Author's note: A Long-Winded Mushy Romance Scene Watch has been issue for this chapter.
The matter of time was closing in on me. They all stared at me, trying to yank my nonexistent answer straight from my heart.
I looked at the three pairs of robotic eyes… and all of a sudden, I felt myself grimace. Disgusting fear.
The outside world may not have been as imaginative as that little world in my head… but neither world was anything like it was here. The outside world was vibrant, colorful, clean, invigorating, and vast. Here… it was constantly dark. It was an enclosed and rotten space, where the ceiling, millions of meters below the sky, was the limit.
Of course the fox, the bear, and the bunny all meant well for me. But Foxy was the only one who even remotely mentioned taking me out to see the world. He was programmed on a strict schedule, though. If that were ever to happen with me by his side, it'd have to be done completely by my hands. Let's face that.
And… what was this "love" they were all feeling for me? Considering the fact that they were all programmed, something was clearly going wrong. All computers were bound to fall ill with at least one glitch in their lifetimes, much like how humans are bound to get sick once in a while.
This was a glitch. A glitch that would either fix itself or be fixed in time… and then, I'd be left all alone again…
The fear? They'd want me to become one of them, for sure. Mike had informed us carefully of what it was like. Your body, in all of its flexibility, would be mashed up like gumbo within that cramped suit. Whatever was left of your bones would float around in your bodily fluids, and then, your soul would take control and keep you technically "alive." A lot would be limited.
I had dreams. I dreamt to travel and see the world, to become a rich and famous author, and yes, to find love. How would being a freaking animatronic help at all with that?!
Being romantic partners with a robot would completely obliterate the life that I had envisioned.
I looked at Mike and felt myself smile.
…Wait, I only knew that the robots were in love with me. Mike could simply have been looking out for me… which was something quite like that male-to-female interaction that I'd been longing for.
My decision was ever final.
"Mike," I sighed. "…I-I'm sorry. I'm really sorry that I snapped at you like that. I realize that… yeah, you're just looking out for me. I really appreciate it." I blushed and stepped a bit closer.
"Wait, how can you just change your mind like that?!" Chica screeched. "Come on!"
I turned to her and said "It's… something that you programmed robots will never understand."
As they all gasped, Chica looking hurt, I turned back to Mike, who was smiling stupidly.
"I choose real life over this… this hellhole," I said surely.
"Thank God," Mike sighed in relief. He looked as if he could fall into a long-winded hug with me.
"Emily," I said, turning around. "What do you want to do?"
"I agree," she nodded. "I don't think I could stay here forever."
Chica sighed.
"BUT," Emily continued with a giggle. "I could be the night guard. It'd be an easy salary."
I almost wanted to punch myself in the face. That would be some plentiful money I'd miss out on.
But also… the sleep. That glitch…
"Emily, I'm not sure if I'd do that if I were you!" I panicked. "This 'affection' they're feeling for us… It has to be a glitch!"
I heard a resounding cry of emotional injury and shock from the animatronics.
"It could fix itself…" I continued to explain. "…And then, they'd be after your head again, wouldn't they?"
"I… guess you're right," Emily nodded. "Never mind. I take that back."
"I don't like this kid," Chica growled, giving me an evil glare.
…We were surrounded. And it was only 5:30am.
Mike feverishly looked around the room, and I followed. A knife? Maybe a gun? Heck, maybe that fan could work?
"…Aha!" Mike cheered, unplugging the fan and spitting on the plug a few times.
"What are you doing?" Emily inquired confusedly.
Mike didn't say a word, but eyed Chica a bit… before tossing the dampened plug into her beak.
Chica suddenly went limp. As a result, she soon fell into the room. Face-down… never to move.
"RUN!" cried Mike.
Emily had hopped over Chica before I was finished checking to see how the other three robots felt about Mike's attack. All of their teeth were bared, and their eyebrows were furrowed.
