Notes, Bonnie
Notes
1) Group always whispering, stop the moment anyone gets within earshot
2) Pay no one else attention until they start whispering
3) Rodriguez froze up at being called “bitch”- bad connotation? Flashback?
4) Bloody bandage around Rodriguez’s abdomen; Fischbach had bruise around wrist
5) Fischbach nearly mute; psychological?
6) Blanc easily distracted, zones out a lot; coping mechanism? Escapism?
7) Apparently all need excuses to visit friends??
8) Parents trying to get Rodriguez to drop out, possibly are alcoholics(?)
9) Salvage refers to here as “hellhole”- reason?
Bonnie frowned down at his notebook, tapping a pen against the paper. He figured it would be best to actually keep track of everything they noticed about the “odd” students. So far the list wasn’t impressive, but it was certainly a lot for a single day’s observance.
Earlier that day- when Rodriguez and his friends weren’t forced to be in Bonnie and his own friends’ presence- hadn’t yielded many, if any, results. The “strange” students had kept looking around, and if they saw Bonnie was even partially visible, even if it was across a crowded and loud room, they simply fell silent. If they even thought someone could possibly hear them, they just... stopped.
Bonnie frowned and added one more item to the list.
10) Very secretive, somewhat paranoid?
He thought about adding that they had already had art classes before, but then he decided that that probably wasn’t relevant. Instead, he marked down the date at the bottom of the list and closed the notebook. After a moment of thought, he slid the notebook into his bookbag.
At first, he had considered leaving it at home in case he dropped it or someone else saw it. However, he decided being able to immediately note something down in full detail was worth the risk. After all, how much could he possibly forget between gym and returning home?
With a sigh, he leaned back in his chair. “Jesus Christ, this makes me look obsessed,” he muttered, slipping his pen back into its case. “I will figure you out, dammit. All of you.”
Whether or not his friends honestly believed something was up, Bonnie was positive that something was wrong. He couldn’t bring himself to ignore the few signs he’d seen just that first day.
“And tomorrow we have science, meaning you can’t avoid me,” he added, though he sounded somewhat bitter. “Can’t hide forever...”
“Bon, who are you talkin’ to, sweetie?”
He winced, glancing towards the door. A lavender rabbit lady stood there, watching him with a raised brow as she adjusted the watch on her wrist. She was dressed in a simple white blouse with black slacks and shining black dress shoes.
She must be headin’ out to work.
“Just thinkin’ out loud, ma,” he excused, flashing his mother a bright grin. She just crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe, clearly unconvinced.
“Then somethin’s botherin’ ya,” the lady stated matter-of-factly. “That’s the only reason ya ever think out loud. Your father always did that, too.”
He tried to not grimace at being compared to his father. He still loved the man, of course, but he did not want to be anything like him. “Oh geez, Ma, I am not Dad,” he complained, leaning over on his desk. He tried to steer the conversation away from himself. “What time are you comin’ home?”
His mother studied him for several moments before sighing. “My shift ends at four but I probably won’t get away until six or seven,” she answered, though her blue eyes reflected worry. However, she didn’t push Bonnie to tell her what was wrong, instead tacking on, “Lakeview General tends to have those really prissy patients. Y’know, the ones who come in with stomach pains and force ya to run useless tests because they so do not have “gas problems.””
Bonnie snorted. “Your fault for working in the rich man’s hospital,” he lightly teased, straightening up the items on his desk. In all honesty Lakeview General wasn’t a “rich man” hospital, seeing as it would be against the law to deny medical care to anyone, but it was located just off of Lakeview Road, which was dotted on either side by large mansions that even the Fazbears would be hard-pressed to afford.
Not that they couldn’t afford them; the Fazbears could probably buy one, in full cash upfront, if they wanted to- probably one bordering the park around the lake, even.
After a few moments of silence, Bonnie glanced up to see his mother lingering in his doorway. He raised a brow. “Somethin’ wrong?”
“Alright, spill,” his mother suddenly commanded and Bonnie winced.
She was putting on her mom voice. Have to play my cards right, now.
“It’s nothing,” he lied. “Just tired. It is almost ten.”
“You’ve been actin’ off since yesterday,” she started, watching him with a frown. “You and your friends. Somethin’ goin’ on at school?”
