Mable: Here we are! I, uh… Yeah, posted on Sunday again. I mean, at least I made the weekly deadline!... But haven't gotten back to Saturday. *Nervous chuckle.* We'll try again this week, but for now, the chapter is finished and ready to read! I hope you enjoy!
Can't Go Home Again
Chapter Fifty-Six
With the pizzeria closed and the day free, Marionette was overly excited to begin teaching Baby about how to work with them.
As soon as he deemed Mike capable of being home alone, even though Mike was perfectly capable of spending time alone, Marionette teleported to the pizzeria to begin. He wasn't exactly surprised to find that Foxy and Baby had done little interacting. Foxy was currently hidden behind his curtain and Baby was nowhere to be seen.
"Foxy?" Marionette called as he approached the curtain. The purple curtain spread and the fox poked its head out. "Where's Baby?"
"In the kitchen," Foxy announced briskly and simply watched the younger animatronic silently. The Puppet tilted his head in questioning.
"…Bad night with Baby?" he inquired. Foxy disagreed, but he was clearly reluctant to speak. The Puppet tilted his head the other way. "Or is this about me?"
In fact, it was about him. He knew this as soon as Foxy stepped out of the curtain. "I just don't understand why yer doin' this," Foxy admitted. At least he sounded more patient than he did last night. "With Schmidt of all people. Ya need someone with a softer touch. If yer that determined to go fer a human, at least be off with Jer'my. He's a good lad."
"I don't like Jeremy," Marionette insisted. He then back peddled, "No, I mean I like Jeremy, but I don't love Jeremy. He's not my type."
"Course he is! He's a nice lad, ya have a history, he could take care of you. That's more than we can say for Schmidt; he ain't got his act together," Foxy quickly accessed. The Puppet rolled his eyes, though it wasn't very visible so he doubted that his sibling noticed it.
"My, it really sounds like you thought about this, but if you're so certain that he's a good catch then why don't you go for him?" Marionette remarked with a hand wave as he started to head towards the kitchen. Hopefully, Baby would be less than a handful.
"Har har," Foxy flatly remarked in return, "I'm gonna pretend you didn't start suggestin' that." Then he shut the curtain and vanished yet again. An amused smirk passed the Puppet's face before he approached the kitchen. He pushed open the door and found Baby standing inside, facing the far corner.
"Baby?" the Puppet quietly coaxed. Almost immediately, Baby began to turn her body, though it was still an awkwardly slow procedure.
"Marionette, I didn't expect you yet," Baby admitted with a warm tone. She looked to him with a happiness in her blue eyes, "But I'm glad you're here. Do we begin?"
"If you are ready, then I would be glad to!" Marionette chirped with a smile. "Now where do we start…?" He hummed as he accessed over his makeshift plan for the day. "Well, we're already in here, so I suppose we'll start with the kitchen." He splayed his arm around and gestured to the surrounding room. "This is where the pizza is made and the food is kept. Usually I bring the cakes in from home, but we have cake mix here as well, in case you ever want to do baking… Or I could show you how to bake if you'd like."
"I want to know everything," Baby assured, surprisingly entranced by what was being offered.
"Then we will! But first," Marionette lifted a cake tray, "you should get used to carrying these. Sometimes we take the birthday cakes out to the children, so you might want to become comfortable balancing this." He offered it to the clown who took it with her free hand as the other was clinging to her microphone. Almost immediately, the tray slid off of her hand, as her metal hand offered little friction. Both of them stared down at it.
"…We'll work on it!" Marionette assured with an amused chime and beckoned the female. "But first, the rest of the pizzeria." He headed out and Baby followed behind him, squeezing through the doorway and wandering into the dining room. "It's not the most advanced pizzeria just yet, but we have what we need, and the children are quite happy," the Puppet explained. "That's the arcade corner over there, where the children play games and win tokens."
"What do the tokens do? Do they eat them?" Baby inquired in confusion. This question actually confused Marionette, who tried to suppress the look with a blank one.
"No, they trade them for prizes. We'll head there next," Marionette suggested as he turned and continued to the Prize counter. Foxy had appeared from behind the curtain and was watching while Baby apparently noticed the Puppet's tone and defended herself.
"I'm out of practice. It's been so long… Even at my old Pizzeria, I was only there for a short time and I never got to do so much," Baby seemed almost embarrassed by herself. "I can learn."
