#unstable!reader

Billy Hargrove was problem. He smelt like problem, talked like problem and walked around town like problem. There is two types of people in Hawkins: the ones that hated Hargrove and all that he represented and the ones who wanted to be him or to be with him. It was actually a very thin line, as love and hate aren’t opposites, not really. The absence of love if emptiness, and that’s how you felt about Billy. You didn’t hated him, you didn’t know him enough for that, but you also didn’t loved him. You could bet that was also how he felt about you, as you never gave him a reason to hate you. No one really hated you. You weren’t popular enough for that. Which could sound sad but was more of a relief. Being able to move around people – invisible.

  Except you weren’t. Not really, not for him. He saw you around more than he wanted, as if you were everywhere if he looked for long enough. It was irritating, how you were able to be somewhere without actually being there, you never talked. He can’t say he knows how you sound like. You just watch as everything unfolds. Silent. Maybe not totally, because Billy could swear that your eyes talked a lot. Not in a judgmental way, more like you could see behind every one and their masks.

  Sometimes, in hot days like this one, he would stop at the gas station you work and buy a couple of beers and a pack of cigarettes. It was such an often routine that you didn’t even talked with him, you just nodded every time he gave you the cash. No good mornings or small talk between you two. He thought it was quite peculiar.

  He knew who you were. Sinclair’s old sister. So different from your brother. So quiet. As if your presence could disturb someone’s peace. It was weird. Billy didn’t want to know you or your brother, yet, there was something about you that he couldn’t put his fingers on and it was making him crazy. Every time he entered the gas station, he could smell your perfume and he could feel your fingers grabbing the money, but he couldn’t really feel you. You felt distant even though you were standing right in front of him. However, today, for a single moment before turning his back and getting into his car, you two locked eyes. He saw your eyes. He saw something – quite unsettling. It was the saddest and beautiful eyes he ever saw.

The last bell rings out in the hallways and soon the movement of students spreads across the parking lot. You threw your bag in the passenger seat and closed the door, leaning on the hood of the black car. Lucas was always late, lost on conversations with his friends or just taking an extra time packing his stuff. You already hated giving him rides back home, but when he was late, it was even worse. You crossed your arms as you spotted him getting out of the gate, with a girl. A red haired girl. Both of them smiling like idiots, barely looking where they were headed. His voice is loud, babbling about some stupid thing in science class. Then he sees you, his smiles drop for a moment.

– I know I’m late, sorry… but hey, this is Max! – He says pointing at the girl, who offers a small smile. – She’s new here.

– Hi, Max. – You offer her a polite smile.

– My sister works in the gas station, you probably saw it in your way to school. – Max agree and then looks over your shoulder, her face tense. You follow her gaze to see Billy, in his car, smoking. Watching you three like a hawk. His gaze intense. You couldn’t decide if it was hatred in his gaze but surely seemed similar.

– You should go, Max. – You say without looking away from him. Max quickly says goodbye to Lucas and run to his car.

  Billy keeps his eyes on you until Max opens the passenger door and he stubs out his cigarette with a sharp snap of his fingers against the metal door. When he turn the key, the engine roars loudly, some people glimpsing at his car. The Camaro drives off and Billy’s gaze lingers on the rearview before his car disappears around the corner. You let out a breath you did not even knew you were holding, your whole body tense and an uneasy feeling in your stomach.

– Get in, I’m going to be late for work. – You warn Lucas. The boy quickly gets in his seat and closes the door as you do the same.

  At the time, you didn’t know. But in Billy’s mind, he would do anything to keep Max away from your family.

The cold breeze from the half-open window made your skin shiver as you folded a pile of clothes, soft and low music echoing in your room. You could hear Erica watching TV in her room, but the rest of the house was quiet. Your dad still at work, your mom at the supermarket buying ingredients to make dinner and Lucas had left hours ago to play in Mike’s house. The night seemed normal and very boring.

  You finished guarding the clothes and headed downstairs. You grabbed a cup and poured water, looking outside by the kitchen’s window. Suddenly someone knocked the door; you left the cup in the balcony and took quick steeps until you reach the door. As you opened, you saw a familiar figure. It was Billy.

– Sinclair. Hi.

– Hi. What are you doing here?

– I’m looking for my stepsister, Maxine. Goes by Max. Your brother knows her. – He scratched his eyebrows. – She’s been missing all day.

– Lucas is not here. She’s probably with them at Mike’s house. I can give you the address. – He nodded, wetting his lips.

– That would be great. Can I come in?

– Oh, yeah. Please. – You stepped away, letting him come in.

  You closed the door and saw Erica going down the stairs.

– Stay in your room!

– I’m gonna tell dad you brought a boy! – She screamed getting up. You sighed, embarrassed as you two headed to the kitchen.

  Billy’s eyes following your every move. Observing the way your hips moved, the slightly shaking of your hands and the way you looked back to see him for an instant. You grabbed a paper and a pen, writing Mrs. Wheeler address.

– They usually stay there. It’s like their meeting point. – He nodded again. His fingers softly catching the paper from your fingers. You two locked eyes.

– Thanks.

– I hope you find her.

You could feel the weird tension. He looked at you with no emotion at all. Not even a small polite smile. In his eyes, you tried to find something, yet all you could see was numbness. Hollow. Empty. Maybe a hint of anger? You weren’t sure, you couldn’t read him. Everything you could feel was the room looking smaller than before, the weather slightly hotter and the loud silence in the house. Erica had probably turned her TV off just to hear whatever you two were saying. He looked at his feet and opened his mouth – as if he was thinking on what to say. You didn’t gave him the chance.

– You need anything else? – You asked, already walking to the door. He followed you with slow steps.

– No. That’s all. – He passed through the door and gave you a last look. – See you around, Sinclair.

  You nodded and watched as he walked to his Camaro.

For some time you knew something was wrong with Lucas. You always knew – it was how every older sibling knew, like it was your gut telling you. But he was quiet, not once answering why he was spending so much time with his new friend or why he was so scared lately. His friends were just as weird. All whispering between them and planning things in secret. He was even sneaking out late at night. You didn’t know why and maybe you didn’t want to. It wasn’t your job to look after him all day. Until you saw him crying in his room, shuffled by his pillow, laying in his bed like the little boy he was once. Slowly, you knocked on his door. He sniffed and looked at you.

– What do you want?

– To know why are you crying? – You shrugged.

– I’m not.

– Oh, yeah? So it’s raining on your face? – You sat on his bed, tapping his legs. – Come on, I don’t have all night to play cool sister.

– It’s just… do you remember that night when Billy came here looking for Max? – You nodded. – Billy found her in Will’s house, we were all there… doing stuff, you know? Playing D&D.

– Why were you in Will’s house? I thought you would stay at Mike’s.

– Hum...? But that’s not important. The thing is that Billy was acting like crazy. He was shouting and fighting with Steve!

– Harrington? What was he doing there?

– Can you like focus? – You rolled your eyes and sighed, letting he continue. – Steve almost lost, and then he tried to beat me and said that I shouldn’t be hanging out with Max…

– Wait, what? What do you mean? Did he hurt you?

– No, Max scared him off before he did anything.

– What the hell? Did you told this to our dad?

– You can’t tell him! It’s just going to make everything worse! – Lucas looked at you with his teary eyes. Like a puppy.

– Look, stay away from Billy. And Max. She’s just going to put you in more problems. – You said getting up and walking to the door. – But if something else happens, tell me. Okay?

– Yeah, okay.

Your shift was tiring. A lot of costumers, especially because of the hot weather. Half of the day passed like a big blurry, but around ten o'clock, something caught your attention. A Camaro stopped in front of the gas station. It was Billy. He brought a couple of beers and a pack of cigarettes, like always. Didn’t say a word but kept staring at you, then he sat in his car and stayed there. It was weird. Creepy even. The parking lot of the gas station was the place where some truck drivers stayed to take a nap between trips, that was normal. But Hargrove staying there simply watching you through the big wall of glass was strange. His radio playing loudly, disturbing your peace and keeping you alert the whole night.

  You locked the front door of the gas station, the keys cold in your hand. The neon sign buzzed faintly above you, flickering like it was just as tired as you were. The night was still, and the parking lot stretched out empty. Except for the familiar shape leaning against the Camaro. Still there. Arms crossed. Cigarette between his fingers and eyes fixed on you like he’d been waiting all night. Which he did. You adjusted the strap of your bag on your shoulder, your pulse loud against your throat. For a moment, neither of you moved. He just stood there, half-lit by the streetlight, smoke curling lazily around him. You were mad at him – not for today, but for the other night with Lucas. You knew he was looking for problem and honestly, you kind of wanted to see what kind of person Billy Hargrove was. You took a slow breath and stepped forward.

– Billy. – He didn’t answer. Didn’t even blink. Just watched you walk closer, watched every line of your face as if he was memorizing it.

– Stay away from my brother. I mean it. – Your voice didn’t shake. It surprised you.

  Billy tilted his head slightly, almost amused, but not quite. His jaw clenched once. The cigarette glowed between his fingers, burning low. Then he pushed himself off the car and started walking toward you. Slow. Like a predator approaching his prey. You didn’t move. You couldn’t. Didn’t wanted too. He stopped close enough that you could smell the beer, the gasoline, the mint gum he probably only chewed to hide the taste of cigarettes at school. The wind shifted, sending a strand of your hair across your cheek. His eyes followed the movement, and then settled on yours eyes again. Without breaking eye contact, he flicked the cigarette to the ground. He exhaled the last drag of smoke right in your face. Provocative. Your eyes stung, but you didn’t look away. Billy’s voice broke the silence, low and rough:

– You think you can tell me what to do, Sinclair?

  He stepped even closer, his chest brushing yours for a second, not touching, not really, but close enough to feel the warmth radiating from him. His eyes dropped to your mouth, then back up. The muscle in his jaw ticked again. His breathing was heavier now, like something underneath the surface was straining to get out. You swallowed once. Your heartbeat hammered painfully against your ribs, but your voice stayed steady and as calm as possibly.

– If you touch him again… – Billy smirked. It was mean and confused.

– What? – He murmured. – You will stop me?

  His tone wasn’t mocking, it was curios. As if he genuinely didn’t know the answer. As if he wanted to find out how far would you go. You didn’t back away. Neither did he. The space between you was thick, electric, almost suffocating.

– You don’t scare me. – You murmured.

What many may not know was that Dexter was an adopted child. He was adopted as he was only 3 months of age in the Orphanage and even though he knew he wasn’t related to anyone by blood, he saw them as his own Family. Michael was the only one who didn’t really like him and that probably never changed.

It was the 30th of August 1983, a few days before Evan’s Birthday, which was the 5th of October. Dexter was still in school, learning Spanish and handcraft, while Michael was already out of school and was supposed to watch Evan and Lizzy, while their Father, William Afton, talked with Henry about something important, concerning the Funtime Animatronics at Circus Baby’s Entertainment and Rentals.