Before I could take a step, Mike's strong hand took my right hand. To assist me in the life-or-death mission of running. Running was never my forte. Had Mike and I really known each other for that long?
We both hopped over Chica and dashed through the hallways toward the front door. I felt each and every one of my steps gain wind from Mike's.
We burst through the front door, meeting the morning chill. The sun was rising. Friday was upon us.
And Mike still had my hand. He noticed this and quickly took it away, clearing his throat quietly.
"…Well," he said. "…That's IT! I'm sick of this place, and I hope for it to be shut down!" He took off his security guard's hat and threw it with a thousand Newtons of force against the ground.
"I guess so!" Emily chuckled.
"I'm waiting for 6 o'clock to go back in and set this on the manager's desk," said Mike, digging through his pockets before coming across a pink slip. He took it out and waved it proudly in front of our faces. A resignation slip.
At that, we quickly walked away, back toward Mike's house.
I left opportunities behind that morning. The moldy and expired ones in the bunch. I never went there again.
(Over a month later)
Every day, in that one class, Mike would spot me walking through the door and jump into a seat next to the one he knew I'd sit at. The rest of the year's seating chart was… pretty much nonexistent.
That is how I knew that for once in forever, a growing friendship would keep growing. I found myself learning more and more about both him and myself. More of that learning was about me because… the feelings… I learned more about those cute little feelings that danced impatiently in my heart, and I realized… my consideration for him as a love was destined.
The 24th of January was a beautifully-starred night that a lot of people were looking forward to: the night of the Winter Formal dance.
Unlike what most would think about myself and Emily? That's exactly what happened.
We stepped foot in the door of the hotel resort at exactly 8 o'clock, amidst a group of other teenage bodies, looking forward to a few hours of potential socializing. This wasn't a date. Not only Emily and I, but numerous others saw the night as a mere opportunity to dance.
For me? Dreams of a slow dance came to mind… A slow dance with something the polar opposite of a patch of air…
Clammy with the grime from a few minutes of vigorous twirls and slides, I walked over to the refreshment table… where the water was nonexistent. The dance would end in about 10 minutes. WOULD I walk out dehydrated?
So I stood, waiting for the pitchers to be refilled. Observing the embrace coming from a couple in front of me. Feeling even lonelier than when I had walked in here…
Then, my ears picked a "Hey!" out of the gumbo of voices in the room. With shock coursing throughout my body, I turned around.
Of all people… Mike had dressed up to come to a 3-hour dance. Shirt blue… pants and shoes black… I almost didn't recognize him. He jogged up to me with that smile. I saw practically none of that from the pizzeria, and for that, I was twice as relieved to know that I would never have to step foot in it again.
"Hi!" I cheered. "I never-"
"Would have guessed I'd come to a dance? Especially like this?" Mike chuckled. "Well… I heard you and Emily talk about it, and… well… I-I thought it'd… be fun!"
"Is it fun so far?"
"Yeah! I mean, they're actually playing pretty good stuff!"
At that, I heard the glorious sound of pitchers of water being placed on a table.
Within about 20 seconds, Mike and I were sitting at a table littered with glasses.
"You know," Mike said, his face reddening a bit. "You… look really beautiful tonight."
My heart leapt, and my cheeks felt to have the heat of a thousand stars.
"You look great yourself!" I giggled.
"I wonder who they got to be the new night guard."
"Whoever it is has walked themselves into a world of hurt."
"Right?" Mike laughed. "I'd hate to be that guy."
"Oh, yeah!" I said, bursting out in laughter myself.
"Well, whoever it is," said Mike. "I hope they take a stand against that place."
"Yeah," I said, standing up. "…Well, I have to go find Emily. I think I abandoned her. You-"
At that, I was cut off by the very magic in the words that the DJ spoke to everyone.
"Alright," he boomed. "We're gonna slow things down a bit."
Simple words can spark such an event. A slow love song with a country drawl echoed throughout the room. Numerous girls suddenly had their frail little arms tied around the necks of guys who had somehow fallen in love with them.
