Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Summer break. 

The time of the year when children and teens alike escape the shackles of school. Free from homework and worry. Allowed to stay up all night, sleep in till noon, and spend hours upon hours doing whatever the hell they wanted. 

Hope was looking forward to that freedom. Key word: was. 

The summer between her Senior year and her first year of college was supposed to be like every other summer-- if anything better. Her final summer of leaving her backpack in the corner of her room, untouched until August. The last summer where she and her friend Maya would spend all afternoon eyeing out a potential suitor for a summer fling. It was supposed to be fun, their last hurrah on the town before going off to college miles away. Until her mother reminded her of their deal. Their deal for Hope to finally grow a pair, and get a job this summer. 

Her parents have been hinting at the idea of her getting a job since she managed to get her license, thus being old enough to hold down a part-time job. She always managed to excuse her way out of it, saying that she was too busy to get one during the school year, but now as a high school graduate– she had the time to do it now. And she wasn’t opposed to it, she understood how important work ethic was, especially for someone her age. But she wasn’t going to sit there and lie and say she didn’t feel slightly disappointed that she won’t be having a normal summer. She tried every excuse in the book

“I’ll get a job when the semester starts!” Was one that she swore would work, but her parents told her that it was better if she got experience at home before heading off to a whole other state and applying for a random job there. She supposed they were right. 

So, she approached her parents one afternoon and announced that she was going to get a job. 

Hope doesn’t think she hasn’t seen her parents so happy since they told them she broke up with Roman; they were really excited about that. Her ex-boyfriend didn’t get along with her parents that well. 

Anyway, it was official. Hope Mikaelson was finally getting her shit together and getting a job.

–

Who knew job applications were so complicated? 

Her teachers had gone over it in the past, but very briefly–or maybe she simply just wasn’t listening. Hope suffered from an extreme case of Senioritis, and was notably slacking off during her last year of high school, but she still met all the marks and everything. She was just a tad bit unmotivated, but not stupid. She knew basic things like putting a resume together and preparing for an interview, which she had already prepared thanks to the help of her father. Honestly, she was surprised by the amount of experience she had, like outstanding volunteer hours (thanks to her mother for pushing her to join a handful of clubs every year). 

But the resume and the interview weren’t the problem, it was finding a place that needed workers. 

She spent her entire Saturday afternoon looking for a local job listing in the area. To her surprise, they were all jobs she wasn’t qualified for. She recalled overhearing her classmates’ conversations about getting jobs at the ice cream parlor, as a lifeguard at the pool, or at any other place that would hire a teenager with little experience. Surely, every teenager in Mystic Falls didn’t steal every available job position in the town. 

After spiraling down the job market for the next few days, Hope thought otherwise. 

“There's nothing at all!” Hope exclaimed into her phone, her eyes glued to her computer screen as her free hand continued to scroll down to the end of the website. 

She heard Maya sigh at the other end of the line, “People started applying for summer jobs in the spring, Hope. You should have gone with me to apply for that lifeguard position.” 

Hope frowned, “Didn’t you get denied the position?” 

Maya let out a groan, “All because I didn’t pass the school’s CPR training thing,” She let out a huff, “My arms just give out every time.” 

Hope snorted when memories of Maya giving up halfway through the song of "Stayin’ Alive” by Bees Gees. The instructor failed her right then and there, and Maya was allowed to sit out on the next round. 

“But, maybe you would have gotten it instead of me.”

Hope could only sigh. She shut her computer and pushed her chair out from under her desk, slumping against the back of it and throwing her head back, “I don’t know, maybe.” She replied.

“It’s alright, I’m sure there’s going to be a job out there somewhere.” Her friend assured her before Hope could hear faint noises in the background, “Crap! I’m going to miss my flight, talk to you later?”

Hope chuckled, “Of course, text me when you land.” 

“Love you!” 

“Love you too, Maya.” 

