Hello, all. I wanted, first of all, to say thank you for clicking here :) This is my first story on here, and I'm hoping that it may get reviews (: It may be just wishful thinking, though, since I'm not the best one out there.

I also wanted to say that I own Gwen, Anne, and Alex :)

And I don't own the official characters, of course :)


The light blue hedgehog sat at the empty lunch table and her thoughts blended together as she stared out of the open window to her left. She knew not to get nervous about this day, though it was her first day of school. She remembered her mother's reassuring smiles and words of comfort.

Oh, her poor mother. All she'd been through over the past several weeks. First she lost her job as an accountant, then her husband... taken, transformed into a robot, then thrown out like scrap metal, by Doctor Robotnik.

The very name made the aqua creature quiver internally with hatred and fear. That horrid, inhuman being, who wasn't even a native Mobian, had turned her world upside down. She wanted to shoot him between his spectacle covered eyes and show him the misery he had caused her family. Her usually serene mother felt the same way.

Then her mother had decided that they would move from South-Eastern Mobius to the Middle-North. It was chaotic: bags flying everywhere, suitcases being dragged out of closets, and yells of urgency around her home. She knew she never wished to face such a move like this ever again. But she knew she would when she left the house permanently.

The hedgehog was shaken from her thoughts by a feminine voice that she knew. "Gwen." She looked up and saw a white echidna with golden eyes.

"Hey, Anne," she replied to her lifelong friend. Gwen felt very fortunate that she had been allowed to come with her during the big move. Anne's mom had been planning on moving there already, so it worked out quite well for the two friends. Anne sat down across from her at the table and began to spin her apple on its side, utterly bored.

Gwen could hear laughing across the cafeteria and looked up. She saw a populated, happy group of creatures who were all different colors, species, and ages. In the midst of them all stood an electric blue hedgehog with intense green eyes that sparkled with mischief and a sense of arrogance. His red and white shoes were tattered from use, and the golden buckles on the outsides were dull and covered in dust. He was known everywhere on Mobius, and on a section of Earth, as well. His speed was unmistakable, as was his tendency to show off.

Sonic the Hedgehog.

Gwen smiled to herself, but didn't get out of her seat. She didn't wish to make a fool of herself on her first day.

Anne had a different idea. She looked over her shoulder at the smiling lunch table. "It looks like a lot of fun over there, and we're practically doing nothing. Let's go sit with them." When Gwen didn't respond, Anne made a puppy face. "Please?"

Gwen sighed. She couldn't refuse puppy faces. "Okay, okay." She stood from the table, holding her tray, and walked across the room. Anne followed her like a very obedient puppy who wouldn't pee on your foot or your library books at random intervals, but would still probably chew on your couch cushions if you didn't let them out before snack time. As they approached the group, Gwen felt slightly jittery. She couldn't place the reason.

Before they could pause and say something to attract their attention, a red echidna with muscular abs and arms looked up at them and grinned. Gwen knew him to be Knuckles. Knuckles turned in his seat and tapped a yellow-orange fox, Tails, on the shoulder. "Yes?" Tails asked, not lifting his eyes from a Science magazine.

"There's a couple of hot chicks who want to speak with us," Knuckles muttered, still smiling like a pervert. It wasn't meant for the girls to hear, but they did and blushed.

Sonic heard as well and looked at them. He gave Gwen a one-over with his eyes, which she found somewhat rude, but didn't comment on it. He grinned his usual cocky grin. "Hey, ladies," he said, digging in his ear with a finger. "I'm Sonic."

"We know," Gwen replied kindly and smiled at him. "I'm Gwen, and this is my friend Anne."

"How ya'll doin', ya'll?" Anne drawled in her Southern accent.

"I'm fine," Knuckles said, looking away from her for a few seconds. Then he met her eye. "I'm Knuckles."

The rest of the table remained silent and didn't draw attention to themselves besides smiling, but Gwen already knew most of their names: Amy Rose, Cream, Cosmo, Silver, Blaze, and one girl fox she didn't recognize. She was gray and black and had vivid pink eyes. She appeared to be very young, about 8. Sonic glanced at where she was looking and said, "That's Alexandria. She's the newest of the gang."

"It's Alex, Sonic," she groaned, placing a fingerless gloved hand on her muzzle and yanking at the loose white furs. "My name is ALEX."

"Whatever, that's your nickname," Sonic replied, giving her a look. She just rolled her eyes at him.

"Anyway, do you want to sit with us?" Sonic continued, looking at Gwen.

"Yes, we would love to," she replied, giving him her best smile.

"There's a free spot next to me and one in between Knuckles and Tails." Sonic gestured with his hand at the chairs.

Gwen took the seat next to him as Anne squeezed herself in between the red echidna and the fox. When Sonic thought nobody was watching, he glanced at Gwen and winked at her slyly, grinning as she blushed.

Tails tapped his fork on the side of his Powerade bottle for order and they went quiet. "Is there any business that needs to be discussed?" he said in a serious manner.

