NOTE
Good lord. I'm sorry.
This took forever to finally put out. I already planned for it to be a longer chapter, but life got in the way, and now it's been a week since I made a new chapter.
Thank you for staying patient with me, I should be back to uploading much more frequently.
I don't have a lot to say for this one. This chapter is extremely long compared to the others, totaling at about 12,500 words. Thinking about making every 10 chapters an extremely long one like this, but hopefully you still wouldn't have to wait as long for those as you did this one.
Also, gonna summarize a couple thoughts and notes I have that aren't directed to this chapter, here we go. 3, 2, 1
First chapter bad, third chapter might be rewritten, next chapter is not actual chapter (Details in the notes for next chapter), this chapter good gets better the further you read, Micheal Afton doesn't hate color purple, love you thank for reading bye.
UPDATED
Already noticing a few issues, just small things like grammar/word choice and flow. Sometime in the near future I think I'll slowly re-read this chapter and fix what I think needs to be fixed.
Day
My spare isn't, uh, working.
I don't know when or how it happened, but it's rusted, really bad. Like, so bad that I fear that trying to put it on my car would result in the thing turning into dust before I even manage to get out of the parking lot.
I know this spare isn't THAT old, something must have actually happened to it. Maybe I accidentally left the trunk open one rainy night or something.. That sucks, actually- These aren't wildly expensive, but the whole reason I carry this thing around is specifically for situations like these.. And because I'm legally not allowed to drive without a spare, which I find hilarious by the way. I wonder what terrible event occurred that they made a whole ass LAW about carrying one of these with you at all times.
Not that anyone ever checks, I guess.
I close my trunk and stare blankly at the back of my car. Gotta figure something out. Maybe I can give Trudge some money and tell him to go get me a spare. He had scheduled last night off, so he wasn't there last night or the morning before, which hopefully means he got plenty of rest and will arrive here pretty soon.
Shit. He works here. When he gets here, he's not going to have the time to go and run errands for me.. That applies for just about everyone working here, actually. Hm..
...
I might just be out of luck, actually.. I thought about using Trudge's spare, but there's a serious chance that he doesn't have one. About a month ago he had popped a tire, and if he's anything like me, he might not have gotten it replaced yet.
...Well, whatever the situation, I can't do anything until he gets here, so I might as well strategically retreat back into the Pizzaplex.
It's starting to sprinkle.. At least my trunk is closed this time. I hope.
I saw a suspiciously Trudge-shaped figure pull into the lot about a minute or two ago. Sometimes I forget that he's a legal adult, able to do legal adult things, like drive.. Well, that's a 16 year old thing I guess. Maybe its just the thought of him driving that jars me.
Whatever the case, I'm about to throw some extra weight on his shoulders. I hope he gets in before it actually starts raining.
He does, and for the sake of time, I'll summarize.
I'm not completely confident he understood the task I gave him, since he was too busy jittering with energy when I told him I was gonna be around this morning, but he verbally confirmed that he could help, so I guess we'll see where that gets us.
Like I said, Trudge does still work here. Thankfully, he isn't worked to the bone, and is awarded pretty lengthy 'breaks' every now and then. Realistically, its enough time to go home and do whatever you want for a couple hours, and he gets multiple of them, but I suppose it makes up for being here from dawn to dusk. So that means I should realistically have a spare in front of me by noon.
Which is, however, still about five hours away.. The building doesn't open for another hour, so at least I have some time before socialization becomes an inevitability.
I don't know what I plan to do with myself, though. I'm the night shift, and it isn't night, so it's not like I have anything to do.. Maybe I should find a place to get some sleep to help pass the time.
Trudge has already run off to do whatever it is he does in the morning, so I'm still standing here in the lobby, staring into the parking lot.
A very empty parking lot.. Which is currently being pounded with rain.. I don't think we're gonna get very many customers on a rainy Tuesday morning.
The main 'attraction' this place provides would be the gigantic show the animatronics put on at noon. I believe the reasoning for scheduling it then was so that people who arrived as soon as the building opens wouldn't have to wait an exuberant amount of time to see the animatronic crew perform..
However, adults have work, and kids have school. The only way families would come to see the 'main attraction' on weekdays would be if both the kid(s) and parent(s) both had the day off their respective duties. Which isn't very often, as you could guess. Therefor, the weekdays can be shockingly slow for a place as scarily big and famous at this.
I let out a sigh I've been accumulating, and turn around to go find something to do. However, none other than the star of the show himself was standing a whole two feet behind me, leaning down to face level for god knows how long.
"Boo!"
Sorry Fred, might have to try that with someone who's nerves haven't literally been fried.
"Hey Freddy. Did you need something?"
He stares at me for a couple seconds before deciding to pretend his jump-scare attempt never happened and standing up straight.
"I'm alright, thank you.. Wasn't expecting to find you still here, so I thought I'd say hello." He answers, a little sheepish.
"Hello, then." I sigh. "You'll see me around for a good part of the day today. I'm having a car problem that I can't get fixed until later today."
"Oh really? Is there no one that's willing to give you a ride back to your home?"
"There might be, but since I'd be leaving my car here, I'd have to get a ride from someone back in a few hours anyway."
Freddy just crosses his arms and stares blankly ahead. I appreciate how hard he's trying to think of a solution, but I don't really mind being here all that much, so I'm not in any hurry to get back home.
"Oh yeah, do you know of somewhere I can find a free bed or couch?" I ask
Freddy breaks his train of thought to look back down at me.
"A bed? Hm.." He turns to look behind him, as if a bed would magically manifest somewhere in the lobby. Though shortly, he does perk up.
"Of course! You could use my room!"
I stare at him for a moment, before realizing that's not so dumb of an idea.
That might be Freddy's room, but Freddy's going to be out with the kids all day. Realistically, the animatronic's rooms might be one of the most secluded places I could go for tonight. Freddy's room especially, since he usually has the hardest time catching a break with the kids, being as popular as he is.
Oh- Freddy's already power walking off. I think I'm supposed to be following him.
Before long, the two of us are doing our own separate thing in Freddy's room. Freddy still has a little time before doors open, so we've been chatting about whatever comes to mind. I mentioned to Roxanne that Freddy and I rarely hung out, but talking with him is kinda nice. Maybe I can get him to call me Mike instead of Micheal too.
Honestly, I have no preference between the two names, I just wanted an excuse to keep Roxanne off my back for calling her Roxy. But now that I've told Roxy that I prefer one name over the other, I guess I should stay dedicated to it.
"I've been meaning to ask." Freddy turns from his desk to look at me. "You were adamant about having the night shift when you applied here, or so I've been told.."
"Yeah."
"What makes someone desire that job over the other? No offense, but to my understanding, night time occupations have had a negative connotation surrounding them regarding the previous Freddy's locations." Freddy looks back at what he's doing on his desk. It's clear he's just making conversation, but I find it a little funny how unbelievable my response would be if I were to answer honestly.
"I've worked night shifts for most of my life, including once or twice at one of the previous locations. You could call it a habit, I guess." I respond, trying to not bullshit too much in case he starts asking questions.
