23bNrAuLcEaTs

Thanks! I'm glad you like my story

Thesocialriotmachine

Yeo, I think it will mostly be her…and yep, Elena is Gaeul! Now help me. Who should I make as Yi Jung?

Moonlight16

Thanks! I'm glad you like the suspense xD

Lauren xx

Literally. Hehe

Midnightquiver

Derek had to be retarded to make it work.

Nothing much to say this time…anyway, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter

"I'll have my breakfast in bed, Mum," I mumbled. The house was unusually noisy tonight. I could hear voices and footsteps and the shuffling of papers. I could even hear the coffee brewing in the kitchen. I didn't know why, but after saving Derek I was more susceptible to hearing indistinct sounds.

And the one thing I could hear loud and clear was my mum cleaning my room.

Honestly, who wears slippers that squeak so noisily when she moves? I groaned as she shuffled around the room fussily putting my stuff toys into my closet (yes, I have them. So sue me) and muttering about how the house was being run over by mad men that wore suits at seven in the morning…

It was only SEVEN? Did they not think I will be tired after risking my life to rescue a psycho yesterday?

"MUM, PLEASE GO OUTSIDE. IT'S WAY TO EARLY FOR AN IMPROMPTU SPRING CLEANING," I bellowed from under the covers.

"Didn't you hear what I said, Bonnie? There's two men outside, they want to see you. I think they are representatives from Salvatore Holdings, they came to see you regarding the incident that took place yesterday at their school-"

"Yes, well, tell them to come back later, I'm sleeping," I mumbled, burrowing deeper into my bed.

In an instant, my mother had ripped the comforter off the bed, handing me clothes with orders to get dress.

"What are these?" I demanded, fumbling with the buttons on my blazer. It was black with white lines outlining the pockets, the cuffs, the collar and the hem. Underneath it I was wearing a white blouse with a red tie. And the skirt, it was the shortest skirt I ever saw. It was red check and made even my short legs stretch miles below the hem. I tugged at it uncomfortably, wondering why my mother was making me wear such weird clothes.

"These, are your new school uniform," my mother said briskly, handing me my school bag. I opened it- it was filled with school books, all new, unknown books. They looked new and completely foreign to me. Not the books that I was used to at Mystic Falls high anyway.

"Wait…I'm going to a new school?" I asked, dazed.

"Congratulations, you finally get it," my mother said sarcastically as she handed me a pair of knee high socks and a pair of black platform Mary Janes. "That was just what I had been trying to tell you for the past 20 minutes."

"But…why?"

"You know what?" my mother stood up and planted her hands on her hips. "I'll tackle this mess after breakfast. Now go downstairs for your breakfast."

"I…" but she didn't even give me time to finish my sentence. She simply grabbed my arm and shoved me out of the room.

"Wait!" I blurted. "I haven't brushed my hair!"

Mom stopped walking and appraised my severe case of bed head. "Right." And she doved back inside my room to grab my hairbrush. When she reappeared brandishing the required object, she refused to hand it to me.

"OW!" I yelped as she dragged the bristles so hard handfuls of hair left my scalp. "Watch it! I'm rather fond of that scalp, you know!"

"Stop yelling," Mom said calmly, dragging the brush through each section of my curls, before replacing them on the dressing room table. "Okay, you're good to go."

"Go where?" I tried asking, but she ignored my question and propelled me into the kitchen, aka Mom central. Which probably explained why she had brought the two men in business suits there instead of the living room.

"Okay," she announced, pulling me in front of her. "She's ready."

"Ready? Ready for what? I demanded."

"Going to your new school, of course!"

"But where is this famous new school?" I asked again, somewhat desperately now.

My mother threw up her hands exasperatedly. "You honestly don't know?"

"Know what?"

"The school that you're going!"

"Let me answer that," the shorter of the men in the business suit interjected.

I glared at him. Finally, I was getting some answers! "Where is the school I'm going, and what do you two have to do with it?"

Mom forced me into a chair and wordlessly handed me my breakfast-pancakes. It was normally a Sunday morning treat, so I didn't understand why she decided to prepare it today. Something was definitely up. Not that I hadn't realised it earlier, but this confirms it.

The man looked at me like I was nuts. He took a deep breath. "Miss McCullough, how about we start over with some basic introductions to save further confusion later on. My name is Allan Jones, and this is my colleague, William McIntyre. We're representatives sent by Giuseppe Salvatore, President and CEO of Salvatore Holdings. We're here today in regard of the attempted suicide of a student at our school that took place yesterday."

I blinked at them. "Er, I'm Bonnie McCullough."

