"Here we are!" Caroline smiled as she lead the way into Mr. Saltzman's history class. As I walked in, my eyes fell on Damon who sat in the back of the room with Tyler, Matt, and Klaus. I wondered where Stefan was, unintentionally. I really shouldn't have cared.
"Elena, sit here!" Bonnie called out pointing to the desk next to her. I walked to her smiling. I really haven't talked to Bonnie and I was hoping to get to know her. I sat down, placing my bag on the floor. Caroline sat in front of Bonnie. Rebekah completed the square by sitting next to Caroline. I felt welcome with them. It was like all these girls looked at me in the class. No one except for Caroline, Bonnie and Rebekah stood out.
"Hey," Bonnie smiled at me. I couldn't help but smile back. "We haven't really talked recently but I hope we can become closer!" She took the words out of my mouth.
"Yeah, of course!" I said back. As much as I tried to resist, I couldn't get my eyes glued off the door. I had a feeling Stefan had this class with me and it was a sickening one.
Lexi walked in first, and plopped down in the seat ahead of Matt. She looked over at me and gave me a small smile. I waved to her and turned toward the board. I was relived. For once in my life, i didn't jinx myself.
"Hello Class," said a man as he walked into the class. Not far behind him was Stefan.
So much for not jinxing.
Stefan took a very obvious seat next to Lexi. Damon got out of his seat, and walked over to the seat next to Stefan where a small, nerdy looking boy sat. Damon scowled at him, and the kid sprang up and scattered to a different seat.
What a dick.
Before I could get caught staring, I turned to Mr. Saltzman. I'm pretty sure he had been talking but I was so lost in other people's business I didn't catch the beginning of his introduction. It was very unlike me. To care about other people. Or their business.
"Okay, Well I'm Mr. Saltzman. You can all call me Ric. Remember, I'm your teacher. Not your friend," he added a wink in that, and I'm pretty sure I saw a girl swoon. "Nothing will get in way of your learning. So when you come in here, you're no longer part of the outside world. Phone? Off. Eyes? On me. Understand?" Everyone in class nodded their head and he smiled. "Good. Follow my rules, and this will be your favorite class.
Caroline looked over at me and gave me a small grin. "He's not like this with us." I knew what she meant by "us", so I nodded. It was weird to think that I was part of "them". But it was also exciting.
After that class was over, all the students rushed to their next class. I was headed out the door when Lexi stopped me.
"Elena, come meet Ric," she smiled wide and I smiled back. I walked toward his desk where Caroline, and Bonnie sat. Stefan was with them, but as I walked toward the board, he nodded a goodbye and left the room. I couldn't help but watch him walk out.
"You must be Elena!" Mr. Saltzman held out his hand and I turned around fast and grabbed it back.
"Yes. Hello Mr. Saltzman," I said with a smile.
"Please. Mr. Saltzman is my dad. Call me Ric," he said siting back down at his desk.
I heard a laugh from the back of the room, and I knew it was Damon from the second it started. I turned to him giving him a weak smiled. "Hi Damon."
"You know Damon?" Mr. Saltzman said from behind his glasses.
"Yeah. She does," Damon gave me a devious smirk and Lexi scoffed.
"Anyway. Ric, did you get the…"
"Yes I did Lexi. Good thing you reminded me. I would have forgot," Ric reached down in his bag and pulled out a plastic bag and threw it to Lexi. She grabbed it and gave him a cheeky grin.
"I've been waiting so long!" she said tearing open the bag. I looked over at Bonnie who laughed.
"Gummy worms," Bonnie said waving her hand. I turned back to Lexi who already had a green worm hanging from her mouth.
"You like Gummy Worms?" I smiled. Damon was playing with a rainbow slinky as he leaned against the wall. He looked up to me, and winked when he caught me staring. I coughed to hide my shaky breath.
"Like? Love? Obsessed." Caroline laughed as she looked at Lexi devouring her bag.
"Get out of my class," Ric laughed. "My next class is coming in now. I'll see you all later." Caroline and I walked out with Lexi as Bonnie and Damon walked the other way. I could feel Damon's icy eyes on me as we walked out, but I couldn't bring myself to turn and look at him.
I was headed to Lenold. I told Caroline that I thought I was okay to walk by myself, so she smiled and gave me directions. I was regretting that right about now. People walked along side me, bumping me, running past me. And there I was. I should have let Caroline lead the way.
"Hey," I heard a familiar voice say behind me. "You look lost."
I turned around and smiled at the friendly face in front of me. "Lily," I sighed in relief. "It's so good to see you. I am so lost."
"That's alright. You're lucky I take the longer path to class. Come on, follow me," Lily glided next to me and gave a warm smile.
"Thank you so much," I said pulling my books closer to my chest. She shook her head and her orange curls riffled on her shoulders.
