It was the next morning. Sonic and Tails were standing at the door. Sonic itched his nose, "Me and Tails will be out taking the X-Tornado for a spin."

"Have fun Sonic," Amy squeaked.

Sonic smiled uncomfortably, then looked at Jericho, who was just standing there like a statue. "You wanna come Jericho?" he asked. Jericho looked up, then shook his head. Sonic shrugged, "Well, your loss . . . Let's go, Tails!" He zoomed out of the house.

Tails jumped, "Hey, wait up!" He hurried behind.

Rouge went to the door, "I'm heading out to check on the emeralds."

"Oh no you're not!" Knuckles hissed.

Rouge stuck out her tongue, "Gotta catch me first!" She was gone in a flash.

"Rouge, get back here!" Knuckles snarled, and chased after her.

Shadow walked out of the house as he spoke, "I going . . ."

"To where?," Kaz wondered.

"Who cares," Shadow said, and was gone.

Amy hopped up and down, "Alright girls, let's go shopping!" Amy, Kaz, Cream, and Anna ran out the door.

Anna then peaked back inside to see Trisha standing there by Jericho. "You coming, Trisha?" she asked.

Trisha blinked, "Um . . . No, I'm fine . . . You go ahead . . ."

"Man, you never go out with us," Anna said. Trisha squeezed her hands together. Jericho looked down at Trisha, feeling curious. Anna shook her head, "We'll go buy something for you while we're out shopping." She then headed out and closed the door.

Jericho looked down at Trisha. Trisha looked up at Jericho. Her eyes were huge, like puppy eyes. Jericho smiled, "Hey." Trisha turned away and went into the kitchen. Jericho's mouth dropped into a frown. He sighed and followed into the kitchen. He saw that a milk carton was out, and Trisha was reaching out to get a glass. Suddenly, stacks of glass came tumbling down. Jericho quickly acted, sliding over to Trisha and catching the falling cups. Trisha stepped back, shocked.

"Whoa!" she said. Jericho stared, then put up the extra cups away. Trisha blinked, "Quick reflexes . . ."

Jericho grinned, "Be careful next time." He then gave her the glass. Trisha stared down at the glass, looked up at Jericho, then smiled. Jericho cracked a grin. Trisha's smile quickly turned into a frown and moved to the milk carton. Jericho hung his arms freely, one eye brow raised. Trisha poured out some milk, then saved the rest in the fridge. She gulped down her drink, then rinsed her glass. Jericho just stood and watched with interest. Trisha turned her glass over to let it dry, then sat down at the kitchen table.

Jericho looked at her, then sat down beside her. Trisha looked alittle nervous, and turned away. Jericho folded his arms on the table, then drummed his fingers. Trisha moved her eyes around, trying to avoid looking at Jericho. Jericho's eyes slanted sideways, feeling sad. He took a deep breath, then said, "So . . . how come you're staying here?"

Trisha peaked at Jericho, then looked away, "Cause . . . I don't usually like shopping."

"Oh," Jericho said.

Trisha huddled in her chair and looked down. She finally spoke, "Why are you here?"

Jericho shrugged his shoulders, "I always stay in the house unless I feel like going out."

Trisha looked up at him. Jericho's eyes were glassy. "How come?" she asked.

Jericho slid his eyes from side to side, "Uhhh, I don't know, I just do."

Trisha squinted, then looked out the window. She then glanced at Jericho, "So what's your story?"

Jericho jerked, "My what?"

"There must be a reason why you've been added to the team. It's rare that Sonic finds anybody that he likes to add to the group."

"Oh, well um . . ." Jericho thought. He didn't want Trisha to know his whole story. What would she think? "I was new to this city," he said quickly. "And Sonic found me wandering around the alley. He saw my moves and decided to add me to the team. He said I would be quite helpful in fighting Dr. Eggman sometime."

Trisha's jaw dropped, "You know Dr. Eggman?"

"Well yeah, Sonic told me alot about him," Jericho said.

"Did anything happen while me and Anna were gone?" Trisha asked.

