A.N.: Just so people know, I intend for Giulia to be a sort of Dr Spencer Reid (Criminal Minds) figure, except she's far more creative. She grows into her eccentricity as time wears on, living with two vampires and everything I have planned for her – she's hyper-intelligent, dedicated to MMA, yoga and dance, artistic and creative. So I don't know whether I've managed to show this in previous chapters, but I'm going to start making references to Giulia's intelligence from now on.
Okay, I just saw promo photos for The Originals season 2 on YouTube, with the guy who plays Mikael standing with Daniel Sharman, otherwise known as Teen Wolf's Isaac Lahey. We get Daniel Sharman in The Originals?!
I'm SO HAPPY I'm gonna DIE!
Drunken Binges, Funerals and Formals
26
What Comes Next…
A slinky black silk-satin dress, a sinuous high halter-neck, slim to her hips and billowing romantically to her ankles, Giulia's Homecoming dress had a rippling cascade of shimmering charcoal organza from the low back, billowing behind her when she walked; Chocolat had whipped it up in an afternoon, sending it via Fedex to Giulia during the week after a phone-call between him and Lexi. It had arrived wrapped in fragrant tissue-paper and a beautiful boutique box, tied with a satin ribbon. She had worn it with twin-strap heels, smoky gold eye-shadow, and her hair combed back from her face, falling in gentle waves down her back.
Lexi had looked resplendent in pale-pink and glittering chandelier earrings, grinning from ear to ear, even blushing when Stefan had presented her with a white orchid corsage. And while Caroline usually had more fun planning such events, she had looked stunning in a sparkling sunrise-blue sheath dress, very Frozen Queen Elsa: the girls had all gotten ready at Caroline's, doing videos to put on Giulia and Ashlyn's blog as they did their makeup and Giulia did a tutorial on doing an Elsa/Katniss braid. Caroline had worn her hair in a crown braid, curled into a bun like a rose over her ear, the rest of her hair loosely curled and pretty; Giulia had done a full Katniss braid, full of curls and gentle twists, but tucked it into a bun.
It had been a wonderful night: after Stefan's small birthday gathering, cake, candles, macking on Elena, Tyler on his best behaviour around Jeremy, who had arrived with Jenna, a jumbo bag of nachos and a dozen blue cupcakes, Lexi regaling them with a lot of stories that had Stefan red in the face with embarrassment, and Jenna perhaps wondering whether Stefan was the worse influence on her young niece, instead of Damon – Jenna and Lexi had gotten along well, Matt had appreciated not having to cook dinner for himself, and Giulia was getting used to having people in the house, making a racket and a mess.
After a childhood spent in a quiet, echoing home, it was…unusual, but lovely, to have so many people in the house. It had felt the way she imagined it did for other families on Thanksgiving or New Years, full of people, laughter, chatter bouncing off the walls, having a nice time.
Lexi hadn't joined them to get ready for the dance – she had met Jenna for a drink. By appearances, they were the same age, and Jenna was a really nice person. And she didn't get to go out often, do much for herself; she was the single parent to two troubled teenagers, working on her Psych degree. Like Damon, Jenna had signed up to be chaperone at the Homecoming dance; she and Lexi had gotten ready together, albeit Jenna in a less flashy outfit, but she looked very pretty, and everyone at the dance enjoyed the custom photo-booth Giulia had spent two weeks putting together using three-inch gold discs nailed to a backdrop, shifting and flashing in every slight breeze and movement. Some of the photographs were hilarious; she'd made and collected props for the photo-booth, and some of her favourite pictures were of her with Damon, and Caroline, or Lexi. They had a great one of the four girls together – she was going to get the one of Jenna and Elena together with Jeremy printed and framed as a gift. But her favourite was perhaps the one of her and Jeremy; she'd nagged him into going, paying for his ticket and helping pick out his tux with Jenna's help. Giulia thought he'd been embarrassed but pleased by the attention. They had all gone as a group of friends; in a landmark moment, Giulia had suggested it would be okay if Tyler joined them at The Grill before they went to the dance with Matt, and a bunch of other guys who were going stag.
The nominees for the Homecoming Court were mostly seniors; despite being juniors, they were heavily involved with the school social scene, and Giulia and Caroline had also been nominated. It had been announced on Friday that Caroline had won Queen; the senior Varsity fullback won King. Giulia was named first runner-up to Caroline, and received her own tiny tiara and a bouquet of roses.
Damon embarrassed her to no end about being nominated to the Homecoming Court.
Apparently Damon didn't think it quite fit with Giulia's image that she was on the Homecoming Court – that the buttoned-up hellion, bookworm and BAMF, great-niece to a badass vampire, was such a huge part of her high-school social scene. She reminded him she was a cheerleader – and he'd been the forerunner of a quarterback in the Confederate camp where he'd learned the game of football.
As soon as an after-party was suggested at the most popular girl at school's house, Damon dropped the sass he was giving Giulia and started charming the teeny tiny G-string off the girl for an extended invite. The host's elder-sister was a friend of Jenna's since high-school, and was chaperoning the party while their parents were away for the weekend, so even Jenna was invited, though in a supervisory capacity…Damon and Lexi had a great time snatch-eat-erasing as kids got too drunk, made out with the wrong person and stumbled out of bedrooms with their hair a mess.
Lexi left in the early hours before dawn that morning, intent on getting as close to the Georgia state-line as she could before dawn, after a meal at their favourite diner, eating pancakes, waffles, fresh fruit and a lot of very strong black coffee to soak up the booze, but by late Sunday evening, even Caroline's mega hangover had subsided.
First thing Monday-morning, Giulia sat sprawled in her front-row desk, yawning and trading rapid-fire texts with Ashlyn, who was bemoaning a History test she had later, begging Giulia for footnotes on the European witch-burnings of the early 1530s, and plotting the imminent demise of Cara for setting her up with no fewer than eleven dates in the coming weeks with boys she had basically met on the street. She commented on pictures Giulia had posted of Homecoming to Facebook – and her videos on their blog. Ashlyn was working on her chapter of their story after Giulia had updated a new one, but had been bogged down with homework and a cold – remnant of her lowered immune-system thanks to a weekend of drinking when Giulia had been in Manhattan.
