Rouge had the ball in her hands as she walked onto the field. It was time for the annual tradition. This morning, Sonic would try to kick the ball at speed sonica , he was determined to become a superstar and have the record for kicking the ball at the fastest speed, and every year, Rouge and sonic towards a great team. Everyone knew since they met, even Sonic, but it was still a tradition.

Before school, Sonic and his friends had gathered on the school field. Sonic was in center field, practicing his kicks at high speed. She smiled. Won't he ever get tired of this? If he had any brains, she would have realized that no one would beat his record since the first time she did it. She had dreamed her entire life of being the popular superstar of the high school and in Rouge's opinion, she needed a reality check. He was a senior, there was no way would surpass his own record.

"Are you ready, Sonic?" Rouge asked as he approached. Tails was next to Sonic, giving him a pleading look. He had done it for the last seven years. Knowing that he wanted to leave a big mark before leaving school, but it was a tradition to keep. With this thought, he dismissed his friend and picked up the ball.

"As always," Sonic nodded, stretching his arms.

"Maybe I should hold it." Tails suggested with a shrug as a last attempt.

"No," Sonic and Rouge said at the same time.

"It is tradition for Rouge to hold it, Tails ." Sonic gave his friend a push . He seemed quite optimistic with this statement.

Tails looked like he wanted another argument, but he just sighed. "Alright. Good luck friend". Rouge watched him walk towards the stands where the others were waiting patiently.

"Rouge ready?" Sonic asked, backing away.

"Yes," he said while kneeling. She handed him the ball. There was laughter that echoed through the stands. Rouge looked up and saw that Blaze and Maria had just arrived, chatting and laughing.

It wasn't unusual to hear laughter at this event, but when they looked at her, Rouge couldn't help but feel a pit in her stomach. Were they talking about her? What would they be saying? Were they talking about the bra? Knuckles was there. What if he heard them? What would happen if he heard them and felt repulsed? Sure enough, she was in the middle of the exhibition soccer field. The hole rotted even deeper into her stomach . She wanted nothing more than to run away.

That's when the ball flew out from under Rouge's hand. She had leaned on him, causing her to fall onto the grass. She immediately felt her chin buzz with pain as she straightened up. Everyone in the stands stood up. Sonic gasped above her. Rouge finally saw the ball as it soared at high speed through the air and found itself in the square center of the post in milliseconds. Her bruised jaw dropped.

"He did it!" I hear Espio cry. There was an eruption of cheers. Rouge remained on the ground while the others surrounded Sonic. He finally managed to break his own record that he made 7 years ago.

"That's it's done, Soniku!" Sally called.

"Let's hear it for my best friend!" Tails exclaimed, followed by another wave of cheers. Rouge got her bearings and stood up. Her jaw throbbed with pain. He grimaced as he picked up his bag and walked off the field, hoping no one would notice. While they were carrying Sonic out of the field, there was one who looked over his shoulder and saw the fugitive.

Sonic was taken to the school building. All the halls soon learned of his success and applauded him. He couldn't believe he had actually done it. He finally outdid himself. He kicked the ball with so much force and speed that he broke every existing law of physics. He had dreamed about that moment so many times that Sonic had a hard time believing this was real. He had already pinched himself about three times this morning and sure enough it was real.

As the crowd dispersed, Sonic thought that would be the end of his moment. He was fine with the short fifteen minutes of it, but then the football coach pulled him out of class. He stared at the coach as he invited Sonic to soccer practice that afternoon. He was just beaten up. So much so that he couldn't even tell it to Tails for most of the day.

During seventh period math class, Tails whispered, "What are you doing after school?"

His lips trembled as he bit his tongue. Tails stared at him, general concern in his green eyes. She couldn't take it anymore . "I'm going to keep practicing!" Sonic blurted out suddenly. Causing the entire class to stop. Even the teacher had dropped her chalk to look at the hedgehog. He should have felt embarrassed, but he just sat there and smiled.

