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

     A deep gasp broke past Hazel Gilbert's lips as she woke up from her sleep, sitting upright in her bed with her hands anchoring her at her sides. It was like her lungs were desperate for air, like she didn't breathe a single molecule of oxygen once while she was in her slumber, living through the nightmare that replayed in her mind regularly. They could only assume the dreams were a side-effect from the medication she's forced to take to avoid panic attacks and anxiety—a lovely parting gift from her near death experience that left her an orphan.

     Today would mark the four month anniversary of her parents' death and the first day of school after Summer break. The crash changed the lives of the Gilbert family for the worst; the deaths of Grayson and Miranda Gilbert left a large hole in the family that would never be recovered.

     Hazel and Elena nearly dying in the crash changed them entirely, while Elena used to be an extroverted cheerleader, she now kept to herself. Hazel could only bury herself further away from everyone that wasn't in her close circle, and severely traumatised from being pronounced dead after drowning. She can barely be around water without hyperventilating and her mind telling her that she's under the bridge, drowning again.

     She walked over to Elena's room. Elena was her younger twin—younger by nine minutes—and while they looked completely identical, they were different. Hazel was quiet while Elena was loud and proud, her laugh could lighten up a room from the sound of it.

     She found her twin already ready for the day, and sitting on her windowsill with her journal in her lap, writing, like she does everyday. While Elena was a writer, Hazel was a reader. Their mom wanted Elena to go into journalism, she said that she had a talent for it—and she did, the words that Elena would put on paper were like magic. They could move anyone and make them feel emotions whether they wanted to or not.

     Hazel used a journal too, just not as much as Elena does. Her therapist encouraged her to keep one to write down her thoughts, and eventually, reminisce on how far she's come since the days she put down the pen to paper. Truth be told, she could never keep up with it as much to write in it everyday—weekly, at most—and she also didn't really think she had many thoughts to give. She didn't want to look on and realise how much of a broken record she sounded like because her thoughts never changed. Maybe it's just her wanting to avoid becoming face to face with her intrusive thoughts that keeps her from doing that.

     Elena looked up as soon as she heard the door to her bedroom open, finding the mirrored version of herself standing in front of her, looking as if she could cry at any moment. She put down her diary with a concerned sigh, "Nightmare or memory?" She asked Hazel.

     "Nightmare." Hazel pouted as she sat down beside Elena and placed her head on her sister's shoulder for comfort. Although the nightmares have started to blend into her memories and vice versa. It's all the same to her these days.

     Elena put her journal away so she could wrap her arms around her sister. Elena's hugs were the best, and they also made Hazel feel so completely safe. Hazel's trauma seemed to worse than her younger twin's because she remembers drowning and she remembered seeing their parents die, and her heart actually stopped while by some miracle, Elena was alive and only became fully conscious when they were in hospital. All Elena could do is be there for her.

     "I'm sorry, Bunny." Elena frowned. She worried about Hazel a lot—she worried about both of her siblings. Hazel obviously took the accident much harder than any of them, and Elena sympathised with her deeply on the after effects. They were just shells of the beings they once were, and none of them were sure they'd ever get back to being their normal selves; the free and reckless teenagers that they're supposed to be at their age.

     "I hate when you call me that." Hazel scoffed, a fond smile on her face that tells Elena that she doesn't really hate the term of endearment. Hazel and Elena were given stuffed animal toys as children, and while Elena kept her toy bear in pristine condition, Hazel took her bunny with her everywhere. Hazel was never seen without her bunny until elementary, and by then it wasn't even acceptable to call it a bunny because it had been tethered and tattered to pieces.

     "It's cute." Elena whined while Hazel lightly shoved her sister off her for her teasing. Elena giggled when she saw the older twin's smile, glad to distract her from the dark clouded thoughts, "Why don't you go get ready for today? I'll make us breakfast—I can smell Jenna burning the toast downstairs."

     Hazel laughed in agreement and ran a hand down her face at the idea of their maternal aunt cooking. Jenna Sommers was their mother's younger sister, she was only a few years older than them in her mid-twenties, and doing the best she can to take care of three teenagers while still finishing her thesis in psychology. But, while she was superwoman for doing everything else—she couldn't cook to save her life, that was Elena's forte.

