CHAPTER SEVEN. You're Undead To Me

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THE REST OF THE WEEK HAD PASSED IN SILENCE. Tension filled the houses of Salvatore's, Gilbert's, and founding families alike. Elena hadn't heard from Stefan. Hazel and Sadie hadn't heard from Stefan. Caroline was hiding away in her own home. And Bonnie was reeling over strange things happening in her own life. Bonnie was trying to check on Caroline. She wanted to help, but it was hard. Damon had disappeared after the Founders Party, too. Nobody knew where he had gone off to.

James Greenwood sighed as he flipped through a book at the dinning table. He was writing notes in a notebook, skipping pages. Hazel came down the stairs in a pair of jeans and a light blue long sleeve top. She already had her shoulder bag, and his old leather jacket layered on it. She walked to the fridge, grabbing herself a cheese stick as her father looked at her from behind his reading glasses.

She looked at him, peeling the plastic away. "Yes?"

James shrugged, shaking his head. "Nothing." He said. Hazel took a bite of cheese. "I've just noticed you didn't go to Sadie's all weekend. Does that have anything to do with her dancing with Mikey at the party?"

Hazel looked around guiltily. She sighed, moving closer to the table. "You ever have that gut feeling like you know something's going to happen before it does?" She asked her dad, sitting in a chair adjacent to him. "Cause I get that all the time. And all the time I'm right. And now I'm getting that feeling that Mikey likes Sadie and she's going to start liking him too!" She listed off, throwing her hands up from her lap.

"And you don't want your best friend dating your stepdads son."

"No! That's, like, gross." Hazel said with a scrunched nose. "And Mikey's gross! He leaves the toilet seat up, he eats more than a family of seven, he's got the brain of an ape, and he smells like a rotten lemon after football practice!"

James sighed, looking up. "Well, maybe she likes the smell of rotten lemon." Hazel groaned in disgust as her dad laughed at her. "Look, you and Sadie are at that age now where the people you like change. And it's going to be people neither of you agree with. Like when you had a crush on Tyler when you were 12."

"That was before I knew he was her cousin."

"Or the time you had a crush on that Josh guy in your 9th grade class and Sadie said he looked like a muppet on crack."

Hazel looked to the side. She fell quiet for a moment, pondering. "He did kind of look like a muppet on crack." She said thoughtfully. She shook her head, looking at her dad. "But Mikey's not some guy. He's my step brother!" She said with a frown.

"Your football playing charismatic step brother who's never not had a date to a school dance who now asks your best friend to dance with him at Founders Parties."

The conversation did not make Hazel feel any better.

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SADIE STOOD AT HER LOCKER, putting away books as she saw red hair in her peripheral. The McCullough was wearing an old affliction shirt, washed out jeans, and her converses. Her hair cascaded down her back, pushing her bangs further to the side as she looked over at her approaching friend. "Hey, you." Sadie chirped, shutting her locker. "Have you seen Caroline? How is she?"

Hazel nodded. Her eyes were wide, puzzled and surprised, "She looks great. Unrealistically great." She said as she waved Sadie along. "She's acting like Damon never happened. Have you seen Stefan?"

"Not yet. But to be honest, I don't know if I want to." Sadie said lowly. "Elena said he knew what Damon was doing and that he was handling it. That's weird."

Hazel blew air between her pouty lips as she nodded. "Yeah. Did he kill the guy?" The two girls round the corner, yelping in surprise as they nearly run straight into Stefan. He held out his arm to grab Hazel, who nearly tripped over herself in surprise.

Stefan looked between them, his usual mysterious and soft look familiar. "Sorry. I was just looking for you guys."

Hazel stepped back, composing herself as she looked him up and down. She was attempting to play it off, act like she didn't think something was seriously wrong with Damon and that Stefan was one step away from being guilty by association. She was never good at hiding her expressions. Still, she pursed her lips together coyly. She pushed her straight red hair back. "Where have you been? I tried texting, like, a million times." She deadpanned. Sadie didn't add on, looking over at the younger Salvatore expectantly.

"Sorry. I had to deal with some things." Stefan explained, the image of his brother in a cellar burning into him. Sadie and Hazel shared surprised looks. A vague non-answer, just like Elena had complained. "Look, I'm really sorry about Damon."

