Chapter 3: Acceptance

When the skits were finally done and the performers took their bows, Amy stood up and clapped politely, even if no one would see or hear her. Nack just yelled out insults and jeers and booed the whole time, but judging by the way he was grinning and the tone of his voice, it was almost like he was joking and it was his own way of showing appreciation. Amy, naturally, frowned at Nack for this, but didn't bother to correct his attitude problem.

"Well, that was nice," Amy said, looking at the weasel and crossing her arms, "I suppose I should thank you for this nice little time, even if your presence still irritates me."

"The feeling is mutual, Pinky," Nack sniffed, adjusting his hat while looking at the hedgehog, "And don't thank me; that sends chills down my spine."

"Oh, don't be a prude," Amy scolded, "Even if we're enemies and we hate each other, you still did something nice for me, so I'm thanking you for it. You got me out of the cold, brought me to a free show, got me a little food, albeit by stealing…so, thank you." Nack looked at Amy for awhile, then just laughed and slapped his knee.

"You're hilarious! You really thought I was doing all this for you?" he snickered, slapping his forehead and shaking his head.

"Wait…you weren't? I figured as much!" Amy sighed, "Let me guess…you want me to pay you back in some way, right? I suppose it's to go and do something to Sonic behind his back, right?"

"As juicy as that sounds, no," Nack said, stopping his laughing. When he paused and didn't say anything else, Amy eyed him curiously. Why wasn't he giving the reason why he had helped her? Surely he wanted money, or clues on how to take down Sonic, or even something perverse. He was usually upfront and outspoken with his wants, too. The hedgehog couldn't figure out why he was so hesitant to go on with what he wanted, if anything at all.

"Uh…well, I suppose that I should get going now," Amy said, breaking the awkward silence and heading towards the rope that led up to the hatch, "Thanks for being nice for once, Nack…in your own way. You still might need to work on your temper, though; won't get many girls that way." She giggled and grinned to herself, then quickly started to climb up the rope.

As she was expecting, Nack yelled out some profanities and climbed after Amy almost as quickly as he could, but oddly enough he still never fired a single bullet at her when he easily could've. As the weasel climbed up, much like Amy before him, he ended up staring up into her butt for a moment. She was wearing her usual white panties underneath her dress, unlike Nack, who didn't wear really any clothes besides his shoes, gloves, belt and hat. Regardless, the weasel's eyes widened and he blushed a bit and momentarily stopped yelling profanities.

Confused on why Nack stopped yelling at her, Amy glanced down just as she pushed the hatch opened and started to pull herself back into the freezing night. She only managed to see Nack's hat; his face was completely covered by it, so she failed to see his blushing face and his angry look resulting from it. With a shrug, the hedgehog shivered as she stood on the rooftop, watching Nack climb out next to her. She thought she saw a hint of red on his face, but since it was too dark, she wasn't sure.

"So, I guess I'll be leaving now…I can find my way home, don't worry," Amy said, heading over towards the ladder on the side of the building. However, before she took two steps, Nack roughly grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"I didn't say that you could leave yet!" the weasel growled, pulling Amy towards the ladder himself, "In fact, I forbid you to leave! If you try, I'll gun you down in three seconds flat!" Amy widened her eyes and gulped, then decided to tease Nack a bit again.

"Three seconds? So you're not good enough to do it in two seconds or even in one?" she giggled, "Aw, Nack, you're getting rusty." As expected, this resulted in Nack yelling out more profanities and telling Amy to get moving down the ladder. Amy just smirked to herself and started to climb down. She had no idea why Nack wasn't killing her, but since he seemed to have hidden intentions, she was gonna milk this for all it was worth. Teasing boys was always fun, after all.

When both hedgehog and weasel made it down to the ground, Nack grabbed Amy's wrist and pulled her along back to his motorbike. This caused Amy to blush a little bit as well; even though Nack was being forceful with her, no boys usually EVER touched her in ANY way. Even Sonic never bothered to pull her along anywhere; usually he just told her where to go and then made sure to stay away from her. So, in a way, this "treatment" by Nack was making her feel a bit awkward, but in an unusually good way.

After getting back to his Marvelous Queen, Amy and Nack both resumed their positions from before and the weasel started to drive off again, making sure that his taillights were on so that they could see. However, while holding onto Nack's waist, Amy was blushing even worse and she couldn't figure out why. Nack was nothing more than a murderous, evil, rude, manipulative bouncy hunter and nothing more. She hated him just like he hated her, but something about all the touching and time spent together was making her nervous and causing her to blush. She just couldn't figure it out.

Nack also couldn't understand why he found himself feeling more antsy than usual. The hedgehog he was "hanging out with" was possibly the most annoying person on the face of Mobius. Amy was a stubborn, selfish, stupid, annoying stalker who deserved to be locked in an anger management institute. She was Sonic's main love interest, at least on her side. Sure, that seemed to be no more at the moment, but still. She was his big enemy just like everyone else. Why did he find himself enjoying her hands on his waist and enjoying her snarky company? He just couldn't figure it out.

They rode along through the barren streets of Station Square for only about three minutes, until Nack parked his bike outside what looked to be another decrepit building. It was obvious that he wasn't worried about anything happening to his bike here, which led to Amy getting very worried; a place that Nack was comfortable going was probably not a good place for a Freedom Fighter like her. She tried to say something, but Nack quickly got off his bike and pulled her along by her wrist once again without giving her a chance. He barged his way through the molted wooden door of the building and Amy found herself being forced along, too.

