Bonnie and Kai sat at the top of Elena's bed with her stretched out across the end as Caroline paced around the spacious dorm room throwing out a variety of outfits to choose from on top of them, burying their friend under the rubble.
"Suffocate me why don't you," Elena huffed underneath a leather jacket.
"Well if you were helping me find something to wear instead of all being lazy mopes then you wouldn't run that risk. Besides, we're vampires… that's kind of something we don't have to worry about anymore," Care opposed and dropped a pile of scarves on her stomach.
"What would you wear to a karaoke night?" Bonnie wondered looking left to their open double-doored closet.
"It's not just a 'karaoke night,' Whitmore does this charity event for the hospital every year and they go all out with it. There's music competitions, duets, challenges, regular karaoke singing but there's a real band that plays and they usually raise a ton of money, I think there's even some dance battles too. They always switch up the venue and by the luck of the draw it's at Mystic Grill, the spot where all sorts of the major events in our lives seem to take place. So to answer your question Bon, I would say an edgy, sexy, 'I'm the best singer here' kind of outfit would work perfectly for tonight and thanks to my extreme wardrobe upgrade when I took a break from my humanity just about everything I own gives off that appeal."
Pulling the jacket off her face Elena checked her surroundings noticing an outfit was tossed around and scooped up the purple cami and black jeans. "Is this what I'm wearing?"
"Yes dear," Caroline replied in a motherly tone, handing off a pair of four inch black velvet heeled boots with army style laces going up a few inches above her heel, "these too. And then these are for you."
Turning her attention to Bonnie a black tank top fluttered into her lap, the material light and loose and looking naturally wrinkled or scrunched up. The leather pants looked skin tight and the designs were unlike anything she's seen before; one leg having a few thick strips of a black'ish silver mix on her thigh and shin and the other had metallic onyx spikes all around from her hip to lower thigh that felt like the rubber jelly spikes they used to make craft jewelry with during sleepovers as kids. A light blue faded washed out jean jacket with splotches of bleach looking like it was plucked from a 90's thrift store was added to the top of the pile, finished with a pair of black heeled leather boots that went up to the knee with two buckles near the foot and up at the top. Looking over her clothes compared to her friends Bonnie's eyebrows drew in and mouth opened holding an item in each hand like they were foreign objects.
"Why does Elena get a regular purple spaghetti strap and jeans and I am over here in a jean jacket and crazy leather pants from the eighties?"
"Because Elena could never pull this off," Care stated as if it was obvious, Kai's snicker making her smile hearing their friends noise of disagreement, "but she can work the style of leather jackets, tight little shirts, and high heels just as well as Katherine, maybe even better."
"Totally agree, on the first part I mean, I didn't actually know Katherine but I get sadder every time I hear a new piece of information about her."
"She was a selfish, self-centered, conniving psychopath who thought she could have it all."
"Guess it's a good thing we never met, you might have some competition," he leered leaning in close to her side and grunted out an 'ooph' that turned into a slap at the back of her hand thwacking his stomach, tugging Bonnie close to nuzzle into her.
"Don't worry Bon; she would have to be your doppelganger before I looked twice."
The blush bloomed deep under her cheeks warming Bonnie's entire face and trained her eyes on the clothes in her lap purposely avoiding everyone's third degree. Tilting her head to the side just enough to catch Kai's gaze the small smile that spread seemed so open making him look even younger and leaned into him briefly touching noses, her chest aching at the little hum of joy he made.
"Can we dress you up to fit the part too?"
"What do you mean – I am dressed," Kai countered stretching his arms out wide showing off his white t-shirt under an open black cardigan with material so thin you could see the shirt through it. He wore the same pair of gray jeans that she's oddly fascinated with and has personally taken off of him, finished with his boots and chain with pendant dangling in the center of his chest. "And I look good, too."
"I think you should let other people tell you that," Bonnie said sweetly patting his leg, looking him over with an internal consensus.
"I don't hear anyone correcting me," he commented with a shrug, nauseated with herself that she couldn't lie and insult an ensemble that was making her feel something a little farther south on the spectrum.
"You could have put a little more effort into it," Elena suggested with a quick scan down his torso, "that's something you usually wear."
"Yeah but I have this," Kai said grabbing the fedora off the bedside table resting it on his head cocked to the side, "classy's me up, don't you think?"
"Nope," she chirped and scooted off the bed heading over to her dresser.
"Can always count on you to keep it real with me."
"You can be sure of that," she tossed over her shoulder and he tittered rubbing down Bonnie's thigh to knee.
"We'll I'll let you ladies get all dressed to impress – can't wait to see how those pants look on you. Meet you at the car."
"Okay let's do this," Care announced as soon as the door clicked shut pulling the dress over her head and tossed it aside, sliding on a pair of faded dark blue jeans.
The spaghetti strap top was designed like a corset with a tight bodice and buttons up the center with a white and navy blue checkered pattern to it, navy flaps curving the tops of her breasts. The floppy black leather boots came up about six inches and reminded Bonnie of cowboy boots, her tousled curls and light shimmery eye and lip makeup matching the style. Clasping the chain a sapphire teardrop fell in just the right spot and stuck two diamond studs in her ears, looking back to Bonnie in befuddlement that she still hadn't moved.
Pushing to her feet she changed right where she was standing as Elena did the same on the other side of the room, putting on the shirt first since it was the easier of the two options before moving onto the pants. Jumping to slide them up her thighs and over her butt the loose material of her shirt hung low covering her front and half of her butt, turning and sliding her hand up her thigh seeing her reflection on the other side of the room. When she was holding it the skin-tight leather looked like it wasn't going to fit and if it did then they'd look ridiculous, but Bonnie couldn't believe how non-laughable they looked on her. Pushing her arms through the half sleeves of the jean jacket she folded the ends to just below her elbows and struggled to get her feet into the knee-high heels, standing tall with a few inches of height.
"Yeah you were right that wouldn't have worked on me," Elena snorted tying the last of the laces, "I don't know why you don't wear more things like that."
"Seriously, you can totally get away with it. But there's still something missing, I just don't know what." Murmuring to herself Caroline rummaged through her jewelry grabbing a necklace and clasping it behind her neck, the front splitting into two uneven strands with silver arrowheads at the bottom resting in the open space. "Better, but still not it."
Bonnie looked over to her profile of dark eye makeup making her irises stand out, straight hair framing her face and down her outfit catching the sparkle of the Eiffel Tower dangling from the bracelet on her left wrist. "I think this is as good as it's going to get."
Elena scoffed out an ugly sound and shook her head whipping her hair over her shoulder. "Do you let the guy who likes you hear you talk down about yourself like that?"
"Oh, please," Bonnie said through her amusement rolling her eyes back, "I was talking about the outfit."
"Mhm," she hummed unconvinced.
"We should let Kai's reaction be the judge of that," Care declared hoisting her purse onto her shoulder, "ready?"
Falling into step the three headed out of the building into the back parking lot where Kai sat on the hood of his car, fiddling with his phone. The clicking of heels indicated their arrival and lifted his head in the direction of the sound, looking up to the sky and letting out a long whistle before hopping to his feet.
"Am I old enough to have a heart attack? I guess I'd have to specify if I'm talking outside appearance or my internal dog years but I should still have a few more decades left in me before the ticker gives out."
"Well with a vocabulary like that," Elena said casually as she passed them walking to the passenger side.
"You know Caroline dressed you in eighties clothes to drive me nuts, right?" Kai said knowingly and Bonnie's eyes bulged looking down at the jean jacket, leather pants, and sliced her line of view to her best friend who was failing to hide her grin.
"I don't know what you're talking about, but the look still isn't complete."