William didn’t favor any of his kids, he loved them all equally. But he had to admit that he saw a very bright future for Dexter. The boy was helping in the house wherever he could and he took so many extra lessons to learn a lot, that he was barely home. He was an excellent student too, with all these extra lessons, William thought that Dexter would never get homework done, but he mostly already finished them in school or got a few days longer from his teachers.

He got the best grades and the only thing he was not so good in was sport. William wasn’t mad about it that he had a four in sport. Not everyone can be good in everything and not everyone is fit for sport.

Michael was also a very clever boy, but he never shows it. He brought a lot of F’s home and the only good grades he got was in History and sport. Elizabeth was still in Kindergarten and Evan was very good and clever in his classes in school. The only thing that made William angry was that Evan got bullied a lot, mostly from Michael himself.

As William was done chatting with Henry, he came back and only saw Evan and Michael, but not Lizzy.

“Where is Elizabeth, Mike ?”, William asked.

Evan looked traumatized, while Michael shrugged his shoulders.

“She said she needs to pee, so I let her go to the Bathroom.”

Evan didn’t say anything.

“Then we will wait.”, William said.

And so…they waited. They waited 30 minutes and William promised to collect Dexter in 15 minutes. Something was wrong and so William went to the Bathroom for girls and looked around, even called her name…she never replied. He panicked and ran to Michael.

“Elizabeth isn’t there. Help me search her.”, he told his Son and Mike instantly searched with him.

They couldn’t find her and William was 2 hours too late to get Dexter from school. Henry made a missing report in the building and William drove off with Evan and Mike to get Dexter.

Dexter sat on the sidewalk of the school, scared that his Father forgot about him. Until he saw the purple car. He got up, but instantly saw that Lizzy was missing. He put his schoolbag into the trunk of the car and then sat next to his Father in the car.

“Where is Lizzy ?”, he asked.

“She went missing in Circus Baby’s entertainment and Rentals.”, he informed him.

Dexter froze up in shock.

“What ?”, he asked softly.

“You heard me, Son… We will drive to the Police now and report her missing.”

Dexter put on the safety belt and then they drove off. He knew something was wrong with Evan, but he blamed it on his Nightmares and his lack of sleep.

After the report was done, they waited for another 24 hours, because they can only search a person when they went missing for 48 hours… Stupid ass law but who fucking cares ? In two days they could be dead already, but hey…

All they found the next day was Elizabeth’s bow. Nothing else.

William started to be a bit more distant from his kids since then and then the Birthday of Evan came. Dexter begged Michael to tell Father about it so he can actually get Mark’s Family sued, but he refused in fear of what might happen if he would tell his Father. So they did the prank, Mark forced them into.

It was the 5th of October 1983…Evan’s Birthday…

“MARK STOP IT ! FREDBEAR IS NOT SAFE FOR THAT !”, Dexter yelled as he was about to shove Evan’s head into the Animatronic’s mouth.

Mark stuck out his tongue and ignored the warning. Not even 10 seconds later Fredbear bit down and everyone was screaming in horror as Evan’s head started bleeding. Michael screamed his little Brother’s name and shoved Mark and the others out of his way, pulling him out of Fredbear’s mouth.

“EVAN ! TALK TO ME ! EVAN ?! EVAN, PLEASE !”

Mark and the others ran away and Dexter was paralyzed in utter horror. He stared at the bloody mouth of Fredbear and his head was empty, trying to process everything, while William ran over and called an ambulance and held his Son close.

“Father it was an accident, I swear ! I didn’t mean to hurt him ! We were forced to and I had no other choice ! I’m sorry !”, Michael cried out.

William pulled him into a hug, while he cried.

“It’s alright. You didn’t know this could happen.”

But that didn’t mean that William won’t punish Michael for that later, with a lot of housework, grounding and forcing him to be better in school. A very fit punishment if you asked him. And just then they both snapped their heads up and looked wildly around until they saw Dexter. Dexter was standing there, staring at the bloody mouth and screaming bloody murder.

It all caught up to his brain and now he was in a full blown panic attack. No one noticed that Springbonnie moved, until he was right next to Dexter and tried to comfort him with a hug, which Dexter instantly replied with. He held onto Springbonnie tightly and hid his face in his fur, crying and shaking.

While William thought someone was in the suit, Dexter knew better. He after all spent a lot of time with his favorite Character.

Flashback…

Dexter was six years of age and was all alone in the Arcade room, playing a game. He was sad. Michael didn’t want to play with him, his Father had no time for him and he had no friends to play and talk with. All he had was watching Fredbear and Springbonnie and the Arcade Games.

“H-hello there l-little boy…”, a voice greeted shyly.

Dexter stopped playing and turned around, facing his favorite Character, Springbonnie.

“Hey Springbonnie. I didn’t know you can roam around freely.”, the boy said with a saddened voice.

The bunny’s ears perked up and he looked at the child almost worried.

“Why are y-you so s-sad ?”

“Just don’t have anyone to play with… My Brother doesn’t like me all that much, my Father is busy and I have no friends.”

Springbonnie looked at the boy saddened and went into a thinking mode. Then he looked at Dexter again shyly.

“W-well, if you want…I will be your friend.”, the Animatronic offered.

Dexter perked up at that and looked at the golden bunny with slight hope.

“Really ?”

“Y-yeah ! W-we can sneak into the Parts and Service and spend time together ! I can also bring games with me !”

Dexter got a big smile on his face and ran up to the bunny, tackling him into a hug.

“Thank you Springbonnie ! How about tomorrow ? Father will soon go home with us…”

“S-sure ! We will meet there in my breaks.”

Dexter smiled brightly and then heard his Father calling him and his Brother.

“I have to go. See you tomorrow !”

With that he waved the bunny Goodbye and rushed off.

The next day they met in Parts and Service and played a few board games. Most of the time Springbonnie won and Dexter had to learn that it is a part of his programming. He wasn’t mad about it either. He was just happy to have a friend.

“Say…who is in the suit of yours ?”, Dexter asked.

“Huh ?”

“Oh come on, Springbonnie. I know that you can’t act and talk like a human. You are just machines that got programmed to say and do certain things. A human has to be in there to act so much like a human.”

“There is no one in my suit though. Only Mister Afton can enter me and he is in his office.”, Springbonnie answered.

“Prove it to me. Open your mouth.”

Springbonnie clicked the two springlocks on the sides of his head and then opened it and Dexter was in utter shock. There truly was no one inside the suit. The bunny closed the locks again and looked at Dexter.

“I don’t know why I am so different… But now I know why Fredbear is so different from me.”

“Wait…Fred is not like you ?”

“No… He is unresponsive and only does what he is programmed to do.”

“Damn, must be hard to not have a friend then…”

“I have you as a friend now.”

Dexter smiled and then hugged Springbonnie.

“Yes you do.”, Dexter replied.

The Animatronic hugged back.

They met more often and Dexter even got taught by Springbonnie how to fix or even replace his voice box, without getting his hands springlocked. It took a few tries, but he got the hang of it and with that secretly helped his Dad to get home earlier than usually.

Dexter gave up telling his Father that Springbonnie has a very human like AI and is very much ALIVE, because his Father didn’t believe him anyways.

End of Flashback…

After all these accidents happened, there were children reported missing and Charlie Emily was found dead near William’s and Henry’s new Pizzeria, called Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. She was dead in a back alley.

One day William came home, covered in someone’s blood and Dexter waited for his Father, worried sick that he may have gotten hurt. He almost screamed when he saw his Father’s clothes covered in blood. But something clicked instantly.

“All the times you came home late…you killed the kids that went missing. Didn’t you ?”, he asked.

William froze up and turned to the couch and spotted Dexter.

“Uhmm…no ?”

“You are terrible in lying, Father.”

William started to sweat and break down.

“I can’t control this. I am going insane and this is the only coping mechanism I have !”

Dexter got up and stared his Father in the eyes.

“You forget you still have two other kids to take care of. Stop thinking so much about Lizzy and Ev and think about us, who still walk the earth. If you get jailed for that, we won’t be able to survive on our own, Papa.”

William looked up at his Son.

“You…aren’t scared of me ?”, he asked.

“Would you hurt us ?”, Dexter asked him back.

“No ! Never !”

“Then I don’t see the problem. I am worried about your safety. You need to stop now or you will be found out one day, Father. One slip up and you are done for.”

And so it stayed by only 1 murdered child and 5 missing ones, Dexter found a girlfriend and graduated from school, instantly asking for a job in programming things. Everything went well for many months. But…then in Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza went Night guards missing or even were found dead, stuffed into suits. One night William left, trying to investigate and fix the issue, but… never returned home that night. And to add it all up to their depressing lives, Evan died two days after William’s disappearance from a heart attack.

Dexter got the house and Mike the factory ‘Afton Robotics’. While Mike still went to school, Dexter paid the bills and everything else to keep them alive. He and his Brother lived together even after Mike had a possible Girlfriend after he graduated.

Then Dexter met up with his own Girlfriend and she broke his heart that night and he came running to Mike.

“MICHAEL !”, he yelled sobbing as he was in the house.

He instantly came running down the stairs and rushed over to Dexter.

“What happened ?! Did the date not go well ?”

“She broke up with me ! She was just after my Father and his money, now that he is gone, she doesn’t want to do anything with me !”

“Then she didn’t deserve you.”

“I H-hate women !”, he cried into his Brother’s chest.

He had to buy Dexter a lot of ice cream and had to comfort him for a few days, until Dexter processed everything correctly.

They continued to live together for many years. Then Michael got a job as a Night guard at Freddy’s, which worried Dexter, but he didn’t stop his Brother. If he wanted to do this then he won’t stop him.

Michael told him that he wants to try and redeem himself. He heard Dexter and William talk that night and he wanted to help and find out what happened and where his Father went off to.

They soon found out that the Animatronics were haunted and still were, even though someone told Mike that someone destroyed them one night a while back. The very night where their Father disappeared.

What Michael never told Dexter was that he found a safe room and in there was Springbonnie with a decaying corpse inside it. He didn’t want Dexter to have a panic attack and think that whoever died in that suit WAS necessarily William Afton.

Then Michael went from Location to Location. He went from Freddy’s to Junior’s then to Circus Baby’s. Dexter was there too, trying to get the Funtimes up and running. Why you may ask ? Well Mike was told from Dexter that he lost his current job, because the workers and bosses didn’t like him and then started to note every small thing down they had against him.

But as Dexter was working on Circus Baby he made a scarring discovery. He found Elizabeth, their sister’s dead body, mangles, inside the Animatronic. He instantly went to Michael and he forbade Dexter to ever enter the facility again, claiming that she might possess CB and he doesn’t know if she could be aggressive, so he will burn the place down. Which he did at some point…

A few months passed and Dexter kept asking Michael to use Afton Robotics so he can also make profit. No one else would give him a job and he was desperate, but Michael refused, in fear Dexter will create more killing Animatronics.

