Mist Valley Apex Avian, Writer's Freedom, Sonamy Lover, SwedenSpeedway, Novus Umbra, poka, The Cinderninja, Soul the Catt, 01sonamy01, CherrletheChicken, rugtugba, Sonic Speed Blue Blur 23, IHeartSonAmy, SugarhogRose, Tornad0Watch, enustikehtelkcaJ, Mike Prower the Fox, Alyssacookie, Welshausten, Anonymous Steve, sinister showdown, Lexi the Hedgehog, SkulY2K, Steveice10, Mana the Cat Magician: ... Something very, very, very strange happened to my eyes while I was typing all those names. Have I ever said that I LOVE YOU GUYS? I can't believe it. I thought this story was going to break me as a writer and you all would turn your backs on me. It's funny, I thought the same thing with my story Passion. And that became one of my most popular stories.

Oh, I'm getting all mushy. :'') But I've never gotten over 20 reviews on one chapter before... you guys are a-freaking-mazing.

Enjoy chapter 3. Your patience and tolerance will be rewarded. But you might wanna pull out some Kleenex...

...xxx...ooo...xxx...

Chapter 3: Friends Like These

...xxx...ooo...xxx...

With the raising of the sun, two of the young'ins in the house arose, but tread quietly across the floor lest they wake up the others. Cream and Tails met right outside Marine's large house that most of them were staying in, whispering softly together, the first rays of dawn caressing their bodies.

"Tails..." Cream said pitifully, her chocolate brown eyes threatening to spill tears.

The fox frowned and gently put his arm around her shoulders, but blushed deeply when Cream increased the contact to wrap him in a complete hug, resting her sweet little head on his shoulder.

"How's Amy doing?" he asked, shaking off the butterflies to focus on the task.

"Oh Tails... she cried all night. I can't even talk to her... she's just so sad... Sonic means so much to her... and now he's dating Blaze. I want to be happy for Blaze and Sonic but... Amy's just won't stop crying..."

Tails frowned, but started stroking Cream's back and ears. "It's okay, Cream."

"But Tails, what can we do?" she asked, pulling back a little to look straight at the fox, into his deep blue eyes.

"I don't know. I guess... I'll have to talk with Sonic. If he likes Blaze then... we'll have to be happy for him, but... I'll try and get him to talk with Amy."

"Do you think that will help?"

"I don't know what else to do..."

Cream frowned. The little rabbit was feeling torn between her two best friends. Amy she had known longer and was really closer than a sister to her, but Blaze was also a good friend, one that she had sort of "adopted." Blaze had seemed so lonely when they'd first met, and Cream had been eager to befriend her... and she wanted the cat to be happy. Sonic was also a friend...

"Tails... I don't want to choose between my friends... I like all of them," Cream said, tears pricking her eyes.

"Me either, Cream... but..." he hesitated and blushed. "At least we have each other, right?"

Cream's little heart warmed, and she smiled softly, making Tails feel a little better. "Let's... try and help all three of them, and not choose sides."

"Okay, I'll try talking with Amy and Blaze..."

"... and I'll talk with Sonic," Tails finished.

...xxx...

The thing about waking up is, you have to actually be asleep first.

But Amy Rose had spent the whole night tossing and turning, sniffing and sobbing, wailing and whimpering, moaning and moping. She hadn't been able to even consider sleep, not in this heartbroken state. Her heart had been ripped out and her hope crushed, leaving the girl in excruciating pain and utter despair.

The pink hedgehog lay in a crumpled ball on a borrowed bed from Marine, tears still flowing down her muzzle, dripping off her nose and chin, and creating a bitter salty flavor on her lips. After gripping her fuzzy pillow closer, trying not to pretend and hope and wish it was Sonic himself, she tried to turn over onto her other side. But since she was still wearing the ugly dress that she'd had on last night, the tight fabric constricted her wilted frame, squeezing the life out of her. If she had any more left.

Ooooh... why... why... Sonic... why her... Blaze... Sonic... it's not fair... what's wrong with me? Why Blaze?

The same depressing thoughts played in Amy's head over and over like a broken record, and she continued sobbing into her already soaked pillow.

Oh... I never had a chance, did I? She's everything I'm not... older, gorgeous, a better fighter, skinny, pretty, graceful, a feline... I'm just not good enough for him.

I'm just... ugly, and fat, and annoying, and stupid, and... and Oh it's not fair! I love Sonic so much, but he's... he's... with her. He honestly, truly doesn't love me... he... doesn't care. I could die and he wouldn't care... he'd probably throw another party.

