014. Serendipity

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Amy shouldn't have listened to her friends.

She shouldn't have agreed to go on a stupid date with some total stranger. He was so... full of himself! She was surprised that she was able to survive the whole thing, because he would not stop talking about how great and rich he was apparently.

He even had the nerve to show up twenty minutes late at the restaurant they were booked in. Giving some stupid excuse about how his a million dollar car wouldn't start so he had to take a taxi instead, scoffing the idea of having to do so.

She didn't own a car and she missed the bus. She didn't have spare cash on her for a taxi, those were quite pricey in this particular area. The money she had was needed for the food shopping tomorrow. The least he could've done was pick her up as well, since he apparently knew in disgust that she didn't have the privilege of owning so much money like he did.

She couldn't believe she even dressed up for it either. She spent so much time with her hair and then spent an hour trying to pick the perfect dress. She really thought she was going to have fun.

But no. She spent the night bored to death listening to an egocentric man who probably didn't care about anybody else's well-being at all!

He was even rude to the waiters and didn't even want to tip any of them, despite waving his credit card around like it was some fan!

That was the last straw for Amy. She stood up, smiling politely at the waiter who served them and handed them most of the money she had left in her purse, promising herself she needed to work extra shifts at her current job. With a final glare at her atrocious date, she stomped out of there without saying a goodbye.

And now she was walking home alone. In the rain.

It was bad enough she never brought a coat with her, it was chilly out as well. She was absolutely drenched in the rain and the ache her heels brought her only added into her suffocation.

The walk home was ten minutes away now but the rain had only gotten worse, forcing her to seek shelter outside a shop's building. The shelter could only just about cover her head, but it was better than nothing.

Never again, Amy. Never ever again.

At least she didn't wear make up to the date. It would've looked horrendous in this rain.

She sighed and stared up into the cloudy night sky. For the love of Chaos... Was wanting the perfect Prince Charming too much to ask for these days?

Amy always believed in waiting for the right person, no matter how long it took. The only reason why she agreed to the date was because she really hoped it would go well... and because of the fact her friends were sick of her not trying her hardest to branch out for a relationship yet.

Goodness, it sounded so sad.

She bit the corner of her lip, rubbing her shoulders with a sigh.

Amy was only twenty two, that was still so young. She had time. She was just worried how long time would take to gift her with someone who she would come to love romantically.

She just wished... time would go a little faster in her favour.

"Here."

She couldn't see the sky anymore, the small rain drops coming to a halt against her hair. She blinked and then looked over to see a handsome blue hedgehog standing beside her, holding out a black umbrella above her head.

He grinned, looking slightly sympathetic. "You look like you need it."

Amy stared at him before slowly taking a hold of the umbrella. "What about you?"

He quickly answered her question, bringing out another umbrella behind him as he held it above his own head. "Got my own."

"...You carry two umbrellas with you?" she asked, bemusement reaching her eyes.

"Well, the one I'm holding is the one my friend left behind at work," he said, his grin growing wider, a playful glint rooting in his gaze, "Though, I'd lie and say that I carry two just in case I see a beautiful woman like you struggling in this weather."

For a moment, Amy was at a loss for words. It wasn't until she felt her cheeks rising with heat that she pleasantly looked away from him, a nervous laugh sounding past her lips. "Right."

"So," he continued, surprising her, "I'm guessing it didn't go too well?"

It took a second for Amy to figure out what he was talking about and she couldn't help but sigh, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, you could say that," she said, pressing her lips together in contemplation whether to say more or not. It wouldn't hurt, actually. She already had the worst night of her life. "My friends set me up with him. Figured they needed to put some spice in my 'single mingle' life."

She heard a chuckle, making her look at him again. "What?"

The blue hedgehog shook his head. "No, nothing. So you just left him without a ride or anything to keep you dry?"

Amy blushed, gnawing on her lip again. "He was rude, okay? I really couldn't stand another minute with him talking about how rich and impressive he was! A-And yeah..." She swallowed, embarrassed, "I'm a klutz. I didn't check the weather. But I'd rather get wet in the rain for an hour than be with that stupid arrogant man ever again!"

She hadn't realised that she was shouting all her pent up frustrations until she saw his face. He stared at her, surprised yet she was able to spot the amusement etching up across his lips. Amy widened her eyes, embarrassed again that she was venting to a complete stranger about her horrible predicament. "I'm... I'm so sorry," she apologised.

