II

Disclaimer: Nope, I don't anything. I own zero, nada, nothing of A&A.


She jogged in one spot as she put in her earphones, warming up for her daily jog. Once she put them in and got the playlist ready, she swung open her apartment door and locked, all the while jogging in her same spot. She turned around, jogging to the stairwell. Daily exercises for Allison Dawson, she thought to herself. She swung open the door to the stairwell and quickly raced down the stairwell.

It had been three months since her encounter with that strange man. What was his name again…? Austin? That must've been it, she thought. She reached the stairwell door that led to outside and ran out, taking a deep breath. Oh how I love spring, she thought.

She had obtained enough money to move away from NYC and right into Miami (what else did she want to do? Spend her time during Christmas freezing her ass off? I think not). She loved it here, the weather was warmer, the men were cuter and she, personally, didn't have to deal with her parents' consistent babbling about how she needed a man. She seemed perfectly fine single. Plus, she wasn't ready to mingle just as yet (no matter what Trish had told her, she just wasn't ready).

Now, don't get her wrong, she didn't believe in the perfect man. No one was perfect actually, everyone had at least five flaws that everyone else hated. And every time she was put up to a blind date, all the men had at least twenty flaws.

And that's why she was determined to stay single. Heck, she'd even grow old with cats.

She drew in a sharp breath and ran faster, thinking about the last thing her parents had told her. "Ally, you doomed to be alone at this rate. I promise you," they had told her.

Ally scowled and rolled her eyes, running even faster. Stupid mom and dad, what do they know about love? They're not even married, and not to mention, they're the weirdoes who think that monsters exist and want to capture one. And I'm their daughter. What a family I have, she thought. She came from, according to her mother, a family of monster hunters, while her father claimed he came from a family that protected monsters.

Heh, now she could see where their relationship went wrong. They claimed to come from two different families.

They were strange people.

Strange indeed, and why was I– An abrupt shiver ran down Ally's spine and she stopped running, turning around. The alleyway she usually ran in was empty but she could feel someone watching her. She looked up and saw no one so she shrugged, continuing her run.

The minute she turned around, she began running, only to bump into a hard wall. She fell on her ass and rubbed her forehead. There's a wall… in the middle of nowhere? What the… she looked up and gasped. It was the blond boy from three months ago. He was grinning cheekily at her. She gulped and gave him a once over. He was donned in a pair of light beige shorts and Adidas sports shoes used for running. He was shirtless, revealing a very much so muscular body… and was that a six-pact? She looked away from his body and he held out a hand, right in front of her nose. He smelled vaguely of the ocean and something salty – probably sweat. "Sorry about that, I was jogging and I usually run here." She grabbed his hand and a shiver ran up her spine. There was something inhumane about this guy. "Hey, you're Ally… right?" he asked.

She blushed and nodded. "No, um, it's alright. You do? I never really see you? And, you're Austin, right?" she asked.

He his smile broadened and she blushed even darker. He helped her up but didn't let go of her hand. "Yeah, I don't usually jog at nine in the morning, maybe ten. I'm usually sleeping at this–" He paused for a moment, his body tensing, as if he sensed someone. Ally waved a hand in face and he blinked, looking back at her. She jerked her hand a bit and Austin smirked, letting go. "Sorry, I tend to lose track of time and get lost in my thoughts. Well, Ally, I'll see you around, maybe."

He winked at her and she turned puce. He turned on his heel and jogged off in the opposite direction from her. What a strange man.


"Trish, I'm serious. He's creepy. He practically knew I was going to be jogging in that area. And he keeps smiling at me. And every time I feel him coming around, a shiver runs up and down my spine. He seems… inhumane," Ally explained to her best friend.

Trish nodded, not believing a single word her own friend was saying as she cooked some dinner for them. Ally groaned and swung open the fridge door, pulling out a jug of milk. She grabbed a glass and poured milk into it. Trish looked at her and shook her head. "You know Ally, I think you're becoming paranoid. It's not healthy," she told her.

Ally downed her milk down and looked at her friend. "Trish, I'm being serious. There's something… mysterious about this man! He's creepy and–"

Ally was cut off abruptly by someone's knocking. Trish told her to go and answer it, and she rolled her eyes, heading for the door. She opened it and blinked. A fisted hand landed in front of her face, almost close to hitting her in her face. A chuckle sounded and Ally shivered from the familiarity of it. She looked up and screamed loudly.

Rapid footsteps ran towards her as she backed away from Austin, whose face had now fallen. Trish grabbed her shoulders and shook her frantically. "Dammit, Ally, it's just my co-worker and… Austin, who's that?" she asked, politely.

