Author's note: Hello, I'm a newbie writer so don't be too hard on me. The story takes place after Alaric's true death and after Elena became a vampire. (Jeremy however already knows he is a Hunter. Otherwise I'll try to keep everything like in the show.)

Has it ever occurred to you that Jeremy was just a teenager when all of these happened? Elena wouldn't really be able to take care of him. He, as a minor, needed a guardian. And who fit in better than Damon since everyone else was... dead?

For me Jeremy is just a young man who's lost and who's fishing for anyone's attention. He is sad and depressed but mainly - he is angry. He can't control his rage, his feelings keep getting the best of him. He needs to be taken care of.

So the story is basically about Damon and Jeremy but there are also flashbacks of Stefan's and Damon's relationship and memories of Anna.

Pain, anger and struggle to find something constant in the world, that is what the story is really about.

Warnings: Might contain spanking of teenagers, swear words and angry teenagers' drama.

Why does everybody have to die on me?

Chapter one: Everyone is dead.

'Absolutely no!' he yelled, feeling blood pumping in his veins as anger arose. 'No way Damon is going to be my guardian!'

'Jer, listen…' Elena started in her overly worried, sweet voice which made Jeremy sick and blinded with rage.

'Just because you let both of them fuck you doesn't mean they are family,' he hissed. Seeing Elena's eyes watering made him even more angry.

'Get the fuck out of my life! It is all your fucking fault! Everyone is dead because of you!' he spit out resisting the urge to punch her.

'I hate you, Elena,' he added with sincerity in his voice.

He didn't know if it was the Hunter speaking by him but at the moment he wished her death. With Alaric gone, it was just too much for Jeremy. Too many deaths of innocent people, of people he loved and admired.

The rage was swallowing him. He directed all of his hatred, all of his anger on Elena.

It was her fault Jeremy's parents were dead. It was her fault Jenna ended up being a vampire and Klaus killed her. It was her boyfriend who killed Vicky and her father who killed Anna. Everything was her fault, everything was connected to her.

He couldn't handle it.

He lost his friend, father and a person he admired with his whole heart. Someone who understood him and helped him get through the hard times.

He wanted to scream and punch, and kick, and cry, and howl until the pain was gone. He wanted Alaric back so badly, he needed him so much. He didn't want to be alone in the world, he wanted someone who'd care about him, laugh with him and talk about girls and life and everything that sixteen years old boys talk about with their fathers.

Someone who would have loved him.

Damon could never replace Alaric. He won't let them make the vampire's slave of himself. He won't let them rule his life.

'It is all your fault,' he hissed through gritted teeth. The thought that he is being unfair crossed his mind but he pushed it away.

'Jeremy, if you won't accept Damon's guardianship, then you'll end up in a foster care. No judge will ever agree to give the custody over you to Elena, as she is barely out of age,' tried Stefan calmly, trying to sound reasonable.

'It is the only way you could stay with us, with Elena. The choice is yours. No one will force you to do that,' he added looking at him seriously which caused Elena to gasp and Damon to smirk.

Somehow, it gave Jeremy the idea that Damon's opinion on that matter differed from his younger brother's. 'You can either sign the papers claiming Damon as your guardian or pack your things,' finished Stefan.

Jeremy wasn't stupid.

He knew that with the Originals on the loose there was no chance Elena would ever let him move in with complete strangers. He didn't really wanted it either but it was still better than being Damon's toy.

It is definitely worth a try, he decided and started climbing up the stairs with cold determination.

He could feel three surprised stares on his back and hear Stefan's resigned sigh but didn't give it another thought.

He got to his room and took out a sport bag, starting to throw clothes in, not really caring what he's taking. He caught a glimpse of Alaric's wooden stake on the bottom of the wardrobe and picked it up. It felt cold and hard in his hand.

His eyes started to prick but he refused to cry. It isn't the first time somebody leaves me, he thought, focusing on his fury instead and closing the cupboard with a kick.

He could hear Elena climbing up the stairs. He gave his room one last glance and left with the stake hidden in his sleeve.

