Sally Acorn had let herself be consumed with worry as soon as Amy had left her after confessing two things to her: one, that Amy was, in fact, a lesbian; and, two, that she had romantic feelings for her.

As soon as the pink hedgehog had unceremoniously dumped that new information on her, she disappeared from Knothole Village. Sally had gone to her house to check on her a few days later. She had thought Amy had calmed down enough to talk through this situation they suddenly found themselves in, but no one was home. It was only when she began asking around for her friend did she run into Tails, who had told her about Amy fleeing to Angel Island. Presumably, it was a trip to get away from her.

This isn't good, Sally thought with a sigh, biting at her thumb as she paced to and fro in her living room. She had known Amy to be a bit reckless in the past—an unfortunate side effect of her determination, as well as her short temper—but she wasn't a coward. The Amy Rose she knew would charge head and hammer first into all kinds of danger.

She stopped and frowned to herself, folding her arms across her chest. Maybe the Amy Rose she had known up until now wasn't the real Amy. Sally looked up and saw the framed pictures on her wall, easily picking out the one where she stood arm-in-arm with the pink hedgehog, grinning at the camera.

No, that's stupid. Amy's still Amy, Sally firmly told herself. She shook her head, chasing those thoughts away as she took a seat in her favorite armchair. She sank down into it and began to rhythmically tap her fingers against her temple, staring up at that picture of the two of them together.

Amy's confession hadn't changed the way Sally felt about her friend of many years; of course, it was surprising to hear Amy was interested in her, but it hadn't bothered Sally in the least bit. It didn't matter to Sally that Amy was gay—they had been through too much together for her to dismiss her friend on such a small detail. Amy was much more than just her sexual orientation. She was strong, brave, and a wonderful friend to Sally.

Of course, she didn't say any of this when she had confessed to her. Sally shut her eyes and hit the arm of her chair with a fist, letting out a frustrated sigh. She should have said as much while Amy sat across from her with tears in her eyes. But of course, Sally had to hesitate and say none of this. Now Amy was several hundred miles away on Angel Island, hiding from the one person she needed most—the one person she thought she could trust the most.

Another famous Acorn blunder, she thought bitterly, bringing a hand up to run it through her hair. She turned her gaze away from the picture on the wall as a stone of guilt formed in her stomach. How was she to rule her people if she could hardly handle something this small scale? A princess should be a master of diplomacy, after all. This was becoming a master class of errors the longer she left it to fester.

She needed to fix this— but how on Mobius was she supposed to do that now? Amy had been gone for weeks now. All Sally had been doing was reassuring herself she still saw Amy as a trusted friend. She had just been stalling, and that fact made her insides twist in shame.

I'm awful. Sally leaned forward in her seat, holding her head in her hands. She shut her eyes tightly and gripped at her hair. She was trapped in one of her overanalyzing loops—highlighting every possible way her plans could go horribly wrong. It made her a careful strategist, but right now, she needed to act. She needed someone with Amy's drive to snap her out of it.

A knock at the front door brought her back down to reality. She looked up and sighed quietly, getting up to answer the door. She tried to push the Amy problem as far back as she could—whatever the knock was about would need her immediate attention.

Sally opened the door and couldn't help but smile when she saw Sonic standing on her doorstep. He had always helped her look on the brighter side of things—his visit was just what she needed.

"Hey, Sal," the blur grinned as she stepped outside to greet him. "Wanna go for a walk? You look like you could use some fresh air." He offered a hand to her, looking up at her expectantly. Sally snorted and took his hand in her own.

"Maybe you're right… But it's a walk, not a run. Got it, hotshot?" She gently teased, letting out a small giggle as Sonic rolled his eyes and nodded to her.

Sally let Sonic take the lead as they walked through Knothole, enjoying the sunshine and fresh air. She had to hand it to him; he was right about getting outside. Eventually the two of them made their way to the Power Ring Spring grotto. In the past, the two of them had made it their unofficial meeting place—many a private conversation had been had on its banks, and that put Sally back on edge.

What are we doing here? She turned to him in nervous curiosity, blinking in surprise as Sonic pulled away from her. He smiled at her and scratched at the back of his neck, uncharacteristically shy as he knelt down on one knee.

