★彡[ʀɪɴɢꜱ 💫 ᴍᴏᴠɪᴇ!ꜱᴏɴɪᴄ x ꜰᴇᴍᴀʟᴇ!ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ]彡★ [ᴏɴɢᴏɪɴɢ sᴛᴏʀʏ] «✓»

²⁴. ᵉˣᵖˡᵃⁱⁿᵃᵗⁱᵒⁿ ᵃᶠᵗᵉʳ ʳᵉˢᵗᵒʳᵃᵗⁱᵒⁿ? ᵈᵉᶠⁱⁿⁱᵗᵉˡʸ.

"If you don't save his life, I have no worth of living!"

»»--⍟--««
𝙲𝙷𝙰𝙿𝚃𝙴𝚁 24

(𝖸/𝖭)'𝖲 𝖯𝖮𝖵:💖

"Jojo. Thank God," Tom said with relief as he found Maddie. Sonic lay there on the counter, and I looked up from the table, sitting on one of the round stools. My eyes couldn't help but linger on Sonic's seemingly lifeless form, his hands still resting on the surface. In that moment, I felt a wave of fear wash over me for my best friend, my childhood companion... and my crush.Yes, I'll admit it. I have a crush on Sonic, and it's more than just platonic. But I've always wondered if he feels the same way about me. Is our love mutual? Do our hearts beat in sync? The truth is, I don't know, and the uncertainty scares me. I'm afraid to confess my feelings because if he were to reject me, even gently, it would shatter me. I'd be devastated. For now, I can only watch from a distance, alongside little Jojo, as the others take care of the situation.And yes, Tom has told Maddie that I can speak. Surprisingly, she doesn't mind. Perhaps because I'm calmer now.

"Tom, is Sonic going to be okay?"
I ask for the fifth time.

"[Y/N], for the last time,
there's no need to worry!"
Tom reassures me.

"Uh, okay."
I mumble, my face becoming worried again.

Jojo looks at me, noticing how sad I was. I fiddle with my fingers, hoping she'd look away but clearly she had to bring up a conversation.

"Why are you so scared?" She asks.

"I am not! I just... want him to be okay," I lower my voice, Jojo realizing the pain and guilt I was feeling because of how I accidentally raised my tone.

"It's okay! Uncle Tommy and his girlfriend will help him!" Jojo spreads a smile softer than butter at the two, who blush at each other and roll their eyes at the child. I giggle at her innocence, and she pets my quills. Then, she gasps suddenly, an imaginary light bulb popping out of her head."Can I style your hair?" she requests eagerly. "Quills. And yeah, I don't mind!" I correct her, and she rushes off upstairs to get some accessories, leaving me to watch Maddie and Tom do their thing.

"He's gonna be okay, right?" Tom asks Maddie the same question I had asked him earlier.

"I'm a vet, Tom. I don't even know what I'm looking at here," Maddie confirmed, her expression betraying her confusion.

"Actually, we're hedgehogs!" I interject into the conversation.

"Mmhm, or so she says," Tom adds, with a smirk.

"And it talks like her?" Maddie's eyebrows shoot up in surprise.

"Almost constantly more than her." Tom replies.

Damn.

Checking Sonic's pulse with Maddie's smartwatch, she exclaims with a troubled, "Holy."

"What?" Tom hesitates, his worry evident.

"His pulse is really fast..." Maddie whispers, her brow furrowed in concern.

"Well, that actually might be normal for him..?" Tom tries to reassure, though uncertainty lingers in his voice.

"Well, he is the fastest thing alive so what can I say?" I interject, attempting to lighten the mood.

"Yeah, I don't know, you gotta help him, Maddie!" Tom urges, his concern growing.

"I don't know his physiology, he doesn't seem to have any broken bones... He's just really banged up," Maddie tells us, her concern deepening. Jojo returns from her loot of fancy and cute accessories for me, overhearing Maddie's assessment. Maddie goes in front of Sonic and sees his ripped shoes, which are in bad condition. Taking them off, Sonic's torn socks with holes are revealed, eliciting a gasp of horror from us.

