List

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters in this story.

Character(s): Rouge

Rouge felt like a little kid again. However, it wasn't a nostalgic longing for her childhood that she currently felt, but rather the humiliating sting from someone treating you as one, when Rouge is clearly not a child. She was much more mature, able, and perceptive than one, and refused to be looked down upon as such.

Even though, in this case, the woman was literally looking down at her. It wasn't her fault that humans were so much taller than Mobians; besides, it wasn't her towering height that bothered Rouge. It was the belittling tone in her voice, the patronizing words she spoke, and the woman's overall condescending attitude towards her. At this point, Rouge just wanted to end this conversation, but the human seemed intent on reprimanding her for not wanting to partake in a kid's activity when she's an adult.

Oh, yes, how dare she not want to sit on Santa's lap! Oh, what a sin!

Restraining her tongue from responding with a lashing remark, one that would no doubt let this woman know she was an adult, Rouge remained in her place, rolling her eyes as she unwillingly took in this stranger's nonsensical words. She could probably leave, but Rouge just had to see what other stupid comments the other would make that would degrade this conversation even further. It was almost like visiting your crazy uncle solely because he's crazy; yeah, each second you're in his presence you'll feel like you're losing brain cells, but at least you can make fun of it later. Or it was like a drug, and you get absolutely nothing out of it. Probably the latter, if the mindless drivel she was currently exposed to was any indicator. Either way, what was this woman's problem? Seriously, just what is it?

Sighing as the woman ranted on and on, Rouge's sensitive ears turned away in hopes of tuning her aggravating voice out, the bat couldn't help but wonder why she ever decided to take this route through the mall in the first place. Her original plan had been to make a brief stop at the hardware shop at the edge of the mall to buy a gift for Tails – or Fox-boy, as she preferred calling him – and then trek over to the clothes store to see if she could find anything that Amy would like. From there, she still had a few stops to go for a few of her other friends whose gifts she hadn't bought yet, including Knuckles. He'd be receiving a surprise present, since he never told her what he actually wanted, insisting that he didn't want ANYTHING from her. Oh, well, she'd get him something anyway.

But this plan had been flushed down the toilet around . . . oh, maybe around fifteen minutes ago. And this woman was still talking. Rouge glanced once at the line for Santa and this is what she gets: a repetitive rant over how good this idiot's five-year-old son was, and apparently how Rouge, herself, would end up on Santa's naughty list for refusing to see him.

Eventually, the albino bat couldn't take any more than this nonsense; she may be a secret agent, but this was not a part of her job description! As she excused herself from the chat – slightly less politely than you might expect – she overheard the woman call after her, "You'll regret this once you get nothing but coal in your stocking for Christmas!"

Yeah, sure she will, just as much as she'll regret being on Santa's naughty list. Which is – oh, I don't know – not at all! Rouge didn't care in the slightest, not about what this woman thinks, and definitely not about Santa's list. Matter of fact, she didn't care about anyone's list.

Sorry, but this girl lives by her own rules.

Smokestep: Alright, so I lied about the updating time. On accident, of course. So, I think I'm just going to stop making any more promises about it, at least for the rest of week. After Friday, things will – hopefully – get better, and I'll be able to update each chapter on the actual day. We'll see, though. Anyhow, this was actually a really fun chapter to write. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I loved writing it, and if you do/don't, please share your opinions in the box below! I appreciate each and every comment. See you all at the next installment.

Responses To Reviews:

Christian Ape99: Oh, you don't know my sleep schedule.

ABCSonicKirbyWarriors: I try to keep the characters as in-character as possible. I thought I did his personality justice, but it's nice to hear someone reaffirm it, so thanks. I hope to hear your thoughts on this chapter.

The Dragon Legend: He's not the best snowball fighter yet; he first needs to develop the power of creating a full body shield around himself. Then he'll be the best snowball fighter ever.

Twin-books: Sadly for you, I caught two things in this review. Firstly, you said "Silver was quite cleaver," so unless you mean to say that Silver is a cleaver – at which point I must ask how a cleaver can be your favorite character – you were slightly off the mark there. Secondly, with "I kept imagining other moibains . . . " I don't think there is such a thing as moibains. And that's how you do that. Boo-yah! Anyhow, I suppose that earns me two points, but since I'm so generous, I'll make each worth only half a point; so now, we're tied. But I digress. And you're not crazy, not as crazy as me, at least. You may have had that vision, but who is the one that wrote the chapter that made you have it? Anyhow, thank you for the kind words; I'll try to "keep being awesome." I've been trying for sixteen or so chapters, so I have some experience by this point.