A/N

Hello my dear readers! Whew! This chapter is a bit longer, I truly hope you enjoy it!

Once again I want to thank my lovely incredible Beta, Nothin'Fancy, she helps me out so much with this story! Give her stories some love, she is the one who inspired and encouraged me to start writing again!

I will keep posting the updates every Saturday or Sunday since the chapters are lengthy and we also need time to edit them. So stay tuned!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and don't be shy to reaview if you like how the story is going.

Episode 2: The 'Not a Date' Date

Knuckles, Sonic, Tails and Amy were still sitting on the outdoor patio of Chao Garden Bakery, when the sun began to paint red and orange rays across the world as it laid down to rest. The owner of the bakery (Cream the Rabbit), came out with a fresh batch of lemonade, and she smiled warmly at their chatter while she refilled their glasses. However, she didn't stay for long, she had about 300 cupcakes to prepare for a wedding the next day, and the batter was calling her name.

Knuckles was currently finishing a story about a disaster date he had last week, carefully avoiding mentioning his date's name. He probably would have been interrogated by his friends, if it weren't for the fact that they were being distracted by his entertaining experience.

"And, on top of it all, I was so nervous, I accidently spilled my drink all over her shirt."

Knuckles scratched his head looking away in embarrassment earning a giggle from Amy and full blown laughs from Tails and Sonic. The atmosphere around the group was light and friendly, but as they quieted their chuckles, and wiped their eyes of tears, Sonic's attention shifted to the grinning pink female across from him. He felt an irritating feeling in his head, like that of an itch he couldn't scratch, and it had started when he'd witnessed her chatting it up with Shadow earlier. Sneering, he took a sip of his drink, and lifted a brow as he said,

"Speaking of dates…"

Sonic turned his gaze towards the pink hedgehog, his expression one that no one could read. Amy raised a brow at the blue hero, a sugar cookie halfway to her mouth. In fact everyone around the table had stiffened at the change of tone. Sonic wanting to talk about dates? It was an oddly uncharacteristic thing for him to say. Amy gulped, and her hand slowly placed the cookie back onto the plate in front of her, as though she would scare him off with sudden movements. He was staring at her with unwavering emerald eyes, and she couldn't help the small feeling of excitement inside her… a small voice in the back of her head whispered, it's happening, Sonic is going to ask me on a real -

"Heard you have a date with the Prince of Doom."

The male hedgehog's gaze didn't flinch or turn from her face, but there was a dark amusement glinting in his eyes as he said the words. His head was leaning on the palm of his hand, and the smirk on his face was not a friendly one.

The expression and charged words immediately changed the mood of the group; Knuckles shifted his gaze toward the female fighter, anticipation for her answer emanating off of him in waves. Tails on the other hand felt a little awkward with the subject, and he felt he had enough of it after Knuckles' not so PG 13 story. Besides, he was smart enough to realize this conversation was not going to end well, and he had no desire to be apart of the aftermath, so he quickly made an excuse about wanting to help the young rabbit with her cupcakes and quickly removed himself from the table.

Amy didn't look up at the fox's retreat, but she wanted desperately to join him. She felt like she'd been caught with her hand in the cookie jar, and she didn't understand the feeling. Why was she feeling guilty about hanging out with Shadow? There was nothing wrong with meeting a friend, just take a look at what she was doing now. Maybe it was the fact that her crush was asking. Yes… that must be it…

"It's not a real date, we just… hang out together occasionally." Amy laughed shaking her head as she fiddled around with the straw in her lemonade.

"Oh, really? You and Shadow have been hanging out pretty often lately." The red echidna remarked, the scene before him was interesting, and he couldn't help but tease the girl. She was like a little sister to him, and seeing her squirm was the equivalent of brother pulling his sister's pigtails. The remark, however, made the blue hedgehog next to him, tighten his jaw.

Sonic didn't like how close Shadow and Amy had gotten over the years... Yes, Shadow had saved her two years ago, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't turn on them at any given moment. He didn't trust that gloomy hedgehog. Besides, it was only one time, Sonic had lost count of how many rescues he had performed for Amy, and he resented the idea that someone else was a hero in her eyes.

"So what? Shadow and I have become good friends and we enjoy spending time together. He's intelligent and can hold a real conversation with me, it's refreshing to sharpen iron with him so to speak. What's so wrong with that?" Her attitude was getting more and more agitated with every word that came out of her mouth. The change in her demeanor didn't go unnoticed by the males in front of her, and Sonic felt his body tensing.

"Well, it didn't really seem like you were only friends the way both of you acted on the set. And we heard him say that it is a date. Are you just dating whatever guy gives you the smallest bit of attention?"

This time it was Sonic who spoke up. He wasn't wearing his signature grin or any smugness. His expression was actually very stern and serious. There was also a strong hint of irritation in his voice.

This caught Amy slightly off guard. She never saw Sonic act this way. He rarely acted serious outside of dangerous battles, especially towards her. Why was he acting this way, and why did he demand to know so much? The underlying accusation in his tone made her quills stand on edge, and she responded with a cold tone to match his own voice.

"It's kind of like an inside joke for us, it's how we refer to out hangouts, Sonic. What's up with you? Why do you care all of a sudden? You don't have a right to tell me who and who not to hang out with. You've never given a shit about it before now, so don't even try."

