Disclaimer:I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog and all related characters, but I do own Caitlynn, Chantelle, Jarett, and Nate.

Kieran the Echidna belongs to EmzEmz.
Mirage the Hedgehog belongs to BehindtheShadow.
Hikaru Senkire belongs to shadow-tango.
Skye the Hedgehog belongs to tails360.
Hikari belongs to Ryo or Demon.

Thanks, you guys. -insert a bunch of stars and hearts here, teehee.-

bianca monty- Y'know, 'sissy' guys are pretty cool. I thought giving Shadow more emotions since he's spent a lot of time with Amy would be a nice change. Plus, guys that act like they don't have emotions and guys that act like they're the coolest people around are laaame. Fangirls like 'em for how 'cool' they are, but a good amount of them are jerks at times. I hate it. No offense to anybody, but it's something that bothers me very much.

A small note -- Maybe I should've warned you in the first chapter that when I write stories, the characters tend to have a bit of personality change. But, meh, I don't feel like replacing the first chapter because of one little warning. :)

Thoughts/Stress on words
" Talking "
(( My notes to you or notes to clarify things ))

--

Oh my. I should really apologize for my long absence! I'm really sorry that I've been gone for...six months? (Four months for my other story...) -insert string of curse words- I can't express my feelings of how truly sorry I am! I don't have an excuse but that I was lazy and, perhaps, I decided to stray away from writing up chapters...or maybe I got to caught up in my roleplaying? Sigh. I'm sorry. I really am. And to make it up to you, my readers, I'll try to get more chapters in. Though I'm still at a semi-loss for this one ...I think I actually have to reread my own story again to remember what's happened to far. Eheh...

XXX

Chapter Six - Everlasting Friendship.

"The ribs are ready!" Knuckles attempted to yell over the music that was blasting from Amy's sound system.

A Little Kaos had won second place, and though it wasn't first, the band still wanted to have a party to celebrate for being so close. Amy suggested the party be at her house, and since Chan was present and Amy's fridge and freezer was full of food and drinks, they should take advantage of having the party right after the Battle of the Bands. The bandmates were mixed in with the Sonic Crew in either the backyard, where Chan was finishing up the last of the barbeque, or the kitchen, where Rouge was quickly cutting up a variety of fruits and ignoring Sonic's gloating about being able to cut faster. Shadow simply rolled his eyes at the boastful cerulean hedgehog and searched the kitchen and the backyard, noticing a certain pink hedgehog was missing. He pondered for a few seconds before getting an idea of her whereabouts. He slowly pushed open the swinging kitchen door and made his way upstairs. The onyx hedgehog stopped in front of a very familiar door that was surprisingly closed for once. Shadow reached up to knock on Amy's door, but hesitated a couple of times before letting his knuckles finally graze the surface. A small 'Come in.' was heard from inside, so Shadow let himself in, peeking his head through the crack once the door was open enough. Amy, who was sitting in the middle of her bed, was leaning against the headboard, looked up with a smile that didn't seem right to Shadow. It seemed...broken. Worry washed over the onyx hedgehog's face, "You alright, Ames?"

She gave him another smile. It still seemed broken. I guess I'll ask her about the song later...

"Answer me, please?"

Her smile vanished, a light frown replacing it. Amy bit her lip and finally answered, "Alright, fine. I'm not okay."

Shadow quietly closed the door behind him and strode over to the pink hedgehog, sitting on the edge of the bed, slightly next to Amy. "What's wrong?"

All she did was stare at her bedsheets, looks of hurt and pain washing over her face before becoming emotionless again. "Would you be mad at me if I told you?"

"No, I won't, Ames. I can never be mad at you. I'll always forgive you."

"..."

"...Ames?"

Flashback - Earlier in the evening during the Battle of the Bands.

