Whipped Cream and Thorns
It was a cool and crisp autumn afternoon in Station Square.
Amy Rose had invited a certain hedgehog and a few others to her house today. She had made plans to travel far away from the busy town to find herself.
Today was her going-away party.
To her, it was just more of a get-together than an actual party to her. But at the moment, it didn't deserve a title because no one had arrived yet!
Annoyed, she glanced up at the kitchen clock.
5:58 pm
Her brows furrowed and her lips cutely curved into a frown.
Her invitations stated specifically to arrive no later than 5:30!
She sighed and finished tidying up the kitchen. She had spent hours preparing all the food and getting the place highly presentable to her comrades.
But who would notice?!
She knew that Shadow and Rouge said they may be running a bit late because G.U.N. had called them in for some overtime.
In the smug way Rouge told her, Amy could have sworn there was another meaning hidden beneath those words. But whatever happened happened, Amy decided.
Tails and Cream went on a picnic with Vanilla and the Chaotix earlier and didn't know when they'd be back. Amy was assured by Tails that he'd make it back that day no matter what and Cream enthusiastically agreed.
Exhausted from her duties around the house and her friends not showing up on time, Amy retired to the softest sofa in her living room and rested her head in her hands.
It was 6:00 pm now and still no one bothered to arrive.
She recalled Knuckles saying the other day that he had plans but maybe he'd send her a gift and to go bother Sonic instead.
...Sonic...
Amy exhaled deeply as her mind reeled back to her one-sided love.
For once in her life, she didn't bother with asking him to show up anywhere she was nor to go anywhere with him.
It was upto him if he wanted to show up or not.
He knew about today and she sent him an invite in the mail to be polite.
She was sure he had better things to do than deal with her. But in her heart she hoped that there was one slither of a chance, he'd show up to at least say hello.
"Fat chance" she mumbled under her breath. "I'd be better off wishing for the moon to do a dance and send me flowers..."
Then her thoughts drifted to whimsical negatives.
Suppose she chose a bad day to leave when everyone else had already made plans?
Or, maybe she shouldn't have even planned to have a gathering in the first place. She stayed out of everyone else's way most of the time...maybe they had no reason to show up for her.
Then she abruptly shook the sour thoughts from her head.
That couldn't be it. Regardless of the reason, no one was there. End of story.
She let another hefty sigh pass before pushing herself from the cushions and heading back into the kitchen.
She snatched up a few dishes of prepared food, wrapped them with plastic wrap and noisily put them in the fridge.
When she finished, she grabbed a cold soda out of the small cooler she had on the countertop and snapped it open.
Dejected, she took a long swig and started to step back into the living room.
In her own downtrodden world, she padded right by the couch, passing a blurred image of blue, opened the front door and peered out.
Her wary malachite eyes glazed lazily over the surrounding horizon.
There wasn't a person in sight. She didn't even hear anyone approaching. The only sounds that drifted about her ears were the constant cheerful chirping of birds and the crackling of carbonated water in her soda.
Then her saddened emeralds traveled upwards into the bright cyan sky.
Such a beautiful day... It almost seemed as though it were mocking her for having such dreadful turn of events.
She sighed and turned on her heels.
Frowning, she moped back through the living room and took a long drink from her soda.
Her eyes picked up something azure out the corner of them that seemed out of place and she casually glanced to it.
It was just Sonic, nothing out of the ordinary.
She returned her attention back to her soda and sent more of the contents down her throat, until her eyes widened in realization.
She whirled on her heels and spat out her drink for the same amount she spent drinking it.
"SONIC!!" she cried, quickly wiping her dripping lips with the back of her hand.
"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't know you were there!!"
"How couldn't you?!" Sonic retaliated back with a modest grin and brushed the fizzy liquid from off his body. "You walked right past me!!"
"I didn't see you!" she exclaimed, quickly sitting down next to him on the couch.
"I'm really sorry! Um, wait right here!" she fumbled over her words and jumped to her feet.
Sonic watched the hyper-active girl dash into the kitchen and come back out with a pink dishtowel.
"Here." she stated and held out the item for him to take.
As he placed his fingers around it, his eyes gazed upto her flustered face.
Streaks of light pink dappled her cheeks and her chest heaved rapidly from quick and shallow breathing.
Obvious male thoughts crossed his mind but he seamlessly pushed them aside and took the towel.
Once he started cleaning the sticky stuff off of his face and torso, Amy slid onto the sofa next to him again.
She watched him intently and yet expected nothing.
She couldn't believe he was actually here! He actually showed up!
At this moment, if no one else did, she wouldn't be disappointed in the slightest.
