The long weekend was both a blessing and a curse. It gave me enough time to finish my homework and try to get myself together before seeing Sonic at school, but it also meant that I had to live in limbo for an extra twenty-four hours. Mom took Abigail to Knothole on Sunday morning to do some shopping. I stayed at home, trying to finish a history paper while forcing myself not to think about Sonic and Sally. On Tuesday morning I woke up at the crack of dawn after a fitful sleep and spent an extra hour getting myself ready. I shampooed my hair three times and blowdried it straight. I scrubbed my face raw and spent ages on my make-up. I even went to the trouble of painting my nails. I put on a black skater-skirt and white blouse, and paired it up with a denim jacket Maria hadn't wanted anymore. I finished the look with some black-tights that only had the tiniest ladder on the ankle, and my battered secondhand Converse. The soles were almost falling off, but I hoped that that just made me look like I wasn't trying too hard. Of course I ruined the illusion somewhat by spraying myself with floral-scented perfume, but hey, I was nervous.

Even though I didn't eat breakfast, I spent the entire bus ride to school feeling like I was going to throw up. I sat through my morning classes and copied down the notes from the board, but all I could think about was the picture from Sally's Instagram page. Maybe I was overreacting. Maybe I was reading too much into things. It was a cheesy romantic caption, sure, but maybe it was just a stupid pun about the drink and the holiday. Maybe Sonic hadn't gone all the way to Knothole just to go on a date with her. He'd been at Sally's after-party the night before. He could have just stayed over, crashing on the sofa or in one of the many spare bedrooms. He probably went to the coffee shop to kill some time while waiting for a bus, or for his mom to come and get him. Sally was just keeping him company. Nothing necessarily happened.

I almost managed to convince myself. I didn't say anything to the girls at break-time. They didn't seem to notice anything was amiss, and why would they? They hadn't spent hours dissecting a single photo from Sally's Instagram. Tikal and Cosmo quizzed each other for their art history test next period. Blaze thumbed through a new thick paperback. Rouge reapplied her lipgloss. Cream passed around homemade peanut-butter blondies. I pretended to look for something in my locker, a thick lump forming in my throat. When the bell rang, signalling the end of break, Maria and I walked to Home Ec together. Separated from the rest of the girls, she asked me if there was something wrong, but I shook my head and told her that I was tired. Sally was already in class when we got there, whispering to Nicole. She didn't look any different, dressed simply in a branded turquoise t-shirt and Levi jeans. I felt horribly overdressed, slipping into a chair at the desk behind her. Maria joined me, muttering about how thankful she was that we were finished with practical cooking and had moved on the food science. We spent a quiet half-hour listening to Vanilla talk us through the various diagrams. Five minutes before the class was due to end, however, she told us to put our books away because she had an announcement.

"You're all such diligent students," she began, her eyebrows raised slightly. "So I'm not surprised to hear that you all noticed my ring." She laughed at all of our guilty expressions. "I'm not cross! News travels fast in such a small community. Now normally I wouldn't make any kind of formal announcement, but I have some more news to share."

Maria and I exchanged a puzzled glance. Cream hadn't mentioned any additional news.

"I'm leaving at the end of the year." Vanilla said. A ripple of shock ran through the class. Maria gasped. Sally's head twitched in shock.

"Leaving?" I echoed.

"Yes, Amy dear," Vanilla nodded. "I've had a wonderful ten years teaching here,

Nicole's hand shot up. "Is your fiancé making you quit your job?" she asked, without waiting to be called on. "Because that's a red flag."

I cringed, thinking about everything Cream had told me about her father. But Vanilla's expression didn't falter.

"I'm delighted to hear that you're all so aware of what a healthy relationship looks like! Make sure that you never forget it. But no, Nicole, my fiancé isn't making me do anything. What he's doing is encouraging me to follow my dreams," she paused to take a breath. "I've been teaching here for ten years, and I've loved every second of it. But it's been keeping me back from the thing I've always wanted to do. Over the Summer, I'll be opening up my own business in Knothole. I'll be selling and serving all of my own baked goods. I'm planning on having a grand-opening at the end of June, and I hope that you'll all be my first customers!"

