Thank you very much to: scottusa1, ShadAmy1Fan, Jowy's Pixie, TheLastoftheRealOnes, Princess Flare the Fox, KumarKitty24, PrinceyAtNight28, animelover5641, Allovertheplacegirl09, XxKingArthurIIIxX, aesthetic umbrella, jazziisms, Sonamylover6822, Moe43, Skyeapplepie and Jk1ra! Your support means everything to me! :3

scottusa1 - Haha, thank you! :D

ShadAmy1Fan - Thank you very much! I'm glad that I got to show Amy's fighting spirit! Ah, Shadow X'D Haha! Aw, thank you! I appreciate all of my readers' support and enthusiasm so much! :3 Thank you!

Jowy's Pixie - Thank you so much! :D

TheLastoftheRealOnes - Haha! That would be a very interesting conversation ;D

Princess Flare the Fox - Hee hee! X'D

KumarKitty24 - Awh, thank you very much! Tee hee… not much escapes Shadow, huh? ;D Ah, thanks! It makes me happy to hear that the characters are in-character! :3

PrinceyAtNight28 - Thank you! :D

animelover5641 - Ah, sorry about the delay. But I'm glad that you enjoyed the chapter! :3 Hahaha, yep, well, it's not a very believable truth from Shadow's view, to be fair xD

Allovertheplacegirl09 - Thank you! :3

XxKingArthurIIIxX - Oh my- thank you so much! Your review was absolutely lovely — I'm so glad that this story has gotten better as it goes along! :3 My writing wasn't brilliant at the beginning, so it's good to know that I've improved since then! Oh, no — keep wearing that grin! I'm exactly the same when reading FFN! Haha, n'aww, thank you! I hope it continues to be cute and funny! Ah, well, as for Shadow, I am a big Shadamy fan — so it's not out of the question! ;D I really hope you enjoy this update! :3

aesthetic umbrella - Aw, thank you very much! :3 Oh, well, I suppose those stories are very different to each other! xD Haha, I'm really glad you found it funny!

jazziisms - Haha! ;D Well, at long last, the new chapter is here! :D

Sonamylover6822 - Thank you :3

Moe43 - Haha... or will they?! O.o ;D

Skyeapplepie - Thank you so much! ;D Ah, yes, there might be an explanation for their 'predicament', and you'll have to wait and find out if they switch back! Or maybe they'll be stuck like this forever, and in all these recent Sonic games, they've actually been swapped! X'D

Jk1ra - Thank you! :D If things go as planned, I will have this story wrapped up soon!

Chapter Eight: Facade

(Sonic)

I awoke to the Mobian sunlight streaming into my eyes, making me wince. Grabbing my pillow, I shoved it over my head, trying to return to the warm comfort of sleep.

Hair was sticking to my forehead, and I frowned. Removing the pillow, I shook my head and wiped my brow with the back of my hand. As I glanced around the pink room, I groaned and flopped back against the bed.

Oh, yeah. I'd forgot.

But I felt restless, laying in bed and not sleeping, so I forced myself out. Irritably, I pulled Amy's wardrobe doors open and frowned at the selection. Apparently, a simple t-shirt and jeans would be hard to find. I couldn't wear the usual red dress, as it was in Amy's washing machine. I'd have to choose something myself and hope that Amy considered it to be stylish.

I suddenly had a brain wave and scrambled to find the dress that I'd gotten when I was with Rouge, the other day. That would surprise Amy.

Remembering Rouge's suggestions — something about leggings and a red headband — I sorted out my lower half with my eyes shut. I'd be really glad when this was over. Getting changed in the morning was such a hassle.

I grabbed the red and white dress and started to pull off my PJ top, when I remembered that I'd need a bra. Embarrassment stained my cheeks, as I rooted through Amy's drawer, grabbing the first one that I could find.

At least Knuckles doesn't know about this. I tried to distract myself with other thoughts, as I quickly put it on and tugged the dress over the top, eyes closed and breathing out in relief.

I dashed down to Amy's kitchen, rooting around in the cupboards for something to eat. There was either waffle dough, or a strange cereal that looked kinda gross, so I opted for waffles. I knew where Amy kept the waffle-iron, so I put the batter in and lounged about on the sofa, waiting.

