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In the dimly lit club, Penelope squeezed past sweaty couples that were practically dancing on top of each other. It seemed like the night was still young, yet Penelope was already tired and ready to go home. She knew, however, that she couldn’t. She was celebrating her best friend MG’s engagement. The club was an extension of the small engagement party that Hope had thrown him. Without a doubt, the party before they had gotten to the club was amazing and the night took a wild turn when they entered the enormous club with the deafening music and lights that pulsed to the beat. Penelope finally made it back to the table that the small group of them shared. “So, MG, are you sure you really want to get married to Lizzie Saltzman?” Hope inquired over the booming music. At the mention of his fiancé, MG broke out in a grin. “I’m absolutely sure. A man shot his shot and is finally about to taste victory.” “I’ve only met her once. I’m your best friend, Milton, how am I supposed to know that she’s deserving of you?” Penelope voiced.   “You guys have nothing to worry about, Lizzie is great. She’s super funny, her dimple when she smiles are to die for, and once you get past her walls, she’s got a big heart, and she’s a really caring person.” MG gushed. “I can’t wait for you guys to meet her more.” “Aw,” Hope cooed. “I’m glad you’re happy with her.” “Thank you for reminding me that I am so single. I think I’m going to need another drink to get me through having to hear you gush about your girl. Do you guys want anything?” Penelope asked. The two of them shook their heads before MG continued to rave about his new fiancé. Penelope pushed past the crowd again, making it to the bar. She slumped down into an open seat and signaled for the bartender, but they were nowhere to be seen. She let out a huff and figured they’d be back soon. She honestly loves people-watching, whether she was at a restaurant, the bus, or anywhere really, so her eyes wandered around the scene. She knew the club would be an especially interesting place to people-watch, apparent in how she noticed how there was a guy who had way too much to drink was dancing wildly by himself. She took note of other things like how there was a group of girls around her age celebrating a bachelorette party, couples that were getting particularly handsy on the dance floor, and guys that she knew were up to no good. However, what caught her attention the most, was how this breathtaking taller brunette girl in a tight black dress a couple seats away from her was trying to talk to a guy who had his head buried on his phone while he lazily had one arm slung around her shoulder. She concluded that perhaps that was her boyfriend and he was ignoring her. “Connor, are you even listening to me?” Penelope overheard the girl ask. “Mhm.” The boy monotonously hummed. “Then what did I just say?” The brunette questioned. “Something about a song, I don’t know.” The boy shrugged, still not tearing his attention away from his phone. The beautiful girl exasperatedly let out a groan and stomped away. It was then that the boy finally looked up from his phone. The bartender came out and immediately went to tend to him. Although she could only hear short segments of their conversation over the blaring music, she could sense that he was flirting with the bartender. It was evident in the way that she’d giggle a little at something he said and how she had a smile on her face when she went to add his drink to his tab. Penelope was disgusted. He obviously had a beautiful girlfriend, but he paid no attention to her and instead was probably going to cheat on her with the bartender. Soon enough, another bartender came, and Penelope ordered from him rather than the one preoccupied with that one guy. She stared at the transparent liquid in the glass, trying to gather enough courage to drink it all at once. “Meet me in the bathroom in 30 when my shift is over?” Penelope overheard the female bartender request the guy. “I’ll be there.” The guy responded with a smirk. Penelope downed her drink, her throat burning from the tequila, and made her way back to her friends. Hope, MG, and Penelope were dancing in the outer edge of the swarm of people on the dance floor. MG was quite the dancer, and he was showing off some of his latest moves. Penelope, however, wasn’t actually paying attention to him. Instead, the breathtaking girl from earlier had infiltrated her vision. She saw the girl dancing with the boy from earlier, but in the next second, he was gone, and the girl was left to dance alone. Penelope tried to ignore it, but something about the girl just pulled her in like a magnet. Moments later, some guy was obnoxiously starting to hit on the girl. Even from far away, she could see how visibly uncomfortable she was getting. That’s when she knew she couldn’t ignore it. “I’ll be right back you guys.” Penelope excused herself and made a beeline for the girl. “Hey babe, is this guy bothering you?” Penelope asked to the girl. She the girl a look, silently asking for permission for her to touch her. The girl, although stunned at first, nodded slightly. Penelope wrapped her arm around the girl’s waist. “Are you kidding me?” The guy scoffed. “That’s like the oldest trick in the book.” “We don’t have to prove our relationship to you. So, please, fuck off.” Penelope fired back. She tightened her arm around the girl. When she tightened her grip around the girl, the brunette fell into her and instinctively placed her hand on Penelope’s exposed abdomen. Penelope tried not to notice how her entire body heated up at the girl’s hand placement. “You guys are too hot to be gay.” The man dismissed. “There’s no way you two are together.” Before Penelope could even bite back a remark, she felt the taller girl place a kiss on her cheek. Her cheeks turned a bright red, although it might not have been that noticeable because of the glowing red lights around the club. “Don’t worry about him, babe.” Although still not convinced, the man decided to give up, he rolled his eyes and started his new conquest to pester somebody else. When he was gone, Penelope immediately retracted her arm and distanced herself away from the girl, not wanting to overstep any boundaries. The other girl jumped away in response too. “Thank you, but you didn’t have to do that.” The girl shouted her thank you over the loud music, avoiding eye contact, looking at the dirty floor of the club. “I couldn’t just sit back and watch that guy harass you, it’s no big deal.” Penelope brushed off. “Yeah, but my boyfriend was probably going to come back soon and make that guy go away.” The girl reasoned. Penelope’s previous suspicions were correct. Penelope didn’t know if she should break the news to the girl that her boyfriend was probably off hooking up with the bartender. She figured she’d bite her tongue because why would she listen to a stranger anyway? She didn’t want to ruin the total stranger’s happiness and rationalized it by saying that ignorance is bliss. “I just figured that I’d act now rather than let that situation escalate.” The other girl nodded her head silently. Penelope took this as her cue to leave and return back to Hope and MG. “Wait.” Penelope heard after she made a move to leave. She turned around and was surprised to see that the other girl had actually reached her arm out to stop Penelope. “I feel like I owe you a proper thank you. You did something nice for me and I was kind of ungrateful.” The taller girl scratched the back of her neck. “It’s okay, I was just being a good Samaritan.” Penelope smiled back. “Can I get your name?” The brunette requested. Penelope figured there was no harm in telling her her name, she probably was never going to see the girl anyway. “Penelope.” She said. “Thank you, Penelope.” The other girl smiled. “I mean it.” Penelope thought she might as well ask for the other girl’s name was out of courtesy. “Don’t worry about it…?” “Josie.” The girl finished for her. “Don’t worry about it, Josie.” Penelope gave a tight-lipped smile. “It was nothing, really.” “I should probably go find my boyfriend now.” She nervously murmured above the noise. Again, Penelope bit her tongue, not wanting to ruin her happiness. “Right, it was nice meeting you, Josie.” Josie searched through the crowd of people in hopes of finding her boyfriend, but he wasn’t anywhere to be found. Figuring he had to be somewhere, she retreated back to the bar to order another drink. Her mind wandered back to the events a few minutes before. For some odd reason, she got more of a kick out of kissing that girl on the cheek than she felt kissing her boyfriend on the lips. She didn’t understand why she felt that way, this had never happened before, especially not with a girl either. She’d kiss her friends on the cheek all the time and feel nothing but kissing that mysterious stranger’s cheek just ignited something in her. She couldn’t dwell on it any longer because she saw her boyfriend come back with the female bartender close by. Had she not been too lost in thought or the dim lighting, she would’ve noticed how he had a smug smile on his face while trying to wipe off any remnants of the bartender’s lipstick off his lips. “Hey babe, wanna dance?” Her boyfriend greeted. “Sure.” She replied with a tight-lipped smile. For the rest of the night, Josie’s mind was somewhere else, her brief encounter with Penelope had crossed her mind on multiple occasions. While dancing with her boyfriend, she searched the crowd for the hazel eyed girl. And her boyfriend didn’t seem to notice that she’d been distracted. Even with a sea of people around her, she found her. Dancing carefree with her friends. Penelope caught on to her staring quite a few times, actually, because truth be told, she’d been just as enchanted by her encounter with Josie and she too had an eye out for her. Penelope’s seen a lot of pretty girls in her days, but there was something about Josie that pulled her in. “Peez, quit the staring and go talk to her.” MG encouraged, aware of his friend’s blatant staring. “What?” Penelope tried to defend. “No, no. I wasn’t even staring.” Hope looked at her doubtingly. “Are we in an alternate universe or is The Penelope Park scared of talking to a girl?” “I’m not scared, she just has a boyfriend.” Penelope reasoned, internally cringing at how the girl’s boyfriend was disgustingly feeling up his girlfriend. “Ooh.” MG’s face scrunched up. “That’s rough.” “The one hot girl in this club is taken, just my luck.” Penelope sighed. “Well, I wouldn't say the only hot girl... I exist.” Hope lightly joked. Penelope shook her head with a smile. “That’s true, let me rephrase that, the only hot girl in this club beside you.” “That’s more like it.” Hope smiled. “Also, you guys are gonna start your trip traveling around the world tomorrow.” MG brought up. “Maybe you’ll find a hot foreign babe out there.” “Yes! I’m so excited, we’ve been planning this since we were teens and we’ve finally saved up enough for it.” Hope excitedly clapped. “Hmm, true. I mean, who doesn’t love a girl with an accent?” Penelope thought aloud. “I’ll drink to that.” Hope raised her glass. Mg spoke up. “Alright, can we get back to celebrating me now?” “Lizzie Saltzman’s rubbing off on you.” Hope mused. The boy gave her a quizzical look, “Haven’t you only met her once too?” “Yeah, doesn’t mean I haven’t heard the stories of the infamous narcissist.” Hope shrugged nonchalantly. “Said the other narcissist.” MG responded without missing a beat, defending his fiancé. Hope opened her mouth to say something in response, but Penelope put a hand on her shoulder, stopping her from whatever she was about to say. “Alright, alright guys. Let’s not fight. The night is still young, so let’s just have some fun and celebrate my boy finding his one and only.” “I’m sorry, H. I just get a little defensive over her.” MG apologized. Hope took a breath. “I’m sorry too. I don’t even know her, that well. I shouldn’t be making assumptions based on rumors.” “There’s the friends that I know. I’m going to get us more drinks. No more fighting, alright?” Penelope pleaded. The two nodded and Penelope stood there for a minute longer, hoping nobody would lash out at each other again. When neither of them made a snide comment, Penelope left to buy them another round. She also used it as an excuse in hopes to find the girl who’d been running around her mind, Josie. She’d made it to the bar and ordered the drinks. While waiting, she scanned the bar in search of the beautiful brunette in a tight black dress. To her disappointment, she didn’t find her nor her asshat of a boyfriend in the crowd. She ordered an extra shot and tipped it back in one swift motion. Here’s to the one that got away. She thought.