[THE HOUSE GUEST]

extreme love must bring terror with it.

"WELL, WHAT ARE YOU going to do?" Juliette asked tiredly, she had been up since 4 am and had not been back to sleep. After reading Seraphina's journal she couldn't think about anything else. It was the only thing she wanted to focus on.

But she lived in Mystic Falls. The town where the drama never stops.

Her sister was also Elena. The girl who always got herself into trouble. So there was no doubt she was going to need saving at least once today.

"I wanted to get your opinion. What do you think I should do?" The younger Gilbert spoke over the phone, and the chatter of students in the background echoed through the phone.

Elena had just had a conversation with Alaric, he wants to be with Jenna, he wants to love her but to do that, he can't keep any secrets from her. He wants to tell her about the supernatural, and about Isobel, his not-so-dead wife.

Juliette sat up from her bed, rubbing her eyes to clear the sleep away. "Oh my, you want my opinion on something!" The blonde exclaimed sarcastically. Juliette was still upset with Elena for not telling her that she knew she wasn't included in the deal with Elijah.

It made Juliette realise how little she knew about anything her sister did. She always chose to keep her in the dark by whatever she did. Juliette understood that she wanted to keep her safe, but that wasn't Elena's job.

She doesn't get to decide whether Juliette should know something or not.

They were involved in the same exact thing. If Elena continued to leave Juliette out of her plans or decisions, and something bad happened to her. Juliette would never forgive herself.

Juliette was the older sister. She was the one who was supposed to protect her younger siblings from the horrors of the supernatural. She hated that Jeremy and Elena were involved in this mess, she would give her life to keep them safe.

But somehow, despite her best efforts, they were all tangled in a web of danger she could have never imagined.

And she was petrified. Juliette lived her life terrified that something might happen to her family or friends. And she hated it.

She hated the supernatural and everyone in it.

The blonde could hear Elena sigh at what she said, "Juliette, I said I was sorry! How many more times would you like me to apologise?" Elena replied, her voice trembling slightly.

"You tried to get yourself killed Elena. You were being selfish. So no, it doesn't matter how many times you say you're sorry to me, I can't trust you anymore." Juliette exploded, all her built-up frustration and anger boiling over.

She couldn't understand how Elena genuinely thought that if she apologised everything would be immediately forgiven. This was probably the hundredth time Elena had tried to get herself killed, putting herself into dangerous situations where others had to risk their lives to save her.

Juliette understood her thinking, she was trying to save everyone but in reality, it was doing more harm than letting the people who love her, help.

The two sisters shared a couple of minutes of silence, and Juliette forced herself to calm down. She had no clue why she just exploded on her sister, maybe it was because she was tired and stressed. But she wasn't going to apologise for what she said, because it was true and she meant it.

Juliette was the one to speak first, "Look, Elena. If you want to tell Jenna then go ahead. I'll help you do it. She should know." And then she hung up, tossing her phone onto the pillow next to her.

She tiredly groaned into her hands as she covered her face. She was exhausted and not in the mood for whatever was in store for her today.

✧✧✧✧

    JULIETTE, BONNIE AND STEFAN were at the grill, waiting for Jonas and his son, Luka to arrive. Stefan wanted to speak to them and somehow convince them that we were on the same side with wanting Klaus dead.

Juliette had a feeling that this wasn't going to go so well so she felt like it was a waste of time. Yes, Jonas gave her Seraphina's grimoire, but he doesn't like her. He doesn't like any of them.

He was just doing something Elijah had asked him to do.

Unexpectedly, Jonas and Luka had walked through the Mystic Grill doors. Their eyes scanned over the tables until they landed on the one with Stefan.

The Salvatore stood up from his seat, Bonnie doing the same and Juliette was too lazy and too tired to so she just stayed sat down. "Thank you for coming," Stefan said as the two witches sat down opposite them.

"I didn't want to but my son made a case to hear you out," Jonas replied, staring intently at Stefan.

Yeah, this probably isn't going to go too well.

