"Percy's getting too close to Damon," Elena said, looking up at Stefan from where she was cuddled at his side.

"I know," He nodded. "But there's nothing I can do."

She turned towards him, eyebrows furrowed, "Why not? You can take Percy easily if he tries anything."

Stefan shook his head, trying not to shudder, "I can't, Elena. I can't do anything about it."

"I will cut you," Percy said, pointing at Damon with a sharp knife when the vampire tried to steal some chocolate chips.

"But chocolate…" Damon didn't usually pout but he turned it on full force and even brought out the puppy eyes.

The human's stern expression slowly faded into amused irritation and he rolled his eyes, filling a small bowl with chocolate chips before sliding it towards the Salvatore, "Only that. Mrs. Lockwood asked me if I could bake some cookies for her party since Ms. Blake is on her honeymoon. I want to make sure we have enough for everyone there."

Damon tilted his head, doing the math in his head, and slowly brought a chocolate chip to his lips, "That's… A lot of cookies. Where did you even get the money for all the ingredients?"

Percy paused for a moment, setting down a mixing bowl, "I asked my dad for some money." He shrugged, "He sent me enough for two weeks. is amazing."

"Two weeks?" Damon blinked in surprise, "Is your dad rich?"

"Eh," The human shrugged. "I guess he is. He's… Out there."

"Would I know him if I saw him?"

Percy tilted his head, "As my father? Most definitely. As anything else? …Probably not. I don't know, you're smart so anything can happen."

Damon nodded, accepting the answer (and the compliment), "Okay. Anything I can do to help?"

The teen looked around his small kitchen, the counters covered in flour and baking supplies, "I might need you to go to the store for some more butter."

"Sure," The Salvatore stood up, grabbing his keys.

"Thanks!" Percy beamed at the vampire, a fondness in his features that made the green of his eyes shine brightly. His blue apron was covered in flour and bits of egg yolk, and his hair had a tint of white to it from the sugar that went flying everywhere after the teen struggled to open the packaging. He looked bright and happy as he mixed cookie dough, sneaking bits for himself to eat and occasionally giving some to Damon.

Damon blinked and his voice sounded a bit strangled when he spoke, "Of course." What was wrong with him? He must have spaced or something. He walked to the door of Percy's apartment, only turning back once to watch how his best friend hummed along to music coming quietly from his phone while swaying his hips lightly.

"Damon?" Bonnie blinked in surprise at the vampire, who was glaring at the assortment of butters in Mystic Falls' small grocery store. "What are you doing here?" She didn't like Damon, couldn't stand him, but he looked like he would physically explode if she didn't do something.

The Salvatore turned blue eyes on the witch, his mouth pinched in a thin line, "Percy asked me to get butter." He spoke slowly, like he was thinking carefully about what he was saying, "But I don't know what kind."

The woman nodded, "Why don't you call him and ask what he needs?"

"He's listening to music," Damon shrugged before turning back to the butters, tilting his head this way and that.

"I… See… That's, uh, considerate of you," She stepped forward, keeping a few feet between herself and the vampire (not that it would do much but it made her feel a bit safe to know he wasn't within normal arms reach). "This butter's pretty cheap," She said, picking up one her grandmother used before. "And there's a lot here."

Damon was hesitant to take it, like Bonnie was the homicidal one, "...Thanks."

"I don't trust you," Bonnie said, letting the vampire grab the butter. "But Percy does… So… Don't hurt him, okay? He's… Different."

In a quick second, Damon's eyes turned cold, "I don't plan to." He sauntered off towards the registers, eagered to get away from someone else who wanted to give him the shovel talk about someone he wasn't even dating.

The vampire sighed with relief when he was back in Percy's apartment, feeling himself relax and his muscles lose the tenseness he didn't know they gained. "Here," He set the butter on the counter, taking his seat on the barstool once more. "Ran into Bonnie at the store."

Percy froze before turning to Damon, hand tight on his spatula. His smile seemed forced despite the cheeriness in his voice, "Did you now?"

Damon nodded slowly, "Yeah, she helped me get butter. And then she told me not to hurt you."

The human snorted at the last part, shaking his head like the thought of Bonnie giving him the shovel talk amused him. "It's funny that she thinks you can hurt me." He shook his head, going back to carefully mixing the dough and chuckling occasionally.

"I could, you know," The Salvatore pointed out, raising an eyebrow.

Percy started at him for a moment before he bursted out laughing, covering his face as it turned red, one arm going around his stomach, "Oh, my gods- I- don't, you're gonna make me pee myself."

Damon blinked in surprise before slowly chuckling with him. Percy's laughter was contagious and the vampire could feel his mood get lighter, "Can I have a cookie?"

"I- Sure," Percy's shoulders shook still even as his chuckles died down and he handed him one.

