Chapter 13:

"The Big 18"

Part 2 of 2

September 18th, 2014…6:57pm

We came just in time, everyone was already sitting down, so were the others. Some people were looking at us but only for a brief second, seeming interested on us. Even Sonic noticed this.

'So far so good' No one's getting the suspicions about him, he put a thought into his head before to remind himself that as long as he keeps the mask on, then everything should work out perfectly. Unless the room gets very dark at some point then he'll take it off, also to give his eyes a break.

He walked me over to my seat, where the other girls were sitting at. The girls then noticed, especially Adeline and Alice who perked up when they saw us. Good thing Adeline and Alice didn't know who he was, but, eventually they'll know.

He offered to sit me down but told him I can handle it from there. He smirked, then went off to sit above.

Intrigued and Impressed, Pierre, with a microphone in his hand was noticing this from above his table. 'Mhm, he's doing a much better job than I anticipated'

"Oh my god! Is that the special guest that's sitting with us? He's even cuter in person! " Adeline, covering her mouth wth her hands, almost squealing.

"I bet under that mask he is" Alice said.

I felt a bit of jealousy hit me. Well, good thing for me is that he's into me and not any of them, even Vanessa, which I'm surprised at.

"Eh, we both know who he's gonna be hitting on the entire time" Vanessa said.

I looked back at Sonic who was sitting in his seat, who was already looking bored.

He caught me looking at him and then smirked. 'At least your the only thing that's keeping me from being bored' Another one of his 'mind messages' popped into my brain once more, making me smirk back and with a slight blush. I turned back into my seat.

'Maybe this won't so bad after all. Especially with him being around, it might make tonight even better'

"Don't worry, Sonic" Pierre came up behind him. "They'll be lots to do later, including some dancing which you might be familiar with"

"I have some experience"

Pierre slightly smiled "Just be patience for little longer" He handed the microphone in his hand to Theo, which him and Aurora will be introducing tonight's events. "But, I'm glad you two got a chance to introduce yourselves"

Sonic looked at Kristina again, who was talking to Vanessa and the others. "Yeah, I'm actually glad I came tonight, something tells me that tonight will turn out great"

It was after 7:00pm, Theo and Aurora were finishing up the introductions for tonight's event.

"Good evening everyone! My name's Theo, and this my wife Aurora, and we would like to thank everyone for coming to tonight's event/Bonsoir à tous! Je m'appelle Theo et mon épouse Aurora, et nous aimerions remercier tout le monde d'avoir assisté à l'événement de ce soir."

"We have a great evening planned for everyone and I'm sure your all going to enjoy it…/Nous avons une bonne soirée prévue pour tout le monde et je suis sûr que vous allez tous en profiter..."

They explained the schedule for tonight, and it was like what Theo told us on Sunday. From 7 to 8, which is now, an all-you-can-eat buffet will be set up on the far end of us. From 8 to 9, the 'Cirque du Soliel' people will be coming to perform for everyone, and lastly from 9-11 will be dessert and some free time, and by that they meant dancing. Both masquerade and modern/regular style.

"Not only is tonight the 18th anniversary of this place, but we are also celebrating the birthday of an amazing young lady who flew all this way from Canada to celebrate an 18th birthday herself/Ce soir, nous célébrons non seulement le 18e anniversaire de cet endroit, mais nous célébrons aussi l'anniversaire d'une jeune femme extraordinaire qui a fui le Canada pour célébrer elle-même son 18e anniversaire" Aurora addressed to the audience, then pointed her hand in my direction.

I got a little flushed when everyone looked and started clapping for me, I'm not used to a big crowd of people watching/looking at me. I stood up and slowly waved my hand showing my self to the crowd.

'I can tell she's not used to getting this much attention' Sonic said in his head. 'But I'm sure she'll be fine afterwards once everything calms down'

"We have one more announcement to make…There will be goodie bags given out to everyone at the end of tonight's event as a thank you for coming out to this special masquerade party/Nous avons une autre annonce à faire. Il y aura des sacs cadeaux distribués à tout le monde à la fin de l'événement de ce soir en guise de remerciement pour votre participation à cette fête spéciale de la mascarade." Theo said.

Everyone perked up by this saying. Of course, I mean who doesn't love free stuff? I do.

"Alright, enough chit chat, I'm sure you're all hungry by now, the buffet is now open, so take was much as you want/Bon, assez de bavardage, je suis sûr que vous avez tous faim maintenant, le buffet est maintenant ouvert, alors prenez comme vous voulez"

"Yes, finally!" Adelines said, rushing out of her seat. "Alice! Let's go!"

"Right behind you!" She said, getting up from her seat as well. They both made their way while Vanessa and I took our time.

We got up from our seats and made our way to the buffet, only to be stopped by Pierre

"Girls, hold a up a minute!"

