with this story, i dont really care how many reviews i get out of this one. I really like this and im just going to keep posting up chapters. that doesnt mean though that i dont want ppl to stop leaving me reviews though! (please dont do that... :( )

any-way, here's the next chapterrr

"Are you quite finished?" I told Amy, frustrated.

"One more question!" she exclaimed.

Amy had asked me much more than 20 questions and I respectfully answered all of them. Now, I was losing all of my patience. She stood there in silence.

"Well?" I said as I motioned with my hand to spill it out already.

"Uh, I forgot..." she said as she put her finger to her mouth and smiled a little.

I threw my head back, and laughed a dark laughter.

"What's so funny?" she asked me

"There is nothing funny about this, Amy. I should've never been assigned to you in the first place..." I said and trailed off. I suddenly saw a little bit of hurt in her eyes and it made my heart squeeze painfully.

"I just wanted to get to know you a little better..." she said as she looked down.

I could see her eyes getting glossy and they were turning red. She then walked, well more like ran, to her room. I suddenly felt guilty for making her upset. I didn't like seeing her upset. It wasn't a good look on her. I tried to ignore the guilt spreading through, but the harder I tried, the worse it felt.

"Jesus..." I muttered as I covered my eyes with my hand.

Why was I feeling like this? This should not have been happening. She'll have to come out sooner or later I thought to myself and it made me feel a little better. And so I waited on the couch for her to come out. Ten minutes turned into twenty, and then twenty turned to forty. Now, I was tapping my feet and my fingers to the beat of my erratic heart. Why wasn't she coming out? Did I really make her that upset? And why the hell was I so anxious for her to come out and to tell me that everything was okay?

I couldn't take it anymore. I got up and quickly made my way to her room. I whipped the door opened and was surprised to see her sleeping soundly. I approached her slowly and saw that her cheeks were stained with tears. My heart thudded painfully and my breath was stuck in my throat. I kneeled down in front of her and watched her sleep. I watched her body rise and fall as she took in even breaths. A few strands of hair were covering her mouth and they would rise up whenever she exhaled. As if my hand had a mind of its own, I gently wiped her wet cheeks with my index finger. Her eyes slowly opened to revealed her sad jade eyes. She blinked a couple of times as she looked at me.

I quickly pulled my hand back and looked away. Silence hung like a thick cloud around us and it started to make me uncomfortable. C'mon, Amy...say something...I kept thinking to myself, but she never made a sound.

"Look, I'm sorry, alright?" I said and got up to walk back into the living room. I didn't look back at Amy, but that didn't mean I couldn't feel her follow me. I felt her gentle hand on my shoulder and I slowly turned to look at her. Her eyes still had tears in them.

"Why are you still crying?" I asked, confused why she was crying. Also, because I couldn't stand the sight of her sad. It made me feel...odd.

She shook her head and smiled. "You shouldn't be the one apologizing. I'm the one who was acting like a babbling idiot. I don't even know why I'm crying..." she chuckled as she wiped away her tears.

"Well...don't cry anymore. That's all I ask" I said and turned around to look away from her.

"Alright" she said and headed to the kitchen

Out of plain curiosity, I followed her.

"Would you like something to eat? Or a drink?" she asked me

I shook my head. "No, thank you"

She shrugged her shoulders and got herself a glass of pink lemonade.

"Amy, can I ask you some questions now?" I suddenly asked her, trying to make conversation.

"Sure" she said

"Why do you put others before yourself?" I asked her as I leaned against the counter

She frowned and cocked her head to the side. "What do you mean?" she asked

"You don't take care of yourself first" I said

She didn't answer right away. She just continued to take a sip from her drink and it was making me anxious that she wasn't answering me.

Finally, she said "There are others who need help first"

That was is? It didn't feel like a very solid response to me, but I wasn't going to press on it any further.

"Alright...how well can you defend yourself?" I asked her

She shrugged her shoulders. "I've never really had to before..."

"Never?"

"Nope"

"Are you sure? Because it counts if it's a verbal fight instead of a physical one" I told her, surprised from her answer

"I've always tried to get along with everyone as best as I could, and in return, I've never gotten into a fight with anyone" she said and smiled

She was an odd character, indeed. This was definitely a first for me. If she didn't know how to defend herself, then wouldn't she need constant protection? Would I have to be her guardian for a long time? And I couldn't help but feel a desire to do so...

"Got anymore questions?" asked Amy

I looked up at her. She patiently waited for me to say something. I finally shook my head "no".

"Okay...well what do you want to do then?" she asked me

I didn't answer her. I actually didn't know the answer to that one myself. I just went and sat in the living room and closed my eyes. That was something I always enjoyed doing. I liked to enjoy the peace and quiet when I closed my eyes. I would usually drift into my own thoughts, but now this seemed impossible when I was with Amy.

"I completely forgot! Shadow, I hope you don't mind, but the guest bedroom is a disaster and I really wasn't expecting you to come...so is it okay if you sleep on the couch?" she asked me, fiddling with her fingers.

"Yes, that's fine" I said but kept my eyes closed.

She then went to go fetch a blanket and a pillow for me and I lay there, listening to the sounds of rustling and other things. All of the sudden, I heard a crashing sound, followed by a small yelp. My eyes shot open I scurried to Amy. She was covered by blankets and some boxes, lying face flat on the floor. She looked up at me

"I'm okay...I think" she mumbled

I sighed as I got down to my knees to help her remove the stuff off of her. I helped her up so that she was sitting in front of me.

