**Chapter thirty five**

Finally

*Hailey*

I woke up in a soft, familiar bed that smelled just like Damon. I pulled the blankets tighter around me, before burying my face into a pillow. I wasn't ready to wake up yet; I just wanted to stay in Damon's bed forever.

Slowly, I opened my eyes and looked around Damon's room. It was back in perfect condition, and I saw the picture of me on the nightstand, in a new frame. I groaned softly, as I remembered yesterday's events.

Victoria was gone, I was alive. But I was still terrified to face Damon. Partially because I did something really stupid and let Victoria possess me, but mostly because I was head-over-heels in love with him. Nothing like a near-death experience to make you realize something that you should've realized ages ago.

Slowly, I got out of his bed, my stomach aching. Dried blood was on my clothes, so I went into the bathroom and took a long shower, contemplating on what to do. I had to face Damon sooner or later; I had to face my feelings sooner or later.

I could go on pretending and being his friend like before. But being "Just Friends" was such a stupid idea. Exes couldn't be friends, and anyone who tried to convince themselves otherwise were just ignorant. Or they didn't want to face the truth, sometimes both.

But I didn't want to lose Damon. And the facts were that Damon would always love Katherine, and I would always love him. I had to decide, would I rather go through the pain of hiding my feelings every day, or would I rather go through the pain of letting him go. The healthy choice would be to let him go, but I didn't know if I could do that.

I got out of the shower and borrowed clothes from Stefan's room that Elena had left there. I was trying to prolong when I would have to face Damon. There was no doubt in my mind that he was pissed at me. Even after he warned me not to, I went and contacted Victoria. Then I almost got both of us killed.

My wet hair in a ponytail, I finally walked towards the stairs, nervous to see Damon. I saw Damon staring at the fire in the fire place. His back was to me, and there was a crimson colored drink in his hand- blood.

I sighed slightly as I watched him, my heart racing. I didn't know what to do, if I should hide my feelings or just tell Damon goodbye. Either way, I was in for some heartache. But first, I need to apologize to Damon. I just had to find the words.

"Are you going to sit there and watch me all night, or are you going to actually talk?"

Damon's voice was gruff and cold- perfectly reasonable. But it still hurt me a little, the cruel undertone of his words.

"Would you like a written apology, or should I say it out loud?" I asked, biting my lip.

He turned around to face me, his eyes as cold and icy as their color. I really messed up this time. "Even if you said it out loud in public topless, it wouldn't make me forgive you even a little bit." He said coldly, walking away from me.

"Damon, please!" I exclaimed, running down the stairs two at a time. "I'm so sorry, I'm an idiot, I know. I was stupid, really, really stupid, to believe Victoria over you. You have every single right to never talk to me again, but please forgive me. Or at least forgive me enough to talk to me. Or enough to stop looking at me like I'm the shit on the bottom of your shoe, even if I feel like it right now."

I stood a few feet away from him, no clue of what else to say. I knew that I chose Victoria or Damon, basically saying that I trusted her more than him. Not only did that hurt his ego, but probably his feelings too.

He just looked at me, his face emotionless, his eyes cold. "Do you have any idea how I felt, Hailey? I was 99 percent sure that you were going to die. And then I would have to go on the rest of eternity feeling guilty as hell that I let you die." He said finally.

I hung my head. "I was stupid, dumb, idiotic, a total dumbass. I was just all fired up after our fight, and I felt the need to prove you wrong." I admitted.

"You should really fight those needs." He told me harshly.

"I know, I know."

"You know what I did after our fight, Hailey? I got drunk. I didn't go and contact my dead ancestor when it was pretty damn obvious that she would kill me!" he shouted, rage filling up his eyes.

My head snapped up, and I met his eyes. I fought the urge to cry. "I don't know what you want me to say, Damon. I told you that I was sorry; that I was stupid, I don't know what else there is to say. If you want to yell at me, fine. I deserve it. But please stop looking at me like I don't mean anything to you, because I can't handle that." I exclaimed.

I felt different, not like my usual tough, careless self. This whole Victoria experience had changed me. This whole falling in love experience had changed me too. Maybe I was changed for good.

