Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic, Shadow, Amy or any other SEGA characters in this story, they all belong to Sonic Team.

Where the light lies

Prologue-

A female shadow sulked down the streets at dusk. Occasionally the people who were also walking down the street would look at the owner of the shadow and frown, for her face was deeply marked by thought. No one came close to her though, and no one bother to ask her what was wrong, so the owner of the shadow kept walking. Her face didn't scare any of the people around her and nor did her small body. Her jade green eyes were fixed on the ground she was walking and her lips were pursed together. The concrete floor seemed to have no end just as her thoughts, just as her inner turmoil. With the first sigh of the day, she slowed down to a stop as she reached her apartment building. Had it been a regular day and she would have looked around at her surroundings and admired the colorful shops and small, yet beautiful, garden in front of her yellow four storey apartment building; however, today she simply inserted the key and walked into the lonely corridors of the building.

Instead of walking up the stairs, like she usually did, she took the elevator. Like she expected the elevator was empty, just like the corridor. She entered it and within seconds arrived at the second floor. She inserted her keys to the door on the left with the cute pink and silver carpet with 'welcome!' written on it. With a light push the door jerked open and she went inside. She wasn't in the mood for cooking, which was unusually strange, so she sat down on her couch and opened a book that was set on the coffee table in front of her. A minute hadn't passed when she put the book back down and grabbed the remote control instead. The TV came to life as a soap opera was shown on the screen. 'Great,' she muttered. Immediately her finger touched a numbered button and the image of a news reporter substituted the images of the soap opera. She paid attention for a few minutes but then her mind switched off the real world. Realizing how exhausted she was she turned off the TV and forced her body down the hallway of her medium sized apartment. She didn't even look around to notice the still dirty breakfast plate on the living room table, or the grocery list next to the house phone on a small table. Once she entered her light blue room with a comfortable bed with pink covers she took off her red dress and boots and slipped under her bed's covers with her underwear.

Sleep drifted slowly into her as she grabbed her covers tightly. Fear left and entered her body at times leaving her a strange sense of insecurity. She had nothing to be afraid of a few hours ago, but her future seemed to be planned to change drastically. Or was she making a big deal out of something simple? She was sure she wasn't. Sleep came to her abruptly, like it always does. Her body relaxed and her grip on the bed cover's loosened. The moon was up now and shone brightly. Soft silver stars painted a complex drawing on the skies; a drawing only some people could understand and evaluate.

A short knock was given on Amy's door. A few seconds passed until this gesture was repeated. A few seconds more passed and this gesture was repeated with a small 'Amy' after. The living being standing on the other side of the door knocked again with more force. Letting three seconds pass the living being knocked with a good amount of force and shouted 'Amy' after. The hasty knock and shout shook Amy from her dreamless sleep. Her eyes slowly blinked allowing themselves to get used to the light inside the room. A few sun rays lightened the room. 'What time is it…?' she growled to herself. She left her warm bed and heard someone knock at her door again. Noticing she was still on her under wear she entered her bathroom and took out a robe. She quickly put it on and opened the door. If it had not been for the incidents the day before the pink hedgehog would have gasped in surprise.

"What are you doing here?" She asked with an angered face.

"Guess I came at a bad time. So much for being worried. See you around maybe," a black hedgehog with scarlet highlights gnarled. Amy's natural personality fled into her as she saw the hedgehog step back getting ready to leave.

"Wait…please," she asked in an apologetic manner. The hedgehog turned around and faced her. His sanguine colored eyes stared into hers as he nodded. Amy stood aside to let Shadow in and closed the door behind him. Shadow immediately sat down on her couch without even asking permission causing Amy to sigh. She sat down next to him and held his gaze.

"I saw you leave work yesterday with a tormented face. I was walking down the street when I saw you. I tried to follow you and called out your name twice. You never answered so I left. I was worried though," he informed her with nothing but indifference in his voice.

"Thank you for worrying. I'm sorry I didn't answer. I probably didn't hear you since I don't recall hearing anyone call my name."

"No problem. What happened?"

"Nothing," she lied.

"Fine. If you don't want to talk about it…"

"I do! I do want to talk about it. I'm so sorry… I need to get this off my chest," she told him as tears were slowly starting to form for the first time since the problem began.

"Tell me; what happened?" he asked as Amy scooted closer to him.