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“I’m still mad that MG picked Kaleb to be his best man over one of us.” Penelope reiterated, closing the car door. The entire car ride, she’d been droning on and on about how she wished that she got to be MG’s right hand (wo)man on his big day. “I’ve been MG’s best friend since the third grade and it hurts that he didn’t ask me to be his best person.” Hope sighed. “I know he thought about it, but we’ve been away for like six months now. This is our first time even being back home, we wouldn’t have been able to help with planning or shopping.” The two started making their way towards the wedding venue. “Can you stop being rational and let me have my moment.” Penelope huffed, slightly lifting the bottom of the blue dress so she doesn’t step on it. Hope continued. “Besides, Kaleb is the closest thing MG has to family. Kaleb’s like the big brother MG never had. He’s always there for MG, I think it was only right.” “I hate it when you’re right.” Penelope grumbled. She was about to open the door for the two of them when a familiar looking man ran up to them from behind. “Here, let me grab that for you two beautiful ladies.” The man charmingly smiled, opening the door for the two to walk in. Hope and Penelope gave each other weird looks as if they couldn’t believe that just happened. They courteously thanked him and started to make their way to the wedding area. “I know this may be a bit forward, but I was wondering if I could grab a drink and show you a tour of my suite with one of you? Or both of you, if you’re into that, I don’t mind. I hear this wedding has an open bar and my suite is right upstairs.” The man smirked, obviously checking out the two girls. Once again, Hope and Penelope looked at each other in disbelief. “First of all,” Penelope started. “I can’t believe you’re using this wedding as an excuse to pick up chicks who are absolutely not interested in you.” Hope finished Penelope’s thought. They’d always been able to finish each other’s sentences. “And second of all,” “Your tux still has the tag on it.” Penelope pointed out. The guys scrambled to try and see where it stuck out from his suit jacket. “You’re trying to look rich even though we all know you’re going to try and return that tux after the wedding.” The guy stormed away with steam practically coming from his ears. The two girls laughed and once again began walking towards the event. “That guy actually looked somewhat familiar.” Penelope told Hope. “Though I’m not sure where I’ve seen him from.” Hope shrugged. “He looked like any other basic straight white male. You’d probably find like ten lookalikes at any frat party.” Penelope snickered. “That’s true.” The two ordered their drinks at the open bar before going into the lobby of the wedding reception. They conversed with a few of the other guests at the wedding even though they barely knew anyone there. The number of people at the wedding was quite large but on numerous occasions, they caught the man from earlier giving them the side eye. “I can’t believe that the guy can’t take rejection.” Penelope rolled her eyes, annoyed by the guy. “Seriously, can he tone it down with the toxic masculinity?” Hope chimed in. An announcement that the wedding ceremony was going to begin soon after that. Penelope and Hope found their seats and waited for the start. Penelope eagerly looked at the beautiful floral decorations around the porch where the wedding took place with a clear view of the lightly snow covered mountains in the background. Truth be told, she loved weddings. She couldn’t wait for it to be her turn to walk down the aisle. It’s something every little girl dreamed about. The processional started. Penelope presumed that Lizzie’s mother escorted by MG’s father were the ones that walked down the aisle and took their seat in the first row of the wedding followed by MG’s mother escorting the boy down the aisle. The groom took his place at the head of the altar. Penelope was proud of her best friend, he looked so happy yet nervous in this moment. The groomsmen, Rafael, Jed, and Landon strutted one by one accompanied by the bridesmaids down the aisle and stood in their rightful spots. When Kaleb walked down the aisle, Penelope wanted to clap, she really did. Except all the wind was knocked out of her seeing the girl from the club from months ago walking arm-in-arm with the best man. She couldn’t decide whether or not she was glad that MG hadn’t asked her to be his best person because on one hand, she’d get to walk down the aisle with Josie, the beautiful girl from the club, but on the other hand, she’d have to walk down the aisle with Josie, the beautiful girl from the club. The bridesmaid dresses were a light shade of pink, but the girl wore a fuschia colored dress meaning she had to be the maid of honor. And boy did she look drop dead gorgeous. A precious little blonde girl carrying a basket of petals, scattering them as she clumsily walked down the aisle accompanied by the ever-so-adorable Pedro the ring bearer.   Finally, the bride, Lizzie Saltzman walked down the aisle escorted by who Penelope assumed was her dad. All attention was on the bride, but Penelope wanted to turn around and stare at Josie. Lizzie wore an elegant white dress with a lace train trailing behind her. Her white dress and veil looked absolutely stunning yet Penelope couldn’t stop thinking about Josie’s fuschia dress. The ceremony was beautiful albeit Penelope couldn’t remember half of what their vows were since her eyes were glued on the girl in the fuschia dress and when she wasn’t able to be seen, her mind was thinking about her. She wondered things like if she was still with her boyfriend, how she knew the bride, what was her favorite things in life, how she’s been, anything. Shortly after the ceremony finished, the cocktail hour started and Penelope watched as Josie was stuck to the side of the man who had blatantly checked her and Hope out before the wedding. It clicked in her mind that he was the boyfriend from the club, Connor, she recalled. At least that answered her question from before, Josie was still, in fact, with her cheating boyfriend. She tried to distract herself from the appalling sight by making her rounds, interacting with the other guests, congratulating MG and Lizzie, gossipping with Hope, utilizing the free bar. About an hour in, Connor excused himself to the bathroom, Penelope presumed, either that or he went on the search to hook up with someone new. Penelope curtly excused herself from the guests she’d been making casual conversation with and decided to approach Josie. “Hello.” Penelope greeted. “Hey, you look really familiar.” Josie tried to remember where she’d seen the other girl from, but she couldn’t quite put a finger on it. Penelope tried to play it off cool, “I was thinking the same… hmm, I haven’t been back in the States since a few months ago. But I think we met at the club a few months ago?” Josie gasped, “Oh right! You helped me escape that creepy guy.” “Yeah!” Penelope enthused. “He didn’t bother you the rest of the night, did he?” “Oh, no. Thankfully.” Josie chuckled. “I had my boyfriend with me the rest of the night anyway.” As if on cue, Josie’s boyfriend came back and wrapped a loose arm around her waist. “Hey babe, you talking about me?” He said with a smirk. Penelope tried to hide her discomfort. Josie’s boyfriend acted surprised, noticing Penelope standing in front of Josie, as if he hadn’t literally tried to hit on her and Hope just a couple hours ago. Josie rolled her eyes with a smile. “Only a little bit.” “Who’s your friend here?” He nodded his head, referring to Penelope awkwardly standing in front of them. “This is…” Josie racked her brain trying to remember the brunette’s name. “Pen…elope?” She faintly recalled. Penelope was pleasantly surprised that Josie had remembered her name. At least that means she was somewhat memorable. “Yeah. We actually met a couple months ago, I was just popping by to say hey.” With an apologetic smile, Josie told them that she had to leave to go and get ready for the dinner reception. She excused herself, so Penelope and Connor were left standing across from each other. It was mortifyingly awkward. Penelope was half expecting him to revert to his angry self that he was earlier when Hope and her had slightly insulted him. When neither of them said anything, Penelope made a beeline to go and find Hope. “Hope, do you remember when I pretended to be a girl’s girlfriend at the club?” She whisper yelled when she jerked Hope away from whoever she was talking to. Hope nodded, confused with why she’d just been yanked from a shallow conversation (although she’s not complaining). “Well, she’s here. And her idiot boyfriend is here too. He’s the one that hit on us which is why he looked so familiar to me.” “What a small world.” Hope commented. Then, the MC announced that it was time for the guests to find their seats for the dinner. Their seat assignments can be found on the table by the entrance. Thankfully, Hope and Penelope were at the same table. Unfortunate for them, so was Josie’s boyfriend. Josie was located at the table with the bride, groom, bridesmaids, and groomsmen. Hope and Penelope reluctantly took their seats, being one of the first few at the table. The seats around the table started to fill up, and the only seat left was the one directly next to Penelope. Being the one of the last guests to enter, Connor took his seat next to Penelope. The girl wanted to scream, thinking the universe really hates her. Tense silence between Connor, Hope, and Penelope ensued while the other guests at the table made casual chatter with each other. Connor was the first one to speak up. Connor leaned towards Penelope. “I still think you look beautiful tonight.” He whispered in her ear.  She was absolutely repulsed with him. He really had the audacity to hit on her again even after they had turned him down, making him angry, and knowing damn well that Josie wasn’t around to hear what he was saying. Wanting to make it clear that she had zero interest in him, she scooted her chair closer to Hope and turned her whole body to face the girl. Connor only shrugged it off and got distracted by something on his phone. MG and Lizzie had their first dance on the dance floor. It started off as a silly dance where MG showed off his dance moves while still making time to appreciate Lizzie who also danced goofily. It was obvious that the dance was all improvised, then the groom lifted the bride in the air. Lizzie was smiling brightly and MG just looked like a lovesick fool. The tempo of the song shifted, and he slowly lowered her to the floor. The entire time, MG looked like he still couldn’t believe that Lizzie was now his wife. Penelope watched and her heart melted. She’d wished she’d find a love like that one day. The dance finished and MG and Lizzie laughed, a smile never leaving their face. They thanked everyone for coming. The MC instructed that one by one, each table will be called to go out and grab dinner from the buffet. Thankfully, their table was one of the first few tables to go. What was even better, was that Connor didn’t try speaking to them again. They got back to the table and began eating the wide array of food the buffet had to offer. They’d been savoring their meal when Connor decided to try again. “Me and Josie aren’t that serious, so if you still want to get that drink, let me know.” He winked. “Are you serious right now?” Penelope scoffed. Although she didn’t know the full extent of their relationship, she highly doubts that they aren’t that serious. He wouldn’t have been her date to the wedding and she wouldn’t smile as much as she did and lean into him as much as Penelope observed. “I don’t know about her, but I’ve been seeing other people. I mean, come on, when you look like this,” He made a motioned over his body. “It’s hard to stay tied down to one person.” “You’re disgusting. Please stop. I’m not interested.” Penelope rolled her eyes. “Girl plays hard to get. I like that challenge.” Connor clicked his tongue. This was absolutely ridiculous. “Can you get it in your head that I’m not going to be an asset to helping you cheat on your girlfriend. You did that enough at the club I originally saw you at.” Penelope fired. Connor thought back to how that night was pretty epic. The bartender he hooked up with definitely knew what she was doing. He smirked at the memory before cockily responding. “You say that now, but I know you’ll want me later.” “There really is no getting through to you. It’s like she’s talking to a brick wall.” Hope commented. Before Connor could get in another word, the MC cut the faint music and announced that the wedding party had a few words to say. Kaleb, the Best Man was the first one to be giving his speech. “For those that don’t know me, I’m Kaleb, the Best Man.” The man introduced. “I met MG in college during Dr Saltzman’s crime theory class.” “I’ve always wondered why Dr. S always pushed us to get closer. To get to know each other better. And let’s be real, at first, I really didn’t want to because you looked like some nerdy kid who liked comic books and had whack ass hair.” Kaleb joked. “But after getting to know you, we ended up being the best of friends. I’m your brother. Me. Alright? We’re family. It’ll always be me and you, sure you just got married, but you didn’t gain any brothers-in-laws. So I’m sure you’ll need someone to help keep you on your feet. I can’t have you going too soft on me.” Kaleb took a short pause signifying a segue into the next part of the speech. “I remember one night in college, you were bugging me to go out. I said no, which was a monumental event, because when am I ever not down to go out? Anyway, he goes out and coincidentally, he meets Lizzie.” Kaleb gives a head nod towards the table. “I come out of my room the next day and little MG comes sauntering into the room, he was beaming. He said ‘you should’ve seen me last night.’” Kaleb mocked him.   “I laughed, asking him, ‘good night?’” and MG went ‘I told you it was going to be awesome. Met a blonde girl, gorgeous, I commented on her hair, told her how pretty she was. I was like a rare Egyptian silk, I was so smooth.’” Kaleb imitated. “I later found out from Lizzie that she only talked to him because she thought he worked there. She just wanted another drink. “And his line was ‘hey, do you like comics?’” Kaleb chuckled. “That’s the Egyptian Silk right there.” “But anyway, I met Lizzie a couple days after, and since meeting her, I’ve had to deal with numerous sarcastic nicknames and comedic one liners. But behind all that, she has a big heart and you should really let other people see it.” “I do have to say though, MG just know how lucky you are. You will leave here today with a wife who is funny, loving and caring (mostly). And Lizzie, know how lucky you are as well. You leave here today having gained a beautiful dress and a wonderful bouquet of flowers.” Kaleb’s closing comments garnered a symphony of laughter. Next up, it was Josie, the Maid of Honour. Penelope eagerly turned to watch this. She had been wondering how Josie was associated with the bride. Tentatively, Josie took the microphone. “Hi everyone, I know there are a few of you that haven’t been able to meet me yet. I’m Josie and I’ve known Lizzie all of my life. She’s the best sister I could ever ask for.” At least that answered Penelope’s question. Never in her life, would she have guessed they were sisters. She thought they were just good friends or something. “When Lizzie asked me to be her maid of honor, I can’t tell you how excited I was. I’d be able to share this day with my sister. To be apart of all those special moments that come with a wedding like this, all the laughs, all the tears, all the free drinks.” Josie then shifted into a more serious tone, turning to directly look at Lizzie. “But what made it truly special was that I would get to share this day with you. Lizzie,” Josie started tearing up. “The girl I’ve always wanted to be and the one I’ve always respected. Even though we’re twins and you’re just a few seconds older than me, I’ve always looked up to you. The way you carry yourself, with grace and with excellence, is something I’ll always aspire to attain. The past twenty four years of our lives, it was always the Saltzman twins against the world. But now we’ve got a new addition to the team.” She turned to face the groom now. “MG. The first time I ever heard my sister say your name, it was with the widest smile I’d ever seen. What I love that since you came into Lizzie’s life is that your bright smile and infectious positive attitude has never faded.” Penelope was at a loss for words at how touching this speech was. This girl really had a way with words. While Kaleb’s speech was more comedic, this one was more heartfelt. “What I knew then, and what I’ve seen with my own eyes, as we shared holidays, birthdays, and weekends away with our family, is that your love for Lizzie makes her happier than I’ve ever seen her in my life. And I mean, how couldn’t it?” Josie turned to face the audience rather. “Since we were young, Lizzie had always dreamed of her perfect proposal, a grand gesture of sorts, like what most people dream. But when MG proposed in a simple yet meaningful way that was just so Lizzie and MG, my sister told me she couldn’t have dreamt of a better proposal.” “The next day she just went on and on, gushing about how he drew them in a comic book and the last page was him asking her to marry him. Lizzie doesn’t like comics, but I can tell you now that she rereads that comic everyday. That’s love right there.” Josie went on. Penelope wished that Josie would see that what she just described is love. And even though she didn’t personally know what her relationship was like with him, she knew that what she has with Connor, isn’t. “I’ve never seen a couple who smiles, laughs, and enjoy the moment as much as these two do. Enjoy every moment with each other. Cherish them. When he doesn’t take his shoes off in the house, laugh. When she wants to obsessively watch tapes of the Miss Mystic Falls Pageant, laugh. Because if you can laugh with each other, you’re doing just fine. That laughter and love can carry you through the ups and downs. And wearing a smile can make everything seem better.” “Ladies and gentlemen, would you please raise a glass with me for a toast to Lizzie and MG.” Josie held up her glass of champagne. Penelope tapped her glass against Hope’s, actively trying to avoid Connor.   Except, Hope had another idea. “So Connor, what did you think of that speech?” Penelope’s best friend asked after her and Penelope clinked their glasses together and took a sip. Penelope sent a death glare to her friend. Hope only shrugged. Connor, preoccupied with making a gross concoction of mixed food scraps on his plate, looked up at the mention of his name. “Oh. I didn't really hear much of it. I was busy making this.” He showed them a chunky brown mixture on his plate. Penelope and Hope looked at it (and him) with disgust. “But when I did look up, I was just thinking of how hot she looks.” Penelope scoffed. “What are you, twelve?” His immature mentality made Penelope wonder what Josie saw in the guy. MG and his mom did their dance on the dance floor, barely escaping the tears and Lizzie and her dad had an emotional slow dance. When that was over, they opened the dance floor for everyone and most of the guests proceeded to dance to the music. Josie had found her way over to where Connor was dancing and tried to get him to dance with her. Except, he was too preoccupied with something on his phone. Penelope rolled her eyes at how this guy was ignoring the brilliant girl in front of him. About a half hour later, Lizzie and MG proceeded to do the cake cutting ceremony. MG stuck his finger in the frosting and wiped it across Lizzie’s cheek. She gasped and responded by taking a slice and smashing it against his face. They both erupted in laughter and Lizzie kissed MG’s cheek. Lizzie licked her lips of the frosting from kissing his cheek. She laughed, helping him wipe off the cake from his face. Afterwards, Penelope went up to MG to congratulate him again. Josie had been nearby talking to Lizzie about something. “Oh, Penelope, there’s someone I’d like you to meet.” MG mused, getting up from his seat to politely interrupt Josie and Lizzie. “This is Josie.” Penelope was at a loss for words. All this time he knew who Josie was, even that night at the club where Josie and Penelope met. She made a mental note to talk to him about it later, she didn’t want to explode on him now. Penelope stammered. “Oh, I know, we’ve briefly met before.” “Yeah, we actually were talking just a little before the dinner.” Josie nodded. “I’m sorry we didn’t get to talk more, bridesmaid duties called.” She tried to joke. MG, trying to play matchmaker, took this as a cue to leave. Penelope shook her head. “No, I totally get it. I loved your speech by the way.” She complimented. Josie slightly blushed, “Thank you, I was so nervous for it.” “Really?” Penelope gawked. “You looked and sounded so confident!” “Looking at my sister gave me courage. I knew I couldn’t mess up on her big day.” Josie said, motioning towards her sister who had gone with MG to converse with other guests. Penelope hummed before switching the subject. “So, where’s your boyfriend?” She tried to sound indifferent. To hide the disgust she felt when thinking about him. Josie let out a small chuckle. “I actually don’t know. Maybe he’s off at the bar or something.” She tried to brush off. Penelope wanted to tell her all about how he tried to hit on her and Hope and how he tried to say that him and Josie weren’t really serious when he got caught. How we was probably off screwing some random person now. She wanted to tell her about the night at the club where he went off to hook up with the bartender. But again, she was still a stranger to her, so why should she believe her. Instead, Penelope just nodded. “What about you, is the girl you came with your… girlfriend?” Josie asked out of curiosity. Penelope immediately shook her head, denying it. “Oh, Hope? No, we’re just best friends. We’ve been MG’s best friends since grade school.” Josie’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “Oh! So you’re the infamous Penelope who persisted that MG continue to pursue Lizzie." “Yep, that’s me!” Penelope chuckled. “Between you and me, I’m still a little hurt he didn’t ask me to be his Best Person.” “I’ve heard many stories about you. I didn’t put two and two together to notice that it was you.” Josie said. “Don’t worry about it, it’s a big world, it could’ve been another Penelope.” The short brunette dismissed. “I’d love to say that I’ve heard stories about you, but I haven’t. I guess there is some things that your best guy friend doesn’t tell you.” She pouted. “Oh yeah, I was wondering, if you guys are really close then why didn’t he ask you to be part of the wedding party.” Josie commented. “Then, that would’ve meant that we’d actually know each other than when you saved me at the club.” Penelope shrugged it off. “Like I was telling you before, I have been out of the country, so I wouldn’t have been much help with the wedding responsibilities. Besides, Kaleb is a really good guy, if it wasn’t me up there, I’m glad it was him.” “That’s very noble of you to say.” Josie complimented. “Why thank you.” Penelope goofily curtseyed. Josie let out a laugh and it had to have been one of the most beautiful sounds Penelope had ever heard in her life. “I meant to ask earlier what places you’ve traveled to?” Penelope was glad she asked and that she genuinely seemed interested. “Hope and I had started our trip in Greece, then Italy, Portugal, Spain, France, United Kingdom, Belgium and then we ended our European leg in Netherlands.” Josie’s eyebrows raised again. “Geez, that’s so many places. And that’s just your European leg?” Penelope nodded. “Yeah, we’re gonna take a break for a month back here, then we head off to our Asia trip.” Josie only dreamed of what Penelope was doing now. She’d only been able to travel out of the country and that was to Spain with Lizzie and their mom. “That’s so crazy, how long did it take you guys to save up for all that?” “Hope and I started planning and saving since high school. But we only were able to pay for like less than half of the trip combined, but Hope’s dad offered to pay for the rest as a  congratulations for Hope getting into medical school.” Penelope didn’t want to sound like a spoiled brat, because she wasn’t. She hoped that it didn’t come across that way. “Oh that’s super nice of him.” Josie remarked. She didn’t think that the girl came off as spoiled at all. Conversation after that just flowed easily. They talked for so long that Josie forgot that she had to go to the bathroom in the first place. But her bladder suddenly screamed and she excused herself to the bathroom. Leaving Penelope to fend for herself. Hope was talking to Rafael and Landon because they were good friends. Penelope spotted MG and politefully tugged him away to the side. “You knew who Josie was the entire time?” She whisper yelled. “It was dark in the club! I didn’t even see Josie that well. I didn’t know that it was her.” MG reasoned. “Bullshit, you totally saw my blatant oggling.” Penelope whispered sternly. MG sighed. “It was a mix of the alcohol and the dark lighting. Relax, Peez. At least you get to know her now. I see that you two have hit it off.” He wiggled a brow. “So you’re aware of her sorry excuse of a boyfriend?” Penelope was trying her best not to cause a scene. “Look, Josie and Connor have been together for like ever. And nobody, not even Lizzie can get through to her about him. She’s too blind to see what he’s doing to her.” MG told her. “But maybe, you can. You’re like a love guru or something. I mean you really helped me seal the deal with Lizzie despite not even knowing much about her.” Penelope loosened up. “Right.” She spotted Josie in the stunningly beautiful fuschia dress making her way back into the room without her boyfriend (thankfully). “I’m going to go, later we’re going to talk about why you kept Lizzie away from us for so long. I mean Kaleb got to meet her on numerous occasions? What gives?” “I’ll explain everything later, I’m sorry.” MG apologized. “You’re lucky I love you.” Penelope mumbled, giving him a hug before she went to find Josie again. The two talked the rest of the night about anything and everything that came to their minds. Everything fell so naturally and flowed smoothly. Connor hadn’t interrupted them once and Josie barely even thought about him which was a first. By the end of the night, they considered themselves to be friends. After all, they shared things like embarrassing stories, childhood memories, and even had a couple inside jokes. They exchanged numbers and agreed to hang out sometime before Penelope left again. About a week later, they met up at a sushi restaurant because they’d bonded over their love for sushi the night of the wedding. And because they’d been constantly texting each other during the days leading up to this moment, not only did Penelope’s initial infatuation with the girl transform into a full on crush, she feels like she can be honest with Josie. Because despite the crush, she already considers her to be one of her good friends because Josie just gets it like nobody else does. She brings up Connor and tells her about how he tried to hit on her and Hope the night of the wedding. She decided not to tell her about how he hooked up with the bartender at the club because she was testing the waters with how she’d react with this. Josie only dismissed it saying he’s a flirt and he probably didn’t mean it. Penelope nodded with a tight lipped smile and switched the subject. Now was not the time to tell her. Her heart felt for the girl. She could treat her so much better. The rest of the night went smoothly. Hanging out one on one strengthened their friendship even more and they planned when they'd hang out next. They'd already been texting each other constantly, but now they were glued to each other.  Penelope and Josie would spend hours at a time laughing and joking and talking about everything that matters and everything that doesn’t. It’s so much different than how Josie would talk to Connor. Penelope is full of passion and Josie loves watching her facial expressions, her hand movements, and the way her voice changes and the way she her words jumble together when she gets overly excited about something. Josie could listen to her for hours, and so she does. Josie spends less time with Connor, not that he notices anyway, and stays inside to talk to Penelope on the phone. When she is out with Connor, she can’t wait til they’re back home. She finds herself comparing her interactions with Penelope with the interactions  she has with him. She anticipates when she gets to talk to Penelope next, instead of anticipating when Connor would give her the light of day. Josie doesn’t think about that too often. She doesn’t think it means anything anyway. She reasoned that it was because she didn’t have very many female friends, her entire life had always just been her and Lizzie.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Almost like clockwork, Josie ends up calling Penelope on the phone at night. They spend hours and hours just talking. It’s amazing that they never run out of things to talk about. And the conversations aren’t forced and awkward like they are when she’s with Connor. It’s smooth and free flowing.
 
