" Let's change the pace, you pick the place, make up your mind, it's a half past nine. And let's take a chance, we've come this far." - Hot Chelle Rae, Say (Half Past Nine)

September 23rd….. My birthday…. My 14th birthday to be exact! I was so excited, I could hardly stand it. I could've bursted like confetti. I looked into my heart shaped vanity mirror combing my quills. My jade eyes couldn't hide the sparkle within them. The smile couldn't be wiped off my face, even if I tried. Once I put down the quill comb, I inched closer to the mirror, putting on my strawberry flavored, "kissable" shimmer lip gloss. I also put on a bit of mascara to make my long eyelashes stand out a little bit more. While I'm not a huge fan of putting on globs of makeup like Rouge does, I do believe putting it on to highlight one's natural beauty.

Once I was satisfied by my makeup routine, I dashed to my bedroom's full length mirror, hanging from my closet door. I knew that I was running out of time before Cream came to pick me up for my birthday "dinner" at her house.

"I can be fashionably late right? It is my birthday..." I said out loud, checking myself out in my own reflection. I'm not one to toot my own horn like Sonic usually does, but I must say the dress I had on made me feel beautiful. I was starting to look more like a woman, the little cleavage that was showing in my spring dress was proof of this. A solid baby blue halter top, tied around my neck, hugged my body down to my waist, where it flared out into a white fabric with the bottom decorated in pretty tropical blue brunnera flowers. I paired it with light brown, laced tied booties with a mild heel. I grabbed the thick white headband with a brunnera on the side of it, hanging from my closet's door knob. I put it on to complete my outfit, looking into the mirror, I break out in a grin. My hands balled up near my mouth as I squealed in delight. I twirled around letting my dress fly up a bit, basking in my own enchantment.

I kept twirling until my mind wandered to a certain blue hedgehog, making me stop in my tracks. "I wonder how Sonic's gonna react after he sees me in this..." I said to myself, cupping my cheeks. Just talking or thinking about Sonic filled me up with such joy these days. It's been a long time since I felt so girlish about him. Before the war, I made a decision to not be so aggressive in my pursuit of his heart. I realized my previous tactics were achieving the opposite of the type of relationship I desired with him, A distant friend who he kept at arm's length. Despite believing he had hidden feelings for me, I obviously wasn't convincing him to give in. So I took the advice from a famous quote, A quote I read in one of my many romance novels "Love is friendship caught on fire, it is quiet, mutual confidence, sharing and forgiving. It is loyalty through good and bad times."

If our friendship grew stronger then maybe he would be more comfortable letting me into his inner world and maybe even his heart. At first it didn't seem to work as I saw him less since I wasn't following him around anymore. Slowly but surely he started treating me like a part of his team. Someone he respected as a capable fighter and a close friend. Little did I know that our relationship would change after the war ended. The things Sonic and I have done together… alone... these past few months made me want to squeal all over again. I was about to do just that when I heard a knock at my door.

To no surprise, it was Cream, Gemerl, and Cheese who came to pick me up for my birthday dinner. I mentally chuckled at the idea because I knew that it was most likely a surprise party. I mean why else would Cream ask me to dress up so fashionable? Plus on our way over, flying to her house, me in Gemerl's arms, I asked for more details about the dinner. Only for Cream's left floppy ear to twitch as she flew when she spoke of it. I already knew she was lying but it was cute to see her try to hide a surprise for me. I swear my intuition is way too sharp for my own good sometimes...

After flying a great distance with Cream and Cheese beside us, we made it to Vanilla's eerily quiet home. The bright lights inside were still on.

Once we swung the door open, my old friends jumped out of their hiding spots from different pieces of furniture around the living room yelling "Happy Birthday Amy!". Tails and Charmy flew into the air holding up a big pink banner, on opposite sides of each other, which said "Happy 14th Birthday Amy." It looked like they decorated it themselves with crayon drawings of flowers and hearts. It was so adorable! Vanilla and Chocola were holding a beautifully decorated red and white cake with 14 lit candles. I felt the water rise to my eyes. While I wasn't surprised I was given a party, I was overwhelmed with how thoughtful they were in doing this for me. The gang was all there. Besides the ones I already mentioned, there was Vector, Espio, Knuckles, Big, and Froggy. I felt my heart sink, scanning the room, realizing the one I wanted to see the most wasn't in my line of view. Once again my eyes swept across the room, but this time I caught his gaze. His mouth slightly hung open, while he leaned on the wall in the far corner of the room away from everyone else, arms behind his head. The second I made eye contact, he quickly turned his head away in Tails' direction, rubbing his nose with one of his fingers. A light shade of pink on his muzzle. My heart was doing back flips. I knew at that moment, the dress was a success.

