Sonic: REMgaged

Chapter 4

The next morning, Alex and Patrick awoke bright and early. And for the third day in a row, Alex was making breakfast for him. It almost felt like they were already cohabitating, and they hadn't even had a proper date yet! Or a first kiss! Still, it was something Patrick found he couldn't complain about. Though he doubted she would continue to allow him to spend the night at her apartment. The previous night was under special circumstances, after all.

Patrick had a morning class, and Alex, who didn't have any classes until the afternoon, was going to pay her mother a very overdue visit. After ensuring the coast was clear of reporters, the two parted ways and had a fairly uneventful morning. It appeared the press had given up for now. But that didn't mean Patrick wasn't pestered endlessly by his classmates who had watched the news and seen the viral video.

He maintained the same fib Alex had told; the characters in question were remote-controlled animatronics. It was simply a beta test demonstration, and they had signed an NDA with Boddick Technologies, whom they were interning for, and therefore could legally say no more.

Alex, meanwhile, spent a pleasant morning with her mother – at least once she'd properly explained herself to a very worried Clara Parker, who had also seen the viral video and the news report. Thankfully, her mother seemed to buy her story, though advised her to be careful.

"I mean, really, honey... those drones looked like they were really shooting things."

Alex assured her they were not and that it was all special effects, though she wondered if that particular aspect of the incident might in itself have some major consequences.

Patrick was pleased when he finally got through his morning classes. Mostly, he was just happy to get away from his classmates who kept prying about what had happened on Friday. However, the texts that wouldn't stop came from his D&D friend, Bosley.

B: So what's all this Boddick Technologies stuff?

B: Why Sonic robots?

B: How were they so realistic? That's some Disney level shit!

B: What about that guy with the black coat? Was he a robot too? I heard the police actually shot him!

B: Who was that girl with you? She's cute!

B: So when were you going to tell me about this internship?

B: Have you heard anything new about the Red Devil lately? He seems to have disappeared!

Patrick just about had enough. As he was getting out of his last class for the morning, he heard his phone go off yet again.

"Oh, for fuck's sake! I'm turning this damn thing off!" And he was about to, until he realized it was a call from Alex. Blushing, he quickly answered. "Alex! H-hey!" Her call was a welcome distraction from literally everything else that was going on.

"Hey," she said. "You got a break in your classes by any chance? Wanna grab lunch or something, maybe attempt to actually have a successful date? Doesn't have to be anywhere fancy. Casual is fine. Besides, I have afternoon classes anyway. So how about it?"

"Y-Yeah! Yeah, I'd love to! Uh... Maybe you choose the place this time. Every time I pick the place, everything goes to hell."

Alex laughed. "Ladies' choice today, huh? Okay. Well, there's this really good burger joint on the corner of 12th and Edgewood..."

Fifteen minutes later, they were seated in the casual dining experience which was Burger's Burgers, a play-on name for the owner, whose last name was literally Burger.