Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

The smell of yeast wafted through the kitchen as you cleaned the mixer, ...just to dirty it again.

It was still dark outside, glancing at the clock you see that you have another 2 hours until opening.

A content sigh leaves your mouth as you start beating the eggs into the dry ingredients, stepping away for just a moment to check on how the bread and buns are rising. A small smile tugged at your lips as you start placing the batter into a pan.

Once everything was baking you walked over to the sink to wash the small mixer for the final time this morning. The dishwasher breaking was just lemon icing on a bitter cake that life seemed intent on force-feeding you.

The 2 hours melted away like butter in a hot pan as you placed the last treat of the day, a tray of banana bread, out on the display shelf. Stretching your arms and walking to the door, you flipped the sign to open as you unlocked the deadbolts.

Then you sat at the counter waiting, your smile becoming more strained as time ticked forward. You loved to bake... people loved your baking... but, even a 5-star menu couldn't bring people down this dead-end nowhere of a street. It was sad really, even with all the time and effort you put in people just can't seem to find you.

You placed signs and even paid for an ad in the local paper one week, sure it boosted sales for a while but eventually people went back to their normal routes not being bothered to pass by your little out-of-the-way shop in their morning rush, especially when Starbucks was a much easier location.

Sighing you leaned on the counter pouting to yourself. A loud growl sounded from your stomach making you chuckle as you stood up. It seems you forgot to eat again. 'Luckily' there are plenty of sweet options left... Just as you were about to close for an early lunch break you saw Amanda rushing toward the shop waving at you through the glass.

Stepping away from the close sign you open the door for her with a slight bow of your head. "Amanda. Been a while." A small smile forms on your face as you allow the door to slowly shut once she is waiting by the counter.

Amanda raises her brow an annoyed smile adorning her face as she tilts her head. "I was just here yesterday!"

You slowly walk around the counter keeping your face neutral as you reach the register placing the back of your hand on your forehead dramatically. "I think you mean you were here, " You pretend to look at a fake watch with furrowed brows. "1440 minutes ago."

Amanda gives you a dead-panned expression as she clasps her hands in front of herself. "This right here, is why I'm your only regular customer, you clingy baker."

You know she's only joking but, you can't help how your neutral smile becomes more strained as you sigh. "Now that I think about it... you're an hour late from your usual visit time so it's been 1500 minutes since I've seen you."

Amanda's face reddens as she looks down with a small frown and a soft sigh. "That quiet this morning huh?"

She dares a glance at you as she leans on the counter cheeks still slightly red. "Sorry, you know I was kidding. I'm late because the office wanted me to pick up two trays of your muffins and I was asking for preferences."

Looking to the side she continued as her face went darker. "So, it's not like I'm your only customer of the day... Just the only one who can find your shop." A small chuckle left her lips at the last statement.

feeling lighter you shook your head with a small laugh. "You look like a cherry pie."

Laughing just a bit louder at how her face darkened you started unfolding the boxes to place muffins into. "Thank you, Amanda. Now enough trying to comfort me or you might melt from embarrassment! what does everyone want?"

Amanda refused to look at you as she handed you a small piece of paper with different writing each listing a muffin and quantity.

You ended up packing 3 and a half to-go boxes in the end. Your smile felt real as you rang up the total. "I take it they were a hit when you brought that box in last week?"

Amanda furrowed her brows as she looked you in the eyes resting her chin in her palm. "Too much of a hit! I didn't even get to have one!"

She dramatically flopped her forehead onto the counter with a sigh, "This time I placed a sheet by the front desk with my Venmo so the pigs can pay for their own treats."

You couldn't help but laugh as she rolled her eyes dramatically.

It was silly, but you felt genuinely bad, you knew she loved your banana chip muffins, but she didn't get any last week... And none of the writing on the paper looked like hers today. As sneakily as possible you grabbed a small single-to-go bag and placed one of the last remaining banana chip muffins into it hiding it behind the register as Amanda paid for the office treats.

Once paid for Amanda grabbed the boxes balancing them expertly as she headed to the door. "I'll see you in another 1440 Minutes!" Her tone was teasing but there was a promise in her words that she would be here at the usual time tomorrow.

You opened the door for her but instead of your routine jokey bow, you placed the small to-go bag on her stack with an exaggerated wink. "Try and eat this one before you get back to the pig pen." You placed a finger in front of your lips like the two of you were schoolgirls with a secret.

Amanda looked you dead in the eyes her smile tense as she spoke in a voice dripping with sarcasm. "Great~"

Her smile dropped to a deadpan expression as she continued. "Now I owe you one. What do you want?”

You couldn't stop the laugh that escaped, nearly losing hold of the door. Comically placing a finger on your chin pretending to think, then pointing to the sky with a cheeky grin aimed at Amanda. You spoke in a cheery voice. "How about a new location? And make it cheap yea?"

Amanda stared at you blankly for a moment too long as you began to rub your fingers together. "No good deed goes unthanked." She squinted her eyes as if threatening you, "Matter of fact I'm gonna pay you back so hard your gonna owe me free muffins for a whole month!"

leaning on the door you smiled with a brow quirked. "A month huh? good luck with that sugar!"

Amanda stuck out her tongue blowing a raspberry and rushing out the door. "Wait and see!"

Shaking your head, you walked back over to the counter with a small sigh and a building headache. "..." It's gonna be another quiet day.

Quiet it was, after Amanda left you only had 4 other customers come in before closing, two were the usual weekly store orders and the others were just some bread lovers looking for a loaf or 2.

You were cleaning up the display shelves and wrapping what could still go out for tomorrow. The worst part of your day had to be throwing away perfectly good food ... Looking at the tossed treats you sighed, you need to start baking less, at least until you drum up more business...

A frustrated growl leaves your chest as you stare out the window at the pitch-black night sky... it must be cloudy tonight.

Finally done tidying the kitchen and display shelves you sit down on your bed with a relieved sigh, your sore feet still ache and your head hurts, but you are too tired to get up and eat. Staring at the roof blankly you close your stinging eyes, you are very tired.

The next morning you decide to sleep in an extra hour as you still have plenty of extras left over from yesterday, you don't want to throw away any more food, really you can't afford to do that. It was an easy morning today you even had time to make some toast with grape jelly. All you had to make were muffins knowing Amanda would surely be back again today.

As you ate waiting for the timers to yell you felt your headache leave as the sugary sweet scent filled the air around you. Then you were sitting at the counter again the doors opened, and the sign flipped. The only difference today was the rain, it was pouring out there.

