Chapter Text
Josie woke up the next morning energized. It was the day of the dance and she was excited.
Normally, she wasn't usually one of those girls who lost sleep because of a school dance, but this time she was.
It wasn't just a dance, it was a dance with Penelope, it was a dance where should would basically come out to the whole school. Josie was ready, she didn't want to hide who she was anymore.
She jumped out of bed and raced to the bathroom to find just what she had hoped to find by waking up half an hour earlier.
Penelope. She could hear her in the shower again. She recognized the music as her playlist and smiled.
Josie started getting ready and danced along to the beat a little as she did. She was in a really good mood today.
When she heard the shower squeak off and the curtain brush open, she turned around to give Penelope a giant smile.
When Penelope saw it, she couldn't help but grin at the unexpected yet pleasant surprise, "Well, good morning, JoJo."
"Hi!" Josie squealed. It was like her bones were vibrating with happiness and she was overflowing.
Penelope walked to stand beside Josie at the sink and started drying her hair. "How did you sleep?"
"I slept okay, what about you?"
"I slept good. So, are you ready for tonight? Are we still on for seven?"
"Almost, there's just one more thing I have to do, and yep. I'm looking forward to it." Josie started running a brush through her hair and she realized how normal this felt, getting ready for her day while talking to Penelope, who was right next to her getting ready for her day as well.
"Me too," Penelope said before squeezing her hair one more time and adding, "I'm going to go get dressed. Have a good day."
"You too, but before you do, come here," Josie slid her arm around Penelope's waist and kissed her slowly. She pulled away and wrapped the shorter girl into a hug.
All was right with the world when Penelope was in Josie's arms. It felt like the waves had finally seceded and it was low tide. It felt like she could breathe again.
Penelope tucked her head into the crook of Josie's neck and hugged her tighter.
The two stood there for a moment in each other's arms before Penelope knew she had to go get ready and reluctantly pulled away, "I'll see you later."
Penelope grabbed the towel she had been drying her hair with and left the bathroom, the door swishing on her way out.
Josie finished getting ready in silence, only the music playing in her head and not from a speaker filling her thoughts.
She left the bathroom but passed her room on the way back. She had one more thing she needed to accomplish to make this dance perfect.
She padded down the hallways and hoped that this wasn't too early. She suspected that the girl she needed to see was usually up early to go on runs, so this hour would be fine.
Josie stepped in front of Hope's door and knocked lightly, trying not to wake the students in the rooms beside this one. She took a small step back and waited.
After waiting a few seconds, she thought that maybe Hope wasn't here. But then the door swung open to reveal her in workout clothes.
"Hey, Josie, what's up?"
"Good morning, Hope. May I come in?" She didn't want to have a conversation while standing outside, especially at this hour.
"Sure, yeah," Hope stepped aside to grant Josie access and closed the door behind them.
"So, the dance is tonight."
Hope felt like she knew where this was going but she played along anyways, "Yeah?"
"I want you to come, will you?"
Hope leaned slightly and put all of her weight on one foot, "Look, Josie, we've been over this. Dances aren't really my thing. The music is too loud, the punch is always spiked, there's no one for me to hang out with. I could go on but I feel like you get it."
"Yeah, I do get it. But I'm asking you as your friend to please come to the dance tonight. I'll be there and you can hang out with me. Besides, there's someone I want you to meet."
Hope picked up on the little lilt in Josie's voice when she said that and recognition flashed before her eyes, "Is this the person who rejected you the first time?"
"Yes, that's the one," Josie knew that Hope didn't like whoever it was because of the way she had hurt her.
"She hurt you, why are you-"
Josie cut her off before she could bring down her uncharacteristically high mood, "We worked things out. Trust me, we're good."
Hope was still leery. She shifted her weight to her other foot and said, "Okay, I trust you."
"So, will you come? Please?"
Begrudingly, Hope knew that this was a losing battle, so she forced a small smile and said, "Sure." At the very least she could see who had broken Josie's heart once.
"Great! I'll see you then." Josie impulsively hugged Hope but pulled away quickly and raced out the door.
