How To Deal With Embarrassment
There's a sharp bang from one of the offices down the hall. You jump, almost scattering the stack of CDs on the desk. Abby seems a little less surprised but still looks up. Muffled yelling drifts through the door.
"What the heck is that about?" you whisper to her. Abby shrugs.
"It's probably Emily," Abby says with a scowl. "Happens every couple of weeks. She doesn't agree with all of Tod's decisions about, well, anything. And since her grandpa was the one who got this place up and running years ago, she gets to have a say in big decisions. She can get pretty vocal."
Oh, so it was that kind of setup. You try to get back to work as the argument continues. Well, it actually sounded more like a one-sided yelling match. You had never heard Tod raise his voice since you had started working at the station. When you finish, you scoop up the stack and head towards the library closet where the CDs were kept. The trip takes you right by the office and the mumbled words become clear. It is indeed Emily behind the door.
"-and you can't seriously expect them to adhere to the rules of conduct-"
"Why not?" Tod's voice, still not yelling, is a little sharp. "What makes you think they would cause a scene? It's a festival Em, not a rave. They're participating to make a profit and enjoy the fall spirit, just like everyone else. Besides, it's an open event and I think that it would be a good step in welcoming the new monster community."
"Community?" Emily sputters. "Those monsters are not a community. They are a hive and you are making a huge mistake! Don't come crawling to me when they send our turnout rate plummeting."
The door suddenly slams open, knocking you in the back. The CDs fly across the floor with a sharp clatter. Emily storms out the door and her sharp high heel lands directly on a Fall Out Boy album. It cracks under her shoe. She looks down at the broken CD, face twisted unpleasantly. She points at you.
"That's coming out of your paycheck," she snarls before stomping back up to the booth.
You gape after her for a moment. What a nasty-! You grumble quietly and kneel down to gather up the mess. The door creaks slightly and Tod pokes his head out. At the sight of you on the floor, he winces and joins you in cleaning up.
"Caught in the crossfire huh?" he says, giving you a small grin.
"Um, just passing by actually," you mumble. Well, you had been before you had paused to listen in. You gather up the broken CD. It was one of the older albums, but it had several of your favorites on it. "I'm sorry about this."
"It wasn't your fault," Tod says firmly. "Don't worry, it won't come out of your pay."
It couldn't be more than eight bucks, but it's a relief to hear. "Thanks Tod."
He follows you back to the library, holding a portion of the CDs and helps you put them away. You have a sneaking suspicion as to what the argument was about, but given that Tod was your boss, you're not sure if you should bring it up.
"W-was the place I picked for sponsoring okay?" you finally ask, sliding an Owl City album in place.
Tod sighs. Looks like you hit the nail on the head. "Of course, it's a wonderful place. I visited them myself after you sent me their information. Marvelous donuts. There are just some people who aren't open to different kinds of...people. Emily comes from a very, very old-fashioned background and gets a little too passionate about things sometimes. Monsters in particular seem to be a tender subject with her."
That you had gleaned even before you had gone into Muffet's shop. From the way the argument had sounded, Tod had taken all responsibility when Emily had gotten mad about the spiders participating in the festival. Just hearing the fight had gotten you heated up. For the sake of your job, you didn't want to be on the receiving end of one of those yelling sessions.
"I'm sorry," you say to Tod, guilt twisting at you.
"For what? Ahh." He notices your expression and pats your shoulder. "You did good. Don't let it bother you. 'Kay?"
So he says, but it's not so easy. The whole situation stays on your mind for the rest of your shift. The city was big, and not everyone was a complete jerk to monsters, but the majority of what you had seen was not exactly heart lifting. People were scared and in a way you could understand. Monsters from the stories and the movies now walked the streets among the masses. But to see such open hate and distaste still shocked you at times. Why couldn't people just give them a chance?
Another worry ate at you as you walked home. You had tried to get Sans to talk about his magic and soul stuff last night at dinner, but he had been oddly hesitant and quiet about it. He had kept glancing at Papyrus, so you assumed he didn't want to talk about it in front of his brother. Was it an intimate, private kind of thing? What if you had been pushing him beyond his comfort zone? You had no idea what monster etiquette was about that sort of thing. You stare down at your chest and squint again. Curiosity was eating at you. You wanted to know what your soul looked like.
You enter your apartment, tapping the door with your foot. You were far too tense. You need to relax before your anxiety got too worked up and the fog crept in. Dumping your work bag and pants, you pull on your coziest sweats and fuzzy socks and hook your iPod up to a speaker. It was time to tackle those dishes that had been building up. Shakira pounds from the speakers. You let yourself sway a bit as you wash, humming along. Music really was the best. It spoke to you in ways that people never could. Your blood could match the tone and speed of a song, your heart pounding out the beat. You felt alive, really alive when you were listening. You could fly, you could escape to a world where your worries meant nothing. And the words, oh the words of a song told stories. Every song had a story behind it. A story that was meant to be shaped to your own experiences in this world. Not a single person experienced a song exactly the same as another. It could be light, it could be silly. It could also be dark and chilling, speaking to your darkest feelings and thoughts and giving voice to what you could not.
