Chapter 3-Fighting For Me by: Riley Clemmons
15 Years Old/17 Years Old
Over the last two years, Hope and Josie had started to develop a really good friendship. It was a rare occurrence these days to find one without the other. It had even extended a bit to Lizzie. The three would have lunch together someday.
Josie and Hope had found that they complemented each other perfectly. Josie was sweet and caring and allowed for Hope to have contact with more people, while not having to open herself too much. Josie made friends easily and those friends, the ones that mattered, accepted that Hope was part of the Josie package.
Hope, was strong, brave, and never afraid to stand up for and defend her friend. No one ever bothered Josie anymore. They knew that if they messed with Josie, that they would have to deal with Hope, and no one wanted to go against Hope.
What amazed everyone, was not that the girls were so close, but that they weren't closer. Everyone who met them, at first thought that they were dating. They were just that close and in sync, however, they would find, shockingly, that the younger girl was actually dating Penelope Park. The couple had been together for two months. They were only ever really seen together at parties. Josie wasn't technically allowed to date yet. Her father said that she could go on dates, but nothing serious until after her sixteenth birthday. What this meant, was that they were casually dating.
As for Hope, she had gone on a few dates here and there, but nothing stuck. She had gone out with Landon a few times when her first showed up to the school. It was nice, but there were no real feelings there. No spark.
She didn't really care, she was young and didn't really care much for the boys in her class. They were all only interested in her for her last name or because they were horny teenage boys.
The one thing that Hope couldn't seem to get passed however, was Josie and Penelope. She knew that her friend was really into the raven hair girl, but she couldn't figure out why. She would constantly pick fights with Lizzie, which stressed Josie out.
She didn't like Hope at all and was always telling Josie that she shouldn't hang out with her so much. Whenever Josie would say that they were best friends, the witch would always answer back the same.
"But I'M your girlfriend."
This would always cause the younger girl to become sad and withdrawn from everyone for the rest of the day. Hope hated when this happened. She hated the raven witch.
She couldn't say anything to Josie about it though. She didn't want her to be upset. So she just did her best to be there and to support Josie the same way that she did for everyone else in her life.
In truth, Hope was in love with Josie. She wanted to be with her, but she was so perfect that she felt that she wasn't good enough for the girl. In honesty, in Hope's opinion, no one was good enough for the girl. So she would take anything that Josie was willing to give her.
Two weeks before the twins sixteenth birthday, Josie burst into Hope's room crying her eyes out.
"Jo, honey, what's the matter? What happened?"
"H-hope. S-she, she ch-ch-cheated on m-me."
It took the tribrid a moment to register the words that left the younger witches mouth. When she did, she saw blood red.
There was an instant battle inside of Hope. Half of her wanting to go out and murder that bitch witch and the other half wanting to stay and comfort her best friend. Seeing Josie so upset, the latter part won out, at least for the moment.
"Oh Jo! I'm so sorry baby."
Hope pulled the taller girl into her lap and hugged her tight. She was afraid that Penelope was going to break Josie's heart, but to cheat on her. How could anyone ever do that to Josie? She was perfect!
After letting Josie cry in her arms for a good thirty minutes, Hope felt the tears start to slow and fade.
"Do you want to tell me what happened?"
"Not really."
"Do you want me to murder her for you? I mean I have at least five death spells that Aunt Freya taught me."
Pulling back and looking into her clear blue eyes, the witch could see the honesty in her words. Part of her was happy to know that Hope was on her side. The other, larger part, sadly, or not, knew she was serious.
"Hope, I need you to promise me not to kill Penelope or to cause her permanent bodily harm. Promise me."
The older girl looked into those chocolate eyes that were now rimmed in red from crying. There was nothing that she wouldn't do for this girl, but she was a woman of her word, so she always paused before promising anything to ensure that she could keep her word.
