2 weeks later, July, 14th 2010
Jeremy woke up to silence. He laid there for a moment, listening out for movement. When he deemed it safe he quietly got out of bed and made his way to the kitchen. He didn't see his father passed out on the couch so he figured he'd have enough time to make him and Vincent breakfast before he woke up.
He made bacon, eggs, and Vincent's favorite, toast. He put the plates on a tray and quietly brought them to his brother's room, along with two glasses of orange juice, and quietly shut the door behind him. His brother shifted in bed and sat up. When he saw Jeremy he gave him his ditzy grin and moved to sit on the edge of his bed. Jeremy brought him his plate and drink and sat next to him.
"Thanks, Jer-Jer. What's the occasion?" Vincent asked, taking a bite of his toast.
"No reason, just thought I'd show my appreciation for you. You know, for considering to take me with you and not leave me behind." Jeremy said with a shrug.
Vincent gave him a side hug, "Of course, I'd never leave you behind with that monster. It's just a few more days and then we can leave."
Vincent let go and they both quickly finished their food. The oldest of the two dared to go to their father's room and see if he was awake. When he came back he assured Jeremy that he wouldn't be awake for quite a while so he was safe to roam the house.
Around noon Jeremy was getting dressed and had been texting his friends on and off when Michelle and Mike had told him that they were moving soon after his birthday. He contemplated if he should tell them about Vincent's plan, finished getting ready and went to ask. He found his brother sitting outside on the porch.
"Hey Vincent?" He called out.
"Yeah Jeremy?" Vincent replied, turning around to look at him.
"My friends told me that they're moving after my birthday and I was wondering if it would be okay if I told them about us leaving too?" Jeremy asks.
"I don't see why not. Go for it, I'll be right back." Vincent said standing up.
"Where are you going?" He asked, watching his brother walk back inside.
"I'm gonna go take inventory of the kitchen and see what we can take with us. And I'm packing you a bag of food so you can go play with your friends." Vincent explained.
Jeremy nodded and quickly told his friends about his plan.
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Mike: Jeremy?
Mike: youre too quiet, are you okay?
Michelle: yea is something wrong?
Jeremy: hey sorry bout that, was talking to Vincent
Michelle: oh, i thought you were upset about us leaving and werent gonna talk to us
Mike: yea me too
Jeremy: kinda, but Vincent and I are moving too
Mike: is it cause of your dad's job?
Michelle: but why would Vincent come with you? Isn't he almost 18?
Jeremy: he'll be 18 by October, and it's just me and him leaving
Jeremy: Vincent's getting everything together so he and i can go live out in California without my dad
Michelle: so youre running away?
Mike: thats great, at least he wont be able to put his hands on you anymore
Jeremy: the only flaw in the plan is that we're gonna have to steal my dads car to get there, but Vincent said once we get close we're gonna ditch the car
Michelle: but what about your dad? won't he come after you?
Jeremy: if he cared about either of us he hasn't exactly made it clear so i don't think he'd care, but he's definitely gonna notice the missing car
Jeremy: but enough of that did you guys wanna meet up still? Vincent's packing me a bag of food
Michelle: sure, im down
Mike: meet at our usual spot?
Jeremy: see you there
Michelle: omw
Mike: later
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Jeremy pocketed his phone and went back inside to see Vincent zipping up a small backpack. His brother looked over to him and gave him a small smile. Jeremy came over and took the bag from him.
"I've gotta go to my first job in a little while. Wait for me outside of work okay? The bar is having a half off night and you know dad's gonna have a field day with that." Vincent instructs.
"Okay, I'll be with Mike and Michelle for most of the day so don't worry about me." Jeremy said.
"Kinda hard not to Jer." Vincent joked.
Jeremy chuckled and quickly went outside and down the street towards the meetup spot. He arrived less than 10 minutes later to see his friends already waiting for him. They waved over to him and he jogged to catch up with them.
"So what do we wanna do today?" Michelle asked.
"This is probably the most freedom we're gonna get in quite a while so why don't we head over to Freddy's? It's the last time we'll see the gang for a while." Mike suggests.
"Yeah, it'd be nice to see them again. Maybe Chica can give you recipes for when you and Vincent leave, Jeremy." Michelle added.
"Sure, I don't see why not. I'm gonna have to wait for my brother to get off tonight anyways." Jeremy agrees.
They take a shortcut and quickly find themselves in front of Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria. Their scars throbbed slightly but they were used to it happening when they were near a familiar place. They stood outside for a moment before walking inside. There were kids running around and playing as usual.
