Boo!
did I scare you?
Halloween chapter! Two days late, but it's SEVEN THOUSAND WORDS WHAT-
so I think that makes up for it. i think I need to sleep more lmaoaoaoaoaoaooaoaoaoaoaoaoaoa *brain explodes*
forgot to mention, but Ruby's twin siblings are deleted. They've joined Sammy and Balloon Boy The First. Someday, I'll make a fanfiction with the deleted characters, as well as some that didn't make it into the book.
Fun fact: for sister location I was originally going to write a whole other book with a lead character called Cosmo Singh. Yeah, I gave up once I realized I loved Ruby too much to get rid of her.
Reviews!
MoonTheMagical: MMmm, tofu. As a lifetime pescitarian, I've eaten a lot of tofu. Have you tried those tofu yogurt things? If you haven't, you should totally have one. The maple ones and the peach ones are my favourite.
SomeRandomRobo: Lol, allergies suck. My dad always gets them, and I have a few friends that get them too. I've heard they suck, can't relate luckily.
Qxr: my account totally hasn't been hacked, I'm totally not being forced to type this. Don't worry, I'm not being hacked, and the answers are A and B. And no way, they definitely won't die.
1woahhairspike1: For a second I thought you did a keyboard smash, then I realized it was the challenge lmao.
Warning: alcohol, underaged drinking.
Onto the chapter!
Chapter 63
Purple Lights and Spooky Nights
Ruby looked down at herself in the mirror, straightening her bright cerise bow tie. She applied a thin layer of cherry lipstick, fluffed out her dark red hair, and adjusted her comically large brown steampunk-like top hat, smirking at her reflection. Twin hearts were painted on her cheeks.
She spun around in a dramatic fashion, grabbing her wooden cane with a raven carved into the top. Ironic how the raven was carved out of Jared's old writing desk...
Ruby strutted down the stairs, twirling her cane. A bowl of chocolates was laid out by the door, their wrappers shining brightly in the reflection of the warm yellow lighting of their lamp.
"Hey, Rubes! Jared and I are taking Rylie out trick-or-treating, and you're good to head to the twin's place? Do you have a ride?" Her mother asked, coming into the room. Rylie skipped behind her, wearing an all-black cat onesie, the hood pulled up to reveal adorable pink cat ears. Jared followed, wearing a large, round soccer ball costume. The lower parts of his arms flopped uselessly to the bottom.
Ruby nodded.
"Yep! Tulisa and Josh should be here any second. They picked up Ducky and Myah too, I think."
Her mother smiled. "Good. I like Myah. She seems lovely."
Yeah, she is. Ruby thought, but kept it to herself in case of teasing, which her mother was quite good at.
They paused there for a few seconds before Jared began heading towards the door.
"Welp, let's get going then!"
Rylie followed happily, meowing to herself in a joyful tone. Her mother walked after them, closing the door, and suddenly the house was silent. Well, silent except for the slight skritch skritch of a kitten on their catnip scratching post. Jared had bought each of them one a few days ago, and the two of them were absolutely in love.
Ruby sat down on the beach, kicking her feet up boredly. Until, of course, the inevitable honking rang from outside.
Ruby scrambled to her feet, snatching her cane. With a quick glance in the mirror and a swift fluff of the hair, Ruby had opened the door, turning and locking it with her bronze key.
And there they were! Ducky and Josh were crouching on the driveway, peering at something in the lawn, while Tulisa and Myah chatted about something, occasionally straightening the hems of their floofy skirts.
And wow. Everyone clearly gave their all in those costumes. Josh looked fierce in his Jabberwocky costume, his dark red horns sharp and glowing with taped-on glow sticks. The sleeves and bottoms of his tan pants and black shirt were torn off, and a fake scar stretched across his left eye.
Ducky wore an awesome lavender-and-magenta striped hoodie paired with matching pajama pants, a thick black chained choker like a collar around his neck and two violet cat ears placed in his fluffy dark hair. A soft tail hung limply behind him. His electric-yellow contact lenses were a shocking contrast to the shadows of the nighttime.
From a couple feet behind him, Tulisa looked adorable in her powder-blue blouse, skirt, and matching white frock. A huge black bow was tied in her gray-brown hair, the white streak like lightning on her bangs.
And Myah, as always, looked absolutely sensational in a sparkly red corset and matching ruffled lace skirt with tiny snow-white hearts printed on the skirt fabric. A golden crown shimmered on top of her raven hair, which was worn long and fluffy. Twin pink hearts were painted on a canvas of alabaster skin on her cheeks.
As Ruby walked down their staircase, Myah gasped audibly and ran over to Ruby, screeching to a halt and gazing at her costume in wonder.
"Oh my goodness, Ruby, this looks- fantastic! I love it so much! Where did you get that suit?" Myah asked in amazement, taking in each intricate detail, every tiny stitch.