"About which part?" Hazel asked. Her attempt to act cool had already gone down the drain. Her eyes danced with annoyance and her head tilted to the side. "The fact he was popping up around town and talking to me with double meanings? Or what about the part where he tried to kiss Elena? Or, or! The part where he was hurting Caroline and you didn't even tell us." She listed off, pointing a finger at every point. Her tone had turned harsh and sarcastic. No sense of humor or the pleasant soft Hazel that Stefan preferred. Stefan clenched his jaw. "I get it, he's your brother and we're your friends. But I'd expect the decency for you to tell me how dangerous he is because he's shown up outside my house." 

Stefan raised a brow. "He what?" The way he breathed out the question showed how genuinely shocked Stefan was. Maybe even scared. Sadie looked at him with furrowed brows. How did he not know?

"I was walking my dog and he pulled up next to me. Called me little red riding hood and then I yelled at him pretty much how I'm doing to you right now." Hazel summed up as she waved her hand at him. Rolling her head to the side in thought, she looked back up. "Have you talked to Elena?"

"I'm talking to her tonight, about everything."

Hazel nodded. "Good. Do that. Don't mess it up." She walked away, leaving Sadie and Stefan behind as she walked towards her first period.

Sadie sighed slowly, shaking her head. "You've really pissed her off." Sadie said lowly. "I think the only thing keeping you from getting smacked is the fact she's mad at me."

"She saw you dancing with her brother."

     The fact Stefan didn't ask meant he had seen it too. Sadie winced as she internally battled with her feelings. She didn't want to dislike what happened at the party. She liked dancing with Mikey. But the swirling guilt in her gut started to downcast on the warm memory.

"Step-brother. But yeah." Sadie sighed, her and the Salvatore starting to walk towards their own classes; they happened to be in the same hall. "But it was just a stupid dance. I haven't even talked to him since and I barely talked to him before that."

Stefan shrugged. "Then you don't have anything to worry about. If nothing is going on, then she'll figure it out." He informed her.

"Sadie!"

Stefan and Sadie turn around at her name, seeing Mikey Manson jogging in their direction. Sadie's eyebrows shot up in surprise, and Stefan looked in her direction in amusement. She clutched her bag tightly, adjusting her footing awkwardly. Stefan tried not to smile, looking at her. "You were saying?" He teased. Sadie narrowed her eyes at him.

As Stefan made his departure, leaving Sadie to fend for herself against the Manson boy approaching, Sadie looked Mikey over again. He was so cliche, and maybe that's part of why she hated him for so long. His dad made a lot of money. Mikey's house was one of those with a lot of land that they could do just about anything with. There was a pool, a small chicken coup, a field that Mikey used to play sports with his friends like Tyler and Matt. Growing up, he was friendly with Sadie. He and Hazel, despite their bickering and the usual step-family stereotype, got along. They'd met at age ten and clicked naturally as siblings. Their closeness was why Mikey was always invited to James's home when their parents were out of town. Why Tyler and Sadie had spent weeks at a time going between the Manson and Greenwood houses because they'd rather be with Mikey and Hazel than their own parents.

But that's what it always was. Friends. And then they found different paths in high school. Mikey and Tyler went on to become a football star. Sadie and Hazel went on to be in the background, coming to the forefront for football games whenever they asked.

So why was it different now? What happened the summer before their junior year that caused Mikey to give Sadie free beer, to talk to her when Tyler and Hazel were nowhere to be found, and to dance with her at the Founders Party?

Mikey walked up to her, shoving his hands in his pockets as he beamed. "How's it going, Sades?" He asked, watching Stefan walk away from them.

"It's fine." She answered shortly, avoiding his eyes as much as she could. Why did the hallway suddenly feel so small? And why did Mikey suddenly feel so close? She swallowed nervously.

He looked at her for a moment, nudging her playfully. "You're acting a little stiff. You good?"

Sadie blinked. "What? I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be fine?" She listed off with an awkward smile.

Mikey squinted at her. "Right," He drew out the word, nodding. "I'll see you at lunch, then, alright?" He patted her shoulder walking away. Sadie sighed lowly, biting the inside of her cheek harshly in thought. She turned away, walking towards her classroom.

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MYSTIC FALLS LIBRARY WAS QUIET. Hazel smiled as she checked out a middle school girls books, leaving them in a small stack on the taller shelf. She watched as the only other person in the building walked out the door. She exhaled sharply, leaning into her hand as she looked around.

Emptiness wasn't her favorite feeling. Empty almost always was accompanied by alone. Hazel liked being alone, but she hated feeling lonely. And lonely either felt freakishly sad or freakishly scary. Now? When it's nearly dark outside? It felt freakishly scary.

