After leaving the cafe, each of our characters went to their homes and got ready for the night ahead.

Shadow, however, was at home, cleaning and preparing for the night.

He was feeling down and disappointed in himself for his behaviour the night before, and felt anxious as to whether Sonic would even come to the party tonight.

He had finished cleaning mid-afternoon, and decided to sit down and watch a movie. He turned on the TV and started watching a soap opera. He started to fall asleep, and was awoken by multiple knocks on the door, hours later.

"Shadow! Open up! Its Rouge!"

Shadow moaned and got off his couch, answering the door.

"Come on! We gotta get this place set up!"

"Rouge... I don't know. I don't know if I should host this year. I mean, I love you all, but the whole Sonic thing-"

"Forget about it, Shads. Sonic doesn't give a shit. Its just all a fun game for him. But do tell me about what you said to Amy to make her suddenly interested in coming tonight."

Shadow blinked and stopped in his thoughts. What the?

"She - she invited herself? Sonic invited her? Why?!"

"Well, I think she wants in to our epic group. What I think... is that we need to keep her out." Rouge grinned evilly, watching Shadow's expression. He was shy and reserved after last night, and felt guilty at even thinking about such a thing.

He didn't express his guilt though, and turned dark. "How?"

Rouge smiled and pulled out a glad bag with 2 white pills. "Rahipnol," She smiled. "One for Amy, one for Sonic."

Shadow bit his lip and took the bag quickly. They began to set up, Shadow feeling more hopeful, Rouge feeling excited that Shadow had agreed to one of her troublesome plans.

Sonic and Amy had caught up and were walking through the park. It was awkward, and the situation was tense, as Sonic had no idea how to converse with her, unless it was about the scripts they had to do.

"So, uh... What do you like to do in your spare time?" Sonic asked nervously.

"I like to read," She smiled. "Supernatural fantasy, mainly. I enjoy watching tv series too."

Sonic frowned. "Hmm." He couldn't understand how someone could live such a boring life, when he lived for the weekend, he lived for the parties and his friends. "With Sally, right?"

Amy blushed. "Uhhh... yeah... right. We hang out a bit."

"She really doesn't seem to like me." Sonic said plainly. "I don't know why."

Amy sighed. "She's protective of her friends, that's all. It's okay, Sonic. I know that you're a genuine guy, like Shadow said. You wouldn't hurt me, or him, or your friends. I am starting to trust you a bit, to be honest."

Sonic smiled faintly. "Shadow?"

Amy looked to him confused. "Yeah? He said you're there for your friends, like you were last night. And he said you were perseverant, and always trying to do the right thing."

"Huh," Sonic turned nervous. "Yeah, I guess that's true."

"Hey, did you want to come over? We could watch some TV shows or something." Amy asked. Sonic was shocked. What? he thought. "Don't worry, as friends. Nothing... more than that."

Sonic breathed heavily. "Yeah, sure. Show me your world, Amy!" he grinned and followed her to the house.

Amy and Sonic spent hours watching Doctor Who, consumed by the series, and hardly speaking to one another. Amy was proud that she had gotten Sonic interested in something she was, until he said,

"Why don't we watch something more crazy? I like True blood." Sonic grinned.

"Isn't that... A bit..."

"Ames, you're 16. If you want to come tonight, you should need to handle at least one episode of True blood."

"Sure, whatever."

They watched an episode, and Sonic watched her face the whole time, seeing how she'd react. She just stayed still, not showing emotion. "It's a good plot," Amy said. "But a bit... Overdone in some parts."

"Right," Sonic grinned. "Well, I'm gonna head over to Shadow's. I'll see you there later, I guess."

"Ok," Amy smiled nervously as Sonic dashed out of the room. Shit, she thought.

Shadow, Rouge and Knuckles had already started drinking and preparing food for the party. They had set up a poker table, a smoking area, and beer pong. Shadow's mood had lifted, and Knuckles and Rouge were chatting and laughing as they made food together. Shadow checked his phone, and saw a text from Sonic:

"Thanks for putting a good word in with Amy, man. You're a great friend! See you soon."

Shadow's heart sank. He felt guilty for his plan, and had the urge to speak to Rouge to cancel it.

"Rouge, I need to talk to you." Shadow said as Knuckles smiled and kissed Rouge, walking outside to light a cigarette.

"Don't tell me you're backing out." Rouge put her hands on her hips and shook her head. "Pathetic."