Amy was slowly making her way to the center of the stage where her keyboard was placed, and carefully, too, because she didn't want to trip since it was pitch black except for the lantern she was holding and that her cloak was a bit too long for her. She was able to make it to her keyboard without any injury, so she put down her lantern, turning it off as a spotlight brightened up where she stood. Whilst playing the mystic melody of the introduction to their first song, she sneakily scanned the crowd to find her friends, and sadly found Caitlynn repeatedly planting kisses all over Sonic's muzzle. Catching herself before she hit a note that didn't belong in the composition, she began to play faster as it was assigned during their rehearsals.

End of Flashback

"I noticed...it still hurts...to see him...with her..." Amy had a hard time with her sentence for tears were threatening to spill from her eyes.

"Why the sudden breakdown? You didn't seem sad since you found out about Cait- " Amy's face contorted in pain, "I mean, her." he finished before taking her into an embrace and pressing his muzzle lightly against the side of her head.

"...It's because I've been in denial and I just began thinking of it now."

Shadow turned his head so that he pressed his cheek against her hair to speak, "Just...let it out. Please go on about what hurts. Please complain that you aren't his. Please just cry."

It didn't take Amy long until she burst out crying and began to talk in almost incoherent sentences, letting her feelings and tears spill out. She calmed down to only small hiccups moments later and was now leaning against Shadow's chest, poking lightly at the tuft of fur underneath. She also calmed down to clear murmurs, "It's hurts. My heart hurts. It just feels like there's an empty space in my chest...and I can't escape it...especially right before I fall asleep...when I remember everything in the past..."

Shadow's eyes were glazed slightly, soaking in all that Amy had babbled on about. He felt a pang in his heart, remembering how many times she complained how she wasn't Sonic's. He knew he wouldn't be able to beat up the blue hedgehog even when Amy wasn't present because he knew she would dislike it. He didn't want to disappoint her. He stroked her hair, hoping the soothing words he muttered into her ear was helpful. The pink hedgehog was only paying half of her attention to Shadow's words because the tightening pain in her chest was unbearable. It felt like shards of her heart were breaking off again. It hurt just enough that Amy was hugging her upper body in pain, tears flowing freely again.

Shadow hugged her closer and tighter. Please, stop hurting. Please, stop hurting. he repeated in his head multiple times.

It took a while for the pain to die down, causing Amy to finally stop crying. She sniffled, "Shadow...you're a really good friend out all of my guy friends...besides Kieran."

A small smile appeared on Shadow's muzzle, "Anything to make you feel better."

Amy stared up at Shadow, a smile appearing on her own muzzle, "...Thank you."

Shadow's smile grew wider. Seconds later, he remembered what he wanted to ask her back at the Battle of the Bands, "Hey Ames...that first song that you guys played...it seems so familiar."

"Well, we made a CD, but I doubt you have it because you would be bombarding me with questions...Ever thought maybe you heard it on the radio?"

Shadow pondered on her last suggestion, "Come to think of it...Yeah. That morning we were going to throw out all your old clothes. The radio on my alarm clock woke me up. It was playing that song..."

Amy smiled even more at the thought of Shadow had already heard some piece of their music. "I think we should go down to the party, before someone starts thinking we're doing something shouldn't be doing!"

Shadow looked hurt, but was being playful about it, "Wait a second, does that mean you don't want me?" He sniffled lightly and let his ears droop.

She poked his shoulder and giggled, "Shut up, Shadow!"

His mood quickly changed to sheer happiness, so he smiled and laughed, "I bet Sonic would be jealous, hearing that we perhaps could've been doing something dirty," he winked and edged closer to her.

Amy gave him a strange look, but was smiling her head off. "You're such a weirdo, Shadow," she said as she poked his shoulder again, "Now, c'mon, I'm starving!"

The two hedgehogs raced downstairs, Shadow, of course, winning and playfully rubbing it into Amy's face. The pink hedgehog stuck her tongue out and walked into the kitchen with Shadow following. Rouge looked up from dousing her fruit salad with orange juice, "Hey, where have you two been?" She gave them a playful smirk.

"Did anyone wonder where we were?"

"No. I told them you two went to the grocery store to buy more soda and snacks...and you still didn't answer my question!"

"We were in Amy's room."

"Oooh. Doing what?" Rouge wiggled her eyebrows and chuckled.

