Long chapter for you guys!

All characters belong to Sega/Archie except my OCs.

Chapter 9

The following week went by quietly. Amy returned to school; she kept to herself during the school hours, barely talking to anyone – even Sonia. She didn't' want to admit it aloud, but she still wanted to be wrapped up in her covers and pretending she didn't exist. She didn't want to be surrounded by people, teachers, and class work. She just wanted to sleep. Sonic noticed her lack of sassy comments during their work shifts and walks home. The first two days, he'd tried relentlessly to get her attention and spark one of their usual spats. Amy ignored him and wordlessly pushed him out of the way each time. Sonic took her hints and gave her some space. Wednesday and Thursday, he was nice to her. He started casual conversations and tried to offer her soft smiles whenever he could. By the time it was time to walk home on Thursday, Amy had warmed back up to his antics. She'd begun smiling and initiating subtle fights as they were closing. Sonic couldn't help but to be relieved. He wasn't sure how much longer he could go without messing with her.

After school on Friday, he waited on the stone steps of the building for her. He had another tournament match that night, so he and Amy were going to be walking to the gym rather than the restaurant. Thankfully it wasn't too long before Amy came to his side. They walked in a content silence for a few minutes before Sonic spoke. "So, how are you feeling today," he asked.

"Better," Amy said with a nod. "I'm sorry for giving you the cold shoulder before. I just..."

"You don't have to explain. I understand." A smile tugged at his lips. "You're lucky I don't kick your ass for being mean to me."

Amy raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?"

"Yes. My feelings were extremely hurt. I shouldn't accept your apology; I should throw your little ass in the street."

Amy giggled. "You care about me too much to do that. You'd miss me if something were to happen to me."

"Is that what you think?"

"Yes. I doubt you'll find someone else to put up with your bullshit on a daily basis without murdering you."

Sonic scoffed. "I'll have you know Mr. Connors has put up with my bullshit for six years without strangling me. I'm sure there's more where he came from."

Amy shook her head. She flinched at the sudden touch of Sonic's arm over her shoulders. Soft blush rushed to her cheeks as he pulled her against him. She looked up to see a soft smile on his face.

"But they wouldn't be as annoying and irritating as you; you're irreplaceable."

Amy rolled her eyes. She nudged him away with her elbow.

"Did you wanna talk about how the meeting went…with your brother," Sonic asked cautiously.

"It was fine," Amy said with a shrug. "He's nice."

"You think you guys hit it off?"

"Yea. We exchanged numbers and emails and everything. We haven't really talked over the week because of school and everything, but he promised we'd hang out every so often."

"That's good, right?"

Amy nodded. "Yea," she murmured.

Sonic raised an eyebrow. The clouds in her green eyes had returned. He didn't doubt she was telling him the truth, but he did know there was something she wasn't telling him. If the meeting had gone well, then why had she seemed upset all week? What had he told her that'd caused the clouds to reside in her eyes for so long? Or was it something he'd done? Maybe the way he'd looked at her? Or was she simply reverting back to the darkness she'd succumbed to not too long ago? Sonic knew Scourge's attack had taken a bigger toll on her than she'd like to admit. She'd known the boy since they were all kids; they'd been friends for years. It had to be heartbreaking for her experience such cruelty from someone she'd known for so long. She could pretend nothing was wrong all she wanted, but Sonic could see through her façade. If there was one thing Amy couldn't do, it was fooling Sonic into believing her feigned smiles.

The two departed after they'd reached the gym. Sonic worked out with Tails' assistance, and Amy helped Tony with changing the flyers on the bulletin boards. It was peaceful for both of them for a short while. After Sonic was finished warming up, he wandered over to Amy. She was shuffling through some papers in her hands when he poked at her side. "Sonic," she exclaimed as she flinched from the touch. She'd almost dropped the stack of flyers in her hands. "What do you want," she asked as she sent him a glare.

Sonic smirked. "I just wanted to fuck with you."

Amy rolled her eyes. "Go away. I need to finish hanging up these flyers before the crowd gets here."

"You can talk to me while you're doing that," he said as he leaned against the wall. He watched her for a moment with his arms crossed. "What are you doing after this?"

"Sleeping," Amy admitted.

Sonic turned his eyes to the other side of the gym. "Well, I was thinking maybe we could get some ice cream or something after the match."

