Edit: So this chapter had a fair bit of revamping, compared to the previous ones. Mainly because the whole 'the gang gets spiked' aspect felt very out-of-place and forced in, as there was no real reason for it and I don't address it later on. So, I decided to take it out and focus on the girls' interactions, which I am so much happier with! I hope you like it!
Massive thanks to: The High School Hero, Chaotic hedgehog, TheMidnightShadow, MindlessGurl2000, GingeOnDaFringe, ShadowsAngel1, Steve993, Dovewing01, Mobius Freak, Yasmine155, Fables-and-FairyTale and Eli Swafford! You guys are awesome!
The High School Hero - All the questions! X'D There is a lot of mystery surrounding Sally's intentions, right now! Haha, I'm really glad you're excited for the Crailsmo triangle to emerge! Heehee, thank you!
Chaotic hedgehog - Wise words, which Sonic could do with learning from! xD Haha! I'm so glad you're enjoying it, thank you!
The MidnightShadow - Muhahahaa! X'D It's all part of my charm xD
MindlessGurl2000 - Whoa, that would be juicy! Haha! Thank you very much!
GingeOnDaFringe - Dun dun dun! Aw, I'm so glad, thank you!
ShadowsAngel1 - Thank you so much! :D
Steve993 - Thank you ever so much! I'm so glad that Sally's character reform is being taken well by people and is making for an interesting arc! Aw, that is so lovely to hear, thank you!
Dovewing01 - Hahahaa xD That might not be that long!
Mobius Freak - Hahaha, people love it really! x'D Haha, it's a miracle, huh? And I can't say, at the moment, regarding rating changes, but it shouldn't change in the foreseeable future! Thank you! :D
Yasmine155 - Ooooooooooh! ;D Thank you!
Fables-and-FairyTale - It should all become clear in time! :D Thank you very much!
Eli Swafford - I'm glad you think so! Ha, they are indeed! xD Thank you!
Chapter 7: Good Girls Gone Bad
(Amy)
I woke up on the sofa, hissing at the sunlight which stung at my eyes. Burying my head in my folded arms, I shifted my legs to try and go back to sleep, but someone tapped the back of my ankle.
"Pinkie? Are you awake?"
"I am now," Rolling onto my back, I watched Rouge stand up and straighten out her bodysuit. It was a surprise to see her all made-up and ready to go: Rouge was always the late riser, never usually getting up before noon, "What time is it?"
She glanced at the clock on the oven, "Almost noon."
That made sense, then. Though, as I sat up and stretched the kinks out of my back, I noticed that the rest of the girls were slouched around the living room, slumbering. Cream and Blaze were on the opposite couch — the cat had her feet resting on the coffee table, back curved into the crease of the seat, while the rabbit's cheek was laid on Blaze's shoulder. Glancing down, I saw that Cosmo was curled up in a ball on the carpet, with Shadow's leather jacket draped over her. Sure enough, Shadow was somehow sleeping with his arms and legged folded, beside her.
Rubbing my eyes, I gave a grateful smile when Rouge handed me a hot cup of tea, "Thanks. Where are the rest of the guys?"
She took a seat at the table, "Tails had an early lecture to go to. Sonic and Knuckles got hungry, and I'm guessing that Silver followed them."
"How come they didn't take Shadow?"
"He's agreed to give me a ride into town, today, so I figured I'd let him sleep here," Rouge grinned to herself, as she smoothed her hair down, "Don't worry. While I was up, the boys left and Sonic kissed your forehead. He felt bad about leaving."
I tilted my head to one side. She almost sounded wistful, "That was sweet of him. Would you like that with... someone?"
"Someone?" Rouge raised her eyebrow. She didn't miss a trick, "You mean Knuckles, don't you? That boy is way to stubborn to be a boyfriend like Sonic."
"But would you like him to be a boyfriend, like Sonic?" I asked, enjoying the faint feeling of having the upper hand, for once.
