Chapter Text
Moving wasn’t exactly how Nicky had intended on starting his senior year of high school.
With a sigh, he grabbed the nearly empty roll of packing tape and sealed the final box. He stood and looked around his room, once full of personality, posters, and life, now barren and cold. He didn't like how it echoed when he clapped.
Cardboard boxes were stacked in haphazard piles in the corners, awaiting transportation to the idling box truck outside. Grabbing a small stack and awkwardly waddling to the door, Nicky slipped through his open door, missing the spot where a colorful poster had been, just a week prior.
His mom had dropped the news that they were moving on him out of nowhere, in early June. She'd made sure to tell him they were only moving to the countryside, not out of town, so he would still be attending the same school for his senior year. Now, in the mid-July heat, they were cramming as much of their stuff as they could into the white box truck out front. Anything that didn't fit would go into his mother's beat-up minivan.
Her explanation for the move made sense, was practical even– her daily commute to work was well over an hour one way, and the money spent on gas was starting to pile up. This new house would shorten her drive to just under ten minutes, significantly decreasing the amount of time spent in the car.
Unfortunately for Nicky, this meant that his commute was much longer than it had been. Instead of a fifteen-minute walk to school, he would now have a twenty-minute walk to the bus stop, where the school bus would pick him up at six in the morning. Then there was an hour and a half long drive while it made other stops on the route, finally reaching the school at 7:30. He wouldn't get home until around five each day.
It was only an inconvenience, really. He understood why they were moving, and it wasn't like he would have to start over with making friends, something he already struggled with. Sure, it sucked, but he only had to do it for one more school year before college. He desperately wished for a car of his own so he didn't have to get up at the crack of dawn every day, but he and his mother weren't really in a position to afford another vehicle. They weren't struggling, just... not nobility, like some other families in the country.
"Is this everything?"
Nicky jumped, twisting to peek around the stack of boxes in his hands to see a gray rabbit in a vest, twirling the keys to the truck in his fingers. "N-no," he stammered, setting the boxes down in the back of the truck a little harder than he meant to. "There's still some more in my room; I can get them."
The rabbit nodded, leaning against the side of the truck. On his way back inside, Nicky's mother, burdened by at least five boxes, bustled out of the door and almost ran into him. He yelped and jumped back, gently stopping her and grabbing the top half of the stack. "Oh, hi, Nicky. Thanks."
"No problem," he replied, shifting as the corners of the boxes stabbed into his palms. "You know he won't leave without us being ready, right?"
"I know," she said, sounding breathless as she power-walked towards the truck. "I'm just... excited? Scared? Exhilarated?"
The blue hedgehog nodded, giving his mom a small smile. "Me too." They reached the truck and placed the boxes down, pushing them away from the edge while the mover grabbed them, arranging them in a complicated puzzle that allowed them to all fit nice and tight.
"I really appreciate you being so cooperative," his mother said quietly, letting him enter the house that would soon no longer be theirs. "I know it's hard to move, and your commute will be less than ideal. I wish there was something I could do about it, but–"
"Mom, it's okay," Nicky cut in, smiling at her again, though this one was a little more strained. It really was okay, but he still didn't want her to know he was irritated. Not at her, but still irritated. "I know it's hard for you, too."
Her eyes misted up, though she didn't say anything. All she gave was a silent nod before speeding to the kitchen, presumably to grab more boxes.
The blue hedgehog headed back to his room to get the final containers of his belongings, closely studying the hallway as he walked, shoes thudding against the hardwood floor. The cream-colored paint, peeling worse than ever now, had always been there. The small bump in the floor, where the panels hadn't been installed properly. The gash in the drywall from where, as a young child, Nicky had been running with a toy of some sort before tripping, falling sideways into the wall. The toy had scraped against the wall and broken, leaving the mark behind. There was the spot where his father had attempted to re-paint the hall, pausing the project because he'd bought the wrong type of paint. He'd intended to finish it at some point, but it never happened, leaving a small strip of different color on the wall.
