A/N) Hello, my wonderful readers! I have returned with the next part! To be honest, I didn't think this story would go on for so long, but inspiration just keeps on coming. Also, I'm glad all of you liked the last chapter just as much as I did! And, thank you to FlowerGirl15 and Keeper Island for reviewing!

Keeper Island: did that count as a shoutout? If not . . .

SHOUT OUT TO KEEPER ISLAND!

Sorry, they asked me to. XD

FlowerGirl15: Lol, thank you! I'm so glad you like it! I actually had to look up what OTP stood for, but once I did-aww that's so nice of you!

Anyway, you guys probably want me to stop talking and get on with the story, don't you?

Then, in that case, without further adieu, part seven!

Part 7

I woke up the next day buried in like, three blankets. And, boy were they soft. Like, seriously, it felt like i was in a cloud. But, where was I? Wait, was I in heaven?

DID I DIE?

Before i could panic, I heard a slightly familiar voice say from across the room, "Good morning, Hazel."

I sat up quickly-and immediately regretted it when i felt the blood rush to my head. I looked around to see a familiar amber-color haired woman standing at the doorway of the enormous room I had apparently slept in. The memories hit me splash of cold water: Last night with Dex, the discovery of the elves and all those other intelligent species, the fact that the humans weren't one of them. And that I had decided to stay here in the Lost Cities, all the complications that came with a human and an elf being together.

"I have a few things for you," Dex's mother Juline said from where she stood. "May I come in."

"Oh! Yes, of course!" I told her, fumbling with the blankets and pulling them off me. I scooted to the edge of the huge bed, running a hand over my eyes in an attempt to wake me up more. Juline entered, the woman looking as beautiful as I remembered. She had such a kind smile on her face, and beautiful turquoise eyes. In her hands, she held a tray of several vials with different colored liquids inside, and hooked over her arm was what I assumed a tunic and leggings.

"These are some of the elixirs Dex made for you, to help you with your life span," she explained as she set the tray on a small table next to the bed. "And, yes, we know that you're officially moving here when you turn sixteen, but we wanted to make sure the elixirs worked." She held up her arm, gesturing to the clothes as she added, "These belong to Biana. She insisted that you wear these today." She laughed to herself and shook her head. "That girl certainly loves fashion."

"She does?" The words held a bit of dread as I watched Juline shake out the tunic, which was gold, white, sparkly, and looked really tight. Great. Even the leggings were gold!

"To be honest, though, I think she was right: this would look very nice on you." I blushed at the compliment.

"Thanks," I mumbled, standing.

"Dex talked about you all last night," she continued, leading me to the ginormous closet to get changed. I was surprised to find myself already wearing one of the softest nightgowns in the world. When did that happen? Handing me the clothes, she walked back to the elixirs, but talked loud enough for me to hear. "He and Kesler were testing out the elixirs and making them as best they could for you. I was with them just to hear all the stories Dex had about you. He loves you a lot, dear. I can tell. His eyes always light up whenever he talks about you, and he just can't seem to get that dimpled smile of his of his face."

I tugged the tunic down my body after pulling on the leggings. I smiled to myself as she continued. "I never would have thought that he would find love so strong at his age. Let alone with a . . ."

"A human?" I finished for her as I walked out of the closet. She looked away, nodding slightly before quickly adding, "But, I didn't mean it in a bad way! I just-"

"No, no, it's fine. I understood what you meant," i assured her. She looked back at me, and then gasped.

"Oh my, Hazel, you look beautiful!"

I glanced down at myself. "You think so?"

She nodded. "Wait until Dex sees you in elvin clothes!"

…

"Why are they taking so long?"

"Dex, that's the seventh time you've asked that," Biana told me with a laugh. "Your mom's probably just getting her ready and giving her those elixirs."

"I guess."

Keefe stood up from his seat next to Sophie and plopped down next to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and wiggling his eyebrows. "So, why don't you tell us about your little girlfriend, Technonerd?"

I pushed his arm off of me as the others agreed. My cheeks warmed up just by thinking about her.

