Okay, this is so late for one reason. My computer died and I lost all progress and that made me lose motivation and then college began again and I've been concentrating on that and I've recently finally gotten back into FNaF... so this is continuing. And I was reading over my outline (on my flash drive, not computer) for this and decided to dump the current outline 'cause it's just so fast-faced. So yeah. I feel like this chapter is kind of jumping the gun, but after this chapter things will slow down now that they're on speaking terms. If I were to rewrite this story completely (and maybe I will, we're not too far into it), Goldie wouldn't discover the guitar until Arc II or III.
What do you guys think, maybe I should start rewriting this since we're not too far in? You'll notice in these months my writing's improved quite a bit... You know, I think I will rewrite it. Yeah... I'm just gonna post this chapter and finish off the second part so you can see how this was supposed to end, then I'm going to start rewriting from the beginning. More detail, more imagery, less... random. Yeah.
Also, this chapter includes bits of a song/poem I wrote... and, well, the song's title is actually what this fic is based off of.
"Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light."
-Helen Keller
Arc II, Part I: Operation Friendship, Rocky Start
"All classes have been cancelled."
That was all the poster on the door said. The golden bear grinned and turned around, walking away.
The school had cancelled all afternoon classes. That meant he and his friends had more time to go hang out and have fun, so he wasn't disappointed in the least. "Hey guys, we got a free afternoon!"
"So what should we do?" Bonnie asked, slipping his hands in his pockets. "We didn't exactly expect afternoon classes to get cancelled..."
"How about we go to the park or something? You know, the one down by the river," Goldie suggested, glancing back at them. "We can grab some ice cream and hang."
"You do realize we're not teenagers anymore, right?" Alfred asked, raising a brow at Goldie. The older brother simply shrugged, as if not concerned at all.
"So?"
"... Fine, sounds fun. Let's go." Goldie grinned at his youngest brother. "But first we need to drop our bags off," Alfred added. "Marion's probably asleep, I don't want to risk waking him, so I vote the bags go in your room, Goldie."
"Fine, fine," Goldie waved his hand dismissively, not arguing. "Toss me your bag, Alfred, and don't you dare aim for my face!"
The friends laughed as, immediately after saying that, Alfred's bag hit Goldie in the face. Goldie grumbled and shoved Alfred a bit. "I'll be right back," he said, hurrying inside the dorm and up to the third floor where his room was.
He opened the door, but immediately paused. He could hear something. It was barely audible from that distance, but he could just barely hear it... Quietly he shut the door and set the bags down on the couch, then crept towards the bedroom door.
The door was slightly open, as though someone had tried to push or pull it shut and hadn't noticed it didn't actually close. Being careful not to make any noise to alert anyone of his presence, he peeked through the slightly ajar door.
He wasn't surprised to see Spring inside- after all, it was as much Spring's room as his. What did surprise him, however, was the fact that Spring was holding his guitar. He wasn't playing the guitar, though his hands and fingers moved just above the strings as if remembering the music, but he was humming softly to himself. Goldie wondered if maybe he wasn't playing out of respect for the roommate sleeping next door, but the walls were pretty well proofed so sound shouldn't have been an issue...
The humming, Goldie suddenly realized, sounded like some kind of lullaby. His ears twitched and he listened closely, but it seemed as though the rabbit's humming was ending already.
There was silence for a few moments, and Goldie considered making his presence known. However, as he was about to stand, he heard the clear, though soft, strumming of the guitar.
It was a soft melody, slow and quiet. Perhaps, the bear thought, the lullaby he had been singing earlier. He watched the rabbit, feeling almost foolish- spying on his roommate felt as strange as it probably looked- as he strummed the guitar and began to softly sing.
"Hush, hush, whisper softly, my dear..." the rabbit sang softly to himself, looking at something Goldie couldn't see. His voice was soft and gentle. He was pretty good, Goldie had to admit to himself. "Have no fear, for I am still here..."
Okay, admittedly he was very good. Not the best- it was clear he hadn't really played or sang in a while, especially at the same time based on how unsure his movements were and shaky his voice was- but good.
"Little songbird, in the morning you will fly, but for now hear the sea sing you a lullaby..."
Goldie wondered what song he was singing anyway. He'd never heard it before, not that that was very surprised- he didn't know any lullabies.
