"Art is the lie that enables us to realize the truth."

-Pablo Picasso

Arc IV, Part I

Little Mysteries

"So let me get this straight, you're the oldest of six, your name is Frederick Fazbear but people call you Golden Freddy because you and Freddy look alike and- what, he was the one everyone knew?- and instead of rejecting that you chose to embrace it and just shorten it to Goldie?"

"Pretty much."

The rabbit gave him a strange look, his brows drawn together, for several long seconds, but then he simply shrugged and turned back to his canvas. "Alright then."

"Not the reaction I'm used to," Goldie commented, raising a brow in bemusement. The rabbit seemed to accept it so easily while others questioned his logic; why take on a nickname that was meant to insult you? Most people couldn't understand it.

"What right do I have? I did the exact same thing," Spring pointed out softly, glancing over at him as his ears twitched. It was Friday, just past one thirty and the two of them were sitting (standing, in Spring's case) out by the pond over the bridge. Goldie had come across the rabbit around noon sketching out by the pond. The rabbit had soon decided that he wanted to work on one of his projects and Goldie just followed along, watching amused as Spring got frustrated with the clouds rolling in to change the lighting.

"You mean with the name Springtrap?" Goldie asked curiously, leaning back on the grass to watch him.

"Yea," Spring nodded in confirmation, eyes trained out over the pond again as he continued painting his landscape. "It wasn't a secret that my middle name is Spring, so a lot of my classmates called me that instead of Durrell. After my accident, though, some of the meaner kids started calling me Springtrap." The rabbit couldn't help but smile a bit, and though it was a soft smile there was an almost-surprising bitter edge to it. "I figured nothing would piss them off more than me accepting it happily and referring to myself as Springtrap, too. Make it into something positive. It just sort of stuck, I guess, even with me. Even when I moved I kept the name Springtrap… but I suppose that might have been because I wanted to drop the name Durrell..." His words trailed off, sounding thoughtful and almost sad.

Goldie glanced aside, deciding not to ask about the move or the name. "What was the accident? Um, if you don't mind me asking, that is," he added quickly so the rabbit knew he didn't have to answer if it was a sensitive subject.

However, he needn't even worry about that as Spring just shrugged, not looking bothered at all. "When I was eleven I was in a car accident," he answered simply. "That's what gave me these," he added, gesturing to… pretty much all of him. But Goldie knew what he meant. "It doesn't bother me anymore, I came to terms with it all," he added with a softer tone, one that told Goldie that just because he came to terms with it didn't mean he was happy about it.

"When you were eleven, huh? That's still primary school, yeah?" Goldie asked, glancing aside; of course he knew it was but how was he supposed to know how the rabbit's old school system worked? For all he knew the rabbit could have attended an academy of some kind or even been homeschooled...

"Yeah, right before kids turn into beasts of hell," the rabbit muttered a confirmation and Goldie snorted. "Seriously, middle school kids… just… no. And high school isn't much better…"

"Strange for a rabbit to not like kids," he teased the golden rabbit who just shrugged in response.

"Kids are fine, I guess, but I would never want to go to middle school or high school again."

"Here here," Goldie agreed flatly, holding up his bottled water as though it was a wine glass. Now it was Spring's turn to laugh, glancing at him over his shoulder. "So that was when you were eleven, how long ago was that?"

"What a roundabout way of asking how old I am…"

"Just answer the question," Goldie pouted, getting a snort in response. Spring seemed to be debating whether or not to answer and Goldie whined, "Spriiiiing!"

"Ten years," the rabbit finally told him with a soft laugh. Goldie was only slightly surprised; even though the rabbit looked like he was still a teenager he tended to act somewhat like an adult. Excluding, of course, the pillow fight and the honey-sparkle-feather prank...

"So you're twenty-one? Are you a junior here?" He asked curiously, leaning back on the grass and watching as the rabbit mixed colours on his pallette. His left hand still held his water bottle, not really caring that grass and dirt was getting stuck to the bottom.

"Yes, I'm twenty-one and no, I'm not a junior. I took a year off after high school."

"Ah…" Goldie nodded in understanding. "I've never seen you before. And you're old enough to drink."

"You didn't see me before because I wasn't your roommate. And I'm not buying you alcohol."

Goldie laughed, shaking his head slightly. "Wasn't gonna ask. I don't exactly drink. It was just an observation."

The rabbit looked over at him suspiciously, but the small smile told him the rabbit was only teasing. Goldie grinned in response as Spring turned back to his painting, watching quietly as he brought the scene to life. It was almost interesting how the rabbit would slip a tease into his soft tones and expressions. It only made Goldie more curious, and Goldie had quickly learned that when it came to his roommate, his curiosity was unbearable.

No pun intended.

