I woke up feeling... well, nothing. Looking at the large room around me, and down at soft, silk-covered bed. I didn't have any reason to be upset. Honestly, the benefits of a government job have been amazing. Despite that, I couldn't find happiness in the moment. Just... nothing. I just sat in bed, losing track of time, trying to think, but nothing ever coming.
I looked over at the clock on my nightstand; 8:00 a.m. Four hours with nothing to. Despite how I felt, I had to do something. I forced myself out of bed, slipping on my regular gloves and shoes before leaving my room. I descended the stairs slowly, wanting to eat up as much time as possible. I made a quick breakfast, a plain piece of toast, and took my time finishing it off.
Deciding to leave, I checked the time once again as I made my way towards the door; 8:08. I let out a disappointed sigh as I opened my front door. The warm air pouring in blew against my fur, sending a strange feeling through my body; a feeling that I couldn't exactly define as uncomfortable or pleasant. I stepped out into the sun, taking in the sights of the small neighborhood that I've seen again and again. Looking at the houses around me, I for some reason found myself questioning if any of these people knew me. I mean, even if they did know, would they care? They may care about the artificial being made with alien DNA as the "Ultimate Lifeform", meant to be used to cure deadly illnesses, but that's not who I am, just what I am. I pondered the thought, wondering if I even knew who I was.
I shook the thought from my mind, realizing it would completely take over my mind if I let it, the feelings it would leave me with likely forcing me back into bed for the rest of the day. I was only a few miles away from Station Square, so making it there would take almost no time at all. I needed to find some way to preoccupy myself for the next few hours, so for the time being, I started walking. As I made my way down the street, I glanced around, just hoping that something would happen, anything to distract me, even for a short time. I wanted to feel something, the nothingness somehow feeling as if it was a weight on my shoulders.
My eyes turned towards the ground, as if I could somehow find something to distract myself. I started counting my steps, anything to keep me preoccupied. I don't know exactly how long I counted, but I must have been around one hundred when I suddenly bumped into something. I quickly backed up, confused, until I glanced up the see the face of a simple-minded purple cat. He hadn't even noticed me, even after having run into him. "Hey," I called out simply. "Is there a problem?"
"Oh!" the cat exclaimed, suddenly noticing me. "Have you seen Fwoggy around here?" he asked as he leaned down to talk to me, his slurred, awkwardly pronounced words slightly irritating me. Despite that, I felt blessed to finally have something to do.
"I haven't, but I can help look," I answered. The cat cheered before suddenly scooping me up into a hug. It felt like an excruciatingly long time before he had stopped crushing me and decided to put me down. Before I knew it, he was running off to look for his frog, I guess trusting me to somehow find him again if I did end up finding the thing. I looked around, getting an idea of where I was. I somehow ended up only a short walk from Station Square. Okay, so maybe it was closer to four hundred steps...
I wasn't sure where to start looking, so I made my way into the city, assuming the cat had the right idea going that way himself. As usual, the city streets were extremely crowded. I had no idea how anyone would be able to find a little frog in this mess. Before I knew it, I found myself nearing Central Station. And there was the cat, again. He was standing by the hotel, glancing around as if he was unsure where to go.
"Have you found your frog yet?" I asked as I walked up to him.
"No..." he replied simply, his ears drooping slightly as he looked at the ground. I found myself feeling a bit sorry for him, but I wasn't sure how to help finding a frog in all of Station Square. I glanced over at Central Station, a green speck in the distance catching my eye.
"Hey! There it is!" I called out, tapping the cat before making my way in the direction of the creature. I saw the frog going around a turn towards City Hall, narrowly dodging all of cars passing by. I sped up, urgent to catch the frog before anything happened. In a few seconds, I was on top of the small creature, trying to get my hands on it as it hopped around the street, getting constant honking from the cars around me. Suddenly, I saw one of the cat's brown gloves grab the frog from right in front of my face.
He pulled the frog close, now looking extremely happy as he danced around with the thing. He then turned to me, thanking me and shaking my hand. I assured him that it was no issue before he ran off and into Central Station. Now that I was done with that situation, my feelings began leaving me, which left me empty once again. I moved back onto the sidewalk, glancing around, wondering if I should have invested in getting a watch.
