Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Michael was doing great so far this Saturday morning. He had actually gotten up on time, was able to comb through his messy curled hair, and even made breakfast for everyone. That was a rarity that happened only once or twice every few months. 

Evan and Elizabeth had finally woken up and left their rooms shortly after Michael finished making breakfast. They sat down to eat, thanking Michael, nervously in Evan’s case.

William then suddenly walked towards the dining table, saying nothing as he pretended to listen to Elizabeth’s constant ramblings about whatever was on her mind. The young girl’s mind always raced with thoughts, faster than anyone could comprehend. She was similar to their mother in a way, except their mother’s thoughts were far from joyful.

William glanced over to Michael, and the teen pretended to ignore the piercing look, opting to keep on eating and avoid any sort of argument. Michael hated when something like this happened. It always killed the mood when Michael had to walk on eggshells.

“I got a call from your school, Michael. Mind telling me why your grades are slipping again?” The man’s gruff voice cut through the room. Elizabeth stopped talking and both she and Evan stared at the two, awaiting the inevitable fight. Sometimes it pained Michael to see the two like that, like somehow he was at fault for their discomfort.

Michael shrugged his shoulders, he tried opening his mouth, but he just couldn’t speak. He hated that he always shut down when it came to his father. It always filled him with frustration that his father was in control. He couldn’t stand being weak.

“I’m talking to you, Michael.” The irritation in William’s voice was sharp as Michael felt his limbs lock up in slight fear and frustration.

“…I dunno,” Michael meekly replied after a moment of silence, only causing his father to flare up in anger.

“Talk to me like I’m your father, not your imbecile friends,” William spat, feeling disrespected as Evan quickly got up to wash his plate as quickly as he could, running off to his room once he was done. Michael tried not to watch the boy, resorting to watching him through the corner of his eye.

Michael decided not to shy back. He had to stand up for himself, he couldn’t cry. He had to be stronger than he was showing himself to be.

“They aren’t imbeciles!” Michael spat back, furious at his fathers words. “They’re the only ones that listen to me!” Now it was Elizabeth’s turn to run off before things got worse. Once Michael broke from his initial freeze, it was hard for him to not fight whomever he was angry at.

“Don’t you dare talk to me like that! I listen to you plenty, ‘I don’t want to’, ‘maybe later’, ‘I don’t care’.” William stood up fast, his chair made a loud noise as it nearly fell over. Michael glared at his father, feeling a sense of injustice that his harmless, out of context words were being twisted against him.

“You don’t listen! If you did, you’d know I’m not that great at this kind of stuff!” Michael spat back with anger, and William laughed, mocking Michael as the teen stood up as well, trying to appear at least a little intimidating. it didn’t help him by much, considering the rather significant height difference between the two.

“Not this bullshit about you having a hard time focusing and your apparent lack of motivation.” The man sneered at his son and the teen scowled. “You’re an Afton, Michael, not a lazy, stumbling idiot, just like your mother.” William spat that last word like it was something to be ashamed of.

Michael’s body filled with pure rage. “I’d rather be kind and caring than an asshole with his head up his ass!” Michael shouted, tears started to fall from his eyes as he looked up to meet his fathers piercing gaze. Shiny silver blue met sharp steel as William swung his arm across the table to hit Michael in the face, who was once leaning forward over the table, suddenly fell to the side, hitting his head on the table with a groan.

“How dare you. Do you know what I do for you?!” The man shouted, his anger seemingly unending. “I pay for the food you eat, the water you drink, the roof over your head, the clothes on your back, I even let you be a boy. If you wanna be my son, you’re going to have to man up the best you can,” William finished with a snarl, and Michael glared down at the floor as William went towards his room, a loud slam rang through the house as a door opened behind Michael. 

Tiny fists hit his stomach and legs as he got up. “Stop bullying daddy! You’re so mean, Michael!” Elizabeth shouted as Michael made his way back to his own room, face sore as he closed the door. 

—

Michael groaned as he looked at his reflection from his dingy vanity mirror. His cheek was blossoming with black and blue and he lightly touched the tender skin, letting out a sigh of frustration. It wasn’t often that his father resorted to hitting Michael, but it was annoying and painfully obvious when he did.

He looked at his nightstand, grabbed his Walkman, popped in a random cassette and put the headphones over one of his ears. He snagged a notebook and pencil off of the floor and sat a pillow up so he could sit down on his bed more comfortably. The rock music playing gave him a little relief as he sketched whatever came to mind.

He heard a knock on the door and William stepped inside. Michael tried to give a neutral expression as he pulled the headphones down to his neck. 

“I’m leaving for work, money is on the counter, take it and bring you, Evan, and Elizabeth to the market, you’re responsible for them.” And with that, the taller man walked out, closing Michael’s door behind him.

Michael sighed as set his stuff down, and got ready to go out, trying to figure out a story for any questions about his face.

—

Evan and Elizabeth were on the couch, dressed and ready to go, when Michael grabbed the money from the counter, and walked over to the two.

“C’mon, I don’t have it in me to deal with you two, stay close, and hold my hand.” Michael spoke with a hint of anger in his tone, causing Evan to immediately listen, but Elizabeth huffed and crossed her arms.

“I don’t wanna go with you unless you apologize to daddy for being mean!” The little girl said, and Michael scowled.

“I’m not doing that, and unless you wanna make father upset, we best get out and get back now.” Michael said with frustration, and Elizabeth reluctantly nodded with a scowl, and the three went off.

—

Michael glanced around the store, putting necessary items in first. They were in checkout, and Michael counted the money and compared it to the total price of the items he had. 3 dollars to spare. Surely his father wouldn’t notice? He’d only spend a quarter of that anyways. Michael rolled his eyes. Not like he cared to begin with.

He looked down at Even and Elizabeth, who were putting the items up onto the counter. Michael snagged two chocolate bars and a pack of gum. He put it on the counter and the cashier placed it into the bag. 

He paid and he, Elizabeth, and Evan all carried a bag as they made their way home. The walk was silent as the three just focused on getting home.  

—

They were putting away groceries when Michael pulled out the candy bars. He turned to face the two, his silver eyes watching them closely. 

“Ev, Eli, catch.” He called out, and the two turned around, only to have a chocolate bar tossed at them. Evan yelped as he barely caught it, while Elizabeth caught the bar with ease. Evan kept that same annoying expression while Elizabeth brightened up.

“Thanks Mikey!” The young girl cheered, and Evan spoke softly as he thanked Michael as well.

“T-thanks Mikey.” 

Michael scoffed. “Don’t let it get to your heads. Run off to Charlie and Uncle Henry’s place for a bit, I’ll finish up here, and then I’m gonna head out for a bit.” Michael huffed in false annoyance at the two, and turned back to what he was doing.

The two kids scampered off, Elizabeth letting out annoying giggles as she skipped along. Michael finished putting everything away before entering his room. He grabbed his Walkman alongside a couple of cassettes. He stuffed it into his grey side bag, and walked down the hall and opened the door, shivering slightly at the cool breeze. He looked up to see Evan and Elizabeth walk into their Uncle Henry’s house across the street. 

Michael put on his headphones and pulled out a cassette tape. He put it in the Walkman and played it. Rock music rang through his ears as he lightly moved his head along with the beat. 

His Walkman was one of his most prized possessions. It used to be his mothers, she had bought it when it first released in ‘79, but after she died that same year, his father had given him most of her stuff, telling him to ‘keep it or toss it’. It was no real surprise that William couldn’t care less, he and his mother, Clara, often got into messy fights over Michael before her death.

Michael sighed as he turned into a new street, shaking the memory away. He was 14 now, he can’t be like Evan, crying over everything. He walked up to a red door and knocked on it. A few seconds later, a boy about his age with curly, dirty blond hair, hazel eyes, a yellow Chica mask that matched Michael’s own Foxy mask, and a bright grin opened the door.

“Michael!” The teen cheered, looking down at the shorter teen. 

Curse whomever was up there for not giving him his father’s height. 

“Hey Jeremy, wanna hang?” Michael asked, a casual expression on his face.

Jeremy smiled, but it faltered a bit when he noticed the bruise on Michael’s face. He sighed internally, he knew Michael wouldn’t like it if he said anything.

“Sure!”

