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*BANG!*
The loud crashing sound of the vent cover hitting the ground echoes. Busted screws hit metal as the small child works to maneuver his body out of the cramped space and down onto the carpeted upper atrium.
Gregory lets out a grunt as his feet hit the ground, the screwdriver gripped tight in his hand as he fights to catch his breath, barely having escaped the clutches of the deranged rabbit lady in pursuit of him.
He scans the area, letting his senses and adrenaline guide him as he looks for the nearest hiding spot to take temporary cover and recaliberate. As luck would have it, he just so happened to be near an empty photo booth. Dashing as fast as he could on a simple can of fizzyfaz, Gregory books it, barely avoiding a STAFF bot before reaching the curtain and tearing it open. He seats himself, letting air reenter his lungs.
And now that he was safely hidden, he could let out his pent up frustration.
It was supposed to be so simple. Grab the security pass, get to the loading docks, escape out the back door, before any of the wacked out animatronics or lunatic costumed rabbits caught him and spread his insides all over the walls.
But nooo now he had been dragged all the way back to the front of the building, having been captured and thrown into the lost and found, where he awoke confused and disoriented, until his assailant’s face flashed the screen. Gregory’s ears turned red as the image flashed in his mind of the one person that had set his progress back, that somehow wasn’t the bots, or even the bunny.
No, it was that guard.
That goddamn security guard!
How unlucky did a kid have to be, to not only get locked inside of a megaplex, where every single sentient entity seemed to have a thirst for his blood no matter how much of a “helpful” demeanor they put on, but for the ONE OTHER HUMAN to also have it out for him too?!
Sure he was a kid, and from her eyes, she probably did see nothing but a little troublemaker, sneaking around and trying to cause chaos to what may have very well been an already stressful routine given that she was one person supposedly guarding an entire mall complex on her own.
But that wasn’t his fault! He didn’t mean to get trapped there, and contrary to what she may have said every time she shot her mouth off, he was trying to leave the entire time. It wasn’t his fault that Freddy seemed to be the only being here that actually gave a fazfuck to actually wanna help him instead of hunting him down like prey (no wonder he had always been Gregory’s favorite).
And furthermore, what kinda guard locks down all the doors and shuts down all communication networks, effectively trapping him further, instead of actually helping him and releasing just ONE of the doors to let him go!? Did she really have to grab him, scream at him, shine a blinding light in his face and then toss him onto a pile of old merch clothing like he was a sack of potatoes?!
And what was the worst part, she took his fazwatch!
The more the kid thought, the more his annoyance grew. Screw the glamrocks, screw the daycare attendant, screw the freaking annoying STAFF bots, even screw the rabbit!
No, that woman was a problem. Someone that he should be able to trust, yet somehow knew from the get go that he couldn’t. And it seemed his senses were right. And now because of her, he had no way of contacting Freddy to figure out what the hell to do now.
“Great, now what do I do?” He whispers to himself, feeling for the fazwatch that was no longer wrapped around his wrist. He needed that back! Who did she think she was just taking it from him like that? How would she like it if someone just stole something from her like that?!
…
Huh.. maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad idea.
A newfound determination courses through him. Peeking through the curtain to make sure the coast was clear, the boy’s face goes from bitter sourness to an impish smirk.
Time to give that ‘officer’ a taste of her own medicine.
------
Vanessa was probably having the absolute worst night of her life.
And not just from the severe lack of caffeine that her body was dealing with, or even the fact that she was running on maybe a total of 3 hours sleep tops despite having a 14 hour shift. Not even the fact that both the maniacal rabbit entity and its so called "reluctant" apprentice formed using her mindset and was also piloting her body without her permission, was far more aggressive tonight than that had been previously.
No, it was because of all the nights, it had to be THIS one that some rotten little brat snuck into the pizzaplex and was just causing all kinds of issues! How was it even possible that she sends THREE state of the art glamrock animatronics to capture and bring him to her, and somehow he evaded every single one?!
