Josie couldn't tell what wakes her up that morning. Maybe it's the warm rays of sunlight that shines through the curtains of her room. Or maybe it has something to do with the weight she can feel on her chest. Slowly, she opens her eyes and looks around her room for a second or two, as if to make sure she's really in her room. Then, her eyes fall on Hope's head laying on her chest.
Oh. Hope's head is on her chest.
That's when memories of what happened last night come crashing through her mind.
A knock on their door. Lizzie groaning, but still getting up to open the door. Hope looking completely shattered.
Josie's eyes linger on the tribrid's face and it breaks her heart again. Hope's cheeks are tear stained, and she looks like she hasn't gotten a good night of sleep in a long time.
The brunette's heart tightens painfully as she wonders just how bad things were for her friend for Hope to break down like that. She definitely expected Hope to be sad this week, after all Josie knows full well what week it is, but she doesn't think she ever saw the auburn haired girl this broken.
The brunette girl hesitates for a moment before executing her next move. She'd hate to wake Hope up, but at the same time, if she doesn't do this… Her parents will come banging on the door and that would wake the older girl up anyway. She can't let that happen.
Josie gently places her hand on Hope's biceps, and soon enough it's glowing red as she siphons a little bit of magic. The only reaction it gets out of the older girl is a quiet groan before she snuggles even closer to the brunette. The Saltzman doesn't take much, just enough for a quick summoning spell. In a second, her phone appears in her hand and quickly she starts texting, careful not to move much and wake Hope up.
• Mom, could you excuse Lizzie, Hope and I from classes today?
It takes a second for the woman to answer.
— Honey, what happened? Is something wrong with Hope?
Josie sighs in relief. Of course her mother already mostly knows what is going on.
• She's not okay… She came to our room at 3AM.
She was crying, mom... It was heartbreaking.
— Take care of her. I'll stop by as soon as I can.
Love you sweetie.
• We will. Okay, love you too, mom.'
Josie shuts her phone off and puts it away. She sighs, her eyes roam the room again, noticing the dim light coming in. Hearing the soft sound of the wind shaking the tree's leaves outside… All of it almost lull her back to sleep, but she's determined to stay awake. She doesn't want the tribrid to think she's the first one to wake up.
When she looks back down at Hope, she's sure she made the right decision. The older girl just looks so peaceful in her sleep, and her body feels relaxed against Josie's own. It would be a shame to wake her up.
Josie's next move is something she did on numerous occasions before. Softly, she plays with Hope's auburn hair, her touch feather light as to not wake the older girl. In this moment, the brunette feels good. Like they were finally back to how they were supposed to be.
Suddenly though, Hope's hoodie catches Josie's attention. A small smile plays on the younger girl's lips as she recognizes the worn out blue hoodie. Another thing that makes this moment even more familiar than it already was.
Meanwhile .
Rebekah and her husband Marcel are moving around their apartment in sync. They're preparing a important meeting. One they've been stressing over for a few weeks now. New York's vampires are arrogant, but Rebekah knows this is important. This could change the world if they do it right.
She's almost done gathering her papers when her phone rings. She almost ignores it, but when she glances at it and sees Caroline's name, Rebekah quickly picks it up.
Despite her anxiousness, and being in such a rush, a small smile appears on her face as she accepts her friend's call.
"Hello, love." Rebekah greets, in her british accent. "To what do I owe the pleasure of you calling me?"
"Hi Bekah." Caroline says, her voice wavering even if she only says two words.
The Original vampire quickly catches her friend's worry.
"Care... What's wrong?"
"Are you still in New York?" Caroline asks, and Rebekah quickly answers by the affirmative. "Look, I know you're really busy, and that you were planning on dropping by later this week… but I need you to come here as soon as you can."
"Caroline, just tell me what's wrong."
"It's Hope… She's not okay, Bekah. Josie just told me she was knocking on the their door in the middle of the night, bawling her eyes out." The twins' mother sighs. "I think she really needs all the support she can get right now. I'm worried about her."
As soon as her niece's name falls from Caroline's lips, Rebekah uses her vampire speed to walk around the room and grab her things. In a matter of seconds, the blonde woman's clothes are all packed up and she's still listening to Caroline's explanation under the curious eyes of her husband.
"I'm on my way Care." Rebekah quickly says. "I'll call Freya as soon as we hang up to see if she can come too, but baby Nik's been sick for a couple of days, so I don't know if she'll be able to go. I'll try anyway."
"Okay. Thank you, Rebekah. I'll see you later then."
"Thanks for the call love, see you later."
As soon as she hangs up the phone, Rebekah turns to Marcel.
"Marcel, you'll need to take care of this meeting yourself. Caroline just told me Hope's not doing okay, I'm heading to the Salvatore school right now."
The man quickly frowns, worry clouding his face. "Should I come too? I mean, I'm sure we can push this meeting to a later date-"
"No, stay and do this for us." Rebekah says with her sweetest smile. "I'll call you if we need you."
"You're sure?" Rebekah only nods her head. "Ok. Take care of her."
She leaves a quick peck on his lips before heading for the door and dialing her sister's number.
"Have a safe trip!" Marcel calls out.
"Of course. I love you." Rebekah says over her shoulder.
The blonde woman hears him say it back just as the door clicks shut behind her, and it might put a small smile on her lips.
Hope wakes up to soft fingers threading through her hair, arms around her waist and feeling safer than ever. When she blinks her eyes open, it takes her a couple of seconds to understand why she's feeling so safe, but when her eyes meet warm brown ones, she understands.
She came to the twins the night before and got the comfort she was so desperately craving. Now, with Josie's fingers playing with her hair and Lizzie's arm tight around her waist, Hope feels like closing her eyes again. She's a little afraid this actually is a dream.
"Morning sleepy head." Josie whispers.
