Chapter 2

Let's Party!

When Sunday came by, the Hallivans had decorated everything for the big party.

There were a lot of balloons, streamers, etc. There was also a bunch of food and beverages, which

made Al very hungry.

However, Mrs. Hallivan said, "No, Albert. This stuff is for your sisters because

it's their birthday."

Al frowned. "Aw, man. How come I wasn't invited?"

"'Cause it's for teenagers," said Salley. "Not little kids. You can have your own

party in your room."

"Crude. This stinks!" Al complained.

"Albert," Mrs. Hallivan scolded, "what did I tell you about watching your

language?!"

Al shrugged. "Sorry, Mom."

"Just go to your room." Mrs. Hallivan pointed to the stairs. Al walked upstairs

making the pouty-lips.

"He'll have his own teenage party when he's older," said Salley.

"Indeed," said Mrs. Hallivan. She heard a ringing noise. "Oh! The brownies are

done." She ran into the kitchen, leaving Salley in the room.

The purple cat-girl saw her sister on the couch, looking sad. She sat next to her.

"Hey, Hal. Why the long face?"

Halley sighed. "I'm just upset 'cause Knuckles can't come."

"Oh, I see." Salley put her hand on Halley's shoulder. "But cheer up, sis. Even if



Knuckles can't make it, you've still got your other friends too, especially Ernest."

Halley let out a sigh and smiled. "I guess you're right. I shouldn't be feeling sad

on my birthday."

"That's the spirit! C'mon, let's finish getting the party ready." Halley and Salley

got up from the couch and finished decorating everything.

Approximately two hours have passed by and the party was taking place. The

doorbell rang and Salley answered it. It was Erin and Bartholomew.

"Hey," said Salley, "c'mon in. You're just in time." Erin and Bartholomew

stepped inside the house.

"This place is so nice," said Erin.

"It truly is," agreed Bartholomew. The two rabbits sat down on the couch and

they saw Halley, Sonic, Amy, Jackie, Shadow, Silver, and Blaze in the room too.

The blue blur was at the snack table with Mrs. Hallivan standing near the drinks.

"Care for some more lemonade, Sonic?" asked Mrs. Hallivan.

"Sure, Mrs. Hallivan," Sonic replied. "Thanks." Mrs. Hallivan poured some

lemonade into Sonic's cup and he drank it down.

Then, the doorbell rang again. Halley got up from the chair and answered it.

Ernest was standing in front of it.

"Ernest," said Halley, "you're here."

"I told you I would make it," said Ernest.

"Come inside."

Ernest stepped inside the house and looked at it carefully. "So, this is where you

and your family live?"



"It sure is," Halley replied.

"I like it." Ernest and Halley walked over to see Shadow and Jackie near the

snack table.

"Hey, guys," said Halley. "This is my friend, Ernest Cunningtin."

Jackie held out her hand. "Nice to meet you, Ernest."

"It is my pleasure," Ernest replied, shaking Jackie's hand.

"I'm Jackie the Raccoon and this is my boyfriend, Shadow the Hedgehog."

"It's a pleasure to meet you both. I am happy to make new friends."

"So are we. Right, Shadow?"

"You bet," Shadow replied to Jackie while eating a brownie. He turned to Halley

and said, "Halley, your mom makes the best brownies ever. I mean, really. They're so delicious!"

"Well," said Halley, "my mom is a great cook. She's been in cooking class during

her high school years."

"May I try a brownie?" asked Ernest.

"Sure, go ahead." Ernest walked to the snack table, took out a paper plate and

grabbed a brownie from the pan. After he took a bite, he tasted the sweetness of it.

"Oh my God," he said, "this is good."

"Told you," said Halley. The doorbell rang again and Halley called out, "Sal,

could you get that?"

"Okay," said Salley, finishing her soda. She put her cup down on the table and

ran to the door. She opened it and saw Espio standing outside.

Salley gasped. "Espio!" She hugged the chameleon as he spun her around. "Hey,

sweetie."

