Work Text:
It’d only been a mere four months since Penelope had left the Salvatore school but for her, it felt like it hadn’t been long enough. She thought by now that she’d be over what went down, and more importantly – the whom of why it all went down but despite her best efforts, that just wouldn’t seem to rang true.
“Penelope, darling. Are you still fiddling with that magic ball?” A voice sounded from behind the young witch.
Grabbing the crystal that she’d been using to conduct spells that allowed her to see what was going on back in Mystic Falls, Penelope quickly slid it under her pillow before turning around on her bed, looking every bit as poster child perfect.
“No ma’am, I was just – “ She stalled to look around for something. Anything. “Playing fetch with Wednesday.” Penelope continued as she gestured to her cat who just so happened to be busying himself with a wand shaped stuffed toy. Nice save.
Hearing his name, the small creature waddled his way back over to her, effectively backing up her lie.
“See?” The forced smile on her face certainly wasn’t giving her any credibility and she could tell by the skepticism heavily etched onto her grandmother’s face but if the woman thought anything of it, she surely didn’t broadcast it.
“Very well then. Just be sure that whatever you were doing doesn’t cause another mishap like last time.” The older Park woman stated matter-of-factly, turning her nose up as she exited the room. “Oh, and dinner will be ready in thirty. Do be punctual, dear.”
It amazed Penelope how she was so used to being this independent person, this powerful witch, the girl that most people wouldn’t dare cross and now that she was back with her coven, she was deduced to this small imbecile child who was constantly berated and treated as if she was less than.
Of course she’d never dare to voice her insecurities which is why she often found herself dwelling on what was.
Initially it started out as just a quick glimpse into this magic ball her mom had gifted her a few years back when she was just training her magic. Spying was kind of her thing, after all. It had seemed that things hadn’t changed much since she’d made that difficult decision to leave and for that, she was grateful. It meant that regardless of how much she wished she had just one reason to stay, she’d made the right choice.
That had been very much short lived, however. Especially now, four whole months later, as she used her magic crystal to astro-project back to Mystic Falls.
With Lizzie being in Europe for the better part of the summer, the two had countered each other a time or two. The blonde had fed her updates a time or two, but Penelope being Penelope couldn’t trust her unless she saw it for herself. The only thing she didn’t expect to find was just how right Lizzie was.
There was no more Alaric as headmaster, there was no more Ms. Tig, the monsters had decided to take a vacation and then there was Josie…..and Landon.
Penelope would be lying to herself if she said she never anticipated Josie to move on. It was inevitable – for them, both – she just hadn’t expected it to be so soon….and with Landon fucking Kirby of all people. Even without her jealousy spectacles on, even a blind bat could see that their chemistry was practically non-existent, yet here Josette was, swooning over a phoenix like a new exhibit at the museum.
Pulling the crystal back out from underneath her pillow, Penelope closed her eyes as she recited the spell she’d done a countless amount of times now. That is what her life consisted of – 10% merge information findings, 10% practicing magic, 10% rekindling with her coven and even with that percentage, somehow still 110% watching in on her past. She’d done it so many times that nothing really surprised her anymore. Not Hope stupidly throwing herself into a pit of nothingness so that everyone forgot who she was (except Penelope because as she watched on in pure shock at the tribid’s dumbassery via her magic ball, she still made it a point to spell herself so that she was exempt from such a bad decision), not with Lizzie trying to change herself now when she literally could have so many times before, not MG still pathetically pining after Lizzie (no matter how much she despised the witch, she was still rooting for her boy) and above all, certainly not this shift in Josie.
At first, sure, it came as a shock but technically, it was what she wanted, right? So mayhaps she had a made a difference after all and Josie was starting to come to her senses. Penelope didn’t even want it for herself, she wanted it for Josie. Sure, Josie hadn’t asked for it – not directly, anyhow – but Penelope knew her. Certainly better than she knew herself at times and she wasn’t going to standby and allow Josie to become Captain Save-A-Hoe for everyone else but herself. She was a person too, with feelings that mattered and that’s all Penelope ever cared about: for her to do what mattered to her and to become her own person.
“Or you’ve just never been in a relationship where what you want matters.”
Whenever Penelope would use her powers to bring herself back to Mystic Falls, she never knew where she would end up. It was always in hiding but she hadn’t mastered the art of picking and choosing her whereabouts just yet cause if she had, she certainly would not have landed her hologram in Josie’s closet at that very moment.
Pressing her face against the small slits in the closet door, she watched on as Josie said nothing, but her face said it all.
Is that really what she thought of everything that Penelope did for her.
If she didn’t feel like she didn’t matter to Josie before, she sure as hell felt that way now.
She’d literally spent months encouraging Josie, putting Josie first when she couldn’t do it herself, looking out for her, willing to go after anyone who dared hurt her and loved her through it all.
She’d hurt herself, weathered all of Josie’s insults and stake-like words, even allowed herself to be attacked for simply loving a girl so much and all for what?
For her to be painted as the bad guy and all of her efforts undermined?
At least she had one thing over the fire bird, she knew that Josie was allergic to seaweed and wouldn’t have just sat there and ate her food while Josie almost died just to appease her. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Penelope stayed in her place, watching and listening as their conversation unfolded. She felt nothing beyond that line. Whereas the old Penelope would have been up in arms about the entire situation, she just found herself feeling empty.
Not empty in the sense that she was hurt in any sense of the word, but she’d come to accept that she’d done all she could have done and there was simply nothing left in the cards for them.
Just as Josie felt she had a role in everyone’s life, Penelope had one in Josie’s too and now, that job was being employed by someone else and oddly enough, she was okay with that.
Now she had to be that person that she was for Josie for herself and gain some source of normalcy and reassurance back in her life. She had to put Mystic Falls and all its inhabitants behind her and press forward.
She was Penelope Park for fuck’s sake.
But not without a little fun first. Two could play this game, right?
Closing her eyes, smirk firmly in place, she gripped the crystal a little tigher.
“Take me to Hope Mikaelson.”
No one said she’d be the bigger person over night.