Chapter 11

Depressing Developments

Tails walked to school slowly, glancing from side to side nervously as his fingers attacked each other from nervousness. Tails knew he would have to confront one of his oldest friends, Blaze, today and apologize but part of him knew that what he did was unforgivable. He had spent the whole weekend fretting over it. The faint sound of a chiming bell in the distance snapped him back to his senses as he picked up the pace and broke into a sprint, determined to not be late, despite his initial fears.

As he entered his first class of the day, he chanced a look in Blaze's direction. When she saw his gaze, she quickly turned her head, trying to avoid eye contact. He instead happened to look at Silver who was staring intently at him, his eyes full of a fiery, angry flame. He stared daggers at Tails. Tails knew that Blaze had gone to Silver for solace and now, not only did he lose Blaze, but he had lost Silver too.

Tails hung his head low, slumped down onto his desk next to Shadow and sighed loudly. Shadow placed his arm around Tails' shoulder and, as a rare occurrence for the often-brooding teenager, showed a sincere smile. That was all the confidence that Tails needed. He was filled with determination by that simple gesture and decided that he wouldn't back down. Even if Blaze would never forgive him, he knew that he would at least try to talk to her after class ended.

Time moved so slowly as Tails glanced nervously at the clock spinning around. Everything Ixis Naugus said went in one ear and out the other. Tails kept imagining the worst possible situations. Blaze would berate him, she would hate him, she would tell all his secrets to Fiona. Whenever he chanced a glance over in her direction, he noticed the crutches leaning against her table and a wave of guilt would surge through him.

Tails breathed deeply when the bell finally rang, getting up from his chair and following the couple out of the room, whispering to himself to stay brave and stay confident. He shut his eyelids tightly, scrunching his face as he tried to fight down the little bit of bile that was threatening to rise up his throat when he felt a sharp pain in his face. He stumbled backwards and opened his eyes to realize that he had just bumped into the back of Silver. He turned around angrily.

"Watch where you're going," Silver scowled, malice filling his voice.

"S-Sorry, I just wanted to… um… apologize to Blaze," Tails mumbled under his breath.

"She doesn't want to see you right now," he spat angrily. Silver didn't know why he was being so rude to his once dear friend but something had taken a hold of him and was controlling him from within.

"Silver, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I was sad. I was angry. I lashed out. I-"

"Enough," Silver interrupted. "I don't care if you were angry. She was just trying to help and you pushed her away and hurt her. How do you think I feel when I get a call from my girlfriend saying she sprained her ankle when you pushed her over? It hurts." Silver closed his eyes and breathed deeply, trying to control this raging fire within him.

"Silver… I'm so sorry," Tails repeated himself, completely genuine.

"Save it," he turned and walked off. "C'mon Blaze."

"Wait, Blaze please!" Tails begged, calling after the two. "I'm so, so, so, sorry and I didn't mean to do anything but I was just so hurt."

"I know you are Tails. I believe you. But, I can't just forgive you for what you did just yet." Blaze finally decided to speak up and create eye-contact with the pleading boy.

"I know," he sighed.

"But, maybe, if you really do care about our friendship as much as you say you do, you might do the right thing." Tails looked at her inquisitively. Blaze continued. "If you are serious about loving Shadow, then you guys need to tell Sonic. I know it was wrong for him to lie to you but he eventually came clean. You two need to do the same. If I can see that you haven't changed for the worse and are still the boy who I made one of my closest friends, then I know you will do what's right." Blaze spun around and, together with Silver, hobbled away.

"Tails?" a concerned voice asked.

"Shadow?"

"I think we should tell Sonic today," Shadow admitted. "After P.E class."

"I think so too," Tails sighed. He always had dreaded going to gym class but today, he was absolutely terrified of going.

…

"Hey, Tikal!" Espio called, rushing up to Tikal. She was having some trouble walking, cradling a stack of books between her arms.

"Oh, hey Espio, what can I do for you?" she smiled warmly at him.

