Chapter 18

Shadow had everything set up and ready. The pan was on the stove and heating up, the vegetables were next to the cutting board and knife. The frozen beef was thawing in the sink.

"Emperion, what kind of vegetables do you like on your hamburger?" Shadow turned around to look at Emperion, who was sitting on the living room couch watching TV.

"I like lettuce, tomatoes and pickles. No onions, though. I hate onions." he answered, looking up at Shadow.

"Ew, pickles? Pickles are disgusting." Shadow screwed his face in disgust.

"What! No they're not!" Emperion argued. "Also... why are you wearing an apron?" Shadow looked down at the white apron tied around his neck and waist.

"What's wrong with wanting to stay clean?" he asked, putting on a saddened face, sarcastically.

"What the hell? It's nothing to cry over, I was just saying." Emperion turned back to the TV. Shadow chuckled to himself and turned back to the kitchen. He silently chopped up the vegetables and a few cheese slices before fetching the now thawed ground beef. He threw the beef into a bowl and tossed in some salt and pepper before grinding it all together with his hands after washing them. After the beef was mixed to his liking, he pressed the beef into three small patties, leaving the rest in the bowl. He then tossed the patties in the preheated pan and left it to cook. After a few minutes of waiting, Shadow flipped the patties with a spatula and placed the cheese slices on top. He left them to cook for a few more minutes while he pulled out the hamburger buns. He grabbed a plate out of one of the bags and placed it on the opposite side of the stove as the cutting board. Then he pulled out three of the buns and placed them, tops off, on the plate. He then brought the plate over to the pan he was using and slipped the patties on the bottom buns before placing them on the dining table. He grabbed the top buns off the counter and placed them next to the bottom buns on the table, then grabbed the cutting board with the vegetable slices and put them on the table next to the unfinished hamburgers. He then returned to the stove and moved the pan from the hot burner to an unused burner and turned off the heat.

"Emperion! I finished the hamburgers if you want to try one!" Shadow called. He grabbed out three more plates from the grocery bags and placed them on the table before seating himself. He grabbed a hamburger and placed a few tomato and onion slices on it before grabbing a top and setting his complete burger on his plate. He got up and grabbed the bag of chips out of the cupboard. After placing them on the table, he grabbed the soda bottle out of the fridge and set it on the table next to the chips. Then he grabbed a cup from the grocery bags and placed it next to his plate. He poured himself a glass of root beer and opened the bag of chips. At the sound of the chip bag opening, Emperion glanced over at the table. Shadow pulled a handle full of chips onto his plate before setting the bag aside. He then began to eat his hamburger and tried to ignore the watching eyes he could just barely see.

"Dude, if you want a hamburger you can have one. No one's stopping you from eating." Shadow stated with a raised eyebrow. Emperion hesitated before slowly wandering over to the table. He sat down across from Shadow and pulled a plate towards him. He gently placed a burger on his plate and topped it with lettuce and tomato before putting the top on. Slowly, he took a bite and his face instantly lit up.

"This is so good!" he exclaimed through a mouthful of burger. Just then, the front door opened and Jay walked in with a simple sandwich in hand. He closed the door behind him and stopped when he saw Shadow and Emperion sitting at the table. Emperion turned around enthusiastically, swinging his burger with him.

"You didn't tell me he was such a good cook!" he burst. Jay stood there.

"He... isn't?" Jay hungrily stared at the plate with the remaining hamburger on it. Shadow smiled and leaned back in his chair.

"Do you want one?" Shadow teased. Jay glared at him and sat down at the head of the table with his sandwich. He sat there eyeing the hamburgers before unwrapping his sandwich. He was about to take a bite when he hesitated and set the sandwich down again. He pulled a plate towards him and stared at the remaining hamburger.

"You can have it, if you want." Shadow stated, setting his left elbow on the table and resting his head on it. He slowly took a bite of his hamburger and stared directly at Jay as he chewed. Jay averted his gaze towards Shadow and watched him eat his burger for a while before hesitantly reaching for the last burger.

"I'm not saying you can't have it, it is your food after all, but if you do have it, you're basically admitting I'm a good cook." Shadow stated, making him freeze. "Best be quick if you want to try it, though. Emperion's not going to wait for you to make up your mind before he snatches the last one." Jay was obviously ticked off. He swiped the burger from the plate and slid the cutting board closer to himself. He put lettuce and tomato on his burger before putting the top bun on it. Shadow smiled mischievously at him all the while. Jay stared at the burger for a good while before whipping his head towards Shadow.

"Stop staring! It's creepy and weird." he complained. "And why are you wearing an apron?"

"Oh, right! I forgot about this." Shadow turned and started untying his apron. After taking off the apron and putting it in his void storage, he turned back to his plate and started working on his chips. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Jay slowly take a bite. He also watched with satisfaction at the surprised look of pleasure on his face.

