Once lessons for the sparring class come to a close and the students are dismissed, there's no question in Shadow's mind of what his next destination will be. He walks out of the room behind Rouge, intent on following her back to the dorm she shares with Blaze for their evening hangout. It's become such a routine that Rouge expects it, as well; and despite the brief annoyance he felt with her, he let the feeling go quickly enough. Shadow wouldn't allow a petty fleeting emotion to derail their habits. At this point in their friendship, they're practically a package deal.

When they walk into the dorm, Blaze looks up from her seat in the living area and her gaze immediately sticks to Rouge's collarbone. "Ooh," she winces, "someone got messed up today. Is that from class?"

Rouge's eyes widen and she runs her fingers over the skin above her chest, feeling a tinge of soreness from the light bruise that's formed.

'That's embarrassing!' she thinks, then answers, "Yeah. Knuckles meant business today."

"My condolences." Blaze closes the philosophy book she was reading and stands from the chair, looking at Shadow. "You cheered her on, right?"

"I did," he says, then looks at Rouge. "Although, she seems to think it didn't count."

"He clapped," the bat corrects, her expression haughty. Changing the subject, she gestures at Blaze's book and asks, "And how're your studies going? Learning the secrets of the universe?"

"I'm trying to," rolls airily from her lips. "It isn't as direct as sparring. But I was actually waiting for you to get back. We have to finish Midnight Craze." She puts her book on the coffee table and adds, "I also made fresh coffee if either of you want some."

Shadow turns towards the corner of the dorm that houses the small kitchen, keeping his eyes on Blaze as she passes him on the way to her bedroom. "There's no 'if' about it; you know this."

"Shadow always demolishes the pot," Rouge chimes in a snarky tone.

Blaze says over her shoulder, "That's why I had a cup already."

Shadow tosses a brief glance at his friend, silently asking if she wants any coffee. She catches on instantly and casually waves a hand. "I'm good. It's all yours."

When he walks away, the bat makes herself comfortable on the couch in the living area, waiting for Blaze to return with the portable TV they were using to watch a movie.

While she's idly scrolling on her phone, she hears Shadow shout from the kitchen, "Rouge! Popcorn?"

"Yeah," she answers, then smiles when Blaze reappears.

"He's playing chef today?"

"I guess so," Rouge chuckles. "I'm not gonna complain about a man cooking for me – even if it is just microwaved popcorn."

Blaze places the small television on the table and begins running the cable to an outlet. "Of course not! After all, it means you can sit comfortably like a princess and wait to be served."

The cat gives Rouge a teasing smile, which prompts the tanned lady to pick up a sofa pillow. She threatens to throw it at her roommate, who braces briefly before letting out a mature giggle. Once the TV is plugged in, she takes her place on the couch to find where they'd paused the film. Shadow walks in with two bowls of popcorn cradled in his arms, holding his cup of coffee in one hand and a steaming bag in the other.

"Mmm, that smells so good!" Rouge coos, jumping up from the sofa to grab the bowls. She looks at the unopened bag of warm popcorn. "Shadow, you can use a bowl, you know!"

He shrugs and follows her to the couch. "I didn't want to dirty a dish."

Blaze leans forward to see past Rouge. "I appreciate that."

She flashes a quick disapproving look at her roommate – who rolls her eyes – then starts the movie. A bleak monologue is spoken by the cynical, brooding protagonist to his plucky but no-nonsense partner; just before they head off into a tracking mission that turns into a chase scene. The trio nearly watch to the end of the film when a few knocks bump against their door. Blaze pauses the TV, her mouth subtly curving into a frown while she stands from the couch.

Rouge looks at the entrance and comments, "Oh come on, it's almost over."

Opening the door, Blaze is met by another trio of their friends expecting to be invited in – Sonic holds up a bag of fast food, waving it back and forth with a flashy smile while Knuckles and Silver carry more food items behind him.

"You guys hungry?" the blue man asks, then adds a posh lilt to his voice. "We have plenty to barter with for entry to your domain."

"Hm…" Blaze hums, looking over at her company. "We're watching a movie right now."

"Oh shit, which one?" Sonic pries, stepping closer.

The purple cat loosely crosses her arms. "Midnight Craze. But I'd rather not end it here; it's almost over."