Once he fought off his obvious embarrassment, his eyes made contact with mine again. He was giving me a gentle smile, his forest colored eyes brightened. He pushed himself off the wall, making his way towards me. It was my turn to feel the heat rise to my cheeks. My adrenaline pumped through my small frame. " Was he going to make it clear to everyone what was happening between us for the past few months, right here, right now?" I thought to myself as one of my fingers softly touched my lips. All of my friends vanished from my line of vision. I only saw Sonic approaching. He must have taken notice of my reaction because his smile turned into a wide grin. Once he was inches in front of me, I had to slightly look up at him. It was a reminder that I wasn't the only one who was getting a mature body. The athletic 16 year old was getting taller, his quills were a bit longer giving him a rugged look. His boyish charm was still intact, but his features were starting to give way to a seasoned adventurer type of vibe. I had to admit he looked more handsome than ever before.

Sonic started to mouth something to me, when suddenly the birthday song started to play. I felt someone grab my arm, yanking me away from Sonic.

"Come on Amy! Let's start the party, so we can eat some of Vanilla's delicious cake! I'm starving!" Charmy yelled, licking his lips as he continued to drag me towards the food table. One of my eyelids twitched. I felt my fingers itching to summon my hammer. Despite Charmy's rudeness, I swallowed my building irritation. I didn't want to appear ungrateful, nor ruin my own party. I felt my ears fall as I took a glance back to where Sonic and I were standing a moment ago, only to see Tails whispering to him about something. I couldn't hear Sonic's response due to the music. It was obvious our brief "moment" was quickly forgotten.

Everyone was gathered around me at the table, as I blew out the candles making a wish. I made the same wish every year, hoping the universe would finally grant it. So far it hasn't, but I kept on with my faith in it so that one day it will come to pass. After the cake was cut and passed around, everyone started scoffing down Vanilla's grand meal. She casually mentioned Vector helping her make some of the food. According to her, Vector was learning how to be a better cook, when he and the boys couldn't afford take out. It sounded like a suspicious excuse coming from Vector if you would have asked me, but I took her word for it. Besides it explains the slightly burnt souffle at the end of the table no one dared to touch.

I initially wanted to sit down next to Sonic during the meal, yet Cream insisted I take a seat next to her. "You're our guest of honor, you're the princess today", she said, patting the chair next to her. My heart melted on how adorable she was. It humbled me. How could I say no to such a precious request from a friend who is like a kid sister to me. Sonic ended up sitting across from me, in between Tails and Knuckles.

I think this was the first time the group came together like this since the war ended. It was great to enjoy each other's company without involving a world domination scheme to fight. We all talked and laughed around the dinner table. I think the best highlight of our group conversation was Big giving Knuckles fishing advice on catching bait and making his own rod. He was so intent on learning, he borrowed Tails' traveling notepad to take notes. Apparently Knuckles told Big he was sick of eating only fruits on his beloved Angel Island. The whole group started adding their experiences with fishing as advice for Knuckles to take. Of course Sonic being Sonic had to make a few jokes at his expense. Which I had to admit was pretty funny.

When no one was really paying attention to us during the conversation, Sonic and I would steal glances at each other across the table. At first it seemed accidental. When I looked in his direction a few times more, he would quickly turn away facing Tails or Knuckles, grinning and laughing as if he was chuckling with the rest of the group. I knew he wasn't because his eyes were looking at me sideways. It sparked an unspoken game between us. I gave him the same treatment right back. Sometimes I would wink at him, once he looked my way again making him laugh even more. I know it was stupid and immature of us, while the rest of our friends talked among themselves. Still the light heartedness of it... made my heart flutter.

The silly game didn't last long as everyone finished up their plates. Next up was the gift giving in the living room, where everyone took different seats around me. Tails sat next to me on the white floral couch, as he seemed eager to show me his gift. His blue eyes light up as he hands me a small shimmering purple wrapped box.

