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The start of track season marked the beginning of an exceptionally busy Sonic.
Football season was neutral ground, he liked it enough to put up with it, same with baseball, but track, oh, track was his life. Anyone that knew Sonic knew of his fast car and fast feet. And also his pretty boy face, that was a given.
Sadly, an exceptionally busy Sonic meant Sonic Heroes, as their fearless-slash-annoying leader had dubbed them, was without a member. Tails knew it would eventually happen, she just hadn’t expected it to happen so early on. In January.
“Sonic,” Tails says to her best bro as he dumps his books in his locker, which was covered in pictures of him and Amy. He shoulders on his duffle for track. “Track season doesn’t start until next month. I thought you were conditioning with baseball for now.”
Tails could deal with baseball. It didn’t keep Sonic too long, only on Mondays and Wednesdays. Sonic wasn’t that dedicated to it. ‘Just to have somethin’ to do,’ He’d told Tails.
But track? Track would keep him after school all day, everyday. Complete and utter torture on Tails’ part, even more so with Knuckles at basketball. Couldn’t Sonic at least have waited until basketball was over?
“Yeah, I was,” Sonic pulls out a sandwich, (he had an endless supply of food in his locker, it seemed) turns to Tails as he closes his locker. “But Coach wants me to start early. Says this year’s gonna be my best one yet, and I oughta get a headstart.”
Tails didn’t doubt that one bit, it being Sonic’s best year and all, but did he really need so much practice? The boy ran everywhere. In the halls, outside, upstairs, down the street. How much practice did the fastest thing alive need?
But Tails decides against saying anything, opts for being the supportive bro she knows Sonic needs.
“Okay, cool,” She nudges her glasses up her nose with her knuckle. “It’s just you? No one else?”
“Nah, it’s me ‘n the Shadster. Scourge was s’posed to be there too, but he’s got basketball. Thank god. ”
Tails cracks a smile.
“Hey, hey,” Sonic bumps his hip against hers. “You’re takin’ this better’n I thought, bud!”
“Heh.”
If he only knew.
Anxiety was one of Tails’ downfalls, (along with video games, hot chocolate, and puppies) meaning that abrupt decisions like Sonic’s sudden practice (and loud noises, and surprises, and a ton of other things) chipped at that little thing inside of her keeping her sane, pushing her closer and closer towards slightly not okay. Tails was not known for being slightly not okay.
She had a system. Schedules. She liked plans. Lists. Take algebraic functions for example. Input x, recieve y. Like night and day. Clear and concise. Not spur of the moment decisions as such.
But her dad, who was a darn good therapist, was also pretty good at teaching Tails to deal with change. Even if it had taken a while.
So instead of throwing a tantrum because her plans to go piss away time with her bro didn’t work out, Tails, ever the mature one, keeps quiet.
Sonic spots Sally further up the hall, and so, he bids Tails a quick goodbye, then speeds off probably to pester the class president. Tails snorts, turns on her heel, heading for the student parking lot. Maybe she could find something else to do.
Outside, the sun was bright as always, Tails squints in the blinding light, hopes that her transition lenses will hurry up and change. A nice breeze blows, not enough to tousle her short blond locks.
It was a Thursday. Friday eve. Tails didn’t have work. Or robotics. Or anyone blowing up her phone to fix their vehicle. Silver was at work. The rest of the crew had things of their own to do. The afternoon looked bleak indeed.
Somewhere between dominating Dad at Mario Kart and halfway doing what little homework she had, Tails gets a text from Knuckles. By now, she should know that anything from the goof is liable not to make much sense at all, even still, this text catches her off guard.
brassknux: slkASD its goNE BRUH IM
brassknux: myoNLY REASON FOR LIVING IS FUCCKIN GONE
twintails: what? who?
twintails: que pasa
brassknux is typing…
brassknux: dairy queen is closing
To the average joe, this might seem virtually unimportant, but for Knuckles… Dairy Queen was his second home. Tails wants to throw a boi at him. But that’d be heartless.
twintails: i am sincerely sorry for your loss sir, how can i help
brassknux: do you have a eulogy prepared
twintails: are you passing eggman’s physics?
brassknux: damn girl im mourning, must you be so harsh
twintails: can’t guarantee that
twintails: i’ll attend the funeral when is it?
brassknux: tonite, 5:45, blue’s driving
brassknux: practice ends at 5:30
Yes! Finally something to do! Honestly, she’d expected her senior year to be better than this. But it was five twenty-one right now. Would they make it there in time?
twintails: be there in a mobius minute
brassknux: oh no bebi what?? is you doing?
Tails snorts on her apple juice.
It takes some doing to get away from Mom and her fifty million questions, but thank God for Dad and his corny smile. He could get Mom to do anything with that thing. Even get her to play (and lose) Mario Kart.
“I shall return, parental units,” Tails salutes, and makes haste to the garage, thinking of what act of illegality Sonic Heroes would inevitably get into this evening.
…
By five-forty, neither of the bastards are out of practice, and Tails is wondering if their evening out on the town still stands. They were weak links, those two. Tails was always ready for action. She had an insatiable quench for danger, much to the dismay of her fellow bros. Lightweights.
