"Sonic… why did I find my stereo outdoors? Were you sunbathing?" He asked cautiously, moving to put it back in place. I turned my face from him at lightening speed, face flushed, eyes wide in mortified embarrassment.

"Well m-my arms and chest were gettin' a little pale, I didn't think you'd-"

"Sonic. I was talking to Amy…" He began, thankfully interrupting my horrible lying skills. Already, my mind went insane with sarcasm.

'Suuure, if that's what you wanna call it- talking…more like-'

"She says she hasn't talked to you in days… almost two weeks! What's goin' on, Sonic? Aren't we a team?"

Aren't we a team.

A team of girl hungry bachelors!

That did it.

I pushed myself off the couch, cackling like a mad man. He actually looked freaked out by my strange laughter.

"She… has a different dress for each guy she's gone out with… which could possibly be a new dress twice daily, and you are asking ME what's goin' on?"

"She said you seemed off. I didn't want to believe it, but…" His blue eyes fell guiltily on me again. "Sonic, this has escalated a lot. I just didn't expect you to, I dunno... get this way."

"You are so not having this conversation with me right now."

"Sonic, you're not yourself." He said pointedly, putting his knapsack down. I guess he was oblivious to how threatened his little rendezvous made me feel. Hell, Scratch or Grounder could be alone with her for an hour and I'd still feel this way. Suddenly, every dude on Mobius was an opponent. Even my friends.

Especially my friends, it seemed. They were the first to try to nab her. I rolled my eyes at his seriousness, aiming to be dismissive.

"So I'm not myself. What's next on the menu? Counseling with Dr. Quack? Acupuncture?"

"Sonic, we're all worried about you, can't you see you're in trouble?!" He spurted suddenly, throwing his arms out in an act of desperation behind the couch. I was watching him wearily over the sofa, and now I levitated so he could see how hard I was scowling. He slightly recoiled. "Sonic?..."

"You're worried. Worried, are ya? So worried you were driven to take her out on a date?"

"Oh! That, that was just…" At the word 'just', there was no way he missed my nose scrunching against it. "Oh, no- NO Sonic, not that kind of date- it wasn't anything like-"

"What other kinda date is there, man? Sharing a banana split, you'd do that with Knuckles?!"

"EWW!" He revolted, then quickly tried to recover "I-If he couldn't finish it then I'd-"

"Ya told me she was hot at the sleepover!!" I fumed, feeling ridiculous, slamming back out of view into the couch. My arms folded tightly as I pressed against it's soft confines. I squeezed my eyes shut tight, against the images that flashed like a classic film behind my eyelids. My eyes were burning, and I felt that overwhelmed feeling, that stupid unexplained burning to signal fresh tears. I think I'd cried more in the past few days than I actually had in my entire life- and that was no stretch of the truth. It was all that new Sonics fault, the one that was moping and neglected by my ego. It was cinematic sin behind my lids, showing me all the people who knew the ropes to taking her out better.

Everyone.

Even my adopted kid brother! So I sat there, trembling but succeeding in overcoming the senseless, spontaneous tears. Why did she have to affect me this way? Why did this part of me decide to start forcing its way out? It started as something inside, something I could keep to myself and suffer out solo. Now this new and injured me was leaping out to the forefront, around my friends, embarrassing me. I was soon going to have to face it, wether I was ready or not.

Tails was silent for so long, I feared he'd retreated into his room to escape my mood.

"Oh, Sonic…" The young voice was part amused, part apologetic. "I should have known you'd react like this."

"Should have known?! Since when have you come to know me as a diva hog?" I snorted, covering how disturbed that comment made me. Was it now that obvious to all?

"I could trace it back to about… 11 days ago." He ignored my sour look and quickly continued on. "Sonic, please. You know Amy and I are practically related, it's not like the other ones… you've started to get paranoid. It's me! Not to mention how you insisted you didn't think of her like that before any of this happened..." He leered meaningfully at me then, which dissolved my glare, and I sunk out of vision abruptly again- caught red handed. Shit. It was all out now!

"Sonic. If you ever lie to me again, I'll make you eat your own socks. You suck at it anyway, man."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah- moving on, lets forget this ever happened"- Tails snorted laughingly in response to my hasty retreat from the convo. "Can't there just be a non-emo night for once this week? Seriously…"

"I am there. Name it. I had some projects to tie ends on, but why not- I never take nights off. What did you have in mind anyway?"

"I was actually kinda thinking something I haven't done in an extremely long time…" I smirked, stretching as I stood. I then noticed the odd look on his face.

"Uhh…" he looked away awkwardly, and I bark laughed while socking him in the arm roughly.

