Hiya! So, due to the amazing feedback for the first chapter, I decided to make another chapter, and I still may or may not continue this. However, there is probably a high chance of continuing this idea due to the many people who liked it. :) Special thanks to Guest, Guest, JJWalker12, Christian Wolf99, and Starstruckeyes for reviewing and the rest of you for following/faving!

Sonic sped past Tails, who tried to keep up with him down the stairs. "You're too slow!" the hedgehog teased, grinding on the rails. The fox pushed past orphans as he strained to get the upper hand in the race to the cafeteria.

However, the blue teenager landed majestically at the end, a wild grin revealing that he knew he had won. Tails, a flight of stairs behind, attempted to yell, "No fair!" Unfortunately, it came out as "Augh!" while he tripped on his own loafers and tumbled down the stairs. And like all things that could go wrong, he bull-dozed someone over.

Tails stood immediately up and bent down to help the other boy up, who looked like a tiny bee. His uniform was worse off than Tails'; the shirt sagged over his entirely body, and you couldn't see his lower half of clothing under all the blue of his buttoned-up top.

Fear struck the two-tailed eight year old instantly. He gave the bee a nod of acknowledgement and zoomed ahead to the hallway leading to the cafeteria. Sonic-who had watched all this happen-fell in pace with his yellow friend, and he asked, "Hey, isn't that the new orphan who just arrived a week ago?"

"Yeah."

The blue hedgehog's grasshopper gaze flickered from Tails to the new orphan, then back again. "Do ya know his name?"

"Nope."

"Have you tried talking to him?"

"Nope."

"Why not?"
The fox stared at the ground as they walked, shame burning his pelt. The blue hedgehog felt sympathy in his heart. "C'mon, Tails, try to be a little nice to the new guy," Sonic urged, shoving the fox gently, "I mean, do you remember how everyone greeted us?"

Tails wrinkled his nose, saying, "They ignored us and avoided us like the plague. At least, I think they did. When did I get here?"

The blue hedgehog shrugged. "Who knows? But seriously, that's what everyone's gonna do to that poor little bee. Ignore 'im and such. You don't wanna do that kinda stuff to him, do ya?"

"No..."

"Then, let's go chat with 'im!" Sonic declared, strutting straight towards the bee.

Tails followed more meekly, his shoulders drooping slightly, as he let out a deep breath. When the fox was nearly upon the bee, the new orphan noticed the shadow and looked up, amber eyes glowing. He was tiny compared to everyone, and his wings fluttered hesitantly at this stranger.

The fox took another deep breath and silently prayed to an unseen force for help with eyes shut. Then, he opened them and burst into a small smile, thrusting his arm forwards and attempting to copy the mannerisms of his older blue friend. "H-hiya, I'm Tails. Tails the Fox," he said, his voice wavering, "You are?"

"Charmy. Charmy Bee," the bee said after a long silence, a small smile appearing on his face.

Tails' azure eyes widened. What next? Sonic gesturing violently in the background to keep going flustered the fox beyond belief. He had to say something interesting, something that he wanted to know about the bee, something that he didn't already know...

"You new here?" he spat quickly.

Tails wanted to stab himself.

"Y-yeah."

"How old are ya? I mean, you seem really young to be here. Did ya parents pass on or somethin'?"

Now Sonic wanted to stab Tails.

Charmy shifted his weight and his head flopped slightly. "I'm six," he mumbled inconsolably, "And a house fire killed nearly everyone at our family reunion. Except me." Sonic stopped his death glare at Tails and whistled in amazement. The two-tailed fox scuffed his shoe against the carpet awkwardly, realizing the gravity of the situation. Charmy stared at Tails with tear-filled eyes. "Now, no one's gonna wanna adopt me 'cause the only kind of people that loved me are gone now. I have no friends, family, anyone! Sometimes I wish I coulda burned in that house with my family, too."

Tails widened his eyes at his failure to soothe the bee and immediately jumped to the rescue, rubbing the new orphan's back reassuringly. "Hey, hey, it's okay," he said quickly, "Don't cry. I lost my parents, too. Sweet Mobius, I don't even remember what they looked like! But I'm sure someone's gonna adopt ya real soon; adults always love the younger kids. It just takes time, that's all. Just please stop cryin'; you're makin' a scene."

Ceasing his torrent of tears, Charmy gazed up at the fox, who relaxed visibly at the recovery. "Good," Tails breathed. Then he grinned, jabbing a thumb backwards. "Say, d'ya wanna sit at our lunch table? I think we've got some room for you." Sonic sent him a confident thumbs-up after scouting out the cafeteria and directed the two to their lunch table.

