Juliette suddenly felt like she was fourteen again, going to bonfires with Sam and pretending to be a grown up attending the tribe tales with him. The word 'bloodsucker' rattled in her mind as one particular story enhanced back into her active memory.

When she spoke, her voice was hardly more than a whisper, choked in the back of her throat. "Vampires are real?"

Bella was now standing between Alice and Jacob, stopping whatever argument had brewed while Juliette was holding her revelation.

"I'll give you a minute," Alice told Bella, turning to Juliette. "Why don't you come with me?"

She held out the same hand that Juliette had slammed with the front door. It was unmarred, flawless, nails shiny. As she let Alice pull her out of the room, she noted it was as cold as a corpse.

They went outside, after Alice had to reassure Bella that she wasn't going anywhere. Juliette had to hold back a exasperated scoff at her sister's priorities.

"How are you feeling?" Alice chirped with her sweet voice.

She let out a laugh that sounded like a bark to her ears. "How I'm feeling? I'm feeling like you three decided to group gaslight me tonight."

Alice quirked her lips into a pretty smile, "I'd like to tell you it gets better from here, but you're in for a whirlwind."

"What does that mean?" She asked, hands shoving into her hair, stressed. "What is going on?"

"I'm sorry, Juliette, I really can't-" She cut herself off with a gasp, eyes glazing over. "Wait here."

Before Juliette could blink, the shorter girl was gone and the front door was ajar.

She gaped like a fish, mouthing the words back. Without waiting, she followed after her inside.

The atmosphere in the kitchen was sweltering with heated gazes being exchanged amongst the other three. Before she could speak, Alice turned on her heels, eyebrows scrunched together.

"I'm sorry, Juliette." She whispered, "It wasn't supposed to happen this way."

Alice led her to the dimly lit living room, her gaze fixed on Juliette. The air between them was charged, heavy as she waited to shatter the silence.

"Juliette," Alice began, her voice steady yet carrying an undercurrent of urgency. "What I'm about to tell you will sound impossible, but I need you to listen. It's about Bella... and Edward."

Juliette, arms crossed defensively, raised an eyebrow. "What about them? And why should I believe anything you say? All you've done is confuse me."

Alice took a deep breath, "Because Bella's in danger. And it's because of what we are."

"And what's that?" Juliette's skepticism was palpable, her patience thinning.

"We're vampires," Alice said simply, the weight of the confession hanging in the air.

Juliette let out a disbelieving laugh. "Vampires?"

"I know how it sounds," Alice continued, undeterred. "I wouldn't believe it myself if I hadn't lived it. But it's the truth. And right now, Bella is flying to Italy to save Edward from exposing himself to the world, to prevent a catastrophe."

Juliette's laughter died in her throat, replaced by confusion and a growing sense of unease. "Italy? Why would she... How could you...?"

Alice moved closer, her expression earnest. "We have abilities beyond human understanding. I can see the future, others have different powers. Edward can read minds. It's because of these abilities that Bella is in danger, and why I need your help."

Looking into Alice's eyes, Juliette saw sincerity and a desperation she couldn't deny. The pieces began to fall into place-the inexplicable events surrounding Bella, her abrupt departure, and now, Alice's unbelievable revelation and confirmation.

"Why me?" Juliette finally asked, the fight draining from her voice.

"Because you're part of this now, whether you intended to be or not. And because I've seen it-you're important to helping us save Edward." Alice held Juliette's gaze, her own eyes pleading. "I know it's a lot to ask, to believe, but Bella is your sister. She needs us, she needs him."

"It's the only way to save him, Juliette," Bella interrupted, her eyes wide with a mix of fear and determination. "I have to go."

Juliette stood silent, wrestling with her disbelief. She unwillingly remembered Bella jumping off the cliff, solidifying her options.

"Okay," she whispered, the word barely audible. "Tell me what we need to do."

Alice nodded, a mixture of relief and resolve crossing her features. "Thank you. We don't have much time, so we need to move quickly."

Juliette watched dumbstruck as Alice seemed to blur away, returning with two bags. One was the puny duffel Juliette had arrived with, the other Bella's backpack.

Before they could leave the house, Juliette turned with a gasp. "I need to leave a note for dad."

"There's no time, Jules." Bella stressed, trying to hurry her back.

She ignored her pawing at her arm. "I'm letting him know we caught a taxi to catch a last-minute university tour."

Bella let out a disgruntled sigh, leaving the house. She tried to ignore Jacob running after her sister.

As she wrote out the note she had a feeling her dad wouldn't believe them. She tried to remind herself that they would need to return with school merchandise and a cheesy bumper sticker for Bella's truck to sell the story. As Juliette signed the note, she added a P.S. that they would need to raincheck their diner Thursday.

With one last glance around the room, Juliette felt that she was leaving her heart behind on that table with the note.

Regretfully, Bella had claimed the passenger seat. Juliette would deny that she purposefully swung her duffel hard enough to hit the back of Bella's head as she settled in her seat. The car smelt pleasantly new, like leather and polish. The air coming through the AC even smelt expensive.

Suddenly, Jacob lunged his upper body through the window, grabbing onto the steering wheel. "Please, Bella, just stay here."

Juliette groaned, laying back against the row of seats. "Just drive, Alice."

"For Charlie," He continued, shooting Juliette a side eye as he did. "Or... for me."

She glared as she noticed he didn't list her name.

Bella and Jacob continued to exchange a pitiful back-and-forth of burning eye contact and sad pleading words. She pitied Alice being stuck in-between that.

Despite her reservations, the flight to Italy was a blur of anxiety and whispered strategies. Juliette watched, her mind racing, as Bella leaned heavily on Alice's every word. The protective sister inside her screamed that this was madness, yet the sight of Bella's resolve melted her resistance.

As the plane cut through the clouds, Juliette made a silent vow. No matter the darkness that awaited, she would be there, a protector in the strange world her sister had found. Because in the end, family was worth every risk, every leap into the unknown.

That, and a part of her was still hoping this all might be a delirious misunderstanding. That vampires weren't real, and Jacob just had puppy eyes.

"We're here to save Edward, nothing more," Juliette reminded Bella as they sat next to each other. "We grab him, we get out. We don't trust anyone, not even Alice."

Bella nodded, but Juliette could see the single-minded focus in her sister's eyes. It was Edward, always Edward.

"You know, she probably heard you say that." Bella mock-whispered, nodding to the woman who was already smiling at them from across the aisle.

"Don't worry," She called across to them, the sound melodious. "You'll learn to trust me, Juliette."

Juliette ignored her, trying to stifle her smile. For all the annoyances, Alice was oddly endearing.

"So," Juliette began, "what exactly are we heading into?"

Her sister grimaced, not meeting her eyes. "Would you believe me if I said there's a vampire monarchy system."

Juliette scowled, sinking further into her seat. "I hate this."

⁂

in an alternate universe Juliette takes Bella to a D.A.R.E. meeting instead of getting on the plane