Chapter 9: Fear Of Knowing
Amy struggled to be released by the two men that had her arms.
There was no point in screaming either since the windows were soundproof and the doors were locked.
She looked at Sonic in the rear-view mirror, glaring daggers at him.
Why does he have to be so rude and forceful? she wondered.
The car soon stopped, and she was pushed out of the car, meeting face-to-face with Sonic again, who stood there smiling that same deceitful smile that Amy detested most.
"Do you like my abode?" he asked her.
Amy stared up at it, and she sighed.
It was absolutely breath-taking, and it was something to like.
Everything sparkled, and not a single piece of old or dirt was not shown.
She stood dumbstruck, but soon Sonic grabbed her by the hand and led her inside.
Amy, instead of shouting at him, she continued to stare at it, and as soon as she reached the inside, she was even more surprised by its delectable beauty.
Amy snapped out of it, releasing herself from his hold.
"Where are you taking me?" she finally asked as she brushed off unsighted dirt from her clothing.
"I'm taking you to my room, of course. All the others are being occupied."
Amy's face flushed crimson, "WHAT!?"
"What's the matter? Where else are we going to talk about our terms? I mean, we could start practicing our roles if you'd like... So as a servant, you would say, 'Yes, Master Sonic.'."
"No! I mean... First of all, I'm not your servant! And there's nothing to talk about! I don't want to be your servant! Second of all, I'm not staying here! I'm going home! And third of all, I'm not staying with a first-class ASSHOLE like you!"
"'First class asshole'?"
"Why would you do something like this?"
"I'm sorry, but 'first-class asshole'?"
"You know what I mean! Now I'm going home–"
"Now hold on a minute!" Sonic said, walking in front of her to block her way. "I know you probably don't want to hear this, but I own the apartment building you're in. So you can either play ball, or be homeless. Your call."
Amy froze. There was no way...
"Hey... It's your choice, babe. Now what's it going to be, huh?"
Amy looked up hastily and struck him with the back of her hand, the force of her hit left a mark on Sonic's perfect face, damaging his complexion.
Sonic took a few steps back from the blow, and instead of an angry face, he merely shredded a smile. "Heh... There's the spunk I fell for."
"What exactly are you hoping to gain from any of this? Why don't you just tell me what you're planning and let me in on what's going on!" yelled Amy, her cheeks fuming with heat.
Sonic leaned back against the door with his arms across his chest, "You're making this way less fun. Why don't you just trust me on this?"
"Because I have better things to do than to entertain whatever the hell this is!" Amy shouted back.
"Look, I just want to know what exactly this is about. I'm tired of having to deal with you, so can't you just let me in on whatever this is and maybe I'll be a little more accommodating."
"You? Accommodating? Please… Unless you're really interested in what I have to say, I'll give you the details… But you have to promise me to actually listen to my speil with an open mind."
Amy looked at him confusingly. "Okay… What is it then?"
Sonic left the doorway and walked ahead of Amy, stepping into his lobby and walking into the living area, gesturing to her to follow him. Reluctantly, Amy followed suit and sat in a seat across from him.
He sighed, leaning forward in his seat with his hands folded together. "I need your help with something."
"My help?"
"Yeah… Look, you've known me this whole time; you know the deal with my family and our business and what that entails, right?"
Amy nodded.
"Okay… So… My family has kind of been pressuring me to… get my life together–"
"Well, they're not wrong there, Sonic. You've always lived your life in nothing but playboy fantasies and wild escapades! It's about time you had someone tell you to finally grow up–"
"But that's the problem!" Sonic replied, "I don't want that kind of life! My folks want me to get married and… I was kind of hoping you could help me out with that."
Amy blinked, "... Help you out with it?"
Sonic cleared his throat, "... Pretending that we're engaged."
Her ears began to emit a slow ringing before she completely blacked him out, "... What did you say?"
She couldn't find the words. Even seeing his lips moving with an explanation didn't reach her. All she could hear was the silence that surrounded her. It was only after she finally regained her consciousness, hearing a distance cry of her name fade into her eardrums.
