Spooky

-Chapter 51

{Author's Note: Hi everyone! I'm sorry it's been so long, but I'm doing my best to update this as much as possible. This Thursday, tomorrow, I go off to college, and I'm afraid I won't be able to update...like at all... ack. I'm praying I'll still have free time to write, especially since we're nearing the end of the school year in this book LOL.
Please be patient though if I end up being too busy in college to write! I swear to you I will finish this book, I have it all planned out, just, writing is slow.  This chapter's all I've got before I go; it may be quite some time between updates but I will finish this book.}

-Shadow's POV-

I step out of the Math room, shrugging on my backpack and rolling my shoulders. I've hidden my earbuds through a hole in my jacket, phone tucked into my pants pocket, and music blares in my ears, covering the crowd noise quite nicely. Plodding along, I scratch my chest, ruffling my fingers through my white fur. It's finally warm enough that I can wear tank tops under my hoodie again, as opposed to t-shirts, and it's nice to let my fluff breathe a little. My fingers catch on the half-heart necklace hidden in all the fur and I glance down, carefully disentangling myself from it, then shaking my hand off. I should be more careful, I chastise myself, the last thing I need is to break that. I haven't even taken it off in at least a year now. I wonder if Rouge has? She's a lot more...shall way say, mindful than I am, so, probably.

"Shadow, hey!" Abruptly a hand, accompanied by Amy's voice, claps to my shoulder, and I turn, surprised, tugging an earbud out of my ear.

"Oh, hi, Amy," I greet her in a mellow tone. "What's up?"

"Do you have a minute? I want to ask you something." She flashes a nervous smile, and worry spears me.

What's going on? "I—Uh, S-Sure," I reply with a smile of my own, hoping the anxiety doesn't show through. Is something wrong? What could she possibly want to ask me about? She grins thankfully, and steers me towards the stairs with a nudge.

"Can we... Step outside for a minute? I, I don't want—" She trails off like she doesn't know what to say, but I understand; whatever this is, it's private. I feel a bit honored that she's coming to me of all people. We're not especially close—or, at least, I'd assumed we aren't.

For a second, I contemplate. I don't care enough about my second class to worry over being late. Hell, maybe I won't show up at all. I wonder what class Scourge is in? I could go bother him. "Of course." I step towards the stairs. "Behind the Art building should be completely abandoned right about now."

"Thank you." Her green eyes glitter with misty gratitude. We plod down the stairs wordlessly, moving quickly—she's a perfect little angel of a student, and I mean that in the kindest way, so I'm sure she'll want to hurry to her class once she's asked me whatever it is she needs. We duck out a side door, making our way behind the art buildings, and I'm struck by how, shall we say, suspicious this will probably seem to any bystanders. Oh well. Once we're there, and Amy has given the place a paranoid once-over, she turns to me, a nervous but hopeful look on her face. "I, I need your help."

"Yeah?" Puzzled, I tip my head. What could she possibly need help with? One possibility rises to the forefront of my mind, but it would be ridiculous for her to ask me for help with that when she's the school 'Romance Expert.'

But of course, that is indeed what she's asking me about. "I...um... W-Well, I guess I just gotta say it, I mean, I figured I'd come to you, since, since you know her best," she wrings her hands anxiously, and I give her my best neutral stare. "I...I like Rouge!" She blurts in a shaky voice, peering up through her eyelashes at me.