She smiled warmly at us all as the bell rang. Everyone chatted excitedly as we got up from our seats, stopping to congratulate Vanilla. A couple of students gathered around her and asked if there'd be any jobs going. It was difficult to find part-time employment in a small town like Station Square. Knuckles, who was already eighteen, worked in a bar in Knothole. Cosmo's mother paid her minimum wage to help out at her garden-centre on the outskirts of town.

Maybe I should look for a job.

I was mulling it over when Vanilla called me over. Maria had to get to AP French so she told me she'd see me at lunch. I was the only student left in the room and my stomach twisted in irrational anxiety. I was a good student. I'd sat and eaten gingerbread in Vanilla's kitchen. I couldn't be in trouble, could I?

"I wanted to thank you, Amy." she said softly. "I know that Cream's been having a hard time adjusting to all of this. But you've been a really good friend to her - like a big sister, really. I just wanted you to know that I really do appreciate it. You're such a kind girl."

I felt like I was walking on air, and sat happily through my next few classes. We got our Jane Eyre papers back in English Lit and I was pleasantly surprised by the red A- on mine. In French, Fiona complimented my hair and asked if I'd gotten it done at a salon. Not even the dull droning of my Algebra teacher could bring me down. I queued up for my school-lunch and smiled widely at the lunch-ladies as they shovelled square-pizza and oven-chips onto my plate. I turned towards our lunch table and felt the ground slip out from under my feet.

Sally Acorn was sitting at the table, talking animatedly to Sonic who she was practically pressed up against. Cosmo was on her other side, picking at her grapes and looking really uncomfortable. I stayed where I was, paralysed, until Maria caught sight of me.

"Amy! There's room beside me!"

She stared at me, her smile too wide and her eyes too bright. She scooted over and I squeezed into the space between her and Shadow. I mumbled a quick apology to him, as a formality rather than anything else, but was shocked when he actually acknowledged me.

"S'okay." he said, his eyes meeting mine. His mouth twitched as he attempted a smile. I blinked, uncomfortable, and noticed that everyone was shooting me looks, smiling reassuringly or nodding at me, though they looked uncomfortable. Everyone but Sonic, who just stared down at his lunch tray.

"Hi Amy," Sally said. "How are you?"

"I'm okay!" I squeaked. Maria's hand twitched on the table beside me, as if she were fighting the impulse to reach over and squeeze mine.

"I was just talking about Ms Barony's announcement in class today! Exciting, right?"

I mumbled something vague in response.

"Are you going to be helping out, Cream?" Sally smiled prettily across the table. So confident, so sure of her place, of the fact that she could waltz over here and insert herself into our group.

Cream sniffed. "Of course. It's my mother's business. I'll be helping everything get set up this Summer, and then working there at weekends."

"Right. Well, it'll be great for Knothole, anyway! The coffee shops there are okay, but the sandwiches and cakes are all mass produced in some base somewhere." she pulled a face. "Remember my mozzarella wrap from Saturday?"

Sonic's head snapped up. "Oh-oh yeah. It tasted like dish-soap."

"It was really gross! Definitely not one of the best Valentine's Day meals I've ever had!"

Pow. A swift blow to the chest.

"Valentine's Day?" Rouge said, frowning. Her blue eyes flickered over to meet mine - Did you know about this? I looked away.

"Yeah, um, we …" Sally trailed off, two perfect pale pink spots appearing on her cheeks. She even blushed prettily. Typical. She looked over at Sonic from under her eyelashes, expectantly … hesitantly …

Sonic looked up from his food. His Adam's apple bobbed in his throat as he swallowed his mouthful of pizza. "We went out."

I felt everyone's eyes turn back to me, unable to conceal their shock and wondering how I was going to react. I bit down hard on my tongue, not trusting myself to speak.

"Oh?" Tails said. His tone was light enough, but his brow was creased in confusion

"Is that why you haven't been sitting with us, huh?" Knuckles said loudly. He bared his teeth in a would-be grin, trying to ease the tension, convey that he'd been joking, but his tone was off. Tikal's eyes were rolling around in their sockets.

"I didn't realise there was anything going on," Blaze said slowly.

"Well, we've been hanging out a lot, what with track and everything." Sally said. "But - "

"So are you two actually dating now?" Rouge interrupted, pointing her spoon at the two of them. They were lucky that she'd finished her passion-fruit yogurt. "Are you official, or just screw-"

"-testing the waters?" Maria said quickly.