"I've seen that before! Great movie. We can sit quietly and wait for it to be over, right, guys?" He turns back to Knuckles and Silver, who agree to behave.

"... Alright," Blaze accepts. "But if you interrupt, you'll be uninvited."

"And we'll keep the food!" Rouge calls from inside the dorm.

"Fair deal!" says Sonic, who then struts into their living quarters and waves at the pair sitting on the sofa. His eyes flick towards the popcorn on their laps. "Got some room for burgers and fries?"

"I might pass," Rouge answers, then gestures gracefully at her figure. "Can't overfeed this perfect body, you know."

"Oh, such a model!" Sonic teases.

They share a laugh and he reaches into the food bag, pulling out a wrapped burger while approaching the couch. He gently tosses it to Shadow, who cups his hands to catch it and gives the other hedgehog a quick scowl. "Learn some manners, loser."

"We almost had a stalemate, but sure, enjoy calling me a loser while you can." Sonic starts to sit on the armrest of the sofa, but thinks better about resting next to Shadow, so crosses in front of them to claim the other side instead.

Knuckles and Silver portion out the rest of the food, then settle in to watch the last bit of the movie. And when it's over, Sonic is the one who lets out an invigorated whoop, which makes Blaze leave her seat to turn off the TV as soon as the credits start to roll.

"What a movie!" he blurts, sliding onto the newly empty cushion. He throws his arm onto the back of the couch and tilts his cup of soda towards Rouge, pointing the straw at her. "So, what do you have planned for today? Are we killing each other over board games again or is it something more chill this time?"

"You're the one who invaded our home," snipes Rouge, a sly smile dancing on her lips. "How dare you expect us to entertain you."

"Aw, come on, Rouge! Be a good host!" He hops up from the sofa as Blaze takes the television off the table. "We can just sit and talk. Right, guys?"

Sonic looks over at the friends he brought with him. Silver nods and speaks up, "I haven't got any after-class work today. I can sit and talk!"

Knuckles stands from the floor to place his remaining food on the coffee table, settling on the carpet there to continue eating. "Fine by me. I'm still hungry, so I might as well. Winning today really worked up my appetite."

Rouge squints her eyes in a glare at the echidna, whose smug gaze only lingers on her for a second before returning to Sonic. He watches the speedster step around the table to sit next to him, and the genuine smile he gives Sonic makes Rouge a little jealous. Silver leaves his spot on Shadow's armrest to greet Blaze when she returns, kissing his girlfriend on the cheek and sitting on the floor closest to her seat, so the two groups are organized across from each other. Knuckles and Sonic enjoy the rest of their meals and Silver works on finishing his soda, while Shadow swipes the last box of french fries for himself. With the boys all filling their mouths, Rouge takes it upon herself to kick off the conversation.

"Did any of you hear Coach Tower teaches sparring because he got fired from his government job?" she gossips.

"That's just a rumor," Knuckles responds. "Started by Honey, mind you; she's not exactly reputable."

Rouge debates, "She hangs around the journalism class. You think none of them have looked into the professors' personal lives?"

Shadow cuts in dryly, "Journalists are not always trustworthy, either. Anything can be sensationalized. Besides, Coach takes his job so seriously, I don't know if I can see him getting himself fired."

"Whatever," Rouge waves him off. "You know who I'm surprised still has a job? Robotnik. I don't know what kind of experiments they were doing the other day, but I walked by Chemistry and it looked like the whole room was filled with blue smoke! Tell me that's not crazy."

"Sounds kinda fun," Silver pipes up. "I'd take a class like that if I had the brains for it."

Blaze adds, "He does seem committed to testing new methods, from what I've heard. That sounds like a good way to learn – I'm sure he's made breakthroughs in science with some of his classes."

"He has been teaching for, like, twenty years," comments Sonic, his mouth half-full, "so I wouldn't be surprised."

"Maybe we should take his class next semester," Knuckles says to Sonic. "If they're doing fun stuff, I might not mind the science part as much."

"Ha! I doubt we'd pass; we're not exactly the brainy types, bud." The speedster playfully punches Knux's arm and grins. "But if you want, we could try it out as a team! We could probably convince Tails to join, too."

Determined to be included – and to get the redhead's attention off of Sonic – Rouge leans forward to direct her words at him. "You know, that does sound like an interesting idea! If you're really doing it, count me in."

