Flashback chapter! Fulfilling a request for Tanner to spank Matt and Tyler.
Stefan decided his best course of action was to swallow the Kool-Aid that had been deposited into his mouth. It could use more sugar. It was probably the most annoying prank from Tyler Lockwood, who was extremely unhappy that Stefan was with his best friend's ex-girlfriend and quickly outshining him on the football field. For the most part, Stefan didn't mind. He'd rather Tyler bully him over anyone else. But today's prank was extremely annoying. The Kool-Aid trap had been set up to explode on him after he'd showered. He had no clean clothes to change into.
"Lockwood, Donovan, Salvatore," Tanner's angry voice echoed loudly in the locker room. "My office, now."
Once all three of his current victims were in his office, Tanner locked the door. He walked over to his desk and took out his school assigned paddle. Matt was looking guilty, he was the type to stay out of trouble, despite his choice of best friend. Tyler was looking indifferent, not only was he the only Founding Family student who was paddled, he was probably the most frequently paddled student, period, and was generally unrattled by it.
"Salvatore," Tanner's intense eyes were on Stefan's, "tell me what happened."
Stefan was very tempted to say, What does it look like, sir?, but Tanner was still holding a grudge about Stefan humiliating him in history a few weeks ago and took any excuse to hand out punishment laps and while Stefan could handle that easily, he was not interested in running while drenched in sugar water in the heat. He was even more tempted to tattle, but he didn't want to alienate his teammates even more. Matt and Tyler were beloved, Stefan was the new kid, a football wunderkind, at that. He was the opposite of beloved.
"I assume," Stefan said, slowly, "it was some light hearted hazing. Sir."
Tanner's glare might have intimated Stefan if he wasn't a vampire with Damon as a brother. "Fifty laps for lying, Salvatore."
"Coach!" Matt said, "that's insane and unfair. You can't even prove he's lying."
Stefan shot Matt a soothing smile. "It's okay."
"You both make me want to puke," Tyler said. Matt slapped his shoulder. Tyler rolled his eyes, but confessed, "He was a punk yesterday so I got back at him."
"We did it," Matt corrected, "and it was my idea." He looked guilty enough for Stefan to believe he wasn't just covering for Tyler. "Sorry, coach."
"Strip down," Tanner said as he picked up the paddle, "both of you. Eight for Donovan, twelve for Lockwood."
"That's not fair," Matt said, "we are both equally at fault."
"Twelve for you, too, then," Tanner said.
After taking off his shirt, Tyler rolled it up and swatted the back of Matt's head. "You're an idiot."
"I'm not letting you take the fall," Matt said, firmly as he unbuckled his jeans and shimmed them off.
"Very romantic," Tanner said, "I'm happy for both of you. Hurry up before I decide to repeat this tomorrow."
"I'll think I'll go get started on those laps," Stefan said.
However, before Stefan could turn around to leave, Tanner rolled his eyes. "You're not actually in trouble, Salvatore. I was just counting on Donovan's conscience to kick in so he'd 'fess up." He pointed to a chair lined against the back wall. "I think everyone here would benefit if you were to witness what's about to happen."
"I don't believe in corporal punishment, sir," Stefan said. He was very glad Lexi was nowhere around to hear him say that. He hadn't gotten spanked by her in over a decade, but he knew she still had her hairbrush. She'd probably just laugh, but she might be inclined to remind him how irrelevant his opinions on corporal punishment was.
"I know your uncle agrees," Tanner said. He was clenching the paddle pretty hard. And from the way Tanner's eyes were blazing, Stefan knew he was just itching to apply that paddle on Stefan's seat, "to your determent. It wasn't an offer. Sit down, Salvatore. Before I make you."
Being a vampire often sucked. Being a seventeen-year-old vampire always sucked. Human adults treated him like he was a child. Which Stefan liked to think he enough grace to tolerate when he was acting like one, but it was unbearable when he was being bullied. Tyler and Matt were still children so their weak bullying was excusable, but Tanner was not, and he was in a position of power over children. Stefan's compulsion was weak, but he was tempted to try it out. Stand right in front of him, look into his dark eyes, and tell him to quit. Donate all his worldly goods. Live a life as a beggar. But it was one thing to ask a bored high school administrator to overlook some missing paperwork, it was another to compel someone to act against their own personal interests.
Matt was stripped down to his jock strap and had bent over the desk. Tyler was down to his strap too, but he was still standing tall. "For someone who skips school as much as you do, you sure are a goody two shoes. Just enjoy the show, jackass."
Tanner set the paddle back on his desk. Then he was suddenly behind Tyler, smacking his bare behind hard enough to leave behind pink handprints after each spank. With his spare hand, he grabbed at the back of Tyler's neck and shoved him over the desk, continuing to pepper his behind the entire time. Tyler's white skin was quickly becoming covered in a mess of pink handprints.
Before he could think of a better option, Stefan moved. He grabbed Tanner's hand and kept it still. "I'm pretty sure that counts as assault." Tanner struggled to break free of Stefan's grasp. The only reason Stefan let him was because he didn't want to blow his cover completely. Besides. "School policy says paddling is done over the clothes. You aren't allowed to use your hand. I wonder what Sheriff Forbes would say about this." He pointed to the almost naked Tyler and Matt.
