Back again. Shocker.

Once again, thanks for reading and reviewing. It makes my day. Especially with all of this packing I have to do. I shouldn't have chosen a school so far from home...But then again, my parents wanted me to go there. They should be packing for me. JK.

But thanks for the support. Okay, I'm going to stop talking. I said enough in the last two chaps.

Disclaimer: I do not own SEGA or their characters I'm currently using.

Enjoy.

Chapter 11: Set Restrictions

I was guessing sleep was all that I needed, because I woke up this morning feeling better. Shifting from my white sheets, I glanced at my alarm clock. 9:16. There was a lot of day to still kill. And I was going to have to find away to kill it.

I climbed out of bed, my mind going back to the past few days. Everything seemed so unbelievable. That type we're you can't even fathom it enough for life to become any less repetitive. I still felt like Amy. I still did Amy things. It just seemed like the disbanding of Sonic and gaining of Scourge neutralized my life. It still felt the same. Kind of. However, there did seem to be a haze trailing over my head, something weighing me down that I couldn't think of.

I sighed while brushing my teeth. I was always a worry wart. A go getter gone wrong. And here I was in this relationship-type-thingy with Scourge. I didn't know what to call it.

But oddly, most of me was fine with the uncertainty. The other part of me, the naggy one that constantly needed to have a claim on something, couldn't be at more odds. Thus explaining the weird dreamlike haze I had soaring over my head, unable to accept the reality before me.

Me and my problems.

Stepping out of my bathroom and dressing for another unpredictably predictable day, I was interrupted by my house phone. Jolting to the side of my bed, I picked it up without trepidation.

"Hello?" I asked, holding the phone awkwardly in a crunch between neck and shoulder as I slid on my skirt.

"Amy, it's Blaze," my feline friend answered.

"Oh, hey. What have you been up to?" I said eagerly.

"I could say the same about you," Blaze said over the line, worry coloring her voice. "Anyway, how about you come to my house? I'm almost done packing and I'd like you to see it all," Blaze informed me. "Afterall, you have more of a designer's eye than I do."

I smiled to that. It was a nice, refreshing change to feel somewhat needed by my best friend. Instead of the opposite way around. Like it always was. However, the smile on my face feel quickly. Scourge. What if we had some sort of plans today?

I shook my head. Blaze asked me first, and I didn't want to treat her as a second-string companion. She never had, and I didn't want to do like the others had done to me.

"Sounds like a plan," I finally agreed.

"Good," Blaze said, a small smile in her voice. "See you soon."

"See you," I concluded, bringing the phone down.

After checking my appearance, I left the apartment quickly.

At least I knew what I was going to do today.

Silver's house.

Or, excuse me, Silver and Blaze's house. I strolled into the neighborhood, oh so conveniently the one of that of my formerly beloved Sonic the Hedgehog. Unfortunately for me, I had to drive past the home to reach my destination located further into Cardin Falls. Don't think about it, Amy...

As time would have it, Silver's monochromatic home appeared into view. Structured with white panes, black wind shutters, and a matching black door and garage, the house was almost entirely composed of subdued shades.

Jumping out of my car, I walked slowly along the paved sidewalk before knocking on the door.

"Blaze?" I called as I did so, a bit annoyed that it was taking her so long to open the door when she asked me to come here. When a combination of knocking and ringing the door bell became futile, I jiggled the door knob to see if it was open. And it was.

I was about to push forward with the decision that with Blaze expecting my presence. She probably left the door open while tending to some other things, some last boxes perhaps. But it seemed that open doors were a negative sign that I should probably ignore. And when I say ignore, I mean start running like hell in the other direction.

But...

That open door from a few days ago might have been an unsuspecting blessing. It did lead me to Scourge. And although I wasn't entirely sure what that meant, what we meant...I decided it was a good thing.

So I decided to open it.

Pushing the entrance open with my index finger, I carefully peered inside before stepping in. Darkness.

Was this deja vu? I was beginning to see some truth reign in my previous accusation that my days were becoming repetitive. This was starting up like the incident...

With a click, however, lights flickered over my head. Okay, maybe this wasn't a reiterative dream.

But when my eyes fixed on not only Blaze, but Cream, Rouge, and even...Sally...

I began having trouble even telling up and down...

"Blaze?" I called, blinking around the room as my supposed friends enclosed me. "What's going on?" I spun around, my eyes desperately turning to the door. The door! I could escape!

