The Stein House was slowly becoming a local legend, especially among the younger generation. There hadn't been anything weird at first. A middle-aged couple lived there alone after their kids had grown up and moved out. They were very kind people, the wife, Linda, made great cookies that she often gave to the neighborhood children. The Husband, Henry, was a creative man that would often tell stories and draw characters from the old Bendy cartoon which he used to be an animator for. Yep, nothing out of the ordinary… until Henry disappeared.

The quiet neighborhood was shaken up as police went from door to door, seeking information on where he could have gone. But nothing came up and the searches lead only to dead ends. Soon, the police gave up though Linda never lost hope. But in the wake of the investigation, rumors began circulating as for where Henry went or what happened to him. Most believed he died someway, usually in an accident of some sort. Others theorized that Henry had run away with a younger woman, some that Linda killed him, but those never really stuck. Anyone that knew Linda and Henry could easily have seen how much they loved each other. But as weeks then months passed with no sign of him and even Linda was starting to lose hope that Henry was still alive.

And then Henry returned.

It was so sudden with no real explanation of where he had been all this time. Anytime anyone asked him, he just said he had gotten stuck somewhere with no way of contacting anyone. Everyone was dying to know more, but the dark look that came over Henry's eyes whenever he thought back about what he'd been through, was enough to convince most of them to drop the subject. But not for the kids… they knew something more was going on.

It wasn't obvious at first, but there were more inhabitants than just the Stein's in their household now. Multiple silhouettes had been seen passing the windows, but none of them seemed to be the size or shape of the Steins. Strange noises could be heard coming from the house, even when Henry was out on errands and Linda was weeding the flowerbed in the front yard. Some of the teenagers also mentioned seeing a strange light moving through the house every now and then at night.

The adults just dismissed the rumors and observations as the Stein's kids coming over for visits. Their father had just returned from missing for months after all. But the kids continued to whispers stories, trying to figure out what was happening in the Stein house. Some said that Henry had killed people during his missing time and that their ghosts were now haunting him. Others said they he had started a cult and that his followers now lived with him and they would hold rituals and sacrifices at night. The most popular theory though was Henry had sold his soul to a demon in order to escape from where ever he had been trapped and now the demon haunted his house.

"I saw it you know…" James, a teenager, told his younger brother Kevin and his elementary school age friends. "I saw the demon that lives there…"

"No, you didn't!" Kevin denied, trying to hide his fear while his friends huddled together. "There's no such thing as demons! You can't scare me!"

"Oh, but you should be scared…" James pressed on, making his voice spooky and dramatic. "Otherwise it might get you and take your soul. It was about a week ago… me and my friends were messing around and I had to go take a look through the window of the Stein's house. It was night and most people had gone to bed making it easier for me to sneak up unnoticed. I didn't see anything at first, but then… it came slinking in. It was big and made of the same darkness as the night. It had a large evil grin, promising instant death to anyone that crossed its path. I'm lucky I got away before it could see me… otherwise, I know it would have killed me and eaten my soul."

"S-stop m-making stuff up!" Kevin tried to sound angry and annoyed but failed miserably. "I'm not a little kid that will fall for your tricks anymore."

"Alright…" James smirked. "If you are so grown up, then prove it. I dare you and your friends to look through the window."

"B-but we can't stay out late like you," Matt reasoned, trying to get out of the dare without seeming like he was scared.

"Then don't wait until it's dark," James replied, crossing his arms as he looked down on the kids. "You could go right now if you want. It'd probably be safer this way too as demons are weaker during the day."

"Fine!" Kevin, huffed, glaring at his brother. "We'll do it."

"B-but Kevin…" Emily squeaked in fear, as she and Beth clutched each other. "What if the demon sees us!"

"No, Kevin's right," Chris scoffed, he was the only one that wasn't really scared. "Demon's don't exist. We'll be fine."

The other's gathered courage from Chris's confidence, getting determined looks.

"Well… go on then…" James said, gesturing to the Stein's house which was a little way down the street. The kids looked at each other nervously before getting up and heading down the street. They stuck out of sight as much as they could and soon snuck up onto the side of the house.

"Are we sure this is a good idea?" Emily whispered, glancing fearfully towards the front of the house as if she was expecting someone to just come out at them.

"We'll be fine," Chris assured easily. "James is trying to scare us, but we have nothing to be afraid of."

"Yeah, he thinks it funny to scare us," Kevin agreed, becoming more calm and confident. "So let's just get this over with and prove that we aren't afraid."

The others nodded and snuck towards the front of the house under the window. Chris and Matt gave Kevin a boost so he could have a clear view inside. As soon as he was up he was greeted by a pale face and glowing eyes. Kevin yelped and flailed, falling backward onto the grass and he swore he heard whoever was at the window do the same thing.

"Was it the demon?" Emily squeaked in fear, hiding behind Beth.

"Y-yes… n-no… I-I mean I don't know…" Kevin replied fearfully, trying to calm himself. "Lift me up again, I want a better look."

"Are you crazy!?" Matt said in surprise. "You might have seen the demon and you want another look?!"

"J-just do it alright! Before I change my mind!" Kevin snapped. He didn't know why he was doing this, but even in the brief glance he had gotten, he thought he had seen something familiar somehow. He needed another look.

Matt and Chris reluctantly helped Kevin back up. Kevin looked cautiously through the window where the pale face was doing the same. It wasn't a human face, looked more like a cartoon character. In fact, it looked like…

"Bendy?" Kevin said in shock. He could hear the others gasp and whisper to each other, but his focused remained solely on the apparently living toon before him. Bendy gave a small nod in confirmation. "Can you come out so my friends can see you?"

Bendy seemed hesitant, before holding up a finger in a wait a minute gesture. He then jumped down from the window and scampered deeper into the house. Kevin had the others put him down and they immediately gathered around him, asking all sorts of questions about what he thought he had seen. They went quite a few minutes later when they heard the front door open. They stared nervously as Henry Stein came around the corner with Bendy bundled up in clothes so it wasn't obvious what he was.

"Hey kids," Henry smiled, kneeling down in front of them while Bendy hid partially behind him. "I know this is a surprise, but I need you to listen to me very carefully. You can't tell anyone what Bendy really is. I know there have been crazy rumors going around, but if the truth were ever to get out things… could get bad…"

"But we're not supposed to lie," Emily replied quietly, but she was also glancing at Bendy curiously.

"I know sweetie," Henry assured. "And I'm not asking you to lie forever. I know that eventually, people are going to find out, but I want the time to be right. So until then, do you think you can keep him a secret?"

This kids glanced at each other and then at Bendy before nodding to Henry.

"Thank you," Henry said in relief, looking to back to Bendy. "Now Bendy really wants to meet and play with you, but you don't have to if you don't want to."

"It's okay," Kevin smiled, stepping closer to Bendy and holding out his hand. "Hi Bendy, I'm Kevin. It's nice to meet you."

Bendy starred at the hand for a moment, glancing at Henry to see his encouraging smile, before finally stretching out his own hand. Kevin shook it before stepping back.

"These are my friends," Kevin said, still smiling at Bendy. "The ones I wanted you to meet."

"I'm Beth," she introduced stepping forward. "I always loved Henry's stories of you so I'm happy to finally get to meet you."

As the kids introduced themselves, Bendy became more confident and smiled at them all. And after making sure it was okay with Henry, the kids left with Bendy to take him to the playground in the park nearby. The kids never thought that the rumors were going to be true. There was a demon living with the Stein's, but instead of being a threat, he turned out to be a friend. And they couldn't wait to take him on their adventures.