This fic is inspired by Stefan's comment in season 4 episode 23 about graduating from high school seventeen times. It's set right before Damon is captured by the Augustines.
I promise I will update my other stories soon. I needed a mental break from Gun Play while I decide whether I want to rewrite some parts of that story.
*Thoughts are in italics
North Carolina 1953
Stefan POV
Stefan shifted nervously on the wooden bench and studied his shoes. Principal Wagner was furious. He made it clear that he was calling the boys' parents. The only problem was that Stefan didn't have any parents. And there were too many people around to compel them all into forgetting the whole situation. So, he reluctantly gave the man Damon's phone number and prayed that his brother was still in town.
Damon had come looking for Stefan three days earlier and made a pathetic attempt to "bond". Stefan, still hurt about being abandoned in World War II, lashed out at him. He cringed thinking about some of the things he had said to his older brother.
The younger Salvatore was normally pretty good at taking care of himself. However, looking so young, the number of years that he was able to pass for college age were limited. He inevitably signed up for high school a few times to increase the number of years that he could stay in one place, but he yearned for years past when unaccompanied teenagers were less conspicuous.
To avoid suspicion, Stefan was always quiet and well-behaved. He made straight A's and rarely spoke up in class. The thought that the school might try to call his 'parents' had never occurred to him. There was no one that he could ask to pose as his guardian. He didn't exactly have friends in this town and Lexi was on the other side of the country. So, he did the only thing he could think of in his moment of panic and gave the principal the number to the hotel room Damon was staying in.
Stefan listened with baited breath as the school secretary finished her phone call and dialed a new number. Finally, a sleepy voice groaned into the phone. Stefan exhaled in relief.
"What?!" growled Damon. Stefan smiled a little to himself. He could recognize Damon's 'hung over voice' anywhere.
The secretary was less than pleased with his barking tone. "Is this Mr. Damon Salvatore?" she asked with a hint of annoyance.
"Who's asking?" came the gruff response.
"This is Wilmington High School calling. The principal asked me to let you know that your brother is in the office and you will need to come pick him up."
There was a long pause. "I'm sorry...what?"
Please play along begged Stefan mentally.
"Your brother. Stefan Salvatore," she explained as if speaking to a two year old. "He's in the principal's office and you need to come pick him up."
"Right," said Damon slowly. "I'll be there soon."
Stefan's luck was short-lived. Principal Wagner led Tommy back into the hallway and then motioned motioned for Stefan to follow him. The tear tracks on Tommy's face didn't bode well for Stefan.
"I'll make this brief since I already did enough yelling," he said closing the door. "Your behavior was unacceptable and therefore you'll be receiving five swats. Bend over."
Stefan swallowed down his pride and slowly bent over the desk. The voice inside his head wanted nothing more than to tell the man to go to hell since he was old technically enough to be Principal Wagner's grandfather. Being eternally stuck in the body of a teenager just plain sucked.
He jumped when first swat from the paddle fell and clenched his eyes shut. The scorching pain was enough to take his breath away. It had been almost a hundred years since his last spanking and it hurt worse than he remembered.
The second swat fell and the boy bit his lip to keep quiet. By the fifth swat there were tears leaking out of his eyes. He quickly wiped them away as soon as the principal gave him permission to stand.
"I hope I won't be seeing you in here again," Wagner warned.
"No sir," said Stefan quietly.
Damon POV
Damon sauntered in thoroughly amused. His little brother enjoyed playing human and he knew that Stefan had registered for high school a couple times before, but he certainly wasn't expecting to be called in to come play guardian. Damon figured it was the least he could do after abandoning the boy several years ago.
The school was so perfectly quaint it was sickening. Damon didn't understand what Stefan found so appealing about these types of places anyway. Just because he didn't drink human blood didn't mean that Stefan had to be a stick in the mud. In Damon's opinion, the straight-laced atmosphere just made the idea of sucking people's blood even more appealing.
It didn't take him long to find the office. From the look of things, the principal had already had a discussion with Stefan. The poor kid was squirming on the bench and throwing worried glances at his older brother. With his hair slicked back like that and his eyes wide with worry, he barely looked seventeen.
The elder Salvatore mentally rolled his eyes. Relax, baby brother. I'll keep up the charade.
The school secretary somehow managed to look down her nose at him from her seated position. His black leather jacket and bluejeans probably didn't scream responsible guardian. He suddenly felt very out of place in the buttoned-up atmosphere.
Damon smiled at the woman. "I'm here to pick up my little brother, Stefan Salvatore."
She narrowed her eyes and peered over her glasses. "Are you his guardian? For some reason his file is missing guardian information."
"That would be me."
She looked him up and down. "You're awfully young to be his guardian."
Damon tried to turn up the charm. "Well, I'm older than I look."
The woman simply pursed her lips. "I'll let Mr. Wagner know you're here." She rapped twice on the principal's door before sticking her head in. "Alright, Mr. Salvatore, you can come back now."
Damon took in the balding head and frown lines and braced himself for an unpleasant conversation. Principal Wagner didn't seem to like what he saw either. He gave the elder Salvatore the same disapproving look that the secretary did.
Damon shook the man's hand and sat down in one of the chairs positioned in front of the desk. He crossed his legs and tried to look guardian-y.
"I haven't seen you around," Wagner said suspiciously. "You seem awfully young to be Stefan's guardian.
"Well, you know, I stay busy," he said glibly. "Working to provide for my little brother and all."
"So you're his brother? How did you come to be Stefan's guardian?" Principal Wagner questioned.
