I have been so busy with school! Anyway, to all of you who have stuck with me through this: thanks, it means a lot to know to that I have devoted fans. To those who have started reading my other stories or have started this one: I hope you enjoy these stories because I make them for all of you guys. Please review and check out my other stories! They need reviews… badly.

Chapter seven: that's the rules; just accept it

Shadow tried to open his front door as quietly as he could. He only opened the door enough for him to squeeze through. His ears perked up when he heard voices coming from the living room.

Shadow froze in place, realizing what day of the week it was; get drunk and watch random football games with your lazy, worthless friends Tuesday!

"All right!" One of Shade's friends exclaimed. "Did you see that touchdown?"

"Hell yeah!" Another one yelled. "They're winning!"

Shadow turned pale as his father said, "we're out of beer! Luckily we have more in the kitchen."

Shadow relaxed himself as Shade stumbled into the kitchen.

"Hey," Shade said, pointing a shaky finger at his son. "It's about damn time you came back."

Shadow managed a faint smile. "Yeah. I'll go up to my room now."

"Hold on a second," Shade replied, blocking Shadow's path. "Do you want some food?"

Shadow shook his head. "Um, no thanks."

"Are you sure?" Shade face was inches away from Shadow's.

Shadow gagged at the revolting smell of alcohol coming from Shade's mouth.

Shade turned on the stove. "You have to eat to stay healthy."

Shadow frowned. "But I'm not hungry."

"Did you eat while you were out?"

"No," Shadow lied. "I just don't feel like eating."

Shade grabbed Shadow's hand. "Your hand. It's so small." He yanked off Shadow's white glove. "Look how bony these fingers are!"

"Uh yeah," Shadow mumbled, wondering why his father was being nice all of a sudden.

Shade put his hand a few feet above the burner. "I love electric stoves. They always cook the food to perfection and are… rather hot when touched."

The T.V in the living room went silent as Shadow screamed in agony.

Three other hedgehogs (Shade's friends) rushed into the kitchen to see Shadow curled into a ball in front of the stove with Shade standing over him. Shadow clutched his burned hand to his chest, tears streaming down his face.

Shade turned to face his friends. "Well, I think we should have a little fun with him. Who wants to go first?"

"Wait," one of his friends said. He had yellow fur and grey eyes. "You mean…"

Shade nodded. "Exactly."

Shadow's red eyes widened as Shade and the other three hedgehogs closed in on him…

~Angel in the night~

"I win again!" Sonic yelled, raising his hand up for Silver to high five him.

Silver just looked at the ground. "I miss Shadow."

Sonic sighed. "Yeah. I miss him too."

Amy frowned. "Wait a minute. How did you know Shadow's name, Silver?"

"My powers," Silver replied. He looked at Sonic. "Are you going to play another game?"

Sonic grinned. "Yeah!"

"No," Amy whined, "I don't want to play Pictionary anymore."

Sonic gasped. "And why not?"

"Because you're cheating!"

"How am I cheating?"

"You're a great drawer and Silver's really smart, even though he's only four."

Knuckles sighed. "Yeah, and I'm not smart at all."

Silver glared at Amy. "Are you mocking my intelligence, pink girl?"

Amy smirked. "It depends on you see it; what I said could be a rude insult, or I could be complimenting you."

Silver stared at Amy, then whispered, "you just better watch out for yourself tonight while you're sleeping." His icy tone of voice made Knuckles and Sonic scoot away from him.

"Well," Sonic said, trying to lighten to mood a bit. "We can play another game if you want."

Amy was about to reply when the kids heard pounding on the door.

Sonic sighed. "I'll get it. You guys decide on what you want to play."

~Angel in the night~

Sonic smiled when he opened the door. "Shadow! You're back!"

Shadow was bent over, gasping for breath. Sonic's eyes widened when Shadow hugged him.

"Can I stay with you guys tonight?" Shadow asked.

"Uh, sure," Sonic replied, blushing a tiny bit.

Shadow sighed. "Thanks. You're a lifesaver." He walked past Sonic and headed for the kitchen.

Sonic frowned when he noticed an extreme difference in how Shadow was walking. "What happened?"

Shadow turned around. "What?"

"Why are you walking like you're hurt?"

Shadow forced himself to smile. "Oh. I fell. Messed my leg up. That's all."

Sonic nodded, not really believing what Shadow said. "Well. We're playing a game in the kitchen. Do you want to join us?"

Shadow shook his head. "No thanks. I just want to sleep."

~Angel in the night~

"Hey," Silver said after Shadow had gone upstairs. "Was that Shadow?"

"Yeah," Sonic said, sitting on the brown leather couch, staring longingly at the ceiling.

Silver sighed as he sat down next to him. "He was walking weird, wasn't he?"

Sonic looked at Silver. "How did you-" He stopped himself in realization. "Your psychic powers. Right."

Silver nodded looking at the living room carpeting. "Yeah and I know why."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Silver looked at Sonic. "Shadow was attacked."

Well that's the end for this chapter! I was doing this during the school week so that's probably why this chapter is so short. That and the fact that I wanted a good cliffhanger and I wanted to update this story. Sorry if the title doesn't necessarily make sense. At first, it seemed like it did but now I'm having second thoughts about it. I'll keep it as it is for now. Hey, as I said at the beginning, if you like this story, you should check out my other stories! By the way, I have a beta profile! I'm still learning how to beta read but I'm willing to check your stories! Reviews are appreciated! Oh yeah, I should explain my writing tool. If you see a ~(Story name here)~ That means I'm changing scenes in the story, or skipping a line so certain parts aren't jumbled together. See you in the next chapter!