There was a scarce few occasions where Charlie felt the need to fuss over her appearance. Most of the time her outfit decisions were based on three factors, occasion, weather, and her own feelings while she was getting ready. All other variables could be filed under different factors. Because of her internal organization, she'd never spent more than five minutes picking out her clothes.
This was why the fact she took so long tonight only added to her already growing mixture of frustration and anxiety. With what she was planning to attend, the particulars of her appearance shouldn't have been the most important thing on her mind. But still, her brain continually had made her go through all of her clothes until at last, she'd finally settled on an outfit that she considered "good enough."
What she'd settled on a button-up shirt from the back of her closet, a pair of slacks she last wore on one of her dates with John, and a warm sweater over top the shirt. A slightly haphazard culmination of clothing that perfectly complemented her scattered thoughts.
She'd briefly considered the thought that the indecision in regards to her outfit had probably been a half-hearted final attempt by her own mind to stop her from going to Freddy's again. But it was much too late and too poor of an effort to stop her from going now.
Ever since her accidental meeting with Rick, Charlie had swung back and forth like a tolling church bell on whether or not she should take up his offer to attend Freddy's grand opening. There would be days where she had her mind made up and on other days she'd switch around three times while just walking from one end of Jeremy's store to the other. The battle would ultimately turn fruitless as both her curiosity and concern joined up against her other feelings to win. It was something that her therapist would've described as a "terrible mental cocktail." Charlie also knew her therapist would have been firmly against her going to the new Freddy's, to begin with, event and might have even succeeded in talking her out of it.
Knowingly going to a place that might trigger her PTSD from the original Freddy's was probably high up on her list of bad ideas, right next to breaking into the original. But she continually told herself that it wouldn't be like the original; It was a new place with a different person in charge. It would be full of children running around while their parents stood by watching them as they talked and ordered pizza for when they were done playing. It would have all the joy that the original location had lost along with the lives of several children which resulted in her father's mechanical wonders turning into her nightmares.
But thinking about those terrible experiences even briefly allowed the worst of the memories to spill back into her mind. Her body became stiff as she reached out and clamped down on her arm. Her grip tightening around the scar Foxy had given her until her nails dug through her shirt and into her skin. The jolt of pain snapping her out of the memories and she let out a shaky breath before wiping away at her eyes. She then took a moment to try stabilizing herself and took a few deep breaths before she was sufficiently calmed down enough to snatch up her keys and head for the bedroom door. The room had become rather stuffy, at least in her opinion.
She opened the door and exited into the living room, her eyes meeting John's as he looked up from the novel he'd been patiently reading on the couch. He gave her a hesitant smile and then stood up and walked towards her.
"Hey, are you all ready to go?" He asked softly with a voice that was just as gentle as the touch of his hand. Charlie gave firmly squeezed his hand while letting out a shaky sigh.
"Yeah, I am if you are…" She didn't wait for him to answer before starting towards the front door, releasing John's hand even as he followed silently behind her.
No further words were spoken as the pair walked across their apartment, even as Charlie's heart continually became heavier like that of a shackled prisoner heading for the gallows after their last meal. One who wanted to decry their fate yet remained silent out of fear.
When they reached the door, Charlie extended her arm to grab the knob only to pause midway. Her outstretched hand turned into a fist as she spun around to look pleadingly at John.
"Are you sure you want to come with me?" She shuffled her feet before looking down at them while trying to avert her gaze from his own out of unnecessary guilt for him wanting to accompany her to the opening.
"Of course, I'm not just going to let you do something like this alone." John reached out and stroked the side of Charlie's cheek with his thumb. Causing her to flush and lean into it before gently taking hold with his wrist with a deep sigh.
"This whole thing probably isn't a good idea." She whispered while turning her head further into his hand.
"Probably not," John said with a blunt sigh. "But I don't think either of us will be satisfied unless we go at least once..." The words were spoken carefully with concern laced in his voice. Charlie murmured something unintelligibly into John's hand before pulling away from him and turning back to the door. Her hand stayed firmly wrapped around John's wrist as she reached out and opened the door. John moved his hand back to intertwine their fingers and as they made their way out to the car. The cool evening air slightly calmed their fraying nerves as they climbed in and set off down the road. Though even with their earlier moment of shared reassurance, the tension quickly returned like an intrusive pest. The twenty-minute drive felt more like two hours as the car rolled along the streets of Brookhaven in silence.
As they approached the area where the park was, Charlie's grip on the steering wheeled continually became tighter as she fought the urge to whip the car around so they could just get as far away from Freddy's as possible. But whatever chances that she could have taken were rendered moot once soon they saw the entrance to the park along with a large group of people that were milling around it.
She slowed the car to barely a crawl as a few families started crossing the road in front of them. Both she and John watched them cross the road, but only John continued to follow them with his eyes as they walked into the park. Despite their silence, both of them were sharing the same worrisome thought.