Running toward it, I heard Rouge scoff from behind me. "Oh no you don't!" she hollered, flying over me and blocking my only exit. Shit.

Trouble.

I exhaled, reading the face of Blaze—who for the past few months seemed to always wear a concerned mask in my direction—and the rest of the crew who were apparently holding me hostage. They seemed to look concerned too, but it didn't seem as genuine as Blaze. Especially Rouge, who was studying her nails...

Oh Rouge...

I held my hands up in defense like the captured burglar I apparently was. "Okay, you got me," I said, half tempted to humor with them, but their serious expressions told me that wasn't the best idea. "Now what?"

Motioning to the sofa, which I reluctantly sat down on as the rest of the females assembled around me, Blaze was the first to answer. "Now, we talk about you."

I sighed. When it's not about me, it's about me. They we're probably going to yell at me for being single (or maybe single and a half now) and how they're tired of me seriously cramping their twosome style. But I had another thing coming.

"We're worried about you," Cream said this time. I blinked at her.

"Worried?" I said, as the females nodded. "Why? I'm fine," I reassured my young friend. "Everything's fine."

And it was, I actually felt better than I had in years. Even if I was still somewhat in a relationship limbo with Scourge, there was a physical and emotional aspect that I never had before and I was enjoying it.

"That's just it," Rouge intervened this time, "Saying you're fine all the time usually means that there's something bothering you. We know you Amy. If everything was alright, you'd practically be exploding with joy. And confetti."

I let myself giggle at that. "Well, people grow up. They change, Rouge," I offered. Rouge who would usually strut around, claiming that independence was the greatest treasure she could ever have, was now engaged to Knuckles. Keep in mind that she was preaching the single song only two months ago.

"Yes," Blaze agreed. "But it doesn't happen in a matter of days," she argued. "On Wednesday, you were your usual bubbly, determined self. When we went to the movies—and even the day before that—you we're completely out of it. And you didn't return any of my calls yesterday."

I felt my fingers dig into the leather sofa as I cursed myself internally. Scourge swept me out of the door so fast that I forgot my cellphone.

"I left my cellphone at home," I said. "It happens."

"Well, what were you doing?" Blaze questioned like the mother she clearly wasn't. I didn't want to answer. I didn't have to justify anything to her. Even if she was my best friend.

"I was at the library," I lied. "Remember? I have law school in the fall. Sometimes I have to study."

"In the summer? On a Saturday?" Rouge interrogated. I nodded slowly, still paving my way through this lie.

"I wasn't doing anything else in particular," I said again, the dishonesty spilling off of my tongue. "And sometimes when I feel like I am forgetting a topic, like say the courts and circuits of the Judicial System, I brush up so I don't forget them entirely by the time the summer ends."

Creams eyes narrowed. "I don't believe you," I gave her an annoyed glare. However, Sally who seemed to be merely watching this divine intervention, waved her hand at Cream's direction as if to discredit her words.

"Now, come on ladies. Let's give Amy the benefit of the doubt. What she is saying sounds reasonable."

I motioned toward her. "Thank you, Sally," I said with a soft nod, half tempted to add 'I hate you less'. But maybe her support only came from the fact that she felt sorry for taking Sonic away from me. I didn't need it, but it was still a little appreciated.

I turned toward the girls, trying to capture their attention all at once. "And anyway, what do you guys care? Don't you have boyfriends to keep you busy? I don't need you to treat me like I'm a charity case."

"We're not," Blaze stressed. "We just wanted to make sure that there is nothing troubling you. We're your friends."

"Yeah," Cream shot up, "Like how you left Smooth Junction without telling us." Sally nodded to that. I take back my thank you to her.

I rose up slightly from the chair, seeing that this whole meeting was going to become much worse before better. But I didn't want to lie anymore. Looking into the rabbit's chocolate orbs, I began with a sigh.

"Look Cream, I only left because you and Sally we're talking about sex and relationships and I had nothing to offer to the conversation. I was going to tell you I was leaving, but you both seemed so invested that I didn't want to interrupt. I'm sorry. Maybe I should have texted the two of you stating why I left instead of letting you guys wonder the worst."

Cream shook her head. "Or I could have called you. I'm sorry, I guess I wasn't thinking that way."

Sally placed her hand lightly on mine. "Me too." Of course, she wouldn't actually apologize.

Enough of this. I hated being the center of attention in this sad matter. I was perfectly fine. In fact, I was better than fine. I was borderline happy. But they didn't need to know why or how this was the case.

