¿Him or Her? {Sonadow}

Chapter Nine

__Shadow spent his suspension for the first two days at his house. He was actually relieved to have more time to relax. He was able to finish the book he was reading and spent more time with Navi. It was nice to be away from work. The third day of his suspension was Saturday. He had almost forgotten about the race he and Sonic were supposed to have today. He didn't even think Sonic would want to now after their last encounter. Shadow wanted to take advantage of this and stay home, but something made him leave his house.
__Within eight minutes, he found himself in front of Sonic's door. During his walk he had been cursing at himself for doing this, yet he could not bring himself to turn back. He was standing in front of the door for a minute. It was like his feet were glued to the ground. Why am I here? Why am I doing this? What has gotten into me? Don't do it! No matter how much his mind protested, his hand slowly went up and knocked on the door.
__"Just a minute!" Sonic's voice called out.
__Shadow's ears twitched when he saw the doorknob turn really slowly. He took a step back and expected to see the blue hedgehog, but there was a blue chao in Sonic's form in his place. Shadow widened his eyes as he stared down at it. He has one, too? He tilted his head. The blue chao narrowed his eyes and started growling at Shadow. He then flew at Shadow and started nibbling on his arm. "Hey! Knock that off!" Shadow hissed as he pushed the chao away. The chao rolled backwards in the air and shook his head before he flew at Shadow again.
__"Milo, no!" Sonic yelled as he finally reached the door. He grabbed the chao and pulled him away from Shadow. Shadow watched as Sonic cradled Milo and tried to calm him down. "Ya lil' nut! You know better than that." He then giggled as he put him back in the house. "Wait there, Milo." He then shut the door and looked at Shadow. His smile turned into a frown and he crossed his arms. "Sorry about Milo. He doesn't like strangers."
__Shadow hid the arm Milo had nibbled on behind his back and snorted. "No big deal. It's fine."
__Sonic leaned on the door and sighed. "What are you doing here?"
__"It's Saturday," Shadow said hopelessly. It took a little bit, but Sonic's eyes grew wide and he uncrossed his arms as he got off the door.
__"I completely forgot about that," He said in shame. God dammit. Shadow stayed silent and let him continue. "Wait...you actually want to race?" He asked hopefully.
__Shadow narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms. "We agreed on this schedule. I'm just holding my end of the deal." Sonic had narrowed his eyes and smiled. This made Shadow uncomfortable. "What?"
__But Sonic shook his head. "Nothing. Let's go." Sonic started walking and Shadow followed slowly behind him. He turned his head and saw that Milo was glaring at him through the window as they walked together.

__They were back in Green Hill Zone. Sonic had already explained the same rules that were given last time. Shadow examined the land and breathed in the fresh air. He'd forgotten for a second that Sonic was standing next to him. Shadow felt weird with Sonic being this close to him. He moved away a bit and looked away from him. "So, first one out of Green Hill Zone wins?"
__Sonic nodded. He then walked over to one of the palm trees and pointed at it. "Here's our starting line." Shadow walked over to Sonic and they both crouched down in a sprinter stretch. Shadow took a second to let the wind brush against his face before nodding at Sonic to let him know he was ready. Sonic grinned and focused his vision ahead of him. "Three, two, one, go!" They both activated their super-speed and ran towards the end. While Sonic kept his arms behind him as he ran, Shadow swayed his arms back and forth as he skated. Shadow caught a quick glance at Sonic's face and once again he looked so happy as they ran. He still couldn't understand why. He thought of how he would win the race and watch Sonic's expression fall after losing. But then he thought of how happy his face would get if he won. Even though Shadow hated the idea of losing to this hero, he wanted to experiment and see how much happier Sonic can get.
__As they neared the end, Sonic was speeding up while Shadow purposely stayed back at a constant speed. He watched Sonic run past the end of Green Hill Zone and stopped where he was. He watched as Sonic ran back with this smug look and turned it into a huge smile. "Booyah! That's game!" He then chuckled and wrapped his arms under his quills. "And that's the last race. Too bad!" His eyes were glistening in delight.
__"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Shadow stayed still and made no expression. He was examining the joyful look on Sonic's face. He was right. Sonic did get happier. He began wondering if he could still go further. He had never met anyone as happy as Sonic. "I should be preparing for a future chess match then?" Shadow had asked.
__Sonic closed his eyes and giggled. "Yeah! I'll have to practice with Tails, though." Sonic then set his arms down and started walking. "Hey, let's eat out. My treat." Shadow didn't think. His feet started moving in their own. He continued to think about Sonic's big smile. He could even feel the ends of his lips move on their own as well while he did. Sonic had looked at Shadow and smirked. "Are you smiling?"
__"What?" Shadow quickly covered his mouth with his hand and looked away. "No I'm not!" He heard Sonic laughing and growled quietly. He wasn't really mad, though.