"If you do as we say, there is no way it can go wrong!"

If only there were such things as absolute certainty when it comes to this kind of thing, which honestly, I am not sure I have had much experience with. Don't get me wrong, I love my friends, but even I could tell that following what they said to the letter with Zooey would only serve for me to look weird and for my approach to feel forced and unnatural. I did take some of the advice as I saw fit, but with a heavy amount of my own adaptations to it. I am not too experienced but common sense told me a thing or two. It really shocked me when instead of hearing a positive response, I was greeted with a disgusted look, as if I had made the most absurd offer in the word. The look on her face showed how much she despised me; it felt as if it had made her sick in the stomach. Maybe I am not the prettiest, but what kind of reaction is that? That look hurt way more than the "I already have someone I am interested on" which came afterwards. Sadly, I let her go out of my plane and flew all the way back home.

This kind of pain was new, one I don't remember feeling before. I do remember the tears which streamed from my eyes and fell in the edges of the goggles I wore as my fur felt wet around my eyes. I removed them as soon as I was out of the plane, as I parked it in my workshop. No one is in obligation to like anybody, but really, if you don't like someone why bother going out with them just to reject them completely when they confess to you? It would be better to just avoid the person completely from the beginning than give them false hope. Those eyes scanning me from top to bottom and then I being rejected that way, still had my mind in a turmoil.

I didn't want to be alone, but frankly, I did not want to meet my two guy friends either. I walked out of my shop and headed out, and walked all the way until I stood before her door. Should I knock? I went to knock and took back my hand several times before I finally decided to do it. She did not take too long to open the door, nor to notice my lack of excitement either. I hung my head and ears low, gazed at her face briefly before staring away from her again. She let out a compassionate sigh before she approached me and gave me a hug. As much as I wanted to, I could not keep them in anymore. As I started sobbing, tears streaming from my eyes much more than before, she invited me in and closed the door behind. We sat at the sofa and she continued to remain close to me, patting my back softly. It took a good while before I managed to control myself. My face felt warm and wet, and I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand. We both were quiet, until I decided to speak.

"Well, she rejected me." I said as I stared at my hands which rested on my lap. "I don't know what I did wrong, Amy."

"I'm sorry to hear it, Tails. I'm sure you did nothing wrong, though. What did she say?" She said, her hand still on my back.

"Well... we were flying on the plane, seeing the village from above and everything. I told her I liked her, and she pauses for a second and gives me a look from top to bottom, acts as if I was covered in mud or something, and proceeds to give me a look of digust and say she already had someone she liked." I hated remembering that scene; saying it still felt horrible, but I owed her an explanation. My hands were trembling, and I could feel a tear or so run down my cheek again. I did not put much effort into keeping them in. When I calmed down again, I continued to speak.

"I felt horrible as a person, Amy. As if I wasn't 'enough' for anything, and never would be."

The room was silent. My hiccups were gone and my tears kept rolling down quietly. The pain on my chest was only subdued my the gentle stroking on my back. I was getting used to it, until she stopped.

"Tails" Amy turned to me and I turned to look at her. Her face was serious, and her eyes contained what seemed liked a mixture of care, worry, and anger. "You have been going on dates with this girl for a while now, but I have known and been friends with you for far longer than her. You are a sweet guy, and I am sure whichever girl who ends up with you will be happy with how you treat them. I am sure you have been nothing but nice to this girl, and yet she treated you that way even after all this time. If there is anything wrong, it is not with you." I listened to her patiently as I recalled all those moments I had spent with Zooey. I could not recall anytime I had been harsh, or at least a time when she complained about anything. Everything was going so well, until I got this bitter surprise out of nowhere.

"I never felt so miserable." I said as I kept facing down. No matter how much I tried I could not get rid of the pain, nor make any sense of it in my mi-

"Tails!" Amy was not one to scream, but the urgency in her voice made me instantly turn to face her. Her grip on my shoulder was strong, and her stare seemed like it would pierce my soul. Unlike before, I could not turn my

gaze away from them, no matter how much I tried. Despite being serious, she did not intimidate me. She wanted my attention, and she had it.

