Tikal never spoke a word to him. Not once.

And neither did he.

In fact, she didn't even think he cared. She didn't think he even knew of her existence. She didn't think she would be worthy of his time. She didn't think he even knew her name. She was just there after all, helping Knuckles protect the Master Emerald and tend to everyone when they were hurt. That was it. She had no desire to fight and quite possibly, never will. So why should he ever give her a second thought? Why was she even wishing that he'd just look at her, glance her way- lock his mesmerising pools of red towards her, just this once?

He unintentionally poisoned her mind. He poisoned her everyday thoughts. She couldn't stop thinking about him. Everything she did, she would trail her mind back to him. Every time she'd see him, even if it was a mere quick glance or even if he was just passing by, she would blush profusely and pathetically wish that he would notice her.

He was always the topic of something. Knuckles would come home and give out a grouchy complaint about him. Amy would talk about how he saved the world that one time whilst she was still in the Master Emerald. Sonic would irate his feelings about losing a race against him. Tails would say how he helped him find a few parts for his plane. Cream liked talking about how he sometimes looked after her when her mother wasn't home. Rouge would tiredly describe him as a workaholic and someone who minded his own business.

Tikal would listen to all of it. Sitting there, taking all of the information in. Her chest would clench, her throat would go dry, knowing she never had the pleasure with interacting with him when everyone else did.

They were the total polar opposites of each other. She hated fighting. He didn't give it a second thought. She was polite as she could be. He was arrogant with mostly everyone, wanting nobody in his way. She loved being hopeful and positive. He loved being brooding and silent.

Yet despite that, she still found him to be so handsome. His eyes were gorgeous. His quills were wild but they suited him so much. The way he would cross his arms, the way a small smile would cover his usual frown at a victory in their favour...

It was all so confusing... and frustrating. There were several moments where Tikal would find herself debating silently, if she should walk up to him and greet him while he was alone, if she should throw him one of her sweet smiles to lighten up his mood, if she should more so have a conversation with him.

Though, she wouldn't. She couldn't. She was too scared it would ruin her chances. Ruin everything. Admiring him from afar was enough, but going up and actually talking to him? If he didn't care to ever notice her, then why was she thinking he'd even care to hold a conversation with her? He probably couldn't stand her. That's why he didn't spare her any looks, because he probably didn't care about her.

But... she cared about him. She did. So much. Tikal had always held hope. Hope for world peace. Hope for everyone to live a healthy life. Hope for everyone to fall in love... and live a happy life with the person they wanted to spend the rest of their years with.

Being inside the Master Emerald for so long granted the wish for immortality. Tikal was able to live as long as she wanted, but she could put her life to rest if she thinks she's had enough. Just by taking mere footsteps back into the green gem.

She found out he was the same as her, blessed with the power to live forever. Though, was blessed the right term for him? Did he want to live for eternity? It sure didn't seem like it...

It didn't stray away from the fact she was in love with him.

He was Shadow the Hedgehog after all.

...

"Aaaaand, there you have it!" Amy lifted the cup of coffee from the coffee machine with a smile, "A latté macchiato! That wasn't so hard to follow now, was it?"

Tikal shook her head as she laughed. "No, I understand it a little better."

"You do?" Sonic groaned and crossed his arms, "I still don't!"

Amy offered her a place to work at her new café. Tikal was hesitant at first, not knowing much about making fresh coffee, since the ones Knuckles bought her were instant and she didn't know a thing or two about having a customer service job. Luckily though, the pink hedgehog was kind enough to train her the basics and in no time, Tikal finally felt confident enough for the role. It was handy too- she didn't want Knuckles to be the only one making the cash for them. Staying home alone and looking after the Master Emerald limited her choices on what she wanted to occupy herself with. So after having a discussion with Knuckles about it (with the help of Amy who pretty much forced him to agree), Tikal officially obtained the part time job, and the Chaotix would be the ones looking after the emerald whilst she and Knuckles weren't home. It was a win-win situation for all of them.

Having a job, especially having a job that involved coffee, proved to help her a lot. Coffee swayed her mind off a lot of things and stress. So having an aroma of it surrounding her throughout the day felt amazing. She was happy that Amy had a successful business and she was even more happier to be work here. It was just what she needed.

