VIEW BETWEEN VILLIAGES                                                 prologue

Juliette had come to acquiesce to the overly intimate displays of affection between her sister and Edward Cullen fairly quickly. They were sickeningly sweet and made Julie's nose curl anytime she was in the same room. Both were oddly possessive and extremely oblivious to the outside world when encased in their lovestruck bubble. A bubble that Julie had always managed to be affronted with on more than one occasion.

"Can you guys just stop being in love for like two seconds?" She grumbled under her breath as she sat at the coffee table in her living room. Her biology homework was spread before her as she bent over it with her head in her palm. She hated biology and she hated that Edward had promised to help her and was now drunk on her sisters presence. She sighs, blowing a strand of hair from her face in the process. "I should've asked Rosalie." She grumbles, letting her head fall onto the table with a small thud.

"Hey, I'm helping you."Edward, in all his reluctant glory, stated as he turned his attention back to her.

"What subject are you helping me with?"

"Anatomy."

Julie pretends to gag, grabbing her papers and slamming them into her books. This was what she got asking for any help from Edward. Edward's help was like whenever she looked into a mirror, it only led to irritation and an intense feeling of self-hatred. "You suck." She grumbles, moving to stand from her spot. Her bones popped and her heart spluttered, making her lightheaded for a moment before she steeled herself and stood fully. "I'll call Rose. Go teach Bella some anatomy; I'm sure she could use your help."

Edward laughed lightly, though Julie didn't find the situation funny at all. Bella had taken all the academic prowess in the womb and left Julie with the leftover athleticism. Bella fell out of windows and Julie was able to walk and chew gum at the same time. She was failing two subjects and was nowhere near where she needed to be to pass. "Julie, C'mon, we can help!" Bella says, also standing from her spot to make sure her sister didn't collapse from exerting herself. "Edward is the best at biology!"

"Apparently he's great at anatomy too!" The girl shoots back, nearly bumping into her dad as he enters the living room from the kitchen. A place that Julie was almost never allowed in without supervision. She mumbled an apology as she sidestepped him, trying her best to make it up the stairs so she could get into contact with someone who could actually help her. She quickly hurried up the stairs to her room and slammed the door behind her. She hoped Edward and Bella knew how annoyed she was! She couldn't fail. The only thing she could do to keep her father from losing all faith in her was pretend to be interested in school. If her grades failed, she failed, and Charlie might kick her out like Renee did.

She didn't think she would survive another heartbreak like that.

Julie was quick to grab her phone and flip it open, searching through the list of names before finding The Blonde Bombshell in her contacts. Emmett had stolen her phone at some point and changed all of her contact information. Emmett was Brother Bear and Jasper was Cowboy Bebop, among a few more creative names he had made for people who Julie only slightly knew. She clicked on Rosalie's contact and waited for the blonde to pick up. It only rang twice. "Hey Jules," Emmett answered coolly, his breathing fast and uneven as if he were running.

"Did you steal Rosie's phone?" She wondered aloud, her brows slipping down as she tried to concentrate on the noise behind his panting. She could make out yelling and a bit of laughter before a grunt sounded through the phone. "I swear if you picked up while screwing like that one time, I will split you from ass to mouth." She groaned.

"Yes, I stole her phone!" He laughed, though it was short lived as a whooshing sound passed through her tiny speaker and suddenly a clear voice rang. "You called?"

Julie's smile was quick after that. "Rosie!" The brunette still had no clue how she got the blonde to like her while she hated Bella. Rosalie and Esme just claimed she had that effect on people. Whatever that meant. "Edward was no help with biology and kept making goo goo eyes at my sister. Would you be able to help me study? Soon?" She was basically begging through her phone to someone who looked like a child blessed by Aphrodite. It made her stomach curl in knots. She would never be as beautiful as Rosalie.

"I could bring you here after school tomorrow." She responds, grunting as Emmett no doubt lifted her off her feet to hear better. "Esme was thinking of making that pasta you like, and she wanted us to invite you." Julie's heart warmed while her lungs twisted together painfully. Esme treated her like a daughter. She was the first mom Julie felt like she ever really had.

