'let's just finish the dance'

.

.

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"Please tell me you have some good news, hobbit," Lizzie exclaimed as Landon walked into her and Josie's doorway, his sleeves rolled up as he looked between the twins. Josie's eyes tried to ignore the crusty, dried blood that stained his arms. She knew whose blood it was and she didn't want to see it. Lizzie and herself had stayed up most of the night while Alaric and Hope had taken Georgie to their Aunt Elena's practice in Mystic Falls to help with her vampire induced injuries.

Their dad hated calling in his old friends for supernatural issues, especially those that had given up that part of their lives, but he also knew that they owed it to the Lockwood girl to make sure that she was alright. They'd been a terrible friend to her father (even if he hadn't always been the best to them) just before he died and Alaric didn't want to make the same mistake with the half-Lockwood, half-Mikaelson girl. He was yet to also catch up the rest of his old friends on that fact too but he knew that Elena would have helped out regardless of Georgie's parentage.

As predicted, Elena Gilbert had been more than happy to help to attend to the various injuries that the girl had sustained, being extra carefully when helping to sooth the large gash across her neck that MG's fangs had caused once they sunk in. Hope had refused to let go of Georgie's hand the entire time, clinging on tightly and soothing the whimpering girl as she drifted in and out of consciousness.

Of course the twins had also demanded to be there by her side as soon as Rafael had returned and told them the events of the night now that he could remember the entire thing, but Alaric had Emma and Dorian make sure that no-one left the boarding school. Hope had returned hours prior to the bed that her and Landon shared, but even she had been losing some control out of worry.

"She's still not woken up but she's started to heal," Landon told the twins as they both let out baited sighs of relief. "Your dad said we need to prepare for Miss Mystic Falls."

Josie's jaw dropped at Landon's words, a slight fury crossing her body for a second as she thought about the fact that her dad wanted them to just continue with a pageant while her Georgie was suffering and drifting in and out of unconsciousness. The lingering thought at the back of mind reminded Josie that even if the Lockwood didn't heal, she would come back as a hybrid. But that was a conversation that Georgie had never had with any of them and Josie wasn't even sure if the girl would complete the transition should that happen.

Just before Josie could open her mouth to start arguing with Landon (especially since the boy didn't even seem to be that concerned that Georgie was literally injured because she tried to save him), Lizzie almost sensed her growing animosity and stepped in before Josie said something she would regret. Lizzie had always been the more vocal twin but she knew that if she let Josie go off on either their dad or Landon, the girl would feel awful afterwards.

"It's what Georgie would want us to do," Lizzie admitted, turning to look at Josie with a knowing look on her face. "She wouldn't want us sitting around waiting on her, you know how she hates being the centre of attention."

There was a pause as Lizzie waited for Josie's face to soften, knowing that her twin knew she was right. The unactivated hybrid hated being in the middle of drama and they both knew that once she was back to full health she would have been annoyed if everyone paused their lives for her to heal. As soon as Josie nodded, a bright grin appeared across Lizzie's face as she instantly tried to bury the nagging concern for Georgie and focus on something more positive. Lizzie knew if she worried too much about Georgie's condition, she would end up having a meltdown.

"I, however," Lizzie started with a clap, Landon and Josie shared already exhausted looks. "Well, I love to be the centre of attention. So we better get setting up for... what is that on your neck?"

Landon rubbed at his neck awkwardly as he looked at the green paint that had rubbed on to his fingertips. Hope had lost control during a bad dream after she had returned from Elena's clinic, causing her paint supplies to scatter all over Landon. He excused himself without saying anything else, remembering that he had also been on the hunt to try and find Alaric who had returned to the school after Hope.

Georgie was being watched over by Elena and Damon, and while Alaric wasn't sure it was a good idea to have Damon there considering Georgie was very much aware of the fact he killed her father and left her an orphan, Damon had made the good point that she was too drained to act on anything let alone open her eyes for more than 20 seconds at a time.