Cocking his head to the side Kai looked her over from the ground up and snapped his fingers, plucking the fedora off of his head and sticking it on hers. "Voila."
"Kai-" she said with a small shake, lifting her hand to take off the hat.
"Wait, I think he might be onto something. Mess around with it a little, see how you like it."
Figuring it was easy to just get it over with rather than argue and still have to do it anyway Bonnie fit the hat on the back of her skull where she'd keep it comfortably and moved her hands around her brim, posing for added effect. Lifting the hat to the side of her head her smile flashed wide seeing the look of delight on Kai's face and made the final pose with the way he generally wears it tilting it a hair off to the side.
"What do you think; your missing puzzle piece?"
"It really is," Caroline beamed enthusiastically, "who knew you'd be able to have a good sense of style after all this time."
"I know I think about that all the time too," Kai said nodding furiously with big eyes like he was overly absorbed in the topic, "it's gotten me through some dark days."
"Well now you have something even better to help with that," she commented and bypassed the two of them getting in the backseat from the driver's side.
"Your friend's right about that," he murmured and pulled her in by the open flaps of the jacket, the heels only bringing her eye-line to his nose compared to his chin. Ducking his head Bonnie felt a flutter at the fleeting touch of his lips against hers and pushed away from him lightly when he tapped the rim pushing the hat down cutting off her vision. "And you look stunning; of course I'm a little biased now since I'm hung up on you wearing my stuff."
"I'm also wearing Care's clothes."
"Ooh, even better," Kai lured in an overly seductive tone as he walked backwards slowly to her side of the car and opened the passenger door, "hop in, wild child."
Clicking over with a smirk Bonnie slid into the seat and fiddled with the radio as Kai settled in beside her. The drive to Mystic Grill took less than twenty minutes but looking for parking once they got there took almost the same amount of time, Kai getting fed up after so long and wiped the Handicapped sign from one of the front spots, pulling into its place.
"Kai, you can't do that."
"What, I doubt any little old ladies are going to be showing up tonight ready to rock N' roll. And if they do, I'll move."
"Tough to argue with that," Care cracked up with Elena snickering behind them.
"You're a bad influence, and you two shouldn't be encouraging him," Bonnie stated pointing a finger at all of them before stepping outside and heading for the front door with them close behind.
If the cars were an indication to how many people were jammed packed into the Grill than they still didn't do it justice, not even able to make it through the entrance before colliding into someone in stopped traffic. A girl's voice rang through the speakers and looked overhead to tiny twinkling lights spread out across the ceiling and down the banisters. Students dressed in Pledge shirts were bustling around holding deep baskets filled with money and both college kids and adults were filling up the compacted area. Everything that wasn't bolted down to the floor was moved to create more space lining the small tables and chairs along the perimeter.
There was a stage set up on her left with a live band and zealous crowd less than a foot away and they converted another spot farther into the room off to the right into a karaoke alcove. Having to go up a few steps to walk into the hexagon-shaped stage the side facing outwards was blocked off by solid wooden railings going up to your hips and banisters separating them, giving the illusion like you were standing on a balcony harmonizing to the rest of the world like they do in the musicals. Overhead out of view from the partygoers were screens hooked up to an impressive sound system and a handful of microphone stands lined up in the center. Care wasn't kidding, they stepped it up in college.
"Want a drink?" sounded from behind her and looked over her shoulder to Kai leaning in close.
"Sure."
Raising his arms for the girls to take the lead Elena led them over to the bar on the other side of the room and waved over the bartender, a very familiar face turning to greet them.
"Hey, Bonnie."
"Matt," she perked and scooted around to the open swinging door meeting him for a long hug. "How are you?"
"How are you? I've barely gotten to see you since you came back. How has everything been going?"
"Pretty good, as a matter of fact," Bonnie stated to her own surprise, "happy to be home."
"And we're all happy you're home safe," Matt said sincerely warming her heart and leaned in again for another quick embrace. "I had to work tonight for the extra cash but I didn't expect to see you all."
"It's Karaoke Night, where else would we be?" Elena said as if he was crazy for saying such a thing.
"Maybe at the hospital, hard at work," Matt threw out and Elena batted a hand at the suggestion.
"Tonight is going to consist of drinking heavily and singing loudly, hopefully not too far off-key."
"I don't know how much the liquor will help with that factor, but I can be of assistance with supplying it."
Ordering their first round of drinks Kai also put in for a lineup of shots and handed Matt his card to start a tab getting two scotches on the rocks, throwing back the first in one gulp before starting in on the next. With a cheers to a 'kick ass night' they tossed back the mouthful of liquid and moved through the crowd, staying close as they weaved around the building and nearly mowed down someone who has become increasingly recognizable over the past month.
"Parker! What's up man, did you just get here?" Evan hollered slapping hands in the usual male-greeting fashion.
"Yeah if I had known the entire town was here I may have pushed it a little longer," Kai noted and he said something in agreement, looking over to the rest of them.
"Hey ladies, ready to belt your little hearts out this evening?"
"Not unless you want everyone to leave and take their money with them," Elena opposed, "but fortunately I brought a couple of aces in the hole with me."
"You're out of your mind if you don't think you're getting up on that stage at least half a dozen times," Caroline said sternly with a clank of their glasses, "so drink up and get ready for some great memories."
"Come to think of it – I've never heard you sing before," Kai remarked turning his focus on Bonnie with brows drawn in.
"Really? She's amazing."
"No – Caroline is the singer of the group."
"Bonnie's the dancer," Elena concluded.
"Our little Bon-Bon is both," Care interjected with her palm out mid-air for emphasis, "if she would commit to either than her future career would already be waiting for her. You've been with her for how long and you haven't heard that beautiful voice?"
"I didn't notice how out of place that is until this instant. You even complimented me when I was carrying along a tune back in alternate-Mystic Falls; you've been keeping this secret weapon to yourself the whole time?"
"What a time for it to make its grand appearance," Elena joined in gesturing towards the karaoke stage to their left where Emma and Anna were serenading each other to a slow song. "You can go next."
"Wow you really must be out of your mind tonight because that is not happening. Will I get up there at one point and sing something for charity – for sick people in need? Of course. Will I be first? Not even if you were paying me."
"What if we did one together? But something with a little more pizazz than this. And preferably something that pre-dates this generation since it would be my first time hearing them."
It never fails to put a smile on Bonnie's face whenever the kinks in Kai's almighty and superior armor show through and she remembers no matter how invincible he portrays himself as he's still new to the world she's grown up in; the technology, the current events, and keeping up with the constant that is change.
"Well as it just so happens I love music from other decades. Gram's and I had a particular love for anyone that was affiliated with Motown Records; The Temptations, Smokey Robinson, Jackson 5, Stevie Wonder, The Four Tops, Marvin Gaye… I grew up listening to those artists. But I also have a passion for some 90s R&B."
"Ah the end of my time," he said fondly standing tall with his fists on his hips like he was Superman, "great toons, although my favorite has to be the eighties – and the sixties; I like that old time of Rock N' Roll."
The rasp in his voice as he sang the last sentence shot straight down to her toes and hummed at the tingle; the notches beginning to click into place that not only will she be hitting the stage but so will Kai who hasn't exactly been branded as the 'shy kid' in class, and from what little she's heard has a voice that is by no means mediocre.
"At least I know the type of genre you'll be going for now."
"Oh… you have no idea," he let out with an overdrawn laugh, the only one in on the joke. "But you don't want me going first; I'll set the bar too high."
"There's that flare up of presumptuousness again, there's a lot of strong contenders in here vying for the belt."
