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It wasn’t a secret that Hope Mikaelson was a flirt. She classified it as a sort of self-aware defense mechanism, a way to keep everyone at a distance while providing herself with a fun time. Hope knew it was an unhealthy mechanism, but whenever she ran into another cute guy or girl it was like the flirtations just slipped out.
You could say that she learned from the best, her best friend Penelope Park.
Of course, these were just flirtations, nothing more. Hope never actually dated any of these people she flirted with because, well, you could say she really only had feelings for one person. As cheesy as it sounded, and Hope really hated cheesy things, her heart already belonged to someone else.
Lizzie Saltzman.
The two girls had known each other since elementary, but they had never really been close. While they shared many classes, they’d always found themselves in different circles. Despite this, Hope couldn’t help how she constantly stared at the blonde during classes and looked for her platinum hair in the crowded high school hallways. She was like a moth to a flame, unable to look away or end her fascination.
Hope knew that her and Lizzie would probably never actually meet personally and that she would never gather the courage to ask Lizzie out. The blonde was considered a loner, someone that stuck her nose in a book more than other people’s conversations. However, this didn’t change her sarcasm or insults that made Hope always smile in class. Lizzie was definitely a mystery and with each glance at her or word uttered from the blonde, Hope only grew more curious and fell deeper into her faraway crush.
Just her luck to fall for someone as unattainable as Lizzie Saltzman.
Because Hope had grown resigned to her fate of never actually talking to Lizzie and just flirting with random people to get the blonde out of her head, Lizzie was the last person she expected to see at one of her football practices.
The brunette was the captain of their high school’s football team, falling in easily with the jocks of the school from the very beginning. The field was where she could take out all of her anger and fuel her energy. It was a lot better option than punching walls or screaming at family members and it was just a coincidence that she was actually really good at the sport.
Therefore, as one of her ordinary football practices started with drills, the practice suddenly turned less than ordinary. Taking a breath after finishing a drill, Hope turned her head towards the benches...and she froze.
There sat Lizzie Saltzman on one of the benches in a jersey and polyester shorts that she was somehow pulling off. A cart full of water jugs sat next to her. Hope felt like she couldn’t breathe as Lizzie’s intense blue eyes roamed over the field and passed over Hope.
Hope almost thought that Lizzie’s gaze stopped momentarily on her but she figured she was just making things up.
The football player spent the rest of practice trying to show off or just generally not make a fool of herself. Her mind was still racing with possibilities of why Lizzie was at her practice when she’d never even stepped foot on a field before.
When Coach Williams called for a water break, Hope made sure to avoid Lizzie and sit on the opposite side of the benches. Hopefully the blonde would just go about whatever her business was and Hope wouldn’t make a fool of herself.
However, Hope had no such luck.
Not a minute later, Lizzie was suddenly standing before her with a cup of water and a smirk on her face. A smirk that seemed to always be on the blonde’s face and that always sent butterflies throughout Hope’s stomach.
“Water?” Lizzie asked, her voice deep and almost sarcastic.
Hope raised an eyebrow, trying to control the blush threatening to spread on her face. “Are you the waterboy now?”
Lizzie just shrugged. “It’s 2020, Mikaelson. Girls can be anything.”
Hope couldn’t help the smile on her face. Lizzie Saltzman was definitely a very surprising person.
“Very true.” Hope nodded. “But why does a princess like you want to spend time with a bunch of sweaty football players?”
Lizzie looked slightly offended by Hope’s words, which was definitely not the brunette's intention. “I’ll have you know, Mikaelson, that I happen to love football and this counts as an extracurricular on my resume so…” Lizzie crossed her arms and looked proud, like she had somehow proved Hope wrong with her assumptions.
Of course, since Hope was at a loss for words, her brain immediately fell back into what it was used to. Flirting.
“Why do you say my last name so much? Is it because you want it?” Hope winked and felt a sense of accomplishment as she watched Lizzie’s face go as red as a tomato. The blonde looked so adorable with her pink cheeks and flustered appearance that Hope just knew she needed to make her look like that again.
Lizzie scoffed but she was stumbling over her words. “Whatever, Hope. Drink some water so you don’t pass out.”
The blonde quickly passed the water to Hope but not before Hope allowed their fingers to slightly touch in the exchange. Lizzie quickly jerked back and began to walk away hurriedly.
Hope, feeling accomplished, simply waved back at Lizzie’s retreating figure. “Nice to know you care about me, Princess.”
The football player quickly chugged the water and spent the rest of her break staring unabashedly at Lizzie as she went around the players and field. Hope found it almost hilarious how hard Lizzie was trying to not look at Hope, but a small part of her worried she took the flirting too far with her crush.
All throughout that week's practices, Hope and Lizzie danced around the same routine. Hope would watch Lizzie, Lizzie would pretend like she wasn’t glancing at Hope every minute, and during the water break Lizzie would bring Hope water while Hope shamelessly flirted with her.
Hope didn’t really know why she was flirting so much with Lizzie. Because she actually had a crush on this girl, Lizzie made her so nervous and she felt like she was going to throw up from anxiety each time they made eye contact. Thankfully, whenever they talked it was only word vomit that seemed to come out of her mouth.
Word vomit in the form of flirtations.
“Looking good today, Lizzie.” Hope called during Thursday's practice. Lizzie just rolled her eyes and proceeded to ignore her. Taking this opportunity, Hope walked behind her as Lizzie made her water rounds around the football players.
“You know what would make you look even better?”
“Not possible.” Lizzie argued, giving out a cup of water to Rafael. “I already look too good.”
