Summary: The world became cruel towards Marnie Cromwell and family after the danger passed. Hurt, angry, and hateful, she moves to Halloweentown. Watch her change as she meets an old friend who might have the key to putting her heart back together...and making those who broke it pay.

Disclaimer: Kami/God/Jesus/Zeus/Whoever…I am soooooo sick of these things. So here it is…blah blah don't own Halloweentown blah….yada yada…characters and places not mine… yada yada…all original characters, places and plots are mine…

Author's Note: This is my first Halloweentown Fan Fiction. It takes place after Halloweentown High. I'm afraid it will be filled with angst, perhaps some darker moods and themes. Pairings are unknown right now, though definitely not MarnieCody. Sorry guys…Cody bashing full ahead in this chapter…anyways…without further ado…on to

The story with you!

Title:

Driven

Chapter Number:

1

Chapter Title:

Musings Over Plain Glass

Movie:

Halloweentown Trilogy

Quote Time

"When it comes to discrimination/prejudice, the difference between fools and asses is this: A fool dislikes those who are different simply because they are different; they challenge what is outside of the realm their mind can accept. An ass hates someone for their differences. Not because they aren't normal to them, but because they aren't them. For example, the person being discriminated against may have blonde hair and the ass has brown…and that's the only problem."

-My friend Emily in a discussion about discrimination towards gays…not on topic…but it fits-

Story

Marnie sat and stared at the glass in front of her. It was the same glass she had drank out of for as long as she could remember. Simple, soft curve, smooth, clear glass… plain and ordinary…just the way her mother liked it. Just the way the world liked it. Marnie was quickly discovering that. Here in the mortal world, there was no room for magick except in books and movies. Real magick was shunned. Unwanted and unneeded. There was no room for that kind of different here. Blonde African Americans with almond shaped gray eyes were accepted. They got a few curious looks, but at least they weren't downright rejected. Witches, however, were a different story. Apparently, there was no room for her here. Not anymore…

Oh, at first…how cool it had been…she was a source of awe and respect. Now, the only things she got were fearful, loathing looks. She was discriminated against by everyone. It wasn't fair…she was just as normal as any other teenager in every sense…so she could do magick…it wasn't her fault. She took pride in that fact. It was something to be proud of. How it had hurt her when friendships were ended because of their uneducated disapproval of her magick. She had never turned anyone into a frog!

But still the taunts rained unmercifully down on her. "Witch, Witch, Witch!" was a common cry in the halls. "Hey witch, turned anyone into a frog lately?" or "Witch, hey witch, what're you going to do if I don't stop…cast a spell on me?" were heard when she tried to walk home. Although they had approved of Cromwell magick when it was saving their skin…they didn't care for it much after they were safe. Yes, even Cody. Her sweet, caring, appreciative Cody…had turned his back on her.

Flashback

It was a cool winter day when Marnie arrived at school. She had caught a ride from her mom, and was hoping to see Cody before school started. And had she seen him. When she reached the spot they usually met, she walked in on the sight of him all over the slinky, popular blonde that was wrapped around his body. As she cleared her throat, the two briefly broke apart, long enough for the blonde to say "Sorry, freak, but Cody doesn't date witches…" That was the last straw. She had slapped Cody, broke up with him, and cut school. No one said anything about the missing witch. They would gladly let her family think she was there. They wouldn't do anything that would risk her coming back if they could prevent it by pretending she was there.

End Flashback

That day was the beginning of the end for Marnie. The last straw had been pulled from the haystack…and just what was going to emerge from the chaos of snapped nerves, raw emotion and broken straws was still yet to be seen.

Reaching out for the plain glass, she took a sip, making a careful gesture. Within seconds, the smooth, soft texture became bumpy and slightly rough, and the clear glass was a bright, colorful blue. She smiled faintly before washing it out in the sink and placing it in the drain board. How out of place it looked among all the other glasses! So like her in the mortal world. Well, she figured, 'if I can't be normal here, then I'll go where I am normal.' Flicking her wrist, the glass returned to its original state, even as she left the kitchen. She had some packing and explaining to do.