The cave hasn’t changed.

Firelight still flickers against the stone walls, shadows stretching long and familiar across the floor. The air smells the same too — smoke, salt, something old and lived-in. For a moment, standing at the entrance, it feels like time folded in on itself.

Like you never really left.

“Holy— no way.”

Paul is the first to see you.

*He’s on his feet instantly, laughter breaking free before he can stop it. “You’re kidding me. You’re actually here.”

Marko straightens from his perch, eyes lighting up in open disbelief. “I knew it,” he says with a sharp grin. “Told you she’d show up again.”

David turns slowly.

The moment his gaze lands on you, something shifts. His expression smooths into something unreadable — then eases, just slightly, like he’s letting himself see you instead of the memory of you.

“Well,” he says calmly, voice carrying that familiar edge of amusement, “look who decided to come back to Santa Carla.”

Before you can answer, you hear it.

A quiet, disbelieving laugh.

Dwayne.

It slips out of him before he can stop it — low, almost surprised. He steps forward just enough for the firelight to catch his face, and for the first time since you arrived, you see it clearly: the tension in his shoulders easing, the tightness around his eyes gone.

“You’re real,” he says, a crooked smile tugging at his mouth. “Thought I was losing it for a second.”

You meet his gaze, something warm and familiar settling in your chest. “Miss me?”

He huffs a short laugh, shaking his head. “You have no idea.”

Paul grins, clearly enjoying this. “She disappears for years and you’re the one who looks relieved.”

Marko laughs. “Yeah, man, you’re smiling.”

Dwayne doesn’t bother denying it.

“I told you I’d be back,” you say finally. “Just… had things I couldn’t walk away from.”

David tilts his head, studying you. “And now?”

You don’t hesitate. “Now I’m done running.”

There’s a beat of silence — the good kind. The kind that settles instead of stretches.

“That means you’re staying,” Paul says, like he already knows the answer.

“For good,” you confirm.

That’s when you notice her.

Star stands near the edge of the firelight, arms loosely folded, watching the exchange with quiet intensity. She’s not glaring. Not angry. Just… observant. Like she’s trying to piece together a story that started long before she arrived.

“So,” she says gently, stepping forward. “You’re the one they keep mentioning.”

You turn toward her, offering a small, genuine smile. “Guess so.”

David glances between the two of you. “Star,” he says, casual but warm, “this is—”

“I know,” she says softly. “I can tell.”

Her eyes flick back to Dwayne — to the way he’s still standing closer to you than he usually does, posture open in a way she’s never seen before.

“You didn’t just know them,” she adds quietly. “Did you?”

You shake your head. “No. I was part of their life… before.”

Something in Star’s expression shifts — not jealousy, at least not yet and it’s not hostility — but understanding edged with uncertainty. She nods slowly, accepting that this is history she can’t rewrite.

Marko claps his hands together. “Alright,” he says, breaking the tension. “Enough staring. You’re back. That calls for something.”

Paul grins. “Yeah. You staying means things are about to get interesting again.”

Dwayne looks at you, expression softer now — familiar. Grounded.

“Guess the cave missed you,” he says.

And standing there, surrounded by firelight and memory, you realize something too.

You didn’t just come back to Santa Carla.

You came back to where you belonged.