Lizzie turned back to Josie, noticing how her face had fallen once more. They both acted like Landon and the paint hadn't happened, and the blonde crossed the room to pull the darker haired Saltzman into a hug. 

From the doorway, Penelope Park mused her lips as she turned away from the twins. Her hand fell from where it rested on the doorstep as she took off down the corridor, a plan forming in her mind that she knew would potentially stir up a lot of things in the Salvatore School.

_____

"Landon told me about your little incident," Alaric told Hope as he ducked under a swing, throwing his arm forward and aiming one himself towards Hope. The tribrid narrowed her eyes a little as she dodged his attack, her eyebrows scrunching up in distaste.

"Isn't boyfriend confidentiality a thing? It should be," Hope spat back, her swings a little angrier now that she had found out Landon had gone running to Alaric about her when she was already dealing with a lot as it was. 

"He's just worried about you, that's all."

"He doesn't need to be!"

Alaric grunted a little as he narrowly avoided another hit from Hope, noticing how the girl was getting harder and more aggressive with each swing. He paced around her for a second, hoping that a couple of seconds pause would allow her to calm a little.

"Are you sure? It seems like you're manifesting a little stress and anxiety. My guess is, you're still dealing with the trauma of seeing Landon dead - and Georgie being out of action for the time being."

Hope gritted her teeth at that, images of a dead Landon and a barely breathing, blood-covered Georgie flashing through her mind. Seeing Landon's neck ripped wide open and hearing Georgie's groans and whimpers as her body didn't heal supernaturally like usual had set off something in her but she wasn't the type to sit and talk about feelings.

"I've been through worse."

"I mean, with your family history, I just want - to make sure..."

"I SAID I'M FINE!" Hope yelled out, a wave of magic pulsing from her body and sweeping Alaric off his feet and sending him tumbling to the ground. Her eyes widened for a second as she seemed to realise what she had done, looking down at where Alaric was looking up at her with deep breaths. "Okay. I-I could stand to blow off some steam. I'm gonna... go check the woods to see if I can wolf out."

Hope turned on her heel promptly, leaving Alaric lying on his back. She cast a glance at Lizzie as the girl entered, glad that the blonde didn't mention the fact her father was lying on the wooden gym ground while Hope was rushing out to the woods. Lizzie nodded in return, knowing that they were all a little on edge about Georgie.

_____

"I have some news," Alaric announced, looking around at the mostly somber faces of the students. While many of them had never had a conversation with Georgie as she tended to keep to her inner circle, gossip spread fast and hard in the Salvatore School and they were more than aware that she was not healing like she should be. "Many of you, like me until this morning, have forgotten that we are hosting this year's Miss Mystic Falls Pageant. Trust me, I know. But the rotation is set in stone. So, let's take the opportunity to maintain our image as a normal school for the rich and awful. As usual, anything remotely magical, enchanted, vampire, wolf or witch-related must be kept tucked away, hidden, and under lock and key."

Grumbles spread throughout the student body at the announcement. Just like the football games they played, pretending to be normal humans in front of the other schools was emotionally exhausting. The cleanup of the school in preparation was maybe even more draining.

"What about Georgie?" Jed asked, all eyes turning to look at the wolf for a moment before they snapped back to Alaric to hear his reply. It was surprising to some that Jed was worried about the hybrid since he had been the one to try and force her to submit at the start of the school year, but there had been a mutual respect formed between them since then.

Alaric sighed as he noticed Josie's eyes boring into him, and MG's eyes drop to the floor. The vampire was still receiving the silent treatment from some of his friends and if Alaric knew anything about teenagers, it was that they could and would hold a grudge.

"Georgie is under expert care and will be back with us within no time, until then however, we need to get ready. Now... with your chore assignments."

______

Georgie groaned as she tried to sit up, warm hands instantly pressing against her shoulder and holding her steady as she tried to muster up the energy to open her eyes. Her head felt like it was splitting itself in two, and her throat felt so dry that she was sure if she tried to speak it would feel like she was rubbing sandpaper down it.

