𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙋𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙏𝙀𝙉
ミ★ ( lion and the lamb, act one ) ★彡
Hazel was not a believer. People are born, they grow old, and then they die. That's the world they live in. There's no magic, no mysticism, no immortality. There's nothing that defies rational thought. People are supposed to be who they say they are. And not lie or hide their true selves. It's not possible—it can't be. But, how can she deny what was right in front of her? Stefan was someone who never grew old; never got hurt; and he was someone who changed in ways that can't be explained. There were girls bitten, bodies drained of blood... how could it be explained in any other way other than a vampire? It feels ridiculous to even think that way, and she feels crazy to even suggest it, but, she wasn't thinking and needed to ask straight from the source.
She wasn't thinking when she grabbed her car keys, ignoring the fear she has being behind the wheel after the crash and headed towards Stefan's home, blaming all her actions on adrenaline otherwise she would've headed in the opposite direction, far away from the Salvatore brothers and anything else to do with the supernatural.
When she gets to the door, reality settles in along with the fear, realising that she was about to confront a vampire—a species known for attacking humans for their blood—and she turns around to go back to her car. However, she isn't fast enough when Stefan opens the door and she turns to look at him in fright, quickly asking, "What are you?" Stefan looks shocked to see her standing there, and she swallows the fear to ask again shakily but firmly, "What are you?"
Stefan's jaw clenches and he looks her up and down, before realising and nodding in acceptance, "You know." It isn't a question, rather a statement.
"No, I don't." Hazel shakes her head. It's all over the place and she can't form a thought. She thinks she knows the truth, but, she's hoping there's a reasonable explanation for it all that doesn't point to the supernatural, "Because I can't know. It's not true, is it? Tell me it isn't true and this is just me going crazy."
"Yes, you do know, or you wouldn't be here." Stefan replies.
"It's not possible." Hazel shakes her head fearfully, "It can't be."
Stefan puts down a piece of wood and Hazel's eyes widen in fear and she takes a step back when she notices it's a stake, "Everything you know... and every belief that you have is about to change. Are you ready for that?"
She's not ready but she wants to know so bad, "What are you?"
Stefan takes a few moments before he admits it finally, "I'm a vampire."
Hazel is frozen in her spot from fear, although every cell in her body is screaming at her to run. She's made a mistake coming here because she would've preferred to be in the unknown—she's come to learn that knowing is dangerous. She wants to scream for her life and run in the opposite direction to him, instead, her feet stay planted to the ground. She swallows thickly, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come."
"No." Stefan takes a step forward but Hazel takes one back, "Please."
"No." Hazel says as she turns to run away to the safety of her car, but Stefan appears in front of her. She stops in her tracks in shock and looks back to where he should've been before turning back to him with a gasp, "How did you do that?"
"Please don't be afraid of me." Stefan begs as he blocks her from her car.
Tears brim her eyes as she wants to be far away from him as possible, "Let me go."
Stefan grabs onto her arms, "No. Hazel, there's things that you have to know and understand."
"Let me go!" Hazel yells as she shoves past him, ignoring his yells of protest when she gets into the car and drives away.
When Hazel gets to her home, she runs to her bathroom immediately to the medicine cabinet to retrieve her anti-anxiety medication, because she can feel the adrenaline wearing off and the panic attack settling in its place. She looks at herself, all crazed and panicked and she hates it. She hates herself for being so weak and afraid of everything, and she hates herself even more for having to rely on medication to sort her emotions. They make her feel so numb, but, it's better than what lies on the other side if she doesn't take it.
She opens the cabinet to grab the orange container with her prescription but her eyebrows pull together in confusion when she can't find it. She sees everything else that isn't prescribed and can get over the counter, but, she can't find the things her doctor gave her in times of need. Her pain medication, her sleep medication, her antidepressants or her anti-anxiety. Everything was gone. She pulls everything out of the cabinet in a frenzy as if she will locate it by pulling it out, even though the shelves are shallow and you can't hide anything in there before she realises.
Jeremy.
