Bunny Smiles Butchering (Walten Files AU)

Chapter 9: Planning

||Sophie POV||
     There was a moment of silence. Jenny stared at her, and she stared back. Then, Jenny burst into laughter, almost howling at Sophie's statement. She looked away, clenching her jaw and holding her tongue. Surely she would understand soon.
     "Ghosts! Ah, Sophie, you gotta be fucking kidding me. I mean, I love all things paranormal, but there's no damn way ghosts are real and YOU'RE the one seeing them." Jenny laughed, wiping tears from the corners of her eyes. Her tone changed when she saw Sophie's serious expression. "Have you been taking your meds recently?" She asked.
     "That's the thing. I've been keeping up with them constantly. I swear to god I'm seeing fucking ghosts!" Sophie sighed. She wiped her eyes and held back her sobs. "I swear, Jenny. I've been seeing ghosts." She could tell Jenny was holding back her laughter, though.
     "First it was that dumb video game that you say was haunted, and now it's this? Take a chill pill. It's not the end of the world."
"Take a chill pill! Ha! Are you fucking serious right now, Jenny?" Sophie was fuming. She wouldn't take this bullshit anymore. "YOU have NO IDEA what I've gone through! What I've done! Jenny, you have NO FUCKING IDEA HOW LUCKY YOU ARE! If you weren't so nice to me when we met then you would have been dead that same night!" She screamed. Once she realized what she had just done, she straightened herself up and took a deep breath.
"Sophie, I-"
"I'm going to take a walk." She stated. Sophie walked out of the house in a daze. She walked and walked, not even paying attention to her surroundings. Soon, familiar sights and sounds began to fill her senses. Where was she going now?
She stopped, finding herself standing on the sidewalk in front of a restaurant, Bon's Burgers. Inside there were children laughing and playing. A tantalizing scent came from within, and there was a stage with familiar robotic animals singing on it.
She spotted a sign in the window. Now hiring, inquire inside. Sophie was rather low on cash, and she figured it couldn't hurt to work at a place that was just so familiar.
Sophie headed home. When she arrived back at her home, Jenny was out. She had left a note that Sophie didn't bother to read. She was excited now, she couldn't wait. She quickly opened her desk drawer, where she had been keeping a resume that was yet to be seen by employers.
She quickly threw on her nicest clothes and brushed out her hair. She stared in the mirror for a moment, considering the patch she kept on her face. She sighed and reluctantly removed it, revealing a scar from when she was younger. At least it was more professional than a huge bandage on her face.
She walked back to Bon's burgers. After a quick chat with one of the employees, she handed her resume off to them and headed home, sitting by the phone and eagerly awaiting a call. When the phone rang she immediately picked up.
"Hello. Is this Sophie Walten?" A somewhat familiar voice asked. She frowned at the sound of that last name.
"Yes, that's me." She answered in a polite tone.
"Well, I'm calling about your resume... the boss read it over and wants a job interview with you as soon as possible, which I'm surprised by. It usually isn't this fast. Anyways, when is your schedule free?"
"I can come tomorrow, if that's available!" She said, tapping her foot against the floor. Why was she so thrilled to be working at a burger place with creepy animatronics?
"Let me just check for you." Muffled conversation was heard before the man on the other line returned. "Yes, that's available. Come by at noon and I'll bring you to him for the interview."
"Yes! Thank you, I certainly will!" She said before hanging up. She walked out to the living room and spotted the note that Jenny had left earlier. She picked it up.
"My dearest Sophie, I'm very sorry for what I said earlier. I didn't think you were serious, and I didn't know you would get that angry. I really didn't mean to hurt you. I'm out getting groceries, and I hope we can make up when I get home. Sincerely, Jenny."
She set down the note and, at that moment, she heard the door unlocking. She opened the door and was met by Jenny, who was carrying two bags of groceries.
She smiled warmly at Jenny, who quickly set her bags down and smiled back. Once Jenny's hands were free, Sophie hugged her tightly.
"I could never stay mad at you." She said, sighing happily.
"Thank you, Sophie. I love you."
"I love you too."

||Time skip brought to you by laziness and me writing this in class||

The next day, Sophie had woken up bright and early, prepared for the day ahead. By noon, she had arrived at Bon's Burgers and was being led to the back room.
"Well, if you've done some proper research, then of course you know the boss is Felix Kranken. He seemed really enthusiastic about your interview. I'm surprised. Most of the time he's busy and passes the job interviews off to me."
Sophie's eyes widened slightly. Felix Kranken? She took a deep breath. It was too late to back off now. When she walked into Felix's office, though, he seemed different than what she had expected.
This wasn't the evil monster who had killed her siblings, or the panicked wreck of a man whose hair was messy and whose forehead was beaded with sweat as he aimed a pistol at her.
This man who sat before her was in a tidy blue suit. His glasses were straight and his hair, flecked and streaked with a bit of grey, was slicked back in a professional look. His eyes were a warm brown and had a kind look to them.
"Sophie! I can't believe it! Is that really you?" He asked, standing and walking towards her. Was this even the same man she had seen last night?
"Uncle Felix?" She asked, her voice soft and containing a hint of confusion.
"Oh, Sophie, I missed you so much! The last time I saw you, you were only 14! Now how old are you? 22? It's so good to see you, kiddo!" He took her into a tight embrace and she hugged back, tears starting to roll down her cheeks.
"I missed you too, uncle Felix." She hadn't meant to say it, but when she blurted it out, she realized that she HAD missed this comforting figure. He was almost like a real uncle to her. Could life have been different if she stayed with him?

||Felix POV||

Felix had been chatting with Sophie and, of course, the subject eventually drifted to the topic of her missing parents. How could that topic not come up? Both of them had been expecting it.
"Oh Sophie, I've been looking for them day and night. I know that the chances of them being found, let alone being found alive, go down every day but... I still have hope. They were my closest friends. They were your parents!"
"I know. It's awful with them being gone but, if I'm honest... I hardly remember them. I've been taking medication and it messes with my memory. I don't think it's just that, though. It's like my mind doesn't want me to remember."
"That's really tough, Sophie. If I'm being honest, I kind of have a similar thing going on. I've been thinking about it a lot recently. I know that something very bad happened in May of 1974. I know I caused it. I just don't know what happened."
"What made you think about it?" Sophie asked, an odd look on her face. Felix sighed.
"You may have heard about it if you keep up with the news. Just the other day, somebody called me and asked me some really weird questions, including asking what happened on May 2nd of 1974. And then, the day after that, the Brighton Butcher showed up in my house with an assistant or something. Apparently the Brighton Butcher is a murderess." He frowned and sighed.
"I don't know. It's just... a lot of crazy stuff has been happening in my life. It's weird that they were both wearing discontinued Bunny Smiles merchandise. How did they even get those? Whatever. At least you're here now, eh?" Felix smiled.
"I guess so!" Sophie smiled back. Felix then remembered the whole reason Sophie came here in the first place, for a job interview!
"Well, we've talked long enough. I don't think I even need to ask you any of the usual interview questions. Let's figure out pay and hours, and then you're hired!"
The two quickly and easily negotiated Sophie's pay, hours, and duties. She would be working as a maintenance worker, fixing animatronics and caring for the K-9 storage facility.
The two spent a bit more time chatting before Sophie was sent off. Little did either of them know, after learning that Sophie was going to get a job at Bon's Burgers, Jenny was scheming. She would follow through with her promise of bringing Felix to Sophie, and she had plenty of planning to do.