It was bizarre that Giulia had only been in Manhattan a week ago.
"Hey," Elena sighed, as she entered the classroom.
"Hi yourself," Giulia said, glancing up from her phone. Elena had typical sad-face on again. At Stefan's party, Giulia had seen Lexi take Elena aside for a quiet chat, at which point Elena had opened up a little to the fun, but going stag to the Homecoming dance so Lexi could be Stefan's guest might have been a clever way of Elena trying to avoid having to invite Stefan as her date. They had all had fun together, Giulia admitted, more fun than they would've had committing to a single guy; she had danced with "all of her honeys" as Lexi had laughed, and made out with Jack, disappearing into a darkened closet with Cade at the after-party – as per tradition, the Homecoming King and Queen had consummated their positions at the party in a spare bedroom, Giulia knew this because Caroline had been preening all morning at her locker, looking flushed and exhilarated when Jake had asked her out on a date for this coming weekend – but she had seen Elena gazing wistfully across the crowded gym, before catching herself and focusing on the fun at hand, dancing with Bonnie and Caroline (in her sparkling crown). "So…" As Elena perched on the desk beside Giulia's, the seat vacant, Giulia licked her lips, and shrugged delicately. "…So what's going on?"
"What do you mean?"
"I get back from New York, you don't want to have anything to do with Stefan, and he's moping at home in a darkened room," Giulia said, eyeing the change in Elena's features as she heard this. "What happened?"
Elena blinked. "Vicki died – or, was killed…or re-killed, I guess."
"And you broke up with Stefan because of that?"
"No! I… I just don't think that I can do it. Every time I look at Matt…or Jeremy," Elena sighed, looking chagrined.
"The two boys I saw at the dance this weekend didn't look like they needed someone feeling guilty over what happened to Vicki," Giulia said quietly, aware that, as the classroom hadn't filled up yet, their conversation might be overheard due to the lack of noise. "They're getting on with things, Elena. Matt came to Stefan's birthday-party, even though he had no reason to want to. He and Stefan only play football together – and Jeremy's sketching again."
"He is?"
"We hung out last Thursday," Giulia said.
"When he skipped the afternoon."
"Don't give me that judgy look – he had a good time," Giulia chuckled, not in the least concerned about Elena's disapproving frown.
"Please tell me you weren't getting stoned with him," Elena sighed.
"Absolutely not; that would be illegal," Giulia said sharply, tapping a text to Chocolat, and another to Aljaž, who had sent her information about a few dance competitions in Manhattan in the coming months that he was interested in partnering with her for.
"Who are you texting?"
"A few friends I made in Manhattan," Giulia said. "Hey – what's up with Bonnie and Caroline? There was some tension when we got ready for Homecoming."
"I don't know, something about this stupid necklace Caroline gave Bonnie," Elena waved her hand. "Damon had it at the Founders' Party, Caroline thinks he was gonna give it to her, or… I don't know. She gave it to Bonnie."
"A necklace? It's not like Damon to give jewellery," Giulia frowned.
"Well, maybe we can ambush Bonnie today, she was really weird yesterday," Elena sighed. "I don't think she had as great a time at Homecoming as the rest of us."
"Well, I don't think anyone had as good a time as Caroline and Jake," Giulia smirked.
"I can't believe Caroline and Jake had sex," Elena giggled softly. "Hey…where's Stefan?"
"Nice segue," Giulia smirked, and Elena blushed. "He is at home, wallowing. His bestie is safely back in Atlanta now, and… I guess the funk you're in is affecting him too. Don't let his advanced age fool you; he's a broody teenager."
"I've been sending him texts…" Elena sighed. She moved off to her desk, biting her lip, and Giulia turned to her sketchbook, making notes on one piece of paper for the illustrations she wanted to do details and specifications she found in Ashlyn's chapters of their story.
She had only known Ashlyn and Co. a week, but it felt like longer. Something about their quickly-emerging inside jokes, their shared experience of a wonderful Lost Weekend, the intellectual bond Giulia had shared with many of them, it felt like she had known them much longer, and she knew she would always enjoy spending time with them.
It was odd, seeing Bonnie looking so wan, when she finally ducked to her seat, decidedly rumpled. She had hardly drunk anything at the party after Homecoming, so Giulia doubted it was a hangover. And Elena said she had been acting 'weird'. Had something happened at the party?
Just because Bonnie was a baby-witch didn't mean everything bad that ever happened was caused by the supernatural. Sometimes it was just horny, amoral teenage boys.
Before Giulia could turn in her seat to frown in concern at her friend, a good-looking man in his mid-thirties entered the room. There had been whispers that the principal had finally managed to locate a permanent replacement for Coach Tanner in the History department.
Dumping his jacket on the teacher's desk with his briefcase, he reached immediately for a fresh white-erase pen, sighing, "Good morning, everyone… Alrighty." He started squeaking a marker across the board, spelling out his full name. "Alaric Saltzman. It's a mouthful, I know, doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. Saltzman is of German origin, my family immigrated here in 1755 to Texas. I, however, was born and raised in Boston. Now, the name Alaric belongs to a very dead great-grandfather I will never be able to thank enough. You'll probably want to pronounce it Al-aric. But it's Al-ar-ic. 'Kay? But you can call me Ric. I'm your new History teacher."
There was something so instantly likeable about Mr Saltzman: Giulia sat up straight in her desk, her attention rapt on him for the entirety of his lecture – unusual, when she spent most of her class-time, regardless of the lesson, doodling in her sketchbook, or working on personal research.
