You couldn't help but giggle as Papyrus danced around the room, happily collecting ingredients for spaghetti, leaving you to start water for boiling and collect a skillet to prepare the meat. He had put on Latin music almost immediately, making you oddly comfortable. The tune seemed vaguely familiar, but didn't rehash any bad memories. Though, the monster never really did like Latin Dance, focusing more on quick, graceful, or jagged dancing. You opened a box of bowtie noodles, the most dapper of pasta, and started heat on the skillet.

"AH! I see you already know how to prepare spaghetti!" Papyrus praised. "Our combined efforts shall produce the most divine of cuisine."

You snickered as you removed a spatula from the drawers and cut open one end of the sausage. Papyrus seemed to freeze as he watched you begin work on seasoning the meat like what you were doing was some foreign language. You hummed as you cooked, mincing garlic and brandished oregano, salt and pepper as well.

"Human! I thought you could not dance!" Papyrus mused as he looked at you.

You flushed as you glanced down at the small cha-cha you were performing as you cha-chopped away. "I'm not dancing," you insisted. "I'm performing."

"Aw, I see. Continue on then human! I shall prepare the sauce!"

"Okay Papyrus, you do that."

You rolled your eyes as you planted your happy feet firmly. I can't let myself slip up like that. You scolded yourself mentally as you dumped the prepared meat and started to brown it.

A booming cry caused you to yelp as tomato soared through the air. You glanced back as you saw Papyrus smacking a pile that may once have been a tomato. "Papyrus! What're you doing?!" You gasped as he opened a jar of sparkles, applying them liberally to the paste.

"I am creating the sauce!" He cheered.

"Why are you adding sparkles?!"

"To make the sauce sparkle of course!"

"There's not even a sauce to sparkle Papyrus! You just destroyed the subject!"

He looked down at his sludge and examined it closely before gasping. "You're right! My glitter to food ratio is totally wrong! I need more glitter!"

"No!" You cried, smacking a hand to your head. Instead of lecturing him, having a feeling he wouldn't get the message, you smiled gently. "Here, why don't I show you how we do it surface style?" You offered.

"Oh! I'll get my brother! This will be a great learning experience!" He exclaimed.

"Fine," you sighed. "Just make sure you watch me carefully."

He retrieved Sans and sat him down in a chair as he sat on a stool, Frisk following not to far behind. You raised a brow in confusion as he gave off an air of excitement. He whispered something to Sans, something somewhat intriguing due to his reaction of interest, and you shrugged. It didn't matter now.

You turned and pulled your hair back with a faded ribbon you'd kept from your first pair of ballet slippers. An almost automated voice popped into your head as you did so. You equipped the faded ribbon.

You then washed your hands and turned down the heat on the meat and noodles. Your hand reached for the radio, cranking up the tune until it filled the entire house. Collecting a knife and more materials, you set to work for sauce.

Your blade moved quickly as you sautéed, minced, crushed, mixed and simmered the sauce. You spun around the kitchen, collecting spices and tools to fix the consistency of the sauce. At the same time you balled and cooked the meatballs while seasoning them with the four bases you'd already picked out. Your hands worked as quickly as your feet did, and before the song was over, so was the pasta. You collected three plate from the cabinet and plated mounds of pasta and meatballs before pouring the cherry red sauce over them. You held all three plates in hand as you turned around, looking expectantly at the three boys.

They seemed in awe as they looked up at you and you raised a brow. "What're you guys waiting for? Go to the table!" You instructed.

They scrambled to their feet and ran to the table, each sitting down quietly as you placed the dishes. You grabbed your own and sat, not bothering to wait for them as you ate. "I haven't made this in a long time," You started.  "But don't hold back on-"

"This is amazing!" Papyrus yelled. "Almost even better than mine."

"O-Oh!" You stuttered. "You like it?"

"Yeah," Sans added. "Not only is your cooking top notch, but the show was even better."

The table thunked as his face twisted in pain and he hissed, grabbing his leg. You watched him as he looked at Frisk in annoyance as you're confusion grew. "Show?" You asked. "What show?"

