Chapter Text
After saying goodbye to Elena and Damon, the company went home. Caroline got back behind the wheel. Klaus sat next to her, and Hayley sat in the backseat with the girls. Almost all the way, the adults told their daughters about what they had learned about the strange witches who were hunting Hope.
It turns out that witches have been chasing her for a long time. They managed to track down Hope in Mystic Falls. That's why adults spent so much time at secret meetings. None of them knew yet what exactly they needed Hope for. Klaus assumed that their main goal was revenge on him. Obviously, there were his enemies in the ranks of these madmen. Hayley thought it was all about Hope's unusual nature. After all, tribrids are not found at every turn.
The girls decided not to bother much about this issue. What difference does it make what they need Hope for if they want to harm her anyway?
No one sitting in the car raised the topic of escape or a kiss. Josie and Hope were grateful for this, even though they felt the strange awkward atmosphere in the car and the suspicious glances of their parents, who kept glancing at them.
They had almost reached Mystic Falls when suddenly a huge tree collapsed in front of them. Their car was a mile away from Salvatore's school when suddenly everything around them plunged into pitch darkness. All this was very suspicious, if only because there were no clouds, no rain, no strong wind outside. The tree could not have fallen on the road for natural reasons.
From the loud crack and the subsequent strong impact of the tree on the asphalt, the girls screamed in fright, Hayley and Caroline flinched, and Klaus only smiled bloodthirstily, and then, without saying anything, just got out of the car.
“Are you seriously going to attack right now?” His voice boomed, it seemed, for the whole neighborhood.
“Dad.” Hope whispered excitedly, trying to open the door, but the handle wouldn't budge.
“Girls, stay in your seats.” Hayley said seriously and synchronously with Caroline got out of the car after Klaus.
Locked inside, Hope and Josie could only watch excitedly through the darkened window. They reflexively joined hands. This movement was so self-evident that none of the girls even paid attention to it.
Suddenly, human silhouettes appeared out of the darkness. Hope and Josie froze in place with fear. A lot of people surrounded them from all sides.
Coming closer, they stood in an improvised circle. Their mouths opened at the same time, beginning to recite an unknown spell. Klaus, Hayley, and Caroline immediately doubled over, covering their ears and screaming.
The girls looked at them with horror, trying to urgently figure out how to help them.
They were still holding hands. A red glow appeared in the area of Josie's wrist. She was siphoning Hope's magic.
After whispering a spell, Hope opened the car door with one blow. She jumped out. Josie followed her.
The witches continued to cast a strange spell, and the adults were sitting on their knees, stunned by the pain unbearable for vampires and hybrids.
After exchanging glances, Hope and Josie decided to act together. They needed to harm as many witches as possible. Then their parents can start moving. They can easily do the rest themselves.
Quickly chanting various attacking spells, they watched the witches' bodies fall to the ground. As soon as the number of witches out of action reached about five people, Klaus was able to get to his feet. Using his vampire speed, he alternately broke the necks of everyone who got in his way. The last witch, a man in his forties, looked fearfully into the eyes of his future killer. Klaus grabbed him by the throat.
“Your last word?” He hissed in his ear.
“They're all coming for her!” The man replied. Klaus tore the head off his body with one wave of his hand and threw it somewhere to the side.
Hope and Josie watched in shock as the blood of the murdered man trickled down Klaus' hands. Freed from the painful spell, Caroline and Hayley hugged them tightly, whispering soothing words.
Exactly one day has passed since the incident. Hope and Josie were still in shock. For the first time in their lives, they experienced the real cruelty of their supernatural world.
They came back too late that day. By then Lizzie was already asleep in her bed. There was no point in talking about what had happened, so their parents sent them to bed, making it clear that they would have a serious conversation tomorrow.
The next day they woke up closer to noon. Fortunately, the adults allowed them to skip one day. Even Lizzie didn't say a word about the whole situation, clearly worried about the psychological state of her sister and friend.
Late in the afternoon, Hope and Josie finally met. They hadn't been able to talk properly since last night, and that was putting a lot of pressure on both of them.
Now Hope and Josie were sitting in the principal's office, waiting for their punishment to be announced.
Alaric said something about going to Emma's twice a week for the next month. Caroline and the Mikaelsons, who listened attentively to him, were completely in solidarity with him.
