As the sun rose on the morning of the party, Slushie bolted out of bed, both excited and anxious. It was Friday, so she would still have to go to work before the weekend brought in two days of freedom.
Everyone had done a lot of planning in the group chat the previous night, and surprisingly, everything worked out. The ragtag group would arrive at their place some time after everyone got off work. Slushie was nervous about everyone coming over, what they'd think about their place, how the evening would go, the usual. There was something extra nerve-racking in her mind though, in the form of the purple chameleon.
What if he's really boring outside work? Does he know how to have fun? What if he thinks I'm boring? What if he really dislikes our place? What if he's the type to scrutinize every little detail or speck of dust? What if-
''Nervous?'' Briar interrupted her train of thought, earning a slow nod in response. ''So am I, but definitely more excited. Can't wait to introduce Silver to all my little plants!''
''Heh, I already know that the army of tiny succulents will kill him with cuteness.''
''I know! Gahh, I'm so excited!''
Briar's positive anticipation was contagious, as usual, and both girls were able to get ready and leave for work with grins on their faces.
As expected, the 'work' part of the day was filled with excited whispers between staff members and memes in the group chat during break times. Turns out, Vector, the bossman himself, is a huge fan of memes, sending several since joining the group. It's still undecided whether he's on the ironic or unironic side, though. That's what happens when you get older, keeping up with the kiddos ain't easy.
Slushie was on baking duty when Espio passed by on his way to his lunch break.
''Are you sure about everyone coming over? At least nine people are going to come and make a mess of your place'', he asked with a sympathetic smile.
''It's not every day we get guests, let alone nine of them'', Slushie grinned in reply, ''It's gonna be a lot of work but I think we'll manage. Heh, we both even have experience in cleaning up after others.''
''We can only hope the mess won't be as bad as one made by daycare-aged children.''
''Who knows, we promised some Marxio Kart. That game can be brutal.''
''Ah, with luck the house will still be standing at the end of the night.''
''Pfft, I'll be satisfied with only a few casualties. Speaking of, my cinnamon buns are just about to burn to death'', Slushie said and quickly dove towards the oven, managing to save most of them.
''Did we lose any?''
''…want a post-lunch snack?''
With the day finally wrapped up and the doors locked, everyone headed to their respective houses to get ready. Slushie and Briar had just enough time for a final look-around to make sure the place was fine, and soon enough, the doorbell rang. Slushie went for the door and Briar ran to get changed again, suddenly self-conscious.
Mighty and Ray were the first to arrive, bearing some sodas and two bags of chips. Ray was almost bouncing in place with a huge grin, while Mighty was awkwardly scratching the back of his head.
''If ya need any help cleaning up or anythin', ask us. 'twas our idea, after all.''
''Will do, thanks'', Slushie replied with a grateful smile, stepping aside to let the two in. ''The karaoke stuff is set up in the living room if you wanna start.''
''Ooohh, me first!'' Ray called out and zoomed inside. Mighty walked in after him and closed the door.
''Go join him. We have only two mics and I bet a lot of people are gonna wanna sing tonight.''
''Ah, yeah, gotta hurry. Vector's a mic hog.''
''Great, me too. You'll have to pry them out of our cold dead hands, then.''
''Nothing out of the usual, heh.''
Not much later, Ray and Mighty started singing, filling the house with a welcoming combination of a soft baritone and a sweet tenor voice.
Next to come were Vector and Cream, carrying some mouthwateringly pretty cupcakes - no doubt made by Vector's wife, Vanilla. She was a baking goddess, and her daughter was following in her footsteps. He was truly living the dream.
''Hello, miss Slushie! I asked mother to come too, but she had plans already. She asked us to bring these, though!'' Cream smiled sweetly and handed her the cupcake container.
''The missus is expecting me back fairly early, but I'll still have time to knock everyone out with my tunes!''
''Good, good, as long as you let others have a go as well'', Slushie laughed, then suddenly remembering he's her boss, straightened up. Vector didn't seem to mind, though, and patted the side of her arm.
''I'll try, but when the tunes take a hold of me, there's no stopping!''
''Even mother has trouble with it sometimes'', Cream deadpanned. Slushie laughed in response and guided the two in. They joined Mightyr and Ray in the living room.
The next two to come were near strangers to Slushie, but Briar knew them better, she was a big fan of their jewellery store. She had finally decided on an outfit and joined Slushie at the door.
''Hello Rouge! I'm guessing this is the famous 'Knuckie' who helps with the guarding?''
''The one and only'', she said, squeezing his cheek. Knuckles blushed slightly, and looked away with a small smile. He was carrying a beautifully arranged container of different fruit and vegetables with a cup of dip in the middle.
''Today's cheat day, but we just thought these could be good for variety, y'know?'' Knuckles stated without prompting, feeling slightly awkward.
