All Characters belong to Sega/Archie except my OCs.

Chapter 10

Where was he? I thought impatiently as I tapped my pen on my notebook. I was in the study period in which we had met, sitting alone at the table we usually sit at. When Sonic didn't show up in first period, I tried not to worry too much. Then second period flew on by and he still had yet to show up. Now it was the middle of third period and the boy was still nowhere to be seen. I really hoped that he wasn't avoiding me. We hadn't really talked since he had given me the run down on what he was and everything in his life that had led him to come here. I had stayed true to my promise of not telling anyone. Actually, I tried really hard not to think about it at all. A part of me felt as if it was too much to take in but another thought figured that the edgy life I'd always wanted was right at my fingertips. Plus it came with a boy who I was becoming to strongly care about. Despite my differing thoughts, I knew that I needed to talk to him. I wanted to know him.

He has shown me more than enough that he was not the monster that his brother was nor the plain monster that he was born as. He was just a teenager with an old soul. He had feelings just like everyone else as well as his own misunderstood problems. There's no doubt that he might also be conflicted with coming to terms with who he really was on the inside. From the looks of it, he's lived a long time and still doesn't really know who he is. I could tell that he would like to find his identity and be happy with it but I could also see that he feared that he might end up like his brother. Cold, mean, almost unlovable…

I perked up when I saw Sonic stride gracefully into the room. I almost smiled at the sight of him until I realized his disheveled appearance. His blue hair was an utter mess on top of his head, there were bags under his eyes, and his eyes were tinted red. His clothes weren't too organized as well. He was dressed in a pair of worn jeans, a fitted tee shirt that also had a couple straggly ends, and a pair of sneakers. It was obvious that he had just thrown anything on that morning.

He walked over to the moderator, gave her his late slip, and began to walk over to our table. His mouth tightened into a frown as he sat down across from me. "Hey," I murmured. "You alright?"

"Yea," he said simply, his voice sounded as if he was out of breath or tired. I tilted my head at him as I reached out my hand to grasp his. His warm skin on mine made the butterflies in my stomach flutter lightly.

"You had me worried," I told him as I gave his hand a soft squeeze.

"I'm sorry. I just had to take care of some things at the house before I left."

"Is everything alright there? Is your brother giving you problems or something?"

"I wouldn't say problems. More like little annoyances per to say. He's been preying on almost every college sorority he can find in the local college." I grimaced.

"He's not killing the girls is he?"

"Not anymore. The first batch I found were barely alive but I got them help before they could die. They're better now. The others…well he hasn't been draining them fully of blood but he has been taking a lot out of them."

"Can the girls remember any of what happened to them once they go back to their regular lives?" He shook his head.

"No, Scourge uses compulsion to clear whatever memory of him that they had. If anything, the closest they get to knowing who he was is that they slept with him."

"Oh… So, he uses them for sex too."

"Yup. He's sick, I know."

"And what about that girl who looks like me? Does he know about her?" Sonic nodded, diverting his eyes away from me. "I'm guessing that didn't end well did it?"

"She's not as strong as she used to be. I don't know why and she's not in a rush to trust me enough to tell me. So, he's using her weakness against her."

"Using it against her how?"

"Basically by forcing her back into a relationship with him."

"That's not good…is it?"

"I don't know. Both of them seem to have their own agendas and I can't seem to be able to comprehend either one of theirs. It doesn't help that she said that there might be hunters around."

"Hunters as in paranormal hunters?" Sonic nodded.

"As far as they know, our kind is a myth but there are some who do know that we exist. That could mean serious trouble for us…and for you."

"Me," I asked, suddenly feeling a bit scared. Honestly, I'm surprised I'm taking all of this so well. I mean, although Sonic made it obvious that he wasn't going to hurt me, that didn't mean that his brother or my doppelganger would hold up to that promise. Sonic had already warned me that they were a threat to humankind once – and that his brother technically still is. I didn't really know this other girl yet so I couldn't really know what to expect from her. And now he's telling me that there are deadly hunters involved in all of this. What the hell was I getting myself into with this kid?

