It's another Friday night in the fall. Everyone on the Salvatore School's varsity girls soccer team is at the weekly pregame dinner before their game on Saturday morning. This week, Jen Smith is hosting the dinner at her huge mansion.
They all shared a wonderful meal, cooked by the Smith's family chef and his team. Now they're all just chilling out and having a good time in Jen's living room with a warm fireplace going.
Josie's in the center of the group of girls telling some story about when she went to the public school Mystic Falls High for a week until she accidentally got high on some truth weed and told everyone in her English class she was a witch.
"They all laughed and obviously didn't believe me, but it was still so mortifying," Josie explains. "I can never show my face there again."
A bright pink blush paints Josie's face in embarrassment, along with a wide smile at her own foolishness. She laughs lightly, never taking herself too seriously and recognizing how insane the statement must sound to her non-supernatural former classmates.
She's mastered this kind of humble confidence that many struggle to even attain a sliver of. It's refreshing and magnetic, she's always surrounded by a variety of people who find themselves drawn to her.
"But it's also where you met me, so at least you got something out of it," Finch comes back with drinks for her and Josie.
"How could I forget?" Josie places a small kiss to her lips before taking one of the cups. "Thanks for getting me this."
"Of course, anything for you, baby."
Babe. Hope wants to plunge her hand into Finch's chest and rip out her heart right then and there. Especially with the way her hand is slowly making its way from Josie's arm to her waist and pulling her closer.
Hope has to walk into another room to stop herself from very seriously considering the action.
"Is someone jealous?" she hears her teammate Maya Machado's voice.
"No," Hope is quick to deny. "I just don't like how Finch is so close and touchy with Josie, how-"
"How it's not you?" Jade Montgomery chimes in. "Don't worry, no judgment. She's totally hot."
"I didn't know so many people on the team felt this way about Josie," Hope glares at them.
"Well, who wouldn't?" Penelope Park enters the conversation. "She's smoking."
"Aren't you the one that broke up with her in sophomore year, Pen?" Hope raises an eyebrow confused.
Josie and Penelope have been on friendly terms ever since they both made varsity in junior year. But Hope was under the impression that that's as far as it went.
"Yeah, we're broken up, but it doesn't mean she stopped being hot though," Penelope shrugs.
Josie is absolutely gorgeous, so the fact that girls and guys and everyone else just look at her and crumble should be no surprise. But it's still a shock to be hearing it so blatantly from her teammates.
"Why don't we all just stop talking about how hot my best friend is?" Hope suggests through gritted teeth.
"Whatever, I just don't understand what she's doing here," Jade motions to Finch.
"Yeah, she's been to every game, sat at the sidelines at all our practices, now she's showing up to pregame dinners? Is nothing sacred anymore?" Maya complains.
"You're the captain, Hope. Couldn't you tell her to leave?"
"I could..."
Hope considers going into the other room, pulling Finch aside, and telling her to get lost. But then Hope imagines Josie's sad puppy dog eyes that would inevitably follow and suddenly can't go through with it.
