A Rose And A Thorn

~~~

A Rose And A Thorn

Co-Written by Harley Quinn hyenaholic and Froggy22651

~~~

Harley: What? Jordan, what the hell is FUNNY about this fic? Okay, it has its moments, but it’s certainly not a comedy. Let’s see if you’re laughing by the end of this chapter.

Froggy: And yes, Demonic Knight. Rough.

~~~

Chapter Five: A Night To Remember

Amy was snoozing next to Shadow when she heard the phone ring. She felt like letting it ring, but after about a minute it was getting on her nerves. If she didn't answer it, it might wake Shadow, and he looked so peaceful when he didn't dream...

She pulled away from him gently and shuffled into pink slippers - god, she hadn't gotten out of bed all day – went into the living room, and picked it up, "Hullo?" she asked.

"Amy? It's me, Sonic."

Amy considered this. Suddenly an evil smile spread over her face. Perhaps some of Shadow's vindictiveness was rubbing off on her. She tried to remember how she’d have reacted to Sonic phoning her a few nights ago, "Ooooh, Sonic!" she squealed into the phone, "It's so great to hear from you!"

"Yeah, whatever. Look, I'm having a party tomorrow night, I'm inviting all the gang."

"Why?!" Amy squealed, "Oh, do you have a special announcement to make?!"

"No, it's just a damn party. Wanna come?"

"Ooooh, Sonic, I'd love to!" Amy squealed again, trying to keep herself from laughing.

"And, uh, if you see Shadow, invite him round too, will ya? I haven't seen him in a while, and I need to ask him something."

"Of course, Sonic! Anything for you!"

"And bring some eats, okay? Nothing big, just snacks... nachos, cheesy stuff, things on toothpicks, any beer you've got lying around..."

"Okay Sonic!" Amy squealed. She waited until Sonic put the phone down, remembering that she never hung up on him, then dropped to the floor and started laughing.

"Mmm? Whazzat?" Shadow mumbled as he started to wake.

Amy put the phone back on the hook and tried to stop laughing - at herself. God, had she really been that pathetic? That much like a puppy-dog? That obsessed? She took some deep breaths and stood up again. Shaking her head, she went back into her bedroom and sat down on the bed, looking down at Shadow, who was slowly waking.

Shadow's eyes fluttered open and focused on the pink face looming over him. He smiled, "Hello there."

Amy bent down and kissed him on the lips, running her hand through his quills, "Time to wake up, sleepy-head," she told him, "You've been asleep for nearly twelve hours."

Shadow blinked in surprise, "I can't remember the last time I slept that long..." Slowly, he sat up and stretched, looking funny with his quills messed up from laying in bed. The things you've never seen from the Ultimate Lifeform...

Amy nuzzled his cheek, "I've got news," she told him.

Shadow chuckled softly, "What is it? Good or bad?"

"It depends on your point of view whether it's good or bad," said Amy, "Sonic just rang, and told me he's inviting everyone round for a party. He also told me that if I saw you, I should invite you ‘cus he's got something to say to you."

"Hmm..." Shadow wasn't sure what to make of that. He wasn't surprised that Sonic would invite him; say what he would about blue's character, he was always friendly. But Sonic wanting to have a word with him seemed... off. He wondered if it had anything to do with him and Amy.

"So, do you want to go?" Amy asked him, "Because I'm not going on my own just to hang on Sonic's every word and pretend his jokes are funny."

Shadow smirked. "Of course I'll go. I can't let you die of boredom. Heh... an amusement park one day and a party the next. I could get used to this."

"It'll do you good, get your mind off things," said Amy.

They kissed again, longer this time.

~~~

Next Day, In The Evening…

"Shadow, what do you think will look best?" Amy asked him, holding up two dresses, both of which looked identical to him. She held them up against herself.

Shadow looked from one to the other, still trying to spot the difference between them. Unable to do so, he quickly pointed to the one on his left and said, "That one looks great. Of course, it will look even better when you are wearing it."

