Echoes

Awkward meetings

((Okay, hey guys! I'm so sorry, I really had a story block sort of situation for this story ^^'. Also, sorry for the first chapter being so short, I hope this makes up for it.... There was no school today, I had a good amount of time to write XD I hope you enjoy!))

"H-hello Mr. Smi-oh my gosh..." He trailed off, feeling a sickening wave of paleness descend as he realized who his new coworker was. Of course, out of every person in this town, the one guy he would have to be in the same room with for six hours straight was the one that almost ran him over that evening. "S-sir, I am so sorry f-for earlier, I had to cross the street, and I d-didn't see you there, and I-"

"Alright, alright, apology accepted. Now be quiet for two minutes before you exhaust yourself." The older man covered his mouth with his hand, letting out a short-tempered sigh.
"So, you two have already met before? Great, then let's not waste time. Mike, it's your job to show Jeremy here how to go through the shift..." Beyond that, the manager kept talking, though Jeremy's mind left the conversation.

So, his name is Mike, eh? He seemed oddly familiar, though he honestly didn't want to jump the gun. Could he really be....No, probably someone else, I guess there are a lot of Mikes in the world, he could be any one of them... Shaking his head slightly, he let his thoughts fade off.

"What was that Jeremy, you don't think you can handle the job?" A stern voice caught his attention, snapping him back into the real world.

"N-no sir, I mean yes! Y-y-yes sir, I can handle it!"

"Good, now let Mike show you the office, I'm going home. Have a great shift, don't screw up." Mr. Jone's gaze fell from Jeremy to Mike, causing the younger of the two to flinch. With a satisfied grunt of approval, their boss made his way out the restaurant entrance, locking the door behind him.

"Well, come on then, let's get you in our death chamber..." A rather disgruntled Mike grumbled as he led the newbie to their working space.

"D-death?" Jerbear stammered, reluctantly following. "W-what do you mean by that?" Plopping down in a desk chair, Mike swiveled around to face him.

"Did you hear anything that Jones said? The animatronics roam around all night, and Foxy butt scooches down the hall if we're not paying attention." He explained, a growl very noticeable in his tone. Looking down from the newbie's (now pale) face, he took a deep breath to collect himself. Scaring the kid half to death wasn't going to make the job any easier. "Just... Grab this," he ordered more calmly, "if you see a furry, then flash it a bit, it messes with their eyes." Without warning, he threw an extra flashlight to the young man. The kid caught it, quite wide-eyed. Actually, he looks rather cute, his eyes a deep green... like hers used to be... Well, either way, he's a nice looking kid... Mike's eyes then widened as he felt himself flush in embarrassment. Thinking things like that while calling him a kid felt...rather pedophilic, something that didn't sit rather well in his stomach. He soon noticed the stare of his coworker falling on him, causing him to sit overly straight and look back at the cameras more seriously.

"Uh...Mike? You okay?" Forced to stay standing, Jeremy watched, rather sheepishly, as Mike became a dusted hue of red. His worker/ mentor had then begun to glare, making him nervous. Michael's eyes seemed to scan him, and it truthfully freaked him out. "M-Mike?"

"Watch the hallway Jeremy, stop questioning." Mike had then started to function again, realizing that his staring had gone too far, and had become rather strict, so he had transformed it into an act of showing the new guy his place...totally. Without another word, he turned away, checking the cams and winding the music box. Feeling the intense blanket of awkward in the air, Jeremy sat on the floor and kept an eye on the hallway. This situation stayed for a solid 4 hours, not much really happening. Jerebear kept stealing glances at Mike, searching for reasons to believe he had known him before. Knitting his brows as he searched in his mind for a telltale sign, he hadn't noticed a pair of bright eyes lurking in the dark corridors. He rose from his spot on the floor, trying to get better look at his coworker. "Hey Mike... w-would you be able to remove your hat for me?" He shuffled closer to him, keeping his eyes on the security hat.

"Why would you want to do that...?" Mike grumbled, not bothering to look up.

