Worlds Apart - a Shadow the Hedgehog x Reader story

Midnight Talk

Y/N's POV

Y/N quietly turned over in her sleeping bag. What had scared Shadow when he looked outside? Why had he tried to heal himself when he knew he wasn't strong enough? Her iPod played softly in her ears as she reached for a leftover cheese sandwich. Ever since Shadow had healed her, a strange tingling feeling had kicked into her, like strength and weakness at the same time. Chewing on one corner of her sandwich, she wondered what was going on inside her. She had never felt like this before. It was like there was electricity buzzing through her veins. Laying her half-eaten snack to one side, she stood up and silently moved to his side. A sudden urge to run her fingers down through his quills coursed through her. Her hands impulsively jammed themselves in her armpits to resist the temptation. What on Earth was going on? Looking down at him, Y/N felt a single tear roll down her cheek. He looked so peaceful, just like the way her parents did after they died. The image of them lying in hospital beds was branded in her memory.

"No. You mustn't cry. Hold it in like you always do," She told herself. Crying would break her apart. She had to stay strong. Raising her head, she looked at the sky through the window.

"Wherever you are, Mom, Dad, I hope I'm making you proud."
A dash of something swiped across her vision. She follow it's movement, growing used to it's motion. It was clearly a robot, probably tracking Shadow. The robot-figure halted and stared at her through the glass. They locked eyes, daring each other to back down. Blue eyes glared into the metallic red. Y/N won the stare-off and the robot flew off into the night. Slipping back to her bed, she grabbed the remains of her sandwich and perched next to Shadow, who was slowly coming around.

"You alright?"
"Ugh. I guess."
"Here," She stooped, plucking a bottle of water from one of her bags, "Have a drink. It'll help."
"Thanks," he drank for several minutes before taking a breath, "That feels a lot better."
She smiled, flicking on the light so they didn't have sit in darkness. She was dying to ask him what had scared him but couldn't bring herself to do so. Her iPod lay by her side, silent in her ears. The music had stopped while she had stared-off against the robot. Her head rested against the windowpane as she looked up at the moon.

"It's so beautiful. Shame the rest of the world isn't like that," Shadow leaned next to her.

"How do you mean?"
"Well, if war became extinct, nobody would die at the hands of another."
"She nodded slightly, "Yeah. If only war and hate had never been invented..."
"If only..." Shadow repeated, a tear sliding down his cheek. Turning towards her, he opened his mouth as if to say something else, but closed it quickly.

"Are you OK?"

"Yeah, just thinking of someone from my past. She was a lot like you."

"She was?"

"Oh yeah. In fact, probably the only differences between you are your hair, your age and your height."
"I even sound like her?"
"Almost. And she wasn't as good on the guitar."
Y/N blushed bright red. She could feel her cheeks heating up with embarrassment. Shadow gently lifted her head with one hand, meeting her eyes, smiling. Her face glowed scarlet.

"You don't have to be embarrassed about it. You should show it... Oh great."

"What? What's wrong?" Y/N turned, following his gaze. The same red eyes hung in the air high above the school. Whatever it was clearly scared Shadow. He ducked down, trying to keep himself covered. She rolled her eyes and locked vision with the glowing dots. Once again, her stare overwhelmed whatever it was and it flew off.

"It's gone."
"Bet he's gone to tell Eggman where I am."
"No, I meant I scared it off."
He sighed clearly troubled. She rested one hand on his shoulder.

"What was it? Why did it scare you so much?"
"That was Metal Sonic. Eggman designed him to be able to defeat Sonic, someone I know."
"I've heard of both of them. Sonic and Metal Sonic I mean."
"Eggman's probably programmed him to track me down now. Just great."

She draped one arm around his shoulders, "You'll be fine. I promise."
Neither of them knew what to say afterwards. Shadow just leaned against her, still exhausted from his wounds. He slowly dozed off, slumped against her. Y/N's eyes grew heavy, finally realising how tired she was. Within minutes, she too was asleep.