Chapter Text
Nicole looked up at the house ahead of her. Her house. Well, her mom’s house, but those specifics didn’t matter. What did, was that she was returning home once again. She found she often stopped to just stare up at the old box after returning from Jecka’s. She would always take a moment to collect her thoughts before she had to deal with everything on the other side of that door. Her disgusting waste of space brother, her mother who was always either high or drunk, and sometimes she would even have to deal with whatever guy her mom had brought around to bang that week.
Today looked to be one of those days, as an unfamiliar car was parked out near the curb. Nicole let a sigh escape her lips into the cool night air, then she hardened her resolve and put her hand on the doorknob. It was already late, and she could tell it was going to be an even longer night.
Hopefully her mom was too busy getting her mind fucked out of her by whatever bargain bin guy she brought around this week to notice that Nicole was back well past the 10PM curfew she had needlessly set for her. Nicole pushed through the door to be met with-
“NICOLE!”
Yeah. She never did have particularly good luck. Glaring back at the brunette was a particularly peeved woman, her hands on her hips, and her scowl trained squarely on her daughter.
“Hi to you too.” Nicole grunted.
“I thought we discussed this? You can’t be out past 10 anymore Nicole.” In record time, her mother’s face flashed from anger to worry. To the untrained eye it might almost seem genuine, but Nicole was smart enough to know it was an act. She didn’t actually give a shit. She never did.
“Yeah and why do you suddenly care now?”
“Because I’m your mother, and with everything in the news lately- I-... I worry.”
“Everything in the news? Mom there’s always something terrible in the news, this is nothing new!”
Nicole’s mother looked like she wanted to continue arguing, but a distinct cough from behind her gave her reason to hold her tongue. With a quick look of realization flashing across her face, she stepped aside to reveal… Well… He wasn’t her ugliest pick ever. Still not exactly the dream guy though. The man wasn’t one Nicole recognized, he was tall, lanky, and dressed in a vibrantly colored suit. Despite his rather refined outfit, his hair was scruffy and the traces of stubble on his chin looked unkempt. He also looked to be a good few years older than her mom. Like, enough so that it was unmistakable.
“Hi Nicole, can I call you Nicole?” The man that had been standing behind her mother said with a wide toothy grin. A trained grin. This man knew how to fake a smile. “My name is-”
“You can call me what you want. Doesn’t really matter, you’re just another in a lo~ong line.” Nicole cut the man off, turning to make her way to the stairs, already having completely disregarded his existence.
“Nicole, get back down here!” Her mother commanded.
“Why? So you can introduce your fiftieth boyfriend this week?”
“Jesus Nicole he’s not- Just get down here.”
Nicole thought for a second. She could ignore her mom and deal with her screaming and ranting later, or she could hear her out for at least a few more minutes, inevitably get annoyed and leave, and then still have to deal with her mom’s screaming and ranting later.
Easy choice. Nicole’s hand almost instinctively shaped itself into the well rehearsed form of a middle finger as she continued up the steps until she heard the voice of her mother call out-
“Nicole, if you want to continue living under this roof you will stop and listen to what we have to say.”
Nicole stopped. Sure she had heard the threat of eviction before in the past, but that had all been before she had turned eighteen. Now however? With a begrudging sigh, Nicole whipped around at the top of the stairs, practically stomping down each one, her angry glare meeting her mothers.
“What’s this about?” She asked, her voice dripping with venom.
“Good.” Her mom said. “Nicole, you are eighteen. You aren’t going to school, you certainly aren’t going to college. So if you plan to continue living out of this house, you need to get a job.
Okay yeah, Nicole probably knew this conversation was coming sooner or later. Everything her mom had said was technically true, and even if her piece of shit brother had somehow managed to get away with living here rent free with no job, she knew she wouldn’t get so lucky. Nicole’s anger filled eyes shifted from her mom over to the strange man that was still standing tall in the corner of the room, inspecting the scene before him. His grin never faltered. At noticing Nicole’s glare, he stepped forward to again introduce himself.
“My name is Vincent Miller, I’m a job coach.” He held out his hand for Nicole to shake. Nicole instead opted to look down at the man’s hand, and then back up at her mom.
“What the fuck is this?”
“Mr. Miller here has come to present you with some potential job openings for your consideration.”
“What like… Now?”
“Yes Nicole, now.”
“Why the fuck do I need a job coach? Mom, if I want a job I’ll just go out and apply like a normal fucking person.”
“And yet…” Her mother’s scowl deepend.
“Well I didn’t know I was on the clock.”
“Nicole, you’re eighteen. Most people have jobs by the time they are sixteen, but you’ve never worked a day in your life.”
“Yeah, pretty sure the troll you keep locked in the basement hasn’t been anywhere near a job either in just as much time and yet you let him stay here.”
“Nicole.”
“No, you don’t get to Nicole your way out of this one, why the fuck do you expect me to go out and slave away my time when he gets to stay down there rent free?”
