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Chapter Text

1481 words, 6 minutes

Glorious, shiny pieces of metal flew in the air spontaneously. Not on their own accord, though. Five bots that were built on those metal components were consecutively smashed by a blue, blurry ball spinning at immense speed. Three more were smashed by a large Piko Piko Hammer, and another separate but impressive amount was crushed by sheer fists.

Many more were destroyed by a matter of improvised yet near-accurate calculations that exclusively included the laws of physics, acceleration and mass, and were applied to the robots' own power to destroy several of their own unintentionally. Multiple airborne bee-bots were taken out by surprise with the aid of a wooden boomerang wrapped around the near-edges with worn, white sports-tape.

Almost all of the robots were taken out by teamwork and strength. Eggman really wasn't in the mood to stick around anymore and listen to Sonic's victory speech as he'd done so many times before in the past, but someone that was purely distracted with destroying his fine creations caught his eye.

Amy Rose.

She swung and swung and swung her hammer with strength you'd never expect to see from just anyone. Everyone else was distracted as well, with more robots being sent their way. All of a sudden, he came up with a little plan that wasn't a part of today's schedule, and it made him chuckle quietly.

If I remember correctly, when I asked Sonic what was up with him and Amy, he didn't even answer. Not just that, but he was so flustered when I asked. Me! Of all people, his arch-nemesis questioned him about his love interest.

Eggman shot a few lasers at Amy's feet to get her attention.

It worked.

She turned around, fully alert to the danger that was just thrown at her. Eggman shot a few more lasers, making her dodge them easily but with skill. Good, she's taking the bait. She thinks she'll win this part of the battle.

Eggman flew his Eggmobile away from Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Sticks. Amy didn't notice this would be such danger later on to herself. All that was in her head was, I'M gonna be the one to send you away, Eggman! Be prepared to receive a fistful of justice from ME this time!

Naturally, Amy followed, not even thinking that Eggman had conjured up a deliciously dramatic plan for her. They traveled farther and farther away from the main battle and suddenly into the forest.

The forest that surrounded the village wasn't super dense, so it was easy to make your way around the tall, thin trees and the grassy floor. Amy ran and ran, swinging her hammer at Eggman, but missing several times. She jumped and swung, but that only worked once when its minor impact slightly dented his Eggmobile.

"HEY! That's really expensive, y'know?! How would you like it if I went to your house and obliterated it completely?!!" he exclaimed. Excellent, he thought. Some witty dialogue that I've constantly given in our previous battles will NEVER make her suspect that anything's off.

"YOU'RE the one who keeps launching attacks on us that are too easy, Eggman! Quit bringing your expensive toys with you! Didn't you learn in school to never bring your precious belongings because they might end up stolen or even DAMAGED?!" At that last part of her response, Amy leapt up into the air once more in front of the Eggmobile, somersaulted once and twisted her body in an airborne positioning that allowed her to hit the Eggmobile off to the right side of the forest.

Well, that sped up my plan. Now we're much farther away! No one will come and help her now. He pressed a button on his Eggmobile and more robots from a distance arrived to the village where Sonic and the others were.

Sonic just smashed a crab-bot with his spin-attack when he looked behind him and saw more robots arriving. "Let's finish them off, gang!" He dashed towards the army of bots. The team followed him from behind.

Tails flew up and broke a bee-bot using his oversized wrench. He looked around and widened his bright blue eyes to the point they narrowed. "Where's Amy?!!" he yelled. Sonic crushed another crab-bot and stopped. He looked around and didn't see Amy at all. "She was right here with us! I know she was!" he shouted back.

Knuckles looked around quickly. "How could she just disappear like that?! Is she a wizard or what?!" he shouted while tearing apart an ant-bot metal limb from metal limb.

"Guys! We can worry about Amy later. Right now, the robots are heading towards the villagers!" Sticks pointed her boomerang to the dozens of robots that had already begun grabbing villagers. Sonic felt torn between wanting to look for Amy, and staying to help the villagers and his team. He looked back and forth. Back and forth. Village to exit. Gang to forest. Village to exit. Back and forth. Back and forth...

"AAAARRRRGH!" He turned into a blurry blue ball again and attacked every robot he could see in a blue fury. Even stopping the gang from destroying a bot they were currently in front of.

Amy, on the other hand, was tiring out from using her arms too much. She put her hammer down and leaned on it for barely 3 seconds. Eggman shot a laser blast in her direction, and she back-flipped almost too quickly. Her head delivered a sharp pain to her system, telling her body she exerted herself too hard. She laid a hand on her head almost to try and stop the throbbing.

Eggman taunted her current state as if he were on the verge of winning for once. "Hah! What's the matter, Amy? Tired already?" Amy clenched her fist. Dirt marks were on her clothes, arms and muzzle. She barely had enough strength to talk. All she could say at the moment, despite how untrue it was, was, "I'm... just... getting... started..." She panted and lifted her hammer up once more.

But before she could even use her weapon, Eggman's blue glasses gleamed evilly. He shot a laser, and it hit Amy's upper arm.

Her jade irises narrowed.

Her mouth was opened in shock.

She was too weak to move.

She just stood there.

It didn't shoot right through. But it seared off a good chunk of her peach skin enough to make it bleed.

She screamed, which was a bad sign that her pain was that horrible.

Salty, clear tears instantly poured out of her eyes against her will. She fell on her knees and got on her back, breathing heavily. Eggman stared at her, smirking at his mini victory. "Well then, the next part would be to leave her here..." he muttered to himself. He nodded, pressed a few buttons, pulled a lever, and flew straight for his lair.

Amy's arm kept on sending large pulses of pain to her brain. Shut up, she told it. But it didn't help. She was so tired and so weak right now, but she had half a mind to clutch her arm in hopes of stopping most of the bleeding. All she could do was lay down and hope someone could rescue her.

She knew that wouldn't happen soon.

She was still bleeding. She didn't want the others to find her like this. She didn't want Tails, Sticks, Knuckles, or even Sonic to later find and see her in the state she was in right now. It would make them worry and pity.

The last thing she wanted was pity from her own friends.

Her eyes tried focusing on the scenery above her, with the tall trees and the clear, sunny sky. She was able to smile a little, but the effort was still too much for her. She immediately relaxed her facial muscles. Her eyelids even began to drop. She was exhausted. Because of that, she could sleep right now. Despite her dirty and somewhat uncomfortable condition, she wanted to sleep at the moment.

Someone had to come for her.

She didn't know who, but someone had to. Preferably one of her friends.

The blood loss she'd just suffered through was horrendous. She was sorry for littering the beautiful green grass of the woods with her blood. Such dishonor. Why did it have to be something... a situation... where I wasn't even think...ing...

The last of her willpower had vanished without any traces, and just at the moment when someone called her name.

Chapter Text

2293 words, 11 minutes

"Amy!" cried Sonic.

