•𝙉𝙤𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙪𝙣• [𝘾𝙝𝙪𝙘𝙠𝙮 𝙭 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧]

Chapter 26

The smell of today's potential breakfast was a combination of sizzling bacon, fried eggs, ham burgers and milkshakes, along with several other appetizing scents that filled your nostrils as you stepped into the diner you had decided to stop by at. The environment was warm, friendly, and nostalgic as you recalled all the times you went to eat out at diners such as this one when you were a kid, filling you with comfort as you looked around the place, being met with the loud crowd of friendly faces.

There were families, friends, talking amongst themselves, laughing and having a good time, clueless to the fact that they were all in the presence of a notorious serial killer whom took the form as a seemingly normal, apart from the gruesome stitches that scattered his face, child's toy that you held in your arm.

You carried him by your side, the warmth of his body around your arm sending a chill down your spine, as you tried not to think about it too much, walking to a small empty table at the side of a wall.

You placed the doll down next to you, swallowing uncomfortably as you hoped no one would notice the plaything, already regretting going through with this plan as you thought of the many ways this could've gone south - most of them ending up with someone either getting hurt or killed.

"Good morning, ma'am."

You jumped at the sound of a woman's voice greeting you, your head whipped to the side, turning to see who it was, only to realize it was a waitress. Your eyebrow furrowed, confused as to how you didn't notice her approaching, realizing just how distracted and lost in thought you were.

"What can I get your started on?" She questioned, her warm eyes staring down at you as she tapped her pen onto the paper of her notepad. You thought of what to eat, catching the scent of some freshly made pancakes that were being delivered to the table in front of you as you salivated.

"I'll have some pancakes and a chocolate milkshake." You replied, watching as she nodded, jotting your order down before moving to the next table.

You relaxed back into your seat as you sighed, your index finger scratching and tracing the surface of the wooden table awkwardly as your eyes turned towards Chucky, realizing that this was the first time you've ever had the chance to closely observe him while he was in his toy mode, watching as he put on an innocent act while creeping you out in the process.

It didn't take too long before the waitress was back with your breakfast. Your mouth watered at the sight of those stacked pancakes, topped off with syrup that leaked and dripped off the side of them, along with your tall chocolate milkshake that looked too delectable to not take a sip off before you began eating.

You picked up the knife and fork placed neatly beside your plate, wasting no time to dig in as you used the blunt blade to cut into the soft and fluffy texture of the pancakes in front of you, poking a piece you had cut out with your fork before moving it up to your lips. You took your first bite of your meal, eyes closing as you savoured the taste of the mushy goodness.

Every bite you took beaconed you to take another and another, and just for a moment, it was like you had forgotten about everything you were going through. Every worry, every fear in your mind seemed to vanish just as the sweetness hit your taste buds, relishing you with comfort and a nerve calming sensation as a sigh of relaxation escaped your lips.

As your meal came to a conclusion, the satisfaction that came with it rewarded you. You took one final sip of your milkshake before relaxing your back onto the soft and padded surface of the seat, figuring you'd rest for a couple of minutes before hitting the road again, the thought of going back into your car already driving anxiety right into you. You dreaded being anywhere else but here right now. Maybe it was because of the air conditioning, or the music, maybe it was the chatter, or the sweet aroma, but something about that place felt safe.

You noticed a woman not too far away from you, standing next to a vintage jukebox that played an old and nostalgic tune, fitting into the aesthetic you assumed this place was going for. She carried a baby in her arms, rocking it gently to the song, a warm and friendly smile on her face as she looked at you, to which you exchanged your own.

You sat up, trying to hide the sight of Chucky behind you but failed as you saw that the doll somehow caught her eye.

She began to walk up to you, trying to get a better sight of the toy you desperately wanted to hide. You mentally face palmed as she pointed towards it, gaining her baby's attention as she expected you to show Chucky to them now, though you were obviously not obligated to.

It was awkward to say the least, you tried to laugh it off while subtly denying her request for you to reveal the doll to her but she didn't seem to understand or at least pretended not to as you shook your head. She didn't seem to budge, her sudden passive aggressive behavior being shown more as she moved her head to see past you in hopes of catching a glimpse of the doll. You could tell this lady wasn't going to go any time soon, so in hopes of getting her to leave as soon as possible, without starting a stupid and an avoidable scene, you leaned back to reveal Chucky, hoping seeing the glossy blood from his stapled and poorly sewn skin would scare her off.

"Look, sweety! Look at the cute..." She didn't complete her sentence as her eyes met with the side profile of the scar faced doll. Her smile dropped, her expression changing into a mixture of confusion and disgust as she looked at the toy, seeing the dried blood that crisped his clothes and the evilly fixed expression he held on his face. You winced, already expecting that response from her, but what you didn't expect was what happened next.

"What the..." She whispered, her voice laced with fright as she watched Chucky's head turn slowly to look at her. You internally screamed at Chucky to knock it off though you knew there was nothing you could do to stop him without looking like you were fresh out of a mental hospital.

Chucky locked eyes with the infant in the woman's arms as she held her baby closer to her, not taking her eyes off of the doll as he stared at her child.

"boo." He simply said, his voice plain, yet still held a bit of amusement, watching as the infants face, that once held an eye wide expression, scrunched into a disturbed one as it suddenly broke down into tears, sobbing hysterically and screaming at the top of it's lungs, causing the woman to gasp as she took full offense to this.

Chucky turned his head back to it's normal position, leaving you to deal with the outcome of the situation he had just caused, trying hard to fight back the growing smile that threatened to curl onto his lips.

"I am so sor-"

"what is this!? Some type of sick joke!? " she cut you off, bouncing the crying child lightly in attempts to soothe it, though it didn't really do much of anything. People began to stare from all around, some glaring and some sharing looks of concern towards the enraged women. She growled as she noticed the attention that fixed onto her, turning once more to look at you, the anger that flared in her eyes as she looked deep into yours caused you to gulp.

"People like you disgust me! " She cried before storming out of the restaurant, leaving you completely dumbfounded and utterly embarrassed as your mind replayed what just folded out before you over and over again.

~

You walked up to the counter, Chucky in your arm as you paid for your meal with the cash he had passed to you prior to this. You felt your anger rise the more you thought about what had just happened.

You walked out of the diner, the heat of outside already caving in on you as you rushed back into your car, chucking the doll into the front passenger seat sloppily as you slammed the door shut behind you.

An empty chuckle out of frustration escaped your lips as you heard his blood boiling snickers follow. You inhaled sharply, trying to maintain the little amount of calmness you had left.

The doll noticed this as he continued to laugh, recalling the look of embarrassment on your face.

"C'mon... It was funny!" He nudged your arm to which you growled at lowly.

"I can't fucking stand you..."