Chapter Text

This Sunday afternoon was unfortunately flowing by rather quickly in Michael’s opinion. Evan and Elizabeth were playing with Charlie upstairs in her room. They were having a contest, whoever could stack the most items without it falling over got the last slice of carrot cake in the fridge. 

Michael was just watching, entertained whenever one of the girls dropped or argued over an object. Evan also sat back, having already lost. Charlie and Elizabeth were fighting tooth and nail to beat each other. They always were the most competitive when compared to Evan, who would rather try than aim to win. Michael simply couldn’t care less since they were just kids. 

A knock suddenly came from the door and Henry walked in, glancing at Michael and his siblings. Michael groaned internally at what he knew was going to come out of Henry’s mouth.

“Your father wants you three home,” he told them, much to Michael and Elizabeth’s dismay.

“I wanna stay here!” Elizabeth shouted defiantly, stomping her foot on the carpeted floor. Charlie looked upset, but was also looking at Elizabeth with a worried look. Henry sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose when Michael intervened.

“You don’t want to disappoint father by throwing a tantrum, do you?” He asked, causing Elizabeth to freeze. She grumbled before walking out of Charlie’s room after giving her a hasty goodbye. “Sorry, Uncle Henry,” Michael apologized as Evan scampered off after their sister. 

Henry shook his head. “Nothing to worry about, now you best be getting on your way now as well, Michael,” he told the teen, and with a nod, Michael walked out, saying bye to Charlie on the way out.

—

Michael had a sense that something was amidst his father, he hadn’t seen him like this for a while, not since when he and Uncle Henry created Springbonnie and Fredbear. Michael remembered when his father got springlocked, it wasn’t pretty, Michael and Elizabeth were there to see it all, Even did too, which created his fear of the animatronics, which Michael always found a bit hilarious. He found irony in it too, before the springlock suits were fully finished, his mother had argued about the potential dangers, but William always brushed her off without a second thought.

His father excitedly opened up a poster and revealed a blueprint of a restaurant. William then revealed a blueprint of a group of brand new animatronics, modeled after the 4 animatronics from Freddy’s. They were all remodeled and a big clown girl was in the front, looking suspiciously like a drawing Elizabeth made for his father a while ago.

“Circus Baby’s Pizza World is in production now! Henry gave me the green light and this ‘sister location’ is going to be mine to work with under my own company, Afton Robotics! Isn’t that fun?” William announced in a cheerful voice, but Michael couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of worry when he watched his father. He was playing with his theatrics, which never meant anything good in this house. Elizabeth cheered, congratulating their father, while Evan silently and nervously smiled, quickly congratulating their father. 

“That’s great, father,” Michael tried to be as optimistic as possible, not wanting to set his father off.

“The clown looks like Baby, daddy!” Elizabeth cheered, and William laughed.

“Why of course, I made her especially for you!” William announced, and Michael froze.

He felt a strong pang of anger flash through him. He never got anything as big as that from their father, that wasn’t fair! Elizabeth was already spoiled enough.

Evan looked both scared and unbothered, seeming a bit uncomfortable with the way things were, but too scared to say anything. Michael couldn’t help but feel like Evan was such a crybaby. He needed to grow a spine, but Michael could help with that. The same way William did with him, scare him to tears over and over, building up a resolve little by little. Just without the screaming and yelling.

After Elizabeth was finally done talking, William retreated back to his room. Michael let out a sigh of relief as he went to his room, his safe space.

–

Michael nearly had a heart attack when he heard a sudden thud coming from his window. He got up off of his bed, sliding his window open and just barely dodged a flying pebble. He looked down to find Jeremy, along with their other friends, Mark and Simon, who were both laughing their heads off.

“Mind not striking me in the face, Jer?” Michael jokingly asked as Mark and Simon laughed. 

Jeremy scoffed, throwing on a face of mock offense. “As if, now come along ya brit,” Jeremy said, filling Michael with laughter. 

Michael only deepened his voice and his accent, mocking Jeremy. “Wha’? Wan’ me ta’ talk like this?” Michael climbed through his window and carefully slid down the roof as he’d done many times before. He jumped down and Jeremy caught him, setting him down on his feet.

Mark laughed, patting Michael on the back. “One day, you're not gonna have any of us to catch you,” he jokingly said as Jeremy faked offense.

“Us? I’m the one catching him!” Michael laughed this time, Simon joining him. Jeremy glared playfully at them, looking irritated. Everyone knew he was just fine, which amused Michael even more. 

Simon wrapped an arm around Mark, guiding him away from the other two, who quickly began to try and follow them.

“Let’s leave the sappy lovey dovey with the gays, Mark.”

“Hey! Get back here assholes!”

—

Michael had a bright grin on his face, laughing along with Simon as they made their way through the forest that surrounded Michael’s house. 

Jeremy kicked a rock and watched as it rolled away. He squinted, unsure of what he was looking at. It was a dark and shadowy figure and looked to be about 6 or so feet tall. It gave Jeremy goosebumps the more he looked at it. It suddenly went behind a tree, and Jeremy, as much as he wanted to, couldn’t make any sense of it. 

Mark got in front of Jeremy, walking backwards as he faced him. “What’s your mind on Jer?” He asked, which got all eyes on him. 

Jeremy looked at Mark with a slightly anxious look, but he kept a straight face nonetheless. “Nothing, just how you’re about to fall,” he ominously said, right as Mark tripped on a rock and fell down, causing everyone but Mark to burst out laughing. 

Mark playfully glared as he stood back up. “Ha, ha, laugh it up,” he grumbled, but everyone knew no hard feelings came about. Simon helped Mark dust off any dirt as Jeremy and Michael waited by them, still amused by the whole thing. 

The group kept making their way through the woods until they finally made it to their hangout spot. It was a clearing that led to this big oak tree. They all collectively contributed to its construction. It wasn’t anything extravagant, but it was theirs. 

The tree had a tree house attached to it, big enough for all of them to fit comfortably inside. They mostly used it for hangouts or if one of them needed somewhere to stay for the night. The sight of the treehouse always brought joy and pride to Michael. 

Mark climbed up the makeshift ladder, hauling himself in as Simon began to follow him. Jeremy walked forward and Michael gestured for him to go first. “Ladies first,” he joked, smirking smugly. 

Jeremy scoffed in amusement and smacked the back of Michael’s head. “Hush up, Mike,” he said, and Simon laughed from inside the treehouse. 

“C’mon up, lovebirds!” Simon shouted, causing Michael and Jeremy to laugh and shove each other.

Jeremy began climbing and Michael kicked a rock, humming to a song that Michael mentally played. Suddenly, the sound of a bush shaking caught his attention. Michael whipped around to find nothing but an open field. He frowned, certain that he heard a noise, but decided to ignore it for the time being.

Chapter Text

Michael and Jeremy were still inside of the treehouse. Simon and Mark were long gone due to their unfortunate curfews.

Michael was laying on top of Jeremy on a makeshift ‘couch’ that was just flat pillows covered with a thin blanket. He sighed with content, feeling Jeremy’s arm on his back while Michael’s face was resting on Jeremy’s chest. 

“You should get back before your old man notices you’re missing.”

The words cut through Michael like a knife of disappointment. “I don’t wanna, and I know you don’t want me to leave either,” Michael mumbled, but Jeremy still persisted. 

“You’ll get in trouble, I don’t feel like waiting until tomorrow for you to say you got grounded,” Jeremy spoke with a deadpan voice, and Michael groaned exaggeratedly, getting up with a slightly annoyed look.  

Michael got off of Jeremy and stretched his back out, sighing when his shoulder popped. “One day, we’re gonna move away from this Mormon town and just be us,” Michael announced, and Jeremy chuckled, amused as he sat up. 

“And what? Be even gayer than we are now?”

Michael flushed at that, playfully kicking Jeremy in the leg. “You know what I mean you twat!”

Jeremy gave him a fake confused look. “Whatever do you mean, Mike?”

Michael gave him an amused glare. He walked over to the ladder and climbed down. Jeremy followed soon after, giving Michael a look full of amusement. 

Once they were both down, Michael playfully punched Jeremy in the arm. “See you later, Jer,” he said, and Jeremy quickly pecked him on the lips. “Okay, Jeremy!” Michael impatiently said, flustered as he shooed the blond away. 

