Christmas In October
It was early morning and a chill one at that. People were milling about feeling weirdly happy. And just to confirm their weird behavior, it started snowing. Indicating it was officially Christmas. Everyone was happy and eager to spend their Christmas eating desserts, opening gifts, and spending it with family and friends. Sounds like the perfect Christmas, doesn't it? Well, it wasn't. Why? Because it was October.
The people of Mystic Falls had no idea about that though. Same with the residents of the Salvatore School. And Hope. Hope woke up feeling overly happy. Wanting to make the best of the day. So without giving her overly cheerful self a thought, she had left her room and joined the other merry students to enjoy Christmas.
The first place she had visited was outside. As it was fairly early, not a lot of people were outside. But the few that were, were enjoying the snow to their hearts content.
"Heyy, Hope! Merry Christmas!!" Kaleb vamped in front of her and wished followed by MG who gave her an enthusiastic wave.
"Hey, Kaleb! MG! Merry Christmas!" she wished back with a smile.
"Wanna join Team Pedro to show everyone how to make the biggest snowman??" MG asked with a overly happy smile.
"Yes!" Hope replied and followed them over to the kids.
And soon, she was immersed in making sure Pedro and his team won making the biggest snowman and in the end, led him to victory. Which led to her playing snowball fight with the guys and the kids, making the biggest snow angels, sledging, using magic to have fun, and much more.
When it was early morning hours and most of the school was up and celebrating Christmas, was when Hope decided to head back in. She was greeted by the sight of beautiful decorations littered all around. Radiant lights, Christmas tree, stockings, desserts, were all around her. Everyone was chilling, conversing, and standing around. Dorian was handing out secret wish ribbons and Alaric and Elijah were having fun drinking their probably spiked hot cocoa.
Elijah spotted her though and excused himself from the conversation and walked over to her, "Hope, darling, are you having fun?" he asked with a smile and his mug of hot cocoa in his hand.
"Uncle Elijah! Yes I am! Merry Christmas!" she replied with a big smile.
"Merry Christmas, darling. Fancy a hot cocoa?" he asked gesturing to his mug.
"No. I don't wanna be drinking this early in the morning. I have to find Josie anyways" Hope replied with a grin.
"What nonsense. This is a hot cocoa. Everyone should be drinking this early in the morning" Elijah replied sounding serious but his face had a grin too.
"I can't believe you're trying to get your niece drunk. I wonder what mom will think of it. Or dad" Hope said next with a cheeky grin pretending to think hard.
"Alright, alright. No drinking for kids. I'll be over near the adults" Elijah replied with a grin and vamped away before Hope could reply.
"I'm not a kid!" Hope still decided to call out with a fake hurt expression.
He laughed hearing her but didn't reply.
She smiled and continued on her way to explore the school and find Josie.
It was after sometime that she was in the kitchen eating a few desserts placed there when she heard,
"Hey, Hope. Merry Christmas!" from behind her. And she knew this voice well.
"Hey, Jo. Same to you" she replied turning around with a smile.
Josie was wearing a cute Christmas jumper and skirt to go along and looked very beautiful and very cute. So Hope commented on the same,
"You look pretty cute" with her signature smirk.
Josie blushed, "Thanks. So do you" but replied.
Hope wasn't wearing anything festive. She just had a sweater on along with some jeans. But the comment made a light blush appear on her face nonetheless and she replied,
"Thanks" with a smile.
"Do you wanna join me for secret wishes?" Josie asked next with a smile.
"I'd love to" Hope replied with a smile.
Next, the girls joined the others for secret wishes. Discreetly and with big grins, both had written what they wanted on the ribbon and threw it in the fire. Unbeknownst to them, both their wishes were one the same.
"The girl I love"
And well, time will tell if their wish was granted or not.
And next the girls and the whole of Salvatore School population enjoyed their Christmas to their hearts content. There was flirting between the girls with Hope saying the most as she loved making Josie blush, teasing from MG and Kaleb, Elijah eavesdropping whenever he pleased and teasing Hope, Hope turning red, laughter, food, more flirting, longing stares, and more.
