Chapter 3

I pulled Clarissa into an alley before he could see us.

"Don't you know who that is?" I said, my voice two worlds above a yell.

"Um, yeah?" Clarissa responded. "My soon-to-be husband."

I rolled my eyes at her. "Try Shadow the Hedgehog, you idiot."

"Hey, I never asked to be in this abusive relationship," she said, rubbing her arm. "And I—" she stopped, peered into the crowd,"—Wow, that is Shadow the Hedgehog." With her confirmation, I started beating my head against the brick wall. "What's wrong now, Amy?" Clarissa said, crossing her arms. "He hates you too? Another member of the Bitter Against Amy Brigade?"

I shrugged my shoulders in a pathetic slump. "I don't know."

He told me to go. That we were—we would have been—a mistake. I let my gaze travel back to the street. Shadow was carrying a small package. His green scarf flailed in the wind, and although his cold breath could be seen, he didn't seem affected by the temperature. His eyes of fire merely burned ahead.

"I can't believe you never told me you were with him!" Clarissa then exclaimed. I clamped a hand over her mouth, warning her with a glare.

"Who said I was with him?" I lied, or didn't lie. I mean, I didn't think that a daylong relationship really counted. It was shorter than my tryst with Scourge. Wherever he was.

Clarissa rolled her eyes. "You have pink fur, yet I can still tell you're blushing." Her grin then grew devious. "Did you do the deed? He looks great in the—"

"No!" I said, shaking my head rapidly. I peered back into the crowd. But the onyx hedgehog had disappeared. And because I was confused as hell, I didn't know whether to find relief or disappointment in this fact. "I mean, we might have gone out had I not been accepted to UMerc on such short notice."

Clarissa's eyes widened. "You let him go?"

I pressed my eyes close, breathed out a sigh. "Technically, he let me go. I would have stayed if he wanted me to."

"So he didn't want you to stay?" Clarissa asked, her brow furrowing.

"It's more complicated than that."

"No it's not," Clarissa said, leaning against the wall. She looked up to the sky, contemplating this. "Do you want to be with him?"

"..."

"Do you want him to rock your sheets?"

"..."

"Do you want to be with Scourge?"

I blinked at her too-blunt-to-be-serious question. But she wasn't smiling, or flinching. With a groan, my arms fell to my side in an exaggerated clap. "I guess not."

"Then it's settled," she said, clasping her hands. "We're getting you Shadow."

"But I—"

"Look, Amy. You have a soon to be stable career and a penthouse apartment. All you need now is the guy," she assured me, like it was as easy as soup needing water.

"It's not that—"

"Easy? Law school isn't easy," Clarissa said, emerging from the alley. The crowd had died down, but I could only attribute that to the hour. "This is just match-making. And although Shadow's a sexy as hell bad-ass, he's still a dude. They're not that hard to crack."

"But he's different."

Clarissa smirked wider. "That just means we'll have to work smarter."

We weren't home for an hour when Clarissa presented me with a casebook on stalking Shadow without it seeming like we would be stalking Shadow.

"Obviously I'll contact Sonic and ask where he usually takes to," she said, flipping the surprisingly thick folder. She even had a picture of Shadow. "Did Sonic know about the two of you?"

"Um, no?" I said, scratching my quills. "I mean, the only one who wanted me to be with him was Rouge."

"Rouge the Bat?" Clarissa said. "I adore her. I better get to meet her tomorrow."

I shrugged. "If I live through tomorrow." Clarissa offered me a warning glare. But I didn't let it phase me. "What?" I said. "This whole thing is stupid. I didn't come here to get Shadow back. It's not like I had him in the first place."

"Why don't you want sexy things?" Clarissa asked, scooping the up the casebook and walking to her bedroom. "I'm single too, but that doesn't mean I passively accept it. So what if you see everyone one around you having lives? Go have one. You told me not to drop out of law school when I failed Dr. Bandicoot's final," she continued, pointing at me. "You did."

"What are you talking about? You got the third best grade in the class."

"Third isn't good enough!"

"Okay, Miss Valedictorian," I said, rolling my eyes. "But I have a life. It's just that things haven't been going the way I expected them to—"

"Well, duh," she said, already halfway into her room. "We've been here for like seven hours! Everything's going to be fine. Just calm the fuck down. I'm going to research Shadow a little longer—establish a plan of attack." And with that she shut the door.

Plan of attack.

I wandered out of the kitchen and into bed. The only thing I wanted to attack was my stupid feelings.

"Are you sure?" a voice asks me. I spin around, but I can't see anything. And the fact sort of ticked me off.

"Are you sure you can't show yourself?" I mock back, folding my arms. I don't know where I am—just that it's a bleak room. No furniture. No people. Just the faceless voice and me.

"Scourge?" He's always my dream-nightmare partner, so I figured why not start with him. There is no response; however, it feels like the room is shaking its head.

"You wish."

"No, I don't," I reply. But the quickness, the defensiveness of my remark probably sold out my former feelings. I think the voice knows this when he chuckles. And to my dismay, it's a pretty damn sexy chuckle.

"Enough of these games," I say, shaking away the burning sensation of my cheeks, my embarrassment and irritation on the matter. "Just show yourself. Please."

"My, that sounds like something I would say." There is a snap, then a hedgehog appearing before me. "Minus the please." He chuckles some more.

"Shadow?" I say, studying him. In the dim space I can make out eyes that were a swirl of orange and yellow, with the same color extending to his stripes. His fur seemed lighter too. "Why do you look so..."

