Disclaimer: Last time I checked, I still own nothing. Unless, someone gives them to me as a Christmas present. I highly doubt that.

A/N: Hi! Thanks you for everyone who liked this story. I hope you enjoy this next part.

Chapter 1

The atmosphere in New York – the atmosphere that she grew up on – suddenly seemed foreign as she stepped out of the plane and into the airport. It had been two years since she last stepped foot in this town and although it looks the same, it felt very different.

Serena van der Woodsen left New York two months after getting divorced from Dan Humphrey. Sources say that she stayed in Paris but truth was she went traveling. She only stayed in Paris for about two months before deciding – after seeing Chuck and Blair there – that maybe Paris wasn't such a great place to go after all. So she went to Egypt, China, Japan, Italy, Canada and heck, she even went to Australia for a while. Her longest stay, however, was in the US as well but on the other side of the coast. She stayed in LA for about six months. There was always something about LA that fascinated her. She wasn't sure what but she found herself wanting to stay there for a long time.

Going back was not in her plan. After leaving Manhattan, she had mentally decided that she would not ever step back in the Upper East Side. But two weeks ago, after receiving a phone call from Eric telling her that their parents, Lily and William, decided to get married again and that she'd be the maid of honor, she found herself packing her things and booking a flight back home. So that was how Serena ended up in JFK Airport, dragging her bags behind her, in search for her brother Eric van der Woodsen.

"Serena!"

Serena turned around and saw Eric waving at her, with his best friend, Jenny Humphrey. Seeing them, she let out an excited squeal before rushing over to the both of them. Once she got within arms length to Eric, she ran up to him and gave him a tight hug. After that, she turned and gave Jenny one as well, which surprised the younger girl because she was pretty sure that even though they were friends again, there was still a bit of a strain between the two of them. Just like the tension between her and Blair will never disappear even though she works for the Waldorfs now.

Their reunion at the airport was short and pretty soon they were all seated inside the limousine and was already on their way to the van der Woodsen penthouse. The ride there was silent, with only Eric and Jenny's mumbled whispers to be heard. Serena was quiet as she leaned in the side of the car and looked outside, looked at New York. There was something that made her feel quite uneasy but she couldn't quite point out what. Maybe the fact that she knows a lot of things had changed and she wasn't quite sure whether or not she was ready to handle that.

And god, she hadn't talked to Blair, Chuck and Nate for those damn two years. The only person she talked to was Eric so yeah, she was pretty surprised to see Jenny at the airport smiling at her, making her feel like they've been best of friends all those years. And as the limousine got closer to the penthouse, she's starting to feel more and more anxious and she feels like vomiting the second she was the penthouse near. And god, what would Blair and Nate and Chuck and her dad and her mom would think? What would they say to her? What would she say to them? What if Dan was there? What would she say to him? Maybe she wasn't ready for all this after all.

Serena jumped up when Eric tapped her arm and told her they were already there. She nodded but for a few minutes made no effort to go out the vehicle. It was when Eric finally gave all of Serena's baggage to Vanya and Jenny pulled her that she was able to get out of the limousine. Stepping out, she released a deep breath she didn't know she was holding when she took in the familiar place she hadn't been in since two years ago. She grabbed Eric's arm as they went inside to go up to meet her family.

The ride on the elevator was nerve wracking and if Serena would get her way, she would probably be on a plane right now, on her way back to LA. But Eric's firm hold on her hand told her that she was not going to be able to escape this and she was going to be facing them in a matter of minutes. Jenny and Eric were talking about the wedding details and she was about to completely tune them out when Jenny uttered Dan's name and Serena's attention was suddenly on the younger blonde.

"Well, Dan said he wasn't going to be there today. I tried to get him to come but he said he was busy but he said he'll try to catch up."

"Wait… D – Dan's not going to be there?"

Jenny shuts up and Eric stares at her but she doesn't care. At least that's one less person she's been dreading to see. The younger girl nodded at Serena just as the elevator opened leading up to the penthouse. And Eric squeezed her hand tightly as she looked up to smile at her brother.

