I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving! I only own the plot of this story. So enjoy Chapter 4.

Don't Stop Believin'

Chapter 4: For A Smile They Can Share the Night

Man. Friday came a lot quicker than Sonic wanted it to. He wasn't really quite sure he was ready for this. Not yet at least. The last time he had went out with a girl, she wanted him to settle down and take off the shoes. And we all know Sonic can't do that. And that's what he feared most about this. What if Amy's no different than Sally? What if she wants him to stay at home too? Man he didn't want that. He would rather have his quills shaved off of him than stop running.

But Sally was a year ago. And Amy really liked Sonic's running. But he HAD to go through with this date. That's the thing about bets. You don't want to lose them. Then you're stuck doing something you don't want to do. The most common thing being you giving your money to some jerk.

But this wasn't about money. Although he was probably going to have to pay for the date but that was pretty much the extent of that matter. And then came the thing Sonic dreaded more than the date itself. He had to put on that stupid tuxedo he bought.

The undershirt and the jacket had those holes for his two back spikes. And his tail poked out the back of his pants. He had to get instructions off the internet on how to tie a bowtie. And even then it was hard.

There was no way he was going to put on those stupid black shoes. His feet would probably never be the same again after feeling different shoes. And if Amy didn't like that, then so be it.

Then Sonic looked at himself in the mirror and…he actually didn't look all that bad. He was one sharp looking hedgehog.

But it wasn't the look that bothered him. It was his fur being all tangled around due to those clothes being so tight on him. Maybe he just had to break them in. So he figured, what better way to break something in than running. But right before he went out the door, he froze. If he ran at full speed in this tux, the friction burn would probably set it on fire. Not to mention all the dust he kicks up will get it dirty. So he had to check running off the list.

Then the blue hedgie looked at his clock. It was almost 6:30. He had to go! He rushed to the door and opened it. But then he was blinded by a white flash.

When his eyes readjusted, he saw Tails standing there holding back his laughter while he stared at the one inch screen of his yellow digital camera.

"Ack! Tails? What are you doing?" Sonic asked.

Tails shrugged innocently.

"Just a little souvenir." He said.

"For what?"

"Nothing I guess. I'm still bored. See ya!"

Tails flew away and Sonic raised his fist to the air.

"YOU ARE SO DEAD IF YOU PUT THAT ON THE INTERNET!"

The sound of Tails laughing was the response he got. He knew Tails was enjoying this. But he had more important things to worry about right now. Sonic turned around, closed the door to his house, locked it, and then slowly began to run. It bothered him so. Running at such a slow speed, but he didn't have a choice. In ten minutes, he arrived at the front door of Café Lemoore. The name of the restaurant was lit up above the door in large white neon letters in the cursive style. Fancy sign for a fancy place.

Sonic was about to go inside and seat himself. But then he remembered something. Amy was the one who made the reservation. He didn't know which name it would be under. His or hers? So he just had to wait. The café was right next door to a clock store so the time was easy to see. It was 6:50. He had to wait ten minutes for Amy to arrive. And he HATED waiting. And the suit rubbing against his fur wasn't helping the situation at all.

But after ten minutes of agony, he saw Vanilla's car pull up. Then out of the passenger seat, Amy stepped out. And Sonic couldn't help but stare and drop his jaw.

Amy had gone all out with her outfit. She was wearing a beautiful red dress that went down to her knees and matching red strap shoes. There was one strap on the dress that went around her neck holding it in place along with the ties on the back. Around Amy's waist was a golden belt encrusted with diamonds. Whether they were fake or real was too difficult to tell. But what was around her neck was definitely real. Amy had around her neck a jade colored diamond necklace. The diamond itself was oval shaped and at least an inch in diameter. The necklace really helped bring out Amy's eyes. Also, she wasn't wearing any gloves on her hands. But she did have on matching wrist bracelets like the ones that were on her gloves.

Amy bid Vanilla goodbye and then she drove off. Amy walked up to Sonic who hadn't moved an inch. And that made Amy smile.

