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Hope walks into the common room, relieved to see Lizzie Saltzman sitting on a couch, and without Josie. The tribrid quickly goes to sit right in front of the blonde, getting a glare as an answer since Lizzie was kinda flirting with a new vampire. The boy quickly says goodbye when he sees Hope glare at him though, which gets Lizzie mad.
"What the hell Mikaelson?!"
Hope decides to ignore her, and goes straight to why she was looking for her best friend's sister.
"So, you know Josie and I are really close now." Hope says as she looks at Lizzie.
The siphon sighs. "Yes."
Hope looks around, she wants to be absolutely sure no one but Lizzie hears what she's about to say next. Josie needs to hear it from her, not from a random vampire.
"I have feelings for Josie." Hope says, full on ready to deal with Lizzie's reaction.
The blonde doesn't freak out, doesn't even look shocked. She looks at Hope and blinks once, then twice. The tribrid suddenly feels very nervous. It was nothing like Lizzie Saltzman to have no reaction to such news.
"You have nothing to say?"
Lizzie shrugs. "What do you want me to say?"
"I don't know."
"Why are you even telling me this?"
Hope sighs. "I planned some things to show Josie how much I cared about her, and I want to know what you think of them." She swallows with difficulty, the nervousness slowly settling in. "I-I want to ask her to be my girlfriend, so it has to be perfect."
Lizzie frowns and for a moment she looks confused. That gets Hope even more nervous than she previously was, but then… Lizzie is smirking?
"Oh… Tell me what you planned for my dear sister."
The auburn haired girl hesitates a little, but then she caves in an tells the blonde girl everything. Maybe Lizzie's smirk meant nothing at all…
*
"Hope? What are you doing here so early?" Josie says as she sits down next to the tribrid.
Hope quickly looks at the brunette and offers her a bright smile. Then, she slides a tray full of breakfast food in front of Josie. The Saltzman girl looks down at the tray, her eyes slowly getting wider as she sees all the food.
"I decided to skip training with your dad." Hope says with a shrug. "I wanted to spend more time with you… and surprise you with breakfast."
Josie gives Hope a beaming smile and her eyes gain that special spark Hope loves so much. Without warning, Josie leans in and kisses Hope's cheeks, effectively making the tribrid blush a deep shade of pink.
"Thank you, Hope." The brunette says after she moves away from the tribrid. "But… all of this isn't only for me, right?"
Hope freezes. "Uh… yeah?"
Josie giggles. "I can't eat all of this!"
"You can't?" Hope asks with a frown.
Josie's giggle turns into a light laugh as she pokes the Mikaelson girl's stomach.
"I'm not a tribrid! I have a human appetite."
Hope chuckles. "Right…"
Josie slowly pushes the tray of food between them. Then she takes a piece of fruit and eats it. When she's done, she gives Hope a look that makes the tribrid blush, and it causes Josie to giggle again.
"Come on, let's share."
Hope nods and reaches for something on the plate. She can't help but think that this day is probably going to be the death of her. She also wonders how Josie can act like this and not realise how she's affecting her.
This is gonna be one hell of a day…
The day goes on, and so does Hope's plan to woo Josie Saltzman.
She walks Josie to every one of her classes, and carries her book as well. When Hope starts to follow the brunette to class, and gently takes her books from her, Josie gives Hope a confused look. It took Josie three classes before she shrugged it off and just handed her books to Hope with a "thank you".
When lunch came around, Hope surprised Josie with a picnic just outside the school. A large soft blanket was placed on the ground for them to sit on, and a basket full of food was waiting for them. Josie is so happy that she literally throws herself into Hope's arms. The tribrid holds her close, closing her eyes for a moment and enjoying the fact that she has Josie now.
So, Hope knows they've been low-key flirting for a while. She's not stupid. However, Josie's flirting gets even more present today, and the tribrid truly hopes it means what she's doing is working.
After school, Hope takes Josie out on a walk into the woods, near the lake. Josie softly hums a song as they walk. Their hands brush each other on multiple occasions, and maybe it's slowly starting to drive Hope completely crazy. That is until-
Oh.
Josie took her hand in hers.
Well, Hope certainly was not expecting this. They never casually held hands before. They've done for spells countless of times. To comfort each other too, but just holding hand like this? It never happened.
