Chapter Text
The rubber of the mouthguard fit snugly around her teeth as Josie picked up her duffel bag from the floor of her room. She rolled her tongue across the compact army of rubber that protected her teeth, never quite getting used to having a piece of plastic in her mouth for an extended amount of time (excluding her retainer of course).
Lacrosse camp was an ongoing tradition for the Saltzman twins; every summer they would pack up their duffels and for two weeks it was stick skills and drills and Josie soaking in the sunlight and, of course, having her annual glare-off with Hope Mikaelson.
The world of under eighteen girls’ lacrosse was small. Yes, nationals lacrosse happens every year and every girl’s lacrosse team in the country would compete, but, in reality, the amount of schools that have a girls lacrosse team provides slim pickings for team rivalries.
However, every single year without fail, the same two teams from the Salvatore Boarding School and the Mikaelson Academy would come face to face in the finals.
The first time Josie encountered Hope Mikaelson was when she played in the U14 girls’ team for the Salvatore School for the first time at Nationals. 13 years old, bright-eyed and rosy-cheeked, she had pulled on her yellow school-issued lacrosse jersey over her dark blue top skins and marched onto the bus after rolling up the sleeves, her whole team singing loudly (much to Mr Williams’ chagrin) the entire 15 minute drive to their first match as an official team.
Lizzie was playing centre, Lizzie was always centre, and Josie played mid-attack the first time they met Hope Mikaelson. On that day the spunky auburn-haired captain had traded in her role as the straight-defence for mid-defence.
Josie had frozen when she realised that meant Hope was probably going to be marking her, a chill running down her spine when the blue-eyed girl had patted Penelope Park (playing as the centre, against her twin) on the shoulder and confirmed her fear,
“I’m on Number 2.”
Suddenly the number on her jersey burned a searingly hot mark into her back, right into her skin, etching the start of a rivalry between the two girls as Josie tightened the laces on her boots and Hope gripped her stick.
At that time, Josie had a reputation for being the fastest girls lacrosse player under the age of 16, her quick feet had already given her a reputation amongst her competitors.
The infamous story of her, so fed up with the stalemate her team and the opposition has been stuck in for half an hour, had snatched the ball off of Joana Ridges and had managed to carry the ball from her position at straight defence to the other side, scoring a goal within the last few minutes of the game by ditching her attacker and running the ball herself.
4 years later, the only thing that had changed was that Josie is now considered the fastest girls lacrosse player under 25.
Hope, on the other hand, was known for her ruthlessness on the field and these terrifyingly detailed and strategic plans she gave her team that were far too precise for a 13-year-old girl. Perhaps that was what she did during prep hour instead of history homework.
The tale of how Hope Mikaelson had knocked out 300 teeth in her 5 or 6 years of lacrosse was something that had derived both fear and admiration for the, now, captain of the Mikaelson Academy’s Firsts Lacrosse team.
Hope knew Josie was a runner, even in that first match. The way the girl positioned her feet was what gave it away for the lacrosse captain. Penelope thought that was bullshit because how on earth does a stance determine whether someone’s a fast runner?
“God bloody knows.” The raven-haired girl has thought before catching the sight of Hope continuing to assess Josie Saltzman’s lacrosse technique down to the way she tied her ponytail. “And Hope, Hope also knows apparently.”
The calculated staring, the tightening of grips, the shift of their mouthguards and the stone-faced expressions when they were asked to shake hands before the match began only increased the heat heating the pot of water boiling on the stove.
The water simply grew more aggressive, snarling and bubbling ferociously as the tension sat firmly between them.
“Why are you holding eye contact for so long?” Lizzie asked, her eyebrows furrowing together and breaking her sister’s glare-off as she tightened the strings of her stick.
“It’s to be intimidating,” Josie stated simply, tilting her head upwards in a faux sense of pride and confidence. “Like establishing dominance.”
“She’s a teenage girl, not a wolf.”
And the water continued to bubble.
However, like any pot of water that’s left bubbling for too long under careless eyes, the water overflowed the pot, hissing as it hit the hot stove and growling aggressively.