"I hope you like it, I made it myself" The proud fox beamed. I figured it would be one of Tails' many inventions, but this small? Not waiting a moment longer I opened the box, only to gasp at the sight of it. A huge smile spread across Tails' muzzle in response as I shot him a quick look. "Is this…." I started.

"Yup! Your very own wrist communicator. You're now connected to the same custom network Sonic and I use in case of any threat. We can stay connected during any battle. It also picks up Chaos energy if need be" I felt my eyes beginning to sting. Tails not noticing, continued, " Besides that, it does other things like GPS, track your workouts, your heart rate, make grocery or goal lists, text messages and even browse the web… He trailed off " Oh and Sonic helped me with the design." Tails added in quickly. We both looked to Sonic, who was leaning back on a nearby loveseat, legs crossed with his hands behind his head. He gave us a thumbs up paired with his famous grin. I looked back down at the rose gold communicator, engraved with my full name. I felt pride building up in my chest. I knew at this point I was part of Sonic's team of close fight worthy friends, but this felt like an official initiation. Back then, it was too often Sonic and Tails with the occasional Knuckles going on adventures. While I desperately tried to keep up convincing them I could help them too. I knew for sure those days were long gone now. Before I could think further, I grabbed Tails in a quick hug, fighting back my tears. I felt he was taken aback at first before returning the hug.

"Thank you so much, Tails! This means a lot to me" I let him go as he bashfully started scratching the back of his head. "You're welcome. I'm really glad you like it. If you ever want new features on it, just let me know."

Knuckles' gift came next as he stood up over me. "I gotta go back to my island but I wanted to leave you with this." With both hands, he gives me an unwrapped medium size brown box that's kinda heavy. I put it on my lap before opening it. The box revealed two bottle-like containers that were red. I grabbed one of them to read what it was. " Mass Power", an organic, naturally flavored protein powder. Two week results guaranteed or your money back. Strawberry banana flavor." I look up at Knuckles not knowing what to say, he takes my speechlessness as a good thing. "I know it was a good idea right?" He said with pride in his voice. " I asked Sonic if you were into weight lifting, but he said you were into boxercising. I don't know exactly what that is, but I thought it must be like regular boxing. So I got you those protein powders to help build up your arm strength." I smiled at Knuckles finally understanding his gift choice. The echidna grinned back and started flexing one of his arms for me. "Trust me! With that powder you'll be having big guns in no time. We could even spar one day"

I would have laughed at the innocent comment, yet I noticed Sonic's glare behind Knuckles. Once he noticed my eyes on him, it was replaced with his devilish grin. "That's not what I meant when I told you that Knucklehead." Sonic stated, his voice dripping in sarcasm, shaking his head at the echinda. Known for his hot-headedness, Knuckles' stance stiffened, his fists clenched as he growled and glared in Sonic's direction. "You're the one who gave me that advice! So if it's stupid, it's your fault!" the echidna snapped. Sonic leaned forward in his chair, narrowing his eyes, crossing his arms, all the while the smirk never leaving his face. Despite looking calm, cool, and collected, I could tell he was trying to hide his irritation. Not only could I sense it but his rapidly tapping left foot gave him away. "Boxercising isn't the same as boxing genius. If you didn't know that, why didn't you just ask me when I told ya." Sonic rolled his eyes in amusement. He knew exactly how to get under the echidna's skin. It seemed like he was on a mission to enrage the guardian and at MY party nonetheless. Unfortunately, Knuckles wasn't backing down either. "Then you're a bad advice-giver because YOU should have explained that when you told me!" Sonic opened his mouth to retort. I sent a cold stare his way. I stood up putting a hand on Knuckles shoulder to look at me instead of Sonic. "It's FINE!" I interrupted "It's a great gift. I'll definitely use it for my exercises. It was very thoughtful of you Knuckles, so thank you." I gave the best smile I could, hoping to calm Knuckles down. A brief silence as he paused to look at me until his features softened a bit, with his body relaxing once again. " Oh...No problem Amy. I'm glad you'll use it... But I should really head back now, enjoy the rest of the party." Knuckles said, patting my head. He made his way towards the front door, putting one hand in the air as a way to say goodbye to everyone. He shot one last glare Sonic's way before closing the door behind him, a look Sonic returned.

