Sup y'all, Ebony here with a new fic! This one is heavily inspired by my good friend Nicoliiie on here , and he'll be helping me quite a bit with this fic in fact!

Anyway, pls enjoy Diamond chapter one: A Day in which Nothing Happens

Now Playing: Broken Clocks - SZA

Knuckles was a lot of things, he was athletic, hot headed, dense, you could use a lot of words to describe the red echidna, one thing he wasn't though, was a dancer. That was his cousin Tikal's job. Knuckles never saw the appeal of dancing, often times they looked silly when doing so, and other times it looked needlessly complicated, he wasn't a fan of things that were needlessly complicated, it was why he hated math and science so much, why make something so complex when you can just give it a simple solution. He didn't judge his cousin though, she seemed to have a lot of fun doing what she was doing, and she was also rather good at it too, maybe he was biased because she was his relative, but Tikal was probably one of the best dancers he'd ever seen.

Now, why was his cousin's hobby anything to do with him? As already stated, Knuckles wasn't a dancer, so why did it matter?

Well, it mattered because, as a non dancer, he was currently in the middle of his first official dance lesson at the local dance club, what was a kid who had no interest in dancing whatsoever doing there? Well, to explain this, we have to go back to the day he met a certain girl at a performance Tikal was a part of.

The day was chalking itself up to be rather average, not so interesting day, then again, regardless of the colorful people and personalities that attended Emerald State Academy, it was overall a rather average, not so interesting school. Sure, it was prestigious and they wore god awful uniforms, but most days there felt bare bones and hollow. Most students just wanted to get through the day so they could have fun and do all their stuff after school, so nobody even acted wild out of pure boredom. Knuckles remembered walking in, with Tikal following closely behind, it was actually her second day attending, as she had to transfer to a new school rather suddenly.

Due to... less than savory familial circumstances pertaining to Tikal's parents, the young echidna was relocated and sent to live with Knuckles and his family, not that he minded, he truly did care for her and having some company in his crappy shared apartment didn't sound so bad. Despite being a little shy and naive, Tikal was friendly and open enough to already make a few friends there, not that Knuckles really cared, Tikal was about a grade or two younger than him, so her friendship group would probably never mingle with his, he was just glad she wasn't as lonely as he was when he started attending, it took him way more time than he would've liked to make his own group of friends.

Emerald State was a decently sized school, it wasn't as large as most private schools but it was big enough to harbor as many students as they took in, the two echidna's walked through the golden arch at the front, trying not to bump into other students as they made their way through the large gates and into the school courtyard, they had about a half hour before lessons started, so they planned to just hang around, and maybe even find their friends if they good. Knuckles looked for a place to sit, he had gym so he was forced to carry his kit around with him that day, and was already sick of it, so once he caught sight of an empty bench, he quickly made his way towards it. It took Tikal a split second to realize where he was going, but once she did she followed him and seated beside him.

Knuckles fiddled with his dark blue uniform, he hated ESA's ugly blue blazers and ugly blue sweaters and ugly blue ties and ugly grey pants, he could never pull it off, and didn't understand people that could. Like Tikal for example, she somehow made the gaudy uniform look somewhat stylish, he scoffed quietly, maybe he just got the ugly genes in the family, which was totally his dad's fault mind you.

Tikal brought her phone out, checking her notifications, before perking in realization, causing her cousin to curiously tilt his head. Whenever she did that, it meant she forgot something, did she also have gym today, maybe she forgot her kit-

"Knuckles!" She said with an excited gleam in her eyes "I forgot to ask earlier, but I have a performance at the Annual Tech City Dance Recital! I've been practising really hard and I'd love for you to come and watch!"

He felt his heart melt at her request, it was lovely to see her so passionate about something, and plus he could never say no to her.

"Of course I'd love to, when is it?"

"Oh, um... it's actually today"

Knuckles raised a brow "really? Well, when did you find out you got in?"

Tikal began fiddling with her phone "um... about a month ago..."

