Author's note: Hello everyone! If this is your first time reading through the fic welcome. And if you are a reviewer of mine then you are of course warmly welcomed back. I'll even make it a virtual chocolate welcome, that's how much I like you!

Disclaimer: So what exactly would happen if I did claim to own something? No, I'm not stupid enough to actually do it so fear not. But I just wondered. Out of a healthy fear of the imagined and real horrors that would await me, should I indeed do something so foolish as to open that Pandora's Box, I respectfully disclaim ownership of the characters herein and whatever else I cannot claim.

"Ok honey. I'm going to get that. I'll call you in a little bit."

Jenny stood where she was as though rooted to the spot. It took a full minute for her to regain control of her limbs. When she did she turned slowly, clutching the railing of the stairs for support. She entered her room and closed her door softly behind her. Her mind whirling, she barely registered the sensation of her toes digging into the carpet as she crossed over to her bed. She seated herself on the edge and for a moment just sat there as if paralyzed. In the next instant she had fallen back sobbing for all she was worth.

It really was horrendously unfair. Her mom knew next to nothing about the true nature of the situation and yet with a few words she had done something Jenny wasn't sure she could ever forgive her for.

She had given her hope.

Jenny knew it was irrational and illogical. She shouldn't be allowed to feel hopeful about the circumstances. It wasn't right that she could hold out any hope at all that her fondest wish might come true. There was nothing at all to indicate that Jenny might be reunited with Julian.

But wait!

She bolted upright in her bed, tears stopping instantly. How could she forget? Julian had said that he thought their encounters might not be a dream after all!

Jenny smacked her palm to her head in annoyance. She should have been trying to fall asleep ages ago! She settled back down on top of her bed and closed her eyes. But she was too keyed up to sleep. She was bubbling over with anticipation over discovering what he could have possibly meant.

Was it possible that the elders had made a mistake when they carved out his name from the runestave? Did the fact that Julian had made it into her world before he faded out mean that the power of the runestave had been weakened, thus not fully destroying him?

If he wasn't a dream then where was he?

Oh no! What if he was trapped somewhere? What if the elders had been unable to carve him out and as a result he had become locked into the Shadow World? What if he was in some part where the elders couldn't find him?

That could make sense, Jenny realized with a smile. After all, how many times did the Shadow Men carve out one of their own? Surely there were enough foolish humans around that the Shadow Men were well occupied. At least they had to be occupied enough to not have to resort to killing each other off, right?

What if Julian had been the first? What if they had never before tried to kill one of their own? Maybe, just maybe they were only assuming they could end the existence of a Shadow Man!

Jenny fanned herself with her hands. She was becoming so caught up in these thoughts! Her cheeks were stained crimson and her breathing was as labored as if she had run a marathon.

She needed to come back down to earth. After all there was no proof that any of her wild speculations were grounded in reality. Looking around the room she tried in vain to find something to distract her from the feelings of exhilaration that were coursing through her veins. Finally she spied her book bag near her desk.

It was a slim chance that geometry homework would be able to engross her enough but it was worth a shot. Besides, she may very well find it so boring that she could fall asleep and thus be with Julian she reasoned, brightening considerably at the notion.

However she did manage to get through half of the work without falling asleep. That was mainly due to her mom calling up to her and asking her to come down for dinner.

Her mother waited for her at the bottom of the stairs and frowned when she noticed the red, puffy eyes and reddened nose her daughter was sporting. It was to her credit though that she said nothing, choosing instead to envelop her in a tight hug.

Her father, on the other hand, wasn't nearly so silent. He took one look at his daughter's face when she walked into the dining room and sprung out of his chair, walking over to her in brisk strides.

"What happened?" he asked, placing his hands on her shoulders and gazing into her eyes as if the answer would be found there.

"Tom and I broke up today."

"What!" he exclaimed, looking over to Jenny's mother for confirmation. When she nodded he turned back and embraced Jenny, stroking her hair and rubbing her back.