She knows he has a drug addiction and she's done her best to guide him out of it, and supporting him whenever he lets her, but she has trust in him not to take anything like that of hers. He knows she needs it to survive, and he doesn't touch it to get high. He respects her more than that. Hazel isn't thinking clearly, and she isn't sure if he was desperate enough to take it. She knows she'll regret doubting him but she opens the door to his room, expecting him to be passed out with a litter of her pills surrounding him, but instead, she finds him with his headset on playing video games on his computer, and his reaction time is too good for someone who might be high. She sighs, grateful that his music is too loud for him to hear her enter is room and leaves, feeling guilty for ever doubting him but wonders where the hell everything went.
Hazel runs to her room where she begins to freak out and panic search there, pulling apart her room to find it when Stefan appears again, "Hazel." She gasps in fear and looks at him with wide eyes before she tries to run out of her room to call for help until Stefan pushes the door shut and corners Hazel against the door, "I would never hurt you. You're safe with me."
She feels the tears streaming down her face and her body begins to tremble as she rests her forehead against the door, "All those animal attacks, those people who died..." She whispers shakily. She can't even find the courage to face him because if she turns to look at him she thinks she'll be facing her death directly.
"No. That was Damon!" Stefan tells her, trying to keep his voice quiet so he doesn't alert anyone else in the house that he's there or that Hazel is afraid of him to make matters worse than it already is.
"Damon?" Hazel finally turns around to look at him in confusion through her tears.
Stefan's heart breaks a little to see her cry, but he has to let her know the truth—the whole truth now that she only knows a portion of it. It always looks and sounds worse without the full picture, "Yes. I don't drink human blood. That's not how I choose to survive, but, Damon does! I'll explain everything to you, but, I beg you, Hazel, do not tell anybody." She wants to ask him how he can ask her of that, because it puts her in more danger than anything else. She wants to protect Elena as well, she doesn't want him to know that Elena knows too. He could kill her for knowing, "You knowing this is dangerous, for so many reasons." Stefan continues to say, "And I know that if you know, that Elena must know too, but, you two cannot tell anybody else." He says and Hazel's eyes widen in fear for the safety of Elena, "You can hate me, but, I need you to trust me."
Hazel can't say anything else, "Just go." She begs, "Just go, please. Go." She cries finally and shakily says, "If you mean me no harm, then you'll go!"
Stefan steps away, his eyes hurt that she doesn't trust him and that she's afraid of him, "I never wanted this." He says sadly before he finally leaves and Hazel collapses to the ground in a pool of tears, catching the attention of her sister who comes to comfort her.
It's evident that Hazel didn't sleep a wink the night before when she joins Stefan at the Mystic Grill for lunch the next day with her sister. If it was even possible for her dark circles to appear darker, they would've. She spent the night afraid of her own shadow, flinching at every rustle in the trees and every bump in the night. It didn't come from a lack of trying, however. She did try to sleep, but knowing that her already existing sleep problems would've been an issue, that closing her eyes and not being afraid of what she would dream about was a major problem—especially without the assistance of her medication. When she finally grained the courage to get out from underneath the covers, she spent the remainder of the night researching everything she could about vampires.
"You said that you would explain everything. That's why we've asked you to meet us here." Elena started stiffly, grabbing onto Hazel's hand to comfort her. Stefan knew she would be coming since she already knew about him being immortal after their little research excursion at the news station, and Hazel would've felt more comfortable meeting with him if she wasn't alone, "When you Google 'vampire' you get a world of fiction. What's the reality?"
"I can tell you whatever you wanna know." Stefan agrees.
"I know you eat garlic." Hazel finally speaks, her tone barely above a whisper, and Stefan nods in confirmation. Garlic was always the biggest superstition to scare away vampires, but she remembers Stefan claiming he loves it and ate it when they made dinner at her house, "And somehow, sunlight's not an issue." The other thing was that vampires only came out at night, but she sees Stefan sitting in the sun, perfectly safe.
A waitress arrives and places their drinks on the table before promptly leaving to attend to her other guests. Stefan holds up his hand that shows his lapis lazuli ring, "We have rings that protect us."
