A car drove along the roadside of Hurricane. Inside are a group of teenagers and another child: Lamar, John, Jessica, Carlton, Marla, and Jason. John was driving while everybody else was talking, catching up on what has been happening before.
"So, how's been classes in your area?" asked Jessica to Carlton. Carlton shrugged.
"Eh. Same old, same old. Math isn't that hard. Chemistry can kiss my...uh..." Carlton began before eyeing Jason, who was still on his phone, before continuing with, "place where the sun doesn't shine. Biology, same thing, and History...I actually like History. It's not bad."
"You don't like chemistry? I LOVE chemistry in my school." Jessica then said with a shrug. Marla blinked and looked at her with a teasing smirk.
"I'm sure you enjoy the subjects themselves and TOTALLY nothing to do with your teacher." she said. Jessica blinked as she looked at Marla, stuttering.
"Uh, n-no! I-I, that's not the case!" she said, blushing. Marla, Carlton, and Lamar chuckled deviously.
"Sure it is." Carlton teased. Jessica glared at him.
"Carlton, I will murder you." she said. Carlton backed off, although he still kept the teasing smirk. John, while he was staring at the road, decided to butt in.
"So, who's this teacher you like so much, Jessie?" he asked. Jessica blinked as she looked outside.
"I don't LIKE like him! But I uh...never mind. Anyways, his name is Mr. Alan. He's a bit pushy, but he's quite nice. Always willing to help." Jessica explained. Lamar grunted.
"Lucky you. My Biology teacher, Miss Dehart, refuses to be a good teacher. She would often make these explanations or give us these assignments, some of which having questions that, I kid you not, we have NOT studied! When we tried to ask her, she practically told us to eff off!" he complained.
"Really?" asked Marla, blinking in surprise. Lamar then deflated a bit.
"No. Not really. She actually just told us to look at our notes or remember her lectures...Useless…" he said as he looked outside, seeing the various homes. John chuckled.
"I feel ya, man. You know my psychology teacher, Master Bates? I-I mean, Mister Bates-" John began, but the others caught onto his slip, and they began laughing! Carlton, especially was howling with laughter. Jason, all the while, looked around, confused as to what was going on. He heard the slip-up, but he didn't understand what was happening.
"Huh? Master Bates? What's that?" he asked. Marla shook her head as she continued laughing.
"That's something you shouldn't know, Jason. And don't say that. It's inappropriate." she spoke. Jason blinked in confusion before he decided to use to check it up.
"Okay...what. Is…" he enunciated to himself, trying not to get Marla's attention. However, his attempt suffered a slight setback when Marla heard him, causing her to pluck the phone away.
"Hey!" he said as he reached for it. Marla pressed her hand on his face and pushed him away as she puts the phone onto her purse.
"You're not gonna look up what it means, Jason. Trust me, I'm trying to preserve what little innocence you have left." she said with a stern look, although there is a faint smirk.
John, all the while, was recovering from the laughter. He wiped away a tear from his eye as he shook his head. Then, his eyes caught the sight of a familiar car parked out in front of a house's garage. He raised a brow and called out to Marla.
"Is that Charlie's car?" he asked. Marla, who was still trying to push Jason away, looked to where John was looking and smiled brightly.
"Yep! That's hers!" she said with delight. And so they managed to pull up next to the car, and they were just getting out when they heard the sound of laughter coming from the backyard. Carlton and Lamar raised their brows and looked at each other.
"I...guess that must be the child Charlie's babysitting." Lamar stated as he shrugged. Carlton shrugged as well.
"Maybe." Carlton replied.
Then, they heard a robotic voice from outside.
"I'm the big, ba-a-a-ad wolf! I shall catch you, Eddie!"
This was followed by a squeal of delight, causing the teens to blink in surprise. Then, they could see a four-year-old boy rushing towards the front of the house, hiding behind the wall. After giggling for a moment, his peripheral vision caught the sight of the teens. He turned to look at him, and he grew a bit suspicious.
"Uh...Um...who are you?" he asked, growing a bit anxious. Marla was the first to speak with him. She approached him softly and waved.
