The next day, nothing much really happened until late afternoon. Lyra
and Toni were taking down the posters around the village. Marieke, Lizzie
and Sam had also volunteered to help. Lyra and Toni had just told them
about the prank with the coffin, and they were all laughing.
"I just don't know where you come up with these ideas," said Sam.
"All up here," grinned Lyra, pointing to her head. "But it's only this one, and not Tone's. Hers is just filled with fluff."
"Hey!" protested Toni, but she was cut off by everyone laughing. "Oh come on, it isn't that funny!"
"Sshhh!" ordered Lyra, trying to stifle her laughs.
"What are you guys laughing at?" asked Merry, as he and Pippin were walking past.
"Just a joke," said Lizzie. "A hilarious joke."
"Yeah. What do dead guys have at eleven o'clock every day?" grinned Toni. "A coffin break."
Merry and Pippin looked at one another frightfully, and started hurrying down the road to Bilbo's house.
"Wait, I know another one," called Toni. "What do dead people take when they have a cold? Coffin medicine!"
This was too much for Merry and Pippin. They ran down the road as fast as they could. Lyra, Toni, Marieke, Lizzie and Sam all fell about laughing.
~*~
Merry and Pippin reached Bilbo's house in a matter of minutes. They hammered on the door and waited for Bilbo to answer. They hadn't even noticed that the coffin was no longer there. Bilbo answered the door.
"Ah, just the two hobbits I wanted to see," he said. "I don't need to punish you anymore."
"Why?" asked Pippin.
"I managed to fix the panel back on. And now the coffin has gone back to its rightful owner." Bilbo couldn't help giving a little smirk.
"Well, that's good. I guess," said Merry uncertainly.
"Have you seen Lyra and Toni yet?" enquired Mel, appearing behind Bilbo.
"Yeah, we saw them," replied Merry. "They were laughing about something."
"I wonder what," said Mel, starting to laugh herself. Frodo, who had been standing behind Mel listening, pushed his way into view. He was laughing too.
"Look! What's so funny?" cried Merry. "Everyone seems to be laughing today."
"You two are so dense! You didn't really think that was a real dead guy inside that coffin, did you?" grinned Frodo. "You did, didn't you?"
"It wasn't real?" repeated Pippin.
"Duh! Fruitloops!" Mel shook her head.
"I hope you figure it out soon," said Frodo.
Frodo put his arm around Mel's shoulders and they went back inside.
"Bye boys," said Bilbo, shutting the door.
~*~
Marieke and Lizzie had left the others to take down the posters. It had been pretty obvious that they wanted to go, so Lyra, Toni and Sam let them leave. They walked down the road arm-in-arm, occasionally stopping to kiss. What had happened yesterday had been the best day of their lives.
~*FLASHBACK*~
"Err, hey Toni," greeted Lizzie. "Is Marieke here, cos I can't find her anywhere?"
"Yeah, she's here," said Toni, looking over her shoulder. "Marieke! There's someone to see you."
"Hi," said Marieke shyly, blushing hard.
"OK, I'm gonna leave you guys alone," announced Toni. "I've gotta go and find Lyra. Don't get all fruity while I'm gone."
"Tone!" cried Marieke, though she was trying not to laugh.
Toni didn't say anything, and ran out of the house laughing.
"Do you wanna come in?" asked Marieke awkwardly. "I don't think Lyra and Toni will mind us being here for a bit."
"Yeah OK," said Lizzie, sitting down beside Marieke.
She noticed that Lizzie was blushing. Marieke was amazed! Lizzie was always a bright, bubbly, sociable person. She was quite dreamy and always cheeky. She was the sort of person that never got awkward or embarrassed. Yet here she was, her face as red as her hair.
"So, erm, I'm really sorry about last night," said Marieke. "I didn't mean to stare, I just . . ."
Marieke stopped immediately, because Lizzie had given her a strange look. Marieke couldn't believe it. She'd gone and said completely the wrong thing. Now what was she going to do?
"S'alright," mumbled Lizzie. "I just never knew you were . . . that way."
Marieke felt devastated. Hadn't Lizzie said the other day that she didn't mind lesbians? Maybe she hadn't been telling the truth. Oh great, and now she was going to say how she really felt about gay people.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to offend you or anything . . ." started Marieke, but she was cut off by Lizzie starting to laugh.
"Offend me? Of course you didn't offend me," laughed Lizzie.
Marieke was confused. "So why did you . . ." She didn't exactly know how to form the question, so she decided on a different one. "Why did you come here?"
"Well . . ." Lizzie started to blush again. It was amazing how her face contrasted with her hair when she blushed.