No matter. He was locked away safely in lost and found until she could figure out what her next move was.
Vanessa stood crouched over the bathroom sink, hands gripping at the porcelain edges while she tried to ignore the swarm of darkened whispers and high pitched giggles. She stared herself in the mirror, noting the loss of color in her face, making her freckles barely visible, as well as the dark eyebags that her mascara didn’t do shit to cover. Her brows knit into a scowl, trying her best to keep her composure.
“Keep it together. You caught the kid. He’s locked away in lost and found where he can’t get out. It’ll be fine.” Vanessa whispered, trying to ignore the ramblings of the sewer rabbit bastard stuck in her cranium, or her own rabbit doppelganger’s insidious musings. Her internal thoughts could very well put her in danger. So she did her best to keep them at bay, focusing her attention on the newest little “issue.”
Right, that was her main priority. Looking down, she noticed the fazwatch that she had confiscated from him sticking out of her pocket. It had been ringing like crazy, no doubt someone was trying to communicate with the little brat. Which meant that he wouldn’t be the only one in trouble in that case.
Vanessa let out a puff of air through her nose, removing her hands from the sink and smoothing out the security shirt. Despite how badly her anxiety was through the roof right now, that wouldn’t stop her from doing her job.
She turns the faucet on, removing her cap momentarily, and splashing water on her face, hopeful that the coolness of the liquid will quell her nerves for the time being. As she goes to grab another handful, she hears a creak.
“Wha-who’s there?!” She screams out, looking up but being unable to open her eyes due to the water in them. When she hears no answer, she huffs. Turning the water off and using her sleeve to dry her face. As soon as she’s done, she goes to retrieve her security cap, only instead of her fingers meeting fabric, they are met with the cold porcelain of the sink.
“Huh, what? Where’s my hat?” Confused, she opens her eyes, and to her shock, the hat is not there. Checking the whole rest of the sink, and even feeling with her foot under it to see if it fell off, there was nothing. The hat had just magically vanished. “Wh-where could it have gone? I literally just had it!”
Vanessa steps away from the sink, looking in every corner to make sure she didn’t miss it in front of her nose. There was nothing. She even went and checked the stall that she had previously come out of, even knowing that there was no possible way that it was there either. And sure enough, it wasn’t.
Great, now on top of the weird atmosphere that this place had surrounding it given all the people that had gone ‘missing’, now there was apparently some mysterious vortex causing random miscellaneous objects to just vanish.
Or at least that's what she told herself, it wouldn’t surprise her by this point.
“Ughh! Seriously! First I have a kid to deal with, and now a missing hat! It's just one thing after another!” She whines, exiting the stall throwing her hands up dramatically, not even paying attention to the fact that the watch popped out of her pocket during her flailing.
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to her, the said “vortex” had already retreated and booked out of there, a sly quiet giggle following in his tracks.
“Ha! Serves her right for taking my stuff” Gregory silently cheered, holding both his watch that he snatched back off the floor, as well as the whiny guard’s hat. Grinning, he places the hat atop his own head, adjusting it some so it didn’t cover his eyes. He steps out from the corner like a cartoon villain rubbing his hands together.
“And just you wait, “officer.” I’m just getting started.”
----
“Hey you there!” The guard’s voice echoes down the backdoors behind rockstar row. A lone Security Bot patrolling the area stopped and swiveled on its tires, momentarily shining the light in the same path the voice was coming from. Vanessa squints, then points to the top of the bot’s head. “Give me your hat.”
The STAFF bot chirps, cocking its head like a confused dog, before speaking in monotone, “company policy requires all security personnel to be in uniform at all times while clocked in.”
Vanessa pauses, eyes bugging for a second, then falling back downward annoyingly, “yea I know that! I am security personnel! Now give me your hat!” Growing impatient, she goes to snatch it off the bot, only to be stopped by a cold robotic arm grabbing her wrist.