"Well …" Sally trailed off and looked back at Sonic. She seemed like she was holding her breath. Sonic chewed his food slowly - or was that just because I was waiting so desperately for an answer?

"Yeah uh, I mean - like Sal said, we've been hanging out a lot. Gotten pretty close over the year. A few of us went to her house after the dance … we got talking some more and yeah. I asked her out."

Another blow, harder this time. The Instagram picture was one thing. I could have written it off as a fluke, just two friends getting coffee together, the caption meaning nothing more than a vague acknowledgement of the holiday. But now Sally was here, at our table, sitting next to Sonic who had confirmed all of my worst fears. Maria squeezed my hand under the table and I had a sudden violent urge to push her away - if she hadn't been sick, I might have been able to go to Sally's -

Why oh why didn't I go? Maybe then …

Then what?

He's liked her all this time.

As if he could read my mind, Sonic threw his arm around Sally's shoulder. I stood up shakily. I couldn't do this.

"I just realised - I have a meeting with Monsieur D'Coolette - I have to go - "

I didn't wait for a response before grabbing my bag and moving away from the table. Sally watched me go, her expression inscrutable. My eyes moved to meet Sonic's. For half a heartbeat I saw his gaze wide and unguarded and unreadable. But then his eyes slid back down to the table and he didn't say a word.

I left the cafeteria and walked down the hallway, bleary eyed and mumbling apologies as I bumped into a few stragglers making their way to lunch.

"Amy, wait!"

The girls were coming behind me, their faces full of concern. Seeing that made me want to run away even more, but I forced myself to stop. They ushered me into the alcove near the gym. Why did I always find myself crying here?

"Are you okay?" Maria asked, pulling me into one of her vanilla scented hugs. I breathed in her scent. I remembered how angry I'd felt at her a few minutes ago and felt even worse. Maria was my best friend. These girls were my friends. I had to let them try and help me. Besides, it wasn't as if my feelings for Sonic were some big secret -

"I'm such an idiot!" I sobbed, my face crumpling like it was made of wet paper. The girls immediately crowded around me, all talking at once, telling me that I wasn't an idiot, nobody had seen this coming at all, Sonic had just brought her over to sit with them, they didn't even know that they were all that close … but while I heard what they were saying, none of it registered. Did I really think that a cute outfit and some eyeliner would make Sonic notice me now that he was dating Sally Acorn? Did I really think that he could ever have seen me as more than a friend? He'd seen me cry about my father, he'd seen me have panic attacks, he'd seen me stand by the wall at parties and school dances, he'd seen my messy house and bedroom … why why why would he ever choose all of that over Sally? Sally with her perfect hair, effortless grace and beauty, and good attitude. Sally who was on track team, who was popular, who got good grades in class. Who made a great apple pie, but also had a rebellious streak. Sally who threw great parties in her family's mansion. Sally who had a difficult home-life, but didn't let it define her - who never seemed to struggle, or suffer with anxiety, or get messily drunk and sit down in the middle of the school hallway and cry, or yell at someone who rightfully hadn't spoken to her in weeks because she was so annoying and clingy, or storm out of the cafeteria oh my god -

"Do you want to go back inside?" Maria asked.

"No," I sniffed. "It would make things worse. Since I made a spectacle of myself storming off - "

"We probably made things worse, running after you." Blaze noted helpfully.

"Don't worry about it - I'm glad you came after me. It means a lot … you're all really good friends …" my voice quivered and I felt my eyes fill with tears.

"Oh Amy!" Cosmo reached out and touched my arm. "I'm really sorry this has happened."

"It's not your fault."

"Tails and I were the first ones at the table. Sonic and Sally came over - we were both pretty shocked." Cosmo bit her lip. "He and Sonic are pretty close - he'd have told - Tails always thought that Sonic liked - "

"Don't," I shook my head furiously. "I know that you guys want this to happen, but - but I don't know."

"Did he say anything at the dance?" Rouge asked. "I thought that I saw you guys talking to each other - "

"It's … complicated." I swallowed. "I thought that we'd patched things up. That we were friends again. I just don't understand why he wouldn't tell me about Sally - "

Maybe you weren't as close as you thought.

