other at the same time and their eyes locked. They had stared at each other for a few short seconds before they both turned their head away, their faces glowing a bright red color as a little smile tugged at their lips. Shrimp hadn’t noticed, but David had stolen another quick look at her after she had turned away, a goofy grin on his face. A few minutes passed and suddenly Shrimp had turned her head towards David, seeing that he had lifted his hand and pushed his bandana up to his face, pressing onto the tip of his nose. He inhaled the scent of the clothing and turned towards Shrimp, letting go of the bandana. “It smells like you!” He giggled goofily. “I— yeah, I kinda um... Fell asleep on it.” She admitted, wincing as she said it. “Wow, really? You didn’t have to work that hard, Shrimp... I didn’t mean to keep you up all night.” David had replied, his smile fading as he suddenly felt guilt for causing her to be exhausted. “No. It’s okay.. S-Sorry..” David suddenly moved closer to her, his hands now lifted toward his bandana. “No Shrimp, you have no reason to be sorry. You spent enough time trying to make it perfect for me to make you exhausted. And yet you were still on time to come and brighten up my morning. Plus...” David paused, sliding slightly closer so that they were only a few feet apart. “Y-You smell good.” David spat, though he realized how good it sounded in his mind wasn’t the same when he said it out loud and in front of Shrimp. “H-Huh?” Shrimp squeaked, her heart thumping loudly as she blushed. “I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean for it to sound creepy!” David stuttered, his hands flying up to cover his madly blushing face. “I s-swear I w-wasn’t trying to b-be!” He spat out, now walking slower as he pointed his hidden face down so that Shrimp couldn’t see. “I-It’s okay...” Shrimp responded softly, her own face becoming redder. For the remaining time it took to reach the clearing David spoke of, they walked silently and extremely awkwardly near each other the whole time. There were moments where David would speed up and leave Shrimp behind, but he would always slow down so that he was next to her again. Finally they had reached the area where they would spend the rest of the day instructing the campers on how to use a real bow and arrow.
"Davey?" Shrimp had called, speeding up so that he was by his side. They were now on their way back to camp, and poor David had had a bad day. "Are you okay?" Shrimp asked in a concerned voice, reaching up to place her hand on his shoulder. "Y-Yeah.. It's okay Shrimp. The arrow didn't hit me.." He replied, glancing over at her. "David, that was close. Please be careful next time!" Shrimp whined at the clumsy other. He had accidentally moved in front of Max's target while he was getting ready to shoot, and Max, being the little piece of crap he was, pulled the arrow back and let it go towards David. David remembered how quick it all happened, his heart skipped a beat as he heard Shrimp's terrified scream. But, luckily, Max had failed to shoot him and it simply stabbed the ground in front of him. "I-I'm sorry Shrimp..." David in an ashamed voice, dipping his head. "P-Please... I don't wanna loose you..." Shrimp squeaked, quickly wrapping her arms around the other and hugged him. After a few moments she pulled away and suddenly asked, "David, why have you been acting so different today?" David sighed and turned his head towards her. "I-I'm scared, Shrimp.." He simply responded. "This morning... Gwen told Mr. Campbell about my mistakes..." David inhaled deeply, shutting his eyes for a moment. "D-Davey..." Shrimp squeaked, suddenly latching onto his arm. "He can't fire his best counselor.." She said softly and calmly."He wouldn't. And he won't." David turned his head towards her, revealing his sparkling eyes as a smile spread on his face. He suddenly took his farthest arm and swung it towards her, grabbing her warm shoulder and pulling her closer to him. Shrimp's face became red as her face pressed into David's shoulder, walking slowly now, keeping up with him. David nuzzled into her silky soft hair, breathing in the lovely scent. He then found his lips pressing onto her hair, slowly sliding down her head until his lips met just above her eyebrows, and his lips lingered there for a few moments before he pulled his head away. Shrimp smiled as she lifted her head off of his shoulder, a blush spreading to her ears. Slowly his hand slid off her own shoulder, then fell by his side again. David carefully placed his arm around her shoulders softly, keeping her next to his body. They sped up a little, realizing the rest of the camp was right behind and watching. Though they decided, Why should we care what they think? The only thing holding David back from pressing his own lips onto Shrimp's was the fact that whatever her reaction was, it would either break him or build him, and he was too afraid to take the risk. So, he simply kept his arm around his