Archive of Our Own ^beta

“Hope?”

Hope curses the fact that she can’t ever seem to get a moment without almost being caught.

“Uhm, yeah?” She sits up in bed quickly, glancing down at the sleeping girl beside her. 

She can almost feel Lizzie’s suspicion from the other side of the door. 

“Why’s your door sealed with a spell? What are you doing in there?”

“Just—“ Hope scrambles to her feet. “Super tired. Didn’t want to be disturbed.”

She approaches her door slowly, muttering a reversal spell and cracking the door open just enough to pop her head out to meet Lizzie’s gaze. 

“You didn’t leave your room at all yesterday,” Lizzie points out with her signature indifferent stare. Her icy look softens after a moment. “I was worried about you.”

Hope’s heart soars, and Lizzie’s honesty makes it that much harder for Hope to lie to her face. “I’m just exhausted, y’know? Decided to pretend to be a normal teenager and sleep my way through spring break.”

For a moment, Lizzie looks like she’s going to challenge Hope’s bold faced lie, but she eventually lets out a sigh and nods slowly. “Okay. Well, Jo, MG, and I are gonna watch a movie tonight, if you want to join?”

It takes a lot of effort for Hope to refrain from turning around and glancing at her secret guest. “If I feel up to it,” Hope offers with a small smile.

Lizzie nods softly. 

Hope sees the heavily veiled disappointment in Lizzie’s eyes and it breaks her heart a little. “Thanks for checking up on me, Liz.”

Lizzie perks up, eyes brightening. “That’s what friends do... I think?”

They share a small laugh. 

“I should get back to my room,” Lizzie sighs. 

Hope nods.

“I’ll see you later?” Lizzie asks hopefully. 

Hope hesitates, and Lizzie seems to notice, because she’s quick to speak again. 

“No pressure.”

Hope smiles. “Bye, Liz.”

Lizzie turns around to walk away and Hope closes the door, letting out a sigh and dropping her head against the sturdy wood. 

“Wow, that was pathetic.”

Hope swivels to face Penelope quickly. “Fuck off. You’re the reason I had to lie to her.”

Penelope frowns. She hesitates, then begins to shuffle to the edge of the bed, pushing herself into a shaky standing position. “I should go,” she mumbles. 

Hope is quick to cross the room and catch Penelope as she stumbles. “No, no. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be so harsh.”

Hope eases Penelope back onto the bed.

“You have every right to be,” Penelope says quietly. “You didn’t ask for me to drop into your room bleeding out begging for help.”

Hope shrugs. “Seems like if it was gonna be anybody at the school, it would be me.”

Penelope snickers. “Resident hero.”

Hope scoffs good naturedly. “How are you feeling today?”

“Like my insides have been torn out and replaced,” Penelope attempts a shrug as she jokes. 

“Not many strong pain meds I can secretly acquire in the middle of the night, sorry,” Hope scratches the back of her neck awkwardly. 

“Hope, can you do me a favor?” Penelope asks quietly. 

“Jeez, what more could you possibly want from me?” Hope teases. 

Penelope offers a weak smile. 

“Tell me what you need and I’ll do it,” Hope says softly. 

“Can you find Jed and bring him here?”

Hope raises an eyebrow. “Why the hell would you want to see him of all people.”

“He’s my cousin.”

Hope’s eyes widen. “Shit, really? That makes a lot of sense, actually. I knew there was something unsettling about him.”

Penelope raises an eyebrow. “Should I be offended?”

“No, no.” Hope says quickly. “Just, he seemed familiar even though I’d barely ever interacted with him.”

“It’s the Park charm,” Penelope smirks. 

“You’re more of a dork than I would’ve thought,” Hope hops up from the bed. “Don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone.”

“Yes ma’am,” Penelope salutes her. 

Hope is still grinning as she exits her room, shaking her head to clear the amused smile from her face so she can focus on her mission.

She’s almost surprised at the fact that she doesn’t get caught or interrupted on her way to the brooding werewolf’s room. 

He is understandably surprised at her visit, offering a snarl as a greeting. “Did you get lost on your way to little alpha’s room?”

“You’re just as confrontational as your cousin, huh?” Hope raises an eyebrow at the boy. 

Jed frowns deeply. “What’s she got to do with anything?”

Hope hesitates for just a moment, unsure of how he’s going to react to this news. 

“She’s in my room right now,” Hope tells him. 

“No way she’d ever go for you, Mikaelson,” Jed scoffs. 

“She’s got a gash down the entire length of her side and she almost died two nights ago.”

She watches as he visibly deflates. 

“Take me to her.”

“That is indeed the point of my visit,” Hope confirms dryly, swiveling on her heel and beginning the trek back to her room, with Jjed following closely behind. 

“Hope?” 

She freezes in her tracks, and Jed nearly stumbles into her back. 

“Um, hi, Landon,” Hope greets slowly. 

“What are you doing with him?” Landon asks. 

Hope can feel Jed fidgeting behind her, and she worries he’ll lose his temper if he doesn’t see his cousin soon. 

“I need his help with a spell,” Hope falls back on her default lie. 

“He’s a werewolf, not a witch,” Landon says firmly, suspicion dripping from his tone.

