Amy felt the blood drain down her body and an uncomfortable feeling settled in her stomach. She was trying to understand how one of her closest friends could do something so mean, how her own relationship with someone she enjoyed spending time with, could bring Rouge to try to put an end to it.
"How…" Amy trailed off, not wanting to believe it.
Sonic looked down at the ground and shifted uncomfortably. "I really didn't want to tell you. I know how good of a friend she is to you," he began.
Amy shook her head. "Obviously not a good friend if she was capable of doing something like this," she said, the anger beginning to rise in her voice. "I can't believe her! How could she do this and expect me not to find out?"
Sonic felt a panic begin to build. "Amy, I don't want this to ruin your friendship". He brought his knees up to his chest as a saddened expression fell on his face. "Besides, maybe us…" He started slowly.
Amy stiffened.
"Maybe she's right," Sonic said in a low tone. The words pained him to say out loud. "Maybe we can't work out,"
Amy made a sound of disapproval. Sonic looked up at her timidly. "Sonic please don't say that," she said as she put her hand on his and leaned in. "I don't want to end this, not now" Amy looked at him with an intense gaze. Sonic felt his heartrate increasing by the second along with the butterflies settling in his stomach.
"How do you do that," he whispered as he felt himself getting lost in her eyes, his brow furrowing.
Amy felt her cheeks begin to warm up. "Wh-what do you mean?" she stammered.
Sonic grabbed the hand Amy was using to hold his, interlacing his fingers delicately with hers. "You make me feel like everything is going to be alright. You give me so much comfort," his voice was low. Amy herself now felt like her insides were melting.
"Sonic…" she murmured. They began leaning into each other slowly and Amy felt her eyes fluttering down.
A loud honking noise from a car jolted them apart as cackled laughter's erupted from the vehicle.
Both Amy and Sonic blushed intensely as the car sped away further. "Who was that?" Sonic asked, feeling slightly embarrassed. Amy shrugged her shoulders. "I have no clue". They both looked at each other as if trying to recollect the moment they had lost. However, an uncomfortable and awkward silence began settling in.
Sonic was too shy to try and make a move again. Amy cleared her throat as she pulled back to her spot. She began eating her ice-cream again that was beginning to melt. "I think I'm going to talk with Rouge," she had decided.
A beat of silence.
"Are you sure?" Sonic said, watching his ice-cream melt on the ground.
A cold sensation ran through Amy. She wasn't sure how to even approach this with Rouge. She wasn't one for confrontation, but she felt a sense of betrayal from someone she considered a close friend.
"Well what else am I supposed to do? I can't pretend I don't know about this now. I don't even know how to look her in the eye," scoffed Amy. She felt herself getting heated again.
Sonic let out a sigh of defeat. Amy glared at him. Sonic's green eyes looked sad as he kept his gaze away from the pink hedgehog.
"I just…" Sonic began. He closed his eyes and shook his head.
"I think she's right Amy," he said and quickly stood up. Amy's eyes widened and her mouth went slightly ajar.
Sonic's hands formed into fists at his sides. "I'm a loser Amy, I'm the biggest nerd at this school. And I don't want to ruin your friendships, your reputation, or any other part of your life" he turned to look at her, a frustrated expression on his face now. His voice trembled while Amy looked at him in disbelief.
"Sonic, what are you talking about?" she stood up, dropping her ice-cream on the ground.
Sonic's eyes went cold. "I feel like I like you more than I'm comfortable with," he admitted.
Amy's eyes fluttered as she slowly shook her head. "I don't understand this-"
"We shouldn't be together Amy, and this is for your own sake. I can't be the one to make you happy, you have so many better options than me." Sonic had tears pooling at the bottom of his eyes but he quickly turned his face before Amy noticed.
"This is absurd! You just told me you liked me and now this?" cried out Amy, her emotions rocking through her.
"I'm sorry it has to be like this" was the last thing Sonic said before he sped away in a different direction.