Bonnie gave Luka a small smile before he spoke. "Bonnie said that you have information on Elijah." His eyes darted away from the young witch.

Juliette shared a look with Jonas, already knowing about this information from their meeting last night. "Elijah's dead, I'm sorry."

Jonas and Luka glanced at each other, annoyance and frustration evident in their expressions as Jonas stood up to leave, obviously not wanting to hear anymore that the trio had to say.

Stefan stood up quickly and grabbed the man's shoulder, forcing him to sit back down. "We know that Klaus has your daughter," Bonnie spoke up, trying to relieve the growing tension between the two men.

"I'm sorry about the way I had to get that information, but it's good that we know. We can all work together to get her back." The witch reasoned, anxiously fidgeting with her fingers as she glanced between the two men opposite her.

Luka furrowed his brows, confused as to why they wanted to help his sister. "How?" He asked, pursing his lips.

"Well, we suspect that you and Elijah had a plan to kill Klaus, right?" Juliette added, leaning further her arms on the table in front of her.

"Let us help you carry it out." Stefan added, "You can trust us, I give you my word. We all do."

✧✧✧✧

    "JONAS," JULIETTE CALLED AFTER the witch as he and Luka walked towards their car. They had agreed to help, telling them very valuable information.

Jonas told Luka to get in the car as he walked closer to Juliette. "Did you read the grimoire?" He asked, glancing around the surroundings before he fully turned to look at Juliette.

"I've read a little bit. Seraphina was a Gilbert, but how come I've never heard of her?" Juliette queried, her brows furrowed as she slightly hoped Jonas could answer one of her thousand questions.

Jonas sighed, "She was a witch, your family hunted supernatural beings. Do you really think they wanted to talk about her?"

Juliette thought for a moment, it broke her heart to hear that Seraphina was so hated by her family for something she couldn't control. "They hid it from me my entire life, I know everyone in the Gilbert bloodline. But not Seraphina, maybe they were ashamed of her?"

Jonas shook his head, "It's not about shame. It's about fear. They feared what she was and what she could do." his face tensed as he stared over Juliette's shoulder.

The blonde furrowed her brows as she looked to the direction Jonas was looking, Bonnie and Stefan were staring at them, confused looks on their faces. Juliette quickly turned back to Jonas, she just had one question that needed answering.

"What do I do now?"

Jonas stared at the girl for a moment, almost as if he was contemplating speaking more to the girl. "It is up to you. You were given that book for a reason, read more of it and you will find out." He replied, before turning on his heel and walking to his car.

Juliette sighed while she watched the witch drive away, feeling slightly disappointed with the answers that were given but pleased that at least she got something.

The Gilbert family feared the powers Seraphina bore, but why? She was a regular witch, it wasn't like they hadn't seen one before.

"What was that about?" Bonnie questioned and she and Stefan had walked over the blonde. Juliette quickly turned around to face them, panicking about what to say.

She hair shrugged her shoulders, his gaze only on Bonnie. "Nothing. At least he told us something about defeating Klaus. All we need to do is find it, right?" She changed the subject, uncomfortable with the fact that she was caught.

Bonnie frowned for a moment, sensing the tension in her friend's voice but spoke again. Stefan glared intently at the blonde, and Juliette knew he was. But she didn't dare look at him because he was suspicious.

She had to be more careful. Because Stefan is a big snitch, he tells Elena everything and that will end well if she finds out.

✧✧✧✧

   
       JULIETTE WALKED INTO THE Salvatore boarding house, her mind running wild with what Jonas told her and her being caught. Stefan had asked
again in the car, after they had dropped Bonnie off, why she was talking to Jonas.

Juliette panicked and made up an excuse that she knew Stefan didn't believe. But it was the only thing she could come up with. She couldn't particularly say "Oh yeah, I was talking to him because he gave me a grimoire from a Gilbert who was a witch. Oh and also it might tell me why I hear voices in my head."

