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Gregory grimaced at his reflection in the mirror, awkwardly adjusting the bow tie around his neck. Honestly, the suit was hideous - some relic from no less than fifteen years ago, and the maroon fabric had yellowed with age, turning it an odd burnt red-orange color.
"Um, are you sure about this, Freddy?" Gregory asked, turning around to look at his adoptive father. Freddy grinned, coming forward and smoothing the fabric with his large hands and wiggling the bow tie.
"You look great, superstar! You know, they had this suit fitted for me for an event we did that hosted dozens of celebrities. It is a bit...big on you, but I think that it's okay."
Obviously it was going to be too large for Gregory. Freddy was a seven-foot-tall bear animatronic, and Gregory was a lanky teenager who barely reached to the top of Freddy's chest. It was evident in the way the suit jacket hung off of him, sleeves extending past his fingertips. Not to mention the pants, which were currently pooling at his ankles. Looking at his reflection, Gregory felt like he looked like a little kid who tried on their dad's suit to act "grown-up". Frankly, he looked stupid.
"I can't go to Prom like this," Gregory sighed, shrugging out of the suit jacket and laying it across the desk of the dressing table. "Sam will think I'm an idiot."
Freddy tutted and stood behind Gregory with his heavy hands settled on the boy's shoulders. "Nonsense. We'll have Chica help tailor the suit and it'll fit you perfectly. I wouldn't let you make a fool of yourself."
Gregory looked up at Freddy through their reflection in the mirror, holding his breath for a moment. There was something in Freddy's expression that he couldn't quite read. Discomfort? Disappointment? Did Freddy just need to recharge?
Exhaling with a huff, Gregory nodded and turned, grabbing the suit jacket and tossing it over his shoulder. "Okay, Dad. But if people make fun of me I'm gonna blame you."
Freddy laughed, watching as the teenager left the rehearsal room to find Chica.
*
After thirty minutes of being stabbed with pins and being barked at to turn so Chica could take measurements and mark where to sew the suit, Gregory finally was allowed to leave Chica's room so she could start making alterations to the outfit.
He wandered around the PizzaPlex for a bit before finding Roxy and Monty in the newly renovated lounge above Roxy's Raceway.
"Hey, Kid!" Roxy grinned, standing from one of the couches to rub her fist against the hair on top of Gregory's head. The boy swatted her away, glaring half-heartedly at the wolf, who just grinned mischievously back at him. "You come to try and race me again? You know you'll never beat me, I'm the best."
Gregory rolled his eyes, shouldering past Roxy to stand in front of Monty. "Could I ask you something?"
Monty stood up straighter, moving his star-shaped glasses down the bridge of his snout to look up at Gregory. "Yeah, what's up little guy?"
"Like...in private."
Monty looked at Roxy, waving a hand to shoo her away. "Get outta here. Greg's got a question." Roxy mocked offense, but left the lounge anyways, closing the door behind her.
"What did you wanna ask me?"
Gregory shuffled his feet, then decidedly plopped down on the couch next to the alligator and hid his face behind his hair. "How do you flirt?" Gregory heard a snort from the animatronic next to him and turned, glaring. "Don't laugh at me!"
Monty held his hands up in defense, grinning down at Gregory. "I'm not laughing at you, I just think it's kind of funny that you came to me about this."
Gregory crossed his arms. "If you can't help me then don't bother, I'll just figure it out myself." The teenager stood from the couch to leave but was stopped by a hand around his wrist.
"Woah, slow down there, bucko. I never said I couldn't help. Get back over here." Monty pulled Gregory back by his wrist and practically shoved him back down onto the couch. "Look, there's no special 'secret' to flirting, you've just got to use what you've got, show it off a bit an' you'll get their feathers ruffled in no time. The number one tip I can give you is to make eye contact. It shows that you're confident and that you're listening. But honestly, you've just gotta be yourself, little guy."
Gregory nodded in response and was thinking over what Monty said when Roxy crashed back through the door from where she had been eavesdropping.
"That's the dumbest fucking advice I've ever heard," Roxy mocked, pointing a sharp finger at Monty.
"Oh really? What advice would you give Gregory? Do tell."
Roxy scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Well first off, none of that 'be yourself' bullshit," Roxy said, cocking a hip and crossing her arms. She looked over to Gregory, "Girls don't wanna hear about you, dude. You're boring."
Gregory gave Roxy a look. "Sam is nonbinary. Also, hey!"