“Oh you know you like my kisses!” Jeremy shouted at Michael as he walked away.

Michael laughed as turned around, walking backwards just to flip Jeremy off playfully. He turned back around and chuckled as he heard Jeremy gasp in fake astonishment. 

“Well, fuck you too!” Jeremy called out at him as Michael simply laughed. He stopped and watched Jeremy leave. After a couple of minutes, he heard the bushes behind him start to rustle just as he was about to walk back home.

“You’re in trouble now!”

Michael froze, white fear flashed through him as he turned around.

Elizabeth and even Evan were both standing behind him. Elizabeth looked a bit smug, always looking to snitch Michael out. Evan, however, looked rather scared. 

“What do you mean, brat?” Michael snarled, his voice full of rage. He glared down at the two with anger. Evan backed away whimpering, but Elizabeth kept standing her ground. Michael looked unimpressed and irritated at Evan, he was only following Elizabeth, and it only pissed him off more.

“I’m telling daddy that you snuck out again,” she said matter of factly, “I’m also telling him that you have a relationship, daddy said you couldn’t date anyone, Michael!” Elizabeth finished with a smug tone, but Michael froze.

His father couldn’t find out anything about him and Jeremy. William had ordered him to never date anyone because if he dated a guy, he’d be gay, and if he dated a girl, they would eventually find out his secret. To William, it was a surefire way to ruin his entire reputation because of how prejudice Hurricane was. 

Michael furiously grabbed Elizabeth’s arm, although he made sure he didn’t grip her too hard as to not leave bruises. Evan yelped and even Elizabeth looked a bit stunned at Michael’s fury. “You cannot go telling father anything,” he hissed in a low tone, “you don’t know what he could do to me for it.”

Elizabeth yanked her arm out of Michael’s grip and bolted straight in the direction of Michael’s house. 

Michael froze, stunned, before chasing after her. Michael was fast, but Elizabeth was even faster. He hissed in pain as his cheek was cut by a low hanging branch.

They ran out into the forest, dodging trees and bushes. Michael panted as he desperately tried to keep up. 

Michael began to panic as he saw his house just up ahead. He ran as fast as he could, ignoring the burning sensation in his legs. He was so close to her, but her hand was on the doorknob before he could get to her. She quickly opened the door and ran inside screaming for their father.

“Daddy! Daddy! Michael broke your rules!” She screamed, William, who was at the dining table, was a bit stunned to see the two of them rush in.

Michael grabbed her, but William was up in seconds. A loud slap  was heard as Michael yelped in pain, clutching his hand. 

“I told you to never grab Elizabeth like that, Michael,” William said, glaring down at Michael, who shrank back in slight fear.

Elizabeth looked a little stunned that William had actually hit Michael, but she brushed it off. Michael deserved it, after all, he was the one who grabbed her. 

William grabbed Elizabeth’s hand gently and led her to his room. “Come here and tell me what happened, Elizabeth.” William closed the door, glaring furiously at Michael as he did.

Michael bolted upstairs and packed everything important to him. His records, cassettes, band shirts, basically everything contraband in his house, along with all of his mother’s things were put into a couple of bags and he pulled out his walkie talkie. 

“Jeremy? Jeremy, pick up!” He was panicking, the more time that passed, the more likely it was that William was going to burst through his door. 

“Yeah?” It felt like a large weight was lifted off his shoulders when he heard Jeremy’s voice.

“My dad found out about us, get your ass over here and I’ll slide my important stuff down to you,” Michael said with a panicked tone.

“Shit. I’ll be there in less than a minute, calm down,” Hearing Jeremy’s voice calmed him down a bit, but it wasn’t enough.

He heard a door open and he turned to see Evan in the doorway. “I-I’m sorry Mikey! I t-tried to stop her, but she wouldn’t l-listen,” Evan said with a quiver in his voice. 

Michael felt his arms go limp. This was it. He was officially doomed. He heard a familiar thunk on his window as a pebble struck the glass. He ran over and slid it open. He spotted Jeremy waving towards him and he slid both bags and he sighed in relief as Jeremy caught both bags. 

Michael turned away from the window. He was enraged that he had to go through all of this. This was all her fault. If only they hadn’t followed him. It was all their fault.

“Get out, Evan.” 

Evan looked a bit nervous, but Michael wasn’t having it.

“Get out!” Michael snarled, anger and fury laced in his tone. 

Evan yelped and scrambled out of the room, closing the door behind him. Michael glanced over to his bed and froze.

Under his messy covers, was his Walkman that was peeking out. Michael panicked. He must have forgotten it was there in his rush. He ran to the window, but Jeremy was already gone.

He was about to go hide it when William opened his door. Michael turned to him with a stunned gaze. 

His father looked down at him. Michael couldn’t read his expression and that terrified him more than anything.

“Sneaking out again, aren’t you?” His father said, and Michael knew what he was doing. He hated how he knew that his father was furious behind a wall of fake normality. 

“Y-yes. I’m really sorry, It was a quick thing. It was I-important.” Michael nervously leaned against his window, closing it so he wouldn’t fall out. 

William gave him an unimpressed look. “You and your priorities have always irked me, Michael,” William said with an unamused chuckle. “You call sneaking out to snog with your boyfriend important?”

Michael didn’t know what to do, he looked from side to side, trying not to meet his father’s gaze. “W-we weren’t doing anything of the sort, father. I can assure you-“

“So you do have a boyfriend? After which I had specifically told you not to date at all no matter the gender of the other person?” William said as casually as he could, and Michael nervously nodded, looking down. 

William smiled before walking towards Michael’s bed. Michael watched him with nervous curiosity, which quickly turned to horror as he saw his father grab his Walkman. “What are you doing, that’s m-“

A crack rang through the room. Michael fell to his knees in disbelief and despair. William smiled at him as he tossed the broken halves of what used to be his Walkman on the floor in front of him. 

“I expect this to never happen again, Michael.” William straightened the black tie around his neck and straightened out his purple dress shirt. “You are to come straight home from school unless told otherwise, and since I’m going to be terribly busy with work for the next few months, you are to watch Evan full time while I take Elizabeth with me. I expect that you’ll follow along or I’ll have to take more drastic measures,” he ominously said, before his gaze turned a bit more hateful. “You always were a spanner in the works, stay in your lane and I won’t have to do things like this. I truly am sorry, Michael, I do all of this with your best interests in heart.” William walked out and slammed the door behind him.

Michael slowly reached out to grab the two broken pieces of his Walkman. All it took was his father putting his hands on either side and bending it to break it. The act alone sent shivers down his spine. He tried putting the pieces back together, praying to anyone that would listen to just let this all be one horrible joke. 

He heard the garage open and heard a car pull out. He knew his father had just left to probably go to one of his restaurants. He heard running outside and his door opened once more. He looked up and saw Elizabeth and Evan standing there.

Evan kept trying to pull Elizabeth out of Michael’s room, but the young girl was smirking and ignoring his attempts.

“I told you I was going to-“

Elizabeth was cut off by Michael’s ugly sobs. She reeled back in shock, Evan began crying too. 

“T-that was m-mommy’s Walkman…” he said through his tears.

Michael kept sobbing, which freaked both Elizabeth and Evan. They had never once seen Michael cry at all before.

Elizabeth stared at the Walkman on the floor, snapped in two. She felt guilt flooding through her, she didn’t think daddy would get so mad, she just thought that he would yell at Michael, that Michael would begin to bully daddy, causing daddy to fight back, just like daddy alway told her would happen.

Elizabeth stepped forward, opening her mouth to tell her oldest brother an apology, but Michael’s grief stricken scream rang through the room instead, scaring both her and Evan.

“Get out! Get out get out get out! You’ve ruined everything you little snitch! I’ll make you pay! I’ll make you both pay! So get out!” 

Elizabeth and Evan both scrambled to get out. Elizabeth pushed Evan out the door and quickly shut the door.

Chapter Text

Michael was close to losing his mind. He’d been stuck with Evan for 3 months now and he still wouldn’t stop crying. Michael was always bored, school was ending soon and he was still completely grounded, probably until he turned 18.

While Michael was still lying in his bed, Evan was downstairs, doing whatever it is that he usually did. Michael looked at his dingy vanity mirror and looked at the bright red Foxy mask tied and placed on the side of his face. He got an idea and chuckled. If he wasn’t allowed outside, he’d make the best of whatever he could. It was payback for his Walkman. 