Yes, the supernatural was insane. So if Juliette told them what was happening to her, they wouldn't be too shocked as they were used to all the insanity that is the supernatural. But Juliette didn't want them to know, she wanted them to focus on Elena first. She was more important to them.

Her issues can wait.

As Juliette walked further into the Salvatore boarding house, she could hear Elena's voice. She furrowed her brows, Elena was meant to be in school. "Emily Bennett told me about the massacre. It was a big deal in witch folklore. When a witch dies violently, they release a mystical energy marking the place of their death with power."

Katherine. Why was she here?

"Elijah wanted to know the site of the massacre." Damon's voice emerged too. And she hanging out with Damon? What was she up to?

Juliette heard Stefan open the door and close it behind him. "What was he going to do when he found it?" Katherine questioned, her voice sharp.

"I don't know," Damon replied, annoyance laced in his voice. Using his vamp hearing, he could hear Juliette and Stefan walk into the living room. "What did Papa Witch and Baby Witch have to say?"

"Isn't she gone or dead yet?" Stefan teased as he leaned up against the wall. Juliette scoffed at the sight of Katherine in Elena's clothes as she walked towards the couch, plopping herself down while yawning.

Juliette rolled her eyes as Katherine scoffed, "Yeah, can you go? No one wants you here." The blonde mumbled, fighting the urge to close her eyes. Because if she did, she would pass out on the couch.

Katherine ignored Juliette's comment, causing the blonde to smirk. "For the last time, I'm here to help. Can we skip the secrets, hmm?" She uttered, irritated as she placed her hand on her hip.

Stefan and Damon share a look as the younger Salvatore begins to talk, "Elijah had no weapon to kill Klaus." He started off, walking further into the living room. "But he believed that if a witch could channel enough power... They wouldn't need one."

Juliette didn't really understand what was going on in the conversation with Jonas, she wasn't paying attention. But now she did, she knew what they needed to help kill Klaus. "Like the power you get from a spot marked with a hundred dead witches?" She mumbled, the pieces in her mind adding up.

That's why Elijah was asking about the massacre at the dinner party.

Stefan nodded his head, "We just need to find it."

✧✧✧✧

    "ARE YOU SURE? I don't want to crash anything." Harlee asked as Juliette dragged her towards the front door of her house. Elena had asked if Juliette wanted to join in our girl night with Caroline and Bonnie. Even though she was still upset with Elena, she needed a distraction.

And now was a good time to introduce Harlee. A witch who actually had powers and could help Bonnie figure out how to get hers back.

"For the millionth time, they want to meet you. You aren't crashing anything." Juliette chuckled as they reached the front door, but instead of opening the door, the blonde turned to face her friend. "Please do not mention anything I told you, especially anything to do with Elijah." She warned, pointing a finger at her friend.

Harlee smirked, "Sexy Original vampire guy?" She teased, wiggling her brows at Juliette. The blonde glared at her friend, her look deadly. Nobody could find out.

The pixie-haired woman raised her hands, "I'm joking, I'm joking. My lips are sealed."

"Good." Juliette nodded her head before opening the door, hearing the laughing of the girls.

The blonde walked into the kitchen, sporting Elena and her two friends sitting on the island. "Hey guys." She said as they all turned to look at her, spotting Harlee behind Juliette. "This is Harlee Jackson, the witch I was telling you about?"

Harlee shyly waved to the three girls.

"You're a witch too?" Bonnie spoke up, a small smile on her face. Harlee nodded her head as she watched Juliette grab a bottle of wine and take a swig out of it.

"Yeah, she might be able to help with getting your powers back."

Bonnie smiled gracefully at Harlee.

Hopefully, tonight will be a good distraction.

✧✧✧✧

I hope this much longer chapter made up for the last chapter!

I am so sorry I even posted that, i was tired from school and couldn't be bothered to write more 😭

Anyway, school is the worst thing ever, but I'm slowly getting used to it even though I hate it.

I hope you enjoy this chapter!!!

See you in the next one!!

byeeee

10/09/24