New Update (finally)! But first…

jessicashadow: Oooooh do you? :P It'll be a little while till it's exposed but it'll definitely be worth the wait! I'm glad to hear you're enjoying it!

D&S Chapter 10: Meddling and Back pedaling

"Now, wasn't there something you wanted to tell me?" Sonic asked. Blaze put down the cup she had been sipping from and turned to him.

"I was followed today, stalked if you may." She stated. Sonic's eyes widened.

"You'll have to start caring for a lot of people now, officer." Shadow said with a smirk.

"Are you serious?" Tails asked, a gloved hand covering his open mouth. Blaze nodded.

"I noticed them when I was sitting in the park eating lunch. That's also when I saw Shadow speeding by." Blaze replied. Shadow huffed at his name being called, but if that bothered the cat, she didn't show it.

"I'm not saying the two events are related," She continued "but that's what my afternoon consisted of."

Sonic felt his fingers tighten around the cup he was holding.

"How did you get away?" He asked softly, his words almost catching in his throat. Blaze closed her eyes and took a deep breathe.

"I doubt even you would believe me, Sonic." She replied. Sonic tilted his head to the side, clearly confused.

"What do you mean?" He heard Tails ask.

"Yeah." Shadow egged on. Sonic almost smirked hearing the moody hedgehog try to act as if he wasn't interested in the purple cat's story.

"I got this...call." She started, putting a finger to her lip.

"From who?" Sonic asked instinctively. Blaze shook her head.

"I have no idea, the voice was distorted." She replied. When no one said anything, she continued.

"I couldn't tell who it was, but they told me not to return to the office. They told me the stalker wouldn't follow me if I went to Central Station. I didn't want to listen, but I didn't really have a choice. I couldn't risk the stalker getting past security at the office." She explained.

"This is like a movie…" Tails muttered.

"Or a weird fanfic…" Shadow added. Blaze glared at him before clearing her throat to continue. Out of the corner of his eye, Sonic could see Shadow rolling his eyes.

"Regardless, the stranger's advice worked. They didn't follow me once I got to the station, and they weren't there when I left either." Blaze finished, picking up her cup to take another sip.

"I'm so sorry, Blaze." Sonic said, still processing the story. "I'm going to get to the bottom of what's going on." Blaze shook her head.

"I'm almost glad I went through that, actually. It made me want to get into field work even more, that's why I want to help you." The cat replied, her golden eyes locked in an intense gaze with Sonic's. The blue hedgehog took a deep breath and smiled at her.

"I don't think I could say no, even if I wanted to. But this is dangerous work, Blaze. I know you're more than aware of that, but I have to make sure…"

"I am." Blaze replied, smiling softly.

"Does that mean we get to help too?" Tails asked enthusiastically.

"We?" Shadow asked, turning to the yellow fox with an incredulous expression on his face. Sonic laughed.

"Shadow's a little too wrapped up in this not to help, if you ask me." He replied, ignoring the stare he was sure he was getting from the black hedgehog.

/

"What did you do to my wall?!" Rouge screamed as Knuckles got up from the ground. Brushing the dirt and debris off his shoulders, the red echidna shrugged and shook his head at the enraged bat.

"Nothing I can't fix…" He muttered, sounding unsure as Rouge surveyed the damage.

"You better be able to, because this is coming out of your pay. What were you thinking?!" She retorted, turning back to him with a glare that had added creases to her makeup.

Knuckles was quiet for about a minute, which ended up being a minute too long for Rouge. Throwing her hands up, she headed back to the front of the bar. Knuckles followed after her, unsure if she was going to kick him out.

"Look, Rouge…"

"And where is Shadow? He was supposed to be sleeping…" Knuckles didn't respond to that, and in that moment, the alabaster bat was able to put two and two together. She spun on her heel and walked over to him. It was only when they were nose to nose that she spoke.

"What were you two doing? Did you hurt him?" She growled, her fists balled up and her ruby red lips slightly pushed out.

"L-look, we have history!" Knuckles stammered. "Well, in a sense...A-and things got out of control, I can admit that." He stuttered, looking everywhere but at her. In his desperate need to look away, he failed to notice her walk into his personal space. Their noses were almost touching when he finally met her gaze.

She was angry, but there was disappointment in her eyes and that bothered him a lot more than the anger.

"Whatever history you had..." She hissed. "...doesn't justify you attacking someone whose defenseless! Did you see the condition he was in or did you just act like an uncaged animal?"

"I-I…"

"Oh, so now you don't have anything to say? Or do you only know how to talk with your fists?"

He wanted to tell her she was wrong, that he wasn't that guy. But Knuckles knew the bat wasn't too far from the truth, and that was starting to make his stomach churn.

"Rouge…"

"Get out." She'd turned around now, a hand on her hip as she stared at the bar mirror.

"What?"

"You heard me." She muttered, refusing to look at him. He clenched his own fists now, frustrated with the turn the conversation had taken. If anything, this was that stupid hedgehog's fault. Now he was out of a job.