Jericho shook his head, "Not that I know of... Pretty much the same everyday . . ."

Trisha smiled, then frowned, "That's strange . . ."

Jericho's ears perked, "What?"

"Eggman hasn't been attacking us for a very long time . . . Wonder if he's up to something very dangerous . . ."

"Unless he gave up," Jericho muttered.

Trisha shook her head, "Oh no, not this guy. He never quits. He always comes up with another plan to wipe us out."

Jericho flattened his ears and mumbled, "Kinda like Master . . ."

"What was that?"

Jericho sweated, "Oh nothing, heheh . . ."

Trisha raised one brow, "You know, I've never talked to someone this long except to Anna."

"I must be lucky," Jericho grinned.

Trisha narrowed her eyes, "Yeah . . ."

Jericho tilted his head, "Why don't you talk much?"

Trisha sighed and shook her head, "I just . . . I just feel like I have nothing to say . . . ever . . ."

"There's always something to say," Jericho said.

Trisha shrugged, "I guess . . ."

Jericho looked away, then back at Trisha, "So how did you come here?"

Trisha's eyes widened, and looked away, "Because of . . . something . . ." Jericho didn't understand. Trisha turned to face Jericho and snapped, "Me and Anna were alone in the alley, and Eggman was hurting us. Sonic came to the rescue and figured we were safer with him, so he wanted us to stay with him and become part of the Sonic HQ."

Jericho itched his nose, "Well that's nice . . ."

Trisha got up, "I need to get going . . ."

Jericho sprang to his feet, "Wait, where you going?"

Trisha went through the kitchen door, "Nowhere, just running off to tidy up the house before the others return."

Jericho walked out of the kitchen and watched Trisha run up the stairs. "Can I help?" he asked.

Trisha froze, then looked over her shoulder. Jericho could see a tiny smile on her face. Trisha shrugged, "sure, why not?" She then rushed into Sonic's room. Jericho hurried upstairs and went into where Trisha was.

He leaned on the door, watching Trisha straighten up the blankets in Sonic's bed. "So, this is what you do every single day when you're home?" Jericho asked.

Trisha huffed, "Yes . . ."

"Well don't you get . . . you know, alittle exhausted doing the work for them?" Jericho asked. "I mean, it almost sounds as if they're too lazy to straighten up the house by themselves."

"They're not lazy," Trisha said. "And besides, I don't mind cleaning the house." She stood up and smiled.

Jericho shook his head, "What are you, a house maid?"

Trisha went around the bed and moved across to the next room, "No of course not. Like I said, I love cleaning up the house. Anna does this sometimes too but she's mostly out. I'm usually the one who gets things ready for them."

Jericho went over and leaned on the next door, "And you don't mind?"

Trisha pulled the blankets up, "No, I don't."

Jericho shrugged, "Okay, if you say so." Trisha sighed and went to the next room. Jericho followed and watched. Trisha fluffed the pillows up. Jericho tilted his head, "So, Trisha . . . If you ever went outside, what would you do?"

Trisha stopped and looked up, "Well, I rest . . ."

"Rest? What do you mean?"

Trisha snorted as she moved into the next room, "When I'm done doing my work, I rest beneath the sun, take some fresh air."

Jericho stepped into the room, "Oh . . ."

Trisha glanced at him, smiled, then groaned, "Didn't you want to help me?"

"Oh!" Jericho said, suddenly remembering. He ran to one side of the bed, while Trisha stood on the other side.

Trisha pointed at the white sheet, "Grab that end for me will ya?" Jericho took the ends of the sheet, and Trisha took the other ends. They both then lifted the blanket up, and let it fall gently onto the mattress. Jericho stared at Trisha in a daze as the sheet fell. Trisha was looking back at him, her eyes broken in white shimmers. Jericho cracked a smile, his mouth partly open. Trisha moved her chin inward, feeling bashful, then went on smoothing out the wrinkles on the bed.

Jericho stood there for a moment, then joined in, "So Trisha, where did you and Anna go during your trip?"