Shakira dies away and P!nk's 'Raise Your Glass' blares from the speaker, prompting you to step away from the sink. You start dancing, letting your body flow with on-the-spot moves. You let the music flow through you, shaking your hips and throwing your arms up. Your feet tap against the tile and you sing along as you skip around. You jut out your legs and arms in sharp movements, your head swinging freely with every beat. You weren't exactly shy about dancing, but you never let yourself completely go unless you were alone. And you certainly didn't sing when anyone could hear. You arch your back slightly, drawing your arms close and then glide into a spin as the song comes to an end.
And scream.
Sans is standing in your doorway, his eye sockets wide with wonder. His cheeks are tinted bright blue and he's watching you make an utter fool of yourself. With your shriek of surprise, you lose your balance and your fuzzy foot slips against the tile. You're falling, the floor is rushing up and OH CRAP! You throw out your hands to break your fall and-
You slam to a stop, like someone tugs sharply on your chest, but there's no pain. You gasp at the sight of the floor just a few inches away from your face. Your body is completely frozen. You literally can't move. Not just that...you're floating! "What the hell?" you choke out. Your eyes flash to Sans.
His hand is stretched out towards you. His left eye is glowing an intense blue, just like the night he had that nightmare. A bead of sweat rolls down his skull as he moves his hand slightly. In response, your body starts lifting until you're upright, feet hovering just above the ground. He blinks. The light vanishes and you gently touch down. The pressure in your chest disappears. For several long seconds, the two of you stare at each other. The awkward silence is broken when you realize that Colbie Caillat's 'Falling For You' is playing. How oddly appropriate. You can't help but let out a loud laugh.
Sans rubs a hand against the back of his skull. His eye sockets are tight with a mixture of embarrassment and worry. "you ok?"
You take a breath and pause the music. "First of all. DON'T sneak up on me while I'm dancing! And secondly, what the ever loving hell was THAT?" you gesture to yourself and then point at his eye. "I need explanations."
"i uh...heh. ok. guess i owe you that." Sans shuffles to, where else, the bean bag. "you've uh...got some pretty nice moves." He's blushing again.
"Okay buddy, I need you to do something for me." You plop down next to him and stick your finger against his forehead. "I need you to forget you ever saw that. I would be overcome with humiliation right now if it wasn't for that levitation thing. Speaking of which, don't change the subject! Talk!" You pull your feet up and put your chin in your hands, staring at him intensely. Etiquette be damned! "So I'm guessing that eye thing is part of your magic? You can move things? People?"
His skull is still bright blue and it's adorable. "uh yeah. that's part of it." He takes a breath, perhaps getting his thoughts in order. "all monsters have a certain amount of magic. it's what makes us up. so all monsters have certain abilities and attacks they can use."
"Attacks?"
Sans shrugs. "with the possibility of a human falling down to the underground, everyone wanted to be prepared. it's kind of like how you humans can arm yourselves with swords or spears. our weapons are just manifested with magic and are not physical objects."
"Will you show me?"
Sans hesitates, then nods slowly. His eye sockets close in concentration and he lifts his hand, palm up. There's almost a slight shimmer in the air, like the way you had seen it shift above an intense flame, and a long white bone blinks into existence, hovering just above his hand. Your jaw drops. It's as long as your arm. Without thinking, you reach out and Sans flinches back.
"careful. it's a weapon. just touching it will hurt you."
You pull back, berating yourself. "Sorry. I wasn't thinking." You study the bone. Other than its large size and hovering state, it looks like a plain old bone. Was it hot to the touch like an oven or something? After a moment, Sans lets out a quiet sigh and the bone disintegrates into the air. He watches you, clearly waiting for your reaction.
"That is insanely cool." You smile widely. "That must be so handy. No need to wear yourself out carrying a big old tool around. You can just-" you snap your fingers- "bam! and there it is. Does everyone's look like that?"
He's taken aback by your enthusiasm. "uh, no that's just me and paps. everyone is different, according their magic type and personalities. undyne uses spears. the king has a trident and fire abilities. stuff like that."
So cool. You sit back and ponder this for a minute. You wonder if you can get Undyne to show you her abilities the next time you saw her. Sans is still watching you and he shakes his head.
"isn't this freaking you out?" His tone is low. "i just told you that monsters have powers developed to use against humans and you're just...smiling about it."
When he put it that way, you guess it was a little frightening. But.... "I haven't seen a single monster hurt anyone since I moved here. I'm sure there are some bad monsters, just like there are bad humans. But like you said, humans can arm themselves too. Mankind has always found a way to defend itself against threats. I can't blame you guys for finding a way too." You shrug. "Maybe I've just read too many fantasy stories. I can't help but think it's pretty cool that you guys are literally using magic. I always wanted to believe that it really existed."
