Chapter 3

Sonic, Sonia and Manic walk out from backstage a minute later, making the line of fans scream again with excitement. Sonic leads, greeting the first two fans with a smile and gets a selfie with them. Sonia waits patiently and starts to chat with them once Sonic has moved onto the next fans. Manic follows after Sonia, giving all the girls a flirty smile and the guys a high five.

Sonic looks uncomfortable whenever a fangirl tries to flirt with him and brushes off their interest. He's more interested in music and being a freedom fighter, not in getting into relationships.

Sonia happily takes selfies with the girls, acting as if she's their best friend rather than their idol, and sweetly compliments their hair, outfit or shoes. She effortlessly flirts with the shy guys who look at her adoringly and lets some of them briefly kiss her cheek. One over-confident guy tries to touch her ass, but she grabs hold of his wrist before he can and slaps him across the face. He backs away defeated and leaves her alone after that.

A few slutty girls try to get too close to Manic and he shrugs them off awkwardly, before they can get all over him. They ask him dirty things like 'how big is your drumstick?' and 'is it true that drummer's like doing it hard?' He doesn't reply and just gives them a cheeky grin before quickly moving on.

He doesn't like the overly slutty fangirls who throw themselves at him. They seem too desperate and would obviously sleep with anyone. He can already see a few more down the line wearing hardly any clothes and knows it's only a matter of time before one of them either flashes him or asks him to sign their chest.

"Wow, that was intense," Sonic says to them tiredly once they reach the end of the line.

"Who's that dick who tried it on with you, Sonia?" Manic asks, feeling angry and protective of his sister.

"Don't worry, I sorted him," Sonia replies dismissively.

"We really need to get body guards," comments Sonic, "especially with all those girls trying to dry hump Manic."

"Shut up," laughs Manic, embarrassed.

"So, are we going back to the van now and driving home?" asks Sonia. "I want a nice warm bath before going to bed."

"That's cool with me," Sonic answers, ready to go home too.

"I'll meet ya back there," Manic tells them.

"Fine, but don't go catching any STDs," Sonic teases him.

Manic shakes his head in amusement, "later bro."

Sonic and Sonia walk out to the parking lot while Manic scans the club hopefully for Star.

He smiles as he catches sight of her and strolls over, "Hey, you waited."

"Yeah, just as I promised," she smiles at him.

"Cool. I didn't want y' walking home alone in the dark when there could be SWAT bots around."

"I can handle myself," she says confidently and feels touched that he cares, "but thanks."

He laces his fingers through hers, holding her hand as they walk out of the club and into the cold night air.

"You wanna wear my jacket?" he offers romantically.

"But you'll be cold," she protests. "You're not wearing anything underneath."

He shrugs, "I'd still give it to you so you could be warm."

"No, it's fine. I'd feel really mean."

"Then I guess I'll have to keep you warm another way," he flirts and puts his arm around her shoulder, so he can hold her close as they walk.

Star blushes and rests her head on his chest, feeling happy to be so close to him.

"So, we've pretty much talked about me and my music for most of the night," says Manic. "I wanna know more about you. What are you into?"

"Well…" Star feels a little self-conscious doing the whole 'about me' speech. "I like all kinds of music. Punk Rock is my fave, and I also like dance, R&B and pop."

"You're not one of those girls who are crazy about shitty, auto-tuned boybands?" Manic asks unsurely.

"No, definitely not!"

"Then we're cool. What about movies?"

"I like comedies and action."

"Not chick-flicks?"

Star pulls a disgusted face too at that genre, "no, they make love stories way too soppy and cringey. What's your fave genre?"

"Action, horror, comedies."

"I don't like most horror movies. I'm into stuff like Blade, but I'm a total wimp with anything about hauntings or gory scenes."

Manic grins, "but I'd get to hold y' if you get scared."

"No, there's no way I'm watching them," she giggles. "I once made the mistake of watching this scary one and hardly slept for a week."

"Yeah, I've done that a few times," agrees Manic. "So what else do you do for fun?"

"I'm a dancer," she replies, a little shy. "Not that kind," she corrects while he smirks.

"The ballroom kind?"

Star laughs, "no, that's not my style either; just normal, modern kind of dancing."

"Do you perform?"

"Sometimes I'll do a one-off show to raise money for Sanctuary," she answers, "but I don't do it to rock music, that would be too hard to dance to, apart from head-banging."

Manic grins.

"So, do you like doing anything else apart from your band or freedom fighter stuff?" she asks, curiously.

Manic doesn't want to bring up his bad habit of stealing, because it might put her off, "I don't have a lot of spare time apart from those things, but when I do I like to go to the beach and surf."

"That's cool," smiles Star. "I love going to the beach and swimming in the sea."

"Can you surf too?"

"Haven't tried it yet."

"Then I need to teach y' sometime."

"I'd love that," Star stops walking as they reach a block of flats. "Well…this is where I live."

Star is temporarily staying at her friend's flat while she's in Robotropolis, before returning to her shared cabin at Sanctuary.

She stands outside the entrance, feeling a little shy and awkward. She wants to invite Manic in, but knows that will give him the wrong idea. She's not the type of girl who sleeps around with any guy she meets, even if they are as sexy as Manic.

Manic notices her hesitating, "so are you free tomorrow night?"

"Yeah, I am."

"Cool. I can pick y' up at seven. We can get something to eat or see a movie?"

"Okay."

Manic brushes her hair back and kisses her softly, not going for a passionate kiss with tongues in case she's not ready for it yet. Star feels stunned at first then puts her arms around his neck and kisses him back.

He parts from her a minute later, feeling really happy, "Night, babe. See ya tomorrow."

She smiles blissfully after their kiss, "Night, Manic."

He watches her walk into the entrance and then walks the way home with a big grin on his face.