Meadowbrook

by PKFennec

Summary:

In a small town on the coast of Westside Island, a young bat boy figures out how to survive high school in a brand new town.

Notes:

woohoo! i finally posted a fic! im figuring this story out as i go with only broad strokes planned out, so we'll see where things go from here! enjoy!

Chapter 1: Prologue: The First Night

With one final box, Gem the Bat was officially moved into his new room. After G.U.N started pestering him and his mom too much, his mom decided that enough was enough and moved them outside of G.U.N’s jurisdiction, to a small town on the coast of Westside Island: Meadowbrook. Since G.U.N only had authority over human continents outside of very special cases, they couldn’t touch him or his mom here.

Still, though, moving to a new place is never easy, let alone moving from Empire City to a small island town. His mom called out to him. “Gem, sweetie, can you help me move this box?”

He groaned and hustled out to the van. “Yes, mama…” He attempted to pick the box up, but failed.

“Sweetie, it would be easier if you used your wings.” He glared at his mother through his off-white bangs. “Right… sorry. I-It’s ok, you’re still just as capable even if your wings don’t work!” She course-corrected frantically.

“Just… leave that in the kitchen. I’ll unpack while you’re at your first day at your new school! How exciting is that!?” She got no response. “...okay, well, you put that in the kitchen while I order the pizza, okay?”

The young bat struggled to carry the large box into the kitchen. He struggled even more to make sure he put the box down gently enough to not break its contents. He collapsed on the living room couch, which thankfully was already set up and not in any boxes. He pulled out his phone and checked his socials. New Mika song, the “Days since Eggman has invaded an island” tracker account (which, surprisingly has made it to double digits), advertisements for some resort in Holangi, the usual. At least something was the same. His mom entered the house and sat next to him, wrapping a wing around him.

“Pizza’s ordered, sweetie.” She noticed his silence, “Hey, think of it this way: you get a fresh start, away from G.U.N pestering us about your aunt’s… antics! You’re gonna make so many new friends!”

“...I don’t WANT new friends. I was happy with the friend I had.”

“Sweetheart… I know this isn’t ideal, but… sometimes you just gotta… take what you have and appreciate it for what it is. You’ll never be satisfied if you keep comparing what you have right now to what you had back then.” She took his chin in her hand. “Look outside, sweetie… we have a view of the beach! We didn’t even HAVE a beach back in Empire! You can’t hyperfocus on what you lost. That will only make you sad. You need to focus on what you’ve gained. A beach, new friends, maybe even a girlfriend…?”

“Not interested.”

“Boyfriend?”

“Mom.”

“Okay, okay, I get it. Just… promise me that you’ll at least try to see the silver lining in all this, okay, sweetie?”

“...I’ll try.”

The two were interrupted by a knock at the door. “That must be the pizza!” His mom stood up and answered the door. She returned with a large pizza box and a small brownie tin. “No meal like the first meal in a new house, huh?”

“...I wouldn’t know. This is my first first.”

“It is, isn’t it. Well, better late than never.” The two spent the rest of the night eating and trying to figure out their new hometown.

Chapter 2: The First Day

Notes:

This took entirely too long to put out. I'm sorry.

Anyway it's Gem's first day at his new school! :D I'm certain everything will go well!

Gem wondered if he’d ever get used to waking up in this new house. To the sounds of birds chirping and wind blowing instead of cars honking and electronic billboard advertisements. It was peaceful. Annoyingly peaceful. He sat up and got up from his mattress. He reached into his boxes and found his reliable purple turtleneck sweater and black pants. Just then, he could smell the scent of pancakes. His favorite.

Throwing his clothes on, he rushed to the kitchen. “Morning, mama.” He greeted his mother.

“Good morning, sweetie!” She responded, happily flipping a pancake in the pan. “I thought I’d start your first day in Meadowbrook with your favorite food!”

He cringed at the reminder that he was no longer at home. His mom sighed, “Sweetie… What did I tell you last night? This is the start of something great for you! You’re going to the highest rated high school on the island!”

