Freddy stood on Benny's desk, examining the child's collection of CD's, running a paw over the titles. Whenever his human could not rest at night, sometimes they would put some music into the radio and listen to it as it lulled Benny to sleep.

Freddy was particularly fond of 10 Years, as well as some forms of classical music, but most of the time they just listen to whatever happens to be playing on the radio at that moment, and don't usually change the station unless neither he or Benny like a particular song or artist.

He was just thinking of how much he adored the child, and wondering how long he would be with him, when he heard the sound of a bus pulling up to their street, the signal that his beloved friend was now home from school.

A minute later, Benny opened his bedroom door and dropped his bag onto the floor without turning on the light.

"How was school today?" Freddy asked, his eyes flicking to the discarded book bag on the ground.

Benny turned on the lamp by his bed, the light brightening his room, but just still weak enough so Freddy was still able to be animate and move around and not be harmed by the light. "It was okay, I guess," Benny sighed, lying on his bed and staring at the ceiling. "We just learned about boring stuff like numbers and Math."

"Math is rather difficult," Freddy agreed, "I am not very fond of it, either."

Benny giggled. "But you've never gone to school, Freddy! How would you know if you like it if you've never done it before?"

"Many children have claimed ownership of me over the years, Benny, and quite a few of them were your age or younger." The golden bear explained. "Some of them were slightly older, yes, but the majority were about as old as you are now."

"How many owners have you had?" Benny asked, curious to know. He had found Freddy at the local pawn shop down the street almost a year ago, and had loved him ever since then. His brother wasn't too fond of him, but Benny hoped that would change with time.

"I have had seven owners before you, not all of them kind," Freddy said lightly, climbing off of the desk and making his way over to the bed where Benny lay, climbing up to snuggle by the young human's side.

Benny was perplexed. "How could they not be nice to you? Everyone loves plushies! Especially cuddling with them because they're so soft and warm."

"Well, some of my previous owners were not as loving as you are to me," Freddy explained, lightly placing a paw on Benny's cheek in a gesture of affection, "Most of them would not even bother to pay me any mind at all, and would leave me on a shelf all alone to rot, feeling unloved and forgotten."

"That's horrible!" Benny gasped, pulling him close against his chest to comfort him. "I'd never do that to you!"

"I know you wouldn't. I also had one or two owners who would carry me around with them everywhere they went. I had opportunities to see the world outside of their homes, and it was wonderful. I saw so many places far and wide. Some of the parents, though, were not so pleased with that."

"Where did you go when you were with them?"

"Many places. Georgia and Colorado, Kansas City, and Washington, to name a few of them."

"What was Colorado like?" Benny asked, getting excited now. "I've never been there."

"It is very beautiful. The mountains are the most amazing thing I have ever seen, and many of them still had snow on their peaks even during the summertime due to how high up they are."

"Wow, that's really cool!" Benny squeaked, excitement in his tone. "Do you think we could go there one day?"

"Perhaps, but I am not certain. It is quite far from here, and would take a significant amount of time to get there."

"Okay," Benny sighed, disappointed. "What did you see in Georgia?"

"Georgia is very hot most of the time, and the people who live there speak differently than those over here. Their manner of speaking is… quite peculiar. They have alligators there, too, and lizards and wild geckos, and some birds that I had never seen before then."

"I hope I get to go there one day." Benny said in wonder, "That would be amazing! It sounds like heaven."

"It is very fun, and I believe that you would love it immensely. You would be so happy there with me."

Benny nodded and got out his books from school. Freddy watched him. "Do you have homework again?"

"Yeah, I do." The child said irritably, "I have to do Math and Science. I hate doing homework."

"Do you require my assistance?" Freddy offered. Sometimes, he would help Benny with his homework when he was struggling on a certain subject. He knew a little bit of each subject due to all the times he had watched his previous owners learn how to do their schoolwork, and had picked up on a few things along the way to make it easier.

"I guess so," Benny said, opening his Math book. "I gotta learn addition and subtraction."

Freddy glanced over the pages. "This doesn't look too difficult. I should be able to help."

Benny smiled at that and got to work, writing down the problems and answers until he got to one that he was struggling with. "Freddy, what's eighty-seven plus fifty-three?"

"There is no way you are getting me to tell you the answer to that," Freddy said teasingly, "That would be cheating. Nice try, though."

Benny smiled and giggled. "Dang, I thought that would work!"

So Benny was forced to figure out the answers on his own, with Freddy making sure that the answers were correct, occasionally offering his input and suggestions to help him out. When he was finally done with that, he put his homework away and zipped up his bag. "Do you wanna do something else for a while?"

"I thought you still had Science to do."

"We can do that later." Benny said dismissively, "Now that I've finished my Math, the rest of it will be easy, and Science is my favorite subject, anyway."

Freddy watched as Benny went to the closet and pulled down a board game. "Right now I feel like spending time with you. Do you like chess?"

"I have played a few times with one of my past owners, and yes, I do enjoy it." Freddy said as his human friend began to take out the pieces to the game.

