Yes, I'm aware this chapter is very wordy. It's meant to be. This was published on April Fool's Day, as a teaser. You don't have to read it, as most of it will be summarized in the actual first chapter: 'Old Friends (1)'. If you want to read it, though, I've done the favor of separating it into parts. Also, the photo above--if you can see it--was the cover for April Fool's Day

Day/Part 1

You grunted, moving the balloon barrel into its spot. When it was in place, you let out a heavy sigh, stepping back.

Helpy waddled past you to stand next to the barrel. He was a miniature animatronic that--as his name implied--was given to help you with managing things. He looked to the barrel, bouncing slightly.

"You can take one, Helpy," you assured him.

He reached up and grabbed the red one. The sound of airhorns emanated from him as he held it up above him. Your eyes widened in surprise as you glanced over to James.

"What was that?" he wondered.

"Pfft, I don't know," you chuckled, watching as Helpy released the balloon and it rose to the ceiling.

Helpy held up a tablet to you. There was a blue box labeled 'Faz-Rating.' It had a picture of Helpy to the left and a counter to the right. The counter rose up to '275.'

"Oh, nice." You nodded.

Helpy reached the tablet up to you, and you grabbed it. He looked back to the barrel and started bouncing again.

"Should we take this sponsor offer?" James wondered, looking through papers.

"We just put up advertisements for them?" you mused, putting a finger to your chin.

"Yeah. They're offering 250 dollars," he replied.

"Then, yes--definitely! Take the offer," you sputtered.

"Alright. I'll write them back, then," James muttered as he placed the paper to the side.

"We could use the money," you chuckled nervously.

"Well, we'd have more money if you hadn't gotten the colorful cups and plates. 15 dollars wasted for no reason," James huffed, brushing back his hair.

"Atmosphere! That's the reason. It's one of the things that guy said," you informed him matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, anyway--" You couldn't help but laugh at his tone--"I'll put these banners up."

You looked over to Helpy. He was still bouncing, staring at the barrel.

"Oh. Sorry, little dude. Go ahead and take another," you told him.

He grabbed the red one--though, you thought he had already grabbed that one. You heard the sounds of airhorns again and chuckled.

A balloon rose from the hole in the barrel. It inflated itself, while you watched in bewilderment. It floated up, bobbing slighty as the string extended as far as it could.

"Oh, so that's where the red balloon came from," you thought aloud, tapping your chin.

You looked down to the tablet, to see the counter rising to 575. You looked back up at Helpy as he looked back to the barrel, bouncing.

"Let's rack up those numbers, baby! Take another one of those balloons!" Helpy did as you said, grabbing the same red one as airhorns shrieked. "Don't know why you're only choosing red--must be your favourite color or something--but whatever! Grab another!"

You watched the number rise to '1075' as he grabbed another one. An icon popped up as firework animations played.

"Performance bonus? 100 dollars? What?" You looked over to James with wide eyes and a goofy grin.

"Really?" He raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"Yeah, I don't know. I got 1075 and it said that." You shrugged your shoulders.

"That's- You know what, I'm not going to question it."

You told him to take another, then another, then another. The fourth one he grabbed, you got another 'Performance Bonus!'

"Hell yeah! Grab another one!" you cheered.

You repeated yourself a couple more times, and he kept grabbing balloons. He then stopped, looking to you.

"What? Why'd you stop?" you wondered.

Helpy pointed at the tablet. You looked down, to see that there was an icon with 'Play tokens left: 0' in the top right corner.

"What? There's 'play tokens'? What kind of malarkey is that?" you babbled.

"Considering you get 100 dollars every 1000 Faz-Rating, and that seems too easy to get, I can see how that'd be fair," James stated.

"But- . . . I guess. Why can't I just keep doing it, without the money?" you whined.

"Because it's a waste of time, you'd be doing this all day--because I know you--and it's about time to open."

"Yeah, I suppose so. You know what, you can do that. I'll go where the people aren't--" You stratched the back of your neck, smiling nervously--"We need to order and print things, so I'll do that."

"Of course," he scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, well, fuck you too," you grunted playfully.

He laughed, shooing you off. You stuck your tongue out at him as you walked away. You chuckled as you made your way into the small office. You sighed, plopping into the chair.

