Author's Note: I'm warning you, near the end of this chapter, there's a bit of cursing. I'm sorry this chapter is a bit lengthy but, oh well. It makes up for my absence. And remember...God loves you!
All spelling and grammatical errors are my fault.
Sonic and everyone related to him belongs to SEGA. Chelsea belongs to me. The two versions of the "Happy Birthday" song don't belong to me either.
Chapter 14: Happy Birthday...
The alarm clock blared that sound; every, sleeping, person's nightmare. After only a second the button was slammed down by chocolate brown hand. Unfortunately for the alarm clock, it was not able to achieve rudely awakening its owner. Instead, the person who shut the contraption up was smiling her heart out.
Wait-what?
Chelsea, the proud mother of three hedgehogs, was already up at 5 a.m. sharp. Her eyes sparked with unimaginable happiness and her body seemed to radiate with joy.
That's not normal.
Hastily Chelsea uncovered her body from the sheets. She stood on the side of her bed, already fully clothed as if she had been waiting for the alarm clock to ring so her day could officially start. The young woman carefully walked down the hallway, trying her hardest to not make a creek. Chelsea cautiously poked her head in three different rooms. In each bedroom was one, soundly sleeping, hedgehog. With a bigger smile than she had before she nodded. She tiptoed her way down the stairs and grabbed her purse. Chelsea than opened the door and softly shut it. And off she went to the grocery store.
As her car parked in the near vacant parking lot, (Nobody goes to the store at 5 in the morning), she heard a buzzing sound come from her purse. She cocked her head to the side, for a moment, wondering who in their right mind would call her at 5 a.m.? But, who in their right mind would go to the store at the crack of dawn? Chelsea shrugged and picked up the white phone. With a pat on the touch screen she placed the phone in between her ear and shoulder.
"Hello," she spoke while getting out of the car. She heard a light yawn on the other end.
"Mmm hello mommy."
Her expression brightened. "Hello Silvy. Why are you awake sweetie?" She walked to the entrance of the 24 hour grocery store. "I heard you open the door open and close and," he paused to yawn, "and you weren't in your room. Where are you? You hate waking up in the morning."
Chelsea giggled at the true statement. As far as she knew, this was going to be the first and last time she ever woke up this early, voluntarily. She shook her head. He couldn't know what she was doing. It had to be a surprise. "Silvy just go back to sleep. I'll tell you when I get back. You must still be tired. I did make you stay up till two."
She heard a whine come from the phone. "B-but I'm not-," Silver yawned loudly and heavily earning a chuckle from his mother, "I'm not tired. I'm just…fagtued?"
"Fatigued honey. Fatigued. And trust me, you're tired. You've yawned, like, five times in the past thirty seconds. Now go to sleep."
"But mommy!" Silver whined trying to use the magic word to soften her up.
"But Silver!" Chelsea mocked.
"Mom!"
"Now Silver."
"Fine."
"Love you baby."
"Love you too," the silver furry dully murmured.
The dark-skinned lady ended the call and put her phone back in her purse. Chelsea walked inside the store and met the cold air. She shivered slightly before walking to the bakery area. As she walked endless rows of cookies, cakes and pies surrounded her. Her eyes sparkled with amazement as a dribble of drool hung from her bottom lips. Her heart pumped with want and her fingers were itching to just touch the fattening items.
To be honest, she was a major sugar addict.
She tried to overcome the addiction but alas, it never left her. It was a permanent thorn in her side yet a blissful melody in the air. It both calmed her and frustrated her at the same time. She didn't want to gain weight but that didn't mean she exactly wanted to stop eating candy. Chelsea always gave the candy speech to the hedgies. Once she caught Sonic with a bag of caramel candies and gave him this long dialect on how sugar rots your teeth and makes you fat when she had a huge stash of sour patch kids under her bed.
She was a hypocrite, so what?
Chelsea shook her head furiously. She had stay on her list. She couldn't get off track. She was only here for a couple items and then she would go back to the house and prepare before the boys woke up. With a nod of satisfaction she looked for white frosted sugar cookies.
Okay, so maybe she didn't follow exactly what the list said but that didn't matter. She only went off by ten other things. As long as the hedgies would be happy with what she got that's all that mattered, right? The Jolly Ranchers were only for them and so were the Hersey's kisses. But that didn't mean she couldn't sneak a piece or two. They won't even notice.
As the young mother hung decorations on the walls she hungrily munched on several kisses. Chelsea happily stepped off the chair and observed her work. The first level of the house was decorated in white, black and blue decorations and streamers. Balloons of all different colors were tied to everything with a handle. On the living room table was three different bowls of candies and then there were four more on the dining room table. There was a huge tray of apples and in the middle was a box of caramel. The boys' favorite.
A feeling of giddiness pounded through her and a squeal escaped her lips. Chelsea suddenly twirled about the room with her arms stretched out. She felt light hearted. When she stopped she hugged herself and before she could stop another squeal came out.
It had been one full year.
One, warm, fuzzy, blood sweating, year since she received the hedgies. Technically she truly had Shadow for one year but from what she learned from them, they actually were 'born' on the same day. All three of them and, it fell on this day. Sonic had told her that Shadow was a year older and he and Silver were the same age; with the ebony hedgehog being 17 and the twins being 16. (They're turning that age today) Chelsea still didn't fully know if they knew they were biogenetically created but she didn't intend on telling them soon. She wasn't looking forward to their reactions. Though she was pretty sure Shadow knew because of all those nightmares he has but she could never really tell.
But today wasn't the day to ponder on the bad things. Today was a day of joy and mirth. A day where they would thank God for adding another year to their wonderful lives. Chelsea looked at the clock. It's lime green illuminated numbers read 7:38. Impatience took its toll on her. She bounced her leg rapidly. Oh how she wanted to just jump on each and every one of them and scream 'Happy Birthday'. She just wanted them to wake up right now so they could start the celebration. But that would be cruel. It was her own fault anyway. She was the one who kept them up till two a.m. She sighed. Chelsea flipped on the television and flipped to the Nickelodeon channel. SpongeBob's laughter burst through the living room. The young mother punched the down button for the volume. A nervous laugh came from her.
…
Another glance at the clock; 7:40.
Forget being cruel. She was a mother. It was her job.
