I just want to put out there that I do not support the decisions of the characters in this fic! It's for story purposes only. Thank you for the continued interest in this fic, it truly means a lot! With that being said, Chapter 12... Let's get on with it eh?

The pink hedgehog fiddled with her fingers contemplating whether to call the current number displayed on her dial pad. A simple huff forced her to realise that over-complicating this was going to get her nowhere.

A couple of rings were enough for her to get through to the scruffy line on the other end. "Hi Rob, I er- got your number from Rouge, I need your help with something."

That was a lie. She'd snuck through Rouge's phone to get his number. For all she knew, Berlinda had misinterpreted the account holder name and it was nothing to worry about. Worrying them for something she wasn't sure would present as a problem was unnecessary. So for now, she'd keep this to herself.

She heard his muffled voice from the other end of the line. "Sure thing, what's it about?"

"I'm sending you an account number now. I need you to dig out details of the person that recently transferred money into their account. You can do that, right?" She questioned his abilities slightly.

It went silent for a moment. "I can do that. Though I'm curious, why do you need to look into details?"

She had forgotten Rob had a particular way of working. Him and his morals. Of course. "I'm worried that stolen money is being transferred over from a dodgy account and-"

"Consider it done. I'll be in touch as soon as I can." She heard Rob cut her off causing her to smile at how reluctant he was to do this. "Thanks Rob."

A simple click was enough to cut the call and bring her back to the current activities she had for today. For now, she could leave the account holder mystery with Rob. That was one less thing to worry about. But Sonar was going to come over later today, something she had mixed feelings about.

Things had changed, she had physically felt it over the phone call they had yesterday. The pretense certainly felt a lot more forced to her, now that Amy broke from the chains of lies the blue hedgehog had told her. She needed more time to prepare herself. Today had come much quicker than she had anticipated and with each passing second, she felt uneasy.

The timing of her doorbell ringing was uncanny. The pink hedgehog knew immediately who her guest was. She could feel his presence from miles away. An aura she couldn't quite explain.

As if someone had yelled 'action!', Amy plastered a smile on her face as she opened the door. And so the act began. Another pretense she had yet to master.

"Sonar! I've been waiting for you." She sweetly smiled, perfectly hiding her ulterior motives from him. Internally she cringed. She had rehearsed how she'd greet him many times though this was the worst one yet.

The blue hedgehog raised an eyebrow at how enthusiastic she sounded before allowing himself to enter her room. To her he looked refreshed. A simple white button up shirt and denim shorts perfectly outlined his handsome features.

She wasn't going to deny that she still found him attractive. Granted, she hated his guts but he was still eye candy to her, one which she didn't quite mind looking at.

She jumped slightly as he turned to face her. "It's good to be back." The blue hedgehog paused to see a slightly jumpy Amy and carefully made his way towards her.

"Nervous?" He whispered whilst looking down at his pink companion, who stared at his shoes. He carefully lifted her chin with his finger to face up to him, her eyes glossy.

"You have that effect, and you know that." She barely made out. Her answer caused the blue hedgehog to let out a small laugh.

He removed his finger from under her chin and used that hand to grab hers, intertwining fingers in the process. His eyes trailed to their hands as he raised them slightly. "I like this."

Amy felt the warmth of his hand press against her own. Whatever bias she had just removed slowly crept in again. He was influencing her with this energy he had. She wanted to run yet her feet were glued to the floor. His words soothed her, not that they should have. His hand perfectly folded into hers, not that it should have. They weren't supposed to be in this situation, yet if felt as though this was meant to be.

"...Me too." She finally let out, engulfing the complex emotions in her.

Sonar let go of her hand and carefully tucked a stray hair away. He took a moment to caress her skin, the warmth of his hand feeling cool against her burning face. Her heart pounded at what she knew was coming next. She wasn't ready. She didn't want to do this. Though her body had other plans. Before she knew it, she was leaning in closer to him, her eyes automatically shut even though she wanted to prevent it.

She convinced herself it was part of the plan. Only then did she feel at ease. She detested this hedgehog with a passion though all the red flags felt orange in the current moment. Alarm bells were going off in her head, telling her to abort whatever was coming next. Though she reminded herself again, it was all part of the plan. That's it. No complications, no nothings. Even her friends knew, so this was okay, right? Exactly, it was okay.

