Blind Date ch18

Krissie: so here we are, chapter 18. Forgiveness on both sides almost achieved.
Previous
Shadow walked into his door and found Rouge and Omega sitting in his living room. "Did you pick the lock?" He opened the door wider to check for marks.
"I have a copy of your house key," Rouge picked the keys up from the table. 

"Oh." Shadow closed the door and sat in his recliner and looked at them.

"Rouge has been concerned." Omega stated blankly. "You have been sleeping less which is not good for organics."

Shadow nodded. 

"So I thought we could have a sleep over!" Rouge announced as she gestured to the dvds that were laid out on the table.

"I do not require sleep. Though I don't understand the need for movies if you are going to sleep." Omega looked at the movies.

Shadow smiled slightly. "That's because you don't sleep at sleep overs Omega," he turned to Rouge. "I have been on edge a lot the pass few weeks huh?"

"Yup, that's why we're here." Rouge took a sip of her water. "So what are you in the mood to watch?" 

Shadow got up to look at all the movies. He picked a b rate movie that he knew would be a horrible watch. Rouge must have grabbed some of Knuckles' dvds by mistake. "I'll go make some popcorn," he dashed off to the kitchen.

Rouge groaned as she looked at the dvd he picked. "Where did this even come from?"

"That data disc most likely belongs to the red echidna who owns the Master Emerald," Omega stated. He went quiet for a few moments. "New data to be added, does Angel Island have access to electricity?" 

Rouge and Shadow both paused. Shadow took the bag of popcorn out of the microwave. Shadow placed the bag in a bowl and walked back into the living room. It was a good question. If the answer was yes, Shadow add the perfect follow up; how. He looked at Rouge with questioning.

Rouge nodded, "He does have some electricity. I think Tails put it in. Some kind of solar or wind power thing."

Omega nodded. "New data added."
"Well you should thank him for the torture we're about to endure," Shadow turned on the tv. Rouge changed the channel to the dvd player as Shadow placed the dvd on the tray.
Shadow sat back down as the advertisements started. His phone then began to ring. Loudly. Rouge glared at it. Shadow sighed as he looked at it and saw that it was Rose. He glanced at Rouge, "It'll just be a moment," he mouthed as he got up to answer the phone.
"Hello," he greeted.
"Hi Shadow!" Amy greeted cheerfully.
Shadow smiled at the sound of her voice as he leaned against the counter in his kitchen. "Hello Rose. How are you?"
"I am well. I just wanted to let you know that Jon owes you an apology." There was a pause, "Don't you Jon?"
Shadow could hear the teen whimper on the other side. "What for?"
"Jon stole your phone and sent all of your draft messages earlier today." Amy stated bluntly.
Shadow's eyes widened. "How did he manage that?"
"I don't know." Amy sighed. "But I got a bunch of messages from you like a bomb went off and it took a minute before Jon fessed up. But there might be other messages sent to other people you weren't ready to send just yet."
Shadow took a deep breath. "I'm sure I'll manage." The only draft messages on his phone were to Rose anyway. "Just don't bother reading those messages Rose." He couldn't recall what were in all those drafts. Most were pictures of flowers and good morning messages. But just in case.

"I'm going to put Jon on the phone now," Amy handed the phone to Jon.

"I'm very sorry Mister Shadow," Jon wheezed through breathes. "I'm oh so very sorry."

Shadow arched a brow. What had Rose done to the boy? He stayed silent as Jon apologized for a good few minutes. The ads on the DVD were over now and the main menu music was playing. 

Rose took the phone back. "I'm very sorry about my cousin." 

"Well at least I got to hear your voice, so I'm not exactly complaining." Shadow mentally wanted to kick himself after those words escaped his lips. It sounded cheesy and corny. And it ment he was reading too many romance novels. 

Amy giggled, "Well good night Shadow. Try to get some rest."

"Sweet dreams to you as well Rose," Shadow stated as he hung up. He stared at the phone a moment before placing it on the counter top in the kitchen. He walked out of his kitchen to find his coworker leaning against the wall on the other side. 

"You and Amy made up?" She mused with a grin that told Shadow he was in for a ribbing.

"I ran into her while getting ice cream today," Shadow walked to his chair.

"So what did you talk about?"

Shadow shrugged, "Normal average stuff." 

"Don't play coy. Did she apologize about the hole she left in your floor?" She pointed towards the newly done patch next to his chair. 

Shadow shook his head. 

"Well why not?"

"She's not ready to talk about it yet." 

"Uh huh," she tapped her fingers on the arm of the couch as she sat down. "And did you apologize?"

Shadow shot her a glare before his eyes fell onto the remote. "Let's just watch the movie." He snatched the remote up and pressed play.

Rouge stayed silent during the movie. Though she was the only one who laughed during the movie. Omega pointed out that several scenes made no sense. Shadow just enjoyed his pop corn as the movie played. Once the film was finished and Rouge was done explaining to Omega that movies didn't have to make sense they were entertainment.

"Now about Amy?" Rouge grinned. 

"What about Rose?" Shadow questioned back.

