Silver & Blaze: Our Story
Deconstruction
Mighty: Second Encounter
November
Today's the big day. It's Blaze's birthday and I've invited her out to the park this afternoon. I know she'll come. She doesn't do much lately with Knuckles and Tikal gone and I know she's not the type to skip out on seeing a good friend of hers. …A good friend. Hopefully that'll change today. All of that aside, I need to head out to the dance studio for my final lesson with Tiara and her friend. Surprisingly, it was pretty easy keeping these lessons a secret from Blaze. I suppose my general busybody nature helped and had Blaze assuming I was off doing afterschool stuff and chores around my neighborhood. Due to my itinerary for the day, the lesson was an early morning session so I was already up just as the sun peeked over the horizon. According to my digital clock on my nightstand it was a few minutes past seven. I swung my jacket on and left in silence through the backdoor in the kitchen with my wallet tucked neatly into the pocket of my jacket. It's a shame the transit bus doesn't stop by my neighborhood at an early time but I would've been waiting until 8AM and I told Tiara I'd be at the studio by 7:30. So I was left with switching back and forth between running and jogging towards the old town district, the studio's location.
I was a few minutes late but it didn't appear to be of any inconvenience. The studio doors were still locked meaning that the girls hadn't arrived yet. Understandable, not everyone is a morning person like myself. The street I was on wasn't completely dead as I saw a few people out already (mostly elderly), so I sat on the front steps and tried to put out the anxiety building up. The wait ended up being shorter than I anticipated. A dark blue car honked its horn as it passed by and I saw Tiara in the backseat with two people in the front. The vehicle pulled into the narrow driveway next to the brick building and parked in the tiny lot between the studio and its neighbor, a hair salon. Tiara and her friend, Melody, a white, female rabbit whose family owned the building, got out along with a tall gray rabbit. I assumed him to be Melody's boyfriend. Despite the chilly weather, the girls were dressed in slim workout clothing and light jackets. Melody's boyfriend wore typical casual clothing.
"You weren't out here long, were you?" Tiara asked as she approached me with a multi-colored tote bag in arm.
"No, just a few minutes," I said. Melody and the gray rabbit walked past us and went into the building. "What's in the bag?"
"A few bottles of water and some towels," said the manx as she pulled out a plastic water bottle. "Mel and I are gonna do our workout routine after your lesson. Care to watch?"
"I'll pass. I have other plans for today."
By then the two of us were already walking into the studio.
"Oh that's right! It's Blaze's birthday," said Tiara with a cheeky smile. "So how big are your romantic plans? Gonna dress up and treat her to a nice meal?"
"Nothing like that. Just…simple." I held open the door for Tiara to the first practice room that Melody and her boyfriend entered a moment ago. "I figured we'd do something that'll be embarrassing for us both."
"I don't know about that." Tiara walked to the corner of the room to a lone table with a stereo on it. "You've been at this for a month so you actually have an advantage over her." She nudged me playfully in the arm.
"Perhaps but not a very big one. I'll probably get nervous in the end and forget everything."
"You won't, Mighty. It's obvious how dedicated you've been." Along with water bottles and towels, Tiara also pulled out a classical music CD. "So why choose dancing specifically? Plenty of guys your age would just settle for a confession letter with stupid little 'yes', 'no', or 'maybe' checkboxes."
"I'm not like most guys."
"And Blaze isn't like most girls. She may storm off when you spring this surprise on her."
"I don't think she will. The things that offend Blaze are pretty specific and usually have something to do with humane behavior towards others and the quality of a person's character. This…is embarrassing but she wouldn't hate me over it. She'd resist but, eventually, she'll give in and at least give it a try."
"You talk like one of those guys in romantic movies that think they can make any girl jump at the snap of their fingers. I shouldn't have to tell you how dangerous that is."
"No, you don't. But as you said, Blaze is different from other girls. I know this first hand because she likes a little pushback from her friends every now and then." Memories of our harmless arguments rushed back to me…along with all the signs of her true feelings. "Plus, I think she's just hiding it. Her honest feelings for me. Like she's afraid to act on them out of shame. I just want her to relax around me and know that it's fine to do or say whatever it is she's ashamed of."
I hadn't noticed it while I was talking but Tiara had her back towards me when I looked upon her again. A few sniffles could be heard as she opened up the CD case.