With that in her mind Chelsea darted for the stairs. She went to the first room she saw and headed straight for the bed. She stopped right at the edge of the bed and observed the sleeping form that blended with the blue sheets. She climbed on the bed and laid right next to the azure hedgehog.
Sonic's face twitched from the sudden movement. He felt something poke his back. He growled in irritation and flipped sides with his eyes still closed. Contempt flowed through his body when the poking stopped. Thinking he was at peace Sonic tried to let sleep take over his body. Something poked his nose. He exhaled heavily through his nose as his nostrils flared. Slowly cerulean eyelids rose. Sonic's breath hitched when he saw his face was mere centimeters from Chelsea's. Out of surprise he jumped back falling off the bed.
What the what?
It was too early for this. Chelsea's laughter made the blue hedgehog's eyebrows drop in sheer annoyance. He grumpily got up. Sonic stood hunched over. His forest green eyes glared daggers at her, ones that would put Shadow's to shame. "Mom, what are you doing in my bed?" he said not bothering to hide the evident irritation. He was quite surprised when his mother only sat on her knees and smiled brightly at him. A yelp came from the azure furry as Chelsea leaped at him and tackled him to the ground. The ecstatic 22 year old nuzzled his stomach.
Sonic, who was extremely uncomfortable, tried to push her off. "Uhh mom?" he questioned. Chelsea's lifted her head. "Guess whose birthday it is?" Before he could respond she answered her own question for him. "Yours," she excitedly exclaimed. Sonic's eyes glazed over with confusion until it transformed into excitement.
He'd completely forgotten. Well, not really, he was just too tired to care.
"Oh yeah," he replied dazed. Chelsea nodded furiously and kissed him on his cheek before getting off him. They both dusted themselves and looked at each other. Sonic, awkwardly, stood there not knowing what do under Chelsea's stare. Her brown eyes glanced over at the door before coming back the navy hedgehog. After a few seconds she gaped at him and raised her shoulders with palms towards the ceiling.
"Well aren't you going to get ready for the day?"
Sonic's ungloved finger wagged. His lips formed an 'o'. "Oh yeah," he pointed to the door, "Why don't I go do that." He turned on his heels walking clumsily toward the white door, drowsiness still evident.
"Oh and Speedy."
Said hedgehog looked over his shoulder rubbing the crust out of his eyes. "Yeah mom?"
"Happy birthday sweetie," Chelsea softly said.
Sonic smiled tiredly. He yawned and stretched his back. He gave his signature thumbs up and said, "Thanks." After that he left the room.
Well that went better than I expected.
Chelsea happily skipped out the room and into the next victim's. Again, she stopped at the edge of black sheets which were red trimmed. She folded her hands under her cheek and stared at the ebony hedgehog in mock awe. Surprisingly Shadow was the one who had a habit of snoring loudly. She always thought it would be Sonic.
She read too many fanfictions.
Deciding on an approach to harshly wake up the hedgehog a light bulb lit above her head. She pointed a finger in the air before an evil smirk formed on her lips. Chelsea took ten steps back. She locked her eyes on the lump in the sheets and charged for it with full speed. The young woman jumped in the air and landed on Shadow severely waking him up.
The ebony hedgehog shouted revelation, his voice taking a high pitch than usual. He immediately sat up. His ruby red eyes were wide with alarm as he looked to his left and right repeatedly. Shadow's adrenaline shot through the roof and he breathed harshly. Laughter sounded in front of him. His eyes shot towards Chelsea who laughed crazily. She held her sides with her head down. One hand covered her mouth.
"That…was…great," huffed gasping for air.
A million and one profanities flowed through the crimson streaked hedgehog's head. He crossed his arms and glared at her with malevolence. "What the hell did you do that for," he lowly said with a snarl. His temper rose each second he saw her laugh.
Chelsea almost said something about his words before deciding against. She would let it slide this once. Besides, she was too busy trying to keep her laughter in. "I'm-I'm sorry Shady. It-it's just that," she took in gulps of air before continuing, "Silver was right."
"And what was Silver right about?"
"You really do sound like a girl when you're scared." Her laughter returned but this time it turned silent. She bowed her head and her shoulder shook.
Shadow didn't find this funny. Not one bit. It was early in the morning and he was woken up so rudely only to be laughed at. This wasn't the least bit funny. The ebony hedgehog pushed Chelsea off his legs and got off the bed. He looked down on her, his lips pursed together. His eyes could slice anything they looked at right about now. "You gave me a fuc-" he inhaled and exhaled heavily before continuing, "you gave me a freakin' heart attack mother. I don't find this funny. How would you feel if I suddenly jumped on you while you were sleeping? I thought I was getting attacked." His eye twitched when she just buried her head in his pillow, her body shaking with uncontrollable laughter. Shadow threw his hands in the air and started walking away from the bed.
"I am done," he muttered. His nostrils flared when dark arms wrapped around his chest. He struggled to pry them off. "Get off me mother. I'm serious Chelsea."
Chelsea only held onto him tighter. Shadow found it hard to breathe. "Get off," exclaimed. The dark-skinned woman let go. Shadow rubbed his chest and glowered at her. He pointed to his torso. "Look what you did; you messed up my chest fur." She rolled her eyes. "Really, your chest fur? It's your birthday and you're worried about your chest fur?" Chelsea shook her head. Before Shadow could object she kissed his cheek and said, "Happy birthday grumpy." She kneed him in his butt before quickly skipping out of room.
"Sonic was so much easier than him and he's not a morning person," she grumbled to herself. The thoughts left her mind when she arrived at the edge of the last bed. She observes the sleeping form in the covers. Chelsea bent down and inwardly released her fan-girl scream. This was just too cute.
Silver's muzzle snuggled into a white fluffy play dog. His legs were curled up against his chest as his mouth opened and closed. His barely audible snore was the only thing that made noise. A faint blush also tainted his cheeks. Chelsea held her cheeks in her hands as she squealed. She couldn't wake him up. He was too cute like this. She placed a hand on the quills at the top of his head and softly ran her fingers through it, carefully avoiding any sharp pricks. Her hand immediately retracted when a soft moan came from him. Silver's eyelids fluttered open and dazedly locked sights with Chelsea.
He propped himself on one hand and rubbed the other. Silver looked around the room before, once again, looking at his mother. "Good morning mommy." He yawned before setting the fluffy dog aside.
Chelsea thought she would faint.
"Good morning baby," she said trying to keep her composure, "How was your sleep?"
