Well.. Look who returned later than usual? HEhe. But I have another very lengthy chapter (this one is longer than the party chapter btw). I don't really know what else to say... Enjoy! Please do fav, follow and review!
Amy swallowed the remains of her drink and patted her mouth dry. Somehow her throat still wasn't wetted. She felt as though she had got her hands on something forbidden, though her curiosity was peaked.
She hazily looked up to view what Silver and Sonar were up to, though she became conscious that he wasn't in the crowd he'd previously been associated with. Where was he?
Her eyes darted back and forth in search for where he was. She'd become paranoid. Even though it seemed unlikely, it was still a possibility that someone may have tipped him off about the account check. She knew Rob was secure and skilled in what he did, but fear was something that made her second-guess everything.
She knew that staying put wouldn't help her find wherever he'd disappeared to and so she mustered some courage to go after him. If he knew she was the one digging up information about him and confronted her then and there, then that'd be fine. She'd think of something then.
Determined to find where he went, she eagerly paced around the venue, searching every single corner however failing to spot him. She jumped slightly as she felt a large hand on her shoulder, and turned to see the same hedgehog she was looking for; who'd just come out of the men's toilet.
She mentally groaned at how paranoid she'd gotten. He hadn't been doing anything peculiar, he didn't know about Rob and her digging into his past, he was just minding his own business.
"Are you alright? It looks like you've seen a ghost?" Sonar questioned, worried by how pale Amy had gotten.
"Y-yeah, good. I'm just tired." She breathed deeply still embarrassed slightly by how she'd gone lengths to find Sonar, only to now find herself standing outside the bathroom. Gosh it looked so stalker-like! She recalled Rouge's words about how she shouldn't sus herself out to the blue hedgehog.
"I think we should wrap things up. It's getting late and I'm not feeling well." She covered.
He swiftly brought his hand up to rest against her forehead in order to get a feel for her temperature. "You're a little warm. How about you go to the car and I'll say our goodbyes?" He suggested to which she nodded. He fidgeted with his trouser pockets and brought out his car keys which she carefully grabbed before making her way outside.
The loudness of the room blended out with each step she took. Her heels echoed against the marble floor in a rhythm. A hint of wind teased her skin alerted her she had made it to the parking lot. She scanned from left to right trying to figure out where her ride was.
It was useless, too many cars.
She pressed the button on the key and saw bright headlights flash from her left. Good. At least she could sit in the car. On cue, it started to rain lightly, causing her to jog to the car. She grabbed the door handle firmly, pulling it towards her and dashing in as the weather became more violent. She slammed the door shut and locked it before huffing. Okay, she was out of the rain, now what? How long was Sonar going to be?
Amy was tempted to call him, but she noticed how no one had made it out of the venue yet. Perhaps they were enjoying themselves too much that they hadn't noticed it was time to leave. She brought out her phone again, half-swiping Rob's message which had the address.
The hospital. Another question mark. She would go tomorrow, she'd made a vow to herself.
A bang on the window scared her to the brim and also caused her to throw her phone on the floor. She turned to see Sonar drenched in his suit trying to open the driver door. With his first attempt failed, he tried again, muttering curses under his breath as the door wouldn't pull open.
She hastily brought her hand to the door to open it, and in less then a second, he jumped in, wiping his suit lightly and drying his very wet quills.
"The weather is crazy right now." He remarked before focusing his attention on Amy.
"You look nice and dry." He dryly said.
The pink hedgehog shrugged her shoulders. "I made it just on time."
He held his hand out which Amy stared at blankly. It took her a moment to realise Sonar was asking for the car-keys gripped tightly in her left hand. She brought her head low in embarrassment and came up with a silly smile on her face. She carefully brought her hand forward and released the valuables Sonar needed.
As he started the car, the pink hedgehog looked eagerly for the phone she had dropped in a hurry. Her partner noticed this and turned the engine off. "Is everything alright?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah yeah... I just, erm - kinda threw my phone when you tried to open the door." She paused as she looked at his blank face. "I'm trying to find it." She stated the obvious, not truly knowing why he looked so confused.