In the space of the first ten minutes of his lecture, Giulia could tell Mr Saltzman was going to be a very good teacher. He was light-hearted, made them laugh; he was relaxed, but stern when needed, he brought in current events and references to make links to the subject-matter of his lectures so even the most stoned kid in the class could keep up. He was very competent, kind, tried to make sure he learned each of their names by the end of the class, conscious of correct pronunciation – Giulia's name had stumped him, reading roll; as soon as she explained it was 'Julia' but with the traditional Italian spelling, he grinned, chuckling at the end of class, as everyone filed out of the room, that the principal had bragged about her Heritage Project paper published in the local newspaper. He asked her about the display, and the dinner Mrs Lockwood was salivating over trying to plan and host using all of the old recipes Giulia had found, and if not for the fact she had AP Calculus and he had another class, they might've run late talking about the papers Giulia researched for her own enjoyment. He'd heard about Coach Tanner's reputation, heard of Giulia's reputation at the school for academic excellence, forecasted to graduate the valedictorian of her class, and suggested Giulia hand him the papers she wrote for extra-credit.
At a student council meeting with Caroline during lunch, Giulia got texted updates from Elena about Bonnie. On its own this was slightly unusual; Giulia and Caroline were the ones who exchanged texts every few hours. Elena and Bonnie were the other pairing, loyal to each other to a fault. But stranger still was the content of Elena's texts: she said Bonnie was so spooked because she'd been having nightmares – and sleepwalking in the woods to Old Fells Church – about her ancestor Emily Bennett.
She believed Emily was haunting her. It had all started when Caroline had given Bonnie the amber crystal pendant. Giulia had seen it – she didn't think the clunky, antique setting was very pretty, but it was definitely very Bonnie. She was into all that boho-hippie stuff. Too many beaded necklaces.
She thinks Emily Bennett's haunting her, communicating via the crystal.
Giulia texted back: Emily B. was a witch when D + S were still human: D saved Em's kids when the town burned her after they killed the vampires in Fells Church.
That's morbid. Talking to Bonnie now – should I tell her?
Giulia rolled her eyes, tapping a response – Let Grams get her used to the idea of being a witch first.
You're probably right; that's way too much for Bonnie to deal with on its own anyway. She doesn't want to ask Grams about the necklace – she's afraid to 'embrace' the dreams.
Let her know we've got her back.
We as in you and me, or we as in you, me and Stefan who may have dealt with witches before – including Emily?
…talk to you later. She sighed, opening a clean new message, and sent a text to Stefan and Damon: Bonnie being haunted by Emily B through the necklace Car took from Damon. Advice how to handle, pls?
Damon's reply came instantly: Knew it. Witches. Judgy, predictable little things. Interfere even from beyond the veil.
Stefan's reply was seconds behind: What? I'll be at school in a few to talk to Elena. She may be a little down for a while after I do. But I'll try to help Bonnie any way that I can.
Oh, what now? You about to tell her you've already been seeing a girl in Washington State but you had to leave because it was in her best interest? Elena's talking to Bonnie out in the Quad. I'm in a Student Council meeting.
Nerd.
Overachiever, Mr Ditcher.
I've graduated 17 times. I know everything there is to know about the American Civil War and the Cuban Missile Crisis.
You gain new perspective every time you relook at something.
Nerd.
You'd like the new History teacher. Mr Saltzman.
He's cute, isn't he?
In a youngish History-teacher kind of way.
Caroline was on edge, nervous and irritated by something; in a pause during their meeting, Giulia gave her the look Caroline knew well as the 'fess up' look that took no nonsense. Fiddling with her salad, Caroline scowled, fidgeting in her seat.
"Okay, so – the other night…Matt stayed over. I was drunk, and he put the TV on because I didn't want to be by myself, my mom was working late, Damon was mean to me, and we kind of…fell asleep…cuddling. And it was really nice, but…I don't know, it was really weird, but I liked it, and now it just…feels really awkward." Caroline huffed an agitated sigh.
"Damon was mean to you?"
"Yeah, about that stupid necklace," Caroline said glumly. "I don't even care anymore, he can rot in hell, I just… He doesn't have to treat me like that. He shouldn't treat me like that. I don't know what it is about me that makes him think I'm a nitwit. Or that I'd let him get away with pushing me around."
"He's used to treating people that way," Giulia said quietly. "And when did you have time to get Matt Donovan into bed around sleeping with Jake?" Caroline laughed, smacking Giulia's arm as she blushed.
"Come on… I was feeling frisky at Homecoming, and… It was after Stefan's birthday-party…"
"After I sent you home with Matt because you'd had too much to drink? Car – sloppy drunk-sex with one of your oldest-friends?"
"Okay, we did not have sex! We just fell asleep together, in the same bed," Caroline said defensively, laughing, but her smile faded. "His train-wreck of a sister dies, only for me to take her place." Caroline's styled curls – a style Giulia could see her making her signature, they looked so pretty – bounced as she shook her head.
"Caroline, don't degrade yourself to Vicki's status," Giulia said softly. "You're a thousand times the girl Vicki was. You have it so together, and you know who you are."
"Well, I just wish Matt would see me for who I am… Or at least, who I think I am – not who people see me as," Caroline mumbled, fiddling with her spork.
"Well, knowing the girl you are, I'd say Matt would be pretty lucky to be with you," Giulia said honestly. If she could stop worrying so much about what everyone thought of her – and he could get over Elena, who couldn't hold a candle to Caroline – she thought Matt and Caroline could actually have something worth fighting for. If Matt was interested; and if this wasn't just a passing whim from Caroline, who usually didn't dwell on her loneliness. "Despite your unearthly infatuation with Justin Beiber's hair."
"Okay, don't talk about the Beibs, okay. You don't know the Beibs, you don't understand the Beibs," Caroline giggled. "Or his hair." Giulia rolled her eyes, turning to her sketchbook.
The next text Giulia got from Elena came after school: they had no cheerleading, but Giulia had soccer practice, and after that, MMA training. Checking her phone as she showered, she saw the text from Elena, inviting her for a slumber-party. According to Elena's text, Bonnie had decided to deal with Emily's crystal by tossing it into a field on the drive home from school. Elena suggested PJs, manicure sets, and they had to cast their votes between Chinese and Indian.
