Amy puffed out a breath of annoyance at her locker as she fumbled with her books. Lately, it didn't take much for her to get angry. Her mood swings had felt never ending and the only person who she felt could take all the pain away, was constantly avoiding her. Everyday felt like a struggle to get through, and it seemed like every now and then she was given information she didn't want to hear.
"Someone saw Sally and Sonic at the library after school the other day," said Mina at her side, watching Amy shove books aggressively in her bag.
"That's wonderful, I'm happy for them," said Amy, making no effort to sound happy at all.
"Someone said they saw them at the ice-cream shop last week!" piped in Blaze.
Amy felt the sting of envy and anger taking a hold of her. Her eye twitched as the image of them at the spot where Sonic had left her all alone made her blood boil.
"Has anyone been able to talk with Sally? Like what gives? Totally breaking girl code here," chimed in Cream.
Amy slammed her locker door shut. The girls jolted back and watched Amy walk away, without saying a word.
"I've never seen her like this before," whispered Cream to the girls. They all agreed.
A dark-furred hedgehog emerged suddenly, making all the girls in the hall turn their heads. He stood in front of Amy, with a single rose in his hand.
"Hello, Amy," he said softly, looked down at her as he twirled the flower in his hand, in front of her.
Amy shifted uncomfortably in her spot. "Hey Shadow…" she muttered.
He took her hand and put the rose in hers. "Saw this and thought of you, I'll catch you around," he held her gaze for a moment before walking away, everyone witnessing their interaction.
Amy stared at the flower, wanting to throw it in the garbage. She didn't understand how everyone seemed to swoon and melt over this hedgehog. He seemed to have the complete opposite effect on her, and with all of what was happening in her life, her distaste for him was amplified.
The girls caught up with Amy. Blaze knocked her elbow into her side. "He's a catch Amy, maybe he can make everything better," she grinned, winking at her.
Amy frowned and shot her a look. Blaze bit her lip nervously, as if to say 'just kidding'.
"I'd rather watch paint dry then hang out with Shadow," muttered Amy, making it clear to them that she had zero interest in him.
They all walked out the door and were all surprised to see Rouge standing there, with her hands behind her back.
"Hey guys," she said shyly.
They all responded, but things hadn't been the same. It had been awkward to try and accept her back in their group and Amy had a strange gut-feeling that things just weren't right. But she had nothing to back up her claim, so she tried hard to brush past it. She had been friends with Rouge for years and was trying hard to move past this all.
"We'll catch you later guys, we're heading to soccer practice," said Mina and said their goodbyes, leaving the two at the door.
Rouge smiled up at Amy, only to be met with a quick, forced half-grin.
"How's it going?" Rouge asked. They both made their way down the stairs.
Amy shrugged her shoulders. "Same as yesterday, and the day before," she laughed but there was no humour in her tone. "And the day before that one".
Rouge smiled nervously. She motioned to the flower still in Amy's hand. "That's really pretty, where'd you get that?" she asked, as if she didn't know the answer already.
Amy realized she still had the flower. "Ugh, Shadow gave me this," she said, throwing it at a patch of grass.
Not the response Rouge was hoping for. "Why don't you like it, it's nice!" she said, reaching down to pick it up.
Amy scoffed involuntarily. "You know I have zero interest in him Rouge, he's so fake" she replied, not noticing that Rouge was trying to give her back the rose.
Rouge shook her head. "He's a lot different now, he seems really sweet," Rouge tried to convince Amy, but even she found it hard to make that sound believable.
Amy's expression turned into anger. "Why are people trying to convince me that he's someone I should be paying attention to?" she asked suddenly. Truth was, only Blaze made a comment inside the school. Yet one more comment seemed like ten comments on the matter, and her mood swings seemed to be triggered so easily.
"It doesn't mean you have to do anything, Amy," Rouge replied anxiously, scrambling for words. "I think everyone is just trying to help you-" she tried to finish when Amy suddenly spun around to face her.
"Help me? Help me?!" she cried out.
Rouge's ears flattened.
