AN: Sorry for late update, but here it is, and it's a rather long one :) Let me know what you guys think by the end of it! I'm aiming for about 30 reviews. I know it's a lot but I just want to know what you all think of the story, positive or negative thoughts- they're all welcome. And, the reviews are what keeps me writing ! :) It's also my first story ever written, so if you have any tips on how I can improve it, let me know..

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Love y'all

Okay. Go. Read. NOW. :P

While Jeremy was in Mystic Falls a few days before Elena, he kept on inviting her friends to their house. When Jeremy told Elena, it was weird to her at first. Just the thought of Tyler, Matt, Caroline, Damon, Meredith, Rebekah or even Stefan coming over didn't sound right. They were her friends, not his. He usually had different friends in Mystic Falls, he never hung out with Elena. Or if he did, it was because he had nowhere else better to be. However, the more she thought about it, the more she was okay with the fact that Jeremy and her were now possibly sharing the same group of friends. Since Jeremy and Elena didn't go to the same school anymore, she hadn't paid as close attention to him as she used to. To her, Jeremy was still the boy who wanted to fit in without people knowing his past. Now, she suddenly noticed how mature he has become over the past year, you could now actually have a decent conversation with him without him messing around or acting stupid all of a sudden. To Elena, it feels as though he had made the switch from being a small immature boy to being a man overnight. She felt guilty for not realizing those changes in him earlier. She was too engulfed in her own world that she hadn't noticed things that were taking place directly in front of her.

As her plane landed, she couldn't help a smile coming to her face. She knew that the best summer was awaiting her. She was done with high school and she had already received her results. The official results were coming out in a few days, but since she was able to pull a few strings with the principal, she got her grades earlier. She did better than expected and started the summer with no regrets. She was scared of being disappointed of her results and feeling like she didn't deserve a summer. Not a lot of people were like that, caring too much about grades, and she hated that about herself. When she flunked a class, she felt as though she wasn't only disappointing herself, but she was also letting down her teachers, Jenna and Jeremy to a certain extent. They're always there pushing her to do her best, and when she doesn't they're all sad for her because they all know the potential that Elena has. But now that she had finished school with more than decent grades, there was nothing stopping her from enjoying her holidays.

As soon as the seat belt sign went off, Elena was the first passenger up and already opening the overhead compartment for her carry-on bag. She walked out the airplane and quickly made her way to the luggage claim. In no time at all, Elena was ready to leave. She quickly went to the bathroom to freshen up. Elena splashed water on her face and quickly brushed her teeth. The flight from Bulgaria to Mystic Falls was 10 hours long and her mouth was dry and tasted weird. She felt as though her breath was toxic enough to make people choke. She felt clean and walked out of the bathroom with her luggage. Alaric was coming to pick her up. She had hoped that her friends would have picked her up instead, but they all said that they already had plans of their own that night. She understood perfectly well, their life kept going on, everything wasn't going to stop because Elena was coming back home. Elena likes Ric a lot; he is the closest person she has as a dad. He took care of Elena and Jeremy like his own kids but decided to live in his own apartment so he wouldn't invade too much. Both, Jeremy and Elena appreciated that a lot. They loved the fact that they had a somewhat father figure, but he was also a man that would stand back and let them be free. Elena knew that Alaric was a fan of waiting for people at the airport so as soon as she spotted the EXIT sign on the other side of the hall, she walked at a fast pace towards it. As she stepped out, she saw a big E-L-E-N-A sign held by five people, each person holding a different letter. Elena's heart clenched up with emotions. She knew that she had friends back in Mystic Falls that she could count on, but she never thought they were ever going to surprise her like that. Her smile invaded her face and her cheeks were squinting her eyes. She literally couldn't stop smiling. She tried to contain herself, but with each step closer to her group of friends welcoming her, her throat tightened. She wanted to cry of joy; she had never felt like that before. She knew that it was just a simple gesture from her friends, but it meant so much to Elena. For the first time, she felt as though she really had found friends that whatever happens, they would always be there. Elena got closer and recognized Caroline, Tyler, Bonnie, Jeremy and Rebekah. When she was close enough, Caroline jumped the railing separating the passengers from the people waiting and hugged Elena tightly.

"Do you have any idea how much I've missed you?" Caroline asked while still hugging Elena.

"I've missed you too, Care. So freaking much," honestly replied Elena. She really had missed Caroline. She really didn't care what had happened with Stefan last summer, Caroline was still her loving self and that was all that mattered.

