Title: That Which Shadows A Rose
Author: beebistar
Set in the Sonic Universe
Main Characters: Amy and Shadow
Other Characters for this chapter: Sonic
Genre for this chapter: Angst, some form of comfort
Warning: There are none for this chapter… so all is good!
Summery for this chapter: When Amy receives a very unsurprising shock revelation from the love of her life, she finds comfort in the most unlikely hedgehog.
(My first story set in the 'Sonic Universe'. Please be gentle. In my head canon, Amy and Shadow don't exactly see eye to eye with each other for some unknown reason. The characters are also a little darker too. They are also older, around 17 to 20 years old.)
"Sonic!" Amy beamed as she caught sight of the blue hedgehog looking out over Station Square. He had his back to her as she ran up behind him and hugged him tight, leading him to sigh in irritation.
"Amy." he greeted, sighing at her all too familiar gesture as his hands reached up to hers as they clasped around his torso. His fingers worked their way through her intertwined ones and broke her tight grasp. He turned around to face her, expecting her to be smiling brightly back at him, which of course, she was "May I ask what you're doing here, at ten pm at night?" he asked her coldly as he gently pushed her back away from him.
She was always doing this. The pink hedgehog always turned up unexpectedly (although after the first year, it became a ritual). She had always been there in his face when he wanted some alone time.
She's been doing this for years, surprising him with hugs and kisses on his cheek.
Chasing him with her arms wide open in the hopes that the love she gives him, he would return it.
Now it was getting beyond a joke.
He was not in the mood for her little game anymore. He wanted this over with.
He gritted his teeth. Calm yourself Sonic, she is your friend after all, he advised himself. He huffed at his interfering conscience as he watched her face falter slightly at his reaction.
"This is the park, Sonic." she reminded him with a nod of her head, "I came out for a walk and then I saw you!" she tapped his shoulder playfully as she showed off her pearly whites, always eager to talk to him and smile for him. "How are you anyways? I feel like I haven't seen you in like, ever!" she exclaimed.
"It's only been a few hours, Amy. And secondly, you shouldn't be worrying yourself about me." he stepped away from her and began walking towards the trees that outlined the park.
Pouting, she jogged after him, "Is there something wrong, Sonic?" she called after him as he neared the darkness of the forest.
He halted in his track and let out a deep sigh.
He hated hurting her but this was the only option his brain could muster up.
He had to admit, she is and will always be an amazing friend but she saw them as being more than friends.
He...he just didn't feel that way about her.
But what else could he do? What other option did he have to make her see that he was not interested? That she should give up chasing him...
Her obsessive behaviour has gotten out of hand, he thought to himself, It's time that she learns that I'm just not interested in her that way.
Yeah, she may have come out for a casual stroll in the park but it is not like this hasn't happened before.
He decided to get to the point. "Did you follow me?" he whispered harshly back to her, turning his head slightly to see her from the corner of his eye.
Her brows furrowed at his question, or rather, his statement, "Of course I didn't follow you!" she answered truthfully. Her eyes narrowed, now a little peeved off that he would come up with that.
"Well you always follow me so I just assumed-"
She let out a sarcastic laugh, "Yeah, you would just assume!" she growled back at him, now beginning to lose her temper, "I'm not a stalker!"
"Yeah..."
"What's that supposed to mean?" she snapped at him. She took a step forward as he turned around to see her barging towards him and leaning up over him to get in his face. She knew that ticked him off. Her eyes burned into his as he took hold of her shoulders and pushed her out at arm's length.
"What I'm saying is that you chasing me...it has to stop!" his voice sounded desperate as she deflated under his touch. His eyes searched her jade ones, pleading with her to grow out of that silly childish fantasy she created.
"Well...I wouldn't keep chasing you if you would just admit your feelings for me..." she mumbled, not looking him in the eye. "I just-"
"You just what? I'm telling you Amy..." he looked around helplessly before blurting out, "I don't love you!" he watched as her breath caught, "I love you as a friend. But how can I actually love love you when I love Sal-" his eyes instantly grew wide and he slowly took a step back from the now shaking Amy. He knew that Amy and Sally never saw eye to eye and so he now felt like a complete tool-head for telling Amy his true feelings. Not for her, but for Sally Acorn.
"Sally?" she asked, hissing the name. Her lips contorted into a sneer, "You love Sally?" she then summoned her hammer, making Sonic flinch and his mouth gape wide in horror.
She wasn't exactly sure what she would do with her Piko Piko hammer but she held onto it tightly, making her pink knuckles under her gloves turn white with the strain put on them.
"I'm sorry Amy... but you just wouldn't listen to me..." he had backed off a few steps, afraid to get a pounding from her mighty hammer, "I eh...I have to go now." with that, he turned and sped off through the trees, leaving her behind. The autumn leaves stirred at her feet and she kicked at them, taking out her frustration on the brown, dead flaky leaves.
Her eyes never left the spot where he had disappeared.