"Hello, Amy," A voice purred.

I yelped, leaping to my feet and raising my fists. When I laid eyes on the intruder, I lowered my arms and breathed out a sigh.

"Rouge. It's you," I chuckled, lowly. The bat clambered up from the chair that she'd been sitting in. She looked like she was planning something, "Whatcha doing here? And how'd you get in?"

"I'm a spy for GUN, Pinkie. They don't just let in anybody," She picked up something from the table and tossed it in my direction, watching as I caught it, "Have you seen this?"

I glanced down at the newspaper in my hands. The headline read: 'Sonic the Hedgehog and Amy Rose seen having lover's tiff!'

"Oh. Good," I muttered, looking up with a sarcastic grin, "Slow news week, huh?"

The article wasn't much better.

Sonic the Hedgehog, world-renowned hero, has often been seen in the company of many companions — Amy Rose, however, may spark different feelings in our Blue Blur. A comment has never been established, stating whether or not he is in love with Miss Rose, but she freely says that she is his girlfriend. Yesterday, however, during the tournament between Sonic the Hedgehog and Knuckles the Echidna, sources say that Sonic and Amy were seen arguing.

Not much could be heard, but one person recalled Amy saying, "Who told you that I think you're clingy?" before Sonic snapped, yelled and called her a "jerk". A strange choice of words. Is Sonic the clingy one, despite what we've assumed? Is Amy Rose the free-spirited one in this relationship?

Another person was seen in the company of these two - Shadow the Hedgehog - though a comment has not been given, as he responded to our questions with hostility. We shall keep you informed of anything else that we hear!

"You get the idea," Rouge said, after I'd finished reading, "Things are getting pretty hot under the collar, between you and Sonic, huh?"

"Not really. Yeah, we had an argument, but we've sorted it out. It's the news; don't trust what ya hear, Rouge. They always twist the truth."

"But you've been acting really weirdly. They make a good point. You haven't been yourself, Amy. And neither has Sonic — he's possibly acting weirder than you! Knuckles said that, the other day, Sonic said he's in love with you!"

"What?!" Dammit, Amy!

"Sure, I'm happy for you — it's about time he fessed up — but I don't want you to rush into something, when you're not feeling like yourself. I think you should steer clear of Sonic, for a bit, just until all of this dies down. Help out with Tails' party and don't think about Big Blue."

I slapped my forehead and groaned. I knew that I'd forgotten something — Tails' birthday was today. I'd been distracted so much by everything that had gone on, no offence to my little buddy.

Rouge raised an eyebrow, "Don't tell me you forgot. You're the one who never forgets people's birthdays! Tell me that you've got him something."

"Y-Yeah, I have," She was right: Amy didn't forget birthdays. She must have had a present for Tails. I'd gotten him something, a while back, and it was currently wrapped and sitting underneath my bed. I had to hope that she'd find in time, "I'll grab it now!"

"Great. We've got to get to Angel Island as quickly as we can. Knuckles'll be in a mood if we're late, since we offered to help do the place up with decorations. Sonic is only keeping him busy for three hours. It's not much time."

"Right," Of course. Knuckles had told me about this, that I needed to get Tails far away and distract him. I'd planned to take him to an arcade or something, since we hadn't been in years. But, now, Amy needed to take him somewhere. So I needed to do whatever Amy was meant to be doing, "Where do you need me?"

"We decided this last week," Rouge frowned but, to my relief, she explained, "Shadow will pick you up from here and you'll go to Cream's house to bake. You've got the recipes ready, right? Then you'll come to Angel Island and we'll finish off the decorating."

I nodded, shakily agreeing. I didn't want to add to her suspicions. But what did she mean? Recipes? I didn't have to cook, did I? I couldn't cook to save my life. I'd end up poisoning Tails with his own party food.

This wasn't going to go well.

(Amy)

Sonic's rusty old alarm clock was ringing, the next morning, as I'd set it last night, though it was rarely used. My hand swept out and stopped it from screaming, as I snuggled down into the sheets. They smelt of Sonic and I was more than happy to cuddle into them, savouring his scent.

There was a knock on the bedroom door, and I sat up, before telling the person to come in.