“I am sorry. Company policy requires that all security personnel be in uniform at all times whi-
“Ugh just forget it, you useless hunk of metal!” She yells, yanking her arm back and stomping off, more frustrated than before, while the STAFF bot simply watches her. A few beeps sound off before it spits out one final remark.
“What a… total bitch.”
—-
Vanessa was still fuming as she made her way back over to the front of the megaplex, still hatless. Her irritation had only grown the more loose strands of her hair flying out of the tight ponytail that got in her face.
“Seriously, where could it have gone? I know I’m not that crazy!” Her mind was reeling, as she made her way over to the lost and found. She went to pull out the security badge on her belt, one that worked as a makeshift key card for all security guards.
*WEEEEEEEEEEEE*
“AHHHH!!” The sound of a sudden blaring made her scream her lungs out, immediately throwing her hands over her ears and nearly doubling over from both the loudness and the utter shock. “WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!”
She was convinced by now she was losing her mind. After taking a few seconds to recompose herself, she goes to ping herself into the room. Except when she went to bring the badge up to the door, there was nothing in her hand.
“Shit, I must’ve dropped it when that sound blasted in my ear!” She quietly cursed, bending down to grab the dislodged item from her hand. And once again, she was met with nothing.
“Wha- no. It- it was literally right here! All I did was drop it!” She starts going frantic, feeling every spot on the tiled floor, looking in corners and crevices of the room, even looking under the door of lost and found on the off chance that it somehow slid under the door. “Great! Now I won’t be able to get into any doors!”
This was becoming a nightmare. First a vanishing hat, now a teleporting badge. She grit her teeth so hard that they threatened to break like ice cubes. Again, she pauses to recompose herself, throwing her hand over her face while she takes methodical deep breaths.
Feeling that maybe she was calm again, she goes to peer into the window of lost and found. What she sees nearly makes her hair stand on end.
The kid was gone.
“Wha- how?!” She was effectively going nuts at this point. How freaking clumsy was she to literally misplace everything that she had?! First her hat, than the badge goes missing, and now the kid is-
…
Oh no.
“No...” Vanessa has a rare light bulb moment, one that both relieves her and also makes her blood boil. As the case of her missing items, suddenly didn’t feel like such a mystery anymore.
“Oh, that little boy is so dead now!”
—---
Gregory was feeling the triumph of his victories as he merrily skipped along through the atrium, holding the badge of the disgruntled security guard that he managed to scare right out of her hands. His plan was going perfectly.
As he rounded the corner, a sudden familiar beeping sounded off. He skidded to a halt, doing a quick sweep of the surroundings to see if any of the bots had been alerted by the noise. While he didn’t notice any immediate bouncing, he did spot Roxy over near one of the party tables, hunched over with claws protruded as usual ready to tear into whatever meat they could find.
Sighing, the boy books it to the nearest photobooth and tears open the curtain, better to be safe than sorry, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out the fazwatch and replacing it with the badge. He gently wraps it back around his left wrist, fastening it extra tightly before clicking the button on the receiver end and putting the mic up to his mouth, “Freddy, are you there?”
“Gregory! Thank goodness. I was beginning to worry when you did not pick up.” Freddy’s robotic voice echoed back, sounding more staticky than before, but the boy just brushes it off.
“Sorry Freddy. That stupid security lady caught me and took my fazwatch!” He yelled in a more hushed tone as he noticed what sounded like footsteps right outside the curtain. His eyes widen for a second before he realizes that the wolf didn’t hear him, too busy complaining into her own ears.
“I am so sorry to hear that, it is a good thing that she gave it back to you.” Freddy reasons, which just makes the boy scoff and roll his eyes.
“No she didn’t. I stole it back! Along with some.. other things of hers.” His voice grows more sly in tone, which causes the bear’s processors on the other end to speed up.
