Fabulous thanks to: The High School Hero, Steve993, ShadowsAngel1, Savvy0417, TheMidnightShadow, DidntMakeDeletingAccountsEasy, Chaotic hedgehog, Yasmine155, Fables-and-FairyTale, killtony, rose of the shad, Guest, Dovewing01, Eli Swafford, Icy Fire 7, SuperFanficGirl, Bruh and Destructorbolt! Thank you so much for your lovely and kind support! It means the world to me! :3

The High School Hero - Parties equal good times, unless they're Scourge's parties! xD Haha, I know there's something oddly charming about Shadmo, right? OOH now that would be an interesting twist! ;D I can't wait to see them! Thank you! :D

Steve993 - Thank you very much! Ooh, that would be a nice turn of events for Shadow, having Maria turn up. Unfortunately, as I have already mentioned Maria's death in MMG, there isn't a chance of her coming back, but don't worry! Things will improve for Shadow!

ShadowsAngel1 - Thank you ever so much!

Savvy0417 - Aww, thank you! :'3

TheMidnightShadow - Hahaha, I've finally sorted out the university terminology confusion xD Bahahaa, that cracked me up X'D

DidntMakeDeletingAccountsEasy - I absolutely adore reading your reviews and hearing how you relate the emotions to ones that you've felt yourself, because that's what I really try to channel through my writing! I relate stories to my life so much, so to hear someone else doing it with mine is honestly the best thing to hear! That's a very astute observation of Shadow's predicament; I would love to explore that more! Thank you ever so much for your review! Haha, I hope the video games have been fun!

Chaotic hedgehog - Hahaha, not at all! My aim of this story is to mess EVERYTHING up, and I'm slightly shipping them myself! xD Thank you so much!

Yasmine155 - Oooh, now Tikal is an interesting choice! Maybe, maybe ;D Thank you so much!

Fables-and-FairyTale - Hahahaha! xD It's interesting to hear people's different opinions on shippings! Don't worry, he won't get with Cream, but I'll keep the mystery up around Cosmo! xD

killtony - Hahahahaha!

rose of the shad - She is indeed! I hope you enjoy this chapter! :D

Guest - Oh no, I don't hate Shadow at all! I absolutely love him: he's such an amazing character and I love writing him! Unfortunately, Shadow just has a habit of inspiring me to write sad situations for him in my stories xD But he does have happy endings in some of them!

Dovewing01 - You do not at all! You are freaking awesome! *heart*

Eli Swafford - Thank you ever so much!

Icy Fire 7 - Hee hee! You have no idea how happy it made me to hear that! I apologise for the overdose of drama, but I'm so glad that you're enjoying this story! Aw, that is lovely, thank you ever so much! I will save Shadow soon enough, don't you worry!

SuperFanficGirl - Aw, that is so sweet! Thank you very much!

Bruh - Haha, I'm so glad that I've written him so that you empathise with him! :3 He'll get his reward soon! ;D

Destuctorbolt - Thank you ever so much! I'm so glad that the editing is improving things; I'm concentrating so hard on checking that all the loose ends are tied up, but I can't always keep track of everything, so it's really useful and important reading your reviews, to see what you think!

Chapter 8: Broken-Hearted

(Sonic)

Even a few days later, I was still reeling from the girls' insistence that we should go to Scourge's party. Leaning against their front door, arms folded, I was still trying to run through the possible reasons why we were going. Had they been brainwashed? Hypnotised? Enchanted? I wouldn't put anything past Scourge.

"Sonic?" Tails tugged at my wrist, staring up at me with concerned eyes, "Are you okay?"

Shaking my head, I gave him a reassuring smile, "Sure, buddy! Just lost in my own world there, for a moment!"

"Heh," Knuckles scratched the back of his dreadlocks, "I don't even have to ask what you were thinking about."

I rolled my eyes, "Dude. Put a different record on, already. No, I wasn't thinking about Amy. I'm still actually tryna get my head around why we're even going to this party."

Mercifully, he let the teasing go. Instead, Knuckles hooked his hand under his chin and considered my thought, "You've got a point. 'Got no clue why they want to go to the slimeball's place so bad. Think there's something up with that?"

"Not everything is a conspiracy theory," Silver rested his head against the wall, bored of waiting, "There's no reason to think that there's an ulterior motive."

