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Damon.
"You're still the conniving, faithless, cold-blooded, monster you were years ago!" Stefan's voice echoed through Damon's head. While Damon was walking away from the Salvatore boarding house.
"So beg Stefan," Damon heard his own voice laugh psychotically in his head. Damon put his hands on the side of his head, and pulled out his hair, trying to get himself to stop thinking.
What have I done? Damon thought vigorously. That was my chance to make up with my brother, and I blew it! I messed up again!
"You monster," Stefan's bitter voice ran through Damon's head.
Maybe Stefan was right? Damon thought. No Stefan is right. I am a monster. Damon realized, his eyes filling with tears.
Damon looked around and realized that he absentmindedly walked into the forest. He looked up and saw a giant treehouse. It was slowly falling apart, and Damon guessed the majority of the wood was rotted, and it looked like no one had touched it in decades. Damon let out a sad laugh, and looked back at the bottom of the tree.
"Stefan and Damon's treehouse" was carved into the tree. Damon remembered just how hard he and Stefan had worked on building this treehouse. Of course their father helped, but it was mostly the two brothers. And after they were done building it they played in it every day. Damon decided he would try to see what was inside it now. He opened the door and his eyes burned when he saw it looked exactly like Damon remembered. Damon carefully made his way to the other side of the treehouse, avoiding all the rotten wood. "No adults," was still carved into the wall, and Damon dusted off some of the old books he and Stefan liked to read. He opened the first page of Great Expectations, and smiled when he saw it was in okay shape. It still had "property of Damon Salvatore" written on the first page of the book. And Damon saw something else that was faintly written on the bottom. The writing looked relatively new as well. Damon squinted and saw it said "and Stefan". Damon felt hot tears fall down his cheeks.
We could've had it all. Damon thought. Dang it Katherine! Damon cursed Katherine for turning the two brothers, in his head, putting the book back down. Damon quickly dried his tears, and ignored his feelings. Damon realized his love for Stefan was too strong. It would win every time, no matter how hard Damon tried to fight it. And god, did Damon hate losing. Damon had to make up with Stefan, he just had to. But the real question was how he was supposed to do that? Now that he took Stefan's day ring he wasn't sure that Stefan would ever forgive him. Damon walked back to the boarding house and started shapeshifting into his crow form. He slowly endured the painful transformation. After that was done, Damon flew through Stefan's broken window. He saw that Stefan was sleeping, and Damon sat on the window sill, and watched, thinking about what he and Stefan could have had.
All of a sudden Damon saw Stefan start twitching in his sleep, Damon didn't know what was happening. But, the boy soon got his answer, when his brother shot up, screaming. Zac burst into the room, and said something Damon couldn't hear. Damon's ears were ringing. He has been in this form for too long now. It took all of Damon to stay on the window sill and not transform back to his human form and help his brother. So, Damon did the only thing he could do, try to listen to the conversation. But the only thing Damon caught from the conversation was.
"He looked sick, Zac. Really sick," Stefan choked out. Damon looked away.
Do I really look that bad? Damon thought. After that Damon couldn't hear anything, he saw Zac stand up and leave. So, Damon just sat on the window sill and watched his brother lay there, very much awake.
After a while Damon saw Stefan start to roll over to face him so Damon quickly flew away. He used the wind to carry him since Damon really didn't have any strength left after being in his crow form for so long. Damon glided into the garden right below Stefan's room. He waited in the flower bed until he saw Stefan leave for school. Damon then painfully transformed back into himself. He used the outside wall of the house to get to the door, and then once he was inside he stumbled his way to the couch. Once he was on the couch, he moved over to the little table where all the alcohol was. This table was sitting right behind the couch. Damon poured himself a drink, or two, or five? He wasn't sure anymore.
But as he was about to finish his sixth drink that morning, or afternoon? Damon heard the door open. Damon was aching in every part of his body, and it hurt to even move, so he stayed still. He slowly craned his neck upwards and saw forest green eyes staring at him in surprise.
