A Promise Is A Promise (Completed)

Birthday

Shadow POV

I stood in front of Rouge's door for a couple minutes. I was hesitant at first, my thoughts went back to the barista at the cafe... Was that.... Was that really Maria? I thought back to Sonics behavior before we saw her, he knew. That's why he acted so strange.
My thoughts were quickly interrupted when Rouge opened her door. I looked at her with mild surprise.
"It's rude to make a girl wait you know." Rouge said playfully. I followed her inside, closing the door behind me. She handed me a tablecloth and sent me to the dining area. She said she wanted to get ready for the party and the table was the only thing left to set up. Her table was riddled with grocery bags full of snacks for the party. Judging by how much food she got, she must have expected more than just a few people. I frowned at this, I didn't want to deal with so many people today, especially after... No. I won't think about that now. I agreed to help Rouge, so I should focus on the task at hand.
I started moving the bags to one of the dining chairs to set up the table cloth and there was a rather obnoxious knock at the door. I stopped what I was doing to answer the door to see a rather annoyed echidna.
"Shadow." He greeted in a less than friendly tone. He was early but I let him inside anyway and then went to fish my task. Knuckles didn't bother talking to me at first but curiosity got the better of him as he asked for Rouge.
"Rouge is getting ready for the party." I didn't feel up to conversation but he didn't seem to catch the hint.
"Oh... Well what are you doing here so early?" He asked suspiciously. I simply have him a look that said, 'what do you think I'm doing here so early?' I soon finished setting up the table and arranging the snacks. Before Knuckles could say anything else Rouge had come back.
"Well look who it is, hey Red." She gave him a smirk as she approached him. Knuckles' face began to turn a bit pink as he greeted her. I watched them flirt for a bit. It was nice knowing there was someone who reciprocated Rouge's feelings. But for some reason she always found her way back to me, hoping I could reciprocate but I simply had no interest.
Another knock at the door caught my attention, I promptly left the two to get better aquatinted to answer the door. As soon as I opened the door I could feel nothing but regret as I felt quick hands wrap themselves around me in a suffocating hug.
"Hey Shad! Tails and I decided we should come a little early and keep you company." He said as he loosened his grip. I peeled myself away from the embrace as I spoke plainly. "Oh no. You shouldn't have." My monotone response amused the fox boy and he tried to hide his giggle. Sonic quickly ran over to knuckles to greet him and utterly embarrass him in front of Rouge. It was amusing to watch but it quickly began to feel too crowded for my taste. I made my way to the main room and took a seat on the chair farthest away from the boisterous group on the couch. My worried thoughts from earlier began to creep into my mind again.
This had to be some sort of scheme of that damned doctor. How else could this have happened? What did this mean... Could Maria really be-

"Shad is everything alright?" Sonic interrupted my thoughts. Everyone was looking at me at this point. I brushed it off as nothing and pulled away from Sonic's worried gaze.
"I'm fine, Faker." I was a bit irritated at myself for letting my worry show so plainly on my face. These were thoughts for later. I need to focus on something else. Anything else really.

"Shadow why don't we talk about it. Maybe-" his persistence on the subject irritated me to no end.

"I told you I'm fine." I cut him off a bit too quickly, now any chance I had of convincing him had escaped my grasp. My gaze softened as I noticed Rouge's worried eyes. "I'm just tired." I answered more for Rouge's sake rather than Faker's. He noticed my exchange with Rouge and thankfully took the hint.
"Well if that's the case, maybe you should go take a nap old man." Sonic teased. My eyes narrowed into a glare in response to his quips.
"And miss you giving Rouge her gift? I don't think so." My response quickly got Sonic squirming in his skin. Rouge perked up with curiosity at the mention of a gift.
"Oh hun, you you didn't have to get me anything." She smiled as she noticed the gift on the table with all the snacks. With how little of people there were, it was easy to tell that Sonic's was the only one unsigned. Sonic looked slightly panicked but tried to roll with it. He kept making nervous glances at Knuckles as she started opening it.
"Wouldn't you rather open it when you have all your gifts?" Sonic was trying to stall.
"Oh please what am I, twelve? I can open it now." Rouge said as she pulled out the sweater. She gave such a wide smile and now understood why Sonic seemed so embarrassed.. "Oh I've been eyeing this sweater for so long! How'd you know?"
"...uh." Sonic struggled so much with his response.
"He didn't know what to get you, so I told him to get that for you." I answered for Sonic calmly. He seemed relieved and Rouge looked at us both in surprise. Her face flushed a bit.
"So this is from both of you then." She inquired. I didn't bother correcting her but the way her demeanor changed from playful to sentimental had me wishing I did.
Everyone began to show up one by one soon after, as much as I wanted to sit alone away from everyone, I couldn't let my thoughts wonder. Not while they're were so many prying eyes.

A/N: The sonic movie came out on digital today!!!