"I feel like everyone has been turning against me and I did nothing wrong, nothing at all!" she accused, fury unleashing on the bat.
"All I wanted was to be happy but apparently that didn't matter to anyone else, and everyone thinks that they can make decisions for me! And I'm sick of everything and everyone, I'm sick of hearing about Sonic and Sally, I'm sick of hearing about Shadow, and I'm sick of all the rumours swirling around the school and anyone thinking they have the slightest clue as to what I've had to put up with in the last couple of months!" she shouted without a care that other students in the vicinity were able to hear.
Rouge felt her stomach drop. "A-Amy, I know you're under a lot of stress-" she began.
Suddenly, Amy began crying. Broken sobs ripped through her again, the wounds she thought were healed opening like new ones. Rouge quickly gathered her in her arms and led her away from the curious eyes watching her. Amy didn't fight and let her take her away.
The weight of the lies Rouge had told felt like she was carrying the world on her shoulders. No amount of words could describe the guilt she felt of how she was still continuing to lie to her friend, but also trying to comfort her at the same time. She felt like a terrible person, and she felt like she needed to rid of the secret so she could be released from these invisible shackles.
Finally, they stopped in an empty parking lot, far from the school. "Amy, I'm so sorry," began Rouge, feeling like her endless apologise meant nothing.
Amy whimpered through her tears, head in her hands. "I'm just so sick of this Rouge, I just want everything to go back to how it was," she cried.
Rouge hugged her. She felt like she needed to warn Amy about Shadow. She was sick of seeing her like this. But she was torn apart. If she told Amy, she felt like Shadow would turn on Rouge and fabricate other lies. Thinking back to when Shadow asked her how she would get out of this mess, Rouge felt as if she had buried herself into an even bigger one.
Suddenly, Rouge saw a figure approaching them out of the corner of her eye.
"Shadow," she whispered. Panic settled in her stomach.
Amy, hearing the name come out from her mouth, pulled away and remained locked in her place.
"Amy, is everything alright?" he asked, concerned and reaching out towards her.
Amy, too exhausted and emotionally drained to move, let Shadow embrace her. It felt so wrong but she had no energy left in her to fight him off.
Rouge looked worriedly at Amy and then shifted her gaze back at Shadow, and she could read the look in his eyes all too well.
"I can take over from here Rouge," he said to her.
Rouge hesitated, knowing that leaving Amy with Shadow was anything but a good idea. However, she was having a difficult time reading Amy, because she wasn't moving. She wasn't even looking at her. Instead, her gaze was fixed on the ground, staring blankly.
Rouge took a couple steps back, waiting for Amy to give her some kind of cue to step in. But nothing came up, and Rouge began walking away in defeat. There was nothing she could do.
Meanwhile, Shadow looked down at Amy in his arms and brushed her quills away from her face. She didn't react and kept her gaze locked on the pavement.
"You can talk to me Amy, I know you've been going through a hard time" he cooed, the venom masked with sweetness in his voice.
Amy blinked before looking at him. This was the first time someone had validated her feelings immediately. Her confusion began mixing with curiosity. "You do?" she asked naively.
Shadow smiled. "Tell me, I want to hear everything".
*.*.*.*
"Today?" asked Tails, the morning bell sounding off in the school hallways.
Sonic didn't respond. He could feel his friends' impatience growing as the question had been repeated every single day for the last two weeks. And Sonic was running out of excuses.
"Um," muttered Sonic.
Tails let out a groan of frustration. "You're absolutely killing me Sonic," he gruffed, beginning to walk ahead of the blue hedgehog.
"Wait!" Sonic exclaimed, grabbing the fox's arm.
Tails shot him a dark look, however with his petite and childish face, it seemed cuter than intimidating. "You promised Sonic," said Tails through clenched teeth.
"I know, I know!" agreed Sonic. "Today. At lunch, I'll do it" as soon as the words left Sonic's mouth, butterflies took over his entire body. The longer he put it off, the harder it was becoming.