Shadow handed the bag over to her and said, "Sonic thanked me for being a great friend. I can't do it, I can't hurt him like that. And I'm not gonna.. take advantage of him, either."

"Sure, darling. I get it." Rouge smiled, snatching the bag. Shadow walked off happily, grateful for his decision.

But he probably should have thrown them away rather then hand them back to the devil bat...

Amy knocked on the door, looking gorgeous in high heels and a green sparkly dress. "Hey Shadow!" She said as Shadow answered. Shadow smiled. he could see why Sonic liked her - she was beautiful, and a perfect combination of reserved and exciting. Sure, he was jealous of her, but he could understand, and that was more important than drugging her for his intentions with Sonic.

"Come on in, Amy."

Amy wasn't too surprised by the set up, and didn't appear too scared. This isn't such a big deal, she thought. Rouge walked over immediately and handed her a drink. "You gotta drink if you want to be part of this party," She said, winking. It was a glass of champagne. Amy smiled and said, "Thank you, Rouge! I don't drink often, if ever."

Amy took a sip and Shadow put his arm around Amy in a protective way. "Sonic should be here soon," He said.

"He's not here already?" Amy said, surprised. "That's weird. He said he was on his way."

Shadow and Rouge looked to each other. "I'll call him." Rouge said, walking outside to join Knuckles.

Meanwhile

Sonic had left his house, but ran into a familiar face, who intended to prevent him from getting any closer to someone in particular.

Sally grabbed him by the neck and glared at him. "I told you to stay away," she said. "What's it gonna take for you to listen?"

"Sal," he smiled. "She's a big girl. She can handle herself. I don't even want to sleep with the girl. I just wanna be her friend."

Sally let go and groaned. "I've heard that before. Listen to me, Sonic. I'm not fucking letting her get into a shitty situation again."

Sonic stared. "Again...?"

Sally sighed. "Sonic, there's a lot you don't know about Amy. A lot of things in her past that have messed with her."

Sonic stared in shock.

"You may have noticed she enjoys a lot of... fictional things. You know, fantasy worlds, etc. That's because she once was turned against reality, Sonic. Someone abused her. Regularly, and repeatedly, and horribly. She was wrecked. She may have gotten better now, but I know what happens to girls like her. They relapse at the slightest sign of a trigger."

Sonics breathing became uneven. Amy was abused? by who? What the fuck? Why was Sally telling me this?

"Sally, you're scaring me. Are you telling the truth?"

"Sonic, I wouldn't lie about something like this. But Amy would. Don't you dare ask her about it or tell her I told you. She'll lose the plot. But listen, I don't discourage you from being her friend. You're probably exactly what she needs - a guy who has a life, who has fun, who has good friends - to show her that not everyone is bad. Not everyone is evil and corrupted... Just please be careful. Protect her... For me," Sally started to cry.

Sonic pulled Sally into a hug. "Of course I will. I'd protect her before anything else I'd ever dream of doing."

"Can you make sure she gets home safe? Or gets to my place, or yours, or something? Just stay with her. I know you guys go hard, and she'll probably want to go with it too. Just watch out for her."

Sonic smiled. "Trust me, Sally. That's my first priority."

Sally smiled and patted his shoulder. "Call me if you need to." She put her number in his phone and walked away.

Sonic's phone rang as she left. "Hey, Rouge."

"Sonic! Where are you? Amy said you'd left a while ago."

"Oh, yeah. I ran into a friend. Be there soon, okay? Oh, and look after Amy for me, even if its just for a few minutes until I'm there... Heh."

He hung up and dashed over, leaving Rouge annoyed. Fucking Amy.

Shadow let Sonic in, and gave him a hug. "I'm so glad you're here!" Shadow said. "And no, i'm not drunk this time. Promise no spooning."

Sonic grinned. "Yay." He patted Shadow's head and walked in as Shadow followed. He put his phone down and grabbed a drink, without even noticing his surroundings. No one was even in the house! "Where is everyone?"

"They're outside. Knuckles has some good shit."

"Even Amy?!" Sonic grinned. "Holy hell. Awesome."

Shadow smiled. "Sonic, there's something I have to tell you -"

Sonic anticipated a "I have feelings for you" and dashed outside to sit with the group. But, Shadow had actually wanted to say: Rouge wanted to put drugs in you and Amy's drinks, but I gave it back to her. I didn't realise that it was her plan... I don't know if she's gonna hurt her... or you...

Shadow felt his heart pound with anxiety as he went outside to join.

The state of Amy caused him to drop his drink...