He got killed in Circus Baby’s, before he set fire to that place, and decided to abandon Dexter, thinking it was for the best, because he was a rotting corpse and could have scarred Dexter even further for life, then he went to Fazbear’s Frights that was just newly built. He never knew that Dexter was there once too and looked around. He broke in though, because he wasn’t open at the time.

What Mike never considered though, was that Dexter most possibly would lose his shit over him and disappearing like that. Dexter sat most of the times on the floor in his room, swinging back and forth, holding his head in his hands and falling into dark thoughts.

‘What did I do wrong ?!’ ‘Did Mike hate me that much to just leave me here ?!’ ‘What did I do ?!’ ‘Why does he hate me so much ?!’ ‘What have I ever done to him ?!’ ‘Wasn’t I good enough ?!’ ‘Haven’t I given enough ?!’ ‘Is he at least alright ?!’ ‘Did he find Dad ?!’ ‘Why did he leave me ?!’ ‘I’m sorry ! Please come back !’ ‘….I wish I was dead and would never come back…’

Dexter stopped eating regularly and only ate once a week and soon only once a month. He threw himself into a full on, sleepless search for his Father.

One day, Dexter received a letter from Michael. He opened it and read it.

“Hello Dexter,

I’m sorry that I left you all alone, but I had my reasons. Tonight, I won’t be anymore, so Afton Robotics belongs to you. Please don’t make any killing Animatronics, I took so good care of them that they will be wiped out by the time I die and you can have a fresh start over with Fazbear Entertainment… I lived the whole time with Uncle Henry and he helped me in everything I did so far. I sadly found no trace of Father. We both opened a restaurant called Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza Place, to lure the last remaining killing Animatronics in and to destroy them. Please don’t come for me and please do not intervene. We will be fine. This is my last mission that I have to accomplish. I need to ask something else of you though and I’m sorry that I kept this from you… I have a Son. His name is Gregory Bill Afton. He almost looks like Evan. Please find him and take him in for me. His Mother kicked him out one night as I was checking on them and I don’t want him to live any longer on the streets than necessary. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I’m sorry I couldn’t find Father. I’m sorry that I am doing this to you. And most of all I am sorry that you have to face the world now all on your own, without any of us to be by your side. I hope you can forgive me one day.

I love you and take care,

Micheal Afton.”

Dexter stared at the letter after he read through it and then broke down crying again.

‘What fucking reason could you possibly have had to abandon me ?! You knew I was struggling just as much as you ! You knew that I was mentally and emotionally very unstable alone !’

Dexter sobbed and sniffed for hours until he found his voice again.

“Fuck you Michael Afton… You fucking Bitch…”

Dexter turned on the TV and around midnight came on the news that Michael’s place burned down and there were no survivors. There were two burned bodies and one burned body in an Animatronic suit.

Dexter cried the whole fucking night, knowing Mike was gone. He had no one now.

The next day he started to design new Animatronic designs, a whole new place and called it ‘The Mega Pizzaplex’. He gave everything to Fazbear Entertainment and they instantly started to work on the place and a video game at the same time.

Dexter wanted to stay anonymous and even made an anonymous bank account. He got a lot of money, but he never told anyone, nor did he want to be inside the Pizzaplex. He made the Animatronics, made cleaning bots, staff bots and even security bots. And he didn’t make them so he doesn’t have to deal with annoying, super expensive employees, no, he made them for better security.

Robots are NOT humans and they are NOT going to kill a child if they function properly. Dexter designed all Staff bots and Animatronics with facial recognition scanners and the Animatronics even got something called a safe mode. The safe mode is activated at all time, throughout daytime and nighttime, but it will be deactivating if they see a highly dangerous criminal.

They are not programmed to kill when the safe mode is deactivated, but they are programmed to hunt down the criminal and capture him until the police collects them. Dexter coded his Machines very well too. A hacker would have a hard time to get in undetected.

Everything was safe. But he didn’t know that an Anomaly was inside the very game Fazbear Entertainment created. The VR game ‘Help Wanted’. He knew what the game was supposed to do, that it was supposed to cover up all the bad things that happened in the locations and an Indie Game designer decided to make Horror games out of them so future generations also know about some of the things that happened there years ago, which by the way, also was hired by Fazbear Entertainment.

Dexter didn’t care for it. At least the Pizzaplex would have a chance then. He put a lot of effort and ideas into the Pizzaplex and in the end it was the biggest Freddy’s location that ever existed. He quickly became a billionaire, but he never told anyone.

While he did all of this, he was also searching for Gregory, but he couldn’t find him anywhere. He looked into every dark alley he knew existed, but there was no trace of him. He hoped when the Pizzaplex was finished, Gregory would find shelter in there and all Dexter had to do was pick him up and get him home. If Gregory was really Mike’s Son, then he is most possibly just as smart as his Father and will go into the Pizzaplex to survive.

After all, it was warm in there, dry, safe and it had a lot of food and water.

Dexter was still hell – bent to find his Father and he never stopped looking. He made a friend a while back, called Alex Cruser.

Fazbear Entertainment, after the VR game didn’t really get published, nor worked the way they hoped it would, created another big Location. It was an escape room game with at least always 4 to 5 Animatronics from every Location that existed once.

The first room, was the starter room and nothing happened. You just saw the Original Freddy band perform and Foxy gave you a flashlight. Then the real shit started.

Alex went there to investigate, in request of Dexter to find out what was going on and an employee let something slip about an escape room Freddy’s location. Fazbear Entertainment asked Dexter for Endoskeletons and something he recreated a while ago, just better than before, Illusion discs. He programmed them to look, sound and even smell like the previous real Animatronics.

So in short…All the Endoskeletons were just that, Endos with an illusion disk slapped on them. With that the Endos looked like the previous Animatronics, sounded like them too and smelled just as horrid.

Dexter didn’t know any of this. He was told that they plan to make a museum in the Pizzaplex and needed some things he could make.

Dexter wasn’t allowed to program more though and that made him suspicious. So he asked Alex to investigate a bit and tell him what he saw.

But instead this message came one night…

“DUDEE !!!” “JUST LEFT THE NEW FAZBEAR ATTRACTION !” “My friend, take everything and come here. You have to see this !”

Then the Location was sent. Thankfully, because Dexter had no clue where it was.

“Just sent you the Location. Go. Tonight.”

‘This doesn’t sound like Alex at all… Did…something happen to him ?’

Dexter grabbed his backpack, made it empty, stuffed some stones into it and then left for the Location. As he arrived two of his staff bots were there. One told him of all the things that could happen and they won’t be responsible for any of the things mentioned that could happen. Then he had to pay and give his belongings to the other one.

‘Fuck this shit. I fricking knew it…’

He gave them his backpack and then he was allowed to go. And with that he went through the door and was greeted by the TIP Manager. It briefly explained what it did and what he had to do. Then he pressed okay and continued to the first room, which was just a waiting/Introduction room with the original band performing.

‘Why would they even mention possible brutal deaths and that they won’t be responsible for it ? I think Mike didn’t get rid of everything that likes to kill people…’

He pressed a button and Foxy held out a flashlight for Dexter. As soon as he took it, there was confetti flying around and Foxy laughed, before disappearing. Dexter looked around and groaned as he saw the button above the vent.

“Really now ? Why a vent ? It looks very tight…”

He pressed the button and waited until the vent was open, then he crawled through it and into the first room that could most possibly end him.

‘Evan’s bedroom… I remember that he always talked about his nightmares and drew them very often per my request… Did anyone find his drawings ?’

The TIP Manager arrived and told Dexter that something will appear in the window and he has to close the curtains to make it go away, that Nightmarionne will come out of the hole above the bed and he then has to hide in the Freddy Springlock suit behind him, that he already spotted and that he needs to complete the puzzle that is in the room and to get out of the room before his time was out.

‘Okay then…let’s go.’

Dexter pressed okay and then the shit started. He looked at the window, then at Nightmare Balloon boy and then he ran to the puzzle and turned a few of the pieces into right place.

Soon he heard a sound and looked only to see tentacles, he ran to the suit and put it on, not long later the Marionette came out of the hole and Dexter held his breath in shock. That thing was terrifying for a 7 year old.

‘Fuck, Evan I’m so sorry I never believed you…’

As quick as it was there it left again and Dexter got out of the suit, only to spot Balloon boy twitching. Dexter panicked and hurried to get the suit off and shone his light at him, making him go still again.

‘They don’t tell you everything ! Assholes !’

“How do you stop your Nightmares from getting you, Evan ?”, Dexter asked.

“They hate light. I shine my flashlight at them. Then the small Freddies go away and Plushtrap and the nightmare Balloon boy stop as soon as I flash them. The others work different… I have to listen for their breathing and close the doors and closet if I hear them, otherwise I can shine my light into the halls.”, Evan explained.

Dexter smiled as he remembered that.

‘Thank you, Ev…This just saved my life…’

Dexter rushed back to the puzzle and turned other pieces into right places, then he looked at the window and yelped. Nightmare Fredbear was right there. Dexter quickly closed the curtains and held them close until he heard a sound that sounded close to a ‘Whoosh’, then he opened them again and Fredbear was gone. Then he flashed Nightmare BB and hid quickly in the suit, because Marionne was also on its way.

As it was gone again he ran back to the puzzle and turned the last few pieces quickly.

‘Now I need to find the last piece… Probably in the chest, so I need to look for two keys…’

Dexter flashed Nightmare BB and then opened the drawers, finding the two keys and unlocked the chest. Then he looked at the window and saw Fredbear there again, he quickly closed the curtains until the sound came again, then he flashed Nightmare BB again and hid in the suit because Marionne came back.

As it was gone again, he grabbed the puzzle piece and put it in and turned it into the right position too. Then the thing clicked and the poster fell down, showing a code. Dexter looked down further and was in confusion.

‘A red button ? What does this one do ?’, he questioned himself and pressed it.

Nothing happened sadly.

Dexter looked at the bed side table and rushed to open it and found a safe. Before he could punch in the code, there was a new sound and Dexter looked around wildly, spotting a small Freddy. He quickly flashed it and it disappeared, then he flashed Nightmare BB and hid in the suit again.

As the Marionette was gone he got back out and checked the window, nothing so far, so he ran to the safe, punched in the code quickly and opened the safe, he found a hammer and he took it, looking at the closet.

‘Well then… I guess I will have to open that…’

He looked again and flashed Nightmare BB and then closed the curtains to avoid Fredbear getting him. Then he ran to the boarded up closet and tore out the nails. He opened the closet and then suddenly heard another new sound, with flashing lights. He turned around, coming face to face with Nightmare Bonnie. He ran for the steel door, that slowly opened and he quickly rolled underneath it so it won’t get him.

The steel door fell shut and Dexter saw that he was in a room in between. He decided to take a small break. But then he spotted something.

