"Well well, aren't you a fascinating little girl." The vampire circled me, and it felt like he was undressing me with his gaze.
"I'm not a little girl, vampire." I spat the last words. I had no idea where my courage came from, to be honest. I had never been brave, I mostly just looked after myself.
"I may be a vampire, but what are you?" The handsome man was still grinning, but he did look genuinely fascinated with me. Because of my stupid powers.
"Are you going to eat me?" I asked him, not releasing his gaze. Then he surprised me by laughing out loud, showing off dimples and straight, white teeth. I wanted to leave, to get to a safe place, away from this man. I had been so certain that morning that I wanted adventure and change, but I was starting to doubt whether this was a good change. But I was frozen to the ground, and I had a feeling the vampire would stop me if I tried to run.
"Eat you? Nah, we only do that to innocent tourists." Smile. Was that a joke? Was there supposed to be something funny in killing innocent tourists? I didn't get it. "I have a feeling that you're not so innocent, and that you're here to stay."
"I don't know, being hunted by a vampire is not really a very welcoming gesture. My impression of this town so far isn't great, I have to say." Huh. My voice had stopped shaking. Well, he had told me that he wouldn't eat me. Humor gleaned in the man's eyes, and he stepped forward.
"My name is Marcel Gerard. I'm the king of this town." He reached out his hand, but I didn't take it. I don't know if it was because of the fear of seeing his future, or simply because he was a vampire.
"My name's Juliette Walters, and I seriously doubt you're the king of this town." I replied instead, crossing my arms.
"Aren't you a funny one?" I was expecting his voice to be menacing, but there was nothing there but humor. Maybe he was nice after all. But I still didn't like the 'feeding on tourists' part.
"I'm just very wary when it comes to vampires." I replied. I felt a calmness run through my heart, and my shoulders relaxed. If he was going to hurt me, he would've done it.
"A friend of mine called. Said a girl with very special powers was coming to my town." Marcel explained. He had now stopped circling me, probably since understanding that I wouldn't take any of his shit.
"Bree?" I gaped, the feeling of betrayal seeping into my heart. "Backstabbing bitch." I muttered under my breath.
"You should be thankful she did. If I hadn't known you were coming, I might not have come in time to stop Diego from feeding on you."
"Thanks." I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "Well, if you're here to get me to predict your future, you can go home. I'm not some palm reader crazy old lady who takes payment."
"I want to help you." Marcel replied with a small smile, crossing his arms over his chest. I raised my brows at him with surprise.
"Help me?"
"I've seen this place before." I took a few steps into the court and heard Marcel follow me in. I gazed at the balconies surrounding the court, and the old walls with cracked tapestry. The furnitures were antique, and it gave the house a regal theme. "In a dream." I whispered. I remembered dreaming of a house like this, and there was someone watching me in the dream. It hadn't been creepy, but calming in some sort of way. I remembered feeling safe in this place, and…
"I remember laughing and heartache and sadness." I added with a frown. I had had this dream long ago, when I had been about fourteen years old. Never would I have guessed that I was seeing the future.
"Welcome to my home; The Abattoir." Marcel exclaimed and held out his hands, but his voice sounded strange. Too much emotion in it, in some way. He had been so light and easy when he cornered me in the alley.
"It's beautiful." A smile formed on my lips and my heart felt lighter. I felt safe. In a vampire's home, I know. Pretty weird. But my psychic mind and heart worked in strange ways.
"I would offer you a drink, but I have feeling you're not 21 yet." Marcel chuckled and walked past me, to a table with drinks on it. I looked at the bottle of bourbon and sighed.
"What makes you think that?" I asked him, making my 5 ft 2 body look taller by straightening my back and raising my chin.
"Your ID." Marcel pulled out a thin card from his pocket and held it up. I gasped and ripped it from his hand.
"How did you get that?!"
"I picked it from your pocket." He shrugged and sipped from his drink. I blushed and looked away. My ID card had been in my back pocket, and I hadn't even noticed him taking it. Yes, I was soooo wary of vampires…
"Alright, well.. If you don't give me drink I will go and get one myself." I threatened, crossing my arms. Marcel put down his glass and crossed his arms as well.
"Try me." He challenged me, stepping out wider, and I realized just how strong he looked. I gave out a frustrated sigh and looked away. Why couldn't I get super-strength or invisibility instead of being a whackjob with a sixth sense?
"Fine." I mumbled and slumped down into a chair. "Do you have some soda, then?" I gave him a sweet smile and Marcel relaxed a bit.
"Sure, I'll go get you one. Ice?"
