Introduction
The guitar drowned out the sounds of the screaming. Perhaps that was the main reason he played. Well- no, he knew that wasn’t true. As he sat on his bed, fingers strumming across the strings of his red treasure, a small smile on his face despite his flattened ears and tearing eyes, he knew the real reason he played was because it helped him. It helped him hang on to that snatch of sanity that the constant screaming and fighting tried to steal from him.
It was a beautiful sound. It expressed everything he needed to say- everything he needed anyone else to know. But in that little apartment, with the walls that tried to suffocate him, where on one side of his room a couple screamed in Spanish and on the other a child wailed for its overworked parents’ attention, no one understood the call for help.
Well. That wasn’t true. His ears twitched as he heard his phone vibrate and he stopped strumming his guitar. A glance at the caller ID caused a wide grin to split out over his face and he set his beloved escape aside before hurrying to the window and forcing it open, climbing out onto the fire escape that ran under it and barely closing the window before answering the phone to his other escape.
“Blu!” a voice called cheerily on the other line. “So glad you picked up!”
“Of course I picked up,” Blu laughed as he leaned against the wall next to his window. He glanced at the dark sky. “I’m surprised you’re still awake, don’t you usually sleep early Sunday nights, Chii?”
“Yeah,” Chii sighed from the other side, “but, uh, Alfred needed a place to crash. He’s here with me, um, apparently his dad had a bit of a freak-out…”
“Ah…” Blu trailed off with a frown. “Why isn’t he with Spring? I mean- Spring’s parents aren’t even in town.”
“Spring’s not home right now, though,” Chii told him. “Remember? He had that thing tonight.”
“Oh, right… well, is Alfred alright?” Blu asked, glancing towards his window as the Spanish got louder. “I mean- they didn’t…?”
“He dodged. His, uh, dad was drinking again.”
“I know that feelin’,” Blu sighed, sliding down the rough brick wall so that he was sitting, ignoring the way it scraped against his back. “But he’s alright?”
“Yeah, he is. Oh- here, he wants to speak to you.”
“Blu,” the deeper, but softer, voice of his other friend greeted simply. Alfred was a bear of few words; he spoke more with his actions than anything else.
“Hey, Al,” Blu said, smiling a bit and wiping at his eyes to finally get rid of the tears still gathered there. “Everything alright on your side of hell?”
“As well as can be,” he confirmed, his voice as calm as ever. Blu almost missed the little quiver that told him it wasn’t as alright as he was saying, but what was new there? “And you?”
“Parents dissolved into shrieking in Spanish again,” Blu answered as casually as he could. “They haven’t turned it on me yet, though, so, uh… that’s something.”
“Good.”
“Any word from Mangle?” Blu inquired, pretending that the shouting hadn’t approached his bedroom and could be heard through the mostly-closed window.
“No.” Well that was worrying. Alfred sounded rather upset, too, and Blu frowned. He could imagine the bear frowning deeply, his brows drawn together and his rosy cheeks more flushed than normal. “I tried to call, they did not answer.”
“You think…?”
“Yes.”
Blu’s ears drooped again and he leaned his forehead against his knees. Of course. “Right.” His ears perked right back up, hearing banging on his bedroom door. He forced himself to his feet and began prying the window back open again. “Guys, I gotta go, my mother’s at the door.”
“Be careful,” Alfred advised, his worry clear even through the phone.
“Blu?” Chii was worried too. “We’ll see you tomorrow at school, yeah?”
“Of course,” Blu laughed, trying not to let his unease slip into his voice. “Who’d miss the first day of senior year?”
“You missed the first day of freshman year…”
“Yeah, well… senior year is different,” Blu assured her, glancing nervously at the window. The doorknob was jiggling. “I need to hide my guitar, guys. Seeya tomorrow, and if you hear from Spring or Mangle say hi for me.” He didn’t wait for a response before hanging up and practically diving through his window, picking his guitar up and carefully- but quickly- setting it in its tattered old case. He slid the case under his bed and let his yellow comforter drop down over the edge, blocking the shadowed area from sight.
The blue rabbit managed to drop down on his bed and grab his textbook a moment before the demon of his “home” swooped in, silver key in hand and a drunken flush on her lovely face. In her other hand she held a bottle of vodka and Blu knew it wasn’t her first or second.
Tonight would be a long night.
The obnoxious ringing of a phone filled the purple rabbit’s room and he let out a groan, dropping his pen on his desk. He snatched the phone up and answered without looking at the caller ID; only one person had that ringtone, after all. Yo-ho yo-ho, a pirate’s life for me!
“Dammit, Foxy, I’m in the middle of that essay,” he complained, frowning as the fox laughed at him.
“Sorry, Bonnie-lad!” the fox cackled, “But Freddy ‘nd I did tell ya to do it earlier this summer.”
“How was I supposed to know it’d take me three weeks to read that stupid book?” Bonnie asked with an overdramatic sigh, leaning back in his chair to gaze around the room. “Besides, Goldie still hasn’t started his and it’s almost eleven.”