‘What is this…?’

He crawled to the open vent and took out the piece of paper that was in there.

“Utah News

Fazbear’s open again ! The abandoned place of Freddy’s reopened as a horror escape room !”

‘So I was right… This was once a Location of a Freddy Pizzeria…’

Dexter looked at the wall he slid down on to sit down and saw that the next Location was Freddy Junior’s.

‘The toys… Great…’

After a while he went into the next room and the TIP Manager told him to hide in lockers and that not all are open, while Toy Chica is patrolling around, to watch the Music box of Freddy and to not over wind it and to complete the puzzles before someone gets him.

‘Well shit…’

Dexter took a look around and tried which lockers are open and which not. He spotted vent openings too and a keypad with weird symbols on it. After he took a look at all of this he felt ready, took a deep breath and started his level.

He heard Toy Chica already walk around, so he went to the other side and started to look for the code. He got out his pen and a piece of paper and drew the symbols then he wrote the numbers down that he spotted for the symbols.

‘Six Symbols for six numbers..’

Dexter soon noticed that Toy Chica always changed her route. So he had to hurry around. Then he heard banging over his head and he quickly his in a locker, praying he did the right thing. Not even a second later Mangle came out of the vent.

‘Fuck…I fricking knew it….’

Soon it also disappeared and Dexter got out and searched for the 4th symbol.

After a few seconds he found the fourth and fifth symbol and then ran to the keypad and punched in the code. Then he ran for the lockers and hid in there until the room was opened. Which took ages…

As soon as the coast was clear and the room was open, he left the locker and ran into the room. He saw the next issue. As soon as he turned on the power, he will need gears to get the power for something… Maybe the door. He flipped all the switches and turned on the power.

The Music box started and Dexter was running out of the room and searched for the gears. He found 2 before he had to hide from Mangle again. As soon as it was gone he continued his search for the third one and then he quickly wound up Freddy and continued. He had to find five of them after all.

Soon enough he found the last two and then ran to Freddy, wound him up and then put the gears in their respective places. After he put the last gear in the power for a switch was getting charged. He hid in the locker inside the room and waited.

‘Come on…CoMe On…COME ON !’, he thought impatiently.

After a while the switch had 100% power and Dexter flipped it. Then he searched for a red button and found two of them. He pressed them and then he ran for the exit door. Toy Chica spotted him, but Dexter slid underneath the steel door before she could get him and the door fell shut.

Dexter panted and fell back against the wall, panting heavily and his heart almost leaving his chest.

‘I’m supposed to be over 30 years old, but fuck… I’m glad I am stuck in a 19 year old’s body…’

He laid on the floor, trying to catch his breath.

“Fuck… I wish you were with me right now Mike…”, Dexter said softly.

After a while he sat up and sighed.

“I bet you would already know what is going on… I have no idea what all of this means besides that someone still plans to murder people…”

He banged his head against the wall and looked at the ceiling. After a while he looked around and spotted another open vent. He took out the piece of paper.

“MISSING ! Alfred C. Jons”

And a lot of descriptions how he looked.

“Isn’t he one from the Mental Health Center ? Fuck…Mike I wish you were here and tell me what all this means… I don’t like where all this is going…”

Then he looked at the bottom of the piece of paper.

“Yep he was one from the Mental Health Center…”

He sighed and moved to the third room. Again the TIP Manager came down and Dexter instantly went to reading.

‘Use the cams near your office to see who is coming… So more than just Springtrap is here ? Okay… Fuck me. …Use the lever to turn the systems on and off… Use levers near doors to close them…When they are at 0% they open on their own… Well shit… Don’t look at hallucinations…don’t leave office he will attack you… Complete the puzzles before something gets me…Well fuck me…’

Dexter looked around the room and then saw a small steel door blocking something from his view and the vent underneath.

‘For what do I have to turn the power off ? Only when something is INSIDE the office you usually have to turn everything off… At least that was in Circus Baby’s for a while…’

“Father ?”

“Yes, Dexter ?”

“Why do you always turn the power off when an Animatronic enters the office ?”

“Because they don’t see you then if it’s dark and you hide somewhere. With that you can save power. There is a vent that leads right in here and you can’t block it either. So we need to make the room dark when it happens.”, William explained.

“Oh…”

“I know. We need to seal that thing and then I can give the Animatronics advanced eyes.”

“Ah… Can I help you tonight ?”

“Sure.”

“YAY !”

William chuckled.

‘Wait…vent !’

Dexter looked up and he saw a huge opening.

“Oh…fuck…”

Then he looked around and the only place to hide was under the table.

“Great. Fan – fucking – tastic ! So I have to deal with phantoms, Springtrap AND an unknown Animatronic ?! YAY !”, Dexter yelled with sarcasm.

Then he spotted the keypad and a locked chest.

“AND I NEED TO FIND TWO CODES ?! OH HELL NAW ! MIKEY COME BACK TO LIFE AND HELP ME YOU BASTARD !”

Then Dexter laid down on the floor and started to weep softly.

‘I know nothing about the other Animatronic ! How do you beat it ?! I don’t want to be choked to death ! The first time was bad enough and I somehow am still alive, just not aging bodily. How did Spring even manage that ?!’

Suddenly Dexter’s head snapped up in realization.

“Uncle Henry ?”

“Yes, Dexter ?”

“Why do you not close the doors on all Animatronics ?”

“Because some of them can break them down easily and get inside.”

“Oh..”

‘What if the other Animatronic needs to come in, check the office and then leave and can’t spot me ? Man this will be hide and seek…’

Then he started the whole thing and saw two Animatronics. Springtrap and a Freddy Animatronic.

“Okay…”

He left the Cam on them while he searched for the code for the keypad. He found it under the table and he quickly punched the code into the keypad. With that he was verified to look at the vent map and he got a Fazcoin. He looked at the Arcade and put it in.

Then a game started and Dexter first off ran back to the monitors and saw them still in place. He nodded and then ran back to the Arcade Game and talked with, who he assumed, was Fredbear. Then he talked with a red crocodile and a female Balloon Boy.

He heard something, so he left the game and checked on the monitors, only to see that the Bear was ready to run to the office from the right. Dexter quickly crawled under the table and pressed himself against the right side. He heard fast footsteps and soon saw light. He held his breath until the Bear turned and left.

As soon as Dexter didn’t hear it anymore he got out and checked for Springtrap. He was on the left but he wasn’t ready to go for the office yet. He ran back to the Arcade and talked with a funny colored fox. They all wanted something and Dexter could only get the balloons.

He heard the vent and he checked the cams. Vent five… Dexter ran to the vent map and saw that it led to his office. He turned off all the systems and crawled under the table. Soon Springtrap appeared from the vent inside the office and looked around, then he left. Dexter waited until it was quiet and then he ran and turned the power back on. They were both in the middle again and Dexter quickly got back to work.

-Timeskip-

This was very extreme and it took Dexter a while until he was where he needed to be…apparently.

The system warned of overheating and a fire going to break lose, which Dexter really didn’t wanna stay here for. He met the bunny man. And here it was that scared Dexter.

“Springbonnie ?”

Whoever was inside him…whoever may have died inside him…he knew he was once human, he wanted out and he was not a part of this game. He aggressively said let me out and then there was Springtrap, trying to tear off the head, a dead body inside it and loud screams. It creeped Dexter out and he started to have tears in his eyes. (He has that reaction, because he is sensitive to loud noises and that screaming is hella loud)

“M-Mikey…help me…”

That was why the suit looked familiar with the structures in Frights. This was originally Springbonnie. But…it must have been a replica… William said he scraped Springbonnie after the bite. Maybe a prototype was found in Fredbear’s and the person put it on had died ?

The system said that there is not much time left until the fire. A lot of coding rolled and Dexter hoped to find the combination in that blasted game. He closed the doors in case Springtrap wanted to visit him and waited.

Soon there was the combination and he had to put it into order. He did so quickly and punched in the numbers in the small chest. He got a key and he ran to the keypad and put the key inside. With that the safety doors opened and the vent did too…slowly.

There was an explosion which made Dexter flinch and slightly tear up. There was fire everywhere, but Dexter quickly crawled through the vent as soon as it was open. Springtrap followed him quickly, making him panic and as soon as he was outside, he pressed the button for the vent to seal and it cut Springtrap’s head off, just…it was an Endoskeleton’s head that suddenly laid there.

‘That’s what they use the illusion discs for ? They told me they will use them in the Pizzaplex and make a small museum of all the past Animatronics…’

Now Dexter was really suspicious and he knew SOMETHING bad was going on.

‘I HAVE to continue…’

And with that he moved to Circus Baby’s…

He saw Baby without her limbs and he snarled.

“Because of you fucking bitch my sister is dead. Do I really have to fix your sorry ass ?”

Dexter felt very stressed out, but can you blame him ? He needs to survive all these endoskeletons that Fazbear Entertainment programmed to kill people, without Dexter’s knowledge. He is practically responsible for this partly, even though he had no clue about this.

He took a deep breath and entered the room. The TIP Manager came out and gave him information.

‘Tesla coils…run for 5 seconds and need to recharge for 10… Fuck me, I have to time my enemy… Blue button for light, red for shock…gun…? Are they out of their fucking mind ? Father said multiple times that it will damage the hardware severely and they would need to be fixed constantly…fuck had Mike to do that ? …Use it for no reason too often he will attack before the gun is ready… Ah shiet… Use blue button to activate Bon Bon and control Freddy… Use it too often for no reason Freddy will get pissed… Well Funtime Freddy was always the Animatronic with anger issues…And order parts, if one is broken return it and order a new one… Fuse the parts after connecting them to the Animatronic. Fucking knew it, I have to fix this Biatch…And that’s it. Alright let us start this Freakshow…’

Dexter pressed start and the nightmare began with the monitors telling him to find a CPU…BABY’S CPU.

‘CPU input… Must be in one of the drawers…’

Dexter opened the drawers and found the chip, then he shoved it into the monitor and he could start working.

‘Let me think again… Dad said there is an alarm and I just need to listen… Sometimes it was false though… On which Robot was that again ?’

Dexter was thinking hard, while he ordered the parts already and connected them to Circus Baby.

“Freddy was always silent… I remember that from my one shift with Father… He repaired the systems and I had to look out and he was so silent that I was too afraid to blink. Then I had to activate Bon Bon to get him back to his place… That will be here just the same then…”

He heard Music.

“Fuck.”

He ran to the left and saw Ballora coming for him. He pressed the shock buttons and the Tesla coils activated shocking her. She screeched and then crawled away like a spider.

“Oh fuck me… Dad what monstrosity did you make ?”

Then he rushed to the monitor and started with the head. While he did that he kept thinking.

‘Ballora I can hear… Only leaves…’

“Dad ? Why are there strange noises coming from the speakers ?”

“It’s the alarm system for Funtime Foxy, if they malfunction. With that we can turn them off in time and restart their system.”

