*Juliet's POV*

The ball had just started about 10 minutes before and the Mikaelson's house had already packed. Cars crowded the street and their driveway as people continued to show up. I peered through my curtains at the mansion down the street, admiring the beauty of the house when it was illuminated in the quickly fading evening light.

I glanced across the room to check my reflection and smiled. The dress fit perfectly, like it had been made just for me. Not to mention the fact that it was red; I loved red. My hair was curled and pulled over to one side and my makeup was a little more dramatic than it was on a daily basis, which I loved.

My mother knocked lightly on the door; I jumped slightly as the noise pulled me from my thoughts. "Are you ready?" she asked; she looked me over from head to toe and smiled.

I nodded and returned her smile. "Yeah, I guess." I looked over what she was wearing, short heels and a dress that had been in the back of her closet for months, nothing too over the top. Of course, I couldn't quite say the same for myself.

She raised an eyebrow at me. "When did you get that dress?" she asked, smirking. "Well, I suppose I should be asking who got it for you." She laughed lightly.

I rolled my eyes, suppressing a grin. "No one. It doesn't matter." I replied, trying and failing to settle her curiosity. One thing my mother and I definitely had in common was that we were both fairly nosey and hated not knowing things.

She rolled her eyes in return, but didn't press me any further. "Whatever you say. I'll figure it out sooner or later; I always do." she replied smoothly. "Come on, let's go." She turned and started walking out of the room.

I sighed, partly from being annoyed and partly from being nervous. I followed her out of the room.

We left the house and walked to the end of the block to the Mikaelson's house. A house so large and grand looked so out of place in a suburban neighborhood full of average sized houses.

As we approached the mansion, I could feel my pulse accelerating with every click of my heels.

We weaved our way through the rapidly increasing crowd heading into the house and finally reached the door, which was being held open graciously by two butlers.

The inside of the house was just as beautiful as the outside. Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling and the floor glossy gleamed in the bright lights. I looked around, looking to see who was attending. I didn't see anyone I recognized yet, just random townspeople dressed in tuxes and dresses.

My mother grabbed me by the arm gently and turned me to face her. "I have to talk to someone for a moment." she said, her voice seemed urgent, despite her efforts to seem relaxed.

I wanted to ask her who she was going to talk to, but I was more worried about trying to find Kol. "Alright. I'll see you later." I replied, pulling away from her grip. I turned away and starting walking off.

"Juliet," she called just loud enough for me to hear.

I turned around. "What?"

Her face was stern. "Behave, please." she demanded.

I rolled my eyes. "I will." I replied. I turned around and started walking off again.

A familiar voice from somewhere near me spoke. "Behave?" I turned to my left and came face to face with Kol. He looked at me mockingly with an eyebrow raised.

I rolled my eyes. "Just my mother being overprotective. I swear, sometimes I think she still sees me as a 5 year-old." I muttered, scowling slightly.

I looked away from his eyes for a moment to look over what he was wearing. He wore a tux, like every other man in the room, but he certainly wore it much better. I smirked. "Well, don't you just put the ass in class?" I said, laughing a little.

He smiled. "I'll take that as a compliment." he replied. He took a few seconds to shamelessly look me over from head to toe. "You look stunning."

I did my best not to blush. "Thanks." I mumbled, a little embarrassed, but mostly flattered. I shook it off and continued talking. "How'd you know I liked red?" I asked

He shrugged. "Lucky guess I suppose." he replied.

I rolled my eyes. "If you say so." I said nonchalantly.

I took a quick glance around the room; Kol walked over to stand by me and followed my gaze. I saw that Caroline had just arrived with Elena, Stefan and Damon. Matt walked over to join them.

"Who are you looking for?" he asked in a low voice.

"My mother." I answered. "She said she was going to talk to someone and I want to find out who." I continued to look around, searching through the crowd for her to no avail.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure it's nothing important." he said while he shrugged his shoulders.

The music changed from lively to slow. Everyone headed toward the middle of the room and grabbed a partner for what I quickly realized was a waltz.

Kol turned to me. "Will you dance with me?" he asked. Instead of smirking, like he usually did, he smiled genuinely.

I shrugged, trying to be casual. "Sure." I replied, unknowingly smiling.

He offered me his arm and I took it. He led me over to the dance floor where we lined up with everyone else. I quickly looked around and saw Caroline standing across from Klaus, Elena was across from Damon, and Matt was across from Rebekah. I suppressed a smirk. I wouldn't let Caroline forget this.

I turned back to Kol as the dance started. I put one hand on his shoulder and one in his hand and he put his other hand on my shoulder blade. We moved gracefully across the dance floor in perfect harmony.

He seemed a little surprised, well, more than a little. "Where did you learn to dance?" he asked, looking at me in melodramatic, slightly sarcastic disbelief.

I laughed. "My mother's family always hosts dances like this, so I learned when I was younger. What, you didn't think I had class?" I asked, grinning.