It was John who put the thought into words when he asked, "Do you think all these people are going to Freddy's?" Charlie didn't reply, as she chose to focus solely on the road ahead. She drove forward slowly for barely a minute before having to stop to allow another family to cross the road.
This time Charlie watched them a bit more closely than the other families that had crossed before. It was a family of two parents with five kids of intermixed ages who were all moving about in a disorderly manner. The two adults had their hands full trying to keep them all in check. It reminded her of the group she and the others had formed as kids; all of them running around with her and Cartlon's dads doing their best to control them all.
A faint smile appeared on Charlie's face as she retreated into some of her happier memories, but it wasn't long before the family had all crossed the street. Her simile faltered as n she once more began driving along in silence. But it didn't take long for John to break it as he glanced out the window in the direction of Freddy's. He inhaled deeply and pointed towards the gathering crowd of people.
"I think we might want to consider walking the rest of the way." He said nervously, causing and Charlie turned her head to see what he meant. She then flinched upon seeing the sizable crowd that was making their way towards the restaurant.
"Yeah, that's probably a good idea..."
It surprisingly didn't take them a long time to locate a place to park as almost everyone else that was attending the opening seemed to have lived nearby and thus decided to walk to Freddy's. Consequently, the place Charlie had chosen to park wasn't all that much farther away from it either.
The engine hadn't even begun cooling before they'd hopped out of the car and started walking in the same direction as everyone else. John quickly moved up next to Charlie and took hold of her hand with another reassuring squeeze. It was one which Charlie didn't return.
Soon they found themselves walking amongst dozens of other people, mostly more families with kids that were either already tired or rowdy. Their side by side walking formation becoming a single-file march with their hands still conjoined like a life-line to each other while they weaved through the crowd.
As they got closer to Freddy's, they both began hearing the distant sound of music drifting through the air. Though neither Charlie nor John were able to make out the song, it sounded like an upbeat, yet generic pop song with no lyrics.
The music soon became loud and early drowned out the conversations of everyone else nearby. Charlie slowed her pace as the restaurant came into view, now lit up like a distant beacon with lights all around the building shining into the night sky. The sign over the top was now fully illuminated with the brightest part being the cartoonish depiction of still motionlessly beckoning Freddy Fazbear. More music blared from speakers situated on a temporary stage off to the side of the building's entrance.
They attempted to move closer but found that the crowd became significantly thicker the more they moved up. It eventually came to a point where moving closer was impossible. So Charlie instead shuffled them over to a somewhat clear spot to wait until everything started.
Once John was next to her again, Charlie moved closer and rested her head against his shoulder. Mostly in an effort to stay as close to him as possible, but also to seek at least a little extra comfort Her hand returning the reassuring squeeze that he'd given to her earlier with earnest.
"Did Rick ever tell you what time this was supposed to start?" John whispered to her. Charlie quickly thought back to all her conversations with Rick, and then shook her head with a frown.
"No, I forgot to ask him…" She said, a little disappointed in her lack of inquiry. They took a shared glance around the ever-growing crowd. While most of the families seemed fine, more than a few parents were looking irritated about the wait.
"But with all the kids showing up and with how cold it is, I doubt he'd want to keep them all out here for too long. Looks like there's a lot more than what he was expecting..." Charlie murmured before leaning back into John. "Turning into a popsicle isn't something that's high up on my list of life goals, so I hope it'll start soon."
As if responding to Charlie's comment, the doors to the pizzeria slowly creaked open as Rick Taylor stepped out followed by a few other people dressed in suits. Once they were all outside they began walking towards the stage in an orderly march.
Just like Charlie, all of them were dressed in business casual attire but with the addition of warm jackets over their clothes. The noise had drawn John's attention and he squinted while trying to figure out which of the men was Rick. Charlie looked up at what he was doing and then subtly tapped on his shoulder.
"That one. With the glasses and dark hair," Charlie subtly pointed towards Rick he walked onto the stage and pulled a microphone out of his stand. The other men stood behind Rick as he flicked the microphone on and taped it with his finger.
"Hello Hello?" His voice boomed from the speakers and echoed around the area. Those who weren't already paying attention now had their eyes and ears trained on Rick. He let out an almost giddy smile before continuing on.
"Heh, It's great to see so many people out here tonight, but I know most of you are probably starting to get pretty cold so I'll try to keep this nice and short. I would like to thank you all for coming and welcome you to the all-new Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria and Entertainment Center. Now, how about we all go inside and let Freddy himself tell you all about his home."
He gestured over to doors which now swung fully open, accompanied by the sound of dramatic music. Upon hearing the invitation to enter, the crowd began moving forward. Charlie felt John's grip on her hand tighten as they moved along with the crowd.
