List: DiamondStarz, SilverDawn2010, Zeldaskeeper, Darkspine Sonic759, GalexiatheChao, and IHeartSonAmy!

Sorry for the wait guys. But I'm back! And yes, I will get to the ideas you've given me, and the poll idea, but I need to think on them more, annoyingly enough. Anyway, onwards, march!

Chapter twenty-five

Peer Pressure

Sonic the Hedgehog knew his daughter had had a bad day when she came in from school, slammed the door, and stalked off to her room, her face up just enough for the blue hedgehog to notice tears. And a lot of them.

Sighing, the father frowned, rubbing a finger underneath his nose as he thought on what to do. There were times when he stayed out of his daughters' way when they were upset, and times he didn't, but he didn't know which to do this time. She hadn't even mumbled a hello, meaning today really wasn't worth remembering, but than again there had been a lot of little droplets running down her muzzle. And Sonic had never liked seeing anyone crying.

"What's wrong with Ky?" Samantha walked into the living room, her jade eyes holding nothing but confusion as she blinked up at him. She stopped in front of the couch Sonic sat on, wondering what to do with his day off, and Sonic smiled gently at the girl before he sat up, sighing.

"Let's go find out," he answered, and he reached for the child's hand. She took it, happy to be involved as she led the way to her older sister's room.

Upon reaching the closed door, Sonic pressed an ear against the white wooden frame, and he was quickly aware of Violet's voice. Encouraged that the two sisters were talking, he tapped lightly on the door. The talking abruptly stopped.

"Can we come in?" Samantha asked, all child-like.

"No," came an acute answer from the other side of the door. "No. Me and Kyler are talking. Go play outside or something."

"But Daddy an' I wanna know what's wrong with Ky!" the toddler cried back impatiently.

"Nothing's wrong with me." Kyler's voice. "It's just been a long day, and I'm talking to Vi anyway. Tell that to Dad so he won't worry."
"I'm right here, Kyler," Sonic cut in, biting his lip, wondering if he should get involved or not. But he opened the door anyway.

The first thing the cobalt hedgehog noticed was the two sisters sitting on Kyler's bed, a box of tissues in between them, and a piece of crumbled up paper sat wrinkled in their linked hands. Immediately, Kyler pulled away from her sister, taking the paper with her, and she looked away from the door.

"I'm fine Dad, really," she said harshly, blinking back tears. Violet sighed from the other side of the bed, frowning sadly at Sonic.

"Maybe you should tell him-" she started, but the look from the other made Violet close her mouth, and the girl looked down, noting the bed sheets as if she were actually interested in them.

"Sam, why don't you go find Mom and hang with her for a minute?" Sonic suggested to the child who still hung by his side.

"But I wanna stay with you," the five year old replied, giving the puppy look. "Please?"

"I think I should talk to your sisters alone." He ruffled the girl's spines. "I'll find you later, 'k?" Sighing, Samantha nodded and slowly walked off, and Sonic turned back to the girls as he allowed himself in their shared bedroom, closing the door behind him with a soft click. With slow movement (if that was possible for the blue blur), he sat himself down on Violet's bed across the room, reclining against it like he did everything, and he smiled weakly at the sisters.

"So," he started, "what's up?"

"I just had a bad day is all," Kyler replied nonchalantly, rubbing her eyes with her shirt sleeves.

"Well, what happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Kyler responded as she set her hands down in her lap, clutching the same wrinkled piece of paper from a minute ago with her fingers.

"But you're tellin' Violet, aren't you?" The violet one seemed to shrink into the furniture, not wanting to be brought into the conversation.

"She's my sister," was Kyler's sharp reply. "I tell her everything. You know that."

"But I'm your dad," Sonic countered, frowning. "And I want you to be able to tell me anything." Kyler exhaled slowly and looked away pointedly.

"It's just something Annika told me today," the teenager mumbled.

"Your best friend?" Sonic inquired, confused. "What, she say something mean?"