"Hi, sweetie. Are you Edward Parr?" she asked. Edward blinked in surprise, stepping back slightly.
"H-How do you know me?" he asked. Upon seeing him panic, Marla gently motioned her hands to calm him down.
"It's okay, sweetie. Do you know a certain Charlie Emily?" she asked. Upon hearing her name, Edward froze up before raising his brow.
"You know Miss Charlie? *gasp* Are you her friends?" he asked. Marla nodded.
"That's right, sweetie. Did she tell you we're coming?" she asked as she knelt to his height. Edward nodded as a smile grew. At this point, footsteps came from the fence. Edward looked back and gasped, giggling.
"He's coming!" he said as he hid behind Marla. Marla blinked in confusion.
"Who's coming?" asked Lamar. Edward turned to him and pointed ahead.
"Freddy!" he said. Just as he said his name, Freddy stomped his way to the front house. He turned around and blinked upon seeing more people.
"Oh. Looks like we've got more friends to join the par-ar-ty." he said. Edward blinked with a smile while everybody else just stared on in shock.
"Yeah. These are Miss Charlie's friends. She invited them over!" he explained before looking at Marla.
"Um, what's your name?" he asked. Blinking from shock, Marla gave a small smile.
"Right. Right. Sorry. My name's Marla. And these are the rest of my friends." she said, introducing Edward to Carlton, Jessica, Lamar, John, and Jason. Speaking of whom, Jason was staring at Freddy with awe.
"Woah...cool." he said. Edward, after eyeing the others, then spotted Jessica.
"You're Jessica, right?" he asked. She nodded with a friendly smile.
"That's right, honey. Nice to meet you." she said. Edward, however, frowned.
"I hope you're not like those girls that dad told me about." he said. Now Jessica blinked.
"Huh? What do you mean?" he asked. Edward tilted his head as he explained.
"He says girls that look like they're into fashion are vain, petty, and rude."
Jessica and the others blinked in surprise. However, Carlton chuckled.
"Well, I dunno about now. But she definitely was when she was around your age." he explained. Edward looked at him in intrigue while Jessica groaned.
"Please no, Carlton." she mumbled.
"Really?" asked Edward. Carlton nodded.
"Yeah. I remember when we were having a sleepover at hers. For some reason, she decides to-" Carlton began while Jessica was twitching. She enjoyed teasing Carlton about that, but she especially didn't like that he was trying to tell strangers about it.
Thankfully for her, an angel came in the form of her old friend.
"Carlton. Are you still upset about that? You know that was, like, ten years ago. Right?" asked a voice after the door opened. Everyone turned to see Charlie walking out of the door, curious about what was going on. Edward perked up and waved.
"Hi, Miss Charlie." he greeted! Charlie waved back before turning to focus on her friends.
Immediately, she blinked and was greeted with a hug from Marla! The hug was bone-crushing, but given that this was Marla, Charlie ignored this and hugged her friend back.
"Charlie! I miss you!" she said. Charlie smiled back, and she hugged her back.
"Marla! It's so good to see you-Oof!" she said just before Jessica jumped in and hugged her.
"Oh, thank the heavens! Saved by the Charles!" Jessica stated. Charlie chuckled as she hugged her back. Then, she saw the boys and waved at them.
"Hey, guys." she said. Lamar, Carlton, and John smiled back as they waved.
"Sup, Charles?" Lamar greeted.
"Great to see ya, again!" Carlton greeted.
"Yeah. Nice to see ya, Charlie." John said as he approached the girls. As she saw John, Charlie felt herself blushing as her heart began to beat rapidly. She had hoped that none of the girls noticed, but unfortunately for her, Fate had different plans.
"Oh, dear. We just got back together and already she's starstruck." Marla whispered. Charlie blinked as she pulled away, flustered.
"U-Uh, that's not true!" she said. Marla and Jessica chuckled as the latter patted her shoulder.
"Sure it is." Marla teased. Charlie blinked as she groaned, pulling her jacket closer together. The girls laughed at this.
