Chapter Text
if there was someone who you hated the most, it would have to be that stupid asshole, michael afton.
his father owned some restaurant chain with animatronics, which was frankly scary. they were creepy, the way they always seemed too human-like, even though they were just metal.
michael was always an asshole to you and your friends. there was guessing he liked you from that, because, 'boys will be boys' and that he, 'didn't know how to get his feelings across'.
which was stupid. he was just another stupid boy in high school who didn't know how to cope with his emotions.
but that didn't matter. it was 1983, and you were a junior(almost senior) in high school. so was michael, of course, but that didn't matter to you. it wasn't like he was a major factor of your life.
...
it's march 21st, a monday, the worst day of the week.
you could feel people look at you once you came in, but-
"i heard that his sister went missing." voices whispered, and you turn around, and see him.
michael fucking afton.
it's a colder day, which does explain the dark hoodie he was wearing, but he still had his hood on.
"what's got you down?" you ask as you slow down, walking next to him. your voice is how hed usually talk to you; a certain tone that was a mixture of rude and teasing, but mostly teasing.
he rolls his eyes, scoffing. "you wouldn't understand, y/n." he says harshly.
"oh come on, mikey." you say, pulling off his hood.
while you've never gone out of your way to interact with michael, maybe this could show him that the way he acted was wrong. how he was an asshole. how karma was right around the fucking corner.
you wished you could take back thoughts.
he had a black eye, and he looked tired. your hand is still up in the air, from pulling down his hood.
he grabs your arm, eyes on you. "what the fuck-" you say, voice cold. "let go of me, michael."
he scoffs and rolls his eyes again, letting go off your arm. his grip wasn't bruising, only a chill went down your spine when he grabbed your wrist.
"you're such a fucking bitch, y/n. you know that, right?" he asks, and you curl your firsts.
"take it back." you say, voice cold. "take it fucking back."
he just stares at you. "you've never asked me to take anything else back. so why now?" his tone is cocky, and you know this is getting him happy; seeing you mad.
you purse your lip, biting back the urge to fight him, letting your hand drop.
"fuck you, michael." you say. "fuck you and your whole family."
you walk away, hands gripping onto your dark blue backpack straps all too tightly, your knuckles turning white when michael says back, "wouldn't be talking about my family. go fix yours first."
it's an instinct to punch him in the face, but consequences could happen, so you just breathe and walk away.
fuck michael afton and his stupid opinions. he could rot for all you cared.
he pushes you out of the way, and you don't give him the satisfaction; you can't give him what he wants in this situation. it'd make things worse for you.
a sigh escapes your lips, as you turn around and walk towards your locker, putting the combination in as quickly as you could.
"what were you and afton doing?" a voice behind you asks, and you turn around, locker door only slightly open.
it's your friend lisa, her curly hair pulled back with a smile on her face. you smile, putting a hand on the grey locker door. "nothing." you say. "what happened with him? why's he like that?"
lisa gives you a confused glance, and you sigh, grabbing a textbook from your locker, before closing the door and locking it.
"why's he acting so sad? i've never seen him like that." you whisper, walking through the hallway next to lisa. "i heard people talk about his sister, but still. do you-"
"okay, you didn't hear this from me, but-" lisa starts, but you cut her off.
"but what?" you say in a teasing tone, but realizing it's serious, you shut up and let her finish.
"okay, so, his sister, elizabeth, went missing. like saturday." lisa says. "it was at the opening of 'circus baby's pizza world'."
you shudder at the name of the wretched name. "how?" you ask, voice full of concern as you walk into your math class.
lisa follows, sitting down in the desk beside you. "nobody knows. police haven't said anything about the caw publicly, which is weird. but i'd guess from one of those freaky animatronics."
you nod. "you're right, those animatronics are freaky." you stop yourself, before saying, "but still. that's just so, so-"
"so weird? yeah, agreed." lisa says. "whatever. it's not like he's important to you, right?"
"right." you respond with a laugh.
but you couldn't get the hurt in his voice out of your head. was that truly what happened? had his sister died by one of her father's creations?
that'd be..horrific, to say the least. terrifying and heartbreaking.
while you didn't like the aftons, that was tragic, and elizabeth was only 6 or so.
nobody deserved that kind of pain. not even michael afton.
or were you just insane?
