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Jordan entered the kitchen for another cup of coffee. He ignored Zac, who had stared at him since he had walked into the kitchen. He sighed, turned to face Zac, and sat his mug on the counter. "Is there a reason why you are staring at me like some creep?"
Zac didn't answer for some time, annoying Jordan even more. "Wondering why you are in town?"
"Because he's my friend, and I want him here," Damon answered when he walked into the kitchen. "It's none of your business why he's here."
Zac didn't say anything; he just left the room in a mood.
"Someone else who doesn't like you." Jordan filled his cup with coffee and then turned back towards Damon. "I don't blame him for hating you. You're an asshole. And every time you come into town, someone else suffers and pays the price for your mistakes." He patted his friend on the shoulder on his way back to the living room.
Damon followed Jordan and sat across from him. "I don't regret anything I've done in my past. I did what I had to do. And forget about the past since what happens in the past stays in the past."
Jordan's day of alone time was over. "How can that be true when you want to bring Katherine back..." She's where she belongs.
"Katherine is different." Damon thought Katherine was his second chance at finding love. She came to him at the right moment.
Jordan thought differently. From the start, he didn't like Katherine, nor did he believe her act of acting nice and sweet. He saw right through the act, and that was probably why the girl herself didn't like Jordan. He didn't like him hanging around Damon or Benjamin and Sebastian. It was not like Damon had listened to anything Jordan had to say when it came to Katherine, as he was far too gone to realize he was being played from the start. She was even the reason the two best friends slowly fell apart.
"Katherine is a manipulated bitch. She used and made you turn your back on your own family." Jordan was always going to tell Damon how it was. "I know once she is free, you are going to do the same thing and turn your back on your sons. You've already done it once. What's to say you wouldn't do the same thing again? You have caused them enough pain over the years. Are you ready to put them through it all over again?"
"Not once have I ever turned my back on my boys." Damon snapped, not liking what he was hearing. "I love my sons more than anything in this world. –"
"Yet you still left them behind so you could take revenge on your brother. Then you turned them into the one thing you didn't want to become. And then you came back into their lives whenever you needed them for something."
"All the stuff I've done over the years was to protect them! Yes, I know it was wrong and selfish of me to turn them without asking them what they wanted first. I just didn't want to lose them, and you can't wrong me for wanting that. Sometimes I do wish they had a normal life and found a family of their own just like their mother always wanted for them. I feel horrible for breaking my promise to Anastasia."
"I know you do." Jordan leaned forward, his elbows resting on his thighs. "But Damon, you are going to have to choose between your sons and Katherine. And I hope you make the right choice."
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Benjamin came over to his brother's side and threw his arm over his shoulder. "How does it feel to be back in high school, little brother?"
The brothers have attended high school about six times, and they have also experienced college. Hopefully, they will stick around long enough to finish at least one high school and finally graduate.
Unlike Benjamin, Sebastian was nervous. He hated the stares he was getting as they made their way across the parking lot towards the school. Girls and even some guys were staring at them like they were a piece of candy. There were even some guys glaring at them like they wanted to beat them up or something.
Sebastian thought about turning back and forgetting all about trying to be a normal seventeen-year-old. A part of being a normal teenager was going to a normal high school with normal people. Sebastian was grateful for having Benjamin by his side through it all, and he knew his brother wouldn't leave him to defend himself.
"I wish everyone would stop staring at us," Sebastian told Benjamin as they walked by a couple of jocks at their lockers, and of course, they were staring at them.
"They are only staring at us because we are the best-looking people in this dump." Benjamin glared back at the ones who glared at them and even winked at a couple of girls. The girls ended up looking away from them when they knew they were caught staring. "Isn't that right, Uncle Stefan?"
Stefan was walking behind his nephews. He was going to go with them so they could enrol in the school. At Sebastian's request, he was going to put them in almost every class he was in except art class since both brothers wanted to take art. By the looks of things, Benjamin was going to go with what Sebastian wanted without question.
"Do me a favour, Benjamin, and don't call me Uncle Stefan while we are here at school." Stefan requested Benjamin. "If anyone asks you, say we are cousins."
Benjamin rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, Uncle Stefan."
Benjamin was like his father in so many ways.
Inside the office, the brothers handed over the papers they both filled out in the car on their way to the school. They then stepped aside to let Stefan do his thing. After everything was done, Stefan left the brothers behind to go do his own thing. Now, they had to find their way around by themselves without any help from Stefan.
"Let's try to find our lockers." Sebastian didn't understand why Benjamin was walking behind him instead of beside him like he always did. He didn't question it as he was busy glancing down at their class schedule. And because he was not looking where he was going, he ended up bumping into someone who, as well, wasn't watching where they were going as they were busy searching through their bag.
Three things happened at once: Benjamin accidentally collided with Sebastian's back, causing Sebastian to curse as he stumbled into a girl, who dropped her bag and nearly fell. Luckily, Sebastian's quick reflexes allowed him to catch the girl by placing his hands on her waist and preventing her from falling.
The girl slowly glanced up at Sebastian and gasped. she looked at Sebastian like she had seen a ghost.