Omega chimed in, "You seem to be in a better mood since the pink hedgehog called."
"Have I?" Shadow leaned his head into the palm of his hand.
"Affirmative." Omega nodded, "Analyzing data..."
Shadow turned to look at Rouge as she huffed.
"Did she forgive you though?"
Shadow shook his head. "I did apologize though."
Rouge's eyes went wide. "You apologized? Like with words?"
Shadow rolled his eyes. "I can swallow some of my pride for a simple apology."
Rouge shook her head. "You must like Amy a lot more then I thought if you actually said I'm sorry." Most of Shadow's apologies weren't with words, but with actions that could barely be interpenetrated as an apology.
Shadow arched an eyebrow at her.
"No denial?" She grabbed some pop corn. "I'm so proud that you've grown out of the ew coodies phase."
Shadow snorted as he looked away from her.
Rouge grinned, popping a piece into her mouth.
"Data analyzing complete."
They turned to the robot.
"The presence of the pink hedgehog causes Shadow's aggressive levels to drop by 5 to 10% on average." Omega stated.
"Really? That's what you were thinking about?" Shadow crossed his legs. Tapping his fingers on the raised leg.
"I have also noted that your presence causes the pink hedgehog to be calmer by 15%, but raises her heart rate by 2.5%." Omega stated slightly proudly.
"You certainly observe everything Omega," Rouge patted the robot's arm. She turned to Shadow. "So let's dish about how bad your crush is."
"It's not a crush," the statement was quick and firm.
Rouge leaned over the arm of his chair with a smirk. "Less aggressive by 5 to 10%. On average." She waved her hand towards Omega. "Are you saying Omega is lying?"
"I am never untruthful. Being untruthful just causes problems and interferes with my object to destroy Eggman's inferior robots."
Rouge nodded as she looked at the ebony hedgehog.
Shadow sighed. "Omega is always truthful. I am merely stating that I do not have a crush on Rose."
"Hm-hmm."
They all sat in silence for a few minutes. The sound of the grandfather clock ticking was beginning to get on Rouge's nerves. She took a deep breath.
"So how do you feel about Rose?"
Shadow sucked in a breath as he leaned into his chair. How did he say this and not get teased for the next few months? He looked up and Rouge in thought before turning back to stare at his shoe. He could go around and round in circles or he could just say it. "I love Rose," the sentence escaped in a quick breath.
Rouge beamed a huge smile as she sat up straight. "Like what kind of love? Like a close friend, a partner, a sister? Which kind?"
Shadow sighed as he shook his head. He didn't want to go through this right now. He eyed the dvds on the counter.
"No more movies. Talking."
Shadow glared at her before turning his glance to the wall. "Like the love where I want Rose to live here and never leave. Like I want to come home from work and talk to her about anything and everything. Cook and eat dinner together. The garden too. I just want to do everything with Rose." Shadow refused to make eye contact with anyone in the room.
Rouge rubbed his arm.
"Analyze complete," Omega chimed up.
The two looked up at the robot.
"The type of love Shadow feels is akin to Romantic love."
Shadow's quills puffed up out of annoyance.
Rouge smoothed them out with her hand. "There is one thing though," Rouge held up a finger.
Shadow arched a brow at her.
"The whole sex thing."
Shadow's face turned bright red.
Rouge sighed. "Still not completely mature I see."
"I am plenty mature." Shadow insisted.
Rouge smiled as she continued to smooth his quills out with her hand. "Listen, I'm not saying sex is a requirement to a romantic relationship. But it will come up. Not at first, but eventually. It will come up. How does the idea of possibly having sex with Amy make you feel?"
Shadow, face still bright red, glared. Normally his glare silence everyone, but Rouge had no fear for a glare. She stared back with a stern face.
"I am not opposed to the idea." He chose his words carefully.
"Alright. Alright." Rouge nodded. "Amy might want kids one day. Do you think you can handle adopting a child?"
Shadow tilted his head.
"I just want to cover all of your bases so you don't get side swiped or hurt in the future."
Shadow nodded as he understood her point. "I'm not very good with children. Maybe I can talk her into a pet?" His shrugged slightly.
Rouge nodded. "Maybe. But that will be a conversation you will have to have. Best sooner then later."
"But we're not courting." Shadow stated simply.
"No. But that doesn't mean you can't." Rouge booped his nose. "So you have my blessing and help in getting a date with Amy. Something you've already had. So it won't be too hard to get another one."
Shadow sighed.
"Ask Amy out to dinner or somewhere were you can talk about everything. And then go from there."
"Is this how you start conversations with Knuckles?" Shadow mused.
"Yes. It's best to have an open airway of communication." Rouge smiled.
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KRISSIE: And now this chapter is done. I am kind of pleased.
NEXT

Stories from Work 7/5/19

So yesterday, July 5th, there were several customers who just didn't or couldn't listen and follow basic instructions. Where I work we have several rules. None of them unreasonable, Just basic rules.
So the first one was a guy who came up to get a budlight. He had an ID from Mexico that was falling out. I told him several times that I am not allowed to accept foreign ids or temporary ids and asked if he had a US ID or passport, as I can accept those. I pointed to the sign on the bar that stated such. I had it so many times, I just went about cleaning the bar and kitchen. He asked if we had anyone who spoke Spanish and I told him, "No. We only have English speakers here."
He returned later with a woman who's ID stated Republica De Gautatamale on the top. It said it was a councilor ID card. It said something about Atlanta, Ga on the back. So I took the ID to my manager at the amusement counter to have him approve it. He said I could accept hers, but the man with her couldn't be served because he didn't have a proper ID.
I went to the bar and explained it to both of them. That I could not serve him because he didn't have a proper ID. I even pointed to the sign at the bar that stated such for them.
The woman several times tried to order two drinks and I had to reiterate several times that I could only give her one. I also told her that she can not give him her drink, since she got a budlight. The drink he was originally trying to get. I told her that if she gives it to him, the drink will be confiscated and they will be asked to leave. She seemed to understand. She paid for her drink and I poured it. I gave it to her.
And what does this woman do, she sits at the table right in front of the bar. Her back to me and puts the drink in front of the man. My manager had walked up and I told her to get them at the table as I walked around the bar to get to them. My manager and I both reiterated that the man could NOT drink anything in the store because he didn't have an ID. I took the drink back to the bar and told my amusement manager what happened over the mic. I was super pissed and annoyed. I mean come on. You didn't even try to hide your disrespect of the rules. She came up the bar, having taken off the wristband I had given her and said ID a few times. She was trying to sound innocent. I'm sure I had glared at her.
"No," I said sternly. "I'm not serving you anything else after that."
Morris had made his way to the bar. "Where's the drink?"
"I have it," I held it up to show him before I poured it out into the sink.
It put me in a sour mode for the rest of the day.
I had several groups of people come in with outside food and drink and try to eat them in the store. I had to hound them, telling them they can't have it in the store. That they needed to take it out. Several times. I left the bar to tell them too. Because I just didn't have it in me to let anyone break anymore rules today.
Also, it seemed like we were short on bowling staff today, because I spent at least an hour in the shoeser (A small walk-in closet that holds all the shoes that I have to put on racks for customers to get there shoes from on the other side.) I went in there during slow time at the bar to disinfect, match, and put the shoes up. So there was that. yeah.
Let's hope today will be a better day.