“Kinda, I guess,” Bonnie sighed. He so did not want to ask his mother about it. His mother was a logical woman, after all, and without concrete evidence she wouldn’t see his side of things. “But it’ll be fine,” he added, though he could only hope that was true. “We were just assigned partners in science and I’m being difficult over that.”
There was no better way to get away with a lie than by telling the truth, now was there?
His mother eyed him suspiciously before sighing. “Is that what these long, serious faces have been about?”
“Yep,” Bonnie confirmed with a nod. “We just didn’t get the partners we wanted. Hey, we’re not graduated yet, we can still be immature.”
“Boys,” she sighed dramatically, shaking her head. Bonnie’s ears twitched as he heard a ping. “Well, Bonnie, go to bed now,” she told him as she straightened up and pulled her phone out. “I need to get goin’, and don’t even think of skipping classes tomorrow.”
“I’ve never skipped!” Bonnie immediately called as his mother headed down the hallway.
“Ninth grade, February!” was the response he got.
“I told you, that was a special case!”
He listened to his mother’s laughter fade as she descended the stairs and went out the front door. As soon as he heard the door shut, he relaxed and leaned back in his seat. The rabbit stared up at the ceiling above, frowning as he went over the conversation. As he did, he felt a sinking in his stomach.
His mother was one of the head doctors at Lakeview General Hospital, she probably knew what the signs of abuse or... whatever else was possibly going on were. She could have told him if his concerns were unfounded or if he really should do something.
Why didn’t I tell her the truth? Maybe she could have helped...
It was no surprise to Bonnie that Rodriguez wasn’t in the changing rooms. It wasn’t a surprise that Fischbach and Salvage weren’t there, either. Bonnie couldn’t remember one time where he actually saw them in the changing rooms.
An action that he once would have dismissed. He made a mental note to write it down later.
Biting his tongue, Bonnie pulled his gym shirt on and glanced around. Foxy was already out of the room, Freddy was taking his time, and Goldie was simply leaning against a wall, staring down at the floor with a frown. Clearly Bonnie’s golden-furred friend was deep in thought... troubled, too.
Around them, other guys shamelessly flaunted, bragging about their summer workouts and tans, but Bonnie couldn’t be bothered to give a damn about any of them.
It wasn’t like big football meatheads were his type, anyway. He’d leave that to the cheerleaders.
“Hurry it up!” a voice called from outside the changing room, spurring the footballers to quickly pull on their shirts. “Down to the track, boys!”
Goldie gave a long-suffering sigh as he pushed away from the wall, and the three of them went to meet up with Foxy. Briefly, Bonnie and Freddy’s gazes connected.
Once everyone was out of the changing rooms- Bonnie noticed that their science partners didn’t show up- the gym coach began leading them down to the track. It wasn’t too far from the gym, down into a bowl-like area in the ground wrapping around the football field, so the walk was rather short. Bonnie’s only complaint was the incline they had to walk down.
Once they made it to the track, the coach gave them the go ahead to begin warm-ups, and then the mile started.
Foxy took off, more than happy to show off his track-and-field skills, and Bonnie rolled his eyes as he himself began at a jog. Around him, his more sporty classmates quickly followed Foxy’s lead, passing Bonnie and leaving him, the Fazbears, and others in the dust.
Alright, y’all finish the mile right quick, go ahead, but I’m making it easier on myself to pass at the end of the year, Bonnie snorted softly to himself, glancing around. At the end of the year they would run the mile again and their grade would depend on how much faster they finished it.
Good luck beating your five-minute year start time.
His eyes scanned over his classmates, his frown deepening at the distinct lack of bright blue. He looked over his shoulder, scanning the students jogging behind him.
There were only four; the Fazbear twins and two humans. Freddy’s eyes were also scanning over their classmates while Goldie was simply staring at the ground, a small scowl on his face as he thought about... whatever was on his mind.
Then Bonnie’s red eyes met Freddy’s blue. His friend looked troubled. Bonnie knew why.
He slowed down, allowing the brown bear to catch up to him.
“Ya look bothered,” Bonnie observed, glancing aside at his friend.
“Well it’s only the third day of school,” was Freddy’s simple response. “Usually it’s at least a week before they start skippin’ classes as a whole group.” Bonnie wouldn’t know how true that was; he only noticed when they were present... never when they weren’t.
Not until that day, anyway. This’d be a first.
“My best guess is none of them were in good enough shape for gym today,” Bonnie muttered to Freddy, frowning as he turned to look forward, brow furrowing in thought. “I mean, that bandage...”
