part of the crew // damian priest

Chapter 4 // Ethereal

"Damian!" Luna whined as she dusted the sand off her previously buried leg, a vicious chuckle being the only thing heard from Damian.

After the two had arrived at the hotel, they shared each other's numbers and had split up for about an hour to unpack a bit while also allowing time to get ready for the beach. As soon as Luna made it to her room, she beelined towards the bathroom, not realizing how much she had to go until she got to the building.

Once she was done, she quickly changed into a simple black two-piece bikini. Her bottom garment was slightly high-waisted while her top resembled a corset-like piece. It was one of her favorite bathing suits as she felt it was one of the only ones that made her feel comfortable yet pretty. Shopping for bathing suits has always been her worst nightmare and when she finally finds a bathing suit that comforts her yet uplifts her, she feels as though she has stumbled across gold.

Once she felt she was ready for the beach, she pulled a tote bag out of her suitcase that she had packed for outings that required more belongings. She then pulled the things she had packed for the beach out and began packing them in the bag. When she was comfortable with what was in the bag, she placed it to the side before quickly preparing her camera bag and packing two towels inside the tote bag.

As she checked her appearance one last time in the mirror, she experienced a sudden surge in anxiety due to her appearance and it had her thrashing through her suitcase for the beach coverup she packed for this very moment. Her mood suffered a loss, insecurities breaking through the shield she had tried to maintain in her head. There were days where they just couldn't help but make their presence known and it always left a sour taste in her mouth. With one little thought, it could send her spiraling just like that. She hated it.

For as long as Luna could remember, she was the bigger girl in the room. From elementary until high school, kids bullied her, marveled at her, and degraded her all because of her body. Due to this, she internalized their words and hate, her thoughts negatively riddled with similar expressions towards herself. Some days were better than others but it wasn't until she began working with WWE that her confidence began to grow.

Despite having lost some weight before joining the company on her own regard, her mind and emotions were still compromised by that of her marginalized self. Granted, she was still what society deemed a plus-size woman, but she was now comfortable with that label as she physically felt more comfortable within herself. This is when she began prioritizing the feelings of her body, allowing her body to speak for when enough is enough. Her thoughts surrounding food began to change and she no longer was limited by her negative thoughts. Yet, it didn't mean she had bad days regarding her self-image.

However, as she finished getting ready and the realization had set in that she would be in a bathing suit around a man that she considered to have met today, younger her was making their appearance known.

Luna got frustrated at her own mind, deciding to just leave the hotel room then rather than waiting for Damian to say he's ready as she could no longer bear being near the mirror in her room. She was happy with how she looked, she wasn't going to let her insecurities ruin her day. It was about to be her first experience on a Puerto Rican beach and she was exhilarated.

To Damian:
hey, im in the hotel lobby. got ready earlier than i thought!

After texting Damian, Luna spent her time waiting in the lobby appreciating the many different plants that were distributed throughout it. This had to be the most beautiful hotel she had ever stayed at and she could not understand how lucky she was to get placed here. The opportunity with Damian was presenting so many new opportunities and she couldn't be anything but grateful. Without realizing it, her hands found their way to her camera, taking the lens cap off and capturing some photos of the lobby.