Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Sonic the Hedgehog characters.

Renegade's POV

My whole Saturday gone. Disappointing. Right now I was sitting in my car, on the way to school, on a Saturday. I knew I should've forged a note getting me out of that stupid lecture. Well, at least I'll be by myself except for the underpaid, over annoyed teacher supervising. Anna was far from happy. I spent two hours at the dinner table last night getting lectured about how this school was supposed to be a great opportunity for me and I was acting ungrateful for the opportunity. I just sat and listen. She was clearly upset and Anna was trying her best at this whole "parent" thing. I was pretty much thrust upon her after my parents died at a time when she was definitely not ready for a kid. Still, she tries her hardest to give me a good life. I could have ended up in foster care, but I didn't.

Flashback

All I remember are red and blue lights flashing. Police asking me if I'm okay over and over again. I didn't know why they kept asking me that. I kept looking for my mom. Eventually they sat me down with an EMT and told me my parents had been shot while I was sleeping. After that, it was all the questions about if my parents had any family or friends that I can go to. I didn't know. I was only seven. All adults besides my parents were kind of a blur.

I was sitting in the police station with a blanket around my shoulders and a cup of now lukewarm hot chocolate in my hands. I kept hearing them talk about foster care and they were arguing a lot about it. One officer didn't want me in there, one didn't seem to care, and the other felt like they had no choice. I didn't want to live with strangers. I wanted to be with my parents.

"Hey Renegade," I looked up to see a dark brown hedgehog. His eyes were a dark gray color, but there was a purple sheen to them. He was smiling kindly at me and sat next to me on the bench I was on.

"Who are you?" I asked softly. He wasn't dressed as a cop and I hadn't seen him previously.

"You can call me Jeremy." He smiled and I nodded. "I'm sorry to hear about your parents." He told me seriously.

"Thank you." I said. "I really miss them." I told him as the tears started again.

"Hey, hey, hey, don't cry," He told me and I sniffled. "This is really hard. I understand. But you can't let this keep you down."

"I have nowhere to go." I mumbled.

"You don't remember Anna Hanford? Your mom's best friend?" He asked and I stared at him. How did he know Anna?

"But she's not old enough." I told him. I remember my mom telling me that Anna wasn't that much older than me. She always told me that after I made fun of Anna being old. Mom said Anna was still considered a kid sometimes.

"Yes she is. She's twenty, you know?" He told me and I shrugged not really getting what that meant. "Just tell them about Anna and I promise, this will all get better." He murmured motioning to the arguing cops. I nodded and got up before walking over to the cops.

"We can't let him get sucked into the system!" The cop was yelling.

"Uh, excuse me," I said and they all three turned to me. "My mom has, um had, a friend. Her name is Anna Hanford." I told them.

"Do you know her number, Renegade, or where she lives?" The cop asked and I shook my head.

"I don't, but maybe," I stopped when I turned back to the bench to see that Jeremy was gone. I looked around confused and the cop put her hand on my shoulder.

"We'll find her, Renegade." She told me and I looked back at the empty bench and nodded once.

End of Flashback

He helped me in more ways than one and I was forever grateful that I had Anna now as my guardian. Even though she was young, she really stepped up as a parent and took care of me. I pulled into the school parking lot and shut off my car. I sighed heavily seeing the empty parking lot. It should be against the law to be here on the weekend. I grabbed my backpack and walked over to the library in the center of campus where detention was being held.

I walked into the spacious library seeing Mr. Dowis sticking his nose way too far into his book. I put my slip on the desk and went to one of the tables. He simply took the slip and put it in a small container. He didn't look my way or say anything to me. I shrugged my shoulders and swung my legs onto the table turning my music on. I turned shuffle on and the first song to come on was a song by Queen. I closed my eyes and let the music bring me to my own world. Only four more hours.

I was ripped out of my own world when I heard the door open. I paused my music and I opened my eyes and saw Bolt Solari and Lauren Romaro enter. Great. I thought I would be by myself, but apparently I had some company. I only knew a few things about them. Bolt Solari, from what I've heard, is smart and athletic but also cocky. Lauren Romaro always ends up in some kind of trouble and has a very sassy attitude. They were pretty popular amongst the school, but then again, the school was so small that everybody practically knew each other. They both turned in their slips and sat at separate tables.

"Stop tripping me!" I heard a voice outside yell. I saw Bolt roll his eyes and Lauren snicker. Flash and Hydro Storm both walked in and Bolt waved over to Flash to sit by him and Lauren glared at Hydro who sat a his own table. Obviously there was some kind of tension there. This is why I rather keep to myself. Hydro looked severely annoyed and Lauren rolled her eyes at him. I knew she could read minds and she probably read something unpleasant in his head. The train of students didn't end there. Alana Delgado walked in and I specifically remember saving her from Razor. She shyly walked in and handed in her slip. She was far more beautiful than I had originally thought and seemed to be really shy and kind. Not that the type that would be in here. She sat down at a table diagonal from me and looked over to Lauren who just smiled at her. Ah. So that's why she's here. Mr. Dowis cleared his throat, getting all our attention and stood up.