He had already looked around the village, but he spotted no trace of her in the process. He'd left for the forest after he and the gang destroyed every single one of Eggman's robots that remained and saved the villagers. Speeding really fast towards the forest, he called Amy's name repetitively, and at the same time, hoping that he'd hear her voice respond back.

How the heck did she separate from us so fast?  he wondered. She was with them from the start, fighting. Screaming with triumph every time she shattered the many robots that were present at the scene with her hammer.

So how?  Sonic stopped in a plain, grassy spot and called Amy, louder this time. "AMY!" He observed each spot in the area he was in actively, trying to spot some pink somewhere, anywhere, when a turn of his head to the right showed him Amy's unconscious body. As well as... is that blood?! he questioned mentally. He dashed to Amy instantly and knelt down by her side, his leafy irises scanning her poor state with concern.

No, concern was too mild. Something more like... worry.

Yes, that's the word. Worry.

Panic became his aura as his eyes fell upon her seared upper arm since that was the most striking image that entered his vision. What happened to her?  he wondered. How did she end up so far away to the point she winded up in the forest? It doesn't make sense. And where's Egghead...? He quickly looked up and saw no one. It was just him and Amy, alone, in the forest.

His friend.

Your crush.

Sweatdrops were formed at those 2 words. Shut it, you idiot, he snapped at his brain. Hehe. It's incredibly entertaining to see you like this. Don't you think she likes this side of you?  At that, he diverted his attention at Amy again. Defenseless, out like a light, bleeding...

Hurt.

And she didn't know it.

I should get her back. Sonic proceeded to pick her up bridal style, his left hand under her knees and his right under her mid-back, but he stopped.

What if she wakes up and I'm rubbing her wound? She wouldn't like that... He went to the other side and placed her limp right arm over her chest. Once that was done, he placed his right hand instead of his left under her knees, and his left hand instead of his right under her mid-back.

He lifted her up in a subconsciously heroic manner, allowing her injured left arm to dangle to the ground.

He noticed some blood still leaking from the wound, so he walked briskly while holding her securely. He didn't want to risk having the wound open up more if he was running so fast.

He didn't want to let her go. This reminded him of the time when Tails had crashed his plane and Sonic carried him back in the same way he was carrying Amy. He was the one who carried Tails. He was the one who bandaged him. He was also the one who placed Tails to rest, all while remaining by his side. These memories left Sonic feeling torn between taking Amy to Tails or taking her to his shack.

He decided it would make more sense to take her to Tails. There was no way he could simply bandage up her arm. The damage was too serious, baring multiple layers of exposed tissue. He glanced over and looked at her wound again. The bleeding wasn't too serious anymore. Now it was just a few drops here and there. But Sonic firmly made sure that he wasn't going to take any chances of accidentally re-opening it because accidents can hurt, too.

A series of beeps reached his ears, and he looked down at his communicator. Tails was calling. He stopped and knelt, carefully laying Amy's legs on the ground and using his left arm to still hold her upright. Once that was done, he answered.

"Hello?"

"Sonic! It's me! Where the heck are you?"

"Oh, um, about that, there's no easy way to say this, but..." He looked at Amy once again. Then at her arm. Then at her face.

Her still, sleeping face.

Is she even breathing?  he wondered. "One sec," he said. He placed his blue ear on Amy's chest and listened for a heartbeat.

He heard one. But it was very quiet and slow.

Hmm, slow ain't the way I like to roll, he thought. He looked back at his communicator and spoke. "...um, Amy's... been injured. Really badly." He hated how he sounded when he said that. Insensitive. Blunt. How can a hero speak that way about their friend? He sighed. He wasn't even sure if he'd be able to call himself a hero anymore because of that.

Well, she didn't know... wait, that's not enough reason to allow yourself to remain a hero—what the heck am I even thinking about?!

Tails interrupted his thoughts unintentionally. "Well, bring her here fast! I may be able to help her. Is she unconscious?" Sonic looked at Amy once again, although he knew very well that she was immobile. "Yeah," he answered. "Bring her to my workshop. Sticks and Knuckles are here, too."

"Hey!" shouted Knuckles' voice.

"Knuckles, this isn't funny!" screamed the scruffy feminine voice of Sticks.

"I never said Amy getting hurt was funny, now, did I?" replied Knuckles but in a more sly, somehow serious tone.

"Just bring her here, OK?" exasperated Tails. Sonic could clearly tell from the other end of the line that Tails was shaking his head. "I'll be there, buddy. See ya soon." And he hung up. He picked Amy back up and made his way over to Tails' workshop.

When he arrived, he knocked on the door using his foot. Tails opened it and took in Amy's state in shock. "Oh my gosh, what happened to her?!" he exclaimed. "Who, what, where, when and why?" followed up Knuckles, as he and Sticks hurriedly ran up to Tails and Sonic. Both had the same shocked facial expression.

"What..." Sticks was speechless. Knuckles didn't even open up his mouth. His violet irises said all that needed to be spoken from him. But he didn't want to act stupid while Amy was hurt.

Tails looked back. "Well, bring her over here..." He pointed to a padded bed he'd gotten ready for Amy. There was a huge machine with several buttons and wires, as well as bandages and a few surgical tools. Sonic wordlessly obeyed Tails and stopped at the bed. He didn't place Amy there right away. In fact, he stood there holding her in his grip while maintaining a genuinely grieving expression that would never change as long as his pink, rosy friend was hurt.

Eventually, after a couple of seconds, he sighed and placed her on the bed, soon after compensating whether he should stay or go. That's an easy decision, hedgehog. You're staying with her. Sonic went to get a chair from the corner. He placed it a little close to the bed, faced the backrest to Amy's face, leaned his blue arms on the top of the backrest and sat down, remaining next to Amy.

Tails acknowledged this act with surprise, but didn't even try to question it. He began the operation on Amy.

Tails said that they could all go since it would take a little while. Neither one of them left. Knuckles and Sticks practically refused. Well, mainly Sticks. Knuckles shut his mouth because of how mournful he'd felt after seeing Amy's seared arm. Sonic was quiet, but a glare at Tails when told to leave kept Tails quiet and concentrating on Amy's operation.

Sonic was feeling jealous that Sticks and Knuckles wanted to stay, too. He felt as if he wanted every piece of credit like he wanted chili dogs. Only this wasn't about food.

It was about Amy.

Admit it, she's your crush, man! Why won't you admit it?

Because. It's not. TRUE!

Oh, whatever. Stupid hedgehog.

Sonic scoffed internally at how foolish his brain was acting. He decided to take his mind off of... well, his mind, and observe Amy.

Observing only.

No thoughts.

No opinions.

Just observing.

His jealousy heightened when Sticks and Knuckles looked as moody as he did. They didn't pay any attention to him, but he stole a glimpse at the two of them and frowned with the purest form of anger. Why did they agree to stay, anyway? I was the one who carried Amy! Knuckles doesn't even understand what Tails is doing!

