Always Yours

No Longer Filtered

Josie POV-
She had me so worried when she removed the tattoo. I didn't know what she was going to do. "JoJo, do you mind if I shower real quick? I soaked through my clothes when I went running." I nod my head but I shift between my feet. "Can I wait in the bathroom with you?" We shouldn't have this awkwardness between us but she feels distant. I can't lose her again. "Of course, Jo." I sit down on the toilet seat lid as Penelope takes a quick shower. I can't take my eyes off the shower curtain. I know she is behind it but I can't see her. She turns the water off so I drop my eyes to my hands and wait for her to step out.
She finishes getting dressed and lays down on our bed with her back pressed against the headboard. I hesitantly wait for some sort of cue that she wants me to join her. I don't want to push her. "Come on, Jo." She pats right beside her and watches as I crawl onto the bed to lay down against her. I let out a shaky breath after settling into her. We sit in silence. Both waiting for the other to speak first. "I'm sorry I ran off, Jo. It has nothing to do with you. I just hate that I can't control it. And the tattoo. I just, I needed silence and," she trails off. She tucks her head avoiding eye contact. I lift my hand to her cheek. "It's okay, Penny. You know you can talk to me about this stuff. We are in this together." I drop my hand to rest on her chest. She lifts her hand and begins to run it through my hair slowly. "Yes, we are, JoJo." My grip lessens on her shirt at hearing this.
Penelope starts to chuckle softly before speaking next. "I can't believe you yelled at Hope and Lizzie." There is a lightheartedness to her comment. "Yeah, well, they could have been more careful. I don't know if you saw it but Hope totally flashed her wolf eyes at me when I got too close to Lizzie and pushed her. Then, Lizzie calmed Hope down." I emphasized the last part. "No shit, really? When are they going to admit they have a thing?" We both let out a small laugh.
Penelope pries my hand off her shirt and interlocks our fingers. "I think I'm going to set up an appointment with Emma when we get back and," she hesitates before continuing. "I was wondering if you would maybe come with me?" Her voice is barely audible. I know she had trouble getting that out. "That sounds like a good idea, Penny, and I'd love to come with you. I will be there every step of the way that you want me there." We sit in comfortable silence. The awkwardness from earlier is gone.
She holds up my wrist to see the faded P. "Can you put mine back on? This conversation would go a lot easier with you able to hear my thoughts." I lock eyes with her to make sure she really wants this. I remember she had a harder time adjusting to the extra thoughts flooding her head when we first added them. Penelope nods her head confirming what she just asked of me. I imagine the J in my mind and say the spell we created for our project. The J on her wrist reappears and the P on mine is now back to its normal color. My thoughts are no longer filtered. "Please don't leave me." It cuts straight through to her. It is the main thought that has scared me the most since she has gotten back from Belgium. That has always been my fear. That she would leave again. Hurt flashes across her eyes as she looks down at me. She has heard this thought before and it never seems to fade. "It is us until the end, JoJo. And I will do my best to prove that to you."
Penelope POV-
Josie and I laid in our bed for awhile longer until Josie's thoughts cut through the quiet. "I need to go apologize to Hope and Lizzie." She was curled up against me with her head buried hiding her face. I pick up my phone to see that we had been talking about an hour. I look down at Josie waiting for her to make eye contact. She eventually lifts her head, tears threaten to spill out again. I lift my thumb and lightly wipe away the stray tear that has managed to escape. "Hey, no more crying. They understand what happened. Let's go talk to them. Together." Josie lets out a deep sigh as she pushes herself off the bed with me on her tail. She reaches for the handle to our door as I stop her. "JoJo," I grab her hand and pull her to me engulfing her into a hug. Being in her arms feels like home. "Thank you." We rock back and forth until I reluctantly release her from my grip. "Are we good?" I know we just finished talking but I want to make sure. "Yes, Penny. We are good." I follow her out of the room with a smile on my face, our fingers locked together between us.
