"Not Quite." Sammy Lawrence X Reader

Chapter 1: Joey Drew Studios

"Alright, Joey, I'm here." You took in the sight of the old workshop's run-down state. Posters still hung on the walls depicting the Lil' Devil Darlin' himself, curling at the edges from where the brittle glue beneath it finally gave out. The once luminous white walls were now a dull mixture of yellow and brown from the test of time. The floorboards and trimming were split and rotting away, causing you to watch each step you took in case a board gave away. The lights were busted or just plain weren't on as candles took their place. Seeing as the candles were lit, you assumed Joey was already here, and replaced your old key back on your keychain. You adjusted your suspenders and squeezed them out of anxiousness. The sight of your old place of work in such a poor state seemed wrong to you. Memories of working here began to flood back, easing your anxiousness back into nostalgia. You began walking forward, as you would any other day, then turned left.

"My old desk... I've wasted so many hours in this chair." You smiled to yourself and tamed your locks by running your fingers through them before putting on your cap. Just a baseball cap with netting on the back half, nothing special. It's the same one you've been wearing for 30 years! Your shining eyes landed on your old Bendy designs before the sticky note saying "NO" that had been plastered on by Joey. You reached into your satchel and took out your pencil and another sheet of paper before taking your seat. It wouldn't hurt to draw him again, for old times sake.

You had to admit, it's been a while since you've drawn the Lil' Devil Darlin', but as your pencil glided over the page, the years of drawing came back to you. You went through the motions as if you had never left the studio. The chicken scratch that was your rough sketch started coming together. Rough shapes became a body and guidelines became features. The dancing demon came to life on the page once more as you kept going. Your strokes and squiggles were confident, signifying just how many times you had done this before. You smiled at your work once Bendy was smiling back at you, offering you a rose while adjusting his bowtie. He always was such a charmer, huh? Replacing your pencil in your bag, you grabbed your ink pen from the desk. You seemed to have left it here. You wondered if it still worked.

You checked everything on it, and it seemed to be in fine working order, exactly how you'd left it 30 years ago. You tapped it against the paper, only to frown when nothing came out.

"Out of ink..." You huffed to yourself before looking through your bag. You took out a ballpoint pen, something that Bic™ had only recently come out with, and began to line the drawing with the scowl remaining on your face. You'd much rather have your old ink pen. This new ink was so hard to work with! It took forever to dry and still smudged if you rubbed your finger on it! Once the drawing was to your satisfaction, you left it be, putting both pens back in your bag before admiring your work.

"Still got it." You encouraged yourself, smiling down at the dancing demon. You patted your bag and rose from your seat to go and find Joey's Ink Machine. You never liked that damn machine, but it did it's job to the letter. You remember that you never had to worry about running out of ink while animating. While you're here, why not start it back up again and take a few cans of the ink home with you once you leave? Sounds like a solid plan. Joey is probably in his office anyway. You cringe at the thought of going down there. Last time you went into Joey's office, it was to do your exiting interview after you had quit. You were a person of dignity after all. No use in saying you quit and then storming out, even if Joey did steal your dreams... You began to walk towards the Ink Machine Overview Balcony, which regrettably was the closest you could get to it without going down a floor or two.

Upon arriving, you spotted nothing new, except for a new power unit. Wally must've installed it some time after you left. You could've sworn that unit wasn't here when you worked here... Your guess? It replaced the room that originally just held the Ink Machine in place. Now it looked like it was connected to something much, much bigger. You ran your tongue over the top row of your teeth out of habit and paused in thought. It seemed two power cells are required to power it up.