Scott
"S-S-Scott?"
The phone-mask guy nodded. "Yes. Yes, it's Scott." He bent down a bit more. "(Y/N), are you alright? He didn't harm you?" he inquired again.
"N-No...No, I'm fine." You clench your hands, trying to stop the trembling. "I'll be okay. J-Just a little shaken..."
The tall man looks at you with sympathy, "I'm taking you to the hospital to make sure."
You were quick to shake your head. "Thank you Scott, but that won't be necessary..." You placed a hand over his which was still on your shoulder, "...really."
"(Y/N), I can't just let you go after something like that. There could be complications..." He searched your eyes to find a hard truth- you couldn't pay any medical bills. Not when it may not even be necessary to go to the hospital. He sighs, knowing he couldn't force you. "Do you have anyone home? Family or a... significant other or...or a pet?"
"Yes, I do. My grandmother and my younger cousins..."
Scott nodded and softly escorted you to his car. "I'm taking you home. It's safer than having you go by yourself." This time you didn't decline his offer. When seated in the passenger's side of the vehicle, Scott did as he said. He asked for directions, which you gave to him, and set off en route.
It was a tense drive. Your mind was racing as the events played out in your head over and over again. The "what if" 's started haunting you as you thought of all the tragic ways things could've ended.
Your eyes flickered to the driver's seat. It was impossible to see Scott’s face, but the hands clenching the steering wheel to where they colour white and his worried-calm aura spelled it out for you: he was stressing over you.
“Scott?”
The phone turns your way ever so slightly. “Yes?”
A sudden sting in the eyes causes you to blink a few tears into existence. They travel down your cheeks to your chin. “Thank you.”
The car slowly came to a standstill. Your uncle and aunt's house was to your left, right behind Scott. He brought you home as promised.
“No thanks needed (Y/n). Just...promise me you'll be okay?”
“...I promise."
Jeremy
Your body shook...
You felt the pavement under your palms… The hard surface was supporting your spine and shoulder blades…
You were definitely on your back.
Two arms clutched your biceps.
Jeremy…
"J-Jeremy...?"
You were the first to sit upright, a trembling Fitzgerald following seconds later. All noise was shut out as you stared down the street over his shoulder. The vehicle which almost ran you over had sped on, the driver not even bothering to look back. Jeremy tried to say something, you could tell, but nothing managed to escape him. You felt numb as the dread of what could have happened settled.
Bystanders gathered around. Some were on their phones, calling for help. Others were either coming to your aid or just looking on, unsure of what to do.
None of this reached you.
All that made it through your dazed mind was the image of the young man who was gripping your arms as if his own life depended on it. Jeremy's entire body quivered, yet his face held something of a determined bravery.
Slowly you gained consciousness of your surroundings as sirens drew near.
"Jeremy?" He seemed to still be panicking– his fingers digging into your skin hard enough to leave bruises. You reached a hand over and placed it over his, gently prying them off.
"...I-I'm s-s-so sorry…" The hands slowly release your biceps. "I didn't… Y-You w-were in t-t-trouble and I j-just…"
"Jeremy," you placed your hand on his shoulders and looked right at him, "Thank you. Thank you for s-saving my life."
He took a deep breath. The gesture helped him to recover from his own stupor. Slowly he calmed down. The trembling ceased. A small smile crept onto his face.
The sirens stopped as three paramedics ran up to the two of you. They immediately asked questions, which were answered by the bystanders. You and Jeremy just kept on focusing on each other.
Fritz
Your chest constricted and expanded in a slightly painful rhythm. One, two, three, four…
Air entered your lungs.
One, two, three, four…
You started coming to. Something warm pressed against your mouth. More hot air inflated your lungs. The warmth then retreated. A heavy cough racked your body. Slowly your eyes fluttered open. Everything was blurry.
"(Y/N)! Thank the stars!" Two arms hoisted you up from the hard surface you were lying on and carried you somewhere. Your head spun as you were placed down on something soft. "Can you hear me? I need you to give me a sign."
Your vision became more focused, allowing you to make out the things around you– the most prominent of which was the face of Fritz hovering over you. By the scrunch of your face, he relaxed. "Strange sign, but I'll take it."
"F-Fritz?"
"Yup! Don't worry (Y/N), the ambulance is on its way. You might be suffering from smoke inhalation." His face drew back as he sat down beside you to readjust his jacket which you were laid out on. "You passed out and I gave you CPR. The fact that you are awake and able to talk is a huge relief."
"There… was a fire…" You coughed again. Your head was still dizzy as you remembered everything that took place. The flames, the faulty fire extinguisher, how he saved you... "Thank you."
"It was nothing (Y/N)." He placed a hand on your shoulder. "You just try to relax until the real help gets here, alright?"
