Long ago, a white fruit bat named Rouge met a handsome, young echidna by the name of Knuckles. Rouge was radiant; she had teal eyes, luscious lips, a gorgeous body, and a determined—yet graceful—personality that would turn any man's head. She loved flirting and having fun with her best friends, Amy Rose, Blaze the Cat, and Cream the Rabbit. She always had a boyfriend, and was the life of the party wherever she went. She had the quality of a princess.

Knuckles, on the other hand, was a bad boy/gangsta; he had purple eyes, red dreads, a smile that would attract any adventurous girl, and a fierce personality. He also loved flirting and hanging out with his best buds, Sonic the Hedgehog, Silver the Hedgehog, and Scourge the Hedgehog. He always had a girl hanging on him, and was extremely popular. He usually went out with a girl without having actual feelings for her, but then, the lovely bat caught his eye.

He was hanging out with his friends at a club, when he spotted a lonely lady bat sitting at the other end of the bar. He wanted to go and talk to her, but his friends distracted him and when he looked back, she was gone. But he had captured her image in his mind. Later, he went to an ice cream parlor to get the taste of settled booze out of his mouth, and he saw her with her friends. He started to walk to her, but stopped and realized that he couldn't. She wasn't like any other girl he'd ever met. She had the body and face of a goddess, and although she would seem like just another sex symbol to any ordinary man, Knuckles saw something in her that he didn't see in the other girls he'd met. He was in love with her.

One day, he went to the store, and somehow ended up in the same aisle as Rouge. He watched her search for the right brand of band-aids, then summed up the courage to talk to her. He greeted her and told her that he'd seen her alone at the bar and that he thought she was beautiful. He asked her out on a date, and then swelled up with joy when she said yes. Later that night, they went to a fancy Italian restaurant and had the most wonderful evening. Knuckles felt so in love that he asked her to marry him. Rouge, blinded by excitement, said yes, and they planned to get married on the 26th of May.

They were a happy couple for many months. Knuckles had a job in business, and had his own apartment because his workplace was so far away. He spent most of his time with his fiancé in her house, and enjoyed every second of being with her. Rouge was a painter, and she made thousands of dollars off of her fabulous paintings. She painted any random thing, then handed the picture off to her bodyguard/agent/client to be sold. They were very happy, until one day—February 2nd—their relationship fell apart...

Rouge was working on a picture of purple tulips when Knuckles came down the stairs, tying his tie. He kissed Rouge on her cheek and said, "Bye, babe. I'm going to a meeting at my apartment."

Rouge stopped painting and looked at him, confused. "Your apartment? What's that all about?"

"Well, uh, you see, by boss said he was tired of having meetings at the office, so, um, I volunteered to have the meeting at, um, my apartment," Knuckles replied unsteadily.

"Oh, well I guess there's nothing wrong with a little change," Rouge said, and went back to painting, oblivious to the shakiness in Knuckles' voice.

"Well, uh, love ya," Knuckles said and went out the door.

Rouge put the last few strokes on her tulips, then went to the kitchen to free her hands of paint. She was drying her hands, when she noticed a paper sitting on the table. She looked at it and thought that it might be something Knuckles would need for his meeting. She went over to the window and looked out; Knuckles' car was gone. She went outside to her white Cadillac, predicting that Knuckles was probably close to halfway there by now. She pulled out of the driveway and drove down the street, increasing her speed a little every minute or so. She wasn't that worried about interrupting the meeting; Knuckles' boss was pretty nice. He had his bad days, but 90% of the time, he was pleasant. So she cheerfully drove down the street, thinking to find Knuckles at the meeting.

She parked her car in front of Knuckles' apartment and got out. She looked around and saw that there were no business-like cars parked anywhere; she also saw Julie-Su's car parked near Knuckles'.

'What's Julie-Su doing here?' she wondered. 'Hmm, she probably just lives nearby.'

Rouge walked up the stairs of the building and stopped at the door that read '107' at the top, and a 'Do Not Disturb' sign hanging on the doorknob. She opened the door, paper in her hand, and said, "Knuckles, I found a paper that looked impor—" she stopped.

There, on the couch, was Knuckles, kissing none other than Julie-Su. Rouge froze with shock.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Julie-Su said, looking at Rouge like she was garbage.

"Uh…Rouge…It's not how it looks…" Knuckles stammered.

"Knuckles…We're engaged!" Rouge shouted. "And you're having sex with Julie-Su?"

"Hold up," Julie-Su said, stood up, and put her hands on her hips. "Knuckles, you're engaged? You said you weren't with anybody, you liar!"

Julie-Su grabbed her purse and headed for the door. She stopped, turned to Knuckles, said, "I never want to see you again!" and left.

"Wait, Julie-Su!"

"Shut up, Knuckles!" Rouge said loudly, her hands on her hips. "I can't believe you'd do that to your fiancé! You're a terribly person!"

"Babe, I can explain!" Knuckles said pleadingly.

"No, I've had it with you!" Rouge took off her engagement ring and threw it on the floor. "We're through!"

She turned to leave, then stopped, and said over her shoulder, "You need to grow up."

She left the room, slamming the door behind her.

'That bastard! I can't believe he'd do that to me!' Rouge thought angrily. Her nails dug into her palms and her eyes watered. 'I was his fiancé! He can't just go around cheating on his fiancé! That's just down right arrogant!'

She stomped down the stairs, got into her car, and drove to a coffee shop. She bought a cup of herbal tea and drank; she was shaking.

"I need a smoke," she said to herself, the took out a cigarette.

She went to put it in her mouth, then said, "No, I won't do it. I may be a wreck right now, but I won't go back to being a smoker. Not after what happened to my mother."

She threw the cigarette on the ground and stomped on it with her heels. A black hedgehog with red highlights noticed how upset she was, and walked over to her.

"Hi," he said in a deep, shadowy voice.

Rouge looked up and saw him, then straightened herself out and said, "Oh, hi."

She had never seen someone so handsome; that is, not since she met Knuckles. He had silky black hair with almost dark red highlights, crimson eyes, a mesmerizing smile, and fluffy white chest hair. He also had red striped coming up the sides of his arms and legs.

"Are you enjoying your tea?" he asked, pointing to the half empty cup.

'Oh, yes, I am," Rouge answered, and noticed his nametag. "Do you work here?"

"Yes, I got this job not long ago," he replied. "But I only took it so I could get free coffee. It calms me."

"Yeah, I understand," Rouge said, not knowing what else to say.

"It was nice to meet you," he said, and held out his hand.

"You too," she said back, then shook it.

He had a firm grip, and his hand was warm.

"Well, I have to get back to work," he told her. "But maybe you could come by tomorrow."

"I just might do that," Rouge replied, and the hedgehog walked away.

Rouge smiled. Things were getting better already.