Summary: Part of me wants safety; to go back to how things were, to a life that I could predict, where I know how life is going to be. And the other part of me wants to go somewhere else; into the unknown. - You Gotta Go There To Come Back Sequel.

Disclaimer: I do not own SoN or anything related, I merely own my original characters and storylines.

Rating: T

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Author's Note: So just in case there are some new readers, I suggest you go back and read You Gotta Go There To Come Back since this is the sequel for it and I know for a fact that this story will not make any sense unless you read the first one. I can't even promise that it will make much more sense afterwards either really but I will try!

So here I am (FINALLY!) with the brand new introductory chapter of the sequel. :) Sorry for the time it took to get it out, I ended up losing my external with my stories on them and when I finally found them I became too busy with real life stuff to get around to writing. But I figured I might as well throw this up and see if there's any interest in it to will me to finish it. So... without further ado, here we go!

Enjoy... read and review if you please, I appreciate any feedback.

I'll Meet You There

Chapter 1 – I Will Follow You into the Dark

Ashley's POV

The tough thing about following your heart is what people forget to mention; that sometimes your heart takes you to places you shouldn't be, places that are as scary as they are exciting and as dangerous as they are alluring, and sometimes your heart takes you to places that can never lead to a happy ending.

And that's not even the hard part. The hard part is when you follow your heart, you leave normal and you go into the unknown. And once you do, you can never go back.

And that's where I've found myself; the unknown.

Part of me wants safety; to go back to how things were, to a life that I could predict, where I know how life is going to be. And the other part of me wants to go somewhere else; forward. To embrace the uncertainty of what's to come with an open mind, hoping the uncertainty leads me to her.

Spencer Carlin.

The girl who changed everything for me. The girl who has and forever will have my heart.

She's the reason that I'm here; standing outside the front door of an average loft-sized apartment in Los Angeles that overlooks the Sunset Strip. I don't think it's a coincidence that after a month of trying to find Spencer, my search ends here. I think this is what some people call fate.

I wish I could tell you that when I woke up Spencer was right there next to me, but that wasn't the case. I wish I could tell you that this story has a happy ending, but I don't know if that's the case either. I don't know what the future holds for me anymore. All I do know is that nothing is certain anymore. Nothing is absolute. And that is my scepticism with going into the unknown.

That's what holding me back from stepping across this threshold in front of me.

I thought I had it all figured out but I was so wrong. And what I've learned over the past few years is that you can't control the inevitable. You can't control time. All you can do is hope that whatever time you do have left is spent with the people you love.

Which inevitably, brings me back to her; the blonde blue-eyed beauty that resides on the other side of this metal door. The cold metal feeling on my palm make this all too real.

This is it.

I don't know if she's any different and frankly, I don't care. After everything, I can't think of any version of Spencer that I wouldn't love and that simple statement is what cements my choice. Because when it's real, you can't walk away. Believe me. I tried once before but only because I was scared. And even then, I found myself coming back to her.

Because it's impossible to deny your heart's desire.

It's truly inevitable.

If I walked away once again, I'd eventually end back up here all the same. So no more wasting time, no more being afraid. No more hiding from the one thing that truly makes me happy in life. No more standing here deciding whether or not it's worth it—because I know it is.

I've always known.

Here I am about to travel into the unknown, willingly knowing that the outcome may not be what I want and yet, I know in my heart that there is no other path for me to take. I have to go forward; I have to embrace it... just like my love for Spencer has taught me.

I have to take a risk.

I'd like to say I took my fair share of risks in my lifetime, but that would be a lie, at least when it came to my heart... I've only taken one chance when it's come to that and that's with Spencer. Even with Aiden, I never really opened my heart up completely.

Maybe that's another sign that this is fate.

Maybe subconsciously, that was my heart's way of telling me that the others weren't right.

That I needed to wait for her.

Either way, it doesn't change the fact that right now I need one more moment, one more chance to change direction, to stop something bad from turning into something worse. I need her in my life. I want her in my life. Because once you've had everything, it's hard to go back to a time where you didn't know feelings like this existed. It's impossible to go back to a time where you never felt love.