"Yeah, that'd be great." I replied, and Marcel walked out of the room while shaking his head. As soon as he was out of the room, I walked straight across the room to the drink table. I took a shot glass and filled it with whiskey, and swigged it. The alcohol calmed me and I felt my shoulders relax.
"I heard that." Marcel scolded me as he walked back into the room, and I rolled my eyes.
"What are you, my dad?" I retorted, but then regretted it instantly. I sounded like a whiny teenager. Which I really wasn't.
"Thankfully, no." The vampire winked at me and handed me my soda. I didn't have time to ask him what he meant by that, because he sat down in one of the armchairs and looked at me intently.
"Tell me everything about your power."
"You're sure you're not a witch?" Marcel sighed. We were sitting quite close to each other on opposing armchairs, and I studied his face a little closer. He had long eyelashes and high cheekbones, and he must have been around 25 years old. Yet he didn't feel that much older than me, but his happy smile probably made him look much younger than his years.
"Bree said I wasn't."
"Are your parents human?"
"Excuse me?" I coughed on my soda and looked at Marcel with wide eyes.
"Well, if one of your parents is a witch, then you might have gotten some powers from them." He explained, and I straightened my face again. Of course.
"I'm almost sure they are both human. None of them practices magic at least." I had never thought of it actually. They were just normal parents.
"Huh." Marcel frowned and scuttled closer to me. The smell of his cologne hit my nose and I was suddenly aware just how close we were. My heart was racing and my cheeks were warm. The vampire reached out his hand as if to touch my hair.
"Look, just so you know; I don't normally follow random guys to their appartments–" I looked around me and corrected myself. "–houses. And I don't sleep with them either. So back off." I looked Marcel dead in the eye and tried to make my voice stable. It wasn't as if I felt threatened by him, I just… Wanted to get things straight. I didn't want him to think I was some girl who would put out for anyone with a nice smile and handsome face. Marcel kept moving closer to me, and he reached out his arm behind me. I felt his breath tickle my cheek and my heart skipped a beat. Then he pulled back again after what seemed like an eternity, but I saw that he was holding something in his hand.
"Relax." He said, but he winked, which made me think that he may not have entirely gotten my message. "I was only going to give you this."
"Wait, you're giving me a necklace? We met like… an hour ago."
"Three hours."
"What? Really?" I raised my brows at him, but I couldn't tear my eyes away from the necklace he was holding. It was a beautiful amethyst stone on a thin silver chain.
"This contains vervain. It will protect you from vampires." Marcel explained, and I tore my eyes away from the jewelry to meet his eyes.
"How?"
"I told you earlier that vampires can compel people, right? Well, this necklace prevents the mind control from working." He bent forward and clasped the necklace around my neck, and I was once again reminded how close we were. It felt thrilling and frightening at the same time. But in a second, the necklace was fastened and Marcel pulled away.
"Thank you." I said, all sarcasm gone from my voice. See, I wasn't always sarcastic. Only like 90% of the time.
We stayed up talking until I pretty much passed out on his couch from exhaustion. I had wanted to go back to the motel, but Marcel insisted I'd stay. Not in some perverted way of course, he just thought it still wasn't safe for me to go out alone. I pointed out that he and his vampire mercenaries were the danger, but he only replied with a slow shake of his head.
You can imagine my surprise when I woke up to see that I was surrounded by vampires, eating breakfast. You know, I never would've pegged vampires to be the type to sit and eat pancakes in pyjamas and sporting bed heads.
"'Sup?" The vampire who attacked me the day before asked me as he walked by, Diego, I think, and I instinctively recoiled. I picked up the blanket Marcel must have put on me after I had fallen asleep and was about to cover myself when I realized that I was fully dressed. Hygienic. Guess someone would have to do some shopping later.
"So you're the psychic?" A female vampire asked me as I sat down at the breakfast table. She had short hair and a lot of makeup, and wore a dark pyjamas with vampire fangs on it. Ironic. I liked it.
"Word travels around fast, I see." I only replied, reaching for the blood orange juice.
"You shouldn't drink that." The gothic vampire warned me, holding up her hand. I frowned at her and she gave me a meaning look. I let go of the bottle of juice with a disgusted gasp.
"That's gross! You actually put real blood in the orange juice?!"
"Hey, we have to drink blood somehow." The vampire defended herself, and multiple vampires around the table chuckled. I suddenly felt very exposed as many of the eyes watching me fastened on my bare neck.
"Anyway, we know about you because Marcel told us all to back off." The woman explained, sipping on the orange juice. It made my appetite leave completely.
