Mable: Hey again! I wanted to forewarn that in a few days I'll be posting short stories for prompts here on Fanfiction. I've been writing them on Tumblr for a while and recently started to repost them on AO3, but I think it's worth posting them here too. ^-^ Just a head's up. Anyway, Enjoy!
Almost Feels Like Home
Chapter Thirty-Six
"Hello?"
"Hello there, Scott."
Scott was almost completely dumbstruck by the familiar female voice coming out of the phone. "Baby?"
"Yes, it's me. I was looking for someone to do me a favor. It's very important," Baby explained quickly. She rattled it out as though she had said it repeatedly already, which made him suspect that he wasn't the first person she had called. After all, he highly doubted she would've called him first.
"Uh, what kind of favor? Like you… Need somewhere to stay?" Scott offered. That seemed like it would make the most sense, since she had stayed there before. While that had ended in disaster, desperation could've driven her to ask again. This was soon revealed to not be the case.
"No. Nothing as terrible as that," Baby quickly shot down. "I need someone to deliver me to my old restaurant, Circus Baby's Pizza World. The building is still abandoned and whatever was left behind should still be there, which I need, but I cannot get anyone to take me. The van is here, I just need a driver who can come tonight. Would you?"
"Well, uh, I would- I would be glad to help you Baby, but I'm busy tonight," Scott excused with a clear of his throat. "I'm actually meeting someone for dinner, so I can't really get away. I'm sure if you asked Fritz or maybe Jeremy-."
"Never mind then," Baby interrupted impatiently. "If you change your mind, I will be here. As I always am." With that, she ended the call, and Scott was left in a fog of confusion.
He hung up the phone, stood from the office chair, and headed out to tell Ennard about the strange conversation. He didn't have to go far as he opened the door and found himself face to face- or face to neck- with the clown.
"She's kinda desperate, isn't she?" Ennard asked with a playful chuckle. "What, she couldn't wait until tonight? Ha, I hope you two don't run out of stuff to talk about or you're gonna have to come home early!" It was clear that he was trying to listen in, but it was evident that he hadn't heard what was going on.
"That wasn't Dawn. Oddly enough, that was Baby looking for a ride," Scott explained. Ennard tilted his head in confusion.
"A ride? From you? To where?" All joking was set aside. Ennard trusted Baby much less than Dawn because he knew what she was capable of. So, her newfound interest in Scott made him very wary. "Don't tell me that you agreed to do it! It's bad enough that you got one kook trying to get ya to drive her around. You've gotta learn how to say no!"
"Ennard," Scott said with a flat, nearly exasperated tone. The clown quieted at hearing it, as though he was being scolded. "Dawn is a perfectly nice woman. I really wish you would stop talking about her like that… And no, I didn't agree to take Baby anywhere. She, uh, wanted to go to her old pizzeria and I just- I can't do that in good faith," he admitted with an awkward smile. Ennard gave a light giggle, even if it sounded a little forced. At least he wasn't still moping like he was the night before. "I'm guessing that I wasn't her first choice. I don't know why she thought I'd drive her."
"Eh, who knows about Baby. We've had our wires all wrapped together and I still don't understand why she does anything," Ennard admitted playfully. He then looked a little more eager. "This means you're done with work, right? Why don't'cha come out and we'll do something. How about a game of cards?" There came the clinginess again. This too had gotten more prevalent since Scott told him about the date the day before. It was the lesser of evils though. Scott could live with Ennard's attentiveness, especially when he was so helpful.
"I really should get a little more done. I need to make a few more calls before five. Shouldn't take more than twenty minutes," he reassured with a smile.
"Then how about you eat something? You're just skin and bones- except the keyboard stuck to your fingers and the phone glued to your ear," Ennard joked with a playful tone. "Come on, give me something to do!"
"Okay, uh… I don't know. Maybe some toast, I'm not really hungry," Scott caved. As fussy as Ennard was being, he was probably right, but his appetite was all but gone. He didn't want to verbally admit that he was nervous about this evening or he would give Ennard more fuel to discourage him going. Ennard certainly did fuss on him.