Amy giggled and went back into her bedroom to change. Shadow wondered why women always took so long to get ready, and why she was embarrassed of changing in front of him when he'd already seen her completely naked. It was probably a girl thing. Almost half-an-hour later, she came out, wearing the dress. It was strapless, red, very tight, and looked like the sort of thing Rouge would wear to go 'shopping' in. At least Amy saved that sort of thing for special occasions - like declaring to the entire gang that they were going together.

Shadow crossed his arms over his chest, smirked, and nodded his approval. He, of course, was dressed in his usual gloves and jet-sneakers. In truth, they were the only clothes he had, "You look great, Amy. Now let's go crash this party," he joked.

Amy gave him a little twirl, a difficult thing to do in stiletto heels, and picked up a massive plastic box containing some sort of prawn dip that she had prepared earlier. She linked her arm through his, "I can't walk far in these," she said suddenly, and smiled, "How about you run us over to Sonic's place?"

"I thought you would never ask." Shadow reached down and scooped her up into his arms, kissing her lovingly. A mischievous grin later, and he was speeding through the city with her as his sole, privileged passenger, getting a ride and view that most never got to experience. He couldn't quite shake a bad feeling that was growing in his gut as they neared Sonic's place. He ignored it; he was the Ultimate Lifeform; he could handle anything the world threw at him. Soon enough, he came to a stop in front of Sonic’s house in Emerald Town, and set Amy down.

The music coming from the house was so loud that it almost had a physical quality to it. Amy remembered Sonic once telling her that if you were going to have a big party, you should invite the neighbours, that way they couldn't complain about the noise. She was about to knock when she saw a notice, ‘Go round back’. So they did.

Round the back garden, Shadow noticed that Rouge was avidly chatting up Knuckles, who looked incredibly embarrassed, Tails was talking with Cream - or trying to, he really had to shout over the music - and the entire Chaotix Crew were trying to tell Vector how bad his singing really was. They were just the party-goers he recognised – there were others he didn’t recognise too, like a gigantic polar bear trying to out-drink a twitchy green duck.

Sonic zeroed in on them, or rather, on Shadow, ignoring Amy completely. He grinned as he approached, a big smile on his face, "Hey, faker! Haven't seen you in while!" he said cheerfully, which made Shadow bristle. He hated being called that, even for a joke, "What have you been up to?" the blue hedgehog asked.

"I've been away," Shadow said, without answering the question. Sonic didn't seem to notice, walking up to Shadow's side and wrapping an arm around his shoulders in a manly way, dragging him away from Amy.

"You need to lighten up a little, Shades!" Sonic said.

"Why'd you invite me here?" Shadow interrogated him, "Do you want to race me again after I so thoroughly beat your ass last time?" he grinned wickedly.

Sonic protested, "Hey, I still think we tied that one... But nah. That's not why I invited you. You're one of us now."

Amy walked up to Sonic, "I brought prawn dip for the party, Sonic," she said, but politely, not in her normal enthralled squeal, "It's healthier than nachos and chips," as he took the box, she linked her arm through Shadow's, "You're quite right, of course," she said, "Shadow's done such a lot for everybody, and we never really said thank you." With that, she looked up at him, into his crimson eyes.

Shadow looked back into her emerald green eyes for a moment, smiling...

"Ahem!" Sonic said, clearing his throat, his arm tightening around Shadow's shoulders, "Hey, Amy, could you leave me and Shadow alone for a moment? Guy talk..."

"Okay," Amy smiled, "I've got to ask Tails and Cream a few questions anyway." She walked away from them, pausing to glance back and smile. Sonic thought it was at him. But Shadow knew it was at him.

Once she was far enough away, Sonic continued walking with Shadow, "Girls, huh? Can’t live with ‘em, can’t live without ‘em... So what's up with you and Amy, anyway? You two sure seem to be on good terms."

Oh, so that's what this was all about. Shadow felt his skin crawl, "I think you already know what is going on," Shadow said, a subtle hint of warning in his voice.

"I've heard things, but I don't believe them, I know how you work, faker..." Sonic answered.

“You don’t know anything about me,” Shadow growled, yanking his arm away from Sonic, “And don’t call me faker!”

"When you stop trying to mess with my head... faker," Sonic shot back, the cheerfulness leaving him.

