I Guess You're Not THAT Bad | HIZZIE

Chapter 5 - Sleepovers and Secrets

Hope POV
It was a Sunday night, and I was in my bed waiting for Lizzie to come by, like she has the past two weeks. She'll always come up with some kind of excuse to invite herself in and then end up staying over watching movies. It really feels as if we're making up for all the time lost during our childhoods and I'm really glad.
Knock knock knock
"Hey hope it's me. I came to make sure you're not depressed about the dwarf anymore" Lizzie still sometimes carelessly insults Landon, like she used to when we were at odds. Sure, i don't really like it but having her around, comforting me about it evens it out.
"Come on in, I know you can siphon it anyways"
With that, Lizzie barges in, looking a little worse for wear. She plops down on the bed, next to me and sighs.
"Something's up with Josie," she confesses and my eyes bulge out a bit. Talking about Josie,he'll talking about anything important in her life is huge. It means she trusts me enough to confide in me and I'm strangely proud of that fact.
"Do you know what?" I ask, merely to keep her talking.
"No!" Lizzie complains frustrated, "she refuses to tell me! And due to our twin connection I can feel her pain but am resigned to just suffering!" She shuffled closer to me seeking comfort. I'm not really well versed in comforting people, but try my best as she hides the tears peeking from her eyes.
"Why don't you just relax tonight? Well watch a movie, your choice and deal with the rest tomorrow. I'll even go on one of those dates you desperately want me to do, it everything with Josie doesn't work out."
"Deal" Lizzie says relaxing against me. With that we spend the rest of the everything watching some wholesome family movies. Turns out Lizzie is no fan of horror, going as far as to even saying 'we face enough of it everyday to have it bleed knot our personal lives as well.' I nod, agreeing. Though staring into her beautiful eyes watching the rising sun cascade slowly over her hair, I think I'd have agreed to anything she's offered.
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The next morning I'm changing in my room while Lizzie is taking a shower. I leave some clothes by the door and start heading for breakfast, but not before leaving her a note saying keep the clothes, see you downstairs? Anyways, see you next Sunday.
As I emerge the lunchroom, I scan it's people as I search for one specific girl, and there she is.
Josie
Kay, I've got this. Mission #1 for staying on Lizzie's good side: get Josie happy. How am I going to do that? Honestly, I don't have a fucking clue. I figure talking to her is a good place to start though, so I take my breakfast and clatter it down across from her, and watch her jump a little, glancing up to look at me, as she'd been depressingly staring at her food since I'd walked in, and who knows how long before THAT.
"How's your morning going?" I ask. Josie and I have always been okay to each other, never as bad as Lizzie and I, but due to the bad blood with her Josie and I were always kept far apart. Although now, I assume that all old bets are off, at least I hope so or this is about to be pretty embarrassing.
She continues to stare, looking mostly confused as I sit down and start eating my breakfast, which consists of a delicious cup of coffee, and a piece of slightly burnt toast. What? Don't judge I was a tad distracted.
Deciding she was to uncomfortable in the Solent's Josie finally answers me, asking, "what are you doing Hope?"
Okayyyyy... not the response I was expecting, or hoping for really. But I can work with this. For Lizzie. And if all goes well maybe the three of us can be friends like I've wanted for so many years.
"Well... as Lizzie would say, you look depressing, so what's wrong?" I prop my elbows on the table, keeping my face up with my hands, facing her with a smug smile that usually befits only after Lizzie or I have a snarky remark. This does not go past Josie, with her even commenting, "God, you've been around Lizzie too much."
Seeing the way this conversation's going, we're not going to get too much out of it, but now the foundation is there, along with a couple extra leaving words to sew the seed of friendship deep DEEP within her and find the water necessary to help it bloom.
"Well... I'd there's ever something you need to talk about, just know... I'm here" I say, and then with a smile I start heading to the nearest garbage to dispose of my unfinished breakfast. That's okay though, I didn't really come here to eat.
On my way back to my room, I think about Josie. I've been thinking about her more than usual lately, but I guess you can add that up to being around Lizzie more. Thinking about Josie leads into thinking about Penelope and then, speak of the devil, I run into her entering the library with a stack of books. When I go to look at their contents they're quick to be snatched away, and hidden from my 'grubby little hands' as she so lovingly called them.
Even though she didn't say anything related to her, I know Lizzie thinks Penelope has something to do with Josie's recent dip in her motivational quotes ascetic, so it wouldn't hurt to keep a closer eye on her.
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On my desk, I see a nicely plated pile of cookies, attached with a note, on the note it says
Thanks for talking to me during breakfast,it really brightened up my mood :)
Maybe Hope and Lizzie were overreacting, after all if she's this fine after one conversation she couldn't have been all that worked up. Taking a big bite out of one, Hope suddenly feels tired, like she chugged a shot of wolfsbane and then drank herself under 100 tables. She barely makes it to the bed before collapsing, her final thoughts being,
Oh SHIT... this really isn't good