"Need some help?" he asked, taking a couple of the books from the stack and carrying them as he walked beside Tikal. The two strolled down the halls side by side until she stopped next to her locker and opened it up, stuffing her books inside.

"Thank you so much." Tikal took the books out of his grasp and threw them haphazardly into her locker with the others. She quickly shut the door as the books tumbled over, clanging against the now shut metallic door.

"Aren't you going to fix that?" Espio asked.

"That's a problem for future me," Tikal chuckled. "I'll just remember to open the locker carefully next time," she shrugged as she began walking off, beckoning Espio to join her with a slight wave of her arm.

"You're definitely something else, Tikal Echidna," he smiled happily to himself.

"Why thank you, Espio Chameleon," she did a fake curtsy. "So, what did you want to see me for?" Espio shuddered a bit, his nerves and lack of self-confidence getting to him. This was strange. He used to be so suave. So certain of himself. But with her, he seemed to sweat more, his heart rate increased and his knees got weak like jelly.

"Tikal?" he asked, pausing before asking the rest of his question. However, when he opened his mouth, no sound came out.

"Hello, Earth to Espio. Come in, Espio," Tikal waved her hand in front of his frozen facial features. He suddenly shook his head, blinking a couple times before looking at her. "Enjoy your little trip?" she laughed, nudging him slightly as she turned and began to walk off again, dragging him along by the arm.

"Trip…?"

"Well you were definitely not at school just then. Although I don't blame you," Tikal smiled happily again. There was something about her now that he really tried to get to know her. Espio had never been one to try to get to know a girl for anything more than her body. Tikal wasn't just another score. Not just another one-night stand. She was something more, something deeper. She wasn't just a set of pretty eyes on a smoking hot body, she was a person, an individual, a kindred spirit. She was somebody he wanted to get to know, not just screw. She was smart, kind and had a great sense of humor.

"Espio, yoo-hoo. You've got to stop zoning out on me or I might just leave you next time," Tikal remarked when he came back to his senses.

"Sorry, I just was thinking."

"That's dangerous. I don't think I've ever thought so hard that I left my brain."

"Sorry, I just wanted to ask you something," Espio confirmed.

"Yeah, sure thing, but you gotta stop apologizing."

"Oh, sor… I mean, okay. Look, Tikal, it's been so great hanging out with you since the incident last term and I was just wondering… if you-"

"I'm gonna have to stop you right there, Espio," Tikal interrupted. "I like you and all, but I don't want to go out with you, okay?" she concluded.

"Yeah… okay," Espio sighed, a small frown crossing his face.

"Sorry."

"Hey, what was our rule? No apologizing, Miss Echidna." Espio winked, putting on a happy façade. Tikal giggled slightly, the awkwardness shedding the air.

"No apologizing, Mr. Chameleon," Tikal curtsied again. Espio copied her, both laughing.

"I hope you know I won't give up," Espio called as Tikal began to walk off to her next class.

"Oh, I don't doubt that Mr. Chameleon," she waved as she continued along her path.

"You will soon be mine," he called out.

"We'll just see about that," Tikal retorted as she opened her class door and stepped through, closing it shut behind her.

…

Shadow: Hey Sonic, can we talk?

Sonic: Yeah, what's up Shads?

Shadow: I'll meet you in the locker room after gym

Sonic: Is this some steamy shower make out sesh?

Shadow: Sonic, just be there

Sonic: Wow, somebody is a buzz kill today. No probs

Shadow sighed as he looked down at his phone, dreading the encounter as much as Tails was. Tails held out his hand and intertwined his fingers with Shadow's. The time was set and now they just had to prepare what they were going to say.

Sonic stepped out of the shower and pulled on his jeans, the towel slung over his right shoulder. He grabbed the white towel and ferociously rubbed it through his cobalt quills. He threw the towel to the side and ran a comb through his quills to straighten them out and spike them up. He then flung a hand through his quills to mess them up a bit to create a cooler look that seemed neat, but also had a flare about it to show that he put little effort into his looks. He was just putting on his jacket when Shadow and Tails walked into the change rooms.

