STH © SEGA/Archie

Sarah and Sam © Cozy Shadow

Flame, Petunia, and Jeffery © Phantomask

Italicized brands (like food labels, movies, and songs) belong to their rightful owner.

This chapter is definitely going to be as choppy as sixteen because, again, I'm getting back into the groove of writing—especially with these characters. If Shadow seems a bit...out of character due to him feeling "unwelcome" in the world, it's going to be explained further in detail as we go along. So make note of that.

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Chapter Seventeen:

A Flash of Jealousy

The silence was thick and heavy throughout the room.

Amy felt a lump the size of a boulder form within her throat as she glanced towards the archway. Shadow had made his leave after he had handed her the phone. Amy knew why now.

"Amy?"

It was Cream.

Shadow didn't sound too thrilled to know who was on the other side. Amy caught this as she replayed the scene in her head. If Shadow sounded like he tasted a disgusting bug when he heard Cream's voice then that meant the Ultimate Life Form knew something—something he hadn't told Amy. Perhaps the ebony male lied to her. Whatever it was, Amy felt somewhat hurt.

She had asked what was wrong between Tails and Cream after sensing some sort of tension. Shadow had seemed to be truthful. And yet he lied. He wouldn't have gone with Sonic's opinion of Cream—he would have made his own.

Shadow had stated he had forgotten to mention something when they first talked about the rabbit.

No. Amy thought. He was holding out. Just like he is now.

She stared at the archway with a deep intensity, hoping to get the truth out of someone. Something happened between Tails and Cream, and someone wasn't being completely honest.

"Amy?"

She clutched the phone and offered a smile to her old friend, although Cream couldn't see it.

"Hey, Cream."

Butch sat on the couch, taking up Amy's pillow, as his Master sat beside him. While brown eyes continuously glanced at the hedgehog, there was no other movement within the room.

While the dog wondered when Shadow would turn on the television like usual, Shadow remained still as he stared at the black screen several feet in front of him.

"Do Tails and Cream talk often?"

"They did a year or two ago. I failed to mention something last time though."

"What?"

"They had a falling out maybe a year ago. I don't know the details, but I do know that they were having a secret relationship."

Shadow sighed quietly against the couch as his ears twitched towards the kitchen.

He hadn't meant to sound so snappy to Cream. He didn't like the rabbit for certain reasons—reasons that he hadn't exactly shared with Amy.

She asked about their relationship…That doesn't mean I have to blab everything, right?

Shadow held his head up with the palm of his hand while his elbow rested on the arm of the couch.

Still…she's female. She'll be persistent for the last drop of information. If you don't give it to her…

Shadow couldn't fathom what the little hedgehog would do. He figured she would snap like the hot head she was.

And I'm sure due to my response to Cream on the phone…Amy's figured out I haven't told her all of the details. She's smart like that.

The memory replayed in his mind some more. Butch watched with a huff of anticipation—still waiting for his owner to press the remote and turn on the box with moving pictures.

"Why on Earth would they do that?"

"They were both young. I'm not sure if her mother didn't approve or if she found someone else—people don't tell me things that match."

Shadow narrowed his eyebrows as he grunted. Lie.

"Who told you what?"

"Tails said the latter. Sonic talked about her mother not approving. That was all he said. He seemed pretty upset with the situation. I'm sure he lectured Tails on it. The fox boy is fine though. I mean, he was living on his own by age fourteen."

The ebony male didn't like hearing silence from the kitchen. He wasn't sure if Amy was whispering, or if she had turned to stone upon hearing the rabbit's voice.

The rabbit.

Cream.

She had seemed too innocent during the fight with Eggman and saving so many lives. Shadow was sure she would never leave Amy's side.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Amy."

"What?"

"Conversing with the rabbit. Sonic doesn't like her."

No one did. At least, that's what Shadow figured. Sarah was the only one that didn't really care about Tails' issues. But Sonic…of course the blue blur would step in and be a fatherly figure to Tails.

"But why would Sonic despise Cream?"

Yes. That was the question. Shadow understood all too well.

After all…

He sat still, as usual, on the couch while Butch seemed to drift off to sleep. There was nothing coming from the kitchen, which Shadow was trying to decide if that was a bad or a good thing.

If anyone cheated on me, I would despise them. But Tails…He was too in love with her.

"With the little information I have to go on, I assume she broke up with Tails."

She kissed someone else actually. He thought with sincerity, as if telling Amy the entire truth this time.

"He did look heartbroken a winter ago."

He didn't look heartbroken. He looked like someone stole his heart and hid it from him—leaving him to go on a journey to find it again.

"But Cream was always so nice…That doesn't make sense."

Shadow exhaled heavily as he slouched in his seat.

No. It didn't make sense.

How could someone so sweet like Cream become someone like…that?

He shivered in distaste. Shadow had created his opinion on the rabbit. He didn't like her. But perhaps, he was being too judgmental.

A part of him said to listen to Cream's side of the story, but with Sonic standing in the way…there was practically no hope in finding out why she did what she did. Almost. There was almost no hope—at least for Tails. Shadow didn't quite care too much. But even he had to admit, he was somewhat interested in knowing why someone would cheat—especially when Tails and Cream seemed to be so in love.

