Shadow had left the office and stopped by Tail's apartment to get changed. He put temporary dye in his hair and covered his red streaks. Then in went the green contacts and the scar stickers. After breathing a sigh of relief, he changed into a blue navy suit and got back in his own car as he headed towards the mansion to pick up Amy. When he arrived, she was already standing outside in a skin tight purple dress with no sleeves. She had thrown a black cardigan over it to be more modest, and wore some sparkly black high heels. He bit his lip and tried to supress his inner thoughts as she climbed into the passenger seat next to him. She sent him a smile and he nodded at her in greeting. He pulled out of the driveway headed to Sonic's mansion for the party. It was quiet between the two of them the entire way, however Amy couldn't keep the smile off her face, all the while Shadow had to force and fake his.

When they showed up it was an hour before the party was due to start, so there were no guests yet. Shadow pulled into an empty space and parked the car. He took a deep breath and looked at Amy, "You ready?" Amy nodded and together they got out of the car. They linked arms and walked to the entrance where a butler stood. He had been the caretaker of the home for ages. He saw them coming and opened the door to call out to Sonic's mother, "Madame, Amy Rose is here." Amy flinched, she quickly noticed they seemed to exclude saying "Sonic" even though it was Shadow. Aleena quickly rushed to the door and greeted Amy, and only Amy. She linked her arm with Amy's other arm, quickly pulling her away from Shadow to lead her away. Shadow simply followed lightly behind, as if he wasn't there.

Aleena lead Amy over to a couch in the party room. As soon as they sat down, the butler placed a tray of tea and cups on the desk for them. He filled their cups and handed it to them. There was one cup left on the table, and it was for Shadow. The butler didn't make him any. Shadow showed no emotion as he went to stand and stare out a window on the other side of the room. Aleena smiled at Amy, "Amy, how have you been dear? Has acting been tiring?"

"No, Auntie, it's actually enjoyable." Amy said softly.

"That's good. If you're tired and want to stop filming, than just say the word. You don't have to work anymore, you can just come live with us." Something about that sent a bad feeling through Amy but she shook it away.

"Thanks, Auntie. But I like filming, so you don't have to worry about it."

Aleena's lips curled into a grim smile, "Right then. Since you like it, do as you please."

Amy realized that Shadow was standing a bit off from the three of them. She realized no one else had shown up at the party, and that for some reason Shadow's presence wasn't being awknowledged at all. She smiled as she looked up at him, "Shadow?" He turned from his spot at the window and gave her a look that said 'what is it?' She patted the seat next to her, "Why are you standing over there? Come sit next to me."

Aleena froze when she heard Amy's words. A hint of avoidance and disgust portrayed her features temporarily before it was replaced with that fake smile again. His eyes caught it and backed back to Amy, "There's no need." He said before turning back to his window. Aleena grinned and turned to look at Amy, as she began to chat away again with Amy. Amy didn't want to be rude, so she went along with Aleena's conversations. Every now and then, she would glance at Shadow from the corner of her eye, catching him glancing at her and then quickly looking away. He was so quiet, if she hadn't noticed him looking at her from time to time, she wouldn't have been able to tell there was someone standing by the window.

The butler leaned down next to Aleena again to ask her some questions about the party. Aleena sent Amy an apologetic look and turned to discuss more of "Sonic's" detailed birthday party. Amy nodded and set her tea cup down. Then she stood and began walking towards Shadow. She was a few feet away when a voice from the top of the stairs called out, "Amelia!" The pink hedgehog stopped in her tracks to look up and see Jules, Sonic's father standing at the entrance. He was a hedgehog with blue fur like Sonic's except darker and more rough. He smiled down at her and descended the staircase. Shadow coincidentally looked over his shoulder to see his father walking down the stair case. Once he saw the ebony hedgehog, Jule's eyes became cold and he turned his back to him. He smiled at Amy, "My, you've gotten so much prettier, Amelia."

