Shut Up And Dance With Me
Abby, in a show of true friendship and loyalty, immediately sells you out to Mettaton. She points to you, ignoring the quick glare you give her. The robot leans in over the table, closely examining you. A very strong aftershave smell assaults your nose and you have to fight not to cough. His intense gaze has you squirming a little.
"Hmm, not a bad face." He plucks your devil horn headband off your head and tilts your head up slightly. Geez, he sure was getting friendly for a first meeting! "We simply must give you a fresh new style and quite frankly, a very serious eyebrow job-"
Hey!
"Oh, but I do see potential in you darling." Mettaton gives you a glimmering smile, plopping your horns on your head with a little too much force. "You've already got the voice of a star!"
"Oh, well thanks," you say, a little flustered as you re-adjust your headband. Given his popularity, that's actually a pretty nice compliment.
"Now you must simply tell me how you got such a lazy-"
"hey buddy," Sans cuts in dryly. "pretty sure you have to work at the station to go behind the booth." He glances pointedly at the table Mettaton has practically crawled over in his attempt to study you. The robot rolls his eyes and waves his hand at Sans.
"Darling, I've spent more than enough time in radio stations to be considered traveling talent."
"then how 'bout you give _____ some personal space?" He's still smiling, but there's a little edge to his grin. "He's still working."
Mettaton sighs dramatically and poses against the table for a minute. His eyes flicker to the cat ears on Sans' skull. He smirks. "Fine then. Don't get your whiskers in a twist, kitty cat."
Sans visibly shudders, quickly pulling the ears off. Mettaton turns back to you, handing you a silver card. "Darling, we simply must have a chat sometime soon! And if you are ever in need of some big talent on your show, just give me a ring."
"Oh, wow! Thanks, but it's not really up to me." You glance at Tod, who has been watching the interaction with a bemused expression.
"Oh but of course," Mettaton purrs, extending a hand to Tod. "Same offer to you as well. I would be more than happy to shed some of the dazzling light of my talent on your station!"
"I'll keep that in mind." He's clearly holding back laughter as he also takes a card.
"Well then, my lovelies!" Mettaton swoops his hair back, shoots a wink to Abby (which nearly sends her swooning), and places a hand on his hip. "I must see to my other fans present at this quaint festival! Ta-ta!"
"Ahh, M-Mettaton!" Alphys calls after the robot as he starts to saunter away. "D-don't forget about your maintenance check-up tomorrow!"
"Of course, Alphy dear!" And then he's gone, disappearing into the swarm of people.
You're actually not sure what to say first. You look over at Sans, whose expression is just about as sour as you've ever seen it. "Guess you're, uh, not a fan?"
"was it that obvious?" he says dryly.
"Nah, it was just a feline."
Everyone but Sans groans loudly.
"Poor Papyrus." Undyne shakes her head. "It's a miracle he hasn't gone insane with the two of you around. Or maybe he already has."
"that is pawsible." You can tell by the glint in his eye Sans has a whole list of cat puns prepared.
"W-well! I'd b-better keep an eye on Mettaton," Alphys cuts in, a small smile tugging at her snout. "Undyne, you wanted to try that bobbing for apples game too, right?"
"Hell yeah I do!"
You're a little concerned for the apples due to the gleam in Undyne's eye, but you laugh anyway. "Yeah guys, go enjoy the festival! Alphys, it was really nice to meet you." You give the small monster a warm smile. The couple waves goodbye, promising to stop by more often before heading in Mettaton's general direction. You turn to Sans, who appears to be making himself quite comfortable leaning against the table. "You don't have to keep me company. You should go find Pap and Frisk, spend some time with them. I've only got an hour-ish til I'm done. I'll text you after I change my outfit."
He considers your words for a moment before nodding. He motions you closer. You lean towards him, not sure what he's doing. Then he reaches over and quickly snatches your horns, plopping it on his own skull. He places his cat ears on your head, fluffing your hair a little.
"if you're sure you won't feel left meowt." He winks at you. "i'll leave you to your mewsic."
"You're seriously too much sometimes. Shoo!" You wave him away and watch as he fades into the crowd. What a goober. And he was your goober. You couldn't contain your smile. Of all roads you expected your life to turn on, this wasn't one of them. It was just so....so....
Abby let out a deep breath. "Holy crap. Holy crap! That was crazy!"
Yep, that just about summed it up.
