More emotions commence here, too...and our first Shadow-Amy confrontation since chapter one!!
I forgot to mention that this story is completely and totally finished, which is why I'm posting so fast...and there are 10 chapters total--I finally counted. XD I'm glad you're liking this!! It makes my writing worthwhile to hear your comments and see your favorites and alerts!
-Laz
Dishes clattered from downstairs. Already morning, I thought tiredly. I regretted staying up so long as I grumbled unidentifiable words to myself; I was beyond tired. I assumed that my unconscious crying had something to do with it, too; it was emotionally exhausting and usually made me crash after I bawled hard like I did. I was infamous for my aftereffects of crying in the house, after all. Rolling over, I heaved a tired sigh as I tried to regain a few more hours of sleep. But unfortunately for me, since I was already awake, my head wanted to keep it that way; my brain was just wired like that. I opened my eyes, squinting at the clock as my vision started to clear up. 9:06.
I stretched and rubbed my eyes. I was still tired from the night before, and I actually felt like I was dreaming the whole thing up about tearing down the pictures from the inside of my closet. Maybe it was, I thought. Out of curiosity, I got out of my warm mass of sheets, and, bracing myself, I opened my closet doors. Sure enough, there was the one picture of Shadow, hanging near my head. I gulped. Was I really that crazy to tear all the pictures up, leaving nothing behind but white? I corrected myself. I wasn't crazy; I was determined, for lack of better word. I was ready to move on, and this was the result of it all.
I moved my mind past it. What was done was done. Step one was over with and I couldn't change it. I snatched a red dress from a hanger and slipped into it, fastening on my matching boots. But before I shut the door, I brought my eyes to the grayscale picture of Shadow. He was standing with that quiet pride and courage, just as I had left him. I touched the paper gently, pretending like he was really there in front of me. It made me genuinely smile, something I assumed I hadn't done in a very long time.
After closing the door slowly and quietly, I dashed out of my room, being sure that I shut the door that morning. I still had to get rid of the trash full of scrapped pictures I had without anyone knowing. But as I latched it, I glanced at the door to my left: Shadow's door. It was wide open. He was gone from his room, probably downstairs with everyone else. Now my interest was at its peak; what was his room like? I knew it was a guest room, but did he do anything different in it? I didn't see him bring any bags or anything inside the night before, but I still wanted to see what was in there. I glanced over my shoulder. No one was at the stairs. All the other doors were open, including Cream's. To my knowledge, the entire house was up and downstairs; it was just me now.
I dared every little bit of dignity I had left in me and walked in the room. My senses heightened, my ears twitching at every faint voice I heard from the floor below me. I swallowed as I gazed around intently in his room. White walls, beige carpet, and a bed. Surprisingly enough, the bed was made, the sheets crisp with hardly a wrinkle in sight. They were white, I thought at first, so why would Shadow have the guts to even touch them? I was thinking too much about it, I thought. It wasn't like he was allergic to the color white. In fact, maybe white was his favorite color. I scolded myself for thinking about that. I was losing it.
All in all, there was nothing different about it; just the same old guest room that was always empty, waiting for someone to come live in it. I actually thought of my closet doors when I walked in the first time; it was a blank canvas, ready to start a new life. The size was nice, cozy and spacious at the same time. I envisioned black walls instead of white, a black bed, and red covers. It would suit Shadow so well. I just had to get him to stay and everything would be smooth. The best thing was, he was next to my room. It was like I was next to my late parents' bedroom that was always there if I had a nightmare. I would run in and hug them, telling them all about it and holding them tight until I felt better. Maybe Shadow would tolerate the same thing.
I quickly got out of his room, dashing down the stairs. The sounds of clattering and talking became louder as I came to the last step; sure enough, everyone was in the kitchen. And even though I couldn't hear Shadow's voice, I could somehow just tell he was there. I stopped myself and adjusted my dress before coming into sight of everyone. I stroked my fingers through my quills and heaved a sigh. Just act causal, I told myself. I ran through everything I thought of the night before: stop being hyper, stop being clingy, and stop being overactive about everything. Just…relax. That was the word. Relax. The mere sound of that word in my head made me ease up. As I made my way into the kitchen, my relaxation suddenly stopped unconsciously. I found my hands clinging to the skirt of my dress and my focus to be on the wood floor, away from any wandering eyes of any sort.
"Hey, there she is!" I heard Sonic laugh. It struck me like lightning and made me twitch. "Mornin', Ames. Did you sleep well?"
I brought up my head and booted myself back into reality. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles were standing around the table, but Cream was nowhere to be in sight. I suddenly remembered that she was supposed to go to her mother's house today for a visit, and my clumsy oversleeping made me miss her go. She would be back after dinner, though, but I felt a guilty ache nag at my heart. I could only hope she would forgive me. It would be hard to face her and explain what the cause of my tardiness was; my sheer romantic desires.
And speaking of which, the perfect black hedgehog sat in a chair, relaxed to the point that it looked like he had sat there for a week. I swallowed at the sight of him there. He looked a lot better than in the picture from last night. I expected that, but I couldn't keep myself from comparing him to that picture. His attention at me made me feel like I was on a stage, ready to sing my heart out to a huge crowd. But suddenly, his face turned doubtful, like he was expecting something out of me.
"Ames?" Sonic asked, calling me by my nickname again. I blinked, snapping out of it yet again. I rubbed my eyes, half acting and half wanting to take my eyes off of Shadow for more than ten seconds.
"Oh, yeah, sorry! Geez, I'm tired, I swear…I didn't miss anything, did I?" It was best to move the subject of sleep or anything about last night out of the way. I wasn't quite convinced yet that everyone slept soundly with me making noise last night.
