HypernovaSonic- I wanted to do something different. This is a bit shorter than what I normally write, and I'm not too keen when it comes to romance or romantic emotions. Hope this turns out alright despite that, though!
She awakened something from within me. I tried to forget things, but it was as if just the sight of her reminded of them. She brings me joy... or sadness... I'm not exactly sure. Most importantly, if it wasn't for her words the ground underneath my feet possibly wouldn't be there right now, and neither would her hero. The energetic blur with enough attitude to fit right at home in a whole decade 90's commercials.
That hedgehog held her attention far too much for her to be interested in me. Though I'm not even sure if I want her attention. These emotions are just too hard for me to understand. The girl herself is also too complicated for me to understand. She obsesses over that blue hedgehog like he's the only other living thing in the world, she would never give anyone else the time of day she gives to him.
All these thoughts are running through my head, causing my heart to race, making it impossible to walk up to that beautiful pink girl right now. I was standing in a park. Sonic decided to have a picnic for his fox friend's birthday, with it nearing the end of summer and the temperatures dropping slightly it seemed like the perfect idea to him. I was somehow dragged into planning the party, but I didn't help all too much. It was as if Sonic kept me around for some sort of emotional support or something like that, although I didn't believe I was providing anything.
I'd assume all of the hedgehog's friends showed up, but I didn't care enough to keep track of them all. Despite all of the mobians there, her eyes were stuck on those azure quills, making it all the harder to approach her. The blue hero would usually run whenever she was near, but they both seemed more relaxed, standing by each other. She looked content despite the hedgehog not giving her attention, and rather eating a chili dog while talking with his twin-tailed friend.
Many others were sitting at a picnic table nearby, enjoying other foods and talking among themselves. But something felt off, as if something was missing. "Hey!" a voice suddenly shouted from behind me. I quickly swung myself around in shock to find the figure standing behind me to be Silver the Hedgehog.
My shock quickly left as I gave the hedgehog a light sigh. "What are you doing here?" I asked. "That blue faker didn't find some way to ruin the future for you, did he?"
"Oh, no, everything's normal back home, I just felt like being here for Tails' birthday," Silver responded.
"Well... okay," I responded, expecting a more urgent situation. "Um... Well, it's great to see you then," I added, putting out my hand for a handshake.
"Yeah, great to see you too!" Silver responded as he took my hand, giving it a slightly rough shake. "You seem a bit more friendly than usual," he then commented.
"It's a nice day," I replied. "And I have my mind on other things at the moment."
There was a short bit of silence before the young hedgehog began talking again. "You obviously want to go over there," he started. "Why don't you just go?"
The question left me a bit annoyed. "Why don't you go over there?" I retorted. "Nobody even knows you're here yet."
Silver let out a light sigh before replying with a simple "alright," and walking over to the others. I tried making myself comfortable, walking over and leaning against a nearby tree. But I was anything but comfortable, I was still thinking of her. She had given Silver some attention when he had walked up to them, but before I knew it her eyes were back on those matching emeralds of his. And yet he was still smiling, not trying to run away as would be usual. She was slipping away.
I just kept thinking, but I couldn't bring myself to do anything about it. I hadn't even walked over and told the fox happy birthday, partially because I honestly didn't care too much, but mainly because she was still standing there. I knew I was doing this to myself, I just needed to push myself to walk over there. I could use wishing Tails a happy birthday as an excuse to walk over, then maybe I could get more courage to say something to her. So that's what I did.
"Hey, Tails!" I called out as I approached. A few of the others around him turned to me, I assume surprised that I was attempting to be social. "Happy birthday!" I finished with a bit of a forced smile as I stopped in front of the fox.
There was a short pause. "Thanks Shadow," Tails eventually replied, sounding slightly confused. "I'm honestly just surprised you helped out with planning this."
"Oh, you shouldn't be," I replied. "I didn't have too much to do with this."
"C'mon Shads, don't put yourself down!" Sonic chimed in as he put an arm over my shoulder. "You were a great help!" he finished. The hedgehog loved giving people encouragement, despite me honestly not deserving it.
"Alright, whatever. Thanks," I replied simply as I moved out from under his arm.
"No prob', bud!" he responded, giving me a light punch on the arm. The hedgehog showed me a light smile and a wink before turning his attention back to Tails. And with his attention gone, so was her's. I tried to say something to her, but I choked up, unable to say a thing. After a short time, Silver noticed my intentions.
He gave me a small grin before tapping her on the shoulder, keeping his eyes on me. She turned around, following Silver's line of sight until her eyes landed on me. "Yes?" she asked simply. I froze.
"I... uh, well I... um..." is all I could get out. I looked like a fool, mumbling and stuttering over myself without being able to form a coherent thought.
"Come on Shadow, don't you have something to say?" Silver asked. She looked confused. I found myself shaking. I swallowed hard, finally trying to force some words out.
"Well... I was... wondering... uh..." I was looking down at the ground, watching my legs shake rapidly.