Perhaps their secret relationship hadn't been so secret after all. At least, not to a pair of ruby eyes.

But even if Tails had confessed to being in a relationship with the rabbit, Shadow hadn't been able to understand why exactly Cream kissed another. He hated the rabbit, but he believed her actions were for some rational reason.

After all, it wasn't like Cream. But people did change.

Shadow gave up on knowing because of Sonic's determination to keep the ex-couple separated for good.

He glanced over his shoulder subtly, looking at the archway of the kitchen door.

Still…if there's one person that can stand up to Sonic—or anyone for that matter—it's Amy.

"I'm not the only one to regret some things that I've done, Amy, but that was—"

"Save it."

"Amy, please."

The pink hedgehog leaned up against the dryer. She had escaped to the laundry room by the kitchen. She stared at the door that went out to the garage as it seemed to suffocate her in that tiny room. "I can't believe…" She found the lump trying to choke her further. "I can't believe you'd do that to him."

"It was stupid. I mean, I was young—"

"You still are," Amy found herself reprimanding the sixteen year old. "I…I never pegged you as the girl to kiss someone other than her boyfriend."

"The long distance relationship was getting to me. I was stressed and went out to a party—"

"Who parties at thirteen?"

"I was fourteen and a half, Amy."

Amy gritted her teeth. "Congratulations, Cream. You've won the I Suck at being a Girlfriend and I'm Not Even Sixteen Award."

Silence followed.

Amy groaned softly after some time of hesitation on both lines. "I'm sorry…But, Cream, that's so unlike you. I said goodbye to a sweet little girl," Amy ignored the emotional tears building up as her once best friend was hopefully still on the other line. "I never…"

"You're right. I was young—I still am. I couldn't do a long distance secret relationship. It wasn't going to work. And a guy in my class was so sweet and...I regret it every day. I could only wish to go back in time and change things, Amy."

Quiet and calm now, Amy took a moment to respond. She held her breath though as she thought through things. Cream had definitely changed. Shadow was just as much right as he was a liar.

Amy was going to get him back for that.

"So…You're only seven hours away?"

"…And thirty-eight minutes."

She swallowed her slight unwillingness as the words flew out of her mouth before she could possibly think them through, "I want to see you, Cream."

"…"

Amy closed her eyes. "Please. It's been ten years, Cream."

"What good will it do? You'll leave again anyway."

"Because you're my friend," Amy insisted quickly. "Please," she found herself whispering.

It took several seconds—longer than she wanted—but Amy eventually got the answer she was hoping to hear.

"Okay."

By the time Amy reappeared, Shadow was gone. Butch remained on the couch, however, as his plan came to his doggy mind upon seeing the pink hedgehog.

Still, as six o' clock rolled around and everyone arrived home and ate dinner, Butch remained on the couch.

And Amy ignored Shadow.

The dark male had never felt such a cold shoulder before. It was foreign to him—and he didn't like it.

He had offered her a plate for dinner, and she had grabbed her own rather rudely. He had given her extra tomato sauce and two extra meatballs for her spaghetti. Two extra meatballs.

Her response? It was either the tiny huff or the possible eye roll, but he wasn't sure.

Shadow sat at the head of the table as usual, with Sonic on his left and Amy on his right. Sarah took the other end of the table, remaining rather silent.

He glanced between both females and narrowed his eyes.

They're silently speaking to each other, I just know it. Sarah's probably getting Amy's entire story about how much she despises me now.

For some reason, this troubled the ebony alpha. He glanced down at his food when Sarah glared up at him. Pretending to eat his food, Shadow ignored the lime green hedgehog that was probably still glowering daggers at him.

God, I knew I felt someone watching me, but Shadow? Sarah thought. Something's not right. Everyone's pretty silent. Even Sonic. And Amy.

She glanced over at the pink hedgehog discreetly. Normally she's talking. If she's not talking then that means she's fuming about something or someone. And my bets are on the red-eyed freak that keeps staring at me.

Again, Sarah scowled up at Shadow as she caught him watching her quizzically, and rather accusingly for some reason.

Beside the annoyed female, Amy listened to the light scrape of her fork hitting the plate as she shoved the noodles out of the way. Part of her was rather fearful to see Cream for the first time in ten years—how was she supposed to get there?

Tails. I'll interrogate Tails. I'm taking his lying ass with me.

She furrowed her eyebrows. He's not exactly the liar here though. I'm definitely not taking a certain liar with me though.

The image of Shadow popped up in her head. She glared at it rather than glared at the real Shadow—although he probably wouldn't have noticed because he and Sarah were having a staring match now.

Liar. Liar. LIAR. You hide the truth from me. Why doesn't everyone just come out with all their problems?

This time, Amy did take a glimpse at Shadow.

Because who knows what other people want to hear. She stuck her nose slightly up, but not enough to catch attention. Doesn't matter if he's slightly attractive, he's still a damn deceiver. He hides things from me—he probably hides things from everyone.

Amy squinted at the curtains covering the window. A thoughtful look passed through her face.

I bet he's hiding all of his money in the basement…

While she continued to get off track in her thoughts, Shadow and Sarah were still caught up in their staring competition.

That left Sonic.

The blue hedgehog hummed mentally to himself as he poked at his dinner.