You looked around. There were openings to the left and right of you. There were drawings pinned to the walls. You looked to your right, where a drawing of a clown was posted.

"Oh, that's not creepy at all," you grimaced.

"Your restaurant is now officially open. Awesome! That doesn't mean your job is finished, however. You have a lot of work to do while patrons eat their pizza in the other room. From your terminal--"

That was the point in which you zoned out. You knew what you needed to do, and you did it. You started ordering things, waiting impatiently as it slowly loaded each thing. An ad suddenly popped up, startling you.

"Ooh, Jesus- Okay, that wasn't necessary!" You skipped it, grunting. "Is there a volume button on this thing? Jeez!"

"Something to be aware of is that the ventilation system and your terminal are pretty loud, and may prevent you from hearing things in the joining air vents--"

"Oh?" you wondered, raising an eyebrow as you glanced to the vents, shining your flashlight down them.

"That won't be a problem if there is nothing in the vents! However, if you feel something might be in the vents, you have a few tools at your disposal to protect yourself."

"Why is that something I need to worry about? Why is this a thing?"

"You can shut off your terminal and the ventilation at any time to decrease the amount of attention you are drawing to yourself." You switched off the ventilation, and it suddenly became a lot quieter. "Also, shining your light directly into a vent will most likely prevent anything from jumping out."

"Again, why is this something I need to worry about?" You swung your light side to side, flashing it down each dark tunnel.

"You also have three tools available from the terminal itself. There is a motion detector--" You switched to it curiously--"an audio decoy, and a secondary ventilation unit."

You switched through each one, furrowing your eyebrows. There was a button in the motion detector tab labeled 'Yes'--beside 'Activate motion scanning?'--so you pressed it. It started scanning.

"What does- . . . There's nothing to scan, yeah?"

"Keep in mind, however, that you can only have one of these active at any given time. Now get to it! Simply log off when you've completed your tasks for the day, and you can go get some coffee!"

"O-kay."

You started printing things. You had to turn back on the ventilation, since you were getting too hot.

You tapped your fingers as you waited. You looked up, to the figure of Helpy atop the terminal. You smiled, reaching up and poking its nose. It squeaked.

"Oop- . . ." A goofy grin began to slowly spread across your face.

You giggled, repeatedly booping its nose. After a minute, you stopped, apologizing. You glanced up to it, getting the urge to boop its nose again, but you refrained, trying to focus back on the tasks at hand.

After printing everything, you went back and switched to the maintenance tasks. You started the first, which you noticed was labeled 'Unclog Toilets.'

"Wh- Why is that here? Isn't that- How is- . . . Whatever- Yeah, you unclog those toilets! You show those toilets who's boss! And then you clean those ovens, and replace those bulbs!"

Once you were done there, you looked back, making sure everything was done. You came across 'Equipment,' wondering what it was for.

"X2 Printer- 500 dollars? What? I don't have that kind of money! Oh, fuck it, I'm done for tonight."

You scoffed, rolling your eyes as you logged out. The terminal shut itself off, and you stood up from your chair. You quickly glanced into the air vents again, mumbling under your breath, before leaving the office.

"You finished?" James greeted you.

"Yep! Are we ready to close up shop?"

"Yeah."

"You go ahead and close up. I've got to go check out those salvageable animatronics in the back alley," you told him.

"I already moved one of them into the salvage room. Just make sure not to fall in love with it," he sneered.

"Oh, shut the fuck up. That was five years ago, and you know what happened," you snapped.

"I know, I know," he laughed, gesturing with his hands for you to calm down.

"You shut up and do what needs to be done!" you demanded, chuckling some. "I'll go salvage that animatronic, and I'll meet you out in the truck when we're both done."

James laughed as you walked past him. He waved to you. You waved your middle finger at him in response mockingly. You saw him roll his eyes and scoff before you turned around.

You walked over to the salvage room, opening the door and pausing. It was pitch black. You reached around the corner, running your hand against the wall to find the light switch.

"Sensual," you whispered.

When you found the switch, you turned it on. A single light lit up to show a dismantled animatronic--made mostly of wire, and possessing only a broken mask--sitting across a table from you.

