DISCLAIMER: Sonic&Co belong to Sega. Spikes belongs to AdioXGen on DA. Everything else is mine.

Chapter One

"Seven Jewels High". The young hedgehog looked up at the sign of the new school that she would be attending throughout her high school years as Mobians of all species wandered the campus around her. Finished just a few months before the new school year, she was excited to be among the first sophomores to attend this new school. The name was an obvious reference to the all-powerful Seven Chaos Emeralds, and most Mobians could have easily guessed the name before the school had opened, since most schools and academies seemed to want to be associated with famous places and objects.

Of course, no one paid any attention to the name anyways, as Amber Scott had always observed. At about five foot five, Amber was an average-sized hedgehog for her age; 15 going on 16. She was a light blonde color with forest green eyes. Always dressed in designer clothes, it was obvious she came from money. Today she was wearing a sleeveless, blue sequin top and flared black jeans with rhinestone studs. Her mid-back length hair was left down in her casual style, and her small quills were kept neat and out of sight, as they usually were. She adjusted her Coach purse on the opposite side of her pink and black book bag, and began walking up the steps to her new school. She had come early, like most people, to get to know people and make new friends. She took note of her peers. She would have to quickly figure out who was going to be the most popular, and then try to fit herself in amongst them. She sighed. Easier said than done. At least she could start off completely fresh at this new school. She was very much so used to starting over at different schools, since her parents constantly moved her around, for reasons of their own. She always told everyone it was because they were looking for a school that would suit her academic needs. But usually, her parents would move her to a different school again before people were able to learn the real truth. She was always starting over at a new school. Sometimes, Amber had a hard time with learning who was hot and who was not, and other times it was very obvious.

However, this time she was quick to locate the popular group of girls. It was almost like an employment agency; you approached, had an "interview", and then they determined who got to join them and who didn't. At some schools, she knew from experience, the popular girls were completely exclusive, and therefore extremely hard to impress.

She made her way over to the girls. Good, she thought. They seem to be nice. This shouldn't be too bad. She smiled her usual warm smile and said "Hey there, I'm Amber! Nice to meet you all!" She shook everyone's hand, making sure to make eye contact and to remember names as she'd always practiced. She'd figured out it was usually the best way to start off with a new group.

"Hey, I'm Blaze Redd," a tall, lavender cat greeted her warmly, even though it appeared as though she was trying to mentally dissect Amber, trying to learn all her secrets at once. Her hair was pulled atop her head in a pony tail, and Amber could see that she had darker purple highlights. She wore a deep purple robe lined with magenta at the bottom. She also wore gloves with fur cuffs and beautiful red heels. Ah yes, obviously going to be the 'leader' of this little clique. She could tell just by the look in this cat's bright yellow eyes that she was the leader type.

"Amy Rose. Nice to meet you, too," a pink hedgehog with dark green eyes who was shorter than Amber said enthusiastically. She had short hair with a few bangs and wore a red head band. Her short dress was also red, lined with white at the bottom, and her knee-high boots matched the rest of her outfit color scheme. She shook Amber's hand with both of hers, smiling a cute smile. The cute one of the group, I can tell. Child-like and well loved. She would probably become her best friend.

"I'm Rouge Prada, expert on all things jewelry and fashion," a white bat with aqua blue eyes half-heartedly shook her hand. She spoke with the accent of a fashion model more than one of a regular teenager. I'm a bit shocked that this one hangs with them, Amber thought as she studied the girl. She was wearing very suggestive clothing that Amber honestly couldn't believe was allowed at the school. She wore a skin-tight suit that lacked sleeves and probably ended somewhere around her knees; although Amber wasn't for sure, since her white knee-high boots covered them up. Covering her rather out-there bust was a pink heart-shaped segment of her suit that seemed to be made of a more shiny material. Her long white gloves were rolled so that they stopped at her elbows, and they also had the same color pink on the edge. Her boots had pink cuffs and pink hearts and the tips. She also wore a TON of makeup and blue eye-shadow. Then again, she seems pretty welcome. It must be her fashion sense, or maybe she's softer when you get to know her. I've known people like this.

Amber smiled again as they began to ask her questions about her lifestyle and her past thus far, and she hoped that they would like her. She found them all to be quite interesting and diverse in personalities, and in the back of her mind she was already beginning to imagine what it would be like to hang with them after school.

