Michael's POV:
"Gosh... She was right. I should've listened. Now I'm stuck like this forever..."
•••
"Michael... come on, wake up..."
I groaned, lazily opening up my eyes to see y/n laying next to me and trying to wake me up.
"Hm? What is it?" I asked, looking over at her.
"You were tossing and turning like crazy. Everything alright?"
"Yeah, I guess I just had a strange dream," I explained, yawing. "How long was I asleep for?"
She shrugged. "I'm not sure. At least a few hours. You were asleep when I got home."
"Well, that's great," I groaned. "Did you fall asleep too?"
"No. I was getting some stuff done on my phone."
"Ah, I see." I turned on my side so that I was facing her. "Anyway, how was work?"
"It was alright. It was the same as normal," she said. "How were you while I was gone? What'd you do?"
"Not much," I said with a shrug. "I watched The Immortal and the Restless. Chatted with Ennard for a bit. Called Elizabeth and Chris. Slept."
"Sounds fun."
"It's more fun with you here." She smiled and rested her head on my shoulder.
"Michael, whaddya say you miss work tonight?" she asked. "Maybe stay here with me?"
I chuckled. "You know I'd like to. But I can't."
"This is why I miss when we both had work at similar times," groaned y/n. "Now I don't get to spend as much time with you."
"It's alright, y/n. My job is only temporary, remember?" I reassured her. "I'll be getting a new one as soon as I can."
She rolled her eyes.
"But let's not think about that for now," I suggested. "What'd you do today?"
"I just went to work," she explained.
"Just went to work?" I repeated.
She didn't respond, but instead fell silent. I could feel her tense up slightly, almost like she was anxious about something.
"Y/n...?" I muttered, breaking the silence.
"Oh! Sorry," she said. "No, I didn't do anything else. I got some food on the way to work. My boss was being annoying and strict like always. Always talking about how we need to 'do better.'"
I chuckled. "Not a very fun day then, huh?"
She groaned. "It never is."
"Well, at least that's one benefit of my new job. I don't have to worry about a boss who's always getting mad at me," I joked.
Once again, she didn't say anything in response.
"Is everything alright...?" I asked quietly.
"Yeah, why wouldn't things be alright?" asked y/n, trying to sound like she wasn't worried.
"I don't know. You're just more... quiet."
"I'm just tired, that's all," she sighed.
"You can sleep if you want," I said. "I'm not stopping you."
"No, that's alright," she responded quickly. "I want to be able to say goodbye to you before you leave for work."
In a way she sounded anxious. I could tell something was up with her. But I wasn't sure what it was.
"Alright. What time is it right now?"
"Oh, I don't know," she said with a sigh.
I looked down at my watch and saw that it was 10:30.
"Dang. I should start getting ready," I groaned, beginning to sit up. But she wrapped an arm around my side, keeping me down.
"Hey... what's up with you?"
"I just don't want you to go to work, that's all."
"Why? Are you sure everything is alright?"
"Yeah, I just... I don't know. I was just hoping you could stay here. I guess I just..."
"Are you still worried about the animatronics there?" I interrupted.
She didn't respond. She just kept staring at me anxiously. She looked like she desperately wanted to tell me something. Like something was bothering her. Something more than just being scared about animatronics.
"You look like you have something on your mind," I said. "Do you need to talk?"
She looked away and sighed. "I just can't help but be worried that he might still be out there."
"He's not at the pizzeria, okay?" I promised, putting a hand on her cheek to catch her attention. "He's at Fazbear Frights. You have nothing to worry about."
"But what if he's not at Fazbear Frights?" she asked, her voice becoming more anxious. "What if he's somewhere else now?"
"Y/n, where is this coming from?" I questioned.
"I don't think he's at Fazbear Frights anymore."
"What?"
"I just... I don't know, wouldn't it seem strange that he'd just randomly still be there?"
"Why wouldn't he be? He has nowhere else to go."
"But what if he does? What if he did go somewhere else? What if he's at the new pizzeria?"
"Surely somebody would've noticed him already. I've informed Henry about what Springtrap looks like. He would get rid of him instantly if he saw any sign of him," I assured her. "And besides, how could he even get to the new pizzeria anyway?"
"I don't know, but I don't feel comfortable with you going back there." She wouldn't even look at me while she spoke.
"Y/n, you're not making sense. Where are all these thoughts coming from?"
"I..." she stopped and sighed. "Nevermind."
"You can tell me."
"No."
"Y/n-"
She turned away from me without saying anything else. I frowned, feeling my heart sink just a little bit.
I figured she probably needed some space.
I wrapped my arms around her from behind pulling her a little closer to me.
"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."
"Thank you..." she whispered. She sounded like she was on the verge of tears. But at least she seemed more relaxed now.
Just a little bit more relaxed.
•••
I couldn't help but feel a bit guilty leaving y/n for work that night. I could tell that she was now trying to hold back her anxiety about me leaving, but I knew she was covering it all up.
"You can text me throughout the night if you'd like," I assured y/n as we were sitting down on the couch before I left for work.
She shook her head. "No. You should be able to concentrate. The last thing I'd want is to distract you."
I smiled, draping an arm around her shoulders. "I appreciate you looking out for me. But you really have nothing to worry about. It's just a few hours and then I'll be home with you again," I reassured her.
"You promise?"
I kissed her forehead. "I promise. The animatronics there are fine. They can't hurt me."
She looked down at the floor. "Alright. If you say so."
I looked down at my watch to see that it was 11:30.
"I gotta go now, y/n. I'll see you soon though, alright?"
"Yeah... alright."
I stood up and put my hand out for her. She took it and followed me towards the front door. Once I was about to leave I gave her one last hug.
