Chapter Text
Beep.
“Hello? Who is it?” you ask drowsily, barely able to read the caller name on your damaged phone.
“This is Agatha from the bursar’s office, remember? I’m here to call about your…” There’s a concerning pause from the other side. “...Concerning upcoming debt.”
Your heart sank as you thought about the barely-started day ruined by a single phone call. “Okay, how much do I need to pay?” Surely that scholarship would save a good amount of that money.
“About $62,000.” You drop your phone in disbelief, ignoring the crash that spread one more crack across the battered screen. “Hello? Are you there?” Agatha called out.
“I have to go,” you say quickly, hanging up and jumping out to get ready for class. In record time you change, pack your bags, and fly down the four sets of stairs in your crappy apartment. Dilapidated rooms, crumbling staircases, and pest-infested walls were just the start of this house of horrors.
“You!” your landlord calls out from his door when you pass by. “Rent’s due tomorrow, or have you forgotten?” He smokes a fat cigar, glaring at you as he scratches his unevenly shaved stubble. As always his fashion choices were horrendous. A neon-green shirt that barely went over his belly and gray sweatpants stained with ash, plus the ragged slippers where yellow smiley faces had faded.
“No, Mr. Goldberg. I’ll get it to you by the end of the day.” Before he can spit out snide comments about your situation you rush out the exit, barely catching the bus to college.
Your phone buzzes and you stare at the screen. A text message from your manager at the grocery store, instructing you to take over your coworker’s shift.
I can’t miss these next few classes and I have to get my tuition sorted out
You don’t even have to wait before he responds.
Are you serious? This is your last chance or I’m going to fire you for missing too much work
You clench your fist, biting your bottom lip. Today’s paycheck was crucial; without it, you would get evicted and have no place to stay unless your college offered you a dorm. But their dorms were worse than your apartment.
Just give me one more chance. I’ll work doubles for the next week.
Tired, you tilt your head back and yelp when you see a man staring at your phone screen. He turns his head quickly and pretends he saw nothing. Luckily, you reach your stop and dash out of the bus into the gloomy gray setting of campus.
Oh, how thankful you were that he didn’t see an entire page of your phone dedicated to the one thing bringing you joy: The Freak Circus. You’d never seen a game that resonated with you so much. Maybe you didn’t like all the parts of it, but you were a helpless moth to a flame.
Your professor doesn’t even acknowledge your arrival and starts talking about the exams coming up for finals week.
“For some of you, your bio final decides whether you graduate or not,” she drones. A basic slideshow projects onto the screen, illustrating the main topics. Origin of life, cells, anatomy, you don’t even bother reading the rest of the list. All that’s on your mind is debt.
“Dismissed,” your professor finally says. You bolt out the door and run to the bursar’s office.
Once Agatha demoralizes you and details a suspiciously specific explanation on how the interest would keep piling up and how you would drown before 40, you head to your other class.
“I see most of you couldn’t even keep the pea plant alive.” Your botany professor shakes his head. “What a shame. How are you supposed to pass the final if half of you can’t list the parts of a plant cell?”
Your pea plant had made it, a resilient warrior that had motivated you through the past few weeks. Yet, almost like an omen, it had died yesterday before you had received news of impending doom.
“Anyways, for those of you actually serious about succeeding in life, I’ll see you at graduation.” With that your classes end earlier than usual. You frantically rush to the grocery store, where your manager waits under the blinding lights.
“Double shifts, eh?” he snaps, towering over you. “I don’t care what you promise me. Pull this excuse one more time and you’re gone for good.” With that he stomps away, knocking over a display of green bean cans for you to pick up.
You sigh, gathering the cans and reluctantly ignoring the Tumblr notification on your phone. Oh, when would this hell end?
When your manager finally lets you go you trudge back home. Today dinner would be ramen and studying. You finally take a look at the Tumblr notification and bask in the glory of new content. But it was nowhere near enough to cure your aching heart.
You slip into the dark building and go up the stairs, relying on phone light and dreams. You are near a quarter of the way there when it sputters out, enveloping the world in darkness. Darkness was not much of a problem, but not when you were climbing stairs!
Dreams wouldn’t do much here. Carefully you advance, knowing how high to lift your foot and where it was safe to pause.
You hear the sound of something crumbling and hitting the ground. You stop, trembling as you realize the staircase where you stand is breaking into pieces.
“No!” You fall into the black void, weightless and helpless.
* * *
“Heyy, are you awake yet?” Your eyes creep open as a sweet voice fills your ears. A mellow beam of light hits your face, but instead of flinching you welcome the calm.
“Oh, sorry.” You are rubbing the back of your head when you blink. “Uh, what?” You whip your head around and see a café beginning to open. And you're… behind the counter?
“Our shift just started! You can’t give up now, we’ve got customers to handle!” It takes you a second, but you recognize who is talking to you. It’s the player, or Y/N.
