[let's just finish the dance: season 1, episode 14]
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Alana sat in the middle of the ballroom in the Salvatore School, wondering why she and the rest of her classmates were called to gather there this earlier in the morning. 'Oh this ought to be good,' she thought to herself as Alaric strolled up to the podium. Alaric cleared his throat before he began to speak.

        "I have some news," he said in a tone that Alana didn't recognize. "Many of you, like me, have forgotten that we are hosting this year's Miss Mystic Falls Pageant," he said.

        Alana groaned loudly. "Boooo!" she sounded over the growing whispers of the crowd.

        Alaric nodded toward her, "Thank you for that, Alana," he said sarcastically before returning to his speech. "But the rotation is set in stone. So, let's take this opportunity to maintain our image as a normal school for the rich and the awful. As usual, anything remotely magical, enchanted, vampire, wolf, or witch-related must be kept tucked away, hidden, and under lock and key. Now... with your chore assignments," he finished, gesturing toward Lizzie, who strutted up to the podium.

        "Okay, so we'll split into teams-" Lizzie started, but Alana tuned most of her explanation out. It was too early in the morning for her to listen to Lizzie Saltzman drown on and on about shit that Alana didn't care about. Which is how she ended up on decorations duty with the other witches.

        As they were stringing up small ribbons and balloons across the railings of the ballroom, Alana tried to make small talk with Penelope, who didn't really seem interested in what she was saying. This wasn't the only time this had happened, for the past week Penelope had been avoiding Alana, and if she did run into her, she only said about two words before she would disappear. It worried Alana, Penelope didn't normally act like this.

        Alana sighed. "Oh my god," she said, accidentally popping the balloon she was holding in her hand. "If you're gonna keep making googly eyes at Josie Saltzman, you might as well just go over and talk to her already. I can't take any more of this."

        Penelope blinked, "I haven't been doing that," she insisted, shaking her head vigorously.

        Alana scoffed, "Yes you have," she pressed. "Just do talk to her. It's seriously annoying watching you pine over her. No offense, Pen," she added slowly.

        Penelope sighed, "Fine, I'll go talk to her. Happy now?"

        Alana smiled, "Very," she said as Penelope made her way over to the twin. Alana debated on whether she should listen to the conversation or not. But who was she kidding, she's a nosy bitch and she wanted to know why Penelope was acting so strange lately.

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

        Alana scrunched up her face in disgust while Josie shook her head. "You and I only make out when magical slugs invade our brains," Josie retorted.

        "I actually want to talk to you about the letter I wrote," Penelope informed Josie. "Which I'm guessing you haven't read yet," she finished, studying the look on Josie's face.

        "Been dealing with the pageant, Penelope," Josie replied.

        Penelope narrowed her eyes, "Yeah, I can see that. See this is me offering you a viable option out," she said, but Josie didn't say anything. "This pageant is misogynistic and archaic. Stop enabling it!" she snapped.

        "I can't," Josie said simply. "I'm a contestant."

        "You know, I wish I was drinking something right now so I could do a spit take," Penelope stated bluntly.

        Josie pursed her lips, "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."

        Alana rolled her eyes, 'Oh my fucking god,' she thought to herself as she throw another set of streamers over the banister.

        "You agreed to help Lizzie win?" Penelope asked incredulously.

        "I'm supporting my sister," Josie stated. "It's her crown and I'm fine with that." With that, Josie slid out of the room, leaving Penelope stunned in her wake.

        Alana took this opportunity to slide next to her best friend. "So, not that I was listening, but I was totally listening, uh, what's in that letter?" she asked nonchalantly.

        Penelope gulped, "Uh, I'll tell you later, Lana," she said quickly before speeding out of the room.

        Alana narrowed her eyes at the retreating figure, "Yeah, that's fine, don't tell me then!" she shouted after her friend. "I didn't want to know anyway. Doesn't matter anything. I definitely won't be thinking about it for the rest of the day!"

        "Brooks!" Lizzie said from behind Alana, causing her to jump.

        "Hey, what the fuck?!" she exclaimed turning around to face the other Saltzman twin. "I would like some warning before you decide to scream in my ear. I don't really want to hear your agitating voice ringing through my ears."

        Lizzie ignored her comments, "I have a problem," she stated.

        Alana blinked, "Yeah, I know."

        "-And I need your help," Lizzie finished. "Due to unforeseen consequences, I can no longer compete for Miss. Mystic Falls. Tragic, I know."

        "Okay, where the hell are you going with this, Saltzman because I'm not a pageant girl. And there's no fucking way I'm gonna change that just to help you, of all people," Alana said quickly.

        Lizzie scoffed, "Oh, god no Brooks, ask you to run for Miss Mystic Falls? No, no, I'm not stupid," she insisted. "I need you to convince Hope to run, she's the best chance this school has."

