Spooky

Chapter 29

-Rouge's POV-

I could not be happier about my plan turning out so well. Shadow and Scourge are just adorable together—two rather standoffish, 'leave-me-alone' prickly personalities whose only weakness is each other. I still think it's hilarious how I essentially had to play the both of them in order to get them together, but hey, it worked out so damn well. They're happy, and cute, and I'm happy and cute, so it's a win-win, right? Plus, Steel and I had a blast getting ready for and going to Homecoming together; he's so nice and fun to talk to, and I'm so glad I'm his friend now. We can be third and fourth wheels to Shadow and Scourge, and it won't be as awkward as one of us third-wheeling alone! Unfortunately, I won't be able to hang out with them next week, but I think that'll be okay. This is the week before our Thanksgiving break, and I can hardly wait to see my family. I'm praying Shadow can see his, too, though part of me worries he won't. His mom is always gone, and it makes me so sad. I wish I could be there for him all the time, but my parents always say Thanksgiving is just for family, so obnoxiously. I know it isn't their fault, it's more my grandparents', but still, it's so frustrating.

The lunch bell rings, and my mind is abruptly slammed back into my body and everyone around me gets up. Today, I have a bit of a different plan in mind, and I'll have to hurry a bit if I want to enact it properly. I tug my backpack over a shoulder, careful to keep my wings out of the way, then hustle out the door among the crowd, moving in the wave of people all the way to the cafeteria. The bright blue spines of the man I'm looking for stick out like a sore thumb; he's in line already, chatting cheerfully with Tails and pointedly not looking at Jet, just behind him in line. I fall in line as well, several people behind him, and hear a happy familiar voice behind me. "Rouge!"

I turn around with a smile to see Amy, clad in all-red as per usual, beaming pleasantly at me. Amy Rose. What a ray of sunshine. "Hey!" I reply, "How are you?"

"I'm great! How are you doing?" Ahead of me, people shuffle forward, and we do the same, side-by-side now.

"Good," I answer pleasantly, and she grins.

"That's good," she says, smoothing the hem of her dress absentmindedly, and we don't say anything more until we both have our food. The sakura-furred hedgehog turns to me with bright cheery green eyes, "Please sit with us today, Rouge! I miss talking to you, we don't hang out as often as we should!"

"Sure!" I say casually, as if that wasn't my plan all along. "I'd love to, Amy."

"Yay!" She cheerfully trots off with me at her heels, guiding me to the table that Sonic, Knuckles and Tails are already sitting at. Sonic waves as we approach, and Amy nods happily at him, sitting down on his left.

I sit down across from her, next to Tails. "How ya doin'?" I ask him, and he smiles at me.

"I'm doing well," he replies, "how are you?"

"Doin' great." I turn my attention to Sonic. "How about you, Blue?"

He shrugs. "Bored, mostly, but I'm alright." Knuckles nods, and for a little bit, the group chats about our days, just general catching-up. Sonic tells us about something funny in his Pre-Calculus class, but I have something important to talk about. He already knows this—he caught on pretty early into the game, all things considered—but the others might not know. And I know how to phrase it in a way that won't give anything away, if they haven't caught on too.