Blind Date Ch17

PREVIOUS
Amy arched a brow as her communicator beeped.
"A message from a friend?" Rob asked as he took a bit of his ice cream. They were taking a break from negotiations with the government officials. One of the officials had suggested the ice cream vendor. Amy had felt embarrassed when the vendor had recognized her. She glanced at her communicator and saw the new message.
She nodded as she went back to eating her ice cream. "I'll read it later."
"Well, we don't have much time before we have to go back to negotiations, so you might as well read it now," Mari-an stated as she stole a bite of her husband's ice cream. Rob shot her playful glare and she simply smiled back sweetly.
"Save me, they're flirting." Jon muttered as he stared at her communicator.
Amy chuckled as she pulled her cellphone out of her pocket. She opens the message. Her eyes go wide as she reads Shadow's name.
"Aren't you two fighting?" Jon whispered.
Amy gulped as she nodded.
"Maybe it's an apology?"
Amy scoffed. "He never apologizes."
Mari-an and Rob took notice. They both wanted to ask, but decided not to.
Jon arched a brow. "I'll buy the next round of ice cream if I'm wrong." He hovered his finger over Shadow's name as he looked at her, awaiting permission.
Amy sucked in a deep breath as she pressed it.
They both paused as they stared at the photo of Sonic in the water. Jon began to shake as he attempted to hold back the laughter. Amy, however, couldn't keep her composure and leaned herself on the table as she lost it laughing.
"Do I want to know?" Rob asked.
Amy looked up at him with a hug bubbly smile. She shook her head as she put her phone away and ate some of her ice cream. "You're buy next round," Amy pointed her spoon at her nephew. Jon laughed as he ate the last bite.
"What flavor do you want?" Jon hopped out of his seat.
Amy hummed as she finished the remains of her ice cream. "Vanilla with caramel swirl."
Jon nodded as he went to the vendor cart.
Jon arched a brow as he looked up to see Sonic and Shadow right in front of them. "Sonic?" Jon spoke up.
Sonic's ear twitched as he turned to look at him. A smile appeared on his face, but Jon could see the slight nervousness in his eyes. Shadow saw it too and became suspicious of the young teen. "What's up Jon?"
"Nothing much." Jon stated.
"What are you doing in Apotos?" Sonic asked as they moved forward in line.
"Getting ice cream." Jon smiled as he placed his hands in his pockets.
"You live in Mercia." Sonic stated as he arched an eyebrow.
"Oh... you mean that." Jon nodded. "Mom and dad are having some meetings with some people."
"Oookay," Sonic nodded.
Shadow just looked between the two; confused.
"Hi, I'm Jon O'Hedge!" Jon waved at Shadow. "You're Shadow, correct? How are you liking Apotos so far?" He offered his hand in a friendly gestured.
Shadow arched a brow. "I am. It's nice."
Jon look sucked in his lower lip and moved it back in forth as he looked from the ebony hedgehog to his hand and back. "Not much for handshakes, I see." He put his hand in his pocket. He noticed the sudden awkwardness. "So what kind of ice cream are you getting?"
Sonic rattled off the chip special. It was a ice cream concoction that was huge with 3 flavors and several toppings. Shadow rolled his eyes. He had sweet tooth, but he wasn't in the mood for all that.
"I'll stick with vanilla and strawberry with caramel syrup." Shadow stated as he took a step forward.
"Ah, those are good choices." Jon nodded.
Shadow zoned out as the two spoke of ice cream. He felt like he had heard that name before. He just couldn't recall where. He hated that his memory was so faulty. There was only two other people in front of them when Shadow finally remember why the name sounded so familiar. "O'Hedge is the name of the royal family of Mercia." Shadow said in disbelief.
Jon smiled. He seemed to take some enjoyment in Shadow's reactions.
"How many government officials and royal families do you know?" He asked Sonic in awe.
"Well, when you're the hero of Mobius, you can of just meet people in charge?" Sonic shrugged as he greeted the vendor. He gave his order and paid as the vendor made it.
"You also meet a lot of people in charge, don't you, Shadow?" Jon asked politely.
"Yeah, but normally people within GUN or one side of the planet. I don't think I've met any officials anywhere near Mercia." Shadow answered  after giving his order to the vendor.
"Well you should visit Mercia sometime. I would be happy to show you the sites." Jon greeted the ice cream vendor with a nod.
"Back for seconds already?" The ice cream vendor chuckles as he washed his scoop.
"Yes sir." Jon smiled, "On chocolate cone and one vanilla cup with caramel."
"So are you parents sharing an ice cream cone?" Sonic mused as he munched on his ice cream.
"No, they're too busy flirting," Jon gagged. "This is mine and this one is Amy's."
"Amy's here?" Sonic tilted his head. He knew Shadow and Amy weren't getting along currently and didn't want to be apart of them coming to blow.
"Does Rose know everyone you do?" Shadow arched a brow.
Jon burst into laughter. "Nah. She came to visit. Would you like to come say hi?"
Shadow looked at Sonic. He was tempted to stalk Jon and find Rose. He didn't care if he spoke to her. He just wanted to see her.
Sonic sighed as he took a step forward. "It would be rude not to say hi since we're in the same place." He felt reluctant. But he saw that Shadow was going to go rather Sonic went or not.
Jon smiled as he walked up to the table. He slid the cup in front of Amy. "I ran into some friends!"
Amy arched a brow as she picked up the cup of vanilla ice cream. "What kind?"
"The run at the speed of sound kind," Jon gestured to the two hedgehogs walking behind him.
Amy's eyes widened as she looked at them. "How was your swim in the waterway?" She asked Sonic.
Sonic's brows rose for a moment before turning towards his ebony friend with a glare. "You took a picture?"
"I thought I saved it to my drafts." Shadow took a bit of his ice cream.
"Well, take a seat," Rob gestured towards the table. Sonic grabbed two chairs and sat next to Amy.
Shadow chose to sat next to the teal hedgehog wearing brown boots and brown jacket. Shadow took notice of them female echidna wearing a brown dress with some sort of embroidery on the sleeves. Shadow had no clue who these people were. He didn't feel comfortable being around strangers.
"You're a new face mate, I'm Rob. And this is my wife, Mari-an." Rob gestured to lady beside him. Shadow nodded at the small wave she gave. "What's your name?"
"Shadow," he stated simply.
"Nice to meet you," Rob extended his hand.
"Shadow isn't one for physical contact, dad." Jon took a bit of his cone, creating a loud crunch.
"Ah, my bad." Rob smiled. "How do you keep my fair cousin from killing you with hugs then?"
Shadow arched a brow in confusion. Sonic decided to find the sky very interesting at this point as Amy quietly ate her ice cream.
"Only just met your son." Shadow pointed a finger towards Jon.
Rob chuckled, "Then are you acquainted with Amy?" He propped his head in his hand.

