No way in hell was I going fall for that again.

That smirk, that twinkle in his eyes; I refused to allow myself be taken over. I whipped my head to the side before his gaze could sink in, glaring at a part of the metallic wall, just because I could. Sonic was trying to get to me again, using that irresistible, flirtatious look and the close, static contact to convince me to "help" him out. But really, he was just trying to get me to do his part of the job as he runs off again. I had enough on my plate to handle at the moment; I couldn't take his share also. Definitely not this time. My part for the preparation was too large and would use up my time for the entire day, without one break in between. Tails was really anxious and wanted everything prepped up when we headed to space to fight the "Meterex." This was all new to everyone, yet everyone was busy getting ready for the battles to come.

Everyone but Sonic, who actually thought he could get away with lazing off. The worse part was that he knew he could. So did I. And I hated that.

"Please, Amy?" Sonic begged. He knew his moves, I'll give you that. His breath – his peppermint smelling breath that I always wanted to taste through my mouth – bounced off my cheek and left its heat on me. The temperature got me popping out goose bumps and suppressing shivers down my spine. Dang, this guy was good. And he just had to advance so that he could whisper right in my ear "for me?" in such a voice that I knew I couldn't say no. I bit my lip to stop myself from muttering an okay, but Sonic pressed some more, this time bringing his index finger and sliding it up my arm and he started breathing in my ear. There was absolutely no distance between us, much to my delightful frustration.

"Please?" he whispered again.

"F-fine."

And, just like that, he pulled away with a smug smile, saluted with his right arm, and dashed off to wherever his feet took him, leaving me with another heartbreak and an entire ship to clean. I bit my lip hard again, this time hard enough to cause some bleeding. Not that I cared. If it weren't for my self-proclaimed responsibility as Cream's figurative sister, I would probably have become emo by now. Did Sonic enjoy playing with my heart? Did he like hurting me like this? Considering the so many times he's done so, I would guess he did. And I damn hated him for it. But I knew that I could never completely hate him, because I loved him so, and I hated that I loved him like a crazed idiot, because there was nothing I could do about it. I felt more fury towards myself than him. I was so frustrated with how easily I fell for him, his stupid tricks and his stupid smile. How did I become such a lame person? I followed him, wherever I went, and I just couldn't stop myself. I hated that. So much that my knees buckled from under me and I fell into an emotional breakdown. Because it hurt. It hurt a whole lot.

It was now one in the morning, but I couldn't go to bed yet. Not with Sonic's tasks being undone. And though I really did want to blame him, I knew it was my fault and that I had unwillingly brought this upon myself. So I was responsible for this task that Tails assumed would be done in no time thanks to Sonic's speed. Well, Tails, it would not be done in no time. Give me another eight hours, then I'd be partially done. Oh, why did he have to make such a huge ship? Why not make one simple and small; an energy room, double-bed bedrooms, the piloting room, the kitchen and one room for whatever else? There was no point in complaining though. Tails liked complicating things. He loved taking big things and making them bigger, or even taking apart big things to take out their big parts and adding them to his own big inventions. Cause boys liked their toys. Besides, it was obviously it was too late now, because the ship was built and Tails was not going to take another five months to make a new one when the Universe was at stake.

With a sigh, I headed for the closet with the cleaning necessities, counting every room I walked by so that I could estimate how long I had before I would be able to get some shut-eye. I began to wonder why Tails thought Sonic would even handle the job I had now been prevailed on to complete? Sonic hated working, but he always stuck to a job when forced to, and he did his job well. The hard part, perhaps the gravely impossible part, was getting him started. My efforts to get him to start on his task failed, giving me this situation as a consequence. If only Tails or Cream or Knuckles had been around. And all I did was say "get working" as I walked by. I had no intention of getting involved with him. But he never let a chance run by him. I just happened to be that chance walking by at the right moment.

Ugh, my timing was just perfect.

I stood in front of the cleaning helpers staring back at me in the closet. I merely stared back for almost two minutes before groaning and positioning the mop and other cleaners onto a rolling kart. I pushed it out and began tackling the first room, knowing that I would just have to take one step at a time, no matter how much I didn't want to.

