sorry if it seems like its been ages since i last updated but im trying to get back to my stories now, since im in the writing mood once again :) i've been having a little bit of trouble with this story and im honestly running out of ideas :/ if you have a suggestion, please send me a message! all ideas are welcome

For seven days straight, we went to the gym to practise self-defence. She was starting to get really good and almost had me at one moment. Now, she was learning kicks and jabs. I told her to always be quick and sharp with her movements and she did as I told, surprisingly.

"Shadow..." she wined

"What"

Her arms went limp and she hunched her back as she tried to catch her breath. "Can we take a break? We've been here for-EVER!" she said

I crossed my arms. "Very well. You've been improving… so I guess you deserve it" I told her

She clasped her hands together and mouthed "thank you". She scooped up her purple water bottle and took a huge sip. I took this time to watch her out of the corner of my eye, just out of curiosity. I didn't mean to look at her in such a different way, but she was really an attractive girl. I noticed that boys would often stare at her when we went out but she was completely oblivious.

"Shadow?"

I snapped my head back to reality and cleared my throat. "Y-Yes?" I said to her, trying to hide the blush creeping in my cheeks. Caught off guard…I thought to myself.

"Can we go home?" she asked.

I nodded, deciding that this was a distraction for me. And so, we got our stuff and left the gym. The sky was gray and the icy wind blew through the streets. I wasn't wearing a jacket because I didn't feel too cold, but Amy had her hands stuffed in her brown jacket. I watched my breath as we walked down the streets. I looked at Amy out of the corner of my eye and saw her tuck her nose into her jacket.

We passed by a thick black light post and I didn't notice at first that Amy backed up as soon as we passed it. I looked over my shoulder to see that she was reading a bright pink note that was stuck to it. She smiled and looked over at me.

"Take a look at this!" she said

I grumbled under my breath because I just wanted to go home, but I still walked back.

"The annual autumn festival is tonight!"

Amy giggled as she hooked her arm with mine. She looked at me with glittery and excited eyes.

"Wanna go? I think we deserve a night out or something for all of our hard work. Well, your hard work" she said and winked at me.

I sighed. I knew she would have wanted to go and she was right. We worked very hard this past week and we deserved a treat. Although I would agonize this night, I would do it for her.

"Very well..." I said

"Yay!" she said and hugged my arms tightly. I tensed up as soon as she did that but she let go before she could notice what I did.

"C'mon, we have to go eat now! And I'm not waiting for you" she said as she ran in front of me.

I let a small grin fall on my lips as I started after her. I caught up with her in no time and I ran ahead of her a little bit and looked back over my shoulder. She smiled and took my challenge and started to pick up her pace. She was in front of me again and she looked back to stick her tongue out at me.

I chuckled under my breath and that's when I hit full speed and arrived in front of her house in no time. I waited for her to arrive and she was taking longer than I expected.

I took a seat on the concrete steps and sighed. Surely she couldn't be this slow. I looked around and saw everyone minding their own business and walking down the streets. I clasped my hands together and rested my elbows on my knees as I waited. I closed my eyes and listened to the sounds around me.

A bit of chatter here and there...quick footsteps along the pavement...cars honking their horns every now and then...a piercing scream...!

My eyes shot open and I got up quickly. That couldn't have been her...

Could it?

I ran back, retracing my steps. I jogged down the street, my heart pounding with anxiety and fear, although I noticed that I've never experienced so much of it in my entire life. I didn't want to believe that it was her that screamed but it had to be her. I could feel it.

I turned my head towards an ally and saw a man covered with dark clothing. He had Amy by the neck, but what really caught my attention was the glistening object in his hand. A knife.

A growl escaped my lips, without meaning to, as I charged at the man. I ripped his hands off of her, his knife dropping to the ground, and threw him against the concrete wall. He was only a young boy-maybe around 15 years old-and he had pure terror in his eyes.

"D-Don't kill me…please!" he pleaded as his hands tried to tug mine away from his neck, but I had a much stronger grip.

"Shadow…don't hurt him" I heard Amy whimper as I felt her arms wrap around my torso.

I automatically dropped him, but not because of Amy's request. She didn't want me to hurt him? He almost tried to kill her for Christ's sake! He deserved to die! I took her arms off of me and turned around to look at her expression.

Her eyes were red and tears freely streamed down her cheeks. They had fear mixed with relief in there as well.

"Why didn't you want me to kill him? He almost tried to kill you! Do you not realize this, Amy Rose?" I said, so much confusion in my tone but it came out slightly angered. She just shook her head which fuelled my frustration and confusion. She didn't answer my questions but instead just burst into tears.

I reached out to her and pulled her close to me, holding her tight. I then teleported back to her apartment, but I still held her close. She sobbed into my chest as I stroked her back gently.

"I turn my back on you for one second, and you still manage to get in trouble…" I murmured into her ear and felt her shiver slightly.

We stayed like that for quite a while and she finally stopped crying. She looked up at me with a weak smile and I let go of her.

I watched her as she slowly made her way to her bedroom and close the door behind her quietly.

Second time I've saved her... I thought to myself.

Could this be it? Was this what I needed to save her from? I sighed. I needed answers. I needed to know because this was starting to drive me insane. Without further thought, I quickly teleported to Master's lair.

When I arrived, he was looking in a large, glowing mirror. "I've been expecting you, Shadow" he said without turning to face me.

"Master, I don't understand anything" I admitted as I walked towards him

He turn around and looked down at me with a hard and complicated expression. "I'm sorry, but I don't have any answers for you. Although you have saved her twice now, I have not been notified that you have finished your task" he replied, looking back at his mirror.

I sighed and clenched my fists. This was not normal. If Master didn't have any answers for me, then something was definitely out of balance.

I was about to teleport back to Amy's apartment when Master stopped me.

"Oh, and Shadow?"

"Yes, Master?"

He turned around and looked at me with a frown. "Ignore the feelings you've been experiencing with the girl. They serve no use to you. They are just a mere distraction"

Before I could even ask him anything else, he raised his hand and with a flash, I was back in Amy's apartment. What...did he mean? How did he know?

I shook my head angrily. So much confusion, and so many new things were coming and they were coming fast. It was too much for me to bear. I turned my attention to the closed door on my right and quietly made my way towards it. I gently opened the door and saw Amy lying on her bed, clutching her pillow close to her.

She looked up at me with gentle eyes. "Do you have to go now?" she said, her voice low and quiet.

I let out a deep breath and shook my head. She let go of her pillow and stumbled out of the bed. She leaped onto me and held me tight. I just stood there for a moment, letting the feelings wash inside me.

My half-closed my eyes as I returned her embrace. The feelings that I was told to ignore were too strong. It was as if they were eating away at my very soul, pleading for my attention.

"We're still going out tonight, right?" she asked me as she looked up

"Yes, Rose" I said softly as I stroked the back of her head.

For once in my life, I ignored Master's orders and did as I pleased.

*In the lair...*

The old wizard grumbled under his breath. He could not believe what he was seeing. His strongest, most loyal guardian, ignoring his orders! He had seen this before with previous guardians in the past. Falling in "love" with useless mortals... He had to think of something fast because he could see that his strongest link in the group, was slowly being dragged into the pathetic world of love.

He summoned his second strongest guardian, Sonic. Sonic had arrived and knelt down before the wizard.

"You called, Master?" said the cobalt guardian as he stood up

"I want you to have a word with Shadow tomorrow..." he started

Sonic was confused but listened carefully to the next part.

"Tell him that if he continues to disobey me-" he said as he looked down at the guardian before him "-that he will never see the rose hedgehog again" he finished and hissed the last word through clenched teeth.