Annalise

It had taken a few days to become adjusted to their new living arrangements. The house felt cramped, and the air was thick with tension. Victoria had isolated herself the minute she had joined the household, and nobody seemed to want to branch the ever-going distance that separated them all.

Annalise certainly wasn't going to be the one to do it.

These vampires were meant to be decades old, and yet here she was in the midst of five of them, all acting like angsty teenagers. She thought better of them, if she were honest. Annalise guessed, no matter how much changed, fundamentally, humans would always be the same.

She was sitting awkwardly between Victoria and Dawn in the living room. Twiddling her thumbs, Annalise longed for something to do, other than this. The air was so thick with unresolved problems, it felt like a ticking time bomb. With one wrong word, breathe or movement it would explode into tiny pieces. Shattering the place she had begun to call home.

It was blatantly obvious, despite the peace between them all, Victoria and Dawn still vemonanatly hated each other. Dawn was looking outside the window, a vicious scowl marring her beautiful face. While Victoria absently picked at her manicured fingernails.

'This isn't awkward at all,' Annalise thought sarcastically.

Just when she had given up all hopes of saviour, Cassius burst through the living room door, slamming it open. The sudden noise snapped Victoria and Dawn out of their brooding, both of them snapping their heads to the side to see who it was.

"Cassius!" Annalise called excitedly, relieved to finally have someone to talk too. He glanced at her momentarily but immediately looked away. Ignoring her completely, he spoke,"I found something,".

Victoria stood up, as fast as lightning, stepping up to Cassius. Her eyes were wide open, as she reached her hands up to grasp him but then stopped midway."You're serious?" She asked shakily.

Cassius nodded sullenly, as black strand of hair falling into his face. Annalise shot up, in almost exact imitation of Victoria. He found something! Of course he would, Cassius is a genius. Budding hope grew in Annalise, like a freshly bloomed rose. Sweet and stunning.

"I can't believe you managed it!" Annalise rejoiced, beaming at him widely. Cassius seemed utterly unimpressed and shot her a look that said 'Really?'. She shook her head disbelievingly, as she heard Dawn step up besides her.

"I knew we could trust you, nerd," Dawn laughed, reaching out to clap Cassius on the back, who easily dodged the oncoming slap. A thought popped into Annalise's head and straight away, she walked out of the living room. Leaving behind the bustle of excited chatter.

She needed to tell Eugene!

Annalise scurried up the stairs, missing steps in her haste. She ran past Raul, who was just coming out of the guest room and headed straight for the main bedroom. Bashing the door open, she paused when she entered the room.

No one was there.

Where could Eugene be, she thought as she circled the room curiously. There was the sound of splashing water and Annalise jolted to the en-suite. The door was in the corner of the bedroom, tucked away so that you could only see it if you were in the room itself. It was hung open slightly, light from the bathroom illuminated the dark corner.

Slowly Annalise crept up to the en-suite, her thoughts were so consumed with the recent news that she hadn't thought about what exactly he was doing in there. The minute she slowly cracked open, she was hit with hot lavender smelling steam.

Squinting past it, she tiptoed into the room.

Jesus Christ, was Annalise's only thought as she gazed at the figure curled in on himself in the bathtub. The man was a god. It was the only explanation for the stunning silhouette he made. Muscles were dripping with condensation, his blonde hair turned almost brown under the dampness of the water.

His unearthly pale skin was flushed a healthy pink under the heat. He was stunning.

The situation caught up to her like a brick to her head, Eugene was sat there. Completely naked. And completely oblivious to her presence. She squealed embarrassingly, before she could stop it. Covering her mouth in shock, she winced preemptively. God knows what Eugene would think about this.

Not even turning around to look at her, Eugene simply drew his legs up to his chest, cuddling into himself. The silver scars on his back stretched with effort. "I wouldn't worry about it. There's nothing to see anyway," He mumbled sorrowfully.

What?

