After a wonderful Valentine's day date, Chrissy walked Knuckles home and kissed him goodnight. But on the way home, she runs into the last person she'd expect…

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Disclaimer: I don't own any of the sonic characters…Sadly…

"I had a wonderful time tonight…" Chrissy said to Knuckles. "This was one of the most romantic dates ever."

Knuckles blushed. "Hey, I try." He said shrugging.

Chrissy laughed. "Don't get all modest with me!" she said, in a scolding jest. "I had a great time, and you made it happen! Be proud of yourself for once…" she giggled.

Knuckles rolled his eyes. "Don't you need to be getting home?" he said.

Chrissy frowned. "Yeah…" she said sadly. She smiled. "But I'll see you tomorrow…" she said, winking at him. She leaned forward and gave him a peck on the cheek. "I love you…" she whispered into his ear.

Knuckles blushed, but smiled. "I love you too…" he whispered back.

Chrissy turned and walked down the steps of the shrine. Her tail swooshed rhythmically behind her as she walked. She looked behind herself one more time. Knuckles was standing there, staring at her. He waved slowly. She giggled and waved back before darting off into the forest.

Shadow was walking home after being out alone. He hated Valentine's Day. It was for couples, not singles. He was single, and he intended to keep it that way. No one understood him. No one ever would.

Yet, there was one person (besides Maria) whose image he could not banish from his mind. The dog girl. He frowned. I hate her. He thought to himself. So why can't I stop thinking about her? It puzzled him. She annoyed him. She was peppy, fun, light-hearted, joyful, and kind. A complete opposite of himself, and yet, he found himself unable to forget her.

Shadow remembered saving her life once. She had come out on the bad end of a bout with her enemy, Zerka, and her teleported in with Chaos Control and saved her life. He said it was because he hated Zerka more than the dog girl; in fact he had convinced even himself of that. But now he was beginning to reconsider. He shook his head. No. I hate her. I'll just give it some time. I'll forget her eventually.

Shadow was so lost in thought that he wasn't paying attention, and crashed right into Chrissy. She fell backwards, and she immediately looked up. She narrowed her eyes.

"Oh. It's you." Chrissy said coldly. She stood up and brushed herself off. "You might want to watch where you're going, you know. I wouldn't want you to run into a street and get hit by a bus." She laughed dryly. She wasn't joking, she really didn't want him to die, but she knew he wasn't in the mood for her warm fuzzy kindness.

Shadow looked at her. He snorted. "Whatever." He said stoically.

Chrissy smirked. Her curiosity, as it often did, got the better of her. "I'll bite. What are you doing out this late?"

Shadow narrowed his eyes. "It's none of your business." He said coldly, and began to walk away, shoving past Chrissy.

"Normally you wouldn't say two words to me." Chrissy said. "Something's different." She really could tell. Normally, Shadow would've just walked away and ignored her like she wasn't even there. Now he actually said something.

Shadow didn't stop. "Would you just go away?" He didn't want to give any hint of any emotion other than hate for the girl.

Chrissy smirked. As he had shoved past her, she had slipped one of the Psychic necklaces around his wrist. He hadn't noticed. People put up walls, not as barriers, but to see who cares enough to break them down. She thought to him.

This time, Shadow stopped dead. He whirled around. "How the hell did you do that?" he demanded angrily. He looked down at his wrist. He took the necklace off and threw it back at Chrissy. "If you know what's good for you, you'll stay out of my head." He said. He turned and began to walk away again.

Chrissy smirked. "You like me…" she said. As she said it, the smiled faded. "You like me…" she echoed.

Shadow didn't stop, but broke into a full run. But as he ran, he came to a realization that he couldn't run from. She's right…He thought. I do like her…

Chrissy watched Shadow until he was out of sight. I never realized…She thought. He cares… He likes me… She closed her eyes hard, and shook her head. "This isn't happening…" she said aloud. She, too, had come to a realization.

Chrissy liked Shadow back.

Chrissy put her head in her hands. She didn't know what to do, but she knew she had only two options: Stay with Knuckles, or pursue Shadow. Tears began to well up in her eyes. If I choose Shadow, I lose Knuckles… But… Shadow… He's so… She couldn't finish the thought.

Chrissy shook her head and wiped the tears from her eyes. She continued walking home, but she knew that things weren't the same. In an instant, everything had changed. She no longer loved Knuckles. She looked at the stars in the sky. There, to the plants and the trees and the stars in the sky, she confessed, "I love Shadow the Hedgehog."