Chapter 4: Contemplation
Hey, hey, hey! Sonic is here and the coast is clear! Fancy crossing paths with you again, buddy! Been a little bit since we last had some time to kick back and trade stories… or rather, it's been a while since I last talked your ear off about my issues and you patiently listened to me without judgment. You're always free to tell me a little about yourself too, y'know. Don't wanna be selfish. Nevertheless, I presume you've got a little more time on your hands, so I hope you don't mind if I borrow you again for a little while… Ah, of course, ya don't. That's why you're so awesome!
So… Yeah, about last time we met. I know we left off on a BIT of an awkward note at Tails' house three months ago, but hear me out. I didn't mean to just blitz off on ya like I did without saying a word, and I'm sorry if that left a bad taste in your mouth about me. It's just that I… didn't exactly know what to do when I had Amy, Shadow, and my best friend Tails telling me that they didn't want me around. I'll admit, I played it cool, but I was kinda panicking on the inside. I got Amy even more upset with me, which was not at all my intention, and everyone else painted me as the bad guy pretty much right then and there. I'm not used to that, and once I realized I couldn't talk them down, I figured my only other option was to leave them alone to have their hangout.
I still feel awful about that day, on top of still feeling bad about the way I treated Amy at that restaurant… and even before. I mean… I've been doing a lot of traveling, a lot of thinking, and a lot of just… trying to understand what I'm supposed to do to fix this. Trying to talk my way out of it didn't work, and I wasn't planning on just showing up at Amy's doorstep with a boatload of gifts and/or an engagement ring or whatever. That would probably make things worse anyway. Although, I will admit, I DID drop off a gift for her about a month ago. It wasn't anything too big. Just some fancy headband I saw her eyeing up this one time we went to Chun-Nan. Darn thing cost a fortune, but I thankfully have some deep pockets. Don't tell anyone about that, though. I ran into Cream the Rabbit by chance when I was in Central City, and I figured I'd leave the headband with her to give to Amy. And if you're wondering why I didn't just give it to Amy directly, then… well… I'll put it this way…
I've honestly been completely lost on how to approach talking to her again. Far as I hear, she still wants nothing to do with me. And I need to respect her wish for more space between us until further notice. I've stopped calling her or sending her messages, I've stayed away, and… Heck, I even stopped talking to ANY of my friends for the time being. Those who've reached out to me have only pestered me about the issue with Amy, and while I don't have a solid answer yet, my explanation in the meantime is that we're going through a rough patch and we're going to fix it eventually… even when I'm not sure it ever WILL be fixed.
All that said, I'm sure you're wondering where I'm at right now and what I'm doing. And to that, I'll gladly share that I recently paid a visit to Never Lake. In case you're not sure what that is, it's this gigantic, beautiful, sparkling lake hidden on a mountainous island in one of the farthest corners of the globe. It's got this unique event of sorts where a tiny planet (cleverly named Little Planet) appears above it for a month out of an entire year. Little known fact: Little Planet can ONLY be seen from Never Lake's location if you're not already on the planet itself, which makes it extra special. You've probably heard of it all before, of course. After all, I once saved this place from Eggman's rampant robotic meddling when I was a kid. And get this: The day I came to Never Lake and Little Planet to save them from Eggman… the day I met and had my first epic race against one of my fiercest rivals of the not-so-good doctor's creation, the coldhearted automaton Metal Sonic… the day I managed to save the past, present, AND future of Little Planet… was the same day I met Amy Rose… More on that in a little bit. Let me tell you in the meantime what happened when I came back here after so long…
"Hm… This place has been untouched for years… It's like while the rest of the world carries on, this entire island remains stuck in the same place in time… The same weirdly nostalgic era…" I muttered to myself as I chilled out atop one of the many stalagmites surrounding the crisp, shimmering Never Lake. Laying back with my hands resting behind my head on such a gorgeous, cloudless sunny day, I basked in the cosmically eternal peace of the historic landscape. Birds, squirrels, bunnies, and all sorts of critters were minding their own business, frolicking in the flower-bathed, grassy fields surrounding the lake. The crisp, gentle breeze rolled on through, effortlessly rustling the flowers and grass while cooling off any and all living things that would otherwise be baking in the sun's luminescent rays. Little Planet, the celestial anomaly it was, hovered peacefully in the sky, thankfully completely untouched by any form of pollution, corruption, or egg-based debauchery… I couldn't help but feel totally at ease watching it rotate as I reminisced about my adventures every zone on it from Palmtree Panic to Metallic Madness… To be on a planet where the Past, Present, and Future converge to create this seemingly endless, rapidly cycling loop… Man, it takes me for a trip every time I try to figure it out… but the mystery of it makes this place so much more mesmerizing…