I feel like I'm missing something. I didn't forget to shut off the back light in the workshop. I didn't forget to grab my water bottle. I didn't forget to kiss the future missus when I got home.

He happily looked over at Sarah. Catching her rather angered look, Sonic followed it to Shadow. The two continued to stare with such anger at one another and not blink.

He shrugged it off.

She has been acting a bit weird though. About a week, I would say. Sonic thought about it a bit longer before shrugging that off too. She'd tell me if anything were wrong. It's probably just really early wedding jitters, and she wants to work them out on her own.

Sonic left it at that—mostly because a new thought hit his head as he stared at his plate. He narrowed his eyes in concentration.

I wonder…

The spaghetti was practically gone. But something still remained.

I bet I can fit all four of those meatballs in my mouth at once.

The hot water ran down her back, easing the tension in her shoulders.

Quills filled with shampoo and hands massaging her head, Amy hummed silently to herself while standing in the shower.

Shadow's shower.

How she got there? Simple.

To her, it was just bad timing. To everyone else, it was another one of Sonic's plans to get a certain hedgehog with another certain hedgehog.

Flashback

Amy grabbed her pajamas and glanced over at Butch, who still sat on her "bed."

"I'm going to need that space soon, doggy."

"His name is Butch," Shadow mumbled as he walked by and disappeared into the hallway.

Amy rolled her eyes and followed him. "I could care less."

Before either of them could take another step, a blue blur flashed across the hall and shut the bathroom door. Amy furrowed her eyebrows and knocked. "Sonic?"

"Busy!"

"I called dibs," Amy whined as her ears folded back.

Shadow had paused to watch the scene while Sarah opened her bedroom door all the way, raising an eyebrow at her fiancé even if he couldn't see it. Amy continued to pout. "How long are you going to be?"

"Just use Shadow's."

Oh. That did it.

Shadow almost crushed the glass he was holding. Instead, a little droplet of water fell to the carpet as his hand seemed to twitch. His eyes were narrow while his mind was filled with ways to kill an azure hedgehog.

"Or she could just wait for you," Shadow suggested with a hiss that even Sarah flinched.

Sonic didn't miss a beat. "I need to trim my quills! Sarah!"

The lime green hedgehog hesitated. She didn't exactly want to get in the middle of this, but Sonic did need a trim. His quills were getting long, and he had other littler quills to sort out. She took one step out of their bedroom and was met with the Ultimate Life Form.

"No, you stay."

"Sarah!" Sonic called sweetly.

Shadow continued to glare at the female. "Stay."

"Sweetie! I need you! I'm gonna cut myself if I try to trim my quills all by myself!"

The dark male raised a challenging eyebrow at Sarah. She simply blinked in response.

Amy rolled her eyes and pushed between the two, heading further down the hall with her pajamas cradled in her grasp. Shadow paused to look at her with a shocked look. This was a long enough pause for Sarah to make a daring dash into the bathroom.

"Hey!" Shadow grasped the locked doorknob and growled. "Sonic…"

The annoying pest's voice came quickly, "Busy!"

With the bathroom door locked, Shadow's mind went to the next main issue: Amy. He twisted his head to look down the hallway and found no rose hedgehog.

This caught his attention.

"She better not be…" He couldn't finish his sentence as he marched through his bedroom door and saw his bathroom door shut. He heard the water running and sighed in aggravation.

Knocking on the door rather gently, Shadow reminded himself that Amy was still ignoring him for holding out the truth about Tails and Cream.

"Amy?"

No response.

Either she was ignoring him, she slipped and cracked her head open, or she hadn't heard him.

Shadow went with the latter for his sake and set his glass of water down by his bed. Stretching, the male watched Butch walk in with a happy trot.

It wasn't like usual for the dog to walk like that. He seemed proud of himself as he climbed up on Shadow's bed without permission. But that wasn't what caught his Master's attention. Being Mobian, Shadow felt somewhat aware of Butch's emotions than regular humans would—as if he could read what his dog was thinking a little bit better than a human.

That or perhaps Shadow was simply normal.

"What'd you do?" Shadow sparked a conversation with a dog nonetheless.

Butch panted in return, letting his tongue flop out as his tail thumped against the bed. Shadow raised an eyebrow. "You look happy with yourself."

The dog's head swiveled to the side as he continued to stare up at the funny looking two-legger.

"Like that time you got a stray pregnant and now she lives in the basement." Shadow hummed in thought as he squinted at Butch. "You couldn't have picked any other stray besides Shia? She's literally a bitch."

Butch huffed as if in agreement. He set his head down while his tail continued to wag.

"Still…something tells me I should be worried about whatever you did," Shadow spoke. "Not sure what though…"

It was then that the dog's head twisted to the bathroom door, his ears perked. Shadow glanced at the door but heard nothing except the water running still. He huffed and climbed on the bed, grabbing a book.

Butch, however, continued to stare.

On the other side of the door, Amy listened to Shadow's conversation with Butch. She tried not to laugh the best she could as she pulled back the curtain and got in the shower.

Shadow proved to be different and weird. That was for sure.

End of Flashback

Amy smiled tenderly at the fresh memory. It had only been a couple seconds ago. Maybe a minute or two—she wasn't exactly counting.