"I... I need to just check something..." Jeremy reached out to grab the clothing item. Unamused, Mike looked up, about to wave Jeremy away, when he saw it.

"Jeremy, get down, no noises!" Shoving the younger man under the office table in front of him, Mike immediately threw on a freddy mask that had been on the table, not making a sound more. Confused and scared, Jeremy huddled under the desk, trying to keep his gaze from his coworker's legs and....yea, he didn't want to be caught staring where eyes shouldn't dwell. Moments turned into twenty minutes, and just as Jeremy was about to peak out, footsteps could be heard leaving the room. "Jeremy, you can get out now." Mike held out his hand under the desk, which Jeremy wearily took. With one heave, Mike got him out of his uncomfortable situation, just before berating him. "I thought I told you to watch the hall!"

"I'm sorry, it's just that-"

"You need to be more attentive, you could have gotten hurt!" Mike near-shouted at him, though it was more out of concern rather than anger. Startled, Jeremy clasped onto Mike, tears starting to form.

"I'm sorry, I'll be better sir!" The young man yelped between sniffled. Looking down, Mike couldn't help but feel bad, he didn't mean to upset the kid that badly. Carefully putting his left arm around the other's frail figure, he ruffled his hair with his free hand.

"Hey... No need, to get that upset... I didn't mean to be that harsh..." he uttered softly. Jeremy, still blinking away tears, looked up at him. Aw man, why did he have to have such pretty eyes?  "You... You just need to be careful, okay kid?" Releasing the younger man from his embrace, he wiped away Jeremy's tears, being careful not to hurt him. This kind gesture made the young man smile and nod, his tears ceasing.

"Y-yes sir... I'll make sure to watch the hallway better..." It looked like he had more to say when suddenly an alarm started to go off. "What's that...?" Mike couldn't help but look at Jeremy, his face full of mirth. "W-what?!"

"Oh, nothing, just that you didn't ask about what was about to probably rip your head off, but you panic about the alarm to send you home." The older man shook his head, clearly amused, and began to walk away.

"Where are you going?" Jeremy asked curiously, still trying to figure out what had just gone on in the past half hour.

"Home, where else?" Mike looked back at his coworker, taking another good look at him. "You need a ride? It's rather cold outside."

"No...Actually... Can I? I forgot my bike today..."

"Oh, I know~" Mike answered, remembering earlier, causing Jeremy to look down, once again feeling sheepish. "Come on, we've spent enough time here already." With that, The two got in Mike's dark red ___ (pick a car, I'm thinking of a punchbuggy XD) and left that hellhouse. "So, where do you live?" Mike inquired, keeping his eyes on the road.

"J-just down the block... Actually, you can let me off at the end of the street... I-I'll walk..." Looking out the window, Jeremy couldn't help but long to stay.... he wasn't ready to go home yet...

"Are you sure? I mean, it's not too long of a drive."

"N-no, it's okay, my dad doesn't like company..." Mike then pulled up aside the curb and parked.

"Oh...hmmm... alright.... you don't seem to keen on going home, are you sure there isn't anywhere else you want to go?" This offer had surprised Jeremy, this Mike guy was nicer than he had thought.

"No... I'm all set, Dad is expecting me home a-anyways..." He couldn't bring himself to meet Mike's gaze. His coworker studied him for one last time before picking up a pen and piece of spare paper that was on his dashboard. "What are you doing...?"

"Here, take this." After finishing with the scrap paper, he passed it to Jeremy. "It has my address and phone number in case to contact me. Also, if you ever need a place to crash, just call."

"...Thanks...I really appreciate this..." Confused, though grateful, he flashed Mike an appreciative smile before removing himself from the vehicle. After he closed the car door, Mike waved at Jeremy before driving away, leaving the man alone to walk. "... See you tomorrow..."

((Whew... that was a bit long, eh? XD haha... I have some chapters already written, just need to make them better ^^' also, you may be wondering who's this "her that's being talked about?" Well, stay tuned!))