        Alana clicked her tongue, "Fine, only because I have nothing better to do, and I'm sick of hanging up streamers. Thanks for that, by the way," she added sourly.

        Lizzie smiled, "You're so welcome, Brooks."

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        "I am withdrawing from Miss Mystic Falls. Effective immediately," Lizzie stated, staring at the four girls in front of her: Hope, Josie, Penelope, and Alana, who knew exactly where this conversation was going.

        Hope stared at Lizzie, a little annoyed. "I thought you had something important to tell us," she said, leaning against the table in the room.

        "Come for the underwhelming announcement, stay for the epic meltdown," Penelope sounded as she smiled over at Alana.

        "Okay, wait, why are you quitting?" Josie asked.

        Lizzie frowned, "A personal issue with one of the judges. A direct result of that bitch Dana's sabotage," she said venomously.

        Hope's mouth dropped open, "She's dead, Lizzie," she said in a disapproving voice.

        "Correction: that dead bitch Dana's sabotage," Lizzie said, causing Alana to snort. "Costing me the crown from beyond the grave. The head judge is her mother. The town pharmacist. There is always next year for me. But that does not mean that we here at the Salvatore School shouldn't bring home the title and stick it to those townies."

        Lizzie took a deep breath before continuing, "So I have studied all of the states and advanced metrics, and I have chosen a replacement: Hope Mikaelson. And, Brooks agrees with me."

        Hope looked over at Alana, "Does that mean that Lana's gonna join the pageant, too?"

        Alana scoffed, "Me? No, no," she said trying to hold back her laughter. "No both Little Lizzie and I agree that my being in the pageant would be the worst-case scenario, and no one wants to see that."

        "Come on, Lana, you don't even want to be my escort?" Hope asked quickly.

        "Hmmm, shouldn't your boyfriend, Phoenix Boy, do that?" Alana asked with a small laugh. "I mean, he can resurrect himself from the dead, which does give him a leg up. But, I am a lot cooler than him. You know what, maybe I should be your escort." Hope's face brightened up a bit. "I'm joking," she said quickly before Hope could say anything. "But I'll watch, you know from the sidelines. Me and Little Lizzie, besties for life," she finished sarcastically.

        Lizzie shook her head, "Besties, Brooks? No, that's pushing it," she stated.

        "I wasn't being fucking serious, Lizzie," Alana snapped, returning to her cold manner. "Who do you think I am? But I will be there tonight, Hope, good luck. Not you Saltzman, I hope you fail," she added, waving at Josie before skipping out of the room.

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        Most of Alana's night was spent getting ready for the pageant. Even though she wasn't walking in it, she still needed to look good. Alana wasn't going to show up somewhere looking like shit- that wasn't her style.

        She was enjoying a quick walk outside when she saw Landon Kirby sitting on the edge of a porch swing, a bottle of booze in his hand. By the smell, Alana could tell that he had drunk almost half of it. He was going for another sip when Alana stepped in.

        "Woah buddy," Alana said snatching the bottle from Landon's hand. That's a lot of alcohol to drink by yourself don't you think?" She eyed him carefully before taking a drink herself. "Huh," she sounded, glancing down at the bottle. "This is better than I expected it to be. I'm impressed, Landon, this is some good shit."

        "What's your angle here?" Landon asked.

        Alana shrugged, "There's no angle here. I just want to get drunk, you feel me?"

        "Why?" Landon said, narrowing his eyes at the blonde girl next to him.

        Alana sighed, taking another swig of the liquid. "Pen's spent all say cozing up to Josie and I still don't know why. She's just been off lately. Normally I wouldn't bother me but Pen never really runs back to her exes. This is new and kinda- strange. She's not telling me something," she finished.

        "Huh," Landon sounded. "Are you pissed off about her keeping secrets or her hanging out with Josie?" he asked carefully.

        Alana pursed her lips, "Keeping secrets, obviously, why would you think this is about Josie?" she snapped. "Obviously- it's not about her. I don't even think about Saltzman. At all, no, she doesn't occupy any space in my mind. So don't even suggest that."

        Landon nodded, "Okay, noted," he said as Alana passed the bottle back to him.

        "What about you?" Alana asked, changing the subject. "Why are you out here and not helping Hope get ready?" she asked.

        Landon took a deep breath in before finally speaking, "I came back from the dead- in a- in a burst of flames. And you would think that would earn a guy a couple of days of feeling special, but the irony about this place is that- special is just normal. All it takes is one good-looking vampire, and then I might as well be back at Mystic Falls High." He sighed, "Maybe I should just- tell Hope how jealous I am of Vampire Captain America. I should put it all out there, right? And just say it. If I've learned anything from Hope, it's that honesty is the best policy. You should do the same," he added, looking over at Alana.

        Alana rolled her eyes, "What do you mean by that?"        

        "Just that you should speak to Penelope," Landon said slowly. "Ask her what she's hiding from you before you lose that chance."

