Chapter nine

"Everyone just wants to fall in love"- Weapons by the Daylight

Kingston, New York

Ten months ago

Damon and Charlie had been hanging out for almost a month. It had progressed from long conversations at the bar to actually going out to restaurants. Her friends didn't like Damon very much, and Kyra had stopped talking to Charlie for "stealing her man." but Charlie and Damon weren't like that. They were friends, especially because neither was looking for a relationship. Charlie had cardiomyopathy and could have her heart fail at any minute, and Damon was… well, Damon.

But despite how both of them- even Damon- just wanted to be "just friends," there was still that charge of sexual tension in the air. There was still how Damon would pass up hot drunk sorority girls just to talk with Charlie about nothing at all. And there was how Charlie lied to multiple girls that Damon was gay so that they wouldn't hit on him.

After being kicked out of their regular bar due to last call, Damon walked Charlie home, as per usual for them. It had yet to occur to Damon that the little human woman next to him had changed him. He hadn't killed in a long time, and though he had had plenty of one night stands since meeting Charlie, he would always choose her over a potential hook up.

"Why do you live with your mom?" Damon asked suddenly, as they walked, the cool summer night breeze blowing gently against them.

Charlie shrugged. "Because she won't let me move out. She's overbearing, but her hearts in the right place." Charlie said vaguely, and Damon's eyebrows shot up.

"Why won't she let you move out?" he asked, and Charlie bit her lip. She had yet to tell Damon about her heart disease. But Damon had yet to tell Charlie about the fact that he was undead, so they were even.

"She's just very protective." Charlie lied, when suddenly she got hit by another pain in her heart. She gritted her teeth and stopped walking, placing a hand over the pain.

"Charlie, what's wrong?" Damon asked, frowning at her.

The pain finally went away, and Charlie sighed. Her chest pains had been getting worse lately. "Nothing," she lied, walking again towards her house. Damon's eyebrows were furrowed, but he walked along with her.

They walked in silence all the way to Charlie's front porch. The house was dark, and she figured that her mother was asleep. She took out her key and unlocked the door. She turned to Damon and smiled slightly. "Thanks for walking me home." She said her hand on the door knob.

"Any time." He said his blue eyes surprisingly soft.

For one millisecond, Charlie's only thought was "Kiss me." she willed him to do it with her mind, but as soon as she realized what she was thinking, she blinked and looked away.

"Goodnight, Damon." she said quietly, pushing the front door open.

"Charlie, wait." Damon said suddenly, grabbing her arm.

When Charlie turned curiously towards Damon, he crushed his lips against hers.

It was so unexpected, Charlie froze. Damon's hands cupped her face, his eyes closed. Charlie's hazel eyes were wide open. She willed herself to do anything but stand there like an idiot, but luck was not on her side.

Damon pulled away when she didn't kiss him back. He stood there awkwardly, and Charlie opened her mouth to explain. But Damon just shook his head as if he'd didn't want to hear her excuses, and walked away from.

"Damon, wait!" she exclaimed, running after him. He stopped despite himself, and turned around to face her.

Charlie threw her arms around Damon's neck, kissing him as if it was her last kiss ever. Damon seemed surprised, but wrapped his arms around her. She closed her eyes, not realizing before just how much she wanted Damon to kiss her. She bit gently and playfully down on his bottom lip.

"Charlotte! Come inside. Now."

Charlie had never been more agitated with her mother than at that moment. A part of her wanted to tell Damon to take her to his place, but instead, she pulled away from him.

"Oh, hello mum." Charlie said cheerfully, turning around to see her mother in a robe on the front porch glaring at Damon.

"Charlotte, it's almost two A.M, come inside." Karen repeated, studying the man her daughter had been snogging seconds ago. Just by the leather jacket and smirk on his lips, she could tell that he was a mother's worst nightmare.

"One second mum," Charlie said, slightly breathless.

Karen ignored her. "Charlotte, come-"

"I will in one bloody second, mum!"

Karen's eyes widened at Charlie's outburst. Charlie glared at her mother, her cheeks pink from embarrassment. Karen slowly turned around walked back into the house, but Charlie could see her silhouette in the window.

"I am so sorry," Charlie apologized, pushing a stray curl out of her face.

"Don't worry about it," Damon said, shrugging like it was no big deal. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Damon." Charlie said her smile lighting up her eyes. Damon felt his heart skip a beat at her smile. It made him smile slightly.

"Night, Charlie," he said, easily pretending like she didn't affect him.

She walked up to her house, aware that Damon was still watching her. She forced herself not to look back at him, but when she reached the door, she snuck a peek. Damon was long gone.

She sighed slightly, but didn't let that ruin her good mood. Charlie had a huge grin on her lips as she walked up to her room. Not even her hovering mother could harsh her mellow.

"Charlotte, who was that boy?" Karen demanded, as soon as the front door shut.

