𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙋𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙏𝙒𝙀𝙉𝙏𝙔 𝙏𝙒𝙊
ミ★ ( lion and the lamb, act one ) ★彡

Hazel is more worried about Jeremy than anything. She knows that he was extremely torn up about Vicki's disappearance that it drove him crazy until Damon had compelled him to not look for her or think too much about her—and to think she had run away rather than died. But, now that the whole town knows that Vicki Donovan is dead because Caroline had accidentally stumbled across her dead body that Damon had buried months ago during the storm, it had made him spiral completely. He's thinking about how it could've happened because the Sheriff's department had ruled it as an accidental overdose because of her history, but Jeremy refuses to accept that ruling (and he's correct to because it wasn't) because someone had taken the time to bury her in the woods. He's convinced it was murder, and unfortunately for him, he's correct. Hazel just isn't sure how to tell him that without uncovering everything there has to do with vampires along with it.

Hazel had spent the weekend consoling Jeremy despite her nightmares and the pain her body was in still. Her back was covered in a large and ugly purple bruise that reminded her of the ones on her chest after the accident from having CPR performed on her to bring her back to life. They were ugly and painful, but it reminded her that she was still alive. Some days it was a good thing, but some days, it filled her with sorrow because her parents weren't.

Monday had rolled around quickly unfortunately, and as much as Hazel wanted to cocoon herself into bed and sleep the day away since she spent the weekend consoling Jeremy and Matt about Vicki, both at home and at the funeral, Hazel felt like she wasn't restful nor prepared for the week. But, unfortunately, school doesn't care about personal lives or vampires because she has a test she needs to be in class for.

Hazel was walking down the stairs towards the front door with Elena by her side, "Come on, Jeremy, going to school!" Hazel yells out at Jeremy, who was up in his room, because if he doesn't go with them, he has to walk or catch the bus since he doesn't have his licence, "We're walking out the door now!"

Jenna chased after the twins, handing Elena a thermos that had fresh coffee in it, "You forgot this."

"Thank you." Elena says gratefully.

Hazel opens the door and her smile drops. If she wasn't prepared for school, she definitely wasn't prepared for the person standing on the other side of her door; who was just about to knock and smiling at her and Elena like it was just yesterday that they saw him, "Girls!"

"Uncle John, hi." Hazel responds tightly. She feels so awkward around him because everyone in the family detests him—and rightfully so, he can be an asshole.

Uncle John looks over at Jenna, "Jenna." He greets.

"John, you made it." Jenna comments tensely also. She wished he hadn't.

"I said I'll be here before noon." He says as he enters the house and Hazel looks over at Jenna to wonder why they had been speaking long enough to know that he was coming to town.

"Oh, what you say and what you do are typically two very different things." Jenna replies. She hates John more than anyone and it has something to do with their history, but the twins had never really found out why.

Jeremy had started walking down the stairs and he stops just before the landing like he's staring at a hallucination, "Uncle John, what's up?" He says before continuing on outside, slapping him on the shoulder before exiting the house towards Elena's car.

"I had some business in town; I thought that a visit was in order." John tells the twins and Jenna.

"How long are you staying?" Elena asks, trying to sound interested and polite.

"I don't know yet." John replies and Hazel internally sighs. Great. Just great.

The awkward tension in the room was just palpable and Hazel wants to leave immediately, "Okay, well, we're gonna go to school, we'll see you later." She says, grabbing onto Elena's arm and pulling her out of the house.

As they leave, the twins share a look with Jenna before she closes the door behind them. Why the hell was he here and why can't he leave already?

      After history class, Mr. Saltzman had requested to speak to Hazel and Elena after class about something. He said it was important and it had to do with Jeremy, which made Hazel nervous because he's already on the edge which made her wonder, "What's going on, Mr. Saltzman?" Hazel asks as she stood in front of him after class, the rest of the students had already left the class and now it was just her, Elena and him left.

       Alaric sat on the desk to regretfully ask, "Does... does Jeremy know about vampires?"

        Hazel and Elena blink in shock, "No, I mean I don't think he does... he shouldn't—he can't." Elena answered. Damon compelled away the only memories he has of vampires he has from when Vicki attacked him, and Stefan had told her and Elena that Anna also compelled his memories away, "Why do you think that he does?"

     Alaric sighs and reaches over and hands Hazel a small stack of papers which was clearly an essay, "I made a copy of a paper Jeremy wrote for me. I think you two should take a look at it." He tells them.

