I jerked awake and panted. My heart was racing and I felt nauseous. The room I was in was unfamiliar at first, until my sight adjusted to the darkness. Marcel's guest room. Marcel… A picture from my nightmare resurfaced in my mind. I had seen him lying cold on the floor, veins visible over his entire face. His skin had turned an ashy color, and he had been so still, so still. I felt the acid taste of bile in the back of my throat and swallowed.

It wasn't as if I cared about Marcel. I had just met him, and he had treated me really good. I respected him. Okay, maybe I even cared for him a little. But just a little.

The problem about my nightmare/vision was that since Marcel was a vampire, there was no way to know when his death would occur. He would never age.

I looked back at my sweat-soaked bed and thought of going back to sleep. Just to see more of the people I cared about die. No, the single thought made me want to puke with fear. My heart wouldn't go back into it's normal pace, and I went into the guest bathroom to rinse the sweat off. I thought that a warm shower would calm me, but it did quite the opposite. After less than a minute I jumped out of the shower and grabbed a towel, hugging it closer to me. My pale, freckle-covered face was looking back at me through the mirror. The bags under my eyes were bigger than ever, and my ashy lips were chapped. The clock on the bathroom wall told me it was only 4 am, and I sighed. My blue silk nightdress stuck to my towel dried body as I walked back into the room. I had to get my sleep. But only looking at the big, lonely room and the big bed made my heart thump loudly in my ears. I was scared.

I winged it. My heart raced, but in a whole other way than before, as I walked towards the door at the end of the corridor. I wasn't sure if Marcel would be there, but he had told me to go to him if anything happened. And frankly, I really didn't feel like being alone in that moment. Another part of me was afraid that any of the other vampires would be home and see me tip-toe towards Marcel's room. That would be very embarrassing.

Luckily, no one had seen me so far. I put my hand on the cold door handle and took a deep breath before pushing it down. I shut it behind me quietly before turning around. The room was beautiful, even in the darkness. The walls were clad in navy blue tapestry, decorated with golden at the ceiling and the floor. There was an open window in the far left of the room, and it seemed to lead to a balcony. A cold brush of air hit me, and I hugged my arms around my body.

My eyes moved to the king-sized bed in the middle of the room. Marcel was spread across the bed, his warm complexion a contrast to the white sheets. Don't even think about it, Juliette. I told myself firmly. Still, I couldn't stop my feet from moving. As I got closer to the bed, I watched Marcel's peaceful expression. It made me envious. I wanted nothing more in that moment than to be able to shut my eyes without seeing dead bodies.

Don't freaking do it. You're acting like a stalker. I walked to the other side of the bed quietly. Marcel made me feel safe, and I was too scared to sleep alone. Surely, it couldn't be so wrong of me to want company? I sighed softly before climbing into the bed next to him as silently as I could. He shifted a bit in his sleep and mumbled something incoherent. Then, to my surprise, he wrapped his arms around me. I almost let out a gasp but decided against it. I didn't want to wake him up.

It wasn't exactly easy to fall asleep now either, when I couldn't stop thinking about Marcel's warm chest pressed against my back and his strong arms hugging me close. But eventually, the steady rhythm of his heart calmed me and I managed to fall asleep.


The birds were chirping outside and I smiled blissfully. I hadn't had another nightmare, and I finally felt at peace.

"Good morning." Something under my face vibrated and my heart stopped. Oh my God. I was laying on Marcel's chest. Within a second, I had jumped up as far away from him as possible and pulled the covers with me. Then I just stared at him with wide eyes for a couple seconds.

"If it helps, I woke up with you on my chest." He winked and clasped his hands on his chest. How the hell was that supposed to help?! This is not happening. For some reason, I had expected Marcel not to find out that I had crept into his bed when he was sleeping. Which I now realized was extremely stupid since he had to wake up at some point.

"I'm so sorry–"

"It's okay." Marcel held up his hand and pulled off the covers before getting out of the bed. Oh my God. He was only wearing boxers. I had slept with (not in that way, you perverts) a grown up almost naked man. I wondered what Caroline would've said if she would've seen me now.