“Gregory, are you sure… that is a good idea? I do not think she would be very pleased with you just taking her stuff like that.” Freddy reprimands, a faint hint of concern laced within the scolding tone. The brunette furrows his brows, jutting out his lip in a pout.
“Hey she started it! She shouldn’t have taken my stuff in the first place! It’s the least she deserves!” Gregory proclaimed boldly, his hand slowly raising up to his mouth again once he noticed the volume of his voice could accidentally alert one of the bots of his hiding place. He brings the watch up closer, “..besides, a few harmless pranks never hurt anyone. She’ll be fine!”
Freddy emits something akin to a sigh on the other end, skeptical of the boy’s plan for revenge but realizing there isn’t much he can do to stop him either. “Ok, as long as you are sure.” He settles with, not wanting to agitate him anymore, “Meet me in the roxy raceway. But hurry, I fear of what may happen if I miss a recharge cycle.”
Gregory nods, clicking off the fazwatch. He goes to stand in the booth, adjusting the hat still perched on his head that kept falling over his eyes. Peeling the curtain back a bit, he lets one eye take a quick sweep, listening for any sounds of the wolf, before deciding that the coast was finally clear. Ripping it open, he hops outside and sprints as fast as he can to the nearest disabled escalators on his way to meet Freddy.
As he makes his way to the top, he immediately draws into stealth mode, noticing the agro gator pacing up and down the foyer. Diving behind trash cans and palm trees, he manages to sneak past Monty without alerting him or any nearby security bots.
Relief swarms him, and he slows his pacing down some as he set off to Roxy Raceway. “Yes! Just gotta get to the elevators now and up to the raceway.” He was determined, heels clicking against the tiled floor as his hair whips from the speed and he dives into the elevator, throwing his hand on the button to go down.
Gregory uses the time to catch his breath, not really being fond of this constant being chased by every single thing in the pizzaplex. He huffs out his nose, his hand feeling the bump in his pocket where the guard’s badge was. His face curves into a smirk.
Well, at least one of them was getting what they deserved for it.
——
Meanwhile, Vanessa was at her wits end by this point, Anger over taking her as she has to traverse the halls of the pizzaplex, not being able to access any of the security doors thanks to the little brat’s Houdini tricks.
“When I catch you little boy oho, you have NO IDEA how much trouble you’ll be in!” Vanessa spits out with venom, her agitation and determination growing every second she sees a security door or a flyaway hair brushes against her face.
Vanessa takes a flight of stairs, which is just a broken down escalator, up to the next level. Mouthing curse words as she sets her sights on finding the little thief. Her hands ball up into fists as she rounds a corner, and she notices for the first time how dark it was. Confused at first, she suddenly remembered that she hadn’t been using the flashlight, her determination to catch the boy making it seemingly slip her mind. But as soon as she went to pull it up, she noticed her fatal mistake.
Crap! She must’ve dropped it in a wave of rage induced fog. Panic engulfs her as she realizes not only is the flashlight gone, but the little kleptomaniac was still no where to be found. Swiftly turning on heel, she runs back to the escalator that she came up from, silently pleading that he hadn’t realized she dropped it.
“Please still be there. Please still be there!” Her voice pleads silently, rounding the corner again and stopping just right before she gets to the staircase. Much to her shock, the flashlight was still there, right on the floor. “Thank Faz!” Vanessa prodded over to it, bending down to pick it up and click it on. Except when she clicked it, no light came out of it.
“Huh? What?” She clicked it off and tried again. But was once again met with nothing. Furrowing her brow, she starts smacking the flashlight against her palm, only then noticing how much lighter it felt then before. Her eyes widen the moment it hits her. “No..”
Her hand goes to immediately screw off the cap on the bottom, shaking it upside down.The moment a puff of air comes out, she screeches.
“HE TOOK THE FUCKING BATTERIES?!”
Angrier than ever, she throws the flashlight back down onto the ground, her fists balled up so tightly that her nails dig into the skin, now more determined than ever to catch the little runt.
