Regular sonic fan: Yay, I'm so glad to hear that you liked the chapter that much! Thank you! *hugs* Oh god, I'm the same way! If a stranger gets too close to me, I'm all "Don't touch me!" xD Ugh, mothers...I know how they can be! It's really a shame that you can't see your friend more. You'll see her more once school starts though, right? And wow, I don't know how you survive getting on the bus at 5 am. D: Do you have to go to bed really early or something? Thanks for reading!

Fangirl-time: Yup, my Mario story is definitely a romantic one. Everything that I write has romance in it, I think! I really love romance, don't you? Mario and Peach are cute together! Are they your favorite Mario characters? Thank you so much for loving the chapter! I hope that you love this one too. :)

PreyasRules: Oh my god, you're going to have the cough for another six to eight weeks? My god, that's a long time! I'm sending you get well vibes now! Sounds like you need them along with lots of hugs! *huggles* Feel better soon! I think that being sick gets to all of us eventually, so don't feel bad because of that. I love bondage and role-plays too. xD They're so smexy, especially when they're Vecpio, you know? *sudden scream* Yay, you know who Dimentio and Mimi are! I didn't think that you would, but thanks so much for saying that you'd give my fic a try, that is so nice of you! So you read part of Behind Closet Doors, huh? I'm so happy that you like it! Monsters Inc. yaoi is awesome, isn't it? Randall is my favorite character too! *high fives you* That fic is super long, so keep on reading it. ^^ D'awww, thanks for the belated birthday wishes! Being eighteen is awesome to put it lightly. I'm finally free to make my own decisions and I've done some fun stuff that I've always wanted to do like I dyed my hair dark red and got fourteen piercings, hehe. My mom would never have allowed me to do any of that. xD Esp was pretty self-centered in the last chappie, but we love him anyway. Omg, that is horrible about the Sonic X disc! Why the hell did it have to have a big crack in it? That is so unfair! I would've gone berserk when I saw that. D: Thanks so much for reading and I hope that you feel better soon!

Savvy0417: That's cool that you're a Shadamy shipper! Is it your OTP or...? I never saw that episode of Sonic X, but now I really want to see it! Do you watch Sonic X ever? I think that I've just seen the Chaotix episodes. xD I hope that Espio and Vector get along better soon too! Thanks for commenting!

Bluemist45: I love Espio too! He's also one of my favorite characters. What do you like about him? And I agree that Espio should be able to trust Vector! I hope that you keep reading this!

Guest: I'm glad that you like how Vector's a little more astute in this version! So are you liking this version better than the last one, I hope? :) I am changing some things, but Bryce is still going to find Espio through the family reunion thing. Thank you so much for reading this!

Toni the Mink: Hehe, I also think that Espio will warm up to Vector in time. Thanks for not spoiling. xD And aw, thanks so much for saying that you think that I'd make a good author! I've had an original mystery in mind for a while. What I really need to do is write it out and see if it's worth sending in. I tend to get really self-conscious about my stories, so it probably won't go anywhere, but it might still be worth a try, right?

Villains' Bad Girl: Yup. I've learned to be a little more cautious about online stuff. And yeah...most people that I know are starting college then too!

Mickfang27: I'm glad to hear that you got a good night's rest and I'm with you on Vector! He is being very kind to Espio, isn't he? Aw, don't feel stupid, it's easy to get Sonic and Mario stuff mixed up. I do that all of the time. Rainbow Road is pretty hard though, yeah! Don't worry; you're definitely not the only paranoid one. I wait up really easily and probably should have some sort of defense weapon in my room just in case. I understand completely about school. I'll miss your reviews though. Good luck with it!

LuluCalliope: Wow, I guess that you've known him for quite some time then, huh? Did you meet him online or irl? I'm so glad that you're happy with him though. You deserve an awesome boyfriend! And ooo, that's exciting about your play. What's your play called if you don't mind my asking?

Manicpanicgirl: It is pretty funny how Bean is always blowing things up now that you mention it. I like his rivalry with Jet in the comics. Have you read all of the Sonic comics? I've just skimmed a few of them. And same, Jet is my favorite out of the Babylon Rogues. What's your favorite team out of Team Sonic, Dark, Rose, and Chaotix?

Ersiffa Narman: Hi! I feel the same way about OCs. I mean, I don't mind an OC written into a story with canon characters, but I don't just want to read about an OC if that makes any sense? Rap and hiphop are great! I can definitely see why you like them. I'm glad to hear that you had a great day! Is chorus your favorite class? I hope that Veccy and Espy trust each other soon too! *crosses fingers* My day was okay, but I didn't sleep too well because I just got more piercings and my ears kill, haha. Thanks for reading!

Saints-Fan-12: It's awesome talking to you again too! I really missed you. *hugs* I agree that Espio just needs some time to learn to trust Vector. I hope that you like this chapter!