"Nothing (Y/N)! Sans was just-" Frisk attempted to fend off your curiosity but nothing could be heard over the blunt noise of Papyrus' praise.

"Why your dancing of course! Your glided are the kitchen like a ballerina with the grace of a tiger! All the while you kept time to the music and adapted your sequence of cooking so it worked with the music. I was quite impressed! Especially for a Human who claims to not dance!"

You could feel your face drain of color again and your gaze dropped to your hands. "I was d-dancing?" You stuttered.

Your hands startled to trembled slightly and you took a breath. You counted to ten slowly in your head then smiled, looking up at Frisk. "Well hopefully it wasn't too rusty." You said, attempting to sound playful.

"Rusty?" Sans scoffed. "Your moves were almost fresh outta the box. How long has it been since you've danced like that?"

You mean carelessly? Like I used to dance when I was a child before it was turned against me.

Instead of voicing the bitter truth you shrugged and kept your smile wide. "I'm not sure. Probably not long enough ago." You joked, gut seeming to twist.

Frisk sighed and smiled at you. "That's actually why I always stick around you when you cook dinner. It's the closest I can get to see you dancing." Frisk confessed.

Your face, if it was even possible, paled again. "Oh..."

You shyed away from the conversation and ate your food quietly, not wanting to draw attention. You finished your plate and brought it to the kitchen, looking up at the overly tall sink. With no step stool in sight, you balanced the plate on your head as you crawled on to the counter. Staching it above the cabinet, you swung yourself into the lip of the sink and sat on the edge. You collected the plate and rinsed it in the sink before jumping down.

As you stood again, you found yourself facing the blue-hooded skeleton you'd grown to be fond of. He raised a brow against you as you blushed, clapping your hands to your sides. "Did you just fall from the sink?" He asked.

You couldn't think of a reasonable excuse to replace that, so you just nodded quietly with your eyes downcast. He looked you over then shrugged with a nonchalant "cool."

You were amazed he was so accepting of the odd occurrence but you were grateful as well. Smiling, you shuffled past him and entered the living room. Papyrus had led Frisk back upstairs and into his room, where you could hear Papyrus screaming about the application of primitive laws of science and how they could be adapted for better, more efficient puzzles.

You snickered and sat on the couch, twiddling your thumbs. Frisk was still so young and wonderous. He was curious and open to new things and experiences. Sometimes you wish you were still like that.

The couch sank beside you and you looked up. Once again, Sans was staring at you. You blushed and looked away, focusing on your hands. "You keep looking away." He cooed gently, a playful smile on his face.

"So..." You muttered. "I just do that. It's a thing I do."

He chuckled as he looked at me. "Oh come on? Am I that bad looking?" He asked.

Blushing, you looked up at him and shook your head. "Nonononononono! You're not bad looking! You look just fine! Hot even! Wait, no! Not hot! I mean you look really nice! Yeah! That's the word I was looking for, nice."

Your face was more red that cherries as you once again looked away, now pouting. Nice going (Y/N). Now you look like a blundering idiot. You mentally scolded yourself as Sans laughed.

He rested a hand on your shoulder and he pulled your gaze to his. "You seem tense. Come on, I wanna show you my favorite place to loosen up." He offered.

"Loosen up?" You pondered. "That sounds like a bar or something. I'm only nineteen."

He snickered. "Don't worry, It's family friendly. Though I do see mostly 18 and up there." He shrugged.

Standing up, he offered a hand. "Come on. Are you coming?"

You eyed his grasp wearily before taking it. "I guess... I mean, yeah! Let's go." You said, new determination in your veins.

He lifted you from your seat swiftly, as though the simple gesture was a dance, then twisted to the stairs and yelled upstairs, "Paps! I'm taking (Y/N) to Grillby's! We'll be back later."

"Okay brother! But be sure to return home before 2AM this time! They're starting to learn my name there!" Sans laughed and then took me by the wrist.

Blue light blinded me and you then stood before Grillby's. On the outside it seemed like any old bar and restaurant but the loud, deep based music pounding from it made all the difference. "It's a club?" You mused.