"What did he do? Did he hurt you? Are you okay?"

Her dad's over protectiveness made Jenny smile.

"He didn't do anything. No, he didn't hurt me and I will be okay." Her voice was muffled a little by her dad's shirt.

"Thanks dad." She disentangled herself from his hug and made her way to the table, sitting across from her brother. He looked as shocked as everyone else and there was a tinge of nervousness about him, as if he were unsure of how to act around her. He kept glancing at her as if he expected her to break down in tears at any moment.

After everyone had been seated her father turned to Jenny.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Umm, there's not really too much to say."

"Well, what do your friends think?" Obviously once she had affirmed that she would be okay Jenny had opened herself up to interrogation. At least her father had taken that as a cue to get the whole story.

"They don't know yet."

"Oh."

He seemed deflated and better yet, out of questions. At least for the moment. But he was never at a loss for words for long and this was no different. But he at least turned the talk to safer topics.

"So how are you doing in Spanish class?"

"Muy bien, gracias." They all smiled at the ease with which she slipped into the language.

"And what about geometry?"

"Well we have started to review for the final and as long as I can remember the formulas I guess I will do pretty well. There's talk that she's going to let us use a small cheat sheet so that should help."

"Even if she doesn't I'm sure you'll do just fine." Her mother assured her, giving Jenny's hand a small squeeze.

"What's new in history?"

"Nothing…it's all in the past."

Her dad chuckled at the long-standing joke. Her father's corny sense of humor was one of the things Jenny loved the most about him.

"How did your English assignment turn out? Were you able to find the etymology and quotes centered on that word you were looking for?"

"Oh yes. Thanks for the website address, too. It really made searching for the quotes easier."

"I'm glad to hear it. All your other classes pretty much reviewing for the finals at this point?"

"Yes, except for computers. He decided that we're not going to have a final test but instead he's assigned us a final project."

"Oh, what's that going to be?"

"Well we have to design a website. We're learning how to use Visual Basic, java script, COBOL, and some other graphic design stuff. It's going to be pass/fail and we're working with partners. He thinks it's more important that we focus on actually learning the stuff in a practical way. He wants us to feel like we're not under so much pressure that we have to memorize everything. So everyone is working together as a class and then we implement the stuff we've learned into our own pages."

"Well let me know if you need any help. And I'd like to see it when it's up and running, too."

"Sure thing dad."

"Well honey that was an outstanding meal. I'm so glad I didn't have to cook today." Her dad announced as he leaned over to give their mom a quick kiss.

Jenny met her brother's eyes and they both made gagging motions. When their parents noticed she and Joey broke out in laughter.

"Ha ha you two. Come on and help me clear the table," their mom said, rising out of her chair, "We have to leave your father here to contemplate what he's going to cook for us tomorrow."

"You're almost as funny as the kids, dear." Their dad announced.

Jenny was starting to think she was home free when she finished helping her mom and started up the stairs to her room again. But her brother followed and suddenly asked a question from behind her, startling her.

"Are you and Tom and everybody still going to be friends?"

It was an innocent enough question but unfortunately not one that she had really given any thought to.

"That's a good question and I don't really know the answer, to tell you the truth. I guess it depends on how everyone reacts to the news."

As she concentrated on finishing her homework later that night she couldn't help but be drawn back to the question again and again. It was really starting to worry her. What would her friends think? How would they react?

After a while she recognized the futility of worrying about it. Sure, she could call everyone and tell them. But she didn't want to do that. She didn't really feel like dealing with the interrogation she knew would follow the announcement. Besides, she and Tom needed to be on the same page in terms of their friendship…specifically how they were going to act around everyone. She figured that it all depended on how she and Tom interacted in each other's presence. If there was weirdness between them then chances were pretty good that everyone else would feel uncomfortable and not sure how to behave around the two of them.

Sighing she went back to finishing her homework, waiting for the time when she would feel sleepy enough to crawl into bed and go meet Julian.