Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Hope knew there was a reason she avoided parties like the plague.

It first started the afternoon after Miss Mystic Falls, when Lizzie burst into Hope’s room. Hope herself was working on a canvas, letting out all the pent up emotions gathered over the last week. When the younger blonde strutted in, it took the redhead by surprise, and paint got everywhere. After she inspected the damage done to her clothing, Hope turned to glare at Lizzie.

“What do you want, Lizzie?” She asked, moving around to clean herself up.

The blonde had already flung herself down onto Hope’s bed as she watched the older girl rub blue off her arm. “Alright, listen,” Lizzie began. “I know you’re going to hate it, but I’m throwing a party for my, sorry, your win at Miss Mystic Falls.”

Hope already knew where this was going. “Sure.”

“It’s in your honor, you need to be the-” Lizzie stopped. “I’m sorry, did the great, anti-social Hope Mikaelson say yes to a Lizzie Saltzman party?”

Hope huffed as she finally got the last splotch of green off wrist. She turned to look at the blonde lounging on her bed. “First of all, did you just refer to yourself in third person?”

“Maybe.”

“Secondly, I am not anti-social!” she exclaimed. “I’m just anti-being-around-tons-of-sweaty-hormonal-teenagers.”

“Whatever, my job here is done.” Lizzie pulled herself off the bed and started for the door. “Tomorrow night, eight o’ clock, don’t be late,” she called, slamming the door behind her.

Hope just rolled her eyes and went back to her art.

And now, here she was, at the Old Mill on a Saturday night, just like she promised, talking to her ex-boyfriend who had gotten her mother killed.

For what Hope told Landon, the fact that her mother was dead and her ex was the cause never left her mind when she saw Roman, always there, lingering, an intruding thought. Actually, that was why she was here. Hope obviously hadn’t told Lizzie, but she was hoping to get two things done tonight. First, thank Roman for what he did two days ago, stepping in and dancing with her when Landon bailed. Secondly, Hope was hoping word had spread to her boyfriend about the party, and that he was in attendance. So far, she hadn’t seen him, but then again, she had only seen Lizzie, when she first stepped into the Old Mill.

She spots Roman. He was near the alcoholic drinks Lizzie had set out for the partiers earlier.

“Roman!” Hope calles out. “Hey,” she says when she catches up to him, “you know that that doesn’t do anything to vampires, right?”

Roman smiles and says, “I know, I just like the taste.”

“Can we talk?” she asks. He just nods and starts walking

The pair headed to a private corner of the Mill, eliciting a few glances along the way. Neither Hope nor Roman were frequent partygoers, Hope being anti-social (maybe Lizzie was right, just this once) and Roman being off-campus all the time.

“Listen,” Hope begins when they stop walking, “I just wanted to thank you for what you did the other day.”

Roman quirks an eyebrow. “What exactly did I do?”

He killed your mom, the pesky voice in her head said. Hope pushes the thought away and forces a laugh. “You’re really going to make me say it?”

He grins. “Yup.”

She groans, her smile becoming a little more real. “Fine. Thank you, Roman, for dancing with me at Miss Mystic Falls. You didn’t have to, but I’m grateful you saved me from eternal embarrassment from two schools. Not to mention what would happen with Lizzie if I showed up without an escort.” Hope shivers. “Don’t even wanna talk about that horrendous thought.”

Roman laughs and says, “The one thing I’m scared of in this world is one Elizabeth Jenna Saltzman. I could never let you face that.”

Hope laughs a little. “Wanna catch up?” she asks, gesturing at a nearby couch.

“Sure,” Roman says, plopping down on it.

“Damn, Roman, leave a little room for me,” she grins, tossing his arm off the back of the couch. “Stop manspreading everywhere, it’s gross.”

“Gross, really, that’s the best you could come up with?”

“Of course not, Mr. Manspread-Over-A-Communal-Couch. Now that I’m thinking about it,” Hope frowns suddenly, “I’m pretty sure at least five couples have had sex on this couch.”

“Nope. Banish that thought. This couch is pure, not sex-stained, nobody’s even kissed on this couch.”

Smirking, Hope just points to two boys making out on a different couch across the room.

“Ugh,” Roman groans, dropping his forehead down on Hope’s shoulder.

It was then when Hope spotted a head of dark, curly hair stalking towards them, a frown firmly plastered over Landon’s face.

“Oh no,” she muttered. “Roman, get up,” she said, shoving the boy’s head away from her.

“Why, what’s happening?” He looked around, slightly disoriented by the loud noises and heartbeats of teenagers.

“Hi.” Landon stopped in front of them, planting his feet, firmly on the wooden floor.

“That’s happening.” Hope answered Roman’s question, looking up at the drunk mess she called her boyfriend.

“What’re you doing here, Hopey, you’re never at parties,” he slurred, taking another swift swig of the drink clasped in his hand.

“I came,” Hope reached up to take the cup away, “to talk to you and Ro-”

Landon pulled away from Hope. “Roman, huh? You came to talk to him? You never come when I ask you to, and he got your mother killed, Hope! I see where I stand now.” He was in fact, not standing, leaning against the wall as if he was going to fall any second.

