The Bet

Chapter 7

Lake Wood High School

4:21 p.m.

"I'm so freaking nervous! Amy, what will happen if we don't win? The school will be so disappointed…not to mention you'll be removed from the team…!"

Cream ranted.

"Cream…we'll be fine. As long as we stick to the routine, everything will be okay. Alright?" Amy reassured. Cream nodded slightly, not feeling so sure.

Amy, Cream, and Blaze and the rest of the Lake Wood Cheer Squad were out in the hallway leading to the gym. They did last minute preparation while the school's event committee set things up. Other than the ten girls standing outside talking and laughing, in the back were Sonic, Shadow, Tails, Silver, and surprisingly Rouge and Knuckles. They talked amongst themselves as well.

"Shadow…I'm like seriously surprised right now…I can't believe it!" Silver exclaimed.

"Can you be any louder!? I'd like to keep this on the DL please." Shadow hissed.

"Sorry, sorry! I just…damn, you got skills! I can't even get Blaze to something like that. What the fuck is wrong with her?"

"Maybe she doesn't feel you're ready to commit to a relationship. She's always been one to stand alone, as has Amy." Tails said.

"What more can I do? I take her out, I spend time with her-"

"The fact that your fucked up mind is forever on sex might be the problem. Ever thought of that?" Shadow snorted. Amy giggled in the distance. He knew she was listening to their conversation, while trying to calm Cream down.

"Hmmm….Amy, come here for a sec." Silver called. She dropped her head for the moment, sighing, before slowly making her way there.

"What?" she said, rudely.

"On a scale of one to ten, how good of a kisser do you think Shadow is?" Silver asked. Amy's face held no expression.

"On a scale of one to ten, how bad do you think I'd kick your ass?" Amy said, being over-cheerful when she said it and with a smile.

"I say…seven?"

"Yeah, okay. You think that…" she said walking off.

"Hey, you never answered my question Amy!"

"Four!" Shadow raised his eyebrow. He didn't know if she was joking or not, but he didn't find it so funny…

"Burn!" Sonic exclaimed, laughing. He received a death glare from the ebony hedgehog.

"She's joking right? Right, Shadow?" Tails said.

"She better be…"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Amy, you're wrong for that." Cream said.

"So…he knows I'm playing. It wouldn't even be a ten…it's like ten zillion!" She heard Shadow snort from a distance. That was before he chuckled. "That little…"

"Well, you were listening to his conversation…well, Silver's end anyway." Blaze said.

"So? I can do that, he can't. It's the boyfriend-girlfriend rule." Shadow laughed again.

"What 'rule'?" Blaze questioned.

"The one where girlfriend are allowed their privacy and not forced to wear short t-shirts that belong to the boyfriend." Amy said, more directed to Shadow. He didn't say nothing, but his gaze went to hers. She gave off her own girlish 'hmph' at him, and turned her head.

"But isn't that what got you two started-"

"Cream! You're such a kidder! Of course, Shadow wouldn't do something like that." she said aloud. Amy pulled Cream in closer. "Sonic doesn't know Shadow told me. Remember we discussed this?" Amy hissed in her ear.

"Oh, right! Silly me…" Cream corrected herself.

"Yeah, well, make sure you space the time you two do 'anything'. Judging by what happened, it'll take more than just some loud ringtone to bring him back into reality next time." Blaze advised.

"We talked about it this morning. We have a secret code for if I feel uncomfortable and want him to stop. I made it special…!" Amy said dreamily.

"Than what is this special code, hm?" Blaze said snottily.

"It's chocolate. You know…'cause chocolate makes me happy…" she answered with a shrug.

"Some code…"

"I still don't get you…"

"I know. Keep it that way."

"…You, you are a mess…"

Amy kissed Shadow's cheek after that. A blush appeared too. It was after the Dance-off and their squad had won and decided to celebrate with pizza. Amy and Shadow sat by themselves in the corner away from the group, mostly because Amy wanted to sit in his lap and Shadow- not fond of PDA- didn't want anyone to see.

"I can't be a mess when there isn't someone to make me one." Amy said matter-of-factly. He rolled his eyes.

"I'm not the one making you a mess, you do that on your own."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Don't start…" Amy giggled.

"Start what?" she asked innocently, batting her eyelashes. He gave her a look. She shrugged and laid her head on his shoulder and began to kick her feet.