"I had a nightmare. I couldn't go back to sleep." I explained, my eyes somehow stuck on Marcel's muscled back. Shit, the fact that he was so hot didn't exactly help.

"I understand. And I meant what I said when I told you to come to me if anything happened." Marcel's words didn't soothe me. I wanted to disappear off the face of the earth and never come back again. I stepped out of the bed and felt the vampire's eyes on me as I walked towards the door.

"Juliette?"

"Yes?" I stopped in my tracks and bit my lip. He was going to scold me. I was seventeen, for God's sake. He probably thought of me as a little girl.

"What was your nightmare about? What did you see?" My heart stopped.

"A stranger. Dying." I told him, before pushing down the door-handle with a heavy heart.


"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING?!" Caroline's voice rang in my ears and I took the phone away from ears. I hadn't even listened to her voicemails before calling her up.

"I'm–"

"YOU'RE COMPLETELY OUT OF YOUR MIND!"

"Yes, but–"

"AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN TELL ME!"

"I have a reason–"

"I WAS SO WORRIED, NOT TO TALK ABOUT YOUR PARENTS–"

"SHUT UP, CAROLINE!" I finally shouted. The other line went silent. "Let me explain, please."

Silence. I could tell she was still pissed at me, but at least she had stopped jabbering.

"Vicki Donovan was attacked at the party, am I right?"

"How did you know that?" I sighed and wiped the sweat from my forehead. It was a warm day, and I was standing in plain sunlight right beside my car. On top of that, I was also wearing my new leather jacket (which was totally gorgeous but sadly very warm for a september day in the South).

"I saw it in a vision."

"You're kidding."

"I'm not. I saw it in a vision as clear as if I was there, and then I was there in the forest and saw it happen. And it was exactly like my vision."

"My mom still hasn't figured out what happened. You're saying you're an eye witness?" Okay, she was totally missing the point here. I was telling her how much of a freak I was.

"Not the point, Care. Anyway, so then as I ran home, I got another vision. I saw my own grave, and it was dated in a week. You were there, crying. Wearing that black dress you bought last summer."

"The one with a bow on the belt?" I was talking about my funeral, and she was asking me about the dress. Jeez, she could be shallow.

"Yes. I realized that staying in Mystic Falls would lead to my death. So I left."

"You left." She repeated, her voice light and careless. But I could hear the underlying sarcasm.

"I'm sorry I didn't leave you a note–"

"You're sorry? Julie, you don't have a right to say sorry. You've been gone for three days, without even telling me goodbye. I thought you were raped and killed at the party before I heard about your parents' money and car being gone."

"I freaked out, okay? I couldn't breathe. I had to leave." I felt the same anxiousness and panic rise up in my chest just by talking about the whole thing. I had thought that I had severed my bonds to Mystic Falls, and here they were, calling me.

"You freaked out." The irony in Caroline's voice was thick as ice. "Well now that I know that you're okay, I have nothing more to say. Have fun with your new life, Juliette." She hung up without another word. I stood there and weighed my phone in my hand. Should I call her up? I did feel bad for leaving her, but I didn't feel like dealing with that problem for the moment.

15 messages from my parents. I put my phone on soundless mode before putting it in my pocket. Then I looked at the Red Honda with a frown. I didn't need the car anymore, and it was costing me money to keep parked at the motel.

I picked up my phone again and searched my backpack for the card Marcel had given me. I tapped his number and tapped my fingers against my waist as I listened to the signals.

"Marcel Gerard."

"Hi, it's Juliette." I told him, trying to hide the embarrassment that was still left from that morning. "I was wondering if I could ask you a favour."

"Look, I want to help you, but I'm not your taxi-driver." He replied, sounding genuinely sorry.

"Pleeease? Just one favour." I said with a pouty voice. Marcel was still silent on the other end of the line. "I owe you one?"

"Alright. What do you want me to do?"