Both Hope and Roman stood up, reaching for the drunk Phoenix, looking to steady him. Landon, however, pulled away from them, instead, stumbling backwards into a table.

“Fuck,” he hissed, dropping his cup. Roman and Hope stood side by side, watching Landon make an embarrassment out of himself in front of their entire school. By now, the little trio had gained most people’s attention, and Hope spotted Lizzie coming their way. She had to get this under control, now.

“Hey, hey, Landon, come on, let’s go back to school, we can talk there,” Hope said, once again reaching for the boy. And once again, Landon pulled away.

“No,” he yelled, “no, you don’t get to take me back to school. You know why? You knew we found my mother, you knew who she was and you knew how I always wondered what she was like. We, I, met her, made memories with her, and then I forgot about them. And you, you didn’t even tell me about her!” If anyone hadn’t been paying attention before, they certainly were now. Even Lizzie stopped in her tracks, watching in shock as the meager bird yelled at the tribrid.

“And what’s worse is that even fucking Saltzman knew about it! Who else did you tell, huh, Hope?” Landon swung around wildly. “Did you tell her?” he screamed, pointing at Lizzie. He chuckled darkly as a “realization” came over him. “I bet you told Roman, didn’t you? You told your new little boyfriend, completely forgetting about the one you already have, the one WHO DIDN’T GET YOUR MOTHER KILLED!”

Where tears had been pooling up in Hope’s eyes before, they now flooded over, streaming down her face. Watching the invincible Hope Mikaelson cry was too much for Lizzie. She marched down to the sentient jar of artisanal mayonnaise, got right up in his face, and started scolding.

“Do you think this is funny, Bird Boy? Do you think making fun of your girlfriend’s dead mother in front of our entire school is fun? What would happen if I started talking about your forgotten mother, who never even wanted you?” Lizzie ranted. It was too much for a drunk mess of emotions to handle, apparently. Landon’s hand started going up, up, up, and towards Lizzie’s fearful face. In a flash, Roman was there, gripping Landon’s warm hand in his colder one.

“You don’t want to do that,” he warned Landon.

Lizzie shook herself out of her stupor. “Were you about to hit me, Bird Boy? Were you about to slap me, Paprika? Aw, wait, that's too much flavor for you. I’ll show you flavor!” The blonde lunged at Landon, hands forming a circle, aiming for his neck.

There were suddenly arms around her waist. MG. “Lizzie, it’s not worth it, look at Hope,” he whispered into her ear. Lizzie twisted around in MG’s arms to look at her friend. The redhead was shaking at the scene in front of her; Roman’s hand was still around Landon’s wrist, gripping it tightly, Lizzie was flushed and angry, and Landon. God, Landon. The boy was drunk beyond belief and saying things he would surely regret if he was sober.

The sight of a teary Hope grounded Lizzie. She pulled away from MG. “Listen, Bird Boy, you need to leave. You need to get out of here and don’t bother any of us. Now, you have two options, either leave peacefully and no one gets hurt, or Roman here,” she smiled a sweet but sinister smile at the blonde boy, “will drag you out,” she finished, turning back to Landon, her face hardening. “That’s going to end in a lot more casualties, Bird Boy. Your choice,” she shrugged.

Hope watches as Lizzie’s words processed through Landon’s mind, making sense of them. Roman finally let go of Landon as he turned to Hope once more, but before he could even open his mouth, Hope said, “Leave, Landon.” The words were quiet, but they cut through the deadly silence of the room.

At Hope’s demand, Landon huffed and stormed out of the room and into the woods. As soon as the Phoenix was out of eyeshot, Hope crumbled. Lizzie’s arms were around her in a flash as she sobbed on the wooden floor. “Get them all out of here,” she heard Lizzie hiss to MG, who started ushering the teenagers out. “Roman, you too,” Lizzie said the boy, who hesitated as he watched his sobbing ex. Roman knew that him being there would only make matters worse, so he turned and filed out with everyone else.

Hope clutched one of Lizzie’s arms like a lifeline, Lizzie’s free hand going up to stroke her hair. The younger girl began muttering sweet nothings into her ear, just wanting her friend to calm down. Nothing she did helped, so Lizzie finally whispered, “What do you need, Hope?”

Hope gasped for breath. “My mom. I need my mom,” she said before dissolving into tears once again.

Lizzie’s heart clenched for the redhead. “I know, Hope, I know,” she murmured, stroking her back.

Josie was having a shitty day. No, she was having a shitty week. A shitty year, even. Everything with Miss Mystic Falls and Hope and Lizzie, then Penelope leaving, no, Josie was certainly not doing well. She was holed up in her ex’s room, avoiding her sister like the plague, having only left once, yesterday, in the middle of the night, down to the kitchen to make a snack for herself. She hadn’t eaten anything since. Instead, she was combing through every single thing Penelope had left behind in her room, carefully placing it back so it would be right where Penelope had left it when she came back. She was coming back, of course she was coming back, she would never leave Josie alone.

Somehow, Josie had managed to convince herself Penelope was on a trip to Belgium with her family, and she would be back in two weeks. Maybe it was the hunger that deluded the siphoner into thinking that. A small voice that sounded surprisingly like her mom said, you silly girl, you need to eat. You’re going crazy. You’re right, Josie thought, Penelope is gone and she’s not coming back. She’s not coming back. Those four words echoed through her mind like a ping-pong ball.