"Oh, the journey?" Trisha asked. "It was just a little break Sonic gave to us. He figured we needed some rest so he let us go on a little vacation. We went far out on the other side of Mobius."

"What did you two do there?" Jericho wondered.

Trisha sighed, "What we're interested in . . ."

Jericho froze, "Oh, and what was that?"

Trisha looked up, "Drawing . . . Me and Anna love to draw . . ."

Jericho was silent for a moment, then finally asked, "Draw what?"

Trisha shrugged, "Just stuff . . . Sonic calls us the little artists." She smiled, making the first "t" on artists sound strong.

Jericho raised one brow, "Stuff . . ."

Trisha's eyes widen, "What, are you suspicious with what we draw?"

Jericho grinned, "Maybe . . ."

"Good god, I'm not sick," Trisha squealed. "I would never draw stuff like THAT!"

"Like what?" Jericho sneered.

Trisha's cheeks puffed, "You know what I'm talking about, pervert . . ."

"Pervert?" Jericho's face twisted. "Hey I'm just curious . . ."

"Well why think things like that?" Trisha snapped. "You think I'm the type of hedgehog who would draw stuff like THAT?"

Jericho slouched, " . . . No . . . but then what stuff DO you draw?"

Trisha sighed, calming her voice down, "Nature and other things like that." Jericho looked at Trisha, who looked at him. She then lowered her head and closed her eyes.

Jericho whispered, "Could you show me?"

Trisha's ears perked, "Oh, well um . . ." Jericho raised one brow, waiting for an answer. Trisha rubbed her eye, "I don't think they're good."

"I don't care," Jericho said. "I just wanna see."

Trisha huffed, "Well . . . okay, if you want to. But I'm telling ya, they're no good."

Jericho grinned, "Yeah . . . sure . . ."

Trisha rushed into her room, skipping a few other rooms that she didn't fix yet. She knelt down to her bedside and pulled out her luggage from beneath. Jericho eventually came into the room and sat down on her bed and watched. Trisha unzipped her bag, then brought out what seemed to be a spiral sketchbook. She then moved up and sat beside Jericho, "Well, here it is..." She held up the sketchbook. Jericho stared at it, then took it. Trisha crossed her arms, "I'm sure you won't like them. They're not really that good."

Jericho opened the front cover. A drawing of some flickies preening their feathers in the tree appeared on the first page. Jericho smiled, "You drew these?"

Trisha nodded, "Yeah . . ." Jericho turned to the next page, which showed some wild flowers. Trisha rubbed the back of her neck, "They're nothing much. Just some nature . . ."

"They're very nice," Jericho muttered. "Just look at those ripples in the flowers' petals."

Trisha blushed, "Really?"

Jericho turned to look at Trisha's shy face, "Of course." Trisha smiled, hiding her face in embarrassment.

Jericho chuckled in his throat, then went to the next page, showing a drawing of a pond with cattails, and a dragonfly resting motionlessly on one of the tall plants. "I've never seen anything like this," Jericho muttered. "Where I came from, there was . . . nothing . . . Where did you go to get these pictures?"

Trisha shrugged, "Anna and I just went down to the other side of the world . . . It's beautiful there."

"I can tell," Jericho mumbled, then moved to the next page. This time there was a sketch of some country folks. Two cats had their arms wrapped around each others' shoulders. One wore a knitted dress, and the other wore a giant straw hat, bigger than the size of the head. "Well who are these guys?" Jericho asked.

Trisha jumped, "Oh, those are just some folks we met on our vacation. This one here in the dress is Melony, and the other one in the hat is Raud." Jericho stared down at the folks, lost in thought. He started to vision his past again, with him sketching Fay in her revealing gown. Trisha switched her eyes from the sketchpad to Jericho's eyes, then mumbled, "Something wrong?"

Jericho shook out of his memory, " . . . No . . ." Trisha's eyes slid downward, back to her drawing, and sighed solemnly. Jericho looked at Trisha and said, "You know . . . I can draw too."

