A few weeks had passed by and both Amy and Sonic made it their mission to avoid each other as much as possible. In the hallways, whenever one of them would see each other out of the corner of their eye, they would immediately turn the opposite direction.
After their discussion outside the ice-cream shop, Amy had confided in all her friends shortly after.
"That's so messed up," had said Blaze, the other girls nodding in agreeance. They surrounded the pink hedgehog in a comforting way outside on a staircase in the back of the building.
"I just can't believe Rouge would do that?" asked Cream, a frown on her face.
"Someone told me that she's been hanging with Shadow recently, and she hasn't showed her face to us," said Mina in a matter-of-factly way.
"You would think she'd come and apologize to Amy right away. Have you talked to her at all?" said Mina, turning to Amy who sat with her knees pulled in her chest, gaze down to the ground.
Amy shook her head. "I wanted to talk with her, but I haven't had the chance to. I feel like she's avoiding me," she told her friends, disappointment seeping through her words.
"Well, I don't see anything wrong with Sonic. He's actually kind of cute!" said Sally happily. However, all eyes fell on her as soon as she finished her sentence, and she instantly regretted her confession.
"I-I mean, for Amy of course. I'm just trying to back her up," Sally quickly said, nervously laughing at the end.
Amy's eyes flickered with a hint of confusion before brushing off the comment. The girls all moved their gaze to the purple cat.
"Well, if I bump into Rouge, I'll ask her what's going on and see if I can get anything out of her. It just really hurts that she's pretending like nothing happened. I can't imagine why she wouldn't think we would all find out," said Blaze as she leaned into Amy, resting her head on her shoulder.
"We're all here for you Amy," said Cream, also leaning into the heart-broken girl.
Amy felt her heart swell with gratitude. "I'm so thankful for you guys," she said, fighting the urge to tear up again.
…
The morning after breaking ties with Amy, Sonic allowed his brother to come into the bedroom. When he entered with his usual teasing banter, and realized his brother wasn't being affected by it, he knew it was serious.
"Okay, what gives? Mom's worried sick and you're acting like someone I don't know," said Manic in between bites of an apple, as he plopped on the end of the bed where Sonic was laying. A pair of green eyes looked up to the ceiling.
Sonic waited a moment before letting out a long sigh. "I'm a nerd," was all he managed to say, his voice interlaced with defeat and discouragement.
Manic choked back a laugh.
"Yeah, you are. But what of it?" replied the brother.
Another moment of silence.
"I thought I had a chance with Amy," Sonic slowly continued. "But I don't. Everyone at school thinks I'm not good enough for her. I don't feel like I'm good enough for her. She deserves better," he explained, his words trembling slightly.
Manic scratched the side of his head with a raised brow. "I thought she liked you. She seemed like she did dude, what did you do?" he asked.
Sonic looked at Manic, confused. But then he plopped his head back down to his pillow. "I told her it was for the best if we stopped talking. I don't want to ruin anything for her and…" he trailed. Manic caught him off guard when he told him that he thought she liked him as well.
"Listen Sonic," began Manic as he let out a breath. He took a big bite of his apple again. "Highschool doesn't matter. I know it seems like a shit-show and everything is a big deal, or whatever" he motioned his hands exaggeratedly. "But trust me when I say that 'reputation' and if your 'popular' or 'nerdy', it doesn't fucking matter once you're out of there".
Sonic sat up on his bed, as if Manic was onto something and he had to make sure he could take in everything he was saying. Like an attentive student.
"And yeah, you're weird and nerdy in this phase of your life," said Manic as he pointed his apple at him "but that doesn't define you. What matters is what kind of person you are. And it seemed like Amy enjoyed that, and you liked her for who she was. So maybe you want to re-think this whole thing and stop beating yourself up over something so dumb". Manic smiled and threw his apple at Sonic's head.
"Ow! The hell?" yelped Sonic.
Manic reached over and grabbed his brother's head, putting him in a headlock and rubbing his knuckle into the top of his quills. Sonic squirmed in pain.
