Blurb:

A girl (and boy) in Middle Earth like it should be written. No romance between thirteen year old girls and men three times their age, no Mary-sues, no becoming better in weaponry than Legolas and Aragorn in a week, no ditzy sixteen year old girls joining the fellowship. *Book verse*. A group of four friends leave intermediate never to see each other again. Ten years on, they are abruptly brought back together for the most frightening years of their lives.

UPDATED NOTE- [13/10/2015]: Before I let my past self prattle on to you about whatever she was about to, I must let you know: while most girl in Middle Earth fanfics follow the canon storyline of either LOTR or The Hobbit, this fic DOES NOT FOLLOW ANY CANON STORYLINE. In fact, it almost does not follow it at all. Near the beginning, it follows small parts of the plot of the Lord of the Rings (even though, SPOILER ALERT the characters do not join the Fellowship), but after chapter 45 it DIVERTS COMPLETELY FROM CANON AND DOES NOT RETURN TO IT. Basically, you need to understand that while it appears from chapter 1 to be a typical rewrite of the books you've already read, this fic actually has a completely separate plotline and it's own cast of characters. If you're here to read about your favourite characters from Tolkien's beloved legendarium... which I guess you probably are, whoops... then do not expect to find too much about them in this fic. Thanks. I thought I should probably clear that up. Now you may listen to my past self and cringe. Future Goldie out.

A/N: This is a girl in Middle Earth how it should be written! One thing: If you tell me my characters are Mary-sues:

1. Thanks, I'll try my best to fix it.

2. I feel a little offended; because these characters are based on my friends.

As I said just then, the characters are based on my friends. I really am friends with a bubbly happy brunette, a clever, slightly eccentric ginger and a Thai boy who is kinda malnourished. (Lol. We all bet he's gonna get diabetes when he's older.) We really are going to those different schools, we really do like those Fandoms, I really did hate my two years at intermediate, and I really did say "If I cry, it'll be tears of joy," at the end. In fact, it's just the names, the fact Tran was there on the last day of school (in real life he was on a plane to Thailand) and the fact they never see each other again that is different. (Well, Ginny and Lola do, and a little bit Julia, but they more or less split.)

The first chapter is really just introducing the characters and setting up the story. Enjoy, and please review.

…..

Lola felt incredibly tired as she sat, gazing at her principal with unseeing eyes. She self-consciously touched an impending zit on her nose and returned to her thoughts.

It was the last day of her intermediate years, and she (and the other 700 pre-teens at her school) sat in the school's performing arts centre.

The principal- Mr Humphries- droned on. Lola looked over a row of people at her best friend, Julia, but stopped when she met the scalding eyes of a teacher.

The last two years at the school had been the most hellish of her life. Her teacher had been awful, the principal had been dull, and the students around her were so immature she felt like screaming.

The end of year assembly was still plodding on. The bell rang, and Lola felt the weight of the last two years fall from her shoulders.

…..

"I feel like," Lola announced to her friends, Julia and Ginny, "I have just woken up from a long, terrible nightmare."

"Oh, come on, it wasn't that bad," Ginny sighed, flicking her long ginger ponytail over her shoulder.

They were walking across the concrete netball courts towards their team corridor; Everett. Some children were practically running for their classes, eager to leave their intermediate years behind them; others stood in groups farewelling each other tearfully.

"Well, the school was crap," Lola threw her hands up in the air. Julia turned to face her.

"Was that necessary?" She asked incredulously, "Did you really have to say, 'crap'. Why couldn't you use, 'bad'?"

Lola was used to this scolding whenever she said something vaguely vulgar slang. "Yes. It was totally necessary!"

"Yay! End of the year!" A male voice came from behind them.

"Hey ho!" Ginny cried.

Tran pushed his wide-rimmed glasses further up his nose and joined in at their stride. The pale Thai boy had been their friend for the last year.

"You know, it's kinda weird how the most boring assembly ever was on the last day of school," Lola scuffed her shoe on the concrete.

"They did it to torture us," Julia laughed.

"I just sat there wishing I was in Middle Earth," Lola added. All three of them groaned. Lola was obsessed with Lord of the Rings and all things Tolkien.

All four of them had a Fandom each. Lola's was Lord of the Rings, Ginny's was Percy Jackson, Julia's was Harry Potter (with a bit of Maximum Ride and Doctor Who thrown in) and Tran (although he wasn't really obsessed with his Fandom) was The Hunger Games.

