A/N: Hey everyone! So, nevermind the Saturday upload, I just can't lol. Writing is harder than I remembered, so I'll stick to Wednesday as the day of the week for a new update on the story, if that sounds reasonable. Maybe in the future, when I feel more comfortable with writing, I'll be uploading twice a week, but I really can't assure that.
I reworked two of the chapters available (Prologue & Chapter 1 namely). These have been rewritten—though slightly—and are available right now if you want to check on the changes that have been made!
I'd like to thank everyone again for the support! The reviews & favorites are what really keep me going, it's super motivating! In this chapter, though shorter than last week's, you can find the aftermath of the Bite of '83, and the inciting incident for every atrocity that William Afton finds himself guilty of.
Let me know your thoughts in the review section! I'll see you next week, for the fourth chapter of this fiction!
Five Nights at Freddy's: Dearest Friend
Chapter III: Broken Promises
Michael glanced up when he heard the door creak open. Although he knew who he would see standing in the doorway, looming over him like a predator bribing their prey, Michael gulped and dipped his head. His hand tightly coiled around Evan's, he rubbed his brother's palm and hoped that he would get a reaction out of him sooner than later.
William sat down in silence.
If looks could kill, Michael would have been stabbed three times in the heart. Conversation would not be easy to strike… Ever since the incident, Michael had wanted to express his feelings, and his deepest apologies to his father, but he could not bring himself to mutter a word when he was in his presence. For some reason, long before Evan got… well, William locked himself in his bedroom and cried. Although he had not mentioned it once, Michael heard him when he was listening in. For that reason alone, Michael needed to apologize— his father did not deserve the dismay he was pushed in.
William cleared his throat, fists clenched. "Elizabeth stayed with Henry. I don't want her to see this."
"I- Dad, I-"
"It's Father for you."
Michael blinked, though he did not respond, only turning his attention to his little brother lying in the hospital bed. The coldness in his father's voice sent chills down his spine, though he could not deny that he deserved it. All of this could have been prevented, if only he had not been so… jealous. Jealous of the attention Evan got from Father. He had toys, plushies, would spend entire afternoons outside with him, while Michael got the chores, and the yelling. And also picking up his drunk father from the sidewalk.
When he realized that his son would not respond, William sighed through the nose, still refusing to look at him though. "What have you done. He's hurt and that is entirely on you."
"Father-"
"You do not get to talk to me, Michael Afton."
"I know what I've done," Michael responded nonetheless, and he shuddered when his father glared at him across the room. He dipped his head, slumped his shoulders and tightened his grip around his brother's hand. "I messed up. I would take it back if I could-"
"You are a bloody fucking idiot."
"You can hate me," Michael said, shutting his eyes to hide his tears. He could not let his father witness his weakness, otherwise he would take advantage of it to ridicule him, like he always did. "You should."
William snorted. "What makes you believe I don't, son?"
"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry, words can't describe it," Michael muttered under his breath, and a silent tear ran down his cheek, which his father smirked at. All too aware that William was making fun of him for crying, Michael quickly dried his face with his sleeve and stood up, his back turned to his father. "I can't take it back… But I'll make it up to you. And to him if he survives this."
William sniffled, leaning back in his chair. "Get out."
"Father-" Michael protested, looking up in horror, though the coldness in his father's eyes only caused him more harm.
Without another word exchanged, Michael made his way outside, pacing in the hallway. His heart screamed that he should stick by his brother's side, though he did not want a confrontation with Father. It was obvious to anyone that William wanted Michael to stay away from him, at least for the time being— he still hoped that his father would change his mind and would not entirely disown him.
He desperately needed his mother.
Biting his lip to blood, Michael squinted his eyes when he picked up the sound of his brother's voice. Although muffled by the bandages around his head, he could decipher some words exchanged between Evan and Father.
"H-Help me, Daddy…"
"You're broken, Evan."
"B-But you can f-fix everything… It's what M-ike says…"
"I'll find a way to save you, Evan, but for now you should rest."
The conversation died down after Father's words, and Michael took a peek inside. Evan had one eye open, looking at his father who had approached and was sitting on the edge of the bed. William bent down to kiss Evan's forehead, careful not to press too hard so that he would not hurt his son even more, then he glared at the door which he had surely heard creaking again. Michael gulped and stepped back, slamming it shut before Father could reach for the handle.
