Josie's POV
Hope holds me in her arms as we ascend to steal food from the kitchen. There wasn't much speaking involved, but I did manage to tell her how greatly I appreciated it, though it didn't come out the way I wanted it to.
"T-Thanks... you're so warm and comfy. Oh food. Um..."
Hope giggled a little, rubbing my shoulder holding me tighter. We met MG in the kitchen having at a blood bag, grinning at us. "Hi Jos, hey Hope. I'm sorry about Penelope, Jo, I really am. If there's anything I can do let me know." My face dropped a little and I nodded, moving closer into Hope. Her heart was beating fast, but it was very comforting, rather grounding. MG decided once his blood bag was finished, it was time to leave, leaving Hope and I in the kitchen alone, but only for a brief moment.
Landon came tumbling down the steps, and into the kitchen, running to grab something from the fridge, and seeing Hope, he semi pushes me a bit, pulling her into an embrace, my cheeks growing hot, a little jealous. He grinned his slop sided grin and skedaddled, rushing off to class. I roll my eyes, and Hope just glances at me a tad. All of a sudden she turns to me, "Hey Jo, is there anything you want me to grab for you to eat?" I shake my head, and she looks at me raising her eyebrow. "You sure? I could cut up some mango if you'd like." I nod slowly. She disappears for a couple minutes, and I bring my knees to my chest. Why is she being so nice to me? She comes back in with a bowl of granola, and some mango for me. She hands me a fork and sits by me.
"Is there anything you want to do today, since I'm skipping with you?" She asks, looking up at me. I shake my head, "T-Take me away from all this." I murmur. She pulls me down onto her lap and holds me close, "I'm sorry Josie, I can only imagine what this feels like." "B-But you have f-felt heartbreak." I mumble. "A-and no one in this school takes notice or cares, apart from-" "Apart from who Jojo?" I go silent. She looks at me, intrigued.
"So you want to get out of here? Where do you want to go?" I mulled it over for a moment, thinking quietly. "Can we go to the docks?" I mumble. She smiles, "Of course Jo." Once we finish up, she gets up, holding me close, and we walk out, heading to the docks.
"How did you know w-where to find me? I didn't tell anyone where I've been sleeping..." She looks at me and sighs. "Lizzie was making a fuss as per usual. I figured out where you were, while she sat complaining." I pause for a moment as we reach the dock. "I hope you didn't start poking, Hope." She giggled, then grimaced, "No, the last time I poked, I ended up poking myself, remember?" I wince, biting my lip remembering that. I sat down on the dock near the edge letting my legs swing back and forth. She sat next to me quietly, letting me lean on her a bit. We talked a bit about the recent events, and she brings up the kiss from Landon earlier.
"I'm sorry he pushed you, that was uncalled for. It was certainly awkward... he's just- I don't know." I look at her nudging her, "Hey are you and Landon ok? I mean he seems giddy as anything, but you seem to be meh." "Meh? I don't know I just feel- I don't want him to be too close. I can be dangerous to people. It's better if I keep my distance. So others don't get hurt. I don't want people to-" I stop her, "Hope no one would be any better without you near. I don't know what we'd do without you." I hug her close, and she shakes her head. I play shove her, "It's true." She pushes back a little to hard. "Not!" is the last thing I hear before crashing into the water, grabbing onto her and pulling her down with me.
I gasp going up for air, my arms working hard as I tread water. Hope comes up splashing me. "HEY! Why did ya have to pull me in with you?" She groans, as we start to splash each other. After a bit, we both crawl out, shivering, by now school is over, having slept on her for a while before our little bit of chatting began.
As we get out from the water properly, I look at Hope, and I whisper, "Hey Hope? I wanted to ask you... about the fire. Y-You know I s-set it. But you didn't yell, or lash out, or push me. Why?" Hope was silent. She didn't answer, instead running off, telling me not to follow her.
Hope's POV
I run off as fast as I can, off into the woods. When I no longer see Josie, I strip, getting ready to transition, to blow off some steam. I never really got used to the pain of transition, but once transitioned, I feel so free, and more grounded. I spring out, running at full speed, the wind blowing through my fur. I hear a twig snap and I turn to see Josie, her hand out. "Hope? Is that you? I'm sorry if I upset you. I didn't mean to. I-I-" I went towards her, looking at her, and she slowly reached out to touch my snout. She patted me, and I sat down on the earth below. I giggled getting closer to me, playing with my fur, braiding it. She sighs, pressing her body into me, and i stick my tongue out happily like a dog. She kisses my head, and I rest it on her legs, drifting off.