"Maybe…maybe we should get started," I heard her say quietly. "You have a busy day ahead of you."
As I led her out to the floor by hand, the music started up and I asked if I said anything wrong.
"No, you could never say anything to offend anyone. At least that's what I think," said Tiara as she took my right hand and placed her other hand on my shoulder. "You just reminded me of Knuckles. Smarter than you look and careful with your words."
"Nah, that can't be. He's a genius compared to me. Have you seen my report cards? Ugh! More 'B's than a bee hive and enough 'C's to flood this entire planet."
Tiara giggled at the terrible pun and I felt a little better. Melody and her boyfriend had already begun waltzing to the simple yet complex piano music while Tiara and I started with the same 'box steps' I've been learning for the past month. Even now I still had trouble keeping my eyes up and kept glancing down every now and then to ensure that my feet avoided hers. And again, the kind girl reminded me softly to keep my eyes up.
"Don't fall back on those habits," she said. "Your dancing is almost perfect now."
"You don't have to flatter me Tiara," I said. "We're moving like a couple of stiff corpses."
"Which is an improvement from tripping all over me when you first started."
"I thought you were use to guys falling left and right all around you worshiping the ground you walked on."
Again she giggled and it even got the attention of her friends who must've overheard my joke.
"Stop it! You're gonna mess me up now." She cleared her throat and went straight back to teacher mode. "Focus Mighty. This is your last lesson before your big moment so no goofing off."
"Yes ma'am."
Our stilted waltz continued with Melody and her boyfriend literally dancing circles around us. Not that it bothered me. A new piano waltz had started up though it was quite similar to the last but with a slightly faster tempo. In order to keep up with the music, Tiara suggested we increased our speed and I took the lead in doing so.
"What do you think is going to happen between you and Blaze after today?" the manx asked.
"I'm afraid to think that far ahead right now," I said. "I know I was confident when I spoke about Blaze's feelings but that's only when we're alone. At school, around everyone else, I'm not sure what's going to happen."
"But you're sure that Blaze will be your girlfriend?"
"Absolutely!"
I spun Tiara out at arms length and pulled her back in gently, a new move we started practicing a few weeks back.
"Then what's there to be nervous about?" she said. "You two love each other, respect each other, and know each other well enough that you're comfortable with being apart. …Er, that last bit was just a guess."
"A pretty accurate guess I may say."
"In any case, do what you feel is comfortable around others. I've always got the feeling that you and Blaze thought the same way. So if you initiated something like…holding hands then I'm sure she'd go along without question. And if it was her who initiated it then you'd definitely go with the flow."
Tiara was onto something there. Something that should've been as clear as day to me. I shouldn't be afraid of what happens after this because I'll already know once I see Blaze's reaction to my present.
"In the end," Tiara continued. "It's all about trust. Trust can't develop between you two if you guys know everything that's going to happen before hand. It's determined by your actions to those moments when she needs someone all of the sudden…and when not-so-urgent issues come up. So just do what you feel is right and I'm sure Blaze will grow to love you."
"And here you were a few moments ago complimenting me on how smart I was," I said.
Tiara laughed brushing off the compliment and suddenly stopped our waltz.
"How about a trust lesson?" she suggested.
"Trust lesson? I'm assuming it's not as suspicious as it sounds?" I said.
"Not at all. In fact, I think you'll catch on pretty quick if you use that enthusiasm of yours."
She got the attention of Melody and her boyfriend and asked them to demonstrate a "dip" maneuver. Wait? She's gonna have me do that? I'm still counting the steps in my head! The rabbit couple picked up their pace and, without missing a beat, Melody was swooped down low by her beau and brought back up without hesitation. Looked a little like a romantic dance in a spy movie. There's no way I'll pull off a move like that. Getting back to Tiara's lesson…
"What's this got to do with trust?" I said.
"Duh!" she answered. "I'm leaving it up to you to decide when to dip and I'll follow through. You'll be in control since you'll be carrying all the weight…literally."
The manx held out her arms and we reassumed the starting stance while the rabbits continued their dance around us.
"I'll need to practice that a bit…or better yet a lot. I'm pretty sure I'll screw up the first ten tries," I said.
