Chapter 43

Damon's POV

It had been two days since Caroline's birthday and I'd only just left Mystic Falls.

It was only ever meant to be a quick turnaround trip: go to Mystic Falls, enjoy the party, then go straight back to San Francisco where my girlfriend Charlotte would be waiting, and on we'd go with our lives. Except before leaving I'd broken up with Charlotte, and then had made a right mess of things in Mystic Falls.

Why had I broken up with her you ask? A perfectly lovely woman who was crazy about me, what possible reason could I have to end that short but so-far-successful relationship? Because of Elena Gilbert of course. Because I knew that I was going to see her for the first time in two years at Caroline's birthday after she'd conveniently double booked every single event where we could have coincided since we started ignoring each other two years ago.

I was angry at her for stopping talking to me for essentially no reason when we agreed to stay in each other's lives. Looking back it was ridiculous of us to think we could do that, while not being together, while promising not to date anyone else. Then I was mad at her for dating someone else which, in my defence, she did seem to do very quickly, and without mentioning anything to me. But most of all I was mad about the fact that, not for a day since we started ignoring each other (or before that point for that matter), had I not been completely in love with her. Which then made the fact that she moved on so fast even more irritating. And, although I'd seen people myself, made it quite impossible to really move on.

So, despite all the anger and the irritation and the fact that I was 100% certain, despite Nik and Caroline's insistence that I was wrong, she wanted nothing to do with me. Despite all that I decided to break up with a perfectly nice girl, come back to my home town, and try and get her back. Because the unavoidable fact, which I'd try to ignore time and time again, was that I wanted to be with her. And there was a part of me that thought I had a shot. I just needed to know for sure.

Clearly, this diabolical plan did not run smoothly. And why would that be? Simply put, because I was an idiot, and she was an idiot, and most of all, Mason Lockwood was an idiot. Why did it always come back to him? I don't think I ever really expected the plan to work to be perfectly honest, and as soon as I saw her I became quite incapable of remembering even what said plan was. Every time I saw her through the night, apart from the surprise first encounter, she'd been surrounded by people and I didn't exactly want to make a scene or pull her away from them. Not to mention I was nervous as hell. But then I'd seen her slip out of the kitchen and thought that finally, finally I might have a chance to have a conversation with her. But before I could try and subtly follow her, who gets in there ahead of me but my least favourite home town acquaintance, Mason fucking Lockwood.

As soon as he'd left the room I was fuming, catching Niks eye across the room and saw him make a face as he started towards me, almost like a wince as if he knew I'd just lost. With his girlfriend (soon-to-be fiancé, as he'd informed me a couple hours earlier) dancing on the counter, a small crowd of people dancing around her, cheering and having the time of their lives, none noticed the tension rising in my little corner. Stepping outside and angrily lighting another cigarette (god I'd smoked a lot) "You have to be fucking kidding me."

"What're you waiting for mate." He said in an exasperated tone.

"What do you want me to do? She's clearly interested in him."

"How many times do we have to tell you that she isn't? You're both complete idiots. If you want her back, go and find her, don't let Mason get in the way. Get a grip mate."

And so that's just what I did, following the sound of their laughter until I found them looking cosy in a dark room, speaking quietly. By the time I saw them there I was so completely pissed off that I couldn't just walk away and pretend I hadn't seen it. No I had to make a scene. In hindsight, I knew I had no right to be mad at her, realistically I'd given her no reason to think I was interested in getting back together. But seriously, after everything that happened with him, Mason Lockwood? What just added to the anger was the fact that I was pretty damn embarrassed that I'd been about to put myself out there, all the while she was cosying up to him. Not to mention I was really quite drunk by this point.

But it was the look in her eyes…just before Caroline interrupted us. When I'd furiously told her that I didn't care. She looked so shocked, for a moment I swore she was about to cry.

Now why would she be upset if she didn't care?

I'd spent the past two days trapped in Nik's house, having both him and Caroline berate and lecture me about everything I'd done wrong. And when they couldn't get through to me they called Bonnie over, and then Matt, and Rebekah, and Kol, and then even Jeremy and Anna. Only after all those lectures and heated debates was I finally convinced that all of this had been for no reason. It had all been pointless. All the flings and relationships to distract myself and get over her. All the tension and the pain of not being able to talk to her. Because we'd been in the same boat the whole time. She still felt the same way. She wanted to be together too.

So now I was on a train, on my way to New York, to take one last stand.

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Elena's POV

It was a beautiful day in the city. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, there was a gentle breeze in the air. Central Park wasn't too busy as I ran my usual route, Tully bounding along beside me, occasionally darting off to sniff around in the bushes or chase a squirrel. He'd never caught one yet but I was always fearful that one day he would. I can't imagine how either of us would react if and when that happened.

Having returned to the city yesterday evening, I'd spent last night ranting, complaining, laughing and crying to Lexi, Rose and Jake, about you-know-who.

Mr. I Don't Care.

After a lot of tequila, and a lot of dancing, I woke up this morning feeling honestly horrific, barely able to move for the headache. But beneath the queasiness was a new motivation; it was going to get better. For the past two years I'd pretended like I was over it and used other guys to try my best to get over it but it hadn't worked. I think it was because a part of me had always had hope that he might change his mind: that he might suddenly show up on my doorstep and tell me he wanted to be with me. But that hope was smashed to pieces two nights ago and that is fine by me. Or at least it would be. Now, with such solid confirmation that whatever was there was gone and never coming back because he didn't care, I could finally be over it.

But the thing that was bugging me, the reason that I still clung onto that small, truly pathetic hope, was that look at the end. The flicker of something like concern in his eyes when he'd seen me almost get upset. What was he doing to say before Caroline had interrupted? But that was ridiculous and I was pathetic and I just needed to get over it and stop overthinking it. Clearly, two years down the line, that was easier said than done.

