FicWad

Sally set out a bowl of chips on their bar while Sonic was scrolling through his phone. “Sonic, our guests will be here soon and we have to get our costumes on.” She said, glancing over her shoulder. “Can you help me?”
 Sonic slid his phone in his coat pocket. “Oh, sorry, I was trying to figure out what we ordered from Temu.”
 “We don’t have a Temu account.” Sally said. “Rouge does. She accidentally had hers and Knuckles’ costumes sent to us, so they’ll change into them when they get here.”
 Sonic set out the cooler full of soft drinks against the wall, near the bar. “I hope they got the right thing or it’s not wonky.”
 “I’m just glad you won the bet.” Sally said, setting out the plates and napkins. “I’d hate to imagine what Manic would’ve picked for our couple’s costumes.”
 Sonic snickered. “He’s probably gonna kill me when he sees the costumes.”
 Sally and Sonic headed to their bedroom.
 “What did you pick?” Sally asked.
 “You’ll see if he and Surge show up.” Sonic said. “Mostly to aggravate him. He never should’ve mocked Sonia over her workout video or bet me over the director of Titanic.”
 “He should’ve known James Cameron directed Titanic as many times as Sonia made you two see it.” Sally said. “So what’s our costumes?”
 “Kyle Reese and Sarah Connor.” Sonic replied. “The Terminator 2 version of Sarah, that is.”
 Sally shrugged. “I can live with that.”
 *
 Sonic held the door open for Shadow and Sonia. “So are you two supposed to be Hot Topic employees?”
 “We’re Neo and Trinity.” Sonia said. “You mean that’s the one Keanu Reeves movie you’ve never seen?”
 “No, I’ve seen it.” Sonic replied. “I was kidding. Great costumes.”
 Tails, dressed as Indiana Jones, walked in. 
 “Hey, nice costume, little bro.” Sonic said, high fiving Tails as he walked in.
 “Thanks.” Tails replied. “Yours is pretty cool too.”
 A few minutes later, Kit shuffled in.
 Sonic furrowed his brow. “Uh… I thought you hated that baby costume.”
 “I do, but I put off finding a costume until five minutes before it was time to get ready.” Kit said. “At least it’s better than Manic and Surge’s costumes.”
 “What are their costumes anyway?” Sonia asked.
 Manic, who looked like he was about to die of embarrassment, and Surge (who looked like she was five seconds away from beating Manic senseless) walked in dressed as belly dancers.
 Everyone, including Shadow, burst out laughing.
 “I lost a bet, okay?!” Manic snapped. “I didn’t pick this costume.”
 “What?” Sonic asked. “Don’t you like it?”
 Manic gave Sonic a blank stare. “Yeah. I love sleeping on my stupid floor (because the couch isn’t a harsh enough punishment) and wearing super uncomfortable clothes.”
 “It’s not his fault, Surge.” Sonic said.
 Surge crossed her arms. “It’s his fault he lost the bet.”
 “I am so sorry, babe.” Manic replied.
 Rouge and Knuckles finally came in.
 Sally handed Rouge the box. “Here you go.”
 “Thanks, hon.” Rouge said, grinning. “Ooh, I am so excited to see it in person.”
 “You can change in the bedroom.” Sally said, leading Rouge and Knuckles to the bedroom.
 *
 Sonic and the rest of the group milled about the food table while Manic worked on resetting the WiFi so they could play music. 
 “Okay, bro, I’ll let you pick the first song.” Sonic said. 
 Manic smirked. “Great.”
 “Are you kidding me?” Rouge shrieked.
 Everyone looked at the bedroom door.
 “Is this what we ordered?” Knuckles asked.
 “No, does this look close to the picture on the site?” Rouge asked. She groaned. “Oh, well, it’s not as embarrassing as Manic’s.”
 Manic sighed.
 “It’s not that bad, bro.” Sonic snickered.
 Manic rolled his eyes. “Dude. It is.” He said. “I can get past everything else but the stupid top.”
 Sonic furrowed his brow.
 “Now I know girls hate bras so much.” Manic ranted. “I totally get it. They’re too tight, trap body heat like you wouldn’t believe. I’d swear they’re designed by demons and the factory for these stupid things is in the deepest pit of hell.”
 “It’s that bad huh?” Sonic asked. “You don’t think you’re being a tad melodramatic?”
 “Oh, no, I think he summed it up very rationally.” Surge said.
 Sonia and Sally nodded in agreement.
 Sonic shrugged. “Just asking.”
 *
 More guests finally showed up as everyone gathered in the living room.
 Rouge and Knuckles, dressed like clowns, made their way out of the bedroom.
 Knuckles had the basic clown makeup while Rouge’s makeup seemed vaguely clown inspired.
 “Well, are you happy about it or not, Knux?” Sonic asked. “It’s hard to tell.”
 “I’m only glad I don’t have Manic’s costume.” Knuckles replied.
 Manic sighed. “Can we please not bring this up?” He asked. “I’m trying to ignore the fact I’m stuck in this thing.”
 “What were your costumes supposed to be?” Sally asked.
 “Harley Quinn and the Joker.” Rouge replied. “Like the version from the animated series. Next time, we’ll order from Amazon.”
 Sticks, dressed as Spinelli from Recess, shrugged. “All I had to do was shop at thrift stores.”
 “You nailed the look, Sticks.” Rouge said.
 Manic clicked a song on the phone. “Here we go.”
 Sonic furrowed his brow, then groaned as the beat dropped. “Monster? Really, bro?”
 Manic bobbed his head to the beat. “What? You don’t like it?”
 Sonic huffed. “No, people just think I do because of those stupid edits of that stupid game I made years ago.” He ranted. “I wish everyone hated that game too. Ugh. It took five hours to do the makeup for the game. I had to sit for five flipping hours in that chair to do ten minutes of motion capture and repeat. All while I was sick too. I felt like I was suffocating in that thing and that my throat was shredded.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t think it was an issue with you.” Manic replied.
 “Eh, it’s cool, don’t worry about it.” Sonic said, waving his hand dismissively.
 *
 Rouge and Knuckles, having changed back into their normal clothes, stood at the door.
 Rouge handed Sally the box. “I don’t know, maybe you can donate this to Goodwill or something.”
 “Aleena said a co-worker was looking for costumes for the costume day at the children’s wing, so maybe they can use it.” Sally said.
 “Great.” Rouge replied. She hugged Sally. “See you two, later. Great party.”
 “See you later.” Sonic said.
 Rouge and Knuckles left the house.
 Sally shut the door. “Don’t torture Manic like that again.”
 “Alright, I’ll make it up to him with a great Christmas gift.” Sonic said.