Even though Sonic himself didn't understand, either, but that's not important. I'M the one who's feeling guilty over the fact that I may... never see her again... He diverted his gaze back at the ground, where he felt like he deserved to be.

What's the point of feeling sorry for the past? But.. if I think like that too much, then... does that make me heartless towards her? Or any of my other friends?  One more glance at Amy and he could see that Tails was doing a great job at stitching her wound. But she was going to have a scar for a very long time.

Probably gonna hide it constantly with every opportunity given to her. 

Coughing was heard.

He glanced up at Amy, noticing that she was coughing a little. He looked up at Tails curiously. The young fox definitely noticed. Sticks' furry brown ears twitched several times in anticipation when she heard those feminine coughs. She made a beckoning motion with her hand to Knuckles, who got up and followed her to the padded bed Amy lay down on.

Sonic was already standing by Tails on Amy's left side of the bed, and Knuckles and Sticks made it to the other unoccupied side.

They all watched, they all listened, they all noticed Amy's eyes fluttering.

Knuckles finally asked, "Is she gonna be OK?"

Tails looked at Amy's fluttering eyes. "She's opening her eyes..."

"Careful, guys. She's waking up," stated Sticks.

Amy's jade eyes were finally revealed, slowly being unveiled by her pink lids and thick lashes. Sonic spoke no words as he took in that beauty. Well, they say the eyes are the window to the soul, he recalled for whatever reason.

Maybe reasons that were good.

Reasons that wouldn't be known by Amy as she shifted her gaze from each of her friends. "...Guys?" she mumbled. She slowly tried to sit up, but Tails gently intervened and pushed her back down onto the bed by her shoulders. "Your arm's been partially seared off, so Sonic brought you here and I stitched it up. It'll probably take about a month or 2 for your arm to heal," informed Tails.

Amy had perked up at "Sonic", but she respectfully listened to Tails until he finished. Once he did, she swiftly focused her attention on her blue friend.

"So it was you who called my name before I fell unconscious..." she muttered longingly. Sonic was battling inside his mind to try and gain control but it was quite tricky considering Amy's slightly empty and somewhat emotionless stare. "Y-yeah! Didn't think you remembered that, Ames," he blurted. All of them were left confused by his sudden way of talking. Like, Sonic was fast, but confidence poured out at the same time. His speech wasn't that fast. Or flustered.

Breaking into a cold sweat, Sonic silently pleaded that someone else would alleviate this pressure he was put under by asking another question that didn't have his name in it.

After a few moments of awkward silence, Tails looked back at Amy. "What happened to you, anyway? You were just with us when we were fighting Eggman's robots," he pointed out. Amy's head hung lower at this plain statement that gently demanded information on her past whereabouts. Gripping the sides of the bed, she kept it short but sweet.

"Well, Eggman shot a few lasers in my direction, so I followed him to get rid of him. We ended up in the forest, and we fought for a while, to the point I was getting tired. Then he shot a laser at me, and... well..." She gestured to her stitched arm. "This happened. I was loosing blood, and was soon gonna lose my consciousness as well. Until I heard Sonic shout my name from afar. That's the last thing that happened before I blacked out. And the rest... well, you guys know."

At that, they each looked sadly at her now stitched wound. Feeling a little self-conscious, Amy covered her arm, wordlessly indicating that she'd rather they didn't do that. They stopped, looked at her face again, and then at the ground.

Only Sonic continued staring at her face, acknowledging and seemingly letting miserable emotions to surface within him like oil did on water. Later, he diverted his gaze back to the ground. His fists clenched tightly and shook a bit because of that. His teeth were clenched as well.

"Sonic? Are you OK?"

The innocent voice of his fox friend immediately forced him to cease this anger he just felt. He looked up at Tails and the rest of the gang. Settling his gaze on Amy, he spoke with hints of reassurance.

"Eggman will never be able to touch you again."

Sonic laid his hand between her pinker ears and patted her head twice. Slowly removing his hand, he began to walk towards the door.

He didn't even rush out. He was just walking leisurely.

This granted enough time for them to ponder his statement while he was in the room, and plenty more when he was out.

Especially Amy.

...Why did he do that?

Chapter Text

1766 words, 7 minutes

Amy left for her home after her operation and the awkward chat with her friends. All of them had wished her well, but she inwardly felt annoyed by their kind gestures. Permitting those affectionate signals such unguarded entry to her heart, the cage of all her feelings, made her feel even worse about her diminished gratefulness towards how lucky she was to have her friends' support holding her up.

I don't want to feel unnecessary guilt by not appreciating their kindness. I'm lucky to have friends like them, she reasoned with herself. Picking up her pace to a run through the forest, everything was soon behind her.

The only things that weren't were her thoughts and feelings.

But the physical objects, like the trees, grass and flowers were all blended into a blurry picture that would've been abstract if one took a picture of it and stared at it head on.

The blended dark and light greens were dismissed unintentionally from her view. Even a few spots of pink, yellow and blue from a few flowers looked like comets in her blurred vision, not interesting her too much as she opened the wooden door to her home and shut it forcefully in a manner that made the transparent purple curtain fly over her head dramatically. She panted heavily, leaning against the door and grasping the bamboo-woven patterns for support, desperately trying to bring her breathing to a realm that was under her control.

About 2 minutes later, she collapsed on the ground, her narrow jade eyes remaining widely opened as she sunk to the floor on her knees. Her white-gloved hands were placed in front of her as she huffed shuddered breaths of air into her system. Emotions she didn't even welcome, like anger, sadness, hate and guilt, mixed well together like eggs, sugar, butter, flour and water in a cake mix. Smooth, creamy and evilly delicious.

Wait.

Amy blinked and questioned in a challenging manner every emotional-related question in the book. Delicious? Was it even normal to have a thought like this? Probably not.

But then again, when it came to "normal", Amy supposed that several blue things huddled into a corner of her home was anything but.

They were dolls, actually, that she'd sown in her spare time when Eggman wasn't attacking, or when no one from the gang needed her help.

It amazed her how she'd made all of them when it previously felt like an enormous project she'd never finish.

A project... of Sonic Dolls.

She never told her friends about this, and she probably never would because of how embarrassing it was. She'd imagine all sorts of scenarios, like Sonic jumping through her window and quickly noticing the artsy mess of Sonic dolls in Amy's house, the scene plastering a disbelieving expression on his face that could haunt her.

Or Sticks coming to visit Amy, knocking on her door, getting impatient while Amy was trying desperately to hide her dolls somewhere and then Sticks busting down the door, taking in the scene in front of her. Then, in Amy's mind, she'd go on a rant about how the dolls would come to life in Amy's home at night and start abusing the toaster and haunting her in her dreams.

