Author's Note: Hope you're all enjoying the beginning of this arc :) Thanks so much to Ghost and Panda who have been helping us with these chapters.

Chapter 180

Arguments

Timmy almost forgot to disappear as they entered the lobby.

Ruby immediately noticed Hedy wasn't there and frowned. The other mechanics and Afton were sitting around a table with coffee or tea and earning some strange looks from other night owls as they had the small coffee table covered in papers and pencils.

The receptionist looked tired and confused why they seemed to be working so late but he minded his own business.

Where was Hedy?

Ruby strolled over to the group and ignored the obvious relief on Afton's face when he saw that she made it safe and sound. This was hardly the worst area she'd walked through at some ridiculous time of day.

"Where's Hedy?" she asked shortly, not having the energy to bother being polite. Not that she usually bothered anyway. It made her antsy to not find Hedy where she expected to though. So she was already irritated.

Andre opened his mouth, some kind of scolding on the tip of his tongue but Afton beat him to it.

"Mr. Gibson informed me of Ms. Fitzgerald's accident," Afton answered. "I insisted we stop by the hospital. I'm afraid she drew the line at the suggestion we wait for her so I called a taxi."

Ruby narrowed her eyes, briefly debating whether she was mad or relieved that Hedy was getting checked out. She decided she was both and leaned on the back of an empty chair.

"You wouldn't survive in prison, snitch," she told Andre with that grin she knew irritated ninety percent of the human (and bot) population.

Surprisingly, Afton snorted, but it was quiet and frankly might have just been a cough, it was hard to tell since he had his tea cup up to his lips at the moment.

Alex looked amused but bit her lip. She would have taken Hedy to the local hospital herself rather than bring it up with their boss. Still, the petty part of her was grateful Andre decided to make himself look more like an ass.

Ruby raised an eyebrow and smirked at the supremely offended expression Andre was sporting.

"She electrocuted herself!" he said in annoyance. "That couldn't be ignored."
"I suppose just talking to her and suggesting she go get checked didn't occur to you?" Ruby asked sweetly. "Instead of going to her boss and potentially making her look bad. Engineering is a cutthroat business, isn't it?"

She flicked a conspiratorial glance at Alex as she spoke and the woman was surprised and pleased to note that it wasn't hostile. That was already much better than what she was expecting. The teen at the very least seemed more annoyed with Andre than her. Or maybe the party incident was finally forgiven? Or temporarily forgotten.

Afton hummed distractedly. "Trying to make some sort of 'back in my day' comment, but I'm afraid I've been out of the proper industry far too long to confirm or deny." He shifted some of the blueprints they had been looking at toward the teen. "We've been trying to make sense of these. You were probably paying more attention while we left the customer exit."

Ruby moved around the chair to drop into it and slump back. Andre looked both irritated and confused over why the young assistant was being drawn into the discussion.

"They might have called it a customer entrance, but they're fucking lying," she said bluntly. "I doubt anyone ever visited that place as a customer. It's a zoo. The bots are locked up and we've even got viewing widows into a replica of their 'natural habitat'. Place is far too sterile and clean to have had any kids around."

Afton's lips were pressed together tightly. "Language, please. And perhaps." It was clear he agreed but some part of him didn't seem to want to.

Alex voiced the elephant in the room. "Was it…maybe redesigned as an interactive thing?"

Afton looked at her questioningly. "How do you mean?"

"Like…an immersive attraction. Like an escape room game or a fun house," she said. At his blank look she tried to explain. "Like how the company did with Fazbear's Fright?"

"...Fazbear's what?" Afton blinked.

Ruby felt Timmy's little shock of panic as he gripped her arm.

Alex missed the look Ruby shot her. It wasn't her fault though. She didn't know…

"Well…it closed like ten years ago or so, I think. But I remember being a kid and hearing about a horror attraction. I don't think it ever opened though. But the new place brought it back again." She glanced at Ruby to confirm.

Ruby didn't react and watched Afton's reaction carefully, partly because she didn't want to encourage Afton to assume she knew anything about the pizzeria.

The man frowned. "Why on earth would they make a horror attraction?" Oddly, he looked far less confused and more angry for once.

