Mystic Falls, 2010.

BELLA SALVATORE NEVER THOUGHT THIS DAY WOULD FINALLY COME, the day where she would set her foot back in this town. It had been 146 years since the last time she was there. Everything had changed, just like she had expected. Nothing looked familiar anymore, but she was more than fine with it. At least this way she didn't have to be reminded by the tragedy every time she looked around.

Although she had been away for a really long time, Bella understood the town situation much better than most people who lived there. She had been keeping tabs on her brothers' live every now and then without their knowledge. And recently, both of them had just got back in town so she had been keeping tabs on the town as well.

She knew about the Petrova doppleganger, and how her brothers got stuck in a love triangle situation with her. It was like 1864 all over again. The last thing she wanted was to be caught up in the drama, so she was planning to just ignore them.

She knew about the tomb vampire's attempt to avenge the actions of 1864 by attacking the remaining Founding Families, which turned out to backfire on themselves.

She also heard about the return of Katherine Pierce, which was the main reason she came back. She wanted to make sure that bitch got what she deserved after what she did to her back then. Nobody could mess around with her and get away with it.

After several hours of driving, Bella finally arrived at Salvatore Boarding House. The house hadn't been built the last time she was there so this was the very first time she had been there. She tried to ignore the sudden weird feeling that might have something to do with her two brothers living there. But there shouldn't be anything she needed to worry about from that. It was just a family reunion after 146 years, what could possibly go wrong?

After unloading her suitcase from the trunk of her car, she walked to the porch. She was about to knock when she heard her brothers quarreling from inside. She decided to wait for a while and listen to their conversation to find out what was that all about.

"It was Katherine, wasn't it? She got under your skin."

"No, she wasn't. That kid wanted to be vampire, Stefan. I was just being generous to grant it."

"The vampire's blood already leaving his system. If it weren't for the ring, he could have die."

"Sucks for him then."

"Not just for him, for Elena too. She would never forgive you if Jeremy really die. Is that really what you want, Damon?"

She rolled her eyes when she realized they were arguing about the new Petrova doppleganger. Couldn't bear to hear about it any longer, she finally knocked. There was a brief pause for a split second before the door finally opened.

Her smirk grew as her eyes caught Stefan's shocked gaze upon seeing her.

"Long time, brother."

"I HAVE A QUESTION," Damon exclaimed while pouring himself more drink. Today's event had turned into something he had never expected. The only thing that could help him adjust with the situation was alcohol.

Bella, who was now sitting comfortably on the couch, raised an eyebrow at her eldest brother. "You sure you just have a question? Not hundreds?"

"You're right. I have tons of questions," the eldest one agreed. His blue eyes studied the blonde's face once again. Never in a hundred years did he expect he would see his little sister's face in flesh again.

The blonde girl grinned. "Then ask away, dear brother."

"Okay, for starters I know you lived with Uncle Giovanni after Father died," Damon informed and took another sip from his glass. He tried to recall everything he knew about his sister's life. "And in December 1864 you were declared missing and never been found ever since. What happened?"

Bella shrugged. "What do you think happened?" Her eyes glanced briefly at Stefan who was sitting on the other couch and seemed lost in his own thought. "I went missing and 146 years later I came back, alive and not aging at all."

"Vampire happened," Stefan muttered under his breath.

"Yep."

Bella looked down, suddenly feeling uncomfortable talking about it. But she wasn't the only one who felt that way. Both Stefan and Damon felt even more uncomfortable when a sudden feeling of guilt enveloped them. The only reason why they never returned to their sister's life was because they didn't want her to be involved in supernatural things like vampires. They had agreed to let her lead a normal live, the one that could only happen without them in it. If only they had known where the so-called-normal life would lead their little sister's fate, they would have done anything to prevent it.

Stefan cleared his throat, trying to break the ice. "You don't look surprised to see us alive and not aging at all. How did you...?"

"Find out that you two are vampires?" she continued, then stood up and walked over the table to pour herself a drink. "Let me give you a clue; the night of father's death."

"Wait... you were there?" Stefan frowned as the memory of that night returned. It was a really long time ago, but just like Bella, he still could remember it clearly. He then shook his head in disbelief. "But that's not possible. I would have seen you if you were there."

"I was hiding in the closet, trying to eavesdrop on father's conversation with anyone to find out more about what I saw in the wood, looking for explanation why he shot you and Damon." She tried not to show how much the memory still bothered her, but the bitterness in her voice showed otherwise. She took a big sip from her glass and suddenly felt a little bit better when the alcohol reach her throat. "And after his funeral, right before I left with Uncle Giovanni to New Orleans, I saw Damon watching me from afar when he was supposed to be dead."

Damon looked away at the mention of his name.

"So you knew we were alive from a long time ago... but never tried to find us?" Stefan concluded with a hint of disappointment in his tone.

Little did Bella knew one of her brothers would ask this question, but that didn't mean she was ready to tell them about it.

She put her glass back to the table and looked at them in turn. Her arms folded across her chest as she leaned her back against the table. "I can ask you two the same question."

"Oh you think we never tried to find you, Jingle Bells?" Damon narrowed his eyes, looking deeply offended by the indirect accusation she just made. "We spent almost ten years trying to find you in New Orleans and the other city in Louisiana before decided to move on because there was nothing else we could do."

"I'm talking about before I went missing," she explained calmly. What happened after she went missing was not their fault. She knew that, because she was the one who didn't want to be found.

"We were such a mess back then, okay?" Stefan retorted, looking straight into his sister's eyes. "We didn't want to drag you into our mess."

She knew exactly what they meant by 'mess'. The first couple of months after the transition were the worst, she had gone through that too. She knew she couldn't blame them for that.

Bella sighed and reluctantly relented, "Fine, I forgive both of you." She then straightened herself and went to grab her suitcase.

"And what's your excuse for never tried to find us?" Damon asked again, frowning. From the way she tried to dodge the question, he could easily sense that something was wrong.

She smiled mischievously as she used their own words against them, "Let's just say I was in a mess and didn't want to drag both of you into it."

The two Salvatore brothers stood in front of their sister and exchanged glances. To be honest, neither of them really liked the way that sounded.

"What kind of mess?" Stefan questioned, his face looking as curious as Damon's.

"A complicated one," she answered in a whisper voice. And before they could ask another question, she hurriedly exclaimed, "Now which one of you want to show me my room?"