C'est Toi, C'est Moi

"Five Nights at Freddy's", its sequel, and all related canon characters are property of Scott Cawthon.

Also features some OCs and my own interpretations of the characters and plot events that may or may not be canon depending on the story of any potential FNAF games in the future. That's what fanfiction is for.

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Chapter 1: Meet the Faz-Heir

August 3, 1987

Whitney Houston's voice on the radio faded out as Jeremy Fitzgerald parked his Ford Escort. He was just a fairly ordinary college student who would've been starting his junior year... if money had allowed it.

It might not have been a major university, but college still demands tuition, and Jeremy was finally reaching the last of his money alotted to him by a few scholarships and prepaid funding that had been saved up during his childhood. He had decided to take a year off from classes, figuring that it wouldn't hurt his biology major too much, in order to focus on saving up money.

And sure enough, at the far reaches of the town, at what was practically an abandoned strip mall, some kind of kid-friendly diner known as "Freddy Fazbear's Pizza" was preparing to open in a few days. A day job here, and a night job possibly as a waiter, and he would be able to live "comfortably" in his apartment as his college fund climbed again.

One of the benefits of working here was one free meal per day, so being given the bare minimum wage couldn't be too bad. Now he just hoped his wild brown hair wouldn't have to be cut in order to meet the dress code standards... he really liked that fluffiness.

As he walked up to the building, he peered through his glasses at several other cars that had been parked outside, suggesting that Jeremy wasn't the only one coming in for a job interview today.

A decal of the smiling mascot greeted him with a printed "Welcome!" on the door's window, and Jeremy stepped inside.

"Here for the interview?" asked the man in a goldenrod polo shirt standing near the door. He appeared middle-aged, plump, and had brown hair swept to one side with an odd gray hair or two.

"Yes, sir," Jeremy confirmed, extending a hand. "I'm Jeremy Fitzgerald."

"Nice to meet you. The name's Frank Fazari, I'm the manager of this establishment." (1)

"Faz...?" Jeremy's voice started to trail off, but Frank shook his head.

"No, no, I'm just a manager. My older brother is the one who started the business. Even gave me a position as manager out of the 'kindness' of his heart," Frank explained, his voice turning bitter at the end. "So, I guess I should take you over to meet the other recruits, huh? All right, it's over here to the left in the main area."

He stepped through the doorway, leading him into a much larger room decorated with the same checkerboard tile. The actual renovations of the building were probably done, with colorful wallpaper decorating the walls and posters of the franchise's characters scattered everywhere. Five round wooden tables had been set up, already with a number of people seated around each of them.

"Just take a seat wherever you want," Frank stated, before walking off towards what appeared to be the stage.

Jeremy meandered over toward one of the tables in the middle, where the five people seated stared back at him silent and practically expressionless. No room for him here, he supposed.

"Hello, hello!" a friendly voice called out to him. Jeremy turned around, a young man waving his left hand at him. "Hey, uh... if you need a seat, we've got an empty spot here!"

"Thank you," Jeremy replied quietly, taking the seat between the guy who had called him over and a girl with curly blonde hair.

"TESTING? TES... okay, yeah, it's on," Frank stated into the mic on stage, lowering his volume. "Okay, so... shoot, I should have brought the script... okay. Listen up. We, or rather, Fazbear Entertainment, recently made an investment in a family dining business... and now they're shooting for - er, no - they're trying to make the business more family-friendly. Or family-friendlier, especially with kids."

"He really should've brought that script, huh?" muttered a different girl at Jeremy's table. Her skin had a faint olive tone and her hair was a lovely dark color, like ebony. Another young man at the table, who appeared to be Hispanic, looked silently over at her and back at Frank onstage, his brows furrowed slightly.

"So, that is where you, the potential future employees of Freddy Fazbear's Pizza come in. Um, our CEO, Federico Fazari, believes that teamwork and support is essential in reaching one's goals. There's no 'i' in 'team', as the saying goes. So, we've decided we'll work with everyone in, uh, team units and figure out what you're good at, and if I like what I see, then I'll hire you. There was probably some better way on deciding teams, but... I think it would just be easier to have you teamed up with the people you're seated with. So, just take a few minutes to introduce yourself to everyone, talk about what position you're aiming for, and whatever else you're supposed to talk about in ice-breakers like this."