     Hazel looks down at the paper and reads the title.

Fact or Fiction: The Truth About Vampires in Mystic Falls

      Hazel looks up at Alaric in shock as she hands Elena the paper for her to look at, "Jeremy wrote this?" Hazel asks in disbelief.

       "He's very clear that he didn't think it was real." Alaric assures them both, although he didn't really believe Jeremy's statement because if he didn't think it was real, he would've never wrote about it.

       Elena lets out a shaky breath, "I really hope you're right because we've done so much to protect him from all of this." She says as she hands back the paper.

       Alaric puts the paper behind him and sighs, "So, how do you deal with it?"

       Elena looks confused as she asks, "What do you mean?"

       "With all the lies and the secrets." Alaric elaborates and Elena taken aback at the question, "You have to lie to everyone who's important to you."

       "Well, not everyone, thankfully." Hazel says as she looks over at Elena with a small smile. She would've gone crazy if she was in it alone. Elena can only half return the gesture. Hazel turns back to look at Alaric to answer his question, "But, it's not safe for them to know the truth. So, yes we keep it from them, but it's only because we love them—that's how we keep up with the secrets; to protect them." She wants to protect her friends and family from this world and from being attacked like she and Elena have ever since they entered it, and she wants to protect Stefan from being exposed (and in turn, Damon as well, even though she doesn't like him too much). It's hard keeping secrets, but it's better than seeing the ones she loves get physically hurt or killed. Thankfully, she has Elena by her side through it all.

      There's a pause before Alaric nods and stands up from his desk, "I think Stefan is a good guy." He says and Hazel nods in agreement, "But... at the end of the day, he's still a vampire."

       The older Gilbert nods again. She understands his perspective as a vampire hunter, he's taught to not like them, and she's impressed that he can admit that Stefan is good, "I know it's hard to understand, but Stefan is different. He would never do anything to hurt me."

      He promised it to her, and Hazel believes him. Things will be different this time, she's sure of it.

     "Why would Jeremy write a report on vampires? Do you think he's starting to remember?" She asks Stefan as she was lying on her bed in her room later that night, cuddling a pillow to her chest. She didn't know who else to ask besides him on the subject, and she's concerned about Jeremy's mental health. She can't imagine it working in top notch when his mind has been fiddled with, and she's concerned he doesn't know what is reality anymore.

       Stefan shakes his head, "Damon took away those memories for good, you don't have to worry about that." He assures her and Hazel brings a hand up to rub her neck anxiously as she nods, trusting his word. Stefan tucks a piece of hair behind her ear, "I tell you what: why don't you just ask him?"

       Hazel looks at him in disbelief and shakes her head, "I... I can't."

       "Why not?" Stefan asks, "I mean if he doesn't know anything then it's just an innocent question."

      "Things have changed between Jeremy and I. I mean, we used to be a lot more open with each other because I wanted him to come to me when he was going through stuff instead of bottling it up, but, as of recently, he doesn't talk to me as much anymore." Hazel explains with a defeated sigh, "I'm worried about him, and because of that, I don't even know how to talk to him anymore—and I especially don't want him to think that I'm judging him or belittling him."

        His schoolwork has always been a touchy subject for him, and Hazel has always tried to help him as best she can when he wants her help; and she doesn't want him to think that she's judging his choice of essay subject because it's non conventional, especially since it's the first essay he's written that he's actually put effort into. She doesn't want to discourage his progress.

       Stefan smiles at her compassion, "I don't think you have a judgemental or belittling bone in your body for that to be possible."

       Hazel sends him a flat look as she points out, "I judge Damon all the time."

       Stefan chuckles as he plays with her hair, "Yeah, but that's different—it's Damon." He jokes but she only huffs as a response. He sighs, "Look, maybe you just need to open up to Jeremy first. He could be nervous to make the first move since it's been so long, he might appreciate you doing it first." He advises and she looks up at him. She doesn't even know what to open up to Jeremy about without it being about vampires. Just as if he read her mind, Stefan elaborates, "I'm not saying you should tell him everything, but, at least try to find out what he does know and be prepared for it."

     Hazel smiles appreciatively at his advice and mentally agrees to organise some time with Jeremy to catch up like they used to. Although she's worried about Jeremy, she's also worried about Stefan. He's been acting slightly different ever since he had human blood, and she's concerned. He hasn't been going off from his word, he's been such a caring and present person to her. But, there's something off in the way he is with himself; she just doesn't want to press in case he's not ready to talk about it yet, but all she can do is ask. She reaches up to rub his shoulder, "What about you, how are you doing?"