"Stupid Sonic," I growled for the 2031st time. It was probably around five in the morning by now, and I had just realized that I was having a few coughing fits. Great. Just great. I had been working so hard that I caught a bloody cold. I blew out a sneeze that probably sounded throughout the entire ship, not that anyone was there to hear it. Everyone had left by midnight, being assured that I would complete my task in a few minutes after their departure. And they were right. It's just that Sonic's work took just as long. I'd be finished by nine, perhaps, then I'd be able to sit for a minute or two with a granola bar before Tails would tell everyone to get working on their second set of jobs, my job being the organization of everything that would be used for the entire ship (such as the kitchen). I silently pleaded to God that Sonic would not come along and use the trick on me again, because then there would be an official 48 hours of no sleep. I had almost fallen over on multiple occasions during the night (or morning, technically) leaning against the mop in my hand as I "rested" my eyes for a few seconds, which turned into minutes and I was sure I was going to fall unconscious if it weren't for the sudden sensation of falling (which was really happening). I truly did admire those who were able to stay awake for days without falling unconscious, though I wouldn't want to suffer insomnia.

Stupid Sonic.

I slid to the ground against the wall at 9:35. I had finally finished 'Sonic's' tasks and was taking a much needed break. Tails was probably in by now, but he could have been on the other side of the ship, for all I knew. As if on cue, his voice came onto the speakers and he informed everyone to get working.

Gimme a minute, I silently pleaded, shutting my eyes.

It was like he heard me or something, though, cause he suddenly said, "NOW! No time to waste!"

Yep. No time to waste. There was a Universe at stake. With a groan, I stumbled to my feet, which were aching like the bloody dickens, and brought the cleaning stuff over to the east side of the ship (which was a few miles away from my position). The trip probably took a few minutes before I stuffed everything in the closet and dragged my feet over to the storage room where everything was waiting.

As I said, my timing had always been just perfect.

Because, right there in the middle of the storage room, was Sonic, as if just waiting for me. He probably was too, because he looked over and immediately started his persuasion techniques, his lips curling into an irresistible half-smile and his eyes twinkling deviously. I felt like crying just then, because I knew there was nothing I could do once he took a step towards me. The only thing I could do was turn on my heel and hope to escape before-

"Amy."

Too late. The way he sizzled my name from his lips sent shivers up my spine. It was like much needed espresso in the morning. It filled you up with energy, but it would die down and you would be left cranky and exhausted and wrecked for the rest of the day. Perhaps alcohol is a better metaphor?

Suddenly he was right behind me, his mouth once again right next to my ear and was letting out breaths that had me shaking in ecstasy.

"Can you do me a favor?" he breathed – or sneered. I couldn't tell at the moment – and just like that I let out a "s-sure" and I was stuck with his tasks again.

Then he left me with a huge pile of boxes waiting to be organized in specific rooms and the hungry, tired old me with another responsibility that I did not deserve. And again, I felt like ripping my hairs out in frustration, hating myself for allowing me to be fooled by such a uncaring player.

I had managed to sneak a granola bar into my pocket and took much delight in munching the small, unfilling source of nutrition. It didn't help my ability to stay awake, that's for sure. Nor did it help me reduce my coughing fits. In fact, if anything, I would say that it made it much worse. Now I was blowing my nose quite a bit and was coughing like a mad-man. And was it just me or were there two door knobs on that door?

"Are you alright, Amy?" Cream asked with an armful of rolled up material and paper.

"I'm fine, Cream," I answered, casting a smile at her. That rabbit always had a way to make me smile. Perhaps it was because she was just so cute, or just so sympathetic or just so sweet. Either way, I loved her presence mingling with mine.

"Are you sure?" the rabbit asked, her voice reflecting her concern. "You don't look so good. Kind of pale, actually."

With a cough, I assured her I was fine, that the lighting made me look paler than I really was and that there was nothing to worry about. I always hated worrying her, so I felt obligated to keep her from anxieties that really shouldn't concern her. It was my job to worry about her.

She still didn't seem convinced when she continued her way, but obviously I wasn't going to oblige into telling her what was up. I smiled as I watched her go, but realized with a frown that there was indeed something wrong with me, because I knew that there was only one Cream walking down the hallway, though my eyes were deceiving me and showed that there were two Creams traversing across the ship.

