So um... hi.
Sorry for the unintended hiatus. Lots of stuff happened. I've been on a long journey and lots of things have changed. Then, one day, I suddenly felt the call back to the StH fandom and well... here I am.
I'm not gonna waste time answering reviews or blabbing about myself. Just want to say huge thanks for everyone who has looked at this story and sent me messages encouraging me to finish it. I hope we can create something beautiful together.
And with this chapter, after about a million years, the set-up is complete and the real story begins.
-x
7: Joined at the Hip, or, My Best Friend Hates Me
Amy nursed her can of Mountain Dew with a far away expression. Blaze and Shadow returned to their quiet study corner while Silver sat on the floor and picked through the remnants of Amy's backpack with a scientific curiosity. Knuckles and Sonic were in the living room playing a very noisy video game which could only be Dynasty Warriors, and Espio had disappeared.
"Aha!" Silver freed a spiral-bound notebook from the wreckage. It was a little singed around the edges and messy from the extinguisher, but otherwise usable. Amy's curly handwriting was still clearly visible, even. Silver wrinkled his nose in a smirk, "Why does this one read like a diary? 'Today I met some new people. One was this really cute guy who—!'" Amy snatched the notebook from his grasp, the crushed aluminum of her soda can gripped in her other hand. She spoke venomously.
"Do not—ever—go through a lady's things!"
Silver, ignoring her, made a regretful face at the inside of her backpack, "Sorry Amy, looks like all your tampons were completely destroyed." Amy's face turned a deep shade of crimson and there was a thinly-veiled snicker from Shadow's direction. The pink hedgehog threw down her soda can and gripped one of Silver's ears between her thumb and forefinger.
"Silver... You're walking on a very thin line right now. Thread thin. Spiderweb thin. Do. Not. Cross. It."
Gulping at the sudden fire in the younger girl's green eyes, Silver nodded and pushed the charred backpack aside. He jumped to his feet and dusted his hands over his jacket, yellow irises flicking around the room awkwardly.
"Well—um—I-I have to... go do some science homework! Yes, that!" The albino was gone before Amy could further threaten him, leaving her behind in the now-silent kitchen. Her shoulders sagged and she ran a hand through her bangs.
"I guess I should head home too..." she murmured to no one in particular. Shadow's pencil scratching accompanied his voice as it floated across the room.
"Not much of a point though, is there?"
Amy eyed him warily, "What do you mean, exactly?"
Ridged eyebrows moved upwards slightly, "Well, your friend told you to stay away from us right? So what's going to happen if you go back there now?" He paused for effect before looking up and meeting Amy's eyes with his own, "She's going to lecture you and somehow force you into never seeing us again. Then where will you be with your whole," he gestured at her backpack, "situation?"
Amy slumped forward dramatically, "You're... you're right... Ugh..." She leaned against the wall and sank down, pulling her knees to her chest. The room was silent except for the faint buzz of the music on Blaze and Shadow's headphones. Across the hall the shrieks of fan-wielding Chinese girls exploded from the television set.
When no one said anything more to encourage her to stay, Amy sighed one final time and made her way back to Gamma Nu Omega to explain her problem to Rouge. She knew that Rouge would be just waking up when she got back, and the idea settled into her stomach like too much fast food. She passed between the bustle of other students in her dorm and ascended the fancy stairs which had seemed so posh at first; now they just felt stifling. Faster than she could keep up with, paranoid thoughts began to crash around in her mind, dragging down any confidence she had. Eventually, Amy's red boots came to a stop in front of her room and she took a deep breath to quiet her mind.
She opened the door cautiously, poking her head around the side. The lump of brightly-colored sheets moved slightly, emitting a quiet snore. Amy crept into the room, shutting the door behind her. There were still a few minutes before Rouge woke up luckily, so she had some time to go over what she was going to say.