Giulia was starving: she could kill for some naan breads and a fragrant, spicy curry. Changing into a sleek black racer-back tank with inbuilt bra and a pair of slim-fitting dark jeans, she tugged a sharp-shouldered leather jacket on and the cherry-red patent Doc Martens Cara had bought for her in Manhattan, feeling strangely liberated solely by the cold air rushing in the open windows of her Beetle as she drove to Elena's, the Indian curry takeout stashed safely in the passenger-seat; she'd volunteered to pick it up rather than pay for delivery, when she was coming from downtown anyway.
She entered the house to find the aftermath of an argument simmering away between Caroline and Bonnie. Not unusual; Bonnie was always touchy, Caroline usually the one to set her off by saying something she didn't mean, or was taken the wrong way.
"What's going on?" she asked Elena, shrugging out of her jacket as Elena took the huge paper bag full of aluminum dishes sealed and marked with their chosen curries. Elena gave her a heavy look, sighing, and marched her to the kitchen, avoiding Bonnie, sitting in the living-room looking like she was trying not to cry, and they found Caroline, texting furiously and scowling, at the island.
"They're not talking – Bonnie tried to tell Caroline she's a witch; Car didn't exactly take it well," Elena said.
"Well, Hagrid can't always be on hand to fork over the Hogwarts letter," Giulia said softly. Elena chuckled.
"Giulia, are you still bitter about that?"
"I turned eleven: I waited for my letter," she said shortly, shoulders back defensively, arms folded. "I am still waiting. Maybe they just don't want to detonate the nuclear-mystical bomb that would be me and Hermione battling under the same roof for top of the class."
"Yeah, that would get messy," Elena said, bringing out plates and cutlery. "Did they give you the mango sauce?"
"It's in there," Giulia nodded.
"Hey, so… Stefan was here earlier, he said he'd talk to Damon about the necklace, and tormenting Bonnie," Elena said quietly. "Do you have any ideas why he'd be so obsessed with it?"
"Like I said earlier, jewellery isn't really his style," Giulia said, frowning. "All I can think is that it wasn't intended for Caroline to have – especially since it seems to link back to when they were human." Back to Katherine, she had almost blabbed, but that opened doors she knew she wouldn't be able to wedge shut quickly enough before Elena threw herself through them.
"Okay, I realise that Emily was alive during the Civil War, when Stefan and Damon were still human, but…what's he up to?" Elena asked, frowning.
"We'll find out when he wants us to," Giulia said, unconcerned. Undoubtedly they were in for more harrowing evenings in the foreseeable future if Damon was being diabolical, and with what he had let slip a few weeks ago about Katherine, Giulia wondered whether this crystal, Emily the witch from the Civil War, whether it didn't all tie together. She wasn't versed in magic at all, so she had no idea what the limits were for a witch. Their own creativity, she supposed; and she knew witches were Nature's servants, supposed to help maintain the balance.
But if Damon was up to something, she was going to enjoy tonight, eat some Indian curry, reluctantly watch a sappy girl-movie, hang out with her friends, give herself a fresh manicure, and listen to some music maybe, before falling asleep after sharing the half-bottle of tequila Lexi had left behind.
"That's all you have to say?" Elena half-laughed.
"I'm exponentially clever, not omniscient," Giulia said, shrugging delicately. "If Damon doesn't want you to know something, you won't."
"I'm thinking you two are very similar that way," Elena said, and Giulia chose not to take it as a dig, but an observation. She and Damon were similar, in more ways than she was willing, at the moment, to give too much thought to; and she had been keeping her uncles' secret her entire life.
As far as Secret Keepers went, the Potters should've chosen her.
Giulia frowned at the island: an amber crystal with an antique setting sat on the granite countertop amongst the takeout containers, Caroline's purse and Bonnie's manicure set. She picked it up by the chain, frowning. "I thought Bonnie tossed this."
"We think it was Emily," Elena said softly, glancing covertly at Caroline. Giulia shrugged, setting the necklace down on the counter. She had had no contact with witches except for Sheila Bennett sometimes babysitting her and the other girls on Founders' evenings when they were little. They'd get the Ouija board out, watch Practical Magic and let Grams read their tea-leaves while they ate chocolate-brownies. Not exactly old-school voodoo, although Giulia had tried to coax Sheila to read her cards. And the last time Caroline's boyfriend had dumped her, Giulia had made a miniature voodoo doll, Jeremy had drawn a picture that had made Caroline laugh even as she cried, and Bonnie had created something she called Witches' Brew with the remnants of Elena's parents' liquor cabinet.
Could a ghost pull a Swayze and move things in the corporeal world? Did ghosts linger? Did witch-ghosts have magic beyond death? And were they being watched right this second?
That thought, considering she'd just come from the showers after MMA at the gym, made Giulia shiver. Eyeing the kitchen warily, she doled out fragrant rice for everyone as Elena put the naan breads and poppadum crackers in dishes, taking the lids off the dips. Giulia picked up the pendant, letting it dangle from her fingers, and held it out in front of Caroline, who dropped her cell, looking petulant but tired, and she eyed Giulia, her shoulders slumping. Giulia gave the pendant a pointed look, then nodded her head sternly toward the living-room where Bonnie was sat, alone.
"So…um…" When Caroline had disappeared into the living-room, Elena licked her lips, looking awkward, and sighed. "Stefan…said he's going to, um, keep his distance."
"An interesting turn of events," Giulia said, glancing up, highly surprised. All Stefan had done the last six months was obsess over Elena.
"With everything that happened with Vicki, I think…I think his guilt is getting the better of him," Elena said quietly, and Giulia hid a smirk, knowing it wouldn't be appreciated. "Jeremy was almost bitten, I got hurt… He's trying to push me away."
Some part of Giulia thought, Maybe this will finally be over. We can return to some form of normalcy. Another part of her saw Elena's expression, and knew normal for them would forever be different. They knew the secret, now. There was no going back, unless Stefan compelled Elena to forget – which he couldn't and wouldn't do, on principle as well as the fact he couldn't do it properly due to his restricted diet. Stefan would only be miserable, and much as she knew Elena would eventually move on, perhaps start thinking everything that had happened the last few weeks had been a coping mechanism to pull her through her grief, needing some kind of medication to make the strange memories make sense… She would remember.
One way or another, they were both involved. There was no going back.
