Archive of Our Own ^beta

 He had woken up to the theater kid singing like usual. It felt like a perfectly normal day at Camp Campbell. Except it wasn’t. It was the day they all went home. Harrison had been dreading this for so long. He had been lucky to even have been able to come back after last summer. He wasn’t so sure if he would get lucky again.

 Reality hit him like a brick at the sight of his tent mates bags fully packed. He had neglected to pack his own bag yet. It wasn’t like he had brought much to begin with. Just some clothes, his top hat, and a few toiletries. Preston on the other hand, had two duffel bags, one which was most likely stuffed with play scripts.

 “Good morning, Harrison!” Preston said in a sing-song voice. I’m going to miss waking up to that was all he could think.

 “Morning, Pres.”

 “Can you believe summers over already? Feels like we just got back into the swing of things,” the thespian continued. Harrison grimaced. Yes he could believe it. How dare he want freedom when he was a danger to the world. At least…that’s what his parents would say. He just nodded in response, putting on his top hat to go to breakfast. He would pack after he ate, it wasn’t like it would take long.

 The mess hall was already full of chaos when he got there. Max, Nikki, and Neil seemed to be planning one last scheme. That didn’t shock him in the least. He took his place at his usual table after being served what looked like…bacon?? I hope to god it’s bacon, I don’t want to think what else it could be . He was about to start eating when Nerris ran into the room, throwing themselves at the bench across from the illusionist.

 “Harrison!” They yelled.

Harrison shrunk back from the noise, hands instinctively pulling back from his food.

 “I think I figured something out!”

 “Oh?” He asked more quietly than he meant to.

Nerris did not seem to notice and kept talking.

 “So like at the beginning of summer I found an old diary from the 80’s, and I’ve never connected more with anyone in my life-“

He wanted to listen to his friend's story, but the commotion of the morning left him zoning out. In fact he didn’t even realize he had zoned out until he snapped to a few minutes later, Nerris staring at him expectantly.

 “You good? Did you hear me?” She asked.

Harrison blinked, looking around, as if lost for a minute.

 “I…what did you say?” He asked, confused. He didn’t have any memory of what she had said afterwards.

 “I said that I figured out that I’m not really a girl. And instead I’m actually what they call non-binary. I feel most comfortable going by they/them pronouns.” They explained.

 “Oh…”

They blinked at the puzzled look on Harrison’s face.

 “Well?”

“Oh uh, good for you?” He said, unsure. He felt bad for zoning out during the original explanation.

 “Thank you! I’m so glad you understand.”

They then began to eat their suspicious bacon.

Harrison looked around the mess hall, feeling like he was missing something. This happened a lot. Surely it wasn’t anything to worry about.

 “So, I was thinking we could try to meet up after camp,” began Nerris.

The idea made Harrison brighten up for a moment. Before realizing that his parents would never allow it. And if Nerris’s parents met his parents…oh god. They would find out how much of a problem he really was. He knew Nerris’s parents were good people. The way Nerris talked about them made him jealous sometimes. He wished he could have a bond with his parents.

  I did this to myself. I took away their favorite son. This is all my fault.

 “Oh uh, I don’t know if my parents would let me.”

Nerris’s face fell.

 “Are you still having trouble with them?”

Harrison looked like a deer in headlights.

 “What?”

Nerris sighed, pushing their plate aside.

 “Harrison, it’s clear you have a rough relationship with your parents. I mean I didn’t see much on Parents Day last year. But I do remember seeing you sulking alone behind your dumb stage for the most part.”

Oh…

 “It’s okay!” He tried to assure, forcing a smile.

“It’s gotten a bit better.”

No it hasn’t. Nothing has changed besides the fact that they don’t even pay attention to me anymore.

“Are you sure? You didn’t text me at all after camp last year.”

Who would trust something like me with access to the outside world? Certainly not mom and dad…

“I uh- got my phone taken away.”

Instantly he covered his mouth, having not meant to say that.

Nerris furrowed their eyebrows in concern.

 “Why?”

Harrison gulped, “um…”

 “We don’t need to talk about it. Really it’s fine. It’s not a big deal, everyone gets their phones taken away at some point.”