Or even Knuckles trying to get the dolls to follow him, yelling phrases like, "Move it!" or "Bad Sonic!" or "C'mon! Why can't I win this staring contest?!" or "Hah! Finally, I can kick you around and you won't say anything about it!" and proceeding to kick the dolls around like soccer balls.

There were so many more scenarios she'd thought up, but a knocking sound caused her ears to twitch towards the door. "Uh, one second!!" she shouted. Sure enough, a scruffy yet feminine voice sounded from the other side. "C'mon, Amy! Let's go outside for a walk or something!" Hold on. A walk? Not casually lounging around indoors like they normally do?

Perfect!

Then she wouldn't have to go through a hassle of hiding her shamefully puzzling project. "Uh, sure, Sticks! Just let me grab a few things and I'll be on my way! One minute!" Amy wasted no time in getting up and putting lip balm, an apple, a small book she was currently reading and a little mirror in her cute, small pink backpack that she took when she was going for a short walk. She briefly swept her hand around inside absentmindedly and felt a papery material. Obviously triggering her curiosity, she fished it out, and gazed at it after a quiet, tiny gasp.

It was a picture of Sonic.

She remembered leaving it in her purse and taking it out to look at it and then later hiding it in her little backpack because Sticks saw her pull out the picture once, so she needed a different place to stash it.

Why on Earth do I even have this?  was the question not even she had an answer to. Yet, she liked it. I guess that's good enough for a reason, she thought. In the picture, Sonic was in a jungle, and he held up the peace sign for a normal selfie. Even bringing a nice, huge smile that was lively from the middle of his mouth to the corners of his lips.

What a cheerful smile for a hero.

"Amy? Ya done?!" called Sticks. Hearing such a voice hauled her out of her dreamy state completely and made her quickly place the picture back in her purse. "Coming!" she called. She zipped up her backpack and slung a strap over her left shoulder, the one with the stitches, and ran out her door, nearly knocking Sticks over in the process.

"HEY!" protested Sticks as she jumped out of the way on instinct. "Watch how hard you're swinging that door open, Amy!" she scolded in a slightly playful manner. "Sorry, Sticks. It's just... I've got a lot on my mind at the moment, and I can't keep them all to myself. But at the same time..." Amy and Sticks began walking towards the forest, away from Amy's home.

"...I don't want to tell them to anyone at all," finished Amy.

"Amy, if you really don't feel comfortable sharing anything, that's fine! No one's forcing ya," assured Sticks. Amy could only aim her gaze to her left side, away from Sticks. "But I can't help but feel like you guys are in a way, even if you don't really intend to..." she mumbled.

It was true, in a way. Amy felt as if the gang wanted her to tell them everything. And while she was normally the one to share and express her feelings, she didn't really want to do that. Sonic, Knuckles, Tails and Sticks would surely know instantly that something was wrong with her.

And the sad thing was, she wasn't even so sure herself. But at the same time, she had a whole list in her head about certain things she wished would happen that she only took note of now:

1. The gang allowing her to share how she felt when she really needed it.
2. Eggman not making a fool of her.
3. No one in the gang babying her about her stitched wound.
4. Sonic liking her more than a friend.
5. Sonic and her spending some time alone, like in the library (even though he doesn't like the library).
6. Being able to be more useful in Team Sonic.

Nothing seemed to be able to work out in her life the way she wanted. Like, the idea of Sonic hanging out with her? Alone? In the library? Forget about it! And the gang willingly allowing her to be expressive about her inner consciousness? Way too far-fetched. Even a dream wouldn't be enough to simulate that kind of atmosphere with her friends. Quit dreaming, Rose, she lectured herself.

Still, nothing stopped her from wanting these things to happen. She needed to motivate herself to remain as the backbone of Team Sonic, but nothing was pushing her. She didn't even want to push herself towards these things, which was what she normally did.

Walking in silence was the best way to keep her calm at the moment. Even having Sticks, her best friend there, didn't help. Amy possessed a craving desire to completely isolate herself from her friends.

"Amy?" asked Sticks. Amy stopped walking at the sound of her name, keeping her head low the entire time, while Sticks took a step ahead and stopped as well. "Amy?" repeated Sticks. "You feeling OK?" Sticks brought her hand up to Amy's left shoulder, and placed it there. Unfortunately, that was the arm that bore the stitched wound. Amy immediately looked and pulled away.

Sticks' hand remained in that spot of the air for a bit, a hurt expression displayed on her normally wild face. "Amy... I'm sorry, I didn't see the stitches from the angle I was at—"

"Maybe you should have!" screamed Amy. Her eyes were shut as she screamed, tears falling. Suddenly, her eyes opened in shock at what she just did.

Eventually, a tear hit the ground, which was the only thing holding her up right now.

Sticks and Amy just stood there.

A cold gust of wind blew between the two girls, ruffling Amy's front quills and ears and blowing Sticks' hair and fuzzy ears.

Even more hurt and overall confused by Amy's behavior, Sticks still tried to approach her friend.

Amy, on the other hand, just stood there. No, don't cry. But the wetness on her cheeks and the salty taste that reached her lips reminded her the sad reality of the lateness of her mental request. They continued leaking out of her eyes, carving wet paths so that even more got used to the paths on the surface of her peachy muzzle.

All Amy thought of in that moment was a basic animal instinct; run.

And she did. Sticks calling her, yet not making a move to stop her. She only advanced towards Amy's running direction with a few steps, leaving an outstretched hand to show she was reaching for something that was already gone.

Amy's pants and heavy breathing weren't even a problem to her anymore. Her mind was full of insecurity, confusion and hurt.

I see, she thought. Even you, Sticks, won't come after a pained... agonized friend. Her head remained fixated on the ground that was soon behind her as she ran for home, not rationally thinking about how she herself was pushing herself away from her friend.

So if not you, then... who?

Chapter Text

1675 words, 7 minutes

A few weeks flitted past Amy's normally sharp senses of observation. Today, the sky was blue and cloudless, just like the previous days. The sun was pale, yellow and shining, high up in its throne in the sky, overseeing all nature and creatures with its light.

A few empty weeks passed since Amy spoke with Sticks in the forest.

Because of that, Amy couldn't bring herself to talk to anyone in the gang without feeling foreshadowed guilt that she was gonna ditch them like she did since Eggman attacked and since she ran away from Sticks.

So sickening to even think about it, she thought.

Her wound was healing very slowly, but the stitch marks were still very visible. And since it made her self-conscious, she wore a white, long-sleeved cardigan over her usual attire to cover her normally exposed arms.

Amy was reading for about an hour when she heard a knock on the door. She groaned internally, not really expecting or wanting visitors as she got up and made her way to the door. She opened it, gave a single yawn with her hand covering her mouth, and put up a disbelieving gesture at who was in front of her.

It was Knuckles.