This house was the first and only house Nicky had ever lived in, being the one his mother and father purchased shortly after their wedding. Nine months later they had Nicky, and only a year after that, his father had been killed in an accident. He didn't remember his father at all and therefore didn't feel much grief towards losing him, however terrible that was. There was simply no one to attach the sorrow to, not even a flicker of a memory. He'd never really longed for another parental figure, happy with it just being him and his mom.
Entering his room for the final time, he picked up the last two boxes and walked out. He turned to cast one more look around the room, but it didn't feel like it was his anymore. It was just another room, as unremarkable as any other space in the house. Maybe it would become a storage room for the next people who lived here, maybe it would be a bedroom once more, but this time for a younger child. It kind of hurt his brain to see how lifeless and empty it was now, after living in it for almost eighteen years.
He bid a silent farewell to the room before shutting the door and leaving, walking back outside into the summer heat. The final boxes were stowed in the truck, leaving plenty of legroom in his mom's minivan. The A/C was on full blast as they made the drive out to their new house, a comforting contrast to the outside temperature.
The new house was about thirty minutes outside of the city, where buildings and billboards faded into gentle hills and pastures with cattle roaming about. Around halfway there, the air conditioning sputtered then gave up, a somewhat common occurrence in this vehicle. Without missing a beat, Nicky and his mother both rolled the windows down, letting the speed of the highway cool them off instead. The blue hedgehog removed his glasses and stuck his head out the window, immediately noticing how much cleaner it smelled out here. There was none of the city smell, which was generally a mixture of exhaust, smoke, and trash. He'd learned to ignore it, but the difference was stark and inviting.
Pulling his head back inside, Nicky heard his mom laugh, though he couldn't tell at what. He was essentially blind without his glasses, so when he placed them back on his nose and glanced at himself in the mirror, he could see why she was laughing. His quills were now a mess, blown back and completely erasing the short bangs that normally hung over his eyes. He giggled, using a hand to comb through the tangled quills, fixing it quickly.
The rest of the drive went by shockingly fast. They passed his mother's workplace located outside of the city, eagerly pointing to it as if Nicky had never seen the pristine building before. She worked as a head probation officer in the juvenile department, and that was the main location. She was relatively high up in the system, and dealt with all sorts of cases, rendering anything "bad" Nicky did as an act of kindness compared to some of the things she'd witnessed. Not that he misbehaved often, but it did come in handy with getting away with more.
Their new driveway was gravel, and seemed to stretch for miles before it faded into concrete when it reached the small house at the end of the path. It was almost like a cottage, and certainly looked the part. There was a dark red sedan in the driveway, two small children, and presumably their father stood by the doors, waiting. Waving fields full of unkempt grass surrounded them in every direction, and no other signs of civilization were visible. There was a lake in the distance, and Nicky thought he could make out a small pier jutting out, but he couldn't be sure. The air was wonderfully pure here, and the only thing that interrupted the natural image was the tall telephone pole a few hundred feet from the house, but he wasn't complaining.
It was beautiful.
With a rhythm of high-pitched beeps, the moving truck backed into the concrete section of the driveway before parking. Nicky's mom was already conversing with a female raccoon, who handed her a set of keys a moment later. With that, she got into the car and drove away, smiling at the blue hedgehog when she passed. The children in the backseat waved excitedly, and the blue hedgehog sheepishly returned the gesture. A plume of dust rose behind them as they left, entrusting the house to Nicky and his mother.
After a minute, the garage door rose with a low groan, struggling to life. The mover hopped out of the truck and yanked the back open, beginning the process of sliding boxes to the edge where Nicky and his mom could grab them. It was over in a few minutes, with both hedgehogs just setting the boxes in the garage for now. Once they'd gotten everything out of the back, Nicky's mother paid the mover, shook hands with him, and watched as he drove off, leaving them by themselves at their new house.
"So," Nicky said, glancing around at the collection of everything they owned. "Now what?"
His mother shot him a toothy grin and held the door open for Nicky. "Now we pick rooms!"
. . . . .