"Well… I don't really know what you want me to say here," Giulia said honestly. "I could say, 'Don't let him push you away, what you have is too mystical and eternal and worthy of a Shakespeare tragedy'… But I could also say you're a seventeen-year-old girl with her entire life ahead of her." A life Stefan ensured you would have, sacrificing your parents' lives so you could have it, she added silently, digging the cutlery out of the drawer. "Stefan…is stuck. He will always be seventeen. And I don't know how you've romanticised vampirism or even thought about it much, but the reality is, Stefan's the exception, not the rule, and he's also young – people always notice that he's not getting older. He has to move on every couple years."
"Always?" Elena said quietly.
"Always. It's easier for him, in big cities, people notice less," Giulia said quietly. "But in a place like this, he can do a couple years, maybe three or four if he really pushes it… He never usually makes a public return to any place within a decade."
"So he can pretend that he's your dad's…nephew…your cousin… Your nephew," Elena said softly, stopping to turn and gaze at Giulia, looking slightly stunned. Giulia hadn't thought about it; the future. One day she would keep up the charade that Damon and Stefan were…her nephews. Would she reach that age, where people could believe it?
"I don't know if he'd come back," Giulia said softly, nibbling on a poppadum. "My relationship with Stefan isn't what his was with my dad. My dad respected Stefan, thought he was a good guy…even if he was a vampire."
"But you don't?" Elena asked, half-smiling, like she couldn't believe Giulia wouldn't think Stefan was a good guy.
"I just…have a different perspective on Damon and Stefan's relationship, that's all," Giulia said, shrugging delicately. "Over a hundred and fifty years, Damon and Stefan haven't always been who they present themselves to you now."
"What do you mean?"
"Damon was the sweet one," Giulia said, smiling wistfully. "He had immaculate manners…until he met Sage. And spent the 1970s in the punk underworld of New York a few decades later."
"You know – I find it less difficult seeing Damon as a punk than seeing him as a southern gentleman," Elena said drily. "Although I guess he knew some Scarlett O'Haras in his day." Giulia, who had read, annotated and ripped apart Margaret Mitchell's historic-romance masterpiece, could honestly say that Scarlett O'Hara had nothing on the Atlanta-bred belle who was the late Katherine Pierce.
"I would say he absolutely did," Giulia said darkly. She stifled a yawn, rubbing her bare arms, feeling the muscles ache in the cooler air of the Gilbert kitchen, and rolled her shoulders, peering into the den, trying to catch a sound from the girls.
"Think they've strangled each other?" Elena asked, eyes wide.
"Elena, Giulia, you can come in now! We're done!" Caroline called happily, and Giulia smiled.
"Excellent. Détente. You guys come to us; we have food," she called.
"Thank God, because I am starving."
"You're always bitchier when you're hungry," Giulia observed.
"Uh, excuse me, you're exactly the same way," Caroline declared, eyebrows raised as she and Bonnie skipped into the room. "Although I wouldn't call it bitchy so much as terrifying. But we know not to take anything you say to heart when you're starving."
"I appreciate that," Giulia nodded. "Alright, are we splitting this up evenly or each tucking into our own?"
"I don't know about you guys but I really just want to drown myself in some good comforting Indian food," Bonnie said, tugging on the wrists of her sleeves. "I have not had a good week."
"Tell me about it," Caroline sighed sadly.
"This weekend was a lot of fun," Giulia reminded them. Odd that she was the one buoying eternally-bubbly Caroline's mood.
"Did you get your pictures up on Facebook yet?" Caroline asked, her eyes brightening.
"Not yet; they're downloaded from my camera though," Giulia said, frowning. "We look like Queen Elsa and Maleficent together in our pictures." The girls crowed with laughter, doling out naan breads, poppadum crisps and the sweet mango chutney and mint yoghurt, Giulia brought out her laptop, and as they ate their dinner, listening to Giulia's playlist selection, they went through photographs downloaded from her camera and cell-phone from the dance – getting ready beforehand; and the after-party at Stephanie's house – picking their favourites. Giulia didn't tend to blindly just add entire folders to Facebook photo-albums; she and the girls chose their favourites to post, and the rest she kept private. Caroline had a thing about scrapbooking, so at some point in the next few weeks, they would spend an afternoon putting pages together for their albums.
One of Giulia's favourite pictures of her and Caroline, she was stood just behind her best-friend, arms around Caroline, who was grinning from ear to ear, laughing out loud when the picture had been taken; Giulia had her eyes directly on the photographer, her cheek resting against Caroline's shoulder. And with Caroline's icy-blue dress and Giulia's bold eye-makeup and simple black dress, they really did look like Queen Elsa post-makeover, and Maleficent. Minus the crow and the eerie staff.
"So, we're still doing manicures, right?" Elena asked, examining her fingernails as she put the dishes in the dishwasher. "My cuticles are nasty."
"I brought the good stuff," Giulia said, smiling: before Homecoming, she had given the girls manicures, Chocolat-style. Homemade rosewater, softening cuticle oils, a brief hand-massage with the Dolce Mia 'Golden Girl' tuberose lotion Ashlyn had introduced her to, using a glass file, a buffing block and a collection of gorgeous O.P.I. and Essie shades as well as a wheel of tiny rhinestones, precariously thin strips of tape and a set of very fine paint-brushes and sponges to do nail-art. The kind you only ever saw on Pinterest photos – Giulia had been determined to make Caroline's Homecoming weekend more fun in reality than on paper. Manicures and champagne (provided by Lexi) before they did 'Get Ready With Us' makeup videos… Shopping for heels and the perfect lip-product had been fun, too, and something Lexi and Jenna had been able to join them in doing, since they had gone shopping after sundown on a night when Jenna didn't have late classes.
Bonnie's funky, colourful Aztec manicure; Caroline's frosty manicure with rhinestones and lilac-blue shimmer in the nail-beds; Elena's sparkling sunset ombre nails; and Giulia's elegant black-tipped French manicure were documented by photographs, and according to his texts, Chocolat had mad pride.
"Okay, so do we wanna watch a movie? We've got kettle-corn, but no ice-cream," Elena said, checking the pantry and the freezer.
