The Fall of the Aftons

111: Evan Afton

Evan was doodling in an old sketchbook Michael let him borrow, his crayons gripped tightly in his hand as he glanced at Fredbear every few moments. Why didn't Fredbear talk during the day? Why did he only talk during the night? Evan tried asking him, but he didn't answer, whether it be in the day or the night. He either stayed silent or diverted the conversation.

"Why don't you talk to me during day?" Evan asked, cringing at the way his mouth skipped over a word. Stupid speech impediment. "During the day," he corrected.

The plush did not react. Made no response.

Evan sighed. "You can be annoying sometimes," he grumbled as he flicked the bear's forehead.

Fredbear fell onto his back with a muted whoomph.

A sudden knock on Evan's bedroom door made him squeal as he quickly sat up and looked in the door's direction. "Come in," he called softly.

Unsurprisingly, Michael was the one behind the door. He slowly opened turned the handle and opened it, stepping inside. "Hey," he mumbled. "Could I talk to you for a minute?"

Evan offered a small smile as he said, "Yeah, of course." He giggled as he stood up and walked over to his bed. He sat down, then quickly stood back up, grabbed Fredbear, and sat back down. "Come sit," he invited.

Michael stood still for a moment, unsure of what to do. Then he closed the door and stepped closer to the bed, sitting on the floor. "I... Um..." He sighed and started to fidget with his thumbs. "A-About earlier, I'm... I'm so, so sorry," he said. His voice was annoyingly apologetic. "I hate doing it--you know that, right?" He opened his hands and he watched them as they started to shake ever-so-slightly. "But if I didn't do it..." When the tremors grew stronger, he quickly curled his hands into fists.

Evan gave his brother a sad smile. "Mikey, you don't have to keep apologizing. We're in this together, remember?" He laughed when he still saw angst in Michael's eyes. "Goodness! You're just as afraid of them as I am!"

"I-I am! I am, Ev, I really am!" he exclaimed as he made eye contact with Evan. "I hate seeing you cry; I hate being pressured into doing it; I hate how they take their anger and frustration out on you. I want to stand up to them, but I can't! I don't know what they would do to me if I did--or worse, what they would do to you--and that's what scares me."

Evan stood up and gave Michael a big hug. "It's okay, Mikey. Bullies can be scary."

Michael chuckled. "They're not bullies. They're my friends. Mark's just... He's mean sometimes." He pulled away from the hug, giving Evan a small smile. "Thank you, though."

~ ~ ~

Evan screamed, hugging his Fredbear plush close to his chest as he backed away from Michael and one of his mean friends. Simon and the tan one hadn't arrived yet, only the Mexican one. But he knew that once the other two arrive, the tears bubbling in his eyes were going to spill. He hated being jumpscared like this. But, if it kept his brother safe, he'd endure it as long as he was alive. He didn't want Michael to be beaten up as Mark threatened. He wanted his brother to be healthy and uninjured.

Another sudden jumpscare made Evan scream again, making hot tears well in his eyes. One would think that being attacked by the Nightmares every night would make him used to these things. But apparently not because Evan was weeping before the final two even arrived.

A couple of hours later, the boys left and Michael was back in Evan's room, apologizing frantically.

"Mikey! Enough!" Evan exclaimed, laughter filling his voice. "How many times do I have tell you that okay and that I forgive you?" He cringed at the missing words in his question and quietly corrected himself, mumbling, "Have to tell you that it's okay."