''I could really go for something sweet right about now, though. It's been a tough week.''
''Well, you're in luck, we got some heavenly cupcakes with your names on them! Not literally, though,'' Briar laughed as she guided the two to the kitchen. Slushie noticed someone else arriving so she stayed in the entryway but closed the door.
Of course, the newcomer turned out to be Espio, perfectly timing his arrival for when Slushie was left by herself. The nerve of the guy.
He had barely rang the doorbell when Slushie opened the door again. She greeted him politely, trying to hold eye contact for a short moment but failing, and let him in. He was holding a good amount of what seemed like dessert takoyaki, coated with chocolate and all.
''Nice, I've never tried takoyaki before! Did you make these yourself?''
''Yes, that's why I'm running a bit late. Is everyone already here?''
''Charmy and Silver aren't yet, so technically, you're not late.''
''Ah, that's good'', he chuckled and listened for a bit, looking towards the sound. ''Sounds like Vector's been given the chance to sing. I hope you're aware he won't let go of the microphone for the next few hours.''
''So I've been told. He must be pretty stubborn, this is the third time I've heard about it today.''
''He likes to take the café staff to karaoke every now and then. We learned the hard way.''
''Ah, can't wait for next time, then.'' She reached for the takoyaki container. ''I'll take those to the kitchen, you go join the others.''
''I'll take them, you go sit down for a bit. The hosts always have the toughest time.''
''O-okay, thank you. It's there, to the left'', she pointed with a stutter, feeling her face flush already. She hurried towards the living room, covering her red cheeks. Some took note of it, but it wasn't exactly hard to notice.
Having been given the chance to sing - along with Vector, since the microphone was still tight in his grip - Slushie was loosening up, bit by bit. Her voice still had to warm up, sure, but once she got into it, her grip on the mic was just as tight as Vector's. She was concentrating hard, not noticing the yellow pair of eyes looking at her, mesmerized. Well, maybe she was staring daggers at the screen on purpose, the lyrics of the current song were disconcertingly sappy, making her hyper aware of her crush being present.
With Slushie occupied, Briar was on door duty. Charmy came in with a bag of honey butter chips, which was unsurprising, but a bit funny. Briar took the bag and let him join the others. He jumped a bit when he noticed Cream, but swallowed his nerves and decided to sit next to her - he knew Vector wasn't going to sit down anytime soon. The two both cheered for and laughed at him.
Last, but certainly not least, was Flower boy himself. Briar had been eagerly waiting for him and almost started to worry that he wasn't going to come after all. Oh the joy when the doorbell rang.
''Hello!'' ''Hello!'' the two greeted in unison, which made both laugh immediately.
''I'm a bit late, sorry.''
''I'm just glad you're here'', Briar smiled, causing Silver to blush slightly.
''Y-yeah, me too. Oh, I brought these'', he smiled and gave her the box he was holding. Flower shaped chocolates.
''So cute! Where did you get these?''
''I, um, made them myself, I just melted some chocolate and put them into these molds I happened to have.''
''Aww, I gotta get some flower shaped stuff, too! Everything we have is stars and planets cuz Slushie's space crazy. Gotta fight back!''
''Yeah!''
''Anyway, are you hungry? I haven't eaten in a bit so I'll head to the kitchen, there's some freshly baked pizza!''
Silver nodded and the two went to the kitchen, joining Rouge and Knuckles who had come in for seconds. The two were in there for most of the evening, just conversing, without the kids tugging at their sleeves for once.
After some time most of the rooms were in use; karaoke in one, Marxio Kart in another, even some card games on the hallway floor. Slushie was with the café group, playing the kart game in her room. She only had two controllers, but the group took turns playing. Turns out, playing a game is a good way to converse without the constant struggle of making eye contact.
''You know, Slushie, I've been thinking. Don't you feel like you're always boiling with all this fur?'' Ray asked, poking her fluffy tail.
''Ah, I hear summers can get pretty bad down here, but I'm getting used to it'', she replied with a laugh, running into the side of Mighty's kart to get a small speed boost.
''Is it a lot colder up north, then?'' Espio added, curious but level-headed.
''Yeah, gets very cold sometimes, even I can freeze up. But you know my brother, Zephyr? He's fine with hot weather, I don't get how! His coat is just as thick as mine, I absolutely do not understand. Dude's like a fennec fox, not an arctic one'', she rambled, more loose-tongued since she was partly concentrating on the game.
''I like it, though! It's so fluffyyyyy!'' Ray was positive as always, and his childishness made her smile.
''That it sure is, most of the time, anyway.''
''Ha, I bet you look like a sewage rat when it rains'', Mighty added with a ragging grin while trying to catch an item to get revenge and back into first place.
''What a nice compliment. Remind me to punch you when this race is over.''
''I like it, too. You look so warm'', Espio said calmly, as if he didn't just KO Slushie completely. In-game as well.
