It was just an ordinary day except that today would not be like the rest. Amy had a date and with who, had shocked her friends as she told them that Shadow had asked her out on a date. To say that her friends were shocked was an understatement. Even Rouge was shocked but was secretly not surprised as she had seen Shadow sometimes glance towards Amy and Rouge immediately took notice of Shadow's affection towards the pink hedgehog. The shock was still in the air because anybody who knew Shadow, knew that he was a loner and rarely liked to talk to anybody except for Rouge or Omega but that was when he was apart of Team Dark, other than that, he preferred to be alone and observe that's why it was shock that Shadow would do something out of what he would normally do. In truth, Amy was happy that she was going out on a date with Shadow.

Amy herself was now 20 years old and in that time, she had gotten over crush on Sonic and chasing him around wanting him to finally marry her. It came to an end when Sonic began dating Sally Acorn with Amy wishing nothing but the best for them when she heard the news and eventually, stopped what she was doing and started to focus on other things. Now, at 20, Amy would find herself having an admirer of her own in Shadow. As Amy matured, she found herself to be more confident in her abilities and skills while not playing the 'damsel in distress' role. Her appearance had greatly changed from the 12 year old little pink hedgehog who chased Sonic to a 20 year old maturing hedgehog who was going on a date but not with just anyone, it was Shadow.

She was heading out the door after getting ready wearing pink shorts, a white tank top, with her pink and white shoes. She was off to buy herself a nice outfit for tonight and she knew exactly what she wanted to buy. Amy had talked to Shadow and he told her that it would be a fancy date and recently, they started to enjoy talking to each other. Amy headed towards a new boutique that had opened the day before.

She went inside and immediately found herself gazing at all the luxurious clothes that were hanging on the racks as well as the jewelry that was displayed next to the shoes. Amy thought she knew what she wanted to buy but seeing all what was in the boutique quickly made her change her mind. Amy wandered around the store still looking for something that would catch her eye. It wasn't long before she caught the attention from Sonic who had just walked passed the boutique. He happened to glance into the store and saw an employee helping the pink hedgehog. He wondered what she was doing and if she was trying to make him fall in love with her like she did many times in the past. As Amy walked out with a few bags in her hands, Sonic thought of striking up a conversation.

"Hey Amy!" Sonic called.

Amy turned around and saw Sonic coming towards her. She didn't expect to see him but nonetheless she wanted to be polite.

"Oh, hey Sonic." Amy replied.

"How's it going?" He asked.

"It's going really good. I just got done doing some shopping for my -" Amy was cut off before she could finish.

"Are you doing this to get my attention like all those times before?" Sonic asked her.

"W-what are you talking about?!" Amy asked, shocked.

"Well, I mean you did this before so I thought.." Sonic trailed off.

"Listen Sonic, I -" Amy didn't finish when another voice spoke up.

"What's going on here?" A voice asked.

Sonic turned his head around to see Shadow who didn't look amused to see Sonic, especially talking to Amy. He had his arms crossed waiting for an answer, specifically from Sonic who he had noticed was in shock to see him.

"Oh, hey Shadow. I was just talking to Amy, seems like she's trying to make me fall in love with her again." Sonic said to him.

"I've been trying to tell you, I'm not!" Amy shouted.

"What do you mean? You've been in love with me for years, so it's not -" This time Sonic was cut off.

"She's not in love with you anymore Sonic. The reason she went shopping is to find something nice to wear for our date. She got over you years ago back when she was 14 going on 15. She's going on a date with me because I asked her out." Shadow said to him.

Sonic looked at both Shadow and Amy. The thought that she'd gone shopping for a date never occurred to him but somehow, he couldn't believe it. He noticed Shadow walking passed him towards Amy and took her hand as though as he never noticed him.

"Shall we go Amy? I'll take you to where ever else you need to go." Shadow said.

Amy was shocked and a little bit embarrassed but happy that Shadow got her point across as they left the speechless blue hedgehog standing there now alone. Sonic turned around to go back home. He didn't know what to think but thought that it couldn't be true that Shadow and Amy were going on a date. Shadow was the cool loner type of guy and Amy was the girl who always needed saving but had an stubborn attitude wrapped into a loving personality. Sonic began to wonder what attracted Shadow to Amy in the first place.

The day wore onto the night with Amy now getting ready for her date with Shadow. With the help of an employee, Amy managed to find a flowing crimson dress that just barely showed her matching shoes. The final thing to do was to put on her jewelry and when she was finished, she looked into the mirror to see the final result. She was happy that her quills were now longer and that they now reached passed her shoulders almost to the middle of her back. Her make up really made her green eyes stand out and sparkle some.

Shadow picked her up and took her to the restaurant but he had changed his mind and called to cancel it without any problems. Amy was confused by this when she heard Shadow asked to have his reservation cancelled. Wondering if they were going somewhere else, she remained quiet until Shadow asked her a question which had broken the silence.

"Do you still love Sonic like you used to?" Shadow asked.

Amy popped her head up and looked at him before looking out the window. She really didn't know how to answer but she knew she would give an honest answer.

"I was in love with Sonic when I was 12 years old. He was my hero and I wanted to marry him and do anything I could to impress him which didn't turn out so good because I became the damsel in distress most of the time. I tried really hard to improve my skills but nothing seemed to impress him. If I did help, it seemed small to the point that it didn't matter. Then, few years ago, Sally Acorn caught Sonic's attention and she was right there next to him fighting and not playing the damsel in distress that I had been accustomed into playing. Sally never played that role and little by little, I could see the attraction they had for one another. I wished them nothing but the best for them and silently moved on. I can't love Sonic anymore because there was and still is no use in trying to love him like I did. To him, I'll always be the girl whose always trying to get him to marry me." Amy said quietly as she tried not to show tears.

"Would you like me to show you how not to be the damsel in distress?" Shadow asked.

"Huh? You mean teaching me how to fight and all of that?" Amy asked, knowing it was a stupid question.

"Yes, I can help you improve your skills and abilities that you won't even be associated with being a damsel in distress." Shadow said.

"Thank you but how are we going to do it?" She asked.

"Are you prepared to leave this life behind?" He asked.

"I'm not sure.." Amy said.

"If you're not sure, there's no point in getting my help." He said.

"I want to be stronger." Amy told him.

"Then say goodbye to this city and your old life. You can do whatever you have to later on." Shadow said to her.

With those final words being echoed into her mind, Shadow turned his black sports car around and went onto an exit ramp leaving the city Amy loved to live in but that would all change for her. She didn't know where Shadow would take her but she trusted him as the lights of the car faded into the night.