I decided that, since every reader is so awesome, you guys deserve a nice chapter with lots of thought. Also I personally think that my last chapter was pretty weak so I want to "redeem" myself.

THERE ARE 8 CHAPTERS LEFT, NOT INCLUDING THE EPILOGUE!

Chapter: Save the Date

It was a warm morning inside the house of the rabbits. Amy, who had joined Cream for breakfast, was currently helping the clean up. Steam rose up from the hot water filling the sink. Dishes clashed together as Aleena tried her best to clean them. It was a new experience to handle chores but she didn't mind. It was a nice change to see how normal people lived throughout the day.

With a rag in her hand, Amy dried each fresh plate before handing it to Cream to put away. She was still confused of who exactly the other hedgehog was. The woman had appeared out of seemingly nowhere asking for Sonic. Amy only knew the story of how Aleena watched Sonic as he was a child. Amy wondered what he was like as a young kid. She was way too embarrassed to ask though.

"So Aleena," Amy took the attention of the purple hedgehog, "where do you come from?"

Aleena paused with her work for a moment. She carried a blank expression as she stared out the window. Cream glanced at the woman. The rabbit figured that Aleena had a weak memory. "No where special," she finally mumbled. She returned to scrubbing any stains away. The dish soap made her fur tender and soft.

"What about all of you guys?" Aleena reflected the question off of her. She wasn't a good liar but had to to stay on her son's good side. Aleena figured it would be best if she kept her tales to a minimum.

"I've always been stuck here," Rouge snorted. She sat with her legs crossed on the kitchen island. The bat leaned close to a pocket mirror. She was carefully inspecting her work of makeup. There was a debate in her mind is she should apply another layer of lipstick just to be safe.

It was true that she had grown in Emerald Town for as long as she could remember. Rouge had gone through a phase where she would travel away for long periods of time, but she always found herself drawn back to the area. It's highly suspected that a red echidna would have something to do with it.

"You're not stuck," Vanilla shook her head. The mother rabbit sorted out bakery goods and books to put into her delivery basket. As a part of her side job Vanilla had to bring people orders from multiple stores in the strip. This helped people who had trouble walking, lived too far away or were just plain lazy. The rabbit clicked her tongue, "You could leave any moment, Rouge, but you choose to stay."

"It is a lovely place," Aleena commented. She had actually been to emerald town once before many years ago. Aleena had came when she was just a young child and the town was more populated. Smells and sounds from then were just faded memories. The entire place had a peaceful aura, one of the reasons as to why she chose for Sonic to come here. Over the years anyone who had seen her then as a princess were dead or moved long away.

"What about you, Vanilla?" Aleena asked. She was fond of the well mannered rabbit and truly wished to know more about the young mother.

"Well I was raised on a farm," Vanilla recited, "but that's a long distance from here. Also, it was used as a tourist attraction since it was so close to the city so a lot of people came by. Although my parents raised me well, there were a lot of influences that came from the city. I wasn't really affected by them but most of my siblings were so most of them moved out to go live in the city."

Vanilla smiled fondly on the thoughts of her family. She wasn't exactly close to her parents. It was hard to be so when she had six younger sisters and two younger brothers who all needed attention. Vanilla wasn't the oldest child either. She had three elder sisters and four brothers. Her parents had wanted the kids so that they could have enough free labor on the farm. Their family plan didn't work out when twelve of their children moved away.

Vanilla wanted to stay on the farm, but after having Cream she realized it wasn't safe for hr young rabbit. She feared that somebody would take her child as most of the strangers would pet Cream as a baby and gush over her. Vanilla also didn't want her parents to force their granddaughter into a worker just as they had done so to their first grandson.

Vanilla overall looked forward to the next family reunion. It was always a giant party and gave Cream the chance to bond with her distant family.

"So I decided to move out to here when I was twenty years old with Cream. It was one of the best things I have ever done," Vanilla concluded. Cream proudly smiled up at her mom.

"Not long ago Amy moved here too!" Cream added.

Aleena looked over at Amy with interest. As a mother, she wanted to know the most about the girl who Sonic had latched onto. She thought of Amy as a cute, young girl. Her voice sounded steady and clear, a quality the queen admired.

