Hey, everyone! Sorry for the wait! I have a reason for not updating in a while. I realized I totally forgot about three projects that were due in two weeks at school. While I was working on said projects, this story came to me. In conclusion: I put my Chaos Emerald High School story on hold, and decided to write a short Silvaze story. I hope all the Silvaze fans out there like it! I know it has been a long time since I've updated, so I'm going to try to get the next chapter to Chaos Emerald High School out by next week. Until then, enjoy!

I'll Always Be There for You: A Silvaze Story

Silver the Hedgehog flew leisurely across the sky. He soared over the houses below, thinking. He usually took these relaxed flights when he was thinking. Sonic had laughed at him when he had run into a chimney once, but Silver found flying calming.

He thought about his friends, and smiled. In what seems like ages ago, he and Blaze only had each other. They'd never dreamed of having other friends, mostly because they were different. Blaze...

Silver's muzzle turned a light red as he thought of the lavender cat. Though he cared for his friends, the only person he truly cared for was Blaze. He could be himself around her. Blaze...

"Hi, Silver!"

Snapping out of his trace, Silver lost his concentration and fell a few feet before gaining control with his psychokinesis again. With a sigh, he lowered himself to the ground, landing squarely on his feet.

"Hi, Silver!" Amy Rose yelled again as she ran up to him from the sidewalk.

A graceful bat walked up behind her. "Amy, calm down. You nearly made him fall!" Rouge scolded the pink hedgehog while winking at Silver. "Hello Silver."

A third girl Silver didn't recognize followed them. She blushed slightly and gave him a small wave.

"Hey Amy, hey Rouge," Silver said, looking curiously at the other girl. "Who's your friend?"

The girl brought her hand to her cheek and turned away, trying to hide her blush.

Amy leaned close to Silver. "Uh, Silver?" she whispered, "That's Blaze."

Blaze, still blushing, gave another shy wave and said, "Hey, Silver."

Silver barely heard what she said. He was too busy trying to keep his jaw from dropping to the ground.

Blaze didn't look anything like herself. She was wearing a tight, sleeveless black top that was cut short, leaving most of her stomach exposed, and showed off her curves respectfully. She also wore a short dark purple skirt and black high heels. Instead of having her hair up, like she usually did, Blaze was wearing her hair long, her lavender locks flowing down her back and across her face. She was even wearing dark purple eye shadow to match her skirt.

Silver was at a loss for words. Blaze looked so...he felt his face heat up.

Blaze was blushing a crimson shade, embarrassed by her exposing outfit. "Amy and Rouge invited me to go to a party with them," she explained, her face still red, " But they helped me pick out something...different to wear."

"Speaking of the party, it's starting in two minutes!" Rouge huffed impatiently.

Amy looked at Silver. "You could come if you want," she offered.

Silver shot a glance at Blaze, who brushed a few strands of hair from her eyes. "I...I think I'll just go home," Silver decided.

A disappointed look crossed Blaze's face. "You sure?" she asked, her gold eyes blazing in the setting sun.

Silver nodded. "Yeah." He gave her a smile. "Have fun."

"OK, we're done here," Rouge broke in, hooking her arms around Amy's and Blaze's, "Let's go!"

Silver stared after Rouge dragging the other two for a moment, then turned to go home.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"In the nightlight, do you see what you dream, all your troubles-"

Silver's cell phone rang on the small wooden table by his couch.

Shutting off the TV, Silver raised his hand, using his psychokinesis to make the phone shoot into his palm. "Hello?"

"Hey, Silver!" Amy's cheerful voice answered.

"Oh hey, Amy," Silver replied. It had only been two hours since he'd seen Rouge, Amy, and Blaze walk off to that party, but it was already dark outside. "What's up?"

"We need to drop Blaze off at your place."

Silver felt his heart skip a beat. "Why's that?"

Amy's voice dropped. "Well..."

Silver ran his hand through his carefully spiked quills. "What did Rouge do?"

He heard a sigh from the other end of the line. "Spiked the punch."

A concerned edge came into Silver's voice. "What happened?"

"Well..hey!" Silver heard some wrestling before hearing Rouge's voice. "Relax, sweetie, Blaze is fine. Just a little...tipsy."

"What?!"

"Calm down, Silver," Rouge replied, a hint of amusement in her voice, "There was this guy, a red hedgehog, who was hitting on Blaze, so she hung by the punch bowl to avoid him. I tried to tell her I spiked it, but...I was a little late."

"How soon can you get here?" Silver asked, trying to keep the edge out of his voice.

"We're at your house right...now!"

Silver hung up abruptly and ran to his front door. He threw it open just as Amy, Rouge, and Blaze were attempting to climb the steps to his house. Amy and Rouge each had one of Blaze's arms around their neck, supporting her weight. They were practically dragging her.

"A...little...help...Silver!..." Amy grunted, trying to keep Blaze from collapsing to the ground.

