Chapter Text
Lizzie Saltzman and Hope Mikaelson have been friends for over a decade. Well, kind of. They've known each other for a decade, but just recently started to actually bond and start building their friendship. They've really only been friends for three years, and they're best friends.
When Hope needs support, Lizzie is there and vice versa. They understand one another, it's like they're best friend soul mates... or something like that.
So Lizzie doesn't really understand why her mind- and heart- are fucking with her right now and making her crush on Hope. Lizzie's devasted, really. Crushing on your best friend is truly the worst, especially when they're your main support system and oh- are dating a really sweet guy who she's pretty sure Hope's been in love with for a few years now. Great. Lizzie has to see or hear about Landon almost every time she and Hope hang out and it's been driving her insane.
So, she does the thing she hasn't had to do in such a long time. It makes her sad, knowing that she's returning to old techniques. But she has to, to protect herself and Hope. She shuts Hope out and does her best to ignore her. When Hope presses too much she lashes out and tells Hope to just leave her alone.
It works. For awhile. A few months, to be exact.
Lizzie goes without her best friend, her support system, for a few months. One can only imagine how horrible things have been for Lizzie's close friends and family. But they're able to help her and do the best they can to support her. No one is as good as Hope though.
Hope, on the other hand, has been fucking distraught. Literally falling apart. Landon, Raf, Freya, nobody can calm her down when she has breakdowns and she's been more irritable each day. Hope never realized how deep Lizzie really planted herself into her life, and it's driving her insane to not know what she did wrong.
She wants to reach out, so, so bad. But she knows Lizzie needs her space and she's more than willing to wait until the taller girl is ready.
Hope's not sure how long she'll have to wait though. It seems like forever- and once her vampirism is activated she'll literally have forever to wait around- but she prays it's soon. Because she feels like she can blow any moment.
Thank whatever higher power there is because Hope's begging has finally been answered. Lizzie fucking Saltzman is at the same party as her. Hope spots her as soon as she walks in, she's about an hour late but she looks more than gorgeous so at least she has an excuse. Fashionably late. She shows up with Josie by her side and MG runs to greet them.
You got me some type of way, ain't used to feelin' this way, I do not know what to say
Hope is thrown into a state of panic. What does she say? Should she even approach her? No, how does she look is the question of the hour? Oh, god. She hasn't even seen Lizzie in a month or two. She feels sick. Luckily, the taller girl hasn't noticed her yet so she sneaks her way into the kitchen for a drink. Why is she so nervous? Why does she care if she's presentable or not? Lizzie is her best friend, that's all, so it doesn't matter. What matters is getting her to talk to Hope again.
Took one fuckin' look at your face, now I wanna know how you taste
Usually, don't give it away but you know I'm out here thinkin' 'bout it
To the best of Hope's luck, Lizzie bursts into the kitchen giggling. For a moment she wonders if she can duck down and avoid detection or use her cup to hide her face but it's too late. Her and Lizzie lock eyes.
"Oh," Lizzie's eyebrows raise. "Hope, hey."
Hope gulps. "Hey. H-How are you?"
Being this close to Lizzie really takes a toll on Hope. Lizzie looked gorgeous from a distance but being right across the counter from Hope is really making the shorter girl... nervous? She doesn't even know. She can't exactly describe what she's feeling but all she can think about is how Lizzie looks so good. It's refreshing to see her face.
"I'm good. You?"
Lizzie feels like she's going to collapse. Hope's hair is down and fits her face perfectly, she's wearing combat boots (as always) and skinny jeans with a simple top and leather jacket. Fair to say the blonde is having a GPA. Besides her gay panic attack currently going on, she's not prepared to confront Hope or do anything else tonight but party. She definitely can just run away again but Hope deserves better than that. Lizzie does too.
Instead, she plays it cool. She pretends like she's not nervous or about to lose her mind. Hope doesn't seem to catch on. In fact, Hope seems too preoccupied with other thoughts to even reply to Lizzie's question or address the fact that Lizzie's been MIA for the last few months. Lizzie's about to ask if she's okay when she notices Hope is eyeing her- from head to toe.
