Shadow left a few days ago and I haven't heard anything from him. I have no idea where he went and at this point, I don't really care. Maybe we need some time apart. Maybe we're not even a 'we' anymore. I don't know. I also don't know why I'm spending so much time thinking about this. As hard as I've tried to distract myself, my mind has been constantly bringing me back to Shadow.
He probably hasn't thought of me since he slammed the door in my face.
I've been up for a few minutes, but I haven't gotten out of bed yet. I'm still tired, and I just don't have the energy to move right now. I don't have a choice now, though-I hear someone knocking on my door.
I dash out of bed and run to the door, hoping it's Shadow. I wait a moment before opening it, though. I wouldn't want Shadow to think I ran to the door just to answer him. I did, but I don't have to give him the satisfaction of knowing that I did.
When I open the door I see that it isn't Shadow. Of course. It's Knuckles, and when I see him there I remember that I've been avoiding him for the past few days. I kind of forgot about that once Shadow left, but who cares? I guess there's no sense in keeping my distance anymore.
Knuckles frowns when he sees me and looks somewhat confused. "Were you still in bed, Sonic? It's noon," he says. I didn't realize it was that late, but it doesn't matter. I guess it's pretty noticeable when I don't get the chance to neaten my quills.
I maneuver for him to come inside and I shut the door behind him. What's he doing coming over here, anyway? It's not like he knew Shadow wasn't here, he could have easily bumped into him. I guess whatever he has to say is so important he was willing to risk running into Shadow just to tell me. I sit down next to him on the couch and wait for him to explain himself.
He looks at me quizzically and cocks his head to the side. "Did I catch you at a bad time? Are you sick or something?" he asks.
"No," I reply, and I really don't like the sound of my own voice. I sound groggy and tired, so it matches how I feel pretty well. I just want to crawl back in bed, but I can't send Knuckles home. I've avoided him long enough, we had to talk about things eventually.
"Are you sure you're alright?" he asks again. I bet Shadow wouldn't care if I was sick or n-you know what? I'm not even going to think about him right now. I'm talking to Knuckles, so I will focus on him.
"I'm fine, Knuckles. What do you want?" I ask, even though I'm pretty sure I know why he's here. His expression changes from concern to slight embarrassment.
Knuckles sighs and begins his explanation, facing the television but glancing at me every now and again. "I just…I just wanted to apologize for what happened. I was out of line, I understand that now," he says, resting his hands on his knees and closing his eyes before continuing.
"I've always…felt something for you, Sonic. But you're with Shadow, and I have to respect that." He says Shadow's name with the slightest bit of animosity, like he wants to start ranting about how much he sucks but managed to control himself enough not to. I think about the last part of that apology and I have to stop a bitter laugh from escaping my mouth.
"I don't know about that last part, Knuckles," I say, watching him for a reaction. He looks confused but doesn't say anything, just waits for me to clarify.
"You said 'I'm with Shadow.' I don't know if that's really true anymore," I say. I try to say that as neutrally as possible, and it sounds like I did a pretty decent job of it. At least I hope I did.
Knuckles doesn't look any less confused.
He looks behind him, towards the bedroom as if he expects Shadow to come waltzing out. He doesn't, of course, so Knuckles turns back to me. "Is that why he isn't here? You two broke up?" he asks incredulously, like he can't believe his luck. He probably isn't being that douchey about it in his head, but whatever.
I shrug my shoulders nonchalantly and Knuckles looks at me like I'm crazy. I guess he's wondering why I'm not more broken-up about my kinda-maybe breakup, and I guess that makes sense, but what does he expect me to do? Burst into tears and write crappy poetry about it? I don't care that much.
"Shadow isn't in the picture right now," I say. Knuckles nods slightly, like he heard what I said but it hasn't fully registered. I scoot closer to him on the couch, close enough that our legs are touching. He looks down in surprise but doesn't move.
"Sonic, are you-" he starts, but I cut him off with a kiss.
I don't know if I should have done that. I probably shouldn't have. At the moment though, I really don't care. Knuckles wants me and I want…someone, so this works for both of us.
When I pull away from him, Knuckles just stares at me at a loss for words. I guess I don't blame him. We continue to stare at each other in silence until Knuckles lunges forward and kisses me, pushing me down to lie on the couch. When he pulls away he looks at me with uncertainty, and I run my hand down his arm that's beside me, resting on the edge of the couch.
"Are you sure you want to…?" he asks, then trails off and glances to the side just to avoid looking me in the face.
"Yes," I say, grabbing the side of his chin and turning it so he's facing me again. He keeps looking at me like he's afraid I'll back out, but I don't.
"What about Shadow?" he asks.
"What about Shadow?" I respond, then pull him into another kiss.
If Shadow cared about what I was doing, he would be here. But he isn't. He's out doing whatever he wants, so I'm going to do whatever I want.