ShadAmy: Arms Chapter 6

Chapter 6

   "Whoa, whoa, whoa, Amy, what do you mean?  The other day you were telling me that you were confused about who to be with, and now you're not even sure if you wanna have a relationship?"  Cream pulled her up legs and crossed them, hunching over to look her friend in the eye.
   "I know, I know!" she yelled, running her hands through her hair and resting her elbows on her knees, quills still wrapped around her fingers.  This was so frustrating, she couldn't stand it.  "I just...at first I didn't care...and now...there's just so much to worry about!!  I mean, he's immortal, and then there's all of his enemies, and I just feel so selfish!"
   "Calm down, okay, I'm sure that if Shadow was really worried about all of that stuff he'd say something about it!"
   "No he wouldn't, Cream!  He doesn't wanna worry me, just like I don't wanna make him think he has to always take care of me like I'm some needy pet!  I just..." she pulled her knees to her chest again and rested her forehead against her knees.  "I feel so...alone when I think about all of this, but then I see Shadow smile at me, or he'll give me a hug and it just makes me feel like nothing could ever go wrong in the world!  But what happens to him when I die?  He'll have to live with that grief forever, and I don't wanna put that on him!  I wouldn't wanna put that on anyone!" she yelled, exasperated.
   "You're over thinking it!" she said, hoping to cheer her friend up.
   "No, I'm not, if anything I'm not thinking about it enough!!  It's eating away at me Cream!  I can't even keep up a smile for too long around him, and he's the one who makes my heart beat a million miles a minute!!"
   "Amy!" she turned her head at this, though she was gasping for breath.  She'd never heard Cream speak in that tone before.  "Get ahold of yourself!  Just think of all the girls that have posters of Shadow on their walls and are dreaming of being in your place, and they don't even think twice about it!  The fact that you do is both the reason you belong with him, and the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard in my life!!  I have problems with my love-life too, but do you hear me complaining and worrying over every single thing that could go wrong?!  Since what Sonic did to Tails, he hasn't been himself, he doesn't trust anyone, not even me!  He won't even talk to me anymore!!  I saw him in the street yesterday and said "hi," and you know what he did?!  He just kept on walking like I wasn't even there!!"  Tears were streaking the rabbits face now, making Amy feel terrible.  "But, I haven't said anything about it until now, because I'm just the polite little girl that never fusses or complains and never takes what she has for granted!!"
   "Cream...I'm so sorry...I had no idea..." she said, standing up to wrap the girl in a hug, but she just rejected it.
   "Of course you didn't, no one did, no one ever thinks there's anything wrong in my life, and they just expect me to listen to what they have to say, so, I'll just dry my face and go back to listening," she said, running the cuff of her glove under her eyes and sniffling.
   "Cream..." she whispered.
   "Rose!!"  Banging on the door downstairs interrupted the two.  "You're not gonna like this!"  Amy was running down to the first floor.  She opened the door and saw Shadow standing there, staring down at her with a concerned look on her face.  "Turn on the TV, channel 2."  Cream did, all three looked to see the most popular celebrity gossip channel in the zone, a picture of the two hedgehogs kissing in Amy's kitchen.
   "Well, it seems that this picture still holds top rank for most debated celebrity couple.  The Ultimate Life Form and Sonic the Hedgehog's Former Stalker seem to be in a relationship, pictures of the two together have blown up the media!  Fans have been scrambling to see the two, though it seems they've disappeared from the face of the planet.  Comments on our site are both for and against the two, and then again, there are also the few who try to make peace between other obsessors."  Amy and Cream both stood in shock, staring at the TV screen.  "Oh, this just in, recent photos of the two have been taken in front of Amy Rose's close friend, Cream the Rabbit's house.  Though it seems that Shadow dropped her off before heading off do run some errands.  Pictures taken in a local supermarket show Shadow the Hedgehog searching for grocery items, could it be that perhaps Amy's moving in with Sonic's doppelganger?  Stay tuned this week while we unravel the mystery further!  This is *insert fancy news anchor name here* with Your Celeb News!"
   "I..." Amy was speechless, she wasn't even sure how she was supposed to respond to this.  Shadow followed her to the couch where she flopped down and stared at the table in front of her.  Her so-called "fame" had always piggy-backed on Sonic's, and now she was her own celebrity and there were people debating her relationship with Shadow, that scared her, yet it thrilled her as well.
   "It's true, there're flamers all over this site, they're all talking about a picture of you two," Cream said, handing Amy her laptop and scrolling through the comments.

Comments:

   "This girl needs to make up her mind, one day she's stalking Sonic the Hedgehog, the next she's smooching with the Ultimate Life Form, who does she want?"
   "No way!  She belongs with Sonic!  They've known each other for years, Shadow didn't even show up until a few years ago!"
   "Calm down, maybe it was just a dare!  I hope..."
   "Shut up guys!  If she wants to be with Shadow now then she has a right to!"
   "This is obviously Photoshopped guys, whoever did this must be a pro!"
   "What are you talking about Photoshopped?  She obviously just wants to make Sonic jealous!"

