TW: The topic of sexual assault.
This chapter contains a joke about SA and I, in no way, think that SA is funny at all, but the joke is light and very general. I am NOT romanticizing SA and I never will, but for the plot, I am mentioning it.
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A newspaper was plopped down on the table in front of me, causing me to look up at my mother, confused. She gestured to it. "Read it." I hesitantly picked it up and skimmed over it, perking up when it mentioned Fredbear's. The article relayed that there were many reports of missing children at the local Fredbear's in Hurricane, Utah. That just so happened to be where I worked.
"So, what exactly is your point?" I asked, looking up at my mother. "What do you think it is? A bunch of children are going missing at the place you work? Don't you think it's a bit dangerous to work there?" She says, crossing her arms. "Not really. I haven't seen anything suspicious and children are known to wander off. I'm sure it's just a coincidence," I shrug it off and my mother lets out a heavy sigh. "Okay fine, but if anything else like this happens, I don't want you working there anymore, okay?" I rolled my eyes at her.
"Yeah, okay, whatever."
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Chemistry was boring. The teacher droned on and on about chemical equations, literally the only thing she had been teaching this whole semester. "I want to blow something up," I whispered, expecting an answer from Michael, which I did not receive. I raised my brow and looked to my left, noticing the boy resting his head against the desk, his eyes closed. He was asleep.
I smirked. He should consider himself lucky that he wasn't snoring like he usually did. It may be cute to me, but I don't think the teacher would agree. I ruffled his hair gently, enough to mess it up, but not enough to wake him up. His hair looked ridiculous. "Pfft-" I tried to stifle my laugh, instead letting out a small chuckle. The teacher snapped her head to me and my laughter immediately died. "Do you have anything to share with the class, (Y/N)?" She called out, causing a few students to turn their heads.
An awkward smile crossed my face. "Well, nothing except the fact that chemistry is a complete wa-" I snapped my mouth closed when she glared at me, sinking lower in my chair. She let out a huff and turned back to the chalkboard, jotting some equations down. A few moments later the bell rang, causing me to let out a sigh of relief, gathering my things and shoving them into my backpack. I slung the bag over my shoulder and glanced down at Michael, grinning at his sleeping form.
I crouched down beside his desk, becoming eye level with him. I tapped my finger against his head, watching him stir before groggily opening his eyes, coming face to face with me. "Boo!" I exclaimed, causing him to jolt back with a squeak. I chuckled at his reaction and he groaned, rubbing his eyes. "Rude." I snickered in response, putting a finger to my lips. "Maybe I am. Anyways, chemistry is over so you better get up." I tell him and he looks around, noticing the absence of students and the teacher glaring at him. He grimaces at her.
Michael quickly stands up and grabs his bag, slinging it over his shoulder with a grunt. He looks down at me with a sleepy expression, his hair strewn messily across his face. I chuckle at him and he smirks. "What?" He questions, confused. I place my hand on his head, messing up his hair further before walking ahead of him. "Your hair is an absolute mess," I remarked and he let out a grumble, attempting to fix it as he ran to catch up with me.
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"(Y/N)!!" Mark shouted, slinging his arm around my shoulder and pulling me into his chest, aggressively ruffling my hair. I made a noise of protest, swatting his arms the best I could in his hold. He chuckled at my futile attempts before letting me go, causing me to spring up. I shoved him playfully, a glare present on my face. "You really are the worst sometimes," I state and he smirks at me. "Well, now you know how it feels," He shrugged.
"Well, it isn't my fault you were so short in middle school," I say and he scoffs, a hint of a smile on his face. "Well, now I'm taller than you, so suck it." I roll my eyes at him. "Yeah, whatever man. Enjoy it while it lasts cause I'm gaining on you!" I poke his cheek and he giggles. "Sure, sure." He says, shoving the cafeteria doors open. The smell of cafeteria food floods my nose and I grimace. "Uh, did your mom pack anything for you today? I really don't want to shove soggy beans down my throat right now," I say and he nods.
"Yeah, I don't know what's in there, though." I smiled at him. "Probably a sandwich. You know how she is with her sandwiches," I chuckle and he groans. "Yeah. Remember when she made us only eat sandwiches for a straight month?" He recalled and I gasped, memories popping up. "Oh my god, that was hilarious! You refused to eat any sandwiches for a while after that," I snickered, but before he could respond, I slammed into someone's chest, causing me to let out a squeak and stumble back.
I craned my neck up to see AJ, staring down at me with a scowl. My face dropped and I glared up at him, standing my ground. The two of us stared at each other with tense expressions until AJ rolled his eyes, shoving past me with a grunt. I glanced over at my shoulder as he walked away. "Asshole," I mumbled, turning back to my cousin. "You okay?" He questions, rubbing my shoulder as I shoved open the doors on the other side of the cafeteria, leading to our table outside.