Oops… S-sorry for getting all poetical there. Nostalgia is one heck of an experience when you're literally surrounded by it. So anyway, I was here at Never Lake all by myself, collecting my thoughts as I let the majority of my stresses melt away. Must be surprising for you to see me taking it so slow, I know, but I have my moments… especially when it comes to appreciating nature. Anyhow, I didn't exactly have any plans for the day. I… didn't exactly have many plans period at this point. I was still lone wolfing it as I tried to figure out a good time to eventually come out of my self-imposed hiatus and set up some hangouts with my friends again. I wouldn't get too far with planning things out, though, before a certain someone found me as he glided in from seemingly nowhere. As the sound of the wind carrying him picked up as he cruised on in…
"Sonic? Is that you?" the visitor in question called to me as his long red quills blew in the wind while he soared through the air and made a U-turn. And once I got a good look at him and saw the giant spikes on his gloves and his ruby red fur…
"Ah! Knuckles!" I called over to the stoic echidna that was one of my best friends as I stood tall and hopped off the stony stalagmite to land in the grass. Knuckles landed right in front of me just a second or two later, though he seemed more confused than happy to see me. Nevertheless, I still greeted him. "What's happenin', bud? Been quite a bit since we last randomly bumped into each other like this. What brings you all the way out here?"
"I was on my way to find a Chaos Emerald that fell somewhere in this area not too long ago," he answered, however vaguely.
"What for?"
"That's for me to know. It doesn't concern you. Unless…" he quickly shut me down, keeping to himself as he usually did. Hm… "What are you doing here? Are you looking for the emerald, too?" he questioned, seeming suspicious of me in a snap as he eyed me up and down.
"That's for me to know. It doesn't concern you," I mockingly answered back with a chuckle… that he predictably didn't share. Instead, he glowered at me and growled in annoyance.
"Real mature," Knuckles flatly remarked as he rolled his eyes. "I can only guess that means you have no business with the emerald. I'll be on my way, then," he further excused himself as he turned around and started to walk away.
"Oookay…? Awesome talk. Really enjoyed it. We should totally do this again sometime. See ya later…" I sarcastically muttered with a shrug as I watched him approach the lake.
"I'm not quite done with you yet. I'm just on a tight schedule and I need to get that emerald before going back to Angel Island," Knuckles countered, catching me by total surprise. "Sit tight," he ordered me as he took a deep breath, jumped high into the air… and with a splash, he took a dive right into Never Lake.
"Er… Alrighty, then…?" was all I could think to respond with as I tried to process in that moment what he could've wanted with me if his priority was the Chaos Emerald apparently hidden at the bottom of the lake. I wouldn't have to wait long, though, because a couple minutes later, he shot out of the water with another splash. Soaking wet from head to toe, he landed right in front of me again with a certain glowing brilliant cut gem of ruby red in the palm of his hand. I had no clue the red Chaos Emerald landed here! I'd have snagged it long before he did if I knew… provided I had appropriate diving gear, of course. I'm… not quite as good a swimmer as Knuckles is, I'll admit, so he's lucky.
"Found it. That lake is a lot deeper than it looks…" he commented with a sigh of relief as he shook off the water from the lake… some of which splashed on me.
"H-hey! A little warning would be nice!" I complained as I shielded myself from the aquatic onslaught that was Knuckles shaking himself dry.
"With reflexes like yours, you shouldn't need any warning, Mr. Fastest Thing Alive," he joked with a smug grin as he stashed the Chaos Emerald away and turned his attention to me.
"Real funny, Knucklehead," I shot back, crossing my arms and smirking right back.
"Hmph. You're lucky I'm not here to pound that smug face of yours into pudding," Knuckles issued a trademark threat as he clashed his fists together and sneered at me.
"Don't start a fight you know ya can't finish," I dared him, standing my ground as I continued to grin at him. After a moment of us glaring hard enough at each other that you'd see the static electricity shooting between us, he… closed his eyes, sighed, and relaxed himself. I settled down as well, though I still couldn't figure out what was rattling through that mostly empty head of his. At least, not before he opened his mouth to speak again.