"Er…" Alex looked a little embarrassed. She assumed the man knew about the urban legends that had basically become synonymous with his company. One of them. "There's an urban legend about the…franchise. Um…That the animatronics come to life at night and stuff people in the animatronics suits."

Ruby raised her eyebrows when there wasn't an immediate look of horror on the man's face.

Afton suddenly laughed after a moment to process. It was strained, but a real laugh nonetheless. "Sorry. That's..heh…I can't believe that story has stuck around all these years." He looked nostalgic and amused. "That was a story we told people to discourage anyone from breaking into the restaurants at night and disturbing the animatronics. Although, admittedly it backfired. It just encouraged more thrill seekers. Sc–Security always had good humor about it though. The board we set up and the manager was never happy with the joke. Claimed it was bad publicity to encourage the fib." He frowned. "I'm surprised they would make an attraction."

Ruby bit her tongue to stop from commenting on that. While it hadn't been the rumours that brought her back to Freddy's, she couldn't claim she never enjoyed them. She'd always enjoyed a good morbid story.

She mentally shook herself as the topic changed back to the blueprints and Ruby settled back to listen and toss out comments whenever she thought of something or wanted to irritate Andre. She did wish that Hedy was here though. When Ruby looked at maps, she focused on how she could use them, how they could be used against her. She wasn't good at figuring out the hows and whys and where a secret room might be hiding. That was Hedy's area since she was much more detail-oriented than she was.

It was getting closer to 6 am when Timmy nudged Ruby as the front doors of the lobby opened and Hedy rolled in, looking a little sour but ultimately okay. She had a little hospital bracelet on her wrist.

Hedy nodded a soft greeting at her (and Timmy).

"Good morning, Ms. Fitzgerald," Afton greeted pleasantly. "I take it everything is alright?"

Hedy nodded stiffly. But she kept her annoyance out of her voice. One of her hands was bandaged along with a few of her fingers. "They hooked me up to some tests and monitored me. Tried to make me take a nap with all the wires on. I'm fine." She didn't mention how they wanted to keep her for the rest of the day just in case.

Afton hummed. "Very good. Pleased to hear it. I trust you'll let Ms. Ruby or one of us know if you start to have any complications? Difficulty breathing, numbness, and such?"

"Yeah," Hedy said. She was in a bad mood. She was tired and annoyed by all the poking and prodding she just went through. She knew she was fine. "What did I miss?" she glanced at Ruby.

Alex gestured at the map to a room before Andre could say anything in a bid to act like he was in charge (even with Afton right there). "It's not labeled but we think this is the control room. Here, on the other side of Ballora's room. A lot of the electrical work runs through this room. If anything about that place makes sense, the servers for the computers should also be there."

Ruby leaned back, having finished her study of the map a while ago. The only reason she was still there was to wait for Hedy. That and because Timmy wanted to be near his father as much as possible but didn't want to do so alone. He was staying with either Ruby or Hedy. "Can I bring a sledgehammer for the servers?" she asked lightly.

It actually took the others a moment to register what she asked since it was said in such a calm and sweet tone. Hedy, on the other hand, picked up the subtle note in her voice that gave away how much she actually wanted to follow through.

"No," Hedy didn't even look up to see Ruby's pout as she looked over the blueprints herself, focusing on the sticky notes and scribbled labels they had added.

They talked for a little while, but there wasn't much planning besides "someone with a computer background needs to get to that room and disable the Hand-Unit." It was hard to "plan" when none of them really knew what was entirely in store in that weirdly designed place.

Afton suggested they all try to get as much sleep as possible and that everyone was free to do whatever they wished for the day before they had to head back later at night.

After the girls had managed to calm Timmy down from another freak-out, they called the others but prefaced that they were too exhausted to give a report on what happened or their meeting with Afton at the moment, even if they had only been "working" for a couple of hours. Hedy was just grateful Ruby was too tired to bring up the near electrocution with Mike.

She was fine. The hospital checked her heart for any electrical issues and treated her burns.

