"Sonic, we're going to the diner for dinner. Wanna come?" Tails asked, pointing to the blue and white building across the street.
I calmed down and let Knuckles go, "Sounds good!"
We walked across the street, trying to avoid traffic, and strolled inside.
The diner was called 'The Midnight Café', one of the gang's favorite places. I thought it had the best chili dogs in town!
Tails led us to a booth and the waitress came by, "Here are your menus. What can I get out to drink?"
"I'll take a Coke," I replied.
"Ditto that," Tails approved.
"Water," Knuckles stated.
The waitress wrote our orders down and walked away. Tails and Knuckles picked up their menus. I didn't bother.
"Here are your drinks." the waitress set our refreshments on the table, "Now what would you like to order?"
Tails put on his thinking face for a few seconds before saying, "A grilled cheese sandwich please."
"10 chili dogs" I concluded when it was my turn to order.
"Uh oh!" Knuckles cried with sarcastic fear, "Everyone watch out! Sonic's bad breath is deadly, especially if he has chili dogs!"
I gave a cocky smirk in his direction. "Oh ya, wise guy? What are you having?"
"Well nothing that would cause worldwide panic."
"Spit it out, Knuckles!"
"The steak with a side of baked beans and mashed potatoes."
"Tails, we might wanna to a separate table. Knucklehead gets a little tootsie when he eats meat of beans."
"Why you little - "he hissed, but my laughing grew louder and drowned out his threats. But suddenly, he threw his glass of water at me.
"I'll be back with your orders . . . and some more water." the waitress reported as I coughed and wheezed.
"Aw man! I'm all wet!" I complained.
The guys ignored me and started a new conversation while I tried to dry myself up with several useless napkins.
"Did you give Amy anything for her birthday?" Tails asked.
I stopped immediately. Why were they talking about Amy's birthday? Her birthday wasn't until . . .
"Oh, ya! I carved her a bracelet. Pretty cool, if I do say so myself! You?"
"I made her a clock that has a Sonic hologram alarm!" What about you Sonic?"
I was too shocked to speak.
I had forgotten Amy's birthday!
"Sonic?" Tails repeated
"Yo, dude! Snap out of it!" Knuckles commented.
"Sonic? Please tell me you didn't forget her birthday!" Tails whined.
The only thing I could do was blink.
"Yep, he forgot." Knuckles chimed in.
When I could finally move, I got out of the booth and bolted through the now darkening city to Amy's apartment. Knocking on her door, I realized that her place was unlocked. I opened the door and searched the place, calling Amy's name. But she wasn't there.
Then I raced back to the Midnight diner. The waitress was just setting the food down when I asked, "Where's Amy?"
"She and the other girls are having a sleep over at Cream's - "
I stuffed 2 chili dogs into my pie hole and was on my way to Cream's house before Tails could finish.
The window to the living room was open, and everyone surrounded Amy.
She was crying.
I snuck up to the side of the house, under the window, and listened closely.
"Come on, let it all out." Rouge whispered.
Amy gasped for a while, trying to stop crying, "I decided last night that I would have a Movie Night and I went to the park to . . . go find Sonic, and I ended up inviting Sally who said she had plans. Later, when I found Sonic, I tried to invite him, but he said he had plans too! And I thought . . . s - since Sally said she had plans too, I thought that his plans involved her and I got really mad. We fought and argued and then he said her hair looked prettier that mine.
"I got so angry that I took out my hammer and chased him through the park 'til he went into a Sonic B - B - Boom. I searched around f - for him, but then I found him . . . "
"You found him what?" Cream worriedly asked, but I knew what happened.
"I - I - I found him . . . k - kissing . . . S - Sally!"
I frowned and my ears drooped.
"I swore I heard them say they love each other! M - M - maybe I should just g - give up on him for good. She stuttered.
Oh no, Amy, please don't give up on me! Deep down I love you! I don't know what I'd do without your beautiful smile, your mesmerizing eyes, your warm hugs, your . . . wait, WHY AM I THINKING LIKE THAT!
"Oh, sweetheart! That's where you're wrong. Number 1 Rule to Love: NEVER give up on the guy!" Rouge said.
That's right, Amy! Never give up on the guy. Especially if the guy is me - Oh, shut up, Sonic!
Amy mumbled some comeback that probably wasn't meant to be heard, so low I couldn't comprehend it.
"Come on, Amy! Forget about Sonic tonight. You've got 2 more cards to open." Cream begged.
"Ya . . . ya. I - I - I just need to f - forget about him for at least tonight." she whispered.
I couldn't take it anymore. Slowly, I stood up to peer into the scene. Vanilla was by her side, dabbing at her rosy cheeks, Rouge sat on the table, Amy's hand in hers, and
Cream was hugging her waist.
Amy breathed deeply and gazed out the window I was at. I quickly ducked, hoping she didn't see me.
I sat on the ground for a while, thinking - which is normally something I didn't do 'cause I like to think on my feet - until I got up and ran into town again, pat the citizens who screamed and hollered, "There's Sonic!" as I raced by them, past the lights, the multi - colored cars, until I stood in front of the Black and White Boutique, Amy's favorite store. Luckily it was still open at this time!
Inside, there was everything you could imagine that a girl would want. Jewelry, make up, and dresses galore!
Why are girls so . . . girly?
