* A/N I do not own or claim to own anyone other than my own OC and scenarios I make up. I will try to stick to the story timeline as much as I can. *

Recap

"Aria!" She says as she spins around and suddenly, I am in a tight hug.

"Ha-ha," I laugh. "It is good to see you too."

"When did you get into town?" She says resting her hands on my upper arms.

"Two days ago, but near the middle of the night," I say. "The rain made the drive in even more annoying."

"I can only imagine," she says. "The weather has been weird lately."

"Great to see Mystic Falls is still weird as ever," I say with a chuckle as a man walks up to us.

"Oh Aria," Jenna says energetically, "this is my boyfriend, Alaric Saltzman. He teaches history at the high school."

"Hi, nice to meet you," I say sticking my hand out. "My name is Aria Lennox. Newly back into town."

"Another returnee it seems," he says smiling to Jenna with an inside joke, I think.

"So, you teach history?" I ask.

"Yea," Alaric says looking back at me.

"Would you mind me picking your brain sometime?" I ask.

"Why?" He asks a little quizzically.

"Nothing weird," I say with a laugh. "I promise. I am a parapsychologist. I study the weird things in towns around the country and a few in other countries."

"Really?" he asks a little taken aback by my reasons. Something flashes across his face, but it is gone in a second. "Sure. I have gotten some information from my former wife who was also in your field."

"Oh," I say suddenly aware of what was going on. "Well, we can set it up through Jenna and set a time to meet."

"Sounds good." He says with a small smile.

The three of us chat for a bit more. I promise to meet up with Jenna sometime soon to catch up and they head off in one direction and I go in the other. I am just milling around and chit chatting with people from town. I hear a voice that sounds familiar and as I round the corner of the room to the entry way, I see one of my old friends greeting his nephew.

"Well, well, look what the cat dragged in," I say smirking and crossing my arms.

"Aria," he says in disbelief, "Aria Lennox is that you?"

"Yes," I say laughing and hold my arms up for a hug "What no hug hello?" He laughs and wraps me up in a big bear hug.

"You look good for someone who got out and seemed to stay out," he says putting me back down on the ground.

"Well," I say putting my hand on my hips, "it seems that you can never really leave this town does it."

"True," he says. "How have you been?"

"I have been good," I say as we walk a little more into the house. "Finished my diploma so I have a bunch of free time now."

"You finished your diploma?" He asks me with a questioning look. "You who barely came to school actually finished your masters early?"

"Hey!" I say punching him in the arm with a laugh. "I got out and got my act together."

"Mason Lockwood," we hear a voice say past a couple people. "Well as I live and breathe."

The voice comes out and it is Jenna with a smile on her face. The two of them greet each other with a hug. The three of us chit chat over things from our lives and we discuss some of the things that have happened in town the last few months. The rest of the wake went by in a flash after meeting back up with my friends from school. We made plans to get together at The Grill in a couple days. I also learned that the carnival would be happening soon and that it would be good to check out. Mason said he would go with Tyler and Jenna and I decide to go together.