Their Fandoms sometimes tore them apart in loud debates of whose was better- mostly between Julia and Lola, with their Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter clash. However, Julia didn't like conflict, and usually stopped it before it could get too intense. Ginny, however, was always up for a debate. She and Lola once held a debate that went over three months about whether cliché should be erased from the English language- with Julia screaming at them to shut up.

They made their way up the steps. Julia opened the door for the other three and they entered the corridor.

"The last time we will walk down this corridor…" She said wistfully.

"The last time we will listen to Mr Humphries talk about the five keys to school success…" Ginny grinned at her, joining in on the game.

"The last time we will walk through this door…" Julia said as they walked into their classroom.

"And thank god, too," Lola added.

"It wasn't a bad school!" Ginny frowned at her, "I'm actually sad to be leaving."

"I might cry," Julia sniffed, "Just because of all the people I'll miss,"

"If I cry," Lola stated bluntly, "It will be tears of joy."

Tran picked up his schoolbag and hefted it over his shoulder, nodding with a grimace towards the scene to their left.

There were several girls crying and hugging each other, and Mrs Norman being cried over by a couple of teacher's pets.

Ginny almost laughed. "I'm sad, but not that sad…"

"Well, guys…" Julia sighed sadly, "I guess this is the end."

They walked out into the corridor, and then out onto the netball courts in silence. The sky seemed to harbour, despite the sun, a depressing grey tinge. Yes, they were leaving the school, moving onto High School, and that was a good thing, something they had been looking forward to for years, particularly Lola and Julia, who had practically detested their time at the school.

But there was something else; they would never see each other again. Julia, Lola, Ginny and Tran, who had been such good friends, spent so much time together, and had faced the slippery intermediate years so strong as a four, were being split up.

Tran, at the will of his parents, was attending a large all-boys high school in the city. Julia looked forward to a smaller Catholic school, where she probably wouldn't know anyone, though she would, of course, make friends easily enough, being the social butterfly she was. Ginny and Lola were enrolled in the same school, and though it did not have such a clean reputation as Tran's or Julia's, it still had a large roll of about 1400 students. The chances of the two being placed in the same class were very slim.

"Well… I guess this is goodbye," Lola shrugged.

"Yeah…" Ginny said. "But we'll see each other again…"

"…hopefully," Lola finished for her.

"We had some good times…" Julia reminisced, then looked up and grinned. "Well, Tran- I hope you eat while we're gone!" She said.

Tran was very thin- and they all claimed him to be malnourished. He ate nothing at school for morning tea, and only a carton of chocolate milk for lunch.

Tran pouted, sticking out his bottom lip and folding his arms tightly across his chest like a sulking child.

"Stay ginger, Ginny!" Julia cried, flinging her arms around her.

"Stay brunette, Julia- and Lola!" Ginny smiled.

Julia went to hug Lola, but Lola backed away. "No hugs! I don't like hugs!"

"Bye-bye Tran, bye-bye Ginny, bye-bye Lola," Julia said sadly.

The group began to walk in their separate directions.

"Have a very Merry and Pippin Christmas!" Lola cried, waving to the others.

"Be visited by Gandalf-Santa!" Ginny grinned.

…..

The last time the foursome would stand together as a foursome.

The last time the foursome would stand together as a foursome- in this world.

…..

A/N: Review! Review and tell me how to improve, what to improve. Don't bother flaming me if you can't justify you criticisms, and I don't need 20 people yelling at me "OMG YOUR STORY SUCKS!" (I can take a hint. I'm not stupid.)

Review! The review button needs some TLC.

UPDATE: This chapter was revised and updated as of Saturday 21st/06/2014.

UPDATED NOTE- AGAIN [13/10/2015]: I'm sorry but my future self just needs to intervene once more to amend the sheer shittiness of this... thing. Just saying, I know now, almost 2 years on, that this chapter is crap. I also know that 70-75% of you will not continue to the next chapter. (Yeah, I did the math, based on the views stats.) But just let me say now: it gets better. I mean, you are totally free to click that back button. But I just need to say that it does get better. Both the writing and the storyline. I don't mind whether or not you decide to continue, but please just know: I'm not that terrible a writer. Thanks. Future Goldie out (again).