I Don't Want To Go To The Ball Ch8

I Don’t Want To Go To The Ball

Chapter 8: Tuesday, the Fifteenth

Deathy: Welcome back everyone!

 Disclaimer: Amy bakes in this chapter.

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Amy sighed in relief as she inhaled the sweet scent of baked goods. Rob and Mari-An had to go attend some board meeting between all the big heads of each country. So Amy was left home in peace to bake sweets.

“Amy, am I mixing this right?” Jon asked curious as he held up the bowl.

“Yes.” Amy nodded with a kind smile. She wasn’t exactly alone though. Jon was with her. But luckily, Jon didn’t ask her questions that made her uncomfortable. Sure Mari-An got her to admit she had a crush on Shadow. She was admitting it to herself. But it wasn’t something she wanted everyone to know yet. After all, Amy was known for being hot headed and gun-ho about anyone she liked. She didn’t want to admit her feelings just to be shot down by a blunt Shadow two minutes later.

Amy divided the mix into the cupcake pan before sliding it into the oven. She grabbed a new pan and prepared it.

KNOCK! KNOCK!

Amy and Jon jolted.

“It sounds like the police on TV.” Jon muttered.

Amy snorted as she swatted the young echidna. “I’m coming!” She called as the knock resounded again. She knew exactly who it was. And while she wasn’t sure if she was ready to see him, she knew she didn’t have much of a choice. She pulled back the door and smiled, “Hey Shadow. What’s up?” She tried to be casual.

“Hello Rose.” Shadow greeted. “You’re looking lovely today.”

“Thanks.” Amy stepped aside and waved him in. “I was just baking.”

He nodded as he followed her into the kitchen. He nodded to Jon as he entered. Jon nodded back. Shadow sat down as Amy pulled out a glass and filled it with juice.

“So what brings you here Shadow?”

Shadow shrugged. “Avoiding Rouge, to be honest.” The bat had been pestering him all day with questions. He was growing tired of them. Rose’s house was normally quiet, so he figure he would come by to see her.

“What is she up to today?” Amy put the glass in front of him as she continued baking.

“She’s just asking a lot of questions.” Shadow waved his hand. “Pestering ones.”

Amy nodded.

“Well, you’re in luck!” Jon beamed. “Amy’s house is actually very quiet today. I didn’t notice it before, but I think that’s because dad was here earlier.”

“That’s because Rob is naturally loud.” Amy chuckled. “I think he’s afraid of silence or something.”

Jon nodded. “That sounds like father.” He washed the bowl and put it on the drying rack. “I just chalked it up to him being eccentric.”

“He certainly is that.” Shadow snorted.

A timer shaped like a chicken went off on Amy’s counter. Amy turned it off and went to the stove. “You came at a good time Shadow,” she opened the stove and pulled out a fresh tray of muffins, “They just finished. Would you like one once they’ve cooled?”

Shadow nodded with a small smile. “That would be nice. Thank you Rose. What kind are they?”

“Oh lots of kinds!” Amy smiled. “These are blueberry. Those are banana nut. I’ve got some strawberry, some strawberry and blueberry ones, a few chocolate and a few vanilla.” Amy placed the tray on the stove. “I’ve just got to pull them out.”

“Let me help with that.” Shadow walked over and grabbed an oven mitt from the drawer.

“Be careful,” she warned cautiously.

Shadow felt the waves of hit rolling out of the oven. It didn’t bother him though. He had been faced with hotter places then a simple stove. He pulled out a tray and set it beside the other ones on the stove. Shadow then grabbed another with his other hand and placed it on the stove. “Do those others tray need to come out?”

Amy shook her head as she closed the stove. “Jon,” her emerald green eyes darted to the red echidna. “Go get the first aid kit.”

Shadow tilted his head. “Are you hurt Rose?”

Her eyes darted back to him. She just stood there, blinking at him with a face daring him to figure it out on his own. He felt his heart beat quicken. He clenched his fist out of habit and winced. He looked at his left hand with confusion. His hand was burnt. How did--- Shadow’s brain kicked on. Shadow let out a whistle as he stared at his hand. It didn’t hurt before, but now that he was aware of it, it was beginning to hurt more than it should have.

Amy patted his shoulder as she spun him around and walked him to the sink. She turned on the sink and placed Shadow’s hand under it. “Some cold water will help.” She walked to the fridge and pulled out a tray of ice.

Shadow hung his head. “Thank you Rose. You’re really good at being a nurse.”

Amy smiled. “You’re welcome Shadow.” She reached on her tip toes for the sandwich bags. But the bags were being illusive jerks and pushed themselves back. Amy pouted as she tried to reach back for them again.

Shadow chuckled as he watched her struggle.

Amy turned to glare at him. She meant for it to be threatening, but it came out as more of a cute pout then anything.

Shadow tried to stifle his laugh, but he failed. The black hedgehog walked over and grabbed the bags and handed them to her. “Next time, ask for help.” He teased.

Amy pouted as she accepted his gift. “Next time, you should listen when I say be careful.”

Shadow leaned his forehead against hers. “You’re stubborn Rose.”

“You’re more stubborn.”

Shadow smirked as he opened his mouth.

“Eith'r kisseth h'r 'r goeth backeth to the sinketh and puteth thy handeth backeth und'r the watereth.” Jon stated sternly. He stood in the doorway. His eyes locked on the two.