"You ready?"

She took a deep breath before she nodded at Eric. Her brother slowly walked out of the elevator, hand in hand with her. She felt uneasy because it scared her that the penthouse looked exactly the way it did before she left and she isn't sure if that's suppose to be a good thing or a bad thing.

Her eyes settled on Blair, who ran up to her and hugged her tightly. Tears starts forming on the corners of her eyes and when Blair pulled away, she saw that the brunette had some on hers as well. She laughed sadly because at least Blair wasn't mad at her for shutting them out. Both girls wiped their tears before Blair stepped back and allowed Nate to be able to hug the blonde. Nate pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head, whispering that he was glad to have her back.

Serena turned to Chuck when Nate released her from his arms and saw the classic Chuck Bass smirk playing on his lips. Chuck placed the glass of scotch he's been drinking away to give Serena a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek. Serena laughed and punched Chuck's arms lightly when the two siblings pulled away.

"Finally, Serena van der Woodsen's back. It's been dull since you left."

"Well, Chuck, I'm sure you've been interesting enough for the both of us. Especially since - -"

"SERENA!"

Lily van der Woodsen entered the room with Eric and William in tow. She walked over her daughter and hugged her, telling her that she will be her maid of honor. Serena nodded as her mother pulled away. She looked at his father who looked pleased to see her. She only smiled at him because she still wasn't quite comfortable with him around and besides, he didn't try to hug her and she wasn't about to do the same.

Her mother ushered them all to the dining table and had the caterers to set up the food once they were all seated. She sat in between Blair and Nate and they got into comfortable, easy going conversations as they ate brunch. Both Nate and Blair asked her about her trips with Eric occasionally joining in the conversation. She laughed at her two friends and answered them both truthfully. Chuck, however, stared at her as if he was analyzing her. Shaking her head and choosing to ignore Chuck, she went on to ask Blair, Nate, Eric and Jenny about their lives. She even constantly commented on Lily's plans for the wedding.

"So, S, you staying for good?"

"Uhh… I don't know yet."

"Well, I certainly hope you will."

"Well, I - -"

"You're not still running away, aren't you?"

She glares at Chuck because suddenly the room was suddenly eerily quiet. She glares at Chuck because why the hell did he say that? Okay, so she left New York partly to avoid Dan but mainly because she wanted to escape. Escape the pain, the hurt, the anger at Dan, at herself, at the world because it never crossed her mind that forever could be that quick. Because Dan and her weren't forever.

But she soon realized that they weren't looking at her or at Chuck. And she realized that they were staring at something behind her. Blair had stood up, as well as Chuck and Nate's staring at her worriedly and what the hell is happening? She looks at them, searching their eyes for some sort of explanation and when Eric motioned towards her back, she sinks down on her seat because she had a feeling of what was behind her or who was behind her.

"Serena."

And she was right. She'd know that voice anywhere. Two years of not hearing that voice and yet she could still recognize it like maybe she never even left at all. She doesn't want to turn around, really she doesn't want to but she did anyway. She wishes she didn't because now she's confused and suddenly nauseous and she wants to get out and leave or faint, whatever comes first.

She stands up, get out of her chair and was contemplating whether she'd go to her room or go out of the house when he calls her name again. She stops in her place and the thought of leaving completely gone from her mind. She looks up and that was when their eyes locked and he has this sad smile plastered on his face and she smiles back even though she really feels like crying and screaming and leaving.

Because maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. Maybe she wasn't ready to face all of this. Maybe she wasn't ready to go back yet. Maybe she wasn't ready to face him, to talk to him, to see him again because two years later and it still hurts. It still hurts to think that they weren't married anymore. It hurts to know that forever came too soon for them or maybe forever wasn't really for them after all.

"Serena, hey."

His voice was low, almost inaudible but she heard it. Probably because no one else was talking but she was pretty sure she still would've heard it even if they were a hundred other people talking at the same time as he said that.

"Dan."

.to be continued.