Once Knuckles was gone, the room became silent with everyone looking at Sonic who was staring at his feet. He finally stood up, his face unreadable, rubbing his nose, not daring to look in my direction. "I'm getting more chili dogs." he flatly claimed. Without another word, he vanished into the kitchen. My hand reached out to go after him but Vanilla stopped me, shaking her head. "Let him go dear, I'm sure he just needs to blow off some steam." I felt my shoulders drop, my ears flattened. It wasn't unusual for Knuckles and Sonic to buttheads, so I knew I shouldn't be too concerned. The hedgehog was known to troll the echidna with his jokes. Yet in my heart, I felt he wasn't joking a moment ago, despite his efforts to pass it off as such. Was he….jealous?

I would have let my thoughts be consumed by Sonic, yet Vanilla insisted we move the party along with more gifts. I don't think she wanted to let Sonic and Knuckles' egos ruin the festivities, she worked so hard to put together. For her sake, I put on a sweet smile in agreement. The Chaotix's gift was next. Vector handed me a teal envelope that contained two free coupons for their services.

"Listen, if you ever need help finding "you know who", you know the guys to call." Vector winked, pointing a thumb at himself. Espio and Charmy nodded. I rolled my eyes, letting out a sarcastic chuckle. "You know I don't do that anymore." I scoffed. "Maybe...but you never know when you might need a good detective…or someone to push furniture." Espio said in a hushed voice. Charmy's eyes bulged."WHAT?! Furniture?! Please don't call us for that, Amy!" Charmy begged. "Call us for something like… baking cakes...yeah that's fun and yummy!" the bee exclaimed, buzzing around. "We usually don't give our services for free, but we made an exception for you on your birthday. So use it wisely." Vector stated, grinning. I forced a smile, thanking the boys. I guess maybe the coupons will come in handy someday. I knew I didn't have to use it on Sonic… I mean things... were different between us, right? Besides I had my intuition to rely on if I really had to. Thinking of Sonic made me glance at the kitchen entrance, no one was there. Disappointment started to sink in. My attempts of having a happy demeanor started to falter.

The events that followed began to blur, my mind was on auto as I continued to open gifts. A pink and gold fishing rod from Big, to go fishing together, one day. Cream's gift was a new cake decorating tool set for our baking sprees. The last present was a blank canvas with an acrylic paint set from Vanilla. Outwardly I was grateful to my amazing friends, yet my thoughts slowly drifted back to Sonic, I couldn't shake that something was wrong with him. Did he skip out of the party without anyone knowing? It wouldn't be the first time he's done that. My gut wrenched at the idea. "He wouldn't do that" I tried to convince myself. No, that's not the Sonic I was secretly getting to know these past few months. A side of him I've never seen before, until after the war was over. A side of him that was maturing, more thoughtful, and even sweet when we were alone.

They say good things sometimes come from bad events. I couldn't help but feel some of the truth in that belief now. The past few months with him were magical to me. After the war was won against Eggman, something changed between Sonic and me. At first, nothing seemed different. Sonic and Tails went on traveling to different parts of the world to help people who were caught up in the crosshairs of the battle. I stayed behind with Knuckles, the Chaotix, and other members of the resistance to help families reunite. We also assisted in relocating them to towns and cities that were not heavily affected. It took a little over a year to finally get the world back to a more peaceful state. Eggman seemed to be in an indefinite hiatus which helped our group restore our lives and the lives of others faster. Rumors were floating around that the mad doctor was probably dead. According to Sonic, he tried to locate him numerous times in his old hiding places but to no avail. No one in our circle of friends believed in the rumors. Eggman was probably abiding his time for his next plot. Regardless of what happened to the doctor, his absence felt like a much needed vacation, at least for me. I craved a different type of adventure, one that did not involve me smashing bots or doing paperwork. An adventure only the heart could provide, but felt so far away. At least I thought it was far away...