When Hope's eyes leave their joined hands, she finds Josie looking at her with a sheepish smile.
"Is this okay?"
Hope doesn't trust her words in this moment, so she gives Josie a nod, her eyes still wide from the surprise of feeling Josie's hand slip into her own. Josie keeps walking after she gets the nod, talking about Lizzie and… what's the guy's name? Hope really can't remember, but from Josie's annoyed face, she knows it probably doesn't matter.
Suddenly though, Hope realises they're heading in the wrong direction. She gently tugs on Josie's hand, and the brunette immediately stops walking and talking at the same time. Josie turns to look at Hope, her confused frown matched with the cutest pout.
"I-I have a surprise for you, and it's this way." Hope says as she points to the path leading to the deck.
Josie's pout disappears, but her frown remains. "Another surprise? Did I forget my own birthday? No, that can't be it… Lizzie wouldn't let me forget that."
"No, I just… Just come with me, okay?"
The brunette follows willingly when Hope tugs on her hand again. During the small walk separating them from the deck, Hope takes several deep breaths and tries to remember what she wants to tell Josie.
As soon as they can see the deck, a gasps escapes Josie's mouth. So, Hope stops them and stand right in front of Josie. Hope gently takes both of Josie's hands in hers, takes one final breath and then starts talking.
"Josie, you're my best friend, and for that I'll forever be grateful." She starts, and watches as Josie tilts her head to the side, curiosity filling her eyes. "It took us a lot of time, and effort to make it work, but we still did it. You never gave up on the idea of befriending me, even when I didn't make it easy. These past few months, we've grown close. You're… the most important person for me. You're so beautiful, in and out. When you look at me with your soft brown eyes, I feel like you see right through me."
The tribrid pauses and takes a deep breath. The tears slowly built up in Hope's eyes, as well as in Josie's. She's not used to showing that much vulnerability, but Josie is worth it. The frown left Josie's face a long time ago, replaced by a softness Hope has a hard time to take in.
"Nobody will ever compare to you. That is exactly why I fell for you." She says, her voice the softest it's ever been. "So, I've been meaning to ask… Josie Saltzman, would you go on a date with me?"
Hope is surprised to see Josie's frown reappear, and then the brunette shakes her head.
"Wait, what?"
Hope swallows her pride. "Well… that wasn't really the answer I was expecting."
"No, wait Hope." Josie says after squeezing Hope's hands that are still in hers. "I-I thought we were already dating."
Hope freezes. "What?"
"Last month… you asked me out. We went to the Mystic Grill, and then we watched a movie in the town square, they were playing a movie outside on a giant screen."
Hope remembers that night, of course she does. She just really didn't think it was a date. They didn't even hold hands!
"I shouldn't have assumed anything…" Josie says, suddenly avoiding Hope's eyes.
"Jo-"
"You were just being so romantic that night." Josie sighs. "Then, we got even closer-"
"Josie! I'm literally asking you on a date right now, please don't feel bad because you assumed we were already dating."
Josie opens her mouth, before quickly shutting it again. Hope sees how the younger girl's cheeks are bright pink, and it makes her want to reach out and…
"Wait! If you thought we were dating, why haven't we kissed yet?" Hope asks, confusion written all over her face.
Josie's eyes get wide again, and her blush darkens. "Oh, uh, I-I just thought we were taking it slow?" The brunette chuckles and looks away. "You talked about your past relationships to me before, and said how you got 'burned'. I thought you were being cautious."
Hope can't take it anymore. The laugh that gets out of her feels good, liberating.
Josie wants her.
Josie thought they were already together.
Josie quickly joins in when she realises how ridiculous their situation is. Their laughter takes a while to die out, but when it does, they're left staring at each other in the quietness of the woods.
Suddenly feeling bold, Hope takes a step closer and lifts an eyebrow. Josie answers by smiling softly, and taking a step too. They're close enough to touch now, close enough to kiss.
"So, what about that date Miss Saltzman?" Hope says before licking her lips.
Josie follows the movement of her lips, and swallows hard before speaking.
"Do I get a kiss at the end of this date, Miss Mikaelson?"
Hope hums and nods. "Of course."
"Then, you have a deal."