"Hey Shads and… Tails? Nice to see you again little buddy," Sonic smiled, thinking nothing of why the two were walking in at the same time and just chocked it up to coincidence.

"Hey Sonic, we need to talk," Tails added.

"Are you finally ready to go back to being friends again?" he smiled. "I'd love to talk but first, Shadow, you wanted to talk to me. Can you wait outside, Tails?"

"No, Hedgehog, you don't understand," Shadow stated plainly. "We need to talk to you about the same thing."

"O…kay? What's up?" Sonic asked, sitting down and slipping on one of his white socks. "You hardly ever call me by my last name."

"Well, I have had such fun hanging out with you and not fighting like we used to do," Shadow began.

"Me too, Shads," Sonic flashed him a toothy grin as he finished putting on his socks and began to lace up his ruby red converse shoes.

"Well, Sonic, we have been talking a lot, and, well…" Tails trailed off, not wanting to be the one to end their relationship. This was, after all, Shadow's relationship and his choice.

"Tails and I have become romantically involved due to unforeseen circumstances and I would just like to tell you in person that I am breaking up with you," Shadow concluded. He tried to say it in his normal, monotone, emotionless voice but a slight whimper of sadness could be picked up in his final syllables.

"Wh-what?" Sonic mumbled unbelievingly.

"Sonic, we are s-" Tails began but Sonic interrupted him.

"So, I break up with you for Shadow and you go and steal him. What kind of best friend are you?" Sonic snapped, breaking his coolness illusion and let the façade fail.

"I… I didn't… it wasn't like that," Tails stammered.

"Oh, spare me the crocodile tears. You're just spiteful," Sonic bellowed, slowly being overtaken with an angry sadness.

"Sonic, stop! He didn't steal me. We slowly became good friends and then one night I went over to work on the project and he was in an absolutely horrid mess. Tears were everywhere. That was right after you dumped him. I told him the truth… eventually, well, after Fiona spilt the beans. That's when I realized that I had actually fallen for him," Shadow defended.

"Just… get out," Sonic mumbled, his gaze downcast.

"What was that?" Tails asked.

"I said get out!" he snapped at the two. They exchanged worried glances, a frown on both of their faces as they slipped out of the locker room, neither of them ever having seen Sonic that mad before.

…

Knuckles yawned, cracking his neck as he fished out his keys from his pocket and unlocked his front door. He dropped his bag to the floor, kicked off his shoes and skidded into the lounge room, ready to relax after a hard day at school.

"Knuckles, could you come into the kitchen for a minute, please," a deep, gruff voice perforated.

"Yeah, what's up, dad?" Knuckles asked as he slipped into the kitchen.

"Take a seat, we need to have a little talk," his father, Locke, motioned to the chair beside him at the kitchen table. Locke scratched his head, sighing deeply as he tried to think of how to start the conversation.

"Dad, I know what you're like when there's something you need to say. Don't think about trying to save my feelings or whatever, just come right out and say it," Knuckles rolled his eyes.

"Alright, fine. I need you to stop going to see grandma Lara-Le," Locke put it plainly.

"What? Why?"

"Because I said so," Locke folded his hands together. "She is not in her right mind and I've had some complaints from the nurses and guards at the psychiatric ward. They say your visits have been coaxing outbursts from her."

"But I need to go back and talk to her again. She's trying to warn me about something, dad," Knuckles protested.

"She's deranged!" Locke snapped. "She has no idea what she's talking about."

"But-"

"It doesn't matter anymore. She's taken steps backwards and I signed the papers to send her to the asylum. She's becoming a danger," Locke interrupted, finalization lacing his tone.

"To an asylum? She's not dangerous at all. You can't lock her away like that," Knuckles argued. Locke let out a long, slow exhale.