We spent the rest of lunchtime together. Rouge raided a vending machine and Cream got the keys to her mother's office and we sat cross-legged in front of a picnic of Doritos, Skittles, and cans of Coke. Maria chewed slowly on her carrot sticks and sipped her mineral water. I felt a little better.

I tried listening to music on the bus to distract myself, but every song just reminded me of Sonic. Not even my exercise playlist (featuring songs like YMCA, Rasputin, and the Pina Colada song) was safe because I only made it when we started running. The second that I walked through the door I immediately noticed that something was different. The hallway was free from clutter. The dusty old religious prints had been replaced by a painting I'd done in middle-school art class and a framed photo of the three of us, Aunt June, and Rosy on the beach two Summers ago, licking ice-creams and laughing against the turquoise sky. Everything smelled like lavender cleaning products. There were noises coming from the kitchen, which was strange because I was usually the only one home at this time on a Tuesday.

But there was mom, standing at the kitchen counter and making a salad. She'd changed out of her work clothes but instead of the usual sweat-pants and vest-top she pulled on in the evenings, she was wearing jeans and a floral-blouse that I'd almost forgotten she'd owned. Her hair was tied back neatly into a bun and she was singing along to an Oasis song that was playing over her phone speaker. Her face was scrubbed free of make-up. She looked younger, fitter … a lot happier than she had in a long time.

Abigail was rolling out dough on the kitchen table and eating scraps of it. She usually went to an after-school club on Tuesday evenings, and was clearly delighted to be home with an audience ready to listen to all of her long rambling stories about school.

"Hey - what's going on?" I asked.

Mom and Abigail exchanged conspiratorial glances.

"What?"

"I'm making pizza!" Abigail announced.

"Oh?" I frowned. "Home-made?"

"I have the night off, so I thought we'd make something together."

"Do you want me to get some stuff for dessert?" I asked. It would be a good distraction. "I can run to the shop -"

"Oh no, Matthew said he'd bring something. He's getting drinks too."

"Matthew's coming?"

He'd been coming over more and more often. Though he seemed perfectly nice and I liked him enough (though he was a little boring in the way I thought most adults were) I was still a little wary around him. But I hadn't seen mom this happy in years.

"Is that alright?" she asked.

"Yeah, of course!" I smiled as widely as I could. "Do you want me to do anything?"

"Don't worry, it's all under control!"

I looked around the kitchen. The sink was empty. The dishwasher was running. The countertops shone. The stove was lit. I walked into the living room and saw that the TV had been dusted, Abigail's toys were tidied away, and the pillows on the droopy squashy sofa were arranged with almost geometric precision.

All under control.

I sat down on my bed for a long time. I wasn't used to having this much time immediately after school. Usually I tried to tidy up, put something on for dinner, run to the shop because we'd run out of milk or toilet paper. I'd entertain Abigail when she was home and make her grilled cheese sandwiches. All of this before I'd even opened a book to do some homework. Today I knocked out an entire English assignment before the sun even went down.

My phone buzzed. I leapt onto it, my heart racing in case it was a message from Sonic. It wasn't, but my heartbeat didn't slow down when I saw the sender.

Elias Acorn sent you a message.

I dropped the phone without opening the text. My face was burning in shame. He'd texted me a few times over the weekend, but I hadn't replied. I hadn't seen him since the almost-kiss. I didn't know what I could say, or how to explain myself without coming across as insecure or desperate. I was drinking, I was upset, I was lonely, I was a teenage girl who'd never kissed anyone before, enamoured with someone who was clearly interested in someone else, and Elias was older and handsome and really sweet to me …

Fucking hormones.

Matthew arrived a little after seven. He had a bottle of wine in one hand and was carrying an expensive shop-bought raspberry cheesecake in the other. He had the usual packet of marshmallows for Abigail, a thing that always made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up because it was a gesture that I recognised all too well, and I knew where it could lead -

But none of Matthew's other interactions or actions were remotely like his. I recognised the marshmallows as the kind gesture of someone who hasn't had a lot of experience with kids but who doesn't necessarily dislike them. All of his actions came back to mom. At the dinner table, over (surprisingly tasty) homemade pizza, I suddenly saw how she must appear to him. She wasn't tired, she wasn't wandering around in her pyjamas and work polo - she was bright, she was witty, and she positively glowed. Abigail, who thrived best when she had a new audience for her stories, chattered non-stop, her eyes gleaming with pleasure.

