My sincerest apologies for disappearing unexpectedly. The short story is, after posting the latest chapter I had an old friend and and in-law pass away unexpectedly. That's why I didn't update on time and also why this chapter is a little short. I'm not that torn up or anything, but I've been busy regardless. Regular updates will resume from here on out. Thank you very much for continuing to read and review. Now, onto chapter 7.
The girl came out of class in a better mood than she had been since Sonic stood her up last weekend. At Rouge's insistence, she'd bought some new things to wear instead of her trademark red dress. Today she wore a white sundress patterned with yellow roses and some gold sandals. It wasn't her usual style, but the compliments she'd gotten from her classmates gave her just the boost she needed to walk home with a smile, even though she was going to be alone on a Friday night. She didn't even bother to turn her cell phone back on until she got back inside of her apartment.
She set it down and allowed it to turn on while she opened her backpack to retrieve her books. It buzzed to let her know she had missed messages and so she scanned through them. She had a missed call from an unknown number and a voicemail. Curious, she pressed play and set it to speakerphone so she could keep organizing her things to study.
"Hey, Amy… it's Shadow."
Amy froze as soon as she heard his voice.
"Rouge, uh, gave me your number, I hope that's okay. Um… call me, if you want."
That was unexpected. Why did Shadow call her? She thought about seeing him yesterday and how much she'd wanted him to stay longer. Maybe he felt the same… Don't get your hopes up. She told herself as she took a deep breath. She had a pit of anxiety in her stomach, but she felt compelled to call the number back anyways.
It rang two times before he picked up. "Hello Amy." He said softly into the phone.
"Hey, Shadow!" She said warmly. "I'm sorry I missed your call! What's up?"
His voice sounded a little distracted. "Oh, well, I was… I wanted to, uh…" He seemed somewhat agitated. What Amy couldn't know was that Shadow was mentally kicking himself. He was caught a little off guard that she hadn't answered his call in the first place, and now he struggled to recall his practiced speech.
"Did I catch you at a bad time?" Amy asked softly.
"No, of course not." She heard him clear his throat. "I called because I was hoping I could see you tonight."
Suddenly Amy felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her. Her mind flooded with what ifs that kept her silent for long enough that Shadow spoke again.
"If you're busy, uh, I—"
"Sorry, sorry, I'd really like that actually."
His tone changed ever so slightly, and he spoke now with less edge in his voice. "Oh, good. Should I pick you up or would you rather meet somewhere?"
Amy felt dizzy. "Oh, you know, whatever works for you." She said, voice barely above a whisper.
"I'll probably get out of the club around eight." He sounded distracted as he said this, and she could hear him rustling some papers. "I could call you when I'm out, or…"
Amy took another deep breath, trying desperately to stop her mind from racing. "Why don't I meet you there? We could get a drink."
She listened to him chuckle before he replied. "Sure, if you want. I'll see you then."
"Okay! Goodbye Shadow."
"… Bye, Amy."
She didn't bother to hang up, knowing he would, and just flopped face down on her bed. She had a date. With Shadow. How on Earth did that happen? Last Saturday she'd been so enamored with her hero that she'd been waiting for Sonic for hours like a fool with a huge smile on her face. Now she's meeting his rival for drinks. What the hell was she doing?
She hadn't even seen Sonic since he'd shown up at her school a couple days ago. Suddenly she felt very hollow. Had she finally pushed him away? It's what she wanted, sure, but… Amy turned her head and her eyes drifted to her phone. Was she really ready to do this? Maybe she should cancel…
No! She picked up the phone again, but instead of dialing Shadow's number she called Cream. If anyone could soothe her troubled mind, it would be her best friend.
Cream answered almost immediately. "Amy!" She cried happily. "It's so good to hear from you! I've missed you so much!"
"It's been like two weeks since I've seen you." Amy laughed. "I'm sorry, I've been having a rough time lately."
"I've heard a little bit." Cream admitted. "So, what can I do for you?"
"I need to tell you something and you can't freak out."
"Uh oh. I'm ready, hit me." Amy could almost see the smirk on Cream's face as she spoke.
"It's a doozy. I'm going out with Shadow tonight."
"What?"
"Exactly. Come over. I need someone to slap some sense into me." Amy laughed nervously, but she wasn't exactly kidding.
"Oh my god. I'm coming right now."
"Thank you." Amy said before hanging up the phone.
She was panicking a little bit, but... she had to admit, she was excited.