"Come on, let's go," she said as she took one of Elena's luggage. The rest of the group was waiting for the two girls to walk up to the parking lot. Rebekah was the first out of the four remaining to jump into Elena's arms.

"I've missed you hun," she said in a rich British accent. Elena has always loved that about Rebekah, wherever she went, her accent would always stay the same. Her parents were British, but they moved to Mystic Falls when she was five. She would occasionally go visit England, but she preferred it better in Virginia. Bonnie was next in line to hug Elena just as tightly as Caroline had and finally the two boys hugged the newcomer. Jeremy silently whispered to her "It's good to have you back sis, I've missed you."

"It's only been a few days Jer," she answered slightly amused by her brother's words.

"Doesn't mean that I can't miss my sister in those few days," he answered and smiled at her. She hugged him again and tried to hide the tears that had formed in her eyes. She was thankful that it was dusk and that people couldn't see clearly. She thought again at how much Jeremy had changed in just a year and it made her hug him slightly more tightly. All six of them walked towards Matt's truck that Tyler had borrowed with their arms around each other's back. Strangers who were walking around them couldn't stop staring. To the teenagers it was weird, but to the others watching the group walking with their arms around each other, it meant only one thing: whatever happens, they would always have each other's back and that was what they were all literally showing without even realizing it. As they approached the truck, Elena couldn't help but ask , "Are we all going to fit in there?"

"Well, we'll be slightly squished, but that's part of the fun," Tyler answered, and then added, "Caroline's words." He then gave her a side ways glance.

"What? I am so right! Instead of being in two different cars, we're all together in one and we all get to be together. Squished or not, it's way better being together than separated," Caroline defended herself. Everyone chuckled and Elena took Caroline's hand and slightly squeezed as a way to tell her that she approved. The blonde looked over to her friend and was thankful that someone was at least on her side.

"Even Elena agrees," Caroline couldn't stop herself from blurting out.

"Caroline's got a point," was all that Elena could answer. The rest of the group laughed because anyways there was nothing that could be done about the situation since they all came in only a car.

The drive was about forty-five minutes long and none of them could stop talking. They were all filling Elena in on what was going on in Mystic Falls while she filled them in about what had happened in Bulgaria. Caroline talked about her first year in Australia and how different it was from Mystic Falls.

"Wait, wait, wait," Elena interrupted and got everybody's' attention "Jeremy said that you were all going out somewhere, how come you all came to pick me up?" she asked as she suddenly recalled Jeremy telling her the day before she left that Alaric was the one to pick her up because they all had a barbeque or something at a friend's place. He also said that if she wanted and felt like it, she could join.

"How naïve can you get? We had plans, yes, and do you know what it was? It was preparing the letters of your name. And the barbeque is still on," said Bonnie and then added with a wide smile, "at your house. But, we couldn't tell you all of that because we wanted to surprise you so we all told Jeremy to tell you that we were busy tonight." Once again, Elena, who was sitting in the front seat, couldn't help smiling and thought: Summer has officially started. If any of them weren't talking, which was rare, they would listen to the music blasting from the radio. Without even realizing it, they had already arrived at the Gilbert house and Tyler switched the car off. The porch and the living room were the only lights that were on. Jeremy opened the front door and Elena stepped in right behind him. She couldn't help but gasp. By the stairs there was a big banner that read: WELCOME HOME ELENA. Matt, Meredith, Ric and Katherine were all waiting inside and smiled at Elena when they saw the joy on her face. Her brown eyes were wider than usual and her mouth was left hanging. All four of them walked to Elena and welcomed her. Katherine grabbed Elena by her shoulders and said "Good to have you back," and smiled widely. Katherine and Elena had a special relationship. Elena didn't know what exactly happened, they used to be good friends when they were younger and would hang out all the time when Elena was back in Mystic Falls. Then, suddenly one summer, Katherine acted differently, as if she was superior to Elena. She never talked about it to Katherine because from time to time that summer, Katherine was more than pleased to see Elena. Ever since, Elena had taken up her distance. Now, both girls still hung out, but not as much, their friendship was never the same as the one they had shared before. Elena, however was more than thrilled that Katherine was there to welcome her. She didn't care that they weren't as close as before because she found other friends or got closer to some like with Meredith, Rebekah, Tyler, Damon and Stefan. Thinking of the brothers, she wondered where they were. Neither of them was in the house and Elena knew that they were part of this group of friends. Caroline walked over to Elena and said, "Damon and Stefan both said they love you and that they wished they were here."