Nerris still didn’t seem convinced, and was about to say something when Preston ran over.

 “You guys!”

They both jumped at their friends' loud voice.

 “Hi, Pres,” Nerris greeted, after recovering.

 “Hello! I’m directing one last play before we all have to go home! It starts in an hour and you won’t believe the ending!”

Harrison forced a smile at his friend, “I’ll come and watch.”

Preston beamed. Nerris stared at him, worry on their face.

  They don’t need to worry about me. Really it’s fine. I’ll hopefully see them next year anyway…

They finished breakfast and all dispersed after that. Harrison quickly packed up his belongings, staring at the nearly empty tent. This was it. Camp was hell sometimes, and sketchily run. And the food was questionable at best and inedible at worst. But…he was going to miss it. Like he had missed it last year. Because at camp, he may occasionally get picked on, and he may not be the most popular. But he had friends. He was treated as a person (for the most part) here. He got three meals a day (even if they were questionable) and no one was scared of him. He wasn’t really ignored, and…the adults (save for Quartermaster) actually cared what happened to him. He didn’t get those things at home.

 His heart ached as he crawled out of his tent and found that David was already taking tents down. Nikki and Nerriss’s was the first to go. The cheery camp counselor hummed to himself as he took down the tent. Packing it away carefully. Harrison felt his hands start to sweat. No he wasn’t ready for the end of summer. He didn’t want to go home. He had completely lied to Nerris. Things had gotten worse at home. His father had turned to alcoholism. His father, who had been deeply religious all his life, had snapped at one point during the last few months. It had started with a few drinks here and there after work. Then he would start throwing the cans at Harrison if he came near. Sometimes, he could hear his mother crying quietly in the other room. Sometimes, he was afraid they would fight. But they never did. And they never would. Because his mother believed in being wholly devoted to her husband. Last summer, he had realized how fucked up his life really was. Parents Day had been the clincher. He knew it would only get worse from here. The longer he went without bringing his brother back, the more his family would fall apart.

  And it’s all my fault .

David finally noticed the boy watching him as he was coming back.

 “Hey, Harrison. What’s up?” 

 “Oh, uh. Nothing. Finished packing…”

“Well that’s good. Man I am sad the summer went by so fast.”

“Yeah…”

David frowned, noticing his camper was behaving differently than usual.

 “Everything okay?” He asked.

 “Oh uh. Yeah! I just…yeah it’s all good.”

The red head did not seem convinced in the slightest.

 “Everything okay? You seem down today.”

Harrison sighed, David should be easy to convince at least.

 “I am…also a bit sad summer is ending.”

David smiled sadly, “it’ll be okay, kiddo. There’s always next year.”

There is no guarantee there will be a next year .

Instead of saying more, Harrison pretended to have to go do something and left David to his work.

He found himself wandering the campgrounds, which were surprisingly active. He did go to Preston’s last show, and it was actually pretty enjoyable. Finally the evening came, and it was time for them to all gather in the mess hall one last time. David did some sappy speech, Nikki hugged every one of them, Gwen looked so ready to go home. It was as Quartermaster was getting the bus ready that things took a turn. David’s phone started ringing rapidly. He quickly picked it up, telling them he’d be back in a minute.

 What ensued in the next twenty minutes, no one saw coming. They all watched nosily from the windows, as David paced as he listened to whoever was on the other end. He looked angry, upset. Very unDavid like. He was throwing one hand around, exclaiming. Gwen went outside to check on them, taking the phone from David at one point. That was when she started yelling as well. Now they could hear some of what was being said.

 “What the fuck is wrong with you people-“

 “ No , no his name is Harrison . And I will come and fight you if you say otherwise.”

There was a pause, Gwen looked dumbfounded.

 “You know what- fine. I hope you bastards regret what you’ve done. Have a nice fucking day!”

With that she threw the phone back to David and stormed back into the mess hall. David caught the phone reluctantly, and stared down at it. He then looked up and realized all the campers had been watching the whole thing. His face fell.

 Harrison felt his heart pounding, his ears going red, realizing what Gwen had said. Had they- had they been talking to his parents? His palms began to sweat as he balled them into fists.

 “Harrison?” 

