Maroon eyes flickered open in response to the cacophonous noise, which was coming from the vibrating alarm clock on the oak-made bedside table, stood beside the serene double bed. A tightly clenched fist was brought down onto the clock, causing it to explode and fall utterly silent as a result.
Yawning to reveal miniscule fangs, a midnight-with-crimson-streaks-hedgehog (called Shadow) casually removed the chalky bed sheets from his slim body and sat upright, welcoming the blistering sunlight into his smooth skin with open arms.
Stepping inside his shower and turning the shower head on, he yelped in agony as litres of polar water streamed down onto him. He cursed as thousands of goosebumps broke out along his arms.
"For goodness' sake! Is there ANY warmth in this damn house?" he spat, releasing his grip on the shower head, therefore allowing it to clash with the cream-tile wall.
After what seemed like hours of merciless wrestling with the aggravating shower, Shadow dried himself down with a towel he had disposed of in the dustbin several times, threw on the smartest suit and tie he could find in his jammed wardrobe, and slinked sleepily downstairs for his early breakfast.
Indulging into his fresh croissants with butter finely spread across the tops, Shadow lay sprawled along his leather suite, his eyes firmly fixed upon the switched-on television. It was the news and its normal, 'someone died', 'some celebrity couple (Shadow never had a clue who these so-called 'celebrities' were) having a baby', 'the weather is sunny in some parts and rainy in others'…basically, nothing new.
Shadow rolled his eyes in annoyance, as he started flicking through the channels to discover that the best programme on was The X Factor, that was how bad the TV in a morning was.
Jumping out of his skin at the unanticipated ring of the doorbell, Shadow left his half-devoured croissants on the coffee table in front of him, and wandered lazily over to the clarw-marked door, expecting it to be the entertainingly boring girl scouts from down the road. Even though he had slammed the door on their face god knows how many times, they always seemed to be willing to return, even if their return would earn them just a single coin (they were collecting money for their unit to spend on new, less-annoying girls, probably).
Creaking the rusty door open, preparing to close it again, Shadow received a rather pleasant surprise…it was Rouge! The teenage bat looked absolutely cher in her glittery, scarlet dress, which Shadow noticed was uncomfortably low on her heaving breasts, (it was uncomfortable for him, as he could not stop looking there), her super-skinny, tar-coloured tights, and her matching high-heels.
"Hey, Shadow! You look so surprised to see me! Well, it sure does feel nice to be noticed…and boy, do you look smart, or what?" complimented Rouge, wobbling a little as her heel gave way.
"What?" asked Shadow, looking puzzled. Rouge shook her head with a smirk.
"Nope, you look smart! Um, can I come in?" she asked, grumbling as the wild wind rushed past and messed up her neatly combed fur.
Shadow opened the door wider and gestured for her to proceed, and as she entered the house, she unwillingly brought the wind in with her. Breathing heavily in horror, Shadow dived forwards to catch a falling turquoise vase just seconds before it made contact with the wooden floorboards. Sighing in relief, he clambered to his feet and placed it back on the oak drawers beside the black telephone.
"Oh, geez! I'm so sorry for this!" apologized Rouge, as she tripped over several sneakers, sending them sliding across the floor in all directions.
Shadow shrugged his shoulders as he went around gathering up the sneakers one by one. "It's okay."
Collapsing onto the suite, puffing out breaths of exhausted air, Rouge grinned upon noticing the almost completely chewed-up croissant set next to her.
"Well, well, well! Bonjour, monsieur Shadow!" she remarked, rather cheerily. Shadow, (who had finished collecting all of his sneakers and idly shifting them to one side) stood before her looking confounded.
"Excuse me?" he questioned, feeling curious of her unexpected, cheesy comment. Rouge pointed at the croissant.
"I never knew Shadow the Hedgehog was actually a frog!" she joked (lamely). Rolling his eyes in disbelief, Shadow wandered into the spacious kitchen, where three active ovens, two whizzing washing machines, a rectangular-shaped table with ten leather chairs tucked beneath it, and an amber-marble working surface patiently awaited.
"Tea, or coffee?" offered Shadow, flinging open the doors of the cupboard above the churning microwave to reveal stashes of multi-coloured mugs.
"Seriously, Shadow? I come here like, every week, and I have exactly the same drink every time!" groaned Rouge, folding her arms in annoyance.