Her cousin snorted "it took you this long to tell me you had a big performance? You had to tell me on the day?" he was mostly joking, yeah it wasn't ideal to find out on the day, he could have had important plans that day, but Knuckles could never get mad at Tikal's absentminded nature, she was forgetful, and though it could be a little annoying at times, he wasn't one to take things too seriously, so he always brushed it off.

Plus, this was the Annual Tech City Dance Recital. All he really knew was it was a big showcase where dancers from all across the country came to show off their skills. They had a whole audition process, and Tikal's dance group had been trying to get in for years, so for them to finally get a slot? He wasn't going to miss it for the world, even if all those neon lights and bright colors he saw on the previews online didn't appeal to him much.

Had he have been paying attention, he would have noticed Tikal's face brighten with joy. She knew performing arts and such was never Knuckles' thing nor his forté, so him coming meant a whole lot to her, she had always admired and looked up to cousin, wanting nothing more than his approval, he knew this, and in turn did everything he could to make her as happy as possible.

The two would have spoken more, had it not been for the school bell ringing, Tikal stood up, turning to face him "well, I gotta go now- oh! Also, because the showcase is today, I'll be leaving school at about one thirty to go to the venue, so don't worry about picking me up or waiting for me"

He nodded, standing up with a stretch "bet, I'll be looking forward to it, you'll do great"

Tikal simply smiled "thanks, see ya!"

Knuckles watched as she walked out of his sight and into the language block, once she had left his vision, he turned around and made his way to the male locker room. If there was one thing he hated about Tuesdays it was the fact that he had gym first thing in the morning, he wasn't even fully awake yet but they expected him to run laps and do sports? The ESA staff members were sick and twisted for even thinking of adding that to his schedule, let alone actually doing it. As he walked up the concreted slope path, he was greeted by a few fellow guys, see, Knuckles was popular in a sense that everyone seemed to know him, despite him not having a large group of friends, then again he was at some point dating one of the most popular girls in school, but now wasn't the time to think of that.

After a boring trek, he had finally arrived, and before he could even fully enter the room, he was greeted by a loud:

"Aye! Look at what the cat dragged in? If it isn't the Knuckinator!"

Knuckles couldn't stop the small smirk from growing on his face when his good friend Sonic approached him. Sonic was this sporty blue hedgehog that Knuckles had known since childhood, and if there was one word to describe him, it was energetic. Sonic had already finished dressing in his gym kit, wearing a pair of dark blue jogging bottoms, as well as a white shirt and his black hoodie wrapped around his waist. Once he reached Knuckles, the two shared their infamous 'homies 4 life' handshake, the violet eyed echidna then sliding off his rucksack and slumping both that and his kit onto the ground below them.

"Sup Speedy, what's crackin'? Any new deets you wanna share?" see, yes he had the personality of typical teenage jock (minus all the douchebaggery), but Sonic probably gossiped more than the average teenage girl, seriously, it was as if everyday he knew something about somebody, either he knew who was going to fight after school that day, or who was fucking who, or who was beefing with who, he may was well have been TMZ because there was no hiding secrets from him.

Sonic shrugged "nah, nothin' much, I mean Scourge and Fiona got back together, but who cares? They do that at least once a week"

Yup, the infamous Scourge and Fiona. To say the two had a rocky relationship would be a heavy understatement, one minute they'd be posting pictures on InstaFlame together, proclaiming how much they love each other and how much of a ride or die for the other they were, next minute they were at each others throats, leaking nudes and text messages, it was beyond chaotic. Hell, if there was a girl fight going on, it was probably Fiona versus whoever Scourge decided to fuck behind her back, and if it was a boy fight it was probably Scourge versus whoever Fiona decided to blow behind the school that day. It was sort of sad in a way, the two were never really going to break up, unless one of them died or something, it was like an addiction for them, unhealthy yet irresistable.

Then again, they were both pieces of garbage, so Knuckles didn't feel too bad for them.

The echidna soon got dressed, him and Sonic talking about whatever came to their minds, eventually, gym officially started, the boys then leaving the changing room and getting on with lessons.

"Nah because how are you that big but you can't catch a damn ball?"