Releasing another sigh, I gazed at all of my concerned friends. I hate to turn on them but I could see that this was going nowhere fast.

"Maybe it's you guys," I said, fixing my bangs, "Maybe all of you have been so caught up with everything that you're ignoring me." I offered. "Maybe we're all just misinterpreting everything.

Rouge nodded to that. "She's right," she admitted, her teal orbs glinting with an emotion I'd never seen from her. Defeat. "Since we've been wrapped up with our men, the second Amy seems sad, we're making it out to seem a lot worse than it actually is. Am I right, sugar?"

I nodded. Fighting the urge to protest her nickname for me, I responded. "Exactly. I'm a hedgehog, I have my off days, but it doesn't mean that I'm suffering. You're my friends, and I'll come to you if I have any trouble."

And then it hit me.

Maybe the reason why I hadn't told anyone about my thing was because it wasn't an issue. Maybe I was being independent through Scourge, whereas with Sonic, practically every hour I would have to run to Blaze with some sort of news, however pathetic it was. I was dependent on him, and all the while I didn't even notice what was actually happening around me. That's why I never noticed Sally. And that's why none of the others had the heart to tell me that they were in a relationship.

So when I relinquished my dependence on Sonic, even in the slightest, Blaze must have feared that I was going in a depression or something. I didn't know she or the others cared do much.

"Thank you, guys," I said, overwhelmed by their empathy and all of the emotions that surrounded it, "for caring so much. It means a lot to know that you have my back."

"We're here for you," Blaze and Cream practically said in unison.

"You know it," Rouge grinned, before bringing me in a crushing hug.

"Always," Sally chimed in. And for once I didn't think of her in a negative light. Like Scourge, maybe she had been an essential force in saving me from my hero.

Soaking in the sacred friendliness of the room, Rouge was the first to break the spell.

"So are we done here?" Rouge shot out of nowhere, earning some laughs from us.

Blaze rose from the couch, "Yes, I would say so."

Bringing her purse over her shoulder, Rouge turned to the rest of us, "Not that I don't love the love, but I have some planning to do," she informed us, before her eyes fell on Sally, "Come on, Sally you have a wedding to plan."

With a groan the princess rose to her feet, straightening out her dress, "Alright, but you have to stop being so picky and let me do something," Sally waved goodbye to us, before trailing the bat out of the door.

"Yeah, yeah..." where the last words heard by Rouge until the two disappeared outside.

"Well, I'll be heading out too," Cream said, before also disappearing, probably to Tails. "Bye-bye!"

And then there were two.

"Well that's that," I said, before turning to my favorite feline friend. "I believe you have some things to show me?"

"Yup," Blaze, agreed as I examined the progress of the move in. I gave her a reassuring smile. The place was a mash up between a bachelor pad, with stupid, ugly things that guys liked like a pinball machine, and a gumball machine, and a bunch of other contraptions that consist of balls, and that of a upscale hotel, as the contemporary-traditional pieces that Blaze owned clashed head on Silver's.

Yeah, this was going to take some work. Good thing she had a friend like me. Which with all of the sorting, changing and rearranging we would have to do—was now a bad thing for me.

I'm too nice.

Some eight hours later I returned home with an aching everything. Hurling and loading. Rearranging and redistributing. Designing and critiquing.

Every ounce of my body hurt. And for whatever reason Silver was completely out of sight, meaning that I had to be subjected to hard—it puts the man in manual—labor.

Ugh.

I crawled into bed fully clothed, strongly considering passing out like this for the night. I rolled my body slightly to grab my cellphone on my nightstand. Even though I actually had my phone on me today, I was was so busy that I never bothered checking it.

Reading through the missed calls and or texts, there was only one that I was specifically looking for. And there it was. Scourge.

Scourge: Where are you? You alright?

I smiled, I had to admit that I liked that he didn't text like a stupid teenager. Opting for the same method of communication, I let my thumbs convey my thoughts.

Amy: I'm fine. I was helping Blaze move in. With just the two of us, it took forever. :(

I laid the phone next to me. As I heard another beep from the phone, I heard the doorbell ring almost simultaneously.

I grunted as I rose in pain. But I was eager in the fact that it might be Scourge.

It wasn't.

So who is it? I don't think it's that hard to tell. It's probably not the most impressive cliffhanger I've set up for you guys...

But it will do.

The next chapter should be up soon.

Bye.

~Koko Bandiku