You begin to worry that Amanda might not come, after all, it wouldn't be smart to travel down the long dead-end street leading to your shop in this weather. After about 10 minutes from Amanda's promised time your shoulders slumped and you rested your head on the counter with a sigh, it looked like another boring day today. You were so tired...

You felt someone shaking you lightly as you slowly started to wake up, you don't remember falling asleep. Your face flushed as you realized you must have passed out at the counter. "Amanda?" Your voice came out in a desperate plea.

A deep laugh told you it was in fact, not Amanda. "No sorry, but she's the one who sent me if that helps?" Came the sheepish deep voice.

Slowly you raised your head to look at the source of the voice and were greeted by a man who looked to be in his late 40s. He wore a long buttoned-up black coat and sleeves that ended in folds right at his wrists. He was completely bald except for a single gray shadow along the sides and back of his head.

The man's smile was tense, and his shoulders hunched as he spoke. "This is 'Sweet memories' right?"

You sit up rubbing your face trying to hide your red cheeks. What's Amanda doing sending one of the office 'pigs' here? You begin to worry something happened to her as you stare at the man. "Amanda, sent you for the muffins?"

The man quirked a brow as he took a half step back. "No, she mentioned you were looking to relocate. I'm sorry did I walk in on your break or something?"

Your blush managed to darken as you stared at the man. "No! er-no, sorry I don't usually sleep on the job I assure you." You began tapping your fingers on the desk as you spoke. "Look, uhm let's start over... Yes, this is the 'Sweet memories' bakery! "

The man shook his head with a bright smile on his face. "I'm glad to hear it! You're hard to find, I must have been driving around for an hour."

Your shoulders were hunched as you looked away with a sigh and small forced laugh, "yea..."

The man's smile grew as he continued. "I can see why you're looking to change locations!"

You pause for a moment looking back towards the man with a suspicious glance, "uhm yea, kind of hard to find something within budget though." A tense laugh escapes your lips before you can stop it.

At hearing this the man's smile looked painfully large as he tilted his head in question. "Oh really, what's your current budget looking like right now?"

You quark a brow, a bored expression on your face. "I don't see how that's any of your business? You're asking a lot of nosey questions, Mr.?"

The man's smile faded instantly as he looked at you with a quirked brow of his own. "Are you not looking to relocate?"

You blankly stared at the man waiting for him to continue.

He began to sweat as he took another half step back, arms fidgeting at his sides. "I'm Josh Fot a representative from city hall, we have a building that was foreclosed on recently, but it hasn't been listed yet. Your friend mentioned you were looking to relocate, and we've been wanting to tear down this old lot for some time now!"

The man rubbed the top of his head stretching as he sighed. "We thought it would be in everyone's best interest if we offered you a deal on the new lot in exchange for this location? The only catch is you would need to do a lot of renovations."

The man reached into his pocket and handed you a paper with what looked like an address on it. "This is the location we would be offering, it's the purple building with the large red door. On the back is my number."

You stared at the paper mind racing with a thousand questions. Amanda did this? What kind of deal? Renovations? But the most important question was what kind of muffins Amanda was gonna want for the next month...

You looked up to the man with wide eyes trying not to let too much excitement show, you know how this game is played. "It would have been great to get some warning... but yes, I am looking to relocate. when would be a good time for me to view the property?"

The man looked like the cat that caught the canary as he spoke. "Well, I'm glad to hear that! How’s tomorrow evening sound? I know it's late notice but as I said before this location has been foreclosed and because of that it needs to be listed as soon as possible."

Your fingers tap just quickly on the wooden desk as you smile politely. "Of course, does 4:30 pm work?"

"It does! I'll see you then!" The man's smile was back at full force as he turned to exit the shop with a quick wave of his hand.

"Wait!" You called after him blueberry muffin in hand.

The man stopped his smile fading slightly with a tilt of his head. "Yes?"

You hand him the muffin with your finger pressed to your lips as you stared him in the eyes. "This is a bribe."

The man began to sweat. "I-I can't-"

You cut him off with furrowed brows. "This is a bribe for you not to talk around town about me sleeping on the job." Your eyes stayed locked with his.

The man's shoulders relaxed as he sighed. "Who was sleeping on the job?" He smiled taking a bite of the muffin.

You returned his smile giving him a pat on the back as you held the door open for him. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Instead of waving this time he flashed you a far more genuine smile as he exited the shop already halfway through the muffin.

After the man left only one other customer came, it was one of the bread lovers from yesterday, she gushed to you about how good your pumpernickel was and asked for a loaf to gift her mother-in-law.

Now it was late, and you were cleaning the display trays and wrapping the last of the treats again, a small headache building as you finished the last dish.

Dragging your feet to your bed you were just about to dive into its inviting embrace when the phone rang.

Your brows furrowed as you shuffled to the landline. Maybe someone wanted to make a special order. It had been a while since you had one, they were fun, not to mention the extra money would be nice.

Despite your aching feet and tired eyes, you answered the phone with your best customer service voice. "Thank you for calling 'Sweet Memories' where every treat is good to eat! How can I help you?"

The line was silent for a moment before a familiar laugh sounded through the phone. "What a cute jingle."

You begin wrapping the cord around your fingers as you reply. "Amanda?"

She replies in a flat tone. "The one and only."

You continue to wind the cord around your fingers until you run out of room. "I'm glad to hear from you but I gotta say, it's kind of odd to send your business friend without telling me." You were trying to be teasing but a bit of bitterness leaked through.

Amanda paused as if caught off guard. "What friend??"

You falter for just a moment. Was she joking? "Uhm, the guy from city hall? He offered me a new location. He said you sent him??"

Amanda answered immediately her tone unusually serious. "I know I said no good deed goes unthanked, but I genuinely didn't send anybody."

You bite your lip unsure how to continue. "Wait then why are you calling?? I thought you were gonna ask how it went or something?"

You can hear her inhale deeply, no doubt wearing the usual deadpan expression she had after work as she replied. "Was it a bald dude in his 50s?"

Your hand is completely wrapped in the phone cord like a mummy as you reply. "Yes? Maybe 40s?"

Amanda sighed so deeply you began to worry she would faint from lack of oxygen. "Let me guess he's trying to sell you the old Fazzbear location? Ugh, that tool doesn't know when to quit!"

Laughing slightly, you lean against the wall trying to rest your legs. "Didn't Fazzbear burndown? Is that what he meant by it would need renovations?" Despite the silliness of it all you started to shrink in on yourself, guess the offer was too good to be true.