Austin blinked and then looked to his side. He swung his arm around the neck of a redheaded male with freckles, who was smiling brightly at Trish. "This is my best friend, Dez. Dez, this is Trish and her best friend, Ally," he explained slowly.

As if a light bulb went off in his head, Dez quickly shook Ally's smaller hand. "Nice to meet you, I'm Dez Wade," he said quickly.

He took a few steps back and smiled at Trish once more. Ally gulped and nodded, feeling the same inhumane sensation she felt from Austin. "Come in, and ignore Ally's rudeness. She thinks you're a creep who's stalker her," Trish explained, ushering in the two.

Austin laughed and Ally scowled at Trish. How could she exploit her thoughts like that? "It's okay, she has every right. I guess we met off on the wrong foot."

Ally huffed and murmured something about him being an 'extremely creepy dude with no other priorities in life but to stalk her' and turned around, stomping off to the kitchen once again. Trish just shook her head and turned to look at Austin. Her heart sped up, seeing a dark look in his eye, and shivered. He noticed her staring and his eyes softened at her stare. He gave her a bright smile and Trish returned an uneasy one back to him. "I, uh, apologize for that."

The dark look almost crept into his eye once again as he said: "Don't worry about it. I can handle it."


Ally shivered. That guy radiated weird all over him and finally Trish was admitting he was a little off. Finally, she thought, she understands that he's on the weird side. What's up with him anyways? And how does Trish know him? Oh yeah, she claims to be his 'co-worker'. She glanced out of the kitchen and into the dining room area, where Austin and Dez had been sitting.

She raised a brow at Austin. He was looking out the window and hers and Trish's condo in the dining room, seemingly appeared to be in thought. She almost jumped when he looked her way and grinned salaciously at her. She screeched loudly and ducked back into the kitchen. He's a pervert. Why did he grin salaciously at me? Oh my goodness, Trish invited a pervert over. He's going

A bowl was thrust into her face during mid-thought and she looked at it, raising a brow. She looked up and blushed hotly at Trish's glare. "I know you find him creepy, but we have dinner to eat. Put the salad on the table, sit beside Austin and don't say a word, understood?" she hissed threateningly under her breath.

Ally gulped and looked back in the dining room to see if they heard anything. Dez was fiddling with his fork and knife, and Austin was… oh dear, he was looking directly at her. Her heart beat picked up as she clutched her shirt tightly. Trish moved her hand and placed the bowl in the other hand, storming off. Ally sighed and gave Austin an uneasy smile as she set down the salad and sat beside Austin.

He never took his eyes off her once. Every move she made, his eyes followed. "Make small talk," she heard Trish whispered from the kitchen.

Ally blushed and Austin chuckled. "What do you do for a living?" he asked, his voice soothing and deep.

She was a hundred percent sure her face heated up some more as she scrambled for her answer. "I – I'm a music t – teacher at a – a music class thingy," she stuttered.

She looked to Dez, seeing if he were going to say anything, but the grown man was still focusing on the utensils that were placed in front of him. He's like a man child, Ally thought. Austin chuckled and covered her hand with his own. Her blush turned puce as she looked down at his hand covering hers. He leaned over, until she could feel the brush of his lips on her ear and said: "I knew you were one." He sniffed her hair and licked the outer shell of her ear. "I don't mean to come a bit off, but I have been watching you for a while."

She screeched loudly and jumped up. Her foot happened to tangle with the chair and she ended up falling, face first on the ground. Or at least she hoped to – instead of kissing the ground, Austin's arms were wounded around her waist, stopping her fall before any damage could befall her. Trish rushed out of the kitchen to see what was happening and began yelling in hysterics.

But Ally couldn't hear her. No, she was focusing on the electric surge that ran through her body when Austin caught her. He helped her stand to her feet and she blushed, turning to face him. When she looked into his eyes, he looked furious. "S – Sorry," she murmured.

His eyes softened to a certain degree and he nodded, walking back to sit in his chair. "Ally. I need to talk to you in the kitchen."

Ally gulped and nodded, following her friend back in to the kitchen. She spared one last glance at Austin, who looked at her with a weak, but genuine smile. Her heart beat picked up and she could feel a bead of sweat run down her forehead. Something was incredibly off about him. No matter how genuine he was, Ally couldn't shake off the inhumane feeling about him, and she was also picking a little bit of the same off from Dez. She pursed her lips and turned around to face Trish. Concern was written over the older girl's face as she was placing the food in its rightful bowls.

"Are you okay, Ally? What had happened back there?" she asked worriedly.

