"So, what happened? Did it go well?"

"I'm reading, Rouge."

"How can you read at a time like this? What happened last night?"

"A gentleman never kisses and tells."

"So there was kissing?"

"Reading, Rouge."

The bat-girl huffed and crossed her arms over her chest in frustration. All that time she spent getting us together, and I was refusing to tell her anything. I guess I might've looked a little ungrateful.

"Fine," she finally sighed in defeat, "fine. Don't tell me. I just won't tell you about phase two of my plan."

I glanced up from my book and caught her giving me a mischievous look. Phase two sounded bad, but I was in too good a mood to care at the time. So I went back to my book.

"You're no fun, Shadow."

"And you're just now figuring that out?"

That was when Amy walked over to our table. She had a shy smile on her face as she met my gaze. "Can I sit here?"

I smiled back at her. "Sure."

Rouge watched with astonishment as the pink hedgehog sat down beside me and peeked over my shoulder to see what I was reading. For the sake of screwing with Rouge, I held the book between Amy and I, and the two of us read silently for a while. I could feel the bat's sky-blue daggers burning through my skull as I pretended to be involved in whatever the hell I was reading that day.

The first bell rang, signaling a five-minute warning before first period. Amy went to stand and leave, but hesitated. She looked uncertainly at me and seemed to think for a moment, and then she leaned forward and kissed my cheek.

I could almost hear Rouge's jaw hitting the floor.

"I'll see you in class, okay?" Amy asked sweetly.

I nodded, trying to hide my joy. The spot where she kissed me burned and flared like fire. "Yeah," I confirmed. "I'll see you."

There was a second and a half of silence after Amy walked away, and then Rouge unleashed her wrath. "Okay, what the hell was that?"

I held up my book and showed her the cover to let her know that I was still reading. Apparently, though, she had had enough of my bull crap. Her hand shot forward like a viper as she snatched the book out of my hand. She turned to her left and hurled it away, sending it skidding across the tile.

"Never kiss and tell," she mocked with a snort. "Jackass."

I stopped myself from laughing. The last thing I wanted to do now was piss her off. And I honestly was grateful for her help in bringing Amy and I together. So I compromised. "Look, Rouge, I'll tell you about last night later, okay?"

She refused to make eye-contact with me.

I frowned. "Come on, Rouge."

Her eyes flickered towards me, unsure, and then she turned directly towards me. "You'll tell me all about it?"

The way she was looking at me made it hard to stay strong. "Yes," I caved, "I'll tell you all about it."

Rouge's face suddenly lit up. "Will you let me read about it in your notebook?"

That was where I drew the line. "No way in hell."

She flexed her wings, considering my offer. Her lips puckered sadly. "Oh, alright. But you better tell me everything, Shadow the hedgehog."

I helped her out of her seat and started walking towards our first period. But she walked the other way. "Where are you going?" I asked.

She turned around and scoffed as though it should have been obvious. "The library, duh."

"You? Go to a library? And nobody's forcing you?"

"It's for a book report, smartass. I'll see you in Algebra, just tell the teacher I'm printing something."

"Got it."

As I turned and walked away, shaking my head and smiling to myself, I couldn't help but think about how great things were finally going for me. Amy finally knew how I felt and was okay with it, maybe even in agreement with it. The burden that had been lifted from my chest was akin to the removal of an anvil from my heart. Well, that's a weird way of putting it, but it's not like anyone's ever going to read this damned thing.

I was so engrossed in my newfound happiness, I didn't notice the blue hedgehog standing in my path as I rounded the corner. But when I did, I saw his dark green eyes lock with mine, exhausted but filled with ideas of vengeance.

I stopped in front of him. He was leaning against a locker on his right side, my left, and his clenched fists were tucked into his pockets. There was a series of bandages crisscrossing his bruised face.

"What's up, Shadow?" he almost growled, but he barely managed a normal tone.

I touched the bruises on my chin and face, partially to let him know that he wasn't the only one who was hurt and pissed, and partially to remind myself that I wasn't in the mood for another fight. "I have to get to class."

I shoved past him with my shoulder, but not before he grabbed me by said shoulder and hissed into my ear, "After school, you and me. Got it?"

I wasn't going to be goaded into a fight, especially not by Sonic. "Piss off," I spat, pushing him out of my way.

"I'll tell everyone you backed out," he threatened.

"Like I give a damn," I retorted, walking away.

"I'll tell Amy I love her," he suddenly said.

I froze. There was a pause as the severity of those words sunk in, and I then I turned to look at Sonic. "What makes you think I care about-?"

"Oh, come on, faker," Sonic sneered. "It's so freaking obvious that you like her. I for one am glad that she's found someone, no seriously, I am. But you know for a fact how much she likes me, and if I have to pull on that chain and send her crawling back to me, I will."

I lunged forward, unaware of my movements, and I took him by the throat and slammed him against the lockers. "Never," I snarled, "never talk about Amy like she's a dog."

For a second, Sonic's eyes widened and seemed to grow hazy, as though he suddenly realized that what he was doing was wrong, even by his standards. But then he smiled at me. "So, I'll see you after school?"

I let go of him quietly and slowly, realizing that he truly did have that kind of power over Amy. It was my responsibility now to never let him toy with that power, to help Amy resist it.

"Yeah," I growled in defeat, "I'll see you after school."