Josie started sobbing. On her knees, in the middle of her ex-girlfriend’s room, she just started sobbing.

Once she finally stopped sniffling, she layed on her side on the cold ground for a while, having no energy to move. Somehow she managed to fall asleep there, and when she awoke with a gasp, the moon was at its peak in the dark sky and the ground was a lot colder than it was a few hours ago.

Groaning, Josie pulled herself up onto the bed, smelling the scent of Penelope. Penelope, who smells exactly like this, but four thousand miles away.

“Nope, no, no, no, you cannot keep doing this to yourself anymore. Penelope is gone and she’s not coming back, idiot, no matter how hard you try. And you need to get up and take care of yourself so you don’t turn into a mess again,” Josie muttered to herself. “Great, and now you sound like a psychopath, talking to yourself. God, stop talking and just get some food.”

She glanced at the mirror Penelope had hung behind her door two years ago and took a good look at her disheveled appearance. Josie grimaced and tossed a hoodie over her head and went down to the kitchen.

She expected the kitchen to be empty at what, 2 AM? She didn’t know what time it was. But instead of only her in the cold kitchen, Landon was standing near the stove in his pajamas, dumping something into a pot.

“Landon?” Josie questioned, voice hoarse from tears and disuse. “What’re you doing?” she queried, leaning against the door.

Landon jumped at the unexpected voice behind him. When he saw who it was, he relaxed. “Oh, hey Josie. Want some soup?” he asked, showing her the vegetables in the pot.

Josie shuffled closer to look at the contents in the pot better. “Sure,” she shrugged. He nodded and started moving around to cut more veggies. As he did that, Josie hopped up and sat on the counter. “Are you any good at cooking?” she asked.

“Good enough, I was the one who usually made dinner for Raf and I while we were with our foster parents.” Josie nodded and accepted the answer.

They stood in silence while a soup boiled, but once Landon handed a bowl and spoon to Josie and took one for himself, Josie said, “Y’know, you never told me why you were actually awake.” She took a bite of the soup. “Mmm, Landon, this soup is really good!”

The boy laughed awkwardly. “Thanks. And I was up because I was at a party a few hours ago.” He left it at that. “Why are you up, Jo?”

She shrugged and looked down at her meal. “I took a nap.”

“At 2:30 in the morning?” Landon raised an eyebrow.

Oh, so that’s what time it is. “I said what I said,” Josie answered defiantly.

“Fair enough.”

Josie suddenly paused. “Landon.” He hummed in acknowledgement, shifting around the liquid in his bowl. “Landon.”

He finally looked up. “What?”

“I know my sister, a party would still be going right now if something didn’t happen. So, what happened?”

Landon winced, dropping his spoon into his bowl and placing the bowl down on the counter. “I, uh, may have gotten insanely drunk and said some stuff.”

Josie glanced at him. “Like what?”

“I don’t remember exactly what I said.”

“Well, you obviously know why you said what you said, so… wanna talk about it?” she offered.

Landon contemplated for a moment, mulling it over. “Sure,” he accepted, “but not here. Can we go somewhere?”

“Yeah, sure, I’m not sleeping with Lizzie anymore, I took Penelope’s old room, let’s go.” Josie hopped off the counter, still holding her soup, and headed for the door as Landon dutifully trailed behind her.

“So,” Josie said, plopping down on the bed, “spill.” Landon looked around the room unsurely, wondering where he should sit. “And stop being so awkward, come sit here.” Josie threw a decorative throw pillow at his face. Landon hesitantly sat down next to the brunette and placed the soup on the floor next to him.

“Do you mind if we, uh, do something else first?” he asked. “I said a lot of not so good things that I don’t want to remember just yet.”

“Yeah, sure, whatever you need, but we will talk about this. Do you want to put in a movie?” Josie asked, already reaching for her laptop. At Landon’s nod of confirmation, she opened Disney+. “What do you want to watch?”

“Sta-”

“And don’t say Star Wars or I swear to God, Landon, I will hit you.” Josie cut off his predictable words.

“Oh, yeah, and what are you going to do about it, Tiny?” Landon challenged her.

Josie smirked. “This.” And with that, she grabbed another decorative throw pillow (Why did Penelope have so many in her room?) and leaped on top of the boy, wrestling him down onto the bed. Thankfully, both of their bowls were already off the bed, or else soup would’ve spilled everywhere.

Landon shrieked as Josie weight landed directly on top of him. She started pummelling him with the pillow, laughing as he thrashed under her. Somehow, through all the hits, Landon managed to grab a pillow (Penelope’s love for decorative throw pillows were suddenly coming in handy) to defend himself with. With surprising strength, he managed to flip them around so Josie was on the bed and he was on top of her. Knowing what was coming, Josie hid her smile behind the raised pillow. Landon, however, tossed his pillow to the floor and started moving his fingers against her sides.

“No, oh my god, Landon, stop!” Josie shrieked.

Landon grinned. “Never!”

The fight continued for a while, neither sides giving up until they were both out of breath and laughing. Landon moved off Josie and collapsed on the bed next to her. He twisted his head to look at her.