Oh. Well, not really what Lizzie pictured their first confrontation after so long would be like, but it's okay. She'll take it. She's not sure what to do now, does she say something, clear her throat, flirt..? She settles for an awkward shift.
Hope meets her eyes again and opens her mouth to speak when they're interrupted.
Then I realize he's right there
And I'm like, "Damn, this ain't fair,"
Landon walks into the kitchen and asks Hope if everything is alright. Lizzie's face drops and she backs away from Hope and starts to make herself two drinks. Which is what she initially came into the kitchen for anyway.
Hope sighs. Hard. She's so desperate to roll her eyes but she doesn't. Honestly, she forgot she's here with Landon. The last few months with him have been tense and rocky. Hope loves him but he's never been very understanding of her problems and how she chooses to deal with them. Due to the fact that she's been so on edge lately, things have only gotten worse. She was hoping to get a few more moments alone with Lizzie, at least enough to discuss the elephant in the room, but of course, her loving and caring boyfriend has to interrupt.
Hope knows it isn't fair to be frustrated with anyone but herself. And Lizzie. But, still. She was so in the moment she didn't even realize the boy might come looking for her... what was that about anyway?
This shit always happens to me, why can't we just play for keeps?
Lizzie slams her cups down harshly after pouring her drinks into them. Hope and Landon are having hushed conversation towards the other end of the kitchen, but Lizzie can hear Hope telling him that she needs a bit of space and is trying to talk to her. They both look in her direction after she slams her cups down but she just takes a huge swing from the first one.
Lizzie remembers why she distanced herself from Hope. She's sick of watching perfect little Landon come in and receive all of Hope's attention. She wishes they could just hold a competition, competing for Hope's love and attention. She knows she'd win for sure. Lizzie knows all of Hope's favorite things, what cheers her up, her pet peeves, the best way to get her out of bed in the morning. You name it and Lizzie most likely knows it. Landon, on the other hand, is a great guy, but he's pretty clueless. It's like Hope is always one, or two steps ahead of him. Lizzie thinks Hope deserves someone who can step with her, not behind.
"Liz, you good?" Hope asks, making her way towards the blonde.
"Oh, just peachy. Don't mind me you can continue talking to your oh-so-amazing boyfriend and I'm just going to go enjoy my night like I originally planned," Lizzie glares at Landon and then at Hope before making her way into the crowd.
"Uhm," Landon starts. "Is she okay?"
"What do you think?" Hope rolls her eyes and follows the taller girl. So Lizzie is upset because Landon interrupted them? She doesn't get it, she was trying to tell him to go away anyway! And why is she talking about Landon like that? She only does that when-
"Oh." The shorter girl thinks aloud after finally putting the pieces together. Lizzie is jealous of Landon. And if Lizzie is jealous of Landon, then that means...
Lizzie totally likes her. That's why she's been distancing herself. It all makes sense now.
But what does this mean for them?
You know what you're doin' to me, actin' all innocent, please. When I know you out here thinkin' 'bout it
Hope approaches Lizzie in the crowd and taps her on the shoulder lightly, interrupting her conversation with MG. She gives MG a nod of acknowledgment and he gets the memo, disappearing into the crowd of his guests.
"Hey... can we talk?"
Lizzie stares at Hope for a moment and the shorter girl is afraid that Lizzie is going to walk away or something until she gives a small nod. "Sure, you can talk to me while we dance."
"Uh-" Hope starts to object but Lizzie pulls her deeper into the crowd and they're surrounded by sweaty college students and way too much bumping and grinding. Hope grimaces.
Lizzie starts to dance with the crowd and Hope notices a few people get a little too close to her or let their eyes linger for a bit too long. She squints her eyes and pulls the blonde close, places her hands on her hips and leans into the taller girl.
"Jealous much?" Lizzie smirks and Hope tightens her grip a bit. Lizzie is acting like she isn't being affected by Hope being so close but she gulps and looks around, not wanting to maintain eye contact with her. "So what do you want to talk about?" Lizzie asks after clearing her throat.
"Well, for starters, you kind of walked out of my life. Why?"
