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"Damon. Last time. FUCK OFF. And keep your hands to yourself. You're pissing me off. I came here to be alone. In case you hadn't noticed, I'm not really a fan of yours. And," he paused, "I know what you're doing." Jeremy abruptly stood up straight and stared at him with disdain.

"What? What am I doing, Jer? I'm merely offering support, my assistance. Elena has been distracted since Jenna's, um, untimely death and Stefan's disappearance. You're probably feeling alone, like you have no one to turn to. I get it. I miss Stefan, I've lost my brother, the only one who actually gave a damn about me. So, I can kinda relate to what you're going through." The teen didn't respond, just stared back at him, the distrustful expression clearly evident. Shit, this wasn't going according to plan. Damn these Gilberts and their obstinate streak.

Jeremy began to move away from him, slowly, like he was expecting to be stopped again. He let the boy pass, hands up in mock surrender, and kept watching as Jeremy disappeared into the darkness. Well, he obviously was going to need a Plan B.

Elena pulled back from his embrace, reaching into her back pocket to retrieve the vibrating cell phone. "It's Jeremy. He says he's at the cemetery. What? He left early to go for a walk? That's so not true. He totally didn't come home last night or I would have known." She turned on her heel and began to stride back down the hallway.

"Where are you going?" he called after her.

"To find him. To find out where he's really been."

Crap. The girl simply couldn't leave well enough alone. Speeding by her, he effectively blocked her exit route. "Elena. Leave the poor kid alone. He clearly wants to be by himself. Why can't you respect that? Give him some time. When he comes back to the house, you can talk to him then. He'll only be pissed off if he thinks you're stalking him."

Elena looked at him, frowning. "You're probably right. Since when have you started giving good advice?" She suddenly smiled. "Well. Since I'm here, let's look for clues on the computer. I think we're getting close to finding Stefan."

Shit. Not in the plan. He was anxious, wanting to get back to his room, but without Elena in tow. "Sorry, Nancy Drew. Got plans. I'll text you later when I'm back in town." He steered her, protesting, to the front door.

Sighing, he finally closed the heavy front door behind her. Turning, he found himself face to face with Jeremy. Who was fully dressed, his face expressionless. "I'm leaving." The teen announced. Moved to walk around him. He felt that reoccurring sinking feeling. The unfamiliar sensation that had started happening recently. Every time Jeremy left him.

"Don't go" he coaxed, draping his arms around the boy's shoulders. "You don't need to be anywhere. I bought you some time."

Jeremy shrugged off the hug. "I bought myself some time. And I have to go home to get cleaned up for work. Seriously dude, you're worse than a girl. Uumph." The last sound was made as he landed on the floor on his back. "Jesus, Damon. Are you trying to kill me? Let me up."

"No. Not until you take that last statement back." He pressed his weight along the length of the body under him. He felt Jeremy relax. Heard him say, "You are such an ass. I was only kidding. Although if I didn't know better, I might think you were actually into me. Wanting me to stay overnight, begging me not to leave. You sound almost desperate."

Jeremy laughed, looking up with a mischievous grin. Christ, that smile. It caused a rush of heat to course through his normally cool interior. Just to see the normally well-defended teen enjoying himself, even if it was at his expense. Shook his head. What the hell did he care if Jeremy was momentarily happy? This wasn't supposed to be about Jeremy. It was about making Elena crazy.

Although how was that supposed to work when he and Jeremy were being extremely careful to hide their late night trysts? He told himself that he was waiting for the moment when Jeremy admitted affection for him, declared undying love…or something along those lines. Yet, currently, there was no sign that day would ever arrive. Jeremy's nightly cries of passion never once translated into expressions of devotion during the day.

In fact, the youngster made it pretty clear that his 'involvement' was strictly for physical reasons, Jeremy wanted nothing to do with him outside the bedroom. And that, for some reason, had begun to bother him. Again, he pretended it was because Jeremy was screwing up his plan to make Elena's life miserable.

He couldn't help himself. He leaned down to capture Jeremy's mouth with his. Felt the soft lips yield to his kiss. Felt the tongue in his mouth, exploring gently at first, then with more force as their kiss deepened. Jeremy groaned and began to thrust his hips upwards, grinding against his willing body. He responded by sliding up and down along Jeremy's moving form.

He couldn't help himself. The boy was beautiful. And hot. And incredibly sexy. And he definitely knew how to move. He rolled, pulling Jeremy with him.

He couldn't help himself. He liked being underneath the teen. Liked looking up at the closed eyes, the still face, the smiling, slightly parted lips knowing that he was responsible for taking away the pain of Jeremy's life. Even if it was only temporary.

As Jeremy leaned down to recapture his lips, he thought back to that night in the cemetery, the night he devised Plan B.

Well. If Jeremy wasn't about to accept his offer of self-imposed confidant, he'd have to take another angle. What could possibly piss Elena off more than he, Damon, becoming Jeremy's new BFF? Why, becoming Jeremy's BF of course. Interesting thought, he mused to himself, kicking at a toppled gravestone. And how, exactly, would he make that work?

Jeremy was with Bonnie, although the wicked-witch-of-Mystic wasn't in town these days. He'd never heard even a whisper of a suggestion that Jeremy might be open to some boy-on-vampire action, but what the hell? It could be fun to try.

Reaching a decision, he sped out of the cemetery and followed Jeremy down the quiet street, being careful to keep his distance. Jeremy walked slowly, his shoulders hunched, turning occasionally to look backwards, towards the cemetery. Looking for what? Or whom?

He made sure he was lying casually on the bed, hands behind his head, legs crossed, when Jeremy entered the bedroom. "Jesus Christ, Damon. You just about gave me a fucking heart attack. What the hell are you doing in my room? I thought I was pretty clear about not wanting you around. Go stalk my sister. She's more your type."

The teen strode angrily across the room and attempted to push him off the bed. Impulsively, he grabbed the boy's arm and pulled Jeremy onto the mattress. Rolled over to pin the younger male under him.

He could hear Jeremy's heart beating furiously as the frightened youngster struggled against him. "I've got my ring on, Damon. You can't kill me. And I don't want you sucking me."

He felt Jeremy go still and then they both were laughing. "OK" snorted Jeremy, "So that didn't sound exactly right. What I meant to say was…."

"Yeah, yeah" he replied, still holding the boy's arms captive, "I know what you meant to say. Although, actually Jeremy, if I was to tell the truth….I wouldn't mind if you sucked on me. And I'm not referring to my neck."