The pink hedgehog crossed her arms beneath her chest and she glared at him with narrowed brows. This type of behavior was not typical for her blue hero. She could almost sense a hint of jealousy in his voice, but that would be impossible. In fact, the only reason she could think of that he was getting pissed, was because of the person she was choosing to spend her time with. It was no secret that the two male hedgehogs hated each other, and she didn't really care to be stuck between the two rivals, like some toy they wouldn't share.

The blue hedgehog frowned, his jade eyes narrowing into a glare of his own. Now he felt attacked. His gloved hands curled into fists and he felt nasty knots of anger start to spread all over his body. He was about to say something that he might've regretted deeply after, but thankfully, Knuckles cut him off before he could speak.

"Oh c'mon Amy, we saw the way you were blushing and swooning, getting as close as you could to Mr. Gloom and Doom. Admit it, it's totally a date, there's nothing wrong with it, why are you protesting so much?."

The red echidna grinned, his tone was teasing, but light, as he tried to lighten the mood with a joke. But it had the opposite effect. Amy's mouth flew open and her glare turned to him, but instead of a smart remark towards him, she was instead assaulted with flashes of her interactions with Shadow. The memory of the earlier scene made a blush creep onto her muzzle once again and embarrassment made her groan in a mixture of annoyance and anger.

"You guys are acting like jerks! Shadow and I are just friends! Nothing more!"

Amy stood up from her chair and reached in her pockets, pulling out a couple of bucks for her order, she slammed them onto the table.

"If you'll excuse me, I have a 'date' to get ready for." She quoted the word with her fingers, and she glared at her friends, particularly at Sonic, who crossed his arms and turned his head to the side dismissively. Amy huffed and turned around to take her leave.

Sonic turned back to her direction and watched her leave. His frown deepened as he stared. She'd gotten so angry and defensive at him all of a sudden and all he'd done was ask a simple question... Or rather, he had confronted her, interrogated, like he was a father catching his daughter coming home late. He felt his anger subdue, and instead it was replaced by a dreading feeling of regret. He'd acted too harshly towards her. Maybe that's why she acted so defensively. Thinking back, he must've even sounded like he was attacking her. The thought made his stomach twist.

I should apologize to her later…

"Hey, what was that all about?"

The echidna's voice snapped Sonic out of his deep thoughts.

"What was what?" The hedgehog stared at him with a confused look, but deep down, he knew exactly what Knuckles was referring to.

"You know... you acting so...Shadow-like?"

"What?!" Sonic's voice squeaked slightly, causing the large echidna to raise a brow. Sonic quickly cleared his throat before continuing, "I don't act like that grumpy hog!" Sonic crossed his arms and closed his eyes stubbornly, his eyebrows furrowing downwards. Knuckles rolled his eyes, pour some black paint on the hero, and he would look exactly like his body double.

"Why were you so riled up from what Amy said? You were practically ready to spit venom at her."

"Knux, buddy, you must be imagining things again. Little bit of Boom Knuckles leaking into that big head of yours?" He shook his head and leaned back in his seat.

"Yeah, sure, whatever you say. If it helps you sleep at night." Knuckles rolled his eyes at Sonic's denial.

"I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about."

At this point, Knuckles decided to drop it. He knew how stubborn the blue blur could be, especially when it had to do with his feelings about a certain pink hedgie. Sonic had a talent of playing dunce whenever he wanted to. So there was no use to push the subject, as it would probably result in him getting a headache, or his friend dashing away from his problems. Like he did pretty much every time he was confronted with something.

"Mr. Knuckles! Mr. Sonic! Would you please come taste test these cupcakes for me?" The gentle voice of Cream cut through the tension and immediately both males stood and dashed to the shop. Neither one would reject a free dessert, especially one made by the small rabbit. But just before they entered the door, Sonic took one last look out to the street where Amy had disappeared down. He shook his head of his worry, it's fine. It's like she said… they're just friends. Nothing I need to worry about.

Another yell from within drew him from his thoughts, and he dashed inside without another thought.

Amy slammed the door to her apartment in station square. She heard the trinkets on a display case near the door clink together. She kicked her sneakers off in a fury, enjoying the thump they made against her wall. Her apartment was on the more luxurious side, SEGA studios paid her nicely for the show. The pink hedgehog glanced at the cream coloured wall clock. It was already 8pm. Suddenly all the anger within her calmed. She was going to see Shadow soon. He wouldn't pester her, he wouldn't confuse her with mixed signals and emotional terrorism.

"Good, I have about an hour and a half to get ready."

She stripped herself out of her Boom dress and threw it in the washing machine. Then she worked on the remaining sports tape on her limbs, and tossed them in the trash. She knelt down in front of the machine and pushed a couple of buttons to set the cycle. Once she was pleased with the chosen program, she pushed the big 'Start' button and the washing machine clicked and started its cycle. She smiled contently, humming a little tune to herself as she stood up and walked over to her bathroom. Removing the last pieces of clothing, which were her white laced undies and bralette, she threw them in the laundry basket and stepped into the shower.

After a nice long and relaxing shower, the female hedgehog exited her steamy bathroom with a fluffy white robe wrapped around her body and a towel wrapped around her quills. She walked over to her bedroom and sat on her bed which was in front of her large wooden closet. As she opened the doors, her eyes skimmed through the clothing inside it. Since it was the brink of summer, Amy decided to put on something light.

