The Things I Can't Take Back [Michael Afton x F! Reader]

Chapter 19 ~ Unexpected Reunion

     Time seemed to go still in that moment. Everything around you went quiet, and the world was frozen. Suddenly, you felt like you were that mortified sixteen year old girl again.

     Staring into the eyes of your first boyfriend; the person responsible for Evan no longer being there today.

The last time you had seen him, your vision was clouded with tears, and you screamed at him about never wanting to see his face again. And now, here he was, standing in front of you again almost twenty years later.

You knew that the Afton family had packed up and ditched town just a few weeks after Evan's death, and the subsequent shut-down of Fredbear's, but no one knew where they had gone. Part of you had expected for them to return to England, and honestly, you had really hoped for that to be the case. But Michael was here, in the town that you had moved to all those years ago with Scarlet and El, hundreds of miles away from your hometown. How was he just coincidentally here?

     You didn't want to think of the possibility that he had somehow tracked you down and found you again all these years later, but it was gnawing at your mind. How else would it explain why he just so happened to be here at the exact same time as you?

     "Holy shit, it really is you..." he breathed out after a few long moments of silence, giving a nervous, breathy chuckle, "wow, I... I never thought I'd see you again. Especially after all these years..." You could tell from the way his lips twitched that he wanted to smile, but he forced himself not to. It was obvious that you weren't nearly as happy to see him as he was to see you.

     "Me neither..." you managed to choke out, voice coming out as a shaky whisper as your eyes scanned him up and down cautiously, "what are... what are you doing here?"

     "Uh, well... same as you," he couldn't help but give an embarrassed grin this time, shrugging his shoulders, before nodding down at the shopping basket gripped in his left hand, "just a bit of grocery shopping."

     "N-No, I mean," you stopped yourself, taking a moment to inhale deeply and calm yourself down, before you continued, "what are you doing here? Did your whole family move here, or..?"

     "O-Oh, uh, no..." he replied awkwardly, finally understanding what you meant, "nope, it's just me... I actually just moved into a new apartment not too far from here."

     "Why?" You asked, a little too quickly, causing Michael to tense up a bit at the demand.

     "Uh, well... it's for a job," he explained softly, almost like he was being careful choosing his words, "it's, um... a storage facility, and factory, I guess."

     You raised an eyebrow at his words, wondering what exactly he meant by that. However, he didn't continue explaining, and you didn't want to pry too much into his current personal life. But you couldn't ignore the uneasy feeling in your gut.

     "I see..." you muttered, licking your lips as you slowly nodded. The two of you entered into another awkward, uncomfortable silence. Michael opened his mouth to say something, but he was quickly interrupted by the faint cry of your baby. You seemed to remember exactly what had caused this accidental reunion, and you quickly turned back to Evelyn as you returned the stuffed bunny into her embrace. "Sorry, hun, I almost forgot about that..."

     Evelyn immediately settled down once the doll was back in her arms, and she giggled happily as she hugged it close to her chest, squishing her face into the back of its head. You smiled softly at the sight, almost forgetting about the presence of the man beside you.

     "Who's this little one?" You heard him ask, immediately causing your body to tense up once again. You had to fight the urge to shield your child from him, having to remind yourself that he couldn't hurt her; that he wouldn't intentionally try to hurt her. You would rather die than let anything like that happen to your own daughter.