**Chapter forty three**

Forgive and forget

*Hailey*

I stayed in my room the entire night, hoping that Damon would show up and apologize. He never did. In the morning, I got dressed and ready for school. I felt lazy, tired, and moody after my and Damon's pretty big fight.

I wasn't angry anymore; I actually sort of saw where Damon was coming from. I would never, ever let him hang out with an exe who I thought was into him. My pride was keeping me from calling him, but I was half-considering ditching school to go see him. Elena and Stefan picked me up, and I managed to make small talk with them.

"I'm surprised that the tomb vampires haven't attacked lately." Stefan commented, as he drove us to school.

"It's us; we've slowed down their plans. We should expect them to attack Mathew Lockwood at the masquerade on Friday." I said in a monotone.

Elena raised an eyebrow at me. "Are you okay, Hailey?"

I nodded. "Yeah, just really tired." I lied.

I made it through first period without thinking about Damon, but on my way to second, he popped into my head randomly. I sighed, as I felt my heartache come back to me, the one question that had been haunting me since I slammed my bedroom door shut was bouncing around my mind.

Were Damon and I over?

I sat down at a picnic table, and pulled my cellphone out, considering texting him. Maybe Damon and I were just two people that weren't meant for relationships. Maybe we just didn't work as a couple. But that didn't change how much I loved him.

"Hey, Hailey." Matt said, sitting down next to me. "What's wrong?"

I looked at Matt, and the question spilled out of my mouth before I could stop and think about it. "If Caroline wanted to hang out with an exe who she didn't have feelings for, how would you feel?"

Matt paused for a second, considering my question. "I wouldn't like it." He said finally. "I wouldn't trust the guy not to make a move on her. And honestly, I'd be terrified that she would get old feelings back for him, and break up with me. I would be afraid of losing her."

"Would that cause you to become a jealous dick?" I asked.

He smiled slightly. "Yeah, probably. I think every guy becomes a jealous dick when it comes to the girl they love. I mean, you heard that quote. 'Jealousy is nothing more than a fear of abandonment.'" He said.

I took a deep breath and stood up. "Thanks Matt. Can I borrow your truck?" I asked.

"Can I ask why?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I need to go save a relationship."

*Damon*

"Ugh, go away."

Damon groaned, as the sun hit him. It didn't burn him, but it made his hangover a hell of a lot worse. Stefan had gone into his room and pulled open the curtains. If Damon wasn't hungover, he would've stabbed his brother.

"Wake up; we need to start planning on how to kill the tomb vampires. I don't like how quiet they're being right now." He said.

"Why do I care again?" Damon asked, putting his pillow over his face.

"Because Elena and Hailey are in serious danger. I thought that we've moved on from you pretending that you don't care about Hailey, but if we didn't, the tomb vampires want us dead too." Stefan told his brother.

Damon grunted, but felt his heart drop at the mention of Hailey. "Can't this wait until I'm completely sober?" he asked, hiding his reaction to the mention of his fairy.

"I saw you sneaking in that blonde last night. Where is she? Hopefully not in a ditch somewhere." Stefan said, ignoring his brother's earlier words.

"Back in her dorm. If you must know brother, we didn't do anything. I was too drunk." Damon sat up and stretched. He was shirtless, but he had his pants on.

"Mm hmm." Stefan said, not believing him. He left, leaving Damon by himself.

It was true, Damon brought the blonde from the bar home. But he didn't do anything, didn't even kiss her. All he could think about was Hailey. Even if he wasn't meant for relationships, he couldn't do that to her. His conscience- which sounded a lot like Elena- was on high in his head, telling him not to screw up what he had with Hailey, or he would regret it forever.

Damon put a shirt on, and grabbed his wallet and keys. He was going to win back Hailey, and he knew where to start.

*Hailey*

I walked up to the boarding house, trying to put an apology together in my head. I knocked on the door, at the same it opened to reveal Damon. He was holding a bouquet of sunflowers, and a bottle of bourbon, two of my favorite things.

