A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the long absence. Life has been extremely hectic for me and I've only recently decided to get back into writing stories after a long hiatus! I noticed that after starting on a new horror project of mine called "One of Us", a lot of you were requesting that I come back to this story and continue writing it. I'm not going to lie, I was very hesitant because I had a vision for this story a few years ago and times have changed. Because of that, I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to get from Point A to Point B like I had originally imagined. I decided to give this another shot with a fresh mind now that I have decided on where I want to take this story and from all the encouragement I have gotten from all of you. Please leave a review as it not only means a lot to me to hear from you guys, but criticism both positive and negative help me out immensely in figuring out what I need to do to further improve upon my writing. To those of you who have patiently waited for this return, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Without further ado, here's the long awaited Chapter 9!

Chapter 9:

Zona collinare verde Act 1

The three of them stared at one another, not sure of what to make of their incredibly awkward situation. Shadow was both surprised and repulsed by the fact that Sonic was their server.

Of course it'd be my luck to run into this fool while I'm trying to go through training, er- I mean a date, thought the ebony hedgehog. Shadow could feel his blood start to simmer as questions began coursing through his mind.

"You know him?" Shadow gestured towards Sonic earning a deep glare from the blue blur.

"Of course she does, we dated for like a year." Sonic replied before Sally could even get a word in. The news shocked Shadow. How in the hell did this incompotent idiot manage to bag someone like her? The question didn't have to go unanswered for long as Sonic smiled confidently and replied.

"I know you're probably wondering how but uh, let's just say I'm the complete package." Sonic jokingly flexed and began laughing as an uncomfortable silence between his two guests caused his joking manner to deflate rather quickly.

"I highly doubt this." Shadow said as he picked up the menu to hide the irritated expression on his face. "Anyways, aren't you supposed to be driving potential serial killers and drunk people around in an uber somewhere?"

"That's my side job silly, I've been working here for a few years now. It's pretty awesome if I do say so myself." Sonic answered excitedly, ignoring the fact that his guests were both annoyed and uncomfortable by his antics. "So...what'll we have to drink tonight?" The blue hedgehog clicked his pen as he held his notepad out in front of him, ready to write down whatever they asked for. After a moment's hesitation, Sally went ahead and asked for a glass of water. Sonic nodded his head before looking up at Shadow.

"What'll it be for you good sir?" Sonic gave a cheeky smile at Shadow, he knew at this point Shadow was angry and that he was just poking the bear at this point. The ebony hedgehog's eyes glared daggers into Sonic. In his mind, Shadow was just imaging ripping Sonic's arms off and beating him with them. Internally he was chuckling at the dark comedy unfolding in his mind, the mental image of him smacking Sonic with his own arms and Shadow mockingly singing "why are you hitting yourself?" was too funny. Before the situation became any more awkward however, Shadow decided to tell Sonic that he too would take a water, even though he was very tempted to reply "your blood". Sonic told them their drinks would be out momentarily and the pair watched as he dashed off and headed towards the kitchen. Once he disappeared behind the two swinging doors, the two finally leapt into discussion.

"You dated that nuisance? How?" Shadow asked, desperately wanting to know any bit of information as to how any female could tolerate him.

"Unfortunately." Sally replied as she looked down in an ashamed manner at the menu in front of her. "It was good in the beginning. He was funny, charismatic, charming, but after a while, I just found myself growing tired of his antics. I wanted to go out and find something new. I did like him, I just knew he wasn't the one I wanted to be with if that makes any sense." Shadow's irritation and confusion quickly ceased at hearing Sally's words. Here was a girl who was being upfront and honest about her feelings and why she ended up falling for that blue hedgehog. He admired her honesty, that was a quality that Shadow had always longed for and wanted in a person.

Shadow slightly smiled as Sally continued to have her head down. "I understand how you feel. Growing tired of people is just something that happens from time to time. It's in our nature. I've always been more of a lone wolf kind of guy myself but even then, I still seek company from others. I just want you to know you're not alone."

Sally lifted her head up to look into Shadow's red eyes. A delighted smile sprouted on her face. "Thank you Shadow, that was very sweet." She extended her hand out towards his and for a moment, their hands were intertwined. It was like something out of a sappy Nicolas Sparks novel, and despite the fact that those kinds of books made Shadow physically cringe, it was a cherishable moment nonetheless. The silence was broken by a slightly static-y voice coming from Shadow's earpiece.