"I…I was fired yesterday because they found someone better to replace me," she whispered bitterly as if she didn't want anyone else to hear her words. Her tears began to fall down her face. One by one they dropped on her robe but Amy didn't even try to wipe them. Shadow looked at her with an express less face. Without warning he scooted next to her allowing his legs to touch hers. He embraced her in a warming way. Amy could not help but blush as his grip on her tightened once he sensed one of her tears fall down his back. It isn't like Shadow to act this way… He slowly let go of her and wiped the remaining tears off her face.

"Much better," he nodded with approval. Amy giggled a little.

"I'm unemployed and underage… How am I going to get a new job where I can earn enough to feed myself?" She asked to no one in particular.

"You had a good salary at your old job as a shop employee?"

"Well, it wasn't that good but it was enough. I had money to buy food, clothes and pay the bills."

"Don't worry Amy. I'll help you find a new job. I have to go now but expect me to be back in about an hour," he told her. Amy nodded, sad that he was leaving already. He opened the door and waved his hand. Within a second he was already gone and her door closed. I wonder where Sonic is… she thought as she entered her bedroom.

She took out a soft white spring dress with a red stripe along her waist and red high heeled shoes. She quickly dressed up and went to the bathroom. There she brushed her quills softly and sprayed some perfume. Instead of her usual headband she placed two hair clips, which were hidden and couldn't be noticed on her hair, to keep her hair from covering her eyes. Taking a good look at her visual she nodded and left the bathroom.

She entered the kitchen and opened her refrigerator only to notice that she was very short on food. She wasn't in the mood for shopping so she decided to skip breakfast. She noticed a dirty plate on top of the table in the living room. Quickly, she washed it and placed in where the other cleaned plates were. Feeling tired already, which was unusual, she sat back down on her couch. No more than thirty minutes had passed but that didn't seem to bother her much. The simple fact that she was home alone was sufficient to depress her, even if Shadow was going to be back in another thirty minutes.

Amy looked around her. The living room had its walls painted white, but to add some color Amy hung pictures of her and her friends on various parts of the wall. There was a comfortable black couch that could fit three people in the middle of the room with a wooden coffee table in front of it. A black TV was a few centimeters away from the coffee table allowing it to be in the middle of the couch and TV. At the back of the room near the kitchen door was a wooden table, which matched the coffee table, that could seat up to eight people. On the center of the table there was a yellow jar with colorful flowers in it. The flower that stood out the most though was the perfect white rose on the middle. Around the table there were chairs which matched the table and under the table there was a soft yellow carpet. Behind the couch there was a big window with a small table with a black house phone in front. About two meters away from the table and the window on the wall attached to the window was the door that led into Amy's house. A small black bookcase was near the door. The living room was mostly black and white with a small touch of yellow, but Amy liked it that way. She kept the more cheerful colors for her room and the guest room. A smell of roses filled the living room due to the flowers on the table and Amy's soft perfume. Along with that smell was warmth, a warmth Amy hadn't noticed yesterday because of her problem. She stood up and walked towards the phone. She noticed the grocery list but ignored it. Rapidly she dialed a number she already knew by heart.

Beep…Beep…Beep…Beep…Beep…Beep…Beep…Beep… Hello you've reached Sonic's house number. Currently I am not home so could you please leave me a message after the beep? Thank you. Beep…

Amy turned off the phone and sighed. He's probably out saving the world again. She sat back down on the couch and turned on the TV. Commercials were on but she paid no attention to them. She heard a light knock on the door and turned off the TV. She rushed to the door expecting it to be Shadow since she hadn't realized fifteen minutes were left before the time he was supposed to show up. She opened the door and saw a blue hedgehog standing outside.

"Hey Amy. I bumped into Shadow and he mumbled something like 'faker Amy's sad so don't you dare hurt her feelings today' at me, so I decided to come check on you. Can I come in?" Sonic informed her all at once. Once she processed all the information, and smiled at Shadow's mumble towards Sonic, she stood aside to allow Sonic in. He sat down on her couch after asking her permission and Amy sat beside him.

"So…what happened?"

"I was fired from my old job," she said trying to sound casual. "I'm all right now though," she lied.

"I bet you are, now that I came check on you," he chuckled cockily. Amy shrugged as she looked at him. Not understanding what her shrug meant Sonic smiled at her as he put an arm around her. She blushed wondering why he was doing that. A few weeks from that day she had promised herself to be more independent, once again, and to stop following Sonic around as much. She had kept her promise and since then Sonic seemed to care for her more. Still, his action bewildered her.

