Shadowed Destiny.

When I heard the sirens, my heart started racing.

"Shit," West muttered, excitement tinging his voice. I caught a glimpse of the smirk on his face before Laura and Ariel leaped to turn off the spotlights. We stepped back to admire our masterpiece-an explosion of blue, grey, and black with Athena emblazoned across the large brick canvas. Dropping our empty spray cans, West quickly snatched up the lights.

"We gotta go!" Laura squealed, anxiety in her voice. Her boyfriend, Ethan, grabbed her hand and yanked her towards the far end of the alley. We each had a route planned to avoid getting caught by the police-a maneuver we'd practiced many times before. My route was the toughest, taking me right past the cop cars on the main road. Moving determinedly, I followed my boyfriend toward the alley's opening.

"Run fast, baby," Nate murmured quietly as we approached the alley's edge, the blue lights getting closer, sirens blaring. In that brief moment, everything seemed to slow down. I caught the light reflecting off his serious blue eyes, his intense gaze searing into my memory. I wanted to kiss him, and a smile curled my lips, despite my pounding heart.

"You too," I whispered as the others slipped away in different directions. Nate and I bolted out of the alley, splitting up-he went right, and I went left.

I let my legs carry me as fast as they could. A cop car screeched to a halt when they spotted me, the tires wailing like a banshee as I raced down my route. My breath quickened as I inhaled the cool spring air, my bandanna brushing against my lips. I didn't look back when I heard the cops get out of the car. Panic clawed at my throat as I felt one of them close in, heavy on his feet. My skate shoes hit the pavement quietly as I ran on the balls of my feet, my muscles burning with the effort. The dark sky contrasted with the city lights that glittered off the broken glass on the sidewalk, resembling freshly fallen snow. Wearing all black, I was like a shadow, the blue lights bouncing off the windows of the towering buildings beside me.

I slipped into an alley, leaping past a few sketchy guys who scattered when they realized I was being chased. My friends were long gone, each heading home by their own route.

We'd done this so many times, but the rush never faded. My shaky hands gripped the cold metal of a chain-link fence separating me from the dark woods beyond. I threw myself over and landed on the other side, taking one last look at the uniformed officer before backing into the trees, out of the orange streetlight's glow. The cops never followed once I crossed that fence, and tonight was no different. The officer sighed in frustration, catching his breath, before retreating with his walkie-talkie.

Once I'd caught my breath, I took off my hat and bandana, stuffing them into my bag as I made my way home. I wondered if anyone had managed to snap a picture of our art before we scattered.

The next morning, I took my usual route to school and met my friends at our usual spot-a picnic table on the school grounds. I threw my arms around Nate and kissed his cheek as the others greeted me.

"How are you?" I asked cheerfully.

"Fine," he replied, his usual lie. I ignored his gloomy attitude, something I was used to, and slid in next to him. His blue eyes met mine coldly from under his blond bangs, and my smile faded, sensing his mood.

"Nate, what's wrong?" I asked softly.

"Nothing, Athena. Forget about it." He looked away, avoiding my gaze. The table fell silent, everyone pretending not to notice.

"No, tell me," I pressed, not wanting to let it go this time. He shrugged off my touch, refusing to meet my grey eyes.

"It's fine," he lied again, more convincingly this time, waving a pale hand dismissively.

"Okay," I said, letting it go for now, but I made a promise to myself to figure out what was bothering him by the end of the week. I fell silent after that, pretending it didn't hurt every time he pulled away from me. I didn't think I was clingy-I didn't always touch him or show affection in front of others. We both hated that sort of thing. But it was hard seeing him in pain. I tried convincing myself it was just the Monday blues.

"Guys, check it out!" West announced, moving closer to Nate's other side to put Ethan's phone out in front of us. I leaned in to see the picture of our art with interest, but my eyes gravitated to Nate's non-existent reaction. Even though West's face was pulled into an excited smile, I could see the worry in his eyes. So it wasn't just me who was worried about Nate...

Ethan was looking over too, with seriousness on his face. He hugged Laura's petite body to his skinny frame and his blue eyes went to me like he was communicating his concerns silently. I was sure I had communicated my worries back.

"It looks so good, you guys!" Laura chimed with a smile on her round innocent face. Her hair was impossibly long and cascaded over her shoulders down to her elbows. Her beige skin seemed to glow as much as her bright personality.

"Too bad we didn't quite finish." Ethan sighed.

"I think it looks finished enough. At least none of us got busted." Ariel insisted from my other side as she took the phone from West to look closer. My eyes went to Nate almost subconsciously. He didn't look like he had gotten caught, but then why was he having such a tough Monday?

West joined me as we moved off to home room after the rattle of the bell. His tall, muscular form always made me feel short. I couldn't even see his buzzed black hair that was only a few millimeters long on his head.

"Do you know what's up with him?" he asked quietly with his sculpted lips pulled to the side and his thick dark eyebrows pulled up in concern. I'm sure I had a miserable worried frown on my pale face.

"No. Maybe he'll talk to me when we're alone?" I hoped as I watched the other four disappear into the building across the lawn. West let out a sigh, biting his full bottom lip.

"He sure as hell doesn't talk to me... I already asked if he got caught, but he said he didn't."

"I'm so worried about him. He gets pissed if I pry, but I just don't know what else to do." I whined.

"Same. I've tried distracting him, but he's just not interested. I feel like it makes him angrier when I try to cheer him up."

"I tried getting to go out and do fun things, but it's hard. My mom was pissed I was out last night." I admitted.

"My parents caught me too. I'm friggin' grounded." West chuckled.

"That's terrible. I'm sorry." I couldn't help the laugh that escaped me as I looked up to see his unconcerned smile. He grinned wider at my response and his brown eyes seemed to glitter with mischief. There were kids at our school that would've pegged West as a jock, but he was an artist and a skateboarder like me. West had been friends with Nate and Ethan for years before I met him and I remembered being glad that we got along. I often sought out his opinion if Nate was in one of his moods, but from what West said, it sounded like Nate was shutting him out just as much as me.

"We'll figure it out. He knows we're there for him." West reassured me as we moved through the crowds and I stopped in front of my homeroom. His dark-skinned face seemed to drop into a more solemn expression when he saw the hopelessness in my eyes. "It's fine, Athena. It's Monday." He insisted, pulling me into a quick hug as if to reassure me.

"You're right." I muttered even though I couldn't quite believe it could be that simple.