 "Look at his poor little feet!" Maddie exclaims. "Is this how you guys have been dressing?" Maddie asks me incredulously.

"Yeah, ever since we grew up as kids, we had to find a way to get clothes. We didn't have any money like you and Tom, so... We had to do a little 'borrowing' from people's closets," I explain honestly.

"Oh no, and you've been wearing this for how long?" Maddie gestures to my uncomfortable [F/C] dress, which is scratched, along with my worn-out boots.

"A long time," I sigh dramatically.

"Poor you," Maddie sympathizes, while Tom shakes his head with remorse, his arms crossed. Jojo takes Sonic's shoes along with the fancy accessories she was already wearing and heads off to do her own thing.

"Hang in there, bud. You're gonna be okay," Tom said to Sonic, though it was clear Sonic couldn't hear him. Jojo walked past Rachel, who was tied up against a chair with colorful wires.

"Jojo, untie your mother, Jojo!" Rachel demanded aggressively. "Untie mommy!" she pleaded innocently. "Sweetie? JOJO!" she yelled, but her own daughter ignored her and ran up the stairs. "I have to go to the bathroom," she whispered embarrassingly.

"He's gonna snap out of this, right? He'll wake up soon?" Tom fired questions at Maddie, who raised her arms in a gesture that said, 'I don't even know.' "Oh, smelling salts!" Tom exclaimed suddenly. "Don't you have, like, vet smelling salts, for cats or parakeets or something?" he asked, leaving Maddie looking offended by his assumption about veterinary medicine.

"No, they don't make cat smelling salts." Maddie stares strangely at Tom.

"They should-"

"I have human smelling salts in my human first aid kit," Maddie announced, rummaging inside her large red kit for the smelling salts for Sonic. I shot Maddie a stern look, silently hoping she wouldn't harm or injure him. Sonic lay still, and I gently patted his knee, trying to comfort him.

"Okay," Maddie said, snapping open the white packet to release the aroma for Sonic to sniff.

 "Please work," I pleaded, while Tom added, "Come on, buddy." After a few tense moments, Sonic's eyes suddenly widened, and I gasped in anticipation.

"Gotta go fast!" Sonic exclaimed, leaping to his feet and dashing around the kitchen with lightning speed. He knocked over kitchen utensils and clattered pans, leaving us all in shock as he raced around like he had just ingested a mountain of candy. The kitchen erupted into chaos, with items falling from the counters as if there was a mini earthquake. After a whirlwind of movement, Sonic finally came to a stop, grabbing my hands tightly before I could even blink. He turned to face Maddie and Tom, the two witnesses to the havoc he had just wreaked. Standing near me, he began speaking rapidly, his words almost too quick to follow.

"Where am I?
What year is it?
Is the Rock President?"
Sonic jabbered immediately.

"Sonic!" I exclaimed, reaching out for a hug, which he accepted unexpectedly. After a brief moment, we let go.

"Whoa, whoa, buddy. You're okay. Calm down," Tom said gently, trying to soothe Sonic's frenetic energy.

"Oh, hi, Pretzel Lady!" Sonic greeted Maddie enthusiastically.

"Hi," Maddie responded, visibly shaken by Sonic's sudden burst of energy. "Tom?"

"Yeah?" Tom responded.

"Can I talk to you, please?" Maddie requested, looking at Tom with a serious expression, while Sonic either waved goodbye or simply waved hello, his attention already drifting elsewhere.

-

★ ᴇɴᴅ ᴏꜰ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 24★

➤ ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ❛ꜱ ɴᴏᴛᴇ
Hello everyone and everybody! Yes, I had to end it like that so we can save the chit-chat for next chapter. I tried my very best to publish another chapter by the end of this week and I did! Woohoo! Let's hope that the next chapter will be a banger, since this chapter got over 1000 words! Well, until next time! See ya!
<3

➤ ᴡᴏʀᴅ ❥ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛ

1180 words.