Author: Hey guys! Sorry that this took a while. Honestly, this chapter wasn't going to exist but I wanted to add another chapter before the next chapter. I was going to add two chapters at once but I plan to add some more to the next chapter.
Sorry if this chapter is a little boring but the next one is definitely going to be better.
Anyways, enjoy!
"...I'm so sleepy..." I grumbled to myself as I tried to hold back a yawn. Rouge just had to wake up this morning for an important mission. Of course, she tried woke me up and tried to drag me along (even though I'm not exactly allowed to go.) This time I was able to convince her to leave me alone. Unfortunately, I couldn't get back to sleep afterward. So, I decided to get dressed and get out of the house for a while.
I went out to explore Station Square a bit since it's nearby and I have only been there once. Since it was a little breezy outside, l had put on a red and black flannel shirt, black ripped jeans, black converse. The streets seemed to be overflowing with people. It was almost difficult to navigate my way through.
Jeez! Is this what it's like to be in New York?
Roaming around, I took in the sights of the variety of shops that I passed. Unfortunately, none of them motivated me enough to enter. Not like it mattered since I was completely broke.
Hmmm...Maybe I should get a job. I could really use my own money. Yeah, that sounds like a good idea! That's as long as I plan on staying here in this world, or else getting a job would be pretty redundant. While I'm at it, I should get my own place...or maybe I should live with someone else...Nah! I want my own place! Screw roomies! Hmm...but where would I live?
Interrupting my thoughts, I finally came across a place thought caught my attention. "Oooooh, a bookstore." I exclaimed to myself as I rushed over. As soon as I walked in the shop, the smell of various coffee flavors and pastries hit my nostrils. It's a good thing I had just ate breakfast, or else my stomach would have been growling. Rows and rows of book covered shelves filled the entire store.
This place is really nice. I wonder if I will find my favorite book here.
I strolled over to the teen section and skimmed over the different novels. Unfortunately, I didn't recognize any of the titles. I continued searching through the books in hope that I will find one worth reading. I picked up a quite a few different books and read the summaries on the back, however, none of them seemed the least bit interesting. Sighing heavily to myself, I decided to give up. I began to walk away but stopped almost immediately. Glancing up at the top shelf, there was a book that just so happened to catch my attention. Getting on my tip toes, I tried to reach for it. Much to my disappointment, I was barely able to reach it.
Ugh! Why can't I be a few inches taller?!
Suddenly, a hand that was slightly bigger than mine plucked the book from the shelf. Surprised, I looked over and met crimson red irises. Without saying a word, he handed me the book. "Um...thanks, Shadow." I said, still surprised at the unexpected encounter. He only gave a simple nod in response before leaving the aisle to go elsewhere.
Wow, this dude refuses to talk. He's worse than me.
I practically sweatdropped at the thought as I went to find a comfortable place to read. The place was surprisingly packed, so it was difficult to find someplace to sit. Eventually, I found an empty seat at a small table. I was about to make my over but stopped once I noticed the mobian that was already sitting at the table.
Shadow? Should I go sit with him? I mean...I know him (sort of) so it shouldn't be awkward, right?
Hesitantly, I walked over to the table. "Um...Hi." I said, catching his attention. "Mind if I sit here?" I asked, shyly. Hesitated for a second as if he was in thought. "Go ahead." He replied before returning his attention back to his book. I sat down in the empty seat and my book to begin reading. As moments passed by, I couldn't ignore the uncomfortable silence.
Well, I stand corrected... This is definitely awkward. Now I see how Angel felt when she first met me.
I shifted my brown eyes over to the ebony hedgehog who seemed to be immersed in his novel. Curiously, I peaked at the cover.
'Galaxy wars?' Hmm...is that supposed to be some kind of relation to 'Star Wars?' Wow...That's not something I would have expected Shadow to be into.
Glancing back at the hedgehog, I couldn't help but groan inwardly.
Ugh! I'm actually sitting directly across from Shadow the hedgehog and I have no idea what to say to him!
Suddenly, piercing red irises met my dull brown ones. As quickly as I possibly could, I shift my gaze back to book, pretending as if I have been reading the entire time.
Oh my gosh! Please tell me he didn't notice me staring at him!