(End comments)

   "I can't...just two weeks ago I was upset over them thinking I was evil or something like that, and now I'd rather have that than this...I can't do this anymore..." She shut the computer and stood up, pacing and mentally debating whether or not she should leave.  She grabbed her jacket which had been thrown over the back of the couch and stuffed her arms through the sleeves, grabbing a pair of sunglasses and pulling the hood over her head as she opened the door.
   "Rose...?"
   "I'll be back later, I just need to think..."  The door shut behind her, chopping of the end of her sentence short.  She walked with her head down and thanked her lucky stars that it had been raining on and off, she pulled her quills out of her jacket to cover her face.  Big mistake, she was the only person people knew of that had pink quills, that was one thing that made her unique.
   "Guys, look, there she is!!"  Seconds later she was mobbed by fans, reporters, and interviewers.  "Amy!  What do you think about all the debate over you and Shadow?!"
   "Look, he's a nice guy, he's never hurt me and he'd never hurt anyone else without a really good reason."
   "What ever happened to Sonic?" another asked.
   "Let's just say that he scares me now and leave it at that."
   "Amy, the fans say that you're just trying to make Sonic jealous, how would you respond to this?"
   "I couldn't care less what Sonic thinks now, like I said, he scares me."
   "What do you think about fans thinking Shadow is evil?"
   "He's not evil, and all of them need to realize that.  Might I remind you of how he saved the world against the Black Arms?"
   "So you really think Shadow's changed?"
   "He was never evil, he was confused and frustrated, please, leave him alone."
   "Why do you seem so defensive?"
   "I don't know what you're talking about, all I'm doing is trying to keep him out of it."
   "Where were you headed?"
   "I just needed to go somewhere to think."
   "What about?  Is there something you and Shadow are keeping from the media?"  Amy blushed furiously at this.
   "Who do you people think you are?!  Why would you even ask that, just go away!"  She shoved through the crowd and ran when the started following her.  She was thankful for having chased Sonic all those years, she'd picked up on evasive strategies.  She finally got out of the city limits and ran down a hill, stopping only when she found her hideout, a small cave.  She pressed up against the wall, holding her breath and trying to make her form flatten out.
   "Amy?"  The voice scared her, and she was even worse off knowing who it was.  "What are you doing here?"  It was Sonic.
   "Shut up!" she whispered hastily.  "If they find us here they'll do anything to make sure it looks like I was trying to make you jealous."
   "Okay, sorry."  He held up his hands in defense.  She looked so beautiful to him, even if she was just in every day clothes, once the paparazzi had passed Amy sighed and stepped away from the wall.
   "What are you doing here?" she asked after turning away and crossing her arms.
   "I just asked you that, I always come here."
   "I came here to think, this is sort of my secret place, well, it was anyways."
   "I'll leave if you want me to," Sonic said, standing from his spot on the floor.
   "You can stay, as long as you don't try anything."  Her voice was hard and strict, void of all affection she'd once held for the hedgehog.
   "I swear I won't, I don't know what I was thinking last time-"
   "That's because you weren't thinking!"  She spun around quickly to face him.  "You never do, it's like thinking is such a chore, and takes so long that you don't even want to consider it!" she huffed and looked down, trying to collect herself again.  She had told herself she wouldn't loose it like that around him.
   "I know, and I'm sorry, I really didn't want to do anything like that, I was just...I was so afraid of losing you..." Sonic muttered.  His chest ached at the thought of not having seen Amy since then.  It'd been nearly a month, and he'd missed her, but he seriously doubted he could tell her that.
   "Hello?  Did you hear me?"
   "Huh?  Oh, I'm sorry, what did you say?"
   "I asked what you meant by losing me," she replied, crossing her arms impatiently.
   "Well...I can't believe I'm actually saying this, but...I guess it took Shadow to make me realize something I haven't been able to realize myself for years...and I would thank him for it, if he weren't ripping my heart out little by little..." he muttered.  He couldn't believe how naive he'd been, or that he was admitting this now.
   "What are you talking about, he didn't do anything to you."
   "It's hard to explain...but...I'm glad you're happy at least...I missed you, you know..."
   "I missed you too."  What was she thinking?!  She hadn't missed him, had she?  Well, now that she thought about it, she supposed it was conceivable.
   "You did?"  He looked up, hopefully, wondering if he'd heard right.
   "Well, the old you, not the one that punched Tails in the nose...."
   "Yeah, me to..." he said, chuckling and rubbing the back of his neck nervously.  "I really didn't mean to, you know, I just sorta lost it, when he said there was no way for me to change your mind..."
   "Change my mind?  About what?"  She sat next to him, obviously curious.
   "About how you feel about me," he sighed.
   "What do you mean, why would you have wanted to change that, all you wanted before was for me to leave you alone..." she was slightly confused.  Puzzles had never been her thing.
   "Let's just say, once you got together with Shadow, I realized...you mean a lot more to me than I first realized, Tails telling me that it wouldn't work out didn't really settle with me too well and I kinda got...well...mad..."
   "Yeah, I saw that."
   "And now I realize...like I said on the ARK more than a month ago...I need you..."
   "Wh-what are you saying, Sonic, I don't understand..."
   "Meh, it's not so important, you're happy with someone else, and no matter what, your happiness comes first."
   "Okay, now I'm really, really confused, you need me?  My happiness comes first?"
   "I'm trying to say that I care enough about you that no matter what, I'll stay as close, or as far as you want.  That's what love is, right?"