Check Yes, Juliet
Inspired by thatonedork
and We The Kings' Check Yes Juliet
(I own nothing.)
- - -
Unlike his sister whose decisions were based upon whatever she needed and brother who made decisions on impulse, Justin Russo was indecisive. It took a few minutes too long to dress himself in the morning, taking weather, school activities, and other various factors into consideration. Buying comics and action-figures sometimes took hours because Platinum Edition looked so much cooler, but the original is just that: the original. Those were insignificant compared to the decision he was mulling over the night his parents broke his heart.
As of two hours ago, he was forever forbidden to see Juliet van Heusen because she was the competitor's daughter and she drank blood, but the reality of it all did not seem to register in Justin's brain. After just twenty-five minutes with the vampire, he had completely fallen for her. The thought of not spending just one minute with her was completely nonexistent.
He could not just let a girl like Juliet—funny, smart, gorgeous—slip away so easily. But he could not just disobey his parents; it was against his nature.
For the first time in his life, Justin wished he were like his siblings, to be able to come to a decision without so much as a blink.
- - -
There were two things Juliet hated in this world: the fact that her parents did not accept her relationship with the boy down the street and not having her own room. She wanted so badly to storm to a room she could slam the door of and not be disturbed. Unfortunately, the room she shared with her parents was out of the question seeing as she thought them as the lowest possible organism on the planet right about then and they were trying to act as if they had not ruined a relationship with so much potential.
Juliet was trying to find sleep (even though her brain could not shut up, thoughts of Justin and sabotaging the Late Nite Bite swirling in and out) when there was a knock on her coffin.
"Juliet," came her mother.
"I'm sleeping," Juliet replied rigidly.
"Juliet, I have something to show you."
"Not interested."
"It's quite pretty."
When Juliet didn't reply, she heard her mother sigh and retreat.
"If she wants to be difficult," came her father's voice, "let her be difficult."
"She's just a little upset," her mother said softly.
"She had no business talking to that… wizard in the first place," her father countered, "she's being completely unreasonable. You would think, after seeing that Caesar-boy, she would have learned her lesson."
"Justin isn't Caesar," Juliet said. She pulled herself out of her coffin, both of her parents' bloodshot eyes on her. "Justin isn't a jerk."
"He's a wizard, Juliet!" her father spat. "Our history with—"
"Yes," Juliet hissed, "I know the history, Daddy! But if you remember, Caesar, though he was a fool, made history. Why can't that be the case with Justin and me?"
Alucard stared at his daughter, wondering what happened to his little vampire. "Maybe… if he weren't a wizard."
Juliet laughed bitterly. "Is that it? Is that all you have against him? He's a wizard?"
"Juliet—" her mother tried to cut in.
"Justin is smart and"—she remembered her date just hours ago—"funny and he says things no one in the world cares about and his hands are kind of sweaty, but he's sweet." A smile almost crept onto her face, but she kept firm with her parents.
"Yes, he may have fine characteristics," her father said, "but that doesn't change the fact that he's a wizard."
"Wizard or not, Justin cares about me." Juliet paused to look at her father and mother. "Apparently more than my parents do." She turned on her heel and walked into the restaurant, slamming the door.
- - -
Justin never picked a lock before, let alone snuck out of the house. He could have used magic, he should have used magic, but it was hard enough leaving and disobeying his parents.
It took him almost ten minutes to jiggle the lock of the Late Nite Bite open. It would have taken him longer if Alex had not told him how she gained access to his room for the first time. Justin had to admit—his sister was some kind of genius.
He stuffed the pin away, slung a bag over his shoulder, pushed the door open into the dark sandwich shop, and pulled out a paper from his pocket. He descended the steps reading off the list:
"Money, check. Toothbrush, check. Julie—aowh!"
His forehead throbbed from colliding with the pipe that hung too low over the stairs. He bent his head when a voice came from the darkness:
"Justin?"
His neck snapped back up and now the back of his head was in a world of pain.
"Juliet?" he said, rubbing his skull. "Why is it so dark in here?"
Juliet's laughter seemed to make the pain go away.
"I'm a vampire." Her voice was suddenly there, in front of him, running tingles down his spine. "We usually reside in darkness."
A light flickered on in the stairway and Justin was looking at the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.
She smiled, but her tone was anxious when she asked in a whisper, "What are you doing here?"
He handed her the paper and watched her read it.
"What is this?" An eyebrow was raised skeptically, but Justin could tell she was amused. "A checklist?"
"Precisely," Justin replied. "I've come to take you away." He deepened his voice and stood up straighter, as if showing her that he was very capable of taking her away.
Juliet ignored him. "What's a Cup On A Chain?"
Justin laughed and pulled out a long, slim cup attached to a necklace from his bad. "My brother gave it to me. Isn't it cool? It doesn't need frequent refills and it's mobile!" He hung it around his neck and smiled happily.
Juliet was trying hard not to laugh. "Why did you bring it?"
"To drink from," Justin stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "duh."
"What for?"
"I told you," Justin put his hands on her shoulders, "I've come to take you away."
Juliet spoke hesitantly. "We can't."
"Of course we can," Justin said looking meaningfully into her eyes. "I'm a wizard and you're a vampire, two of the most powerful beings on earth; it's a matter of will we?"
When it was said so bluntly—wizard and vampire—Juliet realized how strange and utterly wrong the companionship was. She could not be with a wizard and he could not be with a vampire, it was against everything their races and ancestors stood for.
She turned her back on him. Her heart sunk as his arms, his touch, fell to his sides. She uttered the words, so softly she was not sure Justin could even hear them, "I won't."
Justin stared in astonishment at her back. He did not believe it. It was just like his parents forbidding him to never see the girl before him ever again—it did not register. For a fleeting moment, Justin was crushed. She doesn't like me.
But then he remembered she stood up so defiantly for him, for them. She was not leaving with him because she did not like him, but because it was not the vampire way. Justin understood, but he did not care.
"Juliet," he said, and he pulled her around to face him again. She looked up at him with lost eyes. "Juliet, I know this is wrong, leaving together, but I really like you. I've never felt this way for anybody before…"
Juliet's chest welt up and she looked away, but Justin gently turned her face back. "You're special," he finished softly.
And suddenly, Justin was leaning towards Juliet and both their hearts were racing. Just before the gap between them was filled, Justin stopped and his breath was warm on her face:
"You're special, but I didn't sneak out of the house, disobey my parents, and break into your family's store just so you could turn your back on this."
Justin could feel her smile on his lips when he kissed her.
Juliet pushed the cup around Justin's neck out of the way and she rested her head on his chest. His arms were wrapped around her and they both thought they would be perfectly happy if they could spend the rest of their lives there in the stairway, but that would mean getting caught and that would not accomplish anything.
"So," Juliet finally broke the peaceful silence, "where to?"
"The ice cream parlor," Justin answered simply.
Juliet looked at him quizzically. "We're disobeying our parents… to eat ice cream?"
"What?" Justin said. "You thought we were going to run away? I've already broken about a dozen rules and you think I'm going to leave my family, leave school?!"
"Well you have a bag and a checklist!"
"For my toothbrush!"
Juliet thought her smile might not ever leave her face as long Justin was with her.
"I brush my teeth after every meal," Justin explained, "You don't expect me to keep my toothbrush in my pocket, do you? That's unsanitary!"
"Oh, Justin," Juliet laughed softly.
Justin laughed too and they were walking up the stairs, walking momentarily away from their parents, expectations, and obligations, together.
we're flying through the night
flying through the night
way up high,
the view from here is getting better with
you by my side