1983

"Violet, sweetheart. Come downstairs and meet our neighbors!" Ben called up the stairs to his daughter. He turned and walked into the living room, smiling at the occupants.

"It is so nice to meet you, Constance." Ben sat opposite the woman.

"Oh, the pleasure is all mine. You have such a beautiful family, Dr. Harmon." Constance smiled brightly as she admired a family portrait sitting on the side table.

"Thank you. I was certainly blessed. And please, call me Ben."

Ben turned when he heard the sound of heels walking into the room. "Oh, this is my wife Vivien. Vivien, this is our neighbor Constance." The two women smiled at each other and exchanged hellos.

Constance turned her head when she heard her son make a noise in his throat. "Oh yes, this is my son Tate. He is my pride and joy, just like his twin sister." Constance wrapped her arm around Tate, and the small boy shrugged it off, scowling at his mother. He was not happy about being paraded around to the new neighbors.

"He is absolutely precious." Vivien smiled at the small, blonde boy. "I have always wanted a son, but it just is not in the cards for us right now. How many children do you have?"

"I have Tate and his twin sister, Lilly. They are my angels. I also have a daughter Addie and a son Beau. You will not see them much. They stay in the house most of the time."

"And your husband?"

"Oh… Well he is no longer with us." Constance said in a sad tone.

"I am so sorry!" Vivien said apologetically.

Vivien turned her head when she saw a small figure out of the corner of her eye. "There you are, honey. Come say hello. Constance, Tate, this is our daughter Violet."

Violet smirked at the strangers. She kept her eyes on the young boy.

"Well aren't you just the cutest thing in the world?" Constance cooed at Violet.

"Not really." Violet snipped, still staring at Tate.

Ben laughed. "Our Violet, so mature for her age."

Constance smiled politely. Tate stared at the girl standing by the door. Their eyes had been connected for a few moments before she turned around and walked away.

"Tate, darling, why don't you go play with sweet Violet while us adults get to know each other better?"

Tate did not have to be asked twice. He jumped up from the seat and followed the path that Violet took to the backyard. He found her sitting on a swing. He went and sat down beside her, staring at his feet.

"Why did you move here?" He asked quietly, too nervous to look at her.

"My mommy and dad fight all of the time. They said that if we moved here, everything would get better."

"Has it?"

"No. I hate it here."

Tate finally looked at the small girl. She was only a year younger than him, but she was so much smaller than him. "Me too."

The two sat in silence for a while. Violet lifted her eyes to look at Tate, and he looked at her. She smiled at him before pushing her small hand against his shoulder. "Tag! You're it!"

Violet took off running across the backyard. Tate jumped off the swing and chased after her. He could almost reach her when she ran along the side of the Harmon's pool. He reached out his arm to tag her, and before his hand could hit hers, Violet slipped and fell into the water.

She was flailing and splashing in the water. She tried to scream, but the chlorine filled water filled her mouth and burned her eyes. She could feel herself going under the water and sinking to the bottom. The next thing she knew, she felt something grab her hand and pull her up and over to the shallow end of the pool. She was pulled onto the stairs. She coughed up the water that she had swallowed.

Tate watched the little girl start to take normal breaths of air again. He sat down on the stairs, trying to catch his own breath. When Violet was finally coherent, she looked at him.

"You saved me."

Tate opened his mouth to say something when a scream came from the other end of the yard.

"Violet! Tate! Are you two okay? What happened?" Vivien came running across the yard and pulled the two small children into her arms. Violet turned her head into Vivien's shoulder. Vivien picked up her small daughter in one arm and took Tate's hand with her other, leading the children back into the house. "Let's get you both into some dry clothes."

ONE WEEK LATER

Today was Violet's first day of school. She started kindergarten at Westfield Elementary school. She already hated her too bubbly teacher and every kid in her class. Everyone seemed so fake, and no one wanted to talk to Violet. She stood out in the class because she insisted on wearing a long sleeved shirt, floral dress, purple tights, and a black hat to school.

It was in the middle of the school day, lunch time, when she encountered Tate in the hallway. She had been walking to the bathroom when she heard a scream coming from around the corner. She found Tate being stuffed into a trash can by two older boys.

"Stop it!" She called and ran over to them. The two boys turned around and glared down at her.

"This is none of your business little girl." One of them sneered at her, and the other laughed and nodded his head.

"Leave him alone." Violet's voice was full of confidence.

"Or what? Your little boyfriend is a freak and deserves to be taken out with the rest of the trash."

Violet gasped and walked up to one of the boys. She kicked her small foot into the boy's calf, causing him to fall over yelling in pain.

"You little bitch!" The other one lunged at her, and Violet's finger poked him in the eye, causing him to join the other boy on the floor.

Violet ran over to the trash can and helped Tate climb out of it.

Tate stared at the small girl in amazement. "You saved me."

Violet smiled. "We're even. Let's go back to the lunch room." She took Tate's hand in hers and led him away from the two bullies.

Awe, little Violet is already becoming a strong girl, like she is in the show! Has anyone noticed the theme of the story yet? The next chapter will be set in 1987 when Tate is 10, and Violet is 9.