A/N: I am not happy with this chapter. It feels really forced. (Expect the past excerpt at the end. That's awesome.)
Okay, so at the end of each chapter has been the background story, told in italics. Well, we're all caught up with that, so now we're looking at the smaller moments between the boys.
Also, we only have two or three chapters left before the end, so let's hope for some better writing and motivation! (Progress, for the sake of progress, must be discouraged! [Plez kil me])
-{[(•)]}-
Jeremy jolted upright. His chest expanded and deflated like balloon, and sweat poured down his face in buckets. He lifted shaking hands to wipe his eyes. The sounds of gentle breathing to his left soothed him. He quietly glanced over, seeing Mike and Fritz curled together and sleeping peacefully.
Slowly, Jeremy pushed himself up, the blankets gliding off of him like water, and silently exited the room. He found himself wandering through the halls to the kitchen. The chilled tiles shocked his feet with every step, and the shadows gathered behind him in an army of darkness.
"I-I know they've forgiven me," he heard a quiet, hiccuping voice. "B-But, I just feel so guilty."
"Spring, it wasn't like you had any kind of choice. You are as much of a victim as those poor kids," a deeper, crackling voice assured.
"That doesn't change that their... their blood is on my hands!" Springtrap insisted. "Goldie, there was a little boy, not even three years old. He wandered away from his parents for two minutes, and he- h-he was... he was gone." The golden rabbit made a horrible gasping noise. "He couldn't even- even speak, really. Just little, cute sentences. He was so scared, and I-I just... I just..."
Jeremy pushed himself into the room. He stumbled trough the dim lighting and threw his arms around the weeping animatronic. The rabbit stiffened, gasping silently. Ferociously, the blonde held on.
"W-What are you-" the bunny whimpered.
"I'm still not a hundred percent sure how hugs works, but I'm tryin' here, ar'ight?" Jeremy snapped. The rabbit hiccuped, then gradually began to relax.
"Why are you hugging me?" Springtrap questioned.
"Because it's okay. It might not feel like it right now. But... everything will get better. And you'll have people who will support you, and... and..." The eleven year old sat back, rubbing his eyes. His entire body slumped forward.
"Why are you up, um... Jerry, was it it?" Goldie asked, reminding them of his presence.
"Jeremy," the tween corrected. He yawned his way into his next sentence. "Couldn't really sleep."
The boy hesitated for a long moment before he continued. "I've been on the other side, Springtrap. I was really little, when my ma passed away. Everything spiraled out of my control, 'cause I was just a kid, right? And my dad hurt me... And I ran away and found Mike and Fritz, and they were hurting and I couldn't do anything to stop it." He took a deep breath. "I know how it feels to have everything out of your hands and feel guilty anyway. Sometimes, you just have to forgive yourself."
"I-I-" Spring stuttered, shaking his head. Jeremy just hugged him closer.
"Look, I'm not good at this whole comfortin' thing, okay?" The eleven year old scowled. "That's more of Mike's gig. If you want him, I can go get him. He'll be happy to set you straight. And Fritz already loves you. He'd hate to learn you were so upset and know he didn't do anything. I'll get him up to. And we'll prove to you that you don't have to blame yourself. It wasn't your fault."
"Why don't-" The rabbit fumbled. He played with his robotic fingers, plucking at the wiring. "Why aren't you scared of me?"
"You are literally a giant, fluffy bunny. And even when you had the chance, you didn't hurt Fritz. You're sitting here crying, when someone could be fixing you. You keep rejecting people's forgiveness. You just seem pretty... harmless," Jeremy lectured. "Now, come on. Fritz'll be happy to see you." The blonde grabbed the animatronic's hand and dragged him out of the kitchen. Springtrap let him, walking quickly to help.
Fritz and Mike were still asleep when they got to their room, making Spring hesitate. But Jeremy just tugged him along and forced him to sit next to the slumbering redhead. The six year old easily stirred. At the sight of the yellow rabbit, his entire face brightened, and he pulled himself into the animatronic's lap. He mumbled a little bit, then trustingly fell asleep.
