You Are Always (On The Tip Of My Tongue)
“I knew you had a crush on Hope.”
Josie has a smug little grin on her face, which makes Lizzie’s blood boil. “Shut up! Aren’t you two supposed be in the woods with the rest of your little mystery gang?!” Lizzie hisses, and Josie’s grin never falters. “Pen and I were pregaming, and I spilled tequila on my shirt... I came back to change.” The brunette confesses, “We did not expect to see Hope dry humping you while sucking your lips off.” Penelope blurts out and Hope’s cheeks are a dark shade of crimson red. The blonde refuses to look at Hope, she keeps an angry expression on her face despite the flush that’s set in as she stares at Josie and Penelope.
“We weren’t— I was— god dammit, why are you always here now?!” Lizzie yells staring directly at the dark haired girl who has a shit-eating grin on her face. “I come back whenever I sense things are going to be interesting.” Penelope answers, “And would you look at how right my intuition was... how long have you guys been hooking up?” The witch asks, obviously intrigued. “I too would like to know when this started...” Josie admits sheepishly, and Lizzie nearly sees red as she looks over at Penelope. “Read my lips you good for nothing wench, I have never, and will never hook up with Mikaelson!” The blonde shouts right at her sisters ex-girlfriend, and Hope looks over at her, clearly offended.
“Wow.” The tribrid mutters, and Lizzie makes the mistake of looking over at the auburn haired girl. The sight of Hope only makes her angrier. She glares at the shorter girl, “Will you stop looking at me like that?!” Lizzie demands, and Hope bites her bottom lip to refrain from saying anything before she looks back over at Josie and Penelope. “I think I should go...”
“No!” Both Lizzie and Josie say simultaneously. “You are not cowering away and leaving me to deal with these two on my own, Mikaelson!” Lizzie snaps, and Hope flashes her an annoyed expression. “What am I supposed to do? They already know!” Hope points out, and then she pauses, “Wanna do a spell and memory wipe them?” The tribrid asks curiously, and Lizzie purses her lips, obviously starting to consider this.
“Um, we’re standing right here?? Please don’t erase our memories?” Josie pipes up, obviously confused and scared. “Memory wipe us after you tell us the whole story please. The curiosity is killing me.” Penelope admits as she takes a seat on the desk chair, crossing her legs as she stares at Lizzie and Hope expectantly. Lizzie looks over at Josie, “Can I please set her on fire?” she pleads, and Josie flashes her twin a pointed look. “Lizzie... how long has this been going on?” Josie asks a bit seriously.
Lizzie glances over at Hope, who meets her gaze before the tribrid looks down at the carpeted floor. Lizzie sighs in defeat, “Since today.” the blonde confesses, and Hope shrugs, “I mean, if you wanna get technical, it started after Jed’s party when we almost kissed...” the tribrid mutters, and Lizzie shoots daggers at Hope with her eyes. “Do you wanna just tell them what flavor my lipgloss is too since you want to out our whole business?!”
Hope glares back at Lizzie, knowing the blonde was two seconds away from probably strangling her. The auburn haired girl opens her mouth, “Coconut.” she decides to push the blonde’s buttons; she can’t help it, it’s like a natural instinct.
“That was rhetorical!!” Lizzie shouts, and Penelope lets out an obnoxious laugh. “Oh god, this is great! Prissy Saltzman and Ho Mikaelson having a lesbian affair?! Who would’ve thought?” Penelope asks, throwing her head back and laughing cynically. Lizzie stomps over to her and kicks the desk chair so hard the dark haired girl falls off and onto the floor. “You deserved that.” Hope concludes as she observes the girl on the floor who’s now staring at Lizzie in shock.
“Okay lets just all calm down!” Josie intervenes as she walks over to Lizzie and pulls her back towards the other side of the room, so they were now standing a good few feet away from Penelope. Penelope stands up, but the annoying glint never leaves her eyes. “Come on, you know I’m messing with you! Just tell us how it happened.” The dark haired witch pleads, sitting back on the chair, and Lizzie huffs as she folds her arms. “No, it doesn’t even matter, because it was a one time thing.”
“Two time thing.” Hope corrects.
“HOPE!” Lizzie shouts at Hope for throwing out their business again, and the auburn haired girl bites her bottom lip again for a moment before releasing a quick “I’m sorry”.
