Chapter 23

Revisiting a Young Girl's Heart

Ever since Shadow and Shail broke up, he hadn't seen much of her since then. It's been about a couple of weeks since he had last contacted her, and even at work, it seemed like she had taken the extra effort to work shifts during the evening. An availability that Shadow never had, since he was always there during the mornings. Since then, he swore off from dating co-workers, since it seemed like more trouble than it was worth and decided to focus on school and continue towards his career as a biochemist. He had been at school on and off, but with more free time, he's been tempted on going back to his online classes with the hopes of catching up to where everyone else is.

But for the meantime, he's been enjoying his time to himself… and yet, in the back of his mind, was this pink little hedgehog who he hadn't spoken to in a while. Ever since he tried to take Amy back and his run-in at La Luna, he hadn't heard from Amy Rose since then. Their break-up was, in fact, unexpected, but it didn't make it hurt any less, and to see her with his opposite made it feel even worse. He and Sonic were always fierce competitors since they were teens but fighting over women was a different playing field… at least, it felt like that anyway. It always made his blood boil seeing Sonic get what he wanted just because he was "Sonic"; Shadow had to work twice as hard to not be recognized for his past villainy.

Since moving, he's had an opportunity to grow, and it was because of this that he was able to date Miss Amy Rose and enjoy their time together. But it was all because of what had happened a year ago that changed everything…

… But that wasn't something he cared to think about, at least, not at that moment. Because he was woken by the screen light of his phone. Shadow never remembered to set his settings to a low light; why bother when he had to be up early anyway? But it always hit him hard each time.

He sat up and ran his fingers through his dark raven quills, letting out a long yawn before he rubbed one of his eyes while viewing his phone with the other. Leaving his window open each night made his phone cold to the touch, but it was a minor pleasure he took in each morning without complaints. But it was this particular morning that this cool touch didn't last as long, for his fingertips started heating up from the message that sat displayed in front of him.

AMY R.: We should talk…

ME: Of course we can.

AMY R.: Can we meet tomorrow?

Shadow's face flashed crimson, When did I send this!? I don't remember seeing this last night… I mean… I was drinking a little bit last night, but I didn't think I was doing anything this crazy…

He shook with a shiver and kicked his legs off the side of the bed, breathing in a deep sigh before expelling the air from his lungs. He took his phone once more and replied:

ME: We can meet today. Sorry, I fell asleep. How's meeting in the center of town around 12? Where the water fountain is?

He sent the message and looked at the time: it was 6:30 in the morning. If he still knew Amy, he should be getting a reply from her at around 8. She always sleeps in till 8.


Amy's been up since 6 that morning. She's been productive in the morning since she's moved in; moving past the crippling fear of uncertainty, she's been able to email her landlord, her workplace, and was able to text Rouge to see what's been up. She kind of thought it was weird that she hadn't heard from Rouge since she's been 'kidnapped', so she thought maybe extending a message would get things going. She's decided to see to her agreement with Sonic. Just the other night, they were able to clarify things in a better light, and with his help, he was able to talk to her landlord to pause her monthly rent. She's still amazed of the power that he held in his position and with any contact he makes. Who's ever heard of someone PAUSING their lease? With the amount of money that he makes, that's never a problem at all.

She paused her typing and heard shuffling and muffled voices outside her door. Suzu was leaving back with her parents again for the summer, so she was saying her goodbyes to her Uncle Sonic. Although Amy had expressed her goodbyes last night, she wanted to say one more goodbye, but didn't want to intrude. After hearing her shut the front door, she could hear Sonic's footsteps echo through the hallway and up the stairs, where he settled back into his office quietly. Amy looked back at her phone and saw that she had a notification; she saw that Shadow had texted her back. She smiled, seeing that he still gets up at the same time he always does. She remembers calling him an old man for that. She sent a confirmation text and placed her phone down to stretch. It's about time she got answers. Why did he try to come for her that night*? But now that she has a better understanding of the situation, she doesn't mind staying and helping Sonic. He /did/ promise her a little more to his former agreement than just getting her designer shoes back. She chuckled and opened her closet, "Now… what to wear."