"Sorry everyone," Hedy said, fighting a yawn. "We'll tell you everything next time we call. I haven't really slept since the drive. Took a few naps..."
"What a stupid decision," Puppet said. "You went into a dangerous unknown situation tired?"
Hedy huffed, her tired mind noting that Puppet was out of his and Jeremy's "Time Out." "We were fine earlier," she said, glancing at Ruby who was struggling to keep her eyes open. "It just all hit when we got back to the hotel."

"We'll let you go," Mike said, apparently grabbing his phone back from Puppet. "Enjoy sleeping at night for the first time in months."

Hedy grumbled at his cheekiness.

"Hedy?"

Hedy froze, her tired mind alert for just a moment at her brother's voice.

Ruby mumbled into her pillow. It might have been a curse, Hedy couldn't tell.

"Jeremy. I'm sorry. I know you're mad and I know I said I would talk to you in the morning. But I really am too exhausted to handle you yelling at me right now..."

Jeremy didn't respond for a moment and Hedy was starting to drift to sleep.

"Both of you get some sleep," Jeremy said, his voice quiet. "Stay safe…keep each other safe…please."

Hedy paused. "I love you too, Jeremy. Ruby does too although she's going to chew her own foot off before she says it."

Ruby grumbled something incoherent again and gave Hedy the middle finger. The fact that that was the extent of her reaction pretty much proved Hedy's point. Ruby had grown pretty fond of Jeremy. Although she was still warming up to Amelia.

Hedy hung up after the chorus of goodbyes and flopped down on the bed.

They were both used to running on little sleep but it was still nice to have nothing much to do other than sleep for once. No school. No younger kids to take care of. Just a rare moment of peace.

It was about three in the afternoon when there was knocking at the door.

Ruby grumbled something about 'talk to Alice' and just shoved her face further into the pillow. Probably didn't even realise she was in a hotel at the moment.

Hedy groaned, the only one of them who had bothered to change into her sleep clothes. She was comfortable. Whoever it was could come back later.

There was a minute before another knock.

Hedy heard Timmy shift off Ruby's bed.

He wasn't able to sleep, but he decided to just lay on their beds and stare at the ceiling listening to Hedy and Ruby breathe. He knew it was probably a bit weird, maybe creepy, but they didn't mind and it was very calming for him to listen to them while pretending to sleep.

"It's your friend," he said after poking his head through the door.

Hedy didn't respond and Ruby mumbled something.

Timmy climbed up on Hedy's bed and sat next to her. He poked her shoulder. "She's still standing there. I think she really wants to talk to you."

Hedy sighed into her pillow, her voice muffled. "She's going to ask about the pizzeria and if this has anything do with it. She's not an idiot." She lifted her head. "Why on earth did your father have to hire someone I know?"

Timmy frowned sadly, hearing how upset Hedy was about her friend there.

"Shhhh," Ruby hissed. "Sleeping."

"I don't think she's going away. She looked pretty determined." Timmy ignored Ruby's complaint.

"I can make her go away," Ruby muttered darkly, voice muffled by the pillow.

"You will not be traumatizing anyone until tonight, thank you very much," Hedy said. She motioned for Timmy to turn around as she switched to her jeans and quickly put a bra on under her sleep shirt.

"So I've got permission to do it tonight?" Ruby's voice was still mostly muffled by the pillow. "Andre deserves some traumatising."

"Within my reason, not yours," Hedy replied easily.

There was another round of knocking at the door, this time noticeably insistent.

"Hedy, I know you're awake!" Alex whispered loudly through the closed door.

Hedy yanked it open a bit and Alex immediately recoiled at the chill air that wafted from the dark room.

"Yes, I'm awake because you woke me up."

"How can you sleep like that? It's freezing in there."

"This room is currently haunted by three ghosts. Two possessing their living bodies and a regular one. Either we can't tell when it's cold, or we're just used to it."

"You're hilarious," Alex said dryly.

Ruby muffled her laugh in her pillow before turning enough to throw a glare at the door. She could still be sleeping...

With a groan she forced herself upright so she could glare at the door properly.

"Can we talk?" Alex asked.

"Here? Ruby's still trying to sleep."

Alex rolled her eyes. "Do you want to go get lunch or something?"

"Ugh," Ruby groaned and climbed out of bed. "Why are you here so early?"