Aleena smiled as she skipped her way towards Jules, linking her arms with his, "Amy has always been pretty, ever since she was a baby." The two then walked off towards the sofa, ignoring Shadow's existence. Amy's eyes filled with hurt and worry as she looked towards Shadow. He sighed, "I'm going to smoke a cigarette. I'll be back in a minute." He turned and left without giving her a chance to respond. She watched from the window as he lit a cigarette outside by his car.

"Amy, come here darling~" Amy gulped, and her feet found themselves heading back towards the sofa.


It was seven fourty when guests started arriving. No one knew where Shadow had gone. All that Aleena, Jules, and Amy could do was stand by the door and greet the guests one after another. Aleena shot a look to her butler, Go find that hedgehog. The butler nodded and understood as he left right away. Ten minutes later and Shadow had still not reappeared. Aleena became annoyed quickly and leaned down to her butler, "Where is he?" Before the butler could speak, Shadow walked through the doors and into the house. The butler walked away quickly to take care of the guests, not wanting to see Aleena's rage. Aleena quickly walked over to Shadow, the sound of her heels clicking against the floor.

"I can't wait to give these bastard a piece of my mind-"

But before she could finish that thought, two guests walked in behind Shadow. Aleena quickly smiled and latched onto Shadow's arm, pretending he was Sonic. "Sonic, this is the chief of police and his wife, Espio and Cosmo." Shadow played along with his "mother" and smiled at the two, "Chief Espio, Mrs. Cosmo, welcome." Then Shadow motioned to the hall with a hand gesture, which the two smiled and thanked him as they headed towards the hall. The two waited while Espio and Cosmo walked away, before setting their gazes on each other. Aleena was quick to attack.

"Tonight is Sonic's birthday, don't mess it up." Her eyes hardened but he showed no emotion as she nagged him, "You owe Sonic your life. You agreed to do this." His eyes kept calm and he was composed. She became irritated that she could not get a reaction out of him as much as she could have years ago. Shadow looked up and saw Amy looking at him worriedly from the entrance to the hall. He smiled down at Aleena and released their arms, as he walked over to Amy. Aleena grumbled under her breath, and followed.

But it was true, Sonic's family didn't force him to do this favor. In fact, Aleena and Jules didn't even want to tell him, it was the butler who had came and sought him out many years ago and told him. He wasn't offered benefits, but the butler didn't beg either. He simply stated that Sonic was in trouble, and they needed Shadow to pretend to be married to Amy to overcome those problems.

Shadow had to make his brain think. Not many of these people knew Amy. So he had to pretend that he was married to her for the crowd. It was acting, just acting. "Sonic." Amy smiled up at him. He almost froze at the name, but remembered the role he was supposed to be playing. His heart ached at how soft spoken and happy she sounded saying that name. He gave her a small smile and pulled her towards him as he hugged her hips and kept her close. Amy blushed and her heart began to race. The two of them acted like the lovely couple everyone wanted to see. They acted sweet and affectionate in front of everyone. Whenever they approached someone that knew the both of them as Amy and Shadow, Shadow would not talk. People believed that after the incident, the reason Sonic didn't talk as much was because of his disfigurement.

So naturally when Silver and Blaze came over to talk, Shadow kept extremely silent. Amy smiled and looked over at Silver, "Silver, this is my husband, Sonic."

Silver gave a big playful smile and the two shook hands, "Nice to meet you, I'm Silver." Shadow pursed his lips. Neither Amy or Shadow wanted Blaze to catch on too quickly or linger for long, so they excused themselves to talk to other guests. They were not the only ones though, Aleena and Jules also wanted to end the party as quickly as possible in fear of being found out. She went on this long speech about Sonic and how great he was, and at the end, Shadow raised a glass to the crowd, "To my birthday."


As more guests arrived, Amy and Shadow walked hand in hand, settling down on a nearby sofa. Shadow didn't let go of her hand even after they sat down. After a few minutes, he had stood up, gently holding her elbow when she looked up at him confused. "Sh-" She stopped herself, almost giving away their secret, "Sonic?"

Sonic.

Shadow pursed his lips and let go suddenly as he walked off. She walked after him quickly, hand lightly gripping his wrist, "What's wrong?" He said nothing, as he brushed her hand away quickly and walked into the restroom. Amy watched him in a daze. She knew he was in a bad mood, and she also knew it couldn't have been because of her. Taking a deep breath, she turned and looked at her surroundings, trying to think of if she was in Shadow's shoes.