"Y'know, you didn't get to properly meet Freddy or the others," Goldie mused aloud, watching the artist.

"Well we were all busy yesterday and the first time I ever spoke to him was six o'clock this morning."

"Are you busy tomorrow night?" He asked, tilting his head slightly to the right as he watched for the rabbit's reaction. Spring's ears twitched again and looked at him strangely, clearly amused.

"You really shouldn't start requests with that, you know."

It took Goldie a moment to realize what Spring meant and he snorted. "Y'know I don't mean it that way, ya dork," he said, rolling his eyes at the laughing bunny. "My friends and I are havin' a guy's night out. Foxy's somehow convinced Mike to come along, so I was wonderin' if you'd want to."

"I… don't get out much, really," the rabbit admitted quietly, fidgeting with his paintbrush. Goldie bit back the I can tell comment on the tip of his tongue. "Besides, I don't really know you or your friends."

"Well I don't know Mike or Bonsai that well either. And we didn't know Chick all that well before comin' to college," Goldie told him, waving a hand dismissively at the suddenly-timid rabbit's excuse. "Besides, the others have expressed interest in actually meetin' ya. Y'know, as in, more than a "oh you just pranked my brother, hi, I'm goin' back to sleep" meetin'."

Spring snorted softly at that. "I dunno. I'm not very good with new people."

"Ya seemed to handle me pretty well."

"I was tired and wasn't completely aware of what I was doing until it was too late. Besides, I've been sleeping in the same room as you for a week now..."

"Point taken," Goldie chuckled, shrugging. "But still, just think about it?" He left the "please" to hang silently in the air between them but he still hoped the rabbit would agree.

The rabbit seemed to hesitate, glancing over his shoulder at Goldie. He was clearly torn between accepting out of politeness and declining out of anxiety. Goldie hoped one day the rabbit would accept or decline- either or, preferably the former- because that was what he wanted to do, not because of what he thought the right answer was.

After a few more hesitant, silent seconds, Spring asked, "Where are you guys going?"

"Just out to eat to celebrate survivin' the first week, then to a movie," Goldie answered with a shrug and a grin. "Cat Meets Mouse."

Spring bit back a laugh. "Isn't that movie from the nineties? What's it doing in theaters again?"

"I dunno. Throwback Thursday?"

"On a Saturday?"

"I dunno. So?"

"I really feel like you shouldn't invite an outsider on you and your friends' trips."

"Oh come on, they won't mind. They're fine with Mike comin', and they actually want to meet you."

"We'll see when it's later," the rabbit finally murmured, fidgeting before going back to his painting. "Don't know why you're springing this on me, really…"

Goldie grinned a bit, immediately catching the unintended pun. "I dunno, Spring, it seems like a fun idea to spring these ideas on you. I mean, you didn't mind about the prank."

There were a few short, silent seconds before Spring turned to him, a mixture of confusion, amusement, and horror on his face. "Did you really…"

"Yes. Yes I did. But you did it first."

It took a few moments as the rabbit replayed his words in his head but then he slapped his palm to his forehead, causing Goldie to start laughing.

"I didn't mean to-"

"But ya did!"

"But I-"

"But. You. Did!"

"Oh jump in a lake!"

Had it been one of his brothers or even Bonnie or Foxy, Goldie probably would have tackled him into the pond. But this wasn't them, this was his roommate who he had barely started talking to and knew almost nothing about.

Well. Except that he hated his first name, his parents were Elaine and Edmund Franks, his brother was Dante Franks, he somehow knew Mr. Hugh and Mrs. Natalie, he loved art, he had a guitar, and he was apparently down for pranks. Oh, and he'd learned that day that he'd been in an accident ten years ago, was now twenty-one and he'd learned the origin of "Springtrap." But that was pretty much all he knew. He didn't know anything truly personal- what his dreams were, his lifelong goals, his interests outside of art and possibly music, he didn't know his little quirks or how he acted when he was completely relaxed, his favourite foods, favourite genre of music, the games he liked, any of his opinions…

All of these thoughts took less than two seconds for Goldie's mind to process and it reminded him of something he'd been wanting to ask. He watched the golden rabbit thoughtfully for a few moments. "Hey, do you mind if I ask ya somethin'?" He asked. The rabbit raised a brow at him.

"And you haven't already been doing that?" Spring deadpanned. Goldie snorted.

"Well this is a weird question but it's somethin' I noticed yesterday when I was helpin' ya straighten your army of sketchbooks."

"What is it, then?" The rabbit looked cautiously curious, as though unsure whether or not he really wanted to hear it. He also seemed a bit… nervous, his hands fidgeting with the brush and his green eyes flitting to the side, not meeting Goldie's brown ones.

