Chapter Text
It’s easy being the prodigal child of a family who’s well known in the community. Father’s an attorney, mother’s lineage dates back to before records were even being kept in the county. Everyday is a reminder of “what else can you do for the family” especially when your older sister is literally perfect. And here she is, standing in front of her reflection, lips tight, smile forced, barely starting the vampire equivalent of puberty.
Maybe if she practices everyday to be normal, it’ll have an impact one day.
But every morning Jules gets closer to losing her goddamn mind everytime she looks in the mirror. It’s like she hit second puberty and suddenly her body hasn’t stopped flooding her system with urges, needs, and cravings beyond her comprehension. (Not like she went through this once already…) What’s worse is that she never feels like she can control all of them lately, and if you slip up (especially in public) as a member of the Fairmount family? Then that means it reflects on the entire family.
Her sister told her long ago when her change started that this was going to happen and the sooner she fulfills all of her urges the better she’ll feel. But the thing is, Elinor didn’t specify exactly what would fulfill her urges. And as she grew older and older it slowly became very obvious that sex wasn’t going to be the hardest urge she had to fill.
And as she stands in front of her full length mirror, the glaring pink of her sweater vest screams “virgin” in every way possible.
“Juliette Fairmount!” Her mothers voice pierces through her bedroom and she winces before throwing on a different top and rushing downstairs.
DOWNSTAIRS
Jules heads for the kitchen, making a b-line for her backpack on the table. Her dad’s nose is in the morning newspaper, ever present but never fully involved.
“Juliette.” There’s a certain way moms talk to you when they want you to feel bad about not doing something. Jules swallows down her fear and puffs out her chest which doesn’t help because she’s at least three full heads smaller then her mom.
“Yes, mom?”
“We have to talk about these.” Her mother holds up a small red pill bottle that has Jules blood running cold for the first time since school started. Those pills have been the only thing to allow her any semblance of normalcy in her life and the growing feeling in her gut is telling her that her mom is just about to take that away from her.
“I’m doing fine though.” Jules keeps her tone even and her back straight, she learned early on showing your full hand gets you out of the game. So if she needs those pills then she has to stay playing this back and forth with her mother.
“Doing fine is not what we strive for in this family. You obviously have needs that aren’t being met.” To punctuate her point Margot, her mother, plops the bottle on the table. Her father doesn’t blink an eye.
“Aww is my little sis having trouble getting laid?” Elinor, her gorgeous older sister strides into the kitchen taking up a seat on their island as if nothing or no one would dare stop her. She’s in a gown that is definitely not for sleeping. Her mother swats at her and Elinor rolls her eyes, slips from the counter and kisses their father on the cheek.
“Elinor, where have you been?” Her father asks, as if he’s been present this whole goddamn time. If it’s not the urges that’ll drive Jules insane, it’s definitely going to be the uneahlthy family dynamic that does her in.
“If I’m here now does the where really matter?” Elinor says shrugging.
Before anyone can respond there’s a loud honk! from out front and Jules reaches forward, grabbing the pill bottle while her mother is distracted.
“Will you tell Ben that we have a doorbell, we don’t need the neighbors up in arms about morning noise pollution or some such nonsense.”
“Oh he’s fully aware.” Shoving the bottle in her pocket she rushes towards the front door, hoping to avoid any further conversation. But before she can make it out of the kitchen she hears her fathers voice once more, this time directed at her.
“We’ll discuss this after school.”
With a frustrated sigh Jules nods and uses her widest stride to get out of there. But for the split second it takes her to get her footing she almost runs head first into Elinor.
She knows she should be used to the speed enhancements that come with growing up in a vampire family but she’s never going to get used to how fast and strong Elinor is. She’s grateful that Elinor caught her by the arms because she’s run into a brick wall before and would like to avoid repeating it. She doesn’t hold on long though and smiles this half smile only they ever exchange, kind of like a way to say we’re in this together.
“Girl trouble?” Her voice is gentle but not soft and makes it difficult to be anything but honest when answering her questions.
“Ha ha, no. More like fitting in trouble.” It’s not like she’s lying, it just so happens that most of the people she wants to fit in with are well… her type. And okay, so maybe it’s just one person because why not? She’s the coolest person she’s ever seen in her whole life and Jules would bet she’s just as equally interesting.