An employee slowly walked up to me from behind the cash register. She was a lime green cat with blonde hair that reached down to her thighs and sapphire blue eyes. She wore dark blue jeans, a white backless top, an emerald necklace, and a pair of white sneakers.
"Hello, sir. How may I help you?" she asked, giving a friendly smile.
"Yes, um, I'm looking for something a girl would like, and I'm not an expert at this," I waved my hand over the shop, "so - "
"Let me guess, you're saying sorry to a female in your life, messed up an anniversary, or forgot a birthday!" she suddenly exclaimed, raising an eyebrow.
"Uh . . . no! No, no, no, I - "I reasoned, but the young cat gave me a look.
"Yes," I sighed in defeat.
Note to Self: Don't try to argue with females. It only gets you in more trouble.
"I thought so." she smirked and motioned me with her hand to follow her.
"So do you know what she likes?" she asked, looking back at me.
We walked through several doors and passage ways in the "Employee's only" section until she stopped in a specific room.
"Yeah, the colors pink and red, rubies, jades, emeralds, sapphires, and me!"
"Okay, so let's look in this aisle."
. - + * + - .
"Oh, this is hopeless!" I yelled after 5 minutes of wandering in thin aisles of frilly dresses that show a lot of skin, endless lines of make - up, many rows of shoes, and stacks of jewelry!
"Just relax, I know we can get you the perfect gift to give to your girl." the employee assured.
"She's NOT my girl! She's just a very sensitive friend who will knock me out with a hammer if she has any clue of what I forgot." I replied, picking up a pair of shoes with the tip of my pinkie.
She gave me a questioning look as to ask what I meant, but gave up, realizing I wasn't going to explain.
It was another 10 minutes before we both crashed on the floor.
"How can girls stand this?" I asked myself.
"I'm glad I'm not one of them! I hate this job so much I could just puke." the cat panted.
We sat there for moments before she sat up with a certain expression, like she had an idea.
"I do." she confirmed, like she read my mind.
"You do what?" I asked, sitting up as well.
A look of shock crossed her face. "Um . . . uh . . . I do . . . have an . . . Idea. I . . . see . . . I - I . . . um . . . I sometimes say m - my thoughts out . . . loud?"
I nodded and pretended to understand, but I knew she had a secret.
"Oh, come on!" she chuckled and took my hand, leading me out of the room and down the hall.
"What's your name, by the way?" she asked.
"Sonic . . . Sonic the Hedgehog." I gulped. God, please tell me she's not one of those screaming fan girls!
She stopped and looked back at me, a smile on her lips and hands on her hips. "So you're Sonic! I've always hoped to meet you one day. My name's Lindsey Whiskers."
"Nice to meet you." I replied, and we shook hands.
We began strolling down the corridor again.
"So, if you hate this job, why are you still here?" I asked, trying to make the time go by faster. Walking just wasn't my thing.
"Because it's in my blood." she replied, not looking at me.
"Huh?"
She sighs and keeps on strolling, an annoyed expression on her face. "My mother is all fashion and cosmetics. So I have a bit of that in me although I don't use it. She actually owns the boutique and there's no way I'm getting out of it."
"What about your father?"
She stopped immediately at my question taking a dramatic pause, she soon answered,
"He's dead."
I looked down at my feet and shuffled my toe, noticing I pulled a few strings. "I'm . . . sorry." I apologized.
She gave a short sigh and a small nod in acceptance and began walking once more.
"What about you?"
"Huh?"
"What about your parents?"
"Oh . . . um . . . they're . . . dead too."
A moment of silence passed before she said "I'm sorry,"
We reached the main room of the shop and another costumer walked in.
"Excuse me, but I - "she began, but looked up to see Lindsey kindly smiling at her.
The girl gave Lindsey a strange, horrified, disgusted look before slowly backing out of the store.
Then she ran.
Lindsey's facial expression switched to angry, sad, and depressed. She turned around and straddled to the back of the store.
"What was that all about?" I asked, glaring at the rude woman.
"I don't know." she answered. I followed her to the back of the boutique and through a door into another room.
The room was empty.
"Now, I'm not supposed to show costumers this display 'til it's aloud on sale. In fact, the employees aren't even supposed to be in here, but you see kinda desperate." she knocked on the wall three times and a small part of the wall slid open.
Something that looked like a credit card swiper slid out. Lindsey took out her ID card and swiped it; the ID Swiper disappeared and every wall in the room split in half.
"This is the new 'I'm Sorry' collection, not suppose to be out in any boutiques in station square until next month." Lindsey explained.
Inside the walls were heart - shaped gem necklaces in every gem imaginable!
"Well, don't just stand there! Pick one!" Lindsey insisted.
I looked among the gem necklace. Topaz, Rose Quartz, Aquamarine, Sapphire, Emerald, Jade, Crystal, and . . . aha! Ruby, her favorite!
I reached for the ruby heart - shaped necklace and showed it to Lindsey. "This one."
"Alright, let's ring 'er up." she replied. She snapped her fingers and the walls snapped shut, the room returning to its original order.
Just then, my cell phone rang. I plucked it out of my quills and answered it. "Yo?"
"Sonic! - Pfft - "
"Vanilla? Is that you?"
"Pfft - Amy - pfft - Cream and Rouge - pfft - "
"What's wrong with the girls? Hello? Vanilla? What happened?"
"Fire - pfft - HELP!"
The line went dead.