X-X-X

Shadow Robotnik glanced around, looking for the boys he normally hung out with: Sonic, Tails and Knuckles. Sonic was not his favorite person, but he didn't mind the other two. They were okay. At least they weren't as big-headed as Sonic, his rival.

Shadow was a six foot tall black hedgehog with red streaks in his quills to match his dark personality and a little bit of white chest-fur. Today, he wore his favorite black leather jacket with a regular white t-shirt underneath and dark jeans. His white gloves had black cuffs and thick gold rings around them. Despite his looks, however, he was very popular among his old crowd. Most of them would be going to this new school, so he felt pretty confident about where his social status would be these next few years. Not to mention that running track would help boost his popularity. Sports was a very important aspect for every male, and in this city, track was almost as important as football.

Something caught his eye as he continued scanning for his friends. A petite, blonde hedgehog was making her way over to Blaze's group. Uh-oh, he thought to himself. This won't be good. He had seen the way that the Group would treat newcomers, and it was never pretty, unless the newcomer knew what she was doing. Dang shame, she's pretty cute. But she'll be knocked down to 'loser' status very quickly, more than likely. Nothing that I would want to deal with. He decided to stand back and watch the show.

As it always did, the Group was at first very reserved (other than Amy Rose, of course) and slightly short in their greetings as they studied the hedgehog. They seemed to be mentally ripping her inside out, learning the basics of the new girl. He could also observe her looking back at them with the same intensity, sizing them up and seemingly planning her next move. Then, he could tell by the way they formed a semi circle around her, they began the questioning. Although he couldn't see the new girl's face, because her back was now turned to him, he could tell that what she was saying was at least of some interest. Blaze's expression turned from one of scrutiny to one of pure curiosity as she continued asking most of the questions. The other two girls followed suit, and to Shadow's disbelief, Blaze smiled and gave the new girl a pat on the back, and he could see a genuine welcoming look cross the popular cat's face. This girl knows how to play her cards. She's been through this before, she must be very practiced, he thought to himself. Yes. She definitely has diplomacy, and her looks show that her parents aren't of the middle class. I wonder who her family is?

"Hey, Shadz! Long time, no see!" Shadow heard someone shout behind him, pulling his attention from the scene taking place across campus. He turned to see his group walking up to him, Sonic waving enthusiastically. Ugh.

"Hey," he replied coolly. "Aren't we lucky, to have this huge building turned into a high school. And here we thought it would be something worth-while," he said somewhat disappointedly, gesturing with an over-the-shoulder wave at the school. All summer they had tried to guess what the large building would become. No one had ever even considered it would become the new high school.

"I know, right? Why so big?" Tails asked. "It's just a dumb school."

Miles "Tails" Prower was the smallest of their group, a two-tailed yellow fox with brown eyes at a height of five feet, eight inches. He was accepted into their group only because Sonic had, for some reason, taken a real shine to him. He wasn't really athletic, except for in tennis. He wore a light blue shirt with black basketball shorts, obviously trying to capture the "jock" look to fit in with Sonic. But everyone knew he was really just a nerd, and if it weren't for the big-shot himself, Tails would not be hanging out with them all the time.

Sonic the Hedgehog was a typical know-it-all, big-shot jock, five foot ten, and pretty much was the leader of their group. The blue hedgehog had been the number one runner on the track team at their school last year, and he really let it all go to his head. Amy Rose, also in their grade, really had a thing for him, which only seemed to boost his ego. This year, Shadow promised himself he'd beat Sonic at least once in a race.

Sonic was wearing his favorite outfit today, a blue jacket, white t-shirt, and ripped blue jeans and his favorite red tennis shoes. On each arm he wore plain white gloves, the cuffs rolled up a few times so that they stayed around his wrist.

"Anyways, anyone else seeing what I'm seeing?" Sonic asked. Shadow turned to see what Sonic was looking at, and saw him staring at the blonde hedgehog he'd seen earlier. "Hel-LO, lil' cutie!" Sonic whistled.