He tried so hard to keep a neutral face but a smile played at his face which formed into a laugh that made his stomach ache. He calmed himself after observing Amy's stern expression. It was clear she wasn't sharing his amusement.
"Woooo," he blew out for air. "I make you that nervous huh?" He turned to her.
She shook her head in disagreement. He clearly wasn't getting her point. "I've seen far too many thrillers, and this is the point where some psycho is on the loose trying to steal a car and harms anyone that comes in their way."
"I promise you I'm not out here to harm you."
She paused to look into his eyes. His words held sincerity, instantly comforting her. Somehow he always knew the right things to say, oddly a little weird but on the most part quite soothing. "I know that." She gently replied.
"Now try and find that phone!" She commanded, and the two angled down solely relying on touch to find her misplaced phone. While Amy shifted endlessly trying to search every crevice of Sonar's car, he felt the item in his grasp.
"Found it." He brought the phone up carefully, glancing at the bright lit screen which was still unlocked to a text chat. "Woah. Who are you talking to?" He curiously asked.
Sonar attempted to scroll through the chat to answer his own question but was taken back by Amy snatching her phone from his clutches. He turned to her with a not-so-impressed face. "What are you hiding?" He voiced his thoughts.
The pink hedgehog glanced over to see the conversation between her and Rob. She was thankful that the conversation looked normal and scrolled down to see how things escalated from 0 to 100. The endless theories Rob had created about Sonar, his transactions and the address of the hospital were just a few scrolls away from her partner.
"Amy?" He called again.
She looked at him slightly disgusted. "Trust is everything in a relationship. If you can't trust me and want to go through my phone then that puts us in an awkward spot."
She held his hand. "I'm only into you Sonar, alright?"
"That's not the point. I wasn't even questioning that. I was just asking because I was curious. I trust you enough to know you wouldn't go behind my back like that." He shrugged his shoulders knowing he didn't have any sinister motives.
Amy paused knowing she was in the wrong. It was the only excuse she could come up with but it wasn't plausible in this scenario because Sonar trusted her blindly. Or at least, it definitely seemed like it.
She blew out lightly, "I'm sorry." She meant it this time. He'd always been extra nice to her and she'd always bash him. But what else could she do? Her place and duty meant she'd need to do whatever it takes to seal the deal and get everything her friends wanted.
"... I'm scared Sonar. What if you change? What if I change? I don't want someone controlling and paranoid." She lied for absolutely no reason. Her brain was fuzzy, she didn't exactly know why these words were spilling out without a filter.
The blue hedgehog looked up at her softly. He undid his seat belt and leaned to pull his arm around her. "That's not going to happen... at least not on my end." He smirked at the end. Ah the playful side had returned.
She reciprocated his smile whilst Sonar kissed her forehead. He gently removed his arm around her and started the engine. "Let's get you home so you can rest up." He stated before they drove away.
.
She'd definitely passed out last night. What else could possibly explain why she didn't have any memory of getting home? Maybe it was the tiredness from yesterday.
Amy blinked her eyes open and reached uncomfortably to get her phone from the side table, her head still firm against her pillow. She was still in her hotel room which was a good sign. Her main theory to go off of was merely the fact that she fell asleep in the car and Sonar didn't bother to wake her up.
She glanced at the home screen of her phone and panicked as it had already turned 11:00. She smacked her forehead lightly for her body not being capable to wake her up on time. The hospital was at least a good two and a half hours away from the city... She'd need to get a train, and her already being late made things worse.
She used her hands to pull herself up and rest her back against the frame of her bed. She was still in her suit from yesterday. A glimpse of blue caught her attention as she turned to a sleeping Sonar.
He'd put her straight to bed and took the couch. Most important, he didn't try anything creepy. And for that reason, she couldn't help but smile sweetly at his sleeping state. He'd always been considerate and somehow he'd always looks so peaceful when asleep.
She shuffled out of bed but a loud squeak caused her to silently groan as she realised one of the springs of the mattress pounced up to make that awful sound. Her focus turned to see Sonar shift and bat his eyes open.
"...Morning." He said after a long needed yawn. She couldn't possibly be more attracted to him, yet his husky voice managed to do just that.