He frowned as he looked at his dresser, the remnants of what was once his mother’s was now a glaring reminder of how shitty his life was. How shitty his father was.

It took him a while to realize that his father was…abusive. Him hitting Michael was a testament to that. It only took a bunch of persistence from Jeremy and his parents to get him to come to that conclusion. What they couldn’t convince him of was him being verbally abused. 

Michael scoffed at that, there wasn’t any verbal abuse, that didn’t exist. Abuse was when you hit someone, how do you hurt people with words alone? If Michael was so affected by something his father said, then that was his problem. He was just too weak to handle a few words. No problem for him, he could handle way more than a few insults at once.

He still cringed when he thought of when his Walkman was broken. He managed to push all of his emotions away, he only focused on getting revenge on Elizabeth. It was working so far, she was an attention seeker, so he didn’t give her any. The silent treatment was successful.

For his brother, he and his friends already came up with a plan. Sure, all of them were nervous about it, they’d never bullied anyone, preferring to keep to themselves, but this was different. For now, until the crybaby’s birthday, this would have to suffice.

Michael got up from his bed, fixing the mask to cover his face, smirking as he opened the door. He walked down the stairs quietly, spotting Evan in his room, facing away towards his stuffed animals. Michael huffed. He still needed the stupid things to sleep, he was 10 and still needed a stuffed bear. 

Michael ignored the irritation that it was a stuffed bear of his father’s animatronics.

He stepped off the last step gently, laughing in his head of what was about to happen. He heard Evan talking to the stupid things, but what threw him off was the voice that followed. He shook it off, assuming that it was just Evan pretending to talk to himself. 

He pushed the door wider with a scream, laughing at the way Evan instantly let out a higher pitched scream. He kept laughing as Evan began crying. 

“Toughen up, crybaby. You’re such a loser, still talking to your stupid stuffed animals,” Michael jabbed, and Evan, through cracked sobs and whimpers, tried to argue with the teen.

“T-they’re not stu-stupid! They’re m-my friends!” He cried, causing Michael to laugh even harder, slamming the door closed and walking into the kitchen a changed person. 

It felt good to scare Evan, as sadistic as that likely was. Although Michael still felt a bit bad, he really had scared Evan. He shook it off, though. This was all for Evan, he wasn’t like their rotten sister, he had at least tried to stop Elizabeth.

It was payback, but Michael also wanted the kid to toughen up, the way their father toughened him up, even if their father was crazy, Michael couldn’t help but think that his teaching methods helped Michael toughen up from being a crybaby like Evan.

Michael walked back upstairs, ignoring the sobs that still rang from downstairs.

—

Michael was still bored sitting around in his room. His stuff was still being kept safe at Jeremy’s, so there wasn’t much that he could do. 

He felt a pang of sadness flow through him. He rarely got to see Jeremy at all anymore, although they still talk through their walkie talkies, it wasn’t in person interactions. They could only see each other in school, but they couldn’t act like they were romantically together. 

Michael let out a frustrated groan, looking at his reflection in his dinghy mirror. He looked at himself and he froze. All he could see was him. His father seemed to be staring back at him. 

Same eyebrows, same eye shape, same nose, same jawline, same shade of brown hair, same mouth, same bluish grey eyes.

Michael balled his fists and got up to grab the mirror. He slammed it into the wooden floors with strong enough force to smash the glass. He punched the plastic framing. Glass flew and he heard liquid splatter all around him. All he could see was red. 

His hands were warm when he finally stopped. His door opened and he looked up to see Evan, who screamed out in horror.

Michael sneered at him and looked down at his mess. Glass was shattered everywhere and his floor was covered in blood. There were gouges in his knuckles and fingers. He looked back at Evan with a blank face. 

“Do I look like him?” He asked, while his face showed no emotion, his voice was thick with it. Evan stepped back, looking at him like he was crazy. “You think I’m like him, don’t you? You think I’m crazy,” Michael spat, standing up and sobbing. Covering his face, blood smearing all over. “You think I’m…” 

Evan ran downstairs, nearly tripping on his way down. Michael felt blood run down his hands, iron filling the air. He laughed darkly as he stared at his dresser. 

“You thought I was going to be a psycho like him, don’t you mum? That’s why you always gave me weird looks from time to time.” Michael took a deep shuddering breath. “You thought I was like him, trying to love me it out of me,” Michael spat. Just an hour ago, he was scaring his little brother, but now? He was talking to a ghost. “I hate you both, I hate all of you! Why can’t I just be normal?!”

Five days till the party.

Chapter Text

Michael fiddled with the bandages on his hands. His father was furious when he had returned home. Evan had been crying and screaming that Michael had hurt himself. The boy in question had been sitting in a pile of despair, leaning against a wall, blood almost everywhere, even splattered on the ceiling. 

It took a while for the doctors to stitch his hands back together, leaving an ugly reminder. However, he was sure that once he healed, his hands would be scarred enough to no longer be his father’s hands. 

However, sitting at his desk, unable to go to school, he was growing increasingly frustrated at the lack of things to do. 

Scaring and shaping Evan up was a rather interesting stress reliever for Michael. It had been going on for a day or two, starting right back up when Michael got back from the hospital, but that didn’t really stop the older boy. 

Unfortunately, Evan had school, and Michael had to wait until he got back home to do anything worthwhile. 

Michael huffed and stepped downstairs, and stepped quietly into the kitchen. He opened up the pantry door, ignoring the stinging pain shooting up from his hands. 

He stood still when he caught his own reflection on the window above the sink. His breath hitched, beginning to over analyze his features. He blinked, snapping himself out of it and snagged the Foxy mask on the side of his face, grinning as half his face was covered by the bright red plastic. 

Michael turned back to what he was doing, but found little interest in what was in the pantry. He groaned, turning around and made his way to the stairs, climbing up them, even more bored than before. He swung his bedroom door open, his hand burning as he gripped the metal door knob. 

He closed his door, cringing at the creaking sound it made as it shut. He turned to his bed, wondering if bed rotting would have to do until Evan got back. His father wasn’t set to come back with Elizabeth until 8:30 at night. He sighed, his eyes were drooping from exhaustion. Usually, he listened to his Walkman to help him fall asleep, but that wasn’t an option anymore, thanks to Elizabeth. 

Michael shook his head, still bored out of his mind. He flopped onto his bed, thinking about what Jeremy was doing. Michael knew that Jeremy, Mark, and Simon were still at school, they would be for a few more hours, so talking to Jeremy through their walkie talkies wasn't an option either. He groaned out loud, taking his mask off to push his face into his pillow. 

When he was done moping, Michael moved his face to the side and just stared at his desk. Maybe a nap or two couldn’t hurt.

—

Michael heard laughter around him, the smell of pizza, sticky substances, and whatever cleaning supplies the workers used to clean up those sticky surfaces stung his nose as he looked around. 

He remembered when he was younger and first stepped into this very restaurant. He’d been mesmerized by the flashing colors and the two animatronics. Now all Michael could see was the lazy clean ups, employees who weren’t paid enough to get names right, and unsupervised children. He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around to see Jeremy, Mark, and Simon grinning. 

“Hi guys, are you ready?” Michael asked, a nervous look on his face. He flinched when Jeremy studied his face closely, obviously not falling for the front he put up.

“You good? We don’t have to do this, it’s not even what we do, I get you’re upset, we all are,” Jeremy said, giving him a reassuring smile, “but I think this might be a little excessive, don’t you think?” 

Michael looked at Mark and Simon, who looked a little nervous, but also didn’t seem to agree with Jeremy. 

“I dunno Jeremy, it can’t be that dangerous, it’s a stupid robot, and I’m not backing down like a girl,” Mark said jokingly, but that hit Michael in a weird way and he flinched.

Michael laughed it off. “Yeah, Jer, c’mon, since when are you too scared to break a few rules?”

—

Sirens rang in the distance as Michael screamed his lungs out. Red was everywhere. He carefully but quickly pulled Evan close to his body, and for the first time, he begged out loud. To anyone listening to help him. Help his brother. 