Not a single day had gone by where Sonic hadn't thought of Amy. He wondered so badly how she was doing. He wondered if she also felt the yearning sensation like him. He asked himself if she lay awake at night, tossing and turning, just like him, with images of them touching and kissing replaying in his head over and over. He hoped that a part of her could forgive him for leaving her so abruptly. He wished that she had come to talk to him instead, so he wouldn't have to make the first move. Sonic wanted nothing more than to have her back in his life, because this time apart from her had made him realize that the world seemed so bleak without her. Amy gave him another reason to look forward to the next day. It made him more excited to come back to school, knowing that she would be there waiting for him. He cut off their relationship at a part where it was starting to become something beautiful. And the regret weighed on him every single day since that moment.
"You better," replied Tails, as he shook off grip and made his way to his class.
For the remainder of the day until the lunch bell rang, Sonic sat absent mindedly in his classes. He couldn't focus. He was nervously trying to find the right words to say to Amy. He didn't want to ruin his chance, because he felt like he wouldn't get another one. He even began writing down ideas on a notebook.
Amy, I can't bear to be without you
No, that was coming off too strong. He scratched a line through the sentence.
I think about you everyday, especially at night
Creepy much? Scratch.
You're everything I hope and dream for
Still too strong, scratch.
I've made a horrible mistake
The truth. It was a good start.
Sonic jumped at the sound of someone clearing their throat beside him. His partner beside his desk was eyeing down at the notebook curiously. Sonic closed the book quickly and threw it under his desk, folding his hands together and twiddling his fingers nervously.
Finally, the bell to signal for lunch rang. Sonic felt his stomach doing flips and turns inside of him. His heart felt like it was inside his throat. His cheeks flushed a bright red as his fight-or-flight response system was sounding alarm bells inside of him.
He was done with the 'flight'. Now it was time to 'fight'.
Sonic made his way to the hallways where Amy's locker was. He didn't notice that Tails started following closely behind him.
And right as he turned the corner through the crowd of people, it seemed as if everyone disappeared. Sonic felt his heart sink to his stomach. Ahead of him, was Amy standing at her locker, with Shadow standing close to her, the pair deep in conversation. Tails peered over Sonic's shoulder and his jaw dropped when he noticed why Sonic had stopped walking.
All of the sudden, both of them watched as Shadow leaned down to kiss Amy, her meeting him halfway.
Sonic made a sharp turn and shoved through everyone in his way as he sped down the hall.
Tails still stood frozen in place, watching the unthinkable unfold in front of him.
Shadow turned away and made his way in the opposite direction as Amy continued to put things away in her locker. She briefly looked at where Tails was standing and did a double take when she saw Tails watching her, a sad look in his eyes.
She felt her cheeks burn and she quickly made her way to him.
"H-Hey Tails," she said tensely.
Tails didn't respond. Instead, he slowly shook his head.
"What?" she urged, but already feeling like she knew what his reaction was about.
"You're with Shadow now?" he asked, discontent evident in his voice.
Amy smiled nervously but didn't answer.
Tails let out a sigh of defeat, his heart feeling heavy for his friend. He slowly turned away and began walking in the opposite direction. But he was pulled back by Amy and he turned to meet with a pair of jade eyes, pleading.
"Tails, I need to talk to you," she said.
*.*.*.*
Sonic felt the tears leaking through his eyes as he grabbed his bag from his locker and hurriedly made his way to the school office. He came up with some excuse that he had to go home, the emotional look on his face helping convince the office workers. He was granted permission to leave, and he wasted no time making his way out of the school.
He felt like he was on the verge of hyperventilating. His heart squeezed painfully, feeling like he would be sick any moment. He felt stupid for wasting all day coming up with the perfect thing to say to Amy to win her back. He hated himself for waiting so long to work up the courage to do something – and now it was too late. His biggest bully won the prize Sonic knew he wasn't destined to have. Thoughts flooded his head and everything around him felt overwhelming.
All the words of encouragement from those around to get him to this point, seemed worthless. Disproven the second he saw Shadow and Amy standing together. The kiss was too much to bear. It solidified the fact that he had been a coward for too long and lost the one person who made his heart sing for joy.