It was... just what she desperately needed. To escape. To distract herself. To stop thinking about it. To stop thinking about him. To stop- to stop-

Tikal let out an exhale. Calm down. Breathe.

"You call yourself the fastest thing alive, yet you can't use that quick brain of yours to understand how to make a simple drink," Amy said with a sigh as she put the cup down.

"Whoa whoa whoa, simple? Did you just call that thing a simple drink?" Sonic retorted back at her, "Ames, I saw how much stuff you put in there. What ever happened to making an espresso?! Or just a plain coffee with milk?!"

"I'm trying to compete with that other coffee shop just past this street!" Amy stomped on her foot, "It only makes sense for me to make what's trendy right now so my business stays at top notch!" She knitted her brows together as she glared at him, "You don't have a problem with that now, do you?"

"N-No ma'am..." Sonic replied, a drip of sweat forming against his temple. He rubbed the back of his head before sighing. "You know I love helping you Ames, but these new drinks are making my head spin. Can't you simplify the recipe just a little bit? Please? Pretty please? Come on, Tikal, help me out here!"

Tikal sent an understanding gaze towards the pink hedgehog. "Maybe not adding in the cinnamon and the vanilla for some of our drinks? I tend to forget about both of those a lot since I'm already adding in other alternatives."

"You totally get it!" Sonic smiled at her and then looked back at Amy, "How about that? It'd be so much easier for us if you'd cut down on some stuff!"

Amy hummed and went into thought for second, swaying her head to the side before sighing. "Okay, I guess you're right. Some of it is pretty pointless, huh?" She nodded, "I'll cut down the menu for now and revise a few things."

"Oh, Chaos, thank you!" The blue hedgehog slouched down against the chair nearby, "You don't know how much that means to me."

Shaking her head with, Amy looked over at Tikal. "Thank you for being honest with me too, Tikal. If there's anything you're unsure of, please let me know! That way I can improve the business a lot more fluidly."

"Sure thing, Amy," Tikal nodded, smiling at both of the hedgehogs, "Thanks for having me. I promise I won't let you guys down."

"We know you won't, Tikal!" Sonic grinned and gave her a thumbs up, "Don't worry, we know you're still getting used to a lot of new things but Amy and I won't let you fall behind!"

Amy nodded as she smiled. "And that's a promise!"

Tikal felt her heart warming up. She had the most amazing friends.

Over the course of the day, Amy's café had proven to be quite busy. Whilst Amy ran the cash register, she managed to prepare the drinks and pastries with Sonic. Whenever she was unsure of something, she'd ask Sonic and he'd explain it to her more clearly until she understood. As quick as he was, Tikal was really grateful for his patience. It was really nice seeing him actually do something like this other than going for a run or fighting Eggman. Of course, he still did those things, but it was quite a change to see him doing something a little more nonchalant. Plus, it was sweet knowing he was trying his best to help Amy out.

After a long shift, it was turning evening already meaning it was almost closing time. Tikal sat down on the stool in front of the counter, stretching her legs with a content yawn as Amy counted up the cheques next to her.

"Whew, that was a busy day!" Sonic came out from the back with three mugs of coffee.

"Thank you," Tikal said when he handed hers. She took a sip and wrapped her cold hands around the mug.

"It really was," Amy huffed and tiredly rubbed her eyes, "Maybe I should start hiring more people. I can't remember the last time I even sat down today."

Tikal couldn't help but shoot her a sympathetic look. "I think you should as well. It'll be much easier on you and I really want you to look after yourself, Amy."

"Thank you, Tikal," she stretched out her arms and let Sonic sit her down onto the chair, "I'll put up a notice tomorrow morning and make an application for those who wanna work here."

"Are you underestimating my speed, Miss Rose?" Sonic asked pretending to be offended.

Amy playfully rolled her eyes and lightly swatted his arm. "Oh shut it, you! You've been so annoying today!"

"Are you gonna lie to me again and say you don't like it though?" He then teased her with one of his grins.

