Sonic

"Let's get shitfaced motherfuckeeeeers" Jet roared, chugging an oversized chalice of beer. Standing on a table, above a sea of college students, Jet looked like the king of all the fuckboys on Mobius.

How Jet had managed to get this many people crammed into his cramped, albeit spacious, townhouse on such short notice, Sonic would never know. It was filled with dozens of college students, or at least people in their early 20's, a nauseating array of lights, liquor, and Sonic hoped that was all.

He and Tails had taken the train into Station Square and walked a good few blocks to get here roughly around 10. Sonic had spent the better part of the evening agonizing over what kind of clothes he should wear. As much as he hated the thought of being at a party thrown by Jet, he still wanted to make a decent impression at his first official college party.

Tails, though, had been relatively silent for most of the evening. Just following along with Sonic, occasionally reaffirming that 'Yes, your quills look cool like that' or 'No, you don't look like a dork' in a less-than-enthused tone.

Now the two of them awkwardly stood against a wall in the living room, Sonic trying to find a group that maybe he could talk to, and Tails, keeping an eye on his watch, making sure they would make it back in time for the last train home at 11:45. The flashing, colorful lights, the pounding of the music and the sheer mass of people compacted into one place was beginning to give them both a headache.

"Sonic," Tails pulled on Sonic, who leaned down so he could hear his shorter brother a little better, "Can we go back already? My head hurts."

"I know, bud, me too," Sonic cupped his hands so he could concentrate his words into Tails' ears. "But I need to try talking to a few people before we leave. I promise, we are out the door by 11:00 at the latest!"

Sonic had begun to realize, the more he thought about the party tonight, that ever since he started college, he hadn't actually made any new friends. Like, any. He'd have thought he'd make friends with at least some of his track mates, but he was always too worked up by Jet to stick around long enough to talk to anyone.

Not to mention his whole ordeal with Shadow…

He glanced around at the sea of veritable strangers that were supposed to be his teammates. It seemed like it'd take him years to get any new friends. So, Sonic was determined, before he left, he'd try and make a few new friends, or acquaintances at the very least. He needed to.

Oh please, like anyone would want to be friends with someone as obnoxious as—

"Hey, that's one of the guys on track! Alright Tails, stay here, I'll be right back, alright," Sonic backed off of the wall, giving Tails an 'OK' sign, which Tails reciprocated with a sigh.

Sonic maneuvered his way through the crowd, careful not to bump too many drinks on the way. He eventually made his way to the yellow squirrel guy from early. His name waaaaaaass…

"Rain! Hey there," Sonic slid up next to the rather skittish-looking freshman.

"Ray," he corrected, with an awkward laugh.

"Oh, right, ah, sorry," Sonic also awkwardly laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Guess I'm just a bit overwhelmed! There's a lot going on here, huh?"

"Uh, yeah, it's a lot," he squirmed a little. "I don't normally come to parties like this."

Despite the awkward excuse for small talk, Sonic felt at least a bit comforted that he wasn't the only one out of the party loop. "Same, honestly. But at least I get the chance to hang out with some of my teammates! I feel like we should all kick a little more, ya'know," Sonic chuckled, hoping he was sounding as cool and casual as he was trying to.

Ray, seemingly avoiding Sonic's eyes, took a sip from his disposable cup of, presumably, beer.

"Umm, everything alright," Sonic questioned, looking around to see if Ray was looking at something in particular.

"No—er, I mean yes! It's nothing, just," Ray stopped, seemingly unwilling to say anything else. "Well, some of us actually do get together sometimes, on weekends…"

Sonic's heart dropped, heat slowly beginning to creep onto his face. He hadn't heard anything about that, he was sure. No one ever mentioned hanging out in the group chat or at practices. And, now that he thought about it, no one ever really talked to him at all, not since the start of the season.

What'd I tell ya.

"Oh, uh, really," Sonic snapped back to their conversation, giving a smile that didn't entirely meet his eyes. "I didn't know that! I'd love to tag along sometime!" Desperate much?