"Damon?" Stefan asked, his eyes wide. Damon swished the alcohol around in the cup to acknowledge that he had heard Stefan.
"How was school little bro?" Damon asked, plastering a smile on his face, to hide his pain.
"What do you want?" Stefan asked.
"I don't want anything," Damon said through gritted teeth. God, he was in a lot of pain.
"You always want something," Stefan pointed out. "You don't do anything that doesn't benefit you," he stated.
He wasn't wrong. Damon thought, cocking an eyebrow, and nodding at Stefan's comment.
"Well-" Damon started.
"There's always a 'well," Stefan said, letting out a long sigh.
"Well," Damon replied, ignoring Stefan's comment. "I didn't get to ask you in our last little chat," Damon cocked an eyebrow. "But I was wondering why I saw Katherine at the graveyard? And why she rudely didn't say 'hi' to me?" Damon questioned.
"That wasn't Katherine," Stefan stated, putting down his backpack.
Is he really going to lie to me? Damon thought. Damon moved his legs to get off the couch, but winced in pain in the process.
"Damon? Are you okay?" Stefan asked worriedly, moving towards the older brother.
"Yeah, yeah," Damon responded in an annoyed tone. Damon swung his feet to get off the couch and stood up. But he immediately felt an incredible surge of pain in all of his bones, which caused his legs to give out, and he started falling. To Damon's luck, Stefan used his vampire speed to catch Damon. "Let go of me, stupid," Damon spat bitterly. Stefan shook his head, and picked Damon up bridal style, even after Damon's protests that he "was fine". Damon cursed at Stefan as he was being carried to his old bedroom. Stefan placed the older brother on the bed, but Damon sprung up again, gasping in pain in the process.
"Damon, lie down," Stefan demanded.
"I don't have to listen to anything you say," Damon spat, using his vampire speed to pin Stefan to the wall by his neck, choking Stefan. Damon saw Stefan trying to get air into his lungs, and a sudden wave of guilt washed over him.
Stefan didn't do anything. He was just trying to help you Damon! Damon cursed at himself in his head, while letting go of his brother. Stefan hunched over trying to get air back into his lungs. After he got enough air, Stefan stood up to his full height.
"Have you been drinking?" Stefan asked in just over a whisper.
"Why do you care?!" Damon snapped. Stefan shook his head, and Damon saw Stefan's eyes gloss over. Stefan walked over to Damon and slung Damon's arm over his shoulder, bringing them back to the bed. He laid Damon down, and this time Damon didn't protest. Stefan sat down on the bed as well.
"I care about you, Damon," Stefan whispered. "I always have. I just thought you would have changed," he sighed. "I've missed you so much," Stefan said, wiping away his tears. "I just miss how we used to be. We were so close," he paused. "What happened?" Stefan questioned, tears now falling down his cheeks freely.
"We grew up," Damon responded bitterly, looking anywhere but at Stefan. "You chose the right path, and that was a path that I could never follow," Damon sighed, blinking back his own tears. "I changed," Damon responded honestly.
"You were never really the same after Mom and Dad," Stefan choked. The two brothers sat in silence for a while. "I love you, Damon," Stefan cried, giving Damon a little smile. Damon finally couldn't hold back his tears, so he burst out sobbing.
"I love you too, Stefan," Damon sobbed. Stefan pulled Damon into a hug, and Damon didn't even protest against it. He winced in pain when he had to move. But, man did Damon want this moment to last forever. Surprisingly Stefan was the one who pulled apart. Damon quickly dried his tears and flipped his humanity switch back off.
"That wasn't Katherine," Stefan stated. "Her name is Elena Gilbert. She's a very nice girl," he said. "I don't know how she looks like Katherine," Stefan sighed, noticing the confused expression on Damon's face. The brothers sat there in silence for what seemed like forever. "Well I'm going to go to bed," Stefan said, breaking the silence.
"Okay," Damon responded.
"Goodnight Damon," Stefan sighed, walking out of the room, and shutting the door behind him.