"Then toast it is! You just sit tight and finish up your calls and I'll be right back!~" the amalgam trilled in a sing-song tone before heading out. Scott shook his head with a small smile and returned to his office chair. Distractions or not, Ennard did manage to keep life exciting- and in a good way, not like the constant worry of robbers ransacking houses in the city.
Ennard returned about ten minutes later. He waited at the door as Scott wrapped up a call and hung up before typing something further into the computer. Then he leaned over him and looked down eagerly as he rested a hand on his shoulder and offered a plate. "Here you go, Scottie!"
"You came just in time… Uh…" Scott looked down at the plate now held at his chest. Ennard had brought him toast but had taken the liberty of topping it in as much as he could. Whipped cream, cinnamon, maple syrup, probably butter underneath, and the slightest amount of jam was spread on two pieces of toast that looked small in comparison. This wasn't nearly as light as he had expected or wanted, but he couldn't help but be amused by it. "…Thanks."
"Aww, it's no trouble!" Ennard chirped. He pressed his mouth to the top of Scott's head. "Ready to have some fun?"
"Not just yet," Scott casually remarked as he tried to figure out how to pick up one of the pieces. "I don't know how you put all this on here."
"Aww, why don't you take a break and spend a little time with me? You're going to be eating anyway… Oh! I know!" Ennard leaned further over to look down at the man excitedly. "Why don't I make the calls for you? I think I've got your voice down pat." The look on Scott's face gave away the possible results his imagination was cooking up. That was a look of true horror. Ennard cackled at it. "Don't give me that look! Talking's one of the things I do best! And even these know how to tap on keys," he added, tapping on Scott's shoulder like he was mimicking typing.
Scott swallowed down a mouthful of sweetness. "I… I don't think that's a good idea," he gently dismissed. Then he offered the toast to his companion, watching as the amalgam sunk his needle-like teeth into it and dropped crumbs onto him. He couldn't help but smile at his innocent-sounding suggestions. "Hey, you know, I could just skip the restaurant and bring Dawn back here to have some of your cooking. Just as long as you don't start mixing relish and sardines again."
"Don't joke like that," Ennard answered in a remarkably flat tone. For a second it sounded so real that the human thought he was referring to Dawn directly. Though then he added in, just as flatly, "You know that was delicious." There came another carefree, playful laugh as he leaned down to pull the other into a warm hug. "Come on, come on, please?"
"…Alright, okay, you win," Scott agreed with his own chuckle as he pushed back from the desk. "But only a little while, okay? I really need to finish this by tonight." Ennard didn't seem to be concerned as he led his companion out by the wrist. It was only a few minutes. Work could wait.
Except that Scott should've realized that Ennard was going to be more than a five-minute distraction. It started with an innocent game of cards, then a little television, then making cookies, then intense conversation while the cookies baked, then a game of scrabble- which Ennard was better at then he had any right to be- then taking the cookies out, then going through the pantry, and every time Scott was about ready to pull away, Ennard would coax him back in with something else. It was only by sheer luck that he just happened to look at the clock and realize how late it was getting.
"I guess I should go get ready…" Scott admitted in a rather unsure voice.
"You don't have to go," Ennard reminded, still kneeling and going through the pantry. He distracted himself with reading can labels and boxing up the ones that looked closer to their date. Scott was almost impressed in how less clingy the clown had gotten just by giving him something to do. "Hey, baby corn! I didn't know we had any of this! I love these tiny things!"
"Well, I can't back out now… She's- She's probably already waiting for me…" He looked down with an exhale and smoothed out his clothes. "I should probably put something better on. You just… Keep doing that." He headed to his bedroom and shut himself inside. He was positively shaking by time he was thumbing through his closet.
It had been so long since he had done anything like this. Church was one thing; he didn't have to be that careful about how he presented himself. Even at the meetings and activities he would occasionally attend, he felt somewhat assured that they weren't staring at him. It was a place of acceptance, so his eccentricities would be ignored. Going out to a restaurant and visiting normal people was a whole different story. They would look at his limp and his scars and think he was damaged. They would see his shaking and know he was damaged. They could stare at him.