Shadow paused by his locker, quickly twisting his key into the lock and opening it. He swapped his Physics books for his English textbook, stuffing them into his bag and shutting the locker. Only a few weeks into the year, and he’d already written two essays for that class. As he started down the hall, yawning and checking his phone, a shoulder bumped him hard enough to be clearly purposeful. He glanced up with a smile, already recognizing the offender.
"Rouge," he said in a simple greeting, looking at his friend. "Ow."
"Oh, you're fine," she purred, returning his grin and taking a sip of her coffee, if it could be called that. There was enough milk, sugar, and cream in it to give anyone a heart attack, almost sickeningly sweet. Shadow preferred his coffee like a normal person: black. "Clevenger gave me some trouble this morning," she grumbled, tucking her hair behind a large ear before continuing. "Old man said I wasn't allowed to bring drinks to class anymore."
"You might die," Shadow replied dryly, nodding to a passing friend in the hall and returning a previous teacher's wave. "Whatever shall you do."
The bat rolled her eyes, tipping her head back and finishing her drink before darting across the hall to a trash can, returning to his side a moment later. "I might feel like dying," she protested. "My head will hurt so bad–"
"Then you need to get a handle on that caffeine addiction of yours," he interrupted, smirking. "What was the final straw? Why did he say no more drinks?"
"You're one to talk about caffeine addictions," she snarked, sniffing loudly. "I can smell the coffee on you all the time." She twisted and opened her bag, pulling out her phone and began typing and talking at the same time, a superpower Shadow decidedly did not possess. "Anyway, he said I was leaving too many water rings on the desk. I offered to bring a coaster, but he said he 'didn't want no back talk'," she said, mimicking the grumpy teacher. He had a reputation for snapping at students who didn't tend to deserve it, though he was a good teacher. He also happened to be the adult leader of the student council, which Rouge was the president of. "So no more drinks."
"Rats," Shadow responded flatly, earning a soft jab to the ribcage from his friend. He grunted, then craned his neck to see over the piranha tank that was a high school hallway in between classes. Labeled plastic signs stuck out from every doorway, informing students of the room numbers. When Shadow saw that he was close to his next class, he said goodbye to Rouge and ducked into the room, weaving through the flow of foot traffic.
"Good morning, Shadow," the teacher said when he entered, nodding to him. He nodded back and took his seat, immediately feeling a tap on his shoulder. When he turned, he realized it was Espio, who gave him an embarrassed smile.
"Did you do the homework?" The chameleon asked, his scales flushing red, suggesting that he had not, in fact, gotten his own done.
When Shadow nodded again, Espio groaned, covering his eyes. "I forgot to do it when I got home," he explained. "What... what did you do for yours?"
The dark hedgehog vaguely wondered why Espio was talking to him, as they didn't really know each other. They'd had a few classes together, maybe done an assigned group project here and there, but they'd never hung out outside of school. Shadow didn't even have the chameleon's number.
Actually, this kind of thing happened to Shadow fairly often. Maybe he just looked approachable?
"I mean, it's just a free verse poem," Shadow said slowly, unzipping his bag and pulling his folder out. "There weren't any stipulations on it. You just kind of... write."
Espio turned red again, clutching a blank piece of paper in his gloved hands tightly. "Just... write," he repeated. "Like, whatever I want?"
"Yeah, pretty much," Shadow said, smiling encouragingly. "Just let the words take control. You can edit it later, if you need to."
The chameleon returned the smile before nodding and returning to his seat, grabbing a pencil. He began furiously writing something as the bell rang, signaling the start of class. The teacher waited a minute for any stragglers, watching the door to mark people tardy. When none came, she shut the door and strode up to the front of the class, powering the projector on as she passed. The ancient device whirred to life (verrrrry slowwwwwly), eventually painting the board in the front of the class in a white-blue light.
"'Do not go gentle into that goodnight,'" the teacher started, reading out the words as they faded into existence on the board. "'Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light.'" She paused, looking around the class, met with mostly confused faces. "Can anyone tell me what that means?"
. . . . .
