A/N: I think now would be a good time to say I have no idea what the hell goes on at bachelor or bachelorette parties, so if my portrayal is far off, don't flip out at me. Thank you, Crazy Muffin Assassin for proofreading.

Sky's POV

The party finally started to draw to a close. The sun was sinking, casting an orange glow over everything.

"Sky! Sky, are you over here?" It was Silver.

"What is it?" I called back.

"Blaze and I are going back to our house. You can come back whenever"

"Actually, I was going to stay with Shadow"

"Ok"

I turned back to Shadow so we could continue our conversation. "So that's how you got mixed up with Slingshots 'n Daisies. I didn't know you drank alcohol"

"Yeah, apparently there's a first time for everything"

"Well, I'm going to go. I don't want to stay out here too late" He stood up and helped me up after. "Let's go"

Blaze's POV

"Wasn't tonight great?" I asked Silver, as we walked through the door.

"Yeah. Will your parents drop by to visit often?"

"Silver! My parents aren't that bad!" I slapped him half playful, half serious on the shoulder. He cracked a smile and started laughing.

"I'm just fooling around. They're not that bad. I mean, they're royalty, so they probably don't have much downtime…"

"True. I never got much downtime being princess, especially in Crisis City"

"If you can make it in Crisis City, you can make it anywhere"

"Well, I'm tired, so I'll go to bed. You can stay up if you want" I yawned.

"Nah, I'm tired too"

I'm not usually one to be timid, but something wasn't sitting right with me, and the way the shadow of the tree outside was cast across the room wasn't helping. It had gotten very windy and it was rattling every possible thing it could rattle. Rain started falling adding to the noise. I'm never going to get to sleep, I complained to myself.

I swung my legs off the bed and stood up. I shuddered when my bare feet touched the cold wooden floor. I walked over across the hall to the bathroom and to the medicine cabinet. We have to have some sleeping pills somewhere.

Hiding behind several other objects one would find in a medicine cabinet, I came across what I was looking for. There. Maybe now I'll be able to get some sleep. I got back into bed, pulled the covers up to my shoulders and settled in.

Shadow's POV

Have you ever had the feeling that you were being followed? Well, I know I'm being followed. The quickest way to my house, and the easiest for Sky to run through was through the Emerald Forest.

But while we were running through the forest, someone was trying to keep up with us. As you might've guessed, they didn't do a very good job, because I could hear them a mile away. I doubt Sky noticed; she probably would have said something if she did. Whoever it was stumbled their way through every bush there was and tripped over tree roots more often than not.

It was pretty late at night, and I didn't have the energy to find whoever it was and convince them following me was a bad idea, so I went home and locked the door.

"Shadow? Where am I going to sleep?"

"You can sleep in my room…" I said, stifling a yawn. "I'll just sleep on the couch"

"What? No, I can't do that! I'll sleep on the couch"

"No. I'm sleeping on the couch, you're sleeping there" I insisted.

"…Fine…"

…The next day…

I woke up to the sound of my refrigerator door slamming. I don't know about anyone else, but that's not a sound I usually wake up to. I sat up, stood up, and walked over to the kitchen ready to beat the living daylights out of whoever was in my house. I crept with my back to the wall; if the intruder is dangerous, I don't want to tip them off.

I whipped around the corner and threw a left hook.

"No! Wait, Sha-" My fist connected with their face, which in turn connected with the wall.

"Joseph," I asked through clenched teeth, "What are you doing in my house?"

"Great goin', Jonny. Ya busted my glasses," he said, frowning as if it was a major catastrophe.

"That won't be the only thing that's busted if you don't explain why you're in my house right now"

He held up his hands in a defensive manner. "Ok, ok. I wanted to talk to ya last night, but ya ran off and it was all I could do to bumble my way through that God forsaken jungle back there," he grumbled. "That, an' ya don't have anythin' decent to eat…"

"Get to the point!" I growled.

"Ok! So, I got here and the door was locked, right?"

"Right…"

"Wrong, mate! An' by the way, guitar picks make good lock picks," he grinned slyly as he fished one out of his pocket. "An' as for what I wanted to talk to ya 'bout…"

"Well? Are you going to tell me, or are you going to stand there grinning like an idiot?"

"You like Sky" he said proudly.

An awkward silence made itself present while I concocted my response. "That ridiculous. We're just friends"

"Nuance, mate. Ya said the same thing about Rouge"

"Is that it? Did you break into my house just to accuse me of liking someone?"

"Puh-lease, I can do ya one better. I was gonna accuse ya, then help ya get her"

"And if I deny it?"