"Amazook," Ruby admitted sheepishly. "But Mangle made the hat! Isn't it... radical?"
"Stop saying 'radical', Ruby, you sound like some old math teacher who's trying to be hip with the kids." Josh chided.
Ruby smirked. "You kids, with your bell-bottom jeans and your new-fangled boom boxes and Bookfaces. Y'all have to give me the 4-1-1 on all this radical and sick technology someday, especially you, Josh, my broski."
Josh slapped his hands over his ears. "LALALALALALA, CAN'T HEAR A WORD YOU'RE SAYING!"
Ruby grinned and proceeded to dab.
"Nooooo...my poor innocent eyes." Josh sobbed, crumpling to the harsh concrete driveway and spreading out his limbs like a human starfish. Tulisa leaned down and patted his shoulder comfortingly, with Myah watching with a concerned look on her face. Ruby and Ducky just laughed.
"I'm totally calling a restaurant that someday. 'Ruby Roxanne's Radical Restaurant.'" Ruby spread her hands apart, her fingers in an L shape like a camera lense.
Josh groaned in agony from that wretched word again and rolled over, flopping around like a beached whale. Graceful. Tulisa sighed, grabbing his arms tightly and managing to heave him back onto his feet. Josh frowned, looking like he wanted to go back into the driveway, but Tulisa's firm gaze was enough to keep his feet planted on the ground.
"Shall we go trick-or-treating, comrades?" Ducky asked in a fancy tone of voice, sweeping one furry arm out as if to show off Ruby's neighborhood.
Myah curtsied, as if speaking to a royal, a playful smile on her cherry-red lips. "We shall."
~lll~
"Mmm, these Dobito's are delicious!" Ruby said dreamily, stuffing her orange-dusted fingers into the bright carmine plastic bag for more of the crunchy, triangle-shaped cheesiness.
Tulisa unwrapped a mini package of Risa's Piece-a's and shook the contents into her mouth. "You really shouldn't be eating those Dobitos. You do know that those are poisonous, right?" She warned them.
"That's poison?!" Josh asked in shock, speeding up his pace to catch up with Ruby. "Gimme!" He snatched the bag from Ruby's hands, stuffing his fingers inside.
Ruby gasped in shock.
"Get your crusty musty dusty fingers out of my bag!" She yelled, grabbing the bag and attempting to pull it away from him. Josh held it tightly, and the two of them wrestled for it.
Tulisa rolled her eyes.
"It's like I'm babysitting, only I don't get paid." She told Myah and Ducky, who both laughed.
They walked around for a bit, admiring the scenery. As the cornflower blue dusk faded to the pitch blackness of night, amber jack-o'-lantern's lit up the streets, their candles being snuffed out one by one as the children started to dwindle and midnight grew closer upon them. Brown autumn leaves scattered the roads and yards, bright apple-red ones decorating the branches of the thick umber maple trees above them.
Across the street, three girls headed home. One had light brown hair with blonde streaks and was practicing her cartwheels. Another one, this one tall with red hair, was showing off her epic Genshin Impact builds. And a girl with sandy blonde hair and blue tips painted a portrait of the fire-haired one.
Ruby smiled. She loved Halloween, seeing everyone's cool costumes, dressing up and scaring people, and blackmailing people. Candy, or else your house gets egged. Fun!
Suddenly, Myah's phone vibrated, and she picked it up. Ruby and Josh stopped their fighting momentarily simply out of curiosity. Ruby leaned over her shoulder.
"Who's that?" She asked, scrunching up her nose.
Myah smiled, tapping into the notification to read the full text. "Oh, it's just this girl called Abbie who gave me her number a little while back. Apparently there's some party down the street that she wants me to come to?"
Ducky stuck his tongue out in distaste.
"Ewwww. I can't believe she's at a party, when my aunt told her specifically no parties. Gee, it would sure be a shame if somebody told her mother…" He whipped out his phone, an evil grin appearing on his face.
Myah slapped his hand off his phone. "Stop it! C'mon, Abbie seems really nice. And she's allowed to go to some party if she wants too! I mean, how bad could it be?" She wrote a quick text to Abbie telling her that she'd be there, then put her phone back down again.
Everyone else shared a look.
"Bad." Ruby told her. "Listen, My, you probably haven't known her for very long, but she's...I don't know…" Ruby trailed off, thinking. What was it about Abbie that annoyed her so much?
Her passive-aggressive comments? The way she always put Ruby down for her clothes or stupid things like that? Or just...the idea of her? Really, she was just such a stereotypical popular girl! Pink clothes, short skirts, obsessed with makeup, probably really dumb in school, mean to everyone. Well, Ruby was just assuming those last few, but it was probably true.
Myah crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Well, if you don't have any good reasons, then I think we should check this party out. Abbie says it's in the big blue house at the end of this street."