"I didn't say that," She smirked, "I'm a little too much for guys to handle. Besides, I prefer being single. That way, you can keep your options open."
I stood up, intending to head towards the bathroom and get changed, "Okay. But you're not really convincing me. You liiiike him."
"Whatever," Rouge tossed her head over her shoulder, but her eyes followed me towards the door.
"It's okay, Rouge! You helped me with Sonic; I'll help you with Knuckles!"
Her lips quirked upwards, as she clearly found it amusing, but she tried to glare at me, "You'd better start running, Pinkie."
"Don't worry, I am!" Laughing, I raced towards the bathroom. But she'd only confirmed my suspicions.
When I returned to the kitchen, fresh-eyed and nicely dressed, the rest of them were all awake. Shadow passed by me, on my way to the couch, and asked if he could use the bathroom to wash up. Of course, I agreed and directed him towards it. This prompted Cream to do the same, and she headed off to her room.
I perched beside Cosmo, with Rouge situated opposite, and Blaze now sitting at the table, eating a slice of smoothly buttered toast. Cosmo fidgeted, for a moment, before glancing round the room, "This seems like a good time..."
"A good time for what?" Rouge asked. Blaze took a bite of her breakfast and munched, curiously.
"To tell you about my idea."
I frowned, "Your idea?"
Cosmo's expression was worryingly serious, "All of you have seen how Cream is starting to act around Tails?" We nodded, "I've decided that I have to do something. But it's gone too far to tell him how I feel, and I'm not even sure if I could do that. But I can prompt him!"
This could only end badly, but I kept quiet, "Okay."
"If I pretended to date someone else, then Tails would get jealous, and he'd admit his feelings!" But she suddenly deflated, "That is, if he has any..."
Rouge's doubtful expression softened, "Honey, Tails has major feelings for you. But making him jealous? That's not going to work."
"It's my only option," Cosmo stared down at her lap, hiding her gaze. I wondered if her eyes were welling up, "What with Cream..."
I felt a pang of guilt for all of them. No one was in the right, and no one was in the wrong. I'd never imagined that this situation would develop, and I had no idea how to solve it.
"Why don't I talk to Cream?" I suggested, "I could see how she feels. You never know, we might have gotten it wrong. Maybe she doesn't feel as strongly as we think."
"Thank you, Amy. But we all know that Cream has feelings for Tails," Cosmo glanced out of the window, thoughtfully.
Blaze placed her hand on Cosmo's arm, "Don't let this drive you two apart."
"I will try," The seedrian sniffed and raised her head, "But I want to go ahead with this. I'm sure about this. Please."
Unsure, I exchanged glances with Rouge and Blaze. They both looked like they felt the same way as I did, about this plan — that this would only end in tears, and that maybe we should convince Cosmo out of it — but we could all tell that her mind was made up. Rouge just shrugged.
"Who are you going to choose to help?" Blaze asked.
Cosmo nibbled her lower lip, "I'm not too sure."
"I think your plan is crazy, and it's never going to work," Rouge didn't falter under our surprised looks. She took a deep breath in, "But I will try and help you pull it off, to get the best possible outcome."
"Thank you," Cosmo offered her a grateful smile.
Blaze slowly nodded, "Same here."
The three of them looked at me for an answer. I wasn't sure about this at all, but I couldn't stand the thought of disappointing Cosmo. Besides, she was going to go through with this, whatever I did — maybe, if I helped, I could reduce the collateral damage.
I had to give it one last try, "Surely, there's another way for us to—?"
Cosmo shook her head, "Please, Amy. You must admit that Sonic only really took action to ask you out, after Shadow kissed you."
She had a point. I had no other choice, not without losing her, "Okay. I'll do my best to help."
Her eyes lit up, "Thank you."
"We can't get ahead of ourselves," Blaze warned, "We need to work out which guy we can pair you up with."
"And I take it that Sonic and Silver are off-limits?" Rouge winked at Blaze and I, mischievously.