This point occurred when Lizzie had checked Penelope, throwing the ball almost halfway across the field to Josie. The act of the Saltzman ‘Wonder Twins’ left other players speechless as Josie effortlessly swung her stick, cradling the ball smoothly before breaking into a dead sprint for the goal, well… all other players except Hope Mikaelson.
The auburn-haired girl had expected exactly this and had stayed tightly glued to the brunette the entire game.
“Act like glue and STICK TO YOUR PLAYER” had been the Mikaelson girl’s mantra all year and she was doing exactly that.
Hope ran side by side with Josie, yelling her defensive “Got ball!” as she sprinted to keep up with the long strides of the attacker.
Yet, in a futile attempt to get the ball away from her, when Josie made a pass to another player, she narrowly missed Hope Mikaelson’s head.
To which Hope responded with a desperate check of the lacrosse sticks.
“EMPTY STICK CHECK.” Lizzie cried from the other side of the field - how she had managed to spot that being one of the great mysteries of the century - causing Hope to grumble something along the lines of Josie almost taking her head off in response.
“If you have something to say about me, say it to my face.” The rosy-cheeked normally smiley 13-year-old Josie Saltzman had a moment of bravery as she eyed the shorter girl. She firmly gripped her stick and glared at her, the newly wrapped grip of her stick starting to wear away under her tightly clenched fists.
Hope rolled her eyes dramatically as she stepped closer, clearly unafraid.
“Keep control of your stick, Saltzman. Wouldn’t want to ‘accidentally’ hurt me, would you?” Hope bit back, mouth guard shifting as she grit her teeth before turning away.
13-year-old Josie was easily flustered at merely being close to the girl, to say the least, even more so when it was, to quote her words to Lizzie, “the prettiest girl in the Mikaelson academy” that she was centimetres away from.
To which Lizzie offered, “Josette, isn’t she the Vader to your Skywalker?”
This being closely followed by a defensive, “Well, yes, but I’m not blind.”
“Mikaelson,” her coach barked, “you know the rules we enforce at the academy.” She stated firmly, nodding her head expectantly towards Josie.
“I’m sorry, Saltzman,” Hope grumbled, folding her arms tightly and glaring down the girl which showed that, no, she wasn’t in the least sorry.
Josie straightened up indignantly. “Don’t use that tone, I know you don’t mean it.”
“Sorry, I didn’t realise you were 3, not 13.” Hope bit back.
The borderline fistfight that broke out later was very much a result of that conversation.
Every year both nationals and lacrosse camp came and went, and in that time, two things grew: the rivalry and the tension, especially as the girls got older.
At 15 years old both girls had made it into their respective schools’ 1st team for lacrosse (alongside Lizzie and Penelope of course) and had both turned 16 by the time that their annual post-nationals brawl came around.
Being on the first team at 15 wasn't an uncommon feat per se but it was still a huge deal for both girls, moreover being on the 1st team came with an abundance of perks ranging from the post-nationals party that all 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4ths team members, however only those in the 6th form could attend … unless you were in the firsts, of course.
Prior to nationals, however, teams would have casual matches here and there, viewing them as preparation in some cases and light-hearted fun in others.
For Hope and Josie, it was akin to gearing up for war.
Whilst a home match for the Mikaelson academy, it was an away match for the Salvatore school. With collections of both their male and female lacrosse teams playing in their respective matches against the Mikaelson academy throughout the day, Hope and Josie were ready for their first matches against the other school’s firsts team.
“Hey, Jos, it’s your favourite wrestling partner.” A girl in the year above, Jade, commented off-handedly, gesturing towards the auburn-haired girl as she warmed up with her team.
Josie blushed at the comment from the older girl, looking away from Hope Mikaelson before she caught her staring. Josie rolled her eyes playfully, wrinkling her nose in a way that made the blonde girl laugh as she rolled a ball to Josie.
“Be my partner in the warm-up?” She asked, eyes flitting down to the pink lacrosse ball that sat between them.
“Of course.” Josie grinned, swinging her stick down and rolling it into the head of her lacrosse stick. She avoided the feeling of ocean blue eyes burning into the back of her head.