There's a pause as Knuckles quirks an eyebrow at the bat. "Don't try to tell me you're interested in chemistry."

"Well! You're one to talk, only wanting to do it for fun." Her eyebrows furrow a little and she scoots forward on the couch to sit on the edge of the cushion. "And are you saying I can't be interested in chemistry?"

Shadow immediately catches the awkward mood growing in the air and stands up to excuse himself. "I'm going to get more coffee."

As the hedgehog crosses the room, the others silently watch Knuckles and Rouge go back and forth.

"Sure, you can," he states, "but I don't think you are."

"Hah! You don't know me at all, do you? That's okay, there's plenty of time for you to learn more about me; like, for example, the fact that I'm actually amazing with computers. I could be a hacker if I wanted to."

"Impressive," comes out a bit sarcastically with a brief roll of purple eyes. "You should take a tech class next semester, then. Let us boys have fun."

Feeling awkward as well, Silver starts to speak, "Uh, hey-"

"Oh, so you wouldn't have fun with me there?" Rouge asks, a mocking tinge to her tone as she pouts a little. "Maybe you just don't know how to have a good time like I do." Then she adds with a wink, "Prove me wrong, Red."

Knuckles sighs with a huff. "Everyone knows even if I did that, you wouldn't admit it. You're just full of yourself, and that's a problem."

"Yawn! You're the only one with a problem here, sweetie."

Blaze and Silver are exchanging glances, both wondering if they should stop the conversation before it can get more confrontational. Sonic holds an uneasy smile while he bites on the straw of his drink, understanding that Rouge is trying to be playful but also recognizing that Knuckles is not in the mood to be teased like this. Shadow stands in the kitchen with his cup of coffee, leaning his lower back against the counter top and listening to them bicker through the wall.

Knuckles sees the uncomfortable faces of his friends, which pushes him to confront her about her attitude. "You think you're showing us a good time right now? By arguing with me? This is actually my chance to ask, 'cause I've been wondering: why are you so irritating when we hang out?"

Rouge is stunned and taken aback at his question. In the brief silence, Sonic speaks up, "Maybe now's not the best time to talk about that. I think it might be a better conversation for another day."

"No, I wanna know," Knuckles tells him firmly, glancing at Sonic before returning his gaze to Rouge. "It's a pattern by now. We hang out, and the two of us always end up in some stupid fight. So what's the deal?"

The bat's brows furl more, and her lips press together. His face remains stern as she glares at him. "The 'deal' is – you love to get on my nerves. I talk back and you don't like that."

"Is that right? Because I've always thought that about you."

"Then I guess we're both just as hot-headed as each other, aren't we?"

Their voices quiet, then Knuckles breaks eye contact and crosses his arms. After a moment, Blaze's stoic cadence cuts through the air. "You're both stubborn and outspoken. That can be a good thing; but you have to find a better way to communicate than this."

"Yeah…" Silver agrees cautiously. "I don't think any of us are trying to hurt each other's feelings. How about we go do something off campus for a while? Fresh air might be good for all of us."

"Good idea," says Sonic, quickly standing to clean up the empty food wrappers and cups.

Rouge stands as well and steps away from the group. "Fine. I'm using the bathroom first."

She disappears and they start cleaning up. Knuckles receives a supportive squeeze on the shoulder from Sonic, which calms him down a bit. Meanwhile, Shadow works on finishing the rest of his coffee and stares down at the linoleum floor. He thinks back to the moment he chastised Rouge for the way she acts around Knuckles, and lets out a deep sigh of disappointment.

He doesn't know what she finds so appealing about arguing with her sparring partner, seeming to get heated in a bad way but unable to stop taunting him. Shadow wonders if it's the passion she loves, the fiery nature of emotions running high… the bat can be quite dramatic. If that's the case, he considers himself no match in comparison, unwilling to argue with her because he can't see himself getting truly angry with Rouge.

His disappointment runs deep sometimes, and she annoys him every now and then; but they've been best friends since before college and their disagreements are always tame. Probably because he doesn't challenge her the way Knuckles does, he muses. She stands her ground and Shadow lets her feel how she wants. Does she want him to talk back more? Is that the kind of man he'd have to be?

It's not an idea the dark hedgehog likes. Acting like someone else has never been his style. So if being his composed, brooding self means he remains alone, he resigns himself to that possibility with the final swig of his coffee.