Your car is at a gas station in Convent, Louisiana. I left it there. Don't try and track this phone number; I'm throwing it away. All I ask of you is to stop looking for me. I needed to leave. If you want an explanation, ask Caroline. For now, you're just going to believe that I'm alright and taking care of myself.

-Juliette

P.S The keys are hidden under the front right wheel of the car.

"You really believe they won't come looking for you?" Marcel gave me a doubting look as we drove out of the parking at the gas station. I clicked send on my text message, and braced myself for the answer that was to come.

"You overestimate my parents' love for me." I chuckled sarcastically, looking through the window. I had to admit, Marcel's car was way fancier than "mine". It was a black Mercedes, and was clad in white leather inside.

"And they won't want their money back?" He looked at the road in front of him and took the turn towards New Orleans.

"Sure they will. But honestly, I think they'll be relieved that I left after a while." I felt his eyes look at me with some kind of compassion but ignored it. "I wasn't exactly easy to deal with."

"I didn't think so." Marcel answered with a grin. I stuck out my tongue at him, but have him a small smile even so.

"Thank you for picking me up. I didn't really feel like walking all the way back to the City, and I had to leave the car as far away as possible so they wouldn't immediately assume that I wasn't in New Orleans." I explained, and Marcel shrugged.

"I have a stop to do anyway. So you're going to have to help me with something." He said, taking the left turn instead of the right one, that led to New Orleans.

"We're going out to the Bayoux?" I asked the vampire and frowned at him. He turned to me and flashed me a grin before turning on a jazz song on the radio.

"Guess that's a yes, then."


Marcel shut the door behind him and I reluctantly stepped out of the car. I hadn't counted on being away the entire day, and it still felt awkward between us since that morning. I took in my surroundings while Marcel started unloading duffel bags from the car.

We were standing in a swamp, basically. The air was humid, and it made my shoulder length hair curl up and get twice as much volume. We had parked in the middle of nowhere, but straight ahead of me, there were a few cottages, and behind them, the sun glistened on a lake. It was quite beautiful for a swamp.

"Does someone live here?" I turned to Marcel and saw him wipe his forehead with his hand as he finally closed the trunk. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who had dressed up too much for the warm day.

"Once every month." He replied, walking up to me and staring off into the distance, as if contemplating something. I frowned at him as he walked back to the car and started unpacking the duffel bags. Surprisingly, they were filled with food. He put down oreos, meat, milk, doritos, vegetables, eggs and all sorts of other nutrients on a wooden table next to the larger cottage. He worked in silence, but there was something wrong. He was too silent. I started wondering whether or not he was angry with me for bringing him with me, or if something else was weighing down his heart.

"Let's go." He muttered as soon as the bags were empty, and I followed him silently back to the car.

Ten minutes later, my curiosity got the best of me. I had never been good at being oblivious. Curiosity killed the cat, I'm aware of that, but it was like I this nagging physical need to know everything.

"Are you going to tell me what that was about? Or did you think that if you leave the eggs there that an eggplant will grow and give you more eggs? 'Cause I'm sorry to tell you this, but that's not how nature works." I asked Marcel and turned down the music a bit. We were back on the road towards New Orleans.

"Although I would love to have an oreo-tree. Or maybe not. It wouldn't be great for the economics if everyone stopped buying oreos all of a sudden." I rambled on. One of my negative traits; I try to be funny when I'm nervous. Doesn't always work so well, which was the case that time.

"A while ago, werewolves lived in the city." Marcel said after a bit of silence. "The crescent wolves, they were called. But they got too many." I wondered what a werewolf looked like. Were they huge wolves, or normal-sized wolves? Or were they just very, very hairy men? I was so caught up in my own speculation that I didn't notice the remorse in Marcel's voice.