Annalise paused for a beat. "What, what do you mean?" she stuttered, taking a few cautious steps forward. Eugene turned away from her, looking at the water dejectedly. A vice wrapped its hand around Annalise's heart and tugged painfully. This wasn't the first time he had said something like this.

Though he didn't show it, through his tough exterior. It was painfully obvious in moments like this, he hated himself.

She pushed past the nervousness that bubbled in her chest, she had never seen a naked man in real life before. Annalise was thankful for the bubbles that covered the water's surface. Taking her time, Annalise knelt next to him by the bathtub. Leaning against the side, she dipped her fingers into the water.

Watching agonisingly, as her movements made no ripples. Just another reminder she wasn't human. But now wasn't the time for self pity. She was more concerned with Eugene. "I don't know what this is about, but there's lots to see," Annalise offered sincerely, looking directly into his eyes.

Eugene scoffed, his lips curling up into a glare. It was clear it wasn't directed to her, but to himself. "You don't know what you're on about." He spat, venom in his voice, "You don't know what I've done," Annalise flicked the water, gazing at a bubble which had landed on her arm.

Softly she shook her head. "No, I don't know what you've done. And i'm not going to pretend to know either. But, I know there is a lot to see." Annalise spoke gently, looking back at his face.

Quietly, she brought her hand up to caress the side of his face, just underneath his eyes. He studied her carefully, his gorgeous green eyes crunching underneath his stare. "I'm not going to pretend to know what you're feeling. But I know there's so much more to you than this," She whispered, confident that his vampire sense could pick up what she was saying.

Her hand drifted down to stroke the skin besides his lips. "The man ive come to know is strong, funny and caring," Next her hands fluttered, and spread across his back. "Your scars, I know they're tragic, but they're not you. You're not your past Eugene. You're who you are now. Besides , you don't need a mirror to see how good looking you are,"

Annalise stopped for a second, taking in the look on Eugene's face. His lips were wobbling, his Adams apple bobbed as he swallowed hard. But his eyes, those time stopping green eyes. They were on fire with something.

Hope.

Finally, her hand stopped just atop his chest, slightly to the left. Exactly where his heart should be.

"Your hearts in the right place," She breathed, "You're a good man, Eugene" Silence permeated the bathroom, no sound entered, no sound left. All there was, was them. Eugene licked his lips, his eyes began to shimmer.

"I'm not human," He protested weakly, "I'm a monster,". Annalise knew this was his final wall, his final defence against protecting his self-image. But she wasn't going to give in to it. She smiled at him faintly, looking through him rather than at him.

"I'm a half demon," She said, "By that standard we're both monsters. So it can't be that bad," Eugene seemed to ponder on it for a moment, musing through the words in his head.

"I've done bad things," Eugene countered, his face turning bitter once more. Noiselessly, Annalise reached for his hands, cradling them in her own. They were warm from the bath water, and almost gave the illusion that he really was just human.

"But you're not bad now," Annalise stated, squeezing his hands tightly. It took a moment, but oh so slowly, he squeezed her hands back. A smirk grew on his lips.

"No, no I'm not," He confirmed, reluctantly letting go of her hands. Annalise beamed up at him, it seems she had finally gotten through to him. It was a win in her books, no matter how temporary.

With a resurgence of confidence Eugene stood up, and Annalise panicked. Squawking as she turned around to look at the wall behind her. "What are you doing!" She cried. There was a chuckle.

"I'm getting out of the bath. Unless you want to watch, you should probably leave," Eugene chortled. There was a splashing of water hitting tiles, and it sent Annalise into overdrive as she dashed to the doorway.

"I'm leaving! I'm leaving! Just make sure you come downstairs, Cassius has found something" Annalise rambled, not once looking back.

"Anna. Wait." Eugene began. The raw note in his voice stopped her in her tracks, and she grasped the side of the doorway, leaning on it heavily. Anxiously she looked over her shoulder, only to find that Eugene had already covered himself with a towel. Biting down the slight disappointment and relief, she nodded to him.

"Thank you, Annalise. For everything."