100 Themes Challenge PART FOUR Sonamy

Running Away

"Come back Sonic, I just want to ask you something!" Amy yelled as she tried to follow the speeding blue hedgehog. "Please Sonic, stop running for just one minute!"

Sonic didn't listen; he sped up until he was sure he was far enough away, but not before he saw Amy's face, her eyes full of hurt and unshed tears.

Amy stared at the ground and took deep breaths, trying to gain back her air and push the tears back. Tails and Knuckles walked up to her.

"He'll come around" Tails told her gently, leading her back to the house "He's just shy"

Knuckles grunted, but didn't offer any opinion on the matter.

Meanwhile, Sonic sat high up in the trees near Amy's house. He knew she wasn't home yet, but he wanted to see how she was, and try apologizing to her. He sighed and leaned against the tree, wishing not for the first time he didn't run away every time he saw her. But what was he supposed to do? Running was an instinct, what he felt every time that Amy Rose was near… it was something he'd never felt before, about anyone. He couldn't stop the way his heart beat faster and his brain turned to mush when he saw her, he couldn't explain the sudden protectiveness he always felt when she was in danger. It wasn't as if he could ask anyone for help, most wouldn't know what to do or laugh; besides this was something he needed to do on his own. He needed to find a way to turn off the nervousness he always felt near her so he could focus on how he enjoyed spending time with her.

Someday

Amy sat down on an empty bench on the park and looked up at the late night sky. Was it worth chasing after him, hoping that maybe, someday, he'd let her catch him, or at the very least, stop running away? Maybe running after him wasn't the best way to get him to admit how he felt. Still, chasing after him was the only way she could think of to get him to admit it. She didn't think any other way would work on that Hedgehog. But maybe… maybe she should take a break from that for a while. Who knows, maybe Sonic would miss having her chase after him and come to terms with what he felt. She sighed as fireflies came out and lit up the park. Maybe someday he'd say something. She just wished it was today.

Memories

Sonic thought back to all those times. The beach, where Amy had given him a bracelet made of seashells to help him with his fear of water, then saved his life and nearly drowned. He remembered all those times Amy had helped him back up, she could never stand to see him feeling sorry for himself. He was sure she wouldn't stand for him feeling sorry for himself because of how he treated her. He smiled slightly, she'd probably say something about facing you fears, just like she had on that cruise. He sighed and looked down at his feet. What would Amy do if she knew why he ran away so much? She though he was a fearless warrior, his perfectly rational fear of water aside. How would she react to knowing that there were things that scared him even more: expressing his feelings, and seeing a friend get hurt? The second one tripled when he thought of seeing Amy hurt.

He sighed and looked around the park. When had it gotten so dark? He wondered. The park was deserted. Except for one familiar figure sitting on a bench, right underneath a light post, with her back turned to him and her head down.

Exhaustion

Amy looked up from her contemplation of the grass when she heard some footsteps behind her. She frowned, they were slow, dragging against the ground. She turned around, ready to summon her pico pico hammer and attack if it was anyone with ill intent. Her mouth opened on its own accord when she recognized him. Sonic was walking slowly to her, head down and hands behind his back. She wondered what was wrong with him, she had ever seen him this… tired, defeated. Not even when he'd been on the cruise ship out in the middle of the ocean with no way out.

"Can I sit here, Amy?" he asked quietly, eyes glued to the floor

Amy nodded mutely and made some room for him on the bench. Sonic sat down and sighed, putting a hand on his forehead. Then, he turned to her, looking at her in the eyes, his eyes searching for something. He seemed to have found whatever he was looking for because he straightened his shoulders and his eyes flashed determinedly.

"I'm sorry, Amy" he said, still looking at her in the eyes

She tilted her head to the side, why was he apologizing and saying her name at the end of every sentence? "What do you mean?"

Sonic shifted "I'm sorry I always run off…" he trailed off into another uncharacteristic silence

Amy shook her head "its ok, Sonic, really-"

Sonic shook his head sharply "No, it's not ok, Amy" he said firmly "Every time I do that, it hurts you and that's the last think I want" he set his mouth on a grim line "I don't want to run away anymore, it's too exhausting to run"

Knowing How

Sonic waited anxiously for her reply at his words. She looked surprised, that much was obvious, but he couldn't tell anything other than that.

"You aren't going to run off anymore?" Amy asked quietly, hope in her voice

Sonic gave her a small smile and shook his head "I promise, Amy. I'm not running away anymore"

She looked down "How can you be so sure?" she asked him quietly

"Because, I never break my promises, Amy" he told her, raising her chin "It's late, why don't I walk you home?" she nodded and he took her hand, together they began walking out of the park.

The True You

Sonic held true to his promise, but all the same, Amy was cautious when she approached him. She tried to not run after him as much as she usually did; she didn't cling to him like she wanted to. She didn't want to scare him away again just after he decided to not run away. Sonic noticed this, and grew increasingly worried each time she didn't act as she usually did. He knew something was wrong, but every time he asked her, she looked at him in surprise and told him she was fine.