It’s currently 2am and the two have been on FaceTime for about six hours, some of the time they were just doing their own thing with the calming presence of the other on the other side of the screen, then some of the time it was them talking or joking about little things. Josie had been in the midst of writing her to-do list/planning for the day when Penelope spoke up.
 
“Do you mind squeezing me in for 7 o’clock?” Penelope joked as if she were setting up an appointment.
 
Josie looked up, jokingly rolling her eyes. “I’m afraid that we don’t have that time slot available. I believe she (as in me) has a date with Connor at that time.” Josie played along.
 
“Aw come on, what if I say it’s an emergency?” Penelope tried.
 
Josie raised her brow. “Oh? What seems to be the problem?”
 
“Well, Doc, I’ll be leaving for my trip around Asia the day after and I was thinking of getting a check up and a refill on my Josie-prescribed Disney movie marathon.” Penelope mused.
 
“I’m afraid we’ll have to reschedule you for another time. Sorry for the inconvenience.” Josie replied.
 
Penelope’s jaw dropped in fake hurt. “You won’t even see me before I have to leave? What kind of friend are you?”
 
“I saw you like two days ago, relax.” Josie brushed off.
 
“But I’m having withdrawals!” Penelope dramatically went on.
 
Josie shook her head with a smile, returning her attention back to her planner. “You’ll be fine.”
 
Penelope sighed. “But I’ll be gone for like two months!”
 
“And who’s fault is that for planning such a long trip?” Josie teasingly fired back.
 
Penelope saw that Josie wasn’t looking, but she flipped her off anyway. “Sorry for planning a trip a year in advance and didn’t account for having attachment issues for one of my good friend.”
 
Josie clicked her tongue. “See, you should’ve foresaw any possible circumstance!”
 
“You’re mean.” Penelope pouted. “Just for that I’m not getting you a souvenir when I go to Japan.” She knew this would cause some sort of reaction because they had talked about how Josie had always wanted to go to Japan.
 
Josie immediately dropped her pen and looked up. “You wouldn’t!”
 
“Oh but I would.” She narrowed her eyes at Josie through the screen, testing her.
 
Josie narrowed her eyes back at the girl momentarily before sighing and picking up her planner, looking for a way to rearrange her schedule. “We’ll see what I can do.”
 
Out of the corner of her eye, Josie saw that Penelope excitedly pumped her fist into the air “Ha! I win!” And danced around her room. Josie fought the smile that threatened to spread across her face. That girl was a dork.
 
Penelope returned back in frame after calming herself from her small dance party. “But in all honesty, if you can’t squeeze me in that’s fine. I’m just teasing.” She made sure to reassure Josie that she didn’t really need to see her. She knew that Josie liked to have her days all planned out beforehand and having her rearrange her schedule seemed like unnecessary stress she didn’t want to burden her with.
 
“I know you were kidding, don’t worry. But I do want to see you, so if anything comes up, I’ll let you know so that we can hang.” Josie informed her. Josie loves how if they disagree on something, they can try to see the other’s point of view on it. Whereas when she’s with Connor, it’s either his way or the highway. It’s one of the traits that she disliked most about him, and one of the traits she admired most about the girl.
 
“Okay.” Penelope smiled but quickly yawned afterwards. “Alright, well, that dance party really took a toll on me. I think I’m gonna head to bed.”
 
Josie slightly pouted, she was still wide awake. “Aww, okay. Goodnight.”
 
“Goodnight. Sleep tight. Don’t let the bed bugs bite.” Penelope cutely responded with a small grin.
 
“Love you, Pen.” Josie mentioned.
 
Penelope’s heart skipped a beat. She knew that it’s not the way she really wished, but then again, they were only friends, they’d only known each other for a couple of weeks, so she didn’t even feel that way either. Regardless she still took what she could get. “Love you too Jo.” With that, Penelope hung up the phone.
 
Shortly after, Penelope passed out on her bed. Meanwhile, Josie was still staring at her screen with a small smile on her face and her heart slightly fluttering. She didn’t quite understand why. But then, a text from Connor, who hadn’t answered her texts since about 9 o’clock, suddenly flashed across the screen saying ‘Gn.’ And Josie reasoned that her heart was only fluttering because her body may have sensed that a text from her boyfriend was incoming so she just got an early feeling. It was completely irrational, but she just blamed it on that instead of thinking anything more of it.
 
---
 
Penelope and Josie texted each other for a good portion of the day afterwards, but then Josie starts replying shortly and then stops answering out of nowhere. And Penelope’s picked up on her habits and mannerisms over the course of the past few weeks, so she can sense when something was up. She decides to give her half an hour to see if she had just been busy with something. Then, an hour passes, followed by two more, and it’s the longest they’ve gone without talking to each other Penelope since they’ve become close, so she knows something’s wrong.
 
As a result, Penelope tries calling and texting, but her calls go unanswered and her texts seem as if she’s talking to a wall. Penelope starts to worry. Should she go over there and check on her? Would that be too weird?
 
She paced back and forth around her room, chewing on her lip, trying to decide on what she should do. She knew that she and Josie had been joking about attachment issues on FaceTime earlier but that’s all it was, a joke. But now, she wasn’t so sure if it was a joke. If she went over there to check on her would that be too clingy? Deciding to bite the bullet, she grabbed her keys off the counter and headed over to Josie’s. Screw looking clingy, she had to make sure that things were alright.
 