"Mum, I am twenty one years old. I am embarrassed that I'm still living with you. I will not tell you every bloody detail of my love life. And if you ever do that to me again, 'I'm moving in with Trina." She snapped, before slamming her bedroom door.

Charlie sat down on her bed, her heart still pounding in her chest. It wasn't good for her heart, to get worked up like she was. But Charlie couldn't help it; she was falling fast and hard for Damon Salvatore.

"Mum, I'm not going home." Charlie said, as Damon rolled his eyes.

"Charlie's a big girl, Karen. I didn't kidnap her, she wants to be here. She wants to be with me." Damon told his glaring mother-in-law.

"I think I'm going to go over there." Alaric said abruptly, walking away from the awkward moment.

"Charlotte, it was so irresponsible for you to do this!" Karen exclaimed, causing people to look at them curiously.

"Can we not do this here?" Charlie asked, blushing with embarrassment.

"For her to do what, Karen? For her to come to Mystic Falls, or for her to marry me?" Damon asked his eyes cold with anger.

"Both." She said bluntly, and Damon felt anger run hot through his veins.

"Enough, you two. We can continue this in a less public place." Charlie said, forming a barrier between her husband and her mother.

"Charlotte, we're leaving. Pack your bags." Karen said, walking towards the door.

Charlie looked up at her husband, whose eyes were filled with icy rage. "I'm not leaving, okay? I'm not leaving you or this town. Just let me talk to her." she said softly.

Damon nodded gruffly, and Charlie kissed him softly, before following her mother out of the Grill. As soon as they were away alone, Charlie glared angrily at her mother.

"Who the bloody hell do you think you are?" she shouted angrily.

"I am your mother, Charlotte. That is who I am! You have no right to talk that way to me." Karen said, and Charlie rolled her eyes.

"You have no right to come here, mother. I am twenty two years old; I am in charge of my life, not you. Not anymore." She snapped.

"But I have the right to tell you when you're ruining your life, Charlotte!" Karen retorted, and Charlie's glare intensified.

"Don't you dare say that I am ruining my life, being with Damon. He is the best thing in my life right now." Charlie snapped.

"He's terrible for you, Charlotte! But you're so lost in his good looks, charming words, and bank account that you have yet to realize that!" Karen snapped back, and Charlie felt as if she had just slapped her.

"Do think that I'm with Damon because he's rich and attractive? I'm with Damon because I'm madly in love with him, and I can't believe that you would think otherwise. It's nice to know that my mother thinks that I'm a gold digger." Charlie said sarcastically.

Instead of apologizing, Karen stuck to her guns. "Please, Charlotte. I know that him buying you every object that shines and sparkles makes putting up with his attitude a lot easier." Karen gestured to Charlie's wedding ring, and the bracelet Damon bought her to cheer her up when she got in a particularly depressed mood over her disease a few months ago.

Charlie couldn't believe what her mother was saying to her. "You don't know him, mother. You don't know the real Damon. If you weren't so caught up in hating him, you would realize how much I love him, and how good he is to me. He loves me mum, and I love him back." Charlie told her.

But Karen wasn't listening. "I've called my lawyer. We're going to fix this mess, Charlotte." She told her daughter, walking towards her car.

"Wait, are you saying that you want me to get a divorce?" Charlie asked, her eyes huge.

"My lawyer says that under the circumstances, you can get an annulment instead. Less fuss than a divorce, but it means the same thing." Karen smiled as if she was doing her daughter a favor.

"I'm not leaving Damon, mum. End of story." Charlie said firmly, and Karen Hart stopped in her tracks.

"Excuse me?" she asked, as if she couldn't believe her daughter's words.

"Have you not been listening to a word I've been saying? I love him, mum. I love Damon Salvatore!" she screamed out loud, causing her to get strange looks from passing people.

"I don't care if you hate him. If your opinion mattered to me, I never would've married Damon in the first place. But I'm Charlotte Marie Salvatore now, and I have no plans on changing that." Charlie told her mum honestly, before turning around and walking back into the Grill.

"How'd it go?" Damon asked, more calm and drunk than he was when she left him.

"She… she wants me to get an annulment." Charlie told her husband quietly, pulling the glass of whiskey out of his hand.

Damon's eyes instantly hardened. "What a bitch." He growled, but instantly looked at Charlie apologetically when he realized that he had just called his wife's mother a bitch.

Charlie shrugged. "She is one, a very stubborn, determined one. I told her that I wasn't going to leave you, but she wouldn't listen." Charlie sighed.

Damon smirked at his wife. "Yeah, I know. I heard you screaming 'I love Damon Salvatore.'" He teased, and she playfully shoved him.

"Let's just go home, okay?" she said, resting her head on his shoulder.