If Evan had woken up, that meant that he would be okay in the end, right?
Michael sighed, unsure as he started fidgeting again, ripping skin from his hand. He jumped when he noticed hurried steps coming in his direction, only to see Henry standing in front of him. Charlotte was not with him, which he was grateful for, because he could not bear the thought of having to explain what had happened to her friend to the young Emily.
Henry parted his arms and embraced Michael, rubbing his back in comfort. "Mike, hey, it's okay… It was an accident."
Michael teared up and coiled his arms around his father's best friend. If only he could turn back time… What would he not give to spend one more minute in his brother's company?
.o0O0o.
Spring Bonnie stared at Henry slumped over his desk, his attention focused on the pile of paperwork in front of him. She did not walk in his office, only observed him while she could hear William making repairs on Fredbear in the Parts & Services area.
She could not pretend she was not enraged; why did William Afton have to clean up the robot that had munched his youngest son's head? Could Henry not take a break for a few hours and do that himself? Sure, William knew how to handle the robots better than Henry did sometimes, but cleaning up blood from a robot did not require a degree in robotics, did it?
Unless… that robot was made of springlocks, which were very sensitive to any kind of moisture.
Then… understandable.
Spring Bonnie blinked her eyes to focus on the scene ahead of her, though she took a couple steps back when she realized that Henry was glaring at her. The man stood up, sighing through the nose, and opened the door, inviting her inside without saying it. The way he glowered at her was slightly intimidating— though perhaps that was because Spring Bonnie did not hold particularly good feelings toward him.
The bunny animatronic, although startled, accepted to step inside.
"How is he?" Henry asked as soon as he had pushed the door shut. He stared at the handle he was still gripping tight, shutting his eyes for a moment. "Can he handle it? I know I shouldn't ask that of him."
"He's silent, which is not a good sign."
"I should've known… Gosh, did I fuck up?" Henry asked her.
Spring Bonnie shrugged her right shoulder.
In spite of the repairs performed by William a couple of days earlier, her left arm was still motionless. And although she had thought of mentioning it, in order to get it checked up once more, she had decided against it in regards to the latest turn of events. Given the fact that little Evan Afton was at the hospital— even after three days of intensive treatment— she would not bring any sort of attention to herself until he was allowed out.
Henry passed a hand over his face, walking over to his desk and sinking in his armchair. He searched for what to say, while Spring Bonnie stared at him with a disgruntled expression stuck to her furry face. She would give him a piece of her mind, however she did not think it was a good day to be dismantled.
After a minute, Henry sighed through the nose and pushed himself up. "I'll go. I can't live with myself."
"Where-"
"I'll clean up Fred when I have time, tell William to take a break, he deserves it."
Spring Bonnie's ears jerked up at his words, though before she had time to register them, Henry hurried out of his office and headed out. She would have wanted to hold him; to convince him to speak with William, just in case he could make him smile once, but she only watched after him as he left the building, into the pouring rain outside. Of course, considering her springlocks, she did not even think of following him.
Did she?
Without thinking twice, Spring Bonnie clenched her fists and followed him. She pushed the heavy doors open, startled when a drop of rain fell in front of her, though that did not deter her from knocking some sense in Emily's head. She took a deep breath, bracing herself for the severe damage she was about to endure, and stepped out. One step at a time, she thought as she watched the clouds above her head.
The skies cried over her mechanical body, with clouds covering up the rays of the sun, which appeared to be trapped within the establishment she was exiting. She could feel the warm lights of the stage on her back; red, yellow, green, and of course purple, reflecting on her golden fur. She shut her eyelids, mustering up the courage to step under the rain, and finally took the second step without looking back at Fredbear's.
Henry watched from his car, rain-drenched, which did little to drown his tears. He sniffled, buried his face in his hands and refused to look at her as she made her way up to him.
Her eyes, which shone green rays across the fog, dimmed when she reached her destination. She could feel her ears dropping, locked in a 'shut down' position, while her right arm twitched every time the rain touched it. "H-Henr-y," she called out, her voice box stuttering.
I'm going to break.
"You shouldn't have come here… Get back inside."
I can't.
"Spring?"
Spring Bonnie blinked twice, unable to move an inch. I didn't think death would be so quick, she thought to herself, trying to move her fingers to signify to him that she needed help getting back inside. Although her thumb jerked, the rest of her finger joints did not respond to the command, and Spring Bonnie could not help but panic.
