Hello, my lovely readers. It's Bonnie's chapter and the Election and major drama. OMG moments coming up. On with the show…

Chapter 23: Election Blues

The election. Everybody at MF High had been talking about nothing but the election and the candidates. Damon this. Elijah that. Elena did this. Caroline said that. Never a dull moment when the stakes were this high. And today was D-Day. The day that the upper classmen would step into the booths, close the curtains and choose their junior and senior presidents. The only problem: the undecided votes. Like Bonnie Bennett.

Bonnie walked into MF high, head high, heels high and skirt barely covering her panties. She smiled at everyone and the guys smiled back. Some of the girls shot her dirty looks. Her girlfriends did not. Of course, not all of her girlfriends were playing nice right now. Like Caroline and Elena. They were about to take each other's eyes out.

"What in the hell?" Elena yelled at Caroline. "You know you're going to lose? So why are you even doing this?"

"Because, E-len-a, you don't even want to win, you're doing this to piss of Damon. I actually want to win!" Caroline yelled back, crossing her arms over her loose flannel shirt.

"Can't we all just get along?" Klaus Mikaelson inquired, wrapping his arms around Caroline's waist and pressing his cheek to hers with a wide grin.

"No!" Elena snapped, glaring at Klaus.

Elijah came to stand beside Elena. "She's right, you know. There will be no peace at this school until your lot lose."

"You're kidding, right?" Damon Salvatore elbowed his way past some freshman. He dragged Hayley Marshall by the wrist behind him before nearly throwing her in front of him and wrapping his arms around her waist in a possessive manner that made Bonnie raise an eyebrow. She had no idea why the head cheerleader and Damon had been seen together so often but she knew it was not an unlikely love story. Catching Elijah's jaw clench for a mill-a-second and the way that Elena's eyes glowed with newfound rage, Bonnie had a sneaking suspicion about what was up.

"No, Damon, we're not kidding," Elena snarled. "Matt, come here. Tell me what your latest poll says?" She folded her arms over her chest as she waited for an answer.

Bonnie yawned and grinned when someone slid their arms around her waist. "Enzo," she mumbled against his mouth when she turned her head to meet his waiting lips.

"Morning, lover," Enzo whispered. "What have I walked into on this lovely morning?"

"The usual," Bonnie whispered back, nodding at the others with a knowing smile.

Matt Donavon came to stand beside Elena. He looked nervous as hell, pushing his glasses up his nose and opening a binder with a ton of paperwork inside. "The newest polls indicate that we're up by ten percent while Elijah and Kai are up a mere two percent, mostly because Elijah threatened some undecided voters early today."

"What's with the Amazon rainforest in your hands? Welcome to the techno age, Donavon. How did you get into MIT?" Damon shook his head, consulting his phone. "Looks like you're wrong. According to my Twitter feed, I'm up by nine percent."

"According to who, ?" Elena snarled, ripping Damon's phone out of his hands and consulting his Twitter feed. "Whatever!" She tossed the phone to a freshman who ran off with it.

"You owe me a phone, Gilbert!" Damon yelled.

"Kiss my ass, Salvatore!" Elena shouted.

"Get a room!" Enzo muttered but no one except for Bonnie heard him. They were busy yelling at each other.

Kai Parker, Elijah's running mate, had yet to make an appearance although Amara Gilbert stood only a few feet from Caroline's side with her boyfriend and Caroline's bestie, Jackson, by her side. Bonnie wondered where Kai was. So far, little was actually known about the senior. He seemed to be MF High's biggest mystery.

"Where the hell is Malakai?" Elijah suddenly seemed to remember that he had a running mate and glared at the crowd. "Well, don't stare at me! Find him!" he shouted and several terrified students went in search of the elusive senior VP candidate.

"Want to go hunting?" Bonnie asked with a giggle.

Enzo looked less interested. "I would, love, but if I skip class again, I will be graduating with you."

"And is that a bad thing?" Bonnie asked him, looping her arms around his neck and kissing him.

"It could be," Enzo retorted. "Or not," he uttered as she moved her lips to the base of his neck, sliding her fingers under his shirt and making him let out a frustrated groan. "All right there, Bon, if you don't let me go, I will be forced to skip."