Amanda snorted. "Oh ya 'renovations' my ass the buildings an absolute mess, the power got cut years ago and it doesn't even have running water! Not to mention the basement is still filled with the old daycare supplies! We’re not even allowed to clean it because of some stupid loophole from when it was Fazzbear owned."

Amanda sighed. "Not to mention anyone who we try to sell it to is either superstitious or smart enough to know the renovations are gonna cost double the deed of the place!"

You started laughing at her exasperated explanations, "Been trying to get rid of this one for a while huh?"

Amanda paused for a moment before replying. "Ya, sorry. It's just frustrating we thought we finally sold it, but the dude turned out to be using a fake identity and he got arrested so now we gotta try and sell it again."

You smile unwinding the cord from your hand. "Well, now I gotta go check this place out, see if it lives up to the hype. I'm supposed to meet him at 4:30 pm tomorrow."

You could almost hear Amanda rolling her eyes, "Be sure you bring a mask, so you don't die of dust inhalation."

You chuckle yet again as you slide down the wall hand now fully free from the cord. "Noted. So... can I ask why you originally called?"

Amanda was silent.

You pull the phone away from your ear for a moment then speak again. "Amanda? Did I disconnect?"

Amanda then dramatically sighed as you heard shifting on the other end of the line. "Please keep the muffins for tomorrow I didn't trust my minivan down that old dead-end street... Also please don't count the minutes until I get there."

You giggle as you replied. "Goodness, what a loyal customer you are! I may just have to put your picture on the wall!"

Amanda's voice was unwavering as she replied. "I better see those muffins tomorrow." Then a soft click followed.

You sat on the floor laughing to yourself at her aloof nature. "Oh, miss Amanda, so, so, silly."

As you stood to hang up the phone your feet protested with stabbing pains in your heels making you fall back onto your butt harshly.

With a sigh, you sat back against the wall, shaking slightly on the cold floor with heavy eyes. You're thankful that you placed the muffins in the to-go bins and wrapped them with plastic before coming up here.

Crawling like an infant you slowly made it to your bed where you only had just enough energy to rest your chest on the mattress before you completely passed out.

The next morning you woke with a creak in your neck and bruised knees. Stretching was painful as you tried to get the kinks out of your muscles.

Knowing you were closing earlier than usual you decided to make a few large batches of bread and pull out some homemade jellies for today. It wasn't the most interesting treat, but it always sold well and was good for lazy days.

Just 10 minutes after opening like soldiers on a mission, Amanda came charging to the counter slapping down an even larger list of muffins before you had time to even greet her.

Her tired eyes boor into you as she spoke. "I'll take a black coffee too."

A small smile overtook your startled expression as you started organizing the muffins in the to-go boxes removing unwanted flavours. "Your early."

Amanda just stared at you, bags under her eyes nearly causing her to close them as she spoke. "It's supposed to rain again later today. Everyone already venmoed me for their muffins."

You laughed handing over the cup filled with Amanda's pure caffeine TM. "Here ya are."

Amanda downed the scolding drink without flinching and handed you back the empty cup. "Thanks."

She then walked over to the register and started typing her pin.

Taking the cup, you quietly added another banana chip muffin to a single to-go bag and placed it on top of the others. "It's not good to live on only coffee."

Amanda's face reddened as she looked to the floor. "Mother hen."

You smiled handing her the receipt. "Maybe."

The rest of the day was excruciatingly slow as you waited to close the shop and go see the god-forsaken building Amanda had warned you about.

Even the bread lover didn't come today, the only other sale was a box of vegan chocolate chip cookies for a little boy's birthday.

It was now 3:00 pm and the shop was closed. You were driving through the rain with a small box of extra cookies in the passenger seat. If you were gonna waste this guy's time with a tour of a building you won't want, he at least deserved some cookies.

As you drove you saw it was indeed the old pizza plex location. Though the building looked very new. It had large red doors contrasting clean purple walls with a few small windows here and there.

From the outside, it almost looked like a regular house all be it much bigger... but the thing that stood out most was all the traffic...

Even so late in the evening, the building was surrounded by people, and cars flooded the surrounding streets.

As you got out of your car you saw the man from your shop waving you down by the doors.

His expression was ecstatic as he motioned to the crowds of people passing the building. "What do ya think so far?"

You smiled politely and tilted your head to the side. "I think you haven't shown me the interior."

His shoulders slumped just a bit as he headed towards the door. "I uh

- I got an ear full from Amanda already, so I know you're going into this with low expectations."

He rubbed a hand down his face expression continuing to fall. "Look, I meant what I said, this place could be huge for your business. But Amanda stressed I need to show you where the work will need to be done. I promise no more half-truths."

You chuckle with a light smile. "Goodness, I wouldn't wanna be in your shoes. Amanda's scary when she wants to be."

His smile seemed forced as he politely laughed along with you. "Trust me, I know."

As he opened the doors with a loud creek you could already smell the dust. Coughing you covered your face with your shirt attempting to block out some of the smell. "Oh gosh, I should have brought a mask."

Looking sheepish the man handed you a mask out of his back pocket. "Amanda made me bring extras, something about you never listening to her warnings."

You looked to the side as you snatched the black mask placing it over your face. "There will be cookies for you if you don't mention this to Amanda."

The man seemed giddy as he replied. "If they're as good as your muffins, then I'll gladly take another bribe."

As he walked you through the building you couldn't help but wonder why this place was selling so poorly... Sure it was dirty, but it was nothing you couldn't get cleaned up in a week or 2.

The electricity was cut because a fuse kept blowing whenever someone tried to connect to any plugs in the kitchen... surely all you would need to do would be unplug everything in that room to find the problem plug.

The water was another issue... a lot of piping would need replacing. Expensive but not impossible.

Once you looked past all the dust and grime this building would make a wonderful bakery, it had a large open kitchen where you could fit at least 4 large ovens.

The counter space made your heart skip, no longer would you have to lug the mixer around when you needed to roll dough or place hot trays to cool.

The front would need some remodelling, but it had enough room for a large display shelf and maybe even a few tables for customers to enjoy their sweets.

The back that looked to be a lounge of some sort would be an excellent place to make into your new bedroom as well.

The more you thought about it the more convinced you were that you could fix this location, with some hard work you could have your dream bakery.

You had long since tuned out the man going over small details like an automated message. His shoulders were tense as he walked you through the building leaving a trail in the dust.

