The Sweater (a hosie oneshot)

HOPES POV
Hope was yanked from her sleep by roommate Alyssa Chang talking on the phone. She did not know who was on the other end of the call and soon enough she did not care. Hope began to recall the eventful night before. She suddenly felt a tear squeeze its way out of her right eye and rushed to wipe it away.

Hope hated the thought of being that girl, the girl who's world spun out of control over a high school boyfriend. Yet she could not simply be okay with what had happened, for she did love him. Even through the fighting and misunderstanding, she still loved Landon Kirby. He was someone who was not afraid of her, who understood her, and most importantly, someone who couldn't die. She had experienced the pain of death too many times in her life to not find his immortality completely and utterly irresistible.

"Are you good roomie?" Hope was interrupted from her thoughts by the sharp sound of Alyssa Chang's voice. "Im fine, Alyssa." Hope snarled at her. "Really, because i think you're ruining that ugly outfit with your tears." With a quick smirk Alyssa returned to her phone call and walked out of the room.

Hope suddenly realized that Alyssa was right, somewhere in her thoughts she had begun to cry. The tears kept coming and Hope kept thinking about what she had lost. The bond they had formed was all over now. After about 5 minutes she was finally able to pull herself together. She wiped the tears away and crawled out of bed.

She stood for a minute thinking of how she could escape this torture, and contemplating whether she deserved it or not. Hope had a tendency to blame herself for things, but she knew deep down that this wasn't her fault. Both of them are just simply better off this way.

Hope felt herself yearning to talk to Josie or Lizzie, they were two of the few people she had came to trust in her lifetime. However, Lizzie was spending the day with MG learning all things comic nerd, as Lizzie would put it. A "much needed day of re-innovation and soul patching" as also put by Lizzie Saltzman. Hope began to chuckle at the thought of Lizzie trying to understand the complexity of the Marvel universe.

Hope turned and looked at the picture on her wall of Josie and MG. She knew it might be awkward but she couldn't help but feel like Josie was the one person that could take her mind off of the heartbreak. Hope scrambled to complete her morning routine and after finding a nice outfit, marched off to find the location of the brunette siphoner.

After asking around and frantic searching, Hope finally laid eyes on Josie in the school library. She was reading a book, dusty and faded as if it had not been touched in a century or longer. It was just like Josie to pick out the true gems. Hope began to feel nervous about bothering her.

JOSIES POV
Josie had been reading Brave New World, an old but interesting dystopian literature. She was so intrigued with the book she barely realized when the young Mikaelson approached her. "hi..." Hope shyly stated. Josie took a shallow but intense breath before replying, "hi back..." A slight awkward smile emerged on Josies face as the words exited her mouth. Josie set her book down almost as an excuse to look away from the situation even if it was only for a second. Hope began to speak. "I know we haven't really talked since you got back, and I know thats probably my fault but..." She paused and looked down thinking about what to say next. Josie noticed that Hopes hands were clenched together in front of her, a clear sign that she was at least a little bit nervous. Hope suddenly looked back at Josie as she found her words. "Do you wanna maybe... go grab a burger and talk?" A smile emerged on Josies face and Hope soon replicated the expression. "I actually don't care for burgers but theres this amazing pizza place near Elena Salvatore's clinic. Dad, Lizzie, and I used to go there often after mom left since dad is a terrible cook. Hope laughed softly and widened her smile. "Yeah, that sounds good."

HOPES POV
They had finished their meal and began their walk down the sidewalk. Hope knew she needed to break the silence. "So me and Landon and broke up." Josie looked quickly over almost shocked and replied "Yeh I heard, I'm really sorry." Hope moved her hair out of her face and looked up with a sigh. "Oh its not your fault. It was inevitable really. Not much good in my life lasts too long." Hope was suddenly stopped by Josies hand. Josie looked at her concerned. "Don't think like that. I know you've been seriously unlucky in your life... but you still have and entire future in front of you. You deserve love just as much as the next person." Hope had never felt such a reassurance in her life. Her heartbreak began to hurt a little less.

The girls continued their walk. Hope suddenly felt the urge to reassure Josie, "You know you should take your own advice sometime." Josie looked at her confused. Hope elaborated, "I see the way you struggle with this darkness, with Lizzie, with Penelope still... you think its your job to love everyone else and to be kind to everyone but yourself but you deserve love too." Josie looked down and grinned in what seemed to be an understanding and agreeing manner. Josie suddenly replied, "You sound like Penelope." Hope looked down and back up at Josie, "well maybe the she-devil was right about something." They both chuckled and started their way back to the Salvatore school.

to be continued...