Surreptitious

Chapter 35: Change Of Plan

It was finally weekend and the dance was looming over Hope’s head like a guillotine waiting to drop. She had agreed to go with Landon, but she was yet to have a serious talk with him over their failing relationship. He himself must have sensed that something was off, however, as he had been clingier and more attentive than usual, which only further served to twist Hope’s nerves into knots.

Hope, of course, had spent every waking moment that she could pining over a certain brunette witch. She kept n eye out for Josie whenever she as much as set her foot out of her bedroom, and whenever she would catch sight of those brunette locks of hair or chocolate eyes, she would feel her heart float in the girl’s direction.

Hope had found herself amazed that even without her wolf, she had been thoroughly drawn to Josie around every corner. It was just so different than how things were with Landon. With the boy it was always a case of either her being angry at him, or loving him and being happy. This desire and longing that she felt now for Josie was something completely different. Hope was starting to come to the realization that there were different kinds of loves in existence, but regardless, there was none like the love connection between her and the siphon.

(…)

Josie was having a similar experience as she finally and eventually took Lizzie’s advice and had a serious chat with Jade, unable to keep on lying to herself about the fact that no one but Hope would be able to work their way into her heart. She was fairly honest with Jade about a lot of it, even admitting that she had feelings for someone else.

Jade wasn’t stupid, she knew it was Hope, and quickly said as much. It did not help the feelings of animosity she garnered towards the tribrid at all, but she realized that it wasn’t up to Hope, but up to Josie. She herself had enough honor to know that she had to respect whatever Josie’s choice was that she wanted to make. So, she did. Jade did make it very clear to Josie, however, that if ever Hope was dumb enough to let Josie slip through her fingers, she would be there within a heartbeat.

Josie had agreed to still attend the dance with Jade especially since it would have been a so-called ‘casual’ thing to begin with. Also, with Lizzie attending the dance with MG and Hope going with Landon, there was just no way that Josie was showing up alone. Luckily, and to make her feel more at ease, Wendy was also asked to join them so that they could go as a trio of friends. Wendy’s costume would even match their theme as she would dress as Morgana La Fey. There was even playful banter with the trio as to which witch raised Lancelot and which witch he had sexual relations with. Lancelot turned out to be a bit of a dog outside of his love for Guinevere – something that highly amused Josie as she had to embody someone so different from herself.

Aside from trying to tie up the loose ends around Jade, Josie would still spend a lot of time fiddling with the loose ends surrounding Hope. In all honesty, Josie had never felt so miserable in her life as she had the week after returning from their trip. So much of what happened on their trip just made Josie so deliriously happy, and so much of it simply remained engrained into the back of her head.

She’d remember listening to music with Hope on the bus, and how they would smile shyly at each other whenever a song seemed to speak straight to them and their situation. She remembered their first night there and how Hope had taken her out on the town: she had won her that life-size panda bear that even now still occupied a chair in the corner of her room; she took her on a most romantic carriage ride around the square and cuddled close to her as they giggled at the oddly dressed entertainers strewn about; and then they had that dance to the smooth jazz music of a street corner band, every movement perfectly in-sync with the other. That night they were so magnetized to one another that they shared a dream that even now made Josie blush bright red when she thought about the details.