Chapter Text
Josie's been standing in front of the door for the past minute or so. When she left her room, she thought she'd gathered enough courage to knock on the door, but as soon as it came into view, she felt like running away. She managed to get to the door though, but knocking on it is another story.
She knows Hope is on the other side of this door. The Mikaelson girl is probably still getting settled in since they only got to the school the day before. She keeps telling herself she's just here to make sure Hope's okay, and that she feels comfortable in her new room. But then, another minute passes, and Josie sighs in defeat. She really can't do this.
Just as she turns around to leave, the door opens, making her look back at the door she'd been staring at a second ago. Hope is holding the door open, and she looks at Josie with that smirk the brunette has seen a lot of on the night of the masquerade.
"I was waiting for you to knock, love."
The Saltzman girl rolls her eyes. "Stop calling me that. You know my name."
Hope chuckles. "As you wish, Josie."
The way her name rolls out of Hope's mouth is enough to make goosebumps appear on Josie's arms. Maybe it was not her best idea. The fact Hope is looking at her like she just knows the effect she has on her is making Josie's blood boil.
"Do you wanna come in?" The auburn haired girl asks before Josie can say anything. "I promise I won't bite. Well… Unless you're into that, of course."
Josie crosses her arms, unwilling to play Hope's game. The brunette knows that the Mikaelson girl hides behind a fake wall of confidence to protect her feelings. Josie has seen behind the wall though, and that's the Hope she wants to know.
"Stop flirting with me." Josie says quickly. "I just wanted to make sure you're okay."
The Saltzman girl's eyes don't miss the way Hope's fingers tighten around the wood of the door, or even how her jaw clenches.
"I'm perfectly fine. You can leave now."
Without waiting for an answer, Hope starts closing the door, but before she has the chance to completely close it, Josie pushes it open. Hope's eyes snap up to meet Josie's, and the brunette swallows the lump in her throat. The Mikaelson girl's walls are back up, and the look she gives Josie is cold.
"Let me in." Josie softly says. "Please."
It takes a couple of seconds before Hope has any reaction. Josie can see that her grip on the door is so tight her knuckles have turned white, but she also sees that Hope's eyes have softened. The Mikaelson girl says nothing as she gives in and opens the door to let Josie in. The brunette walks in, careful not to touch Hope in the process, because touching Hope has consequences. Sometimes the consequences are good, and other times they're bad. As she looks around the room, Josie notices that Hope barely made herself at home. There's no signs someone is gonna live here permanently. The auburn haired girl's suitcase is open on the floor, and her jacket is hanging on a chair, but that's it.
"You don't have to check up on me." Hope says.
Josie turns around to face the Mikaelson girl again. Hope is looking at her with fire in her eyes, full of defiance. Josie opens her mouth to speak, but Hope holds her hand up to stop her.
"I'm not some wounded puppy you rescued, Josie."
"I know that!" Josie quickly defends herself. "Can you blame me for caring?"
Hope rolls her eyes. "You don't even know me."
"But I want to." Josie says as she takes two steps closer to Hope.
"You have no idea what you're getting yourself into."
Josie takes another step, and the space is almost gone between them. The brunette takes a deep breath, pondering her next move. She lifts her hand, intending to place some of Hope's hair behind her ear to clear the view of her face, but the auburn haired girl quickly catches her wrist, stopping the movement. Josie's eyes go to her trapped wrist before going back to Hope's face. The normally blue eyes are now sparkling gold, and before Josie can react her back hits the wall. The Saltzman girl tries to swallow her fear, but then Hope's eyes turn back blue, and her signature smirk appears on her lips.
"Oh, Josie." Hope chuckles darkly. "You're so… innocent. It makes you reckless. Do you realise I could kill you if I wanted to? I know so many different ways to do it. I could even make it…" She pauses, looking down at the brunette's neck. "Pleasant."
"You're not gonna kill me."
Hope chuckles again. "Why is that?"
"Because if you wanted to kill me, you would have done it already."
Josie stops breathing for a second or two when Hope's hand goes around her neck. The Mikaelson girl's hand doesn't tighten, it's just resting there, but it has the effect Hope wants it to have. Josie's lips are slightly parted, and her eyes are dark. The brunette helplessly watches as Hope looks at her like she just won some twisted game. It makes Josie angry, and she wishes she could just make that damn smirk disappear.