Sebastian was standing in the middle of a nearly crowded hallway, staring at a beautiful girl in front of him. He was at a loss for words and didn't know what to say or do. He attempted to speak but no words came out, making him look like a fool. He was holding onto the girl even though he didn't know her. Luckily, Sebastian's big brother rescued him from the awkward situation. Sebastian knew that his brother found the situation amusing.
Benjamin gently pulled Sebastian away, causing him to release the girl he was holding onto. He then picked up the girl's bag, shuffled the few items scattered on the ground back into the bag, and returned it to her. The girl expressed her gratitude in a soft voice that Benjamin could barely hear. He then moved back to his brother's side and introduced themselves. "I'm Benjamin, and this clumsy guy beside me is my brother, Sebastian," he said, throwing his arm over Sebastian's shoulder, just as he had done earlier that day. "Say hello, Seb."
"h-h- "Sebastian cleared his throat. Since when did he stutter and get nervous when he was talking to anyone? "I mean, hello, I'm Sebastian." She already knows how stupid of him. "And you are?"
"Miley."
When the bell rang, Miley used it as an excuse to run away from them. She was gone before either one of the brothers could say anything.
Sebastian stood staring at the same spot Miley was moments ago, he was wondering what the hell had just happened.
Benjamin stared at Sebastian, finding the whole thing a little funny. He had seen his brother in these awkward situations many times before when it came to girls. Unlike himself, Sebastian hadn't been much into girls in all the years they had been alive. Sebastian had only kissed two girls, and he hated it, describing it as one of the worst things in his life. He said it was gross, and he wished it had never happened in the first place.
Sebastian cleared his throat and glanced back down at the sheet still in his hand. "We need to get to class. We're already late as it is."
"Yeah, and we wouldn't want that now, would we."
Finding their lockers would just have to wait for now.
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"I love history!"
Sebastian walked with his head down, following Benjamin to their classroom. He felt a little embarrassed by his brother's overly excited behaviour as soon as they stepped into the room. Benjamin had always been the dramatic one. They found a couple of seats at the back of the class, and Benjamin chose the one closest to the window, while Sebastian took the one beside him.
Mr. Tanner, the history teacher, did not find anything amusing about how Benjamin and Sebastian entered his class. "Nice of you to show up for my class ten minutes late." He had no idea who they were.
Benjamin picked up on it. "We would've been on time if somebody didn't leave us behind to find our own way around this place." He was talking about Stefan, who ditched them for most of the day. "Though if you must know, My name is Benjamin Salvatore. and – "he glanced at Sebastian, waiting to see if he was going to introduce himself, and by the looks of things, he wasn't going to do as he was staring down at his desk. Sebastian was acting like his awkward, shy self when it came to people he didn't know. "-he's Sebastian Salvatore, my brother. Oh, and another thing you must know is that Stefan is not our brother. He is our cousin," He glanced over at Stefan and smiled at his uncle, who didn't show any emotions whatsoever.
"Make sure you are on time for my classes in the future." Mr. Tanner told him. How many more new people were going to show up in this town? "Okay." Back to teaching his class. "Pearl Harbor?" Nobody answered. "Miss Gilbert? Pearl Harbor?"
"December 7th, 1941", Sebastian answered instead of Elena. He wished he had stayed quiet because now almost all eyes were on him, and he hated it. This was why he let Benjamin do the talking and take care of things. He was after all much better than he was.
"Thank you, Miss Gilbert," Sebastian glanced back down at the table at Mr. Tanner's tone, and the cause of students were laughing.
Benjamin glared at the ones who thought it was a good idea to laugh. He also glared at Mr. Tanner. He did not like this teacher at all. All Benjamin needed was a few moments alone with the man to do some serious damage.
"Very well." My Tanner stilled and looked at Sebastian, probably thinking about embarrassing him some more. "The fall of the Berlin Wall?"
"1989." Benjamin saved his younger brother from answering. "Like is said, I love history. I know almost everything about the subject."
Mr. Tanner took that as a challenge. "Do you> Keep it to the year. Civil rights act?"
"1964."
Martin Luther King?"
"1968."
"Lincoln?"
"1865."
"Rose vs Wade?"
"1973."
"Brown vs Board?"
"1954."
"The battle of Gettysburg?"
"1863."
"Korean war?"
"1950 to 1953."
"Ha! It ended in 52." Mr Tanner looked happy when he thought Benjamin had finally got something wrong.
"Actually, he's not wrong, sir. It was, in fact, 53" Sebastian spoke up louder this time so he was heard. He loved how Benjamin was showing Mr. Tanner up in front of the whole class.
Benjamin sat back in his chair with his crossed he looked smug with himself.
Tanner glanced between the brothers and this time; he wasn't looking happy. "Look it up, somebody. Quickly!?" He ordered the class.
"It was 1953." The girl student sitting beside Benjamin answered.
After the class had ended and outside the hallway, Benjamin and Sebastian laughed and high-fived each other.
"That was freaking awesome," Sebastian said. "Probably one of the best classes of the day."