She could barely contain her excitement and surprise, but she told herself she had to keep it under control. Didn't want to scare him out too soon.
"So..." she began, trying her best to ignore the slamming of her heart against her chest and attempting to sound casual, "what brings you here, Sonic? I- I mean, I didn't think you'd be able to make it..."
"So did I! But, I took the risk of stopping by and wishing you a safe trip."
Her brow quirked at this. " 'Risk' ?! What kind of risk are you referring to, Sonic?!"
"Uh um..." He nervously rubbed the back of his head. He could feel his quills start to stand on end in her presence. All he wanted was to say goodbye to her, but he couldn't even seem to do that without her getting mad at him for something.
"Aww don't get upset Amy!"
"I'm not upset!" she barked back, leaning forward for emphasis. "I...I just--!" she trailed off.
She had to calm down.
Catching herself from saying anything else she'd probably end up regretting, Amy swallowed her unspoken words and forced herself to put on her best saccharine smile. "W-would you like something to drink, Sonic??" she asked a bit too nicely.
Sonic cringed from her odd behavior, but gave her the benefit of the doubt that she was trying her best not to lose it.
Nervously, he nodded and watched her as she stood up with clenched fists.
"Do you care for some hot chocolate...?" she squeezed out through gritted teeth.
"Uh, s-sure, if you have any."
"I do."
"Um okay. Thanks."
"...You're welcome..." she nearly growled and stormed her way into the kitchen.
And at this point, Sonic had begun to think maybe it really was a bad idea for him to show up here!
But, Amy was Amy. And it seemed that she knew the kind of effect she had on him and was trying to fix it. Besides, he never knew of the next time he'd ever see her again.
He actually would miss Amy once she left. It would just be so quiet and calm without her around.
But it would also be too predictable as well. Things would get boring quick, he knew.
It just wouldn't be the same.
The thought crossed his mind that he was a partial reason of why Amy had decided to leave but he discarded it.
Still, in the back of his mind that question still lingered.
He figured he may never know the answer and that was good enough for him.
Somethings are best not knowing about, right?
Back in the kitchen, Amy mentally kicked herself for acting the way she was. She was trying NOT to sound like a pre-adolescent psycho, but she was failing miserably.
But that's just the way she was.
She tried to clean up her act a bit for Sonic but it just wasn't working. She seemed even MORE like a psycho than usual!
She groaned heavily as she gathered the contents for the beverage and grabbed a can of whipped cream out of the fridge.
As her eyes trailed over its decorative label, her mind began to drift back to the days when she was younger and loved spraying the whipped cream in her mouth, then slipping it back in the fridge before anyone else knew what she had done.
She loved those times. She wondered if Sonic liked whipped cream in his hot chocolate.
A slurry of adult-oriented thoughts littered her mind from having his name and whipped cream in the same sentence within her mind.
She blushed and quickly snatched up the mugs she was using for the hot drink and poured two full cups.
With a quick shake of the canister, she popped off the cap and swirled a large ring on top of hers, but left Sonic's alone.
She put the mugs and the can on a tray and carried it out to where her crush was.
And much to her astonishment, he wasn't grasping the arm of the sofa for dear life. Instead he was waiting for her, lightly tapping his foot on the carpet.
And for the first time since he arrived there, she smiled. It was a genuine smile.
"Oh Sonic..." she uttered below a whisper "I'm gonna miss you."
His right ear twitched in her direction as if he picked up some of what she said and he expectantly turned to her and met her gaze.
"Did you say something?"
She briskly shook her head. "No." she beamed and rested the tray on the coffee table in front of him and sat down.
In a very lady-like manner, she crossed her legs and handed him his mug. Then she scooped hers up by the handle and its base and lightly blew it.
Cool viridian orbs watched her while she behaved so cutely with something so simple.
A small smile curved his lips as he observed her.
Her soft lips parted silently over the froth of the fluffy white and brushed against it.
His eyes slightly narrowed as the whipped cream became replaced with thoughts of something else that held similar properties that he could offer her. But his smile only broadened when he imagined her enraged reaction if he told her.
But, his serene expression soon dissipated into a more alert one when he realized she was glaring at him.
"Huh??" he stammered, snapping out of his trance.
"I asked you if you wanted some whipped cream in your hot chocolate. And you completely ignored me!"
"Sorry Amy! I didn't hear you!"
"Obviously!"
"Sorry! I didn't mean to ignore you!"
She groaned and placed her mug down on the tray. "If you're that bored already, you can say so!!" she snapped, then gasped at what she said. "I- I mean...!"
Sonic only shook his head. He really did want to leave, but something about her made him stay. At least, for a little longer.
