*Rachel's POV*

When Rachel woke up the next morning, she decided that some time with Shadow was long overdue. With him visiting her every day, she knew that he had worried when she wasn't anywhere to be found last night… at least, not anywhere she had ever been to before.

She figured some time with her best friend would help to clear the fog out of her head. That type of fogginess that she couldn't seem to shake. About one particular thing, she was more confused than she had been in quite a while.

What was it about that silver hedgehog? Over and over, the reminders of his bravery looped in her memory. She saw something in him that she hadn't come close to seeing in anyone else. She had seen the experience of being attracted to someone happen to others… yet she had never experienced it firsthand. She felt… drawn to Silver, even though they had said less than 100 words to each other in their entire lives.

She couldn't, yet her soul was screaming for her to believe it. This was what it felt like to have a crush on somebody.

She opened the door and went outside… bumping into Shadow, who seemed like he was just about to knock on the door.

"Oh, hi!" Rachel stammered. "Sorry about that."

"Don't be," Shadow replied. "I… heard about what happened to you. Are you okay?"

Just as she had feared.

"Yeah, I'm fine," said Rachel. "Eggman Nega does have a sample of my blood, though."

"Ah," said Shadow.

"It's just blood," Rachel shrugged. "Oh, that poem you gave me… was amazing. Thank you for that. Quite frankly, I kinda needed that kind of confidence boost."

"Yeah," Shadow blushed. "Y-You're welcome. I knew you'd like it."

They walked silently for a few more seconds before a tap on the shoulder almost made Rachel jump out of her skin.

She turned around and saw that the shoulder tapper was literally the last living being she expected to be here at the moment. Silver.

"Hi, guys!" he smiled. "What're we up to?"

"Not much," Rachel shrugged, doing surprisingly well at keeping her cool. "Just… walking about, enjoying nature, and… well, that."

At this, Silver chuckled a bit. His laugh was noticeably cute. It stood out to Rachel a little more than it should have.

"Well, I am bored," Silver stated, joining Shadow and Rachel as they continued walking. "What are we talking about?"

Shadow just looked at Rachel once, not saying a word. She took this as a shrug.

"We really don't know anymore," said Rachel. "We're just… walking and stuff."

She felt totally awkward. As if one wrong move would mess everything up.

Yet the three of them ended up having a chilled conversation as they walked along the path. Well, Silver and Rachel did, with Shadow eventually contributing a stray word or two.

Eventually, a smile appeared on Rachel's face and stayed there permanently. That was something that almost never happened. That only happened when something made her truly happy.

Even she was dazed by the realization. It was all coming together. The gold in Silver's eyes was almost like that of his personality. Never before had she met someone whose words completely captivated her attention. With every laugh they shared, she could feel their friendship increase in strength.

Silver was suddenly not only a captivating person. He had become someone who was unknowingly drawing her attention from not only distractions, but the entire rest of the world.

Eventually, they reached the forest clearing, catching sight of Sonic and Blaze in the distance. They appeared to be having idle conversation. Silver smiled and ran up to them, Rachel following.

Shadow? He just… stood behind, leaning against a tree.

As greeting, Sonic and Rachel waved at each other, saying their hellos and getting the info on how each other's day was going.

At the same time, Silver appeared to have given Blaze a quick hug.

Quick… yet momentarily poisonous. For a mere millisecond, the sight of the hug made Rachel a little queasy.

Even she was not entirely okay with this.

A quick conversation went on. Nothing much, just a quick overview on what everyone thought of life.

5 minutes later found them waving their goodbyes and taking off, Sonic and Rachel going their separate ways, Silver and Blaze leaving together, and Shadow… gone.

Right before Rachel returned too deeply into the forest, she hesitantly looked back at Silver and Blaze. Look at them, she thought. They were the best of buddies. They seemed to click together perfectly, like 2 jigsaw puzzle pieces.

She looked away, her hand colliding with her forehead. For once, she was trying to combat against the combined forces of her heart and her soul. What it was about Silver that was so interesting, she had yet to be able to put into words. Was he… really that handsome?

She was ashamed for simply considering that 4-letter word that still challenges the minds, the hearts, and the souls of many a person. The time they had known each other was not nearly sufficient, and yet, her heart expected him to be… the one?

HOW?!

*Shadow's POV*

Shadow didn't expect much to be on his mind that day. In fact, all he wanted to have to focus on was Rachel.

Arriving at the cabin the previous night and not finding her there was a little unusual. He passed it off as the possibility that she had escaped from the clutches of home to take advantage of the lonely night.

Hearing from Silver that she had been taken captive had scared him more than anything else… ever. He could only wonder how he hadn't known, and what he could have done.

Friendship? A mere word lately. A mere word that meant half of what he felt for her. She was like nobody else he had ever met. She captivated his attention, like all others had failed to attempt. He was drawn to her by some unknown force that some refer to as a certain 4-letter word. A powerful word meaning everlasting affection… and that is what he saw his feelings for her as. Affection that would just not seem to go away.

As he skated away to someplace… just someplace… his suspicion of the 4-letter word was heightened when he realized that he had been exposed to a new element. One known simply as jealousy. Seeing Rachel talk to Silver gave him the sensation that a rock had plopped into his stomach. Everything except the two of them seemed to be frozen.

He couldn't help but notice that around Silver, Rachel just acted… different. He couldn't put his finger on it. Her tone of voice seemed untouched. She hadn't said anything different.

Today, a lot had caught his attention. He could figure out none of it. Yet, it all bothered him in very specific ways.

Author's note: I'm sorry if this chapter seems a little sloppy. I'm sore, it's midnight, and the sunburn on my shoulder has begun its reign of irritation… It's been a long day. I wasn't fully into the writing mindset tonight.