AN : New chapter! Yes, I know I updated fast. I was feeling so good about this story that I wrote a whole chapter in one day. So, here we are! Please enjoy.

Chapter 2 : Faded Rose

It was a peaceful afternoon. Eggman had once again been defeated, and all was right with the world. As sun rays lightly peeked through the canopy of tree branches overhead the small forest, a blue blur whisked across the forest path, stirring up tiny piles of leaves as it went.

The blur slowed down a bit as it reached a deeper part of the woods, revealing itself to be a blue hedgehog whose face was known the world over. In his arms he carried a younger female pink hedgehog, who kept her arms wrapped securely around his neck and had an exhilarated smile on her face as her hero carried her on. Eggman had captured her once again that day in order to lure his enemy Sonic into a trap, but as always, the blue hedgehog easily sped over Eggman's supposed clever plot and sent the doctor himself running. With that, Sonic rescued the girl, swept her up in his arms, and ran away to safety as the battle behind left a deadly explosion.

After a while of running through the forest afterward, the blue hedgehog slowed to a stop and placed the female hedgehog back on her feet. He started to walk off a bit, but before he could, two arms squeezed tightly around his rib cage.

"Ohhh Sonic!" The twelve-year-old pink hedgehog snuggled against his chest, smothering him in the hug.

"A-Amy!" choked the male hedgehog. "Lighten up!"

"You rescued me! I knew you would! You always do." She didn't release her grip on him, but gently loosened slightly and nuzzled into him happily.

"O-Okay, all right, I get it." Sonic slipped out of her grasp and quickly turned away, clearing his throat loudly. "You're welcome."

Amy smiled and sat down on the soft grass. He had brought them to the edge of a small lake, on which shone the same golden rays of sunlight. She pulled her knees to her chest, making sure to keep her dress straight, and sighed contentedly. "Have you ever noticed the way the sunlight seems to dance on the water?"

The fifteen-year-old male hedgehog sat down as well, bending one knee and letting the other lie straight. Draping his elbow over the bent knee, he followed her gaze to where the waves of the lake water were swaying gently. "Yeah...?"

"It looks sort of magical." Amy's pink quills were also swaying slightly as the crisp fall breeze blew by them. "Kind of... well, you know. Pretty."

"Yeah... Pretty."

Amy's ear twitched. The way Sonic was speaking, it almost sounded as if he were looking at her. She turned, but his head had turned back to focus on the water.

"Well, water is water to me. I never took a liking to it." Amy strained to listen to him, but there was no emotion in his voice revealing what Sonic was thinking as he spoke.

Amy felt a bit disappointed. "But don't you think you could learn to like it? You might be surprised-"

"No." Sonic was shaking his head firmly. "Water can never change for me. It will always be the same. It's always in my way."

"In your way?" Amy's heart began to sink slowly. "... Always?"

"Always."

Amy lowered her head, her ears folding back with sadness. She was beginning to understand. "... Okay, Sonic." She nodded a bit. "Okay..."

The blue hedgehog said nothing more after that. Amy turned away a bit so he would not see the hurt she knew was evident in her eyes.

Was it really ALWAYS in his way?...

"This town is amazing, Amy!"

Amy's dark-green eyes blinked in confusion as she awoke from her thoughts. Turning, she saw that the brown squirrel-chipmunk sitting beside her was gazing out of the limousine window, her blue-grey eyes lit up with excitement.

"It's everything you told me about, only better." The female squirrel smiled enthusiastically. "And everyone here seems so nice."

The pink hedgehog gave her friend an amused smile. "Alright, Sal. Settle down."

"Sorry, Amy." Amy's friend turned, chuckling slightly. "I bet you're just as excited though."

Amy let out a small chuckle of her own, but said nothing and turned back to her own window to gaze out at the Station Square centre they were riding through. Things seemed to have changed quite a bit since she'd last seen them five years ago, but it would always be home to her.

She sighed a bit to herself, remembering the old days of living in Station Square and defending freedom alongside her team of friends. Back then she was simply a lighthearted twelve-year-old without a care in the world. Now she was a fully-blossomed seventeen years old, having just celebrated her birthday a week prior. If things had not changed in Station Square since she left, she knew she herself had changed a right good amount. After saying good-bye to all her friends and leaving behind a broken past of never achieving her true love, Amy had ran far off from her home, eventually collapsing at the door of a small mansion. There she was discovered and taken in by a friendly, inventive young female squirrel-chipmunk hybrid whose went by the name of Sally Acorn. Sally had invited Amy to stay with her in the estate she inherited from her father, and ever since then Sally and Amy had grown up together, their friendship woven closer than any ordinary bond. Sally had helped Amy to mature and to forget the boy she had become so heartbroken over, to learn self-control and become a smarter person. With her help, Amy had forgotten all about Sonic. Until now.

