Chapter Text
The weather in Mystic Falls, Virginia was known to be pleasant. Warm to hot summers, but nothing unbearable. Crisp autumns with plenty of fallen leaves. Cold winters with a little bit of snowfall. And throughout the year, an average amount of rain.
Penelope had chosen the perfect week to move. Not a single drop of water had fallen from the sky when she unpacked her car and helped the movers bring boxes into her new home. It had been a warm summer day at the end of August, a few white clouds scattered across the sky and a light breeze keeping the temperature at bay.
She had been here for about a week now. Finally unpacking the last of the remaining boxes this morning, and now settling down on her couch with a cup of tea. Her dog, Homer, was out in the backyard, sniffing and searching around his new territory. The large, fenced-in backyard was one of the main reasons Penelope decided to buy this house. She had gotten Homer when she lived in the city and needed a companion. She didn’t realize it then, but having a new puppy in a small one-bedroom apartment was not the smartest decision she had ever made. So, when a new teaching position opened up in Mystic Falls and she was offered the job, she knew not to make the same mistake again. Homer deserved to have as much room to play as Penelope could possibly afford, and so, she bought a house with the biggest back yard she could find.
Penelope’s time to relax was cut short when she heard Homer barking up a storm from the open window in her kitchen. She got up off the couch and made her way towards the sliding glass door next to the kitchen table.
“Homer!” She yelled, trying to get his attention. The bluenose pitbull turned to her and tilted his head in confusion. She waved him over and being the well-trained dog he was, he started prancing up the deck stairs towards her with a silly grin on his face, “What’s going on? What are you doing buddy?”
Homer sat down in front of her, looking proud and panting out happiness. Penelope bent down and ran her hand over the top of his head and between his floppy ears. Homer nuzzled into her palm before giving it a wet lick and running back down the deck stairs. Penelope stood with a smile, watching Homer run around the yard and gnaw on whatever stick he could find. She shook her head in amusement and turned to go back to her previous position on the couch.
Within moments of sitting down, Penelope was back up and at the back door when she heard two sets of barking this time. She slid the door open and watched as Homer stood by the fence separating her yard from her neighbor’s to the right. Homer’s front paws were up on the side of the fence, his tail wagging like crazy behind him as he let out a string of happy howls.
“So that’s what’s going on,” Penelope whispered to herself, “Homer’s got himself a new friend,” She chuckled.
She watched for a few more moments, glad that Homer was getting some sort of interaction after a year of being cooped up with just his mom. She made a mental note to see if there was a pit bull friendly dog park anywhere near them and to find a day to bring him out to it.
Just as she was about to turn around and go back inside, she heard another voice call out, “Odey! Stop annoying our new neighbor!”
Despite the fact that the words seemed to scold the dog, the girl’s voice that yelled them was soft and sweet and she laughed after saying them. Penelope couldn’t see the woman who was standing beyond the fence, but the sweet laugh intrigued her. Penelope added to the mental note that she made before, to also introduce herself to the woman who lived next door.
It was nearing 5 o’clock in the evening and Penelope was starting to get hungry after her long day of unpacking. So, she turned around and went back inside to prepare something to eat. She would call Homer in once she had his dinner made, giving him a little extra time outside.
Penelope pulled out a box of pasta from her newly organized pantry and two jars of canned crushed tomatoes. Next, she took out the package of ground sausage that she had bought the previous day and some onions and garlic. She grabbed a cutting board from one of the cabinets and a sharp knife and got to work on chopping the onions and mincing the garlic. Once in the pan and browned slightly, she threw in the package of ground sausage and let it all blend together. She added the crushed tomatoes and some different Italian seasonings and set the stove to simmer while her pasta boiled in a different pot.
Waiting for her own food to finish, Penelope got to work on Homer’s dinner which was just a combination of dry and wet dog food. She placed his bowl on the floor by his water dish and walked back over to the stove to strain her pasta. Once that was done, she opened up the back door to let Homer in for dinner.
