Break the Cycle: Prologue
Chapter Two: Dorm Life
Things at the Afton house had been- dreary- to say the least. Ever since Venus' death it had seemed like everyone else in the house had had the life drained out of them as well.
Well, everyone except William, who with his older brother out of the house, his little sister still six feet under, and 2 years of work experience to save up some money of his own, was ready to finally get out of the house and start his 20s with the true college experience.
When he'd told his mother he'd be moving out to Utah, she was hesitant. His father's health had been deteriorating recently, and she was sure he wouldn't last long, surely William would want to be with him in his last moments?
But William was certain of his decision, and even more certain that his father wouldn't have given a rat's ass about whether or not he left.
"You just be safe, send your poor mama lots of letters, and be a dear and visit every once and a while would you?" his mother had said to him on the day he'd made up his mind to leave.
He'd been accepted to a prestigious college, double majoring in business and biology, with multiple minors in psychology, robotics, and theater. It was a large work load, but he'd been taking online courses to fulfill some of the earlier requirements, and was fairly confident he would be able to complete everything within the usual four years, possibly earlier if he took enough summer classes.
"I will mother, don't worry about me," William told her reassuringly.
A few hours later he was on a flight to the United States, planning out what he'd need to do once he got there, how much it would cost, and how he'd spend the week or so of time he'd have in the dorms during orientation before classes began.
Unfortunately, he hadn't qualified for a solo dorm, which meant he'd have a roommate- who it was? He wouldnt know until he got to the campus- he only hoped they wouldn't hinder his studies. This journey into academia marked much more than just a life milestone, the things he would learn would be incredibly beneficial for his newest life goal.
William had grown up with many folk tales of the recently deceased rising from their injuries as though nothing and happened, welding powerful magic and seemingly becoming invulnerable, but he hadn't paid these tales any heed until his sister's death. If there was a way to cheat death, to endure he would never have to face consequences for his actions, never have to look at the child whos life he'd cut short, he was going to find it.
He already had plenty of notebooks compiling various information on previous sightings and theories, most of which seemed to surround children before their teen years, but in order to get the maximum level of information on the phenomena, he'd need to understand a bit more about the human body as it naturally existed.
By the time William had made it back from the airport, he was certain he might collapse from exhaustion. He had quite a lot to do before classes started, setting up his side of the dorm, getting a car, stockpiling necessities, just thinking about it made him regret deciding to come to America. But he'd seen so many more stories of the phenomenon reported here. It seemed America, as well as Greece, and other countries that seemed to have a large magnitude of religious fervor and history, tended to also have higher concentrations of the events.
But he couldn't have stayed in Europe, too many people would know him there, too many curious eyes, too many people who would see him as the awkward young boy they'd grown up around.
In America he would have a fresh start, he would be respected, feared, no one would question his motives or his research.
After a few hours of setting up his dorm space and visiting the nearby shopping center with another group of students who didnt have their own vehicles, William was finally ready to lay down and have some alone time.
Which was quickly interrupted by the entrance of his roommate, Henry Emily.
Henry's footsteps were heavy, William could tell he was likely carrying several boxes, and evidently struggling with them.
"Oh! Sorry! Didnt realize you'd already moved in, hope i didn't wake you up!" Henry said, he had quite a thick accent, the kind William thought only existed in American country-themed movies.
"No worries, just finished unpacking and all," William said.
"You've gotta be William then I suppose?" Henry asked.
"That's me," William said, finally looking up from his spot lounging on the twin bed to examine his dormmate. He felt a bit of a jolt in his stomach as he looked at the man in front of him. Henry Emily was clearly used to rather hard labor, wide-framed with somewhat toned muscles, and clear callouses on his hands.
"Henry Emily, pleasure to meet you," Henry said cheerfully.
"Pleasure's all mine," William replied in a casual tone. "What are those?" He asked, raising an eyebrow as Henry placed what appeared to be several bits of metal scraps on the desk in front of his bed.
"Oh- some of my tinkering projects is all, I've got a robotics minor, hoping to make a good impression by bringing in some of my own work," Henry said.
"I see, whats your major then?" William asked.
"Business!"
"Well- I suppose we'll be seeing quite a lot of each other outside the dorms as well, I've got a business major and a robotics minor as well, among a few other things," William chuckled.
"Oh you must be the guy on campus everyone's been talking about! You've got like five different degree tracks going on right?" Henry said quizzically.
"I wasn't aware I was so popular with the rest of campus," William said, trying to disguise his bothered tone.
"Well- you are taking online larger course loads than basically- anybody- ever," Henry shrugged
"Yes I suppose I am, but I did take several courses solo in the past couple years to prepare," William said.
"Wow- you must be really smart," Henry replied, having moved on to setting up his wardrobe after putting away all of his textbooks. William took notice of the extensive amount of flannels.
"I appreciate the compliment, though you must be pretty smart yourself from the look of those gadgets of yours, whats that one?" William said, pointing to an animal-esque pile of parts.
"Oh- that's Fredbear- he's uh- part of a bit of a pet project of mine," Henry said.
"Tell me about it," William said, sitting up and letting his legs hang off the side of his bed.
"Oh! Well uhm- see i grew up with a lot of sisters- older and younger- so uh- I've always kind of wanted to open my own business in children's entertainment, Fredbear's Family Diner I'd call it, with animatronic entertainment and all sorts of games- maybe even a ballpit," Henry said excitedly.
"He'll need a costar, most people don't show much interest in a one man band," William said.
"Thats where I'm hitting a snag- I want a second performer but I've got no ideas- nothing that feels right to me," Henry replied.
"What about a rabbit?" William said, watching as Henry furrowed his brows, staring down at the miniature animatronic bear.
"What would we call this rabbit?" he asked.
"How about Springbonnie?" William replied. Henry sat for a moment, clearly thinking.
"Yknow what Will, I think you and I are gonna be really good friends," he said finally.
"Why stop there?" William said, trying to hide the small grin that prodded the corners of his mouth. "Why not be something more than friends, deeper, we could build a whole new life together," Henry seemed confused for a moment. "How would you like to be business partners, build Fredbear's together, a whole franchise, everything," the confusion faded, replaced with excitement.
"Business partners, then, I look forward to working with you, William Afton," Henry said, holding out a hand.
"You and I are going to be the most powerful people in Hurricane, just you wait, Hen," William said, shaking it.