"Kettle-corn, definitely," Caroline grinned.
"Alright, but I need Giulia's help with my Biology homework," Bonnie sighed, "I am behind in like every class."
"Tell me about it," Elena grunted.
"What movie are we watching?"
"How about Poltergeist?" Giulia suggested, smirking at Bonnie, who gave her a look.
The coffee-table in the den was set up with all the bits and pieces necessary for Giulia to do amazing manicures on the other girls, and while Caroline tapped away at her cell-phone, texting, sharing a phone-call with the DJ booked for the Fifties Dance-a-thon, Bonnie went through her Biology assignment, textbook open in her lap, scribbling in her notebook on the floor. Giulia carefully removed the chipped polish from Elena's nails, filing them, buffing them, smoothing them, before applying a demure blush-shimmer ombre design using a tiny sponge.
"What are my thoughts on genetic modification?" Bonnie asked, glancing over at Giulia expectantly.
"Aren't scientists playing God?" Giulia paused, filing Caroline's fingernails. "And how will it affect human health in the long-term?"
"So I'm against it…" Bonnie said thoughtfully. "And how have humans altered the genomes in species for thousands of years?"
"Artificial selection," Giulia said, smirking up at her best-friend. "Like Caroline sleeping with Jake 'cos he's cute… Pretty babies."
"Hey!"
"I can't use that as an example, Giulia!"
"Okay…breeding dogs," Giulia said, shrugging delicately. She focused on the metallic copper, gold and silver ombre manicure she was giving Caroline. "The ones with the finest pedigree come from a long line of dogs mated for their individual qualities of temperament and appearance, and the prospective appeal of their offspring… Am I finished doing your homework?"
"You are," Bonnie smiled brightly.
"Hit play," Giulia said, and Caroline carefully pressed play on Elena's tiny iPod docking-station. She had been eyeing the stack of textbooks under the coffee-table, and finally asked Elena. "What are all these?"
"Oh, those are some of Jenna's textbooks," Elena said. "Me and Jeremy aren't the only ones in this house who still have to do homework."
"Huh," Giulia said, enthralled. Degree-level texts in psychology…
"No – you are not allowed to get swallowed up by psychology texts while we're watching Liam Hemsworth," Caroline admonished, brandishing her Last Song DVD case.
"We've watched this movie a dozen times – why can't we watch Hunger Games?" Giulia asked. "He's ten times more handsome, and it has a BAMF female lead."
"Jennifer Lawrence is totally my new girl-crush," Caroline declared. She eyed Giulia, head tilted to one side. "You'd have made a great Katniss, BTW."
"Me?"
"Yeah. You're a total badass," Caroline nodded.
"Badass buffing her fingernails," Giulia said, and the girls laughed.
"So, what're we doing tonight?" Caroline asked, eyeing her manicure delightedly. "After this are we doing facials, or makeovers, or hair? And did you bring any booze, Giulia?"
"Why do you automatically ask me if I've got the booze?"
"Because you're the only one living in a house without any adult supervision whatsoever…and you drink like every night."
"I have a drink every other night," Giulia corrected. "A finger of bourbon isn't the same as doing a keg-stand, especially as I'm drinking it while I'm reading in the library."
"That's very old-man of you," Caroline smirked.
"Well…whatever." Giulia chuckled. "And, yes. Lexi left a half-bottle of tequila."
"Knew it!" Caroline laughed. "Elena, d'you have any limes? We can do shots."
"This is not going to end well," Bonnie said darkly. Thanks to Damon, and Lexi, Giulia was well-schooled in the art of tequila shots. A salt-shaker, a lime cut into wedges, and the shot-glasses from Dr Gilbert's mini-bar in his office, they set up the coffee-table, playing an amateur drinking-game to The Last Song. Manicures done, they raided the refrigerator for items they could blend into a face-mask – a mushy avocado, some very old honey, oatmeal, cinnamon, brown-sugar – and they sat, munching on kettle-corn as they exfoliated, and when the movie ended, getting bored of the iTunes playlists they kept changing, Caroline sat bolt upright, grinning excitedly.
"Hey! I have an idea – let's do a séance!"
"I'm…not sure that's such a good idea," Bonnie winced.
"Why not? Come on – let's summon some spirits! This Emily chick has some serious explaining to do," Caroline said, hands on her hips – face still smeared with an unattractive brownish-green mulch. The girls all eyed each other, and Giulia shrugged. Washing the gunk off their faces in Elena's bathroom with some warm water, they changed into their pyjamas, gathered candles and lit them in the middle of Elena's bedroom-floor.
"So…what're we doing?" Bonnie asked.
"I have no idea," Elena sighed.
"Shh!" Caroline admonished. They sat cross-legged, hands clasped, candles lit in a circle between them, Emily Bennett's crystal in the centre of the circle of candles. "Close your eyes. Focus." Giulia smirked, closing her eyes, indulging her friend, wondering whether this would work. She knew magic was real, witches existed, but watching Practical Magic too many times, well…it hadn't exactly worked out well for Sally and Jilly, had it? "Bonnie…call to her."
Bonnie sighed heavily, and Giulia focused on the pendant, Emily Bennett. Bonnie said, flatly, "Emily. You there?"
Giulia burst out laughing, as Elena chuckled.
"Seriously? 'Emily. You there?' That's all you got?" Caroline admonished impatiently.
"Fine!" Bonnie huffed. They all closed their eyes again, trying to focus, and Bonnie sighed. Her tone, when she started talking again, was sombre. "Emily… I call on you… We know you have a message… I'm here to listen."
They waited, eyes closed, calm in the darkness, only the faint illumination of the candles flickering between them, hands held and Giulia had to stifle a yawn. The tequila they had shared, on top of a good meal, something she wasn't used to nowadays, and the darkness, the warmth coming from the candles – they blazed, making the other girls jump, dropping Giulia's hands as her eyes burst open, the candles flickering back to their normal flame.
"Did that just –?"