The girls were eventually separated when Josie saw her mom calling and Hope going to call her parents to wish them a Merry Christmas.
Hope's conversation didn't go like anyone would think a conversation of a daughter wishing their parents Merry Christmas would. It went like this,
Hope had videocalled both Klaus and Hayley and both of them picked up soon enough,
"Hey, sweetheart" Hayley greeted first with a smile.
"Hey, princess" Klaus greeted next with a smile.
"Hey, mom! Hey, dad! Merry Christmas!!" she wished happily.
"Christmas?" Hayley said confused.
"It's October, sweetheart" Klaus followed with the same confused expression.
"Christmas is a feeling! It's in the air! Don't you guys feel it? Look around!" Hope replied showing the decorations around her.
"It might be a feeling, but we don't celebrate Christmas in October, Hope" Hayley tried to make her understand.
"It's about to be Halloween, love" Klaus reminded her then.
"What.. But... It- it's snowing. It's- it's cold. People are wearing obnoxious jumpers. It's Christmas!" Hope replied as if stuck in a daze unable to snap out.
Klaus and Hayley seemed to realize that so they tried once more,
"Love, you seem to have another monster" Klaus said then.
Hayley nodded along.
"Monster? What do you mean??" Hope asked confused looking around at the decorations and listening to the music.
"Hope. Would you go into your room where you're not around all that?" Hayley asked in a sweet voice gesturing to the decorations and music.
"But why??" Hope asked almost whining.
"We just don't want any interruptions, love" Klaus answered and Hayley nodded.
Hope sighed, "Fine" and walked to her room.
Her room was just her normal room with no decorations littered around or any music being heard so it was the most normal place to be at.
Klaus didn't waste any time, "So, love, what day is it today?" he asked.
"Um... 18th October.." Hope replied confused.
"And when is Christmas?" Hayley asked next.
"25th... December.." Hope replied as if slowly coming to a realization. Very slowly though.
"What do we usually celebrate in October?" Klaus asked then. It really felt like teaching her her holidays all over again but it was what it was.
"Halloween..." Hope replied.
"Are you getting our point yet, Hope?" Hayley asked next slightly amused at how they had to simplify this so much for her.
And that was when it finally registered for Hope, "Oh my god. We have another monster!" she exclaimed then finally snapping out of it.
"Finally, love! I thought we'd have to call Freya" Klaus said then with a grin.
"Hey! It didn't take me that long!" Hope said with a fake offended look.
"It did, Hope. It really did" Hayley replied chuckling.
"We had teach you all over what Halloween was and when it was celebrated. Same with Christmas, love" Klaus added next chuckling himself.
"Fine! Jeez. Alright. Good thing Christmas is all about forgiveness right?" Hope asked next.
And before Klaus and Hayley could correct her, she did it herself,
"Oh crap. Not Christmas. Not Christmas" she said reminding herself.
"Are you going to be alright, sweetheart?" Hayley asked next a bit worried.
"Yeah. I'll be fine. Just have to keep reminding myself it's not Christmas and a monster instead. Should be easy enough" Hope replied.
"I do not think that, Hope. The only reason we were able to snap you out of it is because you are away from all the music and decorations. Should you really be going back there?" Klaus said worried.
"Klaus is right, Hope. We don't know what this monster wants. You should stay in your room and we'll come and get you" Hayley said next worried herself.
"If you come here, it'll all affect you just the same. People in Mystic Falls are all affected. They can't just not be affected. They have to snapped out of it like you did me. I'll handle this, don't worry" Hope reasoned. She didn't need her parents to be merry too. Because if she looks back at it, everyone was so annoying she doesn't know how she dealt with them. Except Josie. She was somehow more cuter.
"Alright, alright. You make a fair point. But message us every hour so we can know you're okay" Hayley said next still worried.
Klaus nodded.
"Okay, okay. Bye now! I have a lot of fake Christmas cheer drunk people to deal with" Hope said then.
"Take care, Hope. Call if you need anything" Hayley replied.