“Bah!” Tails scoffs at the empty parking lot, turns to get back in her car and head home for a night of intense gaming and cookie munching.
That, of course, is when Maurice and Akeem burst out of the gym. Before Tails can utter a word, Knuckles has her swept up under his gargantuan ass arm like some sort of booger baby toddler, and they’re trucking it to Sonic’s Camaro.
And the saddest part is, this isn’t the first time this has happened.
“Get in!” Sonic unlocks the doors, and Tails is shoved into the small, cramped backseat. She wonders again, why Sonic decided to buy a car that was really only suited for two. Sonic Heroes was three. A trio. “Buckle up, dudes!”
The car starts with a roar, Crush 40 is blaring as they rip out of the parking lot.
Tonight's act of illegality? Speeding. Again. So boring and mediocre. So Sonic.
…
Dairy Queen was ten miles away in La Punta, the next town over. Tails found it preposterous, really. Windy Hill had a Sonic, where Sonic (that stopped being funny as soon as Sonic opened his stupid mouth with his lame puns) worked, a Starbucks, and just about anything imaginable. But no Dairy Queen.
It wasn’t odd for them to race across town to Dairy Queen. This happened at least once a month. The oddity of it all was the fact that Knuckles, who was rougher than the rest of ‘em, the best of ‘em, looked almost to tears. Oh.
“Hey, don’t cry, Knux,” Tails pats his shoulder from the backseat, and quickly recoils her hand. He’s still sweaty from practice. Yuck. “I’m sure we’ll find some place to be your new Dairy Queen.”
“It’ll never be the same,” His voice cracks, and Tails could cackle. This was too hilarious. “Nothin’ will ever take the place of her,” Because Knuckles was adamant the queen meant the place was a female. Had Tails not taught him enough about biases of gender roles in society? “Ever.”
Yikes. Abandonment issues, much?
“Okay,” Tails drawls. “But have you ever, I dunno, thought of maybe trying something new?”
Knuckles gasps. Sonic gasps even louder. Tails remembers she’s dealing with simpletons.
Knuckles turns around in his seat, dreads swinging as he does so. His violet eyes are small slits, his nose is scrunched up the way it always does when he’s pissed. Or confused. Or any other emotion, really.
“Yo, Sonic,” Knuckles says. “Tell Tails where’ta stick that try somethin’ new?”
Sonic cups his mouth with one hand, “In the fridge!”
Tails can’t even make a signature witty remark, the fools are too busy oh’ing and hyping one another up for her to get a word in. And honestly, with the two brain cells they had together, it probably took them a whole month to get that lame-o joke together.
“Yeah, yeah, at least I’m no—” Her statement is cut short as Sonic turns sharply, and Tails grabs onto the seat in front of her to stay in her own.
Knuckles says, “Step on the gas, Maurice!”
Tails can’t believe he’s telling Sonic this. Those were words that should never be uttered to him ever.
Sonic shifts gears, and shouts back “I got ‘er wide open, bro!”
That same question arises in the back of her mind as it does ever time Tails finds herself caught up in another one of Sonic’s speed rushes. Where in the hell were the cops whenever he was on the highway?
…
They come in the DQ parking on literally two wheels, Sonic doesn’t even have the car in park before Knuckles is out, sprinting towards the dimly lit building. It was six, closing time. Were they too late?
Sonic hops out, forgetting all about Tails in the back, and she curses his stupid car once again. Damn these suicide doors. Tails crawls to the front seat, and hobbles out of the car to catch up.
Knuckles is on the ground in front of the apparently locked doors, a single tear rolling down his brown cheek. They were too late.
“Man, Knux,” Sonic scuffs his sneaker on the ground solemnly. “I thought we’d make it too.”
“Shh,” Knuckles hushes him. Is it bad that Tails still wants to snicker? “There’s nothing left to be said,” He gets a little choked up. Tails pats him on the back. Still sweaty. Ugh. “Just… Milessa, the eulogy, if you will.”
Oh. She’d honestly forgotten about that. Still, Knux looks so pitiful, it’s the least she could do. Even if she’s dying laughing on the inside.
“Um, we are gathered here today in remembrance of Belwood Street Dairy Queen,” This sounds so stupid, they must look stupid too, Knuckles with his hands folded in prayer, Sonic down on one knee. “It was a good… Dairy Queen, the only one we had,” Someone says “Amen,” Tails isn’t sure who. “And we’ll always mi—”
A voice says, “We’re closed.”
The trio looks up. It’s a bored looking girl with orange hair and an eyebrow piercing. She has on a DQ uniform. A worker.
Knuckles sighs, “Do you have to rub it in? We just lost this place, okay? Can we grieve?”
The girl clucks her tongue, hand on her hip as she says, “Bro, they’re opening a new one right down the street, okay? Get a grip.”
Complete and utter silence follows. Even the cars on the highway seem quieter.
Tails glances down at Knuckles. The look on his face; Tails wishes she could remember it forever. She finally lets out the laugh she’d been holding in all night. Sonic laughs too. And the girl, she just frowns at them all, then turns and walks off.
Knuckles finally stands, and with a surprisingly steady voice, he mumbles, “I’m gon’ kick Vector’s ass.”