A.N: Thank you all ofr the reviews! And Happy New Year everybody! ^^
"Okay, banners: check, balloons: check. Hm, what else?" The pink hedgehog rubbed her chin, thinking. "Hey Amy! How are decorations going?" The ivory bat asked, walking to Amy. "Good. By the way, did you make a list about who we'll invite?" Amy asked. "Let's see: you, me, Sonic, Shadow, Tails, Cream and Knucklehead." Rouge replied, thinking. "I don't think that Knuckles will join us..." Amy said. "Why?" Rouge cocked an eyebrow. "I don't know...Have you seen how he glared at Shadow? That was weird..." Amy said, as she hung balloons around the room. Rouge laughed a bit. "But that would be fun if he would come, don't you think? Besides, he can't deny the invitation." Amy nodded. "I wonder how is Sonic and Shadow are doing. I saw how they met near the mall...Shadow almost threw him in the nearby wall...' Amy said, thoughtfully. Rouge couldn't help but smile a bit. "Well, we all know Shadow's character." "But if he lay a finger on Sonic..." Amy said, angry. "Calm down. They'll be fine." Rouge assured the sakura hedgehog. "C'mon, let's pick me an outfit!" Rouge chirped, as she dragged Amy upstairs. Amy rolled her eyes.
"And then Tails was: 'Shhhonic, don't kiss the pwincess!'" The blue hedgehog laughed, almost spitting his chili-dog on Shadow. "My God..." Shadow muttered. "Why me?!" He almost screamed, closing his ears. The two hedgehogs were in the food store, buying things that Rouge has told them. "Remind me again why are you following me?" Shadow asked, not looking at Sonic. "Well, that's another story-" "I remembered! Stop!" Shadow interrupted him rudely. Sonic just shrugged, following the black and crimson hedgehog. "Why didn't Rouge go there herself?" Sonic asked casually. "I don't know. She just likes to see me suffer." Shadow barked. "But why did she save you then, huh?" Sonic smirked. That question again. Shadow stopped, blushing slightly. "I don't know..." He walked faster. "Hey, don't go emo again!" Sonic ran after Shadow, which caused Shadow to groan. Soon, they slowed down, walking normally. "So much food she needs, eh Shadow?" Sonic asked again. Shadow nodded. "Well, she has a club, so that's not surprising." Shadow replied, calmly. Sonic just nodded. They bought the food and went back to club Rouge. Their hands were full of pockets and backs. And of course, the most of them was in Shadow's hands. But he didn't complain. He was too tired. "Finally this hell is over..." Shadow muttered as he rang the door-bell.
Ding-dong! Rouge gasped at the sudden ringing. "I'll get it!" She shouted as he ran to the door. She quickly looked in the mirror. And she looked good, no stunning. She was wearing purple tank-top, black leggings and purple-gray boots. Not to mention pink lipstick and purple eye-shadow. She opened the door. "Hey boys~" She greeted them as she winked. Shadow nodded, walking to the kitchen to drop the bags. "What's up Rouge!" Sonic greeted her back. "Hey Big Blue~ Nice to see you there~" She smiled. Sonic gave her a thumbs up as he walked in the living room. It was dark. "Hey Rouge, what's wrong with the lights?" Sonic asked, confused. Then he heard a BANG. "Shit..." Shadow groaned in pain. Sonic couldn't help, but laugh. Shadow then punched Sonic in his stomach. Then, the lights were on and everybody shouted: "Surprise!" The two hedgehogs looked around the room. Banners, flags, balloons and a big poster, which said:" Welcome back, Sonic and Shadow!". "Wow, a surprise party!" Sonic jumped. "Thanks guys!" Shadow just nodded. "You are welcome!" Cream said, as she hugged Cheese. Knuckled just looked at Sonic and Shadow. Tails ran up to Sonic, smiling. "Hey Tails!" Sonic greeted his best friend. "Sonic!" Amy ran to her hero and embraced him tightly. "A-Amy!" He sweat dropped. And they all talked, laughed. Only Shadow didn't want to party. He just sat in the corner. "What a pointless event." He thought, crossing his arms. Then there was a loud music and everybody danced. Shadow just walked upstairs, to his room. He entered it, shutting the door. Shadow sat on his bed, thinking again.
