1.

It had been almost four months to the day by the time I returned to Mystic Falls. I drove round the side of the house to the sheltered driveway that led into the backyard and saw that Elena had acquired a car to replace the one I had taken. An oversized black SUV sat next to Jenna's Mini Cooper and as I parked on the street, neatly blocking both cars in, I couldn't help but wonder how much of her trust fund she had blown on the vehicle as well as feel a little envious. The only cars I'd ever driven weren't new – only new to me. Even the Mercedes I was currently in possession of had been our dad's car before he had given it to Elena and me.

I sat for a moment, bracing myself for what was to come. I'd disappeared pretty suddenly, and my reappearance would be just as abrupt. Before I ditched my phone, text messages had poured into my inbox, concerned and then panicked and finally, resigned. Elena was the last to give up. Messages from her appeared daily right up until I abandoned my phone in a trash can.

I grit my teeth and forced myself to move, opening the back gate and entering the yard. It was jarringly unkempt. When Mom was alive, she would keep every shrub, every tulip pruned to perfection. Now the grass had grown long enough to come halfway up my shin. The hedges had obviously been trimmed at some point, but now they were becoming overgrown again. Mom's prized flower beds were riddled with weeds.

I climbed the stairs onto the porch, which seemed to be the only neat part of the back yard. Elena's journal lay on the swing seat next to an uncapped fountain pen. I picked them up and nudged open the back door with my foot.

Jenna was in the kitchen, brewing some coffee. Her back was to me and she didn't notice my presence until I awkwardly coughed. She jumped and gave a small shriek, whipping around to stare at me.

"Danny?" she gasped, one hand over her heart as she tried to catch her breath.

"Hey." I dropped Elena's journal and her pen on the counter.

The silence was deafening. Jenna opened and closed her mouth several times before her voice came as a cracked whisper, "Where have you been?"

Several places, I was sure. I had floated around the northeast for four months, but when I had awoken the previous morning with the urge to return home, I had been in the capital.

"Washington." I hated how small my voice was.

"D.C? Danny, what the hell were you doing? We've been so worried about you!"

"I'm so sorry!" I burst out, "I just – the nurses were looking at me and Caroline was calling and – I had to get away and then – I – I couldn't come back!"

My fingers were clenched into fists as I desperately willed Jenna to understand. My voice had carried upstairs and I could hear feet on the stairs.

"Calm down," Jenna pulled me into a hug, relief overcoming anger, "You're home now. We can forget about it."

I gripped her tightly, "I'm so sorry, Jenna." I repeated.

"Danny?" Elena nearly shoved Jenna out the way in her haste. She clutched my arms hard enough to bruise, "You're back? You're home now?"

She seemed to accept this much in the same manner as Jenna – the summer was already becoming a horrible memory. Although our parents were gone forever, we were together again and could move on and any past resentment was quickly forgotten. Immediately, she was making plans.

"We need to call Sheriff Forbes and tell her Danny's home." She picked up the phone, handing it to Jenna, "We need to tell John, and Caroline and Bonnie…" she trailed off exchanging a look with Jenna. The kind with the capital 'L', "Jeremy's going to be home soon."

"Right." Jenna nodded shortly, "I should warn him-"

"Wait – warn him?" I frowned.

"Jeremy's having a really hard time," Elena told me, "He's lashing out. And he's really angry, Danny."

"Oh." It was understandable. Guilt filled my chest and my stomach twisted painfully. Of course, he wouldn't be as easily won over as Elena and Jenna. He never had been.

"Let me call Caroline and Bonnie," Elena said brightly, "We can meet at the Grill."

I had a distinct feeling she was trying to get me out of the house so Jeremy could have some time but didn't say anything. Elena called our friends while Jenna phoned the Sheriff's office – I had been reported missing.

"You were on the news." Elena told me as we climbed into my car.

"Will the fame change me, do you think?" I asked drily, starting the engine. A suitcase and several bags were balanced on the back seat – I had had to acquire a new wardrobe since I had left all my belongings in Mystic Falls.

