Shadow the Hedgehog: Part one - Christmas Eve

Part 1 ? Christmas Eve


?Cock-a-doodle-do!?
Once more, the rooster crowed. Another day. I sat up on my bed, stretching and yawning. Noises could be heard from downstairs.
?What are they up to now?? I asked myself. I got up off of the bed and went to the bathroom. I turned on the water to warm, and I waited a bit before testing it. Still cold. I turned the heat up more and waited a little bit longer. Still cold! ?Dang! Can?t anyone in this house spare some hot water??? I asked myself angrily. I took a cold shower, and let the water run soothingly over my fur. ?It? does feel kind of nice,? I mumbled. After cleaning my fur thoroughly, I turned off the water and dried myself off with a warm towel. I got on my socks, shoes and gloves, and then I headed downstairs.
It was an abnormal sight. Everyone was scurrying around. No one even stopped to say hello! Even Sonic, who was the most relaxed of the group, was running around with packages in his hands, putting them down all over the place.
However, I was able to stop Tails. ?What?s going on here?? I asked him. He looked at me with a confused expression on his face, but then he began to laugh.
?Oh, Shad! You?re such a kidder!? was all he said to me before running off. Couldn?t he tell I was being dead serious? I stopped some others, but they all answered with almost the same thing. By now, I was getting really ticked off. I sat on a chair in the kitchen and crossed my arms.
?Hmph,? I groaned to myself. Sonic noticed this, and put down his packages to sit down beside me.
?What?s the matter, buddy?? he asked me with that stupid smile on his face.
?Don?t call me buddy!? I scolded him.
?Sheesh, I come over here to see what?s wrong, and you get all moody with me!? he said angrily. I looked away from him. He sighed, and then said, ?Now really? tell me what?s wrong.? I looked at him, and could tell from his expression that he was being sincere.
?Well? everyone is running around, and I?m curious as to what they?re doing, but none of them would tell me!? I said to him.
?I can see why,? he snickered. ?Everyone knows what tomorrow is!?
?What is it?? I asked him. He looked at me with surprise.
?Don?t you know?? he asked. I shook my head. ?Well? that?s a first. Tomorrow?s Christmas, Shadow! Haven?t you even heard of it??
?Well? no,? I replied sincerely. Sonic seemed baffled. He called Tails and whispered something to him. Tails nodded, smiling, and then ran off. ?What was that all about?? I asked him.
?Oh, don?t worry? you?ll know soon enough,? he said, hopping off the seat. He grabbed his packages and got back to scurrying around all over the place.
?I don?t like the way he said that,? I mumbled to myself.
?Hey, Shadow! What?re you doing over here all by yourself?? Amy asked, running over to me.
?Definitely not what everyone else is doing,? I replied. She smiled.
?Oh, you mean setting up for Christmas? Yeah, we started late. We were supposed to set up yesterday, but a certain someone felt lazy yesterday,? she said, casting an angry glance at Knuckles, who was talking to Julie-Su. ?You wanna help set up??
?I?ll probably just ruin everything if I do,? I told her. She grabbed one of my hands with hers and gave me a little tug.
?No you won?t! Even if you do, at least you tried,? she said, smiling. Why was everyone around here in such a good mood? Was Christmas some sort of ?happy holiday?? I shrugged.
?I? guess I can help,? I finally agreed.
?Yippee!? she squealed excitedly. ?Let?s go!? She pulled me off the chair and into the living room, where Rouge was placing streamers up on the wall. ?You help Rouge right now? I?ll be right back!? she said, running off to who knows where.
?Well, well? look who decided to join us,? Rouge said, looking at me. ?Well, as long as you?re here? would you mind handing me those streamers? I?m almost out up here.? I walked over to the couch and tossed them up to her. ?Wow! Nice arm,? she said to me with a wink. I smirked. Oh, no. Was all this smiling getting to me? I immediately wiped my face of the expression. ?Oh, come on, Shadow! You have to smile once in a while,? she said to me while placing the streamers on the walls. I sighed. She was right. At least I wouldn?t look odd. I forced a curl in one of the corners of my mouth, and then the other.
?Like this?? I asked between clenched teeth, trying not to lose the smile. She looked at me. Her cheeks went red, and she began to giggle.
?Almost,? she said. ?But don?t try to force it. Let it come naturally.? I let my mouth relax. It amazed me how hard it was to smile. ?Have you ever heard the saying that ?it takes more muscles to frown than to smile?? A friend told me that once. She said that frowning gives you wrinkles on your forehead,? she told me. I couldn?t help but look at my forehead in a mirror on the wall. Rouge busted out laughing. ?Don?t worry, sweety, you look fine.? I was so surprised by this comment that I blushed. Every time Rouge said something like that, it embarrassed me. She smiled at me, and then continued putting up decorations on the wall.
?I?m back!? Amy said, running into the room with decorations in her hands. But there were already enough decorations on the walls! Why was she bringing in more?
Just then, a large tree appeared behind Amy. And it was approaching. Fast. I jumped in front of the tree to protect Amy, knowing Sonic would get mad at me if I let anything happen to her. ?Shadow, what are you doing?? she asked me.
?I don?t want that thing to hurt you! I?ll get rid of it!? I said, getting ready to fight. Amy began laughing so hard that she started crying. ?What?s so funny?? I asked her.
?That?s the Christmas tree, Shadow!? she said to me, wiping a tear from her eye.
?A? Christmas tree?? I asked, confused.
?Yeah! You put it in a room, like the living room for example, and then you decorate it to make it look all pretty!? she explained to me.
?But? how is it moving?? I asked.
?Hey! Trees don?t have legs you know!? Knuckles yelled at me.
?Oh? Knux is carrying it,? I murmured. I quickly stepped out of the way, noticing that he wasn?t going to stop for a minor obstacle. He placed it near the corner of the living room.
?Phew! Finally!? he said. Julie-Su ran up to him and gave him a big hug.
?You?re so strong, Knuckles!? she said with a big smile. Knuckles grinned.
?Now it?s time to decorate the tree!? Amy squealed. She handed some decorations out to everyone except for me, and they placed them in random spots until the tree looked absolutely stunning. She ran over to where I was standing and looked back at the tree. ?Hmm? but it?s still missing something at the way top,? she said, handing me a star. Of course, I was confused by this action. ?Come on, Shadow! Put the star at the top of the tree!? she instructed me. ?We saved it for you!?
?Me? But? why?? I asked.
?Because it?s the most important part of the tree,? Sonic said to me. ?It wouldn?t look whole without it.?
Finally understanding, I nodded. I walked over to the tree and placed the star at the way top. It began shining brilliantly, and I smiled. I finally understood the meaning of Christmas.

Later that evening, Rouge baked some cookies. She let each of us have one, and set some aside on a plate on a table that was next to the Christmas tree. ?I?m so excited,? she confessed to me when we were alone. ?I can?t wait for Christmas to come.?
?Neither can I,? I said. ?It?ll be my first.? Rouge smiled and said goodnight, leaving the living room. I just sat on the couch, looking at the tree. ?I wonder what it?ll be like,? I thought to myself. ?Will I even enjoy it?? With all these thoughts running through my mind, I began to feel drowsy and began dazing out, but not before seeing some dust falling down from the top of the chimney into the fireplace.