The call ended with a beep and she tossed her phone onto her desk, not trying to react when it landed on its screen with a thud. She sat there for a moment just to stare at the ceiling. What was she going to do? No job meant that her parents would definitely not let her out of the house to have any sort of fun– hell maybe they’d send her to Boston early to fend for herself. 

She just hoped Maya was right, that a job would come up soon– and she hoped that soon meant tomorrow. 

–

The universe must have heard her prayers last night because she walked downstairs, led by the aroma of bacon being cooked, and saw her Aunt Freya standing near the dining table. She wore a light blue shirt tucked into a pair of dark-washed jeans, paired with a hat with a logo that Hope couldn’t quite see without her contacts in. 

“Just the person I was looking for,” Freya greeted her with a smile before putting her cup of coffee down to pull her niece into a hug, “I heard that you were looking for a job!” 

Hope immediately pulled away from her hold and looked up at her aunt with a smile, “Really?” She asked, her eyes widening and she could feel a wave of relief come over her. 

Freya nodded and placed her hands on Hope’s shoulders, “How would you like to be a camp counselor?” She questioned, and Hope’s smile faltered. 

Freya Mikaelson and her wife Keelin were the owners of Mystic Falls’ local summer camp, Camp Salvatore. They built everything from the ground up, with the help of the man it’s named after, Mayor Stefan Salvatore; she managed to put together enough money to open up a camp for kids who wanted to experience “a lively outdoor experience while learning valuable life skills.” Hope doesn’t know how fighting off mosquitoes and making friendship bracelets taught children life skills, but whatever, she wasn’t the one running the thing. Despite her aunts owning the place since she was a little girl, Hope never spent a summer ever within the forest parameters of the camp. 

“Ha. Ha. ” Hope said flatly, “Really, rubbing the fact that I can’t find a job already? It’s been less than a week.” But, she realized that her aunt was indeed not joking at all when her mother glared at her from her spot at the kitchen island. 

“I’m serious, Hope.” Freya said, pulling out seats for them to sit down and Hope joined her at the table, “One of my counselors won’t be around this summer, and I could really use some help. We’re expecting twice the amount of kids this summer and I can’t run a full camp of energetic children without some helpers.” 

“And you think I am the most qualified?” 

Hope wasn’t the biggest fan of the outdoors and did not know anything relating to the sort. She was okay with kids, or at least she thought she was. Kids usually avoid her–her mom said it’s because of the permanent scowl on her face, but Hope can’t control what her resting face was. If anything, she’d probably make a kid cry or lose one of them on a hiking trail– or worse, get lost on the hiking trail herself.  

Freya shrugged, “Not the most qualified, but qualified enough.” Hope respected her honesty. 

She sighed, looking down at the wooden patterns on the table. Being a camp counselor wouldn’t be her first choice, nor in her top 10 jobs for the summer. But, it’s either she stalks the job listing website until a new listing pops up or she takes the job literally being handed to her. 

The answer almost wrote itself. 

“Fine. I’ll do it.” She said, trying to sound enthusiastic, but in reality, she sounded like she just saw someone kick a puppy. 

“Do you need my resume or something?” Freya gave her a little smile and shook her head. 

“I normally just interview kids who apply for the position, but since I know you’re able to be a leader and a role model, we shouldn’t have any issues. I’ll also probably pair you with an experienced counselor, so you can learn as you go.” Freya explained casually, before her eyes widened, “You do know how to do CPR, right?” 

Hope almost laughed, but she kept it in and nodded in response. Unlike Maya, she was granted an official CPR certification. 

“Perfect! Camp doesn’t start until Tuesday, so you have tomorrow to pack–or change your mind.” Freya practically whispered the last part, but it didn’t stop her mother from looking at them once again, and Hope wondered how long she had been cutting the strawberries. 

“Which you will not do, right sweetie?” Haley asked, tilting her head as if it was a threat. 

Hope chuckled nervously and shook her head, “Of course not, mother.” 