There’s a pause and Jules thinks for half a second Elinor might call her bluff, but it quickly passes and she boops her on the nose.
“You can always come to me for advice on how to fit in. That top certainly isn’t helping.” She spares a disgusted glance at Jules top.
Another honk! in the background and Jules nearly jumps out of her skin this time before sidestepping her sister to get to the front door.
“I’ve gotta go but um… after school maybe?”
“I’ll be here, maybe.” Elinor mimics her tone almost exactly but waves goodbye with that same half smile. She returns the wave and shuts the door behind her before popping a pill and running down the stairs of her house to meet Ben.
Ben has been her best friend nearly her whole life, he’s been with her through everything and she’s been with him through everything. And it’s amazing because Jules feels most like herself around him, singing along to music that’s playing way too loud, driving through the neighborhood on your way to deal with the pressures of school society. Instead of her own family's weird secret society. It makes all the other moments feel less awful in comparison. Like she isn’t some monster that is about to ruin her family's legacy just because she’s coming into her vampirism.
Urgh she doesn’t even like thinking about it, especially not when Ben is singing at the top of his lungs as they pull up to school. She wishes she could have his confidence, his sense of self worth.
As much as they’ve been friends since childhood she knows if she tells him about what she’s going through he would never understand. How could he? Sure he gets the gay thing, probably on a much harder level too since he’s the star athlete of nearly every school sport. (And the additional racial differences that go along with it.) And yes, that does make him popular, and funny, and the best ride or die friend anyone could ask for.
But Jules knows deep down that he’d probably never understand why she struggles in the sun more than most, or why blood doesn’t just make her squeamish but hungry, or why pretty girls make her weak in the knees in a way that is probably definitely not healthy. And there’s one particular girl that catches her eye everyday…
Calliope Burns, the new girl. Tall as hell and even more silent and always sitting by the sidelines with a book. And when she and Ben arrive at school it’s like her eyes track Calliope through the front lawn, because everything in her screams confident.
“Just talk to her, I can only take so much pining.” Ben huffs as he shuts off the car and hops out, Jules trailing behind him.
“I have!” If by talking he means staring longingly in the distance and joining random clubs in hopes of being able to get past the ice breaker phase of every greeting.
“In actuality or just in lesbian terms?”
Jules shakes her head and smiles as she watches Calliope disappear into school.
“Then invite her to the party tonight, Noah’s hosting it.” Bens’ voice goes all dreamy at the mention of Noah.
“With his girlfriend?” Jules asks, holding the entrance door open.
“Unfortunately, but I might be able to change that tonight. If you go with me!” He puncatates his point by poking her in the chest and Jules rubs at the spot anxiously. The fluorescent lights of the hallway drill into the back of her eyes and Jules has to force down a swallow because suddenly her throat feels like sandpaper.
She just took a pill, she shouldn’t need another one so soon… She shakes her head hoping it’ll force the symptoms away. And it does, at least for her first few periods but when lunch hits she finds herself rushing to her locker. Flustered and fumbling Jules finds her little case tucked in the back, throws a pill in her mouth, dry swallows it and waits for sweet relief.
But so preoccupied with everything she nearly jumps out of her skin when Ben bumps her on the shoulder, “migraines still bumming you out?”
As a result she drops said pill case and watches as they scatter across the hallway. Thankfully the halls are bare cause of lunch period but she hones in on each pill as they fly across the linoleum.
“Uh? Yeah, I think I’m going to stay in for lunch today.” Jules doesn’t know what she’s more grateful for, the fact that her best friend doesn’t pay close enough attention to her obviously growing addiction to mysterious red pills that are definitely not over the counter meds for migraines.
Or the fact that he cares about her nonetheless. (And that’s why telling him that she’s been lying to him this whole time would be the worst possible outcome.)
“Boo, but fair enough.” He pats her on the shoulder and picks up a few of the pills that had ended up at his feet, “just remember to wear something spicy tonight, not another jeans jacket…”
She waves him off with a roll of her eyes and immediately goes hands and knees to the floor once he’s turned the corner. It isn’t more then a few minutes later that she finds herself at the foot end of the very object of her affection. Hands on her hips, eyebrow raised, as if to say do you see yourself?
