Chapter 3.

Please review and give me any ideas or thoughts you might have. :) I heard that I accidentally called Collin Josh in the first chapter? Well, Josh is the name of a very similar character I was writing about, but then I got bored and deleted the story. XD So I'm sorry for the confusion! I fixed it, and everything's good, now. :)

I don't own Lord of the Rings.


(Sophie)

A familiar tapping sound woke me from my sleep, and I knew exactly what it was. Someone was throwing pebbles at my window. With a big sigh, I forced myself out of bed and armed myself with a broom, then I walked over to the window and flung it open. Although I had prepared myself for a number of things, such as an annoying Rohirrim child, a rapist, and even an orc, Collin was the bright and shining person who greeted me.

"Collin, what the hell?" I threw my broom down on the ground and stormed back to my bed. "Your room is right down the hall! Was it really necessary to come in through the window?"

Collin skillfully climbed in through the window and closed it behind him. "I wanted to remind you of home. You're homesick, I can tell."

Ah, yes. Home. Back home, Collin would always climb up the tree outside my bedroom and climb inside my window. He'd always bring me ice cream or candy, and my mom was ticked the first few times she woke up to find him in my room. Collin was persistent, though, and continued to visit me in the middle of the night to watch late-night cartoons and infomercials. After a while my mom just got tired of kicking him out, so she ended up giving him a key to the house so he wouldn't fall out of the tree and break his neck. Despite the key, Collin continued using the window, claiming that it was good exercise.

As for me being homesick, Collin was relatively right. It wasn't really home that I was missing, what I really missed was Kristy and James. Sure, Middle-earth was beautiful, and Rohan was awesome, but as the days passed by, I found myself missing my friends more and more. I could almost see James among the Rohirrim, perfectly balancing out Collin's hyper personality with his cool, more serious approach to life. I could practically hear Kristy laughing at James's pathetic attempts at flirting with Eowyn, Theoden's eighteen-year-old niece.

I was absolutely thrilled to have Collin, though. Although I absolutely adored and loved both Kristy and James, I had always been closer to Collin. He might be eccentric and completely random, but he's no fool. He always knows how I feel, and he always goes out of his way to try to make me happy, or just to simply be with me. Collin was a genius, in more ways than one, you'd just never know unless you really got to know him. To strangers, he's just some imaginative guy who likes to change the subject every two seconds.

"You're doing it again." Collin's voice broke me out of my daze.

"Doing what?"

"Thinking too much." He shrugged and fell back onto my bed. "You get quiet for quite some time, and you just stare off into space. Quite adorable, but I'm afraid that it's really unnecessary. Pondering things has never done anyone any good. Do you think that Benjamin Franklin thought twice about flying that kite in that storm? No, because if he did, he would have realized how dangerous it was, and then where would we be?"

I smiled and laid down next to my best friend. "I don't see what electricity has to do with any of this."

"Nothing, really, I just wanted to see you smile."

Yawning, I got under the covers and closed my eyes. "Well, it worked."

"I can see that." Collin wrapped an arm around me and we relaxed for a moment. "Have you met that Wormtongue guy?"

"Grima Wormtongue? Yeah, I met him. He's a creep." I had only just been introduced to Eowyn when this creeper walked up and completely interrupted our conversation. "He talks with too many big words, and he kind of spits when he talks."

"Yes, not the cleanest of fellows." Collin began to play with my hair. "But that's not why I dislike him. Have you seen him around Theoden?"

I thought back through the past two days we'd spent in Rohan, trying to remember if I'd seen Wormtongue with Theoden. For the most part, I'd done my best to avoid the man, and fortunately I'd done a pretty good job at it. If that man spits on me one more time, I'll go crazy.

"No, I don't recall seeing him with the king. Why?"

I looked up to see the normally-smiling Collin with a frown on his face.

"It's weird... I don't know how to explain it, exactly." For once, his voice had a hint of worry hidden within it. "It's like he's being brainwashed. Without Wormtongue, he's perfectly fine, but with him, he looks so much older, and it's like he can't think straight. You know, he's only sixty-five."

"Wow, really?" The king looked far older than that. "I guess I shouldn't be so surprised, Theodred's only thirty-five, after all..."

Collin and I had spent a great deal of time getting to know Theodred and Eomer. Those two guys were absolutely hilarious, by the way.

Collin rubbed his eyes sleepily and blinked his eyes. "Yes, well... I don't trust Grima. We should probably keep our distance from him."

It was clear that he was tired, the way he constantly blinked his eyes in an attempt to stay awake.

"Go to bed, Collin."

