Chapter 25: If you say it, it's important.

                                    

                                          
"It's fine Michael, it's only kind of excruciating!" Gregory said in a chipper voice, feeling much better now that he wasn't alone.
            Michael was still examining his leg, although there wasn't much to see since Freddy had bandaged it up, just a little bit of red oozing out in some places. Michael didn't appear to be comforted by Gregory's sentiments.
            Freddy told his tale of wandering around the Pizzaplex aimlessly. Then, Michael explained his tale of escaping the endoskeletons and repairing Bonnie and Foxy.
            Gregory wasn't paying much attention to them and, to be fair, they weren't paying much attention to him either. He was pretty used to this, lots of the foster homes he had stayed in tended to brush him off with their, "grown up talk." He usually tried to stay quiet and stay out of the way, that was the best way of living in his experience.
            Gregory sat on the floor as everyone talked and fiddled with his bandages. He glanced at Helpy still hanging off his belt, resting on the floor slightly.
            "Who's that?"
            Gregory jumped and turned to see that Bonnie had sat next to him.
            "Oh, this is Helpy." He unhooked him from his belt. "He's Michael's. He needs to charge I think."
            Bonnie's ear twitched, making him look almost alive. "Well, I think we can make that happen. May I?" He held out a large purple paw.
            Gregory hesitated for a moment before handing him over to the rabbit.
            Bonnie stood up and walked away for a moment. Gregory fidgeted in place. 
            Bonnie came back and sat back down beside him again. "There we are! All plugged in and charging!" Bonnie grinned at him, and Gregory gave him a shy nod.
            Gregory wasn't sure about the other two animatronics. Freddy clearly cared deeply for Bonnie and Foxy, but Gregory was still a bit wary of them. To be fair, he had been chased by and clawed by multiple animatronics over the course of the evening. And of course, Bonnie's claws looked very similar to Monty's, and Foxy had that sharp hook that gleamed in the fluorescent lights. Foxy still hadn't left the Protective Cylinder, of his own accord.
            "So...." Bonnie drew out, hoping to make conversation. "What brings you to the Pizzaplex in the middle of the night?"
            Gregory wasn't expecting to be asked so casually, Freddy had been dancing around it all night, and Gregory hadn't given Michael the chance to ask him. The only person he had mentioned it to had been Glitch. He still wasn't sure why.
            "W-well, I was just, um y'know? Just like..." Gregory fumbled for an answer that wouldn't be the real one.
            Bonnie waved him down, "Het, hey, hey, little man! You don't gotta spill your guts on my account. I was just thinking that your parents are probably freaking out right now."
             "Oh, um yeah, maybe..." He trailed off, swallowing hard.
            He could hear the quiet clicking sound of Bonnie's mechanical eyes blinking a few times.
            Gregory could still hear Freddy and Michael talking, he was glad they weren't listening in on he and Bonnie's conversation.
            "Anything interesting happen on your solo trip?" Bonnie asked, changing the subject.
            "I mean, yeah you could say that." He gestured at his bandaged leg.
            Bonnie chuckled, "I'm sure we'd all like to know what led up to that little incident, if you're comfortable sharing."
            "I think they've already got too much to go over on their own." Gregory pointed a thumb back at the others.
            "Not if I have anything to say about it." Bonnie said standing up.
            "Wait what are you doing?" Gregory questioned.
            "Hey, chatty Cathy's over there!" He called over to Michael and Freddy who paused and turned to him, "Are you gonna let the little man share his piece of the story or what?"
Gregory could feel himself blush furiously, embarrassed as they all looked at him.
            "Of course! I apologize Superstar, if you feel ready to discuss it, we would be glad to hear." Freddy stepped towards him.
            "I didn't want to interrupt you guys or anything." Gregory mumbled. "It probably isn't even important."
             He was looking at the floor when he felt someone gently touch his shoulder. He looked up to see Michael had sat down next to him, "If you say it, it's important."
            Gregory stared at Michael's soft smile for a moment. Nobody had ever said anything like that to him before. They usually just told him to be quiet and shut up.
            "If you're sure I'm not bothering you." Gregory muttered.
            He saw Michael knit his brows together, "Oh, we're sure alright."
            "Okay." Gregory took a deep breath.
            He explained how he had crawled through the vent and gotten chased by the little spider creature, and how it had chomped down on his leg. He told the group about how Helpy had, for lack of a better word, helped him. Gregory caught the glimmer of a smile on his face, but this quickly disappeared when he got to the next part of the story.
            "I ended up in this room full of old electronics. Like computer monitors and speakers and junk."
            He saw Michael tense up.
            "There was this weird static, and then this thing was on the screens."
            "A thing?" Freddy inquired; ears perked up.
            "What kind of thing?" Bonnie asked quizzically.
            Michael's eyes rested on Bonnie for a moment before he turned to Gregory, "Would it be safe for me to assume it was a rabbit?"