"...Uh, hey, Amy," he began awkwardly. One of Amy's eyelids rose up skeptically. It's not like Knuckles to get awkward so easily, she thought. "Uh, hi," she responded. Knuckles stood with his hands behind his back, and looked at Amy nervously. "Um, can I crash with you for a bit?" he asked. Amy could only tilt her head to the side a bit while jutting her hip towards her door. "If it means you won't break anything during your stay, then sure," she agreed. She held the door open a little more and made a beckoning gesture with her hand. "Come in," she said cheerily.

Or, at least as cheerily as someone who was breaking apart inside could muster. 

Knuckles walked in and quickly sat on the couch. Amy closed the door and walked over to the opposite couch. There were a few moments of awkward silence, but it was instantly killed and Knuckles began to talk to Amy by starting off with a conscious question.

"You OK?" he asked, being sensitive.

Amy's nod spoke falsehood. "Yeah, I'm fine." Knuckles leaned forward towards Amy's direction, intertwining his hands together and resting his elbows on his knees. "Are you sure?" he pressed. Amy tightened the grip on her white sleeves nervously and shyly and looked back down at the ground, hoping Knuckles would cease any questions related to how she was feeling.

Knuckles switched his violet gaze to the ground, on the maroon-pink carpet that decorated Amy's floor. He stared back up at her and noticed she was wearing a cardigan, something he never usually saw her wearing. "Why're you wearing that?" he questioned bluntly.

Though he wasn't sure, Knuckles could've sworn that Amy's stare turned kind of dark. He saw no shine of happiness. Amy just looked away while responding harshly with, "Am I not allowed to wear what I'd like anymore? Please, Knuckles, you're too stupid to be a member of the fashion police." She crossed her arms again and remained fixated on a spot that didn't have Knuckles in it.

Though she had to admit, she kind of liked it when Knuckles acted sensitive in their current conversation. It's been a while since she'd had a deep discussion with any of her friends, and she certainly didn't expect Knuckles to be the first one after all that time.

Knuckles could only look down in hurt. Amy noticed this out of the corner of her eye, and she focused her attention on Knuckles, worry overtaking her face. "I... I-I'm sorry, Knuckles... I didn't mean to sound rude, it's just..." she began but ended. She wasn't sure how to continue her little speech. Sure, Knuckles didn't show too much emotion, but she could visibly see that she actually hurt him.

Why the heck do I do these kind of things to my friends?  she wanted to know. I mean... LOOK, Amy. KNUCKLES, of all people, is basically offering HIS precious time to talk to you and make you feel better! Why do you turn him away?! Why...

Amy looked down after that mental beatdown she'd just given herself.

Maybe it's because I don't deserve it.

At such a thought, she hung her head right over her knees. All was silent again. Knuckles wasn't really thinking about anything, for his mind was incredibly blank at the moment, but Amy's head was overflowing with thoughts. Like how 2 of her friends had already tried to reach out to her, and she ended up turning them both away.

Neither said anything.

That is, until Knuckles waved his hand casually, saying, "Nah, it's fine. I didn't know that there even was a 'fashion police' department or whatever it's called." He included air quotes, making Amy chuckle warmly for a few seconds. They both took another few seconds after to just make friendly eye contact and smile.

Amy and Knuckles then talked about other simple everyday stuff, Knuckles acting a little dumb in his speech at times. Amy laughed anyways when she saw her strong friend acting like a total dork in front of her. It was kind of cute, and she really liked the uncomplicated fact that she felt better when he did that.

Wow... it's been a while since I've been this happy. She beamed happily as thoughts in her head stuffed the hollow silence surrounding her and Knuckles after they finished talking for a bit. Maybe this morning was worth it after all—

Beep-beep-beep!

Knuckles' communicator sounded. Amy noticed that she hadn't been wearing hers for a long time now. She just didn't feel like interacting with people electronically anymore. Not even her friends.

Not even Sonic.

Knuckles pressed a button to answer it. "Yolo, Knuckles here," he said.

"Knuckles! Eggman's attacking again! He's currently in the forest, we need you to get here fast so we can stop him!" shouted Tails.

Amy's expression saddened almost immediately. Another mission? Now that she thought about it, she hasn't been going on much of those, either. What kind of hero stays at the sidelines while her teammates risk their lives on a daily basis for citizens? She hugged her knees and targeted her gaze at the floor.

Wow. How shameful of you, Amy Rose.

"Sure, Tails! I'll be there! By the way, remember that stash of chilidogs you promised to steal for me from Sonic?" he asked.

"You promised WHAT?!" screamed Sonic from the background.

"Just get here!" cried Tails.

"Alright, bro!" Knuckles hung up and stood up from the sofa, taking quick jogging strides towards the door. He thrust it open excitedly. Before he went out, though, he stopped and turned his head back at Amy. "You coming?" he asked her, jutting his thumb outside her door and not considering the fact that she still had to let her stitches heal.

Amy didn't even look up and was too tired to correct him on that, feeling like the phrase "SHAMEFUL BEING" was written in marker over her forehead. She only responded shyly with, "No..."

Knuckles twisted his whole torso in her direction, a little surprised at Amy's refusal. "Wha...? But... we're a team, Amy," he told her. "You're a part of our team, y'know." Amy sighed quietly, but it was still audible enough for Knuckles to hear it from the door.

"I guess not anymore, right?" she answered.

Knuckles was speechless. When did freaking Amy Rose  act like this? She was the backbone of Team Knuckles (yes, to him it's "Team Knuckles", not "Team Sonic")! Amy was also incredibly smart and strong, making her perfect for coming up with strategies. Heck, she was even fabulous at cooking!

So... why?

But either way, since he saw that she wasn't gonna budge, he decided that the least he could do was leave her with some inspiring words to hopefully convince her in the future to come out and fight with them. He never admitted it to anyone, but he missed fighting beside Amy a lot. She was fantastic to have as a friend.

"Well, once you feel better, come out sometime," he told her. "Who knows? Maybe one day you'll think, 'Hey... Knuckles was right. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I really should've listened to him. He's so much smarter than me.'" To lighten it up, he flashed an effortless smile in Amy's way.

Amy looked up at him finally and smiled back. "Yeah, maybe. Hopefully." And he succeeded in making her smile again.

Knuckles nodded, and gave her a quick salute with two fingers. "See ya!" He went out, but he held on to the door and stopped, going back inside to tell Amy one more thing.

"By the way, Sonic really misses you," he stated. Amy's ears twitched at such a far-fetched yet melodious phrase. Her eyes narrowed when she heard that, and she blushed a bit. She couldn't say or do anything other than timidly digest some new information.

"He said he would really like to talk with you alone once he gets the chance. I'm not lying, Amy. He seriously did." He peered outside as if to make sure nobody nearby was listening and looked back at Amy. "In fact, I overheard him say to Tails something like, 'If she were here right now, I'd hug her', or something like that." He paused, placing a finger on his bottom lip.