Ally frowned and tapped her lower jaw in thought. What had happened? That guy… his presence was genuine but so alarming. It gave her the creeps, but in a way, she felt like she should be able to trust him fully. She shrugged and gave her friend a weak smile. "I saw a spider," she lied. Trish snorted and laughed. "You already know about my phobia of bugs."

Trish's laughs became louder as she braced herself on the island counter. Ally frowned. Why wasn't Trish questioning her lying? Everything was seeming a bit off to her. She glanced back into the dining room and watched as Austin and Dez furiously whispered amongst themselves, before noticing her staring and looking directly at her.

It felt as if they were reading in to her heart. Creepy, she thought. "Come on, girl. I finished the food and want to eat."

Trish walked past her and into the dining room, seemingly unfazed at her silence. Ally furrowed her brows, wondering if something was up with her friend. She felt an intense gaze on her and turned around, looking out the kitchen window. She shivered, realizing it was nothing and sighed. Maybe Trish is right, I am becoming paranoid, she thought.


She kept her head down and slowly ate her food as Trish joked around with Austin and yelled at Dez' absolute slowness. She felt so awkward because she felt paranoid about these people. She didn't know them and Austin had admitted to watching her for a while (which really alarmed her). But they gave off the most genuine emotions, laughed and smiled. Ally had to admit, earlier she thought they were vampires and accidentally blurted that out loud. Austin laughed and winked at her, flirtatiously saying, "If I were then you'd be my first prey."

Dez, on the other hand, was absolutely lost. He blinked a few times before getting it and laughing, before becoming completely lost again (she was getting the feeling that he was always slow). Now she sat here, waiting for the night to end so she could sleep a bit. She felt exhausted. She grabbed her cup of wine and took a small sip, then closed her legs tightly. She needed to pee now. How nice, she thought. She stood up, knocking her fork to the ground. She gave everyone an apologetic look at their startled ones. "Sorry, I'll pick up the fork later, I just need to… pee," she said.

She quickly ran out of the room and straight down the hall for the bathroom. She swung open the door and locked it tightly. In a hurried rush, she pulled down her pants and sat down on the seat, relieving her bladder. When it was empty, she wiped herself clean and pulled up her underwear and pants before washing and drying her hands. When she went to open the door, a hand covered her mouth and pushed her in the bathroom again, locking the door. She looked up and found herself staring at Austin. She prepared to scream, but his hand silenced her again. "Don't scream, Ally. I won't hurt you. I promise."

She breathed deeply and looked at him suspiciously. When she looked into his eyes, she saw the genuine truth within them and calmed down. Austin sighed and looked at his hands. "I am so sorry about earlier, I'm sort of inexperienced with women… I actually haven't had a girlfriend ever in my life. And after seeing you, I felt a connection with you. I'm sorry for how I've been coming off. It'd be nice to be your friend, though," he uttered.

Ally furrowed her brows as her eye caught a scar on his ear. She reached out and instinctively touched it gently. Austin watched her movements carefully and purred lightly as she stroked his ear delicately. He took in a deep breath, drowning himself in her soothing scent. His hands grasped her waist tightly and she gasped, removing her hand. "Oh sorry… how'd you get that?" she asked quietly.

Austin smiled and his hands relaxed on her waist. She gulped, feeling heat surge through her every being. He looked up at her, his eyes darker than before and an unknown look in them. "A fight. Someone cut my ear off, but it was snitched by together and properly fixed. The scar will never leave my body, it's a reminder of darker times," he replied.

Ally furrowed her brow. It wasn't even possible for that to happen. Once someone lost their ear, it was gone forever. She bit her lip and looked in to his darkened eyes. The hands on her waist tightened and he began to lean in. She felt a familiar emotion surge through her as he got closer. Is he going to kiss me? He barely knows me! She thought. Just as she could feel his breath on her lips, she heard Dez' voice. "Austin! Something has come up!" he yelled.

And just like that, Austin pulled away from her and quickly ran out the door. Ally sat on toilet in fear, but not of what he was about to do. But of his eyes. They had an unknown emotion in them and then… a murderous look in that.

She felt a shiver run her spine and gulped. There was no doubt, there was something off about that man.


"I agree with you." Ally's head snapped up in shock as she looked at Trish. The shorter girl ignored her look and continued looking at her phone. "I agree with you. He's nice and all… but he's been missing. For three weeks. No phone calls, nothing. He just vanished in thin air. It's actually… strange," she explained.

Ally let out a breath of relief. Finally, Trish understood her. "But that doesn't mean we should be mean to him." She looked at Ally and sighed. "Als, I understand, he's a bit off. But you have to admit, there's his genuine niceness overpowering all that inhumane feeling."

