A.N.: You know when you're writing a story, and you know where you want to get to, but can't get past the 'boring' bits to get to the good stuff? That's where I am with this story! I just can't wait to bring Elijah in… Oh, and I've decided that I will be changing the dynamic of the Originals—getting rid of Finn and Kol, because they're dull! I want Elijah to have the family I think he deserves.

Also, I'm developing storylines that aren't just b.s. (i.e. the "Cure" and Silas—yawn!) but I'm kind of liking The Originals (though I can't find episode 7 anywhere to download!) if only that Elijah took off his tie…we will take a brief intermission to swoon… I have my issues with the new series [Nik showing no personal growth; Elijah making gooey eyes at showing-too-much Hayley; Tyler being a dick; the stupidity of the Camille story-arc; and Marcel's personality and the fact they're going to such lengths to brew a 'war' between him and Nik, who could obliterate him in seconds if he wanted…a tad unrealistic, considering what we've seen Klaus get up to in TVD] but I can't deny I love the interactions between Elijah and Klaus…especially when Elijah killed Agnes in the church… Carpet-Cleaner, $6.99 from any reputable supermarket; a new suit for Elijah to replace the blood-spattered one, $3,000; Klaus' sociopathic smile after watching his big-brother murder the witch, Priceless.

Drunken Binges, Funerals and Formals

10

The World Implodes

September 25, 01:19 a.m.

Favourite song of the moment: Lucky Ones by Lana Del Rey.

Measure of inebriation: Sober. The delicious champagne-shawl I wore on Saturday-night has long since dissipated. Although Caroline's mother is working tonight, so we're going to sneak the bottle of José Cuervo Caroline bought with her fake I.D. tonight with some Ben & Jerry's, nachos and too much trashy TV.

I think something is going on. It's not like Damon to leave a party early, and he's not stupid enough to leave a victim/witness behind. Caroline was attacked at the Founders' Party. She's okay, she didn't have a scratch on her, but she says she's had "holes in her memory lately" and she thinks she can remember Damon biting her or kissing her neck, which is the last thing she can remember before waking up on the Lockwoods' lawn. Whatever happened, Damon left before he erased Caroline's memory, which isn't like him. He's been trying to go low-profile, why he made Caroline his Stepford Bloodbag in the first place, so he could sip when he wanted, erase and no-one was any the wiser that there are vampires in town again.

Or were.

Stefan said Damon left the night of the Founders' Party. I don't believe him. I just know Stefan tried to poison Damon before we went to the party; and now Daddy's out of town too…

Daddy never goes out of town—it's ridiculous.

Anyway, after what happened at the party, Caroline had a breakdown. I found her on the lawn. Although she found a pretty amber pendant. It's kind of old, the setting's hideous, but the colour of the stone is this rich, coppered honey. Caroline says Damon got it out of his father's old writing-box in the Founders' display.

Caroline's confused about what happened—whether Damon kissed/bit her, but mostly, whether they're back together. And I'm the horrible best-friend who has to hide it from her that her ex-boyfriend probably tried to murder her…and that he left town without saying goodbye. Not even to me.

Stefan has been suspiciously absent the last few days; he phoned Elena and left a voicemail about "having things to do" and now I have to lie to Elena too, about Stefan. I think Elena is so miffed with Stefan, she's concealing it by not caring about the fact he's not been at school, and ditched her at the party. Otherwise that gnawing pit in her stomach would bring on the old terrier, sinking her teeth into the bits that don't add up and not relenting until she has all of the stuffing ripped out and covering the furniture… One of the numerous benefits of staying with Caroline and her mother this week has been that neither Caroline nor Elena can ask me what's going on, with Stefan or Damon, because they know I have no idea. They still both ask at least once a day whether I've heard from "my cousins" but at least this way I don't have to answer questions about their behaviour at the party.

I think if Stefan hadn't vanished when he had, Elena might be feeling a little guiltier about having been such a bitch to him at the Founders' Party. She'd promised not to get in the middle of Stefan's drama with Damon, and yet she went right ahead and did it, accusing Stefan of keeping secrets, not telling her what she wanted to know about Katherine, being belligerent and typical Elena about something that's not her business, getting that dopey wounded-doe look when someone says something back. Elena's fine with dishing the stern hypocritical lectures, but as soon as anyone says something that cuts her, she'll collapse.