"Of Sorts." Sans confirmed, challenging your gaze. "Still up for going?"

"Y-Yeah!" You stuttered.

I don't have to dance. I can just watch from the sides. There's always a few wall flowers at clubs.

Sans opened the door for you and you stepped in, gazing excitedly around the establishment. It had seemed so small from the outside, but it was huge. A DJ was playing songs from every genre, and everyone was dancing. Not letting your wrist go, Sans led you to the bar seats, taking up the two closest to the dance floor. It was different from the first time you'd seen it, probably due to the hour.

"Here! Take a seat." He yelled over the music.

You nodded and sat without a fuss, watching over the sea of moving bodies. For a moment, you flashed back into the nightmare from a few nights prior. Shaking your head, you smiled at Sans as he waved over the bartender. The bartender, Grillby as his tag identified, was an obvious dancer of Tango. He sported a firey red shirt with pristine cuffs and halfway unbuttoned collar. His pants seemed tight but he still moved fluidly as he balanced orders and drinks, brings ours mere minutes after we sat.

Despite having just ate dinner, between the two of you sat a basket of golden fries. The salty aroma made you drool as you reached for a fry and chomped down on it happily. "Mm! These are awesome!" You praised.

"Ketchup?" Sans offered, shoving a ketchup bottle at me.

He seemed almost giddy as you took the bottle with a suspicious hand. You looked at the bottle and found the only hole to be the nozzle. You grabbed the lid and tightened it, finding it was nearly detached. Sans' face fell into a low laugh as he slapped his leg. "Damn, thought you'd fall for it."

You snickered and applied the ketchup liberally before handing it back to Sans. You watched in distaste as he put the bottle to his mouth and tilted it upward, it's content spilling into his mouth. You gagged and flinched away from him. "Ew! How can you stand straight ketchup?" You cried wearily. "Ew!"

He chuckled and shrugged. "Don't know, I just do."

You feigned totally repulsion before returning to the basket of crispy goodness. Sans held a steady conversation with you as you each worked on the basket, soon finishing it and dissolving into playful banter. His eyes kept sliding on to the dance floor and you felt guilty rise in your chest as you turned to look over the diverse group of monsters. "You know, if you wanna dance you can. I won't hold you back here." You snickered.

"Nah, I'm happy just sitting here with you. Wouldn't want you to get bonely."

He elbowed you playfully as you laughed, but you still felt guilty. "Sorry Sans, but this is for the best."

"What?"

You sat on the counter of the bar and yelled, "Crowd Surfer!" As you launched Sans over the dancing monsters. They whooped and cheered, lifting Sans and pulling him deeper into the dance floor until you couldn't find him.

You returned to your seat and watched the moving bodies fondly, soon seeing as every monster had found a group, or at least a circle, of others to dance with. The most you allowed was a gentle sway as you people watched. Your foot tapped rhythmically against the stool.

A gentle tap took you attention and you turned to see a small shy-looking monster. He brandished a buck-toothed smile and offered a curt nod. He looked like a small, yellow dinosaur, but he lacked the arms of one. He was clothed in hooded sweater, with ironic pockets at the front.

"Hi! I'm monster kid. I noticed you were sitting alone, so I wanted to ask if you maybe wanted to dance." He offered.

You blushed and smiled gently. "I'm sorry Kid, but I have to decline. I can't really dance."

He smiled and jumped from his seat, "That's okay! I can't either. Please? It sucks when you dance alone."

Glancing at the empty seat next to you, you looked back at Monster Kid and sighed. "Okay, I can dance for a little bit." You gave in. "I'm (Y/N), by the way."

Just be careful. If you don't get riled up, it'll be fine.

He led you to a far corner of the dance floor and smiled at you. You could tell his dancing wasn't as practiced, and he hadn't chosen a set style, but it only made it seem more innocent. You kept your moves limited as you danced with him. You heart fell in time to the lively music, and you started to pick up pace, moving more wildly by the minute. It was as if the atmosphere of warmth, the loud music and the innocence of dancing for fun rendered your memories unable to harm you.