"Oh, jeez!" you gasped.

"What?" James snickered.

"You had to set it up like that. It's creepy," you grunted as he chuckled slyly.

There was a piece of paper, a tape recorder, and some sort of tool lying on the desk. You closed the door and sat down in the chair, staring at the animatronic uneasily.

"I suppose I should just . . ." You pressed the play button on the tape recorder.

"Congratulations on completing your first day, however your job isn't over just yet," a man's voice spoke from it. "There is another aspect to your end of day routine, and that is inspecting and salvaging any animatronics found in the alley outside the backdoor. Things are found here quite often, and while we aren't sure why, what we do know is that they can be used for parts. Which can mean a much needed revenue boost before starting your next day. Of course, as with everything else in this line of work, those benefits come with risk. The safest thing to do is to throw it back outside, but then you get no money for the salvage. Choose to keep it and you run the risk of certain negative consequences, namely death, should the item in question not be as docile as it first appeared."

"Pardon?" You raised an eyebrow.

"If you do decide to try to salvage it, then you must complete the maintenance checklist. During this testing phase, check on the animatronic frequently. If you feel that it is becoming unstable, use the taser provided to you. You can use it three times without damaging the hardware. Every use over three, however, will decrease the item's salvage value."

"Yes, of course. I will most certainly shock it if it starts to act up." You nodded sarcastically.

"Before you is an animatronic 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 into the alley where you found it and forfeit payment. Please make your choice now." The tape stopped itself.

"Um, I'll go ahead and salvage it. That's what I came here to do." You continued the recording.

"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 that it's becoming unstable or aggressive. You can only use it three times before it begins to damage the animatronic and decrease its value--"

"Yes, you just told me that--"

"Begin audio prompt in 3, 2, 1."

A disfigured noise started to sound from the tape recorder. Your eyes slowly started to widen as you kept your stare locked on the animatronic.

"That's not okay," you hummed, pursing your lips.

". . . Document results."

"Okay." You looked down to the paper, to see boxes to check. "How do I pick these? No, yes, unsure- It didn't do anything. What's the question?"

You decided to check the 'No' box. You started the recorder and it played another audio prompt. You checked the second 'No' box when you needed to document results. When you looked back up to the animatronic, you noticed something.

"Did you cha- Did you move?"

You looked it up and down, then shook your head. It couldn't have moved. You dismissed it, playing the next audio prompt, and watching the animatronic. You checked the next 'No' box.

"Oh!" You stared at the animatronic with wide eyes, seeing as it was now leaning forward. "Oh, you moved! You definitely moved. Uhh, don't mind me, I'm just going to--"

You pressed the taser button, and a bright light flashed. The lights flickered as it did so, dimming down so you couldn't see anything. When the light came back, you saw that the animatronic had moved back to its original position.

". . . Okay. That was weird," you muttered, playing the recorder again.

You continued the process of playing the audio prompts and checking the 'No' boxes, making sure to keep an eye on the animatronic. It didn't move again, though, much to your relief.

"Begin audio prompt in 3, 2, 1."

The audio began to play, but it wasn't the same as the last four audio prompts. You could faintly hear music in the distorted sounds. It went on for much longer than the last, making you feel uneasy.

"Document results." You did so. "You have completed the maintenance checklist and may proceed with the salvage. Well done. End tape."

You let out a sigh of relief, keeping your eyes on the animatronic as you sat up. You flicked off the lights, and it dissapeared from your sight. You opened the door, about to leave.

"(Y/N)?" a voice called for you.

You quickly turned around to look back. "Hello?"

You turned the lights back on, only to discover that the animatronic was gone. Your heart jumped into your throat.

"Okay- Nope! Fuck this shit! I'm fucking, out of here!"

You turned off the lights again and slammed the door shut. James seemed to have already gone out into the truck. You hastily made your way across the pizzeria. You flipped off the lights, went outside, and locked the doors.

You walked across the parking lot, to the lonesome truck parked in the corner. You walked around it and hopped into the passenger's side.

James jumped. "Ho- Hey, you ready?"

"Yes! Let's go home," you blurted, shutting the door and buckling up.

"Are you okay?" he wondered, starting the engine.