I'll just tell her the truth... She's my best friend; she'll understand... right? Amy eyed the snoring lump on the bed across the room. She shivered, thinking about how upset Rouge was last time she warned Amy not to be involved with SLK. Amy bit her lip—she didn't want things to fall apart with Rouge anymore than they already had. She'd only been here for just over a week! It was still March... and she had already pissed off her best friend.
Maybe... I'll just not tell her? I'm sure it'll all be dealt with soon enough! There's no point in blowing things out of proportion, Amy grinned at her brilliance. Yeah, I'll just hide it and then stop talking to them as soon as it's all over.
"What are you grinning about?" Rouge's teasing, sleepy voice emanated from the blanket pile as she stretched. Amy jolted at the sudden question. Rouge peered over her blankets with a smirk, "Something happen with that cute fox from your computer class?"
Amy chuckled nervously, "W-what? No, that guy turned out to be a complete air head." She waved her hand in a dismissive motion. "I was... just thinking... how happy I am that you let me stay with you here. I definitely wouldn't have gotten in to Linehardt without your help, Rouge." Rouge sat up and continued stretching while she listened. When Amy finished, the bat smiled sincerely and jumped out of bed to hug her.
"Ohhhh, you're too sweet! If anything, I should be thanking you..." Rouge pulled away and walked over to her dresser, pulling out clothes for her night classes.
"What do you mean?" Amy asked, confused.
"To be honest I was really lonely," Rouge gathered her clothes and her toiletry bag. "I didn't really have anyone else I wanted to talk to. You know me," she flipped her hair, "I'm a lone wolf, except where it comes to you."
Guilt bloomed like a poisonous flower in the pit of Amy's stomach. She resisted the urge to bite her lower lip and opted instead for a forced smile. Poor Rouge, alone at this massive university for so long and then she came along... and Rouge probably hoped that she would hang out with her.
All I've done is ignore her for complete strangers...
"By the way," Rouge paused on her way out the door, "I'm sorry for flipping out on you so badly yesterday... I know you just got here and it's not really your fault if you're just trying to be nice. I just..." she paused and sighed. "I care about you, okay?"
The poisonous flower grew larger—Amy's smile tightened, "Thanks."
After Amy struggled through another few awkward minutes with her best friend before Rouge left for class, the day dragged on. She didn't feel like socializing with any of the other sorority girls, as they were a bit intense, and the only other people were the infamous residents of SLK.
She wasn't really in the mood for visiting with them.
So she resigned herself to a peaceful afternoon alone. Picking a book off the small shared shelf in the corner of the room, she plopped back down on her bed and pushed the window open before laying back and digging in. The hours dragged by. The sun slid lazily on its arc through the blue vastness of sky that hung over the Linehardt campus. Occasionally a gentle breeze that was just beginning to smell of springtime flowers would ruffle the lacy curtains on Amy's window. The chatter of students both outside and inside the dorm was pleasantly homey.
Eventually evening fell and Amy was roused by her growling stomach. She jumped, startled, when it roared at her.
"Oh," she caught the time on the clock on her nightstand and mumbled to herself, "I guess it's gotten kind of late." She realized that—regretfully—the school dining hall was closed for the night. She also realized that this was the first time that she was completely on her own for food. All of her other nights so far had been occupied by going to Sally and Tikal or Marine to the dining hall—or being taken around by SLK. Breathing deeply, Amy set her book aside and stretched. "Guess I'll look up some take-out restaurants in the area!"
It was completely dark out on Amy's way back to Gamma Nu Omega. She walked with a brisk stride, the tiniest flickers of nervousness tingling in her spine. Even on campus, being alone at night was a little nerve-wracking. The smell of her teriyaki was driving her stomach wild; its gurgles were almost scarier than her current situation. Amy chuckled to herself at the thought. To distract herself, she checked her phone for the time and wondered if Rouge's last class was almost done.
If I hurry, I can make it back before her and we can share the food!