"Good but why-" Silver eyes widened suddenly. Chelsea cracked a smile when she realized his breakthrough. A whopping grin almost split the hedgehog's face in half. Silver leapt off the bed and playfully attacked her. They both fell on the ground laughing.
"Guess whose birthday it is," Silver eagerly questioned.
Chelsea pointed at him and together they shouted, "This guys!" the metallic colored anthro jumped up and down and happily skipped around his mother. He kept shouting "happy birthday to me" and giggling childishly. Chelsea soon joined him not caring about the weird stares they both received from the other two. Silver suddenly stopped and hugged her tightly. She returned the embrace and kissed him on his lips. (Mother/son) "Happy birthday Silvy."
Silver let go and thanked her. He proudly headed for the bathroom. He rolled his eyes when Sonic made a puking face and Shadow muttered "Momma's boy."
"Shut up. It's my birthday and I can do whatever the hell I want," he nonchalantly said and closed the bathroom door behind him. Sonic and Shadow gawked at the door.
"Did he just say what I think he said?" Sonic shakily asked.
Shadow crossed his arms and grunted. "Our birthday has indeed gone to his head. He better not get that cocky around me again. I already have to deal with you."
"Excuse me, I'm right here."
"So?"
Unbeknownst to them Silver scraped his tongue with his tooth brush trying to get rid of the bad taste the 'h-word'. Never in his life had he used the word. It tasted so bitter yet he felt overwhelming pride when he said it. He bowed his head and over-dramatically cried out, "Forgive me God. I didn't know what I was doing. I'm just a poor, helpless, child living with two big meanies for brothers. Please help my aching soul." And in a millisecond he happily smiled and looked at himself in the mirror.
"And guess whose birthday it is. Mine," he happily chirped.
"Wow."
That was all the three hedgehogs could say. The fattening items that surrounded the bottom floor made them drool a puddle.
"You didn't have to do this mother," Shadow said in awe. The countless numbers of Jolly Ranchers caught his eye.
Chelsea smirked proudly. "Oh, I know but, I wanted to. A birthday isn't a birthday unless you celebrate it. And plus, I couldn't resist passing up the chance to have gallons of candy in house. Anyway," she stated pointing to the bowls, "help yourselves. It's a free for all. I won't give you a speech or anything about the sugar. I could care less how much you eat."
"So if I eat that whole bowl of Reece's Pieces, I won't get in trouble or anything," Sonic asked already bouncing in anticipation.
"No sir."
Right when she was done talking they ran towards their favorite candies. Shadow forced himself to walk slowly and diligently but anyone could tell he was eager to reach the bowl of hard candy. Chelsea rolled her eyes at him and kicked his back. "Shadow, stop acting so silly and dig your head in it before I eat." The dark hedgehog just grunted at her but speedily walked towards the candy.
Silver's head popped out of the Butterfinger bowl causing some of them to fall out. He couldn't believe this. Here he was eating something his mother despised in front of her and she didn't even care. The silver furry moved over to the lollipop bowl. She even got all his favorites! It was miracle. "Today is the best day of my life," he whispered, joy radiating from each word. He, once again, dunked his head in the bowl.
The azure hedgehog, which was next to Silver, raised his head from the stash of Hershey kisses. Chocolate covered his muzzle and he somehow managed to get some on his ears. Though, Sonic could care less where chocolate ended up. He took one gulp of air before his head returned into the bowl. His ear twitched when he heard his darker look alike snort, "How am I related to such pig." Sonic stuck his ring finger up. The three agreed amongst themselves to use the finger to symbolize the middle one since they all got caught using it. Chelsea didn't know what it meant but Shadow sure did. Angry, but not finding a good comeback, Shadow pulled the blue hedgehogs tail. He smirked when a howl came from the victim and he quickly bailed the scene before anything could be pinned on him.
"Uh, guys?" Sonic, Shadow and Silver looked at Chelsea and cocked their heads in question. "Sorry for interrupting you," she apologized, "but I have presents waiting to opened." Chelsea held up a golden box with a purple ribbon. Wasting no time the three birthday boys strolled to the couch. They each grabbed a handful of candy before they left.
The four sat on the couches. Chelsea who sat on a separate couch had different colored and sized boxes behind her. She handed each of them a present. They almost started opening the neatly wrapped boxes but she quickly stopped them. "Hold on!" The hedgehogs looked at her quizzically. "Whats wrong?" Silver voiced. Chelsea grabbed her phone from her short's pocket. "I just needed to get my phone out. I wanted to take pictures." She smiled while holding the white iPhone up.
"Really?" Shadow's brows dropped. Chelsea held the phone up and gave an irritated look before chuckling. "Oh, hush up and open your present Shady." Shadow grumbled something giving the need for the young mother to give him one more irked look. She centered her attention back to the screen. The crimson hedgie unwrapped the present only halfway. Shadow's eyes suddenly widened.
Click!
Perfect.
Crimson irises looked back up to Chelsea and then back to the present. He did it once more and afterwards whispered, "Did you…" he trailed off finding himself speechless. "Yes." Sonic and Silver peered over the ebon hedgehog's shoulder trying to see the present.
"What'd ya get Shads?"
"Yeah, you can't just leave us hanging hear."
Shadow shakily picked up the present. In his hands was a fairly large box and on that box was a picture of a, slick, white laptop. His eyes stayed glued to the box and the corners of his mouth twitched. He looked up. "H-How did you know?" Chelsea patted her temple with her finger and said, "I'm a mother Shady mother. I know everything. And I mean everything." Her eyes flickered to Sonic and she raised an eyebrow. Sonic blinked before he suddenly started blushing a dark red.
Dammit, she knows.
Chelsea then took her eyes off of him and onto the dark hedgehog who was smiling like crazy. She would deal with Sonic later. "Now give me the wrapping paper so I can-" her breath hitched. Chelsea was suddenly in an embrace something that surprised the hedgehog himself. She returned the embrace a little shaken by the sudden action.
"Thank you mother," Shadow mumbled in her neck.
The young woman smiled warmly. "You're welcome baby," cheerfully exclaimed. Shadow released her. Chelsea chuckled as he awkwardly sat in his seat cursing himself for what he had just done. Sonic and Silver smiled genuinely towards him. They wanted to tease him so much but, they were quite happy he finally had the guts to actually show affection first. It was something he rarely did.
