Howlin' For You

Chapter 2 - The Return

Rhiannon was sitting on the porch swing of a Gilbert house for almost two hours, absentmindedly looking at her pick-up truck loaded with all her possessions and parked on the driveway, waiting for her old friend Elena to come back. It seemed like she picked a hell of a time to move back to her birth place that was in a wake of a tragedy. The mayor Lockwood just died and Elena's uncle was attacked in their house by some psycho and was in a hospital, as well as Caroline who got into a car accident. Things have certainly changed since she moved away eight years ago, and she was trying hard not to take it as a sign she made the wrong decision ditching her parents on their latest adventure digging up some old forgotten settlement in forests of New Zealand.

She was silently contemplating the past two weeks of her life, during which she helped her parents to pack up and sell their house in Seattle, drove them to the airport and then took one hell of a road trip throughout the states to end up here. She was more than capable of looking after herself seeing as her parents spent more time travelling around the States concerned with their research than home with their only daughter. She argued with them a lot, trying to convince them to let her stay in the States. She finally managed to get her way under one condition - that she would move in with their old family friends in Mystic Falls, finish high school here and then they would join her here after their two-year contract in New Zealand ended. So here she was, sitting on the porch swing and about to dial Elena's cell for the third time in the past two hours when a red mini cooper parked in front of the house letting out Jenna and little Gilbert, as she liked to call him, who wasn't so little anymore.

"Hey Rhiannon! Welcome!" Jenna hollered. "I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting like that but these past few days were absolutely crazy."

"Don't worry about it," Rhiannon said sheepishly. "So where's Elena?"

"Oh, she kinda had to stay behind," Jeremy said.

"Boyfriend drama," Jenna added. "But she'll be home soon."

"Hey, it's good to see you again Rhiannon," little Gilbert said and went straight for a hug.

"It's great to see you too Jer," she retorted.

"C'mon, let's get you settled," Jenna said unlocking the front door, giving her a spare set of keys.

"Alright, Jeremy, let's put those muscles to a good use," Rhiannon teased and started towards her car.

All her stuff was moved in her room within an hour, during which Elena accompanied by her boyfriend Stefan, who was kind enough to pitch in and help them with the rest of boxes. They were currently munching on pizza Elena thoughtfully ordered on her way home and reconnecting.

"So how's Caroline doing?" Rhiannon asked. "I have to drop by the hospital tomorrow and say hi. Maybe you and Bonnie could join me and we can all go for lunch after that."

"That sounds lovely, but Bonnie and I are in charge of the carnival preparations and Caroline would have our heads if everything wasn't perfect," Elena joked.

"Yeah, I'm not surprised; I still vividly remember her organizing our Sunday tea parties," she joked along.

"You're kidding!" Stefan laughed.

"I wish," Rhiannon retorted. "Well can I help you with the carnival then? I'm sure you can use an extra pair of hands, am I right?"

"Well yeah, but you just got here. Don't you need some time to settle?" Elena objected.

"Nonsense, the sooner I start participating in things like this, the sooner it'll start feeling like home. Plus, I love stuff like this."

"Okay, that would be great actually," Elena smiled back at her.