Oh wow so I didn't realize that I posted chapter two twice instead of chapter one but it's fixed now we're good!

The song above is actually for the Boris Survival game, but eh it still works. I do not own the song.

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"Where is your manager? I demand compensation for the way you've been treating me!"

  Oh. The 50-something (Karen) was still going. You perked an eyebrow when you saw the clock; ten minutes now. She must have set the record. You didn't even remember what the issue was anymore.

  "Is this why they hired you? Because you were too slow to understand normal people? Huh? Go get me your manager, freak! I'm going to sue this place!"

   This was too good. With only 15 minutes left of your shift and no line in sight, you almost laughed outright as her accusations and threats became more ludicrous. "Sorry, ma'am. Our manager is currently working with a new member of staff. Would you like to call back later?"

  She grabbed at your shirt or tried to. You were shielded behind a shelf and cash register, so she only grabbed a couple of water cups. "Get them to me, NOW. The owners are close friends of mine and I could get this place closed!"

"Alright, alright ma'am. I'll get the manager. Give me one moment," you said through a forced smile. Your shift was moments away from ending, anyways.

  Just as you had said, your manager was helping get the newbie, hired to be a cook, set up, and ready to go. They were not happy when you came back to inform them of a wild Karen.

   "Seriously, Y/N? How long have you been stalling this time? You know it doesn't reflect well on us when they get home and write yelp reviews," they groaned. This scene was familiar to both of you; when things were slow like today had been, you were not exactly accommodating when dealing with wild Karens.

  You just shrugged as you took off your hat and apron. "I was bored. We're so empty lately, and clearly, the poor lady had to get something out of her system. Hey, she broke the record too. 11 minutes and she tried to grab me."

   "This is a sport for you," your manager sighed, but you knew they were impressed. Before you came, there was hardly anyone in this shop who could hold against a rude customer and even made sport of it.

   "Yeah, you know it! Now my shift's done for the day, so I'm outta here!"

   You turned to leave the shop, only faintly hearing the response- "Stop quoting that game!" as you left.

    The moment you stepped outside, you held a hand to your mouth to cover the laughs. Early in your job, you determined that no matter what happened, you would laugh at the customers that came your way.

But nobody had tried grabbing you before. It was...well, could that be something one could be charged with?

  'Come on...let's just go home...' you thought, grumbling slightly. As per the rules of the establishment, you couldn't park too close to the entrance, but your work was large enough to warrant a larger parking lot. Thus, you had quite a lot of walking to do before making it to your car. The breeze was cool, which you were more than grateful for; at this time of year every cool day was priceless.

  But...something felt off about today. Maybe you were just being paranoid, but you felt eyes on you the whole walk to your car. But it was bound to happen; it wasn't like you had just closed.

  Once in your car, you opened up your music and decided to play roulette with your songs; shuffling everything in your library.

   It eased your mind off the moment of paranoia you'd had earlier, and cheered your mood significantly.

  "Oh? Hey, a garage sale!" You exclaimed, hastily checking if you could park near the sale you'd found. The job you had wasn't enough to get nearly everything you wanted, but you learned to find hidden gems in garage sales.

  "Welcome! Are you looking for something in particular?" The homeowner greeted you.

  "Nah, but I'll let you know. Thanks!" You waved, immediately finding a box with old cassette tapes and video games.

   You heard footsteps approaching, but didn't turn to look. "You're not gonna find anything overly rare in there. Sorry to disappoint."

"I wasn't looking for something rare...but if you have something rare, I'd love to see it!" You said, still thumbing through the box. 

   "Alright. By the way, what's your name? I think I've seen you at that fancy chain restaurant down the road."

  "It's y/n," you said with a grin. "What about you? Otherwise, I'll just call you my game dealer."

   They laughed heartily, wiping tears away with the sleeves of their hoodie. "You can call me Billie. Yeah, my mom liked vintage names, so..." She shrugged sheepishly, but you waved it off.

  "No worries. I think it's cool. Like, the name sounds like it could come from my favorite game, so that's cool."

  "Ah, right! What game is it? I'm sure I can find something interesting for you," Billie beamed.

  You smiled sheepishly. Despite the years- the cosplays, art, and stories that you somehow convinced yourself not to destroy-there were always a little embarrassment.

  "Bendy and the Ink Machine. It's been a favorite of mine for years, and I adore the style."

  She nodded in understanding. "I have just the game for you then. Don't worry, I'll only ask for ten dollars in exchange."

  Of course, the offer appeared to be..well, a little too good to be true. Especially when what you had purchased turned out to be a typical disc, in a casing that was stripped of the iconic cover and instead covered in child's sprawl.

   "My Best Friend Bendy," the cover said, though it was debatable due to the nearly unintelligible scrawl.

   Though you had already agreed to this, the disc heightened your sense of paranoia from earlier, and nothing you did would shake it.

  The only thing you were able to focus on was getting to your apartment without ending up on the front page.

And, once you did, the first thing you decided to do was insert the suspicious disc into the slot on your PC.

"Ah...dang it!" You cried out, as the apartment plunged into darkness. "What the..what even happened to the lights?!"

   You'd paid all the bills in time, right? There was absolutely no way that you'd miss something as important as the electric bill. Right?

  "Okay...everything's okay y/n. Just..relax...and get some sleep," you told yourself. Still, your paranoia came back with full force, and you counted every lucky star you had that you carried a little moth buddy. What had started as a joke now gave you comfort in times like this.

...Apparently.

  But the lights didn't come back. You could have sworn that at least one door had slammed shut. And your PC was still down!

  "Alright, game," you huffed, glaring at the lifeless console. "I'm gonna be back, I want you to work!" You shook your head, not wanting to remind yourself of how long it'd been without power.

  "I'm gonna get myself out of this. So yeah! Beat that, game."

   But you couldn't do it without a moth hoodie- it matched the keychain!

  Did the hoodie look funny and childish?

Absolutely.

Plus, you weren't going to be seeing any guests today, so what could go wrong?

It didn't take long for you to get to your bedroom, close the door out of habit, and find the hoodie. Your work clothes were unceremoniously dumped into a hamper, and when you were ready in the comfiest pair of sweatpants and the best hoodie ever, you felt brave enough to go back.

  Reaching for the handle, you froze at the sound of a male voice. Has someone broken in? Was that why everything was so off today?

  "...Alright Joey, I'm here. Let's see if we can find what you wanted me to see."

  No. No way. There was...how? You had so many questions, and the man now standing next to you seemed the same way.

  "Henry...you're Henry Stein.." you could only gasp.

  "What are you doing here?" he asked, glancing around as if expecting a monster to appear in a place it shouldn't.

"I...I don't know. It...I guess I'm lost. There was this...this garage sale and a game...and oh wow..that sounds weird," you chuckled. "Umm...since I doubt I can go home through the exit...I guess I could stick around with you."

  As if waking from a trance, Henry shook his head and held out his hand. "You...seem to know me already, but I'm Henry Stein. I used to work here."

...Well, this was happening. "The name's y/n, and I...um...listen you might wanna sit down?"