Amy stayed in bed until she heard the birds start to sing in the new dawn and she trudged over to her dresser to start getting ready for the day ahead.
Once she was dressed, she made her way into the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea—she didn't feel much like eating after the previous night's events. As she reached for a mug in one of the cupboards, she heard a knock at the door. Amy paused and sighed heavily as she abandoned the task to see who was knocking at such an early hour. She had a few ideas about who it might be…
She took a deep breath and put on a smile, opening the door and peeking out at her morning visitor. It was none other than the blue blur himself, arms crossed over his chest and foot tapping the ground impatiently. Amy's heart sank. She would get no respite from her emotional breakdown after all.
"Oh! Good morning, Sonic!" She chirped as cheerfully as she could while her stomach immediately started twisting into anxious knots. Sonic smirked at the pink hedgehog when she finally opened the door, giving her a casual wave.
"Morning, Aimes. Took ya long enough to answer—slow morning, huh?" He teased, putting his hands on his hips. "Hey, I know it's early," he quickly added when Amy frowned at him, knowing how quick tempered and violent she could get. "But I gotta ask you something important and it couldn't wait."
There was a small pause between them as Amy mentally kicked herself for having even answered the door in the first place.
Seriously? She thought, grinding her teeth a little in frustration. If she turned him away, she'd never hear the end of it— Sonic was never one to give up or drop something important. If she let him in, she wasn't sure that she would be able to keep her act together.
"Aimes? Hey, Amy!"
She blinked and looked up at Sonic in surprise; he had moved closer and was waving a hand in her face. Her cheeks suddenly grew hot as she realized she had gotten lost in thought.
"Oh, sure thing, Sonic," she said as she stepped aside for him to pass into her house, shutting the door behind them. "Can you make it quick? I've got a lot of important stuff to do today."
Sonic snorted and shrugged, putting his arms up behind his head as he made his way over to the couch in Amy's living room to sit down. She followed him and sat across from him in an armchair, trying to put some space between them. Maybe if he didn't get too close he wouldn't notice how out of sorts she was feeling.
But then again, he never really pays me much attention… That thought brought her some comfort and she relaxed a little into her seat.
There was another pause as Amy watched Sonic get comfortable in her home; he brought a foot up onto one knee and nonchalantly flicked some dirt off his shoe. She frowned and crossed her arms over her chest, clearing her throat.
"So? What's so important?" She asked a little sharper than she had intended. Sonic glanced over at her in slight surprise but shrugged it off.
"I want to propose to Sally," he said bluntly; as soon as the words left his lips, an icy chill rippled through her. She couldn't breathe for a moment as she processed the shocking news. What did he just say? Propose?
"W-what?" She croaked, gripping at the hem of her dress tightly, trying to find something to ground herself to as her world was rocked yet again. Sonic rubbed at the back of his head and frowned, pretending to be preoccupied with the pattern of the carpet on the floor.
"Listen, Amy, I know you've got this weird thing for me or whatever, but—" he stopped as he thought for the right words,"—but that's just not gunna happen, you know?" He scratched at his cheek and glanced back over at her, waiting for Amy to either say or do something—violent or otherwise.
She blinked back at him in surprise, having almost forgotten that no one but her had been a part of her breakthrough from the evening before. Everyone—including the blur himself—still thought she was romantically interested in him. Quickly remembering she was trying to put on a normal face, she looked down at her feet to avoid his gaze.
"O-oh, well, I—I just meant that—"she stopped and gasped as Sonic grabbed her hand in his own. She looked up to see him leaning towards her, a serious look on his face.
"You're like a sister to me, Amy. That's why I knew I could come to you with something as big as this," he murmured, giving her hand a comforting squeeze. Amy swallowed hard and tried to smile at him as he continued. "I want to propose to Sal. I don't know when, but… I know I want to spend my life with her. Grow old and junk…"
She watched his face carefully as he spoke; the flickering flame of desire she had always seen in his emerald eyes when talking about Sally seemed… Different now. There was a warmth that she hadn't noticed until now.
She felt the ache in her chest come back to her. With every word he spoke about marriage plans, a stabbing pain shot through her. The prospect of losing Sally was slowly cementing itself into her reality. She tried her best to put on the supportive face but the sting of tears threatening to spill over was too much and Amy found herself crying.
She pulled back from a surprised Sonic as she covered her face with her hands, unable to stop the tears any longer. She didn't look up when she felt a hand on her shoulder as Sonic tried to comfort her.
"H-hey, Amy, it's okay… C'mon, you can't seriously be crying over that kid crush, right? Look, I'm not going to stop being your friend just because Sal and I get married…"
Stupid! It's not about you! She thought bitterly, gritting her teeth as she listened to him drone on. She sniffed and wiped at her eyes, shaking her head and pulling back from him. There was an awkward silence as she tried to regain her composure—neither of them made eye contact until Amy had calmed down enough to speak.
"I'm just… So happy for you," she muttered as convincingly as she could without bursting into tears again. The words tasted bitter in her mouth. It was all obvious lies, but Sonic seemed to take it as fact. She glanced up to see him grinning at her, too taken up with his own excitement about his special plans. He rubbed at the back of his neck and scuffed the carpet with his shoe.
"Thanks, Aimes… I hope she says yes," he laughed and reached forward, ruffling her quills as he walked past her towards the door to let himself out. "Listen, you can't tell anyone, okay? I want to surprise her with it…"
Amy grunted; she heard him open and shut the door. She let out a shaky breath and leaned forward, bringing her hands back up to her face.
"Oh, Chaos, what am I going to do?" She whispered to herself, gripping at her quills as she stared down at the floor, letting the tears fall passively.
If she said nothing to Sally and let Sonic propose… If Sally said yes… Amy knew she would regret it for the rest of her life. She wouldn't be able to bear seeing them together in marital bliss. She already couldn't even bear to see them kissing. She might have to leave Knothole, might have to start all over again, without her best friend in the whole world to help her brave through it all. Her head swam with these possible futures until she finally settled on one.
She sat up and clenched her hands into fists in her lap, a rush of determination surging through her.
"Alright then," she mumbled, standing and dusting herself off. She wiped at her eyes once more and smoothed her quills before she marched towards the door, stepping out into the daylight.
I don't have any choice… If I lose her, I'll do it on my terms.