Lizzie is sitting next to Hope on the couch with her head resting on Hope's shoulder. My eyes trail down to see Hope's hand is laying lightly on Lizzie's leg. I give Josie's hand a quick squeeze. "It'll be okay. Just talk to them." My words visibly relax Josie. "Hey guys." Lizzie lifts her head up to look back at us but Hope's hand stays put. Neither one of them seems to notice. "Hey Jo." Lizzie and Hope both smile at us as I sit against the opposite end of the couch and pull Josie over to me. It is a tight fit but the four of us make it work. We all know Josie wants to speak so we patiently wait. "I'm sorry for my behavior earlier. I just freaked out and took it out on you both. Thank you for helping me find my girl." I love that. My girl. I do my best to keep the blush off my face. "We're good, Josie." Hope turns to look at me. "Did she tell you what she tried to do though?" I cock my head around to look at Josie waiting for her response. Her eyes go big as I wait for a response. "They blocked me from trying to find you and I might have tried to fire spell my way out of here. But, Hope stopped me." I can feel the nervous energy she is giving off waiting for my reaction. I wrap my arms around her waist and place a light kiss on her shoulder. "That's my little pyromaniac." I got the reaction I wanted. Lizzie, Hope, and I all laugh while Josie attempts to pout through her smile.
When our laughter dies down, I lightly poke Josie to get her attention but ask in our heads, "Can I harass them now? Please?" Josie rolls her eyes at me and then turns to her sister and best friend. "I'm just going to apologize in advance for this." She closes her eyes and waits for me to start. "So, when were you going to tell us you two were a thing?" Both of them immediately turn red as Hope attempts to retract her hand from Lizzie's leg but Lizzie stops her. She places her hand on top of Hope's and locks their fingers together.
They both are avoiding our eye contact. "Eventually." Josie pipes in after her sister's snarky comment, "Hope, we are best friends who tell each other everything. And Lizzie. You too. You are my twin. You didn't have to hide this from us." They both nod their heads but Lizzie is the one to ask, "How long have you known?" Josie and I share a knowing look before returning our attention to them. "We assumed since I got back. But, we also found you two all snuggled up in Lizzie's bed a couple weeks ago." Hope smirks while Lizzie looks embarrassed.
She turns to Hope confused at her reaction before smacking her arm and putting two and two together. "You knew!" Hope raises her hands in defense of herself. "To be fair, I only heard them. I didn't see them." Lizzie rolls her eyes and scoffs. "Yeah, okay, Mikaelson. You definitely knew it was them. Who else would it have been?" Josie and I can't help but laugh at their bickering. "Could have been worse, it could have been your Dad." Lizzie and Josie both cringe at the thought. He has walked in on Josie and me being super close plenty of times so we already have experienced it. Josie leans her head back against my shoulder. "They are cute together." We both continue watching them banter. "Yeah, but we are cuter." Josie lets out a small giggle. "Yeah, we are."
Josie POV-
The four of us left Virginia Beach two days later. We spent the rest of our time there essentially double dating. Lizzie and Hope stopped hiding their relationship from us. It was the perfect ending to our trip. Hope jumped into the driver's seat with Lizzie at her side again. The drive back was relaxing. Penelope and I each had in our headphones and watched out the window. Lizzie fell asleep with her head resting against the window. Hope had her hand intertwined lightly with Lizzie's resting on the center console between them. Penelope and I both agreed that we hadn't seen them so happy in a very long time. They both are lighter around each other.
We pulled into the school parking lot and all walked into the school, Penelope holding my hand and Hope holding Lizzie's. We step through the front doors right as Dad comes running down the hall. Lizzie and Hope jump back from each other immediately before flushing red. Dad looks confused at their reaction but shakes it off. "Thank god you all are back. I was just about to call you. We have a problem. I need you four to come with me." We drop our suitcases at the door and follow my Dad to his office.