A/N: Hii, my lovely readers!

Here's chapter 12!

Enjoy!

Chapter 12:

Mia's POV:

"This is crazy. Very, very and utterly crazy, Elena. I can't do this. What if I get too nervous and–"

"Mia, you want to give Damon a proper gift he won't forget?" Elena asked sternly, making me blush and sigh.

"Of course I want to! I just… I don't think I can sing in front of so many people. And then to Damon…"

Elena crossed her arms and looked firmly at me. I finally gave up, took a deep breath, and walked out on the stage at the local bar we were visiting tonight. We had been out eating, gambling a bit, and now we were at this bar where people could go up on the stage and sing. Damon thought that Elena and I were just going to the ladies' room and when he saw Elena return alone and me walk up on that stage, I saw his face turn slightly pale. He definitely didn't expect this from me.

"Hi, everybody," I said shyly and tried focusing solely on Damon, so I wouldn't feel so nervous. He was starting to smile and it helped me calm my nerves down. "Firstly, I want to say happy birthday to my boyfriend, Damon. I know that you hate cheesy couples, but… I really love you and this is the only way I can express just how much I love you, so please bear over with me."

Damon chuckled and shook his head a bit of me, but he leaned back and enjoyed my gift for him. I nodded to the man, who was in charge of the cover band, and then started singing as beautifully as I could to Me & U by Cassie.

It was a very sexy song so of course I had to turn the "heat" up a bit and maybe make some of the other guys in the room stare maybe a little too long while their girlfriends became angry and maybe a little bit jealous. I didn't care about what the others thought, because I was only focusing on Damon and since it was his 168th birthday today, then I had to make it memorable.

"You've been waiting so long. I'm here to answer your call. I know that I shouldn't have had you waiting at all. I've been so busy, but I've been thinking about what I wanna do with you. I know them other guys, they been talking 'bout the way I do what I do. They heard I was good, they wanna see if it's true. They know you're the one I wanna give it to. I can see you want me too. Now, it's me and you. It's me and you, now. I've been waiting (Waiting). Think I wanna make that move, now. Baby, tell me if you like it (Tell me if you like it). It's me and you, now. I've been waiting. Think I wanna make that move, now. Baby, tell me how you like it…"

I didn't know what it was, but while I was singing I saw a glimpse in his eyes that I hadn't seen before. It was almost like love, but in another form. It was hard to explain and this was going to sound so cheesy, but I felt like Damon and I could take on about everything together. We were almost made for each other even though we did have our differences in the beginning. I remembered that night when he entered my dream and I almost slept with him, I remembered all those times I wanted to hit him or kill him, and I mostly remembered the day Damon and I made love for the first time.

When I was done singing and people were surprisingly giving me a standing ovation (mostly the men), Damon turned to Stefan and whispered something in his ear that I couldn't hear because of all the clapping and whistling. I wanted to know what that man was up to, because I was starting to get very frustrated with his and Stefan's constant secrecy.

"That was great! I knew you could do it!" Elena said as I walked down from the stage and walked towards their table.

"Thanks! But… do you know what Damon and Stefan are talking with each other about? I keep seeing them whisper things to each other and it's starting to freak me out." I said.

Elena's cheeks became flushed for some reason and she suddenly walked off towards Damon, whispering something in his ear that sounded like "she's getting suspicious", which only made me more suspicious. So something was going on! I knew it!

But… what?

What could they possibly be up to?

"Mia, that was amazing! You've definitely made yourself worthy of being my full-time girlfriend!" Damon said, slipping his arms around me.

I smiled brightly and felt his lips press against mine, but I also felt something else that made me chuckle and look down.

"Is that your phone or are you just happy to see me?" I teased, making Damon look down and blush.

Now that surprised me. Damon rarely blushed, so why would he be blushing about something like that? God, if he didn't tell me what he was hiding soon, then I was going to force the truth out of him one way or the other.

"You want to go for a little walk? Alone?" Damon asked all of a sudden.

I nodded and told Elena and Stefan that we would meet them at the Bellagio. We walked down the streets of Las Vegas and saw all kinds of strangely dressed people. Most of them were friendly, but there were a few of them that made me hold Damon's arm tighter and tug myself closer to him. I still had human reflexes and forgot that I was a hybrid, but Damon didn't mind. He wanted to protect me even though I didn't need protection.

