Disclaimer: I don't own any of the pop flavors mentioned in this chapter,
so ... you know.
'Don't You Trust Me?'
Chapter 3
((We're back at Sonic's house now))
Sonic came out of the kitchen carrying a box of assorted sodas. "Refreshments, anyone?" he caught the attention of the others, who were either talking or watching the TV, and they came over. "I got cans and bottles here, so you pick."
Several hands reached into the box and pulled out their favored drink, then walked back to what they were doing before. Sonic himself dug his hand into the box and pulled out a bottle of Pepsi. He twisted off the cap and took a long swig of it, finally ending the drink and breathing out contentedly before walking over to the rest of the group. Sonic plunked himself down between Tails and Rouge and turned up the volume on the TV.
Knuckles stood behind the couch, leaning against the wall and talking animatedly to Mighty. He had pushed the day's events out of his head and was laughing with his best friend, talking about the time when Mighty'd curled up to sleep, and Espio had accidently sat on him – mistaking him for a rock!
Knuckles chuckled, "Yeah, and then remember? I came over and tried ta sit on Espio? Cuz he had changed color?" he laughed.
Mighty nodded, shaking his head and smiling. "I know ... I remember that there was suddenly a rather large weight on me. Though in my dream it was me having to hold up all of Angel Island cuz it was fallin' to Mobius!"
They both laughed loudly at this thought.
"Oh come on, I don't weight that much!" Knuckles pursed his lips in mock anger, frowning at the armadillo.
"Oh no, certainly not!" Mighty's eyes widened in equally mock fear.
The conversation trailed off, for lack of something else to say at the moment, and Knuckles' ears picked up on Shadow's voice.
"In the cupboards? OK, Sonic. Be right back," Shadow stood up and went into the kitchen, Knuckles following him with his eyes out of curiousity.
"What's he getting?" he asked Tails.
"Chips," Tails replied.
"Oh," Knuckles said, and lifted his bottle of orange pop up to his lips. "Ooh!" the cap clinked against his teeth, and he looked at the offending metal. "Sonic, where's your bottle opener? This one's got one of those caps," he lifted the bottle up for Sonic to see.
"Oh, that. It's just on the counter. Can't miss it," Sonic waved in the direction of the kitchen, and Knuckles went of in search of the opener.
Shadow opened the wooden cupboards that were above the counter against the wall. "Man, I've never seen anyone with such a cluttered house!" he muttered lightly to himself, pushing assorted food out of the way in search of the potato chips.
Knuckles walked into the kitchen, looking around for the metal opener. He spotted it on the counter – just like Sonic had said. He sighed in frustration. It was right below where Shadow was searching.
Oh great, he thought, and walked over to Shadow.
"Hey, Shadow, could ya move outta the way for a second? I need to get that opener there," Knuckles pointed to the metal resting on the counter.
Shadow looked to who was talking. Knuckles. He rolled his eyes in an equal frustration to Knuckles'.
"I'm looking for something right now, can ya wait a minute?" he didn't really ask it. More like told.
"Nope," Knuckles stated simply.
Shadow's hand slightly came out of the cupboard as he looked at the echidna in disbelief.
"'Nope?'" the hedgehog repeated. "Did I hear you right?"
"Is it that hard to understand?" Knuckles tapped his spiky claw on the tile of the counter. "Now can I please get that opener?" he extended the 'please' in a sarcastic way.
Shadow frowned, furrowing his brows. "What is your problem?" he took his hands away from the cupboard and stared at Knuckles.
Knuckles didn't reach for the opener. This arguement was long overdue. "You! You black hedgehog!"
"Gee, that was a brilliant observation, knucklehead!"
"Oh, so now you've stooped to name-calling?" Knuckles' voice began to rise, as did Shadow's.
"Apparently you think that's all I'm capable of!" Shadow retorted.
"No, I also think you're capable of not being trusted!" the echidna bared his teeth just the slightest.
"Ooooh, pointy teeth. Wow, those sure scare me. And whaddya mean 'not being trusted'!?"
Knuckles outstretched his arm. "I need to say this again! Is it that hard to understand? Or are those quills blocking the route to your brain?"
"Oh, that was low. That hurt me. Not! I shoulda thought you'd have trouble trusting a newcomer. I'm surprised you trust anyone at all! All that guarding of the Master Emerald must have your brain on permanent paranoia!
Knuckles set his jaw, angry to say the least. "Do you trust me?" he asked.
Shadow's answer came almost instantaneously: "No."
Knuckles adopted a smug smile. "And why not?"
"Because you've refused to trust me! It's kinda hard to trust someone if they don't trust you back, don't you think!?"
"Maybe, but if you wouldn't keep butting in the way all the time, I would consider it!"
"You seem to be the only one who thinks so! All the others," Shadow gestured towards the kitchen door, "seem to like me!"
Their voices were rising to yelling point. Even with the closed bar-fashion door of the kitchen, the others could hear the angry tones.