We turned to see him with 2 small shiny silver bags in hands. "I know these aren't suppose to be given out until later but since it's Kristina's birthday, and all, you 4 should be the first ones to get it, but don't tell anyone" He said, giving us the bags.

"Oh wow, uh, thank you!" I said.

"Yeah, thanks Uncle!"

"Anytime, well I won't keep you, you two go get some food before it runs out"

We nodded and quickly put our bags on the table before making our way to the hot tables. I turned around briefly to see Sonic with a wine glass containing red liquid in his hand, which I can already tell that it wasn't not 'Red wine' in that glass. He was about to take a sip before noticing that I was briefly looking at him, he grinned before giving me a flirty wave. I gave one back before walking off to the food tables.

'Mhm, that dress looks awfully similar to the one I first saw her in, well put her in, since technically I'm the one who put it on her, and to my surprise, it fit her well that time…But, I'm not gonna think about that right now.'

I saw her across the other end where she was getting some food to eat.

'I didn't even get a chance to tell how stunning she looks right now, even elegant looking too…just by looking at her, she looked like an actual princess, and tonight's the perfect occasion to dance with someone like her'

9:03pm

The 'Cirque du Soliel' performance was just wrapping up. The past hour of watching them perform was just mesmerizing as always, I've always enjoyed going to their shows ever since the very first one I went to go see 3 years ago with my Mom, it was about/dedicated to my favourite singer who died 5 years ago, who I'm clearly obsessed with, well used to be. But he'll always be my favourite.

I kept glancing at Sonic every so often during the show, even he was enjoying it. He's probably never seen anything like it in his life, if so, then this was probably his first time watching a circus related performance.

The performers/dancers took their final bows before exiting off the stage. Aurora then came out shortly after.

"Let's hear it for the Dancers of Sun & Moon dance company for that amazing performance!/Entendons-le pour la compagnie de danse Dancers of Sun & Moon pour cette performance incroyable!"

Everyone one clapped and cheered loudly. Clearly I can tell that they enjoyed this way too much.

"Now, for the fun part of tonight…"

She addressed her to where the buffet tables were, and saw that there were now full of desserts and treats.

"And I'd like to address that the dance floor is now completely free to use. We'll be starting off with some classic masquerade dancing, followed by some free regular dancing afterwards"

This made Sonic ears perk up. 'Finally!' He looked at Kristina once again, at the edge of her seat, already knowing what to ask her. 'She's antsy to get to those desserts, I'll just let her enjoy those before asking her, or when she's done at least'

Everyone clapped once again and started to get up for the tables once again. I made a quick dash for it and was one of the first people there. 'Yes! Creme Brûlée here I come!' I rubbed my hands together in delight

'Pfft, wow, she must love to eat. In fact, despite that, even at dinner, she ate quite a bit. I can tell she has quite the appetite for everything' Sonic said once again, rolling his eyes playfully.

It was already a quarter after, Sonic was patiently waiting for Kristina to finish up her dessert plate, which she was.

Some people were already on the dance floor, even Pierre and Cassandra were there as well.

Sonic then caught Kristina laying back in her seat, he read her mind. '*breathing heavily* Yeah I can't finish this, I might've grabbed to much'

'Mhm, maybe I should give her few minutes…'

'Nah! I've waited long enough' He got up from his seat and his way to his 'girl' for the evening

I found myself slouching in my seat only for me to get jumped by a voice.

"I can see that you filled yourself up" I turned to see Sonic coming around my side.

"Yeah, well I like food, a lot, especially if it looks good, I'm not the picky type so I'll pretty much eat anything"

He chuckled. "Well in that case" He extended his hand out to me. "If your so full, then you should move around a bit for it to digest, care to dance?"

I grinned. "Mhm, well moving around does help with a full stomach, sure why not" I grabbed his hand. "Just try not to go too fast, or else I'll be vomiting everywhere"

He grinned. "Don't worry, I'll go easy with you, just follow my lead" He lead me to the floor where everyone else was. Some people were watching us, murmuring to their partners. I noticed this, so did Sonic, but we tried to ignore and pretend like they weren't looking. Cassandra and Pierre noticed this too, getting kind of anxious.

But when they got to the floor and started dancing then, it got sort of normal again, people went back to their dancing, so did Pierre and Cassandra, but keep close eye on the two youngsters.

It's been a little while now since we started to dance, well for me and him, it felt like forever, we hadn't even been paying attention to anything else but ourselves at some points.

Sonic pulled and twisted me towards him, our bodies now touching on one another. My back now facing his front.

"For someone who doesn't like dancing, you have pretty good rhythm" Sonic said.

"Thanks, I should be saying that you"

The last masquerade song had finished up, as soon as that happened, the lights went dim as a slow song started playing. We stopped for a moment and noticed this, we looked to see where it was coming from, Vanessa was at the DJ booth, flirt waving at me.