And they meant rarely.
"Okay, who wants to go next?"
"Ooh I do! I do!" Silver raised his hand excitedly in the air.
Chelsea handed him his present and he wasted no time in tearing it apart.
Click!
Silver only had to take one look at it before jumping in her arms and repeatedly thanking. His mouth seemed to run a mile a minute.
"Ohmygoshthankyouthankyouthankyouhowdidyouknowiwan tedthissinceforevernowIcan-"
"Silver breathe! Please. Oh and you're welcome and you know how you told me that little secret? Well I've always wanted to buy it but I kind of forgot about it so I took the time to buy the lamp. You want to try it out."
Silver raised an eyebrow while separating the tape on the box. "How are we going to do that? It's still, like, morning."
The young woman stood up and walked towards the office which was the darkest room because it didn't have windows. She motioned for the boys to follow her. The hedgehogs got up and went along with Silver holding the night light in his hands. When the got there Chelsea opened the door and closed it when everyone was in.
Because it was near pitch black Silver inched towards the nearest living thing. Chelsea felt something bump into her back and she screamed a bit startled. Another scream lifted in the air but she didn't know who since, this morning, Shadow apparently had a 'girly' scream.
"Why are we even in here mom?" a voice that sounded a lot like Sonic's voiced.
"Silver, honey, do you have the light?"
Said hedgehog almost nodded but held back seeing as no one could actually see him. "Yeah. It's right here." Chelsea stretched her arms forward trying to hold the object. She flinched when her hand hit the door. "Ow," she whispered.
"You okay mother?"
"Yeah, thanks Shady."
"Don't call me that."
She rolled her eyes and grumbled, "Well then," and continued searching for the lamp. "Why don't you just open the door so light can come in?" Silver said.
Why didn't I think of that?
"Because-"
Did I really say that out loud?
"Shadow the Hedgehog if you, so as much, say a thing I'm taking that laptop back. I don't care if you're 16 and the freakin' Ultimate Lifeform. I will find a way to rip it from your hands."
There was plenty of silence after that.
Chelsea finally got the door open and immediately grabbed the lamp and turned it on, ready to get out of the stuffy space. She closed the door again. The four watched in awe as the ceiling was filled with bright, vibrant, colors. They swirled around and at moment mixed together only to separate again. The lights brought a calm aura upon them. Silver smiled at the ceiling and then towards Chelsea who caught his peaceful grin. She smiled back and continued watching the light show.
{Living Room}
"Ok Sonic. You're next and yours is a big one." She pulled out a huge box. She hugged it awkwardly trying to deliver the present. It was almost her height. Chelsea wobbled towards Sonic almost tripping in the process. Shadow snickered and Silver punched him in the shoulder.
"Here, why don't you just place it here? I can open it like this." She nodded and placed the box in a vertical position. Sonic savored the picture of the enormous present before tearing it open savagely. Halfway through ripping the, light blue, paper his eyes widened to dinner plates.
He looked up. "You did not…" his voice trailed off finding no words to continue his sentence.
Chelsea smirked. She faked a confused look. "Umm I believe," she glanced at the box, "I just did."
"You don't know how awesome you are right now." The azure hedgehog gave the young mother an embrace and continued ripping off the rest of the wrapping paper. Sonic stood a few feet away soaking in the box.
Rock Band 3; what a glorious sight.
Two hours of guitar, drum and singing later the four stood in the living room. Sonic, Shadow and Silver raised eyebrows at their mother who had three swimming trunks in her hands.
"What are those for?" Silver asked pointing at the nylon shorts in front of him.
"These," Chelsea held the shorts higher, "are for swimming silly. If you hadn't realized, we're going swimming. It's just to pass the time till we have dinner. You'll be hungry by then."
Shadow's brows dropped and he crossed his arms. "If you hadn't realized mother," Chelsea had to swallow back a growl from the tone of his voice, "hedgehogs don't swim. We never have and we never will. We don't exactly like water."
"I agree wholly," Sonic poked.
"Speak for yourself Shadow," Silver said.
The dark-skinned woman rolled her eyes. "Oh come on Shady. Just because I accidently pushed you into the pool doesn't mean you have to bash on the idea and it's not like you drowned. You just walked out unharmed."
"That was because I fell in the shallow-"
"Okay! Who's ready to go into the pool?"
Silver raised his hand excitedly. "I AM! I AM! I AM!"
Chelsea nodded with a grin, happy that, at least, someone excited to do the activity. "Here you guys. Put them on. The blue one is Sonic's the red one is Shadow's and the yellow one is Silver's."
"Well?"
"Well what?"
"Aren't you going to get in?"
"Uhh…no?"
"Get in the dang pool Sonic."
"What if I don't want to?"
"I'll pull you in."
"That's called child abuse."
"So?"
The azure hedgehog that stood at the first step of the pool looked at his mother with slight fear. His trembling hands gripped the metal bar and his teeth chattered. Chelsea had only managed to get him to step down on the first step in 20 minutes. She knew he had a fear of water but she didn't think it was this bad. Sonic would practically shiver when someone said the word water.
The young mother stood in the pool; the depth of four feet had the water up to her waist. The neon orange and black bikini strings floated around her and the ends of her hair were dripping with water. Her hands were placed firmly on her hips as she gave the cerulean male a stern look.
"Why won't you, at least, take a few more steps? You're not going to drown. I promise."
Sonic shook his head, side to side, vigorously. "I think this is okay. You can go and do whatever humans do in the pool. I think I'll just stay here. Maybe go out in-"
"Come on Sonic. Hey, I'll even push Shadow in again if you at least walk one step," Chelsea urged.
Emerald eyes flickered from the dark-skinned woman to the next step of the pool stairs. Could he do it? If he did his whole foot would be underwater. What if he tripped and face planted into the water? If that happened he would be dead for sure. But if it didn't happen he would get to see his darker look alike pushed into the pool thrashing and screaming like an idiot. It would be the greatest present he would ever receive
But, only if he just took one tiny step.
Sonic clenched his eyes shut. He harshly inhaled and exhaled. He held his breathe as he took a step down. Immediately he shivered, the warm water encased his foot and reached up to his ankle. He felt his heart thump, each thump getting louder and harder with each breath. The blue hedgehog lifted his other foot and slowly slid it into the water. For a moment he expected for something to pop up, grab him and swim him down to the deepest part of the pool, killing him in the process. You couldn't run in water. You couldn't fight. Once you are under you're just as vulnerable as a turtle in the middle of the highway. Sonic held onto the cool metal bar with all his might. He was going to die. This had to be-
Wait? Had he done it?
