Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

What’s so great about relationships anyway? I mean sure, you have someone to cuddle and kiss, do all those romantic things that you see in books and movies with, but is that all they are? I wish I could experience something like that someday just to see what all the fuss is about.

I’m 17 and I haven’t even kissed anyone yet. All of my classmates are way ahead of me, especially my twin sister Lizzie. She’s your typical gorgeous blonde that everyone drools over. She’s probably dated more people than I can probably count.

Everyone absolutely loves Lizzie and nobody even glances at me. Sometimes I feel like I’m invisible and people just pass by me. I’m just your typical nerdy girl who enjoys reading books and listening to deep emotional songs. I enjoy stuff that makes me think about deep topics like things that make you feel alive and questions like “Are soulmates actually real?” for example.

Maybe someday I’ll get to experience what a relationship is like when I meet my soulmate. I like to think about that. I love the idea that you’re just meant to be with someone, that there’s someone out there for you, you know, your other half.

It’s Friday, which means that tomorrow is the weekend. Two glorious days spent reading this new book I bought. It’s called Ask the Passengers and I can relate so much to the main character. She often finds herself looking at the airplanes in the sky and imagining what kind of passengers are on there. I kind of do the same thing. I often make up scenarios in my head, not just about imaginary people sitting inside airplanes but about random people that I see on the street or on the bus. It’s fun.

I also enjoy romance movies, so I might watch something during the weekend as well. I’ve been meaning to check out To All The Boys I Loved Before 2 anyway, but we’ll see if I’m in the mood for that.

Lizzie is my total opposite. She hates reading and watching anything remotely romantic. I guess she’s just into the physical stuff because she’s never had a relationship where she’s had actual feelings for the person. Well unless you count her ex-boyfriend Sebastian. I think she actually loved him. They were dating for a while but it resulted in a really bad break up. They had this on again off again thing. I don’t know, but I feel like other than him, she’s never had real feelings for anyone.

“Josie!” I hear someone call out to me as I was walking down the hall towards my next class.

“Hey, Raf! What’s up?”

“Oh uh… nothing much, just wanted to see how you are,” Rafael, one of the hottest guys in school and Lizzie’s ex fling or whatever they were, tells me. He even throws in that dazzling smile of his.

“You need my notes for History class, right?” I immediately confront him and unzip my backpack to take out the notes. The only times Rafael has talked to me have been when he needed something, so I know that this is no different. A boy like that would never be interested in me anyway. I don’t know why I get my hopes up that he’ll ask me something else.

“No… uh...” He begins speaking, trying to come up with some sort of excuse probably, but he quickly gives up. “Alright, you caught me. Can I please have them? I didn’t get a chance to attend last time.”

He was probably hooking up with some skank in the school bathroom or something. I’ve heard the rumors. Also, Lizzie has told me before that they were hooking up there as well, back when they were a thing or whatever they were.

“Okay, but bring them back to me by the end of the day. I need them for-” I begin say but he kinda cuts me off.

“Yeah, yeah,” he just says and grabs them before quickly running off. I don’t even get a chance to finish my sentence before he just sprints away. Nevermind then. It doesn’t matter anyway.

I walk into my Geography class and immediately go sit in the back. I don’t really feel like participating in the learning process at the moment. It’s an easy class anyway. I can pass it in my sleep. The teacher knows that I usually study a lot, so he doesn’t bother asking me anything about the lessons. He prefers pestering the other students usually.

As the lesson goes on and I’m doodling in my notebook, someone suddenly throws a small crumbled piece of paper on my desk. I immediately take it and open it to see the contents.

Hey, cutie! Meet me at your locker after class. I have something important to ask you!

-Jed

I immediately raise my eyebrows in surprise as soon as I read the note. Jed? As in, captain of the football team Jed. That Jed. He wants me to meet him at my locker so he can ask me something. We’ve never really spoken before so this comes as a huge shock to me. I wonder what he wants from me, though. Will it be my notes like Rafael? Maybe he needs a tutor? Or maybe he actually genuinely likes me and wants to ask me on a date? Well, guess we’ll find out soon enough.

As soon as class ends, I kinda sprint to my locker. Talk about being excited, huh? I don’t want to make a big deal out of this, but I mean come on, it’s Jed. I will be over the moon if he actually asks me out on a date.

A few minutes pass and I finally see Jed approaching with some freshman boy next to him. He has a huge smirk on his face while the younger one has his head bowed down as if he’s his slave or something.

“Hey, you wanted to ask me something?” I say to Jed as soon as he and the boy are face to face with me. I hold my textbook tightly as I wait in anticipation for his question.

“Yes, I wanted to ask if you’d-” Jed begins speaking but pauses mid-sentence when he places his hand on the younger boy’s shoulder. “-go out with little Wesley here.”

“Uhmm...” I’m speechless and don’t really know what to say. He wants me to set me up with a freshman boy? Really?

“I just thought that you two would be perfect for each other,” Jed speaks again, the smirk never disappearing from his face. “You know, because you’re both such huge losers.”

Jed then pushes Wesley closer to me and begins laughing at my face before walking away to meet with a group of cheerleaders who had been watching us. They were laughing as well. God, he’s so horrible, ruthless even, and I feel so utterly humiliated by his statement. Does everyone in this school think that I’m a loser?

I come home crying that day. I quickly sprint to the room Lizzie and I share and slam the door behind me. Thank god Lizzie isn’t home yet. I don’t want to worry her with my shit. Guys like Jed are such jerks. I don’t understand how someone can be so horrible and feel pleasure when they see somebody else suffer like that.

I’ve been bullied all my life for being the smart nerdy girl, the teacher’s pet. Usually Lizzie defends me and nobody dares say anything to me when my sister is around, but when she’s not there, it’s literal hell. Lizzie wasn’t at school today because she had a doctor’s appointment. She needed a new prescription for her medication. She has bipolar disorder but nobody at school other than me, her best friends MG and Maya, and the teachers know about it.

“How was school today? What did I miss?” Lizzie asks me tonight after dinner.

“Nothing important,” I tell her and continue playing with my phone.

“Did anyone ask you why I’m not at school?”

“No, nobody.”

Lizzie sighs in relief as soon as she hears my words. “Good,” she then replies and opens her wardrobe.

I continue playing with my phone while Lizzie takes out some of her clothes. She’s contemplating what outfit she should wear. I guess my sister probably has another party to go to or something. I never get invited to those.

“You need to help me pick out an outfit, Jo. I’m going to the party of the year tonight!” Lizzie starts talking. I don’t even attempt to look at her because I’m having an important battle in the Pokemon Go League and I need to focus. “Alyssa told me that Kyle from the football team is going to be there. I need to look as hot as possible to grab his attention!”

“Mmmm...” I just hum as I continue to play my game.

“Which one do you like more?” Lizzie says and without looking at her, I just say that I like the right one.

“You didn’t even look at it!” Lizzie tells me with a slightly irritated tone in her voice. Suddenly I see a piece of clothing hit me in the face and then cover my phone’s screen. Lizzie had thrown some T-shirt at me.

“Hey!” I yell out, annoyed at my sister’s actions.

“Stop playing that stupid game and help me pick out an outfit!”

“Fine...”

I sigh because I don’t really want to fight with her. I hate fighting in general and try to avoid it as much as possible. It’s hard with Lizzie, though. She gets on my nerves so much sometimes. I tell myself that it’s because of her mental illness that she has these outbursts, so I can stop myself lashing out at her.

“So? Which one?” Lizzie asks again and I just point at a black dress she’s holding. “This one?” Lizzie lifts it up and I just nod my head without saying anything.

“You look good in anything, Lizzie,” I then tell her with a smile.

My sister rolls her eyes at what I just said. “Obviously, but I don’t need to look just good! I need to look perfect! I need to be the hottest girl at that party!”

She always looks perfect and everyone loves her. I’m sure that this time will be no different.

Lizzie quickly gets ready and heads off to the party about an hour later. She doesn’t ask me if I want to come with her. Of course she doesn’t. That thought would probably never cross her mind.

I find myself looking at YouTube videos that night and end up on a video with the title “By the way, High School Dating Advice”, uploaded by the user DanPlan. It was in my recommended list, so I decided to check it out.

“Everything’s terrible, everything sucks”

I laugh when I hear the guy say those words in the video. Come on, it can’t really be that bad. The video then goes on with the guy Stephen having a conversation with some other dude about what he thinks relationships are. He gives some kind of example about whether it’s a relationship if you’ve never officially said it is. You hold hands, go on dates, but is it really a relationship if you don’t make it official? I think for a second that it probably is. Why should you put a label on something just to make it valid?

I decide to end the video at that point because I see something else that intrigues me. It’s a video titled “i went on tinder to find a boyfriend lol”, uploaded by Kylee Renee Clark. I immediately click it and a blonde girl begins speaking.

“Hi, guys! It’s Kylee. Welcome back to my channel. Today I thought that I would find myself a boyfriend. I’ve been single for about a year and a half now. I’ve had one relationship my entire life...”

“One relationship and you’re complaining? At least you’ve had one. Try none...” I say and feel a bit frustrated. I feel like 90% of my peers have had at least one relationship. Am I that ugly that nobody likes me?

T he video continues with the girl flirting with some guys on Tinder. I’ve never really thought about using a dating app. I guess I’ve always been a bit afraid of having conversations with strangers. I don’t know why. Call it having a maximum level of shyness. I just feel super self-conscious about people seeing my pictures on there. I mean, I barely have pictures of myself as it is. I think I have only 1 profile picture on my social media accounts and that’s about it. Everything else is from tagged photos with Lizzie and my family that I can’t remove because they would be upset and think I’m probably ashamed of them or something. I don’t know. I just leave them.

I check out a few more videos of texting people on dating apps and decide to download Tinder, just to check it out. If everyone is making so many videos with it that it can’t be that bad, right?

After I download it, it prompts me to make an account. It requires me to put in my phone number or log in through Facebook. I’m a bit skeptical at first, but then I decide to pick the phone number option, so I just write it in the text box. Then I get redirected to the screen where I have to fill out my personal information. I’m going to have to change the year I was born since the app has an age restriction of 18. I do everything correctly after that and then see that I have to choose a profile picture. The thought immediately makes me want to throw up.

I end up looking through my tagged photos to see if there’s anything that I can use, but I don’t like myself in any of those photos.

“God, why do I look like I’m about to puke in this one,” I say out loud and sigh as I continue going through the pictures.

Lizzie has really nice photos. Most of them are super aesthetic. She looks like a model in each and every one of them. It’s no wonder that she has many followers on all her social media platforms. If only I could look as good as my sister, then I wouldn’t have this problem right now .

In that moment, kind of a weird thought crosses through my mind. What if I use Lizzie’s pictures? I’ll get the chance to talk to many people and see what flirting is all about. Everyone would definitely text if it’s my sister on there. If I were to use my own pictures, nobody would probably text me anyway. At least this way I’ll be guaranteed that I’ll be able to have conversations with people.

I don’t think much about this idea afterwards and I just change the first name from “Josie” to “Lizzie”, then put one of her pictures on there. Then the account is complete. Wonderful!

Welcome to Tinder

Click, drag or use arrow keys to like

and pass people in your area!

I smile when I see the welcome screen, then I hit next. I allow my location to be shared and enable the notifications.

“Okay, I’m now officially on Tinder!” I say out loud and jump a little in excitement.

This is going to be fun!

Chapter Text

Tinder is kinda weird. You have to admit, there’s no other place on Earth where you could meet so many crazy people. I got like 30 matches in the past hour and all of them sent me messages.

“Does he really think that someone would reply to him after sending that?!” I say and make a disgusted face as I stare at the chat.

Dave:

hey there babygirl ;) I wanna slap that cute little ass of yours!

People are such perverts. I can’t believe someone would say stuff like that to a person they barely know. I am so not replying to that.

I scan the rest of the messages and come across some really weird ones.

Hilton:

hi, nice tits :)

Jeff:

hey cutie ;* wanna see my dick?

Simone:

hey baby, i’d love it if I could get to know you more personally

my husband and I would enjoy a beautiful girl like you

Brandon:

what’s a beautiful girl like you doing on this app? you wanna hook up?

Avery:

Girl, did it hurt when you fell from the vending machine? Cause you’re a snack ;)

I am so not replying to any of these people. I mean what the hell. Do they even know how to start a normal conversation?

Jack:

Hey, how are you?

This Jack guy doesn’t seem so bad. He didn’t ask for nudes or anything, so that could be a good sign. I decide to check out his pictures and he is not that bad looking. He dresses nicely and is 18, I think. At least, that’s what it says on his profile. I decide to send him a text to see what kind of person he is.

Lizzie:

Hi, I’m good

What about you?

Thankfully I don’t have to wait long because he sees my message immediately and sends me a reply. Guess he is just as bored as I am right now.

Jack:

Fine, I just came out of the shower.

Tell me more about yourself. What are your hobbies?

Lizzie:

I enjoy reading a lot of books and watching movies mostly.

I’m kind of a sucker for romance.

Jack:

That’s nice.

I’m a pretty romantic guy myself. ;)

Lizzie:

Oh really?

Tell me your ideal date then!

Jack:

I’d take my girl out to a nice restaurant.

Maybe we could go for a walk afterwards.

We’d stare at the stars.

Then we’d go to my place to end the night perfectly!

Hot sex after a date is always the best!

Lizzie:

So, you’re one of those guys?

The ones that have sex on the first date?

Jack:

I’ve had my fair share of one night stands.

I’m not really that into relationships.

I prefer to just have sex with someone.

No strings attached...

“This surely is not the guy for me,” I say out loud and sigh. I want someone serious that would sweep me off my feat, not some guy that would fuck me once and I’ll never see again.

I decide to just leave him on seen after that and not text him anymore. I don’t see any point in continuing a conversation with a guy like that.

I swipe some girls afterwards and a few of them end up being matches, but they don’t text me. I quickly notice the different types of people on Tinder.

First you have type 1, the gym freak who is extremely self-confident and think that they can get whoever the hell they want. They usually have a picture in front of a mirror, showcasing their abs, or should I say their so-called perfect bodies in general. Those are definitely not for me. I don’t want to date someone who would be at the gym all day everyday. Plus that super self-confident type kinda turns me off a bit.

The second type is the traveler. I feel like they have more pictures of some landmarks or something than they do of themselves. Mountains, airplanes, who cares where you went. Is that how you want to impress people?

Type number 3 is the really ugly one who you swipe only because they have a picture of their dog on their profile. It doesn’t matter that you’re not going to text them back after they’ve sent the first message. You definitely need to swipe right for the dog!

Then you have type 4 – the perverts. These people always ask for an inappropriate picture or even send you one just like that. I guess they have some weird fetish or something. Ew… I really can’t deal with those creeps. They deserve to be unmatched right away.

Type 5 people are the ones who ignore you. I’ve sent some people that really caught my attention messages but for some reason they just don’t text back. I don’t know why honestly. Do they feel like they’re too good for me? Or maybe they have deleted the Tinder app but not their profile after they swiped people. That would explain why it still pops up in the searches.

I really want to meet someone who is actually decent on this app. Is that so much to ask? There has to be a type of person who you can have a normal conversation with. There just has to be. I mean, I’m on Tinder. I can’t be the only normal person on there, right?

I continue swiping for about 2 more hours and become extremely disappointed and disgusted by the people I see on that app. I am about to give up and just overall delete everything, when I suddenly come across the profile of a really pretty girl that definitely catches my attention.

“Hope Mikaelson,” I say out loud and then begin reading her Tinder bio.

Hope, 18

I honestly don’t know why I’m even here. Maybe boredom could be the reason. What can I say about myself? Hmmm… Well, I’m not one of those girls with 2 pounds of make up plastered all over their faces. I’m kind of a geek and would probably epically fail at the bowling alley if we were to go there. If you text me things like “Hey dollface, send nudes” then that would result in me immediately blocking you.

This girl seems pretty cool. She doesn’t appear to be like the rest of the people on this stupid app. I guess it doesn’t hurt for me to swipe her. If it’s not a match, then I’m going to take that as a sign and delete my account.

“Oh my god!” I immediately exclaim a few seconds after I swipe her because I see that me and this girl are indeed a match.

I wonder if I should text her first or let her text me. Maybe I could try to come up with some fun way to start the conversation. Let’s see. I read her bio once again to see if there’s something I might use to start the conversation with. I also end up searching the Internet for some conversation starters and just overall tips on how to start talking to people online.

I come across this article of 14 Tinder Conversation starters. The first tip is to start the conversation with a GIF. Sure, it might be fun, but I don’t want to come off as one of those girls who just randomly sends a GIF to someone. I feel like I am good enough with words to come up with a decent text message. I continue reading the article and to look at the other suggestions they give. Engage her imagination? God, that sounds so dirty. Get personal? I don’t really feel comfortable getting personal with some stranger online.

A few minutes later, I just give up on the article and read her bio again, then come up with a decent text message.

Lizzie:

Hey! ^-^

I totally relate about the bowling thing. I suck at it as well.

Though, I am pretty good at pool. How are you with that?

It’s a bit lame, I know. But it’s way better than just “Hey!” or “Hi, how are you?” or some other boring shit like that. Thankfully, I don’t have to wait long because Hope replies right away after I send her the message.

Hope:

Hi there! :-)

Ehh, if you count losing the cue ball as good, then yeah, I’m pretty good at it.

Losing the cue ball? How does one manage to do that? Usually even if you hit it out of the table, you kinda have a clear view on where it lands and you can go and get it. It doesn’t make sense that she’d lose it. Unless she wasn’t playing pool but was maybe doing something else and lost it. I wonder for a bit about that but then I decide that it’s not really important. She lost it and that’s it. I sometimes think a little bit too much about non-important things. Yeah, that’s me. Josie Saltzman the overthinker. I end up replying with a bit of a fun message. Or playful? Well, if you could call that playful. I don’t know.

Lizzie:

Hahaha, maybe the cue ball was the problem.

I doubt you would’ve lost it if there wasn’t anything wrong with it.

Hope:

Haha, blame it on the equipment. Nice. :D

Lizzie:

I sure will!

The place I go to has a defective pool table.

It has a slope and I’ve lost so many games because of it. :D

I don’t even know why I still go to that place. Maybe part of the reason is that the owners are friends of my parents and let me and Lizzie play for free. Though, the last time I went Lizzie’s best friend MG totally kicked my ass at pool. I will probably never live that down. I guess I kind of hate losing, even though I don’t like to admit it. I can be pretty competitive, but I tend not to show that side of myself and always play it off as if nothing’s wrong.

Hope:

Shit happens, I guess.

So, what brings you to this wretched app anyway? :D

You don’t seem like the type of girl who should be on here.

I don’t seem like the type of girl who should be on Tinder? What does she mean by that? Is she maybe implying that I’m not good enough to be on Tinder? Well, my sister, I mean. I am using her pictures right now. I should straight up ask her what type of girl she thinks I am.

Lizzie:

Well, same as you. Boredom.

Hope:

Ah, the reason why we do everything in this world! :D

Okay, I kinda didn’t ask her back there. What if she says something that I don’t want to hear? No, you know what. I’m just going to ask her.

Lizzie:

What type of girl do I seem as?

Hope:

The type that could get any person she wants.

I don’t think you need a dating app.

“Oh...” I say out loud and blush a little. I know that I probably shouldn’t since she says that about my sister but I can’t help it.

Lizzie:

Hahaha, well, I could say the same about you.

Hope:

I’m here to make friends honestly.

Sadly, other than you, everyone else on this app seems…

Well, you know…

Lizzie:

Totally see your point.

So many weird people texted me.

Hope:

Yeah, same.

You’re honestly the only person with whom I’ve had a normal conversation so far.

Lizzie:

I can say the same about you.

I was just about to delete Tinder when I saw your profile and swiped you.

I guess you caught my attention. You seem pretty cool.

Shit, am I being too honest? Am I explaining myself too much? I kinda have the tendency to babble and for some reason I also do it in text messages.

Hope:

What grabbed your attention the most?

Lizzie:

Well, my first thought was, ‘Damn, she’s beautiful!’.

That was when I saw your pic.

Then I read your bio.

I loved the way you described yourself.

I guess that’s what got me the most.

Yep, I’m definitely being too honest. Well, I can’t really help it. When I see something that I like, I kinda have to say it. She really is a very beautiful girl. Why shouldn’t I tell her that she is? I know that she’s a stranger and all and that I’m being way too forward right now, but come on. People love compliments.

Hope:

Your bio isn’t that bad either.

You instantly earned yourself a like when you said you’re a Marvel fan.

She ignored me calling her beautiful. Shit. Maybe that was kind of a bad idea now that I think about it. It’s okay, I’ll refrain myself from giving her compliments until I get to know her better.

I’m glad that she at least likes my bio. Though, ‘not that bad’ is kind of uhm… not good. But maybe she didn’t mean it that way. Sometimes it’s hard to tell with some people, I guess.

I spent a while trying to figure out what to write on my Tinder bio. Eventually I ended up with a few short sentences about myself.

Lizzie, 18

You could say that I’m kind of a hopeless romantic person. I’m just a sucker for a good romance story. I’m pretty much a big nerd. I’m a total LOTR, Star Wars and Marvel fan. I also love singing and can play a few musical instruments, though, I’m not that confident in my abilities.

It’s kind of short and simple. It points out the most important things about me and I’m glad that it wasn’t too much of a disaster since a person like Hope decided to swipe me.

Lizzie:

Hahaha, I’m glad.

That moment when Marvel hooks you up with people on Tinder. :D

Hope:

Wingman of the century. :D

Lizzie:

Seriously, though, you do seem cool.

I’d love to get to know you better.

Hope:

Okay, then let’s do it this way.

Send me a song that best describes you.

I’ll send you one as well.

Lizzie:

Okay, hold on.

Hope:

Okay

I search through my Spotify playlists for a while. There are so many songs that describe me honestly. There isn’t just one because one song can’t really sum up your entire life. It can’t grasp the scope of it all. I end up overthinking this yet again. After a few minutes, I make my pick.

Lizzie:

I guess the song that best describes me is Shawn Kook – So close.

I think that I’ve always been so close to things that I want in life.

But I never actually got them. That’s why I picked this song.

Hope:

That’s a bit sad honestly.

I hope that things turn around eventually.

I know that one day you’ll achieve all your goals.

It’s true. I’ve always been so close to getting what I want, especially in school. I usually come second in so many competitions that I participate in. I guess my projects aren’t as good as everyone else’s. I still am a straight A student and teachers love me, but I guess there are people that are better than me. I honestly hate it so much. I hate losing and always coming in second, but it’s the way it is and I have to deal with it. I shouldn’t be selfish. Lizzie, on the other hand, is always first in everything competition related. She’s honestly even more competitive than I am and she likes showing it. She’s the cheer leading squad’s captain and you have no idea how hard she makes those girls work to be the best at their routines. Maybe that’s why she wins at everything. She’s ruthless when she’s fighting for something she wants. I wish I was like that as well, but I’m not. I’m too soft...

Lizzie:

Thanks. ^-^

I hope you’re right.

What’s your song?

Hope:

Le Youth, Sydnie – If You’re Leaving

Hope sends a break up song and I honestly don’t really know how to interpret it. Did she have a messy break up or something? Should I ask her about it? Maybe I should just ask why she picked that song since she didn’t give me any explanation. She just told me the song.

Lizzie:

Messy break up?

Damn it, Josie. Why did you write that? I guess my fingers were faster than my mind this time. I hope she doesn’t find it weird that I just said that.

Hope:

Hah, well…

Kind of, I guess.

I did go through a messy break up with my ex-boyfriend.

But I honestly didn’t pick the song because of that.

I guess even though it’s a break up song, I don’t relate to it mostly because of that.

People just have a tendency to leave me, I guess.

That could be kind of a red flag. If people always leave her then there must be something about her that they don’t like. I don’t interrupt her because I see the three dots indicating that she’s still typing something out.

Hope:

My parents died and left me.

I kinda became a bit distant afterwards because I was afraid of losing people.

So every one else stopped reaching out and yeah…

Okay, so I was wrong. She’s just had a rough life and people didn’t care enough to stay by her side and help her get through this. I can’t imagine how much that must’ve sucked.

Lizzie:

I’m sorry, Hope.

People shouldn’t have stopped reaching out.

In moments like that, they should’ve stayed by your side.

No matter how distant you were.

Hope:

Sorry for being such a downer.

These topics are kinda heavy.

Lizzie:

No, it’s okay. I don’t mind.

I enjoy deep and emotional conversations.

Hope:

You’re very easy to talk to, Lizzie.

I’m glad I swiped you right.

Lizzie:

You’re easy to talk to as well.

I kinda feel like I’ve known you my entire life.

Hope:

Same… =)

Hope and I continued texting for hours on after that. I think we stayed till like 3 AM before we decided that it was time to go to bed. We wished each other good night in the end and went to sleep, satisfied with the conversations that we had.

I really can’t wait to know even more about you Hope Mikaelson.

Chapter Text

My mom and Lizzie drag me to the mall with them this weekend. I really don’t like going shopping or whatever it is people visit the mall for. I just find it so annoying and only go when I have no choice, like now.

If I had chosen not to go with my sister and my mom, then I wouldn’t hear the end of it. They whine a lot and make me feel guilty for not doing anything with them. Both of them believe that family time is important. I for one don’t share that opinion. I kind of prefer to be alone and not deal with anyone and their problems. I guess that could be the reason why a lot of people prefer to be my sister’s friends and like her more than me. She’s a lot more open. You could say that I’m a very closed-off person. Can you blame me, though? After all the bullying, how can I not want to avoid people. I guess I don’t like people very much in general.

I don’t really have any friends other than my sister. If you could call us friends that is. Since we’re related, she’s kind of stuck with me. I don’t think she’d like to be my friend if we weren’t sisters. She’d probably be just like everyone else and either bully me or avoid me like the plague. There’s honestly no in between. I don’t count people like Rafael who just talk to me so I could give them my notes in class. He didn’t give them back to me by the way. He probably forgot all about them. How wonderful. I’ll have to go look for him on Monday. Just great. Another thing that I have to do that I don’t want to.

We walk inside the mall and I immediately feel overwhelmed by the amount of people there. I hate it. People always bump into each other and it’s absolutely horrible, especially on weekends when people have the days off and decide to visit the mall with their family. Why does the building have to be so big and have so many stores inside it? I would much rather prefer to go to some small clothing shop or something instead of this place. But Lizzie and my mom love big shopping centers. They love going from store to store, looking at and trying clothes for hours on end. I really don’t know how they do it. Whenever I walk inside a store, I pick something that I like, try it on and if it fits, I buy it immediately. I really don’t get their obsession with shopping.

“Let’s hit New Yorker first, then move on to H&M and Forever 21,” Lizzie says to us and I immediately see my mom nodding her head and smiling at my sister. They then start walking towards the escalator. A sigh escapes my mouth as I follow them both.

Lizzie always has some sort of plan of action every time we visit the mall. She is a really organized person and does a lot of research before doing something. My sister knows exactly which stores have special discount sales and what kind of clothes they offer. This allows her to always get articles at really great prices. My mom loves that about her and always gets excited to hear every plan that Lizzie has.

New Yorker is on the first floor, so it doesn’t take long before we get there. Immediately my mom and Lizzie go into action mode.

“I’ll look through the jeans section, while you look at shirts, mom,” Lizzie tells my mom and afterwards turns her attention to me,”Jo, you go look at the dresses they have here.”

I nod my head and we immediately scatter inside the store. We usually do that. Divide our forces as if we’re on some mission. Lizzie has us looking at different sections and pick out items that we think would be good for either of us. My sister once picked a crop top that made me look like a total stripper by the way. I immediately declined even trying it on. It’s not my thing. Lizzie usually doesn’t like the clothes I pick for her either, but she still makes me look and pick out articles for her. I think she just doesn’t want to hurt my feelings by saying that I have zero fashion sense or something. Mom, on the other hand, appears to love everything Lizzie and I pick out for her. I don’t know how sincere she is but she seems to buy most of it and wear it, so I guess she really does like it.

I start looking through the dresses inside the store and immediately frown when I see a really ugly leopard print one. Who would wear something like that? Ew…

I immediately take my phone out and take a picture of it, so I can send it to Hope. I know that she’ll understand my pain when she sees it.

Lizzie:

My eyes are burning…

I send her the picture after texting her and continue looking at the other dresses. Some are rather decent, I think. I have no idea. I don’t know anything about fashion, but I guess if they’re not really revealing and don’t have weird things on them, then I guess they’re fine, right? I take a pink one that I think would look good on Lizzie and one with flowers that would probably be great for my mom. They’re plain, not too short and not revealing at all. I put them over my left arm and take out my phone from my pocket with my right hand to see if Hope had sent me a message.

I’m a bit disappointed to see that she hasn’t said anything yet. She hasn’t even seen the message. Maybe she’s busy or something because I doubt that she’ll ignore me. Hope told me last night that she had a great time texting me and she’d love to continue doing it. After we said goodnight, she told me that she’ll text me tomorrow. She still hasn’t, though, and it’s like the middle of the afternoon. I get anxious because I wish that she would text me.

I continue looking for a few more dresses to bring to Lizzie and my mom afterwards. I manage to grab a couple of more articles and then head off to the dressing rooms. That’s where the three of us usually meet and give each other clothes to try on.

My mom and Lizzie aren’t there yet, so I just stand awkwardly in front of the dressing room, dreading my existence at that moment. I’m starting to get really pissed off in the first few minutes of waiting. I hate standing with a bunch of clothes over my arms.

“Are you going to try those on?” I hear one of the shop assistants ask me curiously.

I look at her and nod my head, trying to contain my annoyance. “Yeah, soon. I’m just waiting for someone.”

The shop assistant doesn’t say anything afterwards and leaves me be. Thank god. I’m a really shy person if you hadn’t noticed, so I try to avoid making any sorts of conversations with people I don’t know.

A few minutes later I see my mom and sister arrive at the dressing room. Let’s get this over with. I can’t wait for this stupid thing to be finally over. We exchange the articles that each of us has to try on and we all head inside separate stalls.

“Ew, this dress is horrible,” I hear my sister say after a few minutes and immediately roll my eyes as I try on some jeans that Lizzie got for me. No surprise there. My twin never likes anything I get for her. I don’t know why I even bother.

As I look at myself in the mirror, I suddenly hear my phone vibrate on the chair inside the stall and I immediately pick it up. The anxiousness overwhelms me as soon as I unlock it and see that Hope has texted me.

Hope:

Ew… that’s a horrible dress.

I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing that thing.

Lizzie:

Haha, yeah I know right.

Thank god I didn’t give it to my sister.

She would’ve killed me for picking it out for her.

Hope:

I’m glad you didn’t.

I need you alive, lol :D

Sorry for texting you so late.

I was helping my aunt out all day around the house.

I immediately smile like a complete idiot as soon as I read Hope’s message. She needs me alive. Is that an attempt at flirting or what...? Maybe I’m just over-analyzing things again. I should probably stop doing that. Whatever, at least she didn’t decide to ghost me. I guess I was worried for nothing, as usual.

Lizzie:

It’s alright.

I don’t mind waiting for your texts. ^-^

Okay, maybe I kinda lied there. I do mind. The waiting is killing me but I can’t tell her that. I don’t want to appear as some clingy obsessive girl or something, even though I maybe kind of am.

Hope:

That may be so…

But I still don’t want to keep you waiting.

I hate making people wait for me.

Lizzie:

I see. But your response is worth the wait, though. ;)

Hope:

Haha, if you say so.

I don’t really see it that way.

It takes me a while to answer usually because I always think over what I write.

Even if it’s a simple sentence.

Lizzie:

Ah, well, that’s not a bad thing.

It’s cool that you’re carefully thinking of a reply.

It means that you care what you say.

Hope:

For the most part, yeah…

Lizzie:

I rarely wonder whether I should write something or not.

That's why I sometimes blurt out everything that comes to my mind.

No matter how random or stupid it is ;d

Hope:

I think that’s kinda cute honestly.

Lizzie:

You’re going to make me blush…

Hope:

That’s not a bad thing. ;d

“Jo, what’s taking you so long in there?” I’m suddenly snapped out of my trance by my sister’s words. Me and Hope got into this chat session and I completely forgot that I have clothes to try on. I immediately text Hope to tell her that I will text her later because I have to deal with this shit at the moment.

Lizzie:

I uh, need to go btw.

My sister is asking why it’s taking me so long in the dressing room.

Hope:

Ahh, sorry for being such a distraction.

Lizzie:

Don’t worry about it.

You’re the good kind of distraction. ;)

I’ll text you later, okay?

Hope:

Alright.

I can wait for you too, you know. ;)

“Almost done, Liz,” I tell my sister and immediately zip up the jeans that I was previously trying on. Afterwards, I put on one of the shirts that my mom got for me. As soon as I’m dressed, I get out of the stall and I see my mom and sister smiling at me.

“You look great, sweetie,” mom tells me and Lizzie nods in confirmation. I guess they approve of this outfit, so we’ll definitely be buying it.

“Thanks, you guys look amazing too,” I tell both of them and smile back.

“Well, duh. Mom picked out this absolutely amazing shirt for me that I just have to possess.”

Of course she’ll like the stuff that mom picked out. She always does. I’m not even surprised anymore. I wonder if she even tried more of the dresses that I chose. She probably gave up after the first one that she thought was ugly.

We buy some of the articles from New Yorker, then head off to the other stores. The situation is kind of the same everywhere. Honestly, all these clothes look the same to me.

We go through so many stores that day and after we’ve bought a lot of clothes and are carrying what feels like a thousand shopping bags, we decide that we should get some food from the food court inside the mall. Mom buys us milkshakes and some burgers from KFC for me and her and a salad for Lizzie. I’m not complaining because that’s definitely my favourite fast food restaurant of all time.

“Lizzie, how is cheer practice going so far?” my mom asks Lizzie while we’re sitting down together and eating.

“It’s great. I think we have a shot at nationals for sure,” my sister tells her with a lot of pride in her voice. She’s captain of the cheer squad and trains them like crazy, so no wonder they have a shot at nationals. “My new routine, training schedule and diet are absolutely perfect. We’ll definitely destroy the competition this year!”

I don’t say anything because me and Lizzie will probably have a fight if I do. I don’t really like cheer leading. I think it’s a waste of time and it’s stupid. Just some mindless girls waving pom poms and cheering on the jocks.

“That’s wonderful, darling!” my mom tells Lizzie with a wide smile on her face. She was a cheer leader back in her day as well, so she’s kind of biased. I sometimes feel like she loves Lizzie more than me. I know that it’s probably not true, but I can’t help but feel like that at certain moments. Like this one for example. Mom never asks me about anything that’s related to my interests like she does with my sister. I know that we don’t really have anything in common, but she could at least try to understand the things I like.

We spend the next half hour eating and Lizzie talking about herself and the cheer squad. She even talks about the party she went to last night. My mom is okay with Lizzie going to things like that. She used to do it at her age as well. My dad doesn’t know, though. Or he knows but he doesn’t really care. The man is way too caught up in his work to probably give a damn about us.

When my mom and sister finally decide that it’s time to go home, I feel extremely relieved. Finally! I can’t wait to go back to the house and text Hope. I feel like I’ll go crazy if I don’t text her soon. Honestly, at the moment, she’s like the only person who I want to talk to and who understands me.

Chapter Text

Do you believe in soul mates? Do you think that there’s someone out there for you? Someone who’s you’re destined to be with, your other half, the person you’re supposed to spend every lifetime with? I’ve seen enough movies and read so many books that made me believe that every person has a soul mate. It doesn’t have to be a love interest, though. It could be a friend. Or maybe it’s a family member. You never know who it might be. The best option, though, would be if it actually is a love interest in my opinion.

I’d love nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with the person I’m destined to be with. Ever since I was little, I’ve dreamed of the perfect wedding. I’ve always imagined meeting the love of my life in the most unexpected way and living happily ever after. I’m a hopeless romantic, sue me. But honestly, I’d love to have that fairy tale type of love that you see in movies and I actually believe that it is true. It’s real. It has to exist. We all need something to believe in and this is mine. I believe that I will someday find that love that I’m so desperately looking for.

“Damn it, Pikachu! Use your damn thunderbolt...” I yell out and throw my stress ball across the room.

I’ve been playing Pokemon Go for an hour now and I keep losing all of my battles in the Pokemon League. I get so close to winning every single time and either the game lags or my stupid opponent uses their charge move faster than me. It’s so frustrating and I feel like I would’ve thrown my phone if I didn’t have that stress ball.

I don’t even know why I bother playing anything anymore. I always end up losing most of the time, as usual. I’m trying to get used to it, coming in second, but I can’t. It’s so painful to feel like you’re not good enough.

