Shucks. I'm flattered to know that despite my long absence there are some who actually waited for me to update. Really appreciate it, guys. :D I'll try not to make you readers wait for an update.

Chapter 18: Test?

Amy stared out the window and watched the huge fluffy clouds as their plane flew past them. Below was just the great big blue and she couldn't spot any forms of land. She sneezed but covered her muzzle with her hand then drew the blanket that wrapped around her shoulders to keep her warm. Her eyes were damp with tears still, for she had cried the whole time during their journey back home. Rouge and Cream were beside her, offering comforts in both words and action. It didn't help much. Though she did feel a little bit better, but it wasn't enough to fully rid the guilt gripping at her chest that made it hard for the pink hedgehog to breathe.

Her best friends, Rouge and Cream, had already fallen asleep hours ago in their travel. But Amy was still wide awake. She turned her head ever so slightly to stare at the group of medics guarding the still unconscious Sonic. Seeing him in such a state made her feel that this was all her fault. Ms. Brown was beside Sonic as well, concerned for his well-being. The instructor caught Amy's eye and the pink hedgehog saw once again the glint of disappointment in Ms. Brown's eyes. She quickly turned away and stared into the blue... She sniffed, beads of fresh tears building up at her already wet eyes. Amy remembered quite clearly how it all went yesterday when she tried to rescue the blue hedgehog...

Amy gasped as her head popped out of the water. She pulled Sonic up so he could also take in life-giving air, but he was not moving, nor was he breathing. "S-Son...nic!" She gasped as she fought to keep hear head on surface. The moving waves made it difficult and Sonic wasn't light either, but Amy summoned all the strength her body can muster just so she can keep her hold. "Wake up!"

When Sonic made no response whatsoever, fear struck Amy like lightning. She felt a burning behind her eyes that had nothing to do with water touching her naked eyes. "Sonic!" she shouted. "Sonic don't do this. I said it's not funny!"

The blue hedgehog still was silent. Amy's heart started to beat at an alarming rate it was as if it was going to burst out of her chest. Tears now poured out freely from her jade-green eyes as she screamed at him. "Sonic! Sonic please, wake up!" Her feet beneath the water treaded frantically as she drew him closer and cried like she'd never cried before.

A life buoy fell in front of them and Amy looked up to see the crewmates of the boat wave at her frantically, yelling and telling her to grab hold.

Amy immediately swam closer to the life buoy, placed the ring over Sonic while she held to it tightly and allowed the crew to pull them up. When they were safely on the boat once more, Amy pulled the life buoy out of Sonic and placed her cheek near his mouth.

None.

She looked up at the rest of those on board the boat who had come closer by this time for a better look at what's happening. She had an expression of desperation on her face as the tears had never stopped from flowing down her cheeks. "He's not breathing!" she exclaimed. "Someone get help!"

Immediately, a group of men appeared and knelt beside her. Immediately they proceeded with the necessary methods to revive the blue hedgehog. Amy would have not moved out of the way if Rouge and Cream hadn't pulled her up. She started to sob. Amy wrapped her arms around Rouge's neck who patted her back; Cream did likewise, while she and the white bat hushed their friend.

"This is all my fault! This is all my fault! This is all my fault!" Amy wept.

Amy wiped the tears off her face. She didn't know if she could ever forgive herself if Sonic never woke up.

Time flew very quickly. With a mind laden with thoughts of guilt, Amy hadn't noticed that she was now standing at the front door of her house while she carried her suitcase. Vehicles passed by behind her, blowing dust in the late afternoon light. She slowly entered her house and closed the door softly behind her.

The house was empty, as she had already expected. She went straight to her room and collapsed on her bed, didn't bother unpacking her stuff. Amy grabbed a pillow and buried her face on it as she started to cry once again. That evening, as she had finished eating dinner alone, Amy went to finish the homework she wasn't able to do because Sonic had stolen the notebook she had wrote it in. As she wrote the answer, she suddenly stopped writing in mid-sentence at a letter 'S'. Her mind then fell again to worried thoughts about a certain hedgehog whose name started with that letter. Sighing sadly, Amy finished writing the sentence.

By Monday, Amy was late to attend school. She had a rough night, and she looked terrible. When she entered the classroom, all eyes of her classmates turned to her. The looks they sent her made her chest tighten and Amy felt like only an inch tall. She walked shamefully to her desk and listened to class.

And of course, Sonic was absent that day.

The next day, Sonic was still absent and the day after that and the day after that until it was already a full week which Sonic had not made an appearance in school. During the weekends, Amy wanted to visit him. They were informed that Sonic hadn't come down with any serious illness. But he did catch a fever, and had to stay home until he's better; a private doctor was hired to aid in his recovery. Monday the next week, People started murmuring, especially Amy's classmates.

"Gosh, I hope Sonic gets better soon," a girl said to her friend who nodded. "It's been a week and he's still not attending class!"