"All the fun and games aside, Sonic, what's been happening with you?" he asked right out the gate.
"Wha? What do you mean 'what's been happening' with me?"
"Why have you suddenly been so quiet recently?" he clarified his question, making me just a little bit nervous because I wasn't sure where he was going with this. "No one's seen you around in the last three months, and outside of right now, you haven't been as obnoxiously talkative as usual." As you might expect, I found myself… just SLIGHTLY annoyed by his blunt statement.
"This, coming from the guy who spends entire years at a time cutting contact with the outside world? Ironic that you'd be asking me that, isn't it?" I fired back at him with a scowl.
"Yeah, well I have a duty to protect the Master Emerald that keeps me just a LITTLE bit occupied in case you haven't picked up on that by now," he shot back. "Plus, you know I'm not necessarily a fan of just 'hanging out' unless there's an important reason for it. You, on the other hand, have no such reason to be so unavailable. Yet, no one's heard from you in ages, you've apparently been avoiding certain people, and when someone FINALLY tracks you down, it turns out you're just messing around in the middle of nowhere with nothing better to do. What, are you turning into your best friend Shadow all of a sudden?"
"First of all, NEVER compare me to Shadow. He and I are NOTHING alike," I made my stance firm on that point right away.
"Other than the fact that you both have the same extremely punchable face, the fact that you're both arrogant and full of yourselves, and the DEFINITE fact that you have almost the exact same abilities while having the exact same height? Sure. You two are TOTALLY different," Knuckles continued to back-sass me. The nerve of this guy, I tell ya!
"Well, YOU certainly have a lot of venom to spit! The only one with a punchable face around here is you!" I challenged, shaking a fist at him. "And while it's true he and I can do a lot of the same things, SHADOW is the arrogant one. Not me."
"Throw one punch at me, Sonic, and I'll have you picking your teeth up from all over this island," he threatened again. "And I suppose the question of which one of you hedgehogs is the most annoying is a question that could be debated for at least the next century. That aside, what the heck have you been doing with yourself all this time?"
"Jeez, relax! Why are you so concerned about me all of a sudden?" I defensively questioned right back.
"Because people have been badgering me day in and day out about you being distant and unwilling to even chat over a lousy phone call," he dug into me. "And quite frankly, I'm getting sick of people asking me if I know where you're at like I'm your babysitter. It's not at all like you to run away from your problems, much less run away for months on end. I thought you had more respect for yourself than that, and I thought you'd have fixed this issue by now."
"Knuckles, what the heck are you talking about? What problem or issue am I 'running away' from?"
"Two words: Amy. Rose." Aaaaand just like that… he stumped me.
"What!? Ah, w-w-what are you bringing HER up for?" I questioned, trying my hardest to play it cool. It… didn't work.
"Ah, there it is. You still haven't even tried to talk to that girl. You're a mess, Sonic," he accused with a sigh.
"What do you mean?" I asked, not at all sure how much he knew.
"Everybody and their grandmother knows by now that you and Amy stopped talking to each other for the better part of this past year, for your information," he irritably reminded me as he folded his arms and frowned at me. "When are you planning to make things right with her? It's confusing to me that you've gone A.W.O.L. on everyone over some petty argument you two got into over basically nothing."
"What, are you trying to tell me you miss me or something?" I tried to quip to lighten the mood… which, as expected, only agitated him more as he stepped up to me.
"ENOUGH OF YOUR STUPID JOKES, SONIC!" he shouted in my face hard enough that I could smell the roasted pork he ate before gliding out this way. Yuck…
"Alright, alright! Chill out, why don'tcha?" I complained, backing up and massaging my aching ears. Once that unpleasant moment passed, I got myself back together. "Okay, so yes, I have an issue with Amy. Or rather, she has an issue with me. Yes, I'm planning to fix it, but I don't have a clue how just yet. She doesn't want to talk to me. And I'm sorry if my extended absence bothered you so much that it has you lecturing me about what you think I should do. Your concern is appreciated."
"Hmph. Definitely SO reassuring that you really are treating this issue as if you and she were two kids fighting over a toy in a playground," Knuckles condescendingly remarked, which immediately got on my nerves as I glared at him.
"And what's THAT supposed to mean?"
"Exactly what it sounds like. You think this is all a joke, and you're making yourself look like a jerk without even realizing it," he lectured me some more.
"This, coming from the prince of all jer-!"
