Rebel Rebel

They had two months off school and the truth was that Josie wasn’t entirely sure what she was going to do with all that free time. She knew that she could just spend every day with her family or friends but the truth was that there was only so much to do with all that free time so each year for the last few years she had tried to do something a little different with her time. That year she wasn’t entirely sure what she wanted to do but she knew that she would figure it out sooner or later. Until then she knew that she wanted to make the most of these early days of summer and she was doing her best to do just that but that night she was struggling. She was pretty sure that the rest of her family was already asleep but she just couldn’t bring herself to settle. There wasn’t anything at all on television to watch and for once she didn’t feel like reading. She needed to do something despite the fact that it was late, she just had no idea what she felt like doing.

Sending the text to Hope was impulsive and the moment Josie hit send she realised that she probably wasn’t even going to get a response. It was late so she wouldn’t be surprised if Hope was already fast asleep and if that was the case then Josie knew that she would have to think of something else. The two of them had been texting pretty much all day and Josie had been walking around with a pretty much constant smile on her face which she hadn’t even been aware of until her dad had mentioned it. As soon as he had she’d felt embarrassed, she’d worked out a while ago that she had a crush on Hope but the girl was her best friend and she knew that there was no way that it would ever be reciprocated so she was doing her best to ignore it. Sometimes that was easier said than done though and as her phone chimed with a response, Josie felt a smile form on her face once more as she realised that it was Hope. It looked like she wasn’t the only one who was having trouble sleeping after all and as Hope said that she had an idea, Josie was about to ask what that was until she saw that Hope was still writing. As the message came through Josie’s eyes widened and she hesitated for a moment. She knew that they shouldn’t given how late it was and her thumbs hovered over the touch pad on her screen ready to say that but instead they wrote a very different message back. “Let’s do it. Our usual spot?” she asked, knowing that for once she wanted to do something a little reckless rather than being the good twin all the time.

HOPE MIKAELSON

Every fibre of her being was screaming at Josie that she shouldn’t be doing this; that it was a bad idea, but it was something that she knew that she wanted to do. She always played by the rules, that’s who she was, but for once she knew that she didn’t want to be that person. She was the one who stayed in the background while her sister constantly took centre stage and she always told herself that she was fine with that because Lizzie needed the attention much more than she did but for once she wanted to do something out of the ordinary for her. Seeing Hope’s reply saying that she would meet her there was enough to have Josie’s smile widening and for a moment she just sat there before realising something. “I can’t go out like this,” she breathed, knowing that she had to get changed and quickly heading upstairs.

She and Lizzie had their own rooms but it wasn’t uncommon for them to end up sleeping in the same one although thankfully that night as she reached her room she realised that it was completely empty. That made moving around and trying to find something to wear that much easier but she still had to be careful not to make any noise. If one of her siblings caught her then she didn’t doubt that they would be surprised but she liked to think that they wouldn’t stop her considering she’d caught some of them sneaking out a few times over the years and had kept her mouth shut but if her parents caught her then she knew that it would be a different matter entirely. She was seventeen but they were still so protective of her and she loved them for it but that wasn’t what she needed this time. Right now she wanted to do something for herself for a change no matter how selfish it might seem and after texting Hope all day the truth was that Josie really wanted to see her.

Finally pulling on an outfit that she liked she grabbed her bag and phone just in case she needed them and headed back downstairs, making as little noise as possible as she closed the front door behind her and locked it once more so they wouldn’t notice that anything was any different with it. Once she was outside she finally let out the breath that she hadn’t realised that she was holding and she felt a smile creep across her face as she realised that her heart was pounding in her chest. The hard part was over and even though she knew that being out in Mystic Falls at night wasn’t necessarily a good idea given just how many supernaturals were in town she wasn’t defenceless either as the pendant that contained magic she could siphon was hung around her neck. She was going to be with Hope anyway and together they made a really good team so she knew it would be fine. Reaching their usual spot she realised that she was the first one there and she made sure to keep to the shadows so that no one else would see her, only emerging when Hope arrived. “I’m here,” she said, a laugh escaping her lips as she pulled Hope into a hug. “I can’t believe we just did that.”

