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

Hazel awakes the next morning with a gasp, another nightmare that had disturbed her sleep causing her to jolt awake. Instead of the usual nightmare of her parents' death or the alters of fire, she dreams of the animal that attacked Coach Tanner in the parking lot of the school, imagining that it was herself as the victim. No amount of prescription medication that she took could ever take those images away. She just couldn't believe that Tanner was dead. Sure, she severely disliked him for his mistreatment and clear favouritism of his students, but, she would never want him dead—especially not with the way he died; an animal having crawled into town and savagely tore him apart. Her encounter with Damon was the last thing on her mind despite how much it bothered her, and honestly, she wants nothing to do with him; and she's heavily contemplating telling Caroline that another one of her boyfriends is a scumbag.

Hazel walks over towards Elena's room and frowns when she notices that she's not by her windowsill like normal, but, she can hear the muffled sounds of banging happening downstairs that she makes the assumption that she's already down there. Hazel's just surprised that she didn't hear her since Elena isn't exactly the quietest when she's getting ready in the mornings.

She walks downstairs and notices that Jenna is sitting at the dining table, watching the news that was broadcasting the report from the night before, "I can confirm that a twelve-foot puma mountain lion attacked a hunter and was subsequently shot and killed. The hunter is in stable condition." Logan Fell stated, an empathetic look on his face as he says, "To repeat, the animal terrorising Mystic Falls has been caught."

"Scum ball." Jenna mutters with a disgusted look on her face, a cup of hot coffee in her hands, "Scum bucket."

"Who are you talking to?" Hazel asks as she joins her aunt on the chair next to her.

"Him." Jenna points to Logan.

Hazel raises an eyebrow, "The news guy?"

Jenna nods her head, "Also known as Logan 'Scum' Fell." She scowls before turning her head to look at her, "Did your mom ever tell you why I moved away from Mystic Falls?"

Elena laughs as she walks over to them and joins them, "Oh, no way. You and him?" She asks and Jenna shamefully nods. Elena looks back at the screen, "He's cute."

Jenna sends a look to her niece, "He is not cute. There's nothing cute about him." She says before turning around to look at all the box that Elena had in her hands, "What are you doing with that?"

Elena opened the antique box and grabbed one of the watches and began to give it a clean since dust had been collecting on them from being stored in boxes for years, "I went yesterday and got it from the safe deposit box. Mom had told Mrs. Lockwood she would loan it to the Founder's Council for their heritage display."

Jenna noticed one of the pieces inside and picked it up to inspect it, "Is that grandma Beth's wedding ring?"

"Yeah, it is, but, I think it was originally great-great-grandma Mary's wedding ring." Hazel says as she looks at it closely, having recognised it from old family photos that dated way back.

Jeremy then walked over and picked up one of the items to look at it, "How much do you think this stuff is worth?" He asks, "You know, like on eBay?"

"You're not gonna find out." Hazel retorts with a small snort as she grabs it back from his hands.

"That stuff is mom and dad's. You can't just give it away." Jeremy points out as he walks over towards the kitchen.

"I'm not giving it away. It's called a loan, Jeremy." Elena replies with annoyance that her brother thinks that she would just give their stuff away.

The doorbell rings and Hazel walks over to open it since Elena was busy and Jenna was getting ready to go out for the day. She opens the door to see Stefan standing there and she blinks in surprise, "Hi." He says.

"Uh, hi." She replies awkwardly.

"Can we talk?" Stefan pleads her.

     Hazel stands there for a few moments contemplating whether she should let him in or not, but, the need for answers overtook everything else and she eventually nods and lets him in. Hazel steps aside and leads Stefan up to her room, taking a seat on her bed while Stefan took a seat at her desk.

     "What did you want to talk about?" Hazel asks nervously, playing with her fingers as she wasn't sure what to expect from this conversation.

"Uh, Damon told me about what he tried to do last night." Stefan says and Hazel raises her eyebrows, "And I came to apologise on his behalf, as well as mine for brushing you off last night after the fight."

Hazel still doesn't know what to make of what happened the night before, because she swore she saw his hand cut—but, maybe she did in fact imagine it all because it happened so fast. She realises she's being entirely too critical of Stefan and needs to give him the benefit of the doubt, "Thank you for coming to apologise but, you don't really need to. Damon's actions are his own and they have nothing to do with you." Hazel replies before taking in a deep breath to ask, "How do you look in a suit?"

Stefan looks confused by her change of heart as he replies, "I can pull one off."

