"I don't wanna be alone tonight."

The air around them seemed to fall quiet, even the city noises from below fell on deaf ears. Sonic had been working his way up to saying this for about 15 minutes now. He didn't want her to read him the wrong way, but he also wasn't so sure he'd care if she did. She was looking at her cell phone again, a distracted look on her face. Who was texting her now?

"Uh...wait. What?" She looked up, her eyes pale.

"Winter…" He took a deep breath. "I've gotta go home… I can't stand hospitals, and…"
"But what about Tails?"

"I'll see him when he gets out of surgery, but he should be pretty out of it, so-"

"Didn't you say his parents would be here soon?" She asked. Sonic's heart stood still.

"What? How could I...Tails doesn't have any parents." He watched as Winter's eyes widened.

"But...that's what you said. Downstairs, before we came up here, when-"

"When I was about to have a heart attack? Yeah, I say stuff like that just before I come unglued sometimes. I uh...meant my parents. Tails knows them pretty well, they're like his own now…" There was a long pause, and he could see that she was narrowing her eyes. Did she not believe him? She jerked suddenly, then looked at her phone. He heard her swear softly under her breath, then she turned it off.

"Uh...who is that?" He asked hesitantly. She turned her back.

"I don't know." She whispered. "And I don't really want to know. I'll block the number tomorrow."

"Okay…?" It was quiet for another moment or two, then she startled him by turning around and pinning him with her eyes.

"Did you...ask me to spend the night with you, earlier?" He backed up, his heart kicking up again. Swallowing, he answered.

"Whoa, wait. That's...I mean...sort of." Suddenly, she laughed. It was a deep chuckle that made his body fill up with warmth. And something else. There was an ache. Right there. Where he really didn't want it to be right now.

Come on, man… He thought desperately to himself. To that part. Not right now, dude. Chill. He wasn't sure if you could talk yourself out of getting too turned on, but he'd have to try. They were on the roof of a hospital, for crying out loud. And as much as he wanted her, he still didn't know her that well.

"Well, I'll say 'yes'." She was still laughing, and her eyes held an unmistakable glint of flirtiness. Oh, man. Would she? If I asked? Crap, this is getting intense. He cleared his throat and hastily ran his hand through his spines. Nobody had ever made him feel this freaking nervous before.

"Really? Okay...But, I mean...just for…" He turned around suddenly, too tongue-tied to talk anymore. Plus, he felt that he needed to hide that. He leaned against the low wall that bordered the edge of the building. Practically pressed himself against it. If she came any closer to him…

"Sonic. It's okay. I know what you mean." She stepped closer, and was right at his shoulder. Her breath whispered next to his ear.

"You don't have to be alone. I'll watch over you tonight." He gulped.

"Sure!" He squeaked. Watch over me? What did that even mean? He could feel an undeniable force pushing to the surface, and it made him dizzy with...lust? Oh, damn Sonic… No, dude. NO. He looked at her (she was just so close) and tried to act like nothing weird was going on.

"Thanks." He said, his voice still higher than he'd like. "I uh... really appreciate it. Maybe we can order some food? Just...hang out?"

"Sounds like a plan." She smiled and backed away from him a bit. Could she tell that she'd been getting to him? I mean, I am kind of hugging the wall with my crotch here. God…

"Do you have any good video games?" She asked casually.

"Are you kidding? I'm the KING of video games, man."

Man? Did I just call her...man?

But she only laughed, then lightly punched his shoulder.

"Cool beans, bro." She'd pitched her voice to sound deeper and it reminded him of Knuckles. Now that was cooling him down. Thank the freakin' stars above. He pulled away from the wall, smile slapped back on his face.

"Okay. I'll go check on Tails, and see if my parents are here. You wanna wait up here?" It was a warm night, and the cool breeze blew through her white hair. He noticed something shiny in her ear. A diamond? She had pierced ears. The girl (woman, actually) was looking sexier by the minute.

"Sure. I don't really like hospitals either. Take your time, though. I'm in no hurry."

"Sweet. I'll catch ya later, then." He called over his shoulder, hoping to sound super casual. Because he was seriously thinking he might have to stop by a bathroom before he met up with his parents.

After Sonic left, Winter stared out into the city lights for a few minutes. Thinking about him, awkwardly leaning against that wall...She chuckled to herself. She was going to have to be careful tonight. Sonic was a gentlemen, but he could go from 0-100 in like...2 seconds. The guy had some major impulse control issues, and she knew that things could get hot between them fast. She wondered how experienced he was in that area. He was only 17, and hadn't really had a girlfriend before, not that she had heard of, at least. She herself was 19, (almost 20) and had one serious boyfriend when she was 16. Serious enough to where she wasn't worried about what to do with Sonic, if things did lead that way. But she was concerned too. She really liked being friends with him, and though they had agreed to go out, she wasn't officially his girlfriend yet. She knew that Sonic was speedy, and she could see them getting serious if given a couple of weeks. Part of her liked the idea. She was a bit fast herself if she was really into someone. But she thought of Amy Rose. The poor girl did seem a bit dramatic. God knows what she would do if… She shook her head. Control yourself, girl. You're getting ahead of yourself. He's still just a boy, and there are some things he's gotta learn before you can… She blew out a sigh, ruffling her bangs. She needed a distraction from these dirty thoughts, but the only thing left to her was that blasted cell phone. Reaching into her bag (a baggy orange satchel, plastered with sew-on patches and buttons) she drew out the dreaded object. A big part of her wanted to hurl it out into the street. Of course, she could hit somebody, or something. Reluctantly, she gripped it by its teal case and pressed the button on the side. Within seconds, the screen flared to life. The message box was staring her in the face. +1. The message she hadn't seen. She tapped the envelope, her heart kicking up a notch. After she read it, her head jerked up, eyes darting. "Two hedgehogs under the stars…" Had someone been watching them? Were they still there? God, the whole feeling she was getting from these texts was downright spooky. Could it be one of her weird fans? She'd gotten all kinds of crap from them before, enough to where she had even hired a lawyer at age 15. She might have to talk to him, show him these messages. She stared at the screen for what felt like hours. Her mind was in deep, dark places when a brisk wind suddenly blew her spines back.

"Hey! I'm back!" Sonic's cheerful voice rang out.

"Oh! Hey." She dropped her phone into the ratty bag. He walked up to her, his confidence apparently restored.

"Tails?" She questioned softly.

"He's gonna be alright. They couldn't get his tail back on…" Here he paused. "But, they fixed whatever else was wrong with him."

"Really? What else-"

"I guess he had some bleeding in his belly from falling onto the...uh...tracks." He shuddered a bit. "But he's gonna be alright now. My mom and dad said they'd stay with him tonight. I'll come back in the morning." He had been looking down, but then his gleaming eyes shot up at her.

"Anyway...Let's blow this popsicle stand." He said, recklessly. Before she knew it, he was picking her up, hugging her close to his chest, and they were racing down the side of the building.