He looked at his feet. They were completely submerged! He'd done it. He'd completed the impossible. Sonic looked at Chelsea, who clapped cheerfully, with a smug smirk. "So," he chuckled rubbing his nose, "when's my reward going to start?"
"Take another step Speedy."
Oh, no. Ohhh, no. He wasn't going to play this game. He wasn't going to play 'I promise I'll give you candy after you clean your room even though I promised you it after you cleaned mine' game. He was fooled once and he learned from his errors. He was promised a black hedgehog pushed in the pool and, dang-nabbit, he was going to get one.
"No." It was firm two lettered word sentence and he was going to stick by it. "I'm not going any farther mom and that's final." And to seal the deal he crossed his arms and grunted sternly. "I was promised a reward and you have to follow it."
"No I don't," Chelsea retorted quickly.
"Yes you do."
"No I don't."
"And why not?"
"Because I'm the parent and you're the child."
Oh this was not fair.
"Well I don't care anymore anyway. I'm not going any farther so deal with it."
That cocky attitude was going to get him hit one day. Chelsea fumed silently over his words before sighing heavily. "Don't do anything you'll regret later Chelsea. Just calm down." She looked up and softened her brown eyes. "Sonic?"
Said hedgehog turned to look at her out of the corner of his eye. He fully turned around and uncrossed his arms. There he saw Chelsea with her arms out and a soft, comforting, smile. "Come on sweetie," her fingers scrunched in and out multiple times, "I won't let anything happen to you. I promise." Sonic only stared blankly.
He couldn't do it. There was no way. She looked at least fifty miles away. It was, by God's grace, a miracle he was even in the water. She was crazy if she expected him to move anywhere past the second step. Just looking at the third step had his heart racing 174 miles per hour. Sonic could've sworn he almost had a heart attack when Chelsea disappeared under the water. Where was she!? Did something pull her under? This is why he never went into water deeper than one foot. Wait, what if she was coming to pull him under? He couldn't handle that. Would she really be that cruel?
Sonic frantically searched for any sign of the young adult underneath the blue liquid. "Mom?" he said forcing himself to keep his voice steady. He searched again.
Though, it'll always be a wonder how Sonic missed the black blob that was right in front of him.
"Boo."
A blood curdling scream erupted from the poor hedgehog. Chelsea walked towards him (out of nowhere) with a drink in her hand, about to ask him if he wanted one. She suddenly dropped it as her hands were filled with blue hedgehog. Sonic wrapped his arms, tightly, around her neck, shivering. She blinked.
"Hm? What happened-" Chelsea asked before a deep laugh pierced the air. She averted her eyes to the origin of the laugh and immediately narrowed her eyes. "Shadow…of course."
Needless to say, Shadow the Hedgehog was having the best time of his life. Although his chest fur was soggy, which he hated, nothing could dampen his mood at the moment. He floated on his back, arms behind his head, while chuckling at the hedgehog that trembled in fear. He'd gotten past the whole 'hedgehogs in water' issue and decided to only stay in the, more or less, shallow zone of the pool. Or to where the water came up to his chest.
"Aw come on Shadow that wasn't very nice," Silver said so out of the blue. He stood next to the ebon hedgehog who only frowned in his direction. "But I have to say, that was hilarious."
That frown was turned upside down in a heartbeat.
The two fist bumped and Silver slowly deceased into the water and swam away to the deeper end. Shadow wondered where he went off to for a second before turning his attention back on the previous subject. He only smirked as his mother scolded him for his stunt and comforted the pale blue figure.
"Ugh, Shadow I'm gonna really mess you up one day," Chelsea rolled her eyes.
"Gonna is not a word mother."
In all honesty, she respected his correction.
"No. Nonononononononononononono."
"Speedy we're almost there. It's alright. See?"
"Mom-mom take me back now. I can't- Ahh! It's touching my butt!"
"Baby, just a few more steps and once we're fully in we'll be out in a jiffy."
"Oh, this is it. I'm going to die and my own mother won't even help me. This is great. This is just perfect."
Chelsea only sighed as the azure hedgehog held her closer. The water was only to the lower abdominal part of her body and Sonic was still freaking out. She giggled as he whispered the Lord's Prayer in her neck. "Sonic, I promise nothing will happen to you." She rubbed his back soothingly. "Just detach yourself from my head and ease yourself in the water. You're taller than me so it'll only reach your-"
Sonic glared at her before flicking the back of her head.
"Ow."
"I don't care where it reaches," he seethed, "I just want to be on dry land. I forgive you for your sins against me. I forgive the ill feelings you have towards me."
"But I-"
"It's okay. No need to thank me."
"Okay then? Well, let's go deeper pool and-"
"I said I forgive you now TAKE ME OUT!"
So, the pool thing didn't exactly work out but, that's okay. As long as the boys were having fun everything was alright. It was alright that she annoyed to no end. It was okay that she felt like jumping off a cliff and pulling her hair out. Even though she nearly to the point of throwing the hedgehogs out the window it was all okay. It was their birthday and she had to make sure they were having the best day of their lives. Everything would pay off in the end when she would see their happy faces when they went to bed.
The dim lit sky told the young mother that it was indeed time to bring out the cake. Chelsea smiled at the frosted tower on the dining table. She managed to carry it from the refrigerator all the way to the table all by herself.
"Wow mom. That's an awesome cake." Silver stared in awe at the delicious treat in front of him.
The cake had a large layer on the bottom and a smaller one on top. It was a half chocolate, half vanilla cake with white frosting for the base. Around the edges of the bottom half was blue frosting and on the top was red frosting. On the surface of the two layers was silver frosting that zig-zagged across. On the top layer was the words 'Happy Birthday Sonic, Shadow and Silver', each name in the owners signature color. She'd gotten weird looks from the baker when she told him what names to put on the cake but she didn't care. He couldn't say anything to her anyway. Besides, the hedgies' happy faces made it worth it.