"Oh yeah? Well Hulkamania is running wild, brother!" Kai cheered with overemphasis, eyes widening and jaw unhinging the longer the silence stretched on. "Nobody – really? Hulk Hogan… greatest wrestler of the 1980's and most likely still to this day…"
"Oh, and can you smell what The Rock is cookin'?" Evan challenged lifting a brow as high as up his forehead as it would go.
"Is it a can of whoop ass?" Bonnie chimed in channeling her inner child loving Stone Cold Steve Austin, Evan making a booming sound of 'oooooh' over her answer and pulled her in.
"That was the best response and the leader over here doesn't even get the reference, that's gold."
"They've still got nothing on Mr. America," Kai rebuffed with a flick of his face in the opposite direction, the applause around them indicating the end of the girls' performance and Evan raised his hand to show them where he was standing.
"Hey!" Emma welcomed emerging into their little circle, alone. "It's so much fun up there!"
"You powned her babe, did AnnaLynne have to leave in shame?"
"I'm pretty sure I heard her say something about going to the bathroom," she said in nonchalance, Bonnie examining her look over to Kai who was scanning the room, "she should be back."
A girl and guy that looked like the fraternity and sorority leaders hit the stage as the double doors opened and Stefan and Damon strolled through heading straight for them.
"You made it," Care beamed stepping into Stefan's open arm kissing him slowly, "and you brought your wicked other half."
"Couldn't miss out on a music festival," Damon winked swiping the drink out of her hand and finishing it, "thanks blondie. Hey Elena."
"Hi," she uttered with a bashful leer.
"Bonster."
"Hey Damon, I was wondering when the sounds of out of tune karaoke would make its way through your supersonic hearing."
"Have any of you gone up yet?"
"No."
"Then I'd say I made it right on time."
"How's everybody feeling tonight?!" The frat guy howled erupting the herd, "you are all so great and the energy in here is contagious – I can feel the love! My name is Connor and this is Wendy and we're going to be coming up here throughout the night to give you the same play-by-play of the events we have set up in case there are any new arrivals that didn't hear us before or if you just needed that little bit of liquid courage to give you the extra kick in the ass first."
Connor paused for a beat while people snickered and Wendy picked up where he left off. "Just a reminder we're raising money for Whitmore Medical, and you all have already shown how passionate and committed you are to the cause. We've come up with some different games and competitions for not only the students to participate in but also for everyone who's taken the time to come out and enjoy the night with us. Okay so how this is going to work is the two of us have clipboards with a signup list for each event and you can put your name down as many times as you like, then when we get to that activity we'll have pledges walking around with the donation baskets if you like what you hear. Since classic karaoke is so popular we're going to have people going up in between every other performance to constantly keep things flowing and upbeat. For example the first competition we're going to start is from a game that just aired on ABC last year, The Voice, and the object of it is to have four judges who will be picked randomly from the audience with their backs facing the singer hit their button and 'choose you' which in this case would mean enjoying the students rendition enough to give a donation. If all four judges hit their buzzer then you move onto the next round and face off against one another. In between each musical number the karaoke stage will be open to anyone who wants to go up for fun without any pressure, and this will continue on until the next game starts."
"Just to give you a taste of what's ahead; there's The Voice, Lip Sync Battles, and what we call 'The Riff-off' for Acapella groups where they get together and come up with songs on the spot based off a category that we choose from a spin of the wheel. I don't know about all of you but I'm excited, and I want to implore all of you to cut back and relax and just have a good time, it's all for a good cause."
"Another cool thing about this next event is that anyone who wants to participate can, whether it being center stage or behind the curtains picking you favorites. Once the 'blind auditions' are complete we'll write down everyone who made it and pass out score sheets that will be setup like…"
"Like a March Madness Bracket for anyone who's ever played the basketball tournament," Connor explained to make it clearer and the murmurs of comprehension indicated it worked. "It's a set price for the bracket and then you can put whatever anti your heart desires on your favorite. And to ensure there's no way of cheating the contestants won't be able to join in on the gambling, just be the willing horse for us to bet on. Once we move onto the battles you all will make the final decision for who moves on and it'll continue that way until we crown a winner as the USC: Ultimate Singing Champion."
"So let's get started! The first one up is Jordan Minks, and let's pick out some judges."
"Oh we're so doing this," Kai assured raising his hand in a pen-writing motion to Wendy who bee-lined it for them, Caroline bouncing on the balls of her feet squealing beside him.
"I was struggling to come to terms with the idea of me going on stage in general but now you want me to get into some contest where people are literally judging you and if you suck than you get booed out of town? No."
"If you can sing as well as you just dramatized that response than you should have no problem," he replied thanking the girl handing off the list.
"Bon-Bon's like a little witchified Tina Turner," Damon agreed with a smirk earning a glare from Kai.
"Even 'it's all about me' has heard you? Oh no, this just won't do. I'm writing your name down."
"No-" Bonnie hissed reaching for the clipboard that he held over head out of reach scribbling across a line.
"It's for your own good – or maybe it's mine, I still have a tough time differentiating sometimes. And let me just write down a few more and… there, we're all on it. Well most of us, sorry Salvatore's you didn't quite make the cut looks like you're going to have to bet on us instead. Ten bucks says I know who you're both picking as the winner."
"Ten bucks? What a cheapskate," Care said lifting a palm to her chest. "And here I thought money bags would bring a little bit more to the table."
"Do I hear the makings of an in-house wager? I should warn you I'm final five material no matter what the contest may be."
"So you're picking yourself, how conventional of you. Then I choose –"
"Well let's not pull the starting trigger just yet Miss eager beaver, I just said I'm capable of making it to last looks that doesn't mean I'm putting all of my bags of cash in my basket."
"Then whose?" was vocalized and Bonnie felt her throat closing sensing the shift, willing herself to be wrong.
"Bonnie."
"Are you nuts, you haven't even heard me before – I could be awful. You're just going off what others are telling you; that is not like you."
"Yeah but it's your best friends saying it so… I think I'm going with it."
"But-"
"Okay if you stole Bonnie as the USC, then I'm going to say," Care held the last note for dramatic effect, "you."
"Me?"
"Oh are someone's nerves starting to rattle now that the heat is on and there's pressure to live up to your extraordinary persona?"
"Mm thank you," Kai remarked smoothly giving her one of his best smiles, able to appreciate the effort it is to put in not to react to him, "but technically Bon's the one over here talking me up."
"'I come in top five in everything I do'," Bonnie mimicked in a deep voice smiling at the deep laughter coming from his gut, handing off the clipboard to slide his arms around her waist from behind leaning down to draw her in.
"Well that's just true – but I'm still putting my money on you."
"I think my lunch is coming back up," Damon said off the shoulder, cocking her head with a scowl, "maybe a drink will keep it down."
Veering away from the group Bonnie surveyed the scene seeing him head towards the bar hearing the clamor of merriment assuming the contestant got a buzzer or two and turned in that direction hearing another name being called – Jo and Ric strolling towards them bringing her back into focus.
"Kai," she hummed with a squeeze of his hand and his chin lifted from her shoulder scanning around them on alert until he spotted his sister, feeling his muscles unclenching.
"Weird," Jo summed up looking over Bonnie's head with a squint, peering down to their clasped hands resting against her stomach.
"Hey sissy, are you here to do our ballad of Thriller? I'm sure the dance moves are still stored away in a special part of my brain for moments like this."
"You are dreaming, I'm here to donate and that is all."
"But what if I got the whole audience into it? I bet everyone over thirty who's sufficiently blitzed by that point would be overjoyed to go back to the glory days for a minute – or seven, that song was pretty stretched out. Sound like a plan?"
"No," she replied without hesitation.