The elder Salvatore did his best to look grieved. "Our parents died in a tragic car accident a few years ago."
"I'm sorry," Wagner said awkwardly. "I know that must have been very hard for you and your brother."
"We've managed to move on," Damon reassured. He was bored with this conversation already. "So what exactly did baby brother do to end up in here?"
The man frowned. "He got into a fist fight with another boy. Right in the middle of the cafeteria."
Damon winced. "Was the other kid hurt?" he asked hesitantly. Seriously, Stefan?! You decided to lose your temper in a room full of witnesses?!
"Thankfully, the other boy only got a black eye, but that's not the point. This is a respectable school and I won't tolerate that sort of violence."
"Of course," said Damon smoothly. "I apologize for my little brother's actions."
Wagner gave a quick nod. "In accordance with school rules, both boys have already received five swats with the paddle."
"Completely understandable," agreed Damon.
Principal Wagner cleared his throat. "However, the school relies on parents to reinforce good behavior at home. I need to know that you can give Stefan... consequences. A boy his age needs a firm hand." He gave Damon a meaningful look. "Especially when the parents are out of the picture."
I've been giving Stefan consequences for longer than you've been alive, Damon thought irritably. And I seriously doubt you would approve of Giuseppe's firm hand.
"I understand," he said gravely. He knew exactly what the principal was angling for. Stefan wasn't going to like it, but it would satisfy the man and keep him from becoming too suspicious. Besides, Stefan needed to learn to control his temper in public if he was going to play human. "Can I have a few minutes alone with my brother?"
Damon raised an eyebrow at his little brother. The boy was carefully looking anywhere but Damon's face. "Fighting?" he asked in disbelief.
"He wouldn't leave me alone," mumbled Stefan. "And he threw the first punch."
"Is the other kid the one that was sitting next to you on the bench?"
Stefan nodded.
"He looks more alive than I would have guessed," prodded Damon.
"I made sure not to use my full strength," he explained.
"Well, at least you have some common sense left." Damon stood up and threw his leather jacket over the chair before unbuckling his belt. He crooked a finger. "Come here."
Stefan looked up in alarm as his jaw dropped. "No way. Y...You can't. Principal Smith doesn't need to know..."
"You're the one who got yourself into this situation," said Damon. "Besides, you have been quite naughty."
"I'm an adult," pouted Stefan as he crossed his arms uncomfortably.
The elder brother smirked. "If you were an adult, we wouldn't be here right now. You have three seconds to get over here or I'll put you over my knee like I did when you were hu...younger," he said catching himself. Knowing Mr. Wagner, he was probably listening in right now.
A wide-eyed Stefan shook his head in a manner that reminded Damon of a much younger and human Stefan.
Damon tried hard not to smile. It wouldn't help matters to let Stefan see his resolve waver. "One," he said patiently.
Stefan shifted his weight from one foot to the other.
"Two," said Damon.
"I am the ripper!" his little brother said indignantly.
This time Damon couldn't help but chuckle a little. "And I'm still your big brother. Thr..."
"Fine!" spat Stefan. He stomped over to the desk and tried to bend over, but his older brother grabbed his arm.
"Trousers down," he commanded.
The boy just stood there and glared.
Damon regarded him coolly. "Would you like your underwear to come down too?" he warned.
Stefan huffed and yanked his kahkis down to his knees. He bent over the desk as fast as he could and buried his face in his arms.
His older brother patted his back. "Good boy."
Damon doubled the belt over and took a deep breath. It felt strange to be in this position after all these years. He raised his arm into the air and carefully aimed at the white briefs.
Stefan hissed as the first smack landed.
Damon didn't bother lecturing. Frankly, this whipping was more about saving Stefan's ass than punishing it. He methodically covered every inch of his brother's bottom before starting all over again for a second round.
The boy's back quivered as he tried to stay in place and quiet. Damon felt a wave of sympathy pass through him. His little brother had never been good at staying still during a punishment. It was part of the reason why he always insisted that Stefan go over his knee.
When he heard the soft sniffles, he finished up with several swats to back of Stefan's thighs.
Damon squeezed his shoulder gently. "It's alright. We're done," he soothed as he slipped his belt back on.
Stefan sucked in deep breaths and tried to stop crying.
He started rubbing a hand up and down Stefan's back when the kid made no move to get up.
Damon wasn't entirely surprised when Principal Wagner walked in before knowing they were finished. He sent a hard look the man's way while Stefan scrambled to get his clothes back in place.
"Well, I think my brother and I will be heading home now," said Damon.
The principal seemed satisfied by what he saw. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Salvatore."
Damon gave the man a tight smile. "Same here," he said as he put a hand on the back of Stefan's neck and led him out.
The two brothers walked out into the sunlight.
"Thank you for coming," said Stefan. "I'm sorry for what I said a few days ago."
"Would you like me to kill him for you?" Damon asked seriously.
Stefan let out a small laugh. "Which one? The Principal or Tommy?"
"Does it matter?" his older brother asked.
Stefan smiled. "Nah, I've got it under control."
"Here," said Damon. He pulled out a small piece of paper from his jacket.
Stefan looked down at the phone number in confusion.
"It's the place where I'm staying next," he explained. "Call me if the school ever needs me to tan your hide again."
Stefan gave him a half-hearted glare and put the paper in his pocket.
Damon ruffled his little brother's hair. "Behave," he warned gently before walking towards his car. He didn't dare look back to see the hurt look on Stefan's face as he walked away once again. Why couldn't his little brother understand that he was a bad influence? Lexie was right. Stefan's life was better when Damon stayed on the sidelines.