To be honest, Damon never planned on coming to the dance. Really, he had no reason to. All of the humans, with their drinking and annoyingly loud voices, were going to be packed into one area and it would have been hard for the vampire to get a decent snack.

No, he planned on staying home.

Until he remembered about the new kid.

Curiosity killed the cat, or so they say, but Damon really wanted to just take a look at who was the talk of the town in a way. The guy had managed to get his brother all wound up and wary, along with Elena as well. It was intriguing and was what made Damon want to see exactly who he was.

When he actually arrived, he could pinpoint the exact moment Stefan saw him and couldn't help but smirk. He made his way towards his little brother, intent on asking exactly where the guy was, when he spotted him. It must have been the fact that, despite the fact that people surrounded him and girls were giving him bedroom eyes, he stood alone at the edge of the clearing that drew Damon towards him.

"Hey," The eldest Salvatore smiled at the black-haired teen, who glanced at him with bright green eyes. "Haven't seen you around here before."

The guy just raised an eyebrow, the corners of his lips quirking up into a small smile, "Yeah, I'm new here. You go to the high school?"

"Nah, Stefan's my brother," He jabbed a thumb over at the vampire, who was watching both of them carefully. "I decided I'd crash the party."

"Eh, not really a party," The green-eyed teen said with a roll of his eyes. "Most people here are dumb shits who think getting high and drunk beyond beyond belief is 'fun'."

Damon let out a surprised snort of laughter, not expecting that in the slightest from the human, "Oh, I like you. I'm Damon."

"Percy," The other grinned.

"Well, Percy, can I get you a drink?" Damon didn't know what he was doing but he knew he wanted to talk to this guy more. There was something about him that seemed to draw him in, like he was a cat going after catnip.

"I'd love that," He nodded. "Anything's fine. I walked here."

"Great," The vampire nodded. "I'll be right back." He glanced over at Stefan when he walked away from Percy, noting his brother's curious and skeptical gaze. He smirked and tilted his head, probably making his brother think he was going to murder the teen soon.

He probably wasn't going to.

He looked at the assortment of drinks, pondering which one to grab for himself and which one for Percy. The teen said, in not much hinting at all, that he could have alcohol, seeing as he didn't drive to the dance (or whatever it was). Now, Damon was tasked with finding him something to drink that wasn't poisoned by messed-up teenagers. Finally, he decided on Rum since the people were too pour to buy some real alcohol.

Percy was still there when he walked back.

He found himself smiling as he came over, holding out a red solo cup for the teen to take. He felt comfortable around him, more than he did around anyone, and the vampire didn't know why. It was almost like Percy didn't care how he was, that, at some point in their pointless conversation about the pros and cons of living with an alien, even though he made rude comments that had other people glaring at him and screaming harsh words, he saw him for him and not the facade he put up.

He even laughed loudly at one of his jokes that normally had people looking at him like he was a psychopath.

He's a keeper.

The dance was winding down and it was dark out and Damon asked a question he never thought he'd as a human, "Wanna ride to your place? It's pretty late out."

Percy looked up at him through his eyelashes, his cheeks dusted a light pink. He seemed to be able to hold his alcohol better than most of the teenagers, seeing as that was his eleventh cup and he looked barely buzzed. "Sure," He smiled, shrugging his shoulders. "Lead the way."

Damon nodded and the two walked towards where the cars were, "You puke in my car and I won't hesitate to kill you."

Percy rolled his eyes, "Bite me, Pretty Boy."

The human didn't realize that, not only was that a play on the fact that he was a vampire, it was a very sexual thing to say. "In your dreams," Damon laughed. "Here we go," He gestured to his vehicle.

Percy whistled when he caught sight of the blue monster, "1969 Chevy Camaro Convertible. Nice."

"You know your cars," The vampire grinned, pleased.

"Only the pretty ones," The human laughed. He slid into the passenger seat easily and with grace, like he rode with Damon countless times before. They talked during the whole ride since Percy only had to give the blue-eyed vampire his address since he knew the layout of the area better.

When they finally reached the human's place, an apartment that definitely met better days, Damon found he didn't want the teen to leave quite yet. Turns out, Percy felt the same when he turned around and asked if he wanted to hang out again when he was out of school the next day.

Damon found himself agreeing almost immediately. It was embarrassing.

"Where have you been?" Stefan demanded the moment Damon walked through the front door.

"Woah," Damon held up his hands, a smirk making its way onto his face. "No 'hello'?"

Stefan rolled his eyes, "Hello, Damon. Now, where were you?"

"I was driving the new kid, Percy, home," The vampire responded, lowering his hands and crossing his arms. "You know he has no car, right?"