The blonde shakes her head, releasing a vexed breath. “I need a bubble bath.” She whines, rubbing her temples. “Yeah, affairs can be pretty stressful.” Penelope says bluntly, and her eyes light up the way they do whenever she’s about to antagonize her ex-girlfriends sister. “Does this make you her mistress?” Penelope inquires, only to receive a response in the form of a scowl from the blonde.
Josie can feel Lizzie on the verge of a mental breakdown, and she flashes Penelope a look. “I think I’m gonna stay in with Lizzie tonight, you guys should still go to the bonfire.” The brunette affirms, and Lizzie groans. “No. All of you leave.” She whines, and Josie flashes her a pointed look. “No Lizzie, you’re not gonna get out of talking about this with me.” She says seriously, and Lizzie begins to flail her arms around as she begins to whine. “Are you throwing a tantrum?” Penelope asks uncertainly.
“This is all I know!” Lizzie throws herself onto the floor dramatically, and Josie crosses her arms. “That’s not gonna work again, Lizzie.” She says bluntly, and Lizzie stops abruptly, obviously faking the entire ordeal. She lets out a breath as she lays on the carpet and stares at the ceiling. “What if I bribe you? I’ll do all your homework for the entire semester.” Lizzie offers, glancing over at her sister, and Josie looks down at her in dismay. “You’d rather do double homework instead of talking about how you feel?” Josie asks pointedly, and Lizzie nods eagerly.
“Can you guys give me and Lizzie a minute?” Hope asks, and Penelope snorts. “Why? You didn’t get enough earlier?” The witch asks, and Hope glares at her. “Come on, Pen. I’ll walk you to the woods.” The brunette smiles softly at Penelope who pouts as she stands up from the desk chair. Josie glances at Lizzie who’s laying on the floor like she’s dramatically just died, and at Hope who’s glancing around the room desperately trying to go unnoticed. “I’m coming back, okay guys? I’ll knock this time.” Josie promises a bit awkwardly before she leads Penelope out of the room.
After the door shuts, there’s a deafening silence that washes over the two, and Hope glances down at Lizzie who’s still on the floor, staring at the ceiling. She sighs, “You’re so dramatic.” the auburn haired girl blurts out, and Lizzie huffs. “Yeah, it’s easy to call me dramatic, your sister didn’t walk in on you making out with her crush!” Lizzie practically hisses, and then she groans as the realization sets in. “And don’t even get me started on how that Walmart Miss Cleo now knows everything about us! I mean, seriously out of all people Josie and Penelope? I’d rather it have been my dad again.” Lizzie whines, and Hope crosses her arms. “You act like this isn’t embarrassing for me too. I just got caught cheating on Landon with my best friend, by my other best friend!” Hope snaps, and Lizzie sits up, looking over at Hope with a murderous gaze. “Well, it’s your fault!”
“My fault? How is it my fault??” Hope asks in disbelief. Lizzie stands up, “Because you came here! You kissed me!” Lizzie argues, and Hope stares at her as if she’s crazy. “You kissed me first!”
“Well, you almost kissed me in the woods— so you started it!”
“Yeah, because you’ve been ignoring me, and it’s doing crazy things to my head!! I needed to fix it somehow!” Hope snaps, and Lizzie pauses. “You almost kissed me just to fix things? So I’d stop ignoring you?” Lizzie asks, obviously taken back by the revelation, not because you feel something for me? “I— I guess? I don’t know, Lizzie. I don’t know why I kissed you.” Hope lies dismissively, and Lizzie’s heart breaks as her brows knit together. She frowns and Hope stares at Lizzie who gets lost in her own head for a minute. “Well, they’re fixed. So don’t kiss me again.” Lizzie commands in a tone that’s so unrecognizable it doesn’t even sound like her.
Suddenly the atmosphere is colder, and Lizzie’s hard gaze is staring into Hope, waiting for a response. “Lizzie—“
“Go.” Lizzie’s voice is blunt, and Hope blinks a few times, “W-What?” she stutters out, making sure she heard correctly. “Go. Leave. I just wanted to be alone tonight, and now I have to deal with Josie, Penelope, and my dad. So just leave, Hope; go to the bonfire and just forget about all of it. I don’t have the energy to deal with whatever the hell this is.” The blonde confesses, and Hope opens her mouth, but she sees the way Lizzie is staring at her with pained eyes, regardless of the blank expression.