"Yes, I know Rose." Shadow declared proudly. Rob grinned at this and Shadow glared back.

Rob turned towards Amy, "Dear cousin, please tell me how he keeps you from killing him with hugs?"
Amy sighed, "You act like I bear hug everyone." She turned her head as she took a bite of her ice cream.
"You're related to him?" Shadow muttered in disbelief.
Amy gulped as she looked at Shadow. She nodded.
Shadow pointed towards Rob and Mari-An. "But their the Mercian royal family."
"That is true." Rob said in a soft sing song voice.
Amy bit her lip as a blush came over her face. She didn't like telling people she was royalty.
"So your cousin married into royalty. The family events must be awkward." Shadow tried to make small talk. Rob only snickered. Shadow arched a brow at him. He felt like there was something everyone else knew and he didn't and he didn't like it.

"Actually, I married into royalty. Rosebud was born into it." Mari-an explained. "It's okay for not knowing though, Rosebud doesn't like to broadcast it. But someone likes to tease." She pinched her husband's cheek playfully as Rob shrugged with laughter.

Amy simply blushed as she finished her ice cream. Jon gagged. 

"Stop flirting, it's weird." Took the last bite of his cone. He wiped his hands and mouth before staring at the cup Amy clutched in her hand. 

"Very well " Rob pouted, "It is time to get back to the conference room. It was nice meeting you Shadow." Rob patted Shadow's shoulder and gripped it firmly as he looked at Sonic. "It was nice seeing you as well Sir Sonic." 

Shadow sat frozen. Of all the interactions he had had over the years was the first anyone had done that too him. It was odd and he didn't know how to process it. 

"Can I hang out with Sonic and Shadow instead of going to the conference?" Jon pipped up.
"I don't mind." Sonic shrugged, "What about you Shadow?"
Shadow looked at Sonic and nodded his head. It was his usual indifference to everything.
"We'll meet back here in two hours then." Rob stated with a smile. "Cousin will you be coming with us or going with them?"
Amy looked at Jon. She could see in his eyes that he was ready to unleash a millions questions on to either of the guys. "I'll watch over Jon."
Rob nodded as he helped his wife out of her chair. Mari-An reached over the table of gave Jon a hug and a kiss. Jon protested verbally, but allowed it. Mari-an smiled as she wrapped her arms around Amy.
Amy smiled as she returned the hug.
The two returned to the conference hall as Jon wiped the 'mommy kisses' off his check.
"You know she's just going to kiss you more?" Sonic teased.
"Does your mom still kiss you?" Jon asked pointedly.
"Yep!" Sonic beamed proudly. "I think it's a mom thing."
Jon rolled his eyes. "I'm doomed." He looked at the cup Amy still clutched in her hand. "Let's go see the sights," he offered a hand to Amy. Amy smiled as she grabbed his hand and stood.

"What do you want to see?" Sonic stretched.

Jon hummed in thought. "I don't have a preference," he shrugged. 

"Then a walk it is!" Amy cheered as she pushed in her chair. 