“That was fun.”

Josie giggled and moved a piece of hair off her head. “Yeah, it was.”

Pause.

They both fell into a fit of giggles for no inexplicable reason.

Once they had air in their lungs, Josie pulled the laptop that had been tossed aside earlier and played the first Star Wars movie, much to Landon’s chagrin.

“What happened to no Star Wars?” he teased goodnaturedly.

“Shut it,” she said, tossing a pillow at him.

“Are you really going to start that again, Jo?” he asked, already rearing up.

She giggled and pulled him back down. “No, you idiot, come watch this with me.” So Landon did.

About half an hour into the movie, Landon started talking, eyes still trained on the screen. “Do you remember a few weeks ago, when you guys voted me out?”

Josie grimaced. “Yeah, definitely not my best decision.”

Landon continued, as if he hadn’t heard Josie. “It turns out Hope had sent me to find my mother.”

Josie gasped and paused the movie. She turned to him, “That’s amazing! Did you find her?”

“Listen, Jo.” He smiled, amused by her antics. His frown deepened when he remembered what Hope did to him. “Hope sent me on a quest to find my mother, and that led me to Kansas. I met her.” When Landon turned to look at her, he could tell she was trying to suppress her questions. “You can ask questions after I tell you what happened.” Josie pouted but nodded slightly.

“Hope set up a tracking spell for me to find her, it took me to a coffee shop in Kansas. It took me a week to work up the courage to tell her more than just my coffee order. When I finally did tell her why I was there, she took me back to her house.” Landon’s expression soured as he remembered the dog his mother owned. “So she gave me a sandwich. There was this tiny demon dog she owned, right?” Josie’s face screwed up into one of confusion. “I fed the dog a bit of the sandwich. I thought it wasn’t going to do anything, I thought it would be fine. But it collapsed right after I fed it the sandwich. She drugged me. My own mother drugged me.”

Josie opened her mouth, expecting the story to be finished. Landon placed his hand on her thigh to stop her. “There’s more.” At Josie’s slight nod, he continued with his tale. “So, before I completely passed out, I managed to hit this bracelet Hope had made for me before I left. If I turned it on, she would know I was in trouble and come to find me. The thing is, Seylah, my mom, saw me hit it, so apparently she took it off my wrist.” Landon frowned, thinking back on it. “Y’know, I don’t actually know what happened to that bracelet.” He shook his head. “Sorry, off topic. Anyways, she took me to this motel in the middle of rural Kansas, and I guess Hope must have done a tracking spell on me, because her and your dad,” Josie glowered at the mention of her father, “showed up, looking for me. Well, actually, she blew the door in. Hope forced Seylah to tell her entire life story, pretty boring up until she fucking jumped into Malivore.”

Josie gasped. “What?”

“You heard me right,” Landon smirked. “She wasn’t pregnant when she jumped, though. But when she came out was an entirely different story. She was pregnant with me. And then she gave me up after I was born.”

“Landon…” Josie said softly, reaching for one of his hands.

He let her take his hand, but stared at it as he continued to talk. “No one remembered her, as say the rules of Malivore. She couldn’t get a job or provide for me. So she abandoned me. And then I found her again. And she jumped into Malivore again.”

Josie blinked, clearly taken aback by the news. “She what?” she asked incredulously.

Landon laughed bitterly. “She jumped. Again. And this time someone remembered her, but it wasn’t me. It’s never me.” Josie knew there was something much deeper in that statement than Landon let on, but she didn’t push him.

“Who was it?” she asked gently.

“Hope. It was Hope.” Not giving Josie a moment to process the bomb that had been dropped on her, he rambled right on. “And then I came back here with her and Dr. Saltzman to be with Raf, and she didn’t tell me about meeting my own mother. Instead, I had to find out from Penelope fucking Park.” Josie winced at the mention of her ex’s name. When Landon noticed, he began apologizing profusely. “Shit, sorry, Jo.”

She waved him off, though the thought of Penelope still stung. “It’s fine, continue.”

So he did. “She told me, and when I went to confront her, she didn’t even say anything. So I left.” He shrugged. He imperceptibly wiped away a tear he hadn’t noticed fell. Next to Landon, Josie looked stunned, absorbing the dump of information she had received.

Landon grimaced. “This is why I don’t confide in people.”

Snapped out of her trance, Josie rushed to respond. “Sorry, I, uh, was just processing.” Landon nodded, still looking defeated.

Josie quieted down once again, deciding what to say. “I’ve never been the best of friends with Hope, but spending nearly ten years with her teaches me some things about her. Hope does everything she does for a reason,” she says delicately. “You know about her parents’ and uncle’s deaths, right?” At Landon’s nod, she continues. “She lost them all within a few weeks of each other, and it nearly broke her. She became more closed off than ever. I think she wants to protect you from the same pain she went through two years ago. And-”

Landon cuts her off. “It’s different, Josie. I don’t know if I would’ve felt that pain, I didn’t know Seylah. She didn’t give me a chance to find out,” he explains. “Anyways, drop it. I don’t want to talk about it.”

“But-”

“Drop it.” He fixes her with a Look she’s seen too many times on Lizzie’s face.

“Fine,” she says reluctantly.