"Tails. You are the nicest guy I know! You are kind, sweet, brave, respectful, a good listener and a great friend. There is no way you aren't enough or are miserable. We have been friends for a while, and though no one is perfect, there has never been a time where you mistreated me or made me feel horrible about myself. Which she did do to you! Who is the miserable one, then?" Amy had fire in her eyes, and my lips seemed frozen in place. I kept listening, still unable to look anywhere else.

"Quite the opposite, in fact. You always manage to make the mood better despite whatever bad thing may have occurred to our group, and on the times we hung out just ourselves we both had plenty of fun. You are a joy to be around, I am glad I am your friend. I know you liked that girl, but if she cannot recognize that about you, then she is not the right one for you. Her loss, really. And what a big loss it was."

Amy kept looking deep into my eyes, and I could not look away for a few minutes either. When I finally managed to blink I looked away, my heart racing and beating against my chest. "A-Amy..." I was sure my face was beet red, and it would become obvious if it was not for my fur.

I sighed with relief as I let out a smile. The pain on my chest was still present, but instead of the wetness in my face from all the crying, my heart now felt warm and comfortable. I had not forgotten what had just happened, but I felt like I could deal better with it now. And it was all thanks to her.

"Thank you, Amy. I feel a lot better now." I smiled as best as I could, still avoiding her eyes a bit. Frankly, it was a lot to process, and though I was now happier, I was a bit distracted. It was when I felt two arms embrace me again that I broke out of my thoughts.

"Of course, that is what friends are for!" Amy said cheerfully, smiling as she remained close to me. I replied the gesture as I also wrapped my arms around her, and we stayed that way for a while. "You are such a great friend."

Amy is not the type to hug quickly, but this time it felt as if she did want to stay for longer. Honestly though, despite whatever others may say or have said about it, I did not want to let go either. The warmth of her embrace made the pain from my rejection seem little. I needed that a lot, so we kept that way, breathing silently until she decided to break both the hug slightly and the quietness.

"I am glad to have met you, Tails" Amy said as she once again began looking at me, "I just wish you had better luck in the love life than me"

"Oh, tell me about it..." I sighed.

This wasn't the first time I had gone through a rejection or failed relationship experience. While admittedly the other times were not as painful as this one, we still had the opportunity to have a conversation at least twice about it.

"You remember that batgirl don't you?"

"Ugh, not that one" I facepalmed. "Only really wanted to trick me out of precious resources!"

"Yeah. I'm still angry at her. Not as angry as with that brownish hedgehog though. What a disgusting cheater."

"Oh, that one? I was disgusted when I found out she was seeing more people, but right now I actually feel sorry for her."

"Do you really?" She said, looking at me surprised.

"Come to think of it, it must really be painful to never find someone you actually like and be with them."

"Hmmph. I don't know. She had a lot of time to think it through into seeing all those people, I don't think she regrets it even if just a little bit." Amy said with her arms crossed as she looked away and pouted.

"Well, hope she finds someone as soon as she changes into someone actually worth dating." I finished.

Amy went quiet and I stared at the floor as I faced away from her and in the direction of the door. "All those times though, we were here discussing it werent we."

"Hmm... Psychologist Rose to the rescue!" She said as she giggled, forcing me to laugh as well. Her carefree laugh was contagious.

"Come on, Amy, you're way better than a psychologist" And it was true, she was more than a professional, she was a great friend. "I just wonder sometimes, doesn't the psychologist also need one from time to time?"

"Aaah..." Amy sighed as she knew fully well what I meant. "I'll be honest with you, I think he is a lost cause for me already. And you know I don't give up easily" She said as she looked at me with one eye closed. She was now also facing the door, and rested her head on her fists, and her elbows on her knees. I nodded, and she proceeded. "He fails to give me a proper reason instead of just running away when the subject comes into question, I kinda have given up trying to get anywhere with it anymore"

"My, don't lose hope, Amy. You were cheering me up just now" I said as I sat close to her and had her rest her head on my shoulder. I put my arm behind her and gently patted her head, trying to comfort her. She paused for a bit before she continued.

"You know what, Tails" The pink girl said, still resting her head against my shoulder. "Maybe the psychologist needs their own psychologist sometimes..."