I looked over at Shadow, who was staying suspiciously silent. The more I thought about it, the more I realised that he'd actually been rather quiet ever since we'd gone to see the girls. That wasn't anything new for Shadow — he'd always been the silent type — but something about it didn't sit right with me.

But I was forced to turn away, when Shadow caught me staring and raised his eyebrow at me, questioningly.

Knuckles banged his fist on the front door, "Are you guys even close to being ready? We've been standing out here for ages!"

We heard a giggle from behind the wood, which sounded like Rouge, "Quench that temper, Knuckie. We're coming." Yeah, it was definitely Rouge.

"Blaze...!" Silver whined, as he started to fidget.

"Alright, alright!" There was a loud bang from the other side of the door, and a strong string of curses from Blaze, "Crap!"

Silver grinned to himself, "Language."

Then, the door swung open, and we all leapt back in surprise. Amy was framed by the doorway, smiling, with her hands slung on her hips. Whoa, she looked hot. A white dress hugged her curved hips, and opened out as it reached her knees. Underneath her chest was a black band of fabric, with the straps of the dress running over her shoulders.

"You look beautiful," I said, as Silver gave a low wolf-whistle.

"Thank you, Sonic," Amy blushed, lowering her head and letting her hair fan around her face, "You look very handsome."

"Yeah, well," I leant against the door with a smug grin. I hadn't exactly changed, as I looked the same as I always did. But I did smell pretty sweet, after spraying myself with some aftershave which I had 'borrowed' from Silver, "That's just how I roll."

Tails and Amy laughed at that quip, which made me grin. Meanwhile, Knuckles grumpily tapped his foot, clearly impatient, "Where's Rouge? She's the one who's dragging us to this stupid party, in the first place."

"Cool it, Knucklehead," Rouge stepped into view. She was wearing a mustard top, ending above her bust, with ribbon tying the middle part together. Sky-blue shorts hugged her thighs, and her feet were encased in brown cowgirl boots that added a few inches to her height.

"Whoa," Knuckles mumbled.

Rouge smirked, "Why, Knuckie, that's almost a compliment!"

"Dream on," He barked, but he briskly turned away, probably to hide the flush of his face. Rouge and Amy shared a side-long glance, with mirrored smirks and raised eyebrow.

By this point, Blaze, Cosmo and Cream had stepped out into the corridor, with the lavender feline locking the front door behind them. Blaze wore a cotton-white dress, with a blue waistcoat over the top, and ankle boots. Cream had gone for a more casual look, with an orange vest top and shorts. I noticed that Cosmo hung back a little bit, looking a bit self-conscious in her pretty turquoise dress, which fell off her shoulders. I tried to give her an encouraging smile, letting her know that she looked good, but she avoided my gaze.

"Shall we?" Amy asked, beaming up at me as she linked her arm in mine.

My attention was drawn away from Cosmo. I grinned at Amy, "We shall."

It had been a while since we'd all went to a party together.

For a house party on this scale, I only really had Sally's for reference, and I'd always done my best to keep that memory on the edge of my mind. Even with the limited space, since Scourge had the same kind of flat set-up as we did, I grudgingly had to admit that he'd done well. The place was pretty packed, with people spilling out of rooms into the hallways, though I did notice that the number of girls vastly outweighed the guys. The table in the kitchen was heaving with alcohol, and a make-shift dancefloor had been allocated to the middle of the room, with speakers wired up at the side.

Oddly, Scourge was nowhere in sight.

"Alright," Rouge swiped up a bottle of vodka from the side, and started to concoct herself a cocktail. She raised her cup at us in salute, "Time to have some fun, guys."

I declined Knuckles' offer of a beer, as he cracked his can open. Something told me that I would need to keep a straight head, tonight. Amy and Blaze managed to track down some wine, Silver stuck to a barely-there alcopop, with Tails, Cosmo, Cream and Shadow joining me in sobriety.

It was clear that Rouge was dying to head to the dancefloor — and she'd probably be dragging Knuckles along with her — so we were preparing to spread out. But Cosmo loudly cleared her throat, and we all turned to her.

She was worryingly pale. I'd known that something was up, for a while now — especially after what Amy had implied — but I couldn't even begin to guess what. The seedrian stayed silent, mulling over what she was about to say.

Then she took Shadow's hand.

