It was the chill that first woke Jeremy up. His hand was groping around for the blanket to pull it up over his head when he found someone else's arm. The shock of that woke Jeremy up completely.

The obvious whose arm is that? was followed by the also obvious where am I? Jeremy wasn't exactly what you call a morning person. But then last night came tumbling back into his memories. He was laying on his side underneath a tree curled up with Tyler Lockwood. Tyler had one arm over Jeremy's side and the other arm cradling his head. Their feet were intertwined. Jeremy could feel Tyler's breath on his neck.

Jeremy carefully removed Tyler's arm and quietly got up trying not to wake Tyler. Tyler mumbled something in his sleep and pulled his legs up closer, missing the heat of Jeremy's body. Jeremy looked down at him and noticed a little bit of drool on the corner of Tyler's mouth. The idea of Tyler Lockwood, the perfect jock, drooling in his sleep brought a smile to Jeremy's face.

Jeremy slowly stood up and winced with pain. His back ached from sleeping on the ground. His skin stung where Tyler had scraped him. His shoulder throbbed where Tyler had bit him. And...his ass burned. Jeremy couldn't help looking down at Tyler's cock. Even flaccid it looked huge. I wonder if that is what makes him so arrogant?

Jeremy looked around for his clothes. The sun wasn't quite up yet and it took him a minute to find everything. His shirt was shredded. His underwear was shredded. His jeans were shredded in the seat and the center seams ripped. Crap. How strong do you have to be to rip denim like that?

"Were you even going to say goodbye?" Tyler's voice caused Jeremy to start. He looked over and saw Tyler sit up. The way he yawned, stretched, and rubbed the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand seemed totally natural. Jeremy figured that drool thing was normal.

"I was looking for my clothes. It's cold." Jeremy replied.

"Want me to warm you up?" Tyler asked with his old smirk on his face. Jeremy ignored the question as he tried to figure out how to get his jeans to stay on.

Tyler watched Jeremy. His eyes sliding up and down Jeremy's body. Not too bad. Needs to spend some more time in the gym. That would build up his chest and flatten his stomach some. Hmm...does Jeremy even know how to work out?

"I could train you." Tyler offered.

"What? To do tricks?" Jeremy asked in confusion.

Tyler chuckled, "No, at the gym. Get your scrawny ass in shape Gilbert."

"I thought you liked my ass?" Jeremy asked in an innocent voice and smiled when he saw Tyler blush.

"So you're still a smart ass, huh?"

"You're still a douche, right?"

"I am what I am" Tyler replied.

Jeremy almost doubled over laughing. "Did you really just say that?"

"Yeah, well, it's still early in the morning. You want something profound, you gotta wait until after I eat." Tyler sort of absently rubbed his belly with hand.

Jeremy finally figured out his pants. Hold them up around his waste and wrap the arms of Tyler's shirt through what remained of the belt loops and tie them off in the front. The shirt itself would cover up the shredded seat of his jeans. Not exactly stylish, but it would probably stop him from getting arrested for public nudity.

"Hey, that's my shirt!"

"Yeah, well, you owe me one." Tyler just replied with that smug smirk again.

He got up and walked over to Jeremy. Jeremy watched the way Tyler's body moved. Every motion was smooth. You could see the muscles slide under his skin. He walked with a confidence Jeremy could never feel. Tyler always seemed like he owned the world. Jeremy always felt that the world was something he watched but wasn't really a part of.

Tyler ran his fingers along the scrapes on Jeremy's chest. Jeremy shivered at this touch. Tyler's finger tips traced out the bloody tooth marks on his shoulder. Finally he looked Jeremy in the eyes. They stood there for a minute neither saying anything. Then Tyler stepped back and went to put on his pants. "Come on, I'll drop you off at your house, Gilbert." Jeremy rolled his eyes at the use of the last name.

They drove to Jeremy's house in silence, not really looking at each other. Not even when Tyler smacked Jeremy's hand for trying to change the radio station. Finally, he pulled up into the driveway and put the car in park.

"Thanks" Jeremy muttered and he started to get out of the car.

"Jeremy, wait." Tyler said in a bit of an anxious voice. "Why?" He asked almost hesitantly.

Jeremy paused for a second and without turning back: "I just thought you needed me." Jeremy whispered. And that was when Tyler realized Jeremy wasn't a loner. He was just alone.