"You think he's here to hurt Elena?" Stefan asked.
Damon nodded, "I think he's here to hurt me." He said.
"Oh, then I like him already." Stefan chuckled.
"Peyton Bennett? I mean, he was always nice to me." Caroline said, "What did you do to him?"
"It's complicated." Damon frowned, "Listen, he's dangerous."
"You want me to believe Bonnie's cousin is dangerous?" Stefan asked.
"They are all witches." Caroline said.
"What? We should kill him?" Stefan asked.
"Yes," Damon said, thinking, "No! Stop him. Stop whatever he's doing."
"You don't want to kill him?" Stefan asked.
"He was a friend." Damon said, "Besides, I would gain nothing to kill him."
"Never stopped you before." Stefan said, "What's he got on you?"
Damon looked between Stefan and Caroline who waited for a reply, "Look, I just know he's a problem. He's like Katherine." He said.
"Okay, I'll bite. How is he anything like Katherine?" Stefan sighed.
"He's smart, he's ruthless and he's vain...and he's after us." Damon said.
"Us? I thought you just said he's after you." Caroline asked.
"So, you two are not going to help me?" Damon asked, "Fine, I'll deal with him myself but don't blame me when Elena dies or something."
"Maybe he's right Stefan...Everyone seems to be after Elena." Caroline said, "And if he's after Damon, how long until he's after Elena."
"What do you mean?" Damon asked.
Caroline and Stefan looked at each other.
"Okay, we'll keep an eye on him. I'll talk to him, see what I can find out." Stefan said, "But we're not killing Bonnie's cousin. She was kill us...literally."
"Fine. That's all I'm saying." Damon said.
"Maybe you should stay away from him." Stefan said.
"Why?" Damon said, "I'll probably get the truth out of him easier."
"Well, I'm late for school." Caroline said, walking off.
"Somehow I don't think he's as dangerous to us as you say he is. I think he's got some secret on you." Stefan said, "I think he's actually your friend...or he was and you don't like him to be here because he brings out something human in you, like Elena." Stefan said.
Damon, who was looking off into space, chuckled, "You're off your rocker. When you do talk to him, watch out...his wit is can rip a sane person to shreds." He said, walking away.
Chapter 2: Promiscuity
"I can't believe you're wearing that." Bonnie said as we walked through the hall, "You're like a teacher."
I was wearing black leather pants with a black and white shirt, "That's right, I'm a teacher and not a boring professor."
"Aren't you afraid that people are going to make fun of you?" Bonnie asked.
I looked over at her, "Ooooh, a bunch of high school students will know I'm gay." I said, "Besides high school boys are like...I don't know, the most confused creatures ever."
"Are you trying to tell me you plan on scoring with some of the students?" Bonnie asked.
"Chill Bonnie." I said.
"Yeah, Bonnie," Damon said, walking up, "I'm sure he's not trolling the playground for sex."
The first bell rang and everyone was shuffling off to class.
"You better go." I said to Bonnie.
She nodded and walked further ahead, meeting with Elena, who both looked back at me and Damon as they rounded the corner.
"Teachers never dressed like this when I was high school." Damon said.
"Yeah, maybe because they were all wearing bonnets." I said, "What do you want, Damon?"
Damon did this weird thing with his eyes that made me confused and excited all at once, "I just want to know why you're here." He said, "Why you're really here."
I smirked, "I came back for you, of course. I mean I just missed you so much that I had to come here and...sorry, I don't think you're grasping the sarcasm of this whole conversation." I chuckled.
Damon held me against the wall, "I'm not going to let you hurt her." He said.
"Hurt who?" I asked.
"That might work with everyone else around here, but I know better." Damon said, "I will rip you..."
"Yeah, yeah. As much as I'm trembling, you're making the leather ride up." I frowned.
Damon studied me with his eyes, "This isn't some game." He said.
"I think it is." I smirked, "You want to know the truth, Damon? You pissed off a pretty powerful witch. You stand here, pretending you're human and you want to help Elena but the only reason you want her is because she looks like Katherine...and because your brother has her. You already know why I'm back. I came back for the same reason you came back."
Damon chuckled, "So, you've come back to punish me?" he asked, "That's your plan? What more can you do to me?"
"I think you know the things I can do to you." I smirked, "The thing is, I'm not Bonnie. I won't stop at setting you on fire. I'll watch you burn."
"Someone is bitter." Damon frowned, "Did they tell you about the last witch that betrayed me."
"You wouldn't do that to me." I said casually, "You left me for dead."
"I thought you were dead." Damon said angrily.
"Too bad for you that I'm not." I said just as angrily.
Damon just looked at me, trying to find anything left in me.
"What's going on?" Another teacher asked appearing behind Damon.
Damon let me go, "Alaric." He said, "Nothing, just welcoming the new teacher."