Henry tilted his head to the side, wiping his face while he cursed under his breath. "Why did you come here? I just needed time alone… You know, I… I don't know how to get to him," Henry admitted.
Worst timing to get dramatic, GET ME BACK INSIDE.
"I'm really trying to… understand him, you know? But I don't want to fake it, and… I know he would be able to tell if I pretended to relate to something I've never felt. There's nothing more terrible than losing your child… I imagine, at least, I hope I'll never have to find out."
HENRY EMILY.
Henry sighed through the nose, tears flowing freely down his cheeks as he coiled his arms around himself. She could tell that he was cold, but did not want to get back inside because he would have to talk to William, and it seemed he did not know how to without sounding awkward. He slumped his shoulders, his bottom lip trembling. "I'm a horrible friend, aren't I? I can't even help him… He lost so much in so little time."
Does he know about Clara?
"I know the divorce really destroyed him… I can't believe all of this happened in less than a month. It must be so hard… and he can't even count on his best friend to help him."
Henry, be my best friend for once and BRING ME BACK INSIDE BEFORE I DIE.
Henry groaned and looked her up and down, perhaps finally wondering why she was not responding to anything he was saying. His eyes widened when he realized what it meant, and he hurriedly pushed her back inside. Fortunately, her legs still worked when they were pushed, though she could not activate them herself.
As soon as he pushed the doors of the diner open, Henry caught sight of William walking out of the Parts & Services room with his hands covered in red. The building had been closed for the day, which was the reason he did not bother to clean them up before he found his way to the restrooms. Henry watched as dry blood dripped from William's fingers, leaving tiny, brownish spots on the blue carpets, though they were nothing compared to the pool located near the stage.
Henry would have to clean that up too.
Before William could step in the restrooms to wash the blood of his son off his hands, Henry called out for him and hurried to his side. William glared, stepped back and looked down at the ground, all in under ten seconds.
Henry dipped his head, defeated. "Will, I'll finish up the cleaning. You should go visit Evan."
"I have this morning," William replied, dry and distant. "He needs rest if he wants to get out of this cursed hospital alive."
"I understand, I mean, yeah," Henry nodded, before he scratched the back of his head. Maybe it was time he was honest with William, and told him what was on his mind, though Spring Bonnie doubted that he would do that. While they were quite open and expressive on any typical occasion, Evan's injury had built a sort of barrier between them; one that Henry did not manage to cross over. For that reason, all of their interactions had been awkward, silent and resigned, as William admitted that he felt increasingly abandoned.
Afton snorted, and shook his head. "Henry… What's wrong?"
"Everything is wrong, okay?" Henry sighed, clearing his throat when William glared at him. Did he dare complain about his situation to the man who had almost lost his son? "I'm trying. I don't… I don't know how to get to you, and that's entirely on me. I'm trying to imagine what you're going through— and not just you, but Mike and Elizabeth as well, not to mention Claire…" Claire? "I just can't… I can't begin to imagine the pain you're feeling right now."
William's glare softened.
Without giving him a chance to interrupt his improvised speech, Henry continued, fiddling with his flannel shirt to distract himself from the intense look that his friend was giving him. "But I want to be here for you. Although I'm not doing that very well, because of… whatever is keeping me from understanding you. I'm doing my best to relate to a situation I couldn't even fathom… I'd be so lost without Charlie, I can't imagine… Part of me would die with her, and I can only assume that it's what you're feeling."
"Henry-"
"No, no, listen to me," Henry interrupted William, and although Spring Bonnie expected that it would make Afton frustrated and angry, it seemingly appeased him. "I'm here for you. I hope you know that. No matter what is happening in your life, no matter if you want to barge in my office to tell me that you're feeling down and you need help— I'll be here all the time. I'm working on… this bridge between us, I'm trying to cross over so that I can help you. I really don't want to screw this up…"
William smiled— He smiled?
Henry slumped his shoulders and pulled his friend into a tight embrace. William returned the hug, though Spring Bonnie could tell that something felt wrong. The gleam in Afton's eyes had changed: it had gone from relieved, to happy, to… something that she had never seen, and that she did not particularly like either.
It was dark, calculated, and perhaps… sadistic.
She shuddered at the thought. I better talk to Fred.
To be continued...