"So you're telling me there's a chance," he pepped noting the smile he must be sporting from his voice.
"I'm going to get a drink," Alaric said dismissing himself before Kai's name was announced over the loudspeaker, the lack of applause spiking Bonnie's fear of no one thinking her voice is enough to hit a buzzer for.
"You know you haven't seen this side of me before Bon, try not to get too star struck, okay? It's still only me up there."
"I'll try to refrain," Bonnie retorted in the most monotonous tone she could muster, a frisson of exhilaration passing through her when he leaned down to kiss her cheek and backing away with his obnoxiously dazzling smile.
"Just between us girls, is he terrible?" Caroline inquired poking her head around to face Jo and she scoffed out a snicker.
"Regrettably… no, he's not. He auditioned for a school play freshman year and went through with it for he and his friend's to laugh about later but the joke was on him when Miss Gleeson chased Kai around for the next four years bribing and bartering him to star in another."
"He was the lead?"
"Mmmmmhm," Jo hummed with pursed lips, staring up at the stage, "only reason he tried out in the first place was because I wanted the part."
"Sibling rivalry," Bonnie commented as if she somehow understood, following her line of vision to Kai facing the band in a discussion, "with a narcissist, how amiable."
'Yeah we could take it to the extreme sometimes."
"Well you got a sociopath to be the leading role in a musical just because you wanted it to, I'd hate to see what tame looks like," Elena mocked.
'Kai doesn't know the word' Bonnie reflected on internally with a rueful grin, their eyes locking when he faced them and pulled the top of the stand forward leaning into the microphone.
"Alright I would just like to take the opportunity quickly to say – hey – and that this song is not, dedicated to my girlfriend. Here we go."
Before having enough time to wonder what he meant the tune of piano keys playing hit everyone at the precise moment of what song he chose turning his patrons uproarious, belting out the first lyrics.
At first I was afraid, I was petrified
Kept thinking I could never live without you by my side
But then I spent so many nights thinking how you did me wrong
And I grew strong, and I learned how to get along
Hearing the faint sound of buzzers going off simultaneously Kai pulled the mic free and jumped off the stage weaving through as he serenaded onlookers with I Will Survive by Aretha Franklin; a choice she never would have guessed he'd go with. Bonnie knew better than to think he could go about doing anything at a normal base level of five like most others, having to outshine with an over the top ten if the situation arose and this certainly qualified as one of them.
By the time he hit the first chorus every other person in the building was either singing along or clapping to the beat but she couldn't take her eyes off of Kai who seemed to be having the time of his life. There was an energy he possessed that was contagious and spread throughout your entire body feeling electrified from within that he could subconsciously push off onto others and the multitude they were engulfed in seemed to be feeding off of it. Closing in he made his way over just after he finished with the second verse, starting back up on the part every soul in the world just knows.
Oh no, not I – I will survive
Oh as long as I know how to love I know I'll stay alive
I've got all my life to live
I've got all my love to give
And I'll survive
I will survive - ooh
Beginning with Caroline Kai moved around the circle reaching for her hand and lifted it spinning her into multiple twirls, Emma getting pulled into half a waltz dance move before getting thrust back into Evan's chest. Jo got a wiggle of the finger and a wink while Elena got tugged into him close with just the mic separating them, Bonnie's smile spreading seeing her expression both startled and slightly fascinated. Saving her for last Kai had just hit the last 'ooh' note followed by a lengthy pause, using his time not to work any fancy moves on her but hover in close without breaking eye contact instead.
Blinking a few times to gain her composure he was already halfway to the stage by the time Bonnie let out the breath she was holding, unsure if the lightheadedness was from the lack of oxygen or something more provoking. Finishing strong as he jumped on the stage to his original spot the walls were vibrating from the rumbles of enthusiasm reverberating back at them and Kai bowed politely before sauntering over, simper firmly in place. If girls hadn't noticed him already there wasn't a chance she was going to be able to avoid their wandering eyes now that he got the buildings full attention in the matter of one song choice.
"Aretha Franklin?"
"She's my girl," Kai nodded as if it was a totally common reference for him to pick out of anything, "but my main squeeze is about to hit the stage."
"Oh that's so sweet that you'd refer to one of the girls that way because there's no way you could be referring to me getting up there after that performance. My money's on Care."
"Wow, did you catch that jab?" Kai remarked to Elena pointing a finger at Bonnie. "You didn't make the 'squeezable' category."
"Somehow I think I'll go on," she said with rejoinder, Bonnie's name being called over the loud speakers revving up her adrenaline.
"It's too soon I can't, Elena you're going to have to go up and be me."
"You've got this Bonnie, you're talented and people are going to hit their buttons over it just you wait and see."
"I don't even know what to sing."
"Anything, they'll love it," Kai chortled and strong hands braced her biceps, ducking his head lower. "I showed you mine, you have to show me yours now."
"What are we five years old?"
"If we are then you should have no problem getting up there and letting loose. Go enjoy yourself, Bon."
Puffing out quick exhales through her nose Bonnie finished her drink and then Elena's before forcibly dragging her feet from where they were cemented into the floorboards all the way to the front of the room. There wasn't a song or artist that would stick before fluttering out of her mind as she faced the horde of listeners and judges ready to banish her at the first tuneless note. Gripping the metal rod Bonnie's eyes wouldn't stop scanning through the faceless mass until they landed on someone familiar; Caroline pulling her open palms in towards her chest and up her face with a deep inhale gesturing for her to take a breath.
Shifting Kai's soft expression watching her with a slight tilt of his head alleviated the overwhelming jitters enough for her to be able to think clearly, a personal favorite springing to mind from back when she was a little girl. Pivoting she told the band to play You Can't Hurry Love by The Supremes but with a slowed down soulful vibe to it. Taking her mark Bonnie wrapped her fingers around the mic on the stand and closed her eyes as the lights overhead began to dim, heart pounding as the first beat of the drum sounded.
-x—x—x—
I need love, love
To ease my mind
I need to find, find someone to call mine
But mama said
You can't hurry love
No, you just have to wait
She said love don't come easy
It's a game of give and take
You can't hurry love
No, you just have to wait
You got to trust, give it time
No matter how long it takes
"Shit…"
"I know."
"She's…" Kai fought for the correct adjective to describe what he was hearing right now; both sweet and provocative, gritty yet silky smooth, "I've never heard her sing before, she didn't when we were in '94."
"She probably thought she didn't have a reason to anymore while she was stuck in there," Elena said off to his left, unable to look away from the stage until she spoke again, "I guess now she does."
The sounds of all four buzzers going off one after the next was drowned out by the fervent rowdy bunch that was getting more enthusiastic the farther in Bonnie got, listening to the lyrics of a ballad he used to know all too well from his sister playing it relentlessly.
No love, love don't come easy
But I keep on waiting, anticipating
For that soft voice
To talk to me at night
For some tender arms
To hold me tight
I keep waiting, I keep on waiting
But it ain't easy, it ain't easy
Once Bonnie hit the break her voice dropped a few octaves turning raspy and sexy as she churned out the lyrics, Kai's body reacting and blood pressure rising the slower she crooned. Going in on the final chorus her eyes wandered until they found his, singing the melody to him whether it was deliberate or not and he let that acknowledgment seep in before flare ups of paranoia started to arise.
Could Bonnie know how he really feels about her and this was her way of subliminally telling him? But how could she, when he just found out himself at an embarrassingly recent time of disclosure. Maybe this is her saying she could or could not feel that way about him too but that they shouldn't rush things, so he shouldn't tell her yet, or else he might scare her off.