The only thing on your mind right now though, was the price... he said it was a deal?

Clearing your throat, you catch his attention. "What did you say the pricing was again?"

The man looked shocked as he replied. "Uhm we're currently selling for $80,000. And as previously stated we would also want to buy your lot, our starting range would be $150,000."

Your heart nearly stopped. "I'm sorry, you're offering me $70,000 to move locations...?"

You started sweating as you balled up the fabric of your shirt in your hands. "How soon would I need to be moved out?"

The man seemed taken aback as he replied, a slight glint of hope creeping into his eyes. "We understand the condition of this lot is not ideal so you would have 6 months to fully move here."

His eyes looked to the side as he added, "You would need to close your shop while moving here though, but we would pay upfront."

Your heart sank, sure you would probably need to close while cleaning anyway and it's not like you're losing out on a lot of money at that location... but no baking for 6 months at the least, and that's if you can get the electric working...

You looked out the window, silhouettes passing by every few moments.

You look back to the mountains of dust covering the interior. You're tired already.

You lock eyes with the man for a few moments. He shifts slightly under your stare as if he were trying to disappear.

Taking a deep breath you break the silence, looking back out the window. "I'll take it."

You hear a strangled noise as the man replied in a cracked voice. "Really?!?"

His face reddens as he clears his throat replying in a much calmer deeper voice. "Are you sure?"

You can't help the surprised laugh that leaves you as you answer. "Yes, I am."

Later that night you wake up to the sound of your phone instead of your alarm.

You roll out of bed onto the floor and towards the phone before using the wall to lean and reach the cord pulling it down into your lap. "Amanda."

The line is silent for a few beats until you hear the strained voice of your dear friend. "Are you crazy?"

You laugh tiredly as you stretch against the wall a satisfying pop leaving your back. "You know it!"

Amanda sighed. "It's not too late to back out I could 'lose' the papers you signed yesterday."

You looked up to the ceiling as you replied in an excited tone. "Amanda you should have seen all the people! Oh! And you were right it was a dust storm in there!"

Amanda was silent as you continued. "But it's so BIG! It's so new! I just know I can make it work! I'm gonna have my dream shop by the end of this just you wait!"

Amanda sighed as you heard her shift on the other end of the line. "Dumb Baker."

You frown wrapping the cord around your fingers. "Rude."

Amanda gave a strained laugh. "Ya, that was, sorry."

You hear her shift some more as she adds. "Look, I won't step on your dreams but... let me know if anything happens. I know a few people and I could get you some deals while you fix up that place."

Smiling you unravel the cord from your hand. "Guess I better stock up on banana chip muffins when I reopen then huh?"

Amanda laughs like a cartoon villain as she replies. "Oh, you better offer me more variety than that!"

A yawn escapes as you try to talk through it. "OH, no."

Amanda stops laughing. "Hey sorry I need to leave work soon... uhm... sorry I didn't mean to wake you... I'll call you in a bit to see how things are going."

Before you can protest, she hangs up leaving you sitting on the floor eyes only half-open.

You check the time it was 1 am you still had 4 hours until you were planning to head over to the new building and start cleaning. But you were awake now...

In a tired blur, you managed to drive over to your new location avoiding heavy traffic at least...

You make a mental note to yourself to always try and leave no later than 5 am each morning.

Deciding the most pressing issue was the dust trying to clog your lungs you open a few windows and plug the vacuum in, ready to clear the air.

You flick the switch on the vacuum and... nothing happens. You try turning it off and on again a few times before face-palming, you forgot about the power in your sleepy daze.

Sighing you take the vacuum back to the corner of the room and pull out your cell phone.

After about 3 hours on the phone, and a lovely dance with the broom, you managed to get the power for the building set up, but you still had to go flip the breakers and hopefully find the problem plugs.

After a bit of searching, you found the breaker in the basement illuminating it with your phone light.

After making a mental note of the location you started searching around the small room for any plugs in use.

The room was almost empty except for a few piles of charred metal, old burnt blankets and a few drawings of what looked like kids with their imaginary friends spread out across the floor.

You were getting worried the power might be more of an issue than you thought finding all the plugs empty.

Tripping on something you scraped your already bruised knee in the dark room, with a sigh you considered just buying a generator for the meantime as you flashed your light on the tripping hazard.

It was a cord! Jumping up you grab the wire and start following it. As you near the end of the wire the base becomes thicker, and it leads to a spot in the wall that doesn't look like a regular plug.

The wire is screwed into the wall, and you see no way of removing it without an electrician...

Turning around you start following the wire again, maybe the other end could be unplugged?

As you reach the end you notice the wire thins out almost to the same size as a phone charger, all be it much longer. It twists and turns around the walls of the room almost like someone was pacing back and forth as they held the end.

You stop as the wire reaches behind a large oak cupboard.

Pulling the heavy cupboard back was difficult but not impossible, you thank the lord it had wheels.

To your surprise, there was a large hole behind the cupboard that the cord fed into...

The hole was pitch black as you stared at it but, you could see what looked like a silhouette of someone sitting in the fetal position.

Your heart was pounding as you took a step back from the hole. Oh god, you did not want to see a 10-year-old body of a Kentucky fried kid!

Your hands were shaking, and you dropped your phone in your panic.

The phone landed on its side leaning on one of the old burnt blankets as the light shone deeper in the hole to reveal a spine-chilling toothy smile, milk-white eyes and large yellow triangles.

You fall onto your butt screaming like a victim in a horror movie too shocked to look away as you stare at the thing.

You start coughing after breathing in the thick dust in your panic.

The face doesn't move.

Slowly, you reach for your phone light being sure to keep it flashing on the frightening face as though it might jump at you if you looked away.

Gathering your courage, you start cautiously making your way forward.

As you get closer you can see the face is connected to a very tall body... It's huge... like if you were to lay the thing flat on the floor you were sure it would reach 8 feet... maybe more?

You lightly yank the cord a few times watching the head of the thing pull forward slightly in rhythm.

Looking down at the burnt drawings you laughed nervously, it seemed Mr. imaginary friend became a real boy!

You swallow realizing your gonna need to pull this terrifying thing out into the open...

You place your phone down on the blankets being sure to angle the light as best you can as you grab the things arms and pull.

Cringing at the harsh scratching sound it makes, you quickly placed a few of the charred blankets under it as you tried again.

It was heavy, so heavy in fact that you managed to fall backwards onto your butt 3 times as you lost your grip. It smelled too, not just musty like you expected, it smelled like oil and charcoal.