"Oh, for the love of-! Shut up and take this seriously for once!" he cut me right off to shout at me. "Can't you go at least five MINUTES without blurting out another one of your obnoxious wisecracks? Not every problem you have with someone can be laughed off with simple jokes and jabs."
"Y'know, you have a LOT of nerve to come over here and try to lecture me till I'm bored to tears about whose attitude stinks the worst," I sarcastically shot back at him.
"Ugh…" he groaned, rubbing and shaking his head as though he'd just gotten a migraine. "See, that's your other problem. You're so used to people looking up to you and letting you walk all over them that it's made you completely oblivious to how other people feel, especially when you wind up ticking them off. I'm not perfect at reading people's feelings by any means, but I at least know how to show respect and recognize when enough's enough. Who'd have thought you'd spend so much time away from everyone because you got someone upset, only for it to turn out you NEVER learned that lesson yourself?"
"Hey, where exactly do you get off ripping into me like that!?" I practically shouted my question as I quickly went from joking to being ready for an argument in a flash. It was my turn to step up as I confronted my treasure-hunting echidna friend. "You're belting out all these criticisms like you raised me! You don't know as much about me as you think you do, pal, so don't be surprised when I say I don't appreciate the way you're coming at me!"
"Hm. And people say I'm the one with the shortest temper…" Knuckles calmly retorted as he remained calm (ironic, I know), sighing and crossing his arms while remaining in place. "This is proving my point, by the way."
"Your point being?"
"That the reason you're in this situation with Amy is because you refuse to see where you went wrong in talking to her. Your inflated ego keeps you from understanding people better than you do at this point, and now you've pushed away the person who wanted to be closest to you. And because you couldn't fix it the Sonic way, you then decided to start pushing everyone else away to save face. It's pathetic seeing you do this, and no friend of MINE is a spineless coward who's too scared to admit his faults and make amends with someone he's offended." I definitely wanted to explode on him right then and there and tell him to his face how wrong he was. But… in a strange moment of clarity in the middle of his verbal attack… I… I realized that he was right. Shoot… I lost every thought I had in my head about how to get him back for screaming at me… and instead spent that next solid minute thinking about what he'd just said as I cut my eyes toward the ground. I wouldn't get too much time to process, though… "Well? What do you have to say for yourself, Sonic?" he demanded to know. And as I turned my attention back to him with an expression of worry…
"…Jeez, Knuckles, what's gotten into you?" I calmly asked while I continued to process what he said to me. "Why are you grilling me like this?"
"A few reasons, actually," he admitted with a shrug as he also calmed down. "The first of which is because we're friends, and friends help each other when needed. I learned that from you when you helped me get the Master Emerald back from Eggman during your first visit to Angel Island."
"…Good point, I guess."
"Glad to know you're finally listening for once. Of course, the next reason is because Tails is worried sick about you…"
"T-Tails? Ah… R-right, I haven't spoken to him in a while…" I admitted, my heart sinking into my gut as I thought about my best buddy…
"Trust me, he knows. He has every measure he needs to find you, but he won't do it because he figures you'll eventually come back to your senses and show up on your own. It's just that the longer you make him wait, the guiltier he feels for apparently 'not taking your side' during your last argument with Amy. You have him thinking you're upset with him."
"…O-oh…" was all I could think to say. I… I had no idea he felt responsible for what happened back then, even though none of it was his fault.
"And y'know what else? With the way you're handling things with Amy, you stand to lose a lot of respect among your friends… if not lose some of those friends outright. And when that happens, don't you DARE act confused about why no one wants to talk to you instead of it being just Amy."
"That much, I've considered," I spoke up with a somber nod. "But it isn't like I've just been roaming around the globe, ignoring the issue and finding convenient excuses to not interact with you guys. I want to repair mine and Amy's relationship as soon as yesterday, but…"
"But what?"
"…she had a point about why my way doesn't work all the time. It's the same point you're making."
"Oh, yeah?"
"Yeah. And even if we do eventually make up, I… I'm not sure things can go back to being the same as they used to be."
"Why not?"
"Well… because… um… Ah… b-because…" I tried to explain, but for some reason, I froze. Like… the words were there. They just weren't in the right order… or the right language, for that matter, as I tried to explain myself.
"Because… what? Why are you suddenly so tongue-tied?" Knuckles pressured me for an answer.