Trisha glared at him, "What? You? Draw? Really?"

Jericho raised one brow, "Yeah."

Trisha sneered, "Yeah right, you're just saying that."

"No really," Jericho grinned. "Only . . . it's been a while since the last time I drew . . ."

Trisha flattened her eyes, "Oh yeah? What did you use to draw?"

Jericho suddenly frowned, then looked away, "Um . . . Fay . . ."

Question marks popped around Trisha's head, "Fay? What's a fay?"

"It's not a what," Jericho murmured.

Trisha batted her eyes, "Oh? . . . Then who's Fay?"

Jericho huffed, "She was someone I knew . . . a long time ago . . ." He looked at the door.

Trisha's eyes loosened, and she bowed her head, "Oh . . . What happened to her?"

Jericho grumbled, "Let's just say that we're separated from each other for the rest of our lives."

Trisha gasped, "That's terrible! What, did she dump you?"

Jericho's eyes widened, "Um . . . I guess you could say that . . ."

"How sad!" Trisha said. "I wish there was something I could do . . ."

Jericho sighed, "It's alright, I'll get over it sooner or later . . ."

Trisha glanced at him, speechless. She then changed the subject, "So . . . You say you can draw huh?" Jericho nodded sadly. Trisha handed him her sketch pad, along with a clean art pencil, "Would you care to show me?" Jericho gazed at Trisha's hand holding the pencil. Trisha frowned, "You know, you don't have to draw if you feel miserable."

"I'll do it," Jericho said. He gripped Trisha's hand. They both looked into each other's eyes. Trisha then withdrew her hand, her cheeks turning pink. Jericho made a tiny grin, flipping the sketchbook onto a clean new sheet of paper.

Trisha rubbed her hand, then looked up at Jericho, trying to hide her smile, "It' great that you're gonna draw. I'd like to see your effort on this."

Jericho twisted his head, his eyes narrowing, "What, you think I have no drawing skills?"

Trisha jumped from the sudden strong pitch in his voice, "Uh . . . well, I just never met a guy that could draw. All I know is me and Anna."

Jericho closed his eyes, and his voice soothed, "Things will change . . ." He then opened his eyes and stared at the blank sheet.

Trisha waited a few seconds, then said, "Well, what are you waiting for? Aren't you gonna draw?"

"Let me think . . ." Jericho said, then looked around the room. All that seemed visible were a closet, a dresser, a window with curtains, a desk next to the bed, and the bed itself that he and Trisha were sitting on. "There's nothing good in here to draw . . . except . . ." He gazed at Trisha, who was staring at him.

Trisha tilted her head, "What?"

Jericho grinned, "You wouldn't mind if I draw you would you?"

Trisha looked away, with a stutter in her voice, "M-me? I . . . I don't know . . ."

"Is there a problem?" Jericho asked, his crooked smile stretching across his muzzle.

Trisha squeezed at the blankets on her bed, "It's just that . . . I've never been used as a model before . . ."

"There's no worries," Jericho whispered. He scooted over to get some space until he felt comfortable, then lifted the sketchbook to his knee for pressure. He picked up the pencil, then looked at Trisha.

Trisha jerked alittle, "S-should I stand in a pose for you?"

"No, you can just sit there and I'll draw you," Jericho said as he peaked over the sketchbook, his mouth hidden behind.

Trisha's eyes gleamed, "I'm afraid . . . What if you make me look bad?"

Jericho shook his head, "Oh no, I'd never do that. But like I said, it's been a while since I last drew someone."

"But what if you DO mess up?" Trisha asked.

Jericho raised on brow, "You want this picture perfect?" Trisha dropped her voice, then looked down, not knowing what to say in response. "Just trust me . . ." Jericho murmured. Trisha looked up at Jericho's bright orange eyes. They looked like they were smiling, but the voice sounded serious. "If you don't feel confident in me, then I will do horrible, " he continued. "You wouldn't want that would you?" Trisha bit her lip, then slowly shook her head. Jericho sighed, "Okay, just sit there . . . Don't move . . . Think you can handle staying like that?" Trisha took a deep breath, then nodded. Jericho smiled, then began to sketch.