"Yeah, that guy is just such a dick for no reason." I complained, perking up when I saw Chris sitting at our table, fidgeting as they sat next to Simon. "Oh, Chris!" I exclaimed, draping my arms around their neck. They flinched slightly and I pulled back. "Oh, I should have asked if you were okay with that. Do you not like it when people touch you?" I asked in a hushed voice and they gave me a small smile. "No, I'm okay with it. You just scared me," They reassured me and I let out a hum of acknowledgement.
I let my bag fall to the floor next to my spot and plopped down on the bench, glancing up to see Michael staring at me. I smirked. "Your hair is still a mess," I commented and he rolled his eyes, patting down his hair as he did. I cocked my head to the side. "You missed a strand," I said as I leaned over the table, reaching for his hair. When I placed my hand on his head, I quickly ruffled his hair, snickering. He growled and went to grab my hand, causing me to snap my hand back and attempt to take a step back. My eyes widened when the back of my knees slammed against the bench, forcing them to collapse and allowing my body to fall back.
"Ack-" I made a strangled noise when my head collided with the ground. The group began laughing at the scene and I stuck my hand up, flipping them off. "I'm fine, thanks for asking." I sarcastically remark, pulling myself off the ground. "You're welcome!" Michael says sweetly, giving me a crooked smile. "Guess who's hair is messed up now," He says. "Still yours. Anyways!" I exclaim, changing the subject. "We should come up with a better name for you, Chris." Much to my surprise, Simon perks up, but doesn't say anything.
Our group turns our attention to Chris and they shrink underneath our eyes. "Sure," They timidly respond, fiddling with their thumbs. "Do you have any suggestions?" They question and I hum. "The only thing I can think of is Alex, but that's a bit overused." I say and they agree, followed by the others. "What about Jordan?" Frederick asks and Chris quickly shakes their head. "No, that's my sister's name." They decline. The group hums, thinking. Michael begins to snicker and we turn to him. "Marion..?" He mumbles through his laughter, earning an eye roll.
"That's insulting to Chris. You can't just call them a clown like that," I joke and said person shoots us a confused look. "Don't ask," Simon whispers to them. They reluctantly nod in response. "Okay! Names. Um- Kai? No, that's a shitty name. No offense to the Kai's out there. I'm sure you're great, but your name is not." I mutter and Mark chuckles. "How about...J- Brandon..?" He suggests and we all shake our heads. "Too masculine," Chris states. We began shooting names back and forth, all of which were rejected. Simon watches us with his head resting against his arms.
"What about Taylor?" He says quietly, almost like he didn't want us to hear him, which failed because we all turned our heads towards him. Chris' cheeks flushed. "I- I like that...a lot," They stuttered, smiling. "So, Taylor it is!" Frederick exclaims, throwing his arms up. "Yep," Taylor says, sending Simon a smile. The boy averted his gaze, but smiled back.
"Oh, guys! Do you want to go to the movie theater tonight? I saw an ad for this horror movie called 'Beetlejuice'. It seems cool!" Michael questions with a smirk. "Obviously!" Frederick exclaimed, smiling wide. "Sure," Mark says and I nod after he agrees. Simon opens his mouth, most likely to reject, stopping when Taylor timidly agrees. "Um...Sure, I guess I'll go," He mumbles. Michael's eyes widen for a moment before a smug smirk spreads across his face. "Heck yeah!"
"You guys aren't going to bail on us again, are you?" I asked sternly, sending a skeptical look at both Mark and Fredrick. Frederick sends me a nervous smile while Mark chuckles. "Nope!" Mark exclaims. "Definitely not," Frederick replies. "Okay, good." I say, glaring. "I would die if I had to stay another night at Michael's. Your house was lovely, but waking up to you crushing me wasn't ideal," I tease and he rolls his eyes. Fredrick chokes, eyes widening. "Wait, you slept over at his house!?" He exclaimed.
"Yes, yes I did. Did I mention that he snores? You should feel very lucky that you didn't start snoring in the middle of class today. That would have been very embarrassing for you," I snickered. "Fuck off. I still want my Madonna shirt back, by the way." He says, narrowing his eyes at me. "Which you will not receive," I grin. "Yeah, okay, that's great and all, but are we going to skip over the fact that you slept over at his house?" Mark questions, sending me a taunting smirk.
"Yes. And for the record, I slept on the floor." I state. Mark pouts before perking up, raising a brow. "Wait, then how did you wake up to him crushing you?" He questions and I chuckle. "This psycho wakes up by literally rolling out of bed," I shrug and he groans. "It's not that weird! It wakes me up, and I told you that I do it by accident!" He defends. "Most of the time! You said most of the time!" I correct him, earning a groan. "Leave me and my weird habits alone!"