"...Hush, hush, listen to the moon's gentle song, and in your dreams, sweet songbird, you can sing along..."
Goldie tilted his head slightly, watching in fascination as Spring's playing became a bit more confident, his hands moving as though they were on muscle memory. Still a little stuff, but better than before, and his voice had begun to even out.
"...Little songbird, do not fear the song of the sea, for it only brings you closer to sleep... and when you awake you'll be waking to me... this I promise, sweet songbird, you I won't leave..."
It was a curious, very slow, and rather pretty song, Goldie had to admit to himself. He felt like it would probably fit a female singer better, but Spring's voice was soft and gentle enough for it.
"... Hush hush, whisper softly my dear, have no fear for I am still here..."
As the music trailed to an end, Goldie figured it was time to back away and pretend he heard nothing. He carefully backed away- smoothly dodging that squeaky floorboard that had betrayed him and alerted Freddy to his coming home late the year before- and back to the front door, grabbing his and Alfred's books along the way. He opened the door again and closed it a little louder, knowing the rabbit's sensitive hearing would pick up on it.
When he reached the bedroom, the guitar nor the pick were anywhere in sight, and Spring was stacking sketchbooks back on top of the case.
Spring looked up, his green eyes briefly meeting Goldie's brown before flicking to the clock on his bedside table. His brow furrowed slightly in clear confusion.
"Afternoon classes are cancelled," Goldie explained, unceremoniously dropping the two bookbags down on his bed. "Hey, me and my friends are about to go hang out at the park, want to come along?"
The raised brows and slight frown that crossed Spring's face already gave Goldie the answer, but the rabbit said, "I have to work on my project. Maybe next time." The golden bear wasn't stupid, he knew his invitation had been shot down and his future ones would be too. He'd just have to find another way to get the rabbit out of the dorm, then.
Goldie grinned and shrugged a bit. "Next time is Saturday at the arcade. How about it?"
This time Spring actually had the decency to look sheepish. "Saturday?"
"Yep! You'll come? The others wouldn't mind, you know."
"I, um, well, I can't, I have to work on my project-"
"You can work on it Sunday~ How about it?"
Spring blinked up, startled, at the golden bear. Goldie could see the surprise and confusion in his eyes, but he kept grinning. He'd feel guilty later, but he was determined.
"But... I have to work on the backdrops Sunday," he mumbled out, glancing aside.
"We won't spend all day at the arcade," he laughed. "Just a couple hours, ya'know? Like, noon to three."
"That's a few, not a couple..."
"Same difference," Goldie waved dismissively. "So?"
He wasn't taking no for an answer, and Goldie could see Spring realizing that. However, the rabbit, as timid and nice as he may have been, was no pushover. Goldie watched as those green eyes hardened and the rabbit's shoulders squared up a bit, and the bear remembered why he had been afraid of this rabbit the first time he saw him.
Too bad the illusion was ruined by his twitching ear, giving away his nerves.
"I said I'm busy," Spring told him, his voice clipped and sharp. His ear twitched even more.
"Busy hanging out with us? Great!" Goldie grinned even more. Spring's shoulders lost a bit of the tension as his brow furrowed. His nose didn't crinkle, though, so that was a good sign in Goldie's book.
"What?" Spring started, "No, I-"
"I'll tell the guys, they'll be excited!"
"What the hell? Hey, Fazbear, listen to what I'm saying-"
"Wait, are you saying no?"
"Yes!"
"Great! I'll tell the guys, you'll love it at the arcade- it's really good!" Goldie laughed and waved, heading out the door.
"Wait- what? Hey!"
Goldie practically ran out of the dorm, closing the door and sprinting down the stairs-foregoing the elevator so he didn't have to wait- before the rabbit could voice any more protests.
When Goldie reached his friends, he flashed them a grin. "Spring's coming with us Saturday!" he declared right before the rabbit showed up.
"Dammit, Fazbear, will you listen-"
"That's great!" Bonsai laughed, apparently not realizing that the golden rabbit was about to negate Goldie's claim. "The more the merrier, right?"
Spring simply blinked as the others all nodded in agreement.
"Hey Spring, come to the park with us," Goldie repeated, feeling emboldened to ask again now that he had an audience. He felt a little bad, knowing he was pushing the rabbit into a corner, but he was determined to get the rabbit out and about with them.
