Shadow and Amy sat at the first empty booth they saw, located near the window of the diner. As Amy sat down, she was once again surprised to see that Shadow didn't sit in the seat next to her, but rather in the seat across from her. She was going to say something to him, but after seeing the look on his face, she decided against it.

He had a look of insecurity written across his face. It looked like he was more nervous and unsure about what they were doing than she was. Amy felt her heart begin to speed up at the sight of him like this. She didn't know why, but there was something about the way he sat there, his eyes fixated on the table, that made her heart flutter.

She was drawn out from her thoughts when the waitress came by to give them their menus and take their drink orders. Amy ordered herself a cup of tea while Shadow ordered a soda. When the waitress left, Shadow took the menu and began looking through it.

For some reason, Amy couldn't help but stare at Shadow. Why was he acting like she wasn't there? He wanted to go on this get-together with her, and yet, he was acting like it was no big deal. Another small wave of guilt rushed over the pink hedgehog; a part of her was constantly expecting Shadow to pull something, like trying to convince her they were on a date or something. However, seeing that he wasn't even trying to advance on her, she felt happy, but at the same time, she felt left out.

Shaking the thoughts from her mind, Amy picked up the menu and began looking through it as well, trying not to bring any unwanted attention to herself. When she did, Shadow lowered the menu slightly, peering over the top to look at Amy. For a split second, he saw the look on her face and smiled, quickly raising the menu to cover his look.

After a few moments, the two of them decided what they wanted and when the waitress came back with their beverages, they placed their orders. Soon, they were alone again, sitting in complete silence and with awkward looks on their faces. Amy fidgeted with her back quills, trying to find something to say to him. Shadow, on the other hand, twiddled his thumbs under the table, barely making eye contact with her.

After several minutes of silence, Shadow decided to break the ice first.

"So," he began, looking out the window as he spoke, "How's it been?"

"Fine, I guess," she said with a nervous tone.

"Have you heard from Sonic yet?" he asked, trying not to make the name he just said sound forced.

"Not yet," she replied, "He was supposed to call me when he was done with his duties in Shamar, but he hasn't yet. Hopefully he won't be gone for much longer."

That's what you think, Shadow thought to himself as he took a sip of his beverage. "I'm sure he'll be back before you know it."

"Yeah," Amy said, raising an eyebrow, "I hope so."

The black hedgehog decided to change the subject. "So, how's your other friend, Cream?"

Amy looked at Shadow with a slightly bewildered expression. It wasn't so much because he had asked her that question but because she didn't know how to answer him.

"She's fine," she said with a smile. "How has Rouge been? I haven't seen her in a while. Is she alright?"

It was then that Shadow looked out the window towards the building across the street. Then, he looked back at Amy with a smile and said, "She's fine. She's been treasure hunting out of town lately. Since she got back a couple of weeks ago, it's hard to tell."

"Well, at least you two have each other, right?"

Shadow smiled in response as their food came to their table. Soon, the two of them ate in silence again, barely making eye contact as they did. Every now and then, they'd look at each other when the other wasn't looking but on occasion, they'd meet each other's gaze for a spilt second before looking away in embarrassment.

After their meals were done, they decided to order dessert for themselves. Amy ordered a slice of cake while Shadow ordered a slice of pie. When they did, they couldn't help but chuckle at one another. While they waited, they got into a semi-heated debate on which was better, cake or pie. Before they knew it, their desserts came, causing both of them to come to the agreement that the proof of the pudding was in the taste, as the saying goes.

To prove each other's point, they both sampled each other's dessert, taking a small forkful of each and tasting them.

"I still think cake is better," said Amy, letting out a giggle. "I admit that the pie is good, but it's nothing in comparison to cake."

"Suit yourself," said Shadow, offering a playful smile, "I'll stick with the pie."

Both of them shared a laugh as they ate their desserts. While they did, Amy couldn't help but stare at Shadow again. When she did, she noticed that there was something very different about him, something that she hadn't really seen in his person before. She didn't know why, but when she looked at him, with a smile on his face and his usual dark persona nowhere in sight, she couldn't help but smile at him. At times, Shadow would catch her looking at him and smile in response. When he did, Amy could have sworn that her cheeks began to flush.

