Peach fingers looped around the fragile glass cup filled with hot tea, steam lightly wafting from the drink, and raised the cup to peach lips belonging to Sonic. Rouge insisted on the tea, he had been uncharacteristically silent the whole time. But the bat has patience to last her a lifetime. Rouge liked that about herself, but this isn't about her.

On the Ark Rouge knew that something was up when they found Shadow alone, the look on his face had been very obvious to anybody -Rouge- who knew the ultimate lifeform very well. Often she had seen the look of regret pinch at his facial features when the past dragged him back to his hell, it went away over time but there is more to that look she saw.

His face revealed much, but to Knuckles and Tails they didn't see it. In Shadow's eyes of crackling, fiery magma is where guilt dampened the intensity of the heat. Sonic was the first to suggest, right away, that it's time to leave the Ark. All without once glancing back at Shadow. It's clear as day how forced his smiles and laughs were. And it upsets Rouge more than ever, how was he always like this without anybody noticing?

"Something happened. What is it?"

"..."

"Now hon, I'm not stupid. I know something happened."

"...We- I-" Turning his head away to hide his face with a sigh escaping his lips. "...We kissed."

I'm trying. I really am. It's hard, more hard than I thought it'd be.

I could be having the time of my life when it hits. I'll be throwing my head back in laughter and smiling like an idiot with nothing but a bright happy future when suddenly a stabbing ache in my chest makes me stop.

It's a lonely pang. One that I've become familiar with over time.

I could be hanging out with every single one of my friends at a party, and I'll still feel like I'm all alone. When I'm in their company everything gets toned down and I can finally enjoy myself and smile.

But when I'm alone...that's a different story. It really hurts. When I'm alone my mind doesn't stop thinking. It doesn't stop making me feel horrible. I really don't know who I am. Who the real me even is. All I do is pretend.

When the bad feeling inevitably comes for me, I just push it away in the back of my mind. Because I can worry about it later. When nobody is around to see me not be the person they know.

I'm so scared.

They want- no they need me to be strong. To be the hero. That perfect hero that will always be there to save the world and the help the people whenever they need it. Living up to that expectation and more was easy, except I began to notice details I didn't see before.

Pretending with a mask, I could see how easily everybody bought my forced laughs and fake smiles. Even my closest buddies didn't see past it. I just want to be myself.

I'm tired.

I want someone to care enough to see the real me. I want to be real enough again. I want to be someone who doesn't have to pretend, be a faker. Shads...he's been through so much...more than I ever have and he's never let anyone make him pretend. He's so real...I look up to him so much because of this. But I always manage to get on his nerves by existing, I don't mean to but I still do because it's a piece of my mask that I can't take off.

Even if I'm in pain I'm the hero so that has to mean I put that pain behind me. I'm stuck! I'm trapped beneath the expectations that no one but me seems to notice. Nobody does notice. Nobody sees. I bet that if I was to be captured by my enemies and tortured for half a year and miraculously got free nobody would care that I had been tortured. If I somehow came back with my fake grins and stupid jokes and nobody would bat an eye, I bet my friends wouldn't even question it or look into it...

If I pretend again today, maybe they'll be happier with me.

Maybe they do care, that's why live up to their expectations, because they do care...

But do they really?

Why can't anyone save me?

Am I not enough still?