"How about tomorrow night?" Hazel questions, "I want to get to know you better, so, will you be my date to the Founder's Party?"

Stefan's eyebrows raise, "They still do that?"

"Have you been before?"

Stefan shakes his head, "No, the Salvatores don't get invited anymore."

Hazel sighs, "Well, this year, there's this heritage project that meant a lot to my mom. She was really involved in the Founder's Council, and it was her favorite party. I know it sounds really boring, but—"

"I would be honored to accompany you, Miss Gilbert."

Hazel smiles, "The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Salvatore."

The doorbell rings later that afternoon and Jeremy opens it, however, when he sees Tyler standing on the other side of the door, he tries to close it in his face but Tyler holds it open, "I'm here for my mom. I was supposed to pick up a box of stuff."

"Right here." Hazel says as she walks towards the front door with the antique box in her hands. Elena said that Tyler would be stopping by and she tried to time it so the younger twin would handle it, but, as fate would have it, Elena was in the shower when Tyler decided to stop by—lucky her, "Please be careful." She pleads as she hands Tyler the box.

"Yeah, be careful with it, dick." Jeremy sneers.

"Hey!" Hazel chastises him before pleading the two of them because she can't stand the way they fight every chance they see each other, "Not now, okay, guys? Please?"

"I'm fine." Tyler assures, shaking his head to say he wasn't coming for a fight, "He's just being a punk."

Jeremy scowls, "I got your punk."

Hazel sighs at her brother's antics before turning to Tyler, "Look, Tyler, maybe you should go. Tell your mom that Elena and I will see her tonight."

Tyler nods and walks towards back to his car before stopping to look at Jeremy, "Hey. Would it make a difference if I told you I actually like Vicki?"

Jeremy shakes his head, knowing that there's talk around the school of how Tyler was still strung up on Hazel despite dating Vicki, "Not even if you meant it." Jeremy states as he closes the door in Tyler's face.

     Bonnie sat at the dining room with Elena and Hazel the next day, staring at two bottles of nail polish, "Delicate flower vs. naughty vixen."

     "Tough call." Hazel answers as she grabs a paper towel, looking at the two shades that she can't pick between either, "Can we mix them?"

     "Look at you, getting all pretty for your date." Bonnie slyly smirks, "You seem happy-ish."

      Hazel sits down beside her and puts her hands down for Bonnie to paint her nails, "It's not a date. And I guess I am... ish. But, don't let that stop you from telling us whatever it is you wanted to tell us as soon as you walked in the door." She says pointedly.

     Bonnie reaches into her makeup bag for her tools and shrugs, "What if I tell you in the morning? I don't want to ruin the night."

     Elena sends her a look, "Bonnie, out with it."

     Bonnie sighs, "Okay, but it has to go in the vault, because Caroline will kill me if it gets back to Damon that she squealed." She pleads and the twins nod even though Hazel is concerned that Caroline didn't come to her with this information first—maybe Damon is changing her for the worst, "Apparently Stefan has a very interesting back story."

     "Uh-huh." Hazel says with intrigue, "How so?"

     "Do you know what happened with his ex-girlfriend, Katherine?" Bonnie asks.

     Elena turns to look at her sister because she has no idea, and the older twin shrugs, "I know that they both dated her and that's why they have issues." Elena's eyes widened because now she understands the tension that was between the brothers the night they came over for dinner.

      "Yeah, they both dated her, only she chose Damon. And that drove Stefan mad, so, he did horrible things to try and break them up." Bonnie explains, "He manipulated Katherine. He filled her head with all these lies until finally it worked, and she turned against Damon."

     Elena blinks because that doesn't sound like the type of person Stefan is, "That sounds like one person's side of the story, meaning Damon's."

     Bonnie shrugs, "I just wanted you to know."

     Hazel shakes her head, "His past relationships are none of my business." She says, "Everyone has a messy dating history, especially in small towns like ours."

      "Yeah, but what if he's a calculating, manipulative liar. That is your business." Bonnie retorts as she begins to paint her nails.

      "I doubt Stefan is any of those things." Hazel can't help but defend him. Yeah, he's been very hot and cold with her, but, he's clearly struggling with some issues—she doubts it's because he's a calculating, manipulative liar.

     "Yeah? How do you know?" Bonnie asks and the twins sigh because it's clear that Bonnie has made up her mind with the piece of gossip that Damon provided via Caroline. But, in a way, she's right. Hazel doesn't know him at all and she can't confirm if he is or isn't any of those things; she can only follow her gut instinct about him and assume that he isn't. But, what if he is?