Now it's just to yell at Shadow mentally and then interrogate Tails. But…To get to Tails.

Amy paused. To get to Tails she would need to talk to Shadow, but she couldn't talk to Shadow without probably yelling at him.

Well, there goes the mentally part. She cursed quietly to herself as she dropped the loofa.

The door cracked opened.

She paused, halfway bent down, while her eyes widened. Shit! I forgot to lock it!

"There's a phone call for you."

Amy glared at the wall of the shower as she grabbed the loofa. Standing upright, she pulled the curtain to cover her body as she glowered at Shadow. The dark male was glancing at his nails, at the mirror, at the pajamas on the counter—basically anything but the naked female in his shower.

"You couldn't tell them I'm a little busy?"

Shadow picked at the counter top as he stood only halfway in the bathroom. Butch peeked in through his Master's legs. The heat of the hot water had no doubt brought the dog. Or maybe it was to keep an eye on Shadow, or see what Amy was doing.

"I was hoping to speed up the process of you taking a shower in my bathroom," Shadow admitted bluntly as he made eye contact with her.

"I've only been in here for a few minutes!" Amy almost squealed. She hugged the curtain tighter. "Why don't you make yourself useful and tell whoever is calling that I'm busy?!"

She wanted to tape her mouth shut after spewing the words out. Amy slunk down so the curtain hid her mouth and nose as well, as if that would cover up what she had just yelled at the man of the house. Shadow's quills bristled in annoyance at the demanding female. Butch made a grunting sound as he felt Shadow's anger.

"I'm sorry," Amy feebly whispered, but Shadow heard it.

The ebony male hissed—whether warning her or tired of her apologies—and took a step forward.

Butch wasn't about to let a growl escape his throat just yet, but something told him that his Master wasn't getting along with the pink hedgehog in the water tub. The dog was somewhat torn. Who was he supposed to protect if either attacked at each other? He definitely liked the pink hedgehog better than his Master—she let him sleep with her. His Master kicked him out of the bed.

But…His Master fed him.

"It's Silver," Shadow said after a moment of silence. He noticed the way she seemed to lighten up as her ears perked. A part of him didn't like it.

"And Blaze," he added in, although the white hedgehog had never said anything about the feline. It made a part of Shadow feel better when Amy was happy at not just hearing about a male she had dated but said male's present girlfriend as well.

Unbeknownst to him, the part that didn't like it was sparking a different type of flame. A flame that could get big and red—nasty with anger and envy.

He backed out of the bathroom, ignoring the little spark within him. "I'll tell him you're busy."

Amy's eyes widened as Shadow turned to leave. "Wait! No! I'm practically done anyway!" She hurried to scrub the rest of her body with the loofa and remaining body wash. Hastily, she stood under the water to get the wash off.

She shut the shower off and grabbed her towel from the toilet seat, wrapped it around herself, opened the curtain, and launched herself out of the tub. Shadow raised an eyebrow at her as the spark of a different feeling seemed to ignite again within him.

"It's just Silver."

"Just Silver?" Amy snorted in amusement as she tried to squeeze past Shadow with just a towel on. "He's my best friend, Shadow. I'm not giving up any moment to talk with my best friend."

"You still need to get dressed," Shadow watched her with curiosity as he followed after her.

She ran out of the room and down the hallway, practically skidding past the first phone she saw. She picked it up and smiled a giddy smile. "SILVER!"

Shadow cringed as he leaned up against the wall.

He wasn't sure if he was cringing because of her high voice or because…of something else. The far-off emotion was intruding, and Shadow didn't like it. The ebony male tried to wipe it away, but listening to Amy's conversation only made the flame grow more.

"Oh, my gosh! I'm so glad you called!" Amy squealed. It was a happy squeal. A truly joyful sound.

Shadow watched in wonder at the female. She was so different now. It was almost like seeing the old Amy. Just the thought made him furrow his eyebrows in distaste as he backed away. Little did he know, Sonic was behind him.

Well, he did know. After he bumped into the cobalt male.

Sonic snorted as he watched Amy. "She's sure loud. It's just Silver."

"Right…" Shadow glanced from Sonic to Amy slowly. "…It's just Silver."

Sonic's ears twitched at the tone Shadow used. He smirked and nudged the dark hero. "You're jealous."

"What?"

It wasn't quite questioning what Sonic said. It was more like Shadow was questioning himself.

Is that what this feeling is? Jealousy? Towards what?

"You don't like it that Amy's talking to Silver. You don't like how she's so much happier talking with Silver than she is talking with you," Sonic teased, although he could see it clearly. Shadow was in a confused state, and he was going to make it all the more confusing.

Shadow tried to shake his head but it was only a slight movement. "No." He gritted his teeth while he listened to Amy chatter on and on with Silver. "There's nothing to be jealous about."

"You're right. Silver's dating Blaze. But…"

Shadow growled under his breath.

"They did date," Sonic finished and shrugged. "And they're still best friends. So...just imagine it."

"What?" he almost hissed.

Sonic smirked at the dark hedgehog.

Never had Sonic seen Shadow so vulnerable. It was positively fantastic, and he was going to take advantage of every second. After all, the more he got Shadow jealous of Silver, the more Shadow would admit to having some type of feeling towards Amy.