She raised an eyebrow. She looked at her friend, but his eyes were fixed away from her. "Why?"

He shrugged. "I just thought you could use a little bit of cheering up." A grin appeared on his lips as he looked over at her. "What's a better picker upper than hanging out with me and eating ice cream?"

"Stabbing my eyeballs out with a fork. Besides, the only reason you want to hang out with me is because you can't find a new girl to sleep with you, and you don't want to be the third wheel with Tails and his girlfriend."

He refrained from rolling his eyes. "That's not even close to the reason I'm asking you to hang out." He grabbed her hand to stop her from tacking the papers to the bulletin board. He gently wound his arm around her waist and spun her in a smooth one-eighty. She hugged the flyers closer to her chest as he pushed her back against the wall and trapped her in with his arms. She looked up to him with wide eyes and flushed cheeks. "I miss hanging out with you," Sonic whispered huskily. "And I know you miss hanging out with me too…when I'm not being an asshole."

"Oh you're still an asshole," Amy said. "You're just a tolerable one at this point."

"I'm being serious, Amy." He raised his hand to gently caress her cheek. "Hang out with me later. We'll get ice cream, go someplace quiet, and talk for a while – like we used to. What do you say?"

Amy froze under his soft touch and his small step closer. She could feel the heat radiating from his bare torso, and it was hard to refrain herself from glancing down at his chiseled torso. He hadn't been this close to her in a very long time. She'd almost forgotten how rapidly her heart could beat inside her chest from the absent yet desired contact. It quickened its' pace at the thought of him taking just one more step closer to close the distance between them. She shook the idea out of her head the moment it came. She regained control of her body and pushed his hand away. "Okay," she said as she averted her eyes. "We can…hang out later. That's fine."

"Cool." Sonic backed away from Amy. "You may go back to your work now," he said with a smirk.

Amy glared at him. "Go away," she said as she shoved him. She turned her back to him to hide the blush that covered her cheeks at the sound of his deep chuckle.

Sonic's fight was an amicable one. His opponent was another boy, named Silver, he knew from school; the two were on good terms. They'd actually slapped hands before they started in agreement there'd be no hard feelings. That didn't guarantee an easy win for either of them. Sonic and Silver were relentless with each other. In the beginning, they'd danced around each other's punches and kicks. Sonic would smirk at his acquaintance and tease him for having slow hands. The other boy would only laugh. "You won't be saying that when I put you on your ass, Guerra," he replied. Sonic didn't pay much mind to his words. They continued their dance until Silver managed to give a decent kick to his rib cage. The impact knocked off Sonic's balance, and he fell to the ground. In an instant, Silver was straddling him and pounding in his face. Sonic guarded his face with his arms for a moment. He caught Silver with a few blows to his stomach, temporarily stopping his punches. Sonic took the opportunity to turn the tables; he flipped the two of them over. Silver was smart, however. He trapped Sonic in with his legs and wrapped his arm around his neck, pulling his head down into a headlock. With his free arm, he continued to pound at Sonic's rib cage. With his vision omitted, Sonic used one of his hands to stop the punches and the other to escape from the headlock. Once his head was free, he began to punch down on Silver the same way he'd done to him. With his legs, Silver kicked Sonic off of him. They let each other get to their feet before they started exchanging punches and kicks again. Silver took advantage of the large bruise forming at Sonic's rib cage. He attacked there most frequently and managed to knock Sonic back down to the ground. He tried to kick Sonic, but the other boy caught his foot in his hand. He swung Silver around and slammed him down onto the mat. His side was searing with pain, but he ignored it. He leapt onto his opponent and delivered fast, merciless punches. He only stopped when he felt the harsh tap of Silver's fingers on his side, signaling he was submitting. He got off of Silver and helped him to his feet.

"Damn Guerra," the boy said between spats of blood from his mouth. "You really are as tough as everyone says."

Sonic offered a bloody smirk. "Damn right I am."

The two exchanged another amicable handshake before they descended from the octagon.

In the locker room, Tails briefly cleaned and bandaged the wounds on Sonic's face. His eyes lingered on the giant purple bruise on his friend's left side. "That doesn't look good, Sonic," he said. "You should probably go to the ER and get it checked out."

Sonic waved him off. "I'll be fine. It doesn't hurt that bad."