"Oh, her? Yeah I saw her earlier. Seems the Group has taken a real shine to her, which is very odd, considering how they normally are," Shadow stated, trying not to let his jealousy show. Of course Sonic would want the pretty new girl. And of course, she'd probably wind up liking him back, as was always expected of any girl around Sonic. He was the big shot. Shadow was always the loner, the rebel of the group. Well, not like he wanted a girlfriend anyways. He just didn't have any interest in growing close to anyone. He never had, ever since his sister, Maria, died of an incurable disease. It made him back off from others for a long time, but recently he started making friends again. But he was far from ready to try to grow so close to another person again.

"I think I will go change the fact that I don't even know her name," Sonic started walking over towards the Group.

"Not if I do first!" Knuckles challenged.

Knuckles Terra was a tall red echidna with dark brown eyes and was always fighting with Sonic. He had tons of dread locks and sometimes put beads in them, as was common with most echidnas. He often wore a sports outfit of one kind or another, and wore shoes similar to Sonic's, except his were green. He wore gloves with spikes on the knuckles, which gave him his name. He was the tallest of the group at six foot two.

Knuckles and Sonic dashed off to talk to the Group, specifically with the new girl. Tails followed at a not-so-eager pace, since usually he was pretty shy around new people, especially girls. Not to mention she'd probably just make fun of his two tails, since that wasn't exactly the most normal thing ever.

I really don't care to ever date her, or even become a good friend. But I guess it wouldn't hurt to get to know her just a bit, since the other numskulls are going to do so anyways. Shadow followed the rest of them at his leisurely pace.

X-X-X

"Mm….incoming boys," Rouge warned the Group softly as an ocean-blue hedgehog and a bright red echidna ran towards them, calling out a greeting. The girls quickly snapped into a practiced nonchalant state, as though it was every day that guys were quickly dashing forwards to greet them. Everyone but Amber already knew the boys, anyways, from middle school. She smiled sweetly but shyly as the two boys hurriedly introduced themselves to her after a quick hello to the other three girls.

"I'm Knuckles Terra," the red echidna spoke up first with an air of pride as he puffed out his chest.

"And I'm Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog!" The blue hedgehog slightly shoved Knuckles out of his way, pointing to himself with an air of cockiness. Knuckles wasn't going to take the shove lightly, however, and he pushed Sonic back. Pretty soon, a shoving fight broke out between the two boys, each shove rougher than the last, until Knuckles threw the first punch.

"Um…guys?" Amber reached out as though to stop them from fighting, but Blaze put a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"Don't, they do this all the time. It's like their job to fight. Don't worry, it'll end pretty soon," she reassured the new hedgehog.

A yellow fox approached them shortly afterwards. Amber smiled and introduced herself and held out her hand to shake.

"I'm Miles Prower, but everyone calls me Tails," the young kitsune responded, shaking her hand briefly. "I guess you can kind of see why," he twirled his namesakes in example, lifting himself off the ground a few feet.

"Oh wow, that's so cool!"

Tails blushed and spoke a bit louder. "Really? You don't think I'm weird?"

"Well of course not! That's so cool. You can freaking fly!" She responded excitedly.

"Hey, you two, you're not getting anywhere by fighting ten feet away from the girl who's attention you planned to get," a fourth, deeper voice spoke behind Tails. Sonic and Knuckles immediately quit their fighting and stood by the group, Amy now hanging off Sonic's arm. They both held indignant looks; Sonic's also contained a bit of annoyance at a certain pink growth on his arm. Amber glanced past them to see a dark hedgehog approach the group at a laid-back pace. He stopped right in front of her, silently looking down at her with an intense look, as though he were studying her.

Irritated by the silence and a bit intimidated by the dark hedgehog, Amber spoke up first. "Can I help you?" She asked in an impatient voice, disguising any fear she had of him.

"No," he said simply, not offering anything else. This irritated Amber further.

"Who are you?" She asked slightly aggressively.

"Shadow Robotnik," he replied in a gruff tone, turning his attention away from her and to the rest of the Group. "What time is it? We ought to be able to go inside soon."

Amber flicked her ears in annoyance at his unfriendly attitude. "You know, most people actually take an interest in new people when they get a chance to talk to them," she said, putting her hands on her hips.

He looked at her coldly. "I already know what I need to know. I heard that your name was Amber Scott. You're friends with all my friends. You've also got what it takes to be accepted by the Group. What else would I want to know?"

