*Sigh* ...I'm a bad, bad procrastinator. This time was entirely my fault; I got this huge influx of ideas and I wanted to write all of them at once! So I spent a while setting up new projects and mapping out different story plans and procrastinated writing this chapter, which I was very unsure of. I hope the end of this one makes up for the wait!
Lost and Forgotten Memories: I tried to work out what could be wrong with that phrase, but then chalked it up to just awkward wording. I'm glad to hear it's funny! I'm not really good at writing humor, so I need constant reassurance hehe
June Dune: Oh my goodness! When I saw I got another review from you I squeaked with excitement! I don't really like school fics either, but there are so many of them I decided to try and parody the style. Originally, this fic was going to be a collection of one-shots that poked fun at high-school story tropes, but then it morphed into me just trying to challenge myself with a subject I don't like. It's hard, but it's worth it. On Espio... As I was writing Advents, I was watching a lot of Sonic X and researching different characters that didn't feature quite as frequently in main roles. I remembered my love of the Chaotix and wanted to include all of them, but realized that if I wanted Tails and Cream where they are in this story, that Charmy Bee (who is roughly the same age) couldn't be at the college dorm. Also, Vector always seemed older to me than canon due to his crush on Vanilla, so I made him too old to actually be in college. Therefore, I was left with Espio alone, but he's so fun to write I don't really mind. Thank you for your review, I'm so very thankful for it!
SunsetSparkle421: I'm glad you enjoyed! And yes, Sonic is a cutie all right hehe
adar13: I'm glad I'm not alone. Writer's block is the worst feeling! I hope the encounter with Rouge is satisfying :)
6: A Shakespearean Friendship
Surprisingly, no one woke up. Amy sat frozen in her position on the mushy couch, her mouth open in shock. Espio strolled in from the kitchen, his expression tranquil, eating a bowl of cereal with a fork. Seeing the pink hedgehog awake, he waved the utensil pleasantly.
"Good morning."
Amy scrunched her bangs in distress, "What am I going to do?"
The chameleon blinked, "About what? Your hair?"
"What do you mean?!" Amy peeled the blanket she was wrapped in away from her and jumped up, carefully picking her way over the slumbering bodies on the floor to the hallway. She caught her reflection in a decorative wall mirror and jumped. "I look like a zombie!" Espio continued to crunch on cereal as he watched her attempt to straighten her wrinkled shirt and twisted pants. Finally he swallowed.
"Day-old windblown isn't a bad look, per se. Very early-2000s alternative."
"I don't want to look early-2000s alternative!" The freshman tugged her fingers through her quills. There was a rustling of movement back in the den and Sonic's whine trailed out.
"Why... so... noise..." He faded off into a snore. Espio took another forkful of cereal. Amy inhaled and exhaled slowly before clasping her hands in front of her. She looked at Espio firmly.
"Um... Thank you all, for yesterday... I'm sorry if I imposed."
Espio shrugged, "No problem."
"I... I'm gonna go back," Amy stuttered and she bolted for the front door before a reply could be made. She closed the front door behind her and sprinted across the street to her own dorm. GNO's massive door echoed up into the entryway; it was still the weekend for many students. Amy chewed a nail, not quite ready to face her best friend's scolding just yet. She decided to procrastinate and explore more of her own dorm and headed down the hall. Before long, she found herself in the den and was greeted by a familiar face.
"Wow. A week into your first year and you already slept over some guy's place." Wave's steely blue eyes drifted over Amy's mussed appearance before returning to the coffee table in front of her, which was occupied by a coffee mug, some worksheets, and a rotor. She absently took a swig from the mug and scribbled down some notes. Amy groaned inwardly, utterly mortified. She cautiously entered the large room and fell into an arm chair a safe distance from the swallow. A few minutes passed and Amy chanced a conversation.
"I... I didn't sleep over some guy's place... Not like how you mean, that is."
Wave raised her eyebrows without looking up from her homework, "Oh."
Ignoring the subtly acerbic tone, Amy pressed on, "I just met some new friends and we played video games really late," she sighed. "I guess I fell asleep over there."
Wave's expression darkened slightly and she looked up, "College is a dangerous place. Who did you so naively sleep over with?"
Amy turned her head defensively, "Sigma Lambda Kappa..." Before she could scramble away, the swallow was directly in front of her, eyes wild.
"Do you know how dangerous that is?!"
Amy raised her hands in front of her face, "They seemed like nice people!"
"Of course they did!" Wave growled, "They're not who I'm talking about, the bunch of idiots. I'm talking about Delta Epsilon Delta! As in if you get in their way, you are DED!"
