A faint creaking of the floorboard could be heard from the darkened and otherwise silent hallways. The boy grabbed his flashlight and ran to the right door. Shaking, he turned his flashlight on. Nothing. He sprinted to the closet and flashed it. Nothing.

He was about to breathe deeply in relief when a pungent aroma filled the room; a mixture of mildew and rotting flesh. He wrinkled his nose in disgust and slowly turned.

The fox glared at him from underneath the bed. The fabric was red but fleshy. Its hook was outstretched as if it were waiting for its chance to slit the boy's throat. Its teeth were jagged and this monster looked as though it was starving. The boy thought he saw drool escape its gaping maw. Were those blood stains on its teeth? The boy shivered and attempted to shine his flashlight at it, but before he could turn it on, the monster lunged at him.

The boy sat up in his bed drenched in sweat and tears flowing from his eyes. He looked over at his clock; 6:00 A.M. He wiped his tears and rubbed his eyes as he stood and walked to his closet. Hesitantly, he opened the door.

"Gotcha!"

The boy screamed and fell back. Hyperventilating, he looked up to see his older brother, Michael.

"Mike!" he yelled in anger as he caught his breath and attempted to hold back his tears.

Michael Afton, a sixteen-year-old teenager, had just begun scaring his younger seven-year-old brother with a mask based on one of his father's characters, Foxy the Pirate Fox, of whom his brother was scared the most.

Laughing, Michael removed the mask and held it in his hand. He opened his brown eyes and cleared his long brown hair from his eyes with his free hand.

"Evan, when are you gonna stop being such a coward?" Michael mocked. "Foxy isn't real, crybaby."

Standing up, Evan protested. "I-I am not a crybaby!"

Michael looked down at him and crossed his arms. "Whatever you say…crybaby."

Unable to hold back his tears much longer, Evan sobbed uncontrollably in anger, fear, and sorrow. Michael scoffed and left the room, leaving Evan alone with his thoughts and his tears.

William sat at the table reading a newspaper with three-year-old Elizabeth in a high chair to the right of him, who was eating a mush of cooled potatoes and eggs. Michael pulled out the chair to the left of his father and sat down with his mask on. Without looking, William reached over and removed it.

"Don't wear that bloody thing at the dinner table, Mike," William said in a monotonous voice. "I regret ever making it for you."

Michael scoffed, and said, "Come now, Father. It's very useful!"

"I didn't make it for you to scare your brother with it."

Michael laughed, and replied, "It's so easy, though!"

William finally put the newspaper down and looked at Michael before he said, "I entrusted you to care for him while I am at work. You know very well your mother works as well and with the new franchise and the financial requirements of the franchise, we can't afford a babysitter. And, why pay for a babysitter when we already have one living with us?" At that last part, William grinned.

"It's not fair, though, Father!" Michael retorted. "Why should I take care of him all the time? I have a life!"

"You are the oldest," William said in a stern voice. "And, you better start acting like it. In just a few years, you will be free to live your own life. Until then, you remain under our roof and you abide by our rules. Until then, we need you to look after your brother. He's too old for daycare and too young to stay at the house by himself."

Without any further protest, Michael smote the table and groaned in frustration.

"By the way, where is your brother?" William asked, turning his attention back to the newspaper.

"His room, last time I saw him."

"He should hurry," Clara said while she was coming out of the kitchen with a plate of food for Michael. "The bus will be here shortly."

"If he misses it, it's his fault," Michael said, stuffing his mouth with food.

Clara lightly smacked his forehead. "Don't talk with your mouth full. You're not a primate."

William chuckled. "That's debatable." To which comment, Michael simply rolled his eyes.

Shortly thereafter came Evan slowly down the dimly lit hallway, toying with the sleeves of his gray-striped shirt in agitation. The poor boy's multicolored eyes were red from tears.

William saw Evan from the corner of his eye. "Finally, he's awake."

Clara rushed over to the empty place at the table with a plate of food. Evan was a bit pickier than his older brother and younger sister; the only breakfast items that he ate were toast and sausage. Nevertheless, Clara was more than happy to make special eating arrangements to satisfy her youngest son.

"Now, hurry up and eat," Clara said. She was rushing around to prepare the boys for school and Elizabeth for daycare. She had already packed their lunches and was now packing their school supplies in their backpacks.

"What time is it, Darling?" William asked, still refraining from looking up from his newspaper.

"You have a watch, Bill."

William looked at his ragged wristwatch, which now read 7:25. Quickly rising from his chair, he said, "I'm going to be late."

"Don't you own Fredbear's?" Michael asked in an angsty tone of voice.

"I promised Henry that I'd be there ten minutes before eight," William said. "It takes about twenty minutes to get there, so…I would probably be just in time. Without traffic, I should have some time to spare."

William walked over to his wife and kissed her, telling her he loved her. He then noticed Elizabeth reaching for him. Chuckling, he walked over to her and hugged her. After bidding his sons goodbye, he started toward the door when he felt as though he were being followed.

"Dad?" William recognized Evan's small voice and turned around to meet him.

"Hello, Evan," William said, smiling. "What do you need?"

