Here you go guys, the next story in my mini series! It's set fourteen years later with Ethan going into high school. If you haven't read the other stories in the series they are, The Ultimate Decision, Eternity Await Us, Their New Beginning, and now Take Your Pick: Death or Eternal Life? I hope you all enjoy! ~Lindsey

Take Your Pick: Death or Eternal Life?

(Chapter one)

Fourteen years later

It was his first day of school. Actually, it was his first day of high school. He couldn't help but feel nervous. He remembered passing by Mystic Falls High school on his way to his old middle school and all he could think about was how big it was and he was sure that he would get lost. Ethan stood in front of the mirror, pulling his black polo over his head. He took a good look at himself. He had on a black polo and khaki shorts. His brown hair was messy and shaggy. He had decided to keep it at that length because girls liked it, hey..Justin Bieber did it and all the girl loved him.

"Ethan James Salvatore. If you don't hurry up and get down here, you're going to miss the bus on your first day. Get a move on young man!" yelled Elena from downstairs.

"I'm coming mom! Chill!" he yelled back.

Slowly, Ethan grabbed his book bag off of his bed and headed downstairs. He could smell eggs and bacon waiting for him.

"Thanks Aunt Alex." he said as he scarfed the plate down. Even though Alex and Stefan weren't married yet, Ethan still called her aunt.

"No problem kiddo but dang, don't eat so fast. You'll get a stomach ache!" said Alex as she patted Ethan on the back.

He smiled at her and then asked, "Where's my mom and dad?"

"Good morning." said Elena as she walked into the kitchen and placed a kiss on Ethan's head. "Glad to see you finally made it downstairs for breakfast. The bus will be here in ten minutes so hurry up." Elena paused for a moment and then looked at Ethan. "I just can't believe my son is in high school..."

"Oh gees mom, don't cry! Do you know how lame you look right now?" said Ethan as color rose to his cheeks in embarrassment.

"Don't call you're mother lame." said Damon as he appeared behind and patted him on the back. "Well, turn around. Let's get a good look at you."

Ethan got up from his chair and stood so everyone could get a look. "That's my boy." smiled Damon. "You look more and more like me everyday. You have that Salvatore charm, use it wisely." he winked at him. It was true, everyday Ethan grew more to look like Damon and he sure was handsome. His blue eyes were almost as bright as Damon's and his hair was just a tiny bit lighter like his mothers. He already had a build like Damon's and he had always teased his father saying that one day he would be strong enough to take him. The only thing that Ethan did not inherit from his father was his personality. Damon had always wished he would end up like Elena and in some ways he did. He was kind and loving like she was but surprisingly, most of his personality reflected his uncle, Stefan. While Ethan was kind of similar to Elena, he was also shy and at times mysterious like Stefan. He was even good at brooding when the time was right and it drove Damon crazy.

"What do you mean by use my "Salvatore charm" wisely?" Ethan asked Damon.

Damon walked closer to him and winked. "When the time is right, you'll see."

Elena stood next to them and shook her head, a smile on her face. "You better get a move on. The bus will be here in a minute." Elena walked over to the fridge and pulled out a brown paper sack. "And here's your lunch."

"Thanks mom. We'll...wish me luck." said Ethan.

Elena went forward and hugged Ethan and kissed his cheek. "I love you. You'll do great."

"I love you too mom, and dad." said Ethan as he walked towards the front door.

"Remember," called Damon after him. "Use it wisely!"

Ethan shut the front door just as the bus was pulling up in front of the boardinghouse. He hated riding on that stupid oversized yellow twinky, he couldn't wait till he was old enough to drive. He walked onto the bus and saw that most of the seats were already full.

"Uhm, do you mind if I sit here?" asked Ethan.

"Sure." said the girl in the seat shyly. She was a very pretty girl. She had long auburn colored hair and a nice bronze colored skin. She had green eyes and they had a sparkle about them. She wasn't a very tall girl, Ethan guess she was a little taller than five foot.

"Thanks." smiled Ethan as he sat down next to her. "I'm Ethan."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Kelsey." she smiled.

"What grade are you in?" asked Ethan.

"I'm going to be a freshman. You?"

"Same here. I haven't seen you around before. Are you new to Mystic Falls?" he asked.

"Oh, yes. My family just moved here from Connecticut because my dads job transferred him here. Mystic Falls is a really interesting name for a town." she said.

"I know right? This town has been here for a long time. There's all kinds of legends about it but I don't really believe any of them."

"Like what?" she asked, curiosity in her voice.

"Well, I've heard that this town used to be like a hot spot for vampires, if you actually believe in that kind of stuff." said Ethan in his manly, I don't really care voice.

"Oh...that's interesting..that kind of stuff is so cool." said Kelsey as the bus came to a stop in front of the school.

"Well, I guess I'll be seeing ya." called Ethan over his shoulder as he ran over to catch up with his group of friends.

"Hey man, who was that chick you were talking to? She was kind of hot." said Justin. Justin was Ethan's best friend since the third grade. They had done everything together since then and they were like brothers. Justin was slightly taller than Ethan and he had black hair.

"Oh, just some new chick. She was nice but kind of weird. Whatever.." said Ethan as he glanced back over to look at Kelsey as she entered the building, headed towards the front office.

"Well hey, I gotta get running. I've got uh...Mr. Peterson for first period math wherever that is but I'll see you at lunch." said Justin as he took off running into the building.

Ethan looked down at his schedule to see what class he had first and to his liking it was actually a subject that he enjoyed, history. He walked into the building and looked for the room number where his classroom would be located. As he walked into the classroom and looked for a seat he saw a lot of familiar faces, all of them glancing over at him. Mostly the girls glanced at him and tried to flirt with their eyes and the guys glared at him because they were jealous. Ethan belonged to his own group of friends, the jocks, and he found a few of them sitting together so he took a seat next to them.

"Ethan, hows It going bro?" asked a sandy blonde guy with a smile named Joseph but Ethan didn't have time to respond because at that moment the teacher walked into the room.

"Good morning everyone and welcome to American History. My name is Mr. Saltzman and I will be your teacher for this school year. I'll start out by calling roll so just say here."

Mr. Saltzman sped down the list. "Ethan Salvatore?" he called.

"Here." replied Ethan as he watched Mr. Saltzman look up at him and shake his head and smile. Alaric couldn't help but smile at the fact that he was teaching his former vampire hunter partner and that he looked so much like that old partner.

"And finally, Kelsey Steward?" called Mr. Saltzman.

"Here.." replied Kelsey softly as Ethan turned around to peer at her. This was going to be an interesting school year..

Okay, I just had to start this new story with Ethan older. Trust me, It's going to get good...I mean look at the title? Does it not make it sound like some epic stuff is going to happen? Once again, thank you to all of my fans that have enjoyed this mini series that consists of The Ultimate Decision, Eternity Await Us, Their New Beginning, and now the newest addition...Take Your Pick: Death or Eternal Life? I'll try to update as often as possible and I hope you guys enjoy the new addition and remember to review! ~Lindsey