Heart Racing

Red vs Blue

The smell of pure gasoline engulfed his mind and lungs, shooting circuits of unknown electricity throughout his entire body as he exhaled as soon as his hand touched the familiar handle. Its cold exterior releasing all tension from within, allowing squinting red eyes to adjust to the bright lights coming from all directions. They glanced around even if the sight before them was one they could never forget. The memorable image of waving flags, dancing hands, and jumping bodies filled his pupils as if they were meant to be there. Forever. There was no end to them.

Well, he could only wish that were true.

His usual smiling face left a scar as he approached, strides moving faster than the speed of sound. Or at least that was what it looked like to the dark-haired racer. There was no way to avoid the enormous nail sticking to his side even as he turned the opposite way. The all-too-familiar scene played in his mind once he heard the other beside him.

"One might say that you tried avoiding me just now." Shadow's eyes rolled instinctively.

"One may say they were right." The blue-haired only laughed in response, like always. "What do you want, Faker."

"Ouch, to think you believe I would only approach you for a request. That hurts, dude." The name only rewarded him with a jab to the side by Shadow's elbow. "Ouch, for real this time. You just love making me feel pain, huh?"

"If it helps to get your mouth closed, yes." He continued to fasten his pace, trying to keep a distance. He could hear the other chuckle before wincing. His voice began to grow increasingly quieter the further he walked.

"One day you'll kill me! I swear it!"

Today was like any other day. A comb quickly passed through his hair and a big black helmet covered the locks as soon as the comb touched the small table. Instead, a pair of white gloves were in his palm and Shadow shoved them on, just like he would any other day. A big deep breath was a part of the whole routine before finally, the viewport slid down, covering his eyes. Arms stretched for a short while before he could move forward.

The cheering was deafening as he made his way towards his car. Hands and legs swiftly entered, his body way too accustomed to the routine. He felt a final pat on his shoulder before he was finally left alone. Only the sound of the vehicle roaring to run and his deep breathing accompanied him. It would be impossible not to let his mind stir with useless thoughts and images. However, nothing was impossible for Shadow. He cleared his head, hands stayed softly on the wheel, legs lay lifeless before the peddles.

The moment was his. Just like any other day.

Cars flew across the track as if they were sliding on ice. The wheels occasionally made loud obnoxious sounds as they collided with the concrete road. The sound almost dulled out by the extremely expressive crowd yelling and cheering from the stands throughout the long racetrack. Flags were seen waving several times faster than before, winds creating force as the cars drove past one another.

"Easy." Shadow let out when he passed another racer, quickly making his way toward a rather unliked competitor. He could feel his top teeth collide with his lip, tasting the blood as he kept the blue racer in his sights. His eyes felt glued onto the fast car as it sped up, ticking him off. Every corner of his body felt tight as he sped up himself, not backing down from the fight. The blood continued to slowly slide down his chin and his hand gripped the wheel tightly.
The car in front of him did a fucking 360 turn, teasing Shadow to the point of eruption. He quickened his pace when the closest sharp turn came into view. He was not going to lose, especially not to-

"Sonic!"

All thoughts stopped for what felt like minutes as he turned the car all too quickly. The sound of the tires scrapped at his ears, nocking all his hearing straight out. Eyes were forced shut, and the pressure pushed him to the side and forward in swift movements. Hands no longer in control released their hold and flew along with him. However, one foot stayed locked in place on the brakes, unluckily not helping as the wheel continued to turn in all directions. The car began to roll before coming to a full stop, upside down.

Everything went black.

His head was banging like crazy and his eyes could not open. He blinked for a while before finally, he could see the yellow light hanging far above. A groan escaped his lips as he tried to move his head to the side. Everything hurt. Including breathing for some fucking reason. Shadow decided the best option was to just close his eyes once again to regain some strength but only a second in he was interrupted by a loud gasp.

"No! Don't die and please don't close those fucking eyes, fuck!" Shadow felt his mouth drop open slightly, desperately trying to speak but no words came out. Except for a sound that suddenly appeared when hands grabbed at his arms. "Oh, shit! Sorry, I was just- wait, Shadow! Are you alive?"

He only groaned in response. There was no hiding the fact that he was hurting, confused, and very annoyed. For obvious reasons. Shadow moved his head slightly to the left, letting his eyes fall onto the blue-haired racer, still in his suit. It looked very dirty, almost as of it had been through hell and back. The whites of his suit were ash grey and his gloves were no different. His signature blue; however, stayed visible behind its own coat of grey. Shadow let his eyes rest upon the slight red of his suit before his attention was quickly grabbed by the other's face.

His smile was wide and the slight dimples appeared a bit more prominent than Shadow remembered them being. His big round eyes were watery, redness smeared around as if he had been crying. His nose was no different, red and a bit runny as Sonic sniffled quietly. Oh, and damn was his hair a mess. Strands were coming from all sides, some crisscrossing and others just hanging over his face. Sonic was messy, Shadow knew this; however, never this messy.

"You don't know just how badly I want to punch you right now!" Sonic yelled before quickly laughing it off when Shadow glared. "We thought we lost you. You have no idea the mess you made and..."

Sonic went quiet suddenly like he just had a realization smack him. His body tensed the second Shadow opened his mouth to speak.

"Fucking-hard to breathe." Shadow let out, voice raspy like he was on the verge of death. His own eyes widened. Chaos, he was not well.

"Don't force yourself to talk. Your glares can tell me whole paragraphs." Sonic laughed, a small smile appearing on his face. "Don't get me wrong, I like your voice! But sometimes I prefer the daggers."

Sonic was only digging a deeper hole for himself, but Shadow couldn't help but find it stupidly funny. Only a little.