Chapter 23 - Freddy's Fears
Inside Mr. Fazbear's office, Freddy is busying himself by looking through some paperwork. The numbers on the paper show the statistics and monetary values coming into and going out of the pizzeria. "At least sales are still up. That's good," Freddy says to himself before letting out a breath. As much as he was trying to distract himself from the current situation, Kitten's behavior remains at the forefront of his mind. "Maybe I was a bit too hard on Kitten…" he quietly comments as the bear takes a seat in the rolling desk chair. Going back and thinking about the conversation again, the leader shuts his eyes and crosses his arms. "No Freddy, you have to be stern with her. She's new. She has to learn that her actions have a consequence."
While deep in his own mental thoughts, Chica walks up to the office doorway and looks inside to see her friend sitting in the room by himself. Knocking on the door, the blonde speaks up a bit to get his attention. "Freddy...? I'm heading in for the night."
The girl's voice pulls him from his thoughts. Looking over in her direction, Freddy smiles warmly at the girl. "Alright. Sleep well, Chica." He didn't need her worrying about him and his moral dilemma.
The blonde smiles a little back at him. As she turns and looks out into the empty hall, Chica hesitates to leave the office. She has a question that's been bugging her, and she wants to get it answered before they have to wait another week to roam free again. Turning her attention back to the leader, Chica decides to ask him the question on her mind. "Freddy... Why don't you like Kitten?" This question came as a bit of a surprise to the bear. "I know you're not trusting her, but... I can tell she's scared of you," the girl quietly says while pulling at the ends of her skirt tightly. It's something she does when she gets nervous, which doesn't happen too often.
Freddy turns his attention down to the papers on the desk in front of him as he gathers his response. "Because I've seen what she's capable of... and I don't like it," he admits to the blonde. "She could easily get any one of us hurt or caught if she's not careful. ... And because she's new... she may not be aware that some choices she makes... affect things she shouldn't mess with."
"Well, that is why you're here; it's why we're all here. Foxy is doing all he can to help her understand. Bonnie wants to help, too, even though he can't even talk normally around her..." Chica mumbles the last part of that sentence as a side comment. Walking into the room with the bear, the blonde stands beside the desk and leans on its edge with her hands, and looks at Freddy. "Maybe if you stop freaking out that something will happen to us because of her, then maybe she'll learn from you if you just accept her for who she is."
"But it's who she is that's the problem," he says bluntly before turning his gaze to look at his friend. "It's her childishness and curiosity that's going to get her, and possibly us, into a situation we don't want to be in."
Hearing this causes Chica to frown. "I'm childish... I'm curious... I'm the youngest of all five of us... yet you put up with me for all these years," she says and crosses her arms as if to tell him that what he's saying is not an excuse. "I almost gave us up trying to find the murderer because I didn't understand anything, but you helped me get to where I am now."
"But we were all like that: not knowing or understanding what was going on. We worked through it together." Freddy can see where her point of view is coming from, but he does have some valid points that he feels should be addressed. This has never happened before: a new character has been brought into their home, who doesn't understand things the way the four of them do. Before continuing, the male lets out a breath. "We know what we're doing... but she doesn't. We've never had to deal with this before, Chica...!" he explains almost desperately to his blonde friend as his ears fall a bit. He didn't want them all to start hating him. "I don't want you all to turn against me because of how I treat her... I'm just... afraid." There it is. The truth. "I'm terrified of losing the only people who keep me sane in these times..."
It's hard for her to watch their leader struggle to keep up a tough attitude. Freddy has always been the one to hold everyone together when something goes wrong, or a problem comes up. Even back when they all first met, Freddy was the one to take up charge and help them all settle into their new life. This is the first time Chica has ever heard Freddy admit that he was scared. "Then maybe you should stay sane and try to cope with your fears. Otherwise, we might all end up afraid of you." Pushing back off the desk to stand up straight on her feet, the young girl walks back over to the door, but turns to him before walking back out into the hall. "We might be a family, but if one leaves, others will, too. It's only a matter of time for that to happen." With that last thought put into his head, Chica turns on her heels and walks out of the office, keeping her head up. She's looking forward and looking back.
Chica is usually the person who lightens the mood with a cute comment, funny joke, or adorable action… but this time, the girl is actually telling Freddy exactly what he was afraid of but already knew. Leaning forward, he rests his elbows on the desk while holding his head in his hands as what the girl said sinks in. Gripping his brown hair, the leader tears up, trying his hardest not to cry. "If there is a god up there... Please... Keep us safe..." he quietly prays.
