Wanton Boys

Chapter 1 - Welcome to Euphoria High

East Highland High School. A mess of teenagers. Drugs, drama and still more. The cold autumn breeze swept through the halls, entering through an open red door. The air smelled stale, and the atmosphere was dull at best. It was just a regular day at East Highland.

Rue Bennett, a lonely, misunderstood girl, walked down the hallway, her baggy clothes hanging off her, with a partially-open backpack suspended on her back, carrying the books she needed for her class. She wasn't going to use them, though, so they may as well have been decoration. Rue didn't know what she was going to do with her life. She hadn't paid attention in school in any class other than English, and she couldn't afford college. She was recently sober, after an incident with her friends Elliot and Jules. Were they just friends? Were they even friends? After everything that had happened, she didn't know.

'Your bag's open.'

A familiar voice told her as he approached, before zipping her bag up and walking with her. Sonic the Hedgehog had a... weird life. Adopted son of two humans, he was a blue hedgehog who could move fast enough to stop time. He was friends with Rue, and always supported her, in a low-key way, like her other friend, Lexi Howard. He'd been a real hero a few months prior, and had joined the elite team of heroes known as the Avengers. With the world not at threat for a while after the defeat of Thanos and the death of Tony Stark, Captain America, Natasha Romanoff and The Vision, he'd been laying low in a school. He wanted to hide, after Robotnik, his main nemesis, had disappeared. His friends, Tails and Knuckles were at the school too, but they were on a trip that day. From where he came from, his life was almost perfect now. He was happy, but like Peter Parker a few years prior, he'd secretly been dying to go on another adventure and relive a hero moment. He'd been fighting crime with Spider-Man for a few months, but he was tired of it. He was ready to do more.

'I spoke to Maddy the other day. She's such a badass!'

'Did someone say my name?'

Maddy was, like Sonic said, a badass. After cussing Cassie out a few weeks prior for getting with Nate, her douchebag ex, she'd been doing well with Kat, her friend, and BB, also known as 'vape girl'. She liked Sonic, because he was fun and gave her the attention she liked. She wasn't vapid, but who doesn't love some admiration? She loved him as a brother, and enjoyed spending time with him when she wasn't partying or babysitting, but she was secretly jealous of Sonic for the love he gets as an Avenger. But she didn't understand what he had been through. He lived through the Blip, and he'll never forget it.

The ensemble continued through the halls towards their English class, where they wouldn't listen, because they'd get all the notes from their friend Peter. Peter Parker was good friends with Edgar Gloucesterson. They did everything together. They gamed together, studied together, and worked together. The only thing they didn't do together was fight, because Peter had a secret identity. Spider-Man. The mysterious hero, loved around the world. He'd had some PR issues (that's one way to put it) since the death of Mysterio but had been doing alright recently, after an encounter with Dr Strange, friends and foes from around the multiverse. He lost everything after that, but Spider-Man lived on.

'Hey guys, Edgar's just gonna join us soon.'

'Hey Pete, you'll be surprised, I actually did my homework!', Maddy joked.

'I've got too much going on to do mine.', Sonic said as he sat, ready to listen to nothing but a podcast.

'Super-speed and all?'

'You know it, Rue.'

The door clicked open, and a figure entered the room. Heads turned, eyes locked on, and everyone stared in awe of the handsome Edgar. His flowing hair blew in the wind, and his sharp jawline turned heads. He had soft blue eyes, stubble on his chin, and wore a grey hoodie and jeans. He didn't dress to impress - his face was impressive enough. Sitting down, even the teacher took a look at him. He was the hottest in the school by far, and even teachers waited for him to graduate so they could try to get a piece of him.

Hours passed, and school ended. A drama-free day was a rare occurrence in East Highland High. Sonic ran home, Wanda Maximoff, Peter's new mother figure after they found themselves both hiding from everything, picked him up in her modest scarlet car, and Rue cycled home. Edgar's limo came for him, though he didn't like all the attention. Fridays meant parties, and this was true today. Maddy was holding a party to celebrate her recent victory against Cassie, and everyone was invited. But the fun couldn't last forever.