Sonic Clash! High School Days

Chapter 6

"Amy is really starting to get on my damned nerves!"

Rose grumbles at the flashing screen, bashing the buttons on the controller. Her and the boys at Knuckles's house, she really needed to let off some steam with them after today. They're taking turns at playing video games, and usually Rose isn't so aggressive. "Why do you hang out with her then?" Knuckles asks, failing to see the logic. "Well we've all been friends since kindergarten, it'd be pretty bitchy just to ditch her. And I kinda think of her as my little sister." Rose explains, groaning in defeat as Sonic wins the round. "Sorry Rosie, there was an easy opening, I just HAD to take it." He explains, and Rose just shrugs her shoulders. "Whatever." She grunts. Sonic now feels bad about kicking Rose while she's down, and thinks of the only one thing that can cheer her right up. "Rosie?" He says, and she looks at him, still obviously a little annoyed. "You want some cookie dough ice cream?" Sonic asks, watching as Rose's eyes light up as a result. "Yes please." She says softly and then curls up next to Tails. Like a little brother, he looks up at her to check if she's feeling better. "If it means anything Rose, I hope you ace that Chemistry test next week." Tails says with a grin, and Rose smiles down at him. "Thanks Tails, you're the best." She says happily, and then twists herself to give him a hug, squeezing him. The two chuckle a little, and then she leans on Knuckles, trying not to leave him out of this tender moment. Usually Knuckles would shrug her off, but he understands that the boys are in the process of cheering Rose up after Amy's constant teasing. 

Rose is incredibly thankful that she has such understanding friends, even if they do have strange and silent ways of showing her their support. She smiles happily and watches as Knuckles picks up the controller and starts the next game with Tails. Sonic returns with the ice cream, and the four of them share the huge tub. Armed with spoons, they demolish the cold treat in minutes, putting Rose in much better spirits. "You guys ready for another round?!" She exclaims after her very last mouthful, wiping her mouth and snatching up a controller, Sonic laughing and doing the same. The two of them perch on the edge of the sofa and furiously tap the buttons. During the round of Battle Clash Four, Sonic glances at his best friend. He was glad to see her happy again.

Elsewhere...

"It's been months now and still no sign of The Creation..." Shadow is frustrated. Not only was High School full of unnecessary drama, irritating classmates, and classes that taught him things he already knew. He has to spend every spare second he has trying to track down 'The Creation,' the only thing that can help him regain his patchy memory, and make sense of his upbringing and his past. It's been nearly three years of searching, and this past month seems to be a failure. He just knows he's close to The Creation, he can feel it in his bones! But where is it? What is it? He has no clue whatsoever. He thought that by getting his hands on some of G.U.N's documentation, he'd been able to obtain The Creation by now.

All the information he was able to decipher from the encrypted files is a vague sense of where The Creation actually is, and nothing else. Shadow feels that all is hopeless. At this exact moment, Silver returns to their apartment. He's humming a tune and completely carefree, which starts to annoy Shadow. Silver hasn't been taking the search very seriously, he's enjoying high school life WAY too much. "Why are you late." Shadow demands before Silver can even say hello. He just freezes in mid-action and gives his roommate a surprised look. Why did Shadow just snap at him? "Sorry, Rose and I were enjoying ourselves so much that we forgot the time." He apologises nevertheless, and flings his bag on the couch, sitting himself down on the opposite sofa from Shadow. "You're way to invested in being a high schooler. You forget what we're really here for." Shadow grunts disapprovingly. "Well, I have been on the look out for The Creation, but it's difficult to look for something when you don't even know what you're looking for." Silver shrugs, and Shadow glares at him yet again. "Anything out of the ordinary." He states. "That's what The Creation IS. You're too busy studying Chemistry and making moves on Rose to even remember those instructions." Shadow spits and rolls his eyes, looking away from his comrade. Silver begins to get upset. "Well I didn't have things like education where I grew up. Excuse me for trying to enjoy the things I never had!" He begins to raise his voice. Silver was beginning to get frustrated at the way Shadow has been treating him. He didn't have to stick with him for the last three years. The only reason why he did was because he had nowhere else to go, not to mention that he had become attached to Shadow. 

Unfortunately, Shadow has become too frustrated at the way Silver has been acting since joining high school. He has become so blinded by his rage that he doesn't hold back, especially after Silver has now stood up to him for the first time. "You're not here to enjoy girls and mathematics. You're here to help me find The Creation!" Shadow leaps to his feet and roars. Silver feels the fury in the pit of his belly spread throughout his body. How dare Shadow treat him like an idiot! How is he supposed to even look for 'The Creation' when he doesn't even know what it looks like?! "Well if you're going to treat me like that then find it yourself!" Silver roars back at him, getting up and snatching his bag off the couch. He storms out of the apartment and slams the door behind him, whilst Shadow just stands in the middle of the room, hardly believing Silver's reaction. 

Silver storms down the street in the cold. His eyes well up with tears, and they begin to form into ice crystals around his eyes. Trekking forward in his despair, he suddenly that he has nowhere left to go. Silver has ventured out in a windy night and has forgotten his jacket during the argument with Shadow. "Maybe I should go back and apologise." Silver contemplates out loud, seeing his breath fog up in front of him as he roams the streets. He turns his head towards the direction he came from, feeling guilty for yelling... "No!" He whips his head forwards again. "I can't, I'm too angry at him for talking to me as a servant and not a friend." He decides. "But...where do I go from here?" Silver asks himself, still completely lost in both the literal and metaphorical sense. Nevertheless, Silver keeps on walking forwards, hoping that he'll find somewhere to go as he marches against the billowing gusts of wind. Groaning, he shivers as the icy blast shoots through his body from the North, but he keeps trudging on as the sun begins to set behind the hills. 

Soon, he rounds a corner of the street, and squints, only to see Knuckles's house with its red brick chimney and an echidna-shaped wind toy. Silver knows for a fact that Knuckles doesn't particularly like him that much. This is due to Silver accidentally smashing Knuckles's face into his food tray after getting overexcited about seeing a movie. However, a smile slowly creeps across Silver's face as he is remembers that Rose's house is nearby. He know that it's less than a five minute walk away! "Maybe she'll at least let me stay for dinner!" Silver exclaims, finding the sudden energy to race forward into the cul-de-sac. Blindly sprinting in the direction of Rose's house, Silver feels a warm feeling inside his chest, knowing that he'll be seeing her again. As the steps to her front porch come into view, he rushes forward to get out of the rushing daggers of wind biting at him. He slips on the steps, scrambling up them and pulling himself up onto his feet. Silver's hand is poised to knock, and he's confident. However, as soon he nears the door, a sudden spell of anxiety washes over him. What if she turns him away? Similar 'what if's' build up in his mind, making it so crowded Silver gets overwhelmed. Now that his doubts have deterred him, he begins to step back to turn away. Maybe Sonic would take him in. Sonic didn't like Shadow, but he seemed to think kindly of Silver. As he does so, Silver accidentally trips on his laces, and in his attempt to steady himself, knocks a pot plant off the railing of the Martin's porch, making a loud: 'CRASH!' Silver winces, before he himself crashes into the ground and then tumbles into her family's woodpile, making a racket of another sort as the logs fall onto the decking and roll off into the grass. Silver panics as he hears footsteps, and the opening of the front door. He scrambles to get to his feet again, but falls on his face.

"Silver?"