"Well, when they come to the wedding…"

Sonic tapped Shadow's shoulder as if he should have known the answer to it. Sonic turned to walk back into the bathroom—where Sarah was listening to every word with a knowing look.

"…It'll be like Amy wasn't even here. She'll want to spend all the time in the world with Silver."

"And Blaze."

Sonic smirked rather evilly.

Shadow wasn't looking though. He was busy staring at the blissful, pink female that was wandering towards the kitchen with every sentence that spewed out of her mouth as she was still dressed in nothing but a towel.

But the fastest thing alive (the blue one) was rather happy with himself.

He'd gotten Shadow to the point of including Blaze to make the situation look better—as if showing Sonic that it wasn't all about Silver. Sonic tilted his head as he watched Shadow with something akin to humor and brotherly adoration.

"I hear Amy and Silver did everything together. Blaze is simply a bystander and Silver's current girlfriend. But who knows? Anything could change, am I right?" Sonic winked to no one in particular as he walked back in the bathroom.

Sarah gave him a reprimanding look, but he caught off any following words with a kiss. Before she had time to resist, Sonic had the door shut. "You were finishing my trim, future missus?" he batted his eyes at her.

The lime green hedgehog snorted and rolled her eyes. "I can't wait until you get emotionally crushed to learn a thing or two."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sonic semi-glared at his fiancée.

Sarah shook her head, "Nothing. It's just, you can't control those two. If you do, both of them might end up hating you."

"I'll take my chances," Sonic shrugged with a chortle as he let Sarah finish up what she started on his quills.

~.~

Shadow had found himself in his room not long after Sonic vanished to the bathroom again.

He ambled around, brushed his teeth, got on the bed, and even let Butch sit with him as he read his book.

But it didn't take a rocket scientist to know that Shadow was baffled.

The words on the page weren't making sense. What was once a mystery about a murderer was now a mystery on what the new feeling was that had embedded itself within Shadow.

He narrowed his eyes at the page he'd been stuck on for five minutes.

But he couldn't read it.

He was busy thinking about Amy and her conversation with Silver. But mostly Amy. She had certainly come out of nowhere—and it was clear she wasn't leaving any time soon.

Butch sensed Shadow's distress and confusion. He whined and touched his nose to Shadow's thigh. His Master only patted him on the head in a subconscious state.

I don't understand. I'm not jealous of anyone…So what was that feeling?

Sonic's words replayed in his head. Shadow scowled inwardly at each syllable.

It's not jealousy.

Amy's only a friend. A rather bothersome friend.

It didn't help the ebony hedgehog when said friend walked back into his room.

At first, Shadow was rather surprised, but then he remembered that her clothes were still in his bathroom. He had just shoved them aside when he had brushed his teeth. There was nothing left to do but forget about their existence.

Because that's what Amy was doing—forgetting Shadow's existence.

He narrowed his eyebrows at himself. Why should that matter? She can forget me any day of the week and I wouldn't care.

A part of him started to sing something about denial, and the other part of him simply scoffed. This was coming from the man who had just called her his bothersome friend.

"Hold on, I'm gonna put you on speaker."

Her voice brought him back to reality.

Shadow raised his eyebrows slightly as she shut the bathroom door. The phone made a sound after she had, he presumed, clicked a button. More specifically, clicked 'Speaker.'

"So, Italy isn't all it's hyped up to be—neither was Spain."

The voice had never sounded so…irritating.

Shadow gritted his teeth as Butch made some odd gurgle of a sound. The dog wasn't sure why his Master was kind of tense, but he bet it was because the lovely female was in the bathroom with what sounded like another male. Only…Butch didn't remember anyone else walking in there.

"Maybe you shouldn't be so clumsy," Amy teased from behind the door, but her voice remained loud and clear for all to hear—at least for Shadow and the dog.

"Those kids pushed me into the fountain in Portugal, I swear it! That or Blaze did."

"My money's on Blaze."

There was a scoff over the phone as Amy opened the door, dressed in her pajamas rather quickly. She held the phone in one hand while grabbing her clothes from off the floor with her other hand.

"Blaze would never…" he seemed to be thinking about it.

Amy made out a laugh of sorts as she shut the light off. "I paid her to do it."

Red eyes watched as the rose flower walked out of the room.

There were several different emotions running through him, but he mostly thought of how odd Amy Rose proved to be. Shadow snorted in dislike as he looked back at his book, staring at the beginning word of the page he'd been stuck on.

Butch made a little grunting sound as he looked up at his Master, as if wondering if the male was going to give up so easily. Shadow swatted the dog lightly away. "Get down."

The dog took that tone as his time to leave the bedroom. He hopped off the bed as Shadow continued to read his book. Walking down the hallway, Butch slipped past Sarah and Sonic playfully arguing about his quills in the bathroom.

Amy had stopped by the hamper at the bathroom as she talked to Silver. Butch ignored the shouts of greetings the obnoxious two-leggers gave as Sarah and Sonic became involved with Amy's conversation.

Nope. The dog didn't have time to stop, stare, and hope someone would give him a treat or a pat on the head.

He had a mission to help his Master.