Lizzie went out earlier for school today because of her cheer practice. I’m still in bed playing with my phone, feeling like total shit. I really don’t want to go to school today, but I have an important History test that’s 30% of my grade and there are no retakes. If I miss this, I’m definitely going to ruin my almost perfect record. I can’t allow that.

I groan as I leave my phone somewhere on the bed and cover my face with the sheets. Would things get easier later in life? People say that your best years come after high school, but I kind of find it hard to believe that. I hear that university is a pain in the ass. Usually you go and live far far away from home and only visit your family during the holidays, which is kinda sad. I hear that university students are so overwhelmed with the amount of work they have to finish and unbelievable deadlines. Also, some of them have to get jobs while they’re still studying, which… ugh. I can just imagine how exhausting that can be. How can someone say that those years are so much better?

When you’re in high school, the only thing you have to worry about are your grades usually. You go there every weekday, then come back home, do your homework and that’s about it. It’s not really that stressful, at least not to me. The only problems I have are with bullies, which I think I’m starting to get used to. It sucks but I feel like I’ll survive. There are worse things in this world and plus, it’s only temporary, right?

I continue contemplating about my life when I hear the notification sound coming from my phone. I quickly search for it on the bed and when I find it, I unlock it to see what’s going on. My stomach immediately churns as I see that Hope had texted me. I sometimes get so nervous when I receive a message from her. I don’t know why. It’s the good kind of nervous, though.

Hope:

Morning sunshine <3

I immediately smile when I see the nickname that she called me. It kinda happened a few days ago when I told her that I love helping people as much as I can. She said to me that I definitely light up their lives when I’m around them, so she called me a ray of sunshine.

Lizzie:

Hey! <3 Good morning!

How are you?

Hope:

Mmm…

I guess a bit tired.

I didn’t sleep well last night and now I have to go to school.

I really really really don’t want to…

Lizzie:

I feel you :/

I’ve been lying in my bed for uhm...

I guess 30 minutes now.

I’m dreading the fact that I have to get up.

Hope:

Yeah…

At least school has been a lot more bearable.

Ever since you and I started texting I guess I feel a little less lonely… <3

It was true. I do feel just like Hope does. Ever since I met her and we began texting each other, I’ve felt like there’s someone who cares about me. Don’t get me wrong, I have my family, obviously, but it’s different. The feeling is different when it’s someone who isn’t related to you. It’s like you’ve earned it and have accomplished something great just because this person happens to care about you. It feels so goddamn satisfying and it kinda urges you to keep going, to keep on living.

Lizzie:

That’s really sweet, Hope. <3

I feel the same way.

You honestly make my days a lot better.

I hear a knock on my door as soon as I send the text message. I turn my attention towards it and I see my mom walking into my room.

“Sweetie, you’re going to be late for school if you don’t get ready soon,” my mom tells me with a concerned voice.

“I know, I know. I’m getting up,” I tell her, slightly annoyed. I know that I shouldn’t be because she cares enough to inform me, but I can’t help it. The thought of going to school makes me annoyed. At least it’s not as much as before now that I have Hope and we can text each other.

Hope:

I’m glad to hear that. <3

Lizzie:

My mom is pestering me to get ready.

I’ll text you later. <3

Hope:

Ah…

Alright, we’ll text soon. <3

After I get to school, I immediately head off to my History class. I feel myself getting so nervous because of that stupid test. I have studied for it, so I know that my knowledge on the material is good enough to pass, but I’m still worried. I need to get an A on this, so failure is not an option. One slight mistake can change everything.

Lizzie:

I’m about to go in for a test.

Wish me luck. <3

I quickly send a message to Hope to inform her that I’ll be taking a test. I really need her reassurance right now. I need to know that someone believes in me.

Hope:

Good luck! <3

I know that you will do great.

I believe in you!

I immediately smile when I see her message and afterwards enter the classroom, prepared to take the exam. I see the teacher’s already there and tries to rearrange the seating. I normally sit in the back but he motioned for me to sit somewhere in the middle this time. Great, just great. I’m kind of surrounded by some people that I don’t particularly like. Among them is Penelope Park, one of the cheer leaders. She’s probably going to try and cheat off me because she’s too stupid to do the test by herself.

“You have 45 minutes to complete the test,” Mr. Williams tells us and then writes the start and end times on the board. “There are 15 multiple choice questions and 10 open ones. When you’re done, put your test on my desk and leave the classroom.”

I feel like the instructions are not necessary. It’s not like we haven’t taken tests before to know what to do. I guess it’s protocol or something for him to inform us of the rules every single time.

I start doing the test and I immediately notice how easy it is. It’s like I know every single question on there. I start to wonder if it’s because Hope wished me good luck or because I’ve actually studied very well this time. Whatever it is, I like it.

“Saltzman,” I hear Penelope Park call out to me. “What’s the answer to question 5?”

I know that I shouldn’t help her, that I should ignore her. She’s made my life a living hell at this school, but things would just get worse if I don’t help her. If I help her out now, maybe she’ll leave me alone for a while.

“B,” I say in a whisper to her and she nods her head while smiling devilishly at me.

Some more people ask me for answers as well and I tell them. I know that I shouldn’t, but I do. The teacher probably notices, but doesn’t say a thing. Cheating on tests is pretty common in this class and I’m usually the source of information.

I finish the test earlier than everyone else and immediately get up from my seat. I leave the paper on the teacher’s desk and head off towards the exit of the classroom.

“Goodbye,” I say and then open the door to leave. A sigh escapes my mouth as soon as I walk outside. God, that was horrible. I hate History tests because of everyone asking me for answers. I wish they would just leave me alone. I wish I wasn’t such a goodie-two-shoes who always has good grades. But I can’t help it. I feel bad if I don’t give it my all.

I took my phone out as I head to my locker and immediately smile when I see that Hope had texted me.

Hope:

Text me when you finish the test.

I want to know how you did <3

She’s just the sweetest and most caring person in the world. I can’t believe someone like her actually exists and that I was lucky enough to meet her in this lifetime.

Lizzie:

I totally killed it!

The test was pretty easy. <3

The only problem was that...

Well, my classmates wanted to cheat off me.

Hope:

I knew you could do it! <3

They want to cheat off you because they’re stupid.

Plus, you’re the smartest girl at school.

Lizzie:

You give me too much credit, Hope.

I’m surely not the smartest. ;d

Hope:

I give credit where credit is due. ;)

I can tell how smart you are because of our conversations.

No wonder everyone seeks your help.

Lizzie:

You’re making me blush…

Hope:

I told you, that’s not such a bad thing. ;)

“What’s got you smiling like that, Jo?” I hear the familiar voice of my sister next to me and I immediately put my phone in my pocket.

“Nothing, I just saw something on Twitter...” I lie to her and hope that she doesn’t ask questions. Thankfully, she doesn’t and starts talking about herself, as usual.

I’m kind of confused because she’s alone. She’s usually with the cheer leading squad all day at school or with MG and Maya. It’s not often that she comes to talk to me.

“Jo, when you get home after school I need you to tell mom and dad that I’m with the cheer squad, doing emergency practice,” Lizzie tells me with a serious tone.

“Okay, why?” I ask a bit curiously and raise an eyebrow. She rarely has me lying to our parents about anything, so this is a bit surprising.

Lizzie pauses for a second and sighs before speaking again, “I’m getting a tattoo today.”

There it is. She needs me to cover for her because she’s getting that tattoo she’s always wanted. She knows that our parents are against tattoos at our age, so they turn her down every time she would ask them. I guess she’s decided that she’ll get it despite everything.

“Oh...” I just say and Lizzie panics a bit, wondering whether I might refuse covering for her.

“Please, Jo...” she pleads and I look away from her. I grab some books from my locker and after closing it, I sigh loudly.

“Alright, I’ll cover for you. Just be careful, please...”

“You’re the best sister ever!” Lizzie yells out and immediately throws her arms around me, engulfing me in a hug.

After that Lizzie leaves quickly and I head off to my next class. We might be twins, but we barely have classes with each other. I don’t know why. I guess they’re trying to make us less dependent of one another, to make us show our true potential.

I’m dreading the rest of the day. I have Math now and then Biology, Physics and Literature. I think that’s about it. These are all classes that are difficult to pass and I have to pay attention during them. This means that I can only text Hope in between classes. At least I have lunch break after Math, so I’ll be able to text her for 20 minutes while I eat.

Lizzie is at school today, so at least the bullying is slightly less. Thank god that I don’t have to worry about the cheerleaders right now.

I go home after school and do exactly as Lizzie had instructed me. I lie to our parents, telling them that she has emergency cheer practice and they buy it. They don’t even ask me anymore questions regarding Lizzie. They are so trusting sometimes that I kinda feel bad that we can get away with a lot of things.

I head off to my room and immediately throw my backpack on the floor. Then I head off to the bathroom to freshen up and afterwards change my clothes into more comfortable ones. After I’m done, I decide to do my homework. I wish Hope and I could text right now, but she told me that she has some things she need to do with her aunt, so she won’t be able to text me for a couple of hours.

I immediately get sad when I think about that. Is it so bad that I wish we could text all the time? I know that it’s a bit too much and that I’m being like some clingy girlfriend or something, but I can’t help it. I am kind of already attached to her.

I’m a person who likes routines. I love doing the same things over and over again and I don’t get bored easily. It’s just comfortable and familiar once you get used to something. I’ve been texting Hope for almost a week now and she’s currently part of my routine, so when she doesn’t text me, it makes me feel bad. I miss her…

I decide that I should watch the movie The Half of It on Netflix. It recently came out and I am super excited about it. When I saw the trailer I immediately knew that this is my type of movie. It’s something so different and so amazing.

After about an hour into the movie, I find myself feeling like a total lovesick idiot. I can’t help but think about me and Hope as I watch. Our relationship is somewhat similar to the one that the two female leads have. The way that they text each other kinda reminds me about the things that me and Hope talk about. Well, our conversations are not really centered on topics like art and literature all that much, just sometimes because Hope studies at an art school. They’re usually somewhat similar. Me and Hope talk about music a lot. She’s not a musician but she understands some basic concepts, so she’s not completely clueless when I text her about the things I learn in music class. We also have conversations about the universe. We’ve discussed how fate has a specific path laid out for everyone and how both our paths have crossed each other when we met. I really love having conversations with Hope…

Lizzie comes back home right before dinner and acts like she didn’t just get a tattoo in front of mom and dad. The conversations at the table are normal, nothing out of the ordinary. They ask her about her cheer practice and me about how my test went today.

After we all finish eating, Lizzie and I go to our shared room. I can tell that she’s dying of excitement to show me her new tattoo.

“Look how beautiful it is, Jo!” my sister tells me with a huge smile on her face and takes off one of her socks. She got a small ankle tattoo on her right foot.

“It definitely is, Liz,” I say to her and return her smile.

I’m not lying. She got a beautiful flower as a tattoo and it looks amazing. Everything looks amazing on my sister. It kinda makes me a bit sad, though, because I wish it was the same for me.

Lizzie tells me everything that happened today when she went to get the tattoo. She explains how scared she was at first because it was her first tattoo, that her friends were being supportive and encouraging her. She tells me every single detail that happened to her after school. The last thing she tells me, though, kinda catches me off guard.

“Maya said something strange to me today,” Lizzie begins speaking and I immediately raise my eyebrow in confusion. What could she have possibly told her?

“What?” I ask as I tilt my head a little and squint my eyes, waiting for my sister to continue.

“She told me that she saw me on Tinder...”

Oh shit… I think I’m kinda screwed now.

Chapter Text

Okay so I’m trying to play dumb. I can’t let Lizzie find out that I’m the one using her pictures on Tinder, no way in hell. She’ll definitely freak and I cannot let that happen. To say that I’m terrified right now of my sister’s reaction would be an understatement.

“What? What do you mean?” I try to play it off as completely clueless, but my voice still shakes a little as I speak. I hope Lizzie doesn’t notice. I think she won’t. She kind of seems really pissed right now and probably won’t.

“Some moron made an account on Tinder with my pictures and my name...” Lizzie explained, sounding even more pissed off with each passing second. She then pulls out her phone and shows me the screenshot that apparently Maya had sent her. I stare right at and just don’t say anything. I’m terrified that if I do, Lizzie would figure out somehow that it’s me. I mean twin telepathy is kind of a thing, right? What if she suddenly develops powers and reads my mind? No… No, no, no, stop thinking nonsense Josie. Keep calm. Keep calm and everything would be okay.

“Uhm… Well at least the person chose good pictures for you, right?” I say the most stupid thing ever and Lizzie rolls her eyes.

“Are you kidding me? These are terrible. I have so many pictures that are way better than these,” Lizzie replies and I immediately feel bad because it’s like she’s saying that I have absolutely no taste. No matter what I pick, she never likes it. “And look at this bio. I bet it’s some nerd that I rejected from school. They like those stupid movies or whatever they are that you and MG like and I mean come on… hopeless romantic? Do I look like I’m a hopeless romantic person?”

“Liz-” I try to get her to stop talking, but I guess there’s no way that’s happening. My sister is totally on a rant.

“I’m so not a hopeless romantic person. I don’t do long-term relationships. They’re pointless in my opinion,” Lizzie continues speaking and starts walking around the room as she talks. “What’s the point in them anyway? Why commit yourself to just one person for such a long time? It gets boring...”

Oh boy, I’ve heard this so many times. Lizzie’s opinion on relationships is the total opposite of mine. She went through a really bad break up with Sebastian last year and since then she decided that she won’t do long-term commitments anymore. It’s kind of sad because I’ve seen the way her best friend MG looks at her. That boy is so in love with my sister but there’s no chance of them ever being together in my opinion. Lizzie’s not going to change her view on relationships, not after Sebastian broke her heart. I really do feel like he’s the only one she’s ever had actual feelings for.

My twin sister continues on with her rant for about 15 minutes more until she decides to call her other best friend Maya and get her to come over to our place for a sleepover so she could help her figure out what to do about the fake profile. She probably doesn’t even consider asking for my opinion and my help, not even the slightest bit.

It doesn’t take Maya long to get here because she lives 10 minutes from our house. We kinda grew up together but me and her were never really close. She and Lizzie were, though, and I was so jealous. Me and Lizzie are close but our relationship is not perfect. If we weren’t sisters, I doubt that she would’ve even spoken to me.

“I’ll super like the fake Lizzie in hopes that the person will swipe back, so that we can text,” Maya tells my sister while they are sitting on her bed, looking at their phones. “If that doesn’t work, then we’ll make a new profile and hopefully the person will swipe it.”

“That’s a good plan. Let’s do that,” Lizzie says to Maya and the two proceed with their plan.

There’s no way in hell that I’m swiping them. I can’t let them confront me. Plus ever since I swiped Hope, I haven’t swiped anybody else. I haven’t looked at any other profiles. Honestly, I don’t want to text anyone that isn’t Hope. I don’t care about meeting new people anymore now that I have Hope.

“Let’s watch a movie or something while we wait for fake Lizzie to match with us,” Maya suggested and then Lizzie got up to take her laptop.

Great, now I’m going to have to deal with them watching a movie. I hate it when that happens because they’re so loud. They always talk during it and make weird noises whenever they see some hot guy on the screen.

After 30 minutes, they’re super into watching some movie. I didn’t remember the title, but it was some crime, action thing with a bit of romance. Lizzie loves crime movies.

“Go and kiss her you idiot!” I hear Maya yell and immediately roll my eyes. It’s not like anything’s going to change just because you yell at the screen.

“To hell with the kiss, I wanna see more murder scenes!”

I feel like they’ve kinda forgotten about Tinder. They haven’t said anything about it since they started watching the movie. That’s good. It’s not a big deal. Maybe if they see no response, they might think that the profile is inactive. Or maybe I should tell them that. Okay, I should seriously stop panicking and see how this plays out.

I end up overthinking things again and worrying. I always do that. I need to relax. Yeah, relax Josie. Everything will be fine. I open my Tinder profile and see that Maya Machado has super liked me. I immediately ignore it and go to my chat with Hope and decide to text her to see what she’s doing.

Lizzie:

Hey there ;)

How’s it going?

Hope:

Hey cutie <3

I was just thinking about you actually.

Lizzie:

Oh, you were, were you?

What exactly were you thinking?

Hope:

Well, the fact that you hadn’t texted me for about 2 hours

I missed you.. :c

I smile the moment I read the three words that Hope wrote. She missed me. That’s so goddamn adorable. Honestly, I didn’t text her because I was having dinner and then this whole thing with Lizzie and Tinder happened. I would’ve definitely texted her sooner if it wasn’t for that.

Lizzie:

You’re adorable.

I missed you too btw <3

Hope:

Is it weird?

The fact that we’ve known each other for about a week and I feel so close to you already

Lizzie:

It’s not weird at all. I feel the same way!

Like, I feel as if I can’t go a day without texting you…

Hope:

Yeah, I know right…

Lizzie:

You’re already part of my routine

Sometimes I honestly can’t remember what it was like…

Not having you in my life to talk to all day and night I mean

:D :D

Hope:

Now you’re the adorable one.

<3 <3 <3

I’m glad we met.

I was honestly so skeptical of trying Tinder.

I’m not really a social media person. :D

Lizzie:

Yeah, me too, but my sister is, though.

She’s one of those girls who are absolutely obsessed with Instagram

:D :D

Hope:

Wow…

I’ve never really understood it.

What’s the point in having so many people...

Like… look at your pictures or stories all day.

It’s like you have no privacy at all… :(

Lizzie:

She likes the attention.

She’s one of those girls that everyone drools over.

She can’t go a day without posting at least 5 pictures on Instagram :D

Hope:

That’s so insane man…

But your sister is not the only Saltzman that people drool over.

Have you seen yourself? :D

Yet you’re not all about the attention like her.

Lizzie:

I’m a very shy person.

:D :D :D

I really don’t like being in the spotlight.

Hope:

Could’ve fooled me.

If I hadn’t texted you or read your bio and had just seen your pics…

I would definitely think that you’re all about the attention.

A pretty girl like you honestly deserves all the attention.

Lizzie:

Hope…

You’re making me blush.

Hope:

I kinda wish I could see it right now.

:D :D :D

Every time me and Hope text, she just says some sort of compliment that makes me blush like crazy. She’s honestly the sweetest person I’ve ever met. I often find myself looking at her pictures. I totally downloaded all of them by the way. I keep them in a special album in my gallery and kinda look at them from time to time. She’s honestly the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen in my life. I bet she looks even better in real life.

“Oh my god, Lizzie! I’ve been super liked!” Maya suddenly yells out and I take my eyes away from my phone to look at her direction.

My whole body stiffens at that moment. I see her show her phone to Lizzie. No, it can’t be me. I never super liked her. It has to be someone else.

“Shit, it’s not the fake Lizzie profile. It’s just some weird older guy,” Lizzie tells Maya as soon as she looks at the screen.

“Damn it! Why isn’t she taking the bait?” Maya mutters under her breath. “Am I like… ugly or something?”

“No, fake Lizzie is just stupid. Anyone in their right mind would super like you on Tinder!”

I see Maya smiling widely the moment she hears what my sister tells her. It’s true. Maya is definitely a very pretty girl. Honestly, I did have a little tiny crush on her back in middle school. At least I think I did. I didn’t understand my feelings at the time. When I was growing up, I found myself attracted to both girls and boys. I guess I just considered it normal because all people are amazing in their own way and they have their own unique and attractive qualities. My sister liked only boy, though. You could say that I was very confused when I was younger. I’ve sorted my feelings out now at least. I decided that I’m not going to label myself and would just like whoever I like, you know? I feel like love doesn’t care about gender. You can be attracted to anyone no matter how they look like. It’s the personality that counts in my opinion.

“Then why is she not liking me? I don’t get it...” Maya voices out her concerns and I just let out a frustrated sigh.

“Have you thought that maybe the profile is old and is inactive?” I tell them in hopes that it would make them give up on this whole thing.

“Well, that could probably be true,” Lizzie says and continues looking at Maya’s phone. “How long have you been on Tinder, Maya? It’s been a while now, right?”

“Mmmm, I did delete my Tinder account a few weeks ago and created a new one the other day,” Maya answers her question and I let out another sigh. This might actually work. They might actually believe that the profile is inactive.

“What? You deleted it? Why didn’t you tell me?” I hear Lizzie asking her, the disbelief and betrayal evident in her voice.

“It wasn’t a big deal. I just got tired of always meeting some perverts on there,” Maya explains and averts her gaze from Lizzie’s. “I recently started missing it, though. I feel lonely that I don’t have anyone to date...”

“You should’ve told me, Maya...” Lizzie tells her and places her hand on the other girl’s shoulder. “You shouldn’t keep things like that in. Plus, I could’ve helped you find someone good, you know… There are plenty of people I can hook you up with.”

“Ugh, I know… You’re right. I should’ve told you.”

I feel jealousy again because Lizzie is being more of a sister to Maya than to me. It’s like she cares more about her than about me. I’ve been lonely for such a long time and Lizzie never even once offered to hook me up with anyone. Maybe she thinks that I’m not good enough for anyone. I wouldn’t be surprised. She never likes the way I dress, my hair, make up, nothing. She doesn’t like the things that I like. Why would she ever set me up a loser like me up with anyone?

Honestly, sometimes I don’t even know what she thinks of me. She defends me from people at school a lot which makes me think that she cares so much about me. At other times, though, I feel like she thinks I’m the biggest loser in existence. I just don’t get it. I don’t know if it’s because of the fact that she’s bipolar. I really have no idea. She has these mood swings at certain times and it’s so difficult for me to deal with her, but I try my best to be understanding, to be a good sister to her. I try not to take things personal. I try not to think about it so much, but I can’t help it sometimes.

I really wish that I could understand my sister more...

Chapter Text

It’s been a few days and my sister is going crazy because Maya’s profile on Tinder hasn’t been swiped right. She ended up making a new one with her other best friend MG’s pictures, with his permission, in hopes that fake Lizzie, me, would swipe right on him instead.

“What the fuck is wrong with this idiot. I super liked fake Lizzie from the fake MG profile and still no reaction,” my sister says, sounding incredibly pissed. I kinda feel bad about this, but I don’t want her to find out the truth. I’m scared of what her reaction will be if she does.

“Like I told you before, maybe the profile is inactive or something,” I say in hopes that I can maybe defuse the situation, but Lizzie just scoffs and then throws her phone on the bed in anger. “Your pictures are already out there on Instagram anyway. What’s the big deal if someone is using them for a fake profile?”

“What’s the big deal?” Lizzie looks at me angrily. “The big deal is that that person could be sexting some perv. I don’t want some creepy old guy jerking off to my pictures or something...”

“Anyone could do that if they come across your Instagram profile,” I tell her, trying to keep my voice as calm as possible.

“Why are you defending some weirdo’s actions?” Lizzie asks and her expression is a big shocked.

“I’m not. I just want to show you that it’s not a big deal...”

“It is a big deal, Josie. They’re using my own pictures without my permission. It’s a crime!”

Lizzie is right and it makes me feel kind of bad but I don’t want to admit that it’s me using her pictures. I’m afraid of the way that she’ll react. I honestly don’t really know what to do at the moment.

“What are you going to do then?” I decide to ask her just to hear what her plan is so I can come up with my own one and hopefully get out of this mess.

“I don’t know. I’ll figure something out tomorrow because I’m sleepy right now,” Lizzie tells me and then turns around in her bed. I think she’ll probably be out like a log soon and I will be able to text Hope in peace.

I hear my sister’s snoring a few minutes later and then smile before grabbing my phone. I immediately see that Hope has sent me about a dozen messages.

Hope:

You know I stupidly did this quiz today…

It was on Buzzfeed and it revealed the first letter of my soulmate’s name.

Is it weird that the letter was L?

I kinda like that it was because your name starts with an L. <3

I’m being weird… I’m sorry…

We’ve been texting for about a week or so and I’m already telling you things like this.

I should stop now.

Yep…

I definitely should just shut up.

You’re not even texting me back…

I definitely freaked you out :(

Sorry...

I laugh quietly as soon as I read Hope’s messages. I don’t want to wake up my sister. Can this girl be more adorable? How should I break it to her that Lizzie is short for Elizabeth. She never really asked me about my full name. Maybe it’s because she believes that it’s Lizzie. Should I tell her? I don’t want to crush all her dreams, though. Hope seems so excited. No, I won’t tell her. I’m not even using my real name anyway…

Lizzie:

Relax, you didn’t freak me out, Hope...

That’s such a sweet thing to say btw.

Honestly, I’d love it if I was your soulmate <3

I believe in that concept so much and it would be so amazing.

Hope:

I’m glad that you didn’t run for the hills.

I’d hate it if I say something and you stop communicating with me. :(

Lizzie:

That can never happen. <3

I love how worried she gets that I might stop texting her. Who would honestly do that? She’s so amazing. I can’t imagine being in a world where me and her don’t text at this point. I know that I’ve known her for a bit more than a week but it feels like we’ve been communicating our entire lives. I don’t remember what it was like when Hope wasn’t in my life to be honest. I just know that without her, everything would be cold and dark… empty. She has already taken a special place in my heart that nobody else can fill. I’m a bit scared when she finds out the truth, though. When she finds out that I’m not who I say I am. I mean, it’s only my pictures and name, I haven’t lied about anything else, but still. I am scared of how she reacts. Hopefully, she would care about me enough to move past the whole thing…

Hope:

Not even if I tell you something extremely shocking?

Lizzie:

No matter what you tell me…

I won’t stop texting you, I promise.

Hope:

That’s really nice to hear…

I can be pretty weird sometimes :D

I love weird. I absolutely love that and she can be as weird as she wants with me and I’d still love texting her and I won’t stop. Honestly, normal is boring anyway…

Lizzie:

I love weird. <3

Hope:

I’m glad you do.

That makes me feel so much better. <3

Lizzie:

Honestly, I’m kinda the same...

Hope:

That just makes us the perfect duo, huh? ;d

Lizzie:

Definitely! <3

Perfect duo. I really love how that sounds. Honestly, even though I haven’t seen Hope in person and know her only through the chat, I feel like she and I are the perfect match. I just have this feeling about her.

Hope:

I kinda feel like you’re my dream come true.

Is that too much? ;d

Lizzie:

Hope, you’re being so cheesy…

I love it, though. :D

Hope:

Well, get used to it cuz I can be very cheesy. :D

Lizzie:

I think I might enjoy seeing that.

Hope:

You definitely will.

It’s easy to be cheesy with you, Liz. <3

Lizzie:

God, help me…

I’m texting a total cheeseball. :D

I feel like you make me blush 238957285 times a day.

Hope:

Mmmm…… hahah :D

Let’s make it more than 238957285. <3

Lizzie:

Hope…

Hope:

Have I told you how beautiful I think you are?

Lizzie:

Mmm.. I don’t remember. Maybe? :d

Hope:

Well, I’m gonna remind you.

I think you’re really breathtakingly beautiful! <3

Lizzie:

Ahhh…

I can’t stop smiling like an idiot now.

Hope:

Heh… :3

Lizzie:

Is that the cheesiest thing you can come up with? ;d

I wait for Hope to text me back but I get no reply and I start to get a bit worried. I didn’t say anything wrong. I know I didn’t… so then why wouldn’t she text me. What if something happened to her? I kinda start to panic a bit. I wait for 10 more minutes as I scroll through Twitter, but I still get no reply from Hope.

Lizzie:

Are you there?

:(

I text her a few more times after that and then I decide to go to sleep feeling like shit because she doesn’t text me. I hope everything is okay with her. Maybe she just went to sleep. Yes, that is probably it. I can’t go around thinking the worst. It has to be because she fell asleep.

I wake up the next morning and I still don’t get a text from Hope. Now I’m really starting to get worried. There’s no way for me to contact her other than Tinder. I just hope she texts me soon because I won’t be able to concentrate at school at all when I don’t know what’s going on with her.

First and second period end up being horrible because I mess up my classwork. I can’t help it. The only thing I seem to think about is Hope and the fact that she’s not texting me. What if she decided to just ghost me? What if she ends up deleting Tinder and I never communicate with her again? All these dreadful thoughts start invading my mind as I head off to lunch. I have 20 minutes to eat but absolutely no appetite whatsoever.

I’m currently in my History class and I’m feeling even more anxious as usual. On top of that, the teacher is about to give us our tests back. I’m nervous about my score. I really hope I did well on this test.

“I’m pleasantly surprised that a lot of you managed to achieve high results on this test,” Mr. Williams praises us and smiles widely as he holds on to the papers. He then proceeds to give them to us. “Of course, there are some exceptions like Sebastian who failed miserably. See me after class.”

Not surprised that my sister’s ex-boyfriend failed. He doesn’t care about studying at all and just does whatever her wants. He doesn’t even cheat like the rest of the class. I think he just doesn’t give a damn about anything in life. When he was dating Lizzie, it seemed like her cared only about her, but I could be wrong. It really seemed that way, but he ended up cheating on her, so maybe not. I can’t figure that guy out. I don’t know much about him. He and I were never really close even when he was dating my sister. Whatever, I shouldn’t be thinking about this.

“Thank you,” I say as Mr. Williams hands me my test. I look at it and see 97/100 score and I feel like a total failure. It’s not perfect again. Those 3 points that I lost are because I made some stupid mistake on one of the questions. Damn it. I know that it’s still an A, but I can’t help feeling bad because it’s not perfect. I am a total perfectionist and it just sucks when I make stupid mistakes.

“Yes! A perfect score!” I roll my eyes as I hear Alyssa Chang yell out in happiness. Of course she’d get a perfect score. She’s always first in everything academic related. I’ve never been able to beat her. You could say that she’s kinda like my academic rival but she’s not as kind as me. She doesn’t help anyone cheat because she doesn’t like breaking rules and she would never allow herself to do anything remotely related to that. She can be very scary, though, so no one bullies her like they do me. I wish I was more like her sometimes.

I pull out my phone to send Hope a message but I remember that she still hasn’t texted me, so I stop myself from writing anything. I just read the last messages I sent her and I feel even more anxious than before if that’s even possible.

Lizzie:

Is everything okay?

I hope nothing bad happened to you last night.

I’m a bit scared that you disappeared like that all of a sudden.

:(

Please, text me as soon as you can.

I need to know that you’re okay.

I sigh and then decide to put my phone back inside my pocket and try to concentrate in class, but I just can’t. I can’t stop thinking about Hope.

When I go back home that night I feel just as bad as I did this morning. My family and I have dinner like we usually do and then I head off to the room Lizzie and I share to do my homework. As I am in the middle of writing something for my Literature class, I head my phone vibrate, indicating that I’ve received a notification. My heart immediately skips a beat at the thought that it might be Hope that’s texting me. I quickly unlock my phone and smile widely when I see that it is indeed her.

Hope:

Hey… :(

I’m sorry that I disappeared like that and made you worried.

I kinda had a really bad day today and I just turned my phone off.

Lizzie:

It’s okay…

I’m here if you want to talk about it by the way?

You know that I’m always here for you.

I immediately start feeling really bad because of the fact that Hope had a horrible day and decided not to tell me or come to me for comfort. I could’ve maybe made her feel better, I think. That’s what people usually do in movies, right? Instead, she’s probably bottling it all up inside herself and closes herself off. That’s what I think, at least. I don’t know. I guess she’s not one of those people who need to be comforted…

Hope:

I know. <3

Thank you for that, I appreciate it. I’m fine now, though. I dealt with it.

It’s just that. I sometimes need to deal with things on my own, you know?

I really am sorry for disappearing like that and worrying you, though. :(

Lizzie:

Don’t worry about it.

I’m glad that you’re okay.

If you do want to talk, though. I’m here to listen.

<3

Hope:

I’ll tell you some other time.

I promise. <3

Right now I just need to have fun.

Aaaaand I always have fun texting you! <3

Lizzie:

You’re adorable! <3

Hope:

You’re more adorable! <3

My smile widens and I feel a blush form on my cheeks. I love it when me and Hope say cute things like that. It makes me feel loved, you know?

We end up texting for a few hours after that and I completely blow off doing my homework. It’s fine, though, the deadline is in a few days anyway, so I can do it maybe tomorrow. Lizzie is not here too because after dinner she went to Maya’s place to get ready for some party that they’re going to, so I’m completely alone tonight and the most important thing right now is texting Hope. I missed her so much...

Chapter Text

Things with Lizzie are getting a bit serious. She and Maya decided to post all over social media that there’s a fake profile out there using my sister’s pictures. On top of that Lizzie made a new profile on Tinder with her own pictures claiming in her bio that she’s the real Lizzie Saltzman and that the other one is an impostor. Shit…

“This has to do the trick. Making a real profile on this stupid app should definitely get fake Lizzie’s attention,” my sister tells me and smiles wickedly as she looks through profiles on Tinder, swiping a few guys that she thinks are somewhat worthy of her attention in the process.

This can get pretty ugly very quickly. I start panicking about the fact that Hope might still look through other people’s profiles and come across the real Lizzie. If that happens I don’t know what I’m going to do. Should I lie and tell her that real Lizzie is a fake profile and that I’m the real one. That could get messy honestly, but I don’t know what to do. The only option is for me to come clean to my sister and ask her to delete her profile so I can keep texting Hope, but she would go ballistic probably and things will go downhill. I might lose Hope because of that and I can’t afford it. I guess I’ll just pray to god that Hope isn’t swiping other people as well. I also can’t ask her because it would be suspicious. If she isn’t swiping other people and I ask her, she might end up doing it out of curiosity. Maybe I should leave things as they are and see how everything plays out, then decide what to do from then on.

Me and my sister get ready for school a few minutes later and then mom drives us there. I immediately notice that everyone is talking about Lizzie and the fake profile on Tinder. I’m so glad that they don’t know that it’s me, but I’m so worried that someone at this school might know Hope and tell her. I really hope that that doesn’t happen.

I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket and I immediately smile because I know that it’s probably a notification from Tinder. Hope...

Hope:

Hey, sunshine! <3

I missed you…

My smile widens as soon as I read what she wrote to me. I missed her so much as well even though we texted a lot last night. I immediately send her a reply because I don’t want to keep her waiting. I don’t care if that makes me seem desperate as fuck.

Lizzie:

Hey! <3

I missed you too.

I’ve been thinking about you since I woke up.

I confess to her about how much I’m thinking about her. I hope that she doesn’t think that I’m some sort of creep or clingy or something, but I just can’t help it. I want to tell her everything that I feel. Honestly, we’re just friends but my feelings for her go a bit deeper than that. I think that I have a major crush on her since we’re sorta flirting a little. I guess… I don’t know if she feels the same way. It certainly looks that way because of the things she tells me but you never know. We haven’t talked about these things at all. I don’t even know if she likes girls or not. I would assume since she was swiping girls on Tinder, but the fact that she was looking for friends makes me think that she could be straight. I need to find a way to ask her what her sexual preferences are…

Hope:

I kinda can’t stop thinking about you if I’m quite honest. <3

Is that weird?

Lizzie:

Not at all. I like that you’re thinking about me… <3

It makes me feel really special.

Hope:

You are special, Lizzie!

The most special person in the world. <3

The moment she calls me Lizzie kinda turns me off a bit since it makes me remember that I’m in fact using my sister’s identity to text her. Oh boy… I feel so fucked up right now.

The bell ends up ringing a few seconds later, so I text Hope that I’m heading off to class and put my phone back inside my pocket. I grab my textbook and I make my way to my Math class soon after. I really don’t want to deal with school right now. I just wish I could go home and curl up in a ball on my bed because I feel so fucked up. Am I a terrible person for lying to Hope about who I am? Should I come clean to her? I’m scared of losing her, though. I think that she won’t react very well to the fact that I’ve been lying to her all this time about who I am.

Math is terrible by the way. The teacher is making us do a surprise test or something and I am really that prepared for it because I’ve been distracted by Hope. Us texting kinda makes me slack off and not do my homework that much. I’m not being as productive as I should be, but I think it’s worth it. I think Hope is worth it. She’s a good distraction and when I’m communicating with her, it’s like nothing else is important. The only important thing is the fact that we’re texting. I know that it sounds a bit extreme, but it is what it is. I can’t help how I feel. I’ve honestly never felt this way about anyone else in my entire life. Is this what they’re talking about in movies and books when they describe love? Do my feelings go that deep for Hope, even though I’ve never met her in person? No, I can’t be falling for her. I really don’t know her. I’m just being delusional and thinking stupid shit. All these thoughts are because I’m overthinking shit as usual. Keep it together Josie. Keep it fucking together…

So I think I fucked up the test but whatever. I don’t care at this point. Okay, maybe I do care but… it’s fine. It happened. I probably fucked it up and won’t get a high school. It doesn’t matter. It’s not like I’m going to beat Alyssa Chang anyway. She’s the school’s golden girl. I only feel guilty because my teacher might be disappointed if I don’t get a high grade.

