˙ ˙ ˙ 

"It's so hard to say it but I've been here before. Now I'll surrender up my heart and swap it for yours."

˙ ˙ ˙ 

HERE I THOUGHT  packing up my entire house would be the most emotional thing ever, but in fact it's quite the opposite. I actually feel some sort of release packing everything away, which only means I'm doing the right thing- that we're doing the right thing. We din't want to admit it which is why it took so long to figure our problem out, but we need to return home. The only problem is going to be breaking the news to Joel, Logan and Christina. 

"It looks so empty," I laugh with wide eyes, staring at the living room James and I stand in. We've been up all night packing away, and by now we've just about finished the entire house. 

"Does it feel good? To see it so empty?" James asks, with tired eyes. 

I smile and nod, walking over to place a kiss on his cheek. "It does," I say, before going to the fridge and grabbing us some blood bags to wake our tired bodies up. If we're going to leave today, we need to be awake. 

"Hey, I'm sorry for getting mad at you yesterday, at the bar. It.. it didn't feel good, like every word I said burned my throat like I had drowned seven shots. I'm sorry, I truly am," he says gently, staring at the blood bag I tossed him in his hand. 

"I'm sorry too," I say, going over to give him a hug when suddenly the front door rings. My whole stomach twists in an uncomfortable knot, my breath catching in my throat. However, James's soft touch on my shoulder assures me that everything will be okay. We just have to break the news to them. 

"Hello," I say with a tight smile, opening the front door all the way. 

Joel, Logan and Christina stand outside, each with a coffee in their hands. "Please tell me there's some sort of emergency, crisis, or death that you felt the need to wake me up at eight in the morning on a Saturday," Christina growls, her frizzy hair tucked into a tight pony tail. 

"There is, believe me," I sigh as I motion for them to come in. 

They all trudge inside, Joel sending me a suspicious look as he passes. Part of me senses he knows what we're about to say. All I can do is hope he's understanding. 

"Have a seat," I say, gesturing the the lone piece of furniture in the living room, the couch. 

"Jesus, are you guys going on vacation or something?" Christina scratches her head. 

"Are you guys getting married?" Logan questions bluntly. 

"Why the bloody hell would all their furniture be gone if they were getting married? Or going on vacation?" Joel scoffs, crossing his arms across his chest. "The real reason is because they're leaving, moving away," he states, his voice laced with a hint of anger. 

"What?" Christina gasps, her eyes suddenly wide. 

"Are you serious?" Logan asks, cocking his head to the side in disbelief. 

"Am I right?" Joel questions, sitting back in his seat, awaiting an answer. He sits with a devious smirk, like he's proud of the pot he's just stirred. 

"Joel, don't be such a dick, okay? This was our choice," James intervenes, glaring at his brother. 

"But what about your job? I thought you finally found the career you were always meant to do?" Christina gapes, confusion and shock clearly written on her face. 

"I love it there, I really do and it makes me happy, but it's time for me to head back home," I say. 

"I thought this was your home," Logan whispers. 

"It was temporarily, but not anymore. It was my home, not ours," I say, glancing over at James who gives me an assuring nod. 

"So you're just going to leave then? Just like that?" Christina says incredulously. 

I frankly don't know how to respond to that. I've grown close with Christina and Logan, as they helped me not feel so alone the last two years. "You could come with us?" I ask hopefully. 

"This city, this place, that job, is my home. I'm not leaving it," Logan speaks up. 

"I'm sorry Blair, but I'm not just going to get up and change my life around for you. I've strived in this city, and I have no intention of leaving it," she says honestly, waving my offer off. 

"Joel?" I ask quietly, rising my brow at him. 

"No," he says flatly. I can see he's hurt by how quickly we decided on everything, especially  considering our argument yesterday about what's best for James. 

"This is something we both agreed upon, and we believe it's right for us. And if things don't work out, you'll be hearing from us," I assure him, but he doesn't look convinced. 

"We better be hearing from you anyways." Christina smiles, getting up and embracing me in a hug. "You guys better keep in touch. I don't want this to be the last time I see you." 

"It won't, I promise," I assure her. 

As she goes to hug James, I turn back to Logan and see he's got tears in his eyes. Out of all people I didn't expect him to get so emotional. I guess it just shows the kind of friends I've found here. "Thank you, for everything," I croak, embracing him in a hug. 

"Thank you," he whispers in my hair. "I hope you find whatever it is you're looking for up in that town." He smiles, releasing me. 

"Me too," I say, my own eyes welling with tears. 

I then turn to Joel who sits on the couch with a stern, cold expression on his face. "You could come too, you know," I say quietly. It's not like Joel to be so conserved, angered and quiet. He usually talks about his problems, but as of right now he seems to be full of disbelief. 

"When I moved away from that town, I moved away for good. I thought you had too, but I guess not," he remarks, standing up without even looking at me. 

"So that's it? No goodbye? After all this time you're mad at me for moving away?" I snap angrily, as he continues to walk to the front door. "Joel!" I yell, sprinting over to him. I use vamp speed to step right in front of him, preventing him from opening the door. "Why are you so mad?" I corner him. 

He sighs, and looks down at his feet. "I'm mad, because I'm going to miss you," he admits lowly. "Believe it or not Blair, I actually enjoy your company and for you to leave so quickly, without any notice just feels like I've been stabbed in the heart," he explains, causing me to feel guilty. 

