A/N: Because Elle's glance at the White House in Legally Blonde 2 is everything. I've simplified parts of the election process for narrative simplicity.
Elle smooths out a crease in her bubble-gum pink pantsuit as she waits backstage. Her political opponents are studying palm cards and memorising last-minute facts, but she just listens to the chatter of the gathering audience and focuses on keeping her breathing steady. She's learnt all the talking points and statistics she can. Now, the most important thing is staying calm so she can present them all effectively. Thankfully, Vivian is, like, all about mindfulness these days, and she's given Elle a few tips.
'Are you ready?' Emmett asks, handing her a drink bottle before taking a sip of his own.
There's no doubt in her mind. 'Yes.'
It's been a long road to get here, and she can't squander this opportunity; if she does, it will never come around again. Even after her convincing win in the primaries, there's still a significant part of her party that thinks putting her up as their presidential candidate is a bad idea. They see her as too polarising, or too shallow, or a million other things that frankly say more about their biases than her reality. And none of them will be forgiving if she messes this up.
Yet she's confident that she has this in her pink, fluffy designer bag. After all, she's a pro at managing tense situations with diplomacy, conviction and intelligence. Back at college, how many times did she have to find a way to tell one of her Delta Nu sisters that their boyfriend was a massive sleazebag without offending them? Forget about serving as a mayor; that was diplomacy. And as a defence attorney, how many times did she exonerate her clients through clever lawyering and heartfelt charm?
The other candidates have their strengths too, but she's ready to counter all their arguments – and all their counterarguments, too. And she knows they'll attack her for her femininity, which they've already started in the press. But she's been dealing with that her whole life. There's no way she'll let these stuffy old men will faze her when so many others have failed.
The host's magnified voice rings out across the auditorium, and the audience immediately hushes. Handing the drink bottle back to Emmett, Elle waits for their cue to walk onstage. There's an art to being prompt enough to show sincerity without being so hasty as to appear nervous, and she's determined to strike the right balance.
-x-
The day of the election, Elle's phone blows up constantly with messages of support and well wishes. Most of them are from her sisters, past and present, sending selfies of themselves standing outside voting booths. A good portion of them wear matching self-organised Elle Woods for President badges that are just the cutest thing ever with tassels and enough pink glitter to blind someone.
When the sisterhood mobilises, it works hard. At least a third of the people texting her have never voted before, having no interest in taking time away from work or socialising to do something they think won't make any difference anyway. But after all her dedicated awareness campaigns, they're coming out in droves. And if what they're saying is true, she's the one they're all voting for.
Once a Delta Nu, always a Delta Nu.
She can't make genuine predictions based on her little snapshot of how people are voting. She's sure the other candidates have their own friends and supporters reaching out to encourage them and tell them they're certain to win, and there are a sizeable number of Delta Nus who belong to different political parties and are voting for one of them instead. But at the same time, she keeps getting hit by such an outpouring of love that it's hard not to start daydreaming.
What would it be like to be sworn in? To work in the Oval Office? To move into the White House with Emmett and their dogs?
Shaking herself from the vision of waking up in the White House, she slides her phone in her bag. She has to believe she'll receive at least a respectable percentage of votes. But will it be enough to win?
A break would be amazing right now. Turning to Bruiser, she asks brightly, 'Who wants to go for a walk?'
He wags his tail so energetically his whole body wiggles.
-x-
Silence descends over the party headquarters as Elle and her political advisors wait for the final votes to be tallied. All along, it's been neck-and-neck between her and one other candidate — incidentally, the only one who has never resulted to petty name-calling over her gender and looks. But only an hour ago, she pulled away, and her lead has been steadily increasing ever since. It's still not enough to feel secure in her lead, but far better than the alternative.
They're so close, she can almost taste it. She crosses her fingers under the desk where no one can see. She's prepared two speeches, one for each alternative. They both touch on the same themes — gratitude, vision, and hope for the future – just with different emphases and tones.
More than anything, she wants to give the winner's speech. Elle genuinely believes her views and values would be good for this country, and she wants the opportunity to help guide it into the future. She also thinks she would offer a much-needed change of pace after centuries of leaders almost solely coming from the same demographic.
' — state's votes are in,' says the news presenter, and suddenly there's a buzzing anticipation to the room. On the screen, the bar representing her party increases. 'With 272 votes, the next President of the United States… is Elle Woods.'
Cheers erupt throughout the room as her phone starts buzzing incessantly, but Elle can barely hear any of it. Ringing over and over in her head are the words: the next president.
She's done it. It's her. Elle hasn't let anyone down, and she can help action the changes she wants to see, and they've done it.
She's going to totally nail it in the White House.