After lunch, Beth had to return home to finish her homework, and act like she didn't ditch school, leaving John and Y/n walking back home.
"So John... tell me about The other locations. What are they like?" John sighs deeply at her question.
"Look, kid, I want to help you, but I'm not sure I want to re-involve myself with all of it. I've tried to make a name for myself as someone other than "one of the kids who knew the victims." Y/n nods at his words.
"You knew the victims?" She snaps her head around, making him sigh as she completely misses her point.
"Listen, I gotta get back to the store, and you should get back to..." he stops walking as he talks, inching back towards town, making y/n stop as well.
"I'll see you later." He says, before turning and walking back with his hands in his jacket pockets. Y/n goes to say something, but decides not to. He's been through a lot today, she realizes. So she just continues the walk home, smiling when she's greeted by sunny sitting on the porch steps.
"Y/n where are your friends?" He says, looking around.
"They had to go home. I think we'll be seeing more of John, though. At least, I hope so." She sits next to the sun animatronic, resting her head on his arm, since his shoulder is too high for her head to reach.
"John seems like a nice person! I wonder though..." he puts a hand to his chin thoughtfully.
"What?" Y/n looks up at him.
"Oh! N-nothing, sweetheart." He pulls her close to himself, his cold metal arm making her shiver.
"Sunny?"
"Yes, ray?"
"Can I dress you up?" She sits up with a mischievous smile.
"Dress me up? Of course!! We can have a dress up party!" Why don't we go right now!" Sun claps his hands excitedly.
"We can... but there's not really any clothes here. But we could go to my house and bring some back." Y/n says, concocting a plan.
"Are you sure that's safe? What if your family sees us?"
"That's why it'll just be me and you. You can sneak, right?" She stands as she speaks, glancing down at the bells on his feet and wrists.
"I'm not very good at sneaking. But moon probably is! Why don't you take him?" She nods.
"Okay, sure. Let's go, I wanna go before my parents get back from work." She pulls Sun to stand, which doesn't actually move him, he just stands on his own.
"But don't you want to see them? Don't you miss your parents?" His words make her hesitate, but only for a moment.
"No. I don't." She turns towards the road.
"Come on, we gotta go!" She says, urging him on.
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" y/n runs and Sun skips for as long as she can hold out, and eventually resort to him giving her a piggyback ride.
Once in town, y/n notices the sun slipping more and more below the tree line. Soon the street lights will come on, and she remembers it's not long after that her parents came home. First her mom, then her dad.
She grabs Suns hand and leads him carefully to her house, and around back to her window.
"This is your house? It's so pretty!" She shushes sun, shimmying up the old pear tree which hadn't laid a single fruit since she was very little. She advances upward smoothly, putting her foot on each branch as she has a hundred times before. She used to sneak in and out daily to hang out with her friends, mainly Beth and their friend group.
She would get home from school, do homework, (or not) make sure she sees her mom so she doesn't come looking for her, then after dinner she's sneak out and hang out until 11, go home, crash, get up, and rinse and repeat for five years.
Sun follows behind her, she only knows because if the faint jingling. She jumps off the branch onto the roof, and sneaks over to her window. Her blinds are shut. That's weird, they're never shut.
Sun crouches next to her, watching her for her next move. She slides her fingers under the window sill, lifting it slowly. Her breathing, now escalated, hitches when she hears a familiar purr. She very carefully lands in her bedroom floor, glancing around.
She stands slowly, oblivious to Suns entrance and various comments about how cute her room is, and what is that furry creature approaching.
She stands still, glancing over her room. Her walls-lined with poster and pictures of her friends stay the same, but small things have changed. Her chair, the one she put every piece of clothing on that she didn't have a place for, is clear, and everything seems to be overall more tidy than she left it. Anger bubbles up inside her.
Who was in my room?
But she remembers the circumstances, how her family probably thinks she's dead, and it makes sense. They'd have to come in at some point. She wonders if they're over it yet. If life is back to normal for them. Do they still sit in silence at the dinner table? Do they still barely utter a word when walking through the front door?
Or, maybe they've changed. Maybe her "death" made her parents appreciate her siblings more, say hello and ask how their day was, a simple hug or smile goes a long way. Or maybe they've retracted further away, and started fighting more. Maybe her siblings have to turn the tv up to drown out their voices. Maybe-
She shaken from her thoughts by something rubbing against her legs. She looks down, not noticing her tears until they fall onto her shirt.
"Oh, Bonnibelle!" She smiles, as the small cat meows up at her. She picks up her furry friend, cuddling her against her chest. The cat purrs happily.
"Sun, this is Bonnibelle. She's my baby." Y/n says in a lovey dovey voice as she kisses the cats head.
"You have a cat?? I didn't know that! How cute!" Sun pats the cats head, making her rub against his hand. He giggles at her. Y/n smiles, until she hears the front door close.
"Oh no. That's my mom." She says, putting the cat down. oh well. Maybe she won't come upstairs.
"What do we do?!" Sun says. Y/n realizes she left the light on, so she runs over and flicks it off. The rooms now only lit up by the rising moon outside, and she hears the nearly silent transformation of sun going to moon. Little clicks and air wooshing, as moons dark faceplate slides into view. He looks around, studying the room before turning to her with a questioning expression.
She shakes her head, before footsteps approaching quickly startles her. With his quick thinking, Moon grabs Y/n and climbs out the window, sliding it shut then pressing his back against the wall. Y/n holds her breath, waiting for something to happen. She scurries out of moons grasp, and watches with half her face as her mother opens the door. She flicks on the light, glancing around frantically. Y/n feels her chest tighten as she hears her mothers voice calling her name.
"Y/n? Is that you?" Tears start to form in her eyes, so she turns back around. As much harm her mother caused her, as much as she dislikes her, despite everything, her emotions betray her by making her tear up.
They sit in silence only covered by crickets in the distance for another moment, until her mom walks out, closing the door behind her.
Y/n lets out a sigh, turning back to the window.
"What are you doing?" Moon puts a hand on her arm to stop her.
"We came here to get some of my clothes. So I'm going to get some clothes." She furrows her brows in determination, sliding it open. Moon waits by the window, staring up at the moon.
After a few minutes, y/n climbs out with her clothes, and they book it back home.
