¿Him or Her? {Sonadow}

Chapter Twenty-five

__Two days went by. Sonic hadn't come over yestderday. He did text Shadow that he got caught up with something, but he didn't say what it was. Shadow grew a bit anxious. He was used to having Sonic around all the time now. He did rationalize the fact that there would be times Sonic wouldn't be here with him everyday, but he still didn't like being apart from him.
__Shadow was sitting on his couch. He had bought a new book and was reading it. Navi had fallen asleep on his lap while he read. The book he bought wasn't really interesting, but it was the only thing distracting him. The more he noticed Sonic's absence, the more he thought about Maria. He didn't like it.
__During those two days Shadow's nightmares had come back. He didn't know why and it gave him more anxiety. He began to dread sleep once again. Because of this he never looked forward when the sky turned dark, and the stars he once showed fascination for were now the products of horrible memories. Shadow wanted nothing more than to forget about the ark. He wanted to focus on the future so he could visualize exactly what he wanted.
__Once it became night Shadow had finished the book. When he placed it on the coffee table Navi flew from the kitchen and demanded attention. Shadow didn't give her any, though. He wanted to check his phone first. He was disappointed when there were no new messages or calls from Sonic. Shadow then decided he had enough and headed straight for Sonic's house.
__When he was close to Sonic's house he saw that Sonic was on his way to the front door. Shadow rushed over to Sonic and tapped his quills to get his attention. When he saw Sonic's face he flattened his ears and widened his eyes. There were two claw marks on his left cheek. They weren't deep but blood was slowly trickling down his face. Sonic didn't look phased by it one bit.
__"What happened to you?" Shadow asked as he tried to touch Sonic's cheek. Sonic had backed away before he could and covered it without touching it.
__"I was chasing Metal Sonic," He explained tiredly. "He turned and scratched me before he got away. It's nothing to worry about. It's not that deep."
__Shadow shook his head. He wasn't going to take that. He led Sonic into the house and examined the room he was in. This house was only one story and small; kind of like an apartment. Shadow was able to find the kitchen immediately. He pulled a paper towel off the holder and got it wet in the sink. He then walked back over to Sonic. Sonic had shook his head but Shadow grabbed his shoulder and started wiping the blood off his face. Sonic had grunted as he tried to pull away from Shadow.
__"Please, don't," He insisted. "I can do it myself."
__Shadow ignored Sonic and held him in place as he finished cleaning out the blood. He let go of Sonic and went to throw the paper towel away. He then walked back to Sonic and checked the claw marks. "Do you have any antibiotics?"
__Sonic growled and pulled away from Shadow. "Stop. It's fine. Shouldn't you be at home? It's late."
__Shadow stared at Sonic in confusion. He looked aggravated with him. "Why are you mad at me?"
__Sonic sighed and started rubbing his temples. "Look, I'm not mad. I'm just really tired. All I want to do is sleep. Why are you even here? You should be sleeping, too."
__"I don't want to," Shadow admitted shamefully.
__Sonic's expression had softened as he dropped his hands. "You're not afraid of those nightmares, are you? They're just dreams."
__Shadow flattened his ears and looked away. "I just don't like it."
__Sonic rolled his eyes. "You can't hide from things you don't like forever. These dreams of your are a problem, Shadow. I can help you better if you tell me what they're about. Come on."
__Shadow opened his mouth and almost told him everything. Something had kept him from doing so, though. He groaned and shook his head. "I can't."
__Sonic's eyes grew wide and he crossed his arms. "And why not?"
__"You wouldn't understand." Shadow was too late to stop himself from saying that. He felt a knot form in his stomach as Sonic's expression changed.
__"Then why are you here?"
__"I just..." Shadow had to fight to speak. His pride would not allow him to say the next words. He had to shake his head and force himself to look into Sonic's eyes before he could speak. He struggled getting the rest of the sentence out. "I don't...like being...alone...without you..." He immediately looked away and kept his ears down.