"Yeah, that just happened," Caroline, the sceptic, said quietly. They watched the candles, waiting for them to jump again. As a breeze drifted over them, Caroline shivered, glancing at the other girls.
"It's just the air-conditioning coming on…"
The candles blazed. Giulia glanced at Bonnie. She had known long before Bonnie had ever given Grams' words credence, but Bonnie was a witch. Her mother had been one, Grams definitely was one – despite everyone knowing it was absurd, she was just the eccentric drinker who taught Occult at Whitmore College – and now Bonnie knew she was one too. But she was a rookie. On a scale from one to Hermione, Bonnie was a flubberworm.
"Ask her to show you a sign," Caroline urged, and Giulia thought her heart was seizing, if she had been sitting on a chair she'd be on the edge of it. This was more than the séances Grams had led during slumber-parties, where their imagination and too much sugar had done most of the Ouija board's job. "Ask her! Emily – if you're among us, show us another sign…" The high flames flickered on.
"See…it's…not working," Bonnie said uncertainly, but they each exchanged wary looks. If Giulia hadn't been raised by vampires, she might have been spooked. Caroline let out a quiet breath slowly, and Bonnie's shoulders relaxed somewhat – Caroline let out a squeak and Bonnie dived away when Elena's bedroom-window burst open, the lacy drapes flying.
"No! No – I can't!" Bonnie shouted, tearing the pendant from around her neck and tossing it by the candles on the floor. "I'm done!" Giulia clambered off the floor, unwilling to be trampled in Caroline and Bonnie's bid for the door and safe territory down to the illuminated hall.
The candles went out – whether due to supernatural interference or the breeze from the open window combined with the air-conditioning, Giulia didn't want to fathom, but she tripped over a sinuous chair-leg as Bonnie shouted for someone to get the light. "Son of a – "
"Are you okay?"
"Got it," she croaked, massaging her shin with one hand as she fumbled for the light-switch in the darkness with the other, head colliding with Elena's doorknob.
"Guys…" Bonnie's voice was laced with dread. "The necklace…it's gone."
Giulia shivered, perhaps more to do with the melodramatics than the breeze, because she knew all too well that the supernatural was real. Dean and Sam weren't going to bust in with shotguns full of rock-salt any time soon, though, which was disappointing.
"Well, where could it be?" Elena asked, frowning. "I saw you throw it by the candles."
"Yeah, and it's gone," Bonnie said, arms folded, defensive, wide-eyed and definitely spooked. "I told you this was a bad idea!"
"We'll find it, there has to be some explanation," Caroline assured her, checking under Elena's dresser. "It probably just slipped under the furniture when you threw it."
"Yeah, or maybe you kicked it out of the way when you stood up?" Elena said, shrugging, checking the amber pendant hadn't been caught up in the folds of her comforter. "I don't know, we'll find it. The amount of stuff I lose in here…"
"Like all your jewellery and nail-polish – what's with you lately, you haven't been putting in any effort to look nice," Caroline said, still searching under the furniture for Bonnie's pendant. Giulia rolled her shoulders, stiff from the cold air, tired from overexertion, and scanned the floor. No hint of amber, no glimmer from an ugly antique setting. She saw Elena and Bonnie exchange a dark eye-roll as they searched their side of the room, but Giulia recognised Caroline had a point: Elena put in no effort whatsoever, not with her wardrobe and not with her schoolwork.
"Okay…fun's over, Caroline. You made your point, and I get it," Elena said, sighing heavily, "now give it back."
"What?" Caroline snapped defensively. "I didn't take it." Elena scoffed disbelievingly, and Giulia felt the fine hairs at the back of her neck prickle, glancing over her shoulder into the hall. She swore she saw a shadow –
"Did you see that?" Elena blurted uncertainly.
"What?" Caroline frowned, still annoyed at the accusation she had stolen the necklace. "What happened?"
"I don't know. Nothing. Jeremy? Are you home?" Elena called, marching past Giulia to knock on her brother's door. Jeremy's room was dark, empty, only a lava-lamp undulating on his tall bureau.
"Um…" Bonnie spoke up, sounding scared. "Guys…" Giulia watched as Bonnie tiptoed into Elena and Jeremy's shared en-suite, bending to pick something off the textured bath-mat.
The door slammed shut, Bonnie trapped inside. Giulia hadn't been anywhere near it; she had seen Bonnie's hands wrapped around the pendant.
And then Bonnie started to scream. Not a scream of fright, asking them to let her out and stop scaring her – this was a real scream, marrow-chilling.
"Bonnie!" The girls ran for the door, slamming their palms against it – Giulia tugged on the knob, but the door had sealed itself shut – while Caroline and Elena tugged and shoved and slapped their hands against the wood, Giulia dived out into the hall, reaching for the doorknob – it was sealed shut, too. And then, in a freaky Supernatural twist, the lights started shorting out, flickering, blazing brighter than usual, going pitch-black.
Until it all stopped. The lights resumed their normal brightness, the screaming ended as abruptly as it had started, and a door creaked; Giulia shoved the door open from the hall, clicking on the bathroom light, and found Bonnie standing with her head in her hands. Elena and Caroline were stood in the other doorway, hearts in their mouths, Bambi-eyed – upset and scared.
"What happened?" Elena panted. "Are you okay?"
For a few seconds, Bonnie didn't answer. Then she raised her face from her palms, and she gave them a sheepish, reluctant smile.
"I… Yes. I am fine. I'm fine," she said softly, with a hint of a smile.
"Unbelievable," Caroline snapped. "You were totally faking it."
"Caroline, come on –"
"Don't –" Caroline snapped, so viciously Elena jerked her head back, eyelashes fluttering in shock. "You know what, you scared the crap outta me." Giulia stared at Bonnie. If Elena had accused Caroline of taking the necklace to prove a point because she had thought it was in-character for Caroline to do so, it was definitely not beneath Bonnie to do something like this to teach Caroline a lesson. She was moody at the best of times, judgemental and she could be quite a miserable cow, selfish, desperate for love or affection, and she could be quite vindictive when she was displeased.