He started out with large circular gestures, then sketched some curves around and through the circles. He looked up at Trisha's face, scanning her long locks of hair and bangs, her perked up ears, her big brown eyes, the tiny black nose, and a thin strip cutting across her muzzle. Trisha stared at Jericho's eyes in a daze. Jericho looked back down and drew in the roundness of her eyes, with two thin irises inside, staring at him. He then added thick lashes around the eyes, then started to put in the long curves of her choppy hair. After that, the eyes were cut off by three strands that hung over the forehead. Jericho then slid to the top and drew two bent triangles, representing the ears, then drawing two smaller triangles inside for the ear holes. He then sketched the muzzle, coloring in a tiny black dot in the top center for the nose, and creating a snip of the mouth at the edge. Jericho looked up at Trisha again, checking her face. Trisha sighed deeply. Jericho's eyes slid down to her chest rising and falling. Jericho grinned, then went on to drawing.

He sketched the knit of the turtleneck covering her throat, then spread out two dips to start the shoulders. He curved around the thickness of the sweater down to where the folded part of the sleeves appeared. He outlined the fingertips and thumbs, then slid his hand back up to her chest. He was lost in thought for a moment, "I wonder what she looks like beneath that sweater . . ."

Trisha tilted her head, "What are you thinking about?"

Jericho sweated, " . . . Nothing . . ."

"Are you done yet?" Trisha asked.

Jericho grinned, "An artist never rushes, nor speaks when drawing, for I might lose my focus. Let me concentrate."

" . . . Sorry . . ." Trisha mumbled. Jericho slowly created a small bulge of her breasts, then slowly dragged his pencil down to her belly, cutting across to attach the two ends of the sweater. For the final time, Jericho looked at Trisha, examining everything of her, making sure he wasn't missing anything so far. Trisha's eyes became heavy, tired. Jericho drew in her wrinkled jeans close together at the edge of the bed. He didn't doodle anything in the background. He just left it blank, and sketched in part of the bedside. It was finally time to add value. But first he erased the extra markings that were no longer needed, wiping the rubber shavings carefully off the picture, trying not to smear the drawing. He then added the shades around the ears and hair. He darkened the irises in her eyes. He then shaded the sweater and jeans to create visual folds, then shaded the area of the bed where Trisha sat. After that, he smoothed the shades in with his finger. He rubbed the strands of her hair, then her cheek. He then moved down to her sweater.

"I trust you Jer . . ." Trisha suddenly murmured. Jericho looked up into Trisha's eyes. Trisha's eyes were relaxed as she waited patiently. Jericho smirked, then slowly caressed the breasts and slender part of her body on the drawing, his face suddenly blushing. He just couldn't resist.

Trisha smiled, "Why is your face suddenly red?"

Jericho jumped and moved on to smoothing the jeans, then the bed sheet. Eventually he sighed and said, "I'm done."

Trisha's eyes twinkled, "Really? . . . Let me see it . . ." Jericho handed the sketchbook, and Trisha looked down at the sketch, her eyes widening and mouth dropping.

Jericho cracked a grin, "Well, what do you think?"

Trisha gasped, "Jericho, this . . . this is not me."

Jericho's face suddenly twisted, "What do you mean? Of course it's you."

"There must be a mistake," Trisha said. "I don't look that good, you must have done something to make me look different."

Jericho shook his head, "There's no mistake . . ."

Trisha looked at Jericho and smiled, "Look, I've seen myself in the mirror and I look worse than this."

Jericho chuckled, shaking his head, "You can't believe in what you see in a mirror. It's nothing but a lie."

Trisha looked confused, "Then how can I see myself without a mirror? A reflection in the water?"

"There are ways you'll understand later," Jericho said, wiping his cheek to get rid of an itch, leaving a pencil smear on his face. Trisha covered her mouth and giggled. Jericho blinked his eyes, "Wha . . . What's so funny?"