"You worked at an old Freddy's restaurant?" Freddy asks, his curiosity piqued.
"Yeah."
"I heard there were rumors about how the old an-" Freddy begins.
"They don't." I interrupt before he can finish. "There were a lot of rumors about the animatronics during the night, but like most rumors, they were made up." I explain, maybe a little more adamantly than I needed to.
"I see.. Apologies for assuming."
"No need to apologize. I've just been asked that a lot."
"I understand. The company faced some backlash when this place was under construction, and I wanted to know if it was justified or not."
It was.
"It wasn't, just some guys trying to make a buck."
Mmm.. Don't like the way that came out..
...
"Was I the first night guard to apply?" I ask, after some hesitation. The 'night guard' role hasn't had a sparkly clean and wholesome history.
"Yes. Or at least, you were the first night guard to ever make an appearance."
"Were there some night guards who didn't.?"
"No, sorry, I should have phrased that better.. Actually, I don't believe this facility was looking for a night guard when you applied."
That's weird. They let me join just fine.
"There was no plan to let someone monitor this place at night?"
"I do not think so.. The company had already invested plenty on night time security, like those patrol bots that can be found at night some times."
That's right.. Realistically, this place should be incredibly low-risk when it comes to intruders. Most entrances have those metal blinds that prevent access just about everywhere, and there's so many security features that getting around the place without anyone noticing would have been ridiculously difficult.
But there were cameras set up everywhere, and multiple security panels that only I have access too set up before I arrived on my first day. If this facility wasn't intended to have a night guard, then they wouldn't have a reason to have most of these things.. I find it hard to believe they set it all up just for me. At least the cameras kinda make sense, since they're constantly recording.
"Huh.." Is all I respond with.
"Ever since you applied, however, the position has been made official, and is even open to new recruits!" Freddy explains, looking at me as if I did a good thing just by applying here.
"More than one night guard? Why?"
"Unfortunately, I do not know. Perhaps hiring a second night guard is meant to make it so you're not on duty every night."
That makes sense.
"I'm not opposed to working here every night."
Freddy just hums in acknowledgement and shrugs.
Whatever, I guess. Not many people apply for night shift position; especially not ones with the name "Freddy" anywhere on the title.
As this train of thought reaches its end, Freddy stands up and looks at himself in the mirror. He stands tall and proud, while smiling gently and reassuringly. After he's done admiring himself, he turns to me.
"I have to go now, please feel free to come in here as often as you like. I'll let you know in advance if I need to come in for any reason."
"Got it."
No need to be so formal about it. Come in whenever you want, its your damn room.
Freddy grins, and jogs all of 7 feet to the door, and takes off beyond my field of vision.
I lay on the couch and stare at the ceiling, lost in thought. I wonder what this place has in store; every time I talk with Freddy, I learn something new about this place. He's shockingly knowledgeable about everything regarding the Pizzaplex; maybe he was created before the building had finished going through construction.
I should keep up to date on the decisions being made, so I don't have to rely on my information coming from 'happening to hear it from Freddy'.
...Y'know, I'm glad I have a place to be and all, but I can't say I'm feeling the need to sleep quite yet.
I sit up on the couch, looking at the door.
I know I'm the 'night shift guy', but I'm not nocturnal. I'm still awake my fair 15 hour portion of the day, it's just that my day starts before everyone else's.
I think I'll rest for a little while longer, just to shake off any remaining stress I might have accumulated from working my shift. Then maybe I'll go out and walk around for a while, see who I can't find.
Look at these little guys go.. I never realized how much energy could be packed into kids of these size. They don't even have the decency to follow Fazer-blast rules.
You go little guys.
In all seriousness, it's pretty entertaining watching how seriously they take the game. Pretty sure that one wearing the red just saved a teammate by literally diving from around a corner and shooting the 'aliens' mid-air.
Freddy should be around here somewhere. I don't see him playing Fazer-Blast just about ever, but this is 'his' area, so I would imagine he's somewhere around these parts.
There are plenty of day guards around to make sure no one gets hurt, so I'm not feeling all that pressured to keep an eye on the children, but I do feel a little uneasy that they can just go wherever they want without their parents..
Maybe I should stop worrying so much. It'd be pretty hard to miss someone walking off with another parent's kid. Plus, there hasn't been an incident like that around here since my father wore that bunny suit.
I push myself off the railing I was leaning on, and take a deep breath. The more I think about stuff like that, the more I'm gonna think about it in the future.
I look at my Faz-Watch and give the area I'm in a once-over through the cameras. Nothing's out of the ordinary, per-se, but there was something that caught my eye.
A kid that was playing with the group of children currently in Fazer-Blast is just kinda.. Sitting there. He's up on the bench near the entrance to this part of the Pizzaplex, looking sorry for himself.
I continue to watch him for a minute or two, but nothing changes, which seems uncharacteristic for a kid his age. More often than not, a kid not actively bouncing off the walls is a sign that something's wrong.
So, feeling more curiosity than obligation, I start heading over. I know I saw this kid playing with the others not even 5 minutes ago, which makes me wonder if something happened between them.
It takes me a minute, but sure enough, the kid is where I saw him last. Seeing him in person gave me a much better view of him, and allowed me to notice a bunch of things I didn't see over the awkwardly positioned cameras. Most notably: he's wearing a cast on his right arm.
I brainstorm the events that could have happened using the information I know now, but end up deciding that it would be best to know for sure what happened.
What I'm worried of is if the group of kids ditched him because he couldn't play with that broken arm.. I don't know if that's what happened yet though, so I won't assume.
I also don't know how to approach him. I'm not very good with kids, to say the least, but this one seems a little different than most. Timid, reactive instead of proactive, you get the idea.
Oh- he's getting up. The kids aren't back from the Fazer-Blast game yet, so where could-
He's headed in my direction, looking at me.
Oh shit.. I think he noticed me staring.. I thought I would have been hard to spot among the crowd. Well aren't I an asshole.
I kick off the wall I was leaning on while trying to look inconspicuous, and acknowledge that he wants to interact with me. Might as well admit it at this point.
"C-can I help you?" He speaks, incredibly softly.
'Can I help you'? What kind of twelve-year-old starts off a conversation with 'Can I help you'?
"Sorry, you must have caught me staring." I scratch the back of my head, a little embarrassed. "I couldn't help but notice the cast on your arm."
"O-oh. That's OK, I was just wondering.." He responds, looking like he's about to turn back around.
"Hey, actually.. Weren't you playing with a bunch of other kids a minute ago?" I ask, bluntly, not sure how to salvage this interaction.
"Yeah, but I, uh.." The kid points at his cast with his good arm. I could have guessed that he wasn't playing in Fazer-Blast because of his arm, I guess I'm more curious about his friends.
"Huh.. Did your friends ditch you since you couldn't play Fazer-Blast with that arm?" I ask, also pretty bluntly.
Thankfully, he begins shaking his head rapidly.
"No! No- not at all!"
"Then how come you're sitting all alone right here?"