Hope gives her a little smile. "Morning Jo."
"Did you sleep well?"
Josie's care is unwavering, and it warms Hope's heart. The tribrid's smile gets a little wider as she squeezes the brunette.
"Yeah, thanks to you and Lizzie." She sighs and pauses. "Did you?"
The brunette twin shrugs. "Too warm. Your werewolf warmth is a bitch."
The teasing smile on her friend's lips makes Hope roll her eyes. Then, the tribrid does something that she knows will infuriate Josie. She uses a single finger to poke at the brunette's ribs. It earns her a yelp from Josie, and soon enough Hope is fully tickling the younger girl. It makes her think of not that long ago, when they were still close. Josie makes half-hearted attempts at setting herself free, and they're both laughing hard, forgetting about the blonde girl still asleep.
Except that Lizzie isn't asleep anymore. She hasn't been sleeping since Hope started to attack her sister. The blonde girl lets the tribrid have her fun for a little while before she decides to finally go to her twin's rescue. Lizzie tightens her hold on Hope's waist, bringing her closer to her own body, and farther from Josie.
Hope whines. "Lizzie…"
The blonde smirks. "You weren't complaining when I did this last night."
Hope places her hand on Lizzie's and moves it to her chest again, over her heart. "I'm still not."
Josie smiles as she looks at them cuddling, but then she feels a little left out and gets closer. Hope is quick to tug her close until the three of them are all intertwined together. They all sigh, and stay silent for a couple of minutes, just enjoying the proximity.
Now with the sun softly illuminating the room, Lizzie can get a good look at the girl in her arms. And what she's wearing.
"Uh… Hope?" Lizzie breaks the silence.
"Huh?" Hope mumbles softly.
"Is this my hoodie?" The blond inquiries.
Hope quickly looks down, cringing a little as she realizes that, yes, she's totally wearing Lizzie's hoodie.
"Uh… yeah?" She admits shyly. "I think I stole it by accident. You know, before…"
"Before you started ignoring us." The blonde cuts in. Not being able to keep the hurt out of her voice.
"Lizzie!" Josie scolds.
"What? I'm only stating the truth." The blonde twin rolls her eyes, before settling her attention on Hope again. "You were always the one wearing it anyway, so I didn't mind that much when it disappeared. I just wondered where it ended up."
"I know, and I'm sorry. I wanted to reach out sooner, I swear, but… You both looked happy, like you've moved on... And I didn't want to get in the way of that, even though I was dying to be a part of it." Hope says, regretfully.
The tribrid feels Lizzie's hold tighten, and sees the tears in Josie's eyes. It makes her realize that Penelope was right. She wasn't the only one hurting from this situation, her best friends were hurting too.
"As for the hoodie… I think I'm just so used to wearing it whenever I feel alone, or sad, that I didn't even realized I had it on before you pointed it out." Hope then directs her words to Josie. "I still sleep with that stuffed wolf you gave me. Every night. It comforts me, makes me feel safe, just like the hoodie."
That's when Josie's tears start to spill, and Hope could swear Lizzie is crying too. She wonders if she somehow upset them, if she did something wrong. Even with all the doubt clouding her mind, the tribrid decides to keep talking. It was time to spill everything. Now or never.
"Even though I kept my distance, I still needed you two." She says, almost begging them to believe her. "Always did, and always will. You're both basically my sisters … And I've missed you so much." Hope confesses, the tears starting to fall again.
The Mikaelson girl tries to wipe her tears away, but new ones always replaces them. After a couple of seconds, and many attempts, Hope gives up. She just has to accept that she won't stop crying any time soon.
"Last night made me realize just how much I truly needed you… I'm so sorry it took me so long..." She sobs.
Josie's arms circle around Hope's waist and suddenly the tribrid is being crushed in a hug by the brunette, leaving Lizzie a little behind. It takes a second for the blonde to collide into Hope's back again, and the auburn haired girl has never felt more crushed and loved at the same time.
"Idiot." Lizzie says through her own tears, but it comes out with fondness rather than bitterness.
"Lizzie, stop it." Josie says, sending a glare at her sister over Hope's shoulder.
Hope lets out a soft chuckle though, so Josie's face softens.
"We never gave up on you, you know? We just took our distance because we thought that was what you wanted." The brunette says softly while looking into the tribrids eyes. "And as far as I'm aware, you are our sister , Hope. We love you, and you'll always be a part of us."
"You're forgiven dummy." Lizzie adds, leaving a kiss on her shoulder. "Just never do that again or I'll kick your ass."
Josie rolls her eyes at her sister's words before giving her attention back to Hope. "I'm not letting you push us away again."
"Good." The tribrid says in a sigh, feeling her heart swelling with love.
"That said. You're not leaving this room today."
"Lots of cuddles?" The tribrid asks with hope filling her voice.
The brunette chuckles. "Yes, you'll get all the cuddles you want. Mom gave us the day off."
Hope smiles gratefully. "Thanks, I really need that after last night."
"What happened last night anyway?" Lizzie quickly asks.
"I had a nightmare…" Hope winces. "Today is-"
"Your mom…" Josie says softly. "We know."
The tribrid nods. "It was just so horrible. I saw her die again, heart ripped out of her chest. I saw my dad die too. You two, your parents… Everyone I love." With that, sobs started to make her shake again.
"Hey… Hey, it's okay." The blonde twin says as she tightens her hold one more time."You don't have to talk about it. You're okay. We're okay."
The twins both whisper comforting words. They tell Hope time and time again that they love her, that they're both there for her now and that everything is gonna be okay.
It takes a while for Hope to calm down, but when she does, the room falls silent. Josie is softly playing with Hope's hair, a simple thing she's been doing ever since they were kids. Lizzie is just holding the tribrid close, sometimes rubbing gentle circles on Hope's skin.
