Josie had always thought of herself to be a patient person, but there was something about Penelope's absence that made Josie feel impatient and uneasy. The week had come and gone, and as Friday evening approached Josie realized that she had not seen or heard from Penelope since the day she had stormed out of Josie's room. If it was Hope, or Lizzie, or anyone else, Josie would chalk it up to them being busy, and leave it be. Yet, this was Penelope. Yes, Josie knew she shouldn't have been so bothered by the girls' sudden disappearance. They were hardly acquaintances, a stone's throw away from being friends, and yet Josie missed the snarky witch. She missed their bitchy banter, the way Penelope drove her insane with just a few choice words and a look. She missed Penelope's random visits to her dorm room to hang out while Josie was studying, she missed the corny texts Penelope would send- she missed Penelope. She had been so lost in her sadness about Penelope that she'd hardly thought about her upcoming date. Now that it was only a few hours away, Josie wondered why she had even agreed to go in the first place.
Josie sighed with frustration, throwing the clothes back down on her bed and putting her head in her hands. She had been raiding both her and Lizzie's closets for an hour, and she had yet to come up with an outfit she liked enough to wear. She cursed herself silently for all of the times Lizzie had offered to go clothes shopping with her because the only nice things Josie had to wear were the black dress her mother had bought her and her good uniform skirt and a blouse. Neither seemed good enough to wear on her date. Josie put her clothes back in her closet, shutting the door defeatedly. She checked her text messages once again, hoping that Hope or Lizzie had seen her distress signal and would come to help her. Unfortunately, she was not so lucky. Josie wrapped her arms around herself subconsciously. Not only was she way in over her head, and completely out of her comfort zone, but now Josie would have to figure out her problems alone.
"Wow- you look like a mess", Penelope Park observed from the bedroom doorway, her infamous smirk and coy chuckle making Josie's ears burn pink with embarrassment. Josie turned away from Penelope's view, swallowing hard. "Well, it's nice that you finally decided to make an appearance.", Josie grumbled, smoothing out her bedsheets to keep her hands from shaking in Penelope's presence. "Did you finally decide to stop ignoring me?" "Okay, okay- I deserve that.", Penelope admitted, holding her hands up in mocked surrender. "Still, when I heard Miss Josette Saltzman got asked on her first date, I just had to watch how that was working out." Penelope looked the girl up and down, suppressing her laughter. "I'm glad I dropped by because you look terrible." Josie rolled her eyes, groaning. Penelope laughed, stepping further into the room. She held out her hand, which Josie eyed curiously. "Come with me.", Penelope said nonchalantly. "What I don't know in relationships I make up in sex factor. I'll make you look so good, your mother wouldn't even recognize you."
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"Voila!", Penelope exclaimed, holding the mirror up so Josie could see her face. "It's not perfect since we're short on time, but-" "Woah.", Josie whispered, her eyes wide with shock. "No, you did amazing Penelope. I love it." "Then I've kept my word.", Penelope replied with a smug grin. "Now about the outfit." Penelope walked over to the closet, opening the door and picking out a blouse and pants off the hangers. "These are a little too long on me, but they should be perfect for you.", Penelope explained as she tossed the items at Josie. "Go ahead, try them on." "Here? Now?", Josie asked, watching Penelope with curious eyes. "Yeah, go ahead.", Penelope assured her, closing the closet door and beginning to pack her makeup brushes back into their bag. "If you're uncomfortable, I can go outside for a moment." "No, it's fine.", Josie stated, picking the blouse up from where it had landed on Penelope's bed. "Can you turn around please?" Penelope chuckled to herself at Josie's request, but respected her wishes and turned to face the door. Josie quickly slipped out of her comfortable clothes and into Penelope's before signaling to the other girl that it was safe for her to turn back around.
Penelope twisted around to face Josie, smiling broadly as she looked the girl up and down. "You look incredible.", Penelope stated, brushing a piece of lint off of Josie's shoulder. "Jade is one lucky girl, that's for damn sure." "I'm so nervous.", Josie disclosed in a voice hardly above a whisper. "What if I mess up? What if I completely make a fool out of myself, and Jade thinks I'm a complete loser?" Penelope placed her hands on Josie's shoulders to steady her, staring her straight in the eyes. "Listen to me, Josette Saltzman. I might not have always shown it, but I know that you are an amazing person- one any girl or guy should feel blessed to have.", Penelope stated in a tone that was not open to objection. "So you are going to go on this date with your head held high and sweep Jade off her feet." Josie held back her oppositions, instead choosing to simply nod her understanding to the riled up witch. Penelope let Josie go reluctantly, her features softening when she saw just how anxiety-ridden Josie was. "I know this sounds so fucking cliche, but just be yourself, Josie.", Penelope advised. "If she likes you, she'll appreciate you just how you are." "Since when did you become a motivational speaker?", Josie joked, provoking Penelope to roll her eyes, hiding her gaiety behind an unamused expression.
"Has it ever occurred to you that maybe you don't know as much about me as you think you do?"
YOU ARE READING
This Love (Calling My Name)
Fanfic"My, my, my Josie; Don't you know that it is rude not to acknowledge someone when they are talking to you?", Penelope scolded in a brash tone that succeeded in capturing Josie's full attention. "There- that's much better. Wouldn't want anyone thinki...
