Chapter 2: Sleepless in Knothole:
That night, Knuckles couldn't sleep. Regardless of what position he lay in, he couldn't seem to get comfortable. Sighing in defeat, Knuckles tossed the sheets aside and sat up. The day's earlier events rushed through his mind, and no matter how much he replayed it in his head, he still couldn't figure out why he had agreed to Nicole's unexpected proposal. It seemed he had gotten caught up in the heat of the moment and lost his ability to think beyond five seconds ahead.
'Why did I ever agree to that?' he thought, 'Now she wants to do... it. With me. I can't do that, what would the others think? If Sonic ever found out, he'd never let me hear the end of it. And Sally, she'll think I'm some kind of perv.' Shaking the troubling thoughts out of his head, Knuckles stood and crossed the room to the open window.
A cool, refreshing breeze blew in from the widened aperture that softly caressed his skin and fur and played with his loose dreadlocks. Taking in the view, Knuckles watched the wind play with the tops of the trees and the full moon shine its pale light across the forest, turning everything a dim hue of its daylight color and giving the grass and leaves a silvery sheen.
Relaxing, Knuckles didn't hear the door open and close quietly behind him. He inhaled deeply and attempted a half-hearted smile. Well, maybe it would figure itself out. Maybe Nicole will (hopefully) find something less embarassing to become fascinated with, like... bunnies or unicorns. He had just let his guard down when he felt a pair of hands slide around his neck and down towards his chest.
"What the?" yelped Knuckles as he whirled around on his perceived attacker. Instinctively, raising his fists in preparation for a fight, he was surprised to see Nicole standing only inches away from him. "Wha- Nicole?! Jeez, don't sneak up on me like that!"
"I am sorry if I startled you," she apologized, "but, I noticed that you seemed unable to sleep."
"You were watching me?"
"I tapped into the security system and was doing my routine checks when I noticed that you appeared to be restless, so I thought maybe..." Here, the lynx took a few steps forward and placed a finger on the echidna's chest, lightly tracing his white crescent, "I could do something to help you rest easier."
Knuckles swallowed and attempted to back away, but found himself back against the wall. "I'm fine, there's really no need..." he told her with in a hushed tone. Nicole took another small step forward and pressed her chest against his.
"I exist to serve, so let me serve you," she replied in most seductive tone. Stealthily, she slid her hands down his waist and stroked his outer thighs. Knuckles however, began to grow even more uncomfortable.
"Nicole, really it's fine," he repeated.
Nicole looked up into his amethyst colored eyes and did her best imitation of a pouty face, not unlike Sally's. "Why will you not let me help you? I really want too," she whined cutely.
Knuckles found himself gazing into her vibrant green eyes, reflecting the soft, silvery light of the Mobian moon and noticed how beautiful she looked. She looked so sweet and innocent, standing there with her chest pressing against his and the wind gently tugging at her short black hair. Leaning in, he closed his eyes and began to pucker his lips.
Elated that her pouty face had worked, Nicole eagerly closed her eyes as well and prepared to met his lips with hers. But then, in a moment of clarity, Knuckles realized what he was doing and hesitated, pulling back away and snapping his eyes open. Nicole, however, held her pose and waited for his kiss. After a few heartbeats, Nicole began to get impatient. "I am ready, Knuckles, just waiting on you," she said, not opening her eyes.
Deciding he needed to get out of there fast, Knuckles pushed her aside and made a run for the door. Well, more like a rushed walk or slow sprint. Being nudged aside, Nicole opened her eyes and saw Knuckles depart in a hurry. "Cookies," she swore. What went wrong? Everything was going well until now. What made him flee like that? Whatever it was, Nicole knew better than to chase him. She'd seen how that works out for Amy. Settling on the edge of Knuckles's bed, Nicole sighed. Whatever spooked him, he had better remember their date tomorrow.
Author's Note: Yeah, here's the second chapter of "The Mobian Experience", at long last. So, some explanation is in order yes? Well like I posted in the reviews for my fanfics under my original account, this past year has been pretty hetic for me. Juggling a job, school, and personal lives is not an easy task and I had precious little time to devote to fanfiction or just about anything else. So, that's why this took so long and I'm sure some of you have moved on, believing this story and myself as a lost cause, but for those of you who stuck around and anxiously waited for updates will be duly rewarded for such loyalty. So starting this month, I will be trying to update at least once every two weeks, or sooner if I can I make it. The next question I'm sure some of you are asking is why the new identity and account? Well, my original computer was rather old (about seven years) and was a flimsy little laptop. So during a fight with a then girlfriend, she smashed it against the wall and it broke. That wouldn't be such a big deal if it didn't hold all the passwords and back-up information for my accounts and emails. So that was fun. Anyways, the important thing is I'm back and with a vegeance. Look for more updates and that proposed "Promises" remake/prequel.