Haley smiled at her sweetly as her father came by and placed a full plate of bacon and eggs in front of his daughter, wearing a proud smile on his face. 

“It’s official, my daughter’s employed!” 

She doesn’t know why that word made her stomach churn, but she blamed it on her empty stomach as she dug into the food in front of her.

Chapter Text

Her alarm blared into her ears and she smacked her phone until the sound went off. Hope groaned as she stretched her arms behind her head and yawned, before peering out the little crack in between her drawn curtains seeing the sky was a deep shade of orange.

If she knew she’d be waking up at the crack of dawn to go babysit children in the wilderness, Hope would have easily passed on the job offer. But, it was too late now. Everyone–including herself–was shocked when Monday came around and she had no intention of changing her mind. Even if she was tired and complaining at this moment, Hope knew that she would get in that car with Freya and not return home until the camp was over. 

She sat in bed for a little while longer, basking in the cool morning breeze wafting through the room and the soft mattress beneath her. More importantly, the phone in her hand. Freya had warned her about their strict no electronic devices policy; the campers only got 2 hours every Friday to text family or friends and makeup lost time on a video game before it’s locked away again. Hope supposed it wasn’t going to be much of an issue, being that Maya and her parents were the only ones who texted and called; with Maya on vacation in Miami and her parents busy with work, she doubted she’d miss much. 

Then, her leisure time ended as a message from Freya popped up on her screen telling her that she was on her way. She let out a sigh and got out of bed, carelessly fixing her sheets and going to wash up in the bathroom. She then got dressed, wearing a simple white tank and a pair of black jean shorts, and by the time she hauled her suitcase down the stairs, Freya was already standing in the foyer dressed head-to-toe in Camp Salvatore merch. 

“Please tell me I don’t have to wear that, ” Hope said, gesturing toward the bright neon orange shirt with the camp logo and motto plastered on it.

Freya shook her head, “This shirt is reserved for me and Keelin,” But a grin appeared on her lips, “We have special ones for the counselors to rock though.” 

Hope gave her a tight-lipped smile in response, saving a sarcastic comment that no one used ‘rock’ nowadays to herself, and followed her out into the car. 

–

She was asleep the entire drive to Camp Salvatore, but when she did wake up, she was greeted by the sunlight beaming down on her face and the sound of birds singing off in the distance. She lifted her head off of the window it was resting on and got out of the car, meeting Freya who had begun unloading their belongings. She took her suitcase from her and they followed the dirt path into the camp. The path stretched long into the middle of the grounds before it split into 3 smaller ones, one leading toward the recreation hall, another to the mess hall, and one to the office. She followed Freya toward the office, where she was greeted by Keelin’s friendly smile. 

“I’m very glad you are joining us this summer,” Keelin said as she handed Hope her camp counselor shirt that she was promised. It had the same design as the one Freya and Keeling wore, except it wasn’t such an eye-sore of color and had the word ‘counselor’ written on the back of it in bold white lettering. 

Keelin then gave her a set of papers to sign, and after she signed all of them, Freya came around and placed a plastic tray in front of her. 

“Your phone.” She stated, tilting it toward her. 

Hope let out a sigh and retrieved her phone out of her back pocket. Her hand gripping onto her device as she stared into the empty tray; she knew she’d get it back at the end of every week, but god was it difficult to let go of. 

“Are you sure I can’t just have it on me?” asked Hope, and she wasn’t surprised when she received a no. It was worth a try. 

“We don’t make exceptions,” Keelin added in, raising her eyebrow as a type of encouragement to put her phone in the tray already. 

Reluctantly, Hope does. Freya gave her a proud smile before reaching into her pocket, pulling out a walkie-talkie. She eyed it for a while as her aunt held it out in front of her to take, and she took it, clipping the back of it on the waistband of her shorts. Then, she followed her aunts up to the cabin she would be sharing with another counselor and 14 children for 2 months–the thought of it made her feel slightly claustrophobic, from what she observed the cabins weren’t that big, from the outside at least. They arrived outside her cabin, and she noticed the rotting wood on the railing of the porch and the peeling cyan paint on the door, but she didn't say anything and stepped into it. 