The next hour passes fairly quickly, though you're definitely eager to get going by the time your shift draws to a close. Abby and even Tod had teased you about Sans. It was a far better reaction than you could have hoped for. Hey, at least Emily wasn't around. Though she was supposed to take over for the evening portion. You wanted to duck away before she showed up. When Tod gave you the go-ahead, you eagerly grabbed your bag and headed straight for the bathroom to change into a different tee with your red jacket. The cat ears didn't exactly match the way the horns did, but you leave them on anyway. You give yourself a quick look over in the mirror, making sure your new necklace was lying just right against the top of your sternum.
You pull your cellphone out as you leave the bathroom, letting Sans know you were ready. The stalls are set a little ways away from the actual festival, so you turn around the building, rather than going back out to the path, cause c'mon, it'd save you a whole five seconds! You're surprised to see two people standing there against the wall. You're even more surprised when you see one of them is Emily. She's talking to a tall man you sort of recognize. His dark hair is long and his back is slightly hunched. You're pretty sure you've seen him at the station a few times. A boyfriend maybe?
That gets confirmed when Emily hands the guy a large brown bag filled with...something and pulls his face towards her. You quickly turn away and head to the path after all, not wanting to be caught snooping. You have no desire to peek into her private life. You dive back into the swarm of the crowd; there's a lot of people and monsters here now and they all blend together in a wonderful flood of noise and color. You would be a little worried about finding Sans, tiny guy that he is but he's not the one you're keeping your eyes peeled for.
"I HAVE SPOTTED HIM SANS!"
And there you go. Papyrus is easily seen above the heads of everyone else and a path naturally appears as the tall monster strides towards you. Sure enough, there's Sans and Frisk trailing right behind. The kid has chocolate smeared all over their face and is currently devouring a huge stick of cotton candy. Oh, Toriel's in for a rough night dealing with that sugar crash. Sans is holding a thing of cotton candy too. His gaze flickers over your outfit. You grin widely as he clears his nonexistent throat and offers you the cotton candy.
"the cotton candy clouds are outta my reach but i figure this stuff probably tastes better anyway."
You delightfully take the treat. "How sweet of you."
He nods, clearly expecting that, but pleased anyway. He pulls a piece of the candy and presses it up against his teeth. It vanishes and his sockets widen slightly. He's never had cotton candy before?! You chuckle and take a large bit for yourself. Between the two of you, you make fast work of the cotton candy. You walk around with the brothers and Frisk. Papyrus is practically vibrating with hyper energy, running ahead and you wonder just how much sugar he's had.
"I'm never going to get sick of that stuff," you sigh happily, tossing the stick in a bin. Then, you notice Sans staring at you. Or rather, staring at your mouth as you lick your sticky fingers. Maybe it's the look on his face, but something emboldens you and you meet his eyes as you give your finger one last deliberate lick. You both blush brightly at the same time and look away from each other. Oh good grief, since when did you have that kind of courage?!"
Frisk is snickering loudly at you two. They wiggle their hips slightly. You blink, not quite sure what they're trying to accomplish. They pout at you then chase after Papyrus again.
"They look like they're having fun," you laugh as you and Sans move at a much slower pace after them.
"hm. yep." His voice is kind of quiet. He's staring off at the crowd and following his gaze, you see that the two of you are attracting some weird looks from the humans passing by. Sans' shoulders are a little hunched and his smile is strained. The staring makes you a little uncomfortable, but for his sake, you reach out and brush your fingers against his hand. He jumps and looks at you. Your concern must be clear on your face because he laughs a little and gives you a reassuring grin.
"hey, don't worry about me. i'm used to the stares. but it's gotta be kinda weird for you. right?"
You swallow your nerves and take his hand. You're nervous but not because of the people watching. You're scared Sans might pull away. When he doesn't, you sigh a little in relief. "I've had to deal with stares before. It doesn't bother me much."
"heh. you're an odd one." His grip tightens slightly. "thanks."
You pull on his hand, trying to get him to move a little faster than a slow shamble. "C'mon, it's gonna get dark soon. I still have stuff I wanna see before they light the bonfire!"
You two finally catch up with Papyrus and Frisk, who have been caught at another game stand. You quickly learn that Papyrus has a wicked and precise aim and have to remind him to leave prizes for others. He's got quite a collection, and yet, by the time dusk begins to fall, he's given nearly all of them away to different children (both monster and human) he's come across. Most of those are currently trailing after him like ducklings. They're noisy, excited, and Papyrus is loving the attention from the tiny beings. Frisk long ago claimed the position on Papyrus' shoulders, looking like a ruler on a throne of bones.