Tikal hid a laugh underneath her hand when the two hedgehogs started a playful bicker. They were so cute. Tikal could never deny the fact that they were definitely made for each other. Sonic's cool headed attitude mixed with Amy's hot headed one. With every passing day, they seemed to have been getting closer and she enjoyed hearing Amy talk about the blue hedgehog whenever he wasn't around. Seeing her eyes light up was always just so adorable to her.

Before her thoughts could go down another path, the doorbell chimed, catching her attention. Tikal whipped her head up, her mouth already starting to open so she could greet the customer.

But it quickly closed when she saw him.

Oh.

Him... him.

Shadow... Shadow.

Tikal didn't dare to look at him anymore and ducked her head down, focusing on her half empty mug of coffee. Her thumbs twiddled, her legs bounced, her breathing became rigid, her lips trembled.

"Oh! Hi, Shadow!" Amy welcomed him, "Long day at work?"

"Yes," he grumbled and oh, his voice. His voice. The voice she found so difficult to get out of her head.

"Yeah," Sonic snorted out, "We can definitely see that."

"Anyway," Amy elbowed Sonic's arm before an argument could start, "You came right on time Shadow, 'cause we were just about to close up! What would you like?"

"Just a plain mocha," Shadow said and gave her the change, "To go."

"Tikal's usually good at making the mocha!" Amy hummed and dropped the change into the cash register, "Tikal, do you wanna make Shadow his drink?"

Tikal flinched at her name being said as she quickly looked up at Amy, a streak of red filling her cheeks. "W-What?"

Amy only smiled at her and repeated, "Our customers really liked how you made the mocha drinks today! I just asked if you could make Shadow his drink?"

"Yeah!" Sonic encouraged her with his own smile, "You did really great today on keeping up with the orders. I had a bit of your mocha and it was tasty! Definitely the best one I've ever had!"

Tikal suddenly couldn't breathe. She trailed her eyes over to him, but his own were closed. His arms were crossed, his frown thinning against his lips... probably turning into an impatient scowl.

The voices were playing in her head again.

He will never notice you, he will never like you, he will never bother with someone like you.

Go away, go away-

Though, she betrayed herself as she slowly nodded. Her body trying desperately to get out of her rigid state. "O-Okay..."

Gingerly, Tikal landed her feet onto the floor from her stool. Seeing that he brought in his own flask, she stretched her arm over the counter and took it to make his drink. Thankfully, Sonic and Amy were having a small conversation with each other so their focus wasn't entirely on her. Which was a relief because her hands were ridiculously shaky, and it was embarrassing to reveal that the cause of it was the presence of the black hedgehog.

Once she was done, she closed the cap and handed him back his flask. Swallowing down the lump against her throat, she said, "H-Here..."

Shadow's eyes opened as he looked down at his flask, his hands taking it before he said a plain, "Thanks." He didn't even spare a look at her and just turned around. She watched him... walking back to the front and left.

Her eyes didn't leave the doorway. They couldn't leave the doorway.

It was then she started trembling. Her body started to openly shake. Her lips... her swollen bitten chapped lips quivered, the sounds of her breathing becoming strained and then laboured the next. Her face felt far too warm and her eyes... something in her eyes was suddenly blinding her vision and she felt it running down her cheeks and muzzle.

She heard Sonic and Amy dropping their conversation and then came beside her when they noticed something was wrong. Something being terribly wrong.

"...Tikal?" Amy's face was knitted with concern. The pink hedgehog realised her tears and gently wiped them off, "Tikal, you're crying... You're shaking! Please talk to me. What happened?"

But Tikal couldn't answer her as she felt paralysed on the spot. Her frantic breathing only worsened and Amy's words were blocked out, the only words she could hear were her own.

Stop trying. Stop trying. Stop having hope.

Tikal's stomach churned.

She needed to go, she needed to go, she needed to get out-

She abruptly stood up from her seat and rushed into the bathroom, ignoring Amy's calls as she locked herself inside.

Sliding her back down against the door, Tikal wrapped her arms around herself and buried her face into her legs.

Please look at me... Please look at me... at least once.

Falling in love was only hurting her. Forcing herself to suffer through it alone had just become unbearable.

.

.

.

A/N: now you're probably thinking "koko, what the hell are you writing?" i don't know. but get ready for those inconsistent updates! (Ｔ▽Ｔ)