Chapter 2: WTF
Amy's POV
What. the. fuck. What is Shadow doing here and WHY is he talking to me like that! Oh gods I can't believe I challenged him to a game of billiards, I can't believe I rubbed my-! Oh gods!
I was shaking so hard in my knees I thought they'd buckle and give out from under me. He just kept staring at me, like a deer in the headlights, and it was freaking me out. What was he thinking?
~~~
Shadows POV
WHAT THE FUCK. There's no way this is happening. There's no way this is Amy. There's no way this is happening. Rouge! Knuckles!
I turn on my heels and am faced with that devil bat Rouge, glaring cold, hard amusement my way.
She thinks this is funny! She's enjoying this!
I look past her shoulder at the bar to see Knuckles bellowing in laughter. You're a dead man, Echidna.
Before I can say or do anything, a soft, small voice behind me calls to me and suddenly I feel the anger in me melting away.
"I was only kidding with you, Shadow.." There it was, she said it again. My name. And it sounds so…
"So you're in on this?" I ask, cocking an eyebrow at her, but the rest of my face is emotionless.
"In on what?" She asks and her head leans to the side quizzically, she looks completely confused. Air head… I think to myself and regret it. How much of a jerk can I be?
She peers over my shoulder and I watch her eyes meet Rouge then dart toward the bar at Knuckles. Her face falls and her eyes with it. At this point I think she might cry and I'm preparing for some classic Amy waterworks.
But instead she plasters a nervous smile on her face and says, "Oh wow, they've really got us all fooled, huh?"
She sounds calm, cool, and collected, and before I know it the nervousness on her face fades away.
"I'm sorry, it must've been jarring to expect to be talking to a beautiful stranger and instead all you get is me…" she laughed lightly after her statement, but it sounded hollow.
You're not wrong about that! I wasn't expecting Amy here in a million years. I thought Rouge was meeting with her work colleague but clearly she's come here to trap me in a crowded room with Amy.
I don't reply to Amy, who's now looking at me nervously again, and instead turn back to Rouge who's now being accompanied by Knuckles.
"What's the big idea! You said you were having girls night with a work colleague, not crashing boys night with Amy." I said coldly, glaring from Rouge to Knuckles and back.
"I am having girls night with my work colleague." She said and I could've swore my eye twitched.
"You said you had plans with a G.U.N. agent in S.I.N." I hissed my words at her in a low, soft whisper. I knew better than to speak about G.U.N. or S.I.N. out loud too loosely.
"She is," Rouge hissed back at me, the smirk on her face growing into a full blown evil grin. Knuckles chuckled behind her and I glared them both down before turning back to Amy.
"Show me your ID," I said, annoyed that I had to even call their bluff. The joke's over! And it's not even funny…
"Excuse me," she said quietly, and looked slightly offended. What, you wanna play games?
"Show me your badge," I said, and then added, "Oh come on! I'll show you mine if you show me yours," I laughed senically. I was about to rub my badge in Amy's face and she was about to cower under her drivers license.
"Fine!" She said, clearly pretending to be insulted, but I knew I'd won. She reached into the inside of her jacket and I reached in my back pocket.
I presented a golden badge with a seal and "G.U.N." on it. I didn't bother to pull out my papers, everyone knew I was G.U.N., including Amy.
I watched dumbfounded as Amy presented a similar badge but hers read S.I.N. at the bottom. In her other hand she presented a wallet with a photo ID of herself.
She looked younger than she is now in the photo, maybe by a few years, but it had the seal and stamps of approval right there. Agent Amelia Rose Hedgehog.
I couldn't believe my eyes. I thought my heart would stop right then and there. The mere thought of Amy being in G.U.N. alone was headache inducing, but S.I.N.?
I needed a drink. I needed a seat. I needed my head to stop spinning, real bad.
As if she could read my mind, Amy spoke, "Shadow, would you like to sit down at the bar for a drink with me? We can catch up.."
I wanted to say no, I wanted to fight Knuckles, I wanted to kill Rouge, I wanted a damn drink, but mostly; I just wanted to go have a talk with Amy.
