"I still can't believe they asked you to speak at Career Day," Amy told Sonic as they made their way to the stage. Sonic nodded at the human girl. "And I still can't believe they didn't ask you to speak at "Snide Comment Day"."
Penny let out a giggle.
"Great to be here at..." Comedy Chip began, and pulled out a card, read it, and slumped. Then he brightened up again and continued. "Being a comedian is great. I get to travel all over the island, rub elbows with the cultural elite, and get my face on lunch boxes. Of course, I haven't seen a dime on those stupid things. Remember kids, don't negotiate your own deals."
"Have you ever considered a career in the postal arts?" Leroy asked.
"My advice for Career Day is don't work at all. Simply descend from a long line of wealthy aristocrats. I'm surprised more of you peasants don't try it." Lady Walrus said.
Finally, it was Sonic's turn. The blue hedgehog stood on top of the stage, grinning excitedly at the crowd. " He had us cornered. All hope was lost. That's when I leaped off the wall with a 360 flip," He grinned as he did a backflip to demonstrate, "Drop kicked his robot minions, and spin-dashed Eggman's Bash-Up Bot!"
The audience cheered, however, Penny and Amy looked annoyed as the blue hedgehog smirked, lazily dropping the mic to the ground.
"Oh boy! There he is! Sonic the Hedgehog!"
Sonic turned around to see a tapir running up to him with excitement on his face. Sonic frowned, turning to Mark. "Aren't you a bit old for Career Day?"
"I am not a student, actually." The tapir said. "I just wanted to meet you. Mark the Tapir. Hi, I'm your biggest fan."
He held out his hand to Sonic, who took it. The two shook for a while, but Sonic felt a little weird at how Mark was going a little too crazy about the handshake. "Okay, that's enough handshaking."
"Yeah, right, sorry." Mark apologized, tapping his fingers. He grinned at Sonic. "Hey, seeing that your hand is now free, can I get your autograph?"
"Mm, sure. Got any paper?" Sonic asked with a sigh.
Mark frowned as he patted his pockets for paper, and then looked panicked. "Forgot the paper." He moaned, slapping his head a couple of times. "Stupid, stupid!"
"It's okay, really. Maybe next time." Sonic said with a smile.
Mark grinned evilly as he watched Sonic walk off with Penny. "Yeah, next time. I'll see you real soon, Sonic."
At Meh Burger...
Sonic was about to head over to their normal table when Mark popped out of nowhere. Sonic let out a yelp as Mark eyed him a little too close.
"Told ya I'd see you real soon! Isn't that funny?" Mark asked with a laugh. "Hey, wanna sit with me?"
"Uh... I was going to sit with my buds," Sonic said, pointing over to their table. Penny had an empty chair next to her, waiting patiently for Sonic to join.
Mark nodded. "I totally understand."
Sonic eagerly sat down next to Penny.
"What was that all about?" Penny asked.
"Eh, biggest fan, he says," Sonic said.
Penny yelped and covered her ears as a screeching noise filled the air. Sonic turned around and his eyes widened to see Mark pulling up a table. He sat next to the group, and Penny felt a chill going through her spine at the eerie grin he was giving them.
Sonic sighed. "Gang, this is Mark the Tapir, my biggest fan. Mark, this is the gang."
Mark looked extra excited. "I can't believe I'm having lunch with Sonic the Hedgehog! We've even ordered the exact same meal: chili dog, fries, and a grape soda!"
"I got an orange soda."
"This is all wrong!" Mark snapped. He ran over to the counter and tapped it.
Amy frowned at Sonic. "Your friend's a little... intense. It's clear he has an unhealthy attachment to you."
"And you should know..." Tails began to add but was stopped by Amy's angry growl. Tails gulped nervously. "..because you took that psychology class."
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Penny added, glancing at Sonic with worry. "Mark is...I dunno..."
"He's just a fan," Sonic reassured the human girl, patting her shoulder. "I've got dozens of them! Of course, he's the first one who doesn't criticize everything I do.
"Hmph. If anyone deserves a fan, it's me. Look at this!" Knuckles announced, and he began balancing plates on sticks perfectly until Mark bounced up, knocking into Knuckles, who ended up dropping the plates. Mark grinned, holding out his cup. "Orange soda! Just like you, Sonic!"
Sonic chuckled nervously. "Actually, we've just finished eating," he said. "Come on, Penny."
However, Mark grinned, standing up as well, holding up his plate of non-eaten food. "Oh, yeah. Me too, me too." He threw his tray in the nearest trash can and grinned at Sonic. "Great having lunch with ya! Maybe next time I can bake you a pie at my cabin. The door is always open. Except when it's locked and deadbolted, then nobody gets in. Or out."
At that, Penny shuddered. Why did that seem weird?
"Well, bye!" Mark waved goodbye and walked off.
"See?" Sonic asked with a smile. "Nice guy!"
"I don't know, Sonic," Penny frowned. "There's something strange about this."
The rest of the gang nodded in agreement.