Your throat hurt slightly and your voice was raspy as you spoke. "No, seriously, thank you... Fritz. From now on, you eat on the house. I'll...pay for you."
He let out a chuckle. "Thanks! But, I can't do that. I'll pay for myself, just sneak me some extra fries or something." Fritz winked an eye behind his glasses. You smiled thankfully at him.
Vincent
"What the f*ck just happened!?" You yanked your arms out of Vincent's grasp. "How the f*ck are you uninjured!? I saw the blood!" It was true. Even as you stood, the entire one side of his shirt was black with the substance, yet there was no laceration to produce it.
The man simply shrugged. "It wasn't that serious."
"Not that serious!?" You threw your arms up into the air. Your breathing was ragged. "We could've been killed! We were almost killed! We were…!" Your knees felt weak out of the blue, making you decide to sit down on the parking lot sidewalk.
Everything became silent as you tried to concentrate on your breathing. Vincent just stood next to you, frowning at nothing in particular.
It all made sense to you now. Why else would they hire you? They were desperate for desperate suckers at life like you. A sour laugh of disbelief bubbled to the surface."So this is why so many people warned me that this isn't the best place to work– even for a murderer like me..."
"You murdered someone?" Vincent asked casually. "How'd that go?"
You lifted an eyebrow at the man's neutral reaction, but shrugged it off. Placing your head in your palms, you sighed. "It's a long story. All you need to know is that it was an accident."
"How did you kill them?"
Why was he so curious? "I shot them." Why were you telling him all this?
You were abruptly yanked to your feet by a grinning co-worker. He dragged you to a very dark mauve coloured car, mumbling "Should've used a knife."
You dig your heels into the absalt. "What are you doing?"
He walked around you and opened the car door, waiting to the side for you to get in. "I'm taking you home."
You were stunned. How was he so calm? "What about the animatronics? The shift?"
"Don't worry your pretty little head, Love. I've got it all covered." His grin grew with a malicious glint.
Throwing one last glance at your workplace, you got into the vehicle. Vincent closed your door for you then got into the driver's seat. As he started the car, you reluctantly reached out to place your hand over his. He shot you a questioning look.
You took a deep breath. "Thank you."
"No worries, Love. As long as I'm around, nothing and no-one will touch a single hair on your head."
Mike
It took five guys to pull Mike from the drunk. The man was dragged out of the front door and Declan pulled you and Schmidt to the back of the bar, out of the sight of any patrons.
"You two stay here. I'm going to go to calm everyone down," Declan poked a thumb towards the door. "(Y/N), you know where the first aid kit is." And so he left you to your own ventures. Awkwardly, you retrieved the kit, Mike's eyes following your every move.
Noisily dragging a chair behind you, you cleared away some boxes containing booze. This seemed to annoy the man in the room as he clenched his teeth. You plopped down on the chair and motioned for him to take a seat in front of you. "Let me clean your cuts."
"No thanks. I can do it myself."
You rolled your eyes and continued to take out some bandages. "I insist."
"No, I insist. You've already gotten me into enough trouble the past week," he bit out.
That was it. You abruptly flung up, grabbed his collar and brought him down into a sitting position (nearly flinging him to the floor). "Put your sorry a** on the chair Schmidt," you not so carefully took hold of his arm to take a better look. "And don't you dare say that the harassment was my fault!"
All became silent.
Mike simply sat, not uttering a peep as he watched you clean and bandage each of his cuts. He didn't even make a sound when you gently touched his arms, even though you could tell he was becoming self-consciously flustered. What was he thinking about?
"..."
"I'm sorry." The words came as a surprise. You made no move to look up from your work.
He sighed. "I know this whole thing wasn't your fault." Your eyes came up to meet Mike's as he continued. "It was that b*stard who groped you." His fists clenched, once again eager to make contact with the drunk's jaw.
You let out a deep exhale as well and finished up. "Thank you, Mike."
Silence ensued again. He gave no response– just staring at you in thought. You were about to get up when…
"Can I borrow your phone please?"
You pondered over the request first. "Well," you took the device out of your pocket, "Since you asked so nicely..."
Mike snatched it up and quickly dialed a number. "Barry? Yeah, sorry for calling so late, but ya might wanna look out for a whiney b*tch and his lawyer's phone call." The person on the other end spoke a short sentence."What did I do?" Mike laughs, his blue orbs meeting yours as they light up. "He harassed a girl and I beat the f*ck out of him. I called you in case he wants to press charges…" Barry said something again. Mike smirked and ended the call with a "Thanks Bar" prior to hanging up.
"Gotta love that guy." Your hands brushed lightly as he handed you your phone back. "He's the only lawyer who's willing to deal with all my sh*t."