"Crucifixes?" Elena asks.
"Decorative." Stefan answers.
"Holy water?"
"Drinkable."
"Mirrors?"
"Myth."
"You said you don't kill to survive." Hazel then mentions.
"Animal blood keeps me alive, but, not as strong as Damon. He can be very powerful." Stefan explains.
"And yet you let him get involved with Caroline?" Hazel's eyes narrow. If he knew he was dangerous and powerful, how could he think that letting him be with Caroline was a good idea? Especially knowing the result it ended in, she can't help but resent him for turning a blind eye to it all.
"Forcing Damon not to do something is much more dangerous, believe me." Stefan replies.
"He was hurting her!" Hazel snaps and Elena squeezes her hand to calm her down. She can be extra sensitive on days that she has barely any sleep, and saying the wrong thing can easily set her off into another panic.
"He was feeding on her." Stefan corrects, "He was able to take away her memories of being bitten using a form of mind compulsion. She never knew what was happening to her. If he wanted to kill her, he would have."
Elena scoffs at what he said and her eyes slightly fill with disgust, "Is that supposed to make it okay?"
Stefan shakes his head, "No. No, none of this is okay. I know that." He says before leaning into his chair and looking down at his lap shamefully. As a vampire, what Damon did was very humane for him knowing that his older brother could've killed her and tore her apart the second he was done with her like all of his other victims.
Elena sighs as she calms down and tries to speak with a level head, "Are there any others, aside from you and Damon?"
Stefan shakes his head, "Not in Mystic Falls; not anymore."
Hazel looks confused by his words, "Not anymore?"
Stefan nods, "There was a time when this town was... very much aware of vampires, and it didn't end well for anybody. That's why it's important that you don't tell anyone." He answers and their eyes slightly widen as more of their town history comes to light. They would've never expected any of this to happen in their little quaint hometown, "Just... give me today. I will answer any questions that you two have, and when it's over, you can decide for yourself what you wanna do with what you know. It'll be your choice."
Stefan had told them that they needed to hear the story from the start and they had gotten into Elena's car and took a drive into the woods. The car was silent despite the small faint sounds of the radio playing in the background, and Hazel refused to look at Stefan in the eye. She didn't want her back to him or sit beside him either so she sat in the backseat while he sat in the passenger seat, as far away from her as possible.
It wasn't too long when Stefan gave the order, "Stop here."
Elena stops the car and they get out to see some ruins that were covered by moss and grass, "What are we doing here?"
Stefan looks at the twins, "I want to show you something."
"In the middle of nowhere?" Elena's starting to show her own fear now; because she's just followed a vampire into the middle of the woods where no one was around and no one could hear them scream—possibly never even find their bodies if he were to kill them. He says he wouldn't hurt them, but, she'd be a fool to trust that completely.
There was a faint sad smile on Stefan's face as he says, "This... didn't used to be nowhere. This used to be my home." He says as he looks back at the ruins.
The twins walk away from the car and followed him into the ruins to see the bricks and old stone that had weathered over time, "It looks so..."
"Old?" Stefan finished for Elena, and the twins nodded, "It's because it is."
Elena's eyes then widened, "Wait. How long have you..."
"I've been seventeen years old since 1864." Stefan tells them and Hazel gasps, "You said you wanted to know. I'm not gonna hold anything back." He says as they walk further into the ruins, "Half a century before the boarding house was even built, this was my family's home. Damon and I... we were both born here. The Salvatore brothers, best friends. That was, until Katherine Pierce came into town and came in between us."
Hazel blinked in shock, "You knew Katherine in 1864? Damon made it seem like..."
"Damon was trying to make you think that... I was still heartbroken. He saw that I was happy with you, and he wanted to ruin it." Stefan replies and Hazel looked down at her feet in shame because his game worked, and she let Damon get between them.
Elena scoffs, "All because you loved the same woman 145 years ago?"
Stefan smiles sadly, "She wasn't just any girl. She had the ability to be able to get in between us. She played games to pit us against each other for her love—and it worked when she made us fight over who would get her to escort her to the Founder's Ball." He says as they continue walking throughout the estate, "She chose me. I escorted her to the ball at the original Lockwood mansion."
