Julie took her soaked clothes off, tied her hair in a messy wet bun and put on her pajamas. She hoped she'd never have to feel that kind of pain ever again. She wondered if she was sick and decided she would go to the doctor if it happened again. She was standing in front of the mirror and had both her hands on the edge of the sink. She was staring at her reflection. She looked pale. She sighed and went back to her room. She thought maybe she had been too harsh on Elena earlier. Maybe she shouldn't have reacted that way. Maybe they were right to kill before being killed. It was pure survival instinct. And it probably wasn't the first time they did it. The only problem here was Elijah can't be killed and so Julie had a choice to make. Help him or let him rot in the Salvatores' basement. Of course if she decided to do the right thing, to help him, she was going to have to figure out how to do it without being caught by Damon.

She sat on her bed, distracted by all the things Bonnie had told her. She knew Luka and his father worked with Elijah. Maybe they could help her, or she could help them, get Elijah back. She put on some clothes and walked down the stairs. She could hear the TV was on and Robert was probably drunk on the couch. She didn't say anything and just left the house. She got into her mother's car and drove to the Martin's apartment. She parked in front of the building. She got out of the car but as soon as she reached the building, Stefan pushed open the door and almost ran into Julie.

"Stefan!"

"Julie? What are you doing here?" he asked. She saw the panic on his face and chose to elude the question.

"What's wrong with you? Are you okay?"

"Luka's dead."

Julie couldn't believe it. "What?" she breathed out. "How?!"

"He was burnt alive, I don't really know," he shook his head. He looked genuinely sorry. "His father's after Elena, I have to go to the Grill, now," he said and in the next second, he was gone.

Julie was confused by his sudden disappearance. But Elena was in danger and even though she knew it was a stupid idea she got into her car and drove to the Grill. It wasn't too far and she was there in few minutes. But she didn't have the chance to enter the restaurant as everybody was exiting the Mystic Grill, screaming. She got out of the car and saw Elena was outside with Damon.

"Damon!" she called his name. He turned and frown when he saw her rushing towards them.

"Who are you?" he asked.

Julie raised her eyebrows, surprised he didn't remember her. "Uh, I'm Julie," she said but it didn't seem to ring any bells. "Anyway, Elena," she turned to the Gilbert girl. "Stefan is looking for you, he said Luka was dead and that his father was after you." Elena rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Yeah, that's not Elena," Damon told Julie.

"Excuse me?" she shook her head, confused.

"We should go now before we're too late," Elena, well not Elena, sighed. She sounded annoyed and a little bitchy.

"Oh!" Julie let out when she remembered Elena was the doppelganger of a vampire named Katherine Pierce. "You're Katherine."

"Who are you?" Katherine asked, annoyed and certainly not interested in the answer. Julie knew Katherine wasn't a good person. Elena didn't like her, nobody liked her. She was manipulative and a dangerous liar.

"Nobody," Julie said. She really didn't want her to remember her name. Screams and explosions could be heard from the Grill and Julie was startled by the noise. "What's going on?"

Damon sighed. "Go home, Lucie," he said before he left with Katherine.

Lucie...

"Alright," Julie sighed and got back to her car. She stayed there for a few minutes, thinking about what to do. She could drive to Elena's house to make sure everything was okay. She could go to the Salvatores as she knew nobody was home. Or she could go home.

She decided it would be too dangerous to go to the Salvatores as she had no idea when they would be back. So she drove back home. When she stepped in the house she heard her stepfather was still yelling at the TV. She didn't make any sound and went to her bedroom. She threw her bag on her bed, put her pajamas on and went to the bathroom to brush her teeth. When she got back to her room she could hear her phone was buzzing in her bag. She took the phone and laid her bag on her desk. It was Bonnie. Julie thought about picking up. She sighed and touched the green button.

"Is everything okay?" she asked.

"Julie, hi. Uh, well... Elena is fine. But Doctor Martin's dead..."

"Oh...What happened?"

"Katherine killed him..."

"I see..."

"Look, Julie...I understand it's difficult for you...to do things like we did..."

"You mean kill?"

There was a small silence before Bonnie spoke up again.

"Yes. And you're right. It's wrong. But it was one option and a decision we made to save Elena. We've been dealing with this for so long now and..."

