Family Above All

47. Cave Adventures

Pairing: Klaus/Enzo (M/M) brush, [brief, interrupted]

Friday, April 6, 2012

Mystic Falls High School

Morning, Before Classes

Wes had asked Finn to make sure that Aaron made it on the bus that morning for school. He thought after the late night that the boy should be able to sleep in. Finn had agreed readily.

After watching how good Sage and Finn were with Ava and the twins, he thought that he'd ask him to be Aaron's guardian that evening.

"Hey Dr. Maxfield, whatcha up to? Need any help?" Nessie asked, hanging around Wes' classroom door.

"Ah, hey, Nessie," Wes replied, with a warm smile. "You are here early."

"Yeah, I had my dad drop me off early today. I thought Aaron would be here with you...," Nessie said, looking around for the blond teen.

"No, I thought I should let him sleep in and I needed to prep for the experiment today," Wes explained. "But if you're game, you could correct those quizzes for me. They are on my desk."

"Oh, sure," Nessie replied in surprise. "I know you are used to having teaching assistants and stuff at the college."
"Yes, I didn't know how good I had it there," Wes confirmed. "And of course, I'll give you some extra credit points. Not that you need it, but I do appreciate the help."

"Sure. I like to help. It's fun. You mind if I put my headphones in?" Nessie asked, gathering the tests and a marking pen.

"Of course not. I'll be back in the office if you need me," Wes said, carrying the lab materials with him.

Nessie looked up, her multi-colored eyes puzzled. Why was he taking all that stuff in his office? Hmm, the slightly-built teacher was an odd guy, brilliant, but a little strange. Her father James had always taught her to follow her intuition and trust her gut. Her gut told her that Dr. Maxfield was up to something. Nessie walked over and looked at some of the chemicals Dr. Maxfield had been using.

"Cytotoxin?" Nessie whispered, leaning over to look at the vial left on the counter.

"Oh, don't touch that!" Wes exclaimed, picking up the vial and sticking it in his lab coat. "Um, the lesson I was planning might not be ready today. I might have to re-adjust."

Nessie smiled, "Sure. I'll just be over here if you need anything."

"You can sit at the desk," Wes called back to the teen.

"Really?" Nessie asked. "Cool." But Wes had shut his office door. What was he up to? Nessie was no expert, but she knew that substance came from the most deadly snakes in the world: cobras and adders. Why would it be in a high school chemistry lab? And what was Dr. M. planning to do with it?

Library

Tyler and Matt came into the library to find Dorian.

"Hey, guys," Dorian said, as he shoved another outdated book into the boxes destined for storage. "I thought I was alone here."
Tyler cleared his throat.

"We just wanted to apologize for being idiots at study hall," Tyler said uncomfortable, looking at the teacher. He elbowed Matt when he didn't say anything.

"Yeah, we kinda got into trouble for it. It's just that Gilbert, well, let's just say he disrespected my sister and I was mad," Matt said. "But Coach Wineman chewed us out and um, so did Tyler's Uncle Mason. Sorry."

Dorian smoothed his mustache, surprised at the apology.

"It's okay, guys. I just hope you work it out with Jeremy. Fighting just doesn't get you anywhere, okay? But if you need to talk, I'm here," Dorian said with a calm smile.