Autor's note: Thank you Amefloza13 for the review.
This chapter is a long one, yet one of the most emotional ones. Enjoy :)
Chapter VI: Emotions and Illusions
Near the Tails workshop, Amy arrived early to do the preparations for the meeting. Cream arrived shortly after, helping the pink female, by placing the plates up on a large rectangle table placed by Knuckles that was now taking care of the seats. Everyone seemed to have a smile on the face, eager to reunite with the same old friends. Tails was fixing the white chain of lights, that was holding up to a big tent structure.
Sonic was late like always and from the Chaotix, only Espio accepted the invitation, while Charmy and Vector were working until late. Rouge already confirmed she was coming and no one knew about Shadow.
Amy made a fast meal thinking about Sonic, thinking about touching his hand while serving the food on his plate, thinking about if he missed her after all those months. The rose female also put her best outfit to impress him.
A vintage sleevless red dress, with white small dots all over it, and a black silk band around her waist enhanced the hourglass figure. She even let her hair grow after all those months and somehow the tips of the front quils fit her face like a barroque frame. Her tipical red headband was now replaced by a silky black one with a rose on the left side, that matched the band around her petite waist. Amy looked like a retro pinup from the 60's, almost Marylin Monroe style.
Tails finally finished setting the white chain of lights and turned on the generator. Suddently it was like they entered a fairy realm or something. The small white lights gently shimmered with the lack of consistency of the energy provided by the generator. Cream placed jars in the middle of the table filled with fireflies, whose green neon lights turn on and off softly.
Now the only thing missing was the drinks, that where inside some cardboard boxes behind the workshop.
Amy took one jar filled with fireflies to light up her path and walked into the dark.
As she walks away from heart of the party and the amusing chat gave place to the crickets symphony, while the full moon reveals a familiar silhouette that made her smile grow bigger.
The rose hedgehog starts to run, ignoring the protruding roots of the trees, tripping in one of them and it was like the time slowed down. The poorly closed jar, spilled the fireflies in the air of the night, and her upperbody fell against Shadow's upperbody, who swiflty hold her with a warm touch of his hands on her naked arms. Her time perception seemed to return to normal, when she noticed the unsmiley muzzle awkwardly close to hers and dared to look up to see curious ruby irises with a small tink of yellow.
Shadow looked down, at first somewhere between the annoyed-neutral facial expression, only to feel strange when his sight match her face, analyzing Amy's features.
"I'm soooo sorry Shadow!" she quickly takes some steps back and fix her dress, avoiding eye contact, ashamed.
Shadow didin't replied, he was somehow stunned, the fireflies were now flying around her, giving her an eerie aura. It was like they time traveled at least 50 years back, to see Amy dress with similar fashion like the time when Maria was alive.
At first, it made him feel very nostalgic, the ebony male could totally see Maria dressed like that, but as he snaped out of the brief day dream, sadness filled his heart again.
"Hey I said I'm sorry! You didin't need to ignore me..." Amy took his silence like he was offended somehow, and she quickly turned her back to him, to walk towards the others, when Shadow grabbed Amy's arm for a few moments.
"No need to apologize, is there anything left to do?"
Shadow tried to be more social, he owned that to Rouge at least. The pink female face brightens with his offer, giving him a smile that left him unseasy.
"There are some boxes with the beverages for the folks. Follow me, I've got quite a suply for the night!"
Amy turns her back again towars the back of the workshop, walking with her hands behind her back.
On the top of a tree, Rouge arrived minutes before, trying to gain some courage first, before she enter the party to see Knuckles.
But she stay still when she caughts Amy falling towards Shadow, watching with morbid curiosity the interaction between the rose female and the ebony male ever since.
She knew Shadow so well, that the ivory bat could read his body language perfectly. Shadow was so nervous around Amy that made the bat giggle. His movements were rigid and controlled, like he was trying not to make a fool of himself in front of pink female.
Even when he grabbed one heavy box with the bottles with ease, his movements were so rigid, they were almost robotic. Rouge had something on her head, because a mischievous smile grew at every second she observed them before she finally gains courage and flies.
Amy walked towards the party first, with few drinks on her hands.
"You took so long for only 4 drinks?..." Tails asked a bit annoyed, because Espio just arrived and it was about time to eat and drink something, when moments after, Shadow cames out of the darkness with a heavy box filled wih the rest.
"Oh… Hi Shadow!" Tails waves his hand nervously to the ebony male, that looked more menacing with the formal military suit.
Shadow places gently the drinks at the top of the table and them, he reaches Tails with a handshake. His dark hand stood still for some seconds while the fox hesitated, only to be pushed to the side by Sonic who suddently arrived.
"Woah Shadow! You look great when you shower! That suit really suits you!"