"What did I just tell you? Stop being nervous and do what you feel is right."
"And that's the problem. This doesn't feel right. I might drop you or trip and fall over you."
"Mighty, I've been a cheerleader for about a year now. You've seen me get tossed six feet into the air during football games and I can't count how many times I was dropped during practice by one of the male cheerleaders. I'm used to it. If anything goes wrong, I know how to react and protect myself."
Well there goes my last line of defense. No chance of backing out of embarrassing myself. Tiara took my silence as a go ahead for the lesson and started counting to the music again. We moved, stilted as always, to the slightly upbeat piano waltz and my mind went into overdrive on how to dip Tiara properly.
"Alright, I'll go over the basics of a dip," she said. "Now since you're leading, it's up to you to give me the signal of when you're ready to dip."
I nodded and she continued on.
"You'll want to move your hand up a little to the middle of my back. That way I'll know when you're ready to do the maneuver. Then start leaning in towards me, with most of the force coming from your 'leading hand'," she glanced at my right hand holding onto her left hand. "And then I'll relax and lean back. Keep the "comfort space" between us open and the back hand strong and steady at this point. We don't have to lean over too far like in a tango. About fifteen degrees should be enough."
Great. Now she's throwing geometry into this. I kept my nervous comment to myself. Tiara asked if I was ready to go and I timidly nodded as we continued our box step dance. After two rounds of "1,2,3" in my head, I leaned forward against the girl and stumbled when I heard her squeak a little. Out of fear, my grip on Tiara gave away and she fell onto her side. I was quick to help her up and even the rabbits stopped briefly to look on us.
"It's fine Mel. I got it," she said to her friend as I pulled her up. "Okay. You got ahead of yourself and forgot to signal. No problem, just your nerves." We returned to our starting position. "Remember to keep that back hand strong. It's supporting most of my weight."
Right. Give her the signal. Lean gently with her. Keep a steady hand on her—
"Relax Mighty," I heard Tiara say. "Just pretend that I'm Blaze and do what comes naturally to you."
"Mind if I close my eyes?" I asked. "The two of you aren't exactly twins…"
"Heh. If you feel you're that good, then go ahead."
Tiara started up the step count and the two of us were off. After a few steps, I closed my eyes and imagined that the delicate fingers and soft figure belonged to Blaze. Adorned in a flowing white gown with her hair let down, we twirled on the balcony of an exotic palace before the setting sun. Tiara's shampoo became the sweet scent of Blaze's skin and my grip tightened a little on the defined waist of my love. Everything felt perfect and the music was so appropriate and simple that I didn't want it to end. But it was coming. The end to the waltz music. I could just hear it in the notes of its crescendo. There wasn't a moment to waist. Right on cue with the final notes, I moved my hand up Blaze's back, leaned in, and her legs went limp beneath mine. I took and extra step forward as I guided her towards the ground, almost parallel to it, and kept a strong, reassuring grip on her back while my bended leg provided support for me in the dip. I could see her lips mouth something to me…words I've been itching to hear. And just when I was about to respond aloud, applause filled my ears and I opened up my eyes to Tiara's face. Practically nose to nose in this position.
"Sweet move, Romeo! Maybe you should try out for a dance competition," said Melody.
I was quick to pull Tiara back up and we both cleared our throats in slight embarrassment.
"I…got a little too into it," I said.
"No, no! That was exactly what I was expecting you to do," said Tiara. "And it's what you will do when you and Blaze dance this afternoon. Regardless of what happens, don't lose that passion and confidence! It's the key to getting her to trust you when you go in for the dip."
"And the ladies go wild for a guy brimming with confidence." Melody's boyfriend suddenly spoke up prompting a playful shove from his girl.
I guess it's safe to say I'm ready now...but only if I don't lose this momentum. Just as I headed for the door, Tiara stopped me one last time.
"Here. Take this," she said handing me the waltz CD after it was placed back into its case. "To save yourself some grief over finding the right music. And since it's what you're probably used to at this point."
I thanked her and left to the sounds of an upbeat pop song playing loudly in the studio.
