TITLE: Fair Verona
SUMMARY: Juliet Swan was a tragedy in the making. What happens in Italy does not always stay in Italy.
A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews, favourites and follows! They mean the world and probably sped up my need to get this chapter finished. A few other minor OC's will be introduced but for now, this is gonna be kinda slow the first couple of chapters - very chill for the first book, surprisingly. Let me know what you think, I hope you guys enjoy it and are keeping safe in times like these!
Home was a welcome sight.
The good thing about her weekend trips and little adventures? She looked forward to coming back to Forks. Absence made the heart grow stronger or some kind of bullshit. Juliet smiled as they slipped past the sign and the trees encased them down the long winding roads. The overcast clouds had been following for the better part of Washington and she was just waiting for the heavens to open.
Bella had finally nodded off. Her book finished and put away in her rucksack on the back seat. She'd insisted on staying up the better half of the journey or at least driving part of the way. Not that Juliet would let her get behind the wheel when Bella had barely caught a wink of sleep in their hotel room. Rather than drive through the night, for Charlie's sake more than anything, they'd stayed in a shitty motel.
She claimed it was because she wasn't in her bed or the noises down the hall.
(It was probably to do with the three packs of gummy worms and Maltesers they'd consumed.)
It was nice, passing by the usual landmarks on her way home and enjoying the first raindrops that hit her windscreen as she weaved through town. Some recognised her car and gave a wave. They knew her from her shifts in the diner or just as the Chief's daughter. It was a small town, and soon, they'd do the same with Bella.
"Hey, sleepyhead," Juliet murmured, smiling as Bella groaned. "We're here."
"You promised to wake me up," Bella griped, rubbing at her eyes.
"I said I'd wake you up when we're close," if they wanted to be technical. Juliet pulled up outside of the house and she contemplated the space as if to measure their distance from the front door. "I'd say we're pretty close."
"Have you always been like this or am I only just noticing?"
Juliet didn't even bother responding, leaping out of her seat and going to unlock the front door. Charlie was still at work for a few hours. It gave them time to bring all Bella's stuff in and have a moment to breathe in the place. She grimaced at the sight of the pizza boxes, but at least he hadn't tried to cook unsupervised.
She vaguely registered the sound of the car door opening, and Juliet watched as Bella fumbled out of the passenger seat, almost killing herself with the seatbelt in the process.
"Little help?" Bella called.
She laughed.
It didn't take them long to unpack, most of their time spent making sure that Bella didn't kill herself on the boxes scattered around or the suitcases on the floor. By the time they'd finished, Charlie had pulled up and the two waved him from the porch. It went unnoticed as he practically rushed from his squad car. Excited to see Bella and Juliet would never admit it but her heart melted a little to see her dad so happy.
"Hey kiddo," he swooped in and wrapped his arms around her, they weren't physically affectionate but Juliet was so damn proud of him. Bella was surprised, stiffening ever so slightly at the warm and tactile greeting before her arms slowly wrapped around him. "You've gotten so tall."
"I'm only 5"4'," Bella said.
Charlie pulled back with a smile, glancing between his daughters like he couldn't believe they were both there. "Did you have a good trip?"
"Juliet has terrible taste in music," Bella deadpanned, ignoring her sister's squawks of indignation.
"Bella has the bladder of a kitten," Juliet refuted.
Charlie didn't even mind their squabbling, the noise and the chatter was welcome in their quiet home. It was different from Juliet's blasted music or her phone calls to her friends, even when Jacob and Billy came over. The twins back in the house they'd been brought home to, newborn and tiny and fragile? It just felt right.
They eventually went up to Bella's room, shooing their dad away and the quiet returned. Just the sound of raindrops and their shuffling movements.
Until Bella had announced her triumphant (and reluctant) return to Forks - her room had been a time capsule. Her room stuck in the same place it'd been the last time she'd come to visit when she was, eleven? Twelve? Juliet was more than happy to overhaul the entire room with Angela's help.
The clutter was moved into the attic and they'd given it a lick of paint, a mossy green which complimented the cream bedding she'd got for the double bed they'd bought. Long gone were the misshapen barbies, shorn heads and missing limbs, they'd chucked her out of date makeup as well. Jules simply made sure that Bella would have enough space for her books and computer. A place to put her pictures and the assortment of cacti which she'd brought with her from Phoenix.
It was weird for her to actually be there, awkward almost. As if they hadn't just spent nearly forty-eight hours in each others company, singing along to the radio and talking about nearly everything that came to mind.
"I forgot to ask, I saw the pictures but how was the wedding?" Juliet eventually asked.