"Bright?" he says, tilting my head up for me to look at him. "Because I'm Light."

"Light?" I say, wrinkling my nose. What the hell is this? I don't remember drinking before bed.

'They couldn't come up with a better name, I'm afraid." Light assures me, crossing his arms. But there is no aggression in his stance.

"Who are they?"

"Whoever decided for you to dream of an imaginary figment of Shadow. Well, an opposite figment."

I scratch my head, not quite following. "You mean to tell me that you're Shadow's opposite?"

"Figuratively. Since you are not Shadow, you wouldn't know how his true opposite would appear or act."

"Then why are you here?" I say with a sigh. All he had confirmed was that even my dreams were insane. "Can I wake up now?"

"That depends." I don't like the playful joviality in Shadow's—I mean, Light's—tone. "Are you fine with this?"

His eyes are gleaming like the sun; his smirk seemed innocent if not genuine.

"Hm..." I ponder, as if this is normal. "What does you being here have to say about the real Shadow?"

"As much as you want to make of it, I suppose," he says, shrugging. "I'm not the dream maker here."

"Then what good are you?" I ask, irritation beginning to spike through me. If my dreams couldn't even give me a clue to my reality, then this is pointless. Whatever this is.

Light's smirk widened. "I thought you'd never ask."

Before I could open my mouth, he snapped his fingers. The lighting changed, from flat out dim to a brighter, but still subdued hum. I blinked before my eyes focused on his.

"What the—" Lips press against mine. Light's hands pull me in closer by my waist. I want to fight it, but before I can actually register what's happening, or if this is even real, his lips travel to my neck. When he sucks in with a groan, my thoughts scatter.

He lifts me, returns to my lips again. An animalistic urgency takes over me and I find myself kissing back before he suckles on my lower lip, blinding me in bliss.

"Shadow," I moan, running my hands through his quills. He dumps me on something—a bed-before landing on top of me. He finds my neck again, trailing upward until he seizes me in another lip-lock.

"It just so happens." Kiss. "That isn't my name." Kiss.

My eyes widen at this. It's a dream isn't it? But then why does it feel so real. Light presses down on me, swirling his tongue against mine, sucking on it hard.

A moan escapes me, I see him smirk through lidded eyes as his hands run through my sides, over my thighs. I feel myself getting excited, but I shouldn't be. This isn't real—

"For the love of Mobius," Light says, suckling my collarbone. His hand cups my breast and I can't help but moan again. "It's been almost four years. Just give in." He thumbs over my nipples, which grow erect, poking against the silk fabric. I bite my lip, shuddering at his touch. He chuckles at this, lowers my straps.

His glance meets mine. But it is more serious than lustful. "I can stop if you want me too." Light's eyes trail back to my chest. Another smirk lands on his lips. "But you don't want me to."

"I—" His lips press against mine again, cutting me off. The kiss is hot and blissful; his hands set me on fire. And I almost combust when his hand finds my core. My eyes roll over.

"Oh my God!"

"Oh my God! Will you wake up, Amy?" Hands clamped over my ankles, pulling me to the floor. "We have work today!"

My eyes snapped open for real this time. But I shut them almost immediately. The light of reality was blinding.

"I know," I said in a mumble, trying to force myself upright. But the sheets were so comfortable. And although that dream was beyond weird, I preferred my subconscious to this cold room. I hate winter.

But no more than my mind playing tricks on me. I mean, Light?

"You okay?" Clarissa asked, blinking at me worriedly. She was mostly dressed, spare her messy hair and the toothpaste lips. "I mean, usually you're the morning bird." She licked the sides of her mouth, clearing the paste. "And you were making noises."

"Noises?" I said, too restless to feel mortified.

"And kissy faces, and a little bit of dry humping."

Now I felt mortified. I rose to my feet, shaking my head. "You're just making up things."

She wasn't making up things.

Clarissa lifted a brow before shrugging her shoulders. "I get it. You saw your man after three years and now you have all this pent up sexual frustration," she said, nodding. "You need to get laid."

"You need to back off," I replied, walking to the bathroom. I was just about to get laid, even if it was just my perverted imagination.

"You think Shadow has been with anyone since?"

I nearly tripped on the tile. "Wait, what?" I stammered, hoping I misheard her. But then I wondered why this was such a big deal. I mean, I was the loser. I had taken Phil's advice and opted to focus on law school. So no life for me, right?

Recovering, I started wiping my face with a cloth. "Well, he's a grown man, and it's been almost four years. But he's almost painfully reclusive." I breathed out, forced myself to let go of the jealousy of Shadow possibly being with someone else. I started brushing my teeth. But how could I be jealous in the first place? I felt my heart drop as I rinsed my mouth, the water sliding off my tongue tasting like vomit.

I left him, remember?

But what were we doing in the first place? It was a day. We were together for one day. Twenty-four hours. So why was I still worked up about it? We weren't even unresolved. We said our goodbyes and—

"Ames, we're a little pressed for time!" I couldn't see her behind the closed door, but I could tell that she was tapping at her watch, counting down. I rolled my eyes. If she had woken me up from that dream earlier I wouldn't be late AND bent out of shape over Shadow.

I tried to relax in the slightly agitated air. It was just a dream. I mean, I saw Shadow the night before, so it was completely justified. And I wasn't crazy.

"You're a lawyer, Amy. Just rationalize everything out." I nodded at my reflection in the mirror, combing my long quills into a ponytail.

And the rational thing was to go to work—forget about the past.

Even if I was falling face first back into it.