CHAPTER 3

COOPERATING WITH THE THREAT

It was a sunny Saturday morning and Rouge was still in bed. She had finally woke up when the sun shone through her window. She didn't feel very well from last night. She had almost died twice, she thought it was just luck.

"Good morning, Rouge."

She was startled by the sudden voice, she looked over in a dark corner and saw that black hedgehog looking back at her.

"What the hell are you doing here?" She pulled her blankets up to her chest area, considering she didn't have nothing on but a nightgown.

Shadow came towards her sitting on the edge of her bed, "To see if you were doing your job."

She yawned, "I haven't started on it yet."

"What have you been doing last night?"

'Is this a joke?' "...Sleeping..."

"Sleeping?"

Rouge nodded a bit, "Yeah, in order to make your map I have to work a whole day you know."

Shadow crossed his arms, "I want it done soon."

"Why do you need a map of the west anyway?"

"That is none of your business."

Rouge moved on to something else, "So is it true?"

"What's true?"

"That you were going to kill me and stuff."

"You mean that?"

Rouge nodded.

"That whole raping thing I was kidding about, but the kill yea thing is not a joke, but then again if you piss me off I may change my little joke into a fact."

Rouge sighed, "Then I'll try not to get on your bad side."

"You are a pretty woman, Rouge."

Rouge blushed, "Really? Thank you, that was very sweet of you to say."

"Enough talk, I want your ass glued to that chair working on my map", he pointed to her computer on the other side of the room.

"Okay, you don't have to sound like my boss." She got out of her bed stretching, not knowing Shadow was staring at her perfect body.

He looked away when Rouge began to look at him.

She looked at him suspicious, "What were you doing?"

"Nothing, just get dressed and shit."

Rouge walked towards her bathroom muttering under her breath, "Pervert."

Later while Rouge was making his map she decided to learn about Shadow more, "Since you're a vampire shouldn't the sun make you melt or something?"

Shadow was laying on her bed with his face shoved in the pillow. The sun's light was shining down on him. "No, the sun only makes me weak."

"So weak you can't do anything?"

"No, just weak."

Rouge shrugged and continued to work on the map.

"Speaking of the sun could you close the curtains. The light is giving me a headache."

Rouge stood from the chair, "Yeah, sure." She ran over to her window and shut the blinds. She looked over to him and he still had his face shoved in the pillow. "Is that better?"

"Yes, thank you."

Rouge smiled, "The bright side of you is that you have good manners." The next thing she knew she heard loud snoring coming from him. She giggled softly, 'He must be really tired, if he snores like that.'

In a couple of hours later the sun had practically went down. Shadow woke up noticing Rouge was sleeping at her desk and his map still not finished. He walked over to her and hit her lightly on her shoulder, "Wake up."

Rouge woke up seeing the black hedgehog not looking pleased, "I must have dozed off."

"When will you be finished?"

She looked at the unfinished map on her computer screen, "Since you want it to show the entire west side, I'd say a couple of days."

He seemed stressed, "A couple of days?"

She nodded.

"With you slacking off, it'll be years."

Rouge had put so much work into her map for the last few hours she got upset with him, "I'm trying my best okay?"

"Not hard enough if you ask me."

Rouge crossed her arms, "I'm done for the day."

Shadow would have threatened her, but she made a point. She was working hard all day. He didn't do anything to her. He sighed, "I understand."

Rouge was surprised at what he said, but she didn't bother to ask what changed his mood.

Shadow opened her window standing on the edge.

Rouge stopped him before he went anywhere, "Wait, where are you going?"

"Out."

She thought it wasn't a big deal, "Okay."

"You gonna miss me or something?"

Rouge looked away from him in disgust, "Please as if I'm gonna cry over some dead guy."

"I'm not dead."

She looked back at him, "I thought vampires were part of the undead."

"Well, I'm not literary dead. To tell you the truth I'm still eighteen years old."

"What!"

"Get some sleep and don't worry about me. I'll be fine." Shadow jumped from the window and headed off in the streets.

Rouge looked around, trying to find Shadow, but he was gone already. "Humph, as if I'm worried about some vampire." She closed her window.