Silver ran forward as the two girls let go of Blaze, letting her fall forward into Silver's arms. "You said she was tipsy," Silver gritted through his teeth, "Not full-out stoned!"

Rouge tried to look innocent, which was hard when you're biting your lip to hold back laughter.

Blaze groaned. Silver looked concernedly at her. "Look, you two should probably go home. I'll take care of Blaze."

Rouge gladly left before he could change his mind. Amy hung back. Silver gave her a small smile. "It's fine, really. I've got her."

Amy nodded, and walked off.

Silver looked at Blaze, who was still hanging limply in his arms. Her usually sharp, feline eyes were unfocused, and her breath reeked of alcohol.

She looked at him lazily. "Silver?" Her voice was slurred.

"Hold on, Blaze," Silver said, picking her up bridal style and carrying her inside, shutting the door behind him with his psychokinesis.

He set her gingerly on his couch. She hiccuped, and erupted into a fit of giggles. "Blaze, stay right there. I'm have to go get something."

Blaze smiled and nodded in her stupor, but Silver wasn't sure if she really got the message.

He went into his kitchen and got a glass of water. Returning to the living room, he gave Blaze the glass and instructed her to drink it. As she did, she looked at him curiously.

"What?" Silver asked, blushing slightly at how Blaze was staring at him so intently.

She set her glass down and pointed at the back of her head. "Come on, Sonic, I can tell you changed your hairstyle."

Huh, so Blaze mixed me and Sonic up, too. Maybe Amy isn't colorblind after all, Silver thought briefly. "Blaze, I'm Silver."

Blaze shook her head, her long hair swishing around her gracefully. "No, you're Sonic. Silver went in there." She smiled, pointing in the direction of the kitchen.

Silver gave up. "Fine. I'm not Silver, I'm Sonic. You got me."

Blaze giggled. "Speaking of Silver...can you keep a secret, Sonic?"

Silver scratched the back of his head nervously. "I-I guess..."

Blaze giggled again. She lowered her voice to a whisper. "I think Silver is cute."

Silver flushed a deep crimson. He quickly averted his golden eyes from Blaze's. "Hey, I gotta' go. Don't worry, I won't tell Silver anything."

He walked into the kitchen, his heart thumping. Blaze thought he was cute. Blaze, the girl who had watched his back for years. Blaze, the girl who had understood him when no one else did. Blaze, the girl who always looked beautiful even without a skirt or eyeshadow or whatever. And she thought he was cute.

Silver forced himself to take a breath. It might just have been the alcohol talking. He looked back towards the living room. Blaze. There was only one way to find out.

Silver walked back into the living room.

"Hi, Silver!" Blaze giggled mischievously, "Sonic and I were just talking about you."

"R-really?" Silver stuttered, blushing, "What about?"

Blaze cheeks turned a light shade of pink. "Uh, n-nothing," she said, twirling a lock of her hair.

Silver stood there awkwardly, not quite sure what to do. Blaze tried to stand up, using the couch arm for support.

Silver was moving before her knee actually buckled. He caught her, his face only an inch or two away from hers. Silver saw Blaze blush, and felt his own face heat up as well.

He gently lowered Blaze back onto the couch, taking a seat next to her.

Blaze shifted in her seat. "Silver?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you remember...the day we met?"

Silver looked away. "It was in Crisis City. It was dark and destroyed, as usual, and I was floating around, trying to figure out what to do about my crumbling world." He clenched his hand into a fist, remembering the hopelessness he had felt.

He felt Blaze move closer to him. He felt her delicate hand come to rest on his own.

Silver turned to Blaze. "Then I met you," he said, his heart racing.

Blaze squeezed his hand lightly. "I was fighting off some thugs who hated me for my flames."

Silver squeezed her hand back. "And I stepped in to help." He looked away, feeling his face turn red. "You were surprised at me for helping you."

"I didn't really trust anyone at that time. I was hated and misjudged because I was different. I didn't think anyone cared about me," Blaze murmured, closing her eyes and slowly leaning her head onto Silver's shoulder. "But that was before I met you."

Silver gently lifted her chin and looked into Blaze's eyes, which were sharper than before. He brushed a few strands of hair from her eyes. "Do you remember...the question you asked me that day?"

Blaze gave a small smile. "I asked 'Can I count on you to be there for me?'"

Silver felt an odd lightness in his stomach as he asked the next question. "Do you remember what I answered?" he whispered.

Blaze leaned close to him. "You answered 'Always'."

She looked up at Silver. Her muzzle was a light red shade. Blaze slowly reached up and touched his cheek, leaning forward. "Will you always be there for me?" she whispered.

Silver felt himself leaning forward, his eyes slowly closing.

"Always."

He felt her lips slowly press against his. His hands slowly slipped around her waist, pulling her closer. Her lips were warm against his own, and from the heat he felt in his face, Silver guessed his cheeks were about as red as Knuckles' fur.

But he didn't care. All he cared about was the beautiful cat who was in his arms, kissing him. Blaze meant the world to him. He loved her.

And he would be there for her.

Always.