I head inside the school cafeteria and I see Lizzie sitting with the cheerleaders and her two best friends. MG is the mascot and Maya is kinda like Lizzie’s secretary or something. She does everything Lizzie says and helps her a lot with managing the cheer leading squad. I end up sitting alone at some table in the far corner because I don’t want to sit with my sister. I sometimes do but I don’t like the way the cheerleaders look at me. It’s like they want to kill me or something for even breathing the same air as them. They won’t say anything to me when Lizzie is there, but I know what they’re thinking. They’ve voiced their opinion about me lots of times when Lizzie’s not around.

My sister hasn’t noticed me yet or else she would’ve asked me to sit with them. Thank god that she’s talking about some cheer leading stuff and doesn’t pay much attention to her surroundings. I eat in silence for the rest of lunch. Hope hasn’t texted me because she’s doing some homework she forgot to do for one of her classes. I kinda feel guilty that I’m being a distraction to her as well, just like she’s a distraction to me. She hasn’t said anything, though, but I can tell that she’s slacking off just as much as me. I think that neither of us want to stop texting each other honestly despite everything.

I go home after school and surprisingly Lizzie does the same. I guess she doesn’t have anywhere to be today. My sister hangs out with her friends after classes most of the time. I don’t know why she decided not to do that today, but I don’t ask her. She’ll tell me if she wants to. It’s none of my business.

“I decided that since fake Lizzie still isn’t taking down the profile, that I might go to the cops,” Lizzie tells me while we’re in our room. “It is a crime after all, so I think it’s a good idea to go to the police for help.”

Oh no… What now? I need to tell her something to make her stop considering this idea. I need to make her change her opinion.

“I don’t think they’ll bother doing anything. People make millions of fake profiles every day. I doubt they’ll help you,” I tell her, my voice shaking as I speak because I suddenly feel extremely nervous.

“Oh I think they will. I can tell mom and dad about this and since I’m a minor, the police will definitely do something,” Lizzie confidently explains and I gulp because my whole body starts to feel so hot due to nervousness. No way. She can’t tell mom and dad about this. I’ll get into so much trouble. Especially if the cops track me down…

“Lizzie, come on,” I begin saying, but my sister cuts me off.

“No, this has gone on long enough. It’s been probably a week since I found out about fake Lizzie...” my twin states, her voice pissed-off yet again. She always get so worked up when she talks about the fake profile. “I want it gone. Maya suggested reporting the profile, but you know how the admins are. They barely look at requests like that. If me and Maya can’t get rid of it, then the police will.”

Lizzie continues ranting for the next few minutes and decides that she will go and talk to mom and dad right now, which makes me panic even more. I can’t let her do that. I just can’t. I guess I have no other choice but to come clean now. If she goes to our parents and the police, I will be in a lot more trouble than I will be if I tell my sister the truth right here and now.

Honestly, Lizzie might actually understand, you never know. I am really scared of her reaction but I need to face it. I have to. I will definitely tell her. I open my mouth and try to say that I was the one who created fake Lizzie, that I’ve been using her pictures all this time, but no words come out. Lizzie takes her phone and is about to leave the room when I just jump from my bed and go to her as quickly as I possibly can.

“Wait! Are you sure you want to do this?” I ask her again, just for confirmation. I need to be a hundred percent sure that she will do this and then I will come clean if her answer is positive.

“Of course I’m sure… Jo, what is up with you? Why are you being like this?” my sister asks me, the confusion evident in her voice. She probably thinks I’m even more weird because of the way I’m acting but I don’t care.

“Well… uhm...” I try to say but the words get stuck in my throat. I feel my whole body starting to shake, but I just need to get this out. I need to finally tell my sister before things become extremely messy.

“What’s going on? You’re shaking...” Lizzie says in concern and places her hands on my shoulders. “Are you okay?”

I gulp once again and then afterwards take a deep breath before speaking again. “I’m the one who made the fake profile on Tinder. I’m fake Lizzie...”

I finally confess and I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. It’s finally out and now I need to face the consequences. I just hope my sister won’t react too badly, but I highly doubt that...

Chapter Text

“Why?” I hear my sister ask me and her voice sounds so broken. Lizzie is hurt. I can tell. The pain of betrayal is written all over her face. “Why would you do something like this?”

Her voice becomes louder as the second question escapes her mouth. Okay, now she sounds pissed off. Her expression also changes. She looks so goddamn angry now. I feel like she will bite my head off because she’s staring at me like she wants to kill me. It honestly makes me cower in fear. I feel terrified and I seriously wish I could go and hide somewhere and never come out. I’ve honestly never seen my sister so furious.

“I… I just wanted-” I try to say but Lizzie cuts me off and doesn’t let me finish.

“Do you know how painful it is to find out that your own sister has done such a horrible thing?“ Lizzie says and it immediately makes me feel even guiltier than I already had been feeling. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner? You had multiple chances. You saw me and Maya struggling with this for days. All this time, it was you...” Lizzie then starts pacing around the room and then goes on and on and on about how I kept on lying to her and what a betrayal that is. “Josie, you really hurt me by lying to my face all this time...”

I did, yeah. I know I hurt her and I know I lied to her. I feel terrible about that honestly. I just didn’t know what to do. I wasn’t planning on telling her at all, hoping that things would die down eventually, that I could just continue on texting Hope without any interruptions. Oh god, Hope… What should I do about her now? Do I have to tell her the truth and have her hate me forever for lying? God, now things are so fucked and so out of hand. I admit, I don’t really have any sort of plan and I am just going through the motions. Bad idea to not have a plan...

After a few minutes Lizzie’s ranting ends and she finally looks at me expectantly, waiting for me to probably explain myself. That’s what I understood from her posture and expression at least.

“I’m really sorry, Liz. It’s just… You’re so pretty and popular. You’re everything I wish that I was. I just wanted to see what it was like to have all the attention, to flirt with people, you know? That’s the only reason why I used your pictures,” I apologize and explain myself. I can see that Lizzie’s expression softens a little and she visibly relaxes when she hears my reason for using her pictures on Tinder.

“Josie, you’re just as pretty as me. I think that you’re even prettier honestly. Any person would be lucky to have you flirt with them,” Lizzie tells me and I immediately look down in embarrassment. This is honestly one of the few times that my sister has actually complimented me. “I know that you have low self-esteem and that you’re shy, but trust me. You’re pretty. You didn’t need to use my pictures.”

I am a bit surprised that Lizzie’s mood shifted so suddenly, but to be fair, this is better than her being angry. At least now there’s a chance that she’ll actually forgive me for using her pictures and maybe hopefully let me keep the profile and continue texting Hope.

“I don’t know, Liz. Every single time I look at myself in the mirror, I think that I’m ugly and that nobody would want me. Nobody is chasing after me like they are doing with you,” I tell her and Lizzie then comes closer to me and wraps her arms around my body, giving me one of the warmest and most loving hugs I’ve ever received. Is she not angry with me anymore? Does she forgive me?

“It’s because they’re idiots and can’t see how beautiful you actually are.”

“I wish I could see myself like that, Lizzie...”

I can feel my sister tighten the hug and then continue speaking afterwards, saying more wonderful things to me. “People just don’t understand you. You’re smart and you’re different. You’re not like 90% of the girls which can make people feel intimidated by you.”

Intimidated? No, not at all. If they were feeling like that then I wouldn’t be bullied. Lizzie doesn’t know that I’m being bullied, though. Maybe that’s why she thinks that way. I believe that she’s the one that’s intimidating to people, not me.

“I don’t know what to say...”

“Listen, don’t worry, okay? I forgive you for making that profile. You’re my twin. I think I’ll probably forgive anything you do and I will always love you unconditionally,” Lizzie tells me with such a sweet and soft voice as soon as she breaks the hug and pulls away from me. She has a smile on her face, the anger from before not evident at all. “I do need you to delete the Tinder account, though, okay?”

Her words make my eyes widen in shock and I panic immediately because I can’t delete the profile. No way. I can’t stop texting Hope. I can’t lose her. I feel like I would die if I can’t communicate with her. There’s so much I want to know about her and we’ve just started getting to know each other. I can’t let that go.

“Lizzie, I can’t...” I immediately tell my sister and I think she notices that I’m panicking because my voice is shaking as I speak.

“Why not?” I can hear the curiosity in my sister’s voice. Should I tell her about Hope? I probably should. I really can’t think of another reason for which I should keep the account. Before I have the chance to say anything, Lizzie continues speaking. “Did you by any chance meet someone there? There’s no other reason for you not to want to delete it.”

I sigh as soon as I hear my sister’s words. “I’m texting someone, yes...” I confess afterwards and Lizzie squeals in excitement.

“Tell me everything!”

Guess I have to come clean about all of the things that have been happening now. I have no other choice, so I proceed with telling her about everything that I experienced with Tinder. I start from the beginning with the weird creeps I met on there then to how I began talking to the most amazing person in the world – Hope Mikaelson. I explain to her our conversations and Lizzie tells me that she’s a hundred and ten percent sure that Hope has fallen hard for me. I pray with all my heart that she’s right because I think that I’m falling for Hope Mikaelson as well…

Lizzie agreed to keeping the Tinder profile and I now have her permission to use it, but only if I’m texting Hope. She made it clear that she doesn’t want me to text anybody else, especially not some weirdos who’ll send me their dick pics. I’m fine with that. I don’t really want to text anyone other than Hope anyway.

Things with me and Hope have been great to be quite honest. I love that we’re texting kind of all the time. Well, whenever I have any sort of free time, I spend it texting her and I think she does the same with me. That’s what I’ve noticed at least. The only times she’s not texting me are when she’s in certain classes at school or when she has some sort of family emergency. Thankfully she hasn’t disappeared on me since that last time she logged off without saying a word. She promised me that she won’t go away like that again because she doesn’t want to make me worry. I really like that about her. I adore how caring she is.

So far me and Hope are friends, but I can definitely feel that there’s something more there. We’re texting all the time, so there has to be. Plus, the things we say to each other are not things that you typically say to someone who is just your friend. We call each other cute nicknames and we’re being sweet and oh my god Hope is so cheesy sometimes. She did warn me, so yeah… I still get surprised sometimes, though. I think I’ll probably never get used to all the compliments she gives me.

What surprises me the most is the fact that she hasn’t asked me for any additional pictures outside those I have uploaded on Tinder. She also hasn’t asked for us to meet in person or to talk on the phone or anything of that sort. We’re also still texting on Tinder and I think that it’s because Hope probably doesn’t have any other social media accounts. She did say she’s not a social media person anyway. I haven’t asked her, though, but I’m assuming that that’s the case. I’m a bit scared to ask honestly because what if she wants us to text on another platform instead… I can’t have that. It would mean that I’ll have to create another account with Lizzie’s pictures or something. I also don’t want us to text on an app like Whatsapp or Viber or something, because I’m going to have to give her my phone number, which would mean that she could call me at any time. This whole situation is a bit fucked up in my opinion. I know that. I am aware of how it looks. I just can’t stop, okay? I’m already in too deep. I still don’t have any sort of plan of what I want to do, so I’ll just continue with going through the motions. I know that I shouldn’t and that coming clean to Lizzie should’ve taught me better, but it is what it is… We’ll see how things go eventually. I pray that maybe when I tell Hope the truth, we’ll be such close friends or maybe even more that she won’t care, that she’ll accept me and forgive me for lying and hiding my identity. I hope that she’ll understand my reasons like Lizzie did...

I suddenly hear my phone buzz in my pocket and immediately smile because I know that it’s probably Hope that’s texting me. I stop what I’m doing and take out my phone right away.

Hope:

Hey, sunshine <3

Did you finish your essay?

Lizzie:

Almost done. ^-^

My Literature teacher gave us this stupid essay to write about The Great Gatsby. I honestly don’t like the book very much, so it’s been a pain in the ass having to write the essay, but thankfully I’m almost finished with it.

Hope:

That’s good. You’re totally killing it!

Show that essay who’s the big boss! :D

Lizzie:

You know I will! ;)

Hope:

Btw I came across this quote today and it made me think of you.

Hope sends me a picture which has a girl with a puppy on it and a quote at the top that says “Someone who takes the time to listen when we are at our lowest is rare and should be valued.” I immediately feel my heart warm as soon as I read it. Can she be more sweet?

Lizzie:

I love it. <3

I’m glad it made you think of me.

Hope:

You always listen to everything I say.

I’ve honestly never felt more understood by someone.

I know that I sometimes keep a lot of things to myself…

I just don’t feel like talking about them or sharing them, but...

Whenever I do choose to share something more personal, you always listen.

You don’t judge me and I really appreciate that, Lizzie. <3

You’re honestly so amazing.

Hope is really melting my heart right now with all those sweet and emotional things that she’s writing me. Oh my god, I just can’t believe that this is actually happening. Is this for real? I’ve never felt this way about anyone in my entire life. It’s also like she’s reading my mind because I feel the exact same way that she does. I’ve told her a lot about what I’m feeling. I’ve told her about school, my parents, how things are with my sister. I’ve shared some pretty personal things and Hope hasn’t judged me at all. Honestly, she’s the amazing one here in my opinion. I dump more crap on her than she does on me and she still listens to me and is there for me.

Lizzie:

I’m glad you feel that way.

It’s the same for me. <3

I don’t know what I would do without you.

Hope:

I’m not going anywhere. <3

I sincerely hope that she doesn’t because I have a bad feeling that when I tell her the truth, things won’t be the same anymore and that she’ll leave me forever. I’m praying so hard for that not to happen. I really want her to stay...

Chapter Text

Lizzie got rid of that other profile that she made and the posts on the social media platforms about the fake Tinder account. That immediately made me feel relaxed because imagine if somehow Hope had seen any of that. Thankfully, she hadn’t. I would’ve died otherwise. I’m not ready to tell her the truth yet. I don’t know when I will. My goal right now is to get as close to her as possible, so that when I eventually do tell her, she’ll accept it. At least, I sincerely hope that she will.

I go to school today with a wide smile on my face. I am definitely in a good mood because things seem to be going great right now. Lizzie is also at school, so I am not really a target for the bullies at the moment. At least not throughout the whole day, so that’s good. Hope suggested that I tell someone about the bullying but I feel like things will get worse. Nobody likes a tattletale. Plus, I don’t want to worry my parents and sister. I prefer to endure the torture. I’ve been doing it for years anyway.

I’m currently in the library reading something when I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket. I immediately take it out and know that it’s probably a message from Hope.

Hope:

Hey sunshine <3

What’s up?

Lizzie:

Hey! <3

Stuck at the library. :(

Hope:

Ahh…

Do you have a lot of work to do?

Should I stop bothering you? :(

Lizzie:

You’re not bothering me, Hope.

Don’t worry. ;)

I have a little more work left but I can take a break.

If it’s for you :3

Hope:

Cuteeeeee <3

Lizzie:
I try to be :D

Hope:

You don’t have to try so hard.

You’re naturally cute! <3

Lizzie:

I’m blushing now…

People will stare at me :(

Hope:

I wish I could stare at you right now…

:(

Lizzie:

When we meet in person, you can stare at me as much as you want.

Oh shit… I shouldn’t have said that. I know that I shouldn’t have said that because now she’ll want to meet up. It’s not that I don’t want to but I can’t tell her the truth right now. Shit, shit, shit… What am I supposed to do now?

Hope:

Hahah, okay <3

It’ll be creepy though :D

Just so you know…

Okay, she didn’t say anything about meeting each other soon. That’s a good thing. I do want to see her in person. I’m dying to, I really am… It’s just. You know the situation. I’ll have to think of something, some kind of a plan soon. Maybe I can dye my hair blonde? Maybe I can put on glasses or something. Me and Lizzie are twins. We can pull this off. I don’t look that different from her. Oh god… Okay, who am I kidding? We look nothing alike. The only way is to convince Lizzie to go in my place and talk to Hope… We’ll see. I’ll talk to her about it and we’ll figure out a plan together. Two brains think better than one anyway.

Lizzie:

I doubt that.

I can’t ever find you creepy. :D

Hope:

You’re just saying that now, but you’ll see. :D

When we do meet each other, you’ll see what kind of a creep I am.

:D :D :D

Lizzie:
I guess I’ll see for myself and come to a conclusion then. ;D

Hope:

Soooo….

Oh oh… Shit, okay… Now she’ll probably ask about meeting me. I feel my heart start beating so fast as I see the three dots indicating that Hope is writing something. I think I’m going to pass out.

Lizzie:

Yeah?

Hope:

I have a little dilemma. ;d

I made two paintings for one of my classes…

I’m wondering which is better.

Do you mind taking a look?

I sigh in relief the moment I read her texts. It’s about paintings, great. Whew…

Lizzie:

Sure, show them to me. <3

I’d love to see anything you’ve painted. ;)

Hope then sends two pictures of the paintings and they are both breathtakingly beautiful. She’s such a good artist and I’m not going to lie, the art took my breath away. I can see why she’s having a hard time choosing between the two. The first one is an abstract piece with soothing colors and it looks amazing, but so does the second one which is a bit darker. I guess she’s not sure if she should go with light or dark. Honestly, I prefer the lighter one but the darker one is more serious and might get her a better grade.

Hope:

See my dilemma?

What do you think? :(

I’m torn between good and evil.

Between light and dark.

The angel and the devil. :D

You get the point…

Lizzie:

Hope, both of them are so beautiful! <3

Your art took my breath away...

Though, I think the dark one is better.

It’s more serious in my opinion and it provokes more emotions.

Hope:
I think you’re right.

The dark one is definitely better now that I think about it.

Thanks, Liz. You’re awesome! <3

Lizzie:

You’re welcome!

Anything for you <3

I hear the bell ring after I send my message to Hope and I immediately curse under my breath. I didn’t finish my research and now I have to go to class late or unprepared. I think I can deal with being late. The teacher is cool with that. I’ve been late before anyway, so this won’t be the first time. I tell Hope that I have to finish my research and that I’ll text her later. I’m a little disappointed because right now I care more about texting her than anything else.

Hope and I don’t text for the rest of the day because she’s busy with school and some additional classes that she goes to. We finally end up texting around 8 PM and I immediately feel more relaxed when I get a message from her. Before that I was feeling loads of anxiety and I was going crazy.

Hope:

School officially sucks… :(

Lizzie:

I know what you mean.

I have so many projects to do this term.

It’s like the teachers don’t care and continue overworking us…

Hope:

Exactly…

Are you reading my mind or something?

I was about to write the same thing… :D

Lizzie:

Maybe I am? :3

Hope:

You’re like a wizard or something. <3

Lizzie:

I’m the new Harry Potter. :D

Hope:

I’ve been blessed then…

To have the privilege of knowing the chosen one!

So what, you’re using some spell to read my mind? :O

Lizzie:

Maybeeeee, haha :D

Magic!

But you’ll never know.

A wizard never reveals their secrets. ;)

Hope:

If I stick long enough, I might end up understanding. :d

Shit, my brain turned off in the middle of the sentence.

I forgot what I wanted to say. It wasn’t this…

I can’t remember, though. ;d

Lizzie:

hahaha, why did it turn off?

Too shocked that I’m a wizard? :D :D

Hope:

Yes, you blew my mind.

I’m at a loss for words. <3

Lizzie:

Being a wizard is my charm, I guess. :D

Hope:

Shit, my aunt is calling for me.

I think I’m in trouble cuz she seems angry…

I’ll text you after if I’m still alive.

Lizzie:

You will be. <3

I won’t let you die on me.

Good luck, Hope!

Hope:

Thanks <3

Btw, you must be an awesome wizard then.

Since you’re quite charming and all. <3

Lizzie:

Awwweee… <3

I feel myself squealing as soon as I read Hope’s message. I close my eyes and bring my phone to my chest while smiling widely. She makes me feel so goddamn amazing. I just can’t handle it.

“Texting Hope, huh?” Lizzie just says suddenly and I open my eyes, then turn my head to look at her, the smile still on my face. I nod my head and my sister smiles. “I’m glad that she makes you happy, but what are you going to do when you have to meet up eventually? You can’t keep texting forever...”

My smile immediately disappears as soon as I hear my twin’s words. She’s right. We can’t keep texting forever.

“I don’t know, Liz. I have no idea what to do right now...” I confess and my sister then comes closer and sits on the bed next to me.

“I think you should tell her sooner rather than later. You’re already close enough and I think she might accept the fact that you pretended to be me...”

“What if she doesn’t, though? What if she hates me and stops talking to me?” My voice is shaking as I’m speaking and I’m on the verge of tears. I think Lizzie can tell because she puts her hand on top of mine in order to comfort me.

“From what I can tell from your chats she seems like a pretty understanding person. I think that if you explain your reasons for using my pictures, then she will accept them and forgive you. She’s probably already fallen for you and I think she’s just as scared of losing you as you are of losing her...”

“I don’t know. I don’t think I’m ready… ” I confess and Lizzie sighs.

“Well, things might get a lot worse if you wait longer...”

“Can you maybe… If she happens to ask to meet up, can you maybe go in my place?” I ask my sister and she immediately looks at me with a shocked expression.

“Are you crazy? I can’t pull of being you… I don’t know anything about your interests. What am I going to talk to her about?” Lizzie argues and shakes her head afterwards to tell me that this is not going to work.

“I’ll prepare you. Please, Liz. I need this. Plus, you owe me for covering for you when you got that tattoo...”

“Fine… I’ll do it,” Lizzie tells me and I immediately smile, then embrace my sister.

“You’re the best sister ever!”

I know that this is probably a bad idea, but it’s my only option at this point. I don’t want to tell Hope the truth yet. I’m way too scared of doing that. I don’t know, but I guess I just need confirmation that when I tell her that she won’t leave me. I need to be sure of that. If she has really strong feelings about me then everything will be okay and she’ll accept me. I haven’t lied to her about anything other than my outer appearance. I’m still the same person, what does it matter how I look… It’s the inside that counts, right?

The next few days go great and things between me and Hope are better than ever. She still hasn’t asked for us to meet or anything like that, so I don’t bring up the subject. Right now me and Lizzie are on some class trip to some museum. It’s some museum of modern art place near Mystic Falls. We went there by bus and it was a 30 minute trip, I think. I didn’t really keep track how long we traveled.

“Wow, this is so beautiful...” I say to myself as I stare at one of the paintings.

“It sure is...” I hear someone say next to me and I turn to look at the girl that said those words. My eyes immediately grow wide when they land on the person next to me. Shit… It’s Hope Mikaelson.

She isn’t looking at me, though. She’s staring at the painting, so she hasn’t noticed my shocked expression. What the hell is she doing here? Keep it together, Josie. You can’t let her know who you are. I try to relax and maybe move somewhere else, but I can’t. I feel this incredible pull towards her and I kinda want to keep staying there and talking to her.

“I like that other one as well,” I tell her and point at the painting next to the one we were looking at.

“Yes, it’s beautiful as well. I love the technique the artist used,” Hope says and I can see a small smile form on her beautiful angelic face. God, she’s so beautiful in person. “It’s breathtaking...” Your smile is breathtaking, Hope. So, so, so breathtaking…

“I’m Hope by the way...” Hope tells me as she finally turns around and looks at me. She extends her arm out for me to shake her hand and I immediately do.

“Josie. It’s nice to meet you,” I reply, but my voice shakes a little. Thankfully, she doesn’t pay any attention to that, I think. Or if she does, she doesn’t say anything about it.

“Are you on a school trip here too?” she asks me and I nod my head in agreement. She then continues talking. “Same case. I study at an art school, so trips like this are pretty common for us.”

I should’ve guessed that something like this might happen. She studies at the only art school in Mystic Falls. I should’ve known that we might end up at the same event sooner or later. I don’t know how we haven’t bumped into each other in town as well up until this moment. I guess fate is on my side or something because I’ve never seen Hope around. I think she mentioned that she lives in a big house a little outside of town and I guess she doesn’t go out that much, but still… We haven’t run into each other anywhere until now.

“That’s cool. I wish my school organized more things like this,” I tell her and she smiles at me again, making my heart melt immediately.

“It gets a bit boring after the first couple of events...”

We continue talking about some random things after that until suddenly Hope gets extremely quiet and her eyes widen. I follow the direction in which she’s looking at and I gasp in shock because I realize that my sister is there and that Hope is looking at her. Oh shit, this is bad, really bad. I’m so damn fucked...

Chapter Text

My heart immediately drops at the sight of Hope staring at Lizzie like that. At that moment I really wish I could come clean about everything and just tell her that it’s me who she’s been texting. It’s me that she should be looking at like that.

“Is everything okay?” I blurt out suddenly, trying to play it like I don’t know what’s going on, even though I do. I have no idea what else I should do in a moment like this one. Should I maybe fake being sick so she’d have no choice but to help me and not talk to Lizzie? Or should I just straight up ask her to go somewhere with me immediately? That would definitely be suspicious. No, I can’t do that.

“Yeah, it’s just. One of my friends is there...” Hope replies, her voice shaking a bit as if she’s really nervous. She probably is. Who wouldn’t be? I am still a bit shaken up because of the fact that I met her, even though I kinda got over the initial shock of seeing her for the first time in person.

“Ah...” I just say and then go quiet. Hope doesn’t say anything back. I wonder why she’s not immediately running towards Lizzie and taking her into her arms? I would’ve expected something like that because Hope is very cheesy. I guess I imagined her acting like a knight in shining armor, making some sort of entrance. I just see her take out her phone and immediately type something on it. I feel my own phone vibrate in my pocket after that and I know that she’s definitely the one texting me.

Yeah, okay… Of course she wouldn’t just go up and talk to Lizzie. I should’ve thought that it would be weird since my sister is surrounded by all her cheerleader friends. Okay, fine… Maybe Hope wants to get her alone somewhere so they could talk? That would be more private. I need to see what she texted so I decide to take out my own phone. Hope is still intently looking at her own, so she won’t care.

Hope:

Hey, sunshine ;)

Look to your right…

I smile as soon as I read the text. If I was actually Lizzie in her position right now I would’ve been so surprised to receive a text like that. I would’ve turned around and immediately run into Hope’s arms and hug her so tightly. I’ve wanted to do that ever since we started getting close. I would often imagine it while we’re texting, how we hang out in person and we cuddle, maybe even kiss. It’s so cute and I just can’t help but think about that.

I sometimes come up with these really adorable scenarios featuring me and Hope. I think about how we go on cute romantic dates and have the time of our lives. I really want to experience that with Hope, but right now I know that that’s impossible, not until I come clean to her and tell her the truth. It can only happen if I do that and she just so happens to forgive me for lying to her all this time.

Another text comes from Hope because my sister is not looking to her right. Obviously… She’s not the one getting the text messages. I see a little pout form on Hope’s face and it’s definitely one of the most adorable things I’ve ever witnessed in my entire life. It makes me want to give her a hug right now.

Hope:

I think your phone is on silent…

Well, since you’re not going to read my text messages, I’ll come to you. :D

My eyes widen the moment I read Hope’s message. Shit… She’s going to go up to Lizzie now. I see Hope suddenly go past me and walk towards my sister. I immediately follow behind her and I can feel myself getting even more nervous with each passing second. Shit, shit, shit… I sincerely hope that Lizzie recognizes her and doesn’t screw this up for me.

“Hi,” I hear Hope awkwardly say as soon as she’s right next to Lizzie. She gives her a small wave and I can tell that she’s really nervous. I thought that maybe she would just go up and hug her or something. No, wait… That would be so weird. I need to stop thinking about this. Lizzie’s friends go quiet and turn their attention towards Hope, but don’t say anything.

“Oh my god,” Lizzie suddenly blurts out in surprise and her eyes dart between Hope and me a couple of times. I guess Lizzie recognized her immediately. I mean, of course she would. I’ve showed her Hope’s pictures a couple of times. Plus, who could ever forget how Hope Mikaelson looks like. Come on, she’s insanely gorgeous. Lizzie stays quiet for a couple of seconds after that, but when she finally registers my really panicked expression, she continues speaking again. “Hope, what are you doing here?”

“Uhh... It’s kind of obvious. I’m here for the event,” Hope just replies awkwardly and I mentally facepalm. Why would you ask her that, Lizzie? Why? “I texted you when I noticed you, but I guess your phone is on silent, so here I am...”

This just keeps getting more and more awkward. I feel like I want to die right now, literally. The cheerleaders haven’t said anything at all. I think they can feel the awkwardness of the situation as well. Oh god...

“Oh… right” my sister blurts out and it makes Hope chuckle. Oh my god, Hope’s chuckle. I can honestly say that I think it’s one of the most beautiful sounds I’ve ever heard in my life. I sure as hell want to hear it forever. If I could, I’d listen to it every single day.

“You’re such a dummy...”

I then suddenly see Hope move closer to my sister and wrap her arms around her body, making Lizzie’s expression immediately shift into a shocked one. I guess maybe Hope fought through the nervousness because Lizzie made her laugh with her dumb question and found the courage to give her a hug. It kinda makes me feel jealous. I wish she could hug me like that. I want to feel her arms around my body…

The two don’t stay in the hug for long, though, because I see Lizzie quickly pull away. It’s probably very weird for her. Hope’s smile doesn’t disappear from her face. She just continues looking at Lizzie in that same loving way and it makes me feel sick because it should be me...

“Liz, who’s this?” one of my sister’s cheerleader friends Dana asks as soon as Lizzie breaks the hug. Thank god that they’re not in their uniforms or else it would look bad. I’ve told Hope multiple times that I hate cheerleaders and that I’ll never be one. If they had been in their uniforms then things would take a very bad turn and my cover would definitely be blown.

“This is Hope. She’s my...” Lizzie begins introducing Hope but pauses because she probably doesn’t know what exactly Hope and I are. I’ve told her that I’m not sure if we’re just friends or maybe there’s something more there. She looks at me but I don’t know what to say. My mind is kinda completely blank right now and I feel like I’ve lost all my ability to speak.

“We’re friends,” Hope answers for Lizzie. There’s a light chuckle evident in her voice and I sigh in relief. At the same time, though, I feel sad because she said we’re friends. Just friends... Was I maybe hoping that we’re something more? Yes, probably. Okay, I definitely was. I maybe wanted her to say that we’re dating, but that would be stupid of me to think. We’re not dating. We’re just friends who maybe flirt with each other sometimes. We haven’t gone out on any dates. How can I expect something more when this is the case? I feel so stupid…

“You’ve never mentioned her,” the cheerleader replies which makes Lizzie a bit annoyed. I see Hope frown as soon as she hears that. She probably thinks that I don’t talk about her at all, like she’s not important. Damn it...

“Because I don’t tell you absolutely every detail of my life, Dana...” My sister’s voice comes out a bit harsh, making Dana and every other cheerleader cower in fear. Lizzie can be very frightening indeed. “Go and look at some art, all of you. You definitely need to educate yourselves. I’ll find you later,” Lizzie tells them afterwards and the girls on the squad scour away as soon as they hear my sister’s order.

“Wow, uhmmm...” I hear Hope say and I panic once again. What if she starts hating me now that she’s seen this side of my sister? What if she’s afraid of her as well? Great, now she’ll probably decide that we should stop communicating after this. Damn it…

“I’m sorry about that. They can be pretty annoying,” Lizzie tells Hope and smiles at her.

“It’s okay,” Hope tells her and smiles back. Hope then looks at me and I see her eyes widen suddenly. “Oh, uhh… Liz, this is Josie. We just met a few minutes ago.”

“We already know each other...” I finally decide to open my mouth. “Lizzie is my sister.”

“Oh...” That’s the only thing that Hope says and then all three of us just stand there awkwardly in silence for a few seconds. God, kill me now…

“Okay, this is way too awkward. Let’s just go somewhere else, yeah?” Lizzie then says, trying to fix this whole situation.

She didn’t specify that she wants all three of us to go somewhere together, but it’s kinda obvious, I think.

“Maybe we can go sit somewhere and talk? I’ve kinda seen all those art pieces a few times already,” Hope replies and scratches the back of her head awkwardly.

Lizzie and I nod and then the three of us decide to go outside the building and sit at some café nearby. I kind of feel like I’m the third wheel right now, but I can’t leave Lizzie alone with Hope, no way in hell. I can’t let her screw this up for me…

Hope orders a milkshake - peanut butter blast with whip cream on the bottom, Lizzie decides on an iced white chocolate mocha and I just get some ice tea. Of course Hope would get that drink. It’s her favourite. As soon as I saw that they offer it in the menu, I knew that that would be the one she’d get. I wanted to get it too but it would be weird if both of us have the same thing.

Hope immediately notices that my sister orders something with coffee in it, so she makes a comment. “I thought you hated anything with coffee...”

Hope looks at my sister with a confused expression and Lizzie’s eyes widen immediately. Shit… I’ve told Hope that I dislike coffee a couple of times. I guess she pays way too much attention to everything I say. I can’t believe she remembered this.

“Oh uhm… I’ve decided to give it another shot,” Lizzie quickly explains and I hope that the auburn-haired girl buys this explanation.

“Wow, I’m surprised. I remember you texting me once that you had a cup of coffee which was so bitter that you’d never ever taste it again... ”

“Right, I did say that. I remember... ”

“I convinced Lizzie this morning that she should try it again, ” I suddenly say and Hope just nods. She then smiles at me and I feel myself immediately melt. That damned smile will be the death of me …

We don’t have to wait long for our drinks to arrive. As soon as the waiter places my tea in front of me, I start gulping it down really fast. I’m so nervous.

“Woah, there… Are you okay?” Hope asks me because she apparently notices my behavior.

“Yeah, I’m good. I’m just really thirsty.”

“I guess looking at art can have that affect on you, huh?” Hope then chuckles again and I feel myself dying a little inside because of happiness. Damn, why is she so perfect...

Honestly, I feel like Hope Mikaelson is art, absolute art. On that note, she can make me feel thirsty anytime. Like, whenever she wants. I don’t mind, at all.

“Oh yeah… When you go around looking at all the paintings, it’s like you’re running a marathon,” I reply and Hope now full on starts laughing. Lizzie on the other hand is looking at something on her phone and completely ignores us. Shit…

Hope notices, I think, because she throws this weird look at my sister. It looks a bit sad and it kinda makes my heart break. Lizzie is definitely not making a good impression on Hope right now.

“I uhh… I’ll be right back. Need to use the bathroom,” Hope suddenly says and then gets up from her seat. I nod while Lizzie continues looking at her phone, not paying any attention.

After Hope is out of sight, I hit Lizzie’s shoulder for being an idiot. “Hey!” she yells out in surprise and I throw her a disapproving look.

“You’re being a jerk. You’re not paying any attention to Hope,” I say and Lizzie just huffs.

“You two are doing just fine talking to each other. Plus, I’m having an important conversation with Maya about Rafael. Apparently, he’s hooking up with Dana of all people...”

“Lizzie, please. Try to make a better impression on Hope. I really need this. I don’t want you to screw up everything because you’d rather pay more attention to your phone right now... ” I tell her with a pleading voice. God, I sound so desperate right now. Lizzie lets out a sigh. I know that she’s frustrated and she doesn’t want to deal with this. I know that she’s trying to be nice , but I need her to put in more effort on this. “Please...”

“Okay, okay… Tell me what to ask her? What should I talk about? ” Lizzie finally says and I feel myself relax a bit. There’s still hope for us. We can do this …

I think for a bit what she should ask Hope when she comes back from the bathroom. It shouldn’t be anything about Marvel or other things that we watch, because Lizzie doesn’t know anything about that. It should be something safer. I look around and then I remember that where near a building where an event about art is held… Art! That’s it!

“Ask her something about art. Whether she’s working on any interesting projects or something...”

“Alright, that sounds easy enough…”

We see Hope approach about a minute or so later and Lizzie immediately locks her phone before putting it back inside the pocket of her jeans. She then turns to Hope with a wide smile and asks, “Soooo… Hope, are you working on any cool art projects right now ?”

“Oh, yeah… I am actually,” Hope says and smiles just as widely back at Lizzie. “I'm currently working on a surrealistic painting. It’s actually quite interesting because I have to portray wildlife and I just have so many ideas regarding this topic. “

A fterwards the girl goes in a deep explanation about everything related to the piece she’s working on. I listen to her in awe and take in every single detail that she says. It’s fascinating really. She talks about her art with such passion and I absolutely love it. I can’t help but admire her even more because of this.

“Wow, that’s… very artsy of you,” Lizzie suddenly blurts out after Hope finishes her explanation a few minutes later and I mentally facepalm. Oh no… Why couldn’t my sister have just kept her mouth shut?

