Shadow was a hedgehog of mystery. He was also a simple hedgehog; he didn't have many friends and he seldom seeked out relationships. As the Ultimate Lifeform himself, he would have outlived everyone should he actively be in a relationship anyways.

But now, being face to face with some magenta hedgehog?

He stuck out his hand to be helpful. That was one thing Maria taught him before she died, to be a gentleman, and to be kind to those who need it.

The woman was at his height and she looked rather clean and well groomed. That particular shade of blue in her eyes did remind Shadow of Maria's dress.

"...Are you ok?" He asked, as he helped her up. The magenta hedgehog was staring at him and she was red. This made Shadow a bit uncomfortable. Was she having a medical episode or something?

"...Yes, I'm ok, thank you…." The lady squeaked out, taking his hand.

"...You look a little red … Do you need to be taken to the hospital?" He asked, putting a hand on her forehead to see if she had a temperature, only for her to turn red even more.

"O-oh! I'm fine!" She said a little excitedly. "Really, I'm fine!"

Shadow assumed she was telling the truth and shrugged. "I see…" He said with a nod.

The magenta hedgehog brushed herself off. The ultimate lifeform looked at her and her choice of clothing. She wore red and purple, colors that oddly went well together. She also had hot pink hair which was messy. She certainly was an interesting woman, to say the least.

"Thanks so much for helping me! I'm sorry, again…" She apologized.

"...No worries…" Shadow replied back.

"There's a storm up ahead… Do you need a walk home?" The magenta hedgehog replied, taking out a purple umbrella. She had a smile plastered on her face. Her smile was oddly, charming.

"I suppose there's no harm in you tagging along." Shadow replied.

He and the lady had walked in the rain, Shadow kind of hoped she would say something, because this walk was getting kind of awkward. Though he didn't mind the silence.

"So….what's your name?" The woman asked.

Shadow introduced himself, and the magenta hedgehog turned red.

"Shadow… that's a nice name." She said in a dreamy like tone.

"Thank you… what's yours?" He asked.

"I'm Sonia the Hedgehog!" She said with a smile again.

"I see…. Nice to meet you, Sonia the Hedgehog." The Ultimate Lifeform said.

"...Nice to meet you too, Shadow the Hedgehog." Sonia replied back with a grin.

Eventually, they would reach the apartment. Shadow took out his keys and began to open the door, until…

"Date me." Sonia said.

"...what?" He squeaked out.

"I think you're hot… date me." Sonia said, looking at him dead in the eyes.

"I see…" Shadow let out. "That's a little forward… don't you think…"

Sonia then went on a long explanation about how attracted she was to him. Needless to say, no matter how many times she explained, Shadow was still left dumbfounded at what she had just said to him.

Rouge constantly did get on his ass about relationships and what not. If it was one thing Shadow hated besides Sonic, it was being insulted. Now he can finally prove Rouge wrong.

"... I guess it wouldn't hurt to give it a try…" He said.

Sonia beamed.

"Great! Here's my number!" Sonia exclaimed, handing him a piece of paper that contained her said number. So, is that how people started dating huh?

"Thank you…" Shadow replied, taking the paper strip. Living with Rouge meant you had to watch a lot of really dumb romance movies, so naturally Shadow knew what to do after this. He took out a piece of paper and also wrote down his phone number.

"...Here's mine…." He finally said, handing it to her.

"Thanks! Hopefully I'll see you next time, handsome!" Sonia said with a smile as she skipped away.

Shadow was taken aback by that last comment. Handsome? Him? The only other person who called him that was Rouge and other strange women who he would pass by on occasions.

He watched her skip away. She really is an interesting character, Shadow thought to himself.

He opened the front door. Rouge was sitting at the dining table having a glass of wine.

"Well hello there Captain Grumpy." Rouge greeted. "Anything happened to you today?"

"Yeah…" Shadow began. "...I got a girl's number."

At that, Shadow needed to perform the Heimlich Maneuver on Rouge.

Sonia skipped all the way home with a dreamy look on her face. Anyone who saw her just backed away from her.

It only took a few minutes to get home, Uncle Chuck's house really wasn't that far. She opened the door to see Sonic in the kitchen with a glass of water.

"Oh hi Sonia!" Sonic greeted. "You seem to be in a good mood, what happened?"

"Oh Sonic~" Sonia responded in a dreamy tone. "I met the most amazing guy today~"

"That's great!" Sonic said with a smile. "Who did you meet?" He asked, taking a sip of his water.

"Well… he calls himself 'The Ultimate Lifeform'..." Sonia said with a sigh.

Sonic spit out his drink and choked for a bit. After many hacks of the lungs, he eventually was able to regain his breath.