Damon looked at me, and I saw a flicker of emotion in his blue eyes- was it hurt? - Before they turned back to normal- cold, careless. "Who ever said that you meant something to me?" he said harshly, turning his back to me.

That was the last straw. I felt tears prickle in my eyes, feeling as if he had stabbed me in the heart. "There's a line between being a dick and being cruel- you just crossed it." I told him, walking towards the door.

"Hailey," Damon sighed. But now it was my turn to be pissed.

"I don't know what you want from me, Damon! I know that I deserved to be yelled at, but don't you dare say that I don't mean anything to you- because you don't risk your life on an almost daily basis for somebody you don't care about!" I yelled, letting a tear escape.

"That was too much, I know." Damon said, reaching out to grab my shoulder.

At first, I tried to pull away. But Damon was stronger than me. He forced me to look at him. "I'm sorry that I said that. You do mean something to me." he said, staring me straight in the eyes. I was glad to see that they weren't cold anymore. They were filled with an unrecognizable emotion.

I looked away due to the intensity of his stare, and mumbled, "I'm sorry too."

"Yeah, I got that from your speech earlier." He teased, brushing the tear away.

"Thank you," I told him. My heart picked up speed again, due to how close Damon and I were.

"For what?" he asked, not moving away from me. I was relieved yet I wished that he would at the same time.

"You're always saving me, so I thought that I'd just thank you in advance for all the inevitable future times." I said, blowing my bangs out of my face.

"You know, if you didn't go chasing danger like it was your hobby, I wouldn't have to always save you." He said.

I smirked at him. "Yeah, but I don't do safe."

Damon groaned. "You're going to be the death of me, Hailey." He complained teasingly.

There's a moment before the kiss, when you realize what's going to happen. It's that one second you have to back out of the kiss. Usually, I ignored that second and went for the kiss, but this time I backed out.

It would ruin everything if I kissed Damon, no matter how much I wanted too. So instead, I offered him a shaky smile and backed towards the front door. "I'm going to go to Elena's, catch her up on what happened." I told him, avoiding his gaze.

Damon just watched me, a thousand unspoken words passing over his face in a matter of seconds. Then I turned around and walked towards the front door.

*Damon*

He watched Hailey leave, knowing what he wanted to say. But he shouldn't say it, he'd put Hailey through enough already. But still, it came out. He couldn't stop it. He needed to say it to her.

"I love you."

Hailey's entire body froze, stiffening at the words he blurted out. "What did you say?" she breathed.

"I love you, Hailey." He said more firmly, walking towards her. "It's the most selfish thing I've ever said in my life, but I need to say it. I love you."

Slowly, she turned around to face him, her beautiful green eyes wide in shock. Slowly, she shook her head. "Katherine." She whispered. "You love Katherine."

"You never let me answer, when you asked me before, who I choose, you or Katherine. You just assumed that it was Katherine, but I didn't know, Hailey. I do now, though. I love you, Hailey. Not Katherine. I doubt I ever really loved Katherine. Not completely, not really." He said, his hands holding her face.

Hailey shook her head again. "No, Damon. I just- how do I know, that if Katherine ever comes back, you won't throw me to the side for her?" she asked, though she didn't move away from him.

"I guess… I guess you'll just have to trust me. I know that that doesn't mean a lot, after everything I've put you through. But I love you, Hailey. If you can only believe one thing I say, believe that." He told her, before leaning in to kiss her.

The kiss was slow, romantic, and passionate. Damon tried to show Hailey in the kiss how much he loved her, how that it was her, he chose her. After a while, she kissed him back. Just as passionate, just as loving.

"I love you too," she breathed when she pulled away for air. Hailey grinned up at him, before kissing him again, her arms wrapping around his neck.

Finally, they had admitted their love to each other, to themselves. It was about damn time.

~LMF~

A/N: yay! I don't know how many reviews I got, saying "Get Hailey and Damon back together now, dammit!" I hope that I didn't disappoint :)

Thank you to: AudreyDarke96, vdemily, missxsunshine, bloody alanna, Samantha meyers, .destiny, Angelfang, Carrie9586, AubreySalvatore, jacquline, kat, SomebodyWhoCares, Pinkbeca, and Chella8181 for reviewing!

Review pretty please :D

~Abby!