A/N: Just a little something that I wrote for a meme prompt on tumblr and thought that I would share it here as well for people who would want to read it. Plus, the world just needs more Hayley and Elijah things honestly.

Meme Prompt: Hayley says "Pick me. Choose me. Love me."

The words that came from Hayley seemed like they were right from a television show. Pick me. Choose me. Love me. They repeated in his head too many times as he stood there in front of her. Tensions had been high. Things only getting worse after the events that happened after the death of Davina. To think that the two of them could have continued with the dance they were doing was something that was foolish.

From the very moment that he laid eyes on her something was different. He had no idea what it was or why he had developed such a bond for the girl. His brother would hardly be happy, but that didn't seem to matter. No, he wanted to protect her. He needed to protect her. Even if he wasn't all that smart in doing it. Getting himself daggered was hardly a smart move. Then the slap came. Probably the first moment that he knew she was different, that she wasn't like any girl he had known before. He was an Original. He could kill her in a heartbeat. He wouldn't. No, he would never touch Hayley in such a violent way, but she showed the bravery that no one else ever had. Katherine and Elena would never have dared to slap him in such a way. Almost reminded him of the bravery Celeste had, thought that was certainly where the similarities between the two New Orleans women ended.

It seemed that their bond had only grown from there. Elijah could not remember the last time that he worried for someone so much like he had when Hayley was in pain, her body overheating. The pool only bringing the two of them closer, holding her to him like she was everything, willing to do anything to save her and her daughter's life. The two had been so close, looking straight into one another's eyes. It was then that he was positive that not only was she different but that there was something different for him, for the two of them. She may have been carrying the child of his brother, something he was constantly aware of, but the connection that was shared was between him and Hayley. Nothing could ever take that away.

Even the moments that threatened to tear him and his brother apart, it was for Hayley. It was foolish. Very foolish. Wanting his brother to find peace, to find happiness, to change, and for him to be so constantly worried about Hayley. As much as she seemed to be the key that could make his younger brother a better person, something Elijah was positive Niklaus was capable of, she was also the one thing that brought them together. It was family. They were family. All of them. She taught him things he had long forgotten and foolishness was obvious, he was stupid to think she'd be different, but in those fleeting moments she was what could keep him sane. Easily reminding him of everything that happened over the past few moments.

But as they lived in their little bubble, some of Elijah's happiest moments shared with Hayley, a slight fear settled in. Something that became increasingly obvious at their time out in the cabin as the werewolf venom his brother held running through his system. Ones he cared about ended up hurt, they ended up dead, and he would never be able to forgive himself if Hayley died because of how foolish he was. He tried so hard to pull away from her, to give her what she needed and that was a life without caring for him. There were bigger things to worry about, witches, her daughter, his brother. He hardly qualified to make the list but with their almost kiss so much had changed, once again, and it was changing for the better and the worst, but most of all the scariest.

Pick me.

It was all he had done. All Elijah had done was choose Hayley. Over and over again. No matter what it was her that he chose. Doing all he could to make sure she was safe. Doing all he could to make sure that there was nothing that was going to happen to her or that daughter of hers. Fights with Niklaus were present, silly little conversations with Rebekah were increasing, his sister hardly oblivious to how Elijah felt. No one was. Except himself. Too blind or too in denial to realize that whatever was happening between him and Hayley was more than some man acting nice because she was carrying his niece.

Choose me

Tension between and Elijah and his brother and it only continued to rise. Choosing Hayley had always been easy. IT was stupid to choose a girl he barely knew over his brother sometimes, but with daggers and hybrid bites his judgement had been clouded far too much. Still, it was rare for the Original to regret anything he did. To regret her or their time together. No, he enjoyed their time together far too much. Sometimes she would be the only who made him smile and that was something he would never change, he would never change the things.

It was then that betrayal smacked him right in front of the face and he it was as if his world was flipped upside down. Everything that he thought he knew was suddenly different and the trust had been broken. The bones that anyone else would have thought meant nothing, that Hayley knew meant everything, twisted everything. It was the hurt that he experienced that made him realize he was too far gone. There was more than anger. He felt betrayed on one of the deepest levels. Something that caused him to lay in his bed, unable to sleep. IT was not only the memories of Celeste, the memories that one of the two past loves he had, but Hayley. The tears streaming down her face as she cried. As he tried to pretend he didn't care and he was just angry because a friend, a close friend, had done this to him.

Love me

Love, something so rare, so unique. Something he knew that he did not share with Hayley, no matter how much she wanted him to, no matter how he wanted himself to. There was no doubt that the potential relationship was there. That one day he could love her. She did so much for him, she did so much to him. She was more than anyone had been in quite a long time and he didn't know what to do with himself anymore, to do with her. The two of them. Love was hardly a word to describe Hayley and Elijah, and given everything that happened it may never be.

That on top of the little speech that she gave him, the almost kiss they shared. He was more confused than ever. Uncertain of how he felt, of what he should. Pick me. Choose me. Love me. Six words. So much meaning.

"Hayley…."

It was the way that she looked at him. So much different than the way Katerina had or anyone else he thought he had a romantic feeling for. All he saw in that moment was Hayley Marshall. Not the pregnant werewolf. Not anyone of his brother's. Not anyone but Hayley.

He took a step closer, closing the bit of distance between the two of them, resisting the urge to bring them closer like they had been. Resisting the urge to kiss her that had been building inside of him for months. He wanted her more than he could even begin to express but he didn't do anything. Even though he wanted to with every fiber of his being.

"I chose you. I picked you. You betrayed me. You belittled the love that I will always hold for someone. You acted like a child who did not get her way."

The truth was harsh but he needed to say his piece. It was the ultimatum she was giving him and he knew that she would hate what he needed to say. This was hardly going to make things between between the two of them. It was only going to make things worse and he was hardly sure that the fragile state of whatever it was they were doing could actually handle that.

"But I can't love you."

Maybe one day. Maybe. But now the pain that he held in his heart was too much for him to simply get over as she wished. She may have been right, Elijah lived in the past to a certain degree, the loves he held for two women of his past always being carried with him. That was the man tht Elijah was. IT was the man that he would always be. They both had growing to do. She was pregnant. He was hurt. That hardly made for a good pairing, a good union.

He took one last step towards her. Right in front of her, reaching his hand out to cup the side of her his better judgement he brought the two of them closer together.

"I want to."

It was the moment that they had shared all over again. The two so close to kissing, so close to giving into what they both knew they wanted. It was terrible, to want something so badly, to hold it right in your hands, but never actually have it. Not like he should. Not like she should. Everything was slipping away from him so fast and nothing was like how he imagined it would be. She was the one person he hoped would never use him for his own personal gain and she had. She had used him and most importantly she hurt him.

"I'm sorry."