Tails shook his head. "You say that about everything. Remember the time you're arm was broken and hanging the complete wrong way and you kept saying you were fine. Go to the doctor. I mean it."

"Alright, alright. I'll go tomorrow. I have plans after this so I won't get there tonight."

Tails raised an eyebrow. "Who do you have plans with? You found a new fuck buddy already?"

"Nah. I'm hanging out with Amy. We're gonna get a late night snack and talk for a while."

"You guys gonna start screwing around again?"

Sonic rolled his eyes. "It was never like that, and you know it. We're just friends; we've always been just friends."

"Mhmm. Are you telling me or are you telling yourself?" Tails sighed at the glare Sonic sent him. "I'm just saying, man. The two of you may be blind, but the rest of us sure as hell aren't." He patted his shoulder. "Go to the hospital tomorrow and let me know what they say. If it's bad, you should take it easy for a little while. And don't lie to me like last time. I'm still sore from the ass-whooping Knuckles gave me for letting you fight with a fucked up wrist."

"Alright, alright. I'll let you know. Have fun with your girlfriend. Make sure you use a condom."

Tails smirked. "Same to you."

Sonic threw a glove at his retreating figure. He painfully got to his feet. He cautiously dressed himself in his jeans, tee shirt, and sneakers. He took extra precaution with his side. As much as he hated to admit it, the pain was killing him. He and Amy would have to stop by the drug store to get some pain medicine on the way to her ice cream shop. He wasn't sure how long he'd be able to bear the searing sensation in his side.

By the time he got back out to the general area of the gym, the place was nearly empty. Amy was standing near one of the bulletin boards; her green eyes were fixed on the ground, and her teeth were nibbling on her bottom lip. Sonic slowly walked up to her. She looked up as he got closer. Her eyes held his for a brief moment before going down to his wounded side. "Are you okay," she asked.

"I'm fine."

"You don't look fine."

Sonic rolled his eyes. "Can we just go? We have to stop at the pharmacy to get some meds. I'm not going through the whole night like this."

"Or we can just go home – or we can ask Manic to take you to the hospital. He's home tonight, isn't he?"

"I'll go to the hospital tomorrow. For right now, I just want some pain meds."

"Ogilvie," Amy said with a stern frown and crossed arms.

Sonic narrowed his eyes at her. "Don't make me fuck you up, short stack. Let's go." He walked past her to the door.

A soft sigh left Amy's lips, but she followed after him. They walked slowly to the pharmacy on the corner a few blocks away. Neither of them spoke. Amy knew Sonic was pissed at her for pulling his full name on him, but she didn't quite care. The tight grimace on his face and the limp in his walk told her he was in more pain than he wanted to admit. His opponent had utilized his weakened side throughout most of the fight. Now Sonic was paying the price for it whether he liked it or not. Amy wished he wasn't so stubborn. He'd feel so much better if he'd just let someone take him to the hospital. Then they could bandage him up and give him proper medication. But no; he wanted to go to the corner store and numb his pain with over the counter meds. Sometimes Amy wondered if she used his pain as a coping mechanism more than he did the fighting. Her heart sank to think he'd rather be in pain than to seek proper help to feel better. She didn't want him to be in the same situation she was only a select few months prior. She couldn't bear to see him in the same predicament. It'd break her heart.

"Sonic," Amy murmured.

"What?"

"I'm sorry."

"It's whatever. Just don't do it again. Next time you try me, I'll body slam your little ass before you can get past the second syllable, comprendes?"

A smile tugged at Amy's lips. "Your reflexes aren't that fast."

Sonic raised an eyebrow down at her. "You wanna bet?"

"Maybe."

"Mhmm, I wouldn't try it, short stack. I don't think you want my complete asshole-ness to come out, do you?"

She shrugged. "I kind of got used to him. He wasn't that bad once you got used to him."

Sonic rolled his eyes. "Shut the hell up." He narrowed his eyes as he noticed a group of blue bandanas standing near the corner pharmacy. They'd have to pass them in order to reach their destination. He grabbed Amy's wrists and pulled his closer to him. His arm wound around her waist, crushing her small body to his. He spoke before he could protest. "Shut up, put your head and stay close to me, comprendes?"

Amy's eyebrows crinkled in confusion for a moment. She followed Sonic's glare to the group of Crips standing on the sidewalk. She shifted closer to Sonic as Scourge's face appeared between them. She followed Sonic's orders and hid her face with her curls. Sonic's hand tightened on her side as they passed by them.