//
“I didn’t know Saltzman made the first team.” Maya mused, leaning her forearms on her stick.
“Obviously she is,” the auburn-haired girl grumbled, the braids on her head suddenly feeling too tight, “she’s the fastest lacrosse player I’ve ever seen.”
“And one of the hottest.” Penelope Park slipped in, clearly sizing the brunette and her long legs up and down from the other side of the field. “School issued lax shorts don’t do anyone any favours… but Josie Saltzman makes them look attractive somehow.” She smirked, the curl of her lips growing as she caught a glimpse of the way her friend’s jaw clenched.
Hope knew Penelope was right, fucking Josette Saltzman and her stupidly smooth tan skin and long legs and warm brown eyes and pouty lips.
Jesus Christ, Hope. Get it together.
But how could she when the way that Josie slipped the mouthguard out from between her lips, tongue swiping at her bottom lip moments after, was so attractive to her…
Hormones.
Definitely just teenage hormones.
Yup.
The only possible expl -
“Hope!” Maya’s voice cut off her thoughts as she snapped back into reality. “Glad to know you’re with us again.” She smiled, folding her arms as her eyes darted in Josette Saltzman’s direction. “Miss Hunter asked us to run sprints before the game, coming?”
Hope nodded, shoving her mouth guard back into place, falling into rhythm with her team and laughing as Penelope complained about running.
As her studs thumped against the grass of the lacrosse field, Hope tried to stop her brain from zeroing-in on the burning feeling she got in her stomach from when Josie Saltzman’s blinding smile reached her ears when that girl, Jade - she thinks, had spoken to her. And she refused to think over how that same burn had returned when Penelope’s eyes wandered up and down the mid-defence’s legs.
Probably nerves. Plus, the lacrosse field is not where you flirt.
Yeah, it’s about professionalism. Hope thought as she tried to focus on pacing herself instead of the way Josette’s nose crinkled in such an endearing way. Plus, why would you mess up your game by flirting?
Hope shook her head to refocus, ignoring the inquisitive look she got from Maya.
“My foot just needs a stretch.” Hope explained, not quite meeting her friend’s eyes. Maya nodded in an understanding way, although she didn’t look very convinced.
“Don’t go injuring yourself, Hopey.” Penelope teased, lightly tapping Hope’s thigh with the end of her stick. “Wouldn’t want our best player off sport just before nationals.”
“In your dreams, Park.” Hope retorted, sticking out her tongue. “As if I’d let you replace me in mid defence.”
“You know,” Maya piped up, her tone indicating exactly where she was taking the conversation to, “it’s funny how since that first game with the Salvatore school that you never played straight defence anymore.” She mused, eyes darting in the direction of a certain brunette.
Hope ignored the burn of her cheeks as she folded her arms defensively.
“What’s your angle, Mechado?” She asked, thankful she didn’t stutter.
“I don’t know, Hope.” Maya shrugged, smirking over at Penelope, who Hope didn’t even need to look at to know had a matching smirk. “Why don’t you tell me.”
Hope grumbled something that included the word ‘asshole’ under her breath before jogging over to her bag to avoid the conversation and put her mouth guard in.
“How many more games do you think it will take for her to finally confront her feelings for Saltzman?” Maya asked, noticing how the blue-eyed girl’s cheeks were still bright red.
Penelope snorted.
“Bold of you to assume she’ll ever confront them.”
//
The game started like any other: fast-paced and aggressive.
Both teams knew that whoever won this game was a shoo-in for being the favourite to win at nationals. The pure fact that they treated this game like a trial run for an Olympic match said enough regarding both teams’ determination to win this game.
Jade jogged up to Josie about three-quarters of the way through the match. Hope had just stolen the ball off of said girl and slammed it into the goal, Wendy (their goalie) barely had enough time to realise that Josie no longer had possession before the auburn-haired girl had sprinted towards the goal.
“Jos, hey, you okay?” She asked quietly, placing a hand on the other girl’s bicep. Josie nodded in reassurance, offering a smile that looked more like a grimace.
“Mikaelson’s just pissing me off more than normal.” She grunted after Jade had raised a questioning eyebrow. The blonde nodded in agreement, rolling her shoulders backwards in a way that definitely should not have looked sexy to one Josie Saltzman.