"Are you on the team?" Charmy Bee raised her eyebrows. Sonic nodded. An unbearable silence filled the air before a single applause turned into a round of applause . He smiled, feeling genuine pride for the first time all year.

Tails sat alone on the wall after school. The crisp autumn air brought the fox great comfort. When he was a child, he loved this season especially because the great pumpkin would be on its way, but now he just enjoyed it. As he took a deep breath, Tails smiled happily. He couldn't believe it had already been three weeks since school started. He was already ahead in all classes, he had finished his tornado plane project and no one suspected anything.

He hears her laugh before she pushes him off the wall. Tails laughed as she caught herself in the grass. "You made me wait long enough."

"Oh, my tails . Have you finally run out of patience?" Cream climbed up the wall.

"A lot," Tails began to shake her hand. "Look, I'm shaking with anticipation." I take the opportunity to tickle him. She laughed and walked away from her, but he only pulled her closer because of her brown sweater.

"Tails!" she hit him laughing. "Stop!" He let out a little smile from her when she stopped tickling him. She held her breath in his arms.

"I'm not your Tails," Tails joked, tucking his hair behind his round ear.

"Of course I do," Cream reached for his cheek. Her skin instantly warmed under her soft palm. He grabbed it and kissed the top of her hand. She squirmed with excitement. He smiled and did it again, she squirmed again.

"It's a shame I couldn't find you this morning." Tails admitted.

"I thought we agreed in the chemistry room," Cream shrugged.

"We agreed on the library," Tails shrugged. "Why would we meet in the chemistry room?"

"I don't know," Cream shrugged. "I thought you said something about it on the phone last night."

"No," Tails shook his head, his hair brushing his forehead. "Charmy is there every day."

"Oh , sure ," Cream reminded, nodding firmly. "Have you talked to Rouge?"

"I should come back tomorrow," Tails wondered if he had been bothered by Sonic's new record. "I didn't even see her at the celebration, but I felt strange. I didn't see her at lunch, only her shadow in the hallways of the institute. She didn't even talk, I just don't know what's wrong with her."

"Wow, I didn't even think about it," Cream sympathized, "I wasn't like this a few days ago."

"You could try talking to her," Tails touched his chin gently before lying down on the grass.

"Hey , that's not a good idea ," I scold with a smile.

"But it is a good opportunity to clarify your problems with her, dear." Tails laughed. She hovered over him, studying her face with green eyes. Her expression fell. "Do not say it".

"I wish we didn't have to hide," he said, leaning on his elbows.

"Oh, Cream." Tails grumbled. We've had this conversation a million times since we started this little secret. "You know why we can't."

"But wouldn't it be romantic?" Cream asked. "I mean, sure, our parents would be mad, but they'd get over it, we could be like Romeo and Juliet."

" I see you've read those books I lent you," Tails stood up. "But I just don't think we can tell our parents now. Not with tonight's big game or the fact that he might, I don't know... murder me, skin me, or beat me up."

Cream sighed and plopped down on the grass. "I hate it when you're right."

"I know" , Tails leaned in and gave her the softest of kisses on the forehead. Before he could back away, her lips met his. For the first time in any fall season, Tails actually felt warm.

Knuckles sighed as he entered the school building. He was relieved to feel the warmth of the humming air. Everyone was excited for the great Sonic game. He had been a week since the famous high speed shot of him and was the talk of the entire school. If he played well enough. He might even win a scholarship. Sonic was everywhere and Rouge was nowhere.

Tails had mentioned something about Rouge falling. Knuckles hadn't seen the mistake, but he wondered if that was the real cause of her absence. He thought she had been acting pretty strange lately. Rouge wasn't quite herself, he thought. He remembered the days when she would simply drive him crazy with all of her pointless comments and questions. Now it seemed like she was a completely different person.