While the vampire was curious, he felt like his best friend's good mood would be ruined if he asked why it was blue.

"Hey."

Percy looked up from where he was doing his school work on the bleachers to see the blonde from the pool sitting next to him. He narrowed his eyes, "Do I know you?"

"No but Stefan's my best friend and his birthday's in a few days," Lexi smiled. "I was wondering if you wanted to come to the party."

The teen stared at her with a blank expression, something that unnerved her a bit because she couldn't tell what he was feeling at all, "I'll… Think about it. Can I bring Damon?"

She blinked, "Why would you bring Damon?"

Her question made the human's mood sour almost instantly, taking her by surprise, "Why wouldn't I bring Damon?"

Lexi felt herself tensing up despite the fact that she was a vampire and he was a mere human. Something about the tone he used and the way he held himself gave her the feeling that she was in the presence of a predator and that, if she didn't watch her step, he'd lunge at her. She chose her next words carefully, "I was just wondering. Of course you can bring Damon."

"Good," Percy beamed at her, the tense atmosphere leaving, and he turned back to his homework like he didn't just subtly threaten her with his tone.

"Right," She nodded, quickly stepping off the bleachers. She had to talk to Stefan, something wasn't right with this human. She had to tell her best friend because, if he was anything dangerous, she'd have to put him down.

"So," Percy banged open the door to the Salvatore boarding house, knowing that Damon was the only one present at the moment, and stole the vampire's glass of scotch. "You're coming with me to Stefan's birthday party because I am not dealing with your brother and his friends by myself."

Damon blinked down at his hand before looking up, "Okay… Do we have to stay for the whole thing or can we just drop something off and leave?"

The human sipped from the glass, humming as he thought, "We should at least stay for the cake." He nodded, "Yes. Cake is important."

The vampire found himself agreeing, "Cake is important. Fine but I'm not mingling."

"I didn't expect you to," Percy flopped next to the Salvatore on the couch. He patted the man's thigh before pointing at the tv, "Put something on, I'm bored."

Damon rolled his eyes and reached for the remote, "Yes, your highness."

Percy just made a pleased noise, snuggling into the vampire's side.

After a few minutes of flipping through channels, Damon looked down at his best friend, "Do you have to attend the Lockwood party or can you just drop off the cookies?"

The human looked up at him with a coy smile, "Why? Planning to take me out somewhere?"

"Maybe," Damon shrugged, careful not to jostle the teen.

Percy sighed, "Unfortunately, yes. Mrs. Lockwood feels that it's important people know that I baked them and that I am now a part of this town, or something. Where were you planning on taking me?"

"A drive-in movie theater," The vampire said flippantly. "I figured we could see what they were playing and get some popcorn or something."

The human groaned, hiding his face in the blue-eyed man's side, "That sounds perfect. Why do I have to be a nice person?"

"I wouldn't say you're a nice person," Damon hummed, smirking when the teen looked up at him. "A people-pleaser, maybe, but not a nice person."

"Those are the same thing," Percy said, poking his side.

"No," The vampire shook his head, running his hand through the teen's hair and lightly scratching his scalp. "I assure you, darling, they're very much different."

Stefan didn't know how it happened but Percy had managed to find him through the crowd at the Lockwood party and corner him in a room the second he stepped inside. He figured this was the Jackson Effect that Jeremy warned him about.

"Am I a good person?" The human demanded to know. He didn't seem insecure about it, just wondering. He looked stressed out, like he was asking this question all night, and it made Stefan wonder if he cornered other people before he got to him.

"Um," Stefan scratched his head, wondering how he could get out of this without getting throttled by a (maybe) homicidal human. "Not exactly? You're more of a people-pleaser."

"What?!" Percy gave a shriek that vaguely reminded the vampire of a pterodactyl and disappeared from the room before the Salvatore could fully comprehend what was happening.

When Stefan walked back into the party, Elena walked over to him, a sympathetic smile on her face, "Percy found you, huh?"

"He asked if he was a good person," The vampire muttered, eyebrows pinched together.

She nodded, "Yeah, he asked me too. When I told him no, he asked what he was. I didn't expect him to scream when I called him a people-pleaser. I guess everyone's been calling him that."

"I don't know how he found me," Stefan said, feeling a bit scared. He looked out at the party and he couldn't even hope to find Percy in the sea of people.

"I think," Elena licked her lips, her face full of worry. "I think he just… Knows."

"I don't like that. I don't like that at all."

Percy barged into his apartment, not even reacting when he saw Damon sitting in his living room on the phone. He threw his suit jacket on the back of the couch, grumbling as he balanced on one leg so he could take off his shoes. "People-pleaser," He grumbled. "I'm not a people-pleaser!"

Damon slowly put down his phone, "Percy, why is Stefan telling me the Jackson Effect occurred at the Lockwood party?"

"I'm not a people pleaser!"