"Well, we were gonna ask you to join at first, but you always seemed kind of…" Ray looked away, not wanting to finish this train of thought it seemed.

"Kind of what?" Sonic's smile had completely retreated, instead replaced with a mixture of confusion and worry.

"Well, you're always, kinda, to yourself? I guess? You just kinda come to practice and leave," Ray was looking at his drink, maybe only brave enough to say it thanks to the power of beer.

Sonic looked away bashfully, hand grabbing hold of his neck. Tight. Was he really that much of a loner? He always thought he was great at socializing, especially in high school. But Ray was right. During practice, during runs, he was always so focused on the track, or on his frustration with Jet. And the more he thought about it, he probably wouldn't even recognize let alone name half of his own teammates.

Looks like you're no one's golden boy anymore, fucko.

"Ah, um, I see…. "Sonic said, trying not to let himself be overcome with these thoughts, especially not now.

"But, I really did want to invite you," Ray, realizing he may have said too much, frantically trying to fix this broken conversation. "And a lot of the other freshman too, but Jet—"

"Well well, if it isn't my guest of honor himself!"

Sonic's stomach dropped at the sound of that familiar squawk in his ears. An arm came down around his shoulders, momentarily throwing Sonic off his balance.

"Oh, Jet! Uh, hey," Ray, sweating bullets, backed away. As if his life depended on it, he swiftly gulped down the rest of his beer. "Umm great party! I think I'm gonna go get a refill. Nice talking to you Sonic!"

Before Sonic could even begin to question that bit of weirdness, he was overcome by the stench of liquor coming from Jet, who was getting, once again, way too close for comfort.

"Hey there Mr. Super Sonic racer, let's hang out for a bit," Jet slurred, innuendo dripping from his slowed speech.

"Yeah, uh, thanks for the offer, but, uh, I'm over there," Sonic pointed towards the wall. Jet, obviously liquored up enough to buy that, turned his gaze, allowing Sonic to remove himself from his arm.

"Hey, hey, hey, now wait just a second," Jet looked around again, quickly pulling Sonic back towards him by the arm, an unpleasant and unwanted jerk in more ways than one. He almost let out an audible groan, looking for some way to be anywhere but tucked under the too-warm arm of his worst teammate.

It was...uncomfortable at best. Jet had a grip on him, just tight enough to keep him from leaving. A memory popped into his mind—his own hand stopping an aggravated Shadow from escaping a similarly unwanted interaction with Sonic. Shit, I hope this isn't how I make Shadow feel.

Jet's beer-laden breath hit him in the face before he could think further on it.

"Listen, listen, I get I'm a total asshole; It's kinda my brand," Jet smirked. "But, you showed some real moves out there today! Come on, let me get you a drink so we can celebrate!"

Sonic, quite surprised at Jet's change in attitude (well, slight change), looked back towards him. This guy, this complete jerk, must have some ulterior motive. There's no way he'd insist on Sonic coming and make a whole thing out of it if he didn't have some kind of plan to make him miserable in some way.

But… Jet was also his in. Everyone on the team, everyone at this party, must, in some way, respect him. Maybe, putting up with Jet for even a few minutes could help boost his standing. Besides, you need all the help you can get.

"Heh, alright, fine," Sonic turned to Jet, cracking his cockiest grin. "Do your worst!"

"Alright now, I like the sound of that," Jet laughed, slapping Sonic on the back a few times, pushing him towards the kitchen. "Bring out the shots!"

"11:00," Tails mumbled, looking at his watch once more. He sighed to himself. Sonic had insisted on him coming, but he'd left Tails all alone for a while now. He could be at home working on his new bi-plane schematics. But instead, here he was, propping up a wall, head throbbing, and being bumped around by people almost twice his size.

He could just go home on his own. Sonic would find his way back. No, Tails, Sonic said he needed you. He's always there for you, so you need to be there for him.

Was he? He seemed to have become more distant towards Tails recently. He was still the same old Sonic, just a bit more…not all there. Tails couldn't quantify it.

