"All The Right Moves"
1
How he allowed Amy to convince him to have a sleepover with her, Shadow would never understand, and perhaps it was better to be blissfully ignorant. Amy was a bundle of determination and stubbornness, and he knew that when she made up her mind up about something, it'd be hard to convince her to change it.
"Why are you frowning so dang much? You act like I kidnapped you or something," Amy said, annoyance dripping from her voice and into the air. She was pouting, and she looked like a child instead of an eighteen year old, but Shadow wisely kept that thought to himself. Her quills, longer now, were in bright blue rollers, and her pajamas were a matching blue with pink hearts sprinkled here and there.
"I'm usually always frowning, so I don't see how it's out of the ordinary," Shadow huffed, rolling his eyes. They both sat across from each other on her bedroom floor, Amy having begged and pleaded with him to paint her nails until he finally caved in, if only to shut her up. He held her right hand in his, painting her nails a pretty green.
"Not when Sally's around you don't," she countered, looking too damn smug for his liking. He was tempted to ruin her nail polish for such a smartass comment, but he didn't. Amy was too damn handy with a hammer, and he didn't want to be pounded into a pancake. Instead, he gave her a heated glare that did nothing but make her giggle. He was either losing his touch, or she was simply used to his antics. He prayed it was the former.
"Are you excited to see her again?" Amy continued, offering him her left hand for him to paint her nails. Shadow offered no other explanation beyond a mere grunt, but Amy knew that he was excited to see her, even if he was too stubborn to show it. "I know I'll be happy to see Sally again! It feels like it's been forever since I saw her, and Sonic's coming back too!" At this, her tone was a mixture of cheerfulness and love, her head filled with thoughts of the blue hero.
She was much better than how she was when she was younger, and she couldn't help but grimace every time she remembered how she behaved. She was overwhelming, temperamental, and quick to anger. In other words, she was a brat when she was younger, and she wished she could take back some of the things she said and did, especially in regards to Sonic. She really couldn't blame him for running away from her all those times because she knew if Sonic treated her like she treated him, she wouldn't want to be around him too much either.
She acted like they were dating when they weren't, getting jealous whenever he so much as interacted with another girl, even if that girl was a mutual friend of theirs, like Rouge and Sally. Oddly enough, it was Shadow who called her out on her problematic behavior, and she could never thank him enough for opening her eyes to the truth she'd tried so hard to deny. He didn't mince any words when he told her about herself, and though it stung, she knew she needed to hear it.
After that, she apologized to Sonic, and he accepted it easily, saying he understood and that they'd always be friends, if nothing else. And even though she wanted to be something more with him, and she still did, if she was being honest, she valued their friendship and tried to be as good of a friend to him as she could. Because Sonic was, above all else, one of her best friends, and she wasn't going to let her lingering feelings ruin such a beautiful friendship.
"You're thinking about him again." Shadow's voice gently brought her back to the present. He was staring at her, having already finished painting her nails, patiently waiting for her to reply. She sighed, averting her gaze so that she could stare at her nails.
"That's nothing new. When am I not thinking about Sonic?" she joked, smiling softly. "Do you know what time they'll be back? I know you've been texting Sally." She barely managed to dodge the pillow Shadow hurled at her, playfully poking her tongue out at him.
"I didn't know texting my friend was such a crime, Rose," he spat, but there was no heat behind his words. If anything, he sounded annoyed with her, but she could care less. Teasing him was so hilarious, and she could understand why Sonic and Rouge did it so much. "And she said they'd be back by 10:30 in the morning, so we'll have to leave early if we want to catch them."
Amy smiled, standing up. She stretched her limbs, sighing in relief. Shadow remained where he was, crimson eyes focused on his phone, and she didn't have to ask who was talking to. Honestly, Shadow could be as transparent as her when it came to matters of the heart. Or, perhaps she had such a penchant for romance that she could tell when someone was crushing on someone. She left him to his own devices, quietly making her way to her kitchen to get them some snacks to eat.
Shadow glanced up when he heard her door click shut, and he breathed an audible sigh of relief. Waiting a few seconds to make sure she wasn't going to come back, he quickly dialed a familiar set of numbers, never once taking his gaze off of Amy's bedroom door.
"Shadow! Hey!" At the sound of Sally's exuberant voice, Shadow felt his heartbeat quicken, a steady series of thump-thump, thump-thump.
"Hey, princess. How are things on your end going?" He kept his voice as casual as possible, though on the inside he was a jumbled mess of nerves, which made absolutely no sense to him. He was Shadow the freaking Hedgehog; why the hell was he getting worked up over a simple phone call of all things?
"Good! It's been so long since I've been home, and I missed my family. Mom and Dad are doing well, and Elias is fine too. He and Megan are expecting another baby, so Alexis is going to be a big sister! I'm so happy for them! As far as the affairs of my kingdom are concerned, things are looking really good. Everything seems to be in order, and, as I mentioned before, Sonic and I will be back first thing tomorrow morning," Sally explained.
"That's good to hear. I'm glad your family's doing well, and it's good that your kingdom and people are in high spirits as well. Do your parents still expect you to take the throne?" She was silent for a moment, and Shadow could practically hear the gears shifting inside her head as she thought.
