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“What kind of monster attacked you again?” Josie’s voice sounded muffled on the other end, the school’s boundary magic interfering with her phone’s reception. It was the third time Josie asked the same question, and Hope found herself sighing on her phone.
“Your dad said it’s a merman, but it hardly looked like one. Now can you now please tell me why you’re friends with Penelope again?”
Josie hummed, evading the question. “What no trident? No fishtail?”
"Jesus, Josie," Hope groaned on the other end of the line. "Stop. And stop asking me about monsters. Please."
"It's just a weird thing that you’re always a magnet for trouble. But still, I'm impressed."
Josie laughed and Hope couldn’t help but join her. It was the first time she heard Josie laughed since her demon-possessed mom buried on her birthday, and it was the first time Hope found herself laughing since Landon unceremoniously dumped her on the way home. Maybe keeping their friendship, even with just simple chats, was actually good for both of them.
The bell rung and Hope hold the phone with her shoulder, running towards the direction of her room. " Curfew. I'll talk to you later, yeah?"
"Wait," Josie whispered. “Would you like to come upstairs and watch a movie with me? It’s just that midterms coming up and I literally want to think about anything but that.”
“Last time I checked, your sister hates me.”
“She’s out with mom. She’ll be back tomorrow morning. Just think about it okay? You and I deserve to relax.” Josie ended the call.
Hope stopped dead on her tracks, closing her eyes to think about how much this school year sucked. She hated how her life was going through and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it. Monsters would keep on appearing even with her interference (thanks a lot Landon) and the school would still suck even without the attacks.
Exhaling a frustrated sigh, her eyes landed on the fresh wounds on her arms and the healing scabs on knees. Her body washed cold as insides of her bag glowed with golden light. That probably meant another monster attack to deal with instead of a warm bed and good night sleep. Couldn’t the monsters of Malivore quit appearing every second? The more she attempted to focus on thinking anything but that wretched place, the more clearly she could see the gloating face of one of the monsters she encountered. The merman seared on her mind, not only to remind all of the terrible things that had happened in the last few weeks (as though she needed reminding) but also to taunt her how Landon “stealing” the first artifact was her fault.
After a quick text of confirmation, Hope was on her way up to the third floor, running with nothing but a night of relaxation with Josie in mind.
***
It was Penelope who answered the door. Her shit-eating grin that told Hope that the girl just had the best time of her time.
“Oh, it’s you,” Penelope blurted out. Her hands fidgeted around the hem of her shirt, flattening it, and Hope caught the subtle hint of Josie’s perfume emanating from her. Behind Penelope, the bathroom’s light was open and the sound of Josie humming in the showers reached Hope ’s ears. It wouldn’t take a genius to put the hints together.
Hope jerked her thumb toward the hallway. “I’ll go… Tell Josie I said--”
“Tell her that yourself,” Penelope pulled her inside like they were suddenly best friends, locking the door with a sudden burst of her magic. “JOSIE! HOPE’S HERE!”
“Shh! The whole school’s going to hear you!”
Penelope rolled her eyes. “I’m not an amateur, Teen Wolf. The room’s covered with a silencing spell. You think I’m going to spend my night with Josie without using one?”
“I really don’t want to hear what you guys did.”
“Shame. You would love every second of it.”
Hope raised her eyebrow. “So the two of you are back together?”
The impish grin on Penelope’s face told her everything she needed to know...or not.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“Pen, stop harassing Hope!”
Josie’s exasperated head peeked out of the bathroom and the room seemed to have become strangely airless. To complete this vision of perfection, her hair was still wet from shower and beads of water trickled down on her collarbone. Hope suddenly felt dizzy and she was certain it had nothing to do with the tiredness that was seeping on her bones.
“I’ll be outside, just give me two minutes.” Josie’s exasperation broke as her eyes landed on Hope.
The shower turned back on and Hope snapped out stupor. She hurried to the lone chair on the corner, straightening her posture as she went. She had barely sat and arranged her face into what she hoped was a relaxed and unfazed expression, when Penelope stretched her back on Josie’s bed, looking at her curiously. She watched, trying not to betray a flicker of surprise or alarm, as the witch’s smile turn wicked at each passing second.
“I know that look.”
Hope did not answer at once. She pretended to be perusing a poster tucked on Josie’s headboard, because she did not want to say what was in her mind.
Finally, she said, “What look?”
Penelope just grinned in response,
like she knew
.