Shadow followed suit. He reached his hand out for the cup. "I'll throw it away," he spoke softly. He could tell Amy had been avoiding eye contact, but he didn't mind as much. He had pushed her into a mental corner a few months ago and she had the right to be upset with him. He, however, wasn't about to back down now.
They found themselves walking along the water way. Sonic walking on the far side.
"I've gotten personal enough with the water way for the day. And ever. Thanks." He commented when asked was he was walking so far away.
Amy chuckled as she enjoyed the breeze that stayed along the waterway.
Shadow took noticed of Jon and Amy tapping on each other's arm at random intervals. It was code. A code he didn't know.  He crossed his arms as he followed behind the two. He glanced at Sonic to see if he noticed.
The blue hedgehog was smiling and laughing like nothing was wrong. Either he didn't notice the Morse code or he was good at hiding that he noticed.
"Ooh! Snacks!" Sonic pointed to a food stand.
"Why don't you and Sonic race a head to get some?" Amy smiled at Jon.
"Yes," He released Amy's hand and race forward. "Come on Sonic!"
Sonic laughed as he followed behind the running echidna. "You know I'll easily win right?"
"Go easy on me," Jon placed his hands together and made a jokingly pleading face.
Amy shook her head at the two before stopping and waiting for Shadow to beside her before walking again. "Thank you for the photo earlier. It was very funny."
"You're welcome," Shadow looked down at her to find her watching the ripples in the water.
"How have you been, I haven't heard from you in a while." Amy spoke softly.
"I've been alright," Shadow nodded. "I've been trying to give you the space that you wanted."
Amy smiled, "Thank you for that. So are there other funny photos that you wanted to send me but didn't?"
Shadow shrugged. "I'm pretty sure my draft folder is full right now."
"Well, you can send them now," Amy stated as she stopped to get a closer look at a flower growing through the concrete.
Shadow looked over and noticed that Sonic and Jon weren't at the food vendor stand. "Where are Sonic and your cousin?"
Amy smiled as she stood. "I told Jon to take Sonic for a run so we could talk."
"Ah the Morse code." Shadow muttered.
Amy giggled as she wrapped her hand around his arm. "It's good to have several different ways of communicating silently. I can teach it to you if you'd like."
Shadow eyed her hand as her finger made a squiggly line on his arm. "What does that mean?"
Amy smiled with victory. "Hmm... perhaps that was too difficult a phrase." She made another motion on his arm. "That means hello." 

He nodded. "How do you say nice weather we're having?"

Amy chuckled, "you say that as you secretly communicate. Not with the secret language."

"So what do you say with the secret language?" 

"Hmm..." She hummed as they walked, "Stuff like stay strong. There are spies hiding here or there. Things like that."

"How about I'm sorry I forced you into a mental corner?" He stared straight ahead, scanning for an signs for Sonic.

Amy signed on his arm, "That way."

Shadow repeated the movement on her arm.

Amy responded with a few squiggles and dots. 

"What does that mean?" Shadow mused.

"That I am almost ready to forgive you," Amy ran her hand along the railing. 

"Key word almost," Shadow scanned the area for Sonic again. Shouldn't they have seen them by now?

"Time will change almost to definite." Amy stated as she noticed Shadow scanning the area. 

"Do you want to find Sonic and Jon?" 

"I have a feeling that they've gotten into trouble," Shadow tapped his foot on the ground. 

Amy chuckled, "That is a flip of a coin if they are or aren't." 

They found the two sitting in a park playing with marbles.

"Where did they find marbles?" Shadow muttered in disbelief as they approached them.

"Jon carries a collection with him," Sonic answer, his ear turning towards Shadow's voice as he adjusted the angle of his thumb to hit the marble into the others.

Jon whipped his head up to look at the two approaching and then back at Sonic. 

"He has good hearing. It's a good trait to have." Shadow nodded at Jon's confusion.

"How? With all the explosions that go on around when you fight Eggman?" Jon asked as he scooted closer to Sonic. He stretched straighter to look inside his ears.

Sonic shrugged. Between explosions, rock concerts, Tails' workshop, and even running at his top speed, he wasn't sure how his ears were still so good either.
NEXT

Blind Date Ch16

Blind Date Ch16
PREVIOUS
Krissie: Let's continue the story and hopefully finish it by Chapter 20.
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Shadow found paperwork tedious. He tapped his pen back and forth as he read over the paperwork. Every word was just a brick of text, but government work involved mountains of paperwork.
Shadow finished one form and picked up the next. It was a form about increasing trade with the Kingdom of Mercia. Shadow didn't know much about the kingdom. He got up and went to the library. He collected a few books on the country and returned to his desk. He skimmed through the pages quickly.
The country was rustic and mainly rural. The Eggman Empire had set the country back decades if not centuries. Shadow felt something akin to pity for the people who lived there. Mercia used to be a hub for magical artifacts and arts. Shadow wasn't a believer in magic, but he had seen enough to know it existed. He just wanted to stick to science.
He made a list of pros and cons of opening up trading with Mercia. Most of the cons were the costs of helping Mercia with infrastructure, but Shadow didn't care about that. If they could remove the Doctor's influence from a country Mercia's size, it would greatly diminish his resources and make it easier to apprehend him in the future.
Once Shadow finished the paperwork. He put it in the submit folder. He heard many of his coworkers compare it to school essay assignments. With all the research needed to do a simple 3 page report, Shadow was glad he never went to school.
It had been a few months and Shadow still hadn't heard from Rose yet. He was concerned about her, but from what he had heard, she was fine. She was still in contact with her friends. Mainly the girls.
Shadow kept it to himself, but he wished she would hurry up and contact him.
Sonic greeted him with a huge smile and wave.
"Hello Sonic," Shadow greeted as Sonic hopped off of the fence. Shadow wondered why none of the soldiers stopped him from perching on the fence of the base.
"Wanna go for a race?" Sonic beamed.
Shadow wasn't really in the mood. But beating the blue blur would give him some satisfaction. He nodded with a shrug. "Where to?" He began stretching.
"How about to Apotos for some ice cream?"
Shadow nodded. Ice cream sounded good. Shadow wasn't one to decline sweets.
It didn't take long for the two to reach Apotos. Unfortunately, Sonic couldn't slow down enough and slid into the water way. Shadow leaned over the water way and watched as the blue hedgehog popped up gasping for air. Shadow quickly took a picture on his communicator. He then reached down to grabbed Sonic's flailing arm and pulled him out in a quick motion.
Sonic gasped for air dramatically as Shadow shook his head. Sonic looked like a blue sad mop head.
Shadow wanted to do nothing but laugh at the sight. But a quick glance around to all the people walking around and the few that stopped to stare at a soaking wet Sonic and then at Shadow told him it would be a bad idea. Shadow felt like they were suspicious that he pushed Sonic into the water.
"Will you get up Faker?" Shadow crossed his arms.
Sonic nodded as he began squeezing excess water from his quills. "Sorry about that." He stood up and moved slightly towards the people glaring at Shadow. He shook his whole body like a stop and water flew off his body. Kids laughed at the flying water, while those staring quickly went about their business. "Looks like you've won this race, Shads." Sonic beamed.
Shadow smirked at that. He liked winning.
"Now off to ice cream!" Sonic proclaimed jumping up and pointing his finger into the direction of the ice cream vendor. Shadow followed behind as he composed a message on his communicator. He attached the photo of Sonic in the water.
'Sonic ran to fast and fell into a water way. It was funny.' Shadow wrote before hitting the save to drafts option. His whole draft folder in his emails were nothing but messages to Rose he had wanted to send, but decided not to. After all, she wanted space and he was going to wait for her to contact him.
"Shadow, you're not supposed to be working," Sonic pouted as he slapped his communicator on his wrist.
Shadow glared forgetting about the message. "I wasn't," he held his arms out of Sonic's reach. "Besides, shouldn't you be deciding what ice cream you want?" He pointed at the ice cream vendor in front of them.
"ICE CREAM!" Sonic cheered as he raced to the line. He rocked on his heels as he waited.
NEXT