"Look, son, you think it's easy for me to do this to my own mother? It breaks my heart to see her like this, but she isn't mentally stable."

"Yeah, she talks to people who aren't there and rubs her little wooden bracelet but other than that she seems fine," Knuckles said.

"Alright, you're eighteen now. I guess it's time to tell you the real reason your great uncle decided to send her to the psychiatric ward."

"You said it's because she snapped after grandad died in the fire at his jewelers."

"Not quite. You see, the truth is, she didn't snap after he was killed. Lara-Le started the fire."

"What?"

"A few months before the fire your grandfather ordered a special golden bangle. One that shined like the rainbow when light struck it. One that was fixed with a giant emerald. He gave it to her as an anniversary present, but it corrupted her. I was only twelve at the time, but I saw the way she began to change after he gave it to her. One night, I was helping dad late in the shop when she began yelling, saying voices were talking to her. She was the one who set the Jeweler on fire that day. She locked us in a room and began flailing the bangle around. Dad helped me escape, but went back in for her. When the firemen finally tamed the flames, they managed to find and save her, but he perished," Locke finished sadly.

"I… I knew he died in the fire but I never knew that she…" Knuckles breathed.

"This is why my uncle, her brother, sent her to the psychiatric ward and took away the bangle. She's dangerous. I still love her but, it's better if you don't see her anymore. Not unless I'm there."

"Alright, dad, I promise," Knuckles said.

"That a boy. You can go watch television now if you want," Locke waved him away. He walked up the stairs and into his bedroom, heading to the wall safe. Locke reached his hand into the depths of the wall safe and pulled out a small, rectangular mahogany box with the word Masteriety engraved in cursive. He opened up the box and pulled out the same breathtaking bangle.

"Why'd you do it, mum?" Locke asked, his eyes never leaving the shining emerald.

…

"And that's when he answered C!" Sally finished, bursting out into laughter at the end of her recollection of her previous class.

"No way!" Amy replied, her mouth wide open in surprise.

"I swear!" Sally laughed. "Ixis couldn't even believe it. Storm's such a meathead."

"You know, Sally, can I be real for a second?"

"Yeah, no problem."

"When you first showed up, being an old friend of Sonic's who he just adored to see, I was a little bit jealous."

"A little bit?" Sally eyed her knowingly.

"Alright, I was really jealous," Amy admitted. "And when Tikal brought you into our group, I was not ready to accept you. However, after spending the past couple of months with you, especially getting quite close to you this past month, I've really enjoyed your company," she finished with a smile.

"Thanks so much, Amy. That means a lot."

"It's just the truth," she laughed.

"Girls, girls, watch out! Code Red. Fiona is on her way over and she is looking for you two!" Cream screamed as she flailed her arms. Her small feet pitter-pattered against the black and white checkered tiles that lined the floor as she ran.

"Amy, you should get out of here," Sally hissed quietly.

"I'm not just going to let you face that bitch alone. Who knows what dirt she has on you?" Amy protested, standing her ground.

"Amy, it's okay. She just wants to push me around, not you. I can stand up for myself, but if you stick around then she might target you too. I'll be fine, as long as you are safe then I'll be happy," Sally gave Amy a sincere smile.

"Are… are you sure?"

"Always," Sally smiled, suddenly realizing that she had taken Amy's hand during her speech and, to her surprise, she didn't retreat in disgust.

"Thanks," Amy whispered before she took of down the hall, just disappearing out of sight before the cunning vixen made her appearance known.

"Sally, Cream, get over here," she pointed to a spot in front of her. Sally and Cream exchanged worried glances before they hung their heads and slowly made the walk of shame down the hallway and over to Fiona.

"What do you want now?" Cream asked begrudgingly. She constantly let her eyes shift over to Sally to watch her sullen expression fall as each request from Fiona, each more horrible than the last, berated her.