When Elena reached him, he ignored her not even bothering with a glance and directed towards the stairs.

'Jer-' she opened her mouth and caught his arm when he walked past her. 'I know you're angry but it's for the best.'

Jeremy saw red.

He didn't think twice and without a blink pushed the wooden stake right in the right side of her stomach with one, fast move.

Her back hit the wall and she cried out of pain when her head banged on the hard concrete. She was a vampire so it wasn't particularly painful nor dangerous, considering the stake missed her heart by at least 30 centimeters, but it was still definately unpleasant and she moaned hard pulling out the wooden tool from her flesh.

Jeremy didn't have time to think about what he did because suddenly Damon's body was pinning him to the wall with his stone hand firmly grasping Jeremy's throat.

Jeremy glared at him which caused Damon to bare his fangs and tighten his grasp applying just enough pressure for Jeremy to feel close to passing out but not actually doing it. He tried to get Damon's hands away from his throat, grabbing them desperately, trying to pull them off. But all this effort was for nothing.

If looks could kill, Jeremy would drop dead right away. His bag was laying abandoned on the floor while he was slowly running out of breath. He tried to get away from the mad vampire once again, feeling his own anger melt down and being replaced with fear.

Damon looked like a predator hunting on its prey. His eyes turned red, veins showed up, dark and bulging on his fair skin and Jeremy could swear he heard low growling from the back of his throat.

'Damon,' said Stefan putting his hand on his brother's shoulder.

Damon slowly loosened his grip and took two steps back though he was still piercing Jeremy down with his angry stare.

'You okay?' asked Damon, turning his attention to Elena who was still sitting on the floor, the stake in her hand. Next to her, there was laying a frame with a family photo which must have fallen and broken when she hit the wall. Jeremy noticed that there was a lot of blood around.

So did Damon. He gritted his teeth stopping himself from beating the crap out of the kid.

'Jeremy didn't mean to,' she explained softly seeing Damon's reaction. The boy just snorted causing both, Damon and Stefan, to glare at him.

'As you can see, your precious Elena is fine, so why don't you back the fuck off, dick?' asked cheekily Jeremy, pushing Damon who stood in his way and trying to walk away.

'Oh no, you are not,' the vampire hissed at him, smiling dangerously and grabbed the boy by the collar.

He dragged him back to his room, not giving a damn about Jeremy's furious screams and pushed him unceremoniuously on the bed.

'You will wait here until I get back and I strongly suggest you to think vee-eery carefully what you want to say or I may feel like snapping your neck and dumping your body into the river.' He stated with no sign of joking. 'Got it?'

'You don't get to tell me what to do, dick!' growled Jeremy getting up, feeling the anger building up inside him again.

'I seem to recall telling you not to address me in such manner,' spat Damon, 'I also told you not to talk to your sister like that, didn't I?'

Damon looked at him sternly and frowned, taking a threatening step towards Jeremy, 'Sit down and behave for five minutes. We need to talk.'

Jeremy couldn't care less.

He threw himself fast towards the open door where Stefan and Elena were still standing, only to be grabbed by his collar once again. Damon was standing right behind him.

'Leave.'

He heard Salvatore's voice and looked at him surprised before realizing that this command wasn't for him. Elena looked at them worried and hesitated.

'Go!' Damon repeated, this time more urgently, still not letting go of Jeremy.

Stefan sighed and took Elena's hand, gently leading her downstairs. Jeremy heard the door closing and gulped.

Having a particularly angry vampire breathing in his neck wasn't an experience he would ever like to repeat.

He didn't consider himself to be a scardycat and he wasn't usually afraid of Damon but he knew the 170 years old man could be unpredictable at times and being alone with a psycho vampire with anger issues never turns out to be good.

Damon, hearing the door lock click, let Jeremy of his grasp.

'Now, will you sit down or do I have to make you?' began Damon in polite voice as if they were discussing the weather.

Jeremy walked back to the bed and slumped, suddenly feeling very exhausted.

'What do you want, Damon?' he sighed with slight annoyance obvious in his tone.