     The girls continue getting ready before the phone begins to ring and Hazel answers it, "Hello?" She asks and hears Mrs. Lockwood's voice on the other line, "Hi, Mrs. Lockwood—" She starts but can barely get another word in from the way she starts rambling in a panic immediately after, "What do you mean? It is? Are you sure? Because I saw it." She says and she lets her know that she is sure, "Let me check. Mm-hmm. I will find it and bring it. Okay. Bye."

     Hazel hangs up the phone and lets out an annoyed sigh, storming towards her brother's room, "What's wrong?" Elena asks when she hears Hazel's irritated sigh.

     Hazel doesn't answer, just continuing towards Jeremy's room to see that he's listening to music on his computer, the headset masking the sound of Hazel entering. She walks towards him and pokes his shoulder to get his attention. As soon as he takes his headset off, she asks with her arms crossed, "The pocket watch. Where is it?"

     Jeremy feigns confusion, "What watch?"

     "The one you stole from mom's box." Hazel elaborates, "Look, Mrs. Lockwood just called me, freaking out because she can't find it, and she thinks she's the one who lost it."

     "Maybe she did." Jeremy replies casually, "Maybe Tyler took it."

     "Don't even play that card. Jeremy, you took it." Hazel accuses with annoyance, "I hate assuming anything when it comes to you, but, you need to tell me right now if you have it or not. I don't want to accidentally stumble across it online later."

      Hurt flashes across Jeremy's face that Hazel would assume he would sell it—most likely to pay for his pot addiction. He doesn't like that she thinks of him that way. Hazel's always thought better of him and he doesn't like disappointing her. He gets up and gets the pocket watch from a hiding spot in one of his shelves, "I would never sell this, okay?"

     Hazel's eyes softened, "Then why did you take it?"

     "Because it's supposed to be mine. Dad said it goes to the firstborn son." He answers, "His father gave it to him, and now what?"

     "And he was going to give it to you." Hazel whispers in realisation as Jeremy tries to hand it to her. Horror fills her that they nearly took away that birthright from him and how hurt he must've felt to miss out on a moment like that. While their dad wasn't there to actually give it to him, it was still Jeremy's right to have it—not to sit in a display box for show.

     "Yeah."

     Hazel sighs and shakes her head at Jeremy's hand, lightly pushing it back towards him, "It's yours, Jer. You keep it. Dad would've wanted you to have it."

     Hazel arrives with Stefan to the Heritage Party at the Lockwood estate, and Mayor Lockwood greets them at the door with a smile on his face. While he's crushed that his son blew his chances with a girl like Hazel Gilbert, he's glad to see her coming out of her shell again, "Hi, Mayor Lockwood." She greets him with a smile on her face and a small wave, after all they were close as she spent a lot of time at the Lockwood home when she and Tyler were dating.

      "Hey. Hey, guys, come on in." He says, and quickly heads off to tend to some other guests.

     Hazel links her arm with Stefan's and they go wandering around the house, saying hello to various people and looking at the artefacts that had been placed very meticulously around the home by Mrs. Lockwood. The woman practically skipping over to her as soon as they entered as if she could smell her, "Hazel, honey, there you are. I notice the watch still isn't in the collection."

That's right, she promised she would find it and bring it tonight before she decided to give it back to Jeremy, "Oh, um, I'm sorry, Mrs. Lockwood. I, um, I couldn't find it. I guess it's still packed up in my parents' stuff somewhere."

Mrs. Lockwood gives her a smile, "I see. Well, please let me know if you do find it."

Hazel smiles back, "Okay." She then walks off, leaving Stefan and Hazel to go their own way.

Stefan noticed a lot of glances were being sent their way, and he noticed it almost immediately as they stepped onto the property, "Why does everyone keep staring?"

     A small blush coats Hazel's cheeks out of embarrassment, "Um... this is my first Founder's event since I drowned." She told him awkwardly as they made their way around the home, "I didn't really show my face at these things—or anywhere, really—after the accident. I just couldn't bring myself to knowing how much these things meant to my mom, but, I've realised that it's time for a change."

     "I'm sorry." Stefan says as he places his hand on top of hers, "You suffered a great loss."

     "Yeah, I don't really want to talk about it tonight." She whispers sadly, feeling the tears prick her eyes. She doesn't want to be known as that girl who only talks about her parents' death—because lately, that's what it felt like she's become.