"Tee-hee! I'm glad you like my look, Sonic." She giggled. Then she noticed his own attire. "Wow. You look pretty sharp yourself."

"Homina homina homina."

Amy giggled again and grabbed his arm.

"Come on, hunk."

Sonic snapped out of his trance and walked in the door. The two of them walked up to the podium and Amy spoke to the person behind it.

"Reservation for Rose."

The waiter checked the list and found the name. Rose: 7:00 for two.

"Right this way." He said.

The waiter led them into the main dining area. It was indeed a very nice place. Everyone there was spiffed up whether they were human or Mobian. The tables were all square and they all had a long white table cloth going halfway down the legs. And each table had a single stick flame candle on it.

The waiter sat them at a reserved table with two chairs and walked away. Sonic, being the gentlemen he is, pulled out Amy's chair for her and let her sit down first. Amy smiled and Sonic took his own seat. And it was right when Sonic pulled himself in closer to the table that he realized something. He had forgotten how to act on a date. Sure he went on plenty with Sally but that was a long time ago. So saying he was a little rusty would be an understatement. And not only that, Amy and Sally were two VERY different girls.

"So…now what?" the blue hedgehog muttered.

"Now we talk." Amy answered. "Now we get to know each other better."

"But we already know each other. What else do you want to know?"

"Well…I personally know plenty about you. I'm sure you know that." Amy said.

"Believe me, Amy. I'm sure of that."

"Anyways, I don't really know your personal interests and all that stuff. But I do know that this is your first date with me or any other girl that I know."

That got Sonic thinking. Amy had absolutely no clue about his romantic past. So there was a dilemma. Tell her the truth and see the outcome, or keep it a secret and let her be happy.

No. Sonic was always honest with his friends. Even Amy.

"Actually, Ames. You got that part wrong."

Amy lost her smile and looked at him.

"Wha…what do you mean, Sonic?"

"Amy, this isn't my first date. And if this goes on any further, you won't be my first girlfriend."

Amy knew exactly what he meant by that.

"Who were you ever involved with?"

Sonic sighed.

"Sally Acorn."

Amy knew her. Brown furred squirrel. Princess to New Mobotropolis. Wears an open vest. She was one of the girls she set Shadow up with during the whole Shadikal fiasco. She didn't want to know about it, but she had to know for her sake.

"How long ago?" she asked.

Sonic sighed. He knew telling her would lead into telling her the story.

"She and I were friends ever since we were three. When we both became teenagers, we got together and even got betrothed. But after a few months into the relationship, we broke things off. I moved out here and I haven't seen her in two years."

The pink girl was shocked to hear about the whole betrothal thing. But she felt a little bit better when she heard about the two year gap. Then there was just one thing left that she wanted to know.

"Why did you break up with her?"

Sonic sighed again.

"Well the answer to that is simple really. She wanted me to stop being me. She wanted me to stop fighting Eggman."

"What? That's so selfish."

"Hmph. Tell me about it. Anyways, I haven't seen for a while, and I don't really mind. And why am I even talking about this? I'm here with YOU. Aren't I?"

That made Amy smile again.

"Yes you are." She said calmly. "And thank you for being honest with me about that."

Sonic smiled too.

"No problem, Ames. By the way, where did you get that outfit? You're….stunning."

The giggles returned to the pink hedgie.

"Tee-hee! You like it? Rouge helped me pick it out."

"I could have figured that out. But is that necklace you're wearing real or fake? Because I can't tell."

"Oh this?" Amy looked down at her neck and grasped the pendant. "Yep. It's real."

That astounded Sonic. A jewel that big couldn't possibly be in that girl's price range.

"But how could you afford something like that?"

"Well, I dipped into my inheritance a little bit."

Inheritance. Doesn't that only apply to people who have deceased family members? Wait. Amy's family…

"Who left you an inheritance?"

