Chapter 1
“Where is that book?” Josie frustratingly looking around her room.
For her Advanced Magic class, she needed her History of Witches textbook. It just so happened that her assignment could only be solved by a spell that could be found in that textbook.
She looked over her table, bed, and even on her closet, yet, she still couldn’t find her book. She wants to go through Lizzie’s stuff, and maybe, borrow her textbook. She tried contacting her sister for permission, but she hasn’t replied.
Tired, she begrudgingly slumped on her bed. Someone must have borrowed my book, she thought. However, she couldn’t think of anyone.
She thought of going to the library and do her assignment there. She looked at her watch and realized there is going to be a lot of people swarming in the library. She tried thinking of another option and thought of Hope.
Yes, Hope.
She definitely has a copy of that book, she thought.
She immediately left her room and knocked on the tribrid’s door. “Who is it?”
“Uh Hi Hope, it’s Josie.”
“Oh, wait a minute.” Josie heard some minor noises inside Hope’s room. She can’t really tell what it is, but she thinks she might’ve disturbed Hope.
Hope was definitely taking her time. This made Josie internally panicked. She thought that she should have followed her initial gut and gone to the library, “Uh Hope, you seemed busy. I could come back la-”
She wasn’t able to finish her sentence as the door suddenly opened. “Hey,” Hope greeted the brunette.
Josie’s heart stops beating and loses the ability to breathe. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
Hope, with her hair tied up in a bun, wearing eyeglasses. She looked so stunning and angelic, even without effort, Hope was so beautiful. Josie felt like she died then and there; and saw a glimpse of heaven.
“Josie, what’s up?” Hope’s voice brought Josie back to reality.
Josie blinked a couple of times. She tried to speak, but no words would come out from her mouth. She was so tongue-tied and entranced by the person in front of her.
Hope was wearing eyeglasses.
She had never seen Hope with eyeglasses before; heck, she never imagined Hope with eyeglasses. Who knew Hope Mikaelson, the one and only tribrid, the most powerful supernatural ever existed, wore eyeglasses in her private time?
This is like a special private moment in history, and she is witnessing it in front of her.
Hope has always been beautiful, but there is something about a pretty girl with glasses. She was even more beautiful than ever before.
Is that even possible?
“Josie?” Hope called her out her name for the second time, hoping to get the brunette’s attention.
“...beautiful.” Josie breathlessly mumbled.
“What?” Hope was confused.
“Huh?” Josie snapped from her trance, “What?”
“Did you say something?”
“Did I...did I say something?” Her voice stammering.
“Yeah, I think you did.”
Josie blinked, trying to gather her thoughts, “I...don’t...what are you talking about?” She animatedly denied.
Josie is a mess. She’s stammering and very nervous. Why would she be in a mess? She talks to Hope on a regular basis. She shouldn’t be this affected.
This is no big deal.
She just needs to get her shit together.
Hope is just wearing eyeglasses, looking ravishing.
She is still Hope, her friend. Nothing new.
Right?
“Okay...” Hope raised her eyebrow in amusement. This is not the first time she saw Josie in this state, but she can't pinpoint a reason why she is like this. “Did you need something?”
“Huh?” Josie innocently stared at her.
“You knocked on my door, remember?”
“Oh,” Josie blinked again, totally lost. Why did she knock on Hope’s door?
She looked over her room, which was across the hall, and back to Hope, who was curiously staring at her, “I...uhh...”
Why did she knock on Hope’s door?
She tries to remember, retracing her steps. She was looking for something, what was it? She furrowed her eyebrows, still digging through her memory of the reason why she knocked on Hope’s door.
With Hope, with eyeglasses on, looking at her curiously. Totally not helping her situation.
It was too distracting.
Book.
Josie widened her eyes in realization, “Ah! Yes. I want to borrow a book.”
It was Hope’s turn to be confused, “A book?”
“Yeah, uh...there's an assignment on the Advanced Magic class...” Josie inquired.
“You need my book for the Advanced Magic class?”
The brunette shook her head, “No, not that. It’s the History of Witches textbook I needed to borrow, for the assignment. I think I kind of misplaced mine.”
“Oh, of course,” the tribrid opened the door more to let the brunette inside her room. “Come in.”
Josie slowly went inside Hope’s room, awkwardly looking around. "Let me try and look for it in a minute." The tribrid went to her desk and tried to look for the book the brunette needed.
"Of course."
She then saw an old red book at the end of Hope’s bed. It doesn’t look like any book that is available in their library, so Josie could only assume it’s part of Hope’s grimoire collection. Out of curiosity, she went near to it, hoping to know more about it. Before Josie could even touch it, Hope suddenly exclaimed, "Found it."
"Here." Hope walked over to the brunette and gave the book. She unconsciously adjusted her glasses in front of Josie, which the latter find it really appealing to watch.
Hope notices the brunette blatantly staring at her, and curiously asks, "Is there something on my face?"
Still distracted, Josie, without warning, said, "You're wearing glasses."
Hope widened her eyes upon realization, "Oh, sorry." She removed her glasses and put them on her bedside table.
"You'd didn't have to do that," Hope looked at her, "You looked pretty with it," Josie carelessly says.
Hope raised her eyebrow from the sudden compliment, "I looked pretty?"
"Yeah." Josie realizes what she was saying and tried to retract it, "I mean, the spectacles were pretty. Like really pretty. It looks good on you."
She laughed loudly, trying to hide her embarrassment for calling Hope pretty.
"Thank you for the compliment...on my spectacles." Hope continues to smile amusingly at the brunette.
While trying to hide her embarrassment, Josie cleared her throat and tried to divert the tribrid's attention, "I didn't know you wear eyeglasses."
"I really don't really wear them much unless needed." Hope went over to her bed and took the red old grimoire. "Aunt Freya recently sent me a bunch of new grimoire books to read, and this happens to be one of them." She showed the book to the Gemini twin, "It's a hard book to read. Not only the language wasn't English, but the penmanship is also very blurry. I needed to read it with my glasses on to prevent me from getting a headache."
She showed some of the pages to the older twin, and the latter immediately understand what Hope was saying. Most of the words in the book were unreadable.
She realized she was standing too close to the tribrid. She suddenly became conscious and tries to think of ways to ease what she's feeling.
In the end, Josie decides it's time for her to go back to her room and do her homework. “I think it’s time for me to go,” she awkwardly says.
She slowly backed away from the auburn-haired girl, "Thank you for the book. I will return it as soon as I am finished with my assignment."
"No problem," Hope replied.
As Josie was about to go out of Hope’s room, she stopped at the doorknob and turned, “Hey, Hope?”
“Yes?” Hope was sitting on her own bed and looked at the brunette.
Gathering the last bits of her courage, Josie looked at the tribrid and admitted, “Your eyeglasses were really pretty...and it made you look prettier than usual.” Josie shyly smiled before truly leaving Hope’s room.
She dashed to her room, and slump on her bed. She was internally drowning in embarrassment, still couldn't believe she actually called her friend, pretty.
Little did she know, she left the tribrid shocked, and was having a hard time comprehending what just happened. The only thing she knows is she liked how the brunette complimented her. She called her pretty, especially with her glasses. This made her smile.
That was the first time Josie saw Hope wearing eyeglasses, but it wasn't the last.