her bag slid from her shoulders and dropped to the ground with a thump.

Home sweet home, she thought bitterly, this dump sure hasn't changed.

A wry smile twitched at her lips. Well... it was still her dump. She supposed it would always be, surveying the neighborhood before her as her thoughts wandered.

Endsville.

It's funny how much can change in a few short years.

"Mom? Dad?" she called, venturing into the house. No answer. She rolled her eyes as she made her way into the kitchen, "I'm home!"

Something on the fridge caught her eye, a lone piece of paper against the sea of off-white. There had never been any child's drawings or family photos on their fridge. They'd never been that kind of family.

Mandy,

There was a last minute opening at the resort for the weekend, so we've taken the opportunity for a second honeymoon. You understand. Welcome back! Make yourself at home.

Mom & Dad

Well. So much for a warm family gathering. She tossed the note into the trash and headed for her bedroom. Or rather, her former bedroom. She wasn't entirely sure she wouldn't find a new workout room or office in it's place. They didn't exactly do cherished memories in this family either.

Upon opening the door she found that apparently some things were still considered sacred in this house. Her room was untouched. Looking almost as if she'd stepped back in time, to before she'd left for college.

A deep sigh escaped her throat as she released a breathe she hadn't even realized she'd been holding.

Home.

It had only taken her an hour to unpack her things. For being gone two years, she certainly didn't have much. She had never really been that interested in material possessions.

Surveying her room one final time, she decided to wander downstairs in search of something to eat.

No such luck. It seemed her parents had cleaned the place of any perishable items before embarking on their trip. Perfect. She let out a grumbling sigh as she glanced out the kitchen window. It'd still be a few hours until the sunset. Enough time to run out and get something.

Grabbing a hoodie, she headed out the door.

She found herself overwhelmed with memories as she headed into town. Faint imprints of long ago adventures running through her mind. She reached the restaurant quickly. It was just a cheap fast food joint, a place she and Billy used to hang around on the slower days. Nothing special.

She placed her order from memory, no sense messing around with a good thing, and had almost made it out the door when someone yelled her name.

"Mandy!?"

Crud, she thought. She wasn't really in the mood for awkward high school reunions tonight. She'd heard Mindy was back in town, having flunked out of college after her first year. Big surprise. Though she'd actually lasted a semester longer than Mandy had expected, so the girl deserved some credit. Who knew what other cretins were crawling around this dump of a town. She had wanted to get in and out quickly before anyone caught wind of her return. She needed a few days to get settled before dealing with the past.

Forcing the grimace off her face she turned towards the voice.

And froze.

"Mandy! It is you!" A pair of strong arms enveloped her tightly, taking advantage of her momentary shock.

"Irwin." She mumbled, prying his arms away.

"We thought you'd be spending the summer away again!" The excited boy exclaimed.

"My internship ended." She murmured.

"Why didn't you tell us, man!?"

She sighed softly. "It was... a last minute thing."

"Oh. Well alright, man. Cool. Hey! Billy's meeting me here any minute, why don't you stick around, catch up with us? We've missed you like crazy."

She should say no. Wanted to. They hadn't really talked since high school ended. She had gone off to a prestigious college, Irwin had gone on upstate, and Billy had stayed to take classes at the local community college. When she was offered an internship that first summer she had taken it without second thought. Summer quickly rolled into the next semester and the holidays came and went with her parents traveling to various places and her moving into an apartment just off her campus, before she knew it two years had snuck by.

"Fine."

Irwin's eyes lit up like a child's on Christmas morning. "Billy's gonna lose his mind, yo!"

He grabbed her arm and pulled her towards a table in the corner. It didn't take long for Billy to show up.

"Irwin, you'll never guess what hap-" She tensed at the drop in his words. "MANDY!"

She found herself enveloped in another bear hug as the excitable boy flung himself at her from behind.

"Hey Billy." She mumbled through his choking grip.

"You're back!"

"From outer space." She deadpanned.

Billy giggled gleefully from behind her, finally relinquishing his hold. He quickly dove into the seat next to Irwin. It fell silent. Awkward.

They watched each other. This is why I hate reunions, Mandy thought tensely.

"So..." she started.

"Remember when we used to eat here every day!" Billy suddenly exclaimed.

She felt the tension drain away from her as Billy eliminated the uncomfortable haze that had settled over them.

"My parents told me I might as well move in since I spent more time here than I did at home." Irwin chuckled.

"I always hated this place." Mandy said. "But you insisted we eat here every damn day."

"Sure did!" Billy laughed. "It's the best place in town for the cheapest price!"

"And you can definitely taste it." Mandy and Irwin spoke in unison.

Soon the table was echoing with laughter and tales of faint memories of childhoods past. Stories of grim adventures, spider people, boogie men, old Ms. Doolin's house and creepy General Skarr, and many more.

"Grim..." Billy chuckled.

"Yeah." Mandy said softly.

She hadn't thought of that old bag of bones for awhile now. As they grew older the memories of him had faded. She began to wonder if they were even real at all. Surely they couldn't be. She recalled reading a story about a boy and his imaginary best friend tiger that turned out to be nothing more than his stuffed animal. To him the tiger was a living, breathing playmate; to everyone else, a figment of a wild little boy's active imagination. Maybe that's all that Grim had ever been. A figment of two 10 year olds' diseased minds.

"I gotta get going, man." Irwin said, standing from his seat.

"Yeah, me too. Mom'll wonder what I been doin'." Billy stretched. "I'm not supposed to be out this long."

Mandy checked her watch, surprised to see they had spent close to a good three hours catching up in their dingy old restaurant. "Yeah."

"We can walk home together, Mandy!" Billy exclaimed. "It'll be just like old times!"

She couldn't fight the quick tug at the corner of her lips at the boy's excitement. Perhaps she had missed this place more than she had thought.

She spent a long time staring out her window before turning in to bed that night.

She wasn't sure what had made her come home at all this summer. Her internship had ended, true, but she still had her apartment. She hadn't particularly missed Endsville. In fact, part of her hated it.

She squinted into the darkness thoughtfully.

Something had brought her back. Made her call her parents up a week ago and ask what their plans were for the summer, if they wouldn't mind having an extra body around the house for a few months.

Turning away from her window she caught sight of a slip of paper peeking out from her desk. She pulled it free and studied the crudely drawn image.

It was an old drawing of Billy's. Poorly misshapen representations of her and Billy stared back her, a cloaked skeletal figure between them. She smirked at the sloppy handwriting across the top.

Best Frends 4evur

Smirk slipping to a scowl, she tossed the sheet of paper on her desk and climbed into bed. Best friends forever my ass, she thought sourly as she burrowed into bed. Nothing really lasts forever.