This chapter is kind of a "let's get this thing moving" type of chapter. Talking about a month full of them doing nothing but talking on the roof would be redundant and kind of boring, I thought, so we'll summarize a little bit.

I'm sorry if you don't like it that way but I felt like it was the best option. D: Hope you like it anyways!

-Laz

The next morning I awoke with the same cheerful disposition I was in the night before. As soon as my eyes opened, I hopped out of bed, combed my quills, and put on my usual dress and boots, but I noticed something different in the mirror. My face was bright and glowing, and my posture was straight, my shoulders back and my head high. The days before, I had been so self-conscious about myself, especially when Shadow was around me, but that morning I felt content with my existence. Before I went downstairs, I reminded myself not to get too hyper still. There was the matter of convincing Shadow to stay in the same house as me, and if I was too careless with my attitude, it could drive him away. I wanted every night to be like the night before.

I dashed down the stairs to see everyone seated around the table, and for a moment, I panicked when I saw Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles wolfing their breakfast down. I didn't sleep in that much, I recalled; it was eight when I got dressed. I noticed Cream reading a neatly-folded newspaper in a manner that made me wonder if she knew the boys opposite of her were eating like animals. I didn't see Shadow, though, which concerned me. Maybe he was still sad about last night? Either way, I tried to get past Shadow for the moment.

"Uh…good morning…?" I said in attempts to get everyone's attention. Only Cream lifted her head from the newspaper and waved at me from her seat.

"Good morning, Amy!" she cheered. I waved back, still trying to find Shadow. When I walked further into the dining room, though, I spotted a black figure standing in the kitchen. I turned myself in his direction, unable to resist smiling at him.

"Um…" I started. I was unsure of what to say; did he remember last night, or, for that matter, did he want to even acknowledge it?

"Good morning." His low voice met the air and sent me in a love-dazed trance. Our bonding time did work after all! Cream's jaw dropped in shock of Shadow's response. She looked over at me, mouthing the words "what on Earth" as I merely smiled back at her.

"How are you?" I asked, my voice shaking ever so slightly. I was still thrown off from his greeting.

"Fine. Just waiting for…" He casually pointed behind me toward Sonic and the others with an annoyed look. I glanced over at the three, catching Cream doing the same. She was studying our conversation intensely. I was eager to tell her all about the night before.

"Oh, really? What for?"

"Egghead's at it again – Tails just picked up some weird activity going on in Central City," Sonic explained with his mouth full. I almost fumed; he was listening to our conversation, too. "So we gotta get going pretty fast." Sonic dropped his fork, swallowing the last bite of his food and jumping off his chair. "Ready to go smashing, Shad?"

Shadow nodded once, standing up straight as the other two followed suit and ran out of the kitchen. Sonic waited for Shadow to pass by me before running out of the dining room, flashing me a strange smile, as if he knew something. I wanted to stop him and ask what he was thinking, but he was gone before I could gather my voice.

Soon the house was still and silent. Cream and I were the only ones left, and suddenly she moaned. I looked over at her in question, only to find her picking up the dishes that were left on the table. Her eyes were narrowed, her mouth pressed into a thin line as she stacked them on top of each other and carried them into the kitchen.

"Ugh, those boys…sometimes I wish I didn't have to do all this work!" she sighed. Cream seemed miffed at the boys' irresponsibility, but I didn't care. For the first time in months I was happy to be alive. Suddenly, she turned around and ran up to me, grabbing my hands. "Okay, Amy, tell me everything! You and Shadow seem more comfortable; why? Did something happen last night?"

I laughed, my cheeks turning a rosy red once more. "Only a little friendship bonding."

Night after night, Shadow and I would climb up on top of the roof and stare at the stars for a few hours. It surprised me how much we talked with one another; I was able to expose his friendly, talkative side and I dubbed myself the first person in the universe to ever do such a thing. We never ran out of topics to discuss; one night we talked about space, the next about my parents' death (I cried a little that time), another about beating Eggman's robots to a pulp. There was so much variety and conversation that I wondered how many ideas Shadow had built up inside of him in the past years. When he showed me Black Doom's talisman that one night and showed me a hint of emotion, I knew that he had so much to say and only a little time to say it.

But not only that, I discovered that he was a really kind person and a good listener, almost like Cream was, but offered legitimate responses, which threw me off guard as well. But all in all, I knew Shadow was at least remotely enjoying our time outside together. I saw him smile several times, and heard him chuckle once or twice. Needless to say, I loved being outside with him and could barely sleep before he came to my door to get me. Throughout those four weeks, we had very few disagreements over constellations and such, but they never resulted in full-out fights.

I was so happy with Shadow, and this time, I knew in my heart that my happiness was real. Cream saw it and looked more joyful than before, too. She didn't have to worry about me as much now. It relieved me to know that she could worry about herself now without taking care of me at the same time.

I heard great things about Shadow's performance with the rest of the team, too. It was particularly relaxing when Shadow had gone along with the rest of the team to fight Eggman off. As the days went by, Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles looked less and less tired than ever before. Shadow was a great addition to the team; and of course, I would ask how the battle went from that day, and Shadow would shrug it off, explaining that it wasn't that hard to wipe all the robots out. He scoffed once that Eggman was losing his touch and seemed to have an interest of Shadow's help. It made me worried, but he quickly dismissed it, assuring me that he would never work for such a weak, worthless villain ever again. He promised me twice, and that was enough to convince me.