They stay in that comfortable silence for a while, just enjoying the time they can finally share together. It's only when there's a soft knocks on the door that the girls seem shaken out of their quiet peace. A second later, Caroline's head pokes in and she smiles fondly as her eyes fall on them.
"Hi sweeties, can I come in?" The blonde woman asks with a soft smile.
The three girls all answer in their own way, getting a light laugh out of the vampire. She missed seeing them like this. Caroline pushes the door open and walks into her daughters' room. As soon as Lizzie's eyes fall on the food in her mother's hands, she's out of bed and jogging to get some. Hope rolls her eyes.
"Trading me already? I thought we were having a cuddly day, Liz."
"Josie's still cuddling you." Lizzie says with a shrug. "Stop whining Mikaelson, I heard your stomach growling, do you want me to get you food or not?." She teases.
Hope groans. "Fine!" She gives a quick look to Josie. "Are you hungry?"
The brunette nods, so the tribrid releases her hold on Josie's waist allowing her to get up too. It takes a couple of seconds, but soon enough the three girls are all up and ready to eat the food Caroline brought for them.
"Oh, Hope, I also got some clothes from your room." The woman says with the same soft smile she seems to always have. "I thought you'd like to take a shower and change."
The tribrid takes the offered backpack with a grateful smile. She opens it to find a few options of clothes, including her "I love New Orleans" shirt in it. For some reason, that brings tears to her eyes. It quickly gets the twins and Caroline worried, but when they see a smile reappear on Hope's face, they share a confused look.
"Thank you Caroline." The Mikaelson girl says. "I really appreciate it."
The vampire woman watches as her daughters and Hope settle on Josie's bed to eat. They all talk a little, but Caroline mostly watches. She makes sure the Mikaelson girl eats enough, and empties her cup of blood. It warms her heart to see them almost as close as they used to be before Hope lost her parents. For a moment, the woman wonders what pushed Hope to finally reach out to the twins, not that she'd ask though.
When the girls are done eating, they all clean up quickly. Then, Josie and Lizzie go back to the bed and Hope goes to follow. Just before she sits back next to Josie with the intention to get some more cuddles, Lizzie stands up and stops her. Hope frowns and opens her mouth to ask what's going on, but the blonde twin beats her to it.
"No. Shower first, cuddles later. You smell."
"What? I don't-"
Josie chuckles, cutting off Hope's words. "Go. You'll get all the cuddles you could ever want when you're done."
Hope opens and closes her mouth a couple of times before she rolls her eyes and turns around to grab the backpack full of her clothes.
"Well, it's time for me to go girls." Caroline announces. "I'll come back later."
"Thanks mom!" The twins say together.
"Thank you Caroline." Hope adds softly.
The blonde woman gives them all a quick hug before she walks out of the room. Hope doesn't waste another second, as soon as Caroline is out of the door, the tribrid goes to the bathroom. She quickly gets into the shower, and sighs as the warm water makes contact with her skin. At first, she intended to only take a quick shower, but it got longer when she realized just how good it actually felt.
It's only when the water starts to get colder that Hope realizes how long she's been in there. The tribrid sighs, but this time it's more an annoyed sigh. She turns off the water and steps out of there. She grabs a towel and dries herself before looking through the bag again. Underwear, leggings, shirt… and her toothbrush! Caroline really thought of everything.
It takes Hope a couple of minutes to get dressed and wash her teeth. Then, she stops for a moment and look at herself in the mirror. She thinks about pulling her hair in a messy bun, but then another idea comes to her.
The tribrid steps out of the bathroom with a shy smile. The twins are talking quietly, both still sitting on Josie's bed. The brunette quickly gets up when she sees Hope walk back into the room, and that's when the Mikaelson girl notices the piece of fabric in Josie's hand.
The brunette twin smiles and hands Hope the hoodie in her hands.
"Here…"
Hope takes it and looks down at it before giving Josie a confused frown.
"It's one of my hoodies. We thought… since you already have one of Lizzie's, I could give you one of mine too."
Hope's frown quickly leaves place to a full blown smile. Without missing another second, she pulls Josie in a tight hug. The brunette hugs her back just as tightly. When the hug is done, Hope wastes no time and puts the hoodie on. It's not as big as Lizzie's, but still way too big for the tribrid. Josie's scent is strong, and it makes Hope feel even safer than she already felt. She sighs and then looks back at the twins. They're both looking right back at her with matching soft smiles.
"Do you want to braid my hair?" Hope asks with a smile, knowing full well how her sisters will react.
Lizzie's whole face lights up and Josie claps excitedly. The brunette quickly takes one of Hope's hand in hers and pulls her to the bed.
"Sit down, I'll go get everything we'll need!" Josie says with a wide smile
The Saltzman girl disappears for no more than a minute before coming back and sitting next to the tribrid on the bed. Each twin starts to work on a braid, like they've done so many times before. Hope always loved to have someone play with her hair, she finds it incredibly soothing. The Saltzman girls work in silence, and it makes the Mikaelson girl a little nervous.
"Lizzie… how is it going with Emma?" Hope hesitantly asks, not sure if she even has the right to ask.
The blonde's fingers stop for a second, or maybe two, but then she keeps working on her braid.
"Good. We're having meetings once a week, Josie makes sure I take my medication and… I think I'm doing good."
Lizzie gives her sister a look, almost as if to make her confirm what she just said. Josie smiles and gives a little nod making the blonde twin smile too. Hope hums, and a soft smile appears on her lips too.
"I'm happy to hear that." The auburn haired girl pauses before focusing her attention on the other Saltzman girl. "And you Jo? How's it going with Jade? I saw how happily in love you are."
Josie's cheeks immediately turn bright pink. "We've just started dating, love is a strong word."
"But you are, aren't you?" Hope says, gently teasing the brunette girl.
