Always and Forever

Are You Smarter Than A Vampire?:

~Stefan's Pov~
    I retrace my steps to Cassandra's house, I drove her home last night so I memorized the way there. We both agreed that I would pick her up and drive her to school today, considering she left her car at school, so that she could ride with me to my place. I honk the horn to signal that I'm outside and waiting for her. She comes outside a few seconds later, I unlock the car and open the door for her. She slides into her seat, handing me a cup of hot coffee. "Thanks.."I trail as I look down at her feet. "Where are your shoes?" I ask her questionably. She hands me her own coffee and shuts the door. "They're in my bag." She pulls her white low top converses from her book bag. She throws it in the back next to mine as she slips on her shoes and ties them. "Thanks." She says referring to me holding her coffee as she takes it back and sips it. "Ready?" I ask. "Yeah, you can drive." She states. "Alright then." I pull off, taking sips of my coffee as I drive to school.
    I park in the same spot as I did yesterday, and she gets out of the car. I grab both of our bags from the back as she carries our coffees. I have a brief conversation with Matt Donavon about my car before getting pulled away by Cassie. "Bonnie!" She calls across the parking lot and Bonnie stops and waits for her. I slip her bag over her head, letting it drop over her shoulder once we stop in front of her. I take my coffee from her hand and decide it would be best to finish it before class, though she sips at her coffee slowly. "You drove her to school?" She asks me, shocked. "Yes." I reply. "Elena said you two knew each other for a little while before you moved here." She tries to hold a conversation. "Yeah, we met back in New Orleans." We walk inside over to the girls lockers. Bonnie shoves a few books into her locker before shutting and locking it. "So, when were you going to tell us you had an older brother?" I throw my coffee away in a trash can in a nearby class. "Caroline was talking to him last night at the grill." She further explains. "She was talking to Damon?" Cassie asks caution in her voice. "Yeah, why? Is there something wrong with him?" Cassandra glances at me before replying. "I don't know him that well, just comes off as a little arrogant." She shrugs. "My brother can be a bit much at times." I add. Caroline runs up to the 3 of us linking arms with Bonnie and Cassie. "You seem like you're in a cheery mood." Cassie notes. "Does Damon Salvatore have anything to do with that?" Bonnie teases, causing Caroline to unlink their arms and she shoves her into me. "Shut up!" She screeches louder than intended. I catch Bonnie so she wouldn't fall over but she lets go of me quickly. "Sorry!" Caroline claps her hands over her mouth. "Don't worry about it." I assure her that it was no big deal. "Jesus, you guys are so loud. I can hear you halfway down the hall." Elena states as her and Aurelia join us. I make a note to talk to her later, she's been acting a little weird since we ran into each other yesterday. We should be able to be friends considering we hold the same secret. "We missed you at the grill yesterday, where were you?" Elena asks Cassie. "Uh, I hung out with Stefan after tryouts." She replies hesitantly. I assume she was trying to avoid their initial reactions. They tease us, by making kissy noises and singing "Stefan and Cassie sitting in a tree." She rolls her eyes. "I'm going to class." She says slightly amused by their playful banter. "Oh, before I forget." Cassie pulls out a hydro flask from her bag and hands it over to Aurelia. "Coffee." She explains. "Actually, can I steal you for a minute." Bonnie says to Cassandra with a bit of a plea to her voice. "Yeah sure." She says and turns to Elena and I. "I'll catch up with you guys in a bit." She explains. "Alright." I walk alongside Elena to class, but I can't help but wonder what they need to talk about. I listen in on their conversation, "Have you ever felt weird around certain people?" Bonnie asks her, a tad of confusion lacing her voice. "Weird how?" Cassandra wonders aloud. "Well, when I fell into Stefan, I felt this weird...I don't know how to explain it. It was like a shock when we touched." She further explains. I frown as I walk into the classroom, hanging my bookbag on the back of the chair. The warning bell rings, "Um, maybe once before." She sounds uneasy. "We can talk about this more later okay? We should get to class." She quickly abandons the conversation. "At lunch then." Cassandra agrees, not too long after she walks into the class, taking her seat next to me. "What was that about?" Elena whispers from behind me over to Cassie. "Personal stuff." Cassandra drops the conversation as Mr. Tanner walks in and takes roll call.
"Today class, we will be talking about World War 2." He starts. "Does anyone know any basics on it?" He asks. No one answers and the class falls silent. "Miss Won?" He calls, and she shrugs her shoulders in response. Elena taps my shoulder. I lean back in my seat and turn my head slightly signalling that I'm listening. "Hm?"