"I.. Uhm.." He turns away, looking a little torn on whether to tell me or not. "I s-snuck away.. They were all excited to play Fazer-Blast, and I didn't wanna say I couldn't play, s-so.."
I see. They must have forgotten about his arm in the excitement.. That still sounds pretty bad by adults standards, but I can't say I wouldn't expect 10-12 year olds to forget something like this in the heat of the moment.
"That sounds rough, you doing alright?"
"Y-yeah! I'm fine! I'm just a little bored.. But it's ok! My friends will be back soon!"
That would be true, if those kids weren't the only ones currently doing Fazer-Blast. That means they're able to do it as much as they like without having to wait in any kind of line. I'd bet anything that they're going to play more than one round. The whole game is co-op rather than fighting against each other, which also means the rounds tend to lean on the lengthier side.
"It.. Might take them a little while before they get bored. Think you'll be alright waiting here?" I ask, feeling bad for leaving the kid in as poor of a shape as I found him.
"I can- uh.. It's.." The kid mumbles. I'm surprised he didn't immediately say yes out of trying to be as convenient to work with as possible.
"Are your parents around?"
"T-They're eating with my friend's parents.. I dunno where.."
That seems like important information to tell your child. There's more than one place to grab a bite here.
"..You want me to wait with you for a few minutes?" I ask, trying not to impose, while also trying to offer as many suggestions as possible.
The kid looks at the floor in front of him for a while. Shockingly, he nods. I was just asking to be polite, but I didn't think he'd actually agree.. He must be as unsettled as I am about being left alone here.
I snap out of my trance, and respond casually.
"No problem. Let's sit at the bench though, I've been standing all day."
A lie, but it gets the point across.
Sure enough, as I make my way to the bench, the kid is nipping at my heels.
Dependent, that's the word I've been looking for. He's dependent. Nothing wrong with that, I suppose. It feels good to have someone around from time to time.
The kid and I pass time together doing various pointless things. He kept looking at my Faz-watch, so I let him mess around with it for a while. He was shockingly content to just sit and cycle through the cameras for a while. He'd make a good night guard.
"Who's your favorite of the gang?" I ask. That oughta get him talking.
"H-huh? Oh.." He looks at me, then back down at the watch. "I dunno.. I kinda like Freddy.."
"Everyone likes Freddy."
"Yeah, but like.. He's so cool.."
"What's cool about him?"
"He's got so many friends, and always knows what to do.. It's like he always has a plan." The kid gets a little invested in the conversation, and stops messing with the watch to ponder while staring into space.
I chuckle a little.
"That's because he's a nerd."
"H-He's not a nerd!"
"He's a little bit of a nerd. Freddy made me this watch."
"..He m-made it for you? Does he make all guards stuff?" He eyes my watch again.
"No, I guess I got special treatment."
"Why?"
"I'm the only guy who works here at night. I need it to use cameras."
"People work at night?"
"Some people do. Not very many."
"Do you get sleepy?"
"Not anymore. You get used to it."
"When do you sleep?"
"Day. Usually around supper-time."
"Why?"
"..Because I work at night?"
"Oh yeah." The kid looks down sheepishly, but I can see curiosity in his eyes.
"W-who's your favorite?" He asks, trying to continue the conversation.
"Roxy."
"..Roxanne?"
"Yeah."
I couldn't explain why, but it is a little embarrassing saying this.
"Why'd you call her Roxy?"
"A lot of people call her Roxy."
"Why?"
"I think she likes it more than Roxanne."
"Oh.." The kid goes quiet and ponders a little more. "...Is Roxy mean?"
The question takes me a little off guard.. I forgot some people still have a problem with her. Thankfully, its proven to be very few.
"Do 'you' think she's mean?" I respond.
"I dunno.. I don't think I've met her yet."
"Really? How often do you come here?"
"T-this is my first time here.."
Wow. And he's spending his time sitting in this corner and waiting for his friends.. That's not right. There's tons of fun stuff to do here, sitting around and being bored is unacceptable I've decided.
"Do you like music?" I ask.
"Huh? Uhm.. Yeah, I like music."
I use my hands to push myself from off the bench.
"Then I think there's a place you might like."
"..With music?"
"With tons of music."
"O-Oh.. Okay!" The kid bounces off the bench with just as much ferocity, and tails along behind me.
"There's even a DJ, I bet you can ask him to do a song for you."
"Really!? What's he like?"
"He's huge, for starters."
"Like.. Big?"
"Longer than a bus, and twice as tall."
I hear the kid giggle behind me.
"Nuh-uh!"
Oh just you wait, little man.
We take a couple small detours on the way, since the west arcade is across the auditorium from here. Also stopped to show him the patrol bots aren't that scary, and are immediately entertaining to mess with from beginning to end.
Eventually, we bugged it to the point that it sounded an alarm, and we made our sneaky getaway.
As we were about to enter the actual arcade, we bump into Freddy. He's pretty far from Fazer-Blast, now that I think about it.. Wonder what he's doing all the way out here.
The kid and I skip our way to Freddy's location at first, but as we drew closer, I could see the kid start to maneuver behind me.
"Hey Freddy."
Freddy jumps a little before turning to face me.
"Micheal! You scared me.. Hearing your voice call my name stands out quite a bit from the crowd of kids." He chuckles, half-normally and half-in character.
Before he finishes laughing, however, he notices the kid tucked behind my leg.
"Oh- Well hello there superstar!" Freddy bends down to match the kids height.
Knowing that he's been spotted, he timidly jumps from behind my leg and stutters out a greeting.
"H-Hello, Freddy! I-I, uh, I'm Evan! I wanted to say hi, and that you're my-!"
It takes me a second to register and then recover from hearing the kids name. I know Evan is very far from a rare name, but I can't help but associate it with my brother every time I hear it.. Ugh, sorry kid, the big brave security guard over here is having an emotional episode over your name..
By the time I snap out of it, I also realize that Evan has yet to stop talking. He's introducing himself like he's a humble farmer talking to a king.
"A-And I think your pizza is-!"
"There's no reason to get so worked up, it's just Freddy. Tone down the formality a notch or two." I poke the kid on the head to snap him out of it.
He looks around, dazed, and quickly rises up to whisper to me:
"That's Freddy! H-He's, like, the most popular thing ever! How am I 'supposed' to talk to him?"
"Like you talk to everyone else?" I whisper back, bemused by how intimidated he is by Freddy of all people.
"B-But what if he gets mad at you! We gotta make a good impression, don't we?"
I respond by sticking my arm out and booping Freddy's nose, making the trademark squeaky sound.
The two of them freeze in place, I'm pretty sure I see Evan's jaw drop to the floor. Freddy just looks confused. I wonder if he knew his nose could do that.
"What in the world-.." Freddy stands back up at full height and prods at his nose with his paws. Evan's cowering behind me like a bomb's about to go off.
"I-I'm sorry, Freddy! H-He was just- u-um! Forgive him for-!" Evan begins to babble from behind me.
"Did it make a squeaking sound?" Freddy continues, ignoring Evan's desperate pleas for forgiveness.
