A/N: Welcome back to Sonic High: Emerald Lake. For those who made it past chapter 1 and are still here, I guess I did something right in the previous chapter :) In that case, I won't keep any of you waiting any longer. Please enjoy chapter 2!

Chapter 2

Introductions

Sonic rushed through the front door, bursting it open with so much force that the sturdy door almost fell off of its hinges. Tails walked behind him in step a little more tentatively.

"Uh… Sonic… Maybe you should calm down a little bit?" he mumbled as he walked through the doorway, kicking off his shoes as he entered the house.

"Nah, the door will be fine. Besides, I'm glad we are finally done!" he beamed, letting his backpack slip from the shoulder that it was slinging from to slam into the floor carelessly.

"Sonic, it's only been a day, and it wasn't even a full day today," Tails reminded the eager hedgehog but Sonic seemed undeterred.

"Yeah, but anytime away from school is good time. Besides, with less time at school means more time I get to spend with you," he winked, laughing when he saw the crimson appear on Tails face.

"Sonic, honey, can you come in here?" a voice called from the other room. Tails recognized the voice as Sonic's mother, but there was a hint of hesitation and regret in her voice.

"Yeah, by the way, Tails is here too," Sonic called in reply. Not a mere second passed before Bernadette responded.

"Tails, dear, can you please go home? Thanks." Something sounded wrong, but Tails complied and gave Sonic a quick goodbye kiss before exiting the house. Tails had always liked Bernadette, and she was so supportive when Sonic came clean about his relationship with Tails. He wanted to know what had her so wound up, and be there to support the sapphire hedgehog but he knew better than to interfere and just left without a word, shooting off a text on his phone to somebody, leaving Sonic standing alone in front of the door.

Sonic closed it slowly, swallowed deeply and began to shuffle over to the kitchen. He steeled his nerves, preparing for the worst but what awaited him in the kitchen was something that Sonic could not ever have imagined in his wildest dreams. There, sitting at the table next to his mother were two hedgehogs that he had never seen in his life.

"Sonic… darling," Bernadette began. "I'd like you to meet Sonia and Manic. Your… brother and sister!"

…

"Hello Master Prower," Ken the monkey greeted Tails as he walked into the house. "I thought you would be over at Master Sonic's place for the evening?" he questioned. "Oh, and also, your father would like a meeting with you on Wednesday at the academy so you will have to miss school to go out to visit him."

"Nah, something came up Ken. Tell father that I'll be there," Tails nodded. "Hey, is it okay if I have my friend Cream come over? I need to help her out with something," Tails asked.

"Certainly, but make sure you keep that bedroom door open," Ken added slyly before he turned to leave, laughing at the blush that crossed the fox boy's face.

"Keeeeen, you know it's not like that," he groaned in annoyance as the monkey left to go prepare some dinner for the night.

"It's not like what?" a quiet voice asked from the doorway. Tails turned with a start, noticing the little rabbit standing on the other side of the wire door.

"Oh, hey Cream… it's nothing. Please, come in," he gestured into the house and Cream obliged thankfully. Cream noticed that Tails seemed quite worked up and angry, but didn't want to press anything. She noticed him quickly send off a message before he turned off his phone.

"Sorry about that. I just had to deal with something. Wanna come upstairs?" He asked. Cream nodded and together, the two removed their shoes and hustled upstairs into Tails' bedroom where they got down to business.

"Tails… I'm starting to have second thoughts about this," Cream began finally after a few awkward seconds of silence.

"Come on Cream, there is nothing to be nervous about. I know you have wanted this to happen ever since the start of the year," Tails smiled, shuffling a little closer to where she was sitting on the side of his bed, her feet dangling off the side.

"I just don't know if I can do this," she squeaked. "What about Jet?"

"Don't worry, everything will be fine. Trust me. Jet will understand. Just practice with me and everything will go smoothly," he gave her that innocent, heartwarming smile that used to always make her melt. She took a deep breath and nodded in agreement. Tails moved closer to her, staring into her eyes as he began.

"So, Cream the Rabbit, tell us why you think that you are Mobius Academy material?"

Cream and Tails practiced Cream's interview for the next hour. Tails, having a father as the most prestigious and respected lecturer and head examiner at the academy, knew a lot about the application process and offered to help Cream practice for her big interview on Wednesday. After many failed responses, Cream finally became confident enough with herself to answer appropriately and make herself seem like a worthy applicant.

"Well Miss Rabbit, I think you are exactly what this academy needs. We are happy to announce that you have been accepted," Tails announced finally at the end. Cream let out a happy scream before covering her mouth, embarrassed for her ecstatic outburst. The two fell back onto the bed, holding their stomachs as they let out uncontrollable laughs.