"When your habits include slamming onto a floor and dressing up like an animal in your free time, I just can't." I shrug and he lets his head drop onto the table. "I'm not a furry. How many times do I have to say that?" He mumbles into the wood. "As many times as you would like. Either way, I'm not going to stop," I tease, placing my chin in my palms. Simon groans. "Again, your flirting is lovely, I would just prefer you don't." He taunts, earning a glare from us and a giggle from Taylor.
I wanted to glare at Taylor, but they were too nice, so I decided against it. I open my mouth to insult Simon, but the bell cuts me off and I groan, quickly grabbing my bag and standing up, realizing that I didn't eat. I shifted my gaze to Mark who held up half of a turkey sandwich, handing it to me with a smile. I thanked him and shoved it in my mouth, earning a chuckle from Michael which caused me to choke. Taylor panicked and patted my back, but I waved them off while swallowing the lump of sandwich stuck in my throat.
I flipped off Michael and he roughly patted my head in retaliation.
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"Today's prompt is love! As you know, there are many types of love. Platonic, romantic, etc. You can do as you please as long as you follow the prompt!" Mrs. Famon exclaimed, clasping her hands together with a happy smile on her face. I rolled my eyes and tapped my pencil against the desk, thinking. I didn't really love anyone except my cousin, but that was obviously platonic. The sudden thought of Michael popped into my brain, but I shook it off, flustered. I didn't love him. He was just a really good friend.
I shifted my gaze to Taylor and leaned over, glancing at their paper. My eyes widened at the sight of a half drawn picture of Simon. I perked up with a smirk. "Is that Simon?" I questioned and they squeaked, covering their paper while whipping their head around. "No! Well, yes..." They admitted, blushing. I snickered. "That's cute. Also I'm pretty sure the only reason he decided to come to the movie later tonight was because of you," I stated, winking before staring back down at my paper. The squeak that emitted from their mouth was enough to make me smile.
I ended up drawing a picture of Mark, Michael, Simon, Frederick, Taylor, and me at the lunch table. It wasn't the best, but it was good enough for me.
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I pulled the Madonna shirt over my head and put a jacket over it, letting the shirt show through the gap in the fabric. I snickered quietly. "Michael's going to have fit over this," I mumbled to myself. "Oh, (Y/N), why are you wearing my Madonna shirt! Give it back to me or el-" I mocked a British accent, abruptly stopping as I swung my door open, seeing my mother standing there. She didn't say anything and simply stared at me, her arms crossed and a stern look on her face.
"Um- hello," I said awkwardly, rubbing the back of my neck. She sighed. "Where are you going?" My mother questioned and I rolled my eyes. "To the movie theater with my friends, and yes, Mark will be there, and no, I do not need a ride. I'll walk," I replied and she hummed. "Okay, if you're going to walk, bring your butterfly knife. I don't want you getting killed," She stated before walking down the hall. When she was out of earshot I mimicked her voice, mocking her.
"She's been so fucking uptight lately. A few toddlers get stabbed, so what?" I grumbled, pausing. "Wait, actually I take that back. That was cruel." I open my drawer and pull out the butterfly knife, spinning it between my fingers before snapping it shut, stuffing it in my pocket. Mark bought that for me when I was around fourteen as a birthday present. He said it would be cool if I learned some tricks with it, so I did.
I promptly exited the house and made the short trip to the cinema. The cold chill of the night trickled along my exposed skin, clouds of white smoke escaping my mouth as I exhaled. It was calming. The bright lights of the cinema caught my attention and I smiled upon seeing Mark, Simon, Frederick, and Taylor standing outside the cinema, Mark and Fredrick fighting over something. Simon rolled his eyes while Taylor timidly watched them. I was about to call out to them, but stopped upon feeling a hand on my shoulder, jumping slightly.
I instinctively reached for the knife in my pocket and whirled around, flipping it open and pointing it at whoever was behind me. "Whoa! Okay, okay! Calm down, it's me!" The familiar voice belonging to Michael nervously said, the boy holding his hands up in a surrender. A smile was planted on his face, but it was clear that he was scared to have someone pointing a knife at him. I let out a huff, twirling the knife before closing it, crossing my arms.
"Maybe, oh I don't know, give me a warning next time. You know, so I won't stab you." I said, but he was busy staring at my torso. "Is that my shirt?" He questioned and I glanced down at the shirt before looking back at him, a smug look on my face. "Oh, it is my fine gentleman. Sadly, you can't take it back otherwise that would be some form of sexual assault and I'm sure you don't want that on your record," I reply and he smirks, leaning down and placing a finger underneath my chin. "I'll take my chances," He whispers, cocking his head to the side before letting go of my chin, standing to his full height.
"Oh, hey guys!" Michael exclaims, waving and walking off, pretending like nothing happened. Stunned, I looked back at him, my cheeks hot despite the cold weather. He sent me a wink before calling out for me to hurry up. I cupped my face and sucked in a deep breath, turning around and making my way to the others.