"How nice of him."
"He seems to have a soft spot for you." She purred, and the vampires around us chuckled again. I desperately fought back a blush, but seemed to fail since they laughed even more.
"So what are you, his slaves?" I retorted, toughing up my voice. I expected her to get angry, but she only shrugged.
"We work for Marcel because we're grateful to him. He saved us all from our miserable lives, and besides, he knows how to run this city so that we all get to hunt like actual vampires." She swigged the last of her blood/orange juice/whatever and put down the glass on the table before licking her lips.
"Stop it, you're making me blush." Marcel's voice echoed from the top of the stairs, and my eyes fastened on his smile. The vampires seemed to straighten their backs, and I could see in their eyes just how much respect they had for him. I wonder how so many lethal creature could follow one man as if he was their king, a man they could probably kill if they wanted to. At least they had to be his equals.
"I see you've all met Juliette." He stated as he walked down the stairs. I liked the way his southern accent pronounced my name; it made it sound melodic in some way.
"Yes. She's very cocky." The short-cut female vampire next to me replied, and I frowned at her. "Don't worry, sweetie, I like it." She added, and smiled.
"Thanks. I think…" I muttered under my breath.
"Guys, we have some work to do today." Marcel exclaimed and crossed his arms. His happy expression turned grim, and the vampires around the table looked grave as well.
"The witches again?" A guy in the corner of the room said. He seemed nice; he hadn't laughed when the other vampires made fun of me.
"Yes. Finish up, we leave in ten minutes." Marcel commanded, and all sorts of displeased mutters sounded across the room. I raised my eyebrows and bit my tongue not to start laughing. The whole scene reminded me of a parent trying to make their teenager some to a family picnic.
"Ten minutes?! I'm not even dressed yet!" The female vampire to my right exclaimed with wide eyes, and the leader scolded her.
"Then maybe you shouldn't have slept until eleven, Roxy." He retorted, and I looked at Roxy. Her name suited her style perfectly. She rolled her eyes at Marcel before walking past him.
"I might be a vampire, but I still need my beauty sleep." She muttered, but I could tell that the subject was done. Wait, eleven?! As soon as all the vampires had started shuffling out of the room, I walked up to Marcel.
"I need to leave now, but… Thank you for the help. I really appreciate it." I told him honestly, and his shoulders seemed to relax. He smiled at me, the recent traces of worry on his forehead completely erased.
"You're welcome, and hey, if you need something, call me."
"Are you giving me your number?" I raised my brows. "Look, I'm really flattered, but–"
"Just take it, and call in case something happens." Marcel interrupted me and held out a card. Yes, you heard me. A card, not a piece of paper. A freaking laminated card with his name in a professional font and his phone number. I let out a chuckle and shook my head.
"Thanks. I will." I said lastly, before picking up my backpack and leaving the Abattoir.
"Hi." I told the blonde in the bar with a small smile.
"Hello." She replied politely, throwing her towel across her shoulder.
"I was wondering if I could work here? I'm new in town and I haven't managed to get a job yet." I said, trying to sound mature. Yes yes, I know a bar may not be the right place for a seventeen year-old to work, but I just had a feeling that it would be a good idea.
"Sure uhm, can you show me your ID, to begin with?" The barista asked with a kind smile. She seemed to be around Marcel's age, and she was very pretty. I reluctantly gave her my ID and waited for the 'no' to come out of her mouth.
"I know I'm a minor but I thought I could work during the day and be a waitress–" I started, but I saw the look on the woman's face.
"I'm sorry, but I can't hire a minor." She said, her voice filled with pity. "But… You don't happen to know how to sing?" She asked me, and I raised my eyebrows in surprise.
"I don't know if I'm very good, but I've taken lessons since I was ten." I replied with a smile.
"I'll tell you what; You go up there and sing a song for me, and if I like it, you're hired."
"As a singer?" My heart was already racing. It had been one of my dreams as a little kid, to be a singer.
"Pick a song, I have most records in karaoke in the box over there. I would offer you the live band, but they only work nights." The woman explained with a wink. I gulped and went over to check the box with vinyls.
Feeling Good, Fever, Dream a little dream of me… These were all songs that I knew by heart. I finally picked one and put it in the vinylrecord. The blonde woman gave me a thumbs up after turning the microphone and I tried not to wet myself when the music started.
"At last my love has come along" I felt my nervousness disappear as soon as I had sung the first note, and I let myself be carried away in the music. I have to say, I sounded pretty much amazing. "My lonely days are over and life is like a song, oh yeah" I closed my eyes and pretended I was alone in my room, singing in front of my mirror with a hairbrush in my hand.