"The only faker I see here is you, Sonic," Shadow snapped, turning to look the blue hedgehog in the eye.

"Well, I'm not the one lying to my friends here," Sonic growled back.

Amy looked over at Shadow and Sonic arguing. It didn't surprise her, but for some reason, it now actually annoyed her as well. She didn’t want to see them fighting, and especially not over her. It wasn’t hard to hear them, since the music was in-between songs at the moment.

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Shadow demanded.

"You and Amy!" Sonic shouted, "We both know you’re just using her to try to mess with me, but it's not going to work. I swear, if you hurt her..."

"Don't pretend to care about what's in her best interests, blue hedgehog," Shadow said, calm and cool... too calm for Sonic’s comfort, "You've pushed her away more times than can be counted. And I wouldn't waste my time getting back at the likes of you; this is for real."

"What, it's not enough that you try to take my place, so you try to take my girl too?!" the blue hedgehog yelled in his face.

A tremor ran through Shadow; he wasn't just irritated anymore. He was pissed, "She isn't your girl. She gave you a million chances and you pushed aside every one of them. And don't you dare say otherwise. You want to settle things with me? Fine. We'll do it after the party. Outside."

Sonic snarled and slammed his fist down against a nearby table, upsetting various snacks brought to the party, "I got a better idea - how about we settle it right now?!" Everyone else was silent and staring at them now.

Amy set her jaw, and walked back over to the two hedgehogs, "Talking about me?" she asked them politely.

Shadow snorted and turned his back on Sonic, "Actually, I was just about to leave," he said to Amy.

"Calm down, both of you," Amy said, simply, "The thing is, Sonic," she turned to him, and her face suddenly grew dark, "You led me on. You let me think I had a chance with you. You never once gave me a slap in the face and told me to piss off, or a damn good shaking, you never even told me you didn’t want to see me. You let me think you were embarrassed, that you were shy, that you were sensitive, that you actually cared. You are the liar, you are the faker, and I can hardly believe that I let you use me as your personal ego buffer for so long. There is nothing between us, and there never was."

Sonic tried to say something, but nothing would come out. Seeing everyone staring at him, he snapped, "What are you guys looking at?!"

"We're looking at you, Sonic," Amy whispered, shaking in rage, "We're waiting for you to admit it."

Nothing came.

"Well I'm not a liar, and I'm not a faker," Amy continued. She slapped Sonic sharply, "Piss off. I don't want to see you again," She stalked away into his house, breaking into a run on the last few steps. She raced up into the bathroom, locked the door, and burst into tears. It had cost her so much to finally say that…

Shadow watched her run off, a wounded look on his face. It tore him up inside to see her like that. The black and red hedgehog turned towards Sonic, his eyes going cold with rage. He pointed an accusing finger and said calmly, "If you ever hurt her again... I'll kill you." With that, he turned away from him in disgust.

Rouge sighed, "I'll go and talk to her," she said. Before Shadow could protest, she was running into the house and standing outside the bathroom. Amy wouldn't come out for her. She'd just have to wait a little while. She was good at waiting.

Amy sat on the toilet and continued to sob for some time. After almost an hour, she looked into the mirror. She was a mess. Her makeup had run all down her face. Her eyes were red, and her cheeks were stained with tears. She wiped her face clean with some damp tissue paper, and reapplied the makeup with some she kept in her purse, not noticing in her distress that the bruises on her neck that she had covered with foundation were visible once again.

Rouge managed to jump Amy just as she left the bathroom.

“Hey, honey,” she said. Amy threw her a look of contempt and walked straight past her, “No, no, wait, I want to talk to you about something-“

“You want to tell me not to see Shadow, don’t you?” said Amy, “Everybody’s been asking me if I’ve thought about it, and if I’m sure, and they don’t seem to believe me when I say that I am.”

“Well Amy, you’ve made mistakes in matters of the heart before,” Rouge pointed out, “Take Sonic the Jerkhog, for example.”

“Not this time,” Amy said firmly.

“The thing is, I’ve been hanging out with Shadow longer than you have,” Rouge explained, “And you don’t seem to fully understand the situation. I know Sonic’s a jerk, but Shadow… well, remember that time he had a flashback on the ARK? You reminded him of Maria then. And you still do.”