Damon nodded, and the two left. Karen's sudden appearance had made Damon forget all about plotting with Alaric on how to take down Stefan's attacker. It was night when they got back to the boarding house, and it was silent. Charlie walked right up to their room, but Damon lingered behind.

The idea of Charlie leaving him willingly hurt more than the idea of her dying. Because at least if Charlie died, it wasn't because she didn't want to be with him. If Charlie divorced him, it would be because she finally got sick of her husband.

Damon sighed, he couldn't imagine how it would feel, not to have Charlie. He didn't ever want to feel that, and swore to himself that he would never let anything take her away from him, heart diseases or bitchy mother-in-laws.

Damon slowly made his way up to his room and his wife. When he pushed the door open, his eyes widened and his mood lifted. There was his sexy wife, stretched out on their bed in sexy lingerie.

"You just made my year." He murmured, taking in the lace and the mischievous grin.

Charlie giggled, and sat up. "I thought that we both might need a good cheering up. And personally, 'cheering up' sex is my favorite after 'new position' sex." She said, beckoning her husband to her.

"They usually go hand in hand." He whispered huskily, before his lips were on hers, and she was pinned under him.

"Just don't rip off my underwear, love. I really like these." She mumbled breathlessly, as Damon's hands inched towards her lacy panties.

After a few new positions, Charlie was fast asleep on Damon's chest. Two days of sex in a row was hard on her, and she'd probably be exhausted in the morning. After Damon kissed the side of her head, he gently laid her head on her pillow, and got out of bed. He slipped on his boxers, and then snuck down to the kitchen.

Damon was much happier after making love to Charlie. Her plan had worked, and 'cheering up' sex was his new favorite. After Damon finished his glass of blood, he was just about to go back to Charlie, when the doorbell rang.

Despite being just in his boxers, Damon answered the door. It was ten o'clock at night, and he wondered who it would be. He groaned when he saw his mother-in-law glaring at him.

"Ugh, what?" he asked, even more pissed at her than usual, since she was hell bent on breaking him and Charlie up.

"Where is my daughter?" Karen asked, and Damon gritted his teeth.

"Sleeping," he said, fighting the urge to add that they had just had really good sex. "If you're here to pack her bags for her, don't bother. Charlie's not leaving- me, or this town."

"I'm not here for my daughter, I'm here to talk to you." Karen said, and Damon groaned.

"Great," he said sarcastically, but moved aside to let in Karen.

"Do you want to put on a shirt?" Karen's nose wrinkled, and Damon smirked.

"Nope," he popped the 'p'. Karen sat down uncomfortably on a chair, while Damon stood. He just wanted to get this conversation with the bitch from hell over with, and get back to his beautiful wife.

"Now, it's no secret that I don't approve of you and my daughter," Karen started, and Damon snorted.

"Really? I never would've guessed, with the snide remarks and trying to get her to divorce me." Damon said sarcastically.

Karen rolled her eyes. "You're not good for her, Damon. You'll never love her the way Charlotte deserves to be loved. I know your type. You like to play with sweet, caring, innocent girls like her, and then you completely break them. Charlotte worships the ground you walk on, but you'll never completely commit to her. And what with her… disease, I'm surprised you've stuck around this long." Karen said.

"You don't know what you're talking about, Karen." Damon told her, feeling rage boil up inside of him. "You'll never know how much I love Charlie. I'm 'sticking around' because I'm madly in love with her, and I plan to stick around forever."

"You don't deserve her, Damon!" Karen exclaimed. Even though he didn't say it out loud, Damon silently agreed with her. He had done so many bad things, killed so many innocent people. The fact that he had Charlie still seemed too good to be true.

"What do you want me to do, Karen?" Damon asked, though he already knew.

"Stop being selfish with her." Karen said bluntly.

"I'm sorry, I can't do that." Damon told her honestly.

Karen looked at him very seriously. "I don't doubt that you love her," she admitted. "But just because you love somebody, doesn't mean that you're good for them."

Damon was silent, and Karen stood up. "All I'm saying Damon, is that there's something to be said about a man who loved a woman so much, he let her go." She told her son-in-law, before leaving.

Damon stood in silence, as he thought about what Karen had said to him. Maybe it would be better for Charlie, if he left her. Maybe, for the first time in his life, Damon should be selfless, and let Charlie be with somebody who deserved her. Even if it did kill him, thinking about another man having her.

Slowly, Damon walked back up to his room. When he got to his bed, he pulled Charlie's naked body into his arms, and she sighed in her sleep. Damon decided to just push aside his internal debate for later, and fell asleep with Charlie's head on his bare chest. But even though he pushed them aside, Karen's words were still in his mind, the question that just refused to be forgotten. He loved Charlie, but did he love her enough to let her be happy without him?

A/N: thank you to: vdemily, KimmyWSmith, Be My Baby, Samantha meyers, and SomebodyWhoCares for reviewing!

Reviews are inspiring!

~Abby :)