Chapter 2

A Song In My Heart

Sonic laid in his bed on top of his covers, the lamp on his bedside table being his only source of light. With his azure blue quills fanned out behind him, he stared up with confused emerald eyes at the objects in his hands.

Petals.

Hot pink petals that belonged to an American Beauty Rose… Shadow's favorite flower.

Why in the world were these petals coming up from Sonic's throat? He didn't understand it. And the fact that it happened so suddenly, right when Shadow left him alone on that overhang, right by Maria's grave… did his crush have a certain significance to this?

Sonic sighed as he dropped his hand over the side of his bed, dropping the petals to the floor. His mind began to wander back to that moment on the overhang, his hand in Shadow's, gently being squeezed in appreciation. The beautiful sunset shining over the horizon, the light catching on the black fur, making the crimson spikes shine just right. The way his eyes glazed over and glowed with that faraway look.

Sonic's cheeks began to feel hot. He knew he was blushing. The moment was so peaceful, so beautiful, and he was glad he got to share it with Shadow.

He sighed again, his ears flattening against his head as he recalled Shadow's words as he left.

"This doesn't change anything."

Of course it wouldn't. Why would it when it's quite obvious Shadow wants nothing more but to be rivals?

Not even friends, just… rivals.

Why did he always want to fight all the time?

Why wasn't Sonic allowed to get closer to him?

As he lay on his bed, glaring at his ceiling, Sonic took a breath and began to sing.

You know I'm not one to break promises.

I don't want to hurt you but I need to breathe.

At the end of it all you're still my best friend.

But there's something inside that I need to release.

As he sang, he began to think to himself. When he was still growing up with his parents, they always told him that being gay was wrong. They were old school like that.

Of course, he never agreed with them, but now that he had a crush on Shadow, he couldn't tell if this was right or wrong, especially when it was obvious Shadow would never return his feelings.

Which way is right?

Which way is wrong?

How do I say that I need to move on?

You know we're heading separate ways.

Suddenly, Sonic frowned.

He shot up in his bed, sitting up and staring into the mirror that stood across from him. He stared at his own reflection, wondering just exactly what he should do.

And it feels like I am just too close to love you.

There's nothing I can really say.

I can lie no more.

I can hide no more.

Got to be true to myself.

And it feels like I am just too close to love you.

So I'll be on my way.

Before he could start the next verse, Sonic started coughing again.

He coughed and he hacked violently, barely being able to get a breath in.

His hands shot to his mouth and he jumped out of bed, dashing to the bathroom.

He kneeled by the toilet and lifted the lid up, quickly sticking his face over it as he continued to cough into the bowl.

Tears came from the sides of his eyes as he retched, squeezing his eyes shut tight as he waited for it to be over.

Finally, after about 10 minutes, his coughing stopped and he relaxed, sitting on the back of his heels as he laid his forehead against the cold seat, trying to catch his breath.

After another five minutes, he finally lifted his head and looked into the bowl, squeaking in surprise.

More petals.

"What the heck is wrong with me?!" He wondered aloud to himself.

Suddenly, Sonic heard his phone going off in his room. He sighed as he stood up, flushing the toilet before going back to his room. He picked up his phone from his bedside table and opened it, discovering he got a group invite from Rouge. Frowning a bit in confusion, Sonic opened the invite, only to see a single message from the bat.

Rouge: Hey everybody, just letting you know I'm having a party at the club tomorrow. Attire is casual and it starts at 8 and will last until midnight. Drinks and snacks will be on me, and don't worry, there will be juice for the little ones. Hope to see you all there!

Sonic pondered this for a moment. As much as he enjoyed parties, after the day he's had today, he kinda just wanted to stay in and sulk. Still though, if he did so, everybody would be wondering if something was wrong with him, and he didn't want to give them that impression.

Plus, if Rouge was hosting, then Shadow would definitely be there. She never lets him skip out on anything she plans.

Even if it was clear Shadow didn't want anything more with him, Sonic was still determined to win his heart.

Sonic coughed again, more rose petals flying from his mouth. The blue hedgehog groaned.

Hopefully, someone at the party would know what's going on.

Sonic: I'll be there! ;)

…

The next day, after Sonic went on his usual run, he hopped onto his laptop and began his search.

All day, every time his mind wandered off to Shadow he would cough up more petals. He was lucky nobody else saw him otherwise questions that he has no answer to might've been asked.

He went onto Mobias KnowsMore and typed in anything that came to his mind involving his new problem.

Coughing up flowersThinking about crush and coughing up flowersWhy am I coughing up flowersFlower disease

He got multiple results, but none specified what could be wrong with him. He also noticed that a few links wouldn't work when he clicked on them… almost as if they've been taken down.

Sonic sighed and closed his laptop, knowing he wasn't gonna get any answers.

His only hope was that somebody at the party tonight knew what was wrong.

He would have to be discreet about it though.

He was Sonic the Hedgehog.

He wasn't supposed to be sick.