"Or maybe it was 'kiss', I dunno..." he mumbled. Amy, however, still heard it, and her entire face was red. Even her heartbeat quickened dramatically.

"Yeah. Anyways, gotta go save the world now. See ya later, Amy!" He went out and lightly slammed the door behind him. Amy stared at him running down the trail through her window, even though her thoughts were somewhere else.

Is he telling the truth, Sonic? There's no way you actually said that... right?

Chapter Text

1671 words, 7 minutes

The next sorrowful day (in Amy's opinion), after Knuckles explained to Amy that Sonic missed her, she felt like she was forcefully thrusted out of her cozy little home on her way to Tails' workshop. She had absolutely no intentions of confronting Sonic just yet.

Maybe Tails can give me some more information before I go talk to Sonic, thought Amy.

She was simply outside because she wanted to gather conclusive information about Sonic missing her, and also because she hasn't been outside in fresh air for a while. Her walk was evenly paced. She swung her arms lightly and confidently on her way to Tails' place while looking at her surroundings.

Man, it feels good to be outside again.

Once she arrived at Tails' place, however, she held her hands behind her back for a few moments, feeling a cage of nervousness being unlocked in her chest. How do I start— Before she even processed where her hand was going, she only stared at it as it curled into a fist and knocked on the door three times.

In turn, she was greeted by her yellow fox friend with two tails that always assisted him when he wanted to fly. Tails' blue eyes appeared to contain some disbelief as he couldn't believe who was in front of him. "Amy?" he asked, holding onto the brass doorknob loosely. "What are you doing here? It's been such a long time since we all last saw you! Is everything OK?" Amy's heart melted. For an 8-year-old genius, his cuteness tended to have that sort of effect.

Especially when he said something sweet.

"Everything's fine, Tails," she answered, running her hand gently behind her quills. But no, she thought. Immediately, she was compelled to say more than "everything's fine".

So she tried to.

"I'm really sorry for not coming with you guys, Tails, I really am! It's just that I really needed to have some space and I wasn't sure if it was a good idea for me to go because of my arm and I wasn't sure what Eggman would do if I reappeared and I—"

"Woah, woah, calm down, Amy!" Tails frantically waved his hands up and down to get Amy to be quiet. He took in her exasperated state quite fast, with her torso bent slightly towards him and her intertwining hands that spelled "pleading". He held out his hand. "Come in! Let's talk for a bit."

Amy shyly stepped inside as if she were entering a stranger's house. She didn't want to mess up a single floorboard for the sake of showing off a lady-like first impression. She looked up and around, and Tails strode over to his wooden worktable to continue on a rather minor project. He appeared to be making... a notebook?

A large hole-puncher, piles of lined paper, a ruler, a pencil and pen, a glittery pink-blue ombré cover and a stamp were sprawled on his work space. He had a clipboard with paper showing 2 graphs with data that Amy didn't even care to look at at the moment. What surprised her was the fact that Tails wasn't making machines like he normally would do.

Why a notebook of all things?

"So how's your arm been doing?" prodded Tails. His focus was on his work, but he looked up at Amy to show he was listening. Amy casually sat down while answering.

"Well, it's been doing fine. The stitches are still visible, though, so I don't really want to show it to anyone yet," was her answer. Her point was proven because of the cardigan she was still wearing.

Tails nodded and diverted his gaze back to his work. "It should only take about a month or less now. Not too long, right?" Amy slowly and timidly nodded her head.

Tails was right. It shouldn't take too long. She had the patience for it... so why was she so upset?

Amy looked down at the wooden floor to show that she wasn't interested in talking at the moment. Tails took the hint and continued working. She noticed yet again how quiet the air is without any speech. The only noises that were heard were when Tails was hole-punching papers or scratching lines onto another small pile to make sure that they were all punched evenly.

But breaking the silence so carelessly with something super shocking to Amy disturbed her a little. "By the way, remember when Sonic was... like, kinda angry when you told us all how your arm got injured?" asked Tails, looking up to see if Amy heard him. Her head was still hanging, but she nodded.

"Well... he kind of took it out on Eggman." Her eyes narrowed.

"We were battling Eggman again yesterday, but at some point during the fight, Sonic wouldn't destroy any of the robots surrounding him for some reason. I noticed this and saw that he looked really mad for some reason. I tried calling out to him, but he didn't answer right away.

"What happened next was something I've NEVER seen from him before," he told her. Amy's expression, which was previously tainted with a bit of curiosity, was now completely drenched with it, from her wide eyes to her small irises to her slightly gaping mouth. Some confusion was mixed in when she asked, "Why? What did he do after that?"

"He attacked them all. But he was SO fast. And strong, too! I've never seen him do that before. Ever. Even Eggman was baffled. I stopped fighting just to take in how strong Sonic got." Tails shuddered slightly as his head turned to his work. But he knew Amy wanted him to continue, even though she didn't say so just to be polite.

"But the next part was even creepier." He paused.

Amy, of course, gently forced him to continue. "What do you mean, 'creepier'? What did he do?" she wanted to know.

"It's not what he did, it's what he said."  Tails gazed deeply and seriously at Amy's face, but somehow managed to reenact his expression of how scared he was before the words slipped from his lips.

"He kept on yelling a bunch of stuff related to you, and he went off on Eggman for what he did to you."

She wasn't even sure whether to feel happy, honored, creeped out or just downright confused about the whole thing. A tiny blush was forming on her muzzle. Amy quickly lowered her head and held it with her now shaking hands, as if they were the only body components that may have some sanity to transmit into her already troubled mind.

Tails didn't continue when he saw Amy still looking down. She had been listening very intently before, but traces of shock and trauma were still etched onto her entire physique. Amy finally stared at Tails again.

"Is that all?" was what she hoped.

"Yeah, but I think he's been taking your injury a little too hard. He hasn't been the same ever since you stopped hanging out with us."

That feeling of guilt was akin to an unfortunate letter arriving in the mail. Neither one spoke again for quite a while. Amy was staring at the floor, and Tails tried to occupy himself with his project.

The Sun hung around and spilled through the windows. Every single plant, grain of sand and drop of water outside was coated with pure, shimmering sunlight, giving a cheerful aura of happiness everywhere the citizens of Hedgehog Village stepped. Tails stopped working for a bit and noticed this for a few seconds.

Amy watched as he turned back to the notebook which was glittering because of the yellow sunlight. She followed a trail of it with her eyes while her palms held her head and her elbows on her lower thighs.

Outside looked like a peaceful heaven.

An entire living being with sweet character traits embodying all this beauty made her eyes shine a little with tears.

Why can't you be like this when I'm not around, Sonic?

Through that thought, her mind became 48% mushier and sleepier, and it was only the afternoon. She decided that enough information was enough for one day. She received a lot, anyways, so she wanted to go home.