The gold rabbit resemble a goldfish for a moment, trying to work his mouth. He seemed surprised, Goldie noted, at how the others waited patiently and with smiles for his answer. "I have a project..."
"Work on it when we get back, it won't be dark then," Goldie assured him with a grin.
Spring was silent for a few moments before sighing and running a hand through the thicker, fluffy fur on top of his head. "Okay, okay, just- can I at least grab my sketchbook?"
Goldie grinned triumphantly. "Of course!" The rabbit turned to go back to their dorm, and when he was out of sight and earshot, Freddy rounded on his older brother.
"Goldie, what the hell?" Freddy demanded, keeping his voice low so as not to attract attention.
"What?" Goldie whined. "I want him to come."
"He obviously doesn't want to come, Gold, and his wants in this matter far outweigh yours! You cornered him," his younger brother accused.
Goldie shrugged sheepishly. "Sorry, Freddy."
"You're going to apologize."
"At the park. If I apologize now he'll take that as a sign to bail."
"It's not bailing when he didn't agree to this."
"He did agree! I just had to... convince him."
Freddy growled a bit and shook his head, turning to Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy with an expression that Goldie didn't care for.
"Well what's done is done," Chick declared, trying to defuse the situation. "Who knows, maybe the rabbit- Spring?- will have fun!"
Foxy snickered a bit. "Really, Goldie, this seems like a stunt I'd pull, not you."
Beside Foxy, Mike sighed silently and rolled his eyes. Goldie had a feeling it wasn't just something Foxy would do.
"Oh wait- I did pull this stunt." Freddy growled at this.
"Shut up, Fox."
"Make me, Fazbear."
When Spring returned, it was to the scene of Freddy chasing the quicker, fitter fox around the parking lot, with Bonnie and Bonsai cheering Freddy on, Mangle cheering Foxy on, and Goldie just standing there watching in amusement while Chica shouted at both boys to cut it out. Needless to say, he wondered what exactly he had missed.
Goldie caught sight of the rabbit, who clutched an old, beat-up sketchbook tightly against his chest as he watched the bear and fox run around. "Hey Spring!" he called, causing the rabbit to jump. Immediately the rabbit straightened up and loosened his grip on his sketchbook, turning to look at the golden bear. "Quick, before they notice you're here, claim shotgun!"
Spring just raised a brow at him. Goldie sighed and walked over to the rabbit. "Hey, sit up front with me and you don't have to sit with any of them," he said instead, gesturing over to his friends.
That seemed to get his attention as he glanced over towards the near-strangers. After a few moments, he sighed and let his posture slump slightly. "You're really high maintenance, gold bear."
"Gold bear? Ehhh close enough I guess," Goldie chuckled, pulling his keys out of his pocket. "Hey guys, can we go now? Sometime before next century, please!"
"Shotgun!" Alfred called.
"Too late, Spring already called it," Goldie grinned, bounding over to the van and clicked the unlock button. He noticed Foxy change direction in his running, so he hit the button that automatically opened the door that Foxy was aiming for.
Foxy leapt through the now-open sliding door and quickly found a place away from the door, turning around to leer at Freddy. Freddy glared.
"You can't stay in there forever," he warned before following Bonnie, Chica, Mangle, and Chick to Chica's car. Goldie pouted.
"What, bro, you're not riding with us?" he called after Freddy but only received a dismissive wave in response. He huffed. "Fine, I'm not buying you ice cream!"
"I have money," was the response. Goldie shrugged and slipped into the driver's seat. Spring was already in the passenger seat, with his seatbelt buckled and his sketchbook open on his lap. There seemed to be a very light outline of something, and though there were not details, Goldie could see it was a portrait of someone.
Who, he had no idea, so he dismissed it from his mind.
A glance in the mirror showed that Alfred and Bonsai had claimed the two middle seats while Mike and Foxy were in the back. Mike was in the center, beside Foxy, with a notebook open on his lap.
He grinned and closed his door before starting up the car, and-
"Put your seatbelt on," the voice beside him was soft, but it still managed to surprise the bear, who looked over at the passenger. Spring stared straight back at him, his brow slightly pinched and his eyes hard.
"Ah, right," Goldie laughed sheepishly and a bit nervously, reaching over his left shoulder to pull his seatbelt on and buckle it in place. When he did, the rabbit noticeably relaxed.