'Some respect, for starters,' he smirked, 'but we will get to it. What I want is for you to stop behaving like a five years old with temper tantrum and to reconsider the offer Elena introduced to you.'

Jeremy just rolled his eyes in an answer.

'Care to tell me what upsets you so much?' asked Damon folding his arms across his chest and looking at Jeremy expectantly. Gilbert on the other hand was a little taken aback.

'What do you mean what upsets me? Let's see. You're obsessed with my sister. You're a dick. And a psycho. You killed me,' snickered Jeremy.

Damon raised his eyebrow and asked calmly, 'Do you think that taking care of some ungrateful brat makes me more happy than you are? I assure you, I have better things to do than babysitting you. And I told you, do not call me a 'dick'. Not going to say that again. You don't want to get on my bad side but you're on a good way.'

'Then why did you agree to this?' asked Jeremy suspiciously, ignoring the second part of Damon's speech.

'Because no one else did. No one seems willing to waste his time on a rebellious, spoilt teenager such as yourself.'

'And since Elena doesn't want to lose you, and both, her and Stefan, are officially too young to take care of you, then as you can see, I didn't really have much of a choice.' Jeremy felt a little hurt by this piece of information but refused to show it.

Instead, he exploded.

'I don't need your pity!' he yelled at the top of his lungs, standing up and clinching his fists, trembling from holding back all of the negative emotion.

'Sit down,' ordered Damon coldly but Jeremy had enough. He lunched himself at the vampire who taken by surprise fell down under the boy. Jeremy punched Damon in the face with all the force he had.

Just when he was about to hit him again, the vampire rolled over and pressed on Jeremy's chest to keep him down, grabbing his hands and holding them above the teen's head.

'I don't need your help! I don't need anyone's help!' he screamed , struggling to get away from Damon.

'Too bad because you already have it!' he hissed, looking pissed off. 'Now stop being such a baby and finish squirming. I don't want to hurt you but I will if you don't calm down this instant!'

At this point, Jeremy wasn't listening to a word Damon said. He put all his effort in fighting but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't free his hands nor push Damon of him.

Damon looked down at the fighting kid with exasperation, hoping he'll spend himself soon.

'Calm down, Jeremy. Stop fighting me. Relax and I will let you go so we can have a civilized conversation about everything,' said Damon, suppressing his own anger.

He needed the kid to trust him if he was to become his father figure, regardless if he wanted it or not.

He promised Alaric.

He promised Elena.

And he couldn't give away a potential Hunter to the strangers.

Jeremy may become a powerful weapon one day and when he does, Damon is going to need him by his side, following his commands.

However, this guardianship hasn't even started yet and Jeremy was already driving him crazy.

'Are you ready to be let go?' asked Damon after a while, sensing Jeremy stopped struggling.

'Yes,' winced Jeremy.

'Fine,' replied Damon pulling Jeremy up to his feet. The boy just glared at him.

'I hate you,' he murmured.

'My heart is bleeding.' Damon smirked and folded his arms across his chest.

Jeremy gritted his teeth and took a deep breath. 'I'm not signing the papers,' he said stubbornly.

'Okay.'

Jeremy blinked. That wasn't the answer he expected.

Salvatore walked up to the boy and stopped right in front of him. Jeremy grew up a bit during this year but he was still smaller and shorter than Damon. He could have crashed the kid with one hand while making coffee with another and both of them were well aware of that.

'I will tell you what happens now. You pack your things and I call the social worker or whoever takes care of little pricks like you. You leave. I make damn sure you end up on a village without any games, computer or anything fancy, since you obviously don't deserve it.'

He paused for few seconds clearly enjoying this idea, 'All you do is studying, feeding cows, pigs and generally being a good boy. You share a room with few "siblings". Then, I show up and eat your new family. One by one. Including fluffy bunnies and puppies,' Damon snickered.

'You wouldn't do it,' said Jeremy but his voice didn't sound convincing even to him.

'Try me,' the vampire replied and walked to the door.

