The next few months were more amazing than Hope had anticipated. She didn't know how to describe it but Penelope was… something new and so different from any previous relationships she'd had.
There was a fierce fire between them that ignited every time they saw each other. The brightness of her eyes drew her in.
Half of their relationship was passion. After everything that happened in the library, there wasn't much that they hadn't done. There was shyness for their second time but after testing boundaries and moving together, they found their rhythm.
But the other half was gentle.
Penelope had her shields and so did Hope. She never pushed her past her comfort zone, though her teasing was relentless.
Hope hadn't dated much in the past, besides Landon. So her experience in the area was thoroughly lacking. Even so… it was great and she was happier than she'd been in a long time.
They weren't dating though. Not yet, if ever. Both of them still had feelings for a Saltzman that they needed to deal with. So whatever was between them was kept a secret and unnamed.
Unfortunately, keeping it a secret was the hard part.
Now that she had left her 'lone wolf' days behind, her friends were always around. Hope loved them but she also hated hiding things from them. They trusted her and she trusted them. Yet here was something she couldn't tell them.
There was too much to figure out, not to mention the fact that both Lizzie and Josie hated Penelope.
Hope tried asking both parties why this was but each closed off the moment she mentioned the others name. It was like walls went up. She was curious but there was nothing else to do. No one wanted to talk about it and it appeared there was no changing it.
"It's nothing, Hope," Penelope shrugged, lazily running a hand through her hair. "Josie and I… just had our differences."
"There has to be more than that," Hope said. "She hates you. But you love her."
"Love is a strong word."
"Your word, not mine."
Penelope went silent again.
And Hope didn't ask anymore.
It was hard dodging her friends though. At this point they had to know that she was friends with Penelope. They spent a lot of their time together, claiming projects at first but eventually stopped making excuses. Little waves across the room, smiles across the corridor, they weren't hiding their friendship, just that it was a little more than that.
Hope wasn't too sure about how Josie or Lizzie felt. It was clear they didn't exactly approve but neither stopped her.
She was glad.
Penelope was really beginning to mean something to her.
Sitting at the docks became their thing, somewhere they'd go together that wasn't too suspicious but also private enough that Hope could steal kisses whenever she wanted. They'd sit and watch the water under the sky, hold hands like school girls and kiss.
It was nice.
Penelope was kind and wonderful, even if she didn't act like it. But under that ridiculously dramatic exterior, she had a soft heart that cared far too much about things she couldn't control. She couldn't let go.
One day, Hope pinned Penelope back against her pillow with a searing kiss. Fingers slid through her hair before caressing her cheeks. Hope liked it rough, nipping sharply at her lips.
Penelope groaned low in her throat.
Late at the weekend, when most people were either out or sleeping. It was the perfect opportunity for them to get some real alone time.
Keeping their relationship a secret meant that they had to be extraordinarily careful about when they were intimate. Meaning that Hope often got pent up and needy. Penelope didn't help, often whispering in her ear and touching her in ways that sent shivers down her spine. She enjoyed teasing her.
"Hey, prude," Penelope grinned, as Hope leaned back to pull off her shirt.
"Whore," she retorted before stripping Penelope of her own shirt.
She wanted her out of her clothes as quickly as possible and then that mouth on hers. Penelope lay beneath her, content to just smirk up at her neediness. A hand wrapped around her neck before pulling her down to kiss her again.
Heat was building. Penelope whined against her, fingers tracing down the length of her back. Lips against her neck.
Hope's hands were reaching for her pants to-
"Hey, Hope! Josie says you have her- holy mother of-!"
Someone shrieked from the doorway and Hope sprang off Penelope. Right onto the floor. A sharp pain raced up her elbow and she winced. "Lizzie!"
"Babe-"
"What are you two doing?" Lizzie gasped. "I… oh my God, my eyes! -are burning. I did not need to see either of you half naked!"
"Shut the door!" Penelope hissed, rolling off the bed to find her shirt.
Lizzie surprisingly did so. She closed the door and stomped over to the bed, eyes narrowed. She'd caught them red handed. And neither of them could deny what was happening. She'd been so careful, so many times dodging around friends to be with her. And just one time they'd been unlucky.
Hope grabbed her clothes and hurriedly threw them back on. This wasn't good. Now that Lizzie knew, it was only a matter of time before Josie did as well. "Lizzie, I can explain-"
"Oh my God, this is why you've been freakishly happy, isn't it?" Lizzie's eyes widened. "You know at first, I was like 'oh good for Hope' but it was weird. Giggling to yourself, getting lost in daydreams, it was like you were in lo- oh no, I think I'm going to have a heart attack."
"Always one for the drama," Penelope said dryly.
"Not now, Satan." Lizzie whirled onto Hope. "When? Why her?"