They’ve been on good terms for a little while now, but Hope really needs him to go away before Jed’s fist gets reacquainted with his face. 

Landon scoffs. “I guess whatever you do isn’t really my business anymore.”

“You’re absolutely right,” Jed steps forward, and Hope places a hand on his chest in an attempt to both warn and placate him. “So why don’t you mind your own fucking business?”

Landon flinches. “Fine, yeah, whatever,” he takes a step back. “Good luck on your spell or whatever.”

And then he turns and leaves and Hope lets out a sigh of relief. 

“You didn’t need to be so aggressive,” she tells Jed as she begins walking again. 

“Didn’t I, though?”

And Hope is reminded once again that he is in fact Penelope’s cousin, and Penelope is known for being viscously protective of those she loves, so it only makes sense that Jed is the same way. 

They make it to Hope’s room without any further issue or interruption, and Jed barges in as soon as Hope opens the door. 

“You fucking idiot,” He scolds in a tone so soft that Hope can barely believe it’s coming from the same boy that just threatened Landon only minutes ago. 

Jed drops to his knees next to Hope’s bed, where Penelope sits offering a shy, guilty smile. 

Penelope reaches out to run a hand soothingly through his hair, and he leans into the touch. “Don’t worry so much about me, Jed. I’m a Park; tough as nails.”

“You don’t get to pull shit like this, Pen. She wouldn’t want you to die for her,” Jed says firmly. 

Penelope’s smile turns sad. “I’ll do what I have to in order to make sure she isn’t the one who dies.”

Jed lets out a long sigh, and then turns to Hope. “Thanks for keeping her alive long enough for me to kill her for being so goddamn stubborn.”

Hope chuckles. “No problem.”

“Traitor,” Penelope huffs. 

“But I do have to warn you,” Hope smirks. “Causing the death of Penelope might get you set on fire by an angry pyromaniac siphoner.”

“Speaking of...” Jed says. “Why doesn’t she know you’re here?”

Penelope frowns. “I don’t want her to worry. She’s probably on her way to being moved on and I really can’t stay after I’m healed so there’s really no need to drag her into this mess.”

“You don’t think you’d be able to walk away from her again,” Jed reads straight through her bullshit.

Penelope refuses to meet either of the gazes in the room that are searching for her eyes. “I’m tired,” she says softly. “I’m tired and scared and weak and I just want to be home. But home is in her arms and I can’t let myself be there unless I know it’ll be forever. And right now, I’m not sure it would be. It’d kill me to watch her die from up close.”

Hope watches as tears slip from Penelope’s eyes. “Wouldn’t it be even worse to know you didn’t get to love her for as long as possible?”

“I’ll always love her,” Penelope shakes her head.

Before any of them can get any more words out, there’s a loud banging on the door.

The trio inside shares a moment of panicked glances between each other before the door is slammed open. 

“What the fuck?!”

It’s Lizzie, standing with fire in her eyes, and for a moment it seems like she may conjure up some actual flames. But that’s more of Josie’s thing, so she stands silently fuming instead.

Hope stares at her with wide eyes. “Um...”

“Oh,” Lizzie frowns. “I expected to walk in on you and wolfie getting it on.”

Jed snorts. “No way in hell, blondie. Everybody knows you’ve got a claim on Mikaelson.”

Hope sends him an embarrassed glare, and a light blush creeps up Lizzie’s neck. 

“Why would you want to walk in on that scene?” Penelope scoffs. 

It’s then that Lizzie actually realizes there’s a fourth occupant of the room. 

“Someone better start explaining what the actual fuck is going on here,” Lizzie growls out. “Because you are supposed to be in Belgium staying as far away from my sister as possible.”

“Well after a couple nights ago, I’m also supposed to be dead, but nobody can get rid of me that easily,” Penelope informs her. 

Lizzie’s eyes fall to Hope, who squirms under the girl’s steely blue gaze. “You’ve been helping her and didn’t think to, I don’t know, tell me? Or Josie?”

“I asked her not to,” Penelope pipes up. 

Lizzie rolls her eyes. “Of course you did.”

“Liz...” Hope sighs. 

“It’s fine, Mikaelson,” Penelope says softly. “Don’t worry, Lizzie. As soon as I’m well enough, I’m leaving again and Josie never has to know.”

Lizzie narrows her eyes. “Why the fuck are you so,” she waves her hands erratically and lets out a strangled huff as if that properly conveys her thoughts. 

Penelope frowns, and is tempted to explain to her least favorite twin about why she actually left, but she bites her tongue, not ready for the information to get to Josie quite yet. Not until she has found the cure.

Instead, she offers her signature smirk. “If I tell you, I’d have to kill you,” she winks. 

Hope sighs, watching as Penelope’s walls shoot back up after two days of seeing her vulnerable. 

“Let’s go to your room and watch that movie, Liz,” Hope says. “I’m sure Jed can look after Penelope for a bit.”

The two cousins nod in sync and so Hope follows after Lizzie as the blonde silently skulks out of the room. 

Hope isn’t entirely surprised to get back a few hours later to find her room empty, every trace of Penelope gone except for a little note set atop the pillow.

Hope rolls her eyes affectionately at Penelope’s affinity for notes, but frowns as she reads the simple message.

“I’ll be back to save the girls we love— P”