A/N: So today in Spanish longblock our teacher was absent (YES!), which meant that everyone got to talk. Long story short, I told Kelly I would do another chapter of this. This one is not going to end with a cliffhanger. Anyway, the updating of this was delayed mostly because I went to my sister's book club and it was loud and crazy and yeah… but it was fun. I watched some hit someone else in the face at least ten times.

I have very violent friends.

So this is "Dangerous Liaisons" but with Stella and Hazel. I loved that episode… I have a soft spot for gorgeous clothes.

Hazel's POV

Elena's house was becoming Damon's new hangout spot, which automatically meant that it was mine too, and I was sick of it.

Ever since my "stunt" with Jeremy, as Damon called it, I was still confined to the boardinghouse. As for Stella… I hadn't seen much of her. She had come home from the coffin-opening ceremony looking burned and terrified, then stayed holed up in her room. That meant that I had to come with Damon wherever he went. The worst part was that Jeremy was still in the hospital and I couldn't go see him.

Elena shot me a murderous look as she went to answer the door. She definitely wasn't over me un-compelling Jeremy, and she was very open about her feelings for me. She wouldn't actually talk to me, but kept making snarky comments about me to Damon and giving me dirty looks whenever she passed me.

"Oh, I get it." I said, rolling my eyes at her. "Seriously."

"Get what?" Elena said, finally deigning to speak to me.

"You hate me." I said, making each word long like I was sounding it out for a five-year-old. "It only took the first thousand death stares to figure that one out."

She snorted and turned her back on me, opening the door. I couldn't anyone there, but I did see what looked like a scrap of white paper on the ground.

I dashed over to her and read the words: You are cordially invited to the Mikaelson family's ball.

"Oooohh, a ball!" I said. She whipped around and snatched the letter out of my reach.

Elena stormed into the kitchen, holding out the invitation for Damon to see. "Look at this?"

"The Mikaelson's are Klaus's family, right?" he asked. I nodded. "You can't go."

"What?" exclaimed Elena, now angry at him instead of me. "Why not? We know that Esther got out of the coffin when Bonnie and her mom freed her, and I need to talk to her. Clearly if Klaus isn't dead it's because of her. His siblings should have ripped him to pieces."

"Amen to that." I interjected happily. Two pairs of eyes shot to me and frowned. "Sorry."

"I'll go ask mama witch about Klaus, and you can—no, will—stay here with Hazel." Damon said. He had the same exact expression as when he had told me to stay in the boardinghouse. With Elena, however, I knew it would be harder to make her actually obey.

"No!" Elena persisted. "I'll be safe enough. It's not like she'd want to kill me."

I laughed. "Yes, because there aren't that many people that just randomly want to kill you."

"Shut up, Hazel." Damon said, sounding a lot like himself, when we used to run races from the barn to the house and I would win. "You can't go, Elena, because there are a million reason why she would want you dead. Who knows, maybe she's on Klaus's side."

"He doesn't want me dead, I can make him hybrids."

"Fine, maybe she's not on his side and she wants to kill you so he can't make hybrids." Said Damon. "And if she is on his side she might want to help him kidnap you and lock you up as his human bloodbag."

"Exactly." I said, stepping next to Damon and mocking his serous look. When he looked at me sideways I backed away. "Geez. Tough room."

"You need a hobby." Elena said pointedly.

I finally gave up, going back to the living room and turning the TV on. My phone started to vibrate, so I checked it. Hopefully it was some interesting.

Hey, the doctors say I'll be out soon. ~Jeremy

Good I miss you. ~Hazel

Oh really? ~Jeremy

Yes really. Your sister is driving me crazy, She hates my undead guts. ~Hazel

I'll be home soon, I promise. ~Jeremy

I couldn't wait until he got back. Mean as it was, I couldn't wait to see the venomous look Elena would wear when I was kissing her brother.

Stella's POV

"It's beautiful." I breathed, watching as Caroline unfolded the shimmering blue dress that Klaus had given to her. It was gorgeous, with streaks of light and dark blue, wispy pieces of cloth that were as thin as scarves, and jewels covering the waist and chest.

"Are you going to the ball?" asked Caroline distractedly, turning the dress so the jewels caught the light. "I want to, and I want to wear this, but…"

"Klaus gave it to you." I finished. "I get it. Why does he like you so much anyway?"

She shrugged. "I think he's just screwing with my head since he can't get Tyler to go near me anymore. Either that, or he has a weird thing for girls nearly fours or five centuries younger than him."

"I wouldn't say centuries younger…" I trailed off. I really did want to go to the ball, but I wasn't sure about anything except that I did not want to meet Esther. Whatever magic she had done as she left the cave had burned right through me, searing my skin and putting a terror into my heart that I couldn't shake.

"So are you going?" Caroline repeated impatiently. "Because if you are, I think I have the perfect dress for you."

"Oh really?"

"Yup."

She went to her closet and dug through what looked like a hundred dresses, bringing out one that was golden. The front had a thing gold material with flowers woven into it, and the skirt was layered in ruffles down one side. The whole dress seemed to glow.

"It's perfect." I gasped. "I couldn't—"

"Not the whole, "I'm sorry, I can't' speech." Said Caroline. "You are going, and you are going to ear this dress. Okay?"

"I… well, I guess…" I stammered. "But it's so soon. How will I get my hair done?"

"Umm, vampire speed? Duh."

I smiled. "I've never been good with hair, or makeup. If you haven't noticed I'm kind of permanently stuck at age 14, which kind if sucks."

