Well, you've been here before but I revised the beginning here. So~ you have a whole new scene and things will build a bit slower as I finally get off my butt and write the rest of this. Go on and take look, you're probably reading this backwards anyway. XD Oh! And no more disclaimers in every chapter. The one below will be the only one in this story. Yay!

Disclaimer (for the whole story): I don't own Shadow the Hedgehog, Amy Rose, or ANY of the STH characters. They still belong to SEGA...

x*Relationships Are Hard Too*x

-Chapter One: Risky Business-

It was a strange thing, really. Everything was fine, life was as good as it was going to get, and yet they always found a way to mess something up. Crimson orbs stared into the giant jade jewels staring up at him; their owner, a rosy pink female hedgehog. This woman was the very reason why he now questioned his lifestyle, and how she somehow managed to become apart of it. All those questions lead back to her; he did things for her. Why?

Of that he wasn't entirely sure of.

"Please, please, please~!" the female pleaded, her hands clasped together so tight, her knuckles could turn white any moment. He had yet to register why he bothered to say 'no' to her; she was a weakness he couldn't ignore – no matter how hard he's tried. Not that he was going to admit it to anyone…

"Just give it to her already," a new voice he barely knew was there. It's usual sultry tone was unmistakable - though a bit exasperated, but he despised it all the same. Another reason things were so strange. With a sigh, crimson orbs were shut away from the world in thought. All was silent, nobody moved an inch.

When the ebony hedgehog opened his eyes again, he caught the smug look on the female behind the two hedgehogs. She knew, he knew, he wouldn't be able to resist and with a feeling of defeat, he reached into his pocket and produced a credit card two seconds later. The pink female squealed in delight before taking it from him, "Oh, thank you Shadow! You're the best!" she exclaimed.

Shadow only sighed.

"It's about time! C'mon before we miss the sales, Amy," the other female, an ivory bat, said grabbing the pink one and dragging her away.

"Do not let Rouge get her hands on my card," Shadow muttered only loud enough to be heard by one. Amy gave him a reassuring smile as she fell in-step with the bat. That was all he needed; he trusted her...to an extent. That didn't exactly prove that she wasn't going to go crazy as most girls did. As always, Rouge was the "motherly figure" to Amy, and the "bad influence" to Shadow, as they happened a lot more often. He didn't know when the two had gotten so close, but he knew one thing at least.

He better have money left on his card when she returned.

~.~

"Honestly, why does he even try? We could have gone and been back by now," Rouge complained. She now stood in front of a clothing rack full of dresses. Nearby were the dressing rooms for the store, and in one, the feet of her friend were visibly dancing around.

"Well, he told me he had plans..." Amy said from within the small room. Patiently waiting for the bat to come with more "surprise choices" to model, she danced to a beat in her head, "That's usually when he becomes a little stingy."

A scoff was heard, "A little?"

The rosy female let out a small laugh, "Okay, maybe a lot, but I'm sure he means well! I just wonder what he's up to sometimes." She went to peek out of the room only to have clothes shoved in her face. That was the third time she'd tried since coming to the store.

"Try these on, and I said no looking!" the bat scolded. Amy huffed before taking them, "I still have to look around for jewelry," and with that, shut the door before walking off once more.

"If it's Shadow's money, and my clothes...why are you picking them out?"

The ivory woman stopped shortly, before laughing, "Because, I'm the one who knows what Shadow likes his girl to wear. We talk a lot more often that you think, hun."

Footsteps went further away, and Amy allowed a blush to burn its way onto her cheeks. Of course Shadow wouldn't directly tell her what he liked, unless it came from someone else – in this case sly comments from Rouge. Now she was thinking back to her wardrobe, filled with jeans and skirts, and wondered if all along, Shadow was the mastermind behind it. If so, he had done a good job so far…

She groaned at a bitter feeling in the back of mind before trying on the clothes. All she wanted today was a peaceful shopping trip, but they apparently had other plans. Plans that may have been an influence all this time. If she got the chance she would surely get Shadow back for his meddling.

