The wooden door opened and a golden fox lazily stepped into the small musty room. The smell of books both new and old filled his home, the walls were a light grey-green and the carpet was a deep red. Bookshelves lined the walls, a desk sat in the far corner, absolutely decked out with reading material and equipment for an eager scientist. Tails marched into the hallway and into the bathroom, he didn't need to flick on the light as there was a decently large window above the shower. Tails' house was located near the farthest side of the city, exactly opposite to the college. The walk would take a normal person over an hour, but Tails could fly, so the journey in between was only about 30 minutes.
Tails turned on the shower, taking off his black gloves, shoes, and red socks. He was tired, not from coming home, but from school in general. Tails was studying to be a professional inventor and doctor, two very expensive, exhausting, and time consuming fields of study. His parents were well off and had the money to support his schooling mostly, but even they had their limits. To make up the rest of his needed money the fox also worked at a pizza shop, in the day he attended college and at night he worked.
Hopping into the shower, the fox simply stood there and let the hot water soak deep into his fur, a few moments passed until he grabbed a bottle of apple scented shampoo and squirted a generous amount into his palm.
After 15 minutes the water stopped, Tails stepped out of the shower after wringing his fur of as much water as he could. He grabbed a cyan towel and began drying himself off, once he was finished he walked into his bedroom to choose a new pair of clothes.
Tails didn't like labels, but in recent years he'd found he preferred black and red clothes and this "emo" hair cut. He didn't look all that much different from his natural self, and the colors complimented him. But People would stare, as just 4 years ago he'd been just a simple ball of golden fluff with way too much energy for a 15 year old. Once he was finished dressing himself he checked the time, it was 3pm. Tails realized he hadn't asked WHERE the party would be, or at what time. He felt stupid.
I guess I could look for Sonic and ask him, ugh, though I don't wanna bother him.
Tails bit his lip, he looked at the door, waited a moment, then sighed. The fox left his home and jumped into flight, his twin tails twirling around and around to propel him through the air.
It took an hour or so but eventually Tails spotted a familiar blue hedgehog sitting at a table in an outdoor patio of a restaurant. The hedgehog was scarfing down a chili dog, and as soon as he was done he stood up, looking ready to leave.
"Hey, Sonic!"
The mobian in question turned to see who'd called him, and smiled when Tails landed in front of him.
"Oh hey! I didn't know you could fly-"
"Ahaha yeah uh, hey I forgot to ask where the party would be- And at what time?"
There was an awkward pause as Sonic contemplated what Tails said, then he blushed and scratched his ear.
"Er uh, whoops I guess I was forgetting something! Ahaha, the party will be at sunset, at Shadow's house..."
Tails bit his inner cheek, waiting.
"That's the big mansion farther out in the woods. The spooky one with the gothic architecture, it's not hard to miss."
Sonic felt stupid, down right idiotic. Not only had he forgotten to mention such needed details, but he'd also just assumed Tails knew where someone he'd never met before lived. Tails must think he's a dumbass.
"Alright cool, uhm and sorry for bothering you, I'll be on my way now."
Tails smiled and Sonic returned it.
"Hey! You're not bothering me, it's been a while since you've been home, so I'd expect a little bit of confusion. Dude, feel free to ask me about whatever you need... I'd be glad to help, you seem chill!"
Tails nodded and the two exchanged their goodbyes, both feeling a bit less anxious then they had some time prior.
Music blared from the looming structure as Tails approached, his shoes echoed softly against the cold cobblestone path. They were barely into February and yet this still somehow looked like a Halloween party. Tails knocked on the door and it immediately opened to reveal Sonic, he smiled brightly and Tails could already smell alcohol.
"Heya Tails, come in!"
The fox followed Sonic into the house, shutting the door behind him. The place was packed, everyone was either dancing around or chatting with friends, Tails didn't recognize anyone and yet he just knew they were all popular people. It didn't take long for him to feel out of place, he'd stopped to gaze around but continued walking when he felt Sonic pull on his arm gently.
