The moment Damon had entered the area, Percy had already dove cleanly into the pool with barely a splash. He could see Elena, Jeremy, the Gilbert's aunt, and Elena's friends by the pool watching the swimmers practice and contemplated joining them. He decided not to, going to the far end of the pool where swimmers were practicing their laps so he could watch Percy more clearly.
"And here I thought you weren't going to come to my first practice."
The vampire jerked in surprise at the voice and looked down to see Percy smiling up at him, his upper half resting on the edge of the pool. Damon's eyes flickered to where the diving board was, noting that it was near Elena, and wondered how the human had gotten to him so fast without him hearing anything. "Told you I'd be here."
"I know," Percy nodded, looking completely in his element as the water lapped around him calmly. "But you also said that while drooling over a chocolate chip pancake."
Damon didn't even bother pretending to be ashamed, "It was a good pancake."
The human rolled his eyes, "Whatever, doesn't beat blueberry pancakes." He glanced back when his coach blew his whistle and sighed, "Gotta start laps. Thanks for keeping me company today."
The vampire found it odd that he said that. He never thanked him before, he never had to. So, why was he thanking him now? "Of course." He spoke without thinking, "Anything for you."
Percy didn't say anything, giving Damon a pleased smile, before he sunk in the water like a stone, swimming fast under the water like he was a rocket.
"Did you just say what I think you did?" Stefan asked as he approached his brother with a smirk.
"Go away before I push you in the pool," Damon hissed childishly, glaring at the youngest Salvatore.
The brunette laughed and held his hands up in a platcating manner, "You're sounding more and more like Percy and I can't tell if it's a good thing or not. I was going to tell you that Caroline heard Percy on the phone during last period yesterday. She thinks he might have been talking with his family."
"Why are you telling me this?" Damon wondered, narrowing his eyes.
"Because the last time Percy looked pissed off, he went to you," Stefan said like it was obvious and he thought it really was. "And now he showed up at our place cooking breakfast, breakfast for you."
The eldest Salvatore tilted his head, "You seem to care an awfully lot about Percy."
Stefan rolled his eyes, "I'll admit he can be pretty cool but I still don't trust him. I'm still bothered by the fact that neither of us heard him come inside this morning."
Damon would admit, he had been thinking about that since Percy showed him the amount of pancakes he had made while waiting for him to wake up. There was no way Percy could get inside his home without him hearing the door open. His senses were just too alert to miss it. But that didn't mean that he did not trust Percy. He trusted him enough that it was a bit worrying.
"They're starting laps," Stefan said before walking off like he didn't just ignite Damon's suspicions about his best friend.
Damon looked over at his best friend just in time to see him dive into the pool with some of his teammates to do laps. Percy was fast, easily already faster than the others even though they just started. He was already at the end of his first lap by the time his teammates were halfway done with theirs. It didn't seem like he was tiring at all, though at times he slowed down like he didn't even realize the speed he was swimming at.
The vampire continued to watch, ignoring Elena and her friends' stares and whispers as they realized her was there. He didn't know what to think of Percy, after this morning, but… The human meant something to him, what it was he didn't know, but he decided to put his thoughts aside for now. It wasn't fair to Percy to have suspicions of him when Damon himself hadn't told him he was a vampire yet.
After practice was over, Percy stayed in the pool after everyone but Damon left. He did a few short laps and same to the bottom of the pool a couple times. The human broke the surface of the water again, running a hand through his hair. He looked over at Damon, green eyes shining brightly, and ducked under the water again.
Sooner than Damon thought, Percy was in front of him, leaning on the edge of the pool. The human gave him a curious look before grinning, "You going to stand there all day or are you going to get in?"
Damon blinked slowly, "I don't-" He stopped when his best friend nodded towards his stuff and looked over. Lying on top of his bag was a big fluffy towel and swimming trunks, "You planned for this, didn't you?"
Percy rolled his eyes, "Just go get changed, Salvatore. Everyone left already."
"Alright, alright," The vampire rolled his eyes and walked off to get changed, mumbling about how his best friend was so bossy. Damon sighed to himself as he put on his swimming trunks and took off his shirt. He didn't expect to be swimming today but the thought of getting in the water was too nice to resist.
Percy was waiting for him in the water, his eyes just barely peeking over. When Damon made eye contact with his friend, however, the human's eyes widened and he dropped like a stone in the pool. The vampire decided he wasn't having that and dived in the water, easily spotting the teen at the bottom of the pool looking like he was contemplating life.
Damon felt a grin make its way onto his face when Percy finally noticed him. He could've sworn he heard the human squeak under water. 'Oh, no you don't.' The vampire thought as Percy made the motions like he was going to take off again. He swam quickly over to the human, grabbing him from around the waist, and shot up.
Percy sputtered in surprise at being dragged to the surface, giving the vampire an offended look, "Really?" He lightly splashed the Salvatore's face, at ease with being held up by the other.
Damon laughed and splashed him back before letting him go, watching the human flail his arms as he wasn't prepared to support himself.