Hope gulped heavily, last time she checked there was no spell can be used to read someone’s mind. Nonetheless, she was determined to avoid the witch’s gaze. The last thing she wanted was to let Penelope guess that she imagined herself walking behind Josie, saying something like “Is the water hot?” or something equally flirtatious that would make the girl turn crimson. At the sudden thought, she felt increasingly dizzy and crawl to the bed for support.
At the corner of her eyes, Penelope was grinning madly. The girl caught her eyes, and surprisingly, Hope found herself sharing a knowing look.
***
“So what do you want to watch? Disney? Something Marvel?”
“Hard pass, Jojo. I just had a marvel marathon with M.G. Pick something else.”
“I’m pretty sure you’re not invited in this slumber party,” there was no malice in Josie’s tone, but Hope found herself chortling.
“Like you can say no to this face.”
Josie smiled, her head ducked in embarrassment. “Hope, want do you want? Marvel’s off the table because of the brat over here.” She jerked her thumbed towards Penelope. “Disney?”
“Do you have something else?” Hope drummed her fingers on her chin. She was not in the mood to subject her brain to magical princesses and the promise of true love’s kiss.
Josie scrolled through her selection of movies, maneuvering her laptop on her knees. “It’s either this documentary about wolves or The Shape of--”
“Yeah no,” Hope scoffed. “wolves it is.”
“Of course tribid’s going to choose something she can easily relate to.”
“Oh, and you can relate to the Shape of Water, Penelope?”
“Right. I forgot you’re the expert on monsters now.”
Hope threw her pillow at Penelope’s face, laughing.
“Pen, behave.” As the opening credits lit up against the dark room, Josie threw herself in the middle, pushing playfully Penelope with her legs. “Watch the movie or else…”
“Fine.” Penelope threw her hands in surrender, finally rolling on the other side of the bed, away from Hope.
Hope stretched her legs on the duvet, was about to ask Penelope to throw the blanket at her hands, until her breath hitched on her throat. There at her waist was Josie’s soft hands, pulling her closer for warmth. Hope’s face lit up with the intensity of ten thousand burning suns.
“Josie, what are you doing?” Hope asked, flustered
“Too much?” Josie’s pout was visible despite the dim lighting. “I’m just trying to help you relax.”
“Hugs can reduce the stress of the person being comforted,” Penelope said matter-of-factly like she just swallowed a textbook. “Even better if the hugs are from Josie.”
“Kiss-ass,” Josie rolled her eyes, blushing.
“It’s true. Tell me I’m wrong,” Penelope challenged, her arms crossed.
“I..um...well…” Hope sputtered, looking anywhere but Penelope. She can’t what was it but there was something about Penelope’s penetrating gaze that made her uncomfortable. Like the witch was secretly egging her to do or say something shameless in front of Josie. Whatever that was, Hope couldn’t figure it out. Her focus was out of the window when Josie rested her head atop her chest, snuggling closer as her other hand spread the blanket over them.
“Don’t mind Pen, she’s making it her personal mission to annoy everyone around me.” Josie stuck her tongue out.
“Just enjoy the movie, tribid.” Penelope groaned and Hope couldn’t shake the feeling that the witch was disappointed.
“Just one movie, okay? Then I’ll go back to my room.”
Penelope snorted as the opening credits lit up.
***
The ending credits rolled and Hope rewound the forty-minute documentary again, the grey backdrop racing across the pixels. She felt a gentle snore against her collarbone and a tired grumble at the other side of the bed.
“Is it done?” Josie yawned, drawing her closer under the covers. On Josie’s right side, Penelope adjusted her position as Josie dragged her arm on her stomach. “Are you going to lea--”
“The movie’s just halfway in.” Hope lied easily. “Just sleep, yeah?”
There's something about being near to Josie that evaporated her stress, maybe the mere human contact reminded her that there were important things other than Malivore, she wasn’t sure - but her body already begun to relax.
Josie slurred, dozing off to sleep. “Okay. Wake me up if you’re going back to your room.”
Penelope craned her neck, raising her eyebrow.
“What?” Hope answered back with a half-grin, her eyes flitting to the screen back to the sight of Penelope who was obviously enjoying being nestled close to her ex. "Don't judge me."
Penelope grinned back.
***
“Hope?” Someone nudged her elbow.
Hope woke with a start. She heard Josie putting on her slippers and then the sound of her bag clunking against the bed. She rolled onto her back, opening her eyes.
“You’re bag’s glowing non-stop.” Josie pointed sitting on the other side, right next to Penelope. “Do you need to um… leave?”
“I kinda have to Josie.” Hope groaned, rubbing her eyes. “It’s not like the school’s going to defend itself.”