"I'll be out for a few minutes. Don't do anything stupid." He told us before leaving the library. I got up from my seat and everyone turned to look at me. I just turned around and head into the stacks of books. Maybe I could find something to read to pass the time. I heard them all talking while I scanned through some fictional stories.

"Oh!" I turned at the sound and saw Alana. Her eyes faded from an orange-yellow color to a soft pink. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you'd be here. I just wanted to look for a book." She explained shyly.

"It's okay. You can still look if you want." I told her as I moved to leave.

"No!" She exclaimed and I looked at her confused. "I mean…you don't have to leave." She muttered and I shrugged my shoulders. I had turned my music back on when I left earlier and while she was standing next to me I could tell she was trying to listen.

"You want to see?" I asked holding out an earphone for her.

"Um…sure." She murmured taking it from me and putting it in her ear. She looked at me surprised and tilted her head. "I didn't peg you for a fan of The Goo Goo Dolls." She said as Iris played. I shrugged and put the book I was looking at back.

"What did you think I would be into?" I asked raising my eyebrow.

"Um, I don't know," Her eyes turned pink as she looked down and I smiled a little because it was a pretty endearing trait.

"What? Like screamo and metal?" I guessed.

"Maybe." She shrugged and I chuckled. She looked at me shocked again, almost like she was surprised to hear me laugh. Hell, I guess that is pretty surprising.

"Understandable," I shrugged. "I like a lot of music though. I'm pretty open to anything."

"Even pop?" She asked.

"If it's catchy and not totally synthetic, yeah. Michael Jackson? Great. Britney Spears? Not so much." I explained and Alana laughed.

"Why are you such an asshole?" We heard Lauren yell startling us a little. I packed up my headphones and we walked over to see what the hell was going on. Once we came back to where the tables were we saw Lauren and Hydro in each others' faces and Bolt and Flash looking exasperated.

"Maybe I'm only asshole because you bring it out of me! You do tend to do that a lot!" Hydro shouted back and Alana and I exchanged a look.

"Believe me! You were an asshole way before I even met you!" Lauren screamed at him and I saw Bolt and Flash sigh. We walked over to where they were while the screaming match continued.

"Why are they fighting?" I asked as Flash sighed again.

"This is practically a common occurrence now. I can't even remember the last time they were in the same room and didn't start fighting." Flash told me before shaking his head and looked back at me confused. "Wait, who are you?" He asked.

"Um, I'm Renegade." I told them extending my hand awkwardly. Flash grasped and shook it vigorously.

"Nice to meet ya! I'm Flash and this is my cousin Bolt. The arguing couple—"

"We're not a couple!" Hydro and Lauren both yelled before turning back to each other and continuing to argue.

"Anyways," Flash sighed. "That's my brother, Hydro, and that's Lauren." He explained and I acted like I didn't already know that.

"You're impossible!" Lauren screamed while slamming her hands on the table. We all scooted backwards a bit in case this turned physical.

"Weren't they friends in the beginning of the year?" Bolt asked as Flash nodded.

"It's actually really explain. You see, when Hydro saved Lauren from almost drowning he realized just how much he cared about her and that scared him. Instead of reacting like a normal person would, Hydro went on the offense and started to act like an asshole to her. Lauren, not knowing this, is now mad at Hydro because he's being rude to her even though the only reason he is, is because he likes her so much. Both of them are incredibly stubborn so it's really a waiting game until one of them decides to swallow their pride and talk to the other." Flash explain eloquently and we just stared at him. "What?"

"You're spending way too much time with Ivy." Bolt said shaking his head and Flash glared at him. When we turned back to said arguing couple, we saw Lauren stomping away completely huffing and puffing while Hydro sat back down at a table with his head in his hands.

"Maybe I should go check on her." Alana murmured and we all nodded. She ran off to see Lauren as Bolt, Flash, and I all looked at Hydro who was rubbing his temples trying to calm himself down. Bolt and Flash then turned to me and looked at me expectantly.

"What?" I asked as they motioned to him. "What? Why me? You're his brother and you're his cousin." I pointed at each of them and they both shook their heads. "I'm not doing this." I crossed my arms.

"C'mon, he doesn't listen to either of us. You're new, maybe he'll listen to you." Flash explained and I rolled my eyes. "Please, I can't stand being in the same house with his moody ass any longer." He pleaded and I sighed in defeat. He smiled happily at me before pushing me over to his brother. Hydro looked up at me and I waved lamely.

"Uh…hey?" I said.

"Hey, Renegade right?" He asked and I nodded.

"Um, this might be a stupid question, but are you okay?" I asked sitting across from him.

"Just peachy." He muttered sarcastically.

"Uh…I think Flash filled me in on what happened." I told him and he rolled his eyes.

"And he told you his whole theory about me being afraid of my feelings, right?" He said and I nodded. "Typical." He snorted.

