Chapter Text
Tonight was going to be perfect. You had everything planned out– snacks, a cozy blanket, and your computer playing the game that was the object of your current hyperfixation: Five Nights at Freddy’s. The lights in your room were turned off, allowing you to be fully immersed in the horror game. Rain poured down on the roof, the occasional flash of lighting and roar of thunder only adding to the spooky atmosphere. It was late, around 3 am, and you were basking in the time to yourself. You didn’t even think about the fact you left your computer plugged into an outlet during the storm, charging. Maybe it wasn’t the wisest idea, but your computer’s battery was getting low and you never actually had any technology of yours be damaged due to storms so you shrugged it off.
An especially loud boom of thunder caused your already on edge self to jump, and you gave an audible sigh. Thunder didn’t usually scare you, but that one seemed especially close. You caught your breath and went back to your game, not prepared for the next flash of lighting that directly hit your power and coursed through the charger into your computer, causing you to shriek and leap back as it flashed brightly, smoke and flames overcoming it. Despite your quick reaction, the explosion emanating from your computer due to the power surge washed over you and you lost consciousness before you could even realize it.
You weren’t sure how long you had been asleep. When did you fall asleep anyways? You didn’t remember making the active decision, anyways. Realizing you must have fallen asleep on the floor, you felt your body stiff and slightly aching. Soft sunlight shone through the window of your bedroom and you slowly opened your eyes.
Immediately something was off. You were in your room, yes, but you didn’t see your computer anywhere. Did someone steal it when you were sleeping? Suddenly you recalled the storm last night, and the power surge that should have destroyed your computer. Who would want to steal a fried computer? And also, shouldn’t you be in extreme pain currently? You looked down at your hands. They looked fine to you. Not burned or anything.
Standing up, you glanced around your room some more, noticing more things amiss. Some of your stuff stayed, but you couldn’t find a good portion of your stuff like your phone and your ipad you used for drawing. Okay now you were starting to panic. Someone must have broken into your house.
Leaving your bedroom, you decided to look around your house more to see if anything else was amiss. Or if you could find your shit. Maybe you sleepwalked and misplaced it? You haven’t sleepwalked since you were a little kid though.
Walking through your house caused you to get more and more confused and disoriented. Your flat screen tv was gone, but there was a really old box tv in its wake. You noticed a landline phone on a table in the living room as well… That definitely was weird. Did someone break into your home and replace all of your modern technology with tech from decades ago? You almost laughed, it sounded ridiculous but there you were. And the tv and the landline phones had to have gotten into your house somehow, but what kind of thief would put in the effort of doing such a thing? Maybe someone was pulling some kind of elaborate joke on you. Or you were still dreaming. But you certainly felt like you were awake. You slapped your arm. Yep. Awake.
You sighed, deciding to go back to your room and get dressed for the day. Maybe you could drive down to one of your friends' places and they could try to help you figure out what happened. You honestly would prefer that to going to the police about this first. The whole thing seemed really outlandish and you didn’t really like having to talk to police when it wasn’t 100% necessary.
Sighing, you changed into a t-shirt and jeans, stopping by your bathroom to give yourself your morning T-shot. Except nothing was there.
“What the fuck?!” You muttered to yourself. If this mysterious thief had stolen your testosterone on top of all of this shit, you were going to be pissed. You bought that stuff out of pocket and it was pretty expensive. This was America, after all. Healthcare costs an arm and a leg.
You stormed out of your house to go to your car. You didn’t bother to try to call one of your friends you were planning on driving over to their house, since you didn’t know their phone number because the innovation of modern phones lets you just save them. A newspaper laid on the welcome mat of your house and you looked down on it, raising an eyebrow. You certainly did not get newspapers. Who does anymore? You picked it up and your eyes widened when you saw the date. 1985. Yeah, someone definitely had to be messing with you. Looking over at where you parked your car in your driveway, you gave another groan as it was replaced with a car that looked like it was from the 70s. There was no way in hell this was possible.
You looked through the car window and saw its keys already in the ignition switch. You hesitantly went to open the door to the driver’s seat. It was unlocked. You sighed. There has to be some explanation for all of this.