"Oh, my God," His little brother seemed to ignore that last bit as he ran a hand down his face. "You didn't kill him, did you?"

The older Salvatore shrugged, "You'll just have to find out. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to bed. I need my beauty sleep."

Stefan, as horrible as this might sound, was surprised to see Percy still alive and talking to Jeremy and Elena.

It seemed like Jeremy and Percy were mainly talking while Elena stood by and listened with interest. Stefan focused on them and could hear some of the conversation.

"-failing History?" Percy seemed scandalized, like he couldn't even imagine that happening, "But this section is easy!"

"No, it's not!" Jeremy shook his head, "We're going into mythology and learning the difference between Greek and Roman gods are kicking my ass!"

"Why don't I help you?" Percy shrugged, giving the fifteen year-old a lopsided grin, "I know a thing or two enough about them to get your grade up to at least a C-."

"You'd tutor me?" Jeremy's eyes went wide, "For real?"

Stefan walked up to the small group in time to actually hear the green-eyed teen's response.

"Sure," Percy nodded, shoving his hands in the pocket of his blue hoodie. "I don't see why not. I got nothing else to do."

"Thanks, man," Jeremy grinned widely. "Hey, I gotta go to my class. See ya later?"

"Yeah, Dude," The other said. "See ya."

Elena watched her brother go with something akin to shock. She had never seen him so worried about his grades like this. He used to worry but he started not caring anymore when their parents passed away. It was like he was completely shutting down. Then, this new kid came along, said a few choice words to her brother, and Jeremy was back to being his usually self and slowly getting off of using drugs.

It was almost like a miracle and he was a gift from the gods.

"I met your brother," Percy smiled at Stefan as he sat next to him, throwing his backpack to the side. "Interesting guy."

"Yeah?" Stefan tensed a bit, "He didn't say anything weird, did he?"

"Nah," The human shook his head but there was a calculating look in his eyes, like he was working out something in his head and Stefan was the problem. "There's something different about you two," Percy grinned and leaned back in his chair, putting his hands behind his neck. "I don't know what it is but I know it'll make life here in Mystic Falls very fun."

Stefan couldn't help but be wary around the human. What the hell was he talking about? There was no way he could know that he and Damon were vampires. Absolutely no way. He'd have to keep a closer eye on him and make sure he didn't accidentally reveal his secret in front of Percy. That would be bad.

Very bad.

"Relax," Percy looked over at him just as the teacher walked into the classroom. "Nothing horrible is going to happen."

Stefan could have sworn he heard him mumble "For now" under his breath.

"Hey," Damon was parked in front of the school, ignoring people as they stared at him and his car in favor of smiling at his new friend(?).

"Hey," Percy walked over with his backpack slung over his shoulder, a grin tilting his lips. "Wanna hang out at my place?"

"Sure," The Salvatore nodded and got into the driver's seat, watching as the human slid into the passenger's side. "You live with anyone?"

"Nah," Percy shook his head. "My mom and my step-dad live in New York and I'm an only child. The only reason I'm allowed to stay here is because my real dad knows where I am."

"Huh," The vampire turned down a road. "Must get lonely."

The teen had a small, almost sad, smile on his face as he said softly, "Yeah."

They finally pulled up at Percy's apartment and Damon noted that it almost looked worst than yesterday. Part of it looked vandalized and the Salvatore wondered if his father was helping the human pay for rent or not.

He didn't think so.

"Come on," Percy walked up some steps and unlocked the door, walking through. He froze suddenly and turned around, looking at Damon. He looked down at the edge of the entrance before looking up at the vampire, smiling, "You can come on in."

Damon felt almost nervous when his green eyes landed on him. It almost felt like all of his secrets were coming to the surface and he wasn't used to that. It never happened before and he was caught off guard. "Thanks," He stepped through easily, feeling at ease almost immediately.

"You're different, Damon," Percy started once the front door was closed, gaze calculating. "You and your brother. I don't know what it is about you two but I can sense something off."

"Oh, yeah?" Damon put up a grin to hide his sudden (and unexpected) anxiety. Did he not want Percy to know he was a vampire? Since when did he start caring about that? A million thoughts ran through his head before he settled on one.

He had finally made a friend (on his own) and did not want to lose him (like the others).

"Don't worry," Percy shrugged, throwing himself on the small couch in the living room. The apartment was tiny, only having a living room, mini kitchen, and a bedroom. "I won't say or do anything. When you want to tell me, you will. Just know," He gave the vampire a sharp grin, something like mischief flashing in his eyes. "Nothing really surprises me anymore."

There was a moment of silence as Damon digested his words before Percy spoke again, effectively breaking it, "So… Star Wars?"