"You know what you're doing," Julie cut her off.

"We do," Bonnie said. "And we hope we can still be friends. You can't be alone in times like this. You're gonna drive yourself crazy." Julie sighed. Bonnie was right. She was going crazy. "See you tomorrow?"

Julie didn't answer right away. She was going to need to know things about them, especially to know when Damon and Stefan would be out of their house, if she wanted to help Elijah.

"Sure."

"Great," Bonnie sounded relieved. "See you later then."

"Bye, Bonnie."

Julie hung up first. She laid her phone on her night table and went to bed, worried about how she was going to help Elijah and when. She was woken up by the buzzing of her phone in the morning. She was barely awake when she saw Caroline was calling her.

"Caroline?" she sighed, tired.

"Julie, hi!" she sounded out of breath. "Have you seen Matt?" she asked.

"Matt? What?" Julie's eyes were barely opened. She sat up and rubbed her forehead with her free hand.

"I told Matt I was a vampire last night and he freaked out and left and I have no idea where he is!"

"Caroline," Julie sighed. "I'm in my bed."

"Oh, I woke you up!"

"Yes, you did," she sighed.

"So you haven't seen Matt?"

Julie sighed again, annoyed. "No, Caroline, I haven't seen Matt."

"Could you call me if you do?"

"Sure," Julie yawned.

"Okay, thanks!" Caroline said before she hung up.

"Nice...day... to... you too..." Julie sighed before she threw her phone at the end of her bed and buried her head in her pillows with a groan.

She was feeling lazy today so she stayed in bed for an hour and got up around eleven. She took a quick shower and after she got dressed she decided to call Caroline to know if she had found Matt yet. It was important Matt didn't go around and tell everybody vampires existed. At worse, people would believe him, at best, they would think he's crazy.

"Julie, did you find Matt?" was the first thing Caroline said.

"No, sorry. I was just calling to see if you had... I take it you didn't."

Caroline sighed. "No...I'm going to the Lockwood's, maybe he's there."

"Okay. Do you need me there?"

Caroline didn't answer right away. "Look, Julie. I know you're having a hard time but...I could use your help, yeah."

"I'll meet you there."

"Thank you," Caroline sighed before she hung up.

There was an event at the Lockwood property and she knew Elena would be there as it regarded her mother's foundation. She walked down the stairs and went to the living room. There were bottles of beer and empty plates of food everywhere. She sighed when she saw the mess and decided to clean before leaving. When she arrived at the Lockwood's, Caroline was already there.

"Did you find him?"

"No," Caroline sighed. She looked worried. "Thank you so much for helping."

"Of course," Julie nodded.

Caroline gave her a small smile. "Come on, maybe Mrs. Lockwood knows where he is."

Julie followed the blonde and they found Mrs. Lockwood talking with Sheriff Forbes in the living room.

"Mrs. Lockwood? Have you seen Matt?" she asked. "I thought he was working here today?"

Carole Lockwood thought for a second but then shook her head. "No, I haven't, honey, sorry." Caroline sighed, disappointed. "But, if you see him, could you ask him if he's heard from Tyler?"

"Yeah, of course," Caroline nodded. "Uh, still no word from him?"

"No, the note he left said he needed time to figure some things out but...I wish I knew where he was."

Julie had no idea that Tyler had left. She was pretty sure Caroline knew more about it than his mother. The blonde placed her hand on Carole's arm to comfort her but then she saw Stefan and Elena in the entry and excused herself.

"Excuse me," she said and walked towards the couple followed by Julie who politely smiled and nodded at both women before she left. Stefan saw Caroline first but he frowned when he saw Julie was there too.

"Hey, Julie, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"She's helping me," Caroline answered for her, which annoyed Julie but she didn't say anything.

"Any luck finding Matt?" he asked."

"None," Caroline answered. "What if he tells somebody? What if he tells everybody?" she panicked.

"No, we just have to find him and make sure that doesn't happen," he said and turned to Elena. "Do you have any idea where he might be?"

"I wish I did but he wasn't really one to run," Elena said.

"That wasn't how it was supposed to happen," Caroline laughed, nervously. "I was supposed to tell him at the right moment, in the right way and he was supposed to be okay with it because he loves me."