Forget the police. Now, it was personal.
—-
Gregory was riding on the high of his triumphs.
He silently cheered himself as he once again adjusted the cap on his head, while also patting the pockets of his cargo shorts currently stuffed with the guard’s badge, as well as a pair of batteries that he managed to snag once he realized the clumsy oaf had dropped her flashlight. Seriously? How was this woman even qualified as a guard in the first place, let alone the HEAD of security?
Never mind that, the boy still had a task at hand. He hadn’t forgotten that his mission was to get to Freddy, but he also couldn’t help himself when the flashlight was just right there, its like she was practically giving him these victories on a silver platter.
His lips curve into a devious grin as the elevator chimes open, but then immediately transforms into more of a grimace as soon as he sees the figure right outside the door at the top of the escalator.
“THERE YOU ARE!”
Vanessa stared daggers at the boy, heavy breathing exposed through panting out through her nose, wafting in waves that made her resemble an angry bull. Her face was blood red, with multiple blonde hairs sticking to her sweat covered face. The boy would’ve been intimidated, if it wasn’t for the woman looking like a completely disheveled mess in a way that made him bite back a smirk.
“Oh, hey officer. You’re looking.. A bit rough there, huh?” Gregory was playing with fire now, knowing damn well that the woman was already enraged. But it wasn’t like he could exactly deny anything with the evidence was quite literally right on him. Her eyes narrow dangerously.
“You think you’re funny, don’t you?” She questions sarcastically, gritting her teeth all the while as she attempted to quell the boiling rage in her blood. “Your little game is over. Now give me back my stuff!”
Gregory just stares, still biting his cheek. He knew that he could be in heaps of trouble by this. It was one thing to run away from a security officer, but to actively steal off of them, could potentially land him in very hot water. Yet for some reason, he didn’t seem scared by her. Instead, he cocks his head with a smug expression, “Nah, I think I’ll keep it. I think the hat suits me better anyway.”
Vanessa stares completely wide eyed and dumbfounded, “Wha- that wasn’t a request! It was a demand!” She explains, her voice going more high pitched the angrier she got, that Gregory was sure she was close to resembling a tea kettle.
“Sorry but.. I gotta go now. See ya!” He immediately declares, even having the gall to tip the hat on his head before speeding off. Vanessa was seeing red by this point.
“Hey! GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW YOU BRAT!” She screams out as she takes off right after him, the boy being hyped up on cans of fizzyfaz doing nothing to slow him down.
The chase was on, and somehow it sent extra waves of adrenaline pumping in his stomach. He knew that she was completely livid, ready to throw him into the dog house, yet for some reason he found the idea of just messing with her far more amusing than he should’ve.
Without her light, Vanessa could barely see where she was going, she could only make out the subtle blur in front of her. So she goes as fast as her feet will carry and does her damnest to not run into any objects sticking out. Gregory decides to use this little restriction to his advantage.
The boy starts running in zig zags through the hall of the upper floor, moving in waves and diving behind trees and trashcans in a way that was starting to make the woman disoriented. Her head becomes fuzzy as her darkened vision starts to take its toll. She tries keeping up with the patterns, but it becomes too much, the combination of lack of coherent thoughts plus being on the crutch of vertigo was a deadly one as she started straight for a chair near one of the restaurants that immediately sent her crashing onto the floor.
“Ahh!” She screamed, landing hard on her shoulder and hip. Groaning a bit in pain at first, then it increasing in intensity as the frustration overtakes pain.
Before she can process the overexuberant emotions, she feels something tug at her right foot. She reflexes, trying to kick off whatever it was. It takes her a moment, but she eventually registers that it was not stuck on something, but something was pulling at it. She flings her head over her shoulder, and the blur makes its appearance again.
