See No Evil

Summary: Two shot. During one of their vampire talks, Alex and Harper learn something about Juliet they'd have been better off not knowing. Something that maybe Justin shouldn't know either.

Part I

"So stupid," Alex said around a mouthful of popcorn. After they helped save Juliet from the monster hunters, she, Harper and Juliet were lounging on the Russo living room sofa and watching Night of the Halloween Sorority Party Disaster 2. "I mean, the front door is right there. But when the killer chases them, they just run into the next room!"

Harper sighed and shook her head. "It's a horror movie, Alex. You're not supposed to think about silly stuff like 'logic' or 'common sense.'"

"Actually, you'd be surprised how many people don't know how to run away from a monster," Juliet said with a laugh.

She and Justin had gone on a date when the monster hunters left, and had come back for Justin's curfew to find Harper, who was sleeping over, and Alex watching horror movies. Tired Justin had gone to bed since he wouldn't be able to spend time alone with his girlfriend anyway, but Juliet stayed since her parents didn't expect her back before sunrise . As a vampire, she could only go out at night, so she just had to be back in her coffin by the time the sun came up.

Though she meant it as a careless joke, her friends didn't take it as such. "Um, h-how...exactly...would you know that? Not by, say, first-hand experience, right?" a nervous Harper asked.

The vampire didn't reply right away, and tried to pretend that she was still watching the movie. But Alex could see it in her face, the calculating look that meant she was figuring out what to say. Alex herself knew that sensation all too well. "Wait, you couldn't," Alex suddenly said.

Curious, Juliet glanced at her. "What makes you say that?"

"You just got your fangs. You'd already been dating Justin a while when they came in," Alex remembered. The thought that Juliet couldn't have possibly spent her centuries of existence hunting down and ripping apart her victims made Alex feel a little better.

Harper raised an eyebrow. "That's right! Then...what did you mean, Juliet?"

The remembered fact didn't seem to make Juliet any less uncomfortable. She squirmed a little as she quietly answered, "My, uh, parents. They tell me stories. A lot of stories."

That made sense. Alex had no trouble recalling the time when both her and Harper were almost bitten by Juliet's parents. They clearly didn't have a soul like Juliet did, and the thought made Alex shudder. Even though her parents had chosen to forgive and forget, Alex had to admit that she'd been just a little traumatized at how close she'd come to being seriously injured. "So they...hunt," Alex said, not sure how else to put it.

"Yeah," Juliet confessed. "And even though I didn't get my fangs until recently, I still had to live off blood, so...they provided for me. It's kind of like when your mom brings home food from the grocery store and makes dinner for everyone. I mean....we need to eat."

Her face pale, Harper blurted, "But it's innocent people!"

"I know, I know...believe me, I know," Juliet insisted. She had her eyes slightly diverted, unable to look at the two humans sitting next to her. "I try to convince myself that it's like how humans eat meat. But...it's not the same. It isn't."

The atmosphere had suddenly become serious, tense even, and Alex was slowly taking in the reality of a vampire diet. Oh, sure, they all joked about it, but really they were just dancing around the ugly, gruesome truth. "What...what do you do?" Alex finally asked, even though she wasn't sure if she wanted to hear the answer. "How do you...live with yourself? Figuratively speaking."

"Most vampires don't have a problem with it," Juliet retorted, defensive. "Most vampires, like my parents, don't care. They want blood, so they get it. In vampire culture, 'going out to get something to eat' is like how you two would go grab a bite to eat somewhere to hang out. It took me a long time just to realize that what we did was...was wrong. If I didn't have a soul, I never would have."

There was silence again. Alex couldn't imagine...or rather, didn't want to imagine, the world Juliet grew up in. And of course it brought up the question - how exactly did Juliet realize the evils that came with her way of afterlife? It must have been a traumatizing experience to turn Juliet into the human-friendly, heck, human-loving vampire she had become.

But that question wasn't one to ask right then. Juliet was already disturbed by their conversation, and chances were she wouldn't want to relive the experience. Besides, Alex needed to know something else more. "So, if you realized what your parents did was wrong, how are you different?" Alex asked. She knew it sounded like an accusation, a challenge...but she supposed it was. "How do you, well, eat?"

"Justin and I don't really talk about it," Juliet answered. She tried to make it seem like she'd fully answered the question, and grabbed the remote. "You know, I've seen this movie already. You want to see what else is on?" But her friends didn't fall for it, only gave her blank, unblinking stares that clearly indicated they weren't going to let the subject drop. With a sigh, Juliet turned off the TV and put the remote down. "I don't kill, alright? I promised myself, and Justin, that I wouldn't."

"Then how?" Harper asked. Both she and Alex were somewhat relieved that their friend, and Justin's girlfriend, wasn't a killer.

"Vampires have to drink blood to live. It doesn't have to be human blood," Juliet explained. "Animals, bugs, you get the idea. There's a whole movement for vampires to go the more humane route, but it's mostly the younger generation. My parents told you that the younger vampires like healthy blood. They neglected to mention that by healthy, they mean animals," Juliet said with a shrug. "These days, humans are filled with artificial flavoring and high fructose corn syrup. Why would you want that taste in your mouth? Yuck."

A little more at ease, Alex and Harper laughed. Alex had to admit that she felt better about the whole situation. While she would never admit it, the idea of her brother dating a vampire had always bothered her, because she was worried that Juliet might get too hungry on a date and just snap. At least now she knew that Juliet actually preferred other sources of blood.

Since she didn't like her sentimental thoughts, Alex shrugged it off and reached for the remote. "Even when my brother rebels and dates a vampire, she's a total goody-goody. Typical Justin."

"You know, Juliet, I admire that," Harper said as they settled back into watching the movie. "You're probably one of the few vampires out there who hasn't taken a human life. You're a role model."

About to laugh, Alex froze when she caught the look on Juliet's face. "Juliet?"

"I didn't know any better!" Juliet exclaimed, which made her friends jump. "I was a new vampire and it was what my parents were telling me to do..."

Shocked, Alex held up her hands. "Whoa, hold on. How...?"

"New vampires have their fangs," Juliet exclaimed through tears that were about to fall. "Like baby teeth. You have them at first, but then they disappear until you reach maturity. New vampires...all they want is blood, a-and my parents were telling me to...do what they did. I didn't know I could life off animals so..." She paused at their horrified faces. "You don't understand! I didn't have a choice!"

Before her friends could find their voices, Juliet walked toward the patio doors, which she threw open. She sighed, then turned to them. "It was centuries ago...and I've regretted it ever since."

Then she turned into a bat and flew away.

Stunned, the remaining two could only stare at the open doors. Finally, as she got up to close them because of the autumn chill, Harper asked, "So what are you going to do?"

Alex knew exactly what she meant. But instead, she turned the TV back on and answered, "Finish watching the movie."