Ice Skating
Disclaimer: I don't own any characters in this story.
Character(s): Sonic and Amy
If there is ever one thing to not do in winter, it is to never, never let Amy Rose know you can't skate.
On Sonic's behalf, it was an accidental confession destined to slip out of a mouth too quick to talk. In the most inopportune of times, no less, and this case just so happened to take place during a rapidly-decided visit to said pink hedgehog.
Upon finding her humble abode vacant of any living beings, Sonic wandered off to the medium-sized lake conveniently near, knowledgeable of the fact that unlike himself, Amy possessed the skill to skate and rather enjoyed the activity. Especially in its ice variation – since every other individual on this god-forsaken planet seemed to love water and being near it in any way possible.
Like he assumed, she was there, and honing her proficiency in the sport, ever-so-fluent with her carefully-precise jumps and turns. Her twirls were looking vastly improved from last time, Sonic noted. Back then, they were looking a tad clumsy, though her tricks were miles ahead of what he could do on the ice. However, being the gentleman (or coward) he is, Sonic didn't mention this little fact, afraid of either being smashed by a giant red hammer or even dragged onto the ice himself. This time, he wasn't so tactful with his words, made obvious by his blatant mentioning of his inability to skate.
That's when Amy zoomed over, the sharp blades on her skates drilling a thin line through a surface he'd really rather not find himself on, a silent request quickly defeated as the other, more-talented hedgehog – at least when it comes to skating – grabbed his wrist and pulled him over before his reflexes kicked in.
Once Amy stranded him in the middle of the lake, they were freaking out on a frayed level of overdrive, a line not commonly crossed in Sonic's mind.
Add to that panicked thoughts of whether or not the ice would break under him, and that adds up to a stock-still, blue hedgehog attempting to turn into a statue. Not unlike most things in life, it was easier said than done. It also didn't help when Amy laughed at him every so often, sometimes skating backwards as well.
Ouch. Talk about adding insult to injury.
"You know, Sonic," she sang, her voice lathered in a coating of innocence and double-dipped in a fake tone of sweetness, "I could help you off the ice if you want." Sonic glared. He didn't know which was worse: the fact he was severely struggling to even maintain his slowly-toppling balance or the fact she could skate backwards while talking without breaking a sweat. This entire situation was so unfair! He didn't ask for this!
He was about to take Amy up on her offer – if only to get off the ice, and the freezing, below-zero water inevitably underneath – when she suddenly glided over to him, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Of course, if I help you, you have to agree to –"
"Take you on a date, right?" Sonic interrupted, narrowing his eyes. He should have known this would have come to a bribe.
Amy smiled knowingly, and shook her head. "Actually, no; all I want to do is teach you how to ice skate." Sonic rolled his eyes, his mind not even registering the words before they tumbled out his mouth.
"Yeah, sorry, no can do." Amy shrugged, seemingly not bothered and turned around before starting away. "Hey, wh-where are you going?" Sonic stuttered, not sure if the cold weather or his own feelings of uprising panic caused the sudden snare in his throat. He preferred to believe it was the former.
His hand, its switch apparently set on self-automatic, moved up as if to reach for Amy's shoulder. Even if Sonic's mind didn't catch his slip-up, his gloved fingers wouldn't have found anything besides empty air to hold on to; Amy was already off the lake.
"I'm sorry, Sonic." Sonic's eyes narrowed, his face contorting into irritably; that tone just sounded so sincere. "But unless you want to stay out here all day freezing, you'll have to take some lessons, is all." Jade eyes softening ever-so-softly, she added, "It's not that bad, you know."
"Easy for you to say, Miss Figure Skater Extraordinaire," the blue hedgehog muttered, glancing at the thin, unstable surface separating him and the deadly – and, no doubt, freezing – liquid below, attempting (and failing) to repress the shudder climbing up his spine.
Responses to Reviews:
ShinyShiny9: Well, I wanted to put the line about Vector somewhere in there (it was, after all, what inspired the entire prompt), but it didn't feel natural anywhere else. Anyhow, I'll keep the tone in mind for other chapters. Thank you for the thoughtful input!