After being shoved for the umpteenth time, Tails decided he would just move somewhere quieter and less crowded until Sonic was finished with his schmoozing.

Pushing his way through the throng of inebriated and half-baked adults, Tails made his way upstairs, eventually finding a less occupied room with people playing some kind of game with cups on a ping pong table.

He situated himself on an unoccupied chair, fiddling with his watch to pass the time.

"Heya, shorty, don't you think this party's a bit too R-rated for you?"

Tails froze. That voice. Oh no, why here of all places…

"Um, hi Wave," Tails mumbled towards her feet.

"What was that? You know kiddo, you gotta speak up, it's hard to hear you all the way down there," she cackled, staring down at the ever-shrinking Tails.

He already had to deal with this everyday at school, must tonight also be as agonizing?

"Please stop."

"Huh, come again? I thought I told you—"

"Stop," Tails finally asserted, still not exactly looking up.

"Whoa there, kiddo, what bit you," Wave held her hands up, rolling her eyes, backing up a little from Tails.

"I… I just want to be alone please," Tails brought his legs up to his chest, trying to hold onto them as hard as he was his ebbing tears.

Wave, still looking down at the young fox, scoffed at his remark. "Well, you came to the wrong place for that! See, this is what I mean, you're not ready for the big leagues ki—"

"I'm NOT a kid," Tails snapped up, anger finally boiling past his embarrassment. "A-and I'm getting really tired of everyone treating me like one!"

Waves face dropped, clearly stunned to have finally pushed him this far. "Hey hey, easy now, tiger." She shrugged, quickly pulling her cool, disaffected look back together. "Listen kid, you're not as mature as you think you are. You don't just magically skip to adulthood just because you're in college. Save a party like this for when you're old enough to enjoy it."

"I am old enough," Tails stood up, puffing his chest out towards Wave. Tails had spent most of his life around friends that were older than him, following wherever they led. Now he needed to prove to everyone, most importantly to himself, that he could keep up with them, no matter where they went.

"Yeah, I'd beg to differ," she rolled her eyes at his blind machismo. "Look, this has been fun, but I've got a game to get back to, and you should hurry to bed before curfew."

"Fine. I'll go," Tails maintained eye contact with Wave as though he weren't having to stand on tiptoe to look up at her. "On one condition."

"Sure, kid, anything," she laughed, looking towards the others, by the table, equally amused by the young fox's over confident display.

"Play me," Tails said, as evenly as he could, trying to avoid any voice squeaks.

Wave couldn't contain her laughter, doubling over, along with half the room. Tails' face, ablaze from the embarrassment, stayed straight.

"Look kid, you can't play this game. It's for big kids," she mocked.

"Play me," he repeated. "You win, I go home. I win, you have to stop belittling me all the time, and treat me as an equal. Deal?" Tails held his hand out to the still cackling swallow.

"Yeah, no. Go home kiddo," she shooed him away using the back of her hand.

"Deal?" Tails was not going to move. Sonic never backed down from a challenge. He always stood his ground, and never gave into bullies. Now it was Tails' turn.

"Come on, Wave," one of the sloshed party goers, a grey albatross, whooped. "Play the kid! Play the kid! Play the kid!"

Now all the people in the room were chanting in unison. Tails, still holding his face as straight as he could, brows furrowing slightly, humiliation growing, kept his hand outstretched to Wave.

Despite Wave's more severe teasing, she really didn't care to embarrass him any further. The crowd had spoken, though, and it seemed he'd just have to learn his lesson the hard way. She grabbed his hand, giving it a firm shake. "Deal."

With that the crowd hollered, quickly setting up the table for the game. Six cups to each side, each filled nearly to the brim with beer. Tails wasn't unfamiliar with this game. Land your ball in your opponent's cups, until they've drunk them all. First to drink them all loses.

"You can have first throw, kid," Wave tossed a ping pong ball his way. Tails caught it, beginning to focus in on his goal. This was the easy part—he had a good idea of the proper angle, trajectory and amount of force he'd need to sink his ball.