He shrugged. "Hey, forget about it Amy" he spoke softly and reached down to get his cup of hot chocolate,
He held it upto his nose and blinked. Then he glanced to her. "Why don't I have any whipped cream?"
"I wasn't sure if you liked it or not so I just didn't give you any."
"Could you give me some, Amy?"
"What?"
"Oops" he whispered quickly to himself, then attempted to cover his folly. "Um, nevermind, I'll just get it myself."
Amy stared at him with a dumbfound expression clearly written across her features. She wondered what he meant, but shrugged it off.
Casually, she leaned over and picked up her mug.
Sonic's eyes were on her again as she started to drink the warm creamy delight.
He had been watching her so keenly, it took him a few moments to realize that he had been shaking up the canister for quite some time.
Clumsily, he fumbled with it and took the cap off.
Amy didn't even notice him making a fool out of himself. She was too immersed in her own thoughts of what she would do after tonight when she was all alone again.
Entranced in her deliberations, she took a deep sip from her cup. When she lifted her face, a thick trail of cream marked her upper lip and began to dribble down the corners of her mouth.
When she realized this, she immediately licked her lips and put her hand to her mouth.
"Sonic, do you..." she started to say while turning to him, but got cut off with an abrupt spray of whipped cream in her face.
"OH MY GOD!!" she screamed, fighting through the ivory velvety spew, "SONIC STOP!!"
"Oh! Sh!t!!" he groused and took his finger off the nozzle.
"Amy are you...?"
"DO I LOOK OKAY, SONIC?! GOD!! LOOK AT ME!! I'M COVERED IN WHITE STICKY CREAM!!" she yelled, disgustingly looking at her coated arms and dress. "Ugh It's oozing EVERYWHERE!"
"Hold on!" Sonic reassured and zipped out of the room. When he returned a second later, he through her a towel.
Thoroughly vexed, Amy snatched it off her head and began to wipe the cream off of her.
"Sorry Amy...it just went off...!"
"Oh shut up!! You did that on purpose!!" she cried, roughly cleaning off her dress. "Now look what you did! Now I've got a stupid white stain on my clothes and it's all your fault for not aiming that stuff in the right place!"
"What?!"
"You heard me!"
He stifled a boyish chortle but decided that if she were going to be upset with him anyway, he may as well be himself and have fun with it.
"Hey, it's not like I shot it in your eye, Amy."
She growled. "YOU MAY AS WELL HAVE! You didn't miss the REST of me! Your aim is horrible!"
Overwhelmed, she stood to her feet and threw the towel at him. Then she turned her back to him. She was so angry, she couldn't stop her fists from clenching and unclenching.
Sonic sighed. "I'm sorry allright?"
"Sorry's not good enough!" she yelled, letting her anger overrule her temporarily.
She wanted him out! He had to have done that on purpose! He had to...
"...Idiot!" she squeaked in a wavering tone. Her shoulders began to quiver.
Seeing this, Sonic set all jokes aside and instantly rose to his feet. "Amy...?"
She didn't respond to him but kept her fists in taut balls.
He stepped closer and reached out a comforting hand to rest on her shoulder. But her body flinched at his warmth and she swatted his hand away.
"Don't touch me!" she forced out in a hushed whisper. Her tone gave the clear evidence that she was crying. "Just get out...!"
"...Out...?" Sonic repeated feebly in his state of shock. "But Amy, I thought you wanted me to be here, didn't you?"
"But you don't want to be!!" she screeched back still not facing him. Her body continued to shake as the tears refused to cease. "You didn't want to come here...and you don't want me!" She had to stop to catch her breath. "And, if you don't want to be here...you can go! It was stupid of me to think...to think that you actually wanted to see--" she trailed off and risked a look behind her.
Her pupils shrank and her heart sank deep into her stomach.
Sonic was gone.
Her mind raced with many assaulting and accusing thoughts.
Did he leave because of she yelled at him?
Did he leave because she was right? He really didn't want to be there?
Did she do this to him?
Feeling her heart sink lower into a dank abyss in the pit of her stomach, Amy hugged herself tightly and sank to her knees on the carpet. And there she continued to weep without restriction.
So he really didn't want her. This night was proof enough.
She decided, if that was the way he wanted to be then fine, she could play that game too.
Although, she wanted to hate him to make it easier for her to accept that had happened, but she couldn't. She knew she needed him.
But where was he now?
"Sonic... Sonic..." her voice trembled his name in dejected and regretful shapes.
Moments dragged on like hours, piercing and slipping relentlessly through time.
Her sobs seemed endless, but they reduced in intensity.
But soon she had made up her mind. She would just leave without another word to anyone. Especially not to Sonic.
Slowly, she rose to her unstable feet and wobbled a bit before standing up straight.