"And that should be it for this week, but I'll let you know if I think of any things else. I'll be watching T.V when you arrive but my washing machine is downstairs and all my things are in the basket so it shouldn't be much trouble, even for idiots like you. And I expect dinner by six. Something with chicken," Fiona smirked, turning to walk away.

"Cream, you don't have to do this for me. I can do it on my own," Sally whispered once Fiona had left earshot.

"No, I'm happy to help. Well, happy isn't the right word but I'm not letting you do this alone. I just hope that keeping this a secret is really worth all this pain," Cream remarked.

"What, do you think I should just let her reveal my secret?"

"I think you should have a think about what you really want in life. I know you saw what happened to Espio and how ashamed he felt but people might not be that rude to you. He's kinda hated by most girls in the school whereas people actually like you," Cream pointed out. "What I'm saying is that you should pay more attention to what your heart is telling you rather than the fear that your brain is portraying for you," Cream finished philosophically.

"Since when did you become so wise?" Sally laughed.

"After going through all I did with Tails, I realized that being good friends with him was good enough for me and I learnt from the experience. That, and Philosophy class. I hope you learn from whatever happens to you in the future. Good luck, Sally, I'll see you at Fiona's tonight," Cream concluded and headed off to her midday class.

…

"I wouldn't go in there if I were you," Shadow warned as Jet brushed passed him on his way to the locker rooms. "Sonic isn't in the best mood."

"Well neither am I and I need to talk to him so why don't you just mind your own business," Jet snapped as he pushed open the door and entered the locker room.

"His funeral," Shadow shrugged as he and Tails walked off to their next class.

"Sonic, you in here?" Jet called out, searching inside the steam filled locker rooms. He thought he heard a strange sound in the corner. Jet decided to further investigate the source of said noise but nothing could have prepared him for the sight that he witnessed.

There, sitting in a ball, with his head rested on his knees which were pulled to his chest, arms wrapping around them, sat Sonic. He rocked back and forth, murmuring to himself. Jet was taken completely aback. He had never seen Sonic in this state. The teenager had always been cocky, arrogant, happy, and cheerful. Sonic, always the optimist. This was something new. He never seemed deranged. Something bad must have happened. Although Jet and Sonic had never been that close, Jet remembered back to the other day when Sonic had taken time out of his day to console him.

"H-Hey Sonic, is everything okay?" Jet chimed in, trying his hardest to speak with sincerity as he tiptoed closer.

"What… what do you want?" Sonic growled lowly.

"I just wanted to talk about Sally some more but-"

"Oh, it's always about you, isn't it?" Sonic suddenly snapped.

"No, Sonic, it's not like that. I was originally going to but not anymore. I just-"

"It's fine, it's just Sonic. Nobody cares about him. He is just a cocky son of a bitch. He's fast and popular and he has this one annoying stalker girl who won't leave him alone so we don't have to care about his feelings." Sonic interrupted, shouting at the top of his lungs. "It's not like he's always there for his friends or anything! It's not like he always has to solve everyone else's bullshit. It's not like he saw you sad and sat with you, letting you cry on his shoulder for over an hour! But when he is sad, does anybody care? No, of course not, it's still all about everybody else." Sonic threw his hands up into the air as he continued to yell at the top of his voice.

"Sonic, just let me finish a sentence. I'm sorry, okay, but I wanted to see if you were okay. I'm here to help you man!"

"Of course you are. That's why we were talking about Sally! A girl who used to be my best friend but ever since she met Amy and Tikal and Cream she just ditched me. Everybody moves on eventually. Sally, Blaze, Shadow… even Tails! What's the point?!"

"Sonic, please, just listen to me-"

"Shut up Jet!" Sonic spat, interrupting him for the third time. "You only ever care about yourself. A girl who you were with for less than a month broke up with you and you were devastated and came to me of all people? Why me? And less than a month! You're pathetic. You always have been. You're a one-dimensional person who only exists to get mad at me! You're like a badly written character in some dumb drama! When I'm miserable, you're happy. The only reason you're here is because I'm sad. You are worthless," Sonic lashed out, grabbing his bag and sprinting as fast as he can out of the locker room, leaving Jet behind. He just stood there, distraught and motionless.