"Shadow come in, can you hear me?" It was obviously Rouge but her timing couldn't have been any worse.

"Yes, I can hear you." Shadow mumbled, earning a confused look from Sally.

"What?" She asked as he could feel her hand pulling away.

"Sorry, I was clearing my throat." Shadow pretended to clear his throat as he picked up a napkin from the table and coughed into it.

"Good, are you ready to begin your training?" Rouge asked as Shadow began subtly looking around the establishment, wondering where exactly the bat was. He knew the question was rhetorical so he didn't feel the need to answer her but her location was definitely concerning the ebony hedgehog. "I'm over here on the right you dweeb." Shadow turned his head to where the bat had indicated where she would be and sure enough, there she was. Rouge was about ten feet away and was sticking out of a hedge that lined the outside of the restaurant. She was donned in camouflage with pieces of dark green bush attached to her arms and legs. It was like something out of a war movie. She looked absolutely ridiculous. Shadow tried his hardest to stifle a laugh as the bat gave him a clearly mean look. "Don't laugh at me, I'm undercover for you you buffoon."

Unbeknownst to Shadow, Sally was giving him a concerned look. "Hey, you alright?" Shadow jolted back to reality as he turned his head back

"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry about that, I was getting distracted by the delicious food surrounding us." Shadow lied as he internally face palmed at the ridiculous response he just gave. It worked as Sally laughed and picked up her menu.

"It does look pretty good. I can't wait to eat." She replied as Shadow took one more glance out the window. As expected, Rouge was out of sight. She was most definitely not out of mind though as Shadow could hear her once more communicating through the ear piece.

"Once you two are done being cute I want you to engage in small talk. Ask her what she does, what kinds of hobbies she has, etc." Shadow just smiled, amused at the lengths his friend was going to in order to help him out in obtaining a relationship. He appreciated it very much but it did make him kind of nervous knowing that his friend was out in the bushes looking like a commando stalking him and his date's every move. Obviously she had good intentions, but at the same time, this felt like a rather elaborate plot to just learn how to date. Shadow just decided to roll with the punches.
"I can't decide what I want to eat. I must've looked at this menu from cover to back several times and I just don't know what to choose." Shadow flipped through the menu once again trying to find a meal that he could go with. Italians and their exquisite cooking, why did everything have to look so good?

"You're right!" Sally laughed as she too flipped through the menu's pages. "I think I might have an idea of what I want though."

"What's that?"

"I think I'm going to get the lasagna." Sally laid down her menu and pointed to the picture of a steaming pile of pasta right next to the name. Shadow's mouth watered as he gazed at the delicious food. He liked what she was thinking.
"You know what? I'm going to double down and get that lasagna with you." Shadow said, making the decision that just a second ago he struggled to make.

"Alright, now that we know what we both want, why don't we get to know each other a bit more?" Shadow loved the sound of that. He couldn't wait to get to know the person behind the beauty. Before any further words could be spoken, a blue hedgehog suddenly appeared with the beverages that they had requested earlier.

"Two waters for two lovely people!" He declared as he set them in front of Shadow and Sally on the table. The two thanked him for bringing their drinks but rather than leave, the blue hedgehog just kind of stood there awkwardly. He was nodding his head like a bobble head and Shadow and Sally couldn't help but just look at him all confused. What the hell was going on with Sonic? "Is everything looking good for you today?" The blue hedgehog chuckled nervously as he smiled at them.

"Um...Sonic, it's just water. Of course it's going to look good." Shadow replied tartly as Sonic's eyes grew wide with embarrassment.

"Good lord! I'm so sorry. It's been a long day!" Sonic apologized as he once again busted out his notebook and pen. "What can I get for you? You two must be starving!" The blue hedgehog's smile grew as his ever apparent nervousness was cracking his exterior, making him act bizarrely.

"Well since I can't have your head on a platter, I'll take the lasagna." Shadow ordered in a joking yet slightly dark tone, earning a laugh from Sally.

"I'll take the lasagna as well." Sally added as they both handed their menus to Sonic.

