Hello guys! Another chapter! (YAY!) I was so focused on doing it that I ended writing chap ten too. Anyway, here it is. good thing, chap ten comes out on saturday. hope you guys enjoy!

Chapter 9: The night is young

Yep, the night is just like a kid, full of energy, a surprise at each corner. But in Sonic's case, this specific kid the kind that keeps running around, wrecking everything and setting the curtains on fire. And if you think I overdid the metaphor, well, indeed somethings were ablaze as Sonic avoided getting hit. Let's go back a little and see how this started. FLASHBACK!

Sonic's House-19:45 p.m.

Sonic was finishing getting ready for his dinner with Rouge. He polished his shoes so they were extra shinny tonight. He also got a black bowtie. Black Diamond was one of the finest restaurants in town and he hoped this would be enough for him to be allowed into. He didn't like to use his suit.

Looking at the watch, he had ten minutes to get to Rouge's place. His phone rang and when he answered he heard Rouge. "Hey, Sonic, are you ready yet? It's almost 8 pm and-"

"Don't worry, I'm already here" he cut her off and in a minute Rouge heard a knock on the door. Of course the hedgehog would be at her door. Silly of her to forget about his speed. Well, it could not be helped since she was too busy thinking about impressing her handsome pair this night.

Sonic indeed got impressed when she answered the door. Rouge was using a sleeveless dark blue long dress that reached her ankles and was open in a v shape on its back and on the sides almost up to her hips, letting a lot of her well defined legs exposed. What drew more attention was the huge v that went down to the middle of her chest, allowing one to get lost for some time on her cleavage (preferably Sonic). She kept her white gloves and was using high heels matching with a black purse.

She leaned on the door frame making a pose, a sly smirk crossing her face as she noticed the rather lost hedgehog.

"How am I? Be sincere" Sonic thirty seconds to understand she was talking to him.

"Uh? Oh, yeah! You are awesome!" it wasn't exactly the word se was expecting but any compliment was better than none, even more if it came from Sonic. Rouge extended her hand to him so he could take it.

"Shall we go? We have five minutes to be at Black Diamond" she didn't have a single drop of worry about getting late, knowing who she was going to dinner with. Just like she imagined, Sonic took her in his arms and dashed away. Rouge used this as an excuse to hug him as close as she could.

They arrived right in time. Sonic gently let Rouge down and they walked beside the row of people that didn't have a reserve. The women that came out of the limousines in front of the building kept staring at the pair on the entrance. Anyone can get a luxurious car and go to a fine restaurant, but get carried by Sonic The Hedgehog? That was something to make every girl jealous like there was no tomorrow. Rouge turned back and waved her finger to the sides.

"Nuh-uh-uh, you can see but you can't have, girls" she let out a light laugh seeing a group of mobian girls staring daggers at her. She turned around and reached for her entrances. She showed the cards to the huge guy guarding the entrance and he lifted the red velvet rope. Once inside, they went to a counter were stood a panda in a fine suit.

"How can I help you?"

"A table for two, please"

"In name of whom?"

"Rouge the Bat"

"Let me see… there. And your companion, Miss Rouge?" the panda stared at Sonic from head to toe with a disdainful look. Sonic cleared his throat. He really should have used his suit. Was there time to run back to his house?

"Ahem… Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog" the panda guy didn't seem too impressed. He only raised his eyebrows a little as he wrote Sonic's name on the list. He got down the counter and led them to their table.

"The waitress will come in brief"

As the panda returned to his post Sonic looked around and seemed nervous. They were on the second floor of the building and the table they were had a great vision from the 13 feet high and 65 feet wide panoramic glass. The lights of the cars and avenues had a unique glow since the internal ambient was slightly dark. On the ceiling, big crystal chandeliers hung, also giving a unique glow to the place.

The entire place and everyone inside, it made Sonic somewhat uncomfortable. He wasn't really into this etiquette thing. Add the fact that everyone was using formal attire and talking about commodities and fashion trends and then you get a tensed up hedgehog. He was trying to remember the lessons on 'how to be polite' he had with Cream one day when Rouge snapped her fingers in front of his face.