"That would be great," She replied, her eyes snapping up to her doorframe to see Edward leaning there. She furrowed her brows in confusion. "I'd love to see Esme again." The rest of the conversation passed in a blur. She hung up after Emmett managed to snag the phone again and ask about what kind of anatomy Edward was teaching Bella. Adding something about the guy being a chronic virgin. She almost wanted to question it. Almost.

After finally getting a second to put her phone down, she looked up at Edward. He was no doubt waiting for Bella to finish whatever she was doing, and he was only bothering Julie as an afterthought. She had already grown into the knowledge that he only played nice to appease Bella. Nobody had ever taken that much interest in her before. She couldn't imagine why they would start now unless they wanted something. In Edwards case, it got him brownie points with Bella and Charlie.

"I'm curious, Pip."

She cast her eyes back up to Edward. He was godlike, still as a statue, and cold. He was colder than anyone she had ever met. "Shoot." She mumbles, falling back into bed easily. She mindlessly thought about how he had started calling her Pip. Edward entered, taking a seat in her desk chair and turning to look at her with something akin to curiosity. His bronze hair was tussled and ukept, in a way that only someone with his unique beauty could pull off. All of the Cullens made Julie realize how ugly she was. Her namesake was supposed to be someone beautiful. Yet here she was, completely ordinary.

"Why do you see yourself in such a negative light?" He finally questioned her, making her eyes snap from the ceiling to him in a moment. She wanted to shoo him out of her room once he started questioning her the way Bell used to when they were younger. I don't know and I just do, passed through her mind before he spoke again. "From what i've seen, you're nothing short of a miracle walking. Bella loves you, Charlie loves you, Alice, Esme, Carlisle, Emmett, even Jasper and Rosalie love you, and they normally can't stand anyone. So, why?"

She pursed her lips as she looked at him, squinting her eyes as she looked him over. He was relaxed in her chair. His face had only a curious set to his eyebrows and his posture was slack. It seemed like he was asking her about the weather and not her deteriorating mental state. "Would they have thought to love me if you hadn't taken an interest in Bella?" Her cool response was met with squinted eyes. If any onlooker had passed, they would think they were two friends having a hard conversation.

"It would have taken longer-"

"It wouldn't have happened at all." She interrupts. Her hand was shaking now as she looked at the drawer of her nightstand, where an old razorblade sat. Her thighs were decorated in countless scars given when the numbness had become too much. When pain was the only clarity in the deepest nights. When she was young, she had managed to scar her wrists, but her family had picked up on her new habit of long sleeves fairly quickly. "You and your family only viewed me as an afterthought. I was just there. It's how it always has been." She shrugs, as if her own words didn't rip the gaping wound in her heart open again.

"You aren't an afterthought, Juliette." He murmured, his eyes softening with something that Juliette couldn't quite place. She just shook her head and looked away. "We may not have initially sought you out, but that does not mean we care any less for you than we do for Bella." His voice was liquid gold, soothing her and burning her all at once.

"You existed in Forks alongside me for almost a year before Bella showed up." Her eyes, which always held so much energy despite her morose nature, seemed to dim. "You never stepped out of your way to say hello. Alice didn't pass me a glance. Carlisle only knew me because he keeps my arrhythmia in check. You cannot possibly expect me to believe you care." She scoffed at the thought. The idea of them really caring about her without Bella's help was ludicrous.

"We do." Was his quiet reply, his eyes darkening as if he could sense her terrible thoughts.

She wanted to look at anything else as his expression seemed to shrink into itself. She looked down at her scabbed nailbeds, nearly ripping a piece of skin before remembering that Edward had lechtured her the last time she had. "I wish I did." She finally whispered, as if it were the greatest secret of her short life. But she just shook her head and gave him a false smile. "Where's Bella, shouldn't you be giving her more lessons on the human body?"

Edward was at a loss for how someone so lovely could hate herself so much.

· · ────── ·𖥸· ────── · ·

Julie found herself taping together a present for her sister with rapt attention. She was at the Cullens today, opting to spend her time with people that made her forget she was useless as she tried to make the present perfect. She looked at it from side to side, making sure all the pieces were in place and that nothing was crinkled. She hated crinkled wrapping paper, though she usually got it every birthday and Christmas from Charlie.