Goldie thought for one split second about asking about the guitar. Or the guitar case. But he didn't. "It looks like you've got a family photo on your nightstand, but I noticed Mrs. Natalie and my teacher Mr. Hugh are in it…?"

Spring blinked quizzically at him. "Oh, that's what you were wanting to ask about?" The bear nodded a confirmation, noting the rabbit relaxing slightly. "Well… of course they're there. Mr. Hugh was my dad's best friend growing up," the rabbit informed him, shrugging slightly.

"And Mrs. Natalie?"

"My dad's youngest sister."

"Wait- you're Mr. Hugh's nephew?" Goldie straightened up a bit, his brow furrowed. "Do you have any cousins? Because he's often referenced his nephew as much as he's referenced his wife."

The rabbit blinked owlishly, then he shrugged. "I dunno. Hugh does have a brother and a sister of his own, but, ah… the rest of our families all cut contact with Hugh and Natalie after they announced they were getting married. You know… traditional rabbits-are-for-rabbits and wolves-are-for-wolves families... Mom and dad were the only ones who supported them and our family sort of limited contact with us too, even after the accident, so I never really met the rest of the Franks family," Spring admitted, his voice fading the more he spoke. Then he said louder, "Hugh could have easily been referencing my brother, but I doubt that. My brother was twelve the last time any of us saw him…" His voice trailed off again and Goldie had a feeling he was treading into dangerous gonna-shut-you-out-so-please-shut-up territory.

He chose to divert back to the picture. "Well… I noticed that the picture is ripped, but I'm sure you noti-"

"That's deliberate."

The voice was harsh and clipped, short, and it was filled with so much anger, resentment, and… hatred? Goldie felt himself almost freeze up, staring in shock at the rabbit whose back was now completely to him, tense and rigid, hand clutching his paintbrush almost too hard. It was similar to the voice he'd heard in Hugh's classroom after Hugh had called him Durrell. It was almost chilling, seeing- and hearing- the rabbit's sudden change. It almost scared him.

Apparently his roommate quickly realized how he sounded, his ears flopping down in a sign of instant regret. He said in a much gentler tone, "Sorry, I really don't like talking or even thinking about that..."

"Ah… that's fine, I won't ask again," the bear assured him as gently as he could manage, watching him fidget with the paintbrush again. His mind raced, looking for something to say or do to relax or calm the nervous rabbit. A glance at the time gave him an idea. "Hey, you should take a break so we can go get some lunch, you've been out here since, what, seven?"

"Ish," the rabbit mumbled, glancing over at Goldie. His ears were still down. Goldie figured if he stayed away from the subject of the picture entirely the rabbit might bounce back.

No pun intended again.

Goldie grinned and hopped up. "Well, then, come on." Spring's expression morphed into confusion, as though he couldn't fathom what the hell Goldie was saying. "It's past lunch time, bunny, let's go eat."

"Uh… Bunny?" Spring raised a brow at him. Goldie shrugged in response. "You know if you're hungry you can just… go?"

"Well maybe I want to go eat with ya. Eatin' alone is borin'."

"You have probably the largest group of close friends I've ever seen," the rabbit pointed out, and as if the emphasize Spring's words Goldie's phone let out a little ping as yet another message came through. Goldie ignored it for the moment; if it was important, they would have called.

"Please?" He tried, putting on the best puppy-dog eyes he could muster. He knew he wasn't as good at it as Bonnie, Chica or even Alfred, but he would damn well try. Spring looked torn between laughing, sighing, and just jumping in the pond (okay maybe not the last one, but he did look almost exasperated).

"Fine," the rabbit agreed with a soft sigh after a few moments, setting his paintbrush down.

"Awesome!" Goldie grinned, finally pulling his phone out to see he had six missed calls (how he didn't know, he had sound on) and four texts- one from Alfred, Freddy, Bonnie, and the latest was Foxy. He chose to look at the text from Foxy, being the most recent.

'Al wants 2 go 2 Redfinger's so we stole ur keys. Sry u dint anser ur phone'

Goldie blinked at the text. "So, uh, my brothers and friends stole my keys and are takin' my car to Redfinger's, apparently," the bear said to the rabbit who snorted at the news. "So, uh, cafeteria or cafe?"

"You are aware that I have a car, too, right?" Spring asked, a glint of amusement in his eyes. "I mean, you've only seen me walk out the door with my keys to go drive to a store."

"Hey, I wasn't sure how ya felt about people bein' in your car," Goldie defended himself immediately, not wanting to admit that it may have slipped his mind. Or that he was never comfortable being a passenger in someone else's car...

"I don't care as long as you don't leave any trash in it."