"Well, well, well, look who it is," they heard Scourge's voice call out. "It's the little tease and her boyfriend. I don't know how you do it, Guerra; you've got to admit those scars ruin the whole package."

"Fuck off," Sonic spat.

"Whoa, whoa," Scourge said as he stepped away from his crew. The other boys followed him as he stood in front of the pair. "Who the fuck do you think you're talking to like that?"

Sonic pushed Amy behind him. "A fucking pussy who doesn't know comprehend the word 'no.' Now, get out of my way."

Scourge stepped into Sonic's personal space. "Make me."

"You don't want to fight with me right now, esé."

"I think I do. I don't think you realize who you put your hands on a few weeks ago."

"Oh no, I do. You're nothing but a fucking pussy; you always have been and always will be. You think having your little gang mates around scares me? It doesn't. Now move before I start breaking your bones. You're lucky I didn't when I had the chance."

Scourge smirked. "I don't understand why you're so angry about the whole situation. I was just taking what I'd worked so hard for all these years. It's not my fault she wanted to be a little tease and play hard to get." He shrugged. "But I'm not all that worried about it anymore. She probably wouldn't be a good fuck anyway. Those scars are a major turn off. How do you do it? Do you just close your eyes and pretend they're not there? Does that distract yourself from the fact that she's a hideous piece of ass? Or is her pussy just that good that you literally forget how wretched she is?"

Sonic growled. His anger simmered beneath his bones. His hands clenched into tight fists. "Don't talk about her like that."

"I'm just asking simple questions, man. It's not my fault she looks like a bear mauled her." His smirk widened. "Is it your fault?"

Sonic's anger peaked. His vision went red as he punched Scourge directly in his nose.

Amy let out a scream of protest at the touch of strong arms around her waist. She kicked her legs as the arms picked her up and dragged her a few feet away. Tears filled her eyes as her friend was swallowed up by the group of gang members. Her heart almost beat out of her chest at the sight of all of their fists and kicks pounding down on him. She could barely see her friend amidst all of them. "Help," she screamed at the top of her lungs. "Someone help!"

"Shut the fuck up," the boy holding her whispered in her ear.

Her breath hitched as she felt a thick cold metal press against her neck.

The man smiled into her temple. "If you're good, maybe we'll be able to have some fun with you once we're done with him. Maybe if Scourge is feeling generous, we'll even let you do the honors of finishing him."

Amy squirmed in his grasp as tears began to fall from her eyes. "No, no, no. Please let me go. Please just leave him alone. Please."

"Sorry, sweet cheeks, we can't do that." His hand wrapped around her neck, pushing her chin towards the sky. His other hand unzipped her jacket. He tugged at the end of her polo shirt. "How about you give me a little sneak peek of that wretchedly beautiful body of yours?"

"No," she murmured. The darkness behind her eyes spotted her vision at the sensation of his cold hands on her skin. "Please no."

The sudden sound of loud sirens caused the man's cold hands, and the mouth of his gun, to pull away from her. "Shit! Guys, we've gotta go," he yelled. "Come on! We'll finish this later!"

The group obeyed the men's orders. They ran away; their dark laughter echoed behind them as the two policemen commanded for them to stop. The bright red and blue lights blinded Amy. She fumbled her way to Sonic's fallen figure. He was slowly forcing himself back up; he sat on his hands and knees. His wounds had reopened, and some were brand new. Amy noticed his right hand clutching his wounded side. "You kids alright," one of the policemen asked. He looked down to Sonic. "Ah hell, you again? I thought you were staying out of trouble."

Sonic smirked up at the officer. "You know I never stay out of trouble for long, Vector."

The officer shook his head. He helped Sonic to his feet. "We're taking you to the station."

"Why? I didn't do shit."

"Because you look like shit, that's why." He nodded to Amy. "You're coming too. We'll call both of your parents and have someone pick you up." He looked back down to Sonic. "I'll call for the paramedics on the way. You definitely need some medical attention. Didn't you just get of a match not even an hour ago?"

Sonic spat some blood from his mouth. "Possibly."

Vector shook his head. "What are we going to do with you?" He helped Sonic to the car. He eased both the teens into the backseat. His partner, Espio, slid back into the passenger seat. He shot a smirk at Sonic from behind the barred glass.

