Shadow sat on a bench, tapping his feet impatiently while grooming his fur. He hated waiting, especially for Sonic. The irony wasn’t lost on him—he despised Sonic, yet couldn’t imagine life without him. It was a strange dynamic, one Shadow refused to acknowledge out loud.

Shadow, a sleek black hedgehog with striking red stripes running through his quills and intense crimson eyes, had a patch of extra fluffy white fur on his chest shaped like a crescent moon. While Sonic saw them as best friends, Shadow was far too stoic and stubborn to admit any sort of affection.

"Where’s that damn hedgehog? Did he get hurt?" Shadow muttered under his breath, his mind racing with worst-case scenarios. For someone who claimed to dislike Sonic, his overprotective thoughts betrayed him. The idea of something happening to that carefree, cocky blue hedgehog sent an unfamiliar pang of worry through him.