After the giggles finally ceased, Cream rolled over onto her side to face Tails, as he did the same to her.

"Thanks for helping me out like this. It really means a lot," Cream smiled.

"What else are friends for? Besides, I need to go see dad on Wednesday anyway so we can take the bus to the academy together tomorrow and come back together Wednesday night," he stated.

"I'd like that," Cream agreed, bringing Tails into a tight embrace.

"Master Prower," Ken called from downstairs. "Dinner is ready! I made enough for your little friend if she would like to stay." Tails looked expectantly at Cream, awaiting her answer. She pondered her decision for a few seconds before nodding eagerly at the offer and the two rushed down stairs to enjoy the delectable food prepared by the monkey caretaker.

…

Sally lay on her back lazily, sinking deeper and deeper into the comfortable couch situated in the middle of Amy's living room. Her legs were thrown up over the side of the couch and she was lying in a rather un-flattering position but she didn't mind, seeing as Amy was the only other person in the house. She held up a small binder to her face.

"This is actually really good!" Sally found her voice finally, looking over to Amy.

"I just wish publishers would think so," Amy sighed exasperatedly, pushing back from the desk and getting up from her chair. "I've sent it off to so many publishers but none of them will even look at it. Something about needing a literary agent or something."

"Well, if I were a publisher, I'd publish this in a heartbeat," Sally laughed, closing the binder and putting it on the table nearby. "I can't bring myself to put it down." Amy looked from the squirrel to the table, a frown appearing on her face. She wasn't sure if the squirrel was being legitimate or not.

"You just put it down then…" Amy mentioned flatly.

"That's only because I have something even better to keep me entertained," she smiled, opening her arms in a gesture for the pink hedgehog. Amy sighed, admitting defeat to the publishers as she walked over to Sally and lay down next to her.

"I just wish they would at least give it a chance," Amy complained. "I know romantic novels aren't as popular now as they used to be but I just think mine is worth a read."

"I know," Sally admitted, letting her hand fall through Amy's pink locks. "If anybody knows romance, it's you."

"Tell them that," Amy whined, before nestling into Sally.

"Why don't you just ask Rouge?" Sally asked, sitting up slightly.

"Why would I ask her?" Amy asked.

"Isn't her aunt like that super popular editor that is renowned around Mobius?"

"Wait… You're saying that Rouge is the niece of THE Zouge the Bat? Aleena's publisher?" Amy asked, dumbfounded. Sally just stared back plainly at her, giving her a dead pan expression.

"Seriously? Zouge the Bat… Rouge the Bat. They share the last name and look like they could be twins, apart from the 15-year age difference," Sally muttered.

"You think Rouge could snag me an interview?" Amy asked hopefully.

"I don't know…" Sally admitted. "She is still kind of pissed at you after all the shit you pulled this year." Sally said, but quickly finished her thought when she saw Amy's spirits fade. "But I'm sure she will if you just apologize."

"You think so? Thanks Sally, you're the best," Amy cheered, closing the gap between their faces, allowing their lips to touch in a deep kiss.

"I know I am," Sally giggled as she pulled back slightly. "Besides, that party that she threw was probably just a one off anyw-" Sally suddenly froze, her eyes widening as she realized what she had just said.

"What party?" Amy asked, sitting up next to Sally.

"Party? I didn't say anything about a party," Sally dodged the question, trying to cover her tracks. "Now, where were we?" She wrapped her hands around Amy but the pink hedgehog swatted her arms away, pressing the issue.

"Do you mean the Beginning of the End? Rouge told me it wasn't on!"

"N…No, it wasn't," Sally replied, getting quickly flustered.

"And you told me that you were at your Aunts that night!" she pointed an accusing finger at the squirrel.

"Amy… I'm so sorry but they made me promise not to tell you and I'm still new to the whole group. Blaze, Silver and Rouge really just didn't want to have to deal with you after the pregnancy stunt you pulled and how you tried to break Knuckles and Rouge up countless times for Tikal. I just wanted to stay neutral and didn't want to cause any trouble."

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Amy threw up her hands in anger.

"Amy, I'm sorry. I just didn't want to cause even more conflict," Sally replied.

"You're my girlfriend! You're supposed to be on my side!"

"Amy, I am on your side. It was just one little party, that doesn't mean I'm taking sides. Besides, there aren't even sides! This will all blow over by next week." Sally tried to calm Amy down but she was getting too worked up.

"I'll give them all a piece of my mind tomorrow! As for you. Can you just leave me alone for a bit?" Amy yelled, trying to stop herself from losing her temper. Sally opened her mouth to argue but thought it fruitless. She just nodded her head and slipped out of Amy's house, mentally scolding herself for that idiotic little slip.