Amy reached out to him as if she'd be able to grab him, but she was left stunned and alone. Tears effortlessly began rolling down her cheek. Her knees buckled and she fell to the ground. First, she felt the pain of losing her friend. Immediately after, a boy she was beginning to develop intense feelings for, decided that he didn't want to be with her anymore? It was too much to take it in such a short amount of time. It took every ounce of energy not to begin sobbing in the middle of the street, but once she realized she was out in public, she tried to regain her composure as quick as she could. Wiping her tears with the back of her hands, she looked around to see if anyone was around, afraid someone would see her like this.
She could hear the school bells sound off in the distance. Anxiety surged through her.
'I need to get to class' she thought to herself.
Problem was, it was a far walk. Sonic had helped her get here and walking would take her at least twenty minutes.
'It's okay, you have time to collect yourself. You can't look like you're upset.'
And so, the pink hedgehog reluctantly made her way back to the school.
Beside the ice cream shop, was a big tall oak tree. And behind the oak tree, was a dark-furred hedgehog, out of plain sight. His ruby colored eyes followed after Amy until she was a long enough distance away that he stepped out into the light.
Shadow had witnessed the entire interaction. He also overheard every single word that was exchanged. A slow smirk spread across his muzzle as he continued to watch the pink hedgehog become smaller and smaller in the distance.
As if a lightbulb had turned on above his head, he rubbed his hands together, plotting for a way to make the most popular girl at the school – his girlfriend.
*.*.*.*
Rouge sat in her class with knots in her stomach. Her empty desk beside her was missing her female friend. The memory played in her brain over and over.
"Do you realize how big of trouble you could get in?!" shrieked her mother.
The officer in the doorway looking down at her with a stern look on his face.
Rouge shook her head and let out a cough. She made awkward movements and gestures, to stop the thoughts from continuously creeping in. All day she felt this awful, gut-wrenching sensation inside of her. She thought of how hard she tried to stay collected around Amy that morning. It took every ounce of energy to not show a single emotion of worry or panic to crack through her façade.
She also thought back to the day she had sent that email to Sonic. Her intention was to scare him off and to make sure her best friend wasn't about to get her reputation ruined by him. She was trying to look out for Amy. When she noticed Amy started developing feelings for the blue hedgehog, Rouge felt appalled.
The day Amy confessed to Rouge she had a crush on Sonic played in her head.
"What the hell do you see in him?" Rouge questioned, her back pressing against the lockers.
Amy shrugged her shoulders but a smile crept on her face as she put her belongings in her locker.
"He's really sweet Rouge," she responded shyly. "I think he'd treat me really well".
Rouge rolled her eyes. "Girl, you can have any guy in this school. You're the 'it' girl Ames," she said, almost begging her to see her reasoning. "Don't ruin your chances with someone else for some complete dweeb".
Amy huffed out a breath. "Rouge, that is so unnecessarily mean!" Amy put her hands on her hips and turned to face Rouge fully. "I like him a lot," she blushed.
Rouge's lips twisted in distaste. "Amy, really think about what you're doing here. Please, just," Rouge put both hands on either side of Amy's face. "Use your brain," Rouge slightly shook Amy's head, as if to put some sense back into there.
Amy pulled away and slammed her locker shut. "Well, I think you should be happy for me, he's not going anywhere and I want to see where this goes". She brushed past her and headed down the hallway in a hurry.
Rouge let out a small groan and collected her things underneath her desk. The class she was in was science, and they were subjected to watch a movie on the environment that felt like pure torture.
She quietly made her way to her teacher's desk.
"I'm really not feeling well…" Rouge said, holding her stomach to put on her best "pretend-sick" display to be excused from class.
The teacher's eyes flickered with concern.
"I think I need to call someone to pick me up," she half groaned, really trying to sell the part.
"Of course, you can go to the office," the teacher quickly scribbled down a note and handed it to Rouge. "Please feel better, you can watch the rest of this movie at home. We'll have an assignment on it this week".
Rouge mouthed a 'thank-you' and quietly sneaked out of the class room, curious eyes following her out. As soon as the door closed behind her, she made a dash for the closest exit. As she turned the corner, she felt herself slam against someone.