It's really starting to annoy me. I told her not to press the issue with Stefan. Yes, he and Damon have a history—*snicker*—and most of it is to do with Katherine…but Elena hasn't earned that story, and it's not her right to make other people feel like shit just because she's not getting her way.

She was an utter cow to Stefan at the party…

And now she's got me defending Stefan.

At least her being a snot to him gave him some kind of an out to explain why he left the party early. He doesn't have to take that crap from her.

The girls will probably indulge in quite a bit of Salvatore-bashing at lunch today. We're finalising details for the "Sexy Suds" carwash on Saturday…after which, I have a date with Noah Grayson.

I finally—and after Caroline has spent the last two nights making it her mission to convince me, and plan my outfits according to where we're going—accepted Noah's offer. I'm not sure really whether it's a good idea, I don't know Noah that well…but I suppose, he's not a supernatural killing-machine, like the kind of guys my best-friends go after…

And, no offence to Caroline whom I love more than my own limbs, but it will be nice not to have to watch another leg of the Keeping Up with the Kardashians marathon Caroline has made me suffer through.

The Kardashians' idea of "drama" is tragic. Try having to hide it from one best-friend that she had been the blood-bag chew-toy to her older boyfriend, who is also your now-missing 'cousin'; and your other 'cousin' is in a rocky relationship with the most curious and insufferable holier-than-thou Rottweiler, Elena. Add to that I know Bonnie's grandmother is being serious as paralysis when she tells Bonnie she's a witch, and with Bonnie's premonition about Coach Tanner's death, getting the "bad feeling" off of Stefan at the bonfire, and wigging about something that happened at the Founders' Party…

It's all starting to get very spooky here in boring old Mystic Falls. Halloween's coming up—I can't wait. Typical Caroline, not only has she already gotten Sexy Suds organised, but she's probably planning the maid-of-honour dress she'll wear to mine and Noah's wedding! We're planning the Halloween dance, and Homecoming, and a bunch of other stuff, but she's unstoppable; she wants us to go to the mall early Saturday before the carwash so I can buy a new outfit for my date with Noah.

I said no movies, just dinner; I didn't…really feel like going to a movie, where you sit in darkness and silence for eighty minutes and the inevitable happens and someone eventually cops a feel.

I just hope he's not expecting anything. I'm still not sure about it, or why I'd said I would go out with him, but I'd been up late with Caroline talking about it, giving each other makeovers, and there had been vodka involved…

And I can't wait to bring Noah home to meet the family…

Jeez.

I think Caroline's trying to crush my soul in retaliation for Damon; me being the only Salvatore to lash out on, she's trying to melt my mind with excess amounts of TiVo'd Kardashians.

At least we only watch TV after sports, clubs and homework—Liz has been at work most evenings, so Caroline and I have had the house to ourselves; we've watched awful television, done face-packs, full pedicures, yesterday we did manicures (and munchies; Jeremy sold me a dime-bag so I could make brownies! don't tell Elena) and I even let Caroline get out the fashion-mags to start planning our "fall wardrobes". Which means Caroline literally wants an entirely brand-new wardrobe full of gorgeous clothes, and I, meanwhile, would settle for a translucent plum lipstick, and a pair of those gorgeous Faberge-embellished Balmain velvet trousers from last season…

Okay, so going through fashion-mags wasn't as torturous as I'd anticipated—but Sirius says death isn't. Quicker and easier than falling asleep…that is not the case when Caroline's going through the TiVo looking for more trash-TV. Luckily she allowed me my brain-teasers while we watched TV; but I did get a few ideas on new pieces I'd like to get for my closet.

