Chapter 4 *Violet vs Valerie*


The next day in school would be the longest of their lives, but this vital piece of information was sadly unknown to them.
Now walking the halls with Sam on one side and Tucker on the other, Danny let the sights sink in.
"And over there is Dash and his crew. Avoid him. And speaking of crews, there's Paulina and her friends. Also avoid at all costs," Sam instructed, being especially strict on the last part.
"Are they bad?" Danny asked, truly baffled as to why he had to avoid such nice looking people.
"Yes! Particularly Paulina. Just saying."
"Paulina's not all that bad! Come on, Sam, don't be jealous," Tucker jested. Sam didn't take it lightly.
"Oh, yes, she is! And I'm NOT jealous! I'm telling the truth," said Sam.
"Don't fill his head with lies! I agree to avoid Dash, but not Paulina-"
Sam interjected rudely, reaching across in front of Danny and yanking Tucker's crimson beret down to cover his eyes and mouth. His voice was muffled immediately and he stuck his hands straight out, just before he tripped over his shoelaces and tripped headlong into a trashcan.
"Sam! Sam! Help me!" his echoing voice shouted from the bottom of the can. Sam turned and led Danny amiably away, leaving Tucker to fight his way through the garbage.
"As I was saying, just pretty much don't talk to anyone unless we - I - give the okay, okay?"
"Okay," he agreed understandably, nodding his head enthusiastically. Suddenly Violet came bouncing up to them, her ravishingly red lips spread wide into a beautiful smile. Her auburn curls were piled atop her head into a delicately loose bun and her lilac eyes glistened with excitement, radiating the happiness that Sam despised.
"Hello, Sam. Hi, Danny! I'm Violet, but I'm sure you don't remember me."
"Um, Sam?" Danny asked timidly.
Sam didn't let her eyes drift away from Violet's, but she answered, "Yes?"
"Can I talk?"
"Yeah, yeah. I guess," she allowed unhappily. Still staring Violet down, she wondered how Violet had known about his amnesia. Oddly, Sam hadn't been thinking it was amnesia after all, but something way more serious. Something that involved Violet as the culprit.
"So, do you want to sit with me at lunch?" Violet asked charmingly, batting her long, dark eyelashes attractively.
Danny glanced at Sam to make sure it was definitely alright to speak, but chose to nod his head instead. Her smile renewed into an even prettier one. She put her hand up and waggled her fingers in farewell, leaving only the memory of her suspiciousness to be dwelled upon.
"You're an idiot," Sam finally said.
"What? Why?" Danny asked indignantly, shrugging his shoulders.
"Just because." And she walked on ahead to first period.
Tucker was neither seen nor heard from all first, second, third, and fourth period. Sam began to worry he was still lodged in the trashcan, but as they passed it on their way to lunch he was nowhere to be seen.
"Have you seen Tuck?" she asked Danny.
"Nope. Why? I thought you shoved him in that trashcan for a reason."
She barely sustained a fit of laughter. "True, true. But I didn't mean for him to miss school. I'm worried."
Danny began to realize she was serious, and soon sensed he should be worried, too. And although it wasn't a very cheerful problem, Sam felt overjoyed on the inside. Danny supposedly hadn't forgotten everything. He seemed to still care for his friends even when he wasn't as close as he used to be with them.
"Never mind. Found him," Sam muttered, catching sight of Tucker at their usual table. Violet sat beside him, her vibrant smile annoying as ever.
They walked over, if Sam a little unwilling, and plopped down simultaneously.
"Danny, Tucker and I were just talking about you!" Violet crowed, flashing her winning smile at him.
"You were?"
"Of course! I was just speaking to him about how-"
"Give me a break!" Sam groaned, tilting her head back to the ceiling in vexation.
Violet cocked her head. "Excuse me?"
She snapped. That tiniest bit of ignorance was the last straw. "Oh, quit acting! You've been acting so nice and cheery ever since we met you! Do you honestly expect any of us would fall for such a poor charade? Because if you did, you're dead wrong, princess!"
