Time jump : Stefan's 4( nearly 5) and Damon's 11
Stefan's Pov:
I was lying in my bed and I knew it was getting late but I just didn't want to get up. I hated going to school. There were these guys who always made fun of me. I had no friends. I don't know what it's was about me that drove everyone away. Everyone hated me. I really don't know why. You know , I tried to be good, I really did . Everyone makes mistakes, but when I do , people get so mad at me.. I'm always told I'm too young whenever I speak and am told to shut up and sit quietly, but when I drop a plate or get my clothes dirty or tear my shoes I'm too old to be this clumsy and get punished or scolded. I don't know why everyone treats me like I'm the worst person on earth. The only people who treat me with compassion are Martha and maybe my big brother. Damon doesn't talk to me much and I know deep down that he doesn't like me but he never says bad things to me or beat me like every other person does.. Isn't that what compassion is supposed to be? I think so.. Because every other person who talks to me does it to yell at me, say rude stuff or hit me.. So I guess everyone who doesn't, loves me, or at least likes me enough to not hurt me in any way. I don't like talking too much because whenever I talk someone scolds me Or tells me to shut up , and isn't that supposed to mean it's bad to talk a lot ? But whenever I don't feel like talking, which is A LOT, because I just feel like whatever I need to say is not worth it and nobody cares anyways, I get scolded for it. I just don't know how to do things, anything I do is going to be labelled wrong. I am sick of being this useless. I finally get up to go get ready when I hear shuffling near my room because I'm really scared that father would get mad at me for being in bed this late, but when I'm up I see Damon opening the door.
Damon's pov :
It's getting late and I see Stefan hasn't woken up yet. He's a really sad person. I think I've barely seen him laugh. He's always got this look in his big green eyes that breaks me. I don't want to talk to him because if I do, I know I wouldn't be able to not feel the urge to love him and protect him from all the bad in the world, and i don't want to feel that because he's the person because of whom my mother died. It's so unnatural of me to like him and care about him. But for some reason, when I see his little figure moving here and there trying to please father, or me, or anyone , I feel something I can't explain. It's a mix between pity, resentment and it's a feeling I can only describe as 'he's my brother'. I see it in him that all ge wants is love, acceptance. When he was little he used to crawl to ne and try to lay on my chest and I used to push him away. I found it annoying. And I knew I was supposed to feel bad for him but somewhere deep down I knew I cared for him. I didn't want to talk to him or be close with him though, I kept pushing him away. When he grew older he used to come to my room in the middle of the night and kay beside me quietly. I didn't know why but I didn't ask him or remove him from there. One day father saw him laying beside me, he grabbed him and shoved him in his room. He cried a lot. He cried quietly , doesn't want to let anyone know. But I saw him. Father is cruel to him. He's cold and distant to me too now, but more to stefan, he loathes him. It doesn't help that stefan looks so much like our mother. He's barely five and when I see him cry because his father hates him, it snaps something in me and I want to comfort him but I don't.
He spends most of his time alone, or with Martha . Even though he hasn't said anything to me or anyone about this, I see him come home with random bruises and I know he faces troubles with the children of his school. He is really skinny for his age. He barely eats. He sometimes gets tired doing normal stuff and I don't get the issue. He seems very timid and weak. All of a sudden I see him get up quickly. And he's trembling a bit and when he sees me he relaxes a little and his trembling stops. He's calmer now, probably expected father and was scared. He sees me and puts up a smile and I involuntarily return it, he seems so innocent unaware of the sadness he brought into our lives, but was it really his fault? I don't think so. But I also don't think I can let in a person who was directly or indirectly the cause of my mother's death . But I can't hate him even if I try. He's kind, helps people without thinking about himself . I know that. I've seen that. He started changing his clothes and I left to change mine. We sat to eat breakfast and I saw him just drink some juice and completely ignore the toast kept in front of him. " Why aren't you eating that " He looked at me mouth agape, wide eyed.. He was startled by my concern "i-I uh- I wasn't h-hungry" He stuttered and spoke hesitantly. He wasn't used to anyone asking him this stuff except Martha. I nodded and we took off.
