Surreptitious

Chapter 25: Family

A/N: Songs: “Bend and not break” – Dashboard Confessional ; “Currents” – Dashboard Confessional ; “Shallow” – Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper

(…)

Nietzsche said that there is always some madness in love, but that there is also always some reason in madness.

Josie was stuck – was she on the side of reason or madness? Both filled her mind as she sat next to Hope on the bus on their way to New Orleans. It was a long trip and it seemed to Josie that every minute that passed by just served to further drive her to finding some sort of reason in the madness she was experiencing.

Hope was asleep, her head gently resting on Josie’s shoulder as she breathed deeply. Josie couldn’t help but admire how peaceful she seemed, and just how beautiful that peace was. Josie was very well aware of the life that Hope has lived and the things she’s had to endure in her short 18 years, and so she was not someone who relaxed easily. But in a rare moment such as the current one, Josie couldn’t help but fall deeper in love with the look of contentment that sat relaxed on Hope’s beautiful features.

It was a common belief that love is madness. Josie knew that if such was the case, then she’d never want to experience sanity again. Josie would rather spend all her days enraptured in lunacy if that meant she would get to experience the ecstasy of loving Hope Mikaelson.

But in that same madness lay the pain she feared. It would indeed be madness to love someone who loved someone else. Hope had admitted to Josie that she struggled to get the siphon off of her mind. But Hope had also admitted to Josie that she had been spending a lot of time with Landon. Josie was fearful, and her heart – though filled with mad love and loving madness – was still very aware of the fact that it might get broken.

Josie watched Hope, filled from top to toe with the purest sense of affection imaginable, and made herself a promise. She reached out and tucked some stray strands of auburn behind Hope’s ear and whispered – not necessarily to Hope, but into the universe itself, “I am fairly agile. I know that I can bend and not break… or if I do break, I can take it with a smile. All as long as I can just have my moment to hold you.”

(…)

Hope opened her eyes slowly, her mind still foggy from sleep, her lips attached to the warmth of Josie’s neck. Even though she didn’t mean to, she still couldn’t help but not only notice how fast Josie’s heart was beating, but also how quickly it made Hope’s own blood rush through her body.

She slowly pulled away with a shy smile as she cast her eyes at Josie. Josie’s gaze was a hot ember color and Hope was relieved that they had managed to grab seats at the front of the bus where people would not be able to turn around and see the coloration of their eyes in each other’s presence. Naturally, with Josie’s eyes lit up like that, Hope’s own adopted a soft golden glow as an equally soft smile settled on her lips.

“Hey sleepy.” Josie whispered gently to Hope and it gave her butterflies. Just the pure tenderness with which Josie spoke to Hope alone was enough to make her melt for the dark-haired girl next to her. Josie was by far the most selfless, softest and purest soul that anyone at school could say they knew, and it thoroughly warmed Hope’s heart. But then there was also the Josie that Hope had been getting to know as of late – the one that set her heart on fire and forced her body into sweltering arousal.

“Hey you…” Hope whispered in return and leaned her body into Josie’s instinctively, seeking her warmth. “Whatcha doing?”

Josie stretched her arm out behind Hope and allowed the girl to crawl further into her side before wrapping it around her back and shoulder. “Oh, you know, the usual.” Josie grinned at Hope and narrowed her eyes playfully. “Watching you sleep and planning on where I’m going to dump your body later.”