Auzora Starling: Wow, you have that many questions, huh? I'll definitely be posting more chapters! Hopefully, this next chapter will answer some of your questions. Are you a fan of the Chaotix?

bearvalley3365: I take it that you don't like Vector very much. :P Am I right? I'll definitely look Bark the polar bear up. Oh god, I don't like Bean either! He is definitely annoying, I agree. Who is your least favorite Sonic character?

Mysterious: I haven't watched Good Luck Charlie before! How about you? I think that's awesome that Disney is putting a lesbian couple in it. True, they'll get a lot of shit for it, but I support homosexuality one hundred percent. Love is love no matter what form it's in if you ask me. What do you think? Thanks for liking the chapter!

Stormyx: It is pretty difficult having OCD actually. It makes me very nervous and particular about things and it gives me very low self esteem. I'm extremely OCD about food and I guess that you could say that I'm anorexic, but as long as I eat just enough to keep myself alive, I see no issue with it. An entire OOC story is horrible! *joins you in crying* And OCs...god, I dislike them! I've never read a fic about an OC before and I don't plan to. I wanna read about Sonic characters if I'm on this site, not about random OCs, you know? I think that it's awesome that you ship Vecpio. *high fives you* I ship lots of Sonic pairings although Vecpio is my OTP. I could list them here if you'd like? :) Eh, that doesn't sound like such a fun job. I hope that you find something better in the future. Do you have any future plans? That's a shame about your sister. We all need some life goals if you ask me. Let's hope that Esp eventually sees that Vector is a real sweetie despite his tough guy look. And god, yes, I have claustrophobia too! I can't breathe when people get too close to me. *shivers* Thanks so much for reviewing!

ven bracken: I agree with you about Vector - he is trustworthy even if he has flaws. I guess that we all have flaws though, huh? I meant character x character pairing. ^^

zgirl16: Randall is my favorite character too! You have good taste, haha. *high fives you* I actually ship RandallxSulley. What do you think of that pairing? I'm definitely going to see if I can watch some episodes of Black Butler now! Have you written any stories for it? :)


Chapter IX

~ Espio's POV ~

Vector and I step out into the living room where Charmy is hovering in midair with a grin on his face. I wince as I notice that Charmy's grin is directed at Vector, not at me. A sharp jolt of jealousy runs through me as I look between the two of them. I think of Charmy as my own child. It hurts to see that he's taken to Vector so quickly when Vector has done nothing but introduce him to homosexuality so far. Crossing my arms irritably, I keep my envious thoughts to myself and remind myself that I promised only moments earlier to try and give Vector a chance.

"Did ya get our phone number in the yellow pages, Charmy?" Vector asks in that casual, easygoing voice of his.

"Sure did, Vector!" Charmy replies back a vigorous nod. "We should start getting calls really soon! What kind of detective work do you think that we'll have to do first? Maybe we'll have to find someone who's been kidnapped or maybe we'll have to solve a murder mystery of some sort!"

"Yes, but hopefully not," I frown, thinking that Charmy is far too young to be exposed to the details of murder.

"Esp, what do I have to do to get ya to relax?" Vector asks, placing a heavy hand on my shoulder that immediately makes my whole body tense up. Seeing that he's affected me in a bad way, Vector immediately lets go of my shoulder and points out, "There hasn't been a murder here fer a good year and a half."

I nod slowly, not feeling much better. A spontaneous yawn suddenly slips out of my mouth. I send an inconspicuous glance at the clock and note that it's almost eight pm. Figuring that Vector has been here for long enough and that it's about time that he left, I send him an imploring look and say, "It's gotten rather late."

"Huh? It's only eight or so," Vector says blankly, not taking my hint. I narrow my eyes at him and tap my foot on the floor in annoyance. This time, Vector seems to take the hint. He blushes ever so slightly and says, "Oh. Well, kid, it looks like Esp thinks that it's about time that I left. I'll see ya tomorrow."

"Noooooo!" Charmy complains passionately, flying to the door and stopping directly in front of it so that Vector has no way out. Giving Vector a pleading look, Charmy begs, "Can't you stay a little bit later? Espio will at least let me stay up for at least another hour. We have more cookies and milk if you're still hungry. Besides, I really want to show you my video game."

Vector hesitates and looks from Charmy's sad face over to me. I don't change my expression and keep my arms folded. Not wanting to anger his new partner, Vector gives Charmy a sympathetic look and replies, "Sorry, Charmy, but I gotta get back to my apartment before it gets dark out. Don't wanna be wanderin' the streets at night."

"Hm," Charmy muses, unable to argue with Vector's logic. I've always taught him to stay off of the streets at night. In fact, I've taught him lots of safety rules. He should avoid going out of the house at night unless he's with an adult, he can only go to the park alone during the day if he's planning to meet a friend there, and he should never talk to strangers. Unfortunately, there are a lot of things that he still has to learn.