When nobody moved, Myah just shrugged.
"I'm going down there, with or without you guys. Hopefully, I'll be fine by myself. Who knows?" She spun around and began walking down the road.
Let her go. Just trick-or-treat with your friends. Stay in your comfort zone. The rational part of her head whispered. But the other part disagreed. What if she gets hurt? Or worse? Come on, Ruby, you know what you want. Follow her and take it!
"Um, I'm going to follow her. Just so she doesn't get hurt." Ruby informed them, walking slowly away without turning around. Her wide hazel eyes gave away a pleading look for them to come with her, to keep her safe.
Ducky sighed. "Well, I guess I should come too. I'd love to bust her to my aunt. That'd be fun, I think." He started after her too, leaving the twins there.
Josh and Tulisa shared a look. They were clearly uncomfortable,but didn't want to be the only ones standing there. Besides, how bad could it be? They shrugged and followed their friends down the road and to the large blue house.
When Ruby twisted the door handle and swung open the door, harsh purple lighting flooded the calm dark street behind them. She winced as the loud pop music pierced her ears, the booming noises loud and unforgiving. Some guy using way too much Autotune was crooning about 'only youuuu, babe'. Ruby could see people all dressed up in sparkles and glam dancing around tables, couches, and staircases. For a moment, she hesitated. Was she really going to do this?
Then Myah waved to her from the kitchen that was visible from the front door and all of Ruby's doubts and worries washed away. She could do this.
Suddenly, a guy dressed as a pirate stumbled down the stairs and to the door. He noticed her and suddenly grinned, his brown eyes lidded. He tipped his brown floppy pirate hat to them and waved vigorously.
"Welcome to the partyyyyyyy, ladiesh. I hope that y'all have shome fun here." He slurred, laughing loudly at his own words and making his way back up the stairs.
Ruby and the others shared a glance, but chose to ignore it. Ruby took a deep breath and stepped into the door. She walked confidently forward, over spilled puddles of punch and swerving around piles of dropped candy. She was cool. She was calm. She was-
"Hey, watch it!"
Ruby bumped right into a group of slender girls wearing matching cat ears in neon colours. They gave her disgusted stares, looking her up and down. Ruby backed away.
"Sorry!" She apologized, holding her hands up as she backed right into a tall guy playing pool with a small group of people. He spun around, his face narrowed in anger.
"Look where you're going!" He yelled, shoving her away. Ruby stumbled, but caught her balance, glaring at him with fiery hazel eyes.
His friend on the other side rolled his bright green eyes, poking a shiny wooden ball with the long stick. "Stupid bitch."
"What did you just call me?!" Ruby spat, stepping towards him. But their conversation had moved on, turning their backs to her, leaving her standing there awkwardly, half wanting to beat him up and half wanting to disappear.
But then she remembered her destination, and headed back towards the kitchen, ignoring anyone who whispered or stared, weaving through crowds until she finally reached the kitchen.
Huh. It was a really nice kitchen. Fancy slate-gray granite countertops against a stark white fridge and cupboards. A few emerald-green potted plants added a touch of colour to the otherwise gray colour scheme. It was the perfect kitchen.
Well, it would've been the perfect kitchen if not for the spilled juice and chips all over it, shattered glass and candy wrappers littering the countertops. Ruby spotted Josh a few feet away, and walked over to him.
"Ruby! Thank God you're here. This party is insane. Do you know if there's anything to drink around here?" Josh asked, searching the room. His gaze landed on Matt and his two friends Caleb and Ryder, who had a giant royal blue cooler and were passing out bottles and cans to a few people.
Josh sighed. Hopefully they would be somewhat civil and give him a can of soda.
He made his way over to the table calmly, the violet lighting up his face dramatically. Matt, who appeared to be dressed as...himself, was chatting with his friends about something.
"...and me and Mitzi were right there! I know, right? Yeah, she's totally worked up about it. And I told her, it was just a one time thing, and yet she just stor-"
Matt cut himself off after noticing that Josh was there. He waved at him and grinned.
"Hey, Abbott! What can I get ya? Some whiskey? Beer?" He asked, pulling out a white metal can of what was clearly alcohol of some kind. Josh shook his head, a little put off.
"No thanks, I don't drink. Can I just have some Coke?"
Matt's eyes widened and his smile grew larger as he and his friends shared idiotic looks.
"You want some coke? Dude, I didn't know you were that hardcore!" He jeered, slapping hands with some of his buddies and cackling like a witch, giving him looks of disbelief.
Josh slapped his forehead. Of freaking course they would say that. "Never mind." He would just have to die of dehydration. That was fine.
Back in the kitchen, Ruby was not doing well. She'd searched the whole downstairs area and still couldn't find Myah. Which was strange, you'd think that a girl in a red sparkly outfit would be easier to spot, and yet she wasn't. Myah was quite small though, maybe she was just in a crowd.