Right now, Giulia had no problems admitting she loved Bonnie the least of her three best-friends. And their night had now been ruined by Bonnie taking things too far just to get back at Caroline. Over a stupid necklace – admittedly a necklace Damon wanted, a necklace tied to the witch who had been alive to create sunlight-rings for Stefan and Damon in 1864 when Katherine Pierce turned them… But an ugly old Civil War relic all the same.
Giulia saw Bonnie's expression flicker as Caroline's bright curls disappeared into Elena's bedroom. "I should… I should apologise to Caroline. I know I scared her – it was not my intention."
"You scared all of us, Bon," Elena said weakly. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"I am fine," Bonnie smiled wanly. Giulia frowned subtly. I am fine. It wasn't like Bonnie to use that kind of language. I'm good was her phrase of choice. "Let's…go to sleep. We have school in the morning."
Half an hour later, Elena's ancient Ariel nightlight had been brought out at Caroline's insistence, though she had tucked herself in Elena's bed beside Giulia, who took the edge – in Caroline's words, if someone tried to get in, her reasoning was that they'd either get cut down by Giulia first or they would have to go through her to get to Caroline, giving her time to run. Giulia didn't want to keep Caroline up all night pointing out that ghosts didn't have to worry about corporeal obstacles, and as soon as the girls' light snoring picked up, and Caroline started jerking her leg in her sleep, as she usually did, she yawned, staring up at the ceiling. Caroline had stuffed her cell-phone out of reach so Giulia couldn't stay up all night tapping away.
At the Boarding House she wouldn't have turned her light off for hours yet. Because nobody came to scold her about reading too long into the night, or remind her that she had to be up to get ready for school at six a.m. so she could have a decent breakfast.
She slipped out of bed, which was too small for the four of them anyway, and crept into Jeremy's room. She thought she'd heard someone walking about downstairs, knowing it was either Jeremy or Jenna, pulling an all-nighter on school-work, and slipped under Jeremy's comforter. There was something so comforting, so mannish about the scent of his bedding, that she had dozed off before the mattress dipped, and Jeremy let out a surprised grunt, gently rousing her.
"What…are you doing in my bed?" Jeremy frowned.
Giulia, snuggled up in the comforter, yawned, "Car kicks – and I am not sleeping on the floor. What's that stuff?" She eyed a few old books in Jeremy's hands, as he lodged them carefully on his precariously-cluttered bedside cabinet.
"Oh, I, uh – Mr Saltzman, the new History-teacher, he gave me an extra-credit paper to start catching up. I've failed the first half of the semester."
"There's still time to turn it around," Giulia said, half-asleep. "I know you've been working hard to change things."
"I have. It helps…knowing you know that I have," Jeremy said, and Giulia woke up a little at his tone, actually listening to what he was saying. "Elena…can't see it; she still sees me partying, and being sad."
"You're entitled, Jem…" Giulia said, stifling a yawn as she drifted off. "Forget you're an artistic loner, you're an orphan whose girlfriend just died. That would be more than many people could handle."
"Well, anyway…I appreciate you noticing that I'm not…not just a screw-up. How're you doing?"
"Speaking of screw-ups?" Giulia smiled blearily, eyes closed. She nuzzled the pillow, wanting to sleep. "I'm okay. I get out of bed every morning. Usually before I'm cutting it fine to get to school. Mr Saltzman will help, I think."
"You think he's cute, huh?" Jeremy teased, grinning.
"I think he's enthusiastic about his subject. It's like Mr Sears in Physics – he's insane, and he loves his subject. I can't be unhappy in his class."
"Being painted and feathered at the pep-rally was a bit much," Jeremy said drily, referencing last spring's Pep Rally. "Freaking hilarious. He really is insane. How's your belly-button piercing? Still itching?"
Giulia's eyes popped open, suddenly hyper-aware of her healing belly-button piercing. "Only when people remind me of it… Damn it!" The duvet was tossed aside, her flimsy camisole wrenched up so she could peer down at her navel, the tiny gold bar glinting.
"It looks good," Jeremy said, peering at her navel too. "How does it work, with your martial arts and stuff?"
"I just ask, politely, for them not to kick me in the stomach," Giulia said, tugging her camisole down, gently rearranging the duvet into place. "They've been pretty good about it. I don't have any meets or qualifiers for a few months, which helps… What is this?" She picked up the battered old leather journal Jeremy had left in his lap.
"It's a journal, I think it belonged to my ancestor, Jonathan Gilbert," Jeremy said, and alarm-bells started chiming. "He was alive during the Civil War."
"Is that what you're writing your paper on?" Giulia asked, dread curdling in her stomach.
"Yeah. Hey, uh… You write a lot of papers, right, things you don't hand in at school?" Jeremy asked. "D'you remember which books you used as reference for any papers about local history?"
"I'll look through my bibliographies and put something together for you," Giulia yawned, hunkering down into the mattress. "Check out the public library, though, they have a tonne of archives."
"Cool…" As Giulia drifted off, Jeremy got ready for bed, eventually climbing in beside her, turning off the bedside lamp. Moments later, very quietly, Jeremy said, "Hey, Giulia?"
"Yeah."
"Are you wearing new perfume?"
"Sorry. Am I stinking out the place?"
"No, no! You…you always smell great," Jeremy said quietly. "I love getting in your car. Although the whole downstairs of the house smells like nail-polish."
"I guess you have the right to nag, you know, now that you've ditched the black nail-polish." She chuckled groggily, tugging one of Jeremy's fingers back. He chuckled warmly.
"Okay, give! It's late."
"Can't believe it's only Monday."
"Are you at that point?" Jeremy asked softly. Giulia frowned in the dark. "When you notice time is actually passing… I woke up one day and it was August already. I hadn't even noticed time slipping away."
A.N.: A nice long chapter – and notice the difference from canon: time will elapse before Bonnily goes to Fell's Church to destroy the crystal. Daniel Sharman will be in The Originals next season – and I hope Nathaniel Buzolic too. I loved to hate Kol. I seriously hope he's the brother Esther brought back with him – I think Finn would have found peace instead of being condemned to the Other Side for eternity.
Please review! Don't you wish you had a friend like Jeremy?