"Yeah, your nose squeaks." I assured.
He pokes at it some more.
"How did you-" He begins before I reach out and squeak it again.
"Whuh!?" Freddy recoils. Looking like he's seen the light.
Evan's sticking out a little more, getting a better look at the nose. I'm trying to show him that Freddy isn't anything to be afraid of; he's just another dork like the rest of us.
"MIKE..A..LIKE!" Monty yells from behind me, preceding his incredibly rapid footstepts.
"W-Who is.!?" I hear Evan desperately gasp from behind me, trying to somehow put himself in a position between me and both animatronics.
"mmmmMIKALIKE!" Before I even turn around all the way, Monty skids to a stop and slams his hands on my shoulders. Then he just stares at me with a big dumb grin for a bit.
"...Monty?"
"Mikalike!" He cries in disbelief.
"What's going on?"
"What are ya' doin' here Mike!? I thought you were 'sposed to leave in the morning!"
"I had some trouble with my car, I'm gonna be here for a little while longer."
"Y'er gonna be here all morning too!?"
"Yeah, until Trudge can-"
"HahAA!" Monty almost lifts me up. "That's friggen awesome! We can go do all the day things!" He finally releases me.
"You wanna play a round a' golf?" He asks, barely containing his energy. What in the sam hell got into this thing, he's practically bouncing off the walls.
"We already do that at night."
"Oh yeah.. Well then we can-!"
Idea fetched. Executing.
I extend my arm and boop Freddy square on the nose again, emitting another squeak. Once again, it goes completely silent as Monty registers what he just heard.
"Don't." I hear Freddy mumble, already knowing how useless it is to argue.
Monty also extends his arm to boop Freddy's nose, then does it again.
"Monty- stop touching my-"
Monty's already wearing the most mischievous face an animatronic of his size could possibly express.
What followed was the closest thing to a fight I've ever seen these things do. Freddy is doing everything in his power to keep Monty away from him, and Monty is jackhammering Freddy's nose every possible opportunity he can. I stand off to the side, content with myself. Freddy's running in circles, Monty's practically jumping on him, but most importantly. Evan's no longer hiding behind me leg. He's standing next to me, laughing hysterically.
To say Evan's jaw dropped to the floor when he saw the DJ would be an understatement. Little man is straight up flabbergasted. I want to laugh at how shocked he is, but I remember staring at the DJ when I first saw him too. This thing is way too big to fit through any doors in the pizzaplex, so I concluded they must have built the DJ here, in the music area. That alone should put into perspective just how massive this guy is.
I was expecting Evan to be intimidated like he was with Freddy and Monty, maybe even more so since this guy's the size of a house, but Evan ran right up to him. Neither Evan or the DJ have been able to shut their trap since. I'm still not particularly close with the DJ, so I lean off on the side of the wall inconspicuously, standing within the DJ's line of sight, but out of the way enough that I'm not too obvious if you aren't actively looking for me. I listen into the conversation, just in case Evan's timidness makes a re-appearance whenever the adrenaline wears off.
"How did they even make you!? You're so BIG!" Evan jumps up and down with his arms raised up, showing the DJ how 'big' he was.
"Ha! They didn' make me this big, y'know. I got this big all by myself!" The DJ lightly pounds his 'chest' both comically and pridefully.
"What!?" Evan reacts, jumping even higher.
"You can't make somethin' like me! I used to be an iiincy wincy little guy.." The DJ puts one of his hands close to the floor, demonstrating how small he was. "Y'know what I did?" He leans down close, positioning his hand to the side of both their heads like he's about to whisper Evan a secret.
"What?" Evan whispers, catching on.
"I ate all my vegetables.. Fruits.. And MEAT!" The DJ quickly uses his giant hand to sweep up Evan and pretend like he's about to eat him. The bit goes on for a while before sitting Evan down on the floor, who is almost crying of laughter, lifting his arms like he wants to go again.
I'm not gonna tell anyone this, but seeing the DJ pick Evan up sent a powerful pang of dread through my spine, one I haven't felt in a long time. The same pang I felt when I realized that Fredbear was lunging towards my brother, right before the bite happened. Of course, the DJ wouldn't hurt a fly, so realistically I had nothing to worry about, but it looks like the instincts I built up from chasing my father around haven't fully dissipated yet. I take a second to look away from the scene and take a couple slow, deep breaths. Thankfully, any dread that was lingering faded away without much trouble, and I return my sights to the pair.
"That's all there is too it! Eat your veggies especially, little man!" The DJ added through his own chortles.
"Will I get as big as you?" Evan beamed, after taking a while to stop laughing long enough to catch his breath.
"As strong as me, too!" The DJ flexes one of his arms, which are practically metal sticks. Evan giggles a little more, then jumps to his feet.
"Will you pick up my friends, too? That was fun!" Evan asks hopefully. However, the DJ just chuckles and shakes his head.
"Sorry, little man. I'm not really allowed to pick ANYONE up." DJ playfully points a finger demandingly at Evan. "You were a special exception, so don't go tellin' nobody about it, alright?"
Thankfully, Evan doesn't seem to distraught about this information, and nods his head rapidly. But then he freezes for a second before looking all around him, eventually locking eyes with me when he sees me.
"W-Will the night guy over there be mad?" Evan tries to whisper to DJ, but being that the DJ is large enough to be towering over him, ends up speaking loud enough for me to hear quickly.
The DJ raises an eyebrow for a second, trying to decipher what Evan meant, before realizing what 'night guy' meant.
"The night-!?" The DJ jumps slightly, following Evan's gaze and finding me after a second. I reckon my cover is about as blown as it's gonna get, so I start to make my way to the center of the room where Evan is
"M-Mike! H-Ha! Hey, how long 'ave you, uh.." The DJ stutters, realizing he was caught red-handed. "L-Listen, I'm sorry, I was just tryin' to"
I cut him off before he can continue.
"Don't worry about it, if I was upset I would have intervened when I saw you pick Evan up." I chuckle a little, trying to bring back the lighthearted mood. "I'm not on my shift right now, so you could toss this thing around like a ball and I wouldn't move a muscle to try and stop you." I continue, poking Evan in the head, who giggles and bats my hand away.
The DJ just dramatically sighs and lets his arms go limp, before scratching the back of his head nervously.
"Thank goodness for that, I 'unno what I would have done if another guard 'ad caught me.. They'd probably yell at me for a looong time." The DJ shivers after saying this. Despite being the size of a house, and being the most outgoing personality achievable, the DJ really dislikes confrontation.
Kind of off topic, but I learned that Roxy and the DJ aren't very close for this reason. Most of, uh, just about everyone knows that Roxy's complaining and arguing rarely means that she's actually mad at you; it's just part of her personality. I'm sure the DJ knows this, but can't help but feel intimidated when Roxy shows even a little distaste towards anything the DJ says.
"Can you pick Mike up too?" Evan asks out of the blue.
"Do not pick me up." I respond, despite being endeared that the kid called me Mike instead of 'the guard'.
"But it's really fun! His hands are fluffy and soft!" Evan protests.