But, if Myah wasn't downstairs, then that would mean she was...Ruby shivered. Upstairs. Going upstairs during a high school party was never a good idea, Ruby knew that. But if she was going to find Myah, she needed to go up there.
Ruby gathered every last ounce of her confidence, and grabbed hold of the banister, walking up the stairs. The purple LED's lined the hallway upstairs still, but the loud pop music downstairs was quieter, much to her ears's happiness.
Ruby frowned. If she was Myah, where would she go? Ruby assumed she should just open doors randomly and just check each room for her.
She assumed wrong.
"Sorry, sorry!" Ruby shrieked, as a pointy lime green high heel was flung at her head and loud, annoyed yells were heard from the room. She slammed the door shut as quickly as she could, leaning against it and breathing heavily. Well, she was scarred for life. Her poor innocent eyes…
Okay, so that just meant she needed to use a different method to find Myah. No problem. Ruby began walking down the hall, listening to each door. Nothing, nothing, nothing...wait! If she listened carefully, she could hear audible sniffling.
Ruby cautiously creaked the door open, peeking inside. When it seemed that the coast was clear, she pushed it open more...and came face-to-face with none other than Abbie Mason.
Abbie's head snapped up, her watery brown eyes widening when she saw Ruby standing in the doorway. Pink glitter dusted her cheeks and eyelids, her mascara and eyeliner smudged and runny from the tears that ran down her face. The purple lights reflected off of the black latex of Abbie's playboy bunny costume, fluffy sequin white ears on top of dark brown curls. Her costume reminded Ruby of the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland, or Regina George from Mean Girls.
Abbie sniffed and wiped her nose angrily, averting her eyes from Ruby's.
"What do you want? Go away." She mumbled, pulling her white-fishnet-covered legs up to her chest and burying her face in them.
Ruby stood there awkwardly, not sure what to say.
"Um, I was just...looking for my friend, Myah. Do you...uh, are you okay?"
Abbie didn't move. "What does it look like to you?! God...thish hash been the woooooorst night. I hate myself shoooooo much." She pulled her face up and crossed her long, bronze, slender legs, leaning over to the side and pulling up a small can of champagne. She pulled off the tab and took a long swig. When Ruby squinted, she could see two more empty cans there. Jeez...
Ruby took a small step forward, staring at the ceiling. "Um, if you want to talk to me, I-I'll listen." When Abbie didn't respond, Ruby moved closer and took a seat on the edge of the bed.
"I know it can be hard-"
Abbie cut Ruby off, smiling drunkenly. "Tha's what she said." She leaned her head back and laughed loudly, snorting at her own joke. Ruby slapped her forehead. Shoot, she's drunk.
Abbie stopped laughing, instead looking sad again. "I broke up with Matt. He was kisshing Mitzi." She giggled. "Such a silly word. Mit-zi, Mit-zi, Mit-zi-zi-zi."
Ruby sighed, patting her back in a comforting manner. Even if Abbie was super mean, it was still terrible that she was cheated on, and with one of Abbie's closest friends too.
A tear trailed down Abbie's triangular face. "I hate Mitzi. I can't believe she did thish to me."
Ruby frowned, about to say something to her when suddenly the door slammed open. And there was Ducky, Tulisa, Josh, and- oh, of course she showed up now. Myah.
Abbie beamed. "Ducky! Quack quack quack!" She flapped her arms to imitate a duck's wings.
Ducky's amber eyes widened and he began to laugh.
"Oh my God. Abbie! You are totally shitface drunk right now." He cackled even louder, slapping his thighs. "I'm so telling on you when you get...home." He frowned. "How are you getting home?"
Abbie's happy demeanor dropped and she began to cry again. "Matt was supposed to drive me home, but now he won't!" She sobbed as she fell down on the bed, coffee-coloured corkscrew curls spreading around her like a cloud.
They all shared a look. Ducky frowned.
"We could...walk her back to Tulisa's van, I guess. It might take a while though, our houses are all the way downtown."
Ruby sighed. It was the only way, wasn't it? It would certainly be annoying navigating the dark streets with a drunk girl at...Ruby checked her watch and- holy crap, 11pm?! When did it get so late?! Okay, so they just had to make it back to her house, get the van without being seen by her parents, drive across town, drop Abbie and Ducky off, then get back home. Simple? Hah. Ruby wished it would be that simple.
"Well, it shouldn't be that hard! I mean, it's only like three blocks away, and your houses are just downtown, right?" Tulisa reassured them cheerily, always looking on the bright side of things.
"It's not a house, it's a mansion." Abbie informed them snidely, crossing her legs.
Ducky snorted. "Yeah, yeah, you're rich. That's funny, I didn't hear anyone asking."