With Amber now silenced, Shadow turned back to everyone else. "Seriously, what time is it?"

Blaze checked her cell phone. "It's 8:02, so the school doors should be open by now. Let's go, girls," she motioned her group to follow. Amy reluctantly let go of Sonic and sang a good bye to him as Rouge winked in goodbye and both girls followed after Blaze. With one last resentful look at the dark hedgehog, Amber fell in step beside the other two girls. The boys opted to stay outside for a little bit longer to "scope out the hotties," as Sonic so delicately put it.

"Is he always like that?" She asked Rouge once they were out of earshot of the boys.

"Don't be bothered, hun. His sister, Maria, died a few years back, and since then he's been colder than normal. His personality was always a bit reserved, but now he's just downright closed to new people. It makes me wonder what actually goes on inside that head of his. I don't believe for one minute that he isn't at least a little bit curious about others," she pulled out a powder compact and applied a bit more color to her cheeks, analyzing herself closely in the mirror.

"Personally, I think he's just a big meanie! It's such a shame, because he's sorta cute too. But my heart will always belong to Sonic!" Amy added dreamily. Amber held back a laugh at her love struck new friend. She had seen the look in Sonic's eyes that said it all. He wanted to like Amy, but she was so clingy, and he seemed to be the type to not want to be tied down. Maybe, after we grow closer, she'll let me help her out with that relationship. She thought they could make a pretty adorable couple, if Amy would just back off a bit.

"I think that underneath that hard shell, there's a true gentlemen. Someone's just got to break through the walls," Blaze added her own input. "However, it would take a very long time. He was extremely close to his sister. No one will be able to reach that hedgehog's heart until he finally gets completely over her death. And since he's only recently started making friends again, I don't think he'll ever fall in love before the end of high school. Such a shame, since high school is supposed to be the best time to date, and a good time to gain some experience."

Amber listened carefully to the cat. For a sophomore, she seemed wiser than her years. "Well, I hope that whatever girl is able to get past those walls is able to put up with the strong, silent type. Because I personally think he's like that, even without a bad past!" Amber replied. "Although, that is pretty sad about his sister. What happened?"

"Maria Robotnik had a fatal disease. Her grandfather was looking for a cure, but it was too late. She died in her sleep, peacefully. But her life was rough. She was such a pretty little hedgehog, too. Such a shame, she could have been a fashion model!" Rouge answered, having finished freshening up her already-perfect makeup. "Short, blonde hair that fell around her shoulders, beautiful blue eyes to match. She was tall for her age, and she loved the color blue. She wore a blue headband, blue dress, and blue shoes, normally. I never got to know her very well, but I think she was a very likeable person, actually."

Amber nodded, not really sure what else to say. She instead dug around in her purse for the paper that contained her locker and schedule information. "Locker 3199. Any of you girls have a locker nearby?"

"I have locker number 3173. That's at least down the same hallway," Blaze said, glancing at her paper.

"Locker number 3190 for me!" Amy cheered.

"Hm, locker number 3139…looks like I'm the farthest," Rouge replied. "I think these were sorted by last names."

"Do you think Sonic will have a locker near mine? That'd be so great! We'd be able to see each other every morning!" Amy hugged her paper, off daydreaming again. Amber laughed.

"Well, his last name is Hedgehog, isn't it? I think he'll be down one of the other hallways. But that's okay, you guys will probably have classes together," she patted Amy's shoulder.

"You think so? Ooh, maybe we'll have biology together! Then we can pair up for all the labs! And we can sit next to each other and write love notes to each other and hold hands and…"

"Hey, hey, hey, don't you think you're getting just a bit ahead of yourself?" Blaze stopped the pink hedgehog from continuing her little fantasy. "Just take things one day at a time. Remember, you don't want to smother him!"

"Oh yeah, right! So I'll just hope that we can at least write love notes all during class to each other!" Amy twirled around happily, still hugging her paper.

What was Shadow's last name? Oh yeah, Robotnik. Which means he'll be somewhat close by, but he'll be a bit farther away than Amy. Amber thought as they all walked towards their respective lockers. Great…I have to face that cold stare every day. She shuddered as she approached her locker. I can honestly say that I am not looking forward to that.

"Hey, you dropped this," she heard an already-familiar voice behind her. Speak of the devil… she turned around to face him.

