[I made a small change to the end of the last chapter. They're drinking champagne, not wine.]

"We need to talk."

"That's never a good thing to hear," Damien chuckled nervously. You knew he was just trying to lighten the situation, and you appreciated it. Your hands were sweating and shaking, which you were sure went well with your sweatpants and loose-fitting t-shirt. And here Damien was, looking all fancy in his suit. Why would he ever like you?

"I know this isn't the most... significant thing happening-" you started before Damien cut you off.

"No, you have every right to want to talk about this." Of course he was understanding. Your heart fluttered as he spoke. You'd spent the past few years trying to ignore your feelings for him, and now here you were. You weren't sure what to say.  So instead, you handed him the glass you had poured for him.

"Oh, no thank you. You know me, I'm not really a fan of champagne."

You nodded and set it back down on the counter before taking another sip of yours.

"Well then, I, uh... I don't really know where to start. I know what happened. With you, with the Colonel, pretty much everything."

"Yes, I figured. (Y/n), I am so sorry. It was and never will be my intention to hurt you or force you into anything. We were both drunk, and you kissed me and I just couldn't- not to say any of this is your fault, I mean-" Damien was beginning to ramble, and you could tell how nervous he was. Somehow, that gave you a boost of confidence.

"Damien, it's okay. I'm not blaming you for anything that happened. This whole day has been one giant clusterfuck of a disaster, and honestly?" You took one of his hands in yours. "Kissing you last night was the best thing I've done in a long time."

You could see him blushing. You were kind of afraid of this newfound courage, but you felt so sure of yourself in this moment.

"Y-you don't understand," he continued. "The thing is... I don't regret what we did last night."

Your heart felt like it was soaring through the clouds. Right now, this was the only thing that existed to you. This was the only thing that mattered.

"That's what I'm trying to say, you idiot. I'm sorry that it took me so long to regain my memories, and I'm sorry you've had to deal with so much in the past... not even twenty four hours. But last night was the most fun I've had in years. I guess what I'm trying to say here is... neither do I. I know now really isn't the time for any of this, but-"

And then he was kissing you. After a few seconds of surprise, you started kissing back. Fireworks were going off in your heart and even your brain stopped thinking long enough to cheer you on. You forgot about the Colonel, the house, Mark, everything. The only important thing was Damien.

After a minute or two, the two of you broke away. You were both blushing profusely.

"I, uh, I've been wanting to do that all day," Damien admitted. You wrapped your arms around him in a hug.

"And here I thought you didn't like me," you said with a laugh.

"I love you to death but sometimes, you really are quite oblivious."

"Yeah, so I've been told."

You put your hands on his face and kissed him again. However, it didn't last very long. You heard someone in the doorway clear their throat. You quickly pulled away from the kiss, but grabbed Damien's hand.

"Bully!" the Colonel exclaimed. He had a big smile on his face and there was a light in his eyes that you really didn't expect to ever see, with everything going on. "I'm glad that you two are getting along, eh?" He gave Damien a light punch in the shoulder, then winked at you. You were surprised at his lightheartedness, considering everything that had happened in the past day. He didn't seem like a murderer.

"Right, um, my apologies, Will. I just came to see what exactly (y/n), ah, remembered," Damien said, trying to keep his composure.

"Hmph. And I suppose you got distracted along the way?" the Colonel joked. His cheerfulness made you smile. You were thankful for this small break from... everything.

Laughing, you handed him Damien's untouched champagne glass after taking a sip out of yours.

"Ah, thank you!" He drank half of it in one go, which made you laugh again. He was so goofy, it was hard not to like him.

"Ugh, I don't understand how you both can drink that stuff," Damien said, wrinkling his nose. "Personally, I prefer wine."

"Of course you d-" Everything around you ground to a halt. Your eyes widened.

"My dear? Are you alright?" you heard the Colonel ask. Damien squeezed your hand.

"OH!" The sudden understanding felt like a punch to the face.