Goldie laughed a bit and got up to help Spring with the easel so the rabbit could carry his canvas back inside, safe from wind and any dust that might blow on by... or any rain that might start pouring. The easel was not very light but it wasn't really heavy, either. He was glad about that. It wasn't too far from the studio, either, from the side entrance Spring led him through.

He watched the rabbit take his brushes to a sink and begin washing them as he himself sat the easel down in its place by the window. Part of him remembered something about paint solidifying and ruining brushes but he didn't remember the details, he never actually painted. He would have offered to help but really, what did he know about washing paintbrushes? So instead he waited for the rabbit to finish and towel-dry his hands as best he could and then the duo headed out across the bridge.

"Why is the art building over here, anyway?" Goldie asked suddenly while they were in the middle of the bridge, glancing down at the boards under their feet. "It seems like a safety hazard to me."

Spring shrugged. "More artistic?" He suggested jokingly, though there was a tinge of uncertainty to it. "No but really, I have no clue." Goldie snorted and glanced at the rabbit.

"No secret relatives in the school board, right?" He teased, causing Spring to roll his eyes.

"None that I know of."

Ahead of them some brightly-dressed laughing students were crossing the bridge as well, and Goldie saw them wave slightly to Spring with a "Hey Springtrap!" Spring waved back with a polite smile but didn't respond much more than that. It hadn't really occurred to Goldie that the other art students would already know Spring, though clearly Spring didn't consider any of them friends if his lack of a verbal answer was anything to go by.

One of the girls in the group, a red panda, paused as she walked by them and smiled at the golden duo. "Hey Springtrap, can I talk to you about one of our projects later? I really need help, Mrs. Natalie didn't approve any of my sketches." Spring stopped, blinking owlishly before smiling sheepishly and fidgeting with his hands.

"Um, I suppose…?"

Goldie almost wanted to laugh at the awkward interaction. He'd have almost thought it was awkward because of the girl, but he had quickly realized awkward was what Spring was with any initial social interaction; he was acting the same way he had acted with Goldie pre-prank. He supposed Spring didn't talk to this girl often.

The girl smiled brightly at him. "Thanks! Seeya later!" She called, hurrying to catch up with her friends, grabbing onto one of her comrades arms to continue talking.

"Well that was weird," Goldie chuckled, watching the red panda go. He looked back at Spring.

"Artists usually are," Spring shrugged sheepishly and Goldie couldn't agree more. The two continued walking. "By the way, where are we even going? You didn't exactly say."

"Ehhh I dunno."

"Informative."

"You're welcome."

Spring rolled his eyes and Goldie grinned, stuffing his hands into his pockets. They walked for a bit in silence, heading back to their dorm. Goldie supposed it was so the rabbit could grab his keys since both of them were already dressed to go outside- they already were outside, after all. They went up to their room and Goldie waited in the common room for him. He sat down on the couch and gazed around the room, taking in the familiar and unfamiliar sights.

The television still had that gouge in it. Goldie hadn't realized he and Alfred had not told the other two its origin; he'd need to rectify that. On the wall to the right of the television, though, there was a large brown board hung up with a few drawings tacked to it. It didn't look like Spring's style (though, honestly, Goldie couldn't rightly say what Spring's "style" was; he'd only seen a few of his works) so Goldie assumed it was Marion's. They were sketchy with a few clear, heavy lines showing the objects. They were really good but he decided pretty quickly that he preferred Spring's.

It was curious. He had never paid all that much attention to the board; all he had ever registered before was that it wasn't there one day and was the next. He didn't get to ponder it too long, though, as Spring reappeared with his keys in hand.

"Have you figured out where we're going?" Spring asked, fidgeting with his keys, and Goldie grinned and shook his head. Spring sighed softly. "Is this how things always are with you?"

"I'm never the one who picks where to go," Goldie informed him, standing up again. "Freddy forbade me from pickin' after I accidentally landed us in a bar."

Spring stared at him for a few shocked seconds before he began laughing again- more like a small chuckling sound, but a laugh nonetheless. "How did you even manage that?"

"No one knows," Goldie answered in a mock-somber, serious voice. "But yeah, so now I'm not allowed to choose destinations."

"Well then, I know where to go," Spring decided with a small, soft smirk, lightly twirling the keys with his index finger. Goldie snorted. It was kind of funny, seeing the rabbit like that. As if he could ever successfully pull off the cocky look.

"Lead the way," he mocked, gesturing towards the door. Spring rolled his eyes again but headed out. Goldie paused and pulled his phone out, sending a quick text back to Foxy. 'Thats fine Im hangin out with Spring anyway. Idek where we goin tho.'

With that he pocketed his phone and followed the rabbit out of the building and towards the southern parking lot.

Getting along with the rabbit was a lot easier than he thought it'd be, even with the little mysteries.