     "I'm much, much better." He assures her with a smile, "I'm still, you know... a little jittery, a little bit on edge, but, I'm gonna be okay."

      Hazel sits up to hug him, "I've been really worried about you and I missed you." She frowns into his neck. It's weird not seeing him at school, especially when it's her favourite part of the day.

      "I just needed to lay low for a little while and let my body readjust." He says understandingly before pulling apart to smirk teasingly, "It's only been a few days."

      Hazel pouts, "I know, it just feels like a lifetime."

      Stefan presses a kiss to her pouted lips, "I've missed you, too."

      Hazel smiles and deepens the kiss. Stefan lays Hazel onto the bed and she rolls over to get on top of him to kiss him deeper. She wants more of him, she craves him.

     After a moment, Stefan rolls her back over so he's on top rather aggressively and she lets out a small giggle from how fast it was. He stops kissing her and she looks at him with concern, "Stefan, what's wrong?" She asks, "Stefan?"

      His face starts transforming and before she knows it, he throws himself back against the wall, breaking a lamp in the process to get a hold of himself while Hazel can only watch him in shock.

      The next morning, there's a knock on the door and Hazel opens it to see Damon. In any normal case, she'd be annoyed to see him, but this time, she's relieved, "Oh, good, you're here." She exhales. Stefan had left her room in a hurry and she hadn't seen or spoken to him since the night before. It's odd behaviour from him and she's concerned; he hasn't done something like this since before she knew he was a vampire. Hazel turned to Elena for advice, but her twin let her know it was out of her league and maybe they needed to turn to Damon for help.

      She wasn't happy about it, but she knew it was the right decision.

      "You ask, I come." Damon replies as he enters the home, "I'm easy like that."

      Hazel rolls her eyes as she shuts the door, "Gross." She comments before telling him to shush. She doesn't want Damon to say anything vampire related as Jeremy was in the other room having breakfast.

       Damon sees Jeremy eating in the kitchen and says loudly, "No, Hazel, I will not go to your bedroom with you."

       "Shut up." Hazel grits as she grabs Damon's arm to drag him upstairs while he laughs. Jeremy could only look over at them in confusion.

       Hazel drags Damon to her bedroom where Elena was already waiting for them. He looks around the room and says, "I swear I've had a similar dream about this situation once before..."

       Hazel and Elena's nose turns up in disgust, "Ew, Damon." Hazel groans, "Stop messing around."

      Damon lays on Hazel's bed and takes the teddy bear off the pillow and holds it to his chest, "Did you know that your uncle has been kicking it with the Founders' Council?"

       "What?" They say in unison.

       "Yep."

       Hazel puts a tight smile on her face, "Perfect, we'll just add it to the growing list of how everything is falling apart." She stresses, running a hand through her hair.

      Damon then notices the broken lamp and points an arm of the teddy bear towards it, "What happened right there?"

       Hazel looks over at it and blushes slightly, "Uh... nothing." She lies uncomfortably and both he and Elena look at her knowing she's lying. The older Gilbert sighs in defeat, "Look, Damon, I'm worried about Stefan. He says that everything's okay but he's clearly struggling. How long is it gonna take before he goes back to normal?"

       "A few days, give or take."

       "It's been a few days." Elena points out and Hazel nods in agreement.

       "Give then, I don't know." Damon shrugs, "What's the big deal?" He asks as he gets up and passes her the teddy bear.

       "He's not himself, Damon." Hazel says as she holds onto the bear, "I'm worried."

      Damon goes toward the dresser, opens the drawer and looks in it, "Well, maybe his problem is that he has spent too long not being himself."

      Hazel can't say anything back because Damon's right. Maybe that version of him is the real him. He takes a bra from the drawer and Hazel takes it from him and put it back in the drawer, "Please don't make me sorry for asking you. You know I wouldn't ask you for anything unless it was important—I'm worried."

       Damon takes a picture that was pinned to her mirror—a photo of herself and Elena. She tries to take it back but is too slow, "It is what it is, Hazel. The Stefan you know was 'good behavior Stefan', 'reign it in Stefan', 'fight against his nature into an annoying excessive level Stefan', but, if you think there isn't another part to this then you have not been paying attention."