With a lot of effort, you managed to sit it up against the wall stepping back to catch your breath once you were sure it wasn't gonna fall forward.

Now that it was out of the hole you took a proper look at it.

It had burnt yellow and orange frills around its waste and wrists with large puffy pants. Its chest had metal buttons that you guess were supposed to make it look like it had a shirt. Its feet had jesters’ shoes with little curls on the end although one was almost completely burnt and just barely hanging off its large yellow foot.

The face was horrifying, you hope you never meet the person who designed it! Its eyes had no pupils and there were far too many teeth! The lips on top of that large smile just made it look creepy. It also didn't help that it was covered in oil, soot and dust.

You were impressed that the actual metal all seemed to be in order though, nothing looked bent and as you wiggled the arms around you didn't even find any stiff spots.

With all this mobility it couldn't be a statue or a toy, it must have been one of the animatronics from the old pizza plex...

But, you don't remember terrifying smile Joe, the happy animatronic being part of the band?

Laughing as you continued to look it over you decided to snap a quick picture for memories sake, oh this thing was wonderfully horrifying.

Picture acquired you started following the cord behind its head, it seemed luck was on your side, as the cord easily unplugged from the box on the back.

Once unplugged you set the cord down in its lap as you walked over to the breaker flipping the switch.

With a loud whirring noise, the lights in the room clicked on, as you surveyed the surrounding with the new visibility.

Looking over at the animatronic you laugh, it still had strong uncanny valley vibes, but it wasn't that bad in the light.

The rest of the day was far less eventful as you vacuumed three whole garbage bags of just dust. The power was also working wonderfully, now that smiling Joe wasn't plugged in.

With the windows open and your hard work vacuuming, the air was getting far easier to breathe. Heck, you may even be able to start setting up your room once the water is running.

But even as you admire your handy work you couldn't help but think back to the animatronic in the basement...

Fazzbear went out of business years ago... so it's not like you could try to return it. It just felt like such a shame, that thing looked like it could still work...

Tapping your fingers on the handle of the broom you start turning off the lights and unplugging any appliances you can.

As you lock up and leave for home you stop at Walmart and wait in the parking lot for a few minutes tapping the wheel.

You bump your forehead against the wheel careful not to hit the horn before jumping out of the car and buying the generator before you can second guess yourself. Goodbye $6,000s it was nice knowing you...

You asked to have it delivered to your new location in the morning paying extra for an installment when they offered.

When you got home that night you found it hard to fall asleep, despite how tired you were. Your mind was racing.

Giggling like a schoolgirl you rolled to the side excited. You wondered what kind of animatronic this was? Maybe it could help you with the baking. Or would you need to know how to program to make it do that? You hope is not a security bot... Though the robots were made to be friendly, right?

Your heart beats a little faster as you wondered if it even worked? It looked undamaged aside from the clothes but the oil on it might have been from a leak in the robot.

Sighing as you stared at the roof tiredly you closed your eyes humming nonsense notes trying to lull yourself to sleep.

The next morning you were tired, you just couldn't fall asleep. But it wasn't your fault that you found something so interesting, this will surely be a story for the grandkids!

The electrician was already waiting at the door when you arrived. She was a short girl with dark brown braided hair. She wore a navy-blue jumper with a matching cap.

Next to her was the generator sitting on a Dollie tilted slightly backwards to fit.

Once she saw you she waved, a polite smile on her face. "Hey, is this the building for the generator?"

You start to unlock the door inviting her inside as you respond. "Yep! The breaker is just in the basement!"

Heading towards the basement door you politely open it for her motioning her in.

She carefully pushes the dollies down the stairs with only a few loud thumps.

Once you're standing at her side again you see her staring at the animatronic that was still sitting in the same position that you left it in yesterday.

You can't help but chuckle at her expression as you speak up. "Scary right?"

She glances at you with a raised brow and a flat tone. "Very."

Glancing at the wall with the animatronics cord you wonder if the charger could be attached to the generator itself...

You look back to the electrician as you point at the cord on the wall. "I was hoping to have this connected to the generator, so it doesn't blow a fuse when I try turning the lights on."

You wind your fingers together as you continue. "I know this is the problem because I unplugged it from smiling Joe's head over there and the lights worked great yesterday."

The electrician was quick to respond. "Is that the only thing you want to be connected to the generator?"

You smile politely with a nod of your head. "Yep!"

Her brow quirked and she sighed slightly. "All right then, in that case, I should be done within an hour. I'm just gonna need to cut the power then I can just connect the cord directly to the generator"

True to her word the installation only took an hour, and the generator was seated next to the dirty animatronic with the cord neatly wrapped around the handle.

The electrician handed you the surprisingly low bill and left with a wave, her task now completed.

Doing one last check of the lights yourself and finding no problems you plugged in the animatronic and the generator started with a soft whirr.

Waiting excitedly, you sat in front of smiling Joe waiting for something to happen...

After 10 minutes of nothing, you decided to start cleaning the basement while you wait.

You stacked the kid's drawings into neat piles, it felt odd to throw them away... Maybe they could go on the wall in the main hall as a homey decoration type of thing? Heck, maybe you could use smiling Joe as a mascot?

Once the last of the papers were gathered you folded the blankets that were clean enough to donate into neat piles.

Just as you started sweeping the soot, metal chunks and burnt blankets into a trash bin you heard what sounded like a fan blowing on its highest setting.

Looking over excitedly you saw it was coming from the animatronic in the corner. It still worked!

The triangles on its head spun around a few times retracting and growing. Then to your delighted horror, its face spun around completely stopping in the upright position. Once it stopped spinning its eyes began to glow a soft white light.

A loud whirring sounded from the chest of the thing as its legs and hands started to twitch, reaching up to grab at its face as it slowly hunched over.

Stepping back slightly you accidentally knock over the trash bin you had been filling.

You jump as it loudly crashes against the concrete floor spilling half its contents.

To your surprise, and confusion the animatronic seems just as startled as you.

Its head snaps up from its hands, its internal fan fizzing loudly as it finally seemed to notice you.

You stare at it with wide eyes as it stares at you with its unmoving smile...

Its head tilts to the side as it waves exaggeratedly. "Hello, new friend!"

You're unsure how to react... the thing looked quite excited.

You decide to play along. Maybe you can try to find out what kind of animatronic this was supposed to be. It seemed friendly enough.