Hope looks at her with such a blank expression and it makes me fear that my sister has indeed fucked everything up with her stupid statement.

“Uhm.. Your project sounds very fascinating,” I begin speaking and Hope immediately turns her attention to me. “The techniques and methods that you’ve used are very impressive and I have no doubt in my mind that you will get a really high grade on your assignment.”

“Thank you...”

“If you’ll excuse me, I have to make a very important call... ” Lizzie suddenly says and just gets up from her seat and then walks away somewhere. This makes yet another bad impression on Hope who I see has a frown on her face now. Lizzie’s probably faking it by the way . I wouldn’t be surprised. doubt she has any kind of call that she needs to make…

“She’s not usually like this,” I tell Hope in an attempt to make her feel a bit better. I really don’t want her to feel sad about Lizzie’s behavior. “She’s just nervous around you, I guess.”

“You might be right. It’s just… We’ve been texting for a while now and I just thought that maybe things would be the same in real life as well,” Hope tells me and I felt that little hint of sadness in her voice.

“When you’ve only been communicating online, you get used to that, so afterwards it’s difficult when you have to actually speak to the person in real life,” I explain and I am surprised at myself for handling this so well. I should honestly be a nervous mess right now because my crush is sitting in front of me and we’re talking in person. I don’t know where this courage is coming from, but it’s nice. I guess it’s because I really want to fix this situation. I can’t let things get even more screwed up.

“You’re a lot different than I imagined, Josie. You seem like such an amazing person,” Hope then says and I feel my cheeks immediately heat up. She’s making me blush. Damn that Hope Mikaelson charm. “With everything that Lizzie has told me about you, I imagined you as a typical dumb cheerleader, but you’re quite intelligent and it’s really nice talking to you.”

“I guess I’m not your typical cheerleader then,” I tell her, receiving a light chuckle in response. I know that I should probably feel offended because she thought that I would be dumb, but I’m not actually a cheerleader and she’s right. They’re usually pretty dumb in my opinion. Most of them only care about gossip and just waving their stupid pom poms or whatever they do. “It’s nice talking to you too by the way.”

We smile at each other afterwards and Hope was about to say something more, but her phone suddenly began ringing. I want to kill whoever it is that interrupted us at that moment.

“Hey! Oh, we’re leaving… Right. I’ll be right there then...” Hope says and afterwards hangs up. She then looks at me apologetically before saying, “I’m sorry. I have to go. My classmate called and told me that the teacher said we have to leave in about 10 minutes.”

“Oh...” I say rather disappointed. I really wish she could stay, so we could talk more. I really love talking to her. She also didn’t even finish her whole drink. “Okay, then.”

Hope then takes out some money from her purse and leaves it on the table. “The drinks are on me. It was really nice to meet you.”

I see Hope then put her purse back inside her backpack. She then placed it around her shoulders, smiled warmly at me and bid me goodbye afterwards.

“Bye, Hope...” I tell her with a sad tone and wave my hand.

Then she’s gone… She didn’t tell me to say anything to Lizzie. She didn’t mention her at all. I don’t really know how I should interpret that, but I guess it’s not a good sign. I’m a bit worried that she won’t text me ever again after this...

Chapter Text

Lizzie comes back about 15 minutes after Hope had left and I am incredibly pissed at her. I feel like she just ruined the only good thing I had in my life right now.

“Lizzie, what the hell?” I tell her angrily as she sits next to me.

“What happened? Where’s Hope?” my sister asks curiously, apparently not really caring that I’m pissed, and I get even angrier. Doesn’t she realized how rude it is that she disappeared for almost half an hour? Does she not give a damn that she ruined my chances with Hope? I really needed her to pull this off but it’s like she barely put any effort.

“She left. You ruined things,” I just tell her and she looks at me apologetically.

“I’m sorry, Jo. I couldn’t stop thinking about Rafael hooking up with Dana and I had to call Maya...”

“You’re so selfish, Lizzie. I ask you to do one thing for me… One little favor and you can’t even do that. I really needed you to help me with Hope, but you managed to screw that up for me, like you screw up everything in my life,” I angrily say and stand up from my seat afterwards.

“Jo, you’re causing a scene...” Lizzie points out but I don’t really care. I’m way too angry at that moment to give a damn about my surroundings.

“You have everything, Lizzie. You have the perfect life. You’re popular, you have so many friends and everyone wants to date you. I wanted just one thing for myself, just one, and I needed your help to keep it… Why couldn’t you do that for me?”

“I’m really sorry, Josie. I’ll make it up to you, I promise...” Lizzie says as she grabs my wrist and stands up from her seat as well. “I’ll do better next time. I’ll really help you. Text Hope and apologize to her, then ask her on a date or something. I swear that I will put so much effort that she won’t be able to tell me and you apart!”

I sigh after hearing my sister’s words and I contemplate whether I should even bother with her plan. Maybe I should just tell Hope the truth right now. I’ve probably already lost her anyway, so what’s the point…

“Whatever...” I just say and then pull my arm away from Lizzie’s grasp. Then I just walk away from her and don’t care that she’s yelling for me to come back. I don’t look back at all. I’m way too angry with her at that moment.

I decide that I should go back inside the building to see where my teacher is. If Hope’s class is going to leave pretty soon, then that means the event is over and ours is leaving too probably. I can’t wait to get out of here to be honest. I’m happy that I managed to see Hope in person. It was amazing, but the whole thing with Lizzie was just too much. I don’t really know what I should do to be honest.

Me and Lizzie get home about an hour or so later. I didn’t speak to her at all during the bus ride and I don’t talk to her when we go to our room. She’s probably given up on speaking to me as well, because she hasn’t said anything either. Maybe she’s waiting for me to cool off or something, I don’t know.

Hope hasn’t texted me at all. She hasn’t sent even one little text message and I haven’t reached out to her either. I don’t know if I should wait. Maybe I shouldn’t. She probably won’t text me anymore. I think she’s extremely disappointed with Lizzie’s behavior that she’s given up on communicating with me as a whole.

I open up our chat and see the last text messages she’s sent me. It was when she said she’s coming to Lizzie when she saw her. I remember how shocked she was at that moment when she first laid eyes on my sister. Maybe I should just tell her the truth. That it was actually me she’s been texting all this time.

I start typing a message, explaining everything to her. It’ll turn out pretty long from the looks of it. I type and type and type, but I stop midway because I don’t like the things I’m writing. They sound stupid. I would appear so stupid. I delete it and start typing again. I want to explain but it’s like I can’t put everything into words properly. I don’t know how I should begin, what exactly I should say, how I should say it so she doesn’t hate me. Honestly, I think she’ll really hate me if she finds out the truth…

No, you know what. I’m just going to apologize to her about Lizzie’s behavior today and then see where things go from there. I delete everything I’ve written and then type out an apology.

Lizzie:

Hey…

I’m sorry about the way I acted today.

I just got really nervous when we were at the cafe.

:(

I wait for her to see the message. She usually replies right away, but now she hasn’t even opened it. There’s no indication that she’s even seen the messages that I sent her. That makes me feel so anxious. What if she doesn’t even open them? What if she decides to just delete her Tinder account and not text me anymore?

All kinds of thoughts run through my mind at that moment and I get extremely frustrated. This is all Lizzie’s fault. Why couldn’t she just have acted like a normal human being and not behaved like a bitch? Was Dana hooking up with Rafael so important to her? Why does she even care? It’s not like he’s her boyfriend or anything. They just had a thing and that was it.

Hope:

Hey…

I was surprised honestly.

I didn’t expect you to ignore me like that the whole time. :(

You seem so different in person…

Lizzie:

Hope, please…

Let me make it up to you.

Let’s go out.

I promise that things will be different.

I decide to take Lizzie’s advice and I ask Hope out. Let’s Hope that my sister won’t screw this up this time. That is if Hope even agrees to do it. I see the three dots indicating that she’s typing something, but then they disappear and no message comes. Does she have second thoughts? I wait a few minutes more and then she finally sends me a reply.

Hope:

Alright, let’s do it.

When are you free?

Yes, yes, yes! She agreed. That’s great! Now let’s see when I can meet her. I think Saturday would be good because it’s the weekend and we’ll both be free. I think Lizzie will be free as well, but even if she isn’t, she’ll make time. She owes me for screwing this up.

Lizzie:

How about this weekend on Saturday, at 8PM?

Does that work for you?

Hope:

Yeah, it does!

I can come pick you up, if you want?

Lizzie:

Great, yeah ^-^

I’ll text you the location to my place later.

Hope:

Cool <3

Okay, so Hope doesn’t hate me. She even sent me a heart emoji! Whew… But I’m not sure how we’re going to pull off this date. The only way I see this playing out is if I make some sort of study plan for Lizzie, to learn everything about Hope. Maybe I should pull up all our conversations, so she could be prepared. I really don’t want my sister to read everything that Hope and I talk about, because it’s private, but I might not have a choice. I guess I do need to leave out the bullying part and the things I say about Lizzie, though. Maybe I should just take out all of the important parts of our conversations and have Lizzie study them. Yes, that would be a good idea.

“Lizzie, I told Hope that we’re going on a date this Saturday at 8PM,” I just suddenly blurt out while my sister is looking through her drawer.

“What? But there’s a party on Saturday! The wildest party that will ever be thrown...” Lizzie yells out and I can tell from the tone in her voice that she desperately wants to go this party that’s happening at that time.

“Well, tough luck. You promised me, so you’re going on that date...”

Lizzie lets out a frustrated sigh before saying, “Fine…”

“I’ll send you screenshots of my chats with Hope. I need you to study them in order to be prepared for Saturday. You need to know important things that we’ve talked about. Also, we will write down facts about me so that when she mentions something, you know how to properly react...”

“Alright, alright…”

Sometimes I really don’t understand my sister. At one point she is so loving and caring, she wants to hear all about me and my relationship with Hope, but then she suddenly starts acting like she doesn’t give a damn about me. I don’t know if this is due to her being bipolar, but it’s so confusing sometimes. I don’t really get it. It’s like one minute she cares about me so damn much and then the next she’s all about herself. She can be so selfish sometimes that it’s unreal.

Me and Hope go back to our usual texting after this as if nothing happened and it makes me quickly forget about all of my problems. She has that effect on me to be honest. I don’t know how she does it but she makes me feel calm with just a simple text message.

Hope:

I didn’t get a chance to tell you today…

You’re even more beautiful in person. <3

Your pictures don’t do you justice! ;)

I know that she’s talking about Lizzie but I still feel like it’s directed at me personally, so I end up blushing madly. She really knows how to give a girl a compliment.

Lizzie:

You definitely know how to make a girl feel special. <3

Thank you for the compliments!

You’re really pretty in person as well tbh. <3

Like… so so so pretty. I should’ve told you in person.

But like I get so nervous around a beautiful girl, that I guess…

I guess I lose the ability to speak properly. :d

I don’t know how she’s actually buying that because well… Lizzie is kind of a bitch. She most definitely wasn’t nervous around Hope, especially not when she kind of insulted the cheerleaders. But I don’t know what other excuse I could give her for that behavior. I just really hope that she doesn’t think too much about it and just brushes it off.

Hope:

You didn’t seem so nervous around those girls from your school…

I was kinda surprised with how savage you were with them. ;d

Oh shit… She brought it up. I need to think of something quickly. I quickly type out the first thing that comes to my mind and I hope that she buys it.

Lizzie:

Oh… oh yeah…

uhm.. sorry

I guess I kinda have my little moments. :D

Hope:

You’re one special girl Lizzie Saltzman… :D

<3 <3 <3

Lizzie:

You’re pretty special yourself Hope Mikaelson! <3

Hope:

I guess that makes us the perfect match, huh?

Since we’re both special and all that… :D

The perfect match… I love the sound of that to be honest. I really really really love it. I can definitely see me and Hope as the most amazing team. We have so much in common and she’s just so perfect. I really do feel like she’s my perfect match.

Lizzie:

I love the sound of that. <3

I really think that Hope Mikaelson might be my soulmate...

Chapter Text

Lizzie and I went over absolutely everything so that she would be ready for the date with Hope. It was kind of hard at first because my sister had a difficult time remembering certain things about the books and movies which me and Hope had talked about, but I think she eventually got it. I didn’t make her watch any of them, I just basically gave her the cliffnotes. I think she will be fine… Hopefully…

We are currently waiting for Hope to come and pick her up. I am so nervous because I really don’t want things to get screwed up more than they already are. It’s 7:30 PM, it’s almost time for Hope to show up. I had texted her the address.

“Would you stop pacing around the room? Everything’s going to be fine,” I hear my sister say to me as she looks at herself in the mirror, trying to fix her hair.

“What if everything goes wrong?” I blurt out, the panic evident in my voice. In fact, it’s so bad that Lizzie even turns around and comes closer to me.

She then places her hands on my shoulders and looks at me straight in the eyes before saying,”It’ll be okay. Relax...”

I really want to believe her when she says that but there’s just something, this little voice in the back of my mind telling me how wrong everything’s going to play out.

I stop pacing around the room and just sit on my bed anxiously as we continue waiting for Hope to show up. These 30 minutes feel like forever. I continue thinking about the thousands of ways that Lizzie could screw this up. What if I just go as myself and tell Hope the truth? I eventually have to do it anyway because we can’t keep going on like this, but I’m so scared of how she’s going to react. I’m definitely not ready to lose her…

As soon as the clock strikes 8 I feel my phone buzz, indicating that I’ve received a message. It’s from Hope.

Hope:

I’m outside <3

“She’s here,” I tell Lizzie as I’m looking at my phone. I really wish I was the one that was actually going on this date, not my sister, but it has to be this way. I can’t really do anything else right now without having Hope hate me forever. I just… I need to be sure that she’ll forgive me when I eventually tell her the truth. I need to be certain that she’s serious about us before I do it.

Lizzie:

Be right there ;)

“Stop looking at your phone. Let’s go and get this over with,” Lizzie says and I sigh before placing my phone back inside my pocket and following my sister outside of our room. Our parents aren’t home because they’re visiting our grandparents tonight, so there’s no chance for them to ask any sort of questions.

“You remember everything that you’ve learned, right?” I ask my sister before she heads out because I’m still very nervous about what might happen during the date.

“Yes, Jo… Relax, will you? Everything will be fine,” Lizzie reassures me once again but I can’t help but feel so worried about the outcome of this.

After that my sister leaves the house, heading off on a date with the person that I feel is the love of my life, I look through the window and manage to catch a small glimpse of Hope in the passenger’s seat. God she’s so beautiful. Why am I such a coward? If I just confess then I wouldn’t have to go through this whole thing. I wouldn’t feel so horrible that Lizzie is there instead of me. But I can’t do it…

It’s been about 30 minutes since Lizzie left and I’m freaking out. I’m contemplating whether I should just go to the restaurant and spy on them. Damn it… Why am I not in one of those action movies where they use special devices that you put in your ear to communicate remotely and listen in on conversations? Those are probably so damn expensive that I can only probably afford one of those in my wildest dreams.

I wonder if maybe I should text Lizzie to see how things are going. I pull out my phone and check Instagram. Lizzie hasn’t been active since 30 minutes ago when she left the house. Okay, this gives me confirmation that she’s not looking at her phone and totally ignoring Hope. My mind wonders to the possible topics that they could talk about. I think I taught Lizzie well enough about everything so that she could appropriately respond to whatever question Hope asks her. Still, I can’t help but feel extremely anxious because I don’t know what is going on.

Let’s think for a second. If I go to the restaurant and spy on them, I’ll have to wear some kind of disguise. That’s what they do in movies anyway. A hat and sunglasses and they won’t be able to recognize me. I mean, they couldn’t recognize that creep Joe from the Netflix show You, right? If he could do it, why can’t I? But still, this plan could easily backfire and plus, it would be so weird if I go to the restaurant alone. Everyone would probably think that I’m such a huge loser, going there without a date or something.

Maybe if I could bring someone to the restaurant and we just say to Lizzie and Hope that we accidentally ended up at the same restaurant as them for our date. I don’t know who to ask to come with me, though. It’s not like I have any close friends or something like that. I wonder if maybe Maya might agree, but knowing her, she’s probably getting ready for that huge party that Lizzie couldn’t go to. Hmm… another option could be MG, Lizzie’s other best friend. Him and I have texted a couple of times and he’s a nice guy. He might agree.

I find myself texting him on Instagram a minute or so later, asking him if he maybe possibly wants to get a free meal at a fancy restaurant. He replied almost immediately and was intrigued by my offer, so I told him to come over to our house and I’ll explain everything to him.

It took him about 15 minutes to get here with his car and I quickly let him inside the house. As soon as he walked inside, he turned to me with a smile on his face and said, “Did you win a dinner for two or something? I’m kind of flattered that you’d ask me to join you instead of your sister.”

Is he flirting with me? His voice sounds a bit playful and I can’t help but think that. No, that couldn’t possibly be right. He has a huge crush on my sister. I immediately brush the thought of MG liking me in a more than a friend way away from my mind and answer his question. “No, uhm… It’s kind of a long story but we don’t have a lot of time, so I will just give you the quick version.”

“Okay, what’s going on?”

I sigh and then immediately start explaining. “I’m the one that made the fake Lizzie profile and have been texting this amazing girl on Tinder for about a month now. I really like her but I can’t tell her the truth, so right now she’s on a date with Lizzie who she thinks is actually me and I’m incredibly nervous that my sister might screw everything up and I want you and me to go there and pretend that we’re on a date so we can join them and I can spy on them...”

I took a deep breath after that because I kinda said all of that really fast and on one go, which probably shocked MG. He’s looking at me weirdly. He has his eyebrows raised and his mouth is slightly opened. Oh no… He’s probably going to make fun of me now and think that I’m some sort of lunatic.

“Uhmm… okay, I wasn’t expecting that at all. I mean, Lizzie did mention that you were the one that made the fake profile but she didn’t say anything else. Wow...” MG says and I look down at the floor, slightly embarrassed because of what I’ve done.

“You think I’m crazy, right?” I ask him afterwards without looking at him at all. I just can’t bear to do it because I’m scared that he might start mocking me. I know that he probably won’t. He’s not that type of guy, but I’ve had way too many experiences like that and I’m kind of keeping my guard up because of it.

“Well, I don’t approve catfishing, but-”

“I haven’t lied to her about anything other than my appearance,” I quickly cut him off, trying to defend myself because I feel like he’ll start to judge me and blame me that I’m being malicious or something online.

“It doesn’t matter whether your intentions are bad or not. It’s still catfishing, because you’re pretending to be someone else and now you’ve roped your sister into this too. Jo, she’s pretending to be you on a date with a girl you met online. Doesn’t that sound incredibly wrong to you?”

“I mean, I know… Yeah, I know it does. I understand, but I’m afraid that if I tell Hope the truth, then she’ll hate me forever and that I’ll lose her,” I explain to him and he looks at me as if he’s pitying me.

“Alright, well.. It’s your life. You can do whatever you want. I’ll come with you to the restaurant, but I want to give you a little advice. Tell that girl the truth soon. If you really like her as much as you say you do, then she doesn’t deserve you lying to her like that...” MG tells me and I immediately start feeling so much guilt because of the fact that I’m lying about my appearance to Hope.

“Okay… I know, I’ll tell her soon,” I say and then MG nods his head and smiles at me.

“So, where is this restaurant?”

It takes us about 20 minutes to get there, which means that Hope and Lizzie have been alone for around an hour and 10 minutes if my calculations are correct. As soon as MG and I walk inside the fancy restaurant I spot my sister and my crush having a conversation and laughing about something. My heart warms at the sight because that means that everything is going great so far. Hope hasn’t left yet.

“I see them,” I tell MG and he nods. I quickly link our arms, then lead him towards their table.

“Excuse me, but do you have a reservation?”

We are suddenly stopped by a hostess and I immediately tense up. Shit, no… We don’t have a reservation at all. What am I supposed to tell her now? Before I could come up with a reply, MG already started speaking to her. “We’re actually here to meet those two beautiful ladies over there.” He points at Hope and my sister who are actually sitting on a table for four and there are 2 vacant seats at their table. Damn, I guess it’s our lucky day. I guess the restaurant didn’t have any tables for 2 available, so they seated them at one for 4 people.

“Oh, okay. You can go and someone will be there in a minute to take your order,” the woman tells us with a voice that makes you feel right at home inside this restaurant. She must attract a lot of customers.

MG and I then continue on our way towards Lizzie and Hope’s table. I can’t help but stare at Hope. She’s the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen in my life and the way she’s dressed for this date is absolutely breathtaking. She’s wearing the most beautiful blue dress and looks like an actual princess.

When me and MG finally reach their table, both girls turn towards us and Lizzie looks at us with a shocked expression, her eyes darting from me to MG a couple of times. “Jo? MG? What are you guys doing here?”

This is it, the moment I’ve been waiting for...

Chapter Text

“Oh, what a coincidence it is to see you here, dear sister!” I try not to sound so fake as I speak, but it doesn’t work so well for me. Lizzie rolls her eyes at me and just sighs without saying anything. “You’re here with Hope!” I turn around to face Hope and smile awkwardly. Oh god, this is so bad…

“Hi, Josie...” Hope says sweetly and smiles at me. I feel like I just died and went to Heaven because it’s the most beautiful thing in the world. I opened my mouth slightly but no words came out. I was utterly speechless because of Hope Mikaelson and the fact that she basically said two words to me. The way she said my name, though. I want her to say it forever. The sound of her voice is definitely something that I will never forget.

“Uhh, me and Josie are here on a date and we just saw you guys when we walked in,” MG suddenly says. Thank god he started speaking, because I suck at this so bad right now and would definitely blurt out yet another stupid thing.

“Oh well, let’s make this a double date then!” Hope cheerfully tells us and points at the vacant chairs while looking at us, the smile never leaving her beautiful angelic face. I can’t help but grin at her words because this would give me a chance to talk to her in person.

“You sure it’s not a problem? If you two want your alone time, me and MG can get another table,” I try to sound like I don’t want to intrude, even though it was my intention all along.

“Nonsense. It will give me a chance to get to know you and your boyfriend.” Hope insists that we join them. I don’t bother to correct her when she says that MG is my boyfriend. It’s better that she thinks this way, so that our act is believable. Hope then stands up and offers her hand, so that MG can shake it. “It’s nice to meet you by the way. I’m Hope.”

“MG.”

Both of us then join Hope and Lizzie, me sitting next to the auburn-haired girl and MG next to my sister. A few seconds later, the waitress showed up to take our orders. I see that Lizzie and Hope have only desserts in front of them, because obviously they’ve finished their main courses. They have been here for a while, which makes me feel nervous again because god knows what they’ve been talking about all this time.

“I’ll have the special,” I just order without thinking. I don’t even want to look at what kind of dishes they have to offer while MG is intently looking at the menu that the waitress gave him. Ugh, how can he be so slow. Hurry up, MG. I want the waitress gone so we can talk normally. I’ve always felt super awkward in moments when I’m at a restaurant and everyone is talking, but then the waiter shows up and the whole table goes quiet. I really really really hate those moments.

“I’d like to order Chicken Breasts with Herb Basting Sauce, a glass of your finest wine,” MG orders, then hands the menu back to the waitress, flashing her one of his signature smiles that would make any girl’s heart melt. Well, except for Lizzie’s. My sister is so oblivious to MG’s charm. He’s had a major crush on her for so long, but she just can’t seem to notice him as something more than a friend.

“MG, have you heard anything from Maya? Do you know what’s going on at the wildest party of the year?” Lizzie asks MG as soon as the waitress is gone.

“Nope, nothing yet...”

“I thought you hated parties, Lizzie,” Hope suddenly says and I feel myself stiffen. Shit… I did tell her how much I dislike those types of events and that I’ve never understood why people go there. What’s so fun in getting drunk and acting like complete pigs?

Of course Lizzie would let something slip in front of Hope that would jeopardize everything. I wonder how many times she’s slipped so far on their date. Oh god… I see Lizzie roll her eyes for some reason at Hope’s comment, as if she’s annoyed with her or something for saying such a thing. That’s not good. I told Lizzie to act as nice as possible on the date and not say or do anything rude. I don’t want Hope to think that she doesn’t like her or something. I mean me, that I don’t like her. You know what I mean.

I decide to say something before Lizzie can screw this up even more than she already has. “She does. She’s just writing a very important report for one of her classes on the topic of Underage drinking.”

I see Lizzie nod her head after my statement. “Yep, that’s exactly why I was asking.”

“Maya is gathering data for her,” I continue speaking and try to sound as convincing as possible. I think the excuse I came up with is pretty believable.

“Oh I am very interested in that topic. I’d love to read your report when you’re finished with it...”

Oh no… No, no, no! Don’t tell me that now I have to write this shit just to convince Hope.

“Will do,” Lizzie suddenly blurts out before I can say anything and I immediately feel extremely annoyed. It’s not like I don’t have another 328523 projects to finish up for the other classes. Now I have to write a fake report.

“Hope, you seem very familiar. I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere...” MG turns to Hope and changes the topic, which I’m glad for. I don’t want to get myself into yet another mess.

“I honestly feel like I know you too by the way.” Hope pauses for a second to think. “ Oh, uhh... Are you by any chance friends with Landon Kirby?” Hope asks him and I immediately tense up. Landon is Hope’s ex-boyfriend. He goes to our school and is your typical nerdy guy, but he doesn’t get bullied like I do because he’s really close friends with Rafael, the school’s golden boy.

I can feel the jealousy burning within me just because Hope mentioned that guy’s name. I look at Lizzie but see absolutely no reaction from her. She’s on her phone, not really paying attention. She’s being rude again. Why am I not surprised? What if Hope notices that my sister appears to not care whether she mentioned her ex? Would that make her think that maybe Lizzie is not interested in her?

“Yeah, Landon is one of my frie-” MG says but suddenly stops and gasps. Then I see his eyes widen a second later, like he came to the realization of something. “Oh my god. You’re Landon’s ex-girlfriend...”

“Yeah...” Hope says that so quietly that if I wasn’t sitting next to her, I wouldn’t have heard her at all.

“I’m sorry that he broke your heart. He’s not a bad guy. It’s just… you know,” MG says and I can see Hope nodding her head.

“Yeah. He can’t change the fact that he’s gay.”

From what I’ve heard from Lizzie, Landon is hopelessly in love with Rafael, but he doesn’t want to tell him because he knows that he’ll get rejected. Rafael is straight. The only thing Hope has told me about her relationship with Landon is the fact that they were dating for a couple of months but they didn’t really do any of the physical stuff and then suddenly Landon told her that he’s gay and broke up with her just like that. I mean, I get it… It’s better that he ended it, but he could’ve done it from the beginning instead of stringing her along like that. I hate the fact that Hope has dated people in the past and that she’s been hurt.

She’s also told me about her other ex-boyfriend Roman who was her first kiss and who she dated just to piss off her parents. She said that he’s the typical bad boy and that she really liked the danger that she felt when she was around him, but things went pretty badly between them for some reason. I don’t know why. She’s never told me…

“So, how long have you two been dating?” Hope asks us casually. Shit, I don’t know. We didn’t really think this through. I’m so not prepared for this. Me and MG had to leave in a hurry and didn’t really get a chance to go over our plan, so we haven’t thought about a backstory.

“A couple of months.” MG to the rescue. Thank god he thought of something quickly. I’ll just let him answer her questions, if she has more that is.

Lizzie is still on her phone, but honestly it doesn’t seem like Hope minds all that much. She doesn’t appear to be as upset as she was at that café near the art museum that we went to. It’s probably because they spent an hour together before we came to the restaurant. They’ve had their alone time. But it’s still a bit weird. If I was in her place, I would definitely be upset if my crush would be on her phone like that. It’s rude. Maybe she doesn’t see this as a real date but more like a friendly date? Maybe that’s why she doesn’t mind that Lizzie is on her phone…

Hope smiles widely again, her eyes darting from MG to me back and forth. “That’s wonderful. You’re really adorable together.”

Before Hope can say anything more, the waitress came with our food. She placed a plate of sushi in front of me along with other Asian delicacies, all of which have a lot of seaweed. She also places MG’s food in front of him. We both thank the waitress out of politeness and then I look at my plate nervously. Shit… I can’t eat this.

“Aren’t you allergic to seaweed?” Hope asks me as soon as the waitress leaves. I throw her a confused look because I told her that while I was pretending to be Lizzie. Does she maybe assume that just because me and Lizzie are twins that we have the same allergies? Why is she asking me that while I’m being myself?

“Uhm...”

“Your sister mentioned it while we were alone.” Hope then quickly says, probably noticing how weird it sounds, because she doesn’t really know me. Me as Josie that is. This is the second time we’ve spoken to each other in person.

So Lizzie is the one that told her about my allergy. That makes sense. I wonder how it came up in the conversation. I should definitely ask my sister when we get home.

“Yeah, I probably shouldn’t eat those...”

“Unless you want all of us to have a party at the hospital, then yeah, you better not eat them,” Lizzie finally joins the conversation. I guess she decided that we are currently more interesting than her phone.

“You can have my food, Jo,” MG offers and pushes his plate towards me. He then gives me a warm smile and at that moment, I’m glad that he’s there. MG is definitely a good guy.

“Thanks, MG.”

“Anything for you.” MG winks at me. He’s probably trying to keep up appearances. I glance at Hope and she has this slightly amused expression, as if she’s studying us and our interactions.

I shake my head and decide not to over-analyze everything after that. I’m just thinking way too much as usual. I let myself enjoy the time I’m spending with Hope, my sister and MG and the rest of dinner goes smoothly. Lizzie doesn’t act rude and we’re all just talking normally. It’s very fun to be honest and every single time Hope laughs about something, I just feel my heart melt. She’s honestly the most perfect person I’ve ever met. I adore her so much and every time she turns her head in my direction and looks at me with those beautiful blue eyes of hers, I feel like it’s just the two of us in that moment. Just me and her...

Chapter Text

Lizzie filled me in on everything that she and Hope were talking about on Saturday. I guess she didn’t screw things up. She told me that they were talking about normal things like school and our family. Good, good… Things are okay so far, except for the fact that Hope has been a lot more clingy ever since Saturday and texts me even more than usual. It’s a bit weird because I’m still not used to that side of her. Not that I’m complaining that I’m getting attention or anything, but it’s just very very hard when she wants to video chat or for us to hang out in person all the time. It’s especially difficult when Lizzie is not home. I try to come up with so many excuses, but it’s getting out of hand because I’m out of ideas.

Hope:

Hey, let’s video chat! <3

I see Hope send me a message a few minutes ago, asking me to video chat with her. My sister isn’t currently here, so there’s no way for that to happen right now. I need to think of an excuse to not video chat with her right now.

Lizzie:

Hey <3

I’m sorry but I can’t right now.

I really need to study for an important test.

Hope:

Oh…

Okay, I’ll let you study then :(

I can tell that she’s disappointed, but there’s nothing I can do. We stop texting for the next 30 minutes and I can’t help but feel bad about it. I can’t think of anything other than Hope being disappointed.

I decide to call Lizzie and ask her when she’s getting home, so that maybe I can get her to video chat with Hope.

“Hey, when are you coming back?” I say as soon as my sister answers. I sound a bit impatient and Lizzie can hear it in my voice.

“Why? What’s wrong?” she tells me from the other line, slightly worried at the way I’m talking.

I take a deep breath and let out a loud sigh afterwards. “I kinda need you to video chat with Hope.”

“Jo…” Lizzie whines and I can tell that I’m bothering her with this. I decide to then make her an offer, one that I know she won’t be able to refuse because it would help her concentrate more on her cheer practice.

“Please… I’ll do your homework for the next 2 weeks!”

“Hmm...” I can sense the excitement in Lizzie’s voice as soon as she hears what I say. “Fine, I’ll do it. I’m coming home in about an hour. I need to finish some things up with MG and Maya.”

“Okay… I’ll tell Hope that I can video chat in an hour then.”

Me and Lizzie both hang up afterwards and I text Hope immediately.

Lizzie:
Hey, I’m sorry about earlier.

I really do need to study, but maybeeee...

We can video chat in an hour? <3

Does that sound good?

<3 <3 <3

I make sure to send a few hearts, because I know that Hope really likes it when I do that. I don’t immediately receive a text message from her, though. She hasn’t even seen what I texted her. This makes me a bit worried. What if she’s mad at me? What do I do now? Should I continue texting her or maybe wait a while?

I decide to wait, because I don’t want to seem desperate or something and Hope actually does text me after about 15 minutes. Whew…

Hope:

Really? :O

OMG! Okay! <3

I can’t wait…

Lizzie:

Me too <3

Hope:

btw, you should invite your sister for the call too

I’d love to talk to her as well <3

Josie is really amazing.

Her comment makes me blush madly. She thinks that I’m amazing and wants to talk to me. Like, me me… as in the real me. Pinch me if I’m dreaming. This is by far the best thing that could happen. Maybe me and Lizzie can come up with some kind of excuse for her to suddenly leave the conversation, so that I can talk to Hope alone. Yes! That would be amazing…

Lizzie:

Yeah, I’ll ask her.

I think she’ll really want to join the call. ^-^

An hour later Lizzie does in fact come back home. I thought she was going to be late as usual, but she was on time. I’m actually kind of surprised.

I text Hope to tell her that we’re ready and then I hear Lizzie ask, “So, how are we going to do this?”

“We’ll call her now and then maybe about 15 minutes in, you say that mom or dad is calling you or something, so you can leave me alone with her…”

“Okay, sounds good.” Lizzie responds and I smile. This has to work. I am holding my phone tightly as we’re sitting on my bed, ready to hit the video chat button and talk with Hope. I feel really nervous right now. Lizzie notices and then starts speaking again, “Well come on. Don’t keep the girl waiting...”

“Alright, alright...” I tell my sister and then take a deep breath before finally hitting the button.

When I see Hope’s face come up on the screen a few seconds later, my smile immediately grows wide. She’s breathtaking and I swear, I can definitely stare at her forever. I’ve never seen a more beautiful girl in my life.

“Ah… My favourite twins. It’s so good to see you both,” Hope suddenly says which makes me look away from the screen and blush madly.

“Hi, Hope!” Lizzie and I say together, making the auburn-haired girl chuckle. So adorable…

I smile so widely while staring at Hope. I feel like she’s looking right into my soul as cheesy as that sounds with the way she’s looking at me with those gorgeous blue eyes.

“So, what do you want?” Lizzie just bluntly says. I swear, my sister is so rude sometimes. I hit her shoulder because of that. “Ow… I’m just asking. Jeez...”

Hope’s smile doesn’t disappear despite Lizzie’s words. It stays there and she looks as beautiful as ever.

“Just wanted to see you guys. I miss you,” Hope confesses and it just makes my heart melt. I see Lizzie roll her eyes because of the auburn-haired girl’s comment. I know that she doesn’t like those mushy stuff, but can my sister at least act like she does? She’s pretending to be me…

“Lizzie, I think I hear mom calling you right now. Maybe you should go and check to see what she wants,” I suddenly say and my sister just stands up.

“Oh right… I’ll go and see!” she says and then quickly gets out of the room, leaving me and Hope alone.

“What’s up with her? Is everything okay?” Hope asks me as soon as Lizzie is out of sight.

“Yeah, she just has a lot on her mind, I guess. Too many assignments for school…”

“Oh… right, yeah. She did say she was doing some report or something. I guess it’s a bit too much for her, all the schoolwork.” Hope’s expression turns into a concerned one. She’s probably worried that Lizzie’s overworking herself now. Maybe I shouldn’t have said something like that because the mood kinda shifted. I just couldn’t come up with a better excuse for my sister’s behavior.

“Yeah… She’ll be okay, though. Lizzie is great. You know how hard she works and she’ll be back to normal in no time!” I try to reassure the other girl and Hope throws me yet another one of her signature smiles. God, I love this girl…

“So, Josie… How is cheerleading practice going? What kind of things are you working on right now in preparation for the next cheer competition?”

Oh shit… I don’t really know anything about cheerleading. What should I tell her? I don’t know the names of the moves that they do or like… anything at all. I’ve been to a few games and they just wave their pom poms and jump around...

“Oh uhm… I guess it’s going great...”

I won’t mention anything about the moves because I might say something stupid.

“Yeah, but give more specifics. Also, which moves do you find the hardest? My aunt Rebekah was a cheerleader back in the day and when I was younger she made me practice a lot. I had a hard time with tumbling...”

I have absolutely no idea what tumbling is and what she’s talking about. Shit… I need to do something...

“Oh... uhm…” I start saying and gulp nervously. I need to think of something quickly…

“Josie?”