“The only other option is filled with racist foxes, it’s not a high bar…”

“You focus too much on the negatives, sweetheart. Just think, you can walk to school, get some fresh air, save money on subway tickets, all away from those annoying, pestering, G.U.N PIECES OF-” She took a deep breath to calm herself down. “Okay, look. I just want you to have the best time here that you can, okay? But for that to happen, you have to at least try to see the good in all of this. Can you do that for me?”

“...yes, mama.”

“That’s my boy.” She placed a plate of pancakes down on the table. “Now, eat up! You can’t make a good first impression on an empty stomach!” He practically inhaled the pancakes. “That’s almost a new record, sweetie! Now, after school today, I want you to explore the town, get acquainted with the major spots, introduce yourself to the locals. Got that?”

He rolled his eyes, which were thankfully obscured by his bangs, and grabbed his backpack. “Yes, mama. Love you.”

“I love you too, sweetheart. Have a great day, make good choices!”

He shut the front door behind him and set off towards the school, which he had thankfully studied the route to the night before. He made his way through the maze of halfway-maintained sidewalks and roads, passing through the town square before finally arriving at his destination: Meadowbrook High. He took a deep breath in and entered through the set of glass double doors.

He was instantly hit with a wave of noise, his new peers yelling over each other to make sure their companions could hear them. His large bat ears only served to make the noise louder than it would be to a person with smaller ears. He took some more deep breaths to relax himself, like he would at his old school. Each of the hundreds of waves settled into a single dull tide.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to see a tall mouse boy, around his age. He looked like a nerd. “So you must be the new transfer student?” His voice was practically drowning in condescension. Every word had an air of ‘I’m so much better than you’. “Starting so late in the year, mm, you poor thing. Every class’s halfway through final prep by now.”

“I’m well aware.”

“Ah, I can already see it, your previous schools failed you, didn’t they? Well, can’t expect much more from someone who was raised around humans, hm? My name’s Percival, 3 time winner of the island Trimathalon? I’m sure you’ve heard of me by now, my name’s kinda plastered all over town…?”

“...No it… isn’t-”

“I assure you, it is. Now, the vice principal wants me to make sure you don’t get lost on your first day, but frankly, I don’t have the neurons to spare, so don’t bother me, and I won’t bother you, intelligere?”

“...sure thing.”

“Good, now scurry along and get away from me.” He practically ordered, wiping his already gloved hands off on his completely arbitrary tie.

Gem was more than happy to comply, continuing down the main corridor. He stopped at a bulletin board listing upcoming events; final day plans, summer school, a poster for a paid field trip to tour Restoration HQ with a big red ‘CANCELLED, NO REFUNDS’ stamp over it, among other things. Missing persons posters for a green tenrec and a small teal fennec, advertisements for the pizza place his mom had ordered from last night, and sign-up sheets for the next school year’s extracurriculars.

There was nothing of note on the board, so he decided to find his next class. World History in room 326. Which, if he remembered correctly from his brief tour on the day prior, was clear on the other side of the building, one and a half minutes before the first bell rang. Wonderful.

He made it to his class mere seconds before the bell rang. An unfortunately familiar face caught his eye. It was Percival, right next to the only open seat. He begrudgingly sat down next to the pompous prick as the teacher began speaking to the class.

“Alright, alright, class, settle down.” The teacher was an adult porcupine, he wore an outfit similar to Percival’s, albeit a complete set rather than a completely pointless tie and fake collar.

“It’s that time of the year again, and it’s time to review for our end-of-course assessment. Now, I’ve put together some slides with questions on them. Whoever gets the question right,” he pulled out a container of fruit-flavored candies, “gets candy. Easy, right? Now, let’s begin.” He pressed a button on his remote and advanced to the next slide. “What is the one piece of evidence we had that points to the Gaians’ existence?” Gem raised his hand mere milliseconds after Percival. Regardless, the teacher turned his attention to the young bat. “Yes?”

Percival spoke before Gem could answer. “Um, actually, Mr. Magister, sir, I raised my hand first!?” He was clearly pissed off.

The teacher held his hand up to silence the mouse. “I wanna see what the new guy knows. Now,” he turned back to Gem, “Care to answer?”