The pink female looked herself over in the mirror, twisting and turning to see the last outfit at every possible angle. She liked it, admittedly Shadow had sense enough to know what they both liked her to wear. Although, something had to be missing. Quickly changing back, she exited the dressing room at last. Putting away some choices she didn't really like, she wandered over to Rouge by the jewelry. Maybe all it needed was a few accessories.

The curvaceous woman was oblivious as the man behind the counter glanced over every so often, with a certain look in his eye. "Oh, Amy. Come look at this necklace I found."

The man then became aware of the smaller, cuter female. Great, now he was staring at her now. Amy went over and took careful note of how she bent over to look the jewelry. She saw a bunch of heart lockets, silver and gold, among the shining pieces. What was she looking for exactly?

"Um, Rouge?"

"Just look closer," was all she said. Jade orbs concentrated on each and every one. All had one letter engraved in it, usually for the one that started your first name. And then she saw it. The odd ball out; a necklace with two letters instead of one – SA. A mistake, perhaps?

"Isn't it weird that it's even on display?"

"Maybe one of the employee wanted to humor some people by putting it out."

"It's intentional, miss." The two looked up at the male that had been admiring them from afar. He leaned casually on the glass case, having already pulled out the same necklace, and surprisingly, others like it. "You see, necklaces with two initials have been in demand for awhile, but people don't know we have them. The one you're looking at are usually overlooked," he explained.

"Does it have to do with those specific initials?" Amy asked, now a little curious.

"Not really. The company who makes them go by demand, if more people buy 'SA' then they'll make more. Until that happens, we're stuck with the same case full of 'em. Or at least until a different pair because more popular then we replace it. Unfortunately, we're only allowed to let a few be on display at a time."

"Hmm..." Rouge looked over the case a bit more, then returned her attention to the male. "How much?"

"Seventy dollars."

"Is the gold real?"

This made him quiet as he put the gold ones away and pulled out silver, "I can't particularly say that aloud, but hey. I have a silver one, and for you, I'll make it fifty. How about it?" Rouge was already pulling out her card. After wrapping it up, the guy handed it over. "Thanks for your business."

With a smile, she waved him off, thanked him and the two shopping companions gathered their purchases. Amy turned to Rouge with a raised eyebrow.

"Who's the necklace for?"

"You, of course. Who else?" The bat answer like it was the most obvious answer in the world. In this case, it might have been. The pink female was still confused even as the bat put it with her stuff.

"Well, thanks...but why?"

"You obviously wanted it, so I got it."

Her way of actually answering the girl's questions made it a suspicious, but knowing how spontaneous her friends could be, she'd let it go. For now. Without another word, they went to pay for their clothes. Amy had her assumptions, and she had a feeling she would rather not spoil any kind of 'surprise'...

Humming the tune stuck in her head, Amy kicked her front door shut with her foot and immediately went upstairs. She put down her bags before digging around in one to find the locket Rouge bought. Running a finger delicately over the shiny metal, she thought of pictures to possibly place in the little thing. Her train of thought was interrupted by someone clearing their throat.

"Got something stuck in there?" the rosy female said without looking back. Oh, she could almost feel him glaring at her.

"Ha, ha," Came the sarcastic reply. It wasn't a moment later when she found herself being picked up. She had just enough time to put her necklace down before she came face to face with the taller male. Crimson met jade as he stared at her. "I believe you may have missed me on the way in."

"Nope. I saw you. I just simply ignored you," Amy said, smiling. Shadow wasn't amused by her answer in the slightest."Something you need?"

"Yes."

"..."

"..."

"You gonna tell me what it is?"

With a huff, "My card." The smaller hedgehog feigned innocence and pursed her lips. Tapping her chin, she shifted her weight from one to the other. Having thought of a good response, she then let out a gasp.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you wanted it back immediately." Just as he was about to say something, "I think I lost it." His mouth was partially open; almost gaping, almost saying what was on his mind, almost cursing aloud – assuming he actually believed her. But no, he instead glares at her once more.

"Amy." Uh oh.

"Alright, alright," she giggled. Her name was the only warning she'd get if she didn't want to be on the receiving end of his wrath. Reaching into back pocket, she pulled it out and held it up. "See? Perfectly intact. No scratches."