"Uh… you were saying…?" she let out a light laugh.

"I didn't say nothing" she reached his hand and looked at him straight into his eyes "Relax Sonic. I know you feel displaced but don't worry about the people around. They won't bother you because they are too busy smelling the clouds with their noses so high" the two laughed a little. Sonic now seemed more tranquil and this made Rouge happy. The waitress came to them and handed them the menus.

"Good evening. My name is Bella and I'll be serving you tonight. May I know your names?"

"My name is Rouge"

"Sonic"

The orange tiger had a smile in her face, but it quickly gave place to a questioning look.

"Excuse, you said 'Sonic'?"

"Yeah"

"As in 'Sonic THE hedgehog'?"

"Yeah…?"

"Sonic the hedgehog, the world famous hero!? REALLY?!" the tigress squealed but quickly covered her mouth. It drew the attention of the entire second floor and part of the first. Well, now they were eating in the same place a celebrity was. The tigress fanned herself with her hand in an attempt to calm herself down.

"Oh my gosh… ahem… forgive me. It will be a great honor to serve you and your beautiful pair, mister Hedgehog"

"Please, mister Hedgehog is my old man. Just Sonic will do" Sonic said with a bright grin which almost made the waitress squeal again. Rouge just rolled her eyes with a smile at the hedgehog. He made girls go crazy without even trying.

"Al-alright. Make a signal when you decide what to order" as the tigress withdrew herself Sonic looked across the table and saw Rouge looking at him with her eyelids half closed and a little smile on her face, her chin leaning on her hand.

"What?"

Rouge clasped her hands together, closed her eyes and started to talk in a high pitch voice, faking a 12 years old girl.

"Oh my gosh, it's Sonic the Hedgehog, world famous hero! Be still my little heart, squeal, swoon" they laughed again.

"I won't lie, one time a girl really fainted wend I said hi"

"Oh, you must hear this all the time. So many girls all over you, it's the dream of every guy"

Sonic looked to the side scratching his head while Rouge read the menu. "I'm not that type of guy…"

While he looked on his own menu rouge questioned him. "What do you mean by 'that type of guy'?"

"You know, the guy that gets all the girls on the nightclub, or the one that drives a convertible full of chicks"

"You could pretty much do it with ease. The question is: why not?"

They chose what they wanted and Rouge made a signal for the manager. Soon the orange tigress came by to take their order. "What will you want to eat?"

"I'll go with grilled fish and lettuce, please"

"Spaghetti with meatballs, with extra sauce, please"

"Right, anything to drink?"

"Bring some wine that you find to be better. Is it okay to you Sonic?"

"Yeah"

"Alright then, it will not take long" again the waitress withdrew herself and the two resumed their chat.

"As for your question, I don't feel like this is right. I mean, this way someone can have their feelings hurt, and I would not like that. Also, I' like to be with who really cares about me, not people that just want to be on the spotlight"

"…Impressive…"

He looked at the bat, resting her chin on her hand and gazing at him. "What? Is it silly?"

"The other way around, I find it lovely. Your attitude, I think it's impressive…"

"Really? I thought that… nah"

"You thought what?"

"Nothing really…"

"Come on, say it. I'm curious now"

"Well, it's just that you seemed to be much more, how can I say… open minded…? That's not it… like, Shadow said that you really enjoyed going out and drinking… so…"

She raised a hand for him to stop then let out a little sigh. "Well, that's what I get for being such a partygoer"

"I didn't want to offend…"

"And you did not. I understood your point. To say the truth, I have spent some nights at clubs with some guys, like, a lot of guys… but none of them was really nice. They all wanted 'something' besides my company, so I always ditched them, tipsy or not…" she looked slightly ashamed to say this in front of him. Would he think less of her after this?

"You also want someone to really care, right?"