"I love you, y/n," I told her, resting my chin on her head. "I'll be back soon."
"Alright. I love you too." She pulled back and gave me a kiss. Once we pulled away I let go of her.
"See you in the morning," I told her, opening up the door to leave.
"See you later..."
Once I left the house I sighed before heading to my car to get to the pizzeria.
As I was on my way there, I couldn't help but think about what y/n was saying about William earlier, and how she was so worried about him being somewhere other than Fazbear Frights. It didn't make any sense. I could understand why she would be worried about me going to work because of the animatronics, but why would she start assuming that William was there? Surely it was just coming from nowhere. She was probably just worried.
But at the same time, there was no way it was nothing. Did she know something I didn't?
There was no way. She would've told me if she had learned something new. Wouldn't she?
Before I knew it, I was there at the pizzeria. I was there for another night at work.
I took a deep breath before getting out of the car and heading inside. As I was walking there I kept reassuring myself that there was nothing to worry about. Y/n was probably just worrying a lot. There was no reason why William would be at Fazbear Frights.
And sure, maybe I had a strange time at work the night before, but it was probably nothing. The animatronic I saw was just like any old animatronic. Just because he looked creepy didn't mean he was dangerous. He was probably just old, that's all. And I wouldn't have to salvage any more animatronics this time.
And besides, my first day was such a breeze. Tonight would be the same.
Once I headed into my office and sat down at my desk I noticed a sticky note next to the computer from Henry.
"Michael,
"Thanks for salvaging Molten Freddy last night. There's another animatronic that I'd like for you to salvage again tonight. I would do it myself, but I've been really busy and can't find the time to do it.
"Thanks,
"-Henry."
I groaned to myself. I wasn't in the mood to do that again tonight.
I pushed the thought out of my mind for now and went to work. I tried recalling everything I had been told the night before about what to do and how to control everything. More importantly, how to keep "things" out of my office. Because I had a feeling that the animatronic that I had seen the night before, who was presumably Molten Freddy, was going to be paying me a special visit that night.
He'd say such random, creepy things, and I kept on feeling like he was getting closer and closer.
"One big happy family!"
"Knock knock! I'm here!"
"What a pleasant surprise!"
"Together again!"
His voice echoed throughout my head constantly. And that laugh . . . oh, that horrid laugh of his was driving me nuts.
Once I finally finished all my tasks, I logged off for the day and left the office. I was about to leave the building when I remembered Henry's note.
Great. I had to salavge another one of those stupid robots.
I let out a sigh but headed towards Henry's office anyway. I took a seat in the chair across from his desk. I couldn't see what the animatronic looked like since the room was dark, but I knew there was one there. I tapped the play button on the recording tape in front of me.
"Before you is an animatronic we found in the back alley. We are unsure of its origins. It is your job to complete the maintenance checklist before claiming it as salvage. Or, if you choose to, you can throw it back in the alley where you found it, and forfeit payment. Please make your choice now."
I was tempted to throw it in the alley so that I wouldn't have to deal with the same thing I did with Molten Freddy the night before. But then again, based on what Henry's note said, it seemed like he wanted me to salvage it.
I sighed. "I'll salvage it, I guess."
"You have chosen to proceed with the Maintenance Checklist. Remember, use your company issued taser to return the animatronic to a neutral state if you feel it is becoming unstable or aggressive. You can only use it three times before it begins to damage the animatronic, and decrease its value."
I took a deep breath, picking up the taster in front of me.
"Begin audio prompt in three... two... one..."
Weird noises started coming from the animatronic, similar to the ones that came from Molten Freddy. But this time I was more careful with when to use the taser, since I didn't want it to jump out at me.
With each audio prompt, the animatronic started to become more visible. But once I was on the last audio prompt was when I could get a really good look at what he looked like. But he looked an awful lot like another animatronic that I had seen before...
I completely froze, dropping the taser in my hand. He looked so similar to one animatronic in particular.
He looked like the one animatronic who I despised with a passion.
Since I was unable to use the taser to make him go back to his normal state, he jumped out at me, just like Molten Freddy did.
I didn't get a very good look at him up close since the lights went out immediately after, but there was one thing I couldn't help but notice in the glimpse of his eye...
It was a look of anger... pain... and betrayal.
"What a deceptive calling..." I heard a familiar voice say. "I knew it was a lie the moment I heard it, obviously, but it is intriguing nonetheless..."
No. Oh, no. There's no way...
"No... no, it can't be you!" I yelled. "I got rid of you years ago!" I tried to sound brave, but my voice was filled with everything other than bravery. I probably sounded like I was on the verge of a breakdown.
Then he said something else... something that made me feel like I was going to pass out.
"I always come back, son."
A/N: Sorry updates have been so slow. I've been really busy lately with a lot of things. I've been trying to stay on a schedule for when I update, and I plan to stick with that. But please try to understand if I can't :)
Like I said, I'm sorry about that. I get that it can be SUPER frustrating when a story you like takes forever to update. That's why I'll be trying to stick to my schedule.
I also would like to say thank you to all of you! I started working on Stay By My Side in December of 2020. I didn't upload it though because I was worried that nobody would like it (I was also kinda worried that the world would think I'm cringy because I was writing an x reader about a fictional character lol). But then I finally ended up publishing it EXACTLY 1 year and 4 days ago. And I'm so glad I did.
Literally every time I get notified that someone has liked my story or commented, or even just seeing that it's gotten a lot of reads makes me so happy. When I started writing Stay By My Side, I had no idea that it'd do this well, and that I'd be sitting here a year and a half later writing a sequel with so many people enjoying it.
I love you guys! Thanks for everything! I can't put into words how much you all mean to me.