I looked between them.
"This conversation isn't over." Damon said quickly leaving.
"Are you okay?" Alaric asked.
I recoiled, "I'm fine." I frowned.
"I'm Alaric Saltzman, the history teacher." Alaric said, extending his hand.
I nodded, "I know." I said quickly, "I'm Peyton Bennett, the new English teacher. Temporary."
"Bonnie's cousin," he said, looking me over, "Interesting choice of clothes."
"Not all of us can be interesting history teachers. Gotta have something to catch the kid's attention." I smirked.
"I'm sure they'll be thrilled to have alumni teaching, especially someone so young. You went to school with some of these kids, right?" Alaric asked. I stared at him, "Okay. Well, it was nice meeting you."
"Yeah, it probably was." I said, heading off to class. Katherine had filled me in on everything, even little things that I needed to know. I let her know her plan had worked to turn Tyler into a werewolf. I spotted Jeremy immediately and for some reason Tyler, who seemed to be concentrating. I walked over to the desk and pulled out the book, searching through for something.
Some girl raised her hand and I called on her, "Aren't we going to introduce ourselves?" she asked.
"What, are we dating?" I asked, "You're in high school, kid. As a matter of fact, it's about time you do what you do in college."
"What? You're going to make us read this by ourselves?" One of the football boys asked.
"No," I smirked, leaning on the table, "We're going to pretend we read it and we're going to discuss what we think it means."
"You haven't read it?" Jeremy asked.
"Of course I've read this story. Have you?" I asked, "Do you want to?"
"Not really." Jeremy said.
"Hey, didn't you graduate a few years ago?" Another girl asked, "You used to hang out with my sister and her friends."
"Yeah. Your sister was a total bitch." I smirked, "I really liked her."
"What's with the leather pants?" A blonde guy asked.
"Well, junior, I am gay. This is what gay guys wear, right? Leather?" I asked.
"That's kind of homophobic." Jeremy said, "Not all gay guys dress like that."
"You would know." The blonde guy said.
"What does that mean?" I asked, "Are you implying that he's gay? Was that meant to be an insult?"
"No, I..."
"I think it was." I said, "Kind of my whole point for wearing this. What if he was gay? Was busting him out in front of the entire class really necessary?"
"I'm sorry."
"Which is why my first assignment is a bullying assignment." I said, "The whole reading thing is moot if we all kill ourselves and each other."
"What's the assignment?" A cute brunette girl asked.
"You're going to write about the worst thing you've ever done to someone. And then I want you to write how you felt." I said.
"That's it?" Tyler asked.
"No. Then you're going to write about how they felt." I said.
"How are we going to know how they feel?" The football player asked.
"You're going to ask them." I said, "You are going to take the initiative and reach out to the person you've hurt."
"Can I ask the point of this assignment?" The football player asked.
"There are millions of people out there. A lot of them are in high school. A lot of them are gay. A lot of them die because they're gay." I explained, "They die because they are bullied relentlessly every day. There are thousands of girls who commit suicide because other girls break them to build their own self-esteem. Sometimes it doesn't have to even be bullying to cause suicide. People can feel they don't belong...they lose loved ones..."
The bell rang.
"I expect you to have this done by next class." I said.
"Why so soon?" The blonde asked.
I thought about it, "Cause I said so." I said, "Now go forth into the world."
I watched them leave but noticed that Jeremy had stayed behind. I stared at him.
"Is there something you needed, Gilbert?" I asked.
"I just...I guess what you said applies to me." Jeremy said shyly.
"You're contemplating suicide?" I asked.
"No. No, I attempted suicide." Jeremy frowned, "You didn't know? Bonnie didn't..."
"You tried to commit suicide? Why?" I asked.
"I was in love." Jeremy said, "She died."
"That's mildly pathetic." I chuckled, "Sorry, I just...It shouldn't be funny because I did the same thing but in a different way."
"What do you mean?" Jeremy asked.
I looked at him, "I'm killing myself slowly. A long time ago, I knew this guy and he broke my heart. Ever since I've been killing myself." I smirked.
"And that makes you smile?" he chuckled.
"Not all suicide is quickly, J." I said simply.
"J?"
"Sorry, I..."
"No, it's cool." He said, "After my parents died, I was heavy into drugs and all kinds of stuff and I fell in love with Vicki Donovan and she got turned into a vampire. Then there was Anna..."
"And now there's my cousin?" I asked.
Jeremy looked at me, a little taken back by what I just said.
"You're a good guy." I smiled.
"You know what I don't understand? I just said the word vampire and it didn't even faze you." Jeremy said.
I looked away from him, "You'd better go...class and all." I said, standing.
He grabbed my hand, "I won't...tell. I mean, I assume you don't want people to know. Does Bonnie know? Or Elena? Or Stefan and Damon?" he asked.