"I'm all ears" I smiled.

Silence dominated the room for a few seconds. I waited until she spoke again, and she seemed to take her time to think what she was going to say. After a little while, she resumed.

"Do you think dating me would be that bad?"

"Amy, you are a nice girl!" I replied with a smile, at the same time pulling her a little closer. "You care about the ones you like a lot! I imagine with the one you loved you would be even more caring, and they would be super happy to be with you." I breathed in before I continued. "Sonic is just... odd towards things like relationships and all. It is like the only subject we don't talk much about when it is just me and him."

"He does flirt with some girls from time to time though... they all seem so much prettier too" She said, her voice tone sounding a little sad.

"I don't think that is the issue. It isn't like they were any top models or anything. I just think he does it out of curiosity, I guess? We both know how he is, does the unexpected sometimes."

"Yeah..."

The room went quiet as we both did not speak a word. I continued to pat her head gently as she kept leaning it on my shoulder. I was still not satisfied with my answer, and I tried thinking of what else to say. After a while, I finally had something.

"You know, Amy, this is something that I have been asking myself too. Like, why Sonic reacts like this."

"Oh? Do you have any clue?" She turned to look at me, clearly interested.

"Well, not so much as a clue but, something I thought of just now." I replied as I scratched my chin. Amy merely stared, waiting for me to continue.

"If I were to date someone, I would want to date someone with... substance. I mean, someone who would not just like me for whom I am, but someone who was actually something, having a personality. This probably explains why I have gotten interested in those two before, and maybe even Zooey now, so our senses can fail, but nonetheless, someone with a personality is far much better than someone who is interested in you because of what you have. Take Marla for instance, that bat thief"

"Oh, so that was her name again? I had already forgotten completely"

"Yeah. While she may not have stolen anything from me, she just wanted to hang around because of what I could provide or because of what I had. And despite her looks, it proved to be a complete waste of time, and resources..." I said as I recalled those days. I wish I had not ignored so much because of her looks and noticed it sooner. But again, who knows anything without going through it? It was the first time, after all. I'm glad it is all over, though. After a short pause I continued.

"Then there was that brown hedgehog... I can still remember the disgust that she caused me. But despite the fact she had looks and didn't gravitate only towards what I had to offer, she was unfaithful. She could just as well be with me and be with another just the same, so she could not be trusted" I said as I closed me eyes. After a while I began feeling sorry for her, but I sure did not want to be still running after her today. Amy kept her attention on me, and soon I continued.

"In the end, I am glad I did not end up with either of them. The outcome would be terrible, so even if it did hurt at first, it looks like I dodged a bullet. And that was the case for Zooey as well" I let out a small sigh of relief.

"Yeah, I see what you mean" Amy said as she tapped her nose with her index finger, looking away.

"As for you, though, you don't want someone because of their posessions or because of what they can do for you, but because you genuinely like them. You're not just pretty either, but you have a great caring and loving personality as well. I am sure you would not measure efforts to help either a friend or someone you loved when they needed, and you are faithful. I cannot see you saying you like someone just to turn on them later on, that is simply not like you. I think dating you would be amazing if not perfect. You're the ideal girl. This baffles me about Sonic, honestly. I am not sure why he is this blind, but I know for sure he is missing out. And what a great loss it is."

Do you know how sometimes you try to say something under one breath and end up breathing harshly later? I don't know why I did it just now, but I could not risk stopping and losing my point. My heart was racing a little too. Amy looked at me wide-eyed for a bit before she looked away and blushed. "T-Tails... I never really thought of myself that way..." She said as she gazed away, playing with her hands on her knees. "You really are sweet... thanks!" The girl still looked away, her voice getting smaller as she finished speaking. I have to admit it, this behavior was kind of cute from her, sort of like when we were younger. "You're welcome."

Amy then stopped playing with her hands over her knees and started messing with her hair. She turned to face me, not looking directly into my eyes for too long.

"Do you really think I am pretty, though?"

If the girl had asked me this in any other moment or any other context, I would probably not have any major problems saying yes and finishing the conversation. Or anything at all, for that matter. The way she stared in my eyes was like that of a few moments before, except now for some reason it was not just about being unable to speak.