Hesitantly, Penelope knocked at Josie’s door. When there was no answer, she thought about retreating back to her car and texting the girl later, but against her better judgement, she knocked again, this time louder. And within a couple of moments, the door swung open with Josie’s wide smile and a loud “You remembered!”
 
Except, upon noticing that it was the shorter dark haired girl, her grin dropped and she went back to her sunken expression. Penelope took notice of her puffy eyes and smeared makeup. “Penelope? What’re you… what are you doing here?” Josie asked, almost disappointedly.
 
“Well, I noticed you weren’t your usual chipper self in our texts and then you stopped answering which was so out of character for you. I tried calling, and I tried texting you but I got no response. So I got kinda worried and uhh here I am.” Penelope scratched the back of her neck timidly. She hoped that she didn’t think that she was being too clingy.
 
“Oh. Um. I’m sorry. I kinda threw my phone at the wall and I haven’t picked it up since.” Josie sheepishly told her. She motioned for Penelope to come inside and Penelope did as directed.
 
“What? Why?” Penelope asked with genuine concern.  
 
“I didn’t tell you on the phone because I know you’re not exactly his biggest fan, but um… It’s Connor and I’s three year anniversary today. And I don’t even think he even knows it and just cancelled on our date tonight.” Josie sadly sniffled.
 
Penelope’s expression softened. “I’m so sorry that I ever made you feel like you couldn’t talk about him to me. You’re right, I’m not exactly his biggest fan, but I’ll always listen to what you have to say.”
 
“Thank you.” Josie said softly, curling up into a ball on the other side of the couch while Penelope comforted her without needing to say anything.
 
“Sorry for coming by unannounced. I know you like to have everything orderly and planned, but I couldn’t help but want to check on you.” Penelope apologized.
 
Josie shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. Today’s been all sorts of unplanned things, but this is a pleasant surprise, so thanks.”
 
“Anytime.” Penelope responded with a tight lipped smile.
 
About an hour later, Josie’s tears were wiped away for the most part and they were actually just settled on the couch watching a movie. Josie rested her head on Penelope’s chest, intently watching whatever was on the screen. Meanwhile, Penelope was scrolling through her Instagram, watching people’s stories out of pure boredom. She clicked on Jed’s story of him and a couple of his friends at the bar and in the background she noticed that Josie’s boyfriend drinking with them.
 
“Jo, look at this.” Penelope voiced.
 
“Hmm?” Josie hummed, tilting her head up to see what Penelope was trying to show her. “Is that…Connor?” Josie squinted.
 
Penelope nodded. “He ditched you just to drink a couple beers with the boys. I can’t believe this.”
 
Josie began crying again and Penelope cursed herself for how she insensitively phrased that last sentence. She quickly apologized and tried soothing the girl.
 
The taller brunette had gotten up to find her phone, only to find that it was shattered from when she had threw it at the wall earlier in anger that her boyfriend forgot about their anniversary. She now had no way to even get ahold of the boy.
 
Josie continued to cry and all Penelope could do was rub comforting circles on her back, she knew that if she said anything it could make it worse. But then Jed continued to post more stories, one of him and the boys playing pool, then a sequence of him daring each of the boys to do something, when it came to Connor’s dare, Jed had dared him to get this random woman’s number. And Connor accepted it without hesitation. The video showed him pulling sly moves and him getting especially close to the woman. Penelope was fuming.
 
“Look Josie, you’re my friend and I honestly can’t keep seeing you upset like this. Connor doesn’t treat you the way you deserve to be treated.” Penelope said with sincerity.
 
Josie sucked in a deep breath. “Penelope, don’t do this again. You already told me that he flirted with you and Hope at the wedding and then this video doesn’t prove anything, I already told you that’s just how he is.” Josie argued sternly.
 
Penelope bit her lip. She couldn’t keep it in any longer. “The night I met you, he went off to hook up with the bartender.” She explained exasperatedly.
 
Josie couldn’t believe this. “Now you’re just making stuff up.” She tried to scoot away from Penelope on the couch.
 
“Josie, I’m not making this up. I’d never lie to you. I saw it happen.” Penelope pleaded, grabbing Josie’s hand, causing her to abruptly stop.
 
Josie turned and looked at Penelope’s earnest eyes. “I know that someone can treat you better than he can. I just wish you’d see for yourself.”
 
“He treats me just fine.” She gritted.
 
“No he doesn’t Josie! He barely pays any attention to you! When you text him he basically blows you off, you deserve so much better than that!” Penelope voiced, searching Josie’s eyes for any sort of indication that Josie agreed with her.
 
Josie tore her eyes away and looked down at the ground and mumbled, “Maybe that’s just what I deserve.”
 
Penelope’s heart broke. Connor was a sorry excuse of a boyfriend, and yet Josie was blaming herself? Unbelievable. Therefore, without any second thought, she spoke the first thing that came to her mind. “Josie, it kills me that you would say something like that. No one deserves to be treated like that, especially not you.” Josie slowly looked up, staring at Penelope’s soft green eyes again. “God, if I had the chance, I would spend every waking moment trying to make you smile, to never make you feel the way that you are feeling right now. Because seeing you smile, I get this feeling like I’d just won the lottery. If I could, I would treat you like a queen, Josie Saltzman.”
 
Josie gave Penelope a puzzled look. “What? Why’re you saying this? I don’t understand.”
 
At this point, Penelope thought she was being as clear as crystal right now, but apparently she wasn’t. “Because I…” Penelope gulped. There was no backing out now. “I like you. I think that you’re extraordinary, you’re beautiful, you’re so smart.”
 
“I’ve had a crush on you since I saw you at the club. I didn’t know you back then, but I already knew there was something about you that I had to get to know. In all honesty, had it been anyone else, I’m not sure if I would’ve stepped in to save them from a creepy guy who can’t take a hint. Which is probably shitty for me to say, but I don’t know. I was intrigued by you.” Penelope went on.
 
“I was literally halfway across the club when I saw that guy harassing you. I wasn’t in your general vicinity so I had no real rationale to go over there. But I did. Because the second I saw you, I thought that you were so beautiful and I couldn’t take my eyes off of you.” Penelope rambled. She could see that Josie was genuinely interested in what she was saying, so she continued on.
 
“And then it was like fate that my best friend married your sister. We were bound to run into each other sometime after. And now that I do know you. I like everything about you. Getting to know you these past few weeks have been incredible and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Which is ironic because I literally leave for Hope and I’s trip around Asia tomorrow night.” She chuckled and Josie laughed slightly too.
 
Josie gave a small smile “I’ve loved getting to know you too. And… something about me was drawn to you too.”
 
Penelope’s face lit up with hope. “Really?” She asked.
 
Josie nodded. “I’m really glad you came into my life.”
 
Penelope’s heart did a backflip. And so Penelope decided to be bold. She faced Josie and steadily moved her hands up to the side of her face and she caresses it with her thumb. Penelope’s breathing was erratic with nerves and her heart was beating out of her chest. Penelope’s eyes were wild and wide with anticipation as they shifted between Josie’s eyes and lips, trying to search for any hint of hesitation or uncertainty. But she didn’t find any.
 
Penelope gulped hard and instinctively ran her tongue across her lips quickly before she began to slowly lean in. The closer she got to Josie’s face, the more she found herself wanting the girl just inches in front of her. Penelope and Josie’s nose just barely grazed each other, but then Penelope comes to her senses and pulled away.
 
“Wait, I can’t. I like you, but I can’t.” Penelope shook her head and avoided any sort of eye contact with the other girl. “No matter how much I like you or how much I want to, if I kiss you now, neither I nor you are any better than Connor. I will not be the one that someone cheats on their boyfriend with, no matter how shitty he is.”
 
And suddenly, the girl that had timidly given her a glimmer of hope faded away. “That’s okay. Because we are never going to get together then anyway.” Josie spoke nonchalantly.
 
And Penelope’s heart sank. “What?” She asked timidly. “What about like two seconds ago? You weren’t going to stop me.”
 
“I was in shock.” Josie bluntly shrugged. Josie’s had a lot of practice hiding how she was really feeling, so this worked to her advantage. She didn’t know what she felt towards Penelope, but the only thing she was sure of was her feelings for her boyfriend.
 
“Bullshit.” Penelope called her out.
 
“It’s the truth.” Josie gritted. “And I love Connor.”
 
With that comment, all the air had been sucked out of Penelope’s lung and that was the final nail in the coffin. Those aren’t exactly the words that one would want to hear coming from their crush. So, Penelope did what any rational person would do. “I’m gonna go.” She got up, making her way towards the door.
 
“I think that’d be best.” Josie agreed.
 
On her way out, Penelope thought about not saying anything more, but she just had to understand something else, even if it killed her. She turned around noticing how Josie didn’t bother to follow her to the door. “I don’t want to be a homewrecker, but you’re seriously not going to break up with him even after the stunt he pulled tonight?”
 
“I love him and he loves me. We’ll fix it.” Josie easily responded from the couch.
 
Penelope pressed the palms of her hands to her face. “I have been patient in seeing you getting so upset about the little things he does in the way he treats you. And I’d hoped you’d start to see it too but I-”
 
Josie interrupted. “You’re only ‘seeing’ that because of your stupid little crush on me.
 
Penelope scoffed. “Everyone can see how poorly he is to you, it’s not just me! Hope, MG, hell, even your sister probably does too!”
 
“Now you’re just pulling stuff out of your ass because I don’t like you back.” Josie crossed her arms.
 
“But I’m not! I don’t care that you don’t like me back, I knew that this was probably going to be unrequited and I never did anything about it until… you know.” Penelope feebly stated.
 
“Look, Penelope, I don’t think we should be friends anymore. Not until you take care of your whole crush on me situation.” Josie firmly stated.
 
“Seriously?” Penelope looked at her incredulously. “That’s really what you’re going to do.”
 
Josie only raised her eyebrows in response, daring her to challenge her. But Penelope didn’t. Instead, Penelope clenched her jaw and slammed the door shut.
 
Immediately afterwards, Penelope fished her phone out of her pocket and texted Hope to come meet her at the bar. Penelope wanted, needed to get drunk to blow off some steam.
 