"Yep, I'll see you then," Hope whispered to the half open door Josie left in her wake.
Josie returned back to her room to put back the things she had taken with her to get ready and to grab her belongings for the day.
She made her way to the dining hall for breakfast and sat in her usual spot, beside Lizzie. She ate breakfast and talked with her about the dance, about all of the little things. The hair, the makeup, the jewelry.
Josie had decided to wear her hair down, wavy. She had chosen a small necklace with a red crystal held in by silver metal.
When the bell rang, she said goodbye to Lizzie and went to first period, and the rest of her day. Eventually, she found herself in History of Magic.
She walked in and Penelope was already there, watching the door, waiting for her. When Penelope saw her, her eyes brightened and she gave Josie a small, sincere smile.
Josie returned the gesture with a small grin that she couldn't stop from taking control of her face. She looked at Penelope for another second before she cast her gaze downwards to the floor and went to her seat.
The class went by in a haze, as all Josie could think about was Penelope. It reminded her of when she first started to acknowledge her feelings for her. The way that Penelope was the only thing on her mind at any given time. It had frustrated her, the hold that she had on her. But it didn't anymore. Because when she thought about Penelope it was the happy memories they had made together and the way Penelope looked at her. It was the way her arms felt around her or the way her lips felt on her own. It was the way Penelope made her feel, safe and loved and happy.
So she let her mind wander thoughout the entire class, not bothering to take notes or pay attention to the teacher. No one really was anyways, it was Friday and there was a dance. No one cared.
The bell rang and Josie was jarred back to reality. She sighed happily and gathered her things as everyone else was standing to leave around her.
When she had picked up all of her stuff, the room was silent. Josie thought it was abandoned until she turned around to see Penelope leaning against a table, staring at her.
Penelope approached her slowly and grabbed her free hand, gently caressing the curves of it. She drew little circles around each one of Josie's knuckles, which had healed since the punching bag.
Josie turned Penelope's hand over in her own and ran her index finger along the lines of her palm.
Penelope intertwined their fingers before turning her head to look at the door. Not seeing a soul nor hearing anyone approaching, she turned back to face Josie and leaned up to connect their lips.
Josie leaned down slightly and into Penelope. The kiss was slow, like they didn't have to rush or be afraid.
Josie wrapped her arms around Penelope's waist, pulling her closer. Penelope put one hand on the back of Josie's neck and buried the other in her hair. The kiss deepened, almost as if they felt like this was the only way they could show each other how they felt, maybe even as if it would be their last.
The shorter girl pulled back and touched her forehead to the taller girl's. She smiled and laughed lightly.
Josie smiled at the sound.
They stayed like that for a moment longer before Penelope took a step back and said, "I'll see you later, JoJo."
She turned and walked towards the door. Penelope didn't look back as she exited, as if she knew that Josie was still there, as if she knew that she would see her later.
Josie sighed and waited a second before leaving the way Penelope had and making her way to her room.
She walked in a haze, a happy haze. It was the little moments like that, where it didn't require a lot of words or action, that just felt right.
She opened the door to find Lizzie laying their dresses out on the bed.
"Good, you're here! So, it's almost four now, and our dates will be here in about three hours. That means that we need to start getting ready in about an hour or an hour and a half. What do you want to do until then?" Lizzie asked as she walked over to Josie.
"I don't care. We should probably get something to eat though," Josie pointed out.
"Yeah, that's true. Okay, let's go then," Lizzie huried her sister as she wanted to stick to her own time table.
"Okay, yeah, sure, lets go." Josie set her stuff down on her desk and turned on her heel to open the door.
The twins went to the kitchen and got something to eat, talking casually as they did.
Josie thought it was nice, they hadn't done this in a while and she realized how much she had missed it. She was glad that her secret was out and she didn't have to tiptoe around Lizzie anymore. She could openly talk about Penelope and pretend to ignore the look on Lizzie's face when she did. It would always be a little strained, but it was getting easier.
They ate and went back to their room, with twelve minutes to spare. Lizzie was still worried though, so they started getting ready then.
Josie helped Lizzie with her hair and then did her own, she didn't have to do much to it since it was already naturally wavy.