"What? What is it?" Now both Damien and Will looked concerned.

"Damien, you didn't drink the champagne last night!"

After a few seconds, realization dawned on the Colonel's face.

"That's why he remembers! That's how he knew..." he faltered. "That's how he knew about what I did."

Whatever was left of the happy mood from just a few seconds ago disappeared as the Colonel put his face in his hands.

Damien was struggling to keep up.

"What did the champagne have to do with anything? William, none of this was your fault." He looked to you for help.

"The champagne was drugged. That's why none of us remembered anything, and that's why everyone was so out of control last night. Nobody really understood what was happening," you explained.

It didn't take long for Damien to connect the dots. Suddenly, his eyes hardened.

"Mark didn't drink."

That made sense. In your memories, you never saw Mark with a drink in his hand. Plus, he seemed much more clear-headed.

"This is all my fault. I killed the bloody idiot, and now his body is missing. He was very difficult to love, but I loved him nonetheless. He was... he was like a brother to me." You could tell the Colonel was trying very hard to keep it together. A sad smile formed on his face. "Well, he always said he would haunt me if he died before me. 'The most annoying ghost in the world.' I guess he was right."

"No, Will, I understand what happened!" It was like all the puzzle pieces finally clicked into place. Everything made sense. Why everyone was invited, why the drinks were drugged, even why the Colonel was the one to pull the trigger.

"William, Mark killed himself. He set you up. I saw him put the bullet in your gun, and I saw him make sure he went last. He made sure the gun was in your hand. I think he invited the detective in the hopes that he would match the bullet to your gun. You're in love with Celine, and she's just as in love with you. Celine told me that she used to be married to Mark. Anyone would be jealous and angry if their wife ran off with their best friend, but he was so self-centered that he never stopped to think that it was her choice, not your fault." Your words were speeding up with each passing second as you struggled to collect your thoughts and convey them in a way that made sense. "Colonel, he drugged us all so we wouldn't remember. He drugged us so we wouldn't understand how dangerous the situation was. He killed himself, and it was in no way your fault. Thanks to Damien's hatred for champagne and Celine's skill with the dark arts, we can prove that now." You felt so proud of yourself in that moment. Damien's hand was still in yours and your new friend was innocent, more or less. Everything would be okay.

However, the Colonel still looked concerned. "I appreciate your effort and hard work, but it will never change the fact that I pulled the trigger."

"My dear friend, don't you see what (y/n) is trying to say? You may have physically pulled the trigger, but Mark did this to himself. There was nothing you could have done. He made his choice." Damien let go of you to pull the other man into a hug.

"Will, you're innocent in my book," you added.

"I don't believe our detective friend would agree," he grumbled into Damien's shoulder. "He'll still arrest me for murder." Lightening flashed as Damien pulled away and nod sadly in agreement.

"He was very close friends with Mark, he'll side with him always."

"Then he doesn't have to know," you blurted out.

"What do you mean?" Both Damien and Will looked curious.

"We still haven't investigated the groundskeeper. Who knows, maybe he's the murderer." Again, you felt bad for lying to the detective, but you sure as hell weren't going to let an innocent man rot in jail. Plus, Damien and Celine trusted him. It always came back to that. "We'll question him and then... then we'll figure something out. William, I swear to you, I'm not going to let you go to prison for this. I know Damien and Celine aren't, either. We're all going to get out of this."

The two men shared a look of newfound determination. You had a feeling you did, too.

"Damien, never let her go," the Colonel finally smiled.

You kissed the mayor on the cheek, making him blush. You were hellbent on getting a happy ending.

"Well? Let's put this plan into action."

[LONGER CHAPTER!! I'm still figuring out how I'm going to end this. I have a few ideas, but I haven't quite settled on one yet. Thank you all so much for your love and support. Every comment means so much to me and I wish I could interact with you all more. Again, thank you all for reading my story. I'll see you in the next chapter!]