It’s quiet for a few moments before Landon speaks up again. “You know, from what I’ve heard, Penelope seemed like a bitch.”

Josie smiles softly. “She was, but only to other people. To me, she was kind and sweet.” She frowns. “And then she broke up with me and that changed too.”

“Do you know why she did it?” Landon asks curiously.

“Yeah, but I am far too tired to talk about her reasoning.”

Landon grins. “Fair enough. If you don’t want to talk about why, will you tell me what she was like during your relationship?”

“She came to Salvatore when we were fourteen.” Josie’s voice sounds distant, as if she was reminiscing through memories far away from the bed where they sat. “Lizzie and I gave her the tour, like we usually do to new students. The entire time, she made snarky comments towards Lizzie and complimenting me, which is where their entire rivalry started. I managed to keep them calm that day, but it definitely didn’t last. Penelope had History of Magic with me, the only class I don’t have with Lizzie. I was the only one who didn’t have a partner, so I got paired with her. Lucky for us, the teacher assigned a long-term project that day. We spent a lot of time together on it, and it made me fall for her, hard. She flirted with me the entire time until she finally had the guts to ask me on a date. She made me feel different than anyone else I had ever crushed on or dated. So I said yes.

“I expected her to take me to the Mystic Grill or something, but she surprised me and took me on a picnic. It was magical. She looks like such a mean, controlling person, but she was just so soft with me. She would leave little notes for me to find and give me flowers every week. Dating her made me feel the best I’ve ever felt.” Josie’s smile was bittersweet as she explained her relationship. It felt as though she wasn’t even talking to Landon anymore, just getting out what had been bothering her since before Penelope left, since they broke up.

“She sounds amazing, Jo,” Landon says, breaking through her haze.

Josie wipes her tears away. “She was.”

Landon laughs. “God, we’re a bunch of saps, aren’t we?”

Josie sniffles. “We really are.”

“Wanna watch the movie?” Landon offers an escape route out, waiting for Josie to take it.

As fun as their talk had been, it was also exhausting, and Josie felt so, so tired.

“Yeah.”

She opened up her laptop again, unpausing the movie. Somewhere in the middle movie, Landon fell asleep on her shoulder, curly hair soft against her neck. When Josie noticed fifteen minutes later, she paused the film, shutting the laptop and setting it on the ground. With some careful maneuvering, she shifts them so both of them are laying under the covers, as she, too, succumbs to sleep.

Chapter Text

Sun pierced through the peaceful atmosphere of the quiet room, waking Josie up. Her eyes fluttered open, and for a moment, just a moment, everything was okay. She closed her eyes again, and everything disappeared: all the anger and resentment at Lizzie, the ache in her heart for Penelope. Then Josie felt a body, that was decidedly not Penelope’s, shift next to her and the moment disappeared as everything came back to her.

Her eyes snapped open to witness a head of curly hair move closer to her. Josie softens at the sight of the boy, breathing softly in and out, looking younger than his years and entirely less furious than the previous night. It calms the pain in her chest, but grows back at the thought of Penelope four thousand and seven miles away. (She had searched it up the morning after Penelope had gotten on a flight and left her.) If Josie twists her eyes shut as hard as she could, she could almost feel like it was Penelope, and not Landon, sleeping next to her.

If Penelope were here, she would feel Josie’s gaze on her, waking up. She would give that sleepy, crooked smile of hers and say, “Morning, Jojo.” And if Penelope knew exactly why Josie was imagining this scenario, she would put on an offended expression and say, “A boy? In my bed? The nerve!” so dramatically, it would send Josie spinning.

Alas, the green-eyed girl wasn’t here. Said green-eyed girl was six hours ahead of Josie, probably eating lunch or unpacking in her new dorm room, while her old room was occupied by her ex-girlfriend and a boy who’s relationship she essentially ruined by revealing the simple truth. 

Oh, the irony , Josie thought. She started chuckling lowly, thoughts full of green eyes and short brown hair. Her laughter rose with the hurt inside of her until she was full on cackling, waking the sleeping boy beside her.

Landon woke with a start. “Huh? What's happening?” he asked blearily.

Josie, unable to calm her laughter down, explained the situation through gasped words. “I’m in my ex-girlfriend’s room, sleeping next to a boy who I kicked out of my home two months ago.”

Landon, though still confused in his hazy thoughts, laughed anyways. “When said boy broke up with his girlfriend last night.”

Josie’s laughter grew again. “Exactly!”

Giggling under the covers with Landon made Josie feel something other than the numb pain and ache, even normal, or as close to normal a siphon witch could get. She truly hadn’t felt like this since before the monsters started attacking. Thinking back, the last day she had felt so content was a day a few months before Landon and Rafael came to school, when Lizzie and Josie weren’t constantly at odds, when Penelope looked at her with so much love that Josie’s heart felt full, like it would burst if she couldn’t get it under control. She remembered the day well.

“ Josie!” Lizzie had called. “Jo, come on, wake up. I need help.” 

Josie, who wanted to stay in the peaceful dreamland she was in, made no move acknowledging her sister’s words, but Lizzie knew she was awake; the twin bond they shared doesn’t leave a lot of room for privacy.

