—Amy's POV—
I texted
my mom, told her what happened and that Maria had nowhere to stay now. My mom said it was okay if Maria stayed with us for a couple of days. I was actually a little amazed that she let her stay, I mean she doesn't even know her and my mom's usually very paranoid about strangers.
"They'll probably kill you and use your body to transport drugs across the country!" she'd say.
I asked Maria if she wanted to stay at my place for the rest of the night and she said yes. She looked terrified of Shadow! Like she had never seen this side of him. I've doubt he'd ever been violent towards Maria back at the Ark. Shadow was already scary looking thank-you-very-much.
It was a long way to my house but luckily Rouge offered to give us a ride in her van. Cosmo left with Tails (who probably took her home flying) and the guys left in Knuckles' car.
The ride was silent until we reached my house. "Thanks for the ride, Rouge" I said waving goodbye. "Thanks for everything! It was such a pleasure to meet you all" said Maria, waving as well.
We went inside my house silently. Maria hadn't said a word and neither had I. All the lights were turned off so I assumed mom had gone to sleep. I checked my watch and it was 10:50 p.m.
"It's late but we don't have to go to sleep yet if you don't want to...do you want to go to sleep?" I asked. She looked at me and hesitated to answer. "No...I don't want to go to sleep...maybe we could just chat for a while" she answered with a smile.
"So...how was Shadow... back at the Ark?"
"Well...he was really cute and adorable. He always smiled when we played around the halls of the Ark, even though we weren't supposed to in the first place. But his smile would always fade when my grandfather called him into his lab..."
"Why?"
"Because he ran tests with his DNA and taught him how to use guns...he hates violence...or at least...he did"
Wow. Shadow hated violence?! I can't believe that Shadow actually hated violence at some point in his life. I mean c'mon he probably loves gory movies and video games like Manhunt or Final Destination.
"So... when are you going to start school?"
"I..." she hesitated, "I'm not sure" she said. "Maybe I can help you with the paperwork so you can attend Mobius High" I suggested. "That would be great" she said with a smile. "Thank you, Amy"
I looked at my watch and saw it was 1 a.m. "Maria...are you sleepy yet?" I asked with a yawn. Then I remembered I had to go to school tomorrow. Oh no!
"Well a little..." she replied. "Okay then. Let's get ready to go to sleep" I said.
—Shadow's POV—
I woke up the next morning at 6 a.m. My alarm clock's ring was so painfully loud that it felt as if someone was sinking Goddamn needles into my fucking ears! I growled and punched it as hard as I could, breaking it.
Great! now I had to buy a new one.
I got up, got dressed and walked to school. I didn't really wanted to go to school. Could be because it was Monday. Or Maybe it was because of what happened last nig-
Shit!
Now I would have to face Maria. She will probably be dissapointed in me for using violence (which she hated) or scared. But I stopped my tracks when I realized something. Something I hadn't thought about before.
Maria doesn't go to this school!
Looks like I'm in luck!
—Sonic's POV—
Tails, Manic, and I walked to school silently. If Sonia was here she'd be talking like there was no tomorrow! She just talks and talks and talks! We'll most girls do, don't they? But she was walking to school with her friends this morning.
"So" said Manic breaking the silence, "is that girl Maria hot?"
"What kind of question is that?"
"I was just asking. Jeez Tails!" said Manic. "Well she's cute. not hot, but cute" I told my brother (hey, it was true)
Tails sighed heavily as he massaged the skin between his eyes with his thumb and his index finger. "Do you think I have a chance with her?" asked Manic wagging his tail. Tails sighed again as he kept rubbing the skin between his eyes. I wonder why he's so upset this morning.
"For Chaos' sake, Manic! You don't even know her!"
"o-okay...I-I'll stay quiet, Tails..."
Tails ran off as soon as we got to campus. Maybe he was meeting Cosmo or something. oh well, the kid can take care of himself, can't he?
"The fuck?" said Manic, but I said nothing in response. "Whatever. Let's go meet the others at the cafeteria and get some breakfast" I said. "Vale!" he said excitedly. "What?"
"That's how people in Spain say 'okay' ,dude"
"Oh...okay"
We went to the cafeteria and found Blaze, Silver, Rouge, knuckles, Marine, Tikal, Espio, and Charmy at our table. Manic and I went to get our breakfast (some chocolate milk and yogurt) and went to sit with the gang. Tails was probably hanging out with Cosmo or helping our science teacher get everything set for the day. Cream usually ate breakfast at home so, we wouldn't see her until nutrition (or recess as some people call it). But Amy wasn't there. She was usually there by now
Where was she? was she going to be late? or absent? or sick? C'mon Sonic get it together! Stop being paranoid! She's probably fine! Besides, why do you care so much?
