Chapter Text
Penelope Park knows who she is. She’s certain on her identity.
Ever since she had been a preteen, she had always tried her best to stay clear of her house. Mainly because; she doesn’t like her mother. Claire-Marie Park was always more interested in being a socialite than a mother. Never one to try and connect to any of her children. Penelope doesn’t hate her, but she just can’t stand to be around the woman.
So obviously, she takes the first chance she could to fly across the country to be away from her.
Salvatore Boarding School for the Young and Gifted was much like her old school. A lot of the kids come from money, there’s very distinct social groupings, and Penelope is by far the most enjoyable person there.
She may have a small superiority complex, but she can’t help it. There was a four-year phase between the ages of ten to fourteen where Penelope most likely watched every single Telenovela there has ever been recorded. One small suggestion from one of her maids, who was also called Penelope, turned into a full-blown obsession. She knows more Spanish than Indonesian, much to her father’s dismay. She plans on becoming fluent in both German and Indonesian one day, she knows she can, but she can’t help that she’s spiteful.
Okay, she may know more German and Indonesian than she lets on to her parents, but there was never any harm in giving them more of a reason to think she’s a disappointment.
Right, this is getting off-track. Characters in Telenovelas are fun. They’re loud, funny and completely unrealistic. So those four years of binge-watching really just made everyone boring to Penelope. So instead on focusing on creating relationships with others, she took the chance to better herself. By the time she started high school she had the ability to make everyone worship the ground she works on. Not that it was much work, a slightly bitchy and mean attitude was enough for the humans to try and gain her approval.
She was worried her natural leadership abilities would damper when she would be surrounded by new people who may already have their own social hierarchy. Very soon after settling in she found out that wasn’t the case.
It surprised her how quickly the witches accepted her as the new head-bitch -in-charge. All she has to do is wink and give a sarcastic comment and the others crowned her queen. Metaphorically, I mean.
The first student to pique her interest was one of her tour guides. Lightly curled brown hair, soft and inviting brown eyes, and a whole persona that just screams ‘I’m baby.’
People don’t usually have any effect on Penelope. She doesn’t remember a single instance where she’s had a crush. At the ripe age of fifteen, it could be argued she was kind of a late bloomer in that instance, but on the other hand, not at all. She lost her virginity previously that year, some girl that was a little older and a little bit pretty had asked Penelope if she wanted to go home with her. Penelope couldn’t find a reason to say no.
Maybe there was a lot of reasons. Like the whole wham shazam that losing your virginity should be a special ordeal you do with someone you love very much. But ever-the-feminist Penelope Park doesn’t buy into the societal construct of losing one’s virginity. Sure it kind of sucked, but that’s just because the older girl had no idea what she was doing, not because it wasn’t a meaningful first. And maybe she was too young, but she always looked older so why would it matter?
Maybe she has some issues she needs to work through.
But this girl. This girl who was stood beside a much livelier and loud blonde who introduces the both of them as the headmaster’s daughters. Twins. Josie and Lizzie Saltzman. Beautiful girls, Penelope notes straight away. She thinks the blonde’s a little annoying, but ultimately harmless. The other girl, though.
Penelope was intrigued.
Ever since she had arrived, she liked to watch out for Josie. Not in a creepy stalker way, but she just liked to look. She’d be at lunch, followers surrounding her listening to her every word, and Penelope would let her eyes drift across the cafeteria. And there would sit Josie Saltzman, picking at her food and listening as her twin talks. And Josie would go to eat a grape, but that grape would fall out her hand before it reaches her mouth, and Josie would look confused and mildly embarrassed, looking around to see if anyone caught her fail.
If it had been anyone else, Penelope would’ve thought that person was strange. But it was Josie. And it was fucking adorable.
Four weeks into her stay at the school there’s a party. There has been a party every Friday, either in someone’s dorm or in the woods and Penelope had been to every one of them so far. She enjoyed parties, enjoyed the way everyone took is as an excuse to do things they would never do if they were sober. Penelope likes to take note of that. Much to her surprise, Josie has been to most of them as well. She would’ve thought the other witch would prefer to stay inside and read a book or something equally as dorky, but she doesn’t.
One night she goes up to Josie at a party. They talk. And its final.
Penelope Park has a crush on Josie Saltzman.
She thought it would scare her. It had never happened before. Her willingness to comply to said crush surprised her.
So she asks Josie Saltzman on a date.
The rest is history.
Until it’s not.
Because seven months of being the cutest couple of the entire school. Seven months of kissing each other whenever it’s possible. Seven months of sneaking off-campus and going on dates into the town, has all been washed down the drain.
And it’s Penelope’s fault.
Because she broke up with Josie Saltzman. In public. She has her reasons, doesn’t mean any of them are good or not.
For some reason, Penelope viewed that breakup as temporarily. Her main reason for breaking up with Josie was because she wanted the other girl to gain some independence. Mostly from her sister. Because Josie’s identity is based on the people around her. She shapes herself to mold whoever she’s surrounded by. And Penelope knows that wasn’t healthy. She thought if by making Josie hate her, then its her forming a completely original thought.
That didn’t even happen though. Lizzie Saltzman, who Penelope was never the biggest fan of but never outright hated, truly believed Penelope was Satan incarnate after the cruel breakup. It’s possible Josie’s views influenced her sisters view, but there’s no way for Penelope to know that.
But she would wait for Josie. Wait until their relationship could be healthy again. Wait until Josie was authentically herself, nothing holding her back.
She was waiting for Josie.
It hit her like a billion arrows to the gut that Josie may not wait for her.
All because of Hope fucking Mikaelson.
Penelope noticed very few people that first day of school. She noticed a brunette twin with kissable pouty lips. She noticed a blonde twin with less kissable lips. She noticed a nerdy boy with nice hair and a wide smile who greeted her as she walked into the student lounge that day. And she noticed Hope Mikaelson.
They had never talked. They never had reason to. But Penelope notices that her and Hope are pretty alike.
Alike in the sense that they know their identities. Hope didn’t have any friends. Not because she was some freak of nature, but by choice. It was the exact opposite of how Penelope hand-picked the people she surrounds herself with.
Penelope doesn’t know much about Hope, but she always liked her. Respected her, even.
That respect momentarily went away when she saw Hope and Josie at a party one night, very close and not as drunk as everyone else. The way Hope would hang on everything Josie was saying, and how Josie done the same.
Because for god-knows what reason, Hope decides the first person she’s going to befriend in the year Penelope’s been at this school, just happens to be the girl Penelope’s still in love with.
She sees them together a few times after that. Smiling at each other, Josie being casually affectionate. Hope being a little hesitant. They aren’t together, not yet. Hope pulls back often, sometimes putting her walls back up. Josie’s still too nervous to voice her thoughts in case of rejection.
Penelope’s not a stalker, she literally just happens to see them everywhere.
The thing about Penelope is that she knows she’s a little narcissistic. She knows what she needs to do to have a comfortable time as a teenager. She knows she dislikes her parents. She knows she’s not emotionless, just maybe a little stunted. She knows she’s in love with Josie Saltzman.
And despite what people might say about her, despite what she may say about herself, she knows she’s not selfish.
All she wants is for Josie to be her own person. To go after what she wants. To go after whoever she wants. Penelope definitely assumed it would be her even after the breakup (a little short minded there). But it seemed that wasn’t the case. Meddling is something Penelope promised herself she would do less of as time went on.
But if Josie wants Hope Mikaelson, then Penelope is going to help her get Hope Mikaelson. No matter how much pain it could put her in.
What’s the worst that could happen?