In a rare moment of boldness, Josie surges forward and claims Hope's lips, much like she did the night of the masquerade. And just like that night, Hope freezes. The tables turn and Josie feels like she's the one winning. She slightly pulls away after a handful of seconds, but makes sure their lips are still brushing.
"I'm starting to think you're all bark and no bite, Hope." As Josie moves back, she notices how Hope's jaw clenches, and how her face gets angrier than before. "I'm sure there's more to you than empty threats and bad flirting."
In a split second, Hope's hand slips from Josie's neck and she chuckles as she walks away from the brunette. Josie thinks for a moment she won, and broke a tiny piece of Hope's walls, but she's soon proved wrong. The Mikaelson girl turns around and Josie immediately sees that the chuckle is accompanied by Hope's signature smirk.
"You're not gonna get what you want, Josie. Just give up on this."
"Why? You're here, and that's because-"
Hope's laugh is loud and sardonic, cutting off Josie's sentence. The brunette is left with her mouth open, slightly in shock.
"Because of you? You-" Hope's laughter keeps her from talking. "You really think I'm here because of you? I'm here because of my father, Josie." Hope's face turns serious, and she crosses her arms. "You said he was a friend of your mom's. I wanna know more."
Josie's curiosity gets the best of her, and before she can stop herself words are spilling out of her mouth.
"What do you wanna know?"
The auburn haired girl rolls her eyes. "None of your business. Now, get out of my room before I throw you out."
Josie sighs, there's no way she'll win this battle tonight. She turns around and heads for the door, but just as she opens it, Hope talks again.
"It's a shame, you know? I thought you'd be more fun."
Josie looks at Hope over her shoulder, and she immediately knows what the auburn haired girl is trying to do. Hope wants to make her mad, she wants to make her react, to get a rise out of her. Josie's not gonna play that game now. So, instead of replying, she simply walks out of the room, closing the door behind herself.
The next few weeks are filled with frustration for Josie. It seems Hope is going out of her way to piss her off, and even tries to make her jealous. Some days, the Mikaelson girl starts calling her pet names again and flirts with her any chance she gets. Other days though, Hope ignores Josie completely, flirts with anyone that's not the brunette and makes sure she's doing it right in front of Josie.
The Saltzman girl knows she shouldn't let it get to her. There's nothing between her and Hope. They are barely acquaintances. But for some reason, there's still a part of her that wants to know the real Hope, the one she was before being damaged. Maybe it has something to do with the lingering sadness in Hope's eyes, or that beautiful, yet rare, genuine smile. Sometimes, Hope's persona slips and Josie gets a glimpse of the real her. That's what she's holding on to.
When Josie finally gathers the courage to walk up to Hope and confront her about their back and forth relationship, the worst thing happens.
"Lizzie!" Josie hisses as her eyes go wide. "Did you know she was coming back today?"
"Uh?" The blonde turns to follow her twin's gaze. "Oh shit. I didn't."
On one side of the room, Penelope Park stands. She's carrying a suitcase since she's coming back from a family trip to Europe. She stands tall, her hair falling in waves on her shoulder and her smile is as proud as ever. Josie hates it. She hates everything that makes Penelope seem perfect, when the brunette knows the truth.
Josie's so preoccupied with the sight of her ex that she doesn't pay attention to the other side of the room. Hope walks into the room after coming down the stairs. The scene she stumbles on leaves her with a deep frown on her face. She sees this girl she never saw before. A very beautiful girl with enough confidence to match her own. But then, she also notices Josie. Josie, the girl she's grown to appreciate a lot more than she'd like, is standing there with sadness in her eyes.
There's a brief conversation between the Saltzman twins and Penelope. When the raven haired witch leaves, it's with a wicked grin playing on her lips. The blonde twin is fuming while the brunette one looks even sadder than she already was. Lizzie takes her sister by the hand and leads her back to their room. On their way to the stairs, they pass by Hope. Josie and the Mikaelson girl make eye contact for a brief second before the brunette avoids Hope's eyes.