Amy bit her lip and focused on her reflection in the car window. She could still remember that one night that had begun all this. She would never forget it for good, as much as she tried to push it out of her mind. She knew she had probably been a little overbearing, but she couldn't help but feel hurt that Sonic didn't love her. She had spent all that time chasing him and trying to win his affection. There were so many times when she could have sworn he might have returned her feelings. Yet, she got no response upon asking if he loved her. Obviously he did not, and that was the reason why Amy decided to move on.

So why was she still thinking about it?...

"Hello. Mobius to Amy Rose."

Amy blinked again as two gloved fingers snapped in front of her eyes. The squirrel-chipmunk was gazing at her expectantly. Amy shook her head.

"Sorry, Sally. Were you talking to me?"

"I was..." Sally sighed. "You were thinking about Sonic again, weren't you?"

"No, I wasn't!" protested the hedgehog, but it was pointless to lie, because Sally had already seen the disappointed frown on Amy's face as she had been thinking.

"Don't worry about it, Ames. Everything will be just fine, I promise."

Amy touched her lip slightly. She had been biting it so hard that it was beginning to bleed. "How can you promise that? I don't know how much has changed after five years. Would he still remember me? Would he remember what happened before I left... And what if he... what if he still hates me?"

"Amy, he never said he hated you."

"But he didn't say he loved me, either."

"You've been stressing too much over this, Ames. You need to calm down a bit." Sally took the plastic bottle of soda from the cupholder nearby and handed it to Amy, then pulled a screen down from the ceiling of the limousine and flipped it on to a television channel. "Do something to get it off your mind. Maybe a movie, or a cartoon, or something."

Amy slowly began to sip at the soda, fixing her eyes on the screen as Sally also sat back and began to watch. She knew her friend was probably right. She needed to relax and not think about it. Still the young female hedgehog's body was trembling from the millions of thoughts and questions whisking around in her mind. She was afraid to come back, afraid of what the others would think when they saw her after so long. Would they accept her? Would Sonic accept her? What if he had decided to move on, too?...

"So why didn't he want to come in the limo, anyways?"

Amy released the breath she'd been holding to answer Sally's question.

"I don't know, I guess he decided he wanted to run instead."

A small smile played at the corners of Sally's mouth. She adjusted the denim long-sleeved jacket she wore and tucked the white shirt beneath into her blue skinny jeans. "My, you're so lucky to have such a catch."

"A catch?" Amy almost laughed, giving Sally a look of confused amusement.

"Well, yes! I mean, just look at the guy. He's so strong, and brave, and handsome..."

"And full of it."

Sally smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, you have a point. But still. He's kinda... sexy. Don't you think?"

Amy shook her head, rolling her eyes and smiling again. "Maybe so."

"Miss Acorn, there are news reporters outside waiting to speak to you and Miss Rose." The solemn, dark-eyed badger driving the limousine spoke up.

Amy gave the world outside the window another glance. There was a rally of reporters with cameras, microphones, and notepads, with a female rabbit whose fur was blond-yellow at the lead of them all. Sally shook her head.

"We've no time for detours, Grimsby. Ignore them and speed up."

The badger gave no response but did as Sally commanded. Sally turned to look at Amy.

"So, where do you want us to stop? One of your friends' houses?"

"I looked at the phonebook. Cream's residence is still there. It might be better if we go to her first, she was my best friend when I was a kid. I know she'll be glad to see us."

"Okay then. What's the address?"

Amy gave the name and numbers of the address to Sally, who in turn told it to the badger driving. The badger gave a slight nod and turned down a certain street, headed for the destination of which the two girls had directed him. Sally then leaned back in her seat again and returned her attention to the television screen, but Amy's stomach felt too fluttery at the moment for her to truly relax. She turned in her seat to look out the window behind the car, checking another time to be sure of herself that he was following.

To her contented confirmation, the dark-blue blur was racing just feet behind the limousine as they rode on.

You like? And yes, Sally and Amy are friends, because that's the way it should be, instead of the two constantly fighting over the same guy.

I'll try to update as soon as possible. Thanks for reading!