"I know, but if anyone sees me being thrown around by the DJ, they might think the worst."
"No one's hereee!"
"Mike!" A familiar voice sounds from behind me.
All heads turn towards the entrance, and two shapes make themselves visible. Trudge is waving high above his head, and Chica is standing politely behind him with her hands folded in front of her.
"Mike?" I hear Chica softly mutter in confusion. As soon as Trudge realizes there's nothing stopping him from just walking towards us, both of them make their way to the center of the room.
"Ha! Lookie there!" The DJ beams, arms spread out wide and inviting, welcoming the two into the room.
Once again a little off topic, but there needs to be more 'stuff' in this room. The DJ has got to be one of the coolest things to look at and interact with in the entire pizzaplex, but the gigantic circular room he's been provided has nothing but carpet and two doors on either side. At least a couple couches would be nice, but for the time, all of us just stand in a circle in the middle of the room, with the DJ staring down at all of us like a protective higher being.
Upon reaching us, Trudge starts talking about his shift so far. Walking around with Evan was a good time-killer, it's already an hour or so until noon. Honestly, I don't know what's gonna happen once Trudge finally gets the spare to me. Obviously I'm gonna get my car fitted with it, but I'm feeling obligated to stick around with Evan until he either regroups with his friends or gets summoned by his parents to go home.
I say 'obligated' like it's a work issue.. Admittedly, it's been fun. I may not be good with kids, but I'm good with this kid.
In the middle of our conversation, Chica spots Evan standing next to me (not behind me! Progress!). Evan gets a little intimidated when Chica approaches and crouches down to his height, but she can be incredibly gentle and reassuring when it comes to children, her voice becomes . I keep listening to Trudge, but shift some of my focus towards Chica and Evan.
"Hiya! I'm Chica!"
"H-hi! My name's Evan.."
"Hiya Evan! I don't think I've seen you here before.." Chica gasps for effect. "Is this your first time here!?"
"Yeah.!" He responds, trying to match Chica's enthusiasm. Chica just flaps her wings happily.
"That's awesome! Ya like it here?"
"Yeah!" Evan responds again, this time with real enthusiasm.
"Whacha like here? Have you eaten the pizza yet? The pizza's the best!" Chica continues, excited to have met someone new one-to-one.
The pizza here is not the best, I feel like I should mention. All of Freddy's pizzas have historically been 'OK', but any pizza place that makes its pizza autonomously automatically loses points in the quality department. It's not gross or anything, but it's like.. Particularly high quality bowling alley pizza.
"I-I haven't eaten here yet.. Mom says we're gonna eat after the show, though!" Evan explains, trying not to disappoint. Chica just giggles.
"Whacha doin' all the way over here all by yourself?" Chica asks, tilting her head.
"I-I'm not by myself! Mr. DJ was playing with me!"
Chica playfully fakes being offended, putting her hands on her hips.
"You went to see the DJ before little ol' me?"
Thankfully, Evan giggles and starts to act offended himself.
"Sor~ry! Mike took me to the DJ, so it's not my fault!"
Chica's eyes widen a little.
"Mike took ya here?"
"Yeah!" Evan leans in to whisper to Chica, but thankfully they don't realize I'm paying attention and can hear what they're saying. "He was pretending like he wasn't staring at me when I went to talk to him."
Thanks, Evan. I'm sure that doesn't raise any red flags.
..Thank god Chica's so oblivious..
Chica giggles at hearing that Evan caught me doing something weird.
"How come he was lookin' at you? Mike doesn't usually like talkin' to people, He musta thought you were special!" Chica continues, presumably trying to flatter Evan.
"Nuh-uh! He's got all kinds of friends! Look!" Evan turns his body around to show Chica his cast, which has a bunch of signatures on it. Most of them are from his friends and family, but a couple names were written boldly and in colored markers: Freddy's and Monty's, which are brown and green respectively. "He got the others to sign my cast!"
Chica beams and flaps her wings in excitement. I think she has a soft spot for kids who are sick/injured.
"That's so cool! I wanna sign it! I wanna sign it!" She eagerly rummaged around her outfit to find her yellow marker.
Oh yeah. Each of the gang usually has two markers on them at all times, one black and one their respective color, so that they can sign anything the kids want signed. Casts being no exception, of course.
They fumble around a little to get his arm in a good spot, and Chica uncaps her marker to begin.
"Ooh- put it right there, underneath Freddy's name!"
"Right here?"
"Yeah!"
Freddy's and Monty's signatures are a good few inches apart horizontally, and it looks like Evan wants Chica's signature a few inches down vertically form Freddy's. Maybe he's trying to make a square design with all four of the animatronic crew's names.
"Did Mike give ya this cast?" Chica jokes "He's a mean one!"
"No!" Evan responds rather adamantly. "Mike's the coolest! He'd never hurt anyone!"
Chica giggles again. I let my mind begin to slip into some unpleasant memories before quickly shaking them out of my head.
"Mike's the coolest, huh?" Chica replies, reasonably skeptical that I'd get a kid to like me so much.
"Yeah! Oooh!" The kid perks up, thinking of something.
"You guys have all kinds of plushies, right!? Can I have a Mike plush?"
This takes us both off guard. I still manage to keep up pretending that I'm not listening, but it did shake me enough to make me stop listening to what Trudge was saying for a few seconds. Chica just stares at Evan for a few moments longer, realizing the kid was serious about me. I don't know what to think.. I've never had anyone think of me so highly before.
"Haha.. S-Sorry, we don't have any-"
"Oh! That's probably too specific, right? Can I just have a security guard one?"
"A security guard plush?" Chica asks.
"Yeah! I wanna be a night security guard when I grow up!"
Good god, kid. I dunno how much more of this I can take.
I chuckle under my breath.
You wouldn't want that plushie anymore once you hear about the things I've done, little man.
Before the conversation continues, Trudge brushes past me and down toward the kid.
"Ooooh! What happened?" Trudge asks Evan, former of which is now inspecting the cast. Evan takes a second to adjust to his presence before happily talking back and forth with Trudge for a while.
Thankfully, both previous conversations that were occurring seem to have been interrupted and replaced with the topic of Evan's cast.
Everyone has fun thinking up theories on how Evan broke his arm, which continues on for a while, before everyone in the room who hasn't yet signed his cast is now interested in doing so. Trudge and the DJ do their own signatures (DJ just pinched a black marker and drew a smudge in an empty space. I can imagine writing on a cylindrical object this small would be difficult when your hand is bigger than the person wearing the cast themselves.) Evan just has them sign wherever there's space in black marker, excluding the little design Evan appears to be making using the main cast's signatures.
Unfortunately, this led to a break of peaceful silence, which allowed enough thinking time for Trudge to come up with an idea of what to do next. He decided karaoke. I do not want to do karaoke, but what the hell can I do to stop them at this point.
It's just about time for the show. Chica left to go get ready about 10 minutes ago, and there's about 10 more minutes until the show is scheduled to begin. I manage to convince Trudge and Evan to call it quits with the karaoke to give us enough time to get over to the auditorium, and I was met with little resistance.