Amy continued the process of getting out of bed and quickly pulling the first outfit her hands could reach out of her closet. "Hey," she stated casually.
Sonar got up and rested the cushion previously under his head on his legs. "How're you feeling?" He asked, still a bit zoned out but more awake than before.
"...Better." She replied dully, her attention mainly being to quickly rush to the bathroom and get herself ready.
Sonar noticed her dash to the bathroom and quickly jumped out the sofa and held his arms up to stop her from proceeding. He didn't buy into Amy's words one bit, and to confirm for his own sake, he brought his hand to her forehead.
He was relieved to find that her temperature was in fact normal. But he couldn't help but notice the clothes she clung tightly to. "Hmm you're normal. Are you... going somewhere?"
Amy blinked her eyes at his question. She blanked out for a moment but answered briefly onwards. "...Oh... Yes, errrr I'm meeting Silver today. It - must've slipped my mind and I forgot to tell you."
"Didn't you meet him the other day though?"
The pink hedgehog sighed at his persistency. He just wasn't going to let her out without a valid explanation. "Are you telling me when I should go out and when I shouldn't?"
Sonar backed off at her sudden accusation. "Wha- No? ...I'm just saying because you weren't feeling well yesterday and you can always reschedule."
"It's probably a better idea to rest up." He finished.
Amy sighed to his defense. "Sonarr... I'm perfectly fine. I promise to take good care of myself." She shifted away from him slowly and made her way to change leaving him to scoff at the ground.
He knew there was no point in standing his ground. She was an independent woman, one that knew exactly what she was doing, and he'd let her be.
"Cool. So... Since you're gone for the day - can I stay here?" He carefully asked.
Amy turned with a smile. "Hmm I don't know? Only if you keep the place nice and clean for me until I get back." She placed her condition down.
To her surprise, Sonar accepted immediately. "It's a deal, I'll clean the place up. It'll all be polished for when you get back."
.
Amy panted deeply. It wasn't a surprise that she was so out of breath. Apparently, you can't stop a train even if you'd bought a ticket. And finding the right platform had been a bit of a nightmare.
She recovered from the atrocious run she had made in attempt to get on and scanned the carriage for a seat. She hastily made her way to a double seat with a perfect window view and slumped down in relief.
The pink hedgehog brought out her phone to check the time. It'd take her a while to board on but here she was ready to uncover some information about Sonar, or Sonic - if that's even his real name.
She unconsciously brought back the conversation she had with Rob on her phone screen. It was as if her brain knew she was paranoid about reaching the wrong address, and so now with full awareness, she copied and pasted the address into the maps app.
She rested her eyes in relief for a moment after confirming it was indeed the correct train leading directly to her desired location. She clicked to view a few pictures people had uploaded of the hospital.
It looked high-tech and extremely specialised. Her attention fell to the board plastered above the main entrance. And what do you know? Another cardiac hospital. Her heart stopped as she worked a thought for a second. Could Sonar have told her the truth abou- No! She was thinking too much and shook her head mid thought.
She was convinced Rob had gotten it wrong but he was an expert in his field. Still... There was a slight possibility he'd messed up. She was already on the train though, so it wouldn't hurt to visit and check everything is accurate.
She'd just check to be safe. For now though she had a long journey ahead of her.
.
Amy awkwardly made her way to the receptionist at the hospital. She'd fell asleep on the train but managed to wake up two stops before the one she needed to get off at. Everything was still hazy but that wasn't going to stop her from digging deeper to get to the core of the situation.
"Hii... I - The hospital looks amazing." She started off not really knowing where she was going with her statement.
The receptionist smiled. "Yes, private funding is really helping us right now. How may I help you?" She asked.
Amy leaned forward slightly before speaking. "Yes um, I needed to know about Mr Sona- I mean Sonic." She stuttered slightly.
The receptionist gave the pink hedgehog a smaller smile. "May I ask why?"
Amy was taken aback by the questioning she was facing. She was the one that needed answers yet here she was being interrogated herself.
"I'm sorry Ma'am, I just need to confirm you have a valid reason before I disclose any information. Policy reasons - I hope you understand." The receptionist apologetically revealed.
