A/N: My God!! I haven't update for a LONG time!

Disclaimer: How many times do I have to say this? I DON'T OWN ANYTHING BUT THIS FIC!
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What's Happening in the City?

If you read the newspaper once in a while, you'll find out.

A fire has occurred in a certain bat's apartment, burning it down with everything in it. It was lucky that Rouge left the apartment and that no one was hurt.

A neighbor of the bat was going to ask for a cup of sugar as she was a good friend of hers. After waiting for a couple of minutes, she was going to open the door, but as she did, she realizes that the door was very warm and immediately called the fire department.

They found a brunt gasoline cases, thinking two possible causes: Rouge had committed suicide and she was burnt to a crisp, or someone has burnt the apartment down while she wasn't present.

Police are searching for the bat just incase she was still alive. If they can't find her in lest than 30 days, she is legally found dead.

And that's what's happening in the city!

Emerald Forest

He was left standing alone in the middle of the forest, feeling the breeze behind his quills and knowing of the time with his shadow. He had a lot on his mind and wanted this time to be alone.

Knuckles laid down on the grass, starring up at the sky. He was thinking about Rouge for some time, now. It's been long since he had company over (besides Sonic & Tails). Secretly, he hated being a loner, even though his suborn self refuses to show any sign that he did.

If only that night, 8 years ago, never happened....

8 Years Ago: Emerald Forest

A full moon brightened the dark sky with its radiant light. But even though it seemed like the most beautiful night, it was the most deadliest on the floating island.

8 year old Knuckles was running for his life, the strong wind pushing against his fur and quills. His bare feet felt the soft, calm grass as he ran. He's after me, I just know it. He won't rest until I die. That sick psycho!

He tripped over a branch and landed on his face. He got up and looked back. He knew that HE was following him. He ran again, this time more cautious of where he was going. I can't let him get me. I just can't.

Knuckles was panting and out of breath, wanting to stop, but he keep telling himself, "Keep going. Keep going. You can't die now, keep going"

And then...

Present Day: The Shrine

Knuckles never told Rouge that there was a sundial right next to the shrine, so Rouge found this out by herself as she was wondering around the shrine. It meant nothing to her anymore, but she just wanted something to stop all of her boredom waiting for a certain echidna

4:17

"4:17?" Rouge wondered. "Where is that Knucklehead? He's been in that forest since this morning.... NOT THAT I CARE OR ANYTHING!!! He can say there as long as he wants. That doesn't bother me!"

Hammock

She lay down on the hammock, with not a care in the world. A soft, relaxing breeze came, relaxing her even more, as she covered herself with the covers on the floor in which Knuckles slept on.

So Knuckles is still in the forest. She hoped that Knuckles would fall off a cliff. Or that Knuckles would be attacked by forest animals. Or that Knuckles would eat a poisonous berry and die. Or that Knuckles-

"Now wait just a minute" Rouge shouted out, angry and confused. Rouge didn't realize that she has been thinking about Knucklehead the whole time! Of course she was thinking of him getting hurt, but still that IS thinking about him.

Rouge looked out to the ocean to get her mind off of Mr. Strong Fist. The ocean is a wonderful place. It calms yourself, it clears your mind, and it's one of the most peaceful places on Earth.

Rouge smiled and let out a sigh from the site. I have never seen a view of the ocean as amazing as this. Knucklehead must be the luckiest guy- DAMMIT!

She couldn't take it anymore. She got out of the hammock and went straight into the forest, just to find out where the hell Knuckles was.

Emerald Forest

"Hey, Knucklehead! Where are you?"

Rouge has been calling for Knuckles for hours. It was getting dark. The forest looked both beautiful and scary at night, and it seemed to want Rouge to leave the forest. But she wasn't going to leave alone.

As the wind blew faster, and colder, she grew more and more reluctant doing this deed. But, even though she hated him, a tiny part of her was worried about him, and she was angry at herself for having this feeling no matter the size.

Suddenly, her ears moved slightly over the sound of rustling in a nearby bush. Slowly, and relieved, she crept to the bushes.

"Knuckles? Is that you?" No response. Rouge crept closer to the bushes and said, "I'm not fooling around, Knucklehead! Get out of that damn bush!"

Being impatient, the bat kicked the bushes very hard, which yelled out a loud, "OUCH!"

Knuckles stood up from the bush and said, "What the hell was that?"

"Well, you wouldn't come out as soon as I asked you too!" yelled back Rouge, having the slightest urge to knock his stupid head off.

"WELL THAT'S BECAUSE..." He stopped there and turned a way. It seemed that Knuckles didn't want to tell Rouge what he was doing.

Why the hell should she know about why I'm a loner? I bet if I did tell her, she would laugh at me and think that I was making it all up. She has no emotional feelings. Hell, she barely has any feelings at all!

Even with his back facing her, Rouge could easily tell that he was crying a little. She was surprise. But not that Knuckles was crying. She should be making fun of him. She should be calling him a baby by now. But, she wasn't.

She felt sorry for him.

"Hey," she said, touching his shoulder. "You're okay, Knux?"

"Leave me alone," he muttered, loud enough for Rouge to hear.

Now Rouge was getting a little ticked off at the moment. All she asked was if he was okay, but Knuckles didn't seemed to understand what Rouge was trying to do. "Well, find, if you're going to-"

Right then Knuckles turned, taking her hand from his shoulders, and yelled, "I SAID I..." But something stopped his sentence.

He was caught starring at her pool-like eyes, lost in them, just like on the ARK. She too was a little hypnotized, becoming a little frightened from his stare. But she really jumped back as she notices that his head was very slowly coming towards her face.

SMACK!!

The same red smack mark on Knuckles' face stopped the trance the second it was on his face. Knuckles wanted to punch her back so hard! But, why didn't he?

Well, that got him back to Earth, Rouge thought, relieved. But then a thought came to her mind. W-Was he trying to... Kiss me?!? That creep!! What it wrong with him? I wouldn't dare let him touch me if he was the last man on Earth!

"Come on," Knuckles said, turning to the direction of his hammock. "And this time, you sleep on the floor" and with that he walked on.

Rouge was still standing there, half scared, half confused. Did he want to kiss her? Was it even actually a kiss? Why was he staring at her that way? Did she want to be kissed?

Noticing that nothing but the wind was following him, Knuckles turned and said, "Hey, are you gonna sleep here for the night?"

Her trance of thought had been broken. She called back, "Keep your pants on! I'm coming!"

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A/N: I know what you're thinking. You want to beat me up with a crow bar and dump my dead body in a dumpster and then light the dumpster on fire. Well, I'm not going to let that happen to me. Please review and I'll update faster!