It started as subtle things. A laugh in the distance that sounded exactly like hers, but darker. A glimpse of her reflection where it shouldn’t be. People around you mentioning a girl who looked like Leighton—but with a cold, dangerous edge.

And then you saw her.

Not the Leighton you knew—the real one—but a shadowy double, moving through the streets, leaving chaos in her wake. Shop windows shattered as she passed, strangers screamed, and the police had no explanation. Yet somehow… this double looked exactly like her. Every feature, every smile, every glance… perfect, and horrifying.

The real Leighton appeared at your door that night, pale and urgent.

“She’s me… or at least, she’s what I could become,” she said. Her eyes burned with a desperate intensity. “I don’t know where she came from. She’s a shadow—a version of me created from my worst impulses, my anger, my fear. And now she’s loose in the world.”

You felt your heart pound. “But why me?”

“Because you see the difference,” she whispered. “You’re the only one who can help me stop her before she destroys everything—and everyone I care about.”

The next days were a blur of tension. You ran through the city at night, trying to track the shadow. Every time you thought you caught her, she disappeared, leaving destruction behind. And every time, the real Leighton grew weaker, drained by the double’s existence.

You began to notice small differences—the shadow mimicking Leighton’s mannerisms, but exaggerating them. A cruel smirk instead of a warm smile. Eyes that glinted with malice instead of curiosity. And when she finally cornered you in an abandoned warehouse, you understood: this wasn’t just about stopping her. It was about proving to the world—and to Leighton herself—that the real version of her deserved to exist.

The confrontation was terrifying. The shadow mirrored your every move, anticipating your thoughts. But with Leighton guiding you, whispering instructions only you could hear, you managed to separate her essence from reality, pushing the dark version back into the void it came from.

When it was over, the real Leighton collapsed into your arms, exhausted but alive. The city was silent again, oblivious to the danger that had passed.

And as she looked up at you, the faintest shadow of fear still lingering in her eyes, she whispered:

“Thank you… for reminding me that even my darkest side can be stopped.”