"Fine. But you know where to find me if you need me." He growled as he walked towards the door. He wanted to leave that chance open with the bat. He was brass, but even he knew when he came across a good thing. He didn't want to let this job or this new found friendship end so quickly.

But if Rouge shared the same sentiment, she didn't show it. She didn't even flinch as he walked out. He was sure she heard the string of curses he let out as he shut the door but he didn't care, he was mad.

Mad at himself and mad at the situation.

/

"So, Sonic." Blaze started, waiting for the police hedgehog to quit teasing Shadow.

"Yeah, Blaze?" Sonic replied with a cheeky grin, barely dodging the pillow Shadow threw a second later.

"I was kidding!"

"I asked you to stop."

"You asked me to shut up. There's a difference."

"..."

Blaze expected Shadow to jump across the couch after that, but the black hedgehog seemed to relax and shrug instead.

"Uh, oh. What are you planning?" Sonic muttered, squinting at the midnight hedgehog sitting across from him.

"I guess you'll never know until I act on it." Shadow replied with an air of finality. He closed his eyes and crossed his arms, which only seemed to annoy Sonic more. The police hedgehog leaned forward and tilted his head to the side.

"I wish you would-" He started. Blaze watched his lips twitch and rolled her eyes. Enough was enough.

"Okay, Sonic? I think we need to come up with a plan of action. Sitting here isn't going to fix our problem." She said with a firm grip on the blue hedgehog's shoulder. The hedgehog blinked and turned to her with a concerned expression on his face.

"I'm so sorry, Blaze. This is serious and you're right, we need a plan." He said with a sombre smile. The violet cat nodded and turned to Shadow, who only gave a shrug in response. She felt the embers in her palms begin to reheat. It was good thing Tails stumbled out of the kitchen a second later with a plate full of cookies and a smile that seemed to dispel the uncomfortable air that had started setting in the room.

"You can't plan on an empty stomach!" He said with a smile, putting the tray on the coffee table. Everyone, including Shadow, reached for a cookie before Tails took the tray away.

"Oh and S-shadow?" The fox said timidly as he moved towards the kitchen. The fear in his voice was evident when he stuttered. Whether it was fear of dropping the second batch of cookies or speaking to the midnight hedgehog, Blaze wasn't completely sure.

"Yes?" Shadow replied softly, turning to face Tails' retreating form.

"It's definitely fear…" Blaze muttered. Sonic turned to her and raised an eyebrow.

"What was that?" He asked. Blaze's cheeks turned a bright red and she shook her head quickly.

"N-nothing…"

"I-I...I was wondering if you wanted to go shopping?" Tails asked slowly.

A silence fell over the group for what seemed like the fifth time that day. Sonic seemed to pick up on this as he broke the silence first.

"Um, why?" He asked, receiving a glare from both Shadow and Tails.

"I-I just think he could use some new clothes…" Tails replied, his courage failing as he finished his sentence. Blaze crossed her arms. That was actually a good place to start. If Shadow was being followed, a change in wardrobe would definitely help him stay under the radar. Plus, the hedgehog's current attire barely covered his body the way it should have. She was sure those "ripped shorts" had been bootcut jeans at one point and she'd seen that "muscle shirt" as a hoodie in a storefront before. Shadow, realizing all eyes were on him, took the opportunity to leave the room. Walking towards the balcony door, he placed a hand on Tails' shoulder.

"I don't have any money." He muttered as he passed Tails. The fox could only sigh and watch him with a sad expression.

"That's fine, I got it." Sonic said with a smile, getting up from his place beside Blaze. The cat smiled softly, happy to recognize the hero she knew him to be. Shadow clearly didn't feel the same as he scoffed and continued to the balcony.

"I don't need a handout." He replied bluntly before opening the screen door and stepping out. Sonic smirked and followed him out.

"He'll come shopping. Trust me." he told Tails before opening the balcony door after Shadow closed it. Tails watched him walk out before taking a deep breath and leaning on the closest wall for support.

"He's a lot to deal with, but he's not as bad as Sonic." He said with a sigh. Blaze shook her head.

"I'm sure he just needs to give what you said some thought, that's all. I wouldn't take it personally." She definitely would have. Shadow was rude and almost always a sentence away from being burned by her ambers. He was lucky she had a good amount of self-control. Tails seemed to agree with what she said as his smile reappeared a second later.

"Yeah, I think he's nicer than he tries to come off."

"Maybe…" Blaze replied, looking towards the balcony door. Tails walked over and took a seat on the couch across from her.

"Do you want another cookie?" He said with the smile he'd walked in with. For the first time that day, Blaze returned it and nodded.

"I'd love one."

I'm so sorry this chapter took as long as it did. Once school and work started, there was no way I could update without taking time away from important assignments and projects. I wrote about a quarter of this chapter a while ago and just couldn't pick it back up. I didn't want to start with action right away but we will be getting to that very soon! Thank you to everyone still reading this one! I want to see it to the end, it's just taking a little longer than expected. Hope you like this chapter! If you need more "Sonic" to hold you over, check out my ONE-SHOT "Speeding Past Summer"!

-GeminiMercedes-