After crashing at Vanilla's for a while, I eventually moved into my new apartment in New Station Square. Sonic and Tails helped with the move. It was then, I noticed Sonic started to act strangely. The move took a few days, lasting longer than it should have. Mainly because Sonic would occasionally convince Tails to get needed items for the apartment. Being the good little brother that he is, he would go, leaving Sonic and me alone in the disarrayed apartment. I questioned the hedgehog the first time it happened, as it would have been faster if he got the items instead of Tails. I remember his comeback in a sly remark. " And what? Leave all the house decorating to you? We'll be here for weeks! He chuckled. He then turned away his gaze from me with a stiff smile. Scratching the back of his head, he softly added "It's better if you just tell me where the stuff goes," I would've rolled my eyes at his joke at my expense, but the tender tone in his last statement made the heat rise to my cheeks. Each time Tails left to get more items, Sonic and I would have so much fun together. We talked and teased each other with our bantering wits. Our hands even touched a few times while putting furniture in its rightful place. Too many times to be considered a coincidence, I think. Yet when Tails returned, sometimes looking at us suspiciously, might I add, the joking and the touching ceased, as if nothing was happening between us while the fox was gone. Just friends...

Eventually, the short days of my moving ended, when I didn't want it to. Not when I felt like I was getting closer to Sonic. The chance of us having moments like that again were probably slim. I figured he would go back to traveling around the world, only seeing him months at a time once more.

Imagine my surprise when he unexpectedly dropped by my place a week later. He claimed he wanted to see how I was liking my new home, yet something in his demeanor suggested he wasn't telling the whole truth. I remember his gaze looking at the floor, one of his feet slowly tapping it. His hands behind his back, two pink petals poking out. When he realized I was staring around his back, his eyes widened, quickly revealing the soft pink roses, gesturing for me to take them. A sheepish grin played upon his face. " A house... warming gift….yeah" he muttered as his other hand made it's way to rub his neck. I couldn't stop the wide smile on my face even if I wanted to. I wasted no time showing him in, as I hastily pulled his arm, holding the bouquet and closing the door behind us. That was the beginning of the first few months we spent together. Sonic would come by once a week, sometimes bearing flowers or other trinkets he found on one of his runs. We rarely just hung out at my house. Sonic wasn't the type to stay in one place for long, most of our hang out sessions consisted of areas of nature I've never seen before. Beautifully hidden waterfalls, cliffs that viewed entire cities, and unchartered meadows with flower beds colored in summer.

It felt like Sonic was finally letting me into his secret inner world as it was just the two of us going on these mini adventures. We would talk and be playful with one another. Yet despite the different romantic settings of nature and our growing closeness, something felt missing to me. Sonic never made a move on me, in a romantic sense, other than his occasional small gifts. We didn't hold hands, or hug, let alone kiss. He never called them dates either, just "hanging out". At most I can say we flirted a bit when we teased each other, I think... I have no problems making the first moves on Sonic but experience has taught me otherwise. Our relationship has improved so much. I didn't want to jeopardize that by being too forward and possibly make him feel uncomfortable again, like I did in the past. I figured when Sonic was ready to make a move of more than just friendship, he would. At least I hope he would….

I snapped out of my inner thoughts of the past few months, as the pop music started to blast around the room. It must have been Charmy's choice as the bee started dancing mid air around the black stereo, in the corner of the living room. The music was drowning out the conversations amongst my friends. This was my chance. I managed to quietly withdraw from them, once Vector started telling the group comical tales of his days as a solo detective. I snuck away towards the empty dining table on the other side of the room, laying my new presents on top of it. I fumbled with a big sized "Happy Birthday" bag to give the pretense of putting my gifts away. When I noticed no one was paying attention to me, I glanced over the entrance of the kitchen again, still no sign of him. My ears flattened against my head as I licked my bottom lip, tasting the strawberry gloss. I guess it was wishful thinking, that Sonic might have wanted to taste the strawberries lingering on me. "Who was I kidding…" I scoffed at myself, we barely held hands these past few months. I looked at the ticking wall clock above the table. "It's half-past nine.." I muttered. The party was almost over and Sonic was probably long gone. "He didn't even get me a gift," I thought, I looked down at my gifts fighting back tears, fingers fiddling with the strings of the bag, not knowing what to do next.

As I continued to look down, two red sneakers suddenly came into my view.

"Hey, you okay?" I heard a familiar voice say. I quickly met his forest colored eyes, the concern written all over his face.

Taken aback by his sudden appearance, I spat out "I thought you left" he blinked twice before he chuckled.