"Wha- Yeah. I'm fine. Just- . . . tired," you sputtered.

"Well, alright, whatever you say." He shrugged, backing out of the parking spot.

You let out a quiet sigh, leaning against the seat. You looked out the window, watching as the truck drove past things.

Day/Part 2

"Hells yeah! I am playing this immediately! You can get whatever else there is," you ushered James as you started to 'play test' the 'Fruity Maze Arcade' arcade machine.

"Yeah, the 'Candy Cadet' machine," James huffed.

"Yep," you muttered.

"You bought the foil cups and plates?"

"Oh, you better believe I bought those as soon as I saw them. They're a 'Foil Party Set!' " you sneered, glancing over to see his annoyed expression.

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose and closing his eyes, as if he were a scolding mother. "Why?"

"Atmosphere and Health & Safety," you told him.

"Whatever . . . Are we ever going to get a stage?"

"There's no use for a stage if we don't have any animatronic, and none were available that we could afford!"

"I guess you're right."

"Why is there a little girl? Do you see this?"

"What are you talking about? Oh, on the machine. I don't see anything."

"Here, wait. As soon as my time extends, you'll see- There!"

"Oh. I see it now. I don't know why she's there."

"She's constantly there," you whispered to yourself. "Woah- Dude, I'm going so fast! I'm fucking, Sonic up in here!"

"You having fun?" James scoffed.

"Yes- Ooh, I got a magnet! I'm sucking everything up," you chuckled.

"You're easily entertained," he sneered.

"What do you mean? I--" You gasped--"can go through walls! Oh- There's a rabbit. Hello, rabbit. Why are you here?"

"I don't know how you would be able to live without me."

"Hey, fuck you, I can live on my own! Wait, oh no."

"Oh no?"

"No, time's running out! There's only a few more fruits to get! Just a little bit- Come on- No! Gah- I was so close! Ugh!"

"You poor thing. Whatever shall you do," James mocked sarcastically.

"I'll go over here and play test Candy Cadet." You walked over to the machine, which had multi-colored lights constantly changing.

"I am Candy Cadet, come get your candy here. I have candy all day, every day. Candy. Candy. Candy." You turned the knob in bewilderment, for a piece of candy to drop out. "Return to Candy Cadet again, and maybe I will tell you a story?"

". . . What?" You looked over to James with wide eyes, then back to Candy Cadet. "Well, what's the story?"

You tried it a few more times, getting more and more impatient. You munched on your candy angrily.

"Now I will tell you a story." You squealed. "A story about a kind man who would visit five orphans and bring them toys and gladness."

"Aw."

"The man lived alone and lived in fear that someone might break into the house of one of the five children. So, he adopted all five and brought them together in one place in his own home."

"Aw." You smiled.

"He promised them to never leave them and they promised to always come home and never stay out too late. He left one day to buy food, his heart being filled with gladness, but returned to find that the burglar had chosen his home--"

"Oh no," you muttered.

"--and killed all five of the children."

"Oh."

"The man could only afford one coffin, so he stitched the five bodies together to make one and buried the child. That night, there was a knock at the door . . ."

The sound of airhorns played from the tablet. There were multiple 'Performance Bonus's. You stared at Candy Cadet, your eyes wide and jaw agape.

". . . Well then, that escalated quickly," James joked.

"What . . . the fuck! Wha- You can't just leave me on a cliffhanger! The fuck, man," you griped.

You put another quarter in the slot. "I am Candy Cadet, come get your candy here. I have candy all day, every day. Candy. Candy. Candy . . . Return to Candy Cadet again, and maybe I will tell you a story?"

"Oh, come on!"

You tried a few more times, but to no avail. You were now out of 'play tokens.' You threw your head back violently, groaning loudly.

"Is there a way to force you to tell me?" you grunted.

"I'm taking this offer whether or not you agree to it," James stated, changing the subject.

"What is it?" you wondered and looked back at him.

"A sponsorship offer, offering 500 dollars," James replied.

"Alright." You turned back to look at Candy Cadet. "Ugh, I can't believe you. I'm not forgetting about this! I'll be back."

"Pfft," James snickered.

You shook your head, shuffling towards the office. When you got to the door, you looked back to James and waved. He returned the gesture as you stepped into the office. You shut the door.