…

Knuckles and Blaze walked side by side down the street, as they usually did after school seeing as their houses were only a street away from each other. They exchanged basic small talk, mainly complaining about the new teachers they had both received for the new semester. Slowly, talk shifted from school and studies to their friends, and eventually, to Sonic and Tails.

"I'm just glad that they are happy together. It took Sonic long enough to confess his feelings and give up on his stupid popularity," Blaze sighed.

"Yeah, but it seems like that has kind of been forgotten. Sonic seemed like he was back on his throne as king of the school today. Hopefully that doesn't go back to his head, considering all Tails gave up to be with Sonic after his little confession," Knuckles added, shoving his hands into his baggy pants.

"What do you mean?" Blaze asked, turning to him. Knuckles simply shrugged.

"Y'know. How Tails got a position at that super prestigious academy up north but refused the place because it would mean that he wouldn't be able to be with Sonic," Knuckles replied nonchalantly like it was common knowledge.

"He what?!" Blaze blurted out suddenly.

"What's the big deal? I think it's kind of cute," Knuckles said before realizing what he had just uttered. "And if you ever tell anybody I said that, I won't be scared to hit you!" he warned, only half-jokingly.

"Okay, whatever. I need to go. See you Knuckles," Blaze waved as she ran off. She flung her scarf tighter around her shoulders and removed one of her gloves as she sped up, taking out her phone. She typed a frantic text message, sending it off to the fox.

Blaze: Tails, are you busy? I really need to talk to you

Tails: Sorry Blaze but Cream is about to come over. I'm helping her for her big interview on Wednesday. Can we talk when we get back on Thursday?

Blaze: It needs to be now!

Tails: Can't you just text it? I have no time!

Blaze sighed angrily as she busted through the door of her house, ignoring the hello's from her parents in the kitchen. She rushed up stairs, removing her other glove, scarf and jacket as she fell down onto her bed, engrossed in the conversation.

Blaze: Fine. Why the hell did you give up on the scholarship to Mobius Academy?!

Tails: I didn't want to leave Sonic

Blaze: That was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Are you crazy?

Tails: Dad is one of the most prestigious staff up there. I'll easily get a spot next year. I just want some time with Sonic since we only just started going out.

Blaze: For somebody super smart, you can be a real idiot sometimes

Tails: What's your problem? You're supposed to be my best friend!

Blaze: Oh, that's rich coming from you! Who was the one that almost gave me a bloody concussion last semester? Some friend you were!

Blaze pinched herself, instantly regretting her last message. She tried to retract it as soon as she typed it out but she already pressed send. She stared at her phone, awaiting a response as her heart beat faster than it ever had.

Tails: Cream is here. Bye

Blaze: Tails I'm sorry

Blaze: Tails?

Blaze: Tails?

Blaze threw her phone down on her bed as hard as she could and picked up her pillow. She screamed her heart out, annoyed at herself for the conversation that just transpired.

…

"My what?!" Sonic repeated, still awe-struck.

"This is your brother, Manic and your sister, Sonia, from over in Westopolis," Bernadette repeated, pointing to a pink hedgehog with long hair falling down her back wearing a lovely dress and a green hedgehog with messy, wild hair sporting a red jacket.

"H…How?" Sonic babbled, still not being able to fully comprehend how this was happening. How could he have siblings? He was always an only child. And, above all else, how could they be in the same year as he was?

"Well… you see, your father and I," Bernadette began but Sonic interrupted her before she could say anymore.

"No! Not how it happened. How could you have known about my siblings and not told me about them?! You told me dad died!" Sonic bellowed, his voice getting louder and louder.

"Sonic, you need to calm down," Sonia spoke, her voice shaky indicating that she was still trying to get to grips with the knowledge of a second brother but she seemed to be handling it much better.

"We just found out about you as well but we didn't take it out on our father!" Manic stood up, challenging Sonic as he walked over to him.

"Your father," Sonic poked.

"What?" Sonia asked.

"Your father, not mine. I don't have a father. And I don't have any siblings!" He narrowed his eyes, staring the smaller, messier green hedgehog that stood before him.

"Well that's fine with us," he fought back. "We are only sticking around for a week until the Emerald Lake campus opens up. Come Sunday, you won't have to deal with us ever again!"

"Good!" Sonic screamed, turning around and stomping outside.

"Sonic…" Sonia breathed, not knowing how to process anything that just happened. She knew Bernadette wanted this to go smoothly, but even she was still hesitant. She wanted things to go smoothly with her brother, but even she couldn't understand why their parents hid Sonic from her and Mani.

