Chapter Text
Deep breath.
Center your core.
You lunge forward and perfectly catch the suspended hoop, sending yourself gliding above the audience in a graceful panoramic starfish pose.
You flip and twist, earning gasps and cheers with every strike, each one more impressive than the last.
As your song draws to its end, you are lowered to the ground as a startling speed.
There are a few screams that are quickly followed by laughter and thunderous applause, as the hoop stops just above ground, your smile glittering just inches from the ground, accompanying an elegant ending tableau.
You bow to the crowd over and over before cartwheeling and flipping off of the high-end circus stage.
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You slip out of your sparkling red leotard and put on a robe. The green room is bustling with the other acts either arguing over god-knows-what-the-fuck-ever or taking a hit of whatever drug was being passed around. You grab some make-up removal wipes and start cleaning the dazzle off of your face with an exhausted sigh.
While performing was not only your gift, but your passion, there had to be a better vendor to dedicate your craft to. The Cirque d'Amour was the most critically acclaimed show, recognized internationally. However, the men who ran it were little more than manipulative assholes. You were pretty sure your variety of modalities was only a partial reason of your casting. Your "sweet lips," "blowjob eyes," and "perfect feet" might have had some influence as well, according to frustrating rumors that flew around the cast.
"Hey, kitten." said a deep voice behind you.
God, he's like the demon who comes when you call.
You roll your eyes and continue to remove pins from your hair, eyes fixed on your own reflection. Maybe if you are quiet, he'll go away.
Jeb Cesar, the producer of Cirque d'Amour, stood behind you while packing a box of cigarettes. He notices your apathy and smirks.
"Aw, come on, sweetie, don't be like that. You did fantastic tonight. I just thought I might come here to tell you the good news..." he said, leaning onto the vanity and blocking your view of yourself.
You raise a brow at him with a "Really...?" expression and cross your arms, leaning back into your chair. He grins and raises a fresh cigarette to his lips.
"A while back when you requested a raise, I felt like you were still too green for the payoff." he said through half-clenched lips, patting his sides for a lighter. "Well, good news, cupcake. After a few new statistic reviews, the crowd has really taken to you. Only a year and a half into this gig and you've already got a fan club. Pretty impressive, baby. I've decided to give you a bonus."
Your eyes narrowed. The last time you had a discussion like this it ended in a white flash, a right hook to his jaw, and your job being compromised... They only kept you around because of the vast number of acrobatic acts you could do. That and Cesar isn't exactly one to give up his toys easily. You stood up and huffed, walking towards your locker to get your clothes.
"That's not a raise, Cesar, that's a bonus. They're not the same thing." You stated flatly, twisting the locker knob.
"Well, I mean..." He sighed, shifting off of the desk and taking a step towards you. "I could make it a raise. If you earn it."
You dropped the lock, too frustrated to focus, and turned to face him with the most icy leer you could muster. He waggled his eyebrows and tongued his cigarette to the other side of his mouth with a smile. Disgusted, you scoffed and managed to get the last number correct, opening your locker and grabbing your clothes and backpack. As you turned back around he was inches from you, looking down with a smug smile.
Ugh, he was like an uglier Mel Gibson...
He reached out and tucked your hair behind your ear. You didn't even flinch anymore. He tries something like this at least once a month. You figured it was in your best interest to keep the peace by letting him get the occasional rise out of you, in exchange for his harassment rarely escalating beyond banter and the occasional ass-grabbing. Though... he was being a little more aggressive than usual today...
"You really are a doll." he chuckled. "Bite sized even." he stood straighter, making sure you knew you were a measly 5'4" to his broad 5'11" build.
"I'll just take the bonus." you said through an icy grin. You turned to walk away, but Cesar shifted, slamming his arm against the wall between you and the doorway.
"You got a light?" he growled, looking you up and down. You rolled your eyes and dug in your backpack for a lighter. You pulled it out and lit it, lifting it to his cigarette. He grabbed your hand to steady it. The mere contact was almost enough to make you audibly gag. He took a drag and smiled as he blew the smoke in your face. Refusing to give him the satisfaction, you simply smiled. Unsatisfied, he flipped the filter toward you.
"Take a drag." he softly commanded. Pleasant visions of digging the cherry sizzling into his eye ran through your mind before you hesitantly put the tip against your lips, trying not to feel the dampness he left behind. Just... fucking .....ew...
He grinned.
"Atta girl." He purred, taking it back. You blew the smoke to the side and ducked under his arm. "Be back before curfew, kitten!" he laughed, eyes following you out of the room.