I was a little shocked to see that it was only 8:30 when I reached the bakery just a few blocks away from the dance studio. All that nervous dancing made it feel like it went on a little longer. No matter. Just more time to practice what I'll say to Blaze…or time that I'll waste depending on how caught up I get in the details. I went into the shop and picked up the smallest strawberry cake they had. It was enough for two but was still ornately decorated with strawberry slices and decorative frosting. I asked the shopkeeper if they could write "Happy Birthday" on it and they did so for no extra charge. With the cake packed away in a nice box and paper bag, I left and headed for home to make the final preparations.
Along the way, I ran into Miles. He caught me by surprise to be exact as he flew in behind me using his two odd tails.
"Does anyone ever call you Tails?" I said when he landed. "You know, for obvious reasons."
"Not really," he said curling his unique features around him and flattening out the fluffed up fur. "What's in the bag?"
"A cake for Blaze. It's her birthday today so I'm just being a nice guy and doing something special for her."
"I'm not sure if cake on someone's birthday is particularly special. I always get cake on my birthday. You sure this is all you're doing?"
Ok, so the kid got me there. We've known each other for a few months now and he's a prodigy in a grade much higher than most kids his age. Can't expect him to miss an obvious omission of truth.
"Alright, so I'm doing more than just the cake," I admitted and he smiled innocently. "I'm…I'm going to…dance…with her."
Weird. Talking about dancing felt just as awkward as doing it. But Miles didn't laugh. He didn't even snicker. He just held onto that innocent smile of his as if he saw the sincerity of what I was doing.
"Now that sounds like something special," he said and we started to walk towards my neighborhood together. "Do you think she'll go along with it?"
"She will but I'm 100% sure that on the inside she'll be pissed at me. Putting her on the spot isn't something she's comfortable with but that's fine. She can have her revenge on Monday for all I care."
"I think you'll only have to worry if you two are going to dance in front of others."
"Oh no, no, no. This is just between me and her. I found a quiet area of the park that's hardly ever used so things should be okay."
…But only if that area is as empty as it was a few days ago when I found it. If a picnic or some event is going on there then all of this work I've done will go to waste. I can't walk around with Blaze looking for a private spot without her raising an eyebrow.
"Oh. Then I guess it's good luck to you. You'll tell me all about it at school right?"
"Sure thing! Later Miles."
The kid ran off back towards his home and I went to mine to wait out the long four hours before the birthday celebration. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried about Blaze's reaction. No amount of encouragement is going to stop me from fretting over that.
When the time came, I gathered up all the necessary materials: my battery powered stereo with the waltz CD inside of it, the strawberry cake, candles for the cake, and matches to light the candles. My aunt and uncle were in the living room watching their usual programs and, thankfully, didn't grill me as I headed out the back door once more with the birthday supplies. The hustle and bustle of Saturday afternoon was in full swing as I walked through the various neighborhoods towards the park. Folks were out cleaning their lawns of fallen leaves, kids were out playing in the neighborhoods, and the plaza area was busy with early holiday shoppers. I contemplated making a last minute stop at the gift shop in the plaza but the crowds deterred me from doing so. Which was probably for the best. Most of the cash I had this week went into the birthday cake. Then there's the fact that I hadn't done any jobs around the neighborhood lately due to school and everything else I'm involved in. So I had to save what little I had for snacks from the school vending machine and errands auntie sent me on.
At the park, the meeting spot I told Blaze to come to was vacant and I felt both relieved and nervous at once. As I set the stereo down on a picnic table underneath a large oak tree, I wondered if Blaze would be able to find this place. I was pretty specific with my directions. "Picnic area C near the pavilion" according to the note I slipped into her locker yesterday. …Maybe I should convince Blaze to talk her parents into buying a cell phone for her. After a final check of everything, I figured I could get in one last practice dance before she arrived. I started up the CD on track one and began to waltz with and invisible partner and even practiced my dip technique. …Not exactly smooth or useful without an actual body to hold onto. To my shock and embarrassment, I suddenly heard someone clapping…from above in one of the nearby trees. I looked around thinking Miles might've trailed me here secretly. But I found someone much more disappointing instead. Shadow. He sat on one of the lower branches of one of the tall trees about ten feet from where I stood. He appeared comfortable leaning back against the trunk and continued his slow, sarcastic applause. How did this guy find me?
"Your form needs work," he said nonchalantly. "It's a decent effort though."