He saw Tails. Maybe she knew where Rouge was. She was about to approach him when she saw her. She seemed to hide from anyone's sight, but he could easily recognize her anywhere. He pushed through the crowd and reached her. "Hello, Knuckles." The girl froze for a moment before peeking out the door of her locker. Her turquoise green eyes looked at him curiously. "Are you going to say something?" Knuckles raised an eyebrow.

"Hey," a muffled voice called from behind the locker door.

"Where were you?" She adjusted her brown leather loafers. Her eyes narrowed as she nodded, indicating a smile. "Are you OK?" She made the same gesture again. Clicking his tongue, Knuckles opened the door to her locker. She caught up with him, but he was too fast. He saw in her an attitude that is never usual for her. He tried to cheer her up, but she grabbed her wrist and he looked at her closer.

"I'm fine," Rouge murmured as a book slid from her locker. Neither of us tried to get us back

"Yes, it shows," Knuckles looked her in the eyes. She was looking away from him, her cheeks had turned a light pink. Then she realized that he was still holding onto her wrist "I'm going to be sorry for this but I'm not going to leave until you tell me what's wrong with you."

"I told you I'm fine," Rouge shrugged. It was so strange, why was she acting like that? They were so… No Rouge.

The warning bell rang, making his heart skip a beat. She needed to act quickly. "Will I see you later?" Knuckles asked , while he formed everything bad that was happening to her in her head. His eyes lifted and met hers widely.

" Of course I don't see why not ?" she asked with jn more Rouge tone.

"I'll see you later then," he leaned down and grabbed the fallen book from the floor, handing it to her with a small smile before walking towards class. He glanced over her shoulder just once. She was looking at him but he looked away as soon as he saw her. That was more like her.

Sonic was sitting on the wall after school. Tails was supposed to join him, but he said he wanted to do some homework before the big game. Sonic laughed to himself. The great game , the great Sonic game, he still couldn't believe it. His big game would be on that field and everyone would be cheering him on. He would be the superstar, the one that everyone would talk about, it had already been the word all week.

"Good afternoon, Mr Sonic ", Cream walked down the sidewalk.

"Hello, Cream, Greeting Sonic, happy to see a familiar face.

"Good luck tonight". She was following his path when he stopped her.

"Cream?" Sonic called, she turned and looked at him. "You are busy? Are you busy?"

"I have a few minutes," Cream said with a small smile. She patted the wall and jumped next to her, her short hair swinging over her shoulders. "So, Sonic, are you nervous?"

Sonic bit his lip. He was clutching his lap chest. His name was engraved on the back, his new number below it. "I feel like I should be."

"If you expect Amy to reassure you , I'm afraid I can't do that , you don't know what's going to happen. You could easily slip on wet grass and never reach the ball

"Wow, Sonic sighed. "Thank you, Cream."

"You're welcome, Mr Sonic ".

There was a strong silence. "Do you know if he's coming to the game tonight?"

"Yes," Cream turned her head. "Sally is going too, in fact she better get home soon." She came down from the wall and Sonic followed her.

"Do you do everything Sally wants you to do?" I ask, thinking about the first day of school.

"I don't care," Cream shrugged carelessly. He studied her wondering how she could be so nice to everyone all the time. Not a single time can be remembered when she had let anyone down. "Your nerves are perfectly normal, Mr Sonic. It's up to you whether they will affect your game or not. "I think you have better self-confidence than you think."

"Thank you, Cream." Sonic said genuinely with a shaping smile. She nodded, mirroring his expression.

"Anytime", Mr Sonic ".

"Knuckles?" Rouge slowly walked into the room, having just finished warming up, getting ready to perform cheerleaders for the game. It was one of her favorite things she did over the years. She knocked slowly as she looked at him, She was still standing at the door.

Knuckles concentrated on his fists again and watched out of the corner of his eye as his figure dragged towards his bricks. He lay face down, resting the better side of his jaw on his arms. He looked at her a couple of times, expecting her to return his gaze, but her eyes were fixed on some distant point. He wouldn't know exactly what, the wall was blank behind him, after a few minutes he stopped training. "What about you?"

