Chapter 1: So Screwed

Ariana

Hi there! I'm Ariana! Call me Ari, and you will seriously regret it! Call me awesome, and you get an internet cake! Anyways, me and my BFF, Laurella(she goes by Laurel), are seriously hardcore fans of Lord of the Rings. As in, we have crushes on the characters and pretend that we are actually in Middle Earth. Well, we found out that when you wish to go to Middle Earth, things can get pretty f-in' messy. Why don't we start from the beginning? During the meteor shower.

"Laurel! C'mon! The meteor shower's about to start! I don't wanna miss it! It's going to be so totally awesome!" I shouted, poking my head through the doorway.

I was staying at her house for the summer, and let me just say, she has a crazy cool house. She has a pool, a trampoline, a HUGE backyard, and, best of all, a GIGANTIC flatscreen TV. We would watch movies on it ALL OF THE TIME! So, I was holding a bowl of microwave popcorn, wearing my peace sign PJs and jumping up and down in excitement.

"Just a minute, Ariana! I'm almost done looking up our Elvish names!" she yelled back from her room.

Did I forget to mention that Laurel is obsessed with learning our Elvish names? I mean, we already know how to (sort of) speak the language! Isn't that enough? Apparently not. So, she ran downstairs, nearly crashed into me as we both ran outside, and sat down in one of her cushy lawn chairs. She was clutching a piece of paper excitedly.

"Ari! Ari! Check it out! I wrote them down!" she giggled.

Oh yeah, forgot to tell you that she's the only one allowed to call me Ari.

"Okay so yours is Gwaedhiel, and mine is Galasriniel," she said.

I nodded.

"Awesome. Now look! It's starting!" I insisted, pointing to the sky.

Indeed, white-gold lines streaked across the sky as thousands of meteors fell into the Earth's atmosphere and were then obliterated.

"Hey, aren't all of those meteors technically shooting stars?" Laurel asked.

"Yeah! How did I not realize that?"

"You know what that means?"

"Wishes!"

"Mmhmm," she said, nodding enthusiastically, "We should wish to go to Middle Earth!"

I nodded, too.'

"Yeah! On the count of three…"

"One..."

"Two…"

"THREE!" we yelled in unison.

"WE WISH TO GO TO THE WORLD OF LORD OF THE RINGS! MIDDLE EARTH!" we screamed at the same time.

There was a flash of light, and my vision went dark.

"Ugh… what happened?" I mumbled drowsily, rubbing my head and sitting up.

"I have no idea…" Laurel replied, looking around.

"HOLY CHIZ WHERE ARE WE?!" I shrieked, suddenly realizing that where we were WAS NOT LAUREL'S BACKYARD.

"I think our wish came true!" Laurel exclaimed.

We both looked down at our clothes. I wasn't wearing my PJs. Instead, I had on a light brown skirt, a cream blouse, and a pair of leather boots. I glanced at Laurel. In place of her pink kitten nightgown, she wore a greyish-white blouse, brown pants, and leather shoes. I heard voices from nearby.

"What was that, Sam?"

"I don't know, Mr. Frodo. Should I check?"

"If you think you should, Sam."

I heard the sounds of leaves crunching under feet and mouthed to Laurel We are soooo screwed. She nodded. Suddenly, I was looking into a pair of hazel eyes. I swallowed.

"Erm, hello there, sir!" I managed, trying not to squee in happiness like the complete fangirl I was.

"Who are you?" he asked suspiciously, looking at both me and Laurel in turn.

"I am Ariana Windchaser," I said, "And this is my friend, Laurella Nitengail. And who are you, sir? Speak!"

I saw Laurel roll her eyes.

"Samwise Gamgee. Why are an Elf and a woman travelling together?"

He thinks we're travelers? Laurel mouthed. I shrugged slightly.

"Like I said, we are friends."

"Do you have a companion?" Laurel questioned.

"Yes."

"Can you lead us to him?"

He hesitated, unsure whether or not to trust us.

"Yes. Come with me."

We stood and followed Sam. I glanced at Laurel and saw, to my surprise, that her ears were pointed. No fair! She got to be an Elf and I didn't? Ahem. So, we emerged from the heavy underbrush and I nearly crashed into Frodo Baggins. That's right. The Frodo Baggins. He looked at Laurel and I.

"Who are these two, Sam?" he questioned.

"Two travelers. They were the ones who made the noise."

I stepped forwards and curtsied.

"I am Ariana Windchaser, and this is my friend, Laurella Nitengail."

"We got lost in the forest."

"Are you two alone?" I asked, looking at Sam and Frodo.

Frodo seemed a bit uncomfortable.

"Er… yes."

I smiled.

"Would you like us to accompany you?"

Frodo exchanged glances with Sam.

"If you wish."

Laurel grinned.

"We will be more of a help than you might think," she said mysteriously.

With that, we all set off. Laurel and I stayed a little behind, whispering excitedly.

"This is way cooler than the meteor shower!" I giggled.

"Yeah. Hey, I wonder if we'll get to be in the Fellowship!"

"Hmmm… probably. And what if we fall in love?!"

"Whoa. That's a bit weird, but I call Legolas!"

I rolled my eyes.

"I swear, if you start to like him more than you do already, it might get contagious."

"What are you two muttering about?" Frodo called.

I jumped.

"Nothing!"

I bit my lip, but got no response. Anyways, fast forward a few hours then… stop when Merry and Pippin topple into Frodo and Sam.

"Look, Merry! It's Frodo Baggins!" Pippin exclaimed.

"Who are they?" Merry asked, pointing at Laurel and I.

"We'll explain later," I said, "Right now, I suggest that we all run for our lives."

There was a shout and I could hear the sound of barking dogs.

"Like Ari said, RUN!" Laurel screamed.

Nobody argued. We all ran for our effin' lives.

"You two have been stealing, haven't you?" I asked the two redheaded Hobbits.

"Well, we wouldn't call it that-" Merry began.

"-More like permanently borrowing something-" Pippin continued.

"-Without asking," Merry finished.

I groaned.

"THAT'S STEALING!"

"We still don't know who you are!" Pippin exclaimed.

"IF YOU CAN'T TELL, THAT ISN'T IMPORTA-AIIIIEEE!"

I had forgotten what was about to happen, so of course I had to accidentally body slam Frodo, Sam, and Laurel over the f-ing cliff. Because things like that seem to happen to me a lot. What can I say? I don't like to pay attention.

"Ari… get off.." Laurel moaned, voice muffled by my arm(which was squished against her face).

I groaned under the combined weight of Merry and Pippin(who had landed on me).

"Once these two get off… Good God, who knew that Hobbits would be so heavy?"

Merry and Pippin scurried off of my chest. I breathed a sigh of relief and rolled off of the top of the dog pile. Laurel got up, looking more than slightly disgruntled, and brushed off her clothing.

"Why do I always have to be stuck in the middle? Why?!" she muttered.

"Because that's just what fate wants."

"You're really helpful, Ari."

I walked right up to her.

"Hey, remember this scene?" I whispered.

"Wait, it comes right about now, right?"

"Yeah… three."

"Two."

"One."

"Get off the road!" Frodo shouted.

Laurel and I bolted towards the ditch. I tuck-and-rolled in, curling up under the root. I could feel Laurel squeeze in next to me just as the sound of hooves striking the earth reached my ears.

"We are so very screwed," I whispered to her.

She nodded.