Unexpectedly, Tanner smacked Stefan on the seat of his jeans. It barely hurt, but Stefan pretended to wince. "My mother is a Lockwood, Salvatore. Liz is my cousin. The only thing that will happen if you report me is that I might finally be able to convince your Uncle Zachary to sign the permission slip to paddle you so you won't cause anymore headaches for the Town Council."
Zack was pissed enough that Stefan wasn't able to handle Damon that he might, out of spite. The little boy Stefan used to babysit had became, understandably, a lot less friendly after Damon killed his wife because of Stefan. If Zack did, Tanner would find any reason to punish Stefan, and then Damon would find out and use it to humiliate Stefan on his quest to make Stefan miserable for eternity.
Tanner sensed Stefan's weakness. He gave Stefan a few more smacks before pointing at the chair again. "Sit, before I decide to have you strip, too."
Stefan clenched his jaw but he walked over to the chair. He couldn't believe he'd been outplayed by an overgrown schoolyard bully. He forced himself to squirm as Tanner watched him obey. If he was on the council, he knew about vampires, so Stefan had to be extra careful.
Tanner went back to smacking Tyler, who was beginning to grimace slightly. "We've talked about your mouth before, haven't we?"
"Yes," Tyler said. Tanner hit him harder, tanning his behind from pink to red. "Sir."
"I'll spank your wet skin if you sass off again," Tanner said after finishing up with a few extra hard, extra loud, smacks to Tyler's bare cheeks.
"Donovan," Tanner said as he picked his paddle back up, "lift your hips up higher."
Matt was flushing pink as he obeyed. Tanner stood behind him, set a hand on his back, and lined the paddle against Matt's lower bottom. He pulled back and landed three hard smacks, right on top of each other. Matt yelped in pain, but managed to stay in place.
Tanner walked over to Tyler and set the paddle so it was mostly on Tyler's thighs. Once more, he pulled back and landed three hard blows on miscreant teenage skin. Tyler gritted his teeth and took each lick without making a sound.
It was Matt's turn again. Tanner was not a merciful spanker, and pressed the paddle right on top of the red mark he'd just made. Matt shot up when Tanner smacked him with the hard, large paddle, but Tanner just shoved him down and laid two more smacks, extra hard and fast, on the same exact spot. "If you do that again, Donavan, you're getting eight more tomorrow."
"Yes, sir," Matt's voice was soft and scratchy. Stefan expected that the next round would probably bring him to tears.
Tanner walked over to Tyler. He hit Tyler's red skin so hard that he scooted the desk forward. Matt fumbled, but Tyler stayed still and endured the next two licks without moving an inch. Unlike Matt, Tyler was nowhere close to tears. Stefan wished he was surprised, but he was very familiar with the tells of a teenage boy who got beaten at home.
Half-way over, Stefan told himself and tried without success to push memories of Damon limping as he and Father came back from the basement down.
It was Matt's turn again. The lower part of his bottom was a blazing red. Tanner set the paddle right on top of the sore, punished skin. He pulled back and spanked Matt. Tears leaked out of Matt's blue eyes. Tanner rubbed the sore skin with the paddle before yanking it back and hitting home again. It was so hard that it lifted Matt straight on his toes and Tanner landed the last lick before Matt had time to set his feet back flat on the ground.
"Stand on your toes," Tanner told Tyler.
Tyler obeyed without a word. Tanner set the paddle so that most of it was covering his sit spots. The desk, once again, slid forward as Tanner landed one powerful blow after another. He didn't stop at three. He gave Tyler the rest of his punishment, each blow coming down faster and harder the last. Between the fifth and sixth blow, Stefan could see ugly brown bruises forming on his cheeks and upper thighs.
"Stay put," Tanner told him.
He was sweating and panting. He was strong, but he was also human. He'd delivered nearly two dozen hard blows with a heavy paddle. And he was the type of teacher who paddled his students fast. He clearly thought the more unpleasant and painful the paddling, the better. Matt's last three blows were given right on top of the dark red paddle shaped marks on his cheeks, but they were not nearly as hard or fast as his previous licks. Matt probably didn't notice as was openly crying by the time Tanner returned his paddle to the desk drawer.
"Lockwood, Donovan, corner. Hands on your heads," Tanner said, "if I see either of you rub before I dismiss you, you'll both get a dozen more."
"Yes, sir," Matt said while Tyler gave him a sharp nod.
Tyler's sit spots and upper thighs were covered in bruises with the rest of his buttocks was a bright, cherry red. Both of Matt's lower cheeks bore identical red bruises, dead center. Matt was sniffling while Tyler remained completely silent. Both of them obeyed the command to put their hands on their heads.
"Salvatore," Stefan turned to look at Tanner. He was considering the merits of eating him, even if that meant Lexi would yank him away from Mystic Falls back to New York with the rest of her household for at least ten years of detox and her special brand of treatment, featuring her singular hairbrush.
If he didn't love Elena so much, he might have decided it would be worth it.
"Take those fifty laps," Tanner was pulling out discipline slips and filling them out, "don't shower off the Kool-Aid until you're done."
Sadistic asshole, Stefan thought. He said, "Yes, sir."