Chapter 11: Truth Hurts
"Oh my gosh, so he actually asked you out and then he was late because he got caught up in a race with Chris' uncle? Oh that is so much like my brother."
"Yeah, he's lucky I didn't beat him to a pulp when he finally showed up."
"I would've allowed it."
Star and Amy laughed at their conversation as they sipped on their orange mimosas. They were sitting at an outdoor table, the sun being kept off of them with an umbrella as they waited for their third party guest. They didn't have to wait for long though, as the third seat was quickly taken up by a white bat in a black jumpsuit, sighing in exasperation as she practically threw her purse onto the back of the chair and took a long gulp out of the mimosa that was saved for her. The two hedgehogs looked at each other before looking back at Rouge.
"You ok?" Star asked her.
"Hmm?" Rouge's ears perked up and brought the glass back down. "Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry I'm late, girls. Just some… roommate issues."
"You and Shadow got into a fight?" Amy's eyes widened a bit. "But you two never fight."
"We didn't get into a fight. We just had a little disagreement."
"About what?" Star asked her.
"Nothing important." Rouge sighed and smiled at them. "So, what were we talking about?"
"Oh, I was just telling Star about my relationship with Sonic."
"Yeah, she just told me about the day Sonic had asked her out and then was late for their date."
Rouge laughed. "Yeah, that sounds like something Blue would do alright."
"What about you? You got any stories about you and Knuckles?" Star smirked. "Shadow told me about how you like to flirt and bug him. Knuckles may have mentioned a bit too."
Rouge chuckled. "Yeah, I like to mess with him every now and then. It's nothing personal, it's just who I am. Plus, I love getting him all worked up over the Master Emerald."
"Is that really it? You have no hidden feelings for him or anything?"
"Maybe I do. Maybe I don't. I'm not really thinking about it right now. But once I do start thinking about it, I'll let you know."
"Ooh! Maybe we can do a triple date." Amy suggested excitedly. "Sonic and I. Knuckles and Rouge. And Shadow and Star."
"That sounds like fun." Star agreed. "I've always wanted to do a double date, but I never had the friends to do so. I can't imagine what it will be like to do a triple date."
"Sounds like a small party." Rouge laughed. "How are you and Shadow anyway?"
"He doesn't talk to you about us?"
"Not really. He's not the most social kind of person. You should know that based on the first night you met him."
"Well I think we're really good. It's only been a few days, but I really think we got something here."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I mean, why wouldn't we? He's taken me out a few times. We've gotten to know each other… well, sort of. He's still pretty hesitant to tell me too much. But he did inform me that he and I do have a lot of things in common. Plus, he lets me kiss him every now and then, and he'll even kiss me back."
"Wait, he kisses you back?" Rouge's eyes widened. 'Shadow, you idiot.'
"Yeah, and it's like I told Sonic. I know he thinks that Shadow is just out to hurt me, but no guy would ever kiss back if it didn't mean something. Especially not more than once."
"I agree." Amy nodded. "It's almost hard to believe that you two are a couple since because he's rivals with Sonic and you look identical to him, but there's no way he's that shallow to not date you just because of that."
"Exactly what I said." Star nodded. "I really think we got something going for us, and I love my brother and all, but if he can't accept that I love Shadow and he loves me, then I don't know what I'm gonna do."
"He's gotta stop being so overprotective at some point. You're a grown woman and he needs to understand that."
"I know, Amy, but you know how hard headed he can be sometimes."
"Yeah, unfortunately I do."
Rouge sat there quietly, sipping on her mimosa as the hedgehogs talked. She was secretly tearing Shadow apart in her brain over how he was dumb enough to actually kiss the girl he had no feelings for. It was a cruel thing to do. Kisses were sacred, like his precious promises. He couldn't just go throwing them around without having some kind of meaning behind them.
Kisses were supposed to mean something in order for them to actually be good kisses. It was supposed to be with someone that was hard to get out of your head, so that when the lips finally touched, it was felt everywhere. So hot and so deep you would never want to come up for air. That's what a true kiss is supposed to be… and Shadow was cheating Star out of one.
"Rouge?" The bat jumped at the call of her name. She looked over at Star, who was tilting her head in concern. "Are you ok? You've been awfully quiet for a while."
"Oh. Yeah, I'm fine, it's just… I can't believe he kissed you."
Star frowned. "Why wouldn't he kiss me? What? Is he not the romantic type now?"
"No, no, it's just…" Rouge didn't know what to say now. It wasn't up to her to tell Star that Shadow had no feelings for her. It was up to the idiotic edgie hedgie to tell her, but as far as she knew, he was being a total coward about it. Would she actually have to step up and tell the female hedgehog herself?