"Ah, our favorite passenger," he commented.

Sonic huffed as he leaned back against the seat. He looked over at Amy. Her arms were wrapped tightly around her body. Slow tears were falling down her face. Her body was subtly shaking from the boy's cold touch. A frown appeared on his face at the sight. He slid closer to her. "Hey," he murmured. "Are you okay?"

She didn't respond. She kept her eyes down.

He pushed her curls behind her ear. With his thumb, he gently wiped at her tears. "Lo siento. Lo siento mucho." He painfully threw his arm around her. He pulled her against him and pressed his lips into her hair. He didn't let go of her the entire car ride. She didn't protest against him. She didn't relax either. She simply sat in his arms and waited for the car to stop.

When they reached the station, Sonic kept Amy close to him. The fair skinned officer at the front desk smirked at the two of them in amusement. "Back in here again, I see," Charmy directed towards Sonic. "Who'd you pick a fight with this time?"

"A couple of Crips," Sonic said with a shrug.

Charmy grimaced. "I don't like the sound of that. You gotta be careful messing around with those gangs. They're not the kind of people you want to play with."

"I was just protecting what's mine," he said, unintentionally pulling Amy closer against him.

Charmy glanced at the small, shaking girl in his arms. "Ah I see. I can respect that."

"Come on," Vector tugged at the back of Sonic's hoodie. "We've gotta get you cleaned up before Shade sees you."

"Shade can already see him! Ogilvie Guerra, what the hell happened," a woman's voice exclaimed from the hallway. A tall woman with long hair and flaring eyes approached them.

Sonic scowled. "Nothing. A couple of Crips got on my back; it's not a big deal."

"Crips? You're fighting with gangs now? Are you serious?"

"Look, Shade, you can yell at him later," Espio said calmly. "Right now, he needs some medical attention. And he's got some company."

Shade glanced around Sonic to see Amy shaking in his arms. Her glare fell. "Oh my goodness," she murmured. She slowly approached Amy and took her out of Sonic's arms. "Clean Guerra up and call his brother to pick him up," she directed at her coworkers without looking at them. "I'll take care of her."

"What? No! She can't be alone right now," Sonic protested as Vector began to tug on his shirt.

Shade pressed the poor girl's head to her chest. "She won't be. I'll stay with her. I'll take care of her. I promise. Just go with Vector and Espio for right now."

Sonic reluctantly complied. He let Vector drag him down the hallway to an empty room. The two officers along with a paramedic cleaned him up. He only needed a few stitches above his eye and good bandaging around his abdomen. The paramedic explained he hadn't fractured his ribs, but he did bruise them pretty good. He promised the bruising and the swelling would go down in a few days. Sonic would also have to check back in with a doctor on Sunday to get his stitches checked on. The teen was barely listening. Instead, his thoughts were focused on Amy. He couldn't get the image of her dissociated gaze or her slow tears out of his mind. He shouldn't have turned his back on her when the fight started. For all he knew, one of the little assholes could've hurt her. He'd kill all of them if they lay a finger on her. At this rate, he'd probably hurt himself for letting something bad happen to her. When they'd left the gym, they should've just gone straight to the restaurant. Benny always kept some pain medicine in the office. He could've gotten some there. Why did he have to go to the stupid pharmacy? Why did they have to be outside waiting for them?

After Sonic was all patched up, the officers released him. Vector walked him back down the hallway to the waiting room where Amy and Manic sat. Amy had stopped crying, but tear stains still marked her round cheeks. Her head lay on Manic's shoulder. Her eyes were fixated on the chairs across from them. She didn't acknowledge Sonic as he walked towards them. Before he could speak, Manic had helped Amy to her feet. He wrapped his own arm around her and led her to the door. Sonic gritted his teeth from the sight, but followed close behind them.

The ride home was deadly silence. Amy sat in the backseat with her head against the window. Sonic watched her through the rearview mirror. His arms itched to hold her, but he knew it was probably best he didn't at the moment. She probably needed some space after what she'd seen. Every now and then, he'd glance at Manic. His brother was seething in his seat; a tight glare was fixed on the road ahead of them, and his hands were nearly white from his grip on the steering wheel. Usually Sonic would be excited for the argument to come with his brother, but at that moment, he dreaded it. He already knew what Manic was going to say, and he didn't want to hear it. He didn't want to hear he'd put the person he cared about most in danger.