"Do you think she'll like it?" Julie asked into the open air. Only Emmett, Eleanor, and Jasper were sitting in the living room. Rose and Alice were both spending time shopping with Esme (who had invited Julie, but if there was one thing she shared with Bella, it was her disdain for shopping) and wouldn't be back for a while. Bella was out with Edward, doing god knows what. While Carlisle was being, well, a doctor. "Or is it too cheesy?" She finally looked up at them.

She was kneeling at the large coffee table in baggy sweatpants and a big t-shirt. While both Jasper and Emmett were dressed in designer clothes, despite both of them trying to look like they weren't straight out of a Vogue magazine. "I think it's the right amount of cheese." Jasper replies from across the room, his hands behind his back. He was in a casual sweater and pants, both of which had a name brand on the tag. "Bella will love it."

She smiled at him with a wobbly sort of nervousness, doubt creeping in. She was never good at giving presents, and god, she was going to give Bella something so stupid. She wanted to chuck it out now. Bella was going to hate it because Julie didn't do a good enough job! Her eyes nearly watered as she looked down at the perfectly wrapped presents. "Hey," Emmett called from his spot on the couch, a big smile on his face. "Don't get lost in that head of yours. She loves all the cheese you bring, don't doubt yourself."

She nodded, tucking her hands into her pockets and using her thumb to scrape at the sore skin around her nails. She needed the pain to keep her from spiralling. "What did you get her?" She asked them both, hoping they didn't notice her whirling mind as she picked herself up and sat on the couch close to Emmett. He was bigger than her in every way. His biceps were bigger than her head and his thighs were probably lethal, but he still let her lean against him like a glorified teddy bear. Emmett was the easiest one to exist with. Jasper came and sat down next to her and took her delicate and torn up hand in his, effectively stopping her tearing. He opened his mouth to speak.

Eleanor perked up from the other side of the couch, where she had been lost in reading a book Bella had recommended. Her smile was wide as she moved to sit on the coffee table right in front of Julie. Brushing stray strands of hair away from the girl's face. She began launching into the gifts her girlfriend had orchestrated for everyone.

"Well, Alice decided..."

· · ────── ·𖥸· ────── · ·

Julie sat among a heap of papers on the floor of Jasper's bedroom. Her mind was a jumbled mess as she tried to remember dates and who did what to start a great event. She was terrible at numbers and terrible at dates. She was bound to fail this stupid history test. "Julie, you can remember. You've passed tests before." Jasper's voice was calm, like a cool salve to a burn.

She looks up at him from across the floor she was slumped into. He was relaxed, leaning against his bed with his arms propped up, his eyes focused on hers. They were always gold whenever she saw him. They matched his hair and gave him a sort of ethereal glow whenever they crinkled at the corners as he smiled. There were days she wanted to tangle her fingers into his hair just to see if it was as soft as it looked. She sighed. Her stupid feelings about him would never get her anywhere. "Yeah, but I get dumber with every test I take."

Jasper rolled his eyes as a sigh escaped him, his lips curling into a fond smile. "No, you don't." He reached across the expanse between them and placed a featherlight touch on her forehead. So quick that, if she hadn't seen it, she would have missed it. "You have a difficult time understanding information in the usual learning setting. You do quite well when you're learning from Rose and I" His lips curl again, his eyes crinkle, and god, she wished he would touch her again. She pushes those thoughts to the back of her mind. Jasper would never care for her like that. Julie didn't fit into his beautiful world.

"I'm almost certain you're just trying to make me feel better." She mumbles, letting her head fall into the plush carpet. Her hair fans about her and a light breeze from the window sends a shiver down her spine. No matter what month of the year it was, the wind in forks was always cold. Jasper stood and draped the cardigan he had been wearing around her shoulders. It wasn't warm, it was as if he had picked it up off the floor and not his shoulders.

"Thank you." She mumbled, tugging the fabric closer to her. It smelled like musk, pine, and candles—all things that seemed uniquely Jasper. She looked up at him as he closed his massive window and tried to etch his existence into memory. His pale skin, white as snow, pulled over long expanses of carved muscle. He looked as if he were carved from stone and not skin. His jaw was strong and angular, his lips were plump and pink, his eyes were warm, and his hair was flaxen blonde. He was as beautiful as a warm summer day. She felt like a cold winter night.