"So, you and Cassie?" She inquires. "What about us?" I counter, we speak in a hushed tone. "Do you like her?" She asks curiously, though I know why she's really asking. She's wondering if she has a chance with me. She doesn't " Miss Gilbert?" Mr. Tanner calls and she looks up quickly. "Huh?" She says dumbfoundedly. "Pearl Harbor." He reminds her. "Um.." She trails lost. "December 7th 1941." Cassie glances at me and smiles. "And here we go." She whispers quietly, only loud enough for me to hear. "Thank you, Miss Gilbert." He says with a slight eye roll. The class laughs at this. "Anytime." I reply for her. "Very well." He puts his hands in his pockets. "The fall of the Berlin Wall?" He asks the class. I watch as Cassandra sits up in her seat, we're both a bit of a history buff, this just turned into a competition. "1989." She answers quickly. I turn to her and she shrugs at me. "Keep up." She says smugly. "Seems like we have a few competitors in our class." Mr. Tanner says happily. He leans against his desk. "Cassandra is one of the best in my class." He further explains. "Civil Rights Act?" He asks the both of us. "1964." We both say quickly at the same time." I lean forward in my seat playing with my pencil in front of me. He ponders for a second for another question. "John F. Kennedy assassination?"
"1963." Again we say at the same time. "Martin Luther King."
"68'." He leans off of his desk and walks a bit closer to our desks. "Lincoln."
"1865." We both answer with ease. Getting all the years right is pretty easy when you've lived through it. "Roe vs. Wade." He steps closer. "1973." He glances between the both of us. He thinks for a harder question. "Brown vs. Board."
"1954." Cassie crosses her arms over her chest, this is easy for her as for I. "Battle of Gettysburg." He looks at me. "1963." I put my pencil down. "Cassie." He asks. "Korean War."
"1950-1953." He laughs. "HA! It ended in 52'" He fails to correct. Cassie looks to me for reassurance. "Uh, actually sir, it was 53'" I defend as he walks away from our desk his back toward us. He raises his head and turns toward me. I nod signalling that I'm sure she's correct. I lived it, I know. "Somebody look it up." Students race to grab their phones to look up the answer. "Quickly!" He says loudly. I turn to Cass with a smile on my face and she gives me a 'what gives' look. "1953," a student answers from the back of the class as he looks up from his phone. The class claps for Cassandra and I as Mr. Tanner pierces his lips together tightly. Cassie huffs. "Teachers am I right?" She jokes and I give her a high five. "Good job." Elena says to me with a smile spread across her face. She likes me, I conclude. "Thanks." I say plainly, my interest being in Cassie.
The rest of class flies by with ease, and the bell rings. The 3 of us walk out of class together, I walk Cassandra to class as I did the day before and Elena goes her separate way up the stairs for her next class. I stop at the front door of her English class. "I'll see you at lunch." I state. "After I talk to Bonnie." She explains. "Is she okay?" She nods, "Yeah, she just said she gets these feelings.." She trails causing me to frown. "What feelings?" I ask as if I don't already know. She shrugs, "I don't know. I think it has something to do with her being a witch." She whispers. "Her grams always talked about how she was one when she was little and her parents tried to stop her from filling her head with this 'nonsense' since last year. Bonnie's getting to the age where she will start to discover her powers. She knows I'm a witch, so she confines in me from time to time." She further explains to me. "So what are you going to tell her?" He asks. "Well, I haven;t really figured that part out yet. I mean, I should tell her the truth no? She's going to find out eventually. Better to hear it from me than anywhere else right?" She asks, "What about me then?" I counter. She frowns realizing I eavesdropped earlier. "She kept my secret, she'll keep yours. I have to get to class." She says her mood changing instantly. "Cassie." I grab her wrist trying to stop her. She pauses and turns to me. "A girl likes her privacy, Stefan." She warns, as for it not to happen again. She pulls her wrist away. "And her space." She walks into her English class and takes a seat, I let out a small sigh before heading to Chemistry.
The day drags on slowly but when the bell rings signalling that school is over I put my books in my bag before walking outside. "Stefan!" Elena catches up to me. "Elena..hey." She smiles up at me "There's a party, a bonfire really, you'll be there right?" She asks. "Who's all going?" I ask. "Just about everyone. Tyler, Matt, Bonnie, Cassie, Caroline, my brother Jeremy, Vicki... the whole football team." She lists. "I'll be there, when?"