Amy blinked her eyes. "Right... I'm Mr Sonic's employer. I need to check his background to clear him and I've heard he visits here frequently. I need to know of his character... please." She lied atrociously. She barely knew how the employment system worked, and right now she had made out a bizarre lie out of the blue.
"Ohhhh, yes, you have nothing to worry about. Mr Sonic is a brilliant young man. He donates a generous amount here every month." The receptionist smiled.
Amy kept her face neutral as she was about to ask something critical. "But why? In this fast-paced life no one has the time for charity... So why him?"
She hoped she wasn't crossing a line and the receptionist wouldn't question her reason for asking such weird things.
"He has a patient admitted here and pays for the medical fees. The hospital has done a lot, and all the staff like to believe that that's the reason why he donates." She furrowed her eyebrows, now slightly cautious of Amy and her persistency regarding Sonic.
Amy caught on and gently backed away. "Thank you again. I'll be sure to tell my recruitment team that there aren't any worries." She now proceeded to exit the hospital until she heard the receptionist call her back.
"Miss I need your name please, for documentation purposes."
The pink hedgehog froze as the receptionist called to her. She had her back turned to her and mentally signed. Oh she hadn't been expecting all of these formalities. She twisted her heels and gave a grand smile.
"It's Rose- Mary. Miss Rosemary."
The receptionist still wasn't satisfied. "And I'd need your company name too. Sorry I'm asking a lot, but this is for documentation purposes."
Amy signed out loud for the amount of inconveniences this lady had caused her. "It's Digital Atlantis." She made up quickly, not really knowing if it existed or not.
"Perfect, thank you. Is there anything else I can do for you today?" She smiled sweetly which irritated Amy.
"Yes - Since I'm here let me ask. Is this patient... a personal relative of Sonic? - It's just - If he's busy caring for someone then it's likely his attention won't be on work. If that's the case then I'd know to give his position to someone else."
"- I'm sorry. I-I don't have permission to talk about patients due to confidentiality reasons. I could call the doctor and you could speak to him?"
This was starting to become a very frustrating conversation. She was getting nowhere with this. Just when she thought she'd hit a jackpot, this lady throws her with the whole 'confidentiality' curveball.
"That'd be great. Please get him here quickly and explain the situation." Amy rested her elbows on the desk as she tried to cool herself.
"Sure thing. Please give me a few moments to get him here." The receptionist walked away into a 'staff only' door leaving Amy to breathe out deeply. She didn't have to patience to pursue this further. Just a couple more minutes and she'd walk out and return home.
A while later, she observed both the receptionist and a middle-aged doctor come out. They both approached her quickly as she firmly shook hands with the doctor.
"Sorry for the wait Miss Rosemary. The doctor will assist you further." The receptionist informed. She walked back to her desk and continued her work. Amy turned her attention to the doctor who started speaking instantaneously.
"Apologies for the wait. I have some liberty to discuss the patient Sonic is caring for as his job depends on it." He revealed which caused Amy to smile.
Finally! She had been at this for an hour, and now this doctor was going to help her.
"Thank you again, this is very important to us as a company."
The doctor patted her shoulder as a way to tell the pink hedgehog to follow her. They walked down an endless corridor and stopped outside a large room on the left. The doctor shuffled slightly before turning to Amy. "Please brace yourself." He revealed before gently pushing one of the double doors open.
And she saw it all. The lifeless body lying down with several machines connected to him. Needles in his veins, which looked bruised under his pale undertone. A heart rate monitor was connected that had a weak pulse. He was being fed sucrose solution through a bag hung high. He was young yet he looked old. He had slight wrinkles and bags under his eyes. He was alive yet he wasn't. His quills looked as if they weighed him down yet at the same time, they looked light as though they too, were once full of life.
"My goodness. Is this who Sonic has been looking after?" She asked as she felt goosebumps form around her body.
"Yes, this poor young man had a bullet pass through him. We have no idea when he'll recover. His body is getting stronger day by day yet his senses are gone. His eyes are lifeless, he doesn't speak, move... nothing." The doctor held his head low in pity.
Amy glanced back at the lifeless body before whispering a question that had been lurking at the back of her mind this whole time. "...How is he related to Sonic?"
