"OW! That burns!"
"That's antiseptic, Sonic. It's meant to sting." said Tails while Amy was dabbing the medicine on Sonic's scratched arm.
"Why don't you 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦 a new antiseptic that doesn't sting?" He said to Tails and looked to his side.
There she was.
Sonica.
Aka Ms.Edgy —by Sonic.
Seated on the grass, hugging her knees to her chest and staring at nothing.
Amy finished her medical work.
"Thanks," Sonic said and looking at the amount of bandage, he added, "but I think you went a little overboard."
"You are 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦, Sonic." She squeezed his arm, painfully perhaps.
"Ow—"
Amy then let go to march towards Sonica, placing her medical kit beside her.
"Sonica, shall I tend to your injuries?"
"No." She said flatly.
Sonic rolled his eyes and went to join the others.
"Are you sure? I don't mind helping. Are you feeling scared? I can—"
"Leave me alone, Amy. I never wanted to come to this stupid camping."
"Oh," Amy's face fell slightly before she masked it with a forced chuckle, "No worries, I will keep it right here."
Then she walked away, ears flat against her head. Sonic noticed the mix of frustration, concern and exasperation on Amy's face.
Then he stormed over to Sonica, crossing his arms. "If you're dying to leave, no one's stopping you."
"Fine." It didn't take her a second to reply as she rose to her feet.
"Wait, Sonica—!"
"Let her go, Tails. We can't force people to be friends."
Sonica immediately dashed away, leaving a blue blur behind. Shortly after, the sun had set.
"So much for a happy camping."
". . ."
A WHILE LATER :
The scene was filled with the warmth of the campfire, adored with roasted marshmallows. But Sonic and his friends, seated on the logs, were holding the marshmallow sticks while leaning their chins on their palms.
A tragic violin was playing in the background.
Sonic, Amy and Tails glared at Sticks who sheepisly turned off the classic music box.
"Now I feel bad that Sonica left." Amy said with a sigh, staring her marshmallow.
"I don't like her anyway, never trusted her," said Sticks, chomping on the marshmallow stick.
"Sticks!"
"What? I thought we were venting!"
"Hey, we aren't the bad guys here." Sonic said with a shrug as he ate his marshmallow, "She never wanted to join us in the first place."
"..." Everyone glanced at eachother.
"Oh, come on, she kept giving us those annoyed looks and glares!?" Sonic tried to justify, the marshmallow stick held up like a flag.
Finally they nodded and murmured, "True, true."
"Look," Amy started, in a fast pace, "I know she's a little bit too nonchalant, edgy and distant, with absolutely no nonsense, better off alone attitude. But—!"
She inhaled a sharp breath and continued, "She's new! And it's probably difficult for her to get used to everything! So maybe we should try again!" Amy suggested, looking hopefully at everyone.
"...Fine." Sonic muttered, standing up, "But if she gives that edgy attitude again, you better not try your friendship magic again."
With that being said, Sonic sprinted off towards Sonica's shack.
A few, quick knocks on the door.
But she didn't answer, obviously.
Sonic groaned and banged his fist on the door, "Sonica, it's me! Everyone, except I, feel bad that you left mid-camp. So, come on."
No response again.
"Fine!" Sonic barked, throwing his hands up before spinning on his heel and sprinting back toward the campsite. A few seconds later, his blue blur came skidding back into view.
He jabbed an accusing finger at the door. "And even if you change your mind later, you're still not welcome!"
With that final declaration, he spun around again and took off toward the camp, leaving behind a small cloud of dust.
. . .
The night dragged on.
The campfire crackled softly as the five of them sat around it, all of them looking like their spirits had been completely drained.
Amy sat on her log, slowly rotating her marshmallow over the fire. Her ears drooped as she stared at it with the expression of someone contemplating the meaning of life.
Tails sat beside her, chin resting in one hand.
Sticks was chewing on the marshmallow along with the stick.
Knuckles took a bite of his completely burnt marshmallow.
"...It's crunchy."
Nobody responded.
Sonic was leaning back against his log with his arms crossed, staring stubbornly into the fire.
Nobody said a word.
A long, awkward silence passed.
"...This is fun," Sonic muttered.
Everyone slowly turned to look at him.
Sonic glanced around.
"...What?"
Amy sighed and turned her attention back to her marshmallow.
"...Well."
Nobody answered.
"Guess we should sleep."
They all silently nodded.
One by one, they dragged themselves away from the campfire.
Amy picked up the medical kit.
Tails gathered a few scattered supplies.
Knuckles trudged toward his tent, shoulders sagging.
Sticks shuffled after him, nearly tripping over a branch before catching herself.
Sonic was the last to leave.
He looked back at the empty spot where Sonica had been sitting earlier.
His expression briefly softened. Then he sighed and walked into his tent.
The campsite fell quiet.
Amy stared at the ceiling of her tent as she lay on her sleeping bag.
Her mind kept replaying the evening.
/ "Leave me alone, Amy." /
She sighed, unable to shake the feeling that they had handled things badly.
ᗰᗴᗩᑎᗯᕼIᒪᗴ...
Lying on the bed while staring at the ceiling, Sonica kept telling herself that she did the right thing.
// Kept her distance. ✓
Acted rude and ungrateful. ✓
Refused their help. ✓
Made it painfully clear she didn't want their friendship. ✓
Probability of hate : High ✓ //
A wave of relief washed over her.
She closed her eyes and exhaled softly, "Finally... They must hate me."
She tugged the blanket over her shoulder, nuzzling deeper into the pillow "They hate me. They're safe. No need to worry."
Then— 𝘉𝘦𝘦𝘱
She blinked and glanced at the device on her wrist. It beeped again. Before she could press a button, the call got accepted on its own. Wth—?
"Sonica, it's me, Amy."
Sonica sighed through her nose, raising a finger to end the call.
"Don't hang up, please! Hear me out!" Amy pleaded quickly.
Another sigh from Sonica, "Fine. Make it quick."
Amy cleared her throat, "I... wanted to apologize for earlier. I shouldn't have kept pushing you to let me help when you clearly didn't want it."
Amy looked down for a moment, "And... I'm sorry if everyone made you feel unwelcome."
Sonica was silent.
Amy continued quickly,
"We were excited to have someone new around, and I think we got carried away. You don't have to be friends with us. You don't even have to come camping with us."
She gave a small, apologetic smile, though not visible during the call.
"I just didn't want you going to bed thinking we all hate you."
Sonica froze— "Don't hate me?"
Amy blinked, surprised by the bluntness, and replied, "No. We don't hate you, Sonica. Everyone has bad days. And you're new here. We don't know what you've been through, or what you're used to."
Sonica's eyes narrowed a fraction.
Amy continued, "So we're not going to decide we hate you after one bad day."
Sonica stared at the ceiling and slowly dragged a hand down her face, "Son of a biscuit."