The music… sparked something within Mike. His eyes seemed to widen a bit more, and the redness on his face wouldn't go away.
"…Actually," he said, standing up as well. "I… kinda… It's cool how they have this slow song here. I really kinda… w-wanted to dance with you."
I had always wanted to teach myself to expect the worst (as in anything but this), for whenever I daydream of that dream moment, life detects that and takes the chance away from me. Finally, someone had broken that law of physics.
I had my crush to owe that to. Who would have guessed?
"W-Well…" I responded. "Sure! But what-"
"Did I mean?" Mike finished the sentence. "Well…"
He gently wrapped his hands around mine, giving them a warm embrace. He then lifted one of them up and twirled me around.
"You know…" he smiled. "Like that."
And so, we danced like that for the song, which was around 3 minutes. The periodic laugh was shared, and it was as sweet as an actual candy heart. Occasionally, we got a bit close to each other, but in all of honesty, that was to be cherished. Every time we glimpsed into each other's eyes, though… my heart almost couldn't take it.
He looked at me much like Foxy, Freddy, and Bonnie all had… but for some reason, it seemed like Mike stared at me sincerely, when the animatronics had just… stared at me…
When I heard the song end, my heart fell. A moment like this was one that I hoped would go on until the end of time itself, not until the end of the song's time.
Luckily for me, I heard that the next song was also slow, and some of it was plucked on a piano. It was a song that would seem to outlaw the absence of some sort of romance in the immediate vicinity.
And that law would be followed more obediently than seemingly possible.
Within a moment, Mike suddenly had his arms wrapped around me. In response, my arms were soon wrapped around his neck.
Therefore, his eyes were constantly in a direct view of mine. Why was he always… staring into them, as if the teal color in them was an illegal drug?
After this, we separated (reluctantly, to tell the truth), and the music was shut off as people started making a line by the coat rack. My coat, I knew, was right on the end, so I could just walk up and take it.
Right near where we had hung our coats, I saw Emily.
"Come on," I said to Mike as I started walking toward Emily. He followed behind me.
As Emily slipped her coat on, she turned around and said "There you- Mike?!"
"Yeah, it's me," he laughed.
"Wow…" Emily said in awe. "I… never expected you to want to dress up at all!"
I piped in "I didn't expect the same thing from you, Emily!"
We all laughed as we grabbed our coats.
Out in the mild cold, we stood patiently.
Soon, I looked over and found that Emily was talking to another friend of ours, Alyssa.
I got on my toes and tried to point out any distinction between each pair of headlights in the driveway, but they were only lit-up blocks and ovals in the darkness.
All of a sudden, something seemed to be rushing Mike.
"Rachael?" he said. "This may be a bit strange, I know, but… can we go to the back of the building?"
"Sure," I said, cocking my head a bit.
So I followed him back there. I followed him to the back of the building… which wasn't your stereotypical back of a building. I was expecting it to be dark. I expected the darkness to hold a gang, and possibly a couple looking to make some sweet, sweet love in privacy. But it wasn't even remotely dark. A streetlight shone on the wall. Not every streetlight can be a spotlight… but every streetlight can have dreams.
We stopped by the wall, and I suddenly noticed that our right hands were grasped together again.
"What's back here?" I asked absently.
"Nothing special," said Mike. "I'm… actually surprised that there isn't sweet love being made back here. Anyway… um… I guess what's special is that… there's privacy back here."
I rose an eyebrow. I trusted him and knew that he was too nice to cross a nether line like that, but… privacy could be used in any way imaginable.
"Um…" he continued. "I… Well, our rides aren't here yet, and… I wanted to… get something off my chest. Um…"
"Don't be nervous," I said, putting my free hand on his shoulder. "Go on."
He was a blushing, stuttering idiot. He was a cute idiot.
But whose idiot would he be?
