Author's Note: I feel like a terrible person! This chapter took forever because frankly, I had zero time to sit down and write it! However, it is finished and longer than the others so YAY! More for all of you to read! That makes up for my lack of updating right?...right? :D I am loving how much traffic this story is getting! Thank you for all the reviews, favorites and alerts!

La-dee-da I don't own TVD characters, plot etc. Thank you CW and L.J Smith who has two thumbs and is ready for more Ian Somerhalder on Thursdays? This girl right here!

The sun peaked through the trees bathing me in a golden hue while walking the familiar path home; I could walk it blindfolded if I wanted. They could be eating dinner, it would be rude to intrude, not to mention awkward. Ugh I can just picture it: Jenna opens the door, is shocked to see me and then invites me inside in the middle of dinner; nothing, but silence and awkward small talk from Jenna, maybe Elena. Ugh what am I doing? This is stupid; I should just go back to the hotel. A sigh of defeat blew past my lips. If you don't do it tonight, you probably won't for a while…or ever. Jenna will be pissed if she finds out you were in town and didn't come by or say anything.

I halted and stared at my destination. My heart felt like it was trying to break my ribs. Don't be a chicken shit just knock on the door! Taking in a deep breath I swallowed my fears and approached the door. Well this is awkward, knocking on my own front door. I still have the key but do I just let myself in? That would probably freak them out. I guess I will just knock then. My knuckles connecting with the door matched my own heartbeat and I automatically wanted to bolt. I could hear footsteps and I tried to make out whose they were. The door swung open.

"Hey Jer!" I smiled. I want to hug him, but judging by his face that's probably not the best idea.

"What are you doing here?" He sighed and frowned at me.

"I came to say hello and see how everyone is, I haven't ran into Jenna yet so I figured I'd stop by." Please don't slam the door in my face.

"I'll tell her you said hi."

"I'd like to tell her if you don't mind."

"Jer? Who's at the door?" I heard Jenna's voice from down the hall, three guesses where I get my loud mouth from. Jeremy's hard eyes narrowed at me waiting for me to take off like a bat out of hell. Meanwhile, an internal battle raged inside me whether or not to turn around and head back to the hotel. There is still time, she doesn't know you're here all you have to do is flick your hood up and mosey on down the street. She'd be none the wiser. What was the point in coming here anyways? All that would come of this visit is a guilt trip in staying here. What's wrong with just visiting for a few days? People do it all the time, Uncle John does. Well, no one likes him, but I guess I fit that category too now.

"Jer! Who's at the door?" The clicking of Jenna's heels came to a standstill and she popped her head around the door. Her eyes just about bugged out of her head and whatever she was holding now clattered to the floor. "Oh my god," She looks like a fish out of water. Breathe Jenna! Breathe!

"Hi Aunt Jenna," I smiled awkwardly and waved slightly. Well, she doesn't look unhappy to see me…more like in shock. I'll take that, better than the latter.

"I…I didn't know you were coming!"

"Neither did I, so you're off the hook." I managed a laugh completely ignoring Jeremy's hard stare. She pulled me into a bone crushing hug. That's one for three. I smiled my second genuine smile since being back in town.

"Come on in we are getting ready for family night!" Shit.

"No, no I wouldn't want to intrude."

"Nonsense, you love family night! You have to stay anyway, we are playing Burlesque." I'm a Master and Commander of Burlesque. I feel like a kitten with a string dangled in front of it. Curse you Jenna. My stomach growled in agreement with my lust for reigning supreme of all things Burlesque. Right, I hadn't eaten yet… I began rubbing my chin for contemplative effect before eagerly agreeing. Following Jenna in, I passed Jeremy and slightly ruffled his hair, a shit-eating grin plastered on my face. The look on his is priceless; though I'm pretty sure I just declared war. Oh well, I'll suffer the consequences later.

It's weird being back in here. Seeing all their stuff, furniture is still the same any minute now she should be coming through the door with a tub full of popcorn and—STOP! Don't even go there! Three people live here now, none of them being over the age of 35. I became stiff as I went through the process of shutting my mind down. It's practically second nature to me now; I do it whenever those unwanted thoughts creep up. I delicately sat down on the edge of the sofa. This is, nice I guess…awkward, but nice.

"Are you going to sit down with me, or brood in the corner some more?" Jeremy let out a huff and sat in the chair next to the sofa.

"So…uh what have you been up to these days?" Ugh, awkward polite conversation. No one can say I never tried.

"Nothing."

