After hours of rolling around in bed and staring at the television screen, the blue hedgehog was nudged by his younger brother who had just rushed over from his workshop.

"I'm finished! I made it pretty small so your stalker wouldn't notice it."

Sonic quickly got out of his slouching position on the couch and jumped up to his feet, taking the device from Tails. He smiled delightedly at the small machine, which also brought a smile to the fox's face.

"This should help me in catching that stalker a lot easier, thanks, Tails!"

"It's really nothing, Sonic! So, do you wanna go out together and see if we can catch them?"

The young fox stared at the blue hedgehog with bright eyes, anticipating a big confrontation and an eventual conclusion to Sonic's troubles. He was always ready to help out his older brother in every way possible.

"Woah, you're not going out with me bud. I don't want that stalker anywhere near you."

"What?" The younger fox furrowed his brows. "C'mon Sonic! I can definitely help you in catching that creepy stalker!"

"I'm most definitely sure you can Tails, but I don't want him getting any chances of taking pictures of you too. We don't even know what he uses those pictures for yet. Plus, he only comes out when I'm alone… First, let's see if I can get this stalker with your device."

"...Okay, Sonic… I hope the device can help in some way."

Sonic ruffled the hair on the yellow fox's head, smiling in appreciation for his younger brother's concern. "I can guarantee that it will!"

The blue hero head for the door while waving at the pouting Tails, hoping he would be in a better mood once Sonic got home. Sonic left the house, making sure to put 'getting something nice for Tails' on his mental checklist.

Sonic felt at ease while running with the small radar in hand. He was way more confident in catching that stalker with the help of Tail's inventions, that's for sure. It was already the afternoon when Sonic decided to head out for his run.

Going to a forest or city with hundreds of places to hide was extremely inconvenient, but Sonic knew the cameraman wouldn't show up if he were to run out in an open field where they can plainly be seen. The blue hedgehog decided to just go to the forest; the first place where the creep had taken a picture of him.

The blue hedgehog ran through fields on his way to the forest, speeding past a few passersby along the way. Looking at the device, Sonic could see himself marked with a red dot on the screen of the device, while the others were marked with green dots. Though Tails had told him that it was within a limited radius, Sonic was pleased to see that it could detect people way farther away than he thought it could.

He finally reached the entrance of the forest, by which time he started to slow down and kept the device close to himself to hopefully prevent the stalker from seeing it.

Sonic took slow steps while proceeding the dirt path, giving plenty of chances for the stalker to take as many pictures as they'd like. Although this time, the azure hedgehog would make sure not to let them get away with any of them.

A few minutes of walking and wandering through the forest and Sonic finally heard it.

Click.

Sonic's ears automatically shot up at the noise, but he managed to continue with his walk at a slow pace to lure the cameraman closer.

Click. Click.

He looked down at the device, seeing his red dot being followed by a green dot to the left back side of himself.

Click.

That noise. The more he heard it, the more he felt the urge to take that camera and smash it into a million pieces; he needed some way to relieve the stress he had been feeling for the past week.

Click.

The instant he heard that annoying noise right next to him, he checked on his radar to see that the cameraman was only a few feet away from him in the bushes. Making sure the creep wouldn't have another chance at taking a picture, the blue hedgehog pounced towards the bushes where the device told him they'd be.

"What the— Ow!"

As soon as Sonic took his opportunity to attack, he fell straight through the bushes and crashed onto the ground with a loud thud. He looked around the area behind the bushes while rubbing his back, but saw no one. Only trees and plants.

He quickly got up to his feet and picked up the device he had accidentally let go of. When he took a moment to look at the screen, his eyes widened and shook the device to see if the display would change to show something different.

"Great. I broke it already, didn't I."

The small screen showed his little red dot, along with a green dot moving away from him. At incredible speeds. Already over a mile away from him.

"There is no way that stalker could have gotten that far away that fast… or, maybe they're on a vehicle?"

The blue hedgehog hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to do. The device could have just simply broken, or it could actually be showing the truth and the stalker really was able to gain a great distance away in a couple of minutes.

After dusting off his shoes and legs, he decided to check it out. Even if they were a mile away, the blue hedgehog could catch up to them in no time.

Sonic followed the green dot on the screen, seeing that the gap between them and his red dot was gradually becoming smaller. He was grateful that Tails had made the device capable of detecting people that were even a mile away from him.

He was reaching the exit of the forest and smirked seeing that he was only seconds away from getting the stalker. Although, again, he wasn't sure if they were really where the device showed or if the machine had just broken.

Quickening his pace while running through the forest, he looked back down towards the device when—

"Huh?"

The screen had been showing the stalker's green dot seconds ago, yet at that moment, the green dot was nowhere to be seen. It was gone.

"...Well, I guess I really did break it. Shoot, Tails isn't gonna be too happy."