'What do you care?!' Jeremy yelled exasperated. Damon stopped on the threshold and turned his head around to look at Jeremy.

'I don't.' With it, he left the room.

'This day sucks,' thought Damon heading to the kitchen. Elena said that Jeremy would agree right away, that he wouldn't want to leave Bonnie and all his life behind.

Damon snorted. Obviously, she had no idea how stubborn Jeremy could be.

'Do I really want to be stuck with baby Hunter?' murmured the vampire. 'Nah, I don't.'

He never liked teenagers, let alone those with issues like losing almost every member of the family.

He poured himself a drink and scowled hearing the noise upstairs.

'This kid is just incapable of handling his own anger. He'll end up hurting himself and I'll finish with a stake in my chest, knowing Elena's temper,' thought Salvatore emotionlessly.

The truth is, he had no idea what to do. He tried reasoning. Calmness. Threatening.

Nothing seemed to have an impact on Jeremy.

Damon could swear that the only thing that would calm the kid down was snapping his neck. Since for the obvious reasons he couldn't do it, he didn't know what else he should try.

He wished now he didn't tell Elena to leave. It was her brother and her problem.

He shook his head looking at the papers on the table.

On the other hand, Jeremy directed all the hatred towards Elena so one day he could seriously harm her.

That would piss Damon off.

And Elena, being such a sensitive and caring girl she was, would come to her brother's rescue, preventing Damon from dealing with him.

Damon didn't know yet what to do about Jeremy's temper tantrum. He hurt Elena. He punched him. And right now he was destroying his room.

If it was anyone else, he'd just stroke him, possibly breaking his jaws. But this was Jeremy. Elena's little brother. He actually cared about his well-being. Part of him even enjoyed the teenager's spirit - full of energy and life though he would never admit it.

Jeremy's obvious hatred towards Elena was worrying. She wouldn't survive loosing another family member. Damon hoped that it was just an act caused by sadness, anger and an irresistible urge to find someone to blame for everything.

He did it himself, many years ago. He couldn't stand looking at Stefan after he forced him to complete the transition. In his mind, Stefan was to blame for every misery that came to him. Damon eventually got over it but it took him over a hundred years. He hoped Jeremy would come to his senses a lot faster.

There was a sound of the glass shattering to pieces. He smelled blood in the same moment and frowned.

Jeremy was doing everything to get on his nerves.

'Technically, I could just pin him against the wall and beat him until he stops being a self-destructive little brat.' Damon smiled at the thought.

It wouldn't be the first time he had to play a bad cop, he had experience in that matter. One of the flaws of being the oldest child in nineteenth century was the responsibility of taking care of younger siblings.

Damon was eight years older than Stefan, therefore he was obligated to take part in raising his baby brother regardless of his own will. Since their father was always occupied with the Council and mother passed away, it was Damon's job to look after Stefan who wasn't exactly a piece of cake as a child.

Ironically, it was Damon whom their father despised while adoring the younger son. Nothing he ever did was enough for Giuseppe, so eventually he stopped trying. Stefan on the other hand, was always trying to get their father's approval by doing everything he wanted. At least as long as he was within his sight.

He had a good relationship with Giuseppe but it was always Damon to whom he would come crying. Damon didn't mind, he loved his baby brother and over the years became not only his friend but the person Stefan was looking up to.

They had an excellent relationship. They would play football all day, swim in the lake by the house and wrestle on the grass. Damon would always let Stefan win and never once did he regret it, seeing Stefan's face lighting up. He was trying to be the best brother in the world. He'd die and kill for him. He'd hug and cheer Stefan up but he'd also kick his ass every single time he went out of the line.

And unfortunately for the both of them, it was happening quite often. His baby brother was more alike his Ripper self than he'd ever like to admit.

The truth is, his cruelty wasn't caused by blood. Surely, it was exposed and exaggerated along with the other worst features in Stefan's personality but not created.

Damon considered it God's biggest joke that out of two brothers it was him who used to be more caring, loving, sensitive and even naive. Stefan on the other hand was a very good actor.