"Hey everyone!" Sonic suddenly called out, grabbing everyone's attention. "It's been a great time, but Tails and I are gonna be heading home now!"
"Oh, come on Sonic! Let's keep this party going!" Knuckles called out.
"Well..." the blue hedgehog started, but was cut off by many others excitedly agreeing with Knuckles. "Alright, fine. Let's go everyone!" And off they all went, including her, completely forgetting about me. I stood there for a moment, unsure if I should follow them.
"Let's go, Shadow," Silver suddenly said. I was confused for a second, believing I was alone until he spoke up.
"Why should I?" I asked. "I've already squandered my chances."
"Come on, don't be like that! You just need to relax! Trust me, you can talk to her!"
That hedgehog knew how to be inspiring with the simplest of words. "Alright, let's go then."
We soon found ourselves at Tails' workshop in the Mystic Ruins. The workshop was fairly small, so despite moving the party to a new location, we were all still outside. The view was relaxing though, standing on the edge of the cliff and looking out over the seemingly unending ocean, hundreds of waves creating beautiful shapes on the surface below. I looked to the side, seeing another figure looking out at the water.
It was her. She stood there, taking in the view despite all of her friends conversing and laughing a short distance behind us at the workshop. I didn't know why she was alone, but this finally gave me a chance. "Uh... hi," I said simply as I approached. No turning back now.
"Oh, hi Shadow," she replied, giving me a light smile as I stopped beside her. "How's it going?"
"I'm alright, thanks," I answered awkwardly. "So... sorry for acting so weird earlier."
"Don't worry about it!" she said, giving me a larger, reassuring smile. My heart was racing, but I wasn't exactly scared... Well maybe I was a little, but it felt as if I was simply more excited than anything.
"So, how have you been recently?" I asked, wanting to hear her talk again.
"I'm doing well, thanks Shadow," she paused for a second, looking down at the ground. "Well... besides being pretty tired. It's just been a long day." She sat down, hanging her legs over the edge of the cliff. I decided to sit next to her, keeping some distance out of fear of making her uncomfortable.
"I can understand that," I responded, still too choked up to be entirely sure what to say. "So... what's going on with you and Sonic?" I asked, slightly regretting bringing him up right after saying it.
"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked back. "Does it seem like something's going on?"
"Oh, no! Not really," I answered quickly. "It's just that you two seem more relaxed around each other recently."
"Well that doesn't mean anything," she reassured me. "We've both just matured a bit. I've stopped pestering him to be with me, and he's stopped running away from me."
I was a bit confused by her explanation. "So, do you not have feelings for him anymore?"
"No, that's not what I mean. I won't just stop caring about him the way I have, but I need to learn that if he doesn't want to be with me, then it's just not meant to be." I was a bit amazed by her words. It was still her, and yet she seemed so different from the girl I met when I was still working for Eggman, so much more understanding.
"That sounds nice," I said, the words now coming more naturally than before. She looked at me, seeming a but confused. "You know, finally coming to terms with someone after spending so long wanting different things."
"Yeah, it really is nice," she responded, turning her sight back towards the ocean. "This looks amazing, doesn't it?"
"It sure does," I replied, though I wasn't looking at the water, but rather at her. We sat in silence for a short while, watching as the sun began to touch the horizon. I'm not sure when it happened, but it seemed like the space between us had closed drastically. We were now only mere inches apart. It felt peaceful, being this close to her. The stress and uncertainty I had earlier that same day had completely melted away, leaving me with nothing but joy in this moment.
I heard the noise behind us dying down. I looked back to see people saying their goodbyes. I looked back to see her still looking out over the ocean. I gave her a small tap and pointed back at the others. "Seems like the party's over," I explained.
"Guess I should head home then," she said with a light laugh. "Wow, how long were we sitting here?"
"Not exactly sure. It was nice, though," I let slip out, unsure if I was being too straightforward.
"Yeah, that was nice. Thanks for keeping me company," she responded. My heart began to race again. I was so captivated by the feelings she was giving me that I could barely think as she began walking away.
"Wait! Amy!" I eventually called out reaching out and grabbing her arm.
"Woah! Sorry, Shadow," she reacted. "Did you have something to say?"
"Uh... Sorry," I started. "I was wondering if... you would like to meet up for lunch tomorrow?"
She thought about the question for a moment, then gave me a smile, "Sure, that sounds nice."
"Great! So, do you want to meet at Central Station, then?"
"Sure! See you then, Shadow," she replied, turning away and leaving with a small wave. I waved back, giving her a light smile.
"See you, Amy," I said before turning back towards the ocean. It was a few moments before Sonic walked up to me.
"Hey, Shadow. So, how long you planning to hang out?" he asked.
"Oh, I was just about to leave. See you later, Sonic." And with that I set off.
"Uh, Yeah! See ya, Shadow!" the blue hedgehog called out as I was leaving. I probably would have said something to Tails, but I was too distracted to say anything. All I was thinking about at the time was the next day. I couldn't wait to see what excitement the next day could possibly bring.