Running laps was one of Shadow's least favorite ways to exercise. He would rather be in the weights room, or doing some sort of other cardio. Heck, he'd rather do yoga over this.
Being on the football team demanded it, though, along with a week-long sports camp that took place before the school year. Not only did it plant a mandatory strength and conditioning class into his schedule, it outlined a specific routine that all of the players on the team had to follow. Failure to do so resulted in being kicked off the team.
His legs burned as he pushed himself harder, harder, harder, only to be passed by Knuckles. A moment later, a shrill whistle cut through the air, letting all of them know it was time for a short rest and water break. Shadow slowed to a jog, then a stop next to Knuckles, who had bent over with his hands on his knees, breathing heavily.
"You just keep getting faster," Shadow panted, giving his other best friend a grin. "It's not fair."
"Not my fault you're slow," Knuckles retorted, trotting to the side wall where his water bottle rested. He uncapped it and drank some, exhaling loudly. Shadow did the same.
The cool water rolled over his tongue, sending a jolt of refreshment through his body. "It's a good thing I'm not the star quarterback, then," Shadow shot back. There wasn't much, if any, pressure on Shadow to do better as an athlete. Not compared to Knuckles, at least, who'd already received a full-ride scholarship to basically any college he wanted. He was incredibly good at football, and would probably go pro after or even during college.
Shadow wasn't a slouch, by any means, but he didn't plan on pursuing a career in football after high school. He was heading in a different direction, more or less against his will.
"Practice tomorrow morning, right?" Knuckles asked, shaking Shadow out of his thoughts.
"Too busy staring at me to pay attention, huh?" The dark hedgehog flirted playfully, taking one more swig of water before twisting the lid back on and setting it down while Knuckles laughed. "Yes. 6:45." He paused, then held up a finger. "There's also practice after school today."
The echidna gave a suffering sigh, hanging his head. "Double-whammy," he said sadly, adjusting the athletic tape around his wrists.
Shadow laughed, lining up at the starting line when the coach blew the whistle again, dropping into a crouch and tensing his legs. The next twenty minutes passed quickly, ending with everyone as a sweaty mess as the first bell rang, specific to the P.E. classes. It gave them ten minutes to shower, change, and whatever else they wanted before the actual bell went off. The dark hedgehog rinsed himself off and pulled on a clean pair of jeans and a blue T-shirt, slipping his feet back into his tennis shoes.
Now it was time for his favorite time of day: lunch.
The halls were as crowded as ever as he pushed his way towards the cafeteria, the scent of freshly-microwaved hot dogs wafting into his nose. He didn't really want to know what was in them, but hey, they tasted good. He passed several friends on the way, stopping to at least exchange greetings with each one before moving on, heading towards his usual table. It was crowded like normal, though there was a spot for him, right next to Rouge. He set his bag down and hopped in line for food, eagerly grabbing a tray.
He returned to his table a few minutes later, more than a little overstimulated by the noise. Rouge was already half-done with her sandwich that she'd brought from home, swallowing her food before saying anything.
"Knuckles told me you guys have practice today and tomorrow," she nearly shouted, trying to be heard over the general, echoing chatter of the large room. When Shadow nodded, she gave him an evil grin. "Must suck."
Before he could answer, she pulled out her phone and started recording, slinging an arm around the dark hedgehog and pulling him close. "Food blog, day fourteen," she announced to her screen, smirking boldly. "I had a peanut-butter-jelly sandwich," she said, looking at Shadow a moment later. "What did you have, my handsome friend?"
The dark hedgehog barely refrained from rolling his eyes. Rouge had quite a few followers; followers who watched every single one of her videos. This "food blog" was far from a new occurrence, and was a challenge set by Rouge to herself to do one every day of the school year.
"Hot dog," he said through a mouthful of food, grinning when his voice came out muffled and funny-sounding. He held up a thumbs-up. "Yum."
Rouge made a disgusted face and scolded him for talking with his mouth full before ending the video and posting it. Her phone instantly started dinging and buzzing, letting her know when people left likes on the video. She silenced it and finished her lunch, talking animatedly to Shadow while he half-listened.