"What are you reading?" He asked, catching me off guard. "Huh? O-oh...I'm reading...'The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet."* I replied as I read the title on the cover aloud. "What is it about?" He pressed. "Umm...it's about...a girl...who's name is Hamlet and...her life is a total tragedy..." I explained with a nervous grin on my face. He stared at me intensely. "If you're not reading, then what are you doing here?" He asked. I sighed, knowing I've been caught. "Originally, I was going to stay in and sleep most of the day but Rouge woke me up trying to drag me along on her mission. Since I was already awake and couldn't fall back asleep, I decided to just get out of the house." I explained truthfully. "Hm." Shadow hummed as he nodded his head. I then let out a groan. "Honestly, I think Rouge is trying to drive me crazy."
"That's not true." Shadow disagreed while shaking his head. "Huh?" I asked, tilting my head. "Rouge really enjoys having you around. She's usually hanging out with me and Omega, so she was excited to have another female to hang out with." I blinked the ebony hedgehog a few times, processing his explanation. "Wow... I never thought it way..."
Great...now I sound like a total jerk.
Trying to push away the guilty feeling, I eventually began to read, for real this time. Turns out the book was actually pretty interesting. After a little while, I glanced back up to that Shadow was no longer sitting across from me.
Wha-?! Where did he go?!
I looked around and saw that the ebony hedgehog had returned the book to the shelf and began making his way out of the book store.
What the-? He's just gonna leave?!
Quickly, I returned my book back to its shelf and ran out the door to catch up with Shadow. But as soon as I got outside, he was nowhere in sight.
Wow, I almost forgot how fast he is...
I began walking down the sidewalk looking in every direction for the ebony hedgehog.
Maybe he really did le-
"AH!" I screamed, feeling someone grab the back of my shirt to prevent me from moving forward. I looked back in surprise. "Shadow?"
"Watch where you're going." I looked back in front of me to see that I had nearly walked into a street of bustling traffic. After being pulled back onto the sidewalk, I chuckled nervously as I faced the ebony hedgehog. "Um...thanks for saving me." I said, rubbing the back of my head in embarrassment. Without a response, Shadow quickly turned on his heel and started to walk away again.
~Shadow's P.O.V.~
Grrr! What is this strange feeling? Why do my cheeks feel like they're on fire? I need to get away from this girl.
Quickly, I turned on my heel and walked into the crowd. After a minute, I glanced behind me to see that she was following me like a lost kitten. Getting annoyed, I began to dash off.
"Wait!" She said, grabbing my hand, causing me to halt. "Hey...I don't have any plans really so...why don't we hang out together...?" She asked, shyly.
"Hmph...fine." I replied before walking away with Sasha contentedly strolling alongside me.
This is not how I was expecting to spend my day...
~Time Skip~
After some walking around, I remembered that I need to buy some more bullets for my gun. Eventually, we came across a weapon shop. Upon walking into the shop, Sasha's brown eyes lit up.
I'm assuming she's never been in a weapon shop before.
I walked around until I found myself in the aisle I was looking for and almost easily found the bullets I needed. I was about to make my way over to the cashier until I noticed something: Sasha was gone. Searching from aisle to aisle, I couldn't find a trace of her.
Where did that tiger girl run off to?!
Feeling myself getting anxious, I began to think the worst until I caught a glimpse of an orange and black striped tail in the far back of the store. Walking back there, I found Sasha in the section of knives and daggers. She was currently admiring the variety of daggers and knives that were displayed on the wall.
She's an interesting little tiger. Well... I mean human.
I walked closer to Sasha to get her attention but stopped as my eyes slightly widened. At first, I thought she was admiring the sharp weapons until I got closer and noticed that it wasn't admiration she had in her eyes; it was fear. Her whole body was trembling like a leaf. She didn't even notice that I was standing next to her. It was as if she was in some kind of trance.
"Sasha?" I said, putting my hand on her shoulder. She gasped, snapping out of her trance. She frantically looked around as if she forgot where she was until her eyes landed on me. "Let's go." I said. "R-r-right...okay..." She replied shakily as she began walking towards the register.
There is something going on with her. Regardless of my curiosity, it's none of my business.
Arriving at the register, I paid for my bullets and was about to leave. "Aww! Aren't you two a cute couple?" The cashier said, causing Sasha to stare in surprise as she turned as red as that red echidna. Gritting my teeth, I glared at the person. "We are NOT a couple!" I stated clearly. The person stared at me with eyes wide in terror. "R-right...! S-s-sorry!"' Immediately, I stormed out with Sasha following close behind me.