If I had been asked this question at any other situation, I believe I probably would not have any trouble answering at all and finishing the conversation, yet I could not open my mouth no matter what I did. I had seen her countless times all those years but somehow just now she managed to look different. I knew she would sometimes put on makeup but it didn't look like she had any on right now. Her hair adorned her head, making her face look perfectly symmetrical, mathematically proportional. The way she stared in my eyes was like that of before; they were shiny, as if I were looking at two pieces of emerald in the sunlight. If I tried to avoid them, I would end up looking down to her lips. They looked so glossy and shiny, maybe even... soft. I wanted to shake my head and wave those thoughts away, but I could not move for the life of me. I blinked several times until I somehow managed to look down. We were still sitting close, her thigh touching mine, and her hand only mere centimeters away from mine, as was the girl herself.

"We always end up here, together whenever this occurs... don't we?" Amy asked, her voice sounded like a whisper, but it was so loud I could not hear anything else. My heart was pounding in my chest, and my head just would not think properly.

"Yeah... maybe we're... supposed to be..." What was I even saying?

Amy removed her hand from dealing with her hair and rested it on her lap, never ceasing to stare at my eyes, and I could not look away either.

"Do you think kissing me would be that bad?" She said as she slowly closed her eyes and leaned in. My heart was racing; I could feel the veins in my ears pulsating. I was unable to think, or remain still.

"Not a single bit."

I leaned towards her and our lips finally met. The softness wad undescribable, and at the same time they held mine with such tenderness I knew she had no doubt in her decision. I kept pressing my lips on hers until we both wanted more. I instinctively opened my mouth and so she did simultaneously, her hand coming to my face to bring me closer and deepen our embrace. We went for each other's tongue passionately, fighting to see who would take the lead at times, and then both becoming passive towards each other here and there. We continued that dancing until sadly we ran out of breath, and had to part ways shortly after.

We had our eyes closed as we kissed, and slowly we opened them to see each other. I could see my light blue orbs reflecting on her emerald green ones, and I did not want to look anywhere else. My heart was racing, and I am sure hers was as well. Neither of us wanted to go too far from each other; we kept our mouths close, breathing nearly the same air. She kept her hand on my face as her gaze was locked into mine, passion being written all over her expression. Her heart was indeed pounding so hard as her hand kept twitching every now and then. We stayed like that for a few seconds, until we could hear anything other than our breathing.

"Amy, I am coming in!"

Our eyes widened as we heard Cream knocking for what seemed like a third time and then entering the room. I never had jumped away so fast before in my life, even on my fights with Eggman or his robots. Amy did the same with such strength she nearly lost her balance and fell over the arm of the sofa. She was blushing like mad, but did her best to hide it as we both turned to the door. I sat up incredibly fast, making it seem as if I was going to go answer the door but hadn't done so in time.

"Hey Amy, and hey Tails!" Cream said cheerfully as she came in. The girl was all dressed up, it seemed as if she was going somewhere. "I hope you both are doing well!"

I had to praise Amy for her acting here. "Oh, hey Cream, I'm doing well! And you're looking great!" She said as she hid her lack of breath with excitement for the girl.

"Do you like it? I got it for such a nice price at that fancy dress shop you showed me last week!" Cream said as she smiled and showed her dress to Amy. It was a pink-orangeish dress, with a design which almost made her look like a princess. It looked expensive, hard to believe it was indeed for cheap. She indeed looked pretty, but I was more concerned with leaving.

"You look great, Cream! And it seems just in time for you and Amy's appointment!" I said it taking the risk. I never knew they had one, but I needed an excuse fast. Fortunately, I wasn't wrong.

"Yeah. I hope you haven't forgotten about it, right? The event is going to be so fun this afternoon!" The rabbit said as she faced the pink hedgehog.

"And how could I? I just need to go get my bag real quick and then we can go. Tails just came to visit until you came here."

Thank you, Amy. "Yes, that is right. I think I should better get going, I have some stuff to fix on my plane for later." I smiled a small smile before I headed to the door.

"Oh, good luck with her, Tails!" Cream said as she waved to me. I waved back to her and then to Amy, before I left. "Thanks!"