And with that she finally touched his lips. A current jittered though her body, electrifying the kiss further. It felt the same as the first one they shared after the party. Sonar loosely held onto her waist, enclosing her in into his protective bubble. She felt comfortable enough to envelope her hands around his neck, deepening the kiss. It remained innocent, the two of them knew this was all too new to them and so they parted. Sonar grinned radiantly whilst Amy blushed intensely.

"Errr can I get you anything?" Amy asked politely trying to overcome the embarrassment she felt. She noticed how he kept his gaze fixed on her without replying to her question. This was just too awkward for her. "I'll go make us something." She quickly excused herself to hurry towards the kitchen only to have her hand grabbed by the blue hedgehog.

"Is something wrong?" He furrowed his eyebrows as he pulled her to face him, again inches away from him.

Amy huffed in embarrassment. "N-no. I just- well- I haven't dated before, so this is all new to me." She lowered her gaze to face the shiny tiles beneath her, something she hadn't had the courtesy in acknowledging before.

"Hey..." His soothing voice called. "That's totally okay, this is all new to me too. We'll go at our own pace." He gently squeezed her hand for reassurance to which she revealed a small smile.

"Okay." She nodded. "So... I'll go make us smoothie, you wait here." She continued to which Sonar slumped onto her couch. Finally having the opportunity to get away from him, she hurried into the kitchen and stood by the sink, her hands gripping onto the edges of it.

This was bad. She knew it was bad. She couldn't stand him but every time he would be near her those feelings of hatred would fade. She hated how he reassured her, she hated how secure she felt in his embrace, she hated how perfect her acted around her because she knew it meant nothing. He had her wrapped around his finger even though she knew better.

'It'll get better with time.' She thought. 'It'll become easier.' She convinced herself further. And with that she began her process of chopping the fruits for her smoothies.

.

"Thanks, this looks great." Sonar complimented as Amy handed him his glass.

She then carefully sat on her bed as he stayed in his seat, taking a quick sip of her smoothie to wet her dry throat.

"So." He started off saying, placing his glass down to the table beside the couch.

"So?" Amy questioned, mimicking his actions and placing her glass on the bedside table.

"What changed your mind?" He asked casually. "What made you consider... us?" He took a moment to phrase correctly.

Amy carefully folded her hands. "Sonar, since we've met you've had this pull on me. I-I've never felt the things I'm feeling now - It's never happened before." She took a moment to look and face him.

"And so when you told me you liked me... I got scared. I've never had someone I've liked, like me back - I-I was terrified that I'd mess things up and so I acted like I didn't care. I acted insensitive and awful and-you didn't deserve that. I felt horrible." She paused.

"And I thought, rather than wrecking things before they begin why don't I actually try this out?" She smiled which he reciprocated back.

Part of what she had said was true. It had come within her, part of it she made up on the spot but either way she was pleased with what she had said. And Sonar seemed pleased by it too.

"Well- for the record, I'm glad you changed your mind." He carefully scratched his quills.

"But!" Amy quickly cut off Sonar which gave him a mini heart-attack. "You're still my business partner so we need to act professional outside."

She needed to lay some ground rules. This was more to keep her sane than anything else. She noticed the blue hedgehog got up and sat beside her, a cheeky smirk appearing on his face as he whispered into her ear. "It's going to be hard staying professional if your business partner is your boyfriend."

She shivered at his words. Things were escalating far quicker than she had imagined. One thing she was sure of was that now, more than ever, things would be spontaneous. A kind she wasn't sure she was ready to handle.

She turned to him with a displeased expression. "You know how much this project means to me. I'm sure I can rely on you. Can I?" She questioned.

The blue hedgehog held his hands up. "I was only kidding, of course, anything for you." He cooed.

Amy rolled her eyes, which was something that became a habit for her. She knew it wasn't something she should've done, especially when she needed to act extra nice to him to woo him over, but there was no rewind button to go back.

"Good! Speaking of which... we have an appointment with another landlord later today. I just hope they don't quit on us like last time." The pink hedgehog alerted her companion.