"Rouge?"
Rouge sighed and placed her glass down onto the table. "Shadow… has told me some things."
"... Like what?"
"He… likes you… He thinks you're very sweet and kind and… nothing like your brother and… you know he doesn't want to hurt you."
Star stared at her for a moment, huffing a small laugh. "What do you mean?"
"Star… he… Shadow… he…" Rouge sighed. "Sweetheart, he doesn't have feelings for you."
Silence rang between the three girls for a few moments, not a single one practically daring to breathe. Star chuckled again, looking at Rouge as if she was crazy. "What do you mean? Of course he has feelings for me. Why else would he ask me out so much? Why else would he want to get to know me? Why else would he kiss me?"
"He came to me on the first day that you two talked… the first time you kissed his cheek. He said that he felt nothing, but he wasn't too sure about it. I told him to give you a chance. To give it a bit and see if he did start to feel anything. I didn't expect him to take it this far though, hun."
"... So… he doesn't love me?" Star's ears lowered, her eyes starting to turn red as she held back the tears of betrayal. "He's just been… leading me on? … Making me think we had something?"
"I'm so sorry, hun. I told him it was a shameful thing to do. He should've let you down easy the moment he truly realized he didn't like you that way. He never should've been dumb enough to kiss you."
"... No…" Star shook her head, laughing softly a bit. "No, I don't believe you. There's no way he would be that cruel."
"Star…"
"I don't believe you!"
Suddenly, Star got up from her seat and raced off, a streak of light blue trailing behind her. Amy and Rouge watched her go with wide eyes, wondering where she was off to.
"Sonic is not going to be happy when he hears about this." Amy sighed with a shake of her head. "He warned her that this would happen."
"You're not going to say anything to him." Rouge frowned at her. "This is between Shadow and Star. If Star wants Sonic involved with it, she'll tell him herself, but you're not going to start anything by telling him. Understand me?"
Amy frowned at Rouge. "Don't tell me that you're protecting Shadow after what he just did to Star."
"No, I'm not protecting him. He deserves whatever he's about to get. But if Star doesn't want her brother making a big deal about this, then that's her right. She will tell him herself. You've got to respect that. Her personal life is not a Grey's Anatomy show."
Amy sighed and nodded. "Fine, I won't tell him. But it's not like he won't figure it out for himself once she comes home with a broken heart."
"... I know."
…
Star continued to run, tears threatening to fall down her face as she made her way over to the Dark House. She remembered where it was because Shadow had decided at one point to show her where he lived in case they made plans for her to meet him there. It was easier than him going to the mansion and getting harassed by Sonic, but it was also a mistake on his part for how stupid he had been.
Once she got to the house, Star went up to the front door and started pounding on it in anger. "Shadow?! Shadow, I know you're home! You never come out for any reason unless it's because Rouge made you or it was to be with me!" A few seconds later the door opened, and Shadow stood there looking at her with a confused and worried expression.
"Star? What is it? What's wrong?"
"Is it true?"
"Is what true?"
"What Rouge said! Is it true that you have no real feelings for me, and that you were just leading me on?!"
Shadow's eyes widened. "She… she told you?"
"So it is true." Star's ears lowered. "How could you?"
"Star I… I'm so sorry. I wanted to tell you but… I didn't know how."
"I don't believe you." Star glared at him. "I opened my heart out to you. You made me believe that we had something, and now you're telling me that we didn't. No, you're not telling me. Your roommate had to tell me, because you didn't know how to?! Do you realize how lame that excuse sounds?!"
"I understand that you're upset, Star, but it's the truth. I didn't want to hurt you."
"Hurt me? Hurt me?! Do I look like someone who's not hurt right now?! I would've preferred to have heard from you than from Rouge, but no! You had to be dumb enough to make me believe that we were a couple. You had to be dumb enough to kiss me. You know, I should've known that there was something wrong the first time we kissed. It just didn't feel like a real kiss."
"I kissed you because I thought that by doing so I would feel something."
"That's not how kisses work, Shadow!"
"I know that now, and I am very sorry."
Star was at a complete loss for words, the hurt and anger taking her voice away. There was too much going on in her head, she couldn't think of how to properly verbalize it in a sensible way. Nothing she wanted to say sounded right. So, instead of talking about her feelings, she did something that she was good at instead.