Sonic slammed the door behind him and as soon as broke off into a sprint down the road. He didn't stop until he made it to a small park a couple blocks down. He rushed over the large oval and stopped just short of a large tree with a small circle of tanbark surrounding it.

Sonic reeled back and punched the trunk of the tree as hard as he could, wincing when a jolt of immense pain shot through his arm.

"How could Mum not tell me?" He yelled to the sky, letting another fist slam into the trunk, ignoring the excruciating pain.

"At least I know why mum was always sad. At least I know why dad left that day!" he yelled again, winding up and sending his fist flying into the tree. Strands of bark stripped off the trunk, falling to the floor. Sonic, after the pain got too intense for him, fell to his knees, shrieking in pain and agony.

"Dad never loved me…" he cried through tears that fogged his vision, clutching his hand that was throbbing with pain.

…

Jet whistled to himself as he enjoyed the warm water that cascaded down from the shower head, soaking into his green feathers. He reached over and squeezed a dab of shampoo onto his hand, smoothing it all over his body as he continued his shower.

Jet's mother smiled to herself as she pushed on Jet's bedroom door with the heel of her boot. She cradled a white basket full of freshly washed, ironed and neatly folded clothes between her hands. She walked into Jet's room, dodging around all of his crap that littered the floor and plonked the basket on his bed. She opened his shirt drawer and placed all of the shirts inside. She did the same with pants, shorts and underpants. Finally, she moved to his socks drawer and opened it up.

She winced, pinching her nose with her thumb and forefinger. The smell that emanated from inside was horrendous. She opened one eyelid to take a peek inside, noticing a small, dirty, dirty sock peeking out from underneath the others. Jet's mother reached in and pulled it out, throwing it into the basket when she felt something sharp prick her.

"Ouch," she squealed quietly, looking at the small prick of blood that appeared on her finger. She reached down into the basket to pull out the sock, thinking that there must have been one of her bobby pins stuck inside it. She couldn't have been further from the truth.

She shook the sock, trying to dislodge the thing when a small, slightly rusty razor blade covered in dried blood fell out. Her eyes widened in shock as she held the thing in the palm of her hand, her heart breaking at just the sight of it.

Suddenly, she heard the sound of the bathroom door open and she quickly closed her hand around the blade and hid it behind her back as Jet walked into the room.

"Oh, hey mum, thanks for doing the washing," he grinned, picking up a pair of black boxers from the drawer.

"Jet… Honey. Are you… feeling okay? How is school going?" Jet's mum asked, trying to keep a calm outer composure.

"Oh, I'm fine. School was a bit tough but it's year 12 so what do you expect. Why do you ask?" he replied, completely oblivious of her strained tone or her strange stance.

"Oh, no reason," she waved his question of with dismissal, picking up the white basket and rushing off down the stairs.

"That was weird," Jet said aloud, scratching his head as his mother fled out of the room. He shrugged his shoulders and dived onto this bed, whipping out his phone to send off a text to Cream.

Once Jet's mother was sure that he wasn't going to come back downstairs she opened her palm to study the blade. She couldn't believe in a million years that her son would do this to himself. Suddenly, her mind turned back to a few weeks earlier when Jet was checked into the hospital after the rabbit friend of his brought him in.

'He said the mirror shattered and that's how he got those marks,' her mind reasoned.

'You know that made no sense. Besides, the cuts down his arm were to precise to be random cuts,' her brain fought back. She stood up, took a deep breath and walked over to the phone hanging on the wall. She knew exactly what she needed to do. She dialed the number of the school and waited until the melodic voice of the school receptionist r emanated out of the receiver.

"Mobius High, Gold speaking. How may I help you?" the tenrec on the other line asked.

"Hello, this is Jet the Hawk's mother. I'm calling to say that I want to take my son out of school. Permanently!"

…

The morning bell chimed as Espio rushed through the large double doors at the entrance of the school. It was only the second day of the new semester and he was already running late. As of late, the purple chameleon had been finding it harder and harder to convince himself to come into the school. He had lost all of his friends, he had lost his girlfriend, and nobody seemed to want to talk to him anymore.

As he stalked through the hall, heading over to his locker, he thought back to the torment he had to endure yesterday. He remembered noticing the snickers of the guys as he walked past them and the quiet whispers and giggles from all the girls as he looked their way. He didn't know what was going on, but he assumed the whole school had learnt about what he did last semester.

However, despite all the stray looks, rumors and names that he heard the other kids call him behind his back, he still only wanted one thing. He wanted Tikal. He wasn't going to give up until she at least let him talk to her. He stayed resilient and didn't give up last semester and that worked out for the best in the end. He sure as hell wasn't going to give up this time.