“Josie,” Lizzie repeated, pulling back the duvet covering her. Josie whined, reaching for the blanket. “No,” Lizzie said, holding the blanket out of reach. “Jo, wake up.”

Finally, Josie sluggishly sat up, glaring at her sister for interrupting her sleep. “What, Lizzie?”

“Well, first, Satan left a note under the door for you,” Lizzie announced, dropping a piece of paper on Josie’s nightstand. A smile broke out on Josie’s face as she reached for the note to read it. Before she could open it, Lizzie batted Josie’s hand away. “Read it later,” she dismissed, already moving towards her wardrobe. “I need help. There’s a townie from Mystic Falls who’s totally into me and I have a date with her and I need to find the perfect out-”

Josie, a little more awake at this point, snapped to attention at Lizzie’s words. “Her?” she questioned. 

“Yes, her, Jo.” With a clearer head, Josie saw through Lizzie’s annoyed words, a mask to conceal her true nervousness. It was apparent in the way Lizzie shuffled quickly through the dresses in her closet with one hand, clutching the hemline of her sleepshirt with her other. “I’m bisexual.”

A happy smile broke out on Josie’s face. “Thanks for telling me, Lizzie.”

Lizzie’s hands paused for a second in relief, before resuming what they were doing. “Yeah, yeah, whatever, come help me pick something out.” Josie slipped out of bed, padding over to her sister, giving her a soft hug. Lizzie smiled, a rare moment of vulnerability behind an invincible glass wall Josie could always break down, holding Josie’s arm in her own. 

Breaking the hug, Josie moved to her own wardrobe, pulling out a pretty striped crop top and tossing it at her sister. “Wear this with those white shorts you have,” she instructed, turning to pull out her own clothes, a red long sleeve top that flared at the wrists and a short black skirt.

(She definitely didn’t choose these clothes because the last time she had worn the outfit, Penelope had looked at her with darkened eyes that made Josie’s chest twist. Nope. Not at all.)

Lizzie gasped, “You’re a genius, Jo!” she exclaimed.

Grabbing a brush to run through her hair, Josie idly observed, “You’re nervous about this.”

Lizzie gasped, affronted. “I am not nervous over a muggle. I am above that.”

“You know that it’s okay if you are, right? It’s normal to be nervous about dates, especially when you really like them.”

“Okay, so maybe I’m a little nervous. But I’m also ecstatic that she asked me out. It’s like butterflies are in my stomach. I don’t like it.”

“Lizzie, that’s normal, I promise you. It happens every time I’m around Penelope. What’s your date’s name, anyway?”

A smile tugged on the corner of Lizzie’s lips. “Dana.”

Josie gave Lizzie a smile of her own. “Pretty.”

At this point, Lizzie had finished changing, and she requested Josie did her hair into those cute French braids she liked. Josie dutifully did them, both staying quiet, no words needed between the twins. The comfortable silence ended when Lizzie finally slipped on her white sneakers, planted a wet kiss on Josie’s cheek, and said a cheerful goodbye, on her way to get food and meet up with one of her friends.

Josie herself was still in her pajamas and had a bedhead. She finally read the note Penelope had slipped beneath her door early that morning, ever up with the sun.

JoJo,

Meet me at the waterfalls after breakfast.

Love,

Penny.

It was short, but Josie was expecting that. The prettier words came from Penelope’s words herself, when they were huddled together under the blankets in Penelope’s room, whispered secrets in the dead of night.

Josie slipped on the outfit she had already picked out, but added her favorite yellow bikini underneath. Although it was a frigid November, add in the spray of the waterfalls and Penelope’s playfulness, one could never be too careful. She tied her hair up in a low ponytail, nothing too fancy, and made her way downstairs to grab a muffin from the dining hall. She could see Lizzie laughing with one of her witch friends, looking lighter than she had last week, when she had that unexpected breakdown. She loved her sister, but sometimes, taking care of her was exhausting. 

In the corner, Hope Mikaelson was biting into an apple, looking sullen and quiet, but she had looked that way, even when she had been Hope Marshall, witch daughter of Hayley.

On her right, Penelope flashed by, followed by her coven, giving Josie the slightest wink, but making Josie blush like a schoolgirl nonetheless. Glancing at the clock, she noticed she still had about an hour until she had to meet Penelope. She wasted time doing homework (read: daydreaming about what Penelope had planned for her) and idly scrolling through her social media.

At eleven, she made her way into the woods behind the school, carefully making sure no one saw the principal’s good daughter sneaking out. While walking the familiar path to the waterfalls, footprints smaller than her own didn’t evade Josie’s notice. They tracked down to brown sandals, leading up to tan legs and a smirking Penelope Park.

“Hi,” she grinned.

“Hi, back,” Josie said, pressing her lips to Penelope’s in a chaste kiss.

“I see you got my note,” Penelope said, bouncing on her heels, looking younger than her sixteen years.

“No, Penelope, I decided to come on my own accord to the middle of the woods in the middle of November,” Josie deadpanned. “Obviously I got your note. What are we doing here?”

In lieu of an answer, Penelope stepped to the side and presented a picnic just on the edge of the pond the small waterfall flooded into. It was a picturesque scene, one Josie had stored in her mind for months to come: a gorgeous waterfall creating rainbows around them, a picnic of all her favorite foods, and her personal favorite, an excited girlfriend. Josie was blown away.