Practically the whole cafeteria had heard Sam's little tirade. They were all looking their way now with eager expressions, as if they expected a major cat-fight to break out.
'They can keep waiting,' Sam thought bitterly, not wanting any physical contact with the she-devil. Sam didn't want to stand within a twenty foot radius of her, in fact. But no, some restraining orders just weren't allowed to be issued.
As if someone had slapped her upside the cheek, Violet jolted from her trance and rose from the table gracefully. In one fluid motion she was across the room and bending down, talking quietly with Paulina and her friends. Dash and his pack looked dumbfounded that Violet had even dared to approach their table without permission, but when she gave them a smile and a fleeting wave, they were putty in her hands.
Turns out, she wasn't talking to Paulina, but to her off-and-on friend, Valerie Gray. She was their dispensable friend out of the group, and everyone knew this if they remembered the time Paulina's group had cast Valerie out of the clique because her family had lost their money from multiple accidents. The snobby group had allowed her entrance when her dad had earned the money back and gotten his job back.
When Sam gave another discreet glance around, no one was staring. In only a matter of seconds, the whole room was back to its usual activities, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Which was true enough, in some ways, giving that Sam had held quite a few rallies and protests in the past and it wasn't unusual for her to be announcing some sort of belief for rights or animal respect.
Sam and Tucker looked at each other at the exact same moment. And in that moment, they seemed to be on the same page, both knowing what the other was thinking. In unison, their heads swiveled to Violet and Valerie. None of the other girls at the popular table seemed to mind Violet's uninvited presence, in fact, they all looked like they were admiring Violet. Envy was sketched into every girl's eyes when they landed on Violet's perfect rose-petal lips, clear lavender irises, voluminous red-tinted chocolate hair, and her slim figure. Even her style struck the hearts of her fellow female students, causing much insecurity and a decrease in self-esteem.
"Did I seriously know her?" Danny asked, staring at Violet like so many of the halfwitted boys in the same building. And neighborhood.
"Yes, you did. But don't let that get to your head, she was only a friend. Actually, not even that," lied Tucker. He seemed to have gotten over his previous head-over-heels crush quite nicely.
But Danny didn't care. Sam hated with a passion the way he looked at Violet.
"Yo, Romeo. You're drooling," she said flatly. He sat up straight and wiped his mouth with his sleeve.
"Woops," Danny apologized with chagrin.
"Yeah."
And luckily, Violet left, Valerie trailing behind her with a new skip in her step. Whispers and rumors broke out before they even reached the doorway of the cafeteria.
"What does she want with Valerie?" Sam wondered aloud, scrunching her nose in bewilderment.
"I have no idea, but I'm beginning to think she's up to something..." Tucker leaned on his elbows as he waited for the two girls to come back through the doors.
"What're you guys so suspicious about? She's just a girl," Danny stated matter-of-factly, splaying his hands wide.
"Thanks for that overlooked piece of info, Captain Obvious," Tucker said sarcastically.
"Hey, don't pick on him, Sergeant Sarcasm," Sam counteracted. She gave Tucker a look that said "We'll talk about it later", and he appeared to have understood. Danny was as oblivious as he was thoughtless.
Soon enough, the girls returned. But, ominously, only Valerie came back, looking more at ease and determined than she had when she had left with the captivating Violet. Everyone waited for Violet's return, but she never came around the corner. Valerie swaggered past her regular table and approached them readily, a different aura surrounding her. She put one hand on the table and the other on her hip, leaning casually with an easy smile.
"Hey, Danny," she greeted, not casting a single glance in Sam and Tucker's way. "I just wanted to let you know you can sit with us anytime you want, 'kay?"
"Um, okay. Thanks."
"Whoa, wait-"
"What? Afraid I'll steal your boyfriend?" Valerie interrupted Sam smugly, raising an eyebrow with false curiosity. She stood up straight, turning to face Sam fully.
"He's not my boyfriend!" she said hastily, but a little too quickly for Valerie's liking.
"Yeah, whatever. But he can decide for himself, loser." And she took the edge of Sam's tray with her index finger and flipped it onto Sam's lap.