The blush gets darker, but then the siphon sighs and chuckles. "Yeah…"
If Hope could have turned around, she would have seen the dreamy smile on her sister's lips, but Lizzie's giggle gives her a pretty good idea of the look on Josie's face. Hope's smile gets a little wider. Her sisters are good, they're happy, and that's enough to make her feel so much better.
They chat about a little bit of everything as the twins work on Hope's hair. Lizzie jokes around a lot, making Josie and Hope laugh. The tribrid is a little sad when she can tell the braiding is coming to an end, but then there's a knock on the door. The blonde twin quickly ties the end of her braid, and then she stands and goes to open the door. Hope tries to turn her head, but then Josie softly tugs on her hair.
"I'm not done yet!" The brunette says, making the tribrid roll her eyes.
So Hope stops moving, but she focuses her attention on Lizzie and the person that is standing outside of the twin's bedroom. As soon as the blonde opens the door, she rolls her eyes and lets out an annoyed sigh.
"I had a feeling you'd stop by." Lizzie says.
"Who is it Liz?" Hope asks her sister .
"It's Satan. In a crop top." Lizzie pauses as she gets a good look at Penelope's shirt. "An infuriatingly pretty one actually. Where did you get it?"
"Wouldn't you like to know." The raven haired witch teases with a smirk.
"Come on Satan, spill."
"Karma's a bitch isn't it, 'Voldemort'." Penelope remarks cryptically.
Lizzie seems to get what she means though, cause an annoyed sigh leaves her mouth, which only amuses Penelope. The short haired witch, then arches an eyebrow.
"Will you let me in or what?"
The siphon quickly looks at Hope over her shoulder, lifting a brow in a silent question. The tribrid nods, a bit too quickly, making Lizzie smirk. Then she rolls her eyes one more time as she opens the door wider and stands to the side, allowing Penelope to walk inside. The blonde closes the door when the Park witch is in, and then she walks to the bed and sits back down.
"Hi Penny." Josie greets with a smile.
Penelope gives her best friend a soft smile. "Hey Jojo."
Her eyes fall on Hope, but before she can say 'hi' to the tribrid, Lizzie speaks up again.
"To what do we owe the displeasure of your presence here, Satan?"
"None of your business, Voldemort." The short haired witch immediately says back, as if they rehearsed this very conversation before.
Josie sighs as she ties the end of Hope's braid. "For how long are you two gonna keep pretending that you don't like each other?"
Penelope smirks. "I don't know what you're talking about, Jojo."
Lizzie chuckles. "Yeah. No idea either…"
The two witches exchange a look, and soon enough Penelope winks at the blonde twin, both of whom knowing exactly what Josie's talking about. Hope watched the whole scene unfold. At first confused, then a little worried and only to end up amused by their playful banter.
It takes a couple of seconds for Hope to realize that Penelope never actually acknowledged her presence since she walked into the room. For some reason she feels hurt, but she does her best to ignore it.
Penelope walks over to Josie and hands her a piece of paper folded in two.
"Your girlfriend got worried when she heard you weren't gonna go to class." The witch says. "She wanted to come over here herself, but… You know she has a lot to catch up in class, so I offered to come instead. She wrote you this."
It doesn't take long before Josie is on her feet and taking the note from Penelope.
"Thanks Penny… For not letting her skip class, you know?"
"You're welcome Jojo, now go and read the note…" The Park girl says with a teasing smile."I know you're dying to."
Josie nods and quickly goes to sit on her chair by her desk, but not without glancing back at Hope. The tribrid smiles fondly and gestures for her to go ahead. As soon as the brunette twin is gone from Hope's side, Penelope replaces her. The Mikaelson girl watches her friend sit down, not even noticing the faint blush covering her own cheeks.
Lizzie quickly nudges Josie, making sure they both were seeing the same thing. The Saltzman twins exchange a knowing look, but when a teasing smirk appears on the blonde's lips, the brunette is quick to softly slap her arm in warning.
"Hey you…" Penelope says quietly, as it is only meant for Hope's ears.
"Penelope, hi." The tribrid answers with a little smile.
The short haired witch is about to speak again when Josie's voice cuts her off.
"Do you mind if I answer it?" She asks holding the note up.
Penelope smiles and shakes her head. "Go ahead Jojo, I'll be your personal postwoman today."
"Thanks Pen." Josie smiles one last time and then she turns around and starts writing.
The ravenette opens her mouth, but she's once again cut off.
"I'm gonna take a shower while Josie writes her love note." Lizzie says with an exasperated sigh, then she looks at Hope. "You'll be okay?" She asks softly, her voice helding no traces of the fake annoyance it had seconds before.
Hope bites her lip, but she nods. Lizzie quickly looks from Hope to Penelope and then back to Hope. She gives the tribrid a nod too, and then she goes to the bathroom with her clothes in hands.
"Finally…" Penelope mutters.
Hope chuckles, her vampire hearing caught that very well. The little laugh gets her a fond look from the Park witch, a look that makes the tribrid quickly advert her eyes.
"How are you doing, Hope?" The short haired girl asks, hoping to spark a conversation between them.
"I'm good." Hope says, and when she sees Penelope's expression of disbelief, she decides to add something else. "I'm good now."
"You know…" The witch starts, not quite meeting Hope's eyes anymore. "It got me worried when I saw you weren't in class this morning. I went to Caroline and she told me you were here, and that you wouldn't be attending class at all today. That's when I decided to come."
The tribrid smiles a bit teasingly. "I thought it was to deliver Jade's note."
Penelope winks at Hope. "That was just an excuse to come see you."
"Oh…"
"Wanna tell me what happened?" Penelope asks so softly that warms the tribrids heart.
It makes Hope hesitate. She scans the raven haired girl's face, but all she sees there is genuine care and worry. So, the tribrid takes a deep breath.
