3

Amy

"You're late," Sonic said simply as I jogged up to him. He was sitting on the front steps of the school with his hood pulled up over his head. Yesterday, I heard him promise Benny that he'd start walking with me to work. Usually, I was fine walking by myself, but my fathers were beginning to worry with the rise in gang activity lately. I didn't blame them for wanting to keep me safe, but I hated that they'd asked Sonic to be my escort.

"I was talking to my counselor about my grades," I explained.

"Five more minutes and I would've left your ass here," he grumbled, ignoring my excuse.

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. Can we just go now?"

We walked together in a peaceful silence to the restaurant. We entered through the back door and dropped off our coats in the break room. We went their separate ways to change into our custom work tees and reunited behind the counter. Sonic scanned over the buzzing crowd while I looked over the table assignments.

"Alright, you have tables 5 through 15, and I have tables 15-20, and 1-5. Don't fuck up our assignments again," I said as I tied an apron around my waist.

"I'll do whatever the fuck I want, short stack." He roughly bumped my shoulder as he passed.

I shook my head, biting my tongue to refrain from replying. I pasted a generic smile on my face and headed out to greet my customers.

For most of my shift, I served my regulars. Mr. and Mrs. Brown on their weekly dinner date. Ms. Turner and her two young kids getting their milkshake fix. Dr. Maroney stopping in for dinner before teaching his evening class.

Since it was a weeknight, the restaurant wasn't extremely busy. Besides my regulars, only a few older couples and some groups of school-aged kids fluctuated through the restaurant.

I didn't mind the slower pace since we'd been busy all of winter break. It was nice being able to hear myself think while I was working. But, with less to do also meant more opportunities for boredom – particularly Sonic's boredom.

Ten minutes into our shift, he began bumping shoulders with me as he passed and tugging at my ponytail when I was in the middle of speaking. With each taunt, I sent him a kick in the shins. On a busy night, I would've settled for a sharp glare; but, due to the relaxed pace, I was willing to engage him in our little fight.

As I was clearing off one of my tables, I noticed Sonic talking to a bunch of private school girls. A brunette with glittering brown eyes held his attention. She was looking up at him beneath her long, dark lashes. A sensual smile lay on her perfectly glossed lips. Without breaking their gaze, she pulled the straw of her milkshake between her lips and explicitly wrapped her red lips around it.

"Maybe on Friday after my match, you and I could hangout or something," I heard Sonic say.

"Or something," she repeated, the straw still between her teeth.

"Sonic," I yelled before I could stop myself.

He looked up at me, his smile immediately falling. Hints of a scowl appeared around his lips, but I didn't care.

"Can you help me with this?" I asked, gesturing to the giant mess on the table.

He opened his mouth to respond, but his brunette's hand was in his back pocket before words could come out. She pulled out his tiny order book and scribbled on a blank page.

"Here's my number," she said, holding black book out to him. "Text me when you're finished working."

I gritted my teeth, the nerves of my stomach clenching. "Sonic," I called again.

"I'm coming," he yelled, finally breaking his stare. He hurried over to me. "Why do you have to be such a cockblock?"

"Because it's fun."

He rolled his eyes. "You're welcome, by the way."

"Thank you."

He smirked. "For being a great coworker and not leaving you overwhelmed with this horrible mess?"

"I wouldn't call you a great coworker."

He scoffed. "My feelings are hurt."

"Good." I smiled as he gently nudged me with his elbow.

Near the end of our shift, I needed to occupy the takeout counter. We were starting to close, and my dad needed the former occupant's help in the back. I hadn't been at my post long, but it felt like forever. I tried to keep myself busy by cleaning up the counter and reorganizing some of the flyers we had in the front. But, the weariness of the long day was starting to rain down on me. I couldn't help yawning and rubbing my sore shoulders as I straightened up. I could've cried as I remembered I still had homework to do. All I wanted was a shower and my warm bed when I got home.

"Hey Amy," a familiar voice snapped me out of my sleepy trance. I looked up to see Jet , one of my classmates, smiling down at me.

"Hey Jet ," I replied with a small smile. "Are you picking up an order?"

"Yea. My dad tried to cook dinner and almost burnt the entire house down."

I giggled. "At least he tried, right?"

Jet shrugged as his grin grew. "Yea, I've gotta give him points for trying, but we've got to keep in mind he did set the oven up in flames."

"Damn. Never mind. I'll just be thankful you, and your house, are still standing."

Jet laughed. He watched me retrieve his order from the warmer. "How's your shift been? You look tired."

"I am tired. My shift wasn't bad, but you know how it is working right after school; it takes a major toll on you by the end of the day."

He handed me a fifty-dollar bill. "I know. Hey, are you going to the fight on Friday?"

"Yeah. I practically have to."

His smile dimmed. "Right, because you've gotta support your best friend."

I rolled my eyes at the sarcasm dripping from his voice. "I'm helping Knuckles set up before the matches - and to see Sonic's stupid grin get kicked off his face."

Jet shook his head. "Well, I was wondering if it'd be alright if I sat with you during the fight. Maybe afterwards we can grab ice cream or something."

"Sure," I said as I handed back his change. "Sounds like fun."