Oh my gosh, have I been transported to The Freak Circus? you think, eyes widening in shock.
Trying to act normal, you stumble out of the chair you were sitting on and stand up. “Ah, yes, of course.” Memories in brain and muscle you definitely didn’t have before take over your mind. You find yourself preparing to make drinks as the player gets ready to take orders.
“Y/N, you got here just in time.” Turning, you see the Boss talking to the player and fulfilling one of the first conversations in the game. He was definitely more caring than the manager at the grocery store. You eavesdrop on dialogue you already know, absentmindedly working on orders.
“Start as soon as you can. Carol’s running late and I’ve been covering for you.” Carol. She must’ve already been turned into a Fool at this point.
“Well, looks like we’re both sticking together today!” the player says excitedly to you, their eyes brightening.
“Great.” Was it? Despite already adapting to the game setting, you were still in shock of what had just happened. Was it not just a few moments ago that you fell from the staircase?
While preparing a cappuccino you ponder what to do next as customers pour in. The player is busy handing out drinks and taking flyers from the tables, a part of the game you remember.
“Thanks! I’d like a strong, hot coffee,” a voice cuts through the air. You look up and see a man in an azure suit talking to the player. Ticket Taker.
Oh no, he was going to give the player the pink ticket. Surely they must have helped Pierrot earlier, right?
Your hands shake and you nearly drop the cup you’re holding. Your heart leaps into your throat when the player accepts the pink ticket and the man meets your eyes.
Something strange flashes across them, though he quickly breaks his gaze when the player says something to him. You hurriedly go back to making drinks, head pounding and legs shaking.
“Hey! Something wrong?” the player asks, tucking the pink ticket into their pocket.
“Oh, oh, nothing,” you say, then lower your voice. “Did you happen to help a red clown earlier?”
“Yeah! Why?” You feel the tightness in your chest loosen a little.
“Oh, I just saw you and was meaning to ask if it was really you.” You wave your hand dismissively at the thought of the sweet player ever neglecting someone. “Anyways, I’ve got some drinks waiting to be taken.”
The player grins and goes on with their job. You man the stations alone, trying to ignore the unknown man glancing over at you every once in a while.
Your mind feels like it’s going to explode. Was this a dream? Was it heaven or some twisted form of hell? You’d always wanted to know what would happen if you were in the game world, and here you were.
“Something wrong?” You freeze, looking up to see the unknown man staring at you intently as he sipped on his coffee. His dark eyes observe you, curious about the moment earlier.
“Ah, nothing. Just a little stressed, is all,” you respond curtly, ducking your gaze to scribble something down. Ticket Taker had been one of your favorite characters out of the whole troupe, but this interaction was scaring you.
“Hmm, stressed? Perhaps you would like a night off.” The man shrugs. “Unfortunately, I gave my only ticket to your friend over there. But I’m sure you could go with them if you got a regular one.” He pauses. “I mean, if you got one straight from the booth.”
I know what you’re up to, Ticket Taker. “Maybe I will.” You try to hide your flushed expression and hand him his bill.
Clearly he saw something in your eyes. “What’s that look for?” he asks, amused. He pays and leaves a hefty tip.
“Why don’t you go some night? My treat.” His voice is eerie calm, though you pay no attention as you stare at the tip.
“You know what? Sure.” You meet his eyes, notice the Boss approaching, and mouth thank you.
“Have a good rest of your day.” He tips your head at you like one would a hat before leaving. Yep, definitely Ticket Taker. You turn away, resisting the urge to scream with excitement.
“Something wrong?” the Boss asks, raising an eyebrow concernedly.
“Oh, I just got a big tip. Anyways, what’s going on?” The Boss motions the player over as well.
“I have an unexpected appointment. And since you two will be working with only each other today, I’d rather the both of you didn’t leave too late.”
Ah, less work hours! Maybe you'd get to go to the circus with the player...
“I’ve gotta go now, so can you two take care of everything?” Both of you nod vigorously, probably for different reasons. With that your boss leaves, and you two start cleaning up as the last customers exit.
“Are you going to the circus sometime?” you ask the player.
“Maybe! I mean, I’ve got this ticket and all, so I can’t let it go to waste! What about you?”
“I just got a huge tip, so I think I can afford to.” You leave a few cups to dry and pretend you don’t notice the huge silhouette approaching from outside. “Y/N, I think I’m going to step out the back for some fresh air. It’s a little suffocating here.”
“Okay!” they exclaim. You exit to the back just as Pierrot comes in. You wait until he leaves and come back inside.
“Hey, look at this!” The player waves their red ticket in front of you. Any remaining tightness in your chest disappears. Good, they’d probably be safe…
“Cool. Heading home soon?” Where even was your residence? Clearly your crappy apartment didn’t exist here.