"I had a nightmare, uh… a bad one." Hope swallows with difficulty. "I came here, without even really knowing what I was doing. They took care of me... So, now I'm good."
Penelope smiles and nods. She's a little surprised by the little details Hope was willing to give her. She wasn't expecting much when she asked, but the witch is happy the tribrid decided to confide a little to her. They're slowly making progress.
Penelope knows she won't get more though, so she easily changes the subject. She proceeds to tell Hope the adorable reaction Jade had when she heard Josie wasn't coming to class that morning. It makes the tribrid smile, and it's honestly the only thing Penelope was hoping for.
It's not long after that that Josie joins them. She sits down on Hope's other side and easily cuddles her. The Park witch watches with curious eyes as the Mikaelson girl welcomes the embrace with a soft smile. They keep talking, Penelope's eyes never really leaving the embracing duo.
Then, Lizzie gets out of the bathroom, she quickly takes Josie's place and cuddles the auburn haired girl as her twin goes to take a shower too. Hope welcomes Lizzie's cuddles just as easily as she welcomed Josie's and suddenly Penelope feels jealous. Usually, she'd have a hard time admitting that, even to herself, but now there was no denying the feeling in her chest. She quickly looks away, hoping it would help to subside the jealousy. It helps when the blonde Saltzman girl starts their playful banter again. It keeps her mind off of the fact Hope isn't in her arms.
It's not too long before Josie's out of the shower. The brunette looks fondly at the three girls sitting on her bed. She joins them, and then they fall into easy conversation. Every girl notices how quiet Hope seems to be, but no one says a thing about it. The tribrid is smiling, listening and cuddling, and that's good.
They get lost into the conversation, and Hope feels so happy with just being there that none of them see the hours pass until there's a knock on the door. Before anyone can stand up to open it, Caroline walks in, closely followed by MG. They're carrying two plates of food each. They both greet the girls in the room but then, the tribrid's stomach growls, and Lizzie gives her a side look.
"How can you already be so hungry when we ate so much this morning?"
Hope shrugs. "I'm basically always hungry."
It gets a couple of chuckles from everyone in the room, and a fond smile from Penelope, a smile that Josie quickly catches. The Saltzman girl playfully nudges her best friend, getting an annoyed eye roll in return.
"Penelope…" Caroline starts with a soft glare. "We'll talk later about you skipping class, is that clear?"
The short haired girl shrugs with a smile. "Yes, ma'am."
Their lunch is spent with little conversations, laughter and comfortable silences. Hope is sitting down on the floor between the twins. In front of them are Caroline, Penelope and MG. With the witch in front of her, the tribrid finds herself blushing and avoiding her eyes from time to time. When they're all close to be done with their lunch, Penelope stands up. Hope's eyes follow her almost automatically.
"I think I should deliver your note Jojo."
Caroline frowns. "What note?"
The Park girl smirks. "She wrote a little note for her girlfriend."
Everyone watches as Josie's cheeks suddenly turn bright pink. The only person who's not amused is Hope. The auburn haired girl's face falls, she didn't expect Penelope to leave so soon. She thought they'd spend the day together, with the twins. The blonde vampire quickly catches the disappointed look on Hope's face, so she decides to stand too.
"Since you already skipped half of your classes, I think you should stay here." Caroline extends a hand. "Give it to me, I'll hand it over to Jade."
Before Penelope can place the piece of paper in the vampire's hand, Josie quickly snatches it away. The siphoner's cheeks are now dark red, clearly really embarrassed.
"You know what? I'll just send it over with magic."
Then, the brunette goes back to sitting next to Hope. She looks the tribrid in the eyes as she places her hand on Hope's arm. The Mikaelson girl nods, giving her consent for Josie to siphon some magic. The Saltzman girl's hand turns red, and as soon as she feels enough magic coursing through her body, Josie whispers a spell. The note burns in her hand, Turning into sparks before vanishing.
"Of course you'd use a fire spell to send it over." Hope chuckles.
"Shut up." Josie says before gently shoving the tribrid.
"I think it's time for MG and I to go." Caroline says, a soft smile on her lips.
The boy is quick to stand up and follow the head mistress to the door.
"Bye girls…" His eyes linger on the blonde twin. "Bye Lizzie."
As soon as the door closes behind the two vampires, Penelope directs a serious stare at Lizzie.
"Okay. Either you go on a date with him, or you tell him it's not gonna happen." She says sternly. "Stop playing with his feelings."
Lizzie snorts and rolls her eyes. "I have no idea of what you're talking about Park!"
"You'd have to be totally blind to miss his heart eyes!" The short haired witch shoots back. "The boy's been in love with you since the day you met!"
The blonde opens her mouth, but soon closes it again. She avoids Penelope's eyes, and stays silent for a while. When she looks back at Penelope there's a glint in her eyes.
"You'd know everything about the heart eyes wouldn't you, Park?"
Hope's eyes grow a little wider at that, and for some reason, the thought of Penelope being into someone makes her heart clench. The tribrid is pretty sure she's the person who's been spending the most time with the Park witch recently. So who could it be? She quickly shakes the thought away. It's not like she wants the raven haired girl crushing on her. Right?
The short haired witch is fuming. She can't believe Lizzie brought it up like this, in front of Hope. She feels like she could murder the Saltzman girl right now. She's about to fire back with something not so nice when Josie's voice cuts her off.
"How about a game of Monopoly?!"
Hope, Lizzie and Penelope all look at the brunette. The Saltzman girl has a hopeful, yet nervous smile. It makes all of them feel a little guilty about the fight that was about to happen. No one wanted to hurt Josie, or even make her a little bit sad.
"Sure Jo." Hope agrees with a smile.
Lizzie stands up. "I'll get the game."