If Caroline had her way, she'd plan a weekend trip to Manhattan to shop. If we had an unlimited credit-card and someplace fabulous to wear the clothes, not small-town Virginia… The closest we'll get to recreating any of the looks in the magazines is the nail-polish trends and makeup looks for this season. But I really like the edgier stuff, smouldering eyeshadow, darker lipsticks, velvet blazers, leather pants and patterned scarves wrapped over the crown, those rad motorcycle jackets that come in ruby-red embossed velvet-jacquard and leather, and I'd love a dark coppery-rose eyeshadow…and Van Cleef & Arpels "Lotus" ear-clips, the little ones…so beautiful…

Oh dear…

Caroline's rubbing off.

She's also just told me the swimsuit I have picked out to wear at the carwash lacks "zzzh". I think that's how you spell it. She says the same about Elena's ponytails—because Elena uses too much heat with her straightening-iron, and not enough product. Caroline's words, not mine.

Anyway, I have to pick up a Caroline-approved (borderline slutty) bikini for Saturday.

But I am not polishing any guy's hood ornament.

That's the bell for lunch—

Ciao!

xo Giulia

"I want in-your-face sexy, Giulia," Caroline admonished. "You cannot raise funds for the athletic-department with that old one-piece. Where did you get it, anyway? I have never even seen you wear that at the water-hole on Tyler's property."

"Well, usually when I was at the water-hole, it was under the cover of moonlight, alone, with Tyler," Giulia reminded her best-friend, a little glumly, leaning her head against the wall as they lined up to buy lunch, trays in hand because the line was so long. She was dying for a soda, something with bubbles and sugar and a whole lot of caffeine. She loved Caroline, but her beauty regime was ridiculous; she was up at five every morning doing her hair, picking out her outfit for the day to match her shoes and her hairstyle and her makeup and her jewellery. And the sound of the hairdryer and the tangible cloud of product fumes suffocated Giulia as she tried to hide under the covers of her pull-out trundle-bed.

"Fair enough," Caroline sighed, eyeing the line shrewdly. "God, what is taking so long? I can't believe Tanya is buying a burrito, I mean, it's not like she needs the carbs—Sexy Suds is a bikini carwash."

"Leave her alone, Car," Giulia smiled tiredly.

"But seriously, you need to sort out that swimsuit situation, because if Noah's there Saturday, I'm betting he could rebuild the whole football-stadium with the cash he'd drop to see you in a tiny little string bikini."

"Or he could buy me a crab dinner and see me topless," Giulia remarked idly, and Caroline tittered, grinning, and elbowed her playfully.

"So where is Noah taking you?" she asked. "I want details. We have to plan—are we getting ready at my house? Because I can totally do your hair the way you loved it when we played dress-up."

Giulia smiled; for teenage girls in their junior year of high-school, they sure acted like excited eight-year-olds whenever they had a sleepover. And this entire week had been night after night of unsupervised boozing, nail-painting, trashy-TV-watching, girly bonding. Giulia couldn't say she had disliked getting to know her feminine side; she could do without Caroline's 4:30 a.m. alarm-buzzer, but for a tomboy she had enjoyed the fact that she had liked things in the fashion magazines Caroline almost buried her beneath last night.

"I suggested we go to the Arcade."

"The video-game arcade?" Caroline repeated incredulously. "Giulia!"

"What? I like it there. They do great pizza, all-you-can-eat ice-cream," Giulia said defensively. "And we both like air-hockey."

"Just don't beat him," Caroline sighed, as if she had long ago given up on Giulia as anything but a tomboy incapable of being the least bit of a southern belle, and acting dainty and sweet and flirtatious. "Boys don't like to get beaten at sports."

"Air-hockey is not a sport," Giulia remonstrated, picking out a Diet Coke from the chiller as she and Caroline shuffled up the line.

"Whatever—boys don't like to get beaten at sports or games of any kind. It bruises their egos. Remember Tyler's tantrums whenever he lost?" Caroline asked, and Giulia rolled her eyes. She loved any game that required a deck of cards. Or chess-pieces, or backgammon. Especially three-dimensional wooden puzzles. Anything that challenged her mind.