Ally nodded. It was true. He seemed so nice. It was strange for someone so inhumane to her. The only problem that came with his niceness was his mysteriousness as well. He was nice, inhumane and mysterious. And he gave her the absolute shivers. "Two vanilla lattes with one blueberry muffin and carrot muffin?" the woman behind the counter shouted their order.

Trish and Ally grabbed their respected orders and headed for a table in the back corner. Trish laid down her phone and picked up her latte, prepared to drink it, when her phone rang unexpectedly. She groaned and picked it up. "What?" she hissed into the phone. Ally raised a brow as her friend blushed and chuckled nervously. She sipped her latte a bit and watched her friend frantically apologize to the person, before standing and collecting her stuff. "Sorry, I have to get to work right away."

Before she could say anything, Trish was walking away at amazing speed. Ally sighed and spotted a newspaper on the floor. She bent over to pick it up and as her fingers touched it, someone stepped on them. She winced and cursed under her breath, looking around to see who it was. Finding no one, she returned to nursing her fingers. She kissed them softly and blew on them, hoping it'd stop the pain. "Here." An ice pack was thrust into her face and she was taken aback. She looked up and saw some man offering it. He raised a brow and jiggled the ice pack in her face. She blushed and took it from him slowly. "You're welcome," he said.

He offered her a bright smile, one that rivalled Austin's. He walked away without a second… err, fourth word to say, leaving a befuddled Ally in her seat. She placed the ice pack on her fingers and bit her lip. That was weird, she thought. She shrugged, loving the cool feeling on her fingers. There are so many strange people I have met. Austin… Dez… they're all weird. She puckered her lips and blew out a gust of air. "How attractive," someone mockingly said.

Ally looked up, lips still puckered and blinked a few times. Upon seeing who it was, she laughed nervously and pretended to wipe her mouth with the back of her hand. "Tilly Thompson," she said under her hand, sounding muffled. "What a pleasant surprise."

It's really not, but alright, she thought. The blonde took a seat in front of her and glared sharply at her. Ally jumped a bit out of shock, wondering where all this bitterness was coming from. "I hate you."

She blinked a few times before registering what she had said. "What?" she stuttered out in shock. "We haven't spoken since graduation… why do you still hate me again?"

Tilly flipped her hair back and placed her hands on her lap. "Apart from stealing my part to have my song in kindergarten –"

"But that was in kindergarten–"

"Shut up. Apart from that ordeal, the guy I just had to be flirting with over there seemed more interested in watching you instead of talking to me. I mean, I'm prettier and have more life in me, so what's so good about you?" Tilly whispered to her angrily.

Ally turned around to see who she was talking about and found the same man who had handed her an ice pack looking at her with great interest. She blushed and looked back at her drink. "I have no idea and he's creepy so I'm leaving. Nice seeing you again, Tilly. Bye."

She hurriedly rushed out of her seat, ignoring Tilly as she yelled after her. She practically ran to the door and pushed it open, running down the streets. This world is full of cre – she bumped into something hard and fell backwards. Oh no, I'm going to die… well, have a concussion. Arms circled around her waist and she opened one eye, prepared to thank her rescuer… only to groan.

"Austin?" she questioned. Creepy, she thought. "Why are you here?"

He's stalking me… she saw him smirk and she raised a brow, awaiting his answer. Austin chuckled and helped her stand upright. "I'm meeting up with a friend." Ally scoffed and he laughed. "Anyways, how are you, Allison?" he asked politely.

Ally tensed and looked at him slowly. So creepy, he knows my full name, she thought in fear. His eyes darkened a bit and his hand rose to stroke her cheek. "I've been watching you since you were born. I knew you had to be mine when I watched you cry," he whispered.

Ally screeched and jumped back, slapping him across his face in sheer horror. The air around them thickened with anger and fear, and she gulped. Oh boy, why'd I do that? "Yes, why did you?" Something that felt like an electrical bolt ran up her back. He heard that? "Yeah, and Austin, dear brother, wipe that look of anger off your face. She wouldn't've hit you if you weren't so damn creepy," the person said.

Ally turned around and almost screamed. It was the guy from the coffee shop. "S – Stalkers!" she yelled, pointing at the both of them.

Almost instantly, both of the men began laughing in amusement, but the unknown one stopped before Austin, his mouth widening in to a horrifying smile. "Sorry about this, alright?" he said, "The boss wants to meet ya."

Before she could say anything, something hard hit her and she fell forward, blacking out.


I am back! It's been awhile, kiddies (just kidding, man)! I hoped you all like this. I tried. I really did. School's hard though, really hard.

R&R, what'd you like about this chapter?

HollowedLover1379