All the while, Edward noticed Jason eyeing Freddy up and down. He raised a brow and looked down.
"What are you doing?" he asked. Jason looked at him and smiled.
"Just looking at this guy. He looks COOL!" he said as he took a picture with his phone. Edward smiled.
"Thanks! This is Freddy! Um...you're Jason, right?" asked Edward. Jason nodded.
"Yeah, man! Nice to meet ya!" he said as he raised his hand in a fist bump. Edward blinked in confusion.
"What's that?" he asked.
"It's a fist bump. I don't believe in handshakes." Jason explained. Edward nodded as their fists bumped against one another, making him smile.
"Hey, kids." Charlie's voice caught their attention. The two kids turned to look at Charlie and her friends.
"We're gonna be heading inside. You wanna come in?" she asked. Edward pouted a bit.
"Aww. But I wanna keep playing with Freddy." he said, head lying on Freddy's shoulders. Jason nodded as well.
"Yeah. Can I join them, Marla?!" pleaded Jason. Marla gave a smile and nodded.
"Sure. Just don't get yourself hurt!" she said. Edward beamed as he now had another friend to play with. Excited, he climbed down and tugged at Freddy's arm.
"Come on, you two! Let's go!" he said with a smile.
"Hohoho-o-o-o. Adventure continues!" Freddy cheered as he stomped off after him. Jason, still smiling in admiration, followed after them, leaving the teens alone.
The teens smiled as they watched the kids run off back to the backyard.
"I've never seen Jason so interested in anything...well, anything outside of his phone." Marla said. Charlie looked at her as she crossed her arms.
"Well...it is your fault for introducing your old phone to him." she said. Marla looked at her, stunned. Charlie nodded, and Marla just sighed in defeat. Charlie then motioned her head inside.
"Come on in. We've got a lot of catching up to do!" she said. The others smiled as they walked inside.
The gang sat around the dining table. They sat awkwardly, not knowing how to start the reunion.
Eventually, Charlie was the first to speak up. She looked at Jessica with a smile.
"So how's life been in New York, Jessica?" she asked. Jessica brightened up.
"Oh, it's great, Charlie! My parents got me to get myself photographed for the local fashion magazine! Also, I'm studying forensics. Always love a bit of mystery. Other than that, everything's busy there." she explained with a hint of boast before her smirk faltered. "Though having to sleep in the Big Apple SUCKS. It's so noisy there!" she then said. Carlton chuckled.
"Woo-woo! *mimics machine gun noises* Get off my turf, motherfu-Ahhh!" he went, referring to the gang life in the city. The others chuckled while Jessica gently elbowed him.
"New York is not always like that!" she said. Carlton shrugged.
"Hey, it's the city that never sleeps." he replied. Jessica rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, but I'll admit it needs a nap." she said, and the others laughed.
"Besides, I don't really know what it's like. I've never been there...In fact, I've never left Hurricane. Man, I can't wait to leave here." he said.
"No one ever leaves Hurricane." Lamar added in teasingly. The gang chuckled once more before Charlie and John looked at one another. They blushed for a moment before John asked,
"So, how's everything here with you and Carlton?"
Charlie shrugged.
"Boring, really. Same old, same old. I graduated big time in engineering and math, and currently working on summer jobs to make money for college. Aunt Jen's helping out, of course." she explained, referring to her new job as a babysitter. John nodded in understanding. Then Marla looked at the outside window, seeing Freddy spinning Edward around mechanically while Jason rode on his back. She frowned as she turned to look at Charlie.
"So… are we gonna address this, guys?" Marla asked, pointing to the window. They followed her gaze, and their mood began to be sullen.
"I-I guess." Charlie said. Marla adjusted herself.
"So…when did Freddy arrive, Charlie?" she asked. Charlie gently brushed a strand of hair from the side of her head.
"A few hours ago. This woman, whose name I cannot remember, brought him over because Edward's parents got it as an award." she said.
"Do you know if the parents are… aware of the tragedy?" asked Lamar. Charlie shrugged.
"I don't think so." she said. Carlton nodded as well.