"They could use you as bait if they wanted to get us somewhere and as leverage so that we won't attack."

"We?" Sonic put his eyes back on me, a soft tint in his light green orbs.

"Scourge would never let me go against hunters without him. We may not get along but I'm still his little brother and he cares…he just shows it differently." Although we had been whispering, I noticed my old friends staring at us intensely. I looked over to them and squeezed Sonic's hand a bit more. The gesture didn't really help, especially since Alex walked into the room with a note in his hand. His eyes were on our moderator at first before they floated across the room. I quickly looked away from him and let go of Sonic's hand. I didn't do it out because I still held small feelings for Alex or anything but because I now knew what both of them were capable of. While Sonic was super strong and fast, Alex was a bit deadly. There was no doubt that he would try to jump Sonic again if he found out that we were somewhat together so soon after our breakup. I didn't want that to happen. That would just be unnecessary drama that Sonic really didn't need. He had enough on his plate at the moment.

"Amy," I heard Alex say. I reluctantly looked up at him to see him staring at me with a stony expression. "The principal wanted me to come get you for an emergency student council meeting." I nodded.

"Okay," I squeaked. I looked to Sonic who looked unbothered by my ex's presence. Then again, he shouldn't have any hard feelings. Sonic didn't really care about pointless high school drama. Not when there was so much more to his world. "I'll see you later," I told him.

"Come over later," he whispered to me as I got up. I nodded, shooting him a soft smile before following Alex out of the library. My ex-boyfriend didn't seem interested in talking at first so we silently walked down the hallway for a couple minutes. A part of me was happy that he wasn't speaking to me. That made things easier on me. Then I could just focus solely on my feelings for Sonic and try to help him with his situation. Yet, another part of me didn't like our cold silence. Alex and I had known each other our whole lives. How could all of our friendship go down the drain over something so simple? Sure, we might have broken up anyway because of my budding feelings for Sonic but that didn't mean I wanted to hurt Alex. I was hoping that we could still have been friends or something. He'd been in my life for so long…it would be weird to go on without him completely.

"Um, we passed the principal's office," I pointed out. Alex glanced at me.

"I know. The principal never called for you." I crinkled my eyebrows together at him.

"Then why did you come get me? You have a note-"

"You know your study hall monitor doesn't actually pay close attention to notes and such. It was easy to trick her with this one." He threw the said note in the trash as we continued walking. "I needed to talk to you."

"About…?"

"Do you like him," he asked quietly, turning his dark eyes to me. Well, so much for him not trying to make things complicated.

"Alex," I started. "I'm sorry to be rude but that's none of your concern. Not anymore."

"Amy, just because we're broken up doesn't mean that I don't care about you. Besides, that guy has baggage. What if he hurts you?" I shuddered at the thought since I did know that he did have the power to do some severe damage to me. But, I had to remember his oath to me. He meant no harm to humankind. He'd told me that so many times. I just had to keep it in mind.

"He won't. He's not the kind of guy that everyone is making him out to be. He's kind and thoughtful and he cares about me." Alex scoffed.

"Oh please. You haven't even known him for that long. For all you know, he could be using you or waiting for the right time to kill you."

"Alex, for the last time, he's not going to hurt me." He shook his head.

"You never even answered my initial question."

"Yes, Alex, I do. I like him a lot." A muscle in Alex's jaw jumped as he looked towards the lockers. I noticed his fists begin to ball up at his sides. "What do you have against him that you don't want me with him?"

"Because I know what he is." My stomach suddenly went up into a sharp flare as fear flew threw me.

"What…what are you talking about?" Alex stopped walking and turned towards me. He took a step towards me, his voice dropping down to a whisper although we were alone in the hallway.

"He is not normal, Amy. He's not human. Hell, I don't even know if he's dead or alive."

"Alex, you don't know what you're talking about." His dark eyes flashed before he suddenly pushed me up against the wall. I gasped as he pinned me there, his dark orbs staring intensely into mine.