"In a rush, sweetheart?" A slick voice stopped Amy in her tracks. Tucking her phone away, she looked up to see Scourge the Hedgehog, leering down at her with his sunglasses pushed back on his head. He waggled his eyebrows and shoved a hand into a pocket on his leather jacket. "You seem like you're walking awful fast for such a... nice night." He grinned, licking oddly sharp teeth.
Amy sunk in on herself, holding her bag of food a little in front of her, "Um... I'm just on my way back to my dorm... Going to eat dinner and all that." She smiled anxiously. Scourge raised his eyebrows, nodding vaguely before looking over his shoulder. The rumbling sound of something wheeled echoed down the large path before a green hawk rolled up to the two hedgehogs on a long board.
"Hey, Jet." Scourge drawled. The hawk stepped off his board on one foot, holding it in place with the other. He and Scourge exchanged a complicated handshake before he gestured at Amy.
"Who's the girl?"
Scourge continued to grin eerily, "Just a babe I'm giving some advice to." He gestured broadly, as if he were some sort of prince, "Out of the kindness of my heart... I'm inviting her to DED for a night of fun and frolic." He leaned close to Amy's face and she cowered. He chuckled darkly, "And the best booze you can get on campus." Jet looked unimpressed.
"Fiona's gonna burn your stuff again if she finds out you're wasting time on some freshman trash." He glared at Amy, challenging her to speak up in defense. She didn't. Scourge pulled away from her and groaned loudly.
"It's not my fault she chose some snobby girls-only academy. If she were so worried she shoulda come to Linehardt like I told her to. And besides," he slung an arm over Amy's shoulders, "this piece is some of the best material in the new harvest, ya know?"
Amy grit her teeth. 'Sweetheart'? 'Babe'? 'Piece'? Who did this guy think he was? Some sort of college Don Juan? He had nerve. She slipped out from under his arm and stepped away.
"Well," she laughed awkwardly, "I'm afraid I'm going to have to decline your uh... generous offer. I really just want to get back to my dorm and eat. So uh, I'll be taking off now." She turned to leave but Scourge appeared in front of her, creepily similar to the way Sonic moved. The green hedgehog wasn't smiling any longer. He had a dark expression and he leaned over her, brushing his hands up her arms too gently.
"Listen," he growled, "I know you've been getting close to those losers at the end of the road. Well let me give you that advice," he bit down on the end of the word, causing Amy to flinch. "Those idiots are the bottom of the food chain around here and me? I'm the top. If I don't like it when they get too happy, I do something about it... and you know what I hate the most?" He pressed his face close enough to Amy's so that their noses brushed, "I hate when they poach girls from me."
Amy shivered.
Scourge smiled, nodding, "Yeah. I can tell you're afraid. That's good. That means you'll listen when I say that the only dorm you're gonna be involved with other than your own... is DED. And trust me when I say you'll wind up DED... one way or the other." He pulled away from Amy so fast that she fell to her knees, trembling as she stared up at Scourge. He grinned down at her one last time before Jet spoke up.
"You're always such a dang creep, Scourge. Let's get out of here before someone sees you."
Scourge nodded, turning on his heel and following the hawk back into the shadows, lacing his arms behind his head like he owned the world.
Amy fell forward onto her palms, arms shaking so much that she could hardly hold herself up. She let out a breath she didn't realize she was hold and gasped in fresh air. Terrified thoughts raced through her mind as she tried to choke back sobs.
I thought Linehardt was a really good school...? I didn't think people like him got into places this nice... Can I tell anyone about this...? Who would listen? I'm just a freshman... She took some shaky deep breaths before pulling herself to her feet and almost running back to GNO.
Her appetite was gone.
The morning was a bit of an uncomfortable blur, as Amy's alarm didn't go off on time. When she finally woke up, class had already begun, so she was forced to rush getting ready and sprint to the school buildings. Professor Bramble eyed her irritably when she entered the lecture hall, but she was thankful that he didn't deem her worthy of being called out in front of the class. She slid along the wall, avoiding the stares of any students who were awake enough to be judgmental.
