Before the ink

Part 10

The next week on Monday morning when Sammy passed Wally on his way to the music department, the janitor automatically said 'good morning.'
"Yes, it is." Sammy replied, and kept walking with a slight smile on his face. Wally's jaw dropped and he stared after him.
All week Norman had been so kind to him, and it was really starting to get to Sammy. The musician caught what he had said to Wally.
He turned around and saw the stunned Janitor. "I-I mean, it's not a good morning it's terrible like every other day!" Sammy said.
He turned and rushed to the music department. Wally raised an eyebrow. "What the hell was that about?" He asked himself.
Norman, who had just arrived at work and was going to his booth, looked at Wally curiously. "What was what about?" He asked.
"Sammy...every day when I say good morning to him he'll reply with something like 'is it?' Or 'no it's not.' But today he said 'yes it is." Wally explained.
"Really?" Norman asked slowly, smirking. "Yeah, and then I think he didn't mean to say that because he said 'I mean no it's not it's terrible like every other day!" Wally said in confusion.
"Ahahah! I think it's working!" Norman cheered. "What's working?" Wally asked. Norman explained to Wally what he was trying to achieve.
"That's the biggest goal I've ever heard someone set for themselves." Wally replied. Meanwhile, Sammy was angrily banging his head against his desk. "Sammy you fucking idiot!" He growled to himself. "Sammy?" There was slight knock on his office door frame.
Sammy jumped and turned to see who it was. Of course it was Norman. Sammy glared at him. "What?" He asked sharply.
"Are you okay...?" He asked slowly. "Of course I am." Sammy said. "You sure?" Norman asked. Sammy squinted at the projectionist.
"What is your deal?" Sammy stood up and angrily glared at Norman. "I...what?" Norman said in confusion.
"You-you keep doing something, you're up to something and you know what you're doing, so stop it and just leave me alone!" Sammy shouted.
"Sammy, what are you talking about?" Norman asked. Of course he knew Sammy was talking about him being so unconditionally kind to him.
"You know what!" Sammy stuck a finger in Norman's chest. Norman backed up a bit, but Sammy still followed.
"You're manipulating and trying to trick me into trusting you, that's what you're doing isn't it!?" Sammy snapped.
"N-no! I was just trying to be nice!" Norman denied. "Nononono! Nobody is ever just 'nice'! You're manipulating me into trusting you so that you can leave me to suffer just like they did!" Sammy shouted, tears stinging his eyes.
He wouldn't let himself cry, not again. He took a deep breath and blinked back his tears. Norman wondered what Sammy meant by 'just like they did.' "No." Norman said.
"Really? Then what were you doing? And don't say being nice because I know that's not it!" Sammy growled.
Norman decided to tell him the truth. He sighed. "Okay fine. I was just trying to show you that people care for you and that you shouldn't spend your whole life wondering if you made a mistake by not trusting anyone.
I was trying to show you that if maybe you took the chance to trust even a single person, even if they did leave, that it would be worth it for all the good times. I was trying to show you, that if you never let the small risk of letting someone break trust, that you'd become lonely and depressed, and you'd break other people because of that, because other people do care Sammy, you just didn't see that. We all trust you, all we want is for you to know that you're loved." Norman explained.
Sammy was shocked, not expecting that answer. "That's not true, I hear everyone calling me weird, unfriendly, un-approachable..." Sammy said, crossing his arms and avoiding eye contact.
"Just think about it. Alice offered to be your friend, Boris really wanted to play a game of cards with you, Bendy used your legs as a hideout from Henry, Wally says good morning to you every day, and all they hope for is a happy response to show that you really are okay, but we all know you aren't." Norman said gently.
"B-but why? Why would anyone care?" Sammy asked. "I don't know anyone else's reason, but I care because I can't stand letting another human being that is a super good person just be harmed like that." Norman said.
Sammy looked up at him with teary eyes. "So all I'm asking is for you to take care of yourself, and take the risk that we all take of trusting another person." Norman said.
Sammy was silent for a bit. Then to Norman's complete shock, the stubborn short man sighed as he stepped closer and hugged Norman. "Does this mean that you trust me?" Norman asked.
"I guess." Sammy said, his voice muffled from his face being in Norman's shirt. Norman smiled bigger then he had ever smiled in his life.
He hugged Sammy back. All of Sammy's emotions came bursting out all at once after years of bottling up and expressing nearly no emotion.
Norman heard Sammy whimpering from trying not to cry. "If you need to cry I think you should, it'll probably help." Norman said.
Sammy couldn't help but to burst out sobbing, his grip tightening on Norman's shirt. The projectionist rubbed Sammy's back with one of his hands, hugging him with the other. And that was how Sammy made his very first friend.