R-E-B-O-R-N [Sammy X Reader]

Chapter 3

--Previously--

"To make the Ink Machine more useful in the long run, I've wondered... What if there'd be a way to use the ink to bring our characters to life?"

Knowing Joey, he definitely meant it literally. Which only led me feeling concerned for the man. I know things were tough at the moment with financial issues, employees quitting and bad performances but this was a much bigger problem. I feared that the man I had known was turning insane and that I couldn't reason with him. You can never really talk to Joey Drew...
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I try to convince myself that the day prior was just a vague memory of mine. Mr Drew - as 'creative' as he can be - can't just think of things like that. It would be impossible to try and reincarnate Bendy into this world - he is merely a fictional character! Most of the day was just me trying my best to forget about what he said - it wasn't relevant anyway. I know that he probably doesn't mean what he's saying.  
Speaking of Mr Drew, he'd asked me if I could sit with Sammy later that evening. For months now, he'd begun to notice the inconsistency of Sammy's music. What he had failed to notice was the reason behind it, hence why Joey kept on bossing him around, making him do the opposite of what he needed to do. I felt bad for the guy - that's why I felt obligated to see him.
By now, the sun was barely visible and the place remained almost empty for the next couple of hours. I didn't have to work overtime tonight but my shift ended later than others. The reason I was asked to see Sammy was because Joey wanted me to hassle him once again about these songs. Mr Drew and I practically knew the answer by now and it always made the boss mad. All Sammy needs is time off, then he'd probably be happy to write his music. Lately, I've noticed his dull expression every time I'd mention anything about his songs. Every time I did ask about them, he'd rush upstairs, turn on the projector and improvise. From there, he'd write his song and give it to me (when finished). Making music (from what I could see) was now a chore for Sammy rather than an activity. Even Sammy knows that Joey will never be happy with his final piece, he'd have to alter it first.

Half of me expected to catch Sammy sleeping on the job again, but he wasn't. He was pacing around the place, rehearsing his piano and following along with the scene that had just been animated. I had been watching him for a while now, noticing his frustration. The projector had not long shut off; he held a paper in his hand, reading the lyrics that Jack had given to him. I could see why he was mad. Joey had been giving all of us a hard time recently, all because of another idea of his. Since old fans were distancing themselves from the series, Joey spent a lot of time in his office, thinking of a new concept for an episode. 
'We want to drive fans closer, not push them away!' He rambled. 'We need a bigger, better idea - one that would change the series forever!'
Now, with that in mind, you'd think he'd come up with something awesome. The only 'exciting' thing he could come up with was giving Alice her second musical number and adding a proper voice for Boris. That would certainly be enough for us, not for him. He demanded better animation quality and longer episodes ranging from 5 - 7 minutes. Joey never gave it a proper thought, but he was thinking of giving Alice a different voice - I shouldn't tell Susie though, she loves that role...

Sammy continued to play the piano after the projector turned off. He felt a bit lazy so he never got up to turn it back on - he was just too tired. What he did was go by the lyrics. I listened calmly to the song he played before opening my eyes in surprise after hearing him play a bad note.
"It doesn't sound right!" Sammy groaned, face planting into the piano keys, forcing a painful sound to play. I began to take a few steps forward at that.
"Can I hear it?" I asked, startling Sammy. He rose from the piano and looked at me, confused. He went with the fact that it was probably a request from Joey to bring me here. The way he saw it, ever since Joey hired me, it gave him the excuse to not get off his ass and do things himself. Sammy shook his head, but agreed with a tone of annoyance to his voice,
"I... guess so..." 

Sammy fixed his posture, fiddled with his fingers to find the first few keys and from there, started to play the piano portion of the song. I held onto a spare sheet of paper, reading the lyrics off of it as I heard the melody. For the most part, they matched the emotion of the lyrics really well, the guy was talented! The main part that caught me off guard was the end. It seemed that he just couldn't figure out how to end the song, which was unusual for Sammy.
"I like it! Hearing it from me probably isn't much, but it's really good! Maybe work on the ending though.." I commented, a large grin on my face. Of course, Sammy only took the one bad thing I had mentioned about the song.
"... Exactly," He huffed, "but this isn't a 'little mistake' to Joey.  He only expects the best - that's why he tires me..." When Sammy realised what he'd said, he immediately tensed up. 
I paused for a moment.
"So I've noticed..." I replied to his comment. "How often does he keep you in?"
Sammy couldn't answer at first and looked away.
"It's certainly not rare for him to do so, as you'd probably expect. He's kept you working late hours, hasn't he? I even bet he's kept you overnight at some point just like the rest of us."
What Sammy shared with me was definitely not the answer I could've ever imagined to hear. Sure, Joey wasn't the best manager and he definitely kept me working late hours. Staying overnight was just bizarre! Strangely enough, I haven't had the need to work overnight. Hearing that it happens so often around here was just news to me. It's been almost two years since I started working here and not once had I heard of Joey keeping workers in overnight! When I'd work late hours (until midnight usually), I assumed everyone else in the workplace would've left not long after me.
"He keeps you overnight.!?" I almost yelled, but Sammy was the one to put a hand over my mouth to stop the others from hearing, even though most knew this.
"That's Joey for you..." Sammy muttered a response, before mumbling some more. "And if it weren't for Jack, I wouldn't have gotten a better income..."
I frowned, ashamed of Joey. I was even ashamed of myself for being so oblivious to it all. Not only did I notice Sammy's baggy eyes, slumped posture and the overall dead feeling he gave, but the others did too. At the moment, it seemed that the people at the music department were under the most pressure - with Susie having to voice and even sing a lot more, Jack having to think of more songs and Sammy having the issue to work as well as he used to, it was definitely time for me to do something about it.
"I'm no professional, but I could help with the songs." I offered, before giving it a second thought. I was definitely not a professional in that field, so that would likely cause more stress. With my final thought, I shook my head. "-Actually, never mind. Maybe I could talk to Joey about it--not saying that it's you who I spoke to, of course!"

Sammy was surprised at my dedication to help (since I hadn't really spoken to him much prior) he was almost hesitant. It was understandable - he didn't know me very well, he didn't know what my intentions were and had a hard time trusting people. Despite this, he also felt glad to have someone to talk to and want to help him; it gave him reassurance, a feeling of comfort. Sammy hardly trusted anyone, especially after the spot Joey put him in. And he wasn't going to change his mind anytime soon.
"I appreciate the offer, but I'd like to speak to Joey myself, (Y/N)." Sammy huffed, crossed his arms. "It's not your business and I wouldn't want to be a hassle. Just let Mr Drew know that I'd like to arrange a meeting with him soon."
After he said that, I placed the paper on the piano and looked back at him. 

"Now," Sammy stood up from his chair, put on his coat and reached into his pockets, "I'm going out for a cigar."
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Word count : 1527 words

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