Amy regretted saying that. This was something she was not comfortable talking about. But Sonic was being honest with her about HIS past. So she could do the same.

"Well, my parents died when I was very young. In their will, they left me with everything. The house and enough money to help pay it off at a slow steady rate."

This was news for Sonic. Not very many people know that much about Amy's background other than the fact that she's been a fan of Sonic for years. No one knew about her family and no one was sure even SHE knew anything.

"I wish I had something as simple as a picture of them. I don't what they look like. Heck, I don't even know their names."

This was saddening the girl. Sonic could see that in her eyes. And he didn't want to have those eyes leaking with tears tonight.

"I'm sorry." He said softly. "I'm not sure if this helps, but I don't know all that much about my folks either. The closest thing I have to a family is Tails. Little guy is like my brother."

"I know how that feels. I've kinda considered Cream and Miss Vanilla to be my mother and sister."

Sonic smiled again.

"Hey. Let's cheer up. Aren't we supposes to have fun on dates?"

Amy nodded and smiled up again.

"You're right." She quickly changed the subject. "So I told you how I paid for my attire. What about you? That tux seems awfully expensive."

"It was kind of a rip-off in my opinion. But I could deal with it." Sonic assured her.

"But where did you even get the money for it?"

"Simple. My job takes care of that."

What? A job? Sonic? Those two things didn't really seem like they go together. Especially not in the mind of his biggest fangirl.

"Correct me if I'm wrong. But you don't strike me as the type of guy who would even WANT a job to begin with."

"Well…I wouldn't call it a job. I'm not employed or anything. It's just something I do on the side to make a few bucks."

Okay. Now THAT was like him.

"What do you do?" Amy asked obviously interested.

"I like to visit beautiful places. And some shops and studios pay me to get some good photos. They pay big for overhead shots of big cities." Sonic explained.

"You're into photography?"

"Yep. I don't know why, but aside from smashing up Eggman's robots, I love taking pictures. I even have a few scrapbooks back at my place of my favorite ones."

Amy was learning so much she never knew about him. Sonic liked to take pictures. And that immediately got her thinking to him making their future family album. But then her mind told her to stay in the present.

"I'd love to see them sometime." She said.

Sonic picked up his menu.

"Well maybe you should swing by one day. I'd love to show you." Then he looked closely at his food selections. "So what were you thinking of getting?"

Amy picked up her own menu and began to examine it like he was.

"I'm not really sure. Blaze was the one who recommended this place and she said almost everything they put on here is spectacular. So it's hard to choose." She turned the page and kept looking.

"Yeah. You're telling me." Sonic agreed. "I'm not seeing any chili dogs on here."

Amy sighed. She feared this might kill it.

"Sonic, this is a five-star restaurant. There aren't any chili dogs here."

Sonic nearly gasped. No chili dogs? What was pretty much all he ate. It was his fuel. Now he had to go a night without them. But he kept cool.

"Alright then, I'll just get something else."

That was…..unusually calm of him. But Amy knew him well. She knew on the inside, his mind was screaming out of fear and anger. As soon as he got home, he was probably going to rip that tux off of his fur and dash to his kitchen and make a whole platter of chili-dogs. But she was also interested to find out what would be the replacement for chili dogs tonight.

"I guess I'll have the lasagna. That's saucy. Right?"

Amy nodded. True there was a lot of sauce on lasagna.

"Good choice, Sonic. Let me see here. I remember Blaze putting a lot of emphasis on the fillet mignon. So I guess I'll get that."

Those words confused Sonic.

"What's "filet mignon"?"

"It's a kind of steak." Amy answered.

"Oh."

Amy was a girl who liked steak? Who knew? She seemed more like the salad-only type. Now Sonic kind of regretted his choice in his meal. But oh well. He made his decision. Maybe she would let him have a bite of hers.

Sonic flagged down the waiter and the two of them ordered. It was going to be at least ten minutes. A reasonable wait.