…

The party was just as expected.

Music, snacks, drinks, and a bustle of friends chatting idly with each other.

Sonic and Tails had both showed up at 8:30, joining a little late, but it was no big deal.

To Sonic's delight, Shadow was there too, as expected, but he was being a bit of a wallflower, a red solo cup in his hand as he watched the activity around him, lightly tapping his foot against the wall in beat to the music.

"I'm gonna go mingle around, Tails." Sonic informed his little buddy, secretly planning to talk to Shadow instead. "You good on your own?"

"Oh sure, I'll be fine." Tails nodded, a red solo cup of apple juice in his hand. "I'll just keep talking to Knuckles."

Sonic nodded and grabbed his cup of rum and cola and discreetly made his way towards Shadow.

The black and red hedgehog heard footsteps approaching him and he turned his head to see Sonic walking towards him.

"What do you want, Faker?" He huffed irritably, sipping on his tequila.

Sonic was a bit taken aback, and he felt another urge to cough, but he forced it down and shook his head. "Nothing, I just wanted to ask how you were feeling… after… well…"

Shadow gave a low sigh and nodded in understanding. "I'm fine, Faker. Like I said, it's not the first time I visited her grave."

"But it is the first time you had someone there to comfort you, right?"

The ebony hedgehog fell silent, relishing on the question. After all, Sonic was right.

"I'll admit the comfort was… nice… hedgehog." Shadow nodded. "But do not expect me to let it happen often. I don't need your comfort."

'No, but I definitely could use yours.' Sonic mentally sighed, feeling saddened all of a sudden, and another urge to cough. He tried to chase it down with his drink, but the petals still came up.

Shadow showed slight concern as Sonic violently coughed into his hand. The blue hedgehog was keeping his mouth covered, concealing the rose petals from view.

"Are you alright, hedgehog?" Shadow asked him, lightly patting on the blue one's back until he had stopped coughing.

"Y-yes, I'm fine." Sonic gave one more cough before balling his fist to his side, hiding the petals. "My drink just went down the wrong tube, is all."

"Ah." Shadow nodded as he leaned back against the wall. "Perhaps you should drink a little slower, hedgehog."

"R-right." Sonic nodded, then smiled. "So uh… have you heard anything about someone coughing up flower petals before?"

At this Shadow paused, giving him a confused stare. "I beg your pardon?"

"Yeah, I know, weird right?" Sonic chuckled. "Some guy was feeling just fine one moment, and then the next, he's coughing and spitting up flower petals. Ever heard of something like that?"

"I find that very hard to believe, Faker." The black one answered with a dead-panned stare. "If something like that was actually possible, there would be a record of it."

"Maybe this is a first occurrence." Sonic shrugged. "Like when MASA discovered a sister planet identical to our own."

"... I guess." Shadow shrugged, taking another sip of his drink. "But what would cause such a strange illness?"

"Beats me, doesn't say." Sonic shook his head, lightly swirling his cup around to mix the rum and cola. "I just find it really bizarre."

"Bizarre indeed."

"SONIC!"

Sonic groaned lightly at the voice calling to him, knowing exactly who it was. He turned around to see Amy skipping up to him.

"What do you want, Amy?" He asked her, maybe a little rudely, but he was having a nice conversation with Shadow just now.

"Rouge is starting to set up the karaoke machine." The pink hedgehog explained, completely ignoring his annoyance. "I want you to come sing with me."

"Uh, I don't know Ames." Sonic shook his head, a little bashfully. "I usually sing for myself, not for an entire crowd."

"You sing?" Shadow raised an eyeridge at him in interest.

"I… dabble a little bit." Sonic blushed sheepishly.

"Dabble? Come on Sonic, I've heard you sing before." Amy beamed. "You're really good."

"I'm not that good."

"That remains to be seen." Shadow smirked. "You've caught my interest, why don't you go up there?"

"R-really?" Sonic asked a little astonished. "You really wanna hear me sing?"

"Sure, why not?" Shadow chuckled. "Should be interesting."

"Wwell…" Sonic pondered it for a bit. If he could pick a type of upbeat romancey song, then he felt he could tell Shadow about his feelings without really telling him. Hopefully, he would get the message… and wouldn't get angry at the same time. "Ok, I'll do it."

"Yay!" Amy jumped with joy, clapping her hands excitedly. "I'll go tell Rouge."

"Anything in particular you're gonna sing, Faker?" Shadow asked him as Amy left.

"I don't know." Sonic shrugged his shoulders, taking another quick sip of his drink. "I guess I'll figure it out when I get up there."

"Alright, it's set!" Amy cried happily as she came running back over, quickly grabbing Sonic's arm, pulling on it. The action had cause Sonic to drop the flower petals that he was hiding in his fist. He severely hoped Shadow wouldn't notice. "Rouge is announcing us right now!"

"Better get going, Faker, this should be interesting."

"Heh, yeah." Sonic chuckled nervously as he allowed himself to be pulled onto stage.