I played with my food. A breathy indie singer strummed a guitar on low-volume in the background. The warmth of the stove filled the kitchen, bathing everything else in the room in its light. The kitchen still smelled of home-cooking. The cheesecake Matthew had brought probably cost what would have fed us for a week in Mobius.

It seemed a million miles away from my old life. From the bare-walled studio with the broken elevator. From noodles and frozen vegetables five nights a week. From Abigail and I falling asleep together on our shared mattress while mom worked until the early hours of the morning.

This was a million times better. Undoubtedly. But I felt like I was floating above it all.

Matthew insisted on doing the dishes. Abigail crawled onto mom's lap and finished the end of her cheesecake. I watched it all happen from a million miles away. I suddenly felt like there was nothing tethering me to any of this - this cosy domestic scene. I didn't recognise it. It was nothing like the life I'd known.

I found myself thinking of my father. I had little-to-no contact with him, but I sometimes found myself scrolling through his Facebook page, pictures of him and his wife and their daughter. It was weird to think that I had another half sister, one I didn't know and likely never would. Her name was Celeste. She was a white-furred fox, like her mother, but she didn't have her bright blue eyes. She had dark green ones, like me.

Our father's eyes.

I couldn't hate him. He was only the second-worst father figure I'd ever had, after all. Apathy was a lesser crime than outright cruelty.

But I didn't like to think about him.

The stuff with Sonic was bringing it all to the surface. I don't just mean in some kind of daddy-issues, why-do-men-always-leave-me way, but because he was pretty much the only person that I'd ever truly opened up to about it. I knew the other girls had parental baggage - Maria was an orphan, Cosmo's parents had a nasty divorce, Cream … well, Cream probably understood what I'd gone through best, not that I could bring myself to share it. But Sonic was the first. He'd understood what I was going through. In fact, he shared his own story first - he shared this whole part of his life with me that he didn't share with anyone else.

But maybe he was sharing it with other people the entire time. Like certain auburn-haired blue-eyed squirrels …

Sonic didn't send me a single text all evening. I could have texted him, of course. I even came close a couple of times, but my finger would hover over my keyboard and I wouldn't know what to type. I ended up scrolling through all of our messages from the past few months, every question about homework assignments, every in-joke, every meme or link to a funny video, every late-night heart to heart …

I dissected every emoji, every punctuation mark, trying to figure out … I didn't know what exactly. I didn't want to give myself false hope that he had non-platonic feelings for me, but I'd watched enough bad TV to know that … well, guys didn't just leave their own party to slow-dance to Taylor Swift songs with you in your bedroom for nothing. Most guys didn't come around to your house with a copy of your favourite Disney movie to cheer you up if they just see you as a friend.

Or maybe they did. I was new at the friendship thing. I remembered what Maria had told Blaze - romantic love and friendship were variations of the same theme. The lines weren't as clearly defined as television and books had led me to believe. Friendships could be just as messy and intense as romantic relationships. Sometimes friends did all come into your house and buy you food just to cheer you up.

And Sonic had called me his "closest friend" … maybe that behaviour wasn't all that unusual.

But then, why hadn't he ever mentioned Sally Acorn? I searched his messages for any mention of her, any clue that he'd been interested in her. Her name cropped up regularly, but always in the context of track meets and training. It was true that he was a private person, that he didn't open up easily, but after everything that he'd shared with me, telling me about a crush that he had on a pretty and popular girl should have been easy, right?

"Aren't you going to check your phone, Amy?"

"Huh?"

"It's been buzzing non-stop for like, ten minutes." Rouge said, gesturing to where I'd placed it face-down in front of me. We were crowded around a table in Deja Brew, drinking milkshakes and eating cake in- apart from Maria, who was toying with a garden salad. She seemed distracted today, staring out the window twirling grated carrot and artfully torn shreds of lettuce around her fork without eating it. I felt a flash of concern, but when our eyes met she smiled brightly at me and popped some food in her mouth. It wasn't unlike her to get pensive, zone out a little. Shadow's birthday was coming up. She was probably trying to think of a gift she could get him.

"It's fine. Sorry, I'll put it on silent." I shut it down without looking at the message and shoved it into my pocket.