I had fun, but that'll be my little secret. They had a couple bands on that list that I enjoy.
It's a little bit of a walk to get to the auditorium from the music area, since we have to go back through the entire west arcade, but 10 minutes should be more than enough time.
Evan's walking along beside me, eyes colorful and excited, which is much different than how I found him. I pat myself on the back, and continue onward, listening to Evan babble.
"Chica told me she wanted me to exercise!"
"Chica likes to do that."
"That's so weird! I thought she was supposed to be about eating.."
"She's pretty expressive about eating too, she just knows it's good to exercise to not gain weight from eating so much."
"Can she gain weight?"
"Yeah, it's weird."
"She's a little weird."
"We're all weird."
Evan takes a second to reflect on that, before nodding.
"I guess so."
"EVAAAAAAN" A child yells from our left. A group of about 10-12 children run up to us full speed, the same children that were playing Fazer-Blast.
I won't lie, it does annoy me that they forgot about Evan so easily, and for so long. I can't stop myself from opening my mouth to lecture.
"There you guys are, Evan was all alone for-" I begin, before Evan gets tackle hugged by multiple kids from the group. Upon closer inspection, most of the boys in the group were beaming, and most of the girls were teary eyed. One of the girls hugging Evan speaks up first.
"I'm sowwy! *hic* I didn- mean to leave you alone! *hic* I was just-!"
Before long, most of the other kids also started talking to Evan about how they were looking all over for him, and that they were sorry for leaving him alone. I stand back and stare, eyes a little widened.
I was starting to become confident that the kids had left him carelessly and easily. I was starting to worry about how the conversation would go when they re-united, worried about how the group might just brush him off again, or get angry because Evan left. But they didn't. They're all surrounding him, showering him with apologies and explanations of what they were doing.
They're really Evan's friends. Not just a 'group of kids Evan hangs around because otherwise he would be an outcast' kind of friends, but actual, genuine friends.
Thank god..
It wraps up before too long, and the group of friends - Evan included- make their way to the auditorium, chatting and laughing about whatever came to mind. Evan was in the middle of them, beaming.
I trail along behind them, wanting to see the show myself, and to be around in case Evan needs me again, though that might just be wishful thinking.
As we made our way into the auditorium, Trudge ran by to tell me that he was on his break, and that he's going to go get the spare I asked for. I made sure he had the money I gave him, and he ran off.
After standing in the auditorium with only about a minute to spare, I notice that the place has hardly filled up at all. Most of the kids and adults in the building are in here, but like I said before, it's a rainy Tuesday morning, so it doesn't surprise me that hardly anyone came today.
Well, whatever. All that means is that I have as much space as I want to watch the show.
I settle with leaning on a pillar a little bit left of the center of the auditorium. Evan and his friends are a good few meters away, and everything is in place. Just in time for the show to begin.
It doesn't take long for things to get started, the gang makes an appearance on the stage, goes through their regular introductions in the middle of a song, and the show begins like normal.
It's.. Really damn bright in here for the lights being dimmed so damn much. Spotlights are sprayed everywhere, fog, neon lights outlining most surfaces.. It's dark in the room, but with the amount of stuff going on, it's incredibly easy to see where you are and where you're going.
The first song ends, and some regular events begin. Freddy's talking to the crowd, Monty and Chica are doing their own little bit in the background, Roxy's tuning her.. Keytar.. Wonder how that works.
I close my eyes to let them rest a bit, resting the back of my head on the pillar. I've been having a good time here, but I'm just about wiped. I feel a little bit of pride in knowing that I did something worth doing on my time off, instead of rotting away playing a game at home. I mean, I sure wouldn't mind being home and playing a game right about now, but I'm pretty content with where I am and what I'm doing.
I listen to the gang do what they usually do, and I listen to the reactions of the crowd. Most of them are kids, but 'most' only consists of about 100 people.
I'm fighting the urge to fall asleep, when I notice a couple patterns with what's happening on the stage, and more importantly, how the crowd is reacting to it.
I might not have noticed if my eyes weren't closed, since I would have been too distracted by all the lights and the crew, but every once in a while I'll feel a pang of awkwardness filling the room. It doesn't take me long to realize why.
The crowd is dead. Well, realistically, the lack of enthusiastic crowd reactions could probably be explained by the fact there's only a little more than 100 people in this room meant to hold well over a thousand. Either way, anything the gang does that would incite a reaction is getting very little response.
I think about various things this may impact, but eventually decide that the crew likely knows how few people there are in the crowd today, and probably know that the lack of any reaction from that crowd is simply a result of numbers, rather than putting on an unimpressive show.
I let myself relax a little.
...
Roxy.
I open my eyes and quickly look to the stage, gauging the gang's mood. Specifically, looking at Roxy.
I forgot that Roxanne doesn't think the same way the other gang members might. A very big portion of her personality depends on being received well, so much so that being received poorly for any reason will impact her way worse than any of the other members; even if that reason is something as insignificant and meaningless as low crowd population.
Unfortunately, even only being able to see their faces, I think my theory is accurate.
Freddy, Monty, and Chica are performing normally. Their smiles are genuine, and their movements are smooth and full of energy. Roxanne hasn't stopped tuning her instrument, and has her head lowered enough that you wouldn't normally notice her vacant grin. I wish I could explain it better, but its like there's a shadow cast over her.
It hurts watching it happen, but there's nothing I can do to fix it. As amazing as Evan might think I am, I'm not able to change a crowd's enthusiasm by wishing it away.
Freddy breaks my train of thought.
They're moving onto a part of the show where each of the gang does this small educational bit about their respective instruments. They do this little bit every show they perform, but still mix it up from week to week to keep returning visitors from having to sit through the same exact dialogue and performance.
Freddy walks forward first and immediately lets out a passionate vocal single.
Oh yeah, each time one of the gang walks up to start their portion, they begin by doing a small 10-15 'song' using only their instrument. I've always been a little bit of a fan of this part, actually. It's neat to listen to each of the instruments the characters use play individually. After you hear that, you begin to notice the individual instruments a bit more in each song the gang plays altogether.
Partway through Freddy's lesson, I let my gaze drift to the floor in front of me. I try to think of ways to excite the crowd, but every idea I come up with would either be way to excessive or just plain unrealistic. A few minutes pass, and Chica's started doing her bit. I watch her do her single, then zone back out again like I did with Freddy. Once again, nothing comes to mind, and I'm about ready to stop trying.
I make a mental note to visit Roxanne tonight, even if I only risk making it worse. I zone back in and realize I've been staring at Evan for a while. Thankfully, he was too entranced with the characters and the show to notice, so I avert my gaze. Then, something hits me.
After a moment more of thinking, I kick myself off the pillar, and make my way to where Evan's standing. Surprisingly, once he sees me start to approach, he exits from his swarm of friends and runs to me.
"That was so cool! Chica's amazing on that thing!" He tells me, pointing at Chica's guitar and jumping up and down.
I nod and sign that it blew my mind, quickly getting that topic out of the way for what I need to talk to him about.