What was worse was that Scott could remember life before being the 'eccentric' of the town. Back then, even in the early days of Freddy's, he had only had to deal with a touch of social anxiety. Usually he was able to get around this by just chattering on about various things until people found it endearing. He ate out much more frequently, he visited a few good friends often, and William, and he was content in what had seemed like a largely typical life. Then came his accident. Suddenly he was set back for months learning to live again. Friends disappeared, people started to stare, and animatronics- and William- haunted the shadows.
Scott managed to get through the process of getting dressed and returned to the kitchen. His mouth felt dried out and he was trembling so much that his hands hurt. Not that he felt comfortable taking his medication before going, which would probably come back to haunt him later. "Okay… How do I look?" he asked as he stepped into view. Ennard looked over him.
"You look great!" he reacted immediately. "You look terrified," he added in as an afterthought. All he did was point out the obvious, but it was just enough to tip Scott over the edge.
"I can't do this," he caved. All compositor was gone in an instant. "I'm just- I'm going to- I'm going to call her and tell her that something came up and I just can't. I can't go out there like this. I'm just going to embarrass myself and make a big scene, and people are going to stare, and I'm just going to do that thing where I ramble until I make everyone really uncomfortable." He shifted around in front of the sink like he was trying to pace but couldn't decide if he wanted to or not.
Ennard was elated for about three or four seconds. For that short amount of time it seemed like his wish had come true. Scott would be staying home, Dawn was out of the picture, and all was well. Unfortunately, he couldn't just tune out the rest of Scott's stressed confession. All his self-doubt and frustration were obvious, even to Ennard, and it was clear that this wasn't something to be happy about. He knew he had to be encouraging, even if he didn't want to in this case.
"Hey, hey! Don't say that!" Ennard protested as he stood and turned Scott to face him. "You're just psyching yourself out with all that. It's just dinner, right? Just, what, an hour of eating? You can do that!" He placed both hands on his shoulders, squeezing them affectionately, and kept a bright and encouraging tone. "I think you've handled a lot worse than that!"
"It's just- It's not the same. I don't want people staring at me," Scott admitted with a weary sigh. "People see me and pity me, and then start imagining what happened to me. I've had people ask about it, and what am I supposed to say? Usually I just lie. I just say it was a car accident or an accident on the job."
"Why don't you just tell them the truth?" Ennard suggested in a gentle tone. Which was massively contrasted with when he added, "That it's none of their business and to get lost?" This got a slight chuckle out of the Phone Guy, which assured the clown that he was on the right track. "And if that woman starts prodding you about it, then ditch her! You can come back here and eat baby corn with me."
"I guess that's always a backup plan…" Scott gave a shaky exhale and rubbed his shaking hands together. "You're right," he admitted, caving yet again but now to the opposite decision. "I can't back out now. I can't just… Call and cancel now. Dawn's been waiting all day and planning her day around this. I can't let her down."
"Yeah, sure. Do it for her," If Ennard could speak through gritted teeth, then he would be. He almost forgot why he was still pushing for this night out at that point, but regained compositor. "Just one hour?"
"Maybe, if I can make it that long..." Scott answered, still rather unconvinced in himself. Though he still managed a smile. "I'll still bring you home something."
"Great! And I'll be right here waiting for ya!" Ennard assured. Something felt uncomfortable, but Scott assumed that it was just the lingering doubt and anxiousness as he headed to the front door. Surprisingly, the amalgam didn't follow at his heels, but merely dropped his arms to his sides and watched as his companion got his keys together, gave a small wave, and stepped out of the house. Ennard was now left alone in the empty house, save for the cats and the cans.
If Scott could deal with an hour then he could too.
Dinner with Mike, Marionette, and Charlie was rather close to what it had been back when there was only two of them. Mike was the only one who ate, for obvious reasons, but the puppets would still sit at the table to chat. Normally, this was a great time to discuss any topic without any interruptions or distractions, but tonight it was intruded on by the phone ringing. Being the closest to the phone- as Marionette was sitting alongside Mike, who was currently cutting through a tough piece of steak- Charlie was the one who went to answer.