He felt Jeremy’s presence beside him as the other teen held his jacket onto Evan’s head, he was talking, but all Michael could hear was that sickening crunch over and over that made him want to throw up. Mark and Simon had long since run off, screaming about calling the police.

How could this happen? Why did this happen? Why hadn’t he listened? Jeremy was always right, so why didn’t Michael just listen?! Michael couldn’t breathe, his heart pounded, and his lungs burned but all he could think about was his brother. The brother who begged him to stop, to put him down, to let him be, the same brother he played ball with all those years ago, the one he hugged when their mother died. Now he was holding him, but there was no whining, no hug back, no nothing. 

—

Michael held Elizabeth’s hand gently as they walked through the restaurant. The young girl had refused to talk to Michael for a year before the two grew closer in their grief. It was her and him against the world, that and Jeremy, of course.

Now, it was her 10th birthday, and the two were stuck doing whatever until their father came to collect them after work. 

There was a birthday party, but none of the kids were actually the young girls' friends, just kids who came for free pizza and shows since this was the restaurant's grand opening.

“Can we go see Circus Baby now?” Elizabeth asked, but Michael shook his head.

“No, father said you couldn’t, and I don’t want to be on his bad side,” Michael told the girl, who puffed out her cheeks in frustration. “No, Elizabeth. Let’s just have some fun, I’m sure Funtime Foxy has a good show coming up, maybe you can make some friends with the kids there,” he said, but Elizabeth grumbled and rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, and end up with people who’ll leave you behind and blame you for ‘murder’?” She snapped, but regretted it when she saw Michael flinch. Her eyes softened as she rubbed the back of her neck. “Well, maybe I can find someone who’ll stick around.”

Michael gave her a small smile, but the strained look didn’t help. “Yeah, but um, you can only do that if you talk to people,” He said, but Elizabeth wasn’t so hopeful. She looked around as they walked into Funtime Foxy’s Auditorium, looking at the white and pink fox with a small interest. 

Michael spotted someone and the two walked over to one of the tables, and Elizabeth ran up and smiled. “Jeremy! Do you like my new dress?” She asked, her eyes sparkling. Michael chuckled and smiled at the way Jeremy used his fingers to imitate a photographer.

“My my! Of course! It looks amazing! The birthday girl has got to look her best!” Jeremy said, his face bright with amusement.

Elizabeth smiled confidently and Michael felt relieved that she was finally getting over her disappointment about not seeing Circus Baby.

—

Michael felt panic run through his veins as he and Jeremy ran around everywhere searching for even a glimpse of strawberry blonde hair. Michael felt tears pour down his face when he couldn’t see Elizabeth anywhere in Ballora’s Gallery. 

He felt so many emotions at once that he couldn’t keep up with himself. He couldn’t stop thinking. She’s somewhere, kids don’t just vanish, not even in a crowded restaurant where kids and adults were everywhere.

All he did was turn around to grab Elizabeth a soda while Jeremy ran to the bathroom and the next thing she was gone. He hadn’t gotten worried until some kids told him that she walked to one of the rooms and never came out. He knew he should have kept holding her hand, yet he also knew he should’ve known that Elizabeth would have snuck to see Circus Baby. 

He’d already informed his father, but he wasn’t sure what the man was thinking. His father hadn’t even reacted until Michael told him that she snuck off to Circus Baby’s showroom. 

Jeremy grabbed onto Michael’s hand, squeezing comfortingly as they sat down. Michael looked up and glanced at the stupid robot that started it all. The clown seemed to stare into his soul, its icy blue eyes sent shivers down his spine. 

—

Things were hard for Michael. He’d moved out of his father’s home shortly after his 18th birthday a few months prior and moved in a small apartment with Jeremy. His father hadn’t been the same person since Elizabeth disappeared, even worse than when Evan died.

Lately, there hasn’t been anyone involved with the restaurant chain who has been faring well. Henry was grief stricken after finding his daughter dead behind Freddy’s a year after it opened. And then, only a year later, 5 kids went missing, similarly to Elizabeth. 

Michael remembered how sad he felt when the Puppet, Charlie’s favorite animatronic, had been packed up and stuffed into a spare warehouse to stand the rest of time. 

For now, Michael was stuck with working a low paying job working for his father without him knowing. The man had been really weird about the restaurant and its animatronics, Michael just had to know what was going on. After the Missing Children’s Incident at Freddy’s, it took a hit on the brand and image of the place. 

Michael took out a key in his pocket and unlocked the doors of the restaurant in question. He shivered as he stared at the stage, all three of the animatronics stared into nothing as Michael made his way past them and to his security room. 

His manager might fire him soon, it was rather obvious. He had been getting nitpicked during his day shifts, which was easy to bypass since his father and Henry never showed up anymore. Michael recalled a time he’d been nagged about his tattoos, but Michael quickly set him straight once the man learned that they were the dates of his siblings’ birthdays. Although, now he was being attacked for his ‘odor’. Michael wouldn’t lie, hygiene wasn’t his strong suit, he’d been depressed for a long time, still was, and Jeremy was the one who reminded him to shower once in a while, but he still managed to keep himself presentable. 

Michael sighed as he sat down in his chair. The clock ticked to 12:00 AM, and now it was time. He already felt the eyes on him, and now he just had to make sure he left this building in one piece.

—

Michael laid along the couch and watched the show on the television half-mindedly. He heard a click at the door and Jeremy walked in, looking tired as usual. 

“Hey, it’s 7:30 in the morning, why are you still up?” 

Michael glanced at him, shrugging absentmindedly before sighing. Jeremy looked a bit worried but shook his head. He walked towards Michael, grabbing onto his torso and lifting him partially off the couch.

Michael yelped, lightly hitting his partner with his fist. “Put me down!” He quietly shouted, but stopped when Jeremy slid himself under Michael, who rolled his eyes. “Could’ve just said you were trying to lay down too,” he scoffed, but Jeremy only hummed in response. “Don’t you have work tomorrow? You're going to be exhausted when pulling another all nighter.” 

Jeremy chuckled, wrapping his arms around Michael. “Yeah, but we barely spend any time together anyway, might as well enjoy the moment,” he said, before adding, “although, tomorrow is my last night shift, then I start the day shift, and you’ll be covering that night as a new hire,” Jeremy finished and Michael groaned. 

“Tired of stupid night shifts,” he said dejectedly, but Jeremy rolled his eyes before lightly grabbing one of Michael’s hands, running his fingers along the many jagged scars.

“You’ll live, after that I can get a new job that pays more and we’ll be out of this Mormon town and ‘just be us’,” Jeremy joked, and Michael laughed.

“Shut up, I was 14 running on rule breaking and a damn dream,” Michael joked back, and the two laughed. ”I love you, Jeremy.”

“Forever and always?” Jeremy asked, and Michael nodded.

“Always.” Soon, Michael told himself, soon, he’d be away from Utah and finding himself with Jeremy by his side.

—

Michael felt numb as he waited in the stark white room, he felt tears flow down his face. This couldn’t be real, he’d talked to him only an hour before leaving the restaurant. Michael felt his stomach churn as he heard a nurse call for him. He walked over and looked up at the lady in front of him.

“Is he okay?” Michael quickly asked, but the solemn expression of the nurse made his stomach drop.

“Mr. Fitzgerald is stable at the moment, but the accident left him without most of his frontal lobe, he’s in a coma at the moment, but you might need to be prepared for the worst case scenario,” the nurse explained, and that left Michael even more sick than before.

Evan also lost his frontal lobe all those years ago. But, Michael had a chance, a chance that Jeremy might wake up. “Can I go see him?” He asked, his voice cracking a bit as he held back tears. 

Seeing the nurse nod made him feel lighter, but he only grew more nervous the further he followed the nurse. This whole incident reminded him of 1983, when Elizabeth was still by his side, and they both followed their father to Evan’s room.

Michael shook his head, he couldn’t look back, he had to be here, with Jeremy. Forever and always, just like they promised.

—

When Michael’s father finally contacted him after the accident, Michael wanted to smash his head in a wall. Of course, Michael thought, all he wants is for me to move back home while he gallivants to who knows where. Michael couldn’t help but go through with it. After all, his father was sending him on a maintenance job that seemed simple enough, but his main job was to find Elizabeth and ‘put her back together’ whatever that meant.