Her bag and book fell onto the floor and papers sprawled across the tiles.
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorr-" her words trailed off as her eyes locked with a pair of red eyes. Hers then slightly widened.
"Shadow," she said.
"Rouge," he replied. He bent down to help collect her things.
"I'm really sorry," she muttered nervously.
"That's alright, but I I'm actually glad we bumped into each other," said Shadow, coyly.
Rouge's cheeks flushed red.
Shadow eyed her up, and Rouge felt as if she could feel his eyes physically scanning every curve of her body.
"I heard you got brave and decided to help your friend out," he reached out to put a hand beside a locker, leaning into Rouge with his hand beside her head.
Rouge felt herself snap back into reality. "Excuse me?"
Footsteps started echoing down the hall and Shadow immediately pulled Rouge with him to the exit door that was just a few feet away and took her with him outside.
"Listen, I heard about the email. And I respect the anonymous edge you put in it, but you've been caught," muttered Shadow quickly.
Rouge felt her eyes almost bulge out of her eyes. "What?!" she yelled.
Shadow's hands tightened around her arms. "I have an idea. I know how we can fix this and I need your help," his crimson eyes bore into hers intensely, wanting her to be on board with everything he had come up with.
"I know of a way to get your friend to forgive you, and a way I can score Amy, and most importantly," Shadow let go of Rouge. "I know how to make sure that blue faker doesn't go near her again".
The bat threw her hands up and backed away. "And what makes you think this will work? I'm in deep trouble Shadow," her voice grew dark.
"Trust me, I have a plan," replied Shadow confidently.
*.*.*.*
Sonic had ran far into the meadow where he had spent with Amy on the night of their school dance. Tears were slowly trickling down his face as the pain settled inside his chest.
He regretted the way he spoke to Amy. He really didn't want to let her go so soon. He felt so attached to her and wanted to always be around her warmth. Never in his life had he met someone who made him feel so seen, so accepted, as she had. It felt like his heart was breaking into pieces and they had fallen outside of that ice-cream shop.
A small puddle of water was at the bottom of the tree where the swing was. Sonic walked over to it and stood over, looking down at his reflection.
"Look at me," he whimpered.
"I'm just a big, fucking loser," he cried out to no one.
It tore him apart that he couldn't have the one person in this world, that made him happy.
Because she didn't deserve him. A girl that special was not deserving of a boy who thought so lowly of himself. She required a guy with confidence, someone who could defend her and stick up for her. A boy who had charming looks, who she could feel proud to call her partner.
"And you're not meant to be with her," continued Sonic, fighting his thoughts away that quietly tried to convince him otherwise. Those thoughts that were gnawing at him were coming from the heart.
"You were never meant to be with her…" he shouted as he looked up at the clouded sky.
He didn't care that he wasn't in class. He didn't care that his mother would most definitely be getting a call from the school about it. Which scared him because he was not one to do these kinds of things.
But emotions made you do crazy things.
And he wasn't concerned that he was in a place where no one would find him either. Or at least, the likelihood was slim to none.
Sonic fell down onto the grass and sprawled out. He felt like a ton of bricks was sitting on his chest, almost a suffocating feeling. He hated it.
His heart sang a sad song in his chest. Every beat felt like it cried out for her. Like he had made a huge mistake. But his mind continued to fight. He stared up at the sky as the clouds slowly drifted by.
The blue hedgehog kept convincing himself that he was not deserving of any kind of affection from the girl he wanted the most. Time seemed non-existent and Sonic seemed to lay motionless for what felt like hours.
*.*.*.*
Amy somberly made her way to her front door and opened it.
Her mother cried out from the kitchen, "Hi honey, how was your day?"
No response. Amy kicked off her shoes and headed upstairs, without saying a word. Her face held no emotion.
"Amy?" her mother called out again.
A door was slammed shut from upstairs.
Amy's mother put down a dish she was cleaning and dried her hands. A worried look settled on her face as she looked around and made her way upstairs, following after her daughter.