He turned the corner, heading over to the locker when he noticed her. The long, flowing green dress she wore billowed around as she twirled, opening up the door to her locker. He felt his heart skip a beat just looking at her again. All his affection flared up and he couldn't control his feet as they drew him towards the echidna. He was completely at the mercy of his body, obeying his legs will until he stood next to her locker. There was no turning back now. It was now or never.

"H-Hey Tikal, can we talk?" Espio uttered, his voice cracking slightly due to his nervousness.

"E-Espio… hi…" she trailed off, unable to meet his gaze.

"Tikal, please," he said in earnest. He felt like he was jumping off a cliff, reaching out for an overhanging vine to halt his descent. However, Tikal didn't give him that vine.

"I'm sorry… I have to go," she said, turning her back to him as she closed her locker. She took a step forward, trying to leave when she felt Espio's hand clamp around her wrist. He wasn't going to let her go again.

"Tikal, just let me say what I need to say," he begged, tears brimming in his eyes. "If you still never want to talk to me again then I'll leave you alone for good." Tikal stopped, contemplating his words. She took a deep breath and turned around.

"Okay Espio. What did you want to say?"

"Tikal… I… I'm so, so, so, sorry. I used to be a horrible person. I used to just tell myself that it was because I was under Fiona's thumb, but we both know that isn't the full truth. Part of me liked it. Part of me liked breaking people apart, because I could never find true love. I used girls and then tossed them aside, never thinking. I did the same thing to Blaze. I thought I loved her, but that wasn't true at all. But did I accept that? No, I wanted to get revenge on Silver and when Amy came to me with a plan… I jumped on board without a second thought…" Espio admitted, rambling quickly.

"Espio… Espio please, stop-" Tikal tried to calm him down but he was having none of it. The dam he constructed around his heart had already been broken by Tikal, and all the pent up emotion was flowing out faster than a raging waterfall.

"But that all changed when I met you. You were the only person who has ever been able to tear down the walls that I constructed around myself. You helped me when I was at my worst. You showed me a better life. When I'm around you, my heart flutters. My knees go weak, I get a shortness of breath and I feel a tightness in my chest! Tikal… I know I messed up in the past, but I changed. I swear it. Just let me prove it to you. Tikal… I love you…" he was breathing fast now, a look of desperation in his eyes.

"Espio… I just… I don't know if I can believe you. What you did was unforgivable," she said, although she felt a slight pain in her heart just by saying it.

"But that was old me," he reasoned, trying against hope to get her to change her mind.

"You keep using the 'old me' excuse. How do I know what the real you is if you're always acting like the old you."

"Let me prove it to you. What if I can get Blaze to forgive me? She was the one I wronged the most."

"Okay Espio, I'll give you another chance if you can get Blaze and Silver to forgive you for what you did to them," Tikal nodded. "Now I really must get to class. Goodbye." Without another word, Tikal was off, leaving a lonely Espio standing by himself in the hallway.

"I will Tikal… I will."

…

After the lunch bell rang, all of the students eagerly filed out of their classrooms, all making a V-line to the cafeteria to get the piping hot food first. After the initial rush, the hustle and bustle began to settle down.

The gang took their seats at their old, familiar table that they always sat at in the back corner of the cafeteria. Sonic, Knuckles, Silver, Jet, Blaze, Rouge and Tikal all sat, wolfing down on their food and exchanging small talk. However, Blaze had her head in her phone. Silver was worried about her. Ever since her fight with Tails the previous night, she hadn't stopped staring at her messages, hoping that the fox would return one.

"Where's Tails and Cream?" Knuckles asked, looking between Jet and Sonic for any answers.

"It's Creams big day tomorrow so she went to the academy earlier this morning. She'll be back by Thursday," Jet replied, bread crumbs spewing from his mouth with each word.

"Yeah, and Tails went with her. Something about a meeting with his dad or something?" Sonic shrugged, clearly not paying much attention to the group. Rouge raised an inquisitive eyebrow at him. She noticed his glance wasn't off into space, but instead was trained at something. His eyes were following something. Rouge turned her head to see a pink and green hedgehog appear in the entrance of the cafeteria.

Sonic locked eyes with the two, and they saw him with his group of friends. Sonia contemplated going over to join him but Manic grabbed her hand, shook his head and led her to another table in which some other students were sitting at, eating their lunches.

"Who are the new hedgehog's in town, Blue?" Rouge asked, breaking Sonic out of his trance.

"Wh-what? There aren't any new hedgehog's," Sonic lied, trying to shift the conversation away from that topic.

"Please," Silver chimed in. "We've all noticed that you haven't taken your eyes off them since they walked in. Who are they?" Sonic looked around, noticing that all pairs of eyes were trained on him. He knew he couldn't avoid the topic and his friends knew him all too well.

