Thanks to The Star Swordsman, Inspector Brown, RubyVulpix, and 100Insane for reviewing! Oh, and in this story Violet and Tony are freshmen in high school

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Chapter 1: Hiding Something

Sixteen years later...

"Violet, wait up!" called Tony Rydinger as his girlfriend passed the classroom he had just been dismissed from. She turned around to face him, her blue eyes smiling.

"Hi, Tony," she greeted him. "Haven't seen you much today."

Nodding, Tony replied, "I know. I wish we had more classes together. At least it's lunch now."

Side by side they headed for the cafeteria, catching up on each other's weekend. Tony had been in Sacramento for a day and a half, visiting family, and Violet had just been relaxing at home. As they got their lunches and sat down at a table Violet asked, "So are we going out on Saturday night?"

"Um, no, actually, I have something else I have to do," replied Tony quickly. Violet noticed that although he was still smiling he refused to look her in the eyes.

However, she dismissed it as nothing and shrugged. "Okay. How about Sunday afternoon?"

"Yeah, that works." Tony changed the subject. "You have bio next, right?"

"Ugh, yes," groaned Violet. "I'd much rather go to English with you."

Grinning, Tony said, "Yeah, you would." English was one of Violet's favorite classes because she wrote poetry and short stories in her spare time and she liked to read. "Would you still want to come if it wasn't English?"

Violet smiled and slapped him half-heartedly on the shoulder. "Of course!"

Later that day in study hall, Violet was working on her biology homework while Tony was writing something. Earlier she had asked to see it but he'd shook his head and told her, "It's nothing, just something for English."

This made her slightly suspicious but she decided not to press the issue and went back to her homework. Several minutes later Tony got up to sharpen his pencil and Violet couldn't resist sneaking a look at the paper. All she could read before he got back were two lines: "The shadow is changing me/And I cannot stop it."

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The shadow is changing me/And I cannot stop it. Violet mused over the lines for the rest of the day. What could they mean? Maybe a literal shadow...but it didn't make sense. You change your shadow, it doesn't change you. I don't understand...

She confronted Tony on the bus ride home. "What does your poem mean, Tony? What is 'the shadow'?"

His eyes widened, resembling a deer caught in a car's headlights. "How - how do you know about that?"

"I looked at your paper during study hall. Tony, I know something's going on with you. Please tell me. I want to help." Her blue eyes pleaded with him.

But Tony shook his head. "I'm sorry, Violet, but I can't tell you."

Slumping down into the seat, Violet sighed. "Okay. But I can keep a secret, Tony. If you ever need me I'm here."

Tony looked at her and saw she was serious. "Vi, I wish I could tell you, but I can't."

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