"I did." A grin spread across his face "I went for a quick run, then came back for another chili dog." As a joke, he licked his lips as if he just finished eating. I briefly glanced at his lips before looking at his whole face, feeling myself blink. Not knowing what to say, I just rolled my eyes, turning my head towards our dancing friends. Sonic must have sensed my annoyance as the next thing he said, " I mean...the chili dog wasn't the main reason." The tenderness in his voice made me turn back my attention to him. He still faced me yet his eyes were cast down, scanning Vanilla's wooden floor, one hand rubbing the back of his quills. I kept my silence.

"Ya know, it's pretty nice outside." His emerald eyes slowly made its way back to mine, a small smile curving into his muzzle, his posture unchanged. "The full moon is out, giving everything a nice glow effect." I felt one of my brows raise with my growing confusion, but he continued anyway. "What do you say...you wanna… you know….go?" He gave a node and a pointed thumb to the kitchen entrance behind him. "You want to go to the kitchen again, haven't you already eaten?" I asked in disbelief. Sonic's shoulders and arms dropped. " N-noo Ames, I mean… let's go outside through the kitchen back door, so I… He stopped abruptly, turning his head from me to our dancing friends. Once he realized no one was paying attention to us, he looked back at me. "So...I can give you your gift." He said it so softly, that I barely heard him over the music. Yet my heart didn't skip a word he muttered as it started to race. It all started to make sense. He was waiting for an opportunity like this, so he didn't have to give his gift in front of the others. It was meant to be private. Sonic was known for being impulsive, but he was surprisingly strategic when he wanted to be.

I stiffened as my mind started to rapidly swirl all types of romantic scenarios, my breath was caught in my throat " Was this the moment?" I thought. Stillness got the best of me I think because I almost forgot Sonic was there waiting for an answer.

"Is that a... no?" he winced one of his eyes. "No! I blurted out, Sonic's eyes widened and stepped back a foot, shocked. " I mean yes… I meant to say yes." I said quickly, laughing off my fit of nervousness. Sonic's ears perked up, his famous grin appearing on his muzzle, nodding his head in approval. "Cool!" he muttered, turning on his heels, motioning me to follow him through the kitchen.

Without another word, I let him lead the way. We passed through Vanilla's messy kitchen, filled with pots and pans in the sink. Several flour patches on the floor were scattered across the room. Sonic held the back door for me, leading to the backyard garden. Sonic wasn't kidding when he said the moon had a glow effect on everything it's light touched. Things that would normally look dull in the dark of night, automatically had a fairy like glow. The fireflies flying around looked as if they were those fairies casting their pixie dust around the yard. I assumed we were going to stop at the garden, but Sonic continued as he walked past me, out of Vanilla's property and into a dirt trail in a nearby open forest. The trail was a short stroll to the small, Ocoee Lake. I've been there many times with Cream, Vanilla and Gemerl during our spring time picnics, but never during the night. It's almost as if the lake transformed into something I've never seen before. The full moon reflected off the sparkling dark water as the waves pushed and pulled along the sandy shore. The light breeze off the coast line swayed my dress along with the pine and maple trees around the water.

Sonic finally stopped about 5 feet from the crashing waves. Once there, he turned to face me, his bright green eyes sparkled in the moonlight's reflection. I felt my breath get caught in my throat again.

"Snap out of it Amy!" I mentally scolded myself. " You're confident and amazing and you've known Sonic for years. This shouldn't be a big deal." Sonic looked down, fumbling with his gloved fingers a bit, he didn't say a word. My confident pep talk slowly chipped away as the awkward silence went on. My mind was begging me to say something, all I could do was bite my lip.

Sonic softly coughed into his fist before he finally started to talk. "I ran past here on my way back to the house, thought you might enjoy the view." His eyes met mine, matched with a small smile. "You know... to take a break from the party." His small smile was enough for me to find my voice again. "I love this lake actually, I've been here with Cream and Vanilla, but I never saw it in this lighting before." Sonic chuckled out loud, I raised one of my brows "What?" I asked. " Let me guess" Sonic pretended to look as if he was thinking hard, his balled up hand under his chin. "You thought it was a great spot for a picnic and invited your friends to join you, am I right?" He pointed at me, cocked up one of his brows, a smirk plastered all over his face. My mouth dropped as I gasped, only causing Sonic to laugh more. "Are you saying I'm predictable?" I scoff. ""Pfft." He snickered in response. "Oh so he wants to tease me huh, well two can play that game." I thought.