“As for the punishment, I think it would be fair if for the next two weeks you help me with paperwork for an hour and a half a day and cleaned the kitchen for an hour and a half.”
The girls groaned together. Sitting in father's office and sorting out papers meant spending their free time writing emails and listening to Alaric's stories about his past for the hundredth time. Yes, they would rather scrub the kitchen for a hundred hours in a row than go through this torture again.
“Dad, you can't be serious!” Josie moaned plaintively.
“I am absolutely serious.” Her father replied sternly.
“Mom, do something!” She tried to coax something less boring through Caroline.
“I agree with your father.” She replied adamantly. Josie sat back on the sofa, disappointed.
“And you, Hope, will need to work out absenteeism.” Alaric addressed her.
“What?” The girl frowned indignantly.
“Hope, you really need to improve your grades. College is just around the corner.” Her mother addressed her in a calm voice.
“Like I won't be a vampire by then and I won't be able to get them to accept me without this shit.” She muttered to herself.
“Don't even think about it.” Her father looked at her sternly.
Hope just rolled her eyes and turned away.
As soon as the girls left the office, they immediately met Lizzie. The restless girl was sitting under the door, waiting for them.
“Ha!” She shouted, clearly pleased with her father's decision. “I was so afraid you'd get less than me. At least I won't have to sit with my dad and write these emails.”
“How? Were you only forced to clean the kitchen?” Josie asked her sister, surprised.
“Yeah.” Lizzie said happily.
Josie and Hope looked at each other and rolled their eyes together.
It was several days before Josie finally told her sister about what had happened between her and Hope in Richmond.
Communication between her and Hope went on as usual. They walked, occasionally spent the night at each other's, watched movies and hugged a lot. Neither of them dared to raise the subject of the kiss. And that was what bothered Josie the most. She needed someone to talk to. And now she was sitting in her room, waiting for her sister's reaction. Surprisingly, Lizzie wasn't going to kill Hope or anything like that. She looked... happy…
“Did you kiss Hope?” Lizzie asked her, a little shocked, but still not as shocked as Josie had expected.
The brunette nodded, which made her sister happily jump on the spot.
“I knew it would work!” She exclaimed, smiling all over her mouth.
Josie stared at her blankly. Lizzie, noticing her gaze, rolled her eyes and took a deep breath.
“When you brought this festival flyer, I immediately wanted to go there with you. But then...” She paused dramatically. “Then I thought it would be better to send you two to Richmond. You and Hope have always been something more. We're friends. Yes! But you...” She stared pointedly at her sister.
“What do you mean?” Josie asked her, puzzled.
This made Lizzie roll her eyes again.
“The whole school knows that you are in love with each other.” She replied. “And even I have nothing to do with it.”
Josie still looked puzzled. She never thought that everyone at their school perceived her and Hope as a potential couple. Yes, they often spent time together, but isn't that what best friends do?
“I even argued with Jed when you kiss in front of everyone. So I advise you to do it as soon as possible. I bet on April.” Lizzie winked at her sister.
Josie felt anger take over her entire body. Her sister was betting on her personal life!
“Are you discussing my personal life with other people?” She was ready to hit Lizzie with something heavy.
“Don't be dramatic.”
Josie got up from her seat. Her face looked truly menacing.
“Did you bet on our relationship?”
“Jo…”
“Fuck you, Lizzie!” Josie muttered, shutting their bedroom door with a bang.
She was going to spend the next hour and a half with Hope. She was a couple of minutes late, so when she entered her father's office, she found her best friend sitting on one of the chairs. Dad wasn't in the office, which was undoubtedly a huge plus. Now, at last, they could discuss with Hope what had happened in Richmond.
“You're late.” Hope pointed out the obvious. “Your dad went somewhere on business. He said that we would need to sort out the personal files of minors in alphabetical order.”
Ignoring her words, Josie barely whispered.
“We need to talk.”
Silence reigned in the office. It lasted exactly a few seconds until the folder in Hope's hands fell to the floor with a loud thud.
“About what?” Hope asked, coming out of her daze.
Josie hesitated a little.