"Easy come, easy go, that's just how you live, oh. Take, take, take it all, but you never give. Should have known you was trouble from the first kiss. Had your eyes wide open. Why were they open? Gave you all I had and you tossed it in the trash. You tossed it in the trash, you did. To give me all your love is all I ever ask. 'Cause what you don't understand is I'd catch a grenade for ya. I'd throw my hand on a blade for ya. I'd jump in front of a train for ya. You know I'd do anything for ya. Oh, oh, I would go through all this pain. Take a bullet straight through my brain. Yes, I would die for ya, baby. But you won't do the same. You wouldn't do the same."
Star pushed Shadow away from her angrily, making him stumble a bit as he watched her in shock. "Black, black, black and blue. Beat me 'til I'm numb. Tell the devil I said 'Hey' when you get back to where you're from. Bad boy, bad boy. That's just what you are. Yeah, you'll smile in my face and rip the brakes out my car. Gave you all I had and you tossed it in the trash. You tossed it in the trash, yes you did. To give me all your love is all I ever ask. 'Cause what you don't understand is I'd catch a grenade for ya. I'd throw my hand on a blade for ya. I'd jump in front of a train for ya. You know I'd do anything for ya. Oh oh, I would go through all this pain. Take a bullet straight through my brain. Yes, I would die for ya, baby. But you won't do the same."
At this point, Star's eyes were watering. She tried not to cry as she continued to beat on Shadow's chest, the whole time he allowed her to take her anger out on him. He knew he deserved it after how much he had clearly hurt her. "If my body was on fire. Ooh, you'd watch me burn down in flames. You said you loved me, you're a liar. 'Cause you never, ever, ever did, baby."
The two stared into each other's eyes, neither one daring to move or breathe. Shadow could clearly see the hurt and anger in her eyes, but Star could see nothing in his, her mind clouded over from her feelings right now. The female scoffed, shaking her head and giving a small, breathy laugh. "But darling, I'd still catch a grenade for ya! I'd throw my hand on a blade for ya! I'd jump in front of a train for ya! You know I'd do anything for ya! Oh oh! I would go through all this pain! Take a bullet straight through my brain! Yes, I would die for ya, baby. But you won't do the same. You wouldn't do the same. You wouldn't do the same. Ooh, you wouldn't do the same. No, no, no, no, oh."
When she was finally done singing, Star was huffing and puffing, short of breath from how upset she felt. She had managed to beat Shadow down to the ground as she stood over him in hurt and anger. She couldn't believe that he had done this to her, after she had opened her heart out to him.
"I never want to see you again." Star hissed at the hedgehog in front of her, tears running down her face.
Shadow was shocked. He's never had anyone say that to him before. It was clear that he had hurt this girl by stringing her along. By going along with her love for him, while not really feeling anything for her himself. It made him feel... ashamed... and dishonorable… Just like how Rouge had warned.
"Star," He started but was quickly cut off.
"No, I don't want to hear any more of your excuses!" She sobbed, throwing her hands up and walking back away from him. "Just shut up and leave me alone! Let me leave in peace and you'll never have to bother yourself with me again!"
"I'm sorry."
"Would you stop saying that! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Is that all you can really say?! No, you don't get to say sorry! You could've told me from the start that you had no feelings for me! You didn't have to pretend that we had something! I'm so sick and tired of having my heart broken, Shadow! Yes, it helps my career, but there's only so much that I can take!" She sighed and turned away, hugging herself as she sniffed. "I can't take it anymore... I think it's time I just throw in the towel and accept that I'm never gonna find my duet."
Shadow's eyes widened and he quickly got up from the ground to gently hold her shoulders. "Don't say that, Star. You can't give up. There's someone out there for you, I know there is. Ma- A very dear friend of mine used to always tell me that there was a soulmate for every person. You'll find yours, I know you will."
Star scoffed. "Says the hedgehog who had no problem with faking a relationship with me." She shook her head. "Just forget it. Forget it and leave me alone. I'm done. Done with you… done with everything. No more… No more heartbreak." And with that, she took off.
Shadow stood there, dumbfounded as he watched her go through the doorway of his house, watching as the light blue streak disappeared with the light blue hedgehog. His chest felt... weird... like it was physically hurting. It was like his heart was pulling towards her, begging for her to come back.
He... hasn't developed feelings for her... has he?
Sure she was kind and funny and... she was really good with kids and they had a lot in common and... her voice was very pretty and... she was beautiful? Was he allowed to say that when she looked just like the Faker?
But... she wasn't even anything like Sonic... She was her own person. He knew this very well and yet… he had still judged her for being the sister of his rival… How shallow could he be?
"Crap." He sighed, rubbing a hand over his quills in guilt as he realized that yes, indeed, he had feelings. Romantic feelings for Star the Hedgehog, the twin sister of Sonic the Hedgehog. "Maria, what've I done?"