Love in its Winter (A Shadamy Story)

Chapter 2: Uncovered

Amy lies in her bed, her face wet with tears. Her heart has been shattered into a million pieces by Sonic's thoughtless prank. She stares at the wall and table in front of her, which had at some point in her life become a shrine to Sonic, with pictures, photos, drawings, and even one of his spare shoes, which Amy had stolen. Inside her, a churning sea of emotions rolls and rumbles with grief, anger, regret, shame, and hurt. All of these feelings bring something out of her, a kind of hard, cold fury that Amy hadn't even known existed inside her. She reaches under her bed and brings out her Piko Piko hammer, and starts to destroy her Sonic shrine. Every time she smashes a photo or breaks an object, she feels a stab from what Sonic did to her. She starts to attack the shrine faster and more violently, until she isn't even destroying anything anymore, she's just hitting the ground over and over again while hot tears leak out of her eyes and run down her face.

A knock on Amy's front door interrupts her, and she quickly wipes her eyes and fixes her clothes a bit before going to answer. When she opens the door, she sees Tails, Blaze and Silver standing outside, all of them with extremely concerned expressions on their faces.
"Oh, thank goodness!" Silver exclaims. "We were so worried, Amy! You just disappeared!" He sounds so concerned and so true to his words that it warms Amy's heart just a bit.
"I... I'm fine guys, really. I just need some time, but I'll be okay." She says in an obviously not okay tone. It's clear that none of the others are convinced by this, but they all share a look before Tails speaks to Amy.
"Amy, I saw what happened. It was a really, really horrible thing for Sonic to do to you, especially when you made that card for him. But look, I'll try to talk to Sonic for you, maybe I can get him to apologise."
"No, Tails. The last thing I want is to see Sonic again. I don't want his apologies. I don't want to see him ever again." Tails is clearly shocked by Amy's reaction, but he nods slightly.
"In that case, I hope you feel better soon, Amy. Bye." Amy gives a half-hearted wave as her friends walk down the garden path, and watches them as they leave. Then, Amy hears another voice.
"That was an interesting thing to do." It's a deep voice, and when Amy looks over her shoulder, Shadow the hedgehog stands there with his arms crossed. She jumps back in alarm.
"Shadow?!"
"Hmph. No need to sound so surprised, Rose." He says. Amy gives herself a few moments to calm down before speaking again.
"What did you mean just now? What did I do that was 'interesting'?"
"You refused your friends' help. I would have thought that a person like you would accept anything from a friend."
"And what exactly does 'a person like you' mean?" Amy asks, an eyebrow raised, her voice still hoarse from crying.
"Kind. Compassionate. A good friend." Shadow speaks in an emotionless voice, looking at Amy with cold indifference. This is normal for Shadow, though, so he isn't being rude.
"Oh, really? Since when was I your 'friend'? Since when did you ever have friends, Shadow?" Amy keeps questioning Shadow, with a hand on her hip. A flicker of annoyance crosses Shadow's face.
"You think I can't be a good person?"
"No, it's just that you're always acting so hostile to everyone around you that I wouldn't have thought that anyone would actually want to be your friend."
"If I'm hostile, then know that there's a reason." Shadow says, irritated. Amy stares Shadow in the eyes, and to her surprise, Shadow actually looks away first. He growls, before walking away.

Amy stands there, watching him leave, before going inside and closing the door. Once inside, Amy had a lot of time to think.
"Why did I ever like Sonic? He's such a jerk, and he always has been. Why couldn't I see that before?" She sighs. "I guess I was just a silly little girl." She considers something for a moment. "And what's up with Shadow? I hardly ever used to see him, and now he turns up at my house? Not that I mind, but still..." She trails off, lost in her thoughts. She shakes her head, annoyed at herself for every bad choice she ever made. "I'm such a fool." Then, she glances out of the window, and sees Shadow standing across the street, just watching her. "Now, there's a creepy thought. Shadow's following me... Just what I needed. A stalker." She sighs again, clearly worn out by the sadness and the talking.