It makes Hope angry. This simple and short conversation seems to have such a big impact on Josie. More impact than Hope managed to have on the brunette, not that she didn't try to make her angry.
When MG walks into the room, Hope immediately walks up to him.
"I need information, pretty boy."
MG gives her a nervous look. "Hey, Hope. How can I help?"
"I need a name." Hope crosses her arms and lifts up her chin. "A girl, she's a little taller than I am. She has short raven hair, and she stands proud. She has some beef with the Saltzman twins."
"Oh, you must be talking about Penelope." MG immediately says.
"I need details, MG." Hope impatiently says.
The boy scratches the back of his head, looking uncomfortable at the idea of spilling the details Hope is asking of him.
"Details about what?" He carefully asks.
"Her relationship with the Saltzman twins. More specifically, her relationship with Josie."
MG avoids Hope's eyes, but when she takes a threatening step towards him, the boy starts to speak again.
"Penelope and Josie dated last year." He blurts out. "By now, you probably noticed the twins are close. Well, Penelope got tired of being second in Josie's life, so she broke up with Jo just before summer came. It crushed Josie's heart." MG sees how Hope's face is angry and cold now, so he quickly adds something else. "Pen really regrets it now though! She's gonna apologize and she hopes Josie will take her back."
MG's eyes widen when Hope's flash gold. She pushes him out of her way and quickly walks upstairs. She's not even thinking about what she's doing, she's driven by instincts. It's only when she knocks on a door and Josie opens it with tears in her eyes that Hope realises where she went. She went straight to the twins' room. And now Josie's looking at her with those big brown eyes full of tears and Hope doesn't know how to react. She hasn't cared about anyone in so long. She tried so hard not to care about Josie.
Josie's a little surprised to see the tribrid at her door. Her first reaction is to step out of her room, and close the door behind her. For some reason, she doesn't wanna talk to Hope in front of Lizzie. When Josie's eyes go back to Hope, she's surprised to see the Mikaelson girl looks uncomfortable. The brunette crosses her arms, and prepares herself for the conversation that's about to happen.
"Can I help you?" Josie asks, her tone of voice defensive.
"It's good to see you too, cutie."
The tribrid tries her best to smirk, and radiates her usual confidence, but Josie gives her a look that makes Hope understand it came out weak. So, the Mikaelson girl rolls her eyes and sighs.
"Are you okay, Josie?"
"Do I look okay, Hope?"
"That girl can't be worth your tears."
Josie's eyes go big. "How do you know about Penelope?"
"I asked around." Hope hesitates for a second, but then she takes a step closer to Josie. "Breaking your heart was such a stupid thing to do." She lets her fingers dance on the skin of Josie's arm. "You deserve better than that."
Josie takes a step back, her eyes colder than before. "Stop playing games with me."
"I'm not-" Hope manages to say before Josie cuts her off.
"You're not?" Josie takes a step closer, and she takes another one with each sentence. "One day you flirt with me, the next you ignore me and flirt with others. You don't wanna get close to me, but you act like you care when I cry. You're definitely playing a game, and that makes you no better than Penelope."
With one last hard look, Josie turns around to go back to her room. She only manages to turn away before Hope firmly grabs her forearm and forces the brunette to face her again.
"I'd never break your heart." Hope says quickly. "When a Mikaelson falls in love, it's forever." She lets her finger slip from Josie's forearm to her hand, holding it gently. "That's exactly why I didn't wanna get close to you. You're easy to fall for, and I can't afford it."
Josie's eyes are glued to their joined hands, and even as she speaks they stay there.
"What are you doing here then?" The brunette asks, her voice full of hope.
Hope chuckles and shakes her head. "You know why I'm here. Don't make me say it."
Their eyes meet for a couple of seconds after that, but then Josie slowly takes her hand back. She keeps facing Hope as she walks backwards to her room.
"You said it yourself earlier : I deserve better."
Hope doesn't move, and she doesn't say anything either. So, Josie turns around and disappears into her room.
Josie doesn't really like parties at the Old Mill. There's always too many teenagers, too much alcohol and so much drama. She goes for Lizzie, and for her friends. She takes the offered alcohol, but she fakes drinking it. It takes no less than an hour before the majority of the teenagers attending the party are drunk. That's when Josie usually gets bored, or even annoyed.
