Oh, gosh. I really can't apologise enough for the long wait. Long story short, I was very busy. But I'm really sorry it took so long. And thankfully I'm now more sure of how everything is going to work out from now on, and I have 3 weeks left of the summer holidays so hopefully no more delays...
Thanks to Skyelara, SilverDawn2010, FiberJar, LuvyRosy, Ziggy7332, Moley Fox and awsomeman13. And thanks to everyone who hasn't given up on this story. (Don't worry, neither have I) ^_^
So... you might want to read the last few lines of chapter 5 for a recap, but that's up to you of course. Anyway, enjoy! :)

Chapter 6 – Big Shot

Amy walked through the workshop and peered into Tails's living room, feeling her heart skip a beat when she saw the blue hero sitting on the couch, deep in thought. He was slumped into the cushions, his chin resting on his closed fist as he stared out through the window. He was so lost in own world that he didn't notice Amy arrive silently behind him, watching him for a moment. Just seeing him reminded her of how good-looking he really was. She'd seen him so many times but every time she did he took her breath away. And yet, a slightly troubled frown pulled at his lips.

.

She opened her mouth to speak and paused, trying to summon the right words. Eventually, she spoke. "Something wrong?" she asked softly.

Sonic jumped, slipping back out of his trance and craning his head back to face her. He smiled half-heartedly. "Oh, hey, Andy," he said. "What are you doing here?"

Amy smiled nervously. She folded her arms, as she'd gained quite a habit of doing that whenever she was 'in character', but her casual pretence was without much enthusiasm. "I was hanging with Rouge and she wanted to see Tails for something," she replied. "But you didn't answer my question."

.

Sonic turned away, looking back through the window again. "It's nothing," he said. "I'm fine."

Amy moved towards the couch and sat beside him, and he met her eyes again. Inside, she was worrying like crazy, wondering why he seemed bothered and whether it linked at all to her absence. She wanted to push him to tell her but then it would make her seem suspicious. After all, Sonic didn't really know Andy. She settled for a response that sounded less obvious. "It doesn't seem like nothing," she said.

.

A small fleck of surprise crossed through his lime green orbs but he shrugged. "What makes you think there's something wrong?" he asked.

Amy bit her lip. How to answer that one? She mirrored his shrug, fiddling with the bill of her baseball cap. "Just askin'," she said slowly. "You look like you've got something on your mind. Sometimes it helps to tell somebody you don't know that well. It's like… closure," she added, gesturing with her hands. "And you know, talking to people is the best way of venting your feelings."

Sonic raised an eyebrow, but he let out a short laugh. "That sounds like something one of my friends would say," he smiled. Then he looked down again, his brow furrowing.

.

Amy found herself wondering whether he was referring to her. She stared at him, mentally questioning it. Perhaps he knew her more than she thought…

Suddenly, Sonic leapt to his feet. "Anyway, nice talking to ya, Andy, but I gotta run!"

Before she could protest he was gone in a burst of blue, making her quills blow into her eyes. She scowled, clenching her fists. The whole point of this plan was make Sonic feel more comfortable around her, not less! She heaved a sigh, trudging back into the garden to join the others.

.

She made a beeline for Rouge, too frustrated to bother faking nonchalance. She dropped to her knees beside the bat, who was surprisingly helping Cream and Cosmo pick out flowers while Tails was babbling about something; Amy didn't bother finding out what. It was a bit odd to see Rouge doing something to genuinely help others, but she seemed content doing it. Amy barely registered this in her annoyance, but she faintly wondered if there was more to the materialistic bat than met the eye.

.

"Rouge!" she hissed to the bat.

Rouge looked up at her, noticing her look of irritation and rose to her feet, immediately understanding that they needed to talk. She ushered Amy further down the garden, out of earshot. Once they stopped, Amy yanked off her sunglasses. "Sonic's no closer to me than he was before!" she wailed, flailing her arms around crossly.

Rouge grabbed Amy's arms and pulled them back down. "Yeah, and if you keep acting like that he won't even come near you at all!" she growled. "Put your sunglasses back on."

.

Amy felt her anger rising at being ordered around by Rouge but she obeyed, remembering her deal with the bat.

"And anyway, you've got bigger problems," said Rouge. "Your friends are suspicious about your little note. You said you were 'clearing your head'? Pinky, couldn't you think of anything better?" she demanded.

Amy huffed, ignoring the nickname, and said, "What else was there to say? That was all I could think of!"

.

Rouge shook her head. "Oh boy, we have work to do," she muttered. "They're all talking about how weird it is that you'd just leave like that. Tails said that-"

"What about Sonic?" Amy interjected. "What did he say?"

Rouge put her hands on her hips. "Girl, you seriously have Sonic on the brain. Too much," she added.

"Ooh never mind that!" Amy cried. "Just what did he say?"

"I don't know; I didn't talk to him. All Tails said was that Sonic found the note and showed it to him, and then Tails just asked us if we'd seen you and what we thought about it."

"Oh," said Amy, looking down. "But I heard him talking to Sonic! And Sonic was saying that it didn't feel right. Do you… do you think he…" She broke off, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

.

Rouge's eyes held a sudden light of understanding and she sent Amy a smile. It wasn't a smirk, nor an arrogant grin, but a genuine, reassuring smile. "I'm sure he's thinking about you," she said.

Amy smiled back, feeling a sense of friendship for the bat, though they'd never really talked like this before. She'd never known that Rouge could be sensitive; she always seemed so wrapped up in pushing everyone's buttons. Then the connection was gone, as Rouge pasted on her proud expression once more.