Amy nodded her head. It was an entire lifetime ago that she had came here. It felt like she ventured into a whole other world filled with amazing saviors. "I originally came here for a summer job," Amy explained. "I had just graduated high school at the time and there was just something that had given me a boost to just decide to call this ad for anyone qualified enough to teach Cream over the summer so she could keep up with her studies. When the job was completed I wasn't needed anymore. I wanted to stay and Vanilla had said that I could, but I was debating it since I would feel bad being an adult mooching off of my employer. But I was surprised when everyone had fixed up Sonic's abandoned house for me and already applied a job for me to stay. I could have gotten the job myself, but it was truly the nicest thing ever when everyone else set me up." Amy smiled fondly to herself as she stared down at the drying dishes.

Aleena couldn't help her ears twitch slightly at the name of Sonic. "Sonic's abandoned house?" she questioned.

"Sonic is weird," Rouge stated. "Somehow he is loaded with money and he is always finding more rings so he is basically rich, but he doesn't use any of it really unless it is necessary." Rouge borely shrugged her shoulders as she pulled out new, pink lipstick. "Way back when he first moved here he had bought a house. It was always a beautiful house, but he never used it. He didn't even bother putting furniture in it. So instead of sleeping at his own house, he would sleep outside. And when the weather was too harsh he would sleep at Tails'. I even heard that he doesn't even sleep in the guest bedroom. He apparently prefers couches over nice and soft beds."

Aleena remained silent as she listened on about her son. She shamley had to agree that it was odd for a person who acted so. She knew Sonic wouldn't want a lot of money even if he had it. He was always humble and wasn't into the flashy life that came with royalty.

"Sonic is just... complex," Amy reasoned.

"I did see you and him hanging out," Aleena strained to keep a straight face. She knew it was rude to pry but her manners taught didn't apply here. "What is with you two?" she slyly asked.

Amy, feeling rather awkward, smiled while averting her eyes. She paused in her work, "Nothing is with us."

"Sorry," Aleena apologized, "you two just seemed close."

"A little too close," Rouge quipped with a smirk. She ignored the glare Amy sent her while dodging a damp rag.

"They're just friends," Cream smiled while pointedly stepping in between Rouge and Amy.

Amy went back to drying off the final dish. "Sonic isn't really opened to dating," Amy stated. She remembered how Sonic had turned down Cryssi. Even long before then, she had been told that lots of girls in the past had been turned down by him. Amy even witnessed his fan club at the local diner before. Sonic had coolly talked to the girls but Amy could tell he was feeling rather overwhelmed.

She didn't understand why. Amy had been on a couple dates when she was in high school, but nothing serious. All the guys she had known back then seemed to constantly chase after girls.

Aleena really wanted to help her son. She had thought long ago all Sonic needed was to take mental rest but it was now clear to her that he needed more. A first step in her mind was to get Sonic to begin dating once more. He didn't even need to get a girlfriend, but just to be able to go on one casual date. More importantly than that, Aleena would never force Sonic into doing something he wasn't ready for. She knew she had to be patient for him.

"Don't you think it's a little unhealthy," Aleena pondered out loud, "for a young man to not experience relationships and romance?"

Amy and Cream shared an unsure glance. "I don't really think that's the best thing for Sonic," Amy bit on her lip. "I just think Sonic isn't really in touch with his feelings. It's probably just a boy phase. Of course people can live on not dating. It's not like he is alone. Everyone in this whole town is here for him."

Amy thought of the idea of Sonic dating. Sonic could virtually get any girl he had wanted. Amy was pretty sure that he was any girl's dream guy. For a hedgehog, Sonic was physically attractive with a unique color and thick quills. His eyes were wonderfully green. Just one look from him made her knees feel strange, as if she might fall over. Amy bowed her head to concentrate on folding her towel so no one could see her blush.

"Or he could be gay," Rouge laughed. Both hedgehogs looked at her with shocked expressions. Vanilla decided it was time for her to tune out all conversation going on in the room while she finished with her final work.

"What's wrong with that?" Cream asked, confused as to why Rouge was laughing.

"Nothing," the bat shrugged, "it would just be ironic." Cream still held a blank expression, feeling as if she was missing something. Rouge sighed with a roll of her eyes. "A lot of girls like Sonic," she explained, "so it would be funny if it turned out that none of those girls had any chance with him because he would rather make out with their brothers."

