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Josie wasn't a spontaneous person. In fact, she seldom did anything that wasn't planned a couple days in advance. Unless of course, her sister had an emergency with whichever boy she was having heart eyes for at the moment.
Josie prided herself in sticking to her routine and not leaving her bubble unless absolutely necessary.
So when her sister begged her to participate in an after-hours paintball game, Josie reluctantly gave in, setting aside her plans to get a head start on homework.
"Who's going to be there?"
Lizzie shrugged, "Rafael. He's the only one that matters,” she finished with a small giggle, tying the string of her pink sneakers tightly. The blonde gave her sister a once over, raising her eyebrows at the ratty T-shirt and jeans. "You could at least try to make an effort."
Josie looked away from her sister and crossed her arms. "It's not like I need to impress anyone anymore."
Lizzie gave her a pitying look before hopping up from where she was crouched and sticking her phone in the back pocket of her jeans. "You never know. You could fall in love with someone as paint is flying all around you. What a meet-cute!" The blonde grinned as Josie tried not to roll her eyes.
"You ready to go?"
Lizzie looked horrified at Josie's question. "I'm ready but you need to change. Seriously, I am not going out with you looking like you just rolled out of bed."
Josie bit the inside of her cheek and thought back to their birthday when Penelope Park gave her a speech that seemed to fit this moment perfectly,
"See, you have crawled so far down the codependence rabbit hole that you think taking care of yourself is selfish? But it's not. So when are you gonna take care of you?"
"I take care of myself just fine —"
"Oh really? Party starts in five." Penelope gave her a once over, her eyes connecting back with Josie's, shining with disappointment. "It's a shame you spent all that time helping Lizzie get ready."
Josie could've put on a nice outfit if she hadn't been counseling her sister in every exchange Rafael had with the blonde. In fact, Josie could be sticking to plans and getting a head start on her homework. But she put her sister first, which is why she couldn't complain about going out in the middle of the night to get paint shot at her. She tried to turn her resentment towards her sister back onto her ex, but for the first time since she'd broken up with Penelope, she couldn't.
///
Josie patted her hair, wincing at how snarly it had gotten from the walk into the woods. Lizzie had met up with Rafael and had basically draped herself over him as the pair walked towards the destination. Josie didn't want to hear Lizzie's awful flirting so she hung back, keeping them in sight.
As she continued her walk, she felt a branch whack her arm. Twisting to face it, she tangled her hair in it. Josie didn't make a habit of cursing, but she made an exception considering the trouble she'd gone through just for Lizzie to leave her. "Fucking forest and it's fucking trees!" She swore as she pulled her hairband out and noticed that her sister and Rafael were no longer in sight. "Fuck." She huffed for a final time before pulling her hair back with a defeated sigh.
"You need some help?" a voice called out, full of smugness, as Josie whipped around, her hands shooting out magic as a reflex to the surprise.
Penelope waved it away and the spell slammed into a tree before dispersing. "Woah there, hotshot."
The apology froze in Josie's throat as her eyes met Penelope's. Josie's eyes moved to her ex's outfit and she tried to fight the familiar heat curling in her lower stomach as she took it in. The girl was dressed in snug jeans that showed off her figure, a shirt cut low enough that Josie got a good look of cleavage, and a black bomber jacket. The two hadn't spoken since Josie's birthday where they shared what started as a simple kiss but progressed into Penelope pressing her against the wall and kissing every inch of her neck. "What are you doing out here?" she finally managed to mutter, attempting to run a hand through her tangled hair and failing miserably.
Penelope tilted her head, watching Josie struggle with her hair before closing the distance between them and spinning the startled girl around. "Are you kidding? I heard your sister was going to be involved and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to shoot her,” the witch said as she ran her hands through Josie's hair, brushing out the tangles and parting the locks into three sections.