"Where are they, actually?" asked Elena trying to hide that she was freaked out by the fact that she felt as though Caroline had read her thoughts.

"They had some family thing tonight that they couldn't get out of. But trust me, they really wish they were here," said Caroline with a smile. Elena beamed at her best friend and realized just how much she really had missed her presence.

Caroline was about to walk into the kitchen when Elena grabbed her elbow and forced her best friend to turn around. "Care, why did you do all of this? I know you're the master plan behind it all," said Elena while trying to gain control of her emotions.

"You've been coming and going for ten years Lena, and I just realized that you've never had a memorable welcoming day. It was always just you, Jeremy, Alaric and Jenna, but nothing exciting. Don't get me wrong, I love Alaric and Jenna, but they're not your friends, they're the cool adults, but not your friends," she repeated.

"Thank you," was all that managed to escape Elena's mouth before a tear rolled down her cheek.

"Aww, don't cry," Caroline said while wiping the tear away. "By the way, before I forget, we're all going out tomorrow, BUT, we're having dinner at my house before," she squealed before clapping her hands in front of her face as a sign of excitement. Typical Caroline, Elena thought and couldn't help a laugh from escaping. That was the reason why she loved Caroline, she would always include Elena in whatever plan she had going on, it made Elena feel less secluded from the tiny town of Mystic Falls. It was actually through Caroline that she had gotten to know well Rebekah, Meredith and Stefan.

The barbeque was going extremely well. Everyone kept talking about everything and nothing. Alaric was sitting and talking with them as if he was just another student and not their history teacher. That was one of Alaric's qualities, people felt comfortable around him, he didn't act superior or didn't play the adult who abused his authority. At school, it was a different story, he made it clear who was in charge, outside of school, he was the same but different man, if that was even possible. All of Elena and Jeremy's friends said that Alaric, or Mr. Saltzman like they call him at school, was by far the best history teacher. He was skillful, he knew how to talk to people and most importantly, he knew how to teach. It's a funny thing to say about teachers, but when you think about it, a lot of teachers know their subjects but they don't know how to teach them, Alaric, he knew both. It was midnight by the time they had finished dinner. They all had stopped eating hours ago, but they kept sitting at the table talking and laughing with one another. Eventually, the group of friends and Alaric got up and cleaned up. Soon after, one by one started leaving and going home. Elena was exhausted, she said goodbye to Alaric, who had decided to sleep over, and Jeremy and then headed upstairs to her room. Tyler had brought her suitcase in her room and she made a mental note to thank him when she saw him at Caroline's tomorrow. She hurriedly unpacked before taking a shower and then jumping into her favorite pajamas. She was about to fall asleep when her phone beeped. She half expected it to be Caroline but was surprised and even excited when she read STEFAN.

Stefan: Welcome home :) See you tomorrow :)

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~

The next day went by in a blur and before she knew it, Caroline was waiting for Elena outside of her house. Elena thought it was quite ironic that Caroline had to pick her up to go to her own house. Caroline understood that Elena didn't have a car in Mystic Falls, so she had agreed to drive her anywhere, anytime. The brunette walked outside her house and climbed into the blonde's car.

"Everyone just got to my house," Caroline said as Elena buckled her seatbelt.

"Everyone, as in everyone who was meant to come?" asked Elena feeling slightly awkward. Seeing everybody at once was weird and quite overwhelming. Being the last one to arrive didn't arrange things either, she thought. As soon as Caroline's headlights would illuminate the house, people would know that they were back and the attention would be on them. Isn't that always the case, whenever someone arrives, people stare without meaning to do it? Elena didn't want to be the center of attention; she has never liked it. She liked being noticed from time to time but hated it when a whole crowd stared at her; it made her feel miniscule, self-conscious and powerless. She felt as though everyone was staring at her slight movement and if anything happened, everyone would notice. Elena was mostly concerned about Stefan being there. It's been a year since they last saw each other. Even though they talked a lot, she was unsure how to act around him and she definitely didn't want to embarrass herself when he was around. She was also questioning how it would be to see him again. Is she going to greet him with a simple wave from her hand, a smile, a hug maybe? She had absolutely no idea and she was slightly dreading it.

"Ummmm, yeah?" questioned Caroline unsure how to answer Elena's obvious question. "Except Damon, he hasn't arrived yet. He had to be some place before heading to my house, but I'm sure he'll make it soon after us."

