"Shadow's Responsibility: Taking Care of Cream"

Chapter 1: Reeks Responsibility

As Shadow rummaged through a messy drawer, frustration etched on his face, Cream peered around the corner, watching him intently. When he noticed her, he tried to put on a calm facade.

"Hey, Cream," he said, his voice a little tense. "Have you seen my little box with the sticks in it?"

Cream shook her head, her large eyes filled with confusion. "No, I haven't seen it, Shadow."

"Damn it," Shadow muttered under his breath. "Sorry, Cream. I'm just a bit stressed right now. Come on, let's get you to the bus stop before you're late for school."

He scooped up Cream and her backpack, and they headed to the bus stop. After making sure Cream got on the bus safely, Shadow waved goodbye and headed back to their small apartment to get ready for work.

(Shadows pov)

I let out a heavy sigh as I entered my small, cluttered apartment, my eyes scanning the room in a desperate search for my pack of cigarettes. After a few futile attempts, I gave up and resigned myself to the fact that they were nowhere to be found. I quickly changed into my work clothes and headed out the door, eager to start my day.

As I made my way to the diner where I worked, I spotted Knuckles and Sonic up ahead. They were skipping school again, but I had no room to judge since I had dropped out myself a few months prior. I tried to ignore them and keep walking, but Sonic caught up to me and touched my shoulder.

"Hey Shadz, why haven't you been answering any of my messages?" Sonic asked, his tone tinged with concern.

"I've just been busy," I replied curtly, not in the mood to discuss my personal life with him.

Sonic seemed to pick up on my mood and didn't press the issue any further. As we parted ways, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt for shutting him out. But at the same time, I knew I had my own problems to deal with, and I couldn't let anyone distract me from taking care of Cream.

I walked through the cramped diner, my eyes scanning the busy room for my manager. As I approached her office, I could see the irritation etched on her face before she even spoke.

"You're late again," she said, her tone laced with anger.

I knew that I was in the wrong, but I couldn't help feeling resentful at her tone. "I'm sorry, miss. It won't happen again," I muttered, although I wasn't sure I believed myself.

She just rolled her eyes and disappeared back into her office, leaving me to don one of the stained aprons and start taking orders.

After a few minutes of monotonous work, I spotted Sonic and Knuckles walking through the diner door. My heart sank at the realization that they now knew where I worked, and I mentally cursed my luck.

As I approached their table, I could see the smug grin on Knuckles' face and the worried look in Sonic's eyes. "What'll your order be?" I asked gruffly, trying to hide my discomfort.

After they placed their orders, I served their food and tried my best to ignore Sonic's lingering gaze. I hadn't had much time to spend with my friends lately, especially Sonic, who I felt the most connected to. But I didn't want to let anyone get too close and risk hurting them, so I pushed people away as much as I could.

After my shift ended, I made my way out of the diner, feeling a mixture of relief and exhaustion. As I walked towards the exit, Sonic suddenly touched my shoulder.

"Hey, Shadz, you wanna hang out?" he asked in a sincere tone that made my cheeks flush. Despite my desire to spend time with him, I knew I had to decline.

"Sorry, I can't," I said, my voice devoid of emotion. I didn't want to reject his offer, but I had my reasons for keeping my distance.

I could see the disappointment in his face as he tried not to show his sadness. "That's alright. I'll see you around?" he asked hopefully.

I gave him a nod in response, silently thanking him for understanding. As I walked away, I couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt in my chest. I wanted to be able to hang out with Sonic and my other friends, but I had responsibilities that took priority.

I checked my watch and realized that it was around the time Cream should be getting home. With a sense of purpose, I made my way to the bus stop to wait for her.

As Cream got off the bus, she looked joyful as ever. "Hi, Mr. Shadow!" she said with excitement. I couldn't help but feel a small smile spread across my face as I ruffled her hair and took her hand in mine.

"Hi, Cream. How was school?" I asked, trying to start a conversation.

"It was great! I finger painted and played with Legos! It was super fun," she said, jumping around with excitement. I chuckled softly and unlocked the apartment door, letting her run to her room to drop off her backpack.

As I settled onto the couch, my phone began to vibrate, and I groaned inwardly. It was Rouge calling, and I knew she wouldn't let me off the hook easily.

"Hello?" I answered the phone, trying to sound neutral.

"Bout time you answered," Rouge said sarcastically. "Where have you been, sugar?" she teased. Rouge was the only one who knew about me and Cream, and I trusted her to keep our secret.

"I've been busy," I responded, sitting back on the couch and listening to Rouge talk on the other end of the line.

After my conversation with Rouge, I took a moment to go through my notifications, which had piled up over the course of the day. As I scrolled through the endless stream of missed messages, I noticed that a significant portion of them were from Rouge - around thirty in total. It seemed like she had quite a bit to say.

But my attention was quickly diverted to another set of messages that caught my eye. There were eleven missed messages from Sonic, my heart racing as I opened the chat. As I read through the messages, my face grew hot with embarrassment. Sonic had asked me out on a date, and I hadn't even noticed.

I felt like a total idiot for missing his advances, and the thought of responding with a simple "sorry" felt inadequate. The truth was, I had feelings for Sonic, but I knew that revealing them would only complicate things. So instead of apologizing, I simply closed the chat, feeling guilty and conflicted.

1134 words

A/N: if you have any questions just ask me!! Thx for reading. 💗🫶🏽🫶🏽 p.s I'll probably update this once a week.