Hope never turns down an opportunity to go out. Penelope’s best friend tried to get MG to come out with them too, but he said he had new husband duties to take care of, whatever that means. By the time Hope had gotten there, Penelope was already moderately intoxicated. The shorter brunette had echoes of Josie’s malicious words circling around her brain The next thing she knew, one shot turned into two which then turned into four, and then to six. Needless to say, the both of them were drunk off their ass while the night was still relatively young.
 
Meanwhile, Josie had stayed there on the couch replaying everything. Instead of her moping about Connor, she was now moping about Penelope. She knew she overreacted about everything, and wanted to send an apology message to the girl, albeit her phone was very much shattered so there was no way that she could. However, she still had a laptop, with a sudden spurt of energy, she jolted off the couch and back to her room where her laptop was. She noticed the numerous concerned messages that the girl had sent prior. After reading the slew of them, she sent messages to Penelope apologizing for how she behaved. They went unanswered.
 
Josie wasn’t exactly surprised. She knew that she had probably deeply hurt Penelope’s feelings. She cursed herself for being so careless and rude to the girl but she couldn’t help it. She firmly believed that Connor wasn’t a bad guy.
 
A high pitched ding chimed from her laptop and Josie surged forward, hoping that it was Penelope. But it wasn’t. She wasn’t sure if she was disappointed or not because the person who had texted her was her boyfriend. She’s been doing a lot of blaming lately, and so she blames the feeling in her stomach on the fact that she was disappointed that Connor had forgotten about their date instead of feeling disappointed that it wasn’t the girl she’d been dying to hear a response from forgiving her.
 
Back at the bar, Penelope found herself in a similar situation to how she had met Josie. A random guy was relentlessly hitting on Hope. Obviously, since she was her friend, Penelope went over to help out the even shorter girl.
 
“Hey babe, is this guy bothering you?” Penelope asked, wrapping an arm around Hope’s waist.
 
“Just a bit.” Hope returned sweetly, smiling at Penelope with glassy eyes.
 
The man simply rolled his eyes. “You two are obviously faking it. I’ve seen this before.”
 
“We don’t need to explain our relationship to you.” Hope sassed at the man.
 
And Penelope winced at the memory. Penelope had said something along those lines to the guy that was hitting on Josie at the club the night that they had met. Throughout the night, Penelope had done a good job at avoiding any reminders of the girl by distracting herself with dancing, alcohol, and just having fun.
 
Hope noticed how Penelope had tensed up. She placed a comforting arm around Penelope’s waist too. Penelope looked at Hope in surprise, pulling her out of the tangent she had been thinking about. Penelope sees Hope’s worried face and instantly softened, even relaxed into her touch.
 
And before Hope can even process anything that happens next, Penelope’s lips are on hers and it tastes a mix of cherry chapstick and the vodka they had been drinking. Her expressions shoot up in surprise but she doesn’t pull away. It lasts for a couple of seconds longer before they hear the man grunt and stomp away.
 
“What was that all about?” Hope asked when they separated.
 
Penelope scrunched up her nose like she typically does, “I don’t know. It’s not like we haven’t kissed before. Plus it got that douche off our ass.” It was true. The two had kissed each other numerous times before on their drunken escapades.
 
“Yeah but you really didn’t need to do that.” Hope knowingly responded.
 
Penelope only shrugged. “Who cares, you’re not seeing anyone, I’m not seeing anyone, we can do whatever the hell we want.”
 
“What about Josie?”
 
“Was never seeing her in the first place. She has a boyfriend, remember?” Penelope had a look of disgust on her face. “And we’re not even friends anymore I guess.”
 
“What happened?”
 
“I love you Hope, but I’m not trying to relive that shit again. We’re having a good time, let’s just not ask anymore questions and just enjoy the night.”
 
So Hope doesn’t bring it up the rest of the night. Penelope always tells her everything, so she knew she’d be bound to hear about it at some point. They continue on dancing and drinking the night away. Somewhere along the way, they befriended a group of boys who were just planning on having a fun night out. Then the rest of the night was a blur to both of them.
 
The next morning, Hope woke up first. Still in a daze, she looked around seeing that she’d made it home just fine. Except, she’s startled when she notices Penelope sleeping peacefully right next to her. She yelped in shock and fell out of her bed. It was then that she noticed that she was completely naked. The sudden burst of sound was enough to jolt Penelope awake. The brunette noticed her evidently naked best friend slowly peeking at her from the floor on the other side of the bed.
 
Then, Penelope noticed that she too was naked. But a flash of worry or any emotion doesn’t show on her face.
 
“Did we…?” Hope sheepishly asked, still cowering behind the side of the bed.
 
“I think so.” Penelope easily replied with a raspy voice before closing her eyes once more.
 
Hope was panicking, meanwhile Penelope seemed so carefree. “You’re oddly calm about this…”
 
Still with her eyes closed, Penelope hummed “It is what it is.”
 
The main reason why Hope had been freaking out was because she didn’t know how Penelope would react. In reality, the short redhead had a slight crush on her childhood best friend. She’d repressed it so deeply inside of her, but when Penelope kissed her when she was saving her from the guy who had been hitting her, all her feelings came pouring out. She wished that she could remember how last night went leading up to how the two ended up sleeping together.
 
Her pounding headache was enough to break her out of her thoughts. Penelope was knocked out on her bed so Hope decided to grab some clothes and go downstairs to get some medicine.
 
About an hour later, Penelope slowly came down the stairs wearing an oversized shirt that Hope loved to wear. Hope almost choked on her coffee upon noticing the girl wearing her favorite shirt. But she decided to keep her cool.
 
“How’s your head feeling?” Hope asked.
 
Penelope shrugged. “Not too bad.”
 
“Do you remember what happened last night?” Hope questioned, taking another sip from her coffee.
 
Penelope sighed. “Sadly, I do.” She grabbed a mug from the cupboard and poured her own cup of coffee.
 
Hope’s heart dropped. Was she really that bad? “What do you mean sadly?”
 
“I sadly remember how in my drunken state, I tried showing those guys we became friends with a picture of Josie since I’d been complaining to them about her.” She sauntered over to the seat across from Hope. “And when I went to her page, I saw that she posted a new picture of her and Connor kissing with a whole caption of her undying love for the guy.”
 
Hope’s face twisted. At least that meant she wasn’t horrible. “Oh damn. I don’t remember much from last night. But that’s rough, I’m sorry Pen.”
 
Penelope ignored the statement, staring off into space. “The guy forgot their damn anniversary and she still made a post about loving him? I don’t get it. I also don’t even know how she did that! Her phone was busted since she threw it at the wall since he forgot about their date.”
 
Penelope took a drink from her mug. “And to top it all off, she sends me a million texts apologizing.
 
Hope was lost now. “I’m failing to see how that’s a problem.”
 
“She’s so confusing! One second she tells me how glad she is that I came into her life, lets me almost kiss her, then insults my stupid crush on her, says we shouldn’t be friends, and now she wants me to forgive and forget what she said to me?” Penelope shook her head. “I’m getting whiplash.”
 
“I get that.” Hope sighed. Penelope had sent her mixed signals before so she was speaking from experience.
 
“Fuck girls.” Penelope muttered into her coffee.
 
“True.” Hope agreed. The two sat there silently drinking their coffee, both lost in their own thoughts about their respective crushes.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Lizzie and MG woke up to the sound of someone pounding at their door.
 
“Babe go open it.” Lizzie sleepily urged.
 
“No you.” MG murmured grogily.
 
“Do it because you love me.” Lizzie reasoned.
 
With a big sigh, MG got up and shuffled towards the door. He squinted through the peephole in the door to see a tear-streaked Josie standing with her arms crossed on the other side. Seeing this immediately woke him up and he opened the door. Before he could say anything, he was engulfed in a giant hug and he could feel tears seeping into his shirt.
 
“Who is it?” Lizzie called out from the room.
 
MG froze for a second. “J-Josie.” He called back.
 
Lizzie threw on a robe before coming out to find MG coaxing a visibly upset Josie on the couch. “Hey Jo, what’s the matter?”
 
Josie looked at her friend and her sister for a moment. Josie’s throat went dry and she tried to swallow. MG’s eyebrows furrowed as he continued to look at the upset girl’s face, silently urging her to tell them what’s wrong. Lizzie sat down next to her, taking hold of Josie’s hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze. Finally, Josie had enough encouragement to speak up.
 
“I messed up. Big time.” She sniffled.
 
“How?” Lizzie prodded.
 
“I said things I didn’t mean to Penelope and I basically threw her out of my house.” Josie sobbed. “What I said to her was horrible and I don’t think she’ll ever forgive me. And I texted her a million things but I don’t even think she’ll open them.”
 
“I know Penelope. She’s not one to stay at someone mad for long.” MG eased her thoughts. “I’m sure she’ll forgive you soon enough.
 
“No, she told me that she had a crush on me. Then right after that, I told her that we were never going to get together because of Connor.” Josie put her face in her hands.
 
Lizzie and MG looked at each other, both not knowing what to say. Luckily, they didn’t need to say anything because Josie went on.
 
“And then, she told me that Connor treats me horribly and that you guys could see it. Tell me that she’s lying. Tell me that she’s just seeing things.”
 
The married couple looked at each other again. They both knew what they had to say. They silently argued over who was going to speak up first, but ultimately MG gave in.
 
With a heavy sigh, MG voiced. “Look, Josie, I’m not going to lie to you. Connor doesn’t treat you the way that he should. Penelope did good on telling you this.
 
Lizzie chimed in. “Yeah, we’d been wanting to say that to you years ago but we were too scared to. Penelope’s not seeing things. I don’t even think he knows basic things about you, honestly.”
 
“No he does.” Josie weakly reasoned. “He just sorta missed our three year anniversary.” She mumbled lowly.
 
MG shook his head disappointedly. “That’s what we mean. A good man would never forget his girlfriend’s anniversary. And he damn well wouldn’t blow it off for a bro’s night at the bar.”
 
Josie looked up, about to ask how they knew that before Lizzie answered for her. “We saw it on him and his friends’ Instagram.”
 
Josie sighed. This was a wake up call. Josie sat there, letting her thoughts fester before she actually started laughing. Lizzie and MG both gave each other scared looks. They didn’t know what the hell was going on.
 
“Jo…?” Lizzie nervously chuckled. ”Are you good?”
 