The gang was split up. Freddy was helping a little boy win tokens in the arcade. Bonnie was playing with a few kids along with Blu. Foxy's curtain was closed so they assumed he was resting for now. They couldn't see Chica and guessed that she was probably in the kitchen.
They felt out of place amongst so many little children but no one paid them any mind as they went and sat down at a booth. Jeremy and Mike sat together and Michelle was across from them. As they looked at their longtime friends they couldn't help but feel as though someone was missing. Who it was they didn't know.
"So what now? They all look really busy so I don't think we can just go up to them." Jeremy questions.
Before the others could answer Bonnie had come up to their table.
"Hey there, aren't you guys a bit too old for this place?" He asked, looking down at them.
"And here I thought you'd remember us Bonnie." Michelle said, smiling up at him.
Bonnie looked confused and looked between the three of them. One by one they reintroduced themselves and watched as Bonnie finally put the pieces together. They got up and hugged him and he brought the others over to them. They hugged and talked about how much they had missed each other and what had gone on during their five years apart before the rest had to go back to work.
Chica had brought them a pizza during the lunch time rush and afterwards when the last family left just before closing they all sat on the stage and talked. Foxy came out of his cove as well.
"We honestly didn't think you guys would ever come back." Chica said hugging them tightly once again.
"Well our parents have been really paranoid about us coming back but we've got a bit of freedom for the next few days so we thought we'd come see you again." Mike explains.
"What do you mean? Are you leaving for good?" Blu asked, his ears drooping slightly.
"Our families are moving because of our dads jobs, and Jeremy and his older brother are running away." Michelle explained.
"'n wha' on Earth would make ye reckon that runnin' away be a good idea lad?" Foxy asked, lifting his eyepatch to look at said boy.
"My dad is a really bad person and I need to get away from him." Jeremy said.
The animatronics looked between each other trying to figure out what he meant. The last time they had seen his father he was near tears as they put him into the ambulance. Bonnie spoke up.
"Jeremy, has he ever put his hands on you?" Bonnie asked softly.
Freddy was ready to scold him for ever asking such a question but stopped when he saw Jeremy nod his head slightly.
"After the accident my mom got into a car wreck coming to see me. She didn't make it and now my dad says that it's all my fault for getting hurt in the first place." He said in a quiet voice.
Michelle rubbed his arm to try and comfort him. The animatronics felt their oil boil at the thought of someone hurting poor Jeremy. They all sat there for a moment, unsure of what to do, until Jeremy spoke up.
"But on the brightside, my brother and I will finally be free from him. And maybe Chica could give me a few recipes before I go?" He asked, looking at said animatronic.
"Of course, I'd be more than happy to teach you. I have more recipes than I know what to do with so you'll have plenty before you leave." Chica said, clapping for joy.
"When do you guys leave?" Blu asks.
"July thirtieth, the day after my birthday." Jeremy answers.
"Come down on your birthday and we'll get you a cake.". Chica said excitedly.
"I'd love to but I don't think I could afford it." Jeremy said sadly.
"That's quite alright, it's just one cake. It wouldn't hurt anybody." Freddy said.
"Are you sure?" Jeremy asked.
"I'm sure." Freddy replied with a smile.
Now that the tense atmosphere had cleared the group continued to talk before the teens had to leave so they could close the pizzeria. Michelle and Mike walked Jeremy to his brother's job and stayed with him until Vincent clocked out. He thanked them for watching out for his brother and together they each walked home, dropping Mike and Michelle off on the way.
Vincent and Jeremy walked back to their house and made small talk along the way.
"Hey, you do know how to drive right?" Jeremy asked. "I'd rather the whole stealing the car thing not backfire on us."
"Yes I know how to drive, and I've got my license if we ever get pulled over." Vincent laughed.
"Good, I'd rather not be in a crash anytime soon." Jeremy joked.
"Alright, the bar closes in less than an hour so we're gonna get some food from the kitchen and lock ourselves in my room in case he comes home in a mood, okay?" Vincent said.
Jeremy nodded and they sped up the pace a bit. They made it home within fifteen minutes and grabbed enough food to hold them over till morning before locking themselves in Vincent's room. As he predicted their father, Alexander, came home piss drunk and extremely angry. He burst into Jeremy's room and when he didn't see him in bed stormed over to Vincent's. Upon trying to open the door he found it was locked and started pounding on the door.
"Open the fucking door!" He yelled. "I'm gonna kick both of your asses if you don't open this goddamn door right fucking now!"
Inside the room Jeremy buried his face in his brother's side and Vincent was covering his ears to keep him from hearing their father's curses. After ten minutes or so he got tired of trying to go after them and went and crashed in his bedroom. Vincent slowly uncovered Jeremy's ears and they both relaxed slightly, hoping he'd forget about the previous night by morning.