Amy's cheeks became more visibly red. She shut down the image that flashed in her head of Sonic locking lips with Shadow.

She turned to Aleena who had an uncomfortable look on her face. "This must be strange to talk about for you," Amy sympathised with the woman. Aleena silently nodded her head up and down.

Rouge quickly clapped her hands together suddenly. "I just got the perfect idea," she exclaimed. Rouge hopped down from the island to turn and face Cream and Amy.

"Oh no," Cream mumbled to herself, fearing what Rouge could possibly say. It wouldn't be the first time that Rouge tried to pull something. Amy was still suspicious of the bat ever since Rouge allowed for her to get drunk off of a spiked drink. Amy knew better than to drink anything the sneaky woman could possibly hand her.

"Okay keep an open mind," the bat urged them. "Haven't you guys ever wondered what our peculiar, blue hedgehog would be like on a date?"

"No," Cream instantly said with an impassive look. Amy on the other hand stayed silent. She knew Rouge meant with other people, but Amy had randomly day dreamed of a date with Sonic times before. She doubted it would ever happen to her. Amy was certain that Sonic viewed her only as some sort of sister. She cringed inwardly at the fact that she was stuck in the friend zone.

Rouge rolled her eyes. She ignored Cream for the moment. "I say we set him up on a date," Rouge suggested with a hint of excitement. It had been said before that she was a love expert and had the power to make anyone a power couple.

"I don't really think that's a good idea," Amy tried to reason. The thought of Sonic being alone with someone else made a part of her ache. "Also," Amy included, "how could we possibly get him into something like that."

"Easy!" Rouge snapped her fingers. "It could just be a group date," Rouge folded her hands together, "we won't tell him but then end up meeting with his date. I could think of some way to guilt him into staying so that he wont ditch."

"But-"

"Amy!" Rouge exasperatedly rolled her eyes. "Stop questioning me and just go along with it! Don't you think this would be an interesting... experiment?"

Amy was quiet for a few moments. It didn't feel right to force Sonic into anything. She remembered how he could be moody at times. It seemed forever ago since Sonic had almost blew up fight in front of her. He, at the time, really wanted to be left alone. Amy could now look back and respect his need for privacy, even if she didn't agree with him running off without telling anyone. It didn't sit right with her to meddle.

"You guys can go," Cream said while shaking her head slightly.

"You could come with Tails," Rouge innocently suggested.

Vanilla, who was prepared to finally leave, gazed directly at Cream. The younger rabbit gave Rouge a warning look, something that contrasted her usually sweet nature. Cream hadn't mentioned anything to Vanilla before of her growing closer and closer to the two-tailed fox. She wanted to hold of the awkward talk about boys as long as she possibly could.

"Fine," Rouge sighed. "What about you, Amy?" she hopefully glanced at the pink hedgehog.

"I don't think so," Amy slowly spoke unsure of herself. Following one of Rouge's plans could possibly get her in trouble with Sonic, whom she had worked so hard to come close to. "Also, I would be an odd wheel," Amy reasoned, "since I don't have a boyfriend like you."

"Nonsense!" Rouge waved her excuse off. "I have a lot of connections. I could ask Shadow or get someone who would be dying to meet a sweet, little hedgie like yourself."

Amy scrunched her nose before snorting at the idea of Shadow going on a date. "Because the Ultimate Lifeform would love to go on some cheesy outing," Amy sarcastically commented.

"Point noted," Rouge nodded in agreement. "Then I'll just get a friend. Who knows? It might even be a familiar face."

Amy wasn't sure what Rouge meant by that. She still looked on edge about the bat's idea. It took a few moments of hesitation before Amy finally gave in.

Aleena grinned, wondering if this would do Sonic any good.

"Shadow!" Sonic called throughout the empty house. It seemed as lifeless as ever. The blue hedgehog sighed in disappointment. He was really hoping to find the only person he could really talk to. With nothing better to do, Sonic decided to just wait for Shadow to appear.

Feeling rather bored, Sonic began to go though the book cases. He had always wondered if all Shadow ever done in his free time was read. Sonic couldn't understand what was so interesting between all the papers.