Chelsea went over to a drawer and pulled out a plastic bag. She took out numbered candles; three ones, two fives and one six. She then grabbed a lighter and placed the items on the table. One by one she stuck the candles on the cake, each two candles going in front of the person who it belonged to. The three hedgehogs watched silently as the candles were lighted, the flame blue at the bottom and then an orange-y red at the top. "Okay," Chelsea chirped, "well, the only thing left is sing the song. Do you want me to sing alone or…" she trailed off signaling them to answer. She really hoped they wouldn't let her sing by herself; she was a terrible singer.
"Umm," Silver voiced looking at the other two who looked at him. Sonic shrugged and Shadow just stared indifferently at him. They could really care less who sung. "Why don't you just sing the song mom?" the azure hedgehog said with a nonchalant attitude.
The young woman's lips scrunched to the side. She soon bit her lip, feeling the nervousness creep into the pit of her stomach. Sure she shouldn't be embarrassed to sing the flipping song in front of the boys but they weren't just any boys. They were the three famous hedgehogs that made fans, boy or girl, go crazy at only just hearing their names. They were the same hedgehogs that saved the world, well, anime wise, on a daily basis. In her own eyes, they were celebrities, they were her precious children. And she was going to sing for them when she had the most horrible voice in the history of voices. She couldn't just sing.
No.
"I don't know…" Chelsea shyly whispered bowing her head. She felt blood rush into her cheeks and the world suddenly on her shoulders. She twiddled with her thumbs, "I'm not the best singer there is, honestly."
"Then why'd you ask us if you didn't want to sing in the first place?" Shadow's voice was crisp, clean, and without an ounce of sympathy.
Chelsea sighed wearily. "I was just trying to be nice and ask you guys," she scratched the back of her neck a habit she caught from a little blue hedgehog, "but if you want me to really do it…" Maybe she was taking this thing to seriously. It was an eleven second song and she was freaking out about it. She took a huge breath, closing her eyes, trying with her every fiber to calm her beating heart.
Here goes nothing.
"Happy birthday to you. You were born in the zoo. You look like a monkey and, you smell like one too."
The dark-skinned women's eyes popped open as she immediately realized what she had sung. Chelsea dared herself to look at the hearing crowd.
Just as she thought.
They looked down right confused, maybe a bit horrified?
"Whoops," she sheepishly said, "Wrong one. My brother used to sing to me and it kind stuck." She laughed nervously before clearing her throat and exhaling deeply.
"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, my dear children," she couldn't find a way to fit all three of their names, "Happy birthday to you." Chelsea congratulated herself on the accomplishment of the task and looked hopefully at the boys. Sonic, Shadow and Silver stared blankly at her. Their stoic expressions made her smile falter a bit but she still kept it up.
Well, one thing's for sure, she wasn't lying about her voice. Shadow would've rather listened to Lady Gaga and he thought dogs could sing better than her. His ruby irises flickered over to the youngest of the three and rolled his eyes when a bright smile took over his features. He nearly threw up when he complimented on her singing. He quickly adjusted his gaze towards the blue one and rolled his eyes, again, when he copied the other's actions. The ebon male felt all eyes on him and he sighed. As much as he found joy in making his mother flustered, he couldn't crush her attitude. Besides, he didn't feel like getting chewed out.
"You could've done better in my opinion but that doesn't matter."
In all honesty, that slipped out.
Shadow's eyes widened a fraction, a bit surprised at his own words. He saw Chelsea gape at him with just as much shock as the other two. Despite his cool illustration the hedgehog frantically cursed himself out. He's done it now.
Curse his brutal honesty and his inability to keep his big mouth shut.
He was sure to get smacked on his backside. Those things were painful too.
"Ignore what I just said," he quickly covered up when he felt a cold glare from his mother. Shadow looked at the candles trying his hardest to block the irritated expressions that surrounded him. His ear flickered as Chelsea sighed.
"Never mind."
Shadow couldn't help but feel remorse. That sentence was short but it was filled with so much hurt, he almost apologized. In fact he was going to until she cut him off.
"Anyways," her voice instantly chirpy, "make a wish and blow out your candles so we can eat the cake."
"Okay! It is now the end of the day. Which also means your birthdays are coming to an end," Chelsea announced. She walked into the living room after having to wash the dishes. Her fingers felt uncomfortably pruney but she was ecstatic for the next thing on the agenda. That is only if the boys agreed to it.
Why wouldn't they? I mean it was, like, our favorite thing to do. Except they were toddlers so maybe…
"Aww already?" Silver groaned traveling down the stairs. He'd spent most of his time playing with the night light.
"Yeah honey, unfortunately," the mother lied. She was so happy about the next thing they were going to do and, secretly, they were driving her crazy the entire day. Because it was their birthday she was to be more of a caring and loving servant; not that she wasn't one all the time but, she couldn't complain. It was what every mother does on their child or children's birthday. It was the rules everyone followed even if it wasn't written down.
Silver walked towards her and Chelsea embraced him, which he returned, and they stayed like that. There was no reason why they were hugging, they just did. They did this all the time, to Sonic and Shadow's annoyance, and they didn't care what any of the others thought. It was just their thing.
"But now you're 16. You have two more years until you become an official adult." Chelsea kissed the top of the hedgehog's forehead. She never wanted to see the day he grew up and wouldn't need her. She couldn't go through that with any of her hedgies. It was heart-breaking to even think about it. Silver nuzzled deeper into the warm embrace soaking up the warmth and scent of his mom. "That day is going to suck mom." The young mother furrowed her brows in confusion, still she kept her position. "And why is that Silvy?" she asked. "Because then I have to start acting like one and then you'll expect me to move out and junk. And then I'm going to miss you a lot when I'm living somewhere else and I really don't want to go through that anytime soon. Can't I just live with you forever?"
Chelsea silently awed.
She giggled and pulled back to get a good look at him. "I'm really going to hate the girl who takes you away from me. And don't worry. Even if you're thirty I would be more than happy to have you here than somewhere else sweetie."
Silver laughed a bit. A second of silence later his golden irises popped out. He was looking directly at her. He was looking into her eyes and he didn't have to tilt his head in the slightest. Chelsea, unnoticeably, took a step back when the silver furry started to laugh crazily. "Uhh Silver? What's-"
"Hey mom do you have some tape. I kinda, maybe, ya'know, broke the drumstick," Sonic said while climbing down the steps. He loosely held half of a drumstick from his present and sheepishly smiled. A light blush tinted his cheeks. Sonic suddenly jumped back and put his hands up, in a poor performance of someone who took karate, when Silver pointed at him and laughed. The drumstick went flying and hit a dark hedgehog who, coincidentally, walked to the spot where it landed. Shadow yelped in more of surprise than pain and looked towards the ceiling, rubbing the bruised spot.
