Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid
Knuckles frowned, throwing another rock in the large pond. He bent down to get another one, but suddenly a scream was heard right next to his ear, and he fell head-first into the water. Sputtering for air, Knuckles quickly swam to the surface, looking up at Rouge, who was laughing her head off. He glared at her and growled.
"What the heck was that for?" he asked, climbing out of the pond. He shook himself, trying to get dry, and ausing Rouge to get wet. She frowned.
"You just love to spoil the fun, don't you, Knucklehead?" she asked, smirking. She pushed him back into the water, but if as if he knew what her exact movements were, he grabbed onto her arms and took her by surprise, letting her fall in the water with him. Rouge cried out in shock.
"You didn't...," Rouge gasped, reaching out to splash water out at Knuckles.
"Um, what are you two doing...?" Sonic suddenly asked. Knuckles, surprised on the intrusion, blinked awkwardly once he got over the surface. Then he looked at Rouge and frowned.
"She tried to drown me!" he cried.
"What? You tried to drown me before that!" she shot back, tempted to slap herself in the head for thinking and blurting out such a lame excuse. She looked up at Sonic and Amy. "And what are you two doing in the tree-shaded areas of Angel Island?"
"Oh, we're-" Amy began excitedly.
"Just taking a walk," Sonic interrupted quickly. "Hey, at least we're not the ones flirting with each other in a lake." Knuckles, disgusted, looked at Rouge who had the same expression that he had. They immediately pushed away from each other and got out of the water.
"Let's go," Knuckles mumbled to Sonic. He glanced at Rouge, who was staring at him. Sonic nudge him in the shoulder and began to walk away. Knuckles followed.
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"This is probably one of the most boring days of my life," Sonic mumbled, standing upright on a rock on a hill. He looked out at the land below. Knuckles was sitting on a rock next to him, his expression bored, nothing seemingly on his mind and thoughts. Sonic looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "Hey, man, did you hear me?"
"What?" Knuckles said, looking up. Sonic rolled his eyes.
"Rouge?" Sonic asked.
Knuckles blinked, unaware of what Sonic was talking about. He frowned and repeated stupidly, "What?" Before Sonic could discuss anything further, they both heard the voices of two familiar girls in the distance. Sonic's eyebrows shot up and Knuckles groaned in agony.
"She seems to be everywhere I am lately!" he cried, moaning. He looked at how high the cliff was, peering down at the edge. Knuckles frowned. "Do you think the jump will hurt? It doesn't seem that far away."
"Uh," Sonic said awkwardly, as Rouge and Amy stepped into view. He nervously put a hand behind his neck and left it there, speechless. He turned around. "Hey, buddy, how about lending your friend a little hand here?"
"Sorry, man, I'm estimating," Knuckles said.
"What the..." Amy blinked.
"Heck are you doing?" Rouge finished for her. Instantly, Knuckles' head flew up, his eyes widened. He turned around and quickly got off the ground. He wiped the dirt off himself.
"Um," he began. "I... I was wondering on- You know what? It doesn't really matter now." He sat back down on the rock, his expression again, bored. "Hey, Sonic, how about you and your girlfriend get outta here so I can have some peace and quiet?"
"Why?" Sonic said. "So you and Rouge can be left alone?"
"Wha-?" Knuckles began, his eyebrows raised. "No-! I just meant that... OH, NEVER MIND!" He moaned in agony again, collapsing backward on the rock.
"You know...," Rouge said, peering over the cliff with her arms crossed. "The cliff isn't that steep." She looked back at Knuckles, who was looking at her questioningly. "I bet I can get down there faster than you can."
"What are we, five?" Sonic asked.
"You're on," Knuckles growled, standing up. Rouge smiled evilly, raising an eyebrow. "Ready? Okay...GO!" Rouge quickly swept off of the ground, soaring into the air. And Knuckles quickly began to run, swiftly moving with the breeze.
"What are we supposed to do?" Amy whined.
"Let's see who wins," Sonic said, stepping forward. "This will be interesting..."
