A/N: Anyone still reading, I thank you! I promise, after this one, the show's storyline will begin in Danica's POV. Any suggestions/reviews are welcome. No flames, unless in PM form. Thanks!

Hold on to hope, love
I searched high and low for you
For you

Each day gets closer
So hold on stronger to me
And you

Someday soon
I'll find you
Someday soon
I'll know you

*Hold Onto Hope, Love – Amy Stroup*

August 28th

'I can NOT believe that I'm actually doing this!' I thought as I finished packing the rest of my things into the last of many suitcases that I was taking with me. It was so full that I had to sit on it to zip it shut. When I finally managed to close it, I started to carry it towards the staircase.

"Here, let me take that for you."

"Thanks, Ryan. I really do appreciate your help with everything." I said, following him down the stairs and out the door.

"No thanks necessary." He said, stacking the suitcase on top of some boxes in the back of my Tahoe. "Are you sure about this? I mean, Virginia is pretty far from here."

"Yeah, I'm sure. I need to get out of this place."

"All right. Well, that's everything. Remember, I want updates every time you stop, even if it's just to fill up. A phone call every night is required. You can always come back if it gets to be too much for you."

"Sure, sure. I'll keep that in mind." I said, rolling my eyes. I was amazed at how he'd stepped up as an authority figure.

"I mean it, every night. No exceptions. If you miss a night, I'm hopping on the next available flight and dragging you back to Cali." He said, smiling to let me know he was joking. At least I was hoping he was.

"I will do my best, I promise."

"Okay. My flight lands Tuesday night. I'll call you when we're about to board from Chicago to give you an idea of when to be in Charlottesville."

"Sounds good. Thanks again, Ryan. I need to get going, but I promise I will call you. See you next week!" I said, hugging him before climbing into the driver's seat of my Tahoe and starting the engine. I waved goodbye as I pulled out of the driveway, thankful to be getting away from Monterey.

After four days of taking my time to get to the little town of Mystic Falls, Virginia, I was so glad it was over. The drive to pick Ryan up tomorrow would be extremely short compared to what I'd just gone through.

As I pulled into a parking spot in the lot outside the town's motel, I thought back to the night of my birthday: dinner with Damon, drinks at the hotel, falling asleep next to him. And then I thought of how I woke up the next morning to find a note on my pillow.

You looked too peaceful to wake. I hope you end up wherever it is

that you're supposed to live out the rest of your life. Something

tells me we'll meet again soon.

Damon

"Hi. Can I help you?"

"Yes, I need a room. One bed is fine. It'll just be me." I said, glancing at the woman's name tag. It read 'Kathleen'.

"Okay. And how long do you plan on staying with us?"

"Not sure. At least for a few nights."

After Kathleen set up a room for me to stay in and put my card on file, I grabbed a couple of suitcases and used the key to open the motel room's door. A quick nap and shower later, I dressed in a pair of dark blue jeans, a purple tank top, and a white jacket. Grabbing my favorite purse, I decided to find somewhere to eat.

Damon hadn't been lying when he said Mystic Falls was a small town. It seemed there was only one real place to eat: Mystic Grill. I was going to continue looking around, but my grumbling stomach made me change my mind.

Upon entering, I realized this was where everyone came to hang out. I took my jacket off and found an empty booth to sit in. After placing my order with the waitress, I took in my surroundings. Pool tables, a bar, many tables and booths, all the teenagers and adults occupying everything. I pulled my cell phone out to text Riley and Ryan, and was startled when a shadow came over the table.

"Hey. New in town?"

I looked up and saw a teenage boy, not much younger than me, standing next to me.

"Uh, yeah. That obvious, huh? Just got in from California."

"Well, you know how small towns are. Everyone knows everyone's face and name. I'm Jeremy."

"Nice to meet you, Jeremy. I'm Danica. Would you like to join me?"

"Sure." He said, nodding and then sliding in across from me. The waitress came back and set my order down.

"Hey Vick. Can you bring me a Coke?" Jeremy asked, his eyes watching her every move. She nodded and walked off.

"So, what brought you here?"

"Hunger?" I responded, slightly confused by his question. He laughed.

"No, I mean, what brought you to Mystic Falls?"

"Needed a change of scenery. Got tired of living in a big city. I didn't really know where I was going at first, just knew that I needed to get out. I heard about this town from someone I met in Monterey last month." I explained, shrugging and glancing at the waitress when she set his soda down and walked off.

"If you like small towns, you'll like it here." He said with a smile.