Running a hand through his hair and yanking at the roots Kai prayed that whatever babbling, high-strung, emotionally crippled mess he's turned into over the past few months is a temporary phase from adjusting to the civilized life and not a long-lasting effect that all common folk have to endure. Even more concerning, the aloofness only got to him when he was with Bonnie and has gotten increasingly more unbearable the farther attached he became leading Kai to believe it's not just a 'humanly' trait to feel like every part of your insides are being shaken around, but more specifically fueled by what he feels for her.
Finishing strong on the last note her new fans went nuts and almost whisked her away from all of the pent up energy stirring around. Throwing his hands overhead and cupping his mouth Kai hollered out ridiculous sounds from high-pitched to low dog-like 'hoots', Bonnie's smile stretched wide squeezing through people to get back to them.
"Would you cut it out," she pleaded through a laugh, "I could hear you from across the room."
"Good, that was my intention," he winked and pulled her in close nudging the top of the fedora up, "and that was very impressive. You've really been holding out on me."
"Well I wouldn't be a true Bennett if I didn't have some secrets of my own," Bonnie quipped and he searched her eyes in hopes of prying some free. "I need more shots."
"Shots! Shots! Shots!" Elena and Caroline sing-songed and linked their arms on either side of hers being pulled out of his grasp.
"I say we start with the classic tequila shots – Matt better be lining up those limes as right now – and then take another, just for that extra kick of courage."
Following in step with the group Emma ended up beside him and looked her over before glancing briefly around the room. "So where's Anna?"
"She's… around, you know, mingling," she uttered vaguely, avoiding his stare, "probably bumped into Michael and Cody."
"Yeah I thought I saw them when I was making my rounds but I don't recall seeing her. Is she avoiding me?"
"Well she's not going out of her way to see you, she's kind of –"
"Pissed, I know."
"Embarrassed," Emma finished puffing out a peculiar sound with a raise of her hand, "but yeah pissed off too."
"I wasn't – I didn't know where her head was at, she's-"
"If you say Ashley's baby sister I'll kill you," she threatened and by the look he was receiving Kai knew she had heard it from Anna one too many times, snickering that that's the one thing she seems the most hung up on.
"But she is, and Ash was my best friend, and certainly the oldest one I've got so I couldn't jeopardize that after everything that's gone down. But it's a moot point anyway because as Anna found out in a way of just horrendous timing I'm with Bon."
"I assume how you must feel about your girlfriend and longtime friend but, do you care about AnnaLynne too? I won't tell her what you say so you can be honest with me."
"I do, of course," he remarked knitting his brows, knowing he'd feel bad if anything were to happen to her and had almost a brotherly obligation to her. "Just not the way she wants me to."
"Alright everybody line up and pick your poison!" Caroline required holding up a salt shaker. "And don't forget this special ingredient."
Drifting to the bar Kai settled in beside Bonnie and leaned down licking the space between her thumb and index finger for the salt so stick to.
"Yech."
"Oh do you not like me licking you, or putting your tongue where mine just was?" he pondered with a pensive expression. "Because I can stop doing those if you want."
"Yeah right," she snorted sounding like she genuinely did not believe a word coming out of his mouth.
"You want to bet?" Kai pressed puffing his chest out and leaning in closer, glancing up at him through the angle of the fedora and leaned off the counter meeting his dominating stance.
"Do you?"
Peering back at Bonnie's daring move he hadn't realized he was smiling until she was rolling her eyes at his expression and shook the salt on her hand handing it off to him. Clanking their glasses together all of them including Damon and Ric tilted their head back letting the burning liquid slide down, finishing it off with the cut limes placed on napkins all down the bar.
"Another," Elena said thumping her palm off the counter, surprised at her partying spirit.
"And keep 'em coming," Caroline confirmed sliding one of the filled glasses to the bartender, "that one's for you."
"Thanks but I can't, got to stay sharp," the nameless guy voiced, smirking at the lift of her shoulder and tossing back the drink like it was water.
"Suit yourself; alright let's line up another round."
"Care – not your money," Bonnie reminded her and she cackled looking over her head to Kai.
"I'm sorry did you want not another drink? Can you not afford it? Or are we just going by your lead?"
"Do whatever you want," he remarked lifting the tiny glass to her, "I'm just here for the booze and karaoke."
"Now there's a toast," she beamed and raised hers as well, the rest following suite as Elena's name was called through the speakers and cracked up watching her almost spit the drink back out.
"Oh God… not now, it's too soon. You put my name down?"
"Duh, was I not supposed to?"
"No, leave the caroling to the gifted ones."
"Elena this is for the hospital," Bonnie stressed.
"Sick people; you're really going to pass up an opportunity to make money and come to their aid?"
"I hate the both of you so much," she growled at her two friends and stormed away from the bar, onlookers visibly parting from most likely seeing the steam coming off of her.
Elena's choice was something from this era that he hasn't heard before and couldn't control the racket of hilarity that she wasn't downplaying her skills – or lack of – just because of how great her friends are, or at least Bonnie from what he's heard so far. It was an overall success though as she still managed to turn two chairs and more or less sprinted back to where they were, filling up a larger drinking vessel to quench her thirst.
"You don't have to do another round!
"Thank the Lord," she said and deflated on top of the glossy work surface. "But this means I'm going to have to get up there for something else and do it again."
"And again, and again," Caroline uttered on a loop, bending her arms and thrusting her hips into her side. "And just like… almost everything else, you're going to be enjoying it by the end."
"There's something wrong with you." Elena stated somberly and the bubbly blonde curved the corner of her mouth spinning to lean her elbows back, sipping her cocktail.
"Next up, Miss Caroline Dorothy-Buchanan lll," echoed overhead and Kai choked mid-sip, turning to Caroline slowly craning her head to him.
"Is that supposed to be me?"
"I couldn't remember your last name."
"So you went with that?" she let out in exasperation. "Do I look I stepped out of the 1920's?"
"Kind of, yeah, that's why I went with it."
"I'll get you back for that one," Caroline promised with a kind smile making something uneasy in the pit of his stomach and watched in awe with the rest as she belted out a slow and painstakingly morbid ballad, her striking voice almost up to par with his girlfriend's, but not quite.
Four buzzers did happen to go off for her as well which wasn't much of a shocker and switched off with Evan who was next up followed by mini redheaded Walsh. The rest of the auditions went by in a blur of alcoholic blends and once the battle rounds kicked into the play it was safe to assume the group was sufficiently tipsy. Waiting until all of the scorecards were tallied up and received payment for each the setup had everyone broken up in pairs going head-to-head and the winner of that will move onto the next faceoff, and so on until it's the last two standing. The contestants could choose the song but they had to agree on one and the judges were nixed from here on out, the mob having the final say by shouting for who they liked better.
Evan and Kai were one of the first duo's to come out and set the bar and knew they had to go big, going for Highway to Hell by ACDC and waved a few grade-A sparklers into existence handing some off to the Gemini. Grinning at the first strum of the electric guitar his head began bobbing to the beat and swiped one of the mics off the stand, getting his voice rough and scratchy as he took the lead on the first verse. Both sang harmoniously together during the chorus facing each other head on like they were enemies vying for the same trophy in a crusade and took solo's during the rest, a taste of their voices together and standing out on its own a clever contrast to get the full effect of who the people believe the true victor is.
"Alright now that was one fierce competition, am I right?" the girl from earlier boomed making the audience do the same. "Now it's time to pick the winner, all in favor of Evan?"
The crowd went wild with applause and whistles, stomping their feet for added effect showing how they felt about him and he lifted both hands straight in the air bending forward with an exaggerated bow like he was praising the Gods.
"Thank you, thank you very much."