I hurt her again.
Hope stares at the carpet as she drags her feet out all the way to the door. She leaves without another word. She stands outside of the blonde’s door for a few moments, letting everything sink in until a muffled sob keeps Hope in place. The door locks before Hope can even think about going back in.
The next morning, Hope doesn’t hear from Josie or Lizzie. She checks her phone; she types a message to Lizzie, but never sends it. She doesn’t know what to say. It’s Saturday, and she knows she most likely won’t see Lizzie all weekend; the blonde is a master at avoiding Hope, so Hope doesn’t expect to see Lizzie. Especially when Rafael invites everyone to eat breakfast in the field. But when she gets there, Lizzie’s surprisingly sitting next to MG and Josie, eating a crepe, and picking at the fruit platter her and Josie are sharing.
“Hey Hope!” Landon smiles, as Hope takes a seat next to him, and he kisses her cheek. Lizzie doesn’t look at the tribrid for a moment, but when she does, their eyes lock and every thought in Hope’s brain comes to a terse stop. Lizzie looks away quickly. Too quickly. “Crepe?” The blonde offers curtly, pushing a plate of crepes in Hope’s direction. Hope shakes her head, “No thanks. I’m not hungry.” Hope responds lowly, and Lizzie shrugs as she reaches for another crepe with her fork.
Nobody notices the strange interaction except Josie, Rafael, and Penelope.
“We totally have to go back to the creek today!” Rafael says after a few seconds, right in the middle of scarfing down his crepe. “Creek? Like a water creek? It’s November.” Lizzie points out, and Rafael flashes her a look. “Not to swim, to explore! Plus the frogs are cute.” He confesses sheepishly, and Lizzie rolls her eyes at the way Josie’s eyes light up at the mention of the gross creatures. “Pass.” She mutters, and Penelope flashes her a look. “You got something better to do?” The raven haired girl questions, and Lizzie scowls. “Yes, actually.” She retorts blandly, and everyone waits for Lizzie to elaborate, but she doesn’t. Instead, she just reaches for her nearly finished bottle of orange juice, and chugs the rest of it in one swig.
“Alright losers, I’m done here. You’re all welcome for the breakfast, but I have a busy schedule.” Lizzie says dryly, as she gathers up her garbage before standing up and walking away. “Does she really have a busy schedule or is she just trying to get out of hanging out with us?” Rafael asks suspiciously, “She’s just trying to get out of hanging out with me.” Hope thinks, but she doesn’t say anything; she just watches Lizzie walk away.
“Lizzie signed up to be on the prom committee this year.” Josie responds simply, as if the answer is self explanatory. Landon makes a face. “Why would she willingly sign up for that?” He asks, and Josie flashes him a knowing look. “You know Lizzie loves being in charge of everything. They’re finally using her theme this year, so she’s really excited about it.” Josie admits, and Hope nearly facepalms. “I completely forgot about prom.” The tribrid confesses, and Rafael shoots her a curious look. “How? It’s all everyone’s been talking about.” Rafael points out, and Hope shrugs. “I’ve had a lot on my mind.” Understatement of the year.
“Well, we’re definitely going. It’s our last prom before graduation!” Landon declares excitedly, and Hope forces a smile as he wraps an arm around her.
Hope doesn’t see Lizzie for the rest of the day, not even on campus. Regardless of searching for those light golden locks everywhere she went, and praying to catch even the slightest glimpse into those pretty blue eyes; Lizzie was nowhere in Hope’s sights. She racks her brain trying to figure out when this started. When she suddenly became transfixed on the giant compartment in her head labeled “Elizabeth Jenna Saltzman”. When she started physically trying to get the blonde out of her mind. When she started fantasizing about the Siphoner’s hands on her waist, the way Lizzie’s soft distended lips felt against hers, the way Lizzie smells, the way Lizzie scowls, the way Lizzie says her last name. Lizzie. Lizzie. Lizzie.
“So just leave, Hope; go to the bonfire and just forget about all of it.”
Hope groans as she stares at the ceiling while she lays on her bed.
How am I supposed to forget it?
It’s easily the two best kisses I’ve ever had, and they both came from her.
“You almost kissed me just to fix things? So I’d stop ignoring you?”