"Fine!" she screamed out to him but she was sure he was already miles away from this now cold, dark place, "Go see your precious chipmunk!" she forced a laugh.
Her temper subsided and a feeling of emptiness and melancholy filled her, "Like I care…" her eyes fell to the ground as cruel tears pricked at her eyes.
She felt her world crumble as did her knees and she fell on the grass, her hammer falling from her grasp and landed with a thud on the ground. She took in deep breaths as her mind went completely blank.
What just happened?
She loved Sonic. He was like her drug. He was always there but so far out of reach. She now understood that she was so utterly and unbelievably blind to think that he loved her back.
"I've been so stupid!" she snarled to herself, her hand slamming down on a dainty flower, instantly crushing it, "Chasing him...?" she asked herself in disbelief, unable to believe that she wasted years and years of her life chasing that blue stupid jerk.
Walking out of the shadows, a dark figure slowly made its way over to her, its arms crossed over its white-furred chest as it smirked down at her. "Well, well, well. Amy Rose. The little fan girl finally coming to her senses?"
She groaned, now seriously irritated. She already had enough on her plate as it was, she didn't need this.
"What do you want, creep?" she muttered up at him angrily, hissing the word 'creep' as his tall dark figure loomed over her.
Shadow watched her muzzle grow a slight shade of red as he continued to stare her in the eye. He simply decided to ignore her question.
Instead, answering with, "hmph." which made her scowl deepen.
He felt mischievous and plus he himself was in a sour mood.
But, he was now rather enjoying himself.
This was, after all, a very rare sight.
He may as well enjoy it while it lasts.
His smirk grew wider as her eyes burned with intense hatred.
"Let's try again, shall we?" she giggled with strained, fake enthusiasm, as she picked herself up off the cold grass, "I said; WHAT DO YOU WANT?" she shouted at him and poked him in his snow white chest.
He let out a low chuckle, "I see your temper hasn't improved, Rose."
Her mouth turned up into a sneer, "Don't mess with me." she warned, her hammer resting by her feet, always within reach, "Why are you even here?" she asked, looking up at him as she folded her arms across her chest and stuck her nose up defiantly.
He took another step towards her, taking pride in how her eyes widened like plates, "I needed to clear my head." he answered her quietly.
In return, she breathed out heavily as her eyes averted to anywhere but his.
His grin grew wider as he chuckled at her, "Do you want me to walk you home, Rose?"
Ugh... Shadow...the hedgehog she despised.
Amy was very open and enjoyed the fun and craic of making new friends, but when Shadow tagged along to her 'oh so random' group of random friends...he was different.
Talk about being locked up in a cage of utter pure misery!
He is and will always seem to remain a very mysterious character.
The thing she most hated about him was that he never smiled. He never properly smiled.
Yeah he would grin and smirk sarcastically but he would never genuinely smile or be happy.
But she guessed he didn't really have much to smile about. What with his past and all...
Then again, she didn't have anything better to do. Not now.
Sonic pointed out (rather bluntly) that he didn't love her. He was more interested in that posh, no good chipmunk, Sally. Amy's mind mentally spat out the name.
The male hedgehog cleared his throat, jolting her back from her thoughts.
"Oh...um..." her eyes darted to his blood red ones, "Sure." she smiled weakly at him, before he led the way down the winding pavement.
They walked in silence as the cold winds whipped around them, sending shivers up Amy's spine. Shadow didn't seem to notice at all. He was protected from the harsh cold wind by his leather jacket while Amy was only wearing a thin layer over her red dress.
His hands were stuffed in his pockets as he walked on. There may have at least been two metres between them.
"Wow. You are certainly charming." Amy muttered sarcastically with a roll of her eyes.
"I heard that." the ebony hedgehog said suddenly, his smooth voice just loud enough for her to hear.
She slowed her pace, "You were meant to hear it, dark man." she stated, as if it were obvious.
A hint of a smile crept on his lips but disappeared as soon as it developed when she caught up with him. Glancing at her thin, shaking frame, he huffed a sigh and carried on walking.
They walked back to the bustling city that is Station Square, while keeping themselves happily entertained, according to Amy, with some one-way witty banter. That banter, of course, coming from Amy as Shadow just shrugged and acted indifferently.
The streets were quite busy considering the time.
Shadow glanced to her every so often, making sure she hadn't frozen to death but as the wind picked up, he watched in wonder as her flowing pink quills whipped around her face like Medusa's snakes.
Sensing the feeling of being watched, Amy eyes darted up to his. They both slowed their pace. He hadn't looked away, but his own muzzle grew a shade darker as they stared at each other in wonder. He watched her with curious fascination while her eyes hopped between both of his dark red eyes, feeling awkward as her own cheeks burned.
"What?" she asked meekly. Her voice was barely audible, a faint smile on her lips.
Blinking out of his reverie, he looked to his right, avoiding her gaze. His red eyes laying on the grey concrete that was the pavement, "Nothing." he whispered.