Spiraling Happiness (The Smiler AU)

Chapter 3

"You belong to Mr. Smile."

Those words echoed around me, making me gasp and sit up. I was in a bright, neon yellow void, a shadow of a chair across from me. A haunting voice crept from behind the seat.

"Come on now, sunshine, and have a seat." The voice called out, the sound of snapping fingers, and a chair was seated behind the chair. I wearily walked over, sat down, and got as comfortable as I could.

The feeling of a needle digging into my skin makes my stomach drop.

I squirmed as much as I could before realizing the chair had wrapped me in restraints, the chair spinning around to reveal none other than Mr. Smile himself - although he looked a bit more eerie now.

He began to laugh, circling around me. "The effects should begin about now, sunshine!" He chirped. Suddenly, I began to feel dizzy, but I couldn't puke. A smile grew on my face as I tried to hold it back to no avail. I laughed hysterically as gas filled the void, Mr. Smile staring at me intently.

He seemed to have a button in his hand behind his back because he had lifted his hand and pressed the button and a huge screen was shown on an invisible wall.

I gasped as I realized it was Jonah.

He was experiencing the same thing.

As I sat there, I couldn't believe what I was witnessing. I was horrified and yet found myself laughing uncontrollably at the same time. Meanwhile, Jonah - who was being presented on the TV screen - was smiling so widely that it seemed like his skin might tear apart any moment. Tears were rolling down his face, and the corners of his mouth were pulled up in spiraling smiles that seemed to surround him. Despite his apparent joy, I sensed that he was also feeling a deep sense of fear. I couldn't help but feel a twinge of discomfort at the sight of his expression. If I could've, I would've grimaced. Mr. Smile walked up to me, patting my back.

"You belong to Spiral County, Mr. Murray. You belong to me. Believe me. You are special."

"Now, Open Your Eyes."

I gasp, sitting up in a cold sweat. I begin to chuckle softly to myself, noticing Jonah beside me. "Y'know, man, you gotta start telling me when you slip in edibles into my food cause I had the craziest dream where we were transported into this insane county with crazy people who were forcing us to smile in this cult-like-" I cut myself off when I noticed I was in the house Mr. Smile assigned me to, and Jonah was in a spiral-looking hoodie with the same patch Sarah and I had. I sigh.

"Don't tell me you're a lost cause too, because I swear to-"

"Adam..? Did you have that... that dream?"

I pause, shaking my head to the point I could've sworn I got whiplash. "The... The one where Mr. Smile restrained the both of us..??"

"Ohhh, is that what that crazy man is called?"

I burst out into laughter - real laughter - at this response. He begins to laugh, too. In fact, we laughed till we were crying.

It felt good to laugh like this- Wait.

I check his eyes. They were the same golden brown that I was used to, but they had little smileys indented into them. Like mine. I let out a sigh of relief. Jonah, on the other hand, looked confused.

"Why... are you staring into my eyes, man? Kinda creepin' me out..." He muttered. I hushed him. "Just making sure you aren't a lost cause like Sarah..." I hissed back, his eyes going wide. "Haha- Alright man, what are you on about now?" He giggled in my face.

"Listen, that- that thing, the person who was torturing us in that weird connected dream... He's real," I say carefully, watching Jonah's eyes go wide as I continue, "And he's out to get me specifically, although I don't know why... He seems to be catering just to me. Anyways," I say, sitting next to him, "Who brought you here?"

"Some kid with a spiraling hoodie and spirals for eyes, as well as a TV screen over half his face with a HUGE smile across it." This made me raise an eyebrow.

"Alright," I mutter, trying to think as he continues, "Y'know, he kinda looked like Sarah, but gender-bent. Anything coming to min-"

"AHA!" I exclaimed, jumping up. "That's Sarah's older brother, Mark! She always goes on sob stories about him, so that... That must be why she came here! That's why she didn't respond to our texts or emails! She must've been here the entire time!" I gasp, taking in a breath as Jonah sits on the couch, blinking, confused.

Just as I exclaimed in realization, Mr. Smile opened the door, revealing a very concerned-looking Sarah, and the TV boy - presumably Mark, Mr. Smile's assistant - strolled in happily.

"Hello my bursts of sunshine," Mr. Smile cheeped, as happily insane as you could get from a person, pointed his cane towards Sarah and Mark. "I had Sarah err... corrected, and this here is my assistant Delight!" He stated, with Delight (or Mark) waving at us a bit shyly. "Also, Sarah will now be renamed in our system to Joy!" Mr. Smile announced.

"Why don't you call her Misery for how much of a pain she is in my ass?" Jonah called out, and I immediately signaled for him to cut it out. Mr. Smile's smile thwarted a bit, pupils dilating.

"I'm sorry, what."

Jonah gulped, stuttering. "I um... I-"

"I'm sure he meant to name Sarah Sunny instead since you call everyone sunshine!" Delight quickly jumped in. "Ah, well... that will rather suit Adam." Mr. Smile thought out loud, staring daggers at Jonah. Seems like he wouldn't forget about Jonah's outburst anytime soon.

"Can I still call Joy Sarah?" I asked, actually curious. Mr. Smile thought for a moment before nodding. "I presume that will be alright." He stated, "But she will need to be called Joy for our annual Celebration of Cheer."

"What's the celebration of cheer?" Jonah asked, and I was about to stare death into him before Delight picked up.

"The Celebration of Cheer is an annual celebration we hold where we maintain a carnival of sorts, and present newcomers into our wonderful county of joy and peace!" He illustrated, seeming very passionate about it. "We will also host a very special surprise during the event we will hold this year, operated by me and Mr. Smile."

My stomach turned. The events of the dream were coming back to me. I shook my head, trying to clear it, but his ghostly words echoed in my mind.

"You belong to Spiral County, Mr. Murray. You belong to me. Believe me. You are special."

"You are special."

What did that mean?

But before I could ask the man himself, he sought himself out. His assistant turned to us, threw us some keys and a note attached, and left with his supervisor. Only Sarah was left, standing there with a soft smile on her face. My two friends seemed a bit curious about what the note said, so we gave it a read.

"Dear friends,

Mr. Smile thinks I am writing a welcome note here. I am, but at the same time, I'm not. But still, welcome to Spiral County! I hope you will enjoy it here. Attached are the keys to your house, but also a key to mine. Please visit as soon as possible, as I'd like to speak with all 3 of you personally. Especially you, Adam. We have some plans to confide in.

Keep Smiling up,

Delight"

My stomach turned. My friends glanced at each other. What did he mean by plans? Why did he want to speak to us personally? More importantly...

Why me specifically?