7/9/12 - Oh my gosh, I can't tell you how happy I am about this story. It has been placed in so many communities that I am honored to have been selected. This isn't a ShadAmy story. It's just an adventure with Amy and Shadow. I tried my hardest to make it as entertaining for fans and even non-fans of Sonic the Hedgehog. I'm so very happy you guys were so pleased with this.

No, this isn't a new chapter. I was asked to fix a few things. While I do that, I just want to let you know, my dear reader, how thankful I am for you. Words can't describe it.

Enjoy (:

The sounds of birds greeted me when I opened my eyes, which were crusted from my tears. I wasn't surprised to see trees and dirt; I just felt like I was repeating myself. With the rest of the dignity I had, I managed to sit myself up straight. But after that, I just wanted to lay down again.

"Sleep well?" Shadow's voice came from behind me. I knew he meant it as a question, but it came out like a statement. He's always saying statements.

I looked over my shoulder at him. "Define well."

"I should've guessed that," he nodded at me, and then looked up at the light blue morning sky. "Let's go. I suppose scheduling doesn't matter at this point."

Oh, yeah. He wanted to get out of here before today hit so he could have a nice day without the Amazingly Annoying Amy Rose. "Okay," I sighed quietly.

"That's it?" Shadow was standing in front of me now, arms crossed, head tilted. I just looked at him.

"What?"

"No annoying blurbs? No complaints? No tasteless nicknames? Just, 'okay'?"

I shrugged my shoulders. I was going to be the one of little words today. Shadow deserved it.

He just shook his head, and in a little amount of time I was on his back. After a few minutes of what seemed like aimless walking, I realized I couldn't hold words down. "Did I ever tell you thanks for saving me?"

"Probably not," he responded. "Want to say it now?"

"Maybe."

Even though I couldn't see his face, I'm pretty sure he rolled his eyes. "This has been the most...interesting experience I've had in awhile."

"How so?" How so? What was I, the Great Elaborater? ...Or Shadow?

"It's not every day you help a demented circus monkey who's prone to life-threatening mishaps." Shadow said this so matter-of-factually, that I had to double-check to make sure I wasn't wearing a top hot and Shadow didn't suddenly turn into a unicycle.

"Demented circus monkey?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Shadow glanced over his shoulder at me. "Hedgehog."

"Only, and only because I don't want to argue with you right now, I'll pretend you didn't say that."

"No, it's only because you know you can't win an argument with me."

Huh. Even though that was true, I didn't want to argue with him anymore. Shadow was the wrong person to argue with, I see that now. Oh, that made me remember something. "I guess I'll say thanks now."

"That's all I get?" I realized he was still looking at me when he gave me a smirk. I sighed. Shadow could be annoying too, you know.

"Shadow the Hedgehog, thank you for saving me when nobody else would."

The smirk remained. "And?"

I rolled my eyes. "And...thank you for not killing and hurting me even though you probably really wanted to," I looked at him closely. "Satisfied?"

"Sure." With the smirk still there, he faced forward.

It was funny how much I wanted to beat him up, yet how much I wanted to stay with him as much as I possibly could. I know that maybe every time I screwed up or my bad luck kicked in that our hatred grew a little more, but I think that somehow, some way, that maybe it drew us closer.

Maybe.

"A swarm," I said out loud.

"What?"

"It's a swarm of bees," I smiled at the back of his head. "Not a flock."

"I see an opening," Shadow said, and picked up his speed a little.

"And I see that you sure are in no hurry," I responded, sarcastically. I'll admit that I wasn't in a hurry. I mean, yeah, it'll feel nice to go home and shower and be away from all this nature. But I also had a queasy feeling in my stomach that after we step through that opening, Shadow wouldn't talk to me anymore.

That is a stupid feeling, isn't it? Everything he says to me is either rude or unemotional, so why would I miss talking to him? Why would I even miss him? Maybe all this time together has messed with my head.

My heart started thumping once I saw the sign that read, 'Diamond Amour Forest'. "Diamond Love Forest?"

"Weird name," Shadow replied.

"Do you think the words are supposed to be rearranged?"

"What do you mean?"

"Maybe it's suppose to say, 'Diamond Forest Love' or maybe 'Love Diamond Forest'. Maybe that's it! Maybe the person who found this forest out was named Diamond Forest," by this time, Shadow stopped walking. "Maybe we should fix the sign so she won't be mad!"

He was glancing at me again. "Amy, are you stalling?"

I blushed. "No..."

"I thought you were the one who wanted to get out of here so badly," Shadow was doing that thing where it seemed like he had freaky mind powers. "What happened?"

"Hey, that's not true! You were the one who kept saying the whole time we were together that we were on schedule and you wanted to get out of here," and then I quietly added, "So you can get rid of me."

"I never really meant it. You're the one that means everything you say."

Woah, woah, woah. Stop the press! "You didn't mean the thing about the 'schedule'? Because you did say that a lot, you know."

Shadow shrugged. "That's just the way I am. It's not in my nature to care about others."

What the hell did that mean? "Are you saying you care about me, Shadow?"

He shrugged again, and our very close buddy Silence hushed the noise around us. "We need new friends," I muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing."

Shadow shook his head. "Let's just say that if I didn't care about, I would have dumped your body somewhere by the murderous flock of bees by now."