He made his first shot, bouncing it off the table and landing it right in the first cup of the triangle. Everyone, shocked at his clean shot, shouted in celebration. Tails, trying not to give in too much to his childish giddiness, let a small smirk crack his lips, folding his arms towards Wave. Precision was always a strength of his.

"Hmph, good shot," Wave conceded, grabbing the ball from her plastic cup, and gulping down the contents swiftly. Tossing the cup behind her, she grabbed hold of the next ball. "Don't say I didn't warn ya."

In an instant, she too sank her first shot, right in the cup closest to Tails. Once again, rapturous applause from the growing audience. She obviously was no stranger to beer pong.

Tails stared down at his cup. The reality of what he'd have to do next sinking in.

The hesitation was palpable to everyone in the room. Most especially Wave. "It's not too late to back out." As much as she chided him for it, he was literally still just a kid.

Tails grabbed hold of the cup, pulling out the bobbing ping pong ball. He swirled the contents. Sonic wouldn't back down.

Wave sighed, taking pity on the kid. "Look, let's just call it a—"

Before she could finish her statement, Tails knocked back the drink, eyes scrunched closed, forcing himself to ignore the disgustingly bitter taste and the slight burn building in his throat as he gulped as fast as he could to keep up with the tide of liquor. Finishing it off, he tried and failed to suppress a cough. Wiping his muzzle of any beer that had leaked out, Tails resumed his stalwart posture.

Cheers burst out, pouring in from the hallway where people strained their necks to get a view. "Ah yeah, you go Two Tails," two oddly-sized skunk guys hollered. They all began to chant "Two tails, two tails,"eventually just shortening it to "Tails, Tails, Tails."

Maybe it was the beer working into his system, or the adrenaline of having his name chanted in surround sound, but Tails felt on top of the world. Throwing his emptied cup to the side, cracking his cockiest grin, Tails grabbed a new ball. "Let's just call that the end of round one."

"CHUG CHUG CHUG CHUG!"

Sonic now stood in a drinking contest of who could find the bottom of their beer bottle the fastest. And, well, Sonic wasn't one to back down from a challenge, especially when it questioned his speed. (And he was a glutton for people chanting his name.)

Despite how disgustingly bitter and unpleasant it tasted, Sonic powered through. As soon as his lips met empty air, he slammed his bottle onto the counter, the clear winner in his battle against some older weasel guy in a brown hat that Sonic had never met. "Wooo! Ha ha, how do you like that!"

Cheers erupted from the small crowd that had gathered around them. A few drunken hands clapped him on the shoulder. Sonic felt his pride boost with each congratulations.

Jet gave a slow clap from his perch on the counter, watching the games play out before him as he lazily sipped his drink.

Sonic looked up at him, sloppily dragging the back of his hand across his mouth, wiping the excess from his muzzle. Jet followed the movement with drunken, half-lidded eyes. A small smile curled on his beak.

He slid off the counter in one smooth motion and sidled up next to Sonic with more grace than he had any right to in the state he was in. "Well, well, well," he drawled. "You're drinking me under the table here, kid. I'm almost impressed." He let out a chuckle, giddy with alcohol.

Sonic was buzzing, an artificial warmth from the alcohol spreading across his body, flushing his cheeks. He laughed along with Jet, a little too excited to have his approval—if only in this regard. "What can I say, I aim to please!" He was floating somewhere outside of himself, light and happy and airy.

"Hmm, I bet you do." A hand slid across the small of Sonic's back as Jet scooched ever-closer. Sonic's laugh choked off in his suddenly dry throat. He could almost feel Jet's beer-laden breath on his fur as he leaned up to whisper in his ear.

"I'd love to see what else that throat can guzzle down."

Sonic freezes as Jet's hand slides further down his back, past his tail and—

"H-hey," Sonic jumped, putting physical distance between himself and Jet. Jet only laughed, grabbing another beer as he threw a wink at Sonic.