"…Gah, never mind," I dismissed with a shake of my head and a sigh as my face grew a bit warm. "It's just that… I don't want things to be awkward for anyone."
"Is that it?" Knuckles asked as though he didn't believe me. Can't say I expected any more from him… "I doubt anyone's gonna be that hard-pressed to dig into you about this mess once you and she smooth it over. We just want to see you two get over this hump in whatever way you have to, as soon as possible. It's getting awkward to see you deliberately avoiding the situation. It gets even more straining when you consider the fact that we've been entertaining Amy this whole year while knowing we can never even mention you without her getting uncomfortable. Granted, she's been better about it recently, but the feeling still lingers in the air…"
"That's… well… I-I see. You're not wrong, and I'm sorry for that," I conceded and apologized to his surprise as he widened his eyes at me. I was glad he didn't sniff out the other reason I was taking so long to approach Amy again, considering he wouldn't be any help there anyway.
"Wow… Sonic the Hedgehog showing humility and owning up to a mistake he made? My goodness, it really IS possible for you to be mature for once," he joked through his astonishment as he grinned. Part of me was annoyed that he was rubbing my face in it, but… y'know what? I took it on the chin. Admitting fault didn't kill me, and I figure he wasn't being mean about it on purpose.
"Fair," I acknowledged with little more than a grin of my own. "Nevertheless, you definitely got me on this one. You're right."
"Well, if I'm right, then what else do you need to figure out before you come out of this extended hiatus of yours?" he was all too quick to ask. And once again, I felt the weight of the world on my shoulders as I responded to him.
"Something that… well…" I started, though I felt some pressure in my chest as my mind scrambled for a way to explain my situation to a guy as lovably dense as Knuckles. After a moment of thought, though, I figured that I wasn't going to give him another reason to grill me some more. I felt like he'd helped enough without this conversation going so far south that we'd come to blows… again. So… "Something that I've needed to figure out within myself since the last time she and I saw each other. Something… that I'd like to clarify on my own before I reach out again…" I explained as cryptically as possible as I turned my head upward and stared at Little Planet.
"And… what the heck is all that gibberish supposed to mean?" he bluntly asked me with a quizzical look. "Because if I had to guess, it sounds like you're trying to figure out whether you have feelings for her or not, but you don't want to admit it."
"W-WHAT!? NO!" I panicked, startled COMPLETELY out of my cool, stoic mindset as I gawked at him in surprise. Worse yet, my face heated up again. "Dude, come on! You know that isn't it!"
"Mm-hmm," he disbelievingly remarked, crossing his arms and chuckling at me. All I could think of was how awkward this conversation had suddenly become. Yet, he egged me on even more. "It makes just a little more sense now. And you said I don't know you that well… But rather than tease you about it like you know you deserve, I'll be respectful and pretend I didn't just pick up on your real feelings for Amy. As a favor."
"Hmph. Don't know how you can pick up on something that isn't there, bud," I dismissively shot back, shrugging and cutting my eyes somewhere else for a sec. "You know what they say about assuming things, don't you?"
"Sure, but to assume means to jump to a conclusion without any evidence," he countered, shocking me again as I turned back to him.
"Oh-ho-ho, well look at who decided to pick up a dictionary and learn something from it instead of throwing it at someone for once!" I joked with a chuckle. "And in case it wasn't a dictionary, where'd ya pick that golden nugget of knowledge from?"
"Believe it or not, Amy taught me a couple things during our hangout not too long ago," he shared, stunning me out of my wits at the idea that she actually spent time with him, much less taught him something that he remembered…
"Oh, wow… She even hung out with you? How'd you arrange that?" I just had to ask.
"Not that it's any of your business, but she and Tails visited Angel Island about a month ago. They kept me company while we caught up on each other's lives," Knuckles matter-of-factly explained. "That's how I found out the majority of the details surrounding this little feud between you and her."
"Ah… Well, I heard she'd been making it a point to hang out with everyone other than me, so I'm glad to know she included you," I plainly congratulated him, though I had been letting it sink in by that point… that she really was doing well without me. Man, did that sting… I mean, I was happy for her, but still…
"Yep," the echidna acknowledged with a nod. "On that note, it's about time I headed back to Angel Island with this Chaos Emerald," he further excused himself as he walked toward me.
"Gotcha. Well, don't let me hold you up. I'll be seein' ya," I bade a friendly farewell as I approached him and offered a fist bump.