"Anything for you, Darlin'." His answering smile made her heart feel as if had been pulled apart. She wanted to take a picture of it and tuck it in her pocket. She was bland and boring, yet she was allowed to be in the presence of something so exceptionally beautiful. She didn't know whether to run or stare. "Now, I think you've had enough studying. You're looking a little pale." He brushes alongside her and grabs her hand, tugging her to stand. "Let's go see if Esme's got anything in the fridge for you."

Please, she prayed to a god she didn't believe in, let me stay in this moment.

He was careful as he led her down the stairs. She, to him, was like fragile glass that needed to be placed in a case to be kept from harm. "Do you think she has any apples?" She asks, passing by Bella who waves at her with a smile. Edward was playing a lullaby, one he had written for Bella right around the time they had started dating. Julie manages a half-smile, more than she had been able to give that morning. Her sister beams.

"She keeps apple's just for you." He laughs as they finally enter the kitchen. "And peanut butter."

"You guy's spoil me, really." She replies with a smile. Jasper places a kiss on the crown of her head before moving to make her food. God will have to beg me to stay in heaven, she thinks, looking over Jasper, because nothing could be better than this.

· · ────── ·𖥸· ────── · ·

"Happy birthday, Bellie." Julie says quietly, walking into her older sisters room with a tentative smile. Her lungs were twisting into knots the entire night, thinking about Bella's reaction to her stupid gifts. After hearing what the Cullens were going to be getting her, how could her present even compete? She wouldn't be surprised to see it out with next week's trash. She gave her sister the wrapped gift with a shy smile, trying to hide the fact that she would throw up if she had eaten anything.

Bella's face changed from tired to happy in a quick moment. "Thank you, Jules. Though I thought I said no presents?" She was quick to unwrap the paper. Untaping it and keeping it tidy so as not to make Julie think she didn't appreciate the time she put into it.

"You can say anything you like," She shrugs, placing herself neatly on the side of her sisters bed. Charlie was quick to find the two sisters upstairs, with a smile on his aged face. "Doesn't mean I'm ever going to listen to you." She saw Bella roll her eyes with a smile, before finally taking the last piece of tape off.

Inside was a small book with a leather binding and cover, carved with Bella's initials. IMS was scrawled in elegant cursive into the front, as if it had been scraped right out of the leather. The inside were strips of fabric meant for holding different pictures, most of which had been filled. Pictures of Bella, Edward, and the Cullens stuck out of the pages. A few were of Julie and Bella as kids, and some of them were of them as teenagers. "Julie..." Bella gasped, looking at all the details that her sister had placed into it. "I love this." She said it with watery eyes.

Juliette couldn't tell if she was lying.

"Good, because there are still a few pages to fill." She smiles, letting her father take over with the rest of the presents. A scrapbook from Renee and a camera from him. Julie frowned to herself as she looked at her feet. She hadn't gotten a birthday present from her mother in years. "I'm going to finish getting ready, Happy birthday again, Bellie."

"Thank you, Jules."

Later that day, Julie and Bella were forced to dress up by Alice, for a birthday party she had thrown together. Julie had refused a dress, knowing that if she moved the wrong way, they would see her thighs full of nothing but scars and cuts. She would prefer if they didn't know her pentient for self-harm. She didn't need another trip to the psych ward. She opted for nice pants and a top Alice had picked for her. She sighed as she tried to do something with her hair, but it just didn't fall right. It was nothing like Bella's pretty curls. Hers was just flat.

"C'mon Pip," Edward said, standing himself in her doorway again as she turned to look at him. He was in a deep blue button up and a gray blazer with black pants. The outfit was understated and he still made her look like a blobfish. She wanted to change. "You look great! Bella is waiting." She silently nodded and followed him out of her room after grabbing her black jacket.

The drive to the Cullens was spent in a comfortable stream of chatter. Bella was showing Edward all of the pictures inside the book. Mainly focusing on the ones of Julie and her as children. She would point out something she found adorable and Edward would laugh. Sometimes, Julie felt like she was stuck with a middle aged married couple instead of teenagers. She couldn't tell if it was gross or endearing.

She spent most of the party passing between Cullens. Either under Emmett's arm, or in an embrace with Rosalie, sometimes even Jasper (who she thought was the best looking out of the family) would hold her hand as she was distracted by cake. Juliette really tried to pay attention but she found the entire ordeal terribly boring, and she really regretted that when her stomach began to hurt and she felt like she was going to hurl. Rosalie helped her to the bathroom before she could make a mess on the floor. "This is embarrassing." She groaned, leaning her head against the toilet seat. She probably didn't eat enough normally to be able to handle that much junk.

