It's second period and I'm afraid I'm losing my mind. I can't get Damon out of my system. There is no way this is a normal crush. But, I don't want to accept it, because of what it would mean. I went from being a druggie to having feelings for a guy? Where did this come from? I've been attracted to girls my whole life. Then, Damon comes and fucks it all up. I was getting back to normal, but this isn't normal to me.

My normal is having a girlfriend that I can walk down the hallway and hold hands with. At the same time, normal sounds boring right about now. I've lived through normal and something tells me Damon isn't normal. Maybe Stefan isn't either. But, I can't let that distract me from the identity crisis I'm having. I wish I could talk to Luke about it. But, I don't want him to think I'm a freak. It wouldn't do good to lose my friend when I need him the most.

If I bring home any failing grades, Jenna will be pissed and disappointed. I need to get it together and forget my so called feelings. Just thinking of Damon's eyes and the way he smirks makes me want to put my fist through the wall. I'm angry because I shouldn't be having god damn butterflies at the thought of his eyes and smirk. Luke is going to need to put me through the ringer when we go to the gym later. It always puts me at ease when I'm sweating and pushing myself to the limit. I lose myself in the controlled movements and don't think of anything.

The gym is the one place I can go to get away from everything that's plaguing me. My phone buzzes in my pocket and I discreetly check it. A text message from Luke is flashing on the screen.

Are you ok, man?

I nod at him over my shoulder before typing a message back.

Yeah, let's get to the gym after school. Work my ass into the ground.

A minute later, he replies.

Just remember you asked for it.

I shake my head and smile, all my worries disappear. Luke can always have that effect on me, where he makes me feel normal. With all my worries gone, the rest of the school day passes by fast. The last bell rings and I head to the parking lot to meet Luke. He's standing by his truck chatting up Lindsay, the strawberry blonde bitch.

"Call me later?" she asks, running her finger down Luke's chest.

"We'll see," he says, with a smile.

She smiles and flounces away, back to hell I hope.

"Hey Jer," says Luke, tossing his bag into the bed of his truck.

"What was that about?" I ask.

"She was just babbling about the first school dance and flirting badly, might I add."

"She came on to me yesterday and I more or less told her to fuck off. Because she never paid any attention to me before, so why now?"

"You're fit and showing a different attitude that they haven't seen before. So, you're more desirable now."

"Yeah, well I don't trust her."

"I'll make sure not to call her back. You ready to hit the gym?"

"Yep. I always keep my gym bag with me," I say, tossing my school bag in the backseat and grabbing my gym bag.

"So I did teach you something. Do you just want to ride with me and I'll bring you back to your truck?" he asks, while jumping into his truck.

"Yeah, cool," I say, jumping in on the passenger's side.

He grins and revs up the motor before taking off out of the parking lot. I roll down the window and let the wind hit my face. Best friends have a way of making you feel invincible which is how I'm feeling. Anticipation floods my body as we pull into the gym parking lot.

"Let's hit it," says Luke, grabbing his bag and getting out of the truck.

A tall, buff Italian guy named Tony is at the counter with slicked back black hair. "Hey Luke, Jeremy. It's good to see you two back here. How was Panama City?" he asks, with his gaze turned on Luke.

"Hot. I enjoyed it, but I'm ready to give Jeremy the ass kicking he's asking for," replies Luke, punching my arm.

"You know I can take it," I shoot back with a grin.

"Have fun," says Tony.

We go back to the locker room and I throw my shirt off and put on a pair of shorts. Luke changes and I follow him out to the gym area.

"We'll start off with legs and core. Then, we'll hit the weights," says Luke, grabbing a mat and throwing it on the floor.

I take my place on the mat and Luke leads me through a series of leg lifts, quad lifts, hamstring curls and lunges. After thirty minutes of this, he helps me up from the floor.

"You're not as out of shape as I thought you'd be," comments Luke.

"You were gone for two weeks. I kept up with some of it and ran. So, I wasn't completely lazy," I reply, going over to the water cooler and getting a drink.

I drink my water and look out the window, seeing the streets filled with people. There's a bench in front of the window and a black crow is perched on it, staring at me. It's crazy, but I think it could be the same crow that I saw the other night. The crow doesn't seem as if it's any normal crow. There's something not right about it.

"Break time's over, Gilbert," says Luke, clapping his hands.

I snap out of it and notice the crow is gone. Did it leave because I noticed it? Now I know I'm crazy, thinking of a crow. I walk back to the mat and start out with a basic crunch. Luke's core workout is tough and hard to get through. That's why I have Luke to keep me going. He takes me through left and right oblique crunches, reverse crunch, long arm crunch, half curl, cross over crunch, vertical leg crunch and a plank.

Sweat is dripping down my chest and my stomach muscles are burning.