"It's three in the afternoon!" Alex said. She wanted to speak to Hedy alone. "You can go back to bed," she said, "I just want to catch up with Hedy."

Ruby shot her a glare. "You couldn't have waited until closer to work?"

Hedy interrupted them both before it turned into a full-blown argument.

"Ruby, you're the one who's going to be running around tonight. Go back to bed. I'll be back in about an hour and bring you some dinner while I'm at it. Don't terrorize the hotel kitchen if you get hungry."

Ruby muttered something under her breath, probably something rude, before flopping back on the bed. In seconds she was out again.

Hedy rolled her eyes and closed the door behind her as she maneuvered her chair out into the hallway.

She could tell that Timmy followed them, just staying out of sight. He was standing just to her left and she knew he was worried.

Alex couldn't even wait until they were out of the hotel.

"Why's Ruby here? She's a girl of many talents but I didn't think engineer was one of them," she said in the elevator.

Hedy glanced at Alex. "She's helping me out."

"And she got time off at the pizzeria? Both of you?" Alex frowned. "Who's doing the nightshift then?"

"Mike."

"Ooh, leaving your boyfriend in charge?"

"Yep."

"He's not like... gonna die right?"

"No. Those rumors we heard don't happen."

Anymore.

Alex sighed at Hedy's short answers.

"How did you get this job?"

"How did you?"

"Hedy! Work with me here," Alex said exasperated. "You gotta admit this looks suspicious. Animatronics? Specifically children entertainment animatronics? And then you show up with all your living robots back home, not to mention the kid."

Timmy automatically flinched. If Ruby heard that she would not take it well. She already disliked Alex.

He curled his fingers into Hedy's sleeve, keeping pace with them.

Hedy huffed as they left the lobby and wandered down the street towards a small cafe they had each driven by when first arriving at the hotel

"Afton called me and offered the job," Hedy said shrugging. "He mentioned there was physical activity and crawling involved so I asked Ruby to come as help."

"Hedy..." Alex sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "That's not what I'm freaking out about. Are these robots alive too? Are these really the same kind of animatronics like at Freddy's?"

"Yes..." Timmy whispered too softly for Alex to hear.

From everything the bots had said it was a yes.

But would it be a good thing to tell Alex that?

How did Hedy word this so Alex wouldn't think to reveal anything to Afton?

"Yes, they're alive. They should be. Afton made all of them," she said as if that was the identifying feature that defined whether they were alive.

Alex stopped walking and Hedy and Timmy moved several steps ahead of her.

"What?! How is that possible? That's..."

Hedy shook her head as Alex jogged to catch up. "I don't know, Al-."

"That's fucking incredible! Life, Hedy!" Alex jumped in front of her, a disbelieving grin on her face. "How are you not excited about this! How are you not excited that the bots you work with are alive! I mean, I can get you getting used to them, but we have the guy who somehow figured it out as our boss. How are you not pelting him with questions right now?!"

"Because no one's heard from him in fifteen years, Alex. He just hired me. We need to figure out what's wrong with these bots, then maybe I can ask him about that."

"So he hired you because you already work for him?" Alex assumed.

Hedy didn't say yes or no. It was best to let Alex believe that for now. It would keep her from asking Afton about her. "I'm not going to ask about the bots I know yet. After the job. I'll get distracted."

Alex hesitantly nodded. Maybe she should follow Hedy's lead and do the same and wait. Hedy was always the more calm one between them.

Timmy just stayed quiet. He hadn't been pushing for them to talk to his dad because he didn't really know what to think yet. He missed him, so much. But at the same time...he left.

Would everything have still gone downhill if William never left?

"R-right. One thing at a time. Good idea," Alex agreed. She laughed giddily and Hedy rolled her eyes. "This is amazing!" She was so giddy that she didn't think to ask about the fifteen years Hedy mentioned. "I'm actually doing this job?" She stopped. She stared at Hedy as the happiness was abruptly wiped with confusion. "Oh my god...why didn't I freak out over this with the ones at the pizzeria. Like, I've known about them...a bunch of people have known about them. Being…alive…or something ..."

