I'm very sorry for the slow updating, I've had pretty severe writer's block... but don't worry, I will NEVER abandon a story, so I will eventually update if it takes me a long time to.

Also, I'm not entirely sure about what mind-set My Candy Love is in...

By mind-set I mean like, in an anime world or the regular world... So, just to clear things up a little, I'm used to writing fanfics in an anime world, meaning this may be a bit more anime..ish... if that makes any sense at all. :)

"I still have no idea why I stormed off like that.." Lucine sighed, taking an angry bite of her cheesecake.

Violette glanced down at her sketch pad and stabbed a strawberry on her plate. She and Lucine had been out at the mall for most of the evening. Violette had thought the experience was fun, but her companion hadn't seemed to enjoy it at all.

Lucine would often mutter about not knowing why she got so angry that Leigh wanted her to change back to her regular self; Violette didn't exactly know how and what to tell her... so they both ended up being silent.

"Um, should I get us some drinks?" Violette asked, glancing up at Lucine with a small smile.

Lucine took a moment to answer, "No... I'm fine... I just..."

Violette looked at her expectantly, hoping Lucine would finally tell her everything instead of muttering about it occasionally. Maybe then she'd know what to tell her after she knew the whole story. When Lucine went silent once again, Violette sighed and put her hand over Lucine's in hope to comfort her.

"Lucine, please tell me what's going on."

Lucine glanced up at Violette with troubled amethyst eyes before thinking over where to begin. It pissed her off remembering everything that happened. It really did.

Grimacing, Lucine swallowed another bite of her cheesecake and gave a frustrated sigh.

"Well... I walked out of the nurses office... and then all of these people started giving me this look... like I was a goddess, or something... and I was so happy on the inside because they weren't looking down on me as if I was weak.. like they always do..."

Violette listened carefully, wondering if her spell was actually helping out at all. She casted it to gain more practice with her magic, and she hoped to have been of help to Shy, but it only seemed to have caused more trouble instead.

"...then I was looking for Leigh... I'm not sure why, but I think I wanted to see what he thought of me looking like this... My spirits were so high while I searched for him..." Lucine's eyes were in flames as she went on, "Then I found Leigh and Rosalya and Lysander... and they were all stunned to see me. It was expected since I looked so different, right?"

Violette nodded. She herself was shocked that Lucine had appeared in front of her with such a womanly form. Partly because she was surprised her powers had worked.

"And... Lysander and Rosalya started talking about how different I looked... but then Leigh cut them off and ... told me that we needed to hurry and get me back to normal! It pissed me off because I was so confused... so I left ..."
Violette smiled, "I see..."
"It's been bugging me all day, I just don't get why his opinion matters so much..."
Violette blinked, "Lucine... you've been dealing with acceptance your whole life, haven't you?"

Lucine frowned and looked over at Violette. "Acceptance? Why would I be worried about being accepted? That sounds ... that sounds..." her angry look faltered.

So she's not as tough as she looks, I see...Violette thought with a small smile.

"...I guess my other side has..."

Violette nodded, "Have you ever wondered why Shy is so shy in the first place?"

"No, I guess I don't pay as much attention to what she sees."

"Right. Most vampires don't really seem to care what goes on in the human world, even you. But since Shy has lived as a human, her thoughts are more centered around what's happening in the present. She's more aware of things, I guess you could say. Do you remember anything from the passed that happened with her?"

Lucine took a moment to think.

What could have made my human side so fragile? Hey, why don't you just tell me?

Lucine thought to just ask Shyann herself, but the human inside of her was being unusually quiet. Rolling her eyes, Lucine thought on her own.

"She... was bullied a lot when she was a kid."

Violette looked down at her plate. She wondered why someone as innocent and kind-hearted as Shyann would ever be bullied. It didn't make sense at all.

"Do you think you might know... why?"

"It's a cruel world, Violette, not everyone has a reason to be bullied." Lucine sighed.

"At least think of something, Lucine.." Violette sighed as well. "Were there any secrets that got out at school?"

Lucine dug deeper into her memories, thinking hard.

She wasn't pleased with what she found.

"It's very faint... but... Shy was really small when she was kid, of course... She doesn't grown that much. During that time, she was actually really cheerful and outgoing... but she rarely made any friends.. Some would say it was because she was strange looking."

When the 2nd grade came around, Shy made a friend...She had many strange secrets to tell her... things she wasn't embarrassed to say at the time... like... how she was born premature... and how often she liked to stay inside where it was dark... and then other things about how long she stayed in the hospital when she was a baby..."

Violette continued to listen carefully.

"I don't remember too much about how it happened, but this friend of Shy's betrayed her. One moment she was at her side, telling her all her secrets, and then the next, this girl was telling them to another, and then it all began to spread. They turned into rumors, and Shy was no longer the one in the class that no one payed attention to..."

The bullying started somewhere around the 3rd or 4th grade. The rumors spread around the school instead of the classroom, and kids usually tell their parents everything, so it wasn't just going on in the school. Some tried to avoid her, and others excluded her completely or teased and made fun of her for her appearance... Then it got so bad going to school everyday, or going outside at all... that Mom decided to move."

Violette felt her heart beginning to ache. She used to think that having no one pay attention to you was bad.. but now that she thought about it, she'd rather have something like that instead of all of those criticizing gazes on her back wherever she went.

"You'd be surprised how far rumors could travel... almost all the way across the state.." Lucine's smile had disappeared a long time ago.

"Shy grew up uncomfortable with herself since then... she always stayed inside the house.. and she never made friends or talked to anybody... she was too scared something bad would happen again."

Violette saw something shimmer in Lucine's eye, most likely a tear.

"It... hurt for me, too, I guess you could say."

"The spell should wear off soon... I'm not that strong, you know.." Violette said as she and Lucine walked quietly down the sidewalk toward home. "Will you be alright when that happens?"
"Ugh... I guess I won't have a choice." Lucine muttered, " I would have liked to be a model for a few weeks, though."

Violette laughed once, "Riiiiight. All of the attention would get to your head... Then you'd throw too many tantrums."
"Hey..." Lucine smiled softly.

"Well, anyway... the bus stop's just around the corner. My house is near here, so I guess this is goodbye?" Violette stopped walking and turned to get her sketchbook back from Lucine.

"Aw, I didn't get to finish looking at the pictures.." Lucine pouted.

"If you sit with me at lunch tomorrow, you can." Violette smiled. It felt good to have a friend. "The spell will probably wear off after you wake up tomorrow morning."
"Okay..." Lucine wasn't exactly happy about that.

Violette ran across the street, "By the way, Lucine..."

"Yeah?"
She turned around to look at her, "Friends accept you for who you are. Of course Leigh would want to have you changed back!" she smiled and then turned around to run home.

"Bye, then!"

"Bye..." Lucine hadn't been given the chance to wave. Thinking hard about what Violette had said last, she continued down the sidewalk toward the bus stop.

Damn... unless I want things to be awkward tomorrow, this means I have to apologize first...

Review, please! I know, it was a bit short, but I think it was okay for a short chapter..

I wonder why Violette doesn't have the bloodlust?