Pointedly, Blaze stuck out her tongue, "As is Knuckles?"
I decided to intervene between the two of them. Nothing would be accomplished at this rate, "He wouldn't agree to it. This is Knuckles that we're talking about." I laughed when Rouge gave Blaze a triumphant nod.
"Scourge?" Cosmo nervously suggested.
My eyes bugged, "You're not serious, are you?"
"You're right," She linked her fingers together, "Maybe Jet?"
"Not loyal enough," Blaze shook her head, "He would blow your cover."
Determined, Rouge slung her hands onto her hips, "Let's narrow it down a bit. We need someone shy—"
"—yet confident enough to go along with this," Blaze continued.
Cosmo nodded in agreement, "Someone kind—"
"—but calculating, so he can convince Tails," I finished.
As we racked our brains for the idea candidate, the kitchen door opened and we all turned to see who had entered. Shadow the Hedgehog had returned from the bathroom — his quills were lightly wet and shiny. I loved Sonic with all my heart, but I had to admit that he looked rather beautiful.
Aha.
We all shared a look, much to Shadow's dismay. He frowned, "What?"
Rouge grinned, "How convenient."
"No."
"What do you mean no?!"
"I mean, I'm not going to do it."
Rouge glared at him, "No shit, Shadow. Why?"
"It's stupid," Shadow glowered back at her, "I am not getting in the middle of this mess. It won't work."
"It won't work if you don't help!" Blaze countered.
Ignoring that comment, Shadow shot me a side-long glance, "You can't seriously think that this is going to work?"
Raising my hands in a surrender pose, I shrugged, "Don't look at me. It wasn't my idea."
Without warning, Rouge took hold of my shoulders and gently moved me forward, closer to Shadow, "But she wants you to help! You know, Amy!"
I wriggled in her gasp, but she seemed to have suddenly developed an incredible strength. Shadow glared at us, but he wore an odd expression that I couldn't read.
"Let her go, Rouge," He said. She obeyed, "I will help you."
Rouge briefly patted my lower back in apology, and then she took a step back. Blaze folded her arms, vaguely victorious, whilst Cosmo stared up at Shadow with wide eyes and a nervous expression. She hadn't said much since we'd explained the idea to him.
Shadow looked at Rouge, "What do I have to do?"
Blaze was the one who answered, "You need to pretend that you have a crush on Cosmo."
"And how would I do that?" He asked, raising an eyebrow, "I can't run up to Tails and announce it."
The ivory bat let out a low hum, sauntering towards him with a calculated look in her eyes, "Why don't you two say that you're dating? You could admit that you've been dating for a while, and that you've now decided to tell everyone. Maybe Sonic and Amy inspired you."
"Wouldn't this be suspicious? They are not blind to my..." Uncomfortably, Shadow shifted from one foot to the other, "... situation, with Amy."
My cheeks heated up, but I tried to ignore it, "We'll just have to brush over that."
"Right," Shadow didn't look convinced, "When would this happen?"
"Hmm," Rouge methodically tapped her left cheek, until her eyes lit up in realisation, "I know!"
She fluttered over to the table, on the other side of Blaze, and swiped up a creased up piece of paper. Flattening it out with the tips of her fingers, Rouge skimmed over the message before her mouth curved into a smile.
"What's this?" Shadow asked, as she handed him the note.
"An invitation."
Blaze's eyes narrowed, "An invitation to what?"
"A party. Scourge's party."
Our mouths tumbled open in shock.
"Rouge," I couldn't believe what I'd just heard, "Have you gone mad?"
"Come on. We don't have to talk to him," Rouge stepped into the middle of the circle, glancing between the three of us, "We can just go to his party, as a group, and have a good time! He'll have invited tons of people. He won't even notice that we're there."
"When did you even get this invite?" I asked.
"Before he... came over," Rouge's eyes slid towards Shadow. We all knew that he'd go ballistic if he heard what had gone on — rightfully so — but we didn't want to put him in a situation where a fight could break out, "He dropped it off, on the table. I'm pretty sure that it's his flat's party, not just his. So we have a right to go."