''WOOOOO, IN YOUR FACE! HAH!'' Mighty bellowed after zooming past her kart. A kart that was just sitting there. Ah, it started moving again, making it past the finish line after several other characters. Slushie had other things to think, though. Or not-think, as her mind was blanking for a moment.
''T-thanks, I'm happy with it, too, even though it does make me overheat sometimes.''
She placed the controller down and reached for the remote, ready to leave the stuffy and way too hot room.
''Anyway, what do you think, should we go join the others and finally separate Vector from the mic?''
''Yeah, I think it's time for that. He's probably leaving soon, anyway.''
After being reminded, yes, it was about time for him to leave, and after a surprisingly comfortable looking bear hug to Cream and a lot of 'thank you's and 'take care of her's to the hosts, he departed. Cream was going to stay over and let her parents spend some quality time together.
Now that both mics were free to use - for pretty much the first time that night - everyone took turns singing whatever songs they could find. Charmy and Cream ended up singing one song together and both of them hit some impossibly high notes. Charmy was a mess after just one song, though, possibly because of his adorable partner, and Cream is very polite, so a different pair could take the spotlight after them.
At some point Briar and Silver emerged from the kitchen, practically glued to each other, and unsurprisingly did a duet together. A very sweet and romantic duet. What happened while I was busy? What did I miss? Wow. Someone's gonna be interviewed afterwards. Well, I guess I'm gonna be, too.
Knuckles and Mighty blasted out a rock ballad, Ray and Slushie sang a peppy pop song or two, and somehow Rouge managed to get Espio on stage to sing a deep classical song together. Everyone was taken by surprise, and two pairs of eyes and ears from the group were pretty much spellbound during the entire thing. Slushie might have been slightly jealous of Rouge because she wanted to sing with Espio as well, but wasn't sure if she could actually do it. Maybe when Vector organizes another café gang karaoke trip.
After everyone got their share of the spotlight, the games were turned off and the group started winding down for the night. Several old mattresses were dug out from wherever they were stuffed into, and, since there were more guests than mattresses, some poor unfortunate souls would have to take the couches. Most likely Charmy and Ray, being the shortest two of the group. Amidst the hubbub, Knuckles and Rouge decided it was time for them to leave, being sophisticated older adults, but everyone else stayed the night.
When saying her goodbyes to the leaving couple, Slushie took note of the clear night sky. She liked stargazing, sure, but would the others? Most of the city lights had been turned off already, and it wasn't too cold outside, so the circumstances were practically perfect.
The sample group was small, but it seems like stargazing is a universally fairly liked activity. Everyone was glad to go outside for a small walk and look at the stars.
Silver and Briar were walking together, both contemplating whether to hold hands or not, while Charmy, Mighty and Ray were sneaking around in the dark, trying to scare the others. Slushie did try to stay with everyone - too nervous to be alone with guys, not to mention the one she might like just a teeny tiny little bit - but her love of space took over and as she drifted from the group to get a better look at her favourite constellations, Espio followed her, listening to her nerdy ramblings.
''See that hourglass shape? That's Orion, I don't know why but it's the first one I always look for. That one up there too, Cassiopeia, it looks like a W. Ah, I also have an app that shows the names of the stars and all the constellations…''
She continued for a while, her face tilted skyward until her neck started to hurt, eyes in awe at the beauty of the night sky. Espio liked the sky, sure, and he was already familiar with some of the things she had told him, but he couldn't not listen. When someone's that enthusiastic, that passionate about something, you listen. And he didn't need to force himself to. He wanted to listen to her. Her face, her eyes, seemed like they were glowing, and he couldn't tear his attention away from her even if he tried.
After a while, she started to run out of space trivia, and her thoughts began to drift.
''You know, seeing the sky this clearly really reminds me of home. I'm really happy here, but I do get homesick sometimes.''
''You haven't been here for that long so it's understandable. It's been less than a year, right?''
''Yeah, a bit over six months. I wanted to become more independent and move closer to Briar and Amy anyway, but the job offer was like a cherry on top. Thanks for that, by the way, I finally got rid of my old, dreadful night job and started one I actually enjoy.''
''If both Amy and Briar have always been living here, how do you know them?''
''Briar's family came to White Park Zone every holiday so we often got to play together as kids, and when we got older and got phones, we started texting and calling a lot. Same with Amy, but with actual letters since she got her phone a bit later.''
''Ah, that's sweet.''
''I know, I still have all the letters she sent me. So young, so pure.''
A moment of silence, both following a blinking satellite that was slowly treading across the dark night sky.
''Speaking of young and pure, where are you from?''
''Not that far from here, actually. A smaller town further down the coast. I…wanted to get some distance from my family, some change, and what started out as curiously following Vector's plan, somehow turned into a second home, a second family.''