The glare softened, if only by a little, before he grabbed it. "I'd advise you to not play around. Keep it up, you won't use it anymore," he said. Smirking, she only turned to walk away.

"But what if I used it to buy something nice to wear for you?"

Glancing over her shoulder, batting her eyelashes at him. He stared at her indifferently, seemingly unaffected by her act. "The circumstances won't make a difference," Shadow finally said. At this, the girl deadpanned before rolling her eyes and attending to her new clothes. The ebony male then released a breath he didn't realize he was holding…

~.~

Later that night, Amy found herself blindly feeling around her desk. Among all the things there, she moved her hands until she felt a small, thin book from the stack of others. Grabbing a pen, she carefully looked back at the sleeping form on her bed. Soft breathing could be heard in the darkness, and she sighed. As quietly as she could, she opened her bedroom door and tip-toed her way downstairs.

Click.

The living room was bathed in a soft yellow glow from the lamp. The rosy female sat on her knees in front of coffee table, set her things down and carefully listened for a moment of two. Upon hearing nothing, she opened the little pink book she brought – Dream Diary – it read. Flipping a few pages in, she found a blank one and clicked her pen.

"Okay. I barely write in this thing; but pages are filling up more over the last month. The same dream, over and over. Only every time I have it, it progresses somehow...like it's a movie playing in my head. But it's the same thing; it's starts with me leaving for college, and for a few nights that's all it's been. Although, tonight in the dream I met some girl. It's still pretty hazy, but she was harassing me about something I couldn't really catch before waking up.

It felt too real for me to ignore it. Right before it ended, I saw three things; the girl, something or someone that's blue, and a hand – whether it was gloved or not, I'm uncertain of. I'm sure what any of this means, but it's really bothering me with only a few weeks left before I actually leave. Maybe I need the whole thing to play out before I understand? Whatever it is, it seems important because–"

Amy's ears perked up at a noise.

She closed the book and listened a bit harder. Footsteps. Sighing, she clicked her pen and stood up. It wasn't long before an ebony male was seen coming from the stairs. Their eyes immediately met.

"What are you doing up?" he simply asked.

Clutching the book to her chest, Amy fidgeted under his gaze, "Writing." That was all she could manage at the moment, caught off guard by his sudden appearance. He stepped closer, prompting her to move as well before they came to a stop in front of the lamp. The sound of shuffling feet died down into silence, the wind just outside barely above a whistle could be heard. Sighing, she went to move past him, but he held her back.

"Are you okay?"

Amy blinked once, then twice. It was strange, because she actually had to think about the answer. In some ways, she wasn't. In others, she was. "I believe so..." she replied quietly. She watched as his eyes went to the book encased in her arms. He had seen it before, and knew what it was (after looking at it out of curiosity). Waking up constantly in the middle of the night was becoming a routine for the two.

"You're still thinking about it," Shadow stated. It was as he said, every night he'd catch her. Only this time, it wasn't a question… He had a feeling tonight might be different.

"Well, yeah. I mean, it's all I can think about," Amy said, looking away. "A month flies by a lot quicker than I cared to realize. Don't you think about it too?"

The ebony male exhaled heavily, before pulling her closer. He knew some things she didn't, but it probably made the situation worse in his case. "Yes, I do, but you shouldn't. You're not leaving forever."

"I know, I'll just be thousands of miles away from New York and all my friends–and you… for four years..." she sighed.

"I told you not to think about it that way. If you insist on worrying yourself, at least do it in a positive light."

"The only positive thing is that I'm going off to do what I've loved my whole life. But I'm leaving things and people that I've come to love behind while doing it." Amy felt a hot, prickling sensation in her eyes, but she quickly fought the oncoming tears. Shaking her head, letting out a sad laugh, she moved away from him. "But maybe I am thinking about too much... I've been up long enough. I'll worry about it later, I guess." Amy then retreated to the stairs, wiping her face.

Rather than objecting, Shadow just stood there watching her leave. Tonight was a bit different. He now knew how she really felt. As open as she may seem to be, some things aren't said aloud. He hoped for her sake, she would actually put into words, rather than tears…

Click.

The room was dark once more, and footsteps were heard shortly after.