Tails gave everyone a break some time in the afternoon, which I spent getting some food down the hatch and getting some shut eye. Just as I was about to drift off, though, Tails announced that break time was over. I bumped into multiple things on the way to the storage room, receiving quite a few bruises here and there. On the way back to the kitchen, I suddenly dropped the box in my arms, as if they had just broke out from under me. I stared down at the box (better yet, boxes, that were drifting into and out of each other) and truly hoped that there was nothing breakable in there and in any future boxes I would be bringing in.

Stupid Sonic.

Cream was one who was very good at telling when people lied to her. That infuriated her, because she had always been able to see past fake smiles and lies, and she's done that too many times already. She hated the way the adults looked down on her and told her that there was nothing wrong, when, really, there was something very troubling going on. She clenched her fists as she thought about how they would tell her "you're too young to understand" and leave her standing there in the dark and out of any agreements or conversations that was "for adults only." But they didn't realize just how strong and mature this girl was. They didn't realize that she understood what went on. She was much smarter than she appeared.

So obviously no one would fall for the line "I'm alright" when it was Amy saying it. She was having a coughing fit, for crying out loud! Did she really think she would be able to fool Cream, the master of interpretation? The master shook her head pitifully at the thought. No one reasoned that Cream had a special ability, much to Cream's irritating disappointment. Well, she had no time to stress on that! She had to find someone who was able to get Amy talking about her condition. She broke into a run towards the piloting room. Her efforts were in vain, though, when Tails merely said that Amy would be fine and went back to work. The fox had a lot of complicated work to do, so Cream understood that he couldn't be bothered by such things at the moment. She was unable to shake off her worry, though, so she started running around the ship, hoping to find someone to help her.

She ran into the west wing (she had no idea she did, though. She was as good as lost) and came to a hallway before bumping into Sonic.

"Hey, hey. What are you two doing all the way down here?" Sonic asked, referring to the rabbit and the floating chao.

"We're looking for someone to help Amy," panted she.

"Help Amy?" The anxiety popped up on his face so fast it was like Cream had hit a nerve. And she probably had too.

"She's sick. She was walking wobbly too. And she's all pale. She looks really tired. She's coughing a lot. And I think she was crying too, cause her eyes were red and her cheeks were wet."

Sonic frowned. "She's....crying?"

The cream colored creature nodded urgently.

The hedgehog swore and jerked his head to the side, clenching his fists and biting his lower lip.

"That's a bad word, Mr. Sonic," the well mannered Cream reminded, giving him a frown of disapproval.

"Yeah, yeah. Sorry."

He led her to the main hallway so that she could find her way back, then dashed off without even a goodbye. Cream stared back at where Sonic had been a millisecond ago and smiled, feeling a sense of achievement and relief swell over her. Amy would be okay now.

No good. I just couldn't put the jar on the rack properly. It just kept rolling down the counter. My hand wouldn't stop shaking like crazy, and I was getting frustrated with my lack of control over anything and everything.

Stupid Sonic.

That freakin' devil had no compassion for anyone. Or maybe just none for me. If I weren't so madly in love with him I would have totally kicked his behind to next year! I gritted my teeth as I made another attempt to put the jar onto the rack. Again, no such luck. In fact, luck got pretty fed up with me knocking at their door and just let the jar launch towards the ground. I was too slow, so I just waited to hear the crash landing when the jar collapsed with the hard, metallic floor.

It took me a while to process that there was no glass shattering like there should have been, more like glass landing in something that saved it from eternal destruction to the fiery Gehenna. A hand placed the bottle on the rack without much difficulty (showoff) and rested on the edge of the counter right beside me, probably only one or two centimeters in distance.

Ha, speaking of the devil! If it wasn't Sonic the hedgehog, who, once again, was the hero and saved another life from death, even if it's only a glass bottle.

And then the feeling of dread came by me.

No, not again! I couldn't handle the work! It was probably written all over my face too. I knew I was wearing a smile of panic at that moment.

Sonic stared back into my eyes with some sort of serious expression. He was going to do it again, I knew he was. I cringed in preparation for another given task I would not be able to handle, but would have to anyways.

"Amy," he started, and I tried to sink more into the counter with a cough. And another. And quite a few after that. He waited for my coughing spree to die down before continuing, "are you okay?"

No! I was not! I was dying here! And it was all his fault!

That's what I wanted to say, but found myself muttering "I'm fine" through my chapped lips.

He stayed quiet, but finally told me to follow him and turned around.

"I can't," I answered. "I have to put away everything." I looked at the boxes surrounding my feet.