"I'm with her on this one. This town, while it has grown in recent years, is not that big. My dad, Charlie, and I have been able to recognize just about everybody here. This is the first time I've seen the kid." he clarified.
"And even if they did, Fazbear Entertainment made sure to cover up what happened real good." John finished.
Charlie nodded as she looked outside again, now with Edward and Jason being chased by Freddy. Playfully, of course. She gulped to herself.
"Hey, Charlie?" asked Carlton. Charlie looked at him.
"Hm?" she replied.
"I uh...hope you don't mind me asking this, but um...how exactly did you take this? Honestly, I'm surprised you didn't pass out." Carlton explained. This earned him some looks from the others; a glare from Marla and Jessica, a look of "Oh Shit" from Lamar, and a glimpse of hidden exasperation from John.
Charlie, however, just gave a light-hearted laugh.
"I can see why you would think that." she said. Then, once she calms down, she sighed and looked at him.
"Honestly, when I first saw his MANY plushies of Freddy and Co, I...I felt like I was trapped in place, unable to escape. That feeling got worse when he told me about Freddy coming. But then when Freddy actually arrived...I felt like I wanted to pass out." she said. She then felt herself heating up and decided to remove her jacket.
"I...I suppose it could be worse. He did ask me many times if I was okay with letting Freddy stay." she explained.
"That's really sweet of him." Jessica said, now fully understanding Charlie's words of "hyper but sweet kid." Charlie nodded in agreement.
"Yeah. But...you're willing to stay despite what happened. Why?" asked John. The others listened with intent, wanting her answer. Charlie looked to the window, watching the three play.
"Well, there are two reasons. One, I was trying to explain to him why I didn't like Freddy, but I just...couldn't tell him. And when he kept asking, not in an annoying way mind you, I just snapped at him." she began, guilt evident in her voice. The others grew a bit shocked at this. While it was understandable, they never took Charlie to be the type that snaps at people.
"He was just a curious boy. It's not his know he doesn't know. And that...leads onto reason number two: I...don't want to ruin his innocence." she explained. Seeing Edward and Freddy hugging one another made her smile.
"He doesn't deserve to have his fun ruined just because I had to suffer something so terrible a decade ago. I even told him that myself. *chuckles* You should've seen how happy he was when this lady brought Freddy. It...it reminds me of…"
Sammy…
Charlie wanted to say his name, but something within her was forbidding her from doing so. She held onto her jacket and gulped.
Thankfully for her, she had support. She felt John wrap an arm around her. She looked up and saw him looking concerned.
"Charlie? It's alright. We're here now." he asked. Charlie blushed a bit as they looked into one another's eyes. She then felt another hand grasping her right hand. It was Jessica.
"You don't have to do this alone. If you want us to help you with him, then we will." she said. The others nodded in agreement. Charlie looked at them and smiled gratefully.
"Thanks, guys. But...I can handle Edward just fine...I think." he said. Marla giggled.
"You can always ask ME for help, especially. I know how to deal with toddlers." she said with a smile.
"Thanks, Marla." she said. The friends smiled at one another.
Then, it was back to awkward silence. However, this didn't remain that way for long, as Lamar had something rush into his mind.
"Hey uh...Is Freddy's still standing?" he asked. Everyone looked at him as Carlton nodded.
"Yeah. Charlie and I pass by there sometimes. The place looks like its been stripped clean, though." he explained. Charlie nodded.
"Y-Yeah. T-The only way you can tell it was Freddy's was a faint outline of Freddy and his friends and a faded logo." she added.
"I see." Lamar replied. John then raised a brow.
"Why? You thinking about going there?" he asked. Lamar blinked as he shook his head.
"N-No! I was just curious, that's all!" he said. Charlie, as she looked down, then thought more about the building. Something within her is nagging at her about the place.
"Everything alright, Charles?" asked Carlton. Charlie looked at her and took a breath.
"I…I want to see that place." she declared. The others blinked in surprise.
"What?" asked Jessica. Charlie looked up, more determined.
"I want to visit Freddy's." she reiterated. Everyone looked at one another.