"Or maybe you could tell us what you did last night?" Keefe added, me not liking the smile on his smug face.

"That's between me and Hazel," I told them. "But . . . I mean, I guess I could tell you more about her. Though, it'd be easier if you got to know her yourself."

"She's probably not gonna be down here for another ten minutes," Sophie pointed out.

"Yeah, and after that lecture from Forkle about how necessary discreetness is when it comes to Hazel living in the Lost Cities eventually," Fitz jumped in, "I think I speak for all of us when I say-"

"BRING ON THE GOOD STUFF!" Keefe interrupted, pumping a fist in the air.

I rolled my eyes. "Go back to your own girlfriend, will you?" I practically shoved him off the couch. He pouted and went back to Sophie.

"Technonerd's a meanie," he told her, leaning his head on her shoulder and crossing his arms.

Sophie laughed. "You're ridiculous."

"But you love me for it," he told her, lifting his head up and kissing her cheek.

"Ugh, do that when you two are alone," Tam said from where he sat in the shadowiest corner. Biana was right there with him, which was, in its own way, sweet.

"Aw, come on, Bangs Boy. You can do it with your girl, too. We don't mind." Keefe rested his head on Sophie's shoulder again.

"Uh, actually, I do!" Fitz said from where he sat next to Linh, crossing his arms.

"Now you know what I have to deal with whenever I catch you and Linh-" Biana started to say, but Linh stood abruptly.

"Uh, we don't have to say anything about that," she said, her cheeks flushing.

"Making out," Biana finished quietly. Keefe cracked up, and I couldn't help but laugh, too. Before we knew it, we were all laughing, for reasons unknown. I think we all just needed something like this to brighten things up a bit, you know?

"Yeah, okay, Imma leave before the crazy spreads to me," I heard Hazel's voice say, which immediately calmed down the laughter.

"But the crazy is irresistable, Redhead," Keefe informed her, which made her roll her eyes. But she was smiling, and a little motion like that made the entire room brighten. But then I saw what she was wearing, and . . . wow. I never thought I would ever see her in elvin clothes, and despite the fact that she could look good in anything, seeing her wearing this? It just made everything more real.

And, sometimes, real was good.

But is was . . . complicated. (Haha, Flashback quote! Not exact, though. But you guys know what I'm talking about)

When she saw me, her eyes seemed to light up, and that made me feel more special than I wanted to admit. She crossed over to where I was and plopped down beside me, crossing her legs and saying, "Morning, babe."

"Aw, she called him babe," Keefe teased. He looked at Sophie. "Why don't you call me that?"

"I didn't think elves did that." Sophie shrugged. But with a teasing smile, she leaned closer and whispered, "Babe."

Keefe smiled, kissing her again. I groaned and told Hazel, "I've had to deal with this for over a year. With all six of them!" Hazel laughed.

"You poor soul."

"You'd better believe it," I agreed. The others starting talking amongst themselves, and i felt Hazel scoot closer.

"But, you know," she said, her voice quiet enough so that only I could hear, "You can do it now, too." I looked at her, and my heart picked up speed when I saw the look in her beautiful hazel eyes. And then I realized how close we were. And, despite how many times I had kissed her, I loved how she always managed to make my heart want to explode, and how her eyes made me forget everything around us, and-

"Are they gonna kiss?-ARE THEY HAVING A MOMENT?" Biana squealed.

"Well, not anymore," Linh told her as Hazel and I quickly looked away at anything else in the room. But I loved the fact that we both glanced back at the same time. Apparently, so did Biana.

"THAT'S SO CUTE!"

"Shut up," I mumbled, crossing my arms and sinking back against the cushions to hide my blush.

"Yeah, why are we the center of attention?" Hazel added, coming to my rescue and copying my position, though, she probably didn't mean to.

"Because, believe it or not, you two might be changing history," my mom said from where she stood at the entrance way. Hazel sat up straighter.

"Wait, what?"

"She's right, you know." Alden's voice filled the room as he, my dad, and Della entered the large living room. Mr. Forkle was with them, as well.

"What are you guys talking about?" I asked, becoming interested and sitting up.

