Westopolis, Emerald Town, Knuckles' House

6:20pm

Knuckles ran a hand over his face in frustration as he stood in front of Sonic, ready for the date.

Knuckles wore a grey v-lined shirt, dark green khaki shorts past his knees, and white shoes.

He had considered grabbing Sonic by the face and squeezing it since he was refusing to wake up but he didn't want Sonic moaning about 'his beautiful face' in his head while he was trying to drive. So he decided to walk over to the kitchen to get some water.

Knuckles returned with a glass of water threatening to pour over him.

"Sonic...you have three seconds or so help me-"

Sonic's nose and ears twitched before he opened his eyes and widened them at the site of the water about to pour over him.

"W-wait! Please, I'm awake now! C'mon dude, not cool!" Sonic whined as he groggily fell out of his chair.

Knuckles was not impressed. He had told Sonic to wake up and all he got was a sleepy 'okay'. By the time he had showered and come back, the hedgehog was still asleep.

"You do realise you're not ready...and it's 6:25 pm. This isn't responsible, Sonic-"

"Yeah, yeah, I don't need you lecturing me of all people, knucklehead. I'm coming. "

Knuckles raised his brow and surprisingly kept his cool.

"This isn't the past Sonic. You really think Amy would be willing to be friends again if you're doing the same thing that made her leave in the first place?"

Sonic grew irritated.

"What the hell do you mean? I haven't done anything!" Sonic argued, shrugging his shoulders.

"You're literally standing there, not ready and wasting time. You're not even making an effort to get ready. Remember that time when you made her wait-"

"Don't even. Stop bringing it up. I'm getting ready." Sonic spoke in a dark voice while slamming the door and leaving a blue trail behind him.

Knuckles just sighed. He couldn't understand why his blue friend never set his priorities straight when it came to his friends.

All of a sudden, Knuckles phone buzzed on the table. He had gotten a text message from Rouge.

We're on our way Knuckie, don't forget to be there on time.

Knuckles had just remembered that he was supposed to drive to Club Ruby which was 1 hour and 30 minutes away from where he lived by car. He was wondering how the girls were going to get there.

You sure you don't need me to drop you there? It's pretty far from public transport.

Knuckles typed out a text to Rouge, knowing she'd probably say no. Just as he pressed the send button, Sonic burst through the door.

Sonic wore a white t-shirt, a black jacket that was unbuttoned with the sleeves rolled up, dark blue jeans and black shoes.

Knuckles got over his bad mood because his friend was actually ready. Within 5 minutes.

"I see that you actually tried to look presentable this time, despite the fact you ran home and got ready in 5 minutes," he spoke.

He earned a glare from the blue blur.

"Whatever. Let's go. You know how much I hate cars if I'm not the one driving." Sonic pouted.

Knuckles just stared and just put his hand on Sonic's shoulder with mock reassurance.

"Stick to running bro. You'd save more lives than you do when saving the world." he joked.

Sonic playfully punched him with mock offence.

"Shut up." He chuckled.

They both exited Knuckles house and entered his car. Knuckles opened the garage door with remote control and closed it after he drove out of the driveway.

The car ride was mostly silent with Knuckles constantly switching the radio station and Sonic holding in his laugh at Knuckles desperately trying not to smash his steering wheel in frustration from other mobian's bad driving. Not to mention they were stuck in traffic. The silence was broken when Sonic decided to speak up.

"Why on Mobius are we going to the club so early? It's only 6 pm for Chaos' sake..." Sonic questioned.

Knuckles tried to ignore Sonic and focus on driving, but Sonic persisted.

"To have more time to catch up, Sonic. Stop being so damn annoying and asking questions." Knuckles spoke.

"It's only been 2 months. Surely it really isn't that bad. I've been away on missions for way longer than that."

Knuckles just sighed. He felt like somehow, he and Sonic's brains had switched places over the past few years.

"I shouldn't be the one to tell you this Sonic. Heck, it doesn't even sound like me talking. But what I can tell you is that while you had kicked her out of your life, she was slowly breaking. Have you ever taken the time to look at her?" Knuckles spoke.

Sonic hesitated.

"I mean, we're not exactly friends and she kinda did move away-"

Knuckles facepalmed.

"That's not the point Sonic."

There was a thick silence hanging in the car and they sat stuck in traffic. Knuckles sat back in the car seat and closed his eyes trying to remember something.

"It's up to you Sonic...to fix what you broke. Or at least replace what you've lost." Knuckles spoke.

Sonic just folded his arms and looked out of the window for the rest of the car's journey.

There was one thing he wouldn't admit out loud. He had been disconnected from her for years. And it was that Knuckles was right. He would have to try his hardest to make it up to a lost friend.

Station Square

6:56 pm

Amy sat staring out of the window for the longest while, trying to figure out where she was. She could see the beach, rivers and wind turbines. Even though the team's old base used to be in station square, she was still confused.

Rouge, on the other hand, was smiling evilly to herself, knowing what awaited her this evening. They were driving past Emerald Coast beach which had certainly developed over the years with hotels and resorts, even an added waterpark. The location she was really heading to though wasn't heard of a lot, so she kindly asked the Taxi driver to land them off on Speed Highway.

"Thank you so much hun, and here an extra 90 rings for your patience," Rouge spoke.

Amy raised her brow in question as the driver drove off.

"Since when were you this polite Rouge?" Amy asked.

Rouge looked at her in mock offence.

"It's called manners from working in an office, girl, take tips." Rouge teased with a wink.

Any shook her head with a smile. She stood on the pavement while looking at the fast cars zooming past her on the street with tall skyscrapers.