"Then I say yer full of it, cause I can bend ya like a G string, conduct ya like a choir, and read ya like a book. An' ya don't watch a sunset with someone unless you like 'em"

I thought it over for a second. I do like Sky and Joseph already owes me, so I don't have to return the favor. "Suppose I do like her. What's in it for you?"

"Shady, I'm a romantic; I live on the stuff. You get the girl, I feel good about myself. Win-Win, right?"

"Deal," I said, extending my hand for him to shake.

"Shadow, are you up yet?" Sky called. Damn, I sighed.

"Was that…?" Joseph trailed off, peering around the corner. I yanked him back in case Sky could see him.

"Yes, yes, I'm up. Would you like something to eat? I can cook it for you" I asked from across the house to my bedroom.

"Sure. But you don't have to make it; I can do it myself,"

"No, really, it's no trouble. Get out of here!" I whispered to Joseph.

"I take it back mate, you're doing fine on your own. That is your room over there isn't it? Where ya keep yer bed?" I punched him once more for good measure.

"Ok, got it. I'll tell ya how ta get her at the bachelor party, mate" Joseph whispered, running out the door.

After breakfast, we walked to Silver's house. We, by whom I mean Silver and the others, agreed for everyone meet up there for the bachelor/bachelorette parties. "Well, I guess this is where we split up" Sky said, referring to the separate bachelor and bachelorette parties.

"Ok, I'll see you at the wedding tomorrow" I said.

"Shadow, is something wrong?"

"No, I'm fine"

"Ok," she studied me carefully. "I'll see you later then" I knocked on the door, which was opened by Silver.

"Shadow, Sky, great to see you. Ready for the party?" Silver grinned.

"No" I scowled.

"Oh, lighten up Shadow. It could be worse" Blaze purred as she draped an arm around Silver.

…On the way to the bar…

Silver's POV

"So, Silver, where exactly did you have in mind for the party?" Sonic asked, walking alongside me. Sonic wasn't the only one curious, because all the others, excepting Shadow and Espio were looking at me attentively.

"Well, I was thinking Freedom Square"

Angus perked up at the mention of the nightclub. "Freedom Square, mate? We went there after the concert, didn't we Shady?"

"No" Shadow mumbled.

"Just ignore Jonny. Freedom Squares' a great place, Silv! You're gonna love it!"

Blaze's POV

"So Blaze, are you ready to go?" Rouge asked.

"Go where?" I responded.

"You'll see. It's a surprise!" Amy said, smiling from ear to ear. She placed a blindfold over my eyes and helped me walk on the door. The girls, with the exception of Sky, dragged me through the streets to their predetermined destination.

"Ok, where are you taking me?" I asked as the forced march was approaching the ten-minute mark.

"Just a minute. We're almost there," They continued leading me, until stopping me abruptly.

"Here we are! You can take of your blindfold!" Amy exclaimed gleefully.

I opened my eyes, but shut them immediately as it was bright and my eyes were unadjusted. When my eyes finally adjusted, I took a look around. There were dozens of shops and ten times as many people. "The mall?" I asked. "What are we doing here?"

"Well," Rouge started. "We were going to take you out for a night on the town…"

"…But we can't go out with you looking like that" Amy finished.

"What's wrong with the way I look?" I asked, starting to feel self-conscious and slightly offended.

"It's not that ya look bad, hun, it's just you could look better" The white bat explained.

"A lot better" Amy added. Sky coughed. We walked into the first boutique we saw.

Immediately, an employee approached us. "Hello, ladies, what can I do for you today?" she said with a smile

"We were wondering if you could help our friend get some new clothes," Rouge said.

"Ok, which one of you will I be helping?" the saleswomen asked.

"Blaze," Amy said, pointing at me.

"Well…oh my" Her hand rose to cover her mouth and she stood there, gaping at me.

I put my hands on my hips. "Do I really look that bad?" Her eyes scrolled from my face to my feet, then back again before putting on a sympathetic smile.

"No, dear, not bad. It's just you could look better. Here, why don't you come with me?" I left the others behind and followed the saleswomen past several racks of clothing to the back of the store. Every so often, she would reach out and grab an outfit and carry it with her.

"Try these on," she said, handing me the whole stack.

"All of these?" I asked, straining my back to support their weight.

"Yes, all of them" I walked into the changing room carrying the stack of clothes. This is exactly why I never go shopping; the changing rooms are closets, and sometimes barely that. I stumbled around for a good five minutes before I was able to change out of my clothes and put the first dress on. I emerged from the changing room and waited for the saleswomen's feed back.