"I know exactly what I'm talking about. My family…they've always been eccentric and you know that but there's more to their craziness then just inventions. My father grew up studying abnormal creatures. He hunted them, tortured them for tests, and then killed them. I was raised the same way. Amy, I know this is going to sound strange but vampires, werewolves, and all of that other stuff exist. They just hide among us. You wouldn't believe how many there are in the world. There are tons of them!"

"Alex, let go of me. You're talking crazy."

"I am not talking crazy. Amy, you know me. I wouldn't be so passionate about something if I didn't know it was true."

"Okay so if you're so sure of this then what is he?"

"Well, recently my father came across some vampires who were happy to spare some useful information in exchange for their lives. So, they filled him in on what that freak and his brother are. I never thought something them could exist. It's crazy. But, now we all know that they're dangerous and that they will kill us if given the chance to." I shook my head.

"What are they then? Enlighten me."

"Vampire werewolf hybrids," he said slowly. Oh shit… "Look, Ames, you have to stay away from them. I don't want you to get hurt. And you can't share this information with anyone. They can't know that you know what they are. That'll only end badly. Just keep it to yourself until we kill them."

"Kill them," I squeaked, my head spinning in circles. How could he talk about Sonic like that? As if…as if he was some monster.

"Yes. We have to kill them. The rest of the world will be in danger if we let them run free. You'll be in danger. I can't let that happen." I let out an unsteady breath. If I didn't already know what Sonic was then maybe I would've thought that Alex was telling me all this as a scheme to get me away from Sonic. But, because I knew all about Sonic, his knowledge worried me. If Alex was part of a hunter family who lived here then Sonic and his brother could be in serious trouble. It was obvious that they didn't know of the other girl who was also like them but it wouldn't be very hard for them to figure it out. If Sonic was right about his brother forcing her back into a relationship with him then there was no doubt that she wouldn't defend him. Hell, I didn't doubt that she would even fight for Sonic. They were the only people she had left in the world – why wouldn't she defend them? "Promise me you won't tell anyone about this."

"Okay," I breathed. "I promise."

X

I knocked loudly on the door of Sonic's house, anxious to talk to him. After my encounter with Alex, I had gone back to study hall only to see that Sonic was gone. Hell, he was gone for the whole rest of the day. I immediately began to worry about him. Now that I knew that Alex and his father were on his trail, that meant trouble was on its way. Sure, Sonic and Scourge could probably kill Alex and whatever people he has in alliance with him easily but that didn't sit well with me either. But I guess that's why Sonic had given me so many chances to walk away from him. His life was a never ending war with tough choices to make and regrets to live with. Even though he never chose this life, that didn't mean that he wouldn't play his part in it.

The girl who looked like me opened the door, her long wet hair dripping down her back. She was wearing a simple pair of sweatpants and a tank top that hugged her slim torso. I guess I should've been surprised by how unnaturally beautiful she was but I had come to figure that. I mean, how wasn't she beautiful with her wide eyes, sweet face, hour glass figure, and long curls of pink hair. She may look like me but she definitely pulled off the look better than I ever could. "Hi," she said, a cheery smile coming upon her face.

"Hi. Is Sonic here?" She nodded, moving aside.

"Yup. Come in, please." I smiled weakly at her before walking into the house. As I passed her, I couldn't help but to smell the sweet vanilla scent of what was probably her body wash. "He's in his room. I'll take you."

"Thank you," I said as I turned to her. She was staring at me, her jade irises scrutinizing over my body and face. "Um, we haven't been formally introduced. I'm Amy," I said, holding out my hand to her.

"Rosalinda," she said, putting her hand in mine. "But you can call me Rosy. It's nice to meet you."

"Same to you." Her eyes met mine and she smiled widely.

"I can tell we're going to be great friends." I nodded, smiling at her. She kept hold of my hand as she began to lead me down the hall. I tried to keep up with her fast pace but I couldn't help but to stumble after her. My sneaker wedges were totally not helping my case with walking. "So, I'm guessing Sonic told you everything," she said as she slowed down so that she could look back at me.

"Uh, yea. He did."

