1st [person. Michael Afton POV.
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For some odd reason, my chest felt tight. I had lost all neurological feeling a while ago, so this was...confusing...
L/N Startled me so bad that it must have started my heart again!
If I had one.
In my dreams...
I logged off of my computer at 10 am. My work went by surprisingly fast, despite those voices taunting me in the wents to my left and right. I constantly have to power off my computer and look into the vents just to make sure nothing would jump out at me...My hearing is very poor, so I can't have the noise from the computer fans overpowering anything else...
As I stepped out of my office, my eyes landed directly on L/N. They were carrying a large Pizza to a party of around ten kids, all surrounding them and jumping to get the pizza. There was one little boy who stuck out the most. He had short, brown hair, a grey shirt with two black stripes across the chest, and blue shorts. His shoes were blue and lit up when he walked. I felt that same aching feeling in my chest.
L/N's face fell into a frown when their eyes landed on me. They haven't got a reason to be upset, really...they barged in on me.
"Working hard?" I said, standing awkwardly as they approached. Their eyes scanned my entire body.
"hardly working?" They retaliated with their hands on their hips.
"Working hard enough," I said dryly. I would have frowned, but they wouldn't have seen it anyways. "When did they get here?" I asked, motioning to the large party of children.
"Er..." They shifted their weight to the other leg, and they bit their lip as if thinking. "Maybe an hour ago? They've ordered like...three large pizzas."
"I see...and that one?" I motioned to an even larger party of children, which was over my main stage.
"Just a few minutes ago I think." They crossed their arms across their stomach as if they were cold. "I haven't been running many of the tickets, I've just been helping with food and token supply."
"I see..." I said slowly, my eyes shifting from one party to the next.
"Mr. Schmidt," L/N said suddenly.
"Mmh?" I hummed in response, turning my body towards them. I didn't look at them, but they had my attention.
"Why do you wear that mask? If you have bandages covering your face already, what is the point?" Their voice was quiet, and it made them hard to hear. "Does it not get like...claustrophobic under there?"
"Er-" I stood awkwardly, rubbing my hands on my trousers. The bandages got caught on the seams like weak velcro, and it made me cringe. "I don't want to startle the children-" I shrugged.
"But that mask is horrifying..."
"Change the formality, my dear," I said dryly, patting them on the head. They cringed. I withdrew my hand.
"I suppose..." They said slowly, now turning to face away from me. They stared at the same party of children I was focused on. "Im going to head over there...talk to i/n."
"Rightyo..." I gave a small thumbs up. They left quickly, not even looking back. I felt that same odd pressure in my chest...I'm assuming this is from my body collapsing in on itself, but who knows? Not me. When have I ever been right?
I sigh heavily, and I feel the heat of my breath make the bandages on my face uncomfortable...I don't mess with them though, since I have very few to spare.
Large parties were in and out until around 5 pm. This is when older groups of people stopped by for the arcade games and good pizza. A lot of couples came here for date nights, which I found odd...
By the time it was 7 pm, only L/N and i/n were left. i/n left only thirty minutes after helping clean up a spill by the drink dispensers.
As usual, L/N stayed late...
"I can lock things up on my own, you know." They said sternly. I don't know why they were so bothered...I was actually helping with clean-up.
"Just want to help, dear," I said slowly. "This is my job too."
"It always ends up just being you and me in a room." They looked up and shot me a weird glare. "It's creepy."
"Well...we work in the same building." I shrugged. "I own the place, so I'm going to end up being here a lot."
"You're always staring." They retaliated.
"You're very interesting." I reached my right hand up and stretched under my jaw, tilting my head to the side just slightly. "You do the most here. I admire that."
I saw them stiffen, and their head dropped back down to look at the washcloth they were holding. They then huffed and continued to wipe down the table they were at.
"Sorry," I said quickly.
"No no, it's alright." Then grinned, but they didn't lookup. "You're a fine bloke, Mr. Schmidt."
I grinned, but they wouldn't be able to see anyways...So, the room was filled with an awkward silence. I must have looked like an idiot just standing there, a blake stare on my mask's face.
"Right..." They said slowly.
"Im grinning under the mask," I said quickly, and they snorted.
"Good to know." They chuckled, tossing the dirty washcloth into the laundry bin at their right. They got a new one and started on another table. I went to the stage with a squeeze bottle of lemon juice and a washcloth. This is what I used to clean the animatronics so they would be nice and shiny for the next day.
I never used this on Lefty, however. He felt too...ominous to touch...
