Chapter Text
It happened again. It wasn’t like they wanted it to happen, but their family just knew what to say and what to do to push Avery right to the edge. As soon as their required smile dropped and their brows furrowed their mother made it an entire ordeal.
“Really? You’re throwing a fit during your little sister’s birthday?”
Avery hadn’t done or said anything to warrant it being called ‘a fit’. In fact, they had taken their little sibling to the arcade to dance with DJ MM. Just the two of them. Their sibling had fun for the thirty minutes they had escaped their family for, but of course it was a problem. They shouldn’t have taken her away from her party without telling anyone. Avery couldn’t even defend themselves properly from the stuttering and messy sting of words that had trouble forming; the byproduct of always being interrupted when they tried to speak. Instead of wasting any more of their breath and further disrupting their siblings' party they slumped down in a chair wishing they had worn a hoodie to hide their face.
Even at the table lined with cupcakes, pizza, and all the goodies that a kid could ask for there was no reprieve from the onslaught of nitpicking by Avery’s relatives.
“Are you doing better in school?”
“You should really fix your hair.”
“You’re mother is right, you know. You shouldn't make today about yourself.”
“Quit making that face.”
It was overwhelming. Suffocating. Presumptuous. No one cared to listen to them so they didn’t bother to speak up. And when their mood didn’t change for the remainder of the day their mother's scowling face glared down on them.
“I should have left you at home if you were going to be this way.”
Then she would turn around and forget that she had said this to them. Like she hadn’t been the one to sour their mood the moment they stepped foot inside the Pizzaplex. They and their sibling had babbled about getting there the entire ride and they were happy their baby sibling would get a birthday they deserved, but then the day turned into constant poking and prodding at the teen. They didn’t have the right to be upset, their parents had paid a lot of money to bring them there after all.
It was always like this. Avery always had to stifle their emotions to save face for their parents even at the cost of themself. It got to be too much. In that moment after their mother turned around it was all too much. No one wouldn’t remember how upset they made Avery and that was too much. They took the first chance they could to slip out of the party room undetected and into the Daycare’s main hall. Downbelow they saw some toddlers playing in the tubes and slides with the animatronic Sunrise who was keeping them entertained with toys and trinkets. They had wanted to go down there with their sibling earlier, but now they just wanted to be alone.
Quickly they found a restroom on the opposite end of the Daycare where hardly anyone would go. The lights were even off when they got inside. When the door shut behind them they finally dropped whatever was left of their crumbling mask. No longer able to keep in the placid facade expected of them. Looking at themself they took a moment to think about what was said to them today. Maybe they didn’t look presentable, maybe they did make today about themself, maybe they did ruin their siblings birthday. And even now, since they had left without telling anyone, they would disrupt the party since people would have to look for them. They didn’t know what the right thing to do was. If they had stayed they knew they wouldn’t have been able to keep it together in front of everyone.
The tears that had built up pressure behind their eyes tried to come out, but for some reason Avery found it hard to allow them to fall. Instead they started breathing heavily, bordering on hyperventilating. They were acutely aware of their heart pumping a mile a minute against their ribcage. It was hard to recognize the surreal sensation of being able to feel the thumping when they placed their hand to their chest and the constricting of their throat as their breath forced its way out of their mouth. Splashing their face with cold water hardly helped snap them out either.
For a moment Avery thought that this was it- no, they were convinced that they would die in that instant. There was no way they could fix the atmosphere they had created between them and their parents. How were they going to fix this? They couldn’t and that scared them. It felt like the floor was giving out underneath them. Their knees buckled and they fell to the ground, branching themself with their hands and stared at the back and white checkered floor. Their breath sounded no more than a warboling wheeze like that of a balloon being blown up and let go without the end tied. They managed to crawl over to the end stall and shut the door, pushing themself up into the corner and burying their face between their knees. What was this called? A panic attack? And Anxiety Attack? Could they have those? They didn’t know if they could.