“Hope, the line is breaking up...” I say and then hit the Wi-Fi button on the phone, so that it would disconnect from the Internet. Then I end the call.

Damn it. I wasn’t prepared for her asking about cheerleading. I really need to tell her the truth because I can’t keep doing this...

A few days later, there’s a small holiday from school, so we have 2 days off. I’ve successfully managed to evade everything Hope throws at me. Whether it’s video chatting or hanging out in person. I manage to find an excuse. I don’t know how, but it kinda works for now. Until I decide to tell her the truth finally. Despite everything, I’m currently trying to write a history report. The teachers obviously gave us a lot of homework and I can’t enjoy my days off properly.

As I’m writing something about the American Civil War, I hear my phone buzzing. I smile because I know that it’s definitely Hope texting me on Tinder, but I also feel very anxious because she’ll probably ask me when I’m free again to go out with her.

Hope:

Hey <3

I’m kinda alone at home right now.

Do you maybe want to come over?

I can come pick you up. ^_^

It wasn’t exactly what I thought, but close enough. I’m honestly dying to go over to her place. I really want to have that experience that girls in movies have when their significant other invites them over so they can watch a movie, cuddle and maybe do some really intimate things together. I’ve imagined it many times. I can clearly picture me and Hope cuddling on her couch, watching some movie on Netflix and falling asleep in each other’s arms. That would be so amazing.

I sigh when I remember that that little vision I’m having for both of us cannot happen right now because I haven’t told her the truth yet. I know that I should do it soon. Ever since I had that talk with MG before we went to the restaurant I can’t stop feeling guilty about lying to Hope. I really don’t know what to do right now. There are 3 possible scenarios that are going around in my head right now.

The first one involves me just telling Hope the truth via text messages on Tinder. That would probably be the easiest way because I can write down beforehand a super long message and send it to her, explaining everything. I also won’t have to see the hurt and angry expression on her face because I know that she would definitely have one. Witnessing the consequences of my actions, the impact they will have on her, now that will definitely break my heart. Telling her through text messages will allow me to avoid that.

The second scenario is me telling Hope in person today . If I text her now and ask her to come over to pick me up, I will have the chance to talk to her face to face and come clean. This scenario makes me the most nervous because I won’t be able to hide behind a computer screen. I feel so scared of how she will react to be honest. Although, t he fact that she is being clingy right now kinda shows that she has a great deal of affection for me, which would probably be enough for her to forgive me for lying about my appearance. At least, I hope it would…

The third scenario is me blowing her off right now, saying that I have to study and can’t make it. This would mean that I’m running away from my problem , leaving this for another time, which isn’t good. I am well aware that things will just get worse when you keep delaying them, yet I’ve been doing that for a while now. What if me waiting any longer makes Hope hate me forever ? What if the fact that it took me so long to tell her the truth ruins our relationship forever and makes it beyond repair?

Maybe I should tell her to come here. I think the second scenario should be the best option right now. I can’t keep running from this. I need to finally come clean and tell her the truth.

Lizzie:

Hey <3

Uhm.. I think it’s best if you come here.

I need to talk to you about something.

Hope:

Everything okay? :(

Lizzie:

Yes, everything is great.

I just need to talk to you…

Hope:

Things don’t seem great…

The way you’re texting kinda scares me, Liz :(

Lizzie:

I just need to tell you something

I don’t really know how you’ll react

I’m a bit scared to be honest…

Hope:

You can tell me anything, Lizzie.

Lizzie:

How quickly can you get here?

Hope:

Maybe in around 30 minutes…

Lizzie:

Alright. I’ll wait for you.

Hope:

See you soon <3

Lizzie:

<3

My heart starts beating rapidly as soon as I read the messages. Hope i s coming here in 30 minutes . I will finally tell her the truth. I start pacing around the room anxiously, leaving my history report forgotten . Lizzie isn’t home. She’s out with MG and Maya, so she won’t be here for this. I’m glad for that because I’ve involved her enough in my drama. It’s time to end this…

Chapter Text

I get more and more anxious with each passing second. It’s been 10 minutes since Hope said she’d come over and I am just pacing around the room, my report left forgotten on my desk. I can’t really concentrate enough to finish it. It’s currently 2:35 PM which means that Hope will arrive here around 2:55 PM. We will have plenty of time to talk because my sister won’t be home till dinner. My mom is out with her colleagues while my dad is downstairs, probably lounging around. It’s his day off today so he’ll spend it relaxing and not worrying about anything.

I decide to quickly change clothes and put on some light make up to make myself a bit more presentable for Hope. Not that it would really matter because she probably won’t even notice. I’m not Lizzie. Whenever someone is around my sister, they are totally mind blown because of how gorgeous she is. Everybody is completely awestruck and can’t take their eyes off her. I’ve never experienced anything like that. This time would be no different.

After about 10 minutes, I look at the clock again and it says 2:45 PM. She’ll be here soon and then everything would be out in the open. I imagine what I’m going to say to her over and over again, all different scenarios of our conversation run through my mind, and I feel like I’m going to pass out. I’ve never been this nervous in my entire life. What if Hope doesn’t forgive me? What if that trust she had in me is gone forever after I come clean? What if this relationship that we’ve build just breaks down into millions of small pieces and is beyond repair?

There are so many what ifs and it’s just so overwhelming. I rub my forehead as I start to feel a slight headache. I still can’t back down, though. I need to finally tell her and get this over with. Whatever happens happens after that. What’s meant to be will be. If Hope and I are destined to be together, to have some sort of fairy tale romance, to be soul mates and be with each other for all eternity, then we will definitely survive this moment in time. I am sure that our bond is strong enough to get past this.

I’m snapped out of my thoughts when I hear my phone buzz. I look at the screen and I see a text message from Hope.

Hope:

I’m outside. <3

My heart immediately skips a beat as soon as I read it. This is it. The moment of truth is here. I don’t send her a reply but just immediately race downstairs to open the front door and greet Hope.

As soon as I am face to face with her she throws me one of those signature smiles of hers, making my knees immediately feel weak.

“Josie, hey!” I hear her say, her voice filled with so much joy. “I was kinda expecting your sister to open the door, but I don’t mind that it was you as well.”

I can feel my cheeks heat up at her comment. She doesn’t mind that it’s me? That’s a good sign, right? I smile back at her. I can’t help it really. She’s breathtaking and the joy that she radiates is so contagious that you can’t stop yourself from smiling.

“Hey, Hope! Uhh, do you mind if we go out back in the yard?” I ask her and she shakes her head.

“No problem. Where’s Lizzie by the way?”

“Oh uhh… Hold on a sec. I just need to tell my dad that you’re here,” I reply and quickly run to the living room to inform my dad that I have someone over. “Dad, my friend is here. We’ll be in the back yard!” I tell him but he doesn’t give any sort of reaction. He just continues staring at the TV. Okay then, no point in talking to him.

“Everything okay?” Hope asks worriedly as soon as I come back and I smile at her before nodding my head.

“Yeah, let’s just go to the backyard. Follow me.”

I don’t answer her previous question about my sister’s whereabouts, hoping that she won’t bring it up again until we get to the backyard. That’s where we can talk privately and we can be alone. I could’ve brought her to mine and Lizzie’s shared bedroom but my sister has a lot of her cheerleading trophies and pictures everywhere, so Hope would’ve immediately known everything. I couldn’t let her find out that way.

Hope smiles once again as she sees our backyard. There’s a barbecue, some outdoor chairs and a table. It’s all courtesy of my dad because he really loves his barbecue. When me and Lizzie were younger our family would often have people over on weekends. I really loved those times. Ever since my dad got promoted and became busier at work, these gatherings became a lot less frequent and eventually they stopped altogether. We haven’t had people over here in years. Usually Lizzie, MG and Maya hang out here sometimes or I come here and read.

I lead Hope to the table and we end up sitting there on the chairs across from each other. It reminds me of that time when we were at that café during the field trip to the art museum.

“So?” Hope just says and I gulp nervously. This is it. Now is the time for me to tell her.

“Uhm… Lizzie is not here,” I just blurt out and Hope raises an eyebrow. She’s probably confused now because as far as she knows it’s as if my sister invited her and then bailed.

“Then why did she invite me over?”

Tell her Josie. Tell her that it wasn’t actually Lizzie who invited her. Tell her that it was you who’s been texting her all this time.

Don’t be scared, Josie. She will forgive you. She likes you too much to not forgive you.

“Uhm… Well the thing is that-”

As soon as I start speaking, though, Hope’s phone begins ringing. Damn it…

Hope pulls it out from her pocket and looks at the screen, her expression immediately turning into a worried one for some reason. “I’m sorry. It’s my aunt. I need to take this...”

“Okay...” I tell her and then sigh because what are the odds of her phone ringing right when I was about to tell her the truth.

What if this is the universe telling me that I’m making a mistake? What if I am not supposed to tell her now? So many different thoughts run through my head at that moment while Hope is on the phone with her aunt.

“I understand, aunt Freya. I’ll be there as soon as I can...” I hear Hope say and my expression immediately drops. She’s leaving? What’s going on?

I look at Hope straight in the eyes, my expression also worried like hers. “Everything okay?” I ask as soon as she hangs up the phone, my voice shaking.

“My other aunt Keelin is in the hospital. She’s having her baby…” Hope tells me and my eyes immediately widen. I wasn’t expecting that...

“Oh my god… ”

Hope stands up and places her phone back inside her pocket. “I’m so sorry but I need to go...”

“Yes, yes… Of course. I understand.”

She doesn’t say anything about our previous conversation and we just walk silently to Hope’s car.

“You can come with me if you want...” Hope suddenly suggests and I am at a loss for words. She actually wants me to go with her to the hospital where her aunt is having a baby right now…

“Uhm… okay,” I stupidly reply. “Let me just go and grab my backpack.”

Hope nods and steps inside her car. I quickly run upstairs and grab my things before going back down to her car.

The ride to the hospital is silent. Hope doesn’t say anything about Lizzie and doesn’t ask me again where she is and why she had invited her over. It’s a bit awkward but I just don’t know what to say. I can’t tell her the truth right now because I can’t do this to her at this moment, not when her aunt is having a baby. I guess I will have to wait a little while longer.

As soon as we’re inside the hospital I see Hope rush to the information desk. “Hi, which room is Keelin Malraux in? She’s my aunt and she’s having a baby.”

“Room 305.”

The second Hope hears the number, she starts running up the stairs and I am quick to follow her. When we both end up in front of room 305, Hope tries to get in but the nurse tells her to wait outside.

“Hope, relax. Everything will be okay,” I reassure her and place my hand on her shoulder, squeezing it in order to calm her down.

“I just wish I could be in there...”

“I know...”

A few minutes later, a blonde woman comes out of Room 305. I’m guessing that it’s Hope’s aunt Freya. The auburn-haired girl immediately rushes to hug her. “Is aunt Keelin okay?”

The older woman smiles before nodding her head. “She’s perfectly fine and the baby is healthy. The doctor just needs to examine your aunt a bit more.”

Hope sighs and I can see that she’s more relaxed now. “That’s a relief.”

“Hope, who’s your friend?” I suddenly hear Hope’s aunt ask and I immediately look away shyly. I can’t believe that the first time I’m meeting her aunt is while we’re in a hospital.

“Aunt Freya, this is Josie...” Hope says with a warm tone in her voice and then turns to me. “Josie, this is my aunt Freya.”

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Josie. Hope talks about you and your sister all the time,” Freya tells me and puts out her hand. As I shake it, I feel my cheeks heat up because of her comment. I can’t believe Hope talks about me and Lizzie to her.

“It’s nice to meet you too.”

A few minutes later, the doctor comes out of Room 305 and reassures us that everything is fine and that we can go in and see Keelin and the baby.

When we walk in, I immediately see a beautiful woman holding a cute bundle of joy in her arms. I might not be the biggest baby fan but the sight was adorable.

“Meet baby Niklaus!” Keelin tells all of us and Freya smiles sweetly at her wife which makes me immediately want Hope and I to be like that in the future.

Suddenly I feel Hope take my hand in her own and I immediately experience those butterflies in my stomach. They named the baby after Hope’s father who had died along with her mother a while ago. I squeeze the girl’s hand in reassurance, telling her non-verbally that everything is okay and that I’m here for her.

A few minutes later Hope lets go of my hand and I immediately feel myself missing the warm contact.

“Aunt Keelin, this is Josie,” Hope introduces me to her other aunt and I awkwardly smile and wave at her.

“Ah, the infamous Josie Saltzman. Is your sister here as well?” the older woman asks me and I immediately stiffen because the last time Lizzie was mentioned was when Hope asked me where she is.

“Ahh, no, no… She has something to take care of.” I unfortunately have to lie to them. I feel really guilty now, even more than usual.

The woman nods while Hope just has a blank expression that I can’t read at all. No one brings up my sister after that and we all talk about something else. I stay silent for the most part because I’m still around people that I just met. I’m a very shy person so I don’t really know what to say and speak only if they ask me a question.

About thirty or so minutes later, I tell everyone that I have to leave. I lie to them that my parents need me home for something. I bid goodbye to all of them after that and I get out of the hospital with a heavy heart. Well, I didn’t tell Hope the truth… It wasn’t the right time, but I’m certain that I will tell her soon. I have to. I can’t deal with this guilt anymore.

Chapter Text

Things have been normal between me and Hope on Tinder during the last few days. We haven’t seen each other since the hospital and she hasn’t asked me to meet her or video chat, or anything like that. Which is great to be honest because it’s so hard lying to her. I do plan on telling her the truth soon, but I’m still wondering about when and how I should do it. So her not insisting on hanging out is giving me the opportunity to come up with some sort of plan.

I can say that her behavior is a bit strange by the way, because she’s not mad and hasn’t brought up anything about the whole me inviting her over to talk thing and me not being there. Well, me as Lizzie, not me as Josie. You get what I mean. It’s like nothing happened, as if it was erased from her memory.

It’s probably because she’s ecstatic about having a little baby cousin now. That should probably be the reason. I can’t think of anything else to be honest. Well, unless she’s lost interest in Lizzie, well… me, but that doesn’t seem to be the case because she’s being as cheesy as ever on Tinder. Sometimes I really can’t understand what Hope’s deal is, what she’s thinking and why is she acting a certain way. It makes sense most of the time but every once in a while, it’s just so weird…

Hope:

Hey! <3

So there’s this art contest that I entered a while back…

The award ceremony is tonight.

Do you and Josie want to come?

I’d love it if you could be there.

I smile at what Hope has written me. It’s so nice that she wants both me and my sister to join her for the award ceremony. I don’t immediately reply to Hope because I have to see if Lizzie is free first.

I make my way to Lizzie’s bed and sit next to her. She’s watching some movie on Netflix. “Hey, Liz. Hope invited us to an award ceremony for some art contest.”

My sister just grunts as soon as she hears the words art contest. I know that she’s not a big fan of it but she could sound a bit more excited that Hope actually invited both of us. This is progress in my opinion.

“You told me yesterday that I don’t need to pretend in front of her anymore. Weren’t you going to finally tell her the truth?”

My smile falters as soon as Lizzie says that. “I know. I will.”

Lizzie rolls her eyes at me. “Then get to it already. You’ve been telling me that you’ll come clean to her for days.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah… I know.”

My sister shakes her head at me in disappointment. I know that I should’ve told Hope sooner. Lizzie’s behavior right now makes me feel even worse because so much guilt has built up. I mean, I get it… I screwed up. I can’t change the past. If I could, I never would’ve used my sister’s pictures on Tinder. I would’ve just been myself. I understand how wrong that is right now because of all this guilt that I’m feeling.

“This lame art contest award thing could be the perfect opportunity for you to tell her.”

Maybe Lizzie is right. This guilt has been eating me up for far too long. This award ceremony is the perfect opportunity for me to meet up with Hope. “I guess you’re right.” I mutter under my breath.

Lizzie smiles in satisfaction and has this cocky grin on her face because I admitted that she’s right. “Then you don’t need me there. Just tell her I’m sick or something and can’t make it. That way you can be alone with her and you guys can talk.”

My sister has a point. After the ceremony is over, I can ask Hope to take a walk with me and finally tell her the truth. That could work.

“Alright. I’ll do it that way.”

Lizzie:

Hey <3

I’m feeling sick and won’t be able to make it.

Josie can come, though.

Hope:

Oh shit… :(

I’m sorry to hear that.

I hope that you feel better soon.

Tell Josie I will come and pick her up tonight at 6 PM.

The ceremony starts at 7 PM.

Lizzie:

Will do! <3

“Okay, everything is set. She’s coming to pick me up at 6...” I tell my sister, but she completely ignores me and I roll my eyes. Jeez. It’s like she doesn’t care at all that this is such a huge moment in my life. I don’t know why I even bother with her sometimes.

Hope did in fact come to the house at 6 PM sharp. She wasn’t even a minute late. Damn that girl is punctual. The ride to the award ceremony was silent but it wasn’t as awkward as it was when we were going to the hospital together. It’s the nice kind of silent and I enjoyed it. I swear, during certain moments of the ride, Hope would glance in my direction and smile, making me absolutely melt into a puddle. I felt like my heart was going to explode every single time.

We are currently walking inside the building where the award ceremony is held and I can definitely say that the whole place is beautifully decorated especially for the occasion. There are so many paintings everywhere and everything is so colorful. It gives off that amazing artsy vibe. I just love it.

I can tell that Hope is practically at home in that building because of the way her eyes lit up the moment we walked inside. I swear, it was one of the most beautiful sights I’ve ever seen. Honestly, the art in the building can’t compare to Hope’s beauty. She’s just out of this world and I can’t believe that I’m actually here with her. This whole experience feels like a dream and I really don’t ever want to wake up from it.

Me and Hope walk inside this huge hall where there is a big stage in the middle and like probably hundreds of seats. I can see a few people up on the stage. It’s probably the committee that will give out the awards. There’s also an MC there. Me and Hope have 2 assigned seats for us in the front row because she is a contestant, so we have special privileges. This is great because at every single event I’ve been, I was never able to get a seat in the front, so I’d always sit in the back and could barely see anything. Now I feel like a very important person sitting here in the front.

“You okay?” Hope leans closer to my ear and asks me as soon as we sit down. I can feel her hot breath and it sends shivers down my spine. I’m perfectly fine, yeah, totally. I just want to jump on you and kiss every inch of your body right here and now. I’m just totally fine. Yeah…

“I’m great. This is exciting!” I don’t tell her what I’m actually thinking. I also don’t dare to move my head at all. I am absolutely unable to look at Hope, but from the corner of my eye I can see her smile. That damn smile of hers will be the death of me.

“Greetings everyone! Welcome to the 14^th annual Mystic Falls Art Contest.” I guess it’s starting. The MC is a woman probably in her 40s and she’s holding some kind of black folder. I guess the winners’ names are written there. “Let’s give a hand to all those amazing contestants. Come on. Let’s give a hand.”

She’s encouraging us to clap for everyone and I immediately do as I’m told. Without thinking, I turn to Hope and I can see her already looking at me. God, how long has she been doing that.

“Good luck...” I tell her shyly and then look away so she wouldn’t see me blushing.

“Today we are here to celebrate 19 of the town’s finest artists. They’ve had to create pieces related to different themes and I want to thank each and every one of them for taking their time to participate and show such creativity and emotion in their artworks.”

Hope always works hard on any piece she’s making. I have no doubt in my mind that hers would be amazing.

“What kind of piece did you create?” I quietly ask Hope because I don’t want to disturb everyone around us.

“The theme was Utopia and I had to portray my view on it. It came out pretty abstract but I’m satisfied with it overall.”

“Without further adieu. Let’s begin announcing the winners.” I hear the MC speaking again and as soon as she starts reading out the category and the name of the winners in that category, I feel Hope grab my hand for support.

It’s honestly really cute that she did that. I squeeze it for reassurance and I have no doubt in my mind that she’s going to win.

“You’ll win for sure, Hope...” I tell her and she smiles widely at me.

“Thank you for believing in me, Jo.”

I blush and look away as soon as I hear her say the nickname. I could listen to her call me that my entire life.

“For the category Utopia our third place winner is Eliza Olsen, come up here and take your price.” I watch as some girl goes up on stage to take her prize. She’s in third place which means that there are 2 more spots left and Hope has to be in one of them. I can feel the auburn-haired girl tighten her hold on my hand as the MC continues speaking again. “Our second place winner is Jimmy Fitzgerald. Congratulations on the win Jimmy!”

“This is it… ” Hope tells me and I gently caress the back of her hand with my thumb.

“You’ll win for sure. Trust me...”

A minute or so later, the MC begins speaking again. “Our first place winner in this category is none other than Hope Mikaelson! Come up here, Hope. You get $1000 and a trip to Europe for 2. The prize is well deserved because your artwork is breathtaking!”

“Oh my god!” Hope yells out in disbelief and then quickly lets go of my hand before going up on the stage to receive her prize.

I can feel tears starting to form in my eyes because I am so happy for Hope. She definitely deserves this win. I can probably guarantee that her artwork is the best out of everyone’s.

When Hope returns to her seat next to me, her smile is even wider than it was before. It’s probably the widest I’ve ever seen it and it’s beautiful. I love seeing her smile. The rest of the ceremony continues on as normal and after about 30 minutes, me and Hope get out of the building.

“Do you want to go for a walk? There’s a park nearby,” I ask Hope nervously and pray to god that she agrees.

“Of course. But let’s first go to my car so I can leave this bag with the prize in there. They gave me some art supplies and a bunch of other things in addition to the big prize.”

“Yeah, you shouldn’t be carrying those around with you.”

As soon as we leave them in Hope’s car, we head straight for the park. The weather is a bit chilly, so I’m glad that I brought a jacket with me or else we would’ve probably had to spend the rest of the evening in Hope’s car or somewhere else. Not that I’m complaining. I don’t care where I am as long as it’s with her, but I still have preferences. The park is the perfect location right now. Maybe we can find some bench or something where I can finally tell her the truth.

A few minutes after entering the park, me and Hope see this really big illuminated fountain. It’s so gorgeous and I can’t help but stop and stare at it.

“This is so beautiful,” I blurt out in awe. I hear Hope chuckle next to me which makes me immediately smile. Everything she does makes me smile for some reason.

Since we’ve stopped moving, I guess this could be the perfect opportunity for me to tell her the truth. Still though, I’m having some doubts because she just won first place in an art contest and if I tell her the truth now, she’ll get mad and I’ll ruin her mood.

“So, first place… That’s so great, Hope. I’m really happy for you,” I tell her casually, still kind of avoiding telling her my secret. I just don’t know how to start. I mean, how do you tell someone that you’ve been lying to them all this time? Do I just blurt out ‘Hope, I’ve been pretending to be my sister on Tinder all this time’? I really don’t know…

“Yeah. I’ve worked so hard for this. This night is amazing...”

I turn to face her and throw her a smile. “You definitely deserved it. The night is indeed amazing.”

“Do you know what would make it even more amazing?” she asks me and I raise an eyebrow in confusion.

“What?”

“A kiss from my crush...” Hope lets out a sigh as soon as she says that and I immediately frown and feel jealous. She wants Lizzie to be here.

“Well, too bad Lizzie isn’t here.”

Hope chuckles and I wonder why she finds my words so funny. She’s supposed to be sad that Lizzie is not here with her. She’s supposed to want my sister to be here right now instead of me. Why is she chuckling?

“Well, it's good that I don't want Lizzie then...”

My eyes widen immediately when I hear Hope say that. What? I don’t understand. What does she mean that she doesn’t want Lizzie? Everyone wants Lizzie. Hope has been texting me, thinking that I’m Lizzie all this time, saying all those cheesy things. How can she tell me that she doesn’t want Lizzie?

“I don’t understand. I thought you liked Lizzie,” I say, my voice shaking as I speak. I’m suddenly feeling very very nervous.

“Josie, how long are you planning on pretending that you're not the one who's been texting me this entire time on Tinder?”

No way. No freaking way. This cannot be real. How does Hope Mikaelson know?

Chapter Text

“How?” I ask Hope in disbelief, my voice cracking a little as I speak. I nervously gulp as I stare at the other girl with wide eyes. “How did you find out?”

I am utterly speechless right now and can’t believe that this is happening. Honestly, it’s like a scene from a movie. But it’s not, it’s real life.

“I’ve known for about a week or so now. Lizzie told me at the restaurant,” Hope explains and I just can’t believe what I’m hearing. My sister is responsible for this. Lizzie told her everything. “I kinda saw her eating sushi on our ‘date’.” Hope makes air quotes when she says the last word. “I questioned her about it because you told me on Tinder about your allergy and she just came clean about everything.”

“Oh...” I just utter and then look away in embarrassment. Why isn’t Hope mad that I’ve been lying to her all this time? She could’ve said something that day. Why didn’t she?

“Honestly, I had a feeling the first time I met you in person, at the art museum, when it was us and Lizzie. There was something off about the whole situation...” Hope continues speaking and I can’t bear to look at her. “I guess on some level I kinda knew that I was texting someone else. I don’t know...”

“Why aren’t you angry with me? What I did was horrible...” I just blurt out, still not looking at Hope.

“I was, trust me. I was angry when Lizzie told me. I was going to leave the restaurant right then and there, but your sister stopped me. She explained everything. She told me why you did what you did and honestly, Josie… I get it, okay? I get the fact that you’re self-conscious and that you’re worried that people won’t like you for you. I understand where you’re coming from, because I’m self-conscious too.” Hope takes a deep breath and sighs before she continues speaking again. “Do you know how hard it was for me to register on Tinder? It took me ages to convince myself to make an account. I get it...”

I feel her take my hand in hers and I finally bring myself to look her in the eyes. I can feel myself on the verge of crying. Everything that she’s saying makes me so emotional because for the first time in my life I actually feel understood by someone.

“I’m so sorry, Hope...” I manage to say and as soon as the words come out of my mouth, I feel her pull me closer and wrap me in a hug.

“Shh… Relax,” Hope reassures me and I rest my head on her shoulder, engulfing the sweet scent of her perfume. It’s intoxicating. “As much as I don’t approve of catfishing, I won’t judge you for it. I don’t hate you and I don’t have any bad feelings towards you about the whole situation, but I do think that everything you did was unnecessary.” Hope pulls away slightly and looks at me with such a soft expression that I feel like breaking down in her arms. She removes a strand of my hair from my face and places it behind my ear, then let’s her fingers caress my cheek. “You’re a really beautiful girl, Josie. Honestly, you’re probably the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen in my life. You should never think that you’re anything less.”

Hope tells me all these amazing things and just doesn’t stop smiling at me. I feel like I’m going to pass out because everything is so overwhelming. She just told me that I’m the most beautiful girl. She’s just complimenting me so much and I am utterly speechless. I also can’t believe that she’s not mad at me right now. She should be furious, she shouldn’t speak to me ever again, but instead she’s being so sweet and lovely. It’s like all of my dreams are coming true. She understands me and that feeling is so amazing.

“I… I don’t know what to say. Am I dreaming or something, because this moment is just magical...”

“I know what you mean… ” Hope says and chuckles. “Can we make it even more magical now?”

I nod as soon as I hear her words, knowing where this is going to lead. I close my eyes and lean in, then a second later, I then feel a pair of lips on my own. I swear, at that moment, I could imagine the fireworks in the background, just like in all the movies I’ve seen and all the books I’ve read.

This is my first kiss ever and I don’t really know what to do, but I can’t make a fool of myself right now. I’m trying to mimic Hope’s actions, so I move my lips along with hers and I pray to God that it’s not bad. Here I go with my overthinking again. Focus on the kissing, Josie.

Hope places her hand on the back of my neck and pulls me closer, deepening the kiss. A slight moan leaves my mouth and I swear it’s a sound that I never thought I could possibly produce. My hands are tugging on her shirt and I can already tell that kissing Hope would be one of my favourite things to do from now on.

About a minute of so later, we pull apart, both of us a little breathless and panting. Wow, just wow…

Hope takes my hand and intertwines our fingers, then pulls me along so we would continue walking. She still has that smile on her face and that in turn makes me smile so widely as well. I feel like such a dork right now for letting such a thing make me so giddy.

“I can’t believe I just had my first kiss,” I say that out loud, not really meaning to, but the words just come out and it makes Hope suddenly stop.

“Wait, really?”

I blush madly and look away as soon as I hear her words. “Yeah...”

I’m suddenly feeling so embarrassed because of this little confession, but Hope makes me look at her again. I can feel the fingers of her free hand on my cheek, just slightly pushing my face to the left, so I have no choice but to gaze into the gorgeous blue eyes of the girl in front of me.

Hope leans in and gives me a quick peck on the lips before saying, “It was amazing. Probably the best kiss I’ve ever had.”

“You’re just saying that so I wouldn’t feel bad...”

“No, I swear. The taste of your lips is something I’m never going to forget.” God she’s so cheesy. I’m not surprised, though. It’s Hope Mikaelson we’re talking about. It’s like this girl is straight out of a romcom movie or something.

A light chuckle escapes my mouth. “I can’t believe how cheesy you are.”

“Oh come on, you love it...”

She’s right. I live for all of her cheesy comments. I lean my face closer to hers and then whisper against her lips, “I definitely do.”

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner by the way? That you knew...” I ask Hope as I gently run my fingers through her hair.

We’re currently on a bench in the park and she’s lying down, her head in my lap. Hope’s got her eyes closed, visibly relaxed and enjoying the fact that I’m playing with her hair.

“Mmm, I kinda wanted to have some fun, see how far you’d go.”

Hope Mikaelson, you little tease. Now that I think about it, things did change a lot after that day at the restaurant. She was a lot more clingy, always wanting to video chat or hang out. She’d ask me so many questions, probably to provoke me. I can’t believe I missed all the signs.

“So what changed?”

Hope smiles, her eyes still closed before answering my question, “When I won the contest, I really felt like I wanted to kiss you, so I decided to stop pretending.”

“Oh...”

“I guess you could say that your lips were the best prize I could receive tonight,” she says and finally opens her eyes. I’m left speechless once again because of her comment and I can feel my cheeks heating up. I look away once again in embarrassment, probably for the thousandth time tonight.

“Stop, you’re making me blush...”

Hope brings her hand up to my cheek and once again makes me look at her. “I’ve told you so many times that that’s not a bad thing.”

I lean into her hand and the feeling is just something I can’t describe. It’s by far one of the most amazing things I’ve ever experienced. This is so much better than reading books or watching romantic movies and imagining scenarios in my head. It’s so much better when you get to experience it in real life and see for yourself how wonderful it feels to be so cared for by someone.

“I wish we could stay like this forever,” I confess as I keep thinking about how much I really want this moment with Hope to never end.

It’s like all my dreams came true tonight and everything turned out perfectly. I feel so happy that Hope doesn’t hate me even though I still believe that I don’t deserve her forgiveness. I guess from now on I can try to make it up to her, to always be there for her whenever she needs me, to treat her like the absolute goddess that she is.

“And you say I’m the cheesy one.” Hope lets out a light chuckle as she says that. She then takes my hand and brings it up to her lips, placing a loving kiss on my knuckles. The gesture is so gentlewoman like.

“Maybe you’re rubbing off on me,” I tell her with a hint of playfulness in my voice.

“Maybe I am.”

I get home around 11 PM that night, which is pretty late for me. I’m not used to going out till such a late hour. That’s more Lizzie’s thing, but I guess now since I will get to spend a lot of time with Hope, that could change. Me and Hope really lost track of time in the park. It’s so weird how time just flies whenever I’m with her. I feel like I can spend all day with her and it would feel like 10 minutes. That’s just the effect she has on me.

When I get home, Lizzie isn’t there. She is probably at Maya’s place yet again. I kinda want to talk to her about everything that happened and thank her. If she hadn’t told Hope everything, things would’ve turned out so much differently. Hope would’ve probably been extremely angry with me and I wouldn’t have been able to explain myself well enough. She would’ve ended up hating me or something. God, I’m overthinking this again. I shouldn’t do that. I shouldn’t think about what would’ve happened. I need to focus on the here and now and just be glad that Lizzie saved my butt by telling Hope the truth beforehand.

Now that I think about it, I was very hard on Lizzie and always kept thinking that she would screw things up for me. But here we are now. Everything is perfect thanks to my sister. I still can’t believe it. Lizzie Saltzman is my savior.

I hear my phone buzz a minute or so later and I immediately smile widely because I know that the message is from Hope. I gave her my actual number so we could text outside of Tinder. I also deleted the fake Lizzie profile. I don’t need it anymore and I’m so glad that everything is out in the open now, no more lies and secrets.

Hope:

You cutie… <3

I miss you already

Josie:

I miss you too <3

Tonight was so perfect…

I didn’t want it to end.

Hope:

Me too :(

Do you want to go on a date next Saturday?

<3 <3 <3

Josie:

I’d go on a date with you anytime <3

Hope:

It’s settled then.

<3

I go to bed that night with a wide smile on my face because of everything that happened and that awaits me next Saturday. God, I just can’t help but feel extremely giddy because Hope and I are going on a date. I just know that it would be just as magical as tonight was, if not more. I can’t wait...

Chapter Text

Don’t you just love it when things go perfectly? You worry all this time for something that could possibly go wrong in so many ways, but then it just turns out okay. You feel ecstatic, you feel wonderful. That’s exactly how I feel right now as I’m waiting for Hope to come pick me up for our date. The past week has been amazing. We’ve been texting so much and have been so incredibly adorable with each other. Hope is probably even cheesier than she was. I guess now that things are out in the open, then we can just let ourselves feel every single emotion without holding back. It’s amazing.

Me and Lizzie have been on amazing terms as well. She felt a bit guilty for slipping up in front of Hope and telling her my secret, but I reassured her that everything is okay. Since things turned out so much better this way, I’m not mad whatsoever and I ended up thanking her instead. I gave her the tightest hug I could possibly give my sister and told her how much I love her.

I guess the only thing that’s not really working out right now is school. I’ve been having a hard time with most of the classes because there are so many projects that I need to do. It’s so overwhelming and I feel like I can’t finish all of it in time, but I’m still trying my hardest. Not everything can go as planned, right? I’ll survive somehow.

Right now, my top priority is Hope. I need to show her how amazing and wonderful she is, how pursuing a relationship with me is worth it. I do want her to be my girlfriend and I really want to ask her but I need to figure out some kind of plan. It needs to be perfect and special, because Hope deserves only the best. Anything for love, right?

“Would you just sit down, you’re distracting me...” Lizzie tells me with an annoyed tone in her voice and crosses her arms in front of her chest. “I need to focus on the hot guys right now.”

She’s watching some action show or something that I’m not particularly interested in. I sigh and sit down on my bed, doing as my sister wants because I don’t really want to get into a fight with her before my date, especially over something as stupid as this. I take out my phone and scroll through my last messages with Hope.

Hope:

Babe, I can’t wait for our date <3

Josie:

You and me both

<3 <3 <3

Hope:

It’s going to be amazing.

There’s also this event that I want to take you to.

I’m sure you’ll love it. <3

Josie:

Now I can’t wait even more.

I’ll see you in 35 minutes and 44 seconds.

Hope:

Oh, you’re counting ;o

Josie:

Of course I am…

That’s how much I miss you!

^-^

Hope:

You’re absolutely adorable, Jo…

A wide smile spreads across my faces as I read through them for probably the hundredth time. I still can’t believe that all of this is actually happening, that I’m finally getting to experience my fairy tale love.

As I’m sitting on my bed, I’m imagining Hope showing up in front of my house to pick me up, wearing this gorgeous black suit and with a rose in her hand, just like in the movies. Ahh, that would be so amazing. Hope would look so damn hot in a suit. I can just imagine her being such a gentlewoman and kissing my hand and just being absolutely the perfect date.

I am snapped out of my thoughts when the doorbell rings. I was so caught up in everything that I also didn’t even notice Hope had sent me a message. The phone didn’t vibrate because I was already inside the chat.

“That’s Hope,” I say and immediately grab my purse. “Bye, Liz.”

Lizzie doesn’t say anything, because she’s way too into that movie that she’s watching, so she completely ignores me. I try not to think about it. It’s fine. She’ll definitely ask me how the date went later anyway, so I won’t be mad at her.

As soon as I go downstairs to open the door, I take a deep breath. This is it. My date with Hope will begin as soon as I open this door.