"Soooo….about that last part, yesterday…" Amy started.

"We can't talk about it here." Shadow stated. She frowned.

"Why? They're like four tables away and it's dark in this corner it's not like-"

"Not like someone can hear you talking about the bet while he's almost in earshot? That would be a no." Silver said, sitting across from them.

"Go away, Silver…" Amy whined.

"Maybe you should try listening to Shadow for once. It'll do you some good, ya know."

"Ugghh…Shadoooow, make him leeeave…" She said exaggerated, then threw her head back.

"Silver." Was all Shadow had to say before he got up and left. Silver may be a little slow, but he knew what that one word meant. 'Get the fuck away from me or else…'

"Thank you." He rolled his eyes.

"We'll talk about it later…Not right now. Okay?"

"…Fine." Amy sighed.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"I don't know…"

"Were you scared I'd back out?"

"No…"

"So, why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"I don't know…" Shadow said with a shrug. Amy had a blank expression. They were back at Shadow's house, sitting face-to-face on his bed. The TV was on, but showed static. The room would've been quiet, but Amy's constant questions wouldn't let the silence set in.

"This is getting us no where Shadow. You have to tell me something." Amy said.

"I told you. It was just mixed feelings, how else was I supposed to react to them?" Shadow exclaimed calmly.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe…TELL me what you were doing and WHY you were doing it!"

"Rose…"

"Shadow, I need answers if we're going to make this work. How can I know if I trust you enough to give you something like this…? You may not, but I care about if this would work out between us…" she said, looking down. Shadow sighed. He tried to pull her into a hug, but she back away. Just as she had done yesterday… Shadow frowned at this.

"So, because I'm not giving you the answer you want, you're going to try and avoid me?" he said, a little irritation in his voice.

"I didn't say that…" Amy exclaimed sadly, ears folded against her head.

"Then what are you saying Amy?!"

"What I'm saying is why the hell should I let you fuck me if I don't even know if you love me or not! For all I care, it would be meaningless and just let that *snap* you'll be done with me!" Amy shouted. Her temper was getting the best of her…

"You've given no reason to-" Shadow started to mumbled, but Amy heard him anyway.

"Now this is my fault? I'm not giving a reason for you to love me…wow, that's new! Since I don't have a good enough reason for you not to love me, then why am I still here? Like you said, I shouldn't even be in your house." She said standing.

"Rose…"

"No, you said it yourself. I've given you no reason to. If that's how you feel, then I'll just leave. I know my way back, don't bother driving me." Amy made her way to the bedroom door, but Shadow grabbed her wrist.

"Amy, you're not leaving this house. I'm not letting you."

"Why the fuck not, Shadow!"

"You didn't let me finish! You've given me no reason to as to why I shouldn't love you. Apparently this isn't clear to you, but I'd do anything for you. There is no imperfection about you I can find…other than your temper…My past with Maria has made me oblivious to what love really is, causing me to just shut it out completely. You've made me think differently about everything. The thing is, I didn't see the need to discuss this with you because Sonic told me he wants to call the bet off. He's not saying why…" Shadow finished.

"He wants to do what?!"

"Yesterday, while I was at work. He called me telling me because he didn't have the money, he'd have to call the bet off. I knew that was a lie, but that's what he's sticking to." Amy was touched, heartbroken, and shocked all at the same time.

"But…it's only been a week…how can he call it off so early?" she asked.

"I know…"

"What are you going to do…?"

"Well…" he looked at her. It was one of those 'knowing' looks.

"Oh." Amy looked at the floor. She played with her fingers and rocked on her heels.

"We don't have to. I could just tell him-"

"It wouldn't be right. It should happen naturally." Amy said.

"Fine." Shadow sighed. It was stressful for him. Dealing with the Blue Blur and his idiotic ways, his feelings towards Amy, the whole objective of the bet…It was beginning to become too much.

"Can I still stay…?"Amy asked sheepishly.

"Do really have to ask?"

Shadow's House

10:23 a.m.

The next morning, Shadow was the first to wake up, and soon Amy followed. It started slow, but Amy soon perked up and suggested they go out. Having nothing better to do, Shadow agreed. But what will they run into on their day out?

Hey guys. I know it's been a while, but life's been in the way besides a stomach virus…But, all is fine for the time being. As I slowly get back into writing, please enjoy this for now. See you.