She reached into the hangers and pulled out a short white dress with a lace texture with spaghetti straps. The lace covered the entire garment in flowers only noticeable up close, and the collar was a sweetheart cut. Amy smiled at her choice and after taking out a fresh pair of undies, she closed her closet. Humming once more, she gently toweled her quills dry and let the dress fall onto her shoulders. The dress hugged her upper body tightly and the skirt flowed out like a flower blossom, reaching just an inch over her knees.

The girl looked over to her mirror and smiled at her reflection. She pulled out a pair of suede beige boots that had brown chunky high heels. It'd been a while since she had worn heels. She had gotten so used to the comfy sneakers but luckily for her, the boots were also very comfortable, and the thick heel provided her good support.

However, as she finished tying the last lace on her boot, she froze. What am I doing? She realized quite suddenly that she was priming herself up like highschool girl in love. This made her shoot up into a stand, and the hum died on her lips. No, no… I'm not doing this because of Shadow… I always like to look nice. I'm letting what the boys said earlier get to me… She shook her head, and turned to the closet once more, pulling out a dark brown, long sleeved cardigan. She pulled her arms through it, and turned once more to the mirror.

She let out a sigh of relief at the effectiveness of the sweater. It was made of thick wool, and helped bulk her figure out slightly, and covered her bare shoulders. She still looked cute, but now it wasn't too cute to give any wrong assumptions. Once she was satisfied, she glanced back at the clock.

9:07 pm.

Amy smiled and went to her vanity to fix her quills. After blow drying, she brushed them and styled them into their right place. The girl felt lucky that her quills were manageable. Yes the brushing was a pain in the ass, but at least her quills sat straight down on their own unlike a certain hedgehog she knew. She chuckled at the thought. The pink hedgehog wondered if Shadow's quills were styled to sit up like that or was it something natural. Knowing him, it was probably just the way they sat. But the thought of Shadow, grunting in annoyance and trying to get his quills to curl up in the right angle, glaring into the mirror of his bathroom and using an unhealthy amount of gel, made her giggle.

She took out her black mascara and carefully put it on her long lashes. Once she was content with her appearance, Amy checked herself out one last time before glancing at the clock. It was 9:40 pm. Just enough time for her to reach the lake by 10:30. The pink hedgehog took her keys and poofed them away while exiting her house.

Meanwhile Shadow was already there, waiting for her. He had been early this time. Leaning on his massive black shiny bike he stared across the lake. A light warm breeze tickled his face and he closed his eyes, relaxing. He enjoyed the warm summer nights. The weather was pleasant, the scenery was beautiful and he could ride his bike into the odd hours of the night. Sure, Shadow could glide or teleport instead of using a vehicle but he actually loved the feeling of riding his bike. The roaring engine and the passing city lights often calmed him down. He enjoyed slowing down in his free time.

The ebony hedgehog's ears twitched as he heard the light clicks of high heeled shoes nearing his direction. Odd. The only person he knew that wore those types of shoes was Rouge. But his ears clearly deciphered that this type of walk wasn't hers. Rouge's walking manner was always so loud and confident - well at least loud to his ears - while this walk was what he would typically hear from his pink companion. It was light and elegant.

"Oh hey Shadow! I'm not late, am I?"

Her soft cheery voice snapped him out of his thoughts and his suspicions were confirmed.

"You're just in time, Rose"

The black hedgehog turned this head to the pink female, his arms folded just below the fluffy white patch that sat on his chest. His crimson eyes skimmed up and down on her body, their expression unreadable. The gesture made Amy feel slightly nervous and once the hedgehog's lips curled up into his signature smug smirk, she felt a light blush creep on her cheeks.

"I bet you never dressed up like that for the faker."

The remark earned him a steady eye roll from the pink hedgehog and she crossed her arms in front of her chest, pulling the cardigan across her dress.

"I used to." Her voice wasn't as stern as she wanted it to be. She couldn't hide the sadness she felt because she didn't have reason to dress up like that anymore. When she and Sonic hung out, it was always around their friends. She didn't know why but she just didn't find a reason to dress up like that for him anymore. Maybe she just got comfortable around her blue hero, or maybe she had moved on from trying to impress him with looks. She was more keen on impressing him with her skills. Although with Shadow…

Something inside her made her want to look her best in front of the dark mysterious hedgehog. And around him, she never really felt the need to impress him with her skills. She actually felt pretty confident on that point, since Shadow was a pretty big part of her improvement. After that fateful fight and once she'd recovered, she had asked him to train her. And to her surprise he'd accepted.

"So this is how you take my compliments, huh?"

Amy blinked a couple of times in confusion and stared at Shadow who had lifted a brow at her.

"What compliment? I kind of got lost in thought…" She blushed a bit looking away, her hand pushing back a quill away from her face.

"I said, you look cute Rose." The male hedgehog smirked his voice rang smooth, soft and husky, to such an extent that if Amy was ice cream, she would've melted right there.

This caught the pink hedgehog off guard. Especially after her deep trail of thought. It took her a couple of seconds to process what Shadow had told her. But when the realization hit her, her cheeks burst into flames. The dark and gloomy had a tendency to give her compliments. He would do that when he wanted to make her stutter and make her nervous. Amy knew that Shadow took pleasure in seeing her brain stumble around and try to not to blurt out silly things. He loved to tease the hell out of her. And frankly, flirting was one of his favorite tactics. And for a guy who wasn't known to flirt around, he was damn good at it too.