“Don’t forget, no assuming,” Freddy warned him, but his tone lacked any bite. He sighed as Bonnie rolled his eyes, knowing very well that Freddy was assuming the exact same thing he was.
“Yeah yeah,” Bonnie agreed dismissively, waving a hand in the air towards his friend. “Wonder if they skipped the whole day or just this class,” he added thoughtfully, glancing back towards the bear.
“We’ll find out next period,” Freddy told him and Bonnie frowned, looking down towards the reddish-brown track.
“Yeah...” he let his agreement trail off into silence. He hardly even noticed the sight and sound of classmates lapping them.
I can’t even predict which one it’ll be, he mused unhappily to himself. Did they skip only certain classes last year? I don’t know... I never paid enough attention... agh, I’m an asshole, aren’t I? I’m the one who started this shitty “let’s make fun of the weird kids!” thing... Freddy probably thinks I’m a hypocrite for being the one to want to stop it... especially when he’s refused to join us this whole time... Jesus Christ, maybe I’m the one who fucked up. Would things be different if I hadn’t started that? Would-
“Fazbear! Henderson! Pick up the pace!”
The command startled Bonnie out of his guilty thoughts and he looked up, realizing that he had fallen behind Goldie and the two humans. Surprised, both he and Freddy started back into a jog from their fast walk.
Concentrate on the now, Bonnie. You can play the blame game later.
“It was ridiculous!” Foxy complained loudly, rubbing the back of his head as they walked down the hall. As usual he didn’t care about the passerby hearing. “Stupid Johnny Carver, he was runnin’ full-speed around the track, not even watchin’ where he was goin’, and he just barrelled into me and knocked us both to the ground, the jackass!”
Bonnie snickered and lightly elbowed his friend. “At least ya didn’t smash your nose on the ground,” he said, and then he added thoughtfully, “Then again, you totally could have gotten to go home for that.”
“You don’t have a concussion, right?” Goldie asked, sounding as though he was fighting between amusement and concern. Odd, usually that’s Freddy. He glanced at his golden-furred friend, raising a brow. Somethin’ must be bothering Goldie.
“They would’a sent me home if I did,” Foxy pointed out amusedly, but he didn’t say anything more as they entered the classroom. None of them did.
All of the humans were already there, but Bonnie was more concerned with the sight of five bright-furred Animals, sitting silently in their desks. He glanced down at Rodriguez as he passed, noting the way the blue rabbit leaned on his hand. His eyes were closed.
As Bonnie slipped into his seat, dropping his bag down beside him, Rodriguez shifted slightly to the right. It was the only indication that he had noticed Bonnie’s presence.
He probably knew we were coming up the hall.
A quick glance around showed that Rodriguez wasn’t the only one acting strange. Behind him, Salvage had laid his head down on his arms and Fischbach was staring, tense, directly ahead. Something about the way he was sitting bothered Bonnie, so he turned his attention to Kain and Blanc.
The former was sitting, tense, with her ankles crossed underneath her seat, her arms crossed on the desk and her gaze towards the floor. The latter’s gaze was firmly on the window, but they kept shifting in their seat, as if uncomfortable. The fox in question was also fidgeting, much more than Bonnie had seen them do before.
Bonnie frowned as he turned forward again and pulled his notebook out, keeping it in his lap and out of sight. Quickly, he wrote down the date on the next page and started a new list.
1) Never go to the changing rooms
2) Skipped gym, are in science
3) Acting strange in science; tense, unhappy, tired? Hurt?
The bell rang and Bonnie flipped the notebook shut, setting it on his desk before placing his binder over it. He glanced to his left to see Chica watching him, brow raised. He just shrugged.
“Alright, class!” Dr. Schmidt called, getting the class’ attention. “Homework!”
The rabbit opened his binder and located the desired packet, not paying his partner any mind in favour of his quest. Come on, come on, I know you’re here... a-ha! Triumphantly, he pulled the packet out and turned around just before Dr. Schmidt said, “Pass it up and I’ll collect it at the front.”
Goldie was still turned around, and Bonnie was about to call his name to get his attention when he realized that neither of the twins were paying their homework any mind.
Rather, they were paying Fischbach’s homework their attention.
Whatever they were looking at was just out of Bonnie’s sight. However, when Fischbach muttered something to Salvage and passed the packet to him, and Salvage turned around, Bonnie saw it- just before it disappeared under Salvage’s own packet.
