Wow! I didn't really plan on updating this fast, but I also didn't plan on having this much feedback either. Thanks, guys. It means a ton to me. So, I didn't really want to make this chapter as long as it is, but I felt like I really needed to capture all of the feelings of returning home, so it ended up being incredibly long. Sorry about that. :/

Also, whoever pointed out that this was kind of like Friends, thanks. haha. I was wondering if anyone would catch on to that. I love Friends, and Ross/Rachel and Chandler/Monica are my favorites.

Leave a review, if you like or not. Thanks! (:

The plane ride to LA went well, although Tori felt guilty that Andre had to pay her way there. As soon as she got her luggage and walked out of the airport, she was met by the all too familiar atmosphere that she grew up in. Los Angeles looked just as a beautiful as ever, maybe even better. She had missed the golden sunshine and the beach so much. In New York, she couldn't even see the sky because of all the skyscrapers, and she absolutely hated it.

As she walked down the street, she found herself smiling more and more. She was headed to her parents' house, because she refused to let Andre pay for her a hotel and a plane ticket. As she reached the end of the sidewalk, she held a hand out to hail a taxi, but no one seemed to want to stop for her. That was fine with her. She could continue her walk, soaking up the Los Angeles atmosphere that she had missed out on in the past five years.

She passed by large crowds of people on the sidewalk, just like she always did in New York, but they didn't seem like they were in as big of a hurry as the people in New York were. She enjoyed the laidback environment, and every once in a while, she would start to skip down the sidewalk and sing songs from her youth, songs that promised her star potential. But she was no longer a star, and the songs started to depress her after a while.

Tori didn't go directly to her house. She made a few detours here and there. She stopped by the beach to see the rolling blue waters of the Pacific Ocean, and she grinned and took off her flip-flops so that she could walk across the sand and enjoy the feel of it between her toes. It had been a long, long time since she had enjoyed the sand. She ventured down Sunset Boulevard, just to check up on everything, and it all seemed to be the same. And then she dropped by Hollywood Arts, the school that was supposed to make her a star. And it would have made her a star, if she wouldn't have made that stupid decision to move to New York. She couldn't stand to look at the school for too long though, because tears were starting to form in her eyes and her suitcases were getting a little hard to carry around, so she began to walk in the direction of her old house once more.

Getting around the city came naturally to her. It was like she had never left. The walk seemed to be getting longer and longer as she trotted toward her house, the bags boring down on her like she was carrying cement in her bag instead of clothes and other necessities. She would be seeing her parents and her sister, the people that she hadn't spoken to or seen in five years. She had, of course, called her parents and warned them of her arrival, and they seemed incredibly happy for her to visit. They were the same old parents that she left behind, and she felt awful for not staying in contact with them. But she was too caught up in trying to live her big New York dream that never happened, and she almost forgot her old life completely.

When she reached the porch, she set her bags down and stretched her arms, immediately regretting her few detours as a pain shot up her arm from all the weight that she had lugged around all day. And when she had recovered, she knocked on the door eagerly, her whole body shaking as she waited for someone to open the door.

"Who is it?" someone called from inside. Tori didn't have to see it to know that it was her older sister Trina Vega. Her voice wasn't as loud and obnoxious as it was when Tori had left, but it was still Trina, and she couldn't wait for her to throw open the door so that she could hug her and tell her how much she missed her.

"Ugh, who is it?" Trina called again as she opened the door, and her angry expression suddenly contorted into somewhat of a prideful smirk. "Hey, little sister. Long time, no see."

Tori smiled and threw her arms around her sister so tightly that Trina gagged and gasped for air, but nonetheless, she returned the hug.

"Trina, I've missed you," Tori said as she pulled away from her, picked up her bags, and walked inside. "I mean, you really annoyed me when I lived here, but I know I annoyed you too. That's just what sisters do, I guess."

Trina shrugged and applied a fresh coat of lip gloss, and she walked past the bags that were now littering the living room floor. "I don't know. It's been kind of quiet without you here. I mean, I haven't had anybody to fight with night and day. There's no one to mess with except Mom and Dad, and I don't like to bother them because they lock me in the bathroom." She paused to open the refrigerator and get something to drink, and then she turned around to Tori again. "So how's Broadway?"

Tori frowned. Her sister had filled her in over the phone about how she had gotten a movie deal and was going to be playing an extra with only three lines, but that was still more successful than Tori had been in New York. She hadn't even had one line in her small Broadway part.

"Um…well, dancing behind the lead in Grease was fun," she muttered, not looking directly into Trina's eyes. She couldn't lie to her sister, but she couldn't let Trina know that she had finally beaten her either. It hurt so much to not be talented anymore.

Trina didn't seem happy about Tori's failure. In fact, when Tori looked back up at her, Trina was only staring at her with sorrowful eyes and frowning deeply. "I'm sorry, Tori," she said quietly. "Broadway's tough. Stage acting is much harder than movie acting. Maybe if you keep going, you'll-"

"Trina, don't lie to me," Tori said, crossing her arms and walking over to the kitchen where her sister was standing. "Was I really talented? Or did I just get parts based on looks? I mean, I don't understand. How could I be so successful here, but when I move to New York, I'm in a huge slump?"

Trina bit her lip, and her face twisted into a look as if she was about to throw up. She took a sip out of her water bottle and studied the ground for a few seconds, and then when the silence was growing too uncomfortable for her to bear, she looked up again. "You were a lot of things that I wasn't," she said, so low that Tori had to lean over the kitchen counter to hear her. "You were pretty, and you could sing and dance and act better than me. You were one of the best at Hollywood Arts at everything, and I was incredibly jealous of you. A lot of people were. We all thought that you were going to be a big star one day."

Tori scowled and reached for an apple that was set out on the counter. "I kind of expected it too. I mean, people told me I was talented. I never really believed it myself. But if everyone else was saying it, I kind of thought that talent was gonna get me somewhere, you know? And now, I'm just…miserable."

Trina made an awful hacking noise, took a sip of her water, and then patted Tori on the shoulder. "It's okay. You'll feel better when you get around all that wedding stuff." She eyed Tori's disgusted expression that turned to sadness, and her shoulders drooped. "It doesn't bother you that Andre is getting married, does it?"

Tori shrugged and pulled away from her sister to go get her bags. "I don't know. I mean, I just left him here, you know. He still loved me when I left."

Trina raised an eyebrow and followed after Tori, her big high heel boots click-clacking across the floor. "But did you still love him?"

"I-" Tori paused and looked up at Trina, who seemed a whole lot more intimidating now that she was delving into Tori's personal thoughts. But Trina was her sister, and even though she had annoyed her when they lived together, she never told Tori's secrets. "Yes, I did. And I still do. But you can't tell anyone that. I'm singing at the wedding, and I just…I feel awful. But we can still be friends, right?"

Trina opened her mouth as if she was ready to speak, but then she closed it and shrugged as she walked back into the kitchen. Tori rolled her eyes and picked up all of her bags, and she headed up the stairs to where her old room used to be. She was going to go through everything and remember the past before she had to move on with the future.

Meanwhile, Trina pulled out her cell phone and dialed the number to one of the local Chinese restaurants to place an order. Her parents were not at home, and if she attempted to cook, she would burn the house down.

"Hey, Tori!" she yelled as loudly as she could, which wasn't really necessary because Tori probably could have heard her without her yelling. "What do you want from the Chinese place?"

"Not hungry!" Tori yelled back.

Trina sighed and waited as the phone rang, and then the doorbell rang noisily throughout the house, causing her to jump and drop the phone. As she leaned down to grab it, she called out, "Tori, get the door!"

"No! You're downstairs! You get it!"

The Chinese guy had answered the phone, but Trina simply rolled her eyes and ended the call as she walked over to the door to answer it. As it swung open and she prepared to yell at whoever was interrupting her lazy day at home, she dropped her phone again and smiled. Andre was on the front porch step smiling right back at her.

"Well, well, well. Isn't this nice?" she said as she opened the door farther and gestured him in. "I haven't seen you in a while, Andre. Let's see…the last time I saw you was when you and Tori were dating." She wanted to make Andre realize that he still loved Tori, because she didn't want her sister to be depressed anymore. And she knew that Andre still cared about Tori.

"Yeah, that was a long while back, huh?" Andre said, still smiling. He was wringing his hands nervously as he peered around the wide open room. "Is Tori here yet?"

Trina grinned and motioned toward the stairs. "She's in her room. Why don't you make yourself at home and I'll go get her?" She watched as Andre sat down on the couch, and when she was sure that he wasn't paying any attention to her, she dashed up the stairs and barged into Tori's room, startling her.

"What's wrong with you?" Tori asked as she moved her photo albums out of the way of Trina's big boots.

"Someone is here to see you," Trina replied, a mischievous grin playing across her face. "I think you should come see them."

Tori frowned and got up from the floor, confused by her sister's strange actions. Who could possibly be here to see her? She hadn't seen anyone from LA in five years, and she hadn't told any of her friends that she was coming today. As far as they knew, she wasn't going to be here until the day before the wedding.