"Now stop being such a baby and quit moping around," he said playfully, released his brother and leaving his bedroom.
Sonic blinked a few times. Was his brother right? Did none of this really matter? Very rarely would Manic give him any kind of advice but this seemed genuine. He thought that maybe he would talk with his close friend, Tails, and see what he thought.
…
The yellow fox stared blankly at Sonic. He had just explained everything to him and Tails felt his brain trying to compute all of the information.
"Do you want me to talk to Amy?" was all Tails could come up with.
Sonic's eyes quickly scanned his surroundings. They were standing in an empty hallway in the school.
"I-I don't think that's necessary," he tried but Tails interrupted him.
"She liked you Sonic! You can't let someone else get in the way of that, you guys were so good together!" exclaimed the twin-tailed boy.
Sonic shushed him, side-eyeing the end of the hall to ensure no one was around.
Tails brought his voice down to a whisper. "I think I can help you out Sonic, just let me talk with Amy to smooth things over and you can pretend like this never happened". Tails turned his head and a big smile appeared.
"Hey, there's Amy now! Amy! Over here!" he shouted, toothy-grinned and waving his hand frantically, motioning for her to come over.
Before Sonic could even see her, he bolted away in a flash. His adrenaline helped him escape the fastest he's ever done before, the nausea settling in as soon as he heard Tails say her name.
Tails smile disappeared and it took him a moment to realize what had just happened. Meanwhile, Amy – alone at the end of the hall – had seen the blue streak of color almost immediately after she noticed Tails calling to her.
She hesitantly made her way to Tails.
"Amy, you have to forgive Sonic, he didn't mean anything he said!" said Tails in a hurried voice as he ran to meet her down the hall. "He still really likes you, and I know he doesn't want to not be with you, but he think he doesn't deserves you, and he wants to tell you how he feels, but he's scared, but I know he wants to deep down, and I-" Tails frantically tried to continue but Amy put a hand on his shoulder. She looked down at him with soft eyes, but the hurt behind them showed.
"Tails," she began.
Tails was trying to catch his breath. "Amy, he really really likes you," he told her, grabbing her hand and squeezing it.
Amy shook her head and stepped away. "I don't want to force him into anything. And you shouldn't either. Besides, I think we need some time apart," she replied in a shallow voice.
Tails ears flattened. "I-I…" he stammered.
"I know you're trying to be a good friend Tails, and Sonic is lucky to have you. I'm lucky to also have you," she smiled at him weakly. "But it's for the best" was the last thing she said before brushing past him.
Tails watched as she made her way around the corner, leaving him alone. However, he wasn't going to give up just yet. He made his way around the school, trying to find his blue friend, who was no where to be found inside the building.
He began asking random students if they had seen him, when finally, someone pointed out that they had spotted him by the forest just out in the back of the building.
Luckily, it didn't take long before Tails found Sonic hiding behind a tree, his knees curled up into his chest, eyes puffy.
"Sonic!" he said, falling down beside him.
Sonic felt a surge of embarrassment wash through him. "Tails, why did you do that?" he said, anger bubbling in his voice.
"I was just trying to help," said Tails, the hurt evident in his voice.
Sonic shook his head furiously. "That wasn't help, that was torture," he barked, trying his best not to get choked up with the tidal wave of emotions crashing inside of him.
"I'm sorry Sonic, I didn't mean to make you feel like this…" explained Tails. His apology was genuine, and Sonic had a hard time staying upset. He knew he wasn't lying, and he knew that his friend only wanted to help.
"Just," began Sonic, wiping a tear quickly that escaped, "let me figure it out. Please".
Tails nodded. "Okay. I'll stay out of it," he told him. But it still pained him to see Sonic like this, and he knew that what was happening between them wasn't part of their story.
*.*.*.*
Amy praised herself for making it through another day. They seemed long, difficult, full of avoiding people, and exhausting. She was walking home from school, a different route than usual – just so she didn't have to be seen. She wondered how long it would be until things felt like they were back to normal. It felt as if the end of the school year was around the corner, and this wasn't how she pictured it to be.