Hedy just shrugged. She wasn't about to explain how the building got into people's minds and changed what they perceived as normal. She didn't really want Alex that deep into it. If her friend was going to explode with questions the second this was all over, she might not have a choice. But for now, it was a status quo she'd rather keep. At least while she tried to figure out how to get Alex to quit.

Just hopefully, when she did explode with questions, it wasn't around Ruby. The teen might take the innocent excitement as dangerous to the bots and with her present hostility to Alex...yeah, that wouldn't be fun.

Maybe those were just excuses. Maybe Hedy was just resistant to her two lives mixing like this.

They quickly found a place for lunch and Hedy was incredibly thankful when Alex gradually quit talking about work and they talked about actually normal human things. Alex's new girlfriend for example. Alex even tried to pry about Mike a bit and Timmy couldn't help smiling at how Hedy talked about him. It was really sweet. They talked (complained) about school and upcoming exams.

Alex tried to bring up Ruby a few times but Hedy was sparse with her answers and turned the conversation away pretty well. The conversation did bounce back to work and their job a few times but the questions were not too concerning.

It was...strange...watching how normal real life could be. Timmy couldn't help being a little hurt at how tense Hedy was. She was clearly enjoying the company with her friend, but there was a sense of distrust that hung around her, not letting her relax all the way. She wasn't acting any differently, except maybe a bit more "human" with Alex if that made sense, but having a "normal" person to compare side by side made him realize just how wrong their lives were. He used "lives" loosely. Existence. He still wasn't sure what to call whatever he was going through. Whatever it was, Hedy was a fish out of water even if she was much better at pretending with humans than Ruby was. It was kind of disheartening that Hedy even had to "pretend" but at the same time uplifting that Hedy at least knew how to step away from the pizzeria, even if just barely.

Would he have done this with friends if he got a chance to grow up? He wasn't sure how old he was, just that he was definitely older than Hedy. Ten years older? He..he was the same age as Jeremy wasn't he? He really wasn't sure. He remembered…Jeremy was a couple of years older wasn't he? How old was Timmy when he died? How long after was Hedy born? Would he have gone out for coffee with friends? Would he have met a girl and had a family by now? Would his father be a grandfather? His dad looked old enough…

He felt Hedy grasp his icy hand under the table as the questions pelted him, only then noticing how the glassware on the table was frosted a bit. That shouldn't have happened. He had much more control than that. He was slipping. It wasn't fair. He was better than this... He shouldn't think about those things. Those what-ifs. They hurt too much. It was the same kind of slippery slope that could lead to him going off the rails like the other kids. He just had to focus on now. It was so hard though...

Timmy felt tears drip down his cheeks and abruptly disappeared, latching onto Ruby's presence to appear next to the teen back at the hotel. She was still sleeping.

The whole thing made him realise how Ruby didn't even try with 'normal' people. Not like Hedy. She barely even had a life outside of the pizzeria. She had little to no interest in school and cared about the kids at the orphanage out of a sense of duty more than true attachment. Sure, she loved them. But that wasn't enough to make her want to stay.

Timmy gingerly pinched the corner of her sleeve, careful not to wake her up. He felt the weight of air on his skin and shuddered at the sensations. He climbed up into bed and wiggled under the bedspread, desperately holding onto Ruby to stay solid. He hesitated before lifting her arm and curling against Ruby's side, letting out a useless shuddered breath. He felt bad, knowing he probably woke her up for a moment doing that.

But Ruby just let him snuggle, despite how cold he was, and pretended to stay asleep.

He had tried being an adult stuck in a child's body, intellectually aware the years were creeping by as he stayed the same. On rare days he felt like it. Like an adult. But those were bad days. Most days he just felt like…himself. Like he always had been. He felt like a kid. He thought like a kid. He just knew more than a kid. Sometimes. He often had to ask Puppet or Goldy for help reading more complicated things. He never even got to fourth grade after all.

But he wasn't a kid. Not really. Not anymore. He was a ghost. He was dead.

Timmy swallowed and sniffled into Ruby's shirt. For the moment at least, he could close his eyes and pretend he existed. He could pretend he was home. He could pretend he was real. Alive. He could pretend it was his mom or Michael he was snuggling with as they read him a story. And if they didn't, then his father would come in and tell him about the work he did. Timmy always thought the bots were interesting.