"Why thank you, Shadow." Amy smiled confidently but the heat on her muzzle gave away the shyness that she was trying so hard to hide. And of course it didn't go unnoticed. She saw Shadow's smirk grow larger. Oh how she wanted to smack the smug arrogance off his face sometimes. But she knew that wouldn't exactly be fair after he just had complimented her, tease or not.

"Ahem, let's go." She looked away with an angry pout. The ebony hedgehog chuckled and stood up from his bike as both of them started walking away.

Both hedgehogs strolled through the lake's shore. Amy was doing most of the talking, telling Shadow how the lunch went and how her friends fooled around while Shadow listened and occasionally nodding and making small remarks at Sonic's foolish behaviour. At one point both of them sat on the grassy shore. Amy was sitting with her knees bent and rested her arms crossed on them, while Shadow laid back on his elbows with one leg bent up and the other layed down on the ground. Both hedgehogs stared at the beautiful scenery in front of them. It was a clear night, the sky was full with stars and the moon was full, shining in front of them, the water from the lake reflecting its light into a path. There was a brief silence between them. It wasn't awkward. It was actually very content and comfortable.

"Hey, Shadow?"

Amy was the first to break the silence which made the male hedgehog humm in response and revert his gaze towards her.

"Why don't you get along with Sonic?"

At this, Shadow once again raised a brow at the pink hedgehog. Wasn't it obvious?

"He's obnoxious, arrogant, narcissistic, a fake version of me"

The pink hedgehog sweatdropped, staring doubtfully at the male who laid back on the grass with his hands intertwined under his quills.

"Well...some of this might be true, but Sonic is a great friend and has a good heart."

Amy pouted and cocked her head above him while he stared at her with half-lid eyes and obvious irritation.

"And also, he is beneath me." The ebony hedgehog added, closing his eyes and smirking smugly.

It was Amy's turn to stare at him with a half amused, half annoyed look in her emerald eyes.

"Uh huh, because after all, you're the Ultimate Life Form, right?"

The pink hedgehog rolled her light eyes with a sarcastic smile on her face.

"Correct." Shadow's smirk grew into an arrogant side grin with a pair of canines showing, not bothering to open his eyes and see Amy's expression. He could feel her annoyance like a poke in the ribs, and he enjoyed it.

Amy stared at the dark hedgehog with an unamused look. Suddenly an idea popped in her head. A large sinister smile spread across the female's muzzle. This hedgehog was getting too cocky for his own good and needed to be taken off his holier than thou pedestal.

"Oh, Shadow…" He heard the girl sigh and suddenly felt a light touch on his shoulder. At this, his eyes shot open.

"You truly are the better hedgehog."

Amy gazed at him with half lidded eyes, a flirtatious smile spread across her muzzle, and a hand placed on his shoulder which traveled down to his forearm in a soft touch. His body tensed not used to the foreign lingering touch. He felt how a deep shade of red, that could match the stripes on his body, spread across his muzzle.

"R-Rose…"

Damn it, she caught him completely off guard. He felt flustered by the way the young female gazed at him, and how her hand made goosebumps appear on the surface of his skin, beneath his fur. He felt something building up inside him, something he had never felt before. Words were coming to life on his tongue, and he realized with a shock that he wanted to say something embarrassing - and he almost did too, but there was something that stopped him. Her muzzle had a hint of a smirk in the corner of her lip, and suddenly he realized she wasn't serious.

Was she teasing him? Yes.

Was he aware of it? Yes.

Did his body - his heart - respond the way he wanted it to? …...Hell no.

Amy giggled quietly pleased with the hedgehog's reaction.

"You know, you're pretty adorable when you're shy."

Oh so that's how we're going to play, huh? A sinister smirk curled up on his muzzle.

Suddenly, he grabbed her lingering hand and pulled her in, making the female hedgehog fall on his chest. A light gasp escaped her lips as she stared up at the male, her muzzle hidden from the white fluffy patch on his chest.

"Are you going to put your mouth where your words are?"

Amy's eyes suddenly widened at his dare. She felt the heat on her cheeks increase rapidly. The girl felt a sudden realisation hit her. What was she doing? Why was Shadow making her feel this way? Her whole body felt hot to the touch, one might even think that the hedgehog was getting a fever if they didn't see her in this position. His touch and his closeness made her swallow her whole grammar. And the way he stared at her made her feel even shyer. She averted her flustered gaze from him and lowered her eyes.

Shadow caught the gesture. His smirk inverted to a frown.

She's probably thinking about that faker again…This is only a game to her.

Shadow sat up still holding her hand, the sudden movement made Amy look back at him in confusion. He stared at her eyes for a moment, his crimson orbs skimming her emerald ones for a hint of emotion aside from utter confusion and flustering.

"Joking, Rose. You know I'm better at this game."

The dark hedgehog sighed letting go of her hand. Amy, at this point had managed to regain her composure. A small reassuring smile appeared on her muzzle.