"Baby, don't worry yourself! This was new to Foxy and I too. It just takes time and patient," Marionette assured as he led her into the Prize Corner. "This is where I mostly stay, the Prize Corner. I wait in my box and children bring in their tokens to exchange for candy, toys, and anything else we have." As Baby looked around, the Puppet scooped a plush that resembled himself into his arms. "Right now there's mostly merchandise styled after Foxy, but I have a few things of my own. Eventually so will you."
"Really?" Baby's eyes scanned the shelf. "Everybody could take a little of me home."
"Right!" Marionette chirped as he squeezed the doll. They would be running low on stock soon and he was considering asking Fritz to put in an order for an alternate plush of himself. After all, Foxy had numerous different kinds, so it only seemed fair to do the same with him. Just the thought took him to a different time and place.
"How long do you think until they get plush toys of me?" Marionette cooed as he counted through the new supply of plush toys. Goldie was with him in the Prize Corner tonight; a rare event. It was before Midnight, though, and the nighttime security guard had not arrived yet. "I think it's about time!"
"I don't think it's really important," Goldie admitted in a somewhat uninterested voice. The Puppet wasn't too surprised.
"Well, it is to me! I would love to see children cuddling plushes of me," Marionette admitted. Then, as though suddenly remembering, he reached out and gestured to a new drawing on the wall. "Speaking of which, look at this!" He grabbed ahold of it, peeling it off the wall, and flashing it to Goldie. "Look! I can't believe a child-!" His delight was cut off at the vice grip on his wrist. It was seldom that Goldie moved his body, so this only proved how serious it was.
"Marionette, these things don't matter," Goldie almost scolded the Puppet. "You're losing focus."
Marionette popped back to the present time with confusion across his face. He hadn't remembered that memory before now. Or, more specifically, that last part. Excusing his forgetfulness, he turned to Baby. "Sometimes I taken tokens to the children, but the basket is easier to carry than the tray, so perhaps you should carry it instead."
The female animatronic's eyes swiveled until she spotted said basket and started to reach for it.
"Don't worry about that now," Marionette insisted, inwardly not wanting to risk them spilling onto the floor and not yet trusting the female's grip.
"I'm capable of holding a basket," Baby remarked as she continued to reach forward. She then grasped the basket and yanked it back. Her grip, not tight enough on the basket, proved to have flaws. It wobbled and then slipped out of the gap between her fingers and thumb, hitting the floor and spilling tokens across it. Baby stared down at the floor with little emotional change. She couldn't really show emotional change, so she instead just had that same smile as she slowly looked back to Marionette. "…Somehow, I am not capable of holding a basket."
This triggered an immediate chime from the Puppet. He tried to suppress it, covering his mouth as though it would help, but was clearly more amused than disappointed. "Oh Baby, don't worry with that! I know how it is- When I first became a puppet, I had almost no control of anything. You are doing much better than I did!" He set the plush down on the counter and started to usher the female back. "Let's just continue with the tour for now, so we don't get distracted over little things." Baby said nothing, but seemed to agree.
"I do leave the Prize Corner for parties or to stretch my legs, but most of the time I stay here," Marionette said as he waited for Baby outside of the door. "It's my way of embracing what I was meant to do. I take tickets, I exchange prizes, and I absolutely love doing it. I love the children; you wouldn't believe how excited they can get!"
"You don't perform on stage?" Baby inquired. "I find that odd. I thought that animatronics were meant to stay on stage… I don't need to tell you of what Afton's thought about animatronics leaving their stages. I could tell you horror stories that I heard about Ballora, but I think I should not." It was obvious that the female clown was much more skeptical about the scenario than he expected. Begging for freedom or not, Baby clearly wasn't stupid; she knew that it was very likely that she was walking back into servitude.
Thankfully, Marionette was confident that this wasn't the case. "Most pizzerias, yes, we would be restricted… But this is our pizzeria. Our human companions are our friends, they know about our delicate situation, and they could care less," the Puppet insisted. "They know who pulls the strings," he coyly quipped before adding in quietly. "It's Foxy. If he gets fussy, the day is doomed."
"I heard that," Foxy grouched from over by the curtains.
"Prove me wrong," Marionette challenged playfully as he intended to lead Baby back through. To his surprise, Foxy actually stepped forward for this challenge. He outright approached Baby and cut off the Puppet.
"Baby, I knew yer not used to this. Seein' what was goin' on down there… I know ya aren't too confident with all this, but here me out; once yer one of Foxy's crew, the waters get calm. May not be the most excitin' life, but we're doin' good work. We're helped the kids, one party at a time," Foxy explained. His amount of passion actually surprised the Puppet. Though he wasn't too surprised when the fox added in, "Besides, it gets us out in public without landlubbers losin' their heads over it."