I am greeted with Hope’s bright smile as soon as I turn the doorknob and pull the door towards me. It seems to be contagious because I grin widely when I lay eyes upon the beauty before me. She’s breathtaking. She looks absolutely amazing with the leather jacket that she’s wearing. I just feel like pulling her inside and doing very very naughty things with her. But I have to contain myself. We’re not even officially together yet. I mean, I haven’t asked her to be my girlfriend yet. I can’t be thinking about these things right now. I badly want to though…

“Hey, you look beautiful,” Hope tells me and leans in to give me a kiss on the lips. As soon as I feel her lips on mine, I get those butterflies in my stomach. It’s the effect Hope usually has on me. The auburn-haired girl pulls away a few seconds later and then surprises me with a beautiful bouquet of white roses. This is even better than I imagined it. She apparently had it hidden behind her back this whole time. “These are for you, because you’re absolutely amazing.”

I take them from her and bring them close to my chest. “Thank you, Hope...”

“Beautiful flowers for a beautiful girl.” Hope makes me blush with her statement. So cheesy.

My smile widens if that’s even possible and I quickly go to put the flowers inside water. A minute or so later, I return to Hope and just put my arms around her. “Thank you so much...”

I can feel Hope’s arms go around my waist and pull me closer. We stay like that for a little while longer because it’s just so nice and we can’t get enough of each other. I take in her intoxicating scent that makes every part of me go absolutely crazy. What are you doing to me, Hope Mikaelson?

“Come on. Let’s get going. We don’t want to spend the entire date on your doorstep now, do we?” Hope chuckles and we break the hug. I pout because I’m already missing the contact. I can’t get enough of her, damn it.

“That would still be perfect,” I reply and she chuckles even more.

Hope takes my hand and starts pulling me towards her car afterwards. “It would be amazing, but I have something else planned, so come on. I want to take you somewhere.”

“Alright, alright...”

Throughout the whole ride, Hope won’t tell me where she is taking me. I don’t ask because she promised we’ll be there soon, so I can wait. I can definitely be patient. I know that whatever she has planned is going to be worth it.

The ride was about 30 minutes and Hope parked her car near a place that I am not familiar of. I’ve never been here before, I think. Or maybe I just don’t remember. We get out of the car and Hope takes out a picnic basket from the trunk. Oh… so we’re having a picnic date.

“I hope it’s okay with you that we’re having a picnic date,” Hope tells me a bit nervously. “I’ve just never really planned a date before. I was always the one being surprised. I just want this to be cute and romantic...”

My eyes light up at Hope’s words.“It’s perfect, really.”

Hope ends up leading me towards an entrance of a park. It reminds me of the one that we went to after the art competition, but so much bigger.

“Where are we exactly?” I ask as I look around the unfamiliar surroundings.

“This is the park near my house. I want to take you to my favourite spot.”

We walk for about 10 minutes and during the walk, Hope holds my hand. I honestly feel like dying from happiness. This is just like a scene from a movie.

We end up near a really beautiful lake and I feel like things can’t get any more perfect. Hope lays down a blanket that she brought and puts the basket on top of it, then proceeds with taking out the food she had prepared. She takes out some sandwiches, fruits and some other things like chocolate and some salty treats. She knows how much I love them. Especially chocolate. Chocolate is the absolute definition of life. The only thing sweeter than chocolate is Hope. Oh god, I’ve become cheesy like her. Stop it, Josie…

“This is amazing, Hope...”

“I’m glad you like it, Jo…” Hope put a plastic plate in front of me with a sandwich on top of it. “I was really nervous about whether you’d like it.”

It’s very sweet of her to do all of this, honestly. The fact that she’s nervous is also super adorable. It means that she cares a lot about what I think. I really hope that I don’t screw this up. I want this to be perfect as much as she does.

We begin eating the food after that and the sandwich Hope gave me is absolutely delicious. It has no meat in it and it’s made just the way I like it. I guess she was paying attention when I was talking about what kind of food I enjoy.

After we finish up with the food, Hope puts it back inside the basket and then I notice that she begins nervously playing with her fingers.

“So...” she starts saying and I look up at her face. I can see that she’s blushing a little. “I have to show you something.”

“What is it?” I ask, my voice shaking a bit. Now I feel as nervous as she does.

Hope begins searching for something in her cup and I can feel my heart rate increase with each passing second. I lift an eyebrow in confusion when she then takes out a small to go coffee cup from there. I really don’t understand. She was nervous because of a coffee cup?

“This is a cup from the place near the art museum where we went on that field trip...” Hope explains and she still seems a bit nervous. “It’s like a symbol of our first date, even though it wasn’t actually a date at the time.”

“Hope...”

Hope then opens up the cup and takes out its contents. “And this… this is my napkin from the restaurant we went to and our passes inside the art contest – tokens from our second and third dates.”

“Hope, this is so incredibly sweet...” I start saying but she interrupts me by placing her hand on top of mine.

“I know that they weren’t really dates, except maybe the last one, but I’d like to think that they were...”

“Let’s say that they were,” I tell her and smile at her. I take the the napkin and the passes from her afterwards and look at them fondly. Hope has things written on them, such cute and adorable things.

I’m really glad I swiped right on you! <3

Your smile is the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen.

You’re amazing! <3

How can such a beautiful person like you actually exist?

Has anyone ever tell you that you have gorgeous eyes? <3

Everything she’s written on there is so cheesy. There’s even stuff on the cup as well and I swear, my heart is beating so fast right now. It feels like it will burst out of my chest.

“Wanna write something on the cup?” Hope asks me shyly a few seconds later and hands me a black marker.

I nod my head and immediately take it from her hand along with the cup, then write down a cute heart with our initials.

After I hand the cup and marker back to Hope, she starts writing something on it as well. It takes her a while because her hand is shaking. I can tell that she’s still very nervous. As soon as she’s done, she hands them back over to me and my eyes widen when I see what she’s written.

Will you be my sandwich, a.k.a my girlfriend? <3

Yes []

No []

Oh my god… Her sandwich? I chuckle because it sounds so silly, but yet so adorable. Afterwards I start writing on the cup. Well, I guess Hope beat me to it. I don’t have to think of a plan to ask her to be my girlfriend now.

Of course

I read what I’ve written and then show it to Hope.

“You didn’t check any of the boxes...” Hope pouts and she’s just so damn cute. I can’t believe that she’s pouting because of something as silly as me checking a box.

“I wanted to be different,” I comment and her pout quickly turns into a smile because of my answer.

I see her start writing down something else again and I can’t help but wonder what it is. Thankfully I don’t have to wait long to find out. She hands me the cup once again and I feel so happy as soon as I read what she wrote. I swear, I’ve never felt happier in my life.

Can I kiss you?

I look up from the cup and straight into Hope’s eyes, then nod my head. I can feel happy tears begin to form in my eyes. Hope then moves closer and I immediately feel a pair of lips crash against my own in such a loving kiss. This is by far my favourite one with her because it’s our first kiss as an official couple.

I have a girlfriend.

Hope Mikaelson is finally my girlfriend.

Chapter Text

After Hope and I have the most amazing picnic date, she tells me that she still has somewhere to take me. I remember her saying something about an event but she never clarified what it actually is.

“Where are we going?” I ask as Hope and I walk along some trail to a specific location inside the park where this event thing is supposed to be held.

“You’ll see,” Hope replies, her voice so teasing and I can feel her squeeze my hand and throw one of her signature Mikaelson smirks at me. Damn it… I just want to kiss her senseless right now. But I don’t want to appear as one of those girls that constantly want to kiss their partner and just can’t get enough of them.

We walk for about 15 minutes until I see a huge amount of people gathered up around something. It looks like some sort of stage. Oh... this is a concert, I think. Yeah… I can hear music playing and oh my god… That’s jazz. Hope is taking me to a jazz concert. Is this a dream come true?

We end up going past a lot of people and we manage to reach a somewhat acceptable distance from the stage so we can clearly see the musicians performing. Hope and I stop and stare at the amazing people up on that stage, giving their all and blessing our ears with this magnificent sound.

We start swaying to the music and just enjoying ourselves. It’s perfect. Being here at this concert with Hope by my side is more than I could ever ask for when it comes to a dream date. It’s even better than anything I’ve seen in movies.

Somehow Hope and I wind up in each other’s arms, so carefree, dancing to the music like it‘s just us, as if we‘re the only 2 people in the world. Just us and the jazz.

Hope looks at me with those beautiful blue eyes of hers and then just smiles at me, which has me absolutely melting. I giggle at her and let her twirl me around as we‘re dancing. Our faces end up mere inches away from each other and I want nothing more than to kiss her at that moment.

I see Hope stare at my lips, probably thinking the same thing, so I just lean in and close the gap between us without giving it a second thought. I had always imagined doing something like this. For such a long time, I‘ve had this scenario of kissing my girlfriend while we‘re dancing just stuck in my head . I am now doing it with Hope and I just can‘t be happier. This is really a dream come true. She is my dream come true.

I just love the taste of her soft lips and the feeling of her hands on my body, tracing my back gently, just sends shivers down my spine. I understand how characters in books and movies feel when they kiss the love of their life. It‘s one of the most magical feelings in the world.

We end up kissing for a few minutes before pulling away from each other, the need for air breaking the magical moment. Both of us are panting as we look at each other. Hope has this incredible dorky smile grazing her face. It‘s just so pretty. I know that I‘ve probably said this a million times but I just really love her smile.

The rest of the jazz festival goes great. Me and Hope walk around while enjoying the music and looking around the merch that’s being sold. Hope holds my hand and it just makes me feel amazing. I feel so protected and cared for even with such a simple gesture as hand holding.

“That looks really cute on you,” Hope tells me as she leans her face closer to mine and buries her face in the crook of my neck. I can feel her hot breath on my skin and I shiver. Oh god...

“I think I might just get this bracelet then. Since my amazing girlfriend approves.”

Hope lets out a light chuckle as soon as she hears my words. “Maybe I should get one too then. So we could match.”

“That would be so adorable…” I squeal in delight and jump in excitement at the thought of having matching bracelets with Hope.

As soon as we got them, I pulled my phone out, wanting to take a picture of them on our wrists. “Give me your hand and don’t move, babe…”

When I tap the camera icon, though, Hope pulls her hand away and the picture comes out blurry. Ugh… Seriously?

Hope starts laughing at me. Being the tease that she is, she is really enjoying this. “I thought you weren’t one of those girls who are obsessed with taking pictures.”

“Shut up. I’m not. This is an exception,” I defend myself and Hope continues laughing. “Don’t laugh. It’s a one time thing.” It’s totally not. I’ve been obsessed with the Instagram story feature since recently.

“Oh yeah? Is that why the past few days you’ve been updating your story on Instagram?”

“That’s not… Ugh, Hopeeee! Stop!” I pout and turn away from my girlfriend, my back facing her. I know she’s right. I have been posting way too much, but it’s just so fun. I didn’t know that it was like that until Lizzie showed me the really cool filters on Instagram and I just got hooked.

Hope ends up wrapping her arms around my waist and hugging me from behind. “I’m just teasing you. It’s cute.”

I turn around and look at my girlfriend, my pout now replaced with a warm smile. She thinks it’s cute.

“Maybe I’m not only posting because the filters are really cool. I guess I’m kinda hoping that you’d look at my stories and react to them.”

“You do know that you can send them to me privately, right?”

She is right. I can do that but I don’t want to spam her all the time with all sorts of pictures. I just don’t want to be annoying. If I put them on my story, she can look at them if she wants to. She does that by the way. She sees and reacts to all my stories.

“I don’t want to spam you all the time…”

Hope tightens her hold around my body and pulls me closer to her. “I don’t mind, babe. I’d love everything you send me.”

“You’re sweet.”

Hope chuckles and kisses me softly. If I can have her lips pressed against my own forever, it would be amazing.

A few seconds later, Hope pulls away and I immediately want to lean in and connect our lips once more, but I stop myself. That would be too much. I can’t kiss her 24/7 even though I badly want to.

“Come on, lets take a picture for your Instagram story, you dork,” Hope tells me and then takes my hand in hers.

We intertwine our fingers and I manage to then take a really cute picture.

I let go of Hope’s hand afterwards and proceed with writing down a caption and putting in some hashtags. I decide to not just put it on my story, but make a normal upload of the picture on my profile.

“Matching bracelets with my wonderful girlfriend. Hashtag couple goals, hashtag insta couple, hashtag girlfriends, hashtag…“ Hope reads out loud but there are a lot of hashtags so she sighs and looks at me. “Oh my god, there are so many of them. You really are obsessed”

“I am… but I’m more obsessed with you, my sandwich,” I tell her and then lean in to kiss her once again. Screw this. I wanna kiss her all the time, I don’t care. Nothing’s going to stop me.

“I’m rubbing off on you,” Hope says in between the kiss. “You’re becoming the lord of cheesy lines.”

“No one can take that title from you babe. You’re the queen of being cheesy. I’m coming in second now, but I have a long way to go to reach your level.”

Hope giggles at my words and pulls away for a second, breaking the kiss. “Alright then. Once you do, we’ll both be queens and we’ll be equal.”

“Oh definitely, your majesty.”

“Your majesty, oh wow… I like the sound of that.”

Hope leans in once again and captures my lips for yet another amazing kiss.

Maybe, just maybe I’m going to get my happily ever after with Hope. It’s been a few weeks since she asked me to be her girlfriend and things have been amazing so far. She’s so sweet, caring and so understanding. I don’t know how I got so lucky to call her my girlfriend.

“Jo, stop spacing out. We need to get ready for our birthday party!” I snap out of my trance when I feel a soft pillow hit my face and hear my sister suddenly yell out.

Oh yeah… Our birthday is coming up, tonight. Lizzie has this huge party planned out even though I told her that it’s a bit overboard. I think she ended up inviting half the school to our party. I’m not sure how many people will actually show up, but I think they will be a lot more than I am comfortable with. It’s so overwhelming for me to be around many people at the same time. Thankfully, my girlfriend is coming here, so we might just sneak away to my room and chill, just the two of us.

“Alright, alright… I’m almost ready with the balloons,” I yell back at Lizzie as I arrange the inflated balloons by color. I’ve been doing this for about half an hour now. I don’t even know why Lizzie wants so many balloons at our party. It’s not like it matters, but yeah, this is my sister after all. She has weird preferences sometimes.

As I try to finish up everything, I feel my phone buzz in my pocket. It’s probably a message from Hope. I smile and take my phone out, then unlock it to see why it’s vibrating.

Hope:

Hey beautiful <3

I miss you ;*

I can’t wait to see you tonight.

My smile widens as I read the message that she sent me. God, I miss her so much too. I haven’t seen her in a few days because finals are just around the corner and I’ve been studying like crazy here. Doing all sorts of assignments. School ends in 2 months and yet the teachers are already giving us loads of shit to learn before that.

Josie:

Hey babe <3

You have no idea how much I want to kiss you right now.

I’ve been thinking about you all day.

What time are you coming over?

Hope:

I’ll be there around 8 PM.

I know that the party starts at 7, but I have to help my aunts with something.

That’s why I can’t make it earlier unfortunately.

I really wish I could’ve been there at 7 because I’m missing 1 hour with my girl.

Josie:

Awwwe… babee <3

We’ll make up for that 1 hour.

Don’t you worry about that.

<3 <3 <3

Hope is literally the sweetest and most loving person alive. Honestly, ever since I met her, I can’t even remember what it was like to live a life without her in it. I just can’t imagine it. My mind can’t comprehend what it was like. I am so thankful to have her and I would do anything in my power to keep her with me forever.

After me and Lizzie finish up with all the decorations for the party, maybe about an hour after that people start ed showing up. Mostly people that I don’t know. I think the only ones I recognize are some of the cheerleaders from school, that horrible captain of the football team Jed, Rafael who is busy making out with some girl already and of course MG and Maya, Lizzie’s best friends.

I sigh as I pour myself some punch. There is alcohol here as well, obviously, but I’m not really much of a drinker. Parties and alcohol aren’t really my thing if you haven’t noticed.

I keep checking my phone ever 2 minutes just to see whether Hope has texted me. I really can’t wait for her to come. I know I’m probably being an extremely clingy and obsessive girlfriend, but I just can’t help it.

I sit down on the couch and look around. A lot of people are already here and it’s only 7: 45 PM. Some are drinking and talking, others are dancing to the playlist that Lizzie, Maya and MG had created. There are some people who are playing some games. Everyone seems to be having fun, except me, who’s sitting alone like some loser on her own birthday.

I unlock my phone and read through my conversation with Hope once again, which has me smiling like an idiot. She’ll be here soon. I can’t wait.

“You smiling like that because of your boyfriend?” I hear an unfamiliar voice ask me and quickly lift my head up, looking at the person who had spoken to me.

It’s Jed. How did I not recognize his voice sooner? It’s so smug. I feel like punching him in the face just for looking at me. He’s also apparently drunk.

“No,” I tell him and his smirk becomes even sleazier. Oh shit, he probably thinks I’m single. I need to clarify that I’m not. “My girlfriend. She’s the reason why I’m smiling.”

“Oh, you’re into chicks.”

He seems a little surprised . Man, why the hell is he even talking to me. Last time I checked he thought I was some sort of loser.

“I’m into my girlfriend.”

“That’s because you’ve never been with a real man before,” Jed says then points at his crotch. “If you try a peace of this, you’ll never wanna go back.”

“Umm...” I feel extremely uncomfortable and definitely pissed of because of the way he’s talking to me. Who does he think he is? How can he just assume that I like girls because I haven’t been with a real man? Oh my god… “I’m not into girls because of that. I like the person for who they are and I don’t care about their gender.”

“Oh please, don’t give me that. I know I’m right,” he continues insisting and moves a lot closer to me. “Come on, baby. If you give me a chance, I can show you the time of your life. You’ll forget all about that girlfriend of yours.”

I stand up from the couch, feeling a bit scared now. “Please, get away from me. I don’t want to do anything with you.”

“Oh come on. Don’t play hard to get.” Jed stands up along with me and grabs me by the arm, pulling me hard towards him. He pressed my body hard against his and it makes me feel terrible.

“Please, let me go...” I try to say louder, but it’s like nobody hears me or doesn’t seem to care. There are a lot of people around us but they don’t seem to pay attention.

“She said to let her go, you moron...”

I suddenly hear Hope’s familiar voice and before I know it, Jed is being pulled away from me. Thank god…

“Who do you think you are, bitch? Didn’t you see that me and her had a moment?”

“I’m her girlfriend, so back the hell off,” Hope tells him and pushes him, making him fall back down on the couch. She then proceeds with pouring her drink all over him.

People now are fully paying attention and start laughing at the scene. It must be humiliating for Jed, with him being so popular and all that.

Hope quickly grabs me by the hand and starts pulling me out of there. “Come on, let’s go.”

I hear Jed yelling something, but I don’t really understand what he’s saying. A minute of so later, we’re out of the house.

“Hope...” I say and my girlfriend halts immediately. She turns around to face me and looks at me with such a worried expression on her face.

“I’m sorry that I came so late. If I had been here sooner, he wouldn’t have made a move on you,” Hope apologizes and I can tell that she feels so guilty for not being able to make it to the party earlier.

I sigh and shake my head, a smile on my face because of course Hope is worried about other people and not herself. “Babe, you protected me. You came at just the right time and I am so thankful for that. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you.”

I place my hand on the side of Hope’s neck and gently caress her cheek with my thumb. I can see the auburn-haired girl close her eyes at the gesture and relax under my touch.

“I wanted to kill him...” Hope confesses, her voice sounding as barely a whisper. If I wasn’t so close to her, I wouldn’t have been able to hear it.

I press my forehead against hers and close my eyes as well. “I know...”

“I know that I just came to the party, but do you think that maybe we could go somewhere else? Just the two of us, I mean...” Hope asks me and I give her a sweet peck on the lips.

“Yeah, I’d love that.”

Chapter Text

Hope and I end up at a dock near the lake that’s about 30 minutes away from my house. We’re sitting there, our legs and feet dangling from the edge. The weather is a bit chilly, but it’s not that bad. I’ll survive thanks to Hope. She has her arms around me and her body is giving me warmth, which is really really nice.

“Have you ever thought about parallel universes?” I suddenly ask Hope who turns her head around to look at me.

She smiles so softly before answering my question. “Yeah. I sometimes think about it. What if there are millions of other universes, all with different versions of us. I wonder in how many of those we’re together.”

“I’d like to think that we’re together in all of them.”

“That would actually be really nice, for our bond to be so strong that it overcomes everything and we’re together in every version of reality.”

I can feel Hope getting more emotional with each passing second. It’s obvious because of the tone in her voice.

“We can overcome anything, baby,” I tell her and look at her straight in the eyes, those beautiful blue eyes of hers that I adore so much.

“Indeed we can.”

She closes her eyes and leans in, pressing her lips against mine for a soft and slow kiss. Right before I close my own eyes, I see a single tear fall down her cheek and at that moment, I realize how strongly she must feel for me.

I love kissing her, especially when it’s slow and full of emotions. I just feel so much when I’m with her like this and I never want this beautiful moment to end. I move my lips along with hers and tilt my head to the side as my hand makes its way to her neck and my fingers gently caress her skin. Small whimpers escape my mouth when I feel Hope pull me closer, like she never wants to let me go, as if I’m her lifeline. I can feel how much she needs me right now and I try to show her just how much I do to. Right now, she is the world to me. Hope is everything.

When we pull away from each other, I look at her straight in the eyes and can see that she’s crying.

“Baby, what’s wrong?” I ask her worriedly.

“I just… I’m just so happy that I have you.”

Her saying that just makes me feel so loved, so special. There is this person here in front of me that cares so much about me, that is happy that I’m here. I feel that way as well and I would do anything in my power not to lose her.

We spend the next 15 minutes in silence, just looking at the stars. It’s so nice how we can just feel so comfortable with each other no matter what we do. We can talk for hours or we can stay silent and it would be just as nice.

I break the silence after a while. “I’m officially 18 by the way.”

I’m feeling a bit proud that I am finally of legal age and can do whatever I want. Except buying alcohol of course, I need to be 21 for that, but that doesn’t matter. I can do lots of other things now. I am officially an adult.

“I know. Happy birthday, baby...” Hope says and smiles at me. “I still haven’t given you your birthday present, though.”

“I thought you were my present.”

Hope laughs as soon as she hears my words. “No. I mean, I could be of course, but then you’ll have 2 presents.”

“I wouldn’t be opposed to that.” My voice is flirty as I say that. “Hope Mikaelson as a present does sound very appealing.”

She laughs once again at my words. “Come on, you dork. Let’s go, so I can give it to you.”

Hope stands up and offers her hand to me. I quickly take it and get off the ground as well. We walk back to Hope’s car afterwards and I can’t help but wonder what kind of present she got me. She opens the door to the passenger seat for me and I make my way inside the car, then Hope goes around and sits next to me at the driver’s seat.

“Where are we going?” I ask curiously. I thought the present was in her car or something but I guess it wasn’t...

“Uhm… So the present is kinda at my house. You mind if we go there?”

Why would I mind? Of course I would go to her house. “Of course not. I’ll go wherever you want to go.”

“Even if it’s at the other side of the world?” Hope playfully says to me and I chuckle.

“Anywhere...”

When we arrive at Hope’s place, we go straight to her room. This is actually the first time I’ve been here. Hope’s aunts and the baby are not home. They went on a trip to New Orleans today before Hope came to the party. They’ll be gone for a couple of days, so we’re all alone.

Hope’s room is amazing. It’s like a gallery. There’s so many paintings and art supplies everywhere. It’s just beautiful and I can’t help but be in awe because of everything around us right now.

“Close your eyes, baby,” Hope tells me as she leads me to the center of the room.

“You’re not planning some sort of prank on me now, right?” I ask, a little suspicious. Usually when someone tells you to close your eyes, you should always keep in mind that they are probably up to something.

“No, I just want to give you your present.”

I’m still a little suspicious because Hope is known for being a bit of a prankster. Just the other day she scared the crap out of me by putting on some creepy zombie mask. I didn’t talk to her after that until she begged me to forgive her.

“Alright. I’ll do as you say, but if this is some sort of prank again, I’ll kill you,” I warn her and then close my eyes.

“You like me way too much to do that, babe...”

I can just imagine her smirking as she said those words. It’s just obvious from her voice. She’s right, though. I’ll always forgive her no matter what…

“You’re so full of yourself,” I tell her and hear her laugh before feeling something wet on my face.

“Be patient...” she whispers as soon as she pulls her lips away from my cheek.

I stand there in the middle of her room, my eyes closed and my arms crossed in front of my chest as I wait for her to do whatever she is planning. I can hear her go around the room and move things, her footsteps hurried. I think she even dropped something as well.

“Hope? You okay?”

“Yes, yes… Hold on a second,” she tells me, her voice sounding as if she’s out of breath.

After that I hear the door behind me close. Did she just leave the room? I don’t risk opening my eyes, because I could be wrong. I hear her voice coming from the corridor probably, like she’s on the phone with someone. I can barely hear what she’s saying. It sounds like she’s asking where something is.

About 5 minutes later, the door behind me opens again and I can hear Hope breathing heavily. Was she running or something?

“You can… open your eyes now,” Hope says, still panting.

I do as she says and I am greeted with the sight of my girlfriend holding a huge painting in her arms. A painting of two girls looking at each other with so much love and emotion. My eyes widen and I step closer to take a better look at the masterpiece that the auburn-haired girl is holding in her hands.

“Hope, this is beautiful...” I tell her and I feel tears forming in my eyes. I recognize the girls in the painting. They’re us. They’re Hope and I.

I run my fingers down the wooden frame as I kneel down and just stare at the painting, mesmerized by how amazing it is.

“I take it you like it then.” Hope chuckles and I look up at her with a huge smile on my face.

“I absolutely love it. This is the sweetest and most thoughtful gift anyone has ever given me,” I confess to her as I stand up and give her a kiss on the lips in gratitude. I can feel the other girl smiling as our lips press against each other, obviously very satisfied with my answer. When I pull away, I can’t help but ask, “What was all that earlier? Who were you talking to?”

“Oh uhm… It turned out that the painting wasn’t in the place I had left it today and that my aunt had moved a lot of things in the room when she was cleaning. Some things were down in the garage, including the painting...”

“Oh… Well, at least you found it quickly.”

“I wouldn’t dream of keeping you waiting for long, babe,” Hope tells me and then leans in for yet another kiss.

“Cheesy...” I say right before her lips touch mine.

This is officially the best birthday ever.

I ended up staying the night at Hope’s place. That was not how I had planned my birthday to go, but it was a nice turn of events. Hope and I spent the rest of the night cuddling on her bed and watching Netflix. I just couldn’t ask for a better birthday.

When I got home on the next day, I was surprised that Lizzie hadn’t even noticed that I wasn’t at the party. Typical of my sister. She never notices anything about me. Lizzie told me absolutely everything that she did during the party. How she ended up playing beer pong with Rafael and then hooked up with him in the bathroom. I swear, I am not stepping foot in there until she cleans it.

I am currently at school at a football game, looking for Lizzie because stupid me has forgotten her keys and I can’t get home without them, so I need hers. I know she’s cheering at the game and I think I’ll be able to talk to her when she’s on a break or something.

I really need her keys. My parents aren’t at the house because they’re at work and I don’t have anything to do till they get home. Hope told me that she has something to do at her apartment, so I can’t hang out with her today.

“Lizzie!” I yell as soon as I spot my sister drinking some water. She quickly turns her attention towards me along with all the other cheerleaders who send me annoyed looks, as if they hate the fact that I even exist.

“Jo, what’s up? What are you doing here?” my sister curiously asks, as if it’s weird that I’m at the game and that I am talking to her. I know that I’m not a big fan of sports but I could go to games. It shouldn’t be so strange.

“I forgot my keys at home,” I just say, not bringing up the subject about how I can come to football games if I want to and how it’s not weird. “Can you give me yours?”

“Yeah, sure. Come with me…” Lizzie tells me and leads me to the locker room. She opens up her locker and starts rummaging through her bag. A few seconds later, she hands me the keys without saying anything.

”Thanks. Bye, Liz,” I tell her and then I quickly make my way out of there without waiting for her to say goodbye back. I just kinda want to get out as fast as possible, because the atmosphere there makes me feel very anxious.

I take my phone out and I text Hope. I know that she won’t see it, but it would make me feel better just writing it down to her.

Josie:

Babe, I just got Lizzie’s keys.

I’m gonna head home now <3

Just going through the main corridor.

Yay! Home sweet home, here I come! <3

I make my way inside the school building and walk down the main corridor, heading for the exit when I spot a familiar auburn-haired girl walking towards me. Hope? What is she doing here?

“Hey,” she tells me with a smile on her face and quickly leans in to give me a kiss on the lips.

“I thought you were busy today. What are you doing here? How did you know where I was exactly?” I throw a few questions at her, making her laugh.

“Babe, you kinda text me what you’re doing all the time,” Hope says and I mentally facepalm because she’s right. I do tell her what I’m doing all the time.

“Right...” I just say and feel a bit stupid for asking her how she knew where I was.

“Anyway, I finished early at the apartment and thought I’d surprise you or something by coming here.”

“Awww, you wanted to surprise me. That’s really adorable of you, babe...” I tell her sweetly and look at her with the softest expression on my face before wrapping my arms around her and pulling her in for a hug. “You’re the best girlfriend in the world.”

I really want to kiss her right now. I mean, how can she be so cute. Just coming to the school like that to surprise me. Oh my god… I feel like I’m in a romance movie or something. I love love love it.

Just as I’m about to lean in, I suddenly hear a voice from behind me, yelling my last name.

“Saltzman!”

I quickly turn around and my eyes catch sight of an obviously very high Penelope Park coming towards me and Hope.

Chapter Text

I stare at Penelope as she’s coming towards me and Hope, rather surprised that she actually called my name. It’s not like we’re best friends or anything. The only times we’ve ever interacted are when she’s trying to cheat off me during tests.

“Josie, who is this?” Hope asks me as Penelope comes closer with a big goofy smile on her face. That is so unlike her. I guess being high makes you act out of character. I wouldn’t really know. I’ve never been high in my life. Usually Penelope is very scary and devilish. Sometimes I feel like she’s actually Satan incarnate because she has that glint in her eyes that makes me believe she can actually rule over Hell.

“Penelope. She’s in a few of my classes. We’re not really friends,” I explain to Hope who has her arms around my waist with no intention of letting me go.

“Saltzman!” Penelope yells out in joy and then starts laughing like a crazy person before leaning in and engulfing both me and Hope in a hug.

What the hell? This girl seems to have lost it.

I push her away slightly and she just ends up looking at me. But it’s so different. It’s like she’s not actually there, like she’s staring into space. I move my hand in front of her face to try and snap her out of it.

“Saltzman, you’re pretty,” Penelope says as soon as she’s not in that trance, still with that same big goofy smile on her face. She then randomly grabs a strand of my hair and leans closer like she’s examining it.

I pull away once again and take a few steps back along with Hope. “Uhmm...” I try speaking but no words really come out of my mouth. I don’t know what to say. I’ve seen Penelope act this way before but not with me. I’ve only seen her laugh with her other stoner friends.

Hope still has her arms around me with no intention of letting me go and I can sense her tense up and tighten her hold around my body as soon as she hears the other girl’s words.

Penelope continues standing there, not moving an inch and then out of nowhere, she starts laughing again. It’s so weird.

“What do you want?” Hope snaps at her and tries to pull us farther away from the other girl, taking a few steps back.

“SEX!” Penelope yells and then starts laughing again. Her eyes then turn to me and she points her finger in my direction before speaking again. “With you!“

I am utterly speechless and honestly don‘t know how to respond to that so I just stand still. Before I know it, Hope has let me go. Oh no...

“Alright that‘s it.“ Hope yanks Penelope away from me. “Your ass is going straight to the principal‘s office.“

Penelope starts laughing again as Hope begins dragging her along the corridor but after the first couple of steps my girlfriend stops walking and turns to me. “Uhh, babe, where‘s the principal‘s office?“

I‘m dating an idiot...

“Come on, follow me.“ I sigh and then lead the way to the principal‘s office so Penelope can be taken care of.

Things worked out badly for the raven-haired girl once we got there. She ended up getting suspended for 2 weeks because of this incident. I think this was the first time she actually got caught being high at school. I feel like she is usually a lot more careful because I‘ve seen her get stoned before as well. Maybe it‘s because she was with her friends or because nobody has reported her until now. Whatever, I just Hope she doesn‘t hold a grudge and won‘t come after me because we took her to the principal‘s office.

Right now Hope and I are on our way to my house to hang out there. The ride is silent and I can feel this awkward tension between us. I‘m kind of scared that Hope isn‘t saying a word to me right now.

“So... do you want to maybe order some pizza and watch Netflix when we arrive?“ I try to ask but I sound so awkward and I hate myself for it. Damn, why am I even like this? This is my girlfriend for crying out loud. I should be able to have a normal conversation with her no matter what. Plus it‘s not like anything serious happened. Penelope just made a fool out of herself in front of us. It‘s not like she meant every word she said. I mean, she was high, right? People don‘t mean what they say in that state, right? I‘d like to believe that that‘s true.

“Fine,“ Hope replies without even sparing a glance at me and continues driving to my house. I sigh in frustration because I don‘t want things to be like this.

“What‘s wrong?“ I end up asking after a few more minutes spent in silence.

“Nothing. Everything is just fine,“ she tells me and I know that that‘s not true. I can tell from the tone of her voice that things are not fine. But I don‘t say anything. I just leave her be.

I only bring up the topic again once she pulls into our driveway and parks the car.

“Hope, please talk to me. I know that something is up,“ I insist and I look at her with pleading eyes, just begging for her to open up. “Is this because of what Penelope said?“

Hope still won‘t look at me and stays silent, her hands gripping the steering wheel and holding it so tightly that her knuckles are turning white.

I place both my hands over hers and gently caress them in an attempt to get her to relax and let go. Once she does I bring them up to my lips and begin gently placing small kisses over them.

“Josie, I‘m jealous,“ Hope finally confesses what‘s been bothering her.

“Why? You shouldn‘t be. It doesn‘t matter what Penelope says,“ I reassure my girlfriend and move my face a bit closer to hers.

“I just keep replaying her words in my head. She said she wants to have sex with you and I can‘t help but think how you’re probably her type and about all the things that she wants to do to you.“ Hope pauses and looks away from me, probably feeling embarrassed that she‘s having these thoughts. “Just the thought of someone else doing that to you makes my blood boil.“

“Listen to me. I don’t care what she thinks or feels about me. It doesn‘t matter because you‘re the one I want,“ I tell her confidently. It‘s the one thing that I am 100% sure of. “It‘ll always be you, Hope. Always and forever. So please don‘t be jealous of some stupid girl that I barely communicate with.“

I can see tears forming in Hope’s eyes because of everything that I said. “Okay...“ she just says and then smiles at me before finally gazing into my eyes.

“Can I kiss you now?“

Hope‘s smile becomes wider as soon as she hears my words and then nods. I crash my lips against hers for a passionate kiss, aiming to get rid of every single doubt about us in her head, trying to get her to forget all the things that happened earlier with Penelope.

Hopefully it works.

We end up making out for about 20 minutes, not really giving a damn about anything.

As soon as we stop, Hope has this huge grin plastered on her face and it just makes me adore her even more.

“I love making out with you,“ she tells me and I chuckle lightly.

“Is that why you keep me around? So you can make out with me?“

“Mmmm...“ Hope doesn‘t respond for a moment, pretending like she’s thinking about something really hard.

“Hope!” I yell out and playfully hit her.

“Alright, alright...” Hope lifts her hands in front of her chest in a protective manner. “You have other valuable qualities as well.”

“Like what?” I ask, smirking at her. My hands quickly find hers and intertwine our fingers as I lean in once again, my face inches away from hers.

“You’re incredibly smart and have an amazing sense of humor,” Hope starts telling me, her voice low and a bit raspy, which is insanely attractive. “Not to mention that you’re so goddamn beautiful.”

“Go on...” I encourage her to continue speaking as my eyes dart between hers and down to her lips. Tilting my head slightly, I move my face even closer to hers and our lips nearly make contact for probably the thousandth time that day.

“You’re mesmerizing. I’ve never felt as strongly about anyone until I met you, Josie.”

With that I finally close the gap between our lips and start kissing Hope once again. I feel like I can’t get enough of her. She said she loves making out with me but if I have to be honest, I feel like I’m the one who’s addicted to making out with her. Her lips are like a drug and I can’t stop tasting them. I feel like I crave her all the time and if I don’t get my daily dose, I’m gonna go insane.

When Hope and I finally pull away from each other and make it inside the house, I can’t wait to go upstairs to mine and Lizzie’s shared room to hang out with my girlfriend. Don’t get me wrong, the car is great and all. I mean, we’ve obviously had some really nice moments in there, but my room has a bed and it’s spacious. We can definitely relax more there.