“Uh, hi.” Jules grabs what pills she can and stands… at exactly breast level. Being short has its advantages it seems but when she gulps back the sudden moisture in her mouth and looks up at Calliope she can’t help but feel a little insecure.
“You good?” Calliope’s gaze darts to the red pills in her hands and Jules nervously shoves them into her pockets.
“Ha, yeah totally.”
“Okay then.” Calliope shrugs and brushes past Jules as if there’s nothing more to say and Jules hears Ben’s words from earlier in the day ringing in her ears. Just talk to her.
“Actually-!”
Calliope stops on a dime and looks over her shoulder, from Jule’s perspective it’s the coolest stance she’s ever seen. Her outfit shimmers in the bright light and her dark skin stands out against the beige of the walls. She looks so put together, like everything was a purposeful decision.
Jules swallows at the thought and takes a step closer, hoping her voice doesn’t sound as nervous as she’s feeling, “there’s a party tonight.”
Calliope’s head tilts only slightly, her expression unchanged, which only sends a warm shiver down Jules spine, “don’t even wanna know my name?”
“Um, it’s Calliope right? Burns? I have English with you.” Hoping the excuse works more as the truth than being only slightly obsessed with her since she arrived.
“And physics and gym, Juliette.” Calliope smiles and Jules feels it in her toes. It’s not a smile that’s meant to outshine the sun but one that lures you in… And boy does Jules feel like bait today.
“But Cal works just fine.”
“Why?” Jules asks and regrets it immediately, maybe she will take Elinor up on her offer to help her with girls she’s obviously terrible at it.
“I mean… I like Calliope it’s…” gorgeous, beautiful, unique, commanding… “Classical?” Nervous smile plastered to her face Jules hopes her chances aren’t completely ruined.
But Cal smirks like Jules just figured out the best kept secret of the Burns family, “you should meet my brothers Theseus and Apollo.”
Jules can’t help but laugh and the feeling refills every ounce of confidence she might have lost, “so… tonight?”
“I guess, you’ll have to keep an eye out.”
And just like that Calliope walks down the hall almost like this was the plan the whole time. Jules just wishes the rest of her day could go as smooth. At least she has something to take her mind off the increasing hormones and senses that keep going off the rails everytime there’s a spike in temperature or increased lighting.
What’s worse is that today seems like the most anti-vampire day of her life, not in the “we’re going to stake you” way but in absolutely everything else. Apparently one of the students brought in cupcakes for the whole class, that one was easy enough just uncomfortable having a cupcake in your backpack for the rest of the day. Another class had broken curtains, like all of them, so the sun was directly in Jules' eyes for that entire period. And the weirdest thing is that after her last class of the day there was a piece of jewelry left in the hallway, okay so that’s not so uncommon but the weird part about it was that it was silver.
Pure silver.
Who the hell wears jewelry made out of pure silver? Easy enough to avoid but just as easy to burn yourself on if you’re just trying to return it to its owner when you’re a vampire.
But she refuses to let anything bring her down after semi-successfully talking with the girl she’s been crushing on all semester. In fact the pep in her step doesn’t go away until she gets home and her parents seemingly have an intervention scheduled for her in their kitchen. And she thought going through the backdoor might help avoid just this situation.
“Juliette, we need to finish our talk.” Her mother, pristine as ever, stands right behind her father, hand on his shoulder, nails glistening under the overhead light.
“I’m fine, I promise I will let you know if things get out of hand-”
Her mom doesn’t even let her finish when she asks, “how many pills did you go through today?” The silence that follows is enough of an answer for her apparently. “Getting these pills are a risk for our family, Juliette. You need to understand the ramifications that come with managing your changes as a young developing vampire.”
“Urgh gross please don’t say it like that. I’m managing just fine. Really, I was even planning on going to a get together tonight-“
“You need to at least learn the basics before your urges over power you in the moment.”
Elinor takes that exact moment to stride through the kitchen, new dress, different chipped nails, same bored expression.
“What are we punishing Juliette for now and is it too late to add her wardrobe to the agenda?”
