Secrecy (Hosie)

Part 65: Courage

Josie wakes up to the feeling of soft fingertips drawing incoherent shapes across her bare skin.

When she opens her eyes, she sees Hope's eyes still shut, as she traces absentmindedly, still half asleep herself.

She smiles sweetly at the action, never wanting this dream to end.

This is complete bliss.

Waking up to Hope, after spending such intimate and meaningful time together, making leaps in their relationship as Hope basically asked her to move in.

Okay...maybe she didn't ask her to move in, but basically...

Josie thinks it's sort of the same difference. Hope did say she could come and go as she pleases, and Hope knows that Josie will be with her as much as she possibly can, given that school and her parents allow it.

As far as Josie is concerned, she's now got the keys to the kingdom and full permission to be with the auburn haired girl more often than not.

She stares lovingly at the half-asleep girl next to her for several minutes, getting lost in the masterpiece of her features, soft skin, full lips, strong jaw, tussled hair...

"Hope, are you awake?" Her voice is barely above a whisper.

"No," She looks so peaceful, but clearly she is in fact awake.

Josie smirks as she brings her own fingertips to Hope's shoulder before dragging them lazily down her side, under the sheets, "No?"

"Nope," A subtle smile grows on her lips, barely noticeable, but of course Josie does immediately.

When Josie feels the girl's bare hip, she move a little lower to her upper thigh, "Still no?"

Hope can't even hide the smile now, though she tries by tugging her bottom lip between her teeth, "Mm, not quite, love."

"Hm," Josie traces her fingertips against her thigh, moving dangerously close to her center, and she can see Hope release a small sigh when she finally grazes the place Hope wants her most, and Josie whispers into her girlfriend's ear, "I guess I'll just have to get that shower by myself then..."

She quickly removes her hands from the girl and moves to get out of bed.

A small shriek leaves her lips when Hope suddenly springs up and picks Josie up with her, wrapping Josie's limbs around her body as she carries her toward the bathroom, "I'm up."

—————;)

After they shower and get dressed, Hope and Josie start getting ready to make their way back to the Salvatore School, since Hope had plans to meet her Mystic Falls High friends to go through Raf's things.

Dr. Saltzman had given the students a heads up, so they won't use their powers while the humans are there.

Josie grabs her new set of keys from Hope's dresser before grabbing her girlfriend's hand and making their way to the front door, which Josie insists she must lock with her new key.

Hope thinks it's quite amusing actually, since Josie could simply wave her hand, and use magic to lock it, so the keys are essentially useless, but it was a romantic gesture.

Once Josie has locked up, they get in Hope's car and head in the direction of the Salvatore School.

When they get there, they see Ethan's truck already parked outside, meaning he, Maya, and Landon are already there.

Hope puts her car in park, but she makes no move to get out, something Josie quickly notices, "Are you sure you're ready for this? We could always do this another day..."

Hope sighs before looking over to the brunette and giving her a weary smile, "No, I need to do this. Plus, my friends are expecting me to help. I can't bail on them."

"You can if you aren't ready. They'll understand."

Hope sighs again, looking back at the front entrance of the school, seriously contemplating the escape Josie offered, just driving back to her house and not facing reality today.

But she knows she'll never truly be ready for this, and she can't run forever.

So she musters up all the courage she can to unbuckle her seatbelt and open her car door.

She goes to open Josie's door as well, helping her from the car, taking her hand as they make their way towards the entrance.

When they enter, Cleo and MG are having a conversation in the foyer, but their words fade as they see the two entering the building, faces turning into sympathetic smiles as they look to Hope.

"The others just went upstairs, in Raf's room." Cleo ushers her head toward the stairs, and Hope gives her a slow nod.

Hope and Josie share a glance, with Josie squeezing the girl's hand reassuringly, "I'm gonna go change  clothes really quick, and I'm sure Lizzie is going to need a full update. I'll meet you in Raf's room when I'm done?"

Hope gives her a weary smile and nod, "Yeah, sure."

With that, Josie leaves a sweet kiss to her cheek and makes her way toward her room. And Hope takes a deep breath before heading to Raf's room.

Or at least, what was Raf's room.

And another breath, as she stands outside the door, trying to find the courage to enter, knowing that once she opens the door, the reality of loss will hit her all over again.

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Note: Next chapter is a bit all over the place with emotions. It may be a little intense, so I'll try to put a warning and mark the parts you can skip without missing any plot points.

Hope you are all still enjoying the story:)