"If you were going to kill someone," Percy started as a greeting, looking down at his phone as he made his way over to Damon. "What would you do with the body after? I'm asking for a friend."

Damon tilted his head at the question, mulling it over, "You could burn it, get rid of as much evidence as possible. It'll smell horrible, though."

Percy nodded, typing something out on his phone. "What if they don't have anything to start a fire?"

"Depending on the location, you can make it look like an animal attack. Just don't leave behind the murder weapon or fingerprints, obviously."

"Right," The human finished his text before pocketing his phone and dropping down next to the vampire. "Thanks."

"What friend was this?" Damon asked as he lifted up his arm so the other could cuddle at his side.

"Just a dude working through some issues," Percy shrugged. "Asked for advice. Don't know if he was serious or not but, eh."

Damon nodded in understanding, "I hope he doesn't get caught."

The teen snorted, shaking his head. His eyes flashed as he smirked, "He won't."

"Damon!" Stefan stormed over to his brother, holding a newspaper tightly. He showed him the front page, "Why did you do it?"

"I-" Damon furrowed his eyebrows, reading the short caption about a gruesome animal attack, and pointed at it, "That wasn't me."

"What?" Stefan looked down at it with a frown, "It has to be. Who else would make a murder look like an animal attack?"

The eldest Salvatore paused, his lips just barely brushing the rim of his glass, "Uh…"

Stefan's expression turned weary and he rubbed his face, "I'm going to believe the papers this time, okay? I cannot handle the idea of Percy actually murdering someone. I'll have nightmares."

The eldest Salvatore blinked, looking at the newspaper his brother left behind. This was… Interesting.

"Absolutely not," Percy said as he folded laundry after taking a glance at the paper. "I don't kill hikers."

Damon nodded, putting the newspaper aside so he could grab a sweater, "Right. You got anything planned this weekend?"

The human slowly lowered a pair of pants, a frown set on his face, "Unfortunately. My dad wants me to visit, something about not seeing me in a long time- blah, blah, blah. I wasn't really listening."

"Where does he live?"

"New York," Percy grabbed a small stack of towels, putting them in the hallway closet before coming back. "I fly out in two days."

"Two days?" Damon sighed, folding another sweater, "I guess we're just going to have to hang out even more now."

"Day, we're together almost all the time. The only time we're not is-" The human gasped dramatically, "Wanna have a sleepover? We can watch movies and order pizza and make a pillow fort. Or something."

The vampire felt a smile grow on his lips at the sight of his best friend's happiness and found himself nodding. There wasn't anything he wouldn't do for the human. And that thought doesn't even worry him, concern doesn't even register in his mind in the face of someone that could accept him so well and compliment him like they were meant to be by his side.

"Awesome," Percy gave him a lopsided grin before working on putting away his clothes, grabbing the sweaters Damon had folded for him. He flopped down on the bed next to the vampire, rolling on his side so that his head was pillowed on the Salvatore's side, "I don't want to see my dad."

Damon ran a hand through his friend's hair, a small smile on his face when he heard the human give a soft sound of content, "Why not? Is he mean?"

"No," Percy shook his head lightly, almost sounding defeated. "Just… Forgetful."

"Has he ever forgotten you?" The vampire sighed when the human only shrugged, "I don't know how anyone could forget you," He confessed, scratching the teen's scalp lightly. "You're kind of unforgettable."

"Hey, Percy," Jeremy placed a cup of coffee at his friend's elbow where the older teen was doing homework at the bleachers. "Aunt Jenna wants to know if you want to come over for dinner."

Percy looked up from his history work, tilting his head in thought, "Damon and I were going to hangout. I'm heading to my dad's for the weekend."

"Oh," The Gilbert sat down, careful not to knock down any of the books or papers. He took out his lunch box, handing the teen a sandwich Aunt Jenna had made and labeled specifically for Percy. "I can ask, see if Damon can come too. I mean, if that's okay with both of you, obviously. You don't have to come tonight."

Percy didn't respond for a moment, looking down at the plastic label on the sandwich with a soft and almost sad smile. Finally, he looked at Jeremy, "I'll call Damon and ask. I'll give you an answer after school, okay?"

"Cool," Jeremy nodded, standing up. He could see Vicki at the edge of the field. Maybe he could talk to her, ask her how she'd been.

The teen watched him leave before pulling out his phone, "Apparently Jenna invited me to dinner tonight. How much do you wanna bet Stefan will be there?"