The two turned bright red. Shadow jolted up right and walked like a wind-up soldier back to the sink. He put his left hand in the water and kept his eyes fixated on it. His body healed faster than normal mobians. His hand would be better within a few hours.

“Jon!” Amy spat with her face as red as a cherry.

Jon merely arched an eyebrow at her.

“You…  That…” Amy searched for the right words to say, but failed to form a sentence, so she went with the best her brain could cook up, “Shut up.”

Jon cocked the other eyebrow up at her.

“Shut up.” She pouted as yanked the box out of his hands. “You’ve got it all wrong,” she hissed in a whisper before walking to tend Shadow’s wounds.

Jon stayed quiet for the next few hours. He mainly stayed in the kitchen helping out. Amy gave soft instructions. She had pretended that the incident earlier had never happened, and Shadow was glad for it. Shadow was currently slicing apples for an apple pie. He was glad Amy had agreed to let him help her. He felt awkward just sitting at the table watching the two cook food. His hand wasn’t completely healed, but it was healed enough for him to slice basic fruit.

“I finished slicing the apples, Rose.” Shadow swept the slices into a bowl. “What do you want me to do with them?”

Amy didn’t respond. She was staring out the window.

“Rose?” Shadow tapped her arm, but received no response.

The pink hedgehog was just staring mindlessly out the window.

“Amy? You okay?” Jon grabbed a hold of her hand and looked up at her.

Amy turned on her heel and began walking out of the kitchen. The two boys called out to her, but she didn’t respond. Her emerald eyes had clouded over. She opened the door and began walking outside barefoot.

“Rose!” Shadow began following her. “Rose! Come back here!”

“Should I call Sonic or Niccole?” Jon cried from the front door, holding up the phone.

“You do that!” Shadow looked over his shoulder at the red boy. “I’ll follow Rose. Figure out where she’s headed to.” He turned back and groaned. While he had stopped to talk to Jon, Amy had already gained several leagues between them. Shadow could barely see the top of her pink head. He was glad he was one of the fastest things alive. Though he still didn’t like having to share the title with Sonic. He zipped over to her side.

“Rose,” his voice showing concern, “Where are you going? What are you doing?”

Amy didn’t respond. She walked all the way to the local fishing pier. She stopped a few inches from the shore line.

“Rose!” Shadow stands in front of her and shakes her shoulders. “Rose?” His voice was the same deep sound it always was, but there was something different in it. Emotion. His voice was full of emotion. There were so many emotions – concern, fear, sadness, and frustration – straining Shadow’s voice.

Shadow stiffened. He heard the water raising behind him. He turned around and saw the ocean rising to form a watery figure. He clutched Amy’s shoulder and pushed her behind him. The ebony hedgehog knew who Chaos was. He knew what the guardian of Chao looked like. This was not the water god he knew. This was something Shadow didn’t know. His quills stood on end as he growled at the approaching watery figure. It stood several heads taller than Shadow.

A growl filled the air and it took Shadow a moment to realize that he was the one growling.

The figure tilted its head in confusion before stepping to the side. It held out an arm for Amy. The pink hedgehog reached forward to accept the hand.

“No!” Shadow yelled as a chaos spear flew from his hand.

The figure stepped back as the spear zoomed pass it. It turned to face Shadow. Shadow formed another spear in his hand. The figure dashed forward, covering Shadow in water. Shadow was left floating in water, gasping for air. He flung his hands about as he tried to escape. He let out a few chaos spears, but they didn’t have much effect on the creature.

The creature formed outside of the bubble outside of Shadow. It turned to face Amy and circled around her. Amy stood there in a trance, unmoving.

“Rose!” Shadow yelled in fear as he threw a chaos spear at the creature.

The creature stepped away from Amy and walked towards the bubble it had trapped Shadow in. It held its hand up to the bubble and popped it. Shadow fell to the ground with a loud plop. It turned back to Amy, who walked forward with heavy feet. The water creature reached out and brushed Amy’s cheek.

“Don’t touch her!” Shadow screamed as he stepped between them.

The creature looked at him and then back to Amy. “I’ll be back for you.” The creature’s voice was odd sounding. It was echoing and sounded as if it was being filtered through water. It made Shadow’s skin crawl. With that, the creature returned to the ocean and disappeared.

Shadow stood still for a moment. Waiting for his heart to slow down.

Then Amy fainted.

The pink hedgehog woke up in her bed at home. She sat up and looked around. Shadow was asleep in a chair by her bed. Amy stood up and looked around. The last thing she remembered, she was baking in the kitchen. But it was already dark outside.

“How art thou humour?” Rob lightly tapped the door frame. Amy looked up at him confused. “Thou went into a trance. ev'ryone is v'ry conc'rn'd f'r thou. He hasn't left thy side this whole timeth.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry anyone.” Amy gave Shadow a soft smile as she took the one of the blankets off her bed and wrapped it around his shoulders.

“I’m just fain thou’re finally awaketh. How art thou humour? Any pains anywh’re?”

Amy thought about it for a moment. “I feel a bit nauseas. But otherwise, I feel fine. What happened?”

“Thou black’d out again.” Rob wrapped his arms around her and gave her a tight hug. “Don’t worryeth, we’re going to taketh good careth of thou.”

“Thanks Rob.” Amy hugged him back.

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Deathy: So things are heating up quickly. Hopefully, I’ve answered some questions with this chapter. The next chapter is the ball! The final chapter and all answers shall be revealed. But please let me know if you have any questions and I’ll try to answer them with the next and final chapter! Thank you all so much for reading!