"Your loss," he said, the slur in his voice butchering his attempt at sultriness. "Come find me later if you change your mind, rookie." He slammed the bottle top against the counter edge with his fist, opening it in one movement. He paused, rim of the bottle at his lips. "I do have connections, y'know. If you play your cards right, I have recruiters on speed dial."

Sonic tensed, suddenly too aware of his heartbeat hammering in his chest. His brain was slow to catch up with what Jet was implying. He can't be serious. "You're bluffing," he said, trying to keep his tone as even as he could.

"And you'll never know now, will you?" He eyed up Sonic's form, his gaze lingering. He clicked his tongue. "Pity," he murmured as blue eyes made it back to green. "Guess you don't have the dedication I thought you might." He turned on his heel, striding back toward the throng of people bathed in colored lights. "Ah well, there's always someone else willing to make the sacrifices for what they want."

"W-wha-wai—"Every word that stumbled over Sonic's inebriated tongue died at his lips. The pleasant floatiness was gone and now he just felt...untethered. His hand was still loosely gripping the amber-colored bottle, and he only became aware of the tension in his grasp when his knuckles started to ache.

The sounds of the party became dulled, muffled in his ears, bass pounding along with the ache forming at his temples.

Lazy.

Unmotivated.

No dedication.

Refusing a golden opportunity like this would be stupid.

Do you really think you could get there on your own?

Fat chance, dipshit.

He wasn't sure how long it'd been, his floating attention span popping in and out. One second he's in the living room, maneuvering through people. Next, he see's Jet climbing the stairs. Then he's following. And following. And follo—

"Tails! Tails! Tails!"

Tails… oh shit.

"Tails," he half-shouted, half-slurred, snapping him partially out of his dazed stupor. A mountain of people were all focused in on one room, shouting the name of his little brother. Elbowing his way through, he eventually made it in. There, he found a wobbly looking Tails, picking up one of three plastic cups filled with—

"Miles Prower," Sonic shouted, fully this time. His consciousness came crashing back into him, hitting like a physical weight in his chest. He balked at the scene before him, not exactly sobering up, but most certainly livid enough to pull some sense to his mind. "What are you doing?!"

Tails took a moment to respond, not quite sure if he was imaging the voice. He looked around, eventually settling on the shifting image of his big brother. "Oh, hey Sonic," Tails slurred, words running together. "Guess 'swhat? Turnsout i'm reaaaally good at beer pong!"

Between him and his swallow opponent, he had three cups left, while she had only one. She crossed her arms, clearly not as affected by her drinks as Tails was, and called to Sonic, "You need to take this kid home. Don't think he can't handle much more." She frowned as she looked Tails' way. If Sonic had the brainpower to read expressions right now, he would say she almost looked...guilty.

Tails whipped back around, spilling a little of his drink in the process. "No! Not yet, I've got ya ooooooon the ropes, Wave! And then you'll have to finally stop makin my classes a living hell!"

Sonic, equal parts angry, terrified, and dazed, came up to Tails now, looking him in the eyes. (Well, as best as he could with the drinks still swirling in his brain.) "Put that drink down, Miles."

Tails, smirk morphing into a frown, brought the drink up to his lips.

"Miles Prower, don't you dare—"

Before Sonic could finish, Tails chugged at least half of his drink, the rest spilling down his muzzle, throwing his cup to the crowd. They all ate it up, amused at Tails disobedience, hooting and hollering at the show.

"We are going home right now, mister," Sonic, grabbing onto Tails' wrist began to pull him. Though it wasn't for long as Tails broke free from his grasp, stumbling towards the table to catch his balance.

"Oh, now you wanna go home, huh!? Finished schmoozing? Finished being the cool guy?" Tails was shouting now, anger boiling out of him like Sonic had never seen before.

"Tails—"

"You dragged me here because you needed me? When?! You just abandoned me so you could kiss up to a bunch of jerks who don't care about you! And It doesn't matter how long you fix your quils or agonize over what stupid outfit you wear, you're just a big dumb loser like me!" Everyone was watching, far too entertained to help a far too stunned to speak Sonic.