.

"So… Sonic isn't warming up to the new you, hmm?" she said. She looked thoughtful, and Amy could practically see her mind conjuring a new scheme. "Looks like we'll have to resort to stronger methods," she purred, her lips forming a curved smile.

Amy mentally winced. Somehow she knew that these 'stronger methods' weren't going to be very easy.

Amy pulled the bill of her baseball cap lower, trying to hide her face from passers-by. She was overly conscious of whether or not her face was flushed, as she felt more than uncomfortable about what she was going to do. 'Oh, I cannot believe I'm doing this!' she thought to herself. 'It's insane! But… I've got to. For Sonic. I can do it.' She bit her lip, crossing and uncrossing her arms for the hundredth time.

.

Her gaze moved through the forest, pausing occasionally as she tried to look casual whenever a member of the public would pass. A small gust of wind caught her attention as her winged ally swooped down to meet her. Rouge landed gracefully on her feet, smiling proudly.

"Found him," she announced.

Amy couldn't conjure a smile so she settled for nodding silently. Rouge picked up on her attitude immediately and raised her eyebrows.

"Listen, Pinky," she said, "You started this crazy scheme, not me. Besides, think of it as acting. You never know, it could be… fun," she added with a scheming smirk.

.

Amy held back several responses to that remark and sighed before forcing herself to brighten up. This was going to be worth it.

Just imagine it, she told herself. Just imagine what it will be like when this is over and you'll know Sonic like the back of your hand.

Finally, a genuine smile came to her lips and she straightened. "Well, what are we waiting for? Where is he?" she asked.

Rouge sent her a secretive smile. "Oh, somewhere in that direction," she said, gesturing vaguely with her hands. "Let's go." And with that, she began to saunter down one of the pathways that lead into the trees.

.

After a moment's hesitation, Amy hurried after her before shifting into her new swagger. She held her head upright and tried very hard not to turn to the sides, seeing as Sonic would probably be there. In her peripheral vision she was just waiting for a hint of blue against the forest greens, but none came. Surely she'd see him soon? It couldn't be much longer now…

.

Rouge quickly slipped her arm around Amy's shoulders and the pink hedgehog came to attention. She moved her own arm around Rouge's waist, as they'd practiced.

'Remember, I am a guy. I'm a hunky guy!' she thought, giggling quietly to herself at the concept. She watched the trees again, waiting for the slightest hint of blue but instead saw… red?

Knuckles was there, lounging in the grass with his eyes shut, but they opened slightly as the girls approached him.

"Rouge!" hissed Amy quietly. "What's Knuckles doing here? I thought you'd found Sonic!"

"I did," was the reply. "But what with Knucklehead here I thought you wouldn't mind taking a little detour."

.

Amy suddenly understood. "You want me to make him jealous?" she whispered, grinning. Rouge narrowed her eyes but Amy was sure her cheeks had turned pink.

"It's just a bit of fun," Rouge insisted.

Amy rolled her eyes but swiftly got into character. At least it would be practice before they reached Sonic, she reasoned. Knuckles was watching them now and a frown was appearing on his face. Amy pretended to notice him just as she and Rouge were passing him. They stopped and moved back so that they were right in front of him.

.

"Oh, hey, it's Knuckles," Amy said in her deep voice.

"Well, hello there, Knuckie," purred Rouge. "Me and Andy were just taking a little stroll through the woods, you know, together." A smirk curved up her lips as Knuckles clenched his fists.

"Oh, how nice for you," he said sarcastically.

"Yes, it is nice," Rouge said, acting as if she hadn't noticed his annoyance. "It's very nice to have a real man around here." With that statement, she moved her arms around Amy's neck and gazed dramatically into her eyes.

Amy ignored how weird that felt and put on a cocky grin. "Yeah, well, you know, I am pretty muscly and stuff."

.

Knuckles sat up straight. "Is that so?" He grunted. "Well at least you won't be annoying me anymore," he said to Rouge.

The bat smirked again. "Why bother when I have Andy to hang with? Besides, he's much more handsome."

Amy felt her cheeks redden but she continued to grin. "You know it," she said coolly.

"Are you trying to make me jealous?" Knuckles scoffed.

"Oh, please," Rouge retorted. "You wish I was. And it isn't that hard to find someone with better looks than you."

"Oh yeah?" Knuckles growled.

"Yeah. Not to mention there are plenty of guys that are stronger than you. Like Andy, here. He's very strong," Rouge said, running her hands over Amy's slim and muscle-less arms. She eyed Knuckles. "He could beat you in a fight any day, Knucklehead."

.

Knuckles jumped to his feet. "Alright, then let's test that, shall we? Put 'em up, tough guy!" he roared.

Amy froze. The grin fell from her face. "Wait… what?" she cried. Then to Rouge she whispered, "What are you doing? I can't fight him!"

"Just keep it cool," Rouge replied. "Now, now, that's no way to treat a new friend," she said to Knuckles. He scowled at her.

"This isn't your business anymore, bat girl!" he snapped. "Come on, big shot, fight me!"

.

Amy swallowed, feeling her stomach do somersaults. Knuckles would never hit a girl, but she was a boy now, and she couldn't even use her hammer to defend herself. She eyed his huge gloved fists that she'd seen break through walls.

"Bring it on," she said feebly.

Ooh, it's bust-up time! ;) More of that in the next chapter (which I will do ASAP).
Hope you liked it! Reviews are really appreciated. :)