"At last the skies above are blue
My heart was wrapped up clover the night I looked at you
I found a dream that I can speak to
A dream that I could call my own
I found a thrill to press my cheek to
A thrill I've never known, oh yeah
You smiled, you smiled oh and then the spell was cast
And here we are in Heaven
For you are mine at last"
The woman clapped her hands and her face was spread in a wide smile. I guessed that was a good sign.
"You're hired." She stated as soon as I got down from the stage. Some guy in the corner of the room clapped too, and I blushed. I hadn't even seen him sitting there. "I could never say no to such talent."
"Thank you." I answered with a shy smile. The woman reached out a hand.
"My name's Camille, but you can call me Cami." She introduced herself. I took her hand and shook it. Nothing happened. Apparently my psychic powers didn't kick in every time I touched someone. It was relieving, but made the whole power a lot more mysterious.
"I'm Juliette, but you can call me Julie." Cami smiled and let go of my hand before turning her back to me and walking back to the bar. She wiped the wooden counter and then poured herself a glass of water.
"Welcome to Rousseau's. Your shift starts at seven pm."
I walked along Bourbon street, munching on my burrito, with a light heart. I had gotten a job. I was going to be paid for singing. And here I had thought I was going to have to clean the dishes in the back of some filthy restaurant before I turned eighteen.
I bumped into a man and saw him dying on his death bed in a hospital. The picture came as such a shock that I stopped in the middle of the street. My heart stopped, but I kept walking. It's nothing. A woman brushed my shoulder as she hurried past me, and I saw her drown in a lake. But everyone around me walked on as if nothing had happened. It'll pass. Just keep a straight face and keep walking. I tried my best to avoid touching people, but it wasn't easy. I was walking on one of the most popular streets in New Orleans. It was packed with people. Another man brushed my arm has he passed me, and I saw him stab someone. I stopped in terror, and a woman cursed at me from behind me before pushing past me. I saw her getting bitten by a vampire, the blood trailing down her neck. Don't lose your shit. I gulped and ignored the panic rising up in my chest.
"Hewwo?" A squeaky voice said from my feet. A little girl was tugging at my skirt, and my eyes widened.
"No, don't–" Too late. The girl's small hand connected with my leg, and the image filled up my brain. The little girl was in a kitchen, coughing her lungs out, before falling down to the floor.
"STOP!" I shouted at full strength, and everyone around me stopped in their tracks. The little girl released me and started crying in fear. I reached down to comfort her, but her mother tore her away from me. The look I met in her eyes… It was full of hatred, fear and disgust. She looked at me like I was crazy. Which I was. I turned on my heel and ran. I ran away from the people in the street, who were watching me as if I was an alien. I ran until I found a deserted alley, and leaned against the brick wall, my knees buckling under me.
"Shit, shit, shit." I mumbled over and over, taking shallow breaths. I didn't know for how much longer I could take the visions.
"JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" I shouted at the sky in frustration. I had never asked to see how five year-old girls were going to die. What kind of a sick superpower was that, really?
"SHUT UP!" Someone shouted from an apartment above me, reaching out their head out the window.
"YOU SHUT UP!" I yelled, before recollecting myself. I had more things to do that afternoon.
I had been excited for my first shift earlier that day, but when I walked through the door to the bar at 6:55 pm, I wanted nothing more than to wear sweatpants and eat ice-cream and cry my eyes out. The afternoon had taken a bad turn, you could say.
"Early, I see." Cami said as I walked up to the bar.
"Can I have a shot of espresso? I need a pick-me-up." I sighed and slouched in the bar stool
"Alright, but you know you're going up in five minutes, right?" She answered before handing me the tiny cup. I swallowed it and my face distorted at the bitter taste. But my head instantly cleared up and my heart was calmed.
"Thanks. Take it from my salary." I told Cami before taking off my leather jacket. I had had time to do some shopping after the incident, and to go back to the motel where my car was still parked to change. Now, I was wearing a tight red dress. (Not too tight, of course.) It was a beautiful burgundy shade and ended at my knees.
"Ready?" Cami asked me with a raise of her brows before going up on the stage. More a statement than a question, however.
"Ladies and gentlemen, let me present to you; Our new singer at Rousseau's!" She beckoned me up to the stage, and I stepped up. Cami passed me the mic and mouthed a 'good luck' before stepping down from the stage.
