AN: Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't shown my face around these parts much but life has been busy for me! I'm currently at work on Chapter 2 of Wonderin' Go check it out if you like this!
Edit: I made some changes to help imply when the narrator changes from a first person to a third person view. I also added lines! (Seth Moon is not responsible for any line related illnesses.)
Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic and company. If I did Shadow the hedgehog would have had the Master Chief in it.
Snowfall
I love snow.
Really I do.
People see me and they assume that I love the warmer months for whatever reasons they conjure up in their minds. But the truth is I love the cold and the snow. It helps calm me down. My anger is such a big issue for me and I usually can't control it. Sonic and his friends all have to put up with it though. They need me. We all know that but they will never admit it to themselves. They just prefer to see me as they do. There's very little I can do to change their opinions, so why worry about it? Sadly I'm comfortable where I am. They need someone like me. I see that more each day.
Wait.
It's snowing. I love this so much. Snow seems so pure, like her. I miss her so much. Every day I try to remind myself to stop living in the past but these memories won't leave me alone. They are my blessing and my curse. To know how it was before. But to have that image burned into my mind. But this snow it makes me happy and sad; these emotions won't go away either. She loved snow, she only got to experience it once and she never forgot about it. She always told me that snow was magical. She never told me it was beautiful. Like her.
The winds picked up turning what was a gentle snowfall into a whiteout blizzard. The one made of shadows walked oblivious to the flowers gaze. The Rose gazed upon her Thorn and slowly began to understand that there was one more that needed her. Perhaps he needed her most of all. In this moment she saw him at his core. She could feel the tornado of churning emotions from where she stood across the street. He was in pain and he needed someone to talk to, to confide in. Amy had never been that for anyone before. Usually she was the one doing the confiding, not the confidant. But in this case he seemed so alone and so lost. But he also seemed so content even…happy? Could Shadow the Hedgehog actually be smiling through all the biting cold and the pain inside his heart?
It was at this moment that Shadow realized that he wasn't the only one who was walking alone through the snow and the storm. He turned expecting someone concerned for his safety. He didn't expect to see Amy Rose walking toward him. Her eyes bored into his rooting him to the spot until she finally broke the gaze when she tripped over a small snow drift. Shadow pulled her out of the snow bank and said. "I thought Roses don't grow in the snow. Har dee Har har, what are you doing out when it's like this?" Shadow dusted the sleeves of her coat off and said "I could ask you the same." Amy looked at him. Shadow gave her a small smile and started walking. Amy kept at his side. Every now and then Shadow caught her looking at him. He sighed when he realized he had to answer Amy's question in order to receive and answer to his. "Fine, Rose. I was out here thinking about her again. She loved the snow." His voice became a whisper as he shared that precious fact with her. Amy kept walking in silence until she said "I never understand that about you Shadow. You allow yourself to be haunted by your past, when so many good things happen to you here and now." Shadow was getting ready to make a scathing remark about how all she seemed to think about was the future when she beat him to the punch. "No Sonic jokes. Not right now. He and I…it's complicated. I don't need your input on it." Amy looked the other way while Shadow glared nine foot spears into the back of her head. Oh how she annoyed him! How dare she stop him when he had the perfect phrase already chosen!
She had grown up Shadow would admit that. Normally she would have fawned over the mention of his name. But he guessed that being 16 gave you a little more perspective. He could already see the woman she would become. But…he swore he saw her eyes glisten when she said Sonic. Now that he thought about it… "Amy he was drunk. You need to let it go. You don't understand Shadow. All I've ever done is lo…like him. When he said that…it just really hurts to talk about it okay? Now change the subject." Shadow looked up the sidewalk. He realized that they had just entered the shopping district and that they would end up running into late Christmas shoppers. "Amy you never answered my question. Why are you out on a night like this?" She looked away then said "I was thinking about where I belong. I keep feeling like I can do more but that I'm holding myself back for some reason. Maybe he's the reason I feel stagnant." Shadow spotted a café he had visited several months before and he recalled with a smile the sequence of events that eventually led him back to GUN. (AN: But that's a story for another day. :P) He dragged Amy inside of the café and ordered two mugs of hot chocolate. Amy looked out the window and kept gazing at the snow piling high. She watched as snowplows made the streets clear for traffic. They dirtied her snow, made it something grotesque and disgusting. She did not care if cars needed the roadways clear she loved the snow when it was white not this boring shade of gray.
Shadow brought his mug to his lips careful not to gulp too much of the hot liquid. He kept his eyes on Amy waiting for her to stop staring out the window and notice that, shockingly, there was someone else with her. He tried everything he could to get her attention. He cleared his throat, knocked on the table once and even tapped her hand. But still she continued to gaze out the window. Sighing in exasperation he said "Amy." She snapped her head around and blushed. "Sorry I was just thinking. If you don't mind me asking what are you thinking about?" Amy reached for her mug and took a sip. "The same old thing I guess. Where do I belong? Who needs me? Like, really needs me." Shadow looked around him and said. "These people need you and the others to preserve their freedom. I'm looking for something more personal than that Shadow." Shadow cradled his chin with a gloved hand. This was new to him telling someone where they were needed. He could expect this from Tails, or Cream. They were beginning to reach the age where they started to see the world for what it was. Shadow suddenly realized something. He didn't want to say it to her because saying what he wanted to was a big risk; it was one he would rather not take. He felt like saying that to Amy would be a mistake he would regret, but something inside of him urged him on though. He looked up at her smiled and said softly. "Maybe I need you."
And the snow continued to fall outside piling high and coating the world in a blanket of white silence.
AN: And that's a wrap! Please R n' R!