"Station Square's called the capital of the country for a reason huh." Amy mumbled to herself."

Rouge opened her mouth to speak, but hesitated and took out her phone instead. Amy looked at her in question.

"According to e-GPS, it should take 10-15 minutes to walk to the club. I suggest we get something to eat first. Knuckles says he's stuck in traffic with Sonic."

Amy held in a laugh.

'Sonic of all mobians stuck in traffic? That's new.' Amy thought to herself.

Amy then looked up to the starry sky in thought.

Was the Sonic she was thinking about still the Sonic she knew?

She shook her head and continued to stare at Rouge who was waiting for her response as she snapped out of her thoughts.

"Hello? Mobius to Amy? Are you alright?" Rouge asked.

Amy folded her arms and sighed. She decided she wouldn't get worked up over something that hadn't even started.

"Don't you think it's a better idea to eat when we get to the club?" Amy asked.

"Hey, you were the carsick one, not me. I was just asking." Rouge replied with her hands on her hips.

Amy giggled at Rouge.

"So you're telling me there's actually food there?"

Rouge stared at Amy with wide eyes.

"Have you never been to a nightclub before? Seriously?"

Amy innocently shook her head. Rouge rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Please, Amy. You've got to live a little. Stop being so uptight and serious about everything." Rouge spoke.

And for the first time that night, Amy finally relaxed her tense shoulders as she and Rouge made their way to Club Ruby.

"But seriously Rouge...what kinds of things do you do at a nightclub?" Amy asked.

Rouge looked at Amy in disbelief. She knew Amy was the innocent and clueless type but didn't think that she would be completely clueless about this. Even so, Rouge cleared her throat.

"Well...for starters, we are going to a special night club tonight. Mobians dance, listen to DJ's, order food and drinks, meet and hook up with someone..." Rouge explained as she counted on her finger.

Amy took in the information as if she had a mental notebook. She wanted to ask a bunch of questions, eager to learn like a child in school. Rouge just sighed and smoothed down her dress.

"C'mon Amy, it's 7:23 and I kinda have someone I need to see before we meet up with the guys. The club isn't far away from here and there are some mobians I want you to meet."

Amy nodded and smiled as they continued their walk in silence as they made their way to the club.

Station Square, Speed Highway, Club Ruby

7:35 pm

Knuckles had just pulled into the parking lot when his cobalt companion had already started complaining.

"Why the hell did I agree to all this again...this is gonna be a disaster..." Sonic whined.

Knuckles just shook his head as he was checking if he had parked correctly. This was the 5th time the hedgehog had gotten cold feet and it wasn't funny.

"Look man, we're here. You can literally run home from here in 7 minutes max. So if you really don't wanna be here, go home." Knuckles stated.

Sonic looked at him shocked. All night Knuckles had been going at him and trying to convince him to stay but this time Knuckles said he was free to go. He was about to run but something came up in his head.

'If I don't sort this out now...problems might arise later. Not to mention the fact that Ames might be upset if she thinks I don't wanna see her...maybe it's not a bad idea to go...' Sonic thought to himself.

Sonic saw Knuckles impatiently waiting to lock the car and so, he got out of his seat and closed the door.

"Hey, there's no way I'm chickening out. Let's go." Sonic quietly murmured with his hands in his pockets."

Knuckles smirked to himself as he watched Sonic willingly walk around trying to figure out where he was.

"Hold on...this club looks familiar," Sonic spoke to himself with a confused face.

He looked up and saw the sign and then looked at Knuckles.

"Knux...you're not serious about taking Amy to this club, right? I mean, you're totally pranking me. There is no way-"

"Sonic just...go inside. Everything will be alright."

Sonic took one look at his red friend, then marched inside of the club with a determined look.

"Sonic— Sonic! What the heck are you doing?!" yelled Knuckles while running after him.

7:36 pm

Flashback

Amy and Rouge appeared outside the club which seemed to have a long line. There were many mobians which seemed to be dressed in very revealing clothing and others who were just on their phones while waiting to be allowed inside.

"It seems tonight must have a certain list of people allowed inside..." Rouge spoke to herself with her arms folded.

Amy winced.

"Well, they'd better hurry up before my heels start killing me...Also, Rouge, are you sure we're at the right club?"

Rouge glanced at her in question.

"Pinky, chill out. I know what I'm doing." Rouge spoke.

Amy glanced at her before being dragged to the front of the line.

"HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

"CAN'T YOU SEE THERE'S A LINE HERE?!"

"Those girls are crazy..."

Rouge just smirked to herself as she heard those comments as Amy blushed an embarrassed red.

They soon arrived at the front of the line.

They saw an irritated mobian walking away from the guards. One of them was a brown dog with a white patch around his eye and the other was a black cat with dark blue eyes.

"I'll be back, and you'll regret not letting me in!" he shouted before leaving.

The two girls looked at each other in question before Rouge barged in front of someone being served.

"Rouge-!" Amy began.

"Hey boys, I'd like you to let us in a little early." Rouge began in a sweet tone, "You see, me and my friend here-"

"Access denied. Good day." The dog guard spoke.

Rouge grew irritated but kept the sweet smile on her face.

"You seem to have misunderstood. What's the reason for not letting us in?"

The cat stepped in.

"Number one, you're not in the line. Number two, your friend over her looks a little too young to enter this club, this is a 20+ club. And number three you're not on the list. Now run along." The cat spoke in a bored tone.

Rouge opened her mouth to fire back before a voice spoke.

"Now, now...let's not start any drama shall we?"

Rouge looked up at the entrance of the bar.

"Come on in, sister. Take your friend with you!"