Curse that sales clerk for saying that nonsense!
The warm feeling in my cheeks return, but I did my best to shake it off before it was noticed. After walking for a little while, I noticed that Sasha has been oddly quiet since we left the shop. I'm not sure if it has anything to do with that moment she had or if it was about what the idiotic cashier uttered.
"Shadow?" Sasha asked. I looked at her inquisitively. "You hate me, do you?" I stopped and stared at her. I wasn't expecting her to say anything like that. "I don't hate you." I replied, truthfully. "But ever since we've met, you've been pretty cold and distant towards me." She said. I remained quiet, unsure of how to justify myself. "It's alright. A lot of people do." She said, shoving her hands in her jean pockets. Her words happened to peak my interest. "Why is that?" I asked. She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. It's not like I'm a bad person. At least, I don't think I am." She replied uncertainly.
"Are you sure?" I asked, quizzically. She glanced at me solemnly before averting her eyes. "Well...I may have made some mistakes and trusted the wrong people before but that was in the past. Still..."
"So?"
"Huh?"
"If it was in the past, then leave it in the past. Don't let it interfere with your future. Trust me, I've been through it." I advised.
"Yea, I know. Uh- I mean I know...what you mean!" I quirked an eyebrow at her weird response, but I did question it. "Thank you though." She said, with a small smile. Before I realized it, I had returned the smile. "I think that's the first time I've seen you smile. Well, at me at least. You should do it more often." I frowned at her in disgust. "You sound like that blue hedgehog." She sighed in embarrassment. "Yeah...I guess I've been hanging around him too much." I couldn't help but smirk at her.
She's definitely an interesting human.
~Time Skip~
Sasha's P.O.V.
After Shadow walked me back to Rouge's house, I unlocked the door and walked in. Stretching my arms and let out a content sigh.
Well, that was a nice outing.
A loud growling noise caught my attention, causing me to groan and grip my stomach.
That's right, I haven't eaten since this morning.
I trudged over to the kitchen and opened the fridge. Unfortunately, there was nothing worth eating in it. Sighing I closed the fridge and walked into the living room. Plopping on the couch, I decided to watch tv until Rouge got home. Using the remote, I turned on the tv and began surfing through channels for something interesting. While doing so, I started to think about what Shadow had told me.
It never occurred to me that Rouge really wanted another girl to hang out with. It's not like she's close to Amy, and I can't imagine her hanging out with Cream. Also, I'm not even sure what's her relationship like with Sally. Hmmm... I guess it's true that she doesn't have friends that are girls. The whole time she was trying to bond with me and I was being a total sociopath. Even after, she was so nice enough to let me stay here. Wow, I'm selfish...
The sound of jingling keys caught my attention. "Sasha, I'm home." Rouge announced as she walked in. "Welcome back." I greeted as I switched the tv off. "How was your day?" I asked her, trying to make conversation. "Oh, nothing too eventful. Pretty boring, actually." She replied in a dull manner. "Oh..." I replied nonchalantly. "Oh really? So hanging out with a certain ultimate life form is what you call uneventful?" She questioned with a teasing smirk. I blinked at her in surprise. "Uhh...how did you-"
"I ran into Shadow on my way home. You can't keep everything away from me, Hun." She replied while winking at me. "So...umm...do you wanna go do something?" Rouge stopped and stared at me with her turquoise eyes. "Huh?" Sheepishly, I stuffed my hands in my jean pockets. "Like...do you wanna get something to eat...?" Rouge blinked a couple of times before a smirk appeared on her face. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were asking me out." My eyes nearly popped out of my head. "WHAT?! That's not what I was asking at all!" I exclaimed, feeling the heat rise to my cheeks. Rouge burst out laughing at my embarrassment. "Calm down, Sasha. I'm just messing with you." She said, wiping a story tear from her eye. I glared at the laughing bat but then ended up laughing a bit myself. After finally calming down, Rouge grabbed my arm and began dragging me out of the house. "Come on. I know a great place where we can get a bite to eat. And don't worry, I'll pay for both of us." Giving her a small smile, I nodded my head. "Thanks. Rouge."