"So sad," Bonnie shook her head, smiling up at her boyfriend before watching him hurry off.

Grinning, Bonnie turned back around and then forced her way out of the crowd. She saw Liv Parker making her way toward a class with Tyler Lockwood, Marcel Gerard and Rebekah Mikaelson. Strange combination, she mused. "Hey, Liv, seen your cousin lately?" Bonnie called to the cheerleader.

"I hope to never see him again. Thanks for asking," Liv replied before entering the classroom.

Huffing in exasperation, Bonnie turned a corner and nearly ran into Tom Salvatore. "Hey, Tommy, seen Kai Parker lately?" she asked with a smile. She happened to be one of the only people who did not fear Tom.

"Who?" Tom scratched his head.

His wife, Cami, looked up from her cell. "She means the new guy, honey. I think I saw him in the parking lot. Then Elena waylaid us about the election. It's getting pretty mean spirited. We may not even vote this year."

"Well, I don't know what to tell you," Bonnie shook her head before hurrying off.

Luke Parker stood at the end of the hall, deep in a conversation with Kat Gilbert. Maybe he would know where his cousin was. "Hey, Luke, seen Kai lately?"

Luke's eyebrows rose. "Nope," he said, crossing his arms over his chest. "You know he's dating Anna Zhou, right?"

"Umm… Right. Okay. Not what I want him for. But thanks for the lack of info," Bonnie continued on her search for the elusive VP.

Coming to stop at the back doors to the school, Bonnie peered around her before shoving them open and stepping into the chill. It might have helped if she had put on a jacket. Hugging herself, she headed toward the football field and the bleachers. If she wanted to hide, she might hide under the bleachers. And sure enough, there were two super long legs and a guy hunched over a notebook.

"Dear diary," Bonnie began, coming to stand just outside the bleachers. "High school sucks. So, I thought I'd go outside and get a case of pneumonia so I can get out for a least a month. Or, at the very least, get a month's worth of detention," she teased, jutting out a hip and watching Kai blush, dropping his notebook.

"Oh, hey there. Sorry. Didn't know I was being observed." Kai climbed out from under the bleachers. "Aren't you cold?" he asked Bonnie. She shivered at his words.

"Nope. Not at all," Bonnie replied with a slight shake of her head.

"Sure," Kai laughed, shrugging off his jacket and wrapping it around her shoulders. "So, what brings you out here on this fine October day?"

"Looking for you," Bonnie quipped, sliding her arms into his jacket's sleeves and noticing that it fell to her knees. He really was so freakin' tall. If she didn't have a boyfriend… Well, Anna would have a lot to worry about.

"Oh, and what gives me that great honor?" Kai asked, smirking down at Bonnie, leaning over her slightly.

Bonnie smirked back at him. "Elijah Mikaelson is looking for you and I think you're hotter with you internal organs on the inside of your body."

"You think I'm hot?" Kai replied with a wide smile.

Bonnie titled her head to the side, looking at the football field, avoiding eye contact. "Yeah. You're not too bad. But I have a boyfriend and rumor has it you have a special someone, too."

"You mean Anna?" Kai's eyebrows rose. "We're friends. Hung out a few times. It's been a little harder than I expected to get to know people. You're all so…"

"Yes," Bonnie looked up into Kai's eyes and felt her heart pound a little faster in her chest.

"You've all got these little groups and you don't seem to be inviting a whole lot of new members in," Kai finished, looking at his feet.

"So you want to be part of my group?" Bonnie moved so that Kai had to look into her eyes as she let out a laugh. "That's sweet. And a little sad. But still sweet. Well, I suppose I could ask the others, see what they think. Personally, I just kind of float around. Never get too close to anyone. Otherwise they'll find a way to disappoint you."

"Is that your experience so far: that people disappoint you?" Kai prodded and Bonnie's smile tightened before someone interrupted them.

"Kai!" Elijah gritted out. "Where in the hell have you been?" His boots bit into the field, his legs making short work of closing the distance and then he stood, his hands on his hips, his eyes shining with malice.

"I've been around. Talking to undecided votes. Looks like Bonnie here might be voting for our team because we vow not to disappoint her in the future." Kai placed a hand over his heart, crossing it and giving Bonnie a look that made her feel heat rising to her face.