"What did really happen anyway?" said one guy from another group in Amy's class. "Did Amy push him off the boat?"

"No she wouldn't do that!" a guy in that group said.

"We all know how much she hates Sonic. Maybe she did." said another guy.

Amy clenched her fists tightly. She did not push him! He jumped off the boat by himself! And even she didn't know why? What came over him to do such a thing?

When class ended Amy told Rouge and Cream to go ahead. Since it was Monday and her day off from work, she decided—after so much considerations—to pay Sonic a visit. But she needed to know where Sonic lives first. Despite them being classmates for years, Amy hadn't known the place where the blue hedgehog lived because every year he moves from one place to another. She didn't even know if he lived with his parents of is supporting himself. Sonic is just so mysterious but she didn't bother to delve into his personal life.

She rushed towards Knuckles and Tails as they walked out of the gate. "Hey!" she called.

"Oh, hey Amy," greeted Tails with a wave of his hand. "Anything we can do for you?"

"Yeah, um...could you guys tell me where Sonic lives?" she asked shyly.

Knuckles raised an eyebrow at her. "You wanna pay him a visit?"

"Well, sort of." Amy answered quietly.

Tail and Knuckles shared a look. The two planned on visiting their best friend themselves, but perhaps it would make Sonic happier if Amy was the one to show up. Tails took a piece of paper from his pack and wrote the street where Sonic lives then immediately gave it Amy.

Amy smiled at the two and she clutched the note. "Thanks."

"No prob," Knuckles said with a wave.

Amy was quite lucky that Sonic lived by Emerald Street. She had been there several times. It was actually just a few blocks from EmberDawn, the cafe-restaurant where she works. Her head turned from side to side keeping a sharp eye for the apartment known as "BlueFire".

She stopped when she finally found the building. She went over to the gate and looked over for people that might be around. She spotted a female sky blue hedgehog who could be at least thirty years of age. The woman was sitting by the side of the stairs of the front porch reading a book.

Amy waved her hand up as she called to the woman. "Um, excuse me!"

The woman looked up at her, red eyes falling on Amy. She stood up and walked over to where the pink hedgehog was standing. "Yes, may I help you?" she asked.

"Um, is there someone by the name Sonic who lives here?" she asked politely.

"Sonic? Sonic the hedgehog?" Amy nodded in answer. "Yes, yes. Are you a friend of his?" she asked.

"Classmate. I'm just here to see how he is."

The woman smiled at her as she opened the gate so Amy can step inside. With a graceful gesture she beckoned Amy to follow her into the establishment. They mounted several stairs before arriving at the room where Sonic stayed. During their journey the woman and Amy made small conversation, she found out that the sky-blue hedgehog's name was 'Fire'.

Fire knocked at the door of room 7. "Sonic dear, someone's here to see you."

"Who?" Sonic called from inside the room.

Fire looked at Amy who was vigorously shaking her head, silently pleading for the older hedgehog not to tell. Fire smiled with much understanding, "Just see for yourself." She pushed the door open.

.

Sonic sat up in bed as he heard light footsteps in the living area, indicating that someone had just entered the premises of his apartment room. When the door to his bedroom swung open Sonic expected for Knuckles' or Tail's voices to erupt and greet him with enthusiasm. He was surprised to see a pink hedgehog instead. But surprise was a complete understatement; he was beyond that, though he was quite happy to see her. He adjusted the collar of his pajamas as it was suddenly difficult for him to breathe. His heart immediately began racing as he fought to keep composure as he stared at Amy when she entered the room.

Both of them just stared at each for how many minutes and it was starting to get awkward. Amy weaved her fingers together in front of her as her gaze fell to her shoes. It was no doubt that she wanted to say something, but was probably too shy or nervous to. It was strange, really, 'cause to Sonic she was the toughest girl he knew. He also wanted to start up a conversation, but was still under the clutches of his initial shock upon seeing Amy.

Still, they were going to get nowhere if this keeps up so he decided to make the first move. Clearing his throat softly, he greeted her. "Hey."

Sonic saw her visibly stiffen at the sound of his voice. "H-hey." Her voice was barely above a whisper. There was a one minute pause before she spoke again. "How are you feeling?"

He chuckled, running his hand through his quills. "Well I'm in a much better condition than I was a week ago. Although the doctor said I still couldn't go to school until next week."

"That's...that's great to hear." She offered him a faint smile.

.

They were again silent. Amy's eyes shifted to the plastic box on Sonic's nightstand where several bottles of medicine were placed. There was also a small pale of water on a chair by his side which a white towel was hanging on its lid. Next to it was an empty chair. When she moved her eyes again, she ended up making eye-contact with Sonic and hastily turned away, her cheeks stained with a red blush.