"It's alright; you enjoyed yourself and that is all I care about." Rose smiles, dabbing a wet cloth against Julie's lips. The brunette looks up at Rose with eyes full of wonder. She looked so comfortable here, sitting on the floor and helping Julie; it reminded her of Esme in a way. The way a daughter could find glimpses of their mother in their older sister.

"Have you ever been told that you would be a great mom?" Julie mumbles after Rose has finally thrown away the wet cloth. The blonde froze, looking down at her hands as she thought about what Julie had said. "I think so, you remind me of the mother I never had." She continues, moving to wipe a strand of hair out of her face.

"That is... kind of you." Rose says quietly, looking like she has been gut punched. Julie wanted to question why her words made Rosalie look so sad when there was a loud crash and yelling coming from the living room. Rose quickly stood, placing a hand on the younger girls shoulders and saying, "Stay here." Before quickly running out.

Julie felt her heart thunder as she sat on the floor of the bathroom. She was suddenly terrified of what could have happened to make such a loud noise. It made her lightheaded, and the stress made her chest hurt as her heart overworked itself to keep up. She rose on shaky legs and tried to keep her breathing even. She knew that Rose had told her to stay put, and normally she would listen, but Bella could have tripped into the glass table and hurt herself. She needed to make sure Bella was alright.

When she finally made it back to the living room, everyone besides Bella, Edward, and Carlisle had left the room. "Bellie?" She whispers in a quiet voice, making Edward whip around and stride towards her. She was confused as he used his freezing hands to move her face from side to side as if he were checking for something. "What happened, Edward?" She finally mumbles when he breathes a sigh of relief.

"Jasper accidentally bumped Bella and sent her into a glass table." His voice whispered, like his throat had closed up and he was dying of thirst. She frowned and looked at Bella behind Edward's shoulder. She was being helped up by Carlisle from a pile of glass. She frowned as Edward seemed to hug her into his side, clinging to her like a small child would a mother.

"Will she be alright?" She finally asked, noticing Bella's head whip around to find her younger sister nearly being strangled by her boyfriend.

"There is glass in the wound," Carlisle stated, his face set in a deep displeasure. She watched as he forced a smile on his face and smiled at her. "Nothing a few stitches won't fix. How are you feeling?" He asked her, and she was suddenly frowning again. Why were they all so worried about her? She just threw up because of some cake.

"I'm fine."

He nods his head with a relieved smile. "Edward, you might want to take Julie home. It's getting quite late and she has school tomorrow."

"But Bella-" She started, though her sister interrupted.

"I'll be okay, Carlisle will fix me up. Go get some sleep." The older Swan smiled, moving to brush Julie's hair back from her face. Julie tried not to be disgusted by the blood that freely flowed down her pale skin. She also tried to ignore the way that Edward tensed. "I'll see you in the morning." Her sister said softly, then began to follow after Carlisle. Julie watched after her with a curious expression on her face. Why were they all worried? It's just some broken glass.

Edward led her to the car with a fierce look in his eyes. He looked like Julie did when she was contemplating her place in the world, or rather, her wish for a lack thereof. "Edward?" Her voice was quiet; she hadn't realized how scared she was because of everyone's actions. "Are you okay?" She couldn't bring her voice above a whisper as he backed out of the Cullens driveway in his shiny volvo. She was hunkered down in her seat, her mind running too fast for her to comprehend. She was already finding ways to try to explain why everything had gone wrong. Why was she suddenly being ostrasized? Did she do something bad? Did her leaving have a direct effect on how Bella got hurt?

"I'm angry at myself." His voice was strained and his jaw ticked. "I shouldn't have let Bella get hurt."

"There are some things you can't control." She replied, picking at her nail beds again. His reaction was immediate as he reached over and placed his hand over her own. She wanted to shrink from the touch. It wasn't like when Jasper did it. Edward was angry and she was certain it had to be her fault. How else could it have happened? She ruined everything! "I'm sorry." She says this quietly, sinking down in her seat farther than she thought possible. She almost hissed as the position tugged at her healing skin on her thighs. She didn't notice Edward's eyes snap to her legs.

"Juliette."

