Back to Me

You Jinxed It

"Soooo... are you guys like, a couple?" Kaleb drawled, pointing between Josie and Hope.

The witch leaned comfortably on Hope's chest while the latter wrote notes on a grimoire and stroked the brunette's hair with her free hand.

"No, what makes you think that?" Hope said nonchalantly, focus never wavering from the task at hand.

"Oh I don't know, the horny pheromones rolling off you two might have given the hint," Lizzie spat while aggressively stabbing green beans.

Josie raised her head from its warm spot to glare at her sister.

"Just a thought," The blonde shrugged

Josie sneaked a look at Hope who agreed to have dinner with them at her insistence. It was no secret that Lizzie had a tendency to be vocal about things she didn't like and she didn't want her sister scaring the tribrid away or making her uncomfortable.

Hope caught her eyes. As if reading her thoughts, she offered a reassuring smile. It was a small gesture, but it offered Josie the security that she wasn't going anywhere.

Even if Lizzie was being a brat.

"I just want to point out that I called it." Kaleb boasted, puffing his chest out, "You told me I was crazy, but they call me the Cupid Guru for a reason."

"No, you jinxed it," Lizzie rumbled.

"I see this as a win," Piped MG from the end of the table, "I guess this means we'll be seeing more of Hope."

"Ooooh, yes! Double dates are a blast," said Kaleb.

"But you don't even date anyone."

"Yet. Alyssa Chang will be hanging from my arm in no time."

There was a clean snap.

Josie's eyes widened when she saw the quill in Hope's hand break in two pieces. Thankfully, everybody else appeared to be too engrossed in the conversation to notice.

Josie scooted closer to Hope and placed a gentle hand on her thigh. The subtle contact offered enough warmth for Hope's muscles to relax. She looked back towards Josie, mouthing a 'thank you' before stashing the crushed quill in the grimoire to avoid further embarrassment.

Hope thought the worse she would have to brave tonight was Lizzie's snark. She forgot to account for the slim, black-haired boy staring back with a lost expression.

Ever since she and Josie sat down at the table, she gouged every reaction crossing Landon's face. Which wasn't hard, since he wasn't one to conceal his emotions. First, it was delight. Probably because he could finally see Hope face-to-face after all of his previous attempts had failed.

Because Hope hadn't been avoiding him. That's ridiculous.

But the more comfortable Josie got, delivering light touches on Hope's arm, her thigh, her back, that delight turned into confusion. Landon enjoyed melting into the background and this meant he was quite observant. His attention diverted from Hope's face to Josie's, the way both girls smiled and the looks they shared like they had their own inside jokes. He took in everything, almost as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Hope prayed to whatever god was willing to hear for Landon to not say anything. For him to remain quiet and not shine the spotlight on her and Josie. She was content with sharing a meal with her friends and she didn't need the stress of an interrogation now.

Especially when she still had to tell Dr. Saltzman about her little... excursion.

That prayer deflated when Landon's mouth opened.