She instantly saw Sonar's face drop. "Urghh I forgot about that!" He groaned. "I thought today me and you could just hang out? You know, put business aside for once? I heard there's a new place open to eat downtown." He sighed in annoyance.

Amy took a moment to think about how to contain the situation. "Sonar, as much as I would LOVE to do something other than business, the whole reason I'm here is to prove myself. We have a couple of hours to do something before we see the landlord, if you'd like that?"

Did she really suggest spending a couple of hours to bond with him? Unfortunately, she did. And what his response was next caused her to groan internally.

"Well then, how about me, you and a movie?"

Amy forced herself to give out a smile. Apparently this was going to be her new normal. She liked the way things were prior to the party. Now she had to pretend to enjoy every second she spent with him. Acting like a happy couple came far from natural to her but it was going to be something she had to endure for now.

"That sounds great! Can you go make the popcorn in the microwave? They're stacked in the drawer left of the stove." She asked to which Sonar immediately dashed to the kitchen.

She huffed as soon as he left. She felt as though she could finally breathe. He was being far too forward for her liking yet a part of her didn't mind it. She turned on the 85 inch TV mounted perfectly centre in the middle of her wall to choose a movie suitable for the occasion. With dozens to choose from, nothing struck out immediately.

She rolled her eyes once again. She wouldn't have been in this predicament if she hadn't suggested so herself. The sudden popping sounds from her microwave snapped her out of thought.

She witnessed a vibrant Sonar head out of the kitchen casually throwing two popcorns into his mouth whilst confidently holding the two bags freshly out of the microwave in his other hand.

"Have you decided on a movie yet?" He asked, his mouth still full of popcorn.

Amy kept a straight face before throwing the remote in his direction, which caused the blue hedgehog to duck and quickly catch it between his wrists. "Your pick today." She casually shrugged.

Sonar gasped dramatically following her comment which caused the pink hedgehog to roll her eyes yet again. "Out of ALL the movies you have available in this pricey TV package, you found NO good ones!?"

"Well... yeah." She concluded.

The blue hedgehog took the opportunity to flick through what movies were available to them, each page giving him less and less hope of finding a decent one for the occasion. After deeply analysing several pages, he gave up.

"Wow... There really isn't anything to watch."

He paused for a moment but quickly flicked to the series section. "How about this soap?" He carefully asked, taking a moment to observe Amy's reaction to his outrageous suggestion.

"No way... You watch Poverty and Love too?" She smiled vibrantly.

Her reaction gave the blue hedgehog confidence. He was pleased she liked his choice. "I do, it's garbage but the good kind. Let's watch the series finale, it only came out yesterday!" He eagerly invited Amy to come sit beside him which she did straight away.

.

"Jean you've been lying to me this entire time! All of this to separate me and Lisa? Ridiculous!"

"But Ronny, please, I didn't know any other way to earn your approval. Just please, listen to me!" Jean pleaded.

"No! I need to see Lisa! You've intentionally ruined everything! I should've never got you involved to make her jealous in the first place!"

The two hedgehogs were glued to the screen. What they had waited a long time for was finally unravelling in all its glory. The two main characters were finally getting together. Though in this time, Amy hadn't realised just how close she had sat beside Sonar, there was barely any space between them and it didn't feel awkward.

She shifted in her seat to be positioned further away from him before focusing back on the TV. She was right about one thing, he did have some sort of pull on her. She questioned how she managed to sit so close to him anyway. The last time she checked, there was at least a metre distance from him.

In her peripheral vision she saw Sonar turn to her, slyly moving his arm up for a 'stretch' before moving it behind to rest on the top of the couch. Amy knew what he was trying to do and so instead of resisting she did exactly what he wanted. She had slowly learnt that sometimes it was okay to give in to temptation if it meant that the plan would succeed.

She slowly leaned back in her seat until she felt the side of his arm behind her shoulders. Perfectly done and so slick she could clapped her hands in joy. She saw how he noticed this and finally curved the lower portion of his arm to tuck her close next to him.

She had one thought in mind. If things needed to escalate quickly then it was best for her to have the upper hand. She closed her eyes as she shifted uncomfortably in this new proximity before focusing back onto the show they were watching.