Suddenly, a sound of a voice made her freeze in her place.
"Amy?" a female voice said from behind her.
It took her a moment before she slowly turned around to look at an all too familiar face. Rouge stood rigid, a few feet away from her. Amy felt flashes of hot and cold emotions run through her. Anger turned into anxiety, anxiety turned into hurt, hurt turned into rage.
Amy scoffed nervously. "Now you decided to show your face?" she managed out, her eyes piercing into the bat.
Rouge shifted uncomfortably in her spot. "I'm sorry," she said.
A few beats of silence between them.
"That's it? That's all you have to say to me?" Amy said viciously. Her hands gripped her backpack straps hard.
Rouge shook her head. "No, and if you let me explain-"
"I know about everything Rouge! Included what you did to Sonic!" at this point, Amy felt her whole body shaking. She was losing control of her composure.
She stepped closer to Rouge, as Rouge took a step back, fearing the pink hedgehog.
"The fact that you never came to apologize as soon as I found out, how you could do something so hurtful to someone I cared about? And now you made him run away from me," she continued, her voice breaking through the tears that threatened to spill out.
"Amy, I'm so so sorry," Rouge cried out, also fighting back tears. "I didn't want him to ruin your high school years. I don't know what I was thinking, I should've seen that he made you happy, but I didn't. And I only realize that now, after my stupid mistake," Rouge continued, trying desperately to convince Amy that her words were sincere.
Amy paused and eyed Rouge suspiciously.
"I tried to talk with Sonic," Rouge said suddenly. "To fix all of this. The police had come by and told me that I was at risk of getting in trouble with the law. Sonic didn't want to press anything like that on me and I realized I owed him one".
Amy flinched back at his name. "You did?"
"I tried to convince him that what I said was wrong, but he wasn't buying it," Rouge replied, sounding defeated. "And I'm afraid he's moved on Amy".
It felt as if someone took a nail to Amy's heart and hammered it right through. Emotions of pain seemed to overtake her body and she felt herself go numb. "W-what?" she stammered.
Rouge turned to look away, not being able to face her friend.
"It seems that Sally has started going after him. I'm sorry," Rouge bit her bottom lip.
Amy stood still as a statue. She felt her blood run cold as the words echoed in her head.
Sally.
Now that she thought about it, she hadn't seen much of Sally recently, with her other friends questioning it as well.
And then the memory of her saying she thought Sonic was "cute" crept up. Jealousy flashed through her like a crack of lightning bolt.
"Let me make it up to you Amy, I promise I can help you out. I know someone who can help you feel better, take your mind off of everything," Rouge reached out to grab Amy's hand.
Amy didn't move. She felt the shock suppress her ability to move, and everything around her began to look dream like.
Rouge nervously smiled at her as she continued to talk with Amy, but Amy couldn't quite hear her. She didn't know how she made it home, because her brain was busily trying to register that Sonic, had apparently moved on. And that someone else was another person she had thought was a good friend.
Rouge hugged her tightly and Amy slowly returned the embrace, but it didn't feel right.
"I'm glad we were able to talk this over Amy, I'm going to make it up to you. I promise!" said Rouge and she gave her a half smile. She left Amy at her front door and began making her way to her own home.
"Sonic and Sally…" whispered Amy, the words just not sounding as if they should even exist in a sentence. Hurt and pain continued to overcome her body, finding its way in new places and piercing deep in her chest.
'When is this nightmare going to end' thought Amy to herself.
*.*.*.*
Rouge felt an incredible amount of guilt as she walked away from Amy's home. Guilt for the lie that she had spent the last while fabricating with Shadow and his plan.
The truth was that Rouge, had never tried to talk with Sonic. She didn't lie when she said that Sonic had chosen not to take the email situation any further, but nothing else came up after that.
Rouge thought back to when Shadow was detailing the idea he came up with.
"I'm going to win Amy over, and it'll be easier if Sonic has some other bimbo distracting him, so Amy thinks it's over for good," explained Shadow.
The bat looked at him with a puzzled look on her face.