HOPE MIKAELSON

Josie had never expected to get to their spot first so for a moment she had worried that perhaps Hope had been caught while she was sneaking out. Quickly checking her phone, she felt a little better after realising that she hadn’t had a text from Hope calling it off because she knew that her best friend would have told her if she wasn’t going to be able to make it after all. It had been Hope’s suggestion and it had seemed like it was something that the girl had really wanted to do so Josie had suspected that she wouldn’t let anything stop her from going through with it. “You didn’t think I was going to leave you hanging, did you?” Josie asked, her smile widening as she realised just how proud Hope had sounded. Josie knew that it wasn’t like her at all, she wasn’t the kind of person who rebelled and broke the rules but this felt different. She and Hope had been talking all day so Josie had wanted nothing more than to see her and she hadn’t wanted anything to stop that from happening. She knew that sneaking out was the easy part really, sneaking back into the house and making sure that she didn’t get caught was going to be that much more difficult but it would be worth it to be able to spend some time with Hope.

Hugging Hope, Josie felt her heart leap slightly as Hope hugged her back and she stayed there for a moment longer before taking a half step backwards. “It was terrifying but definitely exciting,” Josie laughed. She had never done anything like that before in her life but she was glad that she had done to be able to see that grin on Hope’s face now. “Sure,” she nodded as Hope said that they should head to the pool. Josie knew that no one was going to be there that time of night so the chances of getting caught were slim to none and she wanted it to stay that way. She felt a little bad about the way that Hope automatically went first but the other girl her heightened senses that she could use to her advantage while Josie was just, well, Josie. She had her magic but when she was away from school it was limited to the amount that she could keep contained in the pendant so she knew that she couldn’t afford to waste it. As Hope said it would have sucked if they’d got caught, Josie couldn’t help but smile. “You got that right. I kept thinking someone was going to wake up and catch me before I made it out the front door.” She knew that it had probably been more difficult for Hope since everyone in her family had heightened hearing while Josie only had two family members who did but it had still been nerve wracking to say the least. “Since we’re breaking all the rules tonight, how about a swim?” she asked as they reached the pool, knowing that they might as well make it worth their while.

HOPE MIKAELSON

Sneaking out of the house might not seem like a big deal to some but it was to Josie and if she was honest there was only really one person that she would think about doing it for and that was Hope. The girl was her best friend and had been for a long time but she was so much more than that to Josie. She’d had a crush on her for quite some time and even though there were times when that had made things a little awkward, the truth was that she knew that as long as she had Hope as a friend then she would be happy. Coming clean and finding out that she didn’t feel the same way would mean that Josie would probably end up losing her as a friend and that was something that the young witch wasn’t willing to do. Hope meant far too much to her for that and she knew that she would much rather keep things the way they were than lose her altogether.

“You got that right,” Josie said, a smile forming on her face as Hope said that she would never leave her hanging. That was one thing that she was never going to do, she had told Hope that she would meet her at their spot and when she gave her word that she was going to do something then she always kept it. Josie wasn’t usually the impulsive sort, she usually thought things through before saying that she would do something and even though that wasn’t entirely true this time around she still knew that there was no way that she was going to let Hope down. “It was!” Josie agreed as Hope said that sneaking out was exhilarating. “I’ve seen the others do it a couple of times but I never thought about doing it myself,” she admitted. Other than Lizzie her siblings were all older than she was so she had grown used to seeing them sneaking out on occasion. It was different for her though, it wasn’t something that she had ever thought about doing before but it was definitely proving to be worth it so far. “It would have sucked without you too,” she said, a gentle smile forming on her face as she looked over at her friend. “Here’s hoping neither of us gets caught sneaking back in, otherwise we might be grounded for the rest of the summer,” she added with a laugh, knowing that the hard part was far from over yet.