"What do you think of my hamburgers?" Shadow asked with a smile.

"They are so good!" Emperion burst.

"They're better than expected." Jay mumbled. Shadow chuckled and finished his chips and soda.

"There was some leftover beef, so if we refrigerate it, I can cook some up for you guys again tomorrow." Shadow suggested. Jay nodded in agreement, while Emperion served himself some more chips.

"So what were you doing for the week you were gone?" Jay inquired.

"I was building my house."

"I thought that construction workers were supposed to work on houses." Emperion wondered, through a mouthful of chips.

" I only helped them out a bit. I was mostly carrying the magic-sealing stone, moving dug out dirt, placing in-wall posts, setting tiles, setting up furniture, connecting electrical wires to electrical appliances... That kind of stuff." he listed, counting on his fingers. "It took the whole week!" Jay stared at him, mouth open and Emperion stopped eating to look up in surprise. Shadow looked back at them, innocently.

"What?"

"I don't think that was just helping out 'a bit'. That would be a lot of work to do by yourself." Jay stated. "And did you say magic-sealing stone? Why do you want magic-sealing stone?"

"I wanted a training room to train my magic so I requested it to be built out of magic-sealing stone. Do you guys want to go see it?" he invited.

"It's already really late. Let's wait until morning." Jay decided.

"Alright, then. Do you want me to cook hamburgers for breakfast tomorrow morning?"

"Yes!" Emperion shouted enthusiastically.

"We have nothing else to eat right now." Jay agreed, somewhat reluctantly.

"It's decided then!" Shadow slammed his hands on the table and stood up abruptly. "I'll see ya two dudes tomorrow, goodnight!" He walked over to the door with a smile on his face and grabbed the handle. Without opening the door, Shadow teleported in front of his house, leaving Emperion dumbstruck. 

Shadow pulled a key out of his void storage and unlocked the door. He turned the lights on and closed the door behind him, making sure to lock it. The first floor consisted of the kitchen on the far end and the living room just to the right. The kitchen had a counter running all along the wall with cupboards above and below them. The fridge stood at the left end of the counter. The dishwasher and sink were installed to the right of the fridge. The stove top and oven were placed in the center of the counter with a small cabinet above it placed in front of the chimney, which led into the wall. The drawers for the silverware and such were placed to the far right of the kitchen. The island in the middle had six leather stools, three on each long side. The counter tops and tiled floor were all made of marble. The cupboards were made of manufactured wood.

The small entryway and living room floors were made of false wood. The entryway had a small open box for putting shoes in leaning against the small wall to the right that separated the living room from the entryway. The living room was a couple steps lower than the kitchen and had a couch that stretched in a ninety degree angle around the open space. On the far wall was a TV and to the right was a window sill big enough to sit on reaching the whole length of the window. In the center of the living room was a coffee table and underneath that was a soft and pretty rug. Shadow walked past the living room and kitchen and walked up the stairs on the right wall that led left up to the second floor. 

The second floor was just as big as the first floor but only a single room. It was covered in the most magic resistant tiles and had eight lamps embedded in the wall, two in each corner. The lamps emitted a soft glow, coloring the white tile a pale orange-yellow. Shadow could feel the magic sealing stone through the magic resistant tiles that covered them. He passed that floor and headed up for the third floor. At the top of the stairs was a small hallway with two doors. The door at the end of the hallway led to a bathroom with a toilet, sink, bathtub and shower. The door to the left led into a master bedroom. Inside, in the middle of the right wall was a big, plain-looking bed. Two tall lamps stood in each corner of the right wall and a nightstand stood to the immediate right of the bed. A closet was inside the far wall and a double glass door in a glass only wall led out to a balcony on the left. Empty shelves lined the walls that had space.

Shadow took a deep breath and flopped onto the bed, tired. He was already asleep before he remembered to change his clothes.

~ * ~

Shadow opened his eyes to see a black void all around him. He looked around. He was just floating in a black space. He looked forward and saw a white doorway. He tried to fly over but white chains manifested on his arms, legs and neck. He looked at the door again. He could feel that there was something important through that doorway. Something he was missing. He reached out towards the door with all his might, but the chains wouldn't budge. If anything, they drew him further away into the darkness. After struggling at the white door, tauntingly just out of reach, he gave up. He curled his legs to his chest and buried his face in his arms, wrapping his wings around his entire body as he drifted in the black void. He slowly sank into the darkness.

Shadow opened his eyes. He sat up in his bed, staring blankly forward. It was still dark outside. He thought that he was forgetting something but couldn't place a finger on it. That feeling of forgetfulness came with a small feeling of emptiness. He decided to put it off and got out of bed. He walked down to the kitchen and looked through the cupboards before remembering he didn't have any cups. So instead, he drank straight from the faucet. It didn't taste the best but it was better than nothing. As he walked back to his bedroom, he remembered to turn off the lights throughout the house before sliding back into bed.