Later, Penny sat in her room, crossing her arms with a frown. Sonic had been spending so much time with Mark and so little time with her...however, that was all Mark's fault. Whenever Sonic and Penny went to do something together, Mark always interrupted them, pushing Penny aside and pulling Sonic into another direction. Now, he was giving Sonic a massage.
Penny sighed as she picked out her outfit to wear to the movies with her friends. Hearing talking, Penny knew it was time to go, and she sighed, braiding her hair and walking down.
"Hey, guys." Penny smiled. She turned to Sonic. "You ready to go?"
"Go where?" Sonic asked.
"We got tickets to see "Captain Garbage 3: Secret of the Garbage". Want to come with?" Tails asked.
Knuckles grinned excitedly. "It's supposed to answer all the questions from "Captain Garbage 2"!"
"I'm in!" Sonic said, hopping out of the massage table, and offered his arm to Penny. Finally, they were going to...
"Wait!" Mark said, ruining the moment again. "I'm supposed to interview you tonight for your memoirs."
Seeing Penny's disappointed expression, Sonic frowned at Mark. "We'll do it another time..."
"But-but-but... We should at least finalize the cover." Mark said, holding out a cover. "They can go on ahead. I'll give you a lift after we're done."
Sonic sighed and gave Penny a hug. "Sorry about this. Once I get this settled, we can do something together."
Penny nodded, still looking down. She joined the rest of the team, and they walked out to the theaters.
...
After the movie, the gang was talking excitedly about the movie. Knuckles sniffled. "Who would've thought the secret of the garbage was...LOVE?!" He gasped, turning to Amy and Penny.
"I can't believe Sonic missed it." Amy frowned. She pressed her communicator. Nothing. "And he is not answering his Communicator. Maybe Mark knows where he is."
"I hope so," Penny said. "Because I'm starting to worry."
...
Knuckles frowned. " Are you sure this is Mark's place?"
"I don't know. Call it a hunch." Amy said sarcastically. She knocked on the door, and Mark entered, glancing at them. Penny glanced nervously at Mark. "Uhh...do you know where Sonic is?"
Mark frowned. "Hmm... Sonic, Sonic, Sonic... A blue guy, runs fast? Nope, haven't seen him."
Penny's eyes went wide as muffled screams were heard from inside the cabin, and the rest of the team glared at Mark, who stuttered. "That's my Sonic's-muffled-scream oven timer. Gotta go!" He said and slammed the door.
"We've gotta get into that cabin!" Amy said.
The gang walked around the cabin for a while. Penny took one step forward and accidentally stepped on a rope on the ground. Hearing creaking, everyone glanced up to see a log swinging towards them. Penny let out a startled scream, and then everything went black.
...
Penny let out a moan of pain. Where was she? Why couldn't she move?
She glanced around the room... it was a small bedroom. She didn't know where the others were. She glanced around nervously, and she heard talking in the other room.
"What's going on?"
That was Tails.
"Quiet, Tails!" She heard Mark snap. "You were all injured by a cleverly designed booby-trap that I had nothing to do with. But don't worry. I am here to take care of you now.."
"Wait, where's Penny?" She heard Sonic growl. It was coming from her right. They were in separate rooms, but why was she separated from the others instead of being with them?
"It turns out that she seemed more nauseous than the rest of you, so I placed her in a separate room for recovery," Mark answered.
"You'd better not touch her, Mark!" Sonic snarled.
Hearing a beeping noise, Mark ran out of the room. "Ooh! More pie for my new friends!"
Penny moved her head to her right and called out to Sonic. "Sonic?"
"Are you okay?" Sonic called.
"Yes, I'm fine!" Penny answered.
Sonic sighed in relief. "Sorry for not trusting you about Mark. We need to take him out."
"But we're all injured and stuck in these body casts." Tails pointed out. Sonic nodded. "True, but there's one of him and five of us."
Penny really didn't know what was happening. All she could hear was fighting going on in the other room, and the next thing she knew, the door opened, and Sonic spun in, breaking the cast off her.
"Sonic!" Penny grinned happily.
Seeing Mark come in, Sonic quickly grabbed the tape and wrapped it around him. Amy sighed, shaking her head. "You always overdo it with the sports tape."
Mark giggled in excitement. "I can't believe I'm being defeated by Sonic the Hedgehog! This is the greatest day of my life!"
Sonic glared at Mark. "Mark, if it's not already clear, you're fired."
Later...
"Man, that was a nightmare." Tails shook his head. Sonic nodded. He glanced at Penny. "I'm sorry about all of that, really." He smiled. "How about we go out, you and me?"
"I'd like that," Penny smiled. Sonic grinned back and turned to the rest of the group. "At least I learned to keep a healthy relationship with my fans."
A young shrew named Beth ran up, excitement in her eyes. "Can I have your autograph, mister?" She asked Sonic innocently.
Sonic let out a petrified scream and zoomed away.
Penny glanced at the others, and they burst out laughing.
Next Chapter: I Can See Sonic's Fear From Here