Chapter Text
Henry couldn’t get what happened out of his mind, even moving on to the next day. He hadn’t even realized his head was throbbing with pain from the constant ringing from the guests at the trampoline park, he had to stay focused all day making sure to attend to as many guests as he could muster but he couldn’t get the scene out of his head throughout the day. The more he thought about it the more he grew more and more confused, one possible answer just spiraled into more questions.
‘How did he hear the piano? Was he roaming the building and thought maybe a guest came in? No but he knows I can play the piano, doesn’t he? He should!’ Henry scoffed, smirking slightly at his sass. ‘Does he still remember everything or has he just gone completely rouge? Is he still in there? No no, because if that’s the case why doesn’t he act like his usual self? Is he trapped? That doesn’t make any sense at all, maybe he was calmed by the music? But why? How? That’s stupid.’ Henry’s thoughts raced in-between every ring he’d get from a guest, he’d quickly answer the line or politely greet a guest coming through his area. He luckily didn’t have to run the usual Hide N’ Henry today as most of the park was just for Frankie’s attractions and Connections with Henry Hotline today. Which was good for Henry so he had time to think. He thankfully was aware enough to not draw suspicion to himself and was able to talk with every guest accordingly and avoid any strange behavior. He did have a couple encounters of the usual touchy guest or two but nothing he couldn’t usually handle, he stayed professional (at least as professional as you get a parkour palace intended for children) and would use a line written in his system like ‘Sorry sweetheart, I only go for other telephones!’ Followed by a fake ring for him to take.
Henry quickly finished his duties and waved off the guests goodbye and the usual automatic spiel he’d always give before the guests left his area for the day. He smiled and waved to the guests waiting for his door to automatically shut again, and once it did Henry’s brows furrowed, returning back to his thoughts. he went back to his dressing room and shut the door leading to it. He looked around the room as if Frankie himself was hiding in a corner and he just couldn’t see him. Henry shook his head to try and rid of the paranoia.
He looked down at his knocked over trashcan in the middle of his room, amazed he just now processed it was there, he guessed he was too out of it yesterday to notice it was even there. He pushed all the stained tissues back into the can and placed it back in its usual spot. He looked in the mirror and plopped down onto his seat. He looked at his sunken eyes, but he wasn’t focused on that. It felt like Henry had nothing else to think about besides Frankie, even his daily routine felt taken over. He scoffed and plopped his chin on his arm that he rested on top of the small table. In his defense he didn’t really have anything or anyone else to think about. Who else would he think about? Deputy Duck? The Other? Guests? He barely knew any of the guests long enough to get to know them, let alone everyone else that was mentioned. Other than the more ‘excited’ guests who wanted to see Henry, he didn’t really know any of them. He was aware of the, ‘crazed fans,’ he had on occasion but he’d be able to get them kicked off the premises for “tampering with equipment” if need be. Henry preferred “assaulting a staff member” but he knew it’d raise suspicion if the company referred to Henry as a sentient or living thing.
Perhaps there were other things Henry could think about, but he’s thought this all out before. Same scenario, same thoughts,for the most part, different day, yet it all felt the same. He rubbed his head to ease the pressure that was built up in his head all day from the ringing. He scoffed and felt dizzy, he looked into the mirror and checked his eyes again, they somehow looked more hollow that usual. How did anyone want to be around Henry when he looked like this 24/7? Did anyone even recognize him as THE Henry Hotline? Did Frankie even recognize him? Henry paused his thinking, not knowing why he was lingering on that, he tried to shake it off but it turned into him talking to himself, mumbling and whispering under his breath.
‘He should, he recognized me yesterday didn’t he? Yeah, he did! What else would it be? The music? That wouldn’t make any sense, would it? It could be possible.’ Henry rambled and rambled and rambled under his breath, so many thoughts racing around, it felt like his mind just kept being filled with thoughts and he couldn’t ease them at all, more and more thoughts and explanations circled around, just felt like a jumbled puzzle and more questions were being thrown at him than answers. Filling up more and more even though his mind was already full, his headache somehow worsening. Henry grabbed his head with one hand and balled his fist into the other, slamming it down on the desk a couple times repeatedly. He sighed and placed his head in his arms, hoping him thinking about this wouldn’t be a daily thing.