The dress was purple, a few shades darker than my fur. I liked it, except for the fact it was so tight it might've been painted on me. Though I thought it looked pretty nice, the saleswomen, or Margaret, as I came to know her disagreed. She said it looked too similar to what I came in wearing and to wear something skintight, you have to have the "right curves", whatever that means.

Three outfits later, we were still stuck at square one. This is starting to become a real drag.

"This is the last outfit I'm trying on," I warned her. This dress was looser and less constricting without being baggy. It was red and went down to just above my knees.

"How's this?" I asked, stepping out of that god-awful changing room for the last time.

"Great! It looks great! Now you can leave," Margaret exclaimed, taking me by the arm.

"A-are you sure?" Everything she said about me previously had ranged from neutral to negative.

"Yes, yes, yes. Red is definitely your colour!" She literally pushed me to the register.

"Ok, that'll be 120 dollars," My jaw dropped. I held my breath as I reached for my credit card.

"Don't worry hun, I got it" Rouge said, as she slapped her credit card down on the counter.

"Now that you look the part, the next order of business is to go out on the town and have a great time," Rouge stated. "Ever been to a club? Or did your parents just keep you locked away in a tower?"

I scowled. "I've never been to a club. And that's a stereotype. Just because I'm a princess doesn't mean my parents locked me up in a tower"

"Well, there's a first time for everything, and when's a better time than a bachelorette party? And besides, I know this great club where celebrities have been known to visit. Let's go" Rouge's heels clicked against the floor and eventually the sidewalk as she lead the way.

Silver's POV

The party's been great so far. Everyone's been getting along; Shadow hasn't so much as threatened anyone. Although, he has been hanging out with Joseph, which is abnormal in itself, coupled with the fact that Shadow doesn't put up with people in general, especially musicians.

Joseph is something else. I've never seen anyone drink as much as him and be completely unaffected, not even Rouge.

Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, Scratch, and Neil have been talking over drinks and fooling around in general. Angus and Paul were hanging out with the Chaotix.

Originally, when were still looking for a band to play our wedding, the Chaotix stepped forward claiming they were in a band. Well, it turns out they were telling the truth and Angus was giving them a few pointers.

Throughout the few hours we've been here, I've noticed some girls checking me out. Rather than partying and hanging out with my friends, like I'm supposed to, I've been zoning out during conversations and thinking about it. See, I've never thought of myself as attractive to the opposite gender or anything like that, so this was an intriguing experience.

And the party went on. We had a few drinks, listened to the band, stuff like that. Every so often, I would glance over at those girls. I caught them looking at me several times and then they would pretend they weren't looking at me.

Finally, one of them had the nerve to come talk to me. An auburn coloured fox walked over to the bar where I was and sat uncomfortably close to me. She was wearing a halter-top and short shorts. Now when I say short, I mean short. Like so short that my underwear is longer. They leave absolutely nothing to the imagination. "Hey, what's a cute hedgehog like you doing here alone?" she asked me.

"Y-you think I'm cute?" Where I come from, they're not a lot of options romance wise, so you take what you can get. I've never once had a girl, aside from Sky and Blaze just come up and start talking to me, much less say I'm cute.

She smiled a sly smile; the kind of smile that makes you wonder what her angle is. "Why wouldn't I? It's not everyday you find someone as attractive and obviously decent as you," A dance song started playing in the background. "Care to dance?"

I shook my head. "I'm sorry. I can't,"

She gave another sly smile. "Don't know how? Don't worry; I can teach you," She stood up and motioned for me to get up too.

"No, it's not that. You see, I'm here for my bachelor party and I love my fiancée"

She thought for a moment. "Well, it is your bachelor party; what your fiancée doesn't know won't hurt her" the fox said coyly as she leaned over.

"I don't think that's a good idea," I replied, backing away.

"You sure? You're getting married, hitched, tied down for the rest of your life. This is your last chance to cut loose. Lighten up and have some fun,"

"Didn't you hear me? I said I love my-mph" She kissed me! Immediately, I pushed her away. I lost my balance and fell backwards off the stool I was sitting on, onto the floor. Someone wolf-whistled. The band stopped playing. I could feel peoples' eyes on me. It seemed like the whole club was watching me. If Blaze saw me right now, I would be dead.

"What the hell are you doing?" a voice shouted from across the club, near the door. It wasn't just any voice; it was a painfully familiar voice. I was so struck with fear that I couldn't get up off the floor. I am going to die. My heart, which was up until now beating like a snare drum, had stopped and my blood froze.

Blaze.