Entitled People make me hate humanity

So I don't know what is wrong with the people who come to Stonecrest, but too many of them are entitled or just plain stupid.
Yesterday, we had a lady come in to take a bathroom break from her movie at the movie theater across from our arcade to eat and drink at the bar. She was there for over 30 minutes. I feel bad that she wasted her money like that. But whatever. I think she just wanted to say she saw the new Avenger movie, but whatever.
Today was just stressful and annoying. We had a rush the moment our third person left our department. Leaving it with just me and Kay. Apparently, our other closer called out. Our other person who was supposed to come in for training didn't show either. But he hasn't shown for many of his work days. It's sad because the one day I worked with him, he was very attentive and soaked up everything like a sponge. The other two new guys are a bit slow, but improving gradually. I'm trying not to mama bird them, but I am a bit of a control freak.
But I had several people ask for things that aren't on the menu or things we don't sell. Mainly, cups of water and lemon pepper wings. I don't know why, but a lot of people expect/believe we have free water cups or cups of ice and then they're confused when I tell them we don't have cups of water. I have to explain and even repeat over and over to the SAME person that we only have the soda cups and bottle water. Yes they are expensive. It's an arcade connected to a mall. What do you expect?
But today, we had so many that it just destroyed my soul. It also didn't help that I got off at 1am and I have to go back in at 10:30am. So what is that? around 8 to 9 hours to get home and try to sleep after all this stress. I just can't. I am still up and it's nearly 3am. My sleep schedule is so fucked.
But I had to deal with one customer. They (a man and his preteen daughter) came up to the counter and I saw them look and run their fingers over the menu. They looked at the wings and everything. There are only 3 flavors; plain, buffalo, and bbq. No other flavors.
They looked me in the eye and asked for lemon pepper wings.
"We don't have lemon pepper wings," I tell them.
The man apparently had a issue with how I said it. He paused and said I was rude and that I shouldn't have said it that way.
I told him curtly, "You asked for lemon pepper wings, I told you we don't have them."
Man, "But it's the way you said it. You work in customer service. You have said it's not available."
I, growing more annoyed and confused by this weirdness, "Look, I'm not following your logic. I simply told you we don't have lemon pepper wings." Grant it, I knew he had read the menu but I didn't bring it up because maybe he's illiterate. I wish we had a book store that wasn't 40 minutes away.
Man, "But it's the way you said it."
I just stared at him. I am so done repeating the same thing over and over again.
Man, "Can you apologize for the way you said spoke in front of my child?"
I, shaking my head, "No. You asked for something we don't have. I told you we don't have it. I've had to say the same things to several others today. I say it short and simple." Grant it, I didn't curse. Though I wanted too. And frankly, if you can't handle blunt, maybe you shouldn't go out. If that girl has any contact without others, I'm sure she's heard a lot worse from her classmates.
The sheer fact he thinks we have to sugar coat anything is hilarious. I am not here to appease you, I'm hear to cook, prep, clean, and take a few orders. It's nearly 20 minutes to close and there's still a line of orders that Kay is making and will be making pass closing time.
The man asks for a manager. I shrug. Alright let's waste this time. I call for a manager over the mic. I get no response. Not abnormal. I only have one manager on the floor and he's stuck at the bar.
A few minutes of silence pass.
The man gestures to the manager, "Is that your manager?"
I nod, "Yes."
The man smiles like he's made some victory, "I know."
"Oh that's nice," I shrug. I've got like two people behind this guy at this point and he won't move so I can take their orders. If ya'll think I care who ya'll know, I don't. I doubt any of us do.
The manager never came over though. I believe I got one of our security guard's cup. They have to sign for it.
The man finally addresses me again, "Do you want to try to this again?"
I'm pretty sure I cocked an eyebrow at him, "Look," I glance at the clock, It's 11:19 and the kitchen is closing at 11:30 since our other closer didn't come in. "The kitchen closes in 10 minutes. Do you want to order something or not?"
I am so done with this guy. Most of it is him demanding an apologize. I don't give apologize when asked. I'm not about giving fake apologize. It'll make the rest of my apologizes meaningless.
He again asks if the man at the bar is my manager.
I tell him, "Yes. Only one in tonight."
He then leaves and takes his daughter with him. He didn't order anything as the last two orders I had were from my coworkers.
I just can't deal with humans some times. And it becomes so bad that I can only call them humans and not people. I wish I could just collapse into sleep, but I am carrying way too much negative energy and I am lacking a black candle to banish it.