In the bedroom, Amy planted face first into her bed. She buried her face in her pillows and wished for nothing but her heart to be mended back to the way it was this morning.
A small knock was heard from the other side of the door. The doorknob turned slowly.
"Amy dear, are you alright?" asked a concerned mother as she carefully peeped through the crack of the door.
Amy let out a small muffled 'yes'.
The small girl felt her bed sink on one side as the weight of someone else on the bed dipped the mattress. "You don't look alright, do you want to talk about it?" spoke her mother in a soft, gentle voice.
A sob broke out of Amy and it felt like the flood gates opened wide as all of the emotions she was trying so hard to supress all day began spewing out, uncontrollably.
"Oh, honey" her mother said as she grabbed her daughter and held her up, looking at her glassy jade-colored eyes that quickly became red and puffy. She pulled her in tight.
Amy leaned into her and continued to cry. She didn't know she was capable of feeling so hurt.
Her mother cooed into her ear and gently rocked her back and forth to comfort her. Slowly but surely, Amy was able to calm down enough to say "H-h-he doesn't like me anymore Mom," she tried and felt herself getting choked up in emotions all over again.
Her mother wiped her tears away from her face. "What do you mean?" she asked, confused.
Amy then began telling her mother everything. How much she had started to like Sonic. How Rouge had sent an awful email. And that Sonic believed it and pulled away from her as quickly as he could, leaving her all alone.
Her mother stroked her quills. "Relationships in high school are, well," she pulled away to look down at Amy. "They're complicated".
"I don't know what to do," muttered Amy.
"Well for starters, I think your little friend owes you an apology and an explanation. What she did was unacceptable," replied her mother in a stern voice.
Amy nodded.
"And as for the boy, just give it a bit of time and maybe things will turn around. You're both so young and have so much time ahead of yourselves. The world isn't over and life has a funny way of fixing things sometimes," assured her mother with a faint smile on her lips.
"I just really hate this feeling. I want it to go away and never come back," Amy said as her voice cracked.
"And it will go away, Amy," her mother put a hand on her cheek. "With time. Let me go fill up the tub for a nice relaxing bubble bath tonight. It will help you sleep". She kissed Amy on the forehead and headed out of the bedroom.
Amy let out a long sigh. Her heart beat in her chest, calling out for Sonic. Never did she want him so badly to hold her and put all of her broken parts back together.
*.*.*.*
The sun has almost set, and Sonic was dragging his feet to his home. He felt like he should have panicked when his mom burst through the front door and ran towards him. Instead, he felt nothing.
"Sonic!" she cried. "Do you know how worried sick I was? I was about to call the police!"
"I'm really sorry Mom, I didn't mean to make you worry" he said in a husky, tired voice.
All anger escaped his mother's face when she looked at him more carefully. "What's going on Sonic? This isn't like you at all," she was now standing right in front of him. She reached out and took a hold of his shoulders.
"Are you hurt? Did you get into a fight?" she scanned him from head to toe.
Sonic gently shook his head, but even that felt too tiring. "I'm okay Mom, really it's fine". He tried to remove her hands off him, but her grip only tightened.
"You are far from fine Sonic. What's going on? Where were you?" she continued.
Sonic let out a groan and tilted his head back. "Please Mom, I don't want to talk about this right now. I can tell you later," he insisted. All he wanted was to crawl into his bed and never come out.
"Excuse me young man," she began, reminding herself of how angry she had been a few hours ago when the phone rang. "You skipped class! What do you have to say for yourself?"
Sonic yanked away from her and quickly made his way into the house. He bolted up the stairs and closed the door behind him, pulling a dresser against the door so no one could get in.
He could hear his mom's muffled voice from downstairs arguing with his brother. His phone buzzed and the screen lit up with a text from him saying "Want to talk?".
Sonic quickly typed a "no" and threw his phone across the room. He fell onto his bed and rolled over, hugging his knees into his chest.
Beauty and the nerd.
He thought to himself.
It was never meant to be.