“There was this girl I thought I liked better than Penelope.”
“There’s no way.” Lizzie shook her head confidently. “Who could you have liked more than Penelope?”
“Her name is not important.” Hope shook her head like she was irritated with Lizzie’s question rather than filled with nervous adrenaline. “But she was surprisingly kind - like literally surprising me with her kindness - and funny in that snarky kind of way.”
“This is sounding like Penelope 2.0. Why would you not go for the original?”
“They were different.” Hope looked almost offended before she shook her head. “And maybe I only like what I can’t have.”
“Why couldn’t you have this other girl?”
“Because her best friend hates me.”
Lizzie’s ears perked up, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. “So it’s one of Josie’s friends?”
“No, shut up and listen. I told Penelope the first night we hooked up that I wasn’t into her, and I told her about this other girl.”
“And this other girl didn’t mysteriously get hexed in the shower?” Lizzie barked out a laugh.
“No, she didn’t.” Hope smiled softly. “But Pen and I hooked up anyway, and then Landon was my excuse the next day, so I guess it was always me that was the problem.”
“Hmm.” Lizzie held herself tensely, eyes suddenly glued dutifully to the road. “So, you wouldn’t have left the hobbit for Penelope Park?”
“I would now.” Hope started to fiddle with the zipper on her jacket. “In a heartbeat.”
Lizzie eyed the tribrid sideways, the gears in her brain grinding quickly.
“But I was too scared to then. And then I convinced myself that I was in love with this girl so that the mess I had made with Landon and Penelope didn’t seem so bad. It didn’t hurt as much if I only liked them but I loved someone else. But I didn’t love either one of them. Not like that, anyway.”
Lizzie bit down on her growing smile.
Hope nodded, oblivious. “So yeah. I fucked up my only chance to be with Penelope by psyching myself out. That’s my tragedy.” She turned to look at Lizzie. “Your turn.”
Lizzie adjusted her grip on the steering wheel. “Oh boy.”
YOU ARE READING
Into Thin Air
FanfictionAfter witnessing an old friend vanish, Hope Mikaelson becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to her, even when no one else at the Salvatore School seems to remember her ever existing. With the help of an unlikely ally or two, Hope will unco...