"Fuck off, Cesar." you cooed back at him.
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In the trailer that you shared with 3 other female cast members, you threw your bag onto your bunk and slammed the door behind you. The other girls were probably out getting plastered already, which was fine because you needed a minute to recover from that bullshit. It's not like worse hasn't happened to you before. This business is a dangerous one for a girl with no home to run back to. That never stopped you, though. What happens, happens and nothing worth having ever comes easy. You'd find a better gig soon enough. You hoped.
You slipped out of your robe and pulled on some skinny jeans and a One Piece t-shirt. You checked your face in the mirror for any make-up you might have missed. There was still a little but of eye-liner under your right blue eye, but your left dark-brown eye looked clean. You grabbed another wipe and admired your birth defect as you evened out the residue. Throwing your long hair back into a ponytail, you combed through your roots. Your natural black was starting to show under the deep red. It was time for a new color anyway. You usually changed hair color every few months or so. Eh, why wait? Tonight's as good a night as any.
You laced up some chucks, grabbed your pack, and headed into the city.
The Circus was currently touring in Las Vegas, one of the loudest cities you've ever been to. Everywhere you turn someone was either fighting, crying, laughing, or fucking. It was easy to tune out once you put your headphones on and let Daft Punk serenade your journey to the beauty supply store. You were excited to see what they would have in stock for a town so heavily dependent on entertainment. Probably massive varieties of wigs and make-up palates that were ridiculous.
As you walked to towards the automatic doors, a man shoved you with his shoulder. Finding your footing, you looked back in a flush.
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry! I was in my own head." you said.
The man said nothing and smiled, turning and continuing down the sidewalk.
Weird...
..... eh, whatever.
You were sure you'd died and gone to heaven. The store was the size of a small warehouse and full of high-end cosmetic treasures. Happy that tonight's mishaps started fading from your mind, you bolted for the "Hair Care" aisle. It was like christmas. There were at least 5 shades of every color imaginable. You pondered which direction to take, admittedly a tad overwhelmed by your cornucopia of choices.
A frustrated groan startled you. You turned and your eyes widened.
It was a monster! An actual monster! You'd never seen one this up close before!
You almost felt star struck. Shaking yourself out of it and remembering she has feelings just like you, you took a step towards the tall.... sea creature? mermaid? Fish... girl?
"You sound lost." you said casually. The Fish Girl turned around with a scowl. Her look softened when she saw your shirt.
"Oh.. My... GOD!" she said, broadening her stance. You smiled nervously.
What'd you do...?
"I.....fucking....LOVE. ONE. PIECE!!!" she shouted with exaggerated physical expression. Pleasantly surprised by this, you looked down at your shirt and chuckled.
"Hell yeah, dude. Shit's legit!" You whipped your backpack around to show her a One Piece button you had on the front pockets, along with other buttons of animes and shows you liked, and some from the many cities you've been to. The Fish Girl grabbed your pack from you absolutely enthralled. She realized how excited she was and cleared her throat, handing you back your pack with a gruff chuckle.
"You know what, pipsqueak, you're alright. Name's Undyne." She held out her hand. You raised a brow at the nick-name, but smiled and took her hand. Her fingers were much smoother than they looked. A detail quickly smothered by the force of her grip. Well, two could play this game.
"I'm ________. But around here it's Scarlet."
You clenched your grip right back at her. She wore a bright smile, impressed. She threw her head back and laughed.
"It's not every day I go out feeling shitty and a human, of all things, is the one to turn it around!"
"Glad I could be of service." you said, with a graceful bow.
"Well, Scarlet, you're abso-fuckin-lutely right. I'm lost as hell." she admitted, looking back at the wall of cosmetics behind her begrudgingly.
"What exactly are you here for?"
"I mean, fuck if I know. My friend needs 'fake lashes' but didn't bother to tell me what kind. I figured it would be an in-and-out trip, but I should have known. Nothing is ever easy when it comes to that prick." she sighed.
"Well, yeah, there are a few dozen different ones. What color is their costume?" you said, looking at the choices.
"Pink. Like bright, vibrant, pay-attention-to-me-or-I'll-die PINK." She smiled, pleased with her insult. You laughed and picked a pair of metallic pink lashes, a pair of pink feather lashes, and a pair with a pink tint along the edges.
"These should cover the major bases. I know you were hoping to only buy one pair, but trust me. As a professional you ALWAYS need back up when serving a diva."
Undyne snorted and took them.