Michael finished putting the last box in Jeremy’s old car, which he’d inherited after he finally passed on. The bills kept racking up and Michael couldn’t afford them all, Jeremy’s parents also couldn’t, and they’d been forced to pull the plug. 

It killed Michael, knowing that he’d lost yet another person that he loved to his father’s stupid business. Although, it did help that Michael knew Jeremy would have wanted that. It also didn’t sit well with Michael to just let his boyfriend suffer because he wanted to hang on to a man who was long gone.

He shook his head and turned the key in the ignition and sighed. He’d failed Jeremy 8 years ago, but he couldn’t let his father down. Michael would find his sister if its the last thing he’d do, but he couldn’t help but feel that his father was hiding something from him.

—

Michael didn’t know how, but he’d managed to get back to his childhood home. He broke down once he closed the door. He sobbed as he looked at what used to be his hands. They were a sickening purple, leathery to the touch and bloody with his own blood.

He picked himself off of the floor and dialed his fathers number. He stared at the flip phone in anger as he sobbed. He’d found what was left of Elizabeth and she even escaped with the other souls. His father wasn’t anywhere, and Michael needed to get out of the house. Pack up necessary items and run. He needed to hide, live in the shadows until he could finally figure out how to die already. He was missing his insides, looking in a mirror helped him see his spine and if he had one, he’d be emptying his stomach. He should be dead, so why wasn’t he? 

He shouldn’t have hoped for a good year, now he’s ‘dead’ at 26 and running on a need to find him. He would find his father, wherever the man ran off to.

—

Michael glared at the monitor with a passion. He felt disgusted at the sight of the creature on the screen. That man, that thing, whatever was left of William, was horrifying to look at, even more than Michael’s own reflection.

He remembered when he found William’s rambles in the purple leather notebooks. Ranging from calculated studies to deranged and mad scribbles of jealousy and murderous intentions. It filled Michael with disgust, knowing that William was a deranged narcissistic psychopath. What went from ‘putting Evan back together’ turned into a thirst for immortality, and Michael knew that he was the first on William’s lab rat list. To study the remnant that unfortunately yet fortunately kept his soul trapped in his withering body. 

Michael stared down at the monster on the camera, he wasn’t even sure if he could call that thing his father anymore.

—

The area around him felt blazing hot, but Michael welcomed it with open arms. He felt a strong burning sensation all over his body but Michael couldn’t help but smile as he looked down at two photos. One had him, Elizabeth, and Evan, and the other had him and Jeremy celebrating their 4th anniversary. He clutched the photos as everything burned around him. He’d finally rest, finally undoing William’s mess that had left him broken and in disarray. He could finally die.

He would finally let go, finally reunite with his family.

—

Michael shot awake with a gasp as he felt a hand shake him awake. His vision cleared as he choked on air, his breathing quick. He spotted Evan and noticed that the room was dark, how long had he been stuck in that nightmare? 

He finally calmed down enough to hear Evan ask something, but he didn’t care and just pulled him into an awkward hug. The boy squeaked, a bit fearful but Michael just silently cried as he held onto Evan.

Once Michael let go, Evan looked at Michael with a worried yet nervous expression.

“D-does this mean you aren’t m-mad at me anymore?” The boy stammered, and Michael could only nod. 

“Yeah, it was stupid of me anyways. Y-you didn’t deserve that, I’m so sorry bud,” Michael apologized, his voice cracking as he barely held back tears. “Where’s father?” 

Evan looked a little better once he heard Michael’s apology, nodding as he clutched the yellow bear in his arms. “He isn’t back yet.”

Michael nodded, his eyes distant, and Evan dropped his bear onto the floor and slowly climbed onto Michael’s bed cautiously. It pained Michael a bit, to see his brother approach him like he was a ticking bomb. “What are you doing?” He asked and Evan froze, looking away.

“S-sometimes when I get nightmares, Fredbear helps me s-sleep,” Evan explained, and Michael didn’t know what to say to that.

Michael lifted his bed covers and Evan took that as a sign to crawl in front of his older brother. “If you kick me in your sleep, I’m leaving you to the spiders,” Michael joked, his eyes growing a bit heavy once Evan settled down.

Evan huffed. “Y-yeah right, you’re more scared of them than me.”

1 day till the party

Chapter Text

Michael heard laughter around him, the smell of pizza, sticky substances, and whatever cleaning supplies the workers used to clean up those sticky surfaces stung his nose as he looked around. 

It reminded him of when he was younger and first stepped into this very restaurant. He’d been mesmerized by the flashing colors and the two animatronics. Now all Michael could see was the lazy clean ups, employees who weren’t paid enough to get names right, and unsupervised children. He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around to see Jeremy, Mark, and Simon grinning. 

He paused, feeling a shiver go down his spine. It was the same feelings and actions from his nightmare playing out all over again. Did he seriously predict the future in a dream? Or was he really some nut case? 

“Hey guys,” Michael greeted the group, a nervous look on his face. He nearly flinched when Jeremy studied his face closely, obviously not falling for the front he put up.

“You good? We don’t have to do this, it’s not even what we do, I get you’re upset, we all are,” Jeremy said, giving him a reassuring smile, “but I think this might be a little excessive, don’t you think?” 

Michael, stunned and now extremely freaked out, looked at Mark and Simon, who looked a little nervous, but also didn’t seem to agree with Jeremy, much to Michael’s own horror.

“I dunno Jeremy, it can’t be that dangerous, it’s a stupid robot, and I’m not backing down like a girl,” Mark said jokingly, but that it felt like a hit to head for Michael. 

Everything was the same as his dream, down to words being said, albeit not Michael’s, but still the same nonetheless. He rubbed his hands together uncomfortably as if blood was soaked all over them. He felt fear strike through him as Jeremy suddenly had blood all over his arms and shirt, but blinked and his partner was suddenly back to normal, only flashing Michael a look of concern.

Michael laughed it off. “Yeah, Jer, you’re right. I made up with him last night, let’s just let the kid be for his birthday.”

Jeremy smiled smugly, much to Michael’s amusement. “As usual, c’mon, I’m sure your dad has some decent arcade games around here,” he said, Mark and Simon didn’t press the matter further, only nodding as they followed Jeremy.

Although he had managed to change what had happened in his dream, Michael still felt a bit weird and nervous, especially at how Mark easily followed Jeremy, but he didn’t linger on it, he’d been feeling off the entire day. 

—

Michael tapped his foot onto the ground as he impatiently watched Jeremy struggle to play a random arcade game they’d managed to find.

“Dude, you suck at this, move over and let me have a turn,” Michael told the other teen, who waved him off.

“No! I’m almost done!” 

Michael rolled his eyes in amusement before turning to see that Mark and Simon weren’t by them anymore. He huffed, annoyed. He spotted Evan underneath a table, probably crying from the way his body was shaking. He looked at Jeremy before groaning. 

He walked over to the table, bending over to get a better look at the boy underneath. “C’mon out Evan, it’s your birthday, at least try to have some fun,” Michael told his brother, but Evan shook his head.

“No! The animatronics will g-get me!” Evan refused, much to Michael’s irritation. However, just as Michael was about to grab him, he hesitated.

Michael sighed, looking back to see Jeremy was still playing that stupid arcade game. He knew that Jeremy wouldn’t mind if Evan tagged along. “They can’t grab you if I’m with you, you doofus. Now c’mon, we can watch Jeremy fail at that game over and over until he quits,” Michael finished and Evan sniffled before hesitatingly crawling out from under the table and grabbing Michael’s hand. 

Michael frowned a bit at the size difference between his and Evan’s hands. Sometimes Michael forgets just how small Evan is, which sort of made sense. Evan was born prematurely and was on the smaller side, in both height and weight for an 11 year old. 

Michael stood up and so did Evan. “Won’t dad get m-mad if he sees you with Jeremy?” Evan asked nervously, but Michael shrugged his shoulders.

“Father’s busy, locked up in his office. He won’t know and you can’t tell him, okay? Our secret.” Michael held out his pinky finger, and Evan gave him a small smile and latched his own pinkie with Michael’s.

“P-promise.”

—

As the time for opening gifts and eating cake seemed to get closer and closer, Michael felt a bit uneasy, but he couldn’t quite place it. 

He held onto Evan’s hand, who was still clinging to his side like a koala. Michael had to admit, it was a bit adorable, but he wouldn’t dare say that out loud. 