...
it's june 26th, 3 months after elizabeth's murder, and a few weeks ago, school finally ended, and senior year would come soon.
but you weren't going to waste your summer being miserable.
you let out a smile as you walk through the small gas station, grabbing snacks for the movie. it was cheaper than actual theatre candy, and higher quality.
lisa was in the car, talking with a boy named david as he kept the car running. another one of your friends, nancy, was in the store with you, talking to two other boys, james and daniel, or danny, as everyone called him.
apparently, he liked you. which was...whatever. it didn't matter to you. he was just some boy in some school in utah.
"hey, y/n, come on over here!" nancy yells, and you grab what you were looking at, walking towards her.
"what's up, nance?" you ask, the smile still not leaving your face.
"hey y/n." danny says with a smile, eyes on you.
you purse your lips, saying, "hello." in an annoyed tone. you really didn't want to talk to him. not now, or ever. "what did you need, nance?"
nancy turns her head towards you, grabbing the stuff in your hands and placing it in danny's arms, and doing the same with her own stuff, and placing it in james' arms. she lets out a smile, and you just stare, confused.
"boys, will you give me and y/n some time to...talk?" her voice is flirty, and you annoyingly smile, seeing them go to pay before rolling your eyes.
"nance?" you ask, and she raises her eyebrows.
"hm?"
"why'd you-"
"y/n, he totally likes you. didn't you see the way he looked at you?" nancy asks, and you roll your eyes, grabbing a bag of chips for yourself.
"yeah, well, i'd never date him." you say, walking up to the register, the boys seemingly outside already.
"and who would you date? michael afton?" she asks, and you let out a sharp breath.
"no. no, i'd never. you know i hate him." you say, giving the cashier the money for the bag, not caring that people might be able to hear you two.
"then why is this so touchy to you?" nancy asks, and you turn around, your hair hitting her slightly.
"i am not getting touchy!" you whisper yell, eyebrows narrowed on your friend.
you want to apologize, but nancy doesn't say anything, just walking out. you sigh, walking out of the gas station.
"could you be any slower?" lisa asks when you walk out. "come on!"
you smile, walking closer to the car, opening the door and getting in. nancy was watching you, and you couldn't do anything about it, as lisa talked to you about the movie.
but you couldn't get michael out of your head. why was he such a touchy subject? why were you so quick to defend him?
...
the movie theatre was crowded when you got inside, and you had to get caught up in a crowd with michael afton.
you now couldn't decide whether or not you hated him.
"come on, y/n, let's just go inside. it's not worth it." danny says, grabbing your arm.
you turn to him, staring at his hand on your arm. "i can wait. just leave." you reply back, voice annoyed.
he stares at you, before saying, "you know, i've been nothing but nice to you, y/n, and you've been an asshole to me. what the fuck is your problem?" he asks, and you stare at him.
"what?" you say as you try to push his hand off of your arm. "let go off me."
your tone is harsh, but you don't care. his grip is bruising, and you'd rather walk into the movie theatre without a bruise on your arm.
"no, no, answer me. answer my question." he states.
"you don't deserve an answer, you cun-" your about to yell at him, but a voice intervenes.
"what's your problem, man?" you turn around, seeing michael.
danny smirks. "what, is this your boyfriend, y/n?" he asks, seemingly jealous.
"and what if she was?" you sharply turn towards him, staring at him with a confused look on your face.
danny's eyebrows narrow. "whatever. go fuck whoever you want and get pregnant. not like i care, you whore."
you stare at danny as he walks away. "fuck off!" you yell back.
"so, now we're-"
"what the fuck, afton?" you ask, staring at him. for him only being 17, he was a lot taller than you. while you were 5'6, he was 6'1. 7 inches went a long way. "do you know what situation you've got me in?"
"no?" michael asks. "and why does it matter? i saved your ass."
"sure, for like 5 minutes!" you say, upset. "don't you understand that i'm going to watch a movie with him? a 2 hour long movie with him?"
"so? just don't watch it with him." michael responds, as if it's no big deal.
"well, not all of us are as privileged as you, michael." you say harshly, walking away.
michael sighs, and you don't care enough to talk to him.
"god, what the hell has happened to me?"