The game lasts hours, and the Mikaelson girl is enjoying it way too much. She manages to buy a few good properties, has a ton of money and she even gets to tease Lizzie. The blonde siphoner always hated this game. Ever since they were kids. Lizzie Saltzman never won a single game of Monopoly. Penelope is a great addition to their game. The girl is clearly competitive and ruthless, and it makes Hope chuckle a couple of times.
Lizzie is the first one to lose, then goes Josie. Hope and Penelope are the only ones left. The witch has a ton of money, and almost all the properties. The tribrid knows full well where this is going.
"Fine Park…" Hope sighs. "You win."
"Don't pout Mikaelson… You beat me everyday in training." Penelope says with a wink.
The tribrid shakes her head with a little smile.
"God! I'm exhausted!" Lizzie says dramatically from where she's laying on her bed.
"Tired of losing, Voldemort?" Penelope teases, getting a glare from the girl which only makes her chuckle rather fondly at the blonde girl. "We could watch a movie then."
Josie or Lizzie exchange an excited look.
"Pillow fort!" They say together.
Without waiting for a reply, the twins get to work under the amused eyes of Hope and Penelope.
"Hey…" Penelope whispers.
Hope jumps at that. She quickly looks to her right, where Penelope is standing. She honestly didn't think the witch was so close to her. Hope can feel herself blush, so she quickly looks back at the twins.
"Yeah?"
"I'm gonna go back to my room for a moment. I want to shower and get out of my uniform." Penelope explains.
The Mikaelson girl crosses her arms over her chest, doing her best to seem indifferent. "Sure, you do what you gotta do."
"Okay… I'll see you in a bit." Penelope smirks.
Then her next move takes the tribrid off guard. The witch leaves a quick kiss on Hope's cheek, it was barely there, but it still left the Mikaelson girl completely dazed. Before she can react, Penelope excuse herself to the twins and leaves the room. Josie and Lizzie glance at their sister , still standing in the same spot where the Park witch left her. They watch as Hope's fingers graze the skin that made contact with Penelope's lips.
"She's so whipped…" Lizzie whispers to her twin.
Josie gives a little slap to her twin's arm. "Stop it. You know she can hear you if she wants to!"
When the twins are done assembling the fort, the three girls quickly settle inside of it. Hope sees it as an opportunity to cuddle her sisters again, since she didn't get as much cuddles as she was promised when the day started. The twins gladly welcome the embrace, and then Lizzie suggest they choose the movie while Penelope is away. Hope and Josie share a little look, knowing full well the person who's gonna choose the movie is Lizzie, and only Lizzie.
They fall into a comfortable silence for a few minutes, just enjoying the moment. Then, there's a knock on the door, quickly followed by Penelope's voice "It's me, I'm coming in."
Hope watches as Penelope walks through the door, and in that moment she's happy that no one else in the room has super hearing, cause she's sure her heart just skipped a few beats at how beautiful the girl looks dressed in black leggings and an oversized white sweater. Her wet hair looks even darker, making her hazel green eyes pop.
How does she look so beautiful in such casual clothes?!
Little did she know that Penelope thought the exact same thing when she laid her eyes on the tribrid earlier this morning.
"I brought ice cream." The Park girl says with a smile. "And… a sandwich for the tribrid."
Hope immediately smiles at that, and her stomach makes a noise letting everyone in the room know it was a good idea. The three girls that are already in the fort sit up, and Penelope quickly joins them. Lizzie and Josie are both sitting on the right side of the fort while Penelope and Hope took the left side. The Park witch gives the twins a bowl of ice cream each and then she hands the tribrid her sandwich.
Hope smiles as she sees how much attention Penelope put into this. The sandwich contains lots of meat, salad… and no tomatoes. The witch remembered Hope doesn't like them. Then, Penelope carefully wrapped the sandwich, which would make it easy to eat without making a mess. The Mikaelson girl addresses a grateful smile to her friend before carefully unwrapping her sandwich.
"Let's start the movie." Lizzie says, her smile big.
"What?" Penelope says with a frown. "Aren't we choosing together? Or at least vote on it?"
"No, we are not." The blonde answers as she starts the movie.
Hope rolls her eyes as she sees the all too familiar first scene of Starstruck playing on the screen. Slowly, she lets her eyes wander to the twins. Josie's head is casually resting on Lizzie's shoulder. The cuddling seems nothing more than natural and comfortable. For a moment, Hope's eyes stay glued on them. Then, she bites on her bottom lip before looking to the girl sitting next to her.
Penelope's eyes are on the TV screen. She's watching the movie until she feels the Mikaelson girl's eyes on her. Slowly, she turns around and meet Hope's eyes. As soon as she's caught, Hope looks down, and then back at the movie. It only makes the witch wonder what was going on in the tribrid's head. She decides to look over at the twins, maybe they knew what was going on. When Penelope sees them cuddling, a soft smile graces her lips before a thought comes crashing through her brain.
Her eyes go back to Hope. The tribrid doesn't meet her eyes even though she feels Penelope's gaze on her.
"You want me to hold you, don't you?" The raven haired girl whispers in such a soft voice that it overshadows any hints of the soft teasing she intended to include in those words.
Hope's head quickly turns and suddenly — even though her face heats up — she has no problem meeting Penelope's eyes.
"Would you mind?" She asks in a shy whisper.
Before the short haired girl can answer, they're interrupted by giggles coming from the twins. At first, Penelope thinks they're laughing at what happens on the screen, but she soon sees that the girls are actually looking at them.
"What?" Hope sends the Saltzman twins a glare. "I'm small, okay?"
The tribrid's words only send the two girls in another fit of laughter. She's about to say something else when she feels Penelope's hand softly takes hers.