"Do you wanna be red or black?"

"Whichever color you choose would be fine with me, though I would prefer to be red."

"Then I'll be black." Benny got out the red pieces and handed them to Freddy while setting up his own pieces. "Is red your favorite color?"

"As a matter of fact, it is." Freddy said proudly. "How did you know?"

Benny shrugged. "Lucky guess, I suppose." He finished setting up his pieces and helped Freddy with his. When everything was ready, he smiled. "Okay, I'll let you go first."

"Thank you," Freddy moved one of his pawns forward. "Your move."

Benny also moved one of his own pawns, and they each took turns moving each of their respective pieces until Benny managed to take one of Freddy's Rooks. "Ha! Got you!" He said triumphantly with a grin on his face, his eyes alight with happiness and excitement.

"I would not be so sure of that," Freddy retorted as he swiftly captured Benny's Queen piece.

The young child was shocked. His smile disappeared. "Man, I should have seen that coming," he muttered in disbelief.

"You let your guard down when moving your Rook, allowing me an opportunity to take your Queen," Freddy explained while he examined his remaining pieces for any other moves he could make. "One thing I have learned with this game is that you should never assume that you are going to win, or that you are better than the one you are playing against." He looked into Benny's eyes. "It could be your downfall."

The human sighed. "Okay, I understand." As he moved to pick up one of his other Pawns, the sleeve of his shirt fell back, revealing a bruise on his arm.

Freddy stopped as his gaze fell on it. He narrowed his eyes. "Benny. What is on your arm?"

Benny's hand instinctively went to the bruise, and he gasped. He quickly pulled up his sleeve, but he knew that Freddy had already seen it. "It's nothing," he lied, his eyes staring shamefully at the chess board, "I just tripped at school this morning while I was at recess."

"That," Freddy said while pointing a claw at the area where the bruise was, "does not look like nothing, and it does not look like you fell. It looks like someone hurt you." He growled softly at the thought of someone harming his precious child. "Who was it?"

"It wasn't anyone." Benny muttered quietly, "I just fell, like I said. I was chasing a basketball at recess, and I tripped on the curb. It's okay, it will heal."

Freddy stared at him, not believing his story. It didn't sound very truthful, and Freddy was good at knowing when someone was lying to him, and Benny most certainly was not being honest with him.

"Benny. Please just tell me who hurt you." He pleaded, worried for his friend's safety. "I promise that I will not be angry with you."

"I… I just…" Benny faltered, not knowing what to say. "I don't wanna talk about it right now."

The golden bear knew that Benny's silence was most likely due to him being too afraid of his tormentor to say anything more about what had really happened. Whoever had caused his beloved human to be harmed would be receiving a visit from him if this did not end soon. They had become a hostile bully, and Freddy knew a thing or two about bullies, considering that he currently lived with one.

"I cannot help you unless you tell me what happened." Freddy said desperately, their game of chess now abandoned and nearly forgotten, "They will continue hurting you until you finally break or fight back, and I do not want that for you. I dislike seeing you injured, you are aware of that. Aaron is already hurting you enough as it is, and adding another one to the mix will be too much for you to handle."

Benny stood up and began putting away the chess game, eyes downcast and his expression one of sadness and fear. He put the board game on a shelf in his closet, and then he left the room, leaving the door open so that Freddy could roam around the house if he felt the desire to do so.

The child went into the kitchen to make himself some lunch, getting some pizza out of the fridge. He wanted to tell Freddy what was going on at school, but he doubted that he could do much to help. Besides, Benny had already told the teachers what was going on, and they had said that they would take care of it. Freddy had nothing to be concerned about. It would work itself out.

"I am only worried for your safety," Freddy's voice suddenly in his head again, "because I love you. I understand you are scared, and that is okay."

Benny turned, staring into the darkness of the living room, his friend's glowing eyes the only thing he could see. His food now done, Benny took it out of the microwave and sat down at the island, clearing away some of the stuff that cluttered the countertop. "I can handle it. I'll just talk with them, and then they'll leave me alone. You'll see."

"There is more than one?" Freddy said, his voice revealing his surprise at this revelation. "I was unaware of this. I was under the assumption that it was just a single person. How many of them are hurting you?"

Benny hesitated, taking a bite of his food. He knew Freddy was only trying to help because he was concerned, but he also didn't want anyone to get hurt.

"Benny. How many of them are there?"

He sighed. If he didn't tell him now, then Freddy wouldn't stop until he told him. "There's three of them."

"I see. Did you tell anyone at your school about this?"

"I told my teachers and the principal. They said they'd take care of it." He took another bite of his food.

"Then I trust that the situation will be resolved fairly soon." Freddy said, slightly relieved. "However, If It still persists, then I will pay them a visit and make them stop."

"No, please don't do that!" Benny exclaimed desperately, "You'd only make it worse!"

"I highly doubt that. I believe it would be an acceptable solution to your problem." The golden bear said patiently.