Allan Jones' lips twitched at my perfunctory introduction. "As you know, a student attempted suicide on the premises of the Salvatore High School yesterday."

"Why don't you cut right to the chase, Mr Jones, I know all about this already."

"Very well then. Mr Salvatore has personally sent me to thank you for saving the company from what would have been a rather scandalous and not to mention embarrassing incident. So on behalf of Mr Salvatore, his staff and family, I thank you for doing what you did yesterday."

"…"

"And I also heard that you happened to be an excellent swimmer."

I was caught off guard. How had this stranger found out about that?

"Er…I'm sorry, but how did you know about that?"

"I took the liberty of doing some background research on you before arriving, Miss McCullough. I hope you don't mind that."

"Of course…not…"

His brow furrowed. "I'm sorry?"

"What I meant to say was, of course not," I said, putting an innocent smile on my face. What would you have done if I did mind? Will you have knocked your head on the wall to give yourself amnesia so you will forget all that you found out about me?

His face smoothed. "I see. Anyway, I presumed that you aspire to represent America in the Olympics in swimming."

"Naturally," I muttered. He already knew all about this. Why did he keep trying to confirm all this information with me anyway?

"I wonder if you knew, Miss McCullough, that Salvatore High has a scholarship for extremely talented athletes?"

I swallowed a mouthful of pancake. "The name is Bonnie. And no, I didn't know that."

"Well, anyway, we do. Every year, a few students-usually about 4 or 5- are handpicked by Mr Salvatore himself to enter the school through a sports scholarship. These students will be trained by the best coaches in the country with the best facilities money could buy before being sent off to train with national team for up to 2 years before they represent America in the Olympics. These students, unlike most other young competitors, get the opportunity to experience firsthand what it was like to be under an intensive training program that is modelled to be similar of that of an young athlete training with the national team. Except, being still a student, what we lose in terms of practice hours, we make up in terms of training facilities and the fact that our students got to do this sort of training from a much younger age."

"Uh huh," I choked out after taking a large bite of pancake. "And your point is…?"

"When Mr Salvatore heard that you were a very good swimmer, he decided to accept you into the school through a scholarship. Your education will totally be free, and other expenses- such as books and uniforms- will be paid for by the school. He thought that this will be a perfect opportunity to allow you to improve your swimming skills as well as repay you for rescuing the poor boy that tried to jump off the school building.

I gawked at him, then remembered that I had a mouthful of chewed up pancake. "Wait. Are you basically saying that I had been accepted into Salvatore High School?"

Now Allan Jones was looking sort of tired. Well, you'll be, if you kept beating around the bush instead of saying all that has to be said in one go.

"Yes, Miss McCullough, that's what I'm trying to tell you."

"Bonnie."

"Sorry, Bonnie. Anyway, Mr Salvatore hopes very much you will accept his offer…he hates to see potential talent being wasted."

I hesitated.

Salvatore High School? Hoo boy, if I accepted this offer it would mean that I would have broken the promise to myself. I swore never to get entangled in the business of Damon Salvatore and his famous gang again. If I went to the school it would meant having to see him and his friends on a daily basis. Not that I cared, but it would be awkward, knowing that he and his gang actually drove Derek to suicide and that I had rescued him.

Also, the crowd that went to Salvatore High school was spheres apart from the type of world I was used to. In my world, satisfied meant getting a new pair of shoes at H&M for half price. Theirs was acquiring a limited edition pair of Jimmy Choos, usually at a sum that went above a thousand. They did designer. I did mass produced.

And Elena, what about Elena? Elena had been my best friend since preschool. What would I do without her? I had never been separated from her through preschool and middle school and even now in Mystic Falls High school before. My stomach squeezed itself into complicated knots. How could I survive, without my best friend and sole confidante, in a totally new environment where green stood for money and not environmentally friendly? How could I survive, stuck in the same building with a manic gang for seven hours, five hours a day? Honestly, it was bad enough already having to talk to him that one time.

Then again…

Swimming had always been my passion since young. It was another promise to myself. I told myself to do whatever it takes to be a first class swimmer some day. Not that I will resort to underhand methods or anything, but this was a golden opportunity, and I knew it wouldn't happen twice. I did know many talented athletes that trained at this school often got the chance to compete in the Olympics. So why not…

"I'm not sure," I found myself muttering to the Allan Jones and William McIntyre.

Jones frowned. He had probably never met a student not keen to attend Salvatore High School before.

"Actually, Miss- Bonnie, the uniform and books have already been prepared. Your name has already been added to the class register. So I do hope that you will come…"

Why were they so keen for me to come anyway! I was nothing special, just a lowly high school student who excelled at swimming and saved their school from a possible scandal…

Oh.