     "Yeah, okay." Hazel agreed, feeling the emptiness in her stomach, hungry for her first meal of the day. Hazel pressed a kiss to Elena's cheek, careful not to smudge any of the makeup she had put on to look good for their first day of school before retreating back to her room.

      Elena walked downstairs and her nose turned up at the smell of burnt toast; although she could smell it upstairs, it was more pungent now that she was closer to it. Jenna looked frazzled as she looked inside the fridge, tapping on the handles with her fingers, trying to find an alternative breakfast to make while muttering to herself, "It's toast. Why can't I make toast?"

     Elena went beside her, "It's okay, Aunt Jenna. I can do it." She offered before pouring herself a mug of coffee and Jenna stepped away from the fridge with a sigh of relief, "Besides, it's all about the coffee, anyway."

     As if he heard the word, Jeremy walked into the kitchen, "Is there coffee?" His eyes brightened at it and Elena offered him the pot before going to place a slice of fresh bread in the toaster for Hazel.

      Within minutes, the toast was ready and Elena called her sister downstairs. The older twin came running, finishing placing her jacket over her shoulders and Jeremy smiled at her, "Morning, sunshine." He greets and Hazel pressed a kiss to his cheek. Jeremy loved Hazel with his entire being; he thinks he's closer with his oldest sister because she doesn't coddle him as much as Elena does, she just tries to guide him so he doesn't end up like her.

      Elena gave Hazel the toast, made the way she likes with with strawberry jam, "Eat that before coffee." She instructed pointedly, knowing she would have coffee first and feel sick from her medication because she tried to have them on an empty stomach.

     Hazel rolled her eyes, "I'm older than you." She reminded her teasingly.

     Elena grinned, "Doesn't mean I'm wrong." She insisted, pushing the plate of breakfast closer to her, "Eat it before Jeremy does."

      Hazel looked at her brother who wiggled his eyebrows, eager to eat as his stomach was like a black hole, especially since he was usually high on drugs and was experiencing the munchies. He'd eat both slices of toast with one bite, "I do like strawberry jam." Jeremy teased as he went to grab a slice but Hazel smacked his hands away.

      "Get your grubby hands off it." She grumbled as she took a slide and ate a bite out of it, making Elena and Jeremy smile triumphantly. They often had a struggle getting Hazel to eat since she often complained that sometimes her medication made her sick to the point she couldn't eat. But, they found ways to limit the amount of nausea she'd feel and get her to eat more.

      Jenna smiled at the siblings before she ran a hand through her hair, stress all over her face, "It's your first day of school, and I'm totally unprepared." She groaned. She wanted to make the morning special so they'd have a good day but she couldn't even make toast—let alone lunches, "Lunch money?" She offered, rummaging through her bag for some notes before holding it out for any of them to take.

      Jeremy took the money immediately and Hazel sent him a pointed look, expecting to see him with actual lunch instead of using it to buy pot. Elena and Hazel shook their heads however, "We're good." Hazel refused kindly, Elena having already made them all some lunch the night before.

     "Anything else?" Jenna questioned, trying to rack her brain for anything else she needs to cover before they leave for the day, "A number two pencil? What am I missing?"

      Elena's eyebrows pinched together in thought, "Don't you have a big presentation today?" She asked her, recalling her mentioning it a couple of times previously.

      "I'm meeting with my thesis advisor at..." Jenna looked at her watch and her eyes widened, "Now. Crap!"

      "Go." Hazel urged with a laugh, nodding her head towards the front door, "We'll be fine." Jenna gave her a grateful look before running out, "Good luck!" She called out to her retreating form.

      Once Jenna was gone, Elena averted her attention to Jeremy, "Are you okay?" She asked. Elena had taken it upon herself to become the therapist of the siblings; always checking in and helping them despite refusing the same for herself.

      Jeremy only scoffed, "Don't start." He says and walks off with annoyance. He didn't have the energy to have a heart-to-heart so early in the morning when he's on the comedown.

      Elena sighed in frustration and Hazel offered a supportive smile, "He'll come around." She says, taking finishing the last bite of her toast. She placed the plate in the sink, making a mental note to clean it when she got home, "Come on. Bonnie will be here soon."