There was a dark red stain in the packet’s right-hand corner.
A bloodstain.
He watched as the golden rabbit handed the packets over to Rodriguez, and Rodriguez responded by sliding his own under Fischbach’s, effectively hiding the stained pages from sight.
His stomach twisted as he realized that the rabbits were covering for their friend. Quickly, he turned his eyes back to Goldie as the bear turned around and handed the packets to him. Goldie glanced towards the rabbits and, without even thinking about it, Bonnie did too. Then he turned around, finding Dr. Schmidt standing by their desks.
Bonnie obediently handed his row’s packets to Dr. Schmidt. More to check where Rodriguez was looking and see if it was safe to open the notebook again, Bonnie turned to look at his science partner...
And he had something else to write down.
Clenching his teeth and furrowing his brow, he studied the bruise standing out against the rabbit’s bright blue fur. Now I know why he was leaning on his left hand.
He was hiding it.
These fuckers...
“Now that we’ve got the homework out of the way, let’s talk about your first lab,” Dr. Schmidt announced, catching everyone’s attention. Reluctantly, Bonnie turned to look at the instructor, his hand tightening on his notebook under his binder.
Something isn’t okay here.
“You won’t be working on it until Friday,” the Doctor continued, “as today we’ll be doing the lecture first, but in it you will be observing how the steel wool reacts to the fire.”
His stomach twisted, but not at the thought of the lab. No, the lab was laughable; everyone had burned steel wool at that point in school. Across the room he could even hear one of the human girls giggle and whisper to her friend about it. No, that wasn’t at all what made his gut twist, his heart race, his fists clench...
How the fuck am I just noticing this? This isn’t something that just develops overnight! We’ve been in the same classes, the same school, the same year for twelve years, are we really that blind?!
He couldn’t hear Dr. Schmidt, not really. He was going on about the lab, Bonnie knew, but he just couldn’t concentrate.
Bonnie felt like the biggest idiot in the world.
Twelve years, and we dismissed it as them being weird. We should have realized- not even Marion Marshal acts like them, and he is the school outcast. We should have known something was wrong here. We should have-
“Yes, Mr. Salvage?”
Bonnie’s ears twitched, barely registering the name, and he glanced over his shoulder towards the golden rabbit. He looked upset about something; his right hand was being held below Bonnie’s line of sight.
“May I step out for a moment?” Salvage requested, voice wavering somewhat.
“Of course,” Dr. Schmidt allowed, his voice gentle and considerate.
He knows what it’s about.
Salvage was practically out the door before Bonnie could even register that he’d stood up, and Bonnie just barely caught his, “Hello, this is Spr...” before the door clicked shut behind him.
“Mr. Rodriguez, face the front please,” Dr. Schmidt commanded and Rodriguez obeyed. Bonnie felt a short sense of deja vu. “Let’s go over lab safety now...”
Bonnie promptly tuned out, pulling his binder and notebook into his lap. Using the binder as a block from Rodriguez, he opened the notebook inside the binder to the desired page.
Quickly he scrawled down three more notes.
4) Fischbach’s hw packet bloodstained, top right corner
5) Rodriguez bruise, left cheek; kinda out of it?
6) Salvage stepped out, taking phone call.
He frowned, trying to think of just why a highschooler might need to answer the phone in the middle of class- in the middle of a lecture, even one as pointless as the one their instructor was giving them. And, clearly, said instructor understood what was happening; he hadn’t even hesitated to cut himself off and let Salvage step out...
Before he could ponder more on it, the door opened again. Glancing up, Bonnie watched the golden rabbit walk over to the Doctor, who had fallen quiet once again.
“I’m sorry,” Salvage was saying softly- too softly for anyone else to pick up on, Bonnie was sure. He twitched his ears, straining to hear. “I need to go pick my brother up, now... it’s an emergency, I won’t be able to make it back before school’s out... it’s an hour away...” Salvage trailed off and Bonnie frowned; why would whoever his brother was with call Salvage and not their parents?
Unless Salvage was his brother’s emergency contact... not their parents. How’d ya swing that...?
Glancing down at his list, he added to number six, Reason: family emergency. Salvage emergency contact for brother? Dr. Schmidt seems to know what it’s about.
When he glanced up, the instructor was back to talking lab safety and Salvage was by his own desk, gathering his belongings together; he knew this as he could hear the rabbit shoving his notebook into his bag.