I know what I looked at was wrong but you didn't have
to throw a stick at my head!
Was God already punishing him for 'accidently' looking at those X-rated pictures on his phone?
Shadow jumped back when a finger was, also, pointed at him. "What the hell!?"
"Shadow! Language," Chelsea butted in. She shook her head a bit before casting her eyes on Silver. "Honey, you mind telling me why you're so happy?"
Silver turned to look at her and puffed his chest out, proudly. "You shrunk!"
She was ultimately confused and, for some reason, felt a little threatened.
"What do you mean I shrunk? I can't shrink. Not yet anyway."
"You guys can't tease me anymore because-"
"Wait what!? You were being teased. By who!?" Chelsea yelled. "How many times do I have to tell you people to stop teasing each other?" she stomped her foot making them jump a little,"I do not want another replay of what happened to Sonic again."
And they didn't want a replay of what happened either.
"Umm they-"
"Hey buddy, what were going to say again," Sonic chuckled nervously. He put an arm around him and tightly squeezed his neck. "Uhh S-Sonic, I can't b-breathe."
"Oh, sorry," the azure hedgehog said sarcastically before giving him one last squeeze. Shadow walked up also pretending to not care then he whispered into Silver's ear, "Pick your words carefully hedgehog. I don't feel like having my rear end sting for a couple of days and I'm sure you wouldn't either."
Silver looked at the two bewildered before pushing them away. He scoffed and smiled once again. "You two don't hafta' threaten me. I wasn't going to tell her you were the ones that teased me…oops." He laughed nervously and stepped away from the two that gave him death glares. He scooted towards Chelsea, who also had a frightening glare glued to the black and blue hedgehogs. "Mom, calm down. What I was going to say was that I grew taller!"
Chelsea looked at Silver and observed his height. He was right and that only ticked her off more. "Aw this is just great," she threw her hands in the air, "In a few years, you're going to be taller than me!"
"But isn't that good?" Sonic asked a bit unsure.
"No," Chelsea said, "of course not! I'm supposed to be the tall one here not you guys. Aren't you guys supposed to be short? Did you know you were supposed to stop growing at, like, four feet?"
"Really?"
"Yeah, but I don't know if it's just some weird Earth thing or something but you guys are supposed to be up to here," she firmly placed a hand on her hip, "not here." Chelsea raised her arm towards the ceiling.
"Are you really going to get upset about this mother? Calm down jeez. You're acting childish and stupid. Grow up." Shadow rolled his at her behavior.
"I suggest you keep your mouth shut, Shads, before she goes crazy," Sonic whispered harshly. The ebony hedgehog only looked at him before walking off into another room.
"Mom, before you do anything irrational; it's our birthday and Shadow's just going through a phase. Don't do anything you might regret," Sonic pleaded.
Chelsea sighed heavily before smiling. Sonic and Silver shivered. The smile on her face didn't look exactly sane. They winced as she cracked her neck and said with a high voice, "I'm not mad. I'm not mad. I'm not mad." She blew out a breath before walking calmly into the room where the dark hedgehog went in.
Silver stepped forward, "Mom, I don't think-"
"You two pick a movie because we are going to watch a movie. After you're done go and get ready for bed. I'll be bringing out the mattress."
Without a sound of defiance the two hedgehogs scurried out the stairs.
"Jeez, I didn't know telling her I grew an inch would trigger all that. I would've kept my mouth shut," Silver shivered. Sonic patted his back and shook his head, "I'm telling you, she's crazy. That's all there is to it."
"Well one thing's for sure."
"What's that?"
"I have no doubt in my mind Shadow's going to walk out of that room with a red butt."
"I bet you he won't walk out of that room period."
This was one of those sadistic parenting moments where you hurt the child out of love but you enjoyed it. She wanted to kick all the fur from his butt. Chelsea wanted to see him cry and beg for her to forgive his rudeness and that scared Chelsea herself. She was against any type of abuse, there was no question about that, but she did think if you needed to remind a child who the adult was in the house, it was alright. She barged into the room to see the, about to be, victim lying on the mattress with a phone in the air.
But it was soon her hand.
Shadow blinked trying to process what had just happened. The next minute he shouted in objection. She could not see what he was looking at. "Give it back mother!" Shadow tried to grab it but she stepped out of the way. The ebony hedgehog tried again and again but only failed each time.
Chelsea raised her brow. She put her hand out which immediately ceased all actions. She looked at the phone and back at Shadow. She narrowed her eyes as she searched into his frantic irises. It suddenly clicked.
He was hiding something.
The young woman went through the phone instantly. Shadow looked at her horrified. There were some things on there which he was not particularly proud of. He attempted to try to get the phone back and it was a risky tactic. Shadow tackled her. They fell on the bed wrestling with each other.
"Give it back to me Chelsea. I'm serious!"
"Shadow if you don't get off of me I promise you I will ground you until the day you die."
"Give it back or else you nuisance!"
"Excuse me Mr. but who are you talking to like that?"
"Are you deaf? You! Now give it back. Stop bothering me."
Chelsea finally had enough. She tickled his chest fur causing Shadow to immediately jump off of her. He planted his arms around his torso protecting it from her. He held a small smile before replacing it with a deep frown. He straightened up before glaring daggers at human. "I'm only going to say this once and try to actually listen for once. Give me my phone back, now!" he shouted.
Shadow suddenly found a finger in his face. Chelsea pointed at him angrily, kind of like when someone has done wrong and you tell them that it was a bad choice except, with a hundred times more anger. She narrowed her eyes and whispered, "If you think, for one minute, you're going to talk to me like that you're damn wrong," she started to raise her voice," You are the child, I am the adult. I will not stand here and be belittled by my own child."
"Fine look through it. I don't care anyway," Shadow matched her voice, turning his back on her. He huffed and crossed his arms. When he heard tiny buttons being pressed he growled and kicked the door out of anger.
This wasn't surprising at all. If Sonic had pictures like this on his phone, Shadow was guaranteed to have the same things. Chelsea firmly placed a hand on her hip.
"Explain to me why I see naked people on your phone."
The hedgehog didn't reply back.