.

"I can't believe Lisa and Ronny didn't get together! Jean really needs to stop!" Amy complained to which Sonar huffed.

"I'm not watching the second season. This one was a waste of time." He spoke to which the pink hedgehog remained silent.

"When do we need to meet the landlord?" He questioned after the silence he experienced. His questioned caused the pink hedgehog to draw her eyes to the clock and panic.

"Woah, we need to LEAVE now!" She alerted him before yanking his hand out of the door.

For further context about this arrangement, Tails had specifically arranged a meeting with this landlord. He knew the location was not suitable for the boutique, which was exactly what they wanted. The mere motive was to allow Sonar to understand how serious Amy was about the whole 'boutique' thing.

Unfortunately, he still hadn't found a landlord that was willing to price their land higher than expected for a commission. Some were egotistical whilst others opposed of doing the wrong thing. Hence buying time was key. And with Amy making daily errands to view locations he knew were pointless, time seemed to favour him.

The car journey on the way was filled with a calm Amy yearned. It felt relaxing having the window down and occasionally having a sharp blast of wind hit her. She admired the little things like watching the birds from a rolled down window, she always had. Though somewhere through this mission, she had lost this ability. Things were simple then, her life was simple then.

Her eyes glistened at the cardiac hospital they had visited the other day, the same one Jamie had taken them to, and with that came the stress she had put aside for a while. She still needed to figure out what was going on with the account holder.

The pink hedgehog turned her head to face a fully focused Sonar, who shifted gears as he slowed down. He noticed her looking at him in his peripheral vision before chuckling slightly.

"Is everything alright?" He glanced over for a split second.

"Yeah.. We just passed by the hospital. Speaking of which, have you spoken with Berlinda or were you bluffing?" She casually asked trying to avoid suspicion.

Sonar faked a hurt reaction whilst shifting his hands on the steering wheel. "Jheee Amy, I thought YOU of all people would know I'm not a bluff!"

He toned down to sound more serious. "I've sent them what I promised. Jamie's education fees is something they won't need to worry about anymore. I'm just glad I could help, you know?" He revealed.

Amy softly smiled at him, but a rigorous thought process began in her head. So he admitted that he transferred the money over? So this wasn't a coincidence? But what exactly did it mean? Whatever it was, she'd leave it with Rob. She specifically told herself that she wouldn't stress over this in the morning, yet she couldn't help but trail back to it.

The blue hedgehog braking harshly caused her to once again silence her thoughts. She took note of her surroundings and realised that they were, indeed, on the land they came to view.

Quickly unbuckling her seatbelt, she removed herself hostage for Sonar's car, instantly noticing two figures waiting patiently in the distance. Amy picked her pace to approach them, leaving Sonar behind.

Partially blinded by the sun, Amy plastered a smile on her face before shaking the hand of the oddly large beaver in front of her. "Pleasure to meet you." She added for flattering purposes.

"The pleasure is mine, I'm afraid I can't be here to show you around, any questions you have can go directly to my agent." He spoke in a neutral manner.

The pink hedgehog heard footsteps behind her and automatically knew it was Sonar. He quickly jogged towards the beaver shaking hands firmly. "Sonar," He smiled. "I'm her business partner. Lovely to meet you."

The beaver glanced over to his pricey wrist watch. "Pleasure. I'm going to have to cut this short. I have other places to be. Feel free to view the land and if you're interested let my agent know." He patted Sonar's shoulder before making his way to his agent, quickly whispering something in her ear before leaving.

Sonar turned to Amy with a confused look on his face. "That's pretty odd. The guy didn't even bother to convince us his land was good. He just... left?"

Amy nodded at the blue hedgehog's observation. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. He might actually be busy? Let's have a look around and see if we like it." She tried to reason which allowed her to gain Sonar's approval.

"We're just going to look around!" Amy yelled to the agent that was extremely focused with whatever paperwork she had on the clipboard in front of her. The lady gave a forced smile before focusing back onto her original task.

You could tell this land hadn't been used. Whilst the greenery seemed pleasing, occasional bits of weed and sprouts of tall grass would appear, though a bit of renovation could transform it to a green dream. The land was away from the heart of a busy marketplace yet was obvious enough to attract attention of all kinds of customers, so far it seemed good.