Oh, the party... this is the only reason he wanted to come back to this stupid, ugly world... because of Blaze... Ugh...

But Sonic... he's all I want, he's just so... perfect and ... but he doesn't love me... all I wanted was him... he was my everything... and now, he's with her... he doesn't care about me, one lick, one bit, he's just... so oblivious... he's giving all those cute looks to Blaze, and she gets to kiss him, hold him... love him...but she could never love him like I do. She just can't...

It's just not fair... I gave Sonic everything, everything! Everything, every part of me, every day. I would do anything for him... but he doesn't care. He loves someone else. He loves that ugly kitty... Grrrrrrr... she's such a witch. The way she was taunting me, looking at me like 'I have what you never will'. What an ugly, stupid witch. I hate her, she doesn't deserve Sonic. He's so good and kind and a hero, and she's just a freaking, flaming slut.

What does he see in her? What does she have that I don't?

Sonic...

OH why do you play with my heart like this? I hate you, Sonic. I hate every inch of you. Oh... why did you even give me any hope at all? Why do you have to be so... hot and captivating and perfect and handsome? Why do you have me wrapped around your finger? And why are you so nice to everyone in the whole world but me? Why do you hate me so much? Why, Sonic? Why not me? What's wrong, why can't you just... give me a chance? Am I really that ugly and awful? Why can't you...

Oh, why Blaze? Why do you have to love her, Sonic?

Oh... if he really does love her... then what am I going to doooooo? I'm going to die... I can't get over him... you don't understand... he still has my heart.

Yes... after all this, after all his mean words, and how much he avoids me, and even though he belongs to someone else... I still love him.

And I always will.

I'm just... destined to be forever chasing Sonic the freaking Hedgehog, with his cocky, self absorbed attitude, and always losing when he ignores me and runs off, leaving me without a care in the world. I'm destined to be unhappy, suffering from a bout of unrequited love.

With those thoughts replaying in her head over and over, Amy continued sobbing in despair through the night and into late morning.

"Amy?"

The thirteen-year-old pink hedgehog turned in the direction of the door and the voices, but her tears prevented her from making out the figures. She could tell that one was taller than the other, and they looked similar, but...

"Cream, dear, why don't you go keep Marine company?"

Vanilla? Had she really come with them? Amy tried to think back, but her memory was stuck on those cold, cruel words: "You don't own me. We were always friends; nothing's changed. I never liked you like that." Oh, and the images, Sonic's lovestruck expression as he looked at Blaze... too much...

"But Mom... I want to help."

"Please, dear, let me speak with Amy."

"Oh, alright..."

The older rabbit started approaching Amy's bedside, but the girl buried herself deeper under the warm covers, not wanting to talk to anyone.

"Please, Ms. Vanilla..." she choked, "I just want to be alone..."

"Now, now, dearie, you've been alone all night and morning, with just your thoughts. It's time to get up now, honey. You can't stay in bed all day."

Why not, I have no reason to get up, Amy thought bitterly and gnawed at her lip. The sound of a zipper hit her ears, and Amy's brow furrowed. Next came the sound of someone rummaging through a pile of clothes...

"Now, Amy, why don't you go get cleaned up? I have a nice new dress out here for you to wear. Marine's mother and I have made some blueberry pancakes, too."

"I'm not hungry," Amy tried to growl, but it just came out as a muffled whimper.

Footsteps approached Amy's bed, but she crumpled herself into a tighter ball, wanting to just disappear and die.

"Oh, honey, I know that it hurts... but laying and bed won't help anything. Why don't you get up, and we'll have a chat, hmm?"

Fresh tears poured out of Amy's eyes, and she had to sniff loudly. The mucous was almost gushing out of her nose at this point. She swallowed painfully, sending some of the overflow down her throat. "Uh... okay," she muttered half heartedly.

"Alright, Amy... I'll talk with you over breakfast."

With that, Vanilla left Amy in bed. The girl lay there for a few seconds before groaning and throwing off the covers, then slid across the bed. Her bare feet hit the cold wood floor, and then the girl finally brought herself upright. The jade green dress that she'd picked out fell down her frame, finally able to be free. Sighing, the girl grabbed the cherry red dress that Vanilla had taken out of her traveling suitcase and started heading for the bathroom.

Just when she was about to enter the room to wash her face, Amy heard a smooth, deep voice call out, one that she loved a little too much.

"Later lil bro, I'm off to see Blaze!"

Ouch...

The following rush of air and sonic boom was worse than a punch to the stomach.