The doctor brought out the medical file placed on the table. "This is Manic The Hedgehog. He's the brother of Sonic The Hedgehog." He pointed at the picture of the green hedgehog and then at the picture of the same hedgehog she knew too well. Sonar.
"I felt a duty to inform you before you hire Sonic and hence I brought you here. The rest is your choice." He politely explained before opening the door for Amy to leave.
The pink hedgehog was left with nothing to say. Nothing would justify what she had just witnessed. She breathed in deeply before nodding at the doctor. "No, Sonic deserves this position, it won't be affected just because he's caring for someone. He looks like he needs the job and he'll definitely get it. Thank you for your help."
"Good decision on your end." The doctor smiled which Amy reciprocated before walking out the door.
.
The pink hedgehog couldn't help but trail back to the memory of Sonar - Sonic crying to her about Manic. It'd felt real to her at the time and this confirmed and proved the green hedgehog's existence. She felt her eyes water as she reminded herself of how dull he laid at the hospital. Everything aligned perfectly with how the blue hedgehog explained his turn of events.
To recall how brutal she had been and the copious amounts of times she brushed him off and took him for granted, she couldn't look herself in the eyes. He'd told her the truth! The whole truth. The biggest truth about his life. He was a con artist, he could've lied about anything yet he chose to tell her the truth, why?
Could he have genuinely meant that he liked her? Sally had said he was being pretentious like he had been with her. But to reveal something like that would've meant that he trusted her.
'He likes me. He's been honest with me from the beginning.' She slowly realised. With that thought spreading to become the only thing she could think about, she smiled like a young girl and blushed. The warmth she felt returned but this time stronger than ever. She'd been feeling a certain kind of way around him for the past few days, but this intensified everything.
Piecing his past together made him to be a completely different person. So his name was Sonic? She smiled radiantly realising that she liked the sound of that name, and more importantly, she liked this Sonic. She liked him a lot, previous denial made her hide these feelings but today's experience allowed them to blossom into her feeling a deep warmth towards him. She felt butterflies, she wanted to hug him and tell him everything was going to be okay.
And with that she knew. Amy Rose knew and had admitted to herself that she, does indeed, like Sonic.
Gosh she couldn't believe it. If someone told her weeks ago that she'd fall for a con artist, she would've shook her head and laughed at the awful joke they'd cracked. Though life was full of surprises.
She broke her thought as her attention shifted to Silver. He'd told her he liked her. Amy was confused at first but now it was apparent to her that she liked Sonar - Sonic! Gosh that was going to take some time getting used to. Before she was confused, but now she was certain that her feelings for Silver had died down so that now she only viewed him as a friend.
And it was probably best to let him know rather than keep him thinking he still had a chance.
She dialled his number and held her phone gently against her left ear, waiting for the bell to ring and for him to answer. She dreaded each vibration of the ring against the palm of her hand. If only she'd liked Silver... Life would've been much easier that way. Though fate had other plans for her.
"Hey Amy, how are you?" She heard him speak through the other line which almost stopped her heart. She blew out slightly to relieve her nerves.
"...Silver… Yeah, I'm doing okay. Are you busy? I could call back later?" She spoke not knowing why she was trying to delay this conversation. It was time and she knew it, though she also feared his reaction.
"Not at all, go ahead." Silver cheerfully spoke.
Amy rubbed her cheek. "So I told Sonar that I'm out with you today. If he calls, please cover for me?"
"Yeah no problem. He's not causing any trouble is he? Like - Everything is still going as planned?" He asked slightly unsure if he should be worried or not.
"No no… Everything is going exactly how it's supposed to." She hesitated to continue further.
"Look - the real reason I called is because… You told me to think about you - and us…" She trailed off hoping he would confirm he knew what she was talking about.
Silver briefly paused before replying back to her. "Yeah… that." He got slightly quieter than before.
"I can't keep you hanging Silver. You're a great guy but I don't see us being romantically involved. I wish I could… Things would've been a hella lot easier that way but-" She tried to finish her justification but got cut off by Silver.