Raising your hand your wave is much smaller as you smile politely, your voice unsure. "Uhm... hi? ... friend?"

Its shoulders raised and its chest seemed to puff out as its face plate tilted from side to side. "It's so, so, so nice to meet you! Are you new?!"

You tilt your head to the side brow raised. "You could say that yes." It probably thought you were a member of staff right now.

Its excited motions paused suddenly as it sits completely still for a few moments before its head spins to the side, slowly stopping at an odd angle as it spoke. "My, my I can't seem to find you in our database! Could I get a name new friend!"

You copy its head tilt as best you can, speaking more to yourself than it. "Database?? Do you still have access to employee files? I thought they would be lost after the fire..."

You place a hand to your chin in thought. Fazzbear went bankrupt shortly after the fire so maybe it's looking at a backup? They would probably have those saved in individual animatronics in case of emergencies, right?

Pausing your internal rant, you see the animatronic is still staring at you and you wondered how you could prompt it to continue when it slowly started balling up its hands, crinkling the frills of its pants.

Its head was tilting back and forth slowly as the triangles pushed into its head until they were just an inch long.

It spoke in a far less enthusiastic voice. "Fire..."

This thing was so expressive, its posture and voice really made you think it was in distress.

You clasped your hands together as you watch the robot, did it have a fire protocol? That was such an odd reaction... you kind of wanted to console it.

Wait... did you just trigger emergency mode or something? Oh no, what if it's calling the fire department right now?!?

In a panic, you start trying to reason with it. "There's no fire right now though!"

Its head snaps back to look at you, its yellow triangles retracting and extending slightly.

You wave your hands in front of yourself as you continue. "That was years ago! It's safe now! No emergency whatsoever!"

You freeze as its yellow triangles retract until only the tips are showing its hand slightly tearing through the fabric of the frills.

Its voice comes out hesitant. "Years..."

You pause, Maybe it was trying to update? Did it need to know the year? It sounded so expressive you could hardly believe the voice was coming from an animatronic... And its movements seemed so tense, a far contrast from the exaggerated wave when it greeted you...

Unsure how to continue you decide to try asking the robot for direction. After all, it surely knows itself best right? Your voice was strained as you spoke. "Umm, are you ok?"

Seeming to snap out of its trance it looks around the room movements becoming more frantic as it searches for something.

The triangles in its head extend slightly as it tries to stand before falling forward onto its twitching legs.

You watch it sit back up and look at you, the triangles on its head spinning quickly. Its hands wringing together as it sits against the wall.

Its voice was nervous. "I need to go back to the daycare..."

Despite the tense atmosphere you couldn't help being surprised that this animatronic used to help in the daycare. You quietly cringe to yourself, now you hate whoever designed its face even more...

You raise your hands stopping its second attempt to stand. "Whoa, whoa! It's ok please try not to damage yourself. Just let me help you out, ok?"

Its shoulders seemed to tense despite your steady voice. "Uhm, it’s been 10 years since the fire happened though... and Freddy Fazzbear is out of business... so sorry but there is no daycare..."

The triangles on its head stopped spinning as it sat unmoving yet again.

You scratch the side of your face awkwardly adding. "Uh, you can umm- Your free to stay here if you want though?? If you don't need to like give me a number to try and return you or something?? But like I said the company is gone..."

It was still for what felt like forever before it reached up gripping its head the triangles retracting to allow access. Though still smiling, its voice was trembling as it spoke. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!"

It continued to repeat itself and you couldn't help the pain in your chest at its display, you griped the end of your shirt watching it start to rock back and forth slightly. It looked like it was having a panic attack. Was that possible? Who the hell programs panic attacks into a robot?!?

Slowly you step forward it doesn't seem to notice your approach as it starts to scratch small lines into its face in its panicked grip.

If this continued it might damage more than the paint... and you have no idea how to fix it. You need to calm it down somehow.

Gently you reach out and place your hands over its own removing them from its head slowly, as you do this it stops repeating itself but continues to rock in place head facing down.

You rub your thumb over its palms in a soothing manner unsure of what you could say to help it.

It continues to rock as you rub its hands and arms to soothe it.

It slowly started speaking again after a few moments. "I'm not supposed to leave the daycare, I-I need to go back... I'm not allowed to leave! I-I need to go back!"

Its voice was loud and desperate as if it were in physical pain by not being where it was supposed to be.

Letting go of its hands in a panic you yelped as it suddenly lunged forward and clung to you like a lost child mumbling about broken rules and being decommissioned.

After a few minutes of awkwardly trying to gently pull away from the panicking animatronic, you wrapped your arms around it and started rubbing circles into its back.

You weren't sure if it could even feel your touch, but you felt like you had to do something...

You're not sure how long you sat there but eventually, its panicked mumbling slowed, and its grip loosened.

You slowly pulled away and grabbed its faceplate lightly patting its cheek. "Feeling better bud?"

As its blank eyes stared at you the yellow triangles started to extend and retract as they spun slowly. It didn't move for a few minutes until it slowly pulled its head back the face plate doing a full rotation and stopping.

Its hands gripped and ungripped a few times as if it were arguing with itself and you began to worry you broke it somehow?

You tilt your head and scrunch your brows before asking worriedly, "Are you ok?"

Slowly the yellow triangles on its face extended to the length they were originally set to, and its hands went to rest on its lap as its face tilted side to side.

Its voice was strained. "Sorry! Sorry! I shouldn't have grabbed you! Sorry!"

You take a step back head tilted. Your voice was curious. "Oh! It's ok! I was worried you were shutting down or something."

It raises its hands the triangles on its head doing a fast full spin as it speaks. "Oh no! no! no! That would be very rude! Very Rude! I wouldn't do that to you Sunshine!"

You laugh as its exaggerated gestures return once more, slowly giving a small shy wave of your hand.

Then you stop for a moment blushing slightly. Did it just call you sunshine?

You internally facepalm as you realize you never gave it your name. "Speaking of being rude I'm sorry, I think I forgot to give you, my name. It's Y/N."

Its head turned a full rotation before it grabbed its face again, all be it much softer this time. "Oh no! Oh no! I also didn't give you my name!"

It extended its hand to you while the triangles on its head fully extended as if showing off. "It's so nice to meet you Y/N! You can call me Mr. Sun, Sun or Sundrop!"

Looking at its hand you raise your brow, you guess the yellow triangles kind of looked like sun rays? But the face looked more like a crescent moon now that you think of it??