“Wow,” Hope breathed out, looking around at the wooden cabin topped with more wooden decor, (which had to be a fire hazard) “It’s very rustic.” As she expected before, the cabin was relatively small to be housing 16 people, but bunk beds seemed to cover every wall, so it made it quite possible. 

Freya clasped her hands together softly, “Ah yes, per request by Mayor Salvatore.” 

“Of course.” She muttered under her breath. She had seen numerous articles about Stefan Salvatore being declared an “Outdoor Man” and “One with Mother Nature.” So, the interior wasn’t a surprise. Apparently, as a youth he spent his summers and holidays camping in the woods in the back of his childhood home, and by looking at the state of the cabin, Hope wondered what the man’s own home looked like. 

Hope wheeled her suitcase toward the bottom bunk of the bunk bed that was flushed against the wall nearest to the door, where she hoped she’d get the most breeze, as she already felt the humidity build up in the cabin despite the one single ceiling fan spinning erratically above her. 

Freya glanced down at her watch, “The buses with the rest of the campers and counselors should be here shortly. We’ll leave you to unpack.” She informed her. 

She and Keelin left bearing smiles before the cabin door shut with a thud behind them. Hope sighed and sat down on the mattress, feeling a slight spring as her bottom made contact with it; it wasn’t entirely uncomfortable, but sleeping on it for 2 months would eventually take a toll on her back. She took a second to look around the cabin again as it filled with the sound of distant bird calls and trees rustling; the sounds accompanied by the silence made it almost peaceful, and the fact that this is where she’d be spending the rest of summer began to sink in. 

–

Hope rested her head against her pillow, her hands resting on her stomach as she stared at the bottom of the bunk above her. She had finished unpacking a few minutes ago and decided to enjoy the last moments of peaceful solitude before the cabin began to fill with erratic children. The hiss of the bus breaks could be heard from where she was laying, and it didn’t compare to the loud exclamations from the people arriving; she could also hear the sound of her Freya’s voice on a megaphone, though it was hard to comprehend the words. 

After a while, the noise seemed to settle down, until her cabin door swung open loudly. 

She shot up from her bed, too quickly to remember how short the distance was between her and the other, and she ended up hitting the top of her head. “Shit.” Hope cursed, holding her hand to her head as she peeked through her squinted eyes at the person who was bursting into the cabin. 

“Sorry, did I startle you?” A soft voice squeaked from beside her. 

The sunlight cast down on the girl that was standing there with her blue suitcase idle next to her. She had curled brown hair falling neatly on her shoulders, her wide-doe eyes filled with a slight worry, and her lips fixed into a pout. She also wore that camp counselor shirt Hope had stuffed somewhere in the dresser. 

“Uhm, kinda? But it’s fine.” Hope replied, trying her best to hide the strain in her voice as the pain in her head subsided. 

The brunette smiled slightly, “You must be Freya’s niece, Hope right?” 

She got off her bed with a slight groan and nodded, “The one and only.” She uttered in response, wearing a slight smirk on her lips, “You must be the most experienced camp counselor she was talking about?” 

The brunette cheek’s flushed as she extended her hand out in front of her, “I don’t know about the most experienced, but sure.” She chuckled, “I’m Josie.” 

Hope gently took Josie’s hand, and it was only then when she had to look up at the girl to look her in the eye, that she noticed their height difference was a lot. 

“So, what brings you to Camp Salvatore?” Josie asked when their hands parted. 

“I was looking for a job this summer, and…” She bit her lip and stuffed her hands into her back pockets, “It seemed fitting.” 