"Excuse me?" I called out to a nearby man, who looked urgent to get somewhere quickly. "Do you have the time?" I asked.
"Uh, 11:46," he answered quickly as he looked down at his watch, speeding off before even looking at me again.
"Thanks..." I said quietly, despite the fact that I knew he wasn't listening. Only fourteen minutes, not sure if I can even wait that long. I made my way over to the station, taking a seat on the first step. I found myself looking around, hoping she would, for some reason, show up early. Each minute seemed to pass like an hour as I waited, constantly trying to focus on something as to not leave my mind empty.
"Hey Shadow!" I suddenly heard a voice call out. I turned to see Amy approaching from the station doors.
"Hi, Amy," I said simply as I stood up, waiting for her to descend the stairs. "Thank you for coming," I added as she reached me.
"No problem, Shadow," she replied with a smile. "It's gonna be nice being able to spend time with you for a change." That smile got me good. I felt a warm feeling raise inside of me as a large smile grew on my own face. "So, where did you want to go?" she asked after a moment of silence.
"Well... I was thinking about going to the burger shop near City Hall," I replied, immediately feeling as if I had made a poor choice.
Amy began to let out a small laugh. "Gee, you really know how to flatter a girl. Don't you, Shadow?" I guess my disappointment with myself was obvious, as she quickly added, "Oh, it's not a problem, though! I don't mind where we go." She just stood there, smiling at me. The thoughts of my foolishness faded away as I became lost in her eyes.
I soon snapped back to reality, not sure how long we had been standing there. "Sh-should we get going?" I suddenly asked, snapping Amy out of her own trance.
"Oh! Yeah, right. Let's go," she responded, giving me a smile as she took lead, making her way toward the restaurant. After a moment of watching her walk away, I snapped out of yet another daze and began to follow closely behind. I walked up next to her, wanting to reach out for her hand, but feeling too awkward to do so. It was only a short walk until we made our way to the burger shop. Walking in, there were only a few others in there, some small conversations, and two or three people who shot a glance our way as they heard the door move.
We took a seat, and a waiter came up a few minutes later. We said our orders and the waiter walked off, leaving the two of us alone once again. I looked into her eyes, and she looked back at mine. "It's nice to finally get to spend time with you, Shadow," she eventually said. "It seemed like you never wanted to hang out with anyone."
She wasn't wrong. I usually found myself uninterested when it came to spending time with most of the blue hedgehog's friends, but she was different. She helped me feel ways that I don't think I've felt since I was on the ARK. There it goes again, my thoughts of her bringing back memories that I've all but forgotten, stirring up my emotions in a way that's hard for me to understand. "I haven't really given it a chance before," I responded. "As it turns out, you're really pleasant to be around." I gave her a light smirk, showing that the realization was anything but a surprise.
She giggled lightly at my response before we both fell back into silence, gazing into each other's eyes once again. We eventually got our food, and we enjoyed it, but not as much as we just enjoyed being there, with each other. We kept talking, random topics coming out of nowhere, just so we could keep listening to each other. I was laughing, and smiling, but at some point, the feeling somehow started to fade away. I tried chasing it, to catch the feeling before it went too far, but it just went further, as if trying to escape me for some reason I couldn't understand.
She put her hand on the table, inviting me to take it. I put my hand over hers, melting back into the relaxed feeling that was running away just seconds ago. "You look a little stressed. Is something wrong?" she asked.
"Oh, no! Nothing's... uh- everything's fine," I stumbled through saying, obviously showing I was lying.
"I hope you don't suddenly have a problem with me, Shadow."
"No, you're wonderful," I said quickly, taking hold of her arms, a shocked look appearing in her eyes. I slowly pulled away, dropping my head into my hand. "Sorry..." I started with a sigh. "I just... feel stressed about something... indescribable, and I don't want you thinking this is your fault." Amy reached out to me, resting a hand on my shoulder.
"Don't worry, Shadow," she said. "I'll be here to help you figure this out." I looked up at her, seeing her warm, beautiful smile, and I gave her one back, causing her smile to grow wider. We continued back and forth until we just ended up giggling at each other, our joy growing just by looking at each other.