Damon was so tired, but he just didn't want to go to sleep. So he fought the urge to close his eyes. But Damon passed out. Thankfully he didn't have any nightmares.
When Damon woke up he looked at his alarm clock and saw that it said "7:03" he sighed and decided he would get dressed. He was still in a lot of pain so he slowly got dressed. He was wearing a dark red shirt, ripped jeans, and a black leather jacket. This leather jacket was Damon's favorite, it was worn out, but that was only because Damon has worn it so many times.
Damon limped into the kitchen and grabbed a bag of blood, from his private stash. He drank the entire thing, now he wasn't going to drink blood for a week. A vampire could go a week without blood, so Damon drank one every week. He did this because he wanted himself to suffer as much as he possibly could. Damon would practically starve himself to death, and drink right before he died so he could do it all over again. It was painful and that was exactly what Damon wanted. He started making his way to the couch when he felt something touch his arm. He looked beside him and saw Stefan helping him towards the couch. Once Stefan set Damon on the couch, Damon asked Stefan something.
"What do you want?"
"What?" Stefan questioned, cocking an eyebrow.
"Why are you helping me?!" Damon snapped at Stefan. "Your just going to stab me in the back anyway,"
"What? I thought we were good now?" Stefan said, looking extremely upset and confused.
"What do you mean?" Damon questioned angrily.
"You said you loved me," Stefan explained.
"When?" Damon asked. He did not say that. He would never say that to Stefan's face.
"Last night-" Stefan cut himself off. "You were drunk," Stefan stated, in a monotone voice. "You were drunk," he repeated, his face now contorting with a lot of emotions. He looked extremely angry, but part of him just looked insanely sad. "Nevermind," Stefan said, looking away from Damon. Damon cocked an eyebrow curiously.
What had I said to him last night? Damon thought. But the two brothers' conversation was cut short when they heard a knock on the door. Stefan used his vampire speed to zoom over to the door, he unlocked the door and Damon saw someone he knew way too well.
"Hey Stefan!" She exclaimed.
Katherine? Damon thought.
"Oh hey Elena," Stefan responded nervously, shooting anxious glances at Damon.
Elena? Who's Elena? Damon thought vigorously. That's Katherine. It's got to be Katherine, she finally came back for me. Damon thought, the happiest he has been in a long time.
"Katherine?" Damon asked, thinking out loud.
"Who's Katherine?" Elena questioned, looking over at Stefan. "And who is that?" Damon heard Elena whisper to Stefan.
"Uh, that's my brother," Stefan mumbled.
"Oh," Elena sighed, as if she was thinking of something sad.
"Hello, I'm Damon," he greeted, raising an eyebrow to make himself look better than before. "Darling," Damon added, sending Elena a wink.
"Well, I think we should start heading to school now," Stefan told Elena nervously, giving Damon a dirty look.
"Yeah we should," Damon replied. Stefan gave Damon a confused look. "I registered for school," Damon stated. "Let's go," Damon said, brushing right past Elena and Stefan. He made sure to bash into Stefan's shoulder with his vampire strength. Damon smiled when he saw Stefan grab his shoulder in pain. Damon walked to the school with Stefan and Elena walking a couple of feet ahead of him. As they walked more the two of them got further away from Damon because his bones were still in an insane amount of pain. Stefan and Elena were talking about something so Damon used his vampire hearing to find out. He heard them talking to each other about upcoming exams.
"I'm totally going to fail these exams," Elena told Stefan.
"I don't think so," Stefan paused. "I think you will pass them, you're pretty smart," Stefan replied. The only thing Elena did was laugh at Stefan's comment.
Damon felt a sudden wave of sadness hit him. He hasn't been in any real relationships for a long long long time. And, by a long time I mean about 140 years. He suddenly felt himself longing for someone to love. But he shook his head, and quickly pushed this thought out of his head.
Once they arrived at school, Damon went straight to the office without a single glance at his brother. But to Damon's demise, Stefan caught up to him in no time.