     Bonnie Bennett was one of the bestest friends that Hazel and Elena could ever ask for. They had all known each other since they were young, since their parents grew up together—that was the beauty of living in a small town, generational friendships tend to be created. Bonnie never left the twins' side after the crash, and she was like a safe space for them because she never judged whenever they were feeling down despite going through her own family issues.

"So, Grams is telling me I'm psychic." Bonnie starts to fill the silence in the car, "Our ancestors were from Salem—witches and all that." She says and Elena sends her a strange look from beside her in the passenger seat, "I know, crazy. But, she's going on and on about it, and I'm like, put this woman in a home already!"

Elena let out a laugh. Bonnie's stories always made her laugh, but Hazel stayed quiet as they drove passed the cemetery, it making her think of her parents, "But, then I started thinking... I predicted Obama; and I predicted Heath Ledger; and I still think Florida will break off and turn into little resort islands..." She ranted until she noticed that none of the twins were paying attention, "Hello! Back in the car." She teased.

Hazel sighed and closed her eyes, "I'm sorry, Bonnie. We did it again, didn't we?" She realised and Bonnie nodded at her, telling her that she had indeed spaced out, "What were you saying?"

"That I'm psychic now." Bonnie brought her back to speed proudly and Hazel smiled in amusement at the news.

"Well, if that's the case... then, predict something." Elena challenged, angling her body to face Bonnie as much as she could despite being strapped into her seat, "About me and Hazel."

Bonnie pretended to be deep in thought, while fighting back a laugh because she was going to say something jokingly, "I see..." She started but is cut off when a crow hits the windshield of the car, causing Bonnie to come to a skidding stop and drive up onto the curb to avoid hitting another car.

The sounds of the tires screeching and the sudden stop made Hazel freeze and gasp in shock and fear, her blood running cold as she feels the water back in her lungs and she couldn't breathe again. Her heart pounded in her chest as the feeling of being at the bottom of the creek deeper into her mind.

"Oh, my God! What was that!?" Bonnie panicked before turning to the twins in worry, "Are you guys okay?"

Elena quickly turned to her twin in the backseat, seeing her hyperventilate and grab at her chest and throat while tears streamed down her face, "Breathe, Hazel! You're not in the water, just breathe!" She tried to calm her down, knowing it was a panic attack she was experiencing. As her breaths began to lower, Elena nodded, "That's it. Deep breaths. You're okay, Haze." She said, feeling slightly relieved that she wasn't panicking as much anymore and that she'd be a little bit more relaxed.

Instead of the feeling of water rushing into her lungs, she felt the bile rise up her throat, "I think I'm going to be sick..." Hazel managed to choke out before scrambling to grab the car door handle and rush outside into the grass where she proceeded to empty out the contents of her stomach, most of which was just her breakfast.

Elena quickly followed after her, as did Bonnie, "I'm so sorry, Hazel." Bonnie bit her lip as she watched Elena rub her sister's back soothingly and hold her hair back as she threw up, "It was like a bird, or something. It came out of nowhere!"

"It's okay, Bonnie." Elena smiled, knowing her sister's panic attack would pass and it wasn't her fault, "We can't be freaked out by cars for the rest of our lives. It was an accident."

Hazel stopped throwing up and slumped into a ball, feeling completely pathetic with herself that she had another panic attack and threw up in public. Elena then reached into her bag and pulled out a few saltine crackers and gum that she kept in there for emergencies since situations like these happened during the beginning of their healing process.

"Thanks, Lena." Hazel muttered softly as she grabbed onto the items gently, just wanting to go home and shower more than anything since she didn't think she'd be able to get rid of the pungent vomit smell for the rest of the day—even despite the gum and perfume. It wasn't lingered no matter what she did. She then looked up at Bonnie, who was still worried about her well-being, "I'll be okay, Bons."

"I'm sorry, Hazel." Bonnie practically whimpered as she felt so guilt stricken.

Hazel shook her head, "Don't be. I'll be okay, I promise." She assured her while proceeding to take a few bite of the crackers to settle her stomach.

Bonnie let out a deep breath, "I predict this year is going to be kick ass." She says and the twins look at her with intrigue, "And I predict all the sad and dark times are over and you two are going to be beyond happy."

Elena then looked at her sister, "Do you wanna try again?" She asked her, nodding her head towards the car.

