i need a cure (there's no escaping your love)

Part 2

"Tell me what happened again."

Sighing loudly, Hope closes her book and eyes, hoping to find within her the strength to not strangle her friend. Her frustration has slowly been building up for the past hour. She has already answered that question three times, her answer being the same each time. Waiting to have calmed down enough, the redhead opens her eyes and sends a glare in her friend's direction.

"As I've told you thrice before, nothing happened, Maya." Although Hope tries to keep the anger out of her voice, the brunette's amused grin lets her know she's been unsuccessful. "I happened to stumble on Josie after the champion's announcement, and we exchanged a few words. Then, father arrived and he and I left together. Nothing less, nothing more."

Maya's grin seems to get bigger, if possible. At the sight of it, Hope braces herself for what's to come.

"Was she just like you imagined, up close? Are her eyes like melted Swiss chocolate? Does her voice resemble a siren's call? Did her smile blind you like the sun's own rays would?"

Hope curses her complexion, she can feel herself redden from neck to ears at Maya's words. Hope's own uttered words last night in the dark of their shared room, too high on happiness, to remember to keep silent. Not one to be shamed for what she likes and in this case, also wants, she snaps.

"Enough, Maya! Another word about Josie and I'll have you mute for the rest of the week." The threat is delivered coldly, but calmly. Maya knows better than to keep pushing her.

"Okay fine, sorry. I'm done." While she doesn't look sorry in the least, the auburn haired girl gives her a nod in acceptance anyway. Happy for the newfound silence, Hope goes back to her book, leaving Maya to her writing.

As every good thing doesn't last, their peace is disturbed when a body crashes through their bedroom door. When she sees who it is, Hope can only sigh. One Machado is bad enough, and now here is the second one. Her head is already pounding at the thought of the both of them teasing her about Josie.

Unaware of Hope's pending headache, Ethan jumps on his sister's bed.

"Hello there, girls! Guess what?" Maya has seemingly forgotten all about Hope's threat as soon as she saw her brother. And so with a matching Cheshire grin, she plays the guessing game.

"You're finally admitting you were adopted?"

"No, you were adopted."

"No, you were! Have you finally admitted your feelings to that weird dude who likes bird watching?"

" Merlin, Maya! Just stop guessing! I have intel on the brunette with the green tie. You know the one Hope spends all her time mooning over?"

Maya squeals at the news and Hope tries her best to hide her interest behind an annoyed facade. If the siblings notice her leaning towards the bed, they keep silent about it.

"You two are the worst. Instead of fishing for information on my competition, here you are only interested in an infatuation you believe I have in a girl I've only talked to once." Hope lets out a deep breath after her tirade only to be met by two blank faces.

"Infatuation? Honey, you have a full-on crush. Now stay quiet, and let Ethan tell us what he found out about the brunette who stole your heart."

The Mikaelson girl can only gape in shock, the siblings having already moved on with the conversation without her. Her mumbled "She didn't steal my heart." unheard by the Machados.

"So, she's in her sixth year here at Hogwarts. She's your age Maya, so a year younger than Hope and I. She has a twin sister, but Josie is a Slytherin, green house and her sister is a Gryffindor, red house. Josie is a disaster on a broom, but very good at herbology."