Everyone had gone for the summer. Junior year – the most frightening year of the groups' life – had just ended. Jenny Thornton was the only one who wasn't going somewhere for summer. Although she wished they weren't going for the entire summer, she was happy to get a little alone time.

Michael Cohen was going to a writing camp. He wasn't going voluntarily, though. His father was a science-fiction writer. Although Michael loved science-fiction, he couldn't stand writing. Jenny thought it had something to do with his dad working all the time. Michael was, to say the least, cowardly. He had his brave moments, but they were extremely rare.

Michael's girlfriend, Audrey Myers, was going to China for the summer. Her father was going away for business during the summer and her mother had been staying in China to study a bird Jenny had forgotten the name of. That left Audrey with no one to watch her. Even though she was almost seventeen, her parents believed that she was not old enough to be alone for the entire summer. That was something Jenny agreed with, but only with Audrey. She always seemed to have trouble find her. Audrey never went anywhere without looking her best. She was a fashionista, and could turn something extremely ugly into a masterpiece with a snap of her fingers. Part of it is her insecurity to how other people look at her.

Deirdre Eliade – also known as Dee – was going to a physical fitness camp for the summer. She was always looking for ways to improve her physical shape, although she was in excellent shape. Jenny was excited when she found out she would get to spend two weeks with Dee at the end of the summer. The camp ended two weeks before they went back to school and Dee would be the first one home for the summer. Then Jenny found out that Dee planned on going to different colleges and see what they were like. Ever since their…ordeal, she'd been working on her book-smarts. Dee looked like an Egyptian princess. Jenny wondered why she still didn't have a boyfriend.

The worst thing about this summer, though, was her cousin going away. They'd always been together ever since she could remember. It was hard to believe she'd be spending three whole months away from him. They would usually climb trees, go hiking, paint, or do whatever else they could find to amuse themselves. Zach never judged her and she loved that. Since they were family they stuck together, always. But…ever since – well, you know – she hasn't been able to look at him the same. He was going away to church camp. He said it wasn't the best place to go in the world for three months – he wasn't very religious – but it was better than staying there the entire summer. He'd needed a break.

The only person that would be anywhere near Jenny was Summer Parker-Pearson. Summer's relationship with the rest of the group had turned just a little sour. She would still hang out with them, but it wasn't the same. Once, Summer had been a nice, shy girl who everyone looked after. Once back in their world, Summer had become a little bolder. She joined the swim team, and was never home anymore. Summer didn't seem like she wanted them around anymore, so they left her alone. Jenny figured they brought back bad memories for Summer.

That left her with one other person: Tom Locke, otherwise known as Jenny's boyfriend. Actually, it was more like ex-boyfriend. Tom was wonderful. He'd been with Jenny since they were in the second grade. They were pretty much made for each other. Tom was a star athlete and student, handsome and popular, and had a cool attitude. However, Jenny and Tom hadn't been the same since their ordeal. He would tend to avoid Jenny. It was as if he had turned into a different person. Yeah, they would talk, hold hands, kiss…but it was as if someone had turned out the light in their relationship. They were always so happy around each other. When they would walk into a room, the whole place would brighten up. Now, it seemed to be the opposite.

So, Tom didn't see the point in staying in town alone with Jenny. In fact, once he found out Zach was leaving, he went straight to his house to talk to his mom about going to visit his Aunt Jenna in Maine.

It was the last day of school, and they were all walking to the parking lot, everyone except Summer, who was at swim practice. There was an electric feel in the air. Michael and Audrey were holding hands, and Audrey had her head on his shoulder. It seemed like they were trying to spend as much time together as possible before they went their separate ways.

Dee was on her cell phone, looking up activities to do at the camp she was going to. It was like she was in her own little universe and she didn't know anyone else existed anymore. Zach was chewing some bubble gum with a little too much enthusiasm and was making the largest bubbles Jenny had ever seen. He'd even got gum in his eyebrows and bangs.

Tom had a piece of Jenny's golden hair in his hand. He twirled it around and around. He never said a word the entire walk, but he also never left her side. It never used to be like that. He'd talk to her every second they were together. The more Jenny thought about it, the more distressed she became. Tom and Jenny had been wrapped around each other before this big mess, but Tom never really acted like he loved her. He acted more like he liked her just a little more than a friend. Now, Tom looked at her with so much love in his eyes it killed her, but he didn't say a word.

"Guys?" Jenny said, stopping in her tracks. They all stopped and looked at her. "We're all going to be apart for three months, and we haven't said a word to each other. I mean, this is the part where we all say our goodbyes and wish everyone good luck. Are we just going to walk away right now without saying anything?"