Jules lets out a small huff and spares a pleading glance towards her sister, “I just wanted to go to a party…”
Her mom ignores her, and shoots a piercing stare at Elinor who doesn’t even blink but instead grabs Jules by the arm. “Elinor, this is a private matter.”
“Seems like it’s a family matter, one I might be able to help with.”
Surprisingly her older sister comes in handy when getting her out of difficult situations, but she doesn’t know if it’s a fair trade or not because now she’s stuck having to listen to Elinor go on and on about how “just because you’re gay doesn’t mean you can’t learn the benefits of which lipstick would go best on your victims neck at the end of the night.” But it isn’t so bad because she mostly ends up talking about herself and her first time feeding from someone. The way she describes it sounds kind of like an addiction but Jules keeps that comment to herself. (They’ve gotten closer over the years.)
Once the make over is done Jules successfully escapes her house from all further accusations and makes her way to the party with Ben.
AT THE PARTY
“Not the jeans jacket again…” Is the first thing Ben calls her out on but she quickly waves him off, she knows he doesn’t mean anything by it anyway.
They arrive at the party and it’s exactly what Jules never liked about parties. Loud noises that clash from room to room, either from on-going conversation or differing music taste. You’d think surround sound would be common in such a fancy fucking house. But not only that, why is it that every single room has a different lighting scheme, like one room has a blue hue and another just lamps. It makes Jules head swim and for once she’s confident it has nothing to do with the vampire urges.
Ben convinces her to join in the group activities so that he can run off and find Noah, but it turns out the “group activities” are just spin-the-bottle. You’d think there’d be a new game by now but when Jules locks eyes with Calliope across the table her hand shoots out for the bottle before it even stops spinning.
She laughs with a nervous energy that definitely has nothing to do with the party and everything to do with the way Calliope is eyeing her like a target. So she spins the bottle and has to hide the fact that she’s crossing her fingers as it slows to a stop…
Calliope never looks away from her though, the bottle spins and Calliope is staring her down like if she looks away she’ll lose sight of Jules or something. And when the bottle finally does stop it’s pointed directly at… Not Calliope.
Part of Jules is revealed because she honestly didn’t have a plan-
Ben reaches forward and turns the bottle directly at Calliope and Jule’s face pales.
“Awww look it worked out, now off you go!” Ben pushes Jules in the direction of the kitchen pantry and she’d do more than just glare at him if it wasn’t for the fact that Calliope was trailing behind her.
Shit, is this really about to happen?
7 MINUTES IN HEAVEN
The pantry door closes and Jules has stopped breathing. Calliope is standing there with an expression of do you know what you just signed up for and Jules has no idea what to do next.
“So…” Calliope says taking a step towards Jules and it has Jules running hot, “you’re a-”
If you asked Jules what possessed her to have the courage to actually up and kiss Calliope in the pantry, she’d probably lie terribly and avoid answering. When in truth Jules just didn’t know what to say and she wasn’t willing to risk saying something stupid, again or worse saying nothing at all.
So yeah, all those weeks of getting within an inch of Calliope and not saying a goddamn thing were burning in the back of her mind. Their small interaction in the hallway earlier that day, of Calliope actually showing up, maybe for her, had her pushing forward.
Calliope pulls away first though with an expression that’s basically just a giant question mark and Jules feels the need to explain.
“I’ve um… been wanting to do that for a while now. And would like to do it again?”
Apparently that’s exactly what it takes because Calliope smirks and nods with a simple, “okay, come on.”
So they’re kissing; it's hot and heavy, Jules' head is honed in on Cal’s heart beat and it takes everything in her not to let loose. And by let loose she definitely means pop her fangs and sink them into the best smelling girl she’s ever made out with.
Okay so she wasn’t prepared for the dry humping, it was just supposed to be a little kiss on the lips but then she felt hands around her hips and then her ass hit the edge of the counter like it was scripted, after that her body knew what to do.
“F-fuck…” Cal’s sucking on her neck like she’s always imagined what sucking blood would feel like. The thought makes her heart pound and her head flush with a new wave of cravings and Cal’s body is edging her further down the rabbit hole.
Clenching to Cal’s hips like a lifeline Jules lips find purchase against Cal’s neck, the skin there is warm and smooth against her cold teeth and the shiver Jules feels isn’t her own for once. It builds something in Jules, a burning hum. There’s a song playing in the background that neither of them hears but their bodies seem to dance to it perfectly.
Cal’s insistent hands push and pull at a speed that has Jule’s reaching for anything to hold onto, it adds to the fire. She wants to stop but her body presses against Cal’s thigh and her chest heaves for more oxygen. Her mouth waters at the thought of Cal finishing what she started, or Cal finishing with her.
“Oh god…” Her voice sounds desperate but needy and Jules can’t help but to admit that this 7 minutes in heaven might end sooner than she anticipated. She finds something to hold onto, one of the cabinet handles, and Cal’s assault switches from insistent to frantic. Like she’s entered a race that she’s going to win, no matter what.
Fuck, I hope I’m the prize…
In her grappling for something to hold onto her thigh slips and it must have been the exact right motion because Cal’s voice fills the empty pantry and Jule’s knows she’ll hear that moan in her dreams till she dies.
“Sh-shit.”
Jules eyes locks with Cal, tracing her features in her mind. The second Cal’s mouth falls open, Jule's hands shoot out and she captures her in another searing kiss. Their lips mold together with an unfinished heat that has Jules' head swimming. The burning in Jule’s returns tenfold as Cal presses against her thigh and it takes everything in her not to nick Cal’s tongue with the end of her fang.
Fuck! My fangs!
Jule’s hand goes out to hold onto something again but misses anything substantial and ends up knocking several cherry jars onto the floor.
The crash has Cal nearly jumping halfway across the room, and the sudden chill has Jules thanking her sister for the padded bra tonight because fuck are her nipples pressed right up against the fabric. (And each heavy breath just adds to the friction.)
Cal stands with her shoulders hunched and her chest heaving, her eyes don't skirt around the room in a panic but bore into the floor as if she were trying to burn a hole through the entire earth.
“Calliope…?” Jules slips from the counter and reaches out, her senses cooling with the shift in mood but the rush of blood behind her ears makes it hard to pinpoint how Cal’s feeling via heart beat.
When she looks back to Jules there’s a sense of hatred there that Jules wasn’t prepared for and it leaves Jules with sexual whiplash. But it’s gone in a second when a scream is heard from outside of the pantry.
They rush to peek through the hidden door that leads into the kitchen, Cal’s body pressed right behind her, hot breath against her ear. Jules suppresses a gulp and runs the back of her hand over her mouth, her fangs as present as ever.
This must be how guys feel…
“Isn’t that your boy?” Cal says and Jules hopes she’s unaware of the turmoil her urges are going through right now.
She nods towards the living room and Jules follows her line of sight. There’s a large group forming and through the crowd Jules catches a glimpse of Ben on the ground and frowns.
“Yeah…” Without a second thought Jules leaves the confusing warmth of the pantry and makes her way through the crowd.
There’s blood and the smell hits Jules harder than she was prepared for, she rocks on her feet and grabs onto a nearby table covering her mouth with the back of her hand. Hopefully she looks the appropriate amount of disgusted and not thirsty as fucking hell.
Ashley’s body lay beside Ben at the center of the living room, but that’s not what throws her. It’s the fact that it looks like it’s meant as an offering and Jules can feel her fangs ache in response. She shoots a glance over her shoulder at the entrance of the pantry.
The doorway is empty.
“Jules, thank god you’re okay.” Ben exclaims with a sigh and it brings her back to reality. She wraps her arms around his shoulders and pulls him into a hug. His scent always calmed her in a familial way, and with the blood pooling at her feet she needs as much calm right now as possible.
“What happened, Ben?”
“I don’t know but the police are on the way.”
They stand there clinging to one another amongst the growing concerns of the crowd. Whispers of “who done it” and “why” fill the background like white noise. Jules risks a glance around the group searching in vain for someone she knows isn’t there.
The throb between her legs matches the burning energy behind her fangs and serves as a reminder to what could have been but it’s the thick sweet smell of Ashley’s blood that clings to her senses and answers the question for why her desire was probably burning so hot.
Maybe it had nothing to do with her feelings and everything to do with her blood lust. Maybe it could have been anyone in that pantry with her.