The drive to the Grill was one I'd taken millions of times before, first as an infant and last the day before my parent's death. The Grill was the largest restaurant in Mystic Falls and one of only three besides. It was a popular meeting place for people of all ages and provided most of the weekend jobs kids in my year held.

It was late summer, and the place was full of people enjoying their final days of summer break. It seemed there was a familiar face in every cluster of people and I could see dozens of questions that I didn't want to answer on their faces, so I was glad when Elena led me towards a quiet booth near the back of the room. Our friends had both beat us here.

"Danny!" Caroline jumped up and wrapped her arms around me, "Oh my god, I've missed you so much, how could you leave me all summer? What about our plans? Are you feeling better? What about-"

"Enough, Care!" Bonnie laughed, "Let her breathe."

I mustered a grin and returned Caroline and Bonnie's squeezes. Care had decided that the concept of personal space no longer existed, but I didn't mind. She had been my best friend all my life, and I had missed her.

I slid onto a seat and grabbed hold of a menu. They were the same ones they'd always been, red leather with gilt edges and gold lettering; "MYSTIC GRILL".

"I'm assuming they still do the cheesy fries?" I said, trying to keep my voice light, "I can't remember the last time they changed the menu."

"'01." Bonnie replied smoothly, "There was local outrage. It was front page news in 'The Mystic Falls Daily' and 'The Mystic Falls Courier'."

Caroline buried her face in her hands, "Remind me again, why do you know this?"

"Grams gets drunk and rages about it sometimes. I guess she really misses marmite toast sandwiches."

"Why was that on the menu in the first place?" Elena wrinkled her nose.

"Mystic Falls in the '90's was a weird place." Caroline shrugged, "Everyone wore denim-on-denim and back-combed their hair."

I smiled and leant back in my seat. I had missed this. Carefree conversation with friends about nothing. Smiling. As we ordered food it was as if nothing had changed in our lives. As if when I got home my Mom would be carefully tending her garden and my Dad would be badgering Jeremy about his homework.

But it wasn't real. Everything had changed. Mom and Dad were in the Gilbert family grave plot along with dozens of our ancestors. It felt as if I had aged a decade over the summer, like the heat had burned me up until I was old and wrinkled and struggling on aching joints.

I caught sight of myself in the reflection on a napkin dispenser. My seventeen-year-old face blinked at me.

Jeremy was clearly home when we returned later that evening. The heavy music blaring from behind his firmly closed door somehow translated into a withering silence that he refused to break. I knocked on the door and called his name and the music only got louder.

I ended up retreating to my room. It took my breath away for a moment – everything was just as I had left it the night my parents had died, right down to my unmade bed sheets. With a pang in my chest, I wondered if they had left it like that on purpose - not knowing if I'd ever be back. I ran my finger over the old piano in the corner of the room - it had been a tenth birthday gift, after years of lessons.

My bedroom wasn't as big as Elena's, but it had an en-suite while she had to share with Jeremy. The walls were painted white with a border of hand-painted flowers that my Mom had laboured over for days. I had plastered posters from floor to ceiling in middle school and every now and then there was a flash of pale green - the previous color of the room - where the tacks I'd used had pulled the paint off.

I made the bed and had a shower, slipping into a pair of ratty pyjamas I'd had for years and resolving to bring my suitcases up from the hall tomorrow and unpack properly. It was getting late, and I was exhausted, so I left my room to get a glass of water. I bumped right into Jeremy, on his way up the stairs.

He froze for a moment. So did I. I wanted to say something, but what? Sorry didn't feel like enough. Nothing felt like enough.

"Jer-" I began but he cut me off.

"Don't." he sighed, "Just… don't."

"I'm sorry." I tried.

This seemed to shatter whatever fragile composure he had gathered for himself, "Sorry? Sorry? We needed you! We lost mom and dad and you didn't even tell us where you were going or if you were okay – I thought you were dead too."

He snapped his jaw shut and looking as if it took an extreme amount of self-control turned away and stomped back to his bedroom, slamming the door.