A/N: Thank you everyone for your reviews! And thank you Thot84 for everything you said. I'm glad you are enjoying it. I wanted to keep to my story but at the same time stay true to some of the TVD universe which is why I'm writing from so many different perspectives. Also, all of the relationships in the Vampire Diaries are altered because frankly, I don't like any of them on the show right now...haha. But the relationships and friendships I like and that will be in this story are Stefan/Caroline, Damon/Elena, Luka/Bonnie, Jules/Brady, Jeremy & Tyler, and Jenna/Alaric. I'll try to update soon. Thanks again for reading everyone. I appreciate all of your comments. :)
9
Jules rushed to meet Stevie and Jackson at a secluded waterfall at the park. He called her just shy of twenty minutes ago asking her to meet him alone. She left Brady in town without telling him where she was going at Stevie's request. Something was wrong, she could hear it in his voice over the phone. He had always been like a little brother to her in every way, and if something was up she had no problem with meeting him.
When she pulled up next to his beat up Impala way past due for a car wash, she spotted him leaning against the passenger side door. Jackson was laid out on the hood and staring up at the sun peeking through the clouds as though it didn't hurt his eyes. She parked her car next to his and exited the vehicle. Stevie was already leaping over the front corner of the hood to meet her.
"What's up?" She asked. "Everything okay?" She peered over his shoulder at Jackson. He stood up on the hood of Stevie's car and then jumped down sluggishly to head over to them.
"Yeah but I've been thinking," he said and scratched his forehead nervously. "I think we need to leave town." His voice was eager.
"I know," she responded. "I've been talking to Brady all night about it and I think we can all agree that it's not worth any more of our lives. We've already shed too much blood in this town and with how close the warlock is with the witch and there being another vampire here…" She shook her head.
"And there's always us not knowing where the hell the doppelganger is," Jackson needlessly added. Jules sighed, accepting that as the cherry on top of an overall disappointing week.
"I completely agree," Stevie said. "But… I think we should leave like now. Like this instant. I mean, you're totally right about the Salvatores and everything and I just have a bad feeling and I think we should leave."
Jackson was nodding at his side which Jules was quick to notice. Suddenly she was getting a whole other vibe from Stevie. He was a little too anxious about leaving, and Jackson was never a good liar even with his mouth shut.
Jules glanced between them. "What's… going on? Are you two okay?"
Stevie groaned. "Uh, for the moment, Jules," he said. "I just really want to get out of here."
"You said that." She nodded at him.
He lowered his head to break free of her gaze, and Jules narrowed her eyes on him. He didn't just call her to tell her that. By now, they were all ready to put Mystic Falls in their rearview mirror, but these two were acting strangely. In all the years she had gotten to know him, there was only one thing that usually sent Stevie over the edge. Guilt.
Jules tilted her head to examine Jackson now. He didn't look guilty of anything, but he was being unnaturally quiet this afternoon. Something else she'd come to learn about these two. Jackson had a big mouth, and if he wasn't using it he was afraid something might slip. Jules lifted her head as the realization dawned on her. Something was definitely up.
She knew they were all eager to return home after discussing what their next move should be last night, but neither of them seemed this distraught at the time. Maybe she hadn't paid close enough attention then, and this was exactly why Stevie had asked her to come. He knew that she would figure it out and Brady would have too had he been there with them. No. Her initial thought was not entirely correct. This wasn't why he asked her to come. It was why he asked her to come alone.
Stevie didn't want Brady to know something. The 'what' was the question.
"Stevie." She warned, returning her eyes to him. "What is going on?"
When he didn't respond, a hundred considerations surfaced in her head. What happened between yesterday morning when she had last soberly spoken to him up until now? She went after Bonnie Bennett only to discover she was dating the son of the warlock that single-handedly subdued them the other night. Brady left to the Gilbert house to capture the doppelganger but another vampire made off with her before he could. And Stevie… He went after the sheriff's daughter. Caroline Forbes.
She never thought to ask what happened there. Last she saw, he was following her from one of her friend's parties and she just assumed that after that he left the girl alone because their three-way conversation with Brady ended that way. With them calling everything off.
"Nothing," Stevie weakly denied. "I told you. I don't feel safe here anymore, and I would like to keep all of my delicate puppy-dog organs intact, wouldn't you? I hear vampires like ripping hearts out." Stefan and Damon did kill most of their friends that way the other night. Strange fetish…
Jules wasn't satisfied with his answer. "What happened with the Forbes girl last night?" She questioned. Stevie noticeably swallowed and Jackson kicked dirt around his shoes.
Just the reveal she was looking for. A person didn't necessarily have to own up to a crime for the truth to become apparent to a jury. And right now? They were giving her additional reason to distrust them every second they stood there lying to her. Had they never heard of a tell? Stevie had more than a few.
"What do you mean?" He said, his fingers crawling in and out of the pockets of his jeans. "I told you I ran into Jacks when you guys told me to stay away from her. So I did."
"Right," she pondered. "But I was already talking to Brady about Elena when you called him…" Jules gravely locked eyes with Stevie. "Why did you call him?" He chuckled but it wasn't the kind of sound that came out of a very happy person.
He shrugged. "I was just checking in. I wanted to make sure you guys were all right."
"We're big kids." She didn't hesitate to continue. "We can take care of ourselves. I'm sure you know that." Jules stepped toward him in warning. "Why did you call him, Steven?" He lifted his head at the unfriendliness in her voice and turned to share a somber look with Jackson.
The other werewolf was looking back at him with glaring eyes. She could practically see every word they wanted to say without them having to say it. Something had happened. There was no use in denying it anymore, and she could see they were both starting to realize that.