Furthermore, did robots have pronouns?? Should you be referring to it as he? Honestly, it felt a bit rude to keep calling the robot or 'Sundrop' an 'it'...

Cautiously taking *his* hand you feel his surprisingly soft grip as he enthusiastically and gently almost tiredly shakes yours.

You try to match his enthusiasm in your voice. "It's a pleasure to meet you as well Sundrop!"

The rays on its head shake in place slightly, it almost reminds you of a dog wagging its tail.

His voice is joyful as he speaks. "Oh! it's been forever since I spoke with any adults! We can play all sorts of games and do arts and crafts! We're gonna be the best of friends!"

You sit down in front of Sundrop, a quiet sigh escapes your lips. "That does sound nice, but I'm afraid I need to do some cleaning up first."

You gesture to the dirty room around you for emphasis.

Sundrop freezes his rays retracting before springing out past what you thought was their full length. His hands flailing in front of him in a fantom motion of stacking something. "Oh no! Oh no! What a mess!! Clean up! Clean up!"

He starts trying to stand again, falling forward into his legs, his waist bending at an unnatural angle. "Clean up! Clean up!"

Trying to stop his panic you push his chest until his back is touching the wall stepping between his long legs to get a better reach you pin him between your arms as you speak in a stern voice. "You clearly can't stand right now so please stop trying to force it."

He doesn't resist as his fans start whirring loudly and his rays shake like before. He sits silently, hands curled into his chest to keep from touching you.

You step back crossing your arms over your chest your voice flat. "Good. Now can you tell me why you can't move your legs? Is there something I can do to help?"

Sundrop remains quiet as his hands start twitching and clenching as though he were arguing with someone again. His rays spun around his head quickly, still shaking slightly.

You wave a hand in front of his face, your voice concerned "Sundrop?"

His head snaps up to look at you again as his rays retract partially stopping in place. His voice is tense. "Ou-My battery is too low so I have been put on low power mode until I reach a higher charge. I am currently at 7% power."

You can't stop the laugh that leaves you. "You loon! Just wait until you're fully charged, there's no rush. I'll even clean this room as we wait."

Turning around you grab the broom from behind you and start sweeping up the soot and metal that had spilled earlier.

Sundrop just silently watched you clean, head tilting slightly every so often his rays spinning slowly as his hands curled and uncurled.

You began to worry he was more broken than you originally thought? Maybe some loose wires or something?

After three hours the small basement room was as clean as you could get it, the only mess left was the oil stains but that was a whole other beast.

You turned to Sundrop; head tilted in question. "How's your charge doing buddy?"

He seemed to startle out of his imaginary argument as he looked up to you, rays extending and retracting slightly. "Oh! I'm at 63%!"

His eyes glowed a little brighter as he made a soft burring noise, after a moment he gave his legs a shake.

Raising your brow, you anxiously watched him attempt to stand again, only to laugh at how animatedly he jumped up and starts bouncing in place, his hands swaying back and forth.

Before you have time to register the strange stance, he rushes towards you and scoops you up into a tight hug.

Tapping his side lightly he seemed to get the hint placing you on the ground taking a step back his hands wringing together nervously. "Oh no! Oh no! Sorry! Sorry! I didn't mean- I!"

You cut him off with a wave of your hands. "It's fine Sundrop, I know you were just excited. Uh but please do ask before you grab me... or anyone else for that matter, ok?"

He makes an X over where his heart would be while holding up his other hand high above his head. "Yes! I promise! Promise!"

You smile patting his leg lightly, "Thank you Sundrop."

Looking down at your phone you sigh at the time, you should start cleaning upstairs before it gets too late...

You didn't want to leave him alone though... he was just so interesting, so life-like...

Now that you think of it what do you do with him when you leave? Do you turn it- him off? Does he have a sleep mode? Should you just leave him running?? One thing was for sure, you were gonna need to get some gas for the generator. It looked to already be down 20%...

You turn to him with a sheepish smile, "Do you think you could make it up the stairs? I'd like to start cleaning the other rooms as well."

He dramatically placed both hands on either side of his head as he exclaimed. "Oh yes! yes! yes! I can help too! Yes, I can!"

laughing lightly, you extend your hand to him with a smile on your face. "Wonderful! May I have your hand?"

He happily takes your hand grip a little stronger than before but not uncomfortable. Maybe his glitches will calm down as he charges more.

The second he saw the dust-covered walls and scattered debris covering the room his rays slowly started spinning retracting in and out rapidly.

His voice sounded almost desperate as he chanted the same phrase over and over. "Clean up! Clean up! Clean up! Clean up!"

You grabbed the vacuum and handed him the mop and rags with a wink. "I'll leave the hard-to-reach places to you. Mr. 9-foot-tall ball of Sunshine!"

You're not even sure if he heard you as he snatched the mop and rags out of your hands and started cleaning like a well... machine...

He was flying through the areas you already vacuumed cleaning the remaining dust in record time, by the time your alarm sounded telling you it was time to go home he had caught up to where you were vacuuming.

Not quite tired yourself you ended up snoozing your alarm a few times.

He was fidgety as he waited for you to finish an area and immediately mopped when you were done. All the while he kept repeating 'Clean up, clean up!' to himself... Thank goodness you had earphones.

Checking the time as he tried to mop what seemed to be a water damage stain, you sighed realizing just how late it had gotten...

Turning off the alarm before it could sound again you turned to him with an apologetic expression. "Hey Sundrop, I know you want to keep cleaning, but I think I'm done for the night... What did you want to do? Do you have a sleep mode or something?"

He was standing about a meter in front of you wringing his hands around the mop. His rays retracted slightly as his head turned to look around the room.

His voice seemed stressed as he spoke. "I can stay up and clean! It's still so messy, messy, messy!"

You yawn loudly as you stretch your arms over your head. "Well, if that's what you want to do."

His head turned back to you, rays spinning slowly as his hands clenched down harder on the mop bending the medal handle slightly, his voice came out deeper and softer than normal. "You're tired... " his head did a full rotation as he stood up straighter suddenly.

His hand opened dropping the mop instead moving to clench his head as he hunched over with a groan, head twitching back and forth quickly his rays fully retracted.

Just as quickly as it happened, he snapped back to his normal height his rays spinning quickly again. He took a step forward hands outstretched, his voice back to its usual pitch but with a desperate tone. "It's very late! Very late! You need to go to bed! I'll take you!"

You take a step back putting a hand up effectively stopping his approach. You're too tired to deal with this demonic shit.

