Last chappie! Enjoy it while it lasts!
XX
I stood on my toes on a random bench in Soleanna's castle town. It was the middle of the afternoon, a few hours after Shadow and I made up. It was just enough time to make it less obvious that I escaped yet another near-death experience. Ugh, where could she be? Within a few minutes, I finally located her. Elise was walking next to a group of girls. I honestly couldn't even tell it was her. She wore a white t-shirt, jeans, and black converse. Her short red hair was in a high ponytail, but her bangs fell over her face. Not just I, but no one could tell she was the princess of Soleanna. She looked… well… normal… It was amazing how well she blended in with everyone else. It was even more amazing how well Sonic completed her… how well she completed Sonic. Sonic had brought her out of the shadow that was her royal heritage and let her see the world as a normal girl, not as a princess. Sonic deserved her and she deserved Sonic. I misinterpreted their happiness as Elise's scorn for me and selfishly complained about it to others. Rouge was the only one who stuck with me until the end. This is what I thought friendship was: sticking by your friends no matter what; no matter how evil or how selfish their intentions are. But I was wrong. True friends would not only stick by you, but help you overcome your weaknesses, even if it meant hurting your feelings. And this was where Elise came in. She indirectly pointed out my selfishness, but I didn't catch it until it was too late… until after I betrayed Shadow. I really had good friends: Elise, because she saw through me and noticed that I was hurting other's feelings for my own selfish needs, Shadow, because he saw past my selfishness and clinginess to Sonic and accepted me for who I was, and Rouge, for graciously allowing me to use her as a crutch. But I wasn't going to any more. I could now stand on my own two feet. I didn't need to cling to Shadow, Rouge, or Sonic anymore. I ran up to Elise. "Elise! Elise!" She turned in my direction and smiled faintly.
"Hi Amy."
"Wow, you look good. Much better than you do in your princess clothes, I might add." She giggled.
"Thanks!" I laughed along with her.
"Elise? I'm sorry… I misinterpreted what you said… I just thought you were trying to make my life miserable." It all sounded stupid, even in my own ears. I tried rephrasing what I just said. "You were right… I was lying to Shadow and myself about my feelings…"
"So everything's cleared up now?"
"Yes! With you and Shadow!" She smiled.
"Great! Hey Amy… Sonic's taking me out to dinner tonight…" She paused to see my reaction. Maybe she expected me to stare at the floor sadly or walk away crying, but I didn't do either. Her eyebrows furrowed as she saw my bland response.
"Where's he taking you?" I asked finally, breaking up the silence.
"You aren't mad or depressed?"
"No! Of course not! You can have Sonic!" Elise raised her eyebrows.
"Really?"
"Yeah! Of course! I can see that you're happy with him, and it's pretty obvious that he's happy with you." She quirked one eyebrow.
"Well Amy, this is one side of you I've never seen before." I laughed.
"I know. Besides, I'm over Sonic!" Her eyes widened at my casual remark.
"Are you sure?!"
"Yeah! After we got back from Eggman's—"
"What were you doing in Eggman's base?" I sighed as I spilled out the whole story. She nodded slowly. "Ohhh… I see… good thing you're all right."
"Yeah… Sonic came up to us right after we got out and he asked me whether I picked him or Shadow." Her gaze dropped the floor. "I don't think he would have left you, even if I picked him over Shadow." She sighed and smiled in relief. "Anyway, I picked Shadow, and it's not because I feel sorry or guilty for him." For the first time in a long time, the words sounded firm and adamant. I knew I was never going back to Sonic after making this major decision. Elise's smile widened.
"That's good then! Anyway, Sonic's taking me out for dinner, but I don't have anything to wear!" I sighed and tapped my foot.
"You're a princess. You must have something."
"I don't want to wear any of my dresses though! Besides, they're all itchy. The itchiest one is the one I wore during the Festival of the Sun." I laughed.
"Oh that sucks! You went to Eggman's base and had to run with Sonic in that?" She sighed and nodded.
"You have no idea… anyway, can you come shopping with me?" I smiled. We were friends again.
"Sure!" Elise and I linked arms and walked toward Soleanna's mall.
Later…
I snuggled next to Shadow. I was so tired, but I wasn't going to let myself fall asleep during the movie. "Are you sure you want to watch the movie Amy?" Shadow asked me, concerned.
"Yeah…" I replied, yawning. Shadow didn't seem convinced. "Come on! We already called Rouge! How do you think it'll look if you tell her that we're not watching the movie because I fell asleep?!" Shadow sighed. There was a knock at the door.
"That would be her." Shadow stood up and opened the door. Rouge shoved him into the wall and ran in front of me.
"AMY!" she yelled. "YOU IDIOT! I TOLD YOU NOT TO GO TO THE ARK!"
"I know, but—"
"AND WHAT DID YOU DO? YOU WENT TO THE ARK! YOU PROMISED YOU WOULDN'T GET CAUGHT, BUT YOU DID! NOW SEE WHAT YOU DID!"
"Rouge—"
"YOU'RE LUCKY YOU'RE STILL ALIVE, AMY ROSE! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW—"
"Rouge." Shadow said her name once, and she stopped to turn back to him.
"What?!" she asked exasperatedly. His eyes narrowed slightly.
"Let it go." Rouge grit her teeth together.
"Fine." She turned back to me. "Don't think you're off the hook yet, Amy." Shadow had nothing to say to this, so he reclaimed his seat next to me. I rested my head on his shoulder and shut my eyes. Everything was fine now. All my confessions and apologies were over.
"So Amy… did you clear everything up with Elise?"
"Yeah…" He smiled.
"Good. Rouge can you start the movie?"
"It's your house, Shadow," she replied coolly. There was silence before she shifted again. I reopened my eyes to see her bent over Shadow's DVD player. "Get Smart? This is what we're watching?" Shadow shrugged.
"It's a comedy. Besides, I doubt Amy would want any more drama today." I laughed faintly and silently agreed. Rouge sat back down after pressing play and grabbed the popcorn bowl. Several minutes passed and my exhaustion caught up with me. My eyes slowly started to droop shut. The dialogue sounded like incoherent mumbling to me. I forced my eyes open and paid especially close attention to the dialogue. "You can sleep, you know." I looked up at Shadow who looked back at me sympathetically. "You've had a long day… you really must be tired." I smiled as my vision blurred. I shut my eyes and snuggled closer to him.
"I love you Shadow," I whispered sleepily. My consciousness slipped away from me, but I could swear I heard Shadow reply.
"I love you too."
XX
It's OVER!! Now you all can review about how sappy the ending was! lol. THANKS FOR READING! HOPE YOU LIKED IT!