Hazel looked at the car while a disdained glare before she sighed, "Yeah..." She said, although not entirely convinced she wanted to. She looked at Elena, "Like you said... we can't be afraid of cars for the rest of our lives."

The girls got to school without any further incident, and for that, Hazel was eternally grateful. The bird made her feel like any progress she had made in overcoming her trauma had only set her back, and she wasn't entirely thrilled about it. She wouldn't say anything about it to Bonnie or Elena though, as she could see that Bonnie was still concerned, even though she was trying—and failing miserably—not to show it by looking in the rearview mirror at her every two seconds.

Their first class would be starting soon and they made their way to their lockers, which were thankfully close to each others' since their parents had some influence over the school and managed to pull some strings.

"Major lack of male real estate." Bonnie's nose turned up as she checked out the guys in her line of sight, "Look at the shower curtain on Kelly Beech. She looks like a hot—can I still say 'tranny mess'?"

Hazel and Elena shook their heads in unison, "No, that's over." The younger twin voiced.

Bonnie's shoulders slumped, "Ahh, find a man, coin a phrase. It's a busy year." She listed, unaware that Elena had caught eyes with Matt Donavon across the hall.

Matt was another one of their closest friends growing up, and he and Elena were very close, to the point that they started dating freshman year. Unfortunately, he was more in love with Elena than she was with him—it was almost like dating him was an obligation to their parents than something she wanted.

Elena waved at him, but he only ignores her and turns around. He's still upset after the breakup, and he's letting it be known. Elena sighed as she slumped against the lockers, "He hates me." She groaned in frustration. She didn't want this. She still wants to be friends, but he wants to be more.

"He doesn't hate you." Hazel objects, holding her books close to her chest and Elena looked over at her with a look of disbelief of what she was saying, "That look wasn't hate."

Suddenly, a screeching sound was heard, but unlike the screeching of car tyres, this screeching sound was coming from a blonde teenage girl, heading straight towards her best friends, "Oh, my God!" She said as she pulled Hazel into a tight bear hug, "I missed you. How are you?"

Caroline pulled away so she could answer, because even she knows she has the strength of a boa constrictor when she gets excited, "I'm okay." Hazel answers.

"Really?" Caroline responded, not believing her for a second. Hazel doesn't know how to lie, she's not good at it—and she never has been, especially not to Caroline who has known her since they were kids.

Hazel gave up trying, "Okay, fine. There was an incident this morning in the car."

Caroline giggled, "I don't even know why you bother lying." She joked before pointing at Bonnie and Elena, "They spilled the beans already."

Hazel looked over at them and they only shrugged sheepishly at her in return, "Well, I'm okay now. I promise." She told them, "And I just want to forget about it, and move on with my day. Can we do that?"

Caroline nodded, "Of course." She agreed, as did Bonnie and Elena. Like she said before, Hazel liked to ignore her problems. Caroline looked at the time on her watch, "Shit. I'm going to be late for class. I'll see you third period?" She said to the older Gilbert twin.

Hazel nodded, "Of course, go." She urged. She knew the lecture Caroline would get from her mother if her attendance and or her grades started slipping, and she did everything she could to avoid that—which in the long run, kind of works out for her. Caroline gives Hazel, Bonnie and Elena one last hug before running in the direction of her first class while the rest of them continued in the other direction since they shared that together.

Once they reached the school's administration office, Bonnie stops them, "Hold up." She says, narrowing her eyes on an unfamiliar figure that stood inside, speaking with the office lady, "Who's this?"

Elena shrugged, "All I see is back."

"And not a back I recognise." Hazel added.

Bonnie looked impressed, "It's a hot back." She says, causing Hazel to giggle at her being attracted to him without even seeing his face, "I'm sensing Seattle, and he plays the guitar."

Hazel let out another laugh, "You're really going to run this whole psychic thing into the ground, huh?"

Bonnie pursed her lips and nodded, "Pretty much." She says, "Please be hot."

Elena quickly excused herself when she sees a group of boys saying something to Jeremy that seemed suspicious, "I'll be right back." She says, not wanting to alarm Hazel, "I'll meet you guys in class, okay?"

"Okay." Hazel agreed, noticing how Bonnie hasn't moved. The Gilbert girl rolled her eyes, "Come on, Bonnie. You can't stare at him all day." She tells her, gently looping their arms before walking them towards their history class.