However, he never deterred. In fact, his smile only became bigger. "Nah, it's all right. Because of some douche, you're out here cold and dripping wet. Pretty low if you ask me."

Flustered by his calm response, Amy only nodded and smiled sheepishly. "Thank you," she said and took a step forward on the pavement, "For the umbrella as well. How can I give it back?"

"Keep it," he just said, "I usually take a car home but for some reason I felt like walking today," he hummed then, his green eyes glossing over her again, "Maybe this was fate?"

Amy shook her head, trying her best not to laugh as she momentarily looked away. "Doubt it, but thank you," she glanced back at the blue hedgehog once more, "Uh..."

"Sonic."

She nodded, inwardly marveling about how wonderful his name was. "Amy," she said and began working her legs, but lingered her feet on the ground for another second, "I guess I'll see you later then, Sonic."

Sonic nodded back at her, his charming stance never fading. "Stay safe, Amy."

Amy finally turned and walked off, in the process of coming into terms as to what exactly just happened.

She clutched the umbrella against her hand, shaking her head.

Just a one time thing, nothing to fawn over about.

Even though the rain got heavier, it still wasn't able to wipe off the smile that crept up on her lips.

...

Amy wanted to buy flowers for her mother. It was her birthday today and she wanted them to be extra special.

There was a popular flower shop that everybody kept raving about on the internet. It had amazing reviews and she was impressed by how beautiful they were in the pictures, so she urged herself to see them in person. It was only a ten minute walk from her apartment.

When she walked inside, her eyes immediately caught the blue hedgehog she saw a few days ago, handling some of the flower stock in the front counter.

She felt her heart speed up, before she shot her eyes down at her feet as she quickly slid over to one of the small corners of the shop, hoping he didn't notice her gawking at him just then.

Glancing at the flowers in front of her, Amy took the time to pay attention to each one. There were so many to choose from that she felt a little overwhelmed by the choices.

Her dad once told her that buying yellow lilies was the trick into asking her mom out on a date. They were her favourite after all.

Amy preferred roses though. Not because of her name, but because she was naturally a hopeless romantic. Her hobby... maybe obsession, was reading romance novels and watching movies. It was a nice stress relief after cramming in some of her studies.

Roses were just pretty as they were and just the sight of them made her happy.

Enough of that though. Today wasn't about her.

"Hey. It's Amy, right?"

Amy jumped and turned to see that Sonic stood close to her, a happy smile on his face. She held a hand against her chest. "You scared me."

"Sorry about that," he chuckled, scratching the back of his head before asking her, "Are you looking for anything particular?"

"Yes, actually," she replied, still in the midst of recovering from his appearance, "Do you stock any yellow lilies?"

"We do," Sonic nodded before gesturing her to the front counter, "Do you want a basket or a bouquet?"

"Bouquet, please."

Amy started fishing for her purse inside her bag, realising that she still had his umbrella in it. "Oh," she dug it out and handed it over to him, "Thank you for the other day."

"It's no big deal," he quickly dismissed her and gestured to the umbrella, "But like I said, you can keep it!"

She pressed her lips and pulled her hand back, discreetly eyeing for a spot she'd leave it in once she was finished with her purchase. "I-I didn't think I'd run into you again..."

Sonic shot her an expectant look as he began handling the yellow lilies. "You seem happy about it."

Feeling her face heat up at the other hedgehog's remark, Amy shook her head and let out an awkward laugh. "You don't know that," she said before smiling down at the bouquet he was preparing, "They look really beautiful!"

"They do, huh," Sonic agreed and loaded up the cash register as he gave the flowers to her, "Who are they for?"

"My mom," she answered and gave him the change, sniffing the lilies in delight, "It's her birthday today."

"Oh? Happy birthday to her! She'll definitely love those."

"She did," Amy said, looking up from the lilies to him as she swallowed the unexpected lump against her throat, "She used to put them everywhere around the house."

The empathy took place in his face immediately. "Amy, I'm-"

"It's fine," Amy interjected softly and smiled, shifting the mood, "She'll be happy since you grew them so nicely!"

Sonic relaxed, smiling back at her. "We got them in this morning and they usually go out pretty quick, so you're just in time!"

Laughing, she sniffed the flowers again. "I'll definitely come back for some more!"

The glint in his eyes was unmistakable. "Oh, you should. Gives us an excuse to see each other more often."