"You know I'd never admit that, Shadow." She laughed nervously, and suddenly she was standing, her thin white dress billowing around her in small breeze that was blowing across the lake. Shadow stood too, slower, his mind racing with mixed emotions. He knew he'd fucked up, but hell she had made the first move. She was to blame with her flirtatious games, and her teasing actions.

He watched her shuffle around on her feet, not saying a word and not looking at him. He suddenly felt angry, irrationally so. How dare she treat him as a stand in for that faker? He wasn't stupid. He knew that these little 'hangouts,' were her way of filling the void that Sonic couldn't. He hadn't really cared in the past, he's just been grateful to have a little company. A friend who wasn't promiscuous or super 'party crazy,' like Rouge. But now…

His feelings were getting dangerously merky, and his thoughts were flowing down a river, heading towards a waterfall of pain. They'd done this cat and mouse game for too long, and somewhere along the line, it had stopped being a game for him. He would never admit it, but it hurt... because he knew she didn't feel the same.

"Let's call it a night… I promised to stop by Rouge's club," he hadn't but he needed an excuse, "Do you need a ride home?"

Amy stopped her fidgeting, and her back had grown stiff at the mention of the bat. Right. Shadow always had to follow her whims… Amy shook her head, and plastered a smile on her face to cover the confusion she felt at that wicked feeling which passed through her chest.

"That's okay. I'm a big girl. I can find my own way home."

She turned, and started walking back up the path. She was walking quickly, but she wanted to run. She wanted to get away from this night, from him. From the feelings that had swirled around them like hot vapors. What was wrong with her?

Shadow stared after her, his stomach knotting uncomfortably. Chaos, this girl was going to be the death of him. He turned away from her fading, ghostly figure, and kicked a stone as hard as he could, feeling satisfied with the loud plop that it made when it hit the calm, still surface of the lake. The water rippled outwards, the inner rings were breaking waves of chaos, but as the rings spread out further, they calmed and smoothed to almost disappear into the mirror-like water. It was an illustration of what that damn girl was doing to him.

She was a rock that had burst into his calm waters and spread emotions and desires that he'd never had before through his heart. He had fought it at first, denied it, but as time had gone on, they had melted, his heart had absorbed, and now those feelings were there to stay.

He growled. He was acting pathetic, he was acting like that hateful blue menace. He turned and kicked his air shoes into high gear, gliding like a vengeful spirit back to his bike. There was one thing that could help him settle and quiet the feelings within. Vodka.

And as he swung onto his motorcycle, throwing his arms into the leather jacket that had been flung onto the seat, he thought he might just go visit Rouge afterall.

Shadow parked his bike in front of a black painted building which had a bright purple neon sign that read "Moulin Rouge". He killed the engine and got off the massive vehicle. The bar had a huge silver double door which had a gothic themed frame, and the air rumbled from the sound of electro pop coming from within.

The hedgehog took a deep breath and entered the bar, the interior was themed in gothic victorian style. The bar lined the right side of the space, and it was black oak with purple accents. Wine glasses and exposed light bulbs hung over the glossy surface, and the rest of the booths and tables followed suit with the same color and wood. It was a quality bar, and as such, just about every seat had an ass in it.

Rouge's bar was located in the center of the city, and it was a Saturday night. Not to mention that there weren't many bars in the area, so it was one of the few places where Mobians gathered to have a drink at this time of the night.

The ebony hedgehog frowned at the sight. He wasn't a fan of crowded places. However, he really needed that drink, and Rouge was usually pretty generous with her friends, and he didn't feel like looking around for another place to get drunk. Just when he had finished his thought, he saw a couple get up from bar and head for the exit. They'd been sitting at the corner, and the furthest chair was set apart from the other seats. He headed to the stool before someone else could take it.

He removed his jacket, and folded it on the edge of the bar. He settled into the seat and rested his hands on the thick wooden surface in front of him. His eyes skimmed the other side of the bar for the albino bat, but she was nowhere to be found. The guy who was serving drinks was a dark grey wolf with piercing blue eyes. The wolf wore a black dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and a name tag that read Hunter. After the wolf served a male fox his beer, he made his way over to Shadow as he flipped a towel over his shoulder.

"What can I get ya?"

"Vodka."

"You want some Red Bull along with that?"

"Just Vodka."

The wolf looked strangely at the dark hedgehog for a moment but then shrugged taking a large blue bottle, and pouring a healthy amount into a tall glass. As he poured, his blue eyes watched the hedgehog with curiosity.

"Rough night?"

The hedgehog didn't answer him but he glared at the bartender, and the wolf didn't pry into it any longer he didn't get paid enough to deal with pissy customers. He served the glass of vodka and moved to another Mobian who was calling out to him from the other end.

Shadow took a sip from the bitter liquid and sighed. His eyes skimmed around the place and landed on the 'Employee's Only' door behind the bar, as it was pushed open. The figure that exited with a loud chuckle, was someone he recognized immediately. He watched as a red bulky echidna turned towards the front, his large fist, wiping something pink off his mouth. After him, followed a giggling albino bat who was holding a compact powder case at an angle above her face, as she applied fresh gloss to her lips, it was the same shade as the pink streak that was now on the glove of the crimson male. The ebony hedgehog raised a brow at the scene. So that's what these two were preoccupied with.