"Whew, that's going to be a tough one to beat but let's see how you all feel about Kai." The walls were alive with energy from the outbursts of appreciation and passion that was being thrown his way, not able to do anything but snigger at the amped-up reactions that were being received. "And the one advancing to face off against the next opponent is… Kai!"
Kissing his palm and whipping it out forcibly as a 'blowing a kiss' motion he spun and did a little jig earning another uproar before hopping off the stage and ordering the loser a few rounds of drinks. After a few more shots and a chugging competition of who could finish three beers the fastest Kai's vitality was strong and full of zest, his overall mood becoming increasingly more relaxed and goofy as the night progressed on.
Caroline knocked out a girl with something spunky by a 'Gaga' and Bonnie crushed Emma once the first high note was struck. Soon it was Kai up against his favorite vampire and let her pick the arrangement as long as it predated her birth and she went with a classic, Summer Nights in Grease. After a beautiful melody and trip down memory lane from having to watch that all the time with Josette, Kai won the skirmish by a thin margin and got down on one knee dropping his head and raising his hands in respect to the little ladies vocal talents.
After a few more exiles it was down to the final crusade and as fate would have it his adversary was none other than the voice that's been making everyone and more importantly him wild for the entire game; the captivating irises ones he could spot out anywhere. Taking another shot the two hit the stage hopping around getting amped up and slid over to Bonnie, letting her take the lead on what to pick.
"I have no idea, whatever you want to do."
"This is the championship; I wouldn't feel right having that kind of leverage over you."
"But you don't care if I do?"
"I like the challenge. Are there any old musicals or movies that had duets that you liked?"
"I liked all of them; Grease, Dirty Dancing, The Sound of Music, Footloose, and the list goes on."
"I just did a nice little diddy with Caroline from Grease-"
"And you beat her."
"So you probably don't want to go down that path," Kai finished with a wink, rocking back on his heels with his hands in his pocket, "but Josette was a musical fanatic so I've seen them all too many times to count. What were you thinking; Nobody Puts Baby In the Corner?"
"More like I've Had the Time of My Life," Bonnie countered spreading the Cheshire grin across his face, taking a few steps backwards to let the band know what to play. "I was just saying it was an option!"
"And it was a fine one indeed. Lead the way, Baby."
The term of endearment sounded strange coming out of his mouth even if he was just referring to the main character in the movie, but the snap of her neck in his direction confirmed she heard it the same way until the lightbulb went off.
"Bring it on, Johnny."
Creeping in close Kai took stand in front of one of the stands and starting out in a deep undertone, enunciating each syllable and dragging them out getting a few girly whoops spread throughout the faces.
Now I've had the time of my life
No I never felt like this before
Yes I swear, it's the truth
And I owe it all to you
Bonnie repeated the first and last line in a sultry tone that made his and every other male in the room's jeans get instantaneously too tight, fingers running through his hair in a messy fashion to physically shake it from his current mindset and concentrate. Tugging the mic free Kai danced with quick back and forth foot movements to his current challenger feeling a tad ashamed that even with all of the information stored in his brain there still managed to be a carved out nugget of space for the lyrics to every romantic musical's soundtrack from childhood.
Breaking it up in the same manner as the artists Kai would sing a line and Bonnie would do the next finishing a full verse followed by the two of them singing a part together. Not positive of exactly where he was supposed to chime in on he would just jump in every now in then, either synchronizing the same part or adding in his own notes and sound effects to make it blend. The more they got into it the clearer the lyrics they were serenading became and came close to tripping over his words a few times over how spot-on the whispered vows were to how they were really feeling for one another.
With my body and soul
I want you more than you'll ever know
So we'll just let it go
Don't be afraid to lose control, no
Yes I know what's on your mind
When you say 'stay with me' tonight
Just remember
You're the one thing
I can't get enough of
So I'll tell you something
This could be love
Aiming to make the experience as painless and comical as possible Kai was goading her to look at him instead of all of the stranger's staring back at her with intentions to get her to dance around too. The microphones being wireless knocked out any fears of tripping over the cord and knocking Bonnie off the stage and circled around her like a predator; crouching down to gaze up at her as he belted out his line, twirling and gliding her around the platform, playing with the fedora with tricks and switching it off both of their heads, and staying hot on her heels with some classic 80s moves.
Kai could tell the instant the rest of the room faded away and forgot she was surrounded, her light laughter twinkling through the speakers and loosened up copying some of his steps but looking so much better while doing it. Digging deep for the last verse the two locked eyes as genuine promises spilled from their lips moving in leisurely towards the other a breath away when the last word was sung, grunting at the contact of Bonnie slamming into his chest with her arms wrapped around his ribs.
Fairly certain he felt her body vibrating not just from the stomping against the ground and chanting of an 'encore' Kai ducked his head and fell into the fit of hysteria she was in from all of the adrenaline and rush from putting yourself out there. Tilting underneath her chin with his thumb Bonnie's soft lift pressed against his and pulled her in closer, attempting to block out the drunken college stirs with difficulty from how loud and energetic they were over them.
"Break it up lovebirds, we still have a pressing matter at hands!" resonated louder than the others and turned to the frat guy heading their way. "Now since these two were exceptional we're going to give you all the chance to vote and donate to the both of them, and whoever's tallied up with the biggest donation and love from the audience will be deemed the winner!"
Going about the voting was essentially like being auctioned off, one going first and standing front and center as the onlookers threw up their bracket cards if they were going to donate until you couldn't even hear the numbers being said over the noise. The results came down to the wire and had to be finalized by the money-count since there was no way to distinguish one wail of encouragement over another, Kai coming to a hair under $500 while Bonnie just tipped over the scale pushing her into the win.
"And the Ultimate Singing Champ of 2012 goes to Bonnie Bennett!"
Snaking an arm behind her back and lifting her Bonnie looked so overjoyed a tautness wrapped around his heart and squeezed making it unbearable to breathe, spinning in circles as the people raged on. Planting her on the ground they put the mics back on the stands and held hands taking a bow to the fans – and then another with his hands outstretched to the champion – before heading over to the spot where witches and vampires were lingering.
"Bonnie I never want to hear you can't sing again because you just beat out every college kid in this place and won the entire battle."
"You're a rock star."
"So badass – and what a voice! I was going to compliment the leader over here that he didn't completely suck when you hit the stage and blew the competition out of the bar."
"Thanks Evan," she smiled softly seeming out of place or uncomfortable as the center of attention and Kai moved his arm sliding her in front of him facing outward and curling his arms across her stomach tugging her back.
"I think we should hit the road like Sonny and Cher, we could have a real shot at it."
"The starving artist angle never really appealed to me," Bonnie remarked cocking her head to meet his gaze.
"I'd never let you go hungry, Bon, look at who you're talking to."
"1994's own personal chef, how could I ever forget?"
'I'm also a pretty excellent bartender; may I offer you some replenishment?"
"Hmm, so you're kind of like a butler then; butler Parker," she said in a British accent and snorted into a laugh, her two friends joining in.
"You know on second thought maybe you don't need one," he teased and grunted at her thrusting backwards into him, "fine, you lush."
The sounds of humor instead of aggravation at his sarcasm really stuck out to Kai in showing how far they've come from Bonnie not wanting anything to do with him even when he was trying to be his friendliest. Nuzzling in to kiss the side of her neck he loosened his grip lacing his fingers through hers and held his arms out as a barricade so no one could bump into her. Reaching the bar a line of a ten shots were lined up for the taking and stood from one end of the counter to the other, holding the drinks up and making an imaginary clink before the strong flavor of cinnamon whiskey swooshed around his taste buds.
"Mm, love that one," Bonnie hummed.