“Little late, mate, he did his two weeks ago,” Foxy snorted. “He read the book in two days flat- even with us distractin’ him.”
“Wait- Goldie’s already done it?” Bonnie stared at the wall for several seconds of silence- bar the fox’s obnoxiously-loud laughter- before groaning and letting his head smack down onto his essay. “And lemme guess- Chica did hers when you and Freddy did yours.”
“Yep. We invited you and Goldie, ya know, but y’all two decided a jam session sounded better.”
“Fuck you.”
“Sorry, lad, you’re like a brother to me.”
Bonnie snorted at that, sitting up straight in his chair again. “Jerk. So, Foxy, how’s your mom and mama?”
“They’re fine,” Foxy answered. “Mama’s in England right now for a shoot but she called today. Kind’a amazin’, ya know, since it was like midnight there when she did. Mom’s put in for vacation for Christmas already,” he added. “They said you guys can come with us, by the way- we’re goin’ to New York to watch the ball drop.”
“Sounds fun,” Bonnie chuckled, picking his pen up again to continue writing. “I’ll ask ma about it, no promises.”
“How’s the lass doin’? I know things have been tough for her since Jimmy passed.”
Bonnie frowned slightly, staring at the page. “She’s doing well enough. She’s back to work now that everything’s settled with the will and family and all, but she’s pretty lonely now. Dad told me he thinks she should start dating again, but I don’t think she’s ready.”
“Two months ain’t enough time,” Foxy agreed. “But it’s good she’s back to work, surprised they let her stay out this long.”
“Well when you’re one of the higher-ups you get away with a lot of stuff,” Bonnie pointed out with a laugh. “She- oh, wait, hold up, getting another call.” At Foxy’s ‘okay,’ Bonnie pulled the phone away from his ear and answered the second call. “Hey, Freddy, what’s up?”
“Hey, Bonnie,” the smooth voice greeted amicably but Bonnie could hear a hint of irritation seeping through. “Do you know where Goldie is? He isn’t picking up and it’s already eleven, mom and dad are freaking out.”
“Oh, um, didn’t he go downtown tonight? Something about a show he wanted to see,” Bonnie answered, tapping the pen boredly against his cheek. “I dunno, I was only half-listening- you and Foxy were having a french-fry war at the time, so… that was much more entertaining.”
The bear on the other end of the line let out a deep sigh. “Well he forgot to tell mom and dad. They’re worried sick ‘bout him.”
“Just send him a text warning,” Bonnie suggested with a shrug.
“Yeah, I suppose. We still on for tomorrow night?”
“If I finish this essay, duh we are,” Bonnie laughed, twirling his pen. “C’mon, videogames and pizza? Who’s gonna turn that down?”
Freddy chuckled. “Of course. Let’s just hope Goldie doesn’t get himself grounded, mom and dad won’t let him go.”
“Here’s to hopin’,” Bonnie agreed. “Is that all ya needed?”
“Yeah, I’m gonna head to bed now. You should too. Oh wait- you can’t,” the bear teased. Bonnie could practically hear that grin.
“Oh shut it, Fazbear,” Bonnie sighed. “Well then, goodnight, Freddy. I’m gonna keep talkin’ to Foxy now. By the way, his moms have invited us to go to New York with them over Christmas and New Years.”
“I’ll have to ask mom and dad about it but they didn’t oppose to us going to France last year so I doubt New York will be a problem.”
“True,” Bonnie chuckled. “Night, Fred.”
“Night, Bonnie. Give Foxy my love,” he added sarcastically before hanging up and Bonnie laughed, switching back over to Foxy.
“What was it?” Foxy asked as he heard the rabbit’s laughter.
“Freddy was just askin’ if I knew where Goldie was and told me to give you his love,” Bonnie told him in the most sugary voice he could manage.
“Aww, how sweet,” Foxy drawled just as sarcastically, a grin clear through the phone. “I always knew that bear liked me best!”
“Oh no, I’m still his favourite,” Bonnie countered with a mock-haughty sniff. “Always have been, always will be.”
“Hmmm, naahhhh.”
“So Freddy says he’ll ask his parents about Christmas, but really, they probably won’t mind,” Bonnie told him, changing the subject. “I mean we went to France last year, New York is a hop, skip, and a jump away.”
“True! But ya know how parents can be,” Foxy reminded him with a laugh of his own. “I’ll let ya get back to your essay now. Good luck!”
“Thanks Foxy,” Bonnie laughed, hanging up as his friend did. He stared down at the paper and frowned in thought. “I hate this book,” he decided with a groan as he continued writing, not caring that his careful script slowly turned into rushed chicken scratch. He actually wanted to get some sleep that night.
It wasn’t every day that you started your final year of highschool, after all.
It was half past midnight by the time he turned his lights out and crawled into bed. He curled up under his blankets with a contented sigh, enjoying the soft warmth, while in a small, cold apartment across town a small rabbit lay still and silent in his own bed, staring at his wall and ignoring the sounds around him. Sleep came easy to the former. Sleep did not come to the latter.