Sonic randomly picked out one with a laminated spine. The cover showed outer space with a planet right in the center. Sonic usually would have figured it to be Mobius but could tell by the writing that it was in fact Earth.

Sonic hadn't been too impressed by the planet. He did make a new friend but most humans there had a strange culture, or at least strange to him. It was very alien that there wasn't a single creature other than humans who had the ability to speak with words, disincluding the parrot. Even the hedgehogs were almost completely different.

Sonic was able to speak Earthly languages but failed miserably at trying to read any. He found himself just looking at the geographical pictures.

Sonic set the book down and tried to find something he could recognize. Half of the shelf seemed to be basically textbooks. Sonic knew that Shadow hadn't had any real education since he had been with Eggman's grandfather. Since then, Shadow had actually been self taught. Since he was designed, Shadow's mind was already of average intelligence, yet the dark hedgehog always found that there was more to learn.

Green eyes scanned over it all. Some items were clearly older than others with cracked edges. Sonic pulled out the notes Shadow had taken on Eggman. Shadow had personally despised Eggman ever since he had felt used on the arc. Sonic wondered why Shadow never really attacked Eggman head on in the end. He knew that if Shadow ever tried to, he could really defeat Eggman. Of course then Sonic would have to stop Shadow since he didn't support murder. If anything, Shadow had only bothered to approach Eggman when Sonic's team requested it.

Sonic flipped open the notes. The latest entry was dated back in January. He furrowed his eyebrows when reading it. All Shadow had written were three simple words.

"Eggman is crazy."

Sonic blinked at the words. He did always think Eggman wasn't fully there upstairs but what could have caused for Shadow to write that? Sonic for awhile stopped thinking about the dangers of Eggman. He figured that the old man decided to retire. Eggman was probably even just bluffing when he threatened to kill Sonic.

"He would never kill anyone," Sonic scoffed to himself. At the time, he was a bit shaken up and nervous of whatever attempt Eggman would throw at him. Now, Sonic thought of his worrying to be silly.

Sonic could easily contradict himself. "A lot of weird things had happened the past year," he silently commented. "Eggman disappeared, Cryssi pretty much went off the face of the planet along with her dad and the chaos emeralds are getting more... chaotic."

"What are you doing?"

Sonic jumped at the voice. For a moment he had forgotten how cold Shadow's tone could be. Sonic smiled at the annoyed hedgehog. "I was obviously waiting for you," Sonic set down the reading material.

"And that involved going through my stuff?" Shadow almost growled. Sonic noted that he was in a worse mood than usual but didn't speak much on it. Shadow crossed his arms over his chest. He would really appreciate having his privacy concealed. Is that too much to ask for?

"Look," Sonic said in a more serious manner, "I don't want to fight. I just kinda needed someone to go to."

Shadow looked bored and slightly annoyed, "And there isn't anyone else to go to?"

Sonic shook his head. "Nope," he said while popping the "p." Shadow remained silent, giving Sonic his cue to continue speaking. "My mom is kind of here," Sonic scratched the back of his head as a nervous tick, "not here here as in your house but I mean in the general area. She got kinda pissed that I stopped writing to her and now insists on staying. I don't really know what is up with her but she's now trying to kinda push me to be more normal or whatever you'd call it."

Shadow was slightly surprised that the queen managed to sneak away to see her son. He figured it would be bound at one point that she would want to see Sonic. Shadow never had a true parental figure himself but figures that at some point a mother would worry. "She's probably just acting on instincts or whatever you'd call it."

"But nothing is wrong," Sonic pressed rather defensively. Shadow raised an eyebrow at Sonic's attitude. "I just don't get why she isn't as understanding as she was 7 years ago."

Shadow crossed his arms over his chest. He looked at Sonic imagining a small child. Something about Sonic that Shadow didn't like was that he could be rather oblivious. "That was 7 years ago you idiot, " Shadow snapped. "Of course she probably changed like most people. Hell, even you changed over the past 7 months."

Sonic flinched into a confused expression, "What do you mean?" He saw himself as the same old Sonic he had ever been. It's strange how one person would never notice a difference in themselve yet an outsider could see it a mile away.

"Nothing," Shadow rolled his eyes. "Just think of how she sees everything. To her, this was probably some sort of mental rehab for you. If anything, Aleena was probably expecting for you to come back from the dead in the kingdom."