Dexter smacked his forehead.

“I am fucking stupid to forget that…”

He was done fusing the head and went to the legs. Suddenly there was a sound and Dexter rushed to Foxy’s stage and looked. It was malfunctioning and Dexter waited until the lights are off, then activated the shock gun and checked on Freddy.

‘He is not there anymore !’

He pressed the button and saw Freddy’s eyes turn green near the door. Dexter took a deep breath and rushed back to fuse the legs.

-Timeskip-

Dexter was almost done. He just needed a little bit of the right arm and then everything would be fused together. He ran back from Foxy’s stage and tripped.

“OW ! FUCK ME !”

Dexter was about to get up, but saw a red button in the dark. He pressed it and then got up and quickly finished the arm.

Through the speakers was he informed that the Animatronics were deactivated for better transport and that Dexter was supposed to go through the right door in the right hallway. So he did as he was told.

He was in another hallway and there were two normal doors and one steel door that would lead him further.

‘Maybe one of these doors are open now because of the button ?’

 Dexter tried the first one, nope. But the second one did open and there was a newspaper. He took it and read it.

‘….What…?’

“CORPSE STOLEN !

Unidentified woman wearing a costume stole an old man’s dead body”

‘What the fuck…?’

He dropped the newspaper and stared at it in horror.

“Why is this shit here and why would someone do that ?”

He shook his head and moved on. As soon as he saw the Elevator he gulped, hating that he has to go in there…

‘I remember the time Father said someone died in that fucking thing, because the metal fan blades on top of the elevator broke loose and they still turned while it fell into the elevator, cutting the guy in half… I can’t imagine how fast they turned and how sharp the edges of the blades were…’

He hesitantly stepped into the elevator and pressed the button to go down.

“Now that I think about it…what even is scoop mode ?”

Suddenly the elevator stopped and red light appeared. Dexter started to worry. Then he heard giggles and he looked up, seeing Minireenas above the fan blades. They stared at him and continued to laugh.

‘What are they doing here ? Shouldn’t they be with Ballora ?’

Soon enough they disappeared, but just out of sight, not from the elevator. They started to destroy it partly.

“HEY ! HEY STOP ! DON’T DO THAT !”, Dexter yelled in a panic.

Then the elevator lost its grip and Dexter started to fall down with it.

“PAPAAA !”, Dexter yelled in utter fear, gripping onto anything that stabilized him.

He still had his legs in the air and soon he realized it was stupid to hold onto something, instead to protect his head. So he wrapped his arms in front of his head and waited in his total panic. This time he was truly terrified and even shared a few tears. Was this the end ?

CRASH !

 The whole elevator crashed down and through an area that probably wasn’t a part of the attraction. Dexter laid in the elevator, passed out, but not dead yet. He was still breathing.

After 20 minutes he woke up and had a massive headache.

“Oww… Where am I now…?”

He slowly got up and looked around.

“Definitely not somewhere where I am supposed to be…”

He then looked at himself and touched over his whole torso.

‘No pain and I am still fully functioning… But I fell from meters above and that pretty fast… Springbonnie…what exactly did you do to me when I was close to dying that day…?’

He pushed that thought into the back of his head.

‘No time to question that. I need to move forward and find a way out of here… Springy is gone anyways, there is no point in questioning someone who is long gone…’

He moved to a door that was in front of him and to his surprise it opened. It was a storage closet. He spotted something on a little stepladder, he picked it up and his eyes bulged out as he read the name of the missing man.

‘Alfred Calvin Jones ! The Mental Health Center employee that was reported missing in that one piece of paper ! He talked with…Vanessa Addison Martins…? Isn’t she the new Security Guard in the Pizzaplex ?’

He read through the whole notes and it unsettled him slightly.

‘This girl actually sounds a bit mental… Not gonna lie…’

He put the file back down and then saw the big opening behind him.

“Another vent… Yay, because the other vents were all so assuring…”, Dexter said with sarcasm dripping off his tongue.

But he continued further.

It took him a lot of turns and some time until he finally got out.

“Bitch FINALLY !”, Dexter yelled when he was in another room and out of the vents.

He looked to his left and saw a room, shielded with bullet proof glass.

“What the…?”

In the small room were all the Funtime Animatronics, Dexter just had to face.

“Heck…?”

Then he spotted the door across the hallway and he made his way there, but froze up and turned around as he heard noises coming from the small room. Dexter yelped as he saw a big Animatronic endoskeleton. It had no casing on itself, it was just wires and eyeballs.

“Holy fuck…”

The robot stood up and stared at Dexter, then he punched the glass, getting it to crack.

“SHIIIIIIIT ! NOPE ! I’M OUT BIATCH !”, Dexter screamed and ran for the door, slamming it shut behind him and it locked itself on its own.

Dexter panted. Then he pulled out his Flashlight, to see more in the dark room only to realize that it was broken.

“Seriously ?! Why ?! Just fucking why ?!”

Dexter threw the flashlight on the floor in frustration and then slid down the door that locked itself. He was at a loss of what to do now. There was no TIP Manager, so he has no clues what that thing was nor how to beat it. He knows that it will be his next opponent. But it was not part of the attraction…

“Okay… Deep breaths and think… All the parts of the Funtimes were there with that thing… So maybe it’s a mishmash of all of them ? That means it has advanced eyes of Foxy, very good hearing from Ballora, a sense of feel where you are at all times from Freddy and probably the jumpscare of Baby… I hope I am right, otherwise I came so far for fucking nothing and I disappointed my Father and my Brother…”

With that he got up and started to blindly feel around the area. Soon enough he touched something and he grabbed it. There was a crank on it and he wound it up, it made a lot of noise and it gave light. Dexter looked around and saw a solar pallet. He held his flashlight on there and a door to his right opened.

‘Here goes nothing…’

With that he left his little room and into a…

‘Oh fuck no… A warehouse of all things right now ?! Shit !’

Dexter took off and ran almost into the middle and then hid there for a bit, hearing metal footsteps. He held his breath and had the flashlight under his dark shirt to hide the light. He looked underneath the shelves and saw its feet move further to the back. Dexter got up and ran for it to the other end of the warehouse.

He spotted a door and a note there with something that wants your ID Keycard.

Someone named John has one in the lower drawers on his desk.

‘Great now I need to find a desk too…’

He heard footsteps again and ran to his left for the hills. But…he spotted the Animatronic still many feet away, even though it just sounded like that thing was very close.

‘What the hell is wrong with me…?’

Dexter spotted a purple key and he picked it up and stuffed it into one of his pockets, then he continued his search for John’s desk.

-Timeskip-

It was hard to avoid the Animatronic while searching for the damn desk, but Dexter made it and found it. Though he sadly had to find a crowbar. He found one near John’s and he broke open the drawer, taking out the keycard. Then he sneaked his way back to the door and opened it.

Behind that door, was the generator and a door with a purple glowing lock. Dexter pulled out the key and unlocked the door, only to find a lab behind it.

‘What the fuck…?’

Dexter closed the door softly and then looked around. He saw a lot of equipment but also a drawing with numbers on them.

‘Steps… Get people to this location…get them…killed ?...get something out of them and into bottles, put bottles into…a machine…’

He continued to look around and spotted a covered dead body in a glass case.

‘Holy shit… Is that maybe Alfred…?’

Then he looked behind himself and spotted the continuation of the…plan ?

‘What…am I looking at…? So in these bottles is data that they will use to CLONE a human being, but in reality it’s an Animatronic and then….what ? Send someone else in there and do the same again…? Who the hell is doing this ?!’

Then he saw a tape and took it. He inserted it into the VHS tape player and the TV showed Dexter horrific things that scarred him.

“Heh..heh…heh…Mikey…you missed one fucker to kill… Even though I am not at all that surprised nor concerned… This furry ain’t in the Pizzaplex, nor near me, so I am not worried for now…”, he mumbled under his breath.

Then he left the room and saw that the monitors with the fuses were active.

‘Alright there are only three. I ran around this fucking warehouse so many times that I know everything right now…’

He looked closely.

‘Okay, I need to find the right fuse in there AND I need to look which cable leads to where to set it in right…’

And that Dexter did. After he finished the last one he heard a door opening and he rushed for it. He saw two ladders and he glared at them.

‘I HATE ladders…’

Then he climbed them up and soon was out of the warehouse and inside the last location that was a part of the attraction.

“Mike’s Pizzeria…”

The TIP Manager appeared in the small entrance to the room, where a rotten rabbit Animatronic sat in a chair.

“Not gonna lie he looks like shit…”

Then he read the instructions.

‘Vent light, use to flash them out, got it. Use monitor to defend from danger…I will need to look at that later what my options even are there…complete puzzles blah blah blah… okay let us start this shit.’

And then it started.

Dexter looked at the screen that showed the defense options and activated REPEL. He jumped as a loud sound appeared from behind him.

“Oh shit…”

He turned it off and used the CALL system, which started inside the room the robot sat in.

“Ah fuck…”

And lastly he used the door that closed off the room the bunny robot sat in.

“Understood. Ima drop that door when he comes, right. Comes to chew on my ass…”

Then he opened the door again and ran inside the room, he spottes a paper on the desk and he read it.

‘Scraptrap on chair…Molten Freddy in vents…Scrapbaby behind… Nice, I know their names now…’

Dex knew you were complicated. It was obvious, actually. He stalked you for long enough to notice that you had many problems. Wasn’t used to follow routines, didn’t had a lot of friends – in fact, almost no friends at all, rarely got out of your apartment to have fun, wasn’t active on social media, spent most of the week stuck at your job. From his perspective, you were very unhappy. He saw a bit of himself in you. He was unsatisfied with his life, but unlike you, he was stable, had a good routine, which he followed with dedication.

  Part of his routine were watch your routine, he found himself enjoying seeing the way you deal with your life, almost as if he was there with you the whole time. Of course, he still had obligations – like his job – so he did his best to keep an eye on you even far away. He hacked into your building’s security cameras, carefully memorized your arrival and departure times, and even managed to access your computer’s camera through your Wi-Fi network. Dex was smart – but most importantly, he was determined, when he wrapped his head around something, it was a difficult job for him to let it go.

  He remembered the first time he saw you as if it was yesterday. It was around eight in the morning of a Wednesday. He was taking the trash outside when you passed through him, you were talking with someone on your phone, you were wearing black pants with a black turtleneck shirt and a black long coat, your hair was loose and it looked so soft and shiny but also naturally messy. Your shoulder bumped into his and your bag felt on his feet, you immediately knelled and looked at his face apologizing. He could swear that never saw another pair of eyes so beautiful. He stayed speechless as you got up, still looking at him.

– I’m so sorry, my mind was in the clouds. – You said, tuckering a strand of hair behind your ear.

– It was nothing. – He said quickly, not even flashing a smile. He could hear the voice on the phone still talking, calling your name until you put the phone at your ear.