Sonic gulped down the lump in his throat and muttered his answer quietly. "They… they are my… siblings." Gasps emanated from his friends as surprised and shocked looks crossed all of their faces.

"Your siblings?" Jet repeated in disbelief.

"Since when?" Blaze asked, this new news being enough to pull her head out of her phone.

"How come you never told us about siblings?" Knuckles asked.

"Did you even know they existed?" Tikal jumped in. Sonic was bombarded with question after question. He was already a bit touchy on the subject but the immense amount of questions being thrown his way was too much for him to handle.

"I can't deal with this now. I got to get to class, goodbye," he stood up and stormed out of the room. Two pairs of black eyes followed him out of the room.

"He can be so dramatic sometimes," Rouge rolled her eyes, standing up. "I'll go get him." Rouge rushed out of the cafeteria, following the frustrated hedgehog. Just like clockwork, as those two left, a frazzled squirrel rushed in, addressing the table frantically.

"Quick, get ready, Amy is on her way and she is pissed," Sally panted heavily.

"What's wrong with the princess this time?" Jet asked sarcastically.

"I may have accidently spilled the beans about the party…" Sally admitted. The rest of the table groaned loudly. Mere seconds past before a screaming Amy burst into the cafeteria, turning a couple heads of the other students as she stormed over to the table.

"Sonic and his friends sure do know how to make a scene," Manic whispered to Sonia as he saw yet another new face either storm away or towards the table.

"Good thing we won't be here for long," Sonia agreed as the two watched the fireworks explode.

"Are you guys all kidding me!" She screeched at the table.

"Hello to you too Amy," Jet replied, his cocky nature shining through as he grinned at Amy's frustrated face.

"How could you all have the party without me? I was the one who originally made it a thing! There wouldn't even be a party without me!" She screamed, attracting even more stares.

"Amy, please calm down," Blaze tried to reason with the pink hedgehog, although she knew from experience that it was a harder task than it seemed. "We just need a little more time before we can forgive you for that stunt you pulled on me this year."

"So why the hell did the rest of you not want me to come?" She looked towards the others.

"It's because you kept trying to break everybody up. Not cool," Jet challenged her, his aggressive and domineering nature taking control of his better judgement. Not many were brave enough to stand up to Amy when she lost her temper, but the hawk showed no signs of backing down. This time, Cream wasn't there to calm him down.

"Why the fuck are you even here? You weren't even part of this group until you and Cream got together," she hissed at him.

"Amy…" Sally tried to defuse the situation but Jet jumped in with a response.

"Yeah, that's true. But now look at me. I'm sitting here talking with my friends about a party while you were home alone crying in your pillow," he spat back.

"Why you little…" Amy grumbled. She looked ready to attack.

"Amy, calm down. Come with me," Knuckles instructed, taking her hand and pulling her out of the room. "And Jet," he addressed the hawk. "Cool your jets a bit." With that, Knuckles and Amy left the room, allowing an exhausted Sally to fall down at the bench next to the table.

"Well… that could have gone worse," she breathed.

"I don't know what you see in her," Jet commented before taking another bite out of his sandwich.

"I see the girl behind the anger. I see the girl that I wish you all could see too," she sighed before reaching over to grab the half eaten burger that Sonic had left after he stormed off.

"That's Sonic's…" Tikal looked at her.

"I know Sonic and when he storms off, he doesn't come back for a while. I used to steal his food all the time when he was little," she winked.

"Amy just needs to back off for a bit," Silver ran a hand through his quills, still pursuing the conversation about the hedgehog. Luckily, the topic of conversation begun to change to other things. However, Amy wasn't the last person to storm up to the table that lunch time.

"Sonia, look," Manic tugged her sleeve, pointing to the door. The two watched as a red fox, joined by a green hedgehog, who were both clad in black leather jackets marched over to the table.

"More people? What is it with Sonic and drama?" Sonia asked rhetorically.

"I hate to admit it, but it's kind of entertaining," Manic smiled, watching the new conflict unfold.

"Guys, Fiona, three o clock," Tikal warned them all seconds before Fiona walked up to the table behind Scourge, who addressed them all.

"So, you guys are the losers that Fi has been telling me about," Scourge smirked, eyeing them all down.

"Aww, that's cute. Fiona talks about us," Jet mused, grinning at Fiona.

"Watch your tongue, bird," Fiona hissed.

"A feisty one over here. I'll have fun breaking that spirit," Scourged laughed. "Any prey of Fiona's is a prey of mine," he wrapped an arm around Fiona, bringing him in close.

"Oh no… we have to deal with a male Fiona. This can't be good," Silver groaned, eliciting a snarl from Scourge.

