The following week, school started again much to Vaughn's dismay. He had managed to avoid both Jack and Irina, even though Sydney kept telling him that the incident had been forgotten about. Vaughn was unconvinced, and they had to hang out at his house so that he wouldn't run into either of her parents.
On the first morning of school, he slowly walked down the corridor towards the lesson that he had been dreading. Weiss was at his side, idly chatting away but Vaughn wasn't paying any attention. All he could concentrate on was the nauseous feeling in his stomach as he thought ahead to what was going to happen.
Thankfully the teacher wasn't in the room when they arrived, so he was able to slip into his seat and pray that he could become invisible; at least for the next hour and a half. But before he could finish his thought, the sound of the door distracted him, causing him to look up at Jack Bristow.
Jack stared at him as he walked to his desk. The conversation that he had with Irina was running through his head and he distinctively remember her telling him to act no differently towards his daughter's boyfriend. She wanted them to both get along the way they had been before any of this started, and she made it very clear that she would make Jack's life hell if he didn't listen to her. But Irina isn't here…what she doesn't see wont hurt her…
"Good morning." Jack addressed the class, receiving a mumble of words in return. He rolled his eyes at the lack of energy that the students had on the first day back and then continued with the lesson. "Today, we're going to be continuing with what we did before the holidays…" He took a book out of his back and sat on the edge of his desk, facing the class.Vaughn's heart was beating faster in his chest as he stared down at the table. In his mind, he was telling himself that if he didn't make eye contact with Jack then he would be safe. But Jack wasn't sharing the same thought.
"Mr Vaughn, perhaps you could recap for us?"
He sighed as he slowly looked up. This is going to be a long lesson…
"Dude, what was with him picking on you all lesson?" Weiss whispered, as they packed up their things. The class was starting to empty out while Jack was busy at the front of the room discussing the latest assignment with one of the guys in the class.
Vaughn sighed and ran his hand over his face. "I guess he still thinks something happened between me and Sydney."
"Well let's just hope for your sake that he doesn't hold grudges. Because you've got at least another sixth months of taking this subject. You're life is gonna be hell if he keeps this up!" Weiss informed him as they walked to the front of the class only to be stopped by Irina in the doorway.
She smiled politely at them both, before focussing her attention back onto Vaughn. "Michael, could you stay behind for a minute please?" Weiss quickly left the room, feeling thankful that he wasn't in Vaughn's shoes round about now.
Jack heard Irina's voice and looked up to see that she was standing in his classroom with Michael Vaughn. He quickly dismissed the student that he was talking to, leaving the three of them alone in the room together. Vaughn started to feel trapped, and he was certain that this was going to be the way that he would die. At this moment in time, he wasn't sure who he feared the most; Irina or Jack.
Irina moved closer into the room and motioned for Vaughn to follow her. She looked sternly at Jack and folded her arms across her chest.
"How was the lesson?" She asked, her eyes moving between them. Vaughn remained silent and stared down at the floor while Jack watched Irina intently, wondering what she was doing.
Irina waited a couple of more seconds for a response, but when one never came she spoke again. "Well don't both answer at once." She told them sarcastically.
"The lesson was fine." Jack finally responded, glancing over at Michael who was still refusing to look at him.
Irina studied her face and then shook her head. "Yeah I don't believe you. You're lying." Jack was amazed at how she possibly knew that just by looking at his face. He remained quiet while she turned to Vaughn. "Michael?"
For the first time since they'd been there, Vaughn managed to make eye contact with her. "It was fine." He croaked, his voice getting caught in his throat.
"Have you both taken some kind of lying pill today?" She turned to Jack. "You don't look at me when you answer me, and you," her attention turned to Vaughn. "You're voice gives you away." Jack and Vaughn looked at each other, and for the first time it was as though they weren't enemies. But that quickly changed. "If you two are going to lie to me, you might as well try and do it right. Now what went on?"
Silence once again filled the room. "Did you pick on him? Make a show of him infront of the rest of the class? Take every opportunity to belittle him?"
Vaughn couldn't believe that Irina was talking to Jack Bristow like this while he was in the same room.
"You're silence speaks more than your words ever could!" Irina moved to stand in-between Jack and Vaughn, her full focus now on her ex-husband. "I told you to go easy on him. You were not to treat him any differently, and you were certainly not to have any hostility towards him." Jack started to feel like a child who had been caught doing something that he shouldn't. Usually he would have gave as good as he got, but since they had started dating again, he found himself holding back; not always standing up to her like he did when they were separated. He just stood silently and listened to what she had to say.
Vaughn felt his cheeks redden as they talked about him as though he were not there. He kept glancing at the door, wondering he if he could ever escape without them noticing, but he knew in the back of his mind that he'd only take two steps before they'd see him.
She glared at him before turning around to Michael, her facial expressions softening slightly. "Michael, I'm sorry about last week. We didn't exactly handle the situation the right way…"
He opened his mouth to speak but she had already turned her attention back to Jack. "I want you to swallow your pride and apologize."
Jack could see in her eyes that she wasn't going to back down until he did. "Sorry." He mumbled, his eyes glued to the floor.
"At least say it like you mean it." She whispered loud enough for only Jack to hear.
He sighed and said it again, only this time with a little more feeling. "I'm sorry." Vaughn nodded, not knowing if he should say something or not, but before he could Irina dismissed him.
He quickly walked out of the room and closed the door behind him. He leaned back against the wall and shut his eyes, his heartbeat finally beginning to return to normal. He had imagined that encounter going a lot worse, but for now he was happy that it was over.
"Michael." Sydney came running over to him, concern all over her face. "Weiss told me that you were talking to my mom and dad?" She led him away from the classroom so that they could talk without her parents seeing them. They walked down the corridor, Sydney slipping her arm through his.
"Yeah she came in once the class ended."
Sydney tightened the grip on his arm, and rested her head against his shoulder as they walked. "And what happened?"
"She made your dad apologize for picking on me in the lesson." Sydney eyes grew as she heard what he was saying. She knew that her mother had told Jack to be nice to Michael, but she wasn't exactly surprised that he hadn't listened to her.
"Aww, I'm sorry." She stopped walking and stood infront of him, her hands cupping his face. She smiled as she reached up and kissed him. Vaughn deepened the kiss, his arms tightening around her. He suddenly realized that he didn't care what Jack Bristow said or did to him; being with Sydney made all of that worth it.
