[DADDY ISSUES]

be the light.

   "WHERE ARE WE?" JULIETTE asked the original vampire, she looked at the area around her. The street they stood in was narrow and cobblestone-paved, though they were placed down crookedly. All different types of people passed by them, peddlers shouted their wares, women gossiped as they carried baskets, and they were wearing long dresses made of simple fabric.

Juliette looked down at her clothes and realised she was wearing the same thing. "It's the 18th century," Elijah answered, turning to face Juliette.

The girl furrowed her brows, "But we were just in the 20s, why have we changed so quickly?" She questioned, watching as men on top of horses passed by them, causing Elijah to grab Juliette's hand and pull her close to him as they passed.

This made her think back to her conversation with Rose, "You better end up with Elijah" and "Give it a chance." The close proximity was making her mind whirl with all different types of possibilities.

Elijah was so, so sweet to her and to only her, he always cared about her interests and how her day went. He always wanted to help her in any way he could, despite how mean she had been to him. And you definitely couldn't forget the fact that he was undeniably gorgeous-

No, she shouldn't think like that. She couldn't go that far with him, everyone would hate her if she did. Juliette couldn't think of the enemy like that.

Once the horses had passed by, Elijah released her from his grip, letting her take a step backwards. Juliette tried to get the blush that had invaded her cheeks off as he stared at her. "Okay, but what year in the 18th century?" She asked, trying to change the subject.

Elijah looked around for a moment, he had a look of concentration on his face before he spoke, "Excuse me?" He called out to a woman who had passed.

The young woman had turned around and smiled at the sight of Elijah, an almost flirty smile.

And for some reason, that made Juliette scoff and roll her eyes, the woman looked at her for a brief moment before looking back at Elijah. "Yes?" She spoke, her voice sweet and soft.

Juliette crossed her arms over her chest as she watched the woman inch closer to Elijah, placing her hand on his arm. Okay but is there any need for that?

You sound jealous of a fake woman in your dream...

I am not jealous!

Sure...

"I was just wondering what year it was?" Elijah asked, grabbing the woman's hand and taking it off of him as he held his hand out to Juliette. She didn't know why but she immediately took his hand when she noticed it held out.

The woman glared at Juliette as she just smiled back at her while leaning closer to Elijah. She didn't know why she did that either.

"It's 1785?" She answered, looking confusedly at the two standing in front of her. "Thank you," Elijah replies before the woman shares one last glare at Juliette before storming off.

Juliette immediately let go of his hand.

"1785? Okay, so that means we've moved 140 years back." Juliette mumbled mostly to herself while she looked at all the different food stalls.

"Well done, you can do basic math." Juliette heard Elijah mumble behind her but she was way too busy to scold him. A woman with long back hair was standing at one of the stalls, everyone was staring at her in disgust as she just picked up a couple of apples and walked away, the owner of said stall was way too disgusted to ask her to pay.

The blonde began to follow her, why did she look so familiar?

"Juliette?" She heard Elijah call out after her as she walked towards the woman, she was stopping at all the different stalls, taking things as the people surrounding her moved out of her way, almost like she had a deadly infectious disease.

Juliette racked her mind for answers, why did she look so familiar? The blonde had seen her before, but why was she in her dream?

Juliette stopped walking when a carriage drove in front of her, making her stop and allowing Elijah to catch up to her. "What is the matter?" He asked but he got no answer because when the carriage had moved out of their way, the woman was gone.

The blonde looked up and down the street but she couldn't see the woman. She let out a sigh and turned back to Elijah, who looked confused.

"What was that about?"

"What was what about?"

Instead of answering, he just shook his head before looking away from the blonde. She rolled her eyes as she noticed that she was going to wake up.

"We're waking up now."

✧✧✧✧

JULIETTE'S EYES OPEN WIDE as she blinks repeatedly, trying to get used to the light peaking through her curtains. The sound of her phone ringing filled her eyes she let out a groan, it was probably her boss asking her to come in earlier than what they had arranged.

Without looking at the caller ID, Juliette brought the phone to her ear, "Hello?" she spoke, her voice still groggily whilst she rubbed her eyes, trying to wake herself up.

"Juliette?"