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"Oh, c'mon, was that the best you can do?" Rouge asked, leaning against the tree with a dirty smile on her face. Knuckles, panting heavily, stared up at her with surprised eyes. He shook his head, trying to catch his breath and watched as Sonic and Amy came into view.
"So who won?" Amy asked.
"Hah, I did." Rouge's grin widened. Knuckles growled.
"Really?" Sonic asked, astonished. "Wow. Just...wow."
"Shut up," Knuckles growled. "So what? She can fly! What am I supposed to do? Dig my way over here?"
"Uh, well, yeah!" Rouge cried. "C'mon, Knucklehead, is that all you got?"
"Why?" Knuckles said, stepping towards her. "You want me to give you a painful knucklehead-sandwich again like last time?"
"Yeah, and that was right before I strangled you to the ground!" Rouge shot back angrily. "and I'm not afraid to do it again!"
"You know what?" Knuckles cried. "Bring it on!"
"Hey, hey, hey, you guys-!" Sonic cried, stepping in front of the two. He held out his arms. "No more, c'mon! Why do you guys always fight anyway? Do you two get a, like, kick out of getting beaten up?"
"No, it's just their way to show their affection towards each other," Amy piped in, grinning widely. Knuckles blinked.
"Do you want me to beat YOU up now?" Rouge asked, half-serious.
"Hey-!" Sonic cried again. "I said enough... And you two, Rouge and Knuckles, quit it, you're both getting on my last nerves."
"Whatever you say, Sonic," Knuckles sighed, raising his arms up defeatedly. Sonic nodded awkwardly, and him and Amy began to walk away. When Knuckles was sure that they weren't looking, he grabbed Rouge in his arms and messed up her hair, giving her a rough knucklehead-sandwich. He laughed out loud, and Sonic quickly turned around. He rolled his eyes.
"Sorry man, but I couldn't help it!" Knuckles laughed. He stared at Sonic and Amy who were looking at Rouge oddly. "What?"
"Let go of me!" he heard Rouge cry, and startled, Knuckles let go. "You held onto me for an eternity!"
"Oh, well, sor-ry," Knuckles muttered sarcastically. "Can I help it that you're so..." his voice trailed off as he looked into her eyes. He frowned. "Annoying?"
"Yes!" Rouge cried. "If you're so tough and strong then you can at least do that!"
"Hey, what are you implying...," Knuckles growled, stepping towards her.
"You know, all you really have feelings for is that stupid Emerald of yours, that I'm not even TRYING to steal!" Rouge snapped, glaring.
"Guys, guys-!" Sonic cried. But Rouge and Knuckles kept on babbling on. Sonic rolled his eyes. "What's the use? Not even hard rocks can stop those two."
"I DO have feelings for other things then that Emerald!" Knuckles growled, clenching his fists tightly with anger.
"Oh yeah, like what?" Rouge cried. "Your knuckles?"
"Yeah, those and you a-!" Knuckles began. His voice was caught in his throat. His eyes widened at what he had just blurted out. There was an awfully long silence.
"Um." Sonic moved his foot around awkwardly on the floor, trying to break the quiet. "Uh..."
"That-" Knuckles said, speechless. He pointed at Rouge and said slowly, "I didn't say anything." Rouge blinked, at a loss of words. After a while, Knuckles turned around and began to walk away.
"Wait," Rouge suddenly said. Knuckles stopped in his tracks and turned around, gulping. "What did you just say?"
"I said nothing," Knuckles growled.
"You know, you ARE a Knucklehead," Rouge said through gritted teeth. "You're stubborn and your brain is practically a rock."
"Yeah, well, I guess that IT IS," Knuckles said, shrugging sarcastically. He began to walk away again, shaking his head.
"Hey-!" Rouge called, frustrated. "Don't walk away from me!"
"And what if I do?" Knuckles called over his shoulder. He turned around again. "You know, Rouge, some things...they're better left, well, unsaid." He nodded, trying to decide if he was feeling anger or confusion, or both.
"So you like her?" Amy asked, her eyes widened. Her and Sonic dropped their jaws. Knuckles smiled slightly, his eyes still narrowed.
"Maybe," he said, and grinned.