"I was never dead," Sonic mused over the thoughts of his old home. His mind could no longer picture a crisp image of the halls that he had ran through many times. The castle was just blurred colors that held no meaning to his heart. He couldn't even remember how many rooms there had been. "I was just deemed missing," Sonic briefly explained.

"You're probably now legally dead," Shadow shrugged, "maybe that freaked your mother out. Not that I would ever dream of it, but I believe if I were to have a son who wanted nothing to do with me, even though I loved him very much, was declared dead and I had to lie to everyone around me about him being alive then I guess I would find that displeasing."

Sonic gaped at Shadow's blunt tone. He forgot how blunt Shadow could be. Sonic thought of his mother. He tried his best to fully understand the life of his mom. Sonic suddenly felt pressure in his head. His throat clenched into a dry feeling. Was this guilt? Or pity for the way Aleena had lost her only husband? The fact that her son truly never wanted to hold the title of the royal family.

Sonic never meant to push away his mom. He didn't want to abandon her with a huge weight on her shoulders. All the hedgehog occupied himself with was the fear of the past catching up to him. "Am I that horrible of a son?" he asked himself.

"Of course I don't think I'm capable of such... dramatic feelings," Shadow added to himself with his index finger pressed against his lower lip.

Sonic found Shadow incredulous."Are you ignoring me?" Sonic demanded of the other hedgehog.

"Well what do you expect?" the critical Shadow turned his shoulder towards Sonic. He looked out the window to the smaller heaps of snow. "Do you want me to sympathize with you? If you want a certain reaction from me then you're better off just day dreaming about a conversation than going to an actual person."

Sonic blinked for a moment before lowering his gaze. He had to admit having someone tell him he wasn't selfish would have been comforting, but he knew it wasn't right. "I guess not," Sonic felt defeated.

Shadow turned to look Sonic directly in the eyes. His red pierced the usually lively green. "Listen," Shadow said more business like, "I'm not saying you have to go apologise to her since I know you're awkward and all but at least try to make a effort to be more open to her. Honestly, all of your friends would be more suspicious of you if you did act pointedly distant to her."

Sonic found a grin spreading. "That's what I need to hear." The corners of Shadow's lips twitched. He had to admit he did feel some pride in himself for saying something right. Over the years Shadow had developed a talent for looking at situations with more logic than he used to.

"One question," Shadow broke the moments of silent thinking, "out of every place in the world, how could your mom have found you?"

Sonic was amazed how Aleena had hunt him down, even if she did have a hint. "I haven't really talked to her much but from what I believed she had asked a woman where she could find me. It was originally her who had sent me to this town. It's funny how well she actually knows me since I found it so perfect."

Sonic found himself drifting into a daze. He thought of all the four seasons that he got to experience. He was most importantly fond of the space he was able to run through.

Shadow stared at Sonic, who seemed unaware. He lightly shook his head, wondering how Sonic will manage to climb up from the grave he buried.

"Can I ask where we are going?" Sonic frowned when he looked around and noticed they had just left Emerald Town. It was rare to go on an outing that required leaving the comfort zone, let alone the odd mix of Rouge, Knuckles, Sonic and Amy hanging out.

Sonic had a theory that Rouge was up to something. He knew her enough that Rouge never planned anything out of innocent intentions.

Amy on the other hand was fully aware of what was going on. She was sure to stay a distance away from Sonic as they took the half hour walk to the nearest bus stop. Found it unavoidable being stuck between him and a window after Rouge dragged Knuckles to sit next to her.

The pink hedgehog tried her best to occupy herself by looking out the window. It was currently the middle of March and the weather had lightened up. The packed snow was currently in the process of melting, causing large puddles to form and drown any of the grass that managed to peak its way.

Amy ignored Sonic's question. She usually wasn't bad at keeping a secret, but for some reason she found it hard to deceive Sonic when she knew he would most likely not enjoy the outcome.

Sonic rolled his eyes.

"This bus is heading to the St. Nicholas Carnival," an elderly lady supplied Sonic with an answer. He quirked an eyebrow. He wondered about a carnival. He had never been to one before nor did he hold interest to go to one. From what Sonic had known, Carnivals were a combination of greasy food, rigged games and teens puking up everything they didn't manage to digest.

