Lizzie found Josie sitting in front of the fireplace, watching the flames bounce around.

Hands deep in her pocket, she said, “I think we need to talk.”

“Yeah we do.” Josie turned to look at her with a smile. “Guess what.”

Lizzie sat down on the floor with her sister. “No, Jo, I -”

“Lizzie, let me go first.” Josie was grinning from ear to ear. “Andrea and I are going out.”

Lizzie’s heart fell. She’d waited too long, and now she had no one to blame but herself. She pressed her mouth into a flat line, hoping Josie couldn’t see how close to tears she was.

“I’m happy for you, Jo,” she said honestly. 

“I still can’t believe it,” Josie rattled on, oblivious to her sister’s face. “Can you believe it? Me and Andrea?”

“Yeah, I … I can.” Lizzie stood up.

She could feel an ache for the crystal again. Like it could give her a chance to do this over. Like it could make her a new Josie and she could try again. But that was ridiculous. There were no do-overs in real life.

Lizzie wandered down the halls with her hands still shoved in her pockets. She thought about going to MG’s room to maybe read some comics or watch a bad movie, but when she got there, MG was nowhere to be found. Even Kaleb didn’t know where he was.

So Lizzie went back to wandering the halls. She thought about paying her dad a visit, but that was so pathetic. She was almost eighteen, and she still went crawling back to him anytime things went wrong. 

Then, she thought about seeing if Emma was still in her office. But she didn’t want to bother her this late at night. Surely she could just wait until her next scheduled session.

Eventually she found herself wandering down a hallway she didn’t often frequent. She didn’t know what made her go up the stairs or to turn that way, but something drew her towards Hope Mikaelson’s room. She didn’t want to see her, but something pulled her along nonetheless. Maybe she sensed something.

Something like MG about to walk out the door.

“L-Lizzie.”

His eyes were wide, like he’d just been caught red-handed. 

Lizzie tilted her chin down like she hadn’t noticed. “MG.” She smiled cluelessly. “I was just coming to find you. How does a PB&J and Superman sound?”

MG narrowed his eyes at her. “... like you want something.”

Lizzie shrugged, smiling never faltering. She looped her arm through his. “Just your company.”

“Okay …”