"Hey, can you do me a really quick favor?" I ask Evan, crouching down to his level so I can hear him better. Evan breaks his gaze from Chica to look at me intently.
"Uh-huh!"
"You see the grey wolf over there, on the left?" I gesture towards Roxy.
"Yeah. Is that Roxanne?"
"Yep, so listen.."
I very quickly and concisely explain to him who Roxy is, and the predicament going on that I think might affect her. Trudge nods quickly in understanding, looking at me hopefully, expecting me to have a plan.
I do.
...
Monty performed after Chica, taking his sweet time to talk about how badass the bass is, before eventually being forced by Freddy to retreat. Roxanne is up to bat, and she does her best to march up proudly and play her song.
Roxy begins, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't reasonably impressed. Of course, I couldn't tell you the first thing about a keytar, but I could see her fingers flying, and the melody was enticing. Despite being underwhelmed by the crowd, she played her instrument with everything she had; which is a common trait shared by all four members of the gang. They love their instrument, and if you ever ask them about their respective one, you might never hear the end of it.
I'm glad she plays as hard as she could, it'll make this upcoming part feel better for her.
I look away from the stage and to Evan's crowd bunch of friends right in front of me, which has considerably more kids in it than there were a few moments ago. Hopefully Evan got the message passed on to all of them in time.
Finally, Roxy's (unusually long) song comes to an end. She makes a dramatic pose as she plays the last chord, and freezes to let the music ring out. As soon as it does:
"YEEEEEAAAAAAH!"
I could hear Evan's voice kick it off.
I told him to tell all of his friends, and any other nearby kids if he was able, to absolutely scream their lungs out as soon as Roxanne finished her song. Whistle, yell, whatever could possibly be interpreted as a positive reaction.
And boy, are they screamin'.
Standing right next to the group probably wasn't my smartest idea. I never knew how loud someone half my size could be. Their yells take over all other sound in the auditorium, causing other groups of kids and adults who weren't in on it to join in instinctively.
I let a mischievous grin plaster my face. I don't think I could have made this turn out any better if I tried. How's that for attention, Rox?
I look back up to the stage to see the other three animatronics looking a little jarred. By some stroke of luck, I think Chica managed to see me with my dumbass grin and figure out what was happening. Before long, even the the animatronics were cheering for Roxy.
Roxy herself was stuck in the pose she struck, instead now she's wide-eyed staring at the crowd. Eventually, she fixes herself to be standing up normally and continues looking. When it finally sinks in that everyone in the crowd was screaming for 'her', believe it or not, she gets timid.
I can see her tail wagging erratically behind her, but she's standing upright, unable to make eye contact with the crowd, politely waving. Literally the least Roxy-like actions imaginable.
Eventually, she takes her hand down and scans the crowd. Feeling the need to continue acknowledging the praise, Fuckin' get this, she bows. She friggen bowed. Roxanne NEVER bows, ever. I will never let her live this down.
Not in a million years could I conjure up the words to describe the face she made when she rose from the bow and saw me standing in the crowd, clapping, with a wide shit-eating grin that I'm not even trying to hide anymore. She completely froze, and her face is crimson.
I give her a thumbs up after a while, causing her to break from her trance. I can tell every atom of her being wants to march over and ask me what the hell I'm still doing here, but we both know she can't, so I continue clapping, and she continues not knowing how to accept all the praise.
The show ended around 20 minutes ago. Evan and I are standing in the animatronic corridor, chatting it up. All his friend's parents told their kids they were either eating or leaving, leaving just the two of us. Met Evan's mom, by the way. She's a nice lady, which I'm happy for. I was worried that she might be negligent for leaving Evan to run around on his own, but, y'know.. Every kid runs around on his own, so I guess I was just overthinking things.
She also told Evan that they'd eat some food, and that she'd tell him when it's ready. In the mean time, however, the place was really bustling for how little people there were. I think Evan placebo'd everyone into thinking that Roxy's show was a work of modern art.
"Can we go singing again?" Evan asks enthusiastically, pumped from today's show.
"I don't think I can physically handle any more singing." I respond, leaning on the wall behind me.
"But you were good at it too!"
"I just knew the songs really well."
"C'mooon!"
"Isn't your food gonna be ready any second now?"
"Oh yeah."
That sure knocked the fight outta him quick.
"I can't believe mom told me Roxanne might be mean! She was awesome!"
"I think your mom was just repeating what she heard. At least now you know she's not scary at all."
"Mhm!" Evan hops excitedly. He's like a completely different person than the one I found moping on a bench outside Fazer-Blast.
"..You have fun today?" I ask, pretty stupidly. It felt like a normal question to ask at the time.
"Yeah! I wanna come again sometime!"
"Do you live nearby?"
"Kinda.. About 45 minutes from here."
"Mm, probably not an every-day kinda thing then, huh?"
"Nope, but that's okay! I'd probably get really tired if I came here every day.."
Awfully observant for a kid his age.
I open my mouth to comment, but get interrupted by footsteps marching my way. By the time I turn to look who it is, Roxy is standing right next to me, arms crossed, looking at me with an emotion I can't explain. It's like a mixture of suspicion and disdain. I can only smirk in response.
"Heya Roxy."
"Mike.."
"Hi Roxy!"
Before Roxanne can manage to conjure up what she wants to say, Evan jumps from the other side of me, and bounces up to her.
"Oh- Hey kid." She responds casually, forcing her emotions down her throat.
"You were really cool today! I wanna learn the keytar!"
"Good luck finding out where to get one." I answer. Roxy looks up at me again, twice as suspiciously as before.
"Mike, who is this kid?'
"Coolest little man in the pizzaplex." I muse, awarding me a small giggle from the kid.
"Why are you with him?" Roxy asks, un-amused.
"Mike saw me alone and asked if I was alright!" Evan answered for me. Thanks for phrasing it like that this time, instead of 'I saw mike staring at me and decided to confront him.'
"...And so you've just been.?" She continues to question, also seemingly having a hard time believing I would find a kid who could tolerate me.
"We went around and did a bunch of stuff. Only one we didn't run into was you, actually. We ran outta time." I explain.
Evan holds up his cast proudly, showing Roxy the signatures on it.
Roxanne looks at the signatures, stares suspiciously at me a little while longer, before sighing in exasperation and leaning on the wall next to me.
"This has been the weirdest god-da.. god-DANG day I've ever suffered through.."
"You didn't seem like you were suffering when you were up there bowing at the crowd."
"I'll kill you, Mike."
"You will try."
"Did you do something?" She leans forward to look at me again. "Did you do something to make the crowd scream like that?"
"I was just there to watc-"
"Yeah! He told me to tell everyone to clap for you when you finished!" Evan interrupts, obliterating my plan of secrecy.
"Mike!" Roxy barks accusationally. I just chuckle and scratch the back of my head.
"Don't be mad at him!" Evan rushes to my defense. Thanks Little man. "He told me to do it because he didn't want you to be sad!"
Nevermind, little man, stop talking now.
"Like hel-.. Like heck he did! He was just trying to embarrass me!" Roxy aggressively falls back to lean on the wall again.
