A/N: Hey, hope you're all doing well! I know some of you are wondering why I'm posting a new multi-chapter fic on a Thursday, but you see, over on Tumblr, it's Shadamytober, and I wanted to do something to coincide with today's theme, "High School Outcast". I don't usually do a lot of high school fics, and I realize they've been pretty much done to death by now, but still, I figure this could be a good way to explore Shadow's sensitive side. Anyways, one more thing before I kick this off: I wanna dedicate this fic to my girlfriend KagamiPINKAgreste, because not only was it a Shadamy fic that brought us together, but she taught me that true love is possible for anyone. All that aside, enjoy!

Another school day came upon Hancock City, and under protest, Shadow the Hedgehog headed to Bob Papenbrook Memorial High School, located in the Harwood borough. He never liked going to school because 1. He felt that the lessons he was being taught were irrelevant to real life, and 2. He hated pretty much everyone. Nevertheless, he went because his adopted grandfather Gerald Robotnik wanted him to go, and he cared about Gerald's feelings. In a way, Gerald was the closest thing he had to an actual father.

That aside, as Shadow strolled through the hallways of the school with pretty much nobody bothering him, more than a few people moved aside upon seeing him. After all, a black and red hedgehog wearing a G-1 leather bomber jacket and a mean look on his face was the last person that anybody would want to mess with, and he had that reputation of being the rebellious kid who didn't fit in with anybody else. He managed to get to his locker and get the stuff he needed without anybody bothering him.

After going to his locker, Shadow headed to his homeroom class, headed by Mrs. Schuyler. Again, taking a seat in the back corner of the classroom, nobody bothered him. Well…nobody except Sonic the Hedgehog, the school's resident jock with a heart of gold:

"Mornin', Shad! What it is?"

Shadow growled. "Sonic, stop bothering me. I don't want anything to do with you or any other student in this school. You should know this by now."

Sonic's famous smile didn't waver. "Come on, Shad! Not everybody's as bad as ya make them out to be! Who knows? Ya might even meet some hot mama who steals your heart!"

"Unlikely. Now if you'll excuse me, this is the part where I pretend I can't hear a goddamn thing you're saying."

Shadow focused his eyes at the wall next to him, while Sonic turned to his best friend Miles "Tails" Prower, a genius whose brain belied his eight-year old body.

"Tails, I'm thinkin' maybe we should find some other way to break through to Shadow's heart."

Tails shook his head. "Bad idea. I don't want Shadow to murder us."

Truth be told, despite his rebellious, antisocial nature, murdering someone was the last thing Shadow wanted to do. In fact, his deceased adopted sister Maria Robotnik made him promise to give people a chance to be happy, and he knew she'd be hugely disappointed in him if he aggrieved someone by ending their life.

That aside, Mrs. Schuyler – a brown bat with green eyes – took attendance, and after that, a TV hanging in one corner of the room – which usually played a slideshow with the school's mission statement, random trivia and the like – switched to a video of the national anthem of the Federal Republic of Columbia, which showed famous images from the country's history. Naturally, all the students along with Mrs. Schuyler stood facing the TV with their hands over their hearts. Once the anthem concluded, everyone sat back down as Seth Tanner and Zane Williamson gave the morning announcements:

"Good morning, everyone!" said Seth, a boy with curly black hair. "In today's news, the annual Winter Ball is this Friday! There's still time to purchase tickets if you're interested, so if you're interested, please see your teacher for a sign-up form and enclose $30 along with the completed form!"

"In other news, our annual field trip to Emerald City is happening on March 25," said Zane, a boy with brown hair in a buzz cut. "If you wish to go, please see Mr. Rosen for a sign-up form and enclose $300 with the completed form! Please also be sure to have a valid passport and student ID for the trip! Now, onto Mr. McCurdy!"

"Good morning, Papenbrook High!" said Mr. Eric McCurdy, a blue bat with blue eyes. "Today's word of the day is 'suzerain'! 'Suzerain' is a noun, and it means 'a sovereign or state exercising political control over a dependent state.' For example, 'Very lightly, though armed, the twain dismounted, and stood side by side before their suzerain.' Now students, let's have a wonderful day characterized by positive interactions with others and a willingness to learn!"

