The Villain in Whose Story (Phosie Fanfic)

002

"Meet The Gang"

       "So, what's your name?" Alaric asked me. "Um, Hope Marshall." I forced the last word out. That was my mother's last name. It brought back too many memories that I had to push down. "Where are your parents Hope?" I freeze and look at him. I think Josie saw my reaction cause she told her dad, "Dad stop asking questions, you're making her uncomfortable." "Thanks love, but it's okay, my parents are both dead." I don't look at their reaction I just get comfortable and close my eyes in hopes that he'll drop the subject.

      I close my eyes and steady out my breathing to make it look like I'm sleeping. I wait until the movement stops and I can hear their slow steady breathing. I open my eyes and open the car door as quietly as I can. I step out and take a deep breath. Cars race past me as I look at the view. We stopped on the edge of a cliff and I could see the trees and I could hear a rushing river. It was very relaxing to just listen and to look at my surroundings. 

     "Couldn't sleep?" I jump and look back to see a very tired Josie looking back at me. I was so caught up in the scenery that I didn't hear her coming up from behind me. "Yeah, I have severe insomnia. I'm sorry if I woke you up." She shakes her head and says, "Oh, no you didn't wake me up. I had a nightmare about being buried alive." I look at her in shock. Why would she dream about being buried alive? "May I ask why you're dreaming about that?" "Oh well, it's complicated. It'll make more sense when you get to the school." Her expression darkens. So I decide not to push her. "Oh, okay." We stand in surprisingly comfortable silence for a few minutes before we get back into the car.

       We get comfortable and I'm on the verge of sleeping when I hear the sound of teeth chattering. I look over to Josie who is shivering. Without asking I grab her shoulder and tug her closer to me. I put my arms around her so that I'm hugging her. I do this in hopes that she'll get warmer from my body heat. In the dark I see a light blush paint her cheeks and her heartbeat speeds up. I smile at how easily I affect the girl. The sound and her shivering stop soon after and I hear her steady breathing. I lean my head on the window and close my eyes. I stay like this until my body shuts down and I fall asleep. 

      I'm woken up by someone pushing off me. I groggily open my eyes to see Josie blushing and now sitting on her side. "Sorry about yesterday, I didn't mean to intrude on your space. I-I don't want to appear needy." At this point, she's rambling and won't stop so I rest my hand on her knees. "Hey, hey take a deep breath." She takes a deep breath and calms down. "Sorry, I didn't mean to ramble." "It's okay love,  it's quite cute." We stare into each other's eyes until it's interrupted by Lizzie waking up. She slept with her head on top of her hand and she woke up because her hand slipt. Her head hid the dashboard and she yelled. "Fuck, ow." She yelled again which caused her father to wake up. "Language Lizzie." I snicker. I hear small giggles coming from Josie. Her laugh is so musical and light. I loved hearing it and I knew I wanted to hear it more in the future.

       After everyone was fully awake we got back on the road. We still had about 8 more hours left until we reached the school. Lizzie started ranting about this guy and I just tuned her out. "Right Jo, Jo?" She turned around and saw her sister listening to music. She reached over and yanked out Josie's earbuds. "Hey! What is your problem?" Josie glared at her sister. "You cannot just leave me with Hope." It was almost like she said my name with disgust. I scoffed at her reactions.  I was about to make a snarky remark when Josie pulled a bag out of her pocket and threw up. Lizzie gagged and I just scrunched my nose. "In the bag sweety!" Alaric was telling Josie. After that, we sat in the car for an hour of silence until Alaric spoke. "When was Romeo and Juliet published?" "1597." I automatically respond. Everyone turned their head to look at me. "How did you know that? No one knows that at the top of their head," Lizzie asked. "Um, before my father died he wanted me to be educated in music and literature," I answer shyly. "Wow, we got a big nerd in the car." Lizzie retorts. My mood changed quickly from shy and calm to angry. My temper flared. "I'm not a nerd for being cultured in music and literature." I spat. Everyone's eyes were wide at my words. "Jeez, why you so mad. I was only joking." I was seething with anger at her words. I may be a nerd, but I was a nerd in the things that my father loved. We bonded over music, literature, and paints. "Call me a nerd again and you won't have a tongue," I say in a deadly calm tone.