Sonic shut his eyes tightly, scrunching up his lids as he broke into a sprint down the hallway. He didn't care who he ran into and he didn't pay attention to any of the angry words thrown at him for his reckless behavior. All he wanted to do was get out of the school. To just run, find the place where he could be alone and sleep. As fate would have it, the one person who was brave enough to stand down the speeding boy and stop him in his tracks also happened to be the worst possible person for Sonic to see.

"Sonic, stop running," Fiona scowled, sticking her foot out in front of him. Sonic tripped over her outstretched leg and fell, colliding with the hard ground below. He threw his hands out to break his fall just in time. They absorbed most of the impact and Sonic breathed a slight sigh of relief, content in the knowledge that he came out of the situation pretty much unscathed as he skidded across the ground.

"I know what happened but you need to man the fuck up!" Fiona commanded, adopting an aggressive tone as she wrapped her fingers around his collar and hoisted him up onto his feet.

"How do you-" Sonic began but was interrupted.

"I know everything, now quit the bloody waterworks!"

"You don't understand."

"Maybe not, but you can't let this get you down. You're stronger than that!"

"You don't know a thing about me," Sonic snapped back. Fiona was the reason that Tails and Shadow ever started talking. She complained about that stupid egg experiment. She manipulated everybody. She was the absolute last person he wanted to see.

"You can't let this beat you, chump. What would you do if I said I had something that could help you out?" Fiona asked, opening up her bag slightly to reveal a hidden syringe.

"I don't do drugs," Sonic stated, holding his ground. He might have been feeling horrible, worse than he ever had before, but he would not resort to doing drugs to feel something.

"What? How dare you insult me like that! This isn't an addictive drug used by junkies," she retaliated.

"Then what is it," Sonic replied, trying to ignore her. All he wanted to do was hide away and the sooner Fiona would let him be, the better. He knew that humoring her was the only way to get her off his case.

"It's a new anti-depressant. My dad works in pharmaceuticals and his lab has just created this new formula."

"And why would you give it to me?" he retorted, not believing a word she said.

"Because it is supposed to be really affective and help you be happy."

"What's the price? You wouldn't be helping me without an ulterior motive," Sonic tried to think rationally but the longer the conversation continued, the more and more his state of mind deteriorated. He needed to hide away. To be left alone

"A test. If this works for you than dad will be really proud of me and accept me as I am," Fiona tried to smile, looking at the depressed boy. Sonic's rational thoughts had already vacated his brain, replaced only by an insatiable feeling of hurt, depression and betrayal. He thought about it for little more than a couple seconds before swiping the syringe and hurrying off to the boy's bathroom, intent on injecting himself with the contents of the vial. Fiona rubbed her hands together deviously once he entered the bathroom.

"Let's see how Mr. Popular reacts after a little bit of heroin in his system," she chuckled to herself, waiting eagerly for the return of the now drug influenced teenager. "This will be a sight to behold."

…

"You can do this, Blaze. It's easy. Just walk up to Silver and tell him that he's going to be a father." Blaze tried to mentally prepare herself, going over her speech. She was pacing back and forth outside his front door. She was lucky enough to be granted a free period at the end of the day and decided to go wait outside of Silver's house. This was impossibly hard, but, he had a right to know that she was pregnant. It would only get worse the longer and longer she waited to tell him. When the bump began to develop, she knew she wouldn't be able to hide it any longer.

Blaze jumped a bit, allowing a high-pitched squeak to escape from her lips when she heard the sound of breaks being applied quickly. She quickly took a big gulp of air, steadying herself as she prepared for the reaction she would get from her boyfriend.

"That bus driver really needs to take a few more lessons," Tikal laughed.