Shadow smirked at the scene, Rouge had been chasing that tail for years, and he'd been sure the ex-guardian wasn't interested. He supposed that no one could resist Rouge for long, especially when she pulled out all the stops. Knuckles was still chuckling, and poking the bat when he glanced up and caught sight of the dark entity at the corner of the bar staring at them with a shit-eating grin. The echidna, stopped dead in his tracks, and pulled his hands back like he'd touched fire. Rouge looked at him with confused eyes, and when she followed his line of vision, she grinned widely at the hedgehog.

"Oh hey, Shads." Rouge crooned, her wings fluttering as she made a move in his direction. Knuckles still looked a little caught off-guard, but he quickly made his way to walked beside the bat.

At this Shadow mentally cursed himself and looked away from the approaching couple. Just great. He just wanted the night to be over. This was very unlikely to happen with Rouge curling her claws around him, and the scene he had just witnessed. He was sure that she'd wanted to 'chat' about it with him, and he was in no mood to discuss her love life.

"Well, well, well, haven't seen you around for a minute, handsome."

Her voice came forth sultry and seep as she reached the otherside of the bar from him. Shadow rolled his eyes, and flinched as Rouge smacked Knuckles ass as he made his way around the corner to sit on the vacant stool next to Shadow. The echidna jumped slightly from the touch, and his cheeks burst into a shade that rivaled his fur.

"Haven't seen you around, either. Guess this bar thing is working out for you." Shadow commented, his hand swirling the glass of vodka as he ignored the blatant sexual display in front of him. He glared at the echidna from the corner of his eye, not too pleased to be left without escape.

"Oh you know it, hon! I haven't had a night with less than half of my tables occupied since I opened." She took out a bottle of whiskey and poured a decent amount in a cup, sliding it to Knuckles with a wink. The echidna smirked at her and winked back as he took a sip.

Shadow stared at the exchange with disgust and rolled his eyes.

"Talkative as ever, I see." Rouge smirked at the hedgehog and took out a notepad and a pen from one of the drawers. "If you'll excuse me boys, I need to make a revision on my goods, I'll be back in a bit." She winked at them and went back to the employees door.

"So, Shadow," Knuckled started awkwardly while leaning his head on his hand. Oh great, here comes the small talk… "Now that you've had a taste, what are your thoughts on the show?" The echidna continued, ignoring the dark uninviting aura coming off the grumpy hedgehog.

"It's foolish." He stated roughly and stared ahead at no particular place. Knuckles scoffed, taking a swig of whiskey.

"I know what you mean. They really messed up both of our characters." He sighed and took another sip. Shadow wouldn't normally converse with the bulky echidna, but the anger from earlier was still fresh, and he felt a comradery connection to Knuckles from the ridiculous scripted characters they played. That or the alcohol was starting to kick in.

"Who do these low lifes think they are? Making a fool out of the Ultimate Lifeform…" Shadow growled and tightened his grip around the glass almost to a breaking point.

"I know what you mean, dude. They made me so dumb and brainless… Sure it can be funny but most of the time it's just plain demeaning," Knuckles whined and leaned on the counter taking a bigger sip of his whiskey.

"Exactly! At least they didn't make you a basic 2 dimensional villain, who only thinks about battling Sonic… I could give two shits about that blue idiot." Shadow rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Yeah, that sucks, but at least you don't have lines like: I don't know which end of the toothbrush goes in your nose." The red echidna said in his 'Boom Knuckles' voice, his eyes going cross eyed which earned an amused chuckle from the hedgehog.

"I don't know how you put up with this bullshit everyday." Shadow shook his head and drank the rest of the vodka in one go. He slammed the glass on the counter and slid it to the wolf for a refill.

"The schedule is crazy, we shoot everyday for 3 months straight now. But what else do I have to do? There's no enemies to fight, and I didn't have a job before this, so it fills my days. You're lucky you only did a cameo for one episode." Knuckles drank the rest of the whiskey and did the same with his glass. The wolf stared at both hedgehog and echidna with an irritated expression, but took their cups and filled them up. He served them and left to wipe some bottles.

"I'm not repeating that mistake again." The male hedgehog shook his head and grabbed his glass again.

"Here's to the worst interpretation of us, and not getting paid enough for this shit." Knuckles lifted his glass for a toast. Shadow stared at him leaning on his hand, narrowing his gaze as he debated whether to reciprocate. It was new for him to feel a bond with another male, and he realized that he didn't hate talking to Knuckles, he was actually happy to vent to him.

"Bottom's up." He finally said and also lifted his glass. The echidna grinned at the hedgehog as their glasses clinked and both of them downed the rest of their drinks in one gulp.

After about half an hour, and two to three more rounds, Shadow started feeling tipsy. Knuckles on the other hand was full blown drunk. Shadow stared at him with a smirk with humor, taking dark pleasure that he could hold his drink better than the large male. Pheh… Light weight. Can't even hold his drink.

"Hey... Shadoe ol' pal," The crimson echidna slurred and pulled a heavy arm on the hedgehog's shoulders which earned him a very annoyed look. The ebony hedgehog was feeling closer to him, but not that close.

"Whassup with you and Amy?"

Shadow grunted and pushed the heavy arm off his shoulders.

"Nothing that concerns you."

"Aw c'mon, I know you dig her, and there's nothing wrong with that." Knuckles shrugged and closed his eyes for a moment. His muzzle had become a light shade of pink from all the alcohol, and his amethyst eyes were very misty. "I don't get why you guys are acting so oblivious with all your dates."