Just as we’re about to walk up the stairs, I suddenly hear a noise coming from the kitchen. What the hell? Nobody is supposed to be home. Who is inside the house? Are we being robbed?

I look at Hope with panic in my eyes and she immediately goes into protective mode and grabs the umbrella near the door. I take off my backpack and will use that as a weapon, because there isn’t anything else around us that can actually be useful, so this is my best shot.

As Hope and I slowly make our way towards the kitchen, the noise from inside keeps getting louder. It sounds like someone is searching through the kitchen .

A lot of scenarios run through my mind at that moment. What if it’s a thief who is homeless and broke in to steal our food. I mean, I would obviously let them have it because they would need it more than me, but yeah . Or what if it’s a robber who is looking for our expensive cutlery.

My mind darts to the Home Alone movies where the robbers were carefully watching the house before they rob it. They knew that we would be away today so they figured out the perfect time to rob us. Little did they expect me to come home from school today.

Or maybe I’m their target all along. What if they knew that I would be back and the ir plan was to attack me at my own home or something. What if they were planning on kidnapping me?

Okay, I feel like I’m overreacting a bit here. I’ve seen way too many movies. Plus, who would want to kidnap me anyway…

When Hope and I finally enter the kitchen, we see a figure of a man only in his boxers and nothing else bent down and looking through the fridge. Wait…

“Dad?” I suddenly say and put my bag down, then the man quickly turns around to look at me. He has whipped cream in his hand.

“Josie, what are you doing here?” he asks me, sounding very surprised by the fact that I’m home from school. I could ask him the same question. He’s supposed to be at work. Judging from his appearance, though, I think he’s about to do some very inappropriate things with that whipped cream. There’s even a plate of strawberries on the counter. Oh god… I will never look at strawberries and whipped cream the same way again.

Wait… But mom’s not here right now. Or is she? Maybe she’s home from work as well and they were planning on getting some alone time.

“What am I doing here? I’m home from school.” My voice sounds like I’m defending myself after being accused of doing something that I didn’t. I cross my arms in front of my chest and look at him, ready to hear what his explanation would be. “What about you? Why aren’t you at work? What do you need all these things for?”

I know that I don’t really want to hear the answer to that question because I totally know that he’s planning on having sex, but I just had to ask.

“I uh… I wasn’t feeling well so I came home,” he begins explaining his reason, obviously lying. I can tell when he is because he’s so bad at it. He always scrunches his eyebrows every time he lies and looks away.“I was planning on watching some TV and eating some strawberries with whipped cream.”

“Right...”

I feel Hope place her hand on my back and gently move it along it to comfort me. Oh god, this is so embarrassing. I can’t believe my girlfriend and I walked in on my dad before he’s about to have sex.

“Ric, what’s taking you so long? It’s not polite to keep a horny girl waiting...”

I suddenly hear a voice coming from behind me. Both Hope and I turn around and stare at the door where an extremely attractive and totally naked woman suddenly comes into view. Well shit…

That’s definitely not my mother.

Chapter Text

To say that I’m disappointed and hurt by my father’s actions would be an understatement. It’s not enough that my whole life he’s been too busy at work to pay attention to me and Lizzie but now he has to cheat on mom as well. Guess now I know what he was doing during all those late nights at the office.

Now that I know that he’s been cheating on mom so many things make sense, like how he’s always sleeping in his study for example, or how he never kisses her anymore, how he barely pays attention to anything that’s going on in this house. The signs are all there. How did I not notice them sooner?

I instinctively reach for Hope’s hand to steady myself because I feel like I’m going to faint otherwise. The whole situation is too much for me to handle.

My eyes dart from my father’s mistress who is now covering her naked body as much as she can to my dad. He runs his palm over his face, obviously frustrated because of the whole situation that’s happening right now.

“You’re sleeping with Maya’s mom,” I say angrily as I stare at my father, the disappointment and hurt along with all other negative emotions evident in my face. “I can’t believe this.”

“Josie, it’s not what it looks like,” my dad tells me defensively and moves a few steps closer to me.

“Really, dad? How is you only in your boxers with sex food and a naked woman not what it looks like?“ Tears start streaming down my face as I yell at him. Hope squeezes my hand in an attempt to make me relax, but it doesn’t work. I’m way too angry at the moment.

“I should probably go,” Maya’s mom suddenly says rather awkwardly.

“You think?” I yell at her too.

She seems extremely embarrassed now and quickly disappears out of sight. I hear her walk back upstairs, probably to collect all her clothes from the floor or something. I just know that they are probably all over my parents’ bedroom. Oh god… I can’t believe that my father would cheat on my mother inside our own house. How disgusting…

“Josie…” my father once again starts speaking but I immediately cut him off.

“Shut up! I really can’t deal with this right now.”

As I am still holding my girlfriend’s hand, I quickly drag her towards the exit of the house. My dad doesn’t follow us, thank god. I can’t even look at him anymore.

Hope and I get inside the car and just stay there in silence. She was silent during the whole stupid thing with my father. I mean, it’s understandable. What are you even supposed to say when you and your girlfriend catch her douchebag father cheating on her mother? God, this is so embarrassing. I can’t believe this actually happened. This is such a nightmare.

“Josie, I-” Hope starts speaking but I shut her up immediately by kissing her. It feels forced and desperate, and I know that I’m upset and should not try to cope this way, but kissing her is the only thing that would probably make me feel better at the moment.

Hope starts kissing me back and my hands find their way to her belt. I immediately begin unbuckling it. “I want you,” I tell her and continue kissing her senseless.

“Josie, stop...” Hope pulls away and puts her hands over my own, stopping me before I can unbuckle her belt. “As much as I want this too, I don’t think this is the right time. You’re upset and this is not the way to deal with the situation.”

I start crying and can’t help but feel even worse because of everything. I think this is the most upset I’ve felt in a really long time.

“I’m sorry,” I apologize to Hope. “I feel so embarrassed. I shouldn’t have done this.”

I quickly attempt to get out of the car after that, but Hope stops me by grabbing my wrist. “Josie, it’s okay. Don’t worry.”

She then pulls me closer and engulfs me in a tight hug. I bury my face in the crook of her neck as my arms find their way around her body and I let myself cry, letting everything out like that. I can feel Hope’s hand over my back, gently moving it up and down and the action relaxes me immediately.

We stay like that for a while and I finally pull away when I feel a bit better. “Thank you,” I tell my girlfriend and then lean in to peck her lips.

“I’ll always be here for you, Josie. No matter what...” Hope smiles at me and in return I do the same. “Now what do you say we go somewhere, so we can take your mind off things?”

I nod as soon as I hear her words. “Okay...”

Hope and I end up at an amusement park near the outskirts of town and my eyes immediately light up when I see it. I’ve always loved amusement parks since I was really young. I adore all the rides and games and the fact that I can win so many amazing prizes.

I should also probably get some cotton candy. I need some suggary goodness right now, after how the day has been going so far, first Penelope and then having to deal with a jealous girlfriend, all the shit with my dad, it’s really stressful. Cotton candy is like the epitome of sweetness, after Hope’s kisses of course. Nothing can top those.

“I’m okay going on any of the rides except the rollercoaster,” I hear Hope say as we walk around the amusement park. “I still have nightmares after watching Final Destination 3.”

I chuckle as soon as I hear her words. All because of a horror movie. “Oh wow, I can’t believe that the great Hope Mikaelson is scared of a ride.”

“I’m not scared.” Hope pouts and crosses her arms in front of her chest. “I’m just being cautious. Anything can happen on that thing.”

“Hope, the rides are completely safe. They’re constantly being monitored. The chance of something bad happening is very small,” I explain to her, but she continues pouting. I sigh and then take out my phone. “Here, let’s google it.“

I immediately type out ‘What is the likelihood of dying in a roller coaster?’ and show the results to Hope a second later.

“Yeah, well. I’m still not convinced. I don’t care if it’s 1 in 200 million and if some fancy Amusement Park Association says it.”

I laugh at how cute my girlfriend is. She wants this to go her way. “You’re so stubborn, babe.”

I immediately cup her face after I say that and gently squeeze her cheeks, as if she’s a little kid.

“Jo…” Hope whines, which makes me laugh even more. “Stop it!”

“Quit acting like a kid and I will.”

Hope gives up shortly after that and we continue walking around the amusement park. We’re holding hands and it’s just so amazing. Being with Hope is one of the most amazing feelings in the world.

“Jo, let’s try this game.” Hope points at a booth with a huge yellow duck painted on top. “It looks really cool.”

Before I can answer, my girlfriend is already dragging me towards the game. It’s called Duck Pond and there are probably hundreds of rubber ducks floating around in this big container filled with water. The aim is to pick matching ones. Isn’t that romantic? Finding a duckie and its perfect match. I just love it.

“Why hello there, dearies!” An old man, probably in his 60s, greets us cheerfully as soon as we approach the booth. “Want to get quacking? All you have to do is find 2 duckies with matching numbers and you get a prize!”

“Yes!” Hope enthusiastically answers and lets go of my hand before jumping up and down in front of the booth. So much for not acting like a child. Alright, fine. I’ll admit, it is pretty damn adorable. “Yes! Yes!”

Wow she’s more excited about this thing than I am. Damn, here I thought I was the one who loved amusement parks.

For the next 10 or 15 minutes, I watch Hope struggling to find matching ducks. It’s kind of funny to be honest, how she gets annoyed and pouts whenever she doesn’t find one.

“Stupid ducks!” Hope yells out when yet another pair she picked up is not matching.

“Guess luck is not on your side, dearie,” the old man tells her and laughs. He sounds a bit evil if you ask me. Kinda reminds me of Rumplestiltskin from the show Once Upon a Time.

“I’ll try again...” Hope gives it yet another shot and finally manages to find matching ducks and win a prize. “Yes!”

I chuckle as I see my girlfriend being so happy because she won something. To be honest, I’d totally be acting the same way if I were to win something.

“Here you go, dearie!” the old man says to Hope and hands her a yellow duck plushie. It’s quite soft and adorable to be honest, but pretty small. It’s like the size of Hope’s hand. I knew this guy was evil, giving out super small prizes.

“Thank you!” Hope tells the man and after we bid him goodbye, we continue walking around the amusement park to find some more games to try.

“What does it say on its tag?” I ask curiously because I see a white tag coming out of its butt with something written on it that doesn’t resemble instructions on how to wash it.

Hope halts and looks at the tag. “So soft… Cuddle and squeeze me!” she reads out afterwards and we both end up laughing.

“That sounds so dirty,” I comment and then take the duck from Hope’s hands. “Is there a continuation. Now I’m curious to find out how the rest of this goes.”

“Maybe I can show you?” Hope smirks and moves closer to me before putting her arm around my waist and pressing her body against mine. God, that devilish smirk on her face is so hot. It will be the death of me.

“I uh...” I gulp and I feel my cheeks heat up. I can’t believe Hope is doing this with so many people around us at the amusement park. “Hope, we’re in public...”

Hope leans in, her lips inches away from my ear. Her hot breath against my skin makes me feel very hot. “Then let’s go somewhere private...”

“Where?” I ask, my voice cracking as I speak. I’m trying not to think about how much I want Hope to push me against a wall or something and do unspeakable things to my body. I’ve kinda been reading too many erotic novels recently. I can’t help it. Hope makes me all hot and bothered sometimes when we talk.

“Come! Follow me,” Hope says and then immediately starts dragging me somewhere.

I hope it’s not one of the bathrooms here. Public bathrooms can be extremely disgusting. I once tried to use one because I couldn’t hold it in and there was a huge cockroach swimming in the toilet. Since then I’ve kinda been avoiding those places as much as possible.

Hope ends up dragging me to the ferris wheel where we can be alone in a booth many many feet above the ground. Honestly, I love it. Ever since I watched the movie Love, Simon, I’ve been dreaming about kissing someone on a ferris wheel. It’s just so romantic.

As soon as the ride starts, Hope wastes no time and immediately pulls my face closer then crashes her lips against mine. I place my hands on her shoulders and just smile into the kiss. We’re already so high up in the sky that it feels absolutely amazing and magical.

The kiss is passionate and it makes me let out sounds that I didn’t think were possible, having feelings that I didn’t know I could experience. I am so weak when it comes to Hope. Her lips pull away from mine slightly and I chase them, desperate to feel them over and over again. I can’t help but try to kiss her with as much passion as she does me in order to show her just how much I want her and need her.

A few minutes later, Hope and I stop kissing and pull away, both panting heavily. “Wow...”

“Yeah… Just wow,” I respond and smile before resting my head on Hope’s shoulder.

“Jo, I kinda want to ask you something,” Hope says afterwards and I feel a bit giddy, wondering what she wants to know. “I got a present from my aunts. Umm, tickets to an art exhibition in France, all expenses paid – travel, hotel, everything is covered by my aunts, and I was wondering if you want to come with me.”

Hope’s voice is shaking and she sounds so nervous all of a sudden. I feel like she’s afraid that I would say no. I quickly lift my head up from her shoulder, wasting no time, and look at her straight in the eyes, the widest smile forming on my face.

“Of course I want to, Hope… I want to go anywhere in the world with you.”

Chapter Text

I get home at around 11:30 PM after the most amazing date with Hope at the amusement park. Gosh, it was magical. It was so fun and made me so relaxed. It really did take my mind off things with my dad. As soon as I step through the door to our house, though, I am immediately hit by the memories of what happened today. Ugh...

I quickly go upstairs and decide to get ready for bed. Lizzie is at home and is watching something on her laptop, of course. Probably another one of her action movies. I greet her but she is too engrossed in whatever she is doing that she just waves her hand at me and doesn‘t say anything. I feel like sometimes she is annoyed by my existence as a whole. I mean, don‘t get me wrong, she has been acting a lot nicer ever since me and Hope began dating and has been curious about us, asking how we‘re doing, how far we‘ve gone and things like that, but sometimes it‘s like she doesn't care that she has a sister and doesn't pay any attention to me. I kinda wish we could maybe spend more time together but she‘s always off with Maya and MG.

I quickly get ready and hop into bed under the warm covers and then I take out my phone to text Hope. I know that I was just with her but I miss her so much already. Yes, I’m one of those girlfriends.

Josie:

Babe? Are you home yet?

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3

I miss you already.

I immediately get a reply from Hope. I love how quickly she responds. It makes me feel like she‘s been waiting for me to text all this time.

Hope:

Just stepped through the door :*

I miss you too baby

I had an amazing time with you

Aaaaaand i‘m excited that you‘re coming to France with me.

<3

I can‘t believe she invited me to go to France with her. This is such a dream come true. Of course I kinda have to ask my parents first . Well, just my mom. I don‘t care what my father thinks anymore. Everything he says to me at this point is irrelevant. Even though I‘m 18 now, I still live here and am not independent yet, so whatever my mom says goes. She‘s pretty cool, though. Like, she‘s one of those super cool moms that let‘s you do whatever you want. She‘s never cared that Lizzie goes to loads of parties, stays up all night and hooks up with people. Surely she won‘t mind me going to France with my girlfriend.

Josie:

I still have to ask my mom first.

But I’m sure she’ll say yes, so…

Let’s go France <3

Hosie x France = BEST COMBO!

Hope:

Hosie?…

Huh? o.O

Josie:

It’s our ship name, silly.

Hope and Josie… Hosie!

Get it? :D

Hope:

Oh my god…

Dork <3

ahahha

I end up saying good night to Hope at around 00:35 because the poor thing was tired and went to sleep. I on the other hand, am not tired at all and will surely not be able to sleep much knowing what my dad did. Right now he‘s probably on the couch watching TV or something. God, he pisses me off.

At 1:10 AM I decide to head down to the kitchen to grab a late night snack. I need something sweet to calm me down. As soon as I enter the kitchen, though, I am face to face with my father yet again, but this time it‘s just the two of us. He‘s sitting at the table, drinking as usual, and the whole place reeks of alcohol.

I don‘t say a word to him and head to the fridge to see what my choices are. I try not to look at him because I feel like I want to smack him in the head with a frying pan. I can feel that he‘s staring at me, though.

“Josie, you can‘t tell your mother,“ he says to me as soon as I open the fridge. “It will destroy her.“

I immediately know that he‘s referring to today‘s events. I‘m sure that he‘s not worried about how she‘ll feel at all. If he was, he wasn‘t going to cheat on her in the first place. He just wants to save his own ass. Selfish bastard...

“It‘s better that she knows than you lying to her that everything is okay,“ I tell him, my voice filled with so much disappointment. “I know it will hurt her but it‘s better that she knows.“

If I was in my mom‘s shoes, I‘d want to know if my husband was cheating on me. Imagine if mom finds out months or even years later, and that I knew about it. She would never forgive me. She needs to know what a scumbag her husband is.

“Josie, it was just a one time thing. It won‘t happen again.“

I don‘t believe him. I have a feeling that this has been going on for a long time now.

„Stop lying to me...“

He slams his fist against the table, startling me immediately. „I‘m warning you, Josette!“

He raises his voice at me. That’s something that he never does, so it takes me by surprise. I suddenly feel afraid of my own father, but I can’t show him that. I try to put on a brave face and stand up to him.

“She needs to know, dad!” I yell back at him. I feel tears forming in my eyes. „Please...“

A little while later, I hear footsteps coming down the stairs. Oh shit, we woke up mom and Lizzie. Damn it...

“What is all the ruckus?” I suddenly hear my mom’s voice. She walks inside the kitchen along with my sister, both of rubbing their eyes. I feel so bad for waking them up with all this stupid yelling.

“Nothing, everything is fine,“ my father says like it’s the most normal thing in the world. It makes me feel horrible and I start crying. How can he just stand there and lie to her like that?

“Josie, sweetie, what‘s going on?“ my mom quickly comes to my side and asks, noticing that I’m upset.

“Dad, tell her...“ I turn to my father again. “Stop lying to her.“

My mom‘s eyes dart from me to my father, her expression confused. “Tell me what? What does she mean, Ric?“

“Nothing... I‘m not lying about anything!“ He continues denying. What a douchebag. He probably thinks that nobody will believe me.

I lose it. I really fucking lose it. „Apparently cheating on your wife is nothing.“ I yell and everybody except my father looks at me in shock.

My mom gasps and stares at her husband in disbelief. “Cheating? What is she talking about, Ric?“

“Caroline. It’s not true. Our daughter doesn’t know what she’s talking about,“ my dad tries to speak, blurting out more lies, but I interrupt him.

“I caught him with Maya‘s mom today...“ I say as tears continue streaming down my face.

“You’re fucking my best friend’s mother?” Lizzie, who is now apparently wide awake, screams at our father. Well, I guess she believes me. “I can’t believe you. How could you do this to us?”

“Okay, okay… It happened once. It won’t happen again, I swear,” dad finally confesses and tries to defend himself that it was just a one time thing but I know that he will continue doing it. Once a cheater, always a cheater.

“I want you out of this house, Alaric...” Mom tells him angrily. She’s now crying as well.

“Caroline, please...”

“I said that I want you out of this house!” My mom repeats. Her voice gets louder with each word she’s saying. “Right now!”

It appears that my father finally gives up arguing and just grabs his bottle of alcohol, then quickly gets out of the kitchen. I hear him put on his coat and then a few minutes later he’s out of the house, slamming the door hard on his way out.

My mom, sister and I are now crying. It’s only natural as this is a very heartbreaking and emotional moment for us all.

I move closer towards my mom and place my arms around her, engulfing her in a hug. Lizzie does the same soon after as the three of us stand there in the kitchen, sobbing because of that bastard.

The next few days go by in a haze. My father is nowhere to be seen after mom kicked him out. Thank god, I don’t even want to look at his face. Apparently he took his wallet with all his credit cards and just vanished. He’s probably staying at some motel or something.

Lizzie talked to Maya about this and her best friend was just as surprised as we were. She had no idea that her mother was sleeping with our dad. Maya and her mom got into a huge fight because of this and not they’re currently not on speaking terms. That’s what Lizzie told me at least.

I haven’t asked my mom about France yet, but I’m thinking of doing it today since she cooled off a bit. I think she’s planning on divorcing my dad. Hopefully she will.

I’m currently sitting at the dinner table only with mom because Lizzie is off somewhere with her cheerleader friends. That’s why it’s just the two of us. Perfect, this will give me a change to talk to her about France now that we’re alone.

We talk about mundane things at first, like school and assignments that I have to do. She also asks about Hope and I take this opportunity to bring up France.

“So, Hope kind of invited me to go to an art exhibition with her, mom...” I tell her, trying to ease her into the whole thing.

“Oh, that’s lovely,” mom exclaims. She’s also a fan of art. She once told me of some boyfriend of hers that gave her a portrait of her as a gift. It was the best present she’d ever received in her opinion. I completely agree. The painting that Hope gave me as a gift was the most thoughtful and wonderful present I’ve ever received.

“The thing is… It’s in France,” I tell her nervously, kind of anxious to hear what she has to say.

“Absolutely not,” my mom says with a strict tone immediately. “You’re not traveling halfway across the world with some girl you barely know. You haven’t been together that long and you’re both 18. It’s too dangerous.”

“But, mom…” I am disappointed at her answer. “It’s not fair. You let Lizzie do whatever she wants.”

“Yes, because she does it here in Mystic Falls. Not in another continent!”

“But I don’t even have to pay anything. It’s a gift from Hope’s aunts. Everything will be paid for me,” I try to convince her with the fact that she doesn’t have to give me any money.

“As generous as that is, I am still worried. I’m sorry, Josie,” my mom says and I sigh. I really wanted to go to France with Hope.

“So there’s absolutely no way you’d change your mind?”

“No...” she sounds 100% sure of herself. A few seconds later, though, her expression changes, like she had an idea or something. “You know what… There is a way for you to go.”

I beam as soon as I hear her words. I just can’t seem to hide my excitement. “Really? What?”

“If Lizzie and I come with you and Hope to France,” my mom answers and my eyes immediately widen. As much as I love her and my sister. I kinda wanted this to be a private romantic getaway for me and Hope, for us to be alone and everything, but if this is the only way she’d let me go, then I guess I have no choice. I am a bit disappointed, but whatever. What matters is that I will be going with Hope! I just hope that my girlfriend wouldn’t mind my mom and sister tagging along. I have to ask her about it.

“Okay, yeah. It will be fun!” I tell her and my mom smiles at me, pleased because it’s what she wanted to hear.

After dinner, I head back to my room and text Hope immediately to tell her about mom and Lizzie joining us on our trip to France.

Josie:

Sooo… uhm…

Hope:

What is it, babe?

:(

You seem nervous…

I take a deep breath. I don’t know why I’m even so nervous about this. I’m sure that Hope wouldn’t mind. But I was also sure that mom would let me go to France with her alone, which didn’t happen.

Josie:

I asked my mom about France.

Hope:

Oh…

Did she say no or something?

You’re not sending emojis…

You don’t seem happy :/

What happened?

I can see Hope panicking a little and I quickly need to calm her down. I can’t have her think that I’m not going with her.

Josie:

No, no…

I’m coming to France, babe <3

;*

Don’t worry…

Hope:

Yay! <3

Josie:

It’s just that…

I can only come if mom and Lizzie tag along.

Is that okay with you?

If they come along…

I mean, I know that you probably

well.. that you wanted us to be alone

but it’s the only way I can come

Hope:

Jo, it’s okay… <3

Of course I’m okay with it

No problem at all.

But they’ll have to pay for their own tickets and such…

My aunts only covered mine and your expenses.

Josie:

Sure, yeah…

That’s no problem at all.

<3

Hope:

Is that why you were so nervous?

Did you think that I wouldn’t want to go or something?

I mean, if your mom and Lizzie come along...

;d

Josie:

uhm.. yeah ;/

Kinda…

Hope:

You’re so adorable…

<3

Don’t be nervous about silly things like that.

I’d go anywhere with you

It doesn’t matter who comes with us.

As long as you’re there, that’s what matters.

Josie:

You’re the best girlfriend in the world <3

Hope:

Heheh <3

I try to be…

You deserve the best ;*

I don’t even know why I was so nervous. Stupid me… Hope is such an understanding girlfriend. Who else would agree for her girlfriend’s mom and sister coming alone to what was supposed to be a romantic getaway.

I feel so lucky to have Hope Mikaelson as my girlfriend.

Chapter Text

It’s been three weeks since mom kicked dad out of the house. At first he was nowhere to be seen, but then suddenly, out of nowhere, it was like he turned over a new leaf or something and he tried countless times to get back into our lives. He approached me and Lizzie at school a couple of times and he also came by the house, begging for us to take him back.

Apparently, Maya’s mom had dumped him after her and her daughter’s relationship became even worse, so the only way to fix it was to break off whatever it is was going on between her and dad. That’s what Maya told Lizzie at least. Now he has no choice but to come crawling back in order to save his ass. His boss at work also called us and told us that he had come into the office drunk, which violated the company policy.

Oh how quickly a person can hit rock bottom. We didn’t take him back by the way. Mom changed the locks and told him that she doesn’t want to see him ever again. I doubt that he will give up that easily, though. I kinda feel like he will keep coming and begging for us to allow him back into our lives, but we cannot cave in. He doesn’t deserve our forgiveness.

It doesn’t matter right now, though. I shouldn’t think about him. I am currently on a plane with my girlfriend, travelling to Paris, and we’re going to have the best time of our lives in the City of Love. Mom and Lizzie are on a different flight since they got their tickets kind of last minute, so we will be arriving earlier than them.

When Lizzie found out that we’re going to France, she was ecstatic. I hadn’t seen her so excited in a long long time. She kept saying how she’s going go on a huge shopping spree and how this is a big opportunity for her to find hot French dudes to hook up with. I will never be able to understand my sister and her obsession with having sex with random guys.

It will be a long flight, like 8-9 hours or something, not sure exactly, but thankfully I have my beautiful girlfriend to keep me company. We’re sharing my headphones and listening to music. My fingers are mindlessly playing with Hope’s right hand and I have my head turned to the left, to look at her. She’s looking back at me with those gorgeous eyes of hers. They’re so pretty, so blue, and suddenly I feel like this is my new absolute favorite color. I feel like I can drown in her eyes. I can stare at her face throughout the whole flight and not get bored at all.

“I can’t wait until we’re in Paris,” Hope tells me with a smile on her face. God that smile. It’s literally one of my favourite things in the world. It’s like in my top 5 favorite things about my girlfriend.

Let’s see. In terms of appearance, Hope’s eyes would be my absolute favourite, then her lips forming that beautiful smile, then her gorgeous long auburn hair, then her soft small hands, and last but no least her cheeks that I sometimes kinda love to and want to squish. In terms of personality, I love how caring she is, how nice and sweet she acts towards me and everyone around her, her sense of humor and how cheesy she can be, she’s just perfect in my eyes.

“Me too,” I reply a few seconds later and lean in to give her a chaste kiss on the lips. “Five days on a vacation with you. It will be magical.”

Hope giggles and I can’t help but feel like we’re currently in a cute and very cheesy romcom that would probably be titled as something along the lines of ‘Getaway to Paris’. I’d definitely watch it by the way. It’s totally my type of movie.

A few things happen, other than listening to music with Hope while staring at her like a total lovesick puppy. At some point we kind of end up inside the airplane’s bathroom together and she has me pressed against the door. Oh god, it’s such a nice feeling having her body firmly against mine like this, her lips all over mine, kissing me senselessly, driving me crazy with every movement. Her hands find their way underneath my shirt and trace my bare skin softly, sending shivers down my spine and making me so incredibly turned on. I try to be as quiet as possible because I don’t want anyone to hear us, but Hope is making it so hard for me with her hands trailing up towards my breasts.

Shit…We’ve never really gone this far before. I mean, usually when things get too heated we stop because we kind of talked about waiting until we have sex. We’re not that far into our relationship for that and plus, it will be my first time, so I’m really nervous about this. We’ve only went as far as making out until now. Well, unless you count that time when I attempted to have sex with her in the car and desperately tried to unbuckle her pants after we caught my dad cheating. That doesn’t count, right? I mean, we technically didn’t do anything, so…

As much as I want her right now, I don’t think that my first time with Hope should be in an airplane’s bathroom.

I gently place my hand on her shoulder and slightly push her away from me. “Babe, we should stop…”

Hope stares at me, breathless and with so much lust in her eyes. I don’t know how I am controlling myself from letting her ravish me here and now, but I do.

“Can we just make out for a bit more? I won’t go further if you’re not comfortable,” she asks, her voice sounding desperate, like kissing me is the thing she wants most in this world.

“It’s not that I’m uncomfortable, it’s just that I’d prefer we take things to the next step when we aren’t in an airplane’s bathroom. Who knows how many people have had sex here…”

Hope laughs as soon as she hears my words. “Yeah, you’re right.”

We kiss for a bit more after that and then go back to our assigned seats. The rest of the flight ends up being chill. Well, unless you count an annoying child that at some point started crying a few seats behind us. That wasn’t chill at all.

All of this doesn’t matter, though, because I’m on a vacation getaway trip with the best girlfriend in the world. What more could I ask for?

When we arrive at the airport in Paris, Hope’s aunt’s friend Vincent was there, waiting for us. He lives in a village near the city with his mother. That’s where we will be staying at for the rest of the trip. Mom and Lizzie arrive tomorrow and he will pick them up as well. Thankfully, the house or was it a villa, whatever, it ends up being big enough and he had no problem allowing my mom and sister to stay there as well, even if we had asked him last minute.

Everything seems to be going well so far. It doesn‘t take that long before we arrive at the village. It’s called Bougival and it’s 15 km away from the center of Paris. Vincent is driving us to his place, so Hope and I are in the back seat of his car. She’s leaning her head on my shoulder as we both stare out the window and try to take a peak and absorb as much as we can from what we see. There are some really pretty houses in this village and I suddenly find myself wishing that me and Hope could possibly have something like this one day, a nice little house in the suburbs. Maybe we could also have a cute puppy or even raise a child together someday. That would be magnificent.

“What are you thinking about?” Hope suddenly asks and raises her head from my shoulder to look at me. She probably noticed me smiling and with a dreamy expression on my face.

“Us,” I reply with such fondness in my voice, the smile never leaving my face, and I turn my head to look at her. “I’m really happy with you, Hope...”

“Awe, you girls are just so adorable,” Vincent makes a comment, because he apparently heard us.

Both of us blush, because we’re not really used to someone saying anything like that about us and our relationship. Usually nobody really cares or Lizzie makes gagging noises whenever she sees Hope and I being all lovey dovey.

“Thank you,” we both say in unison, making Vincent laugh. I already like this guy. He seems really nice and I’m glad I got to meet him.

Once we arrive at his place, I stare in awe at the beautiful house that we’ll be staying at. It has 3 floors and it seems like whoever built is took his time making every single detail perfect.

There's a beautiful garden in front of the house which I'm guessing Vincent's mother is taking care of. Once we walk inside, it's just as beautiful. There's a gorgeous launge with a fireplace, an open kitchen and dining room on the ground floor. There are 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms on the rest of the floors. Vincent leads me and Hope to one of the rooms and there is a big queen size bed there. It's amazing and I realize that it's also so comfy once I sit on it.

I can't help but wonder how Vincent lives here with his mother. This place is way too big for only two people. Now that I think about it, though, they probably have guests often and make some money out of tourists. Why wouldn't they give the rooms out for rent to foreigners when they have so many vacant ones?

“You girls get cleaned up and get some rest. You had a long flight,” Vincent told us with a smile on his face. “Mom is out buying groceries. She’ll be cooking some amazing dishes for dinner. I’ll call you when it’s ready. In the meantime, I’ll be downstairs if you need anything.”

We thank the man and then he leaves us alone, closing the door on the way out of the room. Hope and I start unpacking in silence, both of us not really feeling like talking since the flight was indeed long and tiring. It’s nice, though, not awkward or anything. It’s comfortable and I don’t mind it. I’m sure Hope doesn’t as well.

Once we get cleaned up, I check the time and realize that it’s around 7 PM, almost time for dinner, so I’m guessing Vincent will call us soon. Hope and I decide to just lie down on the comfy bed for a while, wrapped up in each other’s arms. I place a soft kiss on my girlfriend’s forehead as soon as I catch her close her eyes.

“You’re everything to me, Hope...” I whisper and I can see Hope smiling and tightening her hold on my body. Her arms are wrapped around my waist and she pulls me closer.

“Mmm… you’re being cheesy,” she tells me, her voice a bit teasing. “You’re turning into me.”

“Guess your cheesiness is contagious...”

We stay like that for a while until Vincent ends up calling us down for dinner. As soon as we walk inside the dining room, we are greeted by a petite chubby older woman, probably in her 60s. I think that’s Vincent’s mother. She looks so happy to see us, her teeth showing as she’s smiling widely at us and her eyes sparkling from behind the glasses that she’s wearing.

“Welcome to our humble home!”

Chapter Text

The dinner that Vincent’s mother had prepared was absolutely amazing. I think it was one of the most delicious meals I’ve eaten in my entire life. The woman was also so incredibly sweet. The only problem was that she talks quite a bit and she doesn’t really let other people say anything. There were only like 2 or 3 times where me or Hope managed to say something. Vincent is generally a quiet person, that’s what I’ve gathered from the few hours that I’ve known him. He obviously has no problem letting his mother speak whatever she wants and he seems genuinely happy listening to her. Or maybe he was pretending to, I don’t know…

Overall, she told us a lot of stories from her younger years. There were also some quite disturbing ones related to her more wilder days when she was working at a bar. Honestly, I feel like she’s hooked up with more guys than anyone I know. Of course, she didn’t give us an explicit description of what she was doing exactly with those guys, because otherwise we would’ve lost our apetite. Her life was like a soap opera from what I understood. It’s so crazy. I wish I never have to go through anything like that. Even though I love romance and drama, I wouldn’t want things to happen to me to that extreme.

Things with Hope got a bit heated during the night like they had when we were on the airplane, but we didn’t go that far once again. We stopped things before they got really out of control. We’ll get there eventually, but once we’ve dated for a longer period of time. It’s too soon to have sex right now and we both agreed on that.

It’s currently 7 AM and Vincent went to pick up mom and Lizzie while Hope and I decided to take a walk around the village. I know that it’s early, but both of us are just so excited that we can’t wait to look at everything for as long as we’re here.

We’re holding hands and just taking in all the beautiful houses around us. The weather is slightly chilly, but it’s really nice.

“I really like it here,” I tell Hope suddenly and she hums. I take it she likes it as well.

“Maybe we can buy a house one day...” Hope says without looking at me. She’s just staring straight ahead while talking. “Like, together…”

She seems a bit nervous as she tells me this, I guess it’s because she’s worried that she might scare me off because we’re not that far into our relationship and she’s already talking about getting a house together and such. I don’t mind really, because I do want all of those things with her. I want a family with her, everything with her. Honestly, it feels like we’ve been dating for years if I have to be honest.

“I have to confess something,” I nervously begin saying. “I uhh… kinda imagined us buying a house and raising a child together while Vincent was driving us yesterday, when you asked me what I was thinking about.”

“Oh...”

“Yeah, I didn’t say anything like that because I don’t want to rush into anything or plan things like that so soon, but it’s just…” I pause and gulp nervously before I continue speaking. “I just… I can’t help but think about these things with you. I want everything with you, Hope.”

“Honestly, I know it’s soon but I feel the exact same way...”

I smile when I hear her say that and it’s like a weight has been lifted off my chest and I can talk about these things freely with her. I was really holding back before just because I didn’t want her to think that I’m some psycho or something, but now, knowing that the same thoughts are inside her head, I feel like I can tell her anything.

As Hope and I continue walking, we suddenly come across an old man who is apparently taking a walk with his goat. That’s normal, right? People do that when they live in a village?

The old man stops us by waving his hand to get our attention and we turn to him immediately.

Then he starts speaking in French and honestly I don’t understand shit… I have studied French for one semester when I was younger and I barely understand anything. I think he said the word fromage which means cheese? It could’ve been something else, though.

Apparently Hope understands him because she suddenly starts speaking French and I feel like it’s the hottest thing I’ve ever heard. I had no idea that she speaks French. I thought my girlfriend sounded hot before, but boy oh boy… with those French words and that accent coming out of her mouth, I can feel myself getting turned on immediately.

Hope and the man speak for about 10 minutes or something until eventually they bid goodbye. He has a smile on his face so I’m guessing things went well.

“What did that man want?” I ask my girlfriend curiously as we continue walking around the village.

“He said that you’re pretty and that I’m very lucky to be dating you.”

“Hopeeee…” I whine and playfully hit her shoulder. “I know he didn’t say that. Be serious.”

“Alright, alright.” Hope rubs her shoulder and finally decides to tell me what he said. “He’s some salesman, makes his own cheese and offered some. I told him we’ll be here for a few days and might swing by his store.”

