The Shadow of Winter

Chapter 24

"Dare," said Tails straightaway, not wanting to answer an embarrassing question the hedgehog might have thought up.

"You can't avoid my revenge," said Sonic, his gaze flitting to (Name) for but a moment. Turning to the fox, he leaned into his ear and whispered something the others could not hear. Tails jerked away, cheeks turning pink, and he stood and left the room. "He'll be back," said Sonic as he settled into his chair with a comfortable sigh, the smile on his face giving little away.

While they waited, (Name) began sipping on a newly-opened can of (Favorite soda). She felt the buzz of sugar and caffeine course through her body, unused to it after so long of going without junk food. In the middle of a large gulp, Tails returned. She choked.

"Arg, don't look at me," cried the boy, attempting to hide the bright pink dress that stuck tightly to his body. It looked a size too small, with frilly white cuffs on the sleeve ends and pink buttons that started at the neck and stopped mid waist. With swift steps Tails slid into his seat and slouched, most of his pink-clad figure underneath the table. "I completely forgot about the Dress of Shame. It's one of Amy's, from a few years ago, that she left behind after a sleepover. Quit staring!"

"Tails has to wear that dress until the end of the game," stated Sonic, his large grin displaying utter satisfaction. He chuckled deeply. "It feels good to be bad."

"Shut up," muttered the fox as he awkwardly reached for the can and spun it. (Name)'s heart pounded when it landed on her. "So, uh, Truth or Dare?" When answered with Truth, Tails spent a few moments thinking.

"Do you have any, I don't know, crushes?"

Relieved at the simplicity of the question, (Name) shook her head. "No. Honestly, before this all happened, I never even talked to any boys in my school. We kind of just ignored each other. Maybe I was too shy."

"But there must be someone you like?" asked Amy. "You must've come across a cute boy somewhere."

(Name) was quiet as she thought about it. She had stayed in high school one semester before getting pulled out due to her orphaning. During that time, only her friend (Friend) had hung around with her at lunchtime or sat next to her in the few classes they had together. (Friend) had stuck with her since middle school. The other freshmen came from different middle schools across (Hometown), congregated together in one of two high schools in the city district. Because of her shy nature, (Name) never got around to making new friends, perfectly content with (Friend). Boys were out of the picture entirely.

"I don't have any crushes right now," said (Name), and Tails accepted the answer. Struggling to reach the soda can, with her bulky leg cast preventing her, the fox boy pushed it toward her. She spun it, glad to see that it landed on whom she was most familiar with. "Sonic, Truth or Dare?"

"This time, I'll go with Dare. I don't feel like giving out any more personal information that could be used to blackmail me." The hedgehog watched her with twinkling eyes, ready for whatever (Name) would throw at him. "Don't make it too easy—I've got a reputation to rebuild."

Humming her laughter, (Name) pictured all the wonderful opportunities she had to bend her new friend to her will. She could force him to hold a handstand for a prolonged time, say something aloud that he'd never usually say, have him kiss Tails or even stick his hand in toilet water. Or, she could put Sonic to the test. He had shown himself to be quite fast, but how fast was he? "Sonic," said the girl. "I dare you to buy me a pack of Twizzlers from the store in under three minutes."

"You're on." Sonic took out his phone and prepared a timer for three minutes, setting it on the table. He sent (Name) a wink and started the timer. "I'll see you soon."