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It had been a while since Avery had held themself up in the stall. How long, they weren’t sure, but it had been enough time for them to finally calm down, though with a slight headache. Even after they had come back from zoning out they stayed planted in place, just for the last moments of peace of mind. As they rested their head they listened for anything happening outside the bathroom. Talking, kids screaming, music playing, but discovered it was eerily quiet. Which could only mean one thing. Something Avery refused to believe and passed it off as their anxiety not fully subsiding. They pushed themself up and hustled to the door, pressing their ear up to it to maybe hear something more clearly. Again, nothing- besides the soft whirling of what they could only assume were the cleaning and security bots. That couldn’t be? The pizzaplex couldn’t have closed down! They weren’t in the bathroom for that long, they were sure of it! And besides! Their parents- or any family member, couldn’t have forgotten them… they couldn’t have…
They slowly pushed the door open and instantly their fears were confirmed upon peering into the darkened hall. There was no way… they were really forgotten.
It might have been another thirty or so minutes of dread in panic in the bathroom before Avery finally decided to lace up their shoes and sneak out. For one reason or another getting caught by the security bots seemed like the worst thing to happen. Like they would be taken to jail for breaking and entering, which they did not do. It was lucky for them that the bots line of sight seemed fixed and horribly short. They were able to make it up to the front of the daycare with some patience. Patience that ran thin when they found the doors were locked behind a security access pass.
Avery pulled at their hair, how were they supposed to find a way out? They didn’t have a pass! And all their fancy Pizzaplex passes and vouchers were left with their dad! It looked like they would be confined to the Daycare until morning came and everything opened up again… No. They had to atleast get out of this place. At least if they made it to El Chips or the bowling alley they would be able to find some food to eat. If they recalled the lower part of the playplace had a large exit door.
Stepping up to the netted edge that overlooked the play area they saw the doors across the way, and the only thing that would get them down there was the slide into the ballpit. Well, they did want to slide down it earlier. But sliding down into the pool of plastic balls did not produce any joy or entertainment like they had thought. Their mood was too foul for merriment. Regardless, with a disappointed huff they trudged along trying to get out. When they found a place to pull themself up they were faced with something they had forgotten about in their panic.
“Hello! Hello! What is this?”
The shrill voice and gleeful inflection was grating on Avery’s headache but they were more concerned with being spotted by the caretaker. A look of horror combined with fear flashed in their eyes seeing the supposed friendly animatronic prance towards them. When surrounded by people and staff the large robot was goofy at best, alone with him in a somewhat dim place was much more threatening. In an attempt to hide they dived into the ballpit and away from the spot they were found.
Sunrise’s voice still carried underneath the wave of plastic. “Little friend! Are we playing hide and seek? You got a head start so I’ll count to 5! 1… 2… 3…”
The countdown was even more terrifying. Like they were about to be hunted like deer during open season. They had no idea where they were and elected that sinking to the bottom and laying on the ground near a wall might be the best option.
“...4… 5! Ready or not, here I come!” Shouted the sun themed animatronic.
There were steps, then the sound of him jumping into it, then the shifting of the plastic balls before it was quiet again. It was too quiet. Unnerving quiet. Every moment that passed sweat accumulated on Avery’s forehead as they attempted to remain quiet and still, and with each passing second they gave up and thought it would just be better to be caught. Which was not much longer as sturdy hands wrapped around their arms and pulled them to the surface.
“Found you! Good hiding, Sunshine! I almost lost you for a second there!” Sunrise announced triumphantly while holding Avery under the arm the way you would a small child. “What are you doing here? Isn’t it past your bedtime? Well, if you’re staying here we can have a sleepover!”
Avery pushed against the animatronics hold but there was no way they would be able to get him to budge. “Put me down!” They demanded, more out of fear of being off the ground.
Sun walked them over to the center of the table area where there were a dozen small tables set up. When he placed Avery down he made sure to make them sit in one of the tiny chairs. “Ok, ok! If you’re staying here then we can stay up all night and play so many games! Like, can pretend to be a knight and princess! You're the knight, I’ll be the princess, and you can go WOOSH with your sword and save me from the evil dragon!” He jumped around and moved in a manic manner that caused Avery to flinch a little.
Caught between the chair and the flailing robot, Avery's eyes darted around looking for a possible escape route, but everywhere they looked Sunrise would move into their line of sight. “I-I… No. I don’t want to play… pretend.”
“Then we can make paper masks! You like googly eyes and glitter glue?” He asked, leaning down some to get eye level. Hopping from foot to foot.
Avery shook their head. “No! I have to leave!”
“Oh! Is your mommy looking for you? We can go find her together and get you sent home!” Sun outstretched his hand and flexed his fingers in a grabby motion.