Amy frowned in confusion, "What?" Realizing how uninformed the pink hedgehog truly was, Wave quickly regained her composure. She reached up and tidied her bandanna slowly.
"I see you haven't met them yet, then." Her expression turned sightly ashamed and she looked away, "My... friend... is part of Delta Epsilon Delta and their dorm has a fairly aggressive rivalry with SLK. It's even escalated to violence in the past."
Amy recoiled and Wave shook her head quickly.
"No no! It wasn't that bad... just a little brawl in the industrial district of the city... Anyway, if they see you hanging out with SLK, I won't be able to say anything to stop them from harassing you as well. I—oh, why is this so weird...?" Wave pressed fingers to her temples, massaging her head in small circular motions. Amy stared at her, unsure of what to say or do. After a few awkward moments, Wave shook her head and her expression returned to its usual mask of haughty indifference. She blinked.
"It doesn't matter, I guess. You won't be going back there, so Jet won't bother you." The swallow returned to scribbling on her worksheet and carefully studying the rotor. Amy took this to mean the awkward, forced-feeling conversation was officially over and scampered away, finally ready to face her best friend. As she made her way up the stairs, some older sorority sisters looked at her and began whispering frantically, making strange motions with their hands and snickering. Amy's ears drooped slightly and she slumped her way up to the second floor.
Rouge was brushing her teeth to get ready for bed when Amy skulked by on her way to their room. She blinked, her blue eyes hard, and spoke past the foam in her mouth.
"So, you finally saw fit to show your face."
At the harsh tone in the bat's voice, Amy's lips trembled, "Rouge... I'm sorry I didn't call... I just got so swept up in activity that I ended up falling asleep there."
"Where?" Rouge spat the toothpaste into the sink, running the water and beginning to wash her face. Her ears twitched—the only sign that she was still listening to the pink hedgehog. Amy bit her lip and leaned against the door jamb, holding her elbows and wondering exactly how angry Rouge would be if she told her about the insane night spent gaming with SLK. Rouge turned off the tap and patted her face with a washcloth before turning and pressing a fist to her hips. She eyed Amy coldly.
"It's amazing to me that all I have ever done for you is watch and care. You're my best friend, Amy Rose, and I'm not going to lecture you after one week of university." Amy opened her mouth to respond but Rouge stalked past her and began to walk towards their room with the younger girl following, "Forget I asked 'where'; I know you went to Sigma. I know you spent all day with them and I know you slept over. I just want you to think about what I told you, though: they're dangerous. It's not good to get involved with them for so many reasons that I can't even begin to explain it." Amy closed the door to their room as Rouge haphazardly stripped out of her clothes, rooting around in a small dresser for her pajamas. The white bat yanked on a pair of flannel bottoms and slipped a t-shirt over her head, then crawled into her bed. She looked up at Amy one final time, the faintest trace of hurt in her eyes.
"I guess you're an adult now, though, so it's none of my business." She fell back among her pillows and buried herself in blankets, leaving Amy to stand by and fret helplessly. Eventually, knowing that she had nothing to refute Rouge's argument even if she woke her up, Amy grabbed her toiletries and a set of clean lounge wear and went for a shower. The hot water washed away the tenseness in her muscles and gave some clarity to her mind.
She realized it was really foolish for her to just fall asleep at a stranger's house. Especially since it was filled with mostly boys. It was also really stupid to disregard Rouge like she had, completely ignoring her warning and then not even calling her to say where she'd be. Amy sagged against the shower wall, chewing her lower lip remorsefully. No, she'd resolve to do better. She'd apologized and made herself out to be civil—that was all that was necessary, right?
Yet... the memories of their wild adventure at Twinkle Park and the way they all cheered for her when she beat a high score in Street Fighter filled her with the most pleasant warmth. Back at Green Hill, she'd always had friends, but the only person she was really close to was Rouge. Rouge was the stereotypical "older friend"—she had such nice clothes, she knew all the best places to hang out and see cute boys... and she always watched out for Amy's safety in her own detached sort of way. The residents of Sigma Lambda Kappa were just so... invigorating. They seemed to set aside all the judgments they received from outside and just focused on really living. It didn't matter where they were, they would still have fun.
It was so different from what Amy had experienced before and she didn't want to lose that new perspective. If anything, she wanted to drink it in like mother's milk and let it burn through her veins. She felt confident and safe in those hours she spent with the forbidden frat... so was it really so wrong to want to stay with them?
Yes... Rouge knows what she's talking about and I will be a good friend and listen.
Amy turned the tap off and reached for her towel through the curtain. Her resolution was strong and she would not fail! She couldn't!
