Bilbo Baggins was sitting outside a quiet cafe drinking tea and writing his English literature dissertation. He didn't need to be there; he could easily have done it at home, but the atmosphere was calming and the tea was nice. And to add to that, the wi-fi was free, unlike on campus where he had to pay a quid an hour. He couldn't afford that when he didn't have a particularly well paid job and any money that he did earn went in to paying for his share of the rent and food. He could afford to give himself a treat every few weeks though and he always chose to come to this quiet cafe in the centre of town.
He typed out the last few lines of the dissertation and saved it. He would give it a thorough look over when he got back to campus. Bilbo checked his e-mails, there were a few from his friends and one from the lecturer reminding everyone that the dissertation was due a week on Monday. He logged on to tumblr and scrolled down his dash board. It was flooded with pictures of one actor. This actor was brilliant; he could take a character in a book who wasn't particularly special but when he said their lines and acted out the scenes he added something really special, he added another layer to the character. He gave the character a backstory that fuelled their actions and made them seem more humane. He was tall, had long dark hair, a few years older than Bilbo and his name was Thorin Oakenshield.
Thorin lived in the same town as Bilbo but he had never had the pleasure of meeting him, he had also attended the same university. He opened up a text post and started writing about why he thought this guy was such a fabulous actor. After ten minutes of frantic typing he picked up his mug but there was no tea left. His heart sunk but he checked his pockets and found a £5 note. He smiled and stood up, he left the laptop on the table, trusting that other patrons of the cafe would keep and eye on it for him and he went to order another tea. As he was waiting he looked out the window to check that the laptop was still there. It was but someone was standing over it looking at the screen. He panicked and picked up the mug. He quickly walked out to his table making sure that the man didn't grab the laptop, while making sure that his tea didn't spill and scald his hand.
The man turned around and Bilbo stopped dead in his tracks. He blinked a few times and pinched himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming, or actually to check if this was a dream, he was mortified. He actually wished it was a dream. He didn't want Thorin Oakenshield reading what he had written on his laptop. Bilbo wanted to tell Thorin how much admiration he held for him if he ever had the chance to meet him.
He moved forward, pushing past the man and he put the mug on the table. He quickly saved the post in his drafts and logged off.
"Umm, I'm really sorry." Thorin had such a deep voice. Bilbo had heard it so many times in films but he never imagined that he would actually be on the receiving end of an apology.
He didn't know what to say but he forced him self to mumble a quick, "It doesn't matter."
He opened up his English dissertation and started typing a series of random words so that he could hide his flushed face.
"I am really sorry, I didn't mean to impose. I was just checking to see if anyone was sitting here."
"Okay." Bilbo didn't look up, he still hadn't gotten over the embarrassment. "Did you read much of that?" He cautiously asked.
Thorin went slightly red but Bilbo didn't see, he was to busy pretending to write his essay. "Umm, yes."
"Oh god," Bilbo sighed. He looked up, "This is really embarrassing. I'm sorry."
"No, don't be. I should be apologising." Thorin pulled out the chair opposite him. "You don't mind, do you?"
"Umm, go ahead." Bilbo looked on amazed by the fact that his favourite actor was sitting across a very small table from him. He could easily reach forward and stroke his face. Bilbo wasn't going to do that, it would be weird and he was embarrassed enough already.
"I'm really sorry," Thorin said again, "So, what is your name?"
"Bilbo Baggins," he was
"Let me buy you a drink to say sorry."
"You don't have to, I have one already," he said, indicating to the mug in front of him. "I need to go soon anyway, I'll be late for class."
"Oh, are you a student at the university?" Thorin asked. He seemed genuinely interested.
"Yes, I'm studying English literature."
"Cool, I studied that too. I dropped out to do drama in college. I'm sure you know that already though."
Bilbo's face flushed again. "Yeah."
"Okay, well if you can't have a drink now at least let me get you a drink later on."
"You really-" Bilbo started.
"No, please let me. It'd make me feel better and I embarrassed us both."
"Umm," Bilbo hesitated before he answered. On one hand he would love to go out for a drink with Thorin Oakensheild but on the other hand he had a lot of work to do. Maybe that was just an excuse though. "Yeah okay." He'd probably never have the chance to go out for a drink with his favourite actor again.
"Cool. Meet here at 7?"
"Yeah, okay." Bilbo logged off his computer, put it in the bag and stood up. "See you then."
"Yeah," Thorin smiled.
Bilbo turned around and left to go to his next class. He couldn't believe it. Really, how often did things like this actually happen, and to him of all people.