"Hello?... Baby?" She was a little surprised to hear the clown on the line. "Oh hey, how's it going? Did you talk to Fritz?" There were a few moments of Baby talking. It was in these moments that Charlie's body language changed. She went from looking relaxed to confused, then to a little alarmed. "What? Wait, slow down. You need me to do what?" Now Marionette was listening. Mike too, but he managed to keep his eyes on his food while the Puppet blatantly stared.
"Sounds like someone's looking for a favor," the security guard said under his breath. Marionette gave a small nod of agreement. The only surprising thing about it was that Baby wasn't too proud to call and ask.
"I don't even know where that is," Charlie pointed out, sounding a little exasperated. "And I really don't think that's a good idea considering last time. Couldn't you ask Fritz about getting them?... Oh…" The Security Puppet shifted uncomfortably on her legs. "Yeah, that's not good… No, I don't think Fritz is the type to do that. You'll just have to let him calm down. What exactly did you do?... What?... Please tell me your kidding… Yes, it is that bad. It's actually pretty terrible, Baby. I hope you apologized… How am I not surprised?"
"Something happened between Fritz and Baby," Marionette recounted under his breath. "Fritz didn't call you?"
"No, but if it's that bad, he might still be too traumatized to talk about it," Mike quipped. He then grew more serious, "I'll call him after dinner." Even though they were getting bits of the conversation, it was enough to be concerned about. Especially since Mike understood Fritz had been spending a large amount of time at the warehouse. At least by Charlie's tone it didn't sound like Baby hurt him.
"Maybe they fought because he wouldn't take her somewhere," the Puppet suggested. He continued trying to listen and pick apart the meanings in the pieces of words and fell silent as the other puppet continued.
"Mike? Oh, no. I don't really think Mike would agree to do it," Charlie remarked. She sent a glance to the table. "I mean if you really want to ask him, but I'm not sure that's… Going to work." As soon as she made an offering motion to Mike, he started waving a hand wildly in dismissal. "Are you sure? He's sort of in the middle of something." Mike continued making throat cutting gestures while Charlie answered him with a shrug. She was stuck square between a reluctant Mike and an extremely pushy Baby. It was now that Marionette rose from the table and quickly approached. He held out his hand expectantly.
"Okay, well… Here you go," Charlie said before quickly passing the phone off to Marionette. She then approached the table where he could hear her and Mike whispering about what was happening. Switching his voice to mimicking Mike's own, Marionette greeted Baby simply.
"Hello, Baby."
"Hello, Mike," Baby greeted back. She immediately rushed into her request. "I'm afraid that I am in need of your service. You see, as I was telling Charlie, I am-… Say that again."
"Say what again? Hello?" Marionette asked innocent in Mike's tone and mannerisms. Somehow, Baby was able to hear straight through it, which he wasn't exactly surprised at.
"Oh. It's you," Baby answered as she finally saw through his voice. "She put you on the phone instead of Mike… But I highly doubt you could drive a van."
"No. Sadly I don't get out on the road as often as I used to," he quipped back. He wouldn't let her rattle him. "See, Mike is busy at the moment, so I intended to answer you in his stead."
"Silly Puppet. Tricks are for kids," Baby said almost mockingly. Then she abruptly changed her tone. "It's fine. Tell Charlie that I can find another solution to my problem."
"If you would like to talk about it-." Marionette was cut off by the call being hung up. He couldn't help but be a little disappointed in her total unwillingness to talk to him, but again, he wasn't surprised. He hung up the phone and returned to the table. "Baby sends her love!"
"If it's anything like her love for Fritz, return to sender," Mike sarcastically answered. "Apparently Baby was staying over at Fritz's and turned into a psychotic stalker in a matter of hours. Not only that, you're not going to believe what she almost put Natalie through." He looked to Charlie to signal her to explain. She rubbed over her mask, already exhausted by the conversation.
"She tried to cut Natalie's hair off while she was sleeping. She snuck into the room and started cutting away with a pair of scissors. I hope Fritz stopped her in time, because that would be a nightmare to wake up to," she sympathized. Mike almost made an ironic comment about waking to Baby but couldn't chew fast enough to beat the security puppet to speaking. "I did notice she was interested in Fritz. Every time she talked about him, she had nothing but good things to say, and you would know how rare that is. But I can honestly say that I never expected something like that."