"You sure, Charlie? I mean, you of all people want to go there?" asked Jessica. Charlie nodded.
"It's not far away from where I live. Ever since those children disappeared, and the place shut down, I've always to see the place and, naively, find those kids myself. Now I know that's just a pipe dream, but...I still want to visit the place for myself. Just to see it." she explained.
They stared at her in surprise. No one said anything for a while until John shifted himself.
"I guess it won't be a bad idea." he said. Charlie looked at him, and he nodded.
"Yeah. I sometimes think about the place, and I always wandered what's inside. Plus, it could give me new material for my writing." he said. Then, after a brief period, Jessica pipes in with,
"I kind of want to see it for myself. Maybe there's something there that they might've missed in regards to the missing kids." she said. Carlton blinked.
"I doubt it. One thing I do remember when I was seven is seeing some vans in front of the pizzeria." he explained. Then, Marla spoke up,
"Well, I've got nothing better to do. So...yeah, I guess I can go." she said with a shrug, nodding in agreement. Lamar looked at the others and then nodded.
"Alright. Since everyone else is going, I might as well join." he said. Charlie's heart fluttered at her friends' decisions.
"So, we all in?" asked Jessica. Everyone nodded as a final confirmation. That was when,
"In what?"
The others turned to Lamar's right, and Charlie gasped as she saw a very dirty and muddy Edward. Adjacent to him were Freddy and Jason, both of whom were also dirty.
"Edward...what happened?" asked Charlie. Edward smiled innocently.
"I wanted to turn on the hose to get some water. Jason and I were thirsty, and I said that it was faster and tastier to get it from the hose. Freddy then decided to splash us with water and...I don't remember what happened next." he explained.
The teens looked at the trio with shock, and Charlie just groaned, flopping her head to the table.
"Ugh...just go take a shower or something, Eddie." she mumbled. Edward shook his head.
"I can't shower by myself yet." he said. Charlie then moved her head, chin resting on the table as she looked at him in shock. Edward then slightly swayed his body side-to-side innocently.
"Can you...give me a bath?" he asked. Charlie whimpered as she looked at the others.
"Sorry, Charlie. I'm no good." John said.
"If you think I'm gonna be touching that kid while he's showering, you've got another thing coming, girl." Lamar stated.
"She's just gonna give him a bath, Lamar. Nothing perverted about that! But no, I'm not bathing him either." Jessica scolded.
"Anyways, this is YOUR kid. So he's YOUR responsibility." Marla stated, pointing at her.
"Ditto." Carlton added. Charlie whined, but she relented.
"Alright. Come on, Edward." she grumbled as she got up and walked over to him.
"Do you know where your bathroom is?" she asked. Edward nodded as they walked off.
"It's upstairs inside my bedroom!" he said, guiding her up the stairs, grabbing her left hand made Charlie cringe in disgust.
"I've got a LOT of cleaning up to do…" she muttered as she got up the stairs, Edward's muddy footprints trailing behind. Marla then eyed Jason.
"W-Wait! What about Jason?! He's dirty, too!" she called out.
"There's another bathroom with a shower on the other side of the hallway." Charlie called out. Marla nodded as she then took Jason's hand.
"Come on, young man." she said, pulling him forward. Jason groaned.
"Alright, I'm coming!" he said. Jessica and the boys then looked at Freddy, who was still staring at him.
"W-What?" stuttered Freddy. Carlton then called out.
"Should Freddy need cleaning, too?"
"Guys, one at a time! I'll take care of Freddy later!" Charlie called out in exasperation. The four looked at each other and chuckled.
Many minutes later, Charlie walked out of the bathroom, exhaustion on her face.
"*deep sigh* I hope I don't end up on a watchlist." she muttered as she looked at her phone, the screen showing how to bathe a toddler.
"Huh?" asked Edward, who was now in a new pair of pajamas, as he walked out, looking up at her. Charlie shook her head, putting her phone back.
"Nah, it's nothing. Anyways, you wanna do something else?" she asked. Edward shook his head as he rubbed his eyes.