The two hedgehogs talked again. About a lot of different things. But they avoided anything that made them seem sad or depressed. That's not what the theme for this date is. In fact, Sonic wasn't even sure there WAS a theme.

And then the ten minute wait ended, and the food came out right on time. Amy wasn't surprised. Five-star joints have to be true to their word when it comes to wait times. Otherwise they lose a star.

Sonic took a look at his meal. That lasagna looked delicious. Ground beef, three kinds of cheese, diced onions, it looked amazing. Amy's stake was cooked medium-rare with a warm succulent juicy pink center. Just the way she liked it.

Sonic dug his fork in and took a bite. It was absolutely delicious. And then Amy sampled her steak. She had never tasted any slab of meat any more scrumptious than the one right in front of her.

"So how is it?" Sonic asked.

"Oh it's amazing. Here." Amy cut off a piece of her steak and put it on Sonic's plate with her fork. "Take a piece. You have to try this."

Sonic was hoping she would do that. He stabbed the little piece of meat with his own fork and put it in his mouth. And Amy was right. Not even the meat on his chili dogs compared with this little heavenly thing.

"Wow. THAT is good."

"What about your lasagna?" Amy asked.

Sonic smirked. Amy gave him some of hers and now he wanted to return the favor. He got a decent sized amount on his for and instead of putting it on Amy's plate, he held the fork in front of her mouth.

Amy couldn't believe it. Sonic was feeding her. She had always dreamed of a moment like this happening. Smiling, she closed her eyes, opened her mouth, and bit down taking in that bite of lasagna.

Sonic pulled away.

"Did I seriously just FEED her? I did it with Sally. Sure. But I waited like….seven dates before even thinking about doing that. Slow down, hedgehog!"

"Oh wow. That's good stuff. Good choice, Sonic."

"Not bad yourself, Amy."

The two of them smiled at each other and resumed eating. After they were finished, they gave their comments and then Sonic called for the check. It arrived and Amy was the one who picked it up.

"Whoa. Ninety five dollars? Oh well."

Amy was reaching in her purse for her money. But Sonic was NOT going to let that happen.

"Hold up there, Ames. I got this."

Sonic reached behind his quills and pulled out a wad of his own money. He laid down enough to pay for the bill plus a generous tip. Amy was at first going to complain that she should pay and not him. But he was too fast. He laid down the money and then the two of them left the place.

Sonic decided to walk Amy all the way back to her place in Emerald Hill. As they did, they gazed up at the stars. When they got far away enough from Station Square and closer to Emerald Hill, they seemed to get brighter.

Then they reached Amy's house. And they stood on her front porch.

"I really didn't expect this to happen, but I had a really nice time tonight, Amy."

"I….I had fun tonight too, Sonic."

Yeah, she had fun alright. But now it was almost over. The bet was for only one date. And now it was only a few minutes away from ending. Soon it would be back to the whole chasing bit. But before it ended. She had one question.

"Sonic, why didn't you let me pay for dinner tonight?" she asked.

Sonic smirked.

"Because a gentleman always pays on the first date.

Amy nodded. That was understandable…..WAIT! Did he just say…?

"First date? What does that mean?" she asked her heart becoming filled with hope.

Sonic chuckled and leaned in closer.

"It means…..I'll call you."

Sonic kissed her on her cheek leaving her speechless. Then he walked down her front walkway and looked back.

"Good night, Amy Rose."

With that, Sonic took off back to his house. And then Amy just had to do something. But she couldn't do it outside. Calmly, she walked inside her house and less than ten seconds later….

"YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Amy went to her radio and turned it on to her favorite song. She began to sing and dance all over her house out of joy.

Just a small town girl
Livin' in a lonely world
She took the midnight train goin' anywhere

And that's the date! I hope everyone likes it. I wasn't really feeling to good about it to be honest. But oh well. Enjoy and review.

Me: Don't know and I don't really care. I'm not the one paying it. But anyways, I hoped everyone enjoyed this chapter. I'll get the next one up ASAP. Until then, peace bitches.