Deceptive

Freezing Up

'Wait for me.'

Foxy really wished that he had gotten the chance to ask Charlie how she obtained the photos before she hastily left. Right now he sat alone in his room, staring at the facedown photos sitting atop his white duvet. He couldn't look away from them, couldn't find it in himself to flip them over again.

He wasn't having the reaction he thought that he should have. After the initial shock, Foxy really only felt empty and confused.

Charlie's tape was playing on his old Walkman, every answer Foxy gave getting re-analyzed in his head... only to leave him more confused.

'Wait for me...'

Foxy could hear Charlie's voice, see the words written in her handwriting, but they were all just bouncing off of him and not registering.

One of the two people in those pictures appeared to be Elizabeth and the other person...

Foxy needed... he didn't know what he needed. Confirmation? Something to refute whatever this was? Either way, he knew that this was something he couldn't just bluntly bring up to the redhead. He needed to be tactful. Subtle. Get her to spill answers without even realizing.

Once he had accumulated a somewhat substantial list of things he could possibly ask, Foxy stopped the tape and stood up with the intention of finding Elizabeth.

He found her in the kitchen talking to Ballora.

Anxiety began to constrict his chest in a way that was wholly unfamiliar.

"Elizabeth?"

She turned to face him. "What'cha need, Fox?"

"I—" The very moment that her eyes met his, the words died in his throat. He tried to find them again but instead found his mind utterly blank.

Both Elizabeth and Ballora watched his wide-eyed silence with raised eyebrows.

Foxy couldn't recall an occasion in which his words had failed him so badly before. His face started to turn red.

"You okay?" Elizabeth asked slowly, taking a step toward him.

He took two steps back and sputtered out, "I'm fine!"

Unsurprisingly, that did nothing to convince her. "...Are you sure?"

"Yes!" Without another word, Foxy practically ran off. He didn't stop until he was back in his room and the door was shut behind him. His back remained pushed up against the closed door for a long while after, his eyes lingering on the backs of the photos still resting on his bed.

Well... that went horribly. Hopefully, the suspicion he had undoubtedly just arisen didn't have an obvious source.

Somebody knocked on his door and Foxy flinched at the abrupt sound. The sharp rap was followed by a voice.

"Fox?"

He inhaled sharply. "Yeah?" His voice cracked. Wonderful.

"You positive you're alright? Don't think I've ever seen you freeze up like that before."

"I'm sure. Guess I'm just a little high strung because of the whole Afton thing, you know?" He forced a small laugh.

"If you say so." Elizabeth paused for a moment. "Try not to think about him too much, alright? You'll drive yourself crazy."

With that, she walked away, her footsteps fading.

For once, Afton was not quite the thing that Foxy feared.