He was holding out a key ring to her, with 3 sets of keys and a glittery keychain that read "Amber~".

"Oh. Thanks," she said, taking the keys gently from him. She turned back and began unloading the contents of her backpack into her locker. She could tell he was still standing behind her, and as she hung up the locker mirror she could see him continuing to look at her with that same studying look. Already tired of his cold personality, she turned to look at him and huffed, "What do you want?"

His facial expression didn't change, and he remained silent for a bit longer. Finally, he spoke quietly, "You're the same color as my sister." Suddenly he turned and walked off quietly.

"Hey, wait," she called after him. He stopped and glanced over his shoulder before finally sighing and walking back to her. He again stood close to her and looked down on her. Amber took a step back, slightly thrown off by his sudden stop not 6 inches in front of her.

"What?" It was more a statement than a question.

"I heard what happened to your sister. And I'm very sorry. I know it's got to be hard. But hey, don't take it out on everyone else around you. Friends are there for comfort, not to take out anger or pain on. They're here to help you through it. And it's always good to make new friends because you never know the different ways they can help. I feel like maybe I could help you feel better about the whole thing, if you'd give me a chance to get to know you. But don't treat me like this. Our lockers are going to be somewhat close by and I don't want to face the same cold look every morning just because you're afraid to make a new friend who has the same fur color as your sister. I understand why you would treat me like this, but it doesn't make me like it any more that I already do," Amber told him with a clear voice, despite the fact that inside, she was feeling a bit scared of him again. He looked like the kind of guy who wouldn't mind hurting a person or two just because he was somewhat pissed off. Not to mention he was still standing close to her, that searching look in his eyes. She felt like he was trying to make her vulnerable and expose her secrets.

He continued looking at her for a bit, his expression still unchanged. Finally, he closed his eyes and sighed audibly. "Look. I am not trying to be rude. Right now I'm trying to figure you out because you look like the kind to hold a secret or two. Usually I can read people like a book, but you seem like you're hiding something. It interests me, and at the same time it makes me slightly weary of you. I don't like unpredictable people."

"Well, I hate to disappoint you, but I am not hiding anything."

"You move schools a lot, don't you?" He asked, reopening his eyes and looking at her again with the same look as before.

"Well, yes, but how did you…"

"I can tell by the way that you handled the Group's first meeting. You were easily able to get them to accept you. Usually they don't want anyone new. So it's obvious you're practiced. Do you like moving schools so much?"

Amber stood shocked for a little bit before finally replying, "Well…I know that my parents do it because they want the best for me…"

"That's not what I asked," Shadow interrupted her. "Don't answer, I already know. You hate it, you hate being moved around so much because it forces you to start over all the time. That's what you're hiding: the rage at your parents. You secretly hate them when they tell you that you'll be going to a new school."

"I don't hate my parents!" She protested, but he silenced her by holding up his hand.

"You do whenever they force you to start all over again. Hm…you had to let go of someone very important, didn't you?" He asked, his crimson eyes continuing to study her.

Feeling like an open book, Amber decided she might as well spill, since he'd figure it out anyways. She turned back to her locker and continued sorting through her things for a little while before finally answering.

"Yes. I do hate my parents sometimes. But it's not because they force me to start over all the time. Actually, that's just collateral damage from the real reason why they move me around all the time. The real reason is…" she trailed off, uncertain whether to tell the black and red hedgehog everything or not.

"They're hiding you from someone," he finished her thoughts in a nutshell.

She sighed. "It's not someone that I want to hide from though. They're trying to keep me away from my first boyfriend. Spikes the Werehog."

X-X-X

SoulPieces here, with yet another Sonic fanfiction :) I have yet to understand why so many people write "Sonic High School" fics, so I decided I'd try it for myself and see what the big deal is. I'm trying to make mine not cliché, but I guess we'll see how successful I am with that in time.

Drop a review, and stand by for the next chapter that will be up soon. Reviews are asked for in bulk for this story, mainly because I don't know how well I'm doing when compared to similar fics, and honestly I'm hoping to put a different spin on this story. I'm also going to try to use more humor, as I've noticed I lack in my other two fanfictions, and I'm going to try to keep everybody in character. So if anyone seems OOC, point it out to me!