If Only

Josie and Penelope entered the dining hall. Penelope thought the tour was over, but here Joise was once again with her tour guide voice, explaining how all the food is prepped, and how students help out in the cafeteria with morning/ nightly duties. They got their pasta with Alfredo sauce and their breadsticks.

“The food is usually bland, trying to accommodate everyone’s palate. But it does get repetitive.” Josie said, looking for a place to sit. Penelope busy following Josie, that she didn’t realize a certain pair of eyes on her. Familiar blue meets familiar green.

“Penelope,” Hope said. Stopping in her tracks. All she could do was meet her gaze while keeping her distance.

“Hope.” Penelope slipped back into her controlled self, to her dementor saved to make face.

“Why are you here.” Hope had dozens of questions flooding her mind. But all could ask is why. Why after years, she is finally here. When she knew the right question to ask was ‘What is wrong’. Because even after years of not being in the same place, after years of not looking into those green eyes with specks of gold, she still knew how to read them, and better yet she knew that Penelope would never be somewhere without orders.

“I enrolled. I go to school here.” Penelope looked back at softened blue eyes. Hope’s eyes never failed to comfort her and feel protected. But she couldn’t give in. Hope completely and utterly destroyed her, and as much as she would love to get her heartbroken by this brooding Mikelson, she had other priorities, and hope could no longer be one of them.

“Pen-” She was about to take a step forward. But was interrupted.

“Babe. I bombed the history test. Do you want to go to the grill for a pick me up?” Landon came in, hope shifted her gaze from the green-eyed raven to her curly-headed boyfriend. Landon took Hope’s hand in his. Landon looked up to Penelope, about to give her a big warm welcome, knowing how it feels to be the newcomer but before he could Josie stepped in.

“Sorry to steal her away Hope. But we should really finish. Right, Penelope?”

“Yes, we really should. It was nice to meet you.” Landon gave her a warm smile, and Hope she could not look at her, not anymore. She said good bye’s and she and Landon walked away hand in hand.

“That was something,” Josie said as they sat down to eat their dinner.

“Maybe a secret for another time. Don’t you think?”

“You really are feeding into the cliche. Aren’t you.”

“The mystery only makes me more attractive to you, doesn’t it.”

“You aren’t gonna stop surprising me on how big your ego is, are you?”

“Jojo, I know you want me.” She whispered in her ear, as she got up. Josie scoffed, but Penelope's words sent a shiver down her spine.

“I forgot napkins.” She put them down in the middle of them as she sat down.

“The food here, it gets repetitive, but it’s not too bad, maybe not as good as your private chef though, your highness.”

“Jojo, you are wounding me.”

“And here I thought nothing could pierce a park’s heart.”

“Have you ever met one, or are all we mysterious?”

“I think this is the first time I got up and close to one.”

“Very funny. Where to now Josette?”

“Josette? Now I feel wounded.”

“Show me to my room?” Penelope stood up. Offering her hand to Josie. And Josie accepted. Standing up. Side by side, hands so closely but not touching.

They walked together, throughout the dorms, finally landing on the top floor, in the last hall, the last dorm.
“This is your dorm. One of the biggest I might add, don't know who you bribed.”They said walking in, sitting on the bed side by side.

“And yours?”

“Mine is down the hall. This floor is limited to a special few.”

“special privileges?” Penelope said locking eye contact with Josie.

“Something like that. When Hope’s boyfriend came into the school, and we discovered he was a unique species, my father decided to separate us, ‘team other’ as they put it. Not many are up here yet, but it comes with a plus, no roommates.” The mention of Hope's name clearly bothered Penelope, but Josie believed it was not her place, this subject being more touchy than anything they had talked about.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what species are you?”

“My sister and I, we are siphonors, witches with no built-in power source. So we restore to siphon from other supernatural beings and objects. Since you are a hybrid, you reside here along with your siblings, who are right next door.

“I guess that is the end of the tour, I’ll let you get settled in,” Josie said walking out the door.

“Jojo,” Penelope called out.

“Yes,” Josie said returning into the hybrid’s dorm.