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A couple of days have passed and Henry wholeheartedly was beginning to believe he was cursed somehow. He just couldn’t stop thinking about his interaction with Frankie, it was like he plagued his headache-prone mind now. Maybe it was the fact that it was such a sudden shift in character that it got to Henry, but it’s been a couple days? Why couldn’t he get over it? He began mumbling under his breath almost 24/7, trying to find excuses for himself to explain Frankie’s sudden shift in behavior. One part of him was still terrified, the reasons he tried to block it out of his mind, he’d do anything to try not to think about them whenever they popped into frame in his mind. But he knows what he’s done to him, to others, whether intentional or not Henry wasn’t too sure, but it still hurt nonetheless.
His thoughts raced so often and he mumbled under his breath whenever he could that he ALMOST started to mess up his wording around guests during the morning. Thankfully, any time he did it would seem intentional but he made sure to not slip up going forward nonetheless. Henry did his usual routine of waving to the guests and waiting for his door to close. Every day felt like he was overthinking more than the day before. He was currently sat in his dressing room chair and looked over at his mirror taking in the details of his head structure, always going back to looking into his tired eyes. Just his luck, he felt like every day he was driving himself crazy. Could he get any answers? He hasn’t seen Frankie since he played that piano, and Henry usually only played whenever he felt he needed to clear his mind or let out blind rage or boiling emotions that festered within his circuits.
Would that be a reason to play the piano? Seems like a sad way of enjoying a hobby. Would he be able to see Frankie again somehow! Would that give him the answers he can’t stop thinking about? Would that finally stop him for overthinking? At the very least he might be able to clear his headache induced mind. The new “season” was over but Henry wasn’t sure if there were new players tonight, he hadn’t heard anything from The Other but that usually stood as a hit or miss. Plus the cereal company had been slow to send out new cereal boxes out due to complications with some kind of ‘choking hazard’ decision, so there most likely won’t be any new contestants for the next couple of days. Speaking of The Other, Henry wondered what would have happened if he had not interrupted him and Frankie. Would Frankie just listen to Henry play the piano before running away to cause more havoc? Would he, have done something different? Henry’s mind raced again, his thoughts building up again as they usually would, in a place where you’re alone the only thing you can do is be alone with your thoughts, that terrified Henry. His mind spiraled, making his head hurt more, he wish he had gotten use to this by now but every day just felt like a constant battle. He was hoping to get his mind off of this, he was thinking too much.
He wanted a distraction.
Henry’s eyes widened. He scoffed at himself for giving in so easily. Begrudgingly, yet secretly relieved, he pushed himself off the chair and walked over to the hallway door again, pulling it open and unintentionally slamming the door behind him.
He didn’t care anymore, he didn’t care if Frankie came back and gave him a million more questions, he didn’t care if The Other rang his telephone line and yelled at him for distracting Frankie again, he wasn’t even sure if they even had guests tonight, which Henry hoped they didn’t for his own sake, he was sick of waiting in position just to not even have anyone anywhere close to his area. Besides, if someone was in his area Henry was sure he would know, those phones definitely don’t make it easy on him. He walked over to the door down the hallway with a haste and yanked it open, slamming it behind this time instinctively.
Henry looked at the old piano in front of him, a feeling of fondness washing over him again, it was rare he would be able to play this often, not that he would consider this ‘often,’ but it felt like he hadn’t played the piano in decades until a couple of days ago. How long has it been since Henry had a distraction? He tried to not think too into that. He wanted nothing more than to just stop thinking in the moment.
He sat back on his piano bench and instinctively looked over to the side. The same spot where Frankie sat to listen to him play. Something inside him sparked, some kind of hope, hope for what? Henry lingered for a second and didn’t want to admit anything to himself. He shook his head and bounced his fingers on a couple keys, slowly getting lost into his own world again.
