Spending more time with Josie proves to be… pleasant. The brunette has a nice easy smile, a kindness that has no matches and a way of caring Hope is not used to. The Mikaelson family have a different way of caring than Josie. They protect, they defend. Josie's type of caring is more in the every day things. The brunette makes sure Hope eats well, that she sleeps enough and that's she's overall happy. It feels good, and Hope is slowly getting used to it. 

"Are we still on for movie night?" Josie asks with a hopeful smile.

Hope opens her mouth to answer, but she's quickly cut off.

"Did I hear movie night?" Lizzie says as she walks into the common room with MG and Kaleb.

"And we're not invited?" MG adds.

"Since when are you two close enough to have a movie night anyway?" Kaleb asks, with a confused frown. 

Hope and Josie look at each other, and when Hope sees the fondness on Josie's face, she can't help but blush a little and look down. This reaction gets them weird looks from the two boys who have no idea they're soulmates. 

"Are you guys dating? 'Cause I won't lie, that'd be hot." Kaleb asks with a smirk.

MG slaps his arms. "Apologize to the ladies."

Kaleb rolls his eyes. "No way, I'm only speaking the truth."

"Stop it guys." Josie says with a smile. "We're not dating, just friends. We're training partners now." Josie turns her attention to Hope, who's still recovering from her blush. "Want to make this movie night friend inclusive? Or just the two of us?"

The tribrid shrugs. "They can join us, but I only have snacks for the two of us."

"I can totally be on snack duty." MG says with a bright smile.

"I have some suggestions for the movies-" Lizzie tries.

"No." Josie shakes her head. "Hope and I already chose the movies, sorry."

Lizzie groans. "And what are they?"

"Pacific Rim and Power Rangers." Hope replies.

Lizzie's eyes widen. "What are you? Two twelve year old boys?"

"Are you kidding me?" MG says excitedly. "It's awesome!"

"It's two action movies, we could at least-"

Josie sighs. "Lizzie, drop it." The brunette takes her bag and stands up. "I'm going to class, I don't wanna be late. I'll see you all later."

"Wait, where are we watching the movies?" Kaleb asks.

Josie glances at Hope, not sure if their plan could still stand. "Well, we were supposed to watch them in Hope's room, but-"

Hope shakes her head. "It's fine. We can watch them in my room."

"Perfect." Josie smiles one last time and walk out of the common room.

Hope grabs her own bag, ready to go to class too. She walks to class under the suspicious eyes of Lizzie, the bright smile of MG and the smirk of Kaleb. Hope is still asking herself if having friends is a good thing or not. 

Being Josie's friend was great, and totally worth hanging out with other people though.

*

The tribrid looks around her room one last time as she waits for her guests to come over. The bed is neatly made. She placed cushions on the floor for those who won't fit on the bed. Everything looks tidy and the movies are ready to be played. This is way more stressful than she thought it would be. 

Hope is a little startled when there's a knock on her door. She quickly recovers and goes to open the door. The first face she sees when she opens the door is Josie's. The brunette has her brightest smile on, a smile that Hope does her best to reciprocate. Josie's wearing a cute grey pyjama, and Hope forces herself to not let her eyes linger for too long. Behind Josie, there's her friens and sister, all ready for movie night. It was kinda weird to see her classmates in their pyjamas, but well, it's a movie night.

"Hi." Josie says, and subtly tries to silently tell Hope she needs to let them in.

The tribrid blushes and opens the door wider. "Hi, uh, come in."

Everyone says their hellos as they walk inside the room. Hope stays by the door, and she knows she's tense. After she closes the door, the tribrid feels a gentle hand on her forearm. Josie stayed near and gives her a gentle smile.

"No need to be so anxious. It's just a movie night with friends." Josie quietly says, even though there's two vampires in the room. 

Hope is grateful for Josie's thoughtfulness. "I'm just not used to it."

"Hey Hope! Is that your family?" MG asks.

Hope turns around and looks at Kaleb. When she sees the picture in his hand, she wants to snatch it away. She doesn't need anyone to tell her her family is made of monsters tonight. 

"Yeah, it's them." Lizzie says, as she gets a closer look. "I've met some of them."

"The Mikaelson's in all their glory." Kaleb says with a big smile. "I wish I could meet your aunt Rebekah man, she's so damn pretty."

Lizzie rolls her eyes. "Hope's mom was so much prettier though."

Hope is so surprised by their words that she stays frozen in place. She was so used of hearing bad things about her family, that hearing people say things like that warmed her heart. The only thing that makes her unfreeze is when Josie's hand slip into hers. Josie's still smiling as she gently guides them to sit on Hope's bed.

"How about we start the movie night, and leave the sore subject behind?" Josie says.

Kaleb put the picture back on Hope's desk with an embarrassed smile, a smile that's matched by Lizzie and MG. 