She sprang up, her mouth agape at Valerie's audacity.
"What in the-! Valerie!" Sam exclaimed.
"You have no idea who you're messing with. So I suggest you stop meddling and stick your nose back into your own business," she hissed eerily, low enough for only Sam to hear. And at that moment, Sam thought she saw a slight purplish hue to Valerie's eyes, as if the usual teal color of her eyes was mixed lightly with lilac paint. The sneer she flashed at Sam wasn't Valerie's. It was all too familiar and Sam felt the puzzle pieces collapse into place as she sewed the hints and clues together.
"See ya, Danny. Bye, dorks." And with those last unforgiving, threatening, and by all means irritating words, Valerie stalked away. But not back to her table, like everyone expected, but back out into the hallway, where she disappeared from view.
"Thinking what I'm thinking?" Tucker asked a steaming Sam, still scrubbing the milk from her mini-skirt.
"That I'm going to go on a murder spree?" she replied with no amount of humor.
"Uh, no. And please, let's keep the crimes on a minimum for one day. But I was thinking about following her, to see where she's heading. Maybe she'll lead us to Violet."
She stared at him blankly. Then, jumped up and grabbed his wrist, not waiting for him him to catch his footing. They hurried out of the cafeteria and followed the sound of Valerie's uneven and stuttering steps. Once or twice they heard her trip or run into the lockers, like she couldn't control her own feet.
Danny slouched over. "Um, see ya?" he called to no one in particular. Sighing, he got up and left.
"Are you sure she went this way?" Sam asked eventually, breaking the abrupt silence. Valerie's clamoring footsteps had ended suddenly and so had their search. Now they stood in the middle of the hallway with no clue of what corner to take.
"Wait." Tucker held his forefinger up to the ceiling, pausing mid-step.
"What?" Sam whispered, holding her breath.
"Listen." And she did. A metal clang came from their left, and they raced down the hall. It was the metallic school doors that had echoed throughout the corridors, and they hurried to them. They carefully opened the door, slipping out into the cold afternoon.
"Where is she?" Sam muttered to Tucker, taking a panorama in anticipation.
"Sshh. There," he whispered back. Sam spotted the familiar brown hair and yellow tank top. Valerie looked around for any lingering eyes and, fortunately, overlooked Sam and Tucker's. When she thought the coast was clear, she sidestepped into a crevice in the school building's wall and they had to creep reproachfully forward. They could be discovered easily if Valerie was to just peek around the corner. They came to the point where the wall meets the other wall, and they poked their heads one by one around the corner that divided them from trouble.
Valerie stood stiffly with her back to them, but as they watched, she shuddered and dropped to her knees, using her arms as support before she could fall foward onto her chest. And when they looked closer they could just barely decipher an amaranthine smoke rise above Valerie's weakened body and take form in front her. Violet.
As she became solid, her hands were planted firmly on her hips and she was in that natural pose that all girls do when they're annoyed or pleasantly pleased with themselves, with her hip jutted out on her left and her other side curved in. By the look of her mocking eyes and teasing smile, she was pleased.
"You'll never get away with this..." Valerie croaked in a raspy voice, seeming to be drained emotionally and physically.
Violet's eyebrows shot up as if Valerie had just told an interesting and surprising piece of news. She said in her more hypnotizing voice, "Really? My powers are getting stronger as we speak. I knew you suspected me from the moment I stepped foot in that wretched smelling cafeteria and I easily overshadowed you. You didn't even put up a decent fight. Honestly, I'm disappointed, I wanted to have some fun. But it was satisfying to know I can persuade and overpower you without a second thought. Usually it would take more than five minutes for me to talk someone into doing my will, but this, this was under one minute! I'm more powerful than you can hope to imagine, and I will succeed in my plans! Now, you are of no use to me anymore, that was simply for the fun of it. Oh, and to put some distractions on that nerd and goth's plates. Can't have them messing things up for me. I already got rid of that potential threat, Danny Fenton. All is going well, so now, please excuse me. I'd rather not be late for class." Violet skipped around Valerie, almost reaching Sam and Tucker's hiding spot.
