can you hear me now?

thats what you get

For a moment Hope stood frozen in front of the entrance of the Mystic Grill, the thought of Landon and their date far from her mind.

At the same time Josie looks up, her conversation with Penelope cut short as the bell rang, signaling that someone has entered. The two stare at each other for what seems to be ages but in reality is only mere seconds, before both of their dates break them out of their trance.

Penelope turns around and follows Josie's stare and notices two familiar faces. "Hey, aren't those two in your band? I'm pretty sure I saw them yesterday at practice. That girl opened the door for me, I think." Penelope recalls.

"Uhm, yeah. They're kinda... together." Josie says, unsure of herself. She knows that Landon is head over heels for Hope. She doesn't really know how to label their relationship, since they haven't even announced that they're dating yet. Heck, she doesn't even want to hear that they're dating, because once they're official, she knows her chances with Hope are gone.

"They look like a cute couple." Penelope comments, making Josie's heart ache slightly. Hope and I would be a cuter couple, is what she wants to say, but Josie knows saying that on a date with someone else isn't exactly ideal.

"Yeah, they are." Josie lies straight through her teeth, but Penelope doesn't notice.

From the entrance, Hope watches as Josie breaks off their staring contest to put her focus on Penelope. She feels the same feeling she felt when Penelope gave Josie her number, or when she showed up to band practice.

Landon clears his throat. "Let's just ignore them. We're here to have fun, and besides, Josie looks like she's enjoying herself. She needs this, after everything that happened with Jade."

He gives Hope a goofy grin, and Hope returns the gesture by nodding, a small smile on her face.

Josie can see Landon clear his throat, and then say something to Hope, to which she smiles and nods. Josie ignores the slight tinge of jealousy she gets from watching them. She tries to pretend they aren't there, but from the corner of her eyes she can see them sitting down at a booth not too far from where her and Penelope are currently sitting.

"So I've never seen you at the grill before." Josie says trying to get rid of a certain someone out of her mind.

"Maybe you've just never come at the right time." Penelope teasingly suggests. "There is the slight possibility that you've just never came to the grill during my shifts."

Josie can't help but to roll her eyes. "I've been coming here ever since I was little. I'm sure I would've seen you here before. Besides, it's a small town, I see a lot of familiar faces all the time, even the ones I don't talk to. I noticed the first time I saw you how I've never seen you before."

Penelope smirks. "You noticed I wasn't familiar." She states it with a certain tone to her voice, and Josie can feel the blush rising to her cheeks.

From afar Hope is facing Penelope's back, and she has a clear view of the pink tinting Josie's cheeks, and she finds it frustrating how she's not close enough to hear what Penelope had said that caused Josie to react this way.