7
When Shadow awoke he opened his eyes to green staring back at him, he sat up with a yelp and looked at the blue hedgehog sitting up in front of him.
"Hey Shadow!" The other hedgehog gave him a dopey smile and small wave of his hand.
"What are you doing here!" He all but yelled at the other.
"Well I came to visit you, obviously. I heard you were hurt and I wanted to check on you."
"... I'm fine." He snarled after a moment.
"Great! Is there anything you need? I can bring you it!" The blue one seemed far too excited for the situation.
"I need you to get out of my temporary living quarters."
Surprisingly he actually listened to this with a cheerful "Okay!" Scooting back until he was outside of the fort. Sitting crisscross on the pavement he smiled at Shadow.
Shadow felt a mixture of annoyance and bewilderment as he watched the other settle comfortably outside the makeshift fort. The bright sunlight illuminated the blue hedgehog's quills, making him look way too cheerful for Shadow's current mood.
"Why are you so happy?" Shadow grumbled, crossing his arms.
Sonic tilted his head, still grinning. "Because you're awake! That's a win in my book! Plus, I brought snacks!" He reached into his backpack and pulled out a bag of cheese puffs, holding them up like a trophy.
Shadow rolled his eyes. "You think food will make me feel better? It's just puffs."
"Sure, but they're the best puffs! Trust me, you’ll love them!" Sonic tossed a puff into the air and caught it effortlessly, his enthusiasm infectious despite Shadow’s best efforts to remain stoic.
"Why do you always have to be so… so annoying?" Shadow muttered, trying to keep his irritation in check.
Sonic shrugged, still unfazed. "It’s my superpower! Plus, I can’t help it if I just want to see you smile. You could use a little fun, Shadow."
Shadow felt a flicker of something, was it warmth? Frustration? He wasn’t sure. "Fun?" he scoffed. "I am not interested in your childish games."
"Come on! Just give it a chance! How about a race?" Sonic suggested, bouncing on his toes. "I promise it’ll get your mood up a bunch!"
Shadow narrowed his eyes, contemplating. The thought of racing was tempting, but he didn’t want to give this hedgehog the satisfaction. Still, the atmosphere was lighter than it had been, and maybe a little competition wouldn’t hurt.
"Fine," Shadow finally said, standing up. "But if I win, you leave me alone."
Sonic's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Deal! And if I win… well, you have to join me for a movie night!"
Shadow thought it over for a minute "You’re on, blue hedgehog."
"Sonic."
"What?"
"My name's Sonic, I wasn't sure I ever properly introduced myself before "
Shadow just hummed as he got out of the fort.
As the two lined up at the edge of the forest, the blue one, Sonic, started talking.
"So to the edge of town and back?"
"Sounds fine to me."
As they both took off Shadow ignored the pain in his leg while he ran. If he had any sense he wouldn't be running on an injured leg but he wanted to win this race and wasn't gonna chicken out. Even if Maddie would get mad if she found out, who cares right?
Well since he had decided to run on an injured lag, about halfway through the race a pain sharper than the rest shot up his leg, making him fall over, taking Sonic down in the process. The two tumble for a second before Sonic sits up and rubs his head, "Aw c'mon man-" he paused as he looked over to see Shadow curled up on the ground, holding his ankle.
"Um, are you... Okay?" He was just met with heavy breathing.
"Maybe I can get my mom, she's a really good veterinarian. She can help you." Shadow just ignores Sonic, blocking his voice out.
His ankle was killing him, this is the worst the pain had ever been. Why couldn't he just be healing right? His ears were ringing and the pain was spreading throughout his entire body. Why was this happening? Why him? Maybe he deserves it.
When his ears stop ringing there is a familiar female voice speaking to him, he can't tell what she saying though. He feels a tear slip down the side of his face, strange. He hadn't cried since Maria's death, what was wrong with him, his body was not behaving like it normally would.
"-adow, what's wrong sweetheart?"
This time he could hear most of what she said, her voice more clear now. Why was Maddie here?
"hurts" he managed to push the word out.
Only seconds later did he feel hands go under him and scoop him up under his armpits. He curled up to the best if his ability but couldn't much with how she was holding him.
"Hang on, let's get you in the car and I'll take you to the clinic, I'm not sure how you managed it but you broke your foot running. I'll have to scold you later for running on an injured leg."
He was placed in what seemed like the backseat of a vehicle and something or rather someone slid in next to him. As the car started up and Maddie took him back to the clinic, a gloved hand started running itself through his quills. When he opened his eyes he saw sonic above him, looking at him worriedly.
"It'll be okay." Sonic mumbled, giving him a weak smile.
For some reason he believed him, and suddenly felt tired, it was really starting to annoy him how much his body has been craving sleep recently. He's never needed it before, why must he be so tired now?
As he drifted off Maddie started talking again but he was unable to catch what she was saying through the fogginess of his head.