You bounced up and down to the beat, laughing with Monster Kid as you moved. "I thought you couldn't dance!" He teased.

"Yeah," you admitted. "I've been hearing that a lot lately. It less I can't, and more I don't."

"With moves like that and a body like yours, this should be illegal." It wasn't Kid that said the repulsing statement, but a new monster.

You turned swiftly to find a new monster looking down at you with a predatory eye. He was a large monster with the snout of an alligator and yellow, slit eyes. Moss Green scales covered his body down to the gnarled claws at his fingertips. Monster Kid appeared to recognize him as he shrank behind you.

"What a cute little human such as yourself doing dancing with a runt like him?" He hissed, looking past you at Kid.

"Having fun." You said shortly, irritation clipping your tone. "Or at least I was until some asshole had to walk in and ruin it."

"Oh come on babe. Why don't you come dance with a REAL monster?" He offered, grabbing you by the waist and pulling you uncomfortably close.

"How about no." You snarled, shoving him away. "I have no such intention. Now if you want what's best, you'll back the fuck off and leave me to my friend here."

"Excuse me?! You think you can just turn me down just like that? I'm sorry dear, but no one turns me down."

"First time for everything." You smiled, turning your back.

Suddenly your feet left the ground and you bit down a scream. While the flying body caught attention, no one moved to stop you. You were caught by the same monster as he smiled at you maliciously.

"(Y/N)!" Kid called after you.

A primal skill in the back of you mind click and you delivered a painful blow to his side with the sharp jab of your elbow. He released you and stumbled back, the dancers around you clearing  a small area. He grimaced at you, baring his sharp smile as his eyes caught red.

Twinzies.

You straightened your posture and looked at him. "I said no."

"You don't get a choice!" He growled, charging at you with full force.

You dropped to a squat and launched yourself at his legs. He fell over you as you roll out in a swift motion, landing on your feet and turning. He charged once again and you jumped, planting your foot against his chest and flipping. He fell to the ground as you landed in a practiced pose. You looked up at him with crimson eyes as you leaped into the air with a leg poised high. He barely managed to scramble away as your foot cracked against the floor, the title beneath it shattering.

The crowd that surrounded you gasped as you turn, posed like a ballerina in a jewelry box. He slashed at you and you twisted around him, grabbing his arm and twisted it behind his back. He cried out as you flipped gracefully over him and then flipped him over you, smashing him into the ground. He scrambled up, the impression of his body remaining on the floor, and ran away.

Your body moved to follow him but a gentle hand held you back. You turned and saw a shaken face, though smiling all the same. Your chest contracted as guilt overwhelmed you. You relaxed as you looked at Sans. Kid appeared beside him with starry eyes, jumping up and down excitedly.

"Wow (Y/N)! Thanks for protecting me! That guys a real jerk."

You offered a small smile but hid behind your hair. "Maybe we should, uh, head back." You suggested quietly. You pushed through the awestruck crowd quickly, not even stopping to hear Sans' response. He wouldn't teleport after you due to the possibility of accidentally hitting someone, but he'd most likely pursue you.

As the door to the club swung open, you took off sprinting. Red tinted your vision as you slipped into the frozen timbers of the woods and made your way to the clearing where you met her. You clawed at your head as you shook, crying out against her. Against Chara.

"What do you want?!" You hissed. "Get out of my head!"

"Why would I just throw away such a useful vessel?! How dumb do you think I am? Huh?!"

"Then tell me what you want!" You demanded. "Why do you need me?!"

You collapsed in the snow, hands cradling your head as the sounds of screams and haunting tunes filled your head. "I want them to feel what I felt." Chara growled. "They will feel what I felt. I was abandoned by the very family you ran away from. You had everything I wanted from them and you left because you were too weak! Well I'm not going to let all your strength go to waste. I'm going to kill them, every last one of them!"

"Every last one of who?!"

Quiet. In a mere second, everything fell quiet. "Who?!" You yelled again. "Who?"

The only response you found was the howl of chilled wind. "I don't want to kill anyone." You whimperd. "I left that behind. Please..."

"(Y/N)?"