»Of Godhuman Nature« [Five Nights At Freddy's]

Chapter III - Lure

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" NO WAY, SERIOUSLY?? " Jessica was literally yelling into her phone with nearly exaggerated enthusiasm, forcing Lily on the other end to hold hers further away from her ear in order to protect her hearing.

" Yes way, Jess. Though to be fair, I'm still in disbelief myself. Maybe this is all just a dream that I will wake up from tomorrow, unemployed & doomed to leave the country within the next two months... "

" Geez, Lil... A more positive & optimistic attitude sure couldn't hurt ~ " She was pretty much able to hear her friend's eye roll over the phone.

" Sorry, " Lily mumbled into the phone & sank a few more inched deeper into her bathtub. " I haven't fully processed the whole thing yet, especially not the interview. It was quite interesting to say the least... as is Mr. Afton himself. Have you ever met him? "

" Not in person, no. I remember he was there to give a speech when Freddy's reopened after his business partner's disappearance, mainly because the people of Hurricane felt like he owed them answers & explanations. It was an awkward atmosphere that day, that I can tell you... ", she paused briefly before continuing, " Other than that I haven't made any experiences with Afton. Say, is he as much of an eccentric as people make him out to be? "

Lily inhaled deeply, allowing the aroma of lavender & vanilla scented bath salt to caress her respiratory system, the hot water feeling like a tender hug more than anything. " He sure is something... Quick on the trigger, quite witty, intelligent. Charismatic. Not to mention persuasive ~ "

" Charismatic, he? " Jessica chuckled like the 19 year old that she was, her voice dropping into a slightly lower register. " I suppose all eccentrics are charismatic by default. "

" Well, he is definitely always good for a surprise, " Lily threw in to change the course of the conversation to somewhere a little more serious. " He believes I have what it takes to be HIS assistant at Afton Robotics... Which is absolutely beyond me. He has never seen me work with or around animatronics, & he is well aware that I have no degree or relevant certificates that attest my skills in any way. Someone like him probably knows dozens of more experienced people that would fit that position far better than I ever could, yet he still wants me... It doesn't make much sense, Jess. "

" You're overthinking this, Lil. You really gotta work on that. It's a great opportunity, & you are a great person with an even greater personality! I'm sure he realized that the moment you two met, which is why he was willing to give you this chance. I'm glad you decided to take my advice & finally put that robot building thingy in your resume, he must've been super impressed by it! "

There was a moment of silence in which Lily happened to replay several conversations with Jessica in her head. It was true that she had been quite vocal about that particular chapter of her life multiple times, deeming it a great deal & insisting on its significance, yet to Lily her secret animatronic project had always been a thorn in her side, a piece of a past that she was eager to forget, or at the very least emotionally detach from. It was nothing more than a simple hobby anyway, & those hardly belonged on a professional resume.

" I'm sorry, Jess, but I never put it in my resume. "

" Oh, " Jessica breathed out, perhaps a little offended, but she wasn't the kind of person to make that very obvious. " So you told him about it? "

" Negative. Someone else already did that for me... "

" Seriously? Who?? "

" One of my co-workers at Freddy's... Though I can't exactly call him a co-worker since he's never been around during the official business hours. He's the night guard there, a very kind young guy who helped me close the restaurant on one particularly stressful evening during my second month. We ended up talking for hours & sat together even long after my shift, basically sharing our life stories with one another. His name is Mike... He is the only person at Freddy's I told about the animatronic I built. Or rather, tried to build...," her breath grew heavy for a moment, as did her heart, the memories & all the feelings she associated with them now circling back & hitting her with the force of an avalanche.