Inside, Amy was stunned at what she saw. There were actually a lot of people inside, most of them sitting at tables or at the bar. It was an old-fashioned restaurant that Amy felt like she knew. The floor was made of an old wood, but was still plenty strong. The walls were decorated with pictures of old Station Square, Freedom Fighters, villains, and much more. In the back was a stage where a karaoke machine sat, while a jukebox was in the corner in the restaurant, along with a few old game machines. The tables and chairs were all wood as well, but had soft sheets and pillows tied onto them. It was truly a very interesting place.

Amy didn't really know what to think. Seeing the pictures of villains and Freedom Fighters alike on the wall made her confused; did the place support one or the other? And how come she felt like she knew the place, and yet it seemed so old and yet still so popular? She turned to Nack for help, but the weasel was smirking and looking straight ahead, ignoring her for the moment. A second later, a familiar-looking green duck walked up to them, wearing a goofy uniform and not looking all that thrilled about it. However, as soon as he saw Nack, his eyes lit up.

"Nack? Hey, it's been awhile!" the duck said with a grin, "How the heck are ya? You back from a dangerous mission? Hope you're feeling generous with your payday like you were last time!"

"Actually, Bean, I'm not on any mission right now," Nack said coolly, "And in case you didn't notice, I have a certain annoying brat with me." Amy frowned at Nack for that, while Bean glanced at the hedgehog and widened his eyes in shock.

"Amy? But…but…why would you two be together?" Bean asked, looking back and forth between the two of them in confusion.

"None of your business, that's why!" Nack snapped.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Amy said with a shrug, "At least he hasn't killed me yet."

"Uh-huh…well, shall I get you two a seat? I'm being forced to work here to pay off a loan to Bark," Bean muttered, turning around and heading towards a table. Nack pulled Amy along without looking at her, and even though she was getting tired of being pulled along, the hedgehog willingly let herself be dragged with the weasel. A part of her really didn't mind being used like this; it felt a lot better than being completely avoided, like with Sonic.

Bean led them to a free table right in front of the karaoke stage, then handed them each a menu and asked if they wanted something to drink. Feeling incredibly nervous and awkward, Amy didn't really know what to say, but Nack quickly ordered them each a Coke and held the menu up to block his face from Amy. Bean rolled his eyes, gave Amy a funny look, then walked off to give them time. Amy watched him leave before turning her attention back to Nack. The slow music being played over the speakers made her heart flutter for some reason; nobody was singing karaoke.

"Um…Nack? You, uh, didn't have to bring me here…I don't honestly have any money on me," she said, gulping and looking down at her dress in a guilty way, "So…about those drinks you just ordered for us…"

"Would you just shut up and pick up your menu?" Nack growled, peeking over the top of his own, "It's all on me, alright? Don't worry about it! Now stop your whining; it irritates me!" He muttered to himself and went back to looking at his menu, while Amy hurryingly picked up her own menu and started to look through it. Nack was good at scaring people, due to his guns and the fang on his face, not to mention his harsh words and the spiteful ring to his voice. However, Amy couldn't help but feel kind of happy. Nack was paying for Amy to eat and drink real food, and he was also letting her ride around with him on his motorbike. What were his motives?

"Wow, they serve grilled cheese with tomato soup here? You barely see that offered anywhere anymore!" Amy squealed, looking at the menu, "Oh, and they have ten kinds of salads, three kinds of chicken sandwiches, and so much more! This is incredible! How come I've never heard about this place before now?"

"Probably because you were always looking in the wrong places," Nack smirked, setting his menu down onto the table, "You probably were always wanting to dine with blue boy at one of those fancy places uptown. Bah, those places just steal your money and make you look like a douche. This place is where I always like to come. Not only do they not judge you on who you are or what you look like, but they have a lot of different varieties of food and don't charge much."

"So that's why there are pictures of both villains and Freedom Fighters up on the wall?" Amy asked, tilting her head while looking at Nack.

"Precisely, Pinky," Nack reiterated, "I get tired of looking at those annoying do-gooders' faces, but it's still the only place that will really accept me for who I am without giving me no crap about it. I have been known to give a bit more when I come here, just to show my gratitude, but don't you EVER mention that or else you die!" He glared fiercely at Amy, who only nodded back.

"Your secret is safe with me, Nack," she said, cracking a weak smile at him, "I'm impressed that you know about places like this and that little theater building; I would've never known about them if you hadn't forcefully brought me to them."

"Well…don't think anything of it," the weasel said, glancing away from Amy, "I'm only doing this for my own benefit and nothing more! Don't get ANY notions in your head that I'm being 'nice' or anything!" He shivered while saying the word "nice", while Amy just giggled again.

"Sure, Nack, whatever you say," she smirked. The two sat in an awkward silence for awhile, neither one daring to say anything else, although they did steal glances at one another now and then and then quickly look away when they realized it. Bean came back a moment later and handed them their drinks, and then took their orders. Amy complimented Nack on his selection: prime rib with extra tartar sauce. She herself ordered grilled cheese with tomato soup and a side of salad. She mentioned how much she liked to eat meat when she was younger, since her cousin Rob always told her that meat would help her grow strong. Nack just muttered and said nothing at this.

While the two sat quiet again for awhile, sipping on their drinks and trying hard to not stare at one another, Amy glanced back at the karaoke stage. It seemed almost lonely. However, she wasn't Mina Mongoose; she didn't really have it in her to sing, at least not in front of everyone else. There was at least 50 other people in the restaurant altogether, and she couldn't work up enough courage to go up on stage and sing a song, especially not with Nack and even Bean in the audience. But it just seemed so inviting. The hedgehog then turned back to look at Nack.

"Hey, Nack?" she asked, taking another sip of her ice-cold Coke.

"What, hedgehog?" Nack responded, glancing at her and setting down his own drink.

"You sing?"