… it wasn't fair…

Hedy stiffened at the empty air as his hand disappeared from hers.

"You okay?" Alex abruptly asked as Hedy's expression twisted to one of pain for the briefest second.

Hedy's smile slipped back into place and she didn't even notice how it was a lot like Ruby's mask. "Yeah, I just forgot my pain meds today. My back's been acting up."

"Oh, shit. You're not going to need another surgery are you?" Alex frowned in concern.

Hedy waved her off and picked up her coffee. "Pft. It's just the cold. The temperature makes the muscles tense up."

"Well, maybe you wouldn't have to deal with that if you didn't turn your room into a freezer," Alex pointed out. "I could have sworn I saw snow."

Hedy smirked as she raised her coffee to her lips. "Probably."

Alex noticed when she frowned behind the cup. "What's up? You're thinking so hard I think I see steam."
"Hilarious," Hedy sighed. She hesitated, the pensive silence almost a second too long. "You should leave…"

Alex blinked. "What?"

"Leave. Quit. Please?"

Alex looked hurt. "Excuse me?"

Hedy scrambled for a response, but all she could say at the moment was, "Alex, quit. Please. Back out of the contract. I'll pay you the difference." Yes that would be essentially giving her friend her entire paycheck but she wasn't there for the money anyway.

Alex looked at her like she was a stranger. "Hedy, this is my dream. You know I didn't ever get an internship last year, or the year before that. I need some experience before we graduate. I can be book smart as much as I want but having the actual hands-on experience is priceless. I don't already have a job like you do."

Hedy could imagine what sort of assumptions Alex was making. They were competitive sometimes, but never to the point of back-stabbing one another. Some part of her twisted guiltily knowing she could get her friend out of this situation very easily. She already knew at least five ways she could get Alex fired by Afton or sent home (or get her to choose to rush home in a panic to see her mother). She thought of all the terrible, dishonest options the moment her friend appeared in the hotel lobby and spotted her with the most excited expression. But Hedy was not sure she could bring herself to hurt Alex like that. So… she had to ask. She had to try. And now? She couldn't go through those other plans without Alex knowing she was behind whatever happened. Hedy was not prepared to sabotage one of the few real friendships she had.

"I know…I know. But … Please Alex. These animatronics…" she trailed off. She couldn't explain that her bots had actually killed people before and thus that was a genuine possibility in this situation. Alex wouldn't understand why Hedy defended literal murderers. She would think Hedy was delusional once she realized those rumors were real. She wouldn't understand the bots' experiences. Of course she and Ruby weren't sure of the risk, but she'd be stupid not to ignore her instincts. The bots were being electrocuted and they couldn't have a good opinion about the technicians. Given the route Puppet's logic went when he snapped…it wasn't impossible.

"It could be dangerous."

Later, when she was looking back, she should have been more definite. She should have said it was dangerous.

"I'm not a little girl, Hedy." Alex was starting to sound annoyed, and rightfully so. Hedy understood why she'd be confused.

Why she'd be angry.

"I know I fuck about sometimes but I do actually pay attention. And I go to all our lectures, unlike some people. All the ones on health and safety, everything to do with voltage and moving parts and even all the super boring ethics and law stuff. How many times have I had to give you my notes because you've been too busy sleeping after work to come in to class? Made up excuses on the spot to the professors when they ask where you are because I know you wouldn't want me to tell them you're sleeping? And I've never once complained, Hedy. You know I don't begrudge you it. But this is too much. If you have a reason for asking me to quit then you need to tell me what it is, because right now you're sounding really fucking selfish."

Hedy recoiled a bit at the venom slipping into Alex's voice. But she couldn't hold it against her. She couldn't even be offended. She just felt…she wasn't sure what she felt. She didn't know how to handle her lives smashing together like this. She felt lost, at least. "I need you to trust me…" she tried softly. She cringed. That sounded so hollow. Insincere.

Alex raised her eyebrows and stared, waiting for something else. Something she didn't know how to put into words.