Shadow chuckled, "We were having some wild- " Amy elbowed the onyx hedgehog in the ribs and glared up at him with a pout stuck on her lips, "I was gonna say we were having some wild discussion, geez!" He rubbed his stomach and failed at stifling his laughter at the end.

"Oh, really now?"

"Mhmm!" Amy replied as she skipped farther into the room, picking a piece of orange from the bowl in front of Rouge and popping it into her mouth.

"You sure about that?"

"I'll tell you about it later, Rouge!" Amy butted in.

"I bet its actually something dirty." the female bat winked, giggled, and walked away with a separate and smaller bowl filled with some part of the original pile of fruit.

Amy sighed and smiled. She'll never change.

XXX

Amy and her friends partied until they tired themselves out. Noting it was already one in the morning, her bandmates and most of her friends left, while Shadow, Cream, and Rouge staying behind to help clean up Amy's house and backyard. Shadow swiftly took care of the backyard and volunteered to clean the living room, leaving the girls to only clean the kitchen. Rouge was smiling at Amy, which annoyed the pink hedgehog. "Why do you keep smiling?!"

"You still haven't told me, that's why!"

"Ugh! Shadow found me in my room and I kind of broke down. That's all." the hedgehog whispered loud enough.

Rouge's look softened, "Oh. I didn't know it was that kind of thing. Sorry for pushing it, Ames."

Amy sighed and gave her a small smile, "It's okay, Rouge. No harm done."

Cream listened to the conversation quietly while she washed the dishes. She felt bad for Amy, for the heart break she had to go through. Did it hurt that much when someone you loved never acknowledged your love and never loved you back? The little rabbit finished washing the dishes and turned around to find Amy asleep on the kitchen table, and Rouge putting away the dry plates and glasses into the cupboard. The light brown rabbit nudged her best friend, nodding towards Amy's sleeping form. Rouge turned around and giggled softly, "Go get Shadow, so he can get her up to her room."

Cream nodded once and strolled over to the living room, where Shadow was watching tv as he threw plastic cups, plates, and utensils into a recycling bin he brought from outside. She slipped away from the kitchen door and walked over to the slightly entertained hedgehog. "Shadow! Amy fell asleep and we need you to carry her!" she whispered.

Shadow tossed the last plastic cup into the already brimming bin, "Alright, I'll be right there. Let me just bring this back outside."

"Okay." she replied, walking back into the kitchen. Rouge was cleaning up the rest of the kitchen table, working around Amy's head and arms. "Shadow's coming, Rouge."

"Alright."

Shadow came through the back sliding door, and closed the door closed a little too loudly. The noise scared Rouge, who coincidentally had a butcher knife in her hand and a bewildered look in her eyes. She realized it was Shadow and lowered the knife, "Shadow! You scared me!"

The ebony hedgehog smiled sheepishly, "Sorry..." He quickly walked over to Amy and picked her up bridal style without any effort. Cream ran over to the kitchen door and opened it for Shadow. He gave a nod as a 'thank you' and climbed up the stairs. Rouge walked out right after him, patting Cream's head as she made her way to the couch to plop onto it. The little rabbit sighed and closed the door, also letting herself drop onto the couch to watch tv.

With Shadow and Amy...

Shadow set Amy down onto her bed slowly and took off her red fluffy slippers. He slowly put the covers on her and resisted to kiss her forehead. He smiled as she turned around and began muttering in her sleep, "Goodnight, Amy Rose. Sleep tight." And with that, he left the sleeping pink hedgehog to her dreamland.

The next morning, Amy woke up, oblivious that Shadow brought her to her bed and tucked her in. The confused hedgehog got out of bed and walked over to her mirror, noticing she was still clad in the outfit she wore last night. She shrugged, put on a clean shirt and basketball shorts, and pulled her hair into a messy ponytail, and made her way to the top of the stairs to find Cream, Rouge, and Shadow asleep in the living room. Amy quietly walked downstairs and went into the kitchen to make breakfast. The smell of Amy's cooking roused Cream in the living room, causing the little rabbit to stretch and yawn. Gosh, it smells good. She straightened her hair and her shirt, and walked into the kitchen, peeking in to see what Amy was doing. "Oh, g'morning Amy!"