Being extra careful since you weren’t used to driving this type of car, you pulled out of the driveway and took to the road. Any theory you had of some reasonable cause for what was going on was taken further and further away from you as even the surroundings outside of your house seemed to be slightly different. All of the cars on the road looked decades old like the car that had been forced upon you. Pedestrians walking wore outdated clothes and as you drove through downtown you saw multiple buildings that appeared how they used to before they were remodeled. Did you really wake up in the 80s? Maybe the explosion from your computer made you go into a coma or something and you were just imagining all of this. But it certainly felt real. Did you discover the secret to time travel? But most of your clothes were still in your closet… Things weren’t adding up.
Giving up the idea of driving to a friend’s house, you drove around aimlessly for a while. You needed to clear your mind. Process what was happening. You snapped out of your dissociative state and nearly crashed as you did a double take when your car approached a familiar looking building. Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria.
“Oh my god…” You muttered, navigating the car into the crowded parking lot, “FNAF IS REAL?!?!!”
You almost laughed. How funny was this. You were in the 80s and FNAF was real. How the actual heck was this possible. You looked up at the sign with Freddy Fazbear’s iconic face, dumbfounded. Then looking towards the entrance, you saw a big sign with the letters “NOW HIRING” on it. Logically you should have driven far far away from the cursed restaurant, but the idea of living in the world of your hyperfixation was enticing. Crazy yes, but intriguing. And none of this felt real, so naturally you were determined to go into the belly of the beast.
Taking a deep breath, you got out of your car, locked it, and approached the building. Even with the knowledge of the darkness surrounding the place, you couldn’t help but fanboy a little. FNAF was the thing that had been constantly on your mind for months now. It was only natural that something like it becoming real was exciting.
Entering the building, you gasped slightly as your eyes absorbed your surroundings. Children excitedly ran loose around the place and a medium size stage looking over the dining area holding the three main animatronics that you recognized as Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica. To your right was an arcade, illuminated by neon lights and that classic arcade carpet. Up ahead of you was a prize corner and a place to order food. You were completely struck with awe and childlike wonder, and you couldn’t help but smile like an idiot.
“It’s great, isn’t it?”
A sudden voice with a distinctly British accent (horrible) caused you to jump slightly, and its owner chuckled as you turned towards the sound. Looming over you was none other than William fucking Afton himself. And goddammit, why was he hot? Your face warmed up as you felt yourself slightly squirm under his powerful gaze. For Christ’s sake, he’s a child murderer, pull yourself together.
William eyed you up and down, raising an eyebrow and smirking slightly. Shit, he asked you a question didn’t he? Fuck you were just standing there like a goddamn idiot.
You searched your mind to remember what he asked, before finally being able to breathe out the pathetic answer of, “Yeah”
William gave a toothy grin, “Well I sure hope it is at least, since it’s my restaurant. I even built those robots you see on stage.”
You nodded, pretending like you didn’t already know that information, “Wow, that’s really impressive, they must have taken forever to build, Mr… uh.”
“Afton. William Afton,” William held out his hand for you to shake. Luckily he bought your feigned ignorance.
You shook his hand and introduced yourself as well, cringing internally at the fact your hand was clammy, “It’s nice to meet you, sir.”
He nodded, “You as well. Now, how can I help you? Are you by chance here to get a job? We’re looking to hire new employees to work the dayshift, and we could certainly use more young men like you who truly see the brilliance of the place.”
You shifted your weight, trying to remember how realistically horrible Freddy’s would be to work at, “Um, I don’t know if I came here with the intent to apply but I wouldn’t be opposed to it.”
William intently stared at you, “Well, I won’t by any means force you but I’m free right now, so if you would be interested in an impromptu interview I would be more than happy to oblige.”
“Um, I don’t know, I don’t have my resume with me or anything,” You fidgeted nervously. You probably should have expected to meet William Afton given your current luck. Internally you face palmed at the thought of being lucky enough to not have to be face to face with him. He was dangerous. A murderer. Even if he was attractive, you really didn’t want to be alone with him.
“That’s perfectly okay, I don’t expect you to have it on you at all times. This is a spur of the moment decision on my part, after all,” Afton smiled.
Shit, now you have no other reason to get out of this, “Oh, okay then, I guess I can do an interview then.”
“Great, follow me.”
Well, this is it , you thought, This is where I die… Take it to you to be so much of a doormat a murderer convinces you to follow him to a secluded area. You just hoped that because you weren’t a kid, he wouldn’t target you.