"Sure," I coughed out and without warning, she grabbed my arm and slowly guided me away from Rouge and Knuckles towards the bar.
~~~
Amy's POV
Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods. What the fuck was that! He insults me, multiple times and I ask him for a drink?!?
I turned back to look at Rouge, I was supposed to be here with her all night. She is leaning against Knuckle's chest, his arms wrapped around her, they both give me a smile and a thumbs up. Oh great! Approval from the peanut gallery. I am totally gonna fuck you guys up when we get coffee again.
As we approach the bar to sit, Shadow shrugs my hands off his arm, gently, and then sits on the bar stool.
I sit at the stool beside him.
We both order a bottle of beer and drink half of them before either of us say anything.
It was growing supper awkward and I had to say something, but when I opened my mouth to speak, his words filled the air instead.
"So when did you join G.U.N.?" He said cooly, as he stared into the bottle before him, not making eye contact with me.
I gripped my bottle with both hands and nervously rolled it around in my hands, careful not to fizz it up or spill anything. As I watch my hands move the beer bottle around I begin to speak.
"I joined G.U.N. five years ago when I turned eighteen."
"Five years?!?" He almost shouted as his face darted to mine, his eyes searching my face as if I'm lying.
"Yes." I replied calmly, turning to look him in the eyes. I am not lying. And you know it. His ears softened from their alearted, pointed position, to a downward, relaxed lay. His shoulders untensed and he leans back in his seat, taking a swig of his beer.
"I took a little more than two years off from the Freedom Fighters back when I was fifteen. I was approached by G.U.N. to participate in a study they'd made specifically for me. They wanted to test my hammer and its qualities in relation to me…" He didn't say anything but I knew he was listening. With no resistance, I continued on with my story.
"I agree under the understanding that I would not be identified in the study. I spent almost a year working with them and my hammer in their study, then when I turned eighteen they offered me a job. I accepted under similar terms as the trial. They had to have my name in the system, but my files were kept under lock, needing maximum security to access my files. My files also only show 'Amelia'. And I'm called Agent Amelia in the field and by most of my colleagues. When S.I.N. opened three years ago, I was recommended by my superiors to be on the first regimen. I applied, was accepted, and gained higher clearance and credits which included keeping my involvement with G.U.N. an even bigger secret than it already was. About six months back I met Rouge on a mission and we connected. I spent a lot of time with her in the field until my mission was over and then we hung out a couple of times outside of work. She reintroduced me to Knuckles and we've all been friends for a few months now." I said, finishing my story and my beer.
I was so nervous my hands were sweating and I was praying he wouldn't see my knees shaking under the table. When he didn't say anything, I just ordered another beer, too nervous to meet his gaze.
~~~
Shadows POV
This is insane. What the hell! What could G.U.N. possibly want with a girl like her? And here I thought I worked for an agency with standards.
"You started off as a lab rat?" I asked coldly. It was rude and I knew it, I could tell by her face it insulted her and I immediately regretted saying it. But she can't be serious! Working for G.U.N. ?!
"We did experiments with my Hammer… they were interested in my ability to summon it out of thin air.
And how the weight of it changes…" she said, looking down at her hands in her lap. She looked embarrassed. I mentally kicked myself for making her feel small.
"It changes weight?" I asked, trying to show my interest and back track on my piss poor behavior so far.
"The stronger I get, the heavier it gets," she replied simply, and took a sip on her beer. As interested as I was in that statement, I had my questions on work answered. I wanted to know about my so-called 'friends'.
"So you all have been sneaking behind my back hanging out without me?" I asked, trying and failing to hide the bitterness in my voice. Why didn't they tell me they were hanging out with Amy?
"I'm so sorry…" she said, and I thought I heard her get choked up. "I asked them to. I haven't been out and about in a while, I've kept mostly to myself in these eight years. I haven't seen any of the freedom fighters except Cream, until I meet Rouge and then Knuckles again… I wasn't ready to face everyone so soon so I've been slowly reintroducing myself to people, with the help of Rouge and Knuckles."