Shadow groaned. While he was all for learning, interacting with others was the absolute last thing on his mind.

After homeroom, Shadow headed to his first class of the day: Literature, held by Mr. Foody, a middle-aged man with graying black hair and a few extra pounds on him. The only difference with this class was that someone was causing Shadow's Hedgehog Sense to tingle. Hedgehog Sense – as the name implied – was a special "sixth sense" that all hedgehogs had, which alerted them to danger or other people, things or phenomena that might be of interest to them. After Mr. Foody took roll call, it became apparent to Shadow why:

"Class, today we have a new student with us, and I expect ALL of you to treat her with respect and kindness. Miss Rose, please come to the front of the class and introduce yourself."

The girl known as Amy Rose stood up and walked to the front of the classroom, and little did he know it, Shadow's whole worldview was about to change when he saw her: She was a pink hedgehog with short, bobbed spines on her head, green eyes, and was obviously overweight. To Shadow, however, she appeared to have curves in all the right places, especially considering how hugely endowed she was. Accentuating her curves was a low-cut red sweater with white trim, and rounding out her outfit was a red hair band, two large, gold, ring-shaped bracelets, a pair of black leggings and red knee-high leather boots with white cuffs and white stripes running down the front.

(This girl…she must be an angel!) thought Shadow. (There is NO WAY any living girl could look that beautiful.)

As soon as Amy reached the front of the room, she gave a short introduction:

"Hi everyone, I'm Amy Rose! I moved here from Central City over the summer. I like boxercise, tarot cards, shopping, cooking, being among nature, candy, baked goods, true crime podcasts, fashion, playing video games, playing with claw machines, and collecting cute things!"

"Thank you, Amy," said Mr. Foody. "Now, does anyone have any questions for Amy?"

Zack Doyle – a blue echidna – raised his hand.

"Yes, Zack?"

"Hey Amy, is it true you're gonna need your own zip code if you have one more pie a la mode?"

A bunch of students laughed at Zack's insult.

"Class, settle down!" Mr. Foody made a downwards pushing motion. "Mr. Doyle, apologize to Amy!"

However, the class refused to bring order, as evidenced by Connor Rigby's affront:

"Hey, nice tan! I bet you're the only one at the beach who got one!"

"Yeah, did ya have 23rds?" said Foster Lloyd. "Everyone else only had seconds!"

Naturally, a good chunk of the class laughed at this, except for Amy herself, who was tearing up, and Shadow, who loudly proclaimed his opinion on the whole thing:

"ALL RIGHT! ENOUGH!"

Finally, everyone stopped laughing and looked at Shadow. Mr. Foody then scolded Shadow for his outburst:

"Shadow, that is unacceptable! I don't like the class' disruptiveness nor seeing students insult others any more than you, but if I hear you yelling like that one more time, I'll have you sent to the principal's office! Do I make myself clear on this?"

Shadow grumbled. "Yes, Mr. Foody."

"Good. Amy, please return to your seat. Everyone else, let's get on with today's lesson."

During this lesson, which was an analysis of H.G. Wells' famous book The Time Machine, Shadow blankly stared at the chalkboard and pretended to pay attention to the lesson. The only thing that could jolt him out of his trance was when his Hedgehog Sense alerted him to the person next to him, namely Sonic, who passed a note to him. The Ultimate Life Form flipped off the Blue Blur before swiftly snatching the note from him and trying to be as down-low about opening it and reading it as possible. What he got was quite the surprise:

"OH MY DAMN CHERRY BLOSSOMS!* 🌸🌸🌸🌸 I can't believe you actually stood up for me! That's HOT! 🔥🔥🔥🔥"

-Amy

Shadow froze as he tried to comprehend the contents of the note. Why anybody like her would care about an outcast like him was beyond him, but he figured maybe she misinterpreted him telling the whole class to shut up as him sticking up for her when in reality; he found their noise annoying. Regardless, he pushed the whole thing into the back of his mind and attempted to stare blankly at the wall ahead of him.

*The phrase "OH MY DAMN CHERRY BLOSSOMS!" is a registered trademark of KagamiPINKAgreste, used with permission.

Criticism is gold. Negativity and nitpicking are pyrite.