I recoiled, "I don't know what you're talking about." I shrugged.
"You can trust me." Jeremy said, "You're right, I should be getting to class." He said, walking to the door.
I closed my eyes and sighed, "I'm a witch." I said causing him to turn, "Bonnie doesn't know. Grams taught me a long time ago. After she saw everything I could do, she refused to give me the grimoire and low and behold, she gave it to Bonnie."
"What can you do?" Jeremy asked.
The front row of desks levitated off the floor and landed again.
"A lot." I smiled.
Jeremy looked amazed and sort of fearful, before chuckling and nodding.
I placed a single finger over my lips, "Our secret." I said.
"Right." He said.
"Listen, if you ever want to talk...I'm here." I nodded.
"Thanks." Jeremy said.
-
Class was exhausting, so when I found myself dragging into the house. I threw the keys down onto the table and walked over to Bonnie's room to see Jeremy sitting on Bonnie's bed, watching her sleep. I just watched for a minute before quietly walking to my room and shutting the door. I stopped before turning on the light.
"Anybody ever tell you that it's weird to break into people's rooms and sit in the dark?" I asked, turning to Tyler.
Tyler stood, watching me, "Are you a vampire?" he asked.
"A vampire?" I asked, "Oddly enough, not the first time my personality has been asked that."
"You're not human, are you?" Tyler asked, "This is all new to me. I just learned, not long ago, that my family is a family of werewolves."
"You're a werewolf?" I said innocently.
Tyler again studied me, "You knew?" he asked.
"About the Lockwood curse?" I bit my lip, "The whole killing people thing turning you into a hairy, unmanageable beast? Yeah. Mason..."
"Uncle Mason? What do you know about him?" Tyler asked, confused.
"He used to live here, I used to live here...do you think we'd never met?" I asked, "What are you even doing here? We're not friends."
Tyler's eyes bulged a little, "You can show up at my place unannounced, but I can't do it?" he asked.
"You're a wolf." I said, "You're in even more danger of hurting everyone you love because you're a hot-head. You're a dick. I don't really have time to stroke your ego today."
Tyler nodded angrily, "You know what, fine. Next time you want to be friends, don't." he said, blowing past me.
"They get younger and younger around you." Damon said behind me.
I closed my eyes, "Do you really think I want to talk to you?" I asked, "Did you save Elena?"
"How'd you know Elena was in trouble?" Damon asked, studying me.
"Why does everyone assume I have an ulterior motive?" I asked, "Besides, Bella...Ooops, I mean Elena, is always in trouble. And you and Stefan will always be there to save her."
"And that really pisses you off, doesn't it?" Damon asked, "It eats away at you."
I chuckled angrily, "You know, all I hear for months is that Katherine's stuck in a tomb and how heartbroken you are...And now all I hear is how much you love Elena." I said, pushing him against the wall, "They both hate you! You disgust both of them! You disgust me!"
"If that's true, then why does your heart beat faster when you're around me?" Damon smirked.
I stared at him but turned away from him quickly.
"Face it, you still have the hots for me." Damon smirked.
I turned to him and threw myself into his arms. I kissed him passionately, letting all the old feelings rush in. When I realized what I was doing, I recoiled from him and turned away from him again.
"You did awful stuff to me." I frowned, "Unspeakable things and then you left."
Damon rolled his eyes darkly, "I'm sorry. I was a bad, bad person." He frowned, clasping his hands together.
"You're not a person." I said angrily, "I'm sorry, I don't know...The things we did with each other...to each other. I'm not sure if either one of us is human."
Damon had looked at me angrily, but his face softened, if that was possible. He seemed to be thinking.
"Deep down, we're soulless." I frowned.
"So, you're saying we're meant for each other?" Damon asked, "Is that what you're trying to say?"
"No. I'm saying that there is no one for either of us." I frowned.
"Are you here to kill Elena? Or me? Or, please feel free to say yes to this, Stefan." Damon asked.
"I'm here to help Elena." I said quickly.
"Why?" Damon asked.
I just stared at him.
"I am in love with Elena." Damon said quickly.
"Why haven't you tried to kill me? You thought I was here to kill you..." I said.
Damon shrugged, "What's in it for me?" he asked, "Besides, you're too powerful to just kill."
"You could never lie to me, Damon." I frowned, "We're connected in a way that is so twisted and wrong, but it's also kind of beautiful."
"How unlike you." Damon said.
"What, did you expect me to just throw you on the bed with my powers and..." I stopped, "Katherine's right, ya know. Something bad is coming and it's coming for Elena."
"What? What's coming for her? We killed Elijah." Damon said.
"I think you should go." I said coldly.
Damon pushed me against the wall, "You're pushing me. I won't kill you, but if you don't tell me what's coming and Elena dies, I will torture you." He said, disappearing.
"I love you too." I said, closing the window.