"Damon," he paused, grabbing the older brother by the shoulders. "Can we talk?" He asked. Damon let out a loud dramatic sigh, while allowing himself to be dragged away by his little brother. "Why are you here?" Stefan asked Damon angrily.
"I'm just trying to learn something, Stef," he told Stefan.
"What's the real reason you're at school?" Stefan questioned. "You always hated school," Stefan stated.
"For your information," Damon snapped back. "I didn't hate school, I just wasn't very good at it," Damon pointed out.
"Yeah, I was always the brother with the brains," Stefan mocked. Damon shot him a dirty look, and Stefan shut up. "Sorry, forgot we aren't there yet," Stefan replied nervously, shuffling his feet back and forth, clicking the toes of his black boots. Damon let out a sigh and rolled his eyes. He then gave Stefan a look that read "it's okay", because of course Damon wasn't going to say that out loud.
"Well I'm going to go get my schedule," Damon told Stefan.
"Okay," Stefan paused. "Do you want me to come with you?" He added quickly.
"Ugh, fine, whatever," Damon replied grumpily, making his way down to the office. Once the two brothers arrived at the office, they stopped at the front desk. The lady at the front desk was on the phone with someone, so they had to wait. After about 30 seconds Damon started to get impatient. He started tapping his nails on the desk impatiently.
How long is this lady going to take? Damon thought. He was getting quite annoyed. And no one. No one ever wants to deal with an annoyed Damon Salvatore. Damon shot a dangerous look at Stefan and then at the lady. Damon saw Stefan mouth his name but he didn't care. If this lady takes one more minute. I swear to- Damon thought, but his thoughts got interrupted by a female voice.
"What can I do for you, gentlemen?" The lady at the front desk questioned.
"I'm new here," Damon told her, putting his elbow on the desk to make himself look attractive.
Damon's allowed to flirt with whoever he wants. He's technically 171.
"Name?" She asked.
"Damon Salvatore," he responded.
"A Salvatore came in the other day," she said. "Stefan. His name was Stefan," she stated. "Do you know him?" She questioned, while grabbing Damon's schedule.
"Yeah he's my brother," Damon stated, in a monotone voice. She nodded while giving Damon his schedule. "Have a good day," Damon added, giving her a wink. Once they were out of the office he saw Stefan shake his head.
"Do you really have to flirt with everyone you meet?" Stefan questioned.
"Yes I do, Stef. It's a way of life," Damon pointed out.
"Can you not call me Stef?"
"Can you just drink human blood?" Damon mocked. Stefan shook his head. "Exactly," Damon stated. "You can't always have whatever you want Stef," Damon joked. "You may have gotten all the special treatment from Mom and Dad, but you won't get shit from me," Damon added, changing his tone from sarcastic to coated with hatred in about two seconds. Stefan looked a bit shocked, but immediately looked away when he met Damon's ice cold eyes.
"So, what class do you have first?" Stefan questioned awkwardly.
"Math," Damon stated.
"I do too," Stefan replied, a little bit of happiness sinking into his voice.
"Oh great. Now I get to spend my morning with Mr. Angel Child," Damon rolled his eyes. "What a draining way to start the day,"
The two brothers walked to the math class together and met up with some chick that Damon didn't know.
"Oh hey Bonnie," Stefan greeted.
"Hey Stefan," she answered. She then gave Damon a confused look. "Who are you?" Bonnie asked.
"I'm-" Damon started but got interrupted by Stefan.
"This is Damon. He's my brother," Stefan explained. "Damon, this is Bonnie," Stefan said, pointing at the girl.
"Nice to meet you, Damon," Bonnie said happily.
"And, it's very nice to meet you, Bonnie," Damon responded, giving the girl a flirtatious smile. Stefan shook his head, and grabbed Damon's arm. Damon let out a dramatic sigh while Stefan pulled him towards an empty seat. Stefan sat down in the seat beside Damon. But after about a minute he got up to go and talk to Bonnie. Damon used his vampire hearing to eavesdrop on their conversation.
"Have you seen Elena?" Stefan asked.