     They walked over towards one of the displays and Hazel couldn't help but want to scream at the sky for her chances of finding her parents' wedding rings. She looks down at them sadly, knowing that they should've been on their fingers rather than in a glass box for people to ogle at. Stefan comes up behind her, "Your parents?" He asks.

     She only nods, feeling tense as Stefan places a hand on her back, "There's a lot of history here." She exhales as she looks around at all the items loaned by her family and walks over to another display.

     She looks up at the walls to see newspaper clippings and photos, and she then spots the first registry, "The founding families in Mystic Falls welcomes you to the inaugural founder's council celebration." She reads the insert before gasping, "Wow, look, it's the original guest registry. Look at all these familiar names—Sheriff William Forbes, Mayor Benjamin Lockwood." Her eyes then spot something and her eyebrows furrow, "Is that Damon Salvatore? And... Stefan Salvatore?"

     Damon and Caroline then walk into the room, "The original Salvatore brothers. Our ancestors. Tragic story, actually." He confirms.

    Caroline and Hazel greet each other with a hug while Stefan and Damon have a miniature stare off, "We don't need to bore them with stories of the past."

     Hazel pulls away from Caroline to stand beside the younger Salvatore, "It's not boring, Stefan." She says, "I'd love to hear more about your family."

     Stefan looks at her and sees that she's being genuine. That's what he likes about her—everything about her is genuine and she never has any ulterior motives. She means what she says and she never goes back against her word. She's quite literally the opposite of Katherine. He's about to give a small backstory when Caroline intercepts, "Well, I'm bored. I want to dance." She whines and Hazel lightly chuckles at her, "And Damon won't dance with me." Damon shakes his head to confirm her story is true, "Could I just borrow your date?"

     Hazel blinks in surprise, not really expecting that, "I don't really dance." Stefan tries to reject her.

     "Oh, sure he does." Damon insists, "You should see him. Waltz, the jitterbug, the moonwalk. He does it all."

     Caroline looks at her best friend, "You wouldn't mind, would you, Hazel?" She asks, and Hazel knows her best friend isn't trying to come onto him. Caroline is obsessed with Damon, and the girl just wants to dance.

     "I mean, I wouldn't mind. But, it's up to Stefan." Hazel responds with a small giggle.

     Stefan is about to say no because he doesn't want to leave Hazel, and Caroline can sense it, "Well, sorry, but I'm not going to take no for an answer." The blonde says and she grabs Stefan's hand and takes him out to dance.

     Clearly, Hazel didn't think it through because now she's left alone with Damon, and she contemplates running out the door and following Stefan and Caroline to the dance floor outside, but, doesn't want to seem rude, "I want to apologise to you for being such a world-class jerk the other night when I tried to kiss you. There's no excuse. My therapist says I'm... acting out, trying to punish Stefan."

     "Punish him for what?" Hazel asks with a small scoff.

     "It's all in the past. I don't even want to bring it up." Damon vaguely says, "Let's just say that the men in the Salvatore family have been cursed with sibling rivalry. And it all started with the original Salvatore brothers."

     Meanwhile, on the dance floor, Stefan and Caroline were dancing, "Damon told you to ask me to dance. Didn't he?" Stefan asks the blonde.

"Now why would he do that?" Caroline asks, seeming more confused as to why Damon would tell his girlfriend to go dance with his brother on surprise.

Stefan sees one of the waiters coming around with a tray of champagne, "Would you like one?" He asks her and grabs a glass of champagne for himself and Caroline, and thanks the waiter.

He offers her one and she takes it, "Okay, just tell me if you see my mom." She says as clinks her glass against his before taking a sip, "I actually asked you down here because I wanted to talk to you. It's about Hazel."

"Why? What do you mean?" Stefan asks with confusion as to what was happening with her.

"Look, all I ask is that... be gentle with her." Caroline breathes out and Stefan looked at her with intrigue by what she meant, "Hazel is... she's warm, you know? Like a golden light that hugs you in the afternoon. People take advantage of that, and I can't stand to see her hurt. She likes you... a lot, even if she won't admit that just yet and you have the power to do a lot of damage. So, just be kind to her and keep her safe."

"Why do you think I wouldn't?" Stefan asks again.

Caroline seems nervous to say, "Because I know about yours and Damon's history with your ex, Katherine." She answers, "I just don't want her caught in the middle of that—because history has a habit of repeating itself, and I don't want that for her. She'll never recover."

"You really care for her, don't you?"