Lizzie leant in towards Marieke. Marieke felt a tingle go through her spine; Lizzie had never been that close to her before. Lizzie whispered something in her ear, and Marieke felt her body go numb with shock. She'd never heard anything so delightful in her life. Those words would remain in her mind for the rest of her life. Then suddenly, Lizzie cupped Marieke's face and pulled her into a long passionate kiss.
~*END FLASHBACK*~
"I'm really gonna have to thank Tone," grinned Marieke, as they reached Lizzie's house.
"And thank her for me while you're at it," said Lizzie.
Marieke and Lizzie went inside, and didn't emerge until the next day.
~*~
"Well Lyra and Toni have definitely reached the limit," fumed Merry. "We've gotta get them back!"
"Yep," agreed Pippin. "Today is the day of the prank to end all pranks."
"Which is?" prompted Merry.
"I dunno, I haven't come to that part yet," replied Pippin.
"You're hopeless." Merry shook his head. "I've got an idea. Just leave the prank to me."
Merry was quiet for a few seconds, with Pippin watching hopefully.
"Have you thought of anything yet?" asked Pippin.
"Shut up, I can't think!" snapped Merry.
Pippin fell silent again. Merry thought hard for quite a few minutes.
"I've got it!" he cried, making Pippin jump.
"What?" asked Pippin.
"Come on, I'll explain later," said Merry.
They both ran off.
~*~
Mel and Frodo had left the house, as they didn't have much privacy with Bilbo there as well. Frodo didn't really want to kiss in front of him, and Mel was worried that he might want to join in.
So they were walking slowly down to the river. Frodo had his arm around Mel's shoulders, and she was snuggling up to him. It was amazing how neatly they fit together – like they'd meant to be together.
After a long pleasant walk, they reached the river and settled down on the bank. The river was rapidly becoming Mel's favourite place, seeing as this was where she'd had her first kiss. Mel turned to face Frodo, and they kissed and wrapped their arms around each other. They hadn't said anything since they'd left Bilbo's, and they didn't say anything the whole time they were there. Once they'd finished kissing, they fell asleep in each other's arms.
~*~
Further up the river, Merry and Pippin were ready to cause trouble. They were standing underneath the bridge with two long length of rope. Merry was almost up to his neck in water. Pippin however was quite dry, as he was standing on Merry's shoulders.
"Where do I tie them?" asked Pippin.
"There should be a metal hoop thingy sticking out from the ceiling of the bridge," said Merry. "Tie them round there."
"Will it hold?" asked Pippin.
"Yes!" cried Merry impatiently. "Now hurry up, I'm freezing."
Pippin tied an end of each piece of rope around the metal hoop. He then jumped off Merry's shoulders, soaking himself and getting Merry even more wet. They then waded out of the river and climbed up the bank, taking hold of the loose ends of the rope, so that they could leave them on the bridge.
"Now I'll get the bag," said Merry.
Merry had brought a small bag with him. It had clean clothes inside. They quickly took off their sopping wet clothes and put on the dry ones.
"Turn around," ordered Merry. "I'll tie this on."
Pippin turned his back to Merry, and Merry picked up one of the loose ends of rope. He tied it onto Pippin's braces, and then tugged on it to make sure it was secure. Pippin then did the same to Merry.
"Now we decide who tests it out," said Merry. "Rock, paper, scissors. One, two, three, go!"
Pippin held his hand in a fist to represent rock, and Merry held his out flat, as paper.
"Why do I always lose?" whined Pippin.
"Dunno, Pip," said Merry. "Now stand on the edge of the bridge and fall back."
Pippin stood at the edge of the bridge. But he didn't have the gut to do it, since the bridge was rather high for hobbit standard.
"I can't do it," he confessed.
"I didn't think you'd be able to," said Merry simply, pushing Pippin off the bridge.
Pippin screamed, but the rope reached the limit and Pippin jolted to a stop. He was dangling from his braces about a foot away from the water.
"Pull me back up," Pippin cried.
Merry leant over and grabbed the rope. He then heaved Pippin back up onto the bridge.
"I think it's safe, don't you?" grinned Merry. Pippin said nothing.
~*~
Several hours later, Merry and Pippin were sitting on the edge of the bridge. The rope was still tied to their braces, and they were getting extremely bored.
"Are you sure they're going to come this way?" questioned Pippin.
"I'm positive," replied Merry. "We saw Mel and Frodo on the way here. They didn't look like they were in any hurry to leave, so someone will probably come out looking for them. Lyra and Toni are the most curious, so they'll look for them. And they've gotta come across this bridge to get to them."
Just as Merry had finished explaining, they could hear someone singing, and the voice was unmistakably Toni's. They quickly stood up, as they could see Lyra and Toni coming into view.
"Oh the Princess Pat!" sang Toni. "Lived in a tree. And she sailed across the seven seas. She sailed across the Channel Two. And she took with her a . . ."