I blinked. "So...you do care about me?"

"Hold on," he said. "Get down for a second."

I hopped off him as I did before, holding onto his shoulders for support. Still holding onto him, he turned around so we were eye to eye. But this time, he let my hands remain on his shoulders.

"Judging on what I've seen," his red daggers seemed to soften for a bit. Ha, red butter knifes! Oh, shut up, me! I decided to focus on how close his nose was to mine, and then I felt my cheeks flame for some reason. And then Shadow lowered his voice. "I think I care about you more than Sonic."

It was then, as if on cue, as if God wanted to punish me, as if life wanted to show how unfair it could be, that out of the corner of my eye I saw a blue blur rushing towards us.

"Hey there, Amy!" Sonic said. "Looks like we've finally found you."

The weeks following my 'rescue' were painfully dull. I showered. I ate. I slept in my comfy bed. My ankle healed. My hives, as well as the cuts and bruises, went away. It seemed like nothing was there to remind me of my experience in Diamond Amour Forest. Nobody was there to make fun of me.

And I missed it so much, my heart ached at times.

I started to begin thinking that maybe it was Shadow that I missed, not the forest. I winced and curled myself up in a ball. I didn't want to think of Shadow.

I didn't want to think of the pain I saw in his eyes when Sonic picked me up in a hug that I didn't ask for. I didn't want to think of the low, intense growl I heard when Sonic told him he'd take care of me the rest of the way. I didn't want to think of the sad frown I saw on his face when I glanced behind as Sonic carried me away. I was mad at myself for not speaking up. I could have easily said, 'Sonic, get lost!', or something like that, but I just stood there. Maybe that's what tore me up inside.

I didn't even get the chance to tell Shadow how I felt about him.

Another sad thought was that all my friends congratulated Sonic for saving me, not even knowing Shadow was my hero. But that's probably because I didn't say anything. I guess that's what I regret the most, not having second chances.

But then it happened on the fourth week.

I was watering some new bushes I planted, in honor of Diamond Amour Forest. I don't think hypoallergenic flowers grow on these bushes. If they did, however, I wouldn't mind. It would bring some memories back.

"You water those plants like a disabled elephant."

I watched the pink watering can drop to the ground, pure H2O leaking out of it. I looked to where the voice came from, but no one was there. Was I imagining his voice now?

"Why are you planting bushes anyway? It's a part of nature, you know."

I quickly jumped around, and finally saw what I needed to see in awhile. Shadow bent down to pick up the watering can, and then made a face.

"W-What?" I managed to stutter.

"It's pink."

I crossed my arms. "What's that suppose to mean?"

Shadow smiled slightly, and shook his head. "I don't know if it's a welcoming sight or a death trap."

I gave him one of his smirks. "Haha, you're so funny!"

He looked down at the watering can, pretended to shiver, and then handed it to me. I took it, reluctantly. Did handing me my watering tool mean he was leaving? "Why are you here?" I asked, holding the can to my chest.

All I got out of him was a shrug. "Just walking around."

"How interesting," I looked down at my feet. "Liar."

"And how would you know that?"

I looked up, expecting to see his red butter knives. But all I saw were sweet crimson eyes. "Usually people take walks to the park or something, not their buddy's neighborhood."

"What did I tell you about the whole buddy thing?" Shadow said, sternly. I couldn't tell if he was kidding or not.

"To not to," I mumbled.

He laughed to himself, quietly. "What?" I said.

"Nothing," he replied. "So how have you been? I see your legs work again."

Huh. "Yeah, they do. It's pretty awesome. Legs are awesome."

Shadow raised one eyebrow, and then coughed, "Demented circus monkey."

I slapped his shoulder. "Well you know, I missed walking! Walking is a privilege!"

"Heh," he looked in my eyes. "You're something, Rose."

"You're something, too, Shad-Shad."

"Nicknames," Shadow warned.

"Sorry, sorry," I raised my hands up, and then lowered them. "But will you please tell me why you're here?"

Shadow rolled his eyes. "You don't let things go easily, do you?"

"No, not really."

He sighed. "I'm not going to say I miss you-"

"Because it's not in your nature, right?"

"Correct," Shadow said. "But...well, you know, if it was...I would tell you."

"Hm," I smiled. "I've missed you too."

Shadow smiled back. It was the most smallest smile I've ever seen, but it was still breathtaking. "Well...see you around, kid." Then he started to walk away. Oh, no! I was letting my second chance slip out of my hands!

"SHADOW, WAIT!" I yelled, tackling him from behind. He didn't fall, of course, so I was just holding onto his back.

"Yes?" I couldn't tell if he was irritated, but I guess it didn't matter right now.

"Will you please stay longer?" I whispered, praying inside my head he would.

I heard him let out a quiet sigh. It sounded...happy. "Of course I will," he said. "But please get your arms off me."

"Alright," I blushed slightly and let him go. But I didn't feel like being separated from him, so I locked my arm in his. He didn't argue. "I have so much to tell you! Oh, and I think my bad luck is going away!"

We started going up my walkway towards the front door of my house. I tripped on the step leading to the porch, causing my knees to become bloody and my ankle to sprain.

Again.

But I had someone to take care of me. Again.

And I had a feeling he wasn't going anywhere, any time soon.

THE ENNNNNNNNNNNNND!

Thanks homes (: