Jeremy sat on the rooftop of an old building, staring at the quiet, drowsily lit city. His fingers were clenched around the edge of the cold concrete, and his thoughts wandered far — circling around Julie.
She had replied. A short "I'm fine," but he knew she wasn't.
Those weren't her words. Not her tone.
He closed his eyes and tried to reach that place within himself — the one where his powers brushed against the space between worlds. A whisper of sleep. A pulse of awareness. Sometimes, he could feel her there — her dreams, a shadow of thought, unsaid words.
Tonight, there was only silence.
Too deep. Too unnatural.
Jeremy stood up, brushing wind from his face, which grew sharper with every passing hour.
He knew Rosalie wouldn't stop. He felt her more strongly lately — like a shadow at his shoulder that didn't vanish even in sunlight. But Julie...
Julie was more than he'd expected. Her dreams spoke. Her presence resonated with the journal he still hadn't fully explored.
He had to act.
He had to find her — before Rosalie truly did.
*
Jeremy leapt from the rooftop with a lightness that didn't belong to a human body. He wasn't a full demon yet, but his blood — and something more — guided him, as though the earth smoothed the path beneath his feet.
He didn't need an address. He had a connection. One thought of her, and his inner compass aligned with uncanny precision.
Julie.
He walked through empty streets, his footsteps echoing like the promise of something that shouldn't come. When he reached her house, the door was locked, but the light in the upstairs window — her window — glowed softly, almost calling out.
He raised his hand and touched the air.
Space trembled.
He materialized inside.
Julie sat at her desk, lost in thought, her hands buried in her hair. When she saw him, she didn't scream. Just surprise in her eyes — and... relief.
"How... did you...?"
"I couldn't wait any longer," he said quietly. "Something's happening, Julie. I know you feel it. And I know Rosalie won't stop until she breaks you."
She froze. Didn't look away, but didn't answer either. Jeremy stepped closer, and then again, until he was right beside her.
"You don't have to tell me everything," he added gently. "But if even a part of what you're feeling has anything to do with me... I need to know you're not alone."
Julie opened her mouth, but the words caught in her throat.
Instead, she stood and just leaned into him — as if only that could quiet the chaos for a moment.
Jeremy held her tightly. And for the first time in a long while, he felt he could actually protect someone.
Wrapped in Jeremy's arms, Julie felt his breath calming her own. His hand rested on her back — still, but present. Not imposing, yet powerful in its meaning.
"I know you're scared," he whispered. "So am I. But I won't let anything happen to you. I swear."
She tilted her head up to look at him. Jeremy's dark eyes gleamed in the dim light. There was no mask, no facade. Just him — a boy who was more than human, yet more human than anyone she'd ever known.
"In your dreams..." she began, her voice a trembling whisper. "I've seen things I can't explain. And you. Always you."
"You're in mine too," he admitted without hesitation.
Their breaths mingled between words, millimeters apart. Julie shivered — not from cold, but from the tension building with every second.
Jeremy raised his hand and gently brushed a strand of hair from her cheek. His thumb paused just below her eye. Their gazes didn't stray — as if the world had vanished, leaving only this one place, this one moment.
"If you don't want this..." he whispered, more a question than a statement.
Julie didn't answer with words. Her eyes were soft, her breath quickened. She leaned into him slowly, uncertainly, as if letting go of thought.
Their lips met halfway.
It wasn't a fierce kiss. Not even sure. But it was theirs. Quiet, full of held breath, as if neither of them truly believed it was happening. As if they feared it might vanish.
Julie pulled back for a second, still close enough to feel his forehead against hers.
"I'm lost," she whispered.
"That's okay," he replied. "We'll find the way together."
Before they could fall into another kiss, the air thickened — literally. Jeremy felt it first — a familiar pressure, like time rewinding in an instant, and space stretching beyond reason.
Julie flinched and looked aside.
"What is...?" she began, but fell silent as the room's temperature plummeted.
From the shadows behind them came a slow, deliberate footstep. Inside Jeremy's head echoed a sound that couldn't be named — like glass cracking deep inside his skull.
Rosalie.
"Did I interrupt something?" she asked coolly, stepping from the darkness as if it were nothing.
She stood in the doorway — a slender silhouette clad in black, her lips twisted in a mocking smile. Her eyes, dark as an abyss, weren't on Jeremy. They were fixed on Julie.
"I see you're having fun, sweetheart."
Julie tensed. Instinctively, she moved away from Jeremy, though he didn't let go of her hand. A shadow of anger flickered in his eyes, but he didn't release it yet.
"What do you want?" he asked firmly.
Rosalie shrugged, unconcerned.
"Just a talk. With Julie. Alone." Her gaze swept over him with clear disdain. "Unless you're afraid I'll take your little toy away."
"Julie's not going anywhere with you," Jeremy growled.
Rosalie stepped forward, the floor creaking beneath her like it bore something far older than her slight frame.
"This isn't your place, Jeremy. It never was." Her voice was ice, but beneath it pulsed envy. "You weren't supposed to touch her first."
Julie's heartbeat raced. A familiar shadow stirred in her soul — the one she'd seen in her dreams.
Rosalie was more than a jealous girl. She was darkness, and darkness didn't like being ignored.
Jeremy rose, stepping between them.
"If you hurt her—"
"Oh, relax. Not tonight."
Rosalie took a step back, then — literally — dissolved into the air, leaving behind the scent of cold smoke and shadow.
Julie was trembling. Jeremy pulled her close again, tighter this time.
"I won't let her touch you," he said.
And this time, they both knew — Rosalie had already started trying.
*
Julie sat in silence, wrapped in Jeremy's arms. But even his familiar warmth couldn't quiet the pulsing in her temples. Something trembled within her — not her body, but her soul. As if something inside had begun to awaken… or crack.
"Julie?" Jeremy asked softly, leaning closer. "What's happening?"
She looked into his eyes. For a moment, she wanted to say everything was fine. That Rosalie had just tried to scare them, and it was over.
But the lie stuck in her throat.
"She left something in me," she whispered.
Jeremy's brows furrowed.
"What do you mean?"
Julie hugged herself. She felt a strange warmth at the back of her neck — like someone had pressed a finger there... and then pushed something deeper. It didn't hurt physically, but there was tension. Weight.
"The moment she looked into my eyes... something shifted. Like she touched something I don't understand. —" She hesitated. "And since then, I hear whispers. In the background. In my head. Quiet... familiar."
Jeremy froze. He knew those whispers.
He knew what they were.
They weren't hallucinations.
They were the language of another dimension. Ancient words spoken by beings that defied human comprehension.
"Julie, we have to go," he said firmly. "She... she left a mark."
Julie looked at him in fear.
"You think I... want to let her in?"
"No." He cupped her face in his hands. "But I think she plans to open you to something that could break you."
Julie nodded slowly. But in her eyes, deep down, a glimmer sparked.
Not just fear.
Curiosity.
Because part of her... had always felt that something inside was waiting to be awakened.