Josie would've normally rolled her eyes at such a comment but was putting too much effort into not whining at the feel of her ex-girlfriend's hands softly pulling at her hair. She hadn't been touched intimately since their breakup and had only shared the kiss with Rafael as a means to siphon magic.
After Penelope dumped her, Josie had to learn how to take care of her own needs. When her sister would sneak out, Josie took advantage of their empty room by touching herself. She was never left as satisfied as her times with Penelope, however. And so what if she still imagined her ex between her legs when she got off?
Josie missed the sex but she missed the intimacy more. The casual and soft moments where they would braid each other's hair or practice spells together. She missed having someone who was interested in her. Someone who wasn't making nice and then using their friendship to get close with Lizzie.
She felt Penelope's fingertips brush the back of her neck and felt heat rise to her cheeks. "What are you doing?" she asked as her ex-girlfriend began tugging softly on the separated pieces of hair.
"Braiding your hair."
"Why?"
"Why not?"
Josie huffed in annoyance at the witch's lack of cooperation. In retaliation to the annoyance, Penelope, as softly as she could while still maintaining the purpose of the action, yanked the end of the braid after she was finished with it.
Josie let out a yelp before sending her ex a glare and trampling in the direction she last saw Lizzie and Rafael.
"Where are you going?" Penelope called out, trying not to chuckle at Josie's lack of grace while stumbling through the forest.
"To find Lizzie for the paintball game," Josie responded as she struggled to push away branches.
Penelope cocked her head and smirked as she watched Josie struggle through what was obviously not a path. "Well, honey, it might help if you go the right way."
Josie pauses and glanced around the dark area, squinting at where she was walking before blushing. "Whatever. The moon is the only light so..." Penelope's smirk stayed in place as she watched the girl nervously look around the forest. "Do you know where they went?"
Penelope shrugged nonchalantly. "Maybe."
"What do you mean, maybe? Either you know or you don't." Josie crossed her arms and faced the other girl. She tried not to let her eyes wander back to Penelope's low cut shirt but struggled.
"I'll walk you there but I'll need a favor from you. And don't worry, JoJo, I won't charge you extra for looking." Penelope winked, gesturing to her cleavage as she watched Josie's face turn impossibly redder.
"I wasn't— Penelope, god! You're so infuriating!" She nervously ran her hand down her braid and frowned when she felt something resting in it. "Did you put flowers in my hair?"
Penelope's smirk slowly transformed into a nostalgic smile. "I remember you used to ask me to magic them in." She brushed a strand of her own hair back before taking a step closer to Josie and letting the smirk take the place of the smile. "Now, about that favor." She grabbed Josie's hand and siphoned her magic.
Josie began to protest but Penelope released her hand and muttered some words before flicking her hand to the dark sky. The trees seemed to sparkle as a string of lights appeared in the direction she guessed the paintball game would start. Josie murmured a soft thank you before she walked in step with her ex-girlfriend.
They walked in silence as Josie snuck glances at Penelope blushing when Penelope caught her every time.
It didn't stop Josie from looking, however.
By the time they arrived at the makeshift camp that Rafael and his pack had set up, the two girls were walking close enough their hands were brushing with every step. Neither pulled away. Neither wanted to pull away.
"Josie! Oh, god! I thought you ditched me back there. I would've gone back but Rafael asked me to be on his team,” Lizzie said, running to her sister, her tone a whine before turning to excitement. She grabbed Josie and gave her a quick hug before turning to Penelope.
"What is satan's spawn doing with you?" she spat out, pulling Josie away from her ex.
Penelope gave Lizzie a mocking look of pity. "Are you cranky because Rafael is clearly not into you or because you caught an infection from the exercise the two of you engaged in on a gym mat?"
Lizzie's face turned bright pink as she struggled to control her magic from lashing out. "You're such a—"
Josie pulled her sister back before she could finish. "Save it for the paintball game, okay?"
Lizzie turned her glare from Penelope to her sister. "How did you ever love her?" she snarled before stalking off to find Rafael.
