Oswald awoke the all too familiar sounds of heavy footsteps, unsteadily moving as if new to the world. He was back within his room, cowering in his room like a child. The winds creating the eerie banging on the old tree outside his room. The door steadily creaked open, as if it felt darkness and fear had taken and stripped Oswald's room of color. Oswald, still in bed, curled himself to appear smaller. The gray room was filled of pure horror as the door crept wide open with a void. Blue irises seemed to float within the darkness beyond his room. The head peaked out, revealing what Oswald thought he had sealed away for good. The bunny head force smile appeared from it, with its yellow mattered fur and it's all to familiar set of rowing teeth. All perfectly aligned, as well as his piercing blue eyes that delved deep inside Oswald's soul as he stared. With no sudden preparation, the bunny launched himself at Oswald as he shrieked for help. Oswald awoke, lifting himself up as his heart beated all too fast. It was just a dream. Just a dream. It had been years since the incident occurred with his dad, and Oswald truly wanted to believe it was all behind him, but something bothered him so.

He sat upright in his bed, staring at his room decorated with bookshelves filled with Greek Mythology and novels. His walls covered in popular music bands and a singular plant laying still at the window. It had always been there, just endlessly staring with barely any water to drink. Despite its lack of water, it managed to look healthy as if it wasn't trapped within a tiny pot. Oswald felt a vibration on his phone continue for three occasions, a second silence to each text. Oswald grabbed his phone on his side desk, and checked his notifications. It had random notifications from old apps but it looked like Gabrielle had texted him.

Gabrielle: Hey!

Oswald: hey Gabrielle

Gabrielle: can't wait to see you! <3

Oswald: Me too, cya

Months after the incident at Jeff's Pizza, Oswald began to have a liking towards Gabrielle. It was during middle school where they finally dated each other, secretly anyways. Both always knew their parents would never allow it but, now being a freshmen in the same high school in the same old town made it easier to communicate with one another. Oswald stood up and began to change into his gray familiar jacket, white T-shirt, and black denim pants, finally combined with white shoes. He combed his hair a bit, though he knew it would get messy during PE. He left his room towards the stairs, noticing how much has changed since then.

The smell of burning toast alerted him that dad was cooking instead of mom. When he reached the kitchen, dad was there trying to lift the already burned toast off the stove as Oswald's mother grinned. "Good morning Oswald" said his mother, as she stared at him with pleasing eyes and a loving smile.  "Hey" responded Oswald as he stared at dad. "Your dad thought he could make breakfast" said his mom as she laughed. His father, obviously a bit embarrassed, finally lifted the burned toast and served it on a plate. "I think I'll have cereal" said Oswald as he pushed the plate away from him. "Fair enough" said his dad, smiling.

Oswald served himself cereal with milk and sat down, chewing while he continued to still feel as scared as when across him, Oswald's dad was replaced with a murderous bunny. It is all too confusing. A time traveling ball pit, a creepy rabbit, and disguising as my dad. Oswald hadn't been realizing he just had cereal floating around in his mouth and began to chew. After breakfast, Oswald packed his black backpack and waved to his parents goodbye.

He arrived to school just in time to meet Gabrielle. She was standing alone by the front gates, staring off into the distance as her curly black hair waved by the air. Oswald felt his own blush streaked across his cheeks and walked towards her. Her blank thoughtful expression turned into a happy mood. "Hi Oswald!" happily said Gabrielle, as she turned swiftly to face directly to him. Her skirt twirled gracefully as Oswald waved to her, showing a smile. They gave each other a comforting hug as the weekends they could not see each other. It would be suspicious to both Oswald's and Gabrielle's parents if a boy and girl began hanging out with each other almost everyday. They separated and held hands as they laughed and talked about their day.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Hey dear" said Oswald's mother as she cleaned the dishes. "Hm?" responded Oswald's dad as he readied himself for work, about to start within an hour. "Remember the prank you and Oswald did, how come you never talked for days?" said Oswald's mother as she closes the water faucet, closing the flow of water pouring over the sink. Oswald's dad turned around with a confused look on his face as he followed by "What prank?". "That prank you and Oswald did years ago, during that summer". He did not remember and explained to her that he never did a prank with Oswald. She was not convinced completely, but the tone of his sounded like he was telling the truth. "But I remember, Oswald was saying that you weren't there" said aloud Oswald's mother as she picked up her phone. She searched for the photo that summer she taken to remind him. She scrolled through her endless photos as she saw the colors of each image blur and pass by. When she had found what she was looking for, she stumbled across something she hadn't noticed before.