"The bots…" Hedy tried, mind racing. "They don't…think like humans, but they can hurt. They can't be stable, mentally. Down there. I know how to work with them. Ruby knows. Afton of course because he made them. But he hasn't interacted with them in…years. And you and Andre just…" She didn't want to say Alex didn't know what she was doing, or what she was getting into, because Hedy barely knew the latter either. It was true though.

"Just what?" Alex asked, looking both upset and angry at the same time. "Just aren't part of your special little robot family? Just aren't good enough to help?"

"No–"

"I can learn, Hedy," Alex interrupted. "And I will, because I'm not leaving when there's something extraordinary happening and I can help someone. Is this some kind of savior complex? Like you want to be the only one who knows how to help them? Are you really so arrogant you won't let others help?"

"Fucking listen to me," Hedy snapped. "I can't tell you everything, okay? But that's not it."

"Why not?" Alex said, the sarcasm leaking out between her frustrations. "You do this all the time."

That gave Hedy pause. "What?"

"You always want to do everything yourself. You are a nightmare to do group projects with. Did you know that? Not because you don't pull your weight. The opposite really. You want to do everything. You don't know when to ask for help or everyone else isn't good enough. The laziest people in class always want to work with you because they know you'll do everything. Because you're a fucking genius Hedy. School is like a goddamn hobby for you."

Hedy frowned. "That's not - you say that like you don't get amazing grades yourself!"

"Yeah, because I work my fucking ass off for them. I come home from classes and I study until my eyes hurt. I go over the same material again and again because if I didn't I would be at the bottom of the class. Yes, I go out and I party every once in a while, that's a normal fucking thing to do. I can't just not study and do well. I'm not like you, Hedy. Sometimes I wonder if that's a good thing."

Hedy looked like she had been struck. "You think this is easy for me? You think I don't work hard for where I am?! I fucking wish I could go out and relax like a normal person but that's just not in the cards for me, Alex!" There was something cruel in her eyes. "I never even wanted to be an engineer! But it never fucking mattered what I wanted because I'm good at it and my choices got very limited very fast. I barely have time to sleep much less breathe any given day. I love…my…my family but my life is still hell!" For a moment, Hedy nearly spat out all the reasons at her friend. Every day being around the ghost kids just hurt so much. Every reminder that Michael was in the same building made her anxiety constant regardless if she knew she was safe. The pain of an entire life forgotten hung over her and all the others. There were many vicious things she thought out of a brief overwhelming resentment that she was so fundamentally scarred compared to the friend that sat there with different priorities.

"Do not sit there and think I'm just lucky, because at least you haven't lived your entire life dragged over glass by death and greed and people who didn't give a fuck about breaking a little girl."

She finally looked at Alex's eyes.

They both paused. They could see the regret in each other but neither was willing to back down or admit they were wrong for the hurtful words.

Alex gestured defeatedly, suddenly aware again that they were in public. "Please communicate with me. You can't just ask me to quit my dream job and not explain why. And if you can't explain, then I think I'm going to go back to the hotel and get some more sleep before tonight." Her voice was low but it still wavered in hurt and frustration.

Hedy didn't say anything. She shut down, leaning back in her chair and staring at her coffee. She heard Alex get up and the shuffle of money being left on the table, but didn't look up.

She swallowed a lump in her throat when was alone, save for a few other coffee shop customers.

Alex was right for demanding answers. What Hedy asked was unreasonable, she knew.
Maybe a year ago Alex would have recognized how serious Hedy was and might have done as she asked. But now?

Hedy never had the time to spend with friends, outside of Ruby, Mike, and some of the day shift. She slept through the afternoons if she had class in the mornings, and through the mornings if she had classes in the afternoon. Missed get-togethers. Too many requests for favors. Excuses. Her peers didn't know why she was still working at Freddy's if it was causing so many scheduling conflicts. It certainly couldn't be the pay.

No one bothered to ask her for help with anything anymore. It wasn't malicious, but she was aware they had stopped inviting her to things too, knowing she would probably turn them down anyway.

She'd missed Rena's birthday. She hadn't missed that in five years, even if she didn't usually care for birthdays. Rena didn't even say anything.

This was the cost of working the night shift, she realized. Her "real life" didn't trust her anymore.