“Hey! What are you- stop that!” She starts kicking, and manages to snag her foot free, but loses the oxford attached to it in the process. She bolts upright, watching as the smug grin of the blur holds up the shoe like a prize. She’s less angry by this, and moreso utterly shocked. “SERIOUSLY?? WHAT DO YOU EVEN WANT MY SHOE FOR?? ITS NOT EVEN YOUR SIZE!”
A shoulder shrug, before he tucks it under his arm and takes off, leaving the stunned woman in his wake, now sporting one less shoe than before.
—---
By this point, Vanessa’s mood was starting to morph from frustration into some form of paranoia.
She found herself hiding away in one of the staff locker rooms, constantly glancing over her shoulder with every tiny sound she heard. It certainly wasn’t helped by the fact that the two rabbit idiots taking refuge in her head were straight up laughing at her.
“It’s not funny!” She screeched out in a whispered tone, not wanting any potential bystander ears to hear and give her away.
This was so stupid. How could she.. A 23 year old HEAD security officer, let herself be intimidated to the point of hiding by a small little boy?! How freaking pathetic did she have to be?!
Vanessa felt that growing migraine again deep in her skull. Throwing a hand up, she grits her teeth and tries to not let the sudden onslaught of voices breaking through the barrier distract her. Right.. She still had a job to do. She was the officer! She was the adult. She was the one in charge here!
*CREEEEEAK*
“EEK!” The most high pitched whimper fell from her throat as she threw herself up onto one of the benches, scanning her eyes across the floor and through the doors as if she’d seen a mouse. “My god, get it together woman!” She scolded internally, gently placing both her feet back onto the ground, silently cursing as she remembered she was one shoe less as the fabric of the sock did very little to insulate from the freezing cold tile.
It had suddenly turned into a stealth mission, with her dodging behind corners and any interior openings with any sound she heard, even though the sane part of her brain told her if was just the STAFF bots on cleaning duty, she ignored it. For all she knew, that little monster could be one of them in disguise!
Eventually she manages to safely secure herself into the staff only restroom, locking the door and throwing herself into the nearest stall. Did she have to go? Not particularly, but better to be safe than sorry and risk having an embarrassing accident.
So she threw herself down onto the porcelain throne, undoing her belt and allowing herself to do her business. Finally, she let out relieving sighs in waves. Her ears felt like Niagara falls with how much blood was rushing through them. But that didn’t matter, she was safe from that wretched kid for a spell.
Or at least she thought.
As soon as she went to pull her pants back up, she watched as a hand shot through the bottom of the stall like a cartoon horror. Her eyes widened in shock and panic.
“AHHHHHHH!” *STOMP*
A shrill cry echoes as her still clad left shoe comes down on it. But it didn’t matter, that slimy snake was still able to slither away with his prize: her belt.
“ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!” Vanessa was about to blow at this point, as she was sure she had literal steam coming out of her ears. “WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!” This had become far more than just petty revenge, he was messing with her just for the thrill. At this point, she didn’t even care if she had to break company policy, that little shit was going DOWN.
The door creaks again, and Vanessa throws herself out through the door just in time to watch through blurred vision as the blob takes off down the dark hallway back up to the atrium. How did the little brat even get down here in the first place?! Did he have some built in map of the complex?? Didn’t matter, all she knew was that he was toast once she got her hands on him.
Meanwhile, Gregory was cackling like a hyena at his feat, all the while still rubbing his now sore hand thanks to that woman nearly smashing it with her foot. But hey, at least he still managed to snag her pants belt. “Lets see you catch me while needing to hold your pants up now!” He gave a very confident, cheeky grin, using his legs that were slowly starting to tire to make it back up to the atrium. He barely even registered that raging bull behind him.
“GREGORRRYYY!!”
“There she is.” He proudly proclaimed, sneaking a glance back and nearly doubling over when she was in fact, using one hand to hold up her pants. The woman looked an absolute disaster at this point, all the while she looked like she was gonna explode at any moment.
