Chapter Text
Here's the cover for this fic!
MONDAY
“Back again this year?” “Ha! And still as nerdy as ever!” Sonic walked past them, deciding to not care. He knew that much would help after being harassed for over a year. Fighting would just make them want to do it more. He felt a slap on his backpack. “AY! Don't ignore us!” One of the brutes, a large lemur mobian, shouted. “I'm listening,” Sonic said breezily. They couldn't fight him for doing nothing, but then again, that's what they usually did. Better hurry, Sonic thought. As he sped his walking, he felt his foot catch onto something. He tumbled onto the ground, courtesy of his face, with his bag open, papers and notebooks sprawled everywhere. As Sonic tried to process what happened, he heard multiple voices above him. Laughing. He shakily sat up, glaring at them, and a girl who was probably the one to trip him. Despite the emotions flooding him, he wasn’t gonna let the jerks see a reaction. He hastily picked up his papers and put them inside his bag, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly as he walked away. Sonic finally reached his locker and tasted blood on his lip. Nobody was in sight. Sonic leaned his head on the locker, his clothed back facing the empty hallway, and groaned. This was gonna be a long year.
It had started small. Back in 9th grade, his A’s became bullying material (or perhaps his nearly glowing azure color that screamed for attention, blue is one of the rarest colors in nature). There had been snide remarks and side glares. He wasn't even that smart, just focused. But for some reason, nearly half the class saw him with freckles and thick nerd glasses because of that. Especially the Popular Girls and the Jocks. And as Sonic got older, the bullying became worse, like tripping him on “accident” and framing him for something they did. But of course, the teachers sided with the kids whose parents had crazy dough. All the adults believed the rich losers could do no wrong. Sonic was just about on his own, save for some other kids who got bullied. 2 of them were hedgehogs just like him, and one was a two-tailed fox who Sonic was actually starting to grow close to, whose name was, well, Tails. The reason for his name was rather obvious. But other than those 3, he was alone and a piece of steak in a pack of hounds.
—
Shadow was quietly tapping his desk and zoning out when the teacher came in. An old gray fox woman mobian sashayed into the classroom with a short lavender dress. Ah, one of those I see. Probably gonna cut those rich brats miles of slack. Her wrinkled lavender lipstick moved as she spoke. “Hello, class–” Right then, a blue hedgehog burst into the room, looking frazzled. “Sorry I'm late! Am I late?” Oh, that hedgehog again. Shadow didn't care much for him, but at least he wasn't one of those rich kids. “No, you're not late. But punctuality is very important. This is a warning. Prepare earlier.” Shadow looked closer. The hedgehog looked a bit beaten, a trace of blood on his lip. Probably those bullies got him, too. I can see why. In fact, he looked even more awkward than Shadow was, which earned the blue guy a bit of rare sympathy from him. The blue hedgehog sat next to a two-tailed fox two desks away from Shadow. And when everybody was settled, the teacher got up and clapped briefly. “Now we're gonna introduce ourselves and say a fact. I'm Ms. Pansy, and I used to work for a magazine.” Of course. She pointed at the other side of the classroom to an obviously privileged student. “You?”
“I'm Taroy the Lemur. My parents pay for this school and I'm a varsity basketball player.” “Very nice!” The teacher praised. She then pointed next to him. “You.” “Oh- uh- ! Hey, um, I'm Amy Rose! Yeah! Um, I really love flowers, and kittens–” “–Next.” Amy looked slightly crushed. Shadow narrowed his eyes. I see how this is… Shadow did nothing but carefully observe the next people going and how the teacher treated them. “Ed the Griz!” “Tangle the Lemur!” Then the teacher suddenly pointed to Shadow. “You.” About 20 pairs of eyes stared into him. He stood and acted unfazed. “Shadow,” he said coolly. Now for the fact. Crap. He wasn't gonna let the whole world know he liked poetry. He stumbled for a fake. Oh! “I play rock–” “Next.” Shadow glared into the back of Ms. Pansy’s head as she turned away. If I knew she was gonna interrupt me like that, I wouldn't have answered! The “cool” kids looked at him like he had something they wanted. The azure kid talked. “I’m Sonic the Hedgehog. No matter what, I’ll always help those who need it–” “Next.” At this point, the teach is trying to interrupt the students she doesn't like. “I’m Miles, but you can call me Tails. I’m a techie–” “Next?” Shadow winced when Tails said the word “techie.” He was setting himself up for bullying. That and the fact that he looked so young. Maybe even 12. But at least this Sonic seemed nice to him. Before Shadow knew it, the teacher tapped the board. “Now, ELA class, we will discuss what we'll learn for the year.”