Tails poked his head around the door, beaming at me, "Hey! I didn't know if you'd be sleeping in here, or on the roof. That alarm clock sure is loud — I can't remember the last time I heard that go off. How come you're down here?"

"Oh, I just fancied it," I pretended to yawn, to make up for my lack of an explanation.

"Fair enough. By the way, it's your turn to make breakfast, and I'm starving!" Tails chuckled.

"How long have you been up for?"

"Since six. You know how I always get up earlier, to work on my inventions. I finished that teleporting device, by the way, to mark turning one year older!" His eyes glittered and he seemed incredibly chipper, for waking up three hours before me, "Well, come down, soon!

As soon as Tails shut the door and I heard him go downstairs, I rolled onto my side and groaned. His birthday! I'd completely forgotten! I had all of those decorations and pastries to make — why had I slept in?

Wait a minute. I didn't have to make all that food. I didn't have to hang the decorations, either. Sonic had to do that.

I grinned. I got to spend the day with Tails, distracting him, but making sure that he had a good time before the party. I'd look forward to seeing Sonic's culinary skills.

Leaping out of bed, I tidied my quills and raced downstairs, promising Tails that I'd get started on the best breakfast ever.

Tails seemed shocked by the quantity of food. When I got cooking, I really got cooking.

"...H-How?" He gave me a suspicious eye, "Did you race to the shops?"

I gasped and placed my hand over my heart, "Of course not! All of this is homemade and filled with love! Taste it, if you don't believe me!"

Using the super speed, I raced over and pulled out a chair for Tails, gesturing for him to sit down. Still staring at the table, he slowly took his seat and I dashed over to my own, before telling him to dig in.

His eyes slipped over the food, stared at the waffles, lighted up at the chilidogs, widened at the buttered toast. He lowered his head and analysed the croissants, licked his lips at the sausages and bacon, nodded at the scrambled egg. He didn't seem to know where to start - his hands wavered over the pancakes and muffins. Eventually, he deposited one of everything onto his plate, before pouring a glass of water.

"This is amazing!" He breathed, shoving the food into his mouth at lightning speed, as if it might disappear if he looked at it for too long. I slowly took a couple of pancakes, once he started eating, "I didn't know you could cook like this!"

"Heh heh, what can I say?" I decided to say as little as possible, "It's a talent."

"It's incredible! You rival Amy's food! Did she teach you some of her tricks?" He was starting to scoop up the scrambled egg, "Any chance you can teach me?"

"Sorry, Tails - I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you!" I laughed, "I'm just glad you like it."

"That's an understatement!"

We remained in silence for a few minutes, savouring the food. I offered him seconds and I giggled when he practically jumped up and down in his seat. Soon, however, he rubbed his belly and said that he couldn't eat any more, much to his disappointment.

"So, when the heck did you turn into a chef-to-the-stars?" He laughed, taking a sip of water, "No worries. Thank you so much, Sonic. That was the best breakfast ever!"

"Don't worry about it," I reassured, beginning to pile up the plates in the dishwasher and box up the excess food, "Happy birthday, Tails."

"Thanks! Don't worry about giving me a present: this is more than enough!" With a chuckle, he started to help me clear away, but I refused and told him to watch TV or do whatever he wanted to do.

"Speaking of which, what do you want to do today?" I gave him a grin, "It's your day!"

Tails thought about it for a moment, "I don't mind, really. As long as I spend it with you, buddy. Although, I'd like to say 'hey' to the others. Should we invite them along to do something?"

"Aw!" I cooed, but I quickly cleared my throat, "Uh, thanks... bro! And we'll see the others later on — why don't we do something first, me and you?"

"Sure, sounds good!"

I grinned, stuffing the muffins into one of the plastic boxes that I found underneath the sink. The cupboards were a bit of a mess and I longed to clean them up for both Sonic and Tails — but I couldn't, not while I was in the blue hedgehog's body. Sonic didn't really do cleaning.

Tails suddenly appeared, holding out the Workshop phone. I hadn't heard it ring, but the fox quickly said, "It's Amy. She says she needs to speak to you. Urgently."

I stuck my tongue out at his smirk, before I pressed the phone against my ear, "Uh, hey... Amy?"

"You're there. Good. I can't talk for long, so listen up: Tails' birthday present is under my bed. Where's yours?"

