Not Hope's favorite of Holidays, but it's the least religious. She thinks?
"Hope, let's go. We gotta get to the store before it closes"
"Honestly, do I have to go with you? Can't you do this on your own?" The shorter one replied.
"Um, definitely not. You love gory stuff, you're literally the only tribrid in existence. Why are you such a buzzkill when it comes to leaving the house" she retorts.
She's right. Hope hasn't left the house in days. She finds it calming in her own room. Free of negative or positive vibes.
"Fine," Hope gives in.
"I'll go, but no funny business. Let's just get you your glitter and skedattle".
--
"Josie, you said you only needed glitter. This is the bread aisle" Hope chuckled.
"Listen bud, I needed some good old fashioned bread for my avocado toast"
"I'm seriously going to fight you" She huffed as she sat down in the middle of the isle.
After about 6 full minutes of contemplation, the brunette grabbed a loaf and turned on her toes to face the auburn haired girl.
"Okay, all ready!" She jiggled the small plastic container of glitter and the loaf of bread in my direction. As Hope pushed herself up off the floor, Josie took off ahead towards the register.
--
"Al-RiGHt" she huffed, her voice annunciated the end of her sentence.
"Yep, you and Lizzie have got everything together. Your party is going to be the best in the entire neighborhood" Hope smiled at her.
She was always overly excited for social gatherings. It was almost like the twinkle in her dark eyes reflected true love at the thought of parties. One could understand. She never wanted to be alone. Josie would text or call daily asking if the two could hang out. Practically begging to go get coffee or some food. As long as Josie had someone to spend time with, she was content. Hope, however, craved silence. She didn't mind being with Josie when she was quiet and focused on some project. The problem was when Josie and Lizzie wanted to throw parties or attend parties. Hope thrives off of her own neutral energy, but too much or too little is like jumping off a boat into the middle of the Pacific. Hope wasn't good at caring, but she loved Josie, dearly. Josie was always there when she was confused, sad, or anything else. Josie never let her be alone with any negative thoughts. Hope could count on Josie, and that meant Josie could count on Hope. There's no taking from someone if you don't plan on giving back.
"helllllOoo..." Josie added.
"What?" Hope snapped out of her pondering.
"What were you thinking about" she completely dropped her previous topic, whatever it was.
"You" Hope stated simply.
"What about me, did I do something?" Her voice worrisome.
"Absolutely not. I was just thinking about how thankful I am for you and your unfaltering friendship" Hope looked down and smiled at her hands as she pounced, a bear hug knocking them both to the ground.
"You know I'm always here. Is everything okay in that machine of yours" she tapped the older girls head while the tribrid tried to swat her hand away from her.
"I'm alright, I just have a weird feeling. I don't know why. My body just is screaming no at something" Hope stayed splayed on the ground while Josie went back to her place at the counter, scribbling last minute party details.
"You think too much. Bad things are happening all around the world. Good things are happening too. You are oversensitive and even though I love you to death, you think. Too. Much" she was serious. She rarely ever came off her cloud nine of naivety to ease Hope's thoughts. The shorter girl just sat up, smiling into her own lap, then turning to look out the window at her house two doors down.
It was a small and tattered thing. But she loved it. It was the first place that she could afford to rent. It was a weathered gray two bedroom in the middle of a neighborhood of family homes. Josie's family being one of the younger families. Hope was thankful. Her family had lived in a house a few roads over. If she hadn't been able to find a place close to Josie, she'd probably be a crumpled up shell of a woman by now. Hope slowly stood up from her position and strutted over to Josie.
"I'm going back to my house now. Your dad and Lizzie are going to be home soon and I'm not looking forward to seeing Alaric today. Text me later or just come over" Josie rolled her eyes at Hope while embracing her.
"My dad doesn't hate you Hope, it was just a misunderstanding! And it was still like three years ago. He's over it" she held onto Hopes wrist as Hope fidgeted about the memory.
"It wasn't a misunderstanding Josie, he caught me in the closet with Mila and basically disowned me. I'm not even his kid! You were the one who somehow rigged the game to get me in there with her. Do you know how awkward that was?" Hope slapped her hand on her forehead and dramatically moved towards the front door.
"It may have been awkward, and he may have disowned you, but by golly I got you in a closet with the cutest girl you know, second to me" she giggled and flung the door open.
"Sure thing Josie, text me later" Hope sighed.
On her short journey home, Hope thought about that disastrous day. Mila was most definitely the cutest girl Hope knew. She was also the sweetest. After Josie rigged 7 minutes in heaven to get them together in that closet, she and Hope had actually figured out they had a lot in common. Hope was allergic to cats, Mila hated them because they never gave as good of kisses as dogs. She loved the sunset, and Hope loved the sunrise. Not the same, but close enough. About 3 minutes before they were allowed to leave the closet, she leaned in and pecked Hope on the lips. Hope was surprised so all she remember is the taste of strawberry lip gloss on her tongue. Since then, strawberry has been her favorite flavor. Right as she pulled away, Alaric entered Josie's room. Hope had frozen, knowing he would eventually find out they were in the closet. The door swung open and Alaric went wide-eyed, Hope realized that Mila and her were holding hands. Before she could let go, his eyes traveled down and caught them. He threw everyone out, Josie was livid that he would ruin one of her parties. Hope felt mortified that her 'father' had just caught her in the closet with another girl. He avoided Hope for a few weeks after that, and their already rocky relationship hasn't been the same since.
--
A few hours passed, Hope had taken a nice nap and was starting to shred a few old credit card documents and decluttering my desk along with some other miscellaneous cleaning around the house. She realized that Josie hadn't texted. She reached for her phone in her pocket to quickly text her.
Hope: are you coming over?
After about 30 minutes with no answer, Hope decided to go up the street to see what she was doing. As she knocked on the door, it creaked open.
"Jos? Are you here?"
No answer.
"Josette, come on this isn't funny you asshat"Complete stillness.
The tribred crept into her room, nothing was out of place. Her backpack lay tossed next to her desk. That one pile of clothes in the corner, that no matter how many times Hope came over and folded, was still there. Her bed was unmade, how she always left it. Senses on overdrive, Hope made her way back down to the foyer. That's when she noticed it.