"Steady there, little Mikaelson," an unfamiliar but also recognisable voice told her as her eyes tried to adjust to the light. She could feel the blood still leaving her body, and her eyes focused on the blood bag drip that was attached to the inside of her arm first.

"I'm not a Mikaelson," Georgie ground out, groaning at how dry her voice was. Her eyes fluttered upwards with a slight squint as she noticed a blurred figure rushing to her side with a  glass of water, the woman smiling reassuringly at her as she held it to Georgie's lips.

Georgie welcomed the liquid with open arms, almost sighing as it soothed the burn in her throat for a moment. She faintly remembered MG attacking her and drifting in and out of consciousness as her friends brought her to where she was, but most of it was hazy and blurry. She wasn't even sure where she actually was.

"Sorry, little Lockwolf," the voice replied, a little sarcastically as their hands left her back now that she seemingly had enough energy to sit up on her own for the time being. The trio all knew that it would only last for a few minutes before she would pass out again, having been a reoccurring theme all morning. Her wounds were not healing at all and it almost seemed like every time Elena stitched them back up, they'd rip open again when she started moving. "You've certainly got your father's attitude."

"I'd love to know more about that," Georgie replied, venom seeping in her tone as her eyes finally latched on to the man who had been holding her up. "But seeing as you killed him, I guess I'll never know."

There was an awkward silence that filled the room as Damon Salvatore bit his tongue, looking over to Elena for some guidance here. He would have usually quirked back with something but he was very aware of the fact that Georgie was a very powerful supernatural being, with two powerful bloodlines living in her and a serious control problem. Damon might have trusted himself to be able to avoid getting hurt, but he wasn't willing to risk Elena.

Almost as if she was answering his prayers, Georgie broke the tension. The girl suddenly started coughing, causing Elena to grab a bucket and hold it to the teenagers lips. She leaned forward, blood spilling from her lips as she puked up a mix of blood and mucus. Elena and Damon shared concerned looks as Georgie dropped back down, her eyelids fluttering shut just like they had done every other time she woke up and snarked at Damon that day.

She just didn't seem to be getting any better regardless of what they tried.

_____

"Hey. How about we blow this popsicle stand and go to my room for a little binge-watch and chill?"

Josie rolled her eyes as she looked to Penelope, the dark haired witch smiling at her but also looking at her in a way that Josie wasn't sure she had seen the girl do before. Josie turned away as she continued to sort the decorations, shrugging at the girl.

"You and I stopped making out when Georgie came into my life."

"I actually want to talk to you about the letter I wrote... Which I'm guessing you haven't read yet," Penelope replied as she looked at the look on Josie's face. This was the last selfish thing Penelope was planning to do when it came to Josie. She loved the girl, and she just needed to know. 

"Been dealing with the pageant, Penelope. Oh, and the fact my girl... best friend almost died and now isn't healing."

"Yeah, I can see that. See, this is me offering you a viable option out. This pageant is misogynistic and archaic. Stop enabling it," Penelope replied, glossing over the Georgie part. She had a plan to deal with that, but she just wanted to make sure before she couldn't take it back that it was the right thing to do.

"I can't. I'm a contestant."

"You know, I wish I was drinking something right now so I could do a spit take," Penelope replied, smirking a little at the news.

"You know my mom was Miss Mystic Falls? Lizzie's been dreaming of this day since she was little. Things have been rocky between us recently, so if me throwing a few events helps her win the title, I'm all for it," Josie replied with snark, looking at Penelope with annoyance. "Besides, the last thing on my mind is winning a pageant right now."

"You agreed to help Lizzie win?"

"I'm supporting my sister. It's her crown and I'm fine with that. Now, if you'd excuse me Penelope. I need to go make sure Hope isn't doing something reckless that will give Georgie a heart attack when she wakes up."