"What's it called?"
"Fireball, you haven't had it before?"
"I guess not, but it is delicious," he emphasized the last word and dangled the glass signaling he needed a refill.
"You are going to be so plastered I'll need to carry you home," she remarked off to his side and Kai pivoted to lean sideways on the counter, scanning down her tiny frame.
"I find that highly unlikely."
"You're already half in the bag."
"No I meant about you being able to carry me, I just don't see that happening," Kai countered and smirked at the roll of her eyes, pushing forward to grip the edge of the bar on either side of her arms caging her in. "Try to hold up my dead weight."
Falling forward Bonnie's hands shot up pressing against his pecs and held him there for a good ten seconds longer than he expected, her own state of being under the influence shining through at the pristine time.
"So heavy," she wheezed crushed between him and the countertop and chuckled pushing backwards, still between his arms. "I'll just get Elena to drive instead."
Taking a break from the fame and fortune the Acapella groups were up next and blew everyone's minds with the array of noises these kids were able to make just with their mouths. They played something called the 'Riff-off' where they go through categories like genre's, decades, or clues leading to a specific singer and a clique was axed at a time until there was only one left; a list going around to contribute funds to whichever ensemble you enjoyed best. The longer they stayed away from being the entertainment the more they hung near the bar, specifically pressed against one of the ends right beside the wall tucking them out of sight.
Bonnie wasn't mistaken when she called him out on being intoxicated but in the prison world since his body couldn't have any harm or things done to it alcohol didn't have much of an effect on him either, so drinking a bottle of Rum in a day didn't have the same influence it would to the average human. Since Kai underwent the supernatural mutation his system rebooted and upgraded, resetting things he had become accustomed to such as having a few drinks without the wooziness rearing its head. What he had forgotten he'd missed was the silly and flirty feelings that came with that happy-go-lucky state of mind where your troubles really don't seem that earth-shattering.
"You're being really cute… it's weird," Bonnie muttered against his jaw as he had her in a snug embrace, throwing his head back and barking out a laugh. "Not that you can't be, just that… I don't see you like this a lot."
"You never think I'm cute? Sad news."
"You're – shut up, you know you're good looking," she cut herself off making Kai crack up and squeeze her harder. "I just mean you're acting more playful and attentive and touchy, it's sweet. I might need to get you buzzed more; I don't hate this side of you."
"Well if you could fill me in one which sides you do despise I can do my best not to show them anymore," he replied earnestly and closed his eyes at the feel of nails scratching his scalp.
"I'll get back to you on that."
"That's got to be one long list," Kai let out with mock- despair resting his forehead against her, listening to her breath catch before responding.
"Not as long as you'd think."
Pulling his heavy lids open Bonnie's inked out orbs stared back at him, the flecks of green still visible but displaying how buzzed she was. Humming Kai's lips vibrated against her skin as he traced up her cheek and down her neck, smiling at the girly peeps coming from within their little bubble. The sorority girl came on the loudspeakers to get into what the next competition is and how the donations were going to be worked into it and it sounded like another spin-off of a new show that Kai and Josette used to be the masters of; lip synching.
"Lip Sync Battle for those of you who haven't caught the show yet is two famous people go head-to-head with two songs each. Since they have a ton of money and production going on their second choice comes with props, back up dancers, and choreography but we don't necessarily have the funds for that so we're just going to keep it simple and then the audience cheers for the winner. The sign up lists are going around but since we already have a few names let's kick this off! And as always in between the performances we're going to have the karaoke stage open as well!"
Kai was semi paying attention to what she was saying but for the most part was too absorbed with the girl in a spunky 80s outfit, counting off how long it'd take Bonnie to push him away since they are out in public and people can see. What he didn't expect was her to be just as affectionate, cuddling into him and running her hands around his back and stomach between his t-shirt and loose long sleeve; a willing participant in his onslaught of endearment.
"Alright next up on karaoke is going to be a duet… no, I'm sorry, I see battle written next to these names. Okay the next battle on the karaoke stage is going to be by Caroline and Kai – get on up here!"
The sound of his name shook him into lucidity and lifted his head checking around them until a bobbing head of blonde appeared in front of him, grinning mischievously.
"You want to battle me again; did you already forget how that went for you last time?"
"This time I'm prepared, and you're going down," she remarked sternly and confidently, spiking his curiosity and looked back to Bonnie rubbing the tip of his nose to hers.
"I have to go embarrass your friend again; I'll meet you back here in ten."
"So cocky for someone who's been singing old show tunes to himself for a decade or two," Caroline poked fun at as they weaved through people to the other side of the building.
"'The people' seem to concur," he said with emphasis and a grand gesture around them at everyone getting hyped that they were up.
"Please, this is all for me," she scoffed flipping her hair over her shoulder and he chortled, stopping at the steps and holding out a hand to assist her in not tripping back down them.
"Ladies first, what will you be singing tonight?"
"Someone Like You, by Adele."
Taking a few steps back to let her have the floor Kai had to give the girl credit where it was due – she could really belt out a melody. Going with something slow and moving seemed to be her go-to choice as she was able to hit higher soft notes as well as tones as deep as his voice. When Caroline finished everyone was on their feet wanting her to continue and she threw a smirk over her shoulder, goading him on.
Stepping up to the plate Kai let the world know he was going to crush this round the same way, with a beautiful depiction of Feelin' Good by Nina Simone. The version they had was by someone named Michael Buble who sounded oddly familiar and the beat was more mellow and downtempo which worked out even better. Unlike Caroline he fully intended to drag her into his performance and spent half the time following her around with his arm around her shoulders or resting an elbow against one. Taking full advantage of the music breaks he passed the time with some air guitar, light drum beats, or just moving his hands and head to the beat like a composer which seemed to get some extra TLC.
Starting the second verse the music kicked up a notch and Kai went all out, letting loose and going for it like he'd do during the plays in high school. The uproars blended into his own voice by the time he made it to the end and gritted out the last lyrics hitting the notes accordingly as the crowd went off. Scanning outwards through the openings between the wooden banisters Bonnie and the rest of the group were jumping and making their own racket that he'd never be able to hear from way over here and looked back to Caroline glaring at him.
"What?" he snickered and she slowly stepped up beside him, facing the audience.
"Nothing… yet. But we'll see how I feel in a minute."
"Well what a crusade that was indeed! The both of you absolutely killed it, let's give them another hand!" The girl pepped speaking again after it settled down, "I guess since you did this in the same manner as the other games we're going to need all of your help to judge who brought it just a little bit more than the other. Okay let's start with Kai since his presentation is fresh in your minds; let me hear some noise!"
Kai couldn't help but laugh at the craziness that these kids and even adults were causing in this establishment, the place looking so run down that all of this mania could bring it to its knees.
"I will kill you," Caroline uttered under her breath just within earshot.
"Now let's give it up for Caroline!" The rowdiness stayed at the same level as when his cheers were dying out, no wails of motivation indicating who the winner was, once again. "And this one goes to the one who almost took the belt; Kai!"
"So many drinks are about to be on you," she mumbled behind his shoulder and pivoted once he made it down the stairs to assist her, the sourpuss making him cheerful inside.
"You don't take losing too well, huh?"
"I usually don't lose," Caroline stated as a matter of fact, not in a vain manner like people usually mistake his own assertiveness for.
"Well you're a worthy opponent for what it's worth; you make me work for it."
"Good," she smiled looking a touch more fulfilled than a moment prior.
Reaching their destination the only two left at the bar was Bonnie and Stefan, not another familiar face in sight. "Where did everyone go?"
"They all split up into two's and dispersed in different directions; Jo and Ric, Elena and Damon, Evan and Emma."