Sonic picked up his pace to a jog, not able to run like he was meant to due to the amount of people around him. He lost his foot placement and tripped on the pavement, wincing in pain as his skin scrapped against the rough terrain.
No one helped him or bothered to notice him. Tears effortlessly continued down his face but he didn't care. He seemed invisible, just like he always did. He continued to make his way to his home. Thankfully, no one was home to question him. Or to hear the heartbreaking sobs coming out of him when he crashed into his bed.
*.*.*.*
Tails and Amy were walking laps on the school track.
"He was the only person who wanted to hear me, Tails. He wanted to know what was in my head and how I felt, every single last detail," she explained, trying to not only convince him but herself that what she was doing was right.
Tails made a sound of annoyance. "You could've talked to me Amy, I'm your friend too!" he exclaimed, sounding insulted that she hadn't confided in him.
Amy looked over at the fox, her eyes begging for forgiveness. "I'm sorry Tails, but you're friends with Sonic, I didn't know if I could trust-" she stopped as Tails glared at her. "I didn't know if you'd tell Sonic how I was feeling" she corrected herself.
Tails stomped his foot on the ground and let out a grunt of frustration. Amy looked at him, shocked.
"I am SICK AND TIRED of hearing the BOTH of you talk about how much you guys want each other but do the exact opposite!" he shrieked.
Amy's jaw dropped.
"Here you are going for a guy you don't even like, and don't tell me you like him because you always told me how much you hated him and couldn't stand him, and now all of the sudden just because he's listening to you, telling you all the things you want to hear, for his own benefit" he said as he mocked in a high pitched voice, for dramatic effect. "And now he's taking advantage of you because you're in a vulnerable position!"
Amy's brows furrowed together as she blinked.
"Oh my gosh," she whispered. "You're right".
How could she not have seen it before? Shadow was exaggeratedly going out of his way to cheer her up, enthusiastically listening to her problems, and she was stupidly following along with his game as if hypnotized by the display of false affection. She was being manipulated and she was falling for it. Amy winced and suddenly felt so disgusted with herself that she allowed Shadow to get so close to her. She was letting herself be convinced that he could be her next romantic partner. That he could help her come out of the dark place she was in.
"And then Sonic! Oh, don't even get me started on him! He's been so miserable, he's been wanting to talk to you but keeps changing his mind over and over again, and I'm so freaking TIRED of it all!" he cried, pulling at the hair on either side of his head.
"Tails," Amy said, putting his arms down at his side "relax please".
Tails took deep breaths to try and calm himself down.
Amy bent down to hug him tightly. "I'm so sorry you've been stuck in the middle of all this Tails. When all you've been trying to do was help us out," she said to him, overcome with guilt. Tails had been enduring a big burden for all of them and neither of them seemed to see it.
"Finally, someone gets it!" said Tails, letting out a sigh of relief.
Amy giggled as she pulled away. "You're such a great friend, Tails. And don't you forget it," she said proudly to him, ruffling his hair.
Tails bashfully swung his tails around. "Well, someone's gotta look after you guys," he replied, with a faint blush on his cheeks.
Amy stood tall and put her hands on her hips. "Well, there's only one thing left to do now," she said defiantly.
Tails smiled cheerfully. "Let's go find Sonic?" he asked, almost jumping for joy.
Amy smiled. "One thing first," she said, looking at Tails mischievously.
*.*.*.*
The doors slammed open as Amy angrily made her way down the hallway, Tails following happily after her. Everyone in the hallways seemed to back up into their lockers, steering clear of her path – of what appeared to be – destruction.
She headed straight to her locker and glared menacingly when she locked eyes with a pair of crimson one's. Shadow's expression went from cocky to afraid in an instant.
"Shadow," she shouted as she made her way towards him.
He backed away slowly. "Wh-what's wrong?" he stammered.
Amy raised her hand in the air and landed it painfully on Shadow's cheek in one quick motion. An audible gasp was heard from all of those surrounding them.
Shadow turned to her, holding his cheek, in absolute shock. "Huh?!" he exclaimed.