"They didn't mention that we're all best friends? You didn't think to include me in on any of this? You just show up unannounced and steal my friends?" I asked, getting far more personal than I cared to admit. I didn't make friends easily and I wasn't keen on losing them to her.
"Rouge wanted more time to warm you up to the idea of it. And besides I knew you hated me…"
She said with a nervous smile, but her eyes looked miserable. She took a big chug to finish off her beer then ordered a whisky sour.
She thought I hated her?…
"I don't-"
"You don't have to save face for me." She said with a grin, her eyes closed but her body and shoulders tense.
"I know what you probably think of me… same as everyone else I'd imagine. Annoying… bratty… obsessive…. Crazy." She said and took a drink of her whiskey, staring into the glass, rolling the liquid around and around as she turned the glass in her hand.
"I suggested talking with you a couple of times but I could tell by Rouges reactions that that wasn't a good idea… then I saw you in the parking lot and couldn't resist trying… I thought it went well, but after your reaction tonight I realized Rouge was right… I knew from the get go everyone didn't owe me a second chance." She smiled sadly into her glass and then finished off the whiskey.
"I should've been honest with you in the parking lot. And I should've told you sooner than now that I was working at G.U.N., especially because I knew you were working there long before I ever considered it."
I couldn't say anything, I just listened and watched as she owned up to everything she thought she did wrong. Even though she was the one apologizing, I'm the one who felt like an asshole.
Here she is saying sorry for living her life and here I am acting like everyone, including her should live by my preference. You don't own Rouge and Knuckles dumbass! They can be friends with whoever they want! It's not their fault you're too much of a jerk for them to be able to have more friends around you…
Amy slid her empty glass across the table and stood up, readjusted her jacket, and then turned to look at me. Her eyes sparkled and I'd say they were beautiful if I didn't think they were about to burst into tears. Regardless of whatever she was feeling, she didn't break eye contact with me despite appearing completely nerve wrecked. I had to give it to her, she showed greater emotional resolve than the Amy I used to know.
"I'll be honest, this is my first night out in years. Rouge wanted to give me a chance to start over. But it's clear to me now that I've got more work to do and maybe the old gang isn't the place for me any more… I'll go tell Rouge and Knuckles I've made a mistake. I don't want to impose myself on you and your friends if you're uncomfortable with it. I'll tell them goodnight and head out," she said, pulling her debit card out and handing it to the bartender to close her tab.
Is she actually considering how others feel about being around her? The Amy I knew did what she wanted when she wanted and didn't ask permission. If she wanted to hang with Faker, she didn't care what anyone thought, including him. She didn't look for an invite, she just showed up and stayed. And yet here she is now prepared to disappear from Rouge and Knuckles' lives just because of my displeasure.
"Wait," I said without thinking, reaching out to grab her hand. She froze in place under my grip and slowly turned her eyes to mine.
"Don't… leave. Please," I said, not really sure where I was going with this, I let go of her hand.
"If you don't want to, that is… leave if you want to, but not on my behalf," I said, looking away embarrassed, as I felt a red hot blush creep across my face.
"But I don't wanna-"
"Do what you want." I cut her off, and she looked at me wide eyed and… scared? Confused? I didn't like the way she looked at me. Made me feel like a worse jerk than I already am.
I turned back to the bar and finished off the drink, setting down the empty bottle. "Imma asshole, that's why they didn't tell me and that's why you were conflicted about talking to me. Either way, you've put a lot of work into who you wanna be. Don't let me chase you off just cause I'm a jerk."
She looked a little frazzled and confused but slowly a big smile crept across her face. She looked so happy she wanted to hug me. I braced for impact since Amy had a habit of throwing herself into people when her emotions hit. Instead I watched bewildered as she placed a hand on my shoulder and slowly leaned in, giving me a peak on the cheek. My shoulders tensed up and my face grew red hot radiating from where she kissed me. She seemed to think nothing of it, as she straightened back up and smiled.
"Thanks Shads!"
There it is again. That tight, tingling feeling in my chest. Combated with the heat radiating off my face, I thought I'd explode. Why'd she always make me feel so uncomfortable?