"Sonic?" Sally took a step back from him with a small frown. He reach forward and took her hand in his, holding it tightly. He looked up at her with a determined glint in his emerald eyes.

"Sally, we've been through a lot together," he began, obviously trying his best to pull a speech from thin air. He paused and swallowed hard. "I really think the connection we have is something real special, Sal. We make a great team together and I want to take this partnership to the next level." Sally froze as she watched Sonic pull something out from behind his back; in his hand was a small wreath of her favorite flowers, small enough to fit on a finger.

"I don't have a real ring yet, but… I figured this could make due for now," Sonic mumbled, slipping it onto her finger before he looked her in the eye again. His gaze was soft, vulnerable like she had never seen in him before. Sally's hand shook in his grip; she broke the gaze and looked down, staring at the ring.

What do I say? She slowly pulled her hand away from him, bringing it to her chest. She could feel her heart thumping against her rib-cage as panic started to set in.

The two of them had always had a casual sort of relationship—they were never an official couple. They had both dated around in the past, but they somehow always ended back at each other's side in the end. It was something unspoken between them—this playful attraction that had never really gotten serious.

They had their moments here and there, of course, but Sally had never expected this from Sonic. He had blindsided her. Of course, it had to be at one of the worst times to do so. He always did rush into things ahead of schedule.

She shut her eyes and turned away from him, clenching her hand into a fist over her heart, trying to get a grip on herself. She needed think logically about the situation she was suddenly thrust into. As she tried to think through her words, her mind kept drifting back to Amy.

Figures that they both pull this kind of stunt at the same time. Sally frowned to herself. She shook her head; she needed to think about Sonic right now, not Amy. Trying as hard as she could, however, Sally just couldn't close the dam on the stream of consciousness that focused in on the pink hedgehog. Instead, it began to overflow and overwhelm her.

Everything came rushing back to Sally, who was now helpless as her memories swarmed her. Every moment alone together, laughing and telling stories; every moment they helped pick the other up after they hit rock bottom; every battle they fought back-to-back. Amy had always been there for Sally. She realized that now. She also realized her heart was beating fast now for an entirely different reason.

Sally's eyes shot open, brought back out of her thoughts by the hand on her shoulder. She looked up and saw Sonic—his eyes now filled with worry.

"Sal? What do you say?" He asked with an insistent expectancy in his voice. Sally frowned back at him, once again looking down at the ring. She was taking too long to answer him—and she needed to answer.

Go with your gut, Acorn.

Sally sighed heavily as she slowly turned back to face him, slipping the ring off her finger. She held it gently, reaching for Sonic's hand with her own. She looked up at him and gave him a small smile as she placed the ring back into his hand, curling his fingers over it.

"Sonic, I couldn't have gotten this far without you, and I'll always be grateful to you for everything you've done," she started, her voice quiet but firm. "but this is as far as I want us to go. No. I won't marry you."

Sally felt her insides twist as she watched Sonic's face go from hopeful optimism to quiet realization. The hero frowned and let his hand fall to his side, looking away with a furrowed brow. She stepped forward to place a hand on his shoulder—Sonic flinched away from her and turned, putting his arms up behind his head with a long sigh.

"Well, I guess it was just a pipe-dream after all," he said, tilting his head up to look at the sky with feigned interest. "I mean, we still have that egghead Robuttnik to take care of first. I guess we can't rest till he's gone. "

Sally smiled slightly at him and nodded, moving to stand beside him again. She glanced up at him and nudged him gently. He turned back at her and returned the smile, holding out a hand to her. She took it. They firmly shook hands and Sonic pulled away with a small laugh. It seemed he was taking this, like with all things in his life, in stride.

"Guess we'll just forget this even happened, huh?" Sally blinked and hesitated for a moment, once again being thrown back to the last time she had seen Amy. As she was reminded of her missing friend, a new sense of urgency to bring her home bubbled up from deep within her chest.

"Yeah, guess we will," she eventually replied. She looked back over her shoulder towards Knothole, biting her lip as she finally made up her mind. "Hey… Do you think Tails could give me a ride somewhere?"