       Damon pouts and Hazel takes back the picture, "He's not you, not even close." Elena defends.

      Damon looks over at Elena, "Well, he doesn't want to be me. That doesn't mean that deep down though, he's not."

       Hazel sighs, "I'm not saying I'm trying to change him—I'll love him either way. But, I just want to know what I'm in for if I'm finally about to see the 'real him'." She says to him pleadingly.

       Damon smirks as he walks closer to her, "I guess you'll find out." He says ominously before leaving.

Hazel can only let out an exhale as she stares at Elena in confusion as to what the hell that means.

Like she had promised herself, she had organised some one-on-one time with Jeremy on Friday afternoon. It was the perfect time to come in and ask to go get lunch at the Grill and talk like they used to. She missed having time with him because they had gotten so busy as of recently and it's like she barely ever sees him anymore. Hazel had her strawberry milkshake while Jeremy had opted for a Coke, and the two were sitting across from another just talking about everything and anything. Eventually, Jeremy leans his elbows on the table, "Why did you want to talk?"

       "No reason." Hazel lies, "I just missed you, that's all." Jeremy only gives her a look, and she sighs because he knows her too well, "I'm worried and I wanted to check in on you—about how you're doing."

      "I'm fine."

      "Jer, you're my brother. I know you like the back of my hand." Hazel says sternly, "That means I know when you're not fine—and you're not." She reaches her hand across the table and places one on his, "Talk to me. Please."

       Jeremy sighs. It's Hazel, he can always talk to her, "I miss her." He admits sadly, his eyes looking down at the table rather than her. Hazel's face turns empathetic knowing he's talking about Vicki, "And knowing that she's... that she's dead rather than missing... it makes me wonder what happened to her, and then I think about how scared she would've been in those last moments, and I get sad." Hazel tries to not let it show, but she remembers those last moments from Vicki—how she was so close to killing her in a blind fit of rage and hunger. Jeremy doesn't remember how Vicki was feeding on him and didn't care that it was the person she claimed to love so much, he was just a meal to her in that moment. It would've gotten worse, and more people would've gotten hurt unless she was stopped because she didn't want to learn control. But, she wasn't going to tell him that.

Hazel licks her lips as she says, "I know it isn't comforting to hear, considering we've heard it all so much before..." She begins and he looks at her curiously, "But, at least she's no longer in pain now. She's at peace." She assures, "I know it wasn't in the best circumstances with her overdose and all—if there's any good way to go—but, she would want you to be happy, Jer."

Jeremy only looks down at the table, but Hazel can see the tears in his eyes as he says, "I don't want to talk about it anymore."

       "Okay." Hazel agrees softly with a sigh, and thinks of a good way to change the subject. She purses her lips, "Mr. Saltzman said you've been doing great in history now."

       Jeremy sniffles and places a fake proud smile on his face, pretending like he's okay, "Yeah, yeah, he's really been helping me out. He gave me some extra credit and stuff."

      "He loved your vampire paper."

      "He thought I had a clever angle."

       "What drew you to that subject matter?" Hazel asks curiously, as her interest is piqued.

      Jeremy shrugs, "I don't know—boredom." He answers vaguely, and just like her, Jeremy can't lie to save his ass either. She doesn't believe his answer. Jeremy shrugs again, "Or maybe I'm just as nuts as the long line of Gilbert crazies."

       Hazel laughs, "Gilberts aren't crazy." At least, she doesn't think they are.

      Jeremy only looks at her, "Easy for you to say, you haven't read our ancestors journals for you to believe it."

       Now we're getting somewhere. This might be where Jeremy found out about them, "Well, I'd love to read them when you're done so I can change my mind." Hazel says, "If I'm going to become crazy, I want to know everything about it before it's too late."

     Jeremy looks uneasy which piques Hazel's interest as it's like he doesn't want to give any of the books up as he says, "Maybe."

Hazel and Elena arrive to the Founder's Ball that was celebrating 150 years of Mystic Falls that weekend. It was going to be the first set of parties that kicking off Founder's Week and as a founding family, they were in for a big month ahead. Hazel spots Stefan within the first few minutes of arriving and walks over to him by the bar, "Hey!" She smiles, she hasn't seen him since he ran out of her room and she's excited to see him.

Stefan puts his class on the bar and waves to her, pressing a kiss to her cheek when she gets close, "Hey. How are you?"