"Really now, sounds like fun." Jeremy just stared at me an incredulous look on his face.

"Oh come on throw me a bone here!" I sighed exasperatedly and threw my arms out at him. Jer rolled his eyes and fought a smirk.

"Melodramatic much?"

"Says the Emo boy." Narrowing his eyes, he huffed and made his way towards the stairs.

"Good chat, Hailey. See you when I see you."

"Oh come on Jer! Don't be like—"The door slammed shut. Great. Just great. I ran my fingers through my hair and let out a long de-stressing breath.

"Don't take it to heart. He's like that with everyone now-a-days. Elena's in the kitchen, come let her know you're here."

"Actually, Aunt Jenna I ran into her at the Grill, like an hour ago." I chuckled lightly at Jenna's expression.

"Am I the only one here who didn't know you were coming

"Maybe?" I grinned sheepishly. I feel bad; Jenna wasn't the one I was trying to escape from. If anything, she was the only one who supported my decision. Well, more like accepted and wished me the best. She raised her brow in attempt to hide the hurt in her eyes. To the untrained eye she would have been successful.

"I just got here today; they more or less ran into me." Jenna smiled and gave me a big hug. She squeezed me tight and rested her chin on my shoulder. I had to shut my mind down to the overwhelming emotions. I will not cry. Got that? I refuse. Slowly but surely I calmed down, my emotions at bay for the moment. Jenna let go, rubbed my shoulders and made her way to the kitchen. She could probably sense I wasn't following her cause she turned around.

"Please don't tell me you need an invitation?" She chuckled a little. It worried her though: How much of a stranger I felt in my own home.

"With cursive writing and a red bow wrapped around it." Jenna rolled her eyes and I smirked as I followed her into the kitchen.

"Looked what the cat dragged in." Jenna called over to Elena, who was focused on tossing salad.

"Good news is I don't have fleas; Mange maybe."

"So that's why Jer's been acting funny." Jenna quipped glancing up at me.

"Ha! If only it were that simple." Elena mused and set the salad bowl on the table. "Jer? Come on down, dinner's ready."No answer. I glanced up at the ceiling.

"Jer! Get down here, it's time to eat!" Jenna called. Elena sighed and made her way towards the stairs. "Jeremy!" she called while running up the steps. I looked over at Jenna who seemed a bit torn.

"Emo much these days?" I nodded my head up in his general direction.

"It's just a phase…."

"Hopefully."

"He'll be down in a bit." Elena's voice sounded irritable.

"Everything ok?" I don't really know what else to ask.

"Is it ever?" We both knew the answer to that.

Dinner was eaten in an awkward silence, occasionally broken by recalling the places I had been while on the road.

"New York is crazy. Nothing ever ceases and hardly anything ever closes. No matter what time it is, you will always find people. I met an artist. His name was Raoul. Every day he would take a taxi from Brooklyn and sit on Broadway and draw people going in and out of the theatre. They were the loveliest sketches. Then, he would set up his canvas and paint a larger version of his sketch. I would sit beside him and watch him work, sometimes all day. Occasionally, he would have me pose in front of one of the theatres or on a nearby bench. You would think it was incredibly boring, but just watching him work made the day fly by. Then, this is the wildest part; he would give away his paintings to whoever stopped to look at them. Just gave them away, didn't charge or anything! Gave me one once; had to sell it though. I needed money for a motel room. It's probably hanging in some big house now."

"Were you in New York this whole time?" Elena asked pushing her peas around with the tip of her fork. I, on the other hand, jammed an entire serving of potatoes in my mouth.

"Mo, I 'waveled a wot." Food is more important than etiquette. I'm pretty sure my stomach would rise up and coup d'état my body if I did not continue to provide sustenance. "I went everywhere, met a lot of people. We would be here all night if I recounted it all."

"Where was your favorite place?" Aunt Jenna's eyes sparkled. She didn't travel nearly as much as I did, but I could tell she was living vicariously through my recounts.

"I don't really have one. Longest I stayed anywhere was New York; I guess you could count that. I just really liked how the city moved and breathed; it was beautiful." I sighed wistfully and continued eating.

Jenna cleared the table allowing Elena and I to have some time to ourselves. We sat quietly on the sofa making small talk. I'm making fucking small talk with my sister. Everything changed, there's no denying that. Last year I could talk to my sister about anything and she would tell me how she was feeling no matter what the circumstances. She shrank into herself.

"Do you hate me?" Wow mouth, way to take the blunt approach. I turned to look at her.