"Oh Joel," I trail off. "I'm so sorry," I say, wrapping him in a hug. "But James and I, we came to an agreement that this place isn't what we want. It doesn't feel right for us, but it's completely fine if it's alright for you. I just need to find my brother," I say into his shoulder. 

He rubs his hand up and down my back for comfort before releasing me. "Yeah, I know what that feels like." He smirks, causing me to laugh. 

"Any tips?" I ask, nudging him in the arm. 

"Well, just pray to god he hasn't had his memory of you swiped by an original," he jokes, forcing a thick, real laugh to escape from deep inside my core. It's always been Joel to make me laugh, and in some ways he reminds me of Damon. 

"Fingers crossed!" I exclaim with a laugh. My heart warms seeing Joel laugh too. 

Logan and Christina walk over to the door, smiles on their faces as we say our last goodbyes, promising to keep in touch. On the surface it feels like we won't see each other again, but deep down I know they're too important to me to just let them go. I know I'll wind up seeing them again one way or another. 

James and I hold hands as we watch them leave, my head rested upon his shoulder. "We're doing the right thing, right?" I ask him. 

"I have no clue," he admits honestly, causing the both of us to laugh. 

"Well, on the bright side Caroline will be happy," I laugh, remembering how alone she sounded on the phone the other night. She's part of the reason I know going back to Mystic Falls is the right thing. Caroline is my best friend, and if anything she'll tell me if what I'm doing is the right thing. I trust her like that, all feelings aside. 

"Let's finish packing," James says, bringing our entwined hands up to his lips, where he places a kiss on my knuckles. I smile at his gesture, letting the warmth of his touch spread through my body. 

I have to believe that by going to Mystic Falls we're not starting over again, but picking up from where we left off. 

∆ ∆ ∆ 

"Is Theo's room packed?" James yells up the stairs, just as I walk down them with several boxes in my hands. 

"It is now," I groan, the pile of boxes blocking my view. 

"Alright show off, let's not forget who's stronger here," James teases, taking a few boxes from my hands. 

I glare at him with a competitive face, raising my brow. "You're not strong, you're just old." I retort, taking the boxes back and walking them out to my car. 

I wipe my dirtied hands on my jeans as I walk back inside, pausing at the open front door as I peer inside the empty house. Exactly two years ago from today, I was staring at this house in this exact spot, planning a future for myself, a further without James. 

But now that he's back, everything just feels so different, just so out of place. There's been a lot of pain in this house, and to see it so empty like the way it started gives me an unusual mix of feelings of satisfaction mixed with sadness. It's like blending broccoli in a fruit smoothie; it just doesn't mix. 

"You okay?" James turns to me, noticing my frozen stance. 

I snap out of the daze and meet his concerned eyes, a small reassuring smile on his face. "Yeah." I nod. "I think it's time to go."

"Alright, I'll go get Theo set in the car," James says before vamp speeding upstairs to grab Theo who is no doubt sitting in his empty room. 

I bite my lip to prevent them from trembling as I walk through the house one last time, going through every fine memory this house holds. I walk past the living room, where many nights Theo and I spent alone, watching a movie and eating popcorn. I then move to the kitchen where the table use to be, where the many distant mornings were spent preparing ourselves for another work day. I move towards the back near the backyard door and peer outside, images of Theo playing in his sandbox filling my mind. We had a good life here, or at least we tried the best we could. But we were't entirely happy. I believe the feeling that had consumed us was the feeling of being alone. 

I don't even realize I've gathered tears in my eyes before a single drop falls from my eye and slides down my cheek. I quickly wipe it away, not wanting James to become concerned. I'm finally letting this place go, moving on, allowing myself to feel. That I believe, is all that matters. 

"Ready to go?" James asks, appearing at the kitchen entrance with a sleepy Theo in his arms. 

"Yes."

∆ ∆ ∆ 

Most of the boxes fit in James's truck, meaning there was little space for Theo to sit, so I had him placed in his booster seat in the back of my Audi. My car is pretty full with boxes piled on the passenger seat as well. 

We had left about six hours hours ago but my nerves hadn't calmed down one bit. It especially didn't help when we started passing thick, green forests and rural areas meaning we were approaching the small town of Mystic Falls. 

However, since we still couldn't exactly get in Mystic Falls, we decided to stop by Whittmore College where Caroline had been attending, along with Tyler and Elena. I had called Matt to see if he could secure us a suburban house outside Mystic Falls, and thankfully he was able to. It was ten minutes from Mystic Falls and a half hour from Whittmore College, the perfect distance from two of our convenient places. 

"Do you know what dorm she's in?" James asks, as we hop out of our parked cars. We stand outside the doors of Whittmore College where we plan to surprise Caroline. 

"Nope," I admit. "But, seeing as it's Caroline it shouldn't be hard to identify her voice." I comment, causing James to laugh. 

I give him a smile before all three of us enter the school, James and I listening intently to the voices around us. We climb a few flights of stairs until my ears pick up a familiar, high pitched, energetic voice coming from a dorm room down the hall. I glance over at James and he nods, signalling he heard it too. 

I take the lead with James and Theo behind me until we reach the dorm door. However, the more I listen do I realize Caroline is yelling, which is something she rarely does. Confused, I take a leap and twist the door knob, pushing open the door. 

I'm first met with Caroline who stands with nothing but her towel on, her long blonde hair drenched from a shower she must've had moments ago. But it's not so much the lack of clothes she's wearing that catches me off guard, but rather who she's yelling at. 

Directly behind my best friend stands my one and only twin, Stefan. 

____________________

Please vote, share, and comment!

[completed & edited: 10/10/2021]