"…Here goes…" he said, taking a deep breath. "…Alright. We're best friends now, right? I want to say that we've been friends since I revealed Freddy Fazbear to you, but I believe we were just… classmates to each other until I got that god-forsaken evil job. I may not have talked to you much before then… and I still slap myself in the face for ignoring a girl that's so intelligent, talented, and… honestly, beautiful. Especially since… Oh, boy… See… Rachael… I-I've… had a crush on you since we were in 8th grade."
I thought he had hated me for a period of time in our sophomore year. I hadn't done anything harmful… but I thought chemistry between us wasn't destined.
The tables were flipped the instant he invited me to join him in what should have been death.
"And…" I replied, completely astounded. "…You-"
"Mean that?" said Mike. "I haven't meant much of anything more sincerely than this, Rachael. When I told you and Emily that you were the only ones who deserved great boyfriends, I prayed to myself that Emily would maybe take an interest in Jeremy. Remember him? They seem to have a lot in common, and they talk a lot!"
"Yeah," I nodded. "Fitzgerald?"
"Yeah, that guy," Mike said. "…At the same time… I prayed to myself that your great boyfriend would be… m-me. It… s-stayed like that since forever, it feels like."
He sighed in despair.
"Now, look what I've done," he distressed, his palm colliding with his face.
"Hey," I said awkwardly, re-establishing my hand's grip on his shoulder. "I… um… I actually…"
Great. Now I was the blushing, stuttering idiot.
"I... Wait, were you asking if we could… like… date?"
"Well… if that's where you wanted to start off," said Mike. "But… I really, really like you, so… I was getting ahead of myself and actually thought that maybe… maybe you could be my… girlfriend… to tell the truth. But I can perfectly understand if-"
"That's too fast of a pace?" I giggled. "Come on. We know each other… we're best friends! It's not like you're just this guy who can only stare at me from afar anymore! I'd honestly be glad to be… your girlfriend, to tell you the truth…"
And every ounce of truth in the world went into that response gumbo. The only guy who wanted to talk to me and actually spend time with me by his own free will… was the only guy I needed.
He was MY idiot.
The rest of love's coveted milestones played out like a historical timeline. Not only every single event, but every single moment I spent with him was a moment that no other could match.
It was on a lightly-clouded, sun-painted evening, atop a bench-sprinkled boardwalk which sat atop a sand dune… sitting on a bench that was heavily carved by the hands of lovers before us, looking out as the last of the day's sunlight glittered the lake… when he held me so close that I could hear his heartbeat… and murmured "I love you" in my ear.
A lot of every moment we spent together after that was spent attempting to sum up all of our love for each other. We failed each time.
It was a starry night in late September… our junior year… within a seat on a golden Ferris wheel… that we found ourselves in an embrace that surrounded us with our own love… so much so that we suddenly shared our first kiss.
We will be graduating together before we know it.
Something happened back there, and whatever magic was working it, I was suddenly loved. Loved, the feeling I had been reaching for futilely for as long as I could remember. I suddenly knew what I was truly looking for, and it took three robot hearts and a human heart to do that.
I both grimace and reflect whenever we drive past that pizzeria now. Somehow, it's still standing. Maybe someone took initiative and knocked some sense into the animatronics' chips? Maybe an unfortunate girl stole their hearts from me and was now in my former position? Maybe… Maybe someone is just overpowered enough to have lasted all these years without them tearing him or her apart?
That, we can only hope is favorable for the one willing to take a hundred or so dollars to do it every week.
Us? We're good. And somehow… we have that place to thank for it.
Author's note: Longest chapter of anything in 2015, and either second or third longest EVER! Wow! I seriously hope you all enjoyed this fanfiction! Reviews will be cherished!
Shout out to Zombiegirl925: You know who you are! Thank you for the support, friend! :D And yes, I shipped you with Jeremy. The guy from Five Nights at Freddy's 2, I believe. Have fun with that.
