A/N: Ah, I miss writing chapters in my shadowy room at 3 in the morning c| By the way, check the poll on my profile - it'll help me update much faster ;b

The next day at school, in seventh period science, Cream strutted up to Amy with a great big smile on her glowing face and her leather school suitcase in her right hand.

"Morning, Amy!" she exclaimed and plopped down across from Amy.

"Yo." Amy cringed and didn't bother smiling.

"Wassup, babe?" Scourge asked as he took his seat and slowly ran his hand up her thigh. "You up for our usual Loca Moca date?"

"No, actually. I had plans to go with Cream to the Shiny Dish Ice Cream Parlor in South Emerald." She grabbed his hand with a death grip inherited from her mother. "Problem?"

"No, babe, no." He smirked and pulled his reddened hand away. "Y'mind if we go to Loca Moca afterwards?"

"Won't have time. I have a lotta shit to deal with. Anyways, don't you have a date with Rouge at Buck's today?"

"That bitch? Babe, you know we're ov-"

"Scourge, do you know the Scientific name for the Rat?" Mrs. Atga asked, her eagle eyes giving Scourge an irritated once-over. Amy smirked.

At the Shiny Dish, Amy ordered one scoop of strawberry and Cream ordered three scoops of vanilla.

"So," Amy muttered and licked her strawberry scoop. "Let's hear some info about you, huh? Dun want to be strangers forever."

Cream grinned idiotically. "I have a Chao named Cheese. I love vanilla-flavored things - by the way, that's Momma's name - Vanilla!" She pointed to my cone. "I'm allergic to strawberry things. I like nature - but not bugs or scary things like ghosts of haunted houses. Animals are cute. Aren't they? I love desserts - cake, cupcakes, doughnuts, pie, muffins, ice cream..."

Amy listened to Cream drone on about cute things and delicious food, while devising her plan to enhance her adrenaline and keep her blood flowing - the violent way.

The kind of things that came to mind were flashes of some of her and Ms. Rose's bloodiest fights...

At the age of 4, Amy wanted a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. "Make it y'allself! Useless child." Mrs. Rose (married at the time) grumbled.
Amy accidentally dropped the 5-pound glass jelly jar on the kitchen tile and Mrs. Rose didn't hesitate to stomp on over. Mr. Rose was a greedy man who didn't give a rat's ass about Amy's future, and often went out to strip clubs while Mrs. Rose beat her only child.
"Ah - mom, can you help me pick up my-"
"LIL MISS ROSE! WHAT'D I TELL Y'ALL?" Mrs. Rose scooped up Amy and body-slammed her into the glass below. She grabbed little Amy's tender neck and shook her wildly, then hurled her at the wall. Amy's head burst the glass in a picture of Mr. and Mrs. Rose - before their child that ruined everything.
"ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSEEEE!"
Amy then went unconscious and woke up the next morning in the exact same spot on the hallway floor.

Another time, Amy started her rebellious stage and talked back to her mother for the first time. An empty wine bottle was snapped in half and thrown at Amy's head, tearing a chunk out of her ear. A chair leg was broken and used as a club, or a brutal beating stick. Amy ran out the front door, leaving a bloody trail behind, and raced off to the ditch near her house, where the fading puddles of water would end her blood trail.
She limped back late in the night and slipped into a terrible dreamless night soundlessly.

Sometimes, Ms. Rose won without direct violence. She would pawn off Amy's friends' gifts for about $500 each. A plastic bracelet, an emerald keychain, a topaz necklace; whatever was available. A past boyfriend presented her with a 5-karat diamond which Ms. Rose sold for thousands and spent in one night.
Beautiful, much-needed clothing dissappeared in a flash, it was gone before Amy knew it - and it was as if it never existed in the first place.

Coming back to life, Amy tuned in to Cream's boring explanation, which had managed to last all of her reminiscing time.

"And you?" Cream asked innocently.

"Me? Tssh. My dad left my mom to live with a whore, mom beats me every night, and my boyfriends ties me to a dumpster and rapes me. I'm allergic to bullshit and my favorite food is blood. Dying people are cute. Aren't they?" Amy repeated Cream's method, and blood began pumping as Cream's face turned pale; her expression sour.

"Your mom influenced you, eh?" Cream whispered quietly. "Mixing all of your brawls, you crave blood and revenge, but you take it out on the wrong people, because you have decided that you can't beat your mom."

Amy was surprised. "B-But ... mom is unbeatable..."

"That's what you want to think." Cream muttered. "In fact, it's quite predictable. You were going to splash your ice cream in my face when it melted a bit more - and knowing that I was allergic only made you more excited."

"How do you know all of this?" Amy asked.

"Tails teaches me many useful things. I also study people. It's the easiest way to learn about your surroundings." Cream stated with an unchanging tone in her voice.

She could teach Amy so many things about how the mind works, how the process goes, what the response will be. Cream was surely the key to infinite knowledge of mankind! But this rabbit ... this rabbit that had grinned at all the wrong times, and had seemed so annoying ... this rabbit was one of the most genius animals in existence! She stayed so calm and humble throughout the conversation.

"And you're still thinking of throwing your ice cream at me, aren't you?" Cream broke in.

Amy gasped. "How did you know?"

"You just want to seem cool. You want to be the dominant girl, don't you?"

Feeling ashamed, Amy quickly finished her ice cream. How did Cream know such things?

"Done!" Cream squealed holding up her napkin in celebration. "Ready to go?" she asked Amy.

Amy felt such a feeling in her body. It boosted her up, made her float out of her seat. It surged up her spine to her head. A smile bright flashed its way to her mouth. She recognized this feeling: happiness.

At the same time, a blue hedgehog strolled into the parlor, a childish squirrel hanging to him. An annoyed look showed on his face, but when he turned to look at her ... his eyes changed a little. Did he, Sonic the Hedgehog, recognize her, Amy the loner? Blush crept up on her, and she saw the slightest tinge of red on his face as well. Their eyes shone brighter than usual. She caught herself being drawn in to his emerald eyes.

"C'mon, slowpoke! Let's find a seat!" his annoying partner whined. What an interrupter.

"Got it, got it, let's go." He headed off in the opposite direction of Amy, but turned around to look back at her once more. He smiled and blushed.

"You okay, Amy? Ready to go? Or are you still busy jaw-dropping at Sonic?" Cream winked.

Amy smiled again. "Cream, mind if I sleepover tonight? I'm sure mom won't mind."