At the sound of Damon's name, Elena smiled immediately. She had missed him so much and she just wanted to feel his strong arms around her. She wanted to sit down and talk to him for hours about everything and anything. Damon was that type of guy. Elena had a different relationship with Damon compared to the one she shared with Elijah, but she called them both 'brothers from different families.'

The drive to Caroline's hotel like home went by fast. The two girls talked about nothing in particular and soon enough they were in her driveway. Elena sat a while longer in the passenger seat looking at the veranda and the living room from outside. Although it was a huge house, it had warmth to it, you could sense that people live there and it's not cold and distant. It's the house that makes you feel comfortable when you're inside, you're not scared of walking too fast in case you might break something on your way.

Caroline was already opening the other doors of the car to get her stuff. She had done some grocery shopping before picking up Elena. The brunette quickly got out the car and helped out her friend. They both entered the house and only saw Matt and Tyler sitting at the kitchen counter. Elena put the grocery bags next to the sink and wiped her hand on her jeans. She turned around and saw Meredith, Rebekah, Bonnie and Katherine coming towards the living room. Caroline was already opening all the grocery started making dinner.

"Need any help?" Elena offered.

"No, I'm fine. Go. Socialize," Caroline answered and smiled brightly at her best friend.

Elena sat down at the counter between Matt and Tyler and gently patted Tyler's arm.

"Thanks for my suitcases last night Ty," she said.

"Of course Lena. Anytime," he answered and gently smiled at her. Tyler was the type of guy that seems distant and cold when you first meet him. However, when you get to know him, he's one of the warmest people who would hug you every time he sees you and he would just make you feel at ease. Elena got up from the kitchen counter and made her way to the bathroom. She was about to open the doors when her stomach suddenly was filled with butterflies. She felt as though someone just opened a net of butterflies inside of her. She suddenly heard a voice coming off from Caroline's room down the corridor.

"LENAAAAAA," the voice boomed. It was a voice that Elena would be able to recognize anywhere, Stefan's. Her butterflies suddenly made sense and she started to grin. She turned around and smiled widely at him. He was standing in the doorway with jeans and a white button down shirt. He had gotten more toned and tanned and his white shirt was showing it off further. His smile enveloped his face and his eyes twinkled with happiness. He was beautiful, a living Greek God. "Come here you," he said. Elena literally ran and clashed into his embrace without even thinking twice about it. She was on her tiptoes and her arms had snaked around his neck while his were around her waist. Stefan smelled her hair and smiled, it was exactly how he had remembered it, a sweet vanilla scent. Both their eyes were closed, enjoying the moment they were sharing.

"It's good to see you again," breathed Elena into his neck.

"It's good seeing you too," he answered softly while embracing her more tightly and lightly kissed her neck. Their arms unwillingly let go of each other and Stefan locked his divine green eyes into her endless brown ones.

"We should probably go join the others," he said lowly as if he didn't want anyone to hear their conversation. A light smile was playing at the corner of his lips making him irresistible. Elena simply nodded and turned around. Stefan looped his arm around her shoulders and walked her back to the living room while Elena forgot everything about going to the bathroom. She had found her Greek God again and that was all that she needed. They sat in the living room on a sofa and started talking like they hadn't talked in months. They were both surprised by the amount of things that they could still talk about. Nearly everyday while she was in Bulgaria that year they had talked, and here they are reunited, still talking. She didn't understand how a Greek God like Stefan could be so sweet and loving. In her mind, good-looking guys were usually full of themselves, but not Stefan he was different.

"I'm excited to see Damon again," Elena said with a huge grin on her face.

"You haven't seen him yet?" asked Stefan quite surprised. He knew how close they both were and it startled him that they hadn't seen each other yet. "He's been back for about a month now Lena," he added.

"I know, but I just got back last night Stef," she reminded him.

"That's right! You're the latecomer. What can I say, you kind of suck," he said and gently nudged her with his elbow. Elena gasped and put both her hands over her heart feigning to be offended.

"Elijah is the latecomer, he's the one you should yell at," she defended herself.

"Elijah! I haven't seen him in so long. How is he?"

"He's fine. We're closer than ever. He's a great guy. You'd get along with him," she said and tried to sustain a laugh while remembering all the threats that Elijah had made against Stefan only to end up by saying 'he's a good guy.'

"What are you not telling me?" he asked seeing right through her mask.