"Alright, time to get to work."

You sat down in the chair. You wasted no time, starting to order things.

You were about to lean back in your chair, when you heard something. You turned the ventilation off, shining your light and looking into the left vent, where the sound came from. You stayed quiet, listening closely.

When you didn't hear anything again, you went back to the terminal. You switched over to the motion detector and started scanning for motion. The detector immediately found something in the left middle vent.

"Oh, shit. Um, okay," you sputtered, changing over to the audio.

You played it in the vent next to it, hoping it'd be distracted by that. You weren't sure what 'it' was, but you were sure it wouldn't be good if it got into your office.

Instead of going to the sound, 'it' moved to the vent to your left as you heard a shuffling sound again. You gasped quietly, shining your light into the vent. After a couple seconds, you heard a sound come from the terminal and shuffling growing distant. You turned back to the terminal, assuming the sounds meant 'it' had moved.

You went back to ordering things, having to turn back on the ventilation, as it was getting too hot. You kept an ear out for any more sounds.

You heard giggling sound somewhere from the vents, making your heart lurch and a chill run up your spine. You quickly swung your flashlight to shine it to your left.

"The fuck was that?" you whispered shakily.

You started ordering stuff again, hoping that it would do so faster. You tapped your finger against your thigh impatiently, your senses heightened in fear.

You made the motion detector scan for movement, and to your relief, the thing was in the top left vent. You played audio in the top left corner vent, hoping that it would stay as far away from you as possible.

An ad suddenly started playing. You yelped, jumping in your seat.

"Fucking, shut the fuck up," you gasped.

You spastically clicked where the skip button would be, holding your breath. You let it out as you pressed the button and the terminal stopped playing music.

You slowly led the thing back to the top corner as you continued the seemingly arduous tasks. You decided to buy the 'X2 PRINTER,' since you had enough money. Eventually getting to the maintenance tasks, you again questioned why they were on your terminal in the first place.

As soon as you finished, you logged off, not bothering to double-check. You bolted out of the office and closed the door behind you. You leaned against it, closing your eyes and sighing.

"What's got you shaken?" James questioned.

"I don't know, I just- . . ." You scratched the back of your neck. "I kept hearing things from the vents, and when I used the motion detector, it kept finding something moving."

"It was probably a raccoon," he suggested.

You shrugged, muttering, "Yeah, I would've thought that, had I not heard giggling."

"Raccoons make really weird noises. You remember that raccoon that was digging through our trash a few months ago? You remember the sounds it made?" James mentioned.

"Oh, yeah, I remember. The sounds were creepy, especially in the middle of the night," you chuckled.

"Yeah. Anyway, let's finish up so we can go home," he avowed, stretching his arms above his head.

You weren't sure whether you should mention in addition about what had happened the night before. You furrowed your eyebrows, looking down at the floor in thought.

"Is something wrong?" James wondered.

"Well- I--" You scratched the back of your neck--"A few things had happened last night that would probably correspond with the thing in the vent."

"And what's that?"

"Well, the animatronic kept moving every time I looked away from it," you explained, looking up to him.

"Could it have been something inside the suit rattling it? Maybe a bunch of bugs, or a mouse or rat? Or could it have been the one light casting shadows and playing tricks on your mind?" James considered.

"Maybe . . . But, as I was leaving, I heard something say my name, and then when I looked back, the animatronic was gone."

"It probably fell over, and the sound of it sounded like someone saying your name. I know it sounds implausable, but I'm just guessing they were coincidents." He shrugged.

"It sounded so clear, though," you mumbled.

"It also doesn't help much that you're sleep-deprived," he scolded you, slowly folding his arms across his chest.

"Oh, I suppose that could be what's going on," you murmured bashfully.

"Yeah. Let's finish up here so you can catch up on your sleep."

You nodded. "I'll check out that animatronic in the salvage room--if you've already moved it in there--and you can clean and close up."

"I moved it in there just a bit ago. If something happens again, we can switch positions, though. Okay?"

"Okay."

James started pushing chairs under tables as you walked past him. You opened the door to the salvage room and reached around to turn on the light. He had set the animatronic--which was a damaged rabbit--to sit up across the table again. It reminded you of someone you had known, but you quickly disregarded it.

