"You guys... have... telekinesis..." I say, shocked.

"Apparently so." Matt says.

"Hmm... I wonder if I can do it?" I thought out loud as I stick my hand out in front of me. I begin to concentrate. Soon enough, an object sitting on the table starts to float up in the air. I blink in surprise and it falls.

"Whoa..." I whisper. "I guess I'll need to work on that..."

"It takes a lot of practice to control telekinesis anyways, Missy." Silver says.

"Yeah... I guess you're right." I look at Matt and Dalton. "Why don't you guys try out your powers."

"I'll give it a shot." Dalton says as he points his hand at same object I picked up. He closes his eyes and the object begins to float up in the air. He opens his eyes and the object drops a second later. "Damn."

"My turn." Matt says. He points his hand at the TV remote on the sofa. A few seconds later, it's floating above everybody's heads. He then puts his hand down and the remote drops on Knuckles's head.

"OUCH!" he yelled out.

"You deserved it for making me and Shadow kiss." I say.

"It wasn't me who made you do that, it was Rouge." he growls.

"But you went along with it."

"Hey, I only did it since you made me and Knuckie kiss."

I look at her. "Knuckie, I knew you liked him!"

She blushes. "What, I do not!"

"Okay, whatever the hell you guys are talking about, shut up about it." Dalton suddenly yells at us. He seems to have a very confused expression on his face, and I wouldn't blame him.

"Speaking of kiss..." Manic says as he walks up to me. "I've got news."

"What is it Manic?" Sonic asks.

Manic grabs my hand. I look at him and he looks me in the eyes.

"Missy and I are dating." He then kisses me gently on the lips.

Everybody, for some reason, seemed shocked.

"Melissa, is this true?" Dalton asks me.

"Is there a problem with it?" I ask him, since I could tell that he didn't seem very happy about it.

"Uhh... can I talk to you alone for a minute?"

"Sure?" I say a little confused. He leads me to the stairs and stops in front of them. "What is it?"

"Why are you dating Manic?"

I roll my eyes. "Because I can."

"Isn't he a thief?"

"Yeah... so..."

"That would make him a bad influence."

I roll my eyes again. "No it wouldn't. There are people back home that we hung out with that are WAY worse influences than him."

"That doesn't matter. He's a thief. I don't want you to get caught in the middle of a crime and getting into trouble for it."

I start to get a little mad. "That's not gonna happen."

"It could."

"Dalton... trust me, that's not gonna happen. Manic's not gonna let that happen."

"I don't want you dating him."

I felt my heart sink when he said that to me.

"Wha-what?"

"You heard me. He's a bad influence. He could get you arrested for something he did."

I close my eyes as I feel anger burn up inside of me.

"Think about it. What would your parents say if they were still around?"

That drew the line. "WHAT THE HELL'S WRONG WITH YOU!?" I practically scream in anger. "How could you just suddenly pull my parents into this on me!? They're gone! There's no way I'm ever gonna be able to see them again! So, how the hell can they tell me what I can and can't do?" I feel tears sting my eyes. "And, FYI, we've done things WORSE than steal stuff. Think about all the times we went out and got drunk and didn't get back home until 2 in the morning. Think about all the times we ALMOST got arrested for doing those things!" With that said, I turn and run up the stairs and to my room. I slam the door shut behind me and jump onto my bed. I hide my face in my pillow as I begin to cry.

Why did he say that to me? I glad that he's concerned about me, but did he have to mention my parents? And why would he care if I dated Manic. We HAVE done worse things than Manic has. I hear a knock on the door.

"Go away Dalton!" I yell.

"It's not Dalton." I hear from the other side of the door. "Can we come in?"

I'm quiet for a minute. Then, I reluctantly yell "Enter." I look up as the door opens, and Matt and Manic come into the room.

"Are you okay? Everybody heard you yelling at Dalton." Matt says.

I sit up and Manic sits one side of me while Matt sits on the other.

"No. Dalton told me I'm not allowed to date..." I look at Manic. "...you."

"Why?"

"Because he knows you're a thief and he thinks that you'll get me arrested for something you do. And he also thinks you're a bad influence on me."

"What? Whoa! Being a thief isn't really considered a bad influence for you, since you've been around people who do drugs and drink and smoke and stuff."

Manic cocks his head at him. "What?"