Shadow made his way to their agreed upon meet-up place in the center of town. He checked his watch: 11:51. He was a tad early, but not /that/ early where he needed to apologize for it. As he approached the fountain, his eyes widened with surprise. There stood a familiar face, with long pink quills cascading down her back, even with her sunglasses on, still remained recognizable. The dame stood there, fanning herself with her hand until she turned her head and spotted Shadow, to which she greeted him with a wave. "Hey, you. It's been a minute!" she exclaimed as she walked over to him with a smile. Shadow blushed, looking away for a brief moment, "Y-Yeah. It's nice hearing from you… How are you?"
Amy grinned, "I'm good. I've just been… thinking about you lately. I'm glad that I was able to reach you. Should we go?"

Shadow nodded and despite meeting each other early, they made their way to the closest park. He and Amy hadn't said a word to each other till they reached a bench. Amy breathed in and let out a sigh, to which she finally asked Shadow, "So… how's your girlfriend been?"

Shadow chuckled, "We're not going out anymore, remember?"

"Oh? I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to bring it up... I totally forgot…"

"It's okay; it kind of got complicated, but I'm fine. We're just friends now… sort of."

"Sort of? What does that mean?"

"It means… we're okay? But not speaking? I don't know, to be honest, it's been all kinds of confusing."

Amy smiled and reclined back on the bench. "I'm sorry to hear that it didn't work out, but… you look oddly okay despite that."

Shadow scoffed, "Oddly okay?"

"You know what I mean! You usually break apart after something like this."

"Am I that sensitive to you?"

"Well… that didn't stop you from coming to get me that night!"

Shadow paused then looked away from her. He sat frozen, "… Yeah, that's right. I did come to get you, huh…"

Amy maintained her gaze, "Why did you do that, Shadow?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean… why did you go through the trouble of doing that for me? I just don't understand."

Shadow sighed and closed his eyes, "I want to believe that it's because I cared about you at some point. But now… I can't say it enough that I was just worried about you."

He turned to her, to which he had to take in a breath; he couldn't believe who he was looking at. Although there was enough whacky drama going on, the amount of times that he was able to look at Amy face-to-face were his favorite moments. The way her emerald green eyes gazed back at his red hues was asking for too much already. Her pink quills and her partially open lips made his heart weak, and he knew looking any longer would cause him to throw all care out the window. But he knew he couldn't. He had to respect the person that sat beside him. It was bad enough that she probably had all these thoughts that contributed to her confusion on the relationships that existed in her world, but he knew not to confuse her any longer.

Amy blushed, looking away from him, as though she heard every thought he made.

"I… didn't mean to worry you. I hope you know that."

"It's okay. I just want you to know that I'm always going to look after you. Even if it means you doing something I'm not going to like. But you have to promise me that if it ever gets bad, you let me know. I just want you to be okay with me helping you if it gets to that point."

Amy chuckled nervously, "I mean… it doesn't ever get that bad… He does call me names and acts like a total ass, but… it's never been that bad…"

"Are you sure? He hasn't tried to… I don't know…" Shadow placed a hand over his mouth and cleared his throat. "That faker hasn't tried anything he shouldn't with you…?"

Amy's face flashed crimson, her thoughts reeling back to the moments they've kissed and have been somewhat… intimate. "I-I mean… no, nothing like that at all. It's all been relatively tame… Nothing's happened, I swear…"

Shadow let out a sigh of relief, "Regardless… it's none of my business what happens. I just want you to be safe."

Amy paused and smiled, letting out a giggle. "Thanks, Shadow. It really means a lot to hear that from you."

The two both looked straight ahead, gazing out towards the greenery of the park. Many people walked, played frisbee out in the field, heard the laughter of children echo throughout the area… nothing compared to a hot summer day. Amy's eyes soften, "I'm really glad to see you, Shadow. I hope this is okay."

Shadow smiled, extending his arm out across the back of her shoulders, giving her a small squeeze. "You'll always have me, Amy. No matter what."


Sonic awoke at 12 o' clock in the afternoon to an empty house. With Suzu gone, the house was infinitely more quiet, and it made him nervous. Sonic went across the hall and knocked on Amy's door, only to be gifted more silence. "How dare she leave without saying anything…" With a huff, he descended the stairs and passed one of the maids, "Say… have you seen Amy?"

The young lady paused in thought before replying, "I think… she mentioned that she was going to meet somebody for lunch…"

Since his contract with Amy has been a lot more refined, it did not prevent her from leaving the home or continuing to go to work, but he was still curious, "Oh… did she mention with who?"

The maid shook her head, "Not that I'm aware of… Oh! She did mention that she was going to be early to meet 'him'…"

"A 'him', huh?" mumbled Sonic, as his eyes darkened. "How interesting…"