"Just forget about it, okay? And don't get used to it, I don't make a habit out of admitting to being a total asshole." I said, trying to get her to drop the subject. No need for a never ending apology party. What's said and done is said and done, I don't wanna keep repeating myself. Not to mention talking with her by myself makes my stomach all queasy and tied in knots.
"Well for the record, I know a thing or two about assholes," she laughed, and it brought out a small chuckle in me; I knew she was talking about faker. "And you're no asshole in my books." She said with a big, bright, genuine looking smile. She smiled so big her eyes closed and she tilted her head to the side ever so slightly. She clasped her hands together in front of her waist and stood there smiling like some kinda proud oaf. Her smile radiated off her and I could swear I grew warm inside just from being near her. My stomach and chest started to do that weird thing again, and not wanting to be uncomfortable anymore I stood up and ordered four beers. She watched me quizzically and didn't object as I handed her two of the beers in one hand and took her other hand in mine, dragging her away from the bar.
Her hand felt soft and cool, and I could feel my hands start to sweat and worried momentarily that she'd notice. I brushed the thought out of my mind as I drug her across the room back to the pool tables where Knuckles and Rouge were.
~~
Rouge's POV
"He's gonna kick my ass!" My boyfriend whined as I watched him pace back and forth beside the pool table, running his hands through his dreads.
"He's not gonna kick your ass… I won't let him," I said, placing a hand on my hip and leaning to the side, exhausted at the idea of having to mediate between them.
"He looked so mad, didn't he look mad? He looked so mad babe!" Knuckles asked me, stopping his pacing to look at me.
"He didn't look mad!… He looked… appeased." I said, finding my words as I spoke.
"What in the world were you two talking about before he came over here?!" I glared at my boyfriend, drilling him with my eyes for answers.
"Nothing babe!… He just claimed that Amy didn't ruin pink girls for him..." Knuckles said, avoiding my glaring, he twiddled his thumbs and looked anywhere but me.
"Andddd?" I glared at him harder; I knew he could feel my glaring daggers at him.
"Andddd we made a harmless little bet," he shrugged, then crossed his arms, acting innocent. I knew him and Shadow together were anything but innocent.
"Define. Harmless." I hissed, ice in my voice. If smoke could steam out my ears, it would be right now.
"We kinda sorta made a bet on whether he could or couldn't manage to take home any pink girl he picked…" Knuckles said, bracing himself for my verbal assault.
No fucking way.
I burst into tears, laughing so hard I caught a stitch in my side, and buckled forward holding my gut as I laughed.
I could feel Knuckle's confused gaze on me as I struggled to catch my breath. Wiping a tear from my eye as I took in a giggly breath, I looked at Knuckles and almost lost my composure all over again. These idiots!
"So your big idea of proving Amy didn't ruin pink for Shadow is by daring him to pick up Amy?" I burst into laughter all over again, at the annoyance of my boyfriend.
"No!" Knuckles almost shouted, he looked so pissed off it was cute. "I bet any pink girl, it's not my fault the idiot didn't recognize Amy from behind," he said, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes. I laughed even more at the idea of Shadow thinking he's picking up a random girl and it ends up being Amy.
"So let me get this straight. You creeps made a rude, perverted bet at the expense of the poor pink women in this bar and it backfired on Shadow? And now you're scared of how Shadow will take that out on you? Sounds to me like you two got what you deserve, on behalf of women everywhere." I said, rolling my eyes and crossing my arms. I admit, Shadow meeting Amy like that was probably exactly what he deserved. But their gross bet at the expense of Amy was in poor taste to say the least.
"Don't get caught up in his misogynistic games!" I scolded my boyfriend. He looked completely taken aback and a little offended.
"Babe! You know I'm a feminist! I was only doing what you asked, you wanted him to eat his words over the new and improved Amy!" Knuckles argued with me.
"Not by making gross bets in the progress! I swear all you boys think about is-"
"-Shadow!" Knuckles cut me off, his voice almost a shriek and he jumped to my side, clinging to my arm.