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Henry would be lying if he said his mind was completely clear after playing. He would also be lying if he said he wasn’t disappointed. Deep down he knew what kind of hope he was holding onto, he hoped Frankie would come back. He felt like he played for hours, even though it had only been around 40 minutes, at least according to Henry’s branded pocket watch he’d taken from the gift shop back around the time he was first introduced to the public. Henry let out a sigh.
“Even when I’m trying to forget him I’m thinking about him.” Henry mumbled. He pressed a couple keys and flopped his hand around making the piano keys sound like a jumbled mess of sounds. Henry groaned in frustration. What did he think was going to happen? It’s not like if he played the piano Frankie would somehow magically appear, he angrily stood up and pushed the bench to the side. Pushing invisible dust off of his suit, Henry sighed again, catching something in the corner of his eye nearby the door. He jumped back, unsure if what he saw was his imagination or not. He blinked at the jarred open door, hadn’t he closed the door this time? Henry was sure of that.
“Hello?” Henry called out, confused. He walked towards the door and pushed it open more, looking to his side and letting out a gasp of surprise, cowering back into the room. Henry took a breath and put his hand gently on his chest to somehow cool down his circuits, they felt like they were on fire from the amount of shocks Henry has given himself the past week. As Henry was calming himself down he saw the creature he saw peak its head in.
“Uh, I- um, hey! F-Frankie.” Henry said shaken, subconsciously making more distance between the two. He still didn’t know if being comfortable around Frankie was a good idea, better to be safe than sorry. “H-Hey, how long have you been here? For a while?” Henry said, trying to make some kind of small talk. Frankie just stared at Henry for a couple of awkward seconds but eventually shook his head to indicate a ‘no.’ “O-Oh cool.” Henry chucked. “Did you just get here?” Henry said trying to keep his composure better.
Another couple of seconds passed, but this time Henry got a faster response. Frankie just nodded his head up and down, kinda reminded Henry of a bobble head. Frankie ducked his massive mascot head through the door and walked into the storage room with Henry, who immediately took a step back to give him space to walk around wherever he wished. Henry eyeing his every move until realizing his was just staring, so he put his head down to not seem so timid, ultimately failing when he felt Frankie’s gaze on him. He put his head back up and tensed up from the sudden stare, Frankie turned around and stared down at the piano. Henry quickly catching on to what he was possibly thinking.
“Did- did you hear me playing again?” Henry asked, his genuine curiosity taking over his timidness. He knew he wasn’t going to get a direct answer out of Frankie, it had been a while since he’d been capable of talking directly, his voice box has basically been full of growls and snarls, the few words he could speak were illegible. The guests didn’t want to see Frankie for his speaking they usually only wanted to see him for the parkour and to take a picture with, so what did he need to speak for? Henry thought to himself, stopping himself from rolling his eyes. He stopped speaking almost entirely due to The Other programming him to be more animalistic and ‘terrifying’ for the Red Room show. He always wanted to have a conversation with Frankie again, but he knew that was no where near possible at the rate that their interactions have been going. Henry waited for some kind of response but never gotten a direct one, Henry looked back and forth between Frankie and the piano.
Frankie turned his head to the spot next to the piano, Frankie stepped over and sat down, looking over at Henry. Henry gazed at Frankie, he wanted him here and now that he was here, he didn’t know what to do, did he want him to play again? But why? Henry wasn’t sure, he tensed up after snapping out of his daze, almost like he had forgotten to be afraid and cautious for a moment. Henry tried to relax his shoulders, if this kind of interaction was to keep happening he really needed to find a way to calm himself down from being so cautious around Frankie. He knew it was a force of habit from the, incident, but he assumed it wasn’t him doing it on purpose, but, it didn’t mean it didn’t hurt still. Henry scoffed in his mind trying, to brush it off.
He considered asking Frankie what to do but he decided to just jump into it and see what happens. He timidly looked at Frankie and moved forward, pushing his piano bench back into place. He moved his coattail out of the way to sit on the bench comfortably. Henry looked over at Frankie and noticed he was watching him. Henry took in a breath and flashed him a small smile, not fully sure if Frankie reciprocated it. Henry put his hands on the piano and bounced his fingers on the keys, slowly finding a groove to play a song.