Hazel can smell the alcohol on his breath and the way he's being overly affectionate in public lets her know he's had a bit to drink, "Are you drunk?"

Stefan clears his throat, "Okay, I know it's a little weird but it's really helping me. The alcohol takes the edge off."

"You're totally that drunk high school guy at parties sneaking booze." Hazel muses.

"I totally am, yeah." Stefan admits instantly, nodding in shame with his eyes closed jokingly.

"How worried do I need to be?" She then asks with concern. She remembers what Tyler was like at parties when he would get wasted, and it wasn't pretty. It usually always ended in a physical fight with someone that looked at him wrong before it prompted a verbal argument between the two of them.

"Oh, no! You don't need to be worried. It's just until the cravings go away." Stefan assures her and she nods in understanding. He places his hands on both her arms, "Listen, I think we should enjoy it while it lasts. Would you like to dance with me?"

The younger Salvatore brother holds a hand out for her to take and she looks at it in surprise, "You hate dancing."

"Sober me hates dancing—although sober me loves it with you." He says and she looks at him sceptically, "Drunk me loves dancing regardless, and there's no begging or bribery necessary."

Hazel looks at the dance floor and observes how empty it is, "There's really no one dancing."

Stefan nods in agreement and he knows it's because of the music choice, "That's because they need something better to dance to. I'll be right back." He says and leaves.

Kelly Donovan walks up to Hazel, having heard their conversation and decided to chime in, "Yeah... that's not gonna work." She says and Hazel looks over at her, "I already tried to bribe the guy with twenty bucks and a date. He said Carol Lockwood has complete control over the music choices."

Hazel looks back over at Stefan to see that he was compelling the DJ, "You'd be surprised what Stefan can accomplish when he puts his mind to it." She says when she notices the guy nod and change the music to something a lot more upbeat and today's century.

People begin to dance and Kelly lets out an exhale as she puts her drink down, "Thank God!" She says and walks over to the dance floor to dance with Stefan.

     Damon walks up to Hazel, "Have I entered an alternate universe where Stefan is fun?" He remarks.

     Hazel only bites her lip, "Is he gonna be okay?" That's all she cares about.

     "Eventually." Damon assures her and they look at each other before returning their gaze back at Stefan, "One way or another."

     It was later in the night and Hazel and Elena were with Jenna. The party had a significant uplift in mood, and a lot more people were dancing and having fun, and as the three girls were laughing, Elena spots Alaric behind her aunt, "History teacher three o'clock."

     Jenna's eyes look to the side and she sees him. She looks back at her nieces, "How do I look?"

     Hazel smiles, "Beautiful."

     Alaric finally joins them and his eyes were strictly on Jenna, "I was looking for you."

     "Here I am." Jenna says with a tight smile. They haven't really been around each other since the charity fundraiser, and for a while, Jenna had assumed that he got cold feet and bailed, "I haven't seen you in a while."

      "Well, uh..." Alaric trails for a second as he looks over at the twins, "Things have been a little crazy, but I'm here now." He says and Jenna looks at his vague answer sceptically, "Do you want to get a drink?"

     "Sure." Jenna says before they give one last look to the twins before they left.

     Matt then walks over towards them, "When did this happen?" He asks. He hasn't been to many Founder's parties, but from what he's heard, they aren't exactly fun.

      "DJ had a change of heart." Hazel answers. Even though the DJ didn't have much of a choice, but really, he's getting a better reputation after this party.

     Matt smiles at the girls and holds his hands out for both of them to take, "Do you two want to dance?"

      "I don't know." Elena laughs.

      "She does. I might go find Stefan." Hazel pushes Elena towards him and Matt catches Elena's waist to make her dance. Being friends looks good on them.

      Hazel walks around the dance floor before she finds Stefan, slightly falling into his arms, "Hello, beautiful." He says and she blushes at the compliment, "Please dance with your alcoholic vampire boyfriend."

      "Always." She says as she grabs onto his hands to start dancing.

      Stefan spins Hazel out and she accidentally bumps into the back of someone, causing her to gasp in shock and turn to apologise immediately, "Wow! Watch it!"

      "I'm sorry, it was my fault. I'm clumsy." Hazel says lightly, hoping he sees that it wasn't malicious or on purpose.

      The guy huffs a laugh and Hazel thinks it's all fine before his face drops and he says, "Then get off the dance floor."

      Hazel blinks in shock while Stefan walks up beside her, "Excuse me?"