Josie hummed as she rolled her suitcase around the bunk to the opposite side, where the ladder to the top bunk was, and rested her suitcase there. Hope found herself following her around and watched as she placed her walkie next to Hope’s on their shared nightstand. 

“So…how long have you been doing this thing?” Hope cringed at the awkward tone in her voice, her social skills weren’t always that sharp. 

“Well, I’ve been coming here since I was a little girl. My mom worked full-time, so she needed to keep me and my sister busy when our dad was overseas…” She let out a sigh, flashing Hope an apologetic look for her ramble, “But, I’ve been a counselor since my Sophomore year, and this year will be my last because of college.” 

Hope nodded, crossing her arms over her chest, “What college are you planning on going to?” 

“Berkeley.” She replied, and Hope could hear the excitement in her voice, “You?”

“Boston University.”

Josie responded with another hum and then turned around so they were face-to-face once again, her eyebrows knitted together, “I take it you went to Mystic Falls High?” 

“Yeah,” Hope’s eyebrows furrowed together, “It’s weird that we haven’t seen each other around.” 

Josie’s mouth curved upward and she shook her head, “We wouldn’t have anyway. I went to Salvatore Boarding School.” And Hope couldn’t stop her jaw from dropping, which the girl giggled at. 

“Damn, I nearly forgot the Mayor funded a school too,” Hope commented, rubbing the back of her neck in embarrassment. Salvatore Boarding was the most prestigious school in town. She heard that you had to pass 3 exams in math, English, and science with near-perfect scores to get in–not to mention the insane tuition on top of it. 

Josie nodded, the smile on her face still present. “Well, it was nice talking…” She let out a tiny sigh, “But we do have to retrieve our kids from the office.” 

Hope nodded, “Right. Uh, should I put on that shirt?” She asked and was really joking, but Josie took her question seriously. 

“Yes, you definitely should.” 

–

The campers were packed into the office like a can of sardines, and god was the body heat off the charts. 

She followed the tall brunette through the crowd of kids, ranging from excited 7-year-olds to grumpy 16-year-olds until they got into a clear area where there were other counselors. Josie approached a certain group of them; a blonde girl, a boy with an afro, and a boy with messy hair falling in front of his face. 

The boy with messy hair sent her a suggestive look as his lips turned into a smirk, “Ooh, who may this be?” The smirk on his face fell immediately when the blonde beside him elbowed him in the rib. 

“Jesus, keep it in your pants, Jed.” The blonde hissed from beside him, before glancing at Josie, who looked just as disappointed as she was, “Where the hell is Dana?”

Josie sighed, “Dana is on her cruise with her family,” and motioned a hand toward Hope’s body, “This is our new counselor, Hope.” 

She waved awkwardly as the blonde’s eyebrow raised and both boys' eyes widened.

“As in Freya’s niece, Hope?” The blonde asked, looking at Hope, who confirmed with a nod. 

“Holy crap, I just flirted with Freya’s niece?” Jed shuttered, his face turning red in embarrassment and earning a pat on the back from the boy standing next to him. 

“Well, this was certainly a warm welcome.” Hope mumbled, just as she saw Josie place a palm over her face at the corner of her eye.

“Thank god you’re Dana’s replacement,” The blonde said with a huff (Hope assumed that this Dana girl wasn’t the best of counselors this camp has seen) and the girl stuck her hand out for her to shake, “I’m Lizzie, Josie’s sister.”

“ Sister? ” Hope said, not noticing she did it out loud until she heard a series of muffled laughs coming from the two boys next to Lizzie. 

She then looked between Josie and Lizzie, their contrasting hair colors making it hard to think of them as sisters. The boy standing beside Jed seemed to sense her confusion and laughed again, “It’s hard to believe, right?” He said, offering his hand to shake, “I’m MG.” 

“Sorry,” Hope apologized, taking his hand and still trying to figure out the resemblance in her head. 