He turned to find Nerris and the rest of his friends. They were all looking at him with a mix of concern and pity. Even Max.

 “What?” He asked, trying to stay calm. They were all supposed to go home soon. He couldn’t break right here, in front of all of them. The doors burst open as Gwen stomped inside, freezing when she saw all the kids. She raked a hand through her hair, trying to somewhat compose herself.

 “QM‘s gonna be back in a few minutes, why don’t you all go get ready.”

No one moved. They weren’t quite sure what they had just witnessed, but there was an uncomfortable silence. Something had just changed. And Harrison was scared to know what. Finally Spacekid was the first to start moving again. Then Dolph, Ered, and a few others followed. Soon it was just Nerris, Preston, Harrison, and Gwen standing there.

 “Who was on the phone, Gwen?” Preston asked finally.

Gwen pinched the bridge of her nose. “Can you two give me a few minutes to talk to Harrison?”

Nerris and Preston exchanged concerned looks, before silently filing out of the building. Harrison wrung his hands as Gwen shut the door behind them quietly. She turned to the boy, her face unreadable.

 “Harrison, your parents called.”

 “Are they- why?” He asked. Why would his parents call?? Oh god, what if they want to get rid of me?

It was then that David walked in. He looked distraught, and shaky. Nothing like David at all. It scared him a bit.

 “David?” He said, his voice coming out more shaky than he intended.

The red head motioned for Harrison and Gwen to sit down. They were soon all sitting at one of the benches, where Max, Nikki, and Neil had been laughing half an hour ago. Now they sat in uncomfortable silence. Gwen cleared her throat.

 “Your parents called…they uh…” she looked at David, David nodded back slightly. She looked back at Harrison, continuing.

 “They uh- they…signed away their parental rights. They don’t want you back.”

David looked at Gwen alarmed.

 “Gwen!”

Gwen’s face went red, cringing.

 “Listen, there uh. There isn’t really a better way to word it.”

Harrison’s face went pale.

 “Oh…”

David tried to put on a smile.

 “Buttttt- there is a bright side!”

He then pulled out some papers that Harrison swore he hadn’t had before.

 “You're going to come live with me!”

The magician stared blankly at the two adults. His whole world had just changed in the span of a few minutes. His stomach twisted, the anxiety catching up with him.

 “ What did you do to our son? , you monster.”

 “Why can’t you be a good kid, like your brother ?”

 “Why can’t you be a normal girl ?”

He snapped back from his zoning out, and threw up on the floor. David and Gwen got up immediately. David ran around to see if Harrison was okay, and Gwen ran off to get something to clean it up.

 “Do you feel like you're gonna throw up again?” His counselor asked, gently. Harrison shook his head.

 “I’m fine,” he murmured.

Gwen came back and got to cleaning up the vomit.

 “Why don’t um- why don’t you go lay down for a bit?” David suggested.

Harrison quickly shook his head, pushing himself to his feet.

 “No, I wanna say goodbye to Preston and Nerris.”

David reluctantly nodded, telling Harrison he’d finish up some things and for the boy to come back here when he was done. Miraculously, Preston and Nerris were waiting at his tent- well- where the tent had been at least. They looked relieved when the magician showed up.

 “Harrison!” Cried Nerris, running to tackle him in a hug.

He was stunned as they wrapped their arms around him. He hugged them back. Preston quickly joined the hug and they stood there holding onto each other.

 “Ooh, group hug?!” Called a voice.

Before any of them could react, Nikki ran and joined the hug. The force of her sent Preston stumbling, sending them all falling atop each other. Harrison heard the click of a camera go off. He had landed on top of Nerris and Preston somehow, with Nikki tangled with his legs. He twisted around to see Max standing there, smiling. He walked over, pocketing the photo and the camera, and extended a hand to the magician.

 “You okay?”

Harrison wasn’t sure how to process any of this. He had just gotten legally disowned. And apparently David was taking him in. The whole camp had just watched Gwen chew out his parents. And for some reason, all their responses were that of concern for his well being. He stared at Max’s hand for a moment before taking it. He expected Max to make a rude remark or something. But he didn’t.

 “I’m fine,” Harrison said quietly, as he brushed himself off.

 “Sorry about that,” said Nikki.