Why did I care so much?
"Hey guys" Manic and I said at the same time. Manic growled as he looked at another table. "What's wrong, mate?" asked Marine looking at Manic. "Nothing ,Marine" answered Manic looking angry.
I looked toward the direction he was looking and saw our sister Sonia talking to her bffs Sally Acorn, Mina Mongoose, and Julie-su. Then I saw Elias, Sally's brother, sitting next to Sonia.
"So you're jelous?" asked Rouge. We all looked at Manic, who was blushing either because of the attention or because he was jelous. Or both, because the truth was: Manic had a crush on Sonia. Gross? Maybe, but there is an explanation to it.
Since Manic, Sonia, and I were separated at birth, we didn't grow up together. And when Sonia and Manic met each other first...uh...point is they went out and when they figured out they were related, Sonia felt forced to break up with him. She's tried moving on, unlike Manic, who's as stubborn as a mule.
"Manic and Sonia sittin' in a tree..." sang Marine making the girls, Silver and Charmy giggle. Manic turned to her and gave her a hard glare that made her go slightly pale. But then he smiled. "What are you waiting for? keep singing!" he said, making us all laugh. Honestly, I don't know what it is, but he always makes people laugh easily. I hate to admit it, but it's always slightly hard for me to make people laugh.
"So when are you going to ask Sonia out?" asked Charmy. Manic's eyes widened and he began to choke on his yogurt. Silver, knuckles, and I laughed while the rest of the gang gave us hard glares. "Not funny!" said Manic after he stopped choking. "Answer the question, Manic" said Espio."I don't know. She thinks it's wrong, and i-it is, okay? I...I don't wanna talk about this anymore" said Manic sadly. I think I could even see tears forming in his eyes.
"SHIT!"
I turned around to where the sound came from. Shadow was on the floor with his tray in front of him. I jumped up to my feet and went over to him to help him up. After he was up, he bent over and grabbed his tray (which only had a yogurt on it) and went over to sit with us.
"I swear I've had the worst morning ever! It'll probably turn out to be the worse day ever!" said Shadow. "Probably" said Knuckles. Man Knuckles always had to bring out the negative. "Shut up Knuckles!" said Tikal. "Jeez Sis! calm down" said Knuckles mocking Manic, who just ignored him.
"Why do you say that Shadow?" asked Rouge. "Well let's see...I crushed my alarm clock this morning, forgot my cell phone, fell down-"
"—and forgot your retainer"
"are you serious?!"
"Yes. You forgot it"
"Damn it!" cursed Shadow. I couldn't hold my laugh, which caused Shadow to punch me in the arm. "Ow! Cool it, Shadz!" I said. "I told you today was a bad luck day because it's the 13th, but did you listen? Noooooooo" said Charmy, who was talking to Espio. "It's Monday the thirteen, not Friday" responded Espio.
I turned to Manic with an evil grin on my face. "Hey bro. Today might be Sonia's unlucky day, and your lucky day" I said. "What do you mean?" asked Manic, giving my a confused look. "Well...let's say Sonia is changing , you forget to knock and you see her naked" I said looking at him and waiting for a funny expression.
—Shadow's POV—
Manic had a weird expression on his face, but whatever it was, it was priceless. The faker started whispering something into his ear that made him nosebleed, getting everyone's attention at the table.
"Is he having fantasies?" asked Rouge. Seriously, how does she know all this...you know what? nevermind.
Manic began to nosebleed more and covered his nose with both hands. But there was too much blood and a little bit of blood fell on his tray.
"Oh my God! Are you okay Manic?" asked Tikal worried. "Does he look okay?"
"Shut up Knuckles!"
Manic blushed and looked past me. I looked behind me to see what he was looking at. That was it, he was looking at Sonia. "Pervert" I muttered, making Rouge chuckle.
"Oh my gosh! Are you okay, Manic?" asked Sonia jogging towards Manic and handing him some napkins. Manic took them and cleaned the blood. "Th-thank you Sonia"
Everyone at the table started "ooooooooooing" the two until she left. "Why am I still friends with you guys?" asked Manic rhetorically.
Then the bell rang and everyone left for their classes. Rouge and I had English first period together, so we left together. "Did you do the character analysis?" asked Rouge while digging through her backpack.