He froze when he saw me, and I smiled slightly up at him. "Who are those for?" I asked, knowing very well that they were for me.

Damon looked down at the things in his hands, and then not-so ceremoniously shoved them into my arms. "I was hoping that these would soften you up, so that I could win you back." Damon said casually.

I grinned at him smugly. "Just say it, Damon." I was acting like a child.

He rolled his eyes, and I knew why he was having trouble, because I sucked at apologizing too. It wasn't like us, to admit that we were wrong. "I'm sorry. You're right. I'm wrong. I love you." He said, repeating the apology he used last night.

"I was looking for something more specific, but that'll do." I murmured, before stretching up to kiss him.

Damon tasted like alcohol, and I pulled away. I hoped that I wouldn't have to apologize now that he had. "Wait, why are you here?" he asked, his eyebrows furrowed.

A saw something like fear flash in his eyes, and I knew for a second that Damon thought I came here to end us. I shook my head quickly, not wanting to say the words. He relaxed, while I sighed.

"I sort of, maybe, came here to apologize to you for freaking out over how; apparently, most guys would react if their girlfriend's exe wanted to hang out with them. We're normal, who knew?" I said, biting my lip.

Damon smirked at me, and said, "Just say it, Hailey."

I sighed, and mumbled, "I'm sorry. You're right. I'm wrong. I love you."

"I was looking for something more specific, but that'll do." Damon smirked at me. Then, he picked me up off of the ground, and kissed me.

We uncoordinatedly made it to the couch, my legs wrapped around his waist. I set my apology gifts on the table, so that we wouldn't ruin them. Then I straddled Damon's waist, as his hands crept up my shirt, towards my bra.

Suddenly, it disappeared, and I was off of Damon. I opened my eyes, and looked at him question. He looked guilty, and I felt my stomach sink.

"What did you do, Damon?" I asked, picturing Derek's body buried in a shallow grave.

Then Damon's old nature occurred to me, and I felt hurt and betrayal boil up inside of me. "More like, who did you do?" I muttered, feeling like I got punched in the stomach.

Damon's head snapped up to face me. "I didn't sleep with anyone, but I almost did." He told me quickly. I relaxed, glad that he didn't bang some bar skank, but it still stung that he thought about it.

"What stopped you?" I asked, pushing my bangs out of my face.

"My damn conscience, turns out I have one of those after all. It sounds a lot like Elena." He said.

I grinned. "Yours too?"

He looked at me, gaging my reaction. He saw that I wasn't mad, and relaxed. "It's probably because she's the most moral person that we know." Damon explained, as I crawled back onto his lap.

I wasn't angry that Damon almost cheated on me, just a little stung. I was glad that he didn't, and that he felt guilty about it. Plus, he had the balls to tell me about it. But, if he ever did cheat on me, I would kick his ass into the next century.

I kissed Damon softly, my hands unbuttoning his shirt. I was worried that Stefan or Elena might walk in on us, but I figured that we would move to Damon's bedroom fast enough. Besides, my two friends were the last thing on my mind, as Damon unbuttoned my jeans.

Suddenly, I heard the front door open at the same time Damon did, despite his super hearing. We both sprang away from each other before the intruder could really see anything, but anyone could draw the right conclusion from the smudged lipstick, unbuttoned clothes, and heavy breathing.

Stefan stared at us unbelievably, his eyes wide. He stared hard at his brother, as I awkwardly hooked my bra back on. After a moment's silence, Stefan casually said, "I'm not telling Elena," before he walked out of the house.

~LMF~

A/N: I didn't have it in me, to have Damon cheat on Hailey. I don't know if some would consider it more in character, for him to bang the bar skank, but I think they've been through too much, and have too much ahead, for them to take that blow to their relationship. Besides, it would take a hell of a long time for Hailey to forgive him, maybe forever.

Thank you to: CassieSalvatore, Carrie9586, Kelsey, Samantha meyers, aireagle92, SomebodyWhoCares, jacquline, and vdemily for reviewing!

Be a dear, and review :)

~Abby!