As Hope spoke again, Josie’s smile turned a little playful. “You must be rubbing off on me,” she grinned. She hadn’t particularly thought it through too much before asking especially since she hadn’t actually worn anything to swim in but soon enough Hope’s clothes were left in a pile at the side to stop them getting wet and Josie felt her cheeks flush red as she realised that she was going to have to do the same. Hope was her best friend so she knew that there wouldn’t be any judgement from her but she was also the girl that Josie had feelings for so it was a scary thought to say the least. It wasn’t long before Home was resurfacing and trying to encourage her to join her, though, and Josie nodded as she tried telling herself to stop over thinking it. Leaving her own t-shirt and shorts in a pile next to Hope’s, Josie moved to the edge of the pool before diving in herself and she stayed under water for a moment before resurfacing. “You’re right, it’s perfect,” she admitted as she turned and swam a little closer to Hope. “Since we’re here I thought we might as well make it worthwhile,” she added, her smile returning as she looked over at her friend.

HOPE MIKAELSON

“It did,” Josie agreed when Hope said that it always looked fun when the other kids broke the rules. “I don’t know about you but I’ve always been too worried about what would happen if I got caught,” she admitted. She had never liked getting into trouble and the truth was that she still didn’t now but she couldn’t deny that it felt exhilarating to be doing something that she shouldn’t be for once. She knew that she wouldn’t have even thought about doing this with anyone else but Hope wasn’t just anyone, she was her best friend and she was also the girl that Josie had a crush on so she knew that she wanted to impress her as much as she could. “Same here,” she said, a smile forming on her face as she looked over at Hope. She wasn’t sure that she would end up sneaking out again but she knew that she was going to remember tonight for all the right reasons so far. “Do you think your family would mind too much?” she asked, not sure how strict they would be about that kind of thing. Hope wasn’t a kid anymore, she was a teenager and she was more than capable of looking after herself so Josie hoped that she wouldn’t get into too much trouble.

“Of course it is, you’re such a bad influence,” Josie teased, not meaning those words one bit. Hope wasn’t a bad influence at all, in fact most of the time she made Josie strive to be better. She knew that Hope hadn’t had it easy, she had been born with magic but she had also been born with a werewolf curse that she had triggered not too long ago and she’d been dealing with that as well ever since then. How she was coping with all of that on top of being aged up Josie had no idea but it was enough to make her admire Hope. No matter what happened or how much she seemed to struggle with something at first eventually she always seemed to find a way to take it in her stride and it was inspiring to say the least.

Josie couldn’t help but feel self-conscious as she left her clothes in a pile next to Hope’s and the way the other girl’s eyes stayed on her didn’t go unnoticed, in fact it was enough to draw a blush to Josie’s cheeks. She really hadn’t thought this through when she’d suggested they go for a swim but she knew that she wasn’t going to back out now. All night she had felt like it was too hot to sleep and the moment the cool water of the pool hit her skin she felt better straightaway. “Same here, I could quite happily never move right now,” she admitted. She had needed the chance to cool off all day and she was glad that she’d finally got it. Josie couldn’t stop her cheeks from flushing red once more as Hope said that sneaking out was already worthwhile. She knew that she didn’t want to read too much into her friend’s words but right now her mind was on overdrive and she was doing her best to quieten it. “I’m glad you think so,” she admitted, glad that things seemed to be going so well right now. A comfortable silence seemed to fall between the two of them after that and Josie found that she couldn’t take her eyes off Hope either. She knew that she shouldn’t be feeling the way she did about her best friend but she couldn’t help it, Hope was just so perfect. As Hope finally broke the silence and asked about how her summer was going, Josie shook her head. “Not really, I’ve been trying to spend as much time with people as I can and I’ve decided to spend some time volunteering at the animal shelter this summer but that’s about it,” she shrugged. “How about you?”

