May 2016

Enzo lingers outside the Salvatore Boarding House for what felt like an hour, staring at the front door, fighting himself to just grow a pair and knock. It's only been two years since he's been home from Duke University, and the last time he was here was 2013 New Year's Eve night. Not only did he and Damon get into a tremendous fight, his own father and Stefan were fighting over the younger man's studies and college companions. Enzo swore to himself after that night he'd never return to this bloody town again. In fact, his plan was to go spend his summer break with his cousin Virginia in the Hampton with her extremely conservative parents, but Lily, his step-mother, asked him to stay the holidays, at least for a month. Just in time for the wedding anniversary party being thrown in honor of her and his father.

Enzo continued to stare at the front door until it was pulled wide open and he was facing Stefan Salvatore, not his dickhead older brother. "Umm Enzo, when did you get here? And how long were you just standing there?" Stefan questioned him. Not knowing what to say, Enzo just gave him a steely look as Stefan stepped to the side to let him in.

His memories of the boarding house were hazy since he has only been into here a few times. Lily and Lorenzo Sr. had only been married for four years since 2012. Lorenzo had been living with the Salvatore's for over a year before he offered Enzo the chance to move to the states and go to college. Enzo quickly applied to multiple American universities, and his first acceptance was Duke in North Carolina. Leading Enzo to move from England, leaving his mum behind.

"Lorenzo, welcome home" He whipped around to see a smiling, jolly Lillian with open arms walking towards him. A bright and cheery Enzo dropped his bags and hugged Lily. She was a sweet woman who made his father the happiest he's seen in over ten years. Even if he didn't like her sons, he couldn't hold that against her.

"Lily, it's great to see you again" Enzo pulled away, Lily gave him one of her most welcoming smiles.

"Well, if you came home more often to see us." Enzo just shrugged her comment off, after what happened a couple years ago Enzo wasn't interested in spending too much time here, just a couple of weeks for the anniversary party for his parents which Carol Lockwood, the former Mayor's wife and Lily's best friend was hosting at her home.

Stefan gave Enzo a pat on the back, "Damon will be home tonight, he's hanging out with the Bennetts." From what his gossiping cousin tells him, the Bennetts are the new royalties of Mystic Falls, Rudy Bennett; the new mayor of the town and his wife Abby moved into the town a few years ago after Mayor Lockwood died. Rudy cleaned up Mystic Falls after the town's crime rate was sky high and the town's economy was on the brink of collapsing. They lived here with their daughter, whom Enzo never met, but she was close friends with Damon, poor girl.

Lily grabbed Enzo's left arm and walked him into the living room. "Julie, here is our new housemaid, she'll take your bag to your room, so you just relax and dinner will be at six." As Enzo took a seat, he saw a little middle-aged white lady with blonde hair, wearing a maid's outfit, darting around Stefan to get his bags and watched her bring them upstairs. "Hopefully your father arrives on time, he's so busy these days down at the armory with Dalton." Lily continues.

Dalton was Enzo's uncle and the father of his two cousins Virginia and Alex. Enzo would work for Dalton and Alex starting this summer at the Armory, learning the family business in special artifacts.

Stefan kissed his mother's cheek, "Well I'm going out, might not make it for dinner." Lily gave her son a disapproving look.

"And why not?"

Stefan sighed, "Klaus invited me over for dinner with his family." Enzo cracked a smile, Stefan was still hanging out with those misfits against his parents' wishes, Enzo was kind of proud to see this side of Stefan.

"Stefan, you know how Lorenzo and I feel about you hanging out with that boy and his Jezebel sister. What about that nice girl Valerie from school, what's she doing this summer?" Lily asked her son.

"She's traveling through England on an internship, plus she and I are only friends. And I'm not seeing Rebekah either, she's just a friend." Stefan tried to explain to his mother, who was already over this conversation with her son. "I'll try to make it home early, okay." With that Stefan rushes out the house, and Lily walks out into the hallway muttering to herself about the Mikaelson clan being deplorable people. Laying back on the sofa, Enzo thought to himself, it's almost good to be back.

"So wait, your step-brother who I've never met by the way, is home for the summer and for some crazy reason hates you. Your falling out was so bad, it kept him from returning home to visit his parents for nearly three years." Bonnie Bennett was up in her old room at her grandmother's house putting her stuff away while Damon laid across her bed pretending to text his girlfriend.

Bonnie threw her nail clip at Damon for not answering her. "Dammit Bon, yes let's say I did something so bad that it ruined my short-term relationship with him." Bonnie rolled her eyes. The typical story of Damon's life. Damon had more enemies than friends. To tell the truth, he only had two friends, Bonnie and Alaric Saltzman, who was her history professor at Whitmore College.

Damon and Bonnie met her freshman year at Whitmore. Damon was the popular third year junior trying to make a move on her best friend Elena, but got denied. He later got with her other friend Caroline who was drunk at a party and let's say their little relationship ended up on offensive terms, leaving Caroline to despise Damon. Her sophomore year Bonnie ran into Damon at the tutoring center where she worked. He needed a tutor after he doubled major and stayed an additional year at college. He begged for her help, willing to do whatever it takes to pass his courses, even apologising to her and her friends; the two have been best friends ever since.

In the end, Damon's new attitude won him a date and a long-term relationship with Elena Gilbert, though they were on and off a lot. Now they were on hold or something while Elena was doing her pre-med internship in New York.

"So when am I going to meet this guy?" Bonnie has never been charmed by Damon or his brother Stefan, in fact Damon tried to make a few moves on her at parties, but after his messy breakup with Caroline, it just led to Bonnie throwing a drink in his face. Bonnie saw way too much bad boy, womanizer, fuckboy in Damon, and she wasn't setting herself up for another failed relationship, so the two just stayed friends.

Damon looked up curiously at Bonnie, head tilted to the side. "Why?"

Bonnie walked from her closet, going to her door to pull in another suitcase. "Damon, I've met everyone in your family, including your dad, that spring break. Everyone but your step-brother, who you already rarely speak about. I'm curious to see who he is and also find out what you did." It must be degenerate since Bonnie knew every awful thing Damon has done, yet this is the one thing he refuses to speak on.

Damon rolled over on his stomach tossing his phone to the side, "Elena posted a picture of her and that dude Liam." Liam, who was a fellow med student and a friend of Elena, was also in New York as part of their internship. Damon hated the guy, purely jealous since Liam was always hanging around Elena, trying to insert himself in their relationship, and he made Damon tick.

"Are you stalking Elena and Liam again?" Bonnie asked, hands slapped her thighs, disapproving of Damon's actions. "Elena and Liam are just friends, she's pretty faithful to you, and completely in love." Bonnie explains to him. Liam was no competition to him.

Damon, of course, had this look on his face saying he didn't believe her. "Yeah, okay, and come over tomorrow so you can meet Enzo. Maybe break the awkward tension between us."

Bonnie grinned at Damon. "Can't wait, and here I thought I came home to another boring summer. At least give me drama and angst with a bit of romance before I have to work with Mystic Falls' new generation of teenagers." Damon just pouted at her, probably still thinking about Liam and Elena.

"Sister, you do not know what you just wished for." Bonnie just chortled and jumped on the bed next to Damon.

As soon as she snatched his phone up and glanced at an incoming text message from someone who probably shouldn't even have Damon's number, and while he was still pouting, whispering harsh things about Liam, she gasped a bit at what she briefly saw in the message. This made Bonnie realize this summer was going to be way too chaotic.