When she stared at a photo she had taken, she noticed something very blurry in the background. It looked humanoid, yet at the same time, it did not. "Wait... look at this". Oswald's mother took her phone to him and they both stared closely behind the old picture of her. There was, in the kitchen, an almost blurry figure, covered by what seemed like fog surrounding it. In some parts, it resembled human but it other, it appeared like... is that a yellow bunny? She stared at the picture as Oswald's dad had widened his eyes as if he made a startling revelation. "I have seen that bunny before. That same summer down at Jeff's pizza..." as they both stared in each other eyes, as if telepathically thinking.

Oswald's dad explained about what occurred when they returned that summer day years ago from Jeff's pizza. He saw a yellow bunny suit, hanging from the ball pits net, similar to the picture. Oswald's dad needed to find out more, and so did Oswald's mother. They decided to return to Jeff's Pizza. Whatever laid secret, Jeff's Pizza was apart of it. They both got into the car and drove to what used to Jeff's pizza. It had long been abandoned after Jeff had left with his business else where. Who knows what happened to him thought Oswald's dad thought as they parked in the front entrance. The sign was worn out and the windows barricaded. They both knew it was wrong but, they just needed the answers from this creepy place. "Just like old times huh?" Said Oswald's mother as she followed his footsteps. Oswald's dad was quite the confident teenager, usually did a lot of pranks on neighbors and friends. He brought along her one time into an abandoned building, which is where they had their first kiss. Of course, with time, they grew and matured, eventually leading to marriage and Oswald.

Once inside, the chairs laid where they should be in their respective tables. The empty stage was also there and there it was, the ball pit but this time, there was no bunny hanging there. Oswald's dad knew it was there, it wasn't just a hallucination because Oswald saw it too. "I swear, the bunny was here" said Oswald's dad as he looked around the damp building. "That summer, I felt like Oswald was playing a prank on me, but I felt the fear in him. Like, if it wasn't it a prank, it was a real thing happening to him". As she stared, she tripped, knocking her and him into the ball pit where they sank with their weights combined. It was hard breathing and the ball pit was dirty. Oswald's mom felt the stickiness of the disgusting ball pits, but they weren't covered in old mold or even water, it was blood. She scrambled to get out and she felt the oxygen, so she knew she was near the surface. Oswald's mother and father both escaped the ball pit in sync but they weren't in Jeff's Pizza anymore.

Instead, it was an 1980s themed pizzeria, filled with colorful lights, decorated walls, old arcade game, posters of old fashioned animatronics, and the black and white tile floor. The building was lively, filled with children and teenagers wearing what would he considered weird today. "What... happened?" said quietly Oswald's father as workers of the pizzeria stared at them with confusing weird looks. Oh right, two grown ups emerge from a kids ball pit. What did I expect? They looked around, with reminiscing memories of how times used to be. On stage, the animatronics performed their Melodie's, entertaining small children. The pizza filled the entire restaurant with a greasy smell. Oswald's parents were lost within this new hidden world. One that Oswald so desperately wanted to seal away, now exposed once again to reveal the monster

* * * * * * * *

The school day had finished for Oswald as he walked with Gabrielle home. "Class was so boring, like learning algebra isn't going to help my future" laughed Gabrielle as Oswald joined her. They walked the secluded sidewalk in a quiet neighbor in desperate needs of street repairs. The cement was cracked, sometimes even exposed to the ancient dirt under it. When they were blocked by cars and the bushes on one side, Gabrielle reached for Oswald's hand. He turned around as she gave him a nice kiss. Oswald blushes as his cheeks and ears turned red. "Goodbye now" said Gabrielle, as she ran home, waving goodbye. Oswald stood there for a few moments to process what had occurred as he felt happy. Things were looking good, and the past should be left behind, no longer to be lingered about.

