Square one

Dinner with the In-Laws (part III)

Hope's POV:

We follow Rebekah down the corridor and down the stairs, to find Vincent and Marcellus beaming from the bottom of the steps. I hold Josie close, squeezing her hand.  She squeezed back smiling at me, walking with me, side by side in the stairway. It was a little squished, but we made it down the stairs, Bex eyeing us closely. Marcellus goes up to Bex, wrapping his arm around her waist, kissing her sweetly, Josie and I gagging jokingly, for Rebekah to fire back, "Oh shut up, it isn't as bad as what you were doing earlier!" Josie hides behind me, whining quietly, her arms wrapping around me. I pat her arm around me, before going up to Vincent to crush him in a hug. "Hope 'Little Wolf' Mikaelson, please don't try cracking my ribs. Remember what happened last time?" I put him down, a pout playing on my lips.  He wraps me in a warm embrace, pulling back a moment, staring Josie down. "And who is this young lady? Are you finally inviting friends over?" Josie giggles, her hand outstretched to shake Vincent's hand. 

"Josie. Josie Saltzman, sir." I hold in  chuckle, knowing Josie's trying to be on her best behaviour, and amazed at how adorable it is. He smiles at her, "Lovely to meet you, Josie. It's good that Hope finally brought a friend home. I swear she's embarrassed of-" "OK! Josie let's go say hi to Marcel, shall we?" I say quickly pushing her to Marcellus, feeling like I was sweating buckets.  I tap Marcel on the shoulder, trying to get his attention. "It's great to have you home, Hope," he says turning to face me, and I give him a big hug, squeezing, only for him to squeeze back.  I squeak, "Ok! Ok! No fair." He lets me go, putting me down. He turns to face Josie, shaking her hand, before pulling her into a hug. He realises that he hadn't asked, pulling away, apologising, before Jos tells him it's completely alright. I hold her hand, leading her to the Dining room, bumping into Freya. 

"My two favourite girls! You ready for the family dinner?" Keelin appears, "I thought I was your favourite girl?" Freya turns kissing her, "You're my special girl." Josie and I 'aww', getting told off by Nik, who was giving Vincent a hug, whining that kissing was icky. We all take our seats, four fives spaces empty, for Dad, Mum, Elijah, Davina, and Kol. Josie sits across from me, reaching across the table to hold my hand. Freya clears her throat once everyone is seated, summoning the food to the table. We move our hands, and I sigh trying not to focus on the empty seats, Freya's voice melting into the background.

Josie's POV:

Hope's staring off again. Freya thanks everyone for coming, pleased to have one of Hope's friends to stay, but I think she notices Hope's blank expression. "Josie could you take Hope outside a moment, I think the family and I should talk a moment. It might do her some good." I get up slowly from my seat, going over to Hope, getting her out of her seat, wrapping my arms around her, blinking her tears away. Once I've escorted her out of the room, I sit her down, cupping her face. "Hope? Are you alright?" She just blinks, a small tear rolling down her face. "I ruined it didn't I? We didn't even make it through dinner. I'm so sorry Josie." I kiss her forehead, resting mine against hers. "Listen. You didn't ruin anything. Nothing you could do could ruin dinner tonight." She leans into me, sniffling, "Everyone who gets close to me leaves or dies. I don't want to lose you, Jo." 

I smile, "Look. I'm here, and I don't plan on going anywhere, ok? Are you ok to go back in, or do you want a few moments to yourself?" She rests her head on my shoulder, to which I tense up, this feeling nice, wanting to ensure she's comfortable, and hoping it makes her feel a bit better. She nods, ready to go back in, and we do so, just as the adults stop talking. She takes her seat, and dinner begins. I keep my eyes on her for most of the night, occasionally tapping her knee with my foot, having her look up, and pull an odd face, Hope cracking a smile. Her smile made me feel so good, so happy. The dinner wasn't bad. It was certainly different from what we'd had for most of the week, as well as so much better than food at school. Her family was charming, and I now know where she gets her charm and smirks from. They are so inviting and kind, though I think Vincent doesn't realize we're together, it's quite amusing. We dined, and had a glass of bourbon towards the end of the night. What Dad doesn't know won't hurt him, right?