can you hear me now?

party in the- oh

Hope watches them for what seems like an eternity, before Landon breaks off her intense stare.

"Hope? Are you alright?" Landon asks, still not noticing what she's staring at, too busy gleaming in joy from officially becoming a couple.

"Y-yeah." She stutters, the air around them suddenly suffocating. She clears her throat, "I'll see you at the party." She gives him a weak smile, before rushing out of the grill. It isn't until she's far away from Josie that she can breathe properly again.

After making out for quite some time, Penelope breaks it off, the both of them breathing heavily.

"What was that for?" She asks, still stunned at Josie's bold move.

All the brunette can do is shrug. She can't tell Penelope that she kissed her out of jealousy, otherwise she'd ruin whatever chances she had with her. Not to mention what Penelope would feel. At the same time, all she feels is guilt; guilty that she only kissed her to make her forget about Hope and Landon.

She checks her phone, noticing the time and that she needs to get home to prepare for the party at Jed's. She silently curses to herself, already preparing for the lecture she's going to get from Lizzie for being home late.

"It's getting late, and I have to get home if I don't want Lizzie to bite my head off. But I had a fun time hanging out with you." She says genuinely, and with a bright smile, to which Penelope returns. Suddenly, Kaleb's voice rings in her head, anyways, he told me to invite as many people, and a thought pops into her head. "Hey, my friend Jed is having a party at his house tonight. He said to invite as many people, so would you maybe want to come?" She crosses her fingers, a hopeful glint in her eye.

"Hmm I'll have to check my schedule." Penelope scrolls through her phone, pretending to see if she has any plans. As far as Josie knows, she's new to town, which means she probably doesn't have anything better to do. "Luckily for you, it seems as if I'm free for the night."

"Great!" Josie beams at having a companion at the party, assuming each of her friends will be doing their own thing. "I'll text you the details."

//////

When Hope arrives home, she feels exhausted. She walks past her Aunt Freya playing with Nik in the living room, making a beeline for her room. Before she enters, a voice calls out to her.

"Hope!" She hears her Aunt Freya call, making Hope turn around and walk towards the sound of her voice.

"Yes?" She answers, now right in front of the living room entrance. Both her aunt and Nik are on the floor, a bunch of toys scattered around them.

"Are you okay? You seem a little off lately." Freya's voice is filled with concern.

"Yeah, just tired." She lies. Freya nods, still unconvinced, but deciding not to push it. "I'm going to a party tonight, so I'll be home late."

"Stay safe, you already know the rules I have about parties." Hope nods. Before she walks into her room, she gives Freya a hug, and Nik a kiss on his forehead.

"What to wear, what to wear." She mumbled to herself while she headed for her closet.

After minutes of rummaging through her closet she settled on a simply black v-neck tucked into some dark blue skinny jeans, paired with her usual combat boots.

She examined her outfit closely in the mirror feeling satisfied about it. Hope had about an hour before she actually had to leave.

She was sure of one thing. Hope was bored out of her mind. That is until she saw her very first bass guitar sitting in the back corner of her room. It was a Squier Affinity Series Bronco Bass Guitar. The bass guitar had a deep scarlet colored body, with a white pickguard outline. The auburn haired girl hasn't played it ever since her father died.