Of course he didn't. What was she thinking? It is Sonic the Hedgehog we're talking about. The guy's heart must know no limits when it come his friends. That was a good thing, he considered her a friend. But could she ever mean more to him than just 'friend'? Well, Rouge knew better than rush things and make him fleet, even though right now she could jump over the table and kiss those tempting lips of him.

They kept chatting a little until their food arrived. The waitress put their plates neatly in front of them and the bottle of wine in the center of the table. She also placed two crystal cups for them. "Bon apetit!"

"Hey, Sonic, is that enough sauce for you?" she pointed at his plate which had a LOT of tomato sauce.

"Are you kidding? It's the way I like it" he made a 'thank you' gesture to the waitress, who almost tripped on the manager behind her while she walked backwards, staring at the hedgehog.

The pair chatted some more while enjoying their food. They really should because this didn't come cheap. Even with Rouge insisting that she could pay for it, Sonic was decided to pay half of the bill. They also ordered some desert. Rouge got a petit gateau and Sonic asked for strawberry pie.

So far so good, the night was wonderful. Rouge was having a good time with her new love interest and he seemed pretty comfortable around her. They joked, laughed, made a little fun of the high society around them and ended looking through the giant window they had in front of them. It would end pretty well, if rouge didn't buy a second bottle of wine while Sonic was at the bathroom.

After paying the bill, they thanked the kind waitress (who almost fainted again) and went to a walk in the park. The lights of the city were a little distant, making the stars look much brighter in here. They walked through the concrete in silence, enjoying the cold breeze and the faint smell of the flowers. They stopped and sit in a bench, Sonic gazing at the stars and Rouge finding the grass much interesting.

"So… how do you qualify this night?"

"Well, I sure had fun. I'd give a 10 of 10 to this dat- um… yeah, for this date…"

This got her attention. She was sure he would call it another thing since they both knew Amy would flip if someone said it was a date. Something inside her was saying, no, screaming for her to do something and snatch that handsome hedgehog before she lost the opportunity.

"I thought… this was just… a dinner…"

"Well, it is a date, with a friend, where we had dinner and now we are at the park, chilling"

She knew he didn't mean this, but all her cells were telling her to confess to him. Or was it the alcohol? He was still looking up, so she quickly gulped more of the wine she brought from the restaurant, EXPENSIVE wine.

"How… how are you and pinky? Won't she get mad when she knows we were hanging out together…?"

"She already knows it. I told her yesterday" this made her even more nervous inside. With that, another gulp in the bottle.

"And she didn't complain…?"

"Nah, I promised to take her on a date tomorrow, cinema, dinner and all". Knowing that he would date someone else made her heart sink. How to make the feel go away? More wine. The problem was, it was already half empty when they left the restaurant. So, enter the second one. Without ceremony, but being pretty much discreet, she drank half of it at once.

Hmm… she should have verified the alcohol level of this one because she quickly started to feel happy, in a way that she knew too well. And she also knew things would get complicated soon of she didn't concentrate. But… how to focus… when the hottest guy is right at her side, just waiting to be taken…

Rouge shook her head. She would not act on impulse. Or at least she told herself that. She tried to start another talk so she would think of another thing, but her mind was already misty.

"Umm, Sonic, can I ask something…personal?"

"Umm… shoot it…"

"Are you… looking for someone, like, right now…?"

She mentally face palmed herself. 'Way to go you drunken idiot. Smooth as a bomb…'

"I don't know"

'What…?' She thought. Did he mean he was looking or no? "What…?"

He let out a sigh. "I don't know Rouge. If I say I'm looking for someone I'd be lying, but I guess I also feel, you know… a lack of 'warmth'…"

'Oh, how I want to warm you, blue boy…' Rouge shook her head again. It wasn't the right type of 'heat' that was starting to grow in her. In order to put that flame down, she emptied the bottle. We all know it won't work but she is already lightheaded.