I put my hands on my hips, in a fake anger as his laughter died down. "What about you?" I say sternly." Yeah? What about me?" he said, still smug. " You're predictable too." I kinda lied, huffing into the air. Sonic scoffed back, rolling his eyes "What! I'm probably the most unpredictable guy you know, Ames." It was true Sonic was mostly unpredictable to most, but not completely. Over the years I've picked up habits he does. I didn't give up on my stance. "Like what? Please tell me" he sneered, putting one cupped hand to his ear. My mind started to race to come up with a specific example. With the silence between us, it became obvious to him what I was doing. "Hmmm, I'm waiting" Sonic mocked, his left foot tapping on the sand. That's when an idea hit me. "Your tapping foot." I tell him, moving closer to his face, feeling the smirk across my muzzle. At first, he cocks one eyebrow in confusion but he scoffs out as if to laugh "Really? I always do that, everyone knows that." He shrugged. Despite his sarcastic tone, I kept smiling in his face. " True, but the speed in which it moves relates to how you're feeling." The sarcasm in his face finally falters as I continue. 'You tap your foot when you're impatient, but your foot taps even faster when you're upset. Like that argument you had with Knuckles." His smile fades. "And when you're nervous you tap your foot slower, like you're doing right now." I tell him, pointing to the ground. Sonic looks down, looking to see his left foot tapping slowly, which he immediately stops, glancing up at me in disbelief. Now it's my turn to have a devilish smug across my muzzle. I playfully rest my open hand on my cheek. " Did you really think after all these years, I wouldn't notice some of your ticks Sonic, oh my how silly" I giggled.

He glared at me for a moment before turning his head away towards the water, his arms crossed over his chest. Fearing that I might have offended him, I tried to lighten the mood again. " You know I'm just teasing Sonic." I said, " I know but it's not that." He looked down at the dark sand before glancing back at me, his emerald eyes shimmering in the moonlight. "I'm sorry about what happened back there with Knucklehead. I wasn't trying to…" He stops. There was a frown on his face. " I guess I just wasn't thinking…," he finishes quietly. I see his foot start to tap slowly again. Before I could say anything to comfort him, he reached inside his right glove, pulling out a red velvet box. He looks down at the sand again, handing over the box, gesturing me to take it. I blinked down at the square box then looked back at Sonic, who was staring at me with a poker like face. The moon revealed, his muzzle taking on a light pink shade in the darkness. Now It was my turn to be nervous. It's not like I've never received gifts from Sonic before, they were usually small gestures, like flowers, snacks, ect. In all the years I've known him, he's never given me any type of jewelry. I felt my heart race in excitement. I eagerly take the box from him. In that same moment, I see him turn away, looking up towards the stars in the sky, rubbing his nose, cheeks still pink.

As soon as I open the box, I gasp at the contents it reveals. It was a red rose pendant, with a golden chain attached to it. The small red rhinestones on the rose sparkled in the light as it hung from my fingers. I felt warm tears start to sting my eyes. " Oh Sonic! This is beautiful!" I look over to him as he continues to look into the sky, now with his hands behind his head, a small smile upon his muzzle. I smirk at him. "Trying to play cool huh?" I told him. Before Sonic could react, I grabbed him, giving him one of my amazing hugs, the necklace still in my hand. He gasped in surprise, almost losing his footing, going backward, causing me to land into his chest harder than I intended to, nuzzling my head into his chest. I know I said I didn't give him forward affections anymore but I just couldn't help it this time. The moonlight setting, his shy actions and the thoughtfulness of his gift, was too much for me to contain it all inside. It's been so long since I've held him like this, feeling the softness of his fur, listening to the flow of his heartbeat. I knew I had to let him go from my quick embrace, I made a promise I wasn't gonna make him feel uncomfortable anymore.

I try to pull myself back from his body, about to voice my apology to him, only to find his hands firmly placed around my waist,…and he isn't letting go. He gently squeezed my sides " Sonic .." I muttered, finally looking up at him, not knowing how to react. He stares down at me, looking uncertain. My body is still pressed against his, feeling the increasing speed of his heartbeat, one that has started to match my own racing heart. His face starts moving closer to mine, as I feel my body freeze. My thoughts start screaming at me "is this really happening?! Is this the moment?" The blood running through my body is going so fast, I almost feel like I can pass out at any moment. He starts to close his eyes as he is now inches from my lips. Everything suddenly feels like it's in slow motion. All I can do is become in sync with his actions, I close my eyes too, puckered up my lips waiting for a blissful impact.