Plopping down on Amy's makeshift bed, Butch got comfortable as his tongue hung out. Now, it was to play the waiting game, the dog decided. He didn't mind.

It gave him all the more time to actually fall asleep and look too cute to move.

The late night snack was fine by Amy.

She gulped down the milk as she listened to Silver. It'd been awhile since he had called. They seemed to go on forever with stories. The particular one they were talking about now happened recently. And pertained to a certain rabbit.

"Wow…Cream's changed," Silver noted in a dry, unimpressed tone. "I can't believe she would do that."

"Me either," Amy agreed. "It was weird too. She called me, and that was the first thing she said."

"Really?"

"Yep."

"No, 'Hey, it's been a long time! How you doing?' at all?"

"None whatsoever," Amy gritted her teeth in annoyance. She couldn't believe the rabbit. "But look, I'm not sure how much longer we can talk about this…I mean, Sonic doesn't like her—I don't need him to blow up if he knows I'm talking to her now."

"So? As far as I'm concerned, you're a grown woman."

Amy seemed to roll her eyes at herself mostly. "Yeah, and look how far I've come."

"Hey, it's not your fault people are douches. That guy never had the right to fire you in the first place. Can't you still get your job back?"

"Sure," Amy sarcastically whispered, making sure no one walked in on her conversation, "If anyone calls me. It's been over a month since I lost it anyway, Silver. They're not gonna call me back now."

"You're probably right. So, what are you going to do about Cream?"

Amy paced as she chewed her lip. Worry set in as she thought about her decision. "I don't know. I need to visit Tails but to get to Tails…I need to talk to the one and only—"

"Shadow the Hedgehog," Silver beat her to it with a voice like he had just seen a fly in his soup. "And since you're 89% positive that he's lied to you about Tails and Cream's relationship…Well, keep the confrontation as calm as possible."

"I'm 90% positive. Don't think little of me."

"Why not? You were thinking little of yourself just a moment ago," he teased in response.

Although it was for a good jest, Amy couldn't help but feel it was true. She was so dependent on her friends now. It made her cringe. She couldn't be an adult like the others.

"I don't know what I'm doing…"

She didn't mean for the words to come out. They were supposed to be mental thoughts. Instead, they slipped through her and hit Silver. Not that her best friend panicked or anything. He was there on the other side of the phone with a calm, welcoming expression.

"You'll figure it out soon enough. I have faith in you."

"What if I don't?" Amy fearfully whispered. She clutched onto her arm that held the phone. She stared out the window, into the night, with a frightful expression—as if a haunting image would be peering back at her. "What if I fail again? What if…What if it never gets better?"

So many pauses in one day—she didn't think she could handle it. She almost wanted to scream at the person to say something and say it quickly.

But she didn't. Amy kept poised although she was afraid for the future.

"So many people are going through the same thing right now, Amy…and so many are going through worse. You have friends who will be there every step of the way to help guide you. Even more now that you did the most courageous thing I would never do."

"I had to see them again, Silver."

"I know you did. Blaze didn't understand that. She and I have each other. Rouge and Knuckles have the twins. You were the odd man out. That's why I wasn't particularly interested in making you come along with us to Europe. I know you—you would've felt unwanted."

Amy remained silent as she greedily took in the words she wanted to hear. The words Silver spoke always seemed to make things better.

She guessed that was what best friends were for. They knew what the other wanted to hear when things were rough.

"But these last few days…You seem different. A good different at times. Other times, it's like you want to rip Shadow's head off."

She caught herself smiling while listening to his light laughter. "I guess so. It's difficult being away from the city. At least, I thought it was. I hated the silence in the night—I was waiting for a car to drive by but nothing ever happened. The clock was the most annoying thing ever, but now it doesn't bother me. I get awoken by a dog at two in the morning and I used to get irritated, but that dog is the sweetest thing in the world. The air is so fresh and the sky is so blue, it's crazy. Hardly any humidity compared to New York, but the view here…the view is to die for—"

"Listen to you." His voice was soft and full of wonder.

Amy bit her lip to contain a knowing grin. "What do you mean?"

"You like it there."

She twirled her smallest quill around her finger as she grasped the phone. "I guess I do. But I still feel lonely at times. Sonic and Sarah are always at work if not planning for the wedding. And Shadow acts like he needs to be out of the house every time I walk in."

"Well, you're not going to be alone anymore."

"I've heard that one before," Amy snorted to herself. "And if I don't convince Tails to take me to Cream, I'm alone as I'll ever be. No way will Shadow go—he didn't sound like he would particularly enjoy her company."

"I'll go with you."

Amy's smile dwindled down as a serious expression took over her face. "Wait…What?"

"Blaze is asleep, and I promised we would tell you together. That and I kind of want Sonic, Sarah, and Shadow to hear too. Plus, we can really talk. Sort of."

"You mean Skype?"

"Tomorrow morning. Call me."

"Wait, Silver!" Amy hissed but the other line hung up. She glared at the phone and cursed her best friend for holding out on her. But then she thought about the news.

Oh, I can't wait! They must be coming soon—like in a week or two!

Amy happily walked out of the kitchen after putting her empty glass in the sink. She put the phone back in its holder as she got ready for bed. Turning to the couch, she found a slight obstacle in her way.