"...Our?" Charmy asked upon seeing the empty table.

"Yeah, me and Sonic," Tails said, demonstrating to the blue hedgehog next to him, "Y'know, blue hedgehog. Green eyes. Fifteen years old. Super tall. Right next to me right now." When the bee deviated his gaze that spot, the fox sighed. "Good, y'see him. Now, c'mon, today's spaghetti and meatballs day. You don't wanna be last in line, do you?"

Charmy shook his head and flew hurriedly after Tails, who randomly broke into a sprint towards the lunch line. The fox groaned as Sonic touched the back of the last person in line first.

"Sorry, lil' bud. Gotta be faster next time," the blue hedgehog bragged, a confident smile gracing his tan muzzle. He then nudged his smaller friend, mumbling, "Hey, y'think that Charmy is enjoyin' any of this?"

Tails cast a glance to the bee next to him and turned back to Sonic. "I dunno, he seems a bit depressed," he said in a low whisper as he received his share of spaghetti and meatballs, "Maybe he wants to be friends."

Sonic waved an arm frenetically. "Well, why don't ya ask him?"

"Okay," the fox said, head swiveling to the six year old, "Hey, wanna be friends?"

Charmy blinked slowly, hopelessly confused at the fox for talking to nothing but thin air. "Uh, sure."

"Great!" Tails spun back to the hedgehog next to him, leaving the lunch line with the bee following in tow. "He still looks depressed. Now what do I do?" the two-tailed fox whispered.

"Just wait," Sonic said, receiving a nod in return, and the three seated themselves at the lunch table.

The bee began to slurp up his spaghetti until he spotted out of the corner of his eyes Tails scooping up the noodles in his gloves. The fox shoved the main portion of the meal to the end of the lunch tray and plucked the meatballs from it. He then stacked them on top of one another, chuckling and mumbling under his breath as he went.

Tails took notice of Charmy staring at him in puzzlement, and he sent a grin towards the bee. "Do you wanna help us finish the Tower of Pork?" he asked.

Charmy nodded and scooted closer to the two-tailed orphan, who cheered in ecstasy and pushed another meatball onto the tower. The bee gave up the protein of his lunch tray, watching in awe as his new friend smushed them on there by twos.

"Eight...Ten...Twelve!" Tails exclaimed, pulling his grimy gloved hands delicately away from the work of art, "Viola! The beautiful Tower of Pork is finished!" A mischievous smile overtook his facial features, and he snatched a glob of noodles. "Until one day-"

Charmy saw the devious look and immediately found a pile of pasta himself, grinning quite madly as well.

"-a storm came!"

The two orphans pelted the meatball masterpiece with noodles, flinging sloppy pasta sauce around the table and splattering many unsuspecting kids around them. They burst into laughter and collapsed in their chairs, both covered in their lunch meals.

A hefty shadow looming over them interrupted the moment, and they stared up to see the large fat man that Sonic and Tails always dreaded. "Miles Prower!" Eggman growled, "What on Mobius are you doing?!"

The fox shrunk instantly from his cocky stature, his two tails quivering. "I-I-"

"Come with me!" the fat man grasped Tails' hand and pulled him across the cafeteria while many of the older kids catcalled and led a chorus of 'ohhs'. Sonic, enraged, followed but stopped at the doorway, his quills bristling. Once they were alone, Eggman released his grip on the fox and folded his arms decisively.

Silence drove its way between the staff worker and the orphan, and tension racked Tails' brain. Now probably was a good time to wipe the sauce off his uniform.

"Miles."

The fox stared up at the madman, shaking at the horrific gleam of his navy blue spectacles.

Eggman sighed and rubbed his temples as if he didn't want to say what he was planning to. "You..." he said in a snarl as Tails winced, "Someone has taken an interest in adopting you. They want to talk to you tomorrow and..." The fox's eyes began to glitter, and the fat man snapped, "Now don't get that hopeful look! If you were even adopted by this client, you would have a single father. Strange, you don't see that type of person taking interest an adopting a kid very often... You're dismissed, Prower. And stop playing with your food!"

Despite the rebuke, the fox sped off back into the cafeteria, practically dancing on his toes to his friend. "Sonic, Sonic, Sonic!" he cried.

Sonic spun to face him with a fuming glower, but when he saw the fox's elated expression, it was completely wiped away. "What is it?" he questioned, befuddled.

"Someone wants to adopt us, Sonic! Someone wants to adopt us!" Tails shouted, receiving some odd looks, but nevertheless, he still skipped around the hedgehog.

Thin, flat line morphing into an excited smirk, Sonic said, "Tell me this isn't true, lil' buddy. This is a dream, isn't it?"