“Don’t worry, they only just caught up to us anyway and there’s still a good portion of the game left.” The girl smirked, squeezing Josie’s arm. “Besides, can’t let our best player start doubting herself now.” She winked and Josie blushed, biting her lip gently. “Don’t tell Wendy I said that.”
“Thanks, Jade.” She giggled.
“No worries, you got this. Show Mikaelson what we Stallions are made of.”
Josie already had a plan formulating, whispering something to Jade (the blonde grinning in response) before she looked over at her twin, lips turning upwards into a confident smile.
“You thinking what I’m thinking?” She asked, already knowing what her twin would answer with.
“Relax, Josette, I invented this play,” Lizzie replied slyly, a smirk painted across her lips as she strutted off to her position as mid-defence at the centre of the pitch.
“Eyes on their centre.” The captain of the Mikaelson Academy’s first team, Rose, murmured to her teammates. “Mikaelson.” Hope’s head snapped towards her.
“You know what to do.”
“I’m on Saltzman?” She asked, ignoring how hopeful she sounded and how it was meant to be a statement more so than a question. A curt nod from her captain was all she needed before jogging off to the brunette.
“She’s so screwed.” Penelope sighed, Maya guffawing in return.
The toss-up between the two centres had resulted in the ball falling directly into a mid-attack player’s stick. The girl broke into a dead sprint before encountering one Elizabeth Saltzman.
The blonde, playing mid-defence that day, had decided to ditch her player after deciding that Kaitlyn Leong was not doing too well on her own at trying to stop the girl from scoring. She had managed a smooth check of the stick, the ball dropping out before she cleanly swept it away in one smooth motion.
She ignored the yells of distress from the opposition and shot Kaitlyn a smirk as the two ran parallel down the field towards the goal.
Lizzie had reached the halfway line of the pitch, her feet thumping into the mud as she sprinted down the grass, pretending to not hear the sounds of the girl she was initially marking swearing behind her, something along the lines of ripping out her extensions.
Whatever.
A glimpse of a yellow ribbon in a brunette ponytail and Lizzie had called out.
“Jo!” She hollered, swinging her stick towards the girl.
The ball landed perfectly in Josie’s stick before, not even a millisecond later, Josie had broken into a dead sprint towards the goal.
Hope, unlike others, knew that Lizzie wasn’t going to make the expected pass to the Trojan Horse of Kaitlyn Leong (who currently had 3 defenders circling her) and had followed her mantra of sticking to her player.
“GOT BALL!” She yelled, hurtling towards Josie, ready to steal the ball off of her.
However, what Hope Mikaelson didn’t expect was that Josie was a good multitasker; a plan had been carefully constructed when she noticed Hope keeping up with her normally unmatchable speed, so at the same time Josie’s quick feet decided to put her compulsory dance lessons to use.
A faked step to the left followed by a fast spin around the defensive player before slamming it into the goal was what Josie wanted to do.
Instead, when she faked left, Hope had decided to do her spin around the player (to catch her off guard) and ended up tripping over Josie’s ankle before she managed to even spin around her, ergo when Josie, filled with adrenaline, has continued with her spin she bumped into Hope mid-fall and went tumbling down with her, the ball flying out of her stick and somewhere into the distance.
Somehow, amongst all of this chaos, Josie ended up with her upper body fully on top of the auburn-haired girl, her chest pressed up against the other girl’s chest and her left arm supporting her in a push-up position whilst her right hand gripped her stick… with Hope Mikaelson’s hands gripped around her hips to stabilise her.
Josie’s eyes widened at the proximity she had found herself in with her budding arch-rival, her cheeks were flushed as her mouth was left hanging open.
The commotion of players scrambling to get hold of the ball as well as the distant whistle of the referee had dimmed itself to background buzzing as the girls held this oddly intense eye contact - especially for 16-year-olds.
Hope, coming back to reality after seeing a smirking Penelope in her peripheral, quickly tried to wriggle out from under the taller girl, this being useless as she was still trapped. Instead, she firmly pushed her off of her, bringing the aforementioned girl to her senses.
