A/N: In the original Freddy was weird on purpose
Words: 1788
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You hear a noise to your left. That's not unusual considering how old this building is. You think nothing of it and stay in your current position, that being slumped over the desk with your head resting in your arms. While sleeping on the job isn't the best practice, your phone died and you had literally nothing else to do. You're almost asleep again when you hear another noise which your more awake brain identifies as some sort of metallic clang. You're unfortunately more awake now. Longing to get back to sweet unconsciousness, you decide to make a game of it and count the seconds in between the clangs. They're nice and evenly spaced, about three seconds apart. You sigh, it must be the air conditioning. You're almost gone, but there's that little nagging voice in your head that so often prevents you from getting a good night's rest.
If it's the air conditioning, then why is it getting louder?
Your eyes snap open, you're sure awake now. Most of your view is obscured by your arms, the only thing you can really see is the clock reading 2:30 AM. Hot blood pumps to your face in time with the clanging. The clanging that sure sounds a lot more like footprints than an air conditioner. You feel like bait. Like whatever's coming is going to get you like a sitting duck. You think about running, you can picture the route you'd take perfectly, but you can't move. Not even an inch.
You were a good student. You got mostly As and your teachers loved you. The sciences were your favorite, you were thinking of becoming a therapist. In the first semester of your senior year of highschool, you got accepted to a good college with a full ride scholarship. Then, the second semester rolled around and you froze. Suddenly, assignments that were once easy seemed impossible, you couldn't turn in anything. Nothing was good enough. You managed to fail almost every class and you lost the scholarship. You don't blame the school or your teachers, it wasn't their fault. You just wish you did your homework or turned in your essays, you wish you weren't too petrified to move when you woke up every morning, you wish the weight of knowing you were wanted hadn't crushed you.
The footsteps are almost at the door, they're so loud. You're still in the same position, now with tears in your eyes. With every clank your breathing grows more shallow. You know it's coming from the left, you know all you have to do is push the door button. All you have to do is get up. If you don't it'll be just like highschool, and God damn it you're not losing this, too.
In one fluid movement you spring up from your seat, turn around, and press the button. The door closes with a bang, quickly followed by a quieter thud and an unmistakably human voice.
"Owwww,"
That was... unexpected. Acting on adrenaline fueled curiosity, you open the door and turn on the light. A tall man stands in the doorway, squinting in the light. He has slightly tanned skin and wears a waiter's uniform. He blinks as his eyes adjust to the light and smiles. There's a slight gap between his two front teeth and he looks down at you with warm red eyes. His long purple hair is tied in a clumsy ponytail and he has... bunny ears?
He's a bit fidgety and rocks on his feet.
"Hi," he says, "I'm Bonnie."
You immediately pass out.
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You come to sitting on your office chair faced away from the desk. You don't even have time to convince yourself you had just dreamed the whole thing because when your eyes adjust you see that man sitting criss-cross applesauce on the floor. His eyes meet yours and he instantly perks up. The way you're blatantly staring at him is probably rude, but he pays no mind. He scooches towards you, way too close, you can almost feel his breath on your legs.
"I'm real sorry for scaring you..." He trails off like he's waiting for you to tell him your name. But you don't want to give him that yet, not when you have no idea what's going on.
"You said," Your voice is too accusatory, you try again "You said you're... Bonnie?"
He stares blankly for a moment before speaking.
"Y'know, like the animatronic." He says this like it's common knowledge and you really don't feel like countering him, so you just nod. Your head is pounding and you honestly feel like you might pass out again. This is all so surreal and you still have no idea what he wants. He speaks again, softer this time.
"We heard what you said to us earlier." He doesn't look at you, there's a quiet vulnerability to him. He doesn't seem violent or even scary anymore, right now he looks rather small. He bites his lip and takes a couple deep breaths before looking up at you. He stands up, impossibly tall, deep red eyes locked on to yours.
You were a good student and psychology was your favorite. The most commonly taught stress responses in psychology are flight, fight, or freeze. When presented with danger, running or fighting can save a person's life. Even freezing, the response that lost you your scholarship, can give a person time to prepare to deal with a threat. Those three are easy enough to understand. But you weren't just good, you were a great student, so you knew there's a fourth stress response. The fawn response. When presented with a threat, some people's response is to please. Some people find themselves smiling at threatening jokes, bending their boundaries on a whim, anything to be liked. Anything to avoid being hurt.
