This one's a bit longer... Hope you like it.

Tawni has been in town for two days. She had been staying in a hotel until she could muster up enough courage to come see me, but I made her stay with me. I could not trust myself alone with the ability to feel again. We were laughing at ourselves in reruns of So Random! when she told me something I did not particularly want to hear.

"I have to go back. My flight leaves Sunday night."

"Oh," is all I can say.

"You're upset," she groans. "I knew you would be. I can't live out here forever. So Random! needs me. They would love to have you back."

"I can't go back," I scoff. "I can only imagine what they're saying about me."

"They aren't saying anything. Just that they miss you. You left suddenly and you'd changed a lot toward the end but everyone misses who you were," she assures me.

"I'm not that girl anymore," I remind her.

"Yes, you are. You might think you're not but I know that you are. You've been through a lot but you're just stronger. You're still every bit as amazing as you were before."

"No, I'm not. Look at me up there," I pause, gazing at myself on the screen. "I'm so happy. So innocent. So trusting," I sigh wistfully.

"You're still Sonny. Nothing could ever change that."

"I wish I could go back to the way things were before," I muse.

"Don't we all?" she counters. She has a point there. For a moment, I do not speak. I am afraid to admit what I say next.

"I'm broken, Tawni, nothing can fix that. I'm going to have to function like this."

"Going back might fix you. Give you some closure."

"No one will want me. I'm broken, no one likes broken things."

"You aren't broken. You're hurt. But either way, anything that's broken can be fixed," she insists.

"I'm not going back, Tawni. I don't want to see him."

"I don't want to go back alone. They don't know me like you do. They see me as shallow and vain. I'm not… Am I?" she begins to choke up.

"No, of course you're not. Just, let me think about it," I beg. She nods. We focus on the television after that, neither one of us really saying anything. I sleep on it. I weigh my options.

I do not want to go back. If I went back, I would have to see everyone. I would have to answer questions. I could leave out all the depressing stuff. No one will want to hear me whine. Worst yet, I would have to see him. I would have to dig up all the memories of happiness. How he loved me, cared about me, genuinely wanted the best for me and would do anything to get it, and in two words destroyed everything. I know myself. There is no way that I am over him. He was the only person I have ever truly loved. He was the only person who ever truly loved me. I do not want to be alone again, though. Having Tawni here reminded me that I really need other people around to help me, to care for me, and to love me. I know that she needs the same. Nico, Grady, and Zora protect her and help her when necessary but they are unaware of how to handle her, how to truly comfort her. The next morning, I have my decision ready.

"There's no sense in both of us being alone. I'll go," I relent. She squeals with excitement.

"Thank you, Sonny, thank you so much," she hugs me tightly.

"Don't let him hurt me again, Tawn," I whimper. She nods.

"I promise you, he won't hurt you again."

Even though I knew she could not keep that promise, I took comfort in the fact that she made it. She would try. I was coming back. For the first time in months, I had a friend, a friend who was helping me to feel again.

Before I knew it, I was in Hollywood. Tawni let me move in with her, and I was set to start at So Random! a week after I got back. I was not completely sure that I was ready to go back, but I figured that I should just take the plunge anyway. The best way to start something is to dive in headfirst, right? Sink or swim, right? Tawni seems to think so. She swore to me repeatedly that she would do everything she could to make sure that I was happy again. For the first time in months, it really seemed like I was going to be.

Paparazzi swarmed us at the airport, but that was expected. I had a hat on over my hair and sunglasses so large that they covered over half of my face. I was unrecognizable, Tawni made sure of that. She wanted my debut to be on So Random!, not through some random tabloid. We stopped at The Patio on our way from the airport for dinner.

"Memories, eh?" she giggled uneasily. I smiled.

"I'm fine, really. Just a little nervous," I lied. The last memory I have of this place is one of the most painful memories I have of Hollywood. Thinking about it forms a lump in my throat.

"Hi, I'm Mel, I'll be taking care of you tonight, can I take your order?" the dirty blonde waitress asks without looking up.

"Just the usual," I reply without thinking. She looks up at me, shocked.

"Sonny?" she cries. I cringe slightly as every head in the restaurant turns my way.

"Um, yeah, I'm back," I smile. She chuckles.

"About time," she groans. "Everyone's missed you," she beams. I laugh lightly.

"I've missed everyone," I smile.

Just then, a guy with variant shades of blonde and brown hair that swoops away from his face and piercing baby blue eyes walks hesitantly up to our table. He jams his hands into his jean pockets nervously, twisting his mouth into his signature crooked smile.

"Hey, Sonny," he greets me casually.

"Hi, Chad."