Heaving a soft sigh (and ignoring the way Dr. Schmidt looked at him), he closed his notebook and kept his eyes trained on the instructor, pointedly ignoring Salvage slip out the door with his belongings.
He needed to talk to the others... but, he realized with a sinking feeling, he wouldn’t get to anytime soon. They still had lunch and afternoon classes.
Now I know how they feel. Surrounded by people... there’s no way we can have an honestly private conversation.
A brief glance over towards his science partner showed the blue rabbit leaning on his hand again, eyes closed.
Dr. Schmidt said nothing. Neither did Bonnie.
Once Chica got out of her Spanish class, all five friends made their way to the student parking lot, following along with the crowd. None of them said anything, simply watching as their classmates laughed and ran around carelessly, flirted shamelessly, and acted a lot more immature than they should have.
Bonnie chose not to dwell on the fact that they had been exactly like that in junior year, and they probably would be right then if it weren’t for the heavy, shocking start to their year.
Yeah, heavy and shocking, alright... finding out your least favourite people are probably goin’ through enough hell without you tryin’ to add to it, he mused bitterly to himself, glancing around as he noticed the crowd spreading and cars leaving. No wonder we rarely got reactions out of them... We were the least of their problems.
“So,” Foxy drawled boredly, snapping the rabbit out of his thoughts, “Bonnie... Mind telling us what that was about?”
Bonnie blinked. What what was about? Did you notice my notebook? Er, do you mean the way I was acting at lunch? Or art? Or do you mean in science? “What?” he asked with a frown towards his canine friend.
“During science,” Foxy explained, and Bonnie understood.
“Oh.” Foxy wasn’t privy to the bloodstain incident; the only thing he would be asking Bonnie about was Salvage.
For some reason, though, Bonnie didn’t want to tell them. It was a sudden, shocking feeling- not wanting to tell his best friends, his family, about Salvage’s apparent situation. Not wanting to tell them about a brother none of them knew about, about some kind of trouble none of them could possibly understand...
He felt guilty. It wasn’t his place to tell them, but he couldn’t keep a secret from them.
Finally, he settled on saying, “He apparently had a family emergency and had to go pick someone up.” He shrugged, glancing aside before continuing, “Apparently it was an hour away, so there was no way he would make it back to school for the rest of classes.”
Remembering the smaller note that he had written down, he added, “It sounded like he already had an arrangement with the school. Dr. Schmidt looked and sounded like he already knew what was going on the moment he saw Salvage’s hand.”
“He was holding his phone,” Goldie put in abruptly, prompting Bonnie to look at him. He barely noticed when they passed a gaggle of junior varsity cheerleaders and footballers. “I heard it vibrate but he had it out of sight before I could actually see it.”
So Goldie didn’t know who had called. It was probably a school...
“So Salvage had to leave for a family emergency,” Chica summarized as she stopped beside the van’s left back door, Foxy behind her. “That makes sense. But what was up with y’all at the very start?” she added, looking towards the twins and Bonnie. “Freddy, ya looked like someone just keeled over and died right in front of ya.”
Bonnie watched as the bears chorused, “Might as well have.” Goldie proceeded to unlock the van’s doors while Freddy suddenly looked around, scanning their surroundings. The rabbit was struck by just how much the action reminded him of Salvage.
When Freddy spoke again, his voice had dropped down into a whisper; clearly whatever he was saying, he didn’t want to be overheard. Of course, considering that was the entire reason they hadn’t talked about it yet...
“There was a bloodstain on Fischbach’s homework,” Freddy informed the fox and chicken, both of whom frowned at the news. “Tried to excuse it as ketchup.”
Bonnie watched his friends exchange a worried glance, but before any of them could continue the clear sound of laughter reached their ears. Freddy’s mouth snapped shut and Goldie cleared his throat, prompting all of them to look towards him. Once he had their attention, he said, “I don’t think a parking lot is the best place for this conversation.”
As Goldie gestured to the van, Bonnie opened the door and climbed in.
“Anyone could overhear us out there, ya know,” Goldie said to them as he slid in, and Bonnie glanced forward in time to see the junior varsity players pass by.
“Yeah,” he agreed needlessly, buckling his seatbelt. “So Salvage had to run out in the middle of class, Fischbach’s homework was bloodstained, and Rodriguez had a big ugly bruise on his face,” he summarized, bitterness slipping into his tone. “Anything up with Kain and Blanc today?” He looked over towards Chica beside him and glanced towards Foxy, sitting in the backseat, as he leaned forward.
