**Chapter forty nine**

The dinner date

*Hailey*

I felt empty, hollow, like a ghost.

The week following my dad moving on flew by, but I didn't remember most of it. Every day, I did the same thing. I got up- with difficulty- got dressed, went to school, went home, balled my eyes out, and then cried myself to sleep.

It was like my dad died all over again. I felt numb and hollow. I wasn't the same bubbly, loud, sarcastic Hailey. That scared my friends- who had no idea that my dad had left me once again- and it terrified Damon.

At first, he let me cry it out. But after a few days, he tried to get me to talk, to do anything besides lying in my bed all day. He had yet to succeed. Elena had been ignoring me since Saturday, though she had heard through the grapevine that I was a wreck over my dad. She hadn't even texted me.

I didn't have enough energy to wonder why, though. Not even enough to ask Stefan. I figured that she wanted to give me space, which, ironically, wasn't what I wanted. I knew that Damon was trying to distract me, to get me back to normal. But what I really needed was my best friend, who got me through my dad's death the first time.

It was Friday night, and I was in bed watching old Friends reruns. It was my dad's favorite show. I had cried myself dry, and was shaking with silent sobs that hurt your chest. Ellie was curled up on my stomach, and I hugged her to me.

Just then, my new cellphone vibrated. I sluggishly read the text message, and saw that it was from Damon. You need to come over. Now.

I sighed. I didn't feel like moving from my warm, safe bed. I don't feel like it…

I got a response less than a minute later. It wasn't a question, Miss Ellis. I was telling you to get your ass over to my house now, or I'll be forced to come get you myself. And you don't want me to do that.

I groaned, annoyed at Damon. But I knew that he meant business, and would come get me if he had to. I unwillingly got out of bed, and padded into my bathroom. I was in my pajamas, and my eyes were red and bloodshot. My face was puffy, and my hair looked like a disgusting mess.

I managed to get the energy to take a shower, but I skipped the makeup and put my wet hair into a messy bun. I changed into a pair of gray sweatpants and very old, faded Pixies concert tee that my dad got for me and a concert he went to.

I stole my mom's car keys, and drove to Damon's house. I was already missing the safe sanctuary that my bed provided. When I got to the boarding house, I knocked once, before walking right in.

"What's so damn important, Damon? What do you want?" I asked, as I took of my jacket, and closed the door.

I heard music coming from the kitchen, along with an amazing smell. I followed them, as my stomach rumbled. The music grew louder as I got closer to the kitchen. When I walked into the kitchen, I saw a sight that I had seen only a few times before.

Damon Salvatore cooking.

"'Wise men say only fools rush in,

But I can't help falling in love with you,

Shall I stay would it be a sin?

But I can't help falling in love with you.'" He sang along with the radio, as he made chicken fettuccine with broccoli- my favorite. Damon smiled when he saw me. He was chopping up broccoli, and set his knife down, before tossing a dishrag over his shoulder.

"'Because I can't help falling in love with you.'" He sang, as he pulled me to him, and started spinning us around slowly around the kitchen.

I struggled, but Damon was stronger than me, and I eventually gave in. I allowed him to sway us around the room, and I rested my head on his shoulders and wrapped my arms around his neck.

"You made me dinner?" I mumbled, touched his unexpected kindness.

"One of my many talents." He remarked, kissing the top of my head.

"You're listening to Elvis?"

"He is the king of rock and roll, Hailey." He said, as if I dared to say a thing against Elvis.

"I would never have pegged you for a fan of Elvis." I admitted, closing my eyes. For the first time since my dad disappeared in my room, that hollowness that was eating me alive, was slowly leaving me.

"One of the many surprising things about me, Hails." Damon said dryly.

I flinched at the nickname, and Damon frowned. I stiffened in his arms, and he slowly realized that he had screwed up.

"Hailey-" he sighed, and I pulled out of his arms, my eyes burning with tears that threatened to boil over.

"It was a nice thought Damon, but I just can't right now." I mumbled, walking away from him.

Damon appeared in front of me suddenly, grabbing my shoulders so that I couldn't run away. "Hailey, do you really think that your dad would've wanted you to be like this? You're like a zombie. It's been a week. You're going to call me an insensitive dick, but it's time to move on." He said a little harshly.

I glared at him. "I can't just 'move on' from my dad's death, Damon. Unlike you, I was actually close with my father." I snapped.

My words had no effect on him. "He's been dead for two years, Hailey. It's not like you're new to not seeing him every day." he said, and I flinched.

"Just let me go home, Damon." I mumbled.

Damon frowned at me, but let me go. He walked back into the kitchen to tend to the food. "You know that I'm right, Hailey. You can't spend the rest of your life acting like a zombie. So you can go home and mope, or you can stay and have dinner with me. Your choice." He said, before disappearing into the kitchen.