"Are you sure?" Blaze said doubtfully. "It could be from Sonic …"

"It's not. Don't worry about it." I knew who it was from. He'd been texting me everyday for the last week, even though I hadn't opened a single one of his messages. Though that didn't mean that I didn't look out for him in school, at the table at the back of the cafeteria where the Senior's sat, or in their locker area. But it was like he'd vanished. If it weren't for the fact that he kept blowing up my inbox I'd almost believe that I'd imagined him.

We'd been coming to Deja Brew almost every day for the last week, trying to avoid Sonic and Sally. They seemed to split their time between sitting with Sally's friends, the rest of the track team, and the guys - all of whom had either pulled me aside or texted me to explain that while they thought that Sonic was crazy to date anyone but me, he was their homeboy and there were things like bro-code at stake. Silver was so apologetic that he promised to do my Algebra homework for me (which I politely declined, mainly on the basis that he was only slightly more adept with numbers than I was), and Tails sounded close to tears when he explained his reasoning to me. That broke my heart. He was so much closer to the girls, by virtue of the fact that Tikal, Cream, and Cosmo were all in his grade, and that up until last year he'd been considered a girl. Being included in things like bro-code meant a lot to him. I wasn't going to hold that against him.

The girls brought me here everyday. A luxury that I couldn't afford, but that didn't matter because the girls insisted on buying my food and Galaxina gave us discounts by claiming that the icing on a particular cake was 'imperfect' and couldn't be sold to normal customers, so really we were doing her a favour. She seemed to be the only member of staff that was ever there, but we weren't complaining.

Cosmo and Tikal were examining more of Blaze's colour coded notes from freshman World History. Maria hummed the Swan Lake theme to herself. Blaze and Cream were talking about a book they were both reading in between sips of their banana milkshakes. Rouge was looking at her phone and smiling - not her typical sly smirk or mischevous grin, but a small soft smile that caused me to grin.

"Who ya texting?" I sang. Rouge almost dropped her phone, her face burning bright red as everyone's eyes turned towards her.

"I-uh-nobody!" she squeaked, uncharacteristically lost for words. She gaped for a few more seconds under my amused stare before rolling her eyes and letting out an exaggerated sigh. There was the Rouge I knew.

"Okay fine! If you could please keep the squealing to a bare minimum … Knuckles and I are dating now. Officially. Like, in a gross exclusive boyfriend-and-girlfriend way."

She winced as Cream and Maria squealed. "I said a bare minimum!"

"But it's so cute!" Maria protested.

"It's also about time," I said. I raised an eyebrow at her, knowingly. She stuck out her tongue at me, but didn't actually seem annoyed. She was still blushing.

"You can say that again," Tikal muttered. "It was pretty obvious."

"You knew?" Rouge blinked in surprise.

"Knuckles has been humming the Technicolour Dreamcoat soundtrack to himself all week. Plus our bedroom's are right next to each other, and I can hear you sneaking out in the mornings."

We all laughed at the expression on Rouge's face. At the back of my mind I wondered if this revelation from Tikal meant that Rouge's virgin status could now officially be revoked (at least between us).

"Here I was trying to keep it quiet," she huffed. "With everything going on …"

She glanced over at me. My stomach twisted itself into a knot. "Rouge that's not fair! Just because I've been having a hard time in the relationship department doesn't mean that I'm not really happy for you and Knuckles. That goes for all of you - " I said, looking around warningly at the girls. "I've really enjoyed hanging out here at lunchtime, but four of you have boyfriends who are sitting in the cafeteria everyday. And honestly, I kind of miss hanging out with the guys too. I appreciate you all being there for me but - well - I guess … I just want things to go back to normal. As much as they can."

The girls looked doubtful. I slurped up the end of my milkshake, giving them time to respond. I meant what I said, but it still hurt to think about sitting with Sonic and Sally. History class was hard enough, though it was slightly better than it was before the Valentine's dance. Sonic would talk to me, but the conversation was strained. There was a formality to his interactions with me that wasn't there in his interactions with the others.

"I think that we should try and give Sally a chance." I said. This was so hard to say, but deep down I knew it was the truth. "She isn't doing anything wrong. Sonic and I were barely speaking when they started going out.

The girls mumbled in agreement.

"Sally? As in, Sally Acorn?"

Galaxina was standing over the table, in the middle of gathering up our empty plates and cups. Her eyes were wide and her smile was so dazzling that it disarmed me into answering honestly.