"They're not real dates…" The hedgehog growled lowly looking away. He could hear the hurt creeping into his voice, and he didn't want to risk it reflecting in his eyes. He sure as hell was not that chummy with the nosy echidna to have him witness that.

"Oh? You sure sound like you want them to be, though." At this Knuckles raised a brow, as a teasing, drunk smirk curled the corners of his muzzle.

Shadow turned to his drunk companion and narrowed his eyes in a cold glare. He didn't like where this conversation was going.

"And what if we really are dating, what's it to you?" Shadow decided to play along with his game, but it would be on his terms.

"Well, to me? Nothing, but Sonic on the other hand…" Knuckles had trailed off looking innocently to the other side. Now this caught Shadow's attention. Maybe he could obtain some inside information from the drunk fool.

"What about the faker?" Shadow crossed his arms and leaned against the backrest of the stool.

"Sonic's acting all jelly belly." Knuckles practically giggled like a schoolgirl. "He still thinks he has Amy wrapped around his finger and denies that she could have anything more with you, but…" The echidna paused. At this point Shadow was clenching his jaw and was glaring daggers at him, or more likely at the thought of Sonic's arrogant statements. He thought he had Amy wrapped around his finger? Oh how wrong he was. Amy might've once been crazy head over heels for that faker but that wasn't the case anymore. That self-absorbed arrogant bastard probably didn't even notice the shift in her demeanor over the years. He never deserved her, never will.

"He's actually pretty jealous of you, Shads, I can see how threatened he feels around you. He knows that you treat Amy in a way that he never has and it's obvious that she likes it," The echidna finished pulling his hands up over the back of his head and leaned back to his stool.

Realisation suddenly struck Shadow. The drunk idiot was right. The faker may be Amy's first love, but he never treated her the way Shadow did. The blue ass never slowed down for her. And Amy herself had told him once that she was tired of 'chasing the stars', as she put it.

"That may be true...But he's still the one she loves, not me…" He mumbled to himself looking down at his half empty glass of vodka.

Knuckles eyes opened lazily and gave the dark hedgehog a look but decided to pretend he didn't hear that. It would probably make the anti-hero angrier and he wasn't really up to see what a tipsy Ultimate Lifeform looked like pissed. He glanced at Rouge who was writing down some numbers on the other side of the bar, but he knew she was listening to their conversation by the way her left ear was folded slightly at their direction. And he knew, from experience, that the albino beauty had hella good hearing. The red echidna decided to leave this to her. She was closer to Shadow, and he didn't feel right giving love advice to the rival of his best friend.

"Welp, Shads, it was nice talkin' to ya, but I should get going." He patted the hedgehog's shoulder, snapping him out of his thoughts. Shadow's quills bristled and almost stabbed the echidna's hand, but Knuckles quickly retreated it, from the sudden motion. Luckily, he was used to being around startled hedgehogs. The ebony male stared blankly at him and nodded him a goodbye.

When Knuckles left, Rouge made her way to the brooding male.

"Having girl trouble, gloomy?"

Shadow frowned and glared at the female. He should've known that she'd been eavesdropping. Nothing escaped the bat's large ears. Helpful on missions, but hella annoying in any other situation.

"Why don't you mind your own business? You seem to have your hands full..." The hedgehog nodded to the now empty stool beside him where Knuckles previously sat.

"My 'business," She replied with a mischievous glint in her seafoam eyes, "is running great, in fact, it's keeping my… desires satisfied, and my nights full of steamy activities." Rouge was practically licking her lips, and Shadow shivered in disgust. She smirked, "Since I'm content with how things are going in my life, I have time to worry about your messy situation. So spill the deets." The bat crossed her arms under her massive chest and lifted a brow demandingly at the hedgehog.

Shadow growled, his hand fisting on the bar. This day was just going great for him. First he got pissed on by the writers of that stupid show, then he almost scared off his date - ahem - friend, and now he couldn't even have a single drink, alone, in peace, and Rouge was about to give him a full blown headache. Yes, she was a close friend of his, but that didn't mean that he was about to chat with her about his relationship… or rather the lack of his relationship. It was beneath him.

"Okay, if you're not going to talk, then I'll start guessing." Rouge shrugged her shoulders and pulled out a stool from under the counter. She sat and poured herself a glass of rum and mixed it with some coca cola and started talking again. "You have feelings for her, but you don't want to act on it in case you get rejected."

"Pheh, as if anyone could reject me." The hedgehog smirked confidently and folded his arms, puffing out his chest.

"Well, okay, at least we know that your head hasn't gotten any smaller." Rouge looked at him with an amused look that earned her a frown and an eye roll. "Okay…" She thought about it for a bit, putting a single finger on her lips, tapping them a couple of times while staring up at the ceiling. "Oh...I got it!" She exclaimed as a sinister smile spread across her lips. "You're afraid."

"I'm not afraid of anyone or anything." Shadow denied, his gaze shifting to the side, and his quills bristling. But the bat's sinister smile still remained on her face.

"You're afraid that she loves him but since he pays no attention to her, she's using you just as a distraction. A way to fill out his place. Or worse, using you to get to him."