"Nope, it's as real as you and me!" the fox said, flailing his arms wildly, "Ol' Eggbum said that a guy was interested in adopting us. We might get a dad!"

A swaggering voice broke in, rowdy and irritating. "Oh, you think that you might get adopted? Ha! I bet once the guy takes one look at you he's gonna deny ya flat out!" cackled Alex. The fox narrowed his eyes at the kid, and the eleven year old raised his hands in defense, saying, "It's true! I mean, it's happened so many times to others. Really, anyone actually interested in adopting you is probably cuckoo in the head!"

Tails attempted to give him the most threatening glare on Mobius. "Back off, Alex," he hissed.

Alex laughed boisterously and stalked off. "Fine, but don't come crying to me when you're wrong and un-adopted!"

Sonic rolled his green eyes at the kid. "Sheesh, if he's bullying you so much, why would you come crying to him? He makes no sense," the blue hero muttered, facing his smaller friend, "Can I attack him, please, lil' buddy? Show 'im what for?"

Tails shook his head in response and waved his gloved hand in the general direction the bully went off to. "Naw, Alex is just being a jerk. We'll be adopted; I'm sure."

"You're getting adopted?" a tiny voice squeaked behind them.

The two swiveled around to see Charmy Bee, who looked more distraught than ever. Tails grinned. "Yeah, isn't it great? We get to leave this stupid ol' orphanage after what? All our lives? Man, I can't wait to see what my dad's gonna look like," he endorsed, smiling dreamily.

Charmy kept his eyes trained to the ground as Tails continued to celebrate with thin air. "Oh. That's great."

Tails tacked down another day on his calendar, beaming slightly. He had had that makeshift calendar for practically years; he made it himself after all. It beat using tally marks to count the days. He snatched a permanent marker and drew a line through the box representing that day. "122 days without an interview-" he paused, a lopsided grin appearing on his white-whiskered muzzle, "-until tomorrow."

Sonic yawned, stretching himself out on the lower bunk bed. "Yo, Tails, it might be time to hit the covers, y'know. It's a big day for us tomorrow," he quipped.

The fox didn't know if his mouth could stretch any broader. "Yeah, good idea, Sonic," the two-tailed orphan said, snuggling into the sheets and fluffing his pillow up. His blue uniform lay folded on the carpet floor as the rest of the orphan boys' were as well. Everyone seemed to be settling down for lights out, which was at exactly nine at night.

Mumblings of the other boys started to fade away into a minor nuisance, and lamp lights started to flicker off as Tails was about to drift off. "...Tails?" a choked voice called out.

The fox's eyelids fluttered open, and he shifted himself on his side to the direction of the sound. It was pitch black now; the only sound he heard was the voice. "Charmy?" And now his.

Charmy had the lower bunk bed next to him as well, and despite the minute amount moonlight falling in, Tails could see the bee's puffy red eyes. "I-I just w-wanted you to know that you were really kind to me today," the new orphan said slowly, "Th-thanks for being such a good friend when I had none. I hope th-that you have a good family once you're adopted t-tomorrow. Thanks for everything."

Then sniffling and muted bawls followed, and Tails turned to lay on his back, feeling utterly cold. "Hey, Sonic?"

"Hmm?"

"Whadda I do?"

Sonic's twinkling green eyes shifted from Charmy to Tails. He closed his eyes sleepily. "Do what you think is best. I mean, can't you decide for yourself?" he said calmly.

"Aw, c'mon, Sonic! Don't act like this! I need your help!" the fox pleaded.

"Nuh-uh, you need to figure it out yourself. I'll help ya out, lil' bud, with whatever you have planned, but I can't decide for you." And with that, Sonic swiveled his back to the fox, stealing most of the covers.

"Hey!" Tails half-whispered, clenching his fists in annoyance, "Some help you are!"

And so, the two-tailed orphan was left to his thoughts, wondering, wondering, wondering, as the night persisted in being silent and the six year old bee never stopped in his despair.

The next day, after listening to the endless muffled sobs and shuffling of the bed throughout the night, the two-tailed orphan laid in his bed, acting utterly miserable. He coughed, convulsing violently in his spasm. Seven in the morning had long past arrived, and Eggman broke down the door, practically screaming for Miles Prower.

Raising his hand weakly, the fox answered softly but was cut short in a coughing paroxysm. The fat man gazed at the fox and felt the kid's burning forehead. His calculating gaze was hidden but felt behind his glasses. "Will you be able to make it for the interview, Prower?" he asked, uncharacteristically soft.