She turned and looked at the cheerful and laughing crowd. Then she turned and looked at Aleena and Jules. They smiled at the group politely, standing hand in hand.

Oh.

Oh.

A thought came to her mind. Two children, both males, both bloodline to Jules and his company. One son is unconscious, and is yet still receiving blessing while being on a hospital bed. One son, receiving exile and abandonment. His mother lost her job, and no one even remembers his birthday.

Meanwhile Shadow was smoking a cigarette in the bathroom. He sighed, he really didn't even like smoking that much. It was hard on his nose. But it was the only way to cope when he was irritated or missing Amy. He inhaled more smoke as he silenced his raging demons, then let out a puff of air. He knew he was being jealous, and he also knew that he was just acting as Sonic's replacement. But he was still irritated.

The more you love, the more sensitive you are. It isn't something you can control.

He flushed the ashes and stepped out of his stall as he walked to the mirror. No one was in here. He stared at himself and fixed his shirt. Then he washed his hands and dried them off before turning to the exit.


Shadow had walked out and saw Amy standing outside the restroom door. She looked worried and he frowned at her, "Sorry." She shook her head quickly.

"It's fine. They want you to cut the cake." He nodded and wrapped an arm around her waist as they lead them both back to the hall. When the two appeared, the lights in the hall were switched off in a flash. Shadow was confused momentarily, but then the shouting of Happy Birthday were sung from around the room. Out came a large multilayered cake the size of a mobian. Amy smiled up at Shadow. He kept a forced smile and cut the cake. Soon after all the cake was handed out, it was time for presents. Everyone came and gave him all sorts of presents. Aleena and Jules went last, but right before Amy. Shadow froze as he accepted the present from Jules, for this was the first time he would be accepting a present from his biological father. Next was Amy, she gave him his gift and hugged him tightly, whispering a soft, "Happy Birthday Shadow" that only she and him could hear. He immediately softened. Someone from the crowd then yelled,

"Give him a birthday kiss!"

Amy whispered into his ear again, "Let's do it? To get back at his parents." Shadow smirked and made eye contact with Aleena and Jules across the room. They both gave him death glares as to not do it. He pulled Amy from him slightly, he grabbed onto his tie and pulled him forward without warning. Their lips collided and in a hot kiss that lasted a few seconds. Everyone in the room cheered and roared.


After eating the cake, guests started to leave one after another. Amy and Shadow stood at the main doors as they said their goodbyes to the leaving guests. While they did this, the servants began to clean up the mansion. After that, there was no one left except for them and Aleena and Jules. Amy bit her lip as she told Shadow to wait where he was. She approached Aleena and Jules, and hugged them tightly. "Thank you for the fun time."

"Of course Amy, we always love seeing you." Aleena smiled, making sure to only say Amy and to exclude Shadow. Amy's eyes softened and she bit her lip once more as she looked between the two of them.

"Also... if you could... Please treat Shadow better. I know he's not your legitimate son, but he is still a person with feelings." These words shocked Amy as they escaped her mouth, and they shocked Sonic's parents too. "Shadow is my friend, and I would like it if you would just pretend to be nice to him, it least while I'm around." She bowed slightly before looking up again, "We'll be going first." She then turned and walked back towards Shadow. Aleena and Jules looking back at each other with a look in their eyes not even they could describe.


She was staring at him, and all he could see in her eyes was Sonic. As they drove home, one of his hands quickly went to look for the make up removing wipes in his console. He took them out and began wiping it on his face and qills. Amy frowned at him, "Shadow, there could be papparazi, we should wait until we get home." He thought for a second, stopping his actions, before he dropped the wipes and just pulled the scars off forcefully. Amy frowned again, "Shadow, what's going on? You're going to damage your skin if you do that."

His eyes narrowed as he pulled over at an abandoned camp site. He looked at her with hurt in his eyes, "I'm sorry. Do I disappoint you? Was that not enough Sonic for you?"