FOR YOUR HEART-BOOM

☆Ch2

After an interesting breakfast time spent with the gang - minus Sticks, who was busy making up the plan to supposedly save Sonic from the hybrid - Sonic excused himself only so he could head for the canyon and wait there for Shadow to appear again. Upon his arrival he paused for a moment, his eyes landing on the black hedgehog, who was already sitting by the edge of the cliff and hanging his legs down over it.
"I started to believe, that you'd never show up, slowpoke," Shadow spoke to him while just slightly folding his one ear towards the azure male, his enhanced senses always informing him about the occurences around him.

"Well, ya know how hard it is to keep our meetings a secret from the others? I am doing all this only for the sake of you, Shadow, so how about you show at least a little compassion?" Sonic deadpanned and approaching the other he sat down next to him, again, in respectful distance.
"Pathetic..." Shadow mumbled under his breath, since expressing compassion for anyone wasn't in the list of his behavior patterns.
"What did you say?" Sonic raised a brow, thanks to the small distance he actually heard him, but wanted him to say it properly if he is a big hedgehog enough for it.

"Nothing," Shadow barked out and bent one knee up, rested one arm on top of it while supporting his body with his other hand.
"To me it sounded more than just 'nothing'," Sonic dared to poke the bee-hive to see, what will happen.
"Just drop it, will you!" Shadow growled this time and finally looked at him with the burning crimson irises of his, but Sonic just slightly smirked at him while shrugging.
"Talk to me properly and I won't provoke you like this," he said in a fair offer of a deal.
"Did you come here just to annoy me, hedgehog?" Shadow got defensive and got up while brushing some dust and dirt off of his fur.

"Annoy you? I had to make up a good excuse to be able to leave without the others suspecting anything! I put effort into these hangouts, so of course I am not here just to annoy you!" Sonic explained in defensive way as well while glaring up at the ebony male.
"What did you tell them this time?" Shadow asked curiously and raised an eyebrow. Sonic snickered at the memory of himself using a perfect excuse.
"Just pretended to feel sick, once I was far enough, I speeded off towards the canyon, getting lucky to find you sitting here already," he explained and Shadow huffed a bit as he descended back down next to the azure hedgehog, without realization closer to him this time.

Sonic, however, did realize the fact and hence he felt his heart beating slightly faster than it normally did.
"Nice move then. Do you do this often?" Shadow spoke in calm tone now while enjoying the view of the area surrounding them and enjoyed the incoming afternoon.
"A few times, I do. But else, I rather tell them simply, that I will be busy or on a run around the island, so they don't have to look for me. Besides, I am too fast for them to catch me," Sonic shrugged, smiling proudly over his own mischievous actions, which seemed to work everytime, so far.

"Hm.. is it.. hard for you to lie to your friends like this?" Shadow asked with a hint of concern lacing his voice, probably for the very first time ever since they started having these secret hangouts and conversations. Sonic lowered his ears and sighing he looked down at his hands resting in his lap.
"Sometimes it is, because I know how much they trust me. And I don't want to break their trust," he admitted, feeling guilty for lying so often to them, only so he could spend some time with the ebony hedgehog. It was sort of selfish, but... did he have any other choice?

"Stop seeing me then," Shadow suggested, secretly feeling a sharp stinging pain in his chest, which annoyed him. He was getting attached to Sonic by now, he could feel it in his bones. And he hated it. Sonic widened his eyes and glanced at Shadow in shock.
"What?! Stop seeing you? After everything we have gone through? Shadow, that's-"
"So what?" Shadow simply cut him off, sounding distant and emotionless. He was trying to be as emotionless as he could on the outside, hating to admit, that it hurts him to push Sonic away from him. He does have a compassion for his rival and also feels guilty for pulling Sonic down to the abyss along with him. After all... he probably deserves to be all alone.. right?
"Are you kidding me?" Sonic deadpanned while wearing a serious expression with halfway lidded eyes.
"Do I look like I am joking?" Shadow shot back at him with a frown on his face.
"Shadow.... I won't stop visiting you just because of my friends," Sonic opposed, not wanting to stop these visits, because he himself was growing to like Shadow's presence and any day spent without him feels emptier than it should.