Roxy waved Gregory off, "Whoever it is. Trust me, if any of us know how to help you make a move, it's me. You've got to know what to say to get them going."
"Like what?"
"Like... 'Hey baby, you're like a fine wine. The more of you I drink, the better I feel.'" Roxy finished the pickup line with a wink and a flirty smile.
In turn, Gregory and Monty stared at Roxy with blank stares on their faces.
"Cher, that's the worst line I've ever heard," Monty said.
"Oh yeah? If it's so bad, then why did Chica swoon when I said it earlier?"
"Because she's Chica," Gregory replied.
"And because you're hot and she's too focused on your body to listen to what you're saying," Monty muttered, unheard by Roxy but earning a snort from Gregory.
Roxy huffed and waved a dismissive hand at Gregory. "Whatever. Don't say I didn't help you. When things get bland between you and your date, use the line."
"Yeah, sure." Gregory grinned at the ridiculousness of the situation. The teenager glanced down at his FazWatch when he felt it buzz, seeing a message from Chica pop up on the display. "Ah, speak of the devil. Chica needs me to go try my suit back on."
Gregory stood up, wishing his friends goodbye before making his way back to Chica's rehearsal room.
*
"Damn," Gregory breathed, turning back and forth to look at himself in the mirror.
"Yeah? You like?" Chica smiled, watching Gregory admire his reflection in the newly tailored suit. Where it hung over his hands before, it was now cropped to perfectly sit at the edge of his wrist. The sides had been taken in to fit snug against his waist, and the pants were actually the appropriate length.
"How did you- It's perfect! I thought for sure it wasn't gonna fit!"
Chica shrugged. "I thought you knew better than to doubt me. I can do more than just play guitar, you know." Gregory caught Chica off guard with a tight hug, which she quickly reciprocated. "I'm glad you're happy with it, Gregory."
The boy pulled back, bringing his FazWatch up to call Freddy. "You need to come and see this, Dad. It's like Chica's a magician or something."
Gregory heard Freddy laugh through the speakers, and just a minute later he was opening the door to Chica's room.
Freddy stopped in the doorway, eyes settled on Gregory, who held his arms up and spun in a little circle. "So? What do you think?" Gregory grinned.
Freddy was speechless, still staring at Gregory.
"Uh, Freddy?" Gregory hesitated, looking between the bear and his suit. "Do you not like it?"
Freddy seemed to blink out of a trance and stepped forward to place his hands on Gregory's shoulders. The bear prompted the boy to turn so he could see the back, then nudged him to turn back around. When the teenager turned to look back up at Freddy, there was a sad smile on the animatronic's face.
"I wore this suit the night Bonnie disappeared. We had matching suits for the event."
Gregory frowned, bringing his hands up to hold onto one of Freddy's paws. "Aw, Freddy, I didn't know. I'm so sorry, I never should have-"
"No, this is better than it sitting around collecting dust," Freddy interrupted. The bear looked up from Gregory to glance at Chica, who stood off to the side with a similar forlorn expression.
Freddy glanced back down to Gregory, then to a random spot on the wall, seemingly thinking about what to say next. "You remind me so much of him. You've got the same spark in your eyes that Bonnie had. When I see you with the others... causing mischief and getting competitive with Roxy, roughhousing Monty, deep in conversation with Chica...I always see some of him in you. I wish he could be here to meet you, he would have loved you."
Gregory stepped forward and hugged Freddy, who immediately wrapped his arms around the boy's small frame. "You look incredibly handsome, Superstar. Sam will be blown away when they see you. Maybe you'll even win Prom King," Freddy winked.
"Thank you, Dad." Gregory turned over his shoulder to look at Chica, who watched the pair and tried to hide the fact that she was wiping away tears. "And thank you, Chica. You did an amazing job. I love it."
Chica nodded in response, coming over to the pair and squeezing Gregory, then giving a much softer hug to Freddy. She pulled away and put one of her hands against the small of Gregory's back.
"Now, I believe you have a dance tomorrow, and if that's true, it would be rude to not get your date flowers," Chica winked at Gregory. "How about we go get that taken care of? Then maybe, if we're lucky, we can get DJ Music Man to play some music so I can teach you some basic dancing?"
Gregory nodded back, following as Chica led the way out of her room. The teenager stopped briefly in the door and turned back to wave Freddy goodbye, who smiled and waved back.
Freddy stayed put for a minute after Chica and Gregory disappeared out of the room, then moved over to the couch, where he sat down and buried his head in his paws as he broke resolve.
"I wish you were here, Bonnie. You'd be so proud."