"I claim MG as my cuddling partner for the night. He's the best for that." Lizzie says.

The blonde grabs MG's hand and goes to sit on the cushions Hope put on the floor earlier, and MG is all too happy to follow her. Kaleb sits down on Hope's desk chair.

"I'll take the chair."

Hope watches them all get comfortable, and then she realizes that it only leaves her one option, to share the bed with Josie. She turns to look at the brunette.

"I can sit on the floor with MG and Lizzie." Josie suggests with an understanding smile.

"What? No, there's plenty of space on the bed. We can share." Hope blurts out.

Josie looks unsure. "I don't want you to be tense for the whole movie Hope."

Hope shakes her head. "I won't be. I promise." She smiles and nudges Josie's ribs with her elbow. "Come on, my bed is really comfortable."

It takes her a couple of seconds, but then Josie is smiling too. "Okay."

So they settle on each side of the bed, keeping a little distance between them. Once they're done, Hope looks at Josie, only to make eye contact with the younger witch. The brunette smiles a little before looking back at the TV. Hope swallows the lump in her throat and looks ahead too. She's suddenly very grateful for Lizzie, MG and Kaleb's presence. 

MG and Lizzie are quietly speaking on the floor, and Kaleb is already eating the snacks in his chair. It makes Hope think of the snacks she prepared for Josie and her. Hope reaches for them, all perfectly placed on her nightstand.

"Do you want something?" Hope asks.

Josie takes some chocolate. "Chocolate is my favorite snack." 

"Good to know." Hope says with a smile

"Stop flirting and start the movie Mikaelson!"

"Lizzie!" Josie protests, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink. 

"Let's just start the movie." Hope says and presses play on the remote.

As soon as the movie starts, and noises fill the room, Josie leans close to Hope's ear.

"I'm really sorry about Lizzie."

Hope doesn't move. She knows if she turns to look at Josie, their faces will be way too close. So her eyes stay on the screen as she answers.

"Don't be. Your sister's not your responsability. We both know we weren't flirting."

As soon as her words are out, Hope feels a hard pain in her chest. She turns her head without missing a beat.

"Why are you hurt?" Hope asks loudly, without thinking about the others in the room.

Every eyes is soon on them. 

"What's going on? Is Josie hurt? I don't smell blood." MG says quickly.

Hope can't help but glare at him, she opens her mouth to say something but Lizzie beats her to it. 

"What did you say again?"

"Nothing wrong! Right, Josie?" Hope looks at Josie.

The brunette forces a smile. "Everything is fine. Everyone drop it please."

Everyone does, except Hope. She gets a little closer to Josie, close enough for their shoulders to touch, then she leans close to  her ear.

"I don't know what I said that hurt you, but I'm sorry." Hope whispers.

Josie turns her head, and what Hope was scared would happen, happens. They're nose to nose, almost touching.

"It's okay. I didn't think you could feel every little pain I feel."

Hope swallows and moves back a little, but the space between them stays small.

"I didn't know either. Maybe it's because we're close to each other. Like physically close."

Hope doesn't miss how Josie's eyes flicker to her lips before settling on her eyes again. It makes her feel nervous, but there's a hint of something else too, something she refuses to put a name on.

"Yeah, it must be that." Josie's smile is more genuine now. "Let's watch the movie, okay?"

Hope nods and looks back at the screen. The movie's not bad. It's not really her type, but it's okay and the story's good. From the corner of her eyes, Hope sees how invested Josie is. It makes a soft smile play on the tribrid's lips. When a character dies though, Hope feels pain in her chest again. When her eyes land on Josie, she's not surprised to see the brunette actually crying.

Hope slips her hand into Josie's. The witch immediately turns her head to look at Hope. The Mikaelson girl gives her soulmate a shy smile and squeezes her hand. Josie smiles back through her tears, and then she lays her head on Hope's shoulder. Hope does her best to not let herself tense up. She could accept some physical touch. It's nice and Josie feels warm. The brunette's smell reminds Hope of the fields of flowers not too far from the school. She loves running into those fields as a wolf.

She shouldn't have thought about her wolf, because now it feels like her whole skin is itching. It's been too long since she shifted and she knows it. Hope takes a deep breath to steady herself, but it just makes things worse because now her nose is filled with Josie's scent.

Hope pushes Josie away quickly and stands up. Every eyes is on her again, the movie forgotten. She's overwhelmed, and she needs to get away now.

Hope looks Josie straight in the eyes. "I'm sorry." 

And then she's running out of the door.

*

Hope's been running for hours, beating herself up over leaving Josie, over making her suffer through the change. Everytime it crosses her mind, Hope forces herself to run faster. When she runs at a certain speed, she can't think anymore, and she's free. 