"You definitely make things easier," I clarified. We sat together for a short time, finishing our food and simply enjoying being with one another. We eventually left the diner, me being completely unsure where to go next.
"Why don't we head to the park?" Amy suggested. "It could probably help you relax."
"Sounds great," I responded simply, the grand smile given by her presence never leaving my face. We soon found ourselves at the same park the party was held yesterday. It was nice being out there, away from all the people. Away from the suffocating mass of the public. We eventually just sat down on the grass, simply letting the overwhelming feeling of relaxation wash over us.
After a short time, I had decided to break the silence. "Thank you..." I said simply.
"What's that?" Amy questioned.
"I mean, thank you for caring so much," I started. "You've made me feel ways no one else had been able to for a long time."
Her smile grew and she slowly closed her eyes as she laid back, resting her head on my shoulder. "I'm happy to have been such a help," She said sweetly.
I took a moment, working up the courage to get out my next words. "... I... love you, Amy," I eventually got out. Her surprised reaction, despite being slightly restrained, was still obvious. I tensed up, wondering if I may have somehow misinterpreted how she felt.
"I..." She sat up, spinning around and throwing her arms around me. "I love you too, Shadow!" She took a moment before pulling away, keeping her arms on my shoulders. We locked eyes, our faces mere inches apart. Her eyelids slowly lowered once again as she began to lean in. My heart was racing. I wasn't sure what to do for a short moment, but I was able to quickly relax, letting my eyes close as I leaned in myself.
Our lips met, my heart beating even faster. I reached out, taking hold of her and bringing her in close. Neither of us wanted to pull away, the kiss becoming more intense and passionate as the seconds passed. Our breath soon became heavy, the heat we began radiating feeling almost intoxicating, and so comforting. We held each other close, our bodies pressed together, as if we were attempting to get even closer. Eventually, we reluctantly pulled away, pure bliss still present on both of our faces.
While we were distracted, the sun had begun to set. I stood up, taking hold of Amy's hand to bring her to her feet. "Wow..." She reacted simply, her legs seemingly weak as she fell into my arms. I couldn't help but chuckle a little, getting a jokingly annoyed groan out of the pink girl.
"Here," I started, as I lifted Amy off her feet. "How about I carry back to Central Station?" Amy's face, which was already showed a small amount of blush, was quickly covered with a bright shade of red.
"J-just out of the park is fine..." she responded, obviously embarrassed.
"Alright, then," I responded with a chuckle. We later found ourselves back at the station, Amy back on her own two feet.
"Thanks for such a good day, Shadow," she said as we stopped in front of the station's steps.
"No, thank you," I said back. "I honestly probably would have spent the day in bed if not for you," I admitted. She walked up, bringing me into yet another hug.
"Thank you for trying for me, Shadow." The words meant so much. I felt like I could break down and cry, not from sadness, but the pure, expanding joy she unleashed onto me. "So," she started as she pulled away. "got any plans for tomorrow?" she asked.
"Do you?" I asked back.
"Yes, actually," she responded, to my disappointment. "Blaze and I were going to go shopping for stuff for her new place."
"New place?" I questioned simply.
"Yeah, she thought it'd be nice to have her own place instead of staying with Vanilla and Cream every time she's here."
"Good to know..." I didn't know what I was going to do tomorrow. Who knows, maybe I'd get lucky and get called in to investigate something for GUN, but at that point I wasn't sure. "See you the day after, then?" I inquired.
"Sure!" Amy replied with a large smile. "Can't wait," she added with a wink. With that, she began making her way up the steps. "See you then, Shadow!"
"See you then!" I called back, waving to her as she passed through the station doors. I made my way back home, the bliss experienced that day still resonating within me. I eventually made it home and headed to my bedroom, sill feeling nice hints of joy washing over me. However, as I climbed under my covers and prepared for the night, I couldn't help but have the happiness begin to flee, my soul's bright, amazing state being stripped away, leaving a dark hole. I had returned to this all too familiar state, a state that left me feeling... well, nothing.