—
Sonic breathed a sigh of relief when the 4th bell rang. Lunch. Thank goodness! “Ay Tails, wanna eat with me?” “Sure! Where do we sit?” “I don't know. Guess we'll decide when we go to the cafeteria. Stay close to me.” They held each other's books and walked side-by side. Their lockers were only slightly apart from each other, so it was no problem. Except for all the students pouring in from every door. They started to get squished together. Tails squeezed the life out of Sonic’s hand to not lose sight. Poor guy must not be used to it. After all, Tails should have been in 7th grade had it not been for his unmatched genius. After wrestling through their lockers and down the stairs into the mess hall, they walked into a zoo. Nearly every seat was full, and the ones that weren't were guarded fiercely and rather rudely by people who clearly weren't waiting on someone else and just didn't want the “losers” in their territory. Sonic didn’t care. When he was in 9th grade, there was always an empty table where guys like him sat. Except this time, every seat was full... Except for some spare foldable chairs next to the bathroom. Sonic groaned through the chatter. Tails saw it too and tried to brighten up. “...Well, at least we're two steps away from the bathroom!”
5 chairs were way more than enough for them both, but right as they were about to get seated, a black hedgehog quickly sat before they did. Sonic stopped in his tracks. “Bringing your popular patrol here, too?” Sonic muttered sarcastically. The black hedgehog twitched his ear. Oop, he heard me. “No, I'm not with the McSparkle Dinkle losers,” he assured with an edge. “I'm Shadow. You're Sonic, if I'm not mistaken?” “Yeah.” “Mm.” Shadow put the tray of school slop on his lap. “Have a seat,” Shadow prompted. Sonic and Tails sat a seat away from the black hedgehog, Tails with a Jimmy Neutron lunchbox in his hand. The mobian Sonic knew as Amy trudged over, looking gloomy. “Can I sit here, let me guess, no,” Amy sighed. “No, no, it's alright!” Sonic reassured her. Amy looked up, surprised. “Really? Thanks so much, umm..” “..Sonic.” “Sonic. Sonic! I love that name!” Amy beamed brightly and squeezed between him and Tails, even though there was a free chair next to Shadow and farther from the bathroom. Sonic poked at the sloppy school food. The rice was glorified sand, and the milk was more generic than corporate art. “If liberal arts were a food, it would be this,” he muttered. Amy burst into hysterical laughter, making other people look. Despite that, Sonic couldn’t resist a small smile at the sweet, innocent sound of her happiness.
—
The second the last bell rang and everybody could leave, Shadow bolted out like he just sat on thumbtacks. Actually, he almost did, but that wasn’t important. After school was when the teachers were eager to leave, and when bullies would have a field day as a result. The teachers were blinder than ants. But unfortunately, Shadow didn't run fast enough. Several 12th graders cornered him next to the back exit door. How can they be only 2 years older yet so tall? “Give us your money.” One of them demanded. Shadow acted nonchalant. “Jokes on you, reverse tooth fairies, I'm more broke than those coke addicts right outside this building,” he said, pointing with his thumb to the exit door. It was true. Shadow hoped they would leave him be, but they instead inched closer. The tallest one snatched his bag and dumped it while the 2 others held him in place. He picked up a black notebook and read through it aloud. “Through the horizon dawn broke and to me the singing birds spoke? HA! This guy's a nerd, too!” “First he's some hotshot edgelord, now he's Shakespeare!” Shadow didn't let the bullies know what he felt, keeping a stoic look on his face despite half his life being dumped out like trash. But to be honest with himself, he was more surprised at how cliché they were than anything. And suddenly, he felt himself being lifted in the direction of an open locker. Oh dammit. Don't tell me they're doing this of all things. He let himself go limp so that the bullies would eventually loosen their grip, then he fought hard and ran away to freedom, picking up his bag along the way.
-
It was only the next day that Shadow realized his book of months of poetry was gone. Agh! Those bloody losers! He grumbled under his breath in the soon-to-be crowded hallway and looked for his book, knowing full well that it wouldn't be anywhere he knew. Probably caught ahold of after he bounced. He headed to the bathroom for no reason in particular. Usually, he'd steer clear of it because more would vape there than actually take their dumps or hold piss competitions, but it was nearly 30 minutes early, and nobody else would be a relief. And anyways, the janitor probably already took care of the mess, so it’d be a good place to gather his thoughts. He looked in the large mirror of the bathroom, observing his face. He didn't look like he slept well. Not because of those bullies, well, not only them, but also because it had rained in his makeshift home. It had caved on one side of the wood roof and he was sure he would have gotten a cold, as it had been 40 degrees, but for some reason, he didn't even have a runny nose. And while he was a bit tired, he was definitely less tired than he should have been for 5 hours of sleep. He felt aware. And somehow, while basically homeless and bullied, he felt powerful. It was a strange feeling that completely contradicted and deviated from his situation.