Suddenly, Charmy's face lights up and he snaps his fingers, saying, "I've got it!"

"Got what?" I ask apprehensively, getting a bad feeling about this just from the look on Charmy's face.

"I've got the perfect plan! Just wait until you hear it," Charmy gushes, flying up a foot in the air in his excitement. Vector and I wait in suspense for Charmy to spill his ideas, me with a bad gut feeling and Vector appearing slightly curious. Charmy continues, "Vector can stay the night! I've always wanted to have a sleepover!"

My heart starts hammering against my chest as I see Vector's sharp eyes light up at the idea. There is absolutely no way that I am letting this crocodile stay here overnight. Before Vector can say how he'd love to spend the night here, I interject, "I'm afraid that won't work. We only have two bedrooms. There's nowhere for Vector to stay."

"Why can't he just stay in your bedroom?" Charmy asks, seeing no problem with this. "Your bed is big enough for two. You let me sleep next to you that one night when I had a nightmare, remember?"

My whole body flushes and I feel heat rushing to my cheeks. Charmy is too young and innocent to realize what he's proposing, but he's certainly done a fine job embarrassing me today! Vector chuckles and asks, "How about it, Esp? Can I stay the night? Don't worry, I won't sleep in yer bed. I can just stay out here on the couch."

"No," I state flatly, earning myself a disappointed look from both Charmy and Vector. Figuring that I need some excuse as to why I want to get rid of Vector, I look around wildly and focus on the dirt that Vector tracked all over the floor. Grasping at this, I continue, "I need to clean the house. I'm sure that Vector won't want to stay here and listen to the vacuum. We don't want to be inconsiderate hosts, do we, Charmy?"

"I guess not. I think that the cleaning could wait until tomorrow though," Charmy grumbles. It only takes him a moment before he perks up again and asks, "So what time will we see you tomorrow, Vector?"

Vector decides to be considerate and says, "I dunno. What time works fer you two? I'm available all day long. Say, Esp, you're pretty red in the cheeks. Are ya alright?"

"Fine," I reply stiffly, still blushing from Charmy suggesting that Vector and I share a bed. I think for a few moments and realize that it looks like I'm going to have to quit my cafe job now that I've decided to become part of Team Chaotix. Tomorrow morning, I'll go in to the cafe early and resign. That shouldn't take too long. I should be free after ten 'o clock. In an almost reluctant voice, I reply, "I suppose that any time after ten would be just fine."

"Alright! I'll be here at ten 'o clock sharp then," Vector says, saluting me in a comical way. Charmy bursts out giggling and throws his arms around Vector's neck as the crocodile steps toward the door. Vector looks a little shocked, but awkwardly pats the happy little bee on the back.

"I'm so glad that you put up that ad about the detective agency," Charmy points out before letting Vector go. "We're going to be the best detective agency ever!"

Vector nods and then glances over at me from where I'm standing a few feet opposite him. I keep my arms crossed, but don't glare at him anymore. Vector offers his hand to me a bit awkwardly and says, "I'll see ya bright and early tomorrow. Keep in mind what I told yeh, Esp."

"Right," I reply, taking and then releasing Vector's hand as quickly as I can. I'm going to have a shoulder ache tomorrow at this rate. "Goodbye."

Finally, after what seems like forever, I finally manage to get the house Vector-free. Unfortunately, there are large, ugly dirt stains all across my perfectly white carpet that remind me of his presence. How dreadful! I stare at the stains morbidly and sigh, not wanting to clean tonight. I'm thoroughly exhausted.

"It's been a long day," I state, lifting wary eyes to Charmy. "Perhaps we can both just go to bed tonight without arguing?"

Charmy assesses my mood and seems to realize that tonight is not a night to press his luck with me. Nodding, he says, "Okay. We've got to get our rest so that we'll be prepared for our first mission tomorrow. I'll go brush my teeth and get ready for bed."

"Thank you," I tell Charmy gratefully, glad that we're not going to have to go through the usual arguments over bedtime.

Once Charmy flies off to his bedroom, I debate about what to do for the rest of the night. I'm far too tired to vacuum even though the grimy floor is practically begging to be cleaned. I could watch TV, but there's usually nothing on but sports. Sports have a tendency to put me straight to sleep. I might as well just go straight to bed like Charmy. I'm positive that I'll fall asleep right away. Turning, I step nimbly across the floor and disappear into my bedroom, closing the door quietly behind me.

Wincing, I notice that Vector has managed to track dirt onto the creamy white carpet in my bedroom. I smack my palm against my forehead and make a mental note to get up extremely early tomorrow so that I can clean the carpet and then go to the cafe before Vector arrives at my house. Falling into bed, I rub my sore shoulder before slipping under my blankets. I hope to fall asleep right away, but sleep has a way of evading me. My mind keeps racing with anxious thoughts about tomorrow. Maybe I ought to take some of my pills.