"Mr. Schmidt?" L/N called from across the room. "Where do I put these advertisements?" They held up a banner for Lally's Lollies. I was never much for sweets, but I often chewed gum when I still had teeth.
"I'll take care of that, here." I exchanged the banner for the lemon juice and washcloth. "Just sprits the animatronics and wipe them down. It shouldn't take long."
"Got it." They said quickly, then ran up to the stage.
I got a step ladder and set it up onto one of the tables. This made it easy to reach the ceiling. I had a wad of tacky puddy that I used to stick one end of the poster to the vent shaft above my head...I jolted when I heard a rattling.
"Everything alright?" L/N said from below. They were holding the step ladder legs to support it. I didn't even notice they were there.
"Mmmhm." I hummed in response, pressing the tacky puddy onto the banner in hopes of it staying on the metal of the vent. "just-" Then I saw it.
A robotic face popped up in the vent grate above me. I jolted so hard that I lost footing on the ladder, which caused me to fall back.
L/N gasped very loudly, and the only thing I heard was both of our bodies landing right on the floor. I was on my back, and L/N was on their stomach beside me, their arms spread out as if to try and catch me. I didn't feel any pain.
"Oh my god!" L/N shouted. "Are you okay- OH MY GOD!"
I sat up slowly, running my hand down my face. My mask had been knocked right off of my head, only leaving my weird-looking bandaged face. My hair covered the ugly discolouring of my forehead.
"Er..." I started, but L/N smacked their hand over the bandaged part of my face, probably aiming for my mouth.
"Your eyes are wicked!" They shouted, cupping either side of my face and yanking me forward to get a closer look. I felt gruesomely uncomfortable and self-conscious at the moment. "Are those contacts? Maybe some sort of wicked eye tattoo that makes your sclera all black and stuff?"
"L/N, I don't think-"
"Shush shush shush shush!" They let go of my face and held up their hand to stop me mid-sentence. "Those bandages on your face look way too uncomfortable...have you not changed them at all today?"
"I don't have much to spare, so I have to save it for other things..." I said slowly, backing away from L/N before they could grab me again.
"I see...why don't we take a trip down to Tesco? Get you some more." They stood up quickly, then held their hand down to help me up. "one of my friend's relatives is a burn survivor. I've seen this kind of struggle."
"Right..." I said slowly, reluctantly taking their hand and pulling myself up. I watched as they pushed the supply cart into the closet and got their bag from the side locker. They waved their hand towards them, beckoning me to follow...so I did.
They led me out, and I locked the door behind us. I hadn't been to Tesco in a long while due to heavy social anxiety. I don't go out in public much at all unless it was for job interviews. After my mother's death, I hadn't had any other purpose than money-making.
"I could always order online, L/N," I said quickly. They grabbed my hand and pulled me forward so I would keep up with their speed.
"Don't be silly, Tesco is right there." They looked back at me and grinned. I felt a pit form in my deteriorated stomach. "You certainly do seem like the sort of person to just stay inside though...shop online." They looked away so they didn't run into anything. "Nothing wrong with that."
"People stare at me," I said in a laugh. "I look funny, so I get a bit self-conscious."
"We all have our insecurities." They said softly. I cringed as the Tesco doors slid open and we were hit with the bright white light of the store. It was not something I missed. "The medical area is over here, come on."
They let go of my hand and proceeded forward, swooping by a lot of people, ducking undersigns, moving between isles. I felt overwhelmed a few times because I would lose sight of them and start freaking out. When we finally reached the medical area, they already had multiple bundles of good-quality wrap bandages in hand. I didn't have the money for those...
"L/N, I don't have the funds for those-"
"Hush hush, I'll pay. It's fine." They said quickly, once again making their treacherous journey through this obstacle course of a shop. I felt my face become hot as I watched their card swipe to pay for the bandages. This was, in my opinion, embarrassing...Having a random coworker paying for bandages I didn't even ask for.
Im Flattered, truly, but I couldn't help but feel all kinds of heat come to my face. I didn't even know I could feel the heat.
I followed them out of the store, and they shoved the plastic bag into my hands, a grin on their face.
"I'll see you tomorrow. Sorry for dragging you out like that," they said slowly. "I must of ruining your chance for the pub. Maybe tomorrow night?" They grinned again.
"Sure, L/N. Thanks." I said softly, squeezing the handles of the bags in the palms of my hands. I heard the squeak of the plastic.
"We aren't at work. You can call me Y/N." Their face fell slightly.
"Oh!" I stiffened. "Right. Goodnight then, Y/N."
"Goodnight, Mike. Be safe getting home."
I felt my stomach do a flip.
"Call me Michael."
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