Butch.

The dog snorted in his sleep as he lied on his back with his front legs in the air and bent. His head rested on Amy's pillow, and his back legs balanced him. The only thing that would make him cuter was if his tongue was hanging out.

Amy frowned however.

Well…He looks so peaceful and nondestructive right now. I can't possibly wake him up.

The rose hedgehog was frozen in her spot.

I wonder what Shadow's doing…

The thought of a comfy bed to sleep in again found its way to her brain. She couldn't help but mull the probability over. It wouldn't be awkward, right? They slept next to each other before. It was no big deal—Shadow made a tendency to forget like anything happened anyway.

All she had to do was find the courage.

Turning her head, Amy glanced down the hallway before taking a brave step towards his bedroom door. Sneaking past Sarah and Sonic's closed door, Amy made it to Shadow's bedroom. The door was shut—as always—and creaked when she opened it slightly. Looking back at Sonic's door, she bit her bottom lip. Her ears picked a slight movement in Sonic's bed, but overall, it was nothing.

"Yes?"

It was a classic grumble from Shadow. But it wasn't unwelcoming.

She poked her head in.

He was sitting on the bed, reading the same book he had been previously. The title caught her attention as she walked in and shut the door behind her. Reminding herself of the goal, Amy was bombarded with thoughts of the dishonesty floating between them.

She felt Shadow tense a little, but he didn't show it in his expression.

"I thought you didn't like mystery books. You could easily predict who the culprit was."

He watched as she cautiously meandered to his bed. His quills quivered in either warning or anxiousness. Shadow wasn't sure. But as she made room for her, he came to the conclusion that he shouldn't allow it as a bubbly feeling set in.

The emerald eyes that had a glint of knowing and anger seemed to not only make him fear of the upcoming argument, but also excite him for a challenge. He bent one leg as he leaned forward, propping his elbow on his knee.

Humming in hesitation, Shadow let her sit down next to him.

Amy's movements were slower than a sloth, but she had her reasons.

She caught the miniscule amount of fear in his eyes. It was the most he'd probably ever show, and it wasn't even the size of a poppy seed—so she'd take it. Words were jumbling in her brain as she thought of what to say without bursting into a chaotic, raging monster or a blubbering idiot.

"Was it the butler?" she whispered with hardly any emotion in her tone. Everything remained in the eyes.

"Something tells me that you're not here to chat about my book," Waving off any of her remarks, Shadow finally spoke as a serious expression came over his face. He leaned slightly forward as he towered over her.

Amy didn't like the fact that Shadow could so easily change the tides between them.

The female cowered a little as she gritted her teeth. The animal in her said to submit to such an alpha male. But the humanistic side of her said that she too was capable of being in charge. The man of the house didn't change a thing. But it did—and they both knew it. He was Shadow the Hedgehog anyway.

So instead of yelling at him, Amy sighed and turned away. "Why did you lie?"

The words barely made it out of her mouth. Shadow, sitting next to her, could barely hear them. "I was withholding the truth."

"Tails and Cream are my friends. You can't just keep something like that from me—"

"Yes, I can."

"Why?" Amy glared. It was those emerald eyes where the anger sparked and caused great amusement for the male. She would never understand some things. "You held onto the truth and gave me little bits of the story. Why not just tell me the whole thing? And you did lie. You said you didn't know the whole of it—but you do, don't you?"

He smirked, staring at her with calm red eyes. "Nothing gets past you, does it?"

"Don't try and change the subject." Amy leaned in further as her teeth clenched together so much that it began to hurt her jaw. She was determined though.

Shadow let a low growl escape from him. He met her halfway as she flinched and slunk away from him.

"Don't try and meddle with someone else's life. I didn't ask to be a part of it. Tails told me because he knew Sonic would act like his father. At that time, Sonic would've told Tails to call it off because of their young age. So the boy told me instead."

"Why?"

"Because he figured that I wouldn't care. He couldn't keep the secret in any longer, but he couldn't let it be exposed to the wrong person."

Amy exhaled heavily and flopped back, sinking into the pillow. The only light on in the room was his lamp. Other than that, she barely registered that it was dark in the room. Observing the ceiling, the pink flower couldn't meet his gaze. She couldn't get caught up in the enchanting vermillion gaze again.

"And you wouldn't care…" she whispered at nothing in particular—merely talking to herself. "It had nothing to do with you. So you let him get it off his chest. And yet…you probably did care."

His ears swiveled back to listen to her, but his eyes were looking over the book cover.

"Because you were the one to tell Sonic, weren't you?"

"It was an accident," Shadow mumbled back. "It was a month later. I thought he knew. Sonic was acting angrier than usual, but I couldn't figure out why. I reckoned it was because of Tails and Cream. But I only added more fuel to the fire."

Amy propped herself up on her elbows as she stared quizzically at the ebony hedgehog. "What was he mad at then?"

"Work. Employees." Shadow shook his head as he tossed the book lightly to his side. "A part of me regrets it. I blame myself for what happened."

"Not all of us are perfect, I guess."

"You think I don't know that?" Shadow hissed at her. Amy flinched again. "I wasted my time in places that reminded me of my flaws every day. People staring at you, mocking you and hating you—you don't know what that feels like, Amy."