Tonight is no different. She's sitting alone around the fire as people have fun around her. She watches the dancing flames and wishes they could keep her warm. The brunette didn't bring a jacket and the night is colder than she thought it would be. When the shivers start to be more frequent, Josie stands up. She knows she has to either leave the party, or at least go take a jacket from her room.
Finding Lizzie is not hard, and after talking with her twin, Josie decides to go get a jacket and come back to the party. Maybe Lizzie's right, the party just started, who knows how it will end?
As soon as she starts walking down the path to go back to the school, Josie hears footsteps behind her. She quickly turns around, she knows she can never be too careful around drunk supernatural teenagers. The brunette sighs in relief when she sees it's only Penelope. The short haired witch walks to Josie with a smirk playing on her lips. Without waiting for her, Josie turns around and starts walking towards the school again.
"Wow, Jojo. You're not even gonna say 'hi'?" Penelope teases as she jogs to get to the brunette's side.
Josie sighs. "Hi, Penelope."
"Wasn't that hard, uh, babe?"
Josie stops walking and glares at her ex. "Don't call me that."
The short haired girl fakes a pout. "You used to love it."
"Yeah, well, you broke up with me, remember?"
Penelope hums. "About that, I was hoping-"
Josie still hears Penelope talking, but she doesn't listen to her because her attention is elsewhere. Hope is walking down the path too, except the tribrid is going in the opposite way. Their eyes lock quickly, and the smile that appears on Hope's face immediately gives Josie butterflies. It doesn't last for long though, because as soon as Hope sees Penelope, her eyes get cold and the smile disappears. The tribrid stops when she's close enough to the pair, and she gives Penelope a glare before focusing herself on Josie.
"Hey, Jo, are you leaving the party so early?"
"Can't you see we were in the middle of a conversation?" Penelope quickly tells Hope.
"You were in the middle of a monologue. Josie didn't seem to place a word."
Penelope opens her mouth, but Josie is quicker than her.
"Girls, stop." She sighs and turns back to Hope. "I was only gonna take a jacket from my room. It got cold, you know?"
Hope chuckles. "No, I don't. Perks of being a tribrid, I guess." She shrugs off her own jacket. "Here, you can take mine."
"I'm sure Josie doesn't want to smell like a dog." Penelope says with a smirk.
Hope's eyes flash gold for only a second before Josie's hand grabs her forearm and squeezes, getting her attention instantly. Her hand then goes from the tribrid's forearm to her hand and then to the jacket Hope is still holding.
"I'll take it, thank you."
Hope's face softens and she lets Josie take the jacket. The brunette puts it on quickly under the appreciative eyes of the tribrid.
"Are you really gonna wear that? I don't want my girl to be wearing another girl's jacket!" Penelope angrily says.
It's Josie's turn to glare at the short haired witch.
"Good thing I'm not your girl anymore, right?"
"I-"
Hope interrupts Penelope quickly. "I think Josie made her point. Now, just leave."
The witch turns to the Mikaelson girl. It's clear to see Penelope is fuming, and Hope can't help but love it. As soon as she sees it, Hope knows this is gonna be entertaining, so she smirks. Then, all of a sudden, Penelope seems to calm down. She puts her hands on her hips and gives a smirk of her own.
"Do you really think I'm gonna leave you alone with Josie? Bodies keep adding up around you."
Hope's whole body freezes before her eyes get hard. She wants to make Penelope regret her words, she wants-
Josie quickly places her hand on Hope's cheek and gently forces the auburn haired girl to look at her. She can see how her ex's words deeply hurt the tribrid, and somehow that helps her understand Hope. The Mikaelson girl is afraid, she blames herself for a lot of things, and now Penelope touched the wrong subject.
"Hope, don't stoop down to her level."
The tribrid finally seems to hear her, and Josie can see her body slightly relax. She almost lets a sigh of relief out, but she doesn't get to do so.
"I guess she only likes it when I'm the one going low."
Penelope barely has time to finish her sentence before Hope is pinning her to a tree. The tribrid's hand is tight around the witch's neck, and it keeps Penelope from properly breathing. Hope's eyes are dark and veins are popping out around them. Josie quickly runs up to them and tries to make Hope back off, but the tribrid is way to strong to be moved.