"I don't have much experience with Baby, but the experience I do have with her tends to suggest that she gets fixated. I'd love to say that it's the fault of programming, but I don't think it is," Marionette suggested. He sounded almost just as tired as she did but was also worried about Fritz and Natalie. Who knew how much Baby left out of the story. He couldn't help but wonder about Baby too. Who knew what desperate measures she could go through if denied what she wanted for to long. The desire to help was always there, but he didn't know how.
He fell into a thoughtful silence as dinner continued like normal.
When Scott had said it would be an hour, Ennard had expected that it wouldn't be exact. He estimated that driving time, ordering time, introductions and goodbyes, and all of that would add on at least a little more time. Maybe thirty minutes, maybe less, but he would've never expected that one hour would turn into two and a half. It didn't help that every extra minute felt so long in comparison to the one before. He had tried to distract himself with his usual vices, but the night crawled on sluggishly.
Ennard was in the office when he finally heard the garage door open. He perked before springing out of the office chair and hurrying to greet the human. As expected, there was Scott. He might've looked a little tired but didn't look distraught like he had earlier, which thrilled the clown. "Hey, there you are!" he greeted excitedly. "Ya stayed out later than I thought, ha! How'd it go?"
"Honestly? It went pretty great," Scott answered. He had a warm smile as he turned to him. "I didn't mean to be out so late, but we met up with a couple from my congregation and they sort of talked me into a movie too."
"Aww, that's great!" Inwardly, Ennard was already feeling relief. He had a good time and wasn't alone with only Dawn, which meant nothing too romantic happened. Which was great. "See? Aren't ya glad ya went? I knew you'd have a good time! Probably not as good of a time as you would've had if I went, but close!"
"I really am. Thank you for that." Scott's voice was sincere as he looked up at the clown. It was only now that he let his true excitement come through and smiled a little wider with it. To him, he had done more than just having a simple night out. He had proved himself as still being able to enter and exist in society like any other normal person. He showed that he was still the same person he used to be. "It was amazing, Ennard. I was talking without stuttering, and I wasn't rambling too much. A little here or there, but nothing like what I've done on the phone. I was so sure that the shaking was going to get worse, but it didn't. Or if it did, I had it under control."
Any hesitations that the amalgam had was long gone at seeing how happy the man looked. To think that one evening out with a group of friends could make him feel this good. Ennard could handle that, especially since it wasn't just Dawn. In fact, maybe he could go visit other people- maybe even someone closer to home, like Fritz or Mike. Then Scott would come home all giddy. He started to lean forwards, prepared to ensnare him into a surprise hug to show him how proud he was-.
"It just felt so good to talk to real people again."
And Ennard froze up as he tried to think of what he meant by that. He couldn't have meant anything less than innocent, but it still sounded like he meant-.
"I just sometimes I feel so isolated. Like I'm not even human anymore. I go and watch people, but I can't be a part of them- you know what I mean. And I… Today I was able to do something like I used to again… It was nice." Scott smiled to himself at the thought. For a few hours he had been able to get away from himself, even if it meant having to stretch some of a persona and watch his words, but that was a given. He looked up at Ennard and expected him to say something, as he had earlier. Ennard just stared at him silently.
"…Ennard?" Scott eventually asked. "You're, uh, starting to space out."
"Right, sorry. I guess I do stuff like that all the time. Ha."
The change in tone was instantaneous and so clear that even the most oblivious of people would notice it. Scott couldn't remember the last time Ennard had sounded so flat, with his voice even sounding deeper than typical. It took him aback.
"I-I mean, it wasn't as good as it would've been if you were there!" Scott chimed back in. He knew it must've been something he said and guessed it was most likely just how much he built up the evening. Maybe he should've toned it down considering that the clown was left at home. "If you were there then we probably would've stayed out later. Maybe we would've seen another movie. Or a better movie; I let them choose and it wasn't bad but wasn't really my type. You know my type." Again, Ennard didn't take the cue to speak, and instead just glanced away. "…How about you? What did you get up to while I was gone?"
