Shadow closed his bedroom door and continued to think over Amy's behaviour.

I'll have to look into this more. What could have upset someone like her? She was the one who reminded me of my promise to Maria. It's the least I could do.

While he thought this over, Amy was putting away her new items. She hummed a made up tune as she folded the clothing.

After she closed the dresser, she paused. The rose from Shadow rested on top next to a partially read book. She took the flower and headed for the kitchen. Within minutes, she returned with a glossy, sky blue vase in which sat the rose.

She ran her fingers over the soft, waxy, delicate red petals. Their shade of scarlet was deep enough to put the most polished of rubies to shame. They were as dark as blood.

She sat in front of the vase and leaned against her hand. Her fingers gently pushed the flower as her emerald eyes glanced at the unexpected gift. Why did Shadow give her this?

She thought it was rather peculiar that he'd do that.

In the meantime, Rouge said from behind Shadow's closed door, "Remember, Shadow, if you refuse to tell me how your day went, I will just figure it out. I am a spy, after all."

The comment annoyed her friend who only responded with an eye roll, looking at the door. He sighed and bowed his head.

While rubbing his eyebrows, he said, "Right..."

"I'm serious."

"Uh huh."

"Shadow..."

"Look, I just went to help Amy grab some stuff. There's nothing much to it."

Rouge was admiring her nails while painting them and responded, "Ah, yes. And I suppose that raiding my rose bush outside, was included with 'helping Amy grab some stuff'?"

Shadow froze.

The door slowly opened, and he stared at her with his dark red eyes. They narrowed at the Bat.

Rouge acted as though things were perfectly normal as she pulled on her gloves and said, "What? I warned you didn't I?" With that she chuckled. "I said that I will find out. Now what else happened?"

The Hedgehog growled in annoyance before returning to his room.

He said, "Ok fine. I wanted to cheer her up because she was depressed. Your flowers were easy to take, so I grabbed one."

"So you gave her a red rose?"

He raised an eyebrow and asked, "Yes, does that matter?"

The Bat smacked herself in the face, saying, "Oh, Shadow! How could you not know?"

"Know what?" He thought now I'm confused. What is she all worked up for?

"Here's a quick tip about flowers. Red roses represent romance."

Rouge sighed with a half smile as though holding back a laugh. Shadow's eyes, in the meantime, widened.

He said, "So let me get this straight, that flower I handed to Amy, signifies ROMANCE?!"

His cheeks became tinted with red as he buried his head into his hands.

Rouge, however, continued to smile and say as she patted him, "Now there, there, it's not the most embarrassing thing I've caught you doing."

Growling again, Shadow pushed back her hand.

Rouge next said, "So, what is your next plan?"

Her friend lifted a hand as though he was about speak, but he stopped and remained silent. And with that, he closed the door and went to bury his head into his bed.

I can't believe I did that. Now what? I only grabbed it because Rouge said in the past that it was her favourite flower.

With that, he stopped and thought she told me that months ago... I smell a setup.

He yelled, "ROUGE!"