"Best friends. I love her like my sister." Caroline confirmed with a nod, "She needs tenderness—she's earned it." She says with a little more firmness in her tone, like it's a warning. She then sighs, "I'm going to tell you something... something she won't tell you herself—or even admit." Caroline confesses, "But, she's insecure within herself. Not about her looks or her smarts, but about Elena."

"What do you mean?"

"Hazel may be the older twin, but she's always been in Elena's shadow." Caroline admits, "And don't get me wrong, Hazel still loves Elena like this never happens, but, she's always been second place to her, her entire life. Elena was always a little better in everyone's mind, you know? I never understood it since they look exactly the same but, you're probably the first one that's picked her first. I just don't want anything to ruin that."

"I hope you aren't insinuating that I'll drop her for Elena." Stefan replies with a little confusion as to why she think she would.

"I would hope that you wouldn't." Caroline responds, "I'm just nervous knowing your history, and I want to protect her."

Back in the mansion, Damon and Hazel were still talking, "The Salvatore name was practically royalty in this town. Until the war. There was a battle here—"

"The Battle of Willow Creek." Hazel interrupts and Damon nods because he's impressed that she knows that, even though it's all they learn about in history, "I know, we talked about it in class. Confederate soldiers fired on a church with civilians inside."

Damon walks around her, "What the history books left out was the people that were killed. They weren't there by accident. They were believed to be Union sympathisers. So, some of the founders on the confederacy side back then wanted them rounded up and burned alive. Stefan and Damon had someone they loved very much in that church. And when they went to rescue them, they were shot. Murdered in cold blood." He explains.

Hazel's eyes widened in shock, "Who was in the church that they wanted to save?"

"A woman, I guess." Damon answers, "Doesn't it always come down to the love of a woman?"

Hazel sighs when she notices the glint in Damon's eyes again, "Look, I'm sorry that you and Stefan have this thing between you, but, I can't get in the middle of it, Damon. I just... I hope you two can work it out." She says.

"I hope so, too." He whispers back, a ghost of a smile on his lips that she returns as walks downstairs to find Stefan again.

They walk downstairs to the dance floor to meet Stefan and Caroline, "What'd we miss?" Damon asks his brother and girlfriend.

"We were just chatting." Stefan answers and holds out a champagne glass out for his brother, "Drink, Damon?"

"No, thanks. I'll pass." Damon says.

Hazel looks at Stefan, "Stefan, do you have another dance in you?"

Stefan nods his head, "Absolutely." He says and takes Hazel out to the dance floor so they could start to dance, "I hope Damon didn't drive you too crazy."

Hazel chuckled, "No, actually, he was on his best behaviour." She tells him and Stefan looks quite relieved, "He even apologised and explained why he is the way he is. And it all goes back to Katherine." She adds and Stefan only hums and twirls her around, "So, tell me about her. What happened?"

"It's not something I like to talk about." Stefan tells her.

Hazel discouragement fills her at the way he refuses to open up, but, she still tries, "I get that. I do. I just want you to know that you can. I mean, I burden you with all of my drama, and I want you to do the same."

"I know. Thank you." He says with a nod.

Hazel slowly stops dancing, her swaying much more slow as she can practically see his walls going up, "The truth is, Stefan... I don't really know that much about you, and I'd really love it if you would open up to me."

Stefan stops dancing with her all together at this point, "Damon said something, didn't he?" He asks and Hazel can't help but scoff, "He likes to play games and cause trouble, Hazel."

"This isn't about Damon, it's about me trying to get to know you." She says with disbelief, "Look, you're the mystery guy, and I like that. But, with mystery comes secrets, and this thing with Katherine..."

"Let it go. I don't want to talk about it." Stefan slightly snaps.

"Well, then, say something about yourself—anything." Hazel practically begs him, "Otherwise, I'm left with nothing but what other people tell me."

"Don't you see what Damon has done here? He's trying to get you to turn against me." Stefan replies.

"No, Stefan. It's not Damon—it's you." She snaps and walks away, leaving Stefan to glare at his brother in the distance.

Hazel found Bonnie and Elena a little while later, the girls now sitting inside, eating ice cream while Hazel complained about the situation. Chocolate ice cream was the only thing that was going to soothe the annoyance filling her. She just couldn't believe that Stefan was acting like this again after begging her for another chance. Isn't getting to know one another a vital part of dating? If so, why was he refusing to let her know about anything?

"This is my fault." Bonnie groaned with guilt, "I planted doubt. I'm a doubt planter."