"Bro do I LOOK like a play soccer?"

"All you had to do was catch the damn ball!"

It was now break, and Knuckles was having a playful argument over their less than successful soccer game during gym, they were making their way through the courtyard, hoping to find their friends soon enough. Luckily, it wasn't long until the two found a group sitting on a large blanket in the middle of the school's grass field. They soon approached, receiving various different hellos.

"Hey Sonic, hey Knuckles!" a soft pink hedgehog greeted, happily fluttering her dark green eyes, Amelia Rose, or simply Amy was also relatively close to the group, despite only meeting them in highschool, the young girl was the perfect mix of headstrong and nice, she was outspoken as she was friendly, and you couldn't really dislike her, regardless of how annoying she could occasionally be, in a way she was sort of like Tikal, no wonder the two got along so nicely. The two greeted her in response, before sitting on the blanket with them.

Another hedgehog, a green hedgehog with wild bangs, nodded at the two "aye, how are you guys?"

"Good, heard you managed to get a detention today though, mom's gonna kill you" Sonic snorted.

"Cut me some slack, it was just because I had one yesterday"

Manic, Sonic's brother, was the definition of a wild child, if it wasn't for the music college scholarship he got by luck, Knuckles wasn't sure if he'd be able to go on after highschool. Manic was the type to doze of in class, goof off and get into trouble just because he was bored, rare was there a day where he managed to get through without getting a detention, it was so common that Sonic and Sonia rarely stayed behind to go home with him, simply assuming he was probably going to be stuck in school for a solid hour or so.

"Aw, get off his back Sonic, at least he hasn't done anything yet", which was said by none other than Tails.

Miles, better known by Tails, was one of their childhood friends, though he was a bit younger than them. The ever so naive, yet intelligent boy was always too quick to see the best in people, even if they showed him nothing but the worst, it was no wonder he saw it as a good thing that Manic had gone a whopping two whole hours without getting himself into trouble, as opposed to seeing it as disappointing that him not getting into trouble was a milestone.

The four sat together quietly, enjoying their break, before Knuckles then said, "yo guys, Tikal got into that annual dance recital thingy, her and her group, I'm gonna go see it today"

"For real?" Amy sighed "lucky! That means you get free tickets and stuff, I've never got to go and watch it in real life, only on TV, I hope she does well!"

Manic laid back, kicking his legs into the air "she better hope she goes before Desire, no offence but if her group goes after

, they'll just be overwhelmed and shit"

"Huh? What do you mean, and who is Desire-"

"You don't know- whew, keep forgetting you live under a boulder" Amy chuckled, her laughs increasing when she saw the red echidna pout at her comment "Desire's this all girl dance group that's seen as like, the best of the best when it comes to youth dancing, a lot of the time, people performing after them either get really nervous and mess up or are just underwhelming to watch, here, watch this"

Amy handed her phone over to Knuckles, playing him a BlueTube video of the group in question, whilst he wasn't too well versed in the art of dance, even he could tell that they were insanely skilled "the center girl is called Diamond, she's so pretty and talented, I'm like, totally jealous of her"

"Didn't know you were into dance Amy" Sonic hummed, making the female hedgehog giggle.

"Oh gosh no, I couldn't do the cupid shuffle if you asked me to! Tikal got me into Desire though, I've been obsessing over them since yesterday"

Knuckles soon handed back the phone, nodding in understanding, not only did he have Tikal's group, Hideaway, to look out for, he also had this Desire group too. He was... actually looking forward to this, as if seeing his cousin make history wasn't enough of an incentive to go and watch this.

Sadly, their break was soon cut short when the bell rang, indicating third period.

The only words to describe Tikal right now was excited and terrified.

She had been picked up from school about an hour ago, and was dressed in the Hideaway dance uniform. She actually liked it, it consisted of a deep red cropped hoodie or long hoodie that read 'FIERCE!' in bold white cursive, as well as a pair of leggings or jogging bottoms that red 'Hideaway!' in those same bold white cursive letters, Tikal thought her uniform looked rather cool, and was dressed in the crop top and leggings combo, as well as wearing a pair of red Nike sneakers to match, her quills tied into a tight ponytail. Tikal was rather slim and limber, albeit tones, so it wasn't as if her outfit showed off too much curve, which was the one thing that stopped her from wearing it in the past.