"This seems promising." Sonar enthusiastically suggested whilst Amy treaded forward towards the metal bars in the distance. She immediately coughed and covered her nose and mouth with the palms of her hands.

Sonar noted this and made his way over, also mimicking Amy's response before gagging uncontrollably. They both walked back to where they could finally breathe in peace.

"That. That's a problem." Amy pointed towards the metal rods. "I didn't know the sewage system was directly next to this!" She alerted.

"You couldn't even stand the smell for one second! How am I meant to attract wealthy folk to my boutique with that wretched smell?!" She continued further. "I REALLY thought we had it this time! That this was the place!" She covered her face with her hands.

Sonar knew she was right. "No, you're right. This place just isn't it. Let's go let the agent know we're not interested." He turned his back to Amy and began walking back the path they took as the pink hedgehog followed behind.

.

"I'm sorry but the landlord wasn't too passionate about selling it and I see why now. You didn't mention that the sewage system was directly in contact with the land?" Sonar mentioned, slightly triggered that this viewing could have been avoided if they had been honest from the beginning.

"It must have slipped my mind, apologies. You could always pay to fit the sewage system elsewhere if you're still interested?" The agent replied still not showing any remorse.

Sonar let out a 'hmphf' before replying. "That'd take months lady! No thank you." He snarkily stated as he walked back to his car where Amy stood outside, silent and disheartened.

"I told her we aren't interested, that's that sorted. You want to head back?" He glanced back at the land behind them but then focused his interest on Amy and placed his hand on her shoulder.

Amy looked up to meet his eyes. "I've been trying so hard to find a decent location but everywhere we're going just isn't what I need! I really thought that I'd have one picked by now!" She let out her frustration before brushing her quills away with her hands due to the sudden wind picking up.

Sonar caressed her shoulder by moving his thumb up and down. "I know this is important to you. You need to stay strong, we'll find your location together, me and you." His grip became firm before bringing her into his embrace. Amy reciprocated his actions and clung onto him tightly.

Throughout this icky romance one thing was certain, he knew she was serious about her project and that would be the key to the final element of the plan. Tails had been smart in selecting a location that on first sight appeared perfect but underneath the cloak had an underlying issue. Just a couple more of these and when the final, 'perfect' land would present at the best opportunity she'd give Sonar no choice but to buy it for her.

That would be the rest of the money recovered and she'd be done.

Sonar pulled away from the embrace and stared at her for what felt like forever, as if he were trying to dig for something within her soul. His emerald eyes seemed confused and sought to her own for an answer. Amy found herself doing the same, searching in his eyes for whatever game plan he had in mind. In that particular moment, she was terrified. This wasn't something he had done before, this felt different… more sinister.

The blue hedgehog broke his gaze and scratched his quills. "Come on, let's head back." He nodded at her before making his way towards the driver's seat.

Amy gulped at his behaviour just now. What was that? What was he looking for? All these questions she didn't have any answers for. That strong gaze he held made her weak in the knees. She was intimidated by his dominant gaze. Of all things she simply hoped he wasn't doubtful.

"Ames?" Sonar called again after rolling down the window to which she didn't respond immediately.

Well one thing was certain, if he wasn't suspicious until now, he certainly would be if she stood there like a freak. She entered through the passenger door in a hurry and buckled her seatbelt before turning to Sonar with an awkward smile. "Sorry, I was just lost in thought. I'm lucky to have you." She grabbed his hand.

Her hand shook slightly as she intertwined her fingers with his. She needed to stop, she needed to become confident. She had the upper hand! So then why was she so terrified?

"Me too." Sonar smiled at her, removing his hand before starting the engine, selecting the correct gear and driving off.

The rolled down window allowed the breeze to fill the car. She shivered as the wind teased her skin. She felt on edge, a kind she hadn't dealt with before. She kept reflecting back at the strong gaze he held. His eyes held a message for her, one she couldn't quite interpret. She breathed deeply, trying to contain how insecure she felt in the current moment.

The game she was playing was dangerous and even a single ounce of change in her behaviour, like just now, could prove to be fatal.