A/N: Thanks to everybody for your great responses to the first post! =D I'm not going to call this an official story just yet, as this is just a drabble sort of related to the first oneshot, but it could stand on it's own too.
No spoilers here.
Damon ignored four phone calls from Jeremy before the boy showed up at the boarding house. Damon figured he shouldn't be surprised—showing up unannounced and walking in without knocking was quickly becoming Jeremy's M.O. Jeremy was taking his life into his hands every time he tried sneaking up on a vampire, but he was either too stupid to realize or he just didn't care. Damon had thought Jeremy had moved past his cavalier attitude towards life, but perhaps not.
"If I wanted to see you, I would have answered my phone." Damon said, his voice bored.
Jeremy shrugged and poured himself a drink. Damon probably ought to protest (Jeremy wasn't anywhere near legal, after all) but considering the other things the two of them got up to, underage drinking was the least of their worries. Besides, he was quickly learning that telling Jeremy Gilbert not to do something was the easiest way to make sure he did exactly that. Damon sneaked glances at the teenaged boy, who downed two drinks much more quickly than normal. Jeremy was halfway through the third when it occurred to Damon that something might be wrong.
He was next to Jeremy and had already pulled the tumbler out of the boy's hand before Jeremy could stop him. There were definitely perks to being a vampire.
"What's going on?" Damon asked, his eyes locking with Jeremy's. Jeremy could tell from the way Damon's pupils dilated and contracted quickly that he was trying to compel him into telling the truth.
"Nice try," Jeremy rolled his eyes and held up his right wrist, showing Damon his vervain bracelet.
"And I thought you trusted me." Damon smirked.
"Not to hurt me, sure." Jeremy shrugged. "But I'm not a total idiot, Damon."
"Neither am I. Tell me what's wrong with you."
"I'm fine. Bad day." Jeremy said, with what Damon was beginning to recognize was an air of practiced indifference. It was impressive, really, the number of people Jeremy had managed to trick into believing he didn't give a shit. Aunt Jenna, all those idiots at the high school, most of his teachers including Alaric, sometimes even Stefan and Elena—Jeremy was as much of a manipulator as Damon was, they just had different motives.
Damon shrugged. He wasn't going to press the issue. He wasn't Jeremy's boyfriend or his guidance counselor or his dad. They were sort of friends, but really just in it for the benefits, and Damon wasn't required to care about Jeremy's feelings. They would have sex regardless, and Damon was pretty sure they'd both be better off if they left feelings out of it entirely.
Damon pulled Jeremy against him, but Jeremy didn't exactly cooperate. Rather than let Damon start kissing him, he buried his face in Damon's neck and slipped his arms around Damon's waist. Damon thought about disentangling himself and making some snide comment about vampires and hugs and how they didn't mix, but Jeremy wasn't really hugging him. He was clinging, like he thought Damon was going to disappear. And it was weird. Because Jeremy worked really hard most of the time not to be like this. Sure, he showed up without asking, but since the first night, he'd given up initiating. It was always Damon who dragged him into the nearest bedroom and started tearing at clothes, and Jeremy tagged along happily for the ride. There was probably something Freudian about it—Jeremy spent so much time rebelling that he needed somebody who took control without any room for argument. Although, that was veering dangerously close to S&M, which really wasn't Damon's style. He'd had a taste of that with Katherine and it had made his skin crawl and set his teeth on edge. Besides, Freud was full of shit anyway, right?
Damon didn't know how long Jeremy stood, holding on to him like a lifeline, but eventually Damon slipped his arms around Jeremy's waist and hugged back. There were no witnesses, so nobody could prove it happened.