"Look Amy, you can't force feelings. It's cool - I get it. I'm a grown man, I can handle a little rejection." He let out a little laugh at the end which brought a smile on the pink hedgehog's face.
She questioned him still, behind that laugh she sensed some pain. "Does this mean we're good?" She asked in a whisper.
"...Yes, we're still good." He said casually. "You should've never doubted that. We were going to be good either way." He revealed further.
The pink hedgehog felt her phone vibrate violently against her cheek, to which she brought her device forward to check what was going on. A call from Rouge? She automatically knew it was important. The bat would always message her in case she was with Sonar, but here she was calling.
"Hey Silver… I'm getting a call from Rouge. I need to answer, we'll talk later okay?"
"Cool cool, I'll talk to you soon."
The pink hedgehog quickly accepted Rouge's call directly after Silver ended theirs. She hastily brought her phone back to her ear to speak to her excited friend.
"Amy! Amy! You won't believe it! We've found a landlord! Oh it's all going to be over soon!" She screeched in her ear.
She took a moment to maintain some distance between her phone and her ear, she wasn't going to risk going deaf because of the bat screaming violently. "That's great Rouge… Is this 100% final?"
"Yes! Tails has found the perfect land according to your brief. We've managed to bribe the landlord too, so this is the final deal! Here… Speak to Tails."
Amy could tell Rouge was excited that the final part of the plan was going to be executed and that she'd finally get back at the blue hedgehog, but she felt sick to the stomach. She'd just made herself aware that she truly, actually, FOR SURE liked him and now she'd have to throw that all away for this plan.
"Amy let me briefly run you through what you need to do… Oh wait - Is Sonar near you?" Tails asked cautiously which the bat had completely forgotten to acknowledge.
The pink hedgehog brushed off his worries. "Oh… no. He's at the hotel, I'm outside."
"Okay, that's good news." Tails continued further. "So the landlord has agreed to view the location tomorrow. You got that Amy, tomorrow! Tomorrow!"
"Yeah, okay. I understand, thank you Tails." She sarcastically replied to his over-emphasis on the word 'tomorrow'.
"Cool.." Tails ignored her attitude towards him. "The land actually costs 150,000 rings but we've made a bunch of fake documents which have the asking price at 218,000 rings."
"The guy was a bastard, he wasn't willing to take commission. He wanted half of what we'd get… Which'll be 109,000. But one good thing is that with that money we'd officially recover what Rouge and Sally had lost. So I guess it's a win-win?"
"..."
"Amy… you still there?" Tails questioned.
The pink hedgehog didn't know what to say. This last stage of the plan was on another level. Getting him to buy into it was going to be tricky, and by tricky she meant nearly impossible. The fact that she didn't want to trick him was an entirely different story. She snapped out of thought after Tails asked for her.
"Sorry Tails. I was listening. Hey, could you pass me to Rouge?"
She heard shuffling on the other end of the line, indicating that the fox was indeed passing the phone to Rouge.
"So Amy, what do you think? How does it feel to know this is finally going to be over?! I'm so happy!"
"Rouge- wait. I-I don't know if I can do this. It seems really risky, do you seriously believe he'll buy it?" She tried to disguise her willingness to not carry on by voicing the flaws in this plan.
"We've been talking about this since the very beginning! He's definitely going to buy it! No if's, no buts, you are doing this tomorrow whether you like it or not... I'm paying you for Chaos sake!" She declared to Amy in a displeased manner.
"But Rouge-" She tried to reason again but failed instantly.
"Nuh uh - No! Remember why you came back on this mission, for Sally… You do this, you restore your friendship." The bat paused as another thought came into her mind.
"Is this about Sonar?... Oh please don't tell me you're still falling for his lies! Amy - we've told you it's all lies." She finished ranting.
"...No it's not that." She lied again, it was becoming a habit now apparently. "I just feel so guilty… How about you just let go of this grudge?"
"Are you kidding me? Listen, HE scammed ME and SALLY. That bastard owes me, he's living off of my, and Chaos knows how many other victims, money. You have to do this! You hear me, he deserves what's coming!" She yelled in desperate attempt to get Amy to understand that the blue hedgehog deserved no empathy.