None of the four in the back seemed to notice the exchange between the golden duo, which made Goldie feel a bit better. He put the car in reverse and backed out of the parking space, glancing only briefly at the rabbit. Spring was relaxed again, his hand left hand laying across the sketchbook's page, holding the pencil.
'He's left handed,' he noted dimly, though that didn't sound correct for some reason. Thinking back, he remembered down by the pond that the rabbit had held the pencil with his left hand, but his guitar- it was a right-hand guitar and he seemed to play it just fine earlier. 'Ambidextrous? I dunno, I'll ask later when he's less mad at me...'
"Come on, Gold, turn on the radio!" Alfred commanded, poking his eldest brother's arm. Goldie rolled his eyes.
"What's the magic word, Al?" Goldie teased with a grin.
"Pleeaaaaaase?" Alfred drawled, making his voice as childish as it could manage, eliciting a laugh from his friends.
"Just a moment," Goldie laughed as he pulled out of the school's drive and onto the road, turning left towards downtown. It wasn't a small city, downtown was almost twenty minutes away, so he was all too happy to turn the radio on.
Eye of the Tiger blasted through the speakers, causing the two rabbits in the van to wince as their sensitive hearing was assaulted. Goldie grinned sheepishly as he turned the volume down a bit. "Sorry!" he laughed, ignoring the way both green-eyed rabbits glared at him.
Foxy gave a little whoop from in the back as he began singing along, startling the human beside him, and Alfred joined just a few seconds later.
Spring glances over towards Goldie as the bear also started to sing, and it occurred to the rabbit that he was surrounded by music students... and one drama student, of course. He couldn't help but smile slightly as the four friends all sang loudly and out of key, turning his gaze back to the window to watch the houses pass by.
This all felt so familiar to him and, at the same time, so foreign. He didn't join in.
It wasn't long before they were pulling into the park, and Spring waited for the others to pile out before slipping out himself, clutching his sketchbook again. He closed the door, and as he did he heard the locks click into place.
Foxy ran ahead closer towards the river, the others trailing after him at a leisurely pace. Spring glanced around and followed, figuring there wasn't exactly much else he could do. He located a bench and sat down, looking out towards the water, and then he turned to the next empty page in his sketchbook and began to sketch what he saw.
The golden bear wandered over to the bench and leaned over Spring's shoulder, causing one of the rabbit's ears to twitch. He looked curiously at the page and saw what looked like a million light lines that were just a general outline of everything, and what he assumed were his friends standing near the railing. He grinned. "What'cha got there?" he asked.
"A sketch," Spring answered simply, not taking his eyes off of the page.
"Well I can see that, but what is it?"
"What's in front of me."
"So the river, the rail, my friends?"
"You too. I sketched that before you came over here to bother me."
Goldie sighed a bit, finally accepting that the rabbit would continue being short with him. Looked like it was time to apologize. "Hey, look, I'm sorry I backed you into a corner like that, but I do want to get to know you better, you know, and it just wasn't happening with how little we interact during school hours."
Spring glanced up at him, a brow raised. "So... you thought... twisting my words and then cornering me into coming here with you and your friends when I hardly know any of you would be a good way to make me want to get to know you." Goldie winced a bit at that summary. "For someone who spent two weeks trying to pretend I didn't exist, I find it hard to believe you just suddenly decided I was worth your time."
The bear frowned a bit. "You seemed pretty open to getting to know me yesterday."
"Yes, well, yesterday you were much nicer about it and much less insistent."
"Well... okay, touché. Well, then," Goldie glanced aside before rounding the bench and plopping down next to the rabbit. "How can I make it up to you?"
The rabbit looked up from his sketchbook finally and blinked owlishly at him. "Huh?"
"I upset you, that much is obvious, and I want to say sorry and make it up to you," Goldie explained simply enough. "So how can I do that?" Spring stared at him for a few moments, as thought trying to decide if it was a joke or not. Finally, he spoke again.
"I'll tell you how to make it up to me if you tell me why you're suddenly interested in me."
Goldie frowned a bit, thinking of how to answer. He couldn't admit that he'd seen the guitar- if he did that, he had no doubt the rabbit would get up and walk away and never speak to him again. Or maybe he'd lecture him on respecting people's privacy and then tell him he would never forgive him for it. He wasn't really sure what he could say. Perhaps a partial truth...