Hazel sighed, standing up from the desk and walking around. Just a few feet away was a cart of books her dad had checked in and asked her to put away. She grabbed hold of the handles, pushing it towards the first second of books, looking down at them in thought.

A breeze from behind her caused her to whip around. She frowned, seeing she was still alone. Hazel looked away, putting books in their respective spots. Another breeze. Hazel leaned back, seeing the front door slowly shutting.

"Hello?" She called out. Silence answered her. Goosebumps began to rise on her skin as she gripped the cart. She pushed it to the next aisle, looking back and forth. There was nobody there. She even looked up towards the second story. Nobody could be seen, and surely she'd have heard or seen something if they passed by.

Hazel began putting more books away, trying her hardest not to freak herself out. But she'd seen horror movies. She'd freaked herself out plenty of times. And this just so happened to be another one of those. She kept her back to the cart, lining up books with their authors. When she turned around, she cursed in shock as a person stood in front of her.

"Shit, Stefan!" She laughed, clutching her chest as she looked at him. Stefan gave a closed mouth smile. "You scared me."

"Sorry, sorry." He said awkwardly. "I just, um," There was silence for a moment as Stefan pondered over his words. He looked up at her. "You were right. I messed it up."

     He messed it up with Elena. Whatever explanations he tried to give didn't work out. In fact, he had been late to their talk at the Grill, he gave her a vague answer, and she stormed off from him more annoyed than before. Part of him was almost annoyed that Hazel was right.

Hazel groaned. "Good going—"

"But I have an idea to make it up to her." He reasoned, looking at the redhead with a hopeful stare. "I was hoping you could give me Jeremy's number."

Hazel crossed her arms. "How do you know I have Jeremy's number?" She asked.

"Because Elena told me how you beat him up and made him give you his number."

The redhead smirked. "Damn straight. If he's gonna be a dick, he's gonna have to hear about it from me." She walked towards the front desk, Stefan close behind. She walked around into the employee door, waving Stefan in. He walked behind the desk with her, standing as she sat in the chair. She grabbed her phone, typing away. "So, you're finally gonna open up to Elena?"

"I'm gonna try."

"You don't have to tell her every piece of your life." Hazel reasoned, shrugging simply. "But Elena deserves to know you. She deserves someone that trusts her. Mystery is fun, but to a point."

Stefan nodded slowly. "You're right." He said simply.

"I know."

Hazel grabbed a pen and a sticky note, scribbling Jeremy's number. "He's probably with Vicki, but he'll still answer." She explained, turning to face him and handing him the note. "Don't mess it up this time, got it?"

"I won't." Stefan said, shifting his feet. "Thank you, Hazel."

The redhead girl watched as Stefan started to walk away. "What happened to Damon?" She blurted.

Stefan turned to look at her. Her leather jacket was hanging off the back of her chair. She played with the sleeves of her shirt. Stefan couldn't get the image out of his head. The image of Damon holding her on the edge of that roof. The fear in her voice. Her teary eyes. The way she begged for her life. Stefan wanted to protect her, and yet he felt so helpless. Every time Damon spoke to Hazel was another time Damon proved that she'd never be safe. Damon was mocking him. And they both knew it.

But Damon was away now. Locked in a cellar of vervain. Hazel was safe. Elena was safe.

"He left town," Stefan lied. Hazel raised a brow, almost surprised. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Toodles!"

Meanwhile, across town, Sadie was sitting in her room, on her bed, trying to do homework. The keyword here is trying, because it felt like no matter what she did she could only think about Hazel. And Mikey. And Damon. And Caroline. And Elena. And Stefan.

Nothing made sense anymore! A couple weeks ago, everything did make sense. She was fine! She was normal! And then junior year started. People started dying and getting attacked. She started talking to people who, a few months ago, she wouldn't have even looked at twice in the hallways. And now she's starting to question her feelings for Mikey? And now she's wondering what the hell did Damon Salvatore do to Caroline Forbes? She was losing her mind. She slammed her textbook shut and walked towards the door.

Samantha McCullough, Sadie's 19 year old sister, was curled up on the couch watching TV in her work uniform. She looked over, frowning in confusion. "Where are you going?" She asked. She watched as her sister walked by, having swapped her jeans for comfortable shorts as soon as she got home.

"Outside."

"Why?"

Sam didn't get an answer, as her sister slammed the door on her way out. Sadie stomped down the stone steps, walking around the house to the backyard. She clenched her jaw in annoyance. She closed her eyes tightly, remembering a piece of advice Hazel gave her once.

Sadie started screaming.