He chuckled. "Well, not exactly. Maybe a little." he admitted jokingly.

I rolled my eyes. "You really don't know me then. I'm full of surprises."

He laughed. "Trust me darling, I can tell." he replied.

We danced for a while, neither of us said said a word. There was something different about dancing with Kol now then when I had danced with his at homecoming. Well, besides me being a vampire.

Before it felt awkward and unnerving. But, dancing with him again made me feel at ease and...happy. I hadn't been truly happy in a while. The moment was so peaceful and I didn't want it to end.

When the song ended, we stopped dancing and he pulled away from me a little. He kept a grip on my hand and bent down to whisper in my ear. "Come with me. I want to talk to you."

I shivered at the feeling of his breath on the exposed side of my neck. I nodded, a little nervous. "Okay." Keeping a light grip on my hand, Kol pulled me away from the party to the back of the house.

He led me through a large glass door to a beautiful garden that was tucked away in the backyard. He let go of my hand and I followed him over to a small concrete bench that was underneath a large weeping willow tree. He gestured to it for me to sit. I sat down and adjusted my dress. He sat down and turned to face me.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" I asked. I tried to keep my voice level to hide the worry in it.

His face wasn't serious, which relieved me. "I know I've been sort of distant for the past few days and I wanted to apologize." he said, a hint of remorse in his voice. I had never seen this side of him.

I shook my head. "No, it's fine, really." I said, trying to put his worries to ease. "But, I still want to know why. I mean, we're friends, right?" I asked, uncertain.

He nodded. "Of course." he replied, not answering the first part of my question.

I sighed. "Great, but that doesn't answer the whole question. Why have you been ignoring me? Was it about Monday night? Was it about the kiss?" I asked in a low voice, looking him directly in the eyes.

He shook his head. "No, it wasn't." A small smile came across his lips for a moment. "It was actually nice and I'm not sorry about that." His expression changed to a more serious one. "But, I wasn't sure how you felt about killing. Most new vampires don't handle it nearly as well. I thought you might be upset."

I shook my head. "No, I'm not upset. I didn't regret it then and I don't now. Killing is what vampires do, so I don't have a reason to feel bad, right? I mean, it's not like I'll turn into an insane murder or anything and I'm sure I won't kill everyone I feed on. You don't have anything to worry about, really." I reassured him.

He nodded. "Good." He smiled, back to his usual charismatic self. "What about kissing me? Do you regret that?" he asked, smirking a little.

I smiled and shook my head. "No." I replied. "I'm just...confused I guess." I admitted.

His eyebrows furrowed together. "Confused about what?" he asked.

I hesitated. "Us. I mean, what are we exactly? Are we friends or are we more than friends? " I asked. I felt so uncertain and a little vulnerable; two feelings I didn't like.

He shook his head in confusion. "I'm not sure." he admitted. We sat in silence for a few seconds before he spoke again. "How about for now we just say we're friends." He decided.

Relief rushed over me. "That sounds fine. Better than fine actually. I'm not ready to be anyone's girlfriend right now." I replied.

Kol looked at me curiously. "Is that because of your old boyfriend, the one who turned you?" he asked. I could see the genuine concern in his eyes.

I nodded. I looked away from his eyes and played with my hands in my lap. "That and the fact that I'm just not really good at relationships." I muttered, trying not to sound as pathetic as I felt.

"Oh come one. You're only 17; I'm over 1,000! You have plenty of time to improve." he said, laughing a little.

I laughed. "That's true. You're ancient!" I agreed, punching him lightly in the arm.

He laughed and pretended that I had actually hurt him. "You're a feisty little thing!" he retorted, sticking his bottom lip out in a playful pout.

I held my hands up defensively. "Sorry." I said sarcastically.

"Come on, let's go back inside." he said. He stood up and turned to face me.

I nodded and stood up. I smoothed my dress before I followed Kol back inside. I looked around and saw Caroline and Matt talking, or rather trying to avoid Klaus and Rebekah. "What does everyone in this town have against your family?" I asked, turning to face Kol as we walked through the crowd.

He shrugged. "They're afraid of us. Not to mention the fact that they're still holding a grudge against us for the things that Klaus did." he replied. It didn't seem to phase him; if anything he seemed to enjoy being hated.

I nodded. "I know plenty about holding grudges." I said, thinking in particular about the grudge I had held against my father for the past 10 years.

My mother came up to us. She glanced at Kol for a split second before she turned to me. "I need to talk to you for a moment." she said sternly.

I nodded. "Sure." I said, looking over to Kol. "I'll be back in a minute." He nodded.

I turned back to my mother and followed her as she led me over to the side of the staircase away from the party. I noticed a man with dark blonde hair standing with his back to us. My mother led me over to this man and turned to face me.

Instead of her speaking, the blonde man turned around to face me. I recognized him immediately as my father. He hadn't changed a bit since I had last seen him 10 years ago. "Hello Juliet." he said. His voice was the same deep voice that I remembered.

