I Guess Bumping Into People Pays Off?
*My Secret Santa gift for @sternenfall96 Enjoy!
I had tripped, stumbled, and ran right into him. Mortification is not even close to how bad I feel. I'm in a rush. And instead of staring at the painting on the wall as I ran I should have been looking straight ahead. Maybe then, I could have crashed onto the concrete; or the garbage over--no, I would have been even more mortified and dirty.
Yet, I thought that I had served around the monster in time. At least to keep him from getting body slammed by all six feet of me. I peek up at him, still dipped in the arm that saved me from getting hurt.
He's tall. Smiling down at me even as concern narrows his sockets. He's a skeleton. A monster. I should be afraid of him; quaking in my cheap black boots and screaming for him to let me go immediately.
"I APOLOGIZE." He pulls me up from the tilted hold in his arms. I stumble, just a little, and he puts an arm around my waist to steady me. Are skeletons supposed to be this strong?
"What? N-No! It's, uhm, it's okay." I click my teeth shut, effectively silencing myself. How the heck can a skeleton be so attractive all of a sudden?
He peers closer at me. "ARE YOU SURE? YOU SEEM...FLUSTERED."
"Pfft. I'm always like this." Not to mention I wasn't paying a bit of attention to where I was heading.
"IS THAT SUPPOSED TO BE REASSURING?"
I look down at the concrete. My ears are on fire. The truth is that I am an extremely embarrassment-prone person. For all my enthusiasm of new things, I think I put myself in a corner sometimes. It isn't intentional, as this situation proves, but.... He's still staring at me.
I back out of his grip. I don't remember what he asked, if he even did ask anything. I thrust out my hand. "I'm Hoshi."
He immediately takes my hand and shakes it twice. "AND MY NAME IS PAPYRUS! I APOLOGIZE AGAIN, HOSHI! I SHOULD HAVE INTRODUCED MYSELF SOONER!"
What a nice guy. I smile. The embarrassment of stumbling into this monster has ebbed. I don't think he even cares that it's my fault.
"No problem, Papyrus!" His smiles grows even more. It's dazzling. How many people have been charmed by this monster? Does he even realize the kind of things he could do and get with a charming smile and good nature? I should apologize; move on with my life before I get caught in his unknowing trap.
"I'm sorry for running into you in the first place...." I trail off, finding myself captivated by the bright lights in his sockets. It's rude to stare but I don't think I've ever seen someone so downright kind before.
Somewhere, horn beeps. It's startling enough to jolt the two of us even further apart. Papyrus averts his eyelights. "ON THAT NOTE....I SHOULD BE LEAVING."
"Oh. Yeah. Me too." I forgot I was on my way to a friend's house. We were going to be working on something and forgot...
"BUT HOW ABOUT WE MEET UP AGAIN SOMETIME, HOSHI? WITHOUT...KNOCKING IN TO ONE ANOTHER, OF COURSE."
I laugh in spite of my face rising in heat. The skeleton smiles along with me and I know that he isn't making fun of me. Not many monsters live where I do, so I'm not sure if I really will knock into him again. But I hope I do.
"I would really like that, Papyrus."
* @sternenfall96 Ta-da~! I finished a while ago, but I think I really like this. Sorry it wasn't posted sooner, my Internet was off. I hope you liked it!