"No worries. I remember my first day. I didn't have Caroline Forbes walking me around. It was brutal," she laughed lightly.
"You know Caroline?" I asked.
She snorted. "Everyone knows Caroline. Everyone knows that whole group. You know, I was surprised to see you with them the first day I saw you. It's kind of an exclusive group," she turned her head and smiled at me.
"Yeah. I'm still getting used to them. But they are a lot of help. They're making this transition a lot easier," I said looking down at my feet.
"There all nice people. I was partners with Lexi Sophomore in Biology. She's really smart. They all are. They just keep to themselves. And they know this place like the back of their hands. They've been her for as long as I remember," she paused then went on. "Same with mr. Saltzman. I saw you come out of his class. Anyway. They are all close to him. He's a great teacher. He tries to intimidate you at first, but my mom said he's really a great guy."
I liked getting the low-down on the school and the teachers. But I wanted to know more about Stefan and Damon for some reason. But the question was, how would I change the topic smoothly without her knowing my curiosity.
"Yeah. He sounds like a great guy. I remember Damon saying something about going to his class before school even started," I said. My voice cracked a little when I said Damon's name, but Lily didn't seem to notice.
"Damon and Ric have a great friendship. Some people find it weird, but I know them. I've seen them together. Ric is a teacher so he can get off school grounds any day he likes. The kids usually ask him for stuff," Now I understood why Ric had those Gummy Worms for Lexi. But the thought of never leaving this place sent a shiver down my spine.
"Do we ever get to go out?" People walked hastily through the halls, and half of them bumped me with their limbs.
"Hey!" Lily yelled at someone who hit me so hard I winced.
"Sorry!" I heard him call from nearly the end of the hall. Lily shook her head.
"These people are animals, I swear," she took another turn then chewed on her lip. "But to answer your question; yes. We can leave on the weekends. But curfew is 11. We can usually leave right after class on Friday's but you need to be back for dinner at 8. Then you can leave again." Before I could ask more question, we turned into our class. I was glad to see that Lily was the only girl I knew in the class. I was waiting for Stefan to walk in, but he never did. But that was good. Because this class could be the class that I got away from his moody self. I could stop thinking about him and get to work. No Stefan thoughts could be spared here.
Or maybe this was the class I was most crowded with him in my mind.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
"How was your first day?" Caroline seemed cheery as I walked into our room. I threw my bag on the floor and dropped to my bed.
"I feel like I lost about 20 pounds from walking so much," I said breathing out heavy. "And there are just so many places, and so many hall ways." I laughed a little before resting my hand on my propped up elbow. I looked over at Caroline who sat at her desk, legs crossed.
"I promise it will get easier. You're going to start thinking this place is tiny. But this weekend should be fun! There is this bar just down the road that me Lexi, Bonnie, and Bekah go to. You're going to love-"
"A bar?" I questioned as I stood making my way to my own desk. Don't get me wrong. Bars were fun places. I would be lying if I said I didn't ever take a few sips of my mom's alcohol, or went to my friends and got a little buzzed. But going to a bar? It was guaranteed intoxication.
"It's not your typical bar. There's music, and non-alcoholic drinks, and amazing food," she said as tilted her head back. "Some kids who go to the public school go there. It's cool to see new faces some times."
"New faces?" I laughed. "I haven't even got used to these faces."
Caroline nodded in agreement. "Fine. Mike's can hold of till next weekend. But Lexi usually holds a small party at the beginning of the year. She invited the usual's, and some other kids. It'd be cool if you came you know." Caroline started spinning in her chair. "It's Friday, so you have about 4 days to think about it."
I opened my bag and got out my books and thought for a second. How bad could a party be? It was apparent Stefan would be there. Maybe I could talk to him and ask him what his problem was. But if that didn't go well, I was sure to beat myself up for even trying. I looked over at Caroline who had hopeful eyes.
"Maybe," I finally said. I hear a small shriek from her and clapping. I couldn't help the smile on my face. "But I need to get to my work."
"Understandable," she said from behind me. I looked at the time on my computer and noticed it was only 2:30. Thinking about the party already made my heart start to pump, and I didn't know why. The thought of Stefan hating me made me ache. And the thought of talking to him made me ache more.
XXXXXX
I sat down at my table as Bonnie sat next to me. Lexi had a worm hanging from her mouth and Caroline sat with an apple in her hand, staring at her.
"Very lady like, Lex," Caroline said with a huff. Rebekah took a seat next to Caroline and giggled.
"Isn't it?" Lexi laughed along. I heard clicks of heals that was too familiar. I didn't turn, afraid of what I would see.
"Hello girls," Katherine's cold words came from behind me. Caroline ignored her, Lexi growled, and Bonnie raised an eyebrow.