"Yes. Great. Another vote. Wonderful. Let's get inside and get the last of these idiots to make up their damned minds." Elijah's stance said he had lost all of the patience he had left. Kai shrugged, smiling at Bonnie, who handed him his jacket and walked back into the school.

The day moved by more quickly than usual and by third period, Bonnie felt annoyed. Elena had tried to threaten her into voting for her. Something about Elijah seeing her flirting with Kai and Elena would tell Enzo. Then Caroline had offered to do her homework for the rest of the year. Yeah, sure. Like the teachers wouldn't notice the difference? And Damon and Elijah had gotten into a fist fight. Seriously? Was this election really worth it?

Stepping into a booth, Bonnie pulled the curtain. She skipped Elena and Caroline's names in favor of writing in a ballot. Writing in very clear script her choice was: Cami and Tom Salvatore. They could do worse. Yes, Tom was almost as bad as Elijah with his antics but Cami and the new baby had softened some of his edges. And it wasn't like anyone else would vote for them. She just did not want to vote against one of her friends in favor of the other. Feeling satisfied with her vote, she left the booth and went to sit on the bleachers with her friends.

"Who did you vote for?" Enzo asked her, placing a hand on her knee.

"I'm not telling," Bonnie replied, placing her head on his shoulder.

"Fine by me," Jackson called as he came to sit with them and Amara came out of a booth with a shake of her head. "You know, I'm over this election. I voted for Mara but this whole thing is stupid."

"I know," Amara moaned, coming to sit beside her boyfriend and pressing her face into his shoulder.

Kol Mikaelson came to sit with them with a wide grin. "Voted with my heart. Not my lower bits like some of you lot," he told them with a laugh.

"Screw you, Kol!" Caroline snapped, taking a seat behind her future brother-in-law and smacking him on the shoulder.

"I meant I voted for you, dear," Kol told Caroline who glowered at him.

Damon came into the cafeteria like he had already won, waving to people in the stands with Hayley trailing behind him. She looked slightly ill. Klaus walked behind his future VP, if Damon had anything to do about it, and looked at his older brother who stood beside a booth, glaring at voters who entered. "Hey, Mikaelson, stop trying to intimidate the voters!" Damon yelled.

"Who's trying?" Elijah shouted back.

Kai came in, his hands shoved deeply into his pockets. He looked around, made eye contact with Bonnie, waved and then went off to vote. "That guy is kind of weird," Caroline said.

"Who?" Bonnie asked absently.

"That Kai guy," Caroline told her as Klaus made his way up to join them with Marcel Gerard. "Did you vote for me, baby?" Caroline asked her fiancée?"

"Of course," Klaus said, leaning over and giving Caroline a tender kiss.

"Get a room!" Enzo told them with a laugh.

Klaus grinned, kissing Caroline again while the others whistled and made lewd comments. Damon came out of a booth and gave Elena a long look as she came out of her own. Damon headed up to join their group, falling into step with Elena, neither breathing a word to the other.

Soon Hayley came to sit with them while Anna and Liv chose to sit a few bleachers down from their fellow cheerleader. Elijah took a seat between Klaus and Hayley. The brunette turned her head away from him.

Their principal took a stand at the podium. Tapping the mic, he made everyone assembled jump at the static feedback. "Hello, Junior and Senior Classes. Welcome to your student Presidential elections. I hope that you all thought hard about your choices because you will soon be making decisions about real presidential elections. Now, we have the results… Thank you, Lexi." Lexi Branson smiled while a few of her fellow students booed. "This year's junior President and Vice President are… Caroline Forbes and Amara Gilbert."

"Holy shit!" Klaus bellowed, jumping up and yanking Caroline to her feet. "That's my girl!"

Amara got to her feet and waved to the crowd before sitting down. "This is so embarrassing," she told them.

"Come on down, girls," the principal called to Care and Mara. They got up and walked down while people shouted and clapped.

"This is bullshit," Elena complained, crossing her arms over her chest.

Damon smirked, throwing an arm around Elena's shoulders. "Don't be such a sore loser, Gilbert, you knew you didn't stand a chance in hell," he told her with a friendly smile. Elena shoved Damon away before getting up and stomping on several people's fingers on her way out the door. "Now, for the good part," Damon told them, rubbing his hands together and waiting for the principal to read his name.

