Chapter Text
Preppy. That was the best way Penelope could describe the sight in front of her. Preppy and bubbly would be a better way to describe the two young girls smiling before her.
Today was the day of Penelope Park’s arrival at the Salvatore Boarding School for the Young & Gifted. She was already 15 years old which was considered old for a witch to enroll since most witches aware of the school would enroll their child as soon as they showed any powers at all. If it weren’t for her father’s days becoming filled with whatever the hell he was plotting with his coven, Penelope would’ve probably never even stepped foot on school grounds.
Her father was busy and her step-mother was human. As much as the woman loved her and cared for her, learning to control her magical powers wasn’t exactly something she could help Penelope with. So, here they were, her, her father, her step-mother and her clingy young half-sister.
Penelope heard the headmaster of the school give last pieces of information regarding her stay at the school and the school itself to her father, but like him, she was quite uninterested in his words. Though it was for a very different reason. She knew her existence was more of a burden on her father’s life than a gift and sending her to boarding school was a relief to him. He would most likely send her younger sister here too if she had shown any sign of possessing magic. She knew that her father was simply looking forward to the headmaster (Mr. Saltzman if she remembered correctly) talking so he could head back home.
On Penelope’s side, her lack of attention directed towards Mr. Saltzman was explained by the two girls she would describe as preppy and bubbly. Well, one of the two girls was who captured Penelope’s attention.
She learned the headmaster was actually her father and the blonde next to her was her twin sister. The girl must’ve been around her age, judging by the way she behaved. Although she did look a little younger. It could’ve been the way that the two dark brown braids were a little messy, giving the girl a more childish look or it could’ve been the way her eyes seemed to have this glimmer in them, like a glimmer of hope in good.
Either ways, the girl distracted her so much, Penelope almost didn’t realize that it was time to say goodbye to her family. It was her little sister tugging at the sleeve of her jacket who grabbed her attention away from the brunette. Penelope hugged her step-mother first and both exchanged ‘I love you’s before she received a soft hug from her father and a ‘see you soon sport’. She then turned towards her sister and leaned down just a little to hug her tightly.
“Promise me you’ll be good at home?” Penelope whispered in her sister’s ear.
The 11 year-old shook her head against her older sister’ neck which made Penelope pull away with a smile on her face. “Thea,” she said in a teasing tone.
The girl pulled Penelope was in a hug and it was her turn to whisper, “I don’t want you to leave.”
“I have to go,” she said and tried to hold back tears. She was not going to cry in front of strangers or her father.
“Why can’t I stay with you?”
“We’ve been over this already, Thea.” Penelope gave her an encouraging smile. “Mama is gonna need you when I’m gone and I’m gonna need you to be strong for the both of you. Take good care of her and yourself when I’m gone, okay?” She told Thea while looking her in the eye. She saw that the rest of the group had given the sisters some space so she allowed herself to feel a little more.
Thea nodded and her lower lip quivered. As soon as “I’m going to miss you so much” left the younger sister’s mouth, her eyes released tears that were wiped away by Penelope.
“I know. I’m going to miss you too, baby girl.” Penelope kissed Thea’s forehead and hugged her one last time. “If you ever need to talk to me, you know you can call me right? We can also video chat at any time.”
Thea nodded and gave her older sister a smile before the two headed back to the group.
Penelope waved goodbye to her family and felt her heart clench when she noticed her sister trying to keep sight of her by turning around in her seat even as the rental car started to head towards the gates.
“Alright well, I know this is going to be quite different from your previous life, but as I’ve said before, we will make sure you are as comfortable here as possible. Josie, here,” Mr. Saltzman said as he gestured towards the brunette who distracted Penelope earlier, “is going to give you a tour of the place and by the end, it should be supper time.”
And so that left Penelope alone with the brunette—Josie as the headmaster said. She really did not mind being alone with the girl. After all, she was absolutely… endearing. Everything she did and said made Penelope want to squish her cheeks and protect her from all evil in the world, which was ridiculous since she had already started to hear chatters about this Josie Saltzman from the few hours she had spent at the school. So, she knew Josie was capable of a lot more than meets the eye.
Still, whenever she heard that giggle leave Josie’s lips, she couldn’t help the fact that heart would skip a beat or the fact that her own lips were fighting off a smile. She knew that she was doing a good job at hiding her feelings though, unlike the cute girl showing her around the school.
Penelope could tell that Josie was irritated by the fact that even though she was trying her best to be enthusiastic about the tour and her perkiness would’ve probably rubbed off on literally any other person she was with Penelope was able (with difficulty she must admit) to keep a straight face on. Her mind wandering around did help her though.
All she could think about during the tour was Josie, even when she was walking right next to her. She kept thinking about whether her new classmate was always this perky or was it just an act for the moment. Was she just being nice or did she actually mean it when she said that she was “excited to a new witch buddy”? Was there something more to that smile of hers that made Penelope melt? Or was it just something she gave to everyone?