I turned to look at Shadow holding two beers and Amy's… hand?!? She looked shocked and a little shaken up, and she held two beers in the hand that Shadow didn't have a grip on. My eyes met his and he immediately dropped Amy's hand, as if he'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. I watched a bright red blush creep across his face, and a cunning smirk grew across my face in response. Ohh this is interesting…
"Amy you poor thing, did this animal drag you all the way over here?!?" I said, as dramatically as possible, reaching out and caressing Amy's face in my hands.
"Did he hurt you?" I said, sarcasm and dramatics oozed in every world. I was aiming for very theatrical.
"When he first came over here I thought he'd steal you into the night," I said dramatically, reaching one hand up to my forehead, as if I'd faint, "or maybe take you right here on the pool table!" I finished my statement swooning, as I laid dramatically over the pool table.
I peaked one eye open to see Shadows eye twitching, Amy bright red with a blush, and Knuckles holding back a laugh. When a chuckle escaped him, Shadow elbowed him swiftly in the gut then gave me a death stare. You don't scare me, hedgehog. I can glare too. And glare I did, with a huge smirk, I stood up straight, coming up off the pool table.
Shadow coughed, clearing his throat and then he spoke, despite Knuckles at his side trying not to puke from pain as he was bellowed over and groaning.
"I get it, jokes on me!" He said, placing a hand on Knuckles back and pulling him up straight by his shirt, handing him a beer.
"I didn't recognize Amy and y'all two got the drop on me," he said, holding his hands up in surrender before taking a drink from the beer in his hand.
"We got the drop on you?!" I said, taken aback. "No one told you to take up vulgar bets or to come over here and fail at being seductive!" I yelled back at him.
"Hey now! If it wasn't Amy or if she was three drinks in, I'd have won that bet!" Shadow laughed back, nervously, trying to defend himself.
I glanced over to Amy to make sure she is comfortable with the direction of the conversation. I feel bad enough she's been caught up in mine and Knuckles games on Shadow. But she is as cool as a cucumber, leaning against the wall she laughs and hands me the second beer in her hand, taking a drink from the other one.
"It sounds to me like I'm the victim of your threes terrible friendship. Is that how we treat Mobians nowadays?" Amy laughs to herself and we all bear a sheepish grin.
"And bold of you to think I'd fall for that cheesy pick up line!" Amy says, shooting Shadow a devilish glance. Shadow's face contorts into a frustrated mess and we all laugh.
My, my, little hedgehog. Look at you go.
"I distinctly remember you owing her a game of pool!" I chime in, trying to loosen Shadow up.
If we're all going to be friends now he's gonna have to learn to play nice. I won't have him disrespecting Amy in front of me now that he knows we're friends.
Shadow shoots me a rude glance but then says, "Fine. Since Amy has been kind enough to already have the balls racked, I'll indulge her in a game."
~~~
Shadow's POV
My heart is racing as I go to grab a pool stick. I feel everyone's eyes on me and I hate it. I should've just gone home. This is ridiculous, why am I even indulging in this shit?
When I turn back and see Amy's eyes I'm reminded of why I agreed. She looks absolutely stunning in her dress and the way she spoke with me at the bar has me shaken to the core. I can't get a read on her at all and I feel like everything I thought I knew was wrong.
"Knuckie, let's go grab shots at the bar!" Rouge whines as she throws herself into Knuckle's arms playfully.
"Awesome! We'll bring some back for you guys!" He says to us and without waiting for our reply, wraps his arm around Rouge's waist and takes off towards the bar.
I look across the table at the pink hedgehog who is holding a pool stick and bright red. For some reason seeing her blush makes me blush, like we're both in trouble for something we didn't do.
"You can break," I tell her motioning towards the table, "Winner goes first and you beat Rouge."
I lean back against the wall and watch as she lines up her shot. Her stick makes contact with the cue ball and it's sent hurtling into the rack, making a loud chain reaction of pool balls slamming into each other and the rails.
She spreads the table out evenly and manages to sink one solid and one stripe in the chaos of her break.