"Hey, darling," Espio replied. They leaned closer and shared a short kiss on the



lips. They broke off a few seconds later. "How're you?"

"I'm good," said Salley. "Come on in." Salley and Espio walked inside the house

and towards Halley and Ernest.

"Hey, Espio," said Halley. "Long time, no see."

"Nice to see you, Halley," Espio replied.

"This is my new boyfriend, Ernest Cunningtin."

"Bonjour," said Ernest, shaking Espio's hand.

"Are you from France?" asked Espio.

"Oui. I moved here with my family a while ago. And I've been friends and

dating Halley for about a week."

"How long have you and Espio been going out for, Sal," Halley asked her sister.

"Almost a month," Salley replied. "Not even."

"That's nice." Halley looked at the clock. She silenced the whole room and said,

"Okay, everyone, listen up. As you may know that it's mine and Sal's 15th birthday. And since

everyone's here, I have one thing to say. Let's get this party started!" Everyone cheered and clapped.

The first party game on the list was a karaoke contest. While the singer was

standing up, performing a song, the audience was sitting on the floor, watching and listening.

The first person to sing was Salley. She sang, "No One" by Alicia Keys. Her

voice was very beautiful and lovely. Everyone was very impressed and clapped for her at the end.

Next, Sonic sang, "Hey There, Delilah" by the Plain White T's. He dedicated it to

Amy and she nearly cried towards the end. He was a great singer too.

After Sonic was done, Blaze was up next. She was singing, "Love Song" by Sara

Bareilles. While she sang, she danced around the room a little bit. Silver never really heard her sing



before, and his heart leaped when he did.

Shadow was the fourth person to sing. The song that he performed was "Miss

Murder" by AFI. He sang it so well and the audience really enjoyed it.

The last people to sing were Erin and Bartholomew. They sang the song, "4

Minutes" by Madonna featuring Justin Timberlake. The two rabbits sounded so well in a duet.

After the contest was over, Halley announced the winners. In third place,

Sonic the Hedgehog. In second place, Blaze the Cat. And, in first place, (drum roll) Salley Hallivan.

Everyone congratulated them and the other singers for doing so well.

A few minutes later, a lot of people were eating and talking while Silver,

Shadow, Amy, Halley, and Salley were playing Truth or Dare.

"Silver," said Amy, "truth or dare?"

"Dare," said Silver.

"Okay." Amy scratched her chin and thought about something. "I dare

you…to French kiss Blaze."

Silver's eyes widened in shock. "I'm not doing that!"

"You have to," said Salley. "You asked for a dare and you got one. That's the

rules of the game." Silver blushed with embarrassment and groaned. He walked over to Blaze and

tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention.

Blaze turned to Silver. "Oh, hey, Silver. How's--" Silver silenced the cat-girl

by kissing her. His tongue traveled inside her mouth, licking hers. Blaze didn't know why he was

doing that, but she didn't want him to stop. They let go after two minutes.



"What was that for?" Blaze asked.

"I really don't want to discuss it right now," Silver replied. "I'll talk to you

later." Silver walked away from Blaze and back to Amy, the Hallivan twins, and Shadow. They were

laughing because of what the hedgehog just did.

Silver blushed madly. "Never, ever make me do that again!"

"Okay," said Salley. "It's your turn, Silver."

"All right." Silver sat back down on the floor. "Salley, truth or dare?"

"Truth."

Silver was thinking of something. "Do you think Espio's hot?"

Salley blushed a bit. She didn't really want to say something like that, but she

had to. "Well, a little bit."

"Ooooh," said Amy.

"Hey! You had your chance! Now, it's my turn. Shadow, truth or dare?"

"Dare, I guess," said Shadow.

Salley thought of a dare for Shadow. "Okay. I dare you to do a

handstand…while licking Jackie's face!"

Shadow was shocked. "What?! I'd never do that to Jackie, especially now.

There's no way you're going to make me do it."