They applied their makeup, Josie putting on only a light coat and helping Lizzie decide on which shade she should use.
After everything else was done, they slipped into their dresses and zipped each other up.
Josie looked in the mirror before craning her head to look at the clock. 6:47. Right on time.
They two sat on their beds and waited for a knock to come to their door.
When it did, Lizzie jumped up to open it. MG stood outside with a small corsage which he immediately slipped onto Lizzie's wrist.
"Thanks, MG."
MG couldn't take his eyes off of Lizzie. He smiled at her but couldn't seem to form words at the moment.
Josie tried to stiffle her laugh as she knew that MG would find his confidence soon. He would be dragging her onto the dance floor to show off his moves as soon as they played the first upbeat song.
Lizzie turned to Josie and said, "Do you want us to wait? Or are you good?"
"I'm good, go ahead, I'll be there soon," Josie assured and let the two go one ahead of her, leaving her to wait for Penelope.
She watched the clock turn from 6:59 to 7:00 and heard a knock on the door. She took a deep breath and stood, checking her reflection in the mirror before going to open the door.
Josie turned the knob slowly and pulled open the door to be met with a caped-suit Penelope.
Penelope's eyes looked into Josie's before trailing down to look at her dress. They flicked back up to Josie's as her mouth dropped open slightly.
Penelope Park was speechless. It was her who was at a loss for words now. She reminded herself to breathe before saying, "JoJo, you look amazing," in a quiet voice.
Josie smiled at the effect she had on Penelope, "You look pretty good yourself."
Penelope remembered what was in her hands and held out a small box to Josie. She opened it to reveal an elegant corsage.
She delicately pulled it out of the box and slipped it onto the wrist that Josie was holding out. Penelope closed the box and Josie took it from her hands and set it inside her room on her desk.
"Shall we go?" Penelope held out her arm to escort her.
"We shall." Josie looped her arm through Penelope's and took the first step out of her room.
They walked arm in arm to the entrance. The two walked in silence at first, but Penelope spoke up quietly, "I love Halloween. I think its my favorite holiday."
"Really? Why?" Josie looked at her quizzically.
"Its the one day when we're all the same," Penelope paused, "Any other time of the year, witches are freaks. But, for this short time, everyone wants to be one."
Josie had never thought about it like that before, "I've never seen it that way. But, you're right. Witches, werewolves, vamps, we're all seen as the villains. I guess we still are at Halloween too, but it's different. We're the lovable villains instead of the hated ones."
"Exactly," Penelope sighed and let herself dwell on that for a minute. Sure, there were some bad ones, but there were bad humans too. They were misunderstood so much to the point that they didn't stand a chance. If she was being honest, it made her a little bit sad.
Not letting it get her down, she looked at the girl she was escorting and her mood skyrocketted again. They walked in silence the rest of the way, letting the reality of it all wash over them.
When they stood in front of the double doors leading to the grand staircase, Josie stopped dead in her tracks.
"Hey, you okay?" Penelope asked, concerned.
Her voice broke through Josie's anxieties and she responded, "Yeah, I'm okay."
Before they could take another step, Penelope said, "I'm right here if you need me. It's going to be okay." Penelope knew what Josie was thinking, once they opened these doors their relationship would be out in the open, Josie would be out.
Josie formed a tightlipped smile. She focused on the feeling of her arm on Penelope's and the tightlipped smile she had to force became effortless and sincere.
She took a deep breath, "I know. I'm ready."
Penelope took the first step and Josie followed suit, their footsteps falling into synchronicity.
The double doors opened and they descended the stairs. Pairs of eyes became trained on them as they squinted to see who had just arrived.
One step at a time, the two walked down the staircase, turning heads as they went.
They reached the bottom and Josie flashed a small and bashful smile at the crowd. The heads turned back and returned to their conversations.
Huh. Maybe this wasn't as big of a deal as she thought it was. Josie felt herself exhale and realized she had been holding her breath since they walked through the doors.
Her eyes scanned the crowd and found Hope, "Hey, Pen, come here. There's someone I want you to meet."
