Spooky

Chapter 2

-Scourge's POV-

I trudge up the stairs, my backpack weighing heavily on my shoulders, threatening to squash me. Sweat beads on my forehead, but I hastily wipe it away—no need for the whole school to know how out of shape I am. Hiding from a rival gang all summer long can really do a number on your stamina. As my foot hits the landing, I straighten up, growling slightly as I squint at the paper in front of me through rose-tinted vision. According to it, my name's gonna be on one of the doors, with someone else's name below it. Rolling my shoulders, I grin, my leather jacket's buckle thumping against my leg. I hope my roommate's cool. Looking back and forth, I try to figure out which direction to walk in. With a shrug, I turn left, glancing from door to door as I thump down the corridor lazily. Slumping, I sigh, ears twitching. "This is boring," I complain, "why couldn't they have just posted where we're gonna be at the top of the stairs?" What a stupid idea, just posting a notice on each door... Scratching the side of my head, I glare at the last door in this hallway. It doesn't bear my name.

"Dammiiiiitttt..." I whine at length, "now I gotta turn back around..."

"Tired, Scourge?" An obnoxiously familiar voice sounds from behind me, and I stiffen, bristling. Crap, and my twin's here too?

"No, Sonic," I snap, straightening up and turning to face him with an ugly glare. "Mind ya own damn business, anyways."

He snorts, raising his hands in a gesture of defeat. "Fine, whatever, like I care," with a chuckle, he turns around, going back into his room. Throwing a final sneer over his shoulder, he shuts the door right as I stick my tongue out, making a gross face at him.

Screw you too, Sonic, I glower, crossing my arms. I hate him. So much. Sulking now, I stomp back over to the center staircase, shoving past a small orange fox rudely. "Move it, pipsqueak," I snarl, grabbing him by the forehead and forcibly moving him out of my way. He lets out a frightened yelp, flailing as he falls down, and I smirk, feeling a bit better. Maybe I'm not so out of shape after all. At the other end of the hall, I see a dark-clad figure holding a paper in its hand, a suitcase sitting next to it. Weird, I don't think I've seen them before... Have I? They seem oddly familiar, so I assume they're some unpopular kid. As I grow nearer, I try to discern the features of their face; luckily for me, they remove the hood from their head, shaking their hair out a bit, and my eyebrows raise. Hang on, I do know him... Picking up the pace, I call out, "Hey, you!" What's his name? Somethin' tells me he's got a nickname...

"Hm?" The hedgehog answers, turning to face me. His bright crimson eyes pierce into mine, and I almost flinch. Damn, that's one scary look he's got... His fur is pitch-black, with bright blood red stripes streaking his spines, and he wears a jet-black hoodie with the letters "NIN" stamped on the left side, right next to the armpit of his jacket, in small white letters surrounded by a white box; the second N is backwards. He blinks over at me, and I notice that his eyelids are darker than the rest of his fur, somehow.

"What'cha got?" I ask, grabbing the paper, and he starts, clearly not used to people interacting with him. He doesn't offer an answer as I read the paper, just turns away and picks up his suitcase. My eyes widen when I read my name. "Oh," I mumble, glancing back over at him. He angles his head, looking up at me while still bent slightly, and I notice two little skulls glittering in his ears. Badass.

"We're roommates," he says flatly, his voice a dark growl, much more intimidating than his appearance. For the first time, I'm feeling a little threatened. Dayum, that voice is more rugged than a cliff, but his look just screams "twelve-year-old freshly blown in from Hot Topic." What the hell?