“Well, you know, I... and you...” The word kiss never left her lips. “We...” She fiddled with the edges of her blue school jacket. “We need to talk about what we did in Richmond.”
Hope straightened her back. Now she looked like a frightened groundhog crawling out of its hole.
“Are you going to say anything?” Josie asked her uncertainly after a couple of seconds of silence.
“I—” Hope hesitated. She, like Josie, couldn't get her tongue to say the word kiss. “We...”
“Do you like me, Hope?” Josie interrupted sharply. She fixed her gaze on her dark blue shoes.
Josie was afraid to look into her friend's eyes. She didn't want to be rejected. Being unrequited in love is her most important fear in life. Besides, she didn't want to lose a friend like Hope. She was her soul mate, the most understanding person in her life.
Hope, like Josie, stubbornly avoided her gaze. For almost a week, she studiously ignored the subject of the kiss, and it seems that Josie did the same. In the end, Hope came to the conclusion that Josie was not interested in her romantically. After all, if Josie had loved her as a girl, they would have talked it over long ago. Besides, it looks like Hope was the first one to kiss Josie. She still doubted it, but it probably was. She was almost used to the idea when suddenly Josie decided to voice a question.
“I...” She felt her tongue go numb again. “Of course I like you.” She forced herself to swallow a lump of uncertainty. “You're my best friend, Jo.”
Josie looked up at her. How could Hope not understand exactly what Josie meant? No, Hope is definitely not in love with her!
“I mean...” She bit the inside of her cheek. “...in a romantic way. Do you like me as a girl?”
When, finally, the elephant in the room was voiced, Hope no longer had the right to ignore it. She took a deep breath, but the thoughts in her head did not transform into sounds in any way. She tried again, even opened her mouth, but the cherished Yes remained only in her head.
Josie lowered her head in despair. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. She couldn't be here anymore.
“I get it.” She replied dejectedly. “I think I'll go.”
She barely had time to touch the door handle when Hope's loud voice made her freeze in place.
“Yes!” Hope shouted desperately. Was it really that easy? Why had she been silent like a mute before? “I like you, Josie!”
The cherished words fell from her lips. Now it seemed to Hope that this confession was the easiest thing she had ever done in her life.
Hope got up from her seat and walked over to Josie.
Josie turned to her. The wet tracks of tears were still clearly visible on her cheeks. Hope wiped them gently with the back of her hand.
“What about you? Do you like me, Josie?”
Josie smiled sheepishly. She couldn't speak anymore. Her heart was beating like crazy. She immediately nodded frantically, letting Hope know that, of course, she was in love with her. How could it be otherwise?
Hope smiled back. She leaned closer, her lips touching Josie's. Wet with tears, they were a little salty, but it didn't bother Hope a bit.
Their kiss was gentle and short. They could hardly sense all of his magic. Hope and Josie had a lot of work to do together, but for now…
The door to the office opened, letting in Alaric Saltzman. The girls immediately recoiled from each other, but the man, who was absorbed in something on his phone, did not even notice it.
“Girls, have you finished yet?” He asked them unceremoniously.
Josie and Hope shook their heads. The rest of the time they continued to cast confused glances at each other, impatiently waiting for Alaric to finally let them go.
By the time all their paperwork in the headmaster's office was done, they both hurried to leave it as soon as possible. All the students of the school at this time gathered in the cafeteria for dinner.
On the way there, Josie told her already girlfriend about Lizzie's antics.
“Hey, why don't we let your sister win?” Hope suggested.
“What?” Josie stared at her in shock. “You want us to...”
“Well, only if you don't mind.” Hope immediately added.
“Of course I don't mind!” Josie said enthusiastically.
She quickly grabbed Hope's hand, leading her towards the main staircase.
“If we do it here, they'll all be freaking out.” She said enthusiastically as the two of them climbed the stairs.
Finally, having reached the very top, they stood opposite each other, holding hands tightly.
“Are you sure?” Hope asked her in a whisper.
“Yes.” Josie answered in the same tone.
Their lips immediately touched. Hope was holding her girlfriend by the waist, and Josie was hugging her by the shoulders. They stood there for almost a minute, barely hearing the enthusiastic hum of the students in the cafeteria.
Reluctantly pulling away, Hope and Josie looked into each other's eyes. Now everything has really changed for them.