But now her legs are burning, and the moon is starting to get down, leaving place to the sun. Hope knows she needs to go back to school. When she gets to the back of the Old Mill, where she usually leaves her spare clothes, Hope is surprised to find Josie there. The brunette witch is sitting on the ground, with a blanket over her shoulders. She has a flashlight balanced on her shoulder, and she's silently reading a book.

Hope doesn't shift back to her human form, instead she carefully walks closer to her soulmate. She doesn't wanna scare Josie, and if she's being honest, she doesn't know how she'll even react to Josie in this form.

When she steps on a twig, Josie's head snap up. Her eyes widen when she realizes there's a wolf in front of her. The surprise is quickly replaced by a comforting smile.

"Hope, it's you, right?" Hope does her best to nod. "Of course it's you. Are you okay? God I was so worried when you ran out. And then I felt the pain, and… I understood. It had been too long, right?"

Hope lets out a little whine. Josie's eyes fill with sadness. She sets her book to the side.

"Can you come here?"

Hope stops. She's not sure it's a good idea. Usually she felt like ripping humans apart. There's none of that now though.

"I trust you. Please, come closer."

Hope takes a couple of tentatives steps forward. Josie pushes her blanket to the side and gets closer too. They both stop when they're close enough to touch. Neither tries anything though, they both have an underlying fear. Hope is scared of hurting Josie, and Josie is scared of scaring Hope away.

"You're beautiful." Josie breathes out with a soft smile Hope now recognizes. Josie lifts a hand in the space separating them. "I wish I could touch you. Would you be okay with that?"

Hope tilts her head to the side, and then to answer Josie's question, she leans her head closer to Josie's hand. Josie closes the gap and her hand makes contact with Hope's head. The brunette's smile and eyes grow bigger as she feels how soft Hope's furr is. 

"Do you think we're soulmates even when you're in this form?"

It takes Hope about a minute to think about it, but then she makes up her mind. Hope leans closer to Josie's face and gives her a long lick.

"Ew! Hope!" Josie says with a giggle. "Was that your way of saying yes?" Hope barks. "I like you like this, you know? You seem to take the soulmate thing a lot better as a wolf."

Josie's words make Hope think again. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that she felt a lot more free as a wolf, less burdened. Then, Hope focuses herself on Josie again and what she sees breaks her heart. Josie looks sad. Why doesn't she feel it? Hope walks closer and puts her head on Josie's chest, gently pushing her.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to be sad. I just wish your walls wouldn't be so high." Josie lifts her hand and gently pets Hope's head behind her ears. "I could make you happy, I know I could."

They stay like that for a while. Josie kneeling on the ground and petting Hope's head that is leaning against her chest. Actually, they stay like that until the sun starts to rise.

"The sun's getting up. You should probably shift back."

Hope pulls away and looks at Josie's face. The sadness is almost gone, but not totally, and Hope still can't feel it. Without thinking too much, Hope licks Josie's face one more time before walking away to change a little farther.

As she changes back, Hope hears Josie crying. As soon as she's back to human, Hope gets clothes on and run back to her soulmate. Josie is curled into a ball on the ground, and she's crying.

"Josie!" Hope quickly gets on her knees next to the brunette and pulls her in her arms. "You're okay, it's over."

Josie cries harder for a couple of minutes, her head buried in Hope's neck. It takes her some time to actually calm down, and Hope is there for the whole time. She holds Josie close, rocks her back and forth and whispers words of comfort.

"H-how can you go through this several times a week? It's agonizing."

Hope takes a deep breath, and this time Josie's smell is the thing that grounds her.

"I got used to it. I learned to welcome the pain, that's why it doesn't take me long to shift."

"I can't believe it lasts hours for some wolves."

Hope nods. "Yeah. It never took me that long. My father showed me how to take the pain."

Josie wipes her tears away, and tries to get up, but Hope's hold gets tighter. 

"We should get back to school Hope." Josie says, but her voice is wavering.

"I'll carry you." 

Josie's eyes grow big and a blush covers her cheeks before she looks down.

"You don't have to-"

"Please, let me do that for you."

Josie smiles, and nods. 

Hope carrying Josie into the school attracts the eyes of every student they meet in the hallways. Hope tries her best to not pay them any attention, but it proves to be hard. She focuses her attention on Josie, on the way the brunette rested her head on her shoulder. 

Soon enough, Hope gets to Josie's room, and with a simple spell, she gets it to open. Hope is grateful when she finds the twins' room empty. She carefully sets Josie on the bed, well aware that her soulmate fell asleep on their way to the school. The tribrid looks at Josie for a couple of seconds, just long enough to accept the feeling slowly growing in her chest.

Hope leans down and leaves a meaningful kiss to Josie's forehead. Then, she walks out of the bedroom.