"Yeah, nobody cares where you sleep at night," Josh added, crossing his arms.
Abbie grinned, batting her sooty applied eyelashes. "Your mom's bed."
Everyone exchanged glances, then Ducky began to laugh. "I'm totally going to make fun of her for this later." He walked forward, grabbing her by the wrists and heaving her up onto her feet, which were covered by tight ballet slippers. Abbie slumped.
"But I don't wanna go homeeeee," She whined loudly, stomping her feet like a fussy toddler who was just told they couldn't have any more candy.
"Too bad. You're coming downstairs whether you like it or not," Ruby retorted, pulling the door handle and holding it open for everyone to exit before she did, shutting and locking the door.
The harsh amethyst lighting bled a sharp contrast to the merlot colour schemes of their costumes as they made their way down the stairs, with Ducky putting a careful arm around his cousin to make sure she didn't fall.
Abbie's eyes suddenly lit up and she tried to pull away from their group.
"Lookit, it's Camilla! I wanna go talk to Cammie!" She began to walk away, waving vigorously to the chestnut-haired girl, but was promptly tugged back by Ruby.
"Nope, you're staying with us," She told her, stepping to the left of her so that she was completely surrounded. Abbie pouted, but didn't try anything.
Finally, they were out their door and heading off through the night. And it was a beautiful night, Ruby had to admit. The moon was round and full, with a sprinkle of stars dusting the navy blue sky. A crow flew past, the silhouette outlined by the snow-white glow of the ivory moon. The evergreen pine trees whispered in the wind, and neon fireworks popped and exploded behind them, making the dark night streets flash stunning shades of marigold and fuchsia.
As they walked, Ruby could see that everyone was getting increasingly more tired as they went on. Her stomach growled, Josh's pace was slowing down, Ducky's grip was weakening, and Myah, Tulisa, and Abbie looked tired out of their minds, their hair frizzy and dark bags beginning to circle under the six teenager's eyes.
Ruby glanced across the street. Nobody else was up this late except a slender woman with long strawberry blonde hair taking a walk down the street. The wind blew Ruby's deep red hair forward, and Ruby shivered. Everyone was cold, hungry and tired, and honestly, they kind of needed a pit stop. Somewhere in between her house and downtown, with people she knew and warm food to eat. Somewhere like…
"I've got it!" She thought aloud, and everyone turned to look at her. Ruby blushed. "Um, I just meant, we're all tired, right? What if we were to stop at Fazbear's Frights? You know, as a quick pit stop. It's not too far from here, we could easily grab the car, drive there, eat some food and then go to your guys' houses."
"Mansion." Abbie corrected, tucking a brunette curl behind her ear with luxurious shiny rose gold nails that had a small silver rhinestone in the center.
Ruby exhaled. "Sorry. Mansion."
Tulisa nodded. "I think it's a good idea. And I'd love to chat with them again, it's been a while."
Myah smiled. "Same here. Mangle seemed lovely that time I went there, and I'd like to continue our conversation."
"They're going to Fazbear's Frights, hm. Maybe I could follow them, then I might find him?"
Ruby turned around towards the voice, and spotted the woman standing there, straightening her large flowered light pink hat with her hand. She gave her a small wave.
"Hey, yeah, we're going to Fazbear's Frights. Is there a problem?" She called.
"Psst. Who are you talking to?" Ducky hissed in her ear. Ruby was about to ask if he was drunk as well, then noticed the slight blue glow that the woman had. Oh, right. Halloween rules.
The woman looked shocked. "You can see me? B-but how-"
"Purple rusty crusty dusty musty bunny child murderer man named William kidnapped me and stabbed me with some magic ghost-seeing potion needle thingy when I was three." Ruby explained matter-of-factly. Sheesh, it was getting kind of annoying how much she had to explain that. The woman looked slightly shocked, but contained herself.
"You said William. Is that man, by any chance, William Afton?"
Ruby nodded slowly. "Um, yeah, he is."
The woman smiled, but the smile looked slightly forced. "Do you mind if I tag along? I'd like to...have a friendly chat with this man. I'm Clara Schmidt, by the way."
Clara...The name rang a bell, but Ruby couldn't quite figure out from where. But Besides that, Clara seemed like a nice lady. Perhaps they could let her follow them.
"Is that okay with you guys?" Ruby asked, then realized they couldn't even see her.
"Oh, so sorry! My mistake." Clara concentrated for a moment, then everyone else saw her.
"Oh! Hello!" Myah said in surprise, a little taken aback. "I like your, um, earrings."
Clara beamed, tapping one of the crystals. "Thank you, darling. Your outfit is beautiful. All of yours, actually!"
"Um, thanks." Ducky still looked a little weirded out by the ghost lady standing right beside him
Which made sense, but it wasn't like Clara was going to harm them.