Falling against the bathroom door, Amy squeezed her eyes shut and groaned as an awful pain clutched her broken heart. "Oh... Sonic..."

He really, really didn't love her that way. He loved Blaze. But Amy's feelings hadn't evaporated in the least... Oh...

Pushing her body back upright, Amy forced herself into the bathroom to get ready for what would only be one of the worst days of her life...

...xxx...

Sonic could count on one hand the things he enjoyed more than watching the sun come up. There was something just so magical about the landscape being completely dark, and all objects indiscernible and obscure, dressed in the inky darkness of night... and then, gradually, the sun peeked over the horizon to reveal the world, painting the sky with streaks of warm colors in the process. Sunrises were just so unforgettable - every day a new color. Plus, the mornings were usually cool - which was great running weather.

But on this particular morning, the soon-to-be-seventeen-year-old hedgehog had slept in, for he had stayed up half the night in a love-struck daze, running laps around their island, not able to settle down long enough to even think about sleeping. The sun, now higher in the sky than usual when he woke up, stung Sonic's green eyes when he parted his eyelids.

"uh..." he muttered and turned over onto his side, blinking to try and gain his bearings.

He was used to getting up in odd places - sleeping in trees and on rooftops had proven to be dangerous before - but now, all he was seeing was the interior of an unfamiliar home. What, had he actually slept in a bed like a normal person? After one of the best days of his life, ever? That was odd.

He yawned loudly, and then wiped the sleep out of his eyes in one motion before jumping out of the bed, ready to hit the ground running. But as soon as his body slipped off, he found himself flying upwards, through the air. Sonic let out a yelp and started kicking his feet, but his legs met with nothing but air. He growled, but could do nothing as he found himself, oddly enough, hanging upside down, dangling from the ceiling, a rope wrapped around his foot that was attached to a hook.

What? How did... who would...

"Tails!"

As if he'd been expecting this, the ten year old fox peeked his head around the corner of the room they were sharing, an almost-sheepish smile on his muzzle.

"Yes, Sonic?"

"What's the idea?" he demanded, wiggling uncomfortably in his odd predicament.

For a moment Tails just stared at his brother and tried not to laugh at how funny he looked, hanging upside down helplessly, his quills all pointing below his head thanks to gravity. But at the remembrance of why he'd had to tie a rope around his leg to prevent Sonic from just taking off in the morning, Tails easily swallowed the laughter and crossed his arms, trying to be serious.

"I want to know what the deal is between you and Blaze," he said firmly.

Sonic furrowed his brow. "What the deal is? We're together. Can I go now?" He demanded impatiently.

Tails studied his brother's expression. "Sonic... what's wrong with you? You're not thinking clearly. Don't you realize what this is doing to everyone?"

Sonic didn't respond.

"You're obviously not. I mean, you and Blaze... you didn't even tell me you liked her, you've known her not even a month... and now you're dating?"

"Together," Sonic corrected. "And honestly, I didn't really know that I loved her until... a few days ago, when we got back to our world. I..."

He smiled a dumb grin and sighed contentedly, in spite of anything else, and brought a hand up to his chest, trying to somehow contain the sudden burst of pleasurable sensations in his heart as Blaze popped into his head.

"I dunno what happened Tails... it's like... I feel so much... and... I'm just head over heels for the girl. I dunno, it just sorta... happened."

"You mean you just randomly woke up one day and had feelings for Blaze?"Tails asked, frowning at the impracticality.

"Pretty much," Sonic said, and would've shrugged if he had been upright. "I mean, if a guy's in love, a guy's in love, Tails. What else can I say?"

Tails shook his head, and Sonic furrowed his brow deeper. Again, why was Tails so upset that he had a girlfriend now? "What's wrong with Blaze?"

"Nothing's wrong with her, Sonic... it's just..." he trailed off, suddenly feeling awful for interrogating Sonic and hooking him to the ceiling like this.

"Wait a minute... Amy put you up to this didn't she? That girl is such a pain...So obsessive and possessive. She thinks she owns me, and just wants to make me into her dream husband," he visibly shuddered at the word, "and just hug and squeeze me all day. She doesn't love me... But Blaze," a smile reappeared, "she lets me be free, be who I am. She doesn't want me to be anything but Sonic."

"Actually, Amy didn't put me up to this." She's been too busy crying her eyes out. "This is just me checking on my brother."

"Hey, I'm supposed to be the older one, remember?"

Sometimes I wonder... "But Sonic... at least promise me you'll talk to Amy? I mean, she's pretty upset..."