"W-When are you coming h-home?" he asked innocently, his brown and emerald eyes shining at his father.

"You know I don't know that," William said, placing a hand on Evan's shoulder. "It varies daily. You know that. Why do you ask?"

"Um… I-I miss you," Evan said, tears once again threatening his eyes.

Nodding, William said, "It's Michael, isn't it?"

Evan nodded, prompting William's response, "Why can't you two get along?"

After a long silence, William spoke again. "You had another nightmare, didn't you?"

Evan nodded and got closer to his father, wanting a hug. Noticing this, William wrapped his arms around him. Evan loved hugs from his father. He always felt rather safe when wrapped in his father's arms.

William knew that his youngest son had difficulty making friends and his older brother was very much not his friend. The only friend he could make came to him first; Henry's daughter, Charlotte. Despite his mixed feelings toward Henry, he did appreciate Charlotte standing up for Evan at school and being his friend when no one else wanted to be.

Nevertheless, Charlotte was not with Evan all the time, and in his time at home, he felt rather lonely. William knew this. Since he began working longer hours at both the diner and the new pizzeria that had opened the previous month, he realized that Evan had been different. Previously, the boy looked forward to seeing his father at the end of a long day at school, but now, he barely got to see him at all. He only had his brother, who often torments him mercilessly. The torment worsened whenever Michael decided to invite his gang of four over. Evan needed something else to look forward to. Someone else to come home to. Someone to talk to and relieve himself of the loneliness and make Michael's torment bearable. He needed another friend.

Christmas of 1982 was coming up in just a few weeks and William knew exactly what he could do to lessen the pain and loneliness for his son. Since he could not physically be near him for long, his essence could be. He would make a doll of Evan's favorite character in the franchise and implant a radio in it. Not only that but with his ever-expanding knowledge of robotics and technology, he could implant miniature cameras into the eyes of the toy. That way, he could watch his son (as it was clear to him that his oldest would not do so) and talk to him. To prevent Evan from recognizing his voice, he could use a voice modification for the radio, but he would refrain from installing one for the time being. With Henry's guidance, he should accomplish this project shortly.

They broke from the hug and William ruffled Evan's hair. "I promise, this Christmas, we will spend some time together. So, smile and dry your eyes. Santa might be watching."

Evan dried his eyes and smiled up at his father, who smiled down at him. William then proceeded out the door and to his purple Monte Carlo.

Shortly after he left, the yellow school bus stopped in front of their house. Quickly, Clara grabbed Evan's bag and lunch and rushed him to the door where he grabbed his jacket from the coat hanger by the entrance and put it on. He proceeded to leave afterward.

Michael drove but refused to take Evan to school. Though his parents knew the reason why was selfish, they did agree that Evan needed to learn how to communicate with people his age. After all, how could he function in the real world without the ability to socialize and communicate with those around him?

Evan put his backpack over his shoulders and held his lunchbox tightly to his chest. He hated the school bus. His breaths grew more panicked as he approached it. He had extreme social anxiety but attempted to work through it. He climbed the steps and awkwardly searched for a seat. His face grew red in embarrassment as he felt as though the other children were staring at him.

All of a sudden, he tripped and fell. The next sound was something that he knew all too well; the children began to laugh at him. He looked up, red from embarrassment and tears beginning to form. He saw a girl with straight black hair and blue eyes smirk at him. She had tripped him.

"Watch out, Evan!" she said in a mocking tone. "Don't wanna hurt yourself again!"

Before he could gather himself, tears began to stream from his eyes. He remained on the floor in shame, even with the bus driver yelling at him to get up and take a seat.

Soon, however, his salvation came in the form of a girl with golden curls and blue eyes.

"Why don't you leave him alone for once, Cassidy?!"

"Oooh…sorry! Didn't mean to pick on your boyfriend!"

At this remark, Evan's face grew redder and he hid his head in his arms.

"I'm not even talking to you!" the girl yelled.

"Susie's got a boyfriend! Susie's got a boyfriend!" Cassidy continued to sing the same chant, the other children joining in.

The bus driver stomped to the scene. "I am not in the mood for this! Either shut up and sit down or get off my bus!" He stomped back to the front and sat down.

As the bus began to move, Susie reached her hand out to Evan, who reluctantly took it and stood up. They sat at the back of the bus together.

"Sorry about that," she said. "Cassidy doesn't know when to stop."

"I-I know," Evan stuttered. "I-I'm used to it."

"I'm Susie, by the way!" She outstretched her hand for a handshake but noticed Evan flinch when she did so. "Oh…sorry."

"I-It's okay," Evan said. "S-Sorry…"

Susie stared into his eyes for a moment, which provoked Evan to shuffle in his seat uncomfortably.

"I like your eyes," she finally said. "I think they're cool!"

Evan was shocked that someone would compliment his eyes. He had just been called "weird" or "a freak" because of them and his parents did not acknowledge them. No one had complimented them before.

"O-Oh…um…t-thanks," he stuttered. A small smile began to form on his face.

Susie spoke to him during the entire drive to school. Evan barely spoke. Though he felt bad that he did not say anything during the conversation, he was just thankful that someone was willing to be his friend.