"There you two are." Rouge huffed playfully, holding a CD case. "So, which song are you two gonna sing?"

"Do you mind if I pick, Amy?" Sonic quickly offered. "I promise it won't be anything bad."

"Well, ok Sonic." Amy agreed. "I know it's your first time singing for a crowd, so I guess it's only fair."

"Thanks Ames." Sonic smiled before taking the CD case and looking through the different karaoke songs. He smiled when he thought he found the perfect one. "Let's go with Clarity by ZEDD. That ok, Ames?"

"Ooh, good choice, Sonic." Amy agreed. "I'll let you take the lead and I'll join in the chorus."

"Sounds good to me." Sonic nodded.

"Alright then. Here are your mics." Rouge grinned, handing each hedgehog a microphone. "And I'll go set this up."

As Rouge left the stage to put the song in, Sonic forced himself to take a deep calming breath, his focus turning to the crowd. Almost everybody was watching the stage, curious to hear their hero sing for the first time. Their stares didn't matter to him though, as he only had eyes for the ruby ones in the back who was staring at him with interest. And then, all of a sudden, the music started.

Sonic took a gulp and started to sing.

High dive into frozen waves where the past comes back to life.

Fight fear for the selfish pain, it was worth it every time.

Hold still right before we crash 'cause we both know how this ends.

A clock ticks 'til it breaks your glass and I drown in you again.

At this next verse, Sonic discreetly turned his eyes to look directly at Shadow, realizing in his heart that it matched his suffering at the moment.

'Cause you are the piece of me, I wish I didn't need.

Chasing relentlessly, still fight and I don't know why.

And then, Amy joined in for the chorus, but Sonic paid no attention to her, his focus clearly on the hedgehog in the back.

If our love is tragedy, why are you my remedy?

If our love's insanity, why are you my clarity?

And then suddenly, the entire beat dropped, along with a flashy disco ball that suddenly descended from the ceiling. Sonic could help but smile as everyone suddenly started dancing. He turned his head to Shadow, and was pleased to see that even he was smiling a bit, nodding his head to the beat as he continued to watch the hedgehogs stage as they sang the chorus again.

If our love is tragedy, why are you my remedy?

If our love's insanity, why are you my clarity?

And then it was Sonic's solo again. As he sang, he never took his eyes off of Shadow.

Walk on through a red parade and refuse to make amends.

It cuts deep through our ground and makes us forget all common sense.

Don't speak as I try to leave 'cause we both know what we'll choose.

If you pull then I'll push too deep and I'll fall right back to you.

As he sang, Sonic directly looked into Shadow's eyes, trying to help him get the message.

'Cause you are the piece of me I wish I didn't need.

Chasing relentlessly, still fight and I don't know why.

If our love is tragedy, why are you my remedy?

If our love's insanity, why are you my clarity?

As Sonic sang this bit looking into his eyes, Shadow seemed to finally get the message.

The black and red hedgehog blushed a bit under a low growl, quickly turning his head away, closing his eyes and avoiding Sonic's gaze. He wasn't even dancing to the music anymore, gone completely still.

That's when Sonic knew, he had took it too far.

Before he could open his mouth to sing again, he felt his chest compress all of a sudden. His eyes opened wide as he suddenly started coughing violently, making strangled noises as he tried to breathe.

The music went down and people stared in horror as their hero suddenly had a coughing fit. Even Shadow was now looking in concern.

"Sonic, are you alright?" Amy asked in a worried tone, coming up to his side and patting his back.

Sonic, however, couldn't answer, his coughing and retching too violent for him to get a word out. He dropped the microphone to the floor, sending a little feedback through the speakers as he soon followed it, his palms flat on the floor as he tried to force his body to breathe.

And then, he felt them coming up.

'No no no, not now!' He mentally screamed to himself. 'Not in front of everybody, especially Shadow!'

But his mental cries went unheard, and out of his mouth, the petals came flying.

The crowd gasped as they witnessed this, never before seeing something so strange.

Shadow himself, was the most shocked.

Wasn't Sonic just speaking to him about coughing up petals earlier?

It was a full 10 minutes before Sonic finally stopped coughing, and by then, there was a whole pile of rose petals beneath his face, covered in saliva. He took a deep breath and slowly stood up, lifting his head to look at all of his friends.

Every single one of them were staring at him, in shock, horror, and even some in disgust.

Even Amy had backed off from him, her mouth gaping like a fish.

Sonic slowly turned to look at Shadow, his ears dropping at the sight.

Shadow was holding one of the petals that Sonic had dropped when Amy had pulled on him. The ebony hedgehog stared at it, studying it closely before his eyeridges raised in realization. He looked at Sonic with a questioning gaze, and the blue hedgehog knew that he had figured out that they were the petals to his favorite rose.

Hurt and embarrassed, Sonic ran off the stage and left the whole party, running all the way back home, ignoring the cries of concern from the friends who tried to stop him.