Ultra-Edit: So, it's been about two years or so since I've been on FFN. It has been so, so, SO long but these stories will always have a place in my heart, as they got me where I am today. As such, with a Summer vacation ahead of me, I'm back to continue their revamp and, eventually, finish them completely. And, of course, I want to start with the series that started it all. Since it has been so long, I've very much lost track of which were the most recent reviews and where they have been left, so I can't accurately credit. But I want to say a massive thank you to the people who have reviewed while I've been away! I've read your messages and they always make me smile!

Old-Edit: The next two chapters had some major revamping, just because these felt very plotless, and overtaken by the beach trip, when really I'd like to focus on the gang's interactions in the aftermath of the party. So, time for some emotional interactions! ;D

So much thanks to: Steve993, TheMidnightShadow, Yasmine155, Chaotic hedgehog, ShadowsAngel1, DidntMakeDeletingAccountsEasy, Fables-and-FairyTale, Anthony. ricci. 3979, ToxicWolf1132, The High School Hero, Eli Swafford, Mobius Freak and ObsessedWithSonamy! Thank you ever so much, guys! :D

Steve993 - Thank you very much! Ahh, thank you! My knowledge of the comics is far less strong than the games, so I'm glad that I'm doing them justice! I'm loving writing her evil side!

TheMidnightShadow - Hahaha! That got me xD

Yasmine155 - They've got some tricks up their sleeves! Thank you so much!

Chaotic hedgehog - The responses are indeed back! Hahaha, I like messing with the programme xD At the moment and for the foreseeable future, the story will be remaining T-rated! And I am indeed having fun with this story! :D

ShadowsAngel1 - Thank you ever so much!

DidntMakeDeletingAccountsEasy - Ah, yes, I completely sympathise with the banging-the-head-against-the-wall-feeling. Especially when you have to see the person the next day. So very awkward. Thank you for your review! :D

Fables-and-Fairytale - Dun dun dun! ;D I know, she needs some nice moments, for a while :(

Anthony. ricci. 3979 - Aw, thank you very much! Shadow may find someone, you never know! ;D

ToxicWolf1132 - Why, thank you! You'll have to wait for the mystery girl, a little while longer! ;) I listened to the song and absolutely fell in love with it! Thank you for recommending it! :D

The High School Hero - Yep, the tension is rising, haha! Thank you! I found out that you can add text in Image Manager, so I went crazy and added titles to all of my covers! xD Stay awesome!

Eli Swafford - Hee hee, thank you! :3

Mobius Freak - Thank you! Those questions will be answered, as we go along, but I'm afraid I can't reveal anything yet! ;D

ObsessedWithSonamy - I'll have to stay silent with this one, until the big reveal ;D Thank you very much! That's so nice to hear!

Chapter 10: Slumber

(Amy)

Groaning as I awoke, I rolled onto my side and reluctantly forced my eyes open. Slowly, my vision settled and I saw blue.

Facing me, Sonic was also lying on his side, asleep. He looked incredibly peaceful, and sweet, with his smooth expression and parted lips, as he breathed in and out. He seemed to be dreaming.

I took in that moment, for a long time. I'd never really seem him so calm, before, especially not recently: the upheaval of coming to university, and the recent events in our gang, had stressed us all out. Even Sonic, though he hated to admit it.

Eventually, though, I started to get restless and I needed to head out into the kitchen. I grimaced at my scrunched party dress that I'd clearly fallen asleep in, and quickly changed into something comfier. As I sauntered out of the room, careful to let Sonic sleep in, I heard voices coming from the door. When I entered, Silver and Blaze were sitting on the couch, flicking through a book together. Knuckles and Cream were at the table, munching cereal, and Shadow was brewing coffee at the counter.

"Hey, guys," I yawned, parking myself opposite Silver and Blaze. He gave me a warm grin, and nodded, but I frowned when Blaze's greeting wasn't much more than a mumble.

But Knuckles distracted me, clanging his spoon against his bowl, "So, Amy, 'heard you had a rough night last night?"

Shadow had poured me a cup of coffee too, and I thanked him, taking a sip and making room for him to sit down too, "To say the least. Something was up with that wine, I know it. Next thing I know, Scourge is making moves on me and I can hardly stand."

"I knew there was something dodgy about it. You'd been drinking it too, right, Blaze? I thought you were acting kinda weird," Silver gently nudged Blaze's arm, but she didn't react.

"It was a low move," Shadow muttered.

"Are you feeling alright now, though, Amy? I'd hate for there to be any lasting effects," Cream's expression was worried, so I smiled and assured her that I had nothing more than a headache.

Then I frowned, "Where's everyone else, by the way? Sonic's in my room, catching up on sleep, but I thought you'd all be in here."

"Rouge is having a shower," Knuckles said.

