CHAPTER TWO
of waltzing & truth balls

"SO, THE EMCEE WILL THEN ANNOUNCE LIZZIE and her escort." Hope told Katelyn as they stood in the gym. Katelyn looked at her for a moment, slightly confused. 

"Her what?"

"Kind of like at a— a debutante ball."

Katelyn chuckled and set her hands on Hope's shoulders. "Oh, that makes more sense. The witches threw a ball every year and forced all of their minions to look their best and know how to dance."

Hope stared at her before shaking her head. "Okay. Well, they had stairs, didn't they?"

Katelyn looked at her dryly. "No, they flew down from level to level." She said sarcastically.

Hope whacked her in the back of the head. "Pay attention and stop interrupting." 

"Okay, jeezus woman." 

Hope turned her around to point to the bleacher's steps that they were standing on top of. "So, you're gonna meet her halfway down."

Katelyn did as she was told. "How do you know all this stuff? Did mom and dad throw a lot of parties?" Katelyn asked. 

"No, well, yes, but actually one of our aunts has been around for more than a thousand years. This kind of thing is her jam." Hope told her with a smile as she walked down the steps where Katelyn was standing halfway. 

"So, what, I just stand here?" Katelyn questioned. 

Hope gave her a look from the corner of her eye before stopping in front of Katelyn and holding up her arm in a horizontal position. "Then you take her arm." Katelyn raised an eyebrow, not really sure how to do it. "Sort of like you're putting yours on top." She interlocked their arms and Katelyn kept the position, her hand on her abdomen. "Yeah, like that. And then you descend together." 

They both walk the rest of the way to the middle of the gym. They unlink and Katelyn turns towards her. 

"And now you bow." Hope said as she curtsied. 

Katelyn chuckled. She bowed dramatically with a smile. "Yeah, you're messing with me. It's literally a birthday party." 

"You think this is bad? You know it's only gonna get worse, right? Lizzie Saltzman has been planning her sweet 16 since she was five. You probably should've thought twice before asking to be her date." 

Katelyn rolled her eyes. "I didn't. She asked me. And I said yes. So, all I know is that I can't let her down now. Especially today."

Hope narrowed her eyes, crossing her arms. "Why?"

"For one I slept with her, Hope, and two... Josette Laughlin... their biological mother turned up out of nowhere this morning. That's why I was late to the counselor meeting." Katelyn told her in a quiet but firm voice. She didn't want anyone else to hear. 

Hope stared at her in shock. "What?"

"Yeah. Messed up shit." She sighed when her phone started ringing. She pulled it out of her pocket and saw that it was Alaric. She answered and put it on speaker so Hope could hear as well. "'Ello?"

"Hey, I need your input on this." Alaric told her. "I have the ball that tells whether someone is lying or not. I'm gonna ask Jo questions."

Katelyn nodded before she realized he couldn't see her. "He can't see you dumbass." Hope said with a roll of her eyes.

"I know that, dipshit."

"Girls!" Alaric snapped.

"Sorry." They both replied.

"Get on with it." Katelyn added. 

"All right, one more time." Alaric said after a minute. "What's your name?"

"Josette Laughlin."

Hope and Katelyn looked at each other as they both sat down on the ground. 

"Truth." Alaric said into the phone. "And what's your profession?"

"I'm a doctor. I was, anyway."

"Truth." Alaric said after a moment of silence. "Repeat after me: I'm here to harm you."

"I'm here to harm you."

A minute passed and Alaric still hadn't said anything. "Ric." Hope and Katelyn said at the same time, both equally ready to bolt to the office.

"Lie." He said with a sigh. Neither of them could tell if it was of relief or disappointment.

"How did you meet my dad?" Josie's voice mixed in and Hope smiled slightly at hearing the girl's voice.

"That's not, uh, a question." Alaric said.

"Shut up, Ric." Katelyn and Hope chorused, wanting to hear the story but also wanting the girls to as well.

They heard Josette chuckle softly before she began. "I walked up to him at a college party. He was the only guy over 20." She laughed softly again. 

"Was it- was it love at first sight?" Josie inquired and the two tribrids looked at each other, Katelyn with a smirk and Hope with a flushed face. 

"Jo." Lizzie said. "Don't be so nosy." 