"Bedroom wall-unit. Top shelf."

"Okay, thanks. You got any idea where you're taking Tails today?"

"Um... not really, no."

"Try the arcade."

"Okay, thanks!"

"Uh, about yesterday. Have you read the paper yet?"

"No, not yet?"

"Well, it's no—!" I heard Rouge's voice in the background, to my surprise, before Sonic quickly blurted out, "I gotta get going. See you later?"

"Sure," He put the phone down, which wasn't a surprise, as Rouge sounded impatient. Tails raised an eyebrow, looking slightly bemused by the short conversation.

"What was that all about?" He asked.

I shrugged, placing the phone down on the side, "Nothing major. Just Amy being Amy."

"Okaaaay. Well, shall we get going?"

"Yeah, in a minute. Gimme one sec, okay? I just gotta get something from my room."

"Alright then."

I dashed upstairs and into the bedroom, dropping to my hands and knees as I ducked my head underneath the bedframe. Everything was scattered underneath - it was like there was a separate bedroom down there! No wonder Sonic's room was so minimalistic: half of his belongings had been tossed under the bed.

It wasn't really out of laziness or disregard for his stuff. It was more like he'd put things there that he didn't want other people to see.

On the shelves in his room, Sonic had placed an assortment of loved objects, most of which he'd discovered on previous adventures. Books of his storybook adventures; the collar of Chip; photo albums. There was even a Police mugshot of Sonic, proudly framed, dating back to when we met Shadow.

But the things under the bed were different: there were lots of books, to my surprise. Sonic didn't really seem like a reader — he would probably say that it slowed him down, yadda yadda, something like that. I glanced at the titles: non-fiction books that he'd probably borrowed from Tails, about the Chaos Emeralds and their origins.

There were several boxes too, decorated by hand with paints and buttons. A couple of them had labels scribbled on ("Sonic's stuff") in messy handwriting which I recognised from when he was younger. I smiled and respected his wishes and left the boxes well alone.

"Sonic? You're taking a while. What's slowing you down?" Tails called up, playfully.

I shook my thoughts away, finally brushing my hand over Tails' wrapped present, before I dumped it in a stray rucksack and ran back downstairs.

(Sonic)

"Can't you go any faster?" I moaned, tightening my grip around Shadow's neck and grinning when he glared back at me, "I'll strangle ya, if you don't!"

"Dream on, Faker."

"You can't call me that anymore, not while I'm Amy Rose."

"But you're not Amy Rose. You're pretending to be. So doesn't that make you a 'faker' even more?"

It was my turn to glare at him, but he didn't see it, keeping his focus on running and not dropping me, which was nice, considering that it was Shadow. I clung onto his back, figuring that I'd rather be carried by him in a piggyback, rather than anything else. When Shadow had arrived to pick me up, Rouge gave us strange looks as I leapt up and wound my arms around his neck, with him supporting my legs.

"Hey, Shads," He glared at me again, so I took that as a hint to continue, "What's up with Rouge, today?"

Shadow grunted, quickly dodging the onslaught of city traffic, "You need to take up acting lessons. You're not acting like Amy, in any sense of her character."

"Well, how am I supposed to know how she acts? Besides, Rouge was being weird when I was talking to you. What, does Amy never speak to you, or somethin'?"

"Yes, she does. But she doesn't punch my arm and mock me. And you need to remember: Amy is a girl."

"Thanks, Shadow, for that information. I had no idea until now."

My sarcasm was met with another scowl, "If a girl and a guy spend a lot of time together, people usually get the wrong idea."

Oh. "So, she thinks that you and Amy might be...?" I burst into hysterics at the thought.

"What's so funny?"

"You and A-Amy! Bwahaha!"

"So?"

"Well," I smirked, "You're not exactly the most romantic of people. Amy isn't the most low-maintenance of girls."

"She likes people who value her. Consider your own actions, Faker. Is she really so hard to please? Or are you so self-absorbed that you consider putting someone else first a challenge?"

My smirk fell, "So, you're good for Amy, are ya? Got the hots for her?"

"Don't be stupid," His eyes returned to the path, "Love is of no importance to me."

Yeah, keep telling yourself that. He was such an arrogant ass, sometimes.

But was I an arrogant ass, too?

