Secrecy (Hosie)

Part 7: Punishment

Hope wakes up the next morning to the sound of a shower running, steam coming from the bathroom. She lies in bed a little longer, not wanting to face the day yet. She and Raf had a long talk the night before, agreeing that their friendship means too much to the both of them to ruin it over a simple crush. Rafael promised he could keep his feelings in check. He loves her, but he knows they can't have a romantic relationship. Hope has love for him, too. He's the only one of her friends who's met most members of her family. He didn't know anything about supernaturals at the time, so she trusted it wouldn't cause a problem with her hidden identity. She loved having him over several nights a week. Her family knows how his foster family has treated him and his brother Landon, so they didn't mind it when he crashed at the family house. Landon sometimes came with him, but Hope was never as close with him. Raf has easily been her closest friend since her parents died.

There's a sound of a turning shower handle, and Hope no longer hears water running. Raf joins her in the room once again, wrapped up in a towel, "Well if it ain't sleeping beauty herself. About time you woke up." He teases her.

She looks over at the clock, "It's literally only 8:30. And it's a Saturday, it won't hurt to lounge around a little bit." She turns over on her side refusing to get up. Raf walks over to the window, pulling open the curtains, letting the sunlight shine through them. Hope groans, trying to cover her eyes.

"Didn't you say your aunt was leaving town today?"

Hope groans again. She finally forces herself out of the bed, sluggishly walking to the bathroom to brush her teeth as Raf gets dressed in the room. "Yeah, and I should probably be there to send her off." Once back in the room, Hope runs a frustrated hand through her hair, "I'm going to slip out before everyone starts getting up. Dr. Saltzman will be pissed if he finds out I stayed in the boys' dorms."

"You sure that you can make it out without him seeing you?"

"Are you kidding? I'm practically invisible." He rolls her eyes at her sarcasm, shaking his head. She slowly peeks her head out the door, looking both ways. Once she's sure there's nobody in the hall, she makes her way out of the room, shutting the door softly behind her.

She quietly makes her way down the hall, looking out for Dr. Saltzman as she does. "Hope?" She practically jumps out of her skin as someone touches her shoulder. She spins around to see Josie and MG standing there, placing a hand over her chest and letting out a deep breath of relief, "Sorry didn't mean to scare you." Josie chuckles at the girl in front of her before noticing that all she's wearing is an oversized t-shirt. Even with her just-out-of-bed look, Josie thinks she looks incredible. Though she tries to appear unfazed, fighting the blush threatening to attack her cheeks, "What are you doing?"

"Trying to sneak out before your dad finds out I stayed in the guys' dorms."

"Well we're just heading to breakfast. We can walk you to your car if you want?" MG offers, sweetly. Josie nods in agreement.

The three of them walk together down the hall, and just as they turn the second corner, they see Dr. Saltzman standing right in front of them, arms crossed in front of his chest. Hope gets a frustrated look on her face, knowing she's probably going to be receiving a lecture. "Great, you're all here. You can join Elizabeth in my office." Yep, there's a lecture in store for them.

The four of them make their way into the office, joining Lizzie. Hope is suddenly thankful that Raf's shirt is big enough to reach her mid-thigh, she doesn't really want to receive a lecture from the headmaster being any more exposed. Alaric takes a seat at his desk and there's a knock on the doorframe, Raf enters the room, looking around confused, "Uh, hi Doc, Kaleb said you wanted to see me?" He tries not to make eye contact with Hope, not wanting to make it obvious that they stayed together the night before.