beloved one in a protective yet sweet way, allowing the weight of his job to fly off his shoulders temporarily. Before they knew it, the counselor's cabin came in sight and David's arm slowly slid off Shrimp's shoulders as he skipped ahead, leaving Shrimp to quietly giggle to herself in such a goofy way that Max actually gagged. Soon they had set up dinner, which was once again spaghetti. Neither Shrimp nor David had gotten any, though, their stomachs too full with butterflies to make room for food. Shrimp had noticed Gwen no longer sat with them, she had guessed Gwen had gotten tired of how close they were. Shrimp suddenly raised her head hopefully, hearing the sound of her beloved David approach. He glanced up at her nervously, holding an object in his hand that Shrimp hadn't seen him with before; his phone. It had a green case with a darker green tree on it, matching his shirt's design. He slowly slid onto the seat next to Shrimp, propping his elbows on the table as his hands shakily held the object. "M-Mr. Campbell sent me something," he inhaled fearfully. "You'll be okay, David," Shrimp said softly, scooting closer to the other as she attempted to comfort him. The terrified David slowly tapped the messages app on his screen with a '1' above it. It soon opened up his messages and Shrimp attempted not to glance at his contacts and invade his privacy. Letting out yet another shaken breath, he tapped the new message from Cameron. Shrimp's eyes began to dart curiously across the screen as she read it, nearly touching David now. It read: 'David. I am extremely disappointed to hear you not only fell asleep on the job, but missed nearly a whole day of camp and put all the work on Gwen's shoulders. Not only that, but kept the other counselor from working as well. Being the founder, I have no choice but to come up there myself, tomorrow at about noon and speak to you about this face-to-face.' A hand quickly flew up to Shrimp's mouth as she read, shocked and angered by the message. It was then Shrimp gazed over at David; sweat was slipping down his forehead and he had lifted a hand to scratch the back of his neck, not bothering to glance at Shrimp or anything but the screen. "D-Davey..." Shrimp said softly, her hand reaching up to lay upon his shoulder. "Teh-heh." David laughed sarcastically. "I'm gonna loose my fucking job." Shrimp gazed up at him, tears threatening to flow down his face like a waterfall. She was somewhat shocked by his words, though in this sort of situation, she wasn't. "He didn't say that," Shrimp said calmly, lifting up her hand as she wiped the tears from his eyes softly with the soft fingertip of her thumb. "He just wants to talk Davey... What the hell would they do without you?" Shrimp moved even closer to David, wrapping one of her arms around him in a comforting way. "I promise to you David, you are not leaving this camp. Okay? You do believe me, right? Don't you trust me?" She stared up at him, who still refused to look at her and instead was just staring at the screen of his phone. Fine, if David wanted to act so helpless, Shrimp would just take care of him for him, so what? Slowly she reached out a hand and slowly wrapped her fingers around the object and David let her slide it out of his hands. One hand still around David, she used her other hand to type in reply, 'Yes sir.' She then shut off his phone and let her arm slide off of him, standing. "Let's go to bed Davey, we've got a big day tomorrow." David simply nodded in reply, looking as if he were half asleep and just staring off into space. She slowly reached and slid her fingers into his hand, pulling him up from the chair. "Come on Davey." She spoke so softly, carefully leading him to his room. "Please don't stress. Sleep. You need it." She demanded, turning towards him. "Goodnight, my little Davey." She reached up and softly kissed his cheek, her lips only lingering there for a few seconds before she pulled away. David hung his head, not bothering to reply, then turned towards his door and entered his room.
The alarm startled Shrimp as her eyes quickly opened. She reached out a hand to slap the clock so that it silenced so no one else would be awoken. She then pushed herself out of bed with a yawn, quickly slipping into her new clothes. She glanced over at the clock again; 4:21 AM. She let out a small, sleepy sigh as she turned towards the door, carefully opening it. Hours later, she heard footsteps come near her. She jerked her head up, pausing as she scrubbed the table. "Oh, good morning David," she greeted, offering a warm smile. "Uh, morning?