Penelope watched her go with mixed emotions. She knew that her and Josie would never be together again, and as much as Penelope had acted like it didn't affect her, she truly did love the girl. Her father had always told her that if you truly loved something or someone, you would do anything in your power to make things right for them - regardless of your own happiness. Penelope Park knew exactly what she had to do.

______

"Who the hell are you?" Damon asked, jumping to his feet as the door to the clinic burst open. Elena rose to her feet behind him, placing herself instinctively between the intruder and Georgie, who was still lying unconscious on the table after passing out again.

The girl said nothing as she raised her hand towards the two adults, muttering under her breath and watching with little sympathy or concern as they both fell to the ground at the spell. She almost rolled her eyes at how easy that was, but she knew from the stories that Bonnie Bennett told when she visited that witches always had more control over situations than ex-vampires.

She rushed to Georgie's side, pausing for a moment as she looked at the girl and thought over what she was about to do. It didn't matter if she faced consequences for this, she was already leaving Mystic Falls and her parents would understand if they found out what she had done. 

"Georgie Lockwood... or Mikaelson - whatever you are," Penelope Park mused as she moved some sand around the table that the girl rested on, reaching into her jacket pocket and pulling out the small vial of blood. Her eyes looked at it with slight hesitation before she started chanting, the wind around her picking up and causing some of Elena's lose papers to go flying around the room. "I hope you don't get angry at me for using dark magic on you when this is all over."

______

"You are like a lingering cough," Josie huffed out as Penelope appeared beside her at the top of the stair case. If Josie had paid a little more attention, she'd have noticed the heaving of Penelope's chest from how fast she had moved to make sure she would be on time to get to escort the girl in what might be one of their last moments together. 

"MG's M.I.A. You're stuck with me," Penelope mused, holding her arm out for Josie to latch on to as they prepared to descend the stairs. "Riddle me this. How does you losing everything help Hope win?"

"I'm the fall girl," Josie explained as she reluctantly looped her arm through Penelope's and watched the competitors in front of her glide smoothly down the stairs. She could feel Lizzie's eyes resting on her from the crowd of watchers. "I had to make it into contention to this point, the final event, so I could take a literal fall and take out Hope's closest competitor."

"For real?" Penelope asked, feeling her heart sink a little at how much the girl was willing to give up for her sister. She'd pushed her previous activities to the back of her mind for a second as they began to descend, hoping that she could talk some sense into the Saltzman. "Josie, you are so much better than that. I know Lizzie doesn't think that you can win, but I do. Go down swinging. You deserve to walk down those steps with your head held high, like your mom did."

The spotlight shone on them, not giving Josie a chance to reply. All eyes turned to the couple, Penelope not taking her eyes of Josie as Josie's eyes wandered across the crowd wishing that the one person she couldn't see was there tonight. She was almost glad Georgie wasn't there to see this, for she knew that the hybrid would also be disappointed like Penelope was.

"Miss Josette Saltzman, escorted by Miss Penelope Park."

Just as Penelope smiled at Josie, thinking that the girl had taken her words to heart, she noticed the slight pause in her gait as she shared a glance with the wiser witch. A fire sparked in Penelope's stomach for a moment, knowing exactly what the siphoner was about to do before she did it.

Josie "stumbled" down the final few steps, throwing herself forward and knocking a girl named Sasha to the ground with her. Gasps broke out from across the crowd as the music continued to play, a soft smug look on Lizzie's face as her twin followed through with the plan that they had created that afternoon.

"What are you gonna do when I'm not here to fight for you anymore?" Penelope asked, her fists clenched at her side as she looked down on Josie who was brushing herself off from the fall. She looked back up at the witch in confusion, not sure what she meant by that.

"What's that supposed to mean?" 

"You want to know? Read the letter. It's the least you can do for me after what I've done for you tonight," Penelope told her, turning on her heels and storming out of the dining hall. Josie watched her go, a feeling of guilt settling in her stomach as she fixated on her retreating figure. Sure, her and Penelope had their issues but she was starting to understand that she had made the girl feel awful because she hadn't read that letter yet. Taking off after Penelope, she knew that she had messed up once more.