"We have something to tell you all," She said, almost inaudible. I was frozen in place, like a statue, and I had no idea what to do or what to say. Shadow was solemn and silent, as always, and Cosmo was stumbling over her words, "Shadow and I... we're seeing each other."

Never, in my wildest dreams, had I expected that.

Before I even had a chance to think about what I'd respond with, Cosmo let out a pained cry and tugged on Shadow's arm, fleeing with him into the crowd. I rubbed the back of my head, trying to slow my racing thoughts.

I looked over at Tails.

My chest ached, just looking at him. His eyes were furiously squeezed shut, and his fists were clenched, as he fought back tears. But his arms were, shaking just a fraction, and he looked like he'd keel over at any moment. When he did open his eyes, he repeatedly blinked and his lower lip wobbled.

"Tails," I rushed towards the fox and pulled him into my chest, shielding his face from view. As I cradled the back of his head, I could feel a wetness, where his tears smudged against my body. But I just held him.

"Sonic," He muttered, just loud enough for me to hear, "I c-can't..."

Nodding, I knew that I needed to get him out of public view. Amy was close at my side, but when I looked over at her, she instantly understood my message. Her eyes were filled with sympathy, but I couldn't help but notice that there was another emotion underlining it.

"Guys, come on. Give him some space," Amy ushered everyone else back a little bit, allowing me and Tails room to leave. There was a surge of love for her, through my heart, but my mind was entirely focused on Tails.

We were still stuck in the middle of the kitchen, so I pushed through the crowd of people, keeping Tails as close to my side as possible. When we emerged in the corridor, the place was equally suffocating, and I knew that it would take too long for us to get outside. But, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a wooden door and, when I opened it, it turned out to be a broom closet.

It would do, for now, so I tugged myself and Tails inside, shut the door, and switched on the light.

Tails had stopped crying, but his face was gaunt and pale. Swallowing, I couldn't take my eyes off his blank expression, so different to his usual enthusiasm and excitement.

I leant back against the shelves, "Tails..."

His head snapped up towards the ceiling and he started rapidly blinking again. I stayed silent, as he let out a shaky breath and muttered, "I-I thought... Sonic, I t-thought..."

"It's going to be okay," I soothed.

"I love her, Sonic!" His eyes flashed with pain, as he stared at me, surprised by his own outburst, "Okay, I've said it. I love her. B-But—!"

"Buddy, we can work this out."

"No, we can't!" Tails threw his arms out as he straightened up, but his energy had been sapped by his tears, "D-Don't say that! Don't pretend it's g-gonna be alright! It won't!"

"It will be. We don't even know the full story, with this. Remember when I thought that Amy and Shadow were dating? I got it wrong," I placed a hand on his shoulder, "Maybe this is just a misunderstanding."

"You and I both know that it isn't," Tails shrugged me off, collapsing against the wall, "Cosmo said it herself. Amy never said that she loved Shadow, but Cosmo has just said it in front of several people."

"She didn't say she loved him. And maybe she's not saying what she really feels."

"But why would she say that, if not?"

"I don't know. Tails, it's okay to be upset by this. It's gonna hurt. But, in time, you'll heal."

"She wasn't just a crush, Sonic!" He snapped, "I loved her. You don't just get over that!"

I sighed, "I know you don't, Tails. But you have to try. I'm not gonna sugar-coat it to you, 'cause I won't lie to you. It's gonna suck, real bad, for a while. I know what you're going through. But you can't let it keep you down — you're stronger than that."

"But you got Amy back," He mumbled, miserable.

"Not easily, and not without a lot of pain. You should know, Tails, you helped me through it. But this is just a setback, for you. This is not the end of you and Cosmo. I promise."

"I can't face her," Tails stared at the floor, "I just can't."

"You have to, buddy. The ice will just get thicker, if you don't."

"It will?"

I nodded, "Besides, I get the feeling something else is at work here. It's all just too... sudden. Cosmo and Shadow haven't exactly been the closest, out of all of us. Something just doesn't feel right."

"I don't want to think about them," Tails curled his tails around his body, almost trying to shield himself from his thoughts.

"Okay. Do you wanna stay here? Or do you wanna head home?"

He sniffed, "I think I should head back. I need some time to think, by myself. It's okay, Sonic — head back to the party."

"Tails, I don't mind coming with you. I don't want to leave you by yourself."