"Rude," Percy pouted, crossing his arms and using his legs to keep himself above the surface. "I met Elena's aunt," He switched to using his arms to help him, making small circles with his limbs as he spoke. "She seems nice. She thanked me for helping Jeremy."
"Yeah?" Damon tilted his head, trying to remember when the teen had met the woman, but Percy continued.
"Yeah, before you showed up," Percy nodded. "Yup. I think I scared her, though, when I drank all of the coffee Jeremy made me before practice started."
The vampire chuckled, "She'll get used to it." He glanced towards the door and his eyes widened when he saw Alexia Branson, Stefan's best friend, standing by the door. He turned to Percy and smiled tightly, "How long can you hold your breath?"
Percy looked at the woman before studying Damon curiously. He dropped down underwater without a word, leaving the Salvatore's question unanswered.
Damon turned back to Lexi, who walked forward a bit, "What're you doing here?"
"Visiting Stefan," She answered, eyeing where Percy was with interest. "I thought i'd check and see how you were when your brother told me you were in town. I'm surprised, why are you hanging out with a human?"
The Salvatore glanced at Percy, who was watching him questioningly. Damon, for a moment, wondered why the human's mouth was open but focused his attention on Lexi when she continued.
"What're your plans for him?" She brushed her hair over her shoulder, raising an eyebrow, "Hmm? What game are you playing?"
"I'm not playing anything," Damon said. He had to hurry, Percy's lungs were probably screaming at him. "I don't have any plans. Leave me alone and go bother my brother."
Lexi narrowed her eyes at him, looking in the human's direction, before nodding, "I'll go but don't think I'm not watching you, Damon."
The Salvatore rolled his eyes and grabbed Percy's arm when she left, lifting the human up, "Are you okay?"
Percy nodded, breathing in air heavily. He gripped Damon's arm tightly, his hands shaking. The vampire almost thought that it might have been exhaustion when he saw the look in the human's eyes. Percy wasn't shaking because he was tired. He was shaking because he was… Excited?
"I'm not going to ask," Percy said, referring to Lexi. "Let's just go get something to eat."
"Okay," Damon nodded, pulling himself out of the pool before turning to help the human out.
Percy took his hand with a smile, his mouth parting slightly at the strength showed when he was easily lifted out. He went over to get his towel, tossing Damon's at him.
Damon caught it, bringing it up to his face wordlessly as he watched the human. He winced slightly when he saw the stitches on his stomach but the wound looked really good for something that happened a few days ago. In fact, it looked more like a scar than a recently healed cut.
"Stop staring at me," Percy said, towelling his hair. "You're making me blush."
That startled a laugh out of the vampire when it was said in monotone. He shook his head, drying his arms and chest as best as he could, "I hope we don't damage my seats."
"We won't," Percy promised, like he could ensure that the Salvatore's car seats wouldn't be messed up from the chlorine. "Now, are you paying for dinner or am I?"
Damon scoffed, rolling his eyes, "I always pay for dinner." He walked off, letting Percy catch up with him, and laid his towel down on his seat before getting in his car. He waited until Percy did the same and put on his seatbelt before pulling out of the parking lot.
"Stop by my place," Percy said, leaning back in the seat. "I wanna drop my stuff off and change."
"What, I'm supposed to eat dinner in swimming trunks?" Damon had accidently got his clothes wet with his towel and now it smelled a lot like chlorine.
The human sighed, "I guess you can borrow some of my clothes." He looked the vampire up and down slowly, "We're… Close to the same size."
Damon raised an eyebrow and smirked, "Are we now?"
Percy hummed, studying his face for a moment, "Mm, maybe."
The vampire tilted his head curiously and went to say something but too soon did they arrive at Percy's apartment. The human was already out and walking towards the steps, waiting for Damon impatiently. For someone so lazy, the teen could move fast when he wanted to.
The human opened the door, leaving it open for Damon, and walked towards his room. He gestured for Damon to follow him, mumbling about how he was 'moving too slow for someone so damn fast.'
Damon quickly caught up with him and opened one of the human's drawers, grabbing a soft red shirt. He paused, holding the material in his hands. He didn't even realize that he knew which drawer the shirts were in until today. He thought it was so weird that Percy knew where his clothes were but he was the exact same.
"Here," Percy draped a pair of black jeans over the Salvatore's arm as he walked towards his bathroom. "I'll be out in five."
"Okay," The vampire nodded and changed quickly, using his own boxers instead of borrowing Percy's. That would have been… He tilted his head as he tried to find the word to finish his own thoughts. Awkward? That seemed to fit his train of thought. He sat on the teens bed, marvelling at how soft the blue comforter was. He should ask where he got it so he could get one for his own room.
"Ready," Percy leaned on the door, a small smirk on his face. He wore dark jeans and a blue V- neck shirt. On top of all of that was Damon's leather jacket, looking like it was meant to be on the human this whole time. Percy's smirk widened when the vampire didn't respond for a minute, "You okay there, Day?"
Damon cleared his throat, his voice a bit strangled, "I'm fine. Perfect. Let's go." He stood up, gripping his keys tightly, and ignored the human's coy smile.