"And you still want to hang out with him? Wow, you're a keeper." I let out a nervous laugh as I shrugged my shoulder. "Don't be shy. I was in your position once too. It's hard at first, trust me but it gets easier."

"How?" She slowed down even more as her eyes glazed over in thoughts.

"Well, at first, all you see is the monster that they are. You try to convince yourself that you're not crazy for wanting them or for understanding them. But then, you start seeing past the monster to the man that really lies behind it." A soft smile slowly painted itself on her lips. "After that, you kind of just fall in love with who he really is and somehow you just accept the monster and love him all the same. That's the thing with them – or us as I should say. You have to accept what we are to fully love us. Once you do that, then everything comes more naturally." She looked to me. "I can see that you do care deeply for Sonic."

"I do," I murmured, blushing softly.

"Just do me a favor and don't break his heart. He's a really good guy." I nodded.

"Yes. He is. I'm sure Scourge isn't as bad as he comes off to be." Rosy shrugged.

"I don't know. Scourge has always been…complicated. I'm not sure if you've witnessed how he is with Sonic but he treats me the same. Sometimes he truly cares and other times, he's an evil jackass."

"But you know what they went through. Sonic told me it wasn't easy for him…especially when he lost you." Rosy lowered her eyes. "Why did you leave them," I asked, stopping our motion so that I could talk to her longer. Honestly, now that I was getting more into Rosy's head, I wanted to know more about her. She seemed like such a nice girl with a clear outlook. How could she possibly have been – or still is - as scheming and deceitful as Sonic had described her as.

"They killed my family, Amy. For defense, I know, but that didn't make me feel any better. Dealing with my whole transformation at the same time also didn't help anything. I was angry and I felt alone. I had no one to turn to except the two people I wanted to get away from. So, I just took it out on them. They took my sass of course and they still do take my sass but I guess I just needed time to myself. I was already young and didn't know who I was so I spent the next few hundred years doing some soul searching."

"And what did you find?"

"I found a girl who has more than a lifetime ahead of her in an ever-changing world and a heart that yearned for an evil son of a bitch." She laughed lightly. "I guess I can say that still don't know who I really am." I touched her shoulder, causing her to look to me.

"It's okay to love him, you know." She smiled.

"I should be saying that to you." I blushed softly. "Come on, let's get you to your man." She grabbed my hand and once again began to tow me down the hall. We stopped before a corner, Rosy freezing in her tracks. Before I could ask what was wrong, she put a finger to her lips as she turned to me. I nodded and slowly crept around her to see what she was looking at. Down at the end of the hallway were Scourge and Sonic, appearing to be arguing in hushed tones. Sonic seemed to be scolding his brother who kept rolling his eyes at him. I wondered what they were arguing about until I caught Sonic asking how Rosy would feel. Then it hit me. The sorority girls. The ones that Scourge had been preying on. I looked to Rosy to see her expression but she kept it blank, staring at the brothers curiously.

"How would I feel about what," she said as she tugged me around the corner. The two brothers turned their eyes towards us and shock flew threw them at the sight of me.

"Amy," Sonic said. "You came." I nodded.

"I need to talk to you," I said softly. Sonic nodded as he came towards us. Rosy let go of my hand as she leaned against the wall.

"I like her, Sonic. She's cute," Rosy said, smiling softly at Sonic.

"Thanks for your approval," he said swiftly before grabbing my hand and nearly yanking me away from her. "Talk to your boyfriend," he said lowly before towing me down the hall.

"What were you guys arguing about," I asked as Sonic lightly pulled me into a room not too far from the hallway we were just standing in. As he let go of my hand to shut the door, I looked around briefly. The room was painted a deep cobalt color, hundreds of pictures taped all over the walls, a big bed laid across from a big window and a desk sat in a nearby corner. There was also a bookshelf with tons of books on it as well as some books roaming around the floor.