"You'll look beautiful." Caroline ensured me. She took an arm in each hand and led my to a chair. "Just sit back, close you eyes, and I'll do the rest."

"I'm scaaaarrrrreeeedddd…." I whined, teasing.

"Baby."

The last thing I saw before I shut my eyes was Caroline coming at me with a maniacal expression and a tube of mascara.

Hazel's POV

I was rummaging through the boardinghouse's massive storage room, coming across the oddest clothes. "You're such a hoarder!" I yelled to Damon, who was upstairs getting ready. He had forbid Elena to go over and over until she finally agreed. Now he (and presumable Stefan) was going to go in her place.

I had been looking for a dress for the last hour and a half, but all I could find were Damon's "retro" clothes from some era where no one had any fashion sense.

Finally I came across what I had been looking for: a stately, deep blue dress. It was an older one, something I had planned to wear to my first ball as a woman (just an annoying Salvatore tradition). With a few adjustments I knew I could make it work.

~VD~VD~VD~VD~

Hours later I looked into a mirror, realizing just how right I had been. A few changes and it was perfect.

The dress was still deep blue, and strapless. Embroidered flowers edges the waits and trailed down the skirt in periwinkle blues and snowflake whites. The skirt itself was a deeper, velvety material, and it was held up in bunch with navy blue, bejeweled cloth roses and more embroidery.

"You look good in blue." Damon observed calmly. "Shall we?"

I rolled my eyes but took the arm he offered. "Whatever."

The Mikaelson's house was very impressive. A set of spiraling stairs allowed them to make a grand and stately entrance. They acted like they owned the town and that just being here should be an honor to all the guests. I snorted as Klaus said something extra pompous, and I could have sworn his eyes darted to me.

Not five minutes later I saw the doors open, and Elena walked in wearing a gorgeous gown that was black silk, covered in dark jewels from the waist up. Of course, she had come. She couldn't stay away from the danger.

Then Damon and Stefan were both at her side, each offering her an arm. It made me want to rip her throat out for a split second—the image reminded me so much of Katherine. Elena had her head held high, stately and queen-like, while both Stefan and Damon were practically drooling at her feet, In the end she took both of their arms and walked in with the two of them. I gagged and made my way into another room, hoping I could find Stella or Caroline.

Stella's POV

I stood close to Caroline, edging closer whenever I saw Esther drifting throughout the room to greet her guests. Caroline was flirting with some; it might have been Matt, but I wasn't sure. I was too busy making sure the Original witch didn't come murder me. I didn't know why, but I had a horrible feeling that I had seen something I really shouldn't have. I didn't know what the white, blinding light had meant or if it was evil, but I had a feeling that Bonnie and her mom hadn't seen it.

"Stella." A smooth, British voice said, pulling me from my world of nightmares. "You look stunning."

It was Klaus. I blushed and smiled. "Yeah? Caroline helped." I wasn't exactly sure why I was being so nice. He was gentle with Caroline, and he had saved, but that didn't make him not evil.

"You look older." He said.

It was true. Besides the already amazing dress, Caroline had covered my face in makeup until I didn't recognize myself. When I had looked in the mirror I hadn't seen the usual young face, framed with wild red curls that brought out my freckles. I saw a teenager of sixteen or seventeen, with a pale face that appeared to glow slightly, and hair that was elegantly twisted on the top of her head so that neat, silky strands fell around her face. She wasn't me, she was a golden goddess that was just inhabiting my body for the night.

"I guess." I mumbled.

He smiled. It wasn't the usual psychotic smile, but a genuine one. "I think the looks suits you. You are older than you appear to be."

I sighed. "You have no idea. I never wanted to be trapped at fourteen forever. Hazel is seventeen, so it's not so bad for her, but I'll never really be an adult. I'm just a dopey kid that doesn't know anything." That was what I had always been to Damon, anyway, and he still treated me the same way.

"No, you're not." Klaus said calmly. "I know people don't see you or know who you re, but it;' ly because you stay out of the spotlight. Hazel may be seventeen, but you have more maturity than she ever will. She's irrational, and she acts out of impulse."

I blushed again, even more so than the last time. "Thank you. It means a lot to me, because… I just wish someone would notice me without me having to jump up and down and wave my hands. It's like I don't even exist."

He nodded. "But you do."

"I do."

He looked around. "Have you, by any chance, seen Caroline?"

"No, sorry."

He sighed. "That's all right, I'll go look for her. I wanted to talk to her."

"Okay." I couldn't help but sigh inwardly as he left. Klaus was so understanding. I think that was why I wasn't afraid of him. He didn't see me as some kid that was a nuisance and existed simply to be ignored. Even though I knew I was probably some part in an intricate scheme to capture Elena or kill Damon and Stefan, I wanted to hold onto my friendship with Klaus.

It was the only one I had besides Caroline's.

Hazel's POV

It turned out to be the most boring dance I'd ever been to. It dragged on and on and on, and Damon disappeared somewhere with Stefan, so I had no one to talk to. The same happened with Stella; I could have sworn I saw her go outside with Caroline and Klaus, only to reappear moments later for Esther's toast.

When we got home I vaguely noticed a satisfied smile that graced Stella's face. She wouldn't say why, but something had made her very happy. It took a lot to make Stella happy.

"So?" I asked Damon and Elena when they entered. Stefan had already gone to sulk in hios room, for a reason unknown to the rest of us. "Anything weird happen while I was dying of boredom?"

Elena said, "There was this one thing that I did with Esther…"

A/N: short and not spellchecked.