Chapter Text
Cover art created by @Silvalina
It’s going to rain, Shadow thinks to himself with a grimace.
If the heavy clouds and the wind are any indication, the scale of the rain won’t be small, either. He shakes his head. He doesn’t mind being wet, anyway.
Walking into the bookstore, he is hit with the smell of something wooden and dry, a unique smell that could only be found in a bookstore. His eyes wanders, scanning for anything interesting- this bookstore always has the best recommendation on their bookshelves.
A book with a light purple cover catches his attention. The design looks clean and elegant, two black stripes framing the book and making it look professional. Eyes on the book, Shadow walks over to pick it up only for it to be taken by another person at the last second. His hand hangs in the air as he looks up at the person, slightly annoyed.
“Oh! Sorry, I didn’t notice that you were going to…uh…”
It’s a silver hedgehog, looking startled. He has a cap on, but judging by the state of the cap, his quills must be a mess under it.
Shadow pulls his hand back and fights the urge to cross his arms. “It’s fine.” He glances at the shelf- that was the last one. Ugh.
“Here,” the hedgehog offers. Shadow hesitates for a moment before taking it and awkwardly nods as a notion of thanks, all the while maintaining eye contact the whole time. He doesn’t understand why the hedgehog would give him the book.
“So…you are interesting in psychology too?” The silver hedgehog looks a little- constipated, is what Shadow would call it, but he is smiling. Shadow realizes belatedly that the young hedgehog is trying to ease the tension, and that may have been the result of Shadow’s own intense staring. He feels kind of responsible for the situation, so he clears his throat and replies.
“Is that what the book is about?”
“Yeah, it’s a classic from Alex Miller! Physical copy of her works are hard to come by these days, everyone just gets info on the internet or just buys digital ones…not that I am opposed to it or anything! It saves the trees and that’s a good thing! It’s just- I like to feel the pages at my fingertips when I read. You know?”
Call Shadow old-school, but he agrees. He relaxes, “Well. It seems like it means more to you than to me.” Shadow returns the book to the young hedgehog, who is basically forced to take it by the way Shadow shoves the book into his hand.
“What? Wait- you don’t have to-“
“It’s okay. I can look for something else. Good day.” He nods noce again then turns around, walking away.
“Hey, wait!” The young hedgehog follows, “Sir! Please take the book!”
Shadow frowns, this time. He stops and faces the young hedgehog, crossing his arms.
“I- I am really glad that someone is also interested in her work. You should take this. It would be a solace to me, knowing that her works are still being read.”
Shadow raises an eyebrow. He wants to argue that he only laid his eyes on it once, and it doesn’t mean he would be interested in the book once he takes a look, but that would only drag the conversation on, so he takes the book anyway. “Thank you.”
“No, thank you!” The the young hedgehog looks genuinely happy. Which baffles Shadow a little. He nods and turns to leave when-
BOOM!
A huge thunder rumbles outside. They both looks towards the front window of the store, in time to see that the raindrops have started to fall.
“Shoot! I didn’t bring an umbrella!” The young hedgehog murmurs to himself. Shadow can’t help but feel a bit amused.
“The rain is very likely to ease up soon, if you are worried.”
“Oh! Really? How do you know that?”
There’s a voice in his head telling him to say ‘I just do’ and walk away just like that. It’s tempting, but Shadow bites it back, “I observe.”
“Huh. That’s cool. But if that’s the case, why don’t you have an umbrella with you? Uh-! If you don’t mind me asking…”
Shadow raises an eyebrow. “I like rain. And like I said, it would ease up quick enough.”
“Oh.”
The young hedgehog finally seems to run out of things to say. Shadow then looks down at the book in his hands- he opens it and flips through the pages. It’s not something lighthearted, that’s for sure, but it does look interesting. He closes the book. “I would be off, then. Have a nice day.”
Shadow steps away.
“Sir! One last question!”
Shadow, however, can only handle so much. He slowly turns around and looks the hedgehog dead in the eyes, voice cold. “What?”
“Uh- I- Are you…Shadow the hedgehog?”
Shadow is alert immediately, “Yes?” He drags, “and how do you know my name?”
“Oh! I went to the same high school as you. I’m Silver.”
“…Silver.” He stares at the outstretched hand. The name doesn’t ring a bell. Though, of course he’s called Silver, who wouldn’t have guessed. “Well, Silver, if you went to the same high school as me, you would know not to talk to me.” He steps closer to Silver, looming over the young hedgehog. “After all, you must have heard of the people that got put into the hospital because of me, hm?”
Silver looks nervous. Good, Shadow wants him to. He moved into this city for a new start, he had planned to leave all those in the past. Now this Silver thinks he can just- show up and ruin it? Okay, maybe ruin is a stretch. But that doesn’t change the fact that he had brought up the past Shadow wants to put behind.
“I…I apologize. It’s just nice to see a familiar face in a new city.”
Shadow huffs, but he backs off from Silver’s personal space. “Thanks for the book.” And just like that, he goes to pay for the book and walks into the rain.