HOPE MIKAELSON

“Definitely. I wouldn’t even risk it at school, getting told off by my parents at home would be bad enough but can you imagine getting told off by them while they’re working?” Josie laughed. She loved the fact that her parents ran the school she went to and she knew that they had opened it for all the right reasons so that she and Lizzie would have a safe place to practice their magic and be surrounded by others like them but she didn’t even want to think about how embarrassing it would be if she fell into the stereotypical role of being the daughter of the two heads of the school and getting into trouble. That was more Lizzie’s thing rather than hers and Josie was more than happy to let her sister keep that role. Josie was much happier being the good daughter but she couldn’t deny that this time it felt good to be doing something that went against all of the rules but only because Hope was with her. Doing her best to ignore how cute it was when Hope tucked her hair behind hear ears, she thought about it for a moment as Hope said that she liked to think her family wouldn’t mind and turned the question back around onto her. “That’s pretty cool,” she admitted, glad that Hope had that in her life. “I hope they wouldn’t because they know I’m always careful but I’m not sure,” she explained. “They’re probably used to my siblings doing this though so hopefully not,” she added with a shrug. As Hope said that she would say that she wasn’t a bad influence but that would be a lie, Josie couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, I think it would,” she giggled.

It was one thing sneaking out and walking around at night but it was something completely different to be going swimming now when they weren’t even meant to be out. That part had been Josie’s suggestion and she didn’t regret it one bit since it was the perfect way of cooling off but the way that Hope had looked at her before and the way that Josie was pretty sure that she was looking at Hope right now she couldn’t help but wonder if perhaps her feelings towards the other girl weren’t so one sided after all. It was the little things that she noticed sometimes, the stolen glances and the lingering touches, the way that Hope’s eyes stayed on her a little longer than they perhaps should. All of it was enough to fuel the crush that she had on the girl and make it that much stronger and that definitely seemed to be true right now. She had seen the way that Hope had found it difficult to make friends at first and she knew that it was perhaps because she was a Mikaelson and she was the only one of her kind in the world but at the end of the day she was still a teenage girl. Josie had always tried not to let what a person was bother her, she preferred to get to know them for who they were and that was exactly how it had been for her with Hope.

Hope’s next words were enough to draw a smile to Josie’s face. “I’m glad I didn’t disappoint,” she said gently. Every summer she liked to do something a little different and that year she had realised that volunteering at the animal shelter would be a perfect way to do some good. For the last few years she had taken to volunteering at different organisations over the summer and she loved animals so she was pretty sure that it was the perfect fit. “I hope so, there are so many there that need good homes. I’ve thought about asking mom and dad if they would let me bring one home but with ten of us in the house already I don’t think they’ll go for it,” she admitted. She was still tempted to try though because the truth was that she did love animals but only time would tell. “Maybe not but it’s still perfect for you. I know how hard you work,” Josie admitted. Hope was one of the most dedicated people she had ever met when she really set her mind to something and she knew just how important working on her magic and strengthening her fighting skills were to her. Hope was already one of the toughest people she’d ever met but that was still never enough for the girl and Josie couldn’t help but admire her for that. As Hope spoke again, Josie’s smile turned gentle. “I think you underestimate yourself sometimes, you’re already more than capable of doing that but I do understand the desire,” she admitted. Hope’s family weren’t helpless either, most of them were Original Vampires and her dad was the Original Hybrid. There wasn’t much that could be done to hurt them but she knew just how protective Hope was and it was one of the things that Josie liked most about her. As Hope said that she wanted to protect her as well, though, Josie’s eyes widened in surprise. “You want to protect me?” she asked, not quite able to process that just yet. Magic was her forte rather than fighting but Josie always did her best to practice both. If nothing else combat training was the perfect chance to spend some time with her dad while practicing magic meant that she was able to spend some time with her mom and that was never going to be a bad thing as far as she was concerned. It wasn’t long before Hope was explaining what she meant and Josie moved a little closer to Hope and reached for her hand as she continued treading water. Finding it, she gave Hope’s hand a gentle squeeze. “I get it, they went after you and did the same with Raf but I don’t want you worrying about me, I can look after myself,” she assured her. Josie’s dad was a hunter and she had learned a few things from him over the years so she would much rather Hope worry about herself. As Hope said that maybe she could volunteer at the animal shelter one day if she would have her, Josie felt a smile form on her face. “You’re kidding, right? I’d love that.” she laughed.

HOPE MIKAELSON