Amy rubbed her eyelids, she felt as though she was stuck in a hurricane, sucking her in and in with no way out. It was all a downfall from here. True, she had stuck to this plan as a way to make it up to Sally but she'd just learnt the truth about Sonar. To get back at him after knowing he's been treating his sick brother was utter vile.
She had to make a decision, she had to make one now.
"Amy! Sonar is nowhere near innocent, do you hear me?" Rouge tried to persuade her further.
"..." She remained silent, her head was spinning trying to rationalise what she should do.
"Amy, he's used us. He's using you too. Don't fall for his games!" Rouge repeatedly bashed the blue hedgehog.
"… I'll do it… For Sally. But after this I'm not doing any more errands for you Rouge, you hear me. After this I'll take my pay and leave." She'd made her decision. A cowardly one, admittedly, but still a decision.
"Brilliant! Tails will send you the details in a bit."
She heard the line cut and instantly brought her head to rest against the head-rest behind her. This was bad. She'd never felt the way she'd felt about him yet here she was going to betray him. She'd pack her bags and leave after tomorrow. She'd leave him behind hundreds of miles away. She wouldn't be there when he realised she'd been playing him this whole time. She'd be on a plane, miles away, while he'd be here on his own, devastated and broken.
'I'm sorry Sonar, but I have to do what's expected of me.' She felt tears form at the side of her eyes.
.
It was dusky now.
The rest of the train ride had been awful. She couldn't stop dreading tomorrow. She stood outside the hotel and observed the bright lights lit inside with her dull eyes. She was at her lowest of lows. If she stayed with Sonar, it'd be a betrayal to her friends. If she went along with the plan, she'd ruin everything she'd built with the blue hedgehog. Regardless, she had made her decision and she'd be true to herself and stick by her word.
She stood outside the hotel door. Her hands refused to ring the doorbell and her feet refused to move even an inch. She wanted to be in denial and tell herself everything was going to work out either way, but she was far too intelligent to know it absolutely wouldn't.
'Okay Amy, just forget about everything and enjoy your night.' She thought to herself as she rang the doorbell.
She noticed the door creep open slightly, but was still mostly closed. She took the opportunity to press herself against the door to open it fully, not having the strength to push it with a single arm. The pink hedgehog was in awe to see white candles lit in various places in her hotel room. Her eyes fell to the floor where she was invited to a trail of rose petals, all leading to a beautiful clothed table (which she definitely didn't own) with a vase full of roses and cutlery. A nice change of scenery to say the least and very romantic too.
Finally, she looked around to see Sonar attempting to hide against a wall but failing miserably. She coughed purposefully to alert him she knew exactly where he was. The blue hedgehog huffed at how easily she had caught onto him but revealed himself nonetheless.
"Madame Elise, welcome to your special evening with Mr The Hedgehog." He bowed in front of her and gifted her with a rose.
He was in a suit, a navy one that fitted him perfectly. He'd gelled his quills slightly too, they looked more slick than usual. She on the other hand… was a mess.
She grinned radiantly at the surprise and gently grabbed the rose before pecking his lips. "Very charming Mr The Hedgehog… But I'm - not exactly dressed for the occasion." She raised an eyebrow at him before looking down at her white string top and baby blue skirt and very muddy trainers.
Sonar snickered slightly as he realised what she meant with her not being dressed appropriately. He stepped closer to her and held her hands. "You look wonderful. Now, let me help you with your seat." He enthusiastically offered.
The blue hedgehog brought out the chair, which Amy gladly took. She had one question on her mind though. "How come you're feeling romantic today?"
Sonar dashed to the kitchen and brought two plates of small pizzas. He placed one delicately in front of Amy before taking his plate to his seat. After sitting down comfortably, he spoke. "Well.. I've been meaning to do this for a while but didn't have the opportunity. While I do love how much time we spend together, we barely have time to plan surprises for one another." He paused as he took a bite out of the pizza and closed his eyes in delight.
"Mhmmm… But with you out today, it was the perfect opportunity to pull something together. So… Do you like it?" His eyes twinkled brightly against the candlelight reflection.
