Little ShaDows

Chapter Twelve (Coming down with...something...)

Amy sighed for the third time in ten minutes. It was noon, about the time she usually went out to shop or hang with Cream, but today she lay in bed, still wearing her silky teal pajamas. Her sprained ankle was wrapped and propped up on a pillow. Her normally bright emerald eyes stared wearily at the ceiling.

"Shadow, I'm bored." she moaned.

"I know." he said, lying in his usual spot. "You've told me five times already."

"No, I haven't."

"Yes, you have."

"No, I haven't."

He was silent. Amy turned her head to look at him. "Shadow, you're supposed to keep going until one of us trips up and says the opposite of what we meant to say."

"What is the point in that?"

She pursed her lips, thinking it over. "Dunno." she said at length with a shrug. "They're always doing it on the television, though."

"You base your life on the make believe scenarios you see on television?" he asked.

"It's not all make believe."

"No, just greatly exaggerated."

Amy didn't know what else to say. He had a solid point, after all.

Sighing again, she went back to staring at the ceiling. Having a sprained ankle was turning out to be more of a bummer than she initially imagined. She couldn't put any pressure on the blasted thing, which made walking a difficult task. The first day after she had sustained her injury, she and Shadow watched horror movies and baked cookies from dawn until dusk. Both hedgehogs suffered major stomach aches that night. On the second day Amy made Shadow play dress up, forcing him to wear the vast amounts of doll clothes she had been buying him. She also insisted on taking multiple pictures of every single outfit he wore, greatly adding to his chagrin. He had tried to avoid the entire situation by reminding her his arm was broken, but she promised to be gentle. And she had kept her promise...though it didn't make him any happier. Now it was day three and Amy hadn't the slightest idea of what to do. She never spent this much time in her house.

Another sigh escaped her. "Shadow, I'm-"

"I know." he cut her off, quite tired of hearing her complaints of boredom and not completely over being upset about yesterday's events. How could he not be upset? He was wearing pajamas. Pajamas! What the hell did he need pajamas for? Sure, they didn't feel bad. The fabric was soft and comfortable, and he didn't have any real problem with the red color. But...well...

His eyes narrowed. There was a reason he was against wearing these things. He couldn't think of it at the moment, but he knew there was a reason. Why did he even let Amy have her way with him yesterday?

'The incessant pleading...' he remembered glumly. She just went on and on and on, and he finally gave in to get a break from it all. Honestly, she was unbearable sometimes.

'But her stubbornness isn't what truly bothered you.'

The thought seemed to come out of nowhere. It was surprising...and true. Amy's pleading nor the subsequent dress up session wasn't what had Shadow upset. Yes, those two things had been annoying, but they weren't the root of his current bad mood. The root...was him. Not Amy, not the clothes, but himself. Why? Because each time he felt Amy's fingers brush against him...The way she gingerly slipped his broken arm into the sleeves of various shirts, whispering for him to hold still...How she smiled at him with those dazzling eyes while saying how good he looked...Her touch, her expression, and her words all gave him the strangest feeling in the pit of his stomach. He felt ill, but not a sick sort of ill. It didn't make sense. He was confused, but he didn't know what he was confused over. Perhaps he was thinking too much. But thinking too much about what?

He frowned. These thoughts were traveling in pointless circles.

"I still can't believe Sonic actually called me." Amy found herself musing aloud, effectively ending Shadow's jumbled thinking.

"I know he said he would, but usually he just forgets these things. I don't remember him ever calling me before...Do you think he's coming around, Shadow?"

"Coming around to what?" he asked, his voice cold. The Faker was the last subject he wanted to converse about.

"Coming around to liking me." she expounded. "I always knew he and I were meant to be together. I've just been waiting for the day he realizes it, too."

"How would you know something like that?"

Amy took a moment to consider his question. "I guess...you just know." she said.

"That makes no sense."

"Love isn't supposed to make sense."

"If that's the case, I want nothing to do with it."

"Everyone wants love, Shadow."

"I'm not everyone." His irritation was steadily increasing.

"But you are someone. Someone with a heart. And hearts are like engines that need fuel to run properly. Love happens to be the best fuel of all. It keeps you running happy and it has this magical way of spreading to other people's hearts, filling them up with happiness, too. There's nothing more important in this world than love."

"...That has to be the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

Silence. Shadow knew he had spoken out of line. He hadn't even meant to say those words. But he had said them and now he could feel his chest tightening in regret. His pride told him to forget it. No matter how sensitive the person he was talking to was, he never censored his speech. So what was the big deal? And yet his conscience refused to drop the matter. He knew he had done wrong. Even though he couldn't see her face, he knew he had hurt Amy. Was he willing to live with that?

It didn't take long for the answer to come to him. Amy was his friend, his first and only true friend. She was...She was...important to him.

He swallowed, knowing what he had to do. It wasn't something he practiced often, but when it came to Amy he was discovering he could do things for her he would never dream of doing for any other soul on the planet.

And this was something she deserved without question.

"I'm...I'm sorry..." There. He had done it. But would she receive his apology?

The seconds ticked by.

She didn't respond.

His heart clenched. Had she heard him? He was certain he had said it loud enough. Maybe he should try again and speak up a bit...

But before he had the chance, there was a sudden movement in the bed. At first, to his great disappointment, Shadow thought Amy was leaving, but then...he felt her warm breath on his face. He felt her lips press against the side of his head for a second which lasted forever. And, as she pulled away, his ears caught her hushed words: "Forgiven, forgotten..."

And just like that, his stomach illness from yesterday was back.