The silence took place. Only the leaves of the tree above them made a faint sound as the breeze brushed against it. Rouge could hear his steady breathing, his rising and falling chest almost hypnotizing her. She bit her bottom lip. Could someone be more perfect than him? She didn't care if there was this someone, right now she was focused on Sonic.

By focusing I mean completely invading his personal space. She took a deep breath, as if to summon courage, and scooted closer to him, getting a hold of left arm. The daring move got his attention as he looked down at the white bat, finding a pair of bright light blue eyes staring at his green ones. The proximity made him notice the wine in her breath and he quickly put two and two together, already knowing this pattern: she would try to kiss him.

If that happened, Sonic would blame himself because Rouge wasn't, how can I say, 'sound'. But Rouge didn't give him much choice because she sat on his lap, keeping her body almost glued on his. She wrapped her arms around his neck, making her face be dangerously close to his. Sonic didn't seem too fazed outside, but inside he was flipping. 'Keep looking up… keep looking up…'

Her legs were almost hugging his waist. She shifted herself to get even closer to him, which made his heart speed up even more. As our poor hedgehog struggled to think pure thoughts (a hard task considering who was on top of him) the flirtatious bat slid her hands through his spines, trying to soothe him. She leaned closer to his ear, almost shoving her chest on his face.

"Shh… don't be so nervous, I don't bite… well, maybe a little…"

"Rouge… can you, like, umm… get off of me…?"

She looked at him with dazed eyes. He could tell her mind was kinda blank.

"What…? You don't like what you get…?" She pressed her chest on his and tightened her grasp on him, making sure that she was having the maximum of body contact she could now. Sonic let out a breath as if he was in a furnace.

He reached to her sides in an attempt to make the bat back off, but it backfired as Rouge let out a short and faint moan. Her voice was low and even being a little slurred she managed to sound pretty seductive.

"Ohh, my… pretty forward, aren't we, big blue…?" Sonic immediately removed his hands from her.

"Rouge… you're, you know… a little drunk… You're not thinking clearly and-"

"Shhh…" She silenced him with her finger. "I may be a little high… but I have my mind clear about one thing…"

"And that would be…?" Even though he already knew the answer, he wanted to be sure.

"I… luv… you…" She closed her eyes and leaned to kiss him. Sonic pulled his head back and Rouge responded by following moving her entire body against him. The sudden shift in weight made the bench fall backwards, along with the couple. Sonic had his back hitting the grass while Rouge landed on top of him, but in a much more compromising position. Right now Sonic had a full view of her not so discreet cleavage. She stood above him leaning on her arms.

"Found sumthin'… hehe… interesting…?"

Before he could protest a huge explosion sent they flying. Sonic sat on the grass rubbing his head. Rouge was at his side but she was having a hard time getting up. "What the…"

He saw a bunch of flames were used to be the wooden bench. From the middle of it, Blaze appeared, engulfed in flames and with an angry look. Sonic got up and helped Rouge, and then he approached the cat.

"Blaze? What the heck was-?" he had to dodge a quick fireball before he could finish. It set another bush on fire. As he looked back at the fiery feline, she was already throwing fireballs at him. He dashed around evading them without even knowing why he was being attacked. And the flashback ends here.

"BLAZE! You're setting the entire garden on FIRE!"

"Stand still and I won't miss!"

"Are you CRAZY?!" she stopped throwing fireballs and lit up her hands. She then proceeded to chase him while trying to hit him.

"Did you JUST call me CRAZY?! I'll show you WHO IS CRAZY!"

Blaze was really mad trying to hit the hedgehog. She threw her arms furiously at the hedgehog and jumped on him, just to miss Sonic by inches. The more she looked at his face the angrier she was becoming. How could he do this to her? Just a moment, what did he do again?

This lapse made Blaze stop her attack to think over it again. Her mind went blank she saw Sonic and… "You…" The cat turned around to face the white bat. If looks could kill, Rouge would be gone by now. The inebriated bat let out an annoyed sigh and placed her hands on her hips. "You again, kitty…?"