He was able to charm and manipulate anyone, including their father, into anything. They were both perfectly polite and well-adjusted but Damon due to his impulsiveness and honesty was more likely to get in trouble, while Stefan calculated his every move. The only person who couldn't be fooled was his brother.

Damon was a carefree young man who liked dancing, having fun and joking, while Stefan would rather spend time on planning a new adventure, every next one more dangerous than the last. He didn't really care about other's feelings, except for Damon's. If Stefan had something on mind, nothing would stop him. He wasn't a bad kid though, only more complicated than it would appear.

Everything was great until Katherine's arrived to Mystic Falls. They both fell for her instantly and because of her, they were made vampires. Stefan began to bask in his new life, doing the most frightening and disgusting things while all Damon could think about was Katherine's death.

Oh, how he loved this girl. She was taken from him because of Stefan. That was one thing he couldn't forget. Seeing his baby brother becoming a monster was tearing his heart apart but he wasn't ready to forgive him yet.

Damon closed his eyes, his head full of bitter memories.

Flashback

Damon walked through the door only to see his little brother's next orgy. He was growing tired of it but mostly, he was afraid. He promised Stefan an eternity of misery but not for a single moment did he want Stefan dead.

He didn't want to die either, he had a reason to live. He needed to save Katherine.

He looked at the two bodies of dead girls, his brother feeding on another one and felt remorse. He never enjoyed brutality. He fed on humans, yes, but he would only take an amount necessary for him to live. He didn't want to kill anyone. He was afraid of becoming a monster, like Stefan.

There was a time when he wanted to live forever and he was drinking Katherine's blood willingly but with her gone he didn't want any part of it. He was ready to die but Stefan made him turn and now, he was trying to convince him to participate in his killing sprees.

With the first drink of human blood, Stefan became a different person, Damon could see it. He had no longer any control over him.

He pushed Stefan away and compelled all the girls to forget what happened and to leave.

'Damooon, don't be like this, I'm just having some fun!' whined Stefan, his lips still covered in blood.

'Staying alive is more fun, Stefan! We have to be more careful about this. More clever. Like Katherine was ' said the older vampire, his voice full of desperation.

'Look where that got her' Stefan snorted. Damon looked at him, shocked. They both knew whose fault was it that Katherine had been killed. He could no longer recognize his brother in this boy. The Stefan he had known was gone and there was nothing he could do about it. The seventeen years old was far beyond Damon's help.

He took a deep, painful breath. 'I am done here. With you,' he caught Stefan's suddenly scared look, ' I'm leaving town' he growled and headed to the door, punching Stefan in the stomach but not putting any real strength behind the blow.

Stefan rushed after him in vampire speed. He stood in front of Damon, blocking his way out and grabbed his shoulders.

'You hate me. I know. I know. An eternity of misery and on and on. I know, but you don't have to leave the town. Damon, I'll do better. I promise,' he begged.

It took all Damon's will power not to give in to his pleads. Stefan looked just as broken as Damon was.

He knew he couldn't stay. If Stefan was ever going to get better he needed to be separated from the main reason of his state.

Damon wasn't stupid, he knew that the guilt was eating Stefan away. The guilt for what he did to his father and to him. Even if Damon was willing to forgive him – which he wasn't, the picture of the burning church with Katherine inside still living in his mind – Stefan wouldn't forgive himself. He was shutting up his humanity with every drop of the blood he had.

Damon looked at Stefan again, seeing a monster and a child with honey coloured hair, always falling on his eyes, in the same time.

'No,' he said harshly, 'you will get us killed. I'd rather leave you to do that to yourself.'

In the evening, he was ready to leave. He didn't bother with saying goodbye to Stefan, he never liked drama. On his way to the door, he met Lexi; pretty, young woman who seemed to like rescuing lost puppies, such as his brother.

'Going somewhere?' she asked.

'You must be the vampire I heard my brother complaining about,' he acknowledged nodding his head slightly.

'That would be me,' she smiled, 'And you must be the brother who hates him.'

'We are at irreparable odds.'