She had to take herself there because she felt like she had no one to support her broken spirit, even though she didn't think about how Tails would've gladly dropped a heavy hammer on his toes hurriedly in order to try and accompany her. He slid his eyes to Amy's direction and observed her getting up slowly in a way that made him think that what he told her punched her in the heart repeatedly and stole her breath from her in the process.

"You're going already?" he asked her.

Amy stopped walking, but her back was still all that faced him.

"Yeah, I guess..." she mumbled.

Tails' ears twitched in order to make sure that he heard correctly. She guessed? From what he knew, Amy Rose was every bit as strategic as he was! He couldn't completely digest what she said because it just sounded so downright false.

"I mean, I think I need to rest for a bit and stuff. I'm probably gonna go home and... like, write or something..." she muttered again.

Tails nodded slowly, even though she didn't see him do so. "Well... alright, if that's what you really want.." he trailed off in his speech, staring at his wooden table with his materials with a sad gaze. Amy was going so soon? Tails never said it to her because he didn't want to come off as clingy, but he didn't feel like he spent enough time with her.

Is she leaving because of what I told her? Was it overkill to tell her all that?  he wondered. He gasped quietly and looked up immediately, but his elated body posture sunk quickly as he witnessed a sad sight that plunged an invisible knife into his soul.

Amy was gone.

Chapter Text

2519 words, 14 minutes

Amy's pace was speedy when she proceeded to walk back home. Eyes heavy with sadness, she allowed her lashed lids to hang over them as she walked by even more trees to get to her home.

My "chez moi",  she thought randomly.

A crystal blue sky was no longer in view, and her hopes in seeing a cerulean blue color around her boundaries had been slim. Her life since the incident had been entirely colorless. Soon, she'd grown to accept living sadly without much to cheer her up. In fact, even seeing each of her friends individually didn't spark anything inside her, now that she thought about it.

She spoke to Sticks, and left her.

She spoke to Knuckles, and he left.

And she spoke to Tails, and she left.

Wow, what a lovely pattern I'm seeing, she mentally mused. Teasingly, her brain decided to be stupid with her about the only person she hasn't spoken to yet.

The one person that especially cared for her.

The person that saved her.

I didn't say a name, but he popped into your head, didn't he?  teased her brain.

Immediately, Amy's cheeks became hot pink, and she looked down bashfully, allowing her front quills to shade her beautiful jade eyes and her arm to cling onto her stitched wound.

Shut UP, brain! she internally shouted. And she moved on, trying to control her thoughts from then on. But it wasn't working.

Tch, come on, Amy. While she knew she was making up these thoughts on her own, it didn't mean her feelings weren't driving her to do so as well.

You know very well you still have to see Sonic.

There.

The name was said.

But by that time, Amy had already arrived onto the pale straw bridge that led to her home. She then opened the door and shut it furiously. Now, instead of feeling like being feisty with her own mind, she felt sad and miserable.

She flopped down on her purple, velvet leather sofa and rested her gloved hands at her sides. She frowned soon after, remained like that for a few seconds, and angrily tore off her cardigan. She threw it on the floor, and stared at it in question and anger. Why did she have to wear it and be so scared about her wound? What did anyone else besides her friends care about?

It's not like she's been very social lately, too. But it made her feel like people she didn't know personally in the village were wondering.

The cloudless sky allowed the Sun to shine its rays onto her body frame, and instantly she felt warmth. She got up and picked up her cardigan, smoothing it out and preparing to hang it in her closet when a few soft knocks came.

She looked at the door with mixed feelings.

She questionably stared at her cardigan and put it back on. She then walked towards he door and opened it.

On the other side... was Perci. Or Staci, she wasn't sure. And she didn't want to see anyone, but she put on a half-smile anyway.

Perci, however, looked empathetic and worried.

"Hey, um... I just came here because I heard about what happened to your arm, and I wanted to say I'm really sorry," she started. Perci's ice blue eyes shined and her violet-dipped quills flowed gently in the passing wind. "Um, I know it's not my business and all that since I'm not your friend or anything, but I was extremely upset when I heard the news. Knuckles mentioned it when I was around, in case you're wondering how I found out.

"And... I really wanted to say that I hope you get better soon."

Amy looked blank, but soon her blank canvas that was her face was slowly painted with sad happiness. But Perci almost instantly wrapped her arms around Amy's neck. It was a gentle hug, but not one Amy expected to receive from Perci. Once they broke apart, they looked in the eye again.

"Sonic wanted me to give you that hug for him." And she walked away. Amy was confused, and so she shut the door and went back to sit down on her sofa.

Why couldn't Sonic hug her himself? She boggled her entire mind with this thought for a long time, and made up scenarios that didn't even make sense to a normal person. She later decided to lie down on her sofa, still wearing her cardigan. Soon after, she took it off and folded it as best she could from lying down into a little pillow, placed it behind her head and lay her head on it.

Several minutes later, a new knock was on her door. This time, it was fast and impatient. Amy's eyes slowly rolled, but her posture was regained as she got up and answered it.

It was Sonic on the other side. Finally, she thought.

"Uh... hey, Amy," he told her, his right hand behind his quills and his left hand waving.

By this time, an entire wave of emotions came crashing on Amy's head, each of the ones that didn't mix fusing themselves together like puzzle pieces, like hate and love, pain and happiness and fear and courage.

All of them flushed color into her life for the first time as well as renewed strength as they propelled her arms around Sonic's waist, her head buried in his shoulder. She wanted him to feel the emotions in her arms, not see them on her face.

Sonic was surprised. But he returned the favor to Amy by shocking her with his own arms resting on her back.

"Hey, missed me that much?" he joked. Amy chuckled a bit into his shoulder, smiling at the same time. No matter how much humor was held in his voice, Amy couldn't help but instinctively feel that Sonic's gentle, teasing tone bore some truthful sadness.

Almost as if he were secretly saying, "Don't worry, I missed you a lot as well".

Amy didn't even try to lie, or tease him back. She hugged him harder and mumbled, "Yes."

This word brought a smile to Sonic's face. He lightly squeezed Amy, his leafy green eyes shimmering and his messy blue quills flowing nicely behind him. "Things must've been rough then, huh?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"Yes," was her response.

Sonic nodded. "Thought as much." He broke apart the hug, and stared into her eyes. "Are you OK now, though? Or at least a little better?"

Amy's eyes shone as she answered, "Yes." She smiled, and this led Sonic to crack a cute half-smile. "'Yes' must be your favorite word today, huh?" Amy laughed with her hand over her mouth as she replied, "I guess so." Her eyes met his as she went on. "But I don't think I can help it if what I'm answering to you is the truth."

Slowly, Sonic's head bobbed up and down to show his agreement. "I guess you're right." His gaze flicked coolly to the side and back at her. "Hey, um..." His hands went behind his back as he tried to continue. "Everyone else wanted to see you, and Tails asked me before I came here if I'd be willing to bring you to his workshop to see the others. Wanna... go? With me?" he asked.