"And what 'bimbo' is dumb enough to fall for him?" she questioned, raising a brow.
The two had met up after school on an evening outside a park.
Shadow smirked. "I was able to convince Sally that Sonic was starting to have a thing for her, and she was buying the whole story".
Rouge's eyes widened. "Sally?" she exclaimed, her mouth twisting downward.
Shadow laughed lowly. "Right? So weird, but whatever, it worked and now she's trying to go after him. I saw the two talking after class the other day," he finished, shrugging his shoulders.
"Okay, but how does this help me and Amy? I haven't been able to show my face to the girls in what feels like forever," Rouge said in a frustrated tone, rubbing a hand through her hair.
"Well, you apologize for something you shouldn't even have to apologize for in my opinion," he began.
Rouge glared at him.
"And then you tell her that you tried telling Sonic to get back with her, but it's too late. He's now with Sally," he approached Rouge slowly.
She swallowed a lump in her throat.
"And you tell Amy that she's better off with me, and with Sonic no longer being in the way, I can finally take the place that belongs to me," he murmured mischievously.
A look of disgust mixed with anger settled on her face.
"Why should I be helping you?" said Rouge suddenly, folding her arms across her chest. "Y'know, I used to think you were hot, but now you just seem like a complete jerk. This," Rouge motioned up and down with her finger towards Shadow "is not going to win Amy over. This attitude is NOT it".
Shadow chuckled. "I thought you'd say that. But I have my ways, I'm not always this cocky," he winked at her.
"You still didn't answer my question," huffed Rouge.
Shadow leaned against a fence pole. "You got any other bright ideas as to how you're going to get Amy back as a friend? Or did you think you could just pretend nothing this whole situation didn't exist and for Amy to never find out? You didn't think the email aftermath through very well it seems," he challenged her. Their eyes locked in an intense gaze.
Rouge snapped her face away, realizing he was right.
Silence passed through them before Shadow cleared his throat. He pulled a small emerald from behind him and held it in his hand, in front of Rouge. Her eyes were drawn to it like a moth to a flame.
"Help me out, and I have more of these with your name on it," he told her, a dark smile stretching out across his muzzle.
Rouge broke out of the trance. "You think some jewels are going to make me lie to my friend?" she barked at him, almost insulted that she contemplated the thought.
Shadow circled around her. "You also didn't answer my question," he murmured.
Rouge stiffened.
"Any other ideas on how to get yourself out of this mess, Rouge?" he whispered behind her ear.
She jerked her head back, expecting to lock eyes with him. But again, her eyes gravitated to the beautiful gem in his hands. It almost felt instinctual that she needed this emerald in her possession. Her eyes flickered between it and Shadow's eyes, full of tempt.
"Fine. I'll help you," she finally said, feeling as if she'd been backed to a corner.
A smile twisted onto Shadow's muzzle as he eagerly began telling Rouge the details of his plan to help him secure his reward.
*.*.*.*
"I had a really good time Sonic!" said a cheery voice at his side, two figures walking down a sidewalk together.
Sonic glanced down at the female squirrel who looked up at him with smoldering eyes. He winced slightly.
"All we did was study for an hour together, Sally…" he said awkwardly.
Over the last bit of time, Sally had began randomly making conversation with Sonic. He found it very odd that she showed intense interest in him, seemingly coming out of nowhere. In fact, he couldn't think of a time that she'd made the effort to talk with him in the past. Nor did she ever catch his attention. He was uncomfortable with the fact that she was friends with Amy, and in the beginning he thought this was part of some plot from her friend group to continue to terrorize him. He thought they were trying to drive him further away from the pink hedgehog.
However, that thought quickly became disproven when one day, Sally, confided in him that their "blossoming friendship" – if that's what you could even call this – had to remain a secret. This made Sonic more confused, but he didn't have it in him to reject her friendly advances. He tried to enjoy her company at times, because she seemed to always be able to find him and throw herself into whatever conversation him and Tails were having. But he found himself comparing her to Amy, and she just couldn't measure up to her.