The blonde sat up at the sound of Caroline crying. "Care? What's wrong?" Juliette asked, pulling the covers off of her body.

"Tyler knows about Mason." She sobbed over the phone, her voice breaking as she spoke. Juliette furrowed her brows, her mind still asleep as she said, "What? What do you mean?"

"He came to mine but after last night I told him that he couldn't go there-"

Juliette cut Caroline off, "Wait, what happened last night?" she asked, feeling a little bit confused.

"Oh I forgot to tell you, he kissed me." Caroline casually said.

Juliette was shocked but she kind of saw it coming, Care was a people pleaser, she helped anyone whenever they needed help. She and Tyler had gotten close over the past few weeks after they found out what each other was.

"But what about Matt?"

"He kissed me too! I told him that I love him but we couldn't be together for obvious reasons."

"Damn, two guys kiss you in one day and I can't even get a guy to look at me."

Well, there's Elijah but I won't tell her that.

"No, it's not a good thing! But anyway, as I was saying, Tyler came to my house and I told him that I was still involved with Matt but then he said he knew about Stefan and Damon and that they killed Mason. He's so angry with me Juliette." Her voice broke again.

"Okay Care, everything's going to be fine. I'm going to come around to yours before work and you're going to call Stefan to come over too. We will sort this out, I promise." Juliette reassured, looking at the time, 8:45 AM.

She had to be at work at ten o clock, so she had time to help Caroline.

"Alright, thank you, Juliette." The blonde mumbled before hanging up, causing Juliette to sigh. More drama to worry about, all these constant theatrics were driving her insane.

The blonde got up from her bed and headed towards her closet, grabbing her work uniform and putting it on. She walked into her shared bathroom with Jenna and began brushing her tangled hair before applying some light make-up.

And then putting all of her Jewellery on, especially the golden bracket Elijah got her. She didn't know why she liked it so much, she just did. When he had sent it to her, she put it on and never took it off.

It was just a stupid bracelet it didn't mean anything.

Ignoring her thoughts, she put it on and made her way downstairs and into the kitchen. However, she stopped in her tracks when John was standing in the middle of the kitchen.

"What the hell?"

"Hello, Juliette."

Juliette faked gagged at the sound of his voice as she turned to Elena who gave her a look, almost like she was apologising for not saying anything.

Suddenly, Jenna ran into the kitchen, Alaric close behind her. "Oh God, I'm late." She fumbled, grabbing a cup off the counter as she seemed to completely miss the disgusting, ugly man standing in the kitchen.

"That's what you get for hitting snooze three times!" Alaric spoke after her. Jenna then finally turned around and spotted John, "What the hell?" She said, having the same reaction as Juliette.

"Good morning to you, Jenna. Alaric." He spat the history's teachers name, giving him a disdainful look. Jenna looked over to Juliette who looked equally as confused before they both looked over to Elena.

"It's okay I'm confused, right? Because we were not expecting you, like ever. Jenna said, her voice tinged with disbelief.

Juliette nodded vigorously, still trying to process John's sudden appearance. "Yeah, seriously, what are you doing here?"

John, looking slightly dishevelled but composed, glanced around the room as he spoke. "Well, I got in late last night. Elena let me in."

Alaric shifts uncomfortably, sensing the tension in the room. He stares at John scornfully before looking at Jenna. "You know, I'm uh, probably going to take off." he then turns and leaves, the door closing softly behind him.

Jenna's, seemingly unaware of Alaric leaving, brow furrows as she crosses her arms, clearly puzzled and seeking clarity. "I'm still confused here."

John's tone was casual but firm as if he's made a final decision. He watches Jenna's reaction carefully. "I decided to come back and stay for a while."

"Not here, you're not," Juliette said defensively, standing closer to Jenna as she rolled her eyes at John's audacity, thinking he could just show up at their house and be welcomed in.

John looks over to Juliette, a small smirk on his non-existent lips, "Actually, you both can't stop me from living here."

Jenna's eyes narrow, her voice firm. "Actually we can, as legal guardians." She gestured between her and Juliette. Jenna had always referred to Juliette as a guardian towards her younger siblings, even though, legally, she wasn't. She is more of a mother to them than a sister.