I smirked as I knew what she did. 'You sneaky little b****' Even Sonic was surprised at what Vanessa did, but she already knew how he felt about her. 'Clever girl you are Vanessa'

Vanessa heard this in her head and winked at him. 'Well, in that case, my work here is done for now' She stepped down from the DJ podium.

I was slightly nervous this time as this was actually my first time slow dancing with someone. Just then, I felt my hand being grabbed by Sonic.

I looked back at him, he gave me reassuring look. 'Yeah, you haven't slow dance before but relax, we'll take it nice and easy'

He obviously read my mind, no surprise there. I returned the look back. I softly put my hands around his neck/shoulders while he put his on my waist. As soon as I touched his fur/skin, it felt…cold, which sent a chill down my back.

Sonic had an uncomfortable look on him. "I should've told you about that"

"Its fine, I was kinda expecting it to be, I don't mind if I get cold, I'll warm up a bit once we start moving"

"You sure?"

"Postive"

He gave a small smile and started slowly moving around, with me following him. It was a slow and steady dance, not too hard to do. Simply just swaying back and forth in a circle.

This felt slightly awkward, and I can tell some people were watching us, making it even more awkward for me, but I pretended that they weren't there.

Sonic sensed that something was bothering her. 'I can tell that this is a little bit weird for her, not with the people watching, but especially since its her first time slow dancing. I didn't want to ruin this moment we were having, but I should say something to encourage her'

'Just keep doing what your doing, focus on me, not them'

'That's exactly what I'm doing…'

Then he realized what she was actually thinking: Not only was she pretending that no one was there, but just the two of them, no one else.

Sonic imagined this himself and could honestly say that she was right. Both got caught up in the moment and weren't even paying attention to anything but themselves. Soon enough, their foreheads were touching each other, making it more intimate between the two.

'I didn't want this night to end, I wanted to stay here and just dance with her but I know the moment will come to an end at some point. At least I know one thing, she kinda likes me back, and I'm grateful for that'

Just standing a few feet away, Vanessa was smiling happily to herself knowing that her best friend and the vampire hedgehog were both happy and having a good time. But one thing she did notice though, they barely talked to each other the whole night, except with a few glances every now and then.

Just then, an idea popped into her idea, it was a dumb one but it might work. 'The night's not over yet, there's still a chance for that to happen'

10:45pm

It was almost time to head out as the party was about to end. Even some people were getting their belongings and about to head out for the night, but one last announcement was made before anyone could leave.

"Attention everyone! I know tonight has tired you out and I'm sure you all want to go home, but just to let you know that there are some desserts left on the table, so if anyone is interested in taking some home, please feel free, there'll be styrofoam containers to use, so take as much as you want. Also a friendly reminder to pick up your goodie bags on the way out, employees will be giving them out once you exit the building. Theo & I would just like to thank everyone for coming tonight, it means a lot to us and especially to a now young lady" Aurora addressed me once again, I waved at everyone around me. "Have good night everyone" Aurora then turned off the micro phone.

I was grabbing my belongings when I spotted Vanessa by the door talking with Sonic. Vanessa shortly left after, he then quickly glanced at me smirking and then waved at me. I flirty waved at him. Though there's one thing I just realized now…

"Just go with him already…" I heard Vanessa come from the corner beside me.

"What?"

"Kris, you two have barely talked all night and if you go with him now, then there's still a chance you have with him, even if it means…staying here with him maybe…"

I was wide eyed at what she said. "What on earth makes you think that?"

"All night I saw how you two looked at each other, there wasn't much talk except for some small words but the way you two kept looking at each other, especially when you two were dancing, I can tell there was something there, like a connection, you felt it and so did he…"

She's right, even though we just met tonight, and that he likes me, and possibly has feelings for me even…I did feel something, something so strong, that it didn't leave me the entire time.

"Look, your right V…" She looked at me. "Even though we just met, I always felt a connection with him, ever since I first met him in my sleep, he's honestly the nicest, sweetest and not to mention cutest person I've met in my life despite him being a you know what"

"Mhm"

"Look, as much as I like him and want to stay here with him, you know that I can't…"

"I know but if there's ever a reason you want too, this might change your mind" She gave me a small test tube, I was slightly confused. "I don't get it" Vanessa came closer so she could whisper in my ear. My eyes widened, it was a crazy yet thoughtful idea.

"Ok, that does make sense now that you put it that way" I said.

"He said it's up to you to decide" She said. "Whatever, you choose, its fine with him" I looked at the tube and squeezed it. "Thanks, this makes it slightly easier for me"

"You've a got another week to do this, so don't stress about it right this second."

I gave a small smile to her.

"What about the others?"

