Shadow peered through the tall bushes of Mystic Ruins— a beautiful, green forest with lots of fruit to pick. Though through the plants and flowers, Espio could be seen practicing his throwing skills at a tree.

It was a daily thing he did, and it was common for the hedgehog to watch him train from afar. Not in a creepy way, or at least that’s what Shadow kept telling himself. It wasn’t like Espio even knew him like that, they’ve only ever talked once. And even worse that was when their teams were fighting.

Once he thought he did enough stalking his crush for the day, Shadow lifted his foot to walk away but instead tripped on a vine. He pummeled down to the grass with a loud thud, spraining his ankle and letting out a small whimper of pain.

“A-Ah!”