**Chapter twenty three**

Feelings and broken hearts

*Damon*

"For the last time, I'm fine Damon! I'm just a little freaked right now, that's all." Hailey said, as she threw open the door leading into her bedroom, and tossed her jacket onto the desk.

Damon followed her, looking around her room. It was a lot messier then it was the last time he had been in it. Bottles littered the floor, and it looked like a tornado had run through it multiple times.

"Well, I'm just double checking, since you didn't look so good in the car." he said, leaning against the door as he watched Hailey kick trash aside and make her way to her closet.

"I'm fine." she repeated, digging through the closet. "Besides, I don't think Nikolai ever planned to hurt me."

Damon went rigid at his name. Nicolai.That stupid tool. He never liked him, back in 1864. And he definitely didn't like him now. He knew that Nikolai never planned to hurt her, and that made him angrier then it would've if he had.

"I know he doesn't want to hurt you, he's in love with you." Damon said, his tone casual, but his voice hard.

Hailey froze, before saying, "What do you mean, 'in love with me?'" she turned around to look at him, looking surprised.

Damon's usual sarcastic smirk fell upon his lips. "Well, more like he's obsessed with you." despite his smirk, his words made his insides feel like lead.

"Why?" Hailey asked dumbly, pushing her bangs out of her face.

Damon's smirk grew bigger. "Oh, I don't know." he said sarcastically. "It's not like you look like the dead girl he's been in love with for over a hundred years, or anything."

Hailey glared at him, before saying, "So, you're saying that he, um…"

"Wants you? Yeah, and I doubt that he's gonna stop until he gets you." Damon's teeth gritted in jealousy.

"But he doesn't love me; he loves the girl I look like." Hailey said, turning back to the closet.

"Doesn't matter, you look like Victoria. As long as you look like her, that's how long Nikolai will want you." He continued, his voice stiff with jealousy.

Hailey turned around and smirked at him. "Are you jealous, Damon Salvatore?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No," he said quickly, playing it off. "I just think that it sucks for you, that you have some vampire obsessed with you, because you look like Victoria." He shrugged.

"Mm hmm." She said, smirking. "Well, thank you for pitying me Damon."

Hailey pulled off her black t-shirt, to reveal a lacy purple bra. She acted as if he wasn't there, and pulled off her jeans to show off matching purple panties.

She was teasing him, something she loved to do. Hailey took her time to grab some shorts and a tank top, and to put them on. Damon watched her the entire time, letting his lust for her take him over.

Damon wished that he could say his feelings for Hailey stopped at lust. No, Damon cared for her. It was hard for him to admit it to himself, but Damon was falling for her. Hell, when he was with her, it was like Katherine never existed.

Damon shook his head to clear his thoughts. He didn't want to think about those confusing thoughts right then. So instead, he walked over to Hailey and kissed her.

She kissed him back, her arms wrapping around his neck. He picked her up so that he wouldn't have to bend down to kiss her, and her long legs wrapped around his waist. They somehow made it to her bed, and Damon pulled away from her just long enough to get her shirt and bra off.

Damon had hoped that sleeping with Hailey would make his jealousy go away, his feelings for her go away, but if anything, they just intensified.

~LMF~

Hailey's head was on his bare chest, her dark hair splayed out around her. He heard her deep breathing, showing that she was asleep. Damon couldn't sleep though. He was too busy trying to pick apart the jumble of emotions that she made him feel.

He was attracted to her, definitely. He liked having her around- he just liked her in general, as a person. But he cared about her, was falling for her. He was jealous and slightly possessive, and whenever she was in danger, he felt like he might be physically sick. She made him forget all about Katherine. She made him question if he was falling in love with her.

He groaned out loud, causing Hailey to twitch in her sleep. Love. Whenever he thought about love, he thought about Katherine. But did he even love Katherine? He felt for her, but it wasn't like with Hailey. With Hailey, it was fun, easy, and drama-free, besides the fact that her best friend hated him with intensity. With Katherine it was complicated and dramatic. He was constantly jealous of his own brother.

But he was convinced that he was in love with her for over a century. He opened a tomb for her, killed for her. She couldn't mean anything to him, if he did that for her. And he was hiding her from Hailey that had to mean something.

That was another thing. Hailey was bound to find out about her sooner or later. With Elena being her doppelganger, and Victoria being her best friend, she would stumble upon the truth soon enough. And by then, he'd have to choose between them.