"Dinner's great and all," Damon said, not sounding bothered by the fact that his best friend didn't even say hello. "But what about movie night?"

"We can still have that," Percy promised, using one hand to start putting his papers away in his bag. Lunch was almost over and he didn't want to risk detention by being late for class. "I was going to ask, though, if you wanted to come with me to the dinner."

"Oh, sure. I'm not gonna pass up on free food."

"Perfect. I'll tell Jeremy. See you soon, Day."

"Of course, PJ. See you."

When Percy hung up, he felt someone staring at him and looked up. Across the field stood Elena, hair curled around her shoulders and a curious smile on her lips. He should wave, he should smile. Any kind, normal person would do that. But Percy couldn't stem down the deep rage that curled around his bones, around his heart. If he could, he'd kill her and he didn't know why.

"Dinner would be great, Jer Bear," Percy grinned at Jeremy, throwing an arm around his shoulders. He winked at Stefan before he turned to Elena. He gently tugged on a strand of her hair, "You should curl your hair sometime. I think you'd look great."

"I thought about it," Elena said, running a hand through her hair and missing Stefan's look of alarm. "You think it'd look good?"

"Trust me," Percy nodded, shaking Jeremy because he could. "I have it on good authority that you'd look stunning. He looked at the Salvatore, who looked like he swallowed a lemon, Stefan, you okay?"

The vampire took a deep breath, offering the human a tight smile, "I'm fine. Are we heading over to your place now?" He directed the question at his girlfriend.

Elena nodded, "Yeah, is Damon meeting us there?"

"Yup," Percy said, ruffling Jeremy's hair before letting the boy go. "I thought I'd spend some quality time with Jer Bear before I eventually stir the pot. It's like a default setting of mine."

"Ms. Jenna," Percy walked inside the house, taking a deep breath. "The food already smells wonderful."

"Thank you," The woman smiled, trying to calm her nerves. She wasn't really confident in her cooking skills. "Call me Jenna, please. Where's Damon?" Despite only talking to the boy for a short period of time, she knew that wherever Percy was, Damon was soon to follow.

"Just arrived," The human pointed at the door where he could hear his best friend's car. "Would you invite him in, please, Jeremy?" Percy smiled at the teen, "I'm going to help Jenna here in the kitchen."

Jeremy nodded, heading towards the door and moving past Stefan, who stared at Percy with suspicion. The Gilbert gave the Salvatore an odd look but went over to where Damon was waiting.

"Stefan," Percy made a shooing motion with his hands towards the vampire. "Go sit at the table, you're an eyesore."

"You don't have to help me," Jenna said but handed the teen a platter to take to the table.

"I insist," He grinned, making his way over to where Stefan, Elena, Damon, and Jeremy was seated. He took his own seat when he realized that Jenna was bringing the last of the food. He couldn't help but notice how his chair was across from Damon and couldn't help but be thankful that Jenna seemed to realize how close they were.

Damon had to admit, the food was really good. He didn't know why Jenna was so nervous, it was delicious. She should really have more confidence in herself. He took a bite of mac and cheese, nearly melting at the taste, and was determined to get the recipe for it.

Stefan was tense, he didn't know how he felt being so close to Percy and Damon. He still didn't know if Percy caused that murder or if it really was just an animal attack. He almost felt like warning his brother away from the human instead of the other way around. For as much as Percy remained peaceful in his actions, his words would very much be considered a dagger to the heart with how vicious they could be.

However, Stefan could see the softer side of the human that no one really got to see. No one except Damon, that is. He could see the way Percy was looking at Damon now, how the teen looked at his brother with such a soft look, it was almost impossible to put him with the biting human he talked with in the forest. He didn't even think Percy was paying attention to the conversations around him or even his food, what with how his mashed potatoes slipped off his spoon and he didn't even bat an eye.

Stefan didn't even think his brother even knew what this human would do for him. The youngest Salvatore knew, deep inside, that if anyone so much as harmed Damon, it wasn't the vampire they had to worry about but the human by his side. It was the way Percy held himself, even now, like he was ready to spring up and fight. He looked deceptively calm, draped over the table like a cat with his elbow up and his head cushioned by his fist, but Stefan felt like he was in the room with a predator. It almost felt like he was humoring him, watching him in thinly veiled amusement like he was a dog yipping at his feet.

"You okay?" Elena put a hand on his arm, eyes full of worry.

"Yeah," Stefan exhaled shakily. He didn't even realize how unnerved he was until now, how on edge he was. "Yeah, I'm fine." He tried not to shudder when he met Percy's eyes.