Mermaid

The Locker Room

  "Josie?", a quiet voice called out, pulling Josie from the book she was reading. Josie looked up, smiling at the young girl in the doorway. At her door stood Hannah Mikaelson, Hope's little sister. She set the book aside, holding her arms open for the girl. "Hey, Munchkin", Josie greeted her warmly. "I thought you were supposed to be at home with my mom." "I don't like sitting in the house, especially when Hope isn't home." The young girl leaned forward, cupping her hands around Josie's ear. "She's with her boyfriend. But only you can know, and me. It's a secret, especially from my mom." Josie giggled, playing along with the girl's innocent oblivion. "Okay, I won't tell anyone.", she said. Hannah climbed up onto the bed. "What are you reading?", she asked, studying the front cover of the book. "Those are some big words." "It's called The Time Traveler's Wife.", Josie stated, handing the book to Hannah. "It's about a man who travels through time, and meets his wife at different times." Hannah scrunched her nose up at the book. "Sounds boring. It doesn't have any pictures; I like books with pictures. Besides, how many books can they make about a guy and a girl being married?" She handed the book back to Josie. "I'm never getting married. Boys are dumb." 

  "Well, you don't have to get married to a boy, Kiddo.", Josie reminded her. Hannah rolled her eyes. "I know that. My aunt Freya and auntie Keenan are married, and their both girls." Hannah shrugged. "I don't know. Girls are mean, too. Well, except you, and Hope, and my best friend Lucy." She thought for a second. "I guess Lizzie is okay, too." "Well, you don't have to get married to anyone, if that's what you want. It is nice to have someone to spend time with, though." Hannah's brow furrowed, showing Josie just how much she resembled her big sister. "I can just spend time with you. Or Hope. Why do I need to get married to spend time with someone?" "Well, it's a special kind of relationship, Han.", Josie explained, her thoughts drifting. "It's someone you can wake up with, that you can talk about anything with. Someone who gets you, who cheers you up when you're sad. Someone you can't imagine living life without. It's the person you're meant to be with for the rest of your life."

  Hannah stared at her in awe; She had thought that all those things were fairytales, like the Disney movies her friends made her watch. "When you say it like that, it sounds cool.", she admitted, swinging her feet back and forth. "Do you think Hope feels that way about Landy?" Josie held back her laughter over the childish nickname, focusing on Hannah's question instead. "The only person who knows that is Hope, kiddo." Hannah crawled up farther on the bed, crawling into Josie's lap. "Do you think that anyone could ever love me like that, Jo?", she asked, a slight pout on her face. Josie ran her hands through the girl's hair. "Of course, Hannah.", Josie assured her. "You don't have to worry about that, okay? It's an adult thing." "You're an adult, right Josie? Do you love someone?" Josie swallowed hard; She didn't know what to say to Hannah's question, but for the sake of the innocent blue eyes so full of hope staring up at her, she knew she had to come up with something. She shrugged.

"I don't know, but I think I'm close enough to know what it's supposed to feel like."
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  Josie wrung the water out of her hair, shivering as the cold air hit her skin. She had put in a good amount of effort during practice, and now that she had peeled off her wet suit, her sore muscles were itching for the feeling of sweat pants and a t-shirt. Normally she would change in the bathroom, but she was the only one left at the school anyway; Everyone else had already gone home, including her sister. Lizzie was much braver, facing the tension in the house. Josie, however, wanted to avoid the inevitable as long as possible. She slipped on her clothes and forced her sore legs into some sweatpants. She was about to go collect her things, when she noticed Penelope, frozen in place, by the locker room door. Her eyes widened, and she held the towel up to her chest, even though she was already fully dressed. "What the hell are you doing here? Have you been here the whole time?", she asked in frustration. Penelope cleared her throat, shaking away the less than appropriate thoughts clouding her mind. "I forgot my phone earlier- didn't realize until I got home. I'm sorry, I'll just grab it and go." Josie sighed heavily. "Just hurry up. I'm supposed to lock up soon."

  Penelope crossed to the other side of the room, opening the locker she had used earlier in the day and retrieving the device from inside. She closed the locker and turned around, shuffling awkwardly. She offered Josie a weak smile before walking toward the exit. Josie should have let her go- she should have. If you asked her later why she did it, she wouldn't know what to say. Maybe it was her talk with Hannah earlier, maybe it was the fact that everything around her was falling apart, maybe it was because she missed the feel of Penelope's arms on her skin. She didn't know why she grabbed Penelope's wrist, stopping the girl in her tracks. She didn't know why when Penelope, in confusion, asked her what she was doing, she responded with "I don't know." And she had no fucking clue why seconds later she pulled Penelope closer to her and pressed their lips together.

  Penelope hesitated, unsure of what was causing Josie to act so frantic. Nothing had changed between them- she was still the girl who lied to Josie, and Josie was still the girl who broke her heart. She should have pushed Josie away and left. She should have stopped to think about how messy her actions would make their situation; How blurry the lines were bleeding together between something and nothing. Penelope's mind, however, was blank. How could anyone expect her to form sentences, let alone think clearly when Josie was right in front of her? Her lips fit so perfectly against her own; her collarbone pressed into Penelope's palms, her heartbeat against Penelope's chest. Josie was no longer a figment of her dreams- she was materialized, a real-life dream come true. Penelope never thought she would ever have everything she wanted, but here she was cradling it in her hands. There was no way she was going to give that up, even if it only lasted for the moment. So, she closed her eyes, backed Josie against the locker for support.

  For that moment, she forgot that Josie hated her. She forgot that they were barely speaking, that she hadn't slept in days because of how badly it hurt not having her anymore. She just melted into the smell of Josie's perfume, tangled one hand into the girl's wet hair. She let herself feel because she already knew the moment was fleeting fast; she had no way of knowing if she'd have a chance like it again. So, she gave in, losing herself in Josie's touch.

She had gotten a small taste of what it felt like to love Josie, and she was already completely hooked.