It was more of a screech. A blood curdling screech that made her face tighten up and her skin turn red. It echoed in her ears. Dogs started barking in the surrounding houses. She clenched her fists tight as she let out every overwhelming feeling in the form of a scream.

When she was done, silence fell over her. She started breathing deeply, attempting to catch the air that she had lost. The swarming thoughts had paused. Her mind was empty, even if only for a second. She blinked. Hazel was right, she thought. It does help.

"Gee, I didn't know I was that hideous."

Sadie spun around, seeing Mikey standing at the side of her house, leaning against it. She shook her head, confused. "What are you doing here?" She stuttered out.

"I'm spending the night at the Greenwoods. Parents are going out of town and James is letting me crash." Mikey explained. It made sense, now. He was in a T-shirt and pajama pants, not nearly ready to go somewhere of extreme importance. She could even tell his hair wasn't styled like usual, parts of it falling flat. "But I saw you walking out here as I drove by, and I figured I should check in."

She smiled awkwardly. "It's been a weird couple days, and Hazel always says to scream it out, so," She trailed off, trying to push down every embarrassed bubble in her body.

"Hey, I get it." Mikey shrugged. "With all the drama at school, the animal attacks, everything feels like it's been flipped upside down."

Her eyes softened. "You feel it too?" She asked softly.

"I think everyone does." He answered shortly. Sadie felt something swarm in her chest, but she couldn't identify what. Mikey clears his throat, standing up straight. "I'll see you tomorrow, alright?"

"Are you going to the car wash?" She asked, slightly surprised.

Mikey sighed, "Not willingly. But Matt's going, and Hazel needs a ride, so I am." They both laugh, a softness in the air. An unfamiliar softness. Something that wasn't there before. Something Sadie wasn't sure was all in her head, or if it was actually real. "Goodnight, Sades."

She smiled. A warmth in her chest as she waved. "Goodnight, Mikey." She whispered so softly. She felt her cheeks warm up, turning a rosy shade of pink. She watched his back as he walked back towards his car. She sighed as she closed her eyes. As soon as the fuzzy feelings did, so did the guilt. What was she feeling? Why was she feeling it? How could she? This felt like a betrayal. She looked at him again, her stomach now swarming with complicated feelings, and her mind buzzing with conflicted thoughts.

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NAT SPEAKS !

hey y'all! i wanted to yap about something related to the fics but really not important cause it's important to MEEEE and that's the fashion in it.

i describe sadie & hazel's outfits because if i didn't i'd imagine both girls in the same outfits the entire story. and so i like describing what they're wearing for myself but ALSO to explain their character development because YES, their styles say a lot about them.

sadie's style is much more grunge, emo, edgy. she wears affliction, abbey dawn (which isn't out yet but she will), rock band merch, lots of dark colors, etc. and that's because she just loves that style, but also to symbolize that she is more confident in herself and her style. she doesn't wear the necessarily basic trendy clothes like caroline and elena. she's wearing edgy brands, she's more stuck out than them, etc, you know? it's very avril lavigne, taylor momsen, peyton sawyer, effy stonem, faith lehane inspired.

meanwhile hazel's is more...basic and a little all over the place. hazel is impressionable, shes heavily influenced by people in her life. so sometimes she wears edgier clothes LIKE sadie, other times she may dress more like elena and bonnie. she's just a little all over the place with her clothes. in my head she's much more elena gilbert, aria montgomery,  maybe some buffy summers, alex russo, stuff like that.

i just thought it'd be more fun to have their styles be different than what most of the girls in the show wear. i wanted them to be individualized in their own ways, and i think i do that if you're very visual when reading. their styles will likely change and stuff as the story continues. especially hazel's because of her impressionable nature and how she is inspired by multiple styles and hasn't found what she likes yet. sadie's will change but likely more gradually over the course of the seasons.

ANYWAYS, i hope you guys enjoyed this chapter because iiii did i think it's fun and we're slowly setting up the beginning of sadie's story. i feel kinda bad for hazel cause i feel like she's the MAIN character but she's the one who's got no love interest seasons 1-2 that's planned. MAYBE THAT WILL CHANGE when the story continues, but thus far my plan is her and endgame s3-6. same with sadie but...mikey<3.

i hope yall like mikey btw yes he's a bit of a jock knucklehead but he's my jock knucklehead and he's very sweet at his core i swear. plus you have to like him alright he's a major character for hazel and sadie.

okay im done yapping now i love yall, don't be a ghost reader i love hearing yalls thoughts, theories, ideas, whatever else. TOODLES!

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