Reunited

The man stared at the screen. The image was fuzzy, but he could see. That was his daughter. The police were coming by again today and he was hoping for some answers. He wanted to know why his daughter was on the free way when she should have been at home.
A knock on the door caught his attention. It was about time. He had been pacing as he intently watched the screen.
He pulled open the door and frowned at the person there.
The man on his porch wasn't an officer. He wore a button up orange shirt tucked into a pair of khaki pants. His hair was combed back and his eyes were green.
"Hello. Are you lost?" The house didn't have anything but homes around it. the nearest gas station was a 10 minute drive away.
The man nodded, "Are you Gregor Thomps?"
Gregor arched a brow at the man. "I am. And you are?"
The man sighed with relief. "I've driven to 4 wrong houses looking for you. I'm Doctor Brain Bonner." He held out his hand to him. "It's very nice to finally meet you."
Gregor took the hand and returned a firm shake. "To what do I owe a doctor's visit?"
"I've been one of the doctors caring for your daughter Maureen," he stated slowly.
Gregor felt himself pale. This couldn't be happening. His little girl couldn't be dead. He hadn't even been allowed to see her at the hospital yet.
"She's still alive sir," Dr. Bonner assured.
Gregor sighed in relief. "What is her condition?"
"She's doing a lot better then when she first came to the hospital." Dr. Bonner stated. He turned to his car. It was a black car with dark windows. He waved at the car and the passenger door opened. A wheel chair was pulled out and unfolded by slender pale hands.
"Who is that?" Gregor asked.
Dr. Bonner smiled. "No worries. She's too stubborn to allow us to help."
Gregor could make out the top of the wig as a small form exited the car. She rolled the chair with some difficulty before closing the door. Her legs were in tact, but they didn't move. Gregor didn't recognize the young woman at first until she reached the first step of the porch. She glared at it as she could not get on the porch on her own. She looked up at him and smile.
It was her face. It was just like her face. Something seemed slightly off about her blue eyes. But it was her. It couldn't have been anyone else.
"Maureen," his voice trembled.
It sounded different. Scared and weak. It was not something Maureen had ever heard from her father. He had always been as hard as stone. The toughest of tough. She felt guilty for causing this type of voice to ever be heard from him.
She nodded with a sad smile. Her eyes glanced over the house. She remembered drawing with chalk on the porch. Practicing ballad in the soft grass. She climbed out the top of the window in her room to watch a neighbor's firework. So many memories happened here.
"They said you were in critical condition." Gregor stated as he walked down the stairs.
"Who is they?" Maureen inquired.
"The police," he was confused. How had his daughter not known the police were involved.
"Are they investigating the kidnapping?" Maureen looked passed her father and at Dr. Bonner.
"Kidnapping?" Gregor yelled before coughing and looking at the doctor for answers.
"Her memory isn't all there yet. But she did not run away. She had been bound," Dr. Bonner looked at Maureen's small wrists. He could still see the tape there even if the scars no longer existed. "When she had arrived at the hospital. Due to the damage of the car, she has had to undergo several surgeries. She has more to undergo. But the trauma has created memory lost as any trauma would."
"How come the police haven't told me any of this?" Gregor demanded.
Dr. Bonner shifted his weight. "I'm afraid they might suspect you or others around here. We don't want them getting rid of any evidence."
"Why am I a suspect?" Gregor growled.
"Because my last memory before the  hospital is of hearing you come home. You were on the phone." Maureen stated. "You're the last person I remember hearing or seeing."
"What day was this?" Gregor asked. He hadn't been home the night she went missing. He had been drinking with friends.
Maureen tilted her head as her brows crunched up. Her memory was still blurry and she had been half awake when she had heard them. "It might have been Friday night, maybe Saturday morning?" She mumbled.
"Take your time," Dr. Bonner spoke softly.
Maureen looked around the front of the home. She was looking for something.
"Let me get you inside," Gregor grabbed the handles of her wheel chair. "I bet you've been homesick."
Maureen's eyes widened as she looked from her father to Dr. Bonner.
When Brian did nothing, she frantically turned to her father, "I'm not staying."
"Not staying?" Gregor repeated with a confused look.
"I'm..." Maureen took a deep breath. "I'm not coming home." Her eyes became watery. "I only wanted to see how you were and take Calli with me."
"Where are you going?" Gregor questioned harshly.
"The hospital," Maureen answered as she shrunk back in her chair.
"Maureen, I can't afford all these hospital bills as it is. It would be best for you to come home. I can take care of you here." Gregor snapped.
"Sir," Dr. Bonner placed a hand on his shoulder.
"What do you want?" Gregor hissed.
"You will not be held accountable for Maureen's medical care," Dr. Bonner stated firmly.
"Oh! So you're going to put my daughter in debt?" Gregor yelled.
Maureen rolled her eyes. Her father was a hot head.
"No," Dr. Bonner shook his head. "A new medical technique was used to save Maureen's life. She needs to stay at the hospital to be observed for any side effects of the procedure."
"For how long?" Gregor glared at the doctor. He wasn't too fond of this man.
"A year at most of hospital stay. At least five years of monitoring afterwards." Dr. Bonner answered honestly.
"You're going to keep her in a hospital for a year?" Gregor shouted. "Who is paying for this?"
"The medical community," Dr. Bonner  answered. "You nor your daughter will need to pay for anything."
"Why did you use something experimental on her without my permission?" Gregor crossed his arms.
Maureen rolled herself to the porch swing since she was on the porch.
"Sir, when your daughter came to the emergency room, she was a jane doe. It was obvious that anything we would normally do, wouldn't work. So we did a new experimental procedure. She is the first person to undergo it. And she's survived. Your daughter right now is a medical breakthrough. But she needs to be monitored until we're sure she won't suffer any ill effects. Her health and safety is our number one concern."
Gregor took a deep breath to calm down. "How long will she be able to visit?"
"A little while won't hurt. I think being here might help with her memory." Dr. Bonner stated. He looked at Maureen. She had managed to crawl onto the porch swing. She was laying on the arm of the swing. "Maureen, would you like to go inside and see if anything helps your memory?"
Maureen sat up and looked at Gregor. "Where is Calli?"

