DISCLAIMER: I don't own or claim to own any of the Sonic crew or characters in this fic.

However my English teacher looks like Hugh Grant.

Hey everyone,

This is my first fanfic (Woo!) so any reviews, particularly constructive criticism, will be really welcome, providing they aren't just mindless flames, which will upset my dog as he has just tripped over a large piece of cheddar.

Oh well..

By the way I know this is kinda long for the first chapter, but I'm just setting the scene so that I can move onto the ACTION in the next chapter.

Hope you enjoy it!

Jin

Crossed Wires

Chapter One (Updated): Workshop

"Okay, that's secure now…just need three more screws…"

A lone voice murmured over the sound of the birds chirping in the sunlight, the trees rustling in the breeze, and a small rabbit throwing up after accidentally eating some sawdust. The voice, along with the quiet sound of metal-on-metal, emanated from a small workshop on the side of a hill. It was almost completely hidden from view, and any passers-by would most likely have not even noticed it. Surrounded on most sides by large bushes and foliage, it was nearly impossible to see from a distance, although not to those who knew it well, such as a blue hedgehog who was speeding towards it at a dizzying pace.

"..I'll just put one more panel on this side…try and keep it balanced."

The voice from the workshop continued, and then almost silently, a small orange kitsune slid out from underneath a small aircraft. It was a beautiful contraption, well built and well maintained. It bore the inscription 'TORNADO 3' on the side. The fox rummaged around temporarily on the work surface looking for some more side-panels. He liked it in his workshop, it was quiet and undisturbed, and he could just get on with his work.

"Aha!"

He held up the side-panels he was looking for, checking for dents and scratches before he attached them to his beloved airplane. He caught his reflection in the reverse side of one as he held it up to the light. A small face with short hair and round, inquisitive eyes looked back at him. He wasn't bad-looking, some might even say kind of cute. Although who those people were, he wasn't entirely sure. With the panels in-hand, he walked back to the plane and slid under it again.

Three uneventful seconds later, the blue hedgehog walked in. He walked, almost strutting, with a certain air of confidence about him. As many knew around this area, this was Sonic the Hedgehog. He was tall, with a well toned-up body, a clean-cut face and a playful smile; virtually no-one's definition of ugly. Although he usually revelled in this fact, today was one of those days where he'd rather just get away from it all, and particularly, to get away from his doting admirer, or as he "playfully" referred to her: his crazy stalker. To be fair, Amy Rose wasn't crazy or a stalker; she just had a crush on him and didn't really seem to understand the answer "No". Most times Sonic would humour her with some conversation, then make some excuse and leave. Usually this would get her off his back for a while, but sometimes she would continue to follow him and really try his patience, or some days he just wouldn't be "in the mood for this kind of crap." in which case he'd more often than not use his superior speed to put some distance between them, as he was currently doing. He didn't like to do this to her very often, as he felt a little sorry for her, but sometimes he just really needed some peace and quiet, or perhaps the company of a close friend.

"Tails?" the hedgehog called aloud, looking round the workshop.

"Hey Sonic," responded the small kitsune, immediately recognising the voice and trademark sneakers. He once again slid out from underneath the plane as he got up to greet his friend. "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing too much," Sonic answered, as he casually glanced around the workshop, "just wanted some peace 'n' quiet, really." The workshop hadn't really changed much since he was last here, so he soon got bored of looking around and leaned back against the wall.

"Cool." Tails replied, as he put down the screwdriver he was holding on the work-surface, which promptly rolled off onto the floor with a clatter, earning a glint of a smile from the blue hedgehog. Tails knelt down to pick it up, but stopped and looked up at his friend: "Hey, Sonic, what happened to your sneakers?"

Sonic looked down, "Oh yeah, I think I stepped in some rabbit-sick on the way here," Tails half-smiled at the ludicrousness of the situation. Sonic looked up with a look that could kill: These were his favourite sneakers, he always, always kept them clean. "You got any tissues or anything?" asked, sullenly.

"Uhhhmm.." Tails scanned the room "Got some old rags I use." He walked over to the corner, picked up an oily rag and threw it to Sonic, who caught it with lightning-speed accuracy.

"Thanks." He leaned back and started wiping his precious sneakers. Putting on a brave face, he casually asked his friend "So how's everything with you been? All the gadgets an' stuff going alright?"

"Yeah, they're going alright." Tails answered almost reflexively. He annoyed himself when he did this; if anyone said to him 'How are you?' he'd always answer 'Fine' instinctively, without actually thinking about how he was feeling, or how things were actually going. It irritated him, as he usually disliked it when other people did this, so he made an effort to detail his reply more. "Yeah, I've been quite good," he added, "better than I was this morning, 'cause I was really bored then, but I've been working on the Tornado and it's been going really well: should be ready to fly in a few days, providing I get some parts I need."

"That's good," said Sonic, nodding, "so nothing's blown up in your face recently, then?" he grinned, flashing perfectly straight, pearly-white teeth.

"No, not recently." Tails smiled, his smile making the dimples in his cheeks more obvious, some said this made him irresistibly cute, but again, who those people were, he hadn't the faintest idea. "Fingers crossed I'll make it through the whole week."

Sonic looked down and slowly stopped wiping his sneakers; the smile faded from his face like an old dream fades from a restless mind. He sighed loudly.

"Great, so my sneaker has still got rabbit-puke on it and now I've got oil all over my hands." He looked up at Tails who was still smiling. Sonic tried to keep a straight face but as he and his friend looked at each other, his face slowly broke into an unmistakeable smile. Even he had to smile at the overall ridiculousness of the situation.

Tails laughed: it was a short, high-pitched laugh, which was surprisingly hard to call irritating. He pointed behind him with him thumb.

"There's a sink at the back."

"Cheers." Sonic, still smiling, walked over to the sink. "You got much planned this afternoon?" He asked the small kitsune.

Tails thought for a second as Sonic turned on the tap. It was one of those taps that you have to push with your elbow to turn on. Tails had them installed so that if he, say, had grease from a machine all over his hands, he could turn the tap on and wash it off without getting grease all over the tap. Sonic remembered when Tails had explained it to him before. Tails was so organised and tidy, he liked to plan stuff beforehand, which was a stark contrast to Sonic, who lived in the moment and had probably never planned anything beforehand in his whole life.

"Not really, I'm pretty much free." Tails answered.

Sonic turned off the tap, "Cool," he said, "Wanna go down Station Square?"

"Yea, sure." Tails replied quickly: he had been in the workshop the whole day, he enjoyed it, but it would be good to get a change of scenery, and anything with Sonic was bound to be fun.

"So when are you gonna be done here?" the hedgehog asked, as he dried his hands on a nearby towel, but not before checking that it was free of oil of grease or whatnot.

"Well, I'm pretty much done now," replied Tails as he scanned his workshop, making sure there was nothing urgent to finish. His eyes settled on the Tornado

"Just give me five more minutes finishing off the plane."

"'Kay" Sonic put down the towel and strolled over to the doorway, looking out over the grass as Tails slid back under the plane once more.

"So, Sonic, do you think Amy will be there?"