"Wimp," said Halley.

"I'm not a wimp," said Shadow.

"Wimpy, wimpy, wimpy." Halley was taunting Shadow until he couldn't take

it anymore.

"Alright, fine!" said Shadow. "I'll do it!" the black and red hedgehog couldn't

believe he just said that. He was even more embarrassed than ever. He walked over to Jackie and



asked her, "You want to see me do a handstand?"

"Sure, why not?" said Jackie. Shadow put his hands on the ground and his

feet were up in the air.

Jackie couldn't believe it. "Wow, Shadow. That was impressive."

While blushing bright red, Shadow asked, "Could you come closer to me for a

sec?"

Jackie knelt down towards Shadow's face. "What is it?" Shadow didn't

answer. Instead, he leaned closer to Jackie and began to lick her cheek.

Jackie pulled away from him. "Shadow, what the heck?!"

Shadow stood back up. "I'm sorry, but I was dared to do that." He could hear

the others laughing at him. He began to steam in anger.

Jackie wiped away the saliva from her face. "We'll discuss this later." She

walked away from Shadow.

He did the same thing. He turned to the others and said, "If you ever make me

do that again, I'll kill you!"

"That was so funny," said Halley, trying to stop laughing.

"Do you want me to make you fall unconscious?"

"No, I was just…never mind. It's your turn anyway."

Shadow sat himself back on the floor. "Okay. Halley, truth or dare?"

"Truth, exactly." Halley took a sip of her drink.

Shadow was thinking of something. "Um…who do you like more; Knuckles or

Ernest?"

When Halley heard that, she spit the drink out of her mouth and coughed a

little bit. "What did you say?"



"I said who do you like more; that hot-headed echidna, Knuckles or that

French cat, Ernest? You have to be honest."

Halley wasn't sure what to say. She loved both Ernest and Knuckles so much,

she couldn't figure out which one was the best. "I…uh…" Halley was very hesitant.

Shadow suddenly shrugged. "You know what? This game's getting too boring. Let's just play

something else."

Halley sighed with relief. "Um, okay. How about…spin the bottle?"

"I'll play!" said Blaze.

"Me too," agreed Sonic.

Amy and Silver did also.

"I could go for some lip locking," said Jackie.

Salley was nervous. "I don't really know about this."

"Aw, c'mon, Sal," said Halley. "It's a great game. Besides, there's a good

chance that the bottle will point at Espio."

Salley shrugged. "Oh, alright. I'll play, but just this once." Everyone, except

for Erin and Bartholomew, sat down on the floor. They formed a large circle. Halley took out an

empty soda bottle and put it in the center of the circle.

"Who wants to go first?" Halley asked.

"I'll go," said Sonic. He spun the bottle around and waited for it to stop. He

mentally begged for it to stop on Amy. When it stopped, the bottle was pointing at Jackie. Sonic

couldn't believe it.

"I can't kiss her!" Sonic complained.

"Yeah," agreed Jackie. "This has got to be a mistake!"

"You two have to kiss," said Espio. "That's the rule of the game."

Jackie was very worried. But…I can't kiss the guy that I'm not in love with. I

mean--"



"Just kiss him and get it over with, Jackie," said Shadow, looking a little bit

angry. Jackie looked at Shadow and back at Sonic. In about a second or two, they formed a quick

kiss and let go of each other. They spit out the saliva from their mouths and gagged in disgust.

"I'm never doing that again," said Sonic.

"Neither am I," said Jackie. Sonic looked at Amy, who was very upset at the

moment.

"Look, Amy," said Sonic, "I'm sorry, but--"

"Don't say anything!" said Amy with tears in her eyes.

Sonic looked worried. "Amy, please. D-don't cry."

Amy looked away from Sonic. "I need to use the bathroom. Continue the

game without me, I don't care." Amy stood up and ran away from the circle.

"Amy…" Before Sonic tried to stop the pink hedgehog, Salley grabbed his arm.