"Katherine," Bonnie said. I slowly turned to see Katherine's signature dark curls falling off her shoulders. She made her way next to Rebekah. Rebekah and Katherine seemed pretty close, but nothing alike. Rebekah was nice in gym, but with Katherine next to her, she got a hard look all of the sudden.
"Elena," the way Katherine said my name made me shiver. "So good to see your transition is going smoothly."
As she spoke, Damon, Klaus, Matt, and Tyler made their way to the table. Stefan wasn't far behind, but he never looked in my direction.
"Hello ladies," Damon said. He looked over and me and gave me a small smile. "Elena. I hope to see you Friday at Lexi's party."
"Who said you were invited, dick?" Lexi said swallowing her worm. He just sneered and looked back at me for an answer.
"I, I don't know if I can make it," I shuddered. Stefan's green eyes were on me, and the feeling was both exciting and terrifying. They were hard with mystery. I couldn't read his stare. Before I could get a reaction out of him, he turned away looking at the window. I let out the breath I had been holding and flicked my eyes down to my tray. My appetite had been ruined by my swirling stomach.
"Well I hope you can," Damon remarked. "It'd be fun to see you there."
"She rejected you once, Damon," Stefan finally spoke, leaning back in his chair. "How many times will it take till you let that sink in?"
I heard a small laugh from Lexi as she munched on the thousandth gummy worm in her mouth. Katherine didn't look like she heard any of it. She filed her nails. Damon gave Stefan a cold stare I actually found my hands start to shake.
"Elena, It would be amazing if you could come. I think you should consider it," Damon said looking back at me.
"Y-yeah. I'd be cool if I'd go. I just need to catch up on some work. My old school didn't cover some things you guys did last year." I said playing with my food.
"Well that's great! I could help you sometime. We could meet in the library," Damon smiled. I saw Stefan's gaze latch on to Damon. I couldn't tell what emotion was painted on his face, so I looked back at Damon.
"That would be great," I said smiling. "I do need to catch up. Maybe a tutor is just what I need. "
Now the green eyes were on me. But I didn't look back. Instead I smiled at Damon and he smiled back. I didn't know why it bothered Stefan, but I enjoyed it. Because when I looked back at him, his jaw was clenched.
XXXXXXXXXXX
"I really don't think you should go," Caroline said as I started to grab my things.
"Caroline, it's only the library. He's only helping me," I glanced down at my watch, realizing I was already 5 minutes late for me and Damon's "tutoring".
"But he's really tricky," She said as her blue eyes locked on me.
"We will be in public. It's just tutoring. I'm telling you, I need to catch up," I said grabbing my keys.
"I can help you!" she smiled. I shook my head and looked back at my watch.
"I'm not canceling. I rejected him once. I'm not ditching because you think he's dangerous," I laughed as I opened the door.
"Gosh," she shook her head. "Text me when you're there, and when you're headed back."
"Bye Care," I laughed as I closed the door behind me. I turned walking toward the library when I hit someone.
"Oh sorry, I-"
"Wasn't looking?" Stefan's voice said above me. I quickly looked up at him and nodded. "You need to start watching where you walk." He chuckled lightly.
"Yeah. I'm very..uh-clumsy," I said, adjusting the books in my hand.
"I've noticed," he said. "You going to the library? I could walk you there." Stefan pointed his thumb behind him.
"It's fine, I don't want to bother you or anything," I said as I began to walk away. I heard him jog up behind me.
"It's fine. I wasn't doing anything anyway," Stefan tucked his hand in his pocket as he walked next to me. We were in silence for a few moments before he finally spoke up.
"So," he said. I looked up at him. "Uh, how you liking it here so far?"
"It's fine," I said.
"Elena, about that day in the library," he began. I looked straight ahead as he talked. "I-I'm sorry. It's just that's a really deep part of the library, you know? I was just-"
"What? I mean you act like you hate me and then yell at me for being in a library? Then avoid me making me wonder what's wrong with me,"
" I never meant to make you feel that way. It's just. I wanted to apologize. I know I've been unwelcoming,"
I cut him off "A little?"
"A lot," he restated. "But I don't think you taking lessons from Damon to get back at me as a good idea."
"And what makes you think I'm just taking these lessons to get you mad?" I snapped. He stoped and I tuned to him. "What if I just need lessons? Or maybe I feel bad for rejecting him the first time. He's been nothing but nice to me. Unlike someone." I said. Stefan looked at me, and said nothing. So I continued. "You know, maybe I want to go out with him. What do you have to say about it? You've avoided me these past 5 days. Why do you care all of the sudden?"
"I don't," he said low. "Do what you want. Don't say I didn't warn you." He said it a little too calmly
"Fine," I spat.
" I think you can make your way to the library?" As Stefan turned around, his green eyes gave off a hint of emotion.
And for a second I thought it might have been hurt.