"Uh… it was good," Bella struggled, putting down a box of books on her desk. Apparently, she gave up before even starting to unpack and flopped down onto her bed, bouncing on the new mattress. Juliet didn't wait for an invitation and laid next to her. "Weird, the dresses-"
"Oh god, I saw-"
"Pink."
Juliet snorted under her breath and Bella tried to hide her smile.
"I think you looked cute in your little pink dress."
"Not like I could complain, could I?" Bella shrugged, gently leaning so they were shoulder to shoulder. The two of them stared at the ceiling. They could just make out the small crack that they'd made as children. "Did Char- Did dad make mom's old painting room into yours?"
"He always wanted you to have space of your own, even when you stopped coming over every summer," she didn't comment on the slip, it'd get better over time. Renée's old painting room was a box, barely enough space for her double bed and rail of clothes but she managed. "Besides, I think we're a little too old to share a room these days."
"Plus, you kick in your sleep," Bella said.
"You talk."
It was warm and quiet and if Juliet closed her eyes, she could probably pretend that the years hadn't passed them by. That they were still little girls making blanket forts when they should've been sleeping or making a tyre swing at the bottom of the garden, throwing mud pies of the rez with Jacob and piggybacks had been their primary form of transportation. The rain pattered against the window and Juliet reached between them, lacing their fingers together.
"I know it's gonna be shitty to begin with, y'know, moving here," Juliet said quietly like they were sharing secrets. Their hands slotted together as they'd always done, seamlessly. "It's not where you'd rather be, I know… but for the record? I'm glad you're here."
"...Thanks, Jules."
"...You want me to fuck off so you can start to unpack?"
Bella laughed, her eyes creased and Juliet was rather proud of herself. "If you don't mind."
"Course not," letting go of her hand, she swung herself off the bed, taking care to weave through the boxes and suitcases scattered like an obstacle course across the floor. "I think we're going to the diner for dinner, shout you fifteen minutes before we're heading out?"
"Sounds good."
Juliet closed the door behind her, almost jumping a foot in the air when she realised her dad was lingering just a few short feet away. He wasn't exactly subtle, his guilty expression gave him away instantly and she had to wonder how he made chief. They had a silent argument, entirely conveyed in eyebrow movements before Juliet shooed him down the stairs, both of them trying to be quiet. Not so much as breathing until they made it to the kitchen.
"How's she doing?"
"She just got here, dad," she was quick to remind him. "You remember how I felt every time we went to California?"
Charlie visibly floundered for a moment, mouth opening and closing with a gentle click of his teeth. They didn't do squishy feeling talks often but they were known to happen. This one was overdue. His moustache twitched a little and he shifted from foot to foot.
"You were always… a little uncomfortable the first few nights," he slowly admitted, lips pursed when Juliet scoffed. The noise drowned out by the ancient coffee machine. "Alright, you hated it the first few nights."
"It's… it's like trying to fit into a puzzle that's already complete, yeah?" Juliet told him quietly as she pulled out their usual mugs. Her time in Arizona was never looked upon fondly. Too sunburnt and too warm, Renée was used to Bella's ways and was never sure how to handle her other daughter; Juliet didn't know how to deal with a mother. The closest thing she had was Sarah Black who'd passed away a few years ago. "Sure, space opens up for you after a while but… it's hard to begin with because you don't… I didn't fit into the big picture."
Charlie watched his daughter for a moment as she poured the drinks, a splash of creamer and sugar for herself. His mug was big and crooked, a fathers day gift which Jules had made him years ago and he refused to drink out of anything else much to her begrudging amusement.
"Did you get that from a fortune cookie?" He asked.
She hesitated, rolling her eyes as she shoved his drink at him with a reluctant - "Yeah, kinda."
"I'm sorry you felt that way, squirt."
"It happens," she shrugged like it was no big deal and it wasn't. "Bella's going through the same stuff right now, doesn't mean she doesn't love us… she's just gotta make it through those first few days."
"You're a good sister."
"Damn right, I am." They toasted, their mugs clinking together.
They stood in the kitchen quietly as they listened to Bella fumbling around in her room. It was nice, having a third person, even if it upset the tenuous balance Charlie and she already had.
"By the way, Billy and Jacob are on their way," Charlie muttered into his mug.
"You want me to start some food?" were they still going to the diner?
"I'll order some pizza, I didn't exactly get 'round to shopping when you were gone," Charlie admitted reluctantly, and Juliet couldn't help but let her gaze wander to the pizza boxes stacked near the back door, ready to be taken out. Her dad huffed. "I didn't just eat pizza."
"I didn't say anything!"