"It must hurt," she tried to respond. She figured he was trying to change the subject. But she also saw pain flash through his eyes—those eyes that held the key to his emotions.

"People assume things. That if I don't cry, I never get hurt. That if I don't say anything, I apparently don't feel. That if I don't show it, I don't care about it. But they're wrong," he rasped. She watched as he clutched the sheets. "Tails has been nothing but kind to me, and I betrayed him."

"He must know it was an accident, though."

"I managed to clear things up. I started whatever argument ensued between them, and so I felt obligated to finish it. And I did. But I felt like even Tails was wary of my company from then on. As if I would suddenly snap and turn on everyone that stopped to care for my wellbeing. It had always been annoying, but then it was gone. And I missed it. This valley—these people. They help."

Amy touched his arm gently. He didn't pull away. "Shadow, you don't need to be like this anymore. You've been living practically unharmed for four years, but you still talk about the past as if it were the present. Don't you think it's time to let it go and move on? You're beginning to sound like a broken record."

Shadow huffed and pulled away from her touch, the tingles gone as usual. "If it was Tails or Sonic saying this would you tell them that or try to comfort them?"

She glanced away as he met eye contact with her. After a moment of hesitation, Amy looked up and whispered, "I don't know how to comfort you."

"You can't."

She slowly sat up. Their shoulders touched faintly.

Amy wasn't sure what happened next. She saw her host as something else in that moment. He wasn't simply just a hero. He wasn't just Shadow the Hedgehog.

"I was once invisible. The portal took things away from me," Shadow whispered as he felt the pressure on his shoulder. "And then wherever I walked, I actually…feared. I had never felt so vulnerable before. So normal. People like Sonic and Tails are the only ones I trust and the fact that I've betrayed them…"

She was completely leaning against him by now. But not like either of them cared. Slim fingers picked up the book. "Tails was probably too young anyway. Live and learn."

Curiosity pecked away at her as she caught some of his words. "How did you betray Sonic?"

"I…might have done something."

Amy glanced at him in concern, "Shadow?"

Thoughts sprang to her mind. She couldn't quite place what would make Sonic truly angry or upset with Shadow. Except one thing.

"Shadow, please don't tell me you kissed Sarah."

A sort of laugh and cough came from the Ultimate Life Form. "No. Nothing like that."

Relief swept over the rose hedgehog. She was mostly thinking about Sonic's relationship. Amy didn't want anything to ruin whatever the blue blur had. But a tiny part of her was slightly relieved for her own reasons.

She just wasn't sure why.

"I may or may not have accidentally touched her breast."

Okay. That wasn't any better. Amy tried not to laugh, and she also tried not to scowl. "Um…May I ask how this happened?"

Shadow seemed to chuckle for her as he leaned back on his bed. His head hit the soft pillow while Amy glanced back at him, still holding onto the mystery book.

"Sonic and I came in from the garage door. Sarah was listening to music while making dinner and had her earbuds in. She didn't hear us, so Sonic decided to scare her. The earbuds slipped out, fell to the floor, and she stepped on them. She freaked out—because she does that upon "hurting" any inanimate objects—and she leaped again, caught the edge of the chair, and landed in my arms."

Amy laughed as quietly as she could, keeping in mind that a certain couple was just across the hall. She joined Shadow, lying down on the bed with a grin plastered on her face.

"And my hand might have rested in an inappropriate place."

The giggles coming from her caused a smirk from him, and he didn't know why. He found the humorous moment between them rather relaxing.

All the tension seemed to have vanished.

"Wait," Amy sat up a little and inquisitively raised an eyebrow. "What happened after that?"

"Well, she stood straight and Sonic was merely laughing at the fact that she had fallen—on me, no less. He didn't know about anything else until Sarah, blushing rather profusely might I add, asked if I enjoyed the free groping session."

Again, Amy was caught in a fit of chortles. She buried her face into the pillow. "I can't believe you actually did that."

"Sonic didn't quite get it at first but then he was silent for five minutes before turning to Sarah and asking if it truly happened. Needless to say, it was the best five minutes of my life. So peaceful. If only I could figure out a way to make it happen more often—without going over boundaries, of course."

Shadow listened as Amy's laughter died down. Her face was still stuffed in the pillow. She turned slightly and hummed in amusement before he felt slight movement. Glancing over, Shadow furrowed his eyebrows in confusion at the young adult.

Amy was curled up, still slightly snorting to herself, and had her eyes closed.

Oh, no. She's not thinking about sleeping in here, is she?

"Rose?"

"Hm?"

"What are you doing?"

"Sleeping. The bed's comfy. And the dog stole the couch."

"There's another couch. There's three to be exact," Shadow sat upright as he stared down at her.

Amy whined slightly. "C'mon, Shadow. I just want a nice bed to sleep in—not that old couch."

"The other two are comfier than this bed."

"Then you go and sleep on them."

Shadow glared at the woman. She proved to be stubborn and annoying.

Always.

He huffed and turned away from her, shutting off his lamp light and getting comfortable. He pulled the blanket over his shoulder and exhaled heavily into the sheets.

"If you so much as nudge me in your sleep—"

"Goodnight, Shadow."

"…Goodnight, Amy."