Chapter Text
As Hope stands in the airport with her suitcase, her heart drops a little to see she cannot find any familiar face. Josie was supposed to pick her up, but the brunette was nowhere to be seen.
After a few more glances around the crowded airport, Hope decides to move to the side so she can make a phone call. Catching a cab home would cost a fortune, so she is better off finding someone who can pick her up. Just as Hope is about to start calling people, she hears her name being called up. A wave of warmth hits her when she looks up to find Josie making her way to her through the crowd.
“I’m so sorry to be late!” Josie rushes to say as soon as she reaches Hope. “I didn’t expect the traffic and-”
Hope kind of loses what Josie says after that. She is getting her first good look at her ex girlfriend since she left Mystic Falls two months ago, and it is making her heart soar. Josie’s hair is shorter, falling just above her shoulders. Other than that, the brunette looks almost exactly as she always did. The thing that really sticks out to Hope, is the shirt Josie is wearing. It’s the band shirt Josie was wearing the first time they met each other.
Josie waves a hand in front of Hope’s face. “Earth to Hope, are you there?”
“Sorry.” The Mikaelson girl sheepishly smiles. “I’m a bit tired, so I zoned out.”
The brunette’s frown does not entirely disappear even as she chuckles. “Right. Let’s get you home.” Josie glances down at Hope’s huge suitcase. “Do you want me to take that?”
Hope rolls her eyes. “Not that tired.”
“If you say so.”
The teasing in Josie’s words does not go unnoticed by Hope. The two girls share a smile as they start making their way out of the airport. Once they are outside, Hope is a little hurt to only get small talk out of Josie. It seems the brunette is avoiding to look at her. Hope tries to convince herself she is seeing things that are not there.
Once they are inside Josie’s car, Hope sinks deep into her seat as she closes her eyes. The brunette’s car is definitely more comfortable than her airplane seat was. Josie’s light chuckle makes Hope crack an eye open to look at her. Her heart skips a beat.
She missed that smile.
“Ready to go home?” Josie asks, her smile softer than ever.
“Definitely.”
Without another word, Josie turns the engine on. The start of the drive is filled with a comfortable silence only disturbed by the music coming out of the radio. After a while, Hope reaches for the AUX cord like she did a million times before. Just as she is about to plug her phone, she stops.
“Is it okay if I put on some music?”
Josie’s eyes leave the road for a fraction of a second. “Go ahead.”
A soft melody soon fills the car. Through the first song, Hope can feel Josie’s eyes on her from time to time. The auburn haired girl does her best to ignore the way those eyes make her feel, but when the second song starts, she just cannot take it anymore. Hope reaches out and brings the volume down.
“I’m glad you reached out this summer.”
Josie visibly tenses. “I wasn’t sure if I could.”
“Why?” Hope waits for an answer that never comes as Josie nervously bites down on her lip. “Is it because you didn’t come to say goodbye before I left?”
The brunette nods. “That was so shitty of me. I’m sorry.”
“I won’t say it’s okay, because it really hurt me when I understood you were not coming.” Hope takes a deep breath in. “But, I will say I understand why you didn’t show up.”
“I just… I didn’t know how to feel after we hooked up in your car.” Josie glances at Hope for a little longer than the other times. “Even now, I don’t know how to feel.”
“What do you mean?”
“When we’re apart, I manage to…” Josie pauses, her grip on the wheel getting tighter. “I mean, I can stand to be your friend. But, when you’re close-” Josie glances at Hope with a sad smile. “All I want is to be yours, even if it’s just for a brief moment.”
“Would you believe me if I told you I feel exactly the same way?”
“Really?”
“Yes.” Hope sighs and looks down. “I didn’t break up with you because I stopped loving you, Josie. I broke up with you because being far from you was driving me mad.”
Hope does not know what she expected from Josie after she said that, but one thing is sure, she was not expecting the crushing silence that follows. Josie stays silent all the way to Mystic Falls, going as far as turning up the volume once again. Hope sinks deeper in her seat, a bit defeated.
Once they pull up in the Mikaelson’s driveway, Josie does not stop the car. She keeps the engine running and does not move. Hope looks down, and figures it means the brunette is not gonna follow her inside.
When Hope reaches to unbuckle her seatbelt, Josie’s hand lands on hers, stopping Hope’s movement. “I think we should stay apart until we truly can be friends.”
“As you wish, Jo.”
“I got accepted at Whitmore College.” Josie retracts her hand slowly. “We will still be far away from each other during the school year, but I hope we can keep talking. We could text, and maybe call once in a while.”
Hope finds herself smiling. “That sounds good.”
“And, if you don’t mind, I’d like to keep seeing Freya, Keelin and Nik.” Josie briefly glances at the house before looking back at Hope. “They’re important to me.”
Hope’s laugh seems to take Josie by surprise. “I would never ask you to stay away from them. My aunts love you, and I’m sure Nik loves you too.”
Josie smiles softly. “I know you didn’t get to spend much time with him, but you’ll see… He’s amazing.”
“I’m sure he is.” Hope looks at the house. “I should probably go inside.”
“Yeah, you should.”
“I’m assuming you’re not coming with me.”
Josie shakes her head. “I’ll keep my distances while we’re both in Mystic Falls, or else…”
Hope cannot stop the smirk that pulls up her lips. “Or else what? Are you scared we’ll hook up again?”
“Yes.” Josie rolls her eyes. “That’s exactly what I’m scared of, Hope. If we keep hooking up, I might never move on.”
With a light chuckle, Hope finally unbuckles her seatbelt. “Right. So, this is goodbye.”
“For now.” Josie nods. “I’ll text you when I’m settled in my dorm room.”
“Sounds good.” Hope places her hand on the door handle, but does not open the door. “Do I need to wait for you to text me, or can I text first?”
“You can text first.”
“Good.” Hope opens the door and steps out of the car. Before closing the door, she leans down to look at Josie. “Bye, Jo. I love you.”
“I-I love you too.” Josie says, her voice shaking.
Once the door is closed, Josie watches Hope walk to the door of her house. As soon as the Mikaelson girl is inside, Josie leans her forehead against the wheel. She takes several calming breaths to calm herself down and keep herself from crying. It had taken her a lot of courage to put her foot down and draw the limits of their new relationship. Josie just hopes they can both stick to them.