It was on the brink of midnight, and for the first time since the Great Zapfish returned to Inkopolis, the plaza was completely barren. Not a single inkling was seen scurrying about to fit in one last turf war before their drowsiness got hold of the best of them. Not a single light shone from the stores that stood adjacent to the lobby's bright green tower. Even the two cousins that run Inkopolis news retired for the night. Only the significantly dimmer lights from the street lights and billboards were lit, guiding potential late night goers along their way.

It was like all aspects of time were halted in this state of serene silence, leaving the still moving in a state of complete solitude.

A state of solitude that Spyke didn't mind that feeling at all.

On these nights, he felt the most comfortable leaving his little corner of the alleyway; venturing out to the plaza. Most of the time, he'd stare up at the displays that the heart of the city advertised, occasionally moving up to the stars above if they ever dared to peek out from the harsh lights of the city; listening to the music that filtered out through his earbuds as he wandered by.

But there were these strange temptations that he held. There were times where he stared towards the very center of the plaza and felt the need to go over there and… dance.

He would always curse himself whenever those dumb thoughts came to mind, but the temptation would still remain in the back of his thoughts, much to his dismay.

Locking his gaze at the perfectly circular bevel in the pavement, he sighed; yanking the earbuds out of his phone, letting the speakers naturally fall out of his ears. He quickly wadded the cord-threaded speakers up and stoed them into the pocket of his khaki jeans. He tucked his phone into the remaining free pocket briefly as he removed his poncho, carefully trying to not knock it out of the flimsy pouch it resided in. Once done, he tossed the article of clothing over his shoulder, having it slightly graze his lower back as he approached the center of the plaza, retrieving the stoed phone once he stood inside the beveled round of pavement.

Letting the poncho slip through his grasp and off his shoulder, he hastily scrolled through his phone to find a song to 'dance' to. He grumbled as he swiped each song by in his digital album, wondering how the hell he managed to cave under this stupid temptation. After a short while, he landed on one song that was sung by one of the squid sisters. His eyes scanned the title a few times before he sighed with a bittersweet contempt.

"Alright." He spoke, his voice breaking the silence of the sleepy plaza. "I guess it'll be this one then…" He looked around to see if someone or something slipped out of their slumber to see what was going before kicking his knitwear aside; kneeling down to re-adjust the poncho so he can prop his phone up shortly afterwards. He stared at the phone one last time before he pressed the play button, standing up as the familiar tune began to float pass his ears and out to the night sky.

One way or another, He knew he was probably going to regret doing this.

He stood up and trotted back to the very center of the plaza, trying to get a hold of the mellow rhythm; raising his arms above his head prior to the first brief pause in the song.

As the vocalist of the song, Marie, sang through the small but somehow impressively loud speakers, Spyke felt his muscles relax as if they weren't tense in the first place. His body flowed along with the girl's soothing voice, allowing himself to lighten up the weight of his steps as he moved around the veil of music that surrounded him.

At this point, the world around him seemingly vanished as he moved in a bewildering, interpretive fashion; almost as if the nothing could stop him from what he was doing, not even the feared passerby would catch him off guard- at first, at least.

...

He held a simplistic yet somewhat elegant pose once the song petered out to a dead silence. His left arm was extended, its hand spread as if it was trying to reach for something; while his right arm folded, with its hand resting firmly on his chest. His feet were aligned one after another, his toes of one foot barely grazing the heel of the other. Spyke heavily breathed, slightly winded from all of the movement he just did; eventually breaking the pose, spreading his feet shoulder-length apart and resting them on his knees, breathing slightly heavier than he was a couple of seconds ago. "Jesus…" He gasped between breaths. "That took way more outta me than I 'ought it would."

He eventually stood up straight, stretching out his back a bit while still staring up at the night sky. A few moments later, he collected his phone and his poncho and quickly made his way back to his alleyway, hoping that nobody notices him.

…

"Holy shit…" A soft murmur escaped from her lips as she stared blankly at the phone she held adjacent to her face, her mouth agape.

Annie only woke up to grab a bottled water from the shop's fridge since the plumbing in her above-shop apartment was a bit wonky, but she wasn't expecting to find herself in this sort of situation. She grew more and more curious as she noticed the slender urchin from the alleyway rushing towards the center of Inkopolis plaza, partially because she's never seen him leave the alleyway before, let alone stand up to stretch his legs a bit. But she grew quite surprised as he started to play music to dance to in the middle of the night, leaving both her eyes and her phone camera glued to his steady, petite figure as it moved enticingly to the song's melody.

A cold breeze from a poorly insulated window brushed against her pale skin, snapping her out of her trance. She gasped, tucking her phone into her pajama pocket before snatching up her bottle of water, quickly making her way back upstairs without a sound.

…

Annie sighed as she gently closed her bedroom door behind her, trying not to wake up her snarky sidekick, Moe. She pulled out her phone once more and lit up the screen, having it act like a dim flashlight to guide her back to her bed. Once there, she carefully slipped under the covers, hoping not to make the bed creak as she did so, holding the device close to her chest. She took a few moments before she pulled the phone away from her, unlocking it and opening up the video she took a short while ago. Turning the volume down on her phone, she proceeded to rewatch the scene.

It wasn't long until she heard the sound of water being pushed around, causing her to freeze up tremendously. She held her breath hoping he would just try to go back to sleep, even though she knew he definitely wasn't going to such a thing.

"What the hell are you doing, nerd?" Moe mumbled, peeking his head over his fishbowl that rested on her bedside table.

Annie shifted awkwardly in her bed, pulling her blanket over her shoulder hoping that Moe wouldn't catch what's on her screen. "I'm watching a video…" She blushed. "Don't worry about me dude… Just go back to sleep please."

Moe scoffed as he leapt from his bowl into Annie's hair, making her flinch. "M-Moe!"

Moe squinted as he tried to make up the shapes on his owner's phone screen. "Isn't that the spiky idiot that hides in the alleyway all the time?" He grunted. Annie locked the phone and sat up. "H-he's not an idiot Moe…" Annie stuttered out, making Moe scoff once more. "You don't even know the guy!" He shouted.

Annie pouted as she grabbed a hold of her screaming partner, placing him back in his fishbowl. "Y-You don't even know him either Moe." She huffed, placing her phone on the bedside table next to the said fishbowl. "J-Just go back to sleep before you wake up our neighbors… Please."

"Tch. Whatever." Moe rolled his eyes as Annie proceed to tuck herself back into her bed, quickly entering the world of sleep. Moe watched as her breathing slowed before speaking again. "What was so special about that video anyways." He mumbled to himself before leaping out of the bowl once more, landing next to Annie's phone. He unlocked it and stared blankly at the phone screen for a short while before playing the video again.

Just watching the dude move around made him shake his little fishy head. The man just looked like a fool moving in the way he was, and Moe saw nothing special in what he was doing. All he saw was something that could ruin that man's reputation throughout the city!

"Hmm…" Moe hummed. Something that could ruin that man's reputation throughout the city…

Annie is going to hate him for doing this. But it'll be so worth it in his eyes.