"No way, give it up you little freak!! You're not old enough, weird me out-"

"I'm 16!!!" He bellowed, enraged and laughing all at once.

"Which, my two tailed friend, is not old enough for you to get you into a club. No dice!"

"So?" Tails beamed, while my eyes bulged. "Who says they won't let me in?"

"TAILS- You, are, not, old enough! No questions dude, lay off it!" I lifted a hand in finality.

"Alright, Dad." He cackled at my incredulous expression, holding up hands of defeat in response. Then his grin turned coy. "I should've just stuck to asking Knuckles-"

"He is DEAD MEAT, man!" I punched the air with a snarl, making Tails roll his eyes and grin. "Oh I am- I'm gonna choke his red rebellious- I will SPIN DASH his ass for-"

"You would make a good dad." Tails murmured in amusement absently, stunning me to silence and glancing over at him in wide eyed astonishment at once. Like a freight train, the one word barreled me over inside. A dad?...

What?...

Against my own will- and completely freaking out my ego side- the new and untamed side of me lashed out at my thoughts and held them captive. I suddenly envisioned myself watching a minute sized hedgehog seated beside my shiny red sneaker. She stared into the sparkling buckle with impossibly kelly green eyes, hypnotized by its luster. Then, she was reaching for me- and I felt a strong surge of protection and warmth. She was such a lovely shade of plum, forcing her dazzling eyes to the forefront in contrast to the deep hue of her fur. It was like the feeling that overtook me whenever Tails was in danger, that thirst to protect my kid brother- only it was heavily concentrated, like a shot to my system. Almost painfully, it was a blend of my protectiveness over Tails and my desire to keep Amy out of danger. In seconds, I loved her desperately, but not in a way I'd ever loved someone before. Then her face lit up with a flush, a beam exploding across her curious features.

And she laughed, just like Amy.

A set of fingers snapped before my eyes, and I was thrown back to where I was like a rag doll- that side of me withdrawing so quickly I nearly got whiplash. It was all gone, and the ego side of me took over, feeling slightly hollowed as I inhaled with surprise.

"W-whut?" Was all I could choke out after such a devastating experience, and Tails could see me wearing something heavily in my eyes.

"Dude. Wake up! You don't need to be a dad tonight. I surrender, alright? I'm gonna call up Cream… you grab my cell and call dead meat, pronto. Tonight, you'd better have a good time… or else, Sonic!" He tormented as he tossed me his slight golden cell. "Speed dial 2."

"No shit!" I laughed, and listened to the phone ring thrice as Tails made his way to the house phone.

"Yeah?"

"What a way to answer a phone. And dude, I am gonna STOMP your- you sneakin' Tails into clubs? Man this is so not cool, if you do it again I swear to God I will skin you from-"

"Good evening to you too, idiot. And I won't anymore, chill! It was just his birthday and-"

"No- NO excuse! You're lucky I haven't burned track to that shrine to kick you off the side of that flippin' island-"

"Alright, alright, shut up already! Had I known it was you I wouldn't have picked up, I thought Tails wanted something-"

"Doin' anything tonight?" He went silent for a brief moment, and I swallowed down a guffaw.

"What do I do every night?" He said pointedly, his tone totally warped from raging to collected.

"Spaz! Take a breather, come out with me. I'm hitting Club Rouge tonight-"

"Hmm… two for one drink night! We can keep pace." He sounded way too excited for this to just be about the two for one drunk on.

"With me? Puh. I'm not takin' care of ya tonight, rad red."

"Oh you're on, true blue."

"See you in thirty?"

"Try fifteen. I haven't been out of here for a night in freakin' ages."

"I'll tell Tails to keep the Shrine Monitor on tonight. Meet me at my place."

"Took the words outta my mouth. Prepare to go belly up! In a few, Botnik spew."

"In a bit, dipshit." I grinned into the cell, and flipped the small golden phone shut with a snicker. "Tails, it's on the coffee table! Catch you tomorrow little bro!"

"Thanks Sonic, and please have fun, for the love of God!" My laughter ricocheted off his walls before I blasted into a speedy leap out his window, landing in the tree outside his house.

"And don't jump through that friggin' window again I am NOT repainting that frame, use the door! It's not just there to keep freaks like you out!" His taunting reached my ears before I leapt off the tree- snickering as I jetted into a speedy burst. Green and blue melted into one captivating blend, and I was on the path home.

I hadn't felt this lightweight and hyped in days!

Tonight, was going to be quality Sonic time.

And that was freakin' that.

---

Hells yessum! 83
Come back, hit the town and party Mobian style with Sonic & Knux in the next chapter:
On the Dance Floor… for now, I'll leave you time to go get gussied up. X3

Till next time y'all!

-Mish