For a long time, it was Katherine. Always Katherine. But now there was Hailey, who made him question if he even loved Katherine in the first place. But he was going to hurt Hailey, if she found out the truth and he didn't have an answer for her. Just thought of Hailey hurting tore him up inside, he couldn't even imagine the idea of her hurting because of him.

He groaned again, as Hailey shifted, and threw an arm around him, as if hugging him. He needed to think, he needed a clear head.

He got out of the bed, carefully lying Hailey on her pillow so that she wouldn't wake up. He dressed quickly, and headed for her bedroom window; it was a quicker exit. He looked at Hailey's sleeping figure, completely unaware that he was leaving her like a one nightstand. He needed to think, to choose which girl he really cared for.

So Damon tore his gaze from Hailey, and jumped from her window without another thought.

*Hailey*

I groaned, and stretched my arms, as I slowly woke up. I rolled over, and stretched again, waking up some more. My naked body felt sore, as I pulled on a pair of shorts and a tank top. I was suddenly aware that I was alone in my room, and I wondered where Damon was. I pulled my dark hair into a ponytail, before I walked out of my room to go look and see if he was in the kitchen.

I jumped every other step in my hurry to find Damon, post-sex bliss taking over. The same stupid grin that was on my face the morning before, was again plastered on. I couldn't wait to find Damon, so that we could continue last night. I was considering skipping school, so that I could spend all day in bed with him, since my mom wasn't home.

He wasn't in the living room, so I walked into the kitchen to find it just as empty. My eyebrows pushed together, as I wondered where he could be.

"Damon?" I said, knowing that he could hear me if he was in the house.

"Damon? Where are you?" I said louder, frustration noticeable in my voice. He wouldn't just sleep with me, then leave in the middle of the night? Like some pathetic drunken hook up?

"Why are you yelling for Damon?"

The voice appeared out of nowhere, and I jumped about ten feet in the air. At first, I thought that the tomb vampires had managed to get into my house, before I turned around to meet Elena's accusing brown eyes.

"Oh, Elena it's you. Don't sneak up on me, you almost gave me a heart attack!' I said, taking a deep breath, and pushing my bangs out of my face.

"Why were you yelling for Damon?" she repeated, crossing her arms over her chest. Then she took in my appearance, and her eyes widened.

"You two…" she muttered, before meeting my frozen gaze.

"You said that you two were friends! You lied to me! Again!" she yelled at me, her voice filled with anger.

"Elena, please, let me explain-" I tried to say, but she cut me off.

"I warned you, and warned you to stay away from Damon. That he was dangerous, that he would hurt you, but of course you didn't listen. You never listen!" she shrieked, and I stepped back.

"Elena, just calm down-" I said, but she ignored me.

"I was trying to protect you from him, Hailey. But of course, you just ignored me. How long have you two been together? You two have probably been sneaking around, behind my back for weeks, haven't you?" she said, but didn't let me answer.

"You don't get it, Hailey. He's a monster, a monster. He's killed people, tons of people. He plays with your mind and your emotions, and he uses girls. He's using you Hailey, don't you get it? He's a monster, and sooner or later, he's going kill you, once he's through with you."

"Damon would never do that! He cares about me!" I shouted at her, the words leaving my lips without permission.

"Oh, really?" Elena said in disbelief, pity in her gaze. "If he cares about you, I bet he told you all about Katherine then."

"Katherine?" the name triggered my memory, and I vaguely remember reading about her in Victoria's diary, and that a vampire from the cemetery mentioned her, while taunting Damon.

"Katherine Pierce, the girl who changed Stefan and Damon, back in 1864. Damon is in love with her Hailey, he always will be." Elena said.

My heart dropped, and I felt sick. Damon loved another girl, a vampire. I had been falling for him, and the whole time he was using me. And throughout this whole time, this whole mess with Victoria and vampires, Damon had been there. All those things he had said to comfort me, he hadn't meant any of them. He hadn't really cared about me at all.

I closed my eyes, as my kitchen table snapped in half. I tried to be angry at him, tried to destroy things, but it was all half assed. I didn't have it in me to be angry, not at that moment.

I bit my lip, and turned my back on Elena. I didn't want her to see me cry. I tried not to, I didn't want to cry over Damon. But it was hard not to, when the man you had been falling for just broke your heart.

~LMF~

A/N: a really quick update, I hope it makes up for the fact that I broke them up :(

Thank you to: vdemily, SomebodyWhoCares, and colleenrawr for reviewing!

Reviews are encouraged :)

~Abby!