"At 7 sharp." she says, "See you later." She waves as she runs off.
~Party Time~
    I arrive at the bonfire at 7pm as instructed to do so. I notice Aurelia first and walk over to her. "Hey." She looks up at me. "Have you seen Tyler.?" She asks, trying to dodge me. "No, I haven't. I haven't seen you around school much." I try to carry the conversation. "Yeah, I'm just a little busier than usual this year." She tries to brush me off. "Is there something wrong between us?" I inquire. "No, nothing's wrong." She sips whatever drink she has in her solo cup, smells like beer. "Then why have you been acting so strange since I got here?" I press on. "Found him." She looks past me. "Tyler!" She calls and waves him over. "I saw the others somewhere that way earlier." She points toward the east. "Catch up later." She says quickly before running off to Tyler. I put my hands in my jean pockets as I scan the woods looking for any of my other friends, not sure Aurelia would classify as a friend. Parties don't really seem to be my thing. "You made it!" Elena says loudly over the music. I smile at her trying to be friendly. "Where's everyone else?" I ask. "Follow me."  She grabs my hand and drags in the direction of the others. "Look who made it!" She says to the girls, Matt and who I assume to be her brother, Jeremy. They look alike in some aspects. "Hey." I smile at them. They all greet me in return and Matt hands me a drink. "Join in on the fun dude." He encourages. I notice Cassie eyeing Elena and I and I finally realize she hasn't let go of my hand yet, Cassie glances down at them and I pull my hand away from Elena. I put the cup I was handed in my right hand to prevent her from holding it again. "Jeremy!" She calls his name over the loud music. He walks over to her. "Dance with me." She says throwing her arms around his neck. Elena notices this instantly and frowns. He takes a hold of her hand and drags her toward where everyone is dancing.
Elena huffs as she watches Jeremy and Cassandra dance. "Is everything okay?" I ask genuinely concerned. "Cassandra is dancing with my little brother." She explains and I look over to them,Cassie is looking at us. "They're just having fun, it's a party." I try to calm her. "He's 15." She defers. "It's just dancing." She groans. "You don't get it." I frown not understanding. "What don't I get?" I beg for an explanation. I can't see anything wrong with two teenagers having fun. She looks over to the pair again. "That!" She shouts. I look over to see what she means and the two are making out. When the two pull away Cassandra laughs slightly."I stand corrected." Elena quickly rushes over to the pair. "Are the two of you out of your minds?" The pair instantly jump apart. "I'm just having fun at the party you dragged me to." Jeremy rolls his eyes at his sister. "I'm calling Jenna." Elena quickly pulls out her phone. "You've had enough partying for the night." I feel like this was the straw that broke the camel's back for Elena."Why are you always in my business!?" Jeremy asks, fed up with her. "It became my business when Cassandra decided to stick her tongue down my 15 year old brother's throat." She turns to Cassie with a look of rage. "Last time I checked, he's old enough to make his own decisions." Cassie edges closer to Elena. "You're not his mother, no matter how hard you try to be. " Once those words left Cassie's mouth, Elena charges at her. Before Elena's hand reaches Cassie, Cassie stops Elena. "Don't do something you'll regret." Cassie's demeanor changes. "Cassie, walk away." I state, this doesn't need to end up worse than it already is. Everyone is staring. Jeremy tries to pull Elena away from her. "Just let it go Elena, I can take care of myself." He defends. "Whatever, she's not even worth it." Elena starts. "At least I have people who actually want me around."
"Want you around?" Cassie laughs. "They're only around you, because they pity the poor little orphan girl." She spits. "Cassandra." I try to warn her to stop as I grab a hold of her arm, pulling her toward me. I could feel the heat radiating off of her. I need to pull her away from this situation and fast, before she does or says something she doesn't mean. "Your parent's left you by choice, because they couldn't stand how much of a fuck up you were!"
"You little-" Cassie grabs a hold of Elena ready to swing on her. "Cassie stop!" I shout trying to pull her away, mainly blocking her from hitting Elena. There isn't much I can do considering she's older, and stronger than me. She reaches past me to get to Elena when Aurelia shows up with Bonnie who grabs Elena. She has a similar reaction to what happened when she touched me earlier, but she ignores it. "Get her out of here!" I tell Bonnie, she escorts Elena, and Jeremy away from the party. Aurelia helps me take Cassie to her car. "I'll drive with her." She explains. "I'll pull out in front of you, follow behind." I direct.