Her head drooped, she turned around and took a step forward.
She felt something stop her.
She wondered if all her crying made her so dizzy that she ran into a wall without realizing. Sniffling, she lifted her heavy head and met face to face with
"Sonic...!?" she gasped, feeling both anger, sadness and fleeting happiness rush through her all at once.
He wore a small regretful smile on his face. "...I wanted to apologize..."
"Oh, there's no need to." she laughed lightly while wiping the tears from her moist cheeks.
He said nothing at first, but moved his hand from behind his back to reveal a succulent red rose fresh with thorns.
But Amy hadn't seen this yet and blindly threw herself to his chest and wrapped her arms around him. "Oh Sonic I--! OUCH!! OW!!" she cried, jumping away from him.
Wincing, she looked down at her dress that was now torn at the midsection.
Small petals of the rose had been pulled from its bud when she pulled away from him and fluttered weightlessly to the floor.
Silence spread between them while both their eyes darted from Amy's tiny wound, to the slightly crushed rose, to the petals on the carpet.
Sonic sighed and shook his head. With all this mishaps, he wondered if this was a sign that meant 'STAY AWAY FROM AMY ROSE' .
"Why is this so difficult..." he griped to himself under his breath.
Amy looked up to him with wide and remorseful eyes. Her mouth hung in a gape of silent words she wanted to say but couldn't voice.
But that was fine. Smiling lightly, Sonic winked at Amy and pointed to the coffee table where another rose laid. Amongst the previous mess of whipped cream and all.
"I brought a spare."
Amy laughed. Her eyes began to well up with tears again. And although Sonic hated seeing a girl cry, he knew they were tears of joy and tolerated them.
But only for a second.
Amy shut her eyes and enjoyed the welcoming warmth of his hand on her delicate face as he placed a thumb on her cheek to catch her tears.
"Sonic, I..."
"Shh..." he whispered and brought her to him in a caring hug. "Have a safe trip tomorrow."
"..Thank you." she mouthed. She was too happy to find her voice and just hugged him closer.
When they moved apart from their embrace, Amy peered over at the mess on the table.
"I should clean this up..." she softly whispered, already beginning to arrange the mugs and canister on the tray. "And get some water for this..." she added, reaching for the rose when Sonic's hand enclosed around her wrist, stopping her.
Puzzled but intrigued, she turned to look at him.
The most handsome and inviting expression she had ever seen flourished across those features as he smiled comfortingly at her.
"Worry about that rose later..." he spoke with a sudden hint of allure in his voice.
It was very mysterious, like he was upto something.
"Why? What are you upto?" Amy played along, standing up and nearing closer to him.
His expression softened. "Because I left a dozen more on your bed."
"Wh-what? For me?" she exclaimed, her pitch heightening with excitement. Then it deflated a bit as she begun to feel guilty. "Oh, I should give you one of them or something to remember me by. You've given me all these gives, you deserve something in return, Sonic."
He chuckled faintly at her maturity and brushed a finger over her cheek.
"There's only one rose I want... But it has plenty of thorns."
She blinked, not catching onto his metaphor. "Which one is it?" she eagerly asked, ready to fetch it for him.
But there was no need for that and no need for verbal answers when Sonic leaned down and cautiously claimed her lips.
Her whole body tensed at the sudden action but then gradually relaxed. In absolute solace, she closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around him.
And the next thing she knew, the floor no longer held her weight and her entire body was in the arms of the hedgehog she loved.
And without breaking the kiss, Sonic actually walked her into her room and closed the door behind them.
Outside Amy's front door was a rustle in some of the flora.
"Did you get it, Tails?" Knuckles' gruff tone asked in a whisper.
"Yep!" Tails' youthful tone replied back.
"This is going on Boobtube!" Knuckles exclaimed, still in a whisper.
"Um, that's Youtube, Knuckles!" Tails corrected.
"Whatever!!"
"Forget Youtube, let's give it to the press!" Rouge's sultry voice suggested.
"No, let's put it on Myspace."
Silence fell over them, suggesting that all eyes were on Shadow.
"Shadow, I thought you stopped going there." Rouge seethed.
"I did! That...doesn't mean I can't still mention it...does it...?"
"I think it's time for me to go home now..." Cream stated. "Mommy says Myspace is evil."
"What?! Evil?!"
"Anyway, still think we should see her off?" Knuckles asked.
Silence claimed them yet again when faint sounds of Amy and Sonic were heard from within the house's walls indicating Sonic was within hers.
Rouge sighed. "Nah, I think Sonic's doing a good job of that already..."
--
HAPPY 16TH BIRTHDAY SEAN!
-Mel