Foxy scowled, though he didn’t look directly at Bonnie. “Blanc wouldn’t sit still,” he said, shrugging slightly. “They were really out of it, too. Only tuned in long enough to watch Salvage leave and went right back to starin’ out the window.”
“Kain didn’t do much,” Chica answered with a half-hearted shrug of her own. She glanced up, a frown on her face. “Kinda just sat there, starin’ at her desk. Seemed tense but nothin’ really off, per se.”
Bonnie wasn’t sure he agreed with that, but he didn’t really know enough about the other chicken to say rightly that that was unusual. Then again, neither did Chica.
“Still think we’re misunderstandin’ the situation?” Freddy questioned from the front passenger seat. Bonnie felt more than a little validated when dead silence met the question.
Goldie finally pulled out of the parking lot and headed to the Fazbears’ home, his hands clutching the steering wheel tighter than necessary. The silence was tense and heavy because how could any of them deny something was going on?
“There’s always a chance,” Goldie finally said, his voice shattering the silence. However, his voice was full of doubt; clearly he didn’t believe his own words. He added, “But I don’t think we are... not anymore, anyway...”
His voice trailed off, and Bonnie knew the sentiment was echoed by Chica and Foxy. They weren’t saying as much but clearly they were thinking it, if the way the fox’s eyes glued to the floorboard and Chica’s gaze stayed outside was anything to go by.
Finally, though, Chica said, “I don’t think we know exactly what’s going on.” She glanced around as the others, minus Goldie, turned to look at her. “I honestly don’t think there’s one flat answer to this, guys. Somethin’s goin’ on but I just don’t think we have the full story.”
She was right, Bonnie knew; there was something wrong, but they weren’t exactly exhibiting the same signs. Then again... He frowned. “It’s only the third day of school,” he pointed out, then hesitated. Twelve years. “The third day we’re actually paying any attention, anyway,” he amended.
“We’re bound to notice something if there’s anything else,” Chica finished the thought, and Bonnie nodded thoughtfully in agreement. It was true; they would notice.
They were being forced to interact with them, after all. It wasn’t like their classmates could hide it from them.
“Maybe we should talk to them about it?” Freddy suggested hesitantly, and Bonnie’s eyes snapped up front to him, slightly shocked.
Talk to them? That could go wrong in a number of ways... But it wasn’t a bad idea.
However, Bonnie doubted the first civil conversation they should have with said classmates should be about their suspicions. That would cause the students to close off faster than their silent snooping would.
“What?!” Foxy squealed, his voice almost-amusingly high pitched from shock. Clearly he disagreed completely. “Talk to them about it? Are you crazy, Fazbear?! It’s one thing watchin’ ‘em from a distance but actually gettin’ involved- at that point we might as well just call the cops!”
Bonnie frowned- another good point. Actually, why aren’t we just doing that?
“We can’t,” Goldie stated, as if answering Bonnie’s unasked question. His tone was flat and harsh, a tone Bonnie wasn’t familiar with from the golden bear. “We’re on unfamiliar ground, Foxy. Besides, I don’t think you call up the cops to say “I think one of my classmates is gettin’ knocked around” or somethin’.”
“The CPS,” Chica put in dully, knowing perfectly well how that would go over. Bonnie frowned.
“They usually give prior warning,” he dismissed, looking away and out the window. Which is stupid; if you suspect someone of abuse why would you warn them that you’re comin’ to investigate? Fucktards... Of course, he had a feeling the parents were the least of the worries- they didn’t even know if it was the parents in the first place.
The image of Salvage and Rodriguez slipping a bloodstained packet between their own came to mind. Yes, Bonnie knew, it wasn’t the parents or abusers- if they’re even separate people- that they needed to worry about. He glanced back towards his friends. “They’re not good at hidin’ it but I get the feelin’ they’re damn good at hidin’ the tracks.”
“Then what can we do? We can’t talk to them,” Foxy insisted, scowling sharply. “One, we don’t like them. Two, they don’t like us. Three, we still don’t know what the hell’s goin’ on.”
The only way to find out is to get them to tell us.
It crossed his mind before he could even register it forming. The only way to find out for sure what’s going on is for them to tell us... and the only way to get them to tell us is to earn their trust.
The thought made him feel... squeamish. It sounded a lot like befriending the students that they had been antagonizing since middle school.