"I don't know what's wrong with her, Tails" Sonic told his best friend one day "And I don't know what I can do about it, she won't tell me what's wrong"

Tails looked at him as if the answer was obvious "She's afraid that if she chases after you and hugs you every time she sees you, you'll start running away again" Tails explained

Sonic looked at him in surprise "But why would she think that, I promised I wouldn't run away!"

Tails looked down "you told her that, but how can she be sure? You always ran off before"

Sonic muttered something under his breath "Where is she now"

"I guess she's at her house, or out shopping" Tails stammered "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to talk some sense into her" Sonic said before speeding off

"Remember to tell her how you feel!" Tails yelled

Dead Wrong

Amy woke up from her afternoon nap by the sound of a loud thump on her porch. She quickly got out of bed and dressed before going to see what had caused the noise. She nearly tripped over the blue hedgehog. She looked down in surprise; Sonic was lying on the ground, his eyes nearly closed a dazed look on his face. She helped him up and led him inside.

"Sonic, what happened to you!" she said "Are you ok?"

Sonic groaned and looked around before focusing on her, he glared "Do you have any idea how long I've been looking for you!" he snapped "Four hours, Amy, four hours!" he slumped forward "I'm tired" he mumbled "I searched… everywhere, and I couldn't find you, so I came back here and decided to wait until you got home" he sighed as she helped him down on the sofa.

"Why were you looking for me?" Amy asked "You could've just called"

Sonic shrugged "I wasn't really thinking on that"

"I've been home since after lunch, I was just taking a nap" Amy smiled at his dumfounded expression "Why were you looking for me?"

"I needed to ask you something" Sonic's expression turned serious "Sit down, Amy, please"

She looked at him worriedly, but sat down next to him. He couldn't see her well from the angle he was sitting, so he shifted his position until his head was on her lap. She stayed perfectly still.

"Amy, why are you acting so different?" he asked her

"What do you mean?" she hedged

"Amy" he groaned "I'm too tired to jump around the subject, you know what I mean with acting differently, you don't jump at me like you used to, you don't hug me every time you see me anymore either, why is that Amy?" he looked at her carefully, noticing the tears in her eyes.

"I just don't want to give you any reason for you to go running off again" she told him sadly

He sighed dramatically "I told you I'm not running away anymore, and I kinda missed being tackled" he brushed some hair that was falling into her eyes "Really Amy, why would you think something like that?"

"I don't know I just assumed you would leave if I kept doing that" She smiled slightly "But if you say it doesn't bother you, then I'll go back to tackling you, I miss doing that too"

They stayed like that for a while, eventually, Sonic fell asleep, too exhausted by his long run to keep his eyes open. Amy stood up carefully and got a pillow and a blanket. She tucked the blanket gently around him and kissed his forehead before going to her room to sleep.

The Truth

Sonic woke up the next morning to the smell of pancakes. He stood up and went over to the kitchen, nearly running into Amy who was carrying a plate of pancakes. She smiled when she saw him.

"Sonic, are you feeling better now? I was just going to wake you up" she set the plate on the kitchen table. "Here, you can eat these, I have some more on the pan"

Sonic sat down and started scarfing down the pancakes. After a while, Amy gave him a second pile and sat across for him, eating her own pancakes. When she finished the twiddled her fork nervously, wondering what was the best way to ask this question.

"Sonic, why did you decide to not run away from me anymore?"

Slowing Down

Sonic stopped eating; his fork halfway to his mouth and looked at her. Before he shoveled it in and began eating at a faster pace, thinking how to best answer that question. He stopped eating when he noticed he was just shoving an empty fork into his mouth. He took a deep breath to prepare himself.

"I guess this is something that's better explained if I tell you the reason that I always ran off" he said at last "The truth is, Amy, I was scared, not scared of you, I was scared of what I felt every time I'm near you, because it's something I've never felt before, and it's not that it's a bad feeling it's actually a good one but I don't really understand what it is-"

Amy cut him off by taking a fork full of her own pancake and putting it in his mouth. Sonic chewed and swallowed, and while he did, she spoke "So you were afraid of what you were feeling because you couldn't explain it so you decided to run?" she asked him, he nodded "And then you decided to face your fear and stop running, but why? And please, slowly"

"Because every time I ran off it hurt you, and I don't like seeing you hurt" Sonic told her

Reality

"I couldn't do that anymore, I decided to face the truth" Sonic smiled slightly

"For real?" Amy asked hope in her voice

Sonic nodded "If you want to… would you give me a chance?"

Amy stood up and walked over to him before catapulting into a full on hug. The chair tipped over and Amy landed on top of Sonic. Sonic grinned.

"I take it you're giving me a chance" he said happily

"Yes" Amy said, smiling

Acting on instinct, Sonic leaned up and kissed her. Amy's eyes widened before fluttering close. She kissed him back happily. Sonic had to admit that facing your fears could really pay off. That was the last thought he had before losing track of everything around him and losing himself in the kiss.