Before too long they passed through the doors and found themselves entering a massive room. Despite the dimmed lights, Charlie was able to make out many rows of tables along with a few booths lining the walls. From somewhere in the room, an employee called for everyone to spread out.
People began moving around the tables, some even taking the opportunity to pull out the chairs and sit down. But eventually, everyone that had been outside the restaurant was now safely indoors and after the last few people were inside the main doors swung closed. Leaving the room in darkness as the already dim lights turned off. Before anyone's eyes could fully adjust, two large spotlights pointed down onto a large show stage that had been hidden by the darkness.
Unlike the original Freddy's stage, this was set into the wall with a large purple curtain draped in front of it. The spotlights moved towards the middle of the stage as the curtains were slowly pulled open to reveal a large animatronic bear with its head pointed downward.
Charlie flinched as she took in the sight of this new Freddy. He was much rounder than the original, perhaps in an effort to make him look softer. But the lack of any fur caused that effect to be lessened along with his square muzzle set between two rosy cheeks that almost made him look more like a chipmunk than a bear. He did still have the top hat and bow tie, but they were now cast in a rich purple along with a two button vest covering his chest.
To Charlie, it came off as more of a parody than an actual attempt at replication. The bear stepped forward and raised its head up before using his free and to point to the crowd.
"Why hello there everyone! Welcome to my home. I hope you're all ready for a good time!" The bear's voice was higher pitched, yet laid back like that of a stereotypical "cool" person. "My name is Freddy Fazbear, though I bet you all figured that out from the sign outside."
"Is this real?" John whispered to Charlie, who could only gawk at the scene before her as the bear continued speaking.
"Now I'm sure you all are wondering why I've chosen to open up my home to you all. That's because I wanted to give all the good kids a safe and fun place to play!" The sound of children cheering filled the room, though no one could tell if it was actually from the children that present or if it was a recorded effect.
"But before we all have some fun, I think you all need to meet some friends of mine!" The bear spread his hands out the sides as the curtain opened winder and some more stock upbeat music began playing. From the left side of the stage, another spotlight shone down on a bright blue and white rabbit. The new Bonnie was much slimmer than his original counterpart. Just like Freddy, he had no fur but a plastic casing made to resemble it. While his muzzle was better fitting on his face, he had two very prominent buck teeth jutting out from the top of his mouth. His bow tie was also now gold instead of red, with the addition of a gold jacket that didn't blend well with the cherry red guitar that he was "strumming"
"Hey everyone! Nice to meet ya, I'm Bonnie the guitar playing bunny!" The rabbit moved the guitar upwards and strummed it while a basic guitar riff played from an unseen speaker. Like Freddy he too had a high pitched voice, but he contained more of a southern drawl to it. "I hope you're all ready to have some fun and rock out!"
"Hey, don't forget me!" Yet another spotlight came down to Freddy's right, revealing the new version of Chica. Out of all the characters, she had the most radical changes. She was the slimmest of the bunch and her cupcake companion was gone. Replaced by a silver tambourine She still sported her bib, which now read "Let's Party" but also sported a bright pink skirt around her waist.
"Like we could ever forget about you, Chica!" The new Bonnie called out. The robotic chicken rattled her tambourine while waving to the crowd.
"As my friend Bonnie stated, my name's Chica. I just looove pizza so much and I know you all will too!"
"What do you say, guys, should we give these nice folks a show for coming out here tonight?" New Freddy twisted his head back and forth while the other two animatronics shouted in agreement.
"You betcha Freddy, I'm ready to rock and roll!" New Bonnie shouted with another guitar riff.
"Of course, let's get this show on the road!" New Chica said with another jingle of her tambourine
"Then let's party!" New Freddy threw a fist into the air and the whole band launched into a song. "Cause it's Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, for kid's it's number one! Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, where fantasy meets fun!"
This time the kids in the crowd really did cheer and began trying to sing along. Though many of them had trouble, some of their parents sang along to help them. The showroom finally seemed to light up with a warm energy that was not shared by Charlie or John.
John's jaw had gone slack as he stared wide-eyed at the stage while Charlie covered her mouth with her free hand. Both of them were frozen in a joined state of shock at the scene before them. Neither of them wanted to continue watching the show yet finding that they were unable to look away.
But there was another feeling that rose up from beneath Charlie's shock. A surprising feeling of melancholy brought on from watching these new versions of her father's works. Back when she'd been a little girl, everyone had always told her how much her father's creations had been "one of a kind." But that time had now long since passed.
The mechanical wonders her father had spent so much time working on could now be easily replicated. Improved upon even, as she could see that this batch moved a lot more fluidly than the ones back in Hurricane. Despite not looking as good to her, they were definitely more advanced than any of her father's robots.