I stared at where he disappeared, and sighed. He was right, I couldn't act like this forever. I imagined what dad would say if he were here. He'd tell me to go thank the man who simply refused to give up on me, and pray that he never would.

I walked up to Damon, and wrapped my arms around his waist. "I love you." I mumbled into his back, before I let go and sat down at the table.

Twenty minutes later, Damon set down a plate of food in front of me. I was actually smiling, and that hollowness was almost completely gone. His dinner date plan was working. I took a bite, and felt my taste buds die and go to heaven. "You should definitely cook for me more often." I said, as I took a sip of my drink.

"You're going to have to earn that." Damon smirked, sitting down next to me.

I smirked back, but then frowned slightly. "Why'd you learn to cook if you don't have to eat?" I asked curiously.

Damon shrugged. "When you live forever, things get boring. Some vampires get a thousand degrees, I learned how to cook."

I smiled slightly, as I devoured my plate of food. Suddenly, a random question blurted from my lips. I remembered Victoria trying to piss off Damon by saying it to him, and I wondered if it was true.

"Do I make you feel human, Damon?"

His blue eyes widened slightly. "Where'd that come from?" he asked.

I shrugged, and waited for him to answer. It took him so long, that I thought that he wasn't going to until he said quietly, "I haven't felt as human as I do when I'm with you since I was human."

I knew by the tone of his voice that it was hard for him to admit that I brought out his humanity. "I don't know if that's good or not." He added suddenly. "Humanity is a vampire's greatest weakness. You're my greatest weakness."

Damon said it as if he just realized it, but I had known that for a while. "I've always been your greatest weakness, Damon." I told him.

He stared at me, as I pushed my empty plate away. "Yeah, my love for you is my greatest weakness, and the fact that I allowed that to change me just shows how weak I've become." he said bitterly, and I frowned at him.

"I don't expect you to change for me, Damon." I said quietly. I felt like this conversation had turned very serious very fast.

"I already have, Hailey," he said, sounding resigned. "Sometimes, I worry that I'm not who you need me to be."

My eyes widened at his revealed fear. I gave him a meaningful look. "I don't expect you to become some goody two shoes for me, Damon. I don't need you to be that. And yes, you did change, and excuse me for sounding cheesy, love changed you. Love is a weakness, but it's a strength too."

I stood up and put my dirty plate in the sink. Our talk about Damon's humanity had riled me up. Damon stood up and pulled me into a kiss, as if he could kiss all of our problems away. I kissed him back, before pulling away.

"Did you really let a girl ruin your relationship with Stefan?" I blurted out.

"What, is this 'talk about all of Damon's problems' night?" he asked, sounding irritated.

"Didn't you get the memo? It's right after 'fix Hailey's dead daddy issues' dinner." I said sarcastically.

He sighed, and poured himself a glass of bourbon. "Yeah, I guess I did."

"Well, that's pretty stupid of you." I said bluntly, as I hopped up on the counter.

"It's not too different from the fact that you're lying to Elena about us because you know that'll it be the end of your friendship when she finds out." Damon countered.

I frowned. "I love you, it's different."

"And I thought that I loved Katherine." He said, and I followed him into the living room.

"So you don't care about Stefan anymore? You've basically disowned him as your brother?" I pushed.

Damon snorted. "Stefan and I haven't acted like brothers since 1864." He said evasively.

"You didn't answer my question, Damon. Because you know that you still love him as your brother. And no matter how many times you two have threatened to kill each other, you could never do it. So how about the both of you grow up and try to fix your relationship." I said.

"Gee, thanks for the advice Dr. Phil." He said sarcastically.

I smirked at him, as he sat down in a chair, and I perched on the arm. "But since you brought up Elena, she's acting weird, avoiding me. Very un-Elena-like." I said, as I stole his drink.

Suddenly, it occurred to me. "She knows."

Damon frowned at me as I stood up. "What?"

"Elena knows about us!" I exclaimed, realizing that I was screwed.

"That's not good." He said, his eyes slightly wide.

"No, it's not." I said, starting to pace the room.

"Hailey, relax." Damon said, suddenly appearing in front of me.

"I need to talk to her," I muttered, looking up at Damon. He looked concerned, since we both knew what I was about to face.

I kissed him quickly. "I'll call you later. Pray that Elena doesn't murder me." I said, before running out of the door.

"Good luck." Damon called, frowning slightly.

He knew that Hailey was willing to end her friendship with Elena for him, but he didn't like the pain that would cause her if she did. Suddenly, Stefan walked in through the front door, causing Damon to think about Hailey's earlier words.

He had a lot of thinking to do.

~LMF~

A/N: thank you to: Samantha meyers, OBSESSEDwithPOWERS, Kelsey,

SomebodyWhoCares, CassieSalvatore, jacquline, and Kimmy W. Smith for reviewing!