With a renewed determination to listen to her best friend and have a good, average first year, Amy made her way back to her dorm room and sat down at her desk to do homework quietly. Rouge woke up briefly and eyed Amy with a concerned look.
"I just don't want to worry about you..."
Amy shook her head and smiled softly, "You don't have to. I won't go back there again."
Rouge nodded and rolled over in her mass of bedding and Amy studied hard throughout the day, hoping for a much better Tuesday morning.
The next day, as Amy reached the main street, she was greeted by none other than the people she wanted to avoid most. Sonic was at the head of them, his long legs sprawled forward from the yard into the path. Upon seeing the freshman, the members of SLK all looked up and spoke their various greetings.
"What are you guys doing here?" Amy asked. Silver looked up with a warm grin.
"We didn't hear from you yesterday. We wanted to make sure you were all right after we kinda failed at bringing you back safely." He turned sheepish at the end, rubbing the thick toes of his boots together. Sonic nodded to back up the albino's statement.
"We really should have been more careful. I'm sure your friends were worried about you." He tilted his head to the side, green eyes striking Amy far too forcefully for the early morning. The pink hedgehog rubbed the back of her leg with a foot, hoping that Rouge wasn't watching from the window above. She had to tell them she couldn't be seen with them...
"Anyway, since you and I share a class first thing," Blaze straightened her jacket (which seemed a little fancy for an average school day) before eyeing Amy flatly. "Shadow suggested that we walk with you."
The black hedgehog's eyes went wide, "I... I didn't."
Blaze smirked at him, "Don't worry; no one is going to mistake you as a softy."
Silver stood and whispered to Amy, "Even though he so totally is." Despite herself, Amy chuckled. The warmth of the forbidden group was blooming in her core again. Why was it so hard to deny these people? She looked from one to the next—Sonic's enticing looks to Knuckles boisterous personality—and realized something she didn't want to admit.
They're just... good people.
Espio pulled out his phone to check the time and suggested they make their way towards the academics complex before they were late. Everyone agreed and they were off. As Amy began to fall into place behind them, however, she heard someone whisper her name. She turned with a curious glance, only to see Sally and Tikal a few feet behind her, gesturing with concerned eyes.
"Amy!" Tikal hissed, "What are you doing?"
Not wanting to alert the others, Amy only mouthed, Going to class!
Sally and Tikal frowned, With them? Come on, don't be stupid. Come with us!
Deliberation passed over the pink hedgehog's face for a moment. Sally and Tikal briefly expected her to pull away and come walk with them in safety, but then... she simply shrugged, smiled and turned back around.
School passed with a strange electricity in the air. Amy knew she had done something very final when she had ignored her friends to walk with SLK. Yet... she couldn't just slap away Sigma's attention without seeming like she consisted entirely of mood swings, so she would have to find a way to tell them gently. Like a guillotine of old, the notion hung over her head throughout the day, not helped by Sonic and Silver greeting her in Physics with wide smiles and silly antics as well as Knuckles offering his best help to get through Global Studies.
The day finally ended; Amy planned to make a break for her dorm to take a moment to plan, but she was thwarted by none other than the Blue Blur himself. Sonic smiled leisurely at the courtyard entrance, leaning against the stone dividers with his hands behind his head and an infuriating smirk on his Venus-flytrap face. He raised his eyebrows while keeping his lids closed lazily.
"Going somewhere fast, Ames?"
Amy skidded to a halt and straightened her skirt, attempting to appear casual, "Um... Not really." Sonic opened his eyes half-way, the hypnotic smirk never leaving his lips. He lurched away from the divider and gestured for her to follow him. When she hesitated, he paused and turned, his eyes appearing wounded.
"Don't you want to come hang out again? You had a lot of fun on Sunday, right?"
The question lingered in the quiet air like mist. Amy breathed in and out softly, quelling the butterflies in her stomach and organizing her thoughts into some semblance of logic.
"I-I... I can't," she drooped over, staring at her shiny red boots. "The truth is... my friends keep saying Sigma Lambda Kappa is dangerous. They say that if I'm seen with you, other people will talk... or even bully me." She raised her eyes slightly to gauge his expression—it was unreadable. "Rouge is my best friend and I've known her since we were kids. I don't want to disappoint her." They sat in silence. A cool breeze blew over the campus carrying the mixed scents of perfumes, the cafeteria and books. Sonic grinned.
"'Disappoint'... or disobey?"
Amy raised an eyebrow, "W-what?"
"You heard me. I think you liked hanging with us and you just don't want to lose your friend for 'disobeying' her insinuated command."
"Rouge isn't like that! She really cares about me!"