He still proceeded to sprint down the dirt path, flicking his head around to see if he could see anyone around. And as the blank screen on the little machine showed, there was no one.

"Geez, I lose the stalker and I break the device. Things are going so well today..."

~i~i~i~

"Maybe I can get him candy? Or a book?"

Sonic was running around the town, taking a look at what nearby stores offered that could possibly lighten up his kid brother's mood.

"Hmm..."

His best choice was probably candy; he really couldn't come up with anything better at the moment, stressed at the current situation he was in.

He made a quick visit to the candy store, scooping a variety of sweets and dropping them into a small bag, making sure to fill it as much as possible. The more the better, right?

Purchasing the gift was easy, but he wasn't sure if cheering up Tails would be. Sonic had already let him down by making him stay home, and next, he'd have to tell him that he wasn't even able to get the stalker since he broke the invention.

He left the store a bit anxious but felt a lot better thinking that he was outside alone, freely taking in the sunlight without worrying about a stalker. For now, that is. The blue hedgehog prayed the anonymous creep wouldn't follow him for a while after almost being caught.

At least the weather's nice… Maybe I can run for a bit more.

Is what Sonic had thought, if not for a tiny droplet of water that splashed on contact with his nose. The blue hedgehog looked upwards and widened his eyes at the sky, simply observing the warm sun being absorbed by a group of dark clouds.

"You've got to be kidding me."

Rain instantly started to pour on the hedgehog, who was standing dumbfounded on the street. Everyone around was surprised by the sudden change in the weather and were hurrying to find shelter from the downpour.

"Woah—"

"S-sorry sir!"

A young cat had clumsily bumped into the frozen hedgehog, and once quickly apologizing, they scampered down the street towards the intersection.

Sonic had meant to say "it's alright" to the cat. But instead, he continued in his stationary position in the heavy rain, burying his face in the palms of his hands while looking downward at a bag of spilled candy on the road that was now fully covered and soaked with murky rainwater.

~i~i~i~

"Looks like you've been having a bad day hun."

"Yeah, thanks for noticing."

The hedgehog was now wrapped in a large towel, his peach fur and blue spikes damp and dripping cold water.

"You sure you don't wanna take a warm shower? You're definitely gonna get sick without one."

The blue hedgehog slowly shook his head to decline the offer while trying to further cover himself up to hide his shivering. The female bat only stared at him with unconvinced eyes, knowing he'd absolutely regret it later.

"I really should get going soon, Tails is waitin on me, y'know? Thanks for the towel!"

The blue hedgehog stood up from the sofa and headed for the entrance door, only to be interfered by the white bat who stepped in between.

"Sonic, you're just gonna get even more wet and cold when you just dried yourself off here. Why don't you just stay for a bit and wait 'til it dies down?"

"No, it's fine. I like to run through the rain sometimes. It's really refreshing! I only made a stop here 'cause I wanted to rest and your place was closest..."

"There's a thunderstorm out there, Sonic. Not to mention, you hate getting wet. Plus, he'd try to kill me if anything were to happen to you..."

The bat trailed off towards the end of her argument, still keeping her firm stance in front of the door.

"What?" Sonic curiously tilted his head. Why was Rouge this insistent on keeping him here?

"...Oh, it's nothing important. Just stay for a bit, 'kay? That sweet hedgehog friend of yours is probably gonna be home anytime soon too."

Rouge slightly giggled when mentioning the last part, which instinctively made Sonic even more fidgety. So that's why.

"Yeah, no, I really, really need to..."

He tried to step to the right, and then to the left. Rouge just wouldn't let him through.

The two went back and forth, shortening the time Sonic had before having to meet with the ebony hedgehog. He probably could have easily zipped past her in a flash, or forcefully push her out of his way, or maybe even leap out through the window. Yet, he stayed there fidgeting in front of the door, trying to convince Rouge that he needed to leave. Trying to convince himself that he needed to leave.

Sonic knew perfectly well that the ebony rival would only be displeased with the blue hedgehog in his sight. But a slight part of him still wanted to see his friend. Who he thought was a friend, at least.

Sonic bluffed, finally giving up on trying to flee. "...Geez, fine. I guess I'll stay for a few more minutes if you really want me to—"

"...Care to give me an explanation as to why he's here?"

The blue hero who had just agreed to stay jumped at the sudden low voice projected from behind Rouge. It had happened way too fast for the speedster. He could feel his body stiffen, and drenched with not only rainwater but sweat.

The white bat turned around and smiled at the individual standing in the door frame, who appeared to be soaking as well. "Oh, welcome back. That rain sure came out of nowhere didn't it?"

"Answer the damn question."

Sonic twitched at his rival's hostility but still managed to spill out a greeting.

"Hey Shadow, long time no see!"

AN: Thanks for the favs/follows/reviews!
I'm thinking about posting another shadow story. I have a pretty bad habit of constantly moving onto new things and abandoning others... I hope I finish this story haha.