16

Sonic

The loud thuds of my gloved hands against Tony's punch mitts was a small noise in the symphony of sounds echoing through the gym. I was dancing around the ring with Tony, throwing combinations of kicks and punches at the padded circles on Tony's hands. I ducked every so often as Knuckles tried to strike back. I was doing my damnedest to concentrate on our sparing, but it was hard to focus when I could feel Amy's eyes boring into my back.

She was sitting on the bench near our small ring with a notebook in her lap and her math textbook open in front of her. Every few minutes, I caught her staring at me, her plump lips agape with awe and her green eyes filled with wonder. After our conversation on Saturday, she'd been watching me more closely. On our walks home, she'd stare at our intertwined hands. During our shifts, I'd catch her glimpse lasting longer than a moment after I'd tugged her hair or poked her in the ribs. There was always a hint of surprise in her eyes - as if she couldn't believe I existed. While I wasn't complaining about the extra attention, it was strange to think that she really hadn't caught on to my feelings. Even after I'd blatantly expressed them last summer, though admittedly at the worst timing, she seemed oblivious to the way I felt towards her. I guess parading the string of girl toys in her face didn't help. But, I made it very clear they meant nothing to me. In comparison, she meant everything.

I glanced in her direction again, meeting her beautiful green irises.

Scarlet rushed across her cheeks as she immediately averted her gaze back down to her notebook.

I would've chuckled if Knuckles didn't slap me right in my temple. "What the fuck?" I yelled, stumbling a bit from the surprise impact.

"If you weren't staring at your girlfriend, maybe you would've dodged it," Knuckles replied.

"She's not my girlfriend," I snapped at him.

"Guerra, I'm far from stupid. You and Nieves have been googling at each other for the past half hour."

I smirked. "You're just mad because no one's googling at your ugly ass."

He rolled his eyes. "Go take a break before I whoop your ass."

I obeyed his command, knowing good and well he'd hold up on his comment if I said another word. I was a good fighter, but Knuckles was one of the greatest. He could beat me with one hand tied behind his back if he really wanted to. He was one of the few people I wouldn't want to piss off, but that didn't stop me from annoying him every chance I had. As much of a hard ass as he was, he knew he loved me. He wouldn't still be training me if he didn't.

I grabbed my green Gatorade water bottle from the corner of the ring as I slid under the ropes. I threw my leg over the bench where Amy sat and sat across from her. I slid close to her, caging her legs in with mine and throwing my free arm around her waist. My lips dipped down to her ear, gently brushing against her cartilage as I spoke. "Do you like what you see?" I whispered huskily.

Amy grimaced. She pushed at my chest. "I don't like what I smell. I thought you were past the anti-deodorant phase."

I grinned, the nozzle of my water bottle lodged between my teeth. "It's all hard work and dedication, baby. Don't act like you weren't appreciating it a few minutes ago."

"Knuckles told you to take a break, not to mess with me."

"My break is messing with you."

"Well, go find something else to do. I have to finish my math homework."

"Sounds like your problem, not mine."

"If you want, you could help me; you passed Algebra 2 last year with an A."

"I could, but why would I want to do that?"

Amy smiled. "Because you think I'm cute."

"I think you're beautiful," I corrected. "But I also think I enjoy fucking with you more than helping you." My grin grew. "Maybe if you give me a kiss, I'll reconsider."

"You're annoying," Amy sighed. She glanced around at the few other occupants in the gym. None of them were looking their way; they were all focused on their own workouts. "You know we can't right now. There's people around."

I shrugged. "So? What are you so afraid of? Everyone here knows you're mine."

She stabbed her finger into my chest. "I'm not yours. I am a person, not an object. Thank you very much."

"When are you going to be my girl?" I asked, curious about her answer. Our mild flirting over the past few days was nice, but I craved more than just sweet words. I wanted to hold her close and kiss her for all she was worth. The only other kiss we'd ever shared lasted all of five seconds, and she was too mortified to even look at me afterwards. While it may have been quick, and on the pretense of a dare, one kiss was all it took for my thirteen-year old brain to know she was meant to be mine.

"When you ask me nicely."

"Hmm, define nicely."

"You know, like you take me out on a nice date and give me one of letter jackets or a necklace or a ring. We need to have something that symbolizes our relationship.