"Oh, you know… The usual," the amalgam vaguely answered. He noticed the runt cat walking by and heading into the kitchen. "Keeping the cats company. Keeping eyes on the house."
"That's great! They can get up to stuff if you're not watching, trust me." Scott wasn't sure what to say and cleared his throat. "So, uh, I'm yours for the night! I'm going to just change and then maybe we could do something? We could play a game or watch a movie."
"Scott, you don't have to do that. I know you're tired," Ennard said. Ironically, he was the one who sounded tired. "Why don't you just finish out the night doing whatever you want to do for once? I know you don't get to do that much." He then drew back a couple of steps, looking awkward as he did so. "I'm just going to be in the office. I'm halfway through a game of solitaire." Before the Phone Guy could answer, Ennard turned and headed into the office, effectively cutting off any reply. Scott was left standing there with the sphynx mother rubbing against his leg.
Ennard certainly didn't feel good blowing Scott off, but after that he wasn't sure if he could face him. Scott couldn't have meant it like that. Or, at least, didn't mean to say it as bluntly as he did. A Freudian slip more than anything, but the amalgam knew that it came from somewhere, and it felt like a gutting claw scraping along his wires. It was much worse than when Baby would spit venom about him pretending to be a human. It might've been less painful if Scott would've outright called him his pet.
It wasn't like he had a solitaire game to return to either. Ennard just slumped in the office chair and stared at the game over screen. He heard Scott pass by and go into the bedroom to change. Ennard answered by pushing the mouse around lazily and pretending he was doing something. It wasn't too long before the human returned. Perhaps it was from the confidence boost from earlier, but Scott was already prepared and ready to make another attempt with Ennard.
"Hey, I just remembered that I brought you something. It's not from the restaurant- I didn't want to leave food out in the car during the movie. I'd get mice in the car or something… But I did keep my promise." Scott offered him a box of candy. Ennard took it and looked at the packaging. "They're malted milk balls. I know that's kind of a strange choice, but I really like them and thought you might too. And if you do, I can use it as an excuse to buy more," he joked. He looked around at the office and noticed an open can sitting on the desk, dangerously close to his keyboard. "I see you got that baby corn open. Did it taste as good as it looked?"
"Yeah," Ennard admitted. He gave a breathy noise as he started trying to open the box. "I don't know why I do this."
"Do what?" Scott asked. The tone was no better from earlier and he still seemed distressed. "I can open that up for you-."
"Eat. Or try to eat. Baby was right; it's not like I'm supposed to. It doesn't go anywhere," Ennard pointed out as he finally got the box open. "I don't get hungry either. I just do it because it feels good… But all it does is make a mess, doesn't it? Then you get stuck cleaning my wires…" He glanced up at Scott for a moment before looking back down at the box. "I guess it's not worth it."
"Of course it's worth it! It makes you happy, and I don't mind cleaning you up. Not when you do so much for me," Scott encouraged. He gave a good-natured chuckle. "We could just consider it maintenance." That was supposed to be a joke, but to Ennard it felt like it was an insult.
"Yeah, maintenance. Ha ha. Good thing you never had to clean out Funtime Freddy's wires. He… He used to get full of gunk and stuff... Or I guess you have since I've got him inside me… Just metal parts and wires on the inside," Ennard rambled. He gave a sort of sigh and turned the office chair in the direction of the computer. "Lemme just play another game. I've gotta win one of these eventually…"
"If you're sure. I just thought you seemed a little upset and I thought maybe it was because I went out without you," the Phone Guy suggested. He was obviously fishing for answer. "That doesn't bother you, does it?"
"I'm glad you went out, Scott. I'm glad you got to spend time with other humans and I'm glad you had fun… Nothing's wrong. Nothing's wrong with you. It's just me…" Ennard fiddled with the mouse. "Me… Not getting to go out too. You're right. That's what's wrong." Scott seemed to believe it enough.
"Oh, alright, well… I'm sorry about that… We can still watch movies and have dinner here, you know? It's really not a big deal," Scott tried to assure. Ennard nodded stiffly. I guess I'm just going to go turn on the TV. If you'd like to join me, I'd- I would really like you to. So… I'll be right out there if you want to join."