"They started revolting against my rules. They wanted more space, more freedom, more power. I tried to argue with them that my rule was for the best of the town, but they didn't listen." He continued, and I turned off the music completely. "You know that werewolf venom kills vampires, right?" I nodded, and suddenly my eyes rolled into the back of my skull. I recognized some of Marcel's vampires fighting with other people, but the latter had yellow eyes and canines. They started slashing at each-other in the middle of Bourbon Street, and several vampires got bitten. It was bloody, really bloody. Then, my sight returned again, but Marcel didn't seem to have noticed anything.

"Many of my vampires died. The only solution was to contain the werewolves somehow, but to do that, I had to contact a witch." He gave me a knowing look.

"Bree? That's how you know her?" I raised my brows as he took a turn to the right. The car was running so smooth, it felt like we were barely moving at all, even though we were driving really fast.

"She's from New Orleans." Marcel acknowledged with a nod. He clenched his jaw, and the motion was irritatingly attractive. "Anyway, she put a spell on them. The crescent wolves are now bound to only regain their human form every full moon, and remain in wolf form for the rest of the month." He avoided my gaze and looked out of his window absently.

"And now you feel obliged to help them in some way, so you drive out here once a month to bring them food?" Marcel nodded, and I sighed. He was freaking perfect. How could one man be so kind? I struggled even being nice to the people I liked… I couldn't even imagine how it would be to help my enemies.

"You shouldn't feel guilty, Marcel. You did what was right for your people." I comforted him. looking away from the road ahead of us and meeting his chocolate brown eyes.

"That's what I tell myself every day, but I don't believe it." He sounded vulnerable, as opposed to the Marcel who had been a rock to me the previous night when I had cried my heart out to him.

"I'll never understand you." I stated with a shrug of my shoulders. Marcel raised his brows in a question. "You're so goddamn good to everyone, treat everyone like an equal. You take in young girls like me because you want to help them… You're so warm and giving. Yet you feel guilty for protecting those you love from dying."

Silence settled as Marcel looked at me. There was more than remorse in his eyes. There was amazement, caring and surprise. I think I even saw him blush, and smiled to myself inwardly.

"I haven't always been good, you know."

"Yeah, like I'm supposed to believe you." I rolled my eyes with a chuckle. A smile spread across his face, and it warmed my heart. "People like you, with golden hearts, you are born with the sense of right and wrong and others… Like me, understand nothing but their own happiness." Marcel opened his mouth and I got a feeling that he was about to deny what I just said, so I continued.

"My shift starts in an hour, could you drop me off at the motel?" We had just entered the city again. I didn't know if leaving Marcel felt good or bad. Something about him made me want to stay in his warming and comforting embrace all the time, but I'm sure that was what scared me as well. I didn't want to care about someone, not when I knew they could die any minute. Of course I had known that before, but let's just say seeing them die made it a whole lot harder to ignore the fact that death takes us all.

"Of course but– You do know you should get your own place to stay soon, right? Staying at a motel isn't a very sustainable solution." Marcel held my gaze and I sighed, slumping with my shoulders.

"I know. If I had had any idea how much renting a place would cost, I would've taken my mother's credit card too." Marcel chuckled at my comment, and I gave him a small smile.

"You're welcome to stay at the Abattoir until you can get your own apartment." He stated, and I looked ahead of us, at the dirty motel towering over the other buildings. I really didn't want to spend a night there.

"I'll think of it." I answered while Marcel stopped the car. I thanked him before climbing out and shutting the door behind me. While I walked back to the motel, I thought of what it would be living with him. It would of course be a whole lot more comfortable than staying at a motel. But I was scared of my own feelings.

How could someone as cold-hearted as I was have so strong emotions towards one man?


"Stars shining bright above you;

Night breezes seem to whisper 'I love you'.

Birds singing in the sycamore tree.

Dream a little dream of me.

Say nighty-night and kiss me;

Just hold me tight and tell me you'll miss me.

While I'm alone, blue as can be,

Dream a little dream of me.

Stars fading but I linger on, dear -

Still craving your kiss.

I'm longing to linger till dawn, dear,

Just saying this...

Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you -

Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you.

But in your dreams, whatever they be,

Dream a little dream of me.