"I know, but I need to," He curled his arms around my middle and nuzzled into my shoulder. Instantly, I returned the hug, and wished more than anything that I could make him feel better, "Thanks, Sonic. You're my best friend."

Sighing, I laid my chin on top of his head, "Same here, lil' bro."

Giving me a weak smile, Tails opened the closet door and headed out, making a furious beeline for the front door. I took a moment to get my head together, letting a deep breath out.

This was insane, and it couldn't have come at the worst possible time. Lectures and seminars were about to start, in a couple of days. This was the last thing that Tails needed: heartbreak didn't help when it came to advanced electronics.

"It just doesn't make sense," I muttered to myself, walking out of the broom closet and closing the door behind me. A couple of girls skipped past, giggling into each other's ear, and giving me shy glances. I didn't react.

"He's cute!" One of them whispered.

"He looks like that hottie in the kitchen, but not an emo," The other laughed, "Shadow, I think it was."

I grit my teeth. In Tails' absence, I needed to do some digging, and Shadow seemed like a good place to start.

(Amy)

"Is the guilt eating you up too?"

I looked over at Blaze. She looked just as pained as I did.

"It's awful," I muttered. I couldn't believe that there had ever been a point where we'd thought this was a good idea. Seeing Tails' face, when he saw Cosmo and Shadow together, had broken my heart. He adored her.

"Are you two okay?" Silver asked, returning with another drink for both of us. I gave him a weak smile and nodded, taking a delicate sip. Blaze muttered her response, but she didn't look him in the eye, and Silver briefly went quiet at that, "...This sucks. I'd always thought that Cosmo and Tails would end up together. I thought the drama was done with."

Blaze and I said nothing, instead sharing another guilty glance, because we knew that we'd had a part to play in the drama. Maybe if we'd refused, Cosmo would have gone cold on the idea.

Nerved by the silence, Silver swallowed, "I'm gonna see if I can find Shadow. Or Cosmo. Will you be okay here?" He slipped back into the crowd at our stilted nods.

As soon as he'd left, I turned to Blaze, "How could we have agreed to this? It was obvious that this would happen!"

Blaze frowned, "We are all equally to blame, Amy. You as well."

"I'm not blaming anyone. I'm just saying—!"

"Ladies, ladies," Scourge's slimy voice made its way into earshot. I grimaced, disgusted, when he threw an arm around each of our shoulders, "Don't fight. Or, if you're gonna, drink up and lose some of those inhibitions, and we'll make a show of it."

"Fuck off, Scourge," I bit back.

"Someone's havin' a bad day," He stuck his tongue out at me, "But you can't tell the host to fuck off at the party I invited you to, babe."

"I just can't," Blaze didn't explain herself any further, before she just darted off into the mass of people. I called after her, wondering what was wrong, and felt a small pang of anger that she'd left me alone with Scourge, after everything.

"Looks like it's just you and me," He purred.

"I told you to fuck off!" I went to walk away from him, but Scourge grabbed my wrist and pulled me back to face him.

"Hey!" He was actually frowning, "What's with everyone's sour attitude?"

"Why would you care? You're S-Scourge. You don't give a damn about anyone but yourself!"

"Are you being a bitch because Sonic isn't here, and I'm the only one talking to you?" Scourge smirked, "And what's with the slurring?"

I reeled back to slap him around the face, but my hand flopped against his cheek, weakly. My body just wouldn't seem to cooperate. I stared at my palm, dumbfounded.

Amused, Scourge raised an eyebrow, "What have you been drinkin'?"

Horrified, I looked at the wine punch bowl on the table. Scourge followed my gaze — a smile crept onto his lips. Although my head was fluffy, I still managed to put the pieces together.

"Certainly not anything that'll sober you up," He grinned wider.

The wine must have been stronger than I'd realised, and that probably meant that everyone here was extremely drunk, including Blaze. And she'd been drinking more of that stuff than I had.

"You bastard!" I took a step forward to push him back, but my footing slipped. Scourge held my arms to steady me, but his grip was tight and I couldn't pull away.

He straightened me up, "You know what I like about you, Amy?"

My world was starting to spin.

"No matter what, you believe that Sonic will come and save you," He bent forward and whispered into my ear, hot breath tickling my cheek, "He's not coming to save you, sweetheart. Not this time."

That was the last thing that I remembered.