"And then there's this b-bitch—" Tails pointed a woozy finger at Wave, who seemed a bit thrown off by his more colorful word choice. "Everyday, it's always 'hey shorty, did you get lost on the way to daycare,' 'what's this garbage? Even a toddler like you should be able to defrag a hard drive' 'shorty, short stuff, kid this, kid that.' My name is Tails, lady!" Turning his gaze back to his brother, Tails started up again.

"And you know what, fuck you Sonic!"

"Tails!" Sonic was dazed. He'd never heard his brother talk like this before.

"You drag me to bars and parties that I don'even wanna go to, leave me unattended, like, what did you expect would happen to me? You're a terrible brother!" Tails was now poking Sonic right in the stomach, stuttering a little over his words.

"You always makin' fun'a me likin' plane documentaries, an' stayin home!" His words were now starting to become unintelligible, finger losing pressure against Sonic's chest. "An' another thing, Topatomatamus 6 is absolute garbage, and, huuh—"

Tails, losing his balance, stumbled into Sonic, eyes fluttering. Sonic was quick to catch him immediately going full panic. "Tails? Tails, are you alright?" He tried to help Tails stand, to get a good look at him.

"Uhhg, my head's spinning," he mumbled, right before vomiting all over the ground, including Sonic's shoes. Everyone backed up, a combination of "Ah, sick" and laughter erupted.

"Yikes. Mcfuckin' yeouch," Jet cackled, having slipped into the room without Sonic noticing. "And I just polished the hardwood last week."

"Tails! Oh god," Sonic, panicking, began to notice his brother's eyes shutting.

"Sonic, I don't feel good," Tails mumbled right before throwing up once more, this time mostly on himself. Then he was falling, face making a beeline to the pool of vomit on the aforementioned polished hardwood, Sonic stumbling to catch him in his arms again.

"Tails?! Tails, wake up," he began to shake his smaller brother. No response.

Suddenly everyone was silent. The consequences hitting each of them like a dart filled with sobriety. Slowly, they all began to exit the room.

"Wait, wait! Somebody help! What do I do?" Sonic was now cradling an unconscious Tails in his arms, frantically looking around for someone to help him. He didn't drink much, and wasn't sure if this was just something he'd sleep off, or if his brother's life was in danger.

Wave, a mixture of guilt and concern on her face, came over, laying a careful hand on his shoulder. "Uh, I think you should take him to the hospital."

"Can someone get us to the hospital," Sonic desperately cried out. Everyone clearly didn't want to be a part of whatever potential trouble they could end up if any police were to be involved. Sonic felt rage growing from his terror. "What's wrong with you guys?! My brother needs help!"

"Hey now, he's just had more than he could handle," Jet condescended, coming up to Sonic, placing a hand on his shoulder other shoulder, opposite Wave. "Just let the tyke rest, and we can—"

"Don't touch me, you sick fuck," Sonic roughly pulled his shoulder away, turning to Wave. "Where is the nearest hospital?"

Scared some by Sonic's seething eyes, she quickly responded, "Eh, um, I think, uh, It's past the train station? Some few blocks east, I think?"

Tightening his grip on Tails, Sonic began his march out of the room, and down the stairs. Wave and Jet followed behind him, as he bolted out the front door. He looked around, turning back to Jet standing in the doorway with a gaggle of onlookers.

"Which way is east," he demanded.

"Th-that way. Wait, you aren't gonna walk are you? It's like 30 blocks away," Jet gawked at him.

"I'm not gonna walk. I'm running," He shouted, eyes wild, starting his mad dash down the dimly lit street.

Adrenaline and fear coursing through his veins, Sonic pumped his feet, holding on to his brother for dear life. His breath was sharp, short and burning his throat. His legs were numb. No matter how much his body screamed for him to stop, though, he didn't. He couldn't.

He's saved Tails' life once before. He could do it again.

He looked down at his little brother's face, bleary eyes closed, mouth slack, fur mussed and wet with liquour and sick. Two thoughts occupied his mind.

Faster. Faster. Faster.

He's dying.

He's dying.

He's dying