Never Ending Love

Chapter 4: The Crush

Weeks later Amber couldn't stop thinking about the day when she first met Shadow in Eggman's layer.

She couldn't help but admire Shadow's cool demeanor and powerful presence. She loved the way his dark, brooding nature seemed to complement her own fiery spirit.

But as much as Amber tried to hide her feelings, she couldn't help but feel a flutter in her heart every time she was near him. She found herself constantly seeking out his company, eager for any opportunity to spend time with him.

Despite her efforts to keep her feelings hidden, it wasn't long before Shadow noticed something was different about her. He would catch her stealing glances at him every time when she's near him.

One day, Amber spotted shadow standing on a hill staring off into the distance so she decided to head towards him.  Shadow ear twitched as heard Amber walk up behind him so he turned around.

"Oh. It's you. Why are you here?" Shadow asked with his arms crossed.

Amber looked down as she started to blush.

"I just wanted to talk-" Amber was interrupted by Shadow.

"Amber, before I let you continue, there's something I want to tell you." He said, his voice gentle but serious.

Amber's heart raced as she looked into Shadow ruby eyes

"Ever since that day when you defeated me, I was kinda impressed. So I was thinking that having a powerful girl like you by my side would be perfect."

"Y-you want me to be with you?!" Amber blushed.

Shadow nodded. "Yeah. I thought that it would be a good idea and that we could put our differences aside. This is a one time offer by the way." Shadow said.

"I don't know. What about you being with Eggman and destroying the world?" Amber asked.

"I can switch sides. It's going to be hard for me since I haven't finished my to do list. Hm I can destroy this planet some other time." Shadow said.

"Just know that I will be the one to stop you." Amber smirked.

"Heh as if!" The ultimate lifeform chuckled. "Now, enough about me. Now what was it that you wanted to tell me?" Shadow asked.

Amber slowly blushed softly as she began to answer.

"Well I've been wanting to tell you that I have a crush on you." Amber answered.

Amber's response made shadow blush a lot.

"Y-you do? For how long have you had the crush on me?" Shadow asked while still blushing.

"Weeks ago when we first met." Amber answered.

Shadow's eyes widen at Amber's answer before returning them back to normal.

"Out of all people, why me? Aren't you afraid of me?" Shadow asked.

"Well I know deep down there's a kind hedgehog who just wants to keep everyone safe. Besides, if you have me by your side, I will never leave you no matter what." Amber explained.

Shadow held both of Amber's hand and looked at her eyes.

"This is 'getting together' thing is happening a bit fast for me. Can you give me time to think about this?" Shadow asked.

"Well of course! Take as much time as you need!" Amber smiled softly.

Shadow smiled.

"Thanks." Shadow said before he kissed Amber on the forehead. This made Amber blush even more.

Amber waved goodbye to Shadow before leaving the grassy hills and heading to knuckles home.

As Amber walked, all she could do is just think about shadow! His voice, his eyes, his soft touch. Amber couldn't stop blushing.

Moments later, Amber would arrive at Knuckles home. She could see him lifting weights in the front yard.

"Hey knuckles!" Amber yelled out as she went towards him.

Knuckles looked over at Amber as he continued lifting weights. "Hey Amber! How's it going?" He asked.

"It's going pretty good!" Amber smiled brightly as her tail wagged happily.

Knuckles noticed that Amber was a little too happy. He knew that something was up.

"Well that's good. So, did anything interesting happen?" Knuckles asked before putting down his weights.

Amber squeaked a bit before she could answer. She couldn't hold on her little secret any longer! Amber then took a deep breath and began to speak.

"I spotted shadow at the hill all alone!" Amber said excitedly.

Knuckles eyes widen as he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"What?! Did he see you and tried to attack you?"
Knuckles asked being the protective brother he is.

Knuckles couldn't stand Amber getting hurt as Amber is like a sister to him.

"What? No. He was calm and relaxed so I went to him as I wanted to tell him that I like him a lot." Amber explained.

"What?! Amber, you can't like him! He's our enemy!" Knuckles growled.

"I know but-" Amber sentence was cut short.

"No buts! I can't risk you getting hurt by that monster! Promise me that you'll stay away from Shadow." Knuckles looked into Amber's eyes as he waited for her to reply.

"No...." Amber said softly as she looked down.

"What was that?" Knuckles asked as he couldn't hear her.

"I said no! I'm not making a promise to that! The things that im feeling for Shadow is too huge right now. I'm not going to let this go just because you want me to!" Amber yelled.

"I'm doing you a big favor here! Trust me on this Amber, the moment you two get close he will use you just to get to us! Hell, he'll probably get some information about us out of you without you even knowing! I'm your big bro and I'm doing what's right to keep you safe." Knuckles explained.

Amber sighed as her voice cracked a bit as she was about to cry but she held back.

"Fine....just know that anyone can change their ways and walk a different path." Amber said.

Before knuckles could answer, Amber began to leave and head towards her home. Knuckles watched Amber walk further and further away from him. Knuckles didn't have a problem with Amber being with someone it's just the fact that it can't be with a villain.

Amber finally made it to her home. She went inside and headed to her room where she flopped on her bed.

As Amber layed there she began to figure out a way to convince Knuckles that Shadow isn't all that bad.

"Starting tomorrow, I will convince him." Amber said to herself.

As the day began to leave, the night started to show. Everyone went to bed and slept till the next day.