"Shut up!" yelled Lyra. "You're giving me a headache."
"Sorry," apologised Toni.
"I don't know how you can get so hyper," grumbled Lyra. She spotted Merry and Pippin standing at the edge of the bridge. "Oh hey guys! Enjoy your time last night with Dracula?"
"Ha ha, very funny," said Merry sarcastically. "We don't care anyway. We can think up better tricks than you guys any time we want."
"I'd like to see you try," challenged Lyra.
Merry and Lyra argued for several minutes about who was smarter. Whilst this was going on, Pippin watched in amusement and occasionally gave the odd statement. Toni kept well out of it and was still singing softly to herself. The argument then changed to bravery.
"I could do any dare you threw at me," boasted Merry. "And so could Pippin."
"Well, so could I," said Lyra. "Dare me to do anything."
"OK then," grinned Merry. "I dare you to lean as far over the edge of the bridge as you can."
"Pah! Easy," smirked Lyra.
Merry and Pippin moved out of the way to give Lyra a space at the edge. They kept their backs turned away from Lyra and Toni, so that they wouldn't see the rope tied to their braces. Lyra leant right out across from the bridge. But she didn't lean out far enough for it to be a danger of her falling off.
"Told you," grinned Lyra.
"That was pathetic," snorted Merry.
"OK then, you try," dared Lyra. "I bet you won't get as far as I did."
"Bet I will," replied Merry. "Come on Pip, you can do it as well."
Merry and Pippin faced Lyra and Toni, and leant backwards across the edge of the bridge. They leant out way further than Lyra did.
"OK, you win." Lyra admitted defeat.
"No, we haven't won yet," said Merry. "We can go even further."
They leant out a little further, and Lyra and Toni started to look concerned.
"Don't," warned Toni. "We believe you, you can do it better than us."
However, they ignored Toni and leaned out even further.
"Stop it!" cried Lyra and Toni simultaneously, starting to panic a bit.
Merry and Pippin grinned and leaned back a tiny bit more. However this time they'd leant too far. They both toppled backwards off the bridge. The rope kept them safe, but Lyra and Toni didn't know that. They reached their arms out and made loud splashing noises in the river.
"NO!" yelled Lyra.
"PIPPIN!" screamed Toni.
Both girls were terrified. None of them even dared to look over the bridge; worried about what they might see.
"Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!" panicked Lyra.
Toni didn't say anything, but crystal tears slid down her face. It was very obvious that Lyra and Toni cared deeply for Merry and Pippin, even though they acted like they didn't.
"We've gotta go and get help," Lyra managed to say.
Toni nodded and made quiet sobbing noises. They both ran back to the Shire as fast as they could. Once they'd gone, Merry and Pippin used the rope to pull themselves back up.
"I don't think that was the right thing to do," said Pippin quietly.
"Neither do I," agreed Merry. "I think one of them was crying."
"Maybe we should go back to the Shire," suggested Pippin.
"Yeah," said Merry.
They both headed back to their house. None of them said a word the whole way.
"I just don't know where you come up with these ideas," said Sam.
"All up here," grinned Lyra, pointing to her head. "But it's only this one, and not Tone's. Hers is just filled with fluff."
"Hey!" protested Toni, but she was cut off by everyone laughing. "Oh come on, it isn't that funny!"
"Sshhh!" ordered Lyra, trying to stifle her laughs.
"What are you guys laughing at?" asked Merry, as he and Pippin were walking past.
"Just a joke," said Lizzie. "A hilarious joke."
"Yeah. What do dead guys have at eleven o'clock every day?" grinned Toni. "A coffin break."
Merry and Pippin looked at one another frightfully, and started hurrying down the road to Bilbo's house.
"Wait, I know another one," called Toni. "What do dead people take when they have a cold? Coffin medicine!"
This was too much for Merry and Pippin. They ran down the road as fast as they could. Lyra, Toni, Marieke, Lizzie and Sam all fell about laughing.
~*~
Merry and Pippin reached Bilbo's house in a matter of minutes. They hammered on the door and waited for Bilbo to answer. They hadn't even noticed that the coffin was no longer there. Bilbo answered the door.
"Ah, just the two hobbits I wanted to see," he said. "I don't need to punish you anymore."
"Why?" asked Pippin.
"I managed to fix the panel back on. And now the coffin has gone back to its rightful owner." Bilbo couldn't help giving a little smirk.
"Well, that's good. I guess," said Merry uncertainly.
"Have you seen Lyra and Toni yet?" enquired Mel, appearing behind Bilbo.
"Yeah, we saw them," replied Merry. "They were laughing about something."
"I wonder what," said Mel, starting to laugh herself. Frodo, who had been standing behind Mel listening, pushed his way into view. He was laughing too.
