Lightning-Dono: Another update, because I have much more time! Dialogue is a BIG part of this chapter. xD
The quote at the beginning is a couple of lines from Simple Plan's "Addicted".
I know this fanfic has a lot of character parts and everyone is just...everywhere, but it'll all come together eventually.
Answers to the Reviews
Sky the Hedgehog – It's okay, I'm not a big fan of profanity, either. But my 7th grade Language Arts teacher once said that as much as swear words are detestable, they really convey angry emotions. Tails and Sonic are growing up, and this fanfic isn't so "happy", "Sonic-saves-the-day", because...that universe is really cliche. Nope, I'm just a homophobe, but there's nothing wrong with gay or les people. I dunno, my high school might be different. Okies, see yous!
WishesAreEternal – Yes, I see what you mean. xD Sonic was such a jerk. Thank you!
Shadw – Yup, Tails is alive! I wouldn't kill off one of my favorite characters, would I? o.o Or maybe I would...it depends. Eggman's mean because despite the ending of SA2B, I still think that if he's a bad guy, he still has it in him. Thank you, and the monkey is the monkey named Xero that Tails was calling for a couple chapters before.
RemedyTheThief – xX; My house has no ice cream since we ran out...come again soon! Lol! Yup, I'm going to update since I have a bit of inspiration for this.
Inferno-Hero – Aw, I'm sorry! My friend punctured her knee with a nail accidentally when she fell down the stairs. o.o Of course you're not a retard! You're just trying to...live with it.
seastone130 – Thanks so much! I'll update soon, yes!
WishesAreEternal – ATLEAST they're alive – Tails and Amy are pretty much the life of the story, since Sonic is...very inactive in terms of migrating from place to place.
Akik0 – First off, your username is awesome. Secondly, those reviews really made my day: D I'm glad you like the way I write – personally don't take tremendous pride in it, but hey, I'm the type of person who likes to put down her work so she can get better. xD Yup, they're all a tad bit older! I figured it would give them much time to change, since if Sonic were still 16 or whatever he was before...it wouldn't make much of a difference. So glad you like the fact that she's a singer! I always thought that the songs that her voice actresses sing for her are pretty good, so I figured she should be one...I like Rouge! Then again, it's only because she's sneaky and somewhat intelligent. o.o I've never watched FLCL. Is it any good? I've heard the music, and it sounds odd. xD Tee-hee, Amy being a forlorn angel is just another way for me to describe her. She's the most innocent person in the story other than Tails and she's pretty much alone in her problems. I should stop this unless I want this reply to be longer than the chapter itself. o.0
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I tried to make you happy
But you left anyway
I'm trying to forget that
I'm addicted to you
-
"The nerve of him! I can't believe he just left!" Rouge thought aloud. From behind the skyscrapers that scratched the clouds ever so slightly, the sun was setting in an array of different shades of orange and gold. Years ago, she would have been captivated by such a breath taking view. Now, she was educated enough to know that what she saw here wasn't nearly as genuine and wonderful as it would be had she been at the beach, or in a meadow. As she thought about this, her eyes seemed to be more focused on the gathering pollution that was dense around the airspace of the metropolis.
There was a pause in which Rouge looked down to find a gigantic traffic jam caused by a broken down bus, driven by a rather flustered bus driver who looked like he would faint on the spot if he were approached by another complainer.
"Then again...I let him go...and he was pretty sick." She sighed exasperatedly. "I suppose I should go visit him...I am just too nice." In one hand she held a bag of sequins purchased from an art shop. She had planned to decorate her clothing with them, but as she flew west, she gathered the blue ones into the palm of her hand. "He had better be thankful for this!"
-
There was a sharp knock at the door.
Sonic woke with a start fumbling hazily for his keys that he had placed on the coffee table the night before. Mumbling to himself, he managed to get to his feet, stick the key into the deadbolt, turn the door knob, and gaze at the visitor in wonder.
"What are you doing here?" He asked, his vision bleary and looking like he had just gotten out of a steam bath.
The bat stared. "I just thought I'd check on you," she said slowly, unable to remove her eyes from this horrendous spectacle. No respectable gentleman would open the door for his girlfriend looking like a blob of sweat. "Besides, you probably couldn't handle everything, since you're sick."
"Thanks for caring," Sonic coughed, tramping back to the couch and throwing himself onto it. Lying his metallic blue blanket over his body, he attempted to sleep. However, Rouge wouldn't allow this vital bit of rest. Shaking him awake in a graceful motion, she extended her arm towards him. On the palm of her hand, twinkling with shining colors, were an array of blue sequins, all in different shades.
"W-Why'd you get me these?" Sonic questioned, plucking them off her hand one-by-one and holding them up to the light, letting the light lance off the individual sequins onto the walls. "The least you could've done was get me some orange juice...I ran out." He coughed again and dropped the miniscule pile of sequins on the ground.