"Hope, I know you. You are thinking of everything to make sure that you can keep this promise. I know that you are not a liar, so even if you don't want to, I need you to promise me. I can't be without you. No matter what, I can't lose you. Please promise me."
"Fine. Only for you Jo. I promise, that for this offence, I will neither murder nor cause permanent bodily harm to that bitch of an ex of yours, otherwise known as Penelope Park."
Josie buried herself further into Hope's chest after receiving the promise. This is the only place that she wanted to be. More so that with Lizzie, whenever the witch was with Hope, she felt safe and cared for. Nothing could hurt her as long as the tribrid was near. In all honesty, Josie truly wished that Hope was her girlfriend.
Truthfully, she was upset mostly because of the cheating. This wouldn't have been as upsetting if Penelope had just broken up with her. She was only dating her because she asked her out. There was never going to be a future with her. She could never be with someone who didn't get alone with Lizzie or accept her relationship with Hope.
But why cheat. There was also what she had said to her. That had really hurt and had sent her straight to Hope. She couldn't talk about that though. Hope would lose it.
"Oh Jo, I'm sorry that this happened to you. But I'm here for you. Why don't we change into pjs, and we can spend the weekend eating junk food and binging slasher flicks. Sound good?"
"It sounds perfect, but Hope, its Monday."
"Oh, guess we can't start the weekend this soon then?"
This got a small laugh from the brunette.
"I think that our teachers would frown on that."
"Ok, fine, but we can cuddle tonight, I have chocolate brownies and cakes in my storage cabinet. We can hang out every night to get through the week. Then this weekend, I'll treat you to your favorite foods and treats, and we can hole up in my room. Sound like a plan?"
"It sounds perfect."
The next day, walking into the dining hall together, Josie and Hope grabbed their food and started to their table. They saw Lizzie was already sitting there with a worried look on her face. She must have heard what happened. As soon as she saw the pair she jumped up and ran to her twin.
"Oh Josie! I'm so sorry. I can't believe that bitch! And to do that to you in front of everyone!"
The panic look that passed Josie's face was enough for Lizzie to know that she hadn't told Hope.
"Did what in front of everyone?"
The twins shared a silent conversation. They knew that if Hope found out that there was no way that Penelope was going to be staying in one piece. However, they also knew that they had to tell her.
"Hope, I'll tell you, but first let's sit down."
Hope followed the twins over to her table with her and Josie's food trays in hand. After sitting at the table, she turned to the twins.
"Tell me now."
The older girl's tone left no room for arguing.
"Honey, remember what you promised me last night."
Hope merely nodded her head but said nothing. Lizzie was really glad that she was not the one that would be on the receiving end of Hope Mikaelson's wrath.
"So like I said, Penelope cheated on me."
"And?"
Shifting in her seat, Josie looked to her twin for help. How was she going to tell her this? Turns out she didn't have to, Lizzie blurted it out.
"She was making out with her new girl in the common room where everyone could see. When Josie walked in she told her it was her own fault and that if she wasn't such a prude and put out, then maybe she wouldn't have had to look elsewhere for her needs."
The brunette stared at her twin. She can't believe that she just blurted all that out.
Hope's eyes turned golden. She crushed the glass that was in her hand and then stood up. She looked down at Josie, who had a pleading look on her face.
All eyes in the dining hall turned to look at her. Once catching sight of the golden eyes, and the determined, hell bent look on her face, everyone knew that she had just found out what happened.
Hope then turned and walked out of the dining hall. Everyone who was in her path quickly jumped out of the way. They all knew that you didn't mess with Hope and if she was angry, you moved quicker.
The twins were chasing after the older girl. Both trying to calm her down before she did something that she would regret. The problem with that was that they knew as well as Hope did, she wouldn't regret a thing.
Finally, when they found Penelope with her clique in the common room, the new girl hanging off of her, Josie knew stopping Hope wouldn't happen. So she did the only thing she could in that moment. She surrendered. She placed a hand in the middle of Hope's chest and got her to look at her in the eyes.
