| it's always been you |

2

Josie yanked the comb through the brunette's tangled hair, ignoring the noises of annoyance coming from Hope.

'Ow! This has to be assault or something.' She complained.

'Lizzie made me promise to get you ready.' Josie reminded. 'She seemed very invested.'

'I don't know what you mean?' Hope quickly pulled away from the brush and turned to face the twin, a defensive look knitting her eyebrows together in a. frown.

'Nothing.' She firmly rotated the the tribrid's head back and started to pull through the tangles in her hair.

'No, what?' Hope persisted. Josie paused for a second, brush mid tangle.

'Don't you think Lizzie's a little bit... too invested?'

'No? What are you trying to say.'

'Nothing. Don't worry about it.' Josie sighed, resuming her brushing.

'No seriously-'

'I said it's nothing. Just drop it.' She snapped suddenly, shocking Hope into silence. Josie continued to tug at her hair as the air hung heavy with tension.

After a few minutes of awkward quiet, Josie eventually retracted the black spines from Hope's now brushed hair, said an awkward goodbye, and rushed out the door. As soon as she left, Hope sighed in relief. Her mind ran through all the possible meanings of Josie's cryptic communication, but she just couldn't reach a conclusion. While still thinking, Hope turned her gaze to look at the clock.

'Oh fuck. Lizzie's gonna kill me.' Hope threw on a tightly fitted black dress that had been laid out for her by Josie, as per Lizzie's request, and dashed out the door. She would never have ordinarily considered it, but Lizzie deserved that at least from her.

Eventually, although as red as a tomato, she eventually made it to the site of the first date. She raced through the glass door, running into a lush garden full of vibrant greenery. Roses lined up in a row in front of the bushes, encircling the garden like a crimson fence. And in the middle of it all, sat a boy who Hope recognised from Mystic Falls high. Lizzie had set up candles around a gorgeous garden table, and it looked like the most beautiful date she had ever seen. That just made her feel even guiltier for her late arrival.

'Are you kidding? 17.3 minutes late? Do you have any idea how long this took to organise?' Lizzie exploded as Hope panted.

'I'm sorry, I just got late getting ready.'

'Whatever, just come here.' Lizzie gestured for Hope to sit on the chair opposite the boy as she introduced them.

'Hope, this is Chris. Chris, this is Hope. Now mingle or whatever.' Lizzie huffed, stepping back and leaving Hope with the brown haired boy.

Lizzie watched as Hope barely said a word to the poor boy in an hour. She just sat there, pretending to listen while he rambled on about football, and the blonde just couldn't understand what went wrong. Lizzie had noticed his green eyes and ruffled hair, and thought that Hope would love him, but she didn't even seem to bat an eye at his presence.

Hope's eyes tended to stay trained on the flickering candle on the side of their table, casting ever morphing shadows on the scratched bark of a tree. Those shadows managed to entertain her, keeping her engaged as her boring date couldn't. Occasionally, she would shoot a glance at Lizzie. The blonde stared over their table like a hawk, not moving her glare until Hope looked back at her.

After an hour, Lizzie finally signalled the end of the date, which instantly set Hope's mind at ease. That was, until Chris decided to place a hand on her knee.

'I know this is only our first date, but I think we have a real connection, so i couldn't let you get away before i did this.'

Alarm bells blared in Hope's mind as Chris's dry, cracked lips approached hers. Her mind seemed to work in slow motion, watching the boy lean closer and closer and feeling completely powerless to stop it. Eventually, she came to, and realised that a simple push would do the job.

'I'm sorry, I just don't-' Hope started awkwardly.

'It's fine, I get it' He picked up his bag, collected his ego and strode out the door, ensuring to shoot a dirty look at Lizzie before leaving. She stood back with a surprised look across her face as he slammed the door shut. She waited a second, before walking over to the table where the brunette sat.

'Really?' Lizzie raised her eyebrows. 'He was a perfectly nice guy, what's your issue?'

'He was dull.'

'Seriously. Dull.'

'What?' Hope protested.

'You don't need to like him. Just find someone hot enough and with at least 2 brain cells and fuck them! That's all you need. Now come on, we have another date.' The blonde grabbed the brunette's hand, tugging her along as they stumbled out of the fairytale date.

Soon enough, they reached the destination of the second date. Hope's eyes widened as she saw the scene in front of her.

Through the cluster of trees led a trail of garish red rose petals, directing a path for the pair to follow. Finally, the view of the ornate decoration came into view. Flickering candles lay spotted across the trees, orange flames dancing in every crevice of every tree. Enough that the woodland shone, even in night time, but not so much that the light was blinding, or even overdone. In the middle of it all, sat an anxious looking girl, a table and two chairs. Hope knew how she felt about the table and chairs, not so much about the girl.

Hope observed the way her flowing blonde hair carefully caressed her back, a waterfall of wide curls inter twisting with each other. It curled around her face in a way that complimented her eyes, a rusty blue shining in comparison to the vibrant gold of her hair. She noticed the way her tight red dress curled around her slender figure. She stepped up to the table as the blonde got up, holding out her hand to be shook.

And so, the date began.