07: Amy

"And so he told me, 'If I ever catch your lips on his, you'll find my fist in your face.'"

Sonic, in his chair behind his desk, looks up at the couch-reclining Amy. His pen stops recording, and his brow lifts. "Sonic said that?"

Amy nods and crosses her heart, hoping not to die. "Now do you understand why I'm so afraid of him, why I can never love him?"

Sonic bites his lower lip, perhaps to hold back a laugh or because he is greatly disturbed. "Amy," he pauses, "think really hard about what you're saying. Really hard."

Amy closes her eyes. "Okay, Doctor, I'm thinking really hard. Now what?"

Sonic stares at her for a moment, not understanding what she means. Then realizing she's doing visualization, he says, "Those words that you said Sonic told you, imagine them coming out of your mouth."

Amy's face scrunches up. "Okay…but…um…who am I saying this to?"

"Shadow, Amy. You're saying these words to Shadow."

"Shadow?" Her eyes flutter open, and she stares, befuddled, at Sonic. "Why would I say that to Shadow."

"Honestly, Amy, I don't know. Why would you say that to Shadow?"

"I wouldn't."

"Wouldn't you?"

"Nope."

Sonic frowns and scribbles a word onto a fresh page. "Amy, do you know what illusory means."

"Illuso-wha?"

"I'll take that to mean 'no.'" He stands, walks over to Amy, and holds the paper out to her. "You're homework for this week is to learn what illusory means and then to write down every time you feel this way."

Amy accepts the paper and smiles happily down at the new word. "Illusory. Sounds pretty, like a dream."

Returning to his seat, Sonic picks up his pen. He taps it against his desk, taking a moment to think about Amy's delusions. Amy takes a moment to look at the bare wall behind him. "Hmm, aren't you supposed to have a picture of Sonic behind you? Eggman told me you'd put one up. Said it looked conquerable."

The pen stops mid-tap. "Oh, that. I uh, that is, I took it down."

"Why?"

"Because I…" His voice fades, and he looks over his shoulder at the bare wall. "Because I…" He suddenly turns his attention to the papers on his desk, picking them up and straightening them into a pile. "Because I didn't want to disturb you. With you having so many issues concerning Sonic, I figured the best thing to do was take it down."

Amy smiles. "That was thoughtful of you." Her smile droops. "I wish Sonic could be half as thoughtful."

"You're not the only one," Sonic mutters.

"Hmm?"

"Oh, nothing. Let's talk about Shadow now."

Amy giggles and blushes. "Oh, he's dreamy."