Amy's eyes looked down as her expression showed nervousness. She hadn't seen them altogether in a while, and Sonic looked at her stitched wound. "You're getting better, Amy. You won't have to worry about that wound as much as before," he assured. Amy's eyes closed as she lightly nodded to show her own agreement. In a second, she told him, "Let's go!"

And they were off.

After only a minute of walking, though, Sonic placed his arms behind his head and yawned. "Ugh, this walk is boring. It needs some excitement..." he mused loudly. Amy shook her head and looked at him. "Really, Sonic? It's only been like a minute and you're bored already? What, am I boring to you or something?" she snapped playfully. 

Sonic, however, smirked at her as he asked, "Do you trust me?"

Amy got scared at this sudden change in appearance. "U-u-umm... y-yes?"

"...Good enough." Soon, he picked her up swiftly and ran with her in his arms, all the way to Tails' workshop. When they arrived, Amy huffed internally, wishing the ride was longer. But she opened the door and saw Tails, Knuckles and Sticks at a wooden table, staring at... a notebook?

Amy waved timidly when they looked up. "H-hey, guys... um..." she looked to the side and pressed her index fingers together. "...long time no see, right?"

"Indeed," said Knuckles in a mysteriously funny voice. Tails laughed. "Yes, he's right. But... I made you something that I hope you'll enjoy using." He picked up the notebook and walked over to Amy, Knuckles and Sticks following him. Once he handed it to her, she recognized it. The cover was a glittery pink-blue ombré, with lined paper inside.

"This is the notebook you were working on before..." she gasped lightly as realization struck her mind.

"Yup," agreed Tails.

"And, you're giving this to me?" she asked in confusion.

"Yup," said Tails. His blue eyes shone and he laughed a bit and held his hands behind his back, bashful. "We all kinda wanted to make you a get-well gift, so... do you like it?"

"I LOVE it!" shouted Amy. She jumped up and down a few times. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank YOU~!" She hugged Tails for a second and looked back at the book. "We all thought that you needed a new notebook and all, so I came up with the idea of making a notebook. One I will never use for writing or drawing because I'm too awesome to be doing either," gloated Knuckles through crossed arms and closed eyes.

"Sure, just wait until pencils can come to life during the night and draw clocks on your face to show your time's gonna be up soon," warned Sticks. Everyone looked at her. She looked back through crossed arms and an aura of intelligence. "What?! I've seen it happen before."

"In your dreams, right?" hoped Sonic.

"Nah-ah. In a land, FAR away..." She moved her hand in a sweeping motion to exaggerate the distance of this "land". "But yes, in dreams too," she concluded with a smile.

Amy smiled. "Your superstitious imagination hasn't changed, has it, Sticks?"

"And your nostalgic tone directed towards our friendship hasn't changed a bit, Amy," said Sticks with a smile. She went up to Amy and gave her a tight hug, which Amy gladly accepted. "I'm so sorry for staying away from you guys. I really wished I went out more and fought Eggman with you guys..." she mumbled. "Nah, it's fine, Amy," said Sonic while patting her shoulder.

"Yeah, we knew you needed some time alone, no matter how long. If I were you, I wouldn't feel too optimistic about going outside, either," told Tails. "Wait, you wouldn't?" asked Knuckles. "Would you?" retorted Tails. Knuckles brought his finger to his chin. "Good point," he agreed.

Amy smiled sadly. "I don't deserve this, guys..." she explained wistfully as she looked down at the sparkly notebook in her hands. "Keep it, Amy," ordered Sonic.

In a nice, gentle way, of course.

Amy looked up at him and gave a more cheerful smile. "Well, in that case..." Her gaze flocked back to the notebook, and soon to all her friends. "...thank you all SO much."

Knuckles teared up a little, and grabbed everyone into a giant hug. This lasted for a couple of seconds, Amy blushing because she was next to Sonic's chest due to uneven leveling. After that, they were all put down.

"I just have one question, though," she said.

"Yeah?" said Sticks.

"Why blue and pink specifically?"

"Oh, u-um...." Tails stuttered, a blush appearing on his white muzzle. Sticks and Knuckles looked away, and Sonic turned around. Amy leaned to the side to peek, and saw Sonic's muzzle was bright red. "U-Uhh, ask Sonic about that," said Sticks. Sonic turned around and looked mad at Sticks. But once his gaze landed on Amy's curious one, he saw there was no escaping until he gave her the answer.

"W-well, um...." he began, his cheeks super red as he looked to the side. "Blue..." He pointed to himself. "Pink..." He pointed at Amy. "...blended... together..." He mashed his fingers together to show they were mixing.

Amy shook her head. "I don't get it," she silently said.

Sonic looked scared at this. "Well, then... um..." he looked at her, fear encasing his frame. "Promise you won't be mad."

"Wha—" Amy was cut off with an abrupt kiss on her lips.

Tails, Sticks and Knuckles stood completely still.

After a few seconds, Sonic broke the kiss, stared at Amy with bewilderment, and ran away.

After a few moments of awkward silence, Knuckles burst out laughing.

"Haha hahaHAHAAH!" he screamed. "Oh my, oh, ohhh—OHHH! DAHAHAHAAA!!"

Sticks and Tails followed after with snickers and loud laughing. Amy turned around slowly to see her crazy friends on the floor. "What's so funny?!" she demanded while blushing. "Ohh, Sonic did NOT have the guts to stay in here and face you any longer, AAAHAHAHA!!" cried Sticks. "We didn't expect that from him!" shouted Tails, slapping his knee and holding his stomach from laughing so much.

Laughter continued for a few minutes, dying down slowly, unless someone brought it up.

"So... is he coming back?" wondered Amy.

"Oh, no, he's not coming back for a WHILE. WOOH!" said Knuckles.

"Yeah, I guess you'll have to wait for another KISS, Amy!" teased Sticks. Knuckles and Tails started laughing again. Amy only looked out the door where Sonic left and smiled, while lightly touching her lips and acknowledging the pressure that they just endured. Looking back out, she thought these words:

Sonic... you dork. But hey, I still liked that kiss. I wish the guys took it a bit more seriously. If you heard their laughing, I'm so sorry. But to be fair... it was kinda funny. Even I wanted to laugh a little at what you did.

Please accept that I loved it. I get now why the cover's blue and pink. Was that really your idea? If so, you're a genius. :) <3

They were also the first words written on the first page of her notebook. She headed over to Sonic's shack and walked in since he didn't bother to get a door yet. He was inside resting on his hammock, and she looked down and tore off the page carefully, leaving it next to him. She left shortly afterwards.

Sonic woke up and noticed the note. He quickly picked it up and read Amy's small, neat and bubbly handwriting about 7 times, his heartbeat intensifying each time. In an instant, he was up and running towards the house of Amy Rose, tightly clutching the note in his hand.

With a smile, of course.