Josie laughed for a little while longer before finally answering. “I’m sorry.” She caught her breath. “It just dawned on me that I’m actually more upset about Penelope and I fighting than I am about Connor forgetting our anniversary.”
 
“That should tell you something right there.” MG mumbled under his breath. He didn’t intend for Josie to hear it, but she did. She decided not to comment on it.
 
“Tell me more about Penelope.” Lizzie led the conversation away from that comment. “I don’t really know her, so I just want to get a feel for all of this and how you feel about her.”
 
“I don’t know what there is to say. She lights up whatever room she’s in both because she’s gorgeous and the fact that whatever she says is just so captivating.” And for the first time, other than when she broke out into a laughing fit, she smiled. “She looks super intimidating but once you get to know her, she’s an all around dork. She’s really passionate and driven. I really admire her for that.”
 
“Wow.” MG commented.
 
“You don’t even talk about Connor like that.” Lizzie noted. “Seems to me that you have a little bit of a crush.”
 
“What?” Josie’s eyes went wide. “I don’t have a crush.” Her eyes shot down to her lap, refusing to make eye contact with the couple sitting on either sides of her.
 
“Mmhm.” Lizzie hummed.
 
“I don’t!” Josie defensively said. She felt her heart racing inside of her chest.
 
“Whatever you say Josie.” MG chuckled.
 
“Get some rest. You can sleep here if you want to. You know where the extra room is. And the extra clothes you always seem to leave here are in the drawer.” Lizzie patted her sister’s leg before she and MG retreated back to their room.

Pfft

. Josie thought as she walked into the spare bedroom.

I do not have a crush on her

. Josie huffed. She shuffled into bed, thinking over everything. She doesn’t know exactly when, but she fell asleep.
 
She woke up early the next morning to the sound of Lizzie and MG making breakfast. She had come to a conclusion last night. Maybe the two were right.
 
She timidly walked into the kitchen and greeted the two good morning. Josie kept thinking over everything and didn’t realize that they had made breakfast for her. She thanked them and distractedly ate her food.
 
“Josie?” MG asked hestitatingly, putting down his silverware. “How are you feeling this morning?”
 
For some reason, that question let loose the dam that Josie wasn’t aware that she was trying to sustain. She felt even more confused and conflicted than she did last night.
 
With the exception of Penelope, it’s never been very easy for Josie to let someone in and see the emotional sides of her. She’s always been afraid of judgement or disapprobal. But she knew that her sister and one of her best friends wouldn’t judge her. So, she took a shaky breath in and lifted her head up slowly. She met MG’s eyes and the tears brimmed at her eyes. She looked between the two and saw the genuine concern in their gaze.
 
Josie unsuccessfully tried to blink the tears away, causing them to fall down her cheeks. “I think…” She croaked out. “I think I have a crush on Penelope.”
 
Lizzie immidiately got up from her seat and grabbed Josie by the shoulders, pulling her in for a tight hug. Josie’s tears fall even harder at her comforting embrace.
 
“I know.” Lizzie softly whispered in her ear. “And I’m so proud of you for telling us.”
 
“We love you, Josie. Always.” MG voiced, wrapping his arms around both Josie and Lizzie. And Josie smiled.
 
“God, I never planned to ever fall for someone like this. You know how much I like to plan, I had everything all planned out with Connor. Everything with him is predictable and stable.” Josie shortly rambled.
 
“You can’t have a plan for everything, Jo.” Lizzie mumbled against Josie’s shoulder. “Especially when it comes to love.”
 
“The predictable and stable route isn’t necessarily something you should stick with.” MG mentioned. “You should be with someone that’s unpredictable and spontaneous. Someone like Penelope.”
 
They stayed enveloped in the hug for a couple minutes longer before they each pulled away. Lizzie wiped some of the tears away from Josie’s face, staring into her brown eyes. “I think you need to go and fix this with Penelope. And you know what you have to do with Connor.” Lizzie softly told her.
 
Josie nodded. “How’d you guys know though? Especially you, Lizzie. You’ve barely met her and you knew?”
 
Lizzie let out a small laugh. “I don’t need to know much other than the fact that you two have gotten incredibly close ever since our wedding and that she makes you really happy. And seeing the two of you together at my wedding, I could already sense the connection between the two of you.”
 
“And I’m not going to lie, we sorta tried to play matchmaker. I remember you saying something about a Penelope from the club and I put two and two together. I knew that she’d treat you well and maybe she’d be the one to see how poorly Connor is to you and well… we were somewhat right.” MG told her.
 
“Yeah you guys were.” Josie instinctively smiled to herself at the thought of Penelope. But then the smile vanished almost as quickly as it appeared. “But it’s not like anything will happen between us.”
 
“No, I’ve got hope. Go get your girl.” Lizzie smiled.
 
And Josie suddenly got a burst of confidence. She knew that Penelope would be leaving for her trip today. So she figured she should give it one more try and go over to apologize to Penelope in person. “I’m going to try.” She told them before she headed out and back to her car.
 
Happy that she’d hopefully bury a hatchet with Penelope, she hummed a song while she drove to her apartment to shower and basically look like a basic human being again. The song she started humming reminded her of Penelope, which only added another pep in her step. She skipped down the hallway until she noticed her boyfriend standing at her doorway. And her chipper mood suddenly vanished.
 
“Hey babe.” Connor greeted.
 
Josie was surprised to say the least. “Connor… Hey… What are you doing here?”
 
“What? I can’t say hi to my girlfriend?” The boy cockily shrugged, stepping to be only inches away from Josie.
 
“I just wasn’t expecting you.” Josie almost stuttered. She barely even remembered to think about him today, which was interesting because a month prior, he’s all that had plagued her thoughts.
 
“I missed you yesterday.” The boy whispered into her ear. His hands moved to wander the girl’s body.
 
Instinctively, she let him. But the next second, she remembered how he made her feel yesterday. She remembered what Penelope said (even though at first she didn’t believe her). She remembered what Lizzie and MG said. She remembered every little action that made her have any doubts.
 
He kissed down her neck before she piped up. “Wait, Connor.” He continued despite her protest. “Do you even remember what yesterday was?”
 
“The 4th of May?” Connor obviously stated before returning back on his conquest.
 
Josie took a deep breath, calming herself before shoving the boy away. “It was our three year anniversary yesterday, dickbag.” She jingled her keys and unlocked the door, going inside.
 
The boy was startled by Josie’s abrupt action. “Come on baby, don’t be like that. I forgot. Lemme make it up to you.” He followed her in then tried to pick up where he left off.
 
“No, Connor.” Josie said with finality.
 
He put his hands up and stopped. “Sorry.” He mumbled and went over to sit on the couch, manspreading.
 
Josie pursed her lips together and stood with her hands on her hips, looking at him expectantly.  “What’s my birthday?”
 
The boy stammered. “I- umm… January 22nd?”
 
Josie rolled her eyes. “March 15th”
 
“Oh right, that was going to be my second guess.” Connor nodded.
 
“What’s my favorite color?” Josie inquired.
 
“Blue?” Connor tried.
 
Josie scoffed. “That’s my least favorite color. I tell you that all the time.”
 
Connor only nodded in response. “What did I give you for our one month anniversary?” Josie interrogated.
 
“Oh I know this! It’s on the tip of my tongue!” He closed his eyes trying to remember. “A jar of candy I think.”
 
“A jar of chocolate kisses, yeah.” Josie added.
 
“I accidentally dropped that when I left your house afterwards.” He admitted.
 
Josie rolled her eyes once again. “When we go out to eat, what do I normally get to drink?”
 
He snapped his fingers. “Water with a slice of lemon.”
 
Josie wasn’t surprised that he knew that answer. He’d always make a sly comment to her for what she gets. He’d say things like “Loosen up a little” or “Come on, buzzkill.” It was for that reason, she never told him about why she rarely ever drinks. Meanwhile with Penelope, she curiously asked why she always got water with lemon. And for some reason, she felt comfortable telling her despite only knowing her for a short while. She doesn’t drink because her dad is an alcoholic and his dad was one as well. She knew that it could run in the family, so she’d only have a drink on special occasions, never allowing herself any more than that.
 
“One last question.” The girl went on.
 
“Hit me.” He cockily replied. “I’m on fire.”
 
“You just answered one and a half questions right, don’t get too ahead of yourself.” Josie sighed.
 
“All or nothing, baby.” He smirked.
 
Josie thought about what she could ask him. She had a million things she could possibly fire at him, but there was one looming question that kept coming back. She knew he’d most likely lie but that would be answer enough. “Have you been sleeping with other girls?”
 
Connor’s eyes widened and he visibly tensed for a second, he never would’ve expected this question. “Why would you even say that?”
 
“Answer the question, Connor.” Josie crossed her arms, sending him a challenging stare.
 
He looked away from her gaze. “No, of course not.”
 
“I can tell when you’re lying, you know.” Josie sighed frustratedly.
 
“I’m not lying!” He yelled in defense, the pitch in his voice raising slightly.
 
Josie shook her head. “You couldn’t even look at me when you said that. That’s how I know you’re lying. All my friends saw how horrible you treat me and I can’t believe I just now started to see it.”
 
Connor scoffed. “By all your friends do you mean that Penelope girl? She’s just jealous because I didn’t want to get with her!”
 
“You didn’t want to get with her?” Josie asked incredulously. “From my understanding, you tried to get with

her

, not the other way around.”
 
“You’re gonna believe that little bitch over me?” Connor argued.
 
“Don’t call her a bitch.” Josie immediately responded, defending the girl that she’d been hoping to apologize to.
 
“This is unbelievable, Josie.” The boy shook his head.
 
“No.” Josie’s voice was now dripping with anger. “What’s unbelievable is that I wasted three years of my life with someone who barely even knows the basic things about me. I’ve been so blinded by love that I only saw what I wanted to see.”
 
“So you’re going to throw us away then?”
 
“You threw us away the minute you started sleeping with other girls. You threw us away the second you started lying to me.” Josie took a step towards the boy on the couch. She leaned over and pressed her finger into his chest. “You took up so much of my time and I apparently didn’t mean anything to you. You took all of my love without probably giving a sliver of it back. You took so many of my firsts and I wish I didn’t let you.”
 