With a sheepish grin she begins her assault. Lining up for a solid she sinks it into a corner pocket, and I watch with amazement as she sinks three balls in a row.
She moves around the table elegantly in her dress, never taking her eyes off the table as she analyzes the balls.
Before I can stop myself, I ask her something I've never asked a woman before. "What are you thinking?"
She looks up at me, flustered, and I watch as a blush spreads across her face.
"I'm- uhm-… I'm thinking of… how to hit the ball to set me up for my next shot." She says and then looks back at the table, focused.
No fucking way. Not a chance in hell this ditzy girl is this good at pool.
"Set up?" I asked, wanting to hear her explain what I already know.
"If I make this shot, I have another turn after it. I need to not only make the shot, but try to leave the cue ball in a place that is beneficial for my next shot."
I stare at her in awe and I soak in her words. She really knows her way around the pool table. That queasy feeling in my stomach returns, but this time it's accompanied by a tightness in my pants.
There's no way in hell that I'm turned on by this!
And if Amy can read my mind, she moves to take her next shot. She leans across the pool table for a rather difficult shot, and in that moment I'm sure it's going to be my demise.
As I watch her concentrated face I realize how tight and small her dress is. Her cleavage hangs above the pool table, fighting against her dress, as she leans over the table. I feel the blood draining out of my face and heading south, so I move to lean against the wall behind her where I can't see her cute face or distracting chest. It's not until I'm leaning against the wall behind her that I've realized I've made an even bigger mistake.
As she leans forward on the table her jacket rides up again. I see the fabric of her skin tight black dress fight to stay wrapped around the curve of her ass.
I'm convinced I'm about to pass out from the lack of blood in my brain as it has all but abandoned me and my strike against Amy.
I can't believe she's got me this turned on!
I wanna rip my head off, I'm so frustrated. I don't like Amy, and I don't like the queasy feeling she gives me when we're alone. And I certainly don't like how good she looks in that dress!
She finally takes her shot and I'm sure she's gonna run the table on me, but she misses and I'm thanking the Mobian gods for it.
She walks over to one of the bar stools against the wall by the table and watches me as I make my move on the table.
She has three solids left on the table and I have six stripes. This is still going to be an easy game, I chuckle to myself.
~~~
Amy's POV
This is the most nerve wracking game ever! Why is he watching me like I'm some kinda ticking time bomb?! I'm not gonna go Sonic crazy and run off into the night on some kinda rampage.
His face looks flustered, like he's uncomfortable. Of course he's uneasy around me. Our talk at the bar doesn't change anything. I know he's not happy about me being in his little friend group. I bet he doesn't even consider us friends at all.
I watch as he attacks the pool table, moving quickly and quietly, he hits every ball so hard and so fast it sounds like they might crack.
I watch in awe as he sinks five stripes back to back. Despite his aggressive approach he's not that bad at pool. But I wonder to myself if he can hit a ball softly when he needs to…
He leans forward on the table and I watch as his muscles strain against the leather jacket he's wearing. He white t shirt v neck dips just low enough to show his white patch of chest fur, without being so low that it makes him look like a douche.
He caresses the pool stick so gently in one hand and so firmly in the other, I find myself daydreaming about what it would be like to be held by arms like his…
I snap myself out of my daydream when I realize where it's going. Eww, Amy, no! Gross...
I sighed to myself. It's been too long since I've gotten laid. I glance around at the bar and wonder half mindedly if there's anyone here worth taking the walk of shame for.
I look back at the table and watch Shadow miss his last shot. He's left one of his stripes on the table, where I still have three of my solids.
I move towards the table to start my turn and can feel it again. His judgmental eyes watching me as I play the game. I know the guy doesn't like me but he doesn't have to glare behind my back. It's frustrating and makes for a difficult game.
~~~
Shadows POV
The break was only momentarily. I was hoping to finish the game in one go and be done with this torture but I fucked up on my last ball before the eight ball.
I'm reminded that we haven't spoken much during this game and that raises a feeling of awkwardness in my mind. Leave it to Amy to make me feel weird about not talking, something I'm always comfortable with until now.