Stars fading but I linger on, dear -

Still craving your kiss.

I'm longing to linger till dawn, dear,

Just saying this...

Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you -

Sweet dreams that leave all worries far behind you.

But in your dreams, whatever they be,

Dream a little dream of me."

The crowd cheered as I stepped down from the scene. Two guys came up to me and asked for my number, but I politely declined, however flattered. I walked straight up to the bar, where Cami was smiling at me proudly.

"I never thought you'd be so good for the industry." She winked at me while pouring vodka into a glass and handing it to Roxy. Yeah, apparently this was Roxy's favorite bar. And she hadn't stopped talking about my singing voice since she had arrived.

"I'm not that good." I answered, blushing. Roxy swallowed the last of the vodka and made a sour expression.

"She's just modest. Girl, you're hella good." She said with a southern drawl, and I couldn't suppress a smile. I have to say, Roxy was starting to grow on me.

"Haven't you noticed how many people there are in the bar?" Cami asked me, her voice much more adult and reserved than Roxy's. The latter was for the evening wearing lace pantyhoses, a black halter dress and striped elbow-gloves. On top of that, her face was pasted with all sorts of makeup; black eyeshadow, red lipstick and black eyebrows that did not match her red hair.

"Speaking of that, I'm going to go and take a snack." The vampire in question stood up and licked her lips, and I followed her eyes to a young man who was smiling at her. She then turned and rolled her eyes at me. "Relax. I'm just kidding." My heart sank back to it's normal place and my shoulders relaxed. Cami gave me a knowing smile before moving on to her next customer.

"Didn't know you could sing." I would recognize that deep voice anywhere. I turned around in my chair and fake-scolded the vampire.

"Are you stalking me now, Marcel?" I grinned at him, and he sat down next to me. He ordered a beer from Cami before turning back to me.

"This actually happens to be my favorite bar." He replied matter-of-factly, but there was a twinkle in his eyes. I bit my lip and flicked my hair behind me as I turned to look at him closer.

"Yeah, right." I challenged him, watching the creases around his eyes deepen as he smiled.

"And you're not the only one who has a talent for singing." He stated before calling Cami over. She looked at him with a kind smile and raised her brows.

"Could it be possible if I stole your beautiful new singer's spotlight for a song?" He asked the bartender with a charming smile.

"Of course." Marcel raised his brows as a challenge before leaving me to go up on stage. I turned around in my chair and watched him dance up on stage as if he was born there.

"WOOOHOOO! Marcel!" A girl shouted in the crowd as he flashed her a grin, and my heart clenched with jealousy. 'No feelings' my ass.

"When the night has come
And the land is dark
And the moon is the only light we'll see
No I won't be afraid
Oh, I won't be afraid
Just as long as you stand, stand by me"

My heart stopped as soon as Marcel started singing. His voice was amazing. Seriously, did he have no faults at all?!

"So darling, darling
Stand by me, oh stand by me
Oh stand, stand by me
Stand by me"

I'd stand by anyone with that voice. The fact that it was Marcel multiplied my attraction to him with a 100.

"If the sky that we look upon
Should tumble and fall
Or the mountain should crumble to the sea
I won't cry, I won't cry

No, I won't shed a tear
Just as long as you stand, stand by me"

It's just Marcel. He's not a God. He's just a normal guy who happens to be totally gorgeous and has an amazing singing voice. Get your shit together, Juliette.

"And darling, darling
Stand by me, oh stand by me
Oh stand now, stand by me
Stand by me"

Oh God, I wanted him. I wanted those hands that gripped the microphone to roam my body. I wanted those twinkling brown eyes to catch mine and never look away. I wanted him.

"So darling, darling
Stand by me, oh stand by me
Oh stand now, stand by me, stand by me"

Okay, now it was just getting ridiculous. Marcel was looking straight at me teasingly, probably reading the emotions that were certainly written across my face. I didn't want him to think that he had that kind of effect on me (because I would never admit that it was true).