"Whatever you say, Hope." The raven haired girl's also chuckling quietly, but the look in her eyes is gentle. "Come here…"
The ravenette tugs on the tribrid's hand, and Hope lets herself be pulled in, but not without rolling her eyes in the process. Penelope's hand goes around Hope's waist, gently tugging her closer again. When they're comfortably snuggling, with the tribrid's head resting on the witch's shoulder, the Mikaelson girl sighs. This definitely feels good. Somehow, it's very different than when she'd cuddle with one of the twins. With them, she feels safe and their embrace is familiar. She still feels safe in the raven haired girl's arms, but there's something else. Something that makes her heart almost skip a beat.
Instead of dwelling on that, Hope decides to take another bite of her sandwich. When she's done with it, and Penelope is done with her ice cream, they move and lay down on the pillows. Hope cuddles even more into Penelope's side, and the witch says nothing as she tightens her embrace.
The raven haired witch sees how the tribrid's eyes look heavier with every second passing by. When Hope finally surrenders herself to sleep, Penelope smiles fondly down at her. She's never seen the older girl look so peaceful before… It looks good on her. It's just sad she doesn't get to see Hope's beautiful blue eyes as she has this expression on her face.
They get further into the movie, and suddenly there's a loud noise that comes from the screen. Penelope flinches, afraid it would wake Hope up, but the tribrid only groans quietly before burying her face deeper in the witch's neck. When the Mikaelson girl's nose brushes her skin, Penelope stops breathing for a second. Then, she can't stop a lovesick smile from stretching her lips as she looks down at the tribrid.
"Do you realize what it means?" Penelope looks at Josie — who has an amused little smile on her lips — and then the brunette adds something else. "I mean… For her to actually fall asleep in your arms?"
The fond smile never disappears from Penelope's lips, but now a light blush is added to the mix.
"Shut. Up." The raven haired witch mouths to her friend.
She's not sure if she wants Josie to stop teasing her, or if she just wants her to stop talking because she might wake Hope up. Still, Josie rolls her eyes before focusing her attention on the movie again. The Park witch decides to do the same. At one point, she starts rubbing little circles on Hope's skin, and she could swear Hope released a heavy sigh when she started.
During the whole movie, Hope sleeps peacefully, nothing disturbing her anymore. It's actually almost done when there's a soft knock on the door. The three girls that are still awake look at each other curiously, and then they hear the door open. Josie quickly pokes her head out of the fort to see who would come inside before they got invited. She's relieved to see her mother there, just taking in the scene in front of her.
Caroline is smiling. "Is there room for two more in the cuddle pile?"
"Sure!" The brunette answers sweetly, but then she frowns.
Before she can say anything though, Lizzie's head pokes out of the fort right beside Josie's and she beats her to it.
"Wait, two?"
Rebekah suddenly walks into the room, a wicked smile on her lips.
"How are my girls doing?"
Penelope frowns when she hears the voice since it doesn't sound familiar at all, but then the twins both squeal happily and run out of the fort. It's at that moment that Hope stirs into Penelope's arms. The short haired witch looks down just in time to see the tribrid's beautiful ocean eyes flutter open. They look in each other's eyes no more than a second before Hope looks away shyly, her face heating up.
"Aunt Rebekah!" Both twins exclaim excitedly as they throw themselves into the Original's outstretched arms. Rebekah's lifts them from the ground, swaying them gently in her tight embrace, an amused smirk on her lips.
The tribrid quickly sits up at that, and before Penelope can react, she's rushing out of the fort.
"Aunt Rebekah?!" Hope says, not believing her own ears.
The Original releases the twins before she brings her niece in a tight hug, feeling Hope burying her face in her neck as soon as the embrace starts. She can feel the happiness radiating out of the auburn haired girl, and it brings a soft smile to her lips.
"Hello darling, how are you doing?"
Hope gets her face out of her aunt's neck to look up at her. "I-I uh… I'm okay. Auntie Bex… what are you doing here?"
"A dear friend of mine said my niece needed me, so I hopped in the first plane to get here."
The tribrid immediately knows Rebekah is referring to Caroline, so she looks to the twin's mom and gives her a grateful smile. The Mikaelson woman's gaze fall on the pillow fort Hope just came out of, and she lifts a brow.
"How was your day, sweetheart?" The Original vampire asks with a fond voice. "It looks like you guys had fun."
Hope's eyes follow her aunt's. "It was amazing… and it's even better now."
They smile at each other, and then they're broken out of their moment when Penelope crawls out of the fort. The short haired girl stands up and looks at all the people in the room, her eyes finally landing on Hope and her aunt.
Rebekah smirks. "You must be Penelope."
The Park girl's jaw almost hits the floor. "Y-you know who I am?"
Rebekah chuckles. "Yeah... " She gestures at Hope and Josie. "These two won't shut up about you."
Lizzie tries her best to contain her laughter. First, it was Penelope fangirling over her aunt, and now the look on Hope and Josie's faces… Just when she feels like she'll break, there's a knock on the door. This time, the person on the other side waits until they're invited in to walk inside the room.
MG walks in with a box in hand, and a wide smile on his lips.
"Good evening ladies!" He looks at Caroline. "I got everything you wanted Caroline! The food, plates, forks, knives… Glasses! Because I also brought you some blood. I thought of everything."
The vampire woman walks to him and takes the boxes from his hands. She manages to keep a straight face when she sees the bags of animal blood in the box. What a clueless, yet adorable, boy…
"Thank you so much MG."
He nods. "Of course." His eyes land on Lizzie. "Hi Lizzie…"
"Hi MG." The blonde twin answers, avoiding his eyes.
He clears his throat. "Good night everyone!"
He runs out of the door at vampire speed. Caroline sets the box on Lizzie's bed and sighs.
"What's wrong love?" Rebekah asks as she gets closer.
"Come and see for yourself."
The Original vampire walks to the box, closely followed by Hope. The tribrid scrunches her nose in disgust as soon as her eyes land on the animal blood.
"I am so not drinking that."