Blaze's left eye twitched and she got a creepy grin crossing her face, looking pretty much like a psycho. Her hands let out huge flames as she walked towards the bat while laughing slowly. "Oh, how I'll enjoy this…"

Rouge could feel this threat from 10 miles away, but she still got into a fighting stance. Like she would lose to this meddlesome kitty. Before they started a fight, Sonic dashed and stood between them, but the way he did it… well, again it backfired at him.

Imagine the scene: Sonic standing between a flaming cat and a dizzy bat holding his hands up so they won't kill each other. This is an effective way to part two guys, but when it comes to GIRLS fighting, you have to have do things more carefully. The hedgehog's face paled as he felt something round and soft at one hand and something not so round but still soft on the other.

'…shit…' "Ummm… I can explain…?" he looked at Blaze and she was about to blow.

"Do you THINK you can EXPLAIN this you, you, you... YOU PERVERT!" Sonic stepped back and got hugged from behind by Rouge, who looked at Blaze while resting her chin on his shoulder.

"Oh, can ya blame'im? For meee, big blue here knows what is best, riiiight…?" she winked at him and stuck her tongue to Blaze.

"Yeah, it was an accident and- don't make it sound like it was a conscious act!"

"What do you mean by that?!" Blaze seemed offended.

"Ain't that clear? He'd nevur lay a hand on ya like that… mostly because there's nuthin' to hold anyway…"

Silence. There only remained silence. Spoken words can't be taken back, and now Sonic stood still with his mouth agape as his eyes went from the bat to the cat repeatedly. How would Blaze react to the fact that Rouge called her flat without a care in the world? More important, would Rouge survive?

"I'M GONNA TURN YOU INTO A CRISP!" Blaze launched herself over the white bat who reacted by flying and dodging the numerous fireballs aimed at her.

"WHY DID YOU EVEN SHOW UP, KITTY?!"

This made Sonic think. Indeed that was a good question. Defying his sanity, he placed a hand on her shoulder, flinching a little because of the heat. "Blaze, what were you doing here before?" The cat stopped her targeting practice and looked at the hedgehog, thinking about how to answer this question.

"Well, you see…" she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She could not lie to him. "I-I followed you two…"

"You what?! Have you gone mad-"

"Not now Rouge. Can you explain this?"

Blaze was fiddling with her fingers. "…I saw you going out with… her… and I thought that…"

"You thought what?"

"Yeah, you thought what?!"

Blaze faced the bat getting angry again.

"I thought that you would try to violate him! I saw nothing the entire night, but when I was about to leave you just jumped on him!"

"And why do ya think the hedgy concerns to you?!"

"I don't have to explain myself to you!"

"But maybe I can get one?" The two girls stared at the blue hedgehog. His arms were folded and he didn't seem happy. He wasn't angry, he seemed… tired.

"First, you following me when you should be resting, scratch that, in any circumstance, must have a very good reason. And you, Rouge, should know that drinking too much can't do any good"

Both girls looked down. They felt like they disappointed him. Blaze was the first to apologize, followed by Rouge.

"Umm, can I get a ride to home…?" Blaze asked in a shy manner, something she never did.

"You came all this way by yourself, didn't you?" he knew he was harsh, but right now his head wasn't in the right place. Blaze held her arm and looked down again.

"How about me…?"

"Just because you're not in condition to do so. Besides, even with all this mess I still enjoyed the night…" with that, Sonic held Rouge in his arms and dashed away, leaving Blaze in the middle of a half burnt garden on the verge of tears.

The trip to Rouge's house was pretty short and silent. He left her at her door, thanked for the invite and dashed away, not even listening to her response. He went straight to his house, locked the door behind him and flipped on his bed. After releasing a breath he didn't knew he was holding, Sonic dozed off, but he didn't rested well this night. Neither did Blaze or Rouge, both feeling guilty because of their actions.

End of Chapter 9

So, things are heating up! (pardon the lame pun, I could not help myself) Don`t forget to review and leave your opinions. I gladly accept them. until saturday with chapter 10, see ya!