“Um…” He started, “The only e-evidence we had was the Gaia Temples, b-but they all, um… disappeared…?”

“Correct! Your old school clearly taught you well. Now…” The teacher continued to advance through the questions, and Gem began to hastily write the ones he wasn’t taught about in his notebook, all the while Percival sat there, frozen and confused that someone that wasn’t him had the audacity to say the correct answer.

Eventually the bell rang and the rest of the class stood up and rushed out of the classroom. Gem hung back, not wanting to get caught in the crowd, and the teacher gave him a pat on the back. “Good job today, kid. ‘Specially for your first day. I look forward to teaching you in the time left in this year.”

“Th-thank you, sir.” He stammered out. “H-Have a good day.” He gathered his things and speed-walked out of the classroom, only to be caught off guard and shoved against the row of lockers as soon as he entered the hallway.

“Listen here, new boy.” Percival’s ear-piercing voice rang out. “If you ever think about upstaging me like that again? I will make sure that you, and whatever family you brought here, can never show your faces anywhere in the South Sea Islands again, y’hear me?”

Gem stayed silent, not exactly knowing how to respond. The mouse took offense to his lack of response. “DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME!? I have connections, defect, I-”

The mouse’s rant was cut short by a loud metallic clang. “Get away from him.” A gruff yet feminine voice bellowed.

“Oh, joy, it’s Tether.” The mouse groaned. There was a shaky quality to his voice that wasn’t there before. “I’ve got my eye on you, bat.” Gem felt Percival let go of his turtleneck and leave.

He was just about to continue to his next class when the girl suddenly grabbed his chin and forced him to look up at her. She was a tall cat girl, wearing a leather jacket with the sleeves torn off. She was noticeably muscular, her toned arms exposed where the sleeves of her jacket would be normally. “Listen here, dork. From now on, no one gets to push you around except for me, got it!? If anyone gives you a hard time, you find me and tell me immediately! Understand!?” She yelled.

Gem felt his face begin to heat up. This girl had such a commanding presence. He felt compelled to go with whatever she said. Like second nature, he stammered out, “Y-Yes, ma’am.”

Tether let go of his chin. “Good boy. Come find me at lunch, ‘kay?” She stood up and left, leaving Gem all by himself in the hallway… right as the tardy bell for the next period rang.

Throughout the next three hours, he found himself routinely distracted by what had happened in the hallway that morning. Why did he feel so obligated to say yes to whatever she said? What was it about her that made him so… easily swayed? Why didn’t he even want to say no?

He was snapped out of his thoughts by the lunch bell ringing. Using his map for reference, he made his way into the cafeteria. He immediately laid eyes on the girl from earlier, sitting all alone in a window. He made his way towards her and sat down, putting his lunch bag on the floor. “You actually came.” She remarked. “You’re awful obedient, y’know that?”

He felt his face start to heat up again. “Y-You could say that…”

She wrapped an arm around the small bat. “I can work with this. Now, here’s how things work around here. You belong to me, and only me. If anyone tries to push you around, you tell me immediately, and I’ll deal with them. Understand, runt?”

“Y-Yes ma’am.” He stuttered.

“That’s a good boy. I think you and I are gonna get along quite nicely.”

Eventually, the final bell rang and every student rushed outside. As always, Gem was the last to leave, watching as the wave of students dissolved slowly, each one going in a separate direction. Some small groups stuck together, discussing weekend plans. He started towards his own house, trying hard to remember the route he took to get here. He passed by a gas station. There was a poster labeled “NOT WANTED” with Percival’s face and name stapled to a utility pole. Guess his name really was plastered all over town.

After an hour or so of aimless drifting he finally stumbled upon him and his mother’s new “home”. He pushed the front door open and dropped his backpack in the doorway, ready to rid himself of it for the evening. He heard his mom washing dishes in the kitchen. “Oh, hi sweetie!” She rushed over to him and gave him a hug, getting his turtleneck wet in the process. “How was your first day at school?”

“I-It was… good?” He answered, unsure of whether or not to call it that.

“Did you make any new friends?” His mother questioned.

“Y…Yeah, you could… say that, I suppose…”