"I don't understand… But if it is as good as you say, then I think I will be happy here. Anything is better than the cold," Baby admitted. She then looked around the room, barely moving her head but scanning her eyes around the room. "It's just so warm here. It feels warm and alive." Of course, Foxy and Marionette both understood. If anything, they understood too well, and Foxy moved to step in.
"Come with me. I'll show ya the arcade," Foxy coaxed as he headed towards the arcade cabinet for a familiar and specific game. More than likely, Foxy wanted an excuse to use a few tokens on the 'Sit and Survive' game, this time with the excuse of showing Baby. "Marion, mind grabbin' a few tokens?"
With a chime, Marionette eagerly turned and headed to retrieve the items in question. While there, he picked up the basket and remaining tokens and set them on the counter. Then he headed back out. It wasn't until he was back in the dining room that he heard the two speaking to each other.
"-but I don't remember anything from before," Baby recited. "I don't even remember becoming this… One day I just existed in this body." She sounded just as perplexed at the situation. "…Why?"
"I was just wonderin' if you remembered yer family is all," Foxy said. He hesitated before adding in, looking back at the much taller female. "We're siblings too. Marion's not just yer brother, he's mine, so I'm yer brother too."
"You… You are?" As though Baby couldn't be any more uncertain. "We meant when we were humans."
"Aye, so did I," Foxy revealed. "I was yer older brother… I remember you as a human girl."
"But I-… I don't remember you." Whatever Baby was going to originally break in with was tossed aside for the more blatant fact; she remembered absolutely nothing about him.
"It's okay, Lass," Foxy quietly assured, "it's better that way."
It was only now, when silence took over, that Marionette moved in and handed over the tokens. Foxy eagerly slipped them in and took ahold of the controls, prepared to begin the game as his siblings watched. Though while he did, Marionette felt his mind wander again. He thought about the others. He thought about Goldie, about the past… About Balloon Boy.
Balloon Boy could only communicate through laughter and whispers, so to have a conversation involved kneeling on the floor and scooting as close as possible. Thankfully, while Balloon Boy was considered a nuisance to others, he had a more playfully friendly side to him. He loved to whisper about the things he had seen. He loved to tell Marionette about the funny things that the human children had done.
At this time, it hadn't been too long after Marionette became the Puppet, so he was still considerably a child. Taking this in, he was the youngest, save Balloon Boy. Not that he truly knew Balloon Boy's age, but he certainly acted younger than the others. They were currently together in the corner of the dining hall. The pizzeria was closed for the day and allowed them more access to moving around without the risk of any humans spotting them. Yet this wasn't too last for them.
"Go to the office." The sudden command throbbed in Marionette's head as Goldie's booming voice interrupted his discussion with Balloon Boy. Maybe Balloon Boy heard it too, as he grew immediately and uncomfortably silent right afterwards.
"Is there someone here?" Marionette questioned back and suspicion took hold. He could already imagine the Purple Man sneaking in on a day when they were closed to hide evidence. Though this wasn't the case.
"No. I want you to go to the office and confiscate the Freddy mask from the desk." Goldie had told him to do this before, and he did, but it never changed anything. They always supplied the night guard with another one before his next shift. As such, Marionette wasn't exactly confident in this plan. Though he also didn't think it was that dire… But he didn't protest.
Marionette raised from his kneeling, gave Balloon Boy a silent nod, and made his way to the office. Once inside, he quickly removed the mask and, noticing the package of batteries inside, took those as well. Then he left and headed towards the Prize Corner to hide them. For a brief second he felt a sort of success, that he had succeeded in doing something great, even with these small efforts-.
"I shouldn't have to ask you to do this. Get on the clock, Mari. You have work to do." But Goldie always had the last say.
By time Marionette drifted back out of the memory, Baby was looking to him again, seemingly bored by the game. The Puppet recovered quickly, "He's bound to be lost for a while. Let's just quickly finish out the tour." The rest of the 'tour' was barely anything more than pointing out the office, the bathrooms, and the back door. Especially the back door, considering that Marionette didn't trust it very much. He always worried that someone would try and sneak a child out of the back.
"Mostly you will just need to stay in the main room. Unless you get too overworked; then the kitchen is the best option to escape the children," Marionette assured. He wanted her to know that there was an escape if she needed it. "Other than that, all you need to do is keep the children entertained. Talk to them, sing to them, and make sure to interact especially with the birthday boy or girl. It's really that easy." Easy enough, he supposed. "But of course, you can do a bit more than us."