Hope chuckled at the blonde’s confidence, definitely finding her snarky comments attractive. “True, but a jersey with my last name would definitely top the Mystic Falls shirt.”
Although Lizzie wasn’t directly facing Hope, the brunette could still see the slight smile that ghosted her face for a second before she put her serious mask back on. Hope felt a rush of excitement flow through her body. If she could make Lizzie smile even once, she considered her day successful.
Hope glanced towards the coach and saw he was still talking with one of the football players, Kaleb, and figured she still had time for a few more flirtatious comments. Hope really didn’t understand why she had always been so taken by Lizzie, but it was like with every eye contact or brush of fingers, electricity ran down her spine.
“You want to make a deal, Princess?” Hope grinned as she saw Lizzie’s characteristic smirk arise.
Lizzie, being the competitive person she was, couldn’t help the smirk. “What is it?” However, she knew that whatever the answer, she would say yes. Lizzie was always up for a challenge.
Hope thought for a moment before her eyes brightened with an idea. “We win the game tomorrow, I get to take you on a date.” Lizzie scoffed but Hope continued. “We lose, you get to take me on a date.”
Now Lizzie really scoffed, whirling on Hope in a motion so fast Hope wondered why Lizzie wasn’t in football as well. “In your dreams, Mikaelson.”
“Oh, you already are.” Lizzie’s doe eyes went wide at Hope’s implication and the brunette took the time to really look at the shade of blue they were. The blonde’s eyes were almost a grey, their blue so stormy they reminded Hope of the grey clouds on her favorite days.
Lizzie stared at Hope for a moment, as if thinking, before finally speaking. “How about if I win, you have to quit with the flirting?”
“Oh, you’re breaking my heart, Saltzman. You know you’d miss it.” Hope put her hand over her heart dramatically and smiled once again at seeing the amusement in Lizzie’s eyes. “It's a deal then.”
Hope and Lizzie just stared at each other for a second, both of their eyes bright with the idea of a challenge. They were both so alike in that way, such headstrong, confident, and guarded individuals. And yet, Hope felt like Lizzie was the most interesting and unique person she’d ever met.
At the game the next night, Hope played harder than she’d ever played in her life. She played like her life depended on it, and, in a way, to her it did. After each touchdown or successful pass, Hope’s helmeted head would look over to see an annoyed Lizzie. Whether she was annoyed by the idea of a date or losing the deal, Hope wasn’t sure.
The blonde sat at the bench in her Mystic Falls jersey the whole time, the black lines on her face and bandana in her hair making her look extremely adorable despite the sheer incredulousness in her eyes. Lizzie had never expected a person to work so hard to just go on a date with her.
The cheering of the crowd, Lizzie’s shock, and the excitement of her teammates only egged Hope on. She was on fire, like she’d been blessed by the sports gods. Her feets were like quicksilver, her hands skilled, and her brain clear.
By the end of the game, Mystic Falls was up 36-7. The cheering of their team was loud enough to deafen Hope but this didn’t stop the grin that passed over her face. She couldn’t believe how great the team had played that night and part of her believed it was the universe’s way of helping her with her love life.
While Hope was taking off her gear in the locker room, she suddenly heard the door open. She looked curiously at the entrance, used to being the only person in the girl’s room. However, surprise quickly covered her face as she saw a familiar blonde enter the room and make her way over to Hope.
“Good job out there.” Lizzie said, her blue eyes narrowed slightly.
Hope smiled, suddenly shy. She hadn’t wanted Lizzie to see her with her sweaty hair, sticky undershirt, and fumbling post-game self. “Yeah, well, I had some motivation.”
Lizzie chuckled slightly, like she had been expecting this answer. For a few seconds, they both stood in silence just staring around the room and at each other. Hope realized suddenly that she had spent all her time flirting with Lizzie this past week that they hadn’t even had a real conversation. Part of her hardly expected Lizzie to actually hold up her side of the deal.
After a few seconds, Lizzie nodded her head ceremoniously and let what looked like a genuine smile onto her face. “So when is our date, Mikaelson?”
Hope’s eyes grew wide. “Wait, really? You actually want to go on a date?”
Lizzie laughed, the sound sending butterflies all throughout Hope’s stomach. “Well, don’t look so shocked. I never back out of a deal, especially when it includes a cute girl with nice muscles.” Hope blushed furiously at Lizzie’s words, suddenly understanding what it’s like to be on the other side of the flirtations. Part of her was extremely embarrassed and another part just wanted Lizzie to keep talking. “Plus, I’ve always wanted to be part of a power couple.”
The blonde looked wistfully towards Hope and Hope found herself stumbling over all of her thoughts. Lizzie wanted to be a couple. The blonde was still talking to her and smiling and flirting back .
Hope’s heart raced in her chest as she smiled and stuttered out, “Ummm, I’m free tomorrow night. A movie?”
Lizzie nodded her head. “Movie it is. See you then, Mikaelson, and as much as I like the sweaty look, please take a shower.”
Hope scowled in Lizzie’s direction as the blonde laughed and quickly retreated from the room. However, as much as Hope was offended, she was also extremely giddy. In all those times Hope had stared at Lizzie wistfully in class, or talked endlessly about her to her mom, or even imagined different scenarios of the two having a conversation, she had never thought she would actually be going on a date with the blonde.
But here she was.
Her flirty defenses had finally come in handy. As she took a quick shower and rushed out of the locker room to meet with her parents and aunts and uncles, she couldn’t help the grin on her face or the excitement that bubbled inside of her all due to Lizzie Saltzman, the beautifully sarcastic watergirl that had caught Hope’s eyes from the very beginning.