Sally shrugged her shoulders, a smile remained on her face. "I'm glad I got to spend some time with you. Y'know, I like that you're kind of nerdy. Its better than talking with most of the other guys in school!" she said.
Sonic chuckled nervously. He wasn't sure how to handle her outbursts of unfiltered opinions and it never failed to make him uneasy.
"Thanks for walking me home! I'll catch you later!" she squeezed his arm and ran to her house.
'I didn't walk you home, you just happen to live on the same road I use to get to my house…' he thought to himself.
Sonic sighed as he made his way to his residence. A memory of Tails played in his head.
"Ermm, what's gotten into Sally?" Tails asked as they watched her practically dance away down the hall after she had inserted herself into a discussion Sonic and Tails were having.
Sonic shook his head slightly as his brow creased. He rubbed the back of his neck.
"I haven't the slightest clue," he replied slowly. "And I don't know how to get away from her. She just seems to show up out of no where and now she thinks we're friends? It's really weird Tails," he looked down at his friend, a confused expression on his face.
"It's almost like," began Tails, pausing to think about how to word his sentence.
Sonic's eyes narrowed.
"She has a crush on you…?" his voice hitched upwards, his shoulders coming up towards his ears.
"Don't say that," Sonic exclaimed.
Tails threw his hands up in defense. "Hey, I'm just telling it as I see it!" he tried.
Sonic began walking away and Tails immediately started following him. "This is the last thing I need right now," Sonic muttered under his breath.
Tails bumped into Sonic as he realized that the blue hedgehog froze in his place. Peeking over his shoulder, he caught a glimpse of pink a few feet away and half a second later, Sonic was turned the opposite direction, hurryingly making his way to anywhere but there.
Tails briefly locked eyes with Amy, who had a look of hurt in her eyes as she watched Sonic walking away. She looked back at tails and pulled her lips into a sad smile. Tails returned the gesture and went after Sonic.
"How long are you going to keep this up for Sonic?" Tails said angrily, as he finally caught up to the blue hedgehog.
Sonic looked back at him nervously.
"You can't run forever," he continued, standing in front of him and putting his hands out beside him to block him from going anywhere else.
Sonic flinched in surprise.
"Please just talk to her Sonic, I don't have any part in this but I'm constantly feeling like I need to help you out. You're not acting the same anymore and I hate seeing you like this!" pleaded Tails, taking a step towards him.
Guilt overcame Sonic in an instant. He hadn't realized that this was affecting his friend and he couldn't help but agree with his words.
"I'm sorry Tails, I just…" Sonic trailed off, nervously shuffling his feet. They were itching to run. Run far away, something he became too familiar with recently.
"I know, I get it! You're scared!" groaned Tails, his hands dragging down his face in frustration.
Sonic gulped.
"But this can't go on, you can't just keep running away. You need to do something Sonic, and what you're doing is not the solution" Tails stood right in front of Sonic, glaring at him with his fists at his sides.
Sonic felt like he had a mouth full of sand. He knew his friend was right and this had been going on far too long.
"You're right, Tails," mumbled Sonic timidly.
The fox visibly relaxed.
It felt as if reality had jerked Sonic back to rational thoughts, a surge of confidence coming over him. He huffed out a breath.
"Ok, I'll do it," he said, looking out in the distance, shoulders pulled back.
Tails beamed in excitement. "Really?!" he exclaimed.
Sonic gave a quick, sharp nod. Tails grabbed his hand and began pulling him into the direction Sonic ran from. "Let's go! Right now, c'mon!" Tails said eagerly.
However, Sonic jerked his hand back.
Tails glared.
"I'll do it, but not right now!" said Sonic, laughing nervously.
Tails crossed his arms and scanned Sonic, disappointed that his courage was short lived.
"I promise you I'll talk with Amy," Sonic put his pinky out for tails to grab.
Tails squinted his eyes as he reluctantly joined on the gesture. "No backing out now Sonic," he said sternly. Sonic squeezed his finger around Tails.
"No backing out now," he repeated, sealing the deal.