He mumbled incoherently, and rolled off of the bed. I stood up to get the door for him, but turned when I heard the window creak open.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to leave the way I came." He rolled over the windowsill and waved sleepily to me from the other side. "G'night, Sophers. Loveeee youuuu." Yawning, he turned to walk away, but he stopped abruptly and turned back to the window. "I almost forgot, I brought you something." He bent down and picked something up from the ground. Standing back up, he placed several small white flowers on my windowsill. "I dropped them when I was throwing pebbles at you. They're not ice cream, but they're pretty. Mmmkay... Bye." Finally, he turned and stumbled into the darkness.

I watched him go, smiling fondly and shaking my head. "Goodnight, you crazy."


(James)

"No, no, no! You're going to shoot yourself in the foot!" Legolas had taken to training me how to use a bow and arrow, and the first day wasn't turning out so well. Give me a sword, and I'll do just fine, but the second you hand me a long-range weapon, I nearly kill myself. The elf prince let out a frustrated sigh and took the weapon from me. "We're done for the day."

Typically, Legolas is very patient and calm, but when it came to the bow, he became a freaking monster. Clearly, he loved the weapon very much, and I was just disgracing it with my lack of skills.

I'd been in Mirkwood for about two weeks, and Legolas hard started me off on the sword right away. Fortunately, the elves are awesome healers, because all of my former wounds were gone. Something that had taken some getting used to was the perfection and inhuman grace of the elves. Here, I thought that I was a good-looking guy, and then all of these fancy immortals get in my way and make me look ugly around Maerwen.

Yes, Maerwen. I was still very much infatuated with her. She didn't speak much of the 'common language,' so any time I tried to talk to her, not only did the almost three-thousand year age difference get in the way, but so did the communication barrier. Honestly, in my stay here, I had seen plenty of attractive elvish women, but none of them could take my eyes from the beautiful angel that was Maerwen.

Legolas brought me out of my thoughts when he slapped a small, heavy bag into my hand.

"What's this?" I shook the bag and heard a jingle of metals from inside.

"That's your pay." The prince shrugged. "You're training to be a soldier. Typically, those in training don't get paid so much, but you have nothing, so I wanted to help you along. Besides," Legolas shifted his gaze over to the other side of the training grounds, where Maerwen sat reading under a tree. "I believe that your interests in starting a family are worth funding."

Wait, start a family? With Maerwen?

"Legolas, I've only known her for two weeks. You're being ridiculous." Even if the feelings I have for Maerwen are far stronger than any I've ever felt before, there was absolutely no way that I was going to rush into anything.

Legolas gave me a cheeky smile that reminded me so much of Collin. "Yes, but you are not going to live forever. You'd better move quickly if you even want a chance."

At that moment, Maerwen looked up from her book and smiled at us, obviously oblivious to the conversation that we were having.

"Yes, I'm going to die. Exactly why I can't go for her." I smiled and waved back at Maerwen. "Besides, look at me. I am a man, and far from the perfections of an elf."

My friend simply smiled and shook his head. "It's not so uncommon for female elves to fall in love with a man. Now, trying to get an elf to fall in love with a woman of your kind... That's nearly impossible." Legolas clapped me on the back. "Don't put yourself down so much. You've got a good chance with Maerwen, or I wouldn't be promoting it."

I looked back over to Maerwen, who was now singing happily to herself. "What makes you say that?"

"Because, James. I've known Maerwen for two thousand years. I think that I have a relatively good understanding of her by now."

Good point.


(Kristy)

"Daaaannngg Bilbo! You're really one hundred and ten?" Seriously, the hobbit couldn't be older than fifty.

"And a half, my dear Kristy!" Bilbo exclaimed with his usual cheerful voice. "In six months, it will be my birthday once more! We're throwing a grand party for it."

Hobbits seemed to throw grand parties for everything. They even threw me a welcoming party for which they invited everyone who's anyone, and they all drank until the crack of dawn. Kind folks, very loving and cheerful, but boy, do they like to party.

Numerous hobbit men have already tried to ask for my hand in marriage, including Merry. Suddenly I began wishing that I was shorter, because if I was, I could actually enjoy this attention. Unfortunately, not even someone as short as Sophie could fit in perfectly with these hobbits. Honestly, they were so drawn to infatuation and love that it took hardly a week for several hobbit lads to come knocking on Bilbo's door, asking to court me. Flattering, but I've always been into taller men. Merry's offer was the sweetest and most tempting, but still. Not my cup of tea.

Speaking of tea, Bilbo drinks it like it's the fountain of youth. Hmm.. Fountain of youth makes sense, since he is so ridiculously young for his age. Maybe I should drink more tea... Quickly, I took the tea pot and poured myself a hefty dose of the sweet drink.