Amused, I grinned at him and leant forward, "Funny how you know that, huh, Knux?"

"I think that's the least of our worries," Blaze snapped.

I reeled back, slightly hurt by her sharp tone, and wondered what had gotten under her skin. Even Knuckles — who she was defending — looked a little surprised and like he didn't know what to say. Silver furrowed his brow, trying to catch Blaze's eye, but she resolutely stared at the floor, irritated.

Shadow cleared his throat, "Cosmo went to the library. Tails decided to stay in our room. He is... troubled. I believe only Sonic can talk to him."

"I hate seeing him like this," Dejectedly, Silver rested his chin in his hands.

"Yeah, well, one of us could do something about it."

At Knuckles' comment, Shadow's head shot up. He opened his mouth to challenge the echidna, but I placed a hand on his arm and shook my head. Before he could ignore my discouragement, Rouge swanned in through the doorway.

"Now, we'll have none of that," She scolded, fondly knocking Knuckles over the head with her fist, "This is none of our business. Whatever happens, happens. We don't have a say in it."

Knuckles barked out a laugh, "This is a new tune! Since when have you not been involved in our lives?"

"Mr Knuckles has a point," Cream agreed. I'd forgotten that she was in the dark about this, too.

"Well," Rouge pressed her lips together, "Maybe it's time for a change-up."

The echidna let the matter drop, shockingly. Indeed, it did feel like things were changing between all of us, but not necessarily for the better.

(Sonic)

When I woke up, my head was fuzzy.

I knew that I was in Amy's room, as I rolled onto my back and let the sheets rucker around me. After a few moments, the memories of the previous night started to flood back: the party, Cosmo and Tails, Scourge, Amy. I was relieved that the night was over, but I knew that there would be repercussions for all of us. I needed to see Tails.

Quickly leaping up and collecting myself, I headed out of Amy's room. I could hear voices from the kitchen and, when I gently opened the door a crack and peeked, I could see that most of the gang was there. Only Tails and Cosmo were absent and, since I figured it was unlikely that she was with him in our flat, I could go to see Tails without the risk of anyone interrupting.

In record speed, I raced to our flat and skidded to a halt outside of the front door. Knowing Tails for so many years, I figured that he would most likely be in his room — when he needed to think, he would resign himself to his inventions, putting that incredible brain of his to use, being productive as a distraction. Tentative, I raised my fists and knocked on the wooden door.

Pretty quickly, he appeared in the doorway. His eyes widened at the sight of me, but he swiftly faked some cheer. Still, there were dark circles under his eyes, and the rims were a faded red, "Hey, Sonic. I thought you'd still be a while yet — the guys headed over to the girls' flat."

"Nah, it's not the same when you're not there, buddy!" I decided against saying that I'd come to check up on him; I knew that Tails would feel embarrassed by that, "Mind if I come in?"

"Of course not," He stepped aside and let me enter. I sat down on his bed, rather than collapsing as I would usually do, as I remembered that I was still a little sticky from the previous night's beers. Tails perched on his desk chair. I had been right — an invention was on the desk, dismantled, with nuts and bolts strewn about, "How was the party, after?"

"Gotta be honest, dude, it majorly sucked," I winced, and continued at his confused head-tilt, "Stuff went down. Amy was suddenly really drunk — something weird went on — and Scourge tried to make a move. Luckily, Cream found me, and Shadow and I were able to help get her away from him, but I hate to think what might have happened."

"Jeez," Tails knew what Scourge was capable of, just as much as I did, "Is Amy okay?"

"She was pretty upset last night, but she seems better this morning. I haven't had much of a chance to speak to her yet," But I laid my hands on my thighs and leant forward, "How are you doing, buddy?"

"I'm good," But his tone was less than convincing.

"Look, I understand what you're going through. It's hard to pick yourself up. Cosmo was your first love—"

"Second," Tails corrected, quietly.

"Uh, right. Yeah. Second," I'd blissfully forgotten about that, "But she's not the only girl out there."

"But this is different, Sonic. I can feel it. I love Cosmo so much more than when I thought I loved... her," Sniffing, he stared out of the window, distracted. I felt a lump form in my throat, and I placed a hand on his arm.

He needed to know, "Tails. I should've told you sooner, but she's here. She's at the university. I saw her, the other day."

The fox's reaction was a lot calmer than I had expected, "Oh. Well, I suppose we'll have to avoid her as much as possible. B-But that doesn't solve things with... Cosmo..."

"No, I know, bud," I could tell that he was wavering with tears, so I hauled him into my chest, rubbing his back, "It's gonna be okay."

"H-How do you know that...?"

"Because I believe in you. But you need to speak to Cosmo about all of this."

"W-What?! Tails backed away, and I felt guilty for not easing the suggestion onto him, "I can't do that. It's too painful! It hurts whenever I think about her, how she'll never feel the same way as me. She's been ignoring me, recently, even before she told us about Shadow!"