Hazel Gilbert doesn't like history. Not because she doesn't like the material that's given to her, or that she's necessarily bad at the class—it's her teacher that's the problem. Coach Tanner is a class example of an asshole. He was the type of guy that clearly peaked in high school being the jock of his class but never had the right skill to become pro—and as the saying goes: those who can't do, teach. He has then spent the entirety of his teaching career taking out his failure onto his students for pretty much anything. The only ones he doesn't pick on as much are his football players, but even then, he's a bully.

"Once our home state of Virginia joined confederacy in 1861, it created a tremendous amount of tension within the state." He rambled and Hazel continued to stare into the abyss, hoping that the next forty-five minutes flies by so she can leave. Small town schools all have their own history, and they love to remind people about it every year. Hazel thinks she knows the town's history like the back of her hand since her own family is a founding family, "People in Virginia's northwest region had different ideals than those from the traditional deep south. Then Virginia divided in 1863 with the northwest region joining the union."

Hazel's brown eyes wandered around the room, locking eyes with her identical pair, noticing how embarrassed she looked. Her eyebrows creased, her face practically asking her sister why she was acting like that. Elena grabbed a piece of paper and wrote on it before passing it to her. Hazel secretly opened the note in her lap to avoid drawing attention from Tanner to them about passing notes, looking down and reading Elena's neat handwriting.

accidentally ran into the new guy while i was coming out of the boys' bathroom! lol so embarrassing! :(

Hazel used her hand to muffle her laughter that threatened to come out. She doesn't know how she does it, but Elena's luck continues to be extremely bad. Only she could somehow manage to find herself in those positions. The twins made eye contact and Elena subtly nodded her head back behind her with an embarrassed look on her face. Hazel looked behind her sister to find the new guy already staring at them.

He smiled at her and she smiled back before quickly turning her head back to the front because a strange feeling hit her stomach. She's never met him before, but why did he look so familiar?

Hazel ended up joining Bonnie at the Mystic Grill after school while Elena went home first to drop their bags and books home first. She said she needed to clean up since she had accidentally tripped while visiting their parents' graves earlier in the day. She said the fall wasn't bad, but, she did bleed a little on her knee and wanted to clean it up so it didn't get infected.

The cemetery was a place that Elena went to whenever she was feeling down and needed some time to think. She could spend hours there reading and writing next to their graves because she says it makes her feel safe and calm; like they're there speaking to her. Hazel doesn't hold it against her, and will sometimes join her there, but, there are times where she just can't face them. Her survivor's guilt eats her alive because she actually died and came back, while they didn't.

Matt came by and sat down at their table when he noticed Hazel and Bonnie there. Hazel was drinking a strawberry milkshake while Bonnie only had a soda. He's been around the twins long enough to notice the differences between them and recognise who is who; Hazel likes to wear her hair more wavy, while Elena's is pin straight; and Hazel only drinks strawberry milkshakes while Elena drinks chocolate. When he sits down, Hazel offers him a smile. The oldest Gilbert girl's smile is enough to make anyone smile because it's so genuine and infectious, "Hey, Matty." She greets him, "How was your first day?"

"It was okay." Matt shrugged, "I'll miss not having to do anything all day though." He tells her and she and Bonnie nod in agreement. As much as they missed their friends, they weren't too happy about having to go back to school everyday, "How are you feeling?"

"Better, I guess." Hazel also shrugged, "Well, better as I can be." She corrects herself and Matt only nods and asks Bonnie the same question. She then noticed that he wanted to ask something else, and she knows exactly what it is, "It's okay, Matt. You can ask."

Matt shifts in his seat uncomfortably, looking nervous and embarrassed that she caught on as he rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, "How's...  Elena doing?"

"I mean, our parents died." Hazel vaguely answers him, looking away from them as tears prickled her eyes. She hated saying that out loud, because of the reaction that follows after it. Her saying it just reminds her how much it still affects her, and how real it actually is, "She's putting on a good face... but, it's only been four months."

"Has she said anything about me?" Matt asked again and Bonnie ran a hand down her face at Matt's obliviousness. Their parents died, she seriously doubted that Elena's mind is on boyfriends.

"Matt." Bonnie lightly scolded in a disapproving tone, "Don't put her in the middle of that." Hazel lost her parents too, not just Elena and Jeremy, the last thing on her mind was probably asking Elena about her relationship status with her ex-boyfriend.