The hedgehog suddenly winced. The glass that he held in his hand burst from the pressure of his grip. Rouge jumped a bit from the pop but remained her still. Her employee's head snapped in their direction, but she nodded calmly at him, signalling everything was fine. Hunter narrowed his eyes, but disappeared in the back and returning a moment later with a broom and dust pan.

"Seems like I've hit a sore spot." The albino mumbled and took the small broom and pan from the wolf, who was still glaring at Shadow.

Shadow unclenched his hand as the large pieces of thick glass spread out on the wooden counter. His glove was shredded from the shards, but his palm was scratch free, thanks to his unbreakable skin. Not that he cared about that at the moment. The albino's words rang in his head over and over. He didn't want to admit it to himself, but the alcohol was messing with his filters, and he realized that he did have those fears. As worthless, and deplorable as it was, he was afraid that Amy was using him.

"Listen, Shadow," Rouge started while brushing the glass off the counter to the pan. "I'm not gonna lie to you, you've chosen a pretty tough target." She took his hand and brushed off the remaining small pieces of glass off of it. "But you're not the prettiest bowl of cherries either." The bat teased in an attempt to lighten the mood a bit, and apparently it worked as the hedgehog yanked his hand from hers and grumbled a "hmpt". "First love, first heartbreak, these things aren't easy to forget. And even harder to move on from. She's got some issues, and she's in denial. But," She continued while dropping the glass out of the pan into the trash.

Shadow's frown deepened. Rouge had a point. How was she supposed to forget about that faker when he was constantly around her? How would she realize that there are better males out there, when her life and job, revolved around that fool.

"I've seen the way you two interact. Honestly, I'm surprised that with all the pent up tension built up between the both of you, that you haven't burst into passionate sex." The bat hummed casually while wiping the counter.

This made Shadow gape at her. His muzzle quickly turned a dark shade of red and so did the insides of his ears. The thought of it made the hedgehog extremely uncomfortable, but at the same time he felt a heat rise up within him at the thought of her body beneath his. And most embarrassing part of all, was the fact that his tail started to wag ever so slightly.

Rouge glanced at the preoccupied hedgehog from the corner of her eye and grinned widely. She never expected to witness such a reaction from him. It was adorable and not to mention hilarious to her. But, she did have a little sympathy for the charged male, and decided she could give him a little 'Rouge Wisdom.'

"Calm your tail, handsome. See? That's what I mean, just the mere thought of it sends you into overdrive." She chuckled and crossed her arms.

Shadow glared furiously at the female, his blush fading away slowly, as he took control of his emotions, and body, once more.

"You're not helping."

"Well lucky for you, I actually know how to help you." The albino put her hands on her waist and smirked. Shadow narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously, if she was about to crack another sex joke, he was out of there faster than a wild Sonic hearing there's a chilli dog sale.

"I think Pinky just needs a little push in the right direction." She mused, placing the broom and dustpan beneath the counter.

The dark hedgehog lifted a brow, expecting for her to continue.

"Jealousy is a powerful weapon." She smirked confidently cocking her head slightly to the side.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Shadow was tired of beating around the bush. This conversation was already way beyond his limits.

"Well, it is a certain way to find out whether she really has feelings towards you, or if you're just her stand-in guy. Get a gal to hang off your arm for a few days, and see how she reacts."

Now that was an interesting thought. Shadow pondered on her words. If she really did just see him as a friend, she wouldn't feel jealous, right? But if she felt something…

"So, I volunteer to do the job." Rouge put a hand to her chest smiling.

"What…?" He blinked with confusion at her.

"I'll flirt with you when she's around and take up your attention." Rouge shrugged her shoulders again casually.

"NO!" He growled at her slamming his fist on the counter.

"Oh chill! I won't go overboard." The albino rolled her eyes at his pissy reaction. She'd gotten used to them over the years, she knew that the hedgehog was all bark and no bite towards her. Didn't mean it didn't annoy her. Damn, this boy has his work cut out for him… my sympathies to Amy...

"Yeah? And what if that just drives her away from me?" Shadow mentally cursed himself the moment that insecure sentence left his mouth. He'd just admitted out loud that he really did have feelings for the pink hedgehog and was worried about losing her. But Rouge didn't react to that. She was really tempted to tease the shit out of him for admitting it but she knew that if she did he would deny her help and won't share anything with her. This whole situation was just too juicy and amusing for her to lose it on the first opportunity to tease him. So she kept her composure and moved on with her plan.

"You won't flirt back, dummy. Don't show any interest and you won't push her away." She explained and was relieved to see his anger dull a bit. But the hedgehog shook his head.

"No." he said sternly.

"C'mon, let me help you out!" Rouge whined as her ears dropped in disappointment.

"No. I've had enough of this." He stood up from his chair and reached back into his quills. He pulled out a black leather wallet and took a bill of hundred rings and slammed it on the counter. "Keep the change." He said in a monotone voice and placed the wallet back in his quills. He grabbed his jacket from the end of the bar, and started to stomp away.

Rouge stared at the leaving hedgehog frowning, took the bill and pushed it in her cleavage. The stubborn hedgehog might not agree with her plan, but she didn't need his permission. She didn't care whether he wanted her help or not, he needed her help. She was tired of his grumpy lonely ass and she wasn't about to stand back and watch him ruin his chances with the only girl she'd seen him have a connection. Grinning evilly, Rouge returned to the back of the bar to prepare for battle.