“Rouge, where are you going with this?” Amy asked her.

“Well… we all know Shadow’s not quite right… up here,” Rouge tapped the side of her head, “I don’t blame him, seeing people murdered in front of him, then locked up for 50 years and set the task of destroying the planet. But he’s still hung up on Maria. A girl who died over 50 years ago. When he looks at you, he sees that dead girl in you. That’s why he acts so gentle, that’s why he acts like he cares about you.”

“He doesn’t act, it’s for real!” Amy snapped.

“You’re his substitute for a dead girl, Amy!” Rouge replied, “And subconsciously, he’s still your substitute for Sonic!”

“Shadow is not a substitute for that selfish, arrogant, irresponsible creep!” Amy shouted, “He’s a thousand times better!”

“He might be selfish, arrogant, irresponsible and a creep, but at least he’s sane!” Rouge replied, “I’ll bet my bottom diamond he wouldn’t try to strangle you!” She pointed at the five angry bruises now showing on Amy’s neck, “What did he do, Amy? Did he attack you? Did he hurt you? Did he try to rape you?”

“Never!” Amy insisted, “It was an accident, and nobody, not Sonic, not you, and not even Shadow is going to convince me otherwise!” She turned from the white bat and walked away.

“He’s going to hurt you, Amy!” Rouge shouted after her, “The only question is how he does it!”

She smiled wickedly. The seeds of doubt had been planted. Now all she had to do was nurture them to help them grow.

Amy returned downstairs and into the garden again, still shaking slightly. She ignored both Sonic and Shadow, and went straight to the snacks table, filling her plate with some of everything and probably breaking whatever diet she was on, keeping her head down.

But Knuckles, who was nearest, asked, "Amy, who gave you those bruises on your neck?" Suddenly, everyone was staring at Shadow again.

Shadow, who was standing in the farthest corner of the garden alone, caught everyone's gaze and returned it with a withering one of his own, "Whoever wants to die first, by all means, please speak up."

"Told you so,” Sonic spoke up to no one in particular. Shadow just turned away, shaking in anger, trying to control it. He couldn't flip out here, not in front of Amy – he’d look even worse, and it sure wouldn’t make her feel better either.

"You were right Shadow," Amy said quietly, "We should leave. Together."

Wordlessly, Shadow walked over to Amy, wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and slowly walked out the door with her, ignoring the stares. He couldn't stand them any longer.

"I should never have dragged you to this stupid party, Shadow," Amy looked as if she was about to cry.

Shadow stopped to hug her and nuzzle her check, saying quietly, "It's alright. Who cares what they think, anyway?"

They started walking again, but Amy didn't answer. Maybe it did matter what they thought after all... but there was something else she had to know first, "Shadow," she said, "Do I remind you of Maria?"

"Yes, you do," Shadow answered easily.

"How much?" Amy asked.

Shadow glanced down at her and brushed a finger through her quills, "You have her heart... her kindness."

"Is that all you see in me?" Amy asked him, "Maria?"

He began to wonder what this was all about. Was even she doubting him? "Of course not. You are not Maria."

"Then what am I to you?"

"You are Amy Rose, my friend, my saviour, my lover, and the only living person who has ever shown any faith in me..." He looked down at her, pain easy to see in his eyes, "...Right?"

Amy looked into his eyes, and his words, searching for deceit, but found none, "Right," she whispered, resting her head on his chest as they walked.

Shadow held her close as they walked home in silence, thoughts of the party racing through his mind. Had he done something wrong? Said something to upset her?

Or maybe someone else had…

~~~

Harley: End of Chapter Five. Get your ass over to the review page right now. And read my other stuff while you’re at it.

Froggy: Sonic and Shadow arguing over Amy! It's kinda inevitable in this sort of fanfic. But at least Sonic isn't spouting his normal, "I love you Amy please come back to me!" crap.

Harley: I swear, those speeches turn my stomach. As does the way Sonic treats Amy. That's why her little speech at the party was so important. Sonic really is a bastard if you think about it that way.