"Hey, if it gets him to shut up, its worth the money. The only reason I'm even here is because my girlfriend is busy babysitting."
"The worst." you sarcastically smiled. You grabbed the dye you decided on and both of you walked up to the check-out. After paying you both stopped just outside of the door.
"Well, thanks for the help, pipsqueak! I would have been in there for hours. Probably would have burned that place to the ground."
"Problem solved! No need to lash out, now!" you said, semi-giggling at your own stupid pun. Undyne's expression shifted from one of disgust to one of eerie enthusiasm in seconds, but absent of any laughter. You smiled nervously again. "....What?"
"Ah, nothing. You just remind me of someone." She said, seeming particularly interested in your differently colored eyes. You shifted your gaze around with nervous laughter for a moment before she held out her hand again. Eye-contact made you wildly uncomfortable.
"Well, see ya, punk."
This time you were ready. Instead of grabbing her hand in the traditional sense, you linked her thumb with yours and flexed your arm to meet her resistance in a masculine pact. As if she knew, she met the resistance and let out a satisfied grunt. You both let go, laughing.
"Have a good night! It was nice to meet you, Undyne!" you waved, shifting to put your headphones back on.
"Later!" she turned and started walking away.
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As you walked down the street a few blocks, you suddenly felt a presence behind you. You moved your head to shift your head phones off of your ears a bit and stopped walking for a second, pretending to check your pocket. You heard the scraping of shoes stop behind you.
Yup. Definitely being followed. Well, this night was getting better.
Resuming your pace, you tried to look for a good place to lead this guy into. He had no idea who he was messing with. Sure, there was the chance of an ambush, but it's always a 50/50 shot. This wasn't your first rodeo. You saw an opportunity to duck into an alley and ran, pulling your headphones off. You looked behind you to confirm that the chase was on and oddly, he wasn't there.
You slammed into something and staggered backward a bit before your arm was suddenly in a vice grip.
The man who shoved you before was staring you down. He pulled out a knife and pressed the edge to your collar.
"Shhh... easy. Eeeasy..." he whispered, backing you into the wall. You put on a wide-eyed expression, while checking your surroundings. The guy who was following you appeared from around the corner with a chortle. Well, looks like you lost the bet with yourself. Figures, in Vegas.
"She sure tried to pull somethin' fancy." said the follower.
"Shut up." the man scowled, "Listen, little hooker. I'm havin' a bad night. You can either make it better for me by givin' me money..." his knife point poked into the fabric of your shirt, snagging the fabric on the tip. "...or givin' me tail." he said, his breath reeked of cheap vodka.
Oh no he did NOT just threaten to cut your One Piece shirt!
"Hey... come on, dude. I'm just a tourist and I'm just as broke as you!" you said as sweetly as you could. All you needed was a distraction, or some opportunity to make it so---
"HEY ASSHOLES!!" shouted a familiar gruff voice.
Undyne stood at the alley's entrance, arms crossed but grinning from ear to ear.
The men both looked in drunken confusion for a moment.
Aaaand there it is. Thanks, Undyne!
"GET THE FUCK OFF OF MY FRIE-" She started to bellow, when you suddenly took advantage of the moment. You slid down the wall and between the man's legs, laying with your back flat on the ground, you kicked upward with all of the force you could muster. The man launched backward into the follower, screaming and clutching his balls that had just been upward Sparta-kicked into oblivion.
"...friend." Undyne stammered, a bit shocked.
You rolled back and jumped to your feet with ease. Approaching the whining bundle of thieves, you put your hands in your pockets.
"Wanna go for round two, fuckwads?" you huffed. The man with the knife tried to stand back up. You quickly turned and side kicked him in the face. He fell, out cold into the follower's lap and your glare met his. "Didn't think so." you growled.
You turned to Undyne, who was beaming as if she'd just seen an angel. You blushed a little bit and walked towards her.
"Sorry about that." you mumbled.
"That. was. so. AWESOME." She said with restrained joy. Her eyes were fixed on you. You began to feel uncomfortable again when suddenly her gaze flicked behind you.
The follower picked up the man's knife and shoved his unconscious body off, preparing to lunge at you. Undyne, still grinning, shoved you aside and sprinted towards him. In one fell swoop she grabbed the man by the waist and did the most pristine suplex you'd ever seen. Your jaw fell open a bit as she stood up.
"Thank god!" she said, rotating her shoulder and stretching. "I was scared you were gonna have all the fun." she smiled and kicked the unconscious follower.
Coming back to the moment, you shook your head.
