The Real Me ↠ Hope Mikaelson ✓

18

𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐄
you have the sweetest soul i have ever seen.

MILLIE SKIPS ALONG the hallway, her long blonde hair flowing in thick curls over her shoulders.

Today, she's wearing capris with cute little flowers embroidered into the fabric, a white tank top with the names of her friends written all over it, and pink slippers adorning her feet.

Hope is at her side, unable to stop her smile, nodding and laughing along as Millie talks.

What is she talking about exactly? Hope isn't sure—too focused on the girl's smile and the way her eyes are wide and bright.

Okay, maybe Hope is too infatuated with the blonde that it's a little hard to concentrate on what she's saying and admire her at the same time.

"And then Ravi totally blew it up! The microwave exploded with mine and my mom's food in it all because he wanted to do an experiment," Millie keeps talking, bounding around, smiling. She ruffles Pedro's hair as she walks by, and she giggles and waves at Jed and Kaleb even though they're on the other side of the hall. "Oh, I almost forgot about when Clive—"

She just keeps rambling, and Hope loves it.

Perhaps the nonstop talking mostly has to do with the brain Millie turned into a stir-fry and consumed earlier.

Usually, she's naturally quite the talker and always excited, but this takes it to another level.

"Ooh!" Millie crows excitedly, rushing towards the candy set out on a desk. She picks a cherry-flavoured lollipop, unwraps it, and plops it in her mouth with a satisfied grin.

Hope smiles. Yup, she's down bad for a zombie who eats brains and gains different personalities from each one.

Does that bother her? No. If anything, it just makes Millie more endearing, makes her love the girl even more.

Hope's eyes widen. She's already in love with Millie.

How has it happened so fast? How has it happened like this without her noticing? Was she that scared of being hurt and abandoned so badly that she couldn't see what was right in front of her?

She has never felt this strongly about anyone before.

The love Hope has for Millie, without her doing anything other than being kind—it lifts her up. She's gained back her own self-confidence because Millie thinks she's worth talking to and worth being her friend.

"Luna!" Millie exclaims, seeing the blonde, curly-haired girl that she helped down from a panic attack yesterday.

"Millie!" The little girl shouts, rushing over and immediately wrapping her tiny arms around Millie's waist. "I missed you!"

"It's been a day, Peaches," Millie muses softly, but hugs the girl back as tightly as she can without hurting her. "I missed you too."

Luna glances to Millie's side, and her eyes widen upon seeing Hope. "Oh, hi!" she exclaims, taking a step back, sending a wide smile to the tribrid. "I'm Luna!"

Hope smiles gently and bends down slightly to make eye contact a little easier, although the girl is almost as tall as she is. "Hi, I'm Hope."

Luna's cheeks gain a slight pink tint to them the longer she stares at Hope. "You're so pretty," she whispers, almost like a secret. Her eyes go wide, and she squeaks, covering her face with her tiny hands. "I wasn't supposed to say that," she mumbles, her cheeks red.

"Why weren't you supposed to say that?" Hope asks gently, smiling. "That's a nice compliment. Thank you." She gently pries Luna's hands from her face, her smile widening when the girl peeks at her with one eye before closing it again. "You're very pretty too, Luna."

Millie rocks back and forth, grinning at the interaction, her heart pounding wildly in her chest.

If she didn't already know that she's fallen for the auburn-haired girl, this right here proves it even more. Hope is an angel.

Luna slowly opens both her eyes, gazing at Hope. "Really? You think I'm pretty?"

Hope nods. "Of course."

Luna squeals again. "Thank you!"

And with that, she skips down the hall with a smile on her face.

"She's the best, huh?" Millie smiles as she and Hope watch the little girl disappear down the hallway.

"She is..." Hope replies, staring at Millie with a soft glint in her eyes.

Millie grins, starting to skip around the room, no longer able to stand still. "Oh, to continue the story from earlier, Clive—"

Hope stands from her crouch, watching the zombie bounce around the room with never-ending energy.

Yup. Hope's screwed. She's head over heels for a zombie she isn't sure is even into girls.

Well, damn.