A/N: Woohoo! I updated before a month, even if it's only by a few days. :) Thank you to: telekineticninja, MEGAANIMEFREAK27, Guest, Twilight the Wolf and MikaitoLuv29 for reviewing for the last chapter. You guys don't know how much I appreciate your reviews, so I thought about letting you all know that they make me very happy. =) Enjoy chapter 8!

Disclaimer: I don't own STH. (Looks like I found a short way for writing Sonic The Hedgehog. :P)

Chapter 8

Amy decided that she was gonna stay at home, just in case Shadow showed up today and not tomorrow, even though there was no chance of that happening. It had stopped raining, the sunshine gently peeking out from the clouds. Making herself a sandwich, she came out of the kitchen, jumping on the sofa. Glancing at the clock, the pink hedgehog muttered about how her favourite programme starts at one and it's only twelve thirty now, before turning the TV on.

Flipping through the channels, her hand stops on the news channel, Sonic's name catching her eye. Amy sets the remote down, nibbling on her sandwich slowly. "It's been reported that earlier on today, a shop down in Station Square has been blown up by a bomb!" Scarlet Garcia, the red-haired woman exclaims, Amy's eyes widening slightly. "No one really knows who's responsible for the attack, but some people are suspicious about Dr. Eggman, assuming he's the one responsible." The woman lays the sheets from her hand down on the table, crossing her arms. The pink hedgehog takes another bite of the sandwich, wondering what Sonic had to do with this. "The good news is that the blue blur, Sonic The Hedgehog, came to the rescue! If it hadn't been for him, most people would have died! We're really grateful for the..." Scarlet Garcia's voice drowned in the background, Amy's attention now on the picture of the mentioned hero. It had probably been taken by one of the cameras near the shop, the rose female finding herself slowly inching closer to the TV screen.

Amy almost choked on her sandwich, looking at the picture very carefully. This wasn't Sonic! It was… Shadow… Amy thought to herself, her hand trailing across the picture that was now taking the screen. It was quite dark, probably very early in the morning, so you couldn't really tell if it was Sonic or Shadow. You had to look very closely to notice that the quills were turned upwards, there were streaks on his arms, the rings… But why? Why would he do this? That was the part the pink female couldn't understand. She turned the TV off, having already finished her sandwich. She turned around to go to the kitchen to get a drink, when there were a few quick knocks on her front door.

Her heart hammering in her chest, wondering if it really was the person she was waiting for, she made her way to the door. Not really bothered to think about her safety, Amy swung the door open, her heart stopping for a second. She couldn't believe it! She just couldn't believe that the person at the door had proved her wrong, and was standing right before her. He hadn't even promised her, so why did he come then, if he didn't want to? It certainly did look like he wanted to be somewhere else with his bored pose. Making sure that it wasn't just a dream, the rose hedgehog reached out, gently touching the ebony hedgehog's shoulder. He was still bandaged up.

"What are you doing?" Shadow asked in his deep voice, uncrossing his arms.

"Making sure that this is real, and my eyes aren't playing tricks on me." Amy replied, smiling at him.

"You really need to stop your childish behaviour, and grow up." He answered back, causing Amy to frown slightly. She moved to the side, letting him in. "Be really quick ok? The only reason I even came was because I owed you." The black and red streaked hedgehog muttered, following Amy to the living room.

"You don't have to tell me what happened to you because I found out about it." Amy said, as soon as she sat on the sofa. Shadow didn't look very surprised, crossing his arms across his chest, a habit of his. "Why did you do it, Shadow? Risk your own life to save others?" She looked up at him, seeing him still standing there. "You can sit down, Shadow." The pink hedgehog said, pointing to the sofa. Shadow sat down slowly, his face expressionless. "So, why did you risk your own life for strangers."

"I did it for... Maria."He said, his voice growing soft at the mention of her name. "She was the one who wanted me to protect these pathetic humans, telling me to give them a chance..." There was a distant expression on the ebony male's features, probably having a sort of flashback. "Besides I don't ever die, so I thought I might as well save the people, keep their family away from sadness." Shadow added, causing Amy's head to snap up.

The pink hedgehog stared at Shadow, never knowing that he cared so much. "Why did you get hurt though? You were bleeding all over." She managed to ask, still in a bit of shock.

To her surprise Shadow chuckled a little, and she couldn't help but listen to his deep muscular laugh. "Well, I thought I had my emerald with me, but it turned out that I didn't. So by the time I got everyone out of the shop, which was quite a hard job, since they all thought I was going to kill them or something, it was too late and the bomb exploded." He answered, watching Amy's face. The pink hedgehog gasped, before wincing slightly.

"So you saved them because of your promise to er, Maria, but that didn't mean you had to hurt yourself!" The rose female exclaimed, shaking her head a little. "What if something happened to you?" She asked softly, the ebony male raising an eyebrow.

"I told you I don't die, why do you care so much?" Shadow questioned, frowning.

"I consider you a friend, Shadow. So I have to care." Amy answered, smiling widely.

Before she could say anything else, the black and red hedgehog decided to talk." I came here because you wanted to know if I was alright, I'm perfectly fine, so I'll leave now." Before he could fully stand up, the pink female spoke up.

"Wait for a few more minutes, Shadow. What's the rush? I have a few more questions." Amy said, and with all the time she had spent around Shadow, seemed to have made her less intimidated of him.

He nodded his head before sitting back down. "Alright. But be quick."

Ok, so I know that the reason for Shadow to be all bloody was really lame, but I had to think of something. I didn't want Mephiles or Black Doom to ruin my story lol, but hey, you don't know if Eggman had a part in it. :P I'm sorry for the short chappie, but I'm feeling lazy and I wanted to stop it there. :P

This is just for a bit of fun: How do you greet a two-headed monster? It's kinda a joke, I'm not really sure, but I find it very simple and easy. All of you guys can have a go at answering it, although I think most of you probably already know the answer. You can write your answers in your reviews or PM me, and I'll declare the winner/s in the next chapter. :)

Please review,

-Amy