“Because Nicole I-...” Her mother began before stopping herself, as if trying to think whether or not she actually wanted to say the words hanging in her mouth. Eventually she seemed to decide that she did, and she looked back up at Nicole with a determined face. “Because unlike him, I think you actually have a chance to make something of yourself.”
There was a pause after she said that. A long pause. A pause only broken by a loud, incredulous scoff from Nicole.
“Seriously? You think I’ve got a chance? At what mom? At not dying at twenty, cause that alone would be a fucking miracle.”
“Nicole-”
“No, what the fuck does that mean? You think I’ve got a chance, that’s fucking bullshit. Mom, my life ended thirteen years ago when you and dad divorced. It ended again two years ago when dad ate a fucking bullet right in front of me. That’s two lives down mom, and this one hasn’t got much longer in it either. So what’s your real goal with this? What, are you running out of money from your harem of ex’s? Need me to help cover the bills, need me to-”
Nicole was ready to keep going, to keep listing off the kind of shit she expected would actually fuel her mother to try and make Nicole do literally anything with her life other than pop pills and eye that damned rope. What she didn’t expect was for her mother to start tearing up. Nicole’s mom had cried before. Nicole had made her mom cry before, and once upon a time, before she had resolved to never let it happen again, Nicole’s mom had made Nicole cry before. This wasn’t new, and yet… Nicole’s voice hitched for a second at the first sight of tears. Normally when her mom cried it was anger. A boiling rage exploding out with screaming and slamming often accompanying it. This was… Different.
Most people in Nicole’s current situation might feel pity. Or guilt, or sadness, or whatever else a normal functioning member of society was meant to feel at a time like this. Not Nicole. This sight only made her more mad. What the fuck did her mom have to cry about? At least she had chosen to fuck her own life up, Nicole didn’t get a say in that matter. Nicole never got a say. Just like now. This job bullshit was just another excuse to chain her, to bind her down. It wasn’t about being responsible, or that her mom actually expected her to do anything great with her life, it was just about making sure everyone else felt the monotonous strain she felt every day of her pathetic fucking life.
“If I might interject…”
Both Nicole and her mom turned to Vincent who was still in the room. His smile had fallen a bit, but only as much as he let it fall. Nicole had to admit she had completely forgotten he was there, and clearly her mom had too as she began wiping at her eyes like a fucking child.
“Nicole, Ms. Yu, I understand this might be a strained time to interject, but I just want to say that oftentimes, finding a job can be like… Finding a new purpose.” His smile returned.
“What the fuck does that mean?” Nicole asked, her glare firmly trained on the man.
“Effectively… Wouldn’t it at least be wise to hear me out before turning down this offer? I’ve got a few options here, and they are all well paying, respectable jobs.”
“Do I look like I am even remotely in the same universe of giving a shit about this as she is?” Nicole said, nodding her head towards her mother who was still attempting to act like she hadn't just broken down into tears only seconds prior.
“I understand your reluctance, but please, if I may…” The man said, taking a seat at a couch in front of a coffee table and procuring a bag he had carried with him. Opening it up he began flipping through some papers before settling on a stack which he held close. “Please, take a seat Nicole.”
Nicole looked at the man, then back at her mom.
“Please Nicole.” Her mom said, her voice not as shrill as usual.
“Jesus fucking- FINE! If it’ll get you off of my ass, I’ll hear him out. But that’s all I’m promising.” Nicole said, shooting daggers back at her mom as she took a seat at the couch opposite Vincent. “Let’s get this over with.” Nicole said.
The man’s smile never wavered as he placed a stack of papers onto the coffee table he had moved between them. Each paper presented a different job, each with a branded logo in the corner making it easy for her to pick up the stack and begin flipping through each page with a “No.”, “Not doing that.”, and “Fuck no.”. It wasn't long until she had already exhausted half of the stack, throwing the remaining papers down onto the table and meeting Vincent’s gaze again. “So as a job coach you’re pretty fucking lousy, you know that? These are all just basic retail and fast food jobs. Nothing here is anything I couldn’t get by just going out and applying for myself. Do you have anything that doesn’t subject me to a customer service hellhole, or can I just go ahead and save us both the time of looking through the rest of these?”
“Nicole you really can’t afford to be picky-” Her mom began, but before Nicole had the chance to cut her off, she was surprised when Vincent interjected with-
“Well. I do have one last job that meets that description.”
Nicole turned to scowl at Vincent again. His smile remained strong. “What job?” She asked.
At that, Vincent reached into his bag again, pulling out a single sheet from the folder inside. Oh, this fucker had actually prepared that, hadn't he? He placed the sheet down on the table and sat back expectantly. Curiosity getting the better of her, Nicole picked up the sheet.
“Now hiring… Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza- What the fuck is this? I said no fast food.”
“Look it over.” Vincent nodded.
Nicole glanced back down. “Night watchman?” She said, reading the words on the paper out loud. “What the fuck is this?” Nicole asked, now with more genuine curiosity than just plain animosity.
“This location has been closed for… Some time.” Vincent said, the slightest sign of a grimace flashing across his face at that.