"Leave her alone, Sonic," said the cat-girl. "She'll be fine in a little while."

Sonic sighed. "Okay." Sonic sat back down on the floor and so did Salley.

"It's my turn," said Salley. She spun the bottle around the circle. She was so

nervous, that she kept her eyes shut, not wanting to look. Salley opened her eyes after it stopped.

The bottle pointed at Espio. She was relieved that it landed at her boyfriend, but also nervous about

kissing him in front of her friends.

"Salley gets to kiss Espio," said Blaze.

"Go on," said Silver. "Kiss him!"

"KISS! KISS!" Everyone chanted at the two lovers.

Espio grabbed Salley's shoulders and she looked at him. They stared at each

other for a few seconds. Then, they pressed their lips together. They broke off after a couple

seconds. They blushed deep red. The others looked at them in awe.



"I will go next," said Ernest. He took the bottle and spun it around. He kept

hoping that it would land on Halley. It did.

Halley looked at the bottle and back at Ernest. "Wait, me?" she said.

"Yep," said Sonic. "The bottle landed on you."

Halley was really nervous. She didn't want to kiss Ernest, but she had to. She

felt hopeless.

Ernest whispered in her ear, "Let us make this a quick kiss, ma cheri." The

two cats leaned closer to each other.

However, before they could kiss, Halley pulled away from Ernest and looked

worried. "I can't do this!" she screamed and ran away from the others.

"Hal," said Salley, about to go after her.

Ernest stopped her. "I'll take care of it."

"You sure?"

"Oui." Ernest ran into the other room, trying to find Halley.

"Ma cheri?" he called out. He then heard something coming from the coat

closet. Ernest walked to it. "Halley?"

There was no sound.

"Come on, Halley. I know you're in there. Please, open the door."

The door slowly opened and revealed Halley. She was sitting near the

corner, crying.

Ernest was worried about her. "What is wrong? Why are you crying?"

Halley stepped out of the closet. "I-I'm sorry I ran off like that," she sobbed.

"It's just…I can't kiss you, not now. Most of my friends don't even know that we're dating and I

don't want to be humiliated. Plus, Knuckles isn't here, and I don't feel comfortable without him



around. H-he made me feel more confident." Halley cried harder.

Ernest really felt sorry for her. "Halley…"

"Ernest, I really love you, honestly, I do. I-I don't want to disappoint you.

I'm sorry!" Halley put her head on Ernest's shoulder and cried on it.

The cat-boy couldn't stand to see her like this. He tried to calm her down.

"Oh. Please, don't cry, ma cheri." Halley wouldn't stop crying because she felt guilty. Ernest's eyes

began to well up in tears also. But he held them back.

"Halley," he said, "look at me."

The green cat-girl lifted her head and looked into Ernest's green eyes.

"It's okay if you do not feel comfortable about kissing me."

Halley wiped her tears with her arm. "It is?"

"Yes. Listen, I may be very much in love with you, but I will respect your

wishes." Ernest wiped Halley's tear away with his thumb. "Just do not cry anymore. I hate to see

you in tears." Halley breathed in slowly, but it didn't help her.

"Do you want to do it now while no one's looking?" Ernest asked.

"I don't really know, Ernest," said Halley. "I just don't." The cat-girl was

about to cry again. However, before she did, Ernest leaned close to her and planted a soft kiss onto

her lips. It calmed Halley down a little bit.

Ernest pulled away from her after a few seconds. "Feeling better, now?"

Halley wiped her tears away. "I guess so. But, just to be sure…" Halley

leaned in and kissed Ernest again. She put her hand on his cheek and Ernest put his hand on her

shoulder. After six seconds, they broke off.

"How about now?" asked Ernest.

"Yes," said Halley. "Much better. Thanks." She smiled at Ernest and he smiled back.

"Hey, everyone," Mrs. Hallivan called from the kitchen. "It's time for cake!"

Halley and Ernest joined the others in the kitchen to have some birthday cake.