I made a mental note of Jeremy's features as I took a bite of my burger. Slightly long, dark brown hair that was sticking up just a little in the front as if he'd run his fingers through it. Light brown eyes. He was definitely cute, even with the hint of sadness showing through his eyes.

I smiled back at him as I picked up a french fry and dipped it in my chocolate milkshake. He made a face as he watched me eat it.

"What?"

"That looks gross."

"I promise you, it is anything but gross." I said, eating a couple more. A few minutes passed, and Jeremy was still giving me a weird look.

"Don't knock it until you try it." I said, pushing my plate towards him. He took a fry, dipped it in the shake, and placed it in his mouth, chewing slowly.

"Well?"

"Not bad. What other weird things do you eat?"

"I'm choosing to ignore that question." I laughed.

"So, where are you going to be living?"

"Not sure yet. My adoptive father will be here tomorrow night and then we'll be looking at houses in the area on Wednesday."

"Do you need someone to show you around?" He asked, eating another fry.

"That would be awesome. Thank you."

I finished my burger and shake while Jeremy ate the rest of the french fries, and then we left to walk around town. After making our way to the high school, Jeremy started pointing out houses to me and telling me who lived in them. He invited me to hang out once we got to his place.

"Thanks for the tour, Jeremy." I said, leaning against the kitchen entryway as he grabbed a couple of sodas from the fridge. I smiled and took a sip of the Coke he handed me. "You know, you're a pretty cool guy."

"You're not so bad yourself." He smiled back.

"So... tell me about yourself."

"What do you want to know?"

"How old are you? What do you like to do for fun? Do you have a girlfriend? What would you have been doing if you weren't stuck showing the new girl around?"

He chuckled before starting to answer.

"I'm 15. I used to draw, but I haven't done it in a while. And I'd probably have just hung out here and played a video game or something."

"You missed one."

"I did? What'd I miss?"

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

"Oh, no. Yes. No. Kind of. Uh... it's complicated. Sorry." He explained, scratching the back of his neck.

"Is it the waitress?" I took another drink of my soda.

"Vicki?"

"I saw the way you looked at her."

"Yeah. We're... we had something going on. But she's back on with this douche, Tyler."

"Ouch. That sucks. Sorry to hear."

"Not your fault."

"And your family?"

"My sister and I live with our aunt. Elena is 17 and Jenna's 29."

"Hmm. You mentioned something about video games?" I smiled at him. We played Left 4 Dead 2 for a couple of hours, and then I realized it was getting late. After saying goodbye, I walked back to the motel and fell asleep quickly.

The next day, I used the motel's Wi-Fi to mess around on the internet before going to the Grill for a late lunch. I got a call from Ryan, letting me know that his flight was scheduled to land in Charlottesville around 11 pm. My phone read '4:45'. Since I had a few hours to waste, I decided to walk around town again, looking for any 'for sale' signs in front of the houses. I found a few and added the contact information to my cell phone.

"Danica?"

I looked to my right and saw Jeremy walking out of his house, which was right next door to the one I was currently checking out.

"Hey there."

"What are you doing?"

"Just looking at the available houses. Figured I'd start getting the info about them for Ryan."

"Mind if I tag along?"

"Not at all." I said, smiling at him.

"So, is it just you and Ryan?"

"Well, yes and no. I don't have any siblings. After my parents died, Ryan adopted me. He's coming to fill out the paperwork to allow me to buy the house since I'm only 17. It'll still be in my name, but legally I have to have a parent or guardian sign everything."

"You'll be living alone?" He gave me a quizzical look.

"Yeah. Ryan has to stay in Cali for work. I don't mind though. Plus, if I decide on this one, I can just bug you whenever I get lonely." I joked, lightly poking his side and causing him to laugh. We started walking to find another house.

After looking at a couple more, I decided to call it quits and start getting ready for my trip to Charlottesville. Jeremy walked me to my motel room and we said our goodbyes. A few hours later, I was in Charlottesville and waiting patiently outside the airport for Ryan. When he walked out, I took a minute to look at him.

Ryan was young-looking since he was only twenty-eight. He had brown eyes and short blonde hair, which had recently been trimmed. I jogged towards him and hugged him, letting out a small squeak as he wrapped his arms around me and squeezed the air out of my lungs, lifting me slightly. I giggled as he set me down.

"I've missed you, Dani." He said with a huge grin on his face.

"I can tell." I laughed. "How are you going to manage after you go back?"

"Guess I'll just have to visit a lot. Now, let's go check out this Mystic Falls place."