"DAMN IT!"
At lunch we sat at our usual table. Cosmo and Tails where there and said they were helping their science teacher grade some papers in the morning. Yeah, Right.
Cream and Charmy talked uncontrollably, Knuckles and Tikal argued uncontrollably, Blaze and Silver discussed some books they read over the weekend, Sonic teased Manic about his 'secret crush' and Rouge and I talked. I wondered if anyone noticed that Amy and Espio were gone. Where were they?
"Are you okay, hun?" asked Rouge looking worried. "What do you mean?" I asked. "You know. The whole yelling-in-front-of-Maria thing from last night" said Rouge. I really hate thinking about it. Maria was probably afraid of me now. I'm a monster!
"With all this silence I assume you don't want to talk about it" she said. "Hey Shadow!" said Silver, "what do you think of the book Petals In The Wind by V.C. Andrews?" he asked. "You mean the sequel to Flowers in The Attic?" I asked while my tail began to wag. I love Gothic horror novels! They are usually about realistic themes, but are always exaggerated. They usually talk about rape, incest, lust, and greed. I'm fucked up in the head, I know.
"It was really hot!" I answered, trying not to nosebleed at the memory of the main character, Cathy, having sex with her legal guardian, Paul. They weren't related at all, but hey I didn't write it so don't blame me. "I know right!" exclaimed Silver exitedly. "You guys are sick" mumbled Sonic and Blaze at the same time.
"I've read that series" said Rouge, "It made me cry a few times"
"Me too" admitted Silver. I also allowed my eyes to water at a few parts, but I was never going to tell anyone. "Like when their 5 years-old brother died of arsenic poisoning" I said. "Or when their sister, his twin, suicides by eating arsenic in doughnuts about ten years later" said Silver. "Or...or when Cathy was raped by her older brother Christopher" said Rouge with sadness in her eyes. "I wanted to kill him" I admitted. "She was so traumatized that she blamed herself for the rape" I added. "But they fall in love later on. Then they get married and raise her two children and adopt another" said Blaze. "So there's incest in the book?" asked Cosmo. "Yes!" said Blaze, Rouge, Silver, and I at the same time. "Manic should read it" said Sonic, making Manic blush. "I actually agree with Sonic for once" said Knuckles with a laugh. "You guys are so mean!" said Marine, who had just arrived. I didn't even noticed she was gone.
"I-I actually am reading it" said Manic quietly blushing. "What's incest?" asked Charmy and Cream. Everyone at the table froze and nobody said a word. "Wweeelll...incest is when uh...people who are related...have...um...f-fall in...love" said Manic, looking at Sonia's table when he said love. "But that's gross!" said Charmy makig a face. "Yeah I know. It's wrong too, but some people don't care. And sometimes there's a good reason to their love" said Manic without looking away from Sonia. He rested his right elbow on the table and rested his head against his hand like a lovesick teen.
I looked around the table to see my friends' shocked expressions (except for Cream and Charmy). That was a really mature thing for Manic to say. He usually would have said something like "when you fuck your sister" or something like that.
"So its basically its falling in love with a relative?" asked Cream. "Yeah...eeeewww" said Charmy. Everyone stayed silent, but returned to their conversations eventually. I looked at Manic, who was still looking at Sonia, so I stared at him until he felt my glare. When he finally looke at me, I asked "Manic...are you still in love with Sonia?"
"I am dude. I am. And you're in love with Maria"
"Shut the fuck up"
—Sonic's POV—
I was worried about my bro. I didn't want him to set himself up for heartbreak. But it's not like he could stop loving her in the blink of an eye.
Just like I couldn't stop liking Amy. I just don't have the guts to ask her out.
I looked at Shadow, who was staring off into space. I just knew he was thinking about Maria. Or yersteday's incident at the mall.
"Hey guys"
I turned around and saw Amy standing standarding there with a smile on her face. "Hey, Amy" I said casually. "Where have you been all day?" asked Tikal. "Well," said Amy as she sat down, "you guys are not going to believe this, but I was helping someone with paperwork"
"Why?" asked Cosmo curiously. "Well I'll just tell you now. Maria's planning on attending this school" she said. I looked at Shadow, just in time to see him spit his milk on Manic, who was sitting across from him. "DUDE! WHAT THE FUCK!?" yelled Manic with his eyes shining dark blue. One thing you never want to do is get Manic or Shadow angry. Ever. The only difference is that Manic has more control over his anger. He only explodes this easily if he's had a bad day.