Blind Date Ch15

Previous
KRISSIE: Finally returning. Hopefully no one throws rocks at me for the wait.
'.'
Shadow glared at his phone. Amy had been avoiding him and he knew it. But for her to just go to Mercia to hide from him! It was the most infuriating thing to him.
He now sat glaring at his phone waiting for some kind of message from the pink hedgehog. Since she said she wanted to be alone for a while, fine. He would wait for her to contact him. But he was getting impatient. He held his phone away from his face and simply dropped it. Clonk-klak.
Shadow looked over to find the phone had hit the floor just right and rolled into the crater Amy had caused. He stared at it for a moment before laughing.
How did she manage such things?
"Shadow are you alright?" Rouge asked. She had walked up to his home to hear a sound she wasn't used to and let herself inside. She found the ebony hedgehog curled up holding his side as his hand covered his face. For a second, she thought he was having a mental break down.
Shadow looked up at her, tears forming in his eyes as he gestured towards the crater beside his chair. "Look at what she's done." 

Rouge looked at the crater and then back at her coworker. "How did Amy break your floor like that?"

"Rose is a lot stronger then she looks. No wonder everyone shrieks away from her when she's angry." Shadow chuckled as he tried to catch his breath. Once he had regained his composure, he stood up. "So what brings you by?"

"I wanted to see how you were. You seem to be on edge more then usual lately. The others at GUN have noticed and began their normal murmurs." Rouge stated as she picked up Shadow's phone from the crater. "Good thing your phone isn't broken with your floor," she held the phone out to Shadow. Shadow simply shrugged as he took the phone. He turned on the screen to check for new messages. None from Rose. He turned the screen off and put the phone on the stand next to his chair. 

"Want to go out for a bit?" Rouge offered hopefully. 

Shadow mulled it over for a moment. Some time outside his house would be good. "Sure, I need to get materials to fix my floor."

Rouge smiled. "Construction store it is."

Shadow followed the bat to her car in the yard. Locking his front door on the way.

Amy Rose found John to be rather hyper. The preteen wanted to be told stories of freedom fighting non-stop or run outside  climb trees. She felt like she had a lot in common with her cousin.

John paused on a tree branch and loomed down at Amy standjng by the base of the tree. 

"How come your friends keep texting you?"

Amy blinked at the sudden question. She shrugged it off, "They want to mnow how I'm doing. It's normal to text friends when you aren't able to see them."

John pursed his lips as he looked at the other trees. "You came home suddenly. Did you get into a fight with a friend and don't know how to make up yet?" He plucked a few leaves off  branch. 

"What?" Amy shook her head. John normally didn't ask such on the nose questions. "No, why would you ask that?"

John sighed as he made his way down. " I picked up your phone and saw a text from Cream asking about what happened. I got curious," John twiddled with his fingers. "So i went through more of your texts and saw that you didn't want to talk to Shadow. So i thought you two got into a fight and didn't know how to make up." John hugged onto Amy. "It's okay, if it is.

Amy sighed as she rustled his hair. "Sneaky child. Who told you it was okay to snoop?"

"Snooping as usual on Eggman is fine, but not when you're worried about family?" John tilted his head with a small pout. "Besides I'm sure mum and dad snoop on me all the time."

Amy chuckled. "That's just parents. They're protective," she pulled John up into a tight hug. She released him when he began wheezing for air. "Oops."

"How do your friends survive," John muttered as he caught his breath.

Amy shrugged. "Oh, i think i see a rare bird over there," she walked towards the animal as John crouched. The echidna caught up with her after a moment.

"So what did you two fight about?" John asked curiously. 

Amy sighed as she watched the bird. "You know how you're not aware of a flaw until someone points it out to you and then you're mad at them until you're ready to admit they're right?"

"Yeah, I had a fight like that with one of my mates at school. He's really perceptive. At least that's what mom calls it." John kicked a rock with his shoe. 

Amy turned to smile at her cousin. "That's what Shadow is too."

"But if you're aware he's right?" John tilted his head.

"I'm still upset and want to be angry with him for a while longer." Amy smiled. "I'll talk to him once I've worked through my issue and then he'll be stunned by how much I've matured." Amy placed her knuckles on hips and stood tall in triumph. She looked like a super hero to John. 

"Alright." John smiled. He didn't quite get it, but maybe it was because of  his age. His dad love saying that for most things he didn't get. 

'-' 

KRISSIE: And we're done! Done doney done done! I'm so pleased with this. Next chapter will be written hopefully soon.
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