Amy turned to see the cheerful rabbit, "Oh, hi Cream! Good morning to you, too. Could you kindly wake up Rouge and Shadow so we can eat breakfast?"

"Of course!"

The little rabbit crept into the living room once more and suddenly screamed as loud as she could, forcing Rouge and Shadow to jump and yell, "WHAT'S WRONG?!"

All Cream did was laugh her head off as she went back into the kitchen. "Breakfast is ready!" she yelled behind her while the kitchen door swung to a close. Shadow and Rouge stared at each other, rolling their eyes before getting up and walking to the kitchen. Amy and Cream giggled as the two entered the door, "Tada!"

Rouge's eyes widened at how much food was placed on the table she cleaned last night. There was pancakes, scrambled eggs as well as sunny side up, a huge cheese and bacon omelette, bacon by itself, buttered toast, orange juice, and coffee. "Geez, Amy! Are you trying to make me gain weight again?!"

Amy giggled, and Shadow was the one to answer, "Well, Rouge...it would be a waste to let Amy's cooking go cold...or rotten...or let it go to the rats in the trash can..."

The white bat sighed and smiled, "Might as well!"

Everyone took a look at each other before taking a seat and putting food on the plates already set on the table.

XXX

Rouge and Cream decided to leave after they had their fill of breakfast because they had other things to do; Rouge with her 'appointment' with a beauty salon and Cream with helping Tails out at his workshop. So Amy sadly bid adieu to her best friends and was left with Shadow, but he, too, was about to leave. "Oh, not you, too, Shadow-kun!"

"I'm sorry, Ames, but I can't break my routine of workouts at the Gym...unless..." he shot a look at the pink hedgehog, who shot him a confused one in return, "You come with?"

"Hm, working out with Shadow..."

Shadow stepped closer so that his face was just inches from hers. With a confident smirk plastered firmly on his muzzle, he decided to convince her to come, "It'll be fuuun. You also get to see me workout with no shirt on..."

Amy suddenly burst into a fit of giggles, so she put a few fingers to her lips to calm down her reaction, "Ewww, Shadow with no shirt?!"

Shadow glared playfully at her before he headed towards the front door, "Fine! You can be alone for the rest of the day then..."

The pink hedgehog pouted and quickly spoke up as he could twist the doorknob, "Okay! I'll go with you to the Gym! Just let me change first!"

He chuckled as he strode over to the couch, planting himself onto it while he waited.

With Amy...

Amy noticed she was huffing slightly after she ran up the stairs, and thought going to the Gym with Shadow would do some good for her physical health after all. She jogged through her room's open doorway and made her way to her closet with another huff. She picked out a purple worn out t-shirt and a pair of black cotton short shorts with black spandex shorts that would go underneath, and quickly slipped into the outfit. And after putting on a random pair of black tennis shoes from amongst the ones lined up against the wall, she trodded down the stairs and into the living room where Shadow was about to fall asleep again. "Okay, I'm ready!"

Once the ebony hedgehog was awoken from his sleepy stupor, he blinked a couple of times before everything became clear again. "Wait, you're not bringing extra clothes?"

A questioning look found its way to Amy's face, "Why would I?"

"Well, you are going to be sweating by the end..."

"Oh, who cares!"

It was Shadow's turn to be confused as Amy dragged his furry butt out the door and onto his motorcycle. While they were putting their helmets on, the pink hedgehog's words rang throughout his head, so he turned just as Amy was about to put hers on. "Ames?"

"Yeah?" she stopped, so her helmet hovered above her head.

"I thought you were the kind of girl that hated sweat and all that boy stuff." he smirked.

"That was before." she let a smile grace her lips before she put on her protective headgear and wrapped her arms around Shadow's waist.