"That's what you get for taking advantage of me Shadow! You think I wouldn't have figured out your game? How dare you think that just because I was going through a hard time, you could just weasel your way into my heart! We are NEVER going to be together Shadow, and don't you forget it!" she shouted, before quickly opening her locker and grabbing her belongings. She made her way out of the building, leaving him frozen in place.
Tails doubled over from laughter and fist bumped Amy as she made her way down the hall, a half smile resting on her face.
Amongst the crowd of whispering people, Rouge had witnessed the entire altercation. She also couldn't help but smile at the interaction, quite pleased that Amy was able to snap out of the trick Shadow was playing on her.
His cheeks flushed red and he quickly made his way out of the public eye, embarrassment flowing through him like he had never felt before.
*.*.*.*
Sonic's eyes sprang open at the sound of a loud knock outside his door. It took a few seconds for his brain to register his surroundings.
'Must've fallen asleep…'
This was confirmed as he peered outside the window and saw that the sun had already set, a faint glow of orange in the horizon.
His face felt swollen, his pillow damp with tears and drool. The loud knock again, followed by a voice. "Sonic! There's people waiting for you outside the door…" trailed off his mother in a confused tone of voice.
He got up and began moving downstairs, but things still felt like he was in a dream. Was this a dream?
When he got downstairs and opened the door, three figures stood outside. His eyes nearly fell out of their sockets.
Amy, Tails, and Sally all stood outside the door. However, Amy and Sally were locked in a heated argument while Tails looked up at Sonic, giving a downward turned smile and a small wave.
Sonic rubbed his eyes furiously. He pinched himself to make sure this wasn't a dream.
'Definitely not a dream'
"Sally, please, if you would be so kind as to let me and Sonic talk amongst ourselves," said Amy through clenched teeth.
Sally shook her head in defiance. "I was here first, Amy! I'm not going to break his heart like you did!" she cried out.
"Woahhhhh woah woah, ladies!" Manic piped in, making his way in between the two girls. Everyone looked stunned. "You're both seriously fighting over this kid?" he motioned towards Sonic, who looked anything but attractive right now. "How about me? I'm not taken either and I can show you guys a good time," he flirted, putting his arms around both Amy and Sally.
"MANIC!" their mother shouted from inside "In the house NOW".
Manic let out a groan of frustration and made his inside. But not before winking and mouthing the words 'call me', then closed the door shut behind him.
All four stood in awkward silence, looking at each other. When a pair of green eyes made contact with each other, time seemed to stand still.
"Sonic," Amy said softly, feeling the heat rise to her cheeks. Sonic felt his knees go weak and his head spin.
Sally had opened her mouth to say something, but it was clamped shut by Tails, who began dragged her away while quickly saying "We'll leave you two alone, bye guys!". Sally and Tails could be heard arguing down the street as they left two hedgehogs in peace.
Sonic felt his feet begin itching, that sensation he knew all too well. It was the feeling he got whenever he would see Amy in the distance, followed by panic and the need to escape. However, she was standing just a couple of feet away from him, her eyes seemingly possessing powers to lock him in place.
Sonic felt his breathing increase. He swallowed. "Amy," he murmured, his eye lids closing halfway as he felt himself getting lost in her gaze.
"I'm sorry!" they both said simultaneously. Followed by "You're sorry? For what?"
Sonic rubbed the back of his neck while Amy clasped her hands together behind her, both awkwardly fidgeting, trying to find the right words.
Sonic shook his head. "I'll go first," he started.
"I'm sorry I made you feel so bad Amy. I was so afraid to be with you. I hurt you and wish I never did, you didn't deserve that. I felt like you deserved someone better," he looked down at the ground in defeat. "And you did, and that better was Shadow".
Amy reached out to grab his hand. "No," she responded.
Sonic's eyes jolted up to meet hers, his skin tingling under her touch.
"I saw you two kiss," he said painfully, reverting his gaze back down to the ground.
Amy shook her head. "It was a mistake Sonic, he tricked me into thinking he was there for me. But it was just a stupid game of his and I was in a bad place," she answered frantically.