-- Whoa," David paused, freezing in his tracks as he glanced around the room. It was sparkling clean from top to bottom. Shrimp let out a small giggle as she set down the wet rag on the table, her eyes sparkling. She turned towards him and let her hands fall down by her sides, before grabbing one of her own wrists and holding it there. She gazed up at David with a shy smile, a sweet look on her face. "H-How? Why?" David began to question, walking up to her. "I just got up early. Thought it might help if the camp looked nice for the one you look up to." She grinned, folding her arms over her chest. "Oh, Shrimp--" David began, covering his mouth with shock using one of his hands as he began to gaze around the area again. "You wanna know something?" He suddenly said, turning towards Shrimp again. She simply nodded, tilting her head slightly. "You're the one look up to," he forced out, his voice cracking slightly with nervousness as he spoke. Shrimp smiled at him, but it was a somewhat weak smile. "I mean, I don't know how long that will last," she mumbled under her breath, turning around again before reaching for the rag so she could continue to wipe down the table. "Huh?" David asked, quickly reaching out to grab her wrist before she could begin to slide it down the wooden surface. "I just mean," Shrimp began, letting out a small sigh as she allowed him to stop her. "I won't be much of a hero if I make you loose your job." She regretted saying it; Shrimp knew he was stressed enough about this but at the same time she didn't want to lie to him. David was silent for a moment, freezing up a bit. He then reached over to Shrimp's face and softly grabbed her chin, then carefully pulled her head towards him so he could see her face. "Shrimp..." He began, taking a deep breath. "No matter what happens... You'll mean more to me than anyone or anything else in this world." Shrimp's jaw dropped in awe, her blue eyes staring into David's. She felt her face begin to heat up which caused a redness on her face to spread to her ears. She was leaned over the table, one hand on the rag and the other against the wet wood, and David was leaned towards her, one hand on the table and the other holding her chin as they gazed into each other's eyes. It was then they suddenly heard the sound of many footsteps hit the ground, becoming louder as they came closer. David's arm fell as he let go of Shrimp's chin, straightening himself up as he backed away. Shrimp hardly moved; she was still leaned over the table frozen, her eyes following the kind man she was falling for. Many children entered the room, demanding food as they sat down at their tables. Shrimp quickly grabbed the rag and backed away from the table before she could get run over by whoever would sit here. Though as she began to back away from the table and head for the sink where she was planning to toss the rag in, Shrimp felt a sudden pain shoot through her foot like electricity. Nearly letting out a yelp of distress, she froze up and looked around for whoever stomped on her foot. In front of her stood a roundish boy with spikey chestnut hair. Shrimp's mouth opened as she began to speak, but before she could get a full word out the boy suddenly swung his leg back before shoving it forward, knocking right into her shin. This time, she was unable to silence the scream of pain that ran through her leg. David, who had been getting breakfast ready for the campers, spun around at the sound of Shrimp's yell and sprinted forward. "What's wrong?!" He cried, reaching out his hands that eventually touched her shoulders as he gazed worriedly at her. "RETARD!" Nurf shouted, his finger flying up to her face as he rudely pointed towards her. Shrimp stumbled back a little at the sudden yell and finger pointed in her face, bringing her hands up to her chest. "W-Wha? Re-- Nurf!" David stuttered, a frown forming on his pinkish colored face. "That's the last thing you should be calling her! Look how hard she worked to make this place so beautiful! Now, if you'd kindly just get your breakfast and sit down, we wouldn't have to continue this conversation." He protectively spat, his grip on Shrimp's shoulders tightening. "Oh, oh, oh, wait... Are you guys dating?" A voice behind them shrieked, casing the two to turn around. "I-- Well... Uh--" David squeaked, looking away from Nikki and down at the floor. He let go of Shrimp's shoulders and as one arm fell to his side, the other flew up to scratch the back of his neck nervously. Shrimp, pretty tired of all the drama that had already happened this morning, simply walked towards the sink where she laid the wet cloth, then sat at the normal table. David coughed a little towards Nikki and the others who were staring at him, then decided to follow her. Once he sat down, it was silent for a few minutes, before suddenly Shrimp's hand found it's way to David's shoulder. As he felt her warm, soft hand lay upon his shoulder, he jerked his head towards her and a smile crept up on his face. "Davey," she said softly yet seriously, "I know you're scared but... Don't be. Be brave, okay? For me..." She gazed into his eyes, wanting to say more, wanting to protect him, wanting to comfort him. He simply nodded and sighed, lifting a hand and lifting it towards his face so he could gaze down at his watch. "He should be here soon," he announced, his voice shaken.