At that moment the memory of my last encounter with him rushed back and shot my blood pressure up slightly. Stay calm Mighty. He's just here to harass me…and most likely Blaze too. There's nothing going on between those two. She hates him just as much as I do.
"Telling yourself that I'm no threat to your relationship with Blaze?" Shadow said.
"Are you deliberately doing this today?" I said.
"Doing what? I'm just here to celebrate her birthday with you."
"You don't strike me as the celebratory type."
"I'm not. But I'll make an exception for Blaze. She deserves it."
The nerve of this guy… Just then, Shadow jumped out of the tree and began to approach me but I saved him a few steps and met the hedgehog halfway. As we stared each other down I got the impression that he was trying to read into me searching for something to set me off. He's free to do so but I'm sure my real message is getting across to him loud and clear with my stalwart stance and clenched fists. …And then he laughed. Huh?
"I have no clue what you think I'm going to do but it sure is funny seeing you overreact to nothing," he said chuckling a little. "I think I'm starting to see why Blaze keeps you for company. You're a one-man show! Sacrificing, amusing, and inspiring albeit in a sappy way."
What happened after that was a knee jerk reaction. I grabbed Shadow by the tuff of hair on his chest and readied my fist to punch him right between the eyes. …But I didn't. Being an instigator of violence was something I worked hard to avoid despite my opposing feelings from time to time. I've never let anyone or anything get to me and the same goes for this guy. Regardless of what he says for the sake of riling me up. Shadow was released and I paced away from him rubbing my hands across my face.
"No…just don't…" I muttered to myself.
"I really don't mean any harm," I heard Shadow say. "I was just curious about you."
"If that's all you want then bother me some other time," I said turning back and approaching him again. "Today's not a good day."
His reaction was slow. Almost contemplative as he tilted his head a little and crossed his arms as if he saw something sad and unfortunate.
"I was going to ask why today was bad for you," he began. "But now I'm more interested in wondering why you're so protective of her." Shadow began pacing around me. "This is the second time we spoken and already you're treating me like I'm some lifelong rival or enemy. I've never fought you in a proper fight, argued with you, or made any attempt to hurt you at all. And yet you put up just about every defense you can after I said a few words to you."
"Only because I've learned from Blaze that you like to pull people into elaborate, drawn out plans. So I think my reaction is perfectly acceptable," I said.
"Yes, there's that." He suddenly looked at me with a grim expression. "But I think the problem is much more simple than that. Blaze is the one you don't trust. Not me."
Wha…what is that suppose to mean? No, no! Don't get taken in by his words! That's an obvious trap he's setting me up for.
"Nice try," I said playing it cool. "You might want to try harder if you think that'll be enough to throw me off."
"If I wanted to throw you off, kid, I would've gotten a little more personal. That was just me figuring out what you refuse to see."
Again, my anger got the best of me and I reacted violently. This time knocking Shadow to the ground and pinning him by the neck with my foot.
"The only person who's having trouble seeing is you," I snarled. "And if your eyesight is that bad then I'll give you a nice, detailed description. Blaze has been through a lot in a few years and some of it was bad. I came into the picture to help her out at Sonic's request and help put all of that behind her. She loses more of her friends and, again, needs support to get her through. I step up and offer her a shoulder to lean on and she's happy again. Happier than she's ever been according what she told me a few weeks ago. So I've done my part and kept my promise to Sonic and now she's showing signs of wanting to take things further with me. Do I have to continue or do you finally see where you don't fit in here?"
That entire time, Shadow struggled to push my foot off of him and my boiling anger receded enough to show some mercy. Once the black and red hedgehog was back on his feet, he wiped off the dirt from the tuff of hair on his chest before saying anything.
"What I almost saw was something I didn't expect," he said sounding like he lost complete interest in the conversation. "I almost saw my own reflection. I say almost because, unlike you, I have better control over the simplest aspects of my emotions."
"Personally, I think you'd be a much better person if you could control that mouth of yours," I said.
"And personally, I prefer being straight forward. It's the one reason why I know what Blaze is afraid of and what hurts her the most. Two things you'll never figure out no matter how 'close' you are to her."
"…Get the hell out of here."
Finally, Shadow actually did something I asked him to and disappeared in a blue flash.