The blue blur shakes his hand with a iron grip, shaking it vigorously before Shadow pushes his hand back.
"You could use some shower them. You look like an hippie."
Shadow looks at him up and down with despise on his face, noticing some necklasses with religious symbols.
"Thank you the compliment!" Sonic dismissed the provocation" I was just lazy to put the souvenirs from my travels on bags so I carried them around my neck. Want one?"
Suddently, Amy hugs Sonic from behind, interrupting the small chat between the two rivals.
"Ive missed you so much..." Amy says with a smile while bear crush hugs the blue blur.
"Woah Ames, it was only six months! Here, have a necklass." he pushes her away slightly annoyed, trying to keep a smile, giving her a random necklass. One of the Shadow's eyebrows rised with the azure hero behaviour when he was around Amy.
"Oh, is it for me? Would be better if it was an engagement ring" she giggles "but I will cherish it with all my heart."
Sonic rolls eyes with the engagement ring talk, while Shadow just observed with arms crossed their dynamics.
"Well Ames gonna say hi to the rest of the folks. Try not to confuse Shadow with me ok?" and he dashes towards Espio that was grabbing a drink.
Shadow became pissed off, it ofended him more than ofended Amy. She just gave a weak smile and sit at the bench, with watery eyes. Somehow, the ebony male gained courage and sat next to her, in silence.
However, moments later, Rouge walks in, with a stunning purple long dress. For moments she stole the party attention as she was the last, but not the least, to enter the meeting. Knuckles ears her name on Cream's mouth, but do his best efforts to ignore her. He excuses himself to go grab the food platers inside Tails workshop, when Rouge swiflty crosses his path.
"Hi there handsome. How are you?" Rouge did her best to be pleasant but Knuckles grunted and keeps walking.
"You don't need to be shy around me…" the ivory bat grabs him gently by the arm and walks by his side. He becames nervous with her silky touch but continued to walk.
"The food is getting cold. Do you mind if I grab it for the party?! We'll talk later." he hissed before entering Tails workshop, but the bat was persistent and walked at his side, still holding his arm.
Rouge finally lets go his arm, watching from behind, the powerfull echidna grabing four platers, two in each arm, and closes the door.
"I missed you." she said with a soft voice, with her back and wills against the door.
Knuckles let go a big sigh and places the food on the counter. He stood for few moments with his fists against the top of the furniture trying to calm down, when Rouge hugs him from behind.
"I gave you a chance, but you..."
"I know… I'm a piece of shit… You trusted me… But I realized…"
Knuckles turns around and looks at her pissed off. Rouge looks to the side and hugs herself with a sad expression:
"I like you more than I tough I would ever like someone. And… you deserve better than someone like me."
The red echidna looks up letting go another sigh and them looks at her with a softer expression:
"I like you too bat girl, that's why I am so offended for what you did. But hey, old habbits die hard and we are from different worlds. It would never..."
Rouge takes a step foward and places a kiss on his lips, and gently grabbed his head with her hands. At first Knuckles had his eyes wide open, taken by the surprise, but then, his body close to hers, reminded him from the sleepless nights they spend together, from the small pieces of heaven they shared at each others arms behind the Master Esmerald soft glow…
However, outside, the folk were wondering why it was taking so long for the food to come. Cream takes the iniciative to find out why, but when she opens the door, she caughts Knuckles and Rouge against a wall making out and she imediatly closed the door with a bang, flushed.
The bang was enough to make them stop and recompose, ashamed. Outside, as soon they knew the news, Sonic and Tails starts to mock them loudly, while Espio was holding a laugh or two. Amy just lets go some sighs, kinda envious, and as soon they come out, she and Cream went to get the food, otherwise they would starve.
Sonic sat at the head of the table after he placed in each seat (exept Amy's) a souvenir he brough from his journeys. Tails sat at his right, with Cream next to him, and Knuckles at his left, with Rouge "glued" to his right arm. Amy sat right next Cream and Espio next to Rouge. Shadow took the oposite place to Sonic, at the end of the table.
"So guys there has been a while! Next time we should invite Eggman!"
Sonic says before he takes a chillydog to himself before Amy could handle him one.
She was serving everyone with tryhard smile on her face, that fooled everyone except the black hedgehog.
"Only if you wanna have other kind of party Sonic! Thank heavens from the peacefull times we have now, I had plenty of time to work on my projects!" Tails replies after taking a bite on the food.
"Yeah, and even gave you the time to get a girlfriend!" Sonic replies and everyone laughs, execpt Shadow who kept eating in silence.
Cream blushed hard and Tails too, but Knuckles decided to intervene to annoy Sonic:
"I'm sure you got plenty of girlfriend's too on the journeys you made… Tails told me about your adventures."
