|~Better Off Dead~| (A Sonic The Hedgehog Fanfic)

Chapter 1: The Lightning Before The Storm

TAILS POV: TALKS OF ABUSIVE PARENTS AND EATING DISORDERS, SWEARING
   
    Like usual, Sonic's alarm wakes me up at 6:30 A.M. when I'm trying to sleep. I wake up two hours after Sonic, but usually I spend the two extra hours staring at the ceiling while Sonic gets ready for the day. I hate being a light sleeper.
    I hear Sonic jump out of bed and run the bathroom, closing the door behind him. I've always wondered why he can't just walk. All you have to do is climb down the ladder and walk a few feet to the bathroom.
    I look beside me and I see that Knuckles' bed is empty. He's probably training, even though he was training when I went to sleep last night. That echidna can't catch a break, can he?
    I decide to get up earlier today, since I'd rather do something productive than lay in my bed for the next two hours. I hop out of bed and I slip on my shoes. I put on my hoodie today since Knuckles "accidentally" broke our heater, and it's always so freezing in the morning.
    I climb down the ladder, like a normal person, and I walk into the living room. The big hole in the living room wall still hasn't been fixed since Knuckles keeps chasing away all the workers who come to fix it. So childish.
    I notice Maddie isn't up yet. Tom is out of town right now, so Maddie has to somehow deal with Sonic, Knuckles and I. I try my best to be quiet so I'm not such a burden. I was always a burden back on my home planet...
I see Knuckles outside, picking up random logs and using them as weights. Knuckles went missing for a couple days after Maddie grounded him a couple days ago. I was so worried, but turns out, he was just helping Wade win a bowling match against Wade's dead-beat-dad. Well, after fighting a bunch of lunatics...
Maddie was this close to grounding Knuckles for the next decade, but I talked her out of it somehow. I must be really persuasive. Well, Sonic said it's because I'm cute and fluffy, but I don't believe him. I'm a freak with two tails. That's it.
Anyways, I hear Sonic walk out of the bathroom and close the door. Sonic runs up to me. "Oh, look who decided to get up early today~" He says, and I just roll my eyes. "Your alarm always wakes me up, I have no choice!" I answer. He just chuckles. "Well maybe you shouldn't stay up so late making those little gadgets of yours. That's why we having something called daytime," he says, patting me on my back. I can't help but smile. Sonic has a way of making everyone smile around him. All I do is get dirty and confused looks.
Well, sometimes someone will come up and try to pet me, which makes me more uncomfortable than the dirty looks. I'll never admit it though. If it makes them happy...
I hear Maddie's bedroom door open. Looks like she's awake. Before I even see Maddie, Ozzy trots up to me. The sad thing is, he's almost taller than me. I'll never hear the end of it from Sonic. He's always teasing me about how short I am. I mean, I can't blame him. If we switched heights for a day, I'd tease him too.
Maddie walks out and smiles at Sonic. She smiles even wider when she notices I'm awake too. Must be fake though, I mean, how could I make someone happy? I'm a freak.
    "Morning you two! Happy to see that you decided to wake up earlier today, Tails!" She says happily. I just nod. While Maddie makes breakfast, Sonic talks to her. The whole time. If I even tried that with my dad back home, I think he'd hit me.
    I haven't told Sonic, or anyone, about my life back home. Only about how I didn't have friends because of my two tails. I don't know when I should tell them, I mean, how do you bring up your abusive parent in a random conversation?
    And what if they think of me differently? Or treat me differently? I don't want to risk that. But also, I can't keep it a secret forever. I mean, they're my family.
    Saying I have a family is weird. I never thought of my family as my family back at home. I only thought of my dad as the guy who gave me life, and I only thought of my siblings as the two people who my dad actually liked. My mom, however, was amazing.
    She was so sweet, and caring, and calm! She taught me a lot of what I know. But then she died of cancer when I was only three. After that, my dad completely changed.
    Ah, shit. I'm getting caught in my thoughts again, aren't I? Maddie is already done with breakfast. I need to stop zoning out so much.
    I sit at the table next to Sonic. Maddie sits down the plates. "Hey, Tails, can you go get Knuckles for me?" Maddie asks me. "Sure thing, Maddie!" I say, hopping off the chair and walking outside.
    I see Knuckles still lifting logs as if they were weights. I walk up to him and gently tap him on his shoulder. He looks at me and asks, "What is it, fox?"
    "It's time for breakfast," I answer. He looks at me for a moment, then he drops the log. "Okay fox," he says, walking inside. I follow closely behind, but not too close.
    I sit back in my seat at the table, next to Sonic. Sonic and Maddie have already started eating. I look down at my plate: Eggs and bacon. I keep looking at it while thinking, "Is this too much food? Is it not enough food? Am I going to look like a snob if I eat this? What if I eat it too fast? Or what if I eat it too slow and Maddie thinks I don't like her cooking? What if-" but then Sonic interrupts my thoughts.
    "Hey, why aren't you eating?" He asks. Shit. My worst nightmare. What if he thinks I have an eating disorder? What if I do have an eating disorder? No, that's not possible, is it?
    "U-Uhm, sorry, I just zoned out..." I say. Sonic looks concerned. I don't know why though. "You've been zoning out a lot, hon," Maddie says as if she read my mind. I look down. "It's fine. I'm fine," I say. I doubt they'll buy it though, they can somehow always, and I mean always, see through me.
    "Are you sure you're okay buddy? You've been acting...weird these past few days," Sonic asks. I just shrug. "I don't know why you all think that," I say. Sonic sighs. "Okay then. Eat up, bud," Sonic says, turning back to his plate. Something I like about Sonic is that he'll never push someone to say what's wrong when it's obvious they don't want to. Wait, was it that obvious?

Once we finish eating, Sonic and I decide to go on a walk together. Maddie said she's going to find some new workers to fix the gaping hole in our living room wall, which I appreciate. And of course, Knuckles went back to training.
    Sonic and I like to go to this park with woods. The woods are nice and cool, and very calming. Sometimes we see Earth's version of foxes running around, which I find cool. Sonic finds it comical for some reason.
    As we walk, I start hearing footsteps behind us. Not normal footsteps, weird footsteps. With a weird pattern. Every time I go to turn around, they go faster, and I hear bushes move. But whenever my back is turned to the footsteps, they're slow and steady.
    I don't think much of it, until everything starts going so fast. I just feel a fist make contact with my head, a sharp pain, and all I see is pitch black.

1361 Words