HOLLOW

•EIGHT•

•Natalie's POV•
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When I woke up, I was in the room Athanasios had shown me. The shopping bags were arranged neatly in a corner as the moonlight shone on them. There was a plate of food on the bedside table that I immediately went to. As I ate, my stomach growled. This food is ridiculously amazing. Who cooks it all? I wish I'd come here sooner. As I took a bite of the tiramisu I moaned at the taste that entered my mouth. I need more of this in my life.

I finished the dish and rubbed my hands together to get rid of the crumbs. I went to go get the bags clothes I got today. I took them to the bathroom where there were a washer and dryer. I know right? Who has those in their bathroom? There were so many clothes I would probably have to do a few loads.

I decided to just put a few everyday clothes in. I started the washing machine and looked myself in the mirror. My hair fell onto the right side of my face and my eyes were bright. My body was beginning to thicken up and I didn't see as much bone. I took one of my hair-ties and put my hair up in a ponytail before going back to bed.

I must've been laying in bed for a while. I know because I had to get up and put my clothes in the dryer and put in another load. Also because the clock read four AM. I wasn't going back to sleep anytime soon so I decided to take a look out on the balcony. I took my coat with me as I slipped through the door. Snow still covered the land and tall trees bordered the area. I looked up and saw stars. More than I'd ever seen in my life. They twinkled and danced around the moon in the night. Beautiful.

I would never be able to see anything like this back home. I wrapped my coat tighter around me as a chill ran over me. It's nights like these when you let yourself forget everything and enjoy the moment. For the time I was outside, I forgot about all the stuff I fantasized at night and all the chaos swirling around in my head. I finally felt at peace- like everything had fallen into place. I went back inside when the sun started to rise and the stars disappeared.

I took a hot shower to get rid of the chill that hijacked my body and to refresh myself. I used the new products I got from Bath&BodyWorks. As for the shampoo, I used the same brand I always used. The warmth didn't last long. Once I got out, I had to quickly wrap a towel around me to prevent the chills from running up my back. I went into the dryer and found an outfit for today. I dried my hair with the blow-drier tucked away in the back of the bathroom cabinet. My hair dried quickly- with the help of the blow-drier.

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There was a knock on my door. I had just finished getting ready so I hurried and answered it. I was welcomed by Athanasios' smile and chocolate eyes. His hair was in his face like always. I returned the smile and waved. "Hi," I said awkwardly. "Hello. What would you like to do today?" He asks. I shrugged. The only thing I had planned was to go to the library that Zephyra had informed me of and find a book to read.

"Come on. Dream the dream. Anything you want," Athanasios said. I could hardly focus with all his muscles poking out of that shirt that clung to his figure tightly. I mean, you could locate each and every ab and muscle. "Natalie?" Athanasios asks. I could feel myself blushing so I looked down. "I can't think of anything," I told him shyly.

I felt his gentle touch under my chin as he lifted my head to look at him. My eyes widen as our eyes met. Neither of us looked away for a while. I felt my stomach churning under his gaze. "I have something in mind," He says, dropping his hand from my face. I could just imagine the tomato that my face had morphed into. "Are you ready now, or should I come back?" He asks. I shook my head. "No, no, I-I'm ready now," I say, walking into the hall.

I close the door behind me and look back at Athanasios. He had his hand held out to me. I hesitantly slipped my hand into his. I watched as our fingers intertwined and closed around each other. His hand swallowed my own and I once again felt small in his presence. My heart was beating a million times a minute. I heard Athanasios sigh as he too looked at our hands. "Is this okay?" He asks in almost a whisper. I nod slowly and look up to meet his gaze again. "Let's go," He says before leading me down the hall.

We arrived at a door and Athanasios pushed it open with ease without letting my hand go. Once we entered I realized that it was a theater. It had rows of seats and tons of food at the back. "Why are we here?" I ask Athanasios as he let the door close behind us. "Zephyra mentioned that your favorite movies were the Divergent series so I took it upon myself to plan this," he says. A smile formed on my face. "We're going to watch divergent?" I ask him. He shakes his head.

The smile quickly fell off of my face. "We are going to watch the whole series," He informs me. The smile came back as quickly as it left. "Your face was priceless. You can choose some food and find a seat. I'm going to go start the movie," I nod before he makes his way to the back. I set my gaze on the table filled with the unhealthiest of foods. "Screw acne," I said to myself before grabbing everything and anything I wanted.

After I gathered everything in my hands I went to the very middle of the theatre and sat in a seat. This is awesome. Divergent series, diabetes, hot guy- wait, I didn't say that. I looked to my side and saw Athanasios sit beside me as the movie started. A smile formed on my face that I just couldn't contain.

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We had successfully binge-watched the series and there were plastic wrappers everywhere. I began to pick some of it up before Athanasios stopped me. "I'll have one of our workers clean that up," He says, taking my hand in his. "Come on, let's do something else," He gets up, suddenly excited. I nod and let him guide me to wherever our next destination was.

"No one has ever seen this before, so you'll be the first," He explains as he enters a room that looks like an office- possibly his. He opens a door that was hidden behind a bookcase and feels around it. "What are you doing?" I ask. He takes a couple seconds to respond. "It's an illusion. Try to open the door," he says. I shrug before stretching my hand out, reaching for the handle. Surprisingly, my hand went through the doorknob.

"Woah," I waved my hand through it multiple times. I've never seen anything like this. In modern day society, you would need some sort of projecter to pull this off but it was just...here. "Found it!" Athanasios exclaimed before walking through the wall. My eyes widened as he dragged me in with him. This is unbilievable.

"There was originally a gap in the wall that lead to the staircase but my ancestors had an illusion placed so that it would be hidden in plain sight," He explains while climbing the stairs. My life would never give me any space to breathe would it? First werewolves, then this. Once we made it up the stairs, we found ourselves in a dome-shaped empty room.

Athanasios noticed bored expression. "At night you can have these panels come down and look at the stars. My sister and I used to come up here all the time," He says, with a saddened expression.

I offer a small smile and look at the ceiling myself. "Hey, let's come here tonight, tonight the stars and moon will shine the brightest," He walks around me looking up as well. "Sure."

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