Ten minutes later, they reached the van. And just in time, too, because Abbie looked like she was about to pass out from exhaustion.
Tulisa got in the driver's seat, Josh in the passenger seat, Ruby, Ducky, and Abbie took the middle, and they folded up the trunk of the car to reveal two more seats. One for Myah and one for Clara.
"Oh...are we riding in this?" Clara asked, looking slightly more pale than her usual ghostly self.
"Yeah, why?" Tulisa asked, buckling in her seatbelt.
"Hah. I don't really do cars." Clara explained hastily, wringing her hands in nervousness. Her chartreuse eyes were wide and scared.
But it only took Ruby a second before she realized.
"Ohhh. You died in a car crash, didn't you." The question she asked was rhetorical.
Clara looked at the ground. "Sure. Let's go with that."
Well, there was obviously more to the story, but Ruby didn't press. She'd learned that asking ghosts details about their death usually led to them either attempting to violently attack you or insulting you. Brutally. Ruby had learned that from a certain vengeful fourteen-year-old.
"Listen, it's a really short ride and I pinky promise I'll be careful, okay?" Tulisa reassured her in a kind tone of voice.
Clara glared at her. "You don't have to treat me like a toddler. I'm at least twenty years older than you."
"Of course, of course! I'm sorry." Tulisa backtracked. Clara sighed.
"No, I'm sorry I snapped. Here, I'll get in. It won't be that bad, anyways, and it's not like I was a bad driver when I was alive." Something almost... dangerous flashed in her eyes, but it was gone before Ruby could fully identify it.
Clara got in the backseat beside Myah and they drove off into the night, downtown and towards the building, illuminated by neon lights that covered Fazbear's Fright.
They got out and began walking over to the door. Ruby and Myah lagged behind.
"So, that party was awesome, wasn't it? Too bad we couldn't stay for longer." Myah said cheerfully, skipping beside her.
"Sure…" Ruby trailed off. "I just, I dunno, didn't feel super comfortable there. Like, there was so much noise, and so many crowds, and- "
"Oh, you're claustrophobic. Yeah, I am too! It sucks. Like, this one time- "
"No! I'm not claustrophobic. It was just... stressful. I didn't like it."
Myah's face remained emotionless. "Then why'd you go in?"
Ruby fumbled around for words to say. "I just...I wanted to be with you for the party. And you kind of made it sound like you needed me to go with you."
Myah laughed, the sound like chiming bells. "I don't need you! C'mon, Rubes, not everything's about you. I made my decision to go to that party, and you made the decision to follow. You're making it sound like you stressing out was my fault."
"No, no!" Ruby exclaimed. "I didn't mean that-"
"Then what did you mean? You started this conversation." Myah replied testily, hands on her slim hips.
"I...I thought that...never mind." Ruby muttered, the conversation fading to nothing.
It was odd. Myah's tone was lighthearted and friendly, but her words seemed sharp and accusatory. As if they were having an argument. Which wasn't true! No, they were just... talking. Yeah.
"Hey! Hurry up, lovebirds! I can smell pancakes and I am not waiting around!" Josh yelled, holding the door open for Tulisa, Ducky, and Abbie. Ruby rolled her eyes, and the two of them ran inside, Josh closing the door gently behind them.
~lll~
"No way! The Shining is wayyy scarier than Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark. It's not even a close competition!"
"Yeah, but The Shining is just full of dumb scenes where the characters just stare into dead space. It's so boring!" Mangle objected.
"It's building the tension, dumbass. That stupid other movie just shoves it down your throat that it's supposed to be a horror movie. But The Shining uses subtle horror. That's why it's a classic and the other one isn't." Bonnie said with an air of finality.
"What scares you the most, Springtrap?" Cassidy asked, crossing her legs and staring at him eagerly. "Spiders? Deep water? Women? Oh, I bet it's women."
"Nothing, stupid little girl. Nothing at all." Springtrap told her.
"I'm actually not a girl," Cassidy retorted smugly. "My gender is revenge. I'm eleven levels higher than you'll ever be."
"Mm. Lovely." Springtrap was clearly not paying any attention to her. He stood up suddenly, brushing some dust off his gears. "I'm going to go get some air."
"YOU DON'T BREATH! WE OBLITERATED YOUR LUNGS!" Cassidy yelled after him, cupping her hands around her mouth to amplify her words.
"I DID THE SAME! YOUR WORDS HAVE BACKFIRED ON YOU!" Springtrap yelled back from down the hall.
"I REMEMBER! YOU DID THE SAME TO YOUR CHILDREN! DO YOU RECALL THAT SILLY WACKY TIME? WHEN YOU BUILT THOSE ANIMATRONICS AND ELIZ- mmf mmf mmf!" She was thankfully cut off by somebody, probably Mari, clamping a hand over her stupid mouth.