Sitting up in bed, I reach over to my drawer and fumble around inside of it with one hand as I search for a pill bottle in the dark. Eventually, my fingers fasten around something smooth and cylinder - definitely a pill bottle. After uncapping it, I place two pills on my tongue and then swallow them delicately before setting the bottle back into the drawer. I'm only supposed to take one pill, but I could certainly use two tonight considering all of the stress that I've been under.

I lay down and attempt to fall asleep once more. Again, I can't seem to make myself relax. A soft creak comes from the doorway and I open my eyes again, glancing at the open doorway to see Charmy hovering there sheepishly. He gives me a half-smile and whispers, "I can't sleep. Can I come in?"

"I suppose so. I can't sleep either," I admit, rolling to one side of the bed so that Charmy can crawl onto the opposite side of it.

Plop! I feel the mattress shift as Charmy flops down next to me and props himself up on his elbow so that he can sit facing me. Charmy looks into my face and asks earnestly, "Why don't you like Vector?"

I consider denying it for a few moments, but realize that it's probably not worth denying. Giving Charmy a rueful smile, I ask, "Is it that obvious?"

"Yeah," Charmy admits, sending me a curious look. "Why don't you like him? He's really nice!"

"He's a stranger to us. We barely know him. I'm just being cautious for now," I tell Charmy, hoping that he'll buy my little white lie. Actually, it's not really a lie. I am just being cautious because I don't trust anyone other than Charmy.

"What's there to be cautious of?" Charmy asks, puzzled. "What could he do to us? He's obviously not going to murder us while we sleep or anything!"

"Murder isn't the only crime out there," I reply a bit sadly. Taking advantage of the fact that I have Charmy's complete attention for the moment (this is a very rare thing considering the fact that he's usually entranced with his video games), I add, "Don't suggest Vector sleeping over here again and don't ask me about the pills in my drawers in front of him."

"Why not?" Charmy asks, seeing nothing wrong with either of those things.

"It's just...not a good idea," I reply, not feeling like explaining the whole thing to the little bee. Finally starting to get tired, I tell Charmy, "I think that I'm going to go to bed now. You can stay here if you'd like for tonight."

"Alright," Charmy says, burying his face in the pillow before he mumbles in a muffled voice, "Will you at least try to like Vector a little more? I want us to be a team."

"I'll try," I answer, deciding to really give it some effort tomorrow for Charmy's sake if for nothing else. "I promise to try."

I get no response and realize that Charmy has already fallen asleep. His soft snores can be heard from across the bed. Smiling to myself, I close my own eyes and fall asleep almost immediately. During the night, I dream of Bryce. He has me pinned down against the bed and advances toward me slowly, his eyes black pools of malice and his lips curved up in a diabolical smile. I avoid his vicious gaze and stare up at the ceiling, pretending to be anywhere but here on the bed about to be assaulted. Unfortunately, I can't help but wince as Bryce grabs my wrists and pins them above my head with an firm hand. His grip on my wrists is iron tight. I've long since learned not to struggle, but Bryce seems to think that he needs to force me into submission. I can feel his hot, heavy breath against my neck as Bryce straddles me with ease. I continue staring at the ceiling blankly as he tugs at my legs. I let them fall apart knowing that Bryce will get his way one way or the other by the end of the night. Closing my eyes, I wait for the sharp burst of pain to stab up inside of me. However, after a few long moments of feeling nothing, I crack an eye open. A large green shape with flaming eyes tears Bryce off of me and sends him flying against the wall. A concerned face stares into mine. ...Vector?

"Espio, wake up!" a distant voice calls to me from what seems like miles away.

The image of Vector dissolves from before my eyes as well as Bryce's dark form. Opening my heavy eyelids, I find myself face-to-face with Charmy. Bright sunlight is pouring in through the windows and I realize that I must have overslept. Damn. There's nothing worse than getting off to a late start in the morning.

"I was starting to think that you'd never wake up!" Charmy complains as he flies around my head while I stare around myself, a bit disoriented after my nightmare. "I told Cream that I would meet her at the park today, but I want to hang out with you and Vector instead. What should I do?"

"You need to meet Cream at the park if you already promised her that you would," I tell Charmy a bit stiffly. "You don't have to play with her all day, but it would be rude to just not show up."

"I guess that you're right," Charmy mumbles. "I'm going to go to the park now then. The sooner that I leave, the sooner that I can be back!"

"Alright," I reply sleepily as Charmy flies out of the bedroom as fast as lightning. It's not until after he's gone that I realize that this means that I'm going to be meeting with Vector all alone in a few hours. Just my luck.


How do you think that Espio's meeting with Vector will go? Review please! :)