Everything.

"Come."

And just like that I went along with him, following him all the way to his room, which he lead me into and gestured me to enter. I obliged, and he pushed me gently towards the bed. I slumped down, my legs easing their pain in gratitude. Sonic brought a chair and dragged it over in front of me.

"I want you to close your eyes for sixty seconds," he said, leaning forward and looking at me straight in the eyes…with the four eyes he possessed…which was just not right.

"What? Why?"

"One-"

"Wait! You didn't-"

"Two-"

I groaned and shut my eyes.

I wasn't sure why I had been sleeping. I just woke up and realized that I wasn't working. Frowning, I raised myself up into a sitting position and took in my surroundings.

....Who's room is this? I had never seen it before. It started getting to me after a while, and I began to recall the small events that happened prior to my falling asleep. Sonic had led me to his room and had started counting. I remember the numbers from one to seven, but his voice was a blur after that. Must have fallen asleep then. I looked down and observed the comforter concealing my lower half of my body from the room temperature. He must have laid me down and put the blanket over me. It was kind of him, but............

I jumped out of the bed and burst through the door, through which Knuckles and Cream were setting something up.

"Ah, Amy!" Cream said happily, hopping over to me. "You're awake now! You look much better, too!"

I blinked. "Huh?"

Knuckles cued in, saying, "Sonic had said you weren't feeling well."

"Ah, well, I was doing fine. I mean, I still have to-"

"Sonic took care of it," Cream interrupted.

"What?"

"He took over your job, surprisingly," Knuckles said in a matter-a-fact way.

I stared at Knuckles, waiting for him to yell GET WORKING, but he didn't even look at me.

"How long have I been out?" I asked.

"About a day," replied the cream colored rabbit.

I nodded and ran my way to the main engineering room.

"Tails, where's Sonic?" I demanded when I entered.

Tails hit his head on the dashboard before retreating from the space underneath it.

"Ow. He's napping somewhere. Try the room with all of the boxes."

I made my way over there, speed walking through hallways and hallways of white, metallic walls and doors. Good thing every room was labeled, or else the kitchen would be unnoticeable.

I quietly opened the door to the storage room and called out for Sonic in a hushed voice. I looked around before hearing "Yo!" from above me, so I looked up to see Sonic smiling and waving at me, sitting on a ledge next to a small, circular window. I smiled back.

"There you are!"

"What's up? Feeling better?"

"Yeah, much better. Thank you."

A gust of air escaped Sonic's lips in a small, relieved way. "Good," he whispered.

We kept our eyes locked for a few moments before I continued the conversation. "Say, did you really do my jobs?"

"Yeah. You weren't in any shape to do them." He looked out of the window. "I'm sorry that I made ya do my jobs. I was being selfish. Sorry."

"It's okay."

"No, it's not. You got sick cause of it."

"Colds happen all the time, Sonic."

He clearly wasn't convinced.

With a sigh, I kicked my foot to the pavement and clasped my hands behind my back. "I forgive you, anyways."

He looked down at me. Then a small smile curled up his lips. It wasn't a flirtatious grin, more like a kind one. He got up and jumped down, landing perfectly on his two feet without so much as a misstep before walking towards me. I didn't move, though the red lights started flashing in my mind.

"He's gonna get you to do his work again," they warned, but I was stubbornly resisting them, because somehow I was all prepped up and wanted to feel his breath on me again. I wouldn't mind twirling this cycle backwards and to the beginning again, because it just meant Sonic pitying me in the end and putting me to bed. Though being so frustrating, I loved it. The way his eyes flirted and directed their gaze to me, the way his always warm hands iced my arm, the way he whispered my name; oh, who needed sleep!

But, there was no flirting, no twinkling in his eyes. Somehow, just sweet and caring, and so much better. It was just his hand ruffling my quills as he walked by with a side grin that I just felt like melting, but in a completely different way than the lips-moving-along-my-jaw sort of melt.

"You comin'?" Sonic asked at the door.

I giggled and ran after him, clasping my hands around his elbow.

"Yep!"

Not really that sonamyish, but whatever. I just wanted to emphasize Amy's unconditional romantic situation towards the player. (read part of archie comics and then the idea came with a WAM)

It's not that great, again. It started out okay, then got bad, then decent, then bad again. It's an on and off thing. Sorry for the terribleness.