        Alana nodded, "Congratulations, Landon, you said something smart for once," she commented, standing up from the porch swing.

        "Ouch, okay, that hurts," Landon commented.

        Alana rolled her eyes, "You should get going, Phoenix Boy, you don't want to miss the ball," she told him as she turned on her heel and walked into the Salvatore School.

        Little did Alana know, that she had already missed the pageant, she knew that from the basically deserted ballroom that she passed on her search for Penelope. 'Am I actually going to listen to Landon Kirby of all people? He barely has his life together, why would take advice from him?' Alana tilted her head. 'That doesn't mean it was bad advice,' she thought to herself. 'Honesty is the best policy, at least that's what some people say. And besides, it can't be that bad- what could Penelope possibly be hiding from m-'

        Alana stopped in her tracks, hearing two familiar voices coming from the library.

        "Penelope, don't leave," she heard Josie say.

        Penelope tutted, "You know, for weeks, I have been hoping that you would give me one reason to stay. Instead, you gave me a thousand reasons to go. My heart can't take it. And I will not wait around and watch what happens to you next."    

        "What are you talking about?" Josie asked.

        "You know the pens I used to spy? This records all of it." Alana peaked her head around the corner to see Penelope pass Josie a big pink book. "It's basically a log of everything written down at the Salvatore School. And I want you to read what your dad wrote about something called the Merge."

        Josie stuttered, "I don't understand," she said slowly.

        "Well, you will," Penelope told her. "One day, you will understand why I did everything I did. Because I love you Jo-Jo. I love you with all of my obnoxious, selfish, evil heart."

        Alana couldn't believe what she was hearing. Penelope was leaving? That couldn't be true. She said, she said that next year would be their year. But if she was leaving- that wouldn't happen. Alana would be alone, for the second time in her life. 'Fuck,' she thought to herself as her eyes began to water. 'Fuck, this can't be happening. This can't-'

        Alana's thoughts trailed off as she heard the sound of a suitcase rolling toward her. "Pen?" she asked as soon as Penelope rounded the corner.

        Penelope wiped a few tears off her face, "Lana? How much of that did you hear?"

        "Enough," Alana said, trying to keep her voice as steady as possible. "Is it true? Are you really leaving, doing to the Netherlands, or whatever."

        "Lana, I didn't want to tell you like this," Penelope admitted.

        Alana nodded, "Right, which is why you told Josie-fucking-Saltzman before me?" she asked. "You really have your priorities set, Pen," she spat. "Everyone in this school hates me, everyone. You were one of the only people who made an effort to get to know me and now I find out you're leaving?!"

        "Lana, please, this is hard enough without you hounding me," Penelope said quietly.

        "Then why didn't you tell me earlier?" Alana asked, ignoring the tears that were welling up in her eyes. "Not when the goddamn suitcase is in your hands. What did you leave me a letter too, or did you think sending a goodbye text would be enough? I can't do this without you, Pen," Alana admitted. "All of this- I can't."

        Alana was crying now, she didn't have the energy to stop the tears. "You're my best friend. I need you, please. Please," she said one more time.

        Penelope shook her head, "It's too late, Lana," she said in a small voice. "My bags are already packed. I'm sor-"

        "No," Alana interjected. "Don't say that because you're not sorry. Just go, Pen. Leave," she said stiffly, silent tears still falling from her eyes. Penelope looked like she was going to say something but Alana shook her head, looking down at the ground. "I'm serious, Penelope. Leave,"

        "Lana-" Penelope started.

        "No, I don't want to fucking hear it," Alana mumbled, and before Penelope could say anything else, Alana spun on her heel and rushed down the hallway. Pushing past Josie, who was walking in the opposite direction.

        Josie watched as the girl sped past her," Alana," she said softly. "Are you okay," she said grabbing onto her hand.

        Alana looked back at the brunette, her tear-stained eyes locking with Josie's brown ones. She ripped her hand of out her grip. "Don't talk to me, Saltzman," she spat. "This is all your fault!"

I don't wanna make you feel bad,
But I've been trying hard not to act a fool
Sunflower ✽

Grace talks ig: wHELP, what did I just write? Jk, jk, I remember what I wrote and I'm sorry?? but like, Penelope leaves in the show, so naturally, she has to leave in the fic too, and I'M UPSET ABOUT IT. LIKE- FUCK. Alana is literally going to go THROUGH IT because of this. Like season 2- omfg it's a douzy. But in happier news, Jalana almost held hands?! Are we all feeling okay? Are we all breathing because I'm not- OMFG AHHHHHHH. I literally just threw that in at the last minute and I decided to end that chapter like that because why not. No one is here to stop me. HEHEHHEHEH. Okay, I'm gonna go now, so I'll see you in the next one. Also, sorry for not updating for almost two months haha. I'll try not to do that again. Promise :) okay, goodbye for real now

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