"Hope! Hope, please you have to stop." Josie's eyes fill with tears. "Hope, please stop!" The brunette can finally see the tribrid's will waver. "Please, Hope, do it for me."
The veins around Hope's eyes slowly retract, and they turn back to their normal blue. Her hold on Penelope's neck slackens, but she doesn't let go completely. The raven haired witch eyes are full of fear, but Hope doesn't care.
"You're so lucky Josie asked me to stop." Hope growls. "Now, leave. I don't wanna see you again tonight. Did I make myself clear?"
Penelope manages to nod, and Hope finally lets go. The tribrid's eyes stay glued to the witch as she stumbles away and back to the party. When Penelope's out of sight, Hope's attention goes back to Josie. Shame and guilt soon take over the auburn haired girl.
"Josie…" Hope starts, but she doesn't find the words to say what she wants to say.
"Are you okay, Hope?"
"Me? I, uh… Yeah. I'm okay. Are you?"
It takes a couple of seconds before Josie slowly nods. Then, just as slowly, she walks until she's able to hold Hope in her arms. The brunette is surprised by how easily Hope welcomes the embrace. The Mikaelson girl hugs Josie right back, and her hold is tight. Josie can feel Hope's fingers dig into her through her shirt, but it's not tight enough to hurt.
They stay that close for a while, neither of them willing to let go just yet. Soon enough, Josie feels the exhaustion of everything that went down catching up to her. She lifts her head from where it was resting on Hope's shoulder, just to get her lips to the tribrid's ear.
"Would you walk me back to my room? I'm really tired now."
Hope buries her face in Josie's neck and mumbles something that the brunette doesn't manage to understand.
"I didn't catch that, can you repeat?"
"I can carry you to your room if you want." Hope says clearly this time.
Josie can actually feel herself blushing at Hope's suggestion.
"Walking while holding your hand could work too." The brunette softly says.
"Sounds good to me."
They pull back slowly, both immediately missing the contact. Hope fixes that loss by taking Josie's hand in her own, just like the Saltzman girl suggested a moment ago. They start walking back to the school after that, and both of them are relieved about the comfortable silence that surrounds them. Josie's thumb is drawing small circles on the back of Hope's hand, making the tribrid's internal storm incredibly calm.
When they finally stop in front of Josie's door, the girls both linger there. Hope takes a couple of steps back and lets their hands disconnect. She leans against the wall and her eyes lock with Josie's. The brunette mirrors the tribrid's position as she leans against her door, and her heart threatens to jump out of her chest.
"I'm sorry about earlier, Josie." Hope quietly says. "I hope I didn't scare you beca-"
"Do you care about me?" The brunette interrupts the auburn haired girl.
Hope takes a deep breath. "That's one way to change the subject."
"Just answer the question, Hope."
Hope looks down for a handful of seconds, but when she looks back into Josie's eyes, the brunette can tell she's gonna get the truth.
"Of course, I care."
Their eyes stay locked together for a little less than a minute before Josie pushes herself away from the door of her bedroom. Hope watches as the Saltzman girl walks up to her, as if mesmerized by Josie's movements. The siphon only stops when her hand is leaning against the wall next to the tribrid's head. She leans in until her lips are barely brushing Hope's.
"Can I kiss you, Hope?"
"You never asked before." The tribrid can't stop herself from saying.
"It never meant anything before. This one needs to mean something."
"Then, yes. Please, kiss me."
It's all Josie needs before she softly presses her lips against Hope's. The kiss is sweet, and Hope immediately thinks that she's never been kissed like this before. Josie's kiss is soft and slow, hesitant but purposeful. It makes Hope feel fragile, and precious at the same time. Way too soon, the brunette moves back. She presses their foreheads together until Hope opens her eyes. As soon as she can see the tribrid's blue eyes, Josie takes a step back. She walks backwards under Hope's intense gaze. When she gets to the door, Josie smiles.
"Goodnight, Hope."
The tribrid doesn't manage to answer, her breath taken away by the short kiss they just shared. Josie's smile gets even bigger than before, and she gives an awkward wave as she disappears inside her room, leaving a very stunned Hope behind.