"Maybe," Ennard dismissed. It didn't sound very convincing, but the human left to give him some distance. As soon as he did, Ennard set the box beside the keyboard and tried to get lost in solitaire without thinking.
It felt like an hour or two had passed by time Scott returned. Ennard was staring at the computer screen closely with unfocused eyes and vaguely watched as cards were moved around the screen. The Phone Guy cleared his throat.
"Hey, uh. I think I'm going to bed now… You'll be coming to bed soon too, right?" No, he wouldn't. He would stay up as late as he could and then head out to the garage like a good animatronic returning to their stage. At least the car had been parked inside so that meant he could probably sleep in that instead of in the plate body. He faked a brighter tone.
"Sure thing, Scott! Let me just- let me just try one or two more times." Ennard was moderately surprised at how well he covered. Scott wasn't entirely convinced but decided not to press.
"Just don't stay up too late," Scott suggested before leaving the office. Once out of earshot he exhaled through his nose and continued into the bedroom. He was glad that Ennard seemed to be coming around a little more, but that didn't mean that he fixed whatever originally set the clown off. Still, space had seemed to help, so he continued to bed.
Scott was woken some time later by a loud thump out in the living room. He jumped slightly at the noise, but the paranoia quickly deteriorated as he realized there was a more obvious explanation for it.
"Ennard…" He sighed and looked to the clock. It was only about two in the morning, but that meant that Ennard had never even attempted to come to bed. He turned on the lamp and reached down for his prosthetic. "I guess I should go try to wrangle him in. Maybe he'll be willing to come to bed now." Another thump came from the living room. "…Or maybe I can at least convince him to save the jumping jacks for morning."
With a tired groan, Scott stood and started over towards the bedroom door. Maybe he was still muddled by sleep, but he started to regain his nerve. "Maybe he'll finally tell me what's really wrong. If this is really just about me going out with Dawn… Unless." He hesitated at the door. "He saw how happy I was and thought I was… That's why he's acting so weird! He must still be afraid that I'm going to move her in." Somehow his sleep addled mind managed to come up with this when his awake one hasn't. "I shouldn't have gone to bed. He's probably been awake worrying for hours."
Any need for sleep was outdone by the need for Scott to comfort and assure Ennard. Only then would all be well. The Phone Guy started to slowly open the bedroom door as to not surprise the amalgam and looked into the living room.
Where two unknown men were currently trying to lift his television.
The men were dressed in dark clothes and thick jackets with hoods pulled over their faces, not that he could see their faces since their backs were turned towards him. Scott abruptly pulled the bedroom door closed again, barely restraining himself enough to shut the door quietly. His heart rate quickened, his breath caught in his throat, and he tried to calm himself down enough to process that people had broken into his house. It didn't take him long to connect the dots and realize this was connected to the recent string of break ins.
"I put the car away. I put the car away and they didn't see it, and they thought I wasn't here, and now they're in the house, and they probably have guns…" His head snapped over to the bedside table where his cell phone sat bathed in the glow from the alarm clock. He inched across the floor as to not alert the men of his presence and grabbed his phone. He quickly dialed the number and waited, his breath was shaky and seeming much too loud in his ears.
"911. What's your emergency?"
"There's- There's people in my house. Some guys broke in and they're stealing my TV right now," Scott managed to get out. "And I don't know if they have guns or anything, but they looked like big guys and they're right out in the living room-."
"Sir, I need you to calm down. I need your address, okay? Where are you in the house?" Scott answered the questions, feeling numb and shaky, and all while trying to be quiet. He could hear bumping in the living room and the crashing of the things beside the television being knocked over. They must've finally picked it up and were carrying it out. He was pulled out of the thoughts by another question: "Are you alone in the house?"
Ennard.
"I- uh- I don't…" He didn't know how to answer, let alone able to answer when he was consumed by worry. Where was Ennard? "I… Hold on." He could hear her calling him to not get off the phone, but he covered the speaker and receiver with his thumbs and slowly crossed the room again. Instead of looking out the bedroom door, he cracked open the door into the bathroom. Thankfully, the bathroom door was open, and he could look out into the house. He could see that the office door was shut. "Is he still in there? Maybe he can get out the window… Oh, no, God, I put bars over the office window!"
