WORST DAY

AUTHOR'S NOTE/DISCLAIMER

Resides in my "Snoop Revelations" reality and takes place during the "162 Candles" scene where Stefan is beating up Damon and alludes to abuse though Damon doesn't know about it at this time. As always, Stefan's mental voice is in bold and Damon's mental voice is in italics/underlined. Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. I only own stuff you guys don't recognize.

Damon had just poured himself a drink when he felt the presence. He turned around to see Stefan staring at him.

"Told you I'd take care of it," he said. Bastard! How could you!? I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! he shouted attacking, punching him repeatedly. How could you!? Especially today!? She was the only one who made this day bearable and you knew that! he shouted. Why did he have to do something like this today? He had always hated this day and Damon knew that, though he didn't know why. Not that he wanted him to know why, but still…couldn't he have just given him today to be happy? That was all he had needed: just one day. Damon winced internally. Yeah, killing Lexi on his little brother's birthday was more than a dick move…especially since he seemed to hate the day with every fiber of his being, though he wasn't sure why. 'Cause seriously, who hated their own birthday? But it had been necessary: the Council had been getting too close. I got them off of our track, he responded. No, you did this to punish me! An eternity of misery-I expected that! But I didn't expect you to pull a stunt worthy of Father! the other vampire shouted, his mental voice thick with emotion. And that's what killed him. That his brother would go this far to punish him for whatever perceived transgression he had committed against him. It was all very reminiscent of the time Father had killed Murtagh-the horse he had owned before Mezzanotte-because he had told him that he wasn't going to play his games anymore. Oh Hell, no he didn't, Damon thought. Stefan had not just compared him to their father. With a grunt, he pushed Stefan back and in a flash, the younger vampire pinned his brother to the wall. I hate you! I hate you! I wish you were dead! he shouted.

"I did this for you. To get them off of our trail," Damon told him. You have some nerve comparing me to him, Brother, he told him, trying not to show how much his last comment had hurt him. How could Stefan even compare them? He was nothing like that bastard. And he couldn't seriously wish that he was dead…right? He was just lashing out because he was angry and hurt.

"You never do anything for anyone but yourself," Stefan responded. Not really. You punished me for not falling in line with what you wanted just like he did, he replied, his voice going soft. When were you ever punished by Father? You were his golden boy, Damon said, a slight scoff in his mental voice. Don't talk as if you know about our relationship! You don't know jack! Stefan shouted as he took a stake and jammed it into his brother's chest right below his heart, resulting in the older vampire gasping in pain. That's for Lexi, he told him. Lexi. Oh, damn. He needed her. She was the only one who could get him through this day.

"You missed," he gasped. Cutting it rather close, Brother, he scolded. Another inch higher and he'd be a corpse.

"No. You saved my life. I'm sparing yours. We're even," the younger boy corrected. Brother? You don't know the meaning of the word, came the response as he took the stake out and then jammed it back into the same spot. He was through with trying to get his brother back. It was no use anyways. Damon had proved tonight that their relationship was dead and gone. There wasn't even a trace of the brother he had once known and he was going to have to accept that. Damon had promised him an eternity of misery and he had played his trump: killing his best friend. "And now we're done," he told him and then headed out as Damon slid to the ground. Stefan? Damon asked. Thank you for giving me yet another reason to hate my birthday, he said as he left the room, leaving his brother to pull the stake out of his chest and then to stare after him.

THE END