Michael Afton x Reader

the fire escape

-next day-

although you got plenty of sleep, you still woke up feeling exhausted. you rolled our of bed with your alarm, and put on your uniform before brushing your hair and figuring out how to perfectly cover yesterday's hickeys. the concealer surprisingly covered them very well, you were worried it would be too light but it worked out.

you then grabbed the things you needed for the day- keys, phone, wallet, etc. and walked out the door. you could've caught the bus, but it was such a nice day, so you walked to work just like you did on your first day working at the pizzeria. you pass the strange Tarot shop again, and remind yourself to check it out at some point.

still, you continue your walk to work and only notice that you're forty minutes early by the time you reach the pizzeria. I guess there's no point in going home now. you think and unlock the glass doors to get inside. even Mr. Emily hasn't shown up yet, and to be completely honest you have no idea what to do. after a moment of consideration, you decide to go up to the security office. just as you're about to open the door, you realize that Vincent is probably still here. you step away from the door quietly, but hear his voice call out to you from inside.

"I know you're there, there's no point in leaving." he tells you in his arrogant voice. I guess I'm spending the next 30 minutes with him. you think with a sigh. the door creaks as you open it, and you see Vincent sitting there, his legs propped up on the desk. he gives you a short wave and pulls over the second chair that had disappeared yesterday.

"welcome to my office." he says to you as you take a seat next to him.

"let me guess, you saw me on the cameras?" you ask. he nods, and you scoff.

"what, you thought you were the only stalker-y security guard out there?" he quips back.

"stalker-y?" you ask, lifting an eyebrow. he chuckles before replying.

"yeah, I know what you're like. you might be the only person with camera access during the day, but I can watch the rewinds." he tells you with a grin. at first you blush, embarrassed, but then furrow your brow.

"hold on, do you watch through hours of recorded camera footage every night just to spy on people?"

he shrugs. "so what, I get bored. and it's barely spying. besides, it's no fun here at night, especially when you and dear Mikey have all the fun during the day."

"yeah, alright." you respond. only half-listening to what he says, drowning him out by scrolling on your phone.

"but seriously, about Michael," he says, the joking tone gone from his voice. you look up from your phone, confused. "you can't trust him, alright? he's done some shady stuff, sure, we all have. but it's more than that. something I can't say- he has ears everywhere." he then mouths the word "animatronics," and you laugh.

"sure, dude. you've officially lost it. go home, get some rest- you seriously need it." you respond. he chuckles slightly, then grins at you.

"Alright, sure. I do this every time we get a new staff member, usually I say shit about Henry. but since you and Michael were so close... well, can you blame me for having some fun?" you smile, and he gets out of the chair and leaves

"later, y/n." he says as he leaves the room.

"I'll be watching you." you respond jokingly, and he laughs. he closes the door after him, and when he gets to the main entrance room, you see him flip off the nearest camera on your computer monitor. he surprisingly seems like an okay person. after that night when he drove Michael to my apartments I assumed he wasn't a good person, at that point Vincent kind of seemed like an untrustworthy sleezeball, but I think I was wrong. he's interesting. he's got personality, I'll say that much. it's not bad, but I don't think I know him well enough to say it's good, per say. you decide as you sit alone in the building. 

eventually, you watch the other workers file into the building. firs you see Henry Emily, then some of the kitchen staff, and then Iris. you didn't see her yesterday and were worried she was sick, or something had happened to her, but she look fine today. better than fine, she looks happy. her hair is now done long boho braids that fade to blonde at the ends, and she's wearing light makeup. just as you consider going to see her, she slips into the security office to see you.

"y/n! hey!" she says, sounding excited.

"hey, I didn't see you yesterday!" you respond. she sits down in the extra chair and the two of you talk for a while.

"wait, how did your date go?" you ask, just remembering she told you she was going on one a few days ago.

"it was so nice! she was my childhood bestfriend and she moved away when we were like, 10. but last year I found her on Instagram and we just clicked and were friends again! just a few months ago I got the balls to ask her out and she said yes, which was so amazing, but she lives in Oregon so we couldn't go on dates. long distance sucks like that, but just last weekend she was able to drive up here! god, it was a dream. I feel like I'm living in a Hallmark film, dude." you laugh at her last remark, and feel really happy for her. you keep talking until 10 minutes before opening, when her walkie-talkie buzzes and she has to get to work.

"we'll talk later. bye y/n!" she says as she leaves.

"bye!" you reply, and then look over today's tasks. apparently there's been some weird things going on by the fire exit in the back of the building, so today you're tasked either checking it out. it's probably just an animal, but still, you grab your Freddy Faz-Tazer just in case you need it. it's not called that of course, but it's got the pizzeria's logo on it and you think it's funny to put the brown bears name in front of everything you get from your job. the sun is up by now, so you don't bother taking your Freddy Fazlight with you.

you've walked past the fire exit daily, as taking patrol at closing time is part of your job. you've always made sure that it's never blocked and is safe to use as an exit. Henry seems to be really scared of the idea of a fire in the pizzeria, so you take extra precautions with this door. when you get to the door, you see that nothings wrong from the inside, so you walk outside, assuming that must be where the problem is, whatever the problem is. but again, you can't see any issues. to be fair, you don't know what exactly you're looking for, so you look around a little more. the door only opens from the outside, but you have keys so you won't have to go back inside the long way around. there are a few garbage bags near the door although it's nowhere near the dumpsters. skeptical, you open the three bags, but there's nothing out of the ordinary in them. just trash.

you sigh, pick up the bags and walk to the dumpster to dispose of them properly. when you turn around and look back towards the door, you see a young child standing there.
"are you ok?" you call out to the kid instinctively, but then almost scream once you get a better look at him.

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