"And what's that supposed to mean you little brat…" Scourge froze, his eyes straining at the sight of Silver. Everybody looked at Scourge, confused by his sudden change of tone.

"S-S-Silver…" Scourge breathed.

"Yeah… how do you know my name? Didn't you like just move to this school at the end of last semester?" Silver asked.

"I-I gotta go," Scourge muttered, fleeing the cafeteria.

"Way to go weirdo. You scared him off just by being yourself. You're such a dork," Fiona hissed at him, picking up a fry and hurling it at his face before racing off to find Scourge. She wouldn't want to admit it to any of them, but she was curious. She had no idea what that little encounter was, but she knew she was going to get to the bottom of it.

"Don't listen to her Silver. You're perfect just the way you are," Blaze smiled, cuddling up next to him. However, Silver didn't seem to pay any attention to her. He was watching the green hedgehog exit the cafeteria.

'I know him… Where do I know him from?' Silver thought as the rest of the table went back to their normal business.

…

Rouge chased the sapphire hedgehog down the halls. He was quick, but trying to make his way through the crowds of students who loitered in the hall was no easy task. Rouge used her agility and finesse to finally catch up to the hedgehog, stopping him in his tracks.

"I don't want to talk about them right now," he barked, turning to face the bat.

"Well neither do I," she corrected him, giving him a slight surprise.

"Then why'd you follow me?"

"We need to have a little talk about Tails," she said. Although hidden rather well under her confident demeanor, Sonic could pick up trace amounts of malice and anger in her voice.

"What about him? He is away with Cream at the Academy, can't you just talk to him when he gets back?" Sonic asked, rather oblivious to her true intent.

"This isn't about me wanting to see Tails. This is about me wanting to see him again," she bit her lip, still unable to bring herself to say his name.

"You mean… Shadow?" Sonic asked, scratching his head in confusion. Rouge nodded, trying to stop the tears from streaming down her face. Although being with Knuckles and Sonic so much throughout the holidays, the wound that her best friend left still remained. When somebody you care about so much just leaves suddenly in the night without any warning or reason, it's hard to go on. But she still wanted answers, and she wanted somebody to blame.

"Yeah, I know I already asked you if you knew anything about why he left, but did Tails say anything about him when he got back from the academy on Saturday?" she asked, desperation in her voice.

"No, he didn't mention Shadow at all," Sonic admitted.

"Figures. Why would Tails care about him anyway," Rouge hissed.

"Whoa, where is this coming from? You know as well as I do that Tails loved Shadow as much as I did. Neither one of us wanted him to run off," Sonic defied Rouge, standing up for his boyfriend.

"So what? It was all Tails' fault that Shadow left!" Rouge yelled, breaking her charade finally.

"Rouge seriously? Cut the crap."

"You know it's true. It's all that little brats fault that my best friend left!" she retaliated.

"And that's my best friend you're talking about. Tails didn't do anything!"

"It's all his fault and you know it!" Rouge bellowed, finally breaking down.

"You know what Rouge. I can't deal with this shit right now. I've had so much shit happen to me in the past two days that I can't deal with and I don't need you taking your anger out on me or Tails. I loved Shadow, still do, so stop acting like this!" He bellowed, turning to storm off.

"GET BACK HERE!" Rouge screamed, anger completely seizing hold of her normally calm and collected nature. All the pent up aggression and rage at Tails, coupled with her desperation of being deserted by her only true friend was erupting out of her at an alarming rate.

Sonic turned, stormed up to Rouge and looked her right in the eye. All the weight of the knowledge of his new siblings had weighed on him all night, taking away any possibility of sleep. He was in no mood for this.

"Rouge, you need to get your shit together and stop blaming others for your own problems. Until you do, just fuck off." Sonic stormed off down the hall, refusing to acknowledge Rouge's angry cries.

"Shadow… I miss him so much…" she sniffed as she fell to her knees in the middle of the hallway, not caring that she was in public. Shadow had always been there for her when she needed him and she did the same. So why did he suddenly abandon her at such a pivotal moment in her life.

"It's all that stupid fox's fault!"

…

"Is that Espio?" a girl whispered to her friend.

"Oh my god, what a weirdo," another laughed behind the chameleons back.

"He's such an idiot. I can't believe he would send that to her," a guy chuckled as Espio walked past. At first it was just an annoyance, but this was really starting to beat down on Espio's already destroyed self-esteem.

'What is everybody's problem? Why are they all laughing at me? What did I do?' he thought to himself, breaking into a sprint to get away from the all the teasing. He didn't want to go into the cafeteria, knowing there would be no escape from all the torment. Instead, he opted to turn into a vacant room and hide out there to eat the packed lunch that his mother made for him.