Penelope rolled her eyes. "Not everyone hates me, you know. Unlike someone in this room."
"Ladies." Hope realised that she was the bridge between them. Or maybe the wall to keep the peace. "Lizzie. You can't tell Josie"
Lizzie's jaw dropped. "Josie doesn't know? Of course she doesn't. You are insane. She will absolutely-"
"She will what?"
Hope's heart plummeted into the floor.
Josie stood in the doorway, head tilted. She seemed pleasantly happy but her eyes were narrowed in sharp suspicion. Hope looked between her, Penelope and then Lizzie.
At least they had their clothes on for this.
"Oh, hey, Josie," Lizzie said with fake enthusiasm. "What- what are you doing here? I was just getting my shoes off Hope."
Josie arched an eyebrow before stepping into the room. "You were taking a while so I came to see what happened. And now, I am very curious to know what's going on."
Hope looked at Penelope helplessly. Penelope shrugged.
"Oh, um, nothing," Lizzie insisted. "Just, weird friends! These two are… so strange! Haha!"
Okay so Lizzie was not helping in any way. She was just making things worse. Josie turned to look at her.
"Hope?"
Hope wrung her wrists. She didn't want to do it like this. If anything, she'd have liked to have come clean not after being caught. But she'd been running from it for so long. So maybe it was good that they finally had to reveal the truth.
She glanced at Penelope who only gazed back. And nodded. They'd hidden it for long enough. It seemed it was time to come clean.
"Josie… I'm seeing Penelope."
Josie froze, and tried to process. "As in her?"
Penelope chuckled. "Yes as in me."
Josie's gaze flickered between the two of them. Hope couldn't read her expression but her pout deepened. That pretty pout of hers. As wonderful as Josie's smile was, she loved her pout as well. What was she thinking?
Things could change between them. Hope didn't think she could choose between them.
"Penelope? A word?"
Surprise bloomed on Penelope's face but she nodded.
Penelope gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before she and Josie left the room. Silence settled over and Lizzie as Hope tried to figure out what had just happened. She didn't quite understand, it all happened so quickly. She hoped they weren't arguing.
"Okay… normally I wouldn't like to spy on Josie but this calls for drastic measures." Lizzie stomped over to her.
Hope also wanted to spy on them. Josie was one of the most important people in her life but so was Penelope now. She needed to know what they were saying.
"Do you know a spell?" Lizzie asked.
One. But it wasn't very reliable and was literally never used. But it was worth a shot. She grabbed Penelope's jacket from the chair. Taking Lizzie's hand, she inhaled.
"Ostende mihi faciem eius!"
Her body did a jumpstart and then suddenly her vision flooded with a scene of outside their room. Lizzie's sharp gasp from beside her told her she experienced the same.
Penelope faced Josie, eyes soft but lips tight. From afar, they seemed like they were just having a chat. But here, the air hummed with tension and nerves.
Josie paced forward a step before coming to a halt, arms folded across her chest. "How long?"
"A few months. When we had that detention together… something clicked."
Gone was Penelope's playful persona. Instead, she gazed at Josie with such a strange expression. Usually whenever Penelope looked at Josie it was like the world revolved around her. But it was different now. Accepting.
"Are you happy?"
"Yes."
"Do you love her?"
Pain flashed across Penelope's face. "Hope still has problems from her past loves."
"That wasn't what I asked."
Silence. And then-
"Yes."
"Oh, damn," Lizzie murmured from beside Hope. "Who knew Penelope Park is actually romantic?"
Hope had no idea what to say so she kept her mouth shut. Her heart thrummed in her chest, quickening as she realised exactly what Penelope had just revealed. She'd hadn't known.
"Does she love you back?"
Penelope laughed and rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. "That is a good question."
This wasn't how Hope had wanted to find out how Penelope felt about her. Over the past few months they'd grown closer together. Hope loved her time with her. They hadn't labelled anything yet because of both their pasts yet they connected so easily.
Was she falling in love? Hope blushed.
"... I'm glad you're happy," Josie said softly. "That you moved on."
It had to hurt her, and Penelope, to say that. But for both of them, it was the best. They'd been too hung up on each other to continue with their lives. And now they were free to move to whatever they wanted.
"Where did we go wrong, JoJo?" Penelope asked softly.
Josie smiled. "You push. You push to try and help but you pushed too far."
Pain entered Penelope's eyes and she looked at the ground. Voice softer than a whisper. "There is a reason I pushed. I thought, I hoped, you'd find out without my interference but I tried to help you. I am sorry."
"What reason?"
Penelope's expression flickered. "It is not my secret to tell. You should ask your dad what he knows about the Merge."
The way she said 'merge' made it sound like it had a capital m. Hope had no idea what she was referring to.
"I don't understand," Josie said.
