I awoke to fine myself on the floor next to Dan sleeping in his bed. I was taken back at first, but then I recalled the events of last night. They seemed so long ago. And so unreal.
"Morning." Dan sleepily mumbles, seeing me awake. "Morning." I greet back. Dan slides off of the bed and heads for the bathroom. While he's inside, I make my way downstairs to see if Barry's up. I make it down the stairs, but I'm not sure where the kitchen actually is. I hear someone behind me, so I turn to see Barry with a mug of something. "Morning, (Y/N). Why so confused?" "Uh, do you know where the kitchen is?" I ask embarrassed. He chuckles and points me in the right direction. I thank him as I take a seat at the table. I go to pull out my phone, but I remember I left it upstairs. So I sigh and make my way back up the stairs to Dan's room, then I look for it in my backpack. Unlocking it, there's a message from (F/N). It reads:
Hey! I know it's early and you're most likely not awake, but I have a suggestion. Maybe, when you have time, you could stop by and visit me at work. I'll give you the friends and family discount. And, yes, I will let you bring your new friends. :)
I smile. That's not a bad idea. Sure, it's a kids' place, but the pizza isn't bad and the arcade is pretty fun. Plus, they got a huge ball pit! They may be germ pits of doom, but they're fun as fuck! And it would be nice to not be the only adult enjoying it for once. I see Dan exit the bathroom, still in his pajamas, but looking more awake and alert. "Hey," he turns his attention directly at me, making me blush a bit. "(F/N) wanted to know if you wanted to come with me to visit her at her work." Dan smiles. "That sounds interesting. Where does she work?" Uh oh. "A pizzeria." He's not gonna like this. "I don't know why you're so nervous. Working at a pizzeria sounds awesome!" I nervously scratch my head. "Yeah, the thing is is that it's a place for kids. But the cool part is that it's got a great arcade! Plus, there's pizza and a giant ball pit!" I hope to Glob he doesn't think I'm being childish. "That sounds great! Is it okay if we all go?" He isn't bothered by this? Really? "Yeah! She said everyone can go!" "Awesome! I'll go tell Barry and then text Arin and Ross. Maybe Suzy and Holly can come. What's the place called?" I could never remember the place. No matter how hard I tried to memorize it, it just never stuck with me. "I can't remember. I just know where it is." He waves it off. "That's okay. I'll go tell Barry." "Okay."
Hee hee! I'm going to show Dan how fun this place really is! I jump up and get dressed as fast as I can. When I'm done brushing my hair, Dan informs me that it'll be us, Arin, Suzy, and Ross since Holly had work to do. So as soon as we're in his car, we're on our way to meet Arin, Suzy, and Ross. "So, (Y/N), what's this place like?" Dan asks breaking the silence. "Well," I start. "It's actually the center point for a shit ton of rumors and junk." Dan raises his eyebrows. "Really." I nod. "The main one is that the place is haunted by dead kids. But that's just cause the animatronics are actually pretty advanced." "How so?" He asks sounding both interested and slightly frightened. "They don't just put on a show. You can actually sort of interact with them. Like, you can talk to them like they were actual living beings. So, like I said before, I was never afraid of animatronics as a kid so I like to talk to one in particular sometimes." It was true. I would occasionally talk to one of them in particular. I would get weird looks from parents, and kids too, but he didn't act like a robot. He acted more like a living being. Weird, I know. "That's pretty interesting. Welp. We're here."
Dan pulled into the parking lot and when he read the name of the place, he sighed. "This place does exist, eh?" He parked and we exited the car and made our way for the front door where Arin, Suzy, and Ross were waiting. We all greeted each other and went inside. "Welcome," I announced like I was in Jurassic Park. "To Freddy's Pizza!" I waved my arms in the air. Then I saw (F/N) approach us with the widest smile. She then hugged me tightly, "I'm so glad you came! It's boring here without somebody I can actually tolerate." She released me as she told us she was needed in the kitchen. So I decided to take Dan and Arin to the arcade while Ross and Suzy got us all a table. "So what kind of games are you talking about?" Arin asked. "Well, they have the classics like Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Galaga, then they have ones like Dig Dug, Mappy, Xevious, and a whole bunch of others." "Holy fu--" Dan slipped out, but then caught himself in time realizing there's kids around.
Arin ran off to play who knows what while Dan sort of cornered me. "So who's this animatronic you talk to?" I sighed as I lead him to my old buddy. "I've been coming here ever since... then... and he's always been by my side. He considers me his first mate." I say sentimentally. We then come to a closed purple curtain that was dotted with stars. One of the workers noticed us, "Oh hey, (Y/N)! I haven't seen you in a while! Come here to see old Foxy!" I smile and nod as he pulls open the curtains. The animatronic red fox blinks his eyes open and straightens his back. His head jerks as it turns towards Dan and me. I look over to see Dan's eyes wide with confusion and terror. I rub his arm to reassure him that Foxy wasn't going to harm him.
"Yarr! Me first mate, (Y/N)! How've ya been, lass?" I giggle at his stereotypical pirate accent. "I've been fine. I met some new friends. This is Dan. Dan, this is Foxy." Foxy laughs as he greets Dan with his crooked grin. "A pleasure to meet ya! A friend of (Y/N)'s is a friend o' mine! Now, I hate to cut our meetin' short, but ol' Foxy has to rest his joints for his next show. I'll be seeyin' ya!" I smile warmly as I wave goodbye to my old friend as the curtains close. "Oookay." Dan nervously walks over to the table Ross is sitting alone at since Suzy probably went to join Arin. We walk over and Ross is on his phone. (F/N) comes over and takes our order. We order a simple pepperoni pizza and a few drinks. "So, I saw you guys talking to the red pirate thing over there. What was that about exactly?" I laugh nervously as I tell Ross about how much I used to come here after school. "Oh, okay. So what grade were you in?" I shudder at the thought of it. "F-first..." I stutter. Tears start to well up in my eyes as the memories flowed in. No... Not now... I make myself stop thinking of it as I realize Dan's hand on my shoulder and Ross looking at me with concern. They both ask if I'm alright and what happened, but I just brush it off and say I'm fine. I don't know if I can trust them with that yet.
~Timeskip-aroo!~
Dan and I drove back in silence and I was surprised he hadn't asked about what happened at the pizzeria the entire ride. When we arrive back at home I waltz right up the stairs and get into my pajamas. I enter the bathroom to brush my teeth and pee. When I exit, Dan is standing in front of me, arms crossed, and serious in his gaze. "(Y/N)," he spoke. "What happened back at the pizzeria." I sigh in defeat. He deserves to know.