"No nothing. He's just slightly protective," she answered hesitantly. She knew that right now they were walking on somewhat dangerous grounds. During all the times that they had talked over the year, they've never talked about them and what had happened last summer between the two of them and after she left. It was like a taboo subject.

"What is he protecting you of?" he asked curiously. Elena paused before answering. She wasn't sure what to answer, should she lie or tell him the truth? What would be his reactions? Now the grounds weren't 'somewhat dangerous', they were dangerous, end of story.

"Us," she answered honestly and regretted it as soon as it came out. She didn't want to discuss it now, especially not in Caroline's house. Before Stefan could react or say anything, the whole dining room was lightened by a car's headlight. Everyone turned around to see Damon walk into the house with a smile on his face. He spotted Elena sitting on the couch next to Stefan and his smile widened. He waved at everyone as a quick way of greeting and walked towards Elena. She got up and hugged him with all of her strength. Damon was more than eager to return her hug. Elena didn't want to end the hug, She had missed Damon so much that she felt as though she needed to catch up on a year worth of hugs.

"I've missed you Lena," he said to her when they let go. "How have you been?"

Their conversation started there and it had no end. Stefan eventually got up and left, he felt slightly left out from the conversation that was being shared by the two best friends. He occasionally glanced at them and wished that he were the one talking with Elena, and not his brother. However, he was glad that Elena had a friend like Damon, someone who she can really count on. Not someone who would kiss her, kiss her best friend when she leaves only to have Elena protected by Elijah. He felt guilty thinking about everything that had happened last summer and wished that he could rewind and undo all the mistakes. But, life was the art of drawing without an eraser. Whatever mistake occurs, you work around it to try make it better. Stefan knew that he and Elena would eventually need to sit down and talk about what had happened between the two of them, but he didn't know when. Stefan walked over to Caroline and they started up an animated conversation. Elena glanced towards them a few times and it was her turn to wish that she were talking to him, not Caroline.

Elena eventually got up and joined Rebekah who was standing alone by the swimming pool. They started up an easy conversation until Rebekah said "Aren't they adorable together?" while looking at Caroline and Stefan talking. Elena forced a small chuckle.

"Yeah, adorable. Are they together?" she couldn't help ask. If he had something going on with Caroline, Elena had to know. She didn't want to be lead on for nothing and she didn't want to fall again for her best friend's guy.

"No, they're not together. Yet," she said with a mischievous smile. Rebekah saw Elena's confused face and started explaining. "Well, firstly they look adorable together. Secondly, ever since she got back from Australia, they acted kind of couply but not completely, as if they're trying to hide or something. I don't know what the problem is, but basically everyone is just waiting for them to become official."

"Yeah, they would be a great couple," answered Elena with half the enthusiasm Rebekah expected.

Elena went to the bathroom to freshen up. She felt tears being formed in her eyes the minute that Rebekah had explained Stefan and Caroline's situation. Without even realizing it, she had been falling for Stefan all over again whenever they talked. She remembered how excited she used to get whenever they were both online and he initiated the conversation. Elena let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. She took a few more deep breaths before she opened the door and almost collided into Stefan who was about to knock.

"Sorry, I didn't know you were in there," he apologized.

"Yeah, no worries," she answered and smiled tightly before making her way towards the veranda. She wasn't fast enough for Stefan though; he grabbed her wrist and made her turn around.

"What's wrong Lena?"

"No, nothing. Everything's fine."

"I know you. You have a natural smile on your face, that smile is now gone. Where is it hiding?" he asked while lifting her chin up with his fingers so he could look at her directly in her eyes.

"It's right here," she answered and smiled.

"That's a forced one, not the natural one that I love. What's wrong?" he asked again. Instead of answering, Elena swallowed and fell a lump in her throat. Her eyes started to sparkle with tears. How do you tell the person who made you sad that they're the reason when they didn't even know. Stefan took a step forward and wrapped his arms around Elena's shoulder. She returned his warm hug and pressed her head to his chest since he was about a head taller than she was. She felt his strong torso and muscled arms on her shoulders and it caused a tear to escape her eyes followed by another one. She couldn't help the thought that their bodies were two puzzle pieces made for each other, they felt so comfortable in each other's embrace.

"It's going to be okay," he whispered in her hair, "whatever it is, it's going to be okay. I promise."

AN: Your reviews are what keeps me motivated, just saying.. ;) Ideas for the upcoming chapters? Let me know as well in the reviews and I might include them and give you the credits :)