"so you're not...scared of me?" Now his voice is so soft you barely hear the words. He's not looking at you and you can hear a quiet rattle coming from his hands. Poor guy was so nervous he was actually shaking.
"Of course not!" You grab his hands, squeezing tightly. "Sans, you saved me from a broken nose! I think you're amazing!"
He squeezes your hand back and gives you a relieved smile.
"So you can use your power on anything? Make stuff move wherever you want?"
He nods and his phalanges flick. Your cell phone, which was over on the counter, is encased in a blue light. It lifts up and drifts through the air into your waiting hands. "Sans, this is so cool!" you squeal. You can hardly contain your excitement about this and you tap him with your fist on his shoulder. "It's no wonder you're such a lazy bones! You literally never have to get up if you need something."
A smirk lifts his smile. "there's something else i can do." He stands up and offers a hand. He pulls you to your feet and holds on to your hand. "do you want to see it?"
You nod vigorously. "What is it?"
"i'm pretty good with...heh, shortcuts."
Shortcuts? You open your mouth to ask what he means by that and he takes a step forward, tugging you after him. You gasp as a strange feeling sweeps over your whole body, like a dull electric tingle combined with the sensation of stepping through a stream of water. You blink, your head spinning and realize you're no longer standing by your beanbag. You're not even in your apartment anymore.
You've somehow moved to Sans' place, smack dab in the middle of his living room. You whirl, eyes feeling like they're about to pop out of your head. You must move too fast because the room sways slightly. A groan slips out and you crouch, holding your hand to your mouth.
"sorry!" Sans pats your back a little helplessly. "it's tough the first time. it'll pass in a sec."
It does only take a second and you're back to normal. You stare at the carpet, not moving. He had just teleported. He could freaking teleport! YOU had just been teleported! By a skeleton!
"_____?"
You practically launch to your feet and grab Sans by his shoulders. He jumps.
"You are officially the coolest guy I know!" It almost feels like actual stars are in your eyes. You let go of him and start touching random stuff to make sure you're actually at his place and it's not some scary weird illusion. "I-did we really-oh my-what?!"
Sans starts laughing, his sockets scrunching up. "geez, you scared me for a sec."
"Consider it payback for earlier. Oh my gosh!" You have a sudden thought. "Is that how you got me over here when I was sick? I don't really remember, but you had to have moved me, right?"
Sans shrugs and plops onto the couch. "i was gonna use a shortcut, but since you were sick i didn't wanna make it worse cause it was your first trip. so i just-" he wiggles his phalanges- "gave ya a lift."
It's not even a funny pun, but you're already so wound up it sends you stumbling to the couch before you fall to the floor, laughing so hard tears are leaking from your face. You can feel Sans shaking slightly with suppressed laughter as he watches you with great amusement.
"I'm sorry," you say when you catch your breath, wiping at your eyes. "You probably think I'm some kind of freak, huh?"
"you a freak? never." Sans pats your head. "you are many things but a freak isn't one of them."
You let out a breath and let your head slump to his shoulder. Definitely not the most comfortable place to rest your head, but you don't really care. You can't help but notice he smells really nice. A hint of ketchup and something you can't quite describe. Like fresh mint only not as strong. "Okay. I have one more question for you. For now."
"what's that?"
You look up at his face, attempting to look stern and serious. You're probably failing, going by the snicker he gives you. "Why were you in my apartment, peeping on my sick dance moves?"
Well that cuts his chuckles off. "oh. i was uh, coming over to ask you something. your door wasn't closed all the way and i was gonna knock anyway, honest!" he adds at your snort. "but then i heard music and i could kinda see you and i got curious and i just...walked in. sorry."
You can't be mad at him with such a worried expression on his face. Besides, it was your own fault for being lazy about the door. "That's fine. You still should've said something and let me know you were just standing there." You really don't want to think about how long he had watched you dance before you noticed him. "Is this about the space museum? I'm free tomorrow night," you say a little shyly. "Sorry, I guess we never agreed on a good time."
"no, that's not-i mean yeah that's great." He starts drumming his phalanges against his kneecap. His cheeks flared blue when you mentioned the museum. "tomorrow is perfect. but that's not what i was coming to ask ya about."
"What then?"
"well there's-"
He's cut off by a sudden knock at the door. You both look at it. It couldn't be Paps, he would just walk in. Sans grins at you a little sheepishly. "toriel and the kid wanna meet ya. so they kinda invited themselves over for pie. surprise?"
Your jaw drops as he stands up to get the door. Toriel as in QUEEN of monsters, Toriel? And Frisk, the savior and ambassador to monster kind?
Surprise indeed.