“Oh… I knew I heard the word fromage,” I say to myself, but apparently Hope heard it because she made a comment afterwards about speaking French.

“So you know some words in French, the sexiest language ever.” Hope teases. “You probably know all the dirty ones, right?”

I roll my eyes at my girlfriend’s words. “You’re unbelievable…”

About an hour later, after Hope and I have finished looking around, we return back to the house, quite satisfied with everything we’ve seen. Vincent, mom and Lizzie are at the dining table with Vincent’s mother.

“Oh, you’re back!” the old woman happily exclaims as soon as she sees us. “You need to eat some of my homemade beignets!”

“Girls, you definitely should. They’re the best I’ve ever tasted!” my mom confirms as she stuffs her face with food. Lizzie on the other hand is on her phone, ignoring everything around her, as usual. She’s probably texting Maya or something.

I go ahead and sit next to my sister and Hope follows, sitting on the vacant chair next to mine. I glance at my sister’s phone and see her send a picture of some very hot half-naked guy. Oh damn… Don’t tell me she’s been in France for like an hour or something and she’s already found someone to hook up with.

Breakfast goes by normally with Vincent’s mom telling us some more epic stories about her wild days that none of us are really paying attention to. After we finish eating, Hope and I decide that we want to go to Paris and explore. The art exhibition is supposed to be held on our 4^th day in Paris, so we have time. I know that my sister would be especially excited to check out all the clothing stores, something which I am not really that fond of.

“Lizzie and I are going to rest for a bit because we’re tired from the flight. We will meet up with you and Hope later in the afternoon,” my mom tells us and starts walking to the room her and Lizzie are staying in. My sister follows behind her like a mindless zombie, still on her phone. I will never understand her obsession with that thing. I mean, I use it a lot too, but only to text Hope and that’s about it. I barely use it for anything else. I even stopped playing Pokemon Go. Okay and maybe I also post stories on Instagram too and that can be addicting, but it’s not as bad as Lizzie’s obsession, okay? I’m good.

Hope and I follow Vincent to his car so he could drive us to Paris. He said he has some work there anyway so he’ll have to go back and forth from the village to Paris a few times today. This is perfect because he can later pick up mom and Lizzie so they could join us.

The drive to Paris takes about 15 minutes because the village is close to the center of the city, which I am grateful for. I really dislike being in a car for a long time. Vincent drops us off afterwards and then tells us that we can call him if we need anything. Hope and I activated some special rouming mobile plan before our trip, so we could use our mobile internet while we’re in Paris. It’s a bit costly, but we can manage for the 5 days that we’ll be here.

So we are currently at the Champs-Élysées, an avenue famous for its many shopping stores, cafés, theatres and so much more. I can’t help but be in awe at everything around us right now. It’s just beautiful. Hope and I get some drinks from one of the cafés and then start looking around, exploring everything there is to explore on this street.

“Hope, look!” I suddenly yell out and pull my girlfriend towards a crowd of people. There is some sort of street performance there. Once we’re close enough to see everything clearly, Hope lets go of my hand and places her arm around my waist, pulling me closer to her and rests her head on my shoulder as we watch three guys dancing to some catchy upbeat song.

“Wow, these guys are good,” Hope says a while into the performance.

“Yeah, they definitely are.”

I admire people who have some sort of talent, like dancing for example. I’m not really good at things like that, but I like to watch other people do them. This is why I’m really mesmerized by Hope and her artistic ability. She let me watch her last week as she was painting and honestly, I’ve never been more attracted to anyone in my life. She was wearing baggy clothes and there were paint spots all over her. It was so beautiful. She even had some on her face which I thought was absolutely adorable.

Once the guys finish their performance, the crowd cheers and claps loudly. We do as well and both Hope and I have such wide smiles on our faces. I am so happy to be here in Paris with her.

We decide to look around some gift shops afterwards, so we can buy some souvenirs. I end up buying a cute little Eiffel Tower keychain and some magnets. Hope bought some things too to bring to her aunts when we get back home. I’m not sure how long we’ve been looking around but I’m starting to get a big hungry.

“Babe, can we go grab something to eat?” I ask her, my voice so soft an pleading that it would be a crime if she refuses me.

“Of course. I’m quite hungry myself.” Hope chuckles and then we look around for any places where we can get some food.

“How about that place over there?” I say and point at a restaurant called L'Alsace. It looks pretty good. There are some outdoor tables and it seems fancy. I like it.

“L’Alsace?” Hope asks and raises an eyebrow. “That sounds like a strip club if you ask me...”

I laugh at her words before saying, “Come on...” Then I start pulling her towards the restaurant. “Let’s check it out! The food could be nice.”

“Shouldn’t we look at the rating on Google first?”

I sigh because she’s kinda right. We should check out the reviews and how many stars this place has before actually eating there, since it might end up having bad service or the food could be disgusting, who knows?

“Alright, let’s do that...” I say and pull out my phone afterwards. We look up the reviews and are quite pleased with what we read. Apparently this place has the best hamburgers. Some of the reviews are in French, but thank god Google offers a translation, so I can understand. Yay! If it didn’t, though, Hope would’ve translated for me anyway.

We end up at one of the tables that is near the street. The waitress takes our orders pretty quickly. Hope speaks to her in French and once again I have no clue what she’s saying. Once Hope finishes speaking, the waitress leaves us and I am a bit confused because I was expecting her to turn towards me and take my order.

“I ordered for both of us, babe,” Hope clarifies when she sees my confused expression.

“What? What did you order for me?” I ask her but she just shakes her head, refusing to tell me.

“You’ll find out when your food comes!”

The waitress comes back with our order about 20 minutes later and brings some seafood for Hope and a large plate of pasta for me. Oh… I do love pasta, but why would Hope not tell me that she ordered this for me? I don’t see anything special about this dish.

I don’t say anything about it and we both just start eating our food and talking about other things. Hope is smiling at me like she expects something, but I don’t know what. It’s a bit weird.

“What are you smiling about?” I suddenly ask her, because I’ve kind of had it with not knowing what’s going on.

“You’ll find out soon...” That’s all that she tells me and I sigh. This is so frustrating.

Once we finish with our meals, the waitress comes to take our empty plates, then she’s gone again and I’m feeling like ordering some dessert. Before I even get the chance to look at the dessert page on the menu, the waitress comes back again and places a plate with a pancake in front of me. It’s rolled up and covered with chocolate syrup and whipped cream. Something else catches my attention, though. The words ‘I love you!’ are written with the syrup on the plate. Oh my god…

My eyes immediately grow wide because Hope just told me that she loves me. Well, she didn’t actually say it, she had the restaurant staff write the words on a damn plate with my most favourite syrup in the whole world. Before I get the chance to say anything, Hope just blurts out the words written on the plate.

“I love you,” she tells me and I finally look up, my eyes meeting hers, and I swear, I get butterflies in my stomach.

“You’re such an unbelievable cheeseball.” I chuckle and then get up from the table. I have the urge to kiss her so much at that moment, so I do it. I go to her and kiss her sensless. She’s the most amazing girlfriend in the whole damn world and she loves me. Hope Mikaelson loves me.

“I love you too, baby...” I tell her and afterwards I pull away from the kiss and go back to my seat. “How can I not love you? You’re so amazing...”

Hope has this dopey smile on her face. She seems quite satisfied with how everything turned out. I don’t care that we haven’t been dating for that long. I feel like I’ve fallen hard for Hope Mikaelson and that I am completely and madly in love with her. I’ve never felt like this about anyone else…

Chapter Text

About an hour or so later after Hope and I leave the restaurant, we meet up with mom and Lizzie. My twin sister really wants to check out as many retail stores that she possibly can and we all decide to go along with it, following her from store to store. What else are we going to do anyway and plus, I‘m just happy that Hope is with us. I don‘t really care what we do. I‘m still so ecstatic because of that big romantic gesture that she did at the restaurant.

We decide to do the usual routine that we always do whenever we‘re out shopping.

"Okay, so listen up," Lizzie starts speaking to all of us. "I‘m gonna look at some blouses, mom‘s gonna look for dresses and Hosie will look for jeans."

"Hosie?" Both Hope and I stare at my sister in confusion.

"It‘s your ship name. Hope and Josie, duh..." Lizzie says like it‘s the simplest and most obvious thing in the world, as if Hope and I are complete idiots and are way too stupid to understand, which makes me feel a bit mad honestly, but I decide not to get into an argument with my sister. We‘re on a vacation in Paris. I don‘t want to spend it fighting with my twin or have any sort of negative emotions. Hope and I don‘t stay anything and just stay there along with mom, waiting for Lizzie to say something more. "Well, what are you waiting for? Get to it. I need some new clothes to impress the french boys!"

Mom laughs as Lizzie acts like a total boss while Hope and I just roll our eyes. I drag my girlfriend as far away as I can from Lizzie and we start looking at clothes.

"You sister is... something," Hope tells me and chuckles.

"She means well, but she can be such a pain sometimes." I shake my head and think about how bossy my sister can be sometimes. I really dislike that part of her. "I sometimes wonder how we are even related. We‘re so different."

"I like that you‘re so different from her. I like you for who you are." Hope smiles at me and pulls me closer to her body. Her words make me blush and I find myself looking away slightly before wrapping my arms around my girlfriend‘s body and clinging to her. I really don‘t know what I would do without her. Hope is the best thing that‘s ever happened to me.

"Come on, let‘s look for some jeans or else Lizzie will kill us both," Hope tells me about a minute later and pulls away from me. "You can cuddle with me later as much as you want."

I smile and nod after I hear her words, then both of us start looking around the store.

Shopping goes well this time, unlike on previous occasions when Lizzie disliked everything I gave her. This time she’s quite pleased with the jeans that I showed her. It could be because Hope and I picked them together, I don‘t know. Not that we did that much picking to be honest. We kind of spent most of the time making out in the dressing room, whoops. We chose a few random pairs of jeans afterwards just so we could have something to show Lizzie and surprisingly, she liked them.

All of us are currently sitting inside a cute little french café. It looks adorable on the outside and the moment we laid eyes on it, all of us just wanted to check it out. It‘s so colorful and it just makes you feel sort of happy whenever you look at it. The inside is just as beautiful with so many vibrant colors.

A waiter comes to take our order and thankfully he speaks English this time, so I can get whatever I want by myself and not have Hope say it for me in French. I get a latte while Hope gets a milkshake and specifically asks if they can put whipped cream on the bottom, because she just loves it like that. God, she‘s adorable...

Lizzie takes her time with the order and it‘s so obvious that it‘s because she is trying hard to flirt with the waiter. He is a pretty handsome guy – slim body, dark hair and sparkly brown eyes, his smile can just make you melt. If I wasn‘t dating Hope, I totally would be willing to date a guy like that.

"So, what is the hottest drink that you have?" Lizzie asks him with a flirty tone in her voice.

"Hot chocolate," he just answers bluntly, not really being bothered by what she said and her tone. That‘s strange. Usually guys are all over Lizzie.

"I‘ll have one of those," Lizzie says and bites her lower lip in the process, a slight moan escaping her mouth as she says those words.

"Alright, hot chocolate it is." The waiter scribbles down Lizzie‘s order. "And what would your pretty sister be having?" he then says and my eyes immediately widen. But I already ordered. I get confused and I can feel Hope tense up next to me and grab my hand immediately in a protective manner. That‘s when I realize that he isn‘t referring to me because he turns to our mom. Oh my god...

Once he looks at her, he throws her a smile and says, "We have a drink called White Angel. A name fitting for a beautiful angel like you!"

He makes some sort of attempt to flirt and I can see Lizzie in absolute shock because of what‘s happening. Her mouth is opened widely and her eyes are wide because she probably can‘t believe that a guy is flirting with our mom instead of her.

"I‘m their mother, but thank you for the compliments." Mom handles the situation line a sport. "I‘d love that White Angel drink that you‘re offering."

"Coming right up!" he then says and then reads out all of our orders. Once we confirm that they are correct he leaves us. I can see Lizzie absolutely fuming, it‘s like she‘s going to explode any second now.

"I cannot believe it," Lizzie just blurts out, her voice sounding pissed-off. "You stole my spotlight!"

She‘s accusing mom now. Great. I roll my eyes because the whole situation is absurd. So what if some guy flirted with mom instead of her. What‘s the big deal?

"Oh please, it was obvious that he wasn‘t into you," mom tells Lizzie, making her gasp. "Did you see how he took your order without any enthusiasm?"

"I needed more time to work my magic!"

"If he doesn‘t get hooked the moment he sees you, then your efforts are pointless after," mom gives Lizzie a tip, making my sister roll her eyes.

"I‘ve done enough research and I believe that your theory is wrong, mother," Lizzie continues arguing. "I can get any guy I want."

All of us except Lizzie end up laughing. Sure, she‘s attractive and she has had a fair share of hook ups so far, but she can‘t get whoever she wants, it just doesn‘t work that way.

"I challenge you to get his number then," Hope steps into the conversation.

Lizzie beams as her competitor side comes out. She just has to win all the time.

"I will! I‘ll go talk to him right now!" Lizzie tells all of us in a determined voice and gets up from the table quickly. I see her then march up to the waiter who is near some other employees.

They engage in a conversation and after about 2 minutes, I see the boy smiling at Lizzie and giving her his number. What the fuck? I thought he wasn‘t into her.

Afterwards later Lizzie returns and slams the little piece of paper with the guy‘s number in the middle of the table. All of us are surprised because we didn‘t believe that Lizzie could actually get his number.

"You actually got it..." I blurt out and I feel like Lizzie‘s ego reaches the sky.

"I believe you all owe me an apology..."

Oh wow...

We finish with our drinks about half an hour later and then call the waiter for the bill. The boy enthusiastically brings it and we leave some cash and a big tip for him before gathering our things. When he comes back to get the money, the boy says loudly, "Call me later, Caroline."

What? Caroline?

"Oh shit..." I hear my sister swear. Did she lie to him about her name?

My mom turns around when she hears her name and smiles at the boy before waving at him and saying goodbye in French. As soon as we‘re out of the café, all of us stand in front of Lizzie and wait for her to explain.

"What did you say to him?" Hope is the first one to ask her about what happened and Lizzie just rolls her eyes.

"Alright, fine. I asked for his number and told him that mom will call him," Lizzie confesses and we all burst into laughter. I guess she was ready to win at any cost. "You were right, okay. He wasn‘t going to give it if he knew it was for me. He’s obviously into MILFs like mom..."

"Hey!" Mom yells out.

"What? You totally qualify as a MILF because you stole the spotlight away from me today..."

Mom smiles and touches her hair like some bimbo without saying anything more.

Okay, this is getting weird now. I try to supress the weird images of my mom in some leopard print outfit, looking like a hooker. Ew…

I think that Hope feels just as uncomfortable as I do right now.

"Can we just go?" I quickly say afterwards, quite loudly at that, trying to stop this pretty disturbing in my opinion conversation.

Lizzie rolls her eyes and doesn’t say anything more. She just passes by me with mom following behind her. I kinda love it when my sister admits that she‘s wrong to be honest. I guess she wasn‘t expecting for the waiter to fuck things up and mention that he wants mom to call him. If he hadn’t said anything, we would never have known that Lizzie tricked us.

The next day goes by pretty chill. We all walked around Paris and managed to see a lot more of the city. It‘s like time just flew by but you know what they say, that‘s what happens when you‘re having fun.

Before I knew it it’s the second to last day of the trip and the art exhibition that Hope and I are going to attend is soon. We‘re both currently waiting outside the building where the event is being held and I’m just itching to go inside. I like that mom and Lizzie are not with us. We kinda need the alone time. The line was pretty long when we had arrived but now there’s just a few more people left and it‘ll be our turn to get in. We’ll be in there very very soon.

The rest of the people pass and then it’s our turn. Hope shows the security guard our tickets and he lets us in without any issues. As soon as we walk inside, we follow the crowd of people because the event is in some specific room. I’m clinging on to Hope’s arm because I don’t want us to be separated. There’s way too many people and I’m scared that it might happen and one of us might get lost in the crowd, so I hold on tightly.

Once we make it inside the specific room, I’m immediately mesmerized by all the displays. There are not just paintings in there, but other forms of art as well like gorgeous sculptures. Hope and I start from a specific position and then proceed with going around the whole room in order to check out every single piece there.

"I want to buy them all," Hope tells me excitedly. Damn she’s adorable…

"But where would you put them?" I ask curiously. "I don’t think your place is big enough to hold everything here."

"I’ll manage. I just have to have them. Art needs to be appreciated," Hope says, her voice once again filled with excitement.

"It sure does. Everything here is so beautiful," I agree with her because she makes a valid point. "Any form of art needs to be appreciated because the artist put in so much effort into creating it."

Hope and I stop in front of a beautiful abstract piece with geometric shapes, and I can’t help but stare at it. It’s captivating.

"That’s why I appreciate you," Hope states and turns to me with a wide smile on her face.

"What? What do you mean? Why?" I furrow my brow in confusion because I can’t seem to understand the reason why she said that.

"Well, like I said, art needs to be appreciated," Hope begins explaining her reason. "You’re art too."

"Oh my god…" I chuckle as soon as she says that and then lean in to give her a peck on the lips. "How did I end up with such a cheesy girlfriend?"

"Oh come on, you know you love it. You’ve always loved my cheesy lines."

"Indeed I do." Now it’s my turn to smile widely at her. How can she be so perfect? It’s like she’s a character out of a book, especially designed just for me, my perfect match.

As the two of us continue admiring the painting, I feel someone call out Hope’s name and we both suddenly turn around. There’s a tall and very attractive guy standing there before us and he’s smiling at my girlfriend.

"Long time no see, Hopey..."

What? Hopey? Who the hell does this guy think he is, calling my girlfriend with a nickname? I can feel my jealousy building up and if I didn’t have any self control, I would’ve just gone up and punched that grin off his stupid attractive face.

"Roman..."

Oh my god… That’s Roman? As in Hope’s ex-boyfriend Roman? No fucking way!

Even though we traveled thousands of miles, the world still feels so incredibly small.

What are the odds of running into him of all people?

Chapter Text

„Hey,“ Roman says with a smirk on his face and I find myself feeling nauseous because of the way that he’s looking at Hope. „You‘re still as beautiful as ever.“

How is one supposes to feel when their current girlfriend’s insanely good-looking ex-boyfriend shows up and compliments her? I think that one would probably have the urge to commit a murder.

Roman moves closer to Hope and places his hand on her shoulder, gently moving her hair aside. I feel the anger and jealousy building up inside me when I see that. Having his body so close to hers, his hand touching her, it just makes me furious.

I start thinking about how he probably often did that when they were dating, how they would go out and he would kiss her like I do now, except that he did it first. I hate the fact that he was her first at probably everything, that he was the first person she ever kissed, that they dated... I feel even more nauseous when the thought of them having sex pops into my mind.

„What the hell, Roman?“ Hope angrily says, but tries to keep her voice down because we‘re still at a public event and she doesn‘t want to cause a scene. She slaps his hand away and moves a step behind. „You can‘t just walk up to me and pretend like everything is okay between us.“

Honestly, I still don‘t know why they broke up. The only thing Hope has told me is that things got really bad between them at one point and she ended things, but she didn‘t gave me any details whatsoever. It’s a topic that we’ve been avoiding altogether all this time. I wonder what that jerk did to her to make her so mad at him. I mean, it‘s obvious that he screwed up somehow to make her react so hostile towards him. God, just the thought of this idiot hurting the girl I love really makes my blood boil.

„Oh come on, Hopey. Are you still mad about what happened? That was years ago.“

He tries to put his hands on my girlfriend again, but I immediately step in, making him retreat. „Back off,“ I say with a threatening tone.

Roman puts his hands in the air defensively and actually moves back, but that smirk doesn‘t disappear from his face. God, I just want to wipe it off. It’s infuriating. That level of self-confidence has always been so off-putting to me. He needs to be brought back down to Earth and shown just what kind of a small cockroach he actually is instead of believing that he‘s a god or something.

„I just came to see how you‘re doing because I haven’t seen you in years. I’m not really surprised to see you here of all places. You always were interested in art,“ he then says. „That’s all. Nothing more.“

„Well I‘m fine. You can leave now,“ Hope responds, seemingly annoyed.

I’m clinging on to Hope protectively and throwing death glares at the man. I can‘t let him closer to my girlfriend. He doesn‘t even deserve to be in her presence.

„Just relax, babe. Everything will be okay,“ I whisper in her ear, trying to calm her down, because she‘s really so damn tense. It’s only understandable. If I were to see someone that had hurt me badly in the past, I would’ve been on edge as well.

“Oh, I see…” he starts speaking again while eyeing both of us from head to toe, still with that smug expression on his face. “You’re a lesbian now. That’s why you turned me down.”

“No, I turned you down because you cheated on me and don’t deserve my attention.”

“I only cheated because you were being stuck up and wouldn’t put out. You were fucked up then and you’re even more fucked up now from what I can see.” I guess Hope hit a nerve because Roman looks at us in disgust. It makes me even more sick. How can such horrible people exist?

“Oh my god, do you hear yourself?” Hope yells that out, making people turn their heads around to look at what all the commotion is about. Shit. This is getting out of hand.

I can’t believe this bastard. How dare he speak to my girlfriend like that. I really want to punch him in his stupid smug face right now, but we’ll get kicked out of the event and Hope’s aunts paid a lot of money for us to attend.

“Just leave. You’ve caused enough damage,” I just tell him, trying to remain calm but I think it shows that I’m pissed off.

Roman then starts laughing. „Alright, I‘ll go. Call me when you want to remember what it‘s like to date a real man, Hopey.“

The nerve of that guy. God, I have never felt so much hatred towards anyone that I don’t know before. Hope’s douchebag of an ex is definitely at the top of the list.

“Hope…” I say and place my hand over my girlfriend’s back in reassurance. “You okay?”

“Not really,” she replies and I can tell that she is on the verge of crying right now.

“Do you want to get out of here?”

Hope shakes her head, silently telling me that we should stay. “We came to this event and we cannot let that piece of shit ruin it for us.”

So we stay for the rest of the art exhibition. Both of us are definitely not in the best mood after what happened with Roman, but we’re trying not to show it. So we smile politely and sometimes make small talk with people at the event who decide to approach us and have a conversation about art.

We get back to the house at around 11 PM. Everyone has already had dinner and there are some leftovers in the fridge. Vincent informed us of that when we had called him to come and pick us up after the event. If the man had noticed our sour moods he didn’t comment on them.

As soon as we walk inside the house, Hope quickly runs to our room. A sigh escapes my mouth at the thought of my girlfriend feeling so upset. I make my way inside the kitchen and prepare some sandwiches for us along with some hot chocolate. That might help cheer her up.

Everyone is in their rooms, probably asleep or just relaxing. The moment I walk inside mine and Hope’s room, I see my girlfriend lying on the bed, silently sobbing and hugging her pillow. I quickly close the door and place the tray with food on the nightstand before making my way to the bed in order to comfort the crying girl.

“Baby…” I softly say when I lay down next to her and wrap my arms around her small body. “Baby, relax…”

Hope turns around to look at me and my heart breaks when I see the tears streaming down her beautiful angelic face. How can such a beautiful girl appear so broken? It’s so unfair. I can’t believe that she’s experienced such pain in her life. She really doesn’t deserve it. If it was up to me, I’d give this girl the whole world. I’d try to make her the happiest person. That’s what she deserves. Not heartbreak…

“Please, don’t let go…” Hope tells me, her voice sounding as barely a whisper.

“I won’t.”

So I hold her. I hold her with all the love in the world.

Half an hour later, Hope finally calms down and places a gentle kiss on my lips. I really do love her kisses.

“Thank you,” she whispers and it just makes me smile.

“I’ll always be here for you.”

Hope buries her face in my neck, snuggling closer, and her smell is just so intoxicating to me. I tighten my hold on her and I feel like I never want to let go. It’s like she’s this fragile thing and I’m scared if I let go that it will fall and break apart.

“I can’t believe how much seeing that jerk affected me,” Hope says after a while and then slowly pulls away a little, so she could look at me.

“It’s normal. Don’t beat yourself up for it.”

“It’s just…” Hope pauses and takes a deep breath. “It’s been years. I didn’t think that seeing him would have such an impact on me.”

“You said that he cheated on you. It’s normal for that to leave a mark.”

“He did cheat, yeah. What’s worse is that it was on the night my parents died.”

“Oh my god…” I gasp in shock. “That’s horrible. I’m so sorry, Hope…”

“We were at a party...” Hope gulps and I can tell that this topic is hard for her to talk about.

“You don’t have to talk about this, if it’s too hard-” I start speaking but Hope cuts me off immediately.

“No, I want to tell you,” she says and then continues with the story. “We were at a party and he was drinking a lot. He wanted to have sex with me but I told him that I wasn’t ready, and he got angry at me that I rejected him.”

I can see Hope start shaking, probably because the memories of that night come rushing back.

“It’s okay, baby…” I reassure her and move my hand gently over her back in an attempt to comfort her.

“I saw him making out with another girl later that night and then I left the party after. When I got home, my parents weren’t there. My aunt Freya was and she told me that they had an accident and didn’t make it…” Hope’s eyes fill with tears as she’s telling me the story. “I felt so horrible. I distanced myself after that. Roman acted like we were never together in the first place and began dating that girl he hooked up with at the party. Everything between us was over after that. We hadn’t spoken until you and I saw him tonight. I still can’t believe that we ran into him…”

“That’s absolutely horrible, Hope. You don’t deserve any of that,” I tell her, my eyes filling with tears as well, because the story that Hope had told me is so heartbreaking.

“Yeah, well… Life is unfair.”

“I promise you that I’ll do anything in my power to make you the happiest girl in the world,” I say and believe my words with all my heart. “You deserve so much, Hope. I would give you the world if I could.”

“You’re so sweet,” Hope says with a wide smile on her face and then leans in, capturing my lips with her own. “I love you so much…”

“I love you too, baby…”

When my girlfriend pulls away, I grin like the lovesick idiot that I am and trace my fingers over the bare skin of her arm.

“You’re so beautiful,” she tells me, which makes me blush, as usual. Hope always finds some way to make my cheeks red.

I roll my eyes at her before giggling. “Says the goddess standing before me.”

“What? Where?” Hope suddenly says and turns around, as if to search for some deity in the room with us.

“You, silly…” I laugh and then make her turn around to face me again. “You’re an absolute goddess.”

“Being cheesy is supposed to be my job.” Now it’s Hope’s turn to roll her eyes.

“Hire me as your employee then,” I respond, making her laugh. “I’ll expect certain benefits if you do.”

“What kind of benefits?”

“Hmmm…” I bite my lower lip and look at her with the softest expression in the world. “Lots and lots of hugs and kisses.”

“We’ll definitely include that in the labor contract then,” Hope says with a smile on her face. “Let me first show you what the job will be like before you start.” She leans in afterwards and kisses me. I grip her shirt tightly and pull her body as close as I can as I move my lips along with hers.

“You’re already the best boss I could ask for.”

Chapter Text

On our last day of the vacation, we decide to check out the Eiffel Tower. There’s no way we’re going to miss one of the most visited spots in the world. I am super excited, especially because of the fact that I will get to kiss my amazing girlfriend at the most romantic place ever . Ah, it‘s like I‘m in a movie or something.

Thankfully we don‘t have to wait long at the line to get the tickets and we quickly make our way up the tower. It‘s just beautiful.

We reach the first floor and I am even more excited because we get an opportunity to learn more about its history, and of course, let’s not forget the chance to walk across the transparent glass floor that’s there.

“Jo, please be careful. Don’t move so much,” Hope tells me as we both step foot on the glass. Wow, it’s so amazing. I love how the people under me seem so small. “What if… that thing breaks?”

I take her hands in mine. “Stop worrying, babe…”

“But-” my girlfriend is about to protest but doesn’t get the chance to because I quickly pull her in for a kiss.

“Just shut up…” I whisper against her lips and I can feel her finally relax. “Everything is okay.”

I reassure her that the glass won’t break. That everything is highly secure and there’s nothing to be worried about. Probably millions of people walk on that thing, so everything is okay.

“Mmm…” Hope moans as I continue kissing her.

“Hey, Hosie… Stop being a bunch of horndogs and come here,” my sister suddenly yells out, which makes us break the kiss. I glare at Lizzie, because I want to continue kissing my girlfriend and she interrupted us. Hope protests as well with the most adorable pout on her face. I think she’s just as frustrated that I stopped kissing her as I am.

I sigh and pull my girlfriend towards the direction where Lizzie is . She’s at one of the gift shops, apparently looking for something to buy.

“What is it?” I just say, my voice sounding a bit annoyed.

“I want to buy something for Maya and MG, but I’m not sure what to get…”

“Doesn’t mom usually help you with this stuff?” I ask and my sister rolls her eyes before pointing at mom’s direction.

“She’s too busy flirting with some french hunk or whatever. She’s useless when she gets into cougar mode,” Lizzie explains, rolling her eyes in the process. “So what should I get?”

I sigh because I have no choice but to help her now.

“How about this cute gift set?” I suggest and I take the thing in my hands to look at it more closely.

“Average…”

Okay, she hates it as usual. Let’s look for something else. “What about these bracelets?”

“Lame!” Lizzie says and I roll my eyes. Another suggestion turned down. Great.

I see Hope looking at things as well, but decide not to pay attention. The sooner I help Lizzie pick something, the faster she’ll let us go and look at the rest of the tower.

“Lizzie, what about these rings over here. You can give MG and Maya one each, and you can have one too,” I suddenly hear Hope say and show my sister the rings. “They could be friendship rings or something.”

“Hmmm…” Lizzie takes a look at them and nods her head. “Not bad, Mikaelson. They don’t look hideous like the gifts my sister suggested.”

Of course she wouldn’t like anything I picked. It’s like the clothes at the mall all over again. Every damn time…

“Alright, I’ll get them. You two are free to go and make out now.”

I roll my eyes and move away from where my sister is, walking fast towards the stairs to the next floor. Hope follows behind me and grabs my hand quickly, stopping me in my tracks.

“Josie, what’s wrong?” Hope asks me and I immediately turn around to look at her. I can feel myself getting teary. I know that I shouldn’t let my sister’s opinion affect me this much, but sometimes she just gets to me. I know that she doesn’t mean it in a bad way and that she’s always been like this, I should be used to it by now, but I just can’t deal with her sometimes.

“It’s nothing,” I reply to Hope’s question. It’s not exactly nothing, but I really don’t want to admit that Lizzie’s words sometimes hurt me. I don’t want to appear weak in front of Hope and I definitely don’t want to ruin our time right now.

“Babe…” Hope pulls me in for a hug. “Come here.”

I wrap my arms around her body and hold on to her tightly. In the past I didn’t have anyone comfort me like this whenever Lizzie would upset me. Having Hope really helps me cope if I have to be honest.

“She never likes anything I suggest,” I confess, giving up on my previous idea. My voice is a bit muffled, because I have my face buried in the crook of Hope’s neck.

“She can be a pain sometimes. You said so when we were at the mall.”

“I know… I know that I shouldn’t let it bother me but-”

Hope cuts me off. “You shouldn’t. Just because you have different taste, doesn’t mean that yours is bad. I actually love your taste.”

“You do?” I pull back and look at Hope with a wide smile on my face.

She cups my face and wipes the tears from my cheeks with the thumbs gently. “Of course. That’s why I got you this.”

Hope then takes out the gift set I was looking at earlier. When did she get that? Oh my god, she must’ve bought it while I was looking at the gifts to suggest to Lizzie.

“Hope…” I stare at her in awe. I can’t believe such an amazing person like her actually exists. “You’re literally the sweetest person in the whole world.”

Hope grins as soon as she hears my words. Then she leans in an gives me the most amazing kiss, so filled with love, and suddenly all the negative emotions I was feeling because of Lizzie disappear. They are replaced with so much love for this beautiful auburn-haired girl before me.

Hope and I go to the second floor and find ourselves at a height of 115 meters above ground level. It's so amazing. You can see so many beautiful things from up here and I‘m so happy that I get to share it with Hope. I see so many monuments and landmarks, and it's just breathtaking. Hope and I go to the telescopes and get a closer look at everything. I gasp in excitement as I take a look at the Arc de Triomphe. Wow, just wow...

"Hope, why are you not looking at the landmarks?" I ask because I notice Hope not using the devices.

"Because I prefer staring at you. No landmark can compare to your beauty," she tells me and I roll my eyes.

"I will never get used to how cheesy you are."

Hope chuckles when she hears my words, probably proud that she has accomplished saying yet another one of her cheesy lines. She really loves them.

“Come on, dork. Let’s go to the top.”

I drag my girlfriend to the lift, because the third floor is only accessably through it. After a while, we eventually make it to the top of the tower and we’re at an altitude of 276 meters. The views are even more stunning.

“Standing here at the top of the Eiffel Tower, there’s only one thing I want to do,” Hope suddenly tells me and my eyes widen in shock. Oh my god. Don’t tell me she’s going to propose. What if she bought one of those rings from the gift shop for this purpose?

I can feel my heart start beating rapidly when Hope gets on her knees.

“I swear fealty to you Josette Saltzman. I vow to treat your needs as my own-”

Oh boy…

“Hopeeeee,” I interrupt her immeditately. “The Clexa scene from season 3? Seriously? You almost gave me a heart attack, you idiot. I thought you were going to actually propose.”

Hope starts laughing and gets back on her feet. “Well, this is a kind of proposal.”

“Dork,” I hit her shoulder playfully.

We both start laughing and we are so carefree and so in love with each other. I’ve never felt happier in my entire life. Hope really makes me the happiest person in the whole world.

“I do want to marry you someday, though,” she tells me after the laughter dies down.

“Maybe someday…” I answer and smile at her before leaning in and kissing her afterwards with everything I have.

I want to show her just how much I love her and just how much she means to me.

So what better way to do that than to kiss her at the top of the Eiffel Tower after we had just made a promise of a lifetime to each other?

When we get back home, everything gets back to normal pretty quickly. We get into our usual routine. It’s just so nice having a girlfriend. I don’t really know how I used to live without Hope by my side. Honestly, I can’t even remember what it was like to not have a girlfriend.

Things with my family are good. Everything is going okay with school for both Lizzie and I. My sister and her team of cheerleaders won their competition thing. All the exams are over and I can just chill and wait for summer vacation. My father seems to have left us alone as well. He probably found a new woman to hook up with or something, because one of our neighbors told us that they saw him with some redheaded bimbo.

I’m currently lying on Hope’s bed and watching my girlfriend paint. Honestly, if I have the chance to choose only one thing to look at for the rest of my life, it would be Hope painting. She looks so damn gorgeous like that. With her baggy clothes, covered in paint spots, the brush in her hand. She furrows her eyebrows whenever she starts thinking of something and moves the brush with such grace that it makes me fall for her even harder.

“I’m so in love with you,” I tell Hope suddenly as I continue staring at her.

“Not as in love as I am with you.”

“Are you challenging me? Do you want me to show you that I love you more?” I say and get off the bed quickly. I move closer to her and wrap my arms around her waist, hugging her from behind and resting my head on her shoulder.

“I’ll offer you this. Let’s just agree that we love each other equally. What do you say?”

“Ahh, now you ruined my plan of doing some big romantic gesture for you,” I whine and tighten my hold on her body. Hope laughs when she hears my words and then afterwards continues painting. I didn’t really pay attention to the painting until now, when I’m up close and can take a better look at it. It looks like a city that she’s painting. “What are you painting by the way?”

“It’s New Orleans. You know I lived there for half my life when my parents were alive,” Hope says with such fondness in her voice. I can tell that she really loves that city.

“It sounds beautiful.”

Hope then sets the paint brush down and turns around to face me. “Do you want to see for yourself by coming to New Orleans with me this summer?”

I beam at her offer and smile so widely. “Of course I do. I’ve told you before that I’d go anywhere in the world with you, babe…”

“I’m so glad to hear that.” A wide smile spreads across my girlfriend’s face and she leans in, kissing me softly.

At that moment I feel like everything in my life is just perfect in every way possible. I somewhat managed to get past my self-esteem issues. I’m still working on those, but I’m getting there. I experienced what falling in love is like. I found my soulmate who is such a beautiful and caring person that loves me for who I am. What more can I ask for?

Hope is the only person who sees me for who I really am. She always has and I know that she always will. She managed to look past all the walls that I put up and she even forgave me for being selfish and scared of losing her when I was pretending to be Lizzie and was lying to her. She sees the real me, the person that I sometimes try so hard to hide, and she loves me for who I am.

I love her for who she is too, absolutely everything about her, every small detail.

I love her more than anything in this world and I always will...