"So… are you going to tell me what you and Stefan are up to?" I asked as we were on our way to the Bellagio.

Damon hadn't said a word since we left the bar and he hadn't even commented on my gift, which made me worry that he was going to break up with me or something. Maybe he just couldn't look past the fact that I went to Bucharest with Eric or maybe… maybe he'd grown tired of me.

Okay, now I was just starting to become stupid. Of course he wasn't going to dump me. I mean, why take me to Las Vegas then? Why even sleep with me? And why share the secret with Stefan and Elena?

"What makes you think that we're up to anything?" Damon asked nonchalantly.

I shrugged. "It's just… you've been whispering and acting so… strange all day. And I heard Elena tell you that I was starting to get suspicious. So are you up to something?" I answered.

Damon took a deep breath and stopped walking. I stopped too and placed myself in front of him, trying to read the troubled facial expression he was showing. I had no clue of what he was thinking right now, but whatever it was then it was something really big.

"Is this about Klaus and my parents? Because if it is, then I'm sorry I went to him. I just wanted some answers and–"

"It's not about Klaus or your parents," Damon interrupted and sounded a bit frustrated. I feared that it was me who was frustrating him and took a step back, hugging myself tightly and preparing myself for the worst case scenario. "Mia, I… This is so unbelievable. Why can't I say it? I really love you and…"

"Are you breaking up with me?" I couldn't stop myself from asking.

Damon quickly shook his head and sighed heavily. "I'm sorry, Mia. I'm being such an idiot. I just want to say that I love you. More than you could possibly imagine. You're probably confused right now, am I right?"

I nodded. "Very. You're not dying, are you?"

Damon shook his head again and took something out from his pocket. As soon as he got down on one knee, I became speechless and felt like I was going to faint. I never ever imagined that Damon would want to… and then with me! It didn't make any sense at all.

"First of – no I'm not crazy or losing my mind," Damon said, smirking teasingly. "I… I've just had a lot to think about after a certain someone kidnapped you and I realized something that even shocked me. What I'm trying to say is that… I want to marry you, Mia. I know that I'm a vampire and that we can't have procreate, but really want to spend the rest of my eternity with you. You're my perfect fit – as cheesy as it sounds – but… it's how I feel. So… do you want to marry me, Mia Lupei?"

I had to take a deep breath and sit down on a nearby bench before I fainted. This was all too surreal and I had a hard time comprehending what Damon had just said to me. I knew that he'd fallen hard for me, but I didn't expect it to be that hard. I mean, this was Damon for God's sake! He was a notorious bad boy, a real Casanova, and he had never had a serious relationship before he met me.

"Before you answer, Matilda, then I think that I need to say something first…" I suddenly heard a slightly familiar voice say.

Damon and I both looked up and I felt my heart stop when I recognized the man. He was 17 years older now, but I recognized the dark blond hair, the familiar pair of blue eyes, and the way he was dressed. He still looked like a bad boy and still had his accent, but he had gotten a few more tattoos and I noticed my tattooed name on one of his arms.

"Aren't your boyfriend supposed to ask for my blessings first?"

I didn't know why I did what I did, but I suddenly snapped and threw the bench at the man. I felt like wanting to kill him, but Damon recognized him too and forced me to relax before I did something he thought I would regret.

Maybe I would, but that didn't change the fact that this man… my father Gabriel… was allowed to show up in my life after faking his and my mom's death and making that deal with Klaus.

"So it is true then?" I asked, my fists clenched and my heart pounding rapidly. "You made a deal with Klaus and… and made me think that…"

I shook my head and shook my head of him, while he remained calm. He expected me to react this way even though he didn't seem to have expected me to throw a bench at him.

"Matilda, please let me explain before you leave," Gabriel said and walked towards me. He went to touch me, but I punched him in his face instead, surprising not only Damon but also my dad. He deserved it though. It was partly his fault that his second cousins were dead. If they hadn't made that deal with Klaus and faked their death, then I wouldn't have been sent to them and they wouldn't have died. "Okay… I deserved that one, but is there some place where we can talk about this? Alone?"

I punched my dad again and wanted to leave with Damon, but Elijah stopped me and I could tell by the way he looked at me that he was the one who had contacted my dad. He knew my parents weren't dead.

Thanks for reading and please review! :D