That was a genuine test of my nerves. I haven't felt like that since my rehab after the car accident years ago. In any case Shadow's gone and just in time too. I glanced at my cell and saw that it was time for the show to start. Blaze should be here any second…and she was. Right on schedule like the diligent friend she is.
"I would comment on how nice the weather is but let's just get to the obvious. Why call me out to this secluded area?" Blaze said upon approach.
She looked at the white box and stereo on the picnic table and then back at me crossing her arms.
"Subtle," she said and I laughed.
"Yeah I guess this isn't a total surprise," I said scratching the back of my head. "But you don't know what I'm going to do!"
Again, she looked at the setup on the picnic table and studied it for a few seconds before answering.
"Please tell me you bought one of those expensive talking, mutated mouse toys from the store. You know, the ones that 'talk back' to you and jitter around like they ate a bunch of sugar." She smirked but knew she was wrong. I give her points for creativity.
"Not exactly. Those are a little beyond my budget."
I walked over to the white box and opened by pulling up the top and gently ripping the sides down to reveal the strawberry laden birthday cake. Blaze joined me and smiled at the cute confection.
"Wow. I gotta hand it to you," she said. "You really had me going there with the suspicious set up and then went all…normal in the end. So it's just an afternoon of cake eating and listening to the radio?"
"Close but still wrong," I said sticking four candles into the tiny cake. "It's simple yet complex at the same time."
I took the box of matches and lit all the candles.
"Make a wish and then you'll get your present," I said stepping away for Blaze to move in.
"I'll take the predictable route and say…strawberries inside the cake. And then a listen of that album from the punk band in Knothole. You know, the one with the two green hedgehogs."
The Underground? I've been hearing more and more about them lately from everyone at school. Especially how the lead singer has a bit of a mean streak. That could've been a cool present, but I'm not sure what type of music Blaze is into…or if she'll even like them. I watched her blow the candles out and applauded her which, rightfully, got a strange look from Blaze.
"Sorry," I said. "That was just a natural reaction. It's what's always happened at every birthday party I've gone to…and even my own."
"I've seen stranger customs I suppose," she said shrugging her shoulders. "So, where's the real present?"
That was my cue to start up the piano CD and I held out a hand towards Blaze. As expected, she reacted with aversion taking a step back and looking at me with incredulous eyes.
"Um…okay? What's going on?" she asked.
"Haha! What do you think?" I said. "Take my hand. I won't bite."
"And then what?"
"We'll…dance."
She froze with a half smile on her face that made her look more scared than anything. So much for relying on her benevolent nature. Coaxing her to dance is going to take a little more effort on my end. I took a few steps forwards and she mirrored me going backwards. Again, I pleaded with Blaze as gently as I could until I decided to just dive in and go for it. I strode forward and grabbed her by the hand remaining friendly all the while and even chuckling at her uncharacteristic timid response. I think the laugh was unintentional. It's rare to see Blaze so vulnerable like this. It's almost…cute.
"No, I don't think you want to do this," she said. "I'm…it's…this is going to end badly and I have really bad coordination."
"Fine by me," I said. "I'm still pretty terrible and I've had a month to learn."
Just then she dropped her hesitant behavior and eyed me suspiciously again.
"So that's where you've been disappearing to. I suppose Tiara doesn't have anything to do with it?"
I didn't see a reason to hide it anymore so I laughed out of guilt.
"I see. Well, it was a thoughtful present but there's no way you're getting me to dance. Especially when you have a month of experience over me. Let's just have some cake before the mood gets sour."
She turned to walk back to the table but I couldn't let her quash this dream of mine so easily. I snatched her hand again but made my desperation a little more clear this time.
"Blaze, please," I said looking straight into her gorgeous, golden eyes. "I worked so hard putting all of this together. It doesn't look like much but…I won't let you walk away without at least trying to dance. Just this one time, that's all I'm asking for."
A silence hung between us save for the piano music and the distant noises of other park visitors somewhere beyond the nearby pavilion. There was a slight twitch in Blaze's expression and I could only assume it was the weight of my words sinking in. I whispered "please" again and squeezed her hand a little which had the opposite affect of turning her face sour in disgust. So I was left with not other option but to get down on one knee and, successfully, she blushed, her jaw dropping open.
"I promise, I won't ask you to do anything this embarrassing again," I said.