The principal cleared his throat. "Now, for your choice of President and Vice President… Damon Salvatore and Hayley Mikaelson… I'm sorry. I'm not sure who wrote that. Damon Salvatore and Hayley Marshall." He began to clap, giving Lexi a look who held up her hands in an It-Wasn't-Me gesture.

"Up you go, Hayley M," Elijah muttered, getting up, yanking Hayley to her feet and pushing her toward the stairs.

Damon had already reached the mic, taking it and beginning his speech by the time Hayley made it to his side. "Hello, Mystic Falls High!" Damon yelled into the microphone. "I want to begin by thanking you all for picking the winning team as I trusted that you would. I promise to make this year one for you all to remember. And, don't forget, there will be a party at my house to celebrate my win. Thanks," Damon handed the mic to Caroline.

Caroline looked nervous. "Thanks for voting for me. I… didn't really expect to win but I will try to make it worth your while. Thanks."

Stepping into the Salvatore's house, Bonnie felt lighter than she had all day. Damon greeted her with a kiss on the cheek. He seemed to be in a festive mood, dancing around Bonnie and Enzo who he was usually rude to. "The more the merrier!" the Salvatore brother cheered.

Bonnie smiled as she saw Josh and his boyfriend, Aiden, making out on a couch. Amara and Jack were sharing the opposite one with Klaus and Caroline, sharing a joke, everyone laughing and looking happy. Rebekah stood, leaning against a wall, glaring at everyone until Marcel held an orchid under her nose and then she began to smile. Silas stood watching the action before exiting the room. Kol danced with Anna and Liv.

"I'm going to go freshen up my makeup," Bonnie whispered to Enzo.

"Don't be long," Enzo replied, nuzzling her neck.

Taking the steps, two at a time, Bonnie walked past, Stefan's room. His door was closed and loud music played from within. Tom and Cami were playing with their infant. Knocking on a closed bathroom door, Bonnie started to twist the doorknob when Kai came out. "Oh, hey," Bonnie said with a startled laugh.

"Hey yourself. Good party?" Kai inquired, leaning against the doorframe.

"Yeah. It's not bad," Bonnie told him, feeling heat in her cheeks again, Bonnie looked away.

"So, I hear there's this winter formal going on soon. You wouldn't happen to already have a date, would you?" Kai asked and Bonnie's eyebrows rose.

"Again. I have a boyfriend," Bonnie stated slowly. Not that that had ever stopped her in the past. But Enzo was sweet. No other guy had ever been this sweet with her.

"Can't blame a guy for trying," Kai said, shrugging and smiling before walking away.

Shaking her head, Bonnie walked into the bathroom, locked the door and began to fix her eye makeup. What was with that guy? She decided to forget about Kai and enjoy the party. Putting on her best Happy Party face, Bonnie walked out of the bathroom to see Elena slap Damon and then kiss him before shoving him into his bedroom and the door slammed closed so hard, the hinges rattled.

"O-kay," Bonnie muttered to herself when Hayley Marshall came out of a closet, smoothing her skirt and hurrying away. Elijah Mikaelson came out seconds later wiping lipstick from his mouth and zipping his pants. Neither of them seem to see Bonnie who felt very confused about who in hell was with whom. Did it even matter? At least the election was over and people could stop messing with each other.

Then people began to scream. Bonnie heard the lock to Damon's bedroom door click and for it to swing open while Damon's black locks appear while he yanked a t-shirt on. "What's going on?" Elena called.

Bonnie didn't wait for them. She hurried to find out. Hayley lay, in a heap, at the end of the staircase, blood pooling around her head, her limbs in awkward angles. Elijah stood at the top of the stairs with people staring at him in horror. What had he done this time?

What do you think happened? Will Hayley survive and who pushed her?

Guest: Thank you! You're so sweet! Tom and Kol haven't had their own chapters yet so we will definitely see more of Tomi and Kolvina before the story ends. And I love Jaiden so we will see more of them. Stefan will show up to create more drama in the next chapter or the one after that.

Guest: Thank you so much!

Guest: It's here!

Guest: I know. I hope you enjoyed the drama this time, too.

Guest: It's here!

Peace,

Jessica