Trisha giggled, "Your face, you have pencil markings on your face." Jericho's face suddenly went grave, and he tried to wipe off the smear with his fist. Trisha stopped him and said, "Here, I'll help you get it off." She licked her thumb, then gently rubbed it across his cheek, the smear eventually disappearing. Jericho gazed closely into Trisha's eyes, and she stared into his eyes, as if drowning into his sight. Trisha then blushed and turned away, "Um . . ." She placed the sketchbook on her desk, then smiled, "I better get going, I need to clean up the rest of the house." She got up and went to the door, "Care to help me?"

Jericho was in a daze, then stood up and bowed, "I'd be honored." Trisha shied away, her voice in giggles and cheeks rosy.

---

Sonic and friends eventually showed up later in the afternoon. Everyone was sitting around the kitchen table eating dinner that Amy had brought home from Juicy Burgers after going shopping around the mall. Trisha picked at her food. Jericho slouched, not feeling hungry for the moment. Anna looked at Jericho, then at Trisha, "So Trisha, how was your day?"

Trisha looked up, "Um . . . It was okay . . ."

"What did you do today?" Kaz asked.

Trisha smiled, "We drew."

"We?" Sonic asked.

Trisha nodded, "Yeah, that reminds me, we got ourselves another artist . . . Jericho!"

"Jericho?" everyone else gasped.

Sonic placed his elbow on the table, "I didn't know you could draw Jericho."

Jericho's face burned, "Uhhh, it's been a long time since I drew."

"I believe so," Sonic said. "May we see what you did?"

"I have it upstairs in my sketchbook!" Trisha said. "I'll go get it!" She shoved out of her chair and ran upstairs.

Sonic blinked his eyes, "Well, I've never seen Trisha this happy before. This is the most she's spoken all year."

"She's probably excited cause it's something she's interested in," Anna said, munching on her fries.

Sonic sipped on his coke, then burped, "I guess... I like it when people are happy."

Trisha came back down the stairs and sat back down. She handed the sketchbook to Sonic. "Here ya go," she gasped.

Tails and the others crowded around to see. Their eyes suddenly went huge. Sonic whistled, "Whoa Jericho, man! You got some talent!" Jericho felt alittle embarrassed. "Jeeze, we got like now . . what, three artists? I'm jealous," Sonic said.

"It's nice that we got a guy this time that can draw," Tails said.

Sonic nodded, "Sure . . ." He handed the sketchbook back to Trisha, "I'm guessing you two are getting along already I see?" Trisha and Jericho looked at each other. Trisha then turned away. Jericho still stared at Trisha. Sonic grinned, "Hmmm . . . That's good . . ."

Tails took his final bite of his burger, licked his fingers, then yawned, "Man, tired already after eating. Everybody ready for bed?"

"I guess . . ." Sonic said. They all got to their feet, threw away their wrappers, and went upstairs.

Trisha and Jericho stood by the stairway, as Trisha held onto her sketchbook. "Well Jericho, it's been nice speaking to you."

Jericho grinned, "Yeah . . ."

Trisha fidgeted with the sketchbook, "Well . . . goodnight . . ."

Jericho's eyes smiled, then bent over to her ear. "Goodnight," he whispered.

Trisha's skin suddenly tingled. Her eyes were huge, and her heart felt like it had stopped, hearing his voice so soft, silent, gentle. Trisha stuttered, "Um, uh, um . . ." Jericho straightened up and looked at her glassy eyes. Trisha froze for a second, then spoke quickly, "Goodnight!" She ran up the stairs and slammed the door. Jericho looked up, then sighed . . .

---

Trisha went across her bedside to her closet until something caught her eye at the window. She stopped, then moved closer to the window for a better look. She noticed that Jericho was walking off into the forest. She could tell it was him clearly from the red gems on his wrists and ankles illuminating in the night. He eventually disappeared into the shadows of the trees. Trisha blinked her eyes with surprise, "Where is he off to?" She stared at the darkness, then bowed her head and turned away, heading for her closet to grab her night clothes.