“So, I’m finally gonna take something back. I’m taking back the girl that loved you despite what everybody else said. I’m taking back the girl that was way too good for you in the first place. I’m taking back the girl that you so conveniently kept around whenever you needed to boost your fragile little ego. I’m taking back the girl who’s favorite color is yellow, makes creative little gifts that go unappreciated, and who proudly drinks water with a slice of lemon. I’m taking back me.”
 
“Cute monologue, are you auditioning for a play?” Connor belittled, swatting her hand away from his chest.
 
Josie’s hand clenched together, wanting to punch the boy square in his face. But she shook her head and took a deep breath before she exploded on him. “Get out.” He made no move to get up. “I said. Get. Out.” Josie gritted her teeth.
 
Ever so slowly, he got up and moseyed towards the door. “You’re making a mistake. I’m the best guy for you.”
 
Josie rolled her eyes once again, trailing a good distance behind him. “No. This is the best decision I’ve made in the long time. And there’s someone so much better out there for me. Someone that’ll treat me with dignity and respect, unlike you.” She contemplated her next words. “And it might not even be a guy.”
 
“Whatever.” He snorted as he opened the door and saw himself out.
 
As soon as she left, she slumped down next to the door and let out a breath. That took all the courage she had in her and she was exhausted. But she didn’t know when Penelope’s flight was, so she knew she most likely had a limited time left to see the girl after that encounter with her now ex-boyfriend.
 
She then took a moment to gather herself before she got up to finish what she had intended to do. After a quick, rejuvinating shower, she walked to her car without any difficulty and anxiously drove towards Penelope’s place. The entire ride, she’d been nervously tapping on her steering wheel trying to come up with an apology. She’d finally gotten to her destination. She was antsy because she’d done a lot of soul searching last night/this morning. She came up with two conclusions. One, she might’ve just been in love with the idea of love and never really loved Connor. Because honestly, despite only breaking up with him not even thirty minutes ago, she didn’t feel all that bad about it. Two, she might have feelings for Penelope.
 
She timidly knocked on the door and awaited a response. When Hope answered the door sipping on her morning coffee, wearing an oversized shirt that she was pretty sure was Penelope’s, it felt like all the wind was knocked out of her.
 
“Hey Josie.” Hope greeted with a smile. “Pen, it’s for you!” She singsonged.
 
“Of course it’s for me, it’s my house, idiot.” Josie heard Penelope yell from the kitchen. Penelope then came into view wearing sweatpants and a sports bra. “Who is-” She stopped mid sentence noticing Josie feebly standing at the doorway.
 
“Uh… Josie… Hey.” Penelope acknowledged.
 
“Hey.” She gave a tight lipped wave. “Did she like steal your shirt or something because if you took both of what you guys are wearing it would be like one outfi- nevermind.” Josie stopped herself knowing that it was none of her business and it would probably dig her into a deeper hole with the girl.
 
Penelope chose to ignore what the brunette just said. “What’re you doing here?”
 
“I texted you a few times but I didn’t hear anything back, so I figured I’d just say it to you in person. Penelope, I’m honestly and truly sorry for everything that I said to you. It was out of line and completely unlike me.”
 
Penelope didn’t say anything, only looking at the other girl expectantly. So, Josie went on. “I didn’t mean to call your crush on me stupid, it was in the heat of the moment. If I could take it all back I would. God, I didn’t mean a single word at all.” She rambled. “I should’ve listened to you and my sister.”
 
“It’s just, you make me feel things that I never thought was possible. Things with you are spontaneous and invigorating.” Josie saw Penelope’s intense stare lighten and she thought that maybe she was finally getting through to her.
 
“And it took me so long to see it and I finally understand why I’ve been so drawn to you, why I feel all of these things that I’ve never felt before.” And Josie was about to say it. She was about to say how she really felt but in the corner of her eye, she saw Hope lingering in the background, sipping on her cup of coffee in the mug that she knew was Penelope’s favorite. She decided that she was too late.
 
“I-It’s because you’re the best friend that I could ever have.” She told her. It wasn’t a complete lie. She was a great friend to her, even if she faintly wanted something more. “Everything means nothing if I can’t have our friendship.”
 
“Josie I- I don’t know what to say.” Penelope truthfully stated.
 
“You don’t have to say anything, I just had to get it off my chest. I don’t expect you to forgive me now… or even ever because I was really awful to you. I just know that I couldn’t live with myself if I let things end the way that it did.” With that, Josie pursed her lips and walked back to her car. Penelope stood speechless watching her the entire way through. Josie pulled away and it took Penelope another minute before she came back to her senses. She distractedly shut the door and wordlessly entered back into the kitchen where Hope had been waiting.
 
“You want to talk about it?” Hope chimed in after a moment of silence.
 
“Not entirely.” Penelope responded, consumed by her thoughts.
 
“Okay.” Hope almost inaudibly said before she sipped her cold coffee.
 
They sat there for a little while longer before Penelope spoke up exasperatedly. “I don’t know what to think. How can someone be so nasty towards me one second, then in the next she’s that kind and innocent girl that I’d grown to really like.”
 
Penelope shook her head. “I just don’t get her. I thought that I did. I thought that I knew everything about her despite only knowing her for a short while but last night I saw a completely new side of her.”
 
“And to top it all off, she tells me almost everything that I wanted to hear. The fact that she should’ve listened to me, that she’s sorry, that she didn’t mean anything by it, that I’m the best friend she could ever have. I should be over the moon, I should forgive her in a heartbeat right?” Penelope rhetorically asked. “But I just can’t. I don’t even hold grudges but for some reason I can’t physically fully accept her apology. It’s like a part of me wishes she said something else.”
 
Hope opened her mouth to say something but Penelope interrupted her. “I don’t know, maybe I just need some time to figure this all out.” Penelope stared down at the coffee table. “Thanks for listening, Hope. You really get me.”
 
The short redheaded girl gave her a puzzled look but regardless responded, “No problem?”
 
Penelope got up from the seat and put her mug in the sink. “I’m gonna go shower and get ready.”
 
“Alright.” Hope said.
 
When Penelope left, she let out a breath she hadn’t known she was holding in. She knew that she should be a good friend and tell Penelope to go talk it out with Josie, but the selfish part of her hoped that Penelope didn’t end up forgiving her. That way, it’d be like the old days and she’d have Penelope all to herself. Over the years, her crush had grown pretty strong. But the bigger part of her won. She knew just how much Josie meant to her and that she really liked the girl. She had to encourage her friend to go talk to the other girl. The question then was: when?
 
**
 
Penelope didn’t give Hope much opportunity to really let her sit down and discuss the situation. First, it was the fact that Penelope was spazzing over what to pack, then it was her saying they needed to go and pick up Hope’s stuff. After that, it was the fact that they were literally almost late for their flight. And then it was the fact that the two didn’t get to sit next to each other because there was this really obnoxious guy sitting in between them on the plane. Next, there was the exhaustion and jet lag. And then they were just having a lot of fun and Penelope was being a lot more touchy-feely with her. Don’t get her wrong, they were always close, but not to the extent where Penelope would hold her hand just walking down the street or have a comforting arm on her leg when they were sitting. It was a combination of all of that and the fact that she couldn’t work up the courage. And the fact that she just didn’t want to ruin the fun they were having.
 
Meanwhile, Josie watched the two’s relationship blossom on social media. Penelope had always posted pictures with Hope in them. Hope didn’t quite do it as extensively as Penelope, but there were a few pictures of the other girl in them. In their Instagram stories it was obvious that the two were very close. Jealousy brewed up in her but Josie knew she had blew her opportunity.
 
She spent many nights reading her old texts with Penelope. They used to talk basically 24/7. She didn’t realize it before, but how she went from talking to someone constantly everyday to not talking to them at all in a very brief amount of time was shocking. She was gut wrenched. She wished so badly that she didn’t screw it up.
 
She lives in an apartment with a gorgeous view but all she’s been doing lately is staring up at the walls, consumed in her thoughts. She thought about how she would’ve done everything so differently had she come to terms with her feelings sooner.
 
Josie wanted to text her a million times, but she knew that Penelope needed to be the one to do it first. Josie wasn’t a big sports fan, but the one thing she knew was that the ball was in Penelope’s court. It was on her whether or not she’d accept the apology and extend the olive branch. But a week passed and then two more. And things were looking pretty dim for her. Penelope’s the feeling that she’s missing. Everything means nothing if she couldn’t have Penelope in her life.
 
Somehow, Penelope always snuck into her thoughts at the most randomest times of the day. She thinks of her when she’s writing in her journal, when she’s laying in her bed, when she’s with her friends, anytime really. But it’s too late to tell her that everything’s gone dark without her.
 
One day, about three and a half weeks since their fight, Josie was ready to give up. She figured she should finally move on from it all. But Hope finally got enough courage to tell Penelope to sort it all out with Josie. It had been eating away at her brain. So, Josie gets a text from Penelope. And her heart jumped into her throat when she got the notification.
 
Penelope: Miss you. Can we be friends?
 
Josie typed out a thousand different responses but settled on the boring, dry, “I’d really like that.”
 
And at first, conversation is awkward. It remained pretty awkward for a while though. Both didn’t want into tread into dangerous territory. Now Josie knows that she can’t move on if they’re still going to talk. Even though their conversations aren’t as deep or fun as they used to be. Even though they take a little while longer to answer each other now.
 
Is it wrong for her to not want half? She wanted all of Penelope. All the strings attached. Meaning she’s want her geeky little Harry Potter, pineapple pizza, cat-loving self all to herself. To be her one and only. To be her girlfriend.
 
A post where Penelope kissed Hope’s cheek in the middle of downtown Tokyo surfaced on her timeline. It made Josie take a step back and hold her friendship with Penelope at an even further distance than the arms length they were already at. The jealousy bubbling within her may have amounted to more than how much she missed her.
 
Josie tried to convince herself that since Penelope had moved on with Hope that she should try and move on too. She keeps holding onto the fact that maybe what Hope and her have isn’t anything deeper than a physical connection. That maybe, once they get back from their trip, then Josie could get her chance.
 
But then she remembered how Penelope sat back and never intruded on her relationship with Connor. She wasn’t a homewrecker. And Josie didn’t want to be one either. So she’d be like Penelope was. She’d be the encouraging, comforting, shoulder to cry on. Even if she didn’t know if their surface level friendship would get to that point again.