"No he wasn't!" Evan insists.
"Yeah-huh!" Roxy responds. I don't think I've heard an adult say 'yeah-huh' unironically before.
"Nuh-uh!"
"Then he probably was just doing it so he didn't have to deal with me being upset tonight!" Roxy claims, reaching a conclusion.
"No! He did it because he wanted you to feel better!"
"Why would he even-"
"'Cause you're Mike's favorite!"
This shuts her up. I know I've said the same thing to Roxy myself multiple times, but hearing someone else say it is a little embarrassing.
"H-Hey, Evan, how about we-" I try to cut in, but am unfortunately overpowered by the twelve-year-old.
"Mike even told me to call you Roxy, because he said you liked that name more! So he didn't do it to be mean!"
Deciding to accept my defeat, I just turn and give Roxanne a guilty 'sorry, my bad' kind of grin. Unfortunately, I don't think she saw it, since she was looking away from the both of us, with her cheek fur lightly tinted pink.
I stare at her for a second, before the both of us turn to look at Evan at the same time.
"W-Well then, maybe he was just trying to-!" Roxy cuts herself off when she realized that Evan hasn't taken his cast down since he held it up to show it to her. Evan's eyes are full of fire, willing to defend me to the death, but I remembered that Evan was trying to create a design on his cast with the animatronic's signatures.
"Y..You want me to sign it?" Roxanne asks, not totally sure what she's expected to do.
"Yeah! Even if you're mean to Mike!"
I can't stop myself from laughing this time.
I feel Roxy punch my shoulder as she reaches to grab her purple marker.
"Fine, but this is the only thing I'm signing.."
She reaches forward to write, following Evan's finger as he tells her where to sign. Sure enough, Evan wants it under Monty's name, and to the side of Chica's, creating a square. Roxy's marker is a brilliant red-orange, like the color of the original foxy. It's kind of weird, since zero of that color can be found anywhere on Roxanne, but I guess it keeps up the tradition. After all, Chica's marker was yellow, and she sure as hell isn't yellow anymore.
As she finishes, a small group of kids that Evan convinced to join in clapping for Roxanne run up to her. Shifting her attention away from us and to them, I take the time to admire Evan's completed design. Or at least I thought it was completed, before he shoved the cast up towards me.
"Look! I almost finished it! Now you can do yours!"
"I can do mine.?"
"Yeah! Duh!"
"I'll mess up the design if I put my name somewhere."
"Nuh-uh! You can put yours right here!"
Evan points to the space directly in the middle of the square, in between all of the animatronic's names.
"Y-You want me to put it there?"
"Yeah! I changed my mind about who my favorite is, it's you! So you get the middle!"
If this kid keeps talking, I might actually start crying, so as much as I want to protest, I don't.
I reach into my uniform-pocket and take out the only marker I have on me,
and sign my name in purple.
Before long, Evan's mom called him to eat lunch. We both said our goodbyes to each other, and I promised to be around next time he visited. I watched him skip off until he was out of sight, and turned to Roxy, who had just finished with the group of kids who were apparently all very happy with the performance. After the kids run out of sight, the two of us are left alone in the corridor, and Roxy lets out a huge sigh as she leans back up against the wall. She's doing her best to look annoyed, but that tail betrays her emotions.
"I.. cannot believe you did that.. Ugh.." Roxy covers her face in embarrassment, remembering how she reacted to the praise.
"Sorry. You did play really good, though."
"Don't you butter me up, asshole."
"I'm not. The kids probably would have reacted the same either way, but I really liked your playing."
Roxanne just groans in response.
"Are all night guards as batshit insane as you are?"
"You gotta be some level of insane if you work the night shift anywhere."
"Sounds about right.." She grumbles.
...
"Why the hell are you still here, Mike?"
"I couldn't fix the problem with my car I mentioned earlier, the one I needed the carjack for."
"I shoulda known better than to think you could fix anything on your own."
"Sorry. Hadn't checked my spare in a while."
"Flat?"
"Rusted."
"How the hell'd you do that?"
"I don't know. I think I left the trunk open when it rained one night."
"Nice."
"Mhm."
...
"Gonna take your arms off your face at some point?" I ask
"Are you still here?"
"I like to think so."
"Then no."
...
"You want me to leave, then?"
"No."
"Oh.."
Gotta admit, I wasn't expecting that.
...
"Hey Mike?"
"Mhm?"
"...Nothing, nevermind."
"Is something wrong?"
"No, I'm fine, just.." She lets her arms fall down to her sides, then sighs exasperatedly "You're so damn weird.."
"We're all weird."
About 20 more minutes pass before Roxanne and I separate to go do our own things. A 20 minutes full of frequent silences, but none of which felt uncomfortable. A corpse and a wolf leaning on a wall together. It sounds like the start of a joke. 'So a purple self-possessed corpse and a sentient robot wolf walk into a bar.'
I get a message from Trudge saying he's back with the spare, so I had to head off towards the entrance, and Roxy had to go be, y'know, one of the main attractions.
Upon reaching my car, which now has a Trudge parked next to it, I see his head poke out of his trunk.
"So- Actually! They were out of spares!" He yells at me from across the lot.
"They were out of spares..?"
"Yeah! But don't worry though."
"Trudge, what did you get me, then?"
"A tire."
"You bought a whole ass tire?"
"Yeah! I made sure it worked with your car, though!"
He has to be joking.
"When do you wanna put it on?" He asks, just as I get to his car. Sure enough, he bought me a whole fucking tire.
"Trudge, I do not have the money on me right now to pay for this."
"Oh- no, that's okay!"
"It is not 'okay', this thing is quadruple the money I sent you with."
"I get paid a lot!"
This guy..
"Y'know what, I'll pay you back later, Trudge. Can we just move the tire to my trunk?"
"Yep! Not leavin' yet?"
"I think I'm gonna take that bed Freddy offered me. By the time I wake up, It'll be close to when my shift begins anyway."
Trudge laughs.
"There's probably, like, a million kids who would kill to spend the night at Freddy's! I think you might be the first one!"
"One of the job benefits, I guess."
Trudge just laughs harder.
We move the tire over, and head back inside. Thankfully it's stopped raining, but it was still cloudy and threatening.
"How'd ya like spending the day at Freddy's?" Trudge asks like I'm his son.
"I liked it."
"Is that kid still around?"
"I don't know. If he is, he's probably leaving pretty soon. We already said goodbye, though."
"You two were the cutest! Is he coming back again?"
First of all, if I hear you call me cute ever again I'm quitting.
"He said he'd be back."
Trudge just hums happily. We say our goodbyes, and I watch him jog to wherever he needs to go next.
...
Jesus... It feels like this day has been fifteen times longer than every other day of my life.. I think it's about time to retire..
I put one step in front of the other, becoming suddenly aware of how tired I am. It's like I can barely walk straight.
..I hope I get to see that kid again sometime. I like him.
...
Well, whatever. Thinking about it isn't gonna make him come back faster. I need to get to bed quickly.
I still have a job to do tonight.