"I'm so tired of this!" The girl exclaimed as she slammed her apartment door behind her. The hallway was dark, but Amy was finally getting used to the layout of her new apartment, so she didn't bother to hit the lights until she reached her bedroom, managing to stumble only once over an empty moving box. She collapsed face first onto her bed and let out a loud groan.

She didn't know why she bothered anymore. Sonic had agreed to a date and stood her up once more. She waited for hours outside of Twinkle Park, knowing he would not come. He never did. In the morning she expected to receive a voicemail something to the likes of, "Hey Ames! Sorry about yesterday, I got caught up and…" She'd heard all his excuses a thousand times.

The girl rolled onto her back, fixing her emerald gaze on the popcorn ceiling. She knew he wasn't her boyfriend, and he never was, but she'd tried so hard to be what he wanted so that maybe, one day… He said she was annoying, so she kept a little more distance. He said she was ignorant, so she'd finished school and even enrolled in college. He said she was childish, and so she got a job and moved out of Cream and Vanilla's house.

Now here she was. Better off now than she'd ever been. A smarter, wiser girl who would make a perfect companion for a hero. He kept making promises, and she was beginning to realize he kept none of them. He never did, and he never will. This made her heart ache like it never had before. He could never, ever be bothered to try.

She checked her phone for the time and sighed. 9 o' clock. Too early to fall asleep. She wanted nothing more than to put today behind her. A loud honk startled her enough to make her sit up and look at the window, one hand resting on her chest. Not used to living in the city. She thought, getting up and sitting on the ledge of the large window. Station Square was such a beautiful city, especially at night. She could see the casino glowing in the distance, the neon lights flickering all around it. Large groups of people passed on the streets below. She watched two lovers with arms around each other cross the street and disappear around the corner. Watching them filled her with a renewed pang of sadness.

She let her eyes travel to the sky and for the first time, she noticed her faint reflection in the window. Her eyes were still puffy and red from spilling tears on her walk home. Why so blue? She could almost hear Sonic's voice in her head. Disgusted, she huffed and turned away from the window with new resolve.

"I'm through with him," She said weakly aloud, ignoring how her voice cracked just a little. "Done. He's finished. I deserve better." She continued, heading for her closet door. The sparkling city had given the rosy hedgehog a new idea. Casting her trademark red dress from her body, she pulled on another, this one strapless and sparkling, hugging her frame and ending mid-thigh. She entered her bathroom looking much less like herself, having loosely curled her quills and put on makeup (two looks that Sonic always said he disliked). Her boots were replaced with some red heels, and suddenly Amy felt much better about herself.

The girl made her way downstairs and into the cool night air, quickly hailing a cab and taking it to the casino district. The strip was filled with bars and clubs and was always crawling with the college crowd. Amy had been invited here by classmates many times but had always declined the offer. Hookup culture never appealed to her, as she had had her heart set on one man for so many years. Even as she stepped out of the cab, she was unsure of herself. The air felt electric, and the sound of passing conversation from the crowds made it hard to think. What was she here for? What was her end game? Go home with a strange man and prove to Sonic she is a desirable woman? The thought made her a little bit sick. She owed him nothing and still could not shake the feeling that she was his. With so many emotions swirling around in her mind, she walked into a pub feeling quite dizzy, somehow miraculously able to sit at the bar and order some gin. Drink in hand, she turned around to examine her surroundings.

She felt immediately discouraged. Suddenly it seemed that every patron in the bar was grouped up, busy, involved in conversation. She had always been confident but felt so out of her element that she didn't even know where to start. She downed her drink and one more after that before she saw a familiar face out of the corner of her eye. Rouge!

Quickly she made her way towards the bat, elegantly dressed and seated on the lap of her long-time lover, Knuckles. "Hello, you two!" She said as she reached their table.

"Amy!" Rouge squealed in delight. She got up and planted a kiss on either side of Amy's muzzle. "It's so good to see you! Join us!"

Amy took a seat, grateful to have been rescued from her solitude. She was quickly introduced to the pair's companions, and promptly forgot their names as her head began to swim. She did a number of shots with all of them as they caught up. It had been years since she'd hung out with her old friends. She'd been so wrapped up in Sonic, being what he wanted, bettering herself for him… She'd forgotten to enjoy herself. For the first time in several years she laughed with the joy she'd had in her youth. She congratulated her friend on their upcoming nuptials, she drank to one unfamiliar cat's recent graduation, she danced with a fox who told her she was beautiful. She felt so content.

It wasn't long before the group had left, and she found herself in the midst of a house party. Drinks flowed, music played, she found herself a companion to dance the night away with and the rest of the night disappeared.

Amy was awake for several minutes before she opened her eyes. Her head throbbed, but she was so comfortable that she didn't care to move at all. She sighed, enjoying the feeling of warm fur against her face, of another's chest rising and falling, strong arms wrapped tightly around her…

It was these thoughts that made her eyes snap open. She sucked in a sharp breath at the first thing she saw: black and red.