"No, I haven't," she paused. "I was going to ask you, but Mr. Blue eyes showed up," Bonnie responded, referring to Damon. "Oh there she is," Bonnie replied as Katherine walked into the room.
"Hey guys!"
Katherine has really changed her style. Damon thought, he then hit himself in the head. Not Katherine. It's Elena.
"Where were you?" Bonnie questioned Elena.
"I was you know where," Elena furrowed her brows together.
"Oh," Bonnie replied sadly.
Stefan looked extremely confused. Elena leaned over and whispered in Stefan's ear. "I was at the graveyard,"
"Oh," Stefan responded. After hearing that Damon wanted to know this girl's story. He was a very curious man, so naturally that meant he needed to know more. Stefan and Elena walked to their chairs. Stefan took a seat beside Damon, and Elena sat right in front of Stefan. Damon stared at the back of Elena's head the entire class.
After a never ending math class, it was finally time for lunch. Damon grabbed his backpack that was laying by his feet, and sprung up onto his feet, in a hurry to get out of this boring room. Damon's bones protested in pain, and Damon cursed as his legs gave out. To Damon's luck Stefan caught him.
"Woah, Damon, take it easy," Stefan sighed, sitting the older brother back on the chair. Damon heard shuffling feet, until someone asked Stefan something.
"Is everything okay?" They said. Damon recognized the voice as his math teacher.
"Yes," Stefan replied abruptly. He then heard the door close and the room fell into silence.
"What's going on?" A female voice said, breaking the silence. Damon's vision was blurred so he couldn't see who it was.
"Stefan?" Damon questioned weakly.
"Yeah I'm right here," Damon heard Stefan's comforting voice coming from somewhere close to him. Damon felt a hand wrap around his wrist and he guessed it was Stefan.
"What's happening?" The female voice asked again. Her voice was coated in worry.
"What do you need, Damon?" Stefan asked, completely ignoring the lady's question.
"I-I don't know," Damon replied dizzly. "I-I don't feel good Stefan," he stuttered, putting his hand up to his chin to examine it. He could barely see his hand, but his vision was slowly getting just a little bit better.
"I know, it's going to be okay," Stefan comforted.
"Should we bring him to the nurse's office?" The female voice added.
"No, I think he'll be okay-" Stefan got interrupted by uncontrollable coughing. Stefan snapped his attention back to his brother. Damon was still coughing, but he started coughing up a dark liquid onto his hand. He was coughing up his breakfast which consisted of blood. This immediately got Stefan's attention and he got closer to the older brother.
Damon was now getting so dizzy that he was about to close his eyes. The last word he heard was "nurse" before he passed out.
Damon's eyes flicked open and he saw he was in a room he had never seen before. He tensed up because of the unfamiliar place. Usually when Damon didn't know where he was, he was most likely kidnapped. He looked around anxiously for a way to get out, but he caught a glimpse of Stefan. After that he immediately felt his body relax.
"Are you ready to go home?" Stefan's voice filled the room.
"Is school over?" Damon asked groggily.
"Almost," Stefan paused. "They said we could both go home,"
"Aw man, I'm not very good at this school thing already," Damon said. "Leaving half way through my first day," he laughed weakly. Stefan let out a small laugh too, before he immediately went back to looking serious again.
"You shouldn't have done that," Stefan said, referring to Damon shapeshifting.
"Who was the girl in the room?" Damon questioned, ignoring Stefan's comment.
"Elena," Stefan answered. "She had no idea what was going on," he explained.
"Good,"
Stefan walked over to Damon and slung Damon's arm around his shoulder. They both walked home. As soon as they arrived at the Salvatore boarding house, Stefan instructed Damon to lie down. Damon refused so Stefan dragged the older brother to his room.
"Go to sleep," Stefan demanded. Damon gave him a very dirty look, but did what he was told.
Maybe Stefan actually does care about me? Damon thought. This thought gave Damon one of the best feelings in the world. For once in his life, all his pain disappeared, and he felt nothing but joy. Sure, this feeling only lasted a second, but it was a second that Damon would never forget.