"I remember," Giulia sighed. She picked out a Chinese chicken salad and paid for it with a fruit-cup full of mangoes, orange segments and pomegranate arils that looked delicious. She did remember Tyler's strops whenever he lost at Go Fish when they were little; the backlash of being a pampered only-child. Caroline may be her daddy's little princess but she wasn't spoiled; and as for Giulia…well, Caroline kept asking her what her childhood had been like with two boy-cousins similar in age to her. Damon had always told her that, when lying, stick as close to the truth as possible. So she had said that Damon and Stefan were never really a permanent part of her life, just coming by for visits unannounced, due to the nature of their parents' professions in the military.

"Anyway, if you really end up liking Noah, it's better he doesn't know you too well before you start dating seriously," Caroline said, and Giulia raised an eyebrow at her.

"And what do you mean by that?" she asked.

"Well, just that…and I mean this with a lot of love behind it…but you can be pretty intimidating, G," Caroline said, and Giulia's lips opened in a little O. She frowned thoughtfully and followed Caroline down the lunch-line.

"I can?" she asked.

"Oh, yeah!" Caroline nodded, grabbing a bottle of flavoured water, a Caesar salad and a low-fat muffin before strutting over to their usual table, where Bonnie and Elena were sat chatting and laughing, Bonnie showing Elena a new bohemian-style necklace she had picked up at the mall.

A little unnerved that Caroline thought of her as intimidating, Giulia opened her salad and smiled and chatted with the girls as they ate their lunches; outfits and hairstyles were discussed for the carwash—Caroline seemed to have made it this semester's mission to get Elena to do anything with her hair. If Giulia was lazily feminine, Elena bordered on "bland and boring" territory, as Caroline said.

"I mean, just because you have a new boy-toy doesn't mean you can start skimping on the hair-product," Caroline admonished, as Elena gave her a withering look of contempt. "As we all know, it's easy to attract flies with honey, but once the nectar's gone… Speaking of, how are things with Stefan? Ever since he dropped the D-bomb this morning…"

Giulia glanced up. Stefan? He'd dropped a "D-bomb"?

"I'm sorry…what?" Giulia said quietly, glancing from Caroline to Elena, who sighed heavily and capped her water, glancing at Caroline.

"Stefan is back at school today," Elena said, looking grumpy. "He said Damon's left, and he's not coming back to Mystic Falls any time soon. Not that I really care—good riddance."

"Well, speak for yourself, but Homecoming is coming up, and I bought my dress because it went perfectly with Damon's eyes," Caroline huffed, and Giulia chuckled into her fruit-cup. "So now, I have to take it back to the store, which is really bugging me, because it's gorgeous."

"Wear it anyway," Giulia said, though she frowned at Elena, thinking things over. She glanced around the dining-hall, knowing he wouldn't be anywhere nearby—he pretended he liked to eat alone out on the football bleachers, when really, he dumped his backpack in his locker and went hunting in the woods bordering the school. The squirrel population was starting to dwindle.

"Of course you'd say that!" Caroline sighed. "But I can't—every time I see that dress, I'll just remember Damon and how badly he treated me, and the fact that…I miss him."

"Don't worry, I'm sure he's already treating some other girl like a doormat," Elena said quietly, but Giulia heard her, and scowled. She gathered up her things and finished her fruit-cup as she waited for her next class, writing in her diary. She hated how judgemental Elena was, for a girl who always claimed she was above judging people. Stefan was home but he claimed Damon was gone… But Damon had come home for a purpose, and Giulia had begun to suspect it wasn't just to continue the eternal torment of his little-brother. The way he had spoken about Katherine the other night, she was still his every thought…

On a whim, hoping he'd actually answer this time, she plucked her iPhone out of her backpack, biting her lip as she scrolled her contacts for his number, and hit Call. His phone went straight to voicemail; either it was off, or the battery had died. She sighed, put her phone back in her bag, and finished off her thought in her diary before the bell rang.

By Saturday, Giulia was more than ready to go home. She loved Caroline, more than life itself—she didn't know what she would do if anything ever happened to her best-friend. They were going to grow old on a Florida beach wearing bejewelled Juicy sweats and playing Bunko together while they pickled themselves on frozen daiquiris and compared notes on who had the most beautiful granddaughters.