“S-sorry,” Josie mumbled.
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Hope huffed, standing up and brushing off the grass. “It’s just as much my fault as yours.” She sighed, running a hand across her forehead to rid it of sweat.
Josie tried not to think about how attractive that very action was as Hope’s blue eyes met hers, although they looked darker than normal.
“What?” The older girl barked, startling the taller girl as she fumbled for an answer.
“N-nothing I - I just -”
“Ow!” The auburn-haired girl gasped, staring at her calf, Josie furrowed her eyebrows before following the direction of her eyes.
A long gash ran down Josie’s leg, blood dripping from it and a bruise forming at the apex of it, clearly a result of Hope’s stud-clad feet colliding with it.
“Oh.” Josie murmured, unsure as to why she hadn’t felt it or why she still couldn’t feel it. Or why all she could think about was Hope’s breath on her lips and her chest pressed to hers. The pattern of Hope’s breath and the weight of her hands on her hips, just skimming the strip of skin that separates her jersey from her shorts.
“Are you okay?” The auburn-haired girl’s concerned voice broke her train of thought, her leg choosing that moment to throb rather painfully.
“Ah!” Josie cried, reaching for her leg as it pulsed with pain.
A pale hand on her wrist prevented her from doing so as she looked up into concerned blue eyes. “Don’t touch it.” She stated, not meanly but gently, her voice low and soft, a tone Josie had never heard her use, at least not towards her.
“Hold on, I’ll help you over to the bench and then we can take you to the nurse’s office.” Hope explained, throwing an arm around the brunette’s waist and helping her hobble over to Mr Williams.
“B-but the game, you’ll miss it,” Josie said, her lips automatically forming a pout.
Hope tried not to think about how adorable the taller girl was, especially given the situation.
Hope chuckled softly as they approached Mr Williams, who had already begun to take out a first aid kit, and smiled up at the other girl, “Classic Josie Saltzman, despite having a bleeding leg is still concerned about others.” She muttered under her breath.
“Don’t worry about me.” She said dismissively. “It’s my fault we fell anyway. Plus, I can’t have my only competition not make it to nationals.” She then directed Josie to sit down on the bench as Mr Williams and Ms Tig looked over her leg.
“Oh, you’d love that wouldn’t you, Mikaelson.” Josie teased, a smile on her face. Despite her current state, Josie couldn’t help the burst of warmth in her chest at Hope’s fond smile that she gave in response.
“Oh my god, Jo!” Lizzie Saltzman’s concerned voice broke in as she rushed over, Hope shuffling backwards to let the sisters reunite. “Are you okay? I saw you fall but I didn’t even notice your leg, holy shit.” Josie shrugged.
“It’ll leave a cool scar though.” The brunette smirked, her twin rolling her eyes in response before noticing Hope standing rather awkwardly.
“What the hell is she doing here?” Lizzie asked quietly, raising her eyebrows expectantly at her twin sister. Although there was no real meanness behind the words (well… there was but not really), Lizzie knew she couldn’t exactly ask Josie why her not-so-secret crush was standing there.
Josie leaned forward to whisper in Lizzie’s ear, Lizzie nodding in understanding and sharing a secret smirk with her twin.
“Liz, you better get back to the game,” Josie said, pushing her sister away gently. Lizzie looked apprehensive. “Go on, win the game for me.” She smiled. “Dorian patched me up anyway, I’ll be fine.”
“Okay…” Lizzie mumbled, kissing her sister’s forehead before picking up her stick that she dropped earlier. “Love you!” She threw over her shoulder before running off.
“Love you too!” Josie called after her.
“How’s the patient?” Hope asked Mr Williams, feeling the blush on her cheeks from earlier on start to settle down.
“She’ll survive.” He smiled. “But when I tell her father about this, I might not.” He joked, tapping Josie’s forearm as she smiled apologetically.
“Hope, would you mind taking Josie to the nurse’s office?” Ms Tig asked her kindly. Hope nodded in response to her teacher, helping Josie stand up. The auburn-haired girl carefully wrapped an arm around the taller girl as she hobbled alongside her.