“I’ll see you later?”

“Of course.” Josie walked back to her, leaving a warm kiss on her cheek. “Gotta leave you wanting more don’t I?”

“Until the real deal, Jojo.”

Penelope laid in her bed. Her parents must have sent a request, to have the dorm properly ready for her arrival. She needs to go back to the house her parent left her in, to retrieve her belongings.

There was a knock on the door, she could hear two heartbeats. Steady. Before she said anything they made their way in. Her siblings. Alexis and Jed waltzed in and jumped beside her.

“P!” Jed screamed as he made himself comfortable.

“You guys stink.”

“I do not!” Alexis protested. “But he does.”

“Hey!!” Jed screamed while throwing one of the perfectly positioned pillows to his sisters.

“I guess Mom and Dad made Alaric get your room ready too,” Alexis said as she caught the pillow and threw it across the room. Looking at Jed with her devil eyes.

“Every year since we started here, our rooms have always been properly made, the sheets with no wrinkles, the room perfectly cleaned”

“One year we even caught Alaric dusting, the top of the dresser, making it spotless. But now there’s no point, we don’t ever leave this place.” Jed said as he grabbed one more pillow and threw it to Alexis.

“I swear Jed. If you don't stop!”

“You’ll what?” He said challenging her.

“Both of you stop. You stinky. Get off my bed. And shower” Penelope said as she threw one of her pillows to both of them. Alexis and Jed looked at each other, giving each other a knowing look.

“Oh come on penny!”
“You love us!”

As they both smothered her. After a while, Penelope fought her way out. Pushing them off her.

“Fine. I will go shower. Don’t know about Lex though.”

“Shut up. We will be back.”

“Wait where are your things? We can help you settle in. All these muscles need an outlet.”

“Anyways.” Penelope rolled her eyes. They're back at the house.”

“Wait a minute, Mom and Dad they have a house here. Like in Mystic Falls?”

“Oh-yeah.”

“Right. Great. Of course, they do.”

“Cause why would we want to leave the Salvatore boarding school, full of pricks and fuckers that love us.”
“Jed.” Alexis knew Jed was hurting but she knew this was not the time or place to start.

“What Penelope? They abandoned us, not you. This is my coping mechanism.” Jed said sitting down on the chair across the eldest hybrids room.

“If you have something to say, say it Jed.” She looked at him with a challenging glare.

“We were tossed away, and every time a break comes around, we are stuck here, and the embarrassment settles in, the offsprings of the great Henery and Marie Park that just weren’t enough, born too late, and this is our punishment and everyone knows it.” He said looking back and forth to his sisters.

“Is that what you think?” Penelope looks at them with disbelief.

“You think this is punishment. Staying here, living your life the way you want to, making your own choices, and you are sulking because what? mom and dad don’t show you love.”

“never mind,” Jed said fiddling with his fingers.

“No. No. Keep going, tell me how Mom and Dad abandoned only you two. Because last I checked this entire thing you have going here for you is a privilege, I was left alone, so unless you wanted to go home and have people left and right fight for your hand, to be in a place no longer than a month, to have everything you do dictate, to talk about budgets, and run a company all at 16 years old then be my guest. I fought to have you both protected, to be safe and brought here. My entire life has been about protecting my people, about protecting you two. But you wouldn’t understand.” Penelope was furious how could her siblings not see, not appreciate that she had endured this all for them?

“That's the point Pen, we don’t understand. We were practically thrown away, sent here to study and after a few years we were told we couldn't come home, and none of you, not you or Mom or Dad say anything."

“It’s only fair we know what is going on, it's our legacy too, our people. And we aren’t ungrateful but P come on. You have to admit this entire situation wasn’t fair for any of us.” Jed said, hearing his sister talk had calmed him down, knowing he approached this topic too harshly.

“You’re right. They are your people too. You deserved to stay in the loop, I'll tell you whatever you want to know." Penelope said looking at her siblings with soft eyes.

"thank you." They both said. “We will be back" Alexis and Jed walked towards the door, keeping eye contact.