"Eventually, but they're not pressuring me or anything. Besides, Elias is doing a marvelous job holding things down until the time for me to take the throne comes. I actually don't mind it, becoming queen. I just want to still have a life outside of that, y'know? I still want to be myself," she answered, her tone wistful.
"You'd make an incredible leader. Hell, you're already a fantastic leader. You'll be an amazing queen, so don't worry so much about it, okay?" He didn't have to see her to already know she was smiling, head bowed bashfully, her cheeks glowing with a rosy blush. Her eyes were shimmering with warmth, like sapphires underneath the sunlight.
"Thank you so much for that, Shadow. You always seem to know what to say to make me feel better. I don't know what I'd do without you, and I hope I never find out." Her voice rang with sincerity, and he felt his own cheeks heat up from her passionate declaration. Moments like these made him wonder if she knew the affect she had on him.
"Anything for you, princess. Even though I'd love to continue this conversation, it's getting late, and you need your rest. I'll talk to you soon enough, and I look forward to seeing you again."
"I'm eager to see you again too, Shadow. Goodnight!" And after he said he said his goodbyes, he hung up. He could still hear her sweet, melodious voice ringing inside his head.
"Aww, you two are so freaking adorable!" Shadow flinched, his eyes meeting the amused gaze of one Amy Rose, who was leaning against her doorway. She had an armful of snacks, and he wanted to wipe that smug, knowing grin off of her face. He felt like he was burning, he was face was so hot.
"Not one word or I'll Chaos Control my ass up out of here," he growled, eyes narrowed dangerously. Still in a fit of giggles, she nodded her head, tossing him a big bag of Cheetos and a Coke before closing her door and plopping down on her bed. She looked at him, gently patting the empty space beside her, and Shadow rolled his eyes before kicking off his shoes and climbing on the bed to sit beside her.
Her laughter finally subsiding, Amy made herself comfortable, legs crossed, her head cushioned comfortably by her brightly colored pillows. She picked up her remote and turned on the T.V., flicking through different channels in hopes of finding something good to watch. After several moments, she finally found something to watch.
"We're going to watch Pretty Woman?" He gave her a look, eyebrow raised, frowning curiously. Amy scoffed at him, affronted by his question.
"Hey! Pretty Woman is a cinematic masterpiece, and I will not have you slandering its awesomeness!"
"Whatever you say, Amy." And he went back to eating his chips, his eyes glued on the T.V. screen in front of him. He was aware of the movie. Rouge seemed to love it, and it didn't surprise him that Amy did too. After all, Amy was as hopeless a romantic as they came, so a movie like this was right up her alley. He could count on his hands the number of times he watched it; whenever he and Rouge hung out it and it was on, she'd make him sit and watch it her.
Silence fell between them once more, and the room was lit from the light of the T.V., casting shadows along the walls. The movie had already begun, and Shadow made himself comfortable, now taking sips of his Coke.
"Do you think Sonic will ever fall in love with me, Shadow?" Well, that seemed to come out of nowhere, although he was certain that such a thought plagued Amy every now and again no matter how hard she tried to tune it out. He was quiet for several moments, carefully thinking about how he should broach such a delicate topic.
"You cannot force someone to fall in love with you, which is why your previous attempts of wooing Sonic failed miserably. Sonic is and always will be a free spirit. That's not to say he's opposed to settling down, if it's with the right person, it simply means that Sonic deeply values his freedom. So long as the relationship isn't restricting him in a way he deems unfair, then I don't see why he wouldn't stop and smell the roses, so to speak."
"Sonic clearly cares about you, Amy. Never doubt that. He's dated around, here and there, but it was never anything serious. And that's not saying he can't commit. It just depends on how serious he feels it is. So, yes, I feel like Sonic's feelings for you could change, but don't force it. Let him do it on his own terms, in his own way, and everything else will fall into place," Shadow advised her, his tone and expression completely serious.
Amy nodded her head, looking hopeful and determined all at once, flashing him a thankful smiling before turning her attention back to the movie.
"Thanks, Shadow. You're right. I can't give up. I just have to have faith, and keep giving Sonic reasons to run towards me instead of away from me. I still cringe whenever I think about how I acted when I was younger. No wonder he kept running away from me. I'd do the same thing if the shoe was on the other foot," Amy laughed, though tinges of bitterness stained her voice.
"Your behavior made him very uncomfortable because you didn't respect his boundaries. You let jealousy cloud your judgment and your anger get the best of you. You being in love with Sonic was never the issue. How you went about expressing it was problematic. But, if you know better, do better. Stop berating yourself over your past actions. Who you were then differs from who you are now. Take pride in that."
And just like that, Amy found herself smiling all over again, the negative thoughts and feelings fleeing far away. This was why she liked being around Shadow. He was blunt and didn't mince his words, and while they sometimes stun, he came from a place of honest concern and meant well. He was being honest with her, and she appreciated it.
"Thank you. You'll find a way to steal Sally's heart too, although I'm pretty sure you've already stolen it." He threw his empty soda can at her, causing her to erupt into another fit of giggles.