The pink hedgehog brought her head low and blushed slightly. His effort was remarkable, he'd really gone up and over. "It's really sweet. No one's ever done this for me before… and pizza is my favourite. How'd you know?" She asked dryly at the end knowing there wasn't a single person on the planet that didn't like pizza.
The blue hedgehog scratched his quills. "I don't know? Lucky guess?" He played along but gave in with a chuckle as he saw Amy give him a sly look.
She brought her left hand forward to envelope with his. "I do really appreciate this." She clarified again.
She saw the blue hedgehog become shy and quiet as she spoke. It took him a moment to recover and part his hand from hers. He nodded at her statement and continued with his food.
"Hey Sonar, would you ever not speak to me again?" She asked out after a few minutes of silence as the two concentrated on their food. It was out of the blue which caught him off guard. He looked up from his plate and noticed her holding a serious expression.
"...Um, no? Unless you break my heart and betray me." He laughed off but paused as he saw Amy frown. "Is something wrong?" He asked to try and comfort her.
She blinked her eyes to stop her tears from developing. Things were so perfect between them, and she was about to ruin it all. She'd heard from his own mouth that he wouldn't be okay if she betrayed him. She smiled up at him. "No… It's just been an exhausting day and I'm being weird."
He brought his hand forward this time to take hers and gently caressed her knuckles. "If you want to go get some rest then that's okay. We've got forever to do little things like this."
She stared at him blankly. Truth was they didn't have forever. She wasn't going to waste this evening, she'd cherish everything before she'd leave things bittersweet between them.
"Have you prepared dessert?" She asked which caused him to give her a toothy grin and eagerly leave and go into the kitchen.
.
"This is amazing. I don't think I've had such good ice-cream before." Amy complimented while the blue hedgehog took the final spoon into his mouth.
"Yeah… The ice-cream parlour downstairs does wonders. Mhmmmm." He talked with his mouth full.
Amy got up from her chair and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you for such a great date. You've seemed to surprise me." She teased.
Sonar pecked her lips before replying cockily. "I'm a pro at these sorts of things. You just underestimate me A LOT."
Amy challenged him further. "Well… To make it the perfect date there's one thing left…" She paused to see Sonar raise an eyebrow, giving away that he wasn't sure what she was on about.
"To do the dishes!" She revealed which caused the blue hedgehog to huff.
"I'm only joking. Relax, I'll do them in the morning."
She saw Sonar smile at her genuinely as he made his way over to the bathroom to change clothes. After a minute, he stepped out in his comfy clothes and made his way to Amy's couch. "G'night Ames, sweet dreams." He said as he tugged his pillow and blanket.
"Wait -" She called to him which caused him to turn around. "You can take the other half of my bed… If you want to, that is." She quietly said which caused Sonar to break a smile and throw his pillow over to Amy's bed.
While he was preparing his end of the bed, the pink hedgehog took the opportunity to get into her pyjamas in the bathroom. On exit, she saw him already tucked in and made her way to the right side of the bed. As soon as she got in, she was squished by Sonar holding her into a spoon which caused her to squeal.
"G'night Ames." He repeated as he kissed the back of her head.
"G'night Sonar." She whispered back, feeling hot in his proximity but also secure.
Whatever may come tomorrow, it wouldn't stop her from enjoying her time left with him tonight. The final move, the final part of the plan would be done tomorrow and it'd be done. She'd probably never see his face again and that slightly worried her. She was next to certain she'd never find a spark with someone the same way she had with him.
She shuffled around to see his emerald eyes stare into hers. She caressed his quills which caused him to close his eyes in eternal bliss, he reached to hold onto her other hand and kiss it.
"I think I'm falling for you Amy." He whispered huskily causing her to shiver. How did he have this effect on her? What cracked her heart more was how engaged he was with her. They were glued together and she was going to do something unimaginable to him. She kissed him sweetly at his confession and continued stroking his quills.
Tomorrow marked her ultimate betrayal, a sacrifice of her feelings.
A/N: We are wrapping things up folks! I don't want to bore readers by dragging out the plot. I'd rather keep things short-and-sweet rather than long-winded. You can expect another 2-3 chapters after this but unfortunately we are closing in.