"Sounds like some bullshit out of a chick flick or those sappy drama television shows. The dinner I'm going to buy you on the way home can be the object that symbolizes our relationship. What the hell do you need one of my jackets or jewelry for?"

She rolled her eyes. "Because it's romantic."

"Do I look like I know how to be romantic?"

She punched me in my chest. "Shut up, Sonic."

"Hey, don't get mad at me; I'm just speaking my mind."

"Hmm, not surprising."

"Is there anything else I need to know when planning this stupid romantic ceremony?"

She shrugged. "Usually, the date is more intimate than usual; boy takes girl to a

secluded yet romantic spot and the boy finally pops the question." She shook her head. "I don't

know why I'm even still talking about this. It's not like you're actually going to do it."

I raised an eyebrow. "Who says I wasn't going to do it?"

"You just called it stupid!"

"So? I thought Twilight was stupid, but I still watched all five volumes of torture on Sunday because I knew it made you happy." I pressed my lips against her forehead. "I'll do anything I can to make you happy. Your happiness means the world to me."

Amy smiled. "You're actually kind of sweet, you know that?"

I smirked. "Oh I know. Just know this sweet side doesn't come for free."

"Oh really? What exactly are you thinking I'm repaying you with for your kindness?"

"I don't know. What'd you have in mind?"

"Guerra!" Tony's voice boomed before she could answer,

I reluctantly turned my head in Tony's direction. He was standing next to Mr. Connors near the front doors of the gym.

My counselor looked weird outside of his usual button down shirts and slacks. In his tee shirt, I could see an abundance of tattoos decorating his brown skin and the gold chain hanging around his neck. A Chicago Bulls hat sat atop of his short cut hair. What the hell was he doing here?

I promised Amy I'd be right back before jogging over to him. "I haven't done shit," I told Mr. Connors. I dodged a hit from Knuckles as he passed me.

Mr. Connors chuckled. "I know. You just haven't been in my office in a while, so I thought it was the perfect time to remind you that I'd track you down and check on you if I needed to."

I rolled my eyes. "You're really stuck on that 'counselor who actually cares' bullshit, aren't you?"

"I do care about you, Sonic," he said. "You're just too stubborn to get it through your thick skull."

I clenched my jaw, his words reminding me too much of my own. "Whatever." I crossed my arms against my chest. "What do you want Mr. C?"

"Well, I wanted to present an opportunity to you, since you've been so well-behaved lately, and I was trying to think of more incentives to keep you out of trouble."

I raised an eyebrow. "I'm not going away to some religious retreat where they help us find Jesus."

Mr. Connors chuckled. "I wasn't going to send you away, Sonic."

"Then what were you planning on doing?"

"Do you remember the mentorship conference we went to during your freshman year?"

"You mean the mentorship conference you dragged me to," I corrected.

Mr. Connors shook his head. "Well, Sonic, I signed you up to be a potential mentor for this year's program."

"Why would you do that?" I exclaimed. "I am not mentor material."

"Well, I thought it'd be good for you to connect with someone you can relate to. I've been talking to some of the counselors at the middle school, and there's one particular seventh grader whose name kept coming up."

I groaned. "Mr. C, I really do not need a middle schooler to look after."

"How about you meet him and the two of you can decide for yourselves? Can you at least do that?"

Sighing, I nodded my head. "Sure. Okay. Just let me know where to be and when."

He smiled. "I will. Have a good night, now."

"Yeah, you too." I stuck my hands in my pockets as I turned around. A grin tugged at my lips at the sight of Amy staring down at her math homework. The corner of her plump bottom lip was caught between her teeth, gently gnawing. Her brows were pinched together in concentration, creating a tiny crease on her forehead. Stray curls that escaped her ponytail hung around her face.

My hands itched to push them behind her ears and ease her head back in the process. I wanted to kiss away the crease in her forehead and free her lip from her teeth's grasp, capturing the bruised skin with my own. The thought didn't sound half bad. After all, it wasn't our first kiss - and I was getting tired of waiting to do it again. I increased my stride, anxious to reach her.

"Guerra!" Knuckles called.

God fucking dammit, I thought. Reluctantly, I turned my head in his direction.

He was back in the small ring, pulling his mitts on. "Break time is over. Get your ass over here."

Fighting a string of swear words, I silently accepted my lost opportunity. There'd be more opportunities to kiss her. When the right moment came along, I was aiming to claim much more than her lips. The next time we kissed, I was going to claim her heart too.