“It wouldn’t kill us to be more friendly towards them,” Freddy stated, his tone somewhat clipped. He had, unknowingly, voiced exactly what Bonnie had been thinking.
Be more friendly towards them.
“Besides,” the bear continued, sounding somewhat defensive, “I don’t dislike them, I’ve always been neutral on this subject. The only reason they don’t like us is because you lot all started actin’ aggressive towards them. I clearly remember them bein’ neutral about us until they finally noticed.”
Geez, Freddy, just shove that guilt stake deeper, why don’t’cha.
“Arguin’ won’t do us any good,” Chica interrupted before Foxy could respond. “How about this, let’s compromise.”
Compromise. “Compromise?” he parroted, his tone turning harsh. Compromise about someone’s safety and very life?! “What’s there to compromise about? Someone’s gettin’ hurt, when someone’s hurt you fucking help them, whether you like them or not!”
“Has it occurred to you that the best way to help may be to not get involved?” Chica shot at him, frowning. Bonnie scowled because that makes no damn sense. “They’re always together, clearly they’re just as close as us five are. They don’t need us when they have each other.”
They don’t need us when they have each other.
Bonnie stared at Chica, for a moment completely unable to comprehend what she was saying. Do you even hear yourself?
“Oh yeah,” he snorted, but it wasn’t in amusement; it was in disbelief. “Yeah, let Rodriguez rely on Fischbach, both of whom have bled in the last three days,” he said, forcing his tone to be chipper and blunt. “Or better yet, let them rely on Blanc- the kid who barely pays any attention to where they’re going. Or Salvage, who’s apparently having family problems and is having to play the role of parent already.”
“Bonnie,” Chica started, her tone warning, but Bonnie didn’t give her a chance to continue.
He dropped his chipper, “agreeable” tone to level his friend with steely red eyes, and he growled out through clenched teeth, “Their foundation is unstable, Chica. Face it.” Before anyone could question his meaning, he added, “What happens to houses built on unstable foundations? They collapse.”
Chica scowled at him. “These are people, Bonnie, not houses-”
“What happens if Rodriguez gets killed, Chica?” Bonnie interrupted, staring her down. The fact that they were talking about people and not houses made the situation much more serious in Bonnie’s opinion- because they were all depending on each other, not on themselves. “Or Fischbach- or any of them? What then? If it takes all five of them to be an unstable foundation, what happens when one of them falls?” He didn’t give her, or the others, a chance to answer. “They all fall, that’s what!”
The silence following his words was just as tense and heavy as the silence in his bedroom just two days before. He knew the real meaning behind his words were slowly sinking in, Chica’s magenta eyes never leaving his crimson.
Unsurprisingly, it was Foxy who spoke up next.
“You don’t know that,” Foxy mumbled, though his voice held no conviction. “You’re suggestin’ things again, Bonnie. Things that might not be true at all.”
“They’re troubled,” Goldie added as he pulled into the driveway, “but they’re not... that troubled, are they?”
“We don’t know,” Freddy answered simply, unbuckling his seatbelt. Bonne watched him, frowning. “The simple fact of the matter is we don’t know. And that’s a problem.”
It is.
Freddy seemed to hesitate before turning and scanning over all of their faces, frowning at each of them. Bonnie felt completely incapable of speaking in that moment.
A decision was being made.
The only way to get them to tell us is to earn their trust.
To become someone they can rely on.
“I don’t know about you,” Freddy started, watching them all, “but I don’t want to keep being one more crack in their foundation.” Freddy’s blue eyes flicked over to Bonnie. “If their foundation, as Bonnie is suggesting, is unstable and breaking...” he paused, as if unsure of what he was about to say. “I don’t want to be the thing that breaks it.”
With that, Freddy opened the door and slid out. The silence his departure left was almost suffocating, and after several seconds of silence, just watching Freddy make his way towards the house, Bonnie hit the release button on his own buckle.
He slid the door open and glanced back at his friends. He wasn’t sure what their choice would be- but he knew what his own was. He was glad that he wasn’t alone, though.
“I don’t either.”
Hitching his bag and guitar case up, he slid out of the van and followed Freddy. Even if Chica, Foxy, and Goldie kept their distance, he knew there was one person on his side. One person who couldn’t just watch their classmates fall, no matter what history they had. At least one other person who wanted to help.
Earn their trust and become someone they can rely on, huh...