Springtrap's eyes brightened in surprise and hope. Jeremy smiled softly; Fritz was the light of everybody's lives.
The animatronic carefully snuggled the six year old closer, barely letting himself touch the child's shoulder. Seeing his caution, Jeremy laid down and let himself fall asleep.
Springtrap wouldn't let anything bad happen.
-{[(•)]}-
Fritz giggled excitedly and ran in a circle, his arms out like airplane wings. He made a bright whooshing noise, stumbled a little over a rock, picked himself up, and ended up collapsing in a fit of giggles anyway.
"Be careful," Mike called, weakly but with a smile. He laid on a blanket, absorbing the sunlight and fresh air. A gentle breeze toyed with his fluffy hair; they had recently bathed with some soap Jeremy was able to buy!
Jeremy sat nearby, holding one of the water bottles and drinking lazily. He had found this little field on the edge of town. He knew the boys would love it. The grass was lush and green, with flowers blooming here and there. The spring weather was perfect for playing.
"Jerry, Jerry, play with me!" Fritz bounded over and tugged at one of his arms. With a laugh, the blonde allowed himself to be pulled up.
"What are we playing?"
"I dunno! But I'm an airplane, and I fly around, and save people who are hurt!" Fritz grinned. He also stuck his arms out, as though to prove he was an airplane. Jeremy stifled a chuckle.
"Well, then, I guess I'll be someone who's hurt! And you gotta save me!" The eleven year old dramatically swooned and fell down in the grass.
"Oh no!" The redhead yelped. He ran around Jeremy in circles. "Don' worry! I'll save you!" He made another comically inaccurate 'airplane' noise and knelt beside his friend. "Sir, where does it hurt, sir?"
"Ah!" Jeremy gasped, reaching for the sun. Mike giggled softly in the background. "I'm dying, airplane rescue... person... thing? I-I see a light!"
"Jerry," Fritz frowned.
"My heart!" Jeremy quickly clarified. "Something must be wrong with my heart!"
"Okay! I gotta... I gotta... I gotta defribrilate the aorta valve!" The six year old cried. He rubbed his hands together in circles- "1... 2... 3... Clear!" -and slammed them down on Jeremy's chest.
The tween actually jumped from surprise, but he quickly covered it up with a few full-body shakes, acting like he'd actually been hit with electricity.
"It's not working!" Mike cried, feigning tears.
"Uh... Uh, we might have to do it again! 1... 2... 3... Clear!"
This time, Jeremy was ready, and he shook theatrically before falling down once more and sticking his tongue out. His hands and fingers still twitched, and he randomly kicked his leg for good measure.
"You have to do something else! We're loosing him! Blood pressure, um, dropping!" Mike called out.
"CPR!" Fritz yelled. "Everybody always gets saved by CPR!" He quickly sat up and began pushing on Jeremy's chest. The blonde restrained laughs; it really tickled! Fritz plugged his friend's nose, opened his mouth, and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"What?!" Jeremy finally burst into laughter. "No mouth-to-mouth?! Does my breath stink or something?"
"Kissing is gross!" Fritz stuck his tongue out and shook his head. The older boys laughed.
A/N: I want to start doing a couple different webcomics, both for fandoms and from original ideas. I have a lot of them written out or planned, but I'm not exactly happy with my artistic abilities or the programs I have right now. If anyone would be willing to help me out, I'd really appreciate it!
Also, I've found that fanart is a great motivator to write! If someone would like to do a piece for one of my FNAF stories, it would probably help a lot... ^u'
QUESTION OF THE UPDATE: Do you have any memories with fields? When I was... younger, my dad started teaching me how to drive. He took me out to this field near my house, taught me the basic controls of the car, and let me toodle around for a bit. I was too anxious to actually do anything, but I still remember that all the time.