"I realize that the only person who can make me happy is you, Sonic," she half whispered, cupping the side of his cheek to look at her.
Sonic's eyes widened.
"Sonic, I don't care that you think you're the nerd. I'd rather have you than anyone else, I had so much fun becoming your friend and getting to know you," she continued, her words making his heart sing loudly in his chest.
"Amy," he whispered. The way her name rolled of his tongue made Amy felt as if she were melting.
"I want to have you in my life," she said softly. "For a long, long time". Her breath tickled his face and it was then they both realized that they had been moving closer together, the gap between them closing.
And they kissed. It started off as a soft, sweet, tender kiss. Both of them, so deprived of each other, deepened the kiss almost instantly. Fireworks of emotions burst inside of them, hearts beating for the other, nerve endings firing with all of the sweet sensations of having each other in an embrace once again. They pulled back, breathless, leaning their foreheads against one another.
"I think I love you Amy," said Sonic, catching his breath with his eyes closed. He interlaced his fingers with hers and pulled her into him. Amy looked up at him, her eyes reciprocating his feelings.
A faint smile crawled on her face. "I think I love you too Sonic," she responded.
They both stared at each other, beaming with happiness at their confession. The pair stood, in each others embrace, just holding the other in complete bliss.
Meanwhile, from the inside of the house, both Manic and mother peeked through a closed blind, watching the pair.
"He's all grown up, how disgusting," whispered Manic, trying to suppress his laughter.
"Well, I think it will make him happy again. I miss seeing his smiling face. And that girl seems to know how to bring it out of him," she whispered back, smiling as she watched the pair.
*.*.*.*
10 YEARS LATER
Amy and Sonic sat on a couch in their apartment, scrolling through a phone. Shiny rings were on each others left hand ring finger.
"Oh my gosh, look at this!" Amy flipped her phone screen to show him. It was someone they went to high school with. "They look so bad now!" she laughed.
Sonic laughed, nodding.
"Did Shadow every try and reach out to you?" asked Sonic casually, watching Amy scroll through her phone.
She smirked. "Yeah, multiple times. But I just ended up blocking him, it got so annoying" she replied. She suddenly began laughing as a memory flashed in her mind. "I really wish you could've seen the look on his face when I slapped him, I'm surprised I never got in trouble for that". Sonic smiled widely. "I would've paid money to see that," he said, winking at Amy.
"I know Sally tried to reach out to you," said Amy, continuing to scroll through her phone.
Sonic sighed and scratched his head. "She was super annoying, you would think she would've got the hint that night you came over with Tails," he chuckled.
Amy turned off her phone and leaned into Sonic, snuggling into him happily. "High school was so funny. It's crazy to think that things seemed like such a big deal," she began, looking around at the apartment her and Sonic had built together over the years.
Sonic leaned in to kiss her forehead. "Well, meeting you was a big deal," he said against her fur. Amy giggled contently.
"And it's also crazy how friendships change," she continued. "The fallout of me and Rouge was really sad but it had to be done". Memories of the two played in her head from years ago. It hurt to think that someone so close at one point in your life was now a complete stranger.
Sonic nodded and continued to trace her hairs with his nose. "But you're still friends with the other girls. Well, minus Sally too," he said, teasing.
Amy laughed. "Yeah, that's true," she replied. "And we still have Tails".
"Good ol' Tails," said Sonic, thinking fondly of his friend. "I should invite him over, I think he's coming to the city for work soon".
Amy agreed. She looked up at Sonic, who still had his signature thick framed glasses on.
"My big nerd," she said affectionately, pinching his cheek.
"Beauty and the nerd," he corrected her, pulling her in closer to him.
The two hedgehogs cuddled with each other peacefully as they continued to reminisce about the early days of meeting each other, looking up names that would come to mind through social media, and playfully tease each other about stereotypes that no longer had significance. Happily married now, the pair enjoyed the rest of their lives, free to do as they pleased, and whatever they wanted.
No worries of judgement, like the old high school days.
THE END