Hazel then realised and she turned to look at him with shock, "The first founder's party... where you signed the registry." She says, remembering the registry that she and Stefan looked at and Damon had stated the original Salvatore brothers attended and signed, now come to find out it was them all along.
Stefan nodded and Elena looked shocked to find this out. She did see the names on the registry and she heard from Hazel the story that Damon had told her, and she's equally surprised to hear it all come together. Stefan then shrugged, "I didn't care that I had gotten something that my brother wanted. I didn't even care if it hurt him. I only knew that I wanted her."
"So, he was upset." Elena concluded as she sat down on one of the stone benches.
"That's the thing about Damon. He doesn't get mad. He just gets even." Stefan replies, shaking his head, "What Damon wants, Damon usually gets. I didn't know it at the time, but... turns out that night... Katherine was with him, too."
Hazel's eyebrows pulled together, remembering how Damon stated to Caroline that Stefan stole her from him, "So, he stole her from you, not the other way around?"
"Turns out she wasn't ours to steal." Stefan responds, shaking his head slightly, "She was a vampire who liked to wreak havoc, who craved chaos and power, and we were her favourite toys." He explains and Hazel's eyes widened in fear, it all making sense about how they felt about Katherine. They spoke of her as if they loved her, but hated her at the same time, "She could control my mind; and Damon's. She compelled each of us to keep the secret from the other. She wanted all of us to be together. Forever. Didn't work out that way, but... Damon and I, looks like we're stuck with each other... like it or not."
The twins looked shocked and Katherine's crazy plan while Stefan squatted down and pulls out Damon's ring that was wrapped in fabric from a ruin, "Is that Damon's ring?" Hazel questions as she recognises Stefan's matching other half, but instead the wring has the letter D embossed into it.
Stefan nods, "I took it from him, but, I have to give it back."
Hazel shakes her head and steps forward, "No, don't, Stefan. Don't give it back to him. Keep it hidden." If there was anything to know about Damon and what she now knows about vampires, it's best that Damon can't walk around as freely as he likes. He doesn't deserve it, and who knows who else he'll hurt.
"Hazel, if I don't give it to him, he'll retaliate in the only way that he knows he can hurt me." Stefan takes a step closer to her.
Hazel sighs in frustration, "And how is that?"
"By hurting you and Elena." He admits and Hazel blinks in surprise, "I care about you, a lot. Damon knows that, and he knows that you care deeply for Elena—as you would being family, and he knows that he can get to me through yourself and Elena."
"I would never let Damon be anywhere near me." Elena admits with a scowl and shivers in disgust at the thought of being near Damon. She then checks her phone to see the time, "We should get back. We promised Jenna that we would be back by five to help with dinner."
Hazel nods as she follows Elena back to the car with Stefan in tow. They reach it within a few minutes and Stefan opens the car door for the twins. Hazel stops before she gets into the backseat, "The mind control... you said Katherine used. Do you ever do that to me or Elena?"
"No." Stefan answers, "That necklace I gave you and the bracelet I gave Elena, it contains an herb called vervain. It protects you from being compelled." He points to the necklace and Elena's bracelet and they looked shocked that he did that for them without them even knowing, "I wanted to protect you from Damon's influence. But, I also wanted to... protect you from me." He admits and her eyes soften, "But, I realised after I gave it to you that the bracelet you wear already contains it."
"The one from our mom?" Hazel asks and Stefan nods as she looks down at it, wondering what or how their mom came to know about vervain—or even if she knew, "Do you think she knew about vampires?"
"Being part of a founding family and Mystic Falls' history with vampires, it is possible." Stefan answers and Hazel looks up at him with wide eyes, same with Elena, "But, she could've also just picked it up by chance and liked it. We have no way of truly knowing." He says and she frowns slightly because he's right, there is no way of knowing because their mother was gone, "Hazel, you should never take either of those pieces of jewellery off... because no matter what happens after today, no matter how you feel about me... you'll know that you were free to make your own choice."