Business? Gwen and Anne thought, looking at each other. What is this, a meeting?

"I found money on the ground," Knuckles grinned and pulled a 100 dollar bill from his pocket.

Sonic smiled. "Sweet, dude." He took it from his hand and inspected it. "No rips or anything, just a dirt smudge."

Tails inspected it next. "It has a signature from Miley Cyrus on it."

"Who the hell is Miley Cyrus?" Knuckles asked.

"A human celebrity, you blockhead," Amy Rose spoke up from the other side of Sonic, glaring at the echidna.

"Oh."

"Anyway, no matter who signed it, the money isn't valid now. It'll have to be recycled or something," Amy continued.

"Damn it!" Sonic cursed loudly, bringing his fist down hard on the table and making the forks clatter. He sighed. "And that would have bought me a good video game."

"Tell me about it," Knuckles mumbled.

"Anything else?" Tails asked.

"I have a report on Shadow's behavior," Alex said, pulling a notebook out from under the table.

"What?" Gwen asked. Why would they need a report on the behavior of shadows?

"Shadow the Hedgehog," Sonic explained, seeing Gwen's confused look. "He's been acting strange for the past couple of days. He's always been strange, actually. Doesn't say a word to any of us."

"I assume he isn't at this table," Anne said.

"Oh, HELL, no," Sonic declared, picking up a chili dog and shoving more half of it into his mouth. He swallowed and wiped the leftover chili and mustard off of his face with the back of his hand. "He's an outsider. Keep going, Alex."

She nodded and flipped through the pages, aware of all their eyes on her. "Ah, here it is," she muttered. "He hasn't eaten or drank anything, and he hasn't done his usual bulimia thing. Maybe he's going anorexic."

"What's bulimia? And what does anorexic mean?" Anne asked.

"They're eating disorders," Tails said. "Bulimia means you eat then throw it up. Anorexic means you literally starve yourself."

"Oh, ew," Anne said.

"That's all I got," Alex finished, closing her book.

Tails looked at Gwen and Anne. "You must never tell another soul about this. We will have another meeting tomorrow. Got it?"

"Yes," they replied in unison.

"Good. This meeting is adjourned," he broadcasted.

Gwen looked around in her seat. "Where does Shadow sit in the cafeteria?"

"He's behind you," Sonic said, pointing at a table in the back. "The black and red one."

Shadow sat at his table, staring hard at the floor next to him. His tray was empty, just like the chairs around him. He didn't have his shirt buttoned up, and a tuft of white fur was showing on his chest. His abs were tight, but not too flashy. As Gwen looked at him, he raised his eyes from the floor. The color of them shocked her and sent a nervous chill down her spine. Maroon. She looked away as he dropped his gaze. Creepy. She finished eating her apple and worked on her turkey sandwich, trying to keep her mind off of him. When that didn't work, she decided talking would be better. "What's with Shadow? Why is he an outcast?"

"He's a r--" Amy didn't finish her sentence as Knuckles had clamped his hand over her mouth.

"They don't need to know that, there are young people around," he murmured. Suddenly he yanked his hand back and yelled out. "Don't bite me!"

"Then don't touch me," she replied, holding her head high.

"Look who's talking," Sonic muttered, too low for anyone to notice unless they had super-hearing.

The bell rang above their heads and Gwen stood from the table. Alex soon followed suit, then Amy, and they trashed their foam trays. Gwen looked back at the table. Silver, Blaze, Cosmo, Tails, Anne, and Cream had disappeared, and Knuckles and Sonic were still there, laughing at something Sonic had said. Gwen suspected it was about Shadow, who was looking at them in annoyance and anger. Soon they got up and ran to the trash cans and out the back door.

"Are they coming to class?" Gwen asked.

"No, they're known for cutting most of the school day except for lunch," Alex said from her left side. "I don't know how Sonic manages to stay in school, what with the records he has. He must be teetering right on the edge."

"What about Shadow?"

Alex's jaw tightened. "He shows up far more than they do. He only ditches about one day a week."

Gwen could sense that Alex was uncomfortable talking about someone else's personal schedule, so she changed the subject. "Shadow looks a good bit like Sonic."

Alex snorted. "They're look-alikes in the fact that they're both male hedgehogs, but nothing else at all." Then she walked away for her next classes.

Gwen turned to Amy, who had been quiet during the conversation. To her surprise, her expression was somewhat angry as she stared at the floor. "What's wrong, Amy?"

The pink hedgehog looked up at her and there were flames in her eyes. "You're trying to steal Sonic from me, aren't you?"

"What?"

"Only someone with a burning crush on Sonic would want to know so much information."

"Hey now, it doesn't hurt to know a little bit about friends," Gwen snapped at her.

"I'll be watching you and Sonic, Gwen," Amy replied. "I'll watch and I'll know if you try something crazy on him." She ran off in a pink blur.

Gwen took a deep breath. Ah, crap. Now I've got a STALKER.


So… R&R please.

Not all chapters will be this length, they can vary.

Peace Love and Music, ~GivenAnythingButLove