"Nothing important," he said from behind me. I turned around to look at him when I noticed he was shirtless. Immediately, I turned a deep shade of red. Sure, I had always suspected Sonic's toned body but I never thought it would be so…exquisite. His chest was broad and looked very…strong. His lower torso was composed of a tight six pack and v neck that was expressed by his sweats that hung low on his hips. His arms were pretty tight as well, his muscles bulging out to their full potential. Damn, he was hot. I could only imagine how tight his back muscles were… "Ames," Sonic called me back out of my thoughts. I blushed deeper when I realized I had been checking him out.

"Sorry, I um…sorry," I muttered, looking down to the floor. Sonic chuckled lightly.

"Can I get you anything?" I shook my head. "You can sit down if you want."

"Right…right," I said, walking over to his desk and taking a seat. Sonic walked over to me and leaned against the edge of his desk. "Where did you go earlier?" Sonic's eyes flew from the floor to me as he crossed his arms across his chest.

"I had some things to take care of," he said. "How was the student council meeting?"

"Well, that's the things I wanted to talk to you about. Alex got me alone to tell me that he knew what you were. His father is a hunter, Sonic, and so is he." Sonic stared at me blankly, his eyes not giving off and inch of shock. "Did you know this already," I asked sheepishly.

"Scourge found out earlier. Alex's father is part of a well-known hunter family line and he works with Scourge. Apparently, he tried to corner Scourge but my brother handled it. He erased all memory of the confrontation and his knowledge of us. I had to leave earlier to take care of Alex's memory briefly. Then I came home to discuss with my brother about what we're going to do. If vampires are telling our secret in turn for their lives then that means that they may not be our only threat."

"So, this could get bad?"

"Possibly. But if Alex's family didn't tell anyone else then we should be fine for a while." I nodded, letting my fear ease up. Instead, I let my blush return when I came to the utter realization that I was alone in a room with a hot shirtless boy who I had a crush on. I can't forget that there was a bed in here as well…

"You have a nice room," I said, trying to break the silence between us. Sonic had been staring at me, his eyes watching me intently. I, on the other hand, was trying to look anywhere but him. His bare torso was very tempting and was making me very nervous. I mean, I was sure that he was experienced due to all of his years of life. Me, well I was still a virgin. I suddenly felt very awkward as I came to that fact. Sonic had been around for a long time. I began to wonder exactly how many girls he had been with in the past…

"Thanks," he said. "Sorry that it's messy. I kind of forgot to clean it up for you."

"I don't mind. I see you have a lot of books. Do you like to read?"

"Yea. It helps pass the time."

"What kind of books do you like to read?"

"Mostly historic fiction. I like to see people's interpretations on things that have happened in the past. It's interesting. What kind of books do you like reading?"

"Um, I mostly read young adult romances or paranormal romances and stuff like that," I said, blushing softly. Sonic smiled softly.

"So I'm guessing you've read Twilight and all of that other stuff." I nodded. "Are those books even any good?"

"I thought they were. A lot of books are better than those though, honestly. I mean, they could have been better. I read the other book that the author had and I hated it. I didn't even read the whole thing."

"Oh. The one about the aliens? I read that book."

"Did you like it?" He shook his head, making a sour face. "Stupid right?"

"Totally." I giggled softly, causing him to smile at me again. "So, I wanted to know if you wanted to go somewhere with me this weekend."

"Where are we going?" He shrugged.

"I'm not sure yet but it's going to be nice. I know that first dates tend to be kind of cheesy." I giggled.

"Sometimes they can be but I happen to like cheesy."

"Oh really," he purred, lightly grabbing my hands to pull me up. I was surprised when he pulled me against him, his arms wrapping around my waist tightly. I blushed deeply as his beautiful green eyes stared down into mine. "I guess I'll be as cheesy as I can get." I smiled.

"I would like that."

"So, can I ask you something?" I nodded.

"Do you think we can work on having a normal relationship? Just me and you…?" I nodded.

"I'd like that." He smiled before letting it slowly drop.

"Amy, do you think…do you think that you could love me someday…despite of what I am?" My mind drifted back to what Rosy had said about seeing through the monster to fall in love but to accept him in full to love him truly. I had already seen past what Sonic was to the good man that he was on the inside. Now, all I had to do was accept his other side. That already seemed to be in the process since he had shown me both of his forms and I still felt the same way about him. Maybe I could love this boy for all that he was. And maybe he could love me too.