Reluctant, I rolled my eyes, "Alright. This would be so that Shadow and Cosmo can pretend that they're dating? Not just because you like a party?"
"Of course!"
Shadow sighed, "This is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard."
Finally, Cosmo raised her head and stared up at him, tearful, "What else can I do?"
"You could tell him how you feel."
"I-I would never have the courage to do that!"
He wavered a bit, hearing her saddened confession. Her bright blue eyes met his crimson ones, and Shadow lowered his head in guilt. His shoulders dropped as he breathed out, "Alright."
Blaze moved over to the sink, starting to wash up her plate, but she called over her shoulder, "You know that you two are going to have to hug and hold hands in public, don't you?"
Cosmo and Shadow stared at each other, before tearing their gazes away. This was going to be an incredibly awkward exchange.
"Suck it up," Rouge ordered, grabbing Cosmo's hand and yanking it in Shadow's direction, "Amy, get his!"
I raised an eyebrow, but I held my hand out towards Shadow. I wouldn't dare to try and pull his arm; he knew too many fighting moves, for that. But, to my surprise, Shadow took my hand and quietly said, "Rouge will be frustrated if you don't force me to hold hands with Cosmo."
I laughed, "Thank you, Shadow."
"Stop flirting, you two. Shadow, you're meant to be hitting on Cosmo, not Amy! She's taken!" Rouge insisted.
Acutely aware of Shadow's hand in mine, I reached towards the seedrian and placed his hand on hers. Cosmo instantly stopped struggling when Shadow's heat spread into her skin. A deep blush arose on her pale skin. Shadow still wore his cold expression, but he refused to make eye contact with Cosmo.
"There. Was that so hard?" Rouge folded her arms, glancing at the two of them. They both looked like they wanted the ground to swallow them up.
Blaze approached my side, cocking her head and pressing her lips together, "Yes, it was. And they look even more uncomfortable in each other's presence than before they were a 'couple'."
"You're not wrong," I agreed.
Shadow frowned at Cosmo, "This plan is too flawed."
Out of nowhere, Cosmo's jaw tightened and she glared up at him, "I'm doing the best that I can! You've gotten past this stage — the one you love cares about you! She won't think that you're betraying her!"
"I'm doing this to help you," Shadow snapped back, "You have a chance, because of me. I will never have that. And you were a reason for that."
Cosmo looked like the wind had been knocked out of her, "W-What?! Why would you say that?"
"You told her to forget me!"
"Guys!" Rouge might have taken pleasure in seeing them wriggle in the uncomfortableness, but she cared for them a great deal. Subsequently, she quickly stepped between them and stopped the argument from going any further, or raising any other painful memories, "This is pointless and cruel. What's done is done. We're here now, so get over it."
Blaze nodded, "She's right. Shadow, you can't blame anyone for what happened, that's not how it works. Cosmo, stop letting your heart rule your head. Be grateful for what Shadow is doing — he doesn't have to help."
Shadow and Cosmo shared a guilty stare.
"Blaze is right," Her head was hung low, but she reached forward and took Shadow's hand in hers, clasping them to her chest, "I'm deeply sorry, Shadow. That was wrong of me to say. You are being extremely kind-hearted by helping me, and I really am grateful. If you don't want to do this, I understand."
Conflicted, Shadow glanced at me. I had no idea what he was looking for, but I gave him a reassuring nod and hoped that he would find an answer within it.
He did, and he turned back to Cosmo, "No. I... I apologise for my outburst. I will do my best to help you in any way I can. Even if it means being the second part of a couple, with you."
Welling up, Cosmo rushed forward and hugged him around the middle. Shadow recovered from the surprise rather quickly, and gently patted her back.
"It's kind of heart-warming, in a way," Blaze smiled.
Watching, I had to agree with her. But I wondered how long this moment of peace would last.