XXXXXXXXXX

Benny woke up screaming that night, soaked in sweat. Panting heavily, he felt around for Freddy, who usually stayed in bed with him while he slept. This time, though, he could not find him. So he stayed in his bed, shivering and cold.

He thought he saw shadows coming to life on the walls around him, and he felt helpless and alone.

Freddy came rushing into the room, ready to protect his child from whatever was scaring him. Looking around he saw nothing. His claws retracted, and his eyes went back to their usual white color. He looked to Benny and saw him shivering and appearing to be distressed.

"I see no immediate threats to your safety." He observed, slightly confused. "Are you hurt?"

Benny shook his head rapidly, still hyperventilating.

Now Freddy was even more perplexed. "If you are not injured, then what is…" Then he understood. "You had a nightmare. Those can be quite terrifying."

He crawled up onto the bed to snuggle with his friend, pressing his face into Benny's neck. The human's shaking lessened slightly as Benny immediately pulled Freddy close to him for comfort, his breath fast and loud in the sentient plushies ears.

"They're gonna get me," Benny said, clutching him tighter. "They wanna kill me!"

"Who? Who wants to kill you? No one is here, Benny. I see no danger. It is just us. You and I."

His child continued sniffling, making panicked noises and pulling at the blankets.

"Tell me what happened."

"The others." Benny said as he buried his face into Freddy's soft fabric, and the animate plush softly licked his mouth, something that felt very comforting to him. "They took you away. Tore you up. They made me watch as you died. Then they did it to me, too."

"It's alright." Freddy whispered, staring into Benny's terrified eyes and running a paw through his hair. "Don't be afraid. I will keep you safe."

He felt Benny began to relax, and his shaking started to subside further, and his breathing began to slow as well. He started to look around again.

"Look at me." Freddy said, gently grabbing his chin and turning his head to keep Benny's attention on him. "I will never leave you. I will not ever let anyone take me away from you. We will be okay."

Benny had been dreaming about a few of the kids at his parties again. The bad ones, the ones who wanted to hurt him with words and try to steal his things. He'd been having these dreams for the last few days, and this was quickly becoming a regular thing for them now. Freddy did what he could to keep his friend calm when these moments came, but they were happening much more frequently than he would have liked them to be, and it was beginning to worry him.

Benny would see those kids at his school everyday, too, because they were in the same class as him, and from what Benny had told him, the teacher does fuck all to help whenever it happens, which was almost everyday.

"Are these the same ones who hurt you last night?" Freddy asked, his voice quiet and calm.

The child nodded. "Yes. They won't stop. They said they wouldn't. They said if I told anyone that it would get worse."

"I will help you get through this," Freddy decided. "You will be okay. Now, rest. I will stay with you until morning."

Benny nodded and closed his eyes, falling asleep to the sound of Freddy humming a nameless tune in his mind, a lullaby.

"Tomorrow is another day."

The next morning, Benny woke up to a light tapping on his shoulder. He sat up in bed and turned on his bedside lamp, rubbing his eyes. "What time is it?" He knew who had woken him.

"Almost 7:00," Freddy said. He had something in his paws. He held it out to him. "You should wake up, you have school in an hour. I brought you some food."

Benny took the object and examined it. It was a chocolate chip cookie. He laughed tiredly. "Freddy, I can't have sugar this early in the morning! You know that."

"Food is food," Freddy said dismissively, "It is all the same to me."

Benny threw back his blankets and got out of bed, stretching his limbs. He picked up Freddy and made his way downstairs to the kitchen to eat breakfast, putting the cookie Freddy had given him back into the cookie jar on the counter next to the oven.

He opened the fridge and got some pancakes and heated them up in the microwave, putting syrup and butter on them after they were done. Freddy climbed up onto the table. "I hope this day will be good to you."

Benny swallowed what he had in his mouth and smiled. "Yeah, me too."

"Think positive." Freddy suggested. "I know that is hard to do sometimes, but please try. Think of me, if it would help you through until the end of the day."

The young child finished his breakfast and slung his backpack over his shoulder. "Okay, I will." He looked at the clock. "Oh gosh, I gotta go, the bus is gonna be here any minute!" He put his plate in the sink.

Freddy walked up to him and wrapped his arms around Benny's neck, hugging him. "I will miss you."

"I'll miss you, too." Benny said sadly.

"I love you, Benny." Freddy said, nuzzling his friend's face. "I love you so dearly."

"I love you, too, Freddy." He put him down. "I gotta go now. Be good."

"Always." The Golden bear said, already starting to miss his most beloved human.

Then Benny was gone, closing the door behind him.

A/N: This was originally supposed to be a one-shot, but then I got to thinking about all the ideas I have for this story, so now I'm deciding that this is gonna be a prequel to 'Nightmares And Monsters,' so if you haven't read that story yet, feel free to do so now.

Aaron will also be in this story in the next chapter, so goody for that, I guess. This story is set a week before the main one, so this might only be, I wanna say maybe another two or three chapters? I really don't know. Anyway, I know that I promised a one-shot, but I just have so many ideas. Hope making this a prequel is still okay?