Shadow sighed. "Fine, coffee it is." He started to make the steaming cup of coffee for Rouge, randomly snatching a few crumpled packets of chocolate biscuits off the side as he did so, even though it was still early in the morning; fresh coffee and biscuits would surely satisfy Rouge, and that was all Shadow desired.
Snuggling on the suite as they sipped their coffee and almost vomited on the biscuits, (which Shadow had discovered that their 'best until' date had been three months ago), Shadow and Rouge started to engage in stirring conversation, suggesting enthralling places they could spend the day at.
To Shadow's utter disappointment, (not to mention aggravation) all Rouge desired was a simple trip to the mall, and Shadow despised shopping more than he disliked Jedward…which meant that he hated it an awful lot.
As they sat there, squabbling like an old married couple for hours on end, not realizing that their coffee had literally turned into melted brown-coloured ice, Shadow and Rouge finally gave in to the fact that they just could not agree on a day out plan.
Suddenly, an overwhelming lightbulb flashed in Shadow's mind. Why hadn't he thought of this brilliant idea before? It was where every girl wanted to spend her date with her guy, wasn't it?
"Rouge, I have an idea. I know you will accept it. Tell me, how do you feel about spending the day at Gold Rose & Silver Linings?" quizzed Shadow, rather slyly.
Rouge's face ignited with extreme joy at the sound of the name, her ears perked up and her eyes grew above her head.
"G-G-G…G-Gold Rose & Silver Linings?" she repeated, feeling faint at his unforseen solution.
Nodding to confirm that every word he had just quoted was for real, Shadow felt his heart flutter up to the back of his throat. Would she affirm the prodigious invitation, or would she be so cold-hearted that she would decline the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?
Crossing his fingers behind his back, Shadow eyeballed Rouge with the greatest suspicion. What was going through that pure mind of hers'? He could clearly see that she was observing the offer with the up most caution, yet he caught a hint of doubt sparkling in the corner of her dainty eyes.
Finally, after what seemed like a century passed, she spoke up. "But…Sh-Sh-Shadow, i-isn't that too expensive? I mean, it costs two hundred dollars to go for one day!"
Shadow smiled. "Nah, I've been planning to take you out somewhere that's a bit pricey. I've been saving up for it!" Rouge's face lifted even more as Shadow removed a mountain load of dollars from his suit pockets.
"Oh, Shadow! Thank you! Thank you so much!" she cried, flinging her arms around him and pressing his chest against hers'. Groaning in pain as her heels pierced a hole in each of his feet, Shadow wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in even closer. They rarely had hugs like this, and when they did, it was the most wonderful thing ever.
Once they had emptied their mugs and dumped the decayed biscuits in the dustbin, Shadow and Rouge left Shadow's house and entered the rambunctious atmosphere outside, where a breath-taking rainbow of screeching cars sped down the winding road, and hundreds of gossiping people trundled across the pavement.
Carefully taking Rouge's hand in his', Shadow led the female bat down the couple of steps in front of his front door, and guided her towards his raven-coloured sports car.
Rouge gasped in amazement at the humongous vehicle awaiting her, and she drooled at the milky leather seats, which looked so luxurious, it was unrealistic!
Acting as her chauffeur, Shadow opened the door of the passenger's seat and signalled for her to get in. Leaning over, so she could wriggle her way inside, Rouge was blown away by the sugary fragrances wafting out of the furry, scarlet dice dangling off his dazzling mirror.
Noticing that she was awestruck at the sight of his car, Shadow grinned, as he knew that he was close to achieving his goal…he softly closed the door, in attempt not to startle Rouge, and parked himself on the driver's seat.
Shadow started the engine, causing booming vrooms to escape from the car, which made Rouge drool even more. "Right, let's go."
As the car rolled off the steep drive and rocketed down the road, Rouge got out her phone as it vibrated in her pocket. It was Knuckles. His text message read: "So where u and Shadow goin thn?"
Without hesitating to think what a stupid idea it would be to tell him where they were heading to, Rouge sent a message back to him in reply: "Gold Rose & Silver Linings!"
At his house, a calculating smirk formed across Knuckles' muzzle. He had a plan, and he was ready to put it into action. "Knuckles, it's time you got some fresh air!"