"Well, it's pretty obvious," Forkle said. "And elf and a human forming a relationship such as yours," he referred to me and Hazel, "is much different than the relationship Miss Foster has with her sister."

"Obviously," Keefe muttered.

Mr. Forkle ignored him. "And, while Miss Compton has decided to wait until she turns sixteen to officially move to the Lost Cities, the relationship between her and Mr. Dizznee still exists either way. And that . . . that is something our world has never seen. Something we never even thought about before, I'm sure. And to think that you and your father have perfected elixirs to allow a human to live the same life as an elf is . . . unfathomable. Incredible, even."

"That is, if they work," I reminded him.

"I'm sure they will," Hazel told me. Looking back at Forkle, she asked, "Does this mean that you think our relationship-if the Council takes it well, that is-could maybe fix the tension between elves and humans?"

Mr. Forkle looked back at Alden, who spoke next. "I think . . . it's a possibility."

"As do I," Mr. Forkle agreed. "But only if all goes well."

"I'm pretty sure hiding it from the Council isn't a good start to that," Fitz pointed out.

"It very well might not be, but i wouldn't want to get them involved until after Miss Compton has moved to the Lost Cities. Permanently."

"When is that, by the way?" Sophie asked. "I mean, I know that you'll be here when you turn sixteen, but when's your birthday?"

"That's right," Biana jumped in. "I forgot humans counted by their birthdays instead of their Inception date."

"Why count by the Inception date rather than birthdays?" Hazel asked?

"We see the Inception date as when the baby's life begins," Della explained. "And their birthday is simply when they come into the world."

Hazel was quiet for a moment before nodding slowly and chewing on her lip-something she always did whenever she was thinking. It was adorable. "Okay, but, if that's the case, then wouldn't the birthday still be worth celebrating, too?"

"I suppose it would be," Della agreed. "But, elves live for so long, that we don't pay too much attention to keeping track of our age after a while. Let alone celebrate when we came into the world."

"That's . . . weird."

I laughed. She didn't hold anything back. "It may be to you, but around here, it's normal."

"Don't worry, Hazel," Sophie said. "You aren't alone on all the getting-used-to-elvin-traditions thing."

Hazel let out a breath. "Thank goodness."

"So, when's the big moving day?" Keefe asked, getting back on track.

"Well, uh, let's see. My birthday's on-"

"April 27," I finished for her, adoring the shy smile she gave me as she nodded.

"So, if today's October 17, i should be here in about," she paused, biting her lip again before stating, "seven months?"

"Seven months?" Tam repeated.

"That's so long," Biana complained. I agreed.

"But, at least you can visit," I told Hazel. I looked up at the adults. "Right?"

They all shared a look before Mr. Forkle nodded. "But you need to be careful. And I would advise not taking her to any of the cities. Only Everglen, Rimeshire, and Havenfield. Yes, your parents know about Miss Compton," he added to Sophie.

They continued to set out the rules. I was to keep my phone hidden from any other elves, other than our immediate group, so I could stay in touch with Hazel-which I was very happy about. Hazel was sworn to secrecy (obviously) and we did the same for her. There was some discussion about what to do if the Council found out before we wanted them to, and also some talk about when we would let them know. Hazel was asked about when she wanted the official moving date to be, and she chose the thirtieth of April instead of the twenty-seventh, because Trix wanted to do something special with her that weekend. We all came to the conclusion that she would stay at a Black Swan hideout, rather than at Rimeshire, but it wouldn't be for too long. Just until things settled down a bit. It was a lot, and there would definitely be plenty more conversations.

But it was a start.

A real start.

One that I hoped would have a happy ending.

A/N) Me too, Dexie, me too. Well, what did you all think? Sorry I made you all wait so long for the next part, and I know it didn't have that much Dazel in it, but at least some more problems were solved. Yay! I think this story might last for ten or twelve parts (so 3 or 5 more), and then it'll be finished. *cries* I know, I know. I'm sad too. But the end isn't here yet! So we can still be happy!

Don't forget to review, please! I love hearing from you all!

Peace out, m'peeps!