"What are they doing in there?" Rouge frowned, looking towards the kitchen.
"Oh come on, this is pathetic," Tails shook his head.
"They've gotta be stopped. I can just see someone with their eye rolling around on the floor not to far off ..." Sonic stood up, putting his soda on a table nearby.
Back in the kitchen ...
"Yeah? Gee, ya think so? Well, that's their opinion!" Knuckles stormed on.
"Well, duh!" Shadow shook his head in anger. "Well I don't see why you can't trust me! I'm not the bad guy anymore!"
Knuckles' response came not in the form of words. He bared his teeth and growled, then swung hard at Shadow, but missed and barely grazed the black fur. Shadow flinched slightly.
"Hey! Hey stop!" came a voice from the kitchen entrance, and both the hedgehog and the echidna turned, surprised.
Sonic walked forward, frowning in disbelief and irritation. "What are you doing!?" he exclaimed. "Why are you fighting each other!? We're on the same side, now!"
The two stood, almost dumbfounded. They hadn't thought someone would come in. But they turned to face each other a second later, frowning angrily.
Sonic walked closer, and stood almost in between them, putting a hand on both Knuckles' and Shadow's chests, pushing them apart. "Stop it I said! No, not said, I ordered you! I don't want fighting here! Come on, can't you two just get along once? Just once?"
There was tense silence for an answer, and Sonic threw up his hands in exasperation, "Bah! You two are pathetic! I heard you, don't think I didn't! Trust? Come on! That shouldn't even be an issue! We're on the same team," he accented the last sentence with a force. "You two have too much pride to even consider each other! Trust isn't that hard to reach!" Sonic had made his point, and the echidna and black hedgehog stood there, not sure of what to do.
Knuckles finally closed his eyes, folded his arms, and sighed. "Fine ... I won't fight him. But I still don't trust him yet."
Shadow rolled his eyes, but nodded in agreement.
Sonic sighed long in further exasperation, then put up his hands, turning away. "Good! Good! Now come on, guys! I'm both of your friends! No fighting, OK? You promise?" the blue hedgehog turned back to the two and smiled. "Now come on! Let's go have some fun, OK?"
Knuckles smiled and nodded, then reached over and grabbed the bottle opener. Shadow smiled half-heartedly.
Both avoided each other mostly for the rest of the night, but Sonic's last words still rang in both of their heads, implanted there: 'Trust isn't that hard to reach.'
End of Chapter 3
OOOH! CHARACTER CONFLICT!! ^_^ YAY!! I mean ... that's bad! Oh well! Enjoy the rest of the fic!
'Don't You Trust Me?'
Chapter 3
((We're back at Sonic's house now))
Sonic came out of the kitchen carrying a box of assorted sodas. "Refreshments, anyone?" he caught the attention of the others, who were either talking or watching the TV, and they came over. "I got cans and bottles here, so you pick."
Several hands reached into the box and pulled out their favored drink, then walked back to what they were doing before. Sonic himself dug his hand into the box and pulled out a bottle of Pepsi. He twisted off the cap and took a long swig of it, finally ending the drink and breathing out contentedly before walking over to the rest of the group. Sonic plunked himself down between Tails and Rouge and turned up the volume on the TV.
Knuckles stood behind the couch, leaning against the wall and talking animatedly to Mighty. He had pushed the day's events out of his head and was laughing with his best friend, talking about the time when Mighty'd curled up to sleep, and Espio had accidently sat on him – mistaking him for a rock!
Knuckles chuckled, "Yeah, and then remember? I came over and tried ta sit on Espio? Cuz he had changed color?" he laughed.
Mighty nodded, shaking his head and smiling. "I know ... I remember that there was suddenly a rather large weight on me. Though in my dream it was me having to hold up all of Angel Island cuz it was fallin' to Mobius!"
They both laughed loudly at this thought.
"Oh come on, I don't weight that much!" Knuckles pursed his lips in mock anger, frowning at the armadillo.
"Oh no, certainly not!" Mighty's eyes widened in equally mock fear.
The conversation trailed off, for lack of something else to say at the moment, and Knuckles' ears picked up on Shadow's voice.
"In the cupboards? OK, Sonic. Be right back," Shadow stood up and went into the kitchen, Knuckles following him with his eyes out of curiousity.
"What's he getting?" he asked Tails.
"Chips," Tails replied.
"Oh," Knuckles said, and lifted his bottle of orange pop up to his lips. "Ooh!" the cap clinked against his teeth, and he looked at the offending metal. "Sonic, where's your bottle opener? This one's got one of those caps," he lifted the bottle up for Sonic to see.
"Oh, that. It's just on the counter. Can't miss it," Sonic waved in the direction of the kitchen, and Knuckles went of in search of the opener.
Shadow opened the wooden cupboards that were above the counter against the wall. "Man, I've never seen anyone with such a cluttered house!" he muttered lightly to himself, pushing assorted food out of the way in search of the potato chips.