"Bye, princess. We'll only be a call away" Klaus said next.
Hope smiled and hung up.
Now for that monster hunt. She doesn't know what she should do first actually. Find out what monster they have or snap everyone out of this annoying Christmas cheer.
It was decided for her when she arrived back to the main area and bumped right into Josie.
"I'm sorry I didn't see- Hope?" Josie said in confusion.
"Jo! We have to talk" Hope said leading them towards the kitchen, a little away from all the fake Christmas.
But before Hope could start, Josie said, "Before you say anything, let me go first. I just had a very interesting conversation with my mom"
"And I with my mom and dad" Hope said then.
"So... It's not Christmas then, is it?" Josie said next.
"Apparently not. It's a monster" Hope replied.
"How are we going to find out what monster it is though?" Josie asked next.
"I have an idea who might know that" Hope replied thinking about the lovely guest they had down in the cells.
Before Josie could reply, Hope continued, "While I go talk to him, can you figure out a way to snap everyone out of this annoying Christmas cheer? Preferably without getting snapped back in yourself?" Hope asked.
Josie grinned, "I can think of a few ways to do that"
"Alright then. See you later, Jo. Just don't burn the school down" Hope grinned.
"Hey!" Josie said feigning offense.
Hope chuckled but walked away with a small wave.
Josie let loose a smile when Hope was out of eyesight and went to do her part of the work.
_______
The Cells,
When she walked in she saw Ryan Clarke sitting with a bored and slight panicked look on his face. But he noticed her all the same,
"What? Came to wish me a Merry Christmas?"
"You're miserable. Good" was all Hope said.
"And you are too. How?" he asked next standing up and coming towards the cell bars.
"I snapped out of it" Hope replied.
"How did you do that?" he asked.
"I don't know. I guess the monster wasn't that powerful" Hope shrugged.
"The Krampus is one of the most powerful Christmas monster out there. You couldn't have just snapped out" he said angrily for some reason taking offense for the insult himself. Also not realizing what he just gave away.
Hope did and she internally smirked, "Yeah well. I'm gonna go now. Have fun dying" and moved to walk away.
"Wait! You can't leave me here! You need my help to find the monster!" he called out.
"I don't. Because you already told me what it is" Hope smirked and left.
Clarke finally realized what he said and slumped back down to his chair.
_______
When Hope arrived back, everyone was slowly getting out of their stupor and everything around her was destroyed. Literally. And Josie stood with an annoyed look. So Hope approached her,
"You alright, Jo?" she asked.
"Yeah. Yeah. I'm just, irritated" Josie replied with a small smile.
Hope smiled back, "Yeah, I can clearly see that since you've deployed the nuclear option" she finished with a small grin gesturing around.
"Hey! They weren't listening!" Josie defended herself feigning offense.
Hope chuckled.
"Alright! People we have a new monster. Dorian hit the books and someone bring me my crossbow" Alaric said finally coming out of his stupor and addressing the room.
Everyone nodded and got to work.
________
Fast forward to late night, the Krampus has been defeated by Santa himself. The real one. Hope was the one that walked Santa out to bid him farewell after he had delivered everyone their presents even though it technically wasn't Christmas, people had still wished and Santa was more than happy to deliver it after being out of work for so long. And while he was getting his sledge ready, he said,
"I do not have a present for you, Miss Mikaelson. Because your wish is a person and I cannot give you a person"
Atleast Santa didn't support slavery, Hope thought.
So Hope replied with a smile, "It's okay. Thanks for saving the day, Santa. It's good to see you're real"
"It is good to be back knowing I can make kids happy again. And maybe, Miss Mikaelson, your wish can still come true" Santa replied gesturing to a distant overhang patio behind Hope.
Hope turned around to see what he meant and an involuntary smile grew on her face seeing Josie hanging around there lazily taking down the lights.
"Merry Christmas, Hope" Santa said lastly with a smile and mounted his sledge and flew away.
Hope let lose a small chuckle and murmured, "Merry Christmas, Santa"
Then she walked towards Josie.
