A quick Shadow POV story I made in an hour...not amazing, I can tell you right now, but this will be a oneshot and it'll STAY a oneshot. XD Hope you all enjoy and all that fun stuff-leave me a review if you have the time. Anons, do the same! :D

Thank ya thank ya!

-Laz

The sun was bright, the clouds passing over it as the wind danced gently across Earth's surface. It was a calm spring day, one of those days that were easy to lose track of time in by just standing and staring up at the blue. My focus was, surprisingly enough, not on the sky that day, however; it was on a delicate pink hedgehog fiddling with her red dress nervously. At the present situation, it could have easily appeared that I was stalking her, for I was standing partially behind a nearby tree, letting the shade do me the most concealing it could. My black fur aided that task well.

I did not follow her; rather destiny brought us to the same place at the same time.

Amy Rose was her name – a name that was synonymous with a crazed, passionate lover that would stick to anyone like glue. Though I knew better than to hold her up to her stereotypical reputation; I knew her well over the past few months, and I was still getting to know her as the days went by. Her figure, dare I speak of it, was nothing special to see; clearly she was not as voluptuous as some of the females I had met, but I never judged a person by looks alone. Granted her cropped pink quills and pale skin contrasted her deep emerald eyes quite nicely, but I tended to search deeper in any soul before I trusted their companionship. Lately it had been like that, especially with overcoming a case of amnesia; I had to choose allies carefully so that I would get to my goal of recovering my past and memories as fast and efficient as I could.

Trusting others grew to be a pain and a burden to do, though. I figured out that most of the people I associated with had their own intentions for me and my life, be it as a weapon or as a servant, and that they were sick, arrogant bastards who had no lives, nor souls to speak of. My late human friend, Maria, told me to give every person a chance before she died, and I had. I began to hate every living thing, every creature in the entire universe because of my unfortunate experiences with people. Relationships were difficult to form with me, and people knew to stay on my good side, if I even had one.

Yet Amy was such a different person, such a fresh breath of air from all the others I had seen. She was cheerful, encouraging, and a fountain of joy with a smile that could brighten any dark cloud, even my own. Even though she could be a crybaby and a klutz, she was a wonderful, touching girl that I would never forget. Her words were powerful and inspiring, even if she didn't mean them to be, convincing me to switch sides to save the world instead of destroying it, as well as to stay with her and the rest of her companions. Amy did the unthinkable to me; she gave me a chance when I refused to give others another.

The only major flaw I saw in her was who she focused on all the time: Sonic the Hedgehog. My abhorrence aside, Sonic was a typical teenage blue hedgehog that enjoyed poking fun at others just as much as he did caring for them. He was the Earth's only hero before I stepped in the picture, and he enjoyed his job. Though he can be a touch too arrogant at times, Sonic was one to put humanity above himself. The trouble was, due to his innate and incredible speed, he never wished to settle down for long periods of time. Amy wanted this; she longed for Sonic to stop and go spend time with her since day one, and nothing could get in her way in pursuing that goal. Even with his pleas and discouraging remarks over his shoulder fired at her, she still chased after him like a blind, deaf creature looking for its parent.

To put it bluntly: she was obsessed with Sonic. It was almost an unhealthy addiction, slowly tearing her mind to shreds even when she had no idea of the matter. In fact, it nearly tore my soul into pieces to see her in such never-ending torment back then; it was nothing but Sonic, twenty-four-seven. She was a bright, charming and understanding girl, I thought, so why on Earth was she wasting her time trying to convince Sonic to love her back? It astounded me how strong she was, waving his rejections off like they were comedic puns to an audience. I could sense, though, that his joking words were internally clawing her up, just as they were me. One moment I wished that she would come to her senses, but I was never sure if she would or not.

After I moved in with Amy and the others, I began to notice a drastic change in her behavior. She never spoke much of Sonic, and when she did, it was only brief and he was treated like an ordinary good friend of hers. It pleased me as much as it did puzzle me, as did her interest in me. I was surprised, nearly shocked, that she wanted to set time aside just to speak with me and "catch up with one another", let alone acknowledge me as a friend. It was as if she saw me as an old best friend she had not seen in years, which we were not, and we never interacted all that much to begin with. Now curious of her true intentions, I often stayed up at night wondering just how sane she was.

Leaving Sonic behind was unlike her, yes, but turning to me and wanting to branch out and expand her relationship with me was almost just as opposite. It took its toll on me as well in the beginning; the night after she and I sat upon the roof of the house staring at the stars and talking to one another, I went through a phase of disbelief. I was convinced that she was in it for something other than catching up on the days we lacked sharing. For several minutes I began to feel detest for her, in the mindset that she only wanted to persuade me in staying so that her friends would have another secret weapon up their sleeve. Being referred to and treated like an inanimate object by countless people made me the way I was: cold, unfeeling, and vengeful. I was my own person, and I belonged to no one.

The smile that she flashed me before we parted to our separate rooms snapped me out of the idea, however. It was so sincere, so capturing, that there was no way Amy Rose could have those sort of grim intentions for me. She never once doubted me and gave me the sense of power and confidence that I needed; she knew that I was a true person, not just a creation from a laboratory like I was. All the things Amy said to me, her reflections over my lost ones as well as her own, sparked feelings in my heart that I never felt before. The next time I saw her, I began to notice her more and more; her eyes, her quills, and that kind, affectionate smile that seemed to write novels about her spirit. Over the moments, the hours, the days that went by, our friendship kept growing like a flower.

I never wanted to admit it before, but I began to become aware of a thought that needed to be released. I loved Amy Rose.

She was the proper balance for such a dark, quiet person such as me. She was there for moral support, always comforting me under the stars we gazed at each night, and I truly appreciated her presence by my side. Whenever I saw the smile fade into a frown, I felt like killing myself just for the shame I felt that I could not protect her from the sadness she felt. Amy was a genuine person, the person I needed by my side to speak my bottled-up emotions to. Amy's dreams and nightmares were always discussed with me and no one else, as if she, too, held the same affection for me.

Yet I could not, and never would bring myself to tell her or another soul. I loved her, yes, but the feelings of hope, sadness, and nostalgia…they were all tied up into a knot in my heart and head. It would remain a secret from her for an eternity. I vowed myself that, even though I wanted to tell her.

I was suddenly aware that her body turned entirely toward the horizon, her side to me. Amy was still oblivious that I stood there for the moment; I wondered if her thoughts were on Sonic. Perhaps, I thought, she and the blue hedgehog had discussed in secret to meet and go on her long-wanted date and she was being stood up. It was too shallow for Sonic, I reminded myself. So what was she doing here?

"Shadow…!" Amy's voice was high, as if she found what she was looking for. I brought my head up, laying eyes on her beaming, bright disposition that she had suddenly jumped to. I drew my lips into a fine line, as if acknowledging my name were too much of a task for me to accomplish. I felt my cheeks begin to increase in temperature as she walked towards me, her signature smile stretched out upon her fragile face and hands folded neatly and modestly.

Was she…looking for me? It sounded like she was, and completely abandoning her waiting spot appeared likewise as well. My heart lurched. It shouldn't be this easy, I thought. For me to have feelings for someone, and for them to reflect them so simply was too good to be true. Was there a catch? It was out of character for Amy to leave her romantic intentions for Sonic behind. She had a burning, immortal passion for Sonic, despite his rejections. Amy had to still love Sonic. She had to – she did…

…Didn't she?