“You - you, uh, you don’t have to help me, Hope.” Josie murmured, feeling a pang of guilt.
“Josie, as I said before, don’t worry. There will be plenty more games and even more opportunities for my school to kick your school’s ass.” She grinned playfully, the brunette rolling her eyes in response.
As they stepped off the grass and onto the tarmac that led towards the main school building Josie paused.
“You called me Josie.” She stated, the Mikaelson girl now a few steps in front of her after climbing up some steps.
Hope turned around with a quirked eyebrow.
“Yeah well, it’s your name, isn’t it?” She then feigned a horrified expression as she placed a hand over her heart. “Don’t tell me you’re actually Lizzie!”
Josie giggled, the bright sound making the other girl’s heart swell, she blamed that on having walked up the stairs whilst trying to support the brunette in front of her.
“No, dummy.” Josie laughed. “It’s just… you’ve only ever called me ‘Saltzman’ before.” She explained, playing with the surgical tape bound around her fingers.
Hope hummed in a tone that implied realisation. She tilted her head in consideration before smirking at the younger girl. “Well, in my defence, you just called me ‘Hope’ for the first time, not ‘Mikaelson’ or ‘Satan Spawn.”
“Oh, that second one is more Lizzie’s style.” The brunette paused as if in thought before grinning. “In fact, that name is more reserved for Penelope if anything.”
“Ah, right, of course. My mistake.” She nodded. “Anyways, we need to get a move on. As effective as Mr Williams’ first aid skills are, I think you’ll need to have your leg looked at properly.”
Josie giggled again, causing butterflies to break out and thump against Hope’s stomach before she held out a hand to the other girl. As the two finally arrived at the nurses’ office Hope realised the nurse was currently out.
“She must be at the younger years’ match or something.” Hope mused, thinking aloud. “I’ll go get you an ice pack, your leg must be sore.” The older girl then headed towards the freezer, taking out a blue ice pack before wrapping it in a cloth and handing it to Josie.
“Why are you being so nice to me?” Josie asked, placing the ice pack on her outstretched leg before folding her arms. “We’ve known each other half our lives and any kind of compliment was always laced with venom or sarcasm.”
“As I said, you’re my only competition -”
“You see another thing about knowing you half my life is that I know when you’re lying,” Josie stated, staring at the blue-eyed girl. “What’s your game, Hope.”
“So… we’re on a first-name basis now?” Hope laughed despite Josie only arching her eyebrow in response. “Okay… the truth is... “ Hope took a deep breath whilst Josie waited patiently, although internally her heart was beating a hundred miles a minute.
“The truth is that I’m … I … I’m just sick of this rivalry between us.” Hope said, wincing slightly at her avoiding her actual feelings.
Josie couldn’t help but feel herself deflate slightly.
“What I mean is that… well, as you said before, we’ve known each other half our lives and all we’ve done is fight and act like we're enemies.” Hope explained, twisting the ring on her finger that she definitely should not be wearing during a match. “I just think that it’s a waste of time. Wouldn’t it be easier if we were civil with each other or something?” Hope offered.
Josie couldn’t help the smile that crept onto her face, “Lizzie is always saying that women should build each other up instead of tear each other down. Especially in the ‘male-dominated sporting world’ that we play in.” She then met the other girl’s eyes, her chest warming in the way Hope grinned at her. “I agree with you, especially because these brawls we keep having are not going to look too good to colleges.”
Hope’s smile widened as she nodded in response. Baby Steps. She thinks.
Hope sticks out her hand and offers a small smile, “I promise to be completely civil with you, Saltzman.”
Josie lets out a laugh before pushing away Hope’s hand. Shortly after she sticks out her pinky.
“What are we? 10?” Hope jokes, shoving the other girl’s shoulder playfully.
“It’s a Saltzman thing to pinky swear on things.” Josie insists. “Come on, Mikaelson.” Hope rolls her eyes before interlocking her pinky with the other girl’s.
She tries to ignore the way her heart soars when Josie giggles, shaking their hands side to side and beaming in a way that makes the sun envy her smile.
Oh, she’s so screwed.