Once again the chase was on, and despite trying to keep her pants from falling to her ankles, she actually was surprisingly good at keeping up with him. It must’ve been the boiling range giving her a boost. But it didn’t matter, because he was close to reaching the vent, and once he climbed inside, he would be home free and free to go find Freddy.
“Well, its been fun, but I got things to do. So see ya!” Gregory gave a mock salute as he ripped open the vent and climbed inside. Success!
While it was admittedly a little hard to navigate while also holding the guard’s stolen stuff, he was still able to crawl in. Victory swarmed his brain as he saw the approaching guard, ready to flip her the bird once she realized he was in there and could do nothing about it.
Except she didn’t stop. And instead, to his utter shock and horror, she climbed right in after him.
“Wait what?!” He screeched, nearly toppling over as he watched the far bigger woman squeeze herself into the vent. Gregory was now aware that he may have made a fatal mistake, and rather than simply crawling through, he booked it. “Y-you’re crazy, lady!”
Vanessa gave a sneer, “Oh little boy, you haven’t SEEN me crazy yet!” She gave a cryptic warning, but her steam was running thin. As they both navigated through the tunnel system, metal banged as both weights inside threatened to give out at any moment. Gregory spots his opening, and takes off towards the vent that led straight into a security office.
Using his velcro sneaker, he busts it off its hinges, hopping down and landing perfectly on his feet. Out of breath, he uses the few seconds he had bought to catch some extra oxygen. But its not long before the mad woman rounds the corner and comes tumbling right after.
“OOF!” Gregory squinted as he heard a crash that didn’t sound too promising. Though when he turned around, the sight he was met with.. suddenly made all of his adrenaline drain.
Vanessa lay on the ground, eyes squeezed shut as she nursed a sore spot on her backside from where it had hit solid flooring. As soon as she came to, she went to stand but realized she felt a sudden draft. And once she realized why that was, she froze.
The woman had snagged her loose pants onto a bolt sticking out, and in her fury and rush to capture the kid, had not noticed until she was trying to pull herself out of the vent. Which she did, except the pants did not follow, and instead had been ripped from her body along with her other shoe. The draft she felt did nothing to quell the rising heat.
Gregory hadn’t moved a muscle, simply putting a hand up over his face as he watched all the fight leave the woman. And suddenly, it didn’t feel like such a victory anymore.
“M-miss I..”
He couldn’t even finish his sentence before she was ripping off the security top, revealing a white tank top underneath. She quickly threw herself down onto the ground, using the top to cover her bottom half and attempt to mitigate any of the already utter humiliation.
Gregory stood there speechless, a rising ache bubbled in his stomach as he simply gazed at the woman on the floor, now stripped of her uniform and about three fourths of her dignity. For the first time he could truly see how red she was in the cheeks, and also in her eyes.
Vanessa didn’t even look in his direction, curled into herself like a battered animal. Her lip jutted outward as she didn’t even make an attempt to go over the kid. He’d already done enough damage.
“Just get out of here, I’m done dealing with you.”
For some reason, the way she spoke those words made his chest ache. Maybe it was the flashes of adrenaline that had now depleted from him, or maybe it was the fact that his simple little pranks had reduced the stern and mean security lady to…this.
He continues to stand, fiddling with the shoe and belt in hand, until he hears her bark again. “Didn’t you hear me? I said get lost, kid!”
“But I-
“JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!!” She screeched, her voice cracking as she wrapped her arms around herself, a faint chill making her shoulders shiver. Gregory flinched at the noise, but the crack in her voice did nothing to help with the ever rising ache.
Th-this wasn’t fair! She was the one that started it in the first place! She’s the one that grabbed him and threw him in lost and found, she’s the one that kept calling him a little brat, she’s the one that took his fazwatch and then kept chasing him. She-
…
She was doing her job.
Damn it! The brunette internally cursed. It wasn’t supposed to go down like this. It was just supposed to be a few pranks to get back at her for driving him up the wall all night! It was supposed to be harmless. He wasn’t supposed to be sitting here feeling bad for her! But the more he looked, the more he couldn’t help it.