She raised her head at that. "Nothing". She took a careful sip from her water bottle.

"Then why aren't you talking?" Knuckles asked. He planned to be calm throughout this entire interaction, but he also hoped she wouldn't be so difficult. He should have known better.

"I got hurt, Knuckles . Can you check me to see if I don't have any bruises?" . asked sharply. It should have been music to her ears, but she still wasn't the same.

"No," he bit his lip. She stared at him waiting for him to continue. "Why didn't you celebrate with us when S onic kicked the ball and made the record ?"

Rouge was silent for a moment, then shrugged, "I was shocked when Sonic kicked the ball."

"You're never shocked," Knuckles ran his fingers through his hair. He couldn't understand what he was trying to say. "It's even difficult for something to surprise you."

"Not anymore." Rouge sat up and put her bag on her shoulder.

Knuckles stood up from the bench. "That's what I'm talking about".

She froze. "That?"

"Nothing surprises you," he told her. "What happened?"

"Nothing, Knuckles ," Rouge stood up from her seat. "Things change, we are no longer children."

"I know but…"

"I didn't come here to be questioned," Rouge headed toward the door, glancing over her shoulder just once, "I have to go."

"Rouge…" he tried to find something to say, but was left speechless. When the door finally closed behind her, her sigh rubbed her temples. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. Sighing once more, Knuckles returned to focus on the row of bricks.

Rouge was lying on the green carpet that spread across the floor of her bedroom. She was staring at the ceiling blankly, trying to forget this afternoon in its entirety . Why was Knuckles so insistent with his questions? Why did he get so frustrated when she insisted on her well-being? Why did he care about her at all? Life was much simpler when she leaned on his muscles, listened to him hit and he didn't say a single word. Sure she was always frustrated that he didn't pay attention to her, but there was no need for this attack.

She should have been flattered by his concern, but How could she understand it? Knuckles had always been very tall and skinny and had great friends. How could he understand the shame he faced every day? She wouldn't, because Knuckles never cared about anything but his village and his training. That's what made him so special, he was just the same. She loved him for that..

His thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock on the door. Rouge adjusted her sweater, sat up, and wiped the dried tears from her face. "Come in," she said as Shadow poked his head out. "What do you want ? "

"Aren't you coming to the game?" Shadow asked. "I'm ready to go."

"I'm not going," Rouge shook her head.

"That? Of course you will go!" Shadow walked fully into the room. He wanted to give it away, but he just didn't have the energy. Rouge saw shadow as her older brother and despite her arrogant attitude he always took care of her, Shadow sat next to her. "It's yours and Sonic's triumph."

"I don't care," Rouge complained. "It's always the same".

"Sorry?" Shadow raised an eyebrow. "Rouge, you are the reason Sonic will be the high school superstar tonight. Finally that stupid hedgehog will have a chance to shine. You should be proud of yourself ".

"Very proud," Rouge rubbed her jaw. "But I do not want to go".

Shadow was silent for a moment and then blurted out: "Is something wrong with Maria and Blaze? "

"That? Who said that?" Rouge blurted out unexpectedly. Someone had to tell him, he wouldn't realize that on his own.

"No one," Shadow said, surprised by his change of mood. "We may not be in the same class, but your outbursts only prove that my suspicions are correct."

"It's not like that ". Rouge insisted, hoping her lies would be enough.

"Well, we don't have to talk about that now." Shadow was silent for a moment longer. "Why don't you come until halftime? So if you don't like it we can make mischief and bother people like old times, I can even tell Espio and Vector and bother Sonic before the match.

"You can't do that," Rouge crossed her arms. She hated that Shadow was lowering himself to those possibilities to make her say yes. Now they were practically the same. "Unless we use chaos control and do atrocities in the match."

"Deal," Shadow stood up, reaching out his hand to the one he considered sister. She hesitated, but she took it and she stood next to him, Vector was at the door, jumping on her heels, the three of them put their jackets together and walked out into the cool night air he