Grown up and leading her life the way she'd always seen it, Raven lives in 'Hipsterville" working in the Coffin Club. Suddenly a tragic event brings her back to "Dullsville," where she's confronted by the Soccer Snob she hadn't seen since their shared kiss.

Ten Years Later, And Yet...

Chapter 1: Things Haven't Changed That Much

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, and no, I haven't read VK5 yet... Hell, I barely remember events from VK4... This is just a continuation of Your Monster... Ellen Schreiber's characters!

-X-

"Oh, Mom," I whispered into the phone, tears stinging my eyes as I plopped down on the couch in my studio apartment, my cell phone clutched to my ear as I digested the information presented toward me: my mother miscarried the baby she and my father had conceived.

"Raven, honey, can you come home, as soon as possible?" My mother sniffled, further breaking my heart. "Billy has midterms coming up, so he can't travel, and your dad is just as distraught as me," she continued, her voice breaking every few words.

Much as I'd grown up wishing my parents had remained hippies, I'd always loved them, of course, and when I graduated, my mother and I had grown even closer. Even though she'd expected me to change entirely when Alexander left, ten years ago, she accepted it when I told her I wanted to move to Dullsville's neighboring town; I wouldn't be too far away, after all. So we'd bonded through bi-monthly visits, and she kept me up-to-date on the gossip I really didn't want to hear.

Especially gossip revolving around Trevor...

Shaking my thoughts out of my head, I nodded fiercely. "Of course, Mom, I'll be there as soon as possible. I'll pack right away and drive down there. I love you, and I should see you in a few hours," I told her, hanging up after I received her reply.

I frantically rushed around my apartment, scooping up enough clothes to fill two suitcases, not knowing how long I would be staying. Quickly, I called my boss at the Coffin Club, thanking the heavens that I'd loved the place enough to still have oodles of vacation time left.

After all that was settled, and my clothes were packed – my typical Gothic-garb and some 'normal' clothes that I could wear if I took my mom out to distract her. I tossed four pairs of shoes into an old backpack – a pair of black combat boots, a pair of gray three-inch Mary Jane heels, and two pairs of casual-type flats – and zipped that up, before grabbing up my purse, my keys, and all three of those bags.

At that point, I darted out the door, locked it hurriedly, and zoomed downstairs to my black Nissan 350Z, chirping it unlocked and tossing my stuff into it's trunk before plopping myself inside it's crimson interior and thrusting the key into it's ignition.

-X-

As my car purred along the quiet streets of Dullsville, I pulled to a stop in front of my parent's house, set it in park, then scrambled not-so-gracefully across the perfectly-manicured lawn to throw open the front door, completely ignoring the two cars sitting in the driveway in front of the closed garage doors. What I saw made my jaw drop.

"Raven, honey!" my mom exclaimed, upon seeing me. Her face was tear-stained, and she was seated next to my dad, his arm wrapped around her shoulders. Across from her sat Mr., Mrs., and none other than Trevor Mitchell.

He looked a little surprised, and I returned the expression. What the hell...? I wouldn't have expected them to be here... I thought, biting on my black-lipsticked lower lip as I made my way down the front hall, toward my parents. I leaned over to hug them both, and whispered, "I'm so sorry, Mom, Dad."

They both hugged me back, a fresh wave of tears streaming down my mother's cheeks. "I'll be okay, with time, dear," she murmured bravely. I swallowed with some difficulty, tears stinging my eyes momentarily; I wasn't sure that I would be able to be so composed, were I in her shoes.

"It was very nice of you three to come here," my dad said, clearing his throat after kissing my mother's temple and making his way to his feet. "I'm sorry if we interrupted anything important."

"Nonsense," Mrs. Mitchell said, throwing me off-guard. I hadn't seen the woman since before graduation, and she had seemed like she would always be a bitch, back then. Briefly, I wondered if she and Mr. Mitchell had retired. They certainly could have afforded it at this point in time. "I know you would do the same for us," she finished, as she and her husband stood.

I glanced at Trevor, only to find that he wasn't looking at me, or my parents, or even his parents. He was scowling down at the carpet, his eyebrows furrowed and his fists clenched. I worried my lip once more with my teeth, momentarily trying to figure out why exactly I had disappeared without even so much as a word to him. Even going to far as to swear Becky to complete secrecy seemed cruel.

Speak of the devil, and the devil shall arrive, as they say. The doorbell rang in our ears, and we all jumped. I rushed to the door, thrusting it open to be greeted by none other than my best friend and her fiancé. It still baffled me how good she seemed with Matt...

Her eyes were filled with tears, and she jumped into my arms, bursting into tears. "Oh, my god, Raven, It's so terrible! I'm so sorry for the loss your family has suffered!" I awkwardly patted her back, and stared up at Matt in shock. 'Is she pregnant?' I mouthed jokingly to Trevor's best friend, not expecting her to be quite so emotional; I was going for comic relief.

To my surprise, Matt nodded, and I immediately pushed Becky away – carefully, of course – and stared at her. "Oh, my God, Becky!" She turned her wide, red-rimmed eyes up to meet mine, and appeared confused. No wonder she's so torn up over this... I thought with a sigh as Mat shook his head frantically behind her.

"Not here, Raven. Not now," came the deep voice belonging to Trevor Mitchell. I felt a shiver roll down my spine, and shuddered. So he knew...

Without looking at him, I released Becky and allowed her passage to go barrage my parents with her condolences. Of course. I was so insensitive. The last thing they would want to hear would be that my best friend was expecting.

I gave a short hug to Matt, and finally glanced up at Trevor. His parents passed by, and he hugged his mom before allowing them to head home. Then he turned to me. "Why didn't you keep in contact?" he asked, his eyes cold as he folded his arms across his chest.

"This isn't the place for that, Trevor," I replied softly, as I led him and Matt back to my parents, taking a seat on the couch across from them. Trevor sat beside me, and Matt stood beside Becky, who was seated next to my mother, both of them crying quietly as Becky gave her strong words about always being able to try again, and that things would be okay.

Clearing his throat, Trevor looked to my parents. "Raven hasn't been here in a while, and she just drove for who knows how long. Would it be alright if I took her out to dinner?" His voice seemed nice enough, but if anyone knew him as well as Matt, Becky and I did, they'd know that he wasn't trying to be a nice guy; he was pissed that I'd disappeared.

I looked to my mother, hoping the pleading look I gave her would be enough to warn her that I actually feared for my life here. But of course, my mother was still thinking about my well-being, even though she was sitting on the sofa, her face tear-stained, just after having miscarried her third child.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Raven. Of course you can go to eat with Trevor. Don't worry about me, Becky's here, now, and we can talk later. You've been driving all night, and you need to eat, then come home to rest. Go," she said, giving me a watery smile as she shooed us away.

I gulped as Trevor took my elbow, gave a farewell nod to Becky and Matt, then led me down the front hallway, out the door, and to his Mitsubishi Mirage, which just so happened to be the same emerald color as his eyes.

Oh, for heaven's sake, Raven Madison! You're about to die, and you're still noticing how gorgeous his eyes are?! I thought to myself as he not-so-gently pushed me into the passenger seat. I groaned as I buckled up, covering my eyes with my hands.

Things Haven't Changed That Much||End