Katelyn covered Hope's mouth to stop the retort that was coming. She shook her head, silently telling her to stay out of it. Hope tried to say something but it was muffled by her hand. 

"Not quite." Josette said suddenly making Hope shut up and Katelyn pulled her hand away. "I flirted with him and asked him for a sip of his drink. He told me he was a germaphobe. But I thought he looked like Indiana Jones, so..."

Josie and Josette laughed softly and the two tribrids smiled at the story.

"This walk down weird old people memory lane is fun and all, but we have a party to get ready for." Lizzie said. 

"Will you still be here after?" Josie asked, probably Josette.

"I will be there when I can." Alaric cut in. "But right now the office is off-limits." They both heard footsteps.

"You're mean." Hope and Katelyn chorused.

"Goodbye girls." Alaric said a bit forcefully.

"Bye, Ric." They said cheekily and then the call ended. 

They both rolled their eyes and stood up, Katelyn grabbing her phone. She put it back in her pocket. 

Hope grabbed her arms and put one of Katelyn's hands on Hope's waist and took the other in her hand, stretching their arm off to the side. Hope put her other hand on Katelyn's shoulder and slowly began to move.

They were silent as Katelyn memorized the dance. She was a quick learner, Hope noted. The silence lasted for another ten minutes before Hope broke it.

"I can't believe you slept with Lizzie Saltzman."

Katelyn rolled her eyes with a smile. "Look, I was looking for her after the meeting and found Penelope practically telling Lizzie she was the worst sister in the world and she was sad. We talked and then I went to leave but she pulled me back and it happened."

Hope sighed and tilting her head a bit. "You don't regret it." Hope stated, seeing the look in her sister's eye as she talked about the younger girl.

"No... no, I don't. I regret sleeping with her right then because she was hurting but I wanted to take her mind off of it and I couldn't think of anything else. In the moment anyway." Katelyn said. They both started to move faster, in sync. Katelyn grabbed her hand and spun her away before pulling her in close. "You're leading." Katelyn said dryly. 

Hope put her hand on Katelyn's shoulder again. "You're officially a gigolo. A female gigolo." 

Katelyn rolled her eyes. "That can't work. Lizzie's younger than me." She scoffed. "Anyway, thank you for this." She said honestly as they continued to move at a steady pace, gradually getting faster and more intense as they continued. "You going to the party, Mikaelson?"

"I don't know." Hope said. 

Katelyn tightened her grip on her sister's waist. "So, what, you're just gonna stay in your room alone while everybody else is out having fun?"

"Yep, works for me."

"Bullshit." Katelyn said with a roll of her eyes, dropping her voice down to a whisper. "Everybody needs a crew. And you want to be there for a certain brunette that you've been shagging." 

"Katelyn!" Hope yelped, hitting her shoulder before gripping it rather tightly as they stumbled a bit but that didn't seem to stop them. "Kind of ironic coming from the reluctant alpha." 

Katelyn sighed. "Okay, well, the pack is one thing, but a crew is a crew." 

"We're back to that?"

"I'm saying, it's one thing to be cool with being alone, and then it's another to want to be the lonely girl on purpose."

Hope's grip tightened even more on both Katelyn's shoulder and hand, not that she minded. She knew she hit a nerve that she didn't mean to hit. Their feet moved at what seemed a mile a minute as they danced around the gym. 

"As opposed to Mrs. Good Girl, who's taking a girl that you barely know to her own party?" Hope shot back. "One that hates me, may I add."

"You know what, you're right." Katelyn said. "Lesson learned." They both stopped, panting. "I'm going to get us some water." 

Hope crossed her arms and looked away as Katelyn walked over towards the door. As she passed the stairs to the bleachers she got knocked back. 

"The hell? Hope?" Katelyn turned to look at the girl who rushed over. She put her hand up and tried to push her hand through only for a purple and blue glow to appear in front of them as a border. 

"Barrier spell. Fantastic." Hope said, obviously annoyed, as the two looked at each other.

"Sorry, kids. Nothing personal." Penelope Park's voice went into their ears making both of their eyes turn to gold as they looked over to her. She was standing at the entrance, smiling. 

"Let us out of here, Penelope." Hope demanded. 

"You'll be free in an hour. Plenty of time to practice that waltz. Also, your phone won't work." Penelope said with a cheeky grin. She walked away, leaving the two in there. 

AN: Don't forget to comment and vote.