"We'll help you find him," Elena said. "I just have to accept this thing for Jenna."

"Alright, call me when you're done. We'll be out looking for him," Caroline said, looking at Julie who nodded.

"Are you okay?" Elena asked Julie.

"I'm fine," she merely said before she followed Caroline outside.

They watched her leave. "She hates me," Elena sighed.

"All this is just new to her," Stefan told her. "She'll get over it. You did." Elena looked up at her boyfriend and smiled.

Caroline wanted to check the Grill but Matt wasn't there.

"So, do you know where Tyler is?"

Caroline raised her eyebrows, surprised by her question. "No," she answered. She looked a little sad.

"Do you know why he left?"

Caroline sighed. "Yeah," she nodded. Julie understood she wasn't going to tell her so she didn't push it.

"I thought Katherine was stuck in a tomb," she said. "But I saw her last night. What's up with that?"

"When..." Caroline seemed hesitant. "When Elena killed Elijah, it set Katherine free from his compulsion. Allowing her to get out. She's been...helping."

"Helping?" Julie was suspicious.

"Well," Caroline sighed. "She says she's helping."

"But?"

Caroline chuckled. "But she's a psycho bitch." Julie laughed.

"So I've heard."

"Anyway, thanks for helping me. I'm gonna go back home, maybe he's there."

"Of course," Julie smiled. "Tell me if you find him."

"I will."

Julie sat in her car, tired. It wasn't 5PM yet and she had no idea what to do. She didn't know where Damon was so she didn't know if she could go to the Salvatores. She had no idea where Matt could be so she wasn't of any help to Caroline. She didn't know where Bonnie was and she wasn't answering her phone. Julie sighed. She started the car and drove back home.

Her stepfather's car wasn't there. When she got out of the car she took her phone and saw a message from Caroline telling her she found Matt at her house. Julie texted her back and before she entered her house. She walked in the kitchen and opened the fridge and saw it was empty. She looked around a little more and saw there was nothing to eat in the house. So she left the house again and got into her car and left to buy groceries.

She was distracted in the way to the store. She tried to focus on what she was buying. Beer and other very unhealthy food for Robert and fruit and vegetables so she would be able to cook healthy meals for herself. She should eat better. She hadn't been eating much lately.

She drove back home and after she put the groceries away she decided to do the laundry. She tried not to think about Elijah. The simple thought of the vampire lying dead in Stefan's basement made her feel sick. She thought about her car, the mechanic had told her it would be ready next week.

Sher received a text from Caroline around 8 to let her know she had compelled Matt to forget about vampires. She texted back she was sorry and asked her how she was feeling. "Not good," she texted back.

Julie cooked and dinner was ready when Robert came back home, sober for once. His presence took Julie's appetite away.

"You're not eating?" he asked when he saw her walk out of the kitchen.

"I have a test tomorrow I need to study for," she lied. "I'm not hungry."

"Too bad, it's pretty good," he said, not looking up from his plate.

"Thanks," she quickly said, before she got up to her room.

She was feeling tired but she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep. Even if she did, she was too afraid to have nightmares again. She sat at her desk and took her notebook and stared at the blank page for a while. Of all the things she could be thinking about, Elijah seemed to come on top. Time passed and she didn't notice it. She was startled and jumped as her phone started to ring.

"Damn it," she breathed out before she picked up. "Hey, Bonnie."

"Hey, Julie. How are you?"

"I'm fine, how are you?"

"I'm good...You sound tired..."

"I'm okay," she said." What's up?"

"Uh, well I just wanted to let you know about what happened today..."

"What happened today?"

"Do you remember Isobel?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah. Elena's mother and Alaric's wife."

"She's dead." Great. Another death.

"How?"

"She killed herself."

"She did?" Julie found it weird she would do that. From what Bonnie had told her, she was working with Katherine.

"We think Klaus compelled her," she explained. "He's gonna be in town, soon." Well, that was another thing to have nightmares about.

"Oh..."

"We believe he's already here. Katherine's gone."

"You think she left without telling you Klaus was in town?"

"No, we think Klaus killed her."

"Oh."

Another one dead...

"That's a good thing," Bonnie said. Julie had to agree with her on this one. "Anyway, there's this dance at school tomorrow night, will you be there?"