Penelope diligently followed as Josie dragged her towards a red haired girl standing alone in the corner.
"Hey, Hope. This is Penelope," Josie did the customary introductions, despite the fact that they both knew who they were, "Penelope, this is Hope."
Hope's eyes flashed yellow and she quickly looked at the floor, trying to hide it.
She blinked rapidly and said, "Hi."
Penelope had noticed the flash, but she knew it was well deserved, "Hey."
Hope was awkwardly standing at a small round table, with a sparse plate of food and paper cup filled with an unidentifiable drink.
Josie felt the tension, "So, how's the finger food selection?"
"The usual. Mostly chips," she gestured to her plate, which had a few plain potato chips on it. It didn't look like she was having a very good time.
The lack of conversation was deafening. "So, do you want to dance?" The question was aimed at both Penelope and Hope. It was an upbeat song, they could all dance together.
Penelope brightened as Hope did the opposite. "Sure, let's do it."
"I don't know, you guys go." Hope fiddled with a chip.
Josie wouldn't take no for an answer in this case. She grabbed her arm lightly and said, "Come on," before hooking her arm in Penelope's and dragging them both to the dance floor.
They threw themselves into the throng of people and started to movie along to the music. Josie did it instantly, while Penelope followed suit. Hope was basically just standing there, but at least she was there.
After a few songs, Hope had started let herself dance. Josie led through another song before pulling Penelope to the side when she saw her dad watching.
She stood in front of her dad and said, "This is the other half of we."
Alaric lifted an eyebrow almost imperceptibly. "Penelope Park." He didn't need to say anything else as Penelope understood the threat behind the way the words were said. She had a reputation, and he knew it. He was saying not to hurt his daughter. He was saying that he had the ability to make her regret it if she did, and he wouldn't hesitate.
"Dr. Saltzman. Hi," Penelope smiled at him and tried to ignore the flight response her body was urging.
His cold gaze disappeared as fast as it had appeared when he returned the smile and attempted to change his tone, "Have fun at the dance girls. Be good."
Be good meant a lot of things that Josie didn't want to wade through at the moment. So, she muttered a thanks before walking away with Penelope at her side.
On their way back to the dance floor, they encountered MG carrying two cups on his way back to his date.
"Hey guys, whats up?"
"Penelope is my date," Josie cut straight to the point.
MG smiled at Josie before smirking at Penelope, "Peez, you got the girl."
The raven haired girl blushed furiously and cleared her throat. MG smirked at this but didn't make another comment before bouncing away back to Lizzie.
Josie turned to stand in front of Penelope's path and smirked, "So, you got the girl, huh?"
Penelope's line of sight went back to the floor, "Mhmm, yep, I did."
Josie laughed and rolled her eyes, saying, "Come on," and pulling her back to the dance floor beside Hope.
The three danced together for a few more songs. When the beat dropped, Penelope excused herself to go to the bathroom, and Josie pulled Hope aside.
"So, what do you think?"
"Of what? Penelope, or the dance?"
"Both, but mainly Penelope."
"Well, the dance is pretty much what I expected. But it's better with you, even if I am a third wheel. As for Penelope, she isn't who I thought she was. She seems to care about you, and that's good. But she still hurt you once, and I'm not going to forget about that so quickly just because I saw the way she looked at you when you were dancing," Hope added air quotes around dancing.
"What do you mean?" Josie was confused.
Hope laughed, "It just wasn't exactly dancing, if you asked me."
Josie playfully smacked Hope on her arm, "Hey!"
Hope put her arms up in surrender, "I'm just saying."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Josie looked around for Lizzie, which she spotted was near the edge of the dance floor with MG.
MG was exaggeratingly moving his hips. He walked backwards onto the dance floor and motioned for Lizzie to join him.
Reluctantly, she did. He spun her around and expertly dipped her. Had he been practicing?
He stepped away from her and sashayed to the corner of the dance floor. He rubbed his hands together and did a running flip.
If his goal was to impress Lizzie, it was working. She was standing a little to the side, giving him room to do his thing, watching in awe.