They all looked at one another without saying anything. Finally, Zack said, "I'm going to miss you guys this summer. It'll be weird not seeing you all for this long. But at the same time, I think we need this. We all need a little time to think things over."

Tom was nodding his head and he opened his mouth to say something but Audrey interrupted him. "Yeah. I'm kind of excited to go back to China. Go to a different place for a while. Forget about…things. I promise I will be e-mailing you guys constantly." She laughed.

"I haven't really given much thought about us being apart. I'm really focusing on my training and college. I may not get to contact you guys much, but that doesn't mean I don't miss you." Dee said. She gave us all an apologetic smile.

Michael had walked over to the Volkswagen his father bought him two weeks earlier. "I hate to cut our heart-to-heart moment short, but I really have to get going. I still haven't finished packing and if I get Audrey back even a minute after three-thirty, her dad will kill me."

No one said anything back. They all looked at each other for a minute. Michael walked back over, and they all hugged for a moment. When the hug was over, everyone went to their separate cars; everyone, except for Jenny and Tom.

"I'm going to have my cell phone on the entire time." Tom said to her. "So, feel free to call me whenever."

Jenny took his hand. "I'm going to miss you, Tom. You don't know how much." She felt the little pricks in her eyes that meant she was going to cry.

Tom's face softened. "Aw, Thorny, don't cry. I'm going to miss you, too. But I have a laptop I'm bringing with me and we can chat on the webcam every night if you want to."

"Yeah, but it won't be the same. I won't be able to touch you. Or…this." She got up on her tip toes and kissed him. When she started to pull away Tom grabbed the back of her head and kept her there for another beat.

"I love you, Jenny. I'll call you tonight, okay?" Tom said. Jenny nodded. "See you later."

"Goodbye." Jenny replied. She didn't know why she said goodbye. Goodbyes felt so…permanent to Jenny. She always said she'd see Tom later, but goodbye felt right this time. She didn't want to believe it was goodbye, but this feeling overwhelmed her.

Tom turned to his Jeep and opened the door.

"Oh, and Tom?" Jenny asked. He turned to her. "I love you, too." A single tear rolled down her cheek. She didn't think he saw it.

Jenny's mother had let her drive the van to school that day. Jenny usually rode with Tom, but since he was leaving right away she had to have another way home. The drive to her house wasn't long, but it was enough to calm her down. She would see Tom again. Why wouldn't she? But she didn't want to answer that question.

She pulled into her mom's spot in the driveway and got out. There were no other cars in the driveway so she knew her dad wasn't home yet. Her mother may have been in the house, but Jenny doubted it. Her mom was always going off to art shows with her friend, Amy.

Jenny decided she needed to relax for a while. She went in the house and up the stairs to her room. Her IPod was on her dresser. She grabbed it, hit play after inserting the headphones, and went back downstairs. She curled up on the couch and started reading a book.

That night, Jenny didn't get to talk to Tom. He was still on his flight to Maine, and wouldn't be able to talk to her until the next day. Jenny knew that even if he had arrived that night, he wouldn't be able to talk to her because he would want to spend time with his family.

After hours of watching TV, her little brother came home with a friend and her parents arrived shortly after. Jenny felt drained. She was already bored and the summer hadn't even started yet. She decided that it was time to catch up on a little sleep.

She always went to bed really late in the night, somewhere around three. She was afraid that if she got a full night's sleep, she would dream about…him. But tonight…she just didn't care. Jenny had never been one to mope around, but she decided she deserved to mope just a little bit.

Jenny laid down on her bed and stared at the ceiling. She began to count.

It was dark. Funny, she hadn't remembered turning her lights off. She couldn't feel her body anymore. Jenny decided she was dreaming. But where was she in this dream? She opened her eyes wider and still couldn't see anything.

She tried to lift her hand up, but it wouldn't budge. In fact, she wasn't moving at all. Not even to breathe. Was she breathing? She had to have been, right? Otherwise –

What was that? She thought she heard something, but she wasn't sure. It sounded all distorted, like she was under water.

Wait. What if she was… But no, that couldn't be. She couldn't be back in that place. There was no way. But she didn't know that. Who could? Jenny decided that she would just try to stay calm and then when she woke up everything would be okay.