'Why wouldn't they be? The rest of the world' moved on while Freddy's was stuck in 1985' She shifted her body closer to John as the song finally drew to a close. The crowd cheered wildly as Freddy gave them all one final wave.
"Thanks for singing along everyone! Have a fantastic day and enjoy yourselves because here at Freddy's the kids are always number one!" With that, the curtains closed over the three animatronics as Rick climbed onto this stage and spoke once again.
"Wasn't that a wonderful show everyone? Let's hear it again for Freddy and his amazing band!" Another cheer arose from the crowd, more the children than the adults this time. But it was still sizable enough to be nearly deafening
Rick laughed as the cheering died down and he motioned for the rest of the lights to come on. He then pointed over towards what appeared to be the entrance to the kitchen.
"We'd like now to offer everyone a chance to enjoy a sampling of what is to come with our special opening night pizza buffet." Right on cue, the kitchen doors opened and a group of workers began wheeling out a long table that was stacked high with boxes of pizza. "Everyone feel free to dig in!"
The crowd began to move again, but this time there was more of a split than before. With the people furthest away from the pizza buffet hanging back, while everyone closest to it rushed to get a few slices. Charlie and John were among those that hung back. Not that they were very interested in the pizza, to begin with.
Whatever appetites they might have had were long gone after seeing the animatronic show. Neither of them knew what to say or even think about what they'd just experienced, almost feeling like they'd both had a terrible fever dream. It was only when Rick approached them that they broke from their stupor. The smile on the older man's face was almost infectious, but it didn't extend to the couple.
"Charlie, I'm so glad to see you were able to make it." He looked over at John and squinted as if trying to recall something. "And uh...I don't think I've had the pleasure of meeting you yet. Are you the uh… boyfriend Charlie spoke of?"
"Yeah, that's me," John said, extending a friendly handshake in Rick's direction. "John Barnett." Rick took hold and shook John's hand as a look of clarity came over his face.
"Barnett...say you wouldn't happen to be one of Dennis Barnett's boys would you?" The older man questioned, not noticing John's slight wince.
"Y-Yeah, I am." Was all he could say before Rick clasped his shoulder with an ever-widening grin.
"Ah, I thought I recognized that name!" He eyed John up and down with another laugh, "Yeah, you used to run around with Charlie when you both were kids. I remember you now, Ya 'know it's really amazing you two stayed close after all these years."
For the first time since arriving at Freddy's, a loose smile appeared on Charlie's face as she squeezed John's hand. "Yeah… it really is," she said.
"That's great, I'm glad to see both of you doing really well. Oh uh, by the way, did you two enjoy the show?
Charlie and John quickly exchanged frank looks as they scrambled to give Rick an answer that wouldn't be insulting. After a minute, John finally had collected his thoughts enough to give Rick an answer.
"It was pretty good and I think the kids really enjoyed it," John said, making a show of rubbing at his ear. "At least if their reactions were anything to go by."
"Yeah, that's probably the most important part." Rick looked from the couple and back over towards the children milling about with their parents. He then suddenly glanced back towards the entrance with a pensive look and then inhaled a little sharply.
"Would either of you say it's as good as the old shows back in Hurricane?"
The question was a little sudden, but Charlie knew it would be asked. If not by Rick then by someone else like Jessica or another friend. Even before coming to r even see the show, she'd been formulating an answer to it.
"There's not a lot I can say really. I don't remember much about the show itself as I remember the band." It was a rehearsed but true statement because there really wasn't a lot she remembered. All of the songs that the band had played slowly blurred together over time. She couldn't even recall the individual voices anymore, only that her father had done almost all the voices by himself except for Chica who she thought might have been either her aunt.
"But the show's definitely got its own feel to it, which is what I think is really important."
"Ah, well that's actually a pretty profound viewpoint there Charlie." Rick placed his hand to his chin in quiet contemplation, but when he looked past them into the distance a concerned look quickly overtook his face. "Uh… I've got to run and do something, I hope you'll both try and sample some pizza."
"We'll try if there's any left," John said, looking back at the growing crowd by the table.
"Plenty to go around, I think. I'll check on that after I'm done with uh...some important business" Rick finished his sentence with a mumble quickly before moving past the couple and back over towards the pizzeria entrance. John and Charlie both simultaneously relaxed and pressed a little further into each other.
"Well… that went a lot better than expected." John nervously laughed. Charlie nodded while loosening the grip on his hand.
She didn't know why the questions had caused her to tense up, but it may have just been due to Rick's slight over-eagerness to compare this place to her father's. Something that Charlie felt was impossible. He could build a thousand Freddy's that were just like this one but only had been made by Henry. A fact even Rick himself seemed keenly aware of.
She felt a bump against her shoulder and looked back at John. Who had his head turned in the direction Rick had gone in with a hardened ace.
"Something wrong?"
"Maybe...depends on how bad you think Rick Taylor walking off with a policeman is."