Jeremy had finally moved on from the game and now they were all standing in front of the skeeball games and Michael laughed as Jeremy scowled. 

“That 10 pointer was embarrassing,” Michael teased, and Evan chuckled a little. Michael smiled, taking that as a win. “Watch and learn!” He proudly said, throwing a bright blue ball up the ramp, mindful of the kid clinging to him. He pumped his fist in the air as he scored another 200 points.

“Oh c’mon Mike, you know I suck at this! You’re cheating!” Jeremy argued, but Michael laughed, snagging the tickets the machine released. 

“You’re just jealous that I’m so good at this game,” Michael said as Jeremy grabbed his own significantly shorter line of tickets. 

“Yeah yeah, c’mon, let’s go see what they have at the prize counter,” Jeremy said, looking down at Evan. “I’m sure they’ve got some cool stuff. C’mon Evan, If we let Mike pick out the prizes I’ll be walking home with a million army men again,” Jeremy joked, laughing as Michael scowled.

“That was one time! And you told me that it was cool!” Michael blushed a bit in embarrassment, groaning as Evan joined in on the laughter.

“M-Mike’s always collecting things, like the time he found a r-rock and his collection of things grew,” Evan told Jeremy, leaving Michael to huff in annoyance.

“Traitors, the lot of you.”

—

After another hour or so, Michael and Evan waved goodbye to Jeremy, who was heading home early in case the boys’ father returned for the cake cutting and gift opening. 

Evan smiled as he held a cheaply made bracelet. It was made of a few strands of green and blue cord, but Evan looked at it like it was a marvelous treasure. “Mike! Put it on for me, p-please,” he asked, smiling brightly, his eyes shining with happiness.

Michael hummed and tied the cord to the younger’s wrist. “Jeremy picked well, huh? Can’t say I’m shocked, he always has a good eye for these things,” Michael said and Evan nodded. It made Michael feel happy to know that his brother got along with Jeremy. The two hadn’t interacted much before, so it felt good that the two hit off well enough. 

“Mhm! I can see why you like him so much,” Evan said, fiddling with the bracelet with interest. 

Michael blushed a bit, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah, yeah. Anyways, let’s go to the stage and find Elizabeth, she’s probably waiting for cake too,” Michael said, but Evan froze, looking a bit on edge.

“W-what about the a-animatronics? And aren’t you still mad at Liz?” Evan meekly asked, his eyes round with a smidge of fear in them.

Michael sighed, bringing Evan to a nearby table and sat him down. “Listen, bud. It’s complicated with Elizabeth right now, she hurt me real bad, you know that, right?” Michael watched as Evan nodded, fiddling with the bottom of his black and grey shirt. “Well, you know why she hurt me so badly?” Michael asked, and Evan half nodded, but looked a bit unsure.

“Kind of, I k-know that you weren’t supposed to be with anyone,” Even stammered a bit, still nervous.

Michael nodded, grabbing Evan’s hand. “Yeah, I wasn’t, but I can’t help that kind of thing, you’ll understand it better when you’re older. I’m not mad at her, she’s 9 and doesn’t know what she’s doing. She thought it was some small secret like I was snagging cookies from the pantry before dinner,” Michael half-heartedly joked, trying to lighten the mood. Evan giggled a little and Michael continued. “This isn’t that kind of secret, this is a big secret that ended in something very special to me being broken, I know you know that, but it still doesn’t make that hurt go away, you know?” Michael said, sighing. 

Evan looked down, and grabbed Michael’s other hand, being mindful of the cuts that were hidden beneath the bandages. “I know, it was scary, y-you were crying, you never c-cry. Not even when m-mom moved on.”

Michael flinched a bit at that, but shook his head. “I know, I’m sorry, I’m just not okay right now, but I’m doing better. I promise.” Michael felt a bit bad, lying to Evan. But he had to, he didn’t think Evan would even believe Michael if he told him the whole truth. 

Evan nodded. “Y-you’re different, than before. N-nicer, so I believe you,” he said, and Michael felt a bit of sadness flash through him. 

Michael nodded, deciding not to linger on the thought that him going crazy and seeing the ‘future’ in a dream somehow made him nicer. “Of course, and I’m sorry, I know I’ve been a bit of a jerk lately, I was angry, and I’m still angry, but I shouldn’t have taken that out on you,” he admitted, wincing when he recalled the couple of times he’d scared Evan to tears, trying to justify it in his head. He snapped back to reality and watched as Evan brightened up.

“You should do e-emotion scribbles,” Evan said, smiling slightly.

Michael, confused, looked at Evan with an unsure look. “What's that?”

“I do it sometimes, I grab a p-pencil and paper and just scribble on it at random, putting emotion in it, that’s why I c-call it emotion scribbling,” Evan explained, kicking his feet back and forth. 

Michael looked a bit wary, but added the suggestion to his list of things to consider trying. “Sounds interesting, I might try it later,” Michael said and Evan smiled. “Alright, I’m tired of the emotional talk, let’s go see if they’re ready to finally cut some cake.” Evan paused, but Michael grabbed his hand. “I’m not going to let them grab you, they’d have to get through me, first,” Michael proudly told Evan, who nervously got up and followed his older brother. 

—

Michael and Evan found themselves near the front of the stage, sitting next to Elizabeth, who was looking a little down. Michael still has yet to talk to her, but the tension isn’t as thick as it used to be. He would talk to her eventually, but not when the wounds were still fresh between them.

There weren’t many people around them, most parents weren’t even there, merely dropping their kids off and leaving. The other kids were around the arcade and prize counter, and only a small handful were by the animatronics since it wasn't showtime yet.

Michael was about to ask Evan if he wanted to go back to the arcade when he heard a couple of people walking up behind them. It filled Michael with a mix of fear, dread, and even a hint of curiosity. He got up and turned around to see Mark and Simon standing behind them.

“Uh, hey guys, what are you doing here? Thought you went home since I couldn’t find you two,” Michael said, choosing his words carefully, trying to leave out Jeremy since Elizabeth was right there next to Evan. 

Mark laughed, but Michael stood in front of the two, unamused. “C’mon dude, now that that buzzkill is gone we can go through with the plan,” Mark said, which hit Michael in a weird way.

Simon chimed in, much to Michael’s irritation. “Yeah, it’ll be so funny! You’re right there, grab him.”

Michael shook head. Elizabeth and Evan watched their brother and his friends with a mix of uncomfort and fear. “No, I said it before and I’ll say it now, let him be, I meant it when I said it,” he said, which made Mark sneer. 

“Dude, don’t tell me you’re scared, chill out. Here, we’ll do it and you sit and laugh as you realize that you’re being stupid.” Mark and Simon walked around the table and stepped towards Evan, who was beside Elizabeth. 

Michael quickly stood up and in front of his two siblings, shielding them from the two. “Back off, I said no, it’s his birthday you idiots!” He snapped, but that didn’t sit well with Mark, who shoved Michael to the side, using his larger stature to his advantage.

Simon, who was previously just watching idly, grabbed Michael as Mark grabbed Evan despite Elizabeth and Evan’s attempts at fighting back. It sent fear down Michael as he thrashed in Simon’s arms. 

“Let him go!” Michael shouted, a mix of thoughts going through his head. His brother was being manhandled in front of him and he couldn’t do anything. Why was he so weak? He felt horrified, as if he could hear that sickening crunch echo through his head over and over, a sound he’s never even heard in real life before.

Evan screamed as he was lifted off of the floor. Michael watched as Elizabeth tried to claw at the teen, but her 9 year old strength did nothing to Mark, who shoved her. Michael scowled, but he felt useless. If only Jeremy was here, maybe he could’ve stopped this before it even started.

“Stop! You don’t know what you're doing!” Michael shouted, trying to draw attention onto the scene, trying to get someone who would help. He froze when Mark stepped onto the stage, still carrying a crying Evan. He blinked before fighting the Simon even harder, kicking and thrashing like a mad man as Mark got closer to the Fredbear animatronic.

Simon grunted but his grip slipped and Michael pulled himself free, pushing Simon onto the ground as hard as he could. Rushing over to Mark, who was just about to lift Evan up and jumped onto stage, slamming his entire body onto the other teen, seeing stars as his head hit the metal foot of the Spring Bonnie animatronic. 

