**Hey, readers! Welcome to my first FNAF fanfic, '1987'. I don't own FNAF, the story, or any of the characters. As an FYI, this story has been influenced by a few different theories (one of them being my own) on the backstory and events before, during, and after the FNAF franchise. This story in particular is based on the idea that FNAF 2 is a prequel. All of the theories contributing to this story have been thoroughly researched using the FNAF wiki; in short, please don't flame me for a theory you disagree with because we all have our opinions, right? ^_^ This story takes place during FNAF 2, so if you don't want any spoilers, turn back now!**

Night 1

Jeremy Fitzgerald felt like a grade-A dipshit.

Working a job as a nightguard in a pizzeria might sound appealing to some; free food, safe part of town, and who'd want to rob a pizzeria? Sure, he despised kids, and the animatronic band in the main room was pretty creepy, but overall it had seemed like a good summer job. For a guy between careers, relationships, and permanent living quarters, it was a nice change. A pleasant start.

Until his office phone rang.

"Uh, hello? Hello, hello? Uh, hello and welcome to your new summer job at the new and improved Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. Uh, I'm here to talk you through some of the things you can expect to see during your first week here and to help you get started down this new and exciting career path."

Guy sounded nervous. A little unnerving; but then again, anyone working here for more than a few weeks would probably lose any and all social skills they already had...

"Uh, now, I want you to forget anything you may have heard about the old location, you know. Uh, some people still have a somewhat negative impression of the company. Uh... that old restaurant was kind of left to rot for quite a while, but I want to reassure you, Fazbear Entertainment is committed to family fun and above all, safety. They've spent a small fortune on these new animatronics, uh, facial recognition, advanced mobility, they even let them walk around during the day. Isn't that neat? But most importantly, they're all tied into some kind of criminal database, so they can detect a predator a mile away. Heck, we should be paying them to guard you."

Pft. Fuck that. He didn't care how protective they were. those things still creeped him out.

"Uh, now that being said, no new system's without its... kinks. Uh... you're only the second guard to work at that location. Uh, the first guy finished his week, but complained about... conditions. Uh, we switched him over to the day shift, so hey, lucky you, right? Uh mainly he expressed concern that certain characters seemed to move around at night, and even attempted to get into his office."

Wait. What the fuck?

"Now, from what we know, that should be impossible. Uh, that restaurant should be the safest place on earth. So while our engineers don't really have an explanation for this, the working theory is that... the robots were never given a proper "night mode". So when it gets quiet, they think they're in the wrong room, so then they go try to find where the people are, and in this case, that's your office. So our temporary solution is this: there's a music box over by the Prize Counter, and it's rigged to be wound up remotely. So just, every once in a while, switch over to the Prize Counter video feed and wind it up for a few seconds. It doesn't seem to affect all of the animatronics, but it does affect... one of them. Uh, and as for the rest of them, we have an even easier solution. You see, there may be a minor glitch in the system, something about robots seeing you as an endoskeleton without his costume on, and wanting to stuff you in a suit, so hey, we've given you an empty Freddy Fazbear head, problem solved! You can put it on anytime, and leave it on for as long as you want. Eventually anything that wandered in, will wander back out."

Go back to the part where the fucking animatronics walk around at night! He didn't care how to protect himself from them, he was focused on the part where those things were alive!

"Uh, something else worth mentioning is kind of the modern design of the building. You may have noticed there are no doors for you to close, heh. But hey, you have a light! And even though your flashlight can run out of power, the building cannot. So, don't worry about the place going dark. Well, I think that's it. Uh, you should be golden. Uh, check the lights, put on the Freddy head if you need to, uh, keep the music box wound up, piece of cake. Have a good night, and I'll talk to you tomorrow."

Click.

Jeremy sat there for a second. He glanced down at his hands. Shaking like a leaf. 'The animatronics are alive. They're alive and they're looking for my office. Is this a joke? This has to be a joke.' His thoughts were racing as one of his trembling hands reached over to lift up the camera monitor. If they really were alive, he'd see that they had moved offstage. Did he really want to see that? He gulped nervously, closing his eyes and flipping up the lid of the monitor. The animatronics were still onstage smiling those stupid, creepy grins. Jeremy let out a low sigh of relief. It must have been a joke; some sick prank they played on the newcomers on their first night. He chuckled, shaking his head and reaching for his notepad to leave a nasty note for his fellow employees to see in the morning. It was only 1 AM, he was already hopped up on enough caffeine to run a marathon. Writing a pissed note was easy.

