It's been a rough week, to say the least. Hazel is grounded for a month, meaning no outside school activities, phone, or television. Just homework and leisurely reading. Confinement. Drudgery. She feels like a hollow shell of her former self. Is she being dramatic? Maybe. It's the first time anything like this has happened to her.

She can't help but be a bit mad at Ros for ambushing her with the party in the first place. Ros seems oblivious to Hazel's cold shoulder. Hazel wouldn't have been in this mess if it wasn't for Ros. Ros also doesn't have a monstrous little brother who enjoys sabotaging her life.

Hazel has taken to spacing out during lunch while her friends chat or play kicky bag around the outside eating area. With no phone screen to focus on she stares at a tree in the outdoor space. Ros would call her out for being 'emo.'

"Haschel."

She slowly looks up to find Erik standing above her. Since the Lit class presentation project was complete, she hasn't really talked much to Erik. He doesn't hang out with her group of friends, mostly keeps to himself, and sits on the other side of class.

"Hey," she replies, taken aback by the hardness in his expression.

"Have I done offense to you?"

Her eyes widen in panic, "No! of course not...why do you think...?"

He leans against the table and shoves his hands inside his pockets, "You don't talk to me this week. You don't give me a time we can have dinner. I call but you don't answer."

Her face crumbles into devastation and she stands up, "It's not what you think, I...I... can we talk about this somewhere else?"

Hazel glances around and ushers them further away from the group of peers. Erik follows curiously. "Look, Erik. I'm very, very, sorry that's the impression you got. I really want to have dinner with you–"

"Then tonight!" he insists.

"Tonight...as in tonight?"

"Yes! I cook you dinner. I have ingredients to make a dish from the home country," he beams jovially, in a way that she just cannot bear to be the cause of it's loss.

She smiles shyly and holds her arm, and before she can help herself she says, "All right then. Give me your address."

Her heart is racing again. But now it's an equal amount of giddiness and abject panic.

As soon as the bell for end of lunch rings, she grabs Ros and all but shoves her into the ladies' restroom.

Hazel covers her face in mortification.

"Ros, what am I going to do? I can't just waltz out the door and go to some guy's place to eat a fancy home-cooked meal while I'm grounded. What in aspirational hells is wrong with me?"

"Your logic has crashed and burned," Ros offers and it doesn't help at all, "but don't worry. I've snuck out dozens of times. I will walk you through everything."

"You are such a bad influence," Hazel lowers her hands and frowns.

"Then stop hanging out with me," Ros says like it's an obvious solution. One Hazel will never adhere to.

It's 7:00 p.m. Hazel is dressed to the nines because she figures she should look her best on a date, even if it's just at Erik's family's townhouse. Of course, her heart is still racing with panic but she figures if she returns before her dad gets home then she'll be in the clear. She just has two other obstacles in her way...

Hazel's mother, has been working remote to make sure her daughter doesn't do anything else irresponsible like throw random teenage make-out parties.

Since Harrison is such a good little snitch he's also been drafted to be somewhat of a sentry in case Hazel tries to do anything her grounding forbids. She decides to nip that in the bud and enters his room.

"Why are you dressed so fancy?"

"None of your beeswax. Also since you were such a little traitor I want my money back!"

"What? No! I already spent it on trading cards!"

"Then I guess I'm gonna have to take it out of you in other ways,"

Hazel puts on her most menacing glare that's similar to their father and it sends a look of terror across her brother's face.

"No! I'll do anything you want!"

"You are going to distract Mom while I leave."

"Where are you going?"

"Ros's place," Hazel lies, because she knows her brother all too well and he'll definitely tell their parents her location if they find out she's gone. Besides, Ros can deal with them as retribution for having the party.

Hazel takes off her heels and tiptoes through the hallways. She can hear her mother's voice and Harrison's as she listens to one of his hyperbolic stories. Harrison is also talking louder than usual which covers light floor creaks as Hazel tip-toes past them. She dare not even breathe and have her mother turn around and catch her in the act of breaking out of her own home.

She miraculously makes it out the back and hauls herself over the garden wall. She's never been so determined before; she was never one to do anything remotely rebellious before she met Erik Denholm. The ways of the heart are such a mystery!

Adagio Hart knocks on his daughter's bedroom door when he returns from work earlier than usual. He has made a point to check in on her every morning and evening.

He reminds her that actions have consequences and when she doesn't acknowledge him, he figures she's still giving him the silent treatment. He's never seen her act this way before.

She had always been his sweet little girl. She loved chasing bugs and reading books, and now suddenly she was a teenager? Where had the time gone? Where did his little girl go?

There still was no answer.

He opens the door to find the room empty.

No, really...where did his little girl go?

"Someone is here to see you!" Ros's mother, Melody, says in a cheery sing-song voice as she enters her daughter's room. Ros's first thought is that maybe her boyfriend, Liam, has stopped by. It's Friday after all. They haven't made any plans but Liam can sometimes be spontaneous.

Ros hops up and eagerly descends the stairs but her feet sort of freeze and then go at a snail's pace at seeing her caller is not Liam. Curse her mother for tricking her with that sing-song voice! She may as well have stayed in her room!

Because it is her uncle, Adagio, and he doesn't look pleased. Ros knows then, Hazel was successful at sneaking out.

"Hello, Rosaline."

"Hey, uncle Dag. Um...what brings you around?" Ros crosses her arms and tries to sound casual, but her uncle is an intimidating man, and her voice wavers. No one has called her by her full name since she was eight years old.

He takes a seat and asks, "Where is my daughter?"

Ros bites her lip and looks away, "Why do you think I would know?"

Adagio narrows his eyes and pats the seat next to him, all but demanding her to sit down. Ros does but fidgets like a guilty party. Adagio is skilled at extracting the truth from seasoned criminals, a teenage girl is just as tough, if not more.

"She told Harrison she was coming here but as we can see, that was another lie. Ros, she trusts you the most so I have no doubt she would tell you her real whereabouts. She's not stupid, she would at least let someone know where she was in case something went wrong."

Ros knots her brows together, not liking what his tone was suggesting, "What do you mean if 'something went wrong?'"

Her uncle gives her a pointed stare and says, "The night Hazel had that party, something of mine went missing. Something important. Now Hazel is missing. If you have any information–and I know you have information, Ros–I'd be grateful to hear it, because I'm only going to ask once."

Ros clenches her jaw and grits her teeth in the process; Jeez, lying to her parents is one thing but lying to her stone-faced uncle is just awkward and pointless because she can tell he knows.

"Okay so...the party really was only a few people. Me, my boyfriend, Xander, and Roderick and their girlfriends, and Erik. But I don't think anyone would steal–"

"Erik? Erik who?" Adagio questions. He knows of the other kids. Xander and Roderick are his nephews and he'd met their girlfriends at a family reunion cookout recently.

"Erik Denholm. The guy she went to see tonight."

Hazel takes a deep breath and knocks on the townhouse door. She gathers her hair over her shoulder and puts on a nervous smile as the door opens. Erik smiles and leans against it. His cologne smells different than usual. More woodsy.

"Wow. Haschel, you are beautiful. Dinner is almost ready."

The way he looked at her was definitely worth the breakout.