"It's okay, Bons." Hazel reassured her with a half smile before turning to Matt and shaking her head, "Not to me, no, Matt. I'm sorry." Hazel answered him, "But, if you do want to talk to her, you could always call her. It's still an option, you know?"

Since the breakup, Elena's been given the silent treatment because she thinks in Matt's mind, if they can't be together, they can't be friends either— despite the fact that they've known each other since they were babies, "I feel weird calling her." Matt groaned, "She broke up with me."

"Give it more time, Matt." Bonnie advised softly, "She needs friends at the moment, not boyfriends."

Right as Bonnie said that, Elena walked into the Grill with the new guy by her side. Hazel wanted to grimace because the timing couldn't be any worse and she could see the hurt splashed across Matt's face when he noticed them too. He looked at Bonnie, "More time, huh?" He remarked before getting up from his seat and walking over to them.

Most of the teenagers that were present in the Grill were almost nervous because they knew the history between Elena and Matt, and this would be the first time Elena's shown any interest in anyone since the breakup. Instead, Matt surprised everyone by introducing himself.

After they did their introductions, Elena led the new guy to their table, "Guys, this is Stefan." She introduced, "Stefan, this is my sister, Hazel—which you could probably already tell." She joked since it was pretty obvious that they were related because they were twins, and Hazel chuckled and waved while Stefan did the same, "And this is our best friend, Bonnie." Bonnie waved and Stefan did the same, and Elena noticed right away that someone was missing, "Where's Caroline?"

"She's on her way. She texted me saying she wanted to change first before coming, and that was like half an hour ago so I'd expect she'd be here any minute." Hazel told Elena, who nodded, "And your chocolate milkshake is on the way."

"You're the best." Elena said in a singsong voice as soon as she sat down beside her twin, while Stefan sat at one of the other empty seats.

Soon enough, Caroline walked in. Caroline probably had the best sense of style, she always looked out together and pretty, and sometimes it made Hazel a little insecure because of how beautiful she was—not because she thought she was ugly, because she thought Caroline just had it all. She wanted that for herself. She wants to be confident just like Caroline is.

Caroline got herself a drink and they all got to talking to her to know one another, since Elena seemed to like him that she wanted them to all be friends, "So, you were born in Mystic Falls?" Caroline asked him, since he mentioned that he was from their quaint little town.

Stefan nodded, "And moved when I was still young." He tells her.

"Being in another place sounds exciting." Hazel mentioned. She had never really been outside of their town since she was little, their parents never really were the type to go on extravagant vacations to exotic destinations or even big cities. They were more homebodies than anything, so they often did take time off to go visit the lake house they owned.

"Yeah, it has its pros and cons." Stefan says, seeing how interested Hazel seemed in his story. He thinks it's her eyes; they're so warm and expressive, and he can tell that it's completely genuine because she's actively listening to every word he says while drinking her milkshake. In fact, he's noticed that she's so attentive to anyone she speaks to, and he admired that.

"Parents?" Bonnie asked.

"My parents passed away." Stefan answers washed over the twins' faces when he said that, seeing that they could relate to it.

"I'm sorry." Elena apologises softly, "Any siblings?"

"None that I talk to." Stefan answers her and Hazel made a face because she wondered what her life would look like without Jeremy and Elena, and she decides she wouldn't want to live in a world like that, "I live with my uncle."

"Are you two close?" Hazel asks him, because she thinks she knows who his uncle is. Stefan nods, "That's good. I'm glad." Without Jenna, Hazel didn't know how her and her siblings would've gotten through what they did, and she doesn't want to think about something like that. Jenna was her rock, and she was so incredibly lucky to have her.

Caroline could tell that Hazel was beginning to get upset where the conversation was heading and she decided she was going to change the subject. She placed her elbows on the table and leaned forward a little, "So, Stefan, if you're new, then you don't know about the party tomorrow."

Seeing the confusion on Stefan's face, Bonnie explained, "It's a back to school thing at the falls." She explained. It wasn't going to be anything huge since they'd have school the following day, but, it was tradition that they did it every year.

He turned to the twins, "Are you going?"

Deciding she also wanted to play matchmaker, Elena answered, "Of course we are."