''Sounds familiar. I love my family, I do, but since I moved out I've been feeling a lot better, grown a lot, you know? My home town might be in White Park, but it seems like my home will be here in Seaside City.''
Espio was about to reply, share the sentiment, but he turned around all of a sudden and grabbed Charmy by his wrists that had been ready to attack.
''Are you a ninja or something?! I was so quiet and you weren't even listening!'' he shouted, both shocked and embarrassed.
''Ah, well… sharp instincts? I just.. felt you there?''
''Pfft, he used his spidey-sense.''
''That's not a real thing! ...is it? He's not even a spider!''
''I don't think real spiders actually have it either.''
''Aaanyway, you didn't manage to scare us, maybe neEEEEE-!'' Slushie's smug grin and victory speech was interrupted by a sneaky Ray. Her spooked yelp soon turned into full blown laughter.
''Wanna say that again?'' Ray grinned and crossed his arms proudly.
''Nope, you got me, but be glad I don't mind a good spook.''
''Yooo, she's so gonna try to scare you later'', Briar laughed, joining the group with Silver.
''This isn't turning into a scaring competition, right?''
''…right?''
Silver wasn't exactly enthusiastic about the prospect. He wasn't used to stuff like that.
''IT IS NOW!'' Charmy and Ray yelled in unison. Mighty stood by, not yelling, but clearly agreeing with the two.
''Silver, you wanna head back? I know this isn't your thing, but I really want to stay and freak these losers out GOOD.'' Briar was clearly enthusiastic about the prospect.
''I.. Yeah, I guess I'm getting tired. How about you, Espio?''
''I think I'll stay, just to look after everyone. And apologize to any innocent civilians we may affect.''
''Thank you, dad!'' the rest of the group called out and burst into laughter at his deadpan look.
''Okay, I'mma show these kids how it's done!'' grinned Slushie, who immediately darted out and disappeared behind the corner of a nearby building. Espio's gaze followed after her with a soft smile.
''She completely forgot that she's not going to blend in anywhere without snow, huh.''
After some very grown-up scaring each other and running around in the dark, it was time to actually get to bed. Silver was already in deep sleep when the guys started choosing mattresses around the living room. Cream got to sleep on Briar's couch so she didn't have to deal with the guys and their antics - and the snoring.
The night went by, everyone got at least some sleep, and most of the group started getting up near midday. Vector came to get Cream fairly early as they had something wholesome planned for the day, a family trip or something equally adorable.
Otherwise the morning was relaxing and peaceful, the cereal cabinet got raided and the previous day's leftovers were a nice dessert after breakfast. The wildest of the group even skipped the breakfast and went straight for the cupcakes and chips. Monsters.
Slushie loved this kind of domesticity; lounging on the couch, watching some cartoons with her closest friends, barely minding the physical touch - except with Espio, of course.
Should I move or would he consider that rude? Oh my stars my face is starting to get hot, are we close enough for this? Yesterday was nice though.. But hey this is probably a good source of heat for him since he is cold-blooded- Just stop thinking about it Slushie!
As the afternoon rolled around, people started getting up from the couch and gathering their things. As promised, Mighty and Ray helped with cleaning, and the others were inspired to help a bit as well. Afterwards they were properly thanked and gifted the leftovers of the leftovers, such a blessing.
With the house finally empty and quiet, Briar and Slushie turned to each other.
''What's the deal with the two of you?!'' they shouted in unison.
''We... might have shared our feelings and... considered the possibility of being something more in the near future, just not yet. We want to get to know each other a bit better first. Very soon though'', was the most Briar could get out before going all giddy and adorable about it. She then turned to Slushie with a questioning 'you?'.
''I mean, nothing special, really, just some simple talking. Some family-background-work stuff, nothing much. I was afraid he would be boring or something outside of work, but he was so sweet, so polite, he listened to my space babble and man I wished I could have sang with him. Small development, really, but was so giddy I barely slept last night.''
''Sounds like you missed the way he looked at you.''
''I've looked him in the eye, like, once, when you tripped me in the café which I have not forgotten about-''
''I know, I know, but if you caught him, you'd melt. I caught it several times. He adores you.''
''I-I think you're reading into it a bit too much... Why would he stare at me-''
''No self-deprecating thoughts, Slush, also, why wouldn't he? I don't think he's anything special, just a guy, but the way you stared at him when he was singing tells me that to you he's not just some guy. Flip that thought around and you might get it.''
''I..um... I guess... He might have said something cute about me... looking warm.. is that high praise from someone who's cold-blooded...?''
And so their day continued, gushing over even the smallest of things. Covering blushing faces, kicking their legs around like teenage girls... Oh the joys of having a lot of feelings.
Nevertheless, nothing stays the same forever. How will this party affect the work environment and the lives of the girls? We'll see... next time!