You sighed, closing the door and sitting at the table. You stared at the animatronic, playing the tape recorder.

"Before you is an animatronic 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 skipped the introduction, as it was just a repeat of what you had already heard. You went through the audio prompts, carefully watching for movements. Whenever you noticed something obviously off, you used the taser--though sparsely, as to not damage it any further.

"You have completed the maintenance checklist and may proceed with the salvage. Well done. End tape."

You stood up from the chair, staying faced towards the animatronic. You backed away, not taking your eyes off it as you opened the door. You flicked off the light and was about to close the door.

"I remember you," a voice rumbled--the accent sounding far too familiar--making every hair on your body stand on end; you quickly shut the door, not bothering to turn back on the light to check.

"Is everything okay?" James worried, walking up to you.

"Did you not hear that?" you quavered.

"Hear what?" James wondered.

"I thought I heard someone say that they remembered me. You didn't hear it?" you explained.

"No . . . Are you ready?" James held up his truck keys, walking over to the front doors.

"Yeah." You nodded, following him.

"The pizzeria should be remodeled by tomorrow, by the way. We'll have a larger floorplan."

Day/Part 3

"You know, I'm surprised you didn't buy any more cups and plates," James mocked as you finished moving things into place.

"I so would've, if we could've afforded them," you pouted.

"Why do I let you order the things?" James mused.

"That's a good question. Why do you let me order the things?" you sneered.

"I thought you would know how to manage our money well, but it's apparent that I miscalculated."

You chuckled slyly. You walked over to Candy Cadet, deciding to play test him and hoping he would continue the story from before. After receiving candy and nothing else, you grunted.

"Whatever," you huffed, shuffling over to the 'Fruit Punch Clown--which was a fruit punch drink dispenser with clown accessories.

You weren't sure how you were supposed to 'play test' it--possibly in the same way you had been play testing Candy Cadet. Music started to play from your tablet, and you looked down to it. There was a minigame on the screen. A figure of the clown stood amongst a group of identical children, and at the top were the words 'GET READY! Surprise as many kids as you can!'

The words at the top changed to 'GO!!!' as the kids started to skitter back and forth. After a few seconds, you tapped the screen and airhorns played. The clown's jaw unhinged and its eyes bulged out of its head. The few kids that were close to it jumped, their eyes bulging as well. 'GAME WIN!' flashed above them.

"What in the f--"

"Fruit punch for everyone!" a voice--with a strong German accent--came from Fruit Punch Clown.

You stared at it with wide eyes, feeling just as startled as the kids in the game. "What . . . was . . . that?"

"What's the matter?" James asked.

"This clown just unhinged its jaw demon-style to scare these kids!" you babbled.

"Well, did it work?"

"Yeah, I got a few. I could've probably gotten more, though."

You walked over to the 'Lemonade Clown.' He was almost identical to Fruit Punch Clown in design, but with different colors. The minigame was also the same, but with a figure of Lemonade Clown among the kids instead. The game mechanic was the same, but you scared almost all of them this time.

"Lemonade for everyone!" Lemonade Clown said in a similar accent.

"Okay, yeah, it's the demon clown brothers. Nothing wrong with that!" you brushed off sarcastically.

You went over and play tested the 'Midnight Motorist Arcade' game. It was basically a game of avoiding cars.

"We've got another sponsor, but at this point, I think you probably already know I'll be taking it without your input," James mentioned.

"Uhh--" You remembered that the ad playing would attract the thing, which was probably still roaming around the vents, to your office--"I don't- . . . Okay."

When you finished playing the arcade game, you went back over to Candy Cadet. You crossed your fingers that he would finish his story. After using all your play tokens, though, and not getting the rest of the story, you pursed your lips.

"Welp, off to the office again!" you announced.

"If something happens, you can come out here and tell me, and we can trade positions. Okay?" James offered.

"Alright, I'll keep that in mind. See ya later!"

James nodded as you opened the door and turned into the office. You closed the door and sat in the chair, immediately getting to work, like the night before. You checked the motion detector, to find that something was roaming the right vents.

"Oh, that's new," you mumbled.

You lead it away. As you were about to start ordering things, an ad started playing.