Rouge stood up haughtily, hands on her hips, her temper rising like the sun did in the mornings. She felt like evaporating all of Sonic's disgusting sweat and scorching him into a fried hedgehog.
"So," she said, her voice raised half an octave, but steadily rising. "You know how to make a woman miserable, don't you?"
The formerly speedy hedgehog sighed and lay his hand on his forehead as a sign of fever. "I'm really tired, Rouge. Could we save this for tomorrow?" Suppressing a monstrously large yawn, he turned over into the cushion and stared into its velvety depths.
A purse whirled through the air at an astonishingly high speed, which, in midair, released a half-empty bottle of nail polish and a bag of unfinished chocolate-dipped raisins.
"I flew all the way from across town, just to check on you!" Exclaimed Rouge, trying to keep her rising voice under control for a moment. However, the hatred still soaked through like a tower that had been flung into a swimming pool. "And frankly if you don't appreciate it, I should have ceased to come at all!"
"Then maybe you should have," Sonic said exasperatedly. "It would've saved you a great deal less of heartache."
"What does that mean?" She asked bitterly, recovering the remnants of a shattered bottle of nail polish and smearing the contents onto the hardwood floor behind the couch as a sign of contempt. "You don't love me anymore because you're sick and I came to give you something so girly? Is that it?"
Sonic sighed and elevated himself slightly to see over the couch's back. "I never said any of that, so you can lower the severity of those assumptions. Jumping to conclusions was never a good thing."
"So, how about you tell me what you will say?" Rouge challenged, her lips pulled back in a smirk that looked more like a maniacal smile.
Sonic tried to sound casual, but he couldn't help but wonder how she could be so crafty. What kind of person would push answers about of someone so forcefully? She knows that. She's trying to take advantage of my weakness. "You're not the only one involved in this, you know."
Something clicked inside Rouge's head as she grinned almost painfully.
"Ooh, is this about that Amy chick?" She simpered, watching his expression knowingly. "Don't think you can make me think otherwise – a few months with you and I've got your personality down smack."
"Rouge, don't be illogical," Sonic replied uncomfortable, squirming beneath his blanket like a snake wriggling and shedding worn skin. "I've told you that I don't have any feelings for her anymore." This, of course, was something bordering that of a lie. The thought of Amy being hurt in that dream continued to haunt him, and the only thing Sonic liked about Rouge was the fact that she wasn't whiny. Either way, it was all part of his ploy to eventually get Amy once she realized that he was mature enough to uphold a decent relationship. Then again, he wasn't quite sure this was a good idea. After all, she probably didn't care anymore after his display of rotten emotions towards her in their last few rows.
The bat threw her hands up in the air, relatively close to spewing a bunch of swear words right into her boyfriend's face. "You know what I think of that? It's complete bull. In fact, everything about this relationship is! It's just a phony scam of trying to get your 'true' love to notice, isn't it?"
How in the world did she read my mind?
"You read too many romance novels, Rouge." Sonic lied smoothly, holding back the cough that was rising in his throat. "Haven't you realized that I'm the most dependable person, especially towards those I care about?"
Rouge narrowed her eyes. "And you're implying that you care about me?"'
"Of course I do," he replied coolly, carefully avoiding her fiery gaze.
"Look at me," Rouge commanded, her voice leaving no room for nonsense. Nevertheless, Sonic refused to turn. "Look at me!"
The blue hedgehog obeyed and, rather painfully, cast his eyes around her face and perfect body. A few years ago, he wouldn't have cared anything about anyone's appearance, but being famous had introduced him to so many wonderful women. For some reason, he lusted after what they looked like while still remaining eternally loyal to Amy. Sonic was suddenly beginning to think that it was only because their friendship had come so far.
What about Tails, huh? He's your pal, but you shot him down with cruelty. Nagged a small voice in the back of Sonic's mind as he attempted to focus more on what Rouge was saying, not his internal thoughts.
"Who do you want more?" She asked, a jazzy sound to her voice that made Sonic's mind immediately shoot to the image of a saxophone. Her voice softened slightly as she repeated it with a look of desperation that was almost too much for Sonic to bear. "I broke up with Knuckles, I'm in denial...I've always claimed to be independent, but I actually really, very much wanted a guy I could be with. Who do you love more? Me, a mature lady who knows how to display her feelings properly or Amy, a girl who's never experienced a single kiss before?"
Silence ensued the room just as quickly as this question had come. For a second, Sonic's mind blanked out in surprise. How could he choose one without hurting the other? Forget that, how could Rouge even ask such a rash question? This was something that was to be answered in the period of a few days, not in a few seconds. But in the end, he was still talking to Rouge, not Amy. A little white lie couldn't hurt.
It won't hurt now, but it will hurt you in the long run, came the devious voice in his mind.
Oh well. Better now than never – as long as Rouge thinks I love her more...
"I-I think I like you better," Sonic replied almost fearfully.
That very answer had sealed his doomed love life.