Michael Afton x Reader ~ The Boy on The Bus

Chapter Six - His Side of Things

Michael opened the front door of his house. It was as dark and empty as he had left it before he left. He stepped inside and took off his hat and threw it somewhere to the side, not even bothering to hang it up. His eyes burned. His hair smelled like smoke. He could almost still feel the heat of the fire on his skin. He had left before the firemen had even shown up.

He didn't remember exactly what he did except for the fact that the fire had been his fault. He had been treating Sunday just like any other night, but it was all too much. He was getting sick of not sleeping and of all those hallucinations. He was getting sick of sitting in that stupid place all night. He was sick of his dad, who was supposed to be dead. He knew it was William in that Spring Bonnie suit. He thought he was supposed to be dead. He hoped the police thought the fire was an accident. Nobody had contacted him yet.

He had used the last of the money he had from working at Fazbear Frights to rent a motel room for the past few days. He would've done anything not to go back to this old, decrepit house. It reminded him of the past. It's not like he had a choice, he eventually ran out of money and couldn't stay at the motel anymore. He had to go home.

The smell of smoke was starting to annoy him, and so was his uniform. Both were a reminder of what just happened and what he wanted to forget. He hadn't showered in days. He had just sat in that motel room and stared at the wall. He felt gross. He stumbled his way to the bathroom for a shower.

The shower didn't make him feel any better. Nothing, especially if it was in that damned house, made him feel better anymore. He usually would've been glad to be rid of a place like Fazbear Frights, but he knew in the back of his mind that he'd have to confront that horrible thing he found in his dad's office sooner or later. That's what triggered everything that had happened, after all. The reason Michael had set out to investigate any place that was associated with the Fazbear name.

A few years back, William hadn't come home from one of his work trips. Of course, sometimes he'd be gone for days at a time, but not without a note or a phone call. It was strange. The house almost felt empty.

Almost.

Ever since Evan had died, and ever since Elizabeth and his Mother died, this overwhelming looming feeling of guilt and horror had burdened Michael. He shut himself away from his friends. He shut himself away from his father, especially when William started drinking more.

Michael waited for his dad for a week. Still nothing. He remembered what his father had told him, repeatedly so it would stick in Michael's brain.

"If something ever happens to me, go in my office and look behind the empty shelves in the corner. "

Michael always thought it was dumb. He was never allowed in that office, it wasn't like he wanted to go in there anyways. He never had any reason to. He begrudgingly took the key to his father's office and unlocked the door, the light from the hallway spilling into the dark room. The office looked dusty, almost untouched. It was almost too empty, with only a few useless pencils and pieces of paper scattered on a small desk that was pushed up to the wall. Michael skimmed over them quickly, they didn't seem like anything important. He rolled his eyes and walked over to that empty shelf. Why would he need to move it? Why didn't his dad just put some sort of emergency contact on top of the shelf? Something, anything more practical than this.

Michael tried to push the shelf to the side, but it wouldn't budge. That was strange since the shelves looked light. There was no way they were too heavy for Michael to move. He tried to pull them towards him, and they came out almost like they were on hinges, probably because they were on hinges.

To Michael's dismay and confusion, the shelves opened like a doorway and gave way to what looked like a huge industrial elevator. He was shocked, was this what his father had been hiding? It seemed impossible, but he was curious, so he proceeded inwards. He stepped into the elevator and pushed the button on the wall. The doors to the elevator closed and he descended.