You all follow the crowd to the large stone square for the lighting of the bonfire. A loud cheer echoes through the crowd as the fire roars to life. A small chill goes through you at the sight. It's been a long time since the accident. But the fear of fire that was born from it never quite went away. It probably never will. Now that the fire is lit, the music swells through the speakers, prompting people to go up and dance. Funny enough, the song playing is 'Shake It Off'. You're gonna take that as a sign to shake off the creeping anxiety and have fun.
"LOOK AT EVERYONE DANCING!" Papyrus bounces excitedly, nearly sending Frisk flying. They scramble down from his shoulders and tug on his hands. Their eyes are gleaming.
"Go for it Pap!" You give him a tiny push and they need no more encouragement. You turn to Sans, only to find that he's managed to snag a spot on one of the many benches set up around the square. "Please don't tell me you're gonna be a party pooper."
"dancin' isn't really my thing. too much work."
You tug on his sleeve, pouting. "Come on, Sans. It's fun!"
He just smiles at you. "i'm having fun right here."
He's clearly not gonna move so you sigh and say "Fine. I'll go dance with Pap then!" So that's exactly what you do. You join the skeleton and let the music take you. For being all bones, Papyrus is a surprisingly good dancer. More than that, he's just FUN to dance with. For several songs you dance with him and Frisk and whoever else you happen to bump into. Humans, monsters. Everyone is dancing. Finally, you're out of breath and starting to sweat so you decide to check on Sans.
He's not on the bench. You look around. Did he actually get up to dance and you just missed him? You pull out your phone and are just about to text him when you hear a dull bang and distant yelling. It's coming from the direction of the booths. You stow your phone and quickly head towards the commotion. Your heart sinks when you discover that the noise is coming from Muffet's booth. There's a group of men standing there, mostly college-age or older. The sign that the spiders had worked so hard on is on the ground, tattered and dirty.
"Who the hell do you think you are?" One of them is snarling at Muffet. He's got one of the worst hairstyles you've ever seen and faded, torn clothing to match. It's partially shaved on the side and falls down to his shoulder on the other. "Stay out of this!"
"would you rather i go get the cops?"
The group shifts slightly. Sans. He was blocked from your view before. His hands are in the pockets of his coat. His grin is still present, like always, but there's a strange energy about him that sends shivers up your spine.
Nasty hair laughs loudly. "Like the cops are gonna help you freaks!"
"Oh, but what about me?" You storm up, pulling your phone out. The group turns at your arrival, their surprise fading into sneering contempt.
"And who the hell are you pal?" Nasty hair gives you a piercing look up and down your body that makes your skin crawl. "This is none of your business."
You stand your ground. "I'm with E.B.B.T radio," you say coolly. "This is my stand and my friends. So yeah, I think it is my business."
The group of boys just laughs at your words and you flush with anger. A different guy, pimply and tall, saunters over to you. "Big talk for a little boy." He stops in front of you. He reeks of booze. "You're not gonna tell me you're one of those monster lovers are you? 'Cause that'd be a real shame." He reaches for you and you flinch back.
But then his hand is stopped midway. Sans is suddenly standing right there, gripping the guy's wrist. The lights have disappeared completely from his sockets.
"you're gonna want to rethink what you're doing pal." His voice is void of any emotion. His hand tightens and the boy yells out in pain.
"Shit!" He rips his hand away, glaring at the two of you. But now the group is rattled. You can see it on their faces.
"Leave." You're proud of the fact that you manage to keep your voice from shaking. "Last warning."
The group hesitates, looking at Nasty Hair. He snarls and points at you. "You're gonna get what's coming to you, freak."
Sans tenses next to you and you put a hand on his shoulder. "'Kay, then, calling the cops."
Those words are enough to finally send them away. One of them kicks at Muffet's stand as he goes, shaking loose several spiders and remaining decorations. Both you and Sans stare at them until they're out of sight. You're shaking with rage.
"Muffet, are you guys okay?" You take a breath and turn to assess the damage. The sign is destroyed beyond repair, but everyone in the booth seems unharmed aside from being shaken. There are a few baked goods spread across the ground. Fortunately, it looks like most of the wares had already been sold. Muffet nods sadly, holding her many arms out. The spiders shaken from the stand crawl up her arms, disappearing into the safety of her clothes.