"Hello. My name's Juliette Walters, and my first song for the evening will be 'You don't own me' by Brenna Whitaker." I said, and turned back to the band. They nodded at me, signalling that they knew the song. I made a mental note to always check with them before going up on stage. The audience clapped, and I was acutely aware of just how many people were watching me. The bar was packed with people, old and young.
The music started playing, and I shut my eyes to ignore the eyes on me.
"You don't own me
I'm not just one of your many toys
You don't own me
Don't say I can't go with other boys
And don't tell me what to do
Don't tell me what to say
And please, when I go out with you
Don't put me on display 'cause
You don't own me
Don't try to change me in any way
You don't own me
Don't tie me down 'cause I'd never stay
I don't tell you what to say
I don't tell you what to do
So just let me be myself
That's all I ask of you
I'm young and I love to be young
I'm free and I love to be free
To live my life the way I want
To say and do whatever I please
And don't tell me what to do
Oh, don't tell me what to say
And please, when I go out with you
Don't put me on display
I don't tell you what to say
Oh, don't tell you what to do
So just let me be myself
That's all I ask of you
I'm young and I love to be young
I'm free and I love to be free
To live."
The applause filled the room and I smiled at the audience. After a couple of seconds of clapping, they stood up. Jeez, a standing ovation. I would never have expected that. I beamed before announcing my second song.
I left the bar at 11 pm, my heart bouncing with joy. The night had been a great success, and I had made 50 dollars. This whole 'running away and living my own life' thing was working perfectly for me now. Which made me remember that I hadn't checked my phone since I had left Mystic Falls. It was in a duffel bag in my mother's red honda, turned off. I was certain that it was packed with hundreds of messages from Caroline and my parents, which was exactly why it was still in the car and not in my hand.
I was skipping happily (childish, I know) when I fell to the ground. I went blind, again. Pictures filled my head, and I fumbled for the ground with my hands, trying to regain my balance. I was not quite sure what I was seeing as first. Blobs of color blurred my vision. Blood red, black, grey, navy blue… Then the images went clearer. I saw a field in the distance. A huge field, below a stormy sky. There was something on the field, but I couldn't see what it was. Then the picture started zooming in. The dots on the field became shapes, the color clearer. There were splashes of red, and twisted objects filling the whole field. In the middle, a pile of something towered. The picture zoomed in closer. They were bodies. There was a pile of bodies in the middle of the field, and spread all around it were more bodies, twisted in different angles. The ground around them was soaked with blood. They stared up at me with empty eyes, and the picture vanished.
I tried to stand up as I regained my sight, but my legs failed. Instead I sunk down to the ground and started sobbing. I hated to cry, really hated it, but this time I couldn't stop it. It was all too much. It was as if I was living a constant nightmare. I was afraid to close my eyes, because I might see someone I knew die. So I stayed there in the middle of the street, crying like a little baby.
"Juliette?" A familiar voice echoed from behind me. I felt a warm hand on my back and instinctively pulled back. I was done with seeing dead people for the day.
"Are you alright?" Marcel asked me with a worried look. I dried my cheeks and stood up.
"I just saw about two hundred people lying dead on a field. No, I'm not alright." I replied, my voice shaking. Marcel reached out his hand toward my shoulder.
"No! Don't touch me, I don't want to see–"
"Calm down, Juliette. You won't see me die, okay?" He intervened, and I stood still. His soft palm connected with the skin on my shoulder, and time seemed to freeze.
"Trust me." Those two words sent down an impact down my spine, and I started crying again. I didn't want to trust him. I didn't want to trust anyone. Not when I knew that I would probably watch them die some day. But Marcel didn't seem to care about that. He pulled me into a hug, and I sobbed into his chest. Not so much because of the vision I had just had, but because of the absence of human contact I had had since I first started getting visions.
"Let's get you home." Marcel mumbled into my hair.
"This is the guestroom." The vampire leader of New Orleans told me as I followed him into the big room. The bed was huge, and he dropped my duffel bag on top of it. "I'll be in the last room down the hall. Come to me if you need anything." He didn't release my gaze, and my heart contracted. There was so much compassion in those eyes. It scared me. I wasn't used to people caring about me… Both my parents were emotionless robots, and Caroline didn't care that much about me. But that was easy. That meant I didn't have to care about them either. This was different.
"Okay. Thank you." I replied, and Marcel gave me one last comforting smile before closing the door behind him. How many times had I thanked him during those last 24 hours?
Later on, I found myself thinking of him as I looked at the high ceiling. I wondered if he was sleeping, or if he was dealing with some vampire business… If he was thinking of me. Than I realized how silly my thoughts sounded, and turned off the light and closed my eyes before drifting off into sleep.