“I— I guess? I don’t know, Lizzie. I don’t know why I kissed you.”
“Why would I say that?” Hope wonders out loud before groaning again. I’m so stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
The little voice in Hope’s head then adds insult to injury; “You also made her cry.”
And now Hope feels like an idiot and a terrible person. Without another thought she reaches for her phone on the nightstand, and unlocks it. She ignores every other notification, and opens the iMessage app; clicking on her text thread with Lizzie.
Meanwhile Lizzie sits on her bed, crisscrossed while she types out her already finished term paper that was due at eleven tonight. In retrospect, she’s now a little glad Josie didn’t accept her offer when she said she’d do the brunettes homework for her all semester if she could get out of talking about... everything. She wondered if Josie was regretting it too considering their fourth period teacher had assigned them four new essays for the next two weeks.
*DING*
Lizzie’s phone chimes, as the screen lights up beside her laptop and sprawled out notebooks. She glances over and reaches for it, scoffing at the message on her screen.
Mikaelson: u busy?
Lizzie rolls her eyes. She types a brief response before setting her phone back down next to her, and going back into concentration mode.
*DING*
Hope’s phone chimes and she sits up, eagerly reaching for it. A large part of her hadn’t expected Lizzie to respond at all.
Lizzie👺🦋: 🖕🏼
Hope frowns at the middle finger emoji. Okay, so she’s definitely mad...
The auburn haired girl thinks for a moment, before quickly typing out a response and hitting send.
*DING*
Lizzie glances away from her laptop, and at her phone. There’s a voice in her head screaming ignore it. Then there’s another voice in her head whispering, but it’s Hope. The blonde sighs as she picks up her phone.
Mikaelson: can I come over so you can give me the finger in person?
Lizzie purses her lips that are actually threatening to tug into a smile.
Idiot.
*DING*
Hope’s phone is already unlocked, and she stoutly clicks on the notification.
Lizzie👺🦋: I’m busy.
The tribrid frowns and gets to typing.
Lizzie hasn’t even closed their text thread; she’s watching her screen as three little dots appear to show her that Hope is typing.
Mikaelson: i don’t want to apologize over text. it’s tacky.
Lizzie’s blows a raspberry with her mouth, and swiftly types out her own reply, not even bothering to wait a few seconds to make it seem like she wasn’t totally waiting on Hope’s text.
*DING*
Lizzie👺🦋: And so is kissing your best friend just to get her to forgive you.
Hope’s eyes go wide at the message that appears on her screen, and she shakes her head vigorously, forgetting Lizzie can’t physically see her. She types back immediately; almost frustratedly.
Mikaelson: i’m an idiot.
Mikaelson: just let me come over and I’ll explain. please.
Lizzie stares at the message blankly. She chews on her bottom lip as she contemplates her entire life. She can’t just let Hope come over; it’s nearly ten thirty, and that’s technically sneaking someone in. Which is against the rules.
“Plus, she’s probably just gonna end up hurting your feelings.”
The rational voice in Lizzie’s head points out; she internally agrees, but then as she typing out a message, another little voice in her head whispers;
“Or she might kiss you again.”
Lizzie takes her bottom lip between her teeth and deletes the typed out message. She hesitates for only a second before typing out a new response. She hits send and is ultimately grateful Josie is hanging out with Penelope tonight.
Lizzie👺🦋: You get 10 minutes, and if my dad catches you sneaking over here I will physically throw you.
Mikaelson: so generous ❤️
It doesn’t take Hope long to knock on Lizzie’s door. The blonde opens the door and greets Hope in a navy blue romper that doesn’t go passed her thighs, and no, Hope doesn’t realize she’s staring until her eyes are on Lizzie’s tall, slender legs. Lizzie has her arms crossed, a brow quirked, and her lips curled in what looks like disdain, but upon further inspection is hidden amusement. As their eyes lock, Hope feels a surging guilty feeling wash over her. Hope wants to apologize. Hope wants to kiss her. Hope wants to let her hands wander all over those smooth, long legs.
Apologize.
Kiss.
Apologize.
Kiss her legs.
APOLOGIZE.