"He's your brother and I don't know you at all so it seems to have some serious ground." I explained and Hydro sighed.

"Last time I had these…feelings for a girl it all came slamming back into my face. I don't want that to happen again." He explained as I nodded. So he was afraid.

"Well, what are you so afraid of? To me that's not a very good reason. People are different and whatever girl fucked you over is obviously not the same girl as Lauren. She really seems to care about you, at least from my perspective. I don't think she'd fight so hard against you if she didn't care about you a little bit." I shrugged.

"When did you learn great advice?" He smirked.

"Logic. Works wonders." I said and he laughed. Lauren walked back with Alana behind her and Hydro stood up. They stared at each other for a while, so long in fact that I almost felt the need to say something.

"Can I talk to you?" Lauren finally asked as he nodded. He walked over to her before they disappeared into the stacks. All four of us looked at each other before the three of them took off to eavesdrop on them. I sighed before reluctantly following them. We leaned against the books in the aisle next to them and tried to stay quiet while they talked.

"I'm sorry!" They both said at the same time and they laughed nervously.

"I'm really sorry for ignoring and yelling at you, Lauren. I shouldn't have been so immature and run away from my feelings." Hydro told her.

"No, I was immature about the whole thing. I shouldn't have put that pressure on you. I was too stubborn to let you talk and made this situation worse than it was." Lauren said. There was a long paused, but eventually we heard what sounded like a kiss.

"Ew." Flash whispered and Bolt shocked him.

"Does this mean what I think it means?" Lauren asked as we pressed our ears harder against the bookshelf. I couldn't believe how much I was letting myself get sucked into this.

"Yes." Hydro said as Flash silently cheered, but knocked over two books. We all glared at him as he looked down at the two books with his mouth covered.

"We already knew you were there." Lauren said and we turned to see her and Hydro standing there and holding hands.

"Right…" Bolt muttered rubbing the back of his head.

"Well, you're together now and that what matters." Flash said smiling bright.

"Shouldn't the teacher be back here by now?" I questioned as everybody looked confused. We walked out to the front and saw that he wasn't here at all. We walked out of the library and saw him by the door sleeping.

"Jeez, didn't even make it down the hall." Bolt said as Flash stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled out two small earplugs. He leaned down and placed them in Mr. Dowis' ears.

"Free range." Flash smirked before he and Bolt took off down the halls. Hydro and Lauren smiled at each other before walking away hand-and-hand.

"So…" Alana drawled.

"What would you like to do?" I asked.

"We could go to the music room." She suggested and I shrugged. We walked into the music room and she walked around admiring everything in the room. I walked over to the piano and traced my fingers over the keys. "You play?" She asked as I whipped my head around to see her next to me.

"How'd you know?" I asked.

"I could sense the happiness from you when you touched the keys." She explained.

"I used to play, but I haven't for a while." I told her.

"Can you play me something?" She asked. Her eyes were looking right through me and I couldn't help but do as she requested. I started to play a few bars and soon enough a melody came along. The room echoed in my music and Alana smiled brightly her eyes turning a peaceful shade of yellow. "That was beautiful." She told me when I finished.

'It has nothing on you.' I thought to myself. I shook my head and frowned. No. I wasn't supposed to feel this way. This can't happen. I turned to her and she was looking right at me. She ducked her head and blushed. Her eyes were probably pink as well, but her quills were covering her face. It took all my will strength to not touch her face. Unfortunately my will strength was weaker than I thought and I cupped my hand around face. I pulled her up to face me and her eyes were pink. She started to lean in closer to me and I was so tempted to meet her halfway. But this wasn't right.

"I can't." I sighed pulling my hands away from her face and scooting back.

"W-why?" She asked her eyes turning a dark blue.

"I can't tell you, not now, but can you promise me something?" I asked as she nodded. "Please, promise me you won't fall in love with me. Promise me you'll stay away from me." I told her and her eyes became more blue. "Please promise me." I whispered.

"I promise." She nodded. I smiled at her weakly before getting up and leaving the room. I wasn't supposed to be doing this. Not with her. I shouldn't be feeling this way. I need to focus on what was important, and my feelings for her were not.

Alana's POV

I watched him leave as my heart dropped to my stomach. My knees buckled and I fell to the ground crying into my knees. Why doesn't he want me? What did I do wrong? What's wrong with me?

"Nothing." I heard Lauren say. I looked up and saw her standing a little bit away from me. "You didn't do anything wrong and there isn't anything wrong with you." She said sitting down next to me. I hadn't realized I was saying that all aloud, but I appreciated her being here now.

"Then why doesn't he want me around?" I sniffled.

"He'll tell you eventually, but right now you need to be away from him." She told me.

"I don't understand." I said as wiped my tears.

"He'll come to you when he's ready. I don't know him personally, but by the sound of it, it seems like he has some things to work out." She explained and I sighed. I didn't know why Renegade wanted me to not fall for him, but I hoped it was only a temporary thing.