Chapter Four: Moving In

Natalie sat down on the empty bed and surveyed the room around her. It was rather like a dorm room – square and sparsely furnished – but it was much nicer than any dorm room she had ever been in. For one thing, it was all hers. Just one bed, one closet, and one desk. That was one thing Natalie was grateful for – at least she would have a little bit of space to herself.

Amidst the flurry of phone calls in the past few weeks, Natalie had found out that the housing the actors were being provided with was not apartment buildings like she had thought, but, rather, a dorm-like... thing. The building was directly across the street from the main Weta building, and was meant to house all the main actors during principal photography.

The building was fairly simple – three large living areas (a lounge room, a kitchenette/dining room, and a smaller sitting room) and a long hallway of bedrooms that all looked exactly like the one Natalie was sitting in. It was brand new, and although not luxurious or upscale in any way, the rooms were quite nice. Much better than the dorm rooms she was used to back home.

Natalie was jerked out of her thinking by the three hobbit boys – Elijah, Dom, and Billy – chatting loudly as they carried boxes down the hall.

"Hey, Natalie! Like the new digs?" Billy poked his head in Natalie's open door. "Orlando brought his Nintendo and is setting it up – I bet I can whip you on Mario Kart!"

Natalie forced herself to grin. "Sure – I'll be there as soon as I finish unpacking," she replied. All the actors had been welcoming to the newcomer, but the other hobbit actors especially, which she was grateful for. None of the other actresses had arrived in New Zealand yet, and although they were being friendly, Natalie was finding it hard to connect with this group of guys.

This brought Natalie back to her thoughts on the apartment. The rooms were nice, yes, but that didn't hide the fact that she was going to be living with men. A lot of men.

Slapping her hand to her forehead, Natalie groaned. Why, of all people, did she have to spend the next year living with a bunch of boys? Back at home, it was hard enough, with her three brothers. And she would put good money down on saying that her brothers lived in some of the most pigsty-like rooms out there. Natalie, on the other hand, always had kept her room in perfect order.

She sighed. Boys. Messy boys. Why on earth did she have to live with all the men in the cast? Why couldn't they just live in apartments like she was used to? Why? Peter was so strange sometimes. If they did have to live in the dorm-like building, at least Natalie and the other girls should have their own.

Then Natalie remembered something that Peter had told her – that Cate, or Galadriel, was only going to be in New Zealand for two weeks. Liv (Arwen) and Miranda (Éowyn) were going to be here longer, but there were still going to be long periods of time where Natalie was the only main actress on set.

Natalie sat down on the floor, ignoring all the unpacking she had to finish. She missed her family, her brothers especially. Thinking about her family caused a wave of homesickness to sweep over like an enormous tidal wave. It made her feel lost, like she had been abandoned.

Natalie rested against an un-opened box, silently trying not to cry. Why was she here? What had caused her to do this? A tear slid down her cheek, and soon she gave herself over to her tears. She didn't want to be shooting a movie for the next year-and-a-half – she wanted to be home. She wanted to go to the drive-in movie theater with her girlfriends; wanted to be home for Christmas, her birthday, her brothers' birthdays. Natalie yearned to bake bread with her Memaw, wished she could play endless games of Gin Rummy with Nathan, no matter how many times he beat her.

Natalie laughed through her tears. She even missed her mom yelling at her! She'd give anything to be mopping the wood floor when she had planned on going to the mall. Anything to get away from these new boys; she wanted to be home with her boys.

Last December, Natalie had been thrilled to travel across the globe, to visit a new country. But she had thought it was only for six months, one semester. Plus, she had gotten to fly home over spring break. Now she wouldn't be able to see her family much at all, because of filming. Maybe she would have a few days, here and there, but Natalie doubted she'd even get that much of a break. Sobbing some more, Natalie curled her head into her knees, wishing she had made a different decision.

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Once she decided it was time to stop crying, Natalie wiped her face and sat up. She really needed to start unpacking. She sighed, looking at all the boxes and her suitcase; there seemed to be too much to do. Eventually, she decided to make her bed, so at least she knew she had a place to sleep at night. Natalie tugged at the white sheet. She shook it over her new bed and watched it settle smoothly onto the mattress.

Natalie started to hum, something she had always done to fill up the empty silence that seemed to penetrate the room more when she was doing chores. Then she started singing the words, but softly, afraid someone might hear her, unlikely as that was over the sounds of the Mario Kart tournament. Though she had always loved singing, Natalie never thought she had too good of a voice.