      "That's no way to talk to a lady." Stefan says to the guy.

      The guy scoffs, "Whatever."

     He turns to leave but Stefan catches his arm quickly and harshly which makes Hazel jump. Stefan begins to compels him, "I think you need to apologise."

     The guy looks over at Hazel, "I'm sorry."

     He starts to leave, but Stefan grabs him again, causing her to jump once more at how uncomfortable she felt, "Now say it like you mean it."

     "I'm really, really sorry."

      "Stefan, it's fine." Hazel assures him. It wasn't that big of a deal in the first place. Jerks are all over and she'll never think about that guy twice.

      "Now, walk away." Stefan pushes him away and the guy leaves. Hazel can see him watching him like a hawk and she touches his arm to get him to snap out of it. He turns to look at her and caress her face, "You alright?"

      Hazel can only nod, "Yeah. I think I just need some water." She says, "I'll be right back, okay?"

      Stefan nods and she presses a kiss to his cheek before walking over to the bar, where she knows Damon would be.

      And just like she thought, he was, "Have you noticed what your brother has been up to?" She asks as soon as she walks up to him, grabbing one of the pretzels that were in the snack dish in front of her to eat her feelings.

      "No, I have been too preoccupied with yours." He says and she looks over at him in confusion as to what her brother would be up to, to need surveillance, "Jeremy has been asking questions about Vicki Donovan's death."

      "He knows that her death was ruled an overdose. We talked about it." Hazel says.

      "Really?" The Salvatore male challenges before imitating Jeremy's voice, "'Oh, but, sheriff, someone buried her. Who would do that?'" He mocked, "I know, I know! Me!" He whispers since he doesn't want to commit to a crime that loudly. He shrugs, "I mean, I could compel him, but he's wearing vervain."

      Hazel's eyes narrow as she points at him, "No, I don't want you to compel him."

      Damon leans closer to her, "If he keeps asking questions..."

      "Damon, no. I'm serious." She refuses sternly as she grabs another pretzel. She remembers how mad she was at Elena and Damon for compelling Jeremy's memories away, she wasn't going to do that to him just for the sake of taking the easier route, "I'm not going to let you do that to him again. I'll handle it."

      Damon takes a rose from the case beside him, smells it, and gives it to her, "Okay. Don't say I didn't warn you."

     She takes the rose cautiously and they look at each other before he leaves.

      Hazel then puts the rose back into the vase and walks off to find Jeremy.

      Jeremy was sitting on a couch in a quiet, dimly-lit room of the Lockwood mansion, staring into the roaring fire in the fireplace by the time Hazel found him, "Jer?" She says quietly as she sits beside him, "I heard about your conversation with Sheriff Forbes."

      "No one is trying to figure out what happened to her. They all want to believe that she OD'd." He explains.

      "The coroner's office confirmed it." She murmured. She hates lying to him knowing that the coroner was compelled to say it was an overdose, rather than having her heart stabbed by a piece of wood that caused her to desiccate. She shrugs, "If that's what they said happened, then..."

      Jeremy looks over at her, "Is that what you believe?"

      Hazel's taken aback from the suddenness of his question. He's testing her, "What do you think happened?" Hazel deflects because she'll be caught in her lie immediately, failing the test.

      "I think somebody killed her and buried her body and I don't think we should write it off just 'cause it's easy." Jeremy snaps.

      "They're just doing what they can to move on." Hazel excuses, shaking her head, "Matt's been through enough with this situation, I think he just wants to accept the ruling no matter what it was, so he can move on with his life and be happy, even if it might not make sense—he doesn't need to hear questions about his sister's death while he's at a party, neither does Kelly."

      "The truth is the only thing that's gonna help people to move on." Jeremy insists, standing up to his feet with urgency, "And what do you mean 'even if it doesn't make sense'? Do you not think it was an overdose either?"

     "Yes—no." She can't answer the questions truthfully because there were too many and she isn't even sure which one she's answering, "Jer, just—just let it go, okay?" Hazel begs uncomfortably, "I understand this is upsetting but I'm worried that this is going to send you down a rabbit hole that you can't come back from."

      "Is there something you're not telling me?" Jeremy asks suspiciously, seeing how uncomfortable she was and Hazel refuses to look him in the eye, "Why aren't you looking at me?"

