Josie tossed her hair as she pumped gas into her expensive car. “Just gotta fill up and then we’ll be back on our way.” She beamed at Andrea. “Unless … you need to stop for a dress?”

Andrea turned to look at Josie in confusion. “What would I need a dress for?”

Josie’s smile dropped. “For Miss Mystic Falls.” Annoyance crept in when Andrea still looked lost. “You’re my date.”

“The pageant?” Andrea wrinkled her forehead. When did this come up? Andrea had only barely heard about it through talk at the school. She shook her head. “That’s not really my thing.”

“What are you talking about?” Josie recoiled. “You have to come. You were … you were my date.”

Andrea couldn’t look her in the eyes, especially when Josie’s were starting to glisten. “I can’t. I’m sorry.” She turned away from Josie and got back in the car. It was bad enough being the new student at school. She wasn’t going to be entering pageants anytime soon. She couldn’t even dance. Let alone face a crowd of students she didn’t know. There was no way it was happening. As guilty as she felt, Andrea just couldn’t do it.

Josie scowled at the back of Andrea’s head. She was mentally kicking herself for telling Penelope she didn’t need her to be her date. Because apparently she did. If she’d known Andrea was going to flake on her, she would’ve never been so callous with Penelope. There was no way she was gonna get her to agree to be her date again.

Josie sighed and returned the pump. She had a lot of work to do when they got back.