"...my… Amy! Are you listening to me?"
Amy shook her head, "Yeah… I can hear you… So, why exactly do you want to do this? I'm sure it isn't too hard trying to find someone to settle down with contractually."
Sonic clicked his tongue, "You're kidding, right? Like I would want to get myself involved with just anyone out there. I'm good stock, you know. I need someone that's at my level intellectually."
Amy let out a laugh, "You're kidding me, right? You're the biggest idiot I know."
"Can you NOT? Anyways! Like I was saying, I just want my folks to get off my back. But in order to do that, I need to play ball and let them see that my life is in the right hands and that I'm on the right track to not being a total failure; their definition anyway," he said matter-of-factly.
"You think forcing me into this arrangement is considered being in 'the right hands'? And if that's the case, why do I have to be your servant? How is that going to make me want to help you?"
Sonic let out a laugh, shaking his head, "Because you have a lot to learn before you can take on that task. I mean… You're not exactly the leading lady I'd want anyway, but! I can definitely take on a project."
Amy felt a vein popping out of her head, "Excuse me? You're the one asking me for help. Why are you so insulting all the time? You've been putting this much effort into trying to get me to come here and take on your proposal, but so far you've done nothing to actually make me want to."
Sonic and Amy held their gazes at each other for a while; neither one of them wanted to budge. Two fiery personalities at the height of their arguments, both convinced that the other should kneel. Amy couldn't help but feel a little pleasure in this backing and forthing; it reminded her of old times. She leaned back her seat with her arms folded across her chest, sighing in thought before even muttering a word. She leaned forward once more, "Enough games. What is it that I have to do?"
Sonic smiled widely, instead of going back to his seat, went over next to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. "So what I was thinking is getting you some etiquette lessons on how to behave, right? We have a few months to get it all down, but I swear once we're done, you can go back to your life and you never have to worry about me ever again," said Sonic.
Amy sighed again. She felt like she might run out of breaths at some point. "Okay? What kinds of lessons?"
"You'll find out eventually. Just things such as dinner conversations, how to dress, how to walk–"
"Excuse me! I'm a grown woman! Why do I need lessons on all this stuff?"
"Because in order to pull this off, you need to pretend you're from a big-shot family! Otherwise, they'll mean-mug you the minute you come in if you come as you are."
"Then why are you choosing me? I've asked you so many times but you still won't give me an answer!"
Sonic, for once, was left speechless. He showed no motion towards uttering another sentence, another argument, another word– nothing. "It's because…" he attempted, looking away at her. "It's because you're the only one I can really trust, and I wouldn't want anyone else to help me but you."
Amy's eyes softened, "Oh… But wouldn't your parents know who I am? I have met them a couple of times–"
"Oh, please. They won't remember you, no offense. They're not really good at remembering who any of my friends were, so this is a total opportunity to revamp your image!"
Her face twisted into a scowl, but she couldn't deny that truth. Whenever she had seen both his parents (which was rare) they didn't even say anything to her. She can only remember the snobbish, arrogant, look in their eyes whenever they even so much glanced at her, to which now, provided a confirmation to her impressions of them.
She needed to think about this, but Sonic can barely leave her alone for even a second! She appreciated that he trusted her with this kind of thing, but at the same time, she was slightly disappointed that he wasn't pursuing her for the sake of love, but… for gain. She started to enjoy the fact of being hounded down by Sonic, knowing that even after so long, he still wanted to be her, but with these revelations falling at her feet, she couldn't turn on her rose-colored glasses anymore.
"Look…" she began, "I'd love to help you, but… Can you at least give me some time to think about it? I know you might be in a time crunch (to which Sonic nodded to this) but you have to at least give me some time to think about it. I'm going to be uprooted for a while, and I should at least get a chance to think about my options."
Sonic rolled his eyes, but held on to his static smile. "Fine. I'll give you the night to think about this. But tomorrow morning, I need your answer. Is that a deal?
Amy rose from her seat and walked towards the front door. She looked back at him and nodded, "It's a deal."
- End of Chapter 9 -