"A dance?" Julie chuckled. "No way."

"Well, we're going. So, if you change your mind..."

"I won't but I'll tell you."

"It could be fun."

"I'm good, Bonnie," Julie said, amused. "I don't like dances."

"Okay, then," she sighed, a little disappointed.

"Thanks for telling me all that. You didn't have to."

"Of course. Be careful, okay?"

"You too, Bonnie, bye."

Julie sighed and put her phone down on her desk. There was a dance tomorrow night which meant Stefan and Elena would be there. If only she knew where Damon would be, now that Katherine's gone, she could go in and find Elijah. She pushed herself up, put her notebook back in the drawer and went to bed, thinking about the day to come. Thinking about Elijah.

Of course, a nightmare woke her up early. She was crying and panting but she couldn't remember why. She didn't know why she never remembered her dreams but she thought it might be better that way. But she could still feel the fear from the nightmare, every time. She got up and the first thing she did was take a shower to clean the nightmare away. The cold water cleared her mind. Tonight, she might have the opportunity to free Elijah. She had to focus on that. All she needed was to find out where Damon would be tonight. She took a purple dress out of her wardrobe and put on white heels. She put all her school stuff in a white bag before she walked down the stairs. The living room was clean, this time, which surprised Julie. Robert wasn't sleeping on the couch either. She took two apples, put one in her bag and started to eat the other before she left for school.

At school, some students were still preparing the dance. They were painting a bus in the color of the 60s and Julie would bet anyone that Caroline was in charge of it all. Even though she arrived on time, she didn't see Bonnie nor Elena. She didn't see any of them during the breaks either but finally, during lunch, she saw Bonnie and Elena were eating at a table in the cafeteria so she decided to join them.

"Hey, guys," she said, shy.

"Julie, hi!" Bonnie seemed happy to see her.

"Hey, Julie. It's nice to see you," Elena said. She looked uncomfortable.

"Can I join you?"

"Of course," Elena nodded, surprised. Julie smiled and put her plate on the table and sat down.

"Thanks."

"I thought..." Elena started to say but stopped. Julie frowned and gave her a puzzled look. "I thought you were angry with me."

Was she? Angry? Julie didn't know, exactly. She was too preoccupied with Elijah.

"No," Julie shook her head. "I understand why you did what you did." Elena gave her a small smile.

"Anyway," Bonnie said. "Elena is now the owner of Stefan's house."

"What?" Julie raised her eyebrows, confused.

"Yeah," Elena nodded. "Stefan and Damon though it would be safe to have a place where vampires couldn't come and go as they pleased. So now, the only vampires that are allowed there are them and Caroline."

"Smart," Julie was impressed. It was a good idea.

"So..." Bonnie started to say but she was interrupted by a girl Julie recognized to be in Bonnie and Elena's class.

"Hey, Elena, there you are," the girl said. "Okay, this is gonna sound freaky but this totally hot guy just asked me to ask you if you're going to the dance tonight."

Elena frowned and looked at Bonnie and they both chuckled.

"Tell him she has a boyfriend," Bonnie said.

"You could at least meet him," the girl insisted. "He'll be at the dance tonight. Look for him. His name's Klaus."

The three girls lost their smile. They weren't amused anymore.

"I'm sorry. What did you just say?" Elena asked, scared.

"His name's Klaus," the girl repeated. "I know the name's stupid but I swear he's hot!"

Julie tried to stay calm and not panic.

"Where is he?" Bonnie asked, trying to stay calm too. "Is he here?" she looked around.

The girl didn't even look around. "I don't know," she answered. She looked confused.

"She's been compelled," Bonnie said.

"But he wants to know if you'll save him the last dance. How cute is that?"

Elena stared at the girl, terrified. And honestly, Julie understood the feeling.

"We need to go," Bonnie said.

"Go? Where?" Julie asked.

"We need to tell Stefan and Damon Klaus is here, we need to be ready for tonight."

"Okay. Be careful," Julie told them as they were ready to leave. "Please, let me know what happens."

"Of course," Elena said, grabbing her bag.

"Maybe you shouldn't go to the dance tonight," Bonnie told her.

"I wasn't planning on it."