Sonic: Earthbound

Chapter 5

As the bus rolled away, Alex let go of Sonic's hand and leaned against a tree, letting out a long breath.

"Man... That was close!"

"Ugh. Close?" asked Sonic. "That ride felt like a freakin' eternity!"

Alex shot him an exasperated look. "You weren't supposed to say that, remember? You shouldn't be so predictable, Sonic." She tweaked his nose affectionately. Then, giggling she began walking down the sidewalk with what seemed to be a new spring in her step. She seemed strangely cheerful all of a sudden.

Sonic scrunched up his face and wiggled his nose. "It wasn't the speed of the bus that made it feel so long..." he muttered. "Who was that guy, anyway?"

Alex's steps briefly faltered, but she continued on. "I don't know. I just met him today. But I guess we have a class together." She shouldered her satchel a little higher as she seemed to gaze off at nothing in particular. "Patrick, I guess. Hmm..."

Sonic crossed his arms and shot Alex an annoyed look that she never saw. They walked down the sidewalk of a suburban middle-class neighborhood. These surroundings were far more lavish than Alex's humble apartment complex near the campus.

"Whoa. Swanky."

"Everyone in this neighborhood is pulling the nine-to-fiver, so we shouldn't have to worry too much. But still, keep your head down just in case. And don't worry," she added quickly, with a knowing smile. "We're almost there."

"Hey, if your aunt lives around here, why don't you? Why are you stuck in that little place?"

"Well... I did for a little while. After Dad died and Mom got sick, we lost our house. So, I lived with my aunt and cousin for a bit. But I'm trying to learn how to be self-sufficient. I wanna be able to take care of my mom, and I can't do that if I'm relying on other people all the time."

Sonic frowned. It sure sounded like this girl lived a rough life. Not bad, by any means. But not exactly easy, either. And for some reason, much of it was self-imposed. Sonic supposed he could understand the desire to be self sufficient and not have to rely on others. After all, he didn't like relying on others either. He'd much rather be the one being relied on. That's what made it so difficult to let Alex, practically a stranger, take the reigns of this little mission. But he legitimately liked Alex, so that at least made it a little easier.

"Actually, saying that out loud sounds kind of stupid, doesn't it?" she said. "It would be smarter to just live with my aunt. And thinking about it, I really should've let Mr. Roman pay me off to keep quiet about the whole REMgage thing. Then I might've been able to pay off mom's hospital bills, too." She let out a long sigh. "Hindsight's 20/20, I guess. I just didn't want to be 'bought' like that."

Sonic placed a hand on her arm, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "I think that's called having integrity. And there's nothing wrong with that, Alex. From what I've seen, you've been doing great on your own. Though, it doesn't hurt to have help from others once in a while," he said, knowing it was advice he could afford to take, himself.

Alex grinned. That grin... something about it was familiar. It was almost like looking in a mirror. It seemed like she might have spent years perfecting it, and now it came almost naturally.

"You're sweet. Remind me to give you a hug later, okay?"

Sonic grinned and gave a little salute. "Check."

"Well, here we are."

They had just arrived at the house at the end of a cul-de-sac. It was a charming split-level home with pastel yellow vinyl siding, pale blue shutters and a white picket fence and attached two-door garage.