Springtrap sighed, running a hand over his face. Ugh...if only he could find a way out of this place. Seriously, he wouldn't really mind being stuck here if it weren't for those god-awful kids. Surely he didn't deserve that kind of torture? Cassidy sure did, that was for sure. The others were annoying enough, but she was just... eleven levels higher, to use her own words. Hmph. If he could just find a way to get rid of them again, then he'd have the whole place to himself! That would be nice, wouldn't it.
He leaned against a table, staring out the cracked window that was the saferoom/his room's only main light source, besides his fairy lights. Twin squirrels chittered side by side, running off into the woods behind them. Springtrap sighed, resting his cheek on his palm. That reminded him of the time Michael dressed up as a squirrel. He was only five, still in his cute phase. Evan had just been born several months prior, so this was pre-Elizabeth.
Springtrap smiled softly to himself. The kids always did love Halloween. They'd carve the most wild and crazy pumpkins. He used to always take them out at night to go trick-or-treating, and while Springtrap complained, he honestly did enjoy those times spent with his kids.
Sure, they were obnoxious, bratty crybabies. But they could be sweet and hilarious at times, which was probably the only reason he put up with them. And yeah, maybe deep down in his cold and twisted heart he did love the three of them. Back then, at least. But now, there was a dark, gaping hole in his heart where his kids had been.
Literally.
He sighed, slumping down. Plushtrap hopped up onto the desk, nuzzling Springtrap's arm. He smiled, stroking the soft bunny. At least he had Plush. That was a good thing.
As he gazed out the small bay window, light illuminating his dark green fur, he spotted a blue-glowing crow, swooping down to the grassy ground. At first, Springtrap couldn't see what the ghostly animal was doing, but soon enough the crow came up with a glowing mouse in its talons. The mouse squeaked in fear as the crow rose higher and higher until it was just out of Springtrap's view. Pale white fur meandered down from the black sky and the mouse was most likely now dead.
Hm… so the ghost mouse was killed by a ghost bird, eh? So a ghost could kill another ghost? Possibly…! He'd have to test that theory some other time.
Wind blew his fur forward, and he spun around in annoyance, searching the room with sharp silver eyes. The curtains rustled and the crow outside cawed in fear, flapping its wings and soaring far, far away. The wind blew again, this time harsher, and a stray mini porcelain pumpkin fell off a nearby table and smashed to the floor, glassy tangerine pieces scattering everywhere. Plush jumped, shaking slightly in fear.
Springtrap growled, swiping at the air with his claws in anger. Nobody scared his precious Plushtrap and got away alive and with all their limbs attached, that was for sure!
"Cassie, if this is you, then get the hell out of my room! I'm so sick and tired of your rubbish attitude, and I don't want to deal with your migraine-inducing voice any longer."
"Oh, I'm not Cassidy. I'm far worse, actually." A voice, calm and feminine, boomed from seemingly all corners of the room. A chill shot down Springtrap's spine as he watched three more pumpkin figurines burst into pieces. He leaned down and picked a single orange shard up, dragging it across his finger. The thick olive-green fur sliced off and he smiled softly. Ah, how he missed his old knife. Mr McBladington.
The fairy lights, which he'd turned on only moments before, flickered and shut off. Twin eyes blinked open, green light from the hallway illuminating the area behind the slender silhouette. Springtrap squinted, watching as the figure stepped closer. And closer, and closer and-
"Why, hello there, Willy. Long time no see!"
Oh God. Oh God please no. Anyone but her. Literally anyone but her. Even Cassidy would be better than her.
Clara smirked, straightening a stray curl that had fallen out of her loose strawberry blonde bun.
"Lovely to see you again."
Springtrap groaned, falling back against the wall and burying his face in his hands as Freddy, Ruby, and the other ghosts and humans (minus Joey and Malcolm, who were sleeping) gathered in the doorway.
"Whoa. Who's that?" Chica whispered to Ruby, gesturing towards Clara. "She seems to have ol' Springy-boi terrified."
"I have no idea! She just said that she knew him." Ruby watched the two of them intently.
Springtrap sighed, dropping his hands from his face. A tired smile took over. "Wow. Okay. Hey there, Clara. Looking good!"
Clara smirked. "Yeah, I know. Can't say the same for you. What is this outfit, some kind of-"
"Look, Clara, I don't know why you're here, and frankly, I don't care. But I am just really not in the mood to hang out with people right now, so if you could just- "
"Oh, I'm not leaving, Mister Let-me-check-inside-the-car." Clara snapped, pointing an accusatory finger at him. "I took Michael when we were switching cars to go to work."
"Oh no, here we go," Springtrap muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"You said that you needed to check inside the car for a second. Next thing I know, I'm careening off a cliff into a watery grave due to unscrew bolts and you're driving safely away with Michael." Clara retorted, her lips a thin line.