Spencer's love.

And more importantly, I don't want to go back to a time where I never experienced this. No matter how much pain and suffering I've been put through or will be put through, it'll all be worth it to have Spencer in my life.

I won't lie that I wasn't upset when I woke up after collapsing. I thought I was passed that point in my life. It was my wedding night, Spencer's and my wedding night. It was supposed to be a start of something amazing, something that would hold a special place in my heart, forever. It was supposed to be a new start for me, for us.

And yet when I woke up, it wasn't the night after my wedding, it was just an ordinary Tuesday. I didn't wake up to a glowing bride, but a dog licking my face. I wasn't even sure it was my dog at first, I mean, it's not like I'm an ideal animal lover.

Too much mess for me.

Buster, that's what his name tag says. Like I'd ever name a dog Buster... naming anything Buster besides a bunny is absurd. Tiny Toon Adventures and Arthur know exactly what I'm talking about. Buster is most definitely a bunny's name-not a dog's. I'm really considering renaming him.

You're probably thinking on why it took me over a month to find Spencer when she was just living with Kyla. Believe me; it was harder than you think. The only reason that I did end up finding her is because of my mother, I know... my mother. It's about time that that woman became useful for something. I wasn't even there for Spencer. Kyla wasn't answering her phone so I dropped by the house to see if she was lounging around the house and surprisingly, the woman was there and felt the need to complain to me about her recent troubles. She mentioned that Kyla was there earlier in the month to collect some things for her new place. She had found this apartment across town with a friend. And after twenty minutes of complaining about how Kyla didn't deserve one cent of my father's inheritance, she mentioned Spencer's name. Actually, it was 'this blonde Ohio kid', but it didn't take a brain scientist to put one and one together. Kyla and Spencer were living together.

I thought I was going to pass out again. Maybe that would've been smarter; maybe I would've woken up in a bed the night after my wedding with the 'blonde Ohio chick'. Maybe that would've solved all my problems. Just maybe. But that didn't happen, so for whatever intensive purposes, I am here.

I don't know why, I don't know how, all I do know is not to question it.

Because I am here.

Could this mean that my tumour is back? Possibly. Or is this just another time jump? Maybe. Perhaps I've just lost my mind. I'm sure people wouldn't object to that one. Either way, I've stopped trying to understand any of this at this point, to make sense of the unexplainable. For whatever reason, life has brought me here so I plan to embrace it.

I mentally and emotionally prepare myself for whatever life holds for me on the other side of this door, which for all I know could be nothing. I could've worked myself up for a whole month for absolute nothing on the other side of this door. For all I know, no one could be home and I'm standing outside an empty apartment looking like a complete idiot.

But at least I've finally found her. At least if I can't look in her sparkling blue eyes today, I can in the future.

At least there's a possibility, for something. For anything. Just to have Spencer back in my life in the tiniest way, I would be content. Even if she wanted to just be friends, I would still love her all the same. I think we should all be so lucky to have someone who will never let us go, to never give up on us. My father told me once the ultimate legacy is to leave behind someone who will love you forever. Music eventually fades, but love..., love can last an eternity.

He told me that the night he met Spencer, the same night he died.

And I know that he's right. Because I know that no matter what, my love for Spencer will never fade.

It will never falter.

I vowed that to her; completely and forever.

I looked into her eyes at our wedding and told her I would never give up. I'm not breaking that vow; I'm not letting her go.

Because even though Spencer may not remember those vows, they flow through my veins, just as her love does. She is my ultimate legacy.

I take a deep breath and shake my head around, loosening it up before I take the leap. I clasp my hand into a loose fist and hit the cold metal door with my knuckles. The sound vibrates through the door as I stand there patiently, unable to breathe as I wait for the unknown to take me. I'm jumping in with two feet, just as Spencer's love has taught me.

No fear.

I hear faint footsteps before the door swings open and I'm met with blue eyes.