But Giulia was used to life with her father—an introspective, quiet man who lived to read, carve and drink expensive scotch. Living with Caroline, even temporarily, meant a lot of girly chats, too much time spent on outfit-picking, shopping after school activities, and being roped into things she didn't really want to do. There were so many things Giulia did, only because Caroline enjoyed them, and she wanted to spend time with her best-friend. But the thought of going home, sleeping in her own bed, curling up under a blanket in the library with one of her three-dimensional wooden puzzles, had her filled with longing.

The Sexy Suds carwash had been a lot of fun—hard work, but a lot of fun, she and Caroline had laughed a lot and they had filled a memory-card full of photographs on Giulia's digital-camera, while the Yearbook staff documented the fundraiser and the girls in their bikinis. Giulia and Caroline had spent the morning at the mall, picking up a new tiny black string-bikini for Giulia to wear to the carwash, a few new tops, a dress for Caroline, and a lust-worthy pair of leather pants for Giulia; they had hit up Sephora for new makeup and perfume samples, indulged in a fresh fruit smoothie, giggled by the fountain making faces as they Instagramed, made plans for soda-floats and grilled-cheese at their favourite diner on Tuesday-night after Giulia had dance so they could discuss details for the 50s-themed dance-a-thon, and they had cooed in the pet-store over the baby rabbits. Giulia had wandered the aisles dedicated to beautiful exotic birds, contemplating buying a few new pets to keep Firenze company Caroline had also exhausted Giulia with ideas for hair, makeup and outfit choices for her date.

Seeing Bonnie run off scared after a car-fire was averted, a car-fire she had started with her mind, had been the only blip in an otherwise good day: the sun had been shining hotly, barely a cloud in the sky, they had raised fourteen-hundred dollars for the athletic-department and Giulia had got to hang out with her friends.

Getting ready for her date with Noah was almost as fun as anticipating the date itself—Caroline was in a funk after disappearing for a few hours, but she got back to her old self trying to coerce Giulia to play dress-up, changing her outfit twelve times, painting her nails, doing her makeup, even changing her hairstyle twice in one day, creating gorgeous, shiny, touchable curls full of volume.

Her date with Noah was…exactly what she had been needing. To spend time with someone who wasn't Caroline, Bonnie or Elena, a boy who made her laugh, and let her be smart and have fun goofing off with air-hockey, eating pizza-slices and flirting over building their custom sundaes at the ice-cream bar, allowing herself to feel flattered when he'd complimented her on her outfit—she had worn a very sheer black top sewn with black flower appliqués, sequins and tiny beads, over a black lace bra just visible, with her favourite jeans, the dark ones that Caroline said made her ass look "edible". Her favourite, sexiest two-strap black stilettos completed the look and showed off the shimmery purple, almost-black pedicure Caroline had given her last night.

The sparkly, appliquéd, see-through top was a hit—Noah couldn't wait to get under it when they left the arcade. And given she'd been stuck on Caroline's trundle-bed for a week, she was more than ready to get down and dirty in his backseat. And he was…a wonderful kisser. Topless and barefoot in his backseat and Noah was a very happy boy…twice. And Giulia worked off the frustration and desperation that had been building for weeks.

Maybe she was getting a reputation, but in a moment of post-orgasm euphoria, Noah had confessed that he'd heard that climbing into the backseat of a car with Giulia was "life-altering"… And she hadn't disappointed. She blushed, grinning, and chuckled softly, flattered, as she clasped her bra and pulled her top on, making sure it was the right way round.

"I, uh…I'm glad I came out with you tonight," she said softly, licking her lips, and Noah gave a lazy grin, his eyes heavy-lidded, face flushed with pleasure; his hands were warm on the tops of her thighs, she could feel their heat through the denim of her jeans, was still flushed from her cheeks to her breasts, which were heavy, nipples aching in a delicious way after Noah had explored them, her panties were damp from her orgasm and she was calm, at peace, and, for this moment, happy.

There were small moments like this, brief glimpses of euphoria, that she craved, and held on to, when the self-loathing and despair became too much, and Caroline was nowhere to be found to bolster her with that innate positivity she loved so much in her best-friend.