"…Yes, I can. Maybe it'll make up for the trouble with my hands," Baby slowly inquired, as though uncomfortable. "I think I can still fill balloons if I get a new air tank… But I can't make ice cream any longer. I- I tried last night, but it didn't work." Suddenly, Baby was becoming nervous, and becoming nervous fast. "And I don't think I can… Handle being alone with the children."
"Lass, we wouldn't do that," Foxy called over as he slipped another token into the arcade machine. "Not on yer first day 'specially."
"Right," Marionette agreed, "and Fritz could take a look inside and fix-."
"No!" Baby immediately shot down. After a few seconds, noticing Marionette just staring, she attempted to defend herself. "No, I can't- I won't let him work on me. I don't want him- I don't want anyone looking and touching underneath my plates." After this firm tone, Baby's voice softened to an apologetic one. "I'm sorry…"
"Don't be," Marionette assured, voice a bit quieter than before. Perhaps because he understood too well. He was comfortable with the touch of a familiar human, as was Foxy, but Baby was not. Baby didn't know Fritz or Mike from the humans that had worked in Afton's. Especially considering that it was him who had been tainting their programming for his own means. "It's fine. I understand."
Baby slowly relaxed once more and Foxy stepped in to change the conversation. It wasn't that surprising; Foxy probably was tired of the uncomfortable direction the conversation was going in. That or he ran out of tokens, and the Puppet could believe either. Maybe Foxy could help return the mood to a more positive one, and in the meantime Marionette could try to figure out what they would start with. Perhaps he would show her how to bake, just in case she would take to it like he had.
He couldn't remember what Goldie had done for him on his first days. They were too cloudy to remember. Yet other memories had been resurfacing today and, while Marionette originally welcomed them, they were steadily bringing down his originally bright mood. Perhaps this was because he knew that Goldie would've never agreed to something like this. Not bringing in Baby- Goldie probably wouldn't even care- but him willingly working at a pizzeria. He knew that it was supposed to be a means to an end…
"When our happiest day comes, we'll finally be free," Goldie assured as he quietly took in the thought. He seemed so calmed by it; as though the prospect alone made him that happy. "I will go first, I'm sure, but then you will follow me. We will finally find peace in the endlessness beyond this pizzeria."
"That sounds wonderful," Marionette quipped, trying to lighten the mood, "but maybe I'd like to stay here longer. Do I get a choice?" To his surprise, Goldie's response took a few moments. Then he spoke in a supportive and utterly warm voice, as though comforting a scared child.
"Mari," he nearly cooed in assurance, "why would you need a choice?"
This time, Marionette noticed the disturbing pattern. He had been thinking too much about Goldie today, but they weren't happy memories. These were the things that he hadn't wanted to remember. Things that he had pushed aside because Goldie was his friend and because he took such care of him. Without the bear, he would have never became what he was, and even though Goldie saw being an animatronic as a curse, Marionette was embracing it like a new beginning. Goldie would've never agreed to keeping Freddy's, or Foxy's, alive.
Though he couldn't forget that Goldie had a good reason why. He used to tell all the stories of children who had been snatched by the Purple Man and were lost forever. He used to lament every tale, but he told them regardless, and suffered the burden. It only made sense that Marionette would do what he could when Goldie had to suffer such a load. Even now, Marionette didn't know which story had been his. Goldie never admitted to his actual death, but he suspected that it didn't happen too long before his own.
In reality, Goldie had been wonderful to him. He only wanted the best for him. After all, just like Goldie used to say-
"If you fail, you aren't letting me down; you're risking the lives of dozens of children."
Oh dear. Marionette had forgotten that one too… Just hearing it again made Marionette inwardly shutter. He knew there were happy times; what happened to all of his happier memories with Goldie? Was it because Baby's existence was evidence that Goldie had kept things hidden? Was it because Goldie would've never accepted any of this chosen lifestyle? The Puppet shrugged it off as he noticed Foxy's jovial tone.
"Ah, the Pirate song! Lemme teach you; we'll be able to do a duet. Don't give me that look, it ain't that hard!"
Oh dear, the Pirate Song was returning. Marionette's smile returned as he followed after the two. Maybe Goldie wouldn't have been happy, but he was. Goldie was happy in the afterlife and Marionette would continue to find his own happiness his own way. His guardian was gone, but he would survive.
Goldie couldn't protect him anymore… But Goldie couldn't pull his strings anymore either.