The room grew louder as everyone began chatting and introducing themselves.

"Sheesh, they make it seem like it's some kind of summer camp," the same girl from earlier remarked, rolling her eyes. Blonde girl, on the other hand, was eager to start, her curls springing wildly as she bounced up out of her seat.

"Okay! Can I go first?" she asked, looking around at everyone at the table. "All right! My name's Sophia Baldwin, I'm nineteen, and I'm getting this job to help pay for college, probably like a lot of you guys."

She laughed, as did the friendly guy from earlier. Jeremy exchanged a smile with the Hispanic guy seated across from him.

"Um, but to be more specific, I'm hoping to earn a degree in nursing. I really like the idea of helping people, so I want to get a spot on 'The Crew' as part of the first aid unit. Aaand just to throw in a silly summer camp answer, my favorite character at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza is Chica!" she took her seat, looking over at Jeremy. "Come on, your turn!"

"Oh! Uh, sure..." he stood up, looking around at the others.

"Hi, I'm Jeremy Fitzgerald. I'm twenty-one and I'm... taking a year off from college to save up some money. I'm majoring in biology right now. I don't really know what kind of job I'd take here... I'm kind of in the same boat as you, Sophia, in that I'd like to make people happy... so maybe just some kind of supervisor to make sure parties are going okay? And, uh, favorite character... um... I think there was some kind of pirate, like a coyote? He seems pretty cool. Uh... whoever wants to go next can go ahead."

Jeremy sat back down. Sophia had already nudged the girl next to her, who sighed heavily, but stood up with a resigned smile.

"Hi, everyone. My name's Heather Carras, and I'm twenty-three. I actually already have my degree... my major was engineering... but I really want to pursue grad school. So I'm also saving up money for college. I'm technically already working here, though, as I'm taking part in an internship by helping assemble the animatronics. Too bad it wasn't a paid internship. I don't really know what kind of job I'd get here, I just want something that preferably isn't janitor work or sitting inside one of those stuffy costumes for an hour while kids kick you in the knee."

She started to sit back down, but Sophia stopped her.

"Nooo...! You have to say which one's your favorite!"

She let out a long sigh.

"Okay, fine. Uhh... well, based on some of the party scripts I've seen programmed into their audio files... it kind of sounds like Bonnie is supposed to be some kind of rock-and-roll scientist... so he seems pretty okay."

Heather took her seat, and Sophia was already eagerly pointing at the Hispanic guy at the table.

"C'mon, you too!" she insisted cheerfully. He shook his head, chewing on his lip. "... Are you okay? We won't make fun of you."

When her tone softened, he relaxed a little, finally standing up.

"Don't speak English a lot. Sorry," he explained, speaking slowly. "My name is Ronaldo Sanchez. Nice to meet you. I am from Costa Rica, and I speak Spanish. I am twenty years."

He paused, worriedly looking around, but everyone nodded encouragingly. He smiled sheepishly.

"I am in English classes, and I need money. Then I get a good job and more money. I know... my English is bad. So, I cook food, I speak less. Or... ... disfraz," he pantomimed putting a large item on his head and waving hello. The confused looks at the table gave way to little "ohhh"s of understanding.

He started to sit down, but once again, Sophia quickly stopped him.

"Who is your favorite character? Or, um, wait... think Spanish... um... kay. An-ee-muhl. Fay-vo-ree-to?" she asked with terrible mispronunciation. "I think I said that right?"

"¿Animal?" he asked. "El oso... brown."

"You mean Freddy!" Sophia chirped. "... okay, Ronaldo! Then that just leaves you, mister!"

"I guess so!" the last guy at the table replied, standing up.