“Pen…” Josie had no words. “This is amazing. Thank you,” she said sincerely. Taking Penelope’s hand in her own, they moved to the blanket, where Penelope cheekily grabbed the banana cream pie before Josie could reach for it, knowing full well it was her favorite.

That day was one of the best in her memory, mixed among days jetting around Europe with her mother and sister, and family brunches with her entire family there, united like they hadn’t been since she was fourteen.

“...Josie. Josie!”

Josie snapped out of whatever dream far away land she had been in. She blinked, regaining a sense of where she was. “I’m sorry, what did you say?” she asked Landon.

“I asked if you wanted me to go, but you were doing your whole trance thing,” Landon gestured.

Josie suddenly felt very unsure of herself. “Do you want to go?” she said.

Landon tilted his head. “No, but do you want me to?”

Josie paused, thinking it over. “No,” she said finally. “I don’t want to be alone right now.”

A relieved smile spread across Landon’s features. “Okay, then!” With nothing left to say, an uncomfortable silence overtook the pair, broken only by Landon’s grumbling stomach.

Landon groaned, embarrassed. “‘m sorry.”

Josie laughed, pushing his shoulder. “It’s okay. Do you want to go get breakfast?”

Landon poked his head out from under the pillow he hid under. “Yes, please!” Josie thought he looked like the human equivalent of the :D emoticon. It was adorable.

“Okay, go brush your teeth, you have morning breath.” Josie wrinkled her nose. “I’ll meet you in the dining hall in half an hour?”

“Can we do the kitchens instead? I don’t feel like seeing anyone today.”

Josie smiled a sympathetic smile, she knew what that felt like. “Deal. Go get dressed now,” she said, commanding the boy out of the room.

Giving the brunette a small smile, Landon made his way out of the room, shutting it behind him. Josie fell back in the bed once he was gone, grabbing the pillow he had used, and bringing it to her nose, hoping to smell the comforting scent of Penelope’s expensive vanilla perfume. Instead, she got a noseful of Landon’s cologne. Not what she was expecting, but it gave her unexpected comfort. 

Josie had only spent nine hours with this boy, half of those spent sleeping, not even a full week after the girl she loves left her, but he made her feel… something. She couldn’t put her finger on what exactly it was, but it felt similar to what she felt for Penelope, yet so completely different. If Penelope was an inferno, burning, igniting every single part of Josie, Landon was the cool rain, splashing down on her, but with the same kind of cold burn Penelope had granted her.

The sudden thought brought Josie to tears. She didn’t know why she felt like this, she wasn’t supposed to feel like this, but she did, and it confused the hell out of her. Add her emotions on top of dealing with Lizzie and her dad and the Merge thing she had read about in the Burn Book, it was all just too much to handle for the emotionally vulnerable girl. Tears streamed down her face in droplets, and she wanted to scream, scream, scream as loud as she could, but try as she might, Josie couldn’t open her mouth or even make a single sound, and no one was there to help her.

Fifteen minutes later still found Josie in bed, hair mussed. She gathered up some energy to move, but it was sluggish. She had promised Landon breakfast and breakfast he would get.

Ever since Josie had decided to crash in Penelope’s room, she had been wearing the few clothes still left in her closet, but they all belonged to Josie, cultivated over the few months they had been dating. Only one item of Penelope’s remained: a black sweatshirt far too big for both Josie or Penelope’s frames, reaching to eat their legs up to the knees. That sweatshirt is what Josie put on the counter of the private bathroom Penelope had, as well as a pair of gray sweatpants.

Josie took advantage of Penelope’s single room. All the singles had a private bathroom, so Josie could easily avoid running into other people in the communal bathrooms. She showered for the first time in two days, putting her hair back into a messy low bun. Once she was ready, looking more prepared to face society than she had in days, she steeled herself, mentally preparing to venture into the outside, in daylight this time.

For once, Josie’s relative invisibility had come in handy. As far she knew, nobody was aware of the fight between herself and her twin that day in the ballroom, and nobody was aware of how broken Josie felt after Penelope left. There was no gawking, no whispering behind closed doors. She easily made her way down into the kitchen without any interruptions.

The kitchen itself was a sight to behold. Flour was dusted across the many tables, bowls scattered on every surface, the oven was beeping in one corner, the fridge was open, and in the center of it all? Landon.

The boy had flour in his hair and batter on his face, making Josie clutch her stomach. It was the complete opposite of the night before, when the only thing that had been out was a carton of chicken stock. At the sound Josie’s laughter, Landon whirled around, finally noticing the girl. He gave her an impish grin.

“I leave you alone for fifteen minutes. How is it that you can make soup at two in the morning while drunk, yet you manage to make this much of a mess making breakfast?” Josie gestures around the kitchen. “You have batter on your face, by the way,” she adds.

Landon attempts to wipe the batter off, but only manages to streak flour across his cheek. “With soup, it’s just vegetables and water, but there’s so much stuff with pancakes!” he protests.