"Shadow when I ask you something you answer me," she snapped.
Shadow whipped around. He went up to her and snatched the phone away. "It's my phone. I can do whatever the hell I want on it," he pointed an accusing finger in her face, "You don't have any right to go through it."
"I'm your mother Shadow! If I want to go through it I can. Don't you stand here and tell me I can't look through a phone I bought for someone when they don't even need it! And get that finger out of my face!"
She was so close to breaking the finger. So close. But she wouldn't dare.
This was frustrating and not to mention annoying. Shadow snarled at her. He was infuriated. There was no other way to put. He towered over her by at least five inches and yet she didn't cower. It was so frustrating because he could never intimidate her. "Why don't you just stay away from me and stay out of my business Chelsea. I'm so tired of you meddling into my life and always trying to be around me and acting like a stupid little kid. It's sickening."
"You watch your mouth Shadow the Hedgehog."
"I can say whatever the hell I want to you. You're not my real mother. You never are and never will be. I'm not related to you in any way, shape or form. You're my fucking caretaker so stay out of my life."
A sickening crack split through the air. The sound could break glass if it was only a pinch louder. Shadow faced the wall with a blank look. For minutes he stood like that until a dark smile crawled upon his lips. He took his cheek in his hand and caressed it softly. He chuckled darkly.
He fully expected that to happen. Maybe not as hard as she did it but, still.
Shadow wanted to see her angry. He wanted to see her glow red with fury. He wanted to see untamable fire in her eyes, one that was inextinguishable. He wanted to see her that way because she made him feel like this all day. He didn't know why but for some reason every little thing she said today irritated him, even if it wasn't directed to him. Her voice irritated him to the point where he wanted to push someone off a cliff. He sometimes wanted to take duct tape her mouth shut because she talked too damn much. He wanted to see her angry with nostrils flared and bottom lip twitching.
So it was a bit of a surprise when she had tears in her eyes.
He just felt more rage bubble in his chest. "Why the hell are you crying? So I said a cuss word, so what? That's nothing to cry about Chelsea." Now he wanted to hurt her.
Chelsea stared at him with tears about it spill. She still held her hand up but she weakly stuck her pointer finger out. She shook her head. "W-why are you being so damn cruel." Shadow only stared at her with slight surprise.
"W-what do you mean-"
"SHUT UP!"
He found his mouth shut the instant she opened her mouth. Chelsea lowered her hand. Her voice returned to a whisper, "Since the day you appeared I loved you like my own child." Shadow rolled his eyes, "Stop being so dramatic-"
"If you interrupt me one more time I swear on my life I will rip your fucking quills out."
Never had he heard her use the f-word. Never. She was against it. She was against swearing but she used it. Shadow suddenly felt all the anger flush out his system. He looked at her with so much remorse it was unbelievable. He searched for any type of forgiveness. The forgiveness he usually found when he was in one of his moods but he found none. What had possessed him to be the way he was and say the things he said? He never wanted anything like this to happen…did he? Well, not on his birthday of all days. The guilt was pressured onto him and it felt as if the whole world decided to use him as a stepstool. Shadow reached a hand towards her carefully, trying not to get slapped again. He placed the trembling hand on her shoulder but retracted it when Chelsea smacked it away.
"I loved you so much Shadow."
Why was she talking as if she didn't love him anymore? This scared him so much. He was sorry, he was sorry! He loved her very much. She meant the world to him!
"Mother I'm-"
"What did I say Shadow! Huh? And don't call me that anymore. I'm just your fucking caretaker."
What did she mean? Shadow felt his vision blur when tears rushed down her cheeks. Was he crying? Her voice was so weak, it was heart-breaking.
"I loved you as much as any other mother could, even more. Since day one I always loved you and cared for you. I held you and hugged you every day or up until you suddenly got too old for that. According to you showing affection is disgusting. You know what Shadow that's fine. Be an asshole for the rest of your life because you know what, I won't be in it to care!"
Shadow looked away and flattened his ears. He didn't want to hear this! No.
"Please momma I'm-"
"I said don't call me that! Every day I put up with your attitude. You're never nice to me unless I give you what you want. Every single mother fucking day you act like I'm some…thing that you have to live with. I don't know why I even try sometimes. Why can't you be more like your brothers? They at least tell me they love me every night before they go to bed but you? You just tell me goodnight and leave. Sometimes you don't even say anything!"
Her voice was so raspy, so broken.
"I want the other Shadow back. Not this sorry excuse for one. He loved me and cherished me like every other child does to their mother. Whenever he had nightmares he would just crawl into my bed and hold me and told me he loved me so much for just being there. He would always worry about what I did and if it was good for me or not. He promised me he would never hit me. Ha! Some lie. I bet you would hit me more times than you have fingers if you could!"
He couldn't take it.
"NO, THAT'S NOT TRUE! I STILL LOVE YOU MOMMA. I STILL DO. I'M SORRY. I KNOW I ACTED LIKE A STUCK UP BASTARD BUT PLEASE YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE ME. I'M SORRY MOMMA. I'M SORRY!"
"IT'S TOO LATE NOW SHADOW. IF YOU DON'T WANT ME IN YOUR LIFE THAT'S FINE! I'M DONE!"
Shadow's eyes widened. His tear stricken muzzle was tinted red due to the crying. "W-what do you mean you're d-done?"
Chelsea wiped her cheeks. "As far as I'm concerned, you are not my child Shadow. I'm just your caretaker."
He gasped. The pain, oh the pain felt horrid.
"You can go back to those lab coats and be tortured for all I care!"
And with a hop and skip, the young mother of two left the scene with hot tears pouring down her face.
For the first time in his life, Shadow the Hedgehog felt worthless.
SunLove: Oh please don't be mad at me.
Sonic: That was horrible.
Silver: I can't believe you wrote that.
SunLove: I know but, where's Shadow?
Shadow: Please don't talk to me right now. I'm going to go sulk in the corner because I just lost someone important to me.
Chelsea: Hey, why am I so mean in the last part. My poor Shady.
SunLove: You had to be Chelsea. And you weren't, exactly, mean, you had to be a parent.
Chelsea: Yeah but, I basically I disowned him...
Sonic: That was so sad.
Shadow: *Cries*
Silver: Aww... he's crying!
Chelsea: My poor baby.
SunLove: I'm so cruel...
Thank you for reading! R&R
~God Bless You~