Michael shakily got up and grabbed Evan, who was crying his lungs out, pulling him off the stage and ignored Mark, who was cursing him out. Elizabeth was frozen, prettified, but okay, which was a relief for him. Michael winced as he noticed everyone in the restaurant was looking at them, and then he noticed his father standing in front of his office with Henry beside him. 

He knew he was in for a lot of trouble at home, but knowing that Evan was okay, it made it worth it. Michael set Evan down onto the floor, his arms tired. He was shocked that he even managed to lift Evan off of the floor, much less carry him. He pulled Evan into a hug, before pulling Elizabeth close too, much to the girl's surprise.

“What the fuck dude! Are you crazy?!” Mark shouted at Michael who glared at him. 

“Me? Crazy? More like you, you dumbass! I said no and I meant it! I can’t believe you two would pull something like this!” Michael snapped, fury burning through his veins. Simon, thankfully, had the decency to at least look ashamed, Mark, however, did not. 

Although, before Mark could open his mouth anymore, Henry had made his way over to the stage and Michael looked up to see his father looking down at him, Evan, and Elizabeth. Michael looked down, ready for anything his father had to say, but was instead met with silence as the man grabbed Michael’s hand and led the three out of the restaurant. 

Michael chewed on his lip, unsure of how to respond. Once outside, the three were led to the familiar purple car their father owned. Michael understood and so did Evan and Elizabeth. They all got in, ignoring the awkward silence.

“We will talk about this at home, you can get cake and your gifts then, Evan,” William said, his tone unreadable and silence fell about the car once more as the man began to drive out of the parking lot. 

Michael let out the breath he was holding, but was still unsure of what was to come later on. But he was certain of one thing, he wasn’t going to be friends with Mark or Simon. He had to admit, his father may have been right about them, not Jeremy, but close enough, as much as Michael hated to admit it.

He didn’t even know why they would pull a stunt like this. Michael knew that Mark was rather prideful, so it made sense that he wouldn’t back down from a challenge. Simon, however, was a mystery. Maybe he’d been talked into it, or maybe he had also not wanted to back down.

Michael wasn’t sure, he never was. He just couldn’t ignore everything though. If his dream was another reality, that meant he knew what could have happened if he’d gone through with the prank, but also what would’ve happened if he hadn’t stopped Mark and Simon at the last second. Did that mean that Elizabeth was also going to be put in harm's way? What about Charlie? Those missing children? What about Michael himself? 

Michael sighed, trying to clear his mind. He would think about that stupid future stuff later. Right now, he had to focus on Evan, who was still crying quietly next to him. He would protect him, he would protect Elizabeth, if it was the last thing he did.

Chapter Text

Michael remembered when his mother didn’t come home.

His father had been extra irritated that day. Rambling like a madman about her. Enough so that Michael, at 10 years old, began to question his own father’s stability.

She’d gone out to buy Michael a toy. William had bought one for his sister and his brother, but nothing for him.

Clara Afton wouldn’t stand for that. She yelled at William for an hour about the way he was treating his eldest. 

“You could at least pretend to care about him! I get he’s the reason we’re even married, but you show so much love to Elizabeth and Evan!”

William had begun shouting back loud enough for Michael to hear. “You know me, Clara. I hate mistakes. Not even just his existence, but his entire identity as a whole! That boy’s nothing but a smudge that shouldn’t have existed in the first place!” 

“How can you say that, he’s your child!”

“Please, as if you’re deserving of a mother of the year award. Don’t think I don’t notice that bottle in your damn car. You’ll get my kids killed one day you know.”

“I-I. William, I’m going out. Michael is deserving of everything Lizzie and Evan have, I will not let you neglect my son.”

Michael remembered a loud bang as the door slammed shut.  He imagined for an hour that his mother would come upstairs and hold him like she usually did. That he would smell her perfume and feel her hands running through his hair.

But his mother never came.

Police came to the door instead.

Holding his new fox plush in his arms felt like a crime.

Drunk driving was what they had said.

His mothers photos disappeared shortly after that.

—

A week managed to pass by Michael, much to his surprise. Time seemed unforgiving as he tried to navigate everything that had happened in such a short amount of time. He kept questioning his dream, the same things happened, but him not going through with the prank seemed to help Michael avoid a more gruesome ending. It was something that made bile burn the back of his throat from just thinking about it. 

It was suffocating, thinking about what might have happened. He could still make the image in his head, blood everywhere, on his hands, in his clothes, on his face, all over Jeremy, all coming from Evan. 

Michael shook his head, tearing the image from his mind. He snapped back to reality, the darkness of his room filling his vision. His eyes felt slightly heavy and he knew he needed sleep, but he couldn’t help but fear it. It filled Michael with shame that he was almost 15 and scared to sleep of all things. 

He rolled around in bed all night, trying to focus on the fact that Evan was still here.

–

His father was out for work as usual by the time Michael managed to get out of bed. He’d walked out of his room and down the stairs to see Evan and Elizabeth downstairs eating breakfast in the dining room. 

Michael rubbed his eyes, still feeling drained after everything. He looked at the kitchen but he didn’t really feel all that hungry. His stomach was twisted into far too many knots for him to even think about eating. 

Evan finally noticed him and brightened up a bit, which caught Elizabeth’s attention. “Morning, Mikey!” Evan called out to his elder brother, who smiled in return.

Elizabeth looked a little nervous, still a bit on edge about the…incident from what felt like forever ago. “Good morning, Elizabeth,” Michael said, deciding to initiate. 

Elizabeth looked a tad bit happier as she mumbled a ‘good morning’ back.

—

Michael felt extraordinarily bored out of his mind as he lay down on his bed. Elizabeth and Evan had gone over to Charlie’s and Uncle Henry’s place for the afternoon. His father was still gone and Michael had no idea when he’d come home, but it wasn’t going to be any time soon.

He sighed. What has his life come to? He can’t stand mirrors anymore, he just recently saved his little brother from a horrible death, so what was next? His sister? He remembers from the dream that she was next.

What had even gotten her killed? All he remembers was that creepy clown girl Elizabeth has been raving about for months now. Michael had a feeling that that thing might have something to do with her death.

He huffed, looking at his desk. 

That stupid Walkman was there.

Michael turned away.

—

There wasn’t much Michael remembered about his mother’s funeral. 

He recalled wearing an itchy suit identical to his fathers. Elizabeth, still just a toddler, and his slightly older younger brother, crying his eyes out per usual into his father’s pant leg.

Michael almost wanted to cry too. But he just couldn’t. He felt like a monster in some way. Like he never loved her. His maternal grandparents were both sobbing on the other side of the room, so why wasn’t he? Michael didn’t feel anything. 

He felt like a shell. Like something was missing but he didn’t know what. All Michael could do was look at the casket in front of him with emotionless eyes. 

He wasn’t sad that his mother was gone. At least, that’s what Michael told himself.

And that made him angry. 

It filled his entire soul, mind, and body until he was angry at the exhaustion he felt from it. 

Maybe anger was his way of feeling upset.

Maybe anger was just his way of coping.

—

A few hours later and Michael knew if he wanted to find out what was up with Baby, he’d have to find out through his father’s schematics.

Perhaps he should take up that offer from his father. If he wanted to get in close, Michael would have to work with his father for once.

Michael groaned as he got up, knowing just how to bring the subject up with his father without seeming highly suspicious. 

—

Michael felt his heart pounding as he sat down at the dining table with a piece of notebook paper in front of him. It was his own schematic of an entirely different version— totally original, you couldn’t convince Mike otherwise —of Funtime Foxy. He was currently calling it Lolbit. Sure, his father came up with a clown, a puppeteer, a ballerina, and a ringleader/show host, but what about a comedian? 

In Michael’s personal opinion, a circus theme needs to be somewhat funny. Sure a clown could take up that job, but from what he heard from his father and Elizabeth, Baby was geared towards a much younger demographic than the others, mostly making balloons or dispensing ice cream. Lolbit would make anyone they came across laugh or giggle. 

He smirked as he sighed his name onto the paper with his favorite red pen and got up. His father would be home late per usual, but leaving the schematic out in the opening where he was sure to see it would hopefully catch his father’s eye.

He would just have to wait.

2 months until the Grand Opening