– I’m here. No. I wasn’t talking to you, I bumped into a guy.  – You nodded at him and turned, already walking away.

  It was something. It was. Your face was now engraved into his mind and he couldn’t help but wonder, “who are you and where you have been hiding?”.

  After that day, Dex did everything he could to see you again. He started taking the trash every day in the same hour, looked everywhere on internet after you – as he gladly had heard your first name, he knew you could be found. It took him almost two weeks but he did found your Facebook. You had a business number there. Apparently, you worked as a teacher’s assistant for the psychology department at the Pace university, it suited you. He scrolled through every photo of you he could find, checking friends’ profiles and all of your followers.

He wouldn’t say he was obsessed; he was only fascinated by you. Checking you online was great, but Dex knew he needed more, he needed to see you again and hear your sweet voice. So he managed to find your address, it wasn’t hard for him as he had the resources. When he discovered that you lived about six miles away from him, he could not believe it. How did you managed to live so close and yet never get noticed by him?

  The follow months he spent studying you. With what frequency you had guests, how many times you took the trash outside, which supermarket you liked to go – he learned it all. His favorites moments was when you kept the curtains’ open and cooked dinner, you always had a lot of fun alone, dancing, listening to music, trying new recipes, drinking. He had learned that you weren’t much of a drinker but loved wine, was basically the only type of alcohol that you were used to drink – and he knew because he had seem your trash can. He liked to stay in his car, parked at the other side of your street, and watching you sit at your fire escape; you did that at least once per month, like it was your only day to watch the stars and think about everything. He liked to imagine himself right by your side, in silence, watching you while you watch the sky. He could feel that you felt lonely sometimes – mostly because he could see you burying your head in your hands and shivering. He thought about calling you and inviting you to a date, but he knew it was stupid, it could never work, and you weren’t the type of girl who goes out with strangers just to not feel empty. You were too special for that.

  Dex could say that he loved almost everything about you – except when you acted out of control. He needed control to live, he was controlled by specific rituals and needed to follow his routine to keep him stable, to keep him working. You didn’t, in fact, it was like you hated to do the same things every day, you were always trying to find new paths to go to work, new ways of putting your furniture, new ways of styling your hair. You were constantly changing. That wasn’t normal to Dex. He understood that people could get bored after some time following routines but dedication was an important aspect in life, the key was consistency. It lacked in you. From away, it was interesting, but it needed to change when he started to get closer to you.

  You were looking stunning, really had taken your time to doll up tonight, and of course, he noticed. Dex managed to follow you after you left with a friend. He knew where you were going, thanks to your friend who posted about some karaoke night at her favorite bar. It was the first time in three months that you were getting out of your house to have fun, he couldn’t miss it. He also took some time getting ready, he didn’t pretend to be noticed but if you accidentally laid your eyes on him, he wanted to make sure that you would like what you’ve saw.

  He sat at the bar, held his drink and stayed there, sipping slowly, pretending to have a reason to be there. You were laughing with your friend, Dex was glad he could hear you, finally had something to think about besides your face, he could hear you telling about your week and he smiled before even noticing. He knew you were not usually so talkative, he could only presume that you drank a bit before coming. That’s also something he noticed about you – every time you had a big day ahead, you would drink something to loosen up a bit, it wasn’t a health habit, he knew he had to help you change it. He planned how the topic would be discussed, how his tone would sound like and what words he should use. He had a lot of planned conversations. After all, he knew that talking wasn’t his best asset, so he should be prepared before actually speaking with you.

  He smelled your perfume before actually feeling you at his side, your hands gripped the counter and he discretely analyzed your nails – he knew that you had done them last night. They looked pretty, very you, he though. Besides being particularly reserved, you weren’t afraid of being yourself, and Dex loved that about you, he thought it was nice that you knew exactly who you were and didn’t needed masks to perform at the world. That was something that you would help him with – he though. You ordered a drink, letting a low chuckle escape your lips as the bartender tried to do a small talk with you. Dex clenched his jaw, rage slowly building up him. You couldn’t be smiling at that guy, could you? He wasn’t even your type, he was sure because he saw your posts about ex-boyfriends and the photos of celebrities you liked. You had a specific type. Dex didn’t really fitted it but that wasn’t a problem for now, he would make sure to conquer your heart with other matters.

  You let out a sigh as the guy walked away to prepare your drink – Dex smiled because now he understood, you were just being polite. The air was hot in the bar, the small windows opened and the ceiling fan barely doing anything. Dex wetted his lips and casually glanced at your direction, just to see you already looking at him, your lips slightly open. God, you looked perfect. Your cheeks were lightly red and your eyes were glossy but also kind of fuzzy. For a moment, Dex imagined what you would look like waking up next to him, how you would smile only for his eyes to see and how he would let your hands caress his hair while his fingers travel across your face. You looked away with a shy smile. He smiled too, mesmerized by you. He was surprised when he heard you, now looking at him again.

– I feel like I know you. – He raised a brow.

– Really? Because, I feel like I know you from somewhere too.

– That’s weird, my memory is pretty good, I never forget a face… but I can’t quite figure where I’ve seen you before. – You said, tilting your head slightly.

– Maybe we met here before?

– Oh, no. It’s my first time here, actually.

– It’s a nice place. Are you enjoying it? – He asked, now fully directed towards you.

– Yeah, it’s cozy I guess. – She looked back at her table – I’m with some friends. You come here often?

  He didn’t know if she was just being polite or was really interested in keep a conversation, anyway he was glad she was giving him some of her time. It wasn’t exactly how he wanted to meet her but it wasn’t unpleasable.

– Sometimes, yeah. – She nodded with another smile.

– Nice to meet you…?

– You can call me Dex. – He smiled.

  You were easy to talk to. Not always available. Which was weird, Dex knew it wasn’t because of your work, and definitely not because you weren’t home, so what could be the explanation of you taking ages to answer his texts and never accepting to go out with him? He didn’t liked the way you were making him feel. Rejected. Too clingy. Too anxious. Too much. He wanted to knock on your door and ask why you were acting like this when four weeks ago you had the nicest conversation with him and treated Dex so kindly. What had changed? Were you bored of him, as you got so easily bored of your furniture? Did he do something that bothered you?

  He had gotten used of you already, used of you being the last person he talked at night and the first at morning, used to laughing at your awful jokes and weird text reactions, used to talking about work and hearing about your day or plans for the weekend. You couldn’t just vanish for days without an explanation, it was rude – and you were anything but rude with him. He would be worried if it wasn’t for the fact that he could see you, totally fine in your kitchen, eating a bowl of cereal. Your phone was close to you, he thought of sending another text but it could be too much, could scare you away – even more than now. He hated how easily you could spend your day without talking to him and he couldn’t keep away from your house for a single day. He were too much, too intense, too weird, too different. He knew. Yet, when you two talked, he didn’t felt like it, he even thought that you were just like him, that you could understand him. Was he wrong all along?

  You disappeared from the kitchen. He sighed, heavily, tired. Then his phone buzzed. It was you.

“Hey, sorry, forgot to text u back :(

I’m okay, just a bit tired lately, u okay?”

  He read it two, four, seven times. How could you sound so casual about disappearing for two days? What did you meant with tired? His thumb hovering over the keys confused of what to say.

“Hey. It’s all right, glad you’re okay. I’m fine.”

  He sent. He felt stupid.

“that’s good!! About going out Friday, u still up?”

“Yes. What time you get off work?”

“around nine. I will be super tired tho, it’s okay if we eat at my place?”

  Dex was stunned. He could barely remember why he was mad at you now that you were inviting him to your house. He smiled typing.

“Sounds great. See you nine o’clock then.”

";)"

  He dropped his phone in the seat.

Friday. The weather was cold, colder than it was the rest of the week. Dex was waiting outside the university, wearing a white shirt with black jeans and a black suit – same thing he wore at work, as he didn’t had time to go home and change. It was exactly nine o’clock and you still hadn’t showed up, he was starting to get anxious. Dex checked his phone and your text, confirming that you set the date for today. Now he wondered if he was at the right place, or if maybe this was a prank or maybe you got out earlier and couldn’t wait for him. He was exaggerating, for sure, but he couldn’t help it. He looked around and saw you waving at him, stepping out of the building. He could finally breathe again. You looked cute as you walked to him, not really knowing where to look at, with a small smile on your lips.

– Hi. – He smiled. – I hope you didn’t wait too much here, my boss was trying to make me work harder tonight.

– I just got here. – He said. – So, you ready to go?

– Sure.

  The way back to your house were quiet, but comfortable, you liked Dex company. He was handsome, smart, and weirdly funny – the type of guy that make you laugh just by being himself. It was sweet but fragile, this thing you two had. He wasn’t actively trying to get on your pants, which you were grateful for, but also had no idea of what he expected from you. You could see things getting more serious in the future, but right now, Dex wasn’t what you were looking for. A relationship. You barely took care of yourself, how could you be involved with someone who would put so many responsibilities on your back? You didn’t want to assume anything but it was obvious that Dex wasn’t the type of guy that sleeps around or do one-night stands. You knew by the way he was reserved, or by the way he looked at you – as you were so precious to him. For the months you’ve been talking to him, you didn’t knew a lot about his life, he mostly appreciated to hear you talking about yourself, so his life wasn’t in the spotlight most of the nights. It didn’t bother you, not really, if anything just made you more interested in him and his mysterious personality.

  You closed the door after he got in. He stayed with his hand on his pockets and still as possible in the middle of your living room. Your flat wasn’t really small but also far from being big, you felt nervous as you watched him looking around. Bringing guys over wasn’t something you used to do, somehow, you felt that it was okay with Dex, he was trustable. You felt safe with him; even though you knew he worked on the FBI – maybe that was the reason of you feeling safe around him. He looked at you and gave you a small smile.

– You can sit. – You said, pointing to your couch. – I’m going to put my bag in my bed and I will be right back so we can order something. Make yourself home.

  Dex sat, still looking tense, it was his default configuration, he could help it. He was always in alert, as every soldier is. He touched the armrest of the sofa, feeling it, he didn’t liked the texture. He quickly looked around making sure he wouldn’t forget any spot of your place. It was cozy, not fancy but not messy. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. This – the sofa, the white walls, no pictures hanged, the smell of chlorine – it didn’t felt like you. He thought your house would have more personality, that it would have a bunch of pictures of your childhood in wood frames, posters of movies you watched and it would smell like your perfume. This place looked hollow. His eyes stopped at a small bottle on the coffee table, his hands travelled to it before he could resist, picking it up and reading the label. Zoloft. He straightened his posture when he heard your steeps.

– So, do you have anything specific in mind? I’m down to anything, really. – You sat next to him, but left a lot of space between your bodies.

  Dex had an expression of discomfort, his lips pressed together and his eyebrows furrowed.

– Are you okay? – He asked, his eyes analyzing your expression. You were confused.