      "Stop it. That doesn't mean anything." Hazel deflects before sighing, knowing she's about to reach a new low of manipulation—and she isn't sure if it's to protect him or her now, "Look, searching for answers that you might not find... it's discouraging and it's painful—believe me." She says solemnly, looking up at him finally, "I did it when mom and dad died; I wondered everyday why Elena and I survived and they didn't, and I still don't know to this day. It ate me up for months because I dug myself deeper and deeper into this hole to search for answers that I couldn't get. We'll never know what happened that day with Vicki, like we'll never truly know what happened that day on the bridge, and I worry that you're gonna follow the same path I did and not come out the other side."

      "Haze..."

      "I just don't want you to get hurt." Hazel admits as she stands up to walk over to him, "Especially if you put your heart and soul into finding out what happened just for you to get the answer you've been dreading: that it was an overdose." She sighs, "At the end of the day, I can't stop you from making your own choices; you'll do what you think is right and I'll be here for you no matter what you choose. I just want you to make sure you're ready for whatever outcome might come out of it."

     Jeremy thinks about her words for a moment, and remembers how she cannot lie to save her life—she's being truthful about her concerns. He nods his head, "Okay." He agrees, "But, if there was something else, you would tell me, right?"

     "Of course I would." She says and she's getting concerned at how good she is getting at lying through her teeth, so much so that it's beginning to make her feel sick, "Let's get back to the party before people start to come looking for us." She suggests and leads Jeremy outside.

Jeremy had left Hazel's side in a hurry, mumbling an excuse that he just wants to go home and was no longer in a party mood—which Hazel did not object to. She felt so extremely guilty that she had shut him down before he could uncover a big secret about Vicki, and she isn't sure that if it's worth lying to him about this anymore; she thinks it would be detrimental if he eventually uncovers the truth about Vicki. Secrets don't stay secrets forever.

When she reaches downstairs to the party again and is walking down a hallway to rejoin everyone, Matt walks over to her, "Who knew I've been missing all the fun at the Founders' parties?" He muses.

Hazel laughs and shakes her head, "This is rare, believe me." She says as she links her arm with his.

Matt raises an eyebrow, "Is it bad that I'm enjoying myself?"

"No, it's great that you are enjoying yourself." She tells him, "But, don't get used to it—they're usually a lot more stiff and boring. So, you're not missing out on much."

Matt looks over at her and notices the look of turmoil on her face, "Are you okay?"

Hazel only bites her lip because she wasn't aware she was projecting the way she felt onto her face, "Yeah, it's just Jer. I'm just worried about him." She tells him truthfully before exhaling, feeling the walls closing in on her because of how stressful keeping this facade is with him, "I think I just need some air. Did you want to come with me?"

"Always." He says and they take a turn to go outside to their large backyard. Hazel then spots Stefan standing by himself, drinking again. She's lost track of how much he's had so far, but she can't imagine it was a little amount, "You haven't seen my mom, have you?" Matt then asks, pulling Hazel's attention away from her boyfriend.

Hazel shakes her head, "No, not in a while." She says as they step outside. She then spots something she wishes she could burn from her memory forever—Tyler and Kelly, making out, "Oh, my God." She gasps in horror and disgust.

Matt looks at Hazel's direction to see the same thing. His eyes widen as he rushes over to them and pulls Tyler off of his mom, "What the hell are you doing man?" He shouts.

Kelly looks in shock and embarrassment that she had been caught in yet another compromising position by her son, "Matt?!"

"Mom!" Matt screams back in embarrassment, cutting her off from any excuses. This is his mom—everyone knows it too—and she's just been seen making out with his classmate and supposed best friend; an intoxicated minor, for God's sake, while she's supposed to be the responsible adult. But, he should've known better when it comes to her: she doesn't have a responsible bone in her body.

"Woah, dude, calm down." Tyler tries to settle the situation as he puts his hand on Matt's shoulder drunkenly.

Upon his touch, Matt punches Tyler in the face causing Hazel to flinch as they begin to fight, and in the fight, Kelly gets pushed to the floor. Tyler pushes Matt to the ground and hits him again and again and again, "Stop it, Tyler!" Hazel screams, this situation doing nothing but sending her back in time to all the other instances of this happening because Tyler drank too much, "Stop it, you're hurting him!" Her screams were being left unheard and she's not stupid enough to try and get involved and possibly let herself get hurt, so she turns to the adults behind her, "Somebody, help us!"