So maybe that's why when Bonnie smiles and holds his hand out to you, you take it.
"Let's start over. Hi, I'm Bonnie."
You let him pull you to your feet and offer a meek smile.
"Hi, I'm (Y/n)."
Bonnie doesn't let go of your hand as he walks you through the pizzeria. He has a spring in his step and a smile on his face when you two arrive at the main stage. Standing there are three more people. A man with curly brown hair and what looks like bear ears, a man with shaggy red hair and fox ears in what looks like a pirate's costume, and a woman with blonde hair in loose pigtails in a yellow dress.
Bonnie helps you step up on the stage.
"Guys," He says, "This is (Y/n)." You give a small wave to the group with your free hand.
The man with the brown hair introduces himself first.
"Hello," His voice is smooth and deep, "My name is Freddy." He nods his head in a short bow and for some reason you are overwhelmed with the urge to curtsy.
"Hi!" The woman says with a cheery voice and wide smile, "I'm Chica!"
You look at the red haired man, the only one not smiling. His yellow eyes bore into you. He's quiet for a beat too long before simply saying,
"Foxy."
"Oh my gosh," Chica swiftly walks up to him and elbows him, "Stop pouting, you big baby." Foxy looks annoyed, but not mad as he bats Chica away. Unfortunately for him, she's too unpredictable and gets one good poke in to his side.
Judging by his laugh, this is the funniest thing Bonnie has ever seen. He all but doubles over in boisterous laughter, finally releasing your hand. He stumbles his way towards Foxy and starts incoherently making fun of him. Chica joins in.
Freddy stands besides you, watching the three bicker.
"Those three are so loud," He takes your hand in his and spins you around, "Would you like to go somewhere more private?" The second he says it he realizes how weird it sounds. His shoulders bunch up and he scrunches his nose in embarrassment. His face flushes red and he starts stuttering out an apology. Bonnie walks up to him and flicks him in the middle of the forehead.
"Freddy stop being weird." Bonnie says.
"I didn't mean to!" Freddy retorts.
Bonnie and Chica get right on teasing Freddy, you get the impression it's pretty rare that Freddy is caught off guard like this. While they're preoccupied with that, you find yourself in some sort of staring contest with Foxy. You look away every now and then but he never looks away from you. You decide to bridge the gap and walk up to him.
"Hi." You say.
"Did you really mean it?" There's a low, growling quality to his voice, "You want to be our friends?"
You nod dumbly, unsure of what else to do.
"Even if..." His face contorts in discomfort, "Even if I hurt someone?"
You pause.
"You hurt someone?" You ask. He nods with a pained expression. You don't know what he's talking about, but you can't help but feel bad for him. He looks absolutely haunted by guilt.
"Well," you start, "Was it on purpose?"
He quickly shakes his head, fidgeting with his hands, one of which you notice is metal.
"You look like you regret it." You say, "So I don't see why I wouldn't be your friend, if you want to be mine."
You put your hand on top of his, halting his fidgeting. For the first time, you see him smile.
"Aww." Chica says. You realize everyone has been eavesdropping, but Foxy is still smiling so you guess it's okay.
A chime rings through the building. Everyone visibly stiffens and you realize that signified the end of your shift.
"I guess I have to go home now." You say to the group.
Chica envelopes you in a tight hug. You don't really know what to do, it's been a long while since someone has hugged you. You put your hands on Chica's back and hope it looks natural. It's another second before Chica lets go and looks down on you with her big magenta eyes.
"It's nice to have another girl around." She says. You smile at her and make your way to the front entrance. When you have your hand on the door handle, someone speaks up.
"You are coming back, right?" Bonnie asks.
"Of course," You say, "I promise."
You leave the pizzeria and begin walking to your car. Halfway there you look back and wave to everyone, they enthusiastically wave back. You go sit in your car and take a deep breath.
'For a moment there,' You think, 'It looked like there was a fifth person standing with them.'
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