Knuckles walked into the kitchen, looking around for the metal opener. He spotted it on the counter – just like Sonic had said. He sighed in frustration. It was right below where Shadow was searching.
Oh great, he thought, and walked over to Shadow.
"Hey, Shadow, could ya move outta the way for a second? I need to get that opener there," Knuckles pointed to the metal resting on the counter.
Shadow looked to who was talking. Knuckles. He rolled his eyes in an equal frustration to Knuckles'.
"I'm looking for something right now, can ya wait a minute?" he didn't really ask it. More like told.
"Nope," Knuckles stated simply.
Shadow's hand slightly came out of the cupboard as he looked at the echidna in disbelief.
"'Nope?'" the hedgehog repeated. "Did I hear you right?"
"Is it that hard to understand?" Knuckles tapped his spiky claw on the tile of the counter. "Now can I please get that opener?" he extended the 'please' in a sarcastic way.
Shadow frowned, furrowing his brows. "What is your problem?" he took his hands away from the cupboard and stared at Knuckles.
Knuckles didn't reach for the opener. This arguement was long overdue. "You! You black hedgehog!"
"Gee, that was a brilliant observation, knucklehead!"
"Oh, so now you've stooped to name-calling?" Knuckles' voice began to rise, as did Shadow's.
"Apparently you think that's all I'm capable of!" Shadow retorted.
"No, I also think you're capable of not being trusted!" the echidna bared his teeth just the slightest.
"Ooooh, pointy teeth. Wow, those sure scare me. And whaddya mean 'not being trusted'!?"
Knuckles outstretched his arm. "I need to say this again! Is it that hard to understand? Or are those quills blocking the route to your brain?"
"Oh, that was low. That hurt me. Not! I shoulda thought you'd have trouble trusting a newcomer. I'm surprised you trust anyone at all! All that guarding of the Master Emerald must have your brain on permanent paranoia!
Knuckles set his jaw, angry to say the least. "Do you trust me?" he asked.
Shadow's answer came almost instantaneously: "No."
Knuckles adopted a smug smile. "And why not?"
"Because you've refused to trust me! It's kinda hard to trust someone if they don't trust you back, don't you think!?"
"Maybe, but if you wouldn't keep butting in the way all the time, I would consider it!"
"You seem to be the only one who thinks so! All the others," Shadow gestured towards the kitchen door, "seem to like me!"
Their voices were rising to yelling point. Even with the closed bar-fashion door of the kitchen, the others could hear the angry tones.
"What are they doing in there?" Rouge frowned, looking towards the kitchen.
"Oh come on, this is pathetic," Tails shook his head.
"They've gotta be stopped. I can just see someone with their eye rolling around on the floor not to far off ..." Sonic stood up, putting his soda on a table nearby.
Back in the kitchen ...
"Yeah? Gee, ya think so? Well, that's their opinion!" Knuckles stormed on.
"Well, duh!" Shadow shook his head in anger. "Well I don't see why you can't trust me! I'm not the bad guy anymore!"
Knuckles' response came not in the form of words. He bared his teeth and growled, then swung hard at Shadow, but missed and barely grazed the black fur. Shadow flinched slightly.
"Hey! Hey stop!" came a voice from the kitchen entrance, and both the hedgehog and the echidna turned, surprised.
Sonic walked forward, frowning in disbelief and irritation. "What are you doing!?" he exclaimed. "Why are you fighting each other!? We're on the same side, now!"
The two stood, almost dumbfounded. They hadn't thought someone would come in. But they turned to face each other a second later, frowning angrily.
Sonic walked closer, and stood almost in between them, putting a hand on both Knuckles' and Shadow's chests, pushing them apart. "Stop it I said! No, not said, I ordered you! I don't want fighting here! Come on, can't you two just get along once? Just once?"
There was tense silence for an answer, and Sonic threw up his hands in exasperation, "Bah! You two are pathetic! I heard you, don't think I didn't! Trust? Come on! That shouldn't even be an issue! We're on the same team," he accented the last sentence with a force. "You two have too much pride to even consider each other! Trust isn't that hard to reach!" Sonic had made his point, and the echidna and black hedgehog stood there, not sure of what to do.
Knuckles finally closed his eyes, folded his arms, and sighed. "Fine ... I won't fight him. But I still don't trust him yet."
Shadow rolled his eyes, but nodded in agreement.
Sonic sighed long in further exasperation, then put up his hands, turning away. "Good! Good! Now come on, guys! I'm both of your friends! No fighting, OK? You promise?" the blue hedgehog turned back to the two and smiled. "Now come on! Let's go have some fun, OK?"
Knuckles smiled and nodded, then reached over and grabbed the bottle opener. Shadow smiled half-heartedly.
Both avoided each other mostly for the rest of the night, but Sonic's last words still rang in both of their heads, implanted there: 'Trust isn't that hard to reach.'
End of Chapter 3
OOOH! CHARACTER CONFLICT!! ^_^ YAY!! I mean ... that's bad! Oh well! Enjoy the rest of the fic!