"Fine, fine! Just stand up!" she hissed while pulling on me.
By now, the CD was on the third or fourth song. I wasn't really sure since they were all waltzes that sounded the same. With her guard lowered, I stepped towards Blaze and took her into the starting position with one hand on her hip and the other grasping her left hand. I started up a dance count to the rhythm of the music and stepped towards her and Blaze followed my lead. It was just as I anticipated. Stiff as a couple of corpses dancing in a preset area of grass. The fact that both of us had our eyes glued to the ground probably added more pity than necessary. I had to say something.
"You know," I started. "Tiara kept scolding me about looking down like this."
"Well you're the 'expert' between us," said Blaze. "Isn't that something you can easily fix?"
My nerves got the best of me and I coughed up a weak laugh.
"I'm…I'm still working on that."
After another series of steps in the box pattern, Blaze speaks up.
"Why is this so important to you? Wanting to dance with me?"
While the answer was all too obvious at this point, a knot in my throat prevented me from saying anything. Instead I just tightened my grip on her hand slightly and breathed deeply.
"I guess it's obvious so…it was stupid of me to even ask," she said and there was another pause filled by the waltz music. "But are you sure? Are you sure that this is what you want?"
The pressure was killing me and I brought us to a stop and lifted my face. Blaze did the same as well and, at mere inches away, her reddened cheeks caused my face to flush up. I had to get the words out now.
"This is the first time in my entire life I've been so sure of something," I said and cupped her cheek with my right hand. "Even though we've only known each other for a little over a year, they way we operate, the way we interact and bounce off of each other…it's like we've been friends for years. But I don't want to stop there…I want use to go a little further. Especially after all that you've been through. Losing Tikal and Knuckles…that boy getting murdered…and all of this stalking from Shadow. A smart and pretty girl like you should never have to deal with stuff like that. And I want to be the guy who makes sure it never happens again."
"Mighty, please," said Blaze as she tried to step away but I held her close by her waist. "This is a little too much."
"I mean it Blaze. I want you. I seriously do…and I know you feel the same way about me. Or…at least I hope you do."
She remained silent so I pulled her a little closer allowing our bodies to touch and took her hand again. However, we just swayed back and forth to the music abandoning the formal dance.
"I do," I heard her whisper to me. "I feel the same way too. I just…didn't want to make myself so vulnerable because of Shadow."
"Please don't say his name," I said. "It's just us here. And it'll always be just the two of us. Whatever you go through, I'll go through because I'll never leave your side…ever."
"You don't mean that do you?"
"Of course I do and I can prove it to you." Again, I stopped us and gently pulled away from Blaze. "But I can only prove it if you let me kiss you."
The romantic air immediately left her as she rolled her eyes unimpressed.
"Fine then," she said and offered me her cheek.
Not what I was hoping for but I already ticked her off enough with the surprise dance. So I leaned in and gave Blaze a soft kiss on her cheek and she smiled and went right back to her romantic mood. We started our sway again and all seemed quiet until Blaze spoke up once more.
"I'm going to kill you for this," she said as innocently as she could.
"By all means, do what you must," I answered.
"You took that better than I expected. At least you didn't do something extremely dumb like try to dip me as if this was some cheesy movie."
Oh yeah…I almost forgot about that. I worried, for a second, about how to signal Blaze for a dip. But then I realized that doing such a thing would require letting her know about it before hand. I wanted it to be an extra "present" for her so I made the brazen decision to just go with it. In one swift movement I leaned towards her and, much to my surprise, she was so shocked by this that her body relaxed allowing me to take control. My hand remained strong supporting her back as we leaned over into a low dip but I still maintained the "comfort space" between us. Whatever lovey-dovey mood she was in vanished instantly as it was replaced by confusion and embarrassment. I decided to up the awkwardness of the situation and nudged my nose against hers playfully. It earned me a rightful slap to the face. Not too hard to hurt but enough for me to lift Blaze back up. She straightened out her jacket and fixed her single ponytail before walking back to the picnic table to her waiting birthday cake.
"Let's just eat the cake before this day gets any more awkward than it already is," she said going back to her usual cynical self.
There aren't enough words to describe just how crazy I am for her now.
Yes, The Underground is a direct reference to Sonic Underground...with a different guitarist. It's not hard to guess who.