So, with that, he joined back in with Foxy and Baby, trying not to show any sort of alarm when Foxy became determined to teach Baby the Pirate Song. Finally, his mind was clear.
Everything felt wrong and weak. As he tried to move his body and muscles, he felt a lack of control, and could barely move his much too heavy body. He couldn't speak either; every time he tried, he could hear strange, mechanical noises. Everything was wrong and he tried to focus through the darkness. Somehow, his blurry vision recognized the Pizzeria, and almost immediately the fear crept back in. He struggled to free his body, trying to free himself from whatever he was hanging from.
Before he could, not that he could, a figure suddenly appeared in front of him. Through the haze, he could see the towering form of a bear. Memories returned immediately; he suddenly remembered getting closer and closer to the teeth- Another cracking chime and he broke down into sobbing. He didn't understand what was happening. Where was everyone else? Had they noticed what happened? Is this what happened when the animatronics- or when he- got ahold of you? He was in a panic, but he couldn't react because he could barely move.
"It's okay," a familiar voice coaxed. He slightly calmed down as he recognized the voice of his stuffed bear. "You'll hurt yourself if you struggle. You're fine now. Nobody can hurt you here." The bear reached out and he tried to shrug back, but he couldn't escape. Yet the touch was gentle. A large hand settled on his cheek, gently holding his head, and he could feel even more familiarity from the bear. It was his friend.
"You'll be staying with me for now," his friend murmured. Then his voice changed. His friend had never sounded so sad, "…I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry…"
After a few rings, there was an answer. "Hello?"
"Hey, it's me!" Natalie chirped into the receiver. "Fritz and I are going out for dinner. Want to come?" Mike sounded relatively lethargic on the other side; typical of him on a day off.
"You're inviting me on your date?" Mike asked with amusement. "I don't think I'm willing to be a third wheel for a possibility of a free meal."
"We're getting tacos. This isn't exactly a romantic date," Natalie pointed out before sending a playful smile over towards Fritz, who was driving. "And I'm calling Jeremy next. If you're that uncomfortable, then he can be your date."
"I rather be a third wheel than be obligated to buy someone else dinner," Mike remarked. Then he led into a defeated tone; hunger beat out being able to take the day fully off. "Alright, fine. I'll meet you over there. It's the place by the bowling alley?"
"You got it. See you in a little bit," Natalie finished and ended the call. "Mike's in. Now time to check in on Jeremy." She quickly dialed again and waited for the male to pick up. Unlike Mike, Jeremy took longer to answer his phone. Long enough that she originally thought he wasn't going to answer.
"Hello?" Jeremy's voice was rather groggy. As though he had just woken up.
"Hey, it's Natalie. Mike, Fritz, and I are going for tacos. It's not a date or anything, it's just a bunch of friends going out. Want to tag along?" Natalie could already guess the answer when Jeremy took an unnaturally long time to respond. "…Uh, Jere?"
"I…I don't think I can," he admitted, awkwardly fumbling with the phone. "I can't really leave right now. I'm just-." A sudden crashing noise interrupted the explanation. "I have to go!"
"What was that?" Natalie asked with growing dread.
"I-I have to go! I'll call you back!" Jeremy blurted out before ending the call immediately. Natalie was left holding her cell in confusion. She ended the call and looked to Fritz again.
"That didn't sound right at all," Natalie admitted with growing concern. "I don't know. Do you think it was because of last night?"
"He took home two more Minireenas, so maybe. It can't be easy trying to reel them in," Fritz admitted with an inward shudder. To be entirely honest, Fritz never felt comfortable with the Minireenas. Their empty eyes and quiet giggles were completely unnerving, even when he was certain that they weren't a real danger to him. "We can pick him up something and use that to get inside the house."
"Huh, a bribe. I think I've seen you use those tactics before," Natalie said coyly. For a split second, Fritz looked flustered, and Natalie felt the growing heat in her face. "But, uh, yeah. Anything to get us through the front door." It wasn't like Jeremy sounded like he was ready to fight to keep them out. Hopefully, food would get them through the door.
It didn't take long to get there and to get a table. The restaurant itself was mostly casual; not fast food but not quite fine dining. Something easier than trying to get dressed up for. Natalie had a suspicion that they would've have a harder time convincing Mike if it had been one of those places. It didn't take too long or Mike to appear and conversation started. Though it bobbled back and forth; between Jeremy, Natalie's family, and the overly fruity drink that Mike ordered, it tended to bounce around to weird subjects.