Sonic groaned, desperately looking to change the subject. The last thing he wanted to do right now was think about and talk to Amy. The girl was probably going to kill him... No, I shouldn't feel guilty. Amy and I never even went out once! She just needs to grow up... "Oh... why do you care so much about her? You like her or something?" Now there would be a good way to get Amy off of him...

Tails shook his head. "Of course not. But she's a friend and-"

"So it's Cream, then?"

A very visible blush exploded on Tails' face at the rabbit's name, but Tails tried to brush off his embarrassment to frown. What had gotten into him? Sonic was acting so strange. Since when did he care about love and romance and girls this much? And why was he being so selfish?

Tails sighed and started twirling his namesakes, propelling himself up towards the loop to unhook the hedgehog. "Look, Sonic... I'm sorry for doing this but... Just... Promise me you'll talk to Amy, okay? You can't tell me you care so little for what this is doing to her..."

Guilt. "Oh...what do you want me to say to her?" Sonic asked, biting his lip.

"I don't know but... you can't leave her like this, she's really upset, and she hasn't stopped crying-"

More guilt twinged his heart, and Sonic felt the familiar urge to leave his problems in the dust. "Okay, I'll talk to Amy... now will ya let me down? Blaze is probably getting worried-"

"Do you promise, Sonic?"

Cerulean and jade eyes locked for a minute, but with Sonic in his inverted state, they didn't quite see eye to eye. Sonic couldn't help but frown. Why did Amy always have to get in the way of everything that he did? He had a girlfriend now, so sue him for actually being a normal teen for once. Didn't he have the right to date - errr, be with, whomever he wanted to?

Still... part of his heart was telling him that he couldn't lie to Tails. Once he promised the little fox something, he'd be bound by their unbreakable bond of brotherhood. He would have to keep his word. And besides... he knew that he was being a little selfish, and he really should have a chat with Amy... although the very prospect scared the chili dogs out of him.

"Promise." He blinked. "Now, lemme down, the blood's rushing to my head."

You think with your feet anyway.

Tails sighed and untied the rope, but lifted it higher so Sonic could spin and right himself, landing on his feet. After the second it took the hedgehog to loose the rope from around his foot, he shot Tails a smile at realizing he was free and going to see his beautiful girlfriend.

"Later lil bro, I'm off to see Blaze!" And just like that, he was gone.

Tails had to frown once the air settled down after the hedgehog left. Typical Sonic... rushing into what he didn't know, leaving others behind. It was about time that he got a girl though... he was a solid sixteen. Maybe he fell in love fast, but surely he would fall just as quickly out. This was a phase, a crush. It wouldn't last longer than the week. Surely.

What Tails was really worried about, was Amy. The poor, poor girl... at least she had Cream to talk to, who could make anyone feel better, Tails knew.

After putting the rope away, the confused fox sighed and headed to the main room of Marine's house, bracing himself for the state that Amy would be in...

...xxx... A/N ...xxx...

I tried to go with some parallel/simultaneous structure here, to compare the moods of both hedgehogs side by side in one chapter. I think I'm going to be doing that throughout the story... we'll see.

Sonic and Amy each have their advocates or friends. Amy has Cream and Vanilla. The reason I added Vanilla into this story is because she is one of the ONLY people who can give Amy good advice... and that's what she really needs now. A motherly figure. She doesn't need another boy.

And Sonic has Tails... I know, a lot of you are about ready to kill Sonic, cause he is being a bit of a jerk, but you gotta remember who he is and what he's feeling... he's got a big crush, and most of us know what that's like. :D Plus he's got the girl, so he's feeling pretty good about himself. But don't worry... he's not going to stay like this. }:) I have a nefarious plan for Mr. Who-wouldn't-date-me-I'm-so-full-of-myself. }:)

OH, and I got this random idea of Tails hooking up Sonic to the ceiling so he wouldn't just take off when he woke up, and him hanging upside down while they talked, and I thought that bit of humor would lighten the story up some. Plus it's a little symbolic, too... not that I EVER use symbolism...

Ya know, I just realized something. The expression "head over heels" (which is my title) just means you're crazily infatuated, but really, it doesn't make sense. If you're standing upright, your head IS ALREADY over your heels... Isn't that odd? Maybe it's supposed to be strange, like when someone is in that state nothing is really logical. I guess it just means that you're spinning around and crazy in love. So when Sonic is hanging upside down... his heels are over his head... I tried to tie that into the title...but whatever, I'm not making sense.

Chapter 4 could be up as soon as tomorrow, depending on my inspiration. Right now, my brain wants to write later chapters (the "good parts"), never the one I'm on... oh well.