"Hello, hello! Uh, my name's Phil... and I actually already have a job here. We, uh, we were open briefly, but wanted to take care of some... renovations. Fazbear Entertainment really wanted to invest in improving the image of the restaurant after some rumors started flying around... and with business being closed, a lot of employees flocked to find different jobs since they couldn't wait around for their money, so we ended up having to do a lot of rehiring..." his voice trailed off as he noticed the way Heather narrowed her eyes and twisted her lips. "... Uh, is something wrong, Heather?"

"What's your real name, Phil?" she asked. "You seem really professional, and yet you skipped out on giving your full name. Unless... you're nervous about the impression people will have of you? It's okay, I already figured it out, so you don't have to worry about said impression."

"Uh..." he was left absolutely flabbergasted.

"Impression?" Sophia asked.

"What, you haven't heard the rumors? Aside from the ghost story ones, I mean... those are for middle schoolers," Heather asked, leaning back in her seat, folding her arms behind her head.

"Ghost stories?!" Sophia gasped.

"They're- they're just dumb rumors!" Phil snapped.

"The real interesting rumor... is that apparently the son of the CEO works at one of the restaurants. And considering the franchise is still pretty small... there's only a few possible places he could be working at."

The pieces slowly fell into place as Jeremy turned back to Phil, his jaw hanging slightly open.

"Uh, heh, yeah. Let me start over. Uh, my name's Phil Fazari, and I'm twenty-one years old. And, yeah, my father is Federico Fazari, CEO of Fazbear Entertainment."

"But..." Sophia appeared saddened by this revelation. "If your dad's a CEO, how come you're stuck working minimum wage at a place like this?"

"To be fair, I've had my job for a few years, so I've gotten a raise or two over the years. I work as a general supervisor, though I have hosted a few parties, and I'm currently being reviewed for a management position. My parents were kind of divided on how they wanted to raise me... I'm an only child, you see. My dad was the one who liked to spoil me and give me really nice gifts... my mom argued that I needed more discipline and that I should be independent. So, they met in the middle and decided that I had to start taking care of myself once I got into college. Of course, my dad kind of bent the rules and made sure I could land a job at the first Fazbear Pizzeria... and he got me a car for my twentieth birthday... oh, uh, sorry, I kind of started rambling, huh?" Phil cleared his throat. "My major is currently undeclared... though I have taken a lot of business and communications classes. That just about wraps it u- oh, right! My favorite character is Foxy."

Phil took his seat as his uncle returned to the stage.

"Now that that's out of the way, we'll start touring the facility. For example, this - " Frank waved his arms around. " - is the major attraction area. We're going to have animatronics installed on stage to entertain the children, but they have surprisingly advanced AI for our time - they're going to be able to walk around and interact with the kids! We've also got some games along the southern side of the room - skee ball, Whac-A-Mole, that sort of thing - for kids to earn tickets and exchange them for prizes in the corner over there."

Frank hopped down from the stage, walking across the room to a doorway into a room with pastel paint decorating the walls.

"This is going to be the area meant for the younger kids, with a smaller ball pit and playground. The running name we have going for it is just the 'Kids' Cove', since that sounds better than just 'the toddler area'. And over to the left is more of the behind the scenes stuff, namely the kitchen and first aid station, but most of you probably aren't looking for that sort of work," he looked around the room. "Come on, everyone out of your seats, there's more than just this room!"

Everyone exchanged looks and stood up from their tables, following Frank down the hallway.

"Sooo..." Sophia's voice trailed off, playfully walking into Phil's side, bumping him slightly. "What was your childhood like, then? Did your dad buy you lots of toys?"

"Yeah."

"Does that mean your mom was the one buying the books?" Heather added with a chuckle.

"...Yeah," Phil sighed.

"All right, up ahead is the room where we keep the spare parts for the animatronics," Frank announced, pointing to the door with several large signs on it. "We wanted to wait to assemble the animatronics when we had more active staff members available. Just to keep an eye on them during the first few days."

'NO CHILDREN', 'NO GUESTS', 'PARTS AND SUPPLIES', 'EMPLOYEES ONLY', 'HAZARDOUS EQUIPMENT' - all the signs were bright orange or yellow, their letters printed out in all caps and in black to really send the message home that this was not a place for the general public.