"So… would you like something to drink?" She offered. Sonic nodded and took his arm away. She left to the kitchen and came back minutes later with some fresh lemonade for both of them. Sonic drank it all in one gulp and stared embarrassed at Amy who just giggled.

"Sorry 'bout that. I was just really thirsty, which reminds me that unfortunately I have to get going. I told Tails I'd meet him at his workshop," Amy nodded and took his cup. He waved her goodbye and left. Still thinking about Sonic placing his arm around her she giggled and blushed. She smiled at herself glad that her mood was improving. A light knock was heard once again and Amy ran towards the door. She pulled it open and allowed Shadow in once again. He was carrying two bags with him.

"Where'd you go?" She asked curiously as she closed the door. He placed the bags on top of the coffee table and turned to her.

"I saw Sonic leave when I was about to enter your apartment. Why did the faker come here?" He asked coldly.

"He told me what you mumbled to him and asked me what was wrong. I kind of lied to him, but that doesn't matter right now. Where did you go and what are these bags?" It did matter that she had lied though. For Shadow it mattered. He felt a perk of happiness at the knowledge that Amy had been more honest with him than Sonic. She could have done it because she didn't want to worry Sonic though, but Shadow preferred to not think of that as an option.

"I went to the mall and bought a few things, including a newspaper to help you find a new job," he enlightened her. Amy's smile widened and her eyes shone with happiness as she ran to hug the ebony colored hedgehog. Shadow blushed slightly but controlled his features. Why the hell am I blushing? He asked himself. Amy let go of the hug and directed herself to the bags. She opened the first one and saw the newspaper. She quickly took it out of the bag and turned to a specific page. Carefully she skimmed through it and a few jobs caught her eye.

"While you look for a new job I'll be in the kitchen," he warned her. She nodded in approval and resumed skimming the page. Without asking for permission Shadow served himself with a cup of lemonade. He drank it slowly as he pondered about lunch. Damn it… I forgot to buy eggs for the cake. I just hope she has some. He thought to himself. He quickly ran to the living room and grabbed the bags and ran back to the kitchen. He immediately began working on making lunch without Amy really realizing it. Amy had scanned the paper endless times and was only able to circle five jobs. One job that she was capable of doing was to work as a hairdresser, the other one would be to work at a hairdresser but she would in charge of the makeup, the other job was to work as a babysitter, the other one (which she didn't particularly like) was to work as a maid, and the last job was to work at a beach bar. She liked the last job best but it wouldn't give her a lot of money, especially during winter. While she was looking at the addresses for each job Shadow came in the room with a plate full of food. Amy abruptly stretched her feet causing Shadow to trip and yell. He was able to grab the plate with some food, but accidently some of it had fallen off.

"Shadow! Look at this mess! Why did you do this?! I'm already stressed out because of the job and now I have to clean up a mess I didn't make!" She yelled as she took food off her dress.

"Amy…" He started.

"Don't you dare come up with excuses! Maybe I should have told Sonic the truth. Maybe this wouldn't have happened if he had stayed or something!" She yelled louder than Shadow thought she was capable of. Anger rose inside his chest as he heard her pronounce his name.

"Just go after the blue faker and leave me alone then. And don't bother going into the kitchen if you're that mad at me for no good reason," he yelled as he prepared himself to leave.

"Don't you tell me what to do in my house!"

"Damn it Amy! Sometimes you just don't get it," he fiercely yelled as he closed the door behind him leaving Amy alone. She stomped into the kitchen and looked at the clean counter. She wondered what Shadow had meant by the kitchen comment, but the thought vanished once she heard her oven beep. She opened it and took out a plate that was inside it. Slowly she placed it on top of the counter and gasped as she realized what Shadow had made.

Just wanted to tell you that I care a lot for you

She started blankly at the pink cream written message on top of the chocolate cake. Her tears began to form once again on the corner of her eyes. She looked back at the living room and saw the food on the floor. It wasn't left over's as she initially thought they would be when she felt the food fall on top of her. A light salad was on the plate along with some wonderfully looking spaghetti near it. On the floor bits of ham attached to spaghetti were spread, and on her dress only a small piece of ham remained. Way to go Amy…Shadow shows he cares for probably the first time and you blow it all away…

Down the street Shadow cursed at himself and wondered if Amy would actually call Sonic after he'd left. It's not my business anyways… He thought sadly to himself.