The Young and Gifted

28. casual and carefree

On the dance floor, Hope's gaze kept meeting Landon's across the room. And every single time, he was already looking at her. Almost like he was staring the entire time. It made the butterflies flare up in the pit of Hope's stomach and she struggled to listen to Josie. 

No matter how much they wanted to meet each other to dance, Dorian was in the room. Ric was no doubt in the shadows somewhere, supervising those that thought they weren't being watched. Other than that, she really enjoyed the party, it gave her some time to bond with Josie and learn about Penelope. 

As the party continued, MG and Kaleb remained on the guidelines, dancing to the music in their own style. They genuinely seemed to be enjoying themselves in their matching outfits. 

MG glanced around the room with question. "You think Lizzie left?"

"I honestly don't care. She's probably smacking lips with some frat werewolf in the back," Kaleb answered unbothered. 

"That's the problem, why isn't she smacking lips with me? I thought doing her homework would finally bring attention to me in her eyes."

Kaleb slapped his friends arm with pity. "You're too desperate, man. And when a girl realizes that a guy is too desperate, she'll only see him as a second option. A back up plan. Which is why you gotta scratch this whole narrative that Lizzie Saltzman is the love of your life because she is not. In fact, she's your worst nightmare."

His words must have been getting to MG's head because he seemed to be contemplating it. Kaleb scoffed and threw an arm over the vampire's shoulders. 

"Be like me, casual and carefree. Remember Dave? The one who made me touch those foul-smelling socks for a week?" He pointed to a boy fooling around with a friend. He did not look like he had good hygiene. "I've been thinking about ways to get back at him for trying to manipulate me."

MG narrowed his eyes. "What do you have in mind?"

Both boys seemed to be occupied with pranking him and by the end of it, they were laughing like idiots. All thoughts about Lizzie was erased from MG's mind and he felt at ease. They decided that it was time get drinks but when they turned, Dorian stood there with arms crossed. 

"I saw what you did there," he said with disappointment. "You're all getting detention."

Kaleb's mouth dropped. "We didn't do anything! We're just having--"

"Yeah, yeah, I got my eye on you," he warned at the two. "Stop bothering people and just enjoy the night."

*

The party was over a couple of hours ago and light's off was thirty minutes ago. Ric and Dorian went to the Mystic Falls library downtown to try and find any extra information about the Legendarium. But that didn't stop Josie and Penelope from sneaking off into the dark and deserted hallways. They silenced their footsteps and made their way to the kitchen. 

Penelope snapped her fingers and a magic sheet of paper appeared in her fingers. Josie leaned over the larger counter and beamed up at the witch, "So what are we making?"

"An old magic-based brownie cupcake recipe my grandmother used to make for me on the first Sunday of the month," Penelope's eyes twinkled with pride and joy. She memorized the ingredients and started to pull out what was required. 

"What was your grandmother like?" Josie reached over to pick up the sheet. It was old paper and it looked like it was passed around a lot. Josie was a sweet tooth so she could already sense how good it was going to be. 

"She was lovely and soft and was the type of person who would pinch my cheeks for staying up late on my phone," Penelope described and placed all the tools on the table. She dived into more stories about the wonderful woman. She answered all the questions Josie asked and in no time, the delicious goods were baked and scenting the kitchen. Josie struggled to keep her hands off more than one serving. She was stuffing her face with the chocolate goodness and she knew she would have a stomach ache later that night. Penelope laughed. "I know right? They were so good. She made me drink gallons of water to balance all the calories out."

Josie quickly finished her mouth full and ordered, "Now you have to make these for me on every first Sunday of the month."

Penelope grinned, leaning in to wipe a chocolate smudge at the corner of her mouth. She sucked her thumb and mumbled, "Anything for you, Jojo."

Josie's eyes followed her finger, watching as her tongue slithered around the chocolate. It didn't take long for Penelope to pick up on the signals and leaned in to connect their lips.

*

Josie walked down the halls with a satisfied smirk. Her fingers brushed her lips and blushed even further. Penelope's kisses were always intense and left her mouth tingling. Josie missed spending hours like that with her. 

As she walked down the halls, an idea came across her mind. Her mother didn't know about how she got back together with Penelope. In all honesty, Josie missed talking to Caroline, her leave felt long. She approached the door and grabbed the knob and twisted it. She stepped in with a bright smile. "Mom, I—"

The darkroom finally came into view and her forehead crinkled when she heard a sudden thumping. And then two figures sprung apart rapidly and this only confused Josie further. Her eyes widened when she realized that it could be her parents having—

"Josie," Caroline's rasped breathlessly. "I-what are you doing out of your room this late?"

Josie cleared her throat and prepared to turn around. Then her brain started to hurt because she remembered that Ric and Dorian were in town. Then who was— "Lux," she muttered and turned around with a flash as the lights flickered on.

And there in the room was Clarke and his half-naked chest. Caroline's hair was dishevelled and it looked like she was completely naked under the covers.

Josie realized in horror what was happening before she interrupted. "What the hell?"

"Josie wait, it's not what it looks like—" Caroline tied the sheets to her glistering body, with a sheen of what looked like sweat, and stepped forward to try and reach her daughter.

Josie repelled away like she was stung like a bee. "Are you kidding me? It looks like you're cheating on dad!"

"How did I not hear you coming?" Caroline asked more to herself.

Josie's stomach started to churn. "I was on a secret date with Penelope and I spelled myself so that I don't make noise." She turned to Clarke and more realization hit her. "Is this why you were gone so long? Is this why he's here?" Caroline tried to touch her daughter again, to comfort her, but Josie's arm jerked out to stop her. Out of anger, she began to siphon. "Y-you're a cheating, lying whore."

Caroline gasped from pain and shock at Josie's words, yanking her hand away from the witch pulling energy away from her. "Josette—"

Josie slammed the door in her face and ran away. Caroline sighed with evident frustration. Clarke awkwardly stood there as she began to flit around the room to put on clothes. "It was bound to come out—"

"Not now," she hissed and dashed out the door. She sprinted to find her daughter. "Josie, wait!" It didn't take long for her to spot the brunette fleeing away down the hall. With her vampire speed, she caught up with her in a flash and was in front of her. "You don't understand." She tried to grab her shoulders again, despite the fact that Josie siphoned off her.

Josie flung herself away and her glassy, angry eyes reached the vampire's. "Stay away from me, you monster. Invisel." She turned invisible and Caroline couldn't try to track her by sound because as mentioned, Josie's footsteps were concealed.

Caroline heaved with defeat. She ran a hand through the roots of her hair and cursed the universe. 

~

"We are a school for the supernatural, which covers a lot of territory."

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