"Thanks for saving me, Mr. Guardian" she said sarcastically

I rolled my eyes at her. "It looks like I'm going to have to improve my guarding skills with you" I told her.

She reached to her side and handed me a pillow and a blanket."If you need more blankets, you're more than welcome to take more" she told me.

"This should be fine" I said and headed to the couch.

"You sure? Because that blanket looks pretty thin..." she said

"It's fine" I said and went over to the couch. I lay the pillow down and took off my shoes before laying down on the couch.

I heard Amy humming to herself as she got ready inside the bathroom. Why would she always do that? She hummed the same melody all the time. But in a way, it was kind of...relaxing. I listened to the melody and my eyelids seemed to get heavier. My body was completely limp now and I was forced to close my eyes shut.

Damn...Amy was right. This blanket was pretty thin and I was actually starting to get a little cold. I wanted to get another one, but I was so tired...

I thought I heard footsteps coming my way, or so I thought. I heard a little giggle followed by a feeling of warmth. I felt something being gently laid on top of me and I smiled at the pleasant feeling. But I didn't open my eyes. I then felt something stroking my ear...man did it feel nice. I let a soft moan escape my lips at the sensation of it. I thought I heard another soft giggle.

"Good-night, Shadow" a voice whispered into my ear.

And then, nothing else happened. At this point, I had to open my eyes. I opened them and managed to see a glimpse of Amy walking back to her room. Why did I feel like this around her? I was usually really good at sensing others emotions, especially mine. But with her, I didn't even know what would happen next. She always caught me off guard.

I needed to get control of myself. I shut my eyes, and forced myself to sleep.

(The Next Day...)
I felt something shaking me. But it wasn't in a rough or urgent way. It was more like an alert kind of way. I heard something too. At first, I couldn't hear it properly. I heard it again, but this time, more clearly.

"Shadow? Wake up, sleepy-head!" called the voice.

I groaned as I rolled over and opened my eyes. Amy's head was right above me and she was smiling down on me.

"About time!" she giggled as she walked away.

I sat up slowly and stretched my arms while yawning.

"What would you like for breakfast, Shadow?" asked Amy from the kitchen

"Coffee, please" I told her as I swung my feet off of the couch. Five seconds later, she came back with a mug in her hand.

"I thought you'd say that" she said as she handed me the mug.

I nodded and took a long sip of the coffee. She sat on the other couch and I could feel her eyes on me. I looked at her from the corner of my eye and saw her look away quickly. Why was she starring at me? Again, I caught her starring, but this time, she had a smile on her face.

"Can I help you?" I finally asked

She just giggled. I raised my eyebrow at her. She just shook her head and sighed my name.

"What is it that you find so amusing, Amelia?" I asked her

Her smile faded and it was replaced with a frown. "What did I say about calling me that?" she huffed.

I actually didn't even mean to say that at all. It just kind of slipped out.

"Because I don't like Amy, and Amelia is your proper name" I told her without looking at her

"Call me that again, and I'll hit you" she said

My eyes shot open. "Why are you so defensive about it? It's your real name and you can't really change that, Amelia" I said and took another sip of my coffee.

She then stood up, and smacked the back of my head, making me choke on my drink. I coughed and sputtered as the liquid painfully made its way down my throat.

"What the hell was that for?" I hollered at her

"I told you, don't call me that. Call me that again, I'll hit you again. But harder" she said as she folded her arms across her chest.

I sighed. "Fine. How about I call you 'Rose' instead?" I suggested. I took in with what I had said. Rose? I thought to myself. It sounded...very personal and almost intimate the way I had said it.

She thought about it for a second before nodded gently. "Alright, I guess I can take that" she said.

"Oh, I have to go out and buy some things from the corner store" she told me.

I got up and placed the mug in the kitchen. "I'll come with you" I said.

"You don't have to" she said as she grabbed her coat.

"I'm your guardian" was all I said to her.

We stepped out and walked down the street. She looked up at me. "Aren't you cold?" she asked me.

I shook my head. "I'm perfectly warm"

"Alright..." she said as we continued to walk down the street.

We stopped at the cross walk and waited for the light to turn green. I looked across the street and saw an old lady fall off of the curb. Surprisingly, out of all the people who probably witnessed that, no one stopped to help her. That's when I saw Rose jog to the other side of the street. At that same moment, I heard a loud honking noise coming from the other side of the road. I looked and saw a large truck making its way straight towards Rose. I bolted towards her and saw that she was completely unaware of the situation. I scooped her up and moved her away from the road so that the speeding truck passed by. She looked up at me first, but then her attention went to the truck.

"You could have gotten yourself killed!" I yelled at her.

But all she did was look at me with a dazed look on her face.

"Rose? Hello, I'm talking to you!" I said as I waved a hand in her face. She then tackled me and wrapped her arms around me. I looked down at her as she buried her face into my chest.

"You saved my life..." was all she mumbled.

I half-closed my eyes as I wrapped my arms around her. "Idiot..." was all I said as I stroked the back of her hair.

I looked up and saw that the old lady was already up and walking. She turned around and smiled at me before walking away.