"You're lucky that we're not here with my brothers. Mom had to take Olive to the dentist and I was about two seconds away from getting wrangled into watching them," Natalie admitted as she circled a chip around in the bowl of guacamole. "I'm about ready to find a new place."
"Fritz's always opened," Mike mentioned as he glazed through the menu. He didn't even seem to be paying attention to what he was saying. Natalie did though, and her eyes went straight to Fritz. For a few seconds, Fritz looked like a deer in headlights, but this look suppressed itself as a more confident one took hold.
"That's… Not actually a bad idea. If you want to, I mean," Fritz remarked. This would be much faster than when he moved in with Dinah, but his relationship with Natalie had already been progressing faster. Mostly because they had been able to forgo the 'awkward' stage of dating that usually came from dating someone who you originally knew nothing about. Then again, he thought he knew Dinah before she suddenly became so adamant against the pizzeria idea. "I have another bedroom. It wouldn't be like I was forcing you to sleep with me."
Serious and innocent comment or not, Natalie couldn't resist a light snicker. "Oh no, I can't possibly see this as a mistake," she sarcastically joked. That aside, it was a tempting offer. "…I don't know. I just know that my family is too big for the house as it is. If I left, there would be a free bedroom for Marcus. He's a teenager now; he can't keep sharing a bedroom with two other kids. It's just too uncomfortable…" Not to mention, she wouldn't have to lock her bedroom door and wouldn't have to keep lying about her occupation.
"My door's always open," Fritz reassured, "and… we don't have to make it complicated. We don't have to split all the utilities or anything."
"Well, I'd want to contribute somehow. I'm sure we could- Mike, stop giving me that look," Natalie flatly commanded at Mike's extremely obvious smirk being sent across the table. "That's not what he meant."
Before Mike could retort, his cell phone rung, and he briefly faltered as he went to answer it. However, he did, and both of his companions noticed the immediate discomfort across his face. "Oh, hey. I… Didn't expect for you to call… Yeah, mostly. I'm just out with a couple of coworkers." Mike averted eye contact as he continued the stiff conversation on the phone. While he did, Natalie quietly spoke to Fritz.
"My dad would freak if he found out that we were living together. He's not into living together before marriage," Natalie pointed out. Then, seeing Fritz's quirked brow, she added in, "That's not a suggestion."
"No, I'm just wondering if I should expect him to pop up while we're here." This was a joke, but Natalie continued looking serious, so Fritz couldn't help but take it as a bad sign.
It didn't take Mike long to hang up. "I need a drink," he muttered as he flipped over the menu to scan through the very small alcohol section.
"I hate to break it to you, but that glass of fruit cocktail beside you is your drink," Natalie quipped, hoping to ease the mood. Mike didn't seem very impressed. "Are you okay? Who was that, Mari?"
"Nah, it was… My mom. Mari's over with Foxy and Baby," Mike forced out. He hoped that the immediate change in conversation topic would possibly lead to a lack of continuing question. Unfortunately, Fritz caught on to what he said.
"You're talking to your mother again…?" the technician sounded surprised and Mike continued to eye the drink list, unable to focus enough to decide.
"Unfortunately, yes. I answered the phone the other day and unintentionally opened that door back up," Mike lamented. "Let's just not talk about it. It'll kill the evening."
"It's either your mom or Natalie's dad," Fritz pointed out, "…Or Jeremy. We're heading over to see him after dinner if you want to come with. There's a chance that he's in over his head."
Mike considered this; it wasn't like Marionette would be home. Before he could even agree or disagree, he suddenly focused in on what he was doing. It took a moment to truly sink in, but then it suddenly hit him. An overwhelmingly sick feeling settled in as he closed the menu and set it aside. "Never mind," he quietly muttered. Thankfully, Fritz and Natalie didn't seem to fully acknowledge his comment, so they didn't ask questions. He wouldn't fall into the same trap that his mother did; he wasn't going to start drinking to deal with stress.
"I'll go with you. Half of those animatronics he has are technically my fault," Mike admitted with at least a moderate amount of forced amusement. He then forced down a swig of the overly fruity beverage. Maybe he was imagining it, but he swore he could taste faint alcohol in it.
Needless to say, the drink went abandoned for the rest of the night.
Mable: Ironically, Mari and Mike look at their own issues when it is Jeremy who clearly is over his head. XD Will Baby take to the Pizzeria? Will Natalie's father obsessively stalk Fritz? All to be discovered in the next chapter! The next chapter will be posted next week- preferably on Saturday.