"Okay! I'll place your orders and I'll be back out shortly!" Sonic hurried to the back, his pace almost frantic. Shadow and Sally gave him questioning looks as he disappeared behind the doors once more. Little did Shadow and Sally know that something was happening to the blue blur, and it wasn't exactly something that nobody wanted to see or experience.

Sonic whirred through the crowd of chefs and other waiters in the back who were either preparing orders or were taking them out to the hungry guests in the dining room. The blue hedgehog could feel his mind malfunctioning as he continued his journey towards the back exit. He needed some fresh air, the noise from the kitchen was giving him a pulsating headache and on top of that, he was dealing with Shadow going out with his ex. That's what was truly bothering him. He already didn't like Shadow all that much, he thought the ebony hedgehog was a stubborn and arrogant asshole. They already butted heads at the early christmas party, now here they are again dealing with each other at Sonic's job. Sonic felt jealousy creeping into his heart. Sure he and Sally had been together for about a year but that was one of the best years of his life. They had so much fun together just being with each other that he genuinely thought that she was going to be the one that was going to be by his side for the rest of his life. The blue blur opened the back door and stepped outside, taking in the calm, quiet, and refreshing night as he stood there, trying to collect himself.

"How could Sally fall for such a jerk like him?" Sonic questioned aloud as he leaned against the wall of the restaurant. He just couldn't wrap his head around it and quite frankly, it upset him greatly. He thought he was finally over her but seeing her with him opened up the wound that he thought was already done healing. Maybe it was all a coincidence, or maybe there was malicious intent from Shadow. Sonic couldn't help but think it was the latter as it definitely seemed like it was something that Shadow would pull. The jealousy was getting to Sonic and he could feel his jovial and joking exterior cracking, revealing a fragile and hurt hedgehog underneath. He wasn't about to let some edgelord steal his ex-girlfriend and ruin his night, not now and not ever. He was going to take care of this problem once and for all, but he needed a way to ruin Shadow's night. How could he do it? There had to be a way he could get back at Shadow. In his head he brainstormed and schemed a plethora of ways he could go about sabotaging Shadow's date with Sally. Most of them were either out of the realm of possibility given where he was or they belonged in a "Tom and Jerry" cartoon. Sonic continued to think and think. He gripped his head tightly and closed his idea, begging for a light to shine down on him from the heavens and enlighten him with knowledge. Seconds went by, then minutes, and then, that's when it hit him. An idea came flying into Sonic's head at mach speed and just as the blue hedgehog was about to go and act on it, the back door came flying open.

"HEY SONIC! I'M NOT PAYING YOU TO STAND AROUND LIKE A SCARECROW! GET YOUR ASS BACK IN HERE AND GET TO WORK!" His manager yelled, earning a sigh from Sonic.

"You got it boss, I'll be right there." Sonic said, disappointed that the idea that he had suddenly disappeared from his brain just as quickly as it had arrived. His manager slammed the door and Sonic found himself walking towards the door, angered at the fact that his manager's interruption had caused a brain fart. Sonic stopped dead in his tracks. Wait, a brain fart? The blue hedgehog chuckled darkly as a new idea came into his head. He realized that he had an uber client leave some stuff in their back seat the other day, something that was going to come in handy for what Sonic had planned. He chuckled as he began putting the pieces together as he realized just how he could make things terrible for the ebony hedgehog. If Shadow thought that having Sonic as his waiter was going to be the worst part of his night, he was sadly mistaken. There were worse things on the horizon and Sonic couldn't wait to put his plan into motion.
"Shadow...you're in deep shit." Sonic laughed at his own pun as he opened the door and headed back inside. He saw a nearby chef and pulled him aside. "I have an order I want you to prepare, but I need you to follow my exact instructions." The blue blur pulled out his wallet and placed a crisp twenty dollar bill into the hand of the chef who nodded in acknowledgement. "Whatever your heart desires will be done." The chef replied as Sonic began explaining to him what exactly he wanted done. Revenge is a dish best served cold they say, well, Sonic was about to serve something a whole lot worse.

A/N: Thank you guys so much for reading! I decided to break this chapter off a couple of parts because of the fact that I have a lot of stuff going on at the moment so I need more time to work on part two. Enjoy the cliffhanger! I can't wait to show you guys what I have planned for next time! Till then, see y'all later.