Vincent let his brother use his bed for the night and kept watch in case Alexander decided to go for round two.
At the Pizzeria
After the restaurant had been closed for the night, Freddy went to Goldie's room. He removed the planks and knocked three times receiving a muffled 'Come in.'
He walked into the room to see Goldie sitting on his bed. He raised an eyebrow and motioned for him to come farther into the room. Freddy came in and shut the door behind him.
"They came back." Freddy said.
"Who?" Goldie asked.
"Michael, Michelle, and Jeremy. They came to visit us today, told us they're moving at the end of the month." He explained.
"What's so special about the end of the month?" Goldie asks.
"They leave the thirtieth. The day before is Jeremy's birthday and I need you to get them a present. All of them." Freddy said.
"But why me? After what I did-" Goldie started.
Freddy held up a hand. "They don't remember what happened. They recall the accident, yes, but not who did it. If you do this it may help you feel better."
Goldie seemed to think about what he was saying and figured he was right. He'd never forgive himself on his own, so maybe this would help him. He agreed and said he'd come up with something by then and Freddy bid him goodnight. That night Goldie made a few calls.
July 29th, 2010
For the last two weeks the three friends had been spending every day at the pizzeria. Chica had gladly supplied each of them with recipe after recipe. Bonnie and Blu taught Jeremy and Mike how to use a guitar, while Freddy helped them with the arcade games and taught Michelle how to sing. Foxy told them more stories than they could count.
Jeremy's birthday was today and he was both excited and dreading it. On one hand he'd finally have a good birthday, on the other this would be the last time he'd see the animatronics. He quietly got out of bed and made his way to the kitchen. He planned to make him and Vincent breakfast again but was surprised when his brother was already standing there with a plate of pancakes.
"Happy birthday, Jeremy." He said, holding the plate out to him. "Dad's not here by the way, a friend of his said he's gonna spend a couple days with him, doesn't wanna be here for your birthday. Gives us more than enough time to leave and ditch the car."
"Thanks." Jeremy says. "I'm gonna go down to the pizzeria later today."
"Why? Why would you ever wanna go back to that place?" Vincent questioned, concerned.
"They're my friends. Plus Chica's been giving me recipes for when we leave, I thought we'd need them." Jeremy explained, moving to sit at the table.
Vincent didn't say anything and handed him a bottle of syrup. He quickly ate his breakfast, sharing some with his brother and then went to get dressed for the day. As he was tying his shoes there was a knock at his door. He told Vincent to come in and he opened the door holding a hand behind his back.
"Whatca got there?" Jeremy asked, raising an eyebrow.
"A present." Vincent replied, pulling a flat box from behind his back.
The present wasn't fancy, just a plain white box with a green bow on top. Jeremy opened it and pulled out tissue paper to reveal three chest binders. He looked at his brother in disbelief. He quickly set the box down and nearly tackled his brother in a hug. He thanked Vincent over and over again, repeating the words like a mantra.
Vincent told him to calm down and see if the binder fit before getting his hopes up. Jeremy let go and Vincent stepped out in the hallway. Jeremy quickly put the binder on and tested it out. He moved from side to side and jumped around and could still breath so he figured he could keep it on for a quite while. He put his shirt back on and opened the door to let Vincent see. His brother gave him another hug.
"I've got to head in for my last day at both of my jobs and collect my paychecks. I'll meet you at Freddy's later today all right?" Vincent said.
"When do we leave tomorrow?" Jeremy asked, walking to the front door.
"Early in the morning. It's supposed to be eight and a half hours if we never stop, but including food and bathroom breaks it'll be twelve hours tops." Vincent explained. "Dad will be gone for at least a week, we've got plenty of time to get there and ditch the car."
"Okay, I'll see you later. Bye." Jeremy said walking out the door.
Vincent watched him walk down the street before going inside and getting ready for work.
Jeremy had texted his friends beforehand and they were already waiting for him at the meet up spot. Together they walked to the pizzeria and made their way inside. It was a quiet day, not a lot of families were there. Chica waved to them when they walked in and brought them a pizza while they waited. Foxy was telling a story to the few kids in his cove, while the Bonnies were having some sort of guitar competition between each other while the kids judged. They couldn't see Freddy and assumed that he was somewhere resting.
While there they played games and talked with their friends. After a few hours the other families had left and it was just the three teens. Vincent had gotten off early and had cashed in his checks so he could spend more time with Jeremy. Freddy had come from the back and pulled the kids, plus Vincent, to the backstage area. Chica brought out a green frosted cake and they all sang Happy Birthday to Jeremy.
