Self-Insert Stories

Love at First Sight

EDITED ON: 5/3/23

Words: 2507

Another successful night at the Muppet Theatre. Most of the Muppets were exhausted once the curtains closed and Kermit's expression reflected over them. There was a little chit-chat, but almost everyone wanted to go to Rowlf's Tavern. After a quick speech from Kermit, the Muppets dispersed in a frenzy to their respective vehicles and drove to their brown-eared friend down the street. The parking lot slowly emptied of cars as different groups left their spots. One group traveling was the Electric Mayhem band with all six members piled into the psychedelic colored van in their usual spots. Dr. Teeth behind the wheel, Zoot in the passenger seat, Floyd and Janice cuddled in the middle seats, Animal locked in the trunk, and Lips lying in the back seats.

Lips slumped down in the cushions, more than usual so the back of the middle seats were blocking his view of the couple. Seeing them cuddle, joke, and compliment each other caused a pang in his heart. Floyd and Janice had been together basically for years, Dr. Teeth seemed to flirt with anyone, Animal had Tammy, and no one knew how Zoot felt about romance. With most of the band being in relationships, it made Lips feel left out. The last romantic relationship he had ended with him being kicked out, along with a boat-load of trauma. That had happened years before joining the band. It's not like he wasn't ready for another relationship, it's just the action of meeting the right person that feels like an eternity.

Before long, the van had stopped and the band filed out of the vehicle. Rowlf's Tavern was lit up inside with talking seeping through the cracks in the door, the pent up sounds released when Floyd pulled the door open. Alcohol wafted to their noses once stepping inside as Rowlf dished out a few beverages to customers. Lips took a look around, recognizing some of their coworkers and friends seated in their usual area as well as a few people seated at the bar. He took a seat with Beaker, Bunsen, Pepe, and Pepe's new girlfriend, eliciting a small groan from the trumpeter. Even a shrimp can find a date like nothing! Most of his time was spent watching the others talking and making fun of Miss Piggy's attitude. None of his drink was consumed, a faint line showing where the liquid was sitting at.

"Hey Mouth. Gonna finish that drink, Amigo? Floyd Prepper wants to know," Pepe asked, pointing at his glass. Lips pushed the glass to the prawn and sighed deeply as the room's chatter filled his ears. It didn't help that the table he was seated at was in the middle of the room. Squinted eyes darted between the different colors of his friends as the setting's sounds increased. Mumbling an "excuse me", Lips stood from his seat and walked to the bar where the overwhelming sounds died down to a more bearable level. The movement from the chair to the bar was a blur that left him dizzy enough to grab onto the counter for a moment to balance. Where he was at the counter, he wasn't sure, but he saw someone sitting a few seats away from him on the left. At the very least, he was at the counter.

"You alright there, bud?" A gruff voice asked. The smell of dog fur filling his nostrils as he looked up. "Here, have some water. You look like you need it". A glass of water was pushed to the trumpeter as he took a seat on a barstool. The owner of the voice was shown to be Rowlf the Dog, wiping down the counter with a damp rag. Lips nodded at him, replying with a "Yes, I'm fine" and "Thank you for the water" before the canine walked away. A few gulps of the liquid calmed his senses and he looked around the bar area. Rowlf had this part of the Tavern redone after Fozzie accidentally cracked one of the counter corners. Most of it looked the same as before with a new sink and set of shelves behind the counter. His eyes then landed on the other person sitting a few feet away and he tilted his head.

From where Lips was sitting, he could see that they had on a black, long-sleeved leather jacket, purple pants, and brown shoes. On the back of the jacket were a pair of mahogany wings printed from under the shoulders to the stitch line at the bottom. A few bangs from their black hair covered their face with some gray strands weaved through it. The rest of their hair was pulled into a bun on their head, revealing the shaved underside and their strangely pointed ears. In a way, they looked cute. Placed on the counter in front of them was an opened sketchbook, flipped to a page with various sketches on both sides. Lips didn't mean to peek at their work, but some of the drawings were of his coworkers. It intrigued him that someone was sketching his friends and bandmates, and it interested him more when he realized that they were sketching him! He might have been staring too long because the person turned their head to him, staring back with intensity.