Now was Sonic time to be embarrased, Rouge was laughing allong with Knuckles, Espio like always wide his smile behind his hand amused, Tails and Cream were enjoying the moment too, Shadow was bored and Amy was the only one with no expression. After the echidna spoke, she felt a cold on her stomach and her troat tensed, while trying to keep as neutral as possible. Sonic gave some excuses and try to talk about other things, like the cultures and religions he meet, completly ignoring Amy's unusual lack of interaction. Yet again, the ebony male noticed, but remained calm, try to understand why she allowed him to treat her feelings so poorly.
Amy was having a battle on her mind, trying not to make a scene, after so many months, after so many efforts, she had to prove herself she was stronger, plus, she had other issue to take care off, the sleepless nights dreaming of her, in the skin of Maria and other dead girl.
"So Shadow, how is it going at G.U.N.? Ive heard you were condecorated recently."
Amy said with a dry voice, trying to stay as neutral as she could.
Shadow was taken by surprise, drinking a sip of the sidra before he replies soflty:
"Its going ok I guess. Could be better, could be worse. But I loose my pacience when bossed around by that arrant knave, the Commander."
The attentions now turned to Shadow, that made him have a small social anxiety attack that he manages to hide, while Sonic's expression changed when he sees Amy giving more attention to his rival.
"Come on Shadowy, you could say at least we make a great team together! All you do is complain about the old man!" Rouge mocks him, sounded offended.
"At least I didin't complained about you, Bat Girl." he gave a evil smile to her, showing his fangs.
Everyone laughed at his statment, Rouge laughed too but soon after she trows napkin turned into a ball at his head. Shadow dodged at ease and felt more relaxed. Slowly he was enjoying the social interactions. Just because he is introverted, that didin't meant he doesn't need to be social once in a while, in very small and controlled doses.
Sonic demanded attention by humilliating him, when he asks with a relaxed voice, showing a stern look:
"So Shads, I bet you gain good money now… But Ive heard you live in the slums of the city. Is it true?"
"Yes. Its good to discourage any attention I would receive from the so called fans."
Shadow looks back sternly, faking a smile, but everyone could see the tension rising around those two rising.
"Well, who wants desert? I made puddin today!" Amy asks loudly, getting up and taking her plate.
Shadow and Sonic were still looking to each other, controlling the urge to insult and fight, with their feets hitting the ground, nervously under the table.
Everyone replied positive to the desert, and Shadow just before Cream did, offered himself to help Amy to pick up the plates and take them inside Tails workshop. He did that, just to somehow annoy the blue blur. Knuckles was talking to Sonic, but he couldn't keep his eyes out of Shadow and Amy, controlling his temper with closed fists up on the table.
Tails noticed that too and made a remark with a smile:
"Are you jelly Sonic?"
"Jelly?" Sonic stopped staring at them, trying to understand what the kitsune just said.
"Babe, its a term the folks use for jealous..." Rouge intervenes right before Tails, with a smirk.
"You guys are drunk already, too much sidra does bad things to your heads. Just I'm not sure if it was a good idea to invite Shadow to the party. He's dangerous." Sonic says between sips from the cup filled with a mix of sidra and beer.
However, Shadow followed Amy and offered to take the major weight from the plates, but she refused, taking half of them. As they entered Tails workshop, Shadow asks bluntly:
"Why do you allow him to treat you like that?"
Amy was caught by surprise, she never tought Shadow even cared enough to ask such things. Besides, they weren't even friends…
"Its not your business! Besides, you don't even know what is to be in love."
Amy replied coldly, hurt, placing hard the dishes against the counter, almost breaking some of them.
The ebony male smiled, he touched a weak spot, yet he proceeds:
"With your defensive response, I assume you do have the notion of what you are doing to yourself.
Besides, you don't know me enough to know if Ive ever been in love or not. Do not assume things you're unfamiliar with."
The pink female opened the cupboard trying to be as neutral as possible, but when Shadow gets next to her to get the spoons on the drawer, her voice was a mix of sadness and anger:
"Do you take pleasure in exploiting others persons weaknesses?!"
"No, only if they are my enemies."
"So… I'm your enemie now?!" Amy looses it, and summons her hammer, before tries to hit him.
Shadow grabbed her hammer and tossed it with no effort to the other corner of the workshop, staring serious into her eyes:
"You're not my friend, but you're not my enemie either. Why should you be my enemie, if you me remind of a solemn promisse I did many years ago?"
Amy watery eyes are becoming more and more evident and she looks back to the counter, grabbing the puddin with one hand, and with the other taking the clean desert plates. Shadow just shrugs as he once again grabs the spoons and starts to walk, right behind her. As soon Amy's opens the half open door with the shoulder, her face change like a mask. A smile and a gentle, but fake expression replaces the sadness. But nothing could hide her puffy watery eyes…