"Just please remember what you promised me. That is all I ask. Finish this and then let's go. I don't want to waste anymore of my time on her. "
Hope nodded again, reaching up to squeeze Josie's hand in assurance that she did in fact remember her promise and walked up to the raven haired witch.
"Oh look, its Josie's lap dog. Come to bark at me? We all know that you have the teeth to bite with."
Those were the last words spoken by the witch. Hope cast a silencing spell that closed everyone's mouths in the room save hers and the twins and then cast one to freeze the others so that no one would interrupt her.
"Lizzie, you may want to go get dad. I have a feeling that there is going to be a need for the hospital wing soon."
The blond nodded and ran off. She really wanted to see what happened, but knew that it would be all over school in less than an hour any way.
Standing above Penelope, Hope picked her up by the collar of her shirt and held her a good three inches off the ground.
"Now, it isn't bad enough that you cheated. That was dumb move number one. Then you flaunt it in the common room where you knew Josie would find you and see. Dumb move number two. But no, then you tell that sweet, innocent, perfect girl, that it was her fault because she wouldn't "put out" and that you had needs. Dumb move number three."
With that, Hope had Penelope flung against a wall so hard that there were cracks growing from the impact point.
"Now, sadly, before I knew what happened, I promised not to murder you or to cause you permanent bodily harm. However, that leaves me so many options. And as you liked to remind everyone, I am Klaus Mikaelson's daughter."
Leaving that statement to hang in the air for a moment, Hope turned to Josie. One look at the sad red rimmed eyes, and it took everything in her to not reach in and pull out the witches heart and crush it.
"Now, I am a reasonable person, so I'm going to give you three options."
Josie didn't like this, she remember what happened the last time Hope gave someone three options. In fact, those three girls, currently sat frozen on the other side of the room.
"Option one, you can get on your knees and beg for Josie's forgiveness for ever daring to treat her this way. Option two, you can apologize to Josie and tell her how this was never her fault and act like a grown ass woman and take responsibility for your own actions and never talk to her again. Options number three, and this is my personal favorite, you can do nothing and I can leave you up against this wall. We need a new dart board. The choice is yours. Take a moment to decide."
Hope walked away and over to Josie. The taller girl raised her eyebrow.
"What, two out of the three only cause her damage to her pride and reputation. All she has to do is apologize. That is two thirds of the options given to her."
Just then, Lizzie came around the corner following Alaric. One look at the scene in front of him and he was shaking his head.
"Again Hope!"
Hope looked at him. Eyebrow raised and smirk firmly on her face.
"I gave her three options. She is two minutes in, I was just about to ask which option she picked."
As the shorter girl turned away to walk back over to the trapped witch, she turned back to the headmaster with that same smirk.
"And this time you can't even call my mother."
Josie actually laughed at that.
"So Penelope, I'm going to release just your mouth, and then you can make your choice. Just so you know. You get one chance to pick. My spells don't fade, ever, and I will not ask twice. So what's it going to be?"
With a wave of her hand, Hope released the silencing spell.
"Go to hell Mikaelson!"
A collective groan was heard from behind the two.
"That was the wrong answer. Hope you enjoy being a wall ornament. When I said my spells don't fade, my Aunt Freya, the most powerful witch in the world, she can't undo them."
The fear in Penelope's eyes was clear to see. Before she could say anything, Hope silenced her again and turned to walk off.
"Promise no permanent harm or murder. I always keep my promises. She choose for herself."
Alaric knew that he couldn't leave a student like this, but he also knew that without Hayley, there was truly no one in Hope's family that could help, they would probably congratulate her for protecting Josie.
'Damn Mikaelson loyalty and protectiveness!' Turning to his daughter with pleading eyes. He hated this, knowing that it was due to something done to Josie that this was happening, but she was his only hope at fixing this.
"Josie, is there any way that you could do something like the last time?"