Blaze was wrapped tight in her sweatshirt, hood drawstrings pulled tight around her face. She was slouched back on the bench so far that Amy wondered how she wasn't falling off. When Amy plopped down beside her, she only grunted. When Professor Bramble stopped the lecture to allow for some time to focus on the homework, Blaze slid up and fell forward onto the desk with a quiet thud. Her drawstrings came loose enough for her face to peek out a bit. Amy waved warily.
Blaze sighed, "Hey."
"Hi," Amy whispered. "Is everything all right?"
"Yeah." Blaze said. She finally sat up all the way, shoving her book over so Amy could use it. "Last night Knuckles bet money that Shadow couldn't beat Sonic in a racing game, but then it turned out that we didn't actually own a racing game, so we ended up driving all over town trying to find one in the shops around here... Needless to say," she slumped onto her hand, staring at the ceiling with exhausted eyes, "we were up quite late."
"Wow," Amy breathed. "That's... certainly a story."
Blaze shrugged.
"Thanks for letting me use your books, by the way," Amy offered.
Blaze nodded, "It's the least we can do... considering." She slumped forward once more. Some minutes passed and snores emanated from her hood. Amy fretted that the tired cat would fall behind on class work, but when Blaze shifted in her sleep, Amy saw that she had actually already finished the assignment.
The week continued in that simple fashion, with the various members of Sigma Lambda Kappa offering their assistance where they could. Shadow dropped off his old books with her before math one day, and with some hard work and some help from the misfit group, Amy wasn't failing any of her classes. Everything seemed to be going smoothly, even her sneaking around so Rouge wouldn't notice anything amiss. Amy was a little uncomfortable with coming up with an excuse about where her books were. It seemed like the lies were piling up—it wore heavy on her well-meaning shoulders.
At last, Friday arrived. Amy was happy that all of her teachers (excluding Professor Shell, as he didn't have much of a curriculum) had given their students a break and decided not to give out homework. She was free to relax and enjoy her weekend to the fullest in sunny Station Square. She stretched coming out of her last class, breathing in the brisk March air.
I hope spring break comes soon!
Just as the thought crossed her mind, a gust of air pulled her out of her reverie. Sonic was standing in front of her, almost out of breath. He panted for a moment before looking at her, eyes wide.
"Have you seen Silver anywhere?"
Amy was startled at the odd question, "N-no, why would I know where Silver is?"
"I just," Sonic looked around frantically, peering through the crowd of students, "he said he was going to the bathroom and we were gonna head out to the track to mess around... I just checked all the bathrooms and he's not in any of them."
"A-all of the bathrooms?" Amy spluttered incredulously.
"All of them." Sonic ran a hand through his frazzled quills, starting to breath heavy from anxiety. Amy grabbed his other hand in an attempt to comfort him.
"I'm sure he's around somewhere. I can help you look for him if you like."
Sonic was about to say thanks when he was drowned out by the roar of an engine even louder than Chaos Control. He and Amy looked towards the street, where a massive four wheel truck covered in dune gear and a tacky, green-flame paint job was charging up from the directions of the dorms. It slowed as it approached the pair of hedgehogs and Amy's stomach dropped when she saw Jet was driving it. Scourge, like some villain in a superhero movie rose from the truck bed, cackling.
"Hey, Blue Idiot," he shouted over the thundering engine, "guess what I've got!" He gestured to the truck bed, where Silver was tied up and being held down by some other members of DED. Scourge laughed at Sonic's expression, "Your little buddy here's on his way to get initiated, all 'cause your pink friend thought she was too good for our beloved Delta Epsilon Delta! See ya later, loser!" The truck drove through the campus exit and disappeared into the city.
Amy gaped after them, shocked.
Sonic seethed, "I need to call the others."