Sonic outwardly cringed before looking over to Amy. "Are we really?" he asked with slight dread. She forced a smile in return.

"I want off," Sonic quickly said, jumping to his feet. Rouge didn't look alarmed while Amy reached out and wrapped her arms around his leg. Knuckles also carried an amused expression as he looked upon the scene. The red echidna was well aware of the "experiment" Rouge was implying. Instead if arguing against it, he decided to just go along with it.

"Sonic just hang out with us," Amy commanded as she tried to pull him back to sit down. Citizens and tourists on the bus turned to look at the strange pair. "You're acting weird," Sonic commented as he looked down at Amy.

Rouge rolled her eyes. "What is it with hedgehogs being so dramatic?" she wondered aloud. Knuckles next to her chuckled. It was a common trait amongst hedgehogs to catch attention because of their behaviors.

"You all are acting weird," Sonic pointed accusingly at each of his friends. Before either one of them could respond the bus jolted to a halt. Sonic fell forward just as Amy had let go of him. An elderly chipmunk nearby chuckled at Sonic. She thought of the clumsiness was adorable.

Sonic was first to hop off the bus. Looking up he saw a familiar pair in front of him who seemed to be expecting their arrival. Sonic paused for a moment in confusion as the young girl eagerly waved at him.

In all her glory stood Persephone in her bright white fur. She wore more clothing since the last time Sonic had seen her at the beach. Her figure was bundled away underneath a thick coat. It was a wonder how Persephone didn't look sweaty and over heated.

Amy suddenly felt self conscious being faced with the beautiful hedgehog. Persephone had the looks of a goddess. She had the more hair-like quills that Amy had always wanted. Persephone's were soft and curly; Amy only saw her quills as short and plump.

"Hey Pinkie!" a voice next to Persephone suddenly called out. Amy's eyes became more wide when she looked upon a familiar lemur. She had forgotten about Enzo and their game of intense volleyball. All of the events seemed to have belonged to a different life.

Amy figured that he was her blind date that Rouge had set up. Looking at him helped all of the memories of awhile ago come back to her in one whole wave. Amy smiled as she remembered the way she had blushed when he hugged her goodbye.

"I didn't think I'd be seeing you again," Enzo said as Amy came closer to him. Both of them held big grins. Amy poked his arm, "I didn't know you kept in touch with Rouge."

Enzo shrugged. "I didn't until a few weeks ago," he explained as they began walking onto the fairgrounds, "apparently someone had given Rouge their number and she randomly called up asking for me and Persephone. It was pretty weird but I don't mind."

Both Enzo and Amy glanced over at their four other friends. Rouge and Knuckles held the perfect look of a couple. Both walked close together while Rouge held on to Knuckles' arm. Amy smiled at them. She then looked over to Sonic and Persephone. Amy was suddenly aware of the fact that Sonic had yet to realize he was on a date. Amy hoped she could sneak in a quick moment to talk to him without hurting Persephone's feelings. It would be likely that Sonic would run off after finding out.

"He's not used to this thing, is he?" Enzo chimed while looking at the unfitting pair.

Sonic kept looking around him with an unimpressed expression. He was oblivious to the constant look Persephone held on him.

"No," Amy admitted, "Rouge wanted to see how Sonic would act on a date since he hasn't been on one from what I've heard. We all knew that he would never agree to one so she set this up. I still don't fully think it's right but I can't help being curious on how Sonic would be courting a girl." Amy chewed on the inside of her lip.

"Well you don't have to look so bummed about it," Enzo laughed while patting Amy on the back.

Amy quizzically looked at him. Had she looked upset? No. Amy shook her head. "I don't know what you are talking about," she folded her arms.

Enzo shrugged while looking returning his gaze to the two other hedgehogs. "Okay, I'll pretend you didn't just completely lie right now," Enzo gave Amy a sly smile. Amy glared at him without making a single comment to defend herself. "So I'm guessing he isn't really aware of what's going on," the lemur gave a not-so-sure nudge in Sonic's direction.

"I swear he isn't stupid," Amy automatically said. Both chuckled amongst themselves. "I should tell him, shouldn't I?" Amy wondered. Enzo nodded while sending Amy of to drift in Sonic's direction.

