"Why is Hope dancing with Landon?" Josie asked, eyeing the tribrid holding onto her boyfriend. "She hates him."

"I'm sure she's just roughing him up a bit," Penelope said. She held out her hand for Josie to take, like the others did for their partners.

Josie scowled. "And you're helping her."

Penelope's mouth hung open as she considered her next words. "Look ... I came here to dance with you. You don't really have another option."

It was true. The music had started and all the other couples were moving in time to it. Only Penelope and Josie stood still. Reluctantly, Josie sighed and took Penelope's hand, letting her lead her through all the steps. She had to admit ... as much as she hated it ... it was really nice to dance with Penelope again. As she spun her around, she wasn't talking anymore which means she wasn't annoying her with all her obnoxious, evil meddling.

It made Josie think of the last time they'd danced together, just weeks before she went and cheated on her with Hope. It was late at night, they had just finished a movie marathon, and they were starving. They had snuck down to the kitchen and raided the fridge, and when they were full, Penelope pulled Josie in close, humming a slow ballad and moving her hips along to it. It was one of Josie's favorite memories of Penelope.

She was overwhelmed with the memory now as they spun in circles around the dance floor. It almost brought her to tears when Penelope started humming the tune under her breath, but she just focused on watching Landon with Hope across the room.

"Are you ever going to say anything?" Landon asked. Annoyance was edging into his usual, patient voice. "Seriously, Hope, did you even have a date to start with? I'm supposed to be dancing with Josie -"

"Just follow my lead," Hope cut him off and pulled him closer to another couple dancing. She got more dramatic with her sways until she crashed into the other girl. "Oops," Hope said with a fake apologetic voice.

Landon's heart pounded. "What -"

"You should watch where you're going," Hope snapped, staring down the girl she'd crashed into.

The girl arched an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

Hope dropped Landon's hand. "I said 'Watch where you're going.'"

"You bumped into me."

"Let's not get into technicalities -" Hope started, but the girl cut her off,

"God, the Mikaelson Academy is full of even bigger freaks than the Salvatore School. Guess that's why they're never allowed to compete."

Hope took offense at that, her eyes glowing orange as she straightened up for a fight. "Alright, unless you really want to get into it."

Landon grabbed Hope's arm and hissed in her ear, "I don't know what your game is, but I'm getting Dr. Saltzman."

"He's not my headmaster anymore," Hope countered smartly.

"Don't go anywhere." Landon turned to the other contestant on his way towards the offices. "I am so sorry about her."

Josie watched him storm out of the room.

"Are you going to say anything?" Penelope asked lightly.

Josie held her head high. "I wasn't planning on it."

"Well, Landon just ran off. Looks like you're stuck with me."

"Doesn't mean we have to talk."

The corners of Penelope's mouth turned down as she nodded in acceptance. "You're right." Her palms hovered an inch from Josie's. "We could just stare ... silently ..." Penelope could feel herself spinning from the intensity of their stare.

"Why are you doing this?" Josie asked. It was suddenly all too clear how close to tears she was. "Are you trying to hurt me?" Her voice cracked. "Because it's working."

Penelope was taken aback. "Of course I'm not trying to hurt you."

"Then why?" Tears started to fall down Josie's cheeks.

"Because, Jo-Jo ..." Penelope used her long sleeves to wipe away her tears. "I can't let you go like that. That's not the ending we deserved."

"You deserve someone who didn't cheat on you," Josie whispered. It was the first time she was admitting out loud how guilty she felt about it.

"And you deserve someone who will never give up on you. No matter how many mistakes you make," Penelope said. She took a deep breath. "I have a Would-You-Rather for you."

Josie sighed loudly. "Penelope, now is not the time for games. I'm trying to have a serious conversation -"

"So am I. Would you rather have a relationship that's fun and easy and always stays the same ... or would you rather have one that's honest and hard and grows?"

Josie bit her lip. She already knew her answer, but she didn't want to say it. Penelope's unbreaking stare told her she didn't have a choice. "The latter," she admitted quietly.

Penelope took Josie's hands in hers. "Then let's get out of here."