“I know.” Josie said slowly, “It’s just that…”
“That what?”
Josie’s eye wouldn’t meet hers. “It’s just that you’re always going after these monsters every day and I’m--we’re all grateful for that-- but even if you managed to defeat this one, another one’s going to show up. And...”
“And you think that they won’t stop attacking the school even if I’m not going after them?” Hope said, already connecting the dots.
Josie nodded. “Just take a breather for once, I’m sure dad’s going to find a way to fix this mess without you.”
“Josie.” Hope groaned.
“Hope,” Josie said softly, teasing, and Hope could feel heat creeping on her cheeks. “There are other students who can defend this school you know.”
“Like who?”
“Like the rest of the super squad,” Josie chortled. “I’m pretty sure they’re also eager to punch a monster in the face.”
“Still…”
“Didn’t you have a good time here? With me and Penelope?” Josie nuzzled her hair. “Stay. Please.”
“Fine,” of course she’d cave in, Josie’s pout was hard to ignore. She crossed her arms, smiling, and if anyone wanted to judge her for being putty in Josie’s arms, they were welcome to try their luck at saying no to the witch. Josie's pout was lethal. “So what do you propose? I just stay here in bed with you?”
“Well,” Josie blushed furiously. “We could find a way to help you unwind.”
“No more movies?” Hope cocked her head, teasing.
“Nope.”
“What do you have in mind?”
Josie hesitated until finally, she croaked: “I’m thinking of something along with this.”
Josie had moved about two inches closer when several things happened in very quick succession. Josie crashed her lips into hers, pulling her closer. Hope found herself answering back with the same fervor and realized, as Josie’s tongue made a tentative move to slip past her mouth, that soft kisses weren’t enough. She captured the witch's lips and the kiss became harder, more urgent. She moved her hands everywhere-- on Josie’s back, over her arms-- and suddenly Josie was kissing her deeper, pulling the waistband of her jeans on the top of her.
They stumbled and her back was against the duvet. Hope rolled on the side, moving Josie's hair away from the right side of her face, making a move to kiss her neck. She tried to pull back, but Josie whined on her lips and Hope lost all rational thoughts, consumed at the thought of Josie whining for her, begging her to kiss harder. Breath hitched on her throat, amazed how one touch of her lips could make anyone crave her. Hope felt like her chest was on fire. Eyes streaming, she swayed on Josie’s arms as she tried to draw breath without breaking the kiss, but she barely staggered her head upright when two hazel eyes, looked back at her, wide.
“Don’t stop on my account,” Penelope drawled, gathering the laptop that Hope didn’t know she kicked out bed.
“Pen--”
Hope froze as Josie continued to tug her closer until Josie’s eyes finally met Penelope, startled at the sight of the witch looking at them with a serious look on her face. Penelope cocked her head and for some insane reason, Josie took it as a sign that she should keep going. Hope mewled as Josie sucked the bottom lip of her mouth, her tongue slipping past.
“Jojo, go easy with her, okay?” Penelope crawled right next to Josie, kissing her softly in her head. “It’s her first time kissing a siphoner.”
Hope gasped for breath. For a few seconds her lungs struggled, she pulled away from Josie as the pain in the top of her head gave a particularly nasty throb. Panting, she fell sidewards over the bed.
“Sorry,” Josie whispered, her chest heaving. “I wasn’t aware that I was doing it.”
“Siphoning the magic out of her?” Penelope asked, her pupils blown wide.
“Yeah,” Josie’s head hung low. She looked at Hope, embarrassed at the sudden turn of the situation. “Was it too much?”
Which part, Hope wanted to scream. The part where the kiss was nothing like she ever had before? The part where her entire subconscious was telling her that kissing boys wouldn’t compare to this? Or the part where Josie’s ex-girlfriend was looking at the two of them with nothing but desire in her eyes? Hope couldn’t decide what to ask.
Her eyes sought Penelope’s. Penelope just raised her eyebrow in a clear gesture that told her that the witch was waiting for the answer as well.
Well, the back of her mind pressed, she did agreed that she would try to relax.
“No,” Hope swallowed hard, scrambling to pull Josie. “Come here, Josie.”
“What about--”
“Fucking hell." God, she was tired and she needed more. "Penelope, kiss me.”
Josie looked thrilled at the response.
***
All at once, there was nothing that mattered to Hope but Josie and Penelope kissing, biting (Penelope was biting), and touching every inch of her body with their mouths. For the first time in her life, Hope forgot everything else. The bliss sent a barrage of lightning through her core, causing her body to slowly teeter on the brink of unconsciousness. Nothing in her experience prepared her for the intensity of the kisses; the tingles in her neck; the tightening of her belly as the two began to tug on her shirt, almost ripping it in half.
