Meeting At The Sunset

Chapter Five: Christmas Wish

Three months had passed since Tails and Cream had started dating. Everyone was happy that Cream was resurrected. They were happy together, and Tails had slowly stopped making machines and performing experiments, except for the Chaos Energy experiment.

Rouge had left Station Square to live in Emerald Hills. She felt too cramped in a city so she thought the country-side would hold her needs. She visited her friends as often as possible. The groups replacement for her was a Hedgehog known as Tiara Boobowski. She only joined because of Sonic. But when she found him kissing Amy, her world died away. Then she met Shadow, and started falling in love with him.

It was nearly Christmas now. All apart from Shadow and Tiara were going to spend their Christmas with someone. Their Christmases were going to be lonely, and neither knew how hard it was going to be for the other.

Tiara's apartment:

Tiara had just got back from the mall. She locked her door and put down the baggage and her coat, next to the table in her small lounge-type room. It was snowing outside. Tiara walked over to and sat in the window, watching the snow fall rapidly. She thought of Shadow again, wondering how he was and what he was doing.

Eventually, Tiara got out of the window and made her way to the Kitchen so she could eat something. It was night-time. She pulled out some pizza from the fridge, and cooked that.

Twenty minutes later, she took the pizza out of the oven, and sat on her couch to eat it. When she got to the last bite, her phone started ringing. Hoping it was Shadow, she picked it up. It wasn't him, it was Amy.

"Hello?" Tiara asked into the receiver.

"Hey Tiara!" Amy's voice squeaked into the deep blue Hedgehog's ear.

"Oh hi Amy." Tiara replied dryly, her hopes dying.

"Me and Sonic are having a Christmas party on Christmas Eve." Amy said on the other side of the line. "Want to come?"

"Sure, yeah." Tiara replied. Her hopes started rekindling as she thought that Shadow was going.

"Great!" Amy squeaked again, louder than before. "Six-forty-five, mine and Sonic's place. See you then!"

The dead-tone was then heard in the receiver, which was quickly put down. Tiara looked at her calendar. The date was December 22. Only two days until the party.

Christmas Eve:

The previous day went by quickly for Tiara, as she couldn't stop thinking about Shadow and the party later that day. She opened her cupboard, and decided to look for something to wear. After searching through her clothes, she found a set of pinkish jeans and a blue t-shirt to match. She then picked out some white trainers and a whitish jacket.

She went back to her lounge and started flicking through the TV channels. She eventually stopped when nothing was on. She looked at the time: 5:53 PM. Knowing it took half an hour to get to from her place to Sonic and Amy's place, she immediately jumped off the couch and went to get ready for the party.

Sonic and Amy's place:

Tiara eventually arrived at Sonic and Amy's place. She was wearing the clothes she chose to go in, even though she had a large fur coat covering her torso. Knuckles, Tikal, Tails and Cream were already there. She proceeded to the door. She was welcomed in by Amy, who was happy to see her.

"Hey Tiara!" Amy's voice squeaked at the door.

"Hey Amy." Tiara said, staying calm unlike the pink Hedgehog.

Tiara took her coat off and hung it on the hook, before joining the other guests, who welcomed her as well. Five minutes after her arrival, another knock came at the door. Tiara shot her head straight towards the front door, hoping it was Shadow.

"Rouge!" Amy's voice squeaked loudly, as the bat entered the house. Tiara turned around again and slumped on the couch.

"Do you know how heavy it's snowing it out there?" Rouge asked her friend.

She was right. Everyone looked out the window and saw snow reflecting in the street lights as it fell. Tiara suddenly started thinking about walking through it, holding onto Shadow's arm. Her eyes closed and she sank onto the seat, smiling.

The time eventually got around 7:15 PM. There was still no sign of Shadow, even though everyone (eventually) knew he was coming. Sonic entered the room carrying a tray of mince pies, his Christmas speciality. He was nearly at the table when a flash of green light appeared. Shadow then appeared through it, landing on the tray, leaving a very angry Sonic. The others merely laughed. Until he death-glared them.

The gang eventually had some snacks and drinks. Amy was in such a hyperactive mood because of the party, so she decided to get a game out.