"You didn't need to," he pointedly made sure to take the pizza boxes out to the bin before he ordered, remembering their order off by heart and making sure to add in what used to be Bella's usual. As he was on the phone, Juliet caught a glimpse of their truck pulling up and… another following behind?
"Tell me my dad didn't buy that hunk of junk for Bella," she called out teasingly, stepping onto the front porch. Billy flipped her off and she laughed as the man batted away Jacob's attempts to help him out of the car, he eventually just gave up and let his dad do whatever he pleased. It was for the best. Billy was precocious at the best of times.
"Hey Jules," Jacob was just an inch or two shorter than her, enough that she could still hook her arm around his shoulders and ruffle his hair when the time called for it. His hug was warm, his long hair tickled her nose. "Good trip?"
"Pick up any hitchhikers? Started any more bar fights?" Billy butted in with a cheeky but knowing grin.
"Not this time," Juliet reassured them, eyes widening in panic when Charlie came out to join them. There were some things she told Billy that managed to slip past her dad, Aunt Sarah had been her go-to for any girly problems and Uncle Billy had caught the brunt of it on more than one occasion. Especially since Aunt Sarah passed and both Rebecca and Rachel moved away. "It was actually a real quiet trip for once, did stop in Twin Falls though - stayed the night and got some pictures in the morning."
"More for the memory box," Billy guessed correctly but Charlie would beg to differ, it was quickly outgrowing the wooden box which Renée had bought her a few years ago. Trinkets and odd bits which seemed to flow out alongside the pamphlets, leaflets and guides she collected; eventually he'd have to upgrade it to a trunk. "You'll have to crack out the photographs again at some point, show Bella your high school pictures."
He waggled his eyebrows with a taunting smirk.
"Uncle Billy," Juliet quietly reprimanded him but the small smile gave her away. "Be nice, don't wanna scare Bella off too quickly."
"I'm always nice," the old man argued, trying to maintain his facade of being somewhat offended, especially when Jacob, Charlie and Juliet all scoffed. His wounded expression was pathetic though and an easy grin pulled at his mouth. "Well, nice enough."
"Tell that to Gene Lahote," Jacob scoffed.
"Okay-"
"I mean-" Charlie and Billy both began to argue, neither of them had the patience for the man. The man was a regular tenant in Charlie's backseat of the cruiser or the cells that they had, usually for drunk and belligerent behaviour. Billy had seen how he treated both his wife and his son, Paul, on the reservation. "Does that really count?"
Jacob didn't bother replying, his attention was already stolen as Bella came out the door. The gentle flush of his cheeks and the stars in his eyes? Oh, Juliet was never gonna let him live it down. It was cute though, Jacob was adorable in a pinch-your-cheeks sort of way.
"Bella," Charlie collared her easily before she tried to retreat. "You remember Billy and Jacob, right?"
"Yeah, of course," Bella said, smiling awkwardly and shaking Billy's hand. No doubt having trouble placing them. It'd been six or seven years since she'd last been to Forks, she sent a panicked glance to Juliet subtly but she did nothing but smile back at her sister. "You're looking good."
"I'm still dancing," Billy said with a grin. "Glad you're here, Charlie here hasn't shut up since you told him you were coming."
Juliet snickered as her dad's ears pinkened.
"Keep going, I'll roll you into the mud."
"Not before I break your ankles," and the two were off, mucking about and play fighting just by the roadside.
"Bella, this is Jacob, I'm pretty sure you tried to bury him on the beach once," Juliet introduced them or, well, reintroduced them. Before she could say anything else though, she caught sight of their pizza delivery and ran inside to get the money, grinning as she rushed back out.
"If I'd known it was you I wouldn't have tipped," Juliet joked and Brett grinned back. Maybe once upon a time, she might've considered him attractive but after spending nearly her entire school life stuck in most of the same classes together? The charm kind of wore off.
"If you weren't the daughter of the chief, I might've spat on your pizza," he teased back, gesturing to behind her. "Your sister?"
"Yup."
"Good luck at school tomorrow," he offered unsympathetically, eyes crinkling as he laughed all the way back to his car. He only laughed louder when she flipped him off.
"Jules," Charlie scolded from the other side of the drive and she dropped her hand like it'd been burnt much to Billy's glee.
Yeah, they were gonna need it.
Incorrect quotes for the chapter;
Jacob: "Yoink" is the opposite of "Yeet"
Juliet: But it's just as fast
Jacob: The Lord yeeteth and the Lord yoinketh away
Bella: I feel like I'm having a stroke
...
Juliet: In Legally Blonde, Elle saved the day because she was true to herself and dressed cute.
Charlie: Jules, this is real life, not an excellent movie.