Soon, when they had finished their meals, Shadow paid the bill and the two of them left the diner, still laughing to each other as they did. As they began walking down the road, Shadow couldn't help but look at the building across the diner again. When he did, his eyes looked at the roof of the building, looking like a silhouette across the night sky. Then, he spun around and looked at the road leading in the other direction. When he did, he saw nothing but pedestrians walking on the sidewalk and cars going up and down the street.

"Are you alright?" Amy asked.

"Yeah," said Shadow, turning to look at her, "I don't know, but I just have that feeling like we're being watched."

"Watched?" she inquired.

Shadow nodded before smiling again, "I guess I'm just paranoid. It comes from working with a government agency, I suppose."

Amy let out a chuckle. "Don't worry, no one's watching us."

For her sake, she'd better not be, Shadow thought, as the two of them began heading down the road towards Amy's house.

Sometime later, the two of them walked along the dirt road that led to Amy's house. When they were in front of her house, Shadow looked at the ground with a nervous look on his face. Amy followed suit by looking at the ground and keeping her hands behind her back, flattening her dress as she did.

"So..." she said, trying not to sound nervous.

Shadow rubbed his quills and said, "I guess I'll see you around then, Amy."

"Yeah, I'll see you around then," she said, her voice low and soft.

With that, Shadow began walking away, keeping his hands behind his back as he did. Amy wanted to walk away and go in her house, but the sight of Shadow walking away prevented her from doing so. The thoughts quickly ran through her mind; he had been very generous and considerate all night. For her to end it like this just didn't feel right to her. Therefore, Amy decided to do the only thing she could do.

"Shadow," she called out. Immediately, Shadow stopped walking and turned his head to look at her, a confused look on his face.

She walked up to him and said, "I just...well..."

Shadow turned his whole body to face her, the perplexed look still on his face.

Amy cleared her throat and said, "Well...I really had a good time tonight."

"So did I," said Shadow, "Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to make up for what I've done in the past."

"Yeah," she said, her cheeks feeling warm again, "I was just thinking...well...if it's all the same to you...maybe, someday...on occasion...we can...I don't know..."

Shadow cocked his head as she spoke.

Amy let one last sigh before she said, "Maybe...we can do this again sometime."

Shadow smiled and said, "I'd like that."

Then, he extended his hand to her and said, "As friends"

Amy shook his hand in response and smiled at him, her heart beginning to flutter again as she did. When she smiled, Shadow couldn't help but smile as well. Soon, they released their hands and began making their way to their respected abodes.

As Shadow made his way down the dirt path, he couldn't help but let out small evil chuckle. Everything was going according to his perfectly laid plans almost too well.

Soon, it will be time to initiate the next phase of my plan, he said. Then, the real fun will begin!

However, the evil thoughts that were floating around his mind quickly vanished as he looked up at the starry night sky. Inhaling the night air, a part of him felt happy and content, his thoughts recapping the events that occurred that evening. As he continued to walk, a part of him told him that this was the way things were supposed to be; for the first time in the past seven months, everything was right in the world. With everything going right and with the evening's events still racing through her mind, he could have sworn a tear of joy streamed down his face.

Amy closed the door of her house behind her, leaning against it when she did.

Well, that wasn't so bad, she thought. As she pressed herself off of the door, she looked out the window at the night sky. As she stared at the stars twinkling in the night sky, she couldn't help but let out a small sigh.

For the first time in a while, Amy felt at ease. The anxiety that she felt earlier that day seemed to vanish from her mind, leaving her calm and content.

Maybe this is what I needed, she thought to herself, as she began making her way up the stairs to her bedroom, letting out a small contented sigh.

When she went into her room, she changed her clothes and lied on her bed and closed her eyes, a smile still plastered on her face. Soon, much quicker than she had anticipated, she had fallen asleep, the thoughts of the evening still going through her mind.

As she lay there, lost in whatever dream she was having, she was completely unaware of the missed call and message left on her answering machine.