"It's not your fault." Hazel says as she shakes her head and looks down at her bowl of ice cream, "I just—I feel terrible because I said that I wouldn't get in the middle of it, and then that's exactly what I did. I got all snotty." Her nose turns up in disgust at herself.

Elena sighs, "It's not your fault. Stefan gives you crumbs and expects you to treat it as mouthfuls." She tells her before she notices something on Hazel's face and giggles.

"What?" Hazel asks and instinctively touches her face.

"You've got ice cream all over your face." Elena says as she reaches into her purse to find some tissues while Hazel groans. She's always been a bit of a messy eater, and she knows ice cream is sticky.

"Don't bother, 'Lena." She tells her, knowing she's looking for tissues even though it won't work on sticky ice cream residue, "I just need to find a bathroom and wash it off. Just pray for me that I don't run in to anyone on the way there."

Bonnie chuckles, "Do you want us to come with you?"

Hazel shakes her head, "No. No need. I'll be back in five." She says and walks to the closest powder room. It doesn't take her long since she knows the place like the back of her hand. Once she's in there, she sees Caroline, "Hey."

"Hey." Caroline says back while washing her hands. Hazel turned the water faucet on and wiped off the ice cream before fixing her makeup, as did Caroline, "So, how are things with Stefan?"

Hazel sighs, "Not that great." She tells her before turning to look at her, "How come you didn't tell me about the thing with Stefan and Damon?"

"Damon didn't want you to know." Caroline says as she fixes her lipgloss in the mirror, "He didn't want anyone to know so I didn't say anything."

Hazel raises an eyebrow, "But, you told Bonnie?" She asks. She knows she promised Bonnie that she wouldn't say anything, but, she's hurt that her own best friend didn't say anything. Caroline only shrugs as if she didn't see any harm in what she did. Before she can even say anything further, Hazel spots something on Caroline's neck, "What is that?"

"Hmm?" Caroline asks and Hazel tries to lift her scarf up, "Don't!" Caroline says as she flinches away.

Hazel manages to lift her scarf up and sees a bite mark that's bruised and slightly bleeding—it looks fresh, "Oh god, Caroline, what happened?"

"Nothing, okay?!" Caroline snaps as she moves away from Hazel and fixes her neck to hide the wound.

"That is not nothing!" Hazel's worried, "Did somebody hurt you?"

"No, okay—nothing. It just... my mom would kill me." Caroline replies and goes to fix her makeup like nothing had happened.

Hazel looks at her outfit finally and realises that she's wearing things that Caroline would not normally wear. She usually states that scarves and shawls are the ugliest things ever put on the planet, and that people who were looking to hide their bodies would only wear them. Caroline never wore them before she started dating Damon. Hazel then pulls down her shawl and sees another bite mark on her back, "Did Damon hurt you?"

Caroline shrugs Hazel off of her and shakes her head, "No! Of course not! Just leave me alone. Okay, Hazel?!" She snaps, and leaves the bathroom.

Hazel follows after Caroline, who goes outside and when she sees Damon, she thinks she blacks out with rage because she walks over to him and pushes him. She would never do something like that in her right mind, "There is something seriously wrong with you." She snaps before pointing at him, "You stay away from Caroline or I will go straight to her mother—the sheriff. You got it? Stay away from her."

She doesn't give him a chance to reply before she goes to find Stefan, who was by the water fountain, "I'm sorry. I take it all back. You're completely right about Damon." She tells him.

Stefan turns to her with a look of concern that he tried to hurt her, "What did he do?"

"There are bruises all over Caroline's body—bite marks! And he has her all confused and messed up in the head." She explains and she notices Stefan's lack of shock, like what any normal person would react once they heard that, "You don't look surprised."

Stefan looks away as if he's searching for a way to reply, "Um... I'm handling it."

"Handling it?" Hazel scoffs, "Stefan, you should be having him arrested. He's abusing my best friend!"

"Hazel, please. I... I don't expect you to understand."

"I don't understand anything, Stefan." Hazel exclaims, "So, why don't you just clear it up for me?"

"Look, there are things that you don't know, okay? Things that I want to tell you, but, I can't. And I may never be able to. And I just need you to trust me." Stefan pleads.

Hazel blinks in disbelief that he just asked that of her after everything he just said, "Trust is earned. I can't just magically hand it over."

Stefan sees Damon dragging Caroline out into the yard behind Hazel and says, "I'm so sorry. I have to go." He then leaves Hazel standing there by herself in shock of what just happened.