He watched the cafeteria and the flood of people around them, brushing against his back every time someone passed him. Several people waved or said hi, and he wondered how many of them actually knew him. He knew a lot of people, but sometimes he felt like people just said hello because he was one of the "popular" kids.
Really, he was only popular by extension, through Knuckles and Rouge. Rouge, the president of the student council, had been best friends with Shadow since the fourth grade. Her popularity came with a few abilities, such as being able to endorse anything in a single day; if Rouge was using a certain type of makeup, you better believe that very same makeup would be sold out all over town the next day. If Rouge thought someone– Shadow, for example– was cool, they were cool. No questions asked.
Knuckles, on the other hand, was the school's star quarterback. Beloved by all, especially the ridiculous amount of die-hard football fans, his prowess in the game had elevated him to Rouge's level. Again, Shadow had been lucky enough to be good friends with Knuckles as well, adding to his own popularity. It was because of Knuckles that Shadow was on the football team. They also flirted endlessly, and had been questioned if they were a couple many times. The answer, of course, was no, but it was fun nonetheless.
Shadow... he didn't really have anything that set him apart, other than his friends. He was often complimented on "being nice", but he'd always thought it was just basic respect for others. He didn't find himself particularly attractive, though he knew some people did. He wasn't as big or fast or strong as Knuckles, and wasn't beautiful or influential like Rouge. Yet he found his social media accounts, which he rarely posted on, filled with messages and likes. When he did post, it would be something stupid, like the picture of him and Rouge after a party, where her makeup was smeared and he was supporting most of her drunken weight. That picture alone had seven thousand likes.
The lunch bell rang as people who had gathered near the doors bolted, leaving the cafeteria far emptier in a matter of seconds. Shadow stood and grabbed his bag, waiting for Rouge to dump her trash before heading his direction.
"Physics," he groaned, sagging when he remembered what class they were going to next.
"Physics," Rouge agreed, sounding similarly overjoyed. "Yippee."
. . . . .
Shadow was glad he'd stowed his backpack in his car before practice, because with the way his legs felt like jelly, he wasn't sure he would've been able to carry it. He blew a goodbye kiss to Knuckles and waved to his other teammates before staggering back to his black sedan, which looked a little worse for wear, but was reliable. It had functioning air conditioning and a good sound system– what more could he ask for?
He tossed his helmet in the backseat, grimacing when he felt a wave of heat escape from the open door. He'd forgotten to put the reflective sunshade up in his windshield... again. With a hiss, he sat down in the driver's seat, shifting away from where the sun had turned the leather seat into a frying pan. He quickly started his car and rolled the windows down, turning the A/C to full blast to try and vent the hot air. After his thighs stopped hurting (the nerve endings had probably been seared away), he put the car in reverse and left the parking lot.
With a quick glance at the analog clock, he saw that practice had run a bit later today, ending at 4:30 instead of the normal 4:15. He frowned, wondering if he'd have enough time to do his homework. It took him almost forty minutes to get home from school, but he was alright with that. It meant he had time to sit and listen to music while driving, playing as loud as he wanted.
He began the long drive home, eventually hooking a finger under the small lever that would raise his windows. They obediently slid up, sealing him inside the car with the nice, cold air. Cranking the volume, he sang along with his favorite songs, probably looking and sounding horrible, but he didn't care. He was on the highway, going fast. No one would see his face long enough to register who it was, or what he was doing.
A part of his journey home was passing a bus stop. Who needed a bus stop this far out of the city, he didn't know. He'd never seen anyone ever get picked up or dropped off there.
Only today, the yellow school bus with his school’s district number was stopped, rear lights flashing red with a large stop sign extended from the side. Shadow obliged, coming to a halt behind the bus while a single occupant got out– a blue hedgehog, wearing a large, red sweater with short bangs hanging over his round glasses.