"Hey great party you got here, Rouge." Knuckles said, as he was sipping juice. Rouge smiled. "Of course, it's me who did it! And when I do anything, I do it great~" Knuckles only chuckled. "But I think someone is missing..." She then stood up and walked upstairs. She walked to Shadow's room. Sighing, she decided to knock at the door. "Come in." The owner of the room replied. With hesitation, Rouge slowly opened the door. Shadow was still in the sitting position. "Hey~' She greeted him, closing the door. Shadow looked at her. "Do you need anything?" He asked. The bat shook her head, as she sat near him. "Just wanted to know, why are you sitting there alone." She said, looking down. "Don't like parties." He crossed his arms. Rouge's ears went down. "Oh, I see..." She sighed. Shadow heard a tone of sadness in her voice. He looked at her, confused. She sensed it. "No, it's nothing." She could burst in tears at any second, but she didn't want to. That would make her seem weak. "I just hopped you'd like this party." Rouge said, as she was still looking down. Shadow snorted. "Why would I?" He looked away, his arms crossed. Shadow slowly closed his eyes, ignoring the ivory bat next to him. Rouge yawned quietly. That was sure a hard day for her. Preparing all for the party, which the person you made it for didn't enjoy, at all. That made Rouge really sad. She then felt her eyes grow heavy and more heavier...
Shadow lost his track of thought, as he felt something on his shoulder. He slowly turned his head to the right. He almost jumped. Rouge laid her head on his strong and as it seemed, comfortable shoulder. She was breathing calmly, her mouth closed. Shadow looked at her, confused. He soon felt, that his cheeks grew warmer. Shadow quickly looked at the mirror. His cheeks were red. "What in the Mobious?" He thought. "If that's one of Rouge's pranks, then it's not funny." Shadow rubbed his cheek with his left hand, thinking that it'll go off. But to his surprise, the 'weird red thing' wasn't washing off. He then groaned slightly."What is it?!" He thought angrily. Then, he just sat there, thinking about it. "I hope nobody would see it..."
"Hey Rouge are you the- Oh, am I interrupting something?~" The blue hedgehog entered the room, smirking, as he was closing the door behind him. "Shut up, Faker!" Shadow hissed, his cheeks getting redder. "Shadow, are you blushing?!" Sonic asked, laughing. "What?!" Shadow hissed more loudly. Sonic just laughed. "Can you be more quiet?! Can't you see she's sleeping?!" Shadow questioned, then closing his moth quickly. "Like I care..." He thought. "What the hell is going on with me?" Shadow asked himself. Sonic wiped a tear from his eye. "Whew, sorry Shadz. It's just too funny." He sat beside Shadow, looking at Rouge. "Man, she is very tired, but she still managed to do the party for us." Sonic whispered. "What?" Shadow asked, surprised. "You heard me, she was working very hard to do this." Sonic repeated. "So, she did this all?" Shadow asked Sonic. "Yep." The blue hedgehog nodded. Shadow then felt something. Was he feeling guilty? "So she did this all and I ignored her...That explains such unhappiness in her voice." Shadow thought, looking at the sleeping bat. "Shadow?" He heard Sonic's voice. "You okay?" Shadow nodded slowly. "Take these pathetic thoughts away, Shadow. Why would you care?" He thought again, almost arguing with himself. "Shadow, you really need to see the doctor. Not Eggman though." Sonic joked, but failed. Shadow shot him a glare. Then silence. "She missed you." Sonic blurted. Shadow looked at him confused. "Rouge missed you." Sonic said, looking at the door. Shadow's eyes widened, but he then shook it off. "Let's carry her to her room. She needs to sleep." Sonic nodded. "You are right." Shadow took Rouge carefully in his arms. They all exited Shadow's room. Sonic opened Rouge's door. With a nod, Shadow entered the bat's room. He carefully put her on her bed, covering her with silk bed sheets. Shadow didn't even noticed his own smile, as he looked at her. He then stood up, closing her door.