– Uhm, yes? Why do you ask?

– You never told me you took medications.

– What? – Your eyes flew to the bottle at your table, a nervous smile creeping onto your lips. – Are you talking about that? – He nodded, slowly.

– It’s nothing, seriously. It just helps me with bad days and anxiety, that kind of stuff.

– Is that why you stopped answering my messages? – he knew that asking so many questions like this was a mistake, he would scare you away, as he always do. However, he couldn’t hold himself back anymore, he realized as the words came out of his mouth. – Are you depressed?

  You laughed, loudly, probably the first time he heard you laughing like that. He felt embarrassed. He wished he could stop you from laughing at him, that he could get up and left, forget all about this night – maybe even forget about you.

– Dex, what? Look at me, I’m fine! You don’t need to worry about me, ‘right? – You laid you head in the couch, Dex stared at you imagining what would happen if chocked you. Would you fight back or you would accept it as your fate? Did you wanted to die?

– I’m truly sorry about not texting you. – You turned your head to look at him.

  Dex was beautiful. Maybe you just were falling for him – or maybe, he just had the prettiest eyes you ever saw, the way the lighting was molding his features and the way you could see glimpses of you in the reflection of his eyes were intoxicating. He had a cold look. Distant. Yet, you never felt so seen before. You felt your heartbeat accelerating; it was getting harder to breathe.

– You’re right. I… think I was scared of telling you some things and making you go away. It’s silly. – You chuckled, partially ashamed of your behavior. – I mean, it’s just, no one likes to go out and tell the world that they are sick, you know?

– Sick? – He was lost in thoughts but that word made him get pushed back to reality. You nodded.

– I take those pills since I was, like, fourteen. I’ve been sick for a long time and will probably be until the day I die. – You sighed, explaining your condition.

  That was familiar to Dex, taking pills since he was a child, multiples sessions with his therapist, bad days, nights awake, the fear of making people disappear from his life, the violent thoughts, and the difficulty in connecting with people. Everything that you said was exactly what he felt his whole life. He couldn’t believe it. What were the odds of meeting someone like you? So perfect yet so similar to him. In that moment, Dex felt like you were everything he spent his life looking for. It was you. His salvation, his north star.

– You could never scare me away. – Dex said in a low tone, it sounded as a confession, a secret. He could see your gaze flickering between his eyes and lips, as if you were deciding something. Maybe deciding if he was being honest or not.

  You leaned in, drawn by something magnetic, your gaze fixed on his lips until he couldn’t resist anymore. He attacked your lips with impressive speed, his tongue immediately exploring the inside of your mouth, kissing like a rabid animal. And you loved it, trying to keep up with his pace as best you could, your hands traveling to his blond hair and you gripped the soft strands. Dex tasted of coffee, mint, and a hint of cinnamon. When you pulled away to breathe, you soon felt his hand on the nape of your neck pulling you close again, his eyes seemed dark with desire, he was fierce. You felt your whole body shiver, unsure what to think at the moment because everything kept returning to him – Dex, Dex, and Dex, he was flooding your thoughts, his scent intoxicated you, his cologne was strong but not unpleasant, like the smell of gasoline or paint.

  You wanted more of him; you wanted to feel him everywhere. You brought your fingers to his face and traced his lips with them, watching his heavy, ragged breathing. He opened his mouth slightly, giving you passage. You didn't put your finger inside his mouth, only felt the wet texture of saliva on his lips. You were driving him crazy. He wanted to kiss, touch, and lick every tiny part of  your body. He let his hands travel through your hair, brushing a few strands from your flushed face. The apartment was warm – perhaps because he could feel the heat of your body against his.

  Desire. It was a strange feeling, not entirely new to either of them, but never as intense as that night. Dex had never been so focused – on you. Completely devoted and obsessed with your touch. It was almost painful. He felt his body burning. All he could see and feel was you, your scent, your parted lips, your hand on his face, and your beautiful eyes staring at him as if you belonged to him. And you did. From the Wednesday your eyes met, you had become his; no one could ever touch you like that. And he was yours just as you were his.

  You couldn't focus on anything; your mind was in a trance, completely fascinated by the man in front of you, but also so carried away by the sensations that nothing made sense besides his touch. His hands were large, strong, and firm, holding you in place as if you were just a sack of meat. You even thought you would do anything he asked or wanted, just to keep his attention on you. It was insanity. Nothing had ever seemed as real as this moment. You became more confident and daring when you heard the low moan of pleasure that Dex let out when his hand went down to his cock. It was a delicious sound, better than you had imagined, and god, of course you had imagined it.

  Dex, too, despite always forbidding himself, striving to keep his mind clean of any impure thoughts, afraid that somehow imagining you in a vulgar way would also make you dirty. But he desired it as much as you did, mirroring your smile and your voice messages while his hand caressed his member under the shower and his head rested against the wet wall, feeling the water wash away his pleasure along with his sweat down the drain. In any case, nothing compared to this; truly feeling your soft hand gently rubbing him, teasing him, driving him to the brink of madness. He didn't know he could lose control like this, it was something new and frightening. But it felt so good. And if it's good, it can't be wrong, right?

  He kissed you again, without holding back. You grabbed the hem of his shirt, pulling it up and looking at him, almost as if begging to see him, and he would never refuse. He easily pulled off his shirt and returned to the kiss, saliva dripping from the corner of his mouth. You pulled away for a moment and took off your own shirt. Dex's eyes traveled over your breasts, and you looked a mess, flushed cheeks, tousled hair, his bulging chest visible; he was gorgeous. He moved his mouth to your neck, holding your waist with one hand and the back of your head with the other, his tongue slowly tracing your neck, kissing, sucking, and licking. It was as if he wanted to devour you. Your body was on fire, and the breeze coming through the open window relieved you. You felt your core dripping and wetting your panties, slightly embarrassed for being so eager after just a few kisses, but the relief of feeling Dex's already hard cock calmed you; he was as desperate for it as you were. Holding onto his shoulder, you shifted, allowing him to position one of his knees between your legs. The friction of his jeans against your panties was exhilarating; it made you feel so good that you barely noticed when you started rubbing against his leg. Dex found the action adorable; he liked knowing you felt comfortable enough to use him however you wanted, and he wanted to be the one who satisfied you.

  His hands went to the clasp of your bra and with mastery, he opened it, throwing the garment to the floor. You smiled as you felt his hands on your breasts, touching them carefully. He was intense but also careful. His mouth went to your ear and he whispered; “You are divine” and you felt your body tremble at the tone in his voice, you let out a low moan as you felt you were getting close to climaxing. To your misfortune, Dex pulled away, removing your source of pleasure. You stared at him, confused and still slightly drunk from the sensation. He laid you down on the sofa and unzipped your pants, pulling them down to your ankles. He admired the sight of your thin panties for a second and brought two fingers to your lips, you let them in, smearing them with saliva, still looking into Dex's eyes. He smiled slightly and removed his fingers, taking them to your pussy, playing with your clitoris in circles. You gasped, feeling a new wave of pleasure, more intense. He penetrated your hole with his fingers, maintaining a slow and torturous rhythm, purposefully making you savor the little he gave you. His face moved back a few centimeters from yours, and you lifted yourself slightly, seeking his mouth. The kiss was slower, full of sighs, his gaze fixed on you. You came with his fingers still on you and your mouths pressed together.

The four horseman by Metallica played loudly, echoing through the thin walls of Billy’s house. He inhaled the smoke of his cigarette, laying his head back for a moment. He looked at the mirror and passed his fingers through one rebel curl that had fallen down into his eyes, fixing it with a bit of spray. He smiled at himself – he was excited to meet Tina, it was a date after all, he knew that she was willing to do anything for him. He was fresh meat at town, choosing a girl to take out on a Saturday night wasn’t a hard choice.

  Abruptly, he heard Susan’s voice, knocking on his door.

– I’m a little busy in here, Susan. – He screamed over the loud song.

– Open the door. Right now! – His father screamed back. His tone harsh as ever.

  Billy sighed, dousing the cigarette and with quick steps, he opened the door. They stared at him, Susan with an apprehensive feature.

– What’s wrong? – Billy asked.

– Why don’t you tell us? – His father asked, tilting his head slightly, peaking at his room.

– Because I don’t know. – Billy’s tone was annoyed – which only made his father’s anger grew.

– We can’t find Maxine. And her window was open. – Susan said. Her voice was high-pitched, whiny. He hated it how overly dramatic and inoffensive she always sounded.

– Where is she?

– I don’t know. – Billy shrugged. His father looked at him with false surprise. Scratching his eyebrows. – Look, I’m sure she just… I don’t know, went to the arcade or something. I’m sure she’s fine!

– You were supposed to watch her. – Neil said, crossing his arms.

– I know dad, I was. It’s just that you guys are three hours late and…Well, I have a date. – Billy told him, grabbing his jacket and turning his back. – I’m sorry, okay?

– So that’s why you’ve been staring at yourself in the mirror like some faggot, instead of watching your sister?

– I have been looking after her all week, dad! – Billy used a higher tone, annoyed by all the questions and the music slowly getting on his nerves. Neil narrowed his eyes. – If she wants to run off then that’s her problem, all right?! She’s thirteen years old, she shouldn’t need a fulltime babysitter. And she’s not my sister!

  Billy walked to the radio and turned it off, angrily. In the blink of an eye, he was with his back pressed into his closet, Neil’s hands grabbing his shirt and his face centimeters away from his. His breath hitched. Neil looked at him – the kind of look that was more like a warning. Billy clenched his jaw. Anger building up inside of him. And deep down a mix of shame and fear,

– What did we talked about? – Neil murmured and suddenly slapped Billy’s face. Susan watched the scene unfold, her hands shaking as she closed her eyes for a second.

– Respect and responsibility.

– Now. Apology to Susan. – Billy stared at his father eyes. A million thoughts running into his head and at the same time not even one coherent thought. He swallowed his pride and felt the tears in the corner of his eye.

– I’m sorry, Susan.

– It’s okay, Neil. Really… – He interrupted her.

– No! It’s not okay. Nothing about his behavior it’s okay. – He dropped his son, turning to face Susan. His voice more controlled. – But he’s gonna make up for it. He’s going to call whatever whore he’d see tonight and cancel their date. And then, he’s going to find his sister, like the good, kind and respecting brother that he is. Ain’t that right, Billy?

– Yes, sir. – He tried to sound steady. He couldn’t. Not with the feeling of his throat struggling to utter any word or with the single tear running down his cheek. Neil stepped closer to him again, breathing deeply, like a disappointed father.

– Sorry, I couldn’t hear you?

– Yes. Sir. – He said it again, louder this time. Still looking into Neil’s eyes.

– Find Max.

