Secrecy (Hosie)

Part 38: Afterlife

The following day, Lizzie and Josie stand in their bedroom, looking over their ballgowns and accessories from Hope that they'll be wearing tomorrow at their party.
The Mikaelson's invited them to arrive early before the party to get ready. Lizzie has been going on and on about how cool it is to be pampered by such an exquisite family, practically royalty.

All Josie can think about is her discovery from last night, the fact that Hope must've met the Mikaelson's before Rebekah had ever shown up in Mystic Falls a few weeks ago.
She hasn't said anything about it to anyone, not even Hope, who she's called a few times since she left Mystic Falls High last night. She really didn't have much of a reason to call the girl, but Hope never asked her to provide an excuse either.

Lizzie eyes Josie skeptically for a moment as Josie runs her fingers over the jewels on her gown, "So...do you want to tell me about whatever it is you've got going on with Hope?"

Josie looks to her sister with her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "What do you mean? There's nothing going on...We aren't together anymore, remember?"

Lizzie shoots her a pointed look, "Okay, then what was with all the jealousy and eye-fucking last night during the lock-in? Not to mention the late night and early morning phone calls."

Josie shakes her head, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Lizzie mumbles under her breath, though loudly enough for Josie to hear, "Sounds like denial to me."

Josie let's out a frustrated sigh as she sits by Lizzie on the bed, "Look, we're just trying to stay friends, okay? Neither of us want to completely lose the other, and with all of the threats against us being together, this is the best we can do for right now."

Lizzie's eyes turn from accusatory to sympathetic, "Jo, friends don't do the things that you two do. They don't call each other multiple times throughout the night just to check in and say 'hi.' And they sure as hell don't plot ways to coincidentally bump into each other."

"Lizzie—"

Her interruption is dismissed, "Friends don't have the words 'I'm in love with you' on the tip of their tongue at all times, or—"

"Well, I can't unlove her, Lizzie. She's literally all I can think about, it's so all-consuming. And I just can't stop. I don't want to... I'll always love her. At this point, I'm convinced I'll be in love with her even after I take my last breath, head over fucking heels in the afterlife." Josie takes a deep breath after her outburst, and it's probably the most relief she's felt in weeks. She just needed to say her feelings aloud, freeing them from the prison of her mind and releasing them into thin air.

Lizzie smiles at that, knowing her sister has been holding herself back from shedding light on her emotions, hoping that her silence would deny how true they are, "Maybe one day, you two won't have to fight your feelings anymore. You'll get to be happy together, without constant threats."

Josie let's her body sink down on the bed, "Maybe..."

————————

Rebekah sits down on the couch in the family room of the Mikaelson Manor, next to her niece. There's a mixture of excitement and nervousness in her body language, causing Hope to eye her worriedly, "Auntie Bex, is everything alright?"

Rebekah nods to her, "Yes, of course darling. I just wanted to discuss something with you before the rest of our family arrives."

Hope closes her book and sets it on the coffee table, turning her full attention to her aunt, "What is it?"

"Well, as you already know, Marcel and I have been holding off on planning our wedding for a while, but we've been talking over plans for a few weeks now. I didn't say anything before, since you already had so much going on..."