"Huh." Shadow's smirk grew wider. He slipped on his own helmet and kick-started his motorcycle. He twisted the throttle a few times, letting the motorcycle roar more to life, which frightened Amy a little, even though this wasn't the first time she rode with him. "You ready?" he yelled over the engine.

Amy nodded against his back and the ebony hedgehog pulled out onto the street to drive them to the Station Square Gym.

XXX

Shadow parked in his usual parking spot, since it was reserved for him on the days he scheduled to workout. Amy hopped off when he cut off the engine and took off her helmet to gaze at the building in front of her. The ebony hedgehog swung his leg over as soon as he kicked the kickstand into place, taking his own helmet off and putting it onto the seat of his motorcycle. "Ready to go in?"

Amy nodded and placed her helmet next to his before following him inside. As soon as she entered the glass doors, a burst of cold air hit her skin, causing her to rub her arms. It's been a while... She scanned around and found Shadow talking to a familiar brown porcupine and a purple...cat? No, not Shadow, too! As she neared though, her anger and hurt disappeared completely when she found it was a purple mongoose. She sighed, relieved it wasn't Caitlynn. Shadow noticed her expression as she got closer and bit back his laughter. "Hey Ames."

The pink hedgehog looked up, startled, "H-Huh?"

"You remember Jarett, right?" he gestured over to the porcupine, who was smiling widely.

He stepped out from his place in the little circle to shake her hand, "That preformance of yours was lovely, Amelia!"

Amy blushed as she shook his hand, "Thank you, and, please, call me Amy."

Jarett laughed lightly, "Well, alrighty then, Amy." He then took a quick glance at his watch, "Oh, I have to go, so I'll see you guys later!" He nodded towards her before glancing at Shadow and the purple female, nodding to them as well before walking away. Shadow watched as the porcupine departed and quickly remembered that Amy didn't know the mongoose standing next to him. "Oh, Ames, this is Hikari. She's an old friend of Jarett's, I barely got introduced as well."

Amy extended her hand with a small grin, "It's a pleasure to to meet you, Hikari!"

The female quietly stepped forward with a shy smile and shook Amy's hand, "No, no, the pleasure's all mine..." And with that, she, too, left the duo alone to back to her own training, but she left with a soft and shy 'Goodbye."

Shadow quickly turned his attention to the pink hedgehog, who raised an eyebrow, "I'm thinking...that you thought that was Caitlynn?"

Amy slightly writhed in place at the mention of the name and then pouted, "How does everyone know what I'm thinking nowadays?!"

He laughed, "Well, judging by the way you stomped over here in rage..."

The pink hedgehog's shoulders slumped as she sighed, "Sorry, just got carried away. I didn't want you to leave me, too, because of her."

She cares if I leave her or if she loses me...? Another laugh soon escaped his lips, "It's okay, Ames. Unlike Sonic, I'm here to stay by your side," he pulled her into a hug, smiling into her hair.

Her eyes brightened up and she took Shadow by the hand, breaking out of the embrace and catching him by surprise, "Thank you, Shadow-kun..."

He smiled in return and he led them to the treadmills to work on their running skills, or more like Amy's running skills. But little did they know, Sonic decided to take a trip to the Gym himself, and was able to watch the whole thing without being noticed. Jealousy seemed to be bubbling up deep inside him, and he didn't know why. So to keep himself in check, he began to hit the punching bag harder and harder with every thought of Amy and Shadow ever being together...

Sigh, I'm sorry if this feels like a 'filler' chapter, but it needs to be done so I can move on! I've been stuck on this chapter out of all the others, obviously. Haha. And I'm sorry for any mistakes! Grammar-wise, or the fact that I repeat verbs, adjectives, adverbs, nouns, and phrases often...

I promise to have the next chapter up soon! I do have one week left of summer vacation and I have nothing else to do, so I'm getting to work on the next chapter as soon as I post up this edited-as-best-as-I-could chapter. :D

Before I finish off this little rant-y note, I have to thank all the readers/reviewers that have stood by me! You know who you are! ;D
You guys make my day with those reviews of yours! Teehee.

Keep those lovely reviews coming!

Until the next chapter,
MissChanDoII