Juliette would always protect her siblings no matter what.

John takes a step closer, his tone turning serious. "Yeah, about that... um, Elena, you want to explain the situation, or would you like me to do the honours?"

Juliette grew even more angry than she already was. "John," she said warningly, narrowing her eyes at him, daring him to speak any further. He shouldn't be the one to tell Jenna the truth, he didn't deserve to, Elena did.

The aunt's frustration grows, her confusion evident. "Okay, what's going on?" She asked, looking between the three who seemed to know something that she didn't.

Elena turns away from John to look at Jenna, she hesitates as guilt covers her face. "I'm sorry, Jenna. I should have told you earlier, but-"

Just as Elena is about to tell her aunt the truth, ugly John interrupts. "I am Elena's biological father. There, now you know." he turns on his heel and leaves the room, leaving Elena, Juliette and Jenna stunned.

"I have somewhere to be, so..." Juliette mumbled before quickly leaving deciding that she didn't need to be involved in the awkward conversation any longer than she had to be.

✧✧✧✧

CAROLINE WAS VERY UPSET by the Tyler situation, when Juliette had arrived she had been crying because of it. The blonde knew that Caroline deeply cared for the new werewolf, as a 'friend' of course.

She called Stefan just like Juliette told her to, so now they were just waiting for him to come over.

"It's not your fault, you know that right?" Juliette mumbled, rubbing her friend's back as she had her head in her hands. The blonde looked up and gave Juliette a small smile.

"He just looked so hurt."

Before Juliette could say anything more, a knock on the door interrupted her. Caroline got up from her bed and let Stefan in, Juliette trailing closely behind.

"What's wrong?" The male vampire asked as he walked through the door, the same miserable look on his face as usual. When Juliette first met Salvatore, her first thought was 'Why does he always look like he's mother has told him that he couldn't play out because his dinner was nearly done.'

And she still thinks about it.

Caroline's voice trembles slightly as she explains, "Tyler knows about you and Damon. He knows that Damon killed Mason. I didn't say a word."

Stefan's expression darkens with concern. "It's that woman, Jules. She had a run-in with Damon."

Juliette rolled her eyes, muttering, "Of course she did." under her breath. It was always Damon.

The blonde vampire's eyes well up with tears as Juliette gently grabbed her hand. "Tyler was so upset. The look on his face, he was so betrayed." She recalled with a look of guilt on her face.

Juliette gave her a small smile, she knew that Caroline deeply cared for Tyler, and she enjoyed helping him with his wolf curse.

The Salvatore shook his head, the gravity of the situation weighing down on him, "Wow, this is bad."

"No shit, Stef." The blonde scoffed, well done, stating the obvious like usual!!!!

Stefan gave her a look before Caroline spoke again, her voice filled with worry. "You're not gonna tell Damon, are you?" She asked, her eyes widened with fear at the thought of an angry Damon.

Stefan quickly reassured her, his tone firm. "No! He already wants to kill him. He thinks all werewolves should die." Caroline tried to butt in but Stefan continued to speak. "He's not wrong to think that." The blonde vampire looked defeated, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Caroline, I mean, what if Tyler tries to retaliate? He has every right to. He could get himself killed." Stefan tried to back up his point, and Juliette understood where he was coming from. He was just looking out for everyone.

"Yeah Care, Stefan's right. Tyler has Jules telling him things, what makes you think that she won't tell him to try and hurt you?" Juliette added, receiving a small smile from Stefan.

"Well, we're not gonna let that happen. We have to get to him and reason with him before he does something stupid." Caroline concluded, "You have to talk to him. Just try to explain, you know? You always know the right things to say, okay?"

Stefan looked hesitant, "He and I... we're friends." She finished off, and Stefan gave her a small nod.

Will this town ever stop with the drama?

✧✧✧✧

I lowkey hate this chapter but oh well.

So I am officially on summer break! 6 weeks to write for you guys! I am so so so excited! I am hoping to try and get really into this book but I am taking this process slow.

Also, thank you for 11k! I wanted to get this chapter out as a thanks for 10k but we hit 11k in that time so thank you guys! I appreciate all of you!!!!!!

I hope to see you in the next chapter!

Byeeee

19/07/24