Rouge and Knuckles walked far ahead of the remaining four. Each took turns every once in awhile to look back at their remaining friends. Knuckles leaned closer to Rouge. "Do you think this will end well," he murmured into her ear. "Of course not," Rouge smirked. Knuckles shook his head in disapproval.

"Hey Sonic," Amy whispered, she being sure that Persephone could not hear a word they were saying.

Sonic glanced between the two women hedgehogs. Amy could tell he was piecing something together. "I'm on a date, aren't I?" he bluntly asked, even though he was already sure of the answer.

"Sorry," Amy said. She didn't want to make Sonic upset. It was never her plan but she did fully agree to go with it.

Sonic stared at her for a moment. He found the situation to be incredulous. "I'm going home," Sonic quickly said. Before he could turn away Amy locked an iron grip on his arm. Sonic was confused by her scolding look. "You will not be going anywhere," she snapped at him. Sonic yanked his arm out of her hold. "Why not?" he mirrored her annoyance.

Persephone was oblivious to the two. She excitedly looked at each stand. The smell of funnel cake swarmed around them. The white hedgehog could have sworn that she felt the warmth of the all the food.

"Do you see that there is a girl here who is expecting you to court her?" Amy gestured to Persephone.

Sonic didn't seem to be impressed. He shrugged his shoulders, "So what?"

"So," Amy rolled her eyes, "if you are actually nice I might not beat you with my hammer." Amy shoved the blue hedgehog closer to Persephone. Sonic casted a glare back in her general direction.

Amy returned to Enzo's side. "I think that should be good enough," she sighed.

"It's just one date," Enzo commented, "what could be the big deal?"

Amy wasn't sure herself. Why was Sonic so bothered with dating? She had never seen him take interest in anyone. Then she remembered the problem that had gone down between him and Cryssi. The two had gone from being close friends to total strangers. "You never really know with that guy," Amy settled on saying.

"Well then," Enzo gently took Amy's hand, "we can just leave them to solve whatever problems they are having and go have some fun." Amy blushed at the sudden contact. She quietly nodded her head and let Enzo lead the way.

Their first stand was a ring toss. Amy, displeased at the sight of chao all locked in a cage, "accidentally" threw the rings full force into the cage and breaking the door, setting all of the chao free. Many of the chao flew by Amy, giving her kisses and hugs of gratitude. Amy giggled while ignoring the sour looks of the venders.

She was unaware Sonic glancing at her and Enzo every other minute.

"Um hello?" Persephone waved her hand in his face, capturing his attention. Sonic blinked a couple times before giving her most of his consideration. "What?" he cluelessly asked. "You completely zoned out there," Persephone suspiciously folded her arms.

She glanced in the direction Sonic kept looking. Persephone furrowed her eyebrows when she noticed the only possible thing he could be looking at were their other to friends.

"So how close are you and Amy?" she asked, trying to make innocent small talk.

Sonic was thrown off guard at the random question. "Why is she asking about Amy?" he wondered to himself. He looked at Amy who laughed at something Enzo had said. He recognized that laugh. It was when Amy couldn't control herself and would end up out of breath. He found her laughter contagious when her cheeks would turn bright pink and her eyes squeezed shut.

"Amy and I are just friends," Sonic purposely looked away from the other hedgehog and lemur. He didn't feel comfortable with the question. Of course Amy was only his friend, did he really need to explain that?

"You keep staring at her," Persephone frowned, "and I'm no expert but when you take a girl on a date, you aren't supposed to openly stare at other people."

Looking down at Persephone, Sonic realised that she wasn't happy. He really wasn't either since he truly hated any carnival and didn't even fully agree to coming on a date. Persephone was pretty, but Sonic didn't want to hold her. He didn't want to give her his undivided attention or treat her like a flower. It would be much easier if he could just be with her as a acquaintance or friend.

"I have an idea," Sonic suddenly blurted. He knew something that would most likely make Persephone have a better time and make himself more comfortable around here.

"What is it?" Persephone questioned. She was confused at the spontaneous life that Sonic held.

"Have you ever gone as fast as a bullet?" Sonic grinned.

Persephone had suddenly remembered that the first time she had met Sonic he had the ability to run fast. She had never seen him in a full out run. Persephone only caught glimpses of him bursting forward in a game of volleyball.