Hope ignores her shameful thoughts before letting out a bit of a ragged breath, “Lizzie, I’m so sorry.” She sounds like a broken record, and she expects Lizzie to scoff or slam the door in her face. Instead the blonde just lets out a quiet breath of her own, nodding in agreement; “Me too.” she confesses, and this takes Hope by surprise. Lizzie steps aside, giving Hope a clear view of the bedroom; no Josie in sight. “Come in, don’t worry I’m not actually gonna give you the finger. Even though you deserve it.” The Siphoner taunts, and Hope rolls her eyes; the air suddenly light again. She doesn’t know how Lizzie always knows what to say, but she’s grateful for it.
Hope walks into the bedroom, and she sees Lizzie’s notebooks, pens, binder, and open laptop laying out on her bed. So she really was busy.
“You have nine minutes now.” Lizzie looks down at her wristwatch, and Hope’s eyes go wide. “Shit— um, okay, well— fuck.” Hope begins to stutter, and Lizzie has to fight everything inside of her to keep her from smirking. “Times ticking, Mikaelson.” Lizzie reminds her, and Hope sighs, “Okay— I guess I should probably start by saying, no I didn’t almost kiss you that night just to fix things. I have to make that clear right now, it was so stupid of me to say that.” Hope says earnestly, and Lizzie stares at her with a seemingly vacant expression, waiting for the tribrid to go on. “The truth is, I don’t know why I almost kissed you— I don’t know why I did kiss you, and I don’t know why I want to kiss you.”
Hope’s voice isn’t as strong as it normally is, but it’s still stern enough to keep Lizzie’s eyes locked on hers. But as soon as the next words leave her mouth, Hope begins to crumble; “But I do know how it felt when we kissed. I know I’ve never felt that before in my life.” Hope confesses her voice soft, but full of emotions Lizzie has never heard, desperately searching for a shift in Lizzie’s demeanor. She can see Lizzie’s hard facade falter, and the Siphoner’s eyes go soft.
“It can’t happen again.” Lizzie says stringently, her tone lacking any harshness and malice. Hope doesn’t understand why the words cut her like a knife. It takes her a moment to respond, “Y-Yeah, agreed. It was a one time thing.” Hope says, sounding off. Lizzie smirks, “Two time thing.” She mimics Hope’s words from last night, and Hope actually laughs. Lizzie laughs with her, and something in Hope’s chest clenches as she stares at that cute little dimple that pops out every time Lizzie smiles.
“Frenemies again?” Hope asks half jokingly after Lizzie’s laughter dies down, and Lizzie flashes her a smirk that Hope finds more annoyingly attractive than usual. “Best frenemies.” The blonde corrects, as she holds her arms out, signaling for a hug. Hope wastes no time; it’s not every day Lizzie Saltzman wants a hug. She wraps her arms around the Siphoner’s waist, her head on Lizzie’s chest and the blonde’s arms wrap around her neck before their bodies mold into each other. Hope breathes Lizzie’s vanilla and lavender scent in, and Lizzie feels her heart pounding against her chest as her body feels like it’s searing against Hope’s. Neither of them make any movement to pull away. Neither wanted to.
Lizzie is the first to pull away, but not fully. Hope’s hands are still on her waist, and her arms are still around Hope’s neck. The blonde stares into a pair of piercing blue eyes, and she feels herself getting lost. Dammit, why’d I have to hug her?
Hope glances at Lizzie’s lips, then back into her eyes, silently begging for permission. Nobody moves for what feels like an eternity, but in reality is only about four seconds. Neither knows who leans in first, but their eyes flutter shut as soon as their lips meet for the— shit, Lizzie lost track of how many kisses this will be. The kiss is soft, and lingering. It’s the softest kiss they’ve shared and Hope feels like someone did a fire spell inside of her. Lizzie’s lips are on fire, and she leans further in, deepening the kiss. The soft kiss quickly becomes passionate as Lizzie’s tongue enters the tribrids mouth, and Hope doesn’t even realize her hands start to roam lower than Lizzie’s waist.
Lizzie pulls away, and her eyes flutter open, meeting a fervid, tenebrous gaze already staring back at her. They stare at each other for what seems like ever, just trying to read each other’s thoughts. Lizzie waves her hand, never unwrapping herself from Hope; locking the door with the flick of her wrist. Hope’s pupils dilate as she pushes Lizzie onto the bed; she never breaks their gaze as she straddles Lizzie’s lap, throwing her arms around her and attaching their lips together for a heated kiss; this time, uninterrupted.