Josie kicked at the ground before glancing up at Penelope who was still looking at her with a small smile as she grabbed a beer from an ice bucket.
Josie pulled her eyes away and looked back at her feet as she whispered, "I still do."
///
"I'm so glad Rafael put she-who-shall-not-be-named on the other team. Now I can shoot her,” Lizzie stated as she did a small dance with her paintball gun.
Josie nodded absentmindedly, trying to catch Penelope's eye from where the girl was strapping on her vest and grabbing a pair of safety glasses. Josie had been put on Lizzie's team, of course, along with Rafael and roughly ten others while MG and Penelope were paired up with the other half of the group.
"... and so that's when I told him that I would— Josie! Are listening to me?" her sister demanded before rolling her eyes. "Of course not. Anyway, as I was saying, Rafael asked me to stick behind the group so I wouldn't get hurt. Isn't that the sweetest?"
Josie bit the inside of her cheek, trying not to get too worked up about how Lizzie was falling into the trap of the ridiculous notion that women can't fight. Although to be fair, Lizzie would probably complain more about the paint in her hair than getting shot.
"Alright! We're starting in five minutes!" Rafael called out, getting the group of about twenty-five to pay attention. "Get your teams together after I go over the rules. Rule number one, no shooting directly at the face. Number two, no special abilities." There was an audible groan as they all wanted to use their enhanced powers to their advantage. "And number three, no wandering off. That includes after you've been shot. Stay where you are or come back to camp. This is already a risky activity. Let's not get killed by whatever weird shit is out there."
There was a loud cheer as everyone began circling into their groups. Josie glanced up for the last time at Penelope and ducked her head down after the witch sent her a wink with the damn head tilt that set Josie's skin on fire.
She watched Penelope take charge of her group, leading them into the woods as Rafael stalked off in the opposite direction. She listened to his directions that mainly concerned the guys taking the lead and the girls hanging back. Josie tried not to roll her eyes at the blatant sexism or the
heart eyes her sister continued to make towards Rafael.
"Lizzie and Josie? You can both take turns walking around our area to make sure there isn't anyone lurking. I doubt they'll get past us, though." He grinned, slapping another pack member's back. "Just don't wander too far. I don't want to have to rescue anyone if they chose to capture you instead of shooting."
Lizzie did frown at that comment, realizing it didn't settle quite right. "We won't. Will we, Jo?" The blonde nudged her with hopeful eyes.
"We'll stay in our area,” she said softly.
"Great! Let's go fuck them up!" Rafael yelled before the timer on his phone went off, signaling the start. He blew a whistle to let the other team know before grabbing his paintball gun and heading off with the others. Josie glanced at her sister who was longingly staring at Rafael's retreating figure.
After about ten minutes passed, the two girls became restless. They knew what Rafael had asked them to do was just something to keep them busy. It wasn't a real task and Josie wanted to prove him wrong.
"I'll go look around first, okay?" Josie asked softly, trying not to get too frustrated when her sister sighed in indifference. "If I'm not back in fifteen, assume I'm shot,” she joked with a small smile before it fell from Lizzie's lack of enthusiasm. The brunette grabbed her paintball gun and headed in the direction the pack had left. She heard the occasional 'pop' of the guns discharging, but the sounds were too far off for Josie to be concerned.
As she walked through the forest, her thoughts became more active. She was thankful it was a clear night because the moon and stars were able to give the forest a beautiful glow. Josie stopped walking when she came to the stump of a fallen tree. She scanned around the area to make sure she hadn't been snuck up on before settling on the stump with a soft sigh. The brunette dropped her paintball gun on the ground before rubbing her clammy hand on her jeans. Her eyes seemed drawn to the specks of light in the sky as she murmured each of the constellations she could remember. Josie wasn't given many moments like this. Moments where she was alone and not feeling the weight of her own responsibilities along with her sister's. She closed her eyes and breathed in the crisp air and the fresh scent of nature. The sounds of paintball fire broke her moment. She opened her eyes and stood from the stump, brushing any dirt that had gathered off of her. Josie's eyes flickered to where her paintball gun had been and her stomach dropped.