“Homer!” Penelope yelled, “It’s dinner time bud!”
Penelope waited a moment, waited to see Homer come prancing up the steps as he did earlier, but he never did.
“Homer?” Penelope said again, stepping onto her back deck and looking around the yard.
Before she had the chance to walk down the deck stairs, her doorbell rang and a familiar bank sounded from the front of her house. Penelope hurried back into the house and over to the front door.
As soon as she opened it, she was met with a wide smiling brunette and anxiously waiting dog.
“I think you lost something,” The brunette grinned as she looked down at Homer. He had a leash attached to his collar, which Penelope followed up to the woman’s wrist.
“I am so sorry!” Penelope apologized and bent down to unhook the lease from Homer’s collar. Homer ran past her and into the kitchen to eat his dinner, “How did he even get into your yard?”
“I think he dug a hole under the fence,” The woman laughed, “I was walking out of the bathroom after my shower and there were two dogs on my couch instead of one. I guess he followed my dog in through the dog door.”
“Seriously, I am so sorry,” Penelope repeated, “I’ll make sure it never happens again. He didn’t destroy anything right? And your dog is okay?”
“Oh no,” The brunette reassured, “He was an angel. He was just chilling on the couch cuddled up with Odey. It was really cute actually.”
“Well, I’m happy he made a friend, but definitely embarrassed by his behavior. He’s not used to being allowed to roam free. We used to live in an apartment building, so the whole big back yard thing is new to him,” Penelope explained, looking back to find Homer at her side once again. Realizing she still didn’t know her neighbor’s name, Penelope extended her hand out and said, “My name’s Penelope by the way. It’s nice to finally meet you!”
“Josie,” The brunette smiled and shook Penelope’s hand lightly. She looked down at the grinning dog next to Penelope’s leg, “And this little guy? What’s his name?”
“This is Homer,” Penelope explained, “The trouble maker,” She laughed.
“Homer?” Josie repeated, “After the cartoon or the author?” She questioned.
“The author,” Penelope told her, “I guess you can say I’m a classic literature fan,” She chuckled with slight embarrassment.
“Hey, no judgment here,” Josie smiled, “My dog’s name is Odysseus. I call him Odey for short. The Illiad and the Odyssey are two of my favorite books.”
The slight embarrassment that Penelope felt about being a book nerd vanished and all that was left was a bright smile, “I know we just met, but have you eaten dinner yet? I made a big batch of meat sauce and some pasta. Do you want to join me?” Penelope asked.
“Really?” Josie questioned with a smile.
“Yeah,” Penelope assured, “Come in.”
Penelope stepped aside to let Josie in the front door. As soon as Josie was over the threshold, Homer was attached to her leg, nuzzling into her.
“He seems to like you,” Penelope pointed out.
“That’s probably because I gave him a treat before bringing him back over here,” Josie explained, “I didn’t want to scare him by leashing him up. I figured I treat might help frow some trust.”
“Well it definitely seems to have worked,” Penelope laughed, “The kitchen’s this way,” She instructed. Josie followed Penelope into the kitchen, Homer never leaving Josie’s side. He even sat at Josie’s feet when Penelope offered her a chair at the table.
Penelope walked back to the stove and plated up two dishes of pasta, pouring some of her homemade meat sauce over it. She grabbed some forks along with the plates and put one in front of Josie and one at the empty seat across from the brunette.
“What do you want to drink?” Penelope asked, “I have water, beer, wine, and orange juice. But I don’t think orange juice would taste very good with this.”
“Whatever you’re having is fine,” Josie responded.
Penelope walked over to the small wine rack she had in the back corner of her kitchen and pulled out a bottle, “Is a dry red good with you?”
“Yeah,” With Josie’s confirmation, Penelope twisted out the cork with a corkscrew and poured them each a glass in the new stemless red wine glasses that she had gotten from her mother as a moving gift. She handed one to Josie as she took her own seat. Penelope watched as the taller girl took her first bite, hoping that her homemade sauce came out well, “Did you make this?”