“Yeah, I remember. All that shit with the missing kids like a decade ago?”
“Probably closer to fourteen years, but yes.” The man said. “They’re looking to reopen. This is one of the original locations, the owner never sold or demolished it, so it’s been largely untouched in all of that time. They’ve had issues recently with a break in and some minor vandalism on the property, so they’ve been looking to hire someone to watch over the place for the night until they can get everything back up into running order.”
“Watch over the place? Dude, I’m eighteen, I’m not a fucking security guard. What do you expect me to do if I see any intruders?”
“Oh don’t worry, there aren’t any expectations on you. You’ll be perfectly safe in the security office. It sports top of the line security doors that could more than stop a bullet, not that they’d have to.”
“Top of the line?... After fourteen years?...”
“Well, if there’s one thing this chain was always good at compared to their peers, it was top of the line technology.”
Nicole only had vague memories of the chain. She had gone to one once when she was super young. Her dad had taken her. She didn’t remember much from that time of her life, but she remembered that day. She had actually had fun, which was rare for her, even back then. The food, her dad… And those robots. Some big animatronic mascots that sat up on stage and performed pre-recorded song and dance routines. Nicole couldn’t remember any specifics about them, but she did remember the childlike wonder she had watching that band. She had made her dad promise to take her back some day, but that day had never come.
Nicole glared back up at Vincent. “So what, the job is just to sit there in a big padded security office all night and…?”
“Well, the expectation is simple. Sit in the office, watch the cameras provided, and if you see anything amiss simply close the doors and use the phone there to call the authorities. You’ll be more than safe inside of the office, and the location is near the police station, so it shouldn’t take them long to arrive if needed. Although, if you want to know the truth, I highly doubt you’ll see anyone.”
“You think?” Nicole asked in about as unenthused of a voice as she could muster.
“Oh yes. Truthfully there had only been one incident that had worried the owner previously, it was recent, but dealt with. From the sounds of it definitely an isolated case. That said… It means your job is effectively to sit around in an old pizzeria for a few hours, and collect a free paycheck at the end of the night.”
“Night? What is this a one night gig?”
“One week, or five nights, but the pay is split up so that you will receive a fifth of it after each night rather than waiting the week for the whole thing. That means you will receive approximately… $160 a night? Plus a small bonus for the final night.”
Oh damn. That was a lot of money.
“Is that… Normal? The staggered daily pay, I mean”
“Not exactly, but the owner seems to think it will encourage more enthusiasm about the role.”
“Right…” Nicole said. “You keep talking about this owner like you know him. You wouldn’t happen to have a vested interest in shoving this job down my throat ahead of the others, would you?”
“I meet with all of the local owners of each of these locations before gathering the openings. It’s just that this job seems to be the only one to fit the rather specific requirements you set for me. No customers, no retail, and no fast food.”
Nicole glanced down at the offering again. She hated to admit it, but it did sound like about as decent of a gig as she was going to get, and while she didn’t care about getting a job in the slightest, she also wouldn’t put it past her mom to kick her out if she didn’t. Besides, this was only for a week, if it went poorly she could quit. If it went well… Well who knows… Maybe they’d still be open to keeping her on after they reopened? Not that it really mattered either way. Nicole wasn't exactly flush with options. With a sigh Nicole leaned back in her chair. “Fine. I’m interested.”
Vincent’s smile grew to its absolute peak. “Excellent!” He said. “Then here, let me give you this!” he said as he reached into his cavernous bag again and pulled out a small group of papers, stapled at the corner. “This should give you all of the information you need. I assume you are free to start next Monday?”
Nicole, who took the papers shoved at her, simply looked them over as she responded with a vague “Yeah.”
“Excellent! In that case…” Vincent stood up and scooped the other job listings back into his bag. “I shall take my leave.”
Nicole looked back up at him as he made his way to the door, passing by her mother who had been silent up till that point.
“Oh! One more thing." Vincent said, flipping around. "When you start, there will be an old phone with some pre-recorded messages on it! They should help you out through the night if you have any troubles! So long!”
At that, he swung the door open, and was gone.
"What a nice man." Nicole's mother said, before turning to leave the room, an annoyingly happy stride in her step.
“Fucking weirdo.” As Nicole looked down at the papers again, a thought occurred to her. She was about to have an entire abandoned pizzeria to herself for a week. She would be in charge of security, which meant anything she wanted, would fly… A small smile crept across Nicole’s face as she pulled out her phone, scrolling to Jecka’s contact. She tapped it, and after a single buzz her call was answered.
“Hey bitch.” Nicole said into the phone with a smirk.
“Nicole it’s past midnight and we just talked like an hour ago, what do you want?”
“Well… I’ve just received an idea, and a golden opportunity. Long story short, I’ve got a job. I’m going to be watching over this old location for a week, which means I’ll have the entire place to myself. Interested in getting high as shit in an abandoned pizzeria monday night?”
…
“Nicole what the fuck are you on about?”