Miles shivered. "No, I don't...I don't think so," the fox shuddered, "I don't...I don't wanna disappoint the guy though. Can ya please let Charmy Bee be interviewed in my stead?"

Eggman seemed bizarrely astonished at this request, but he nodded and stood up, the order of business written all over his pudgy face. "Yes, I can't very well leave my client with nothing... He did say he liked interesting, unique kids.." he muttered to himself. An awkward stillness passed over the two, and Eggman said, "Well, I'll go call a nurse for you to provide medication. Now, stay put."

And with that, Eggman left and the door closed with a slam. Tails wilted instantly from being 'wilted' and glanced at Sonic, who was rubbing his hands against the fox's head. "He's gone now, Sonic. You can stop," he said nonchalantly, his voice clear and devoid of sickness. He pulled back into a yawn. "I am kinda tired from hearing that ol' bee cryin' and snifflin' all night. He wouldn't survive a month here in this orphanage. But we can. Sweet Mobius, we've survived this place all our lives! I hope he's glad that he has a chance for interview."

The blue hedgehog nodded, draping the sheets over Tails. "Yeah, I know. You should get some sleep, lil' bud. I think that the nurse would actually be pretty glad to have one of her patients asleep and easy to deal with. I'll keep watch," Sonic uttered softly, coaxing the orphan to a deep sleep.

...

"Tails! Tails! Tails!"

"Wha-?" the fox mumbled, stirring from his snooze. Morning sunlight still filtered into the bedroom, and it seemed like not much time had passed. The one who shook him awake buzzed happily around him, cheering loudly.

"I'm adopted, Tails! Can ya believe it?" Charmy exclaimed hyperactively, his amber eyes wide with exhilaration. The bee was in an orange vest and shoes instead of his mandatory blue uniform, which lay on where he used to sleep.

The fox rubbed his eyes groggily, sitting up gradually. "That's great," he said, feigning an alert voice.

"Yeah, his name's Vector. He's a crocodile and he's really huge and he says he owns an agency right in this town! I'm so excited!" Charmy blabbered, gathering his things hastily and flying every which way.

"Uh-huh, that's grea-" Tails was suddenly cut off as the bee sucked him into a hug.

"Thanks really for bein' my only friend, as short as my time here has been. I know Vector was supposed to interview you initially and you got sick so I was interviewed instead..." the bee trailed off, his happy expression lessening. However, a small beam was still hidden in the corners of his mouth as he sincerely said, "It was really unfortunate that you got sick today, huh? Well, I hope you get adopted someday, Tails. And your friend Sonic, wherever he is. Ciao, friend!"

Charmy zoomed out of the room nearly as fast as Sonic, and Tails- -fully awake now- -took out the thermometer in his mouth. " 'Real unfortunate', huh?" the fox mumbled to the blue hedgehog, who crossed his arms, "I thought he would be smart enough to realize."

Sonic shook his head at Tails' dejection as the fox leaped out of bed flawlessly without stumbling or anything. The two-tailed orphan turned to the sticky wall, which held up his calendar. With a dark permanent marker, Tails crossed off the day of the interview.

"...123 days without an interview," Tails grumbled miserably, "Maybe I shouldn't have faked bein' sick. I had a real chance, Sonic." He hopped onto his bed and closed the tip of the marker. "And I just had to get all sympathetic over a six year old bee."

The blue hero crouched next to the fox and placed a reassuring arm around his shoulder. "Don't say that, lil' buddy. That was a real self-sacrificing thing that ya had to do. I'm proud of you, y'know that?" he said.

Tails gazed at him, wide-eyed in wonder. "Really?"

"Yeah, you're a hero to that bee kid."

"A hero like you?"

"A hero like me."

The fox slumped next to the hedgehog and sighed. "Maybe fakin' sick ain't all that bad."

Sonic smiled smoothly, "That's the spirit, lil' buddy. I mean, think about it; we can stay in bed all day, hear no more of Eggman's lectures, have no annoying Alexs in our room..."

Suddenly, the door swung open and revealed a red-headed female human dressed in a white nurse uniform. She smiled sweetly at the 'sick' fox sitting on his bed and held up a pill capsule and a pint of reddish-purple liquid. "Time for your medicine, dear!"

Tails exchanged a horrified look with Sonic, who was just as distressed.

"Medicine?!"

Bonus for guessing who that nurse was! No, just kidding, don't center your review around that. ^_^" I'm getting a bit goofy with the cameos and all. There is obviously no set update times for this story, so if you like it, show it by reviewing, favoriting, following, or even just sending me a PM. If you do that, there is probably a higher chance I'll update faster like this time.

Thanks!

-JD