I'll Be There

I'll Be There- Part Nine

Rouge was in Vanilla and Mephiles' room, sitting on the floor, excited. Vanilla had to go get a pen and paper to write down ideas for Shadow's 'get well soon' party, leaving Rouge alone in the room. Tired of sitting, Rouge got bored, and decided to circle the room. However, while she was in the midst of doing so, she stopped in her tracks when she saw on a dresser- a picture of Vanilla, Mephiles, and 2-year-old Shadow. She quickly picked up the picture and examined it. Shadow hadn't changed much, despite the fact that he's grown taller. But there was something about that picture that distinguished the way he was now. 'He was so happy', Rouge thought, a lump forming in her throat. She stared at the picture of Shadow, seeing his cheerful expression and smiling face. She couldn't believe just that morning, Shadow was the older version of that little boy. But now, his expression was the complete opposite. Rouge sniffled as she felt a tear slide down down her cheek, then got frightened when Vanilla quickly opened the door. "Hey, Rouge!" She said, setting notepads and pens on her bed. "I'm back!" Rouge put the photo frame down and wiped her eyes. "Hi!" She said, trying to sound strong. "What are your ideas?" Vanilla giggled at the little bat. "Well", she began. "I was thinking that we could rent a bounce house for Shadow, since playing and running around were always one of his favorite things to do!" A smile formed across Rouge's face. She, too, knew that Shadow loved bounce houses; she knew practically everything about him! She knew that planning this party was going to be fun, and her smile got bigger when another idea popped into her head. "Shadow LOVES motorcycles!" She exclaimed. "He also loves guns and weapons and all that kind of badass stuff!" Vanilla looked at the bat, shocked. First, she never knew Rouge to be the swearing type, and second, since when did Shadow like guns and motorcycles? "Um, Rouge?" Vanilla questioned. "I REALLY don't think that Shadow would be too fond of guns and motorcycles. Isn't that kind of... mature for a 6-year-old?" Rouge smiled and shook her head. "Nope!" She shouted, then pointed to herself. "Do you think stealing treasure and wearing makeup is mature for a 6-year-old? Because I wouldn't say so!" Vanilla nervously chuckled, not agreeing to what Rouge had to say, but going along with her plan, anyway.  Once finished making preparations for Shadow's 'Get Well' party, Rouge and Vanilla hugged each other. "This party will be perfect!" Rouge exclaimed. "Trust me, Shadow will love it!" Vanilla nervously chuckled again. "Yeah..." she said, uncertain. "I'm sure he will."