Alaric arrives in a rush and pulls Tyler off Matt. He struggles because Tyler was fighting against him to get to Matt still before Alaric finally pushes him against a wall, pining him against it, "What the hell was that?" He snaps at him while Hazel finally runs over towards Matt to help him up off the ground.

The Mayor arrives and Hazel looks over at Tyler nervously. She remembers the way Richard Lockwood was whenever he had to intervene in his son's fights, and it was never pretty, "I'll take it from here; I'll take it from here." He tells Alaric before looking at Tyler, "Are you hurt?" Tyler shakes his head despite his lip bleeding and his face already swelling from the hits, "Go get cleaned up. It's okay. Go get cleaned up."

He acts caring now, but both Tyler and Hazel know it's going to be an argument later as Tyler leaves the situation to go to his room, "Thank you for your help." Richard tells Alaric before he turns to the rest of the guests, "Everything's fine. Everything is fine. Come on, everybody, back to the party. Let's go. Come on, have a good time!"

      Hazel grabs a cocktail napkin from one of the tables and puts it to Matt's nose and face were gushing blood, "Are you okay?" She thinks she knows the answer, but she can't help but ask.

      Matt only looks around, "Where is she?" He asks, sniffling up the blood so it doesn't drip down, looking for his mother who must've ran off to escape the embarrassment she just caused.

      "I don't know." Hazel says sympathetically before pushing his chin up with her fingers, "Put your head up."

When Hazel returned back home, all she wanted to do was curl up into bed and sleep the weekend off. She was exhausted physically, mentally and emotionally from everything that had occurred just within a few hours. However, when she walks into her bedroom, to see Stefan standing behind her door, she knows she might not get the restful sleep she was hoping for. She jumps, "Oh, my God!" She quietly says, placing a hand on her heart because she wasn't expecting him there, "You scared me!"

"Sorry." Stefan says quietly back, but he sounds more sad than remorseful, and there's still a slight slur in his tone that tells her that he's still slightly drunk.

Hazel picks up on it instantly, "Are you okay?" She asks as she approaches him, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

The vampire looks down at his feet, scoffing at himself and the state he's in, "Uh, no."

Hazel eyes widen because she's worried for him, "Talk to me." She requests, going to close the bathroom door between her and Elena's rooms for privacy before she rejoins Stefan's side and grabs his hand when he doesn't instantly start talking, "Stefan, tell me."

Stefan shakes his head as he walks away from her to sit on her bed, "I tried so hard to keep it together tonight, and it was working—it was working, but then Matt's mom, she got hurt and she was bleeding, and I had her... her blood on my hands."

Hazel went to sit beside him because she knew that wasn't the whole story for him to be this upset—and she's concerned that he might've lost control, "And then what happened?"

       "And then that guy from the dance floor," He begins and Hazel's eyes widened as she recalls their encounter and how aggressive Stefan was with him, "I caught him in the parking lot alone, and I wanted to feed on him—and it took everything inside of me not to do it."

       She had no idea any of this was happening and she feels so guilty because she wasn't there to help him through it, "But... you didn't?" She's afraid to ask.

       "No, but, I wanted to." Stefan admits. He sighs and puts his head down into his hands, "Hazel, I—my head is pounding. I feel like my skin is—is on fire. I have this... hunger inside of me that I've never felt before in my entire life and all I keep thinking about is how I promised that I would never keep anything from you, and so I'm telling you this."

      Guilt is eating up at her at how much he was struggling and she failed to see it. God, some girlfriend she is when she can't even notice how her boyfriend was drowning, "It's okay. You can tell me these things. I'm not going to run away." She assures him.

       "But, I don't want you to see me like this." Stefan stresses, "I don't want you to know that this side of me exists."

       "Stefan, you're gonna get through this." She promises him, "I'm gonna help you pull through. It's gonna be okay, you're gonna be okay."

      She takes his face between her hands but he rejects her and gets up, "No, no, no. I'm sorry, I can't." He says walking away from her, shaking his head and taking in a shaky breath, "I'm afraid of what I could do to you."

       "I'm not." She says strongly, because she believes her words. Everything Stefan has ever done was to protect her—how can she be scared of him? She goes towards him and takes again his face between her hands, "Stefan, I'm not, okay?" She says again, looking deeply into his eyes before she presses a kiss to him. She pulls away before she embraces him.

      "I love you so much." Stefan says with a whisper, wondering how he got so lucky.

      Hazel smiles in the hug as she continues to hold him as if it'll make everything better, "I love you, too."