When they parked in front of their house, they all got out of the car. Amy briefly waited at the side of the car for the boys. She glanced at Sonic as he approached her. His hand softly grasped her wrist and pulled her close to him. "Lo siento," he whispered one last time.

Amy didn't answer him. She gently pushed out of his hands. "Thanks for taking me home," she directed at Manic.

"No problem," he replied simply. The two brothers watched her trudge into her house. The moment the door clicked shut, Manic grabbed Sonic by his hoodie. He dragged his younger brother into the house and practically threw him into the living room. "What the fuck is wrong with you, hermanito," he yelled. "Why are you fighting with the fucking Crips of all people? Don't you know they could actually hurt you?"

"Amy's recent ex is one of them. They saw us walking and he said something to me. They wouldn't let us pass. I tried to walk away, but they wanted a fight. There was nothing else I could do."

"This the asshole that had her messed up not too long ago? The one you probably pounded to a pulp?"

"Yea," Sonic sighed. "Look, it's not that serious. He's a fucking pussy; he won't do anything without his crew behind him."

"And you're not worried about that? You're not worried they could beat you to death or gun you down simply because they have the numbers? You aren't afraid a group of them won't hurt Amy? Jesus, one of them has already tried to hurt her; what makes you think a bunch of them won't? You need to think about what's going on before you tell me it's not that serious. It is, Ogilvie. It's not just your life at stake; it's hers too."

"You think I don't know that!" Sonic snapped. "I know what they could to her, and it's my job to prevent it. The only reason I fought today was to protect her! And I get it; I fucked up! She won't even fucking look at me because I failed her!"

"No she won't fucking look at you because you're a fucking idiot! You think she wants you to fight her battles? You think she wants to see you tearing her exes limb from limb? You think she wants to see you behaving like a goddamn monster? We may not know exactly what she's been through, but we do know she's already had a monster in her life. She doesn't need another one."

"I'm not a monster in her eyes. She knows I would never hurt her."

"Does she," Manic asked with a raised brow. "Just because you 'protect' her doesn't mean she's not afraid of you when you decide to destroy someone with your bare hands. I don't know what the fuck happened between you and those Crips, but I've seen that look in her eyes before, and I can tell you it's not just because some asshole put their hands on her. She can't keep seeing you like this, Sonic. Hell, we all can't keep seeing you like this. You're going down a very dark road, Ogilvie, and I refuse to watch you go down it any further. As of right now, you're grounded. The only places you're allowed to go is work, school, and the gym. No more hanging around town."

"What," Sonic exclaimed. "You can't do that! You're not my fucking father!"

"Maybe not, but at least I'm not turning into him. The fucking bastard is written all over you."

"Fuck you," Sonic spat at his brother. "Dad was a good person."

"You keep telling yourself that." Manic nodded towards the stairs. "Go upstairs. Lay down. I found your weed stash so don't bother looking for it. Try to go to sleep without self-medicating."

Sonic narrowed his eyes. "I hate you," he whispered coldly.

Manic stared at him for a long moment. "You really are Jules' son, you know that? Take your ass upstairs before I drag you up there."

Sonic glared at his brother for a second before he darted up the steps. He slammed his room door behind him. His eyes watered from what he couldn't decipher as anger or sadness. He walked to his bed and searched under it for his small metal box. He unlocked the small box with the key under his lamp. He shuffled through the trinkets and photos for the cross shaped pendant. He held it between one of his hands; he rubbed his thumb against the intricate carvings. With his other hand, he searched for his secret stash of weed. Just as he was about to close the box, he noticed a picture staring up at him. A lone tear fell from his eye as he picked the picture up. In the photo was a five-year old version of himself with a headful of curly blue hair and missing tooth smile standing in front an older man who was practically identical to him. The photo was taken in Knuckle's gym when his father still ran it. The older man was on his knees with his tattooed arms and gloved hands wrapped tightly around Sonic. He was smiling, his eyes fixated down on Sonic – his little prodigy. Tears streamed down Sonic's face as the image of his father standing in front of him appeared at the forefront of his mind. "Recuerda, mi hijo. Tu poder radica no sólo en tu cerebro, sino también en tus manos. Tienes que ser inteligente, valiente y fuerte para hacerlo en este mundo," he'd said as he slipped smaller gloves onto his hands. "Aquí en este anillo, puedes ser tres de esas cosas. Pero, cuando alguien no te respeta: Muéstrales que puedes ser tan fuerte y poderoso fuera del ring. Gánate tu respeto, mi hijo. No dejes que nadie te diga lo contrario. ¿Entiendes?"