"Yes. Yes, I think I could," I said, giving him a soft smile. "Now, can I ask you a question?" He nodded. "Well, I know this is going to sound stupid but do you know exactly how many girls you've been with before me?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Seriously," he asked. I blushed deeply, putting my hands over my eyes.

"I know, I know, I sound so stupid. But it's just: I've only had one boyfriend my entire life and you've lived for God knows how long and you're more experienced and I'm-" Sonic cut me off by pulling my hands off of my face and giving me a stern look. He shook his head at me.

"Look, you have nothing to be insecure about, alright? I haven't been involved with anyone in a long, long time. That's not because I didn't have an opportunity to but because I chose not to. I'm not my brother. I don't go after girls to keep my sex life alive. I go after girls who I feel I can fall in love with." He caressed my cheek. "And you…you're the girl I think I'll be in love with for a long while." I blushed.

"So, I guess you are a really good guy aren't you?" He smiled.

"Yea…yea I guess I am." His hands cupped my face gently as he leaned his forehead against mine. I kept my eyes locked on his, patiently waiting for him to make his move on me. He must have noticed what I wanted since he then began to lean down towards me and press his soft lips against mine. Almost instantly, I melted into him. His mouth was warm against mine as our lips moved together in a sweet harmony. The warmth from his lips spread quickly all over my body, making me want more. I pushed my body against his as I looped my arms around his neck. His hands left my face to slide down my back slowly and then let themselves cross as his arms wrapped tightly around my waist. He deepened the kiss, lightly flicking his tongue at my lips until he gained access into my mouth. Softly, I moaned into him. The moan must have triggered something in him since his hold immediately tightened around me. Our tongues began to battle as my hands tangled themselves in his silky hair. I lightly tugged at his strands which caused a deep growl to rumble from his throat. Our kisses then began to become more hungry and sloppy. I didn't care though. In fact, I was enjoying the adrenaline rush that he was giving me with his urgent kisses. I squealed into his mouth when he picked me up and wrapped my legs around his waist so that I wouldn't fall. Our lips stayed connected as he began to walk over to what I believe was his bed. Well, I only figured that out because he lightly set me down on it with him on top of me. Usually, with Alex, I would feel frightened when our kisses got too heated but here, with Sonic, I felt safe. His hands didn't roam like Alex's did nor did I feel any time of pressure. He was just making out with me and he had no intentions for it to go any further than that.

After a couple hours of making out with Sonic and exploring his bare torso with my hands, I finally pulled away and told them that I had to be getting home. He insisted on driving me home so I let him throw on a tee shirt and shoes. Once he was done, he led me down to the living room where Rosy and Scourge were sitting on opposite sides of the couch watching television. "Bye Rosy," I told her when she looked to me. She smiled brightly, waving to me. I also waved to Scourge who shot me a quick nod before turning his eyes away. I wondered what had happened between them. But I knew that then wasn't the time to ask. For the moment, I just wanted to bask in the reality that I was slowly falling in love with a boy who went beyond my expectations.

Wait, I was falling in love? I looked to Sonic who was driving his car, a focused look on his face. A smile unconsciously made its way upon my face. Yes, I was falling in love with him. All I wanted to do was stare at him, kiss him, and hear his smooth voice. I didn't want to leave when we arrived at my house but he gave me a soft kiss and promised he'd pick me up for school the next day. We exchanged a few more kisses after that before I finally went on into the house. But before I did, I couldn't help but to look back and smile at Sonic one last time. He smiled back and waved to me, his green eyes glowing with content. That smile stayed in my mind for the rest of the night and I even fell asleep with one on my own face. Yup, I was falling in love with a creature of the night and I was perfectly fine with that.

First, let me say that I am sincerely sorry for not updating in so long. I had major writer's block but my mind is clear now and I know what I'm going to focus on for the next couple of chapters so hopefully I will get another update up soon. I hope this long chapter earned some forgiveness.

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