'You know the hate you're feeling towards Stefan? Towards everyone? You think you have it under control but you don't. It will get the best of you.'

'Help him,' asked Damon sincerely, 'He needs it.'

Despite his anger at Stefan's betrayal, despite the hatred and hurt, he couldn't just let him lead himself to destruction.

He cared. He truly did.

'I'll help him,' she smiled.

End of the flashback

Damon opened eyes, his mind full of guilt. He was reliving this memory in his mind countless times, reconsidering all the decisions he had made.

He couldn't stop thinking what would have happened if he hadn't left Mystic Falls in the first place.

Would Stefan and him recover and strengthen their relationship or would they both become monsters, enjoying inflicting pain in the pathetic human beings? Or maybe, they'd split apart anyway, sooner or later?

Damon shrugged. Everything has changed and there was no coming back.

Stefan was the good brother now, while Damon hid his humanity deep down. His sharp tongue evolved to snarky remarks and sarcasm, his carefreedom turned into recklessness and his impulsiveness changed into violence.

But then, Elena… happened. She was challenging him, making him a better person. He didn't change completely but was not longer able to turn off his humanity. Damon was reminding his old self more day by day. And that is what led him to taking care of Jeremy.

The kid was much alike him. If not handled carefully, he'll snap and become a human version of Damon in his worst time. That Damon was cruel and driven by anger. That Damon, wanted his baby brother to suffer.

He didn't want that for Jeremy. He was just an orphaned kid after all. Damon wondered whether it was Elena's and Alaric's influence or the similarity between young him and Jeremy, which caused him to develop a soft spot for him.

He glanced at the papers and grabbed them, sighing. He headed upstairs, glad Jeremy stopped ruining his room. He pushed the door gently and was startled by a book Jeremy has thrown at him. Normally, he would have caught it before it hit him but he hadn't seen it coming. He counted quietly to three and picked up the book, putting it on the desk.

Jeremy was sitting on a bed, hugging his knees. His head was turned towards the window, refusing to look at the vampire. Damon looked over the room. The floor was covered with broken glass, papers, photos and books. The chair and the desk were destroyed, along with the wardrobe.

Damon frowned. Elena is not going to like it.

He walked to the bed and sat next to Jeremy handing him the papers.

'We can do it the easy way or the hard way but you are going to sign it,' said Damon calmly.

He could feel the mattress giving away under Damon's weight. He ignored the papers, not feeling like answering to Damon's statement either.

'Why are you so damn stubborn?' he heard the exaggerated vampire ask. 'It is not like I'm going to abuse you… too much,' he sneered.

Jeremy felt his lips forming in half-smile. No, he didn't really think Damon was going to abuse him. Still, he simply didn't want a guardian. Surely he was old enough to look after himself.

He didn't want or needed a parent, especially one in love with his sister.

The vampire's annoyance grew. It was like talking to a wall.

Damon just couldn't get through to Jeremy.

He started to seriously consider taking the boy across his knee. It was a little desperate move considering Jeremy was 16 but certainly, he deserved it. Besides, Damon was now sure as hell that Jeremy wasn't going to cooperate.

The point is, he didn't want to do it. He knew from experience how it usually ends. Jeremy could either hate him more or worse - turn to him for comfort like Stefan always did. None of the above would be good. Damon couldn't stand drama.

Besides, Jeremy wasn't his responsibility. '…yet.' added an annoying, pitchy voice inside his head. And he was 16, he wasn't a little child anymore.

But then again, Stefan was a year older than Jeremy when he was stupid enough to steal Damon's whisky, get drunk and play with his gun, what infuriated Damon to the point of seeing red. He made sure Stefan felt his anger for a long time.

Still, he couldn't bring himself to do it. Jeremy was still grieving. And so was Damon.

'I miss him too,' he said suddenly, trying a different approach, 'He was my best friend. The only one I had. I know how it feels. But he is dead now, Jer. I'm so sorry.'

Damon swallowed hard. Seeing Rick dying was hard but he was too busy worrying about Elena to let his feelings kick in. But now, when there was no longer any danger… saying it out loud… it felt far worse, far more real.