"Happy birthday Ames, I hope you enjoy your gift." I hear Sonic whisper into my ear. I suddenly felt the warmth of his fur pull back from me. I finally open my eyes to see what's happening. Sonic is no longer in front of me. I see a sandy dust cloud following behind him as he runs into the other side of the woods, not looking back. It's only moments until he's finally out of sight. The night winds howl as I clutched the necklace tighter into my hand, gritting my teeth, finding every ounce of my being to not throw it into the lake….

"Earth to Amy?" I snapped out of my memories, hearing Sonic's voice. I'm tightly clutching the bouquet of flowers in my hand about to put it in the vase, on the coffee table. I turn to see Sonic sitting on the edge of my tan suede couch, with concern. I realized I zoned out thinking about my recent birthday. Before these flowers, Sonic's last gift to me was the rose necklace. It triggered something inside me. Was he really gonna act like nothing happened that night? Was he about to kiss me that night all in my head? If I bring it up, will he just play it off? Before I continued my train of thought, Sonic started to speak again. " I said…umm we could do something today, if you're not busy?" He rubbed his nose, his foot slowly tapping my wooden floor.

My heart would usually leap at the chance at Sonic asking me to hang out, this time it felt cautious. I turn away from him, focusing my attention back to putting the flowers into the vase.

"I can't." I say flatly, refusing to look at him. " I have to go to the pumpkin patch today, to prepare for the Spice Festival."

"I'm gonna be one of the judges for the chili contest." I heard him say proudly. With the flowers now in the vase, I spin my heels to face him, looking down at him on the couch. "I know, Cream told me." I say nonchalantly. A look of shock comes over him. "Say what? How did she know, I didn't tell her." I raise my eyebrow at him "but you told Tails right?" I ask. Sonic scoffs, face palming his forehead " Geez Tails that was supposed to be a secret..." He says out loud, as if his best friend could hear him. Sonic frowns up at me, kinda looking annoyed. "Is that why you're upset? The reason I came over here was to tell ya about it myself." I blink at him "I thought you wanted to hang out?" I questioned. "I wanted that too and to tell you the good news while we hung out, but Tails ruined that part." It was obvious at that point Sonic had no idea what I was upset about. I was too embarrassed to bring up a "what if" scenario.

"Well, I'm about to head out, we can meet up some other time yeah?" I say thinking of an excuse. Sonic looks taken aback, confusion taking over his face, cocking his head to the side. He finally stands up looking down at me, smiling " You have to pick up a lot of pumpkins for your pies right? I'll help you pick them out and bring them over." He insisted. Before I could refuse, he dashed over to where I left my jacket on a coat hanger, next to the front door. He put it over my shoulders. "It will be faster with me helping you, it will be a piece of cake." he winks at me, as he grabs a familiar red scarf behind his quills, wrapping it around his neck.

I think he understood my hint for him not to come yet it was obvious he wasn't going to take no for an answer. I kinda wanted to laugh at the situation. I have done similar antics to him in the past, when he didn't want me to come along somewhere. I fake a small smile at him and he smirks back as a challenge for me to refuse. He was using my old tactics against me. Despite being mad at him, I still find it hard to tell him no. I sigh, signaling my defeat by putting my arms into the sleeves of my jacket.

Sonic's smirk turns into a toothy grin. Before I knew it, he sped off towards the front door, holding it wide open for me. "After you…" he said, gesturing in a gentleman- like manner. The devilish grin never left his face. As I walked past him, I noticed the twinkle in his eyes, the determination. This hedgehog was planning something. Even if Tails messed up some of his plans, I could tell by his eagerness that wasn't the only thing up his sleeve. It was gonna be my stubbornness versus his determination. One thing was for sure, our unplanned trip to the pumpkin patch was already off to an interesting start…

Author's note: Sorry this took so long to update. I actually had most of it typed out right after finishing chapter 1 but personal matters got in the way. I thank you all for your patience and positive feedback. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it.