His fingers lingered on mine, gently caressing my skin. "Cool." He smiled. "See you tomorrow."

"Bye." I watched him walk out of the restaurant with a small smile. Before I could even register the small butterflies in my stomach, my ponytail was given a light tug. "Cut it out," I said as I swung behind me. My fist collided with a familiar pair of ribs.

Sonic shoved me into the wall. He took my place in front of the counter, leaning his back against it. He looked over his shoulder, his dark eyes following Jet 's retreating figure. "Is your little boyfriend visiting you at work now?"

I narrowed her eyes at him. "He's not my boyfriend."

He raised a brow, turning his eyes to me. "Does he know that?"

I averted my gaze. "He's not my boyfriend," I repeated.

"Whatever." He picked out a toothpick from the small, clear container on the counter and stuck it in his mouth. "Benny said you're coming home with me tonight."

"Well, duh, you always walk me home."

"No, I mean you're gonna stay over for a few hours. He just asked me." He chewed on the toothpick. "I'm just letting you know now: Cat's probably not home so don't expect me to entertain you."

I rolled my eyes. "Watch the takeout counter for a second."

I stormed to the kitchen where Benny was scrubbing the grill. "I can take care of myself, daddy," I said, stopping in front of him. "I can manage being home by myself for a few hours."

My father sighed. He reluctantly paused his task. "Amy..."

"I'll be fine, daddy. I promise. I've been doing better."

"Come on, sweetheart, let's talk in the office." He guided me to the small office in the back of the restaurant. He leaned against the desk as I crossed my arms against my chest.

"I don't need a babysitter. I don't need someone watching me twenty-four seven. I especially don't need the most annoying boy on the planet by my side almost every waking minute of the day. I know that you and Papa think that I'm not getting better, but I am. I've been feeling a lot better."

"I'm sorry, but I'm not leaving you in the house alone anytime soon." He walked up to me. Gently, he captured my chin in his hands and brought my watery eyes up to meet his. "I know you hate being limited, but Marc and I are just worried about you, Amy. What you did last year...it scared the living daylights out of us. We can't risk losing you – not again. You understand that don't you?"

"Yes," I murmured. "But why does my babysitter always have to be Sonic? Why can't literally anyone else be my watchdog?"

"You know why," Benny said.

I frowned as the memories of last summer flashed through my mind.

The door gently creaked open and Sonic popped his head into the office. "Are you ready to go or what, short stack?" he asked.

"I'm coming," I replied.

My father gently grabbed my arm and pulled me into a tight hug.

"Marc and I will come get you after the gallery showing is over, alright," he whispered into my hair. He kissed my head. "I love you, baby girl."

"I love you too, daddy." Pulling out of the hug, I offered him a tight smile. "I'll see you when you get home," I said.

Together, Sonic and I walked to the coat rack in the back and gathered our belongings. We walked through the cold streets side by side in a peaceful silence.

Sonic's house was silent when we arrived. His brother and mother were probably at work. Sonia was most likely with Shadow. Maybe it was a good idea that I'd be staying here for a little while. I wasn't too fond of the thought of Sonic being home alone either.

We dropped our backpacks and coats off in his room. I worked on my homework while Sonic cooked dinner downstairs. He returned with a plate of steaming pierogis and a can of Coca-Cola for me. I wasn't really hungry, but I didn't feel like arguing with him. So, I ate while I completed my English homework.

Sonic lounged on his bed, working on his own pile of homework. Somewhere between our work session, he'd turned on reruns of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. I didn't even realize it was on until I'd finished all of my assignments.

Wearily, I took my hair out of my ponytail and leaned my head in the palm of my hand. I watched the show for a few minutes, some of the jokes earning a tiny smile out of me. But I was so tired. Maybe if I rested my eyes for a few minutes, I'd feel better. I lay my head down on Sonic's desk and closed my eyes.

"Wake the fuck up," Sonic said as ball of paper hit my cheek.

I picked my head up and glared at him. "I'm going to fuck you up if you keep bothering me."

He raised an eyebrow. "You aren't going to do squat diddly shit, ya little punk."

Now, that was a challenge that I couldn't turn down.

I stormed over to his bed and lunged at him.

He caught me around the waist and flipped me onto the bed. He grabbed a pillow and started hitting me with it. "What happened, short stack? I thought you were gonna fuck me up." He discarded the pillow and began to tickle me.

Involuntary laughter escaped my lips. My limbs flailed, desperate to push him off of me. "Stop, stop!" I yelled between giggles. "Please, stop! I can't breathe! I can't breathe!"

Reluctantly, he stopped tickling me. "Stop talking shit," he stated, lightly slapping my cheek.

"Stop bothering me, then."

"Mmm – no."

I rolled my eyes, relaxing against his covers. His mattress was soft and familiar under my back. The scent of his favorite Old Spice body wash lingered on his blankets, wrapping around me like a cocoon. My eyes fluttered shut, the need for sleep overwhelming my body.

"Don't go to sleep."

"I'm not," I said, snuggling my head into his pillow. "I'm just resting my eyes." Sonic's voice wafted through my ears again, the words blurring together as I quickly fell into an undreaming sleep.