_______
Josie was just standing around admiring the lights but also taking them down slowly when Hope came,
"Hey, Jo"
Josie smiled, "Hey"
Looking around, Hope walked a little closer towards the middle, "They're beautiful" she said looking at the lights.
"They really are. Feels painful to take them down. Even though they're gonna come right back up 2 months later" Josie replied.
"Yeah. Unless we have Halloween in December" Hope replied with a small grin.
"Oh god no. Halloween will just include Lizzie dragging me to various parties. Besides, I like Christmas and it's traditions better" Josie replied.
Hope smiled, "Speaking of Christmas traditions, look up"
Josie immediately did and right above them hung a mistletoe. A smile immediately grew on her face.
Hope walked closer, "So what do you say, Jo? Wanna honor the traditions?" she asked standing right in front of her with a sweet smile.
Josie's smile never left her face as she nodded and slowly leaned in. But stopped right before her lips could touch Hope's. Wanting Hope to close the distance.
And Hope eagerly did and their lips met in a slow, sweet, kiss. They continued kissing each other slowly and lovingly none caring about the mistletoe excuse anymore. Because in all honesty, both had been waiting for this for far too long.
"Finally! I thought I'd have to lock you two in a room or something for you to confess your undying love for each other!" Lizzie's voice broke their moment, again, into very small pieces and they jumped apart.
Josie went bright red but had a smile and Hope laughed. Both too happy right now to care.
Landon was accompanying Lizzie and he helplessly said, "I tried to stop her..."
"Monsters haven't been able to stop me. Why do you think you can, chicken wings?" Lizzie said then. Good naturedly. A little atleast.
Landon rolled his eyes.
Lizzie then asked next, "So. Are you both dating now? Finally?"
"We technically didn't... Uh.." it was Hope who tried to make her understand the circumstances of them kissing but in the end just pointed up.
Lizzie looked up and saw the mistletoe, "No. NO. This is not continuing. A decade. That's how long I've seen you two dance around each other. At first it was fun but now it's just pathetically painful to watch. So Josie, do not come back to the room unless you've professed how obsessed you are with Mikaelson. And Hope, if you don't profess how whipped you are for my sister, I'll tell your whole family this" Lizzie said knowing full well Hope will not hear the end of it for all eternity if her family found out about this. They are literally the biggest Hosies.
The girls were speechless would be the understatement of the century. And before anyone could even utter a word, Lizzie said again,
"Let's go, bird boy" and dragged Landon away who was very shocked himself.
It was Hope who came out of the shock first, "Did Lizzie just...?"
"Give us an ultimatum to admit to have feelings for each other? I think so yes" Josie finished for her still very shocked by this whole thing.
"Do you..?" Hope nervously asked next.
Josie raised a brow.
"Have feelings for me, I mean" Hope clarified fidgeting.
"I literally kissed you" Josie replied.
"There was a mistletoe above us..." Hope said.
"Which you told me about" Josie stated. Secretly enjoying this nervous version of the usual confident Hope.
"Yeah but...." Hope stuttered.
Josie decided to put her out of her misery, "Hope. Yes. I have feelings for you. Since I was a kid" she said with a smile.
Hope beamed hearing that.
"But the most important question is, do you have feelings for me?" Josie asked next with a grin taking a step closer.
Hope grinned and instead of replying, stepped forward and kissed Josie. This time more deeply and full of love.
After kissing for a few minutes, the both pulled back for air and Hope said with a smirk,
"Does that answer your question?"
Josie grinned, "I don't know. You might have to do that a few more times"
Hope chuckled but obliged nonetheless. Because kissing Josie was already her favorite thing to do.
_______
And when Josie actually did not return to her room that night, Lizzie was ready to kick both of their asses. But she calmed down when she burst into Hope's room next morning, ruining another moment, and found the couple making out on the bed. So saying something along the lines of 'I have a few calls to make' Lizzie had swiftly left with the speed she came in at with a big grin on her face. And our couple went back to their activities too happy and occupied to care about what Lizzie implied.