“Yeah,” Penelope replied, “Is it good?”
“It’s incredible!” Josie told her. Penelope let out a breath she didn’t even realize she was holding and then tried her own food. Josie was right, the sauce came out really well and Penelope was relieved that she didn’t feed her new neighbor, and possibly new friend, something disgusting.
As they ate, both women enjoyed some small talk together. Josie had asked how moving had gone and Penelope explained that it took her a full week to unpack everything and make it feel like home. Penelope had asked how long Josie had lived in the area and Josie explained that she had been her since she was a kid. Her parents lived in town and she grew up going to the local school. When she graduated from college, she didn’t want to be anywhere but her home town, so she moved back and got her own place.
“So what made you decided to move to Mystic Falls?” Josie asked after she finished swallowing her last mouthful.
Penelope took a sip of wine to clear her throat, “I just got a job here actually. A teaching position at the high school.”
“You’re the new AP English teacher?” Josie questioned, completely surprised by how small the world can be sometimes.
“I guess I am,” Penelope laughed.
“I teach 11th-grade honors English,” Josie explained, “So, you’re about to get a good chunk of my kids from last year!”
“It’s a small world, huh?” Penelope laughed, “How are they? The kids? Is there anyone I have to worry about?” Penelope asked. She doubted there would be. Most kids who decided to take AP English were part of the good group. In the last school that she taught in, she had mostly good kids. There was only one that gave her a problem at the beginning of the year, but they had worked it out and by the end of the year, she had been his favorite teacher.
“I don’t think so,” Josie thought for a moment and then said, “Megan can be a little snippy sometimes, but she’s a good kid. As long as you don’t let her bully you, she’ll quickly come to respect you. I didn’t put up with her shit and then one day she came to me and said “Miss Saltzman, you’re firey sometimes. I like it” and that was that. She never gave me a problem again.”
“I’m sure I’ll be able to handle her,” Penelope laughed.
“You will. Don’t worry,” Josie agreed, “And I’ve heard the AP reading curriculum this year is really cool. Some of the kids who wanted to move up this year were talking about it. I’m a little jealous, actually.” Josie explained.
“Well, you’re welcome to come over here any time you want and discuss all of the cool books that I’m going to get to teach,” Penelope teased as she got up to take the dirty dishes to the sink.
“Can I help you with anything?” Josie asked, standing to meet Penelope by the sink.
“No, it’s okay. You don’t have to,” Penelope told the taller girl.
“I want to,” Josie chuckled, “You wash and I’ll dry,” she said grabbing the dishtowel next to the sink.
They stood side by side as Penelope washed each dish and Josie dried them. Once the dished were all done and Josie helped Penelope to put them away, Josie explained that she should be getting back to Odey.
“If I don’t see you soon, good luck on your first day!” Josie told Penelope as she walked her to the door, “If you need anything, I’m normally in my room an hour before classes start. I’m just down the hall from you. Room 213.”
“Maybe I’ll pop by even if I don’t need anything,” Penelope smiled, “You know, just to say hi.”
“Maybe you should,” Josie smiled back before walking off the front porch, “I’ll see you around Pen,” She shouted and waved as she crosses over into her own front yard.
Penelope had never been given a nickname, it was always Penelope or Miss Park, but hearing “Pen” roll off of Josie’s tongue as easily as it did, made her smile. She could get used to seeing Josie around, hearing Josie call her Pen, getting to know the taller girl a little bit better. She looked forward to it actually.
Penelope walked back into her own house once she saw Josie get safely inside of her’s. She closed the door behind her and plopped down onto her couch. Homer ran up to her, lept onto the couch and curled into her side as soon as she was comfortable.
“You know, I’m not very happy about you ambushing our new neighbor like that. Not cool, dude,” Penelope scolded her dog, “But, I’m also kind of glad you did because now we both have a new friend,” Penelope explained and scratched Homer behind the ear.
Homer curled deeper into Penelope’s lap and let out a content sigh when she turned her TV on.