"I agree, he's dangerous. See you around Tikal," Silver yelled out, waving his hand as Tikal started heading in the opposite direction. Blaze heard him begin whistling a lovely tune as he walked, strolling leisurely. It was nice to see that he was at least in a good mood. He wouldn't be for long, she knew that for sure.

As soon as Silver saw her, a visible smile crossed his lips. He hoisted Blaze up in between his arms and spun her around before planting her back down on the ground, giving her a peck on the lips.

"What was that greeting for?" Blaze asked.

"What is this visit for?" he mocked, adopting a royal tone as he bowed to her.

"I am in high demand at the moment," she giggled, giving him her hand which he took and kissed. "But I'll grant you some of my time."

"Well I'm glad you chose to spend your busy time with me, m'lady," he said, trying his hardest to continue his accent, struggling through laughs.

"Silver, I need to tell you something," Blaze said abruptly, breaking out of her fits of laughter. A strange, serious nature descended upon the two as Silver instantly sensed that something bad was going on.

"Blaze, what is it?" he asked earnestly, grabbing both of her hands within his. She felt so safe with him. She was scared to have something living inside of her but she realized that with Silver in her life, the future didn't seem so scary.

"Silver," she began, searching his golden eyes for a flare of hope and encouragement. "I'm… pregnant."

She could feel Silver's hands tense up as he clenched down, hard. He stood straight, completely rigid as his eyes grew cloudy. Blaze could feel her hands cramping up but she didn't display any discomfort, only searching his eyes for any sort of sign.

"I-I-Is… it… mine?" the words slowly escaped his mouth, which barely opened at all. Blaze nodded, refusing to even blink in case she missed some sort of body sign he displayed. Silver took a deep breath in, held it for a few moments, and let it back out.

"How do you feel?" Blaze asked, forcing a fake smile to help him feel a little more comfortable.

"That…that's… wonderful news!" Silver suddenly exclaimed, a huge smile crossing his face as his eyes seemed to explode with happiness.

"You… you're not mad?"

"How could I be? Yeah, it was kind of a surprise but think of how wonderful a small little baby would make our lives."

"Wonderful?" Blaze repeated, the thought never crossing her mind. She only let herself consider the life inside her as a devil, not the angel it really was.

"Think about it. It won't come until after exams so we would be free to take care of it. You can teach it how to appreciate the beauties in the world and I could show it science and technology. I'm thinking maybe Finn if it's a boy. Oh, or Caleb."

"And maybe a Sarah if it's a girl?" Blaze added.

"That's a beautiful name. Little Sarah. I could take her to space camp like I did as a kid."

"Oh no, it isn't going to become a mini Silver, is it?" she couldn't help but smirk when he gave her a wide, goofy smile.

"Don't worry Blaze. I know this is a scary time but I will be with you every step of the way. I won't ever leave your side," he brought her into a tight, warming embrace. "I'll get a second job; we can find a place and give him or her the best life. We'll both be out of school so we won't have to worry about that either," Silver planned aloud.

Blaze sighed happily as she leant her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, bathing in the afternoon heat of the setting sun whilst listening him rattle off future plans. For the first time this term, she felt completely at ease.

…

"Oh, hello Salma, I'm not sure if you should really be here right now," Charmy's mother frowned, opening the door to the flustered woman.

"Please, he's my son and I want to talk to him," Salma pushed, disgruntled.

"Alright. He's just upstairs with Charmy in their bedroom," she stepped aside as Salma raced past her and barreled up the stairs. Espio and Charmy sat alone on Charmy's bed, controllers in both of their hands as they focused on the game playing. The incessant, frequent banging at the door finally stole their attention.

"Your mum knocks a lot," Espio mentioned, putting the controller down and lounging back on Charmy's bed.

"Must be something important," Charmy shrugged, standing. "I'll see what she wants." However, as Charmy opened the door, Espio got the surprise of his life. He craned his neck to get a better look, his heart dropping when he saw his mother.