Sonic had nodded.

His father had smiled at him. "Buena."

Sonic aggressively wiped at his eyes as he stuffed the photo back in the box. His hands went for his phone. He dialed a number and held the phone to his ear. He rubbed his temple as the dial tone hummed in his ear. His breath got caught in his throat as a familiar voice replaced the dial tone. "Hello," the deep voice answered.

Sonic didn't answer. He sat with the phone in his hand, frozen with emotions.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

Sonic opened his mouth to speak, but his voice got caught in his throat. He cleared his throat. "Sorry," he whispered almost inaudibly. "Wrong number."

"Sonic," he heard the other end whisper. "Ogilvie, is that you?"

Sonic hung up the phone. Almost immediately, it began buzzing in his hand. With a growl, he threw his phone across the room and it cracked into pieces against the wall.

The next morning, Amy woke up to a soft rapping on her window. She let out a soft groan as she turned in her bed. She reluctantly opened her eyes to see Sonic standing at the fire escape. He tapped a bit harder on the window at the sight of her weary eyes. "Let me in," he said.

With a sigh, Amy got out of her bed. She trotted to the window and opened it. "What do you want," she asked.

He slid past her into her room. "I want to apologize. I know this is the millionth time, and I know you're tired of hearing it. Shit, I'm tired of hearing it too. But I really am sorry this time. I didn't mean to put you in danger or to scare you last night. I just… I wasn't going to let him get away with saying those things about you. You don't deserve to be slandered – especially by the likes of a pussy like him."

"It's okay," she replied. She wrapped her arms around herself. "I should be thanking you for defending me in the first place. It's all my fault they stopped us anyway."

"It's not your fault, Amy. Scourge is a fucking asshole; don't blame yourself for his actions." He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans. "Do you accept my apology?"

"Yea. It's fine. I'm fine. How's your side?"

"Fine. How come you didn't talk to me last night after the fight? Were you mad at me?"

"No…no, I wasn't mad, Sonic. I was just…scared. They…they're armed with guns, and the guy who was holding me said something about hurting you while he was trying to touch me and I just…" She looked down. "I got really scared. I thought something was going to happen to you."

"One of those bastards touched you," Sonic snapped.

"That's not the point, Sonic," Amy said. She cautiously took a step towards him. Her slender arms wrapped around him. Tears brimmed her eyes as her dark thoughts from the night before flooded her mind. "The point is I thought you were going to die, and it scared me half to death. You're the bane of my existence, I can admit that, but you're one of my best friends. I can't lose you. I don't know what I'd do is you were gone…and if it were my fault."

"Amy," Sonic sighed. He lifted her chin so she'd meet his eyes. "Nothing is going to happen to me. I understand your concerns, but trust me when I say it's going to take a lot more than a couple of stupid Crips to bring me down. Even Dios is going to get a good fight out of me when it's my time to go." He wrapped his arms around the small girl as a tiny smile appeared on her lips. "You have nothing to be afraid of. I promise I'm not going anywhere." He gently kissed her forehead. "Not even if you asked me to."

Amy lay her head against his firm chest. She breathed in his sweet scent and basked in his warm embrace. Unsaid words lingered on her lips, but she kept them inside. She didn't want to ruin the simplicity of existing in his arms. She just wanted to stay there for a little while longer.

"Hey," Sonic said as he lifted her off of her feet. He carried her to her bed and slammed her down onto her mattress. He shot a playful glare at her as she giggled. "That's for testing me last night."

"You still owe me ice cream," she said between her giggles.

"I do," Sonic said. He lounged down next to her. He wrapped her in his arms and settled her head on his chest. "How about we get some later? I'm tired right now."

"Then go back to your room! I didn't say you could sleep in here!" She exclaimed between her giggles.

Sonic had already closed his eyes. "Mmm, I'm already comfortable." He rolled onto his good side, pulling her closer to him. "Goodnight," he whispered.

Amy smiled into his chest. She pulled the covers over them. Her body relaxed in his tight embrace, and they both fell into a peaceful slumber.

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