Silver had always been a thinker; an introspective sorta guy. It wasn't that he was shy or socially awkward, he was just more comfortable talking to himself than talking to strangers. But the stranger he was staring at now was definitely interrupting his thoughts, and he was pretty sure he liked it.

Although now he was fairly certain he wouldn't ever forget it, Silver had been completely unaware of this anomaly's presence thirty-eight minutes earlier. He had filed into a row of a round, roomy auditorium behind Sonic, who was eagerly chattering behind him. He'd been brought here by Sonic because a friend of his was supposed to be playing tonight, and Sonic had received two tickets.

"Thanks again for this, dude. You know I'm not a classical music kinda guy, so I was running around trying to find someone to keep me awake." He laughed. "Tails was busy. So was Ames."

"It's no problem," Silver replied. "I'll, uh, keep you awake and stuff."

Even so, Silver wasn't really a "classical music kinda guy" himself. Keeping himself awake would be a real challenge in and of itself. But if it meant keeping Sonic from embarrassing the two of them, then he wanted to stay awake. He remembered stories of Amy taking him out for a movie, only for the couple to leave about half an hour in on account of someone's snoring.

"Looks like we're just in time," Sonic observed as he passed Silver his program. Silver attempted to decipher the tiny lettering, but he did so in vain as the lights dimmed and the show began.

An oboe player strode up to the podium, and played a single note. In unison, half the orchestra followed suit. The process repeated again, and the other half replied.

Silver was unsure if he should clap. This sort of thing was unfamiliar to him, but it didn't seem very impressive.

"Who's your friend, so I know who to look out for?" Silver whispered quickly to Sonic.

"You see the cat, there in the back?" Sonic pointed forward. It didn't help.

"Oh, yeah." Silver didn't see the cat. Oh - wait - maybe? That could be a cat...yeah, that was probably the one.

The oboe player returned to their spot, and a different person entered the stage from elsewhere. He was carrying a baton - must be the conductor. When he stepped onto the podium, the crowd applauded eagerly. Silver thought this was all very confusing.

As the music started, Silver became confident he wasn't a "classical music kinda guy." It wasn't that the music was bad - he was sure they were all very talented, because he certainly wouldn't be able to tell the difference. It was just thoroughly unappealing to him.

His eyes began to scan the room for anything interesting. How about that there architecture? ...Eh. It was alright. Beside him, Sonic began to yawn.

Silver fought back his own yawn, and then nudged Sonic so as to keep him awake. Oh, yeah. This was going to be hard. He blinked hard to combat the drowsiness.

Then, as his vision refocused, he saw her.

In the violin section (although Silver certainly couldn't tell you the difference between a violin and a banjo) was a cat (being? Apparition? It was too good to be true) that far outshined (outshone?) the rest. Her left hand fluttered over the strings, eyes boring into the page before her in a fiery sort of concentration.

If there was a goddess of the orchestra, it was her.

Silver had laid the program on the floor by his chair, but now he lunged for it, accidentally bumping the concertgoer to his right. He didn't care. He held the program under the dim lights, squinting to try to make sense of it. How was this organized? By instrument? Okay, by his estimation, and limited knowledge of the instrument family, that was probably a violin. Let's see, seventh from the front...is that how you do it?

He traced his finger down seven names, arriving at...Blaze. That had to be her name. No other name would suit such a creature.

He couldn't stop watching her. Beside him, Sonic was clearly a bit confused by Silver's apparent unbroken focus on the concert, but drowsiness stopped him from asking.

Silver didn't remember how many songs they'd gone through, but before he knew it, the program was over. As Blaze left the stage, he felt sad. Like he wouldn't see her again. Sonic practically had to pull him out of the auditorium.

Sonic told Silver they would wait for his friend. "But," Sonic added, "I gotta hit the restroom. Be right back." With that, he dashed off to the tiled chamber.

Silver scanned the crowd. Was she in there somewhere? He looked to the left. No dice. He looked to the right. Nada.

He looked straight ahead. There she was.

Looking right at him.

She started forward.

Was this happening?

Silver looked away. He shouldn't stare. But she kept coming closer.

"Hi," she said suddenly. Silver looked up. Was she talking to him? "Are you a friend of Sonic's?"

Wait. This was Sonic's friend? Oh, crap.

Silver looked around, and then realized that yes, indeed he was. "Yeah, uh...yeah."

"Oh, good. I saw you with him and I assumed. Is he here?"

"Oh, uh, yeah, he just, well, he'll be right back." How many interjections could he fit into one sentence? He was making a fool of himself. "Blaze, right?"

"Yes. And you are?"

"Silver."

"Do you enjoy this kind of music?"

"Oh, um." Should he tell her no? Should he tell her he liked her? No, that was a verified 100% bad idea. "...Yes."

"Well, I hope it was worth your while," Blaze smiled. It was like something exploded in his chest. He wasn't sure it would be able to recover.

Luckily, Sonic returned just in time. "I see you guys have gotten acquainted," he remarked. "Great! Blaze, still feel like hanging out?"

"That would be great," she replied. Hang out? Silver hadn't gotten this memo.

"Oh, yeah. Silver, I told Blaze she was welcome to hang with us for a while. I hope that's alright."

"Uh...sure." Should he sound more enthusiastic? Would that be creepy? What on earth was going on?!

He wasn't sure exactly. But he was sure that he liked it.