Apparently, Spring's patience was already thin, because he sighed and started to close his sketchbook, not even caring when, in his haste, his pencil slipped from his fingers and hit the ground. "Fine, you-"
"Your expression."
The sudden answer made the rabbit pause, and he looked at Goldie in confusion. "What?"
Goldie had no idea where he was going with that, but he found himself speaking without really thinking about it. "Yesterday morning," he continued, "when I was rooting around in my drawer. Just, you came in and you were surprised to see me, and you didn't have any of your defenses up, but you quickly brought them back up and grabbed your sketchbook and bag. And I glanced over at you because, well, I'm not good at reading people but there was something that didn't match up with the impression I had of you when you walked in, and, well... You just looked really... sad, worried and, well, not broken, per say, but you looked like you were hurting about something. You didn't look all that confident, you know, like you usually looked- you kinda just, um, slumped and your ears lowered and you just looked totally different and unhappy... And then when I saw you by the pond later I just thought that, you know, you looked really... um, lonely... and it- well, being lonely isn't a nice feeling and..."
He trailed off, feeling embarrassed that he had begun rambling during his explanation. The rabbit was still staring at him, an unreadable expression on his face. "And... then when we were talking, well, you were... a lot different than I expected and it was nice and I just want to get to know you better," he finished hastily, and he knew his own cheeks were flushed in embarrassment.
It was several silent, awkward moments before the rabbit glanced away, letting out a soft sigh and his ears lowering just a tad. "So you pitied me?"
"N-no!" Goldie quickly denied, shaking his head. "I just... I just empathized." He winced slightly; was there much difference between empathy and pity? "I've always had my brothers and all, but to everyone else I was just a more rambunctious, annoying, different-coloured Freddy. I didn't even have my own identity- they even called me Gold Freddy, and it just- it seems ridiculous, but-"
"I understand," the rabbit interrupted, and Goldie didn't know if he said that because he meant it or if he saw how much the bear was struggling to express himself. "But, you know, you really shouldn't judge people by their appearances."
"I know," Goldie sighed and nodded. "I know, I just- it's hard for me to comprehend people having layers." He coughed, a bit embarrassed by that entire conversation, and said, "So, uh, I kept up my part of the deal, your turn." Even if he hadn't told the entire truth, but it was more than half.
The only reason he paid that much attention, of course, was because of the part he wasn't saying.
After a few moments of silence, Goldie whined, "Heeey, you're the one who set up that agreement!"
Spring couldn't help but smile and say, "But I didn't shake on it, now did I?"
"You looked like if I dared to even think about touching you, you'd throw me in the river," Goldie pouted, though inside he was wondering how the rabbit could go from being angry and interrogating him to bantering with him in just a few seconds.
"There you go again, judging people by how they look," Spring chuckled as he lightly nudged the bear, surprising him; he honestly hadn't expected the rabbit to initiate any contact. Except maybe to punch him. He was sure he had just sounded like a moron, after all. "If you really want me to forgive you for dragging me out here even after I said no, then we go get ice cream now, not later."
Goldie blinked and laughed a bit. "Ooh, bunny got a sweet tooth?"
"Ice cream now or I resent you forever, Fazbear," the rabbit sniffed, glancing towards the river and crossing his arms in mock anger, again surprising- and amusing- the bear. Unbeknownst to Goldie, Spring was just as surprised with himself; he hadn't acted this way in years. Five years, to be precise...
"Okay, okay!" Goldie chuckled, raising his hands in surrender. "Let's go get ice cream then." He hopped up from the bench, Spring following suit, and knelt down to pick up the forgotten pencil. He grinned as he held it out to Spring. "I might not be an art student but I get the feeling these things are pretty expensive," he said.
Spring blinked at him and took the pencil back, smiling slightly. "Only a bit," he replied with a slight shrug, slipping the pencil into his pants pocket. "Thanks."
Goldie grinned and nodded, "No problem!" He pulled his keys out of his pocket and twirled them with his fingers. "Let's go get ice cream then."
"You want to drive to a place that is literally two streets away?" Spring raised a brow at him, looking simultaneously amused and bemused. "Why don't we just, I don't know... walk?"
Goldie pouted but then shrugged. "Fine with me, at least put your sketchbook in the van though. I want to talk to you without your eyes focused on that sketchbook for once."
"I'll consider it."
"Spriiiiiing!"