It kind of left Jeremy feeling rattled but insatiably curious. As Frank started to lead the others down the left hallway, he quietly approached the door, turning the knob. It gave way, and he slowly opened the door. Two bulging white eyes stared back at him from the dark depths of the room, and oh god did he just see some flashy metal teeth grin at him-

Jeremy yelped, trying to close the door as he fell backwards, trying to get away from the thing, and he probably would have crashed onto the floor had Phil and Heather not caught him first.

"Whoa, easy there!" Phil tried to reassure, looking down at Jeremy. "Why'd you go wandering off from the group?"

"You look like you've seen a ghost," Heather commented, before realizing what room they were standing in front of. "... Oh, you gotta be kidding me."

She chuckled slightly, releasing her hold on Jeremy. Phil stumbled to keep him off the ground, shooting a glare at Heather, as he heaved to pull Jeremy upright in one motion. As Jeremy caught his balance, he flinched as Heather swung the door wide open, turning on the lights in the room. It seemed as though the bulging eyes and metallic teeth belonged to some kind of purple rabbit leaning upright against the wall.

"It's Bonnie! He's an animatronic nerdy bunny rabbit, and you're scared of him?" she asked. "Foxy looks way more spooky, yet he's somehow your favorite? What is up with that, Jim?"

"It's Jeremy. And I didn't see the whole costume... just the eyes and the teeth in the dark..." he argued, a small pout on his face.

Heather rolled her eyes, swinging the door shut behind her, the force strong enough to create a sweeping gust of air. Everyone visibly cringed, and Phil gagged briefly.

"Huele a muerte," Ronaldo commented with a frown, his hand pinched over his nose.

"If you said that it stinks... I agree," Sophia wheezed with a cough.

"That's part of what sparked the ghost stories," Heather remarked, sneering.

"The ghost stories..." Sophia's face paled. "You're not suggesting - "

"That is not what happened!" Phil started to argue.

"What is going on here?!" Frank walked up to the five of them.

"Uncle - I mean, Mr. Fazari," Phil cleared his throat. "Uh, we were... I was just leading everyone back to the tour. We got a little side-tracked."

"I'll say! You'll never land a management position if you keep getting distracted. Now get moving!"

Phil shifted his eyes to the floor with a small frown, walking quietly with the others back to the main group.

"Sorry about the interruption," Frank apologized loudly. "We have four rooms here, two on each side of the hall, that will be rented out for private parties. They're all basically the same, but go ahead and look around them if you so desire."

The bottoms of Phil's shoes scuffed against the tile floor as he swiftly walked into one of the rooms, hands in his pockets and arms tightly tucked against his body.

"Hey, Phil..." he turned at the sound of his name, to see that Jeremy had followed him into the room. "Hey... are you okay?"

He sighed, relaxing his arms and shoulders.

"I'll be okay... just gotta take a few deep breaths, you know?" Phil took a deep breath for emphasis. "My uncle's probably just stressed out from all this renovating and rehiring we have to do. He's all alone as manager, so once some assistants have been hired, he'll probably lighten up a bit... uh, although that might mean I'll be the one stressed out if I land the spot in management."

He smiled wryly.

"Hard to believe he's my dad's brother and not my mom's. I-I mean, she's hard on me, but she's not mean about it. That's not what I meant to say. I probably shouldn't, uh, say stuff like that. It's just... even outside of the family business, my uncle and I never really got along."

Phil scowled and for a brief moment, Jeremy considered asking him to elaborate, but Phil straightened up again with a smile.

"B-but hey, when we're at work, we leave our family troubles at the door... outside... n-never mind. I'll just, uh, try to keep it out of my mind," Phil started to say with a smile, but it faltered. "So, Jeremy, you want to supervise parties?"

"Uh... yeah," he confirmed. It felt like Phil had mostly been talking to himself, so he was surprised that the conversation had turned back to him. "I have a younger sister who's going to start ninth grade in a few weeks, so I'm familiar with babysitting and watching kids. I can handle playing for hours and cleaning up after them."