He had taken it way too far.
Now she was just laying here now, reduced to a puddle of tremoring limbs and shaky breaths while looking like she was trying not to burst into tears.
He hated this. And he hated that he hated this. Because he SHOULDN’T feel bad for the woman that’s been trying to get him all night. Waving that damn light around and blowing all but curse words his way. Except now, he didn’t even see that when he looked at her. She was just.. a hurt woman. Maybe not in physical pain, but still clearly hurt emotionally and humiliated.
Gregory blew a stray hair out of his face as he huffed. The whole ordeal had gone completely south. He could cut and run right now and she would do nothing. But he couldn’t just leave her vulnerable like that. Try as he might, he hated seeing her like that. She was just doing her job and all he did was toy with her. Something he probably would’ve got heated at too.
Maybe they weren’t so different.
Vanessa meanwhile, couldn’t even look the kid in the eye. She had already taken enough. The constant berating in her head on top of now literally being stripped of her dignity. It was too much.
She was about to scream at the kid again when she watched him walk out of her peripheral vision. Finally! She could just lay here in defeated peace.
Except he popped right back in. Only this time he was holding something that he dropped at her feet. Vanessa dared a small glance, and quirked her brow in confusion as she watched the boy plop down her pants, as well as both shoes, and her belt.
Vanessa gaped up at him, a fair amount of skepticism crossing her face. He simply stepped back a bit, before reaching into his pocket and also pulling out the batteries and security badge. And finally, removing the cap and placing it all down on the ground next to her.
She stared at the stuff for a second, pondering if this was just a trick before reluctantly reaching a hand out to grab the pants. When he didn’t immediately lunge, she grasped them and went to stand up.
“Don’t worry, I won’t look.” He said putting his hands up before facing the other wall of the security office. He listened as the woman grunted some trying to wiggle back into her trousers, while trying to calm the pounding in his chest.
“You can turn around now.”
Gregory heard her all clear, spinning on his heel and facing the blonde, who was once again adorned fully in her security guard outfit.
They stood there for a solid few seconds, just staring, like they were trying to read each other like a book. Proving to each other that they were an enigma wrapped in a riddle.
“Surprised you actually gave it back.” Vanessa breaks the silence, her voice softer but still maintaining that sarcastic lilt. “You could’ve left.”
“No. I-I didn’t mean to hurt you! It was just a bunch of pranks. I’m sorry.” His apology surprised her nonetheless, but moreso with just how sincere it actually sounded. Maybe he wasn't just a rotten little brat.
“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.” She tells him, her voice far quieter than it had been. Almost seeming shy in nature. Which was kinda fair, given that the intruder had seen her in her London bridges.
“Are you gonna turn me into the police?” He asks in a way she can’t tell if he’s turning himself over to her or not. Whether out of guilt or because he thought there was no where left to run. But instead, she simply turned her head the other way.
“Get out of here kid.”
Gregory looks at her puzzled, surveying her movements to see the moment she jumped him. But she didn’t. She really was just turning a blind eye. But he wasn’t stupid, he knew it was only temporary.
Before exiting out the door, he faces her one more time, “you’re not gonna stop chasing me, are you?”
He couldn’t see her face, but he could’ve swore he heard a slight whimper. She turned her head only slightly, most of her face obscured by her bangs “you know I can’t.”
His face falls, but he just gives a nod before clicking open the door. “Well, then I guess I’ll see you around.” He gives her another mock salute before the door slams shut, leaving the woman alone.
That kid.. wasn’t like others. And he certainly was different than what she originally thought. He could’ve left, he had her down on the ground, he had bested her. But instead, he had chosen to show her compassion.
His words rang in her head. Maybe they would see each other again, and whether that was for better or for worse had yet to be determined.
But one thing that was certain, was that both of them walked out of there in different directions with the same thought in mind.
There was definitely more than met the eye.