"Mean doesn't cover it," Violet explained. "Show him the note, Ky." Kyler grasped the note in her lap harder, making her fingers turn white, and she looked up at Sonic, looking scared and hurt as she pondered what to do.

"Here." Her voice sounded small and sensitive as she lifted the note from her lap, biting her lip as a tear rolled down her face. Sitting up, Sonic zoomed over and took the small note, wiping away his daughter's tear while he was at it, and she smiled weakly. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, the cobalt hedgehog opened the piece of paper, reading the note over once, twice, than three times. He closed his eyes after reading it, rubbing his forehead.

"You gonna do it?" His voice was hardly above a whisper.

"No," Kyler replied, looking down. Violet reached across and took her sister's hand again, squeezing it. "I'm not going to. She's not a true friend if she wants me to do that…" Sonic sighed, opening his eyes as he turned to Kyler.

"I really thought she was better than that," he muttered, shaking his head in disbelief. "The times I've met her, she seemed like a good kid."

"I know," Kyler said softly. "I thought so too."

A silence fell in between the three of them, and than out of nowhere, Sonic said,

"I'm proud of you, girl." He smiled sadly at Kyler, reaching out a hand to wipe away more unseen tears. "You're making the right choice, even though it doesn't seem like it."

"I sometimes wonder…" Kyler quietly spoke. "I mean, it's no big deal, to steal. At least it doesn't seem like it. And I want to be friends with her still. But…I guess…I know it's wrong. And I would never feel like I belong if I did do what she said I should do…"

"Yeah," Sonic agreed. "You've always hated the popular group anyway."

"But I've never hated Annika," Kyler replied. "But...now…she's just changed so much, since we entered high school. She's dating guy after guy, cursing more often, even though she knows I hate it, acting all snobby…it's not the girl I knew. And I want to help her see what she's doing isn't her." Sonic smiled sadly.

"I know," he sighed. "You want to help everyone see what's right in front of them, to open their eyes in the darkness and see light, but sometimes people are stubborn. And I guess Annika's going stubborn on the inside."

"She always was one to follow," Kyler added in a sarcastic tone. "But Dad…she's my only friend at school."

"I know," Sonic spoke. He placed a hand on her shoulder, rubbing it softly. "But you've always been the wise one. And I'm glad you're not going back on that now. Someday you'll look back and be glad it turned out like this." Kyler smiled feebly, sniffing. Sonic reached for a tissue and offered it to her, and the girl blew her nose and wiped her tear-lined face.

"Thanks Dad," she murmured. Sonic winked at her, smiling lovingly.

"There's always another loner," he teased. "There's always someone out there. And if not, you have us. Vi will join you in high school in a year or so."

"Yes," Kyler replied, turning to her younger sister; her best friend. "I'm glad you're only a year younger." Violet smiled, glad to see Kyler back to normal.

"I am too," Violet answered, laughing. "Dash gets annoying without you to keep him in line."

"He's annoying anyway," Kyler replied, laughing herself.

Smiling, Sonic rose from the bed, heading towards the door as the girls continued chatting. Just before he closed the door, Kyler glanced at him and smiled, her eyes saying it all.

"She okay?" Amy asked a few minutes later, when Sonic found Samantha helping her water the flowers. Sonic grinned.

"Perfectly fine," he said. "She's going through friendship issues." Amy frowned, gently lowering the hose that sprayed the flowers. Samantha's screams of joy as she ran through the sprinkler with Nick, who was also outside, made its way into her ears only slightly.

"I wish there was a way us parents could prevent hardships like that at school," she said softly.

"Yeah," Sonic answered. "But then…what would life be like, if we all automatically fit in? Life would be so dull."

"That's not what she's thinking right now," Amy put in. Sonic shrugged.

"She'll be okay," he comforted. "She's got Violet, and all of us. And we'll be there for her when she needs it."

"Yes." Amy smiled. "That's one thing I love about our family. We're all so different, and yet we're always there for each other."

"Me too," Sonic answered. "You're completely right about that."