Hesitant, Stevie opened his mouth. "I…" Jackson held onto his eyes for a moment longer, but the instant Stevie looked away he fell victim to Jules' threatening glare. "I didn't mean to!" He exclaimed. "I mean he didn't mean to!" He pointed at Jackson, and he growled at his friend's loose tongue.
Jules uncrossed her arms. "You didn't mean to do what?" She pushed. Stevie laid his hand out to encourage a confession out of Jackson.
"Tell her," he said but Jackson didn't say anything. Jules waited for one or the other of them to fess up, and the impatient shock waves she was emitting made Stevie cringe. "Tell her!" He demanded.
"I killed her," he said at once. She met his eyes. Jules lost her breath as his words took a few seconds to sink in. She felt sicker than last night, an instant headache in the back of her head.
"What?" She managed lowly. They could sense the fury in her tone and looked at each other. "You what-you did what?"
"It was an accident," Jackson went on. "She bit me and I… I lost total control over myself. If I could change it-" He lowered his eyes, ashamed of himself but Jules was not so forgiving.
"You can't… change it…" She said through her teeth. Stevie rolled his shoulders to try and rid himself of the tension, but Jules looked worse than angry. She looked out-of-her-mind concerned and it was wearing on him. "Do you have any idea what this means?"
"Yes." Stevie sighed heavily. "We're sorry. Terribly… so. Now we have no chance of breaking the curse."
"That's not the problem, Stevie!" They looked up at her and she motioned between them. "After what happened with Elena last night I don't doubt they already know what we're up to. Her friends are going to come looking for her!"
Two unfocused figures stepped into her line of sight behind them, and she looked over their shoulders to see who it was. She stepped back and at once, Stevie and Jackson turned to see what she was looking at. But not what. Who. It was Stefan Salvatore and another fowl-smelling vampire at his side. They were walking to them through the trees. Perhaps their choice of location would have been safer if it were in a more public area. Surely they wouldn't try anything in front of humans.
Jules felt the need to run, but at the same time she could not abandon her friends. Obviously the vampires wanted something, otherwise they would not have been approaching in such a calm manner. No use in running from an inevitable meeting. They were fast, but without a full moon, older vampires were faster. They would eventually catch up. She stood her ground, grabbing Stevie by the arm and forcing him close to face her. His eyes were round.
"Find Brady," she told him. "We're leaving. Go. Both of you." Stevie hesitated, holding onto her arm protectively. She was just as much family to him as he was to her. She gripped his arm. "Go."
She pushed him toward Jackson and together they fled the park to find Brady without arguing. Jules knew best. She was older and more experienced. They trusted her with their lives, which was why they ran as fast as they could and never looked back. Brady would probably give them hell for that, but he would understand. He wasn't the only one always looking out for the pack.
Jules turned her back to the vampires to make sure her friends kept going and when they did, she inhaled sharply. When Stevie was around, she felt strong and brutal toward those who would do him harm, but when he wasn't all she had was herself to look after and she wasn't so good in the self-importance department.
"Stefan," Jules said and turned back around to face them. They were a lot closer now, and she was really hoping they didn't know about Caroline yet. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Jules." Stefan greeted her evenly. He didn't look like he wanted to rip her heart out, but the other one she wasn't so sure about. "What are you still doing in town?"
She forced a half-smile. "I get that a lot. We all do. My friends and I. I mean," she shrugged. "The ones who are still alive." Her smile completely faded and Stefan lowered his head nodding.
"Listen. Jules. I'm sorry. About the other night. I wish it hadn't happened the way it did," he said. She glowered at him, feeling the sentiment was insincere.
"Yeah, well. It'll take a little more than your apologies to bring back my friends," she said joylessly. "We can't all come back from the dead." The other vampire cleared his throat and she noticed his eyes darken on her. He was smiling inside and a small bit on the outside too, which infuriated her.
Stefan continued. "I realize that. And you may never come to accept this but… I truly am sorry for your loss." With the other one at his side obviously pleasured by the death of her friends, she found that extremely hard to believe.
Jules crossed her arms. "Of course you are," she sighed, moving on quickly. "Why are you here, Stefan? We're leaving like your witch friend so kindly asked. Not quick enough for you?"
"Not nearly," the other vampire said. Jules looked him over and he did the same. Something about having his eyes all over her made her uneasy. He didn't look like he took too well to her kind, and the prejudice in his gaze sent a cold rush through her.
"We don't want any trouble," Stefan said but a wicked glint in his friend's eyes was saying just the opposite. "But you and your friends need to stay away from Elena. We know one of you was at her house last night." Jules shot her eyes back at Stefan as it instantly hit her hard who this man was with him.
"It was you," she said curiously and looked back at the man. "You're the one who took Elena from her house." She wished she had realized it sooner. Brady said it'd been an older vampire there, and this guy was definitely older. She could tell just by the arrogant way he held himself.
He smiled, impressed by her deduction. "Allow me to introduce myself." He flattened a hand over his abdomen and bowed slightly to her. "I'm Elijah. And you're Jules. The one I distinctly remember telling to leave the night you attacked Ms. Forbes."
This was not good. He knew the warlock. It seemed every vampire in this town had a witch friend. Was that a rule of theirs or something? No entering Mystic Falls without a witch plus one?
"We are," she said harshly. "Leaving."
Elijah spoke low with cruel intent. "I would be happy to escort you and your friends out of Mystic Falls if for some reason you are having trouble," he said. "I mean. The ones who are still alive." The whites of Jules' knuckles began to show as the hardly obscured threat behind the statement made her blood grow cold.
"No," she said flatly. "That won't be necessary. We're leaving right now. And you won't have to worry about us anymore. Because we're never coming back to this cemetery." Stefan nodded once at Jules appreciatively, and she did not say anything further.
"Good," Elijah accepted. "Make it quick."