Scott was beginning to feel lightheaded as the panic took hold. When a man appeared through the door, approaching the tape shelves, Scott pulled back into the bedroom, shut the door, and locked it. Now he was cornered, listening through the wall as the men continued going through his house. "What if they hurt the cats? What if my insurance doesn't cover this? Why aren't the police here? How far are they coming from, the other side of town?!" It was then that he heard someone trying to twist the door handle to the bedroom. Scott backed towards the closet and was half-ready to climb inside and hide.
"The door's locked," an unknown man's voice spoke. "Do you think someone's home?"
"Can't be. They'd hear something by now and be out here." There was a rustling noise. "And this door's locked too." It sounded like he was trying the office door, which meant that Ennard had locked himself inside and was now as cornered too.
"Isn't the car in the garage?" The men now lowered both of their voices. "Look at all these tapes. What are these, camera recordings? We've got a real psycho here."
"Probably just some old guy. They get old and start thinking everyone's stealing from them." The man then snickered, as though realizing the irony of the comment, and stepped into the bathroom. He began rummaging through the medicine cabinet. Scott could hear him checking the bottles and it even sounded like he took one of them before he stepped back out into the living room. "What are we going to do?"
"Get the crowbar. We'll just pop them open."
Scott covered his mouth to suppress any noises. They were going to come in. Or worse, they would get into the office. "They're going to get to Ennard!" This led to a more horrifying realization: "Oh Lord, Ennard's going to kill them and the cops are already on their way." Yet just as all hope seemed lost, a new voice chimed in.
"We've got to go. There's sirens moving in. Someone must've recognized the van," a third voice called in. "Just grab the VCR."
The Phone Guy covered his face and muttered quiet thanking into his palm. Thanking God, thanking the cops, thanking everything that the men were leaving. He didn't even care when he heard them take the VCR because he knew they were leaving. He hurried over to look out of the curtains and watched as a non-descript, white work-van drove off. He couldn't see the license plate numbers, but still reported it into the cellphone.
"I'm still here. Sorry, they were- I had to go quiet. I didn't want them to hear me. They just left in a white van with my TV and my VCR… And maybe my medication." It was now that Scott saw the police car pulling up and it was only now that he remembered Ennard. If the police came and the animatronic thought they were still the burglars... "I-I've got to go check my cats," he excused as he carefully unlocked and opened his bedroom door. "I'm just… Oh…"
He must've not noticed it earlier, but the robbers had left quite a mess in their wake. Everything that had been around the television was now on the floor, the lamp had been knocked over, the door was left open, and the cats were nowhere to be seen. Considering that the garage was cracked open, he assumed they had probably run to hide in there. He was brought back by the voice of the operator.
"Sir? Are you still there?"
"I'm-I'm here, and they're gone. I just… The house looks bad." He swallowed thickly and leaned to look into the bathroom. His remaining medication was out on the counter, but the bathroom didn't look nearly as wrecked.
"I'm going to let you go, alright? I've already told the officers that you're in there, so let them in. They're going to take care of everything."
"Alright, thanks…" Scott ended the call and headed to the office instead of the front door. "Ennard? Ennard, it's me. They're gone," he called inside. There was no response and he knocked on the door sharply. "Ennard?" Still no response. He was running out of time with the cops coming in and quickly rushed to get his keys. Long ago, he used to lock his office nightly out of paranoia, so he had a key to unlock the door. As the policemen stepped inside, Scott got the office door opened.
But Ennard wasn't there. This was baffling, as there was no way for Ennard to lock the door from the outside. It was then that he looked closer at the window and realized that it was not only open, but the bars had been pried off the window. It was then that Scott knew the amalgam was no longer in the house.
He really wanted to believe that Ennard had snuck out and way hiding somewhere nearby, but he had a terrible feeling that this wasn't the case.
Mable: Just in case you forgot, Ennard doesn't handle confrontation like a rational human would.