"We come from a small town." Matt says to him. "You and him have actually went off and got drunk and almost gotten arrested a few times."

"You have?"

"Yeah..." I say, feeling a little embarrassed. "But I don't do it that often."

"So what does he have to get all worked up for? Being a thief is a WAY better influence than anything you've seen."

"Yeah." I lay my head down on Manic's shoulder.

"In fact, I'm going to go talk to him right now." Matt jumps up and leaves the room, closing the door behind him.

Manic begins to stroke my head, trying to get me to calm down. I begin to think about the last thing Dalton said to me.

What would your parents say if they were still around?

"Manic... I need to tell you something..."

"What is it?"

"It's about... my parents..." I feel a big pang of sadness.

"What about your parents?"

I let out a sad sigh. "They aren't alive anymore..."

He stops stroking my head. "You mean you're a..."

"Yes... and it's all my fault." I remove my head from his shoulder as more tears form in my eyes.

"How is it your fault that they're dead?"

"Because... one of the last things I ever said to them was... I told them to go die." More tears come and I start to bawl and I cover my face.

He pulls me into a hug and rubs my back. I lay my head down on his shoulder as I cry my eyes out, remembering that day...

Twenty months ago (for those of you who can't do the math, that would be October of almost two years ago.)

It was homecoming. Everybody in town was getting ready for the big game that was just hours away, including me. I was helping with the FFA barbecue. After a while, my shift ends and I get to leave, but instead of leaving, I stick around since my dad was helping with the cooking. Dalton was with me. We were sitting in lawn chairs, just talking, being careful not to mention the fact that I snuck out and went tee-peeing with him and a few of his friends the night before. Then, one of Dalton's friends, Michael, walks up to us.

"Hey Dalton. Hey Missy." he says to us.

"Hey Michael." we say.

"Did you have fun last night, Missy."

I freeze up when he said that. I look at my dad and see that he didn't notice that. I breathe out a silent sigh of relief and respond with "What are you talking about? I stayed home and went to bed. Duh."

He gives me a confused look. "No you didn't. You went tee-peeing with us."

That caught my dad's attention.

I laugh nervously. "Ahaha, no I didnt."

"Yes you did. You had the best aim out of all of us."

"Michael. Shut up." Dalton says through his teeth in hopes that he'll shut his fuckin' mouth.

But he keeps at it. "I mean, the way you threw it over that three story house and it didn't touch the house once... although, that was just from my point of view."

My dad starts to make his way over to us.

"Michael. Shut up! You're gonna get me into..."

"Trouble." my dad finishes up when he stops next to my chair.

I look up at him. "Oh... hey dad!" I say in hopes that he'll take this as a big joke.

But he doesn't. "You went tee-peeing last night, after we told you that you couldn't."

"What? No I didn't. Michael here is just saying crazy things." I say, hoping he'll fall for it.

He gives me a look saying I'm in trouble.

I get out of the chair. "But dad! All my other friends went out and did it."

"I don't care. We had a reason for you to not go. You are grounded for disobeying us."

"But dad..."

"I don't wanna hear it! I'm calling your mom and you're going home right now."

I start to get very angry. I clench my hands into fists. "You never let me have any fun!"

He gives me a look saying that he didn't care and that's not going to help me any. I get even angrier.

"I hate you! I wish you guys would just leave me alone and die!" I turn around and make a dash for the woods. Once I get to the creek, I sit down and go nto a fetal position and start to cry. I cry in silence for a few minutes. Then I hear a twig break. I look up and see Dalton.

"Hey... are you okay?" he asks.

I shake my head. He comes and sits next to me. He wraps an arm around my back and I lay my head on his shoulder.

"Why do they have to do this to me?"

"They love you. They want what's best for you."

"What they tell me to do and stuff isn't what's best for me. I'm tired of them being overprotective. Why can't they just leave me the fuck alone?"

*End of flashback*

I start to feel tired, but I fight it. I remove my head from Manic's shoulder. I look into his eyes.

"You aren't going to get me into trouble for something you did, will you?"

"Baby, I don't even get into trouble for stealing. I never get caught. And I don't plan to anytime soon."

I smile at him. He lets go of me and takes my hands in his. "I love you. I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

My smile grows bigger when he said that. "I love you too."

He leans in and gives a brief kiss on the lips. He lies me down on the bed and holds me in his arms again. I close my eyes and fall asleep in his arms...