 “It’s okay,” Nerris said, putting their hat back on.

Max cleared his throat.

 “So um, is everything okay? Gwen and David seemed uh- tense back there.”

 “Oh uh…yeah…” Harrison rubbed the back of his neck. He wasn’t quite sure what to tell his friends.

“They’re uh- taking care of it.”

There was that look again. Even Nikki had it. But Max seemed to pick up on the social cue, and left it at that.

 “What uh- what time are you leaving?” The magician asked.

Preston walked over to him and handed him a folded up piece of paper.

 “Quartermaster came and told us to be on the bus in half a hour, but that was a bit ago-“

 “Oh…”

There was too much happening. Harrison was twelve, and couldn’t process all the change happening around him. He barely registered the paper pressed into his gloved hands.

 “It uh- contains me and Preston’s contact info, street addresses, everything you need. It also has some of the other campers info on it.” Explained Nerris.

 “Yeah we felt bad about last year, and wanna make sure you're okay this year.” Added the theater kid. Harrison could cry.

 “You…you mean…you meant that earlier- that you want to hang out in the off season?”

Nerris looked shocked.

 “Of course I meant it! We were worried about you last year. We tried to call you so many times.”

There was that feeling again. That feeling of confusion as he realized how many people cared about him.

 “I…”

 “Kids! Time to get going!” 

They all turned around, Harrison’s mouth still hanging open. It was David. He looked more stressed than usual, which made Harrison feel a bit bad.

 “Quartermaster is on the bus and wants everyone on it in the next few minutes.”

The magician felt his heart drop. He wouldn’t be getting on that bus.

He turned back to his friends.

 “Thank you,” he finally said, wrapping them both in one last hug. When he pulled away, Max pressed a photo in his hand.

 “Keep it,” he muttered.

 “You sure? You…don’t want it?”

The short kid shook his head.

 “Nah, I got plenty from last year and so on. You take care, Harrison. You’re pretty cool, okay?”

Harrison could only nod. Nikki ran over and stole one last hug from both of them before she grabbed Max’s hand and ran towards the bus. Harrison followed his friends towards the front of camp. The rundown camp bus waiting, the exhaust fumes from it nearly suffocating. 

 “Well…this is it,” Nerris said, sadly.

 “Well- hopefully we can keep in contact this time,” he tried to reassure.

 “Wait a second,” said Preston. “What is gonna happen to you?”

Harrison hesitated, a bit embarrassed.

 “I uh- I think I’m gonna be staying with David for a bit.”

 “Oh- Oh!” Nerris suddenly brightened.

 “Then no matter what, we’ll definitely be seeing you again next summer.”

He grinned at the thought.

 “Definitely.”

They moved aside to let a few kids on the bus. It was just the three of them standing there. Nerris and Preston had to follow not long after, waving at the magician as he stood there. David walked up behind him, as the bus drove away with all his friends on it. Finally, he looked down at the photo Max had given him. It was taken from a side angle. Harrison’s face can be seen lying on Nerris. Preston had somehow ended up between them. His legs extending across Nerris. Nikki was on top of him. The girl’s feet sticking up, her body falling off of the magician. He smiled, tucking the photo in his pocket.

 He looked up to see David and Gwen talking in hushed tones off to the side. Gwen looked near the point of pulling her hair out. He couldn’t help but eavesdrop.

 “Are you sure about this, David?”

 “Positive. I was planning to start fostering after this summer anyway. He’s a good kid, Gwen. I’d hate to stick him in the system.”

Gwen cringed at that.

“I hope you know what you're doing. I’m not gonna be around for a while.” 

David put a reassuring hand on Gwen’s shoulder.

 “Don’t worry about me, okay? We’re gonna be okay.”

Gwen sighed, then glanced over at the one remaining camper. It was obvious he had been overhearing their conversation. But neither of the adults seemed to mind. He walked over to them, a bit scared about what was going to happen next. David gave him a tired smile.

 “Hey kiddo. We’re gonna get going in a bit. I just need to finish closing up camp, okay?”

Harrison nodded, before nervously asking, “what um- what happens now?”

David sighed, “now, the plan is for me to foster you until either you age out of the system or we find a more suitable house for you. Like a family member or something.”