Your voice was steady as you replied. "I can walk just fine. Also, it's not in the building, I need to drive home..."

Sundrops rays fully retracted for just a moment again before he started griping his wrist as he shifted from side to side. "You're leaving?"

Oh, great... who the hell programmed this thing? He looked so nervous... But you did need to try and sleep tonight, especially after last night's poor rest. Not to mention you were gonna need to get gas for that generator.

Your voice was apologetic. "Yes, but I'll be back here first thing in the morning."

You could see his grip on his wrist tighten as he tried to sound happy. "Of course! Yes, I'll- I'll be waiting here!"

Feeling a ping of guilt hearing his strained goodbye you can't help but think back to his earlier panic... Maybe a hug would make the farewell easier on him?

You open your arms awkwardly and ask, "Umm... How about a hug goodbye?"

He just stares at you for a few moments’ hands grabbing at the air in front of him before his voice comes out small and unsure. "Hug?"

Your brow quarks at his sudden reluctance. "Is that a no or?"

His hand moves down to grip his paints his head turned to the floor, voice sorrowful, "I don't want..." He pauses as you hear his fans working loudly. "...to make you... uncomfortable..."

You place your hands on your hips in an exaggerated manner getting his attention once more as you speak in a teasing tone. "Sundrop if I didn't want you to touch me then I wouldn't be asking for a hug."

He just continued staring at you his hands bunching up the fabric in their grasp.

You cross your arms over your chest sighing lightly as you walk over to him and stand on your tiptoes to flick one of his rays. Why was he so shy about hugging all of the sudden?

He makes a strangled staticky yelp as he jumps away falling onto his behind.

After a moment of shocked silence, you start laughing as he jumps up and starts wagging his finger in a scolding manner, his voice shaky and loud. "Y-Y/N! You shouldn't hit others it's not nice! Not nice!"

His rays are retracting and shaking, and you can hear his fans working hard to keep his system cooled.

You try your best to stop laughing but your voice is playful. "Your right Sundrop I'm sorry,"

You open your arms and smile cheekily, "How about we hug it out?"

Somehow his fans managed to get louder as his rays retracted well past their normal length shaking lightly. He was hesitant but he slowly opened his arms permitting you to continue.

Before he had a chance to change his mind you jumped forward giving him a good squeeze patting his back and speaking in a jokey voice. "Thanks for accepting my apology!"

Just as you were about to pull away his arms snaked around your back giving you a tight squeeze back and his head rested on top of your own. His fans sounded almost like a soft purr as he pulled you tight against his chest.

After about 30 seconds of hugging, you patted his back lightly and spoke in a soft voice. "Ok bud, I really do need to get going now..."

He pulled away quickly turning away from you, his fans growing louder once again. He gripped his wrist as he swayed back and forth slowly. "What time will you be back tomorrow?" he mumbled.

You smile and lightly pat his arm getting him to turn his head back to you once more. "I'll be back here around 8 am Maybe 9 am at the latest."

His rays are spinning slowly as he continues to grip his wrist, hopping from foot to foot.

He waves half-heartedly from the window as you give a small polite wave in return.

On the drive home, you buy some large containers of gas, so you won't have to do it in the morning. Loading them in your car you can't help but think about the strange animatronic as you drive home...

This was a lot more than you bargained for when you turned it on... Sure he was a wonderful help with all the cleaning so far, but he seemed so... alive and glitchy?

You growl in frustration as you unlock the door to your old shop with questions about Sundrop still invading your mind. Would it be wrong to have him work in your bakery? Why was he grabbing you one minute and refusing a hug the next? What was up with that demonic episode he had? Was he broken?? Is he gonna want to stay? It's not like he could go out on his own though...

Just as you were about to explode from all the questions the shop phone begins to ring. As you look you can see it's Amanda's number.

Your answer comes in an excited tone. "Amanda!! You're never gonna guess what I found!"

Amanda's voice is teasing as she speaks. "Well hello to you too."

You ignore her sarcastic reply speaking quickly, "There was an old Fazzbear animatronic in the basement!!"

Amanda is silent for a moment before her voice comes out in a panic. "Wait what!? WAS?! You didn't throw it out, right? Even broken, those things can go for thousands of dollars! Please tell me you kept it!"

You laugh awkwardly, "No I didn't throw him out! I bought a generator like a civilized person and turned him on. Turns out he used to be the daycare attendant and-"

Amanda cut you off voice coming out in a questioning tone. "I'm sorry, HE??"

You blush slightly as you snarkily reply, "Yes he! We bonded over hugs and cleaning!"

Amanda's tone was flat, "You bonded with an animatronic... I'd laugh if it wasn't so sad."

Your brows furrow as you huff lightly, "Hey! It's not sad thank you! He's just a good helper, you should have seen him cleaning today!"

Amanda's laugh stopped your excuses. "Well, I guess a daycare animatronic would need to be equipped to handle messes, and I don't doubt it was nice to have the free help..."

Amanda clicked her tongue as she continued, "but that doesn't explain why you were hugging it?"

Your face darkened realizing how sad it sounded when she put it that way... "Well, technically he hugged me so... "

You silently cringed remembering the goodbye hug, you were glad Amanda couldn't see your face right now... Were you so lonely you were trying to cling to an old glitchy robot...

Amanda made a small hum as if in thought, "Well you said it worked in the daycare, right? I guess kids tend to be more... physically affectionate than adults, with the whole not very good at complete sentences thing."

You smiled to yourself happy Amanda hadn't caught on to your half-truth... That was a can of worms you were gonna wait to try and open...

With a yawn, you lean back against the wall lightly bumping your head in the prosses. "You should visit and meet him! Be warned he does have a few creepy glitches though... "

Amanda snorted, "How ominous. I am curious though... How about I come in tomorrow evening? I could bring you something as payback for the muffins~"

You perk up slightly winding the phone cord around your hand, "Oh my! Do I sense Amanda's famous pizza in my future?"

You hear shifting and a slight giggle coming from the phone before Amanda replies. "Famous?"

You nod your head despite her not being able to see it, a large smile on your face that carries over in your voice, "Yes, they're known for being almost as famous as my muffins! It's impressive really!"

Amanda's tone was serious as she spoke, "Oh you narcissist baker, I'm gonna cook your words into my pizza and make you eat it!"

Once again Amanda hung up the phone before you had a chance to reply leaving you laughing to yourself as you lean on the wall.

You hang up the phone and flop into bed without changing. You should probably clean up Sundrop for Amanda... Try to make him a little less scary...