Back at the top of the stairs, Hope was standing anxiously as she awaited on Landon to arrive to escort her. He wasn't usually this late to anything but she expected his jealousy towards her ex-boyfriend, Roman, appearing had played a part in that. It was annoying her that Landon was creating a big drama out of Roman being here when all she wanted to do was be at Georgie's side, making sure her cousin was okay but instead was forced to be taking part in this pageant.

"Hey. Where have you been?" Hope breathed out as Landon finally appeared next to her, his eyes purposefully avoiding her own. "You okay? Why do you smell like a bar?"

"Penelope Park told me that you are keeping a secret... about my mom. She says that we met her and that I don't remember it... but you do," Landon said, his eyes finally meeting Hope's with the accusation. She almost withdrew from him at the conflict that she saw in his eyes, and suddenly telling the truth felt like something she should have done to begin with. 

"She's lying, right? Just tell me she's lying, Hope. You know, I wasn't always the most honest person, but...you were the one that taught me the value in being truthful," Landon admitted, her silence being the only answer that he needed to confirm his thoughts. "And the truth... I can't be here right now."

 "I can't do this. I can't do this. I can't," Hope breathed out, spinning in a circle as she tried to process what was happening. Just as she went to rush away after him, firm hands steadied her in place.

"Just five more minutes. Get through this and it'll all be over," Roman told her, his eyes briefly meeting with Lizzie who was watching on in slight horror that Hope was about to pull out of their plan. This was the only thing keeping Lizzie's mind off Georgie not healing and she needed a win today - no matter the cost.

____

"Do you know how good it would feel to actually be competing? In Mom's dress? Did you even consider how Hope would feel wearing it?" Josie argued with her sister as they watched Hope and Roman dance across the hall, the blue dress shimmering in the light the same way it had all those years ago when Caroline Forbes had worn it.

"She looks fantastic," Lizzie pointed out, not understanding why Josie was being so hostile about the dress. "She should feel amazing."

"Will she still feel amazing when she learns where it came from?" Josie asked, bitterness lacing her voice. She noticed Roman's eyes flicker to the girls, obviously listening in to their conversation. A part of her told her to shut up and not finish her point but she knew that she needed Lizzie to understand what she had done. 

"What do you mean, where it came from? It was a gift from some guy who used to crush on mom."

"From Klaus Mikaelson, Lizzie!" Josie snapped, anger filling her body as Lizzie's eyes widened at the revelation. "Hope's dad." She turned on her heel and stormed out, too busy thinking about her anger to notice the person who had entered the hall on the other side.

"May I have your attention, please? Without further ado, it is my honor to announce our very own Miss Mystic Falls. From the Salvatore School, Miss Hope Mikaelson!"

Hope felt like her world was crumbling in on itself. It was as if everything was fading away and the panic from that morning and again at the top fo the stairs was taking over. She didn't even notice Roman and Lizzie's panicked looks at the sudden swinging and flickering of the lights, or how the power inside of her was bursting to be let out at any second.

Just as Hope thought she was about to collapsed, warm arms wrapped themselves around her shoulders and pulled her in for a tight hug. She instantly felt herself relax a little as she picked up the familiar scent, a deep rooted relief flowing through her.

"Let it out Hope. I'm here," Georgie spoke, knowing fine well how out of place she looked in Penelope's hoodie and her grubby jeans. She was glad her jeans were too dark for the humans to see the dried blood that were coated on them from her brutal encounter with MG and her body's unwillingness to heal. Penelope had fixed that with some dark magic - not that they would ever know that.

Lizzie's jaw dropped from the sidelines as she saw Georgie's eyes meet her own from across the room. While Georgie had been close enough to overhead Josie and Lizzie's argument, she wasn't going to harbour any bad feelings towards Lizzie right now. The blonde was already beginning to realise how deeply she had messed up and Georgie knew she didn't need her piping up.

"I'm here, Hope. I'm not leaving you again."