"Fucking- Shut the fuck up!" you hissed, giving the 'You can skip this ad in:' popup a death stare.

You skipped it as soon as you were given the chance, letting out a sighing groan as you did so. You cursed under your breath, switching back to the tasks.

You glanced into the left vent, thinking you heard something, but it was nothing. When you looked back at the terminal, another ad started playing.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" you growled.

You gritted your teeth, the urge to punch through the screen of the terminal washing over you. You felt something move in your hair, and you flinched, quickly reaching back to brush it off. You shuddered at the thought that it could've been a spider.

After skipping the ad, once again, you switched back over to the tasks. Tonight seemed to be much calmer than the previous night, in terms of strange noises. You could hear that the things were moving around, from the sounds originating from the audio tab. You decided to upgrade your equipment, buying the 'HI-SPD UPLINK' and 'HIRE HANDYMAN,' in case the odds turned.

You ordered stuff, waiting for something to happen. You knew something would. The terminal told you that the thing was still there, as well as another thing. You still weren't sure what the things were. Even if it was a raccoon, you would rather it didn't come by for a visit--not looking to get rabies.

As you were about to finish ordering things, you heard the sound of--what you thought was--giggling, and you nodded. "There we are."

You switched over and started to scan for movement. Whatever was on the left had moved to the farthest corner, probably from the audio that was previously playing. You waited a minute for it to find something else.

You were about to switch back over to the tasks, when an alert showed that the thing was right next to you. Simultaneously, you heard shuffling in the vent. You gasped unintentionally as you swung your flashlight to shine it in the left vent.

"Oh, a little too close for comfort there, bubba. That was not an invitation," you whispered.

You heard shuffling grow distant, indicating that the thing was leaving. You let out a breath that you weren't aware you were holding.

You played audio next to the vent it was now in. It followed it, and you led it to the corner over time.

"Yeah, you stay over there, buddy. I'll stay over here. I won't bother you if you don't bother me," you offered, though knowing that it couldn't hear you--and probably couldn't reply.

You sighed as you went back to ordering things. Just when you thought things had settled down, you heard shuffling in the vent to your right. You raised an eyebrow.

"That's diff--"

"You may not recognize me at first--"Your whole body went numb in fear--"but I assure you, it's still me."

Not thinking twice, you shot up from your chair and spun around. You opened and burst through the door, into the pizzeria. You backed up to slam it shut behind you. A few people stared as James ran up to you.

"Are you okay?" he worried.

"I heard someone," you quavered. "Someone started talking to me."

"Calm down, (Y/N). You'll scare our customers," James spoke quietly.

"Oh, sorry." You smiled and waved bashfully to the people staring.

"Do you want to switch? I can finish whatever's left in there, if you'd like to work out here?" James proposed.

"Yeah," you muttered, nodding, "sure."

James nodded, opening the door to the office. He glanced to you, before walking in and closing the door, leaving you to take care of the rest of the pizzeria.

You sighed shakily, looking around. There weren't many people, but mayhaps the count of visitors would fluctuate throughout the day.

~ ~ ~ ~

"Have a good day!"

You waved to the last people to leave, closing the door behind them. You looked back when you heard a sound, to see James stepping out from the office. You walked over to him.

"Are you okay?" you wondered.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm not sure what you kept hearing. The only things that I heard while I was in there, other than the ventilation system and terminal--obviously--was the creaking of the settling vents," James replied, shrugging some.

You scratched the back of your neck, looking at the floor. Maybe you were just hearing things. It sounded so real, though.

"How about actually getting some sleep tonight?" James suggested smugly.

You furrowed your eyebrows. "Hey, I've been getting sleep!"

"Three hours a night isn't enough. That's basically just an extended nap," he added, crossing his arms.

"I mean . . . It's still sleep," you grumbled poutingly as you blushed and looked away.

"I'll take care of what needs to be done here tomorrow morning. You can stay at home and sleep," James suggested.

"But, I wouldn't get to play test things," you whined.

"There'll be plenty of other times for you to play test things," he huffed.

"Fine, but if Candy Cadet tells you the rest of the story, you better record it."

"Yeah, I'll make sure to do that." James rolled his eyes.