“I got locked in. And the Pizzaplex is closed, so my mom isn’t looking for me, obviously.” When the words came out those feelings of abandonment Avery had felt before began to bubble up in their chest again. All tension and fear that they had shown towards Sun had subsided, their body slumping against the back of the chair. In a dour tone they said through gritted teeth, “They forgot me…”
Sunrise stopped his hopping and put a hand to his face. “I’m sure they didn’t forget you! Not on purpose!”
Avery wasn’t sure what they were feeling now. Was it sadness? Was it angry? All they knew was that it hurt, and they put all that hurt into their words. “They did!” They bursted out balling up their fists. “They didn’t even look for me! I wasn’t even far away!” The pressure welled up behind their eyes again.
It was Sunrise’s turn to be taken off-kilter by the outburst. “I-I’m positive they did look for you!”
With a glassy glare Avery stared Sunrise directly in his unchanging face. “Then did they put in a missing kid alert? You fancy robots have that programmed in you or something, right?”
There was a bit of hesitation behind Sunrise’s movements now. Avery’s eyes squinted and honestly, they already knew what Sun’s answer would be from the hesitation alone. “There wasn’t…” He said, his whole body drooping.
After hearing what they expected their eyes turned to the ground. They tried to keep it together and keep their anger in. Sun didn’t do anything to them, he was just trying to help. Avery doubted that the Daycare attendant was equipped with dealing with an angry teen since he took care of crying babies all day. It would probably be easier on both of them if Avery just cried. But they couldn’t… Why couldn’t they? It was just another thing wrong with them. “I know I’m not the greatest…” They leaned back and put their balled fists to their eyes. “But do I really deserve to be left behind?”
“You don’t deserve that! No!” Sunrise was panicking now, searching for something that would cheer the distressed kid up. Then he spotted something and made a quick run for it. Avery didn’t even move. It was only a second before Sun returned with a toy and held it out for them to take. “You are a great kid! Don’t say bad things about yourself ever! We all have our bad days and that's ok! So cheer up and look at this! It's shiny and has bells that go JINGLE JANGLE in it and when you look inside you can see a lot of pretty shapes and colors that’ll make your eyes wanna melt! Here! Have a look!”
Avery pulled their hands away from their face. Pressing into them so hard had caused their sight to become splotchy, but only for a moment. Looking at Sun who had brought them something to make them feel better and listening to them say such reassuring things caused something to break inside them. They weren’t sure why those little things did it for them, but the pressure behind their eyes finally released. Maybe it was because it was the first bit of comfort and decency they had received in such a long time.
Sunrise frets over them again, worried that they’re crying now. “Oh, don’t cry little friend! Listen! We can contact the front office and get you sent home right away! How’s that sound?” He asked manically gesturing around to keep Avery’s attention.
The teen waved their hand to signal that they were ok. “I’m fine, I’m fine. I just,” They rubbed their eyes. It felt like such a relief to finally let out what they needed to. Their voices shaking as they tried to speak. “I’m too old to cry like this. I probably look stupid.”
Sunrise kneeled down in front of the teen, “You’re not stupid! Everyone cries sometimes! But it’s my job to make you not cry! I’m not doing my job if my little friends are bawling their eyes out in the place for play!” He said jiggling the toy again to entice Avery to take it.
Avery felt so much more at ease. Like it was valid for them to feel the way that they did even if they couldn’t reason it in their own mind. They hugged Sunrise, as a show of their gratitude that they were having trouble voicing. Sun hugged them back, rubbing their back for as long as they needed.
“I’m not going home.” Avery resolved, pulling back and reaching for the toy that was offered to them as they wiped their eyes. It was a kaleidoscope with a dome full of bells on the end. “I’ll stay here until the Pizzaplex opens in the morning. I don’t want to go back right now.”
The animatronic perks up again, happy to see that they were receptive to his efforts. “Great! You’re gonna have the night of your life! Do you want to play red light green light? Or maybe make hand turkeys?”
Avery held up a hand to stop him, but shook the kaleidoscope in their hand so it jingled, “Have you heard of Fortnite?”
“Fortnite? No I haven’t!” Sun tilted his head, curious.
“Good. I’m going to teach you some dances. The kids are gonna love you.” There was a bit of a mischievous look in their eyes, behind the tears that hadn’t quite stopped yet. “A-After I calm down a little.” The sniffed
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I will definitely be writing part 2 for Sunrise but I’m on the fence about the other animatronics. Maybe I’ll write about them later on. Thank you for reading!