And he left the room. Susan hesitated for a second – as she thought to say something, to apologize maybe. But she was too scared for that. Scared of Neil. Scared of Billy too. She closed the door. Billy closed his eyes, biting his lip and with an impulsive movement, he grabbed his perfume and threw it into the floor. The small bottle throwing pieces of glass all over his carpet. He buried his face into his palms. He wished he could scream, shout and break everything in his room, maybe walk to Neil’s room and beat his face until blood was all that remains. He was frustrated. Mad. Sad. Scared. And he knew it was all Max fault. If she had stayed home or at least asked for permission to go somewhere like a normal fucking kid, nothing would had happened, his father wouldn’t be so angry at him.

  But he felt like it was his fault too. For being a fucking coward and not saying anything back. For letting Neil touches him. For being such a pathetic excuse of man. For letting his mom leave him with Neil. For not being able to do any shit like he was supposed to. He couldn’t understand why his father hated him so much, why nothing was ever good enough. What more did he expect from him? He knew he was already doing the best he could. Yet never felt like it was ever enough.

  He needed to do something.

  When it comes to people dealing with problems; we can put them in two different yet so similar categories. There’s those who enjoy their pain, who decide to endure their agony alone and accept it as their own, as piece of themselves. And there’s those who punish others as a way of forgetting about their own punishments, those who thrives in watching someone else pass through the pain that they had to endure. Billy could somehow be both. Oh, he enjoyed to be the one who puts people in pain. He enjoys being the one who gives the first punch and reduces guys into pools of blood and broke bones. Still, the pain that came with that was also what he loved. The feeling of his back aching or his knuckles in raw flesh after a few punches was what really made him feel alive. The feeling of being capable of causing pain and also being strong enough to endure that pain, is what made him crueler.

  He built himself over broken bones and bloody noses, over nights driving drunk without fearing the death – not waiting for it to catches him, but pursuing it. All that because he needed to be sure that he wasn’t scared, that nothing would ever scare him again. That he would prevail over anything that life could throw on him. He wouldn’t back away, wouldn’t cry, wouldn’t be a coward. He was the man that his father created.

"You think you can tell me what to do, Sinclair?"

The way your name came out of his mouth confused him. He had not planned to use your last name. Nor where you fit into his life. Nothing. It just came out. He moved even closer. You took a deep breath, but didn't back away. It made something inside him burn. Admiration? Anger? Curiosity? He did not know.

  He replayed that small conversation in his head again and again. Something inside him burned. It wasn't anger. It wasn't defiance. It was that feeling he hated to acknowledge: interest. What he felt in that instant was something Billy didn't know how to handle. He didn't know how to name it. He did not know how to push it away. It was not hate. It was not indifference. It was not just tension. It was… you. So obnoxiously innocent, subtly slipping into his mind without even trying. His eyes watching the road, the moon barely bringing light to his car. Your eyes engraved on his thoughts. Staring at him so deeply. He wondered if you felt the same thing – if you couldn’t take him from your mind. If you hated that part of yourself as he hated his.

  His fingers grabbing roughly the steering wheel. The strong wind messing his curls, making it a wild mess. The annoying odor of Hawkins streets filling his car. Music playing in a low tone as he murmured the lyrics. He just kept driving, delaying going home as much as he could. In nights like this, he had stupid thoughts. Hopes of someday having a quiet place to go, somewhere nice where he could rest his head and feel a soft touch on his face. It was ridiculous, he knew. After all, even if that place existed, Billy would be its damned ruin – as he had always been since a child. Destructing his own home. His own mother. His family. Himself.

MATT MURDOCK WITH UNSTABLE!READER who loves you so much. He just needs you to know how much you mean to him.

MATT MURDOCK who can feel when your mind gets too loud and notices how you get quiet, worrying too much, thinking too much, and hate not being able to do something about it.

MATT MURDOCK who on one of your first nights together, traced every spot of your body and heard how you heart start beating faster and faster as he reached your wrists. Who touched your scars as if they could open with any brusque movements. Who kissed your forehead and made no questions, just held you, hoping that you could feel all of his love.

MATT MURDOCK who never get angry at you for being angry with him. Who calmly watches you lash out at him and never once let you go home mad. Just because he understands you – or at least tries. He knows you can’t control how fast your mood swing and how you say things you never intend to. Who accept your apologies every time because he knows you are being honest, he can feel your heart and he sees how sorry you feel.

MATT MURDOCK who doesn’t get mad at you for skipping sessions or for stopping the treatment, he doesn’t like it but he knows how it can be exhausting to try be better every day.

MATT MURDOCK who take you to your therapy sessions when he can, making sure to check in you after each one of them.

MATT MURDOCK who stays up late just watching you sleep. Wondering how god could let someone like you get through everything you did. Wondering why didn’t he found you sooner.

MATT MURDOCK who knows every time you relapse because he can smell the open wound. And he’s not sure of how to react, he wants to give you space and let you tell him when you want but he’s also incapable of not commenting anything, so he sit with you that night, caressing your hair and letting you lay your head on his chest, he murmur “You know I love you, don’t you? Doesn’t matter what happens, I’ll be always by your side.” and you can’t stop the tears from falling, you burry your face in your palms and cry, feeling his arms cradle you.

MATT MURDOCK who help you to clean your wound and bandage it, saying he got experience.

MATT MURDOCK who confess to his priest with tears on his eyes that you are all he got in his mind, that he can’t concentrate at work, that he’s so afraid of losing you that he can barely sleep.

MATT MURDOCK who still pray for you. “Dear Lord. Please, let her win her battles and let me stay longer enough to help her.”

MATT MURDOCK who kisses you until your mind gets quiet and love to make you forget about the world with his tongue.

MATT MURDOCK who is not grossed out by you when things get rough and you can’t get up to shower or brush your teeth. Who will patiently convince you to go take a shower so he can clean your room. Who cooks for you – and he’s pretty good at it.

MATT MURDOCK who prefers when you cry desperately that when you keep it all to yourself. He need you to speak, even if its trough tears. When you get too quiet, you make him worry too much, he doesn’t know what’s going on your head so he can’t help.

MATT MURDOCK who smile when you smile. It is so different when you are in a good day, he can tell by the way your tone is louder, by the way you touch him more often, by the way you laugh at his silly jokes and the way you make sure to speak about your day. It’s like you are shinning and he just loves to watch you shine.

MATT MURDOCK who does a lot of research about you. He doesn’t want to treat you like an experiment but he wants to understand what it’s happening with you. Sometimes he just ask, as you two are laying in his couch, “How you deal with it?” and sometimes you don’t even know what to say. He buy every psychology book he can find. He reads online about your medications and investigate about your therapist, just to make sure he’s the best for you.

You held the cold blade in your hands, staring at the small tool with such focus, drifting into your mind and reflecting on your reasons.

You wanted the pain. The sting. The guilt next morning. The living memory marked on your skin for at least three weeks. The constant worry and the effort to hide your wrists in public. The sharp feeling of water running over the small opening and carrying the blood down the drain. You longed for all of it, for every dark and sick pull inside your heart.

It felt like an impulse — strong enough to make you reach into the drawer of the wooden nightstand, yet weak enough to stop you from bringing the blade to your warm skin. Heavy tears slid from your eyes down to your chin, your nose dripping slightly and blocking your nostrils, the air becoming harder to pull into your lungs.

You wondered if the relief would still feel the same after so long. If you would still watch, hypnotized, as blood spilled from your arm, the depersonalization pushing you to the edge, making you see yourself only as a flesh vessel. Empty of thoughts and valuable emotions. Just flesh, bone, and blood. Blood, vivid and full of pain, carrying your sorrow and distress as it left you. Dripping onto the sheet. So calmly, in no hurry to empty itself.

You felt stupid. Dramatic. Out of control. But you needed the pain. When your mind screamed and your thoughts disappeared into themselves, when your heart physically ached with agony and loneliness, when your hands wouldn’t stop shaking.

It was the only thing that brought relief; as if sadness were pouring through your veins, and once the cut was made, the blood would drag it out of your body with it. It was all so meaningless. Cuts and more cuts over the years. Never too drastic. Never irreversible — though that option had been considered a million times during all your lonely nights.

And you asked yourself over and over: why?

Why keep going? When even hope drained so much from you.

Deep down, you already knew every answer. You were too afraid. Too much of a coward. You would be capable of a thousand cuts every year, but never able to finish the job. It was simply who you were. Afraid. Probably the only reason you’d survived this long drowning in yourself. It was also the only form of fighting you had found. Fear kept you from ending the dreams you still tried to feed. But the pain remained in the same place.

So focused on how the moonlight glinted off the razor, you didn’t hear the soft shift in the sheets or the way the man’s body turned to look at you.

He tilted his head slightly, confused eyes landing on your figure sitting on the edge of the bed with the small blade in hand. His hearing sharpened, catching the faint clink of your nails tapping against the metal. A fearful shiver ran down his spine.

— Darling?

His voice was like a cool breeze in the heat — or thunder breaking through the storm raging inside your soul. Gentle, familiar, filled with affection and concern. It made your heart ache with how much patience laced his tone.

You couldn’t hold back the heavy sigh that escaped your lips, once sealed tight as you tried to choke back sobs and failing breaths. You couldn’t turn to face him.

— Go back to sleep, Matt.

He sat up, arms supporting his weight, the blue sheet gathered around his legs.

— Is that a knife? — He asked, voice low and steady.

— No. — You felt tears rising again, vision blurring as you stared at the white wall of the bedroom. — It’s nothing. Please, go back to sleep.

He heard the strain in your voice, the trembling breaths, your racing heartbeat. He didn’t understand. He slowly reached out, his warm hand gently brushing down your back, sliding to your waist.

— Talk to me. — He whispered. — Please.

You frowned — because it was unbearable. He was so good, so sweet, so patient. And you weren’t. And that drove you insane—more each day. You loved him, loved how good he could be with everyone, how optimistic and persistent he tried to be, and how tender he was with you.

But you hated him for it.

You didn’t want to hate him — not him, the only good thing that had happened to you in so long. It ate you alive. And you hated yourself for that too.

— I can’t, Matt. I try and try, and I can’t. There's must be something wrong with me.

He couldn’t process the words; couldn’t understand how they could fall out of your lips so easily. For a few seconds he stayed silent, wondering where he had failed in showing his love enough to prevent you from believing something was wrong with you.

— What? No. No. Don’t say that.

He crawled closer, his arms wrapping around you, a soft embrace, almost as if he feared his touch might break you. His mouth near your ear, voice as smooth as silk.

— There is nothing wrong with you.

— But there is! And you… telling me there isn’t doesn’t change anything. You don’t understand, do you?! — You shook your head, sadness heavy in your chest burning itself into anger. — I’m fucked up, Matt. And I know it. We all know it. But I’m so tired of it.

— I know, love. I know.

— I don’t know how to get out of this hole. — You murmured through tears.

— We’re going to fix this. I promise.

His hold tightened slightly, while you gripped his hands, grounding yourself through his warmth.

— I’m here. You’re going to be okay, baby.