"Well, that's just one kid. Now imagine parties of four, ten - one time, I had eighteen - kids showing up," Phil stated. Jeremy whistled in amazement, which made him chuckle. "Yeah, you, uh, wouldn't believe some of the things I've been through. A little over two years ago, I was hosting a birthday party among eleven kids. The party atmosphere was admittedly kind of exciting, because it was late June, so it was only a week or two before my own birthday. Well, I wound up getting excited for nothing, heh. There was a fight over a party game, cake was thrown, a kid got punched in the gut and threw up pizza all over the carpet - part of why we switched to a tile floor for easier cleaning - and... and one kid even bit me."

"Yikes," Jeremy murmured, wincing at the thought of it.

"Everything worked out, though... I mean, it didn't hurt and it didn't draw blood, so that- that was good. Actually, one of the employees in-costume at the time came in and helped me out. I felt kind of bad for the kids... they got so excited to see Freddy, but instead he had to break character and just silently lead the five troublemakers, including 'Bitey', out... probably to give them a proper timeout. But one of the parents felt bad and tipped me extra, so, hey, I guess it all turned out okay."

Jeremy laughed nervously, looking at his arms.

"It was only one bite, Jeremy," Phil reassured. "It was a one-time thing. If you're good with kids too, it shouldn't be a problem."

"Yeah..." Jeremy looked up at him with a smile. "Thanks."

At that moment, Sophia poked her head into the room.

"Psst! Guys!" she hissed. "We're gathering in the main hall again... might want to catch up!"

"Oh, uh, right!" Phil agreed, heading out with Jeremy.

"And finally, down here at the end of the hall is the security office. Usually someone just sits at the desk until - I mean, unless - something goes wrong... but we shouldn't have that problem anymore. You see, I wasn't kidding about those new animatronics having impressive AI. They're going to have facial recognition capabilities, and these sensors are going to be tied into a criminal database. Impressive, huh?"

Heather nodded soundly at this statement.

"All right, then..." Frank checked his watch. "It's getting close to one, so how about we take a break for one of those free lunches, and then we'll start filling out paperwork?"

There was a collective mix of groans and cheers as everyone returned to the dining area. Frank and a few of the returning kitchen staff stepped into the kitchen as everyone took their seats and chatted.

"Please tell me the pizza's good," Jeremy prayed, taking a seat with his 'teammates'.

"Well... the kids certainly like it! So, you never know, maybe you'll like it too!" Phil offered with a shrug.

"... stuff sucks," Heather murmured under her breath.

Phil glared at her as one of the staff members passed around five purple paper plates with a slice of cheese pizza to everyone at the table.

"Well... here's to us hopefully getting jobs!" Phil toasted, lifting his slice with one hand.

Jeremy and the others lifted their pizzas in a toast as well, before the five of them took a bite out of the pizza. Fluent English may not have been a common language between them, but groans of displeasure and twisted faces certainly was.

For oven-fresh pizza, it had turned to room temperature by the time it arrived to the table, which didn't help the flavor or texture at all. The cheese was somehow greasy and rubbery at the same time, the crust could be compared to a slab of cardboard, and the sauce was the only thing with flavor, in the sense that it was just... 'there', it didn't really have a defined flavor.

"Hard to believe I used to think pizza like this was the best in grade school," Sophia laughed pitifully.

"Well, I gotta get used to it," Jeremy sighed, finishing off another bite. "One of the reasons I came looking for this job was the free meal to help lighten my budget."

"... Same," replied Sophia and Heather.

"Same?" Ronaldo asked. "Same... what?"

"If you work here - " Phil paused to pantomime wiping a table and sweeping the floor. "You get two free slices of pizza..." he held up two fingers and pointed at the slice on his plate. "... You know, free? You do not pay money?" He removed his wallet from his pocket and shook his head.

"No money? Oh, that's good," Ronaldo nodded with a chuckle. "Not much pizza, not good pizza, but not paying is good."