That was it. Rick was gone and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it.

'You know nothing.' Jeremy turned his head and finally looked at Damon. He has never before heard Damon talking about Alaric and he wasn't sure how to react.

'I wanted to kill him at the beginning,' grinned Damon. 'Asshole was stalking me. Tried to stake me.'

He shook his head as if he still couldn't believe it.

'Stupid moron actually managed to get himself killed,' he said softly, 'I'd kill him for that. And for drinking my best whiskey. Jerk.'

Jeremy smiled. That was something only Damon could say.

'He was an annoying prick. Always boring me with his self-righteous talking. And he wore lame clothes. And this gayish haircut,' he snorted, keeping talking as he sensed his words were finally getting through Jeremy, 'He made me take care of you.'

That sounds like Ric, thought Jeremy. He knew the man would like him to sign the papers and try to live his life in the happiest possible way but he didn't really know how.

'But I can't do it, Jer. I can't be anyone he wanted me to be,' Damon shook his head and looked Jeremy in the eyes, 'I'm sorry. I'm sorry I can't be him.'

Jeremy was watching him getting up and leave. He felt bad for Damon. In all his misery, he forgot that Alaric wasn't only his best friend. He moaned quietly and squeezed his eyes shut. The anger was gone, all he could feel was pain. Talking about Alaric brought sadness and guilt, both filling Jeremy up.

Ric. He said he will always be there, looking after Jeremy. He said he would never need to feel lonely again.

Jeremy laid down and howled in his pillow. It hurt.

'Damn you, Ric', scowled Damon, taking one of the Bourbon bottles he left in Gilberts' kitchen.

'You weren't supposed to die. You were supposed to have a long, boring, human life with Jenna or Meridith or whoever.' He took a big sip. 'You were meant to raise Jeremy and be a father to Elena. You were meant to have a baby. A little girl or boy. You were meant to drink whiskey, play billiard and hunt vampires with me. You were meant to live, Ric.'

He slumped on a couch with the bottle in his hand.

'You shouldn't have left me with this mess. I can't be who you wanted me to be,' he breathed, 'I'm not you, friend. I'm not Stefan, not even Elena. I don't do 'care'. It's not me. I am selfish. And cruel. And you knew it,' he murmured.

'What the hell were you thinking, Ric?'

He opened his eyes and looked at the clock. It said 3 am. He must have dozed off in Gilberts' living room.

He looked around, his eyes quickly adjusting to the darkness. He glanced at the blanket covering him and smiled. Elena must have returned home. He got a glass of iced water and drunk it fast, beginning to climb upstairs. He went past Jeremy's door left ajar and got in Elena's room. She wasn't there.

He frowned. She must have stayed in his house then. But then who…

He rolled his eyes and walked up to Jeremy's room, pushing the door gently. The boy was fast asleep in his bed. He was breathing deeply.

Damon liked him like this. Quiet.

The vampires always enjoyed watching humans sleep. Elena thought it was cute but he knew better.

Truth to be told, it was something very natural to every vampire. It was simply the beauty of a predator observing his victim in the most vulnerable state. He could hear Jeremy's heart beating, see his chest moving, his eyes were tracking even the smallest movement of his body. He didn't need much sleep himself. He could live on a few hours a week. The need for sleeping was bigger if he hasn't fed though and strangely enough, he didn't really have a head for this.

Damon closed the door gently and went back downstairs. He caught a glimpse of the papers laying on the table and narrowed his eyes hoping these weren't the same he gave Jeremy's to sign. He half expected the teenager to tear them apart but as it appeared, they were not only undestroyed but signed as well.

'No, you moron,' he winced, 'I told you I can't do this! Since when does 'no' mean 'please sign the papers, it's gonna be fun when Damon finds out?!', he started walking around the room. 'Why do you always have to do everything against me, you little punk?' Damon signed.

He was screwed.

End of chapter one. Let me know if you like it. Remember, every comment makes me want to continue the story.

Thanks for reading!