"No, I'm being for real. You better," you nagged.

"Fine, I will. I'll go ahead and take you home, and I can come back in a few and salvage the other animatronic."

"Okay."

"Actually . . . do you want to stay over at my place tonight? You can see Emily again. I know she would be more than happy to see you again."

You smiled and nodded. James chuckled.

~ ~ ~ ~

"Honey, I'm home!" James called out as you closed the garage entry door behind the two of you.

"For fuck's sake," you sighed, glaring at him.

"I take it (Y/N)'s here?" his wife replied from the kitchen.

"Why would you think that?" he sneered sarcastically, walking through the living room and past the front door and into the kitchen; you followed him.

"Because you know it annoys her," she replied, glancing back from the sink--where she was rinsing off dishes and putting them in the dishwasher.

"It's not really that it annoys me, it just makes him sound like a cliché dad," you grunted, making James snicker.

"Hello, (Y/N)," she greeted you.

"Hey, Savannah." You waved to her, smiling as you hopped into one of the tall chairs by the island.

"How are you?" she wondered.

"Uh, tired," you answered, rubbing the back of your neck.

"Yeah, she's gonna stay over tonight, if that's okay with you, dear," James added, walking over to give her a peck on the cheek.

"Of course! She's always welcome to stay over." Savannah looked over to you and smiled.

"Thanks."

"I've got to get back to the pizzeria. I just wanted to get (Y/N) here," James told her, then whispered, "She needs to get some sleep, so if you could make sure she does that."

"Yeah, I'll tuck her in if I have to," Savannah snickered quietly.

"You know I can hear you guys, right?" you sneered, putting a hand on one of your hips.

"Yes. We're aware," she chuckled as James rolled his eyes.

"Love you, dear." James rubbed her back as he gave her another kiss on the cheek.

"Love you too," she replied, kissing him back.

"I love you too," you blurted as he walked past you, making him stop in the archway and turn to look at you.

"Yeah," he croaked sarcastically, glancing away.

You laughed as he left around the corner. You looked back over as Savannah shut the dishwasher door.

"You're probably wondering where Emily is--" You nodded--"She's already in bed. So, you'll have to see her tomorrow morning. You should go to bed as well. The guest room's cleared up, there's some pajamas in the dresser, and there should be a set of hygeine products in its bathroom. I'll be heading to bed, myself, here shortly."

"Alright. I'll go on up there." You stood up from the seat, stretching.

"Good night."

"Night."

You walked out of the kitchen and made your way up the stairs. You shuffled down the hall and into the guest room. You walked in, shutting the door behind you, and over to the bed. You jumped up onto it, looking to just lie down for a second before changing and such. Instead, you crashed, right there on the spot.

~ ~ ~ ~

The sounds of running footsteps started to stir you awake. If that wasn't enough to wake you up, somebody hopping up on the bed and leaning on you--almost landing on you--was.

"(Y/N)!" you heard a little girl's voice exclaim excitedly; you looked over your shoulder to see her wide grin.

"Emily's about to go to school. She wanted to say 'Hi' before we left," Savannah told you, standing in the doorway.

"Well, hey, squirt," you croaked, rolling over.

"Will you be over to play later today?" Emily wondered, hope in her voice.

"I don't know. My schedule's pretty tight," you gushed playfully, making her giggle. "You may have to make an appointment. When do you say it should be?"

"When I come back!" she replied.

"Ooh, that's a tough time." You put a finger to your chin, looking over as you pretended to think. "I've got important things to do at that exact time . . . I suppose I can make an exception for you, though."

"Yay!" she cheered.

"Come on, hun. You're going to be late."

"Okay." She jumped from the bed, waving to you as she ran over to her mother, "Bye, (Y/N)!"

"Bye!" you called to her as she ran out into the hallway.

"(Y/N), do you want to sleep a while longer? I can come by later to pick you up and drop you off at the pizzeria," Savannah offered.

"Yeah." Sleepiness pulled at your eyelids. "I'll sleep a bit longer."

"Alright. You can give me a call when you get back up."

"Okay, I will."

Savannah closed the door, for you to drop your head. You kicked off your shoes, crawling up to slide under the covers. You sighed as you closed your eyes.