Amy hadn't felt this nervous before. She was practically shaking from head to toe and it took a real effort to control it. She was relieved, though, to see that Sonic hadn't gone down with any serious illness. If he did, then Amy couldn't handle her conscience constantly attacking her.

She willed herself to turn her head so he was facing him again. Sonic was staring at her. But instead of the usually taunting gaze and smug expression on his face, he was looking at her with appreciation. His emerald-green eyes were gentle and held no hint of arrogance. She was only surprised when he smiled fondly and with a wave of his hand gestured to the empty chair next to him.

"Why don't you have a seat? It's pretty tiring when you just stand there." He said.

Amy blushed at how kindly he said that. Did the near-drowning caused damage to his brain? Why was he so polite all of a sudden? Nevertheless, she walked meekly towards the chair and sat. She held her shoulder bag closer to her person as she bowed her head low, feeling as though they were trapped inside a small box.

Goodness! Why was she so nervous? Was it the guilt? Perhaps. Since her arrival she had felt nothing but guilt, regret and shame. Amy had this feeling inside her that what happened to Sonic was entirely her fault. Though it wasn't. She couldn't understand it. What exactly had she done to make him do something that risked his life?

She wanted answers, and she wanted them now.

"Sonic," she said, finding the courage to speak.

"Hmm?"

Amy closed her eyes. "Why?"

"Huh? Why what?" He sounded confused.

She opened her eyes and lifted her head so their gazes were interlocked. "Why did you do it? Why did you jump off the boat?" She was stunned when he only chuckled in response. Amy felt her temper flaring. What was so amusing about it? But she willed it down.

"Hehe, I don't know, pinky, sorry," he answered casually.

"Don't know?" Amy gripped her bag in anger. "How can you not know?" she demanded, her voice rising.

"Beats me," he said with a shrug, and then scratching his head he added, "It's a sort of test, I think."

A test...

Amy couldn't believe. He was just playing with her! She was feeling guilty and sorry for what she assumed to be her fault but it was just one of his games! Here he was again, acting like the hedgehog that was so full of himself that she disliked. One minute he was all kind and humble then—POOF—he's back to his old self. Alarms went off in Amy's head all of it indicating that her rage was at its highest point.

She abruptly rose to her feet glaring at the blue hedgehog. "I can't believe it! There I was crying my eyes out and feeling all guilty and sorry for what I thought was my fault... it was all just a game?! A stupid trick you concocted to play with... with my emotions?!" She hadn't noticed that tears were now pouring out of her eyes. As soon as she realized it, Amy feebly forced them to stop. But it was useless; her face was practically soaked with her own tears. "No. Stop it, stop it! You're only giving him more satisfaction by crying!"she yelled in her head.

"I was scared, Sonic!" she shouted, throwing her shoulder bag at the blue hedgehog who caught it with both hands. "I thought you were going to drown! And you're telling me that it was all just a test? A test of what?! A test of how many galloons of tears I was going to cry if you would have died!"

Amy was about to make a hasty exit, but suddenly Sonic his arms around her and pulled her closer to him. She wanted to push him away but she realized that she needed this. Instead she buried her face into his chest and continued to cry. For five whole minutes the two of them stayed like that. Amy's trembling had finally stopped and so did her sobbing. She only sniffed while her shoulders jerked, feeling slightly comforted by the soothing hands stroking her hair.

"Hey, I'm sorry. Okay?" Sonic whispered into her ear. The low rumble in his throat told Amy that he just laughed. "I didn't know you would be affected this much."

Amy snorted.

Sonic laughed quietly, holding her closer as he nuzzled her pink fur. "But you lied. You said you wouldn't care."

Amy's mind made an abrupt halt as everything in her surroundings suddenly stopped. She heard nothing but the beating of her own heart as her mind went back to the scene during their cruise in Hawaii, where Sonic interrupted one of her peaceful moments and then both of them argued once again.

"You really want me gone?"

"Yes."

"You wouldn't even care if I jumped off the boat?"

"Pfft. Go ahead. I don't care. "

Amy's heart began pounding inside her chest as she finally realized what Sonic had meant when he said that it was some sort of 'test'. She surprised him by sharply pushing him away. Her hands were clenched as they shook with restrained fury. Amy's teeth were bared and she looked like she was about to punch the blue hedgehog. But instead she turned around. "Jerk!" she mumbled before making her exit.

.

The door was slammed shut with so much force the ceiling practically shook. Dead air then filled his room after the pink hedgehog's departure. Late afternoon sun rays poured through the small window in Sonic's bedroom washing his face with golden light. He sat atop his bed with a fond smile plastered to his face. He noticed the brown shoulder bag beside him. Sonic picked it up and saw the souvenir keychain hanging on the bag's zipper.

Sonic chuckled. "I might have to return this to her some time."

Meh, not such a great chapter. Sorry.

Whoo! Let the SonAmy fluff begin!