The five brave young adults finished their pizza, and stomachs full yet unsatisfied, disposed of their plates. Like factory rotation, they returned to their seats to find several pencils and a few pages of paperwork stapled together at each of their seats.

"After that... filling... lunch, we'll conclude today with filling out the actual job applications," Frank explained as many of the recruits started looking over their paperwork. "Just check off the positions you want, and we'll review your performance as the week goes on."

With that in mind, Jeremy started filling out his application, speeding through the identification section. Name? Jeremy Fitzgerald. Date of birth? May 5, 1966. The address of his apartment, his home phone number, education, this was all stuff he already knew.

Check off the positions you would like to apply for. He didn't have enough experience for management... and a tiny part of him hoped that having less applicants for management might help Phil get the job.

Let's see... party supervision? Sure. Receptionist? Why not. Cashier, janitor, kitchen, prize counter, first aid, gameroom monitor... he probably checked off at least ten boxes before moving on to the next section. The typical 'what experience do you have', 'what can you bring to the company'... and a curious third question. He paused to wipe his glasses, just in case he had read the question wrong, but sure enough...

How good are you at dispelling rumors?

Jeremy wiggled the pencil between his thumb and index finger, tapping it against his cheek a few times as he pondered his answer.

Pretty good. I am capable of doing effective research and thinking logically. I consider myself to be an organized person, so I would not get any facts mixed up.

He smiled as his pencil moved across the paper. Yes, that was sure to impress. A few minutes later, he was done. Like the few other employees who had left before him - one of them being Heather - he walked up and handed in his application before leaving.

Stepping outside, he was greeted by the sunny blue sky of another summer day. As he put up his hand to shield his eyes, he heard Heather's voice.

"Hey, Geronimo!"

"... It's Jeremy. What is it?"

She tried to conceal a playful smile by biting her lip.

"Not much. Just enjoying the sunshine. Just because I love technology doesn't mean I don't appreciate nature too. What about you, Mister Bio Major?"

"Same goes for me... except for that one lab where we walked over to the local lake and compared the number of trees with moss to determine what growing conditions were best. It was the most boring lab ever AND I got covered in mosquito bites! So that's one thing I probably wouldn't miss if I worked with technology like you."

"You're right, no mosquito bites... we get electrocuted," she teased, Jeremy's eyes widening in horror. "As long as you aren't working with anything too powerful, it isn't too bad. Just the little -jump!- of fright you get when you get zapped and maybe a small burn. One time, I actually got a pretty nasty zap and I think it must have messed with my hearing because I swear I hear a tiny bit better out of my left ear than my right."

"Oh... oh, well, that explains a lot," Jeremy half-mumbled to himself.

"What?"

"Nothing."

At that moment, Phil came walking out of the pizzeria with his hands tucked in his pockets and a smile on his face.

"That wasn't too bad for the first day of the recruiting process," he commented. "Now we have the whole afternoon off! Better enjoy it while we can, huh, since that's going to end when we get those jobs, y'know?"

"That's true..." Jeremy admitted.

Heather took a deep breath and shrugged.

"All right. I'm gonna head back to my apartment, maybe watch TV for a little while, get a good nap... something. I'll see you guys later," she stated, starting to walk further into the parking lot.

At the same time, Sophia and Ronaldo walked out of the pizzeria together with frowns - Sophia's in anger, Ronaldo's in sorrow.

"Uh, hey, everything okay?" Phil asked.

"No!" Sophia snapped, causing Phil to step back. "I thought Ronaldo might need help with his application - and he did - so I showed him what to check off and what to write, and Mr. Fazari snapped at us! Like... it's not a test, it's not like it was cheating!"

"Uncle..." Phil muttered under his breath, letting out a long sigh. "I'm sorry about that, Ronaldo. You too, Sophia."

"So, the two of us - " Sophia hooked her arm with Ronaldo's. "... are going to head down to the bookstore and get pocket dictionaries so we can communicate easier! Don't worry, Ronaldo, we're going to get you that job!"

He smiled and nodded. Some things didn't need translating.

The two of them left together, leaving Jeremy and Phil standing around outside.