"Listen up, you pricks…" He muttered to himself as he scribbled away. "If you think this is funny… there is.. nothing… funny.. about telling me that the.. animatronics.. are…"

Thud.

Jeremy jumped, the pen slipping out from between his fingers. The sound had come from just outside the large open doorway. The hallway beyond was shrouded in darkness; too dark for him to see anything. He narrowed his eyes, trying to see what had made the noise. "Hello..? This isn't funny, guys. Did you stay behind to do this?"

Silence.

"Come on, that's enough. I'm getting sick of this." Still no answer. After a few seconds of staring into the gloom, he huffed angrily. "Okay, bastards, you asked for it." He called out, and clicked on the hallway flashlight.

Freddy was standing out in the hallway.

"Jesus CHRIST!" Jeremy cried out, yanking his hand back from the flashlight button and shrouding the hallway in darkness again. The after-image of that wide, toothy grin was still vaguely visible in the black void behind his eyelids. They were right. The robots were looking for him. They were alive, walking around the restaurant, and looking for him. What kind of fucked-up place was this?! Remembering the phone call from earlier, Jeremy snatched up the Freddy Fazbear head sitting next to his desk and pulled it over his own. The smell.. the fucking smell inside that thing. There was a disgusting stench, sickly-sweet, but stale as if it had been locked inside the crusty fabric for years. His panicked breathing echoed inside. He swore he could hear his heart rattling inside his chest like a jackhammer; god, between the panting and his heartbeat, there was no chance that… thing in the hallway couldn't hear him.

The office light flickered, then went out.

Jeremy let out a small whimper from his lungs, his white-knuckled fists clenching the armrests of his chair. 'Just stay still… Do what the man on the phone said. Stay still and stay quiet...' He thought, squeezing his eyes shut. After a few seconds, the wavering buzz of the overhead light came back on. He didn't want to open his eyes. He didn't want to see what was standing outside. He gulped, his face cold and clammy with a panicked sweat. He couldn't help it… He had to make sure he was safe. He couldn't wear this stupid smelly thing any more… His head was splitting. He had to take it off.

He opened his eyes.

Freddy wasn't there.

Jeremy slouched down in his seat, letting out a shaky lungful of air. 'Thank god for that… I could have been screwed..' With limp hands, he removed the unwieldy foam head from his shoulders. He drank in the fresh air greedily, clutching at his chest. It was like his heart had chiseled a weak dent on his ribcage; he could feel it, limply beating in lieu of his near-death experience… or whatever it was those damned things planned to do to him.

"The robots were never given a proper 'night mode'... so they try to find where the people are."

The phone message ran through his head. At least now he knew why the guy had sounded so nervous. As his breathing calmed, he flipped back up the monitor and scanned over the cameras in each room. The rabbit and the chicken were still onstage, but Freddy was nowhere to be seen. A few clicks later, Jeremy spotted him in the dining room. A shudder ran down the guard's spine as he realized Freddy was staring directly at the camera. Flipping the monitor back down, Jeremy sat back against the chair and rubbed his eyes. Quitting seemed like the only reasonable option, but he needed the money. He needed the money badly. Was it really worth it to stay in a stupidly dangerous job that brought him close to death each night? Bringing his hand down from his face, he looked up at the clock hanging in the corner of the room. Only 2 AM.

It was stupid.

It was dangerous.

It didn't even make any fucking sense.

But he really needed a job.

Jeremy squared his shoulders, moved the Fazbear head aside, and flipped the monitor back up again. The rabbit was looking directly into the main stage camera with a huge shit-eating grin on its face, almost as if to say, "You've done it now. You're neck-deep in it. No turning back." He shuddered, suppressing the urge to turn the lid down. He had a job to do.

End of Night 1

**There you go, Chapter 1! Please rate and review! I'll see you lovely readers in the next night!**