"Yeah, but she's also like a parent, right? Sometimes people start to get overprotective with time. Amy, you can't live your life by other peoples' rules. Now come on, we've got to get you having some fun!" He grabbed her hand before she could argue further and broke into a sprint. It wasn't what she was expecting though. The very fabric of reality seemed to blur around her and the wind whipped her hair free from its headband. She would have screamed if they hadn't stopped so fast, already standing on Sigma's front stoop. Sonic pulled her into the house and she followed without a sound, dazed from the run. They ghosted through the hallway to enter the kitchen, which was bustling with a bizarre commotion.
"Knuckles, I need more oil than that stupid spray can," Silver growled. "Get me the bottle!" Amy assessed the situation: Silver stood over a massive wok which—judging by the surrounding Jack bags—was filled with sausage biscuit sandwiches. Knuckles was rumbling around the kitchen, grabbing different things from the shelves. Shadow and Blaze were a distance away, sitting at a small dining table which was littered with textbooks and notepaper. They were sharing a pair of earbuds and frowning in concentration. Espio was nowhere to be seen. Upon receiving the bottle of vegetable oil, Silver grinned wickedly and bit the cap off, pouring the gold mixture over the mountain of biscuits.
"What...?" Amy squeaked. It was too noisy for anyone to hear her, though. Instead, Silver gestured at Knuckles and the echidna dropped an extendable lighter into his open hand. The hedgehog cackled madly before holding the lighter against the oiled biscuits and sparking it to life.
If the Guinness Book of World Records crew had been there, they would have given the award for Best-smelling Explosion Ever. Sadly, they were not. Instead, the inhabitants of the kitchen cried out in terror at the monster they created and flailed around.
"Aiieeee!" Silver jumped backwards onto the island counter, his eyes wide with fear. "It's b-big!"
Shadow, who was not panicking but placidly going about his homework, murmured, "What did you expect?"
Knuckles grabbed a nearby pot and began filling it in the sink as flames licked up the wall. Sonic dug his fingers into his quills.
"You idiots! I leave the house for two seconds and you're burning it to the ground! What would Vector say?!"
"He'd probably give us cookies for experimenting!" Silver shouted. Knuckles approached the wok with his filled pot and leaned back. Sensing his intent, Amy yelped.
"YOU CAN'T USE WATER ON A GREASE FIRE!"
It was too late—the water was free and the previous explosion was dwarfed by this one. Sonic and Silver had the good sense to jump out of the way, but Amy was a bit slower and only managed to turn around. The fire caught on her backpack and she began to scream.
"AAAAGGGH I'M ON FIRE!"
There was chaos and a scramble in the kitchen. Someone yelled "stop drop and roll" and Amy fell to the floor. Strong hands wrestled her backpack off of her and then there was a chorus of stomping sounds. She sat up and turned around just in time to see Shadow release the contents of a fire extinguisher on the smoldering wreckage. As it sputtered out, the room was deathly quiet. Amy crawled forward shakily, pulling at the flap of her backpack to reveal the books inside.
They were little more than ash and soggy paper.
"These... were rented..." The whisper escaped her almost of its own volition. There was a collective sharp intake of breath at the realization. The freshman continued, "I... don't have the money to pay for these... Especially not replacements."
"Ames..." Sonic began. She was on her feet in a millisecond, whirling on him and brandishing a yellow-and-red mallet. He sputtered.
"Where did that come from?!"
"I'LL KILL YOU, YOU IDIOT! I NEEDED THOSE FOR THE WHOLE YEAR!"
"Amy don't kill us!" Silver burst into a wail and jumped over the counter. Shadow and Blaze both grabbed onto the younger girl's arms, restraining her from the murder of Sonic. She thrashed about, swinging the mallet ferociously.
"Amy, calm down," Blaze said calmly. "We'll pay for the damages."
"WHAT AM I GOING TO DO UNTIL THEN?"
Espio was suddenly in the door of the kitchen, sucking on a juice box. Studying the carnage around him—the burnt walls, the sizzling pile of biscuits, the charred backpack and his dorm-mates all looking quite surprised. He sucked at the straw again, unblinkingly.
Blaze loosened her grasp on Amy's arm, "You can study with me for Literature. I know Shadow has some old science books that you might be able to use. He can also tutor you in your math class. I hear Knuckles' Global Studies class doesn't do much anyway and Espio will help you with anything you need to know for computers."
It was too coincidental to be real. Amy melted to the floor, "Rouge will kill me..." She looked up at Sonic's inappropriate laugh, only to have him meet her gaze, his own filled with mirth. He chuckled again.
"Well Ames, guess you're stuck with us."