"So..." Phil's voice trailed off, breaking the awkward silence. "What about you? Do you live in a dorm, or some kind of apartment?"

"I have an apartment, but I don't think I'm going to head back quite yet," Jeremy replied. "I was planning on filling out a few more job applications, since I'll probably need a second job."

"What kind of job are you looking for?"

"Maybe a cashier or bagger at Picnix, or a waiter at The Bird and Barb," Jeremy answered, waving his hand around in idle circles.

"Ah, okay! I'm... probably just gonna follow Heather's example and head back to my apartment as well," Phil stated with a sheepish grin.

"Best wishes with the management spot," Jeremy offered, extending a hand to shake. Phil forced a small laugh, looking at his hand uncomfortably, before finally extending his left hand.

"Pardon the, uh, left-handed shake," Phil apologized. He moved his right arm, shifting it out of his pocket, only to reveal that his arm ended at the wrist.

"Oh, sh-shoot, I'm sorry, I didn't - I never noticed - " Jeremy stammered, switching to his left hand to shake with Phil.

"I know they say shaking with the left hand is bad luck, but I can't help it, you know? Besides, it's all just dumb superstitions... I mean, I've made it this far, right?" he affirmed.

"That's a good way of thinking," Jeremy agreed.

Better than Heather's way, Phil thought to himself, as he nodded.

"So..." Jeremy kicked the toe of his shoe against the pavement a few times. "This has been an unusual first day of interviews and recruiting - "

"Yeah, right? We're just trying to pick staff in a way that we get the best individuals and the best teamwork among them. Like seeing the trees or seeing the forest, but doing both at... the same...? Where am I going with this..."

"About that, um, I was really happy to meet you, and Sophia, and Ronaldo and Heather and all, but... I should probably head over to Picnix and B&B for those other job applications."

"Good idea, you definitely need a job, no matter where it is."

"I agree, and that's kind of why I need to get, uh, going," Jeremy glanced down from Phil's eyes to their hands several times in rapid succession. "Kind of like now, maybe."

"Oh, right!" Phil released his hand.

"Don't get too attached, in case I don't get the job here," Jeremy warned with a smile, starting to head for his Ford.

"Just because you don't get the job doesn't mean you can't stop by and see your friends every so often," Phil teased. "Besides, why wouldn't you get the job? You seem competent enough to handle kids. What's stopping you?"

Jeremy paused in his steps, looking back at Phil.

"I just... well... uh, forget it. No. No, you're right, there's nothing stopping me," he restated, but spoke with renewed determination. "Everything they need to know about me is on that paper, and that's all they need to see."

He managed a smile, waving to Phil one last time before jogging off to his car. As Phil slid into the driver's seat of his own car - a Mercury Sable in a shade of cool blue - he took a deep breath. He had only known Jeremy for a day, yet somehow he already trusted him. And the other three friends he had made today. Trust shouldn't be given out so easily - he had learned that at the previous location - but he tried to be optimistic, and the five of them were just young kids anyway, with their whole lives ahead of them.

Four more days at Freddy's, and the real challenge would begin.

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(1) It turns out there's actually a restaurant called "Fazari's Cucina", and it's also a pizzeria. I was just trying to pick out an Italian last name starting with 'Faz', so that was nothing more than pure coincidence.

Side Note: I looked through various theories regarding timelines and there was one that I really liked that will be used as the basis for the plot in this story. I am not saying the name of the person who wrote this theory since, obviously, that would entail spoilers. There is a minor discrepancy with it, possibly minor enough that future game(s?) may retcon it, but since we are still awaiting more information regarding the game's backstory, I hope you will be understanding if any plot holes or discrepancies happen. One thing I have seen the FNAF fandom get into fights over is theories (especially the prequel vs sequel idea). I do my research to the best of my abilities to write as accurately as possible, but human error is inescapable.

Please keep that in mind before you say something like "You forgot about what it said in The Living Tombstone's song!" This is going to be relying on game canon (aka not any songs, videos, creepypastas, etc. made by fans) and theories regarding it.