As the days went by, I found that he and I got closer; both emotionally and physically. We started sitting closer to one another, and he would let me grab his hand sometimes if something were exciting or emotional in our conversations. He never changed his face when I touched him, and I wished that he would show me some sort of sign if he liked it or not. But already, over a course of four weeks, Shadow and I were closer than Sonic and I would have ever been. It was nice; I felt like someone cared about me genuinely other than Cream. I wished I had the guts to tell Shadow how much I cared about him, but I had to settle for the implied actions.

The night before his departure, though, it was strangely quiet. It was the last time being together outside under the sky for the rest of our lives. I became distracted from my deadline of a month to convince him to stay; I was so excited to just be around him in the first place that I almost sort of forgot. Neither of us knew what to say; we knew what was coming, and I was hurting a lot that day, worrying over Shadow's decision. I didn't know what to do, or what to think. My time for telling him my true feelings was running out fast, but I knew I wasn't ready to tell him. Why wasn't my confession to Sonic as hard as this? Because, I answered, my love for Sonic wasn't love at all.

Finally, underneath the swirling mass of stars, Shadow spoke. His voice was quiet, sadder than before, which pained me to compare it with his talkative disposition from before.

"I'll miss this place."

"Huh?" I was taken aback at the comment. I had no idea what he meant by it, and I almost didn't want to know what he was going into, but I let him continue before I questioned anything.

"One of the things I enjoy most these days is looking at the stars for hours and just thinking. Sometimes I don't even think; sometimes I just stare blankly and meditate when we aren't talking." His face darkened as a frown formed. I watched him in his dark silence. He was so captivating to watch, even when he was as motionless as a rock. "I doubt I'll be able to do the same thing anymore; I'll probably have restrictions as to when I can go walk around or do anything." Shadow continued. He sounded sad, and it tugged at my heart, triggering my urge to cry. He needed a hug so badly, but just as I adjusted my arms to prepare for a hug, he spoke again. "I don't know how well I'll hold up without watching night go by."

His crimson eyes closed, reflecting on his thoughts. I knew he was in a bad mood that night. Normally, if we talked with each other, he and I would talk about normal, happy things that raised my spirits. But he never talked that saddening and cold way to me. He couldn't hide his emotions from me anymore, no matter how hard he tried, and it hurt to see him so sad. I began to question whether he wanted to leave or not.

"You don't want to leave, do you?" I said, half-asking, half-declaring. He remained silent, but before I could say anything else, his velvety voice rose up to the air.

"That's not it, Amy." Shadow replied. "I don't know where I belong. Ever since I finished off the Black Arms, I've had this strange nagging feeling. I feel like I don't know where to go, nor will I ever know. Everywhere I go, I see flaws in places that could potentially be my home. Eggman has malicious intentions, as did Black Doom, and I could never feel right complying with obeying orders that were made to kill. I've realized that the military is constricting, and it brings back memories of death and pain from my past, the very past I want to leave behind."

"But what's wrong with staying here?" I urged cautiously. He stiffened.

"Your hospitality is endearing, Amy, but I feel out of place when I'm here. It's still not right. You and Sonic are…far too different from me."

I almost felt offended at his comment, relating Sonic and I in the same sentence, but instead I felt a pang of regret. I must have not toned myself down enough for him, I thought. Maybe I laughed too much or did too many stupid things? I probably did something wrong throughout his stay. I ran through all the mistakes I made within the past month, and coming up with more than what I would have liked, I apologized sadly and shamefully.

"I'm sorry I was a bad hostess…"

"Amy, no, it's not your fault…" he replied almost instantly. I looked up at him with big green eyes. "Really, it's not. It's mostly mine. I'm just more distant that you and it's almost a waste of space for me to stay here."

I wanted to slap him. "Shadow, you'd never be a waste of space! Everyone wants you to stay! Everyone here appreciates your aid; you're a powerful fighter and a great teammate! You've gotta believe that; Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Cream, and I…we want you to stay here. Ever since day one, we've all known that you belong with us. You're not a mindless killing machine that the military sees you as; you're a hero like the rest of us and we want you to stay here forever!"

He and I were both surprised at my outburst. I was shocked to find that my eyes weren't wet with tears. He just stared at me, looking deep into my eyes, as if he were reading my broken soul. Shadow looked away and down at the distant ground from the roof.

"I don't think you understand, Amy. Everywhere I've been, I feel like I've been nothing but trouble. Even since the day I was born."

I had much more to say to him, but the words were stuck in my throat. He was wrong about himself, I thought. I wanted to get inside his head and change all his thoughts around to a more positive outlook on the world and his life. It had to be tough for him to have a rough past, sure, but that shouldn't stop him from moving onto a better and happier life.

"Shadow…" my voice cracked as I managed to stammer words. "Please don't think that way, because it's not true…"

My plea wasn't enough for him to change his mind. He avoided discussing it further.

"Thank you for sitting up here and talking with me for the past few weeks. I really appreciate your company. It makes me feel a little more worthwhile." Shadow stood up, taking my hand and practically dragging me to the window. I wanted to tell him everything on my mind, but the words still refused to come out. My time to convince him to stay was running out rapidly. I only had one more day now before he left. This would be the last time I would ever sit outside with him in the early hours if I failed my mission of persuading him.

I went inside on my own accord, but when we got to his door, I didn't thank him like I usually did; I walked away from him and shut myself in my room.