When they finished she cut up the cake and gave the humans a slice.
"Oh! Before I forget I have a present for you guys." Chica said walking outside for a moment.
She came back into the room with three binders in hand. She handed one to each of the kids.
"These are all the recipes I didn't have time to share with you all." She explained.
"And Blu and I wrote down the cords for some of the songs we sing." Bonnie said, handing Mike and Jeremy both a notebook.
"As well as the notes for some of my songs." Freddy said handing Michelle a separate book.
"This is amazing. Thank you guys so much." Michelle said, going over her notebook.
Suddenly, Vincent's phone went off and he excused himself. They heard the front door slam shut and Freddy said he'd be back with one last gift. He quickly went and got Goldie and brought him backstage. Goldie hesitantly stepped into the room. They hadn't noticed the newest guest and he cleared his throat to get their attention. They looked over to him and smiled while the others stood off to the side, ready to step in case Goldie tried something again.
"Hi, are you new? I don't remember you." Jeremy asked.
"Ah, no I'm not. I'm retired so people don't see me anymore." Goldie answered. "I haven't introduced myself. Hi, I'm Golden Freddy, or Goldie for short."
"Hi Goldie. Your fur looks really nice." Michelle complemented.
"Thank you, Michelle." Goldie said.
"I feel like I know you." Mike said.
Goldie felt his pump stop at that. He couldn't tell them the truth. He quickly tried to think of a way to fix this without reminding them of what he'd done.
"Well I would hope so. We were friends from before the accident, I guard the back of the restaurant to make sure no kids ever get hurt like you did." Goldie lied.
"Really? That's awesome! Did you bring us a present too?" Jeremy asked.
Goldie nodded and handed out three small boxes to each kid. They opened them to see small pendants with their names engraved into them with small gems above them. (How they look: Jeremy, Mike, Michelle: post/636714750447927296)
They thanked Goldie for the presents and hugged him. He felt as though a weight was lifted off of his shoulders. They weren't mad at him, they really didn't remember. Goldie spent a few more minutes talking to them before he had to leave, but they promised they'd be back just after opening to say goodbye to him.
After he left the group continued to talk while waiting for Vincent to come back inside.
"Jeremy I 'ave t' ask. Yer Dad hasn't tried t' put his hands on ye has he?" Foxy questioned.
"Once last week, but Vincent came and saved me. But he's gonna be gone for the rest of the week cause he doesn't wanna be around for my birthday so I don't have to worry about him tomorrow." Jeremy answers.
The animatronics were relieved. Blu was curious about something though.
"Hey Jeremy, how are you and your brother gonna get there? California is pretty far." He asked.
"Promise you won't be mad at me?" Jeremy asked. He waited until they all agreed. "We're gonna steal my dad's car!" He rushed out.
"Why on Earth would ye plunder his car?!" Foxy blurted out.
"We don't have any other choice. We either take it or we stay here." Jeremy explained.
"Hey Jer, we gotta go soon. We have to be up really early and drop these two off tonight." Vincent said coming back in the room.
"We'll meet you outside." Mike said. Vincent nodded and went back outside.
They waited until the door slammed shut once again before anyone spoke.
"Please be careful. We'd hate it if you got hurt again." Chica said, pulling the three into a hug. The others slowly joined in until they were surrounded on all sides.
They let go and bid them goodbye, promising to stop by in the morning.
June 30th, 2010
True to their word they all came back early next morning just after the pizzeria opened. The workers didn't pay them any mind and let them be. Freddy figured no one would really be here for at least an hour so he brought the kids backstage while Vincent stayed outside in the car.
Freddy bombarded Jeremy with questions like, 'Do you have enough food?', 'Are you sure your father won't come after you?' and 'Don't talk to strangers.'
When he was satisfied with Jeremy's answers he let the others talk to him. Foxy had come out of his cove at one point and stood off to the side while the others said goodbye, Chica trying her hardest not to cry. When the others were done the teens came up to Foxy and gave him a group hug.
"Jus' promise ye'll come back one day, yeah? That's all I ask." Foxy said when they let go.
"We promise we'll come back one day." Michelle said.
"But when we come back you'll have a hard time getting rid of us." Mike added.
They all laughed and the group left backstage to see three or four families coming in. They said one last goodbye and left with Vincent. He dropped them off at home then he and Jeremy got onto the highway, heading towards their new home.
Michelle's parents were waiting on her when she opened the door and they packed their last few boxes and left. Mike's parents were already in the car and fussed at him for leaving.
If the link doesn't work and or show up I also have this story posted on Ao3(Grumpy_Wannabe_Writer) and Wattpad(GrumpyWannabeWriter).