"Yeah! Holy shit! Thanks! That was close." you sighed.
"I have a feeling you could have handled it." she laughed, giving you a hearty pat on your back. "But, hey, let me walk you back to wherever you're going. You know, in case they have any friends."
That was a smart idea. You nodded and started back on your way home.
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You looked at the locked gate to your darkened lot and sighed.
"Fuck... its past my curfew." you said, looking at your phone. There were a few missed calls and texts from coworkers and Cesar but you honestly didn't care that much at this point.
"You work for the circus? That's pretty badass. What do you do?" said Undyne, intrigued.
"Uh... Lots of stuff. Mainly dancing and acrobatic stuff. I'm pretty slick with fire too." you said, half-hazardly reading some of the texts.
--
Cesar: 11:29p: It's getting close to curfew, kitten. Don't make me rethink your bonus.
--
Alisha (SoundTech): 11:50p: Hey u Cesar is asking for u. r u ok?
--
Britt (Roomie): 11:55p: You left the door unlocked, jerk. hope u get mugged
--
Cesar: 12:34a: Well, I'm locking up. I don't pay you to fuck around. Be in my office tomorrow morning.
--
You groan and shove the phone in your pocket.
"Hey, if you need a place to stay, my hotel's not far from here." Undyne offered, noticing your declining mood.
"Eh, nah. Thanks though. I can get in. Just gonna be hell tomorrow." you sigh.
"Maybe you should play hookie and just hang out with us instead." she suggested, lightly punching your arm.
"Actually..." you said, realizing something. You dug into your backpack and pulled out 3 VIP tickets. "Do you wanna come to my show tomorrow? You said you had a kid with you guys so it might be something fun to do. You'll sit in the Suites and everything!"
Undyne looked a little flustered, "Are you sure you wont get in trouble for giving me these?"
"I mean I usually just sell them off. We get a few every time we switch towns."
"No, I mean..." She said, looking down. "inviting monsters. We're here because the guy I was buying shit for is meeting with some of his stylists. It's supposed to be a low-key thing since monsters aren't really a popular concept in the states."
"...The states?" you said, quizzically. "Where are you guys from?"
"Mount Ebbot. Japan." she looked at you as if everyone should know that.
You knew Monsters had 'come out of the cave' so-to-speak years ago, but honestly it was something you didn't pay a lot of attention to. Your life was complicated enough as is was without worrying about other people's problems on the news. However, every time you caught the occasional flash story about anti-monster campaigns and riots, you couldn't help but relate to them. You knew what it felt like to be completely unwanted.
And with all of that introspection the only response you decided to utter was:
"Then why aren't you speaking with a Japanese accent?" Nice one.
Undyne threw her head back and laughed. She had to catch herself on her knees.
"You know what? You're my second favorite human I've ever met!" she laughed, trying to catch her breath.
"I can speak Japanese, English, and French. I went through a fuck-ton of anime in the underground. With all that time, language is easy. You get tired watching the same dialogue, so hey, might as well watch it in a different language. Spice things up. Ya know?"
Dumbfounded, you cocked your head to the side. You guessed that's one way to do it. Realizing you were staring, you shook your head and went back to the original subject.
"Th-That's amazing!" you stammered. "But yeah, so, yeah. Tomorrow. Will you come?"
"You bet your ass, pipsqueak! On one condition."
Condition...?
"You have to promise to text me when you get to bed so I know you're safe." she said, reaching her hand out for my phone. The request was so obvious yet so random you just sort of... let her take it. She put her info in and handed it back.
"Deal." you said, sliding it back into your pocket. "Tomorrow, then."
"Yeah! Can't wait! I'm gonna bring my girl and everything. Are you sure you can get back in? Do you have a key?" she said crossing her arms.
"Nah." You smiled. "I know a short-cut." you said winking at her. She gave you an eerie smile again.
With that you shuffled your headphones back on and walked towards a shaded spot at the end of the fence that sat at the base of a balloon stand. You climbed it with agile speed and perched on top of the roof of the stand, waving to Undyne, who seemed to laugh again and wave back. When she turned to walk down the street you jumped down and headed through the lot to your trailer.
It was unlocked, ironically enough, and you took off your headphones only to hear monstrous snoring coming from your room mates. You put down your pack and pulled out your phone.
--
To Undyne: 12:59a: Made it. See you tomorrow!
--
You didn't wait for a response, as you threw an arm over your eyes, dreading what Cesar would possibly say tomorrow.
Whatever. Whatever happens happens. It was still a good night.