MG did one more little dance before pulling Lizzie back towards him and dancing around her. He pulled her closer and they started dancing in step.
Josie and Hope laughed. They had not expected him to have this much game. If only he could bring the dance floor with him when he tried to woo girls.
Penelope reappeared next to Josie holding two cups of punch. She handed one to Josie and asked, "So, what did I miss?"
Josie took a sip, "MG dancing with Lizzie."
"That would have been interesting. I'm sorry I missed it."
"Don't be, he's going to do it again after seeing the way Lizzie looked at him."
The three watched the rest of the dance die down around them while standing off to the side together.
Suddenly, a song came on the speakers that Josie knew too well. Your Soul.
Penelope smiled and blushed a little. She grabbed Josie's cup and abandoned it along with her own on a nearby table. She drew Josie to the dance floor and pulled her close.
Josie threw her arms around Penelope's neck, "Did you do this?"
Penelope looked to the right of Josie's gaze, "I may have had a little something to do with it, yeah," she smiled bashfully.
Penelope's hands found their way to Josie's waist and they started swaying. "You know, this isn't really a slow dance, Pen."
"It is now, JoJo."
Josie tilted her head to the side slightly and looked at Penelope with a glimmer in her eyes.
They swayed in time to their upbeat song and gazed into each others eyes.
Before the song ended, Penelope posed a question, "JoJo, will you be my girlfriend?"
They basically already were, but putting it so bluntly seemed official.
But Josie didn't falter, "I would be honored."
Penelope grinned and the edges of her eyes crinkled. They swayed to the music and put their foreheads together in a pure display of affection when the last chorus came on.
Their slow dance continued through the next one as it actually was a slow song playing that time.
The dance was slowly dieing around them, people breaking away in groups of two or three, staggering in the direction of their rooms.
But they didn't let this discourage them. Hope came up to them at the end of the second slow song and said, "Hey, Josie, I'm going to go. Thank you for making me come to this, and for making it bearable."
Josie pried her eyes off of Penelope and met Hope's gaze, "Anytime. Goodnight, Hope."
Hope smiled and left, leaving Josie to look back into her girlfriend's eyes as another few stumbled out.
Only a few couples were left on the dance floor, and just a few more standing around the tables. The DJ was starting to pack up his extra equipment without turning off the music yet.
You could feel it in the air. The dance was coming to a close. The room got quieter and the rest of the world fell away for one more stolen moment.
Josie leaned down and kissed Penelope slowly before putting her forehead to the shorter girl's.
The two swayed back and forth, completely oblivious to the outside world.
Josie had been nervous tonight. Nervous of coming out, nervous of the dance not going well, nervous of the people she cared about not approving of Penelope. But, as she had promised, Penelope had been right by her side the entire night, there for every hurdle she had to overcome.
She had proven once again that as long as she was there, everything was okay. Even now, as she knew their perfect night was coming to an end, she didn't mind because she was happy in Penelope's arms. Her knight in shining armor.
Josie would never forget this night of festivities. It was just another part of their long fated history. The universe had been on their side this time, it had been rooting for them.
But who knew if it always would be? They were young, and first loves were doomed from the very beginning. The two knew that, but they would keep fighting for their relationship.
Because, this felt right. The way they were each others safe haven, the way they were comfortable around each other, the way they made each other feel loved.
Neither of them had ever felt this way before. It was nice and exciting, but it was also different than anything they had ever experienced. And, they had no idea what they were doing.
But they were doing their best to be their best, for each other. They were doing their best to make each other happy. And that was all that mattered.
So, as the DJ announced that the next song would be the last, they just held each other a little tighter and savored their last moment for the night.
The final song began to play and the music swelled around them. The lights twinkled and dimmed slightly. For now, it was just them. The rest of the world didn't exist for the too short time it took for this song to play.
Penelope lifted her lips to Josie's and let herself lean into the kiss. Josie reached to put her hand in Penelope's hair and the shorter girl cupped the taller girl's face in her own.
They didn't know what this was yet, but it felt like was the beginning of something. Something big, something important. Something that would never fully go away.
They would even go so far as to say that maybe it was love.