"Say you love me every waking moment

Turn my head with talk of summertime…

Say you need me with you now and always…

Promise me that all you say is true –

That's all I ask of you…"

Natalie froze as another voice picked up the next verse from the doorway.

"Let me be your shelter

Let me be your light

You're safe: No one will find you

Your fears are far behind you…"

Natalie didn't dare turn around, afraid to know who the singer was. Instead, she continued making her bed. Even though she didn't want to, her mouth opened and she began to sing, but louder this time.

"All I want is freedom

A world with no more night…

And you, always beside me,

To hold me and hide me…"

The man sang again.

"Then say you'll share with me

One love, one lifetime…

Let me lead you from your solitude…

Say you need me with you here, beside you…

Anywhere you go. Let me go too –

Christine, that's all I ask of you…"

Natalie dropped the pillow she had been fluffing and spun around. Mesmerized by his voice, she stared at the hideous carpet on the floor, just listening to the song, fearful at what might happen if she saw her mysterious person who was serenading her.

Playing along, Natalie kept singing.

"Say you'll share with me

One love, one lifetime…

Say the word and I will follow you…"

Finally, she dragged her eyes up to his face and was locked in his gaze. A pair of endlessly blue eyes twinkled at her as she gaped at him. It was Elijah.

When she finally found her voice, the two sang the next verse together.

"Share each day with me,

Each night, each morning…"

Soloing, Natalie continued, her usually steady voice shaky.

"Say you love me…"

He answered, lightly stepping around boxes to approach her.

"You know I do…"

Together, Natalie and Elijah sang.

"Love me,

That's all I ask of you…"

Their faces were inches apart now.

Natalie sucked in her breath, full-well knowing what transpired in the play the song was from.

She turned on her heel, her bare foot twisting into the carpet. No way was she going to kiss him. She hardly knew the guy! Plus, the nerve! Why did he think he could kiss her now, when they had only briefly met?

Natalie pulled at her bedding again, remembering the last time she was with a guy. No. She didn't want to think of that now. She couldn't.

Then, his voice started up again. Drawn by the music, Natalie's soprano mixed with his tenor, sending her voice higher and higher.

"Anywhere you go, let me go, too…

Love me,

That's all I ask of you…"

Natalie stared at Elijah, lost for words.

He just looked back at her, smiling.

"How'd you know that?" Natalie asked in a whisper.

"My sister, Hannah, was Christine when our school musical was The Phantom of the Opera. I would sing Raoul's part to help her memorize hers," he replied, seemingly unfazed at what had occurred.

Natalie felt her ears and cheeks turn red, still flustered from the almost-kiss. What was she supposed to say now?

"Why weren't you in the play?" she asked, at a loss for anything else to say.

"I was, but only as a lowly chorus boy – which did nothing for the acting practice I was hoping for," Elijah said as he laughed.

Natalie, still mortified from what had taken place earlier, merely nodded along, unable to make decent conversation.

"Anyways, since you missed the Mario Kart tournament – Billy won, by the way – I was sent to escort you to where we'll be having dinner tonight." Elijah offered Natalie his arm.

She followed him, closing the door of her room on the way out. She paused, noticing a gold plaque in the center of her door that read "Natalie Summers" in script. "Do we all have those?" Natalie asked her escort.

"Yeah, I think we must! I didn't notice it before," Elijah responded. "Too bad they're not giant gold stars – you could get your first taste of Hollywood."

"Oh, I'm not going to be a Hollywood actress," Natalie laughed. "I don't even know why I'm doing this movie... I doubt I'll ever do another one."

"Well, this movie alone will make you a star," he said. "It's going to be pretty epic, from what Pete has told me."

"No way!" Natalie started to argue, but they had reached the kitchen area.

"The lady has arrived!" Dom announced to the small crew gathered around a long dining table. Natalie blushed at the comment.

Quickly, though, Natalie felt her anxiety reside. The group of men around her had reverted back to acting like teenage boys – their antics reminded her of her brothers. Soon she was laughing at their jokes and settling into the rhythm of their conversation. Maybe this won't be as terrible as I thought it would be, she thought to herself, as Elijah caught her eye and gave her a wide smile.

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Thanks so much for reading! And a HUGE thank you to the people who've helped me through this entire process... you mean the world to me!