I growled involuntarily. "What the bloody hell is he doing here?" I demanded, turning sharply to my mother.

She quickly started talking, trying to keep me calm. "Your father and I thought it was about time for you to see him again." she said, stepping closer to my father, waiting for him to back her up.

He nodded. "It's been 10 years after all. I'm sure you've missed me." he said in a low voice, smiling a little.

I growled again. I felt my instincts rising to the surface. "Miss you?" I asked. "Miss you?" I repeated, laughing this time, angry. "Why the hell would I miss you? You left me!" I spat.

He tried to defend himself. "Juliet, you know I had to. I didn't want to," he started.

I cut him off mid sentence. "I don't give a damn why you had to leave. The point is that you left." I insisted. It took every ounce of my self control to keep from tackling him out of anger.

"Just let me explain, please." he pleaded desperately. His eyes were sad and apologetic, but I ignored that.

"No! I don't want to hear it! I don't want to see you; I don't want to talk to you; I don't even want to be in the same room as you!" I nearly shouted. "I'm leaving. If you know what's good for you, don't follow me." I snapped. I didn't wait for him to respond; I just turned around and headed toward the door.

I fought through the crowd, not apologizing to anyone I bumped into. Once I was out, I walked as fast as I could back to my house, barely resisting the urge to start running.

I quickly walked across the yard to the porch, opening the door roughly and slamming it. I heard the glass in the door cracked slightly, but I ignored it.

I stomped off to my room and quickly undressed and took my hair down. I got in the shower to try and calm myself down, but it didn't help.

I wrapped a towel around my body and looked over to the bathroom mirror. My infuriated reflection seemed to mock me for being so weak and vulnerable to my anger.

I growled at it and punched the mirror; it shattered and the pieces fell into the sink on onto the counter. A few shards of glass stuck into my hand and blood began to pour from my cuts. I flinched and pulled the shards out, watching as the cuts healed fairly quickly and then I rinsed the blood down the drain.

My anger lessened and was replaced by sadness. I fell against the wall and sat down on the cold tile floor. Angry tears streamed down my cheeks uncontrollably. Just as things had started to get better for me, my father decided to come back into my life and I was undoubtedly certain that he would ruin everything.

Even before he had left, he had never seemed to care much about me. He had never wanted to get to know me or to be there for me. Why, after 10 years, had he finally decided to be a part of my life again?

Once I managed to pull myself together, I cleaned up the glass and blood and went back into my room.

I picked out a pair of pajama shorts, underwear, and an oversized sweater and put them on. I pulled my hair into a side braid and climbed into bed. I listened for my mother to figure out if she had returned home yet; there was silence. I let out a deep breath and rolled over onto my side and closed my eyes.

Just as I had started to drift off to sleep, I heard a knock at my window. I jumped a little and opened my eyes. I turned around and looked to see what had made that noise. Cautiously, I walked over to the window and looked out. To my surprise, Kol stood in front of my window, still in his tux with his hands in his pockets, grinning at me.

I smiled weakly at him before I opened the window, leaning down and resting my elbows on the window sill. "What are you doing here?" I asked in a quiet voice.

He shrugged. "You left. I just wanted to know why. Did I do something wrong?" he asked, a little unsure.

I shook my head. "No. It was just some family drama. I'll tell you about it later." I said dismissively.

He nodded in an understanding way. "Well, I'm no stranger to a little family drama." he said, chuckling a little, though I could tell he really didn't find his family's problems funny.

I nodded. "I should probably go. Goodnight." I said, smiling weakly at him.

"Goodnight." he said. He turned around and started to walk away. Part of me hated to see him walk away, but I didn't stop him; I just watched him leave.

I let out a long breath and stood up. I closed the window and went back to my bed. I crawled under the covers as a million thoughts flooded into my mind. I wasn't sure if I wanted to be friends with Kol.

I really enjoyed spending time with him and I felt like I could be myself with him, like I didn't have to hide. But, I was afraid. I knew that agreeing to be with him would open me up to hurt. I just couldn't handle that. Besides, Kol seemed like he didn't want to be anything more than friends right now either. Maybe in time I would be ready, but not yet.

A.N.- On a quick note, all I have to say about the finales of The Originals and The Vampire Diaries is: HOLY CRAP! SO MANY EMOTIONS!

Anyway, I hope no one is disappointed with this chapter! I decided not to make Juliet and Kol together just yet. I won't say when they will officially be together, so you guys will just have to wait. ;) Thanks for all of the reviews and support! It means a lot.

Responses to the latest reviews:

niamheternal: Thanks :) so would I

xxMadison143xx: Lol, I know. Thanks! Hopefully you aren't disappointed with this chapter :/ they'll get together soon!

FanFicChikk: Glad to know you liked it! And I really hope you're enjoying The Originals as much as I do :D

Dauntless14: I'm glad you like her this way! And I completely agree with you about that. I think Elena and everyone else shouldn't have been so rude to them. Thanks for the review :)