"Really?" she smiled with excitement.

Running always helped Sonic calm down. No matter who he was with, running allowed for him to focus. Even if he was in a battle against Eggman, if Sonic ran he had the upperhand.

With Persephone holding onto his shoulders, Sonic took off, leaving the horrid carnival behind.

Amy, Rouge, Knuckles, and Enzo all gaped at the figures. The colors of blue and white faded away behind them until they completely vanished.

"Did they really just leave?" Amy asked with disbelief.

Rouge groaned, "Well so much for that."

"You know Sonic is really smart," Knuckles grinned as he spoke, "he found something he likes to do while not having to talk to her."

"Why wouldn't he talk to her?" Enzo asked.

"It's hard to hear over the wind," Amy shrugged. Everyone turned and looked at her.

"You would know," Rouge muttered.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Rouge rolled her eyes. Amy fully well knew what Rouge was saying. "He takes you running all the time. It's like a weird sacred bond between you two."

"Or I just like it when he takes me running," Amy retorted.

Knuckles snorted at that. Amy crossed her arms while giving a challenging look at the couple.

Was Amy really that close to Sonic? A small part of her was secretly enjoying the way they thought of Amy and Sonic's relationship. Not that there was a relationship, since Amy was fully aware of being stuck in the friendzone. But was is bad for her to enjoy people getting ideas of there possibly being something more?

"Even half a year ago you wouldn't stop looking at him," Enzo chuckled. Amy was truly confused at that statement. That was before she even had a crush on Sonic. Amy didn't think she always longed after Sonic.

"That's not true," she huffed.

"Well it's definitely true now," Rouge slyly smiled while nudging Amy.

The pink girl rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she said while stomping off to play more games. Enzo tailed after her while laughing.

"You are really stubborn," he commented as they stopped at the next ripoff.

Amy did her best to ignore any thought of Sonic. It was actually easy for the rest of the evening when being with Enzo. He was actually really charming. Amy wondered what it would be like if she could be with him. She figured it would be less complicated than wanting to be with Sonic.

For some reason, Amy instantly felt guilty after saying that. It wasn't like she had to have a devotion to Sonic.

Sonic and Persephone didn't return to the bus stop until late. Amy stood next to Enzo. She held a purple stuffed hedgehog close to her chest. It was for sure the softest thing that someone had ever given her. Enzo had won it after guilting a teenage girl for a clearly rigged game where he had to knock over a vase that was clearly nailed to the ground. Amy felt bad after seeing the teen sweat when they had realized they had been caught. But too bad to take the grand prize.

"And they finally return," Rouge announced as Persephone pulled away from Sonic. Both had a blank expression. Amy furrowed her eyebrows as all Persephone had done was murmur a bye to Sonic before standing a safe distance behind Enzo. Her entire face glowed red.

"What happened between them?" Amy asked Enzo.

Enzo glanced between the two, "Something awkward probably."

"Awkward?"

Enzo nodded.

The lemur ignored the topic. He really didn't want to bother with other people. With the bus arriving to take Amy back to Emerald Town Enzo pulled her into a hug. Amy gratefully returned the hug. Even though it was technically a date, Amy parted from today with a new friend.

"Good luck," Enzo whispered with a warm smile.

Amy was confused as he suddenly pulled away and turned towards Persephone. Amy then faced her friends as they got back onto the bus.

"What happened to you two?" Amy asked Sonic as they scanned for a couple of seats.

Sonic sheepishly scratched the back of his head, "I kind of dropped her in the mud." Sonic glanced back at Amy to be met with an unbelievable expression. "You have got to be kidding me," she said with chuckling. Sonic shrugged. "At least now she won't be tempted to call me."

Amy grew silent for a moment. "You really didn't want to go on a date with her," she pondered out loud.

Sonic sat down next to a window, giving amy the aisle seat. "I never said I wanted to go on one in the first place," Sonic mumbled.

"Why are you so against it?" Amy interrogated him.

Sonic could have sworn he was talking to his own mom at the moment. He wondered how long it would be until Tails began trying to get him to date.

For the rest of the ride Sonic was silent, avoiding the question. He found it easy to avoid anything he didn't want to face.

And to the anonymous reviewer: this is not the end!