"Are you enjoying G.U.N.?" I ask, trying to fill the silence of the game.
"Am I enjoying work?" She shoots back at me, teasing me. Of course no one likes to work, that's not what I meant! I growl in frustration, but try again to conversate despite my distaste for it.
"Are you satisfied with your work? Are you comfortable with your job or are you looking for employment elsewhere?" I ask her, rolling my eyes in frustration.
"I knew you'd hate me working at G.U.N." She said quietly and sharply, as she took a shot and sunk another ball.
She stood up straight and leaned to the side throwing her hand on her hip. I knew she was going for 'pissed off and angry' but she looked damn good in that dress and her eye makeup made her look seductive as hell.
I bit my lip to keep from complimenting her and listened as she scolded me.
"I have just as much right to be there as you do! I've worked hard at my job for the last 5 years and I won't be run off now that you're aware of my presence! If you haven't noticed me there for this long, you can go on pretending I don't exist!" She said with a huff, then she leaned down and took another shot, sinking another ball.
I watched, completely disarmed, as she shot for the eight ball, it just narrowly missed the pocket she was aiming for and she stomped off obviously frustrated.
She made her way back to the bar stool by the wall and sat down. She finished off her beer, then looked up at me glaring.
I struggled with conflicting feelings in my mind and body. She was glaring at me, red hot with anger, and it made my chest ache. But she sat on the bar stool, legs crossed, icy glare, pissed as hell, and it made my stomach twist in knots, my head light, and my palms sweat. She looks so hot when she's angry…
I shook my head hard, trying to flush the last thought I had out of my mind.
I decided an indirect approach was my best option so I lined up another shot as I began talking to her.
"I come off rude. I don't have the best people skills, much less the tolerance for people in general. I'll admit I'm shocked you're in G.U.N. and I'm sorry if my being shocked at that knowledge offends you." I took my shot and sunk my last stripe. We are all tied up, every ball on the table is gone except the eight ball, and it's still my turn.
"But I do genuinely care if you're having a good time there or not. My first few years with G.U.N. were hard and I didn't have any friends to rely on when I started."
I glanced up at her from the table and she looked taken aback.
"The Ultimate Asshole cares?" She said, half heartedly as she crossed her arms over her chest and looked away.
Ouch. That hurt… I didn't like the nickname she threw at me, but I had no one to blame for that but myself.
"Look Rouge and Knuckles are my friends and I care for them. If you tell them that I'll deny it," as I spoke she glanced my way, but her face was still mad, her eyebrows knitted together. "And if you're friends with them then I guess that means we'll be friends now too. So I'll care for you too, okay," I said, trying hard to conceal the blush on my face. I looked up to see her shocked face, I'd clearly caught her off guard.
"How out of character for you," she says, a small smile tugging at her lips.
"People can… change…" I said, and the irony is not lost on me. I really am a hypocritical asshole.
She smiles brightly and hops off the bar stool, walking over to me, she leans on the opposite end of the pool table across from me.
"Well," she said, motioning to the table below her.
"Well?" I replied, questioning her question. She slowly stood up and motioned to the table again, with a cheeky grin.
"You think you can beat me in billiards?" She asked, cunning eyes and a huge smile plastered on her face.
The same words she said to me when I tried to pick her up, not knowing it was her.
The memory of half an hour ago floods back to my mind.
Me watching her from the bar… her racking the balls… my bright idea to pin her on the table from behind… her butt on my front when she backed into me- A blush breaks across my face as I quickly avoid her eyes.
I take a deep breath, then staring down the eight ball, reply, "Absolutely," as I nail it with the cue ball, sending it flying into the pocket. I look at her with a ballsy smirk but my victory is short lived when I hear a second ball smash into the pocket.
I look down in horror. The table is empty. I had hit the cue ball too hard. In my haste I sent it flying across the table way too fast and way too hard, losing the game. I sunk the cue ball after the eight ball, signaling my defeat.
~~~
End of chapter 2! Please leave a comment, a like, a review, and let me know what you think about the story so far! Feel free to share the story via link on any Shadamy posts/pages you'd like!