"Yeah - do you know her?"

"I was her babysitter for a while. I spent a lot of time in that house." she abandoned the dishes and squeezed into a spot beside Cosmo. "It's like an art gallery, right? I was always afraid to touch anything in case I permanently damaged it."

"Clumsiness does run in our family," Cosmo giggled.

"You must have known Elias then too, right?" I asked. I felt the girls look at me strangely, wondering why I was bringing up the Senior boy that (as far as they knew) I'd interacted with one time at a Halloween party.

Galaxina nodded. "I did. We didn't really talk much - we ran in very different circles, and I was a year older than him anyway. I always liked Megan though," she added as she broke off a piece of Cosmo's coconut cake and popped it into her mouth. "I had Cal with her, actually - whenever she wasn't in the principal's office anyway."

"Megan?" Cream asked.

"She dropped out last year. She's his girlfriend - "

"Ex girlfriend."

It came out without thinking. I instantly regretted it. I didn't think that the information was classified or anything, but the circumstances around the break-up were so sensitive that it felt like a betrayal. Galaxina blinked in surprise.

"They broke up?"

"Yeah. Um, recently enough."

"Wait - Elias is single?" Rouge yelped as Tikal elbowed her in the side. "My bad! Sorry! I'm new at the dating thing!"

"How do you know that?" Blaze asked.

"He uh - he told me at the dance." I stammered.

"When were you talking to him at the dance?" Maria frowned.

"And why would he randomly share that with you?" Cosmo asked, her eyes cloudy with confusion.

"That's not really important - " I said awkwardly. How was I going to explain this?

"I don't blame you, Rouge." Galaxina said wisely. "He had a lot of admirers in my grade too."

"Were you one of them?" Cosmo teased. Galaxina shook her head. "Oh no - I mean, he was cute and all, but not really my type. A little too lacquered over for my tastes. I have to say, I was really surprised when I heard that he and Megan were seeing each other. I thought that he'd be too much of a snob."

"He can't help who his parents are," I said, a little annoyed by Galaxina's dismissive attitude. I felt weirdly defensive of Elias, in spite of everything.

"That's true. I mean, I could just be biased." Galaxina shrugged. "I always got a weird vibe from his dad."

A chill ran down my spine, as the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. "What do you mean?"

Galaxina suddenly looked uncomfortable. "This doesn't leave the table, right? I don't want this all over the school or anything - "

"Galaxina, what happened?" Cosmo asked, her tone shockingly serious. "Did he - ?"

"No no! Nothing like that. I mean, a few comments about how what I was wearing wasn't appropriate and stuff like that, but I'd have been out of there if he'd tried anything. I was seventeen, I knew what to look out for. No, just - some rumours went around a while back. There was a girl - woman, like in her twenties - who worked there for a while. Those language student things - "

"Au-pair," Maria supplied.

"Yeah. They used to get those in - cheaper than professional maids and childminders. Not that they needed to think of the money or anything like that. But there was one who left really suddenly - I think it was unexpected because that's when I started babysitting Sally instead. Not that Sally really needed a babysitter at that stage, she was nearly fourteen years old, but I wasn't complaining. Pay-check's a pay-check." she eyed the dirty dishes on the table. "Which reminds me - I should get back to what I was doing." she ruffled Cosmo's hair playfully as she got to her feet and brushed the coconut cake crumbs from her skirt. "Shouldn't you guys be getting back to class?"

We all sprang to our feet and rushed to the door, grabbing our bags and coats and calling out thank-yous. I hung back, my heart racing, wanting to ask more about the rumours that went around …

But why? Was I genuinely concerned or was I just looking for ammunition against Sally, some proof of her less-than-perfect life to cling to so that I could feel better about myself? I bit my lip. I didn't want to be that person. I may have had my issues with Sally, but there was another Acorn that I did care about. I mumbled a quick goodbye to Galaxina as she wiped down our table. As I walked through the shop door, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and tapped into my most recent message.

Elias Acorn: We need to talk.

I took a deep breath before replying.

Amy Rose: I know.

Hey. Honestly, I have had this mostly finished for over a week. However, with what's been happening in America right now it didn't feel like the time to post. I am just back from a protest in my own country. Please speak out, please donate, please sign petitions, and please stay safe.