"I'm sorry… I don't think I heard you correctly…" Sonic said to her with a sheepish grin. "Did I hear you say you met Shadow the Hedgehog….?" He asked in a sheepish tone.

"Yeah… Shadow… He's sooooooooooooooo hot!" Sonia said dreamily.

"Ok, Orbot! Cubot! I need total concentration as I set this card down!" Dr. Eggman explained, as he was using on of his contraptions to go to the top of the House of Cards.

"Just one more…. And…" Eggman muttered.

"HE'S WHAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT?" Sonic's voice screeched, causing the evil's doctor's House of Cards to collapse onto Orbot and Cubot.

"MY HOUSE OF CARDS!" Eggman exclaimed.

"MY TV!" Jet's voice screeched.

"MY LEG!" A voice shouted off screen.

"...What in the-" Sonia blinked at her brother's antics.

"YOU MET SHADOW?! AND YOU CALLED HIM HOT?!" Sonic shrieked as he turned white and began to flop on the floor like a fish.

"Yeah! We actually met by accident," Sonia began. "I was walking and I didn't watch where I was going, but then…. he showed up!" She explained as small hearts formed around her. "He helped me up in his extremely attractive voice, and then he-"

"HE TOUCHED YOUR HAND?!" Sonic shrieked again as he grabbed it. "YOUR HAND! IT'S BEEN… TAINTED!"

"...What?! No!" Sonia exclaimed. "He helped me after I fell!"

"HE HURT YOU?!" He screamed. "AND YET YOU'RE OGLING HIM?!"

"He didn't hurt me!" Sonia exclaimed. "He was just… so hot helping me… Guys like him usually aren't my type, but perhaps he's an exception~"

"...WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Sonic exclaimed as he flopped on the floor even more.

"Can you be quiet?! Honestly, you're so-" Sonia was interrupted as her phone began to ring. The Blue Blur sprung up from the floor with dilated eyes and looked at the ringing, which was currently in Sonia's hands.

"If that's Shadow, you better not-!" Sonic was cut off as Sonia answered, causing him to have a shocked expression on his face and deflate onto the floor.

"Hello, this is Sonia speaking!" The magenta hedgehog answered.

"...Hi… it's me again…." Shadow's voice responded and Sonia's insides melted.

"Hey there handsome~" Sonia said, practically drooling on the phone. Sonic saw this and cringed.

"...I was… um…" Shadow began. "...Wondering if you wanted to… go have dinner later…"

Sonia exploded and freaking died, but she eventually regained her composure and was revived. Sonic, on the other hand….

"DINNER?!" He yelped, and proceeded to make unintelligible noises.

"Of course! That sounds wonderful! Though, where would it be?" Sonia asked.

"Um… Le French Brique…" Shadow responded.

"Ok! Sounds great!" Sonia giggled in response, blushing at the same time too.

"YOU SAID YES?!" Sonic yelped. "NO! I FORBID YOU FROM GOING ON THAT DATE!"

"...What's that noise?" Shadow asked through the phone.

"Oh just some annoying static!" She said with a grin. "Anyways, I can't wait, see you later, hot stuff~" She hung up the phone.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Sonic screamed.

"Oh I can't wait!" Sonia said with a large smile. "I simply must get ready!" She exclaimed, heading into her room, as Sonic was still dying.

Meanwhile…

Shadow hung up the phone and looked at the Rouge, who was helping him with this phone call. Rouge then proceeded to smirk at him as she dragged him to the bathroom.

(One hour before the phone call…)

Shadow grabbed Rouge by her stomach and then began to perform the Heimlich Maneuver. Eventually the wine exited her trachea as she was regaining her breath.

"...What's wrong with you?" Shadow asked a bit irritably. "All I said was that I got a girl's number."

"...DO YOU REALIZE WHAT THIS MEANS?!" Rouge exclaimed, only earning silence from the jet black hedgehog.

"...I owe Knuckles and Amy so much money…." Rouge muttered in a huff of defeat.

",I see," Shadow replied, squinting his eyes.

"...In all seriousness, what's her name? What animal is she? Is she pretty?" Rouge rapidly asked.

"Her name is Sonia. Sonia the Hedgehog." Shadow responded. "As for that last question, I suppose I could say she's pleasing to look at."

"I see…" Rouge replied. "I just… never expected some girl would actually LIKE YOU!" She exclaimed. "Mister Unsmiley met SOMEONE!"

"...Why is that so surprising?" Shadow asked, raising an eyebrow.

Rouge did not say anything as she simply looked towards the camera in silence and blinked.

"...What are you staring at?!" Shadow asked in an exasperated tone.

