Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Living Pains
Chapter 9: Falling Into Shadows
I hate people. The thought kept replaying itself in his head as he sat in the theater with the others. Especially my friends. This one sprouted up when Tim reached past him for some popcorn. I also hate Sonic. He thought as the hedgehog in question actually tried to crawl over the aisle to get a handful of popcorn. If only he had his gun.
"I know that look." Karin said coyly. "You're wishing you had your gun."
"Maybe." Their conversation was cut short when the lights dimmed.
"This is gonna suck!" Sonic yelled. Tim and two guys not in their group yelled their agreement. The sound of four slaps prompted all of them to remain quiet for the rest of the movie.
Two and a half hours later Shadow found himself agreeing with Sonic's pre-movie statement. The blue hedgehog himself, however, seemed to have been emotionally scarred by the movie. Tails had been scared, Amy and Karin had both screamed twice while Shadow and Rouge were bored. Knuckles had actually fallen asleep halfway through and Tim seemed to think it was the greatest movie in the world.
"Next time we're watching something with explosions." The echidna proclaimed.
"I'm with Knucklehead." Rouge yawned out.
"What did you think Shadow?" Amy asked, ignoring the whimpering Sonic.
"I didn't care for it."
"You weren't scared?" She gave Sonic a pointed look.
"I-I wasn't sc-scared." The blue hedgehog stuttered. Knuckles walked casually up behind him.
"Boo." He said in the same tone one would use to say hello to an acquaintance. Sonic promptly screamed like a girl and fell to the ground, twitching. Tails ran over to his him, checking his pulse.
"He dead?" Shadow asked calmly.
"I don't think so." Tails said, listening to the blue hedgehog's breathing. "Just unconscious."
"Right." Shadow pointed a finger at Knuckles. "You carry him."
"What? Why me?"
"You're stronger than I am. Besides, this is your fault."
"I-true." He picked the hedgehog up off the street. When they got to the car he looked at his burden. "He's still out. Where do you want him?"
"Trunk." The ebony hedgehog said nonchalantly.
"Shadow!" Amy and Karin yelled at the same time.
"What? You want him waking up in the car with you?" After a brief deliberation they decided to drop him and tails off first.
"Bye guys!" Tim yelled, running to his own car.
"Bye." Shadow and Knuckles called as Rouge muttered something about the cat. They all piled into Shadow's car and drove to Tails and Sonic's house. As Tails got out of the car Shadow waved him over to the window. Knuckles carried the unconscious hedgehog into the house, using the spare key they had given him.
"What's up Shadow?" He asked nervously.
"Do you know how to fix an elevator?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"I'll pay you to fix ours. It's been broken for a very long time."
"Later Shadow. Girls." Knuckles waved to them as he and Rouge walked to their apartment. "See you at work tomorrow Shadow?"
"Yeah. See you then." And with that the three hedgehogs drove towards Karin's house. As Shadow pulled the car into her driveway, Karin turned in her seat to look at Amy.
"Amy, is it okay if Shadow sleeps over again?" She asked in a mock little kid voice.
"Actually, would you mind if I slept over to? I don't like being alone." She said the last part quickly. "Never mind, that was a stupid question, you guys probably want your privacy and-"
"Rose." Shadow broke in calmly. He turned to Karin. "She really does get insecure when she's alone. Is it okay?" She smiled at him.
"Sure, that way we both get our Shadow time." She said leaning forward to kiss him on the cheek. "Now come on guys!" She called over her shoulder, walking to her door. Amy stared at Shadow with a huge grin on her face.
"She is crazy about you. You do know that right?" Not waiting for an answer, she followed Karin into the house.
"I hate it when she does that." He muttered to himself as he locked the car and followed the two girls. He walked into the living room to see them laying pallets out on the floor. "What are you doing?" He asked them.
"It's a sleep over! You have to sleep in the same room together." Karin said cheerfully.
"Okay. One condition." Both girls gave him confused looks. "Neither of you hit me with anything." He cocked his head to the side. "Maybe I should get head insurance." He muttered thoughtfully.
The next morning Shadow left early for work. On the way he picked Rouge and Knuckles up at their apartment. As they got into the car he didn't move at first. He turned the car off and spun around so that he was looking at them both.
"I want you both to promise that the conversation we're about to have won't leave this car." Knuckles nodded immediately. Rouge grinned evilly and nodded as well. "Close enough." He took a deep breath. "I really, really like Karin." He refused to look at either of them. "She drives me crazy! She just gets under my skin and I can't stand to be away from her!" He looked out the windshield. "There. Go ahead, laugh, cackle, or mock me as you will." Knuckles' eyes were bugging out of his head as he grabbed Shadow by the collar and proceeded to shake him.
"You idiot! Do you realize what you've done?" Shadow looked at him startled. "You've proven Amy right! She said you had fallen for Karin." He crossed his arms looking supremely annoyed.
"What?" Shadow was disturbed by the echidna's behavior. Rouge sighed as though she was being forced to explain something to a child.
"What the Knucklehead means is that you are in love."
"No I'm not!" Shadow said defensively. "We haven't even been going out for that long! How could I…" he trailed off. He suddenly slammed his head into the steering wheel. "Holy crap I am." Knuckles patted him on the back in pity.
"Happens to the best of us Shadow." He said sadly, earning a smack from Rouge.
"Shadow, falling in love is a wonderful thing." He looked at the bat. "I mean look at me and the Knucklehead."
"You really need to work on your sale's pitch." Shadow said with a small smile. "So, what happens now?"
