"I already feel stronger."

She clenches and unclenches her fists.

"What about Lexi and Stefan? Do we have to worry about them?"

"I don't want to hurt them, they haven't done anything wrong - I just... I think Lexi will leave if I tell her to. I'm not sure about Stefan. He has a habit of disappearing when things get too hard, so he might stay away. For now."

Nod nod.

They can arrive at Erica's house then. It's pretty easy to tell which it is without Erica leading her there herself.

"Call me if you need anything. Even if it's a small thing. Don't hesitate."

"I will. Thank you, Juliet."

Hug?

So much hug. "See you tomorrow. Be careful."

They're expected in school the next day. It's weird. Isaac goes and it's weird.

That's kind of going around. He spends most of the day keeping closer to Juliet than one might expect of burgeoning young love. He's feeling clingy.

She pulls him aside at lunch, just the two of them. "You okay?"

"Fine. It has a lot more memories than anyone needs, Beacon Hills. I'll be glad to watch it go in the rearview mirror."

"You don't have to be 'fine', Matt. I'm not fine. I don't want you to put on - this front for me."

"-I'm not putting on a front. It's- I'm worried for you, Juliet. My life has gotten better and yours has gotten worse. It's the cruelest thing I can imagine, but I'm- happy and sad, and mad, and scared. I can hold onto a lot of emotion. That rounds out to 'fine', if you ask me. I just want to get out of here, so that we can live without anyone else trying to make us feel differently."

She hugs him tight, burying her face in his shirt. "So much has happened, a lot of it has been my fault. I've been stupid and selfish and ignorant. But you're right. Maybe if we get out of this town, away from the people that make it worse... maybe it'll be worth something."

“Give me my Romeo; and, when he shall die, Take him and cut him out in little stars- love is always selfish, Juliet, because it means that we're asking to be more important than anything else. You're only as selfish as I am. We're leaving, and we're going to be fine. It doesn't feel that way- but someday, the monsters that hurt you will be dead, even if they're harder to kill than mine."

She doesn't know what to say to that - it's so... something. Exactly what she needs to hear. Concerning and heartful and so very him.

"I love you."

He knows exactly what to say to that.

Earnestly, reverently: "I love you too."

The rest of the day doesn't matter. It's an exercise in futility to pretend to care about this. He's already moved on from this life. He knows how it goes in stories. He'd always imagined he'd be Hamlet or Romeo, but he understands now that he's Persephone. It's much too late for him, now. He died in Juliet's arms, and if everything else hadn't been enough to cement his feelings for her, that was. He can't go back.

Juliet spends the rest of her trying to hold on to this feeling of being loved and the knowledge that everything will be okay. It'll be hard, but she believes in that.

Isaac has some conversations with the sheriff. They agree that avoiding the foster care system would be nice, that dads suck sometimes, and that, as long as he keeps attending school, it's no concern of anyone else where he's sleeping at night. He sleeps at Matt's house, resolutely ignoring the tense shouting matches that happen in the kitchen. Matt's parents are perfectly nice to him.

Matt's parents have a lot of thoughts about what he's asking them to do and could he please give them some kind of explanation- and he's very tired of pretending that he can stand to be in a room with them. He lets them have it. He tells them exactly what he thinks of their interventions for his mental health, of all the therapists and medications that didn't help. He tells them what happened to him, in excruciating detail- and that shuts them up. It feels good, and it feels awful, and he's pretty sure he's not going to be able to talk to them or look them in the eye ever again- which makes the next few days after that miserable.

Erica doesn't explain anything to her parents. She's chipper. They're confused, but too grateful to ask questions. She goes shopping with her mom. They buy lipstick, skirts, jackets...she comes into school the rest of that week with a spring in her step and several new outfits to show off. There's a lot more red and leather in her wardrobe now.

Lexi confronts Juliet before school the next day. It does not go well. They yell, they fight, and Juliet has to use her newfound power to end the fight. Lexi leaves within the hour, calling Stefan and explaining everything and cursing him and his entire family. Juliet moves properly into Damon's apartment, though not before trashing it and making it her own. She's considering burning it down on the way out, but probably that would catch too much attention.

Matt and Isaac will be be waiting for her when it comes time to escape.

Well. No time like the present, especially with the full moon approaching.

She heads back to the boarding house one afternoon and drives back out with her dad's truck. Hopefully, it will be enough for the four of them, though they can always buy more things when they're out and free. She drives it to Matt's house while his parents are at work and messages the other three to meet her there when they're ready.

When they're ready, they arrive. Matt is at her side instantly.

"Hello, sweet Juliet. Missed you."

"I'm ready to party. Are we picking up any booze?"