Espilver Fluffshots

1. Dance With Me Tonight

The room was beautiful - the marble floor glistened in the string lights' light. Flowers hung and adorned every pillar, windowsill, and table, giving the room a wonderful scent. Some people stood in suits, all wearing ties of varying shape, size, style, and colour - a bow tie here, a stripy tie there. Those who were not in suits sported elegant ballgowns that they had taken careful time and consideration to pick out. 

Silver had never attended a charity event before, but he was excited. He had always heard of amazing outfits, beautiful decorations, and soft music. He walked into the hall, Espio by his side to guide him through the evening. He saw people that he knew and stared in awe at their outfits. Blaze rushed over to him in a deep purple ballgown covered in flecks of white glitter that made it look as if the hem of her dress had been dipped in snow. 

"I'm so glad you're here!" she said, addressing them both, "Remember, the dance is at eight!" she was quickly dragged off by Rouge and Amy to help finish some of the decorating at the back of the room - being the host of an event looked difficult. 

"What exactly is dancing?" Silver questioned, turning to his companion for the evening, "It sounds like a torture device."

Espio chuckled at his confusion, "Dancing is a form of entertainment, in a way," he began to explain, "Music plays and you move around in the way that the music makes you want to. Sometimes it can be alone, in a group or with a partner."

Silver turned to admire the room again, thinking of how everyone would be dancing soon - it was already 7:50. They moved the the edge of the room where the drinks table was, Espio pouring himself a cup of fruit punch. Silver watched the purple liquid swirling around in the jug on the table with a look of concern. "Is it safe to drink a purple drink?" he questioned, lifting the jug, "This looks very unsafe."

"It's made of fruit," pointed out Espio, "The colours of the fruits used kind of blend together, so you never know what colour you'll get until you've made it." He handed a cup to Silver, who sniffed it cautiously before taking a small sip.

"It's sour," he commented, "It doesn't taste like fruit at all, but it doesn't necessarily taste bad..." he took another sip as they strolled to the events board. 

"After the dance, there's supposed to be the fundraising celebrity performances, then the auction and the theatre production after that.... is there any of that you want to see, Silver?" 

Silver thought momentarily. He wasn't interested in celebrity performances, he didn't have any money for the auction and he was clueless as to what a theatre production was. "No thanks," he said bluntly, walking away from the board. 

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Blaze's voice could be heard all around the room, "Please prepare as we start the dance!" She climbed down from the stage she was standing on and joined everyone as they made their way onto the dance floor, preparing for the music to begin. 

Silver and Espio stood to the side - for Silver, it felt wrong to go onto the dance floor when he had no idea how to dance. The music coming from the speakers was odd. It wasn't soft and gentle like he had expected, but it wasn't horrible and loud either. It made him feel... happy? Music had never made him feel emotion before - it was just sound. With this music, however, he couldn't help it as a toothy grin plastered itself on his face and he became jittery with excitement. 

"Teach me how to dance, please!" Silver begged Espio, bouncing with excitement but trying not to show it. Espio furrowed his eyebrows slightly at his friend's change of attitude but nonetheless took him a little closer to the dance floor. 

"There's not really anything to learn," admitted Espio, "You just move how you feel like moving. Think about how the music makes you feel." 

Silver closed his eyes and listened thoughtfully to the music. He opened them again and watched the people around him. He finally knew how he wanted to dance. Similar to everyone else, he began to spin around, except he had his arms out and was going so fast that his green tie flew up in his face, but he didn't care. The adrenaline rushing through his body felt electrifying. Why had he never done this before. He heard Espio chuckling before moving closer and doing a little jig of his own, but nobody cared. It was all about having fun. 

The song changed to a different one that sounded slightly different, and everyone cheered - it seemed like a popular one. Everyone began jumping around and Silver did the same, feeling more excited and refreshed than he had in years. It was as if the music itself was pumping through his veins. He felt it within him - he needed it. His eyes landed on Espio, who was now off to the side a little and not really dancing. 

"Come on Espio, dance with me!" he called, trying to make sure that Espio could hear him over the music. Espio simply shook his head and remained leaning against a pillar, arms folded. Silver rolled his eyes and marched over, taking his hand, "Have some fun," he said, before looking down to the ground and mumbling, "Please."

The chameleon rolled his eyes, but in a playful way and let the other lead him to the dance floor. They spun each other around and Silver laughed so hard that he was struggling to breathe - not a luxury he had ever experienced in his life before that moment. They danced right until people were being kicked off the dance floor to prepare for the next event. 

On the walk home, Silver couldn't stop babbling about how amazing it was and how they had to do it again sometime. Espio smiled at him, knowing that, even in just a small way, he had made Silver happier.