Not out (On Hold)

Get your ass over here, Elizabeth

Hope POV

You know, when you're a kid, your parents read you all these stories, and in the end, it's always something along the lines of "And they lived happily ever after". As you get older, you realize...happily ever after doesn't exist. Not everyone gets a perfect ending. I don't think anyone does actually. No matter what you do, or how good you are...your fate is already sealed.

It's been about almost two years now. I kept my promise I made to Josie, and didn't let her shit father send her away. With the help of my family, we got some really good lawers that specialize in child custody. We contacted the twins' mother, Caroline Forbes. She lives in Europe, which is really far away.

Before we decided to get the lawers, the day after we drove to New Orleans, Alaric showed up. He demanded we "let Josie go", or he'd report us to the police, and tell them that we'd kindapped her. We all know that's bullshit, but we Josie didn't wanna go, and I sure as hell wasn't gonna make her. My father and uncles made him leave.

I remeber Josie telling me her mother traveled a lot, which is why she wasn't around. It wasn't easy getting ahold of her, but we did it. She flew to New Orleans, and when we explained to her the situation, she was outraged, to say the lest. She was absolutely pissed, and with good reason.

That's when we got the lawers. We took Alaric to court, and it took a few months, but...we won. During those months, my family and I were living in Mystic Falls, and the twins stayed with us. Caroline gained custody of Josie and Lizzie. We were all overjoyed, and happy. We went out for dinner to celebrate, the three of them stayed with us for e few nights, and we truly had a great time.

Though, there was only one downside to all of this. As afro mentioned, Caroline lives in Europe. Meaning both the twins had to move. It sucked when they had to leave, but they did have to leave, so I couldn't do anything about it. It was a sad goodbye. I mean, the love of my life was moving across the world. I didn't know if I'd ever see her again.

I'd started going to school here, in New Orleans. I graduated a year later, then got a job. Throughout that entire year, Josie and I did our best to stay in contact. For the first few months, we talked every day. Whether it be just texting, or actually face timeing each other. Over time, we slwoly started to drift apart, and I felt it.

It wasn't that we didn't wanna talk to each other, because that was all we wanted to do, but between me going to school, and her traveling with her mom and sister, we didn't have much time for each other. Our schedules didn't line up, so we talked less and less every week, but we never technically broke up.

After I graduated, I got a job at Rousseau's. I figured it was the best place for me to work, because I love beingets. Making and selling them all day seemed like the best thing in the world, and it is. Apart from talking to Josie. I'd choose her over beingets any day.

So, here I am. Working the register at Rousseu's, like I have been for the past year. I think I do my job pretty well, and people love me. I had my back turned toward the register, while I was getting ready to clock out. It's almost time to close, and I'm the only person here, so I have to clean and stuff. I hear someone walk in, so I say "I'll be with you in a second".

"Hope?" I hear. My head snaps up, but I don't turn around. I didn't want to turn around, because I was afraid. Afraid that my mind is just messing with me. I have been missing her a lot lately, so it'd make sense. Am I going crazy? Could this be my breaking point. "Hope" I hear again, but louder this time.

I slowly start turning around, tears forming. "J-josie?" I say, tears starting to fall, and my voice breaking. That's when I see her face. God, she's still so fucking beautiful. I saw a tear fall from her eyes too. "Please tell me you're real" I beg. "It's me, baby" she says. I quickly walk from behind the counter, and stop right in front of her. I lift my hand, and slowly reach forward.

I gently place my hand on her cheek, and caress it. I let out a shaky breath when she places her hand on mine. I slide my hand to the back of her head, and pull her into a hug. My other hand moves to her back. She slides her arms around my waist, and squeezes me tight. I let more tears fall, as does she.

I hear the door open again, but I couldn't bring myself to look at who it is. Though, Josie's grip starts to loosen. "Don't you dare let go of me, Josette" I say, which earns me a teary chuckle from her. The hug last for what feels like ever, but was only about 8-9 more minutes.

I pull back just a little, and she lifts her head off my chest. My hand was still resting on the back of her head, tangled in her hair. She cutely smiles at me. "You guys are so gay" I hear. I turn my head, and see none other that Lizzie standing at the door. "Are you crying?" I ask, laughing a little.

"What? No, I'm just...my eyes are just sweating. It's a very serious and very rare condition. It'll stop in a minute" she answers, wiping her face. I roll my eyes with a small smile. "Get your ass over here, Elizabeth" I tell her, opening one of my arms, so she can join in on the hug. "Ok, fine" she says, still crying.

I pull the both of them as close to me as I can. "God, I missed you guys" I tell them. Josie looks at me again. I glance down at her lips, and she notices. Before I can even say anything, she presses her lips against mine. "Yea, I'm not being apart of this" Lizzie says, pulling out of the hug. Though, neither Josie or I pull away. "I'm gonna go, so...come out when you're done" she tells us, leaving the bakery.

I could taste the salty tears streaming down each of our faces. I'd say this is probably my favorite of all of our kisses. It's full of passion, and love. Everything that we couldn't say this past year, we're saying now. I placed both of my hands on her cheeks, and pulled her closer. Neither of us want to pull away, so we breathe through our noses.

Eventually we pulled away. Though, not all the way. We rested out foreheads on each other's, and closed our eyes. "You wanna know what's funny?" she asks. "What?" I reply. "I was coming here to get you beignets to surprise you with" she tells me. I smile, then ask "Did I ruin it?". "Kind of, yea. I had a whole plan and everything" she answers.

"Well, you can tell me all about it e while we're eating beignets in my room" I say, pulling away. "I'd love that" she replies. I plant a kiss on her cheek, then walk to the back of the counter. I pack a dozen beignets, then pay for them. "You ready, my love?" I ask. She nods, then stands up. We walk outside together, and I see her mom and sister waiting for us. We get in the car, and drive to my house.

Sooooo, I really apologize for taking so long to update this story. I had writers block, and I've been busy with my other story. I finally figured out how I want to end this, so there will be 2 chapters left. I hope you all enjoy, and have an amazing day/night