She looked over at him as her spiral began to consume her brain. She wanted to cover her ears and block the sound of his angry voice. Edward hated her, Jasper hated her, Rose hated her, and even Bella would hate her! She was so pathetic and she ruined everything. Why does she always ruin everything? She hiccupped and didn't look at him as Edward called her name again. Her heart was beating erratically, and her breathing was stuttered, weak, and feeble. She was not getting enough oxygen in her system. She was having a panic attack with Edward in the car. Tears slipped down her sloping cheek and dropped into nothingness as she stared wide eyed out the window.

"Julie? Hey." She felt cold hands on her cheeks. His thumbs were rubbing tight circles against her skin, distracting her from her racing thoughts for a moment. The car was no longer moving and she was unbuckled. Edward's worried eyes were on her as he tried to find her. "Breathe with me? Okay?" She nodded, gripping his wrists and trying her hardest to follow his breathing. In, she sucked in through her nose and closed her eyes, Edward let her lean her forehead against his, out. She spent a good portion of the next seven minutes trying to breathe correctly. Another three minutes were spent collecting her thoughts. She was trying to rationalize why she was suddenly so scared. "Are you okay, Julie?" Edward finally asked, his breath fanning her face as she kept her eyes closed.

"Why does everyone keep asking me that? Bella is the one who got knocked into a table." She was breathless, annoyance picking at her brain when she opened her eyes to look into Edwards. They were unnaturally gold, though today they looked more like umber. His long lashes framed his eyes. She noted that this was the closest she had ever seen him. He was still annoyingly beautiful. That, and he was her sister's boyfriend and she should never be this close to him. "You shouldn't be this close."

For the first time since they left the house, Edward cracked a smile. "I'm not going to take advantage of you," he mumbles, his eyes darting across her face. "We ask because we care." was his final answer. He didn't pull away and his hands were the only thing keeping her from spiralling. She was content to stay in his hold until she wasn't about to spiral into a meltdown anymore. Though part of her wanted to scoff.

"Yeah, right." She finally mumbles, melting into his hold as easily as breathing. "You care because its convenient."

"No." he murmured, finally closing his eyes and letting himself breathe in the air of someone he didn't want to kill. She was kind, easy, and exactly everything right for a girl. "We do it because we all want you to live, Pip." He breathed, looking at her like he was a man starved. "We want you to want to live." There was a desperation in his voice that scared Julie. She had never seen someone want something for her so badly. He was pressing into her skin fiercely now, not hurting her but still startling her at his intensity.

"I dont know how." She finally gasps.

He opened his eyes and gazed at her. She refused to recognize the look in his eyes as his left hand traced itself down to her jaw. "You'll learn." He finally said, before brushing her hair away from her face and turning back to the steering wheel. She looked out the window with wide eyes. Suddenly Edward thought, If I had never met Bella... before it trailed off and he was driving away.

That night, she fell asleep dressed in her party clothes, with Edward's touch still lingering on her skin.

Three days later, the Cullen family was gone, and all she could find was a flimsy note on her dresser. She had no idea how they had gotten in and managed to put it in her room, but she nearly ripped it. Until she noticed the elegant scrawl. The writing was either Rose or Jaspers; she couldn't tell whose.

Dear Juliette,

We are writing this as our formal goodbye and apology for leaving on such short notice. Carlisle was given a once in a lifetime opportunity in England, and he chose not to waste it. We won't be able to keep in touch because of the fee's for making calls between countries, so this will be a permanent goodbye. We will all miss you deeply, Rosalie, Emmett, and myself the most. We do hope that you find it in yourself to forgive something that was never your fault. I know you will live in our hearts for the rest of our long forever.

With kindest regards,

Jasper Hale. (I will miss you the most, i've left you the honeysuckle plant I had been caring for. You seemed so enamoured with it. Maybe one day you will understand what it means. -love, your Jazzy)

Juliette collapsed to the floor in a heap of sobs as the realization set in. The Cullens had left them. Bella was out, the cullens had left, and- Bella wasn't in her room. Julie stilled, trying to strain her hearing to the room on the other side of the hall, hoping to hear Bella shuffling about. But she heard no such thing. The Cullens left and Bella was missing. For the first time, Julie did the responsible thing and called her father.

If God exists, he will have to beg for forgiveness.