Shadow tilted his head. He felt certain he'd seen this hedgehog before, though he knew for a fact that they'd never spoken. As the bus drove off and Shadow passed the stop, they made eye contact for a fraction of a second. All Shadow saw was a flash of emerald green behind glass lenses before he passed him, leaving him behind. He watched in his rearview mirror as the blue hedgehog walked along the shoulder, thumbs curled under his backpack straps, head down. He looked... tired.
Maybe I should have offered him a ride, Shadow thought uncomfortably, glancing back towards the road before looking in his mirror. The blue hedgehog looked up again, and then Shadow went over a hill, and he was gone. I don't know where he lives, anyway, he reasoned to himself, partially to be logical, and partially to make himself feel better, though his mind kept drifting back to the blue hedgehog.
I didn't know I had a neighbor.
. . . . .
It was probably a good thing Nicky didn't know who had invented alarm clocks, because if he did, they would have to live life on the run. From him.
The grating beep of his clock was stabbing into his ears, forcing him up and out of bed to shut it off. He'd purposely placed it across the room next to his light switch, so he'd turn it on when he was over there. In a dim, orange display, it read 5:00 a.m..
Far too early. But it was necessary, now.
With a quiet groan, he pulled a shirt on and opened his door, padding down the hall to the single bathroom in this house. His morning routine included going to the bathroom, brushing his teeth, getting dressed, maybe sitting on his bed and dissociating for a bit if he felt like it, then breakfast. Breakfast was normally a granola bar and a glass of water, but it was enough. By 5:30, he had to be out the door, heading for the bus stop.
The blue hedgehog ran through his routine, and once he was ready, he snuck into his mother's room. She was still peacefully asleep, and would be for another hour or so. She'd earned the extra sleep– she was the one who'd had to get up early to go to work for all those years. It was Nicky's turn to take that weight, and he didn't mind it too much.
"Bye, Mom," he whispered, kissing her cheek lightly so he didn't wake her. "Love you."
He crept out of her room and shut the door, flipping the lights off before grabbing his bag and making sure he had everything. Books, check. Pencils, check. Homework I didn't do... check.
With every intention of finishing it on the bus, he zipped his bag shut and slung it over his shoulders, slipping out of the front door a moment later. And thus began the long walk to the bus stop.
At 5:30 in the morning.
The sun wasn't even up yet, with only the slightest hints of reds and oranges appearing in the horizon. Some stars were still visible, making for a nice overhead view as Nicky put an earbud in, picking a random playlist to shuffle. A robotic, Japanese voice started belting out a song, and he smiled and nodded his head with the beat.
Walking along the shoulder of the highway was a little more dangerous than he would have liked, if it wasn't so early. Hardly anyone drove on this road at this time of day, so he was able to enjoy the cool morning air. It would be a different story when winter came, but that was a problem for another time.
He trudged along, the weight of his backpack slowly growing heavier and heavier. The bus stop was in view when a light began to surround him, which was strange. He was on the left side of the road, the same side as the bus stop, and yet there was no bus in sight. Turning around, he saw headlights in the right lane, approaching him and slowing to a stop when they reached him. It was a black sedan, and either the windows were tinted, or it was too dark, because Nicky couldn't see who was driving.
Was he going to have to run? Fight?
He stopped walking, turning to face the car as the window rolled down, revealing a face that immediately sent a shock down Nicky's spine.
Shadow Ashford.
THE Shadow Ashford.
What is he doing here?!
Nicky's mouth dropped open, though he quickly shut it. Shadow was the most popular student at school; there were no questions about it. The blue hedgehog had never spoken to him directly, but had heard plenty of stories about him– students and teachers alike asking his opinion or for his help, his acts of kindness to everyone without expecting anything, and his friendship with the other two most popular kids, Rouge and Knuckles.
It was like a peasant seeing the king at a grocery store. Such a strange meeting place between two very different individuals; so strange that it almost felt unreal.
Nicky felt his ears prick forward when Shadow opened his mouth, commanding his attention without even trying. His voice carried across the street effortlessly, leaving Nicky in shock when the words reached his ears.
"Need a ride?"