"Did someone say, Campbell?!" The sudden yell caused literally everyone to jump, jerking around as the doors flung open and revealed the large man with grey hair. He proudly placed his hands on his hips as he grinned at everyone smugly. Shrimp rolled her eyes but noticed David begin to tension up majorly. "Davey!" He yelled again, followed by loud footsteps coming nearer. David, startled and overly nervous, popped right up and turned towards Mr. Campbell. "Yes sir!" He said, for once acting more serious. "I suppose we'll need to have a little talk. Is it okay here or would you like to go in private?" David felt a slight bit of relief since he wouldn't be humiliated in front of all the campers. "Well, if it would be alright--" he began, though suddenly he was cut off by Mr. Campbell. "Alright! Right here it is!" A nervous 'hnng' escaped from David's mouth as Cameron slapped his back roughly, making him jerk forward. Cameron lead him to the middle of the room and Shrimp could feel her anger begin to boil up. He was trying to hurt him. The poor innocent David grinned nervously, sweat beginning to slip down his forehead and travel down his face. "Well, Davey," Campbell began, once again making his proud and annoying pose. "You stayed out late, leaving Gwen with all the campers, forced her to take care of them for the night, didn't get back until eleven," he paused to take a breath, ignoring the fact that David was literally falling apart in front of him. "And not only did you fall asleep on the job, but not even at your job, AND, to make it worse, you dragged Shell into this." He crossed his arms over his chest as he glared at David with a fake disappointed look. "Uh, it's Shrimp..." Shrimp pointed out quietly, only to be ignored. "Y-Yes sir, I-I apologize for that--" he began, looking like a mess. "David," Campbell said, his voice deep and 'serious'. "I feel that I have no choice, but to fire you from Camp Campbell." Shrimp's eyes widened and her jaw dropped with awe at his words. David, oh poor little innocent, sweet David. He froze, staring at the tall man with his terrified blue green eyes. He opened his mouth to reply but only made horrified, quiet noises. He stumbled backwards, nearly missing the chair as he flopped into it. His hands covered his face, salty warm liquid streaming down his cheeks and leaking from his eyes. Mr. Campbell puffed out his chest and pretended to act tough or something, but before he could say some other stupid crap the anger began to spill out of Shrimp. "Um, excuse me, Mr. Campbell?" She said loudly, the anger obvious in her voice. She stood up, walking over to the large man. "Yes, Shell?" Shrimp laughed sarcastically. "Oh, again, it's Shrimp. And might I ask why you are kicking the only person keeping this place together out over something as silly as missing a few hours?" She hissed, attempting to make herself seem bigger by standing on her toes and puffing out her chest. "Well, Shrimp, I don't think David's the only person. In fact, he's ruining it with his mistakes. You and Gwen can handle it." Shrimp let out a 'ha' as she spun around, then glared up at him again. "Mistakes? Who said we're perfect?" Mr. Campbell began to get angry, since Shrimp was actually right. "Excuse me, Shrimp, but you do know I have the power to fire you too, right?" "Oh," Shrimp said dramatically but in a sarcastic way. "Please don't. Then it'll only be Gwen, just like before right? But it'll be okay, because that's nothing compared to a few hours! I'm sure she'll love taking care of fifteen kids by herself because she already loves sharing them with two others!" Mr. Campbell growled, glaring down at her; his hands balled up into fists. "Yes, I'm sure she will. Right, Gwen?" He turned towards Gwen who was sitting at a table alone, reading another one of her weird books. "Um, no. I can get another job if I want to," she shrugged, kicking her feet up on top of the wooden table. Cameron frowned and looked back at Shrimp. "He can't stay here," he simply replied. "Why not?" Shrimp spat in return. "He broke the rules," he hissed, bending down so that his face was in front of her's. "Oh, Mr. Campbell. Don't you break the law?" Shrimp responded slyly, a smirk stretching across her face. With this, Cameron pulled his face away and stood normal, gazing around the room as if he were looking for something. He folded his arms over his chest and for the longest time he stood there, thinking. "Okay, fine, David. You can stay. But one more mistake and you're gone!" He added, trying to sound scary again. "OH! Thank you Mr. Campbell! Thank you so so much!" David screamed, jumping right out of his seat and leaping up to Cameron. He nearly wrapped his arms around him as if he were his father, but he caught himself and pulled his arms back, grinning. "Aha!" Mr. Campbell laughed, making his cringey proud pose once more. "No problem, Davey!" As he walked out of the camp, Shrimp glared at him. After all of that, bravely standing up for him and risking her job, David thanked the one that was trying to fire him?! She knew she should be thankful it all turned out alright, but she couldn't help being disappointed that she got no reward from David. She was about to sit down again, her heart aching a little with disappointment, and simply rest there for a few moments as she waited the normal activities. But, before she could, two warm, skinny arms wrapped around her neck and rested upon her shoulders. He leaped up on her so excitedly and suddenly that she fell over, pinning her down to the ground. "Shrimp," She heard him squeal, nuzzling his face into her neck. "T-Thank you, so much... You saved me..." These words caused a blush to spread on her face, along with her heart racing. She could feel warm little droplets of liquid roll down her neck, which caused her to realize David was crying. She awkwardly laid there on the floor, David on top of her and crying into her. He seemed to realize how weird it must be for her and pulled his arms away before using them to push him up. He found himself right on top of her, their eyes locked. His face became red and he quickly moved off of her and sat down. Shrimp pushed herself up into a sit as David wiped the tears from his eyes. "Shrimp," he suddenly said, gazing over at her. "Would you be free tonight?"