I had music blasting in my ears, some quick, repetitive beat, the perfect bpm for my pace. It was like meditation, losing myself in my head and the thumping music for an hour or so. The route I ran was the same one I'd been running since I was about 16 so I knew it like the back of my hand. I didn't need to focus, I didn't take in the things or the people around me. Having Tully alongside me made them more exciting, but also forced me to be slightly more spatially aware as I at least had to keep an eye on him. Luckily so as he burst out of the bushes, almost tripping me up, faltering in my step but laughing as the big puppy fell into step beside me, bounding up and down as he looked adoringly up at me, tongue lolling out the side of his mouth.

Taken out of my thoughts, still with a smile on my face at my pet's antics, I looked ahead again, we were just approaching the Oak Bridge. There weren't many people around, a couple taking a photo, a mother walking with a pram, a man leaning against the railing.

Wait-

My step faltered, bring me to a slow stop, staring at the man who was staring right back at me.

What was he doing here?

My heart, already racing from the exercise, picked up into overdrive.

What was Damon Salvatore doing in New York? What was he doing here, on my route? How were we bumping into each other here? We'd managed to avoid each other for two years and now twice in one week?

Tully seemed to sense something was wrong, quickly picking up on what he must've perceived to be a threat. Huskies were protective dogs, very attached to their owners; he was approaching full size now and with the adolescence came that protective instinct it seemed. His hackles rose, placing himself in front of me, glaring at my former boyfriend. His growl snapped me out of my shocked state, looking down at him, then back up at Damon who was looking back at the dog warily.

Stepping forward, I rested a hand on the back of his neck, "Relax Tul," I murmured, feeling his hackles go down as I scratched behind his ear but he was still on high alert. Crouching down beside him, he finally tore his eyes away to press his wet nose to my face, then down to my hand where I gave him a treat. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Damon step closer. I took a deep breath before standing, wiping the dog slobber off my cheek, and then facing him.

"Hi."

I was too shocked to really say anything, "Hi."

"Nice dog."

My eyes widened slightly in shock. Nice dog? What the hell was going on? "What are you doing here Damon?"

He seemed nervous, but not shocked. Had he planned this? How? How would he know where I'd be? The only people that knew I ran this route were Lexi, Rose and Jake, and only because they sometimes joined. Had he just chosen a random spot in the city and hoped for the best? Or was it just an unlikely coincidence? "I needed to talk to you."

Why? Why would he need to talk to me?

We were still a couple of metres apart, and the tension between us was stifling. That was until a group of runners charged between us, one making a rude comment about me being in the way. I frowned, muttering something like an apology and moving to the side of the bridge where Damon stood, keeping a good distance away still. "I couldn't leave things like they were at Caroline's."

"Yes, you could. What more needs to be said." It was over, I was fine with it, I was about to go on with my life and be fine. Why did he have to come back and make it complicated again. "God, why do you have to make this so difficult?" And as I said it my voice began to break a little, digging my nails into my palms to fight back the onslaught of emotions.

His brow furrowed slightly as if in concern, but it couldn't be concern because he didn't care, "Elena-" He started, taking a step closer but I put out a hand to stop him.

"No Damon this isn't fair. You can't tell me you don't care and then come here-"

"-but that's the thing, I do. I was drunk and angry I didn't mean it when I said that. Not like that. I couldn't leave it with you thinking that I don't care. Hell, Elena we broke up two years ago because we were on opposite ends of the country and long distance was difficult not because our feelings changed. And they're still the same now."

I froze, confused. What was he saying? "What's still the same now?"

He sighed, looking exasperated, and shook his head with a small smile as he spoke, "We've got ourselves into a right mess Els." God, I felt like I was on the verge of tears, not following at all. Seeing that he took another step closer, if he reached forward now he'd be able to touch me. Another step, I was looking up at him now, confused and almost terrified of what he was going to say next. My heart was racing as he reached up to move a flyaway strand of hair from my face, and then his thumb grazed the side of my face and my breath caught for a second. The corner of his mouth turned up slightly before he spoke quietly, "I love you." As he finished saying it I released a breath I hadn't realised I'd been holding, feeling like I was about to hyperventilate, everything crashing in at once. I felt my eyes water again, staring into his but too shocked to say anything. He reached both hands up, framing my face, saying it again, "I love you Elena. I always have, you have to know that." And I think a part of me did.

Drawing in a shaky breath as a tear spilt down my face, I shook my head, "But I thought-" I cut myself off before expressing my obvious confusion. How had I been wrong? Wouldn't someone have told me if he still felt the same? No, now that I think of it they wouldn't, because they weren't allowed to mention him around me. "Really?"

He smirked, taking a step slightly closer, his thumbs wiping the runaway tears from my cheeks, "Really."

"Oh."

"Tell me you feel the same." It was more of a statement than a question, but there was an unmistakable flicker of fear in his eyes as he looked down at me.

I couldn't help but look at him in something like wonder. This was what I'd wanted to hear since the day we'd broken up. The shock of it all finally happening had me reacting so slow, I felt like I was floating, that this was all some sort of elaborate daydream. That any second now I'd wake up lying on the path about 100 metres back because I hadn't managed to avoid Tully jumping out the bushes. That I'd get up and go on with my run, crossing the bridge as uneventfully as I did every other day. But that didn't happen and this was real. Damon was here, in New York, two years later, telling me that he loved me. And with that realisation a smile crept across my lips, and as he saw it he started to smile too, as if he knew exactly what I was about to say.

"Oh Damon…" My hands rose to gently rest on his chest, taking a small step closer. "I love you too."

The End!

Many years later, it's finally done! Thanks to everyone who stuck with it! Hope you enjoyed :)