Springtrap sighed. At this point, he just wanted to go to sleep and ignore everyone else, so what was even the point in fighting back?
"Uh-huh, yeah, I unscrewed the bolts from the inside and sent you off a cliff. OMG, such a shocker. The child murderer killed his ex-wife. Can I go to bed now?"
From Clara's horrified expression, Springtrap suddenly realized he'd left out an important detail.
"Oh yeah. I killed a bunch of kids. And I tried to kill Henry. As well as a few coworkers. And some guests. Also I manipulated a ghost orphan child into helping me to slaughter people. Um, yeah. Ha-ha-ha?"
Clara was trembling with anger and shock as she stepped forward and glared at him with as much disgust and hatred as Springtrap had ever seen, and he'd seen some pretty bad looks from his victims before.
"You...you sick bastard! Oh my God, when the doctors said you were screwed up, I didn't think they meant this badly! I knew about two of your kills, but this is just... How was I naive enough to marry you and have kids?!"
"Honestly, I don't know either. I was a little shocked too." Springtrap laughed. She whipped her gaze back to him.
"You don't get to laugh right now. How...why are you in that bunny suit?!"
"That's because of me, actually." Cassidy piped up, walking over to Clara with a wide beam on her face. Clara smiled softly, recognition flashing in her emerald gaze.
"Oh, hello Cassidy dear. I'm assuming he killed you too?"
"Correct. I hate his guts and I'd like him to suffer unimaginable agony over and over and over again." Cassidy told her brightly. Clara exhaled.
"Yeah, me too."
Ruby checked her watch and winced.
"Pardon me, Clara, but it's 11:58, so, whatever you're going to say, say it now."
Clara paused, her eyes widening. "Oh! Well, in that case." She took two steps forward towards Springtrap, standing on her toes till she was looking right at him.
"You disgust me. Every last part of you is horrifically evil, and I hope you realize you have no chance of redemption, and not a single ounce of good in you. But, I'm sure you've been told that before, and I'd like to leave on a positive note, so," She turned around, back to the group of teenagers standing there expectantly.
"All of you, whether your living, dead, or- "
"Abbie!" Abbie called out, still a little drunk.
"Or Abbie," Clara added quickly. "You all still have so much potential to be great, even if it seems impossible. So even if somebody tries to take away all of your hopes and dreams and aspirations, just know that they're wrong, they don't matter, and that you are the awesomest person in the whole wide world. Okay? I don't want to see you guys give up just because of this insensitive prick." She jabbed a finger at Springtrap, who gave her a little wave.
Cassidy smiled. "We'll try."
And with that, Clara was gone, disappearing in a flash of gold and a shower of sparkles. Everyone loitered there for a few seconds before Springtrap exploded with,
"Well, what are you doing just standing there?! Screw off, the whole lot of you!"
"Happy nightmares!" Cassidy called sweetly. "Hope you choke on a rusty pair of sharp scissors!"
Springtrap, being too tired to care, just flipped her off, kicked the door shut, and buried his head in his pillow, groaning as he heard the loud teenagers noisily stomp away. God, what a terrible night. Could it get any worse?
Well, it seemed that it could only get better, as a soft, warm shape curled up into his side. Springtrap smiled softly, stroking the fluffy green bunny gently as Plush made a small purring noise like a kitten, drifting off into sleep.
~lll~
"Well, thank you guys for an... adventurous night. It really was fun." Ruby said as she hopped out of the van and onto her driveway. They'd just dropped off Ducky and Abbie at Abbie's house- mansion, the latter of the two having a massive hangover and immediately falling asleep.
Tulisa smiled, rubbing her hands on the black leather of the steering wheel. "Yeah, it was."
"See you tomorrow!" Josh called as the windows were rolled up. Ruby could see Myah in the backseat waving vigorously, and she laughed and waved back.
Ruby smiled, baking her way back to the house. Well, it wasn't a perfect night, but an exciting one none the less. Certainly spooky, and she couldn't wait to see what was in store for her the next day!
A/N
Ooooooo exciting! Can't wait…
For Security Breach! Yes, the new game's release date is out and it is December 19th if I am remembering correctly! I'm so excited, although I don't have a PS5, so I hope it comes to Xbox or Steam. Can't wait to see Markiplier play it! And Matpat's going to have a field day…
Question/Challenge: What did you dress up as this Halloween? And what was the best costume you saw?
I was a plague doctor again, and (story time) I was with my friend and we were walking down the street, when I saw this guy who was dressed up as Pikachu. Now, with the fogginess of the plague doctor mask combined with the fact that I wasn't wearing my glasses made it incredibly difficult to see. So, I went up to the guy, and I was like,
"Are you the bee from the Bee Movie?"
So yeah, sorry to that guy for critiquing his costume.
Have an amazing day/night!
~the spooky ghost (boo)