"What happened?"
"made up some excuse about being cheated out of goods," Sans hisses. "starting throwing a fuss about being compensated for food they didn't pay for."
You hear footsteps. Tod comes running up with a security guard. He must have heard the noise. "_____! What's going on?"
You explain the situation to them. Tod shakes his head, frowning heavily. But....
"You don't look surprised," you say slowly.
He sighs. "I was hoping I was wrong, but I had a feeling something like this would happen." He turns to Muffet. "I'm very sorry. We should have been better prepared for something like this. _____, thank you for your help. I can handle things from here."
You hesitate before nodding. There isn't much more you can do now. "I'm sorry," you say to Muffet. You feel miserable and utterly useless.
Sans taps your arm. "let's go back to Pap." The lights have returned to his eyes, but they're dim.
You nod. "Yeah, okay." You head back to the bonfire. Both of you are quiet. You want to say something, but what can you say? Sorry could only go so far. The noise and the laughter from the dancing helps to calm your anger as you get closer to the fire. You tug Sans to a small clearing, a little closer to the fire than you would like, but it's further away from the dancers. The crackling of the fire is soothing in its own way.
Sans is staring up at the stars. "you ok?" he finally asks.
"I'm fine. But what about you? Don't say you're okay, cause I can see you're not."
Sans sighs. "just sucks. y'know? can't go a single day without some kind of crap happening. underground had it's problems but...folks didn't go around smashing bake sale signs just cause."
You take Sans' hand, squeezing tightly. "People do stupid things when they're scared. I'm not excusing those jerks. There's no reason for them to act like that. But humans don't exactly have a good track record of getting along with others. But with time, maybe things can get better. I mean, just look at Pap."
You can see him still dancing. His army of ducklings are squealing and jumping around him. Human children are mingling with monsters while their parents watch on. "Those kids love him and I'm sure their parents were scared to death at first. But they saw that he's harmless. Their fear just needed a chance to be eased. It sucks, but what most people need is time. Even though we don't deserve it."
Sans looks at you and he looks so tired. "i wish more people were like you," he murmured. He steps a little closer. He leans in, like he's about to kiss you and stops. "sorry. probably don't wanna do that with people watching."
There are people watching, openly staring at the two of you. You reach up and touch Sans' cheek. "People will think what they think. Doesn't change how I feel." You gently kiss his cheekbone. A hint of a genuine smile lifts his expression.
The song playing on the speakers changes. "Look at the stars. Look how they shine for you."
Hmm, Coldplay. Nice choice. You take Sans' other hand. "Okay, I know you said you don't dance, but I've got news for you. There is a mandatory rule that everyone at the festival dances at least once. It's your turn now!"
"oh, heh. um...." Sans looks at you, a little flustered. "i guess if it's mandatory. but i don't...i've never really...."
You guide his hand to your back, laughing. "Here, you hold me here and then I put my hand here-" you place one hand on his shoulder "then we hold hands like this." You start swaying and Sans follows your lead, looking down at his feet. You can't stop a laugh. "There you go, you got it!"
He's blushing. "guess this isn't so bad."
As the song goes on, his confidence grows and soon he's leading you, gently swirling the two of you in a circle. His grip is firm but gentle and your body feels like it's humming with happiness. "Well look at that. You're a natural."
Sans finally looks right at you. "nah, you're the natural. i'm just going with the flow."
"Give me time. I'll make a dancer out of you yet!"
"heh." He smiles gently. "you looked like you were having fun. before the jerks ruined things."
You nod. "Pap is fun to dance with. You'd know if you weren't so lazy and actually danced with us."
He hums, tugging you a little closer. "maybe i'll join you guys next time."
His body is warm. Or is that just the heat of the flames? You don't really know. You lick your lips. Sudden shyness makes you glance away. Oh you're definitely attracting attention now. People are watching you with a mixture of open curiosity and disapproval. But you are glad to see some who seem extremely happy about your circumstances. You even spot Undyne slow dancing with Alphys. She shoots you a thumbs up, toothy smile glinting.
Suddenly your neck prickles. You catch a flicker of movement and notice a man staring at you with vicious hostility. It's hard to tell because of the lighting, but he almost looks familiar. Was it one of the pricks from the group before? You squint, but before you can really tell, he turns and you see him toss something into the bonfire. A brown bag? Oh, come on. There were trash cans literally everywhere-
Then without warning, the fire exploded.