He closed the door behind him, breathing out a sigh of relief as nobody else tried to get into the room. However, he wasn't alone.

"Somehow I knew that you would end up in here?" a voice mused from the bench up the front of the classroom.

"Fiona… is that you?" Espio asked, confused as to how she knew he would be here and why she was here. "How did you-"

"I saw you running down the halls. I knew you wouldn't go into the cafeteria so my best guess was that you would turn in here to avoid it. Guess I'm not just a pretty face," she laughed as she interrupted him.

"What do you want? Can't you see I've been tormented enough for one day?" He barked at her.

"Come now Espio. Why would I want to torment my old partner?" she asked, a smirk growing across her face and she skulked over to him.

"We're not partners anymore. I've changed my ways, thanks to Tikal," he said defiantly.

"Ah yes, good old Tikal. I bet she wasn't nearly as good as me. I always knew just how to please you," Fiona mused, taking out her cellphone and scrolling through her images gallery.

"I'd rather take my chances out there with them then in here with you," he spoke plainly, turning to leave. "And Tikal and I never went all the way. She actually has some class, unlike your slutty ass," he cursed angrily, unable to stomach the sight of the vixen anymore.

"You can go, but don't you want to know why they are all making fun of you?" Fiona asked. Espio's ears pricked as he turned and rushed over to her. Fiona laughed to herself. Espio took the bait and all she had to do was hook him.

"You really should be more careful when you use snapchat," she cackled. "And also less trusting of little miss perfect."

"What do you mean?" Espio asked.

"Look at what Tikal sent to everybody in the school?" Fiona turned her phone around to show Espio. His eyes widened and his face grew redder than a ripe tomato.

"Wh-Wh-where did you?" he stammered, causing Fiona to chuckled to herself. She was ecstatic. She warned him that nobody would be able to leave her without paying a price, and since her last gamble in the previous semester didn't pay off, she was glad that somebody else did her job for her.

"Somebody who had this on their phone sent it around to everybody in the school. I'm sure you remember taking this photo. It is a selfie after all. I wonder who you sent it to? Who was the only person who would have had access to this photo?" she kept asking questions, knowing that the name 'Tikal' was repeating over and over in the chameleon's head.

"That Bitch!" Espio screamed, storming out of the room. Fiona lay back, admiring her handy work, basking in the chameleon's negativity

"Nobody escapes me without having to pay a price," she mused to herself, taking another look at the photo. There, on her and everybody else on the school's phones, was a nude selfie of Espio.

A/N: Well, there is the second chapter. How did Sonic not know about his brother and sister? What history do Scourge and Silver share? How will Tails and Cream's meetings go? What will Jet's parents do? Who sent the picture of Espio to everybody in the whole school? Espio just can't seem to catch a break. No matter how hard he tries, his past of bad deeds and womanizing just wont leave him alone.
Also I just wanted to take this time to say thank you all for the reviews, follows and favourites for the first chapter. It means a lot. Please, if you are reading this and enjoy my stories and are already following them, please, please consider leaving a review as well. It hardly takes up any of your time (it doesn't have to be long. Only a couple sentences to tell me what you liked, didn't like, thoughts etc.) because you guys don't know how much reviews mean to me. I know a lot of authors can agree. Reviews are the driving force of stories. They keep me, and others, motivated and they are a driving force behind my writing. The more reviews I get, the more I push myself to write in my spare time and the quicker the updates come. Not only that, but a lot of the time, I have tweaked arks, characters and plots, including some pairings, because a reviewer suggested a scenario or interaction which I had never even considered. In all honesty, in the original story, Sally was never planned to be in it! A reviewer asked me to include Sally and I realized I had completely forgot her, and now she is one of the main 14 and is included in so many plots. So please, it doesn't take long, but after each chapter, if you could just leave some thoughts on what had occurred, what you liked, what you didn't like, what surprised you or anything like that, it means more than you could even imagine. I know I always leave reviews when I read other authors things because I know personally how much they really affect a story, the long ones especially. It's also a great way to interact with me if you would like. I like to respond to reviews in these authors notes to clear some things up if you have questions, but also I have made a few friends on this site who I talk to often, just from them reviewing, leaving me P.M's and us starting a conversation. (And if you just want to leave a review to let me know how awesome I am, I'll take it :P) Anyway, PSA over, I really hoped you enjoyed the chapter. I will try to stick to a schedule of a new chapter about every 4 days, but it's hard to do. (Remember, reviews help me :P)

Next time on SH:EL

Sonic takes a trip down memory line

Tails and Cream experience Mobius Academy

Amy and Rouge butt heads

Jet gets an ultimatum

Tikal has a date with death

All this and so much more in Chapter 3: Family