__"You don't want my help, but you want me near you?" Sonic asked in annoyance. "You can't expect us to spend all our time together."
__Shadow perked his ears and looked at Sonic. "But since we started this that's all we did," He pointed out. "You always came to visit."
__"Yeah, but there's a thing called distancing," Sonic sneered.
__Shadow felt hurt and confused by his words. "Why do you all of a sudden want to be distant with me?"
__"Why do you all of a sudden want to spend all your time with me?" Sonic retorted. "Am I supposed to distract you from a certain someone?"
__Shadow's eyes grew wide as he took a step back. "What?"
__"Don't act all confused," Sonic growled. "I know what your dreams are about, but I wanted to give you a chance to tell me. It's pretty obvious now you're using me as a distraction."
__"What!? No I'm not!" Shadow exclaimed. "And how do you know!?"
__"That's my business," Sonic snorted. "Look, I don't wanna deal with you right now, so can you leave?" He crossed his arms and turned his back to Shadow.
__Shadow felt his heart aching. What is happening? Why is he acting like this? Shadow stepped forward and grabbed Sonic's arm. "Hold on..."
__Sonic whipped his head around and glared at Shadow. "I said leave!" He ended up pulling Shadow out of the house.
__When Shadow was outside he yanked his hand away and stared at Sonic in shock. "What is going on!?"
__"I'm getting tired of your shit!" Sonic yelled out. "I thought maybe you were just mocking me while we were together, but you were using me! I want you gone, you hear me!"
__"I'm not using you!" Shadow retorted. "And you can't get rid of me that easily."
__Sonic huffed. "Maybe not, but there's one thing I'm best at!" And like that he started running away from Shadow. Shadow didn't even think as he ran after him.
__"Sonic, wait!" He shouted.
__"No!"
__Shadow chased after the blue hedgehog desperately. He knew both of them were tired, but he wasn't giving up on Sonic. At last, he caught up close enough to grab Sonic's arm and pulled him back. "Listen to me!"
__The blue hedgehog, eyes full of anger and sadness, yanked his arm away and glared at Shadow. "Why should I!? You never listened to me whenever I tried to comfort you! Tell me why you need the satisfaction!?"
__Shadow kept his hands down by his side, tightening them into fists as he trembled under Sonic's stare. "Look, this is all a misunderstanding..."
__Sonic's eyes narrowed as he flattened his ears and bared his teeth. "A misunderstanding!? What the hell is wrong with you!?"
__"I don't understand!" Shadow exclaimed. "What do you want from me!?"
__"I want you to choose!" Sonic yelled back.
__"What do you mean choose!?"
__"It's either me or someone who's been dead for over fifty years!"
__Shadow narrowed his eyes as he glared at Sonic. Anger started filling up his head and stomach. "Don't you dare say that about her!"
__"Well I'm sorry, Shadow!" Sonic sneered. "But you need to learn to stop obsessing over someone who's no longer with us." Sonic then sighed and turned away from Shadow. "Forget it. I know who you really want. There's no changing it." He started walking away and Shadow straightened.
__"Sonic, wait!" He called out.
__Sonic stopped where he was, but he didn't turn his head. "Just leave me alone." He began walking again. Shadow reached for Sonic with his hand, but he couldn't bring himself to follow after him again. He slowly let his hand drop and shut his eyes tightly. He crossed his arms and continued to tremble, trying to fight back his emotions. Please...come back...
__Shadow ended up collapsing onto his knees. He flattened his ears and gritted his teeth. Why is this happening? What caused this?
__"Choo!" Shadow opened his eyes and looked up as he saw his chao hurriedly fly over to him. She was panting and she looked exhausted. Shadow felt something break inside.
__"Navi," He croaked. He then grabbed Navi and hugged her tightly. As his heart continued to ache, he felt the tears leaking from his eyes. He felt all his emotions he had been bottling up pour out as he started bawling. Maria, what have you done? What have you done!?