"Think about it, Tails. Maybe there's a reason for that, and I said it yesterday. Do you think, maybe, that's she's shy towards you, because she actually likes you too?"

"But that doesn't make sense."

"Love makes you do crazy things — we both know that," I sighed and flopped back down onto the bed, "But you still need to act like things are normal, between the two of you."

"Why?"

"You two keep the group together. If you stop speaking, we'll be forced to take sides. You know I've always got your back, Tails, but I don't want to lose everyone, and I'm sure you don't either. And do you really wanna lose Cosmo completely?"

"No, of course not."

"Then you've gotta talk to her," Lightly smiling, I gave his shoulder a gentle punch, "I know you can do it. I believe in you."

Eventually, Tails wore a smile, even though it was small, "Thanks, Sonic. I know I can always count on you for advice."

"What can I say? I've had a bit of practice in this area."

"Heh, I suppose so," He gave a confident nod, "I think you're right, you know. I'm gonna speak to Cosmo. I can't let things fall apart over this. She's my friend, first and foremost."

I clapped him on the back, "Good on you. I'm proud of you, Tails."

"I think I should put it into practice," Suddenly renewed, Tails stood up and gave a confident smile, "Should we head over to the others? See what's going on? I'm sure you're dying to see Amy."

Laughing, I joined him as we walked out of the door, "Gimme a break. I think I can survive without her for a bit. Make no mistake — I'm always gonna be there for you. No matter what."

His smile was wobbly with happy tears, this time.

Cream was the one who opened the door to us, as we rung the doorbell of the girls' flat. She had a light-hearted attitude, as if everything was normal, but I could see that even she was feeling uncomfortable with all of the tension.

While she asked Tails how he was feeling, I noticed that Blaze had stormed out of the kitchen, behind us, marching to her room, with Silver quickly following suit. I wasn't able to hear what the argument was about, before they disappeared into her room, but I figured that is was probably less severe than it seemed. Silver and Blaze clashed pretty frequently, and they always got past it.

But when the three of us moved into the kitchen, the atmosphere was even thicker. Amy and Cosmo were sat on the couch together, staring at their laps, with Shadow and Rouge opposite, dumbfounded. Knuckles leant against the worktop and, when he saw us, he quickly approached.

"Hey, guys," He greeted, nodding at Cream, who went and sat with the others. Alone with Tails and I, Knuckles breathed a sigh of relief, "How's it going?"

"Never mind that. What the heck is going on?" I threw a hand out, towards the others, "What's wrong with everyone?"

The echidna shook his head, "No clue. Blaze and Silver had been whispering to each other, but then she suddenly blew her top at him, stormed out without an explanation. Of course, he went after her, but it sounded pretty serious."

"There was no precursor?" Tails asked.

"Not from what I could hear. It just came outta nowhere. Everyone except Cream has been acting shady, ever since," Knuckles shook the thought out of his head, not too troubled by it, as he started to ask after Tails.

I noticed that Amy's head was bowed, hiding her expression. Something was off, "Hey, guys, wouldya gimme a sec? I just gotta speak to Ames, real quick."

Leaving Tails and Knuckles, I headed over and asked Amy for a quick word in private. Confused, she followed me outside into the hallway and folded her arms, waiting for me to explain. I raised an eyebrow.

"Uh, what the heck just happened?" I shook my head at her continued confusion, "Blaze and Silver. One minute I'm in the hall with Cream and Tails; the next, Blaze is setting off volcanoes!"

"Oh, right. That," She swallowed, "How's Tails?"

Was she really diverting me from this? I managed to recover myself, "Yeah, he's doing better. Ames, tell me what's going on. Did something happen?"

Her eyes didn't leave mine, but she sighed, heavily, "I have no idea. Everything seemed okay. But Blaze and Silver were pretty quiet, only really whispering to each other. It started getting more... heated. Then, she yelled that 'he was just as blind' and walked out. Silver went after her. None of us have any idea what it was about."

She was lying.

Not about Blaze and Silver's argument — I'd seen that for myself — and not about what Blaze had yelled, or what Silver had done afterwards. Amy was lying about not knowing what it was about. I believed that she didn't know what it was about, not entirely. But she knew something. I could see it in her eyes.

I didn't know what to do. Amy had never lied to me before, not in front of me, not blatantly, like this. She sometimes kept her feelings from me, but it was always to protect me. This was different. She was keeping something from me; something that affected our entire group.

"Sonic?" Amy stepped forward and stroked her hand over my cheek. I leant down and kissed her, feeling her lips against mine, reassuring myself that nothing else was a lie.

It wasn't. It couldn't have been, because this was too perfect to be fake.

Breaking away, we smiled at each other. It was almost enough to forget that there was something wrong — between us, between everyone.