Suddenly, she was moving. It felt like flying, but heavier. Her arms and legs wouldn't do what she wanted, and what she wanted was for them to try and get away from whatever was pulling her. She thought she could see a little light now. Something very bright. Almost white. The color of Ju-

No. It couldn't be. The blood in her veins turned to ice, and then to fire. She was excited, but scared at the same time. A million thoughts raced through her head. Did this mean that someone had written his name back in the stave? Why would they do that? Would he be mad at her?

Suddenly, she wasn't moving anymore and she heard everything clearly. She tried to open her eyes, but they wouldn't budge.

"Jenny! Jenny wake up! Please. I need you! You have no idea…" She knew it was him. How could it not be? Her heart sped up. She was scared, but… Wait. No she wasn't. She wasn't scared. But how could that be? He was scary. He hurt her. But…he saved her. He loved her. Everything he did, he did so he could have her.

She could feel her body now. It was cold. Just like that night… The night the Shadowmen tried to kill her. Jenny now knew where her eyes were and how to open them. She just couldn't yet. She didn't have control of them. She could feel her eyelids twitching, trying to open but not succeeding.

She stopped, took a deep breath – how, she didn't know. Had she been breathing this entire time? She couldn't remember. – and opened her eyes.

There he was. Right in front of her. Alive. Moving. Crying.

"J-" she was cut off by him.

"Shhh. You're okay. Everything is fine." He smiled. "You don't know how bad I've wanted to see you."

Jenny felt the pricks in her eyes again. "I… How are you back? What happened?"

His face fell and became serious. "Let's not speak about that right now. How have you been, Jenny?" His long, slender fingers slid down her cheek. She closed her eyes and melted into his hand.

"I…" How had she been? She'd been different, she knew that. "I've been alright. But what about you? How is this even possible?"

"Jenny, please. Don't talk about that." He said again.

She scrunched her nose up. "Well, then what do we talk about?"

He smiled. He leaned over and barely kissed her lips. Jenny's stomach filled with butterflies. Jenny wanted to wrap her arms around him, but she was still too weak. When he pulled back his eyes were still closed. "Whatever you want to."

"But you just said we couldn't talk about-" She never got to finish her sentence. Suddenly, there was something in his chest, and his blood was pooling all over Jenny. Everything started to go black.

"Jenny…" he said.

"Julian!" Jenny screamed. She flopped over and fell off her bed. She laid there for a minute to get her bearings. It was just a dream.

There were tears filling in her eyes, and some had already pooled over. "Why?" she asked the air. She cried a couple more minutes and then got back on her bed. She grabbed some tissues from her night stand and blew her nose. She could breathe clearly again. "Julian…"

It was the first time she'd said his name out loud since…since he…

She started to cry again. "I do. I really do." she said. "I love you, Julian." How could saying something like that feel so right? Jenny was nothing but a bunch of questions. She was so confused, and she didn't know what to do from there.

She wanted to go back to bed, but her head hurt and she knew if she went back to sleep now her eyes would be puffy in the morning. She got up and went to her computer. She needed to write. If she could write, she might be able to get this out of her system.

Jenny sat for hours and wrote. She asked questions and tried to answer them, but always found that her answers never quite added up. Every time she looked at the clock she knew she should get back in bed, but could never make herself get up. It wasn't until she saw the first few slivers of sunlight through her window that she knew it was time. She turned and stood up, but didn't move. Her bedroom was covered in shadows.

Jenny grabbed her cell phone. She needed to call Tom. She knew he wouldn't pick up at this time, but she had to try…

When she opened it, she saw that she had two new messages. She opened the first one. It was from Tom.

I made it here safe. I just wanted to let you know.

Jenny swelled with happiness. She could feel Tom's arms around her. She imagined his soft lips colliding with hers and making sparks. He was amazing. And he was all hers.

She opened the second one. It was also from Tom.

I love you.

She sent back a message that said, "I love you, too." Somehow, it felt empty. She knew she loved Tom. She knew that she had never loved someone like she loved Tom before…

But maybe she loved someone more, after she met him.

"Because I love him, too." she said. "And I can't do anything about it."

As she sat back down on her bed, she felt like she had to cry. She fought it, but knew that if she didn't she wouldn't feel any better. She was about to give up and just let the tears come when something happened.

Jenny's hair flew every direction. Papers on her desk scattered everywhere. The chair she kept at her computer slid across the floor. She looked at her window, thinking maybe she'd opened it and forgot. It was closed and locked. How could this be happening?

A crazy idea filled her mind. And it was really crazy. If she did it, she would feel silly. But if she didn't do it…she would regret it, and she knew she would.

One deep breath later, Jenny whispered, "Julian?"

Somehow she wasn't surprised when the wind picked up again.