"My my, Kristy! I didn't know you were fond of tea! I always said that we'd make a proper hobbit out of you!" Bilbo gave a triumphant smile and began to prepare another pot of tea. "Next thing you know, you'll be drinking ale and eating six meals a day with the rest of us!"

Maybe, if all hobbits age as well as Bilbo, I'll eat eight meals a day and drink ale like it's water.

"Just don't ask me to smoke, and we're good!" Smiling, a grabbed this scone thing and began to shove food into my mouth.

"Kristy, why are you always suggestin' that smoking is bad?" Pippin was sitting across the table from me, shoveling food into his pitless stomach.

I finished my current scone before speaking. There's nothing worse than talking with your mouth full. "Because, my dear Peregrin. Smoking makes you wrinkly and gives you bad breath."

Merry looked down at his pipe, looking like he was considering chucking it at the wall. But Pippin would have none of it.

"Nonsense, Kristy! Bilbo smokes twice as much as any of us, and he looks great!"

Bilbo let out a small chuckle and gave Pippin a friendly pat on the back. "Why thank you, Pippin!"

Well, it's quite possible that they only smoke weed. In which case, that's kind of illegal where I come from, and Mom would not be pleased if I somehow returned home high.

"Kristy is not nonsensical, Pippin! Her world is far more developed than ours. She's brilliant!" Merry still had quite the crush on me, and defended me against any questioning that might have come my way. What a nice guy, especially since I almost knocked him out with a pot upon our first meeting.

Out of all of the hobbits, Merry was my favorite, and it kind of bummed me out to know that he was so infatuated with me, because it kind of made it hard for me to get close to him without leading him on. I saw him as a flipping awesome best friend, but he saw me as some kind of angel. Hey, like I said, if I were a hobbit, Merry would be my number one choice, but I wasn't a hobbit, and I didn't really want to be. Their feet were too hairy.

Call me judgemental if you'd like, but that's not the case. When it comes to people, I like to accept them all with open arms. Everyone has something to offer, and everyone is equally beautiful in my eyes. When it comes to relationships, though, I am very picky. Not because I'm some snooty girl who thinks that I need a rich man to make me happy, or because I think that only a completely gorgeous man is worth of my company, but because I am simply looking for love. Not summer love, and not baby love. What I'm looking for is a soulmate, and that's kind of a one-time thing.

So I'm not ungrateful for the amazing attention that some of the hobbit lads have been giving me, I simply wish that I could actually be friends with them. As it is now, I can hardly speak to a young man without him assuming that I like him.

I was staying with Bilbo and Frodo for the present, at least until Bilbo's friend Gandalf showed up again. According to Bilbo, Gandalf is a wise wizard, and if anyone could help me find a permanent home, or my friends, it'd be him. Of course, I'd love to stay in the Shire. The people here are happy, there aren't really many real problems, just the usual gossip. Still, there wasn't much for me here as far as opportunities. If I was going to succeed in this world, I'd need to go to a land of men, where I can be around my own kind. Plus, I still held onto the hope that my friends were still alive somewhere in this world.

In the Shire, I spent a lot of my time with Sam in the gardens. He was a sweet hobbit, and one of the few who hadn't had a crush on me, so he was super easy to talk to. Eventually, I'd gotten him to open up to me and tell me about the girl who held his heart, Rosie Cotton. According to Sam, Rosie was the most beautiful woman in the world, and I could just tell that he was in love. So I supported him full-heartedly, but I didn't really want to push him to ask her out. Little Sam needed to grow on his own.

Frodo and I were getting relatively close, too. He was a very lively person, but he tended to stray off into his own little world. One would often find him off on his own, reading a book under a tree. He dreamed of adventure, and I was sure that one day he'd get an adventure of his own. Frodo had the heart of an adventurer.

Bilbo taught me a lot of Middle-earth's history, and of the histories of all of the different races that dwelled here. He'd always tell me of his adventures over tea, and I could tell where Frodo got his spirit from. Compared to the other hobbits, Bilbo was different. He was far more apt to welcome people that were different, and he told me once that I was fortunate to have been so welcomed by the other hobbits in the Shire. Evidently, hobbits aren't that open to change, and they're even less open to big people, such as myself.

Initially, I spent the majority of my time with Merry and Pippin. They were absolutely hilarious, and there was never a dull moment with the two. Unfortunately, my seemingly endless adventures with the two hobbits ended when they got me chased around my an angry farmer carrying a giant sickle. Evidently, those cabbages they had me harvesting belonged to the poor old man, and I had been stealing them. Safe to say, I didn't talk to the two hobbits for an entire day, much to the distress of Merry.

Life in the Shire was much to my liking, overall, and I was in no hurry to leave.