"Who wants to play Spin the Bottle?" She asked cheerfully. The boys threw their faces into their hands groaning, making the girls laugh. It eventually came to a five-four win, as the boys just didn't want to play.

Everybody sat on the floor in a circle. Tiara was more than happy when Shadow sat down next to her. She couldn't stop blushing. Five minutes had passed, and the boys hid their heads in their hands. This didn't prevent Amy from spinning he bottle though. The first animal it landed on was Shadow, much to his annoyance. Shadow then spun the bottle. The group watched carefully as it slowed down, before it landed on Tiara. She squeaked in joy, which confused the others. Giving into the rules, Shadow allowed her to kiss him. But she did more than that. She wrapped her arms around him tightly. After the two broke apart, she rested her head on his shoulder.

"I love you Shadow." Tiara whispered in his ear.

Shadow sat there confused. She loved him? He looked at the others, who were just confused at why she was still holding onto him. He proceeded to put his arms around her. Just as he did, she stood up, ran to her coat, and ran out of the door. Everyone just stared at each other, confused by what had just happened. Shadow then just said goodbye before Chaos Controlling out the house. It was five minutes, then Cream said something.

"Do you think Tiara loves Shadow?" She asked with her usual polite voice, taking Tails' hand.

Everyone looked at her.

"Maybe Cream." Amy said, before packing away the game.

Tiara's apartment:

Tiara unlocked the door and ran inside, slamming the door upon entry. Tears were in her eyes. She loved Shadow, but did he love her back? She sat on her bed, holding her pillow tight against her chest, tears leaking into it. She didn't know what to do. She just became confused in her thoughts as they all started to maker her think of the game and Shadow.

Outside, a burst of green light appeared, revealing Shadow. He landed on the floor with a small thud. Looking around, he tried to see which door Tiara's was. After looking up and down the hall for 2 minutes, he came across a sign saying "Tiara Boobowski's place. No entrance with permission." He knew he had found it. He raised a hand to knock on the door.

Inside, Tiara jumped at the sound of the door knocking. She quickly looked at time, reading 10:56 PM. She had been crying for about an hour. She picked herself up and made her way to the door. After scrambling with the locks, she eventually opened the door to see Shadow standing on the other side.

"Sh-Shadow?" The female blue Hedgehog asked, looking up at him.

"You left before I got the chance to say anything." Shadow said, a hint of laughter in his voice.

"Sorry." Tiara smiled, wiping some tears from her eyes. "Come in."

Shadow entered the apartment. Tiara shut the door, then turned to the black Hedgehog.

"Want anything?" She asked.

"No, no." Shadow replied, sitting on the couch.

Tiara walked over and sat on the couch, but not close to him. She looked at him, then just immediately burst into more tears. Shadow looked at her surprised and moved closer to her.

"Tiara?" He asked, placing a hand on her back. "What's wrong?"

"I've wanted to tell you." She replied, trying to keep her voice as normal as possible. "I've wanted to tell you for so long."

"Tell me what?" He asked.

"I love you." Tiara replied, looking into his eyes. "I want you so much, but I'm just scared that you don't want me." She said, before breaking down into more tears.

Shadow sat there, surprised at what she said. All the time that they had known one another, he had secretly loved her himself, but was just too afraid to admit it. Now she had done, was he ready? He took her hands into his and kneeled in front of her.

"Well, I've felt the same, since the day we met." Shadow said, looking up into her eyes. "I didn't know if you felt the same way until you told me at the party, that's when I decided to tell you, but you ran off."

Tiara looked down to him. He opened his mouth once again.

"I love you too Tiara." He said, still looking into her eyes.

She smiled down at him, then slowly brought her lips to his. Both kissed for minutes, before separating. Tiara then hugged Shadow, allowing him to actually put his arms around her this time. When they broke apart, they gasped at the time. 11:54 PM.

"Well, Christmas in just a few minutes." Shadow said, smiling at her.

"Yeah." Tiara replied. "Happy Christmas Shadow." She said, before kissing him again.

"Happy Christmas Tiara." He said, when their lips separated once again.