Gwen shot him a disapproving look. He seemed to catch on quickly before adding, “but it’s up to you. I know this is really scary, and it seems like it’s all happening fast. But it’s going to be okay.”

The magician just stared at the man. Shocked, and a bit confused.

 “You…you mean…you actually want to take me in?”

The red head seemed shocked the boy would have assumed otherwise.

 “Well of course I do! I’m already a trained foster parent. I’ve housed two kids, at different times of course, before. The point is, I’m more than willing to take you in for as long as you want to be there.”

Gwen stepped in, seeing the stunned expression on the magician's face.

 “Look kid. I’m gonna be real with you- I had no clue how to react to that phone call other than pure anger. I’m really sorry for whatever you’ve had to endure at home. But I can vouch for David, he’ll definitely take care of you as long as possible.”

He could feel tears welling up in his eyes. It was shocking he had yet to break down. But there was something about the hopeful look on David’s face, and Gwen’s reassurance, that made him break a bit. When was the last time that he felt hope after camp? When was the last time someone had offered to help him?

  Mom and dad never called me my name. They never hugged me as much as my friends did. They haven't shown they even cared about me since Henry disappeared-

It was as if the day's events finally were hitting him all at once. Tears streamed down his face without him even realizing it. Before he knew it David had got down on one knee and had pulled him into a hug. He definitely hadn’t been hugged by his parents in god knows how long. He was offered a tissue and he gladly took it. He was a bit embarrassed by his sudden crying. But also knew neither David or Gwen cared. The hug actually felt nice. Not as comforting as Nerris and Preston (and Nikki), but it was nice.

 He calmed down, knowing David still had to finish closing up the camp for another year. 

Turns out Gwen would be flying out to LA tomorrow night, but didn’t have a place to crash for the night. So after finishing the last of taking down the tents and locking everything up, Harrison hopped into the back seat of David’s car with his few belongings. Gwen would be tailing behind in her car, and they would all be staying at David’s tonight. Turns out David lived about five hours away from Sleepy Peak. It wasn’t too far, but it was also wild to Harrison that he chose to come out here every summer. They didn’t get on the road till near five o clock, meaning they would be back sometime after ten. David let Harrison pick out the music, but the magician was embarrassed to admit he didn’t listen to a lot of music. At least- at home he didn’t. Before his phone had gotten confiscated he had listened to all sorts of things. Thanking whatever being was out there that his parents didn’t know about child locks. As long as he kept his internet activity hidden, and undetected, he could get away with it. But all good things must come to an end. They settled on listening to the popular music channel. Which was fine. Harrison wasn’t the biggest fan of pop music, he had heard a bit from Preston and Neil. He found he liked music with more odder beats.

 Unsurprisingly, he fell asleep about an hour into the car ride. He had barely slept the last few nights, but something about the radio on low and the scenic drive made him fall straight to sleep. He was woken up a few hours later by David. It was dark outside, and they were stopped in a driveway. Crickets were chirping, and there was a slight breeze that made him shiver a bit as he crawled out of the car. David unloaded their bags first, then unlocked the front door and led Harrison and Gwen inside. It was a small ranch style house, with a living room that opened into the kitchen. David led him into a bedroom, setting his things on the bed.

 “This will be your room for as long as you’re  here. We can get it set up later, but right now you can go back to sleep.” He explained. Harrison gladly took off his shoes and curled up in the bed once David had left. He knew him and Gwen would probably be up for a bit. But he was tired, and emotionally drained. Sleep was better than thinking about everything from today. This would be weird, but it was better than being ignored at home.

 Harrison couldn’t help but replay the group hug from earlier in his mind. It made him feel safe, warm. It was a nice thought to think as he tried to fall back to sleep. It definitely didn’t take long before he was knocked out again. If the magician had been less tired, he would have been woken up a bit when David eventually poked his head in to check on him. The man couldn’t help but “Aw” at how Harrison had practically burrowed into the bed's comforter. It would all be okay. Things would work out. But he didn’t have to worry about that tonight. Tonight he could just sleep and dream about seeing his friends again. Because for once in a long time, Harrison felt completely safe.

  /p>