"What? No! I don't hate you." My eyebrow raised in disbelief. Elena sighed looking weary again.

"I'm sorry, there is just so much going on right now." I must be terrible at hiding what I'm thinking because she followed up with, "It's difficult to explain." I smell bullshit. Oh well, it's not like it's any of my business.

"I'm going to get Jer again, maybe he'll come down."

"Oh, joy! Please tell Mr. Sunshine up there to stop being so damn antisocial and get down here." I smirked, rolling my eyes. Elena chuckled and made her way upstairs. I lounged back sighing and closed my eyes. This isn't…terrible I guess. Jenna seems happy, Elena seems….ok. I wonder what she means by a lot going on right now. I mean don't get me wrong, but my sudden appearance and fresh travesties cannot be the only thing happening right now. Maybe it's her boyfriend? I wonder if she and Matt are still together. Maybe they broke up? The way Damon made it sound, his brother and her were awfully cozy nowadays. That's going to be awkward. Matt was a good friend of mine; we were all together since diaper days. God, this is why I hate small towns! Everyone here are friends, so when people fight or break up, not only does word get around fast, but you all have to see each other EVERY DAY! No wonder I left.

A knock on the door startled me out of my internal rant. Is it weird if I answer the door? This is your house, I'm pretty sure it's ok to answer your own door. Jenna had the water running high; I doubt she could hear a bomb explode let alone knuckles on a door. Opening the door, my eyes fell upon Adonis himself in all of his glory, hands stuffed in his pockets. Oh my god. Scratch everything I ever said: I am never leaving. This is the second time today I came face to face with a drop dead gorgeous man. Where were these beautiful creatures when I lived here? Where?

"Can I help you?" He nervously ran his fingers through his styled blonde hair. Very hot, though I much prefer dark hair. I waited expectantly, my poker-face on, hiding the internal lunacy.

"Is Elena here?" His confused expression scrutinized me. Did we know each other?

"She's upstairs." He continued to look me over, his brow knitting together.

"Um, I don't think we've met, I'm Hailey Gilbert." I held out my hand pulling him out of his intense scrutiny.

"Sorry, you just look so familiar, now I know why," He took my hand and shook it lightly; "My name is Stefan Salvatore."

"Salvatore?" So this is Damon's brother.

"Yes." His eyes scrutinized me again.

"You must be Elena's boyfriend. I met your brother earlier today." His jaw clenched slightly, his body grew tense. Was it something I said? What's his problem?

"You did? What did he say?"

"Nothing really, just that you were returnees like me and he was here to spend quality time with you.

"Something like that." Right, that's not a strange answer.

"Not a big fan of your brother?"

"He's not a real big fan of me. Then again most siblings are like that I suppose." It was my turn to scrutinize him.

"Yea, I suppose. I'm not exactly the favorite at the moment." He smiled slightly at this. Jeez, what a buzz kill! I can feel all my fuzzy feelings being sucked out of me.

"I didn't know Elena had a sister."

"Like I said, I'm not the favorite right now. I hopped the next bus out of town; many people were not exactly…thrilled."

"Right, I'm sure they wouldn't be."

"How long have you been back for?"

"Not very long, a few weeks, maybe almost a month."

"Oh." Yeah! Awkward silence! Just what this conversation needs! He seems nice, just, I don't know, he rubs me the wrong way. Whatever, he can't be that bad if Elena is hanging around, possibly dating him. He's gorgeous, maybe he's just nervous? We both kept glancing at the stairs.

"You can come in if you want, I will run up and let her know you're here." He smiled, stepping inside. Hurrying up the stairs I paused at Jeremy's door. I couldn't quite hear what they were saying but it sounded like an argument. I guess I'm not the only one then. Soundlessly I knocked on the door, pushing it open slightly. Jeremy was lounging on the bed rolling his eyes and half listening to Elena's plea to straighten his attitude out and come down stairs.

"Elena, Stefan's downstairs looking for you." Elena whipped around and flashed me a quick smile. Right, everything's cool in here, nothing to see. God, since when are they ever secretive?

"Thanks Hail." I elbowed and waggled my eyebrows at her to which she rolled her eyes and smiled brightly. Wow, this kid must really be something.

"So on a scale of 1-10, how much do you hate me?" I asked nonchalantly, strutting over and sitting down on the bed. Jer raised his eyebrow, refusing to answer.

"Come on, humor me." Turning up his music, he hopped off the bed and made his way downstairs slamming the screen behind him on his way out.

"Good talk."

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