"Gee whiz, I didn't think there'd be so many people."
"Uh, yeah, I'm popular, remember? Haha, my friends are too!"
Tails bit his tongue so hard it could've bled.
The two ended up in a smaller room down one of the many halls, a bedroom by the looks of it, though the only thing that would indicate that was the bed. Otherwise, the room was jam-packed with games, Tv's, music sets and all kinds of entertainment. Sonic and Tails were the only two in the room, Tails sat on the bed and admired a painting, Sonic shut the door and turned to his companion.
"There's not much to do other than dance and drink, and since you're not 21 and don't look like much of a dancer, I figured we could hang out back here."
Sonic plopped himself down next to Tails, the two started chatting about basic stuff like how Tails was settling in and how they both disliked Knuckles' choice of music. Almost as if on cue the door slammed open and the red echidna burst in.
"HEYY SONIC, WHACHYA DOIN' IN HERE ALL ALONE BUDDY?"
He was drunk.
Knuckles grabbed Sonic and yanked him into the hallway, where several girls giggled and crowded around the two.
"COME ON BRO, THE LADIES WANNA SEE IF U CAN DO A BACKFLIP INTO THE POOL!"
"I-"
Was all Sonic could get out before he was dragged away. Tails simply sat there, dumbfounded. He'd been ignored so hard he was starting to wonder himself if he actually existed in this plain of reality. The fox shook his head, brow knitted as he got up and closed the door softly. With Sonic gone he could feel his anxiety building up, there were so many people, there were even some still in the hall. Someone banged on the door and Tails jumped back with a gasp, swallowing as he pushed himself against the wall in the farthest corner of the room.
A few moments passed before Tails heard a tapping on the window, looking over he was shocked to see Sonic. He opened it up to let the hedgehog in, who was now soaking wet and had climbed up a tree.
"Sorry about that Tails, but when fame calls-"
The hedgehog shook himself off, causing little droplets of pool water to fly everywhere. The fox was barely able to dodge them all.
"-I'm surprised they didn't see me dash up that tree, I'm really glad though."
Tails let out a giggle, and Sonic blushed. The two sat on the bed again, Sonic having locked the door this time. They continued their chat, and soon the topic fell onto other things.
"Is Amy still chasing after you?"
Tails questioned.
"Amy chased me? I had so many fangirls I didn't notice, heh."
They shared a laugh.
"What about you Tails? D-Did you ever have a girlfriend?"
"No, I was never really interested in dating. Not to mention most girls never really noticed me, not even when I moved away."
It's like I'm a background character.
Sonic bit his lip and looked up, the ceiling light glowed a pretty light red, it'd started to rain lightly outside and the gentle taps were the only sound in the room aside from the muffled music.
"Yeah uh... I did wanna apologize for how I used to treat you. I mean, aside from out right ignoring you and stuff. The insults I mean, like that shit was not cool."
Tails shrugged, his namesakes swishing up and down slowly behind him.
"It's fine, that was a long time ago and people change. You definitely seem a lot calmer, I was so surprised when you approached me."
"Uh... Abouuuut that..."
"Hm?"
Their eyes met, green against blue.
"Tails, I uh..."
A small beeping sounded, it shocked Sonic and caused Tails to jump. The fox reached into one of his tails and pulled out a small pocket watch.
"Ah! It's time for me to go, uh… Like I said before, I have studying to get done and then I have to get some sleep before work."
Sonic's jaw hung open, the words having died on his tongue. Tails got off of the bed and rushed over to the window, pulling it open and preparing for flight.
"Sorry to cut this short, we can talk more tomorrow, alright? Since it's the weekend, I'll be free all day."
"Uh y-yeah, alright, that's chill!"
Sonic sputtered, the fox gave him a warm smile, before flying off into the night.
Dammit! So close!