It wasn't there.
She whipped around and frantically looked for any sign of movement. At this point, she wasn't scared it was another player; she was scared it was something else.
She felt a warm body press into her back and a hand clamp over her mouth, so naturally, she screamed.
No sound was made due to the hand trapping it. Josie was about to let her magic stream out of her fingers when a soft whisper came from whatever was holding her. "Quiet, JoJo. I need you not to scream when I let you go, okay?" Josie felt relief as she recognized the voice instantly. She nodded in response and Penelope lifted her hand and spun her around.
As Josie faced her ex, she was thankful her adrenaline was still pumping otherwise she would be too distracted by the flecks of paint and the light sweat on the girl to form a coherent thought. "Penelope, you can't just sneak up on people like that. I could've seriously hurt you."
The witch gave Josie her classic smirk before moving a step closer causing Josie to take one back. She felt the coarse bark of a tree behind her as Penelope took a second step, effectively trapping her.
Josie cleared her throat, trying to maintain her composure. "How did you know where I was?"
Penelope braced a hand on the tree, next to Josie's cheek and moved so they were almost touching. "Cast a spell. And before you go on about cheating, the wolves and the bloodsuckers have been using their innate abilities. It's only fair to use ours."
Josie's eyes flickered from Penelope's eyes to her lips and back again. "Well, if you found me, then someone else is bound to as well,” she murmured, her eyes finally landing and staying on Penelope's lips.
The other witch shrugged. "Let them. I'll defend your honor." She winked and Josie lost it.
She grabbed the back of Penelope's head, tangling her fingers in the girl's hair and tugging her to lips. It would've infuriated Josie that her ex didn't seem surprised at her sudden actions but she was too caught up in the feeling of Penelope's hands moving under her shirt and her lips leaving bruising kisses against her own. Josie let out a quiet moan but it was audible enough and when Penelope heard it, she moved her lips towards Josie's jaw.
Nipping at the soft skin, she felt Josie tremble and grip her waist. Penelope smirked through the kisses she left from her ex's jaw to her neck, to her collarbones, and back to her lips. Josie kept the grip on the witch's waist before shifting a hand to pull down the zipper on Penelope's jeans. The other girl felt it and pressed her thigh between Josie's, stopping her movement and causing the girl to whine into Penelope's mouth.
At the sound came out of her mouth, Josie felt the other witch push her harder against the tree before she pulled away. Josie didn't have a chance to react to Penelope breaking the kiss because without warning, a pop was heard and Josie felt the impact on her paintball vest. She stared in shock as she realized Penelope shot her. She fucking shot her.
"All is fair in love and war, JoJo."
Josie hid the outrage on her face as she noticed Penelope had shot her with her own paintball gun. The one that magically disappeared. Penelope eyed her warily, her smirk hesitantly in place as she tried to gauge her ex's reaction.
"You're right," Josie murmured, approaching the other witch slowly before waving her hand, causing the paintball gun in Penelope's hand to combust, spraying paint all over the girl. "All is fair." A grin made its way on Josie's face as, for the first time in a while, Penelope's smirk dissipated.
"That was so unfair. You're out so you can't shoot me—"
"Technically, I didn't shoot you," Josie added as she watched her ex struggle to wipe green paint from her neck.
"Now I look like Mike Wazowski,” Penelope groaned as Josie tried not to double over in laughter.
"I don't know. I always found him kinda cute."
Penelope stopped wiping the paint and glanced up at the other witch. "Yeah?"
"Yeah." Josie shrugged, taking a step closer to the girl.
"Prove it."
Not caring that either had paint all over, they kissed, slower than before but with the same passion they'd had for each other since the day they met.