"H-Hey! SHADS!"

"Hmm—?"

"AHHH!"

"SONIC, LOOK OUT!"

(Amy)

I'd crashed into something that was travelling just as fast as me, before I was thrown backwards and landed on my butt.

Something landed on my body, making me groan and wince. The thing was incredibly heavy.

I opened my eyes. Nope, those two things were incredibly heavy.

"Sonic!" Tails dropped down from the sky, landing next to me and worriedly asking, "Are you okay?!"

Responding with a bruised whine, I realised that my heart was racing and my nerves were all over the place. Shadow the Hedgehog was lying across my body, trying to regain his thoughts, with Sonic sprawled on top of him. I could hardly breathe, as my ribcage crumbled inside.

"Get... off," I whispered, sighing in relief when Sonic clambered to his feet, brushing a new dress down. Shadow shook his head, clearly having taken a lot of the momentum from the crash. His crimson eyes rolled back into a normal position, before he was pulled up by Sonic and Tails.

I assumed that, while Tails flew and I tried to run along beside him, Shadow and I had crashed into each other at super speed. He must have been stronger, as I was sent backwards, whilst he fell forwards. That didn't explain Sonic's presence, however.

"Are you guys okay?" Tails asked in concern, as Sonic still looked a bit dizzy. I imagined that I did too, "I didn't even see you two!"

"Same here," I mumbled, trying to stop the horizon from spinning.

"Apologies... Sonic," Shadow nodded in my direction, and I replied with a smile.

The real Sonic laughed at the situation, finally looking less pale, "Well, 'guess we all need to watch where we're goin', huh! Watch your step next time, Shadster!"

He glowered, "I was carrying you. Sorry if the extra weight made me a little disorientated."

Tails and I blinked, while Sonic just laughed. He checked himself, when he saw our expressions, realising that I wouldn't have just laughed it off, if Shadow had been so rude to me, "Uh. How dare you be so rude, Shadow the Hedgehog! Say sorry!"

Shadow frowned, and Sonic smacked his arm in fake-frustration, "Sorry."

"Better," Sonic scolded, folding his arms and sticking his nose into the air. He seemed to be enjoying this new, dramatic spirit.

"Right," Tails nervously chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. Hopefully, he'd just blame the weird behaviour on the fact that we'd all just crashed at super speed, "So, um, what are you two up to?"

"Just heading to Cream's house," Sonic answered, casually.

Shadow nodded, "We need to pick up a few things."

"Cool. Well, we were going to the arcade. Do you two want to come with us?" Tails beamed.

There was a sad look in Sonic's gaze, something that shone in the depths of his now jade eyes. I said nothing, but I wished that I could see him smile with emerald eyes. He quickly told Tails, "Thanks, but we should probably get going. Have fun though, you two."

"We will," I reassured him.

We turned to leave, but Sonic quickly called out, "Tails? Happy birthday, buddy."

I followed Tails, after he nodded and thanked 'Amy'. We remained silent for a moment, recapping the events in our minds, until the fox eventually turned to me, with a startlingly inquisitive expression, "Do you think that was a little... odd?"

I covered up my nerves with a small laugh, "Odd? Whaddya mean?"

"Well. I don't know, it's just... Amy was acting a little strangely. I mean, she kinda reminded me of you, for a moment!" He chuckled, ruffling the back of his head, "Weird. Maybe she's been hanging around with you, too much."

"Yeah, maybe."

"Still, stranger things have happened. Especially in the past few days. Speaking of which, um..." He gave me another curious look, "You're not... annoyed about Shadow and Amy's... uh, involvement?"

"Involvement?"

"Yeah. They don't usually hang out by themselves. It's a bit..." Tails trailed off, raising his eyebrows in the hope that I'd understand what he was implying.

I put two and two together, "Oh! Dating. No, no, that's not it. They're just friends, that's all. You know how I feel about Son— her. You know how I feel about her. And how she feels about me."

"Yeah, yeah. Of course," He shook the thoughts away with a grin, "It's good that you're both accepting your feelings now. Anyway, c'mon, I've gotta kick your butt at Pacman! Let's see if you've improved at all!"

Yeah. I'd accepted my feelings. But I was still waiting for one of us to do the same.