* * * * * * * *

Oswald's parents stuck together and then noticed the creepy yellow bunny staring from the corner, as children happily ran along near it, to no acknowledgement to its existence. It's that same bunny. Oswald's dad then remembered what really occurred to him. The yellow bunny had knocked him out and he remembers awoken by Oswald. He knew the bunny just hanged but so then, why was it still alive? All of this seemed impossible and Oswald's mother began to notice the realistic features of this place, but it wasn't possible to time travel. The closest thing to time travel are memories. Is this... a memory? But I don't remember ever being in this place when I was younger.

They both didn't know how to return back to present day, so they thought diving back into the ball pit would fix it. Again, Oswald's mother felt the crowd fade away as she felt the blood on the balls. Each one differed in color and that's when she felt something cold. It was metallic for sure, but it seemed like it had gone through a lot. Oswald's parents emerged and where back at the abandoned Jeff's Pizza. Oswald's mother felt the metallic object within the ball pit and pulled it out. Oswald's father helped to, but before they could get it out, they both let it go upon discovering what it was. It looked like a metallic skeleton, with a hideous white human like face with a grin smeared with blood and blackened eyes. It had a cloak to cover itself, as if it felt like it needed to cover itself like a person would.

They exited the building as they felt the presence of a third person, although the feeling was faint. There was no one around them, or so it seemed like. When they were home, Oswald was already in the living room, staring at the television, showing teenagers on a sitcom. "Hey, where did you two go?" asked Oswald as he stared back at them. Clearly, Oswald's dad had missed worked and Oswald already knew. "We went back to... Jeff's Pizza, or what is left now". Upon hearing that, Oswald's eyes widened and he force a smile. "Why?". Oswald's parents both sat at the couch as Oswald stared in silence. "We know about the time traveling ball pit" said Oswald's mom. "Just tell us what happened". Oswald knew it wasn't a good choice to go back, because he knew that thing would rise if he ever did. It was more of a gut feeling rather than evidence. But then again, what evidence was there to retrieve?

Oswald explained what had occurred that summer many years ago, with his parents listening. After Oswald finished the story, there was a sudden breeze that breathed down their necks, even though there was no wind. In unison, they stared out the window to see the old yellow mattered furred bunny, still with its forced smiled, and its glowing blue eyes. You could see they were held by something hidden in the shadow of the sockets. Almost immediately, the Spring Bonnie lashed out, bashing the door with his paws. All of them stood up as Oswald screamed, "Not this again!". The Spring Bonnie broke down the door, as they ran upstairs. Oswald threw chairs and whatever else around as his parents dragged him upstairs. Spring Bonnie chased them as Oswald kicked its face and it fell down the stairs. It looked up with a merciless stare and opened its jaw, revealing the sharp teeth that had once bitten Oswald. Those scars had healed but will always be a reminder of why to never return. But now that it was brought to light again, he would have to face its past.

Oswald and his parents hid in Oswald's room as his mother screamed, "HOW DID YOU EVEN DEAL WITH THAT THING?? WHAT DO WE DO?!". Oswald wasn't afraid of Spring Bonnie, he feared losing one or both of his parents more. He looked around his room until he stumbled across outside. There was wood pile and maybe if they avoided it, they could set up a trap for the Spring Bonnie to jump at them and then get- The door was busted open as the Spring Bonnie stood creepily at the them, one by one. As it laid eyes on Oswald, it's rage grew and launched at him.

Quickly, Oswald jumped outside his window, barely missing the wood pile and grabbed the first wood plank. He felt the splinters in his fingers but he didn't care. What mattered was to kill this thing once and for all. The Spring Bonnie jumped out and was quickly impaled by the wood. It lurched out blood as it faded from existence. The presence and the dread they all felt had disappeared too as they regrouped. "I think we should face problems together, not alone" proposed Oswald's dad. Oswald nodded and they hugged and entered their home, now preparing to fix the repairs.

________________________________

In the distance,  there she stood, trying to ease the pain within her as she took the wood away from her thin chest. Her red hair flew in the hair as she disappeared into the darkness.