Amy's head was still buried in front of the lilies, so when she heard that from him, she stilled completely. She felt her face becoming hot again, betraying her calm posture that she was able to hold throughout their entire exchange.

Oh goodness, her heart was beating so fast!

"Y-Yeah..." Amy managed to stammer out, noticing the satisfied smirk on his face. She chewed on her bottom lip, not sure if he was just teasing her out of pity from last time or being genuine. She couldn't tell but hoped it was the latter.

...Hoped? Amy waved that thought off, scoffing.

"Do you have a favourite?" Sonic asked, bringing her attention back to him. She silently nodded, not trusting her voice as he gestured her to wait, "Give me a sec."

Confused, she watched him disappear into the back. While he was gone, Amy took this as a chance to leave his umbrella underneath the counter somewhere.

When he came back, he held out a single red rose in front of her. "I grew it fresh out of my own garden back home," Sonic said, that dazzling grin planting on his lips again, "It reminded me of you."

Amy blinked at him, stunned. She shifted her look down at the rose and then back at Sonic, his handsome face practically glowing at her. With a shaking hand, she took the rose, their fingers just brushing ever so lightly.

She swallowed.

Chaos, he wasn't joking.

"Th-Thanks," Amy finally managed to blunder, cursing inwardly at her squeak. She pressed her lips and sent him a shy smile, a brief wave following before she started heading towards the front door, "Bye... for now."

If he said anything else, she didn't hear it because she was already out of the store with her feet moving at an abnormally fast pace.

She didn't stop until she was in front of her mother's grave, setting down the lilies against her stone. Amy knelt down, staring at her mother's name before trailing her eyes over to the rose Sonic gave her.

A sigh bristled past her lips as she smiled. Do you think so too, mom?

...

It had been a week since she last saw Sonic and she couldn't stop thinking about what happened.

She hadn't been able to stop thinking about him. Amy always stayed focus in her classes, but she'd find herself day dreaming from time to time about the blue hedgehog.

The rose in her room stayed in a small vase outside her window and she kept getting distracted by it.

Her friends questioned it when they came to visit, but Amy only gave them a discrete answer to avoid any of the excessive teasing.

She recalled his words when they first met.

"Maybe this was fate?"

Was it? Amy never felt this way before.

Was the horrible date meant to happen? Did the weather that day detect her mood about never finding the right person? And then have Sonic miraculously show up to save her from the rain?

She didn't know and didn't want to dwell on it that much either.

She just knew she needed to do something about it.

...

The next day after she was done with errands, Amy walked into the flower shop hoping to see him there.

He was, of course. His attention was on the flower bouquet he was making and Amy found it to be so cute and admirable.

Using the courage she had built up on the way, she walked closer to him. "Hey."

Sonic immediately stopped what he was doing and lifted his head up. When he saw her, his face practically lit up. "Hey Amy!" He greeted her with the same enthusiasm but then suddenly looked a little hesitant, "About the other day, I'm sorry if I made you feel-"

"Do you want to go on a date with me?" Amy blurted out, surprising even herself as she held out a yellow lily in front of him.

She recited how she was going to do this before she came here. Ask him how he was doing, talk about a few of the other flowers the shop had and then strike.

But she didn't think she would strike so quickly.

Maybe it was because of Sonic's relaxed manner that made her do it. He was a breathtaking and handsome person, yet so soothing and easy to talk to.

His obvious flirty advances on her were merely an added bonus.

Sonic smiled, his eyes never leaving hers as he took the lily flower. "Of course. I'd love to."

...

It was raining again.

Amy groaned and ran inside the shelter of a bus stop.

She just checked the weather this morning and it said that it wouldn't be raining at all today! Why was it now?

Scrambling for her phone inside her bag, she panicked when she saw the time.

At this rate, she wasn't going to make it in time for their date!

Darn it and the last bus had gone already! Why wasn't she more prepared?

Just as Amy hovered her thumb over Sonic's name on her phone, a light tap on her shoulder interrupted her as she looked up to meet a pair of green eyes.

"I'm beginning to think you don't have one at home," Sonic chuckled at her, holding out the same umbrella he had given her from their first meeting.

Amy blinked at him and then laughed, sighing as shook her head. "Told you I'm a klutz," she said, taking the umbrella.

Sonic gave her a brilliant smile and intertwined their hands together. "We wouldn't be doing this if you weren't one."