Josie surveys the kitchen. “So that’s what you were trying to make?” Josie asks, unimpressed. She puts a hand on the wall next to her, siphoning magic from the school. “Extergimus,” she says, waving a hand at the tables. Levitating the messy bowls over the large sink, she then mutters a different spell. The flour on the table disappears, and dishes clean themselves. Doing a few more spells, Josie cleans the rest of the kitchen up, only leaving out what she really needs to make the pancakes.

Landon watches in wonder as a glass container of sugar floats into the cabinet behind him, and the milk almost hits him as it zooms back into the fridge, which closes with a slam. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this,” he says in amazement.

“Pretty cool, right?” Josie says with a grin. “C’mon, I’ll teach you how to make pancakes.” Josie busies herself with measuring and pouring, stating every little detail she does as she does it overdramatically. Landon sits on the counter, watching, listening and laughing. When Josie attempts to pour the batter onto a hot griddle on the stove, she nearly burns herself, and that’s when Landon steps in.

“Move,” he says, pushing her to the side. “Are you okay?” he asks, watching her suck on the thumb that touched the hot pan. 

“I’m fine,” Josie responds. “It’s just that, the last time I made pancakes, Mom was still here, and we were going to have breakfast with her. I was, like, thirteen, and she knew I could use a stove perfectly fine, but she wanted to do it, anyway. So Lizzie and I made her an offer, I would make the batter, and she would cook them, and Lizzie would decorate them,” she recalls fondly. “Ever since then, that’s the way it’s been. After Mom went on the long recruiting missions, Lizzie handled the stove, not me, or we would just eat the ones the cooks made, so I’ve never really used the stove to make pancakes,” Josie finishes, wiping a stray tear from her eye.

Landon doesn’t know how to respond. “Wow…” he says in lieu of an actual response.

Josie sniffles. “Sorry to unload all of that on you,” she says.

Landon is quick to reassure her. “No, Josie, I like hearing about it. It sounds nice, it’s just that it’s much different from what I had. You’re always welcome to tell me more about your life.”

“Thanks,” Josie says, relieved that he didn’t feel burdened. “And the offer goes both ways.”

While Landon put a stack of pancakes on the plates he had put out, Josie put away the ingredients, without her magic this time. She also brought out maple syrup and butter for herself, as well as the chocolate syrup and whipped cream stashed away in the back of the fridge.

When Landon spotted the toppings on the counter, he said incredulously, “Who puts sweet things on pancakes?”

Josie, who was in the middle of assembling her pancakes (half savory, half sweet), said back just as incredulously, “Have you even tried it?”

Landon looked doubtfully at the whipped cream. “No, and I’m not sure I want to.”

“It’s really good, I swear,” Josie promises. She holds out a bite of her pancakes, offering it to Landon. “If you don’t like it, I won’t make you pancakes ever again, but try it.”

Landon takes the bites slowly. After chewing for a while, his face lights up. “That’s… actually really good.”

“I know!” Josie exclaims. They both double over laughing, not noticing the blonde entering the kitchen.

“Josie!” Lizzie’s voice snaps both Josie and Landon out of their stupor. “What the hell are you doing with him ?” She spits out the word like it’s venom.

Josie, still furious with her sister, decides to ignore her. She takes a bite of her pancakes, silently glaring at Landon to do the same. Lizzie waits for an answer, but it never comes. Landon, on the other hand, looks down. From the hazy memories of yesterday, the blonde and Landon were, to say the least, not on good terms.

“Uh, excuse me, I asked you a question,” Lizzie snaps when she realizes that Josie won’t give her a response.

When it becomes evident from Lizzie’s tone and frown that she will not leave Josie alone, Josie finally snaps back, “In case I haven’t made it clear enough, Lizzie, I don’t want to talk to you. You knew I loved her, but you didn’t even think to tell me she was leaving, after you had known for weeks. So no, Lizzie, I’m not going to answer your question.”

Lizzie was taken aback. “This is about Penelope? Josie, she abandoned you! If you want space, I’ll give you space, but that witch should be not the cause of our problems.”

Josie was frustrated beyond belief. Why won’t Lizzie understand? “This isn’t about needing space. And Penelope is not the cause of our problems, you are. It’s about every waking moment in my life being suffocated by you. We shouldn’t just have our own rooms, we should have our own lives. We should be separate people.”

Lizzie was surprised. She had never, not once in her life, heard Josie talk to her, or to anyone, like that. Unable to come up with a retort because of the pounding hurt in her heart, Lizzie leaves the room.

Once she knows Lizzie is out of eyesight and earshot, Josie slumps against the counter, suddenly exhausted. Next to her, Landon had stayed silent through the argument, and he did so even now. Neither of them made any move to pick up their utensils to start eating again, appetite gone. Landon didn’t know what to say, but neither did Josie. How was she supposed to apologize to Landon about having to see the twins have the biggest fight of their lives yet, or at least until they turn twenty-two?

Landon, unable to take the unbearable awkward silence any longer, starts putting the dishes in the sink. Josie follows his lead, washing the sticky syrup off the plates and putting them into the dishwasher. The entire interaction takes fifteen minutes, silent, except for the clinking of dishes and the running water.

“Let’s go,” Landon says once they’re done.

Josie leans back against the sink as she quirks an eyebrow. “Where, exactly?”

Landon smirks. “Wherever the hell we want.”