"Good job, Jer. Get some water and we'll hit the weight bench," says Luke, going over to talk to Tony.

I pull myself up and head over to the water cooler. As I'm drinking my water, I see a figure come out of the locker room that makes my heart stop. Loose grey sweat pants that are rolled up by the waist band, sit low on his hips. His huge arms are visible in a white wife beater. My mouth goes dry, even though I'm drinking water. It should be illegal for one man to be that stunning. What is Damon Salvatore doing in the gym I go to?

It's impossible for my eyes to land anywhere else, but on him. He has this way of making his presence known no matter where he is. Fuck, he's walking this way and looking so sexy while he does it. Damn it Jer, get a grip, he's your teacher. But, a hot one. Oh God, I'm hot for teacher.

"Hey Damon," I say as he comes to a stop in front of me.

"Hey Jeremy. What are you doing here?" he asks, with that smirk.

"Just working out with Luke. You?"

"I decided I needed to start working out again. And I heard this is the best gym in town."

"It is. We were just about to start lifting weights. You want to join us?" asks Luke, who appears out of nowhere.

"Sure," says Damon, going over to one of the benches and loading it up with weights. I stand there for a minute, watching him work. His movements are perfect and he looks like something out of a fitness commercial.

"Gilbert, what are you doing? Get your ass over here," says Luke, standing at a bench across from Damon.

I node and go over to the bench laying down.

"Concentrate," says Luke.

He doesn't know how hard that is with Sexy Salvatore over there. Wait, Sexy Salvatore? Where do I come up with this shit? I grab the bar and start lifting. I need to get over the fact that I'm attracted to a guy. It's normal for every straight guy to be attracted to another guy at least once in his life right? Damon's sort of beautiful the way a girl is. So, it's no big deal and I need to accept it before I drive myself insane.

"I have to piss. Can you spot him for a minute, Damon?" asks Luke.

"Yeah, no problem."

God damn, Luke. You have to piss at the worst possible time. I breathe deep and keep lifting. I see Damon come up behind me and I try not to let it effect me.

"Did you get your work done on the Revolutionary Period?" asks Damon.

What's he talking about? Oh, the pages Ric assigned in the workbook. I didn't listen to the lecture, so I didn't know what the pages were about.

"No, not yet," I reply, still lifting.

"I'll be lecturing tomorrow, so I'm sure I'll have your full attention,"

It must've been obvious that I wasn't paying attention. Is he flirting with me again? The notion of this being true, shocks me to the point of dropping the bar. In the blink of an eye, Damon's hand shoots out and catches it before it falls on me. He quickly uses his other hand to steady it. How was it possible that he caught it so fast?

"Whoa Jer. Are you ok?" asks Luke, running over to us.

"Yeah, I got distracted and dropped it, but Damon caught it in time. I think I'm done lifting weights for the day," I say, leaning up into a sitting position.

"Ok, good work out today, Jer," says Luke, bumping his fist against mine.

"I can take you back to your truck if you want," says Damon.

"Yeah, that'll be fine," I say, hoping Luke doesn't question it.

"Alright. I'll see both of you in class tomorrow, then," says Luke.

I nod and he heads back to the locker room.

"You never answered my question," says Damon, dropping down beside me.

What am I getting myself into? "I'll be paying attention tomorrow. I was just distracted this morning," I reply in a casual tone.

"Just like you were just now?" he asks, whispering into my ear.

Is he psychic or what? "Yeah, I guess."

"Mhm. Well let's get you back to the school," he says standing up and going to grab his bag.

"Ok," I say, going to the locker room and grabbing my bag.

I walk back out and see Damon's car in front of the door waiting for me. This is it. I open the door and get into the passenger's side of his car.

"Thanks for saving me back there," I say.

"Don't mention it. That's why I was spotting you in case something like that happened."

"You have super-fast reflexes. I thought for sure it was going to fall on me."

"With me around, nothing will hurt you," he says, turning his head to look at me.

His blue eyes are intense as they stare into mine. My heart pounds as I replay his words. He's basically saying he'll protect me. Even though I'm a guy, it's nice to feel safe. The next thing I know, we are beside my truck. He gets out of his car and I follow suit.

"There's something special about you," I say, leaning against my door.

He steps closer and places one of his arms beside me.

"There is," he says, stroking his thumb over my cheek.

"Can you tell me what it is?" I ask, wanting to know what makes him so different.

He doesn't answer, instead he leans forward and brushes his lips against my ear.

My knees go week as he whispers, "I'm something out of your wildest dreams."

A/N: Hey y'all thanks so much for the reviews, follows and favorites. It's awesome to see the response this story has gotten. It's up to 1,000 views and that's unreal. Do y'all like Luke? Should Damon tell Jeremy what he really is? Let me know in a Review or come talk to me on Twitter BrookSalvatore3