"You missed Cream leaving, but we took care of it. We got up about an hour ago to find Shadow here up already," Sonic explained. I was almost surprised that he was up earlier than everyone else. "How long have you been up again, Shad?"
"Five." His low voice muttered loud enough for me to hear. His eyes moved gently to the side, narrowing like it was no big deal to him. I was shocked.
"R-really?!" I exclaimed. "Why so early?!" This could be my chance, I thought, for a legitimate conversation with him to move me up a level.
In a blink, Shadow's eyes returned to me. "I don't need to sleep as much as you."
His narrowed eyes remained the same directed at me. I shrunk, feeling insignificant. I must have come off as way too hyper; I should have known not to say anything. It felt like whenever I opened my mouth, I lowered my chances with him.
"…Oh, well…whatever suits you is okay with me!" I could feel my cheeks redden. I knew he didn't need to sleep somewhere in the back of my head; he was the Ultimate Life Form. He didn't need to drink, eat, or sleep, but he sometimes slept just for kicks. He was basically perfect, no exaggeration.
Sonic clasped his hands together and stretched his arms out in front of him. "Well, Ames, hate to cut things short with ya, but we were just all getting ready to go out to get some fresh air. You wanna join?"
I decided to play it safe. I needed to recover, and if Shadow was there, I determined that it wouldn't be ideal for me to be there.
"No, I'm alright. You guys go ahead without me." I smiled at him. I could tell Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails were at a loss for words because I would have always jumped at a chance to follow Sonic around. Today was different, I wanted to tell them; I only like Sonic as a friend. Nonetheless, they didn't want to ask me again, and Sonic bid his farewell to me and walked out the dining room along with the other two.
As everyone exited the kitchen, Shadow remained in the seat at the table. I panicked, watching him closely as he saw the three out the door. Why wasn't he going after them? Sonic acted like all four of them were going out. I turned around, not daring to make eye-contact with him. He would have started a conversation if he saw me watching him, and I was much too shy yet to talk to him. I walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge, convinced that I was home-free. I would just casually get some orange juice to drink and go upstairs to my room, safe from any contact for now. Cream would show up this afternoon and I would tell her that I needed help with this whole thing. Then she'd nod and smile and give me some great, perfect advice that was suitable for me to act on at this point, and I would thank her and bring her out to get ice cream and discuss it further. It would all be according to the perfect plan.
"You must have been pretty angry last night."
Or not.
"Huh?"
I winced behind the door, scanning my head for something to say or something to do. I had to be calm and just slyly talk my way out of this. I closed the fridge without my orange juice, choosing to accept my fate of talking to him. I turned my head, hoping that my cheeks weren't flushed just by hearing his low, savory voice. Shadow's head was turned towards me now. It made me feel like I was standing on a cloud. He could have easily got up and chose not to talk to me. But here he was, patient as ever and giving me a chance to make up for the points I had lost before. Unfortunately it was the wrong kind of opportunity for me. It was more of a scolding from a parent than a romantic conversation.
"I heard you tearing something up around one last night." He spoke with the harsh honesty that I knew him for.
I gasped. I did wake someone up, and of course, it wasn't Sonic or Cream or anyone who would've forgotten about it or assumed they were imagining it; it had to be Shadow. Of all people! I screamed a prayer of mercy in my head. I was helpless. What to say; what to do? Should I lie or should I fess up and tell the truth? "Yes, Shadow, I was getting rid of my Sonic shrine and starting one for you", I would say. Ridiculous; I couldn't do it now. Instead I just stared at his calm face. He waited for me to answer. After what seemed like hours, I stammered one out.
"I…was…?" I lied, playing dumb. It probably wasn't the best choice to do.
"Hm. Were you sleepwalking?" Shadow asked. I could tell by his doubtful expression that he knew I was lying. I felt like falling to my knees, but I stood my ground.
"I don't know…gosh, I'm sorry I woke you up…"
Shadow merely stared at me for the longest time. For a brief moment, I thought that he was going to stand up and slap me because of how bad a liar I was. It was just the shine in his eyes that freaked me out a little bit. Instead, he sighed and stood from his chair, starting out of the kitchen.
"Wait!!" I suddenly heard myself yelp. I was surprised at my own voice and had the urge to slam my head into a wall. He stopped and looked up at me, he, too, surprised. I folded my hands as he backed up to face me. I had put myself in a weird place, and now that I was here, I better do something to make up for it. "I…did tear something up last night. Sorry."
The truth was not something I wanted to use as something to make up for my clumsiness! I was in such a mess now. Shadow looked me over with his gorgeous red eyes.
"It's alright, I was just curious." Shadow simply said. I dropped my head, hiding my burning-hot face from him. Seconds seemed like minutes. "What were you destroying up there, anyway?"
I swallowed. What now? I couldn't tell him anything else; I had to promise myself that and I wouldn't let it down. Not yet, at least. It was way too early to declare anything.
"I…I can't tell you, I'm sorry. It's hard to explain." I said. I felt awful for saying it – I so wanted to tell him the truth. He would've appreciated me telling the truth but the actual fact would have been too risky to tell him now. "I really am sorry, though. For waking you up. Really."
Shadow eyed my face blankly. I stood perfectly still as his eyes scanned my sad, sorry, pathetic face, praying that he would forgive me and be okay with me there. I wanted him to smile, say that everything was cool, and invite me to go someplace that night. Even a little forgiveness and a wink would've been okay. But instead, he nodded once and simply walked out of the kitchen without another word. It shattered me with disappointment. I could feel tears behind my eyes as I heard the front door slam. It was like a slap of rejection to my face, just like I had received countless times. Now I was alone, I thought.
There went a perfectly good opportunity to prove myself worthy of his companionship.