But before she could stumble upon them, Valerie interceded. "What do you mean, you took care of him?" The worry was plain in her voice, but she tried to sound nonchalant about the situation.
Violet got a smirk out of this one, and turned around slowing, taking a step towards Valerie every time she hissed a word in her silver tongue. "You haven't heard? Well, of course not, you don't care for him or his friends, do you? Very well, I guess I should tell you.
"He doesn't remember you, or Sam, or Tucker, or for that matter, his family! He doesn't remember anyone or anything because I took his memories. And don't ask, I don't like being interrupted. I'll answer your unvoiced question; yes, it is another power of mine. Like I said, I'm becoming more and more powerful by the minute! And it's only a matter of time before I find the portal. I will wreak havoc on this pathetic town before I leave, but first, I really must be getting to class. Toodle-loo!" And she went intangible, vanishing from human sight.
Valerie forced herself to stand, but fell to the ground immediately. Her eyes began to close, and the last thing she saw was a blurry boy and girl coming to her rescue.
***
She skimmed the halls with a fiery impatience. She sometimes wondered why she didn't just go intangible all the time. It made traffic so much easier.
She had sensed those two pestering teens eavesdropping on her and the ghost hunter before they had even followed her. She hadn't been kidding when she'd warned them to stick their noses back into their own business. They really did have no idea who they were dealing with. And they wouldn't live long enough to figure it out.
And as she had these pleasant thoughts, Violet spotted who she had been looking for. Sitting uncertainly on the hallway floor was Danny Fenton. Violet zipped to a hidden-from-view spot and became human. Fluffing her hair and checking her lipgloss, she walked out into view.
"Oh, hi, Danny! What're you doing out here? Class started, like, fifteen minutes ago."
He glanced up with a shrug. "I don't know. I'm waiting for...uh, my friends."
"Don't remember their names?"
"...Yeah."
"Sam and Tucker. Actually I just saw them, outside."
"What? Why're they out there?"
"I don't know, but if I were you, I'd stop hanging out with them. They aren't what you'd say trustworthy. You saw her blow up at me today."
"Which ones which?"
"Sam is the goth chick. Tucker is the tech-geek."
Danny looked uncomfortable when she called them these names, but she rephrased quickly.

"Um, what I meant to say was, Sam is the girl and Tucker is the boy." Danny didn't answer.
"Anyway, is that the real reason you're out here?" Violet tried, wanting fervently to make him forget about what she'd just said. She didn't want to be on bad terms with him. She still had tasks to be fulfilled.
"Well...no. I guess not..." he admitted, looking away.
"Then what is it?" She leaned forward, trying to catch his gaze.
Whoa. Déjà vu. He felt like he'd experienced this before...
Suddenly, he remembered. It played through his mind like a rerun; him and Sam, sitting side by side on a bench in an autumn evening. Sam was leaning forward and he was looking away with an expression of disappointment. Sam was wearing a black jacket, like the one she wore everyday. He was wearing a blue jacket, his hands jammed deep into the pockets.
He couldn't remember what they had been talking about, but he knew it had been recent. He couldn't remember quite how long it had been since it happened and couldn't be sure if it had happened last week, last month, or even last year.
He was so overjoyed by this memory that he didn't want to share it with anyone, afraid it would fade once he said it aloud.
He shrugged again. "I had to think."
"Hm. Fair enough. Look, I'm gonna skip today. Wanna come?"
"Isn't that against the rules? No, seriously, I don't remember."
"Yes, I guess. But who cares? You need some time to think, don't you?"
"Yeah, but...I don't think..."
Sam and Tucker came around the corner. His thoughts shifted back to what Violet had just said, about them being untrustworthy.
Suddenly, he felt as if he could trust Violet. It was something about what she said and how she said it. He just couldn't explain. "Sure. Let's go."
"Great! I know the perfect place to ditch!" She latched on to his arm and yanked him up, practically dragging him along behind her as Sam and Tucker, with a limp Valerie, rounded the corner to an empty hallway.