"Don't worry, let me handle that, I'm sure they'll understand" I smirked at her. "I don't what I'd do without you" She gave herself an proud smile. "Would you just go already, he's waiting for you" I smiled and started walking towards him. Vanessa looked back at her with confidence. 'She's becoming less shy and more fierce, and I know its because of him, he made her have a good time, thanks for making it her night blue'

I got more nervous as I got closer to him, I don't why though, it's probably because there were people around and was a little more comfortable before but now, that were most likely going to be alone and talk. In my dreams I was ok with it, but now that its in person, its even more nerve-wrecking.

'Relax Kristina, just relax, you've done this before' I took a deep breath before walking up to him.

Sonic was leaning against the wall with crossed arms, one foot against the wall, head downwards with closed, he looked up when he caught me in the corner of his eye.

"Hmph, I wasn't thinking you weren't going to show up"

"Why wouldn't I? We haven't had the chance to get to know each other better"

He smirked. "We should get outta here then, find somewhere private to talk"

I smirked and grabbed his arm once more and made our way out of the building.

Vanessa watched from the distance as her best friend left with her 'date' for the night.

"Mhm, he's got more interest in her then I thought, well both of them to be precise" Cassandra said, coming from out of no where, startling Vanessa.

"Ah, young love, what are you gonna do?" Pierre coming beside Vanessa.

"You, guys don't mind this?" She asked.

"I think after seeing what happened with those two tonight, I might not have to look go search his house after all"

"R-really?" Vanessa said. "What changed your mind?"

"I think after seeing how he treated her tonight, and how they danced, I can see now that he's not a threat after all. He's just like any other normal being should be"

"Uh, you know he's not…"

"Yes we know that but despite that, he's got the emotions and feelings like everyone else and an example would be how a gentleman he was tonight, and that he deeply cares for this girl" Cassandra said. Vanessa looked at her, then at the door where Kristina was out of sight completely.

She smiled softly to her self. "She does, I've never seen her so smiley in my life"

'And its all thanks to him' Her smile then faded. "I'm sorry I kept this from you" Her head dropped in shame

"Kept what? The fact that you knew Sonic for the past 2 years and didn't tell anybody about?" Pierre said, not even upset about it.

She got a little offended but already told Cassandra before in the bathroom, she knew she had this coming. "Look, I promised him that I wouldn't tell anybody about him, not even to you, or else, you would've had your little ghost hunting team go after him anyway, and that he'd be…"

"That the rumours are true about him, that the whole world would've known, that people would start talking about him, and that he wouldn't be left alone…yes we knew that" Pierre said. "But the fact that you kept this secret the whole time, yes I would've been upset and got the team to investigate, but I'm not that upset as we kept this secret ourselves, even your aunt and uncle were involved" He looked at Cassandra, who felt guilty her self.

"We kinda figured, I guess were all to blame then huh?" Vanessa sweat dropped, so did the others.

"Look its getting late, let's hurry and get your girls back to the hotel first, speaking of which, where are those two anyway?" Pierre asked, wondering where they were.

"Oh my god!" They heard a voice coming from in front of them. Adeline came up, along with Alice. "Ah, there you two are. What's wrong?" Pierre asked, getting concerned.

"Well first we were in the washroom, then headed outside in the hall to open our goodie bags, which thank you by the way, and saw Kristina heading out with that cutie hedgehog that was with us"

"Yeah, which by the way I'm totally jealous of that, but she's so lucky though" Alice said, clasping her hands. "Yeah, but there was one thing that I didn't even know about…his name"

"Yeah, that go the thinking too, who was he under that mask? He did look awfully familiar, like I've seen him before already…"

Vanessa jumped in before they got to a conclusion. "Look guys, I talked to him and said that he was having such a great time tonight that he wanted to get to know Kristina a little better and just took her out for little bit, and he promised that he'll bring her back asap"

They both raised eyebrows. "Oh, well that makes sense, she needed some 'quality' time with him" Adeline said, joking around. Alice snickered under her breath.

"Alright you two, that's enough, let's go" Pierre said, escorting them outside to the car. "Grab your stuff Vanessa, and go to the washroom if you need to, we'll meet you outside" Vanessa went to go grab her things and headed for the door, only for Cassandra to be beside her.

"Look dear, we didn't mean to scold you like that earlier but keeping or doing stuff behind people's back can hurt them" Vanessa's ears drooped "But, we were a part of this too, so were not entirely upset about it, but just be careful what you do alright?"

"Yeah yeah"

"Let's head to the washroom before we head out" They started walking towards the doors. "You know, come to think of it, what you did for Sonic was actually very thoughtful of you" Vanessa was some what confused but flattered. "Well, you could say that I was helping out someone who needed someone to trust, help him, and to keep his identity hidden from the public, so I was pretty much doing a favour for him then"

'And look where he ended up, in a public place with lots of people, and not to mention he made a 'certain someone' and himself very happy tonight, so I'd say I did a pretty good dang job at it'