Trina rushed down the stairs into the living room, leaving Tori completely alone at the top of the stairs, still incredibly confused. "Trina, I don't understa-" She stopped when her eyes fell upon the boy sitting on the couch looking up at her and smiling. She felt like her heart was melting right into her stomach, and her legs wobbled dangerously, threatening to make her collapse down the stairs any second. "Andre," she managed to get out, even though her throat was closing up on her.

Andre smiled even wider as he got up and walked toward the base of the stairs. "Tori Vega," he said in wonderment, gesturing for her to come down the stairs. "You're just as stunning as you were five years ago."

Tori gulped and raised her hand to her chest as she continued to gaze at him. Her heart was pounding so fast and loud that she wondered whether Andre could hear it booming against her chest. She wasn't doing any good just standing there gawking at him, though. She had to go see him. Just put one foot in front of the other and move, you idiot, she told herself, and on shaky legs, she finally made it to him without making a total fool of herself.

For a moment, they just stared into each other's eyes, and Tori thought she was going to be sick. And when she felt her stomach constrict, Andre wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into the tightest hug that she had ever had. She smiled and returned the hug, and she glanced at Trina, who was giving her a thumbs-up and a smirk. Tori sent a thumbs-up back, and she closed her eyes and took in the feeling of Andre's body against hers. She felt like this was the one place in the world that she belonged forever, but that wasn't going to be the case. She would probably never fit against anyone else's body as perfectly as she fit against Andre's.

"So we haven't got to talk a lot," Andre said, pulling away from her and almost making her collapse with sadness. "How've you been?"

"I've been great," Tori replied, looking down at the floor nervously and shifting from one foot to the other. "How did you know I was coming today? I mean, you sent me the money for the plane ticket, but you didn't know when I was coming."

Andre shrugged and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I have my ways." Tori didn't even have to think about it anymore to realize that it had been Trina who told him. "Anyway, the rest of the group is at the hotel. They came in early, too. I told them I was coming to get you, and then when we got back, we could go out to eat or something. Chelsea's with them, too. You need to meet her. She's been looking forward to meeting you."

Tori's smile dropped as she thought about this unknown girl that was about to snatch Andre away from her. The girl actually wanted to meet her, while Tori had lain in bed every night since she got the invitation wondering just how she could make this girl's life miserable before the big day. She felt a twinge of regret about that now. "Great, I can't wait to meet her. But, I should probably stay here with Trina-"

"No, you go ahead, Tor," Trina said, rushing over to them and clapping a hand on her sister's shoulder. "Mom and Dad won't be back for a while, and I'll probably just go out shopping in a little bit. I still need a dress to wear to the wedding." She glanced at Andre, and then back at Tori. "Go have fun with Andre, little sis." She nudged Tori in the ribs and winked quite obviously, and Tori grimaced and walked away from her.

"Can I grab a bottle of water before we go?" Andre asked, and Tori nodded.

As Andre turned his back on them and walked into the kitchen, Trina grabbed Tori rather aggressively and whispered hurriedly, "He's totally still in love with you," before releasing her again and plopping down on the couch. "Have fun, guys," she said, waving at them happily as Andre returned and followed Tori out of the house.

"Any particular reason why Trina's acting all weird?" Andre asked as he pulled some keys out of his pocket.

Tori shrugged and bit her lip as she watched his fingers run over the jagged edges of the keys. She wanted to hold his hand so badly, but she couldn't. "I don't really know. Trina's always been weird."

"True," Andre agreed as they reached a black SUV parked in the driveway. "It won't take long to get there. They're just staying at the Hilton."

Tori nodded as she opened the door and climbed into the passenger seat. She was still having a hard time believing that this was all real. Andre was cranking up his car right next to her, and they were going to meet up with the rest of their friends. She absolutely couldn't wait.

The entire ride there, they talked about Andre's music career and how successful he had been in the past few years. Tori didn't mind this, because she liked hearing about his happiness and fortune. She failed to tell him that she had done absolutely nothing with her life and that she was in an even bigger hole than she ever was, but she would tell him all in good time. Now wasn't the time. He was happy, and she was happy with him, and that's all that she needed.

He told her all about Chelsea and how she had been a backup dancer in one of his music videos and how they had met and started dating. He gave her all of the details of the proposal and the wedding planning. All she could do was smile and nod in interest, even though she couldn't care less about the girl.

"We're here," Andre said as soon as he parked after what seemed like an eternity of talking about Chelsea.

Tori looked out the window at the many floors of the Hilton towering above her, and she sighed in contentment. Just inside those doors, her friends were waiting for her arrival. But so was Chelsea. She was torn between whether or not she should be excited about this meeting. But as she heard Andre slam the door on his side, she realized that she didn't have much of a choice. She got out of the car and followed him into the hotel lobby.