"You're gonna need a lot of help Shadow…" Rouge said, grabbing him by the shoulders.

"I HAVE OVERHEARD THAT SHADOW IS IN NEED OF ASSISTANCE." Omega's voice chimed in, as he stomped into the fray.

"Oh, hey Omega," Rouge greeted. "Shadow found himself an admirer."

"I SEE." Omega replied, stomping into the kitchen.

"...I will be fine…" Shadow replied with a shrug. "After all… perhaps I shouldn't even call back anyways… and just let this whole thing go…"

"Why?!" Rouge exclaimed.

"I don't need romance like how you and Amy need it… I'm fine on my own." Shadow explained. "I've always done well on my own."

"But… she seems really into you if she gave you her number!" Rouge replied. "And remember what I said about making new connections?"

"I suppose…" Shadow replied, crossing his arms and going over to his brooding corner. Rouge huffed and dragged Shadow away from there.

"What are you doing-" The black hedgehog asked.

"I'm not going to let this opportunity go to waste!" Rouge declared. "Now, give me your phone and her number!"

And so, Shadow gave the white bat the phone and paper. After about 5 minutes, she was finally finished and the phone began to dial.

"What?! You called her?!" He exclaimed.

"Yes, now come on!" Rouge replied, hands on her hips. Shadow sighed and took the phone.

(end of flashback)

Shadow was currently getting ready in the bathroom as Rouge helped him. He groaned as she touched his face and was using a tape measure to try on different outfits.

"Is this really necessary?" Shadow groaned.

"Yes! You need to look your best for Sonia!" Rouge exclaimed.

"I am already wearing my best." He replied.

"...YOU'RE BASICALLY NAKED!" She exclaimed.

"Yeah, so?" He asked. Rouge facepalmed.

"Hey, get away from them!" Shadow said as Rouge was approaching him with a gray colored vest and matching pants.

"I promise I won't touch the inhibitor rings." Rouge promised, earning an eyeroll from Shadow.

Shadow didn't want to wear the outfit but Rouge decided that he should, and after a fist fight (complete with cat sounds and scratches), he had the outfit on.

Rouge then brought him up to a full length mirror so that Shadow could see himself.

"...This is stupid." Shadow said with a frown.

"Oh come on!" Rouge exclaimed. Rouge looked at him closely. She was actually quite proud of Shadow for actually meeting a girl.

"You know…" She began. "Sonia wasn't lying when she called you handsome."

"Whatever." He said with an eyeroll. Rouge huffed until she had an idea, and smirked.

"What are you doing with those dress shoes?" Shadow asked, as she approached.

"Why are you coming closer?" He asked again.

"WHO'S WATCHING OMEGA IN THE KITCHEN?!" He exclaimed, as another fist fight ensued and Shadow also had the shoes on.

"...Where are my Air Shoes!" Shadow exclaimed with a frown.

"They look tacky with this outfit!" Rouge replied, showing them and throwing them offscreen, only for metal clanking to be heard as Omega let out an 'ouch'.

"I don't care if they're tacky! They're efficient!" He exclaimed.

"Oh hush now, and where's your bowtie?!" Rouge said.

In came Omega, who had them in his hand.. claw things.

"HERE YOU ARE." He said, placing it on his head. 'NOW YOU LOOK VERY DAPPER."

"Oh Omega, it's a bowtie and it goes here!" Rouge said, putting the bowtie in its correct place.

By now, Shadow's left eye twitched as he stood there stiff.

"...am I ready to go now…." He groaned.

"I think you are! Oh, wait!" Rouge replied. "Here, hide this by your ear!" She said, holding out a black colored ear piece which fit snug on his ear. Shadow frowned even more.

"Now you're ready to go!" She said with a smile.

"Ugh… it's hard to walk in this thing…" Shadow said, who was walking erratically as he walked out the front door.

Over with Sonia, she was taking her sweet time in the bathroom. She had made sure that everything about her appearance was perfect. She decided to lay low on the makeup and go all natural. For her outfit, she found a long purple dress with puffy sleeves. It was one of her favorite dresses to wear. She then took out purple heels and wore them.

"I'm finally ready~" Sonia said as she opened the bathroom door. Sonic stood by there with his arms crossed and with a slight frown. "How do I look?"

"You look great," Sonic said with a thumbs up. "BUT I STILL FORBID FROM SEEING HIM-" Sonic did not get to say much, as Sonia knocked him to a wall with one hand.

"Well Sonic, I'm off~" She said, also walking out by the front door.

"WAIT! YOU BETTER COME HOME BY TEN O'CLOCK!" He exclaimed as he fell like a piece of paper on the floor.

"OK!" She shouted off screen.