Josie waved her hand dismissively into the air, “It’s fine. No one really believes us when we first tell them, especially when we say that we’re also fraternal twins.” She released her own laugh when she saw the shocked expression on Hope’s face. 

“Yeah, red, we have the birth certificates to prove it,” Lizzie added with a sassy tone.

Jed then held his hand out for Hope with an awkward smile, “Sorry about before, I totally wouldn’t have said anything if I knew you were Freya’s niece.” He apologized, oddly sincerely, for a guy like him. Normally when Hope encountered attractive guys, who more than likely considered themselves Alpha Males, knew nothing about the word ‘sorry’. 

She gladly took his hand and chuckled, “It’s okay.”

Jed seemed very relieved and let out an exhale as if he was holding his breath. Then, Freya’s voice could be heard projecting itself loudly with the muffled tone of the megaphone. She began to announce that the campers would be taken to their cabins by their counselors and proceeded to name the cabin numbers, and the counselors associated with them. It didn’t take long before Hope heard her and Josie’s names. 

“Campers in C14, please make your way toward the exit. Counselors Hope and Josie will be waiting.” 

Josie tilted her head toward the doors, signaling Hope to follow her. They make it just in time to see their kids lined up in a single-file line; the most of them younger children, excluding the taller boy in the back that looked around 12, and Hope was glad that she didn’t have to deal with mean teenagers–it would be weird having to keep an eye on someone so close to her age, with an attitude that she wouldn’t want to tolerate this early in the morning.  

“Alright, so I’m Josie!” The campers eagerly replied with a collective Hi, “Do we have any first-time campers?” She asked, and a few kids raised their hands. Josie smiled sweetly as the hands slowly went down, “Great to have you all here, welcome to Camp Salvatore!” 

Hope was surprised by the amount of enthusiasm in her voice at 7 o'clock. If she were still home, she would be still laying in bed–but if she was awake, she would sound like she smoked a pack of cigarettes a day. 

Josie turned around and led them out of the office and onto the path toward the cabins. Hope tried her best to keep up with the girl’s long stride, even trying to match the pep in her step–which she failed to do, almost tripping on the rocks scattered on the path. 

“You’re an absolute pro at this.” She complimented, earning a bright smile from Josie. 

“Trust me, it took a lot of practice for me to get this energetic.” Josie responded, slightly scrunching her nose, “You should have seen me when I first started, not an ounce of vibrancy.” 

Hope tried to picture it. Sophomore Josie standing in front of the crowd of kids, not being able to project her voice or seem remotely excited about the camp–really, rookie counselor Josie seemed a lot like Hope right now. And, she wondered if Josie could break her out of that shell just as she did herself years ago. 

They arrived back at the cabin and the campers rushed into it, claiming the bunk beds like it was an episode of Survivor. Hope observed the kids from her bunk; the majority ditched their bags to talk to their friends and the small few who kept to themselves unpacked. Her eye landed on one of the quiet ones, a boy with curly hair, who was busy laying out each of his dinosaur toys on his nightstand–quite the adorable sight.

She then felt an elbow nudge her arm and averted her eyes from the little boy to the tall girl standing next to her. 

“Can you believe that this is the calmest they’ll ever be?” She said, and Hope scoffed. 

“This,” Her thumb pointed toward the sound of endless chatter of little voices, “Is calm?” 

Josie nodded, “Unfortunately.” 

“Jesus, do they do cartwheels in their sleep too?” Hope retorted softly, pleased with herself when she enticed a giggle from her fellow counselor.

“Honestly, I wouldn’t put it past them.” 

As they looked back at the campers, they both spotted a pair of them already jumping on the top bunk of the bed, and Josie quickly exclaimed a warning for them to stop, making Hope press her hand against her mouth to stifle the chuckle that came out of it. The boys ignored Josie’s warning and continued to jump–prompting her to walk over there and pull them off the beds herself.

She then thought, amid her giggles, that Josie was right, cartwheels were actually a possibility.