I got it.

"I get it," I said out loud.

Jones looked taken aback. "I'm sorry?"

"The school doesn't really want me there, do they, Mr Jones? They just want me to keep quiet about this whole affair."

Allan Jones turned crimson. "That is but a small part of the reason as to why we want you to attend, Miss McCullough."

"Bonnie. Admit it, Mr Jones. You had a confidentiality agreement prepared, haven't you?"

"It was prepared out of security concerns, that's all. After all, Mr Salvatore has Salvatore Holding's best interests at heart."

"I see. But even if I refused your offer to attend the school, I would still have to sign it." I deliberately didn't make it sound like a question.

"Naturally," he tried to say it as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Look Mr Jones, if you want me to sign it, just say so. Because I am not interested in attending your school one bit."

A look of surprise crossed his face. "Sorry?"

"You heard me, Mr Jones," I said in a steely tone. "I don't want to attend Salvatore High school."

"Honey, are you sure about this?" I heard Mom say behind me. I had nearly forgotten her presence. "It's a very good school, and a golden opportunity! Imagine what kind of possibilities it could open up for you…"

"But I don't want to leave Mystic Falls, my friends and Elena too, Mom. I'm happy where I am. Why fixed it if it's not broken?"

Jones coughed. "If I may interrupt, Bonnie, but two of my colleagues are bringing Miss Gilbert to the school right this minute."

"You mean she's attending Salvatore High School too?" I yelped.

"Yes, of course. We are giving her an art scholarship. I heard her art was exceptional."

I was silent for a moment. Of course. Elena knew the reason behind Derek's attempted suicide too. That was why they decide to bribe us. It was lucky for them that Elena was good at art, and I at swimming.

"Well, that changes things," I said. To tell the truth, I didn't really care much for my class at Mystic Falls High anyway. Elena was my only true friend there. Besides, there was also the added bonus of the swimming…

"Alright," I heard myself say. "I'll go."

"Really?" Jones asked.

"Yes, really," I confirmed.

I heard my mother sigh in relief.

"Good." Allan Jones gave a self congratulatory smile before reaching into his briefcase and bringing out a sheaf of documents covered in fine print. "This, as you probably know, Bonnie, is the confidentiality agreement. Please sign it, then the limo will take you to the school. And your mother has to sign it too, seeing as you are still a minor. Breach of contract will lead to reimbursement of the scholarship fees, not to mention legal fines and possible jail time for your parents. So please go though it carefully and remember to keep up to your end of the contract."

I took his pen, took a deep breath, and hastily scrawled my name on every page of the legal documents. Then my mom did the same. When it was done, Jones and McIntyre both shook my mother's hand and led me to the car waiting outside.

During the twenty minute journey, we passed Mystic Falls High. I watched as all of my classmates chatted among themselves on the front lawn as they waited for the bell to go. They were all dressed in home clothes. It felt weird to wear a uniform again. If only I knew that the last Friday had been the last time I will enter the school. I would have treasured my last moments there more. It seemed like light years since Elena had come crying on my doorstep too. Had it only been less than two days ago?

Too soon, we reached Salvatore High school.

It was swarming with students, girls dressed exactly like me and boys dressed in long pants and a long sleeved blazer over a buttoned shirt. The car drove past the front gate and dropped me off at a hidden side entrance to the school.

"Good bye, Bonnie, and good luck," Jones said as I got awkwardly out of the car. McIntyre merely nodded.

I trailed uncertainly through the lush gardens that surrounded the school. The side entrance led to a hidden path barely visible under the thick undergrowth. Gnarled old trees curled over with age, and the bushes poke their long withered leaves at me. I could make out the main building in the distance, but I couldn't see any type of entrance too it.

Oh well, if I was too get lost, this was a beautiful place to get lost in anyway. It was so cool and lonely and peaceful with only the rustling trees and the plants and the sound of soft music-

Music?

I turned my head around a spotted a flash of white. As I neared the spot, the music became clearer. It was then that I made out a masculine figure, dressed almost totally in white, playing a violin with his back to me.

The music was beautiful. I didn't care much for classical music but this one sounded lovely, and it matched the surroundings, like a cliché scene from some sappy movie.

Okay, I take that back. I spoilt the moment after tripping over a tree root. I steadied myself by holding onto a tree trunk but I dropped my bag, which sounded extra loud when it went 'plop' on the ground.

The figure stopped playing and turned to me. I looked up and stifled a gasp at the familiar features.

It was Stefan Salvatore.

Gosh, my neck hurts after typing this. As usual, please give me your opinions! I love to hear what you have to say :D