"I'm sorry!" said Shadow. "Calm down, bro" I said. Manic got up, walked over to where Shadow was sitting and pushed him off. "Manic. You. Are. Getting. Me. Mad" warned Shadow, showing his fangs. "Well I wouldn't be if you hadn't spit on me. If you hadn't been so shocked that the girl you were obsessed about-"
"SHUT YOUR FAGGOT MOUTH 'FORE I SHUT IT FOR YOU!"
"Make me, bitch" said Manic. At this point the whole cafeteria was looking at the two hedgehogs. I looked around and saw Tikal's worried look and Knuckles evil smile. He was eager to see the fight get started. Cosmo looked shocked and Tails was pale. I was too worried about Manic and Shadow so looked back at the scene.
Sonia came running and got between them to prevent them from starting a fight. "Guys please calm down. Violence doesn't solve anything. Manic, Shadow already said he was sorry and there was no need to said what you did. Now please don't-"
"Alright, what is going on here?!" yelled the principal, Mr. Rage, as he walked in. He was a a big gorilla with a really short temper and the abilitiy to intimidate people easily. I walked over to him and said "Nothing Mr. Rage. My sister has it under control"
"Alright then" he said and looked over at Manic, Sonia, and Shadow. Shadow was now sitting down and Sonia and Manic were leaving the cafeteria carrying their backpacks. So they probably wouldn't be back. All the students who were waiting for a fight were sitting down and were calm (sort of). "Alright, Maurice" said Mr. G, "I guess things are under control" he said before turning around and leaving.
—Manic's POV—
Sonia and I walked out of the cafeteria silently. She told me that I needed to cool down before I did something that would get me expelled or suspended. I felt so ashamed for acting like that in front of her. But at the same time I felt really happy to be next to her. It had been weeks since we had hanged out alone. Just the two of us! Just the two of us. Just the two of us.
"Is there anything you want to talk about, brother?"
That word hurt like a knife to the heart. "No. But please, please don't call me 'brother', Sonia" I said, feeling my ears drop. "Why?" she asked, sounding a little harsh. "Because it- "
"I know it hurts but that's all that you are to me" she interrupted. Sonia crossed her arms and looked at me. "No, that's all we should be, Sonia. But we aren't, you know why? cause we fell in love before we knew we were-"
"Alright, alright! I get your point" she said. I couldn't help to chuckle and smirk in victory. "I guess you're right, Manic" she said uncrossing her arms. I looked around the hallway and saw that it was empty. So now it was literally only the two of us. "Manic...do you still love me?" she asked. I could feel myself blushing as soon as she said that. "S-Sonia...of course I do" I said. She blushed and looked at the end of the hallway. "Manic, it's been over a year. You gotta get over me" she said without making eye contact. "I can't. I love you and...and I always will" I said. At this point I wasn't really thinking before speaking. She sighed heavily and looked at me.
Suddenly, Sonia wrapped her arms around my neck and pressed her lips against mine. My eyes widened at her actions, because of what she had just said a couple of moments ago. Absently, I closed my eyes, wrapped my arms around her waist and kissed back, not caring who saw us. Even though I should have. I should have cared.
—Shadow's POV—
We were all silent after Manic and Sonia left. I tried to continue eating, but I couldn't help feeling guilty. It was my fault after all. "Um...guys.." I said a little loudly to get their attention. Everyone in the table turned to look at me. Damn! I hated when a lot of people looked at me. I hated—no— I loathed being the center of attention. My heartbeat increased and I froze. But I had to say it. "I'm sorry about my behavior earlier and yersteday" I said while I looked at my friends' shocked expressions. "You...did you just apologie, Shadow?" asked Knuckles, looking puzzled. "Yes I did" I responded. Rouge put her arm on my shoulder and smiled when I looked at her. "Well I accept your apology, but I don't know about everybody else" she said. "But of course we accept your apology Shadow! Don't we guys?" said Sonic with a big smile on his face. "But of course"
"Yes!"
"Positively"
"Yeah, mate"
"mmhhmm"
"Group hug!" yelled Sonic after getting up and running over to hug me. "Nuh uh"
"No way"
"No thanks"
"No"
"No thanks, mate"
"Count me out, Hun"
Sonic's ears dropped sadly as he squeezed the life out of me. "Too...tight" I told him. "But Shadz", he whined in a girlish voice, "you're so fluffly" he said. "No offense, Sonic" Silver began, "but now you're acting um...sorta...uh sorta-"
Espio interrupted, "What Silver's trying to say is that this is funny and all but-"
"You look gay!" growled Knuckles. Sonic's ears dropped for real this time. "I was just trying to be funny" he said. "Well you're not, fag" said Knuckles before getting up and leaving. "Don't listen to him, Sonic" said Amy. "Yeah, that was pretty funny" said Tails. But then the bell rang and we had to leave.