"No doubt about that," Knuckles agreed as he returned the gesture, bumping his fist with mine. "In the meantime, should I tell Amy and Tails that I saw you? I get a feeling you're gonna tell me I shouldn't, but I'll ask anyway."
"Tell 'em whatever you'd like. And especially tell Tails that I'm not mad at him. No need for any additional drama or mixing you or anyone else into something you had no part of," I plainly permitted. "And I'm not deliberately trying to hide from anyone. I'm just getting my thoughts together and I… admit that it's taking a little longer than I thought it would."
"Got it," he vocalized his understanding as he walked past me by a few steps before stopping. "In that case, when do you plan on talking to Amy again?"
"I'm honestly not sure yet, but I'll figure it out sooner than later. Thanks for dropping by and checking on me, by the way. I… well, much as I hate to admit it, I really needed the discussion we had today. Thanks, man."
"Hm. Don't mention it," he coolly acknowledged. "Not often we get to talk without you trying to rile me up for cheap laughs, but I appreciate it as well. With that, I'll go ahead and leave you with your thoughts. Later, Sonic."
"Later, Knuckles," I bade back as I raised a hand to wave him off. And with a burst of speed and a rush of wind from behind me, Knuckles took off back home. I was planning to end my visit Never Lake pretty soon after he left, but… I took one more look upward at Little Planet as it continued to rotate in the sky. And as the sun began to set, I found myself lost in thought. About what, you ask? Well, about life, generally. And yes, about Amy, too. I was having some more nostalgic flashbacks about my time-bending adventures… and especially how mine and Amy's friendship started after I rescued her from Metal Sonic on Stardust Speedway.
We've… certainly come a long way, she and I. And through thick and thin, Amy's had many, MANY moments to shine as we all grew older. Across a whole catalog of adventures since she and I met, she's stuck by and supported me and the rest of our crew, no matter how dangerous our journeys were. She… still had a habit of occasionally getting herself into trouble that I needed to bail her out from, but it's never stopped her from doing her best and sticking by my side… And once that realization hit me, I… I began to also realize how much I'd taken her for granted because of how much more overwhelmingly expressive she was with her feelings toward me. The very thought made my heart beat just a little harder in my chest as my head became filled with thoughts of her… I… I don't like this feeling. But it's here… it's BEEN here… longer than this rift between us has been here. Worse yet, the longer we've gone without talking to each other… the harder my heart has been beating… the stronger my thoughts about Amy became…
While I was still spinning my thoughts like they were being jumbled together in a clothes dryer, I found myself compelled to take out my phone. Not to call anyone, but to take a look at a picture she took and posted online a while ago. The picture in question… was a selfie of Amy, Blaze the Cat, and Cream the Rabbit smiling with glee as they hung out at the Central City Mall. They looked so happy… She looked so happy… I was glad that Amy was doing well, and I couldn't be happier for her. But… I dunno… Some weird part of me was… honestly beginning to sorely miss her. Not for all the crazy stalkerish shenanigans, mind you, but… just for the sake of me wanting to talk to my friend again. And… I suppose to make sure she and I were on the same page as far as how we really felt toward each other… or something.
I had to take Knuckles' words into account, too, because this was a rare occasion of him making valid points about how I'd been going about things. I definitely needed to change my approach and put my pride aside to deal with this problem properly. And I was confident enough in myself to admit that it… wasn't right to isolate myself over my issue with Amy after that embarrassing incident at Tails' place. Most importantly, though… was that I should certainly be more aware of how other people feel instead of shrugging things off and assuming they'll simply get better after enough time passes or if I do someone a big enough favor to make up for it…
I also owed Tails a huge apology, but I wanted to tell him to his face instead of doing it over a phone call or text message. So, I… put my phone away, breathed out the deepest sigh I could muster, and got myself ready to go as I turned away from Never Lake and Little Planet. I took one last look at it all, nodded in appreciation for the memories left here, and… with a Sonic Boom heard 'round the world, I dashed off.
Now, I'm not gonna leave you hangin' like I did last time. I apologize for that, friend. You didn't deserve that. And you know what? I'll be much better about how to handle myself during our talks. I mean hey, you've spent all this time listening to me gossip about my personal issues, so the least I could do is show ya some common courtesy. I'm not sure when the next time will be that we meet, but always know that I'll make time to chill. And soon enough, we'll be having conversations about our favorite chili dog toppings instead of a bunch of drama. Till that day comes, I'll catch ya later!