Josie, on the top of her, slowing pace. The siphoner was bringing her, again and again, with an onslaught of soft kisses on her mouth that left her knees buckling. Penelope was different. The witch was devouring the back of her neck, scraping her teeth in every inch of her skin. She slowly moved downwards, exploring with the encouragement of Josie, her bruised back with her tongue. Penelope’s teeth found a contusion, biting it hard, and Hope found herself crying out in need, shaking. Josie sucked her lips hard, panting.
With a movement that startled her, Josie forced her back against the bed, cupping her buttock in her hands. With gentle, delicate flicks of her tongue, the siphoner beckoned Penelope with her hand, pausing only to draw her breath.
“What?” Penelope gasped against Hope’s neck, sending her close to edge. She maneuvered on the side, her hands drawing closer to where Hope needed it the most.
“She’s frustrated,” Josie said languidly, ghosting Hope’s neck with her lips. Penelope took it as a sign to stop biting.
That earned a laugh from Penelope. “I know. Just like what you wanted.”
“Guys, I’m right here,” Hope whimpered as Josie playfully flicked the buttons of her jeans. “Also,
come on
. Do something about it.”
“Say please.” Fuck, Josie was going to be the death of her.
"Come on, Hope. Say the magic words." Penelope nipped her jaw.
“Please,” Hope begged raggedly at once, enjoying the sweet torture that that was Penelope tugging her earlobes with her teeth.
Josie smiled was wide. "Pen, help me with this,” she gestured to Hope’s belt. Fuck. “It’s stuck.”
“Gladly,” Penelope’s words send a shiver down her spine, the good kind.
Penelope tugged, cursing under her breath, but it won’t come off. She tried again but the belt was stuck, the three of them knew it.
“Fuck this,” Penelope growled.
Out of frustration, Penelope shoved her knee between Hope’s thigh, yanking her down as rough as she could. A loud moan escaped out of Hope's mouth, surprising the three of them. Penelope stopped in haste, seeking Josie's eyes for instruction.
“Pen, do that again.” Josie urged, capturing the other witch’s mouth in haste.
The two of them kissed, and everything
before Hope became distorted beyond recognition. Hope closed her eyes, held up by a feeling of dizzying suspension, like the one she had in her dreams where she could fly.
Moaning, Josie grabbed her hips for support. Penelope thrust her leg again, this time in a frenzy, and three of them were gone, off into the careening nowhere. She set into a rough pace, earning onslaught of moans and cries from the two.
“Oh fuck yes! Just like that.”
“Pen don’t stop.”
Hope lived for seconds in that soaring perfection. It was only the three of them, in the small confined space of Josie’s room, and there were no thoughts of Malivore in her mind at all. As she fought the need not to roll her eyes in bliss, Josie rolled her hips and Penelope bit her shoulder hard. Her brain stopped functioning and there was only her, lost to herself, and she gasped in wonder as the two pressed searing kisses on both sides of her neck. She fell into an ecstatic burning sensation, her back arching against the arms of the witches.
Fuck. There was a damp spot on her jeans that she was sure it wasn't her sweat. Holy hell.
“That was amazing,” Josie rasped, rolling on the bed to catch her breath.
Penelope breathed as she said, “Well, aren’t you glad I put a silencing spell in Josie’s room?”
Hope burst into loud laughter.
***
The bag glowed with such intensity it almost left the three of them blind. The upstairs room quivered and students above began screaming.
“Fuck you, Malivore.” Penelope kicked the bag, hard. Its light began to fade away slowly, enough to piss them off. “Well, Hope looks like you’re needed.”
Hope groaned. “I don’t want to go.”
A cold blast of wind almost knocked them off the bed. The students above screamed once more.
“Pen’s right,” Josie said softly, although Hope could tell that she was trying not to laugh.
“Come on, Josie! You said your dad’s going to--”
“HOPE!” that was Alaric. Dammit. “HOPE? WHERE ARE YOU?!”
“Fine,” Hope crossed her arms, stashing the urn under Josie’s bed. She marched towards the door before pointing at her belt, adding, “but once I’m done with that monster, you two will help me take this thing off.”
“Be back in an hour and that won’t be the only thing coming off,” Penelope husked.
“Pen!”
“What? You’re thinking it too!”
Josie blushed furiously. “You heard her Hope. Don’t keep us waiting.”
Hope shook her head, grinning. “I’ll be back in thirty.”
***
FIN