"I think you know why," Lizzie sighs as Hope moves her arms from her hips to around her neck. A slow song isn't playing and even though everyone seems close because they're dancing on each other Hope and Lizzie still seems to be the closest in the room. "You know what you're doing, Hope."
"Do I?"
Hope actually does know what she's doing. It's not right but she has to make sure her feelings are confirmed before she acts on anything, including repairing her relationship with Lizzie. Lizzie smiles at the shorter girl and brings her hands around the girl's waist. "I think you do," She leans down a bit to reach Hope's ear.
"I like you, Hope. And I can't stand to see you with Landon, or hear you talk about him every time we're together."
Then you realize he's right there. And you're like, "Damn, he can't compare,"
Hope looks up and stares at Lizzie and for a moment she feels like it's just them in the room. "Lizzie, I..."
"I think your boyfriend wants to dance," Lizzie smiles at Hope sadly and leaves before Landon can approach. As Hope watches her leave she feels like there's a weight pushing down on her chest and she struggles to catch her breath for a moment. Landon approaches Hope with a smile and that's when Hope realizes that though she loves to see Landon's smile she can't live without seeing Lizzie's.
You could say I'm hating if you want too, but I only hate on him cause I want you. Say I'm trippin if you feel like but you without me ain't right.
Lizzie finds Josie and takes her cup out of her hand, chugging it down in a few sips. "I'm ready to fucking go. But after a few more drinks. I need to get shitfaced." She pulls her sister into a tight hug.
Josie breaks free from the bear hug and chuckles as she kisses her girlfriend, Penelope, and lures Lizzie away toward the kitchen. "I'll be back, babe. I'll bring you a drink."
Lizzie smiles at Penelope apologetically. She really appreciates how supportive her twin and Penelope are, they can just kick her to the curb and let her deal with her feelings on her own but they don't and she's so thankful. Penelope and Josie are Hope's friends too, yet they still respect the situation and don't treat Hope or Lizzie differently.
Rafael, Landon's brother, and conveniently Hope's ex, is always accusing Lizzie of hating on Landon or having a vendetta against him- especially after she distanced herself from Hope. Maybe he's right, but the only reason why Lizzie is ever bitter toward Landon is that he has the girl of her dreams and isn't giving her his all. Lizzie hopes that Hope can see how right Lizzie is someday and realize that she can do so much better.
Break up with your boyfriend, you could hit it in the morning,
Hope is tired of feeling conflicted and like she's gonna blow. She's tired of Landon telling her all of the wrong things and tired of having to explain herself. She feels like shit. She's just realized her best friend likes her, she obviously returns some of those feelings and she has a very sweet, yet very annoying, boyfriend. She's not really sure what to do. But she does know that Landon doesn't deserve to remain in a faltering relationship.
"Landon," Hope turns around to address the boy that's been following behind her the entire party. "I think we should break up. I'm sorry."
"What? Why?" He doesn't seem sad or anything. Just confused as to why it's so sudden. "Actually, just save it, Hope. I'll ask you when you're not under the influence."
Hope's face scrunches up and she's taken aback at his remark. Does he think she's going to change her mind when she sobers up or something? "I barely had two drinks, Landon. I'm not under the influence."
"I meant under the influence of Lizzie. Goodnight, Hope." With that, he walks away.
Hope lets out a breath she didn't realize she's been holding and makes her way to the kitchen. She needs to be under the actual influence after what just happened. Under the influence of Lizzie? Landon obviously doesn't know what he's talking about.
"Hey. Again," Lizzie greets Hope for what seems to be the umpteenth time tonight. "You're really pretty, you know."
The shorter girl notices the cup in the blonde's hand and reaches her hand out. Lizzie gives her the cup and Hope finishes whatever is in it before replying. "Thanks. You are too."
"Why didn't you tell me how you felt?" Hope asks after a moment of silence. "We could've talked about it. You didn't have to run." She sounds hurt.
Lizzie just shrugs her shoulders and inches closer to Hope. "It wouldn't have mattered. Would it?"
Hope actually thinks for a second before deciding that she doesn't know. It's in the past anyway.
"Who knows, I'm just glad I know now. We should get out of here, I'm bored."
"Yeah, we should." Lizzie agrees. "I'll order an Uber."