Author's Note: I wrote this near midnight so it's probably going to be shakey at some parts! But still, I hope you enjoy reading!

Immaturity

"Shut up!" Knuckles cried. His fists were clenched as he walked up the steep, grassy hill. He was frowning at hearing the sound of Rouge's voice. "I said shut up!"

"I am trying to tell you something important!" Rouge shot back, running up to Knuckles' side. "But you can't-!"

"Did you not hear me?" Knuckles asked, not even bothering to stop. He sighed.

"Yes!" Rouge snapped. "I did hear you! But can't you just BE QUIET, stop, and listen to me while I tell you something that's VERY important?"

"Okay, okay, fine-!" Knuckles cried, giving up. He turned around and raised his arms up defensively. "Now what the heck is so important that you just can't shut your mouth and you have to tell me so badly?"

"I...!" Rouge began, her mouth open. She frowned to herself, confused, and slumped her shoulders defeatedly. She looked up at Knuckles and murmured,"I forgot."

Knuckles couldn't do anything but laugh. "You forgot? You mean to say, that you've been bothering me all this time and when I finally stop to listen you FORGET?" He shook his head and sighed, grinning. "Rouge, Rouge, Rouge..."

"Oh, shut up," Rouge muttered. "I'm going to remember sooner or later. Trust me. I will."

"Yeah, well...," Knuckles began, on the verge of laughter, "not unless you forget!" A chuckle was heard among the trees from where they were standing. Knuckles' grin faded, and his joyous expression turned into a frown. He turned to Rouge and mouthed, 'Did you hear that?' She nodded in reply and stepped closer to him.

"We better get going...," Rouge said slowly. "I don't exactly what to wait and see what just made that noise."

"Yeah...," Knuckles agreed hesitantly, oddly eager to find out what was behind the trees. "But wait." He looked at Rouge. "I'm gonna go see what's behind there."

Rouge blinked. "Why are you telling me?"

"...Because," Knuckles said, raising an eyebrow. He rolled his eyes. "Never mind. Just...stay here and don't cause trouble! And if you ditch then... Grr, I'm going to have one heck of an afternoon." He began to walk, then looked over his shoulders at Rouge. "Stay there!" Rouge crossed her arms and sighed.

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Knuckles walked over to the rustling bushes. He could've sworn that he heard laughter nearby, but he thought that it wasn't that important. Then suddenly, something jumped out from one of the trees and landed on Knuckles' back, causing him to land on the floor with a thud. He turned around quickly, and saw Sonic grinning down at him. Knuckles growled.

"Get off, get off, get off!" Knuckles cried, gesturing for Sonic to move. "What the heck do you think you're doing, JUMPING on my back?"

"Okay, one: you have to admit that the panic situation was hilarious," Sonic said, holding up a finger. "And two, the faces that you and Rouge had were PRICELESS!" He leaned over and laughed, and Knuckles hit him jokingly in the back, causing him to fall to the ground.

"Payback?" Sonic muttered, slowly getting up.

"You bet," Knuckles said, finally smiling. Sonic sighed.

"So...where is Rouge, anyway?" he asked, looking around. Knuckles smacked his head with his hand in agony. He shook his head.

"She's over there somewhere," Knuckles muttered, pointing behind him. "Why? And where's Amy, huh, Sonic?" Knuckles crossed his arms and began to walk over to where Rouge was. He emerged from the trees and into her sight.

"What in the world took you so long?" Rouge asked impatiently, standing up. "And what was over there anyway? You almost had me worried!"

"ALMOST?" Knuckles said, raising an eyebrow in disbelief. "And you can just guess who was there! SONIC!"

"What?" Sonic asked, alert. He looked at Knuckles with a questioning face.

There was a pause. "I wasn't calling you," Knuckles finally said, raising an eyebrow. "I was walking to Batgirl." He couldn't help but smile slightly.

"Shut up!" Rouge snapped.

"Be quiet, please, goodness, I beg of you!" Sonic cried, his jaw about to drop. "I don't get you two! Honestly. You two are so mature when you're not near each other, but when you're together then you're...LIKE LITTLE KIDS!" Sonic looked at the two as if they were aliens. All Knuckles and Rouge could do was stare back. He sighed and shrugged. "What? It's true... Stop staring at me like that."

"How are we like little kids when we're together?" Knuckles asked slowly, looking at Rouge confusedly.

"Want to give you some examples?" Sonic asked, raising an eyebrow. He rolled his eyes. "Okay...here were go...

Example

"Yeah, okay, I'll be right there!" Knuckles cried to Sonic, who was impatiently waiting for him in the other room. "Just give me another sec! And-"

"Will you stop screaming?" Rouge asked, bored.

"No-!" Knuckles snapped. "How else is Sonic supposed to hear me?"

"Well, maybe if you got to him quicker than you wouldn't need to shout, isn't that right?" Rouge asked, annoyed. Knuckles growled and walked up to where she was sitting on the couch. They gave each other death glares.

Meanwhile, Sonic tapped his foot on the floor, watching the clock on the wall. What was taking Knuckles so long? He decided to find out. So Sonic went into the living room and saw Knuckles and Rouge, on the floor, wrestling. He sighed and rolled his eyes, walking up to them, yelling for the two to stop.

End Example

And-" Sonic began again.

"Okay, one is enough!" Knuckles said, before Sonic could say another word. "I guess you're right, but... It's... HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO SAY THIS?"

"Say what?" Sonic said.

"Sonic, you act weird around Amy," Knuckles said, crossing his arms. "Why should it be any different for us?"

"Well, for one thing: Amy practically stalks me wherever I go," Sonic muttered, then he said clearly, "and Amy likes me...for some reason. What do you mean 'why should it be any different for us'? Does Rouge like you? Do you like Rouge?" Sonic raised an eyebrow. Knuckles had suddenly regretted that he started an awkward conversation. Sonic coughed, waving his arms in front of them. "Hello?"

"NO!" Knuckles and Rouge cried in unison. They looked at each other with disgust and stepped away.

"I've got ANOTHER example for the immaturity!" Sonic cried.

"Well what do you want me to do?" Rouge asked, putting a hand on her hip. "Kiss him?"

"Yeah, that'd be MUCH better than freaking out!" Sonic said, his mouth open. Rouge blinked. Was he serious?

"Well...I'm not doing it," Rouge finally said slowly.

"Immaturity...," Sonic whistled, looking away. He grinned.

"Alright, you know what?" Knuckles said, shrugging. "If that will prove to YOUR big brain that we are mature then fine! Fine, fine, fine..." Knuckles leaned over to Rouge and gave her a peck on the cheek.

"Are you...blushing?" Sonic asked, raising an eyebrow. Knuckles growled and grabbed both of Sonic's forearms. He wasn't that close to where Sonic's place was, and Amy was there, so...he had his own ideas.

"Hey, Amy!" Knuckles cried as loudly as he could. "AMY!" He was practically dragging Sonic.

"Yeah?" he heard from a distance.

"SONIC'S GOT A SURPRISE FOR YOU!"