Winding Away

Nate

"But hey, that's just a theory. A game theory. Thanks for watching." MatPat had just finished recording the audio for one of his videos. He smiled and stretched. But Matt's smile quickly faded as he heard his stomach growl. "Guess I'll take a walk to the old pizzeria," the YouTuber decided. He slipped on his leather jacket and made his way outside. Matt was immediately pleased with his decision to wear the jacket as the chilly October air hit him. Then again, I wear a jacket inside pretty often, so I'm not surprised I decided to wear it outside, Matt thought as he walked.

The pizzeria appeared in the distance. As Matt grew closer, he could already hear the screams of joy and delighted laughter of children. Matt smiled. The children were much less obnoxious when you weren't surrounded by them. Matt reached the pizzeria. He looked up at the bright sign that read "Freddy Fazbear's Pizza." Then he entered the restaurant.

The restaurant was full of kids, most of which were in front of the stage. The stage harbored the pizzeria's main reason for popularity: its animatronic band. The band consisted of three robots. They were a purple bunny named Bonnie, a yellow chicken named Chica, and the main animatronic, a brown bear named Freddy Fazbear. The animatronics were performing a song while the smiling children watched and listened. The animals looked happy and kind yet creepy and evil. To the kids they must have just looked kind. But the adults in the room didn't seem to feel the same way. They glanced uneasily at their children as they enjoyed the show. As Matt made his way through the crowds, trying to find an empty table, he looked up at the large robotic animals. Freddy turned his head and seemed to look at Matt. But then he was looking the other way and Matt walked away with a shudder.

Getting scared of a robot. How stupid, Matt thought as he took a seat. He was just programmed to look there. It was purely coincidence. A waiter came around and took his order. Matt sat in silence and ate his pizza, listening to Freddy sing. Then he asked the waiter for a box, put the leftovers in the box, and stood up.

Matt was making his way to the door when something caught his eye. It was a man leaning against the wall near the doors, his eyes narrowed and his arms crossed. He was obviously around Matt's age.

"Nate?"

Nate should've been looking in a different direction. He should've looked up or turned his head at the sound of Matt's voice. But he was already looking at Matt. He appeared to have been watching Matt closely.

When Nate saw that Matt had noticed his presence, he smiled kindly. He stood up straight and put his arms at his sides. "Hey, Matt," Nate greeted his friend warmly.

"Hey," Matt said back. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

"I was hungry."

"So was I."

Matt frowned. "Then why were you just standing here?"

"I was just gathering my thoughts," Nate replied. "I was actually about to leave when you came over. How 'bout we walk and talk?"

Matt smiled. "Alright." The two YouTubers exited Freddy Fazbear's Pizza together. They passed a man in a Freddy Fazbear's uniform. The man must have been there for the night shift, considering it was almost closing time.

The man smiled. "Hello hello," he said.

Nate smiled back. "Hi," he said. Then the pizzeria employee was outside and Matt and Nate were outside.