“Yep! I think I can leave within the next 5.” They finish and leave, letting you leave of your own accord.
Your muscles drag you along the dimly lit paths until you reach an apartment that looks a lot better than your real one. The residence is more spacious and you find decorations that you would have in your room if you weren’t so broke.
Tired, you take a quick shower and sleep like a rock.
* * *
Your mattress was as soft as a cloud, spacious enough so that for once you didn’t fall onto the floor when you woke up.
“Ahhh.” You stretch, feeling refreshed for the first time in a while. You get ready and open the closet, stunned that there were more clothes than a few sets of sweats. Staring at the mirror, you realize you look the exact same… but a little brighter.
With a smile you head over to the café, whistling. You enter and see the player talking to the Boss, which meant they had already met Harlequin.
Pierrot and Harlequin… hm, you thought they were great characters, but you had never really liked either of them as romance options. Perhaps because they and Jester all looked a bit too similar for your taste. However, that didn’t change the fact that they were cute.
“… must have her reasons. If she shows up here, we’re supposed to notify the police,” the Boss says. Carol. Oh, how you wish to tell them that she was already long gone, but they wouldn’t understand.
The Boss muttered something about interviewing for new employees, giving you a polite nod before heading to the back. You approach the player. “Nice day, isn’t it?”
“Sure is!” they chirp, just as the bell above the door rings. “Good morning! Ah! It’s you again! Want something to drink, Pierrot?”
You see Pierrot standing there, gazing at the player with lovesick eyes. Pierrot doesn’t even notice you looking, pointing to the milkshake option. The Boss comes over to the player and states his part about no flyering. Pierrot finally notices you staring at the odd trio, leaning in to ask the player if the Boss was bothering them. He is incredibly quiet, but you can piece things together.
“Are either of them… being mean to you, my dear?” You pause. This wasn’t in the original script. Either of them? You, too? Had you heard that right?
“Huh? M-my boss and my coworker? Haha, no, no!” the player exclaims.
“Will you... come tonight?” Pierrot asks, and grins when the player confirms so. Well, his mask already displayed some form of a grin, but… nevermind.
You keep eavesdropping until the rude woman comes in. “Excuse me, I don’t have all day! Can’t either of you see me standing at the counter? Bring me my coffee, no sugar. Lazy workers.”
You get the player Pierrot’s milkshake and they hand it to him. He pays and leaves, and you clock that deadly glance at the back of the grumpy woman’s head. Okay, maybe not everything about the game was about to change. At least Pierrot wasn’t focused on you anymore.
The player hands the rude woman her coffee. “This coffee’s as awful as the service! I’m never coming back to this dump,” she snaps as the player apologizes. You feel fury burn into your bones. How dare she talk to them that way?
“Good,” you retort as she stomps away. You feel the player stiffen besides you, then relax at the new customer coming in. Harlequin.
“Of course! I’ll take an iced coffee,” he tells the player. He tries to convince them to use his ticket to no avail, and you can’t help roll your eyes behind their backs.
“Oh? Who’s this?” Harlequin glances in your direction, coming up to you. “A friend of yours, Y/N?”
“Yep!” the player responds, preparing Harlequin’s drink.
“My, she’s a jewel. But not as much as you.” Ah, of course you were just a stepping stone in his game. But you didn’t mind, just praying he would leave soon.
Harlequin mutters his threatening words and leaves. The Boss appears, and you realize it’s already getting dark. Time sure flew when you were having fun!
“This? Oh, something scratched me out back. Pretty sure it was a huge cat or something,” the Boss explains as the player expresses concern.
“Careful. Don’t want to get some sort of infection,” you say, instructing him to clean the wound ASAP as possibilities of different diseases raced through your mind. Though, what could’ve scratched him?
“Thanks. We’re already a bit tight on workers here, so if I went down you two would have to manage this place on your own.” The Boss shakes his head. “Are you going to the circus or something? I heard you two talking about it earlier.”
“Yes!” the player responds for you, looping their arm into yours.
“Have fun and tell me how it goes.” He dismisses both of you.
“Meet me at your apartment in twenty?” the player asks, and you nod in agreement.
You head home, changing into baggy black jeans and a simple shirt. You toss on a loose light-gray jacket, get the money the “unknown” man gave you, and head out to meet the player.
“Let’s go!” they say, dragging you along. You separate from them to get your yellow ticket.
“Hello there, visitors! May I punch your tickets?” Your heart pounds as you see Ticket Taker. You could not believe this was happening.
“Oh, you have front row seats,” he remarks, his voice lowering slightly.
“Really? Could I share it with her?” The player wraps their arm around your shoulders.
“Hmm.” Oh, he definitely recognizes you. “I suppose you can.” He lets both of you go, but you can’t shake the feeling that he is watching you as you run off.
“Where do you want to go first?”