"Elena and Damon," Caroline repeated with a sassy circular motion of her head, "hmmm you don't say. I wonder what they could be talking about that they needed the seclusion for, any ideas?"
"A few," Stefan commented running his hand down her back subtly pulling her in closer, "you sounded amazing up there, Care."
"Almost victor-worthy," she pouted and Kai winked at her from the other end of the bar, signaling they needed more shots of that Fireball, "but it's fine – it's all good, because we're all going to be going up there for many duets and solo acts and we can't win them all so drink up lady and gents, the night isn't over yet."
Kicking into overdrive the group threw back their drinks slamming the tiny glasses upside down on the counter and pulled out all the stops during the free non-competitive cycles of karaoke. He even signed up for the Lip Sync Battle against Evan which he acceptably lost since the younger Gemini is an absolute character and spaz and the spectators gobbled it up like they've been starved in the desert. Bonnie and the girls did a lovely cover to I Put A Spell on You by Annie Lennox but it was a quicker upbeat version that Kai later discovered was from Hocus Pocus, the name bringing back particularly fond memories of the little house the two of them stayed in for a night during their Salem trip over Thanksgiving.
By the luck of the draw everyone in the group seemed to be coupled up – even Elena looked cozy with the whiny Salvatore as they moseyed around the room and even sang a duet together – and the setup worked to his benefit, able to keep his girlfriend all to himself for most of the night. It seemed like every duo had hit the stage at one point or another to make their mark; Bon and Caroline, Caroline and Stefan even though neither Salvatore's technically should have been up there but no one questioned it – most likely in favor of their looks, and mixed groups of Gemini's.
Kai and Bonnie had gone up half a dozen times together and on their own, singing ballads of Ain't No Mountain High Enough by The Temptations and You're The One That I Want at the end of Grease by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. That one was particularly enjoyable since Kai followed behind her the entire time like they did in the movie and she played along, shoving him lightly and getting up close to his face while she sang. The smile that was permanently seared to Bonnie's face is what really made him have such a marvelous night, spending most of it overheated and inhaling a continuous fruity perfume scent from keeping her plastered to him one way or another.
As the evening was headed to a close Kai needed to sing one more song to really make the donators make it feel like the trip over here was worth it, wanting them all to interact on this last one he's been holding out for. Slipping away to the front of the room the band agreed to play one last time and told him what he had in mind, their faces lighting up at his idea. Getting everything squared away the lights dimmed enough that it wasn't blinding but still enough for visibility and a spotlight dropped down signaling another performance was about to happen.
"Hello my favorite Mystic Falls patrons, how have you been enjoying the shows?" Kai wondered getting his head blown back by the sonorous boom of a reaction. "Okay well, now I'm deaf so I don't know if I'm going to excel at this next one but I wanted to finish up the night with something everyone could get involved in – if you know a legendary artist and their choreography, that is. If it's possible make some room right here in the middle and just take a step away from the people you're bumping elbows with, you're going to need it. I have a feeling my fellow college-mates won't be able to keep up, so this is for all of you that's been donating all night."
Chuckling at the way he could rile up a horde Kai bobbed his head to the instruments starting up and his smile was stretched from ear to ear watching as every woman and even the men over thirty were equally losing it as they caught onto what his plan was.
It's close to midnight, and something evil's lurking in the dark
Under the moonlight, you see a sight that almost stops your heart
You try to scream, but terror takes the sound before you make it
You start to freeze as horror looks you right between the eyes
You're paralyzed
Twitching his head to the side and lifting his shoulder he began what was going to be an extensive Thriller dance montage by Michael Jackson, turning to the side and throwing both arms out in front and behind him while he thrusted his hips taking one step a time towards the crowd. Keeping the hand with the mic close he could multitask by provoking them all farther by telling them 'I know you all still remember these moves!' and 'let's show these kids what a real dance routine looks like!' between the lyrics.
Shifting from side to side Kai stayed quick on his feet sliding, stepping, and jumping accordingly as his hips thrusted and completed it with the appropriate hand motions. Once he hit the part where everyone throws their bent arms out like zombies and rocks them from left to right as you step the other way there were at least fifty adults doing it along with him looking like they were back in their glory days.
That it's a thriller, thriller night
'Cause I can thrill you more than any ghost would dare to try
Girl, this is thriller, thriller night
So let me hold you tight and share a killer, diller, chiller
Thriller here tonight
Bending to grab his knees and turn he stomped away closer towards the band and stood looking over his shoulder the same time as everyone else, the cheering of their stellar success resonating throughout the building. Doing the moonwalk across the stage as the band played out the end of the tune Kai hopped off into the crowd laughing the entire way back from all of the attention he was getting from complete strangers. Finding an empty seat he plopped in one and spun resting his elbows behind him on the counter when Bonnie appeared in his line of view, stepping between his legs.
"I just can't take you anywhere," she declared lifting a hand to observe all of the commotion going on around them.
"What do you mean; I'm the life of the party."
"Exactly, best we keep you out of the limelight," she offered sweetly with a pat against his chest and flashed his teeth lifting a shoulder and leaning his head against it. "I think you single-handedly became Mystic Falls most favorable performer, you had the college kids at first glance and won over everyone else with your old soul's variety of music. Care's got to be so upset."
"Yeah she wasn't giving me a pat on the back over my wins against her, that's for sure."
"Well until today that's been her designated spot since roughly… fourth grade, so yeah, I would expect she'd be a little bitter."
"I hope those twenty shots helped dull the pain – which also I need to point out wow that girl can hold her liquor."
"Vampire perks, you didn't have the chance to see her shine during the lightweight 'I'm drunk after two beers' days."
"I bet those were memorable."
"Oh yeah," Bonnie exhaled through a light sound of merriment making him smile and leaned off an elbow to slide his hand between her shirt and jean jacket, snaking her arms around his neck laying against his stomach.
"What?" he asked quietly after a moment's silence, tilting his head slightly at the small smile curving.
"You looked like you were having fun tonight," she stated and his brows drew in, "it's nice to see."
"Are you implying I haven't looked like I've enjoyed myself before?" Kai pondered, trying his hardest not to make the obvious joke but she caught it anyway.
"Oh trust me; I know the look, which is why I know it when I see it. I've just seen you during some not-so-spectacular occasions too so I like to appreciate the good times when they come."
"Me too," he agreed leaving soft pecks up the side of her neck and cheek, leaning back to stare into her glossy but lucid eyes peering back at him. "But it doesn't matter where I am, as long as you're there; with you… I'm happy."
Kai thought he was going to throw up from the surge of adrenaline that shot from his stomach into his throat and lurched forward to catch his breath, Bonnie taking it as an invite and closed the distance sliding her tongue over his. The rapid-fire pounding in his chest had his already limited air supply essentially nonexistent and was blasted with a wave of vertigo, clutching her back and suctioning her to him to steady his balance.
"I can feel your heart racing," she whispered against Kai's lips from their chests pressed together and moved her hand into his hair, leisurely massaging his skull.
Instead of the impassioned make out session he could feel swirling around them Bonnie took another approach; killing him with kindness. Her kisses were soft and gentle, coaxing him down from going into cardiac arrest with a tender touch to match. It wasn't until a fog of euphoria wafted over them that Kai was snapped back into hyperawareness of the impact behind that statement.
Skimming through the kaleidoscope of images he couldn't pinpoint the last time he made a declaration of being truly happy and the bold admission into the world was making his insides turn. Not being one to spit on superstition Kai casually knocked on the underside of the wooden counter with their lips sealed and forced the nervous anxiety out of his system, certain that this time if anything were to happen he would see the war headed for him.