And most importantly, was it inappropriate for Penelope to think about Josie this way? The last thing Penelope would want is to make Josie uncomfortable or to destroy a relationship. She was probably in a relationship. How could she be single? She was young (Penelope learned that Josie was just a few weeks from turning 15), seemed smart, was friendly and open, and was just incredibly beautiful (even in an pretentious boarding school uniform). She-
“Penelope?” Shit was she staring at Josie?
“Huh?” Penelope asked and knew that her cheeks were slightly pink by now, even if she was fighting her blush.
“I said we’re done the tour.” As she looked around, Penelope realized she was back in front of her room and Josie was holding out a box filled with clothes that Penelope figured were all pieces of the uniform she’d have to wear when heading to class. “Are you okay?” She could tell Josie was genuinely worried.
“Perfectly fine,” she responded with a tight smile. She wasn't used to having people who cared about her. It wasn't that she didn't have friends at her old school. Quite the opposite, Penelope was a social butterfly and knew almost the whole school. However, she wouldn't consider everybody her friend. They weren't close enough to deserve that term. She only had one close friend that she trusted and cared about and who cared about her in return. And it was just a little unsettling to think that Josie would have already started to care about her in the short period of time they'd known each other.
She knew that Josie didn't buy her answer, but was glad to see that the other girl wouldn't push further. “Right,” she said after a beat of silence, “um, well it's supper time as my dad told you earlier. You remember where the kitchen and dining hall are?”
Penelope nodded and so did Josie. “Alright, I guess see you later then.”
She watched Josie walk away and she bit her lip, cringing at how stupid she must've looked like and sounded like just then. Seriously, Park? Do you not know how to use more than 2 words at a time?
She shook her head, sighed and went inside her room to put down the box Josie had handed her. She would put the clothes away and make her room more comfortable after supper. She was starving already.
Making her way down to the kitchen, Penelope realized how out of it she really was when she was with Josie earlier. She barely remembered anything she was told and had pretty much no clue as to where everything was. The only reason she knew where the kitchen was was because it was the second place they went to (the first being her room).
“Ah fuck. I'll have to ask her where the bathrooms are,” Penelope muttered to herself as she grabbed a plate and served herself a meal.
She settled on eating alone for the moment since she hadn't evaluated who seemed like decent people yet, but she had received a few invitations from some witches and even a vampire to sit with them. She politely refused and lied by saying she was waiting for someone. As she looked around the dining hall to judge people's characters, her eyes landed on a familiar brunette sitting with the cheery blonde from earlier.
Penelope found herself smiling for a moment before she stopped and finished her meal quickly so she could approach Josie to ask her where she could find bathrooms. She walked towards the pair calmly until she heard the conversation between the twins.
“I'm telling you, Lizzie. She was being so rude. Like I was trying to make the tour fun because we saw how sad her sister was when they left, but she refused to even talk to me… I feel like she hates me which is the last thing I want because I feel like she needs a friend right now you know?”
“That and you find her ‘really fucking hot'?” Lizzie said and chuckled.
Wait, hold up. She knew that the girl probably thought she hated her, which was completely wrong, but given the way Penelope was acting, it was easy to assume things. She also figured out that Josie might have felt like she was lonely right now and that wasn't far from the truth. However, she absolutely did not think Josie would find her attractive. After all, she was kind of an asshole to her earlier.
Just as Penelope was about to interrupt the two before she heard any more than she should've, Lizzie spotted her and a look of terror passed her face before a look of irritation took over. “What do you want?” She asked harshly, most likely because she assumed Penelope actually disliked her sister and was protecting her from any pain Penelope would cause.
Penelope chose to ignore Lizzie for the moment. She had a way more important question to answer first. “So you think I'm hot, huh?” Penelope felt the corner of her lips tug up just a little.
“I-" Josie started, but never finished her sentence. Instead, she opened and closed her mouth several times until she settled on looking down and attempted at hiding her rosy cheeks.
Penelope put her hand gently on the girl's shoulder, not wanting her action to come off as predatorial or anything other than comforting. “You know, I wouldn't be opposed to it if your answer happened to be yes,” she said with a smile and winked when Josie looked back up.
“Okay, what did you want?” Lizzie asked again, irritating Penelope to the fullest.
“I wanted to ask Josie a question,” she said honestly.
Lizzie scoffed. “What? Are you gonna ask her out or something?”
Penelope stared at the blonde for a second, a little taken aback by the straightforwardness of the girl. Despite being a little shaken, she didn't let herself break too easily. She decided to put aside the actual question she had in mind and took on Lizzie's proposal.
“Would you say yes if I asked?” She looked straight into Josie's warm chocolate brown eyes.
Josie took a moment to regain her composure. “Are you asking me right now?” She asked, as if challenging her. Oh if she only knew Penelope better. She never backed down on a challenge.
Penelope licked her lips and smirked before looking around and seeing that more than a few heads had turned their way. She chuckled to herself and shook her head at the thought of what she was about to do.
Penelope went down on one knee. Josie's eyes grew the size of golf balls and she shifted to have her whole body facing the girl on one knee. Penelope then stared into her eyes again as she asked, “Josie Saltzman, would you give me the honour to take you out on a date?”