"Espio… sweetie…" Salma began hesitantly, unable to make her way into the bedroom.

"What do you want?" Espio asked bitterly. His tone sent a pang of guilt through Salma's heart, pain visible on her face but she continued.

"I… I just wanted to talk to you about coming back home to live with me again, sweetheart."

"Why would I do that? Valdez made it pretty clear I wasn't allowed back when he kicked me out months ago," Espio spat distastefully.

"But I need you back," Salma urged.

"Mum, I love you, but I don't remember you doing anything to stop him from kicking me out. And it's been so long without even a word from you. Why the sudden change of heart now?"

"Because… I left Valdez," Salma breathed. Espio's eyes shot open, his gaze locking with hers hopefully.

"You… left him?" Espio murmured.

"Yes. After you left I finally saw him for who he really was. He forced you, my only son, to leave. He'd call you worthless, a faggot, a waste of space but I finally understand why. He was jealous, because he knew I would never love him as much as I love you. You're my son, and my top priority."

"But, didn't you say he owned the house?"

"I got us an apartment. It's not much, and I've had to pick up a second job to be able to keep you in school and keep the apartment but it'll all be worth it, as long as you come move back in with me," Salma finished hopefully. Espio said nothing, but continued to stare at her. Finally, a smile crossed his lips and he jumped off the bed. Espio collided into his mother, wrapping his hands around her.

"Yes, yes I will come back, as long as Valdez's gone."

"Gone for good. I love you, son."

"I love you too, mum," Espio smiled as he rested his chin on her head.

"Does this mean you're moving out?" Charmy piped up. The two chameleons turned their heads, forgetting Charmy was even in the room.

"I can never thank you and your mother enough for what you did for Espio," Salma smiled down at him. "I'll always think of you as part of the family."

"But… does this mean we won't be brothers anymore?" Charmy asked, looking to Espio. He smiled, giving the smaller boy a noogie.

"Of course we're still brothers, Charmy. You'll always be my little brother, especially after all you've done for me. Now come on, get in here," Espio chuckled as he invited Charmy into the group hug.

…

"Honey, is everything alright?" The concerned mother questioned, worry flooding her words as Jet came bursting through the front door of his house and ran upstairs.

"Yeah, fine," he grunted as he stomped into his room and slammed the door, bounding onto the bed and burying his face in the pillow.

"What is wrong with me?!" Jet screamed into his pillow, which muffled all sound from escaping down stairs. He shouted further into his pillow, letting all his anger out before he finally rolled onto his back, exhausted. His eyes focused on the beige painted ceiling.

"Everything good that happens in my life I screw up," Jet sighed aloud. He thought back to earlier in his life. Back when he used to stare up at a different ceiling and cry about all the bullies at the school. Jet thought he had finally moved on. He thought he had made new friends at a new school. He thought he finally had another girlfriend after he screwed up his previous, and only other, girlfriend. "I'm a disgrace, I'm worthless. Sonic was right, I'm pathetic!" Jet tormented himself.

Jet lifted his head and scanned his room, looking for something, anything, that could help relieve this sadness. He wanted to feel something else. Anything but the pain in his heart. That was when his pupils settled on a small razor blade sitting on his desk table. Jet stood up and walked over, picking up the blade in his hand, flipping it over and examining it.

"Any pain is better than the pain I feel right now," he cried. "I deserve this!" He convinced himself and held the blade up to his arm. He placed the serrated edge against his skin, a slight stream of blood began to pool underneath the blade and trickle down his wrist.

"One," Jet began aloud.

"Two," he continued, taking a deep breath.

"Three!" Jet pressed his hand down and sliced. A deep gash appeared in his skin as he sliced the blade horizontally across his wrist and Jet let out a sigh of relief and pain.

"You deserve this," he sighed repeatedly through tears as he continued to attack his wrist. Blood oozed form the wound and began pooling around him on the floor, staining the carpet as he slashed again and again.