Josie turned beat red at remembering what she had to do last time. If only her father knew what he was actually asking her to do. She almost wanted to laugh.
"I'll try."
The taller witch took hold of Hope's arm and dragged her into a nearby closet. As soon as they were in there she closed and locked the door.
Josie turned to face Hope and with no warning, wrapped her arms around her neck, and kissed her. This time the kiss wasn't as sweet or as innocent. It had a fire behind it. It caused Hope to steady herself by placing her hands on Josie's hips.
When the younger girl pulled back, Hope was still stuck in the kiss, so Josie pecked her once more.
"So I'm upping the stakes this time. If you give her another chance to apologize, you get another kiss like that. If you let her go no matter what, you can be my date to my birthday party."
It took Hope a moment, as she was still recovering from that kiss. She was pretty sure that if she died in this moment, she would have no regrets in life. Once she got her head back together, she pouted.
"That is so not fair Jo. You promised me months ago, even before Penelope, that I would be your date to your birthday!"
Josie thought for a moment. She had promised and like Hope herself, she never broke a promise. Which meant, a slight change to the offer.
"Fine, if you let her down no matter what, I'll let you be the one to take me home from the party too."
Josie was smiling. This offer, in reality, this was a win-win for her. Hope didn't need to know that though.
Hope looked at Josie with a dazed smile. She loved this girl. She really did. She never wanted to do anything to ruin their friendship, but she loved her so much.
"Promise?"
"I promise."
Removing Josie's arms from around her neck, and using every ounce of will power to remover her hands from the taller girl's hips, Hope started towards the door. Suddenly, before opening the door, she stopped and turned back to the younger girl. She looked at her with something that Josie couldn't place.
"So, if I give her a chance to make her choice, and she selects the wrong option again, I still get the kiss if I don't let her down, correct."
"Hope…"
"No. I just want to make sure that I know the deal I'm making here."
"Yes, you ask her and you get another kiss."
"As long as I let her down, then I get to take you to your party and take you home after?"
"Yes."
Smirking, Hope grabbed Josie's hand and opened the door. The two walked back into the common room where everyone was waiting to see if the brunette had been able to work her magic on the tribrid.
"Ok, so since Josie is the sweetest, nicest, most forgiving person alive, you get one more chance. Same three options. Pick."
Penelope opened her mouth as to speak, however, before she got the chance, Alaric spoke.
"Please think before you answer. I'm not sure that Josie is going to be able to do more than this."
Penelope truly looked like she was thinking about this. Hope knew what she was thinking too. She would tell her to go to hell and then try to convince Josie or Lizzie to siphon the spell away.
"Go to hell you tribrid freak!"
Josie shook her head. All that for nothing. There was no way that Hope was going to let her down now. Not even with a promise of taking her home from the party.
"You really are stupid Penelope."
Every head in the room turned to Hope, who was smiling and laughing. This was bad, this was very bad.
"Hope…"
Alaric really didn't like this. Hope's reaction could only lead to bad things.
Hope walked over to the raven haired girl and levitated herself to where she could whisper something into her ear. She spoke so softly, that not even those with super hearing could hear what she said. However, judging by the look of first shock and then horror on the girls face, they probably didn't want to know.
After floating back down to the ground, Hope turned her back on the other girl and waved her hand to allow her to fall to the ground.
Walking up to Josie she smiled and held out her hand.
"Come on Josie, I think we should go. We already missed breakfast, but we can make it in time for class."
"Ok."
Josie was stunned. She didn't know what to think.
"Oh, and you have to help me pick out my dress later. If I'm going to be your date to your birthday, we have to match."
With that, the older girl intertwined their fingers and led the way out of the common room.
Everyone was torn between watching the girls leave and looking at Penelope on the ground.
"What she say to you Pen?"
The witch looked up and shook her head. There was no way that she was repeating what the older girl had said. She fully believed her and didn't plan on testing her further.
T.B.C.