The rest of Hideaway were all either practising different parts of their routine or simply relaxing, Tikal on the other hand was curled in an anxiety filled ball. Sure, it was more than an honor to be dancing at the Annual Tech City Dance Recital, but she was going to be dancing alongside talent like the infamous Dynasty, Brake Boyz, The Designer Dolls and even her all time favorite group, Desire. How could she possibly keep up with such talent? Sure, Tikal viewed herself as rather talented, but knowing who else was going to be at the showcase with her did nothing but heighten her anxiety. It wasn't until another member of Hideaway approached, beginning to gently rubbing her back.

Her name was Blaze, she was this really pretty lavender cat with slitted honey colored eyes, who wore the long hoodie and leggings combo. She was always so... calm and collected, she was good at reading people, and could probably tell right off the bat that Tikal was nervous "everything okay? If it's the performance, then just know we'll do great, we would't have gotten passed the first few auditions if we weren't able to be top tier"

"Thanks Blaze, I just..."

"Wanna be the best? Me too, I'm sure we'll make our mark somehow"

Tikal gave Blaze an appreciative smile, the lavender cat always knew just what to say to make people feel better. She was going to get up, and ask the others if they wanted to do one last run through of the routine, before another group had entered. Tikal froze when she saw it was, if those signature silver jackets, tube tops, body suits and shorts didn't make it obvious enough, it was them.

Desire.

The girls, who were probably a year or two older than Tikal, strutted in, conversing with each other, laughing and giggling as if they hadn't a care in the world. The again, when you're one of the best female dance groups out right now, worrying over a silly performance was probably the last thing on their mind. Tikal couldn't help but notice how... glamorous they all were? Aside from the fact that they were all very pretty, from their sparkly makeup to their eye-catching outfits, they looked straight out of a music video. Tikal was completely awestruck, especially by their leader.

Diamond.

See, Diamond was rather well known in the dancing sphere, having risen to popularity due to her BlueTube videos all going viral, she had been in and out of dance competitions, music videos and TV shows ever since. Finally settling on joining Desire, she, and the other girls of course, had brought home countless awards and had established Desire as a group to be feared. Tikal couldn't take her eyes off of Diamond, she was so... unreal, she looked like a star, it was as if she was born with the look of a celebrity alone, only to then acquire the talent later on in life.

She was rather tall, not exactly towering though, about 5'8-5'9 maybe, the supermodel type, with tan skin and soft ivory fur, she either had dyed hair and extensions, or she wore a long, slick black wig, that was rather well hidden, she could have easily passed it off as her real hair. Diamond had naturally heavy lidded blue eyes, her eyelids being covered in golden eyeshadow, as well has her lashes having thick black mascara, only to be complimented by dark, well done winged liner. Other than her eye makeup, Diamond didn't seem to wear much else on her face, aside from pink gloss, but that was about it. Then was her outfit, she wore a sparkling silver tube top, with baggy silver jogging bottoms and all white sneakers, she wore a large silver jacket that read 'Desire' on the back in gold, and a silver bandanna wrapped around her head. the outfit did a good job of not bringing too much attention to her enviable figure. Diamond had a perfect hourglass figure, with flawless curves, as well as a toned body from all those years of dancing.

Could anyone blame Tikal for being a little... envious?

Not only was Diamond seemingly perfect in every way, but she was also her idol, there was no way she could approach her without passing out or feeling inadequate, so Tikal chose to simply watch in wonder as the other girl group began preparing themselves.

And that's chapter one done! Sorry it's pretty bare bones and lame, but it's chapter one it doesn't have to be good, plus I'm saving all the good stuff for chapter two ;)

Also, in case my description of her didn't make it obvious. 'Diamond' is not an OC, you should know who she is lol

Anyway, let me know what you think, see ya!