"Of course not, sweetie." Caroline answers. "I'm gonna get that back to the kitchen and bring back the real stuff."
At vampire speed, Caroline gets out of the room.
"Let's prepare everything while she's gone." Rebekah says.
By the time Caroline gets back with human blood bags in hands, the girls prepared all the plates and they're ready to eat. They all settle on the floor to eat, and Caroline pours the blood in three different cups. She hands one to Rebekah, and one to Hope. Penelope subtly glances at the tribrid as she brings the cup to her lips, unable to keep her curiosity at bay.
The meal is filled with light conversation, but when the short haired witch is done eating she's harshly brought back to reality.
"Penelope, I have to speak with you." Caroline says, and when the Park girl opens her mouth, the vampire lifts a hand to silence her. "Privately."
Hope watches the headmistress lead her friend to the bathroom with worry in her heart. She wonders what it could be all about. It can't be about Penelope skipping class, Caroline looked way too serious for that.
"Do you know what this is about?" Hope asks her aunt.
The blonde woman is surprised to hear so much worry in the tribrid's words.
"I-I have no idea sweetheart." Rebekah says with an apologetic smile.
Then all of sudden, Penelope storms out of the bathroom and back into the twins' bedroom.
"Of course they don't need me there!" She yells angrily. "Their prodigal son is on the way after all!"
The witch quickly stops talking and walking when she realizes every eyes in the room are on her. Caroline's news got her so mad she actually forgot where she was. Rebekah, Hope and Lizzie all have that pity in their eyes and it makes Penelope feel like running out of the room. It's only when she catches Josie's understanding gaze that Penelope decides to stay.
"Penny..." Josie softly says."What happened?"
Penelope knows Josie is well aware of what that was about, but when she meet the shiphoner's eyes is like she could hear her saying; It's okay, you can talk to us. We're all here for you.
She takes a deep breath and sits back down next to Hope.
"I… I, uh, have family problems." Penelope says, then she swallows the lump in her throat before speaking again. "My parents always wanted a son… Let's just say I was a disappointment before I was even born. Since then, they did everything they could to act as if I don't exist. And now that my brother is on the way, they don't even want me in the coven's annual meeting."
Every word coming out of Penelope's mouth is said with the same anger, the same venom. However, the tears spilling on her cheeks tell another story. Hope's heart completely breaks as she sees her usual confident friend being so upset. Seeing Penelope in this state is totally unbearable, and it fills the tribrid with the need to protect her, to keep her from ever shedding a tear again.
Hope walks on her hands and knees until she can sit behind Penelope. When she's there, the tribrid places her legs on each side of Penelope's own. Then, she circles her arms around the ravenette's waist, hugging her close.
"It's okay to be sad Pen…" Hope whispers close to the Park girl's ear.
With Hope's arms around her and the tears clouding her eyes, it comes crashing through her that she is indeed devastated by her parents' actions.
"W-what if… what if they don't even let me meet him?" Penelope manages to say through her tears.
"Wait a second sweetie." Rebekah says suddenly. "I'm really sorry to interrupt, but what is your last name again?"
"Park."
"As in Cassandra Park?" The Original pushes.
The raven haired girl frowns. "Do you know my mother ?"
The blonde woman nods. "I met her a couple of years ago when I was looking for a way to stop the Merge. She never mentioned having a daughter… Now I know why."
Rebekah reaches out and takes of Penelope's hand in hers and gives it a gentle squeeze.
"Don't worry love, you'll meet your brother. I'll make sure of it." She manages to say gently despite the rage boiling inside of her.
Penelope gives the woman a grateful smile, somehow trusting every word coming out of her mouth. Hope's hold only gets tighter after that, and it allows the raven haired girl to relax a little more with every second passing by. At one point, the tribrid rests her chin on Penelope's shoulder, making the Park witch lean into her even more. Hope keeps whispering comforting words to the other girl. She stops when she feels that Penelope is relaxed in her arms. They fall into a comfortable silence until the short haired witch lets out a heavy sigh.
"God, I'm exhausted." Penelope quietly says.
Gently, Penelope pushes Hope's arms away so the tribrid is no longer holding her. She gives a little smile over her shoulder to the Mikaelson girl, and then she stands up.
"I think I'll head back to my room." Penelope says, slowly walking to the door.
Hope is quick to follow her, not really knowing why she does, but walking the witch to the door seems to be the right thing to do. Penelope stops when she's at the door, she turns around and looks at everyone in the room. They all have soft and understanding looks on their faces, and for a second, it makes Penelope shy. The last person she looks at is Hope.
The girl who owns her heart and doesn't even know it…
"Thank you Hope." Penelope says, voice small and eyes barely meeting the Mikaelson girl's eyes.
Hope gives a little smile to the other girl before reaching for the door's handle, and opening it. She watches as Penelope stays standing there, looking even more shy and uncertain than she was a few seconds ago.
Then, all of a sudden, the short haired witch leans in and plants a lingering kiss on the tribrid's cheek. Her lips stop making contact with Hope's skin, but she stays close, whispering another "thank you" that sounds a thousand times more personal than the first one. Penelope moves away then, giving a little smile to Hope.
"Anytime…" The Mikaelson girl manages to say before Penelope disappears from her sight.
Hope closes the door then, and leans her forehead on it. Trying to make sense of everything that happened that day.
Despite the last events Hope's happy that now, her mother's death anniversary would no longer carry just a sad memory, but a wonderful one too. However, there's no denying it, the image of Penelope crying is a bittersweet stain to the memory of what could've easily been one of the best days of her life.
With that thought, Hope turns and walks back to her sisters . She definitely needs more of their cuddles now. Once she's properly sandwiched between them, she lets her mind relax even though her thoughts stay on a certain raven haired witch.
Why does seeing Penelope sad hurts so much?