—Manic's POV—
Tikal, Shadow, Sonic, Rouge, Blaze, Sonia, Amy and I had Physical Education together. "See you in 5" I told Sonia before turning the opposite way and walking towards the Boy's locker room.
Sonic and I met outside the locker room and walked to the gymnasium together. Sonia was already there and was talking to Sally. Shadow was also there but he was sitting on the bleachers. We went over to talk to him even though I really wanted to go and talk to Sonia.
Shadow and Sonic began to talk about something (I wasn't paying attention). "Screw it" I mumbled before going over to Sonia and Sally. "Hey guys" I greeted as I approached them. "Hi Manic" said Sally while Sonia just smiled. "What are you guys doing?" I asked only realising how stupid that sounded seconds later. "Of nothing, just waiting for Mina" answered Sonia.
Mina got there about 3 minutes later along with Julie-Su and Fiona Fox. I hated Julie and Fiona so fucking much! They were so bitchy and obnoxius.
"Hey Manic!" said Mina smiling at me. I smiled back and said " Hey Mina"
"Hey ladies...and Manic" I heard a male voice say from behind me. Please don't let it be him. Please, please don't let it be him!
I turned around to face Scourge. He was wearing the same thing as everyone else (the P.E. uniform) which was basically a white T-shirt and red shorts. "Hey Scourge" I said. He chuckled. "Hey there" he said. Fuck, I just hated him so much!
I turned away from him to face Sonia and growled at what I saw. Elias was hugging her. It might have been a 5 second hug, but a hug was a hug!
"A bit overprotective, don't ya think?" said Scourge. "Yep!" said Fiona. "Shut the fuck up, faggot" I said. "THE FUCK DID YOU JUST CALL ME?!" yelled Scourge at the exact same moment Coach Wolfeistein walked in. "SCOURGE! To the principal's office NOW! YOU GET A REFERRAL FOR LANGUAGE!" yelled Coach Wolfeinstein. I looked at Scourge, who was glaring at me. "You're dead" he whispered, then left the gym.
We lined up as we usually did and began to warm up. I stood behind Sonia and Sonic stood to my left. "Bend down and touch your toes" said Coach.
Crap.
"I can't believe you got a boner in P.E." said Shadow teasingly. "Shut...up" I said while trying not to remember what happened.
*Flashback*
Coach Wolfeinstein approached me while I was drinking water from a water fountain. "Uh son...you have my permission to...uh...go to the restroom" he whispered. I looked at him puzzled and asked "What do you mean?"
He pointed at the floor and said, "Go take care of that, son"
It took me about 10 seconds to realize what he meant.
*end of flashback*
"At least I can control my hormones" said Shadow. "Whatever" I said. It was 6th period (Science class) and Shadow and I were 'working'. Our teacher, Ms. Mou, believed in independent study and some other bullcrap. She told us to read 10 pages of our Science textbook every night! Yeah, like we lived for school. Like we didn't have lives besides school! She was nice, but she never teached us anything. We always had to discover things for ourselves and research.
Shadow and I kept talking as we pretendd to get work done (like always) until the bell rang.
RIIIIIINNGGGGG!
For 5 seconds, it seemed as if there was a stampede in the halls!
"Man, today's youth really hates school" exclaimed Shadow. I laughed. "Ha! Do I hve to remind you that you are part of 'today's youth' too?" I said. "Legally yes, technically no"
"Now what's that supposed to mean?"
"I'm technically in my late 50's but I'm legally your age. So technically I'm not part of today's youth"
I kept quiet, knowing that I had lost the goddamn argument. We kept walking to Shadow's house, because we always hang out at his place after school. I guess you could say I'm his best guy friend since Rouge is his best friend.
"So how are you gonna deal with Maria being around tomorrow?" I asked before taking a sip of of my Tecate. "I...I don't know" answered Shadow after taking a sip of his. I honestly don't know how he got the alcoholic bebrages, but I kinda didn't care. As long as we didn't get in trouble.
"One thing I know for sure though" said Shadow, "is that I won't have the same accident you did in P.E."
"SHADOW!"