She had enjoyed herself with Noah, not just in the backseat but playing air-hockey, and flirting while they ate pizza slices, Noah laughing that an Italian "didn't really eat pizza much"—Giulia didn't! She liked that…she could be comfortable in her own skin even when she was out of her comfort-zone, with new people, unfamiliar situations that would have made her shyer than usual.

Today had been a great day, a throwback to the sun-drenched cookouts and carefree fun of the summer, so far behind them, the focus now on school, college-prep, fundraising and homework and the pressures of looming SAT exams. She was ready to go home, back to reality, but the short break from normality had been a lot of fun, too.

"Me too," Noah said softly, then grinned with an adorable mixture of bashfulness and coy confidence. "You, uh…you wouldn't, I don't know…want to do this again?"

"Which part?" Giulia asked, with a grin, gently rocking her hips in his lap, making him chuckle.

"I don't know…all of it?" he said hopefully, and Giulia smiled. Noah wasn't like Tyler at all; he was athletic, sure, and very good-looking, but he was so far from being a dick, she probably wouldn't know how to handle a boyfriend who wasn't always treating her and other people badly. She did know she'd had fun tonight, and wouldn't mind having more nights like that in the future…possibly with Noah. She'd like to get to know him a little better. So far their only interaction before now had been at parties.

"Maybe," she said, smiling bashfully as she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

"Yeah?" Noah smiled, and she nodded. Straightening their clothing, they climbed out of the back-seat, and sat in quiet, companionable silence, listening to the radio as Noah drove them through Mystic Falls. She had been surprised Noah, a Varsity letterman, listened to metal—about as surprised as Noah had been that Giulia did ballroom-dancing and volunteered at the local library improving kids' reading-skills. He only knew her as the girl on the boys' baseball-team, who drove a vintage Beetle, played the violin in the school orchestra and could beat anybody at beer-pong.

"Oh," Giulia blushed, glancing out the windscreen. Unconsciously, she had let Noah drive her home—to the Boarding House, not to Caroline's, where she was expected to give a full report of the night's events.

And, surprising her, Noah's wasn't the only SUV parked out front. Elena's familiar car was parked up, lights blazing, and Giulia could see, in the dim light spilling out of the open front-door and the porch light, Elena, far too skinny, her mane of loose hair shining, but her back was to them; by the set of her shoulders, the rigidness of her spine, Giulia's instincts flared up that something was wrong.

It was Stefan who stared back at Giulia, his face leaching of expression so suddenly it was like someone had erased an Etch-a-Sketch, redrawing his features in a desolated, guilt-ridden expression that made Giulia's stomach evaporate…

What had happened?

Her misgivings over Damon's departure from Mystic Falls, her father's unusual "out of town" business, Stefan claiming Damon would never return, hedging the details when Elena had asked, not answering Giulia's phone-calls despite demanding to know what was going on…

"Noah, I… Thank you for giving me a ride home, but I think—I think something's happened," she said softly, barely casting Noah a glance as she undid her seatbelt. "I think you should go…" She slipped out of the car, ignoring Noah's concerned voice as she shut the passenger-door, taking in the details of the scene laid out before her. Elena, visibly upset, trying to conceal her anger and something…more, almost betrayal, clutching her car-keys like they were a weapon; and Stefan, hiding a stake behind his back, recognisably grief-stricken and hurrying toward her as Giulia stumbled toward him in her heels, anxious, her stomach now in volcanic knots.

"Giulia, I—"

"What's going on?" she demanded, voice hoarse, staring at Stefan. His reluctance to speak, the guilt-ridden sense of grief that emanated from him, the understanding look he gave her before glancing anywhere but at her face, his eyes shining, she knew—

"Giulia, I… I can't get in the house."

"The front-door's wide open," Elena spoke up bemusedly. Giulia stared at Stefan as he gave her a wounded look, eyes shining with tears that didn't fall. Giulia's stomach evaporated again, as gravity seemed to lose its hold on her, her knees disappearing, and he said again, "I can't get in the house." Because she knew what that meant.

A.N.: Check it out—an update! I know it's been months in the making, but I'm in full-time work, and now the only two other full-time kitchen staff have decided to have the same week off sick, while we're bringing in the new winter menu. This is my Not Amused face! Anyway, please review.