"Hey, buddy!"

Shadow growled, stopping in the middle of the crowded street. He turned around to be met with the gleaming emerald eyes that belonged to a certain cobalt hedgehog who he really didn't want to see today.

"What do you want?" he managed to say through clenched teeth.

"Well, I wasn't expecting to see you today! I just wanted to say hi!" Sonic replied, bounding up to the emo (note that that is definitely not the word that Shadow would use to describe himself) hedgehog, the sunglasses that were precariously balanced on the top of his head falling down onto his nose. "Heh," Sonic let out as his glasses landed, then pushing them back onto his head.

"Okay, hello Sonic. Now goodbye," Shadow said apathetically, then turned on his heel.

"Hey, wait!" Sonic grabbed Shadow's arm and spun him around.

"Now what?" Shadow growled.

"Hey, that's no way to treat a friend!" Sonic pouted a little, which made Shadow sigh softly.

"What is it?" he asked carefully, trying not to offend his friend again.

"I... may need your help," Sonic admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I'm afraid I cannot help you. I have my own things to attend to."

"Like what?" Shadow sighed again, this time in annoyance.

"Do you have to..." He was cut off by a familiar exclamation.

"Sonic!" The two hedgehogs looked at each other, both knowing what the source of the single, female, love-filled exclamation was.

"You mean..."

"Yes, let's go. Together. Because if I leave you here she'll get you instead." Sonic grabbed Shadow's arm again, and led the two through the crowd. The crowd seemed to part willingly, mostly because of the way the hedgehogs moved, since they seemed to move with a sense of urgency, and a little bit because, well, it's Sonic the hedgehog - who didn't know Sonic the hedgehog? They weaved in and out of the crowd, even though the shouts of a certain bubble-gum pink hedgehog seemed to get closer.

"Sonic! I know you're here somewhere!" In a panicked moment, Sonic pulled Shadow into the nearest alleyway, and pushed him behind a dumpster, and joined him.

"Sonic...?" Sonic sucked in a breath as Amy could be heard from the entrance to the alleyway. For a long moment, the two hiding hedgehogs held their breath, until footsteps could be heard moving off, with a humph of annoyance. Both hedgehogs exhaled with relief. Sonic peeked over the top of the dumpster, and only found passing crowds.

"She's gone. Phew! That was a close one!" he commented, standing up and dusting himself off. Suddenly, an obscene sound started playing through Sonic's ears. He looked down to find the source - it was Shadow, and he was... laughing?

"Oh, that was hilarious, I still can't believe she follows you around!" The laughing wasn't pretty - it was a barking laughter, rough and very clearly Shadow - but Sonic chuckled along with him.

"Yep, still my 'number one fangirl,'" Sonic said with a tinge of annoyance, and with huge air quotes.

"I think that was the most fun I've had in ages," Shadow concluded after the laughter died down, standing up. He glanced over at Sonic and Sonic caught a silent thank you.

Well, he thought, That's the most I'm going to get from Shadow of all people.

"I have to get going now, though. I'll see you around," Shadow said, a tinge of disappointment in his voice, as he walked away. Sonic stared out at his retreating back, as his darker counterpart disappeared into the crowd. A moment later, he did the same.