"Whenever you're in trouble won't you stand by me
Oh stand by me, won't you stand now, oh, stand

No no no no why was this happening? Why did I all of a sudden have such strong feelings for Marcel? I had seen him die. And he was much older than me. I was just a little girl crushing on a mentor. So pathetic.
"I'm not feeling very well." I told Cami quickly, as loudly as I could through the music. "I think I should go home before I puke on someone."
"Alright. See you tomorrow if you feel better." The bartender told me with a compassionate smile. I returned it before pulling on my leather jacket and leaving the bar with a heavy heart.
Believe it or not, but I could feel Marcel's eyes on me as I left.


"What was that?" Marcel called behind me as I walked back towards the motel.
"Leave me alone." I replied, not stopping to let him catch up with me. He was a goddamn vampire, if he wanted to talk to me he could just vamp speed to me. Which was what he did, of course.
"Have I done anything to offend you?" He reappeared in front of me and I recoiled in surprise. I tried ignoring him and walking past him, but he blocked my path. I glared at him while crossing my arms. He glared back and didn't move, so after about thirty seconds of silence, I spoke up.
"No, you haven't done anything to offend me. I just don't feel very well." I lied smoothly, gripping my stomach to insinuate period cramps. Thinking I could fool him proved to be wrong, however.
"There's something you're not telling me." He said quietly, studying my face with furrowed brows.
"I have feelings for you, Marcel." I stated, ripping off the bandaid. "But I shouldn't have. For one, the age difference. Secondly, I cannot get close to anyone. Not with my power. Imagine if I'd wake up one day and see you cheating on me in the future? The relationship would never function."
Marcel watched me in silence as I spoke, his eyes traveling down to my lips (as if I wouldn't notice).
"I knew it." He grinned victoriously after a couple of seconds. I frowned at him and took a step back.
"Excuse me?"
"I knew you have feelings for me. Come on, you've been sending me hints ever since we first met." He teased, and I shot him a glare.
"I have not."
"All that teasing and sassiness? Not to speak about you climbing into my bed at night."
"You're an ass." I retorted, rolling my eyes.
"An ass you have feelings for, so good enough for me." His voice sounded serious as well as humorous, so I turned to meet his eyes. They were looking at me with awe and emotion. Was it possible...? His eyes switched from my lips to my eyes as he reached up a hand to brush the freckles on my cheek. The touch made my heart jump to life and my face heat up. Marcel noticed and smiled pleasingly. Then, without notice, he cupped my face with both of his hands and kissed me. His lips flourished mine softly, sending tingles down my spine. But as soon as I kissed him back, the kiss grew deeper. Our lips moved against each others' with an aching need for warmth and love. I was delirious for finally being close to someone. My habit of distancing myself from everyone had always led to me being very alone, even though I mostly denied it to others, but to myself as well.
And even though I had kissed other guys before, it had never felt as intoxicating as kissing Marcel. The vampire put his arms around my waist and pulled me closer to him, sending electrifying shocks of feeling into my skin. Oh, how I wanted to be even closer to him. I wanted to run my hands over his sculpted chest and kiss his neck. I pulled away to catch my breath, and his brown eyes dug into mine with a million questions in them.
"About the age difference..." I started, panting from the kiss. I flashed him a wicked smile. "My eighteenth birthday is in a week." Marcel smiled at me warmly, brushing a blonde strand of hair behind my ear.
"So we should probably wait until then." He stated and took a step back. I nodded reluctantly and the cold air brushed the skin that had only seconds ago been on fire. Not even a minute had passed, and I already missed the feeling of his embrace. How could I stay awake for a week, now that I knew that my feelings were returned? Ugh, stupid rules. On the other hand, I had never been a follower of rules. I did what I believed was right.
On that note, I jumped at Marcel and kissed him again. It took less than a second before his hands were running down the small of my back and dangerously close to my butt. I smiled against his lips and pulled him even closer to me by grabbing the collar of his leather jacket.
Suddenly, living with Marcel didn't seem so bad anymore.