"I'm tired." he said. Charlie blinked in surprise and a bit of relief.
"Your tired?" she asked. Edward nodded.
"What time is it?" he asked. Charlie looked at her phone: it was 3:45 PM.
"It's almost four o'clock." she answered.
"Oh. It's nap time for me!" Edward said as he yawned.
"Eddie, cover your mouth. Otherwise, you're gonna…" Charlie explained before she ended up yawning as well. Once that was done, Edward turned around to his room.
"I'm going to my room. See you, Miss Charlie," he said. Charlie nodded, and as she walked out of his room, she ended up sighing in relief.
"Phew. That kid...he's so…" she began as she looked at her shirt and jacket, which had splash marks. Charlie then looked at the trail of mud.
"Ugh...remind me never to have kids of my own," she muttered to herself as she covered her face.
"Duly noted." a voice made her look up. It was John, and there was a smile on his face. Charlie just chuckled herself as she looked down.
"You alright, Charlie?" he asked.
"I'm fine. Just tired." she replied, shaking her head as she placed her hand on her forehead. John nodded as he sat next to her.
"So...he seems like a nice kid." he muttered. Charlie nodded.
"Sweeter than I thought. Which I guess is a good thing, because if not...then I'm going to jail for child abandonment. I don't care." she joked, making them laugh. After another period of silence, John then told her.
"Charles...I know you really wanna make the kid happy for himself. But I don't think putting your mental health on the line is gonna make things better for yourself. You're clearly still upset over what happened." he said. Charlie frowned as she looked down.
"John...I know that. No matter how many times I try telling myself to let it go, it's just not enough. But...it's still been ten years. I've gotta try and move forward instead of simply moaning all of the time." she said. John nodded in understanding. Then, he looked at her with a small smile.
"True. But now, you don't have to do it alone. We're here now." he said as he scooted closer to her. Charlie blushed but didn't protest. The two friends sat there, not saying anything as they stared at the ceiling.
Then, after a while of silence, John asked her,
"So, you want us to help you clean up? The others are already trying to clean up Freddy." he suggested.
"Hahahahaha-a-a-a-a. That t-t-tickles!" Freddy's voice can be heard.
"Don't you EVER say that again while I'm cleaning you here, bear!" Jessica's voice scolded. Charlie and John widened their eyes and had to hold in their laughter, hands covering their mouths.
"Oh god. Yeah. Some help will be appreciated." she said with a nod. John nodded as he stood up. Then he pointed at Charlie.
"Are we still going to Freddy's?" he asked, referring to the earlier conversation. Charlie nodded with a smile.
"Even if there's nothing, I wanna see it." she said. John smiled with satisfaction.
"Alrighty. I'll be downstairs. When your ready, you can join us!" he said before walking down the stairs.
Charlie smiled at her friend before looking at the door to Edward's room. She frowned slightly, realizing that it will be harder to take care of him than she thought, even without the traumatic experience at Freddy's.
But with her friends, plus the kid being well-behaved for his age, Charlie knew that this would be a challenging but doable three weeks.
With a sigh, she gave a small smile at the door before walking down the stairs. That was when she heard,
"Ugh. Anyone knows how to clean this thing?" from Carlton.
Charlie gasped to herself, and she fished out her phone, heading towards the AppStore to find the Fazbear Funtime Service app to help them before she walked down to join her friends.
For the rest of the afternoon, the gang had a bit of a hassle trying to clean up Freddy, which led to a bit of bickering and cursing…
AN: Hey everyone! Finally finished with this one!
Now, before I continue, I just want to say: I am aware of the drama, and yes, I sympathize with Scott. Without getting into too much, Scott deserves his rest after working so hard for the past seven years. And I hope that whoever takes his place will do their best to carry the series into the future.
Now onto the chapter...well, I've got nothing interesting to say except that the plot will be getting interesting from here on out!
So..that's all I have to say. Hope you enjoy it, and if you have constructive criticism is appreciated! Stick around for more!
(FNAF is owned by Scott Cawthon. Edward is owned by me!)