"Maybe you will."
And she said nothing else. Hope could tell Josie wanted to ask more but both of them knew that was the end of the conversation. They were finished. Hope wondered if they could be friends after all this. She hoped they could.
"Is that all?"
"Don't hurt her, Penelope. She's had too many people hurt her."
Penelope smiled, that wonderfully gorgeous smile that Hope loved seeing. "Don't worry. She has a much higher chance of breaking my heart."
"Wow… you two are getting serious, huh?" Lizzie gaped at her. "And you still didn't think to tell me?"
Hope flashed her a look. "It's complicated, okay? I'm sorry."
Hope glanced back at the scene to realise that Penelope and Josie were moving towards the door. The door of Hope's room. "Oh, shit, they're coming back!"
Hope snapped her fingers and they jumped out of the spell. With barely seconds to compose themselves as though they hadn't been listening, Hope leaned back in what she prayed was a casual pose. She threw Penelope's jacket off the bed somewhere that it definitely hadn't been before. Whoops.
The door opened to reveal Josie and Penelope. Both were smiling softly. Once, Hope's gaze would have gone to Josie without question but now, she was pulled towards the other woman with her.
"Oh, yes, Hope!" Lizzie beamed in her falsely happy way. "The… sky is nice today."
"Yeah. Yeah, you're right. Real-" Hope glanced at the ceiling, "-woody..."
Very smooth. Not suspicious at all.
"Um… okay." Josie arched an eyebrow but didn't question anything.
Penelope, on the other hand, hid her widening grin under a hand.
Lizzie sprang off the bed and to Josie. A hand closed around her arm. "Let's go."
Josie opened her mouth and then closed it. Confusion bloomed across her face. "I haven't talked to Hope yet. I just want-"
"Oh, no, she gets it," Lizzie beamed. "We're cool. Strange she's dating Satan but cool. We are supportive friends!"
Josie looked like she wanted to protest more but Lizzie was like a force of nature, dragging her from the room before she could do anything. Hope gave her a shy wave to which Josie only rolled her eyes at. They were okay. Surprisingly, not mad but maybe that was better. They'd grown.
"What was that about?" Penelope asked as she sat down next to her.
"We were eavesdropping. I was worried and Lizzie was, well, nosy." Hope didn't even bother trying to lie to her. That wasn't how she wanted her relationship to be. She could only be honest with her.
"Ah. I see." Penelope paused. "So you heard all of that? Including…?"
"That you love me?"
"Yeah. Okay. Um…" Penelope looked all around the room, anywhere that wasn't her. A blush stained her cheeks. "I didn't want to say anything, Hope. We aren't even dating, it's a whole thing but-"
"I'm falling for you," Hope admitted. "Do you want to be my girlfriend?"
Penelope's widened and it took a few seconds to fully register. Hope liked the joy that spread across her face. And she kissed her gently. Penelope threaded her fingers through hers as she leaned her forehead against hers.
"We are so weird," she chuckled.
"Mmhmm, but I kinda like weird," Hope grinned before kissing her again.
They'd been interrupted earlier and the mood was gone. But Hope could settle for just kissing. Now they were guaranteed no interruptions. So for a few minutes she just lost herself in kissing Penelope.
"So... are we gonna tell everybody?" Hope asked.
"Hmm… I was thinking maybe we don't." Penelope leaned back against the sheets and stared at the ceiling. Hope fell down next to her, sliding so easily into her arms. "What if… just stop hiding? And let them figure it out?"
"You want to toy with them, don't you?"
"Maybe. It will be so funny."
Hope laughed and nuzzled into the side of her neck. She inhaled. Now, Penelope was warm and her scent comforting. She could have stayed like this forever. "I think I love you too."
"You don't have to say that."
"No. I don't. But it's true."
Penelope's eyes were dark and magnetic, the force between them as strong as ever. Hope never wanted to let go.
"You know… Josie is kinda the reason we got together," Penelope pointed out.
"Because we both had it hot for her?"
"Uh… I would not have said it like that but yes?" Penelope grinned. "Remember you used to like Lizzie?"
Hope groaned. "Oh, don't remind me. If she found out, she would never let me forget."
Those feelings had been very real and Hope would never forget them. But over her time with Penelope, they'd faded. She wasn't the same anyone and she only wanted one person..
"Ha. She definitely wouldn't."
Hope laid her head on Penelope's chest and sighed. She closed her eyes and drifted off, surrounded by the love and warmth of Penelope Park.
And hey, that's the official end of Magnetism! Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it! But don't worry, we still have another chapter! ChA (next chapter) is an alternate ending with Phosie so please anticipate! Thank you 💜
Ifyou want to know what happens before the next update, find the updated version on AO3 (fic and account same name, can't link here)! 💜