The tall and murderous brit stopped in front of an office, which must have been his. (Well, it wouldn’t make any sense for it to be someone else’s since there quite literally was a sign with Afton engrained in it). He unlocked the door and held it open for it, gesturing for you to sit down on the char across from his desk. Sitting down nervously, you heard the door close gently shut and William’s footsteps as he walked over to sit in his chair on the other side of the desk.
Resting his face on his hands, his eyes seemed to stare into your soul, “Well, shall we begin?”
You swallowed slowly and nodded, causing William to give an amused look.
“Excellent, how about I start by asking you about yourself. What are the things you like to do in your free time? Which job would you feel most suited to and why? What are your strengths and weaknesses? Things like that.”
“Well, I’m 22 for starters. In my free time I do things like draw. I’m a little introverted and anxious when it comes to talking to people, but I’ve found in the past in job settings I can overcome that and can really connect to people. I also pay close attention to details and have a good memory, which can be helpful for things like customer service,” You gave a breathy sigh. You were shaking slightly. It’s okay, just breathe , you thought, I’m not dead yet. He didn’t lock the door. If I need to, I can run out.
William nodded slightly, and jotted some things down on a piece of paper, before continuing the interview, “Great. And what do you know about the company?”
Shit what didn’t you know. But also would knowing too much make him not want to hire you? Plus, a lot of the FNAF lore came after 1985.
“I know the basics like the names of the animatronics, other than that not too much.”
“And could you list off their names for me?”
You breathed out, “Chica, Freddy, Bonnie, and Foxy.”
William nodded, “Well done. Now there are multiple job opportunities open, do you have an idea of what kind of job you might want? There is an opening for a janitorial position, a serving position, as well as I’m currently in need of a personal assistant.”
“I don’t really think I have much of a preference, though what would that last job entail?” You tilted your head slightly.
William grinned, “Well, the personal assistant job would be full time and include a variety of things including helping me with animatronic repairs by doing things like passing me tools, as well as doing things like running small errands for me like getting me coffee or cleaning my office when asked. Things like that. It’s also a position that has a much higher pay than the others, since it is more important and requires greater responsibilities. Starting off it’d be a pay of $9/hour while the janitorial job would be $7/hour and the job as a server being $3.35/hour.”
Holy shit just how much did money inflate in the past like, nearly 40 years, you wished you had paid more attention in your highschool economics class. You decided to go with the one that paid the most, only realizing at the very last minute it was the one that was the one which would have you be around William the most. Great, just want you needed. Being constantly around a sexy murderer for a living. You would either die from him murdering you or from literally being unable to function around hot people. You didn’t know which one would be worse.
“You seem awfully stressed out, love. Are you all right?” Afton’s voice broke you out of your anxious trance.
“Uh yeah, I’m okay,” You tried to assure him, albeit not very convincingly. You were trembling.
“Really? You’ve seemed nervous this entire interview really…” William fake pondered, “I’ve already decided to hire you if that’s what you’re so anxious about.”
“Oh, thanks,” You raised your eyebrows slightly in surprise, trying your best to swallow down your anxiety.
“Of course,” William smiled darkly, and stood up from his chair– walking to stand right behind you. You could feel his breath on your neck, “Though you still look so tense. Perhaps I can help with that?”
His hands grabbed onto your shoulders as he gently started to massage them, causing your eyes to widen and your face to flush. You only tensed up more, “Uh… what are you doing?”
“Simply trying to help you relax… though, don’t tell me,” You could hear the amusement in William’s voice, “could you be scared of me?”
You felt heat go between your legs. Goddammit, body, why must you betray me like this. You sat there frozen, not entirely sure what to do. But in that moment, he had you trapped. And you weren’t sure if he was going to try to kill you or try to sleep with you. You swallowed slowly, your brain frantically trying to force you to move from his grip.
Eventually your body caught up with your senses, standing up you freed yourself from his grasp, and you turned to look at him, now backed up against the desk. His face said that he was enjoying every second of this.
“Such a jumpy little thing, aren’t you?” He smirked, “I look forward to working with you.”
You wondered if it was too late to opt out of the job and leave and never return. But the look he had in his eyes said that wasn’t an option. Knowing the true danger of his nature, it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility for him to decide to kill you for doing so. No, you had already caught his interest… that being a dangerous thing in its own regard.
You shuffled towards the office door nervously, and he made no effort to stop you. As you opened the door to leave, you heard him call out, “Oh, and I assume you are capable of starting your work tomorrow?”
You paused and swallowed slowly before nodding, “Yes, sir...”