"Look! What's so funny?" cried Merry. "Everyone seems to be laughing today."
"You two are so dense! You didn't really think that was a real dead guy inside that coffin, did you?" grinned Frodo. "You did, didn't you?"
"It wasn't real?" repeated Pippin.
"Duh! Fruitloops!" Mel shook her head.
"I hope you figure it out soon," said Frodo.
Frodo put his arm around Mel's shoulders and they went back inside.
"Bye boys," said Bilbo, shutting the door.
~*~
Marieke and Lizzie had left the others to take down the posters. It had been pretty obvious that they wanted to go, so Lyra, Toni and Sam let them leave. They walked down the road arm-in-arm, occasionally stopping to kiss. What had happened yesterday had been the best day of their lives.
~*FLASHBACK*~
"Err, hey Toni," greeted Lizzie. "Is Marieke here, cos I can't find her anywhere?"
"Yeah, she's here," said Toni, looking over her shoulder. "Marieke! There's someone to see you."
"Hi," said Marieke shyly, blushing hard.
"OK, I'm gonna leave you guys alone," announced Toni. "I've gotta go and find Lyra. Don't get all fruity while I'm gone."
"Tone!" cried Marieke, though she was trying not to laugh.
Toni didn't say anything, and ran out of the house laughing.
"Do you wanna come in?" asked Marieke awkwardly. "I don't think Lyra and Toni will mind us being here for a bit."
"Yeah OK," said Lizzie, sitting down beside Marieke.
She noticed that Lizzie was blushing. Marieke was amazed! Lizzie was always a bright, bubbly, sociable person. She was quite dreamy and always cheeky. She was the sort of person that never got awkward or embarrassed. Yet here she was, her face as red as her hair.
"So, erm, I'm really sorry about last night," said Marieke. "I didn't mean to stare, I just . . ."
Marieke stopped immediately, because Lizzie had given her a strange look. Marieke couldn't believe it. She'd gone and said completely the wrong thing. Now what was she going to do?
"S'alright," mumbled Lizzie. "I just never knew you were . . . that way."
Marieke felt devastated. Hadn't Lizzie said the other day that she didn't mind lesbians? Maybe she hadn't been telling the truth. Oh great, and now she was going to say how she really felt about gay people.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to offend you or anything . . ." started Marieke, but she was cut off by Lizzie starting to laugh.
"Offend me? Of course you didn't offend me," laughed Lizzie.
Marieke was confused. "So why did you . . ." She didn't exactly know how to form the question, so she decided on a different one. "Why did you come here?"
"Well . . ." Lizzie started to blush again. It was amazing how her face contrasted with her hair when she blushed.
Lizzie leant in towards Marieke. Marieke felt a tingle go through her spine; Lizzie had never been that close to her before. Lizzie whispered something in her ear, and Marieke felt her body go numb with shock. She'd never heard anything so delightful in her life. Those words would remain in her mind for the rest of her life. Then suddenly, Lizzie cupped Marieke's face and pulled her into a long passionate kiss.
~*END FLASHBACK*~
"I'm really gonna have to thank Tone," grinned Marieke, as they reached Lizzie's house.
"And thank her for me while you're at it," said Lizzie.
Marieke and Lizzie went inside, and didn't emerge until the next day.
~*~
"Well Lyra and Toni have definitely reached the limit," fumed Merry. "We've gotta get them back!"
"Yep," agreed Pippin. "Today is the day of the prank to end all pranks."
"Which is?" prompted Merry.
"I dunno, I haven't come to that part yet," replied Pippin.
"You're hopeless." Merry shook his head. "I've got an idea. Just leave the prank to me."
Merry was quiet for a few seconds, with Pippin watching hopefully.
"Have you thought of anything yet?" asked Pippin.
"Shut up, I can't think!" snapped Merry.
Pippin fell silent again. Merry thought hard for quite a few minutes.
"I've got it!" he cried, making Pippin jump.
"What?" asked Pippin.
"Come on, I'll explain later," said Merry.
They both ran off.
~*~
Mel and Frodo had left the house, as they didn't have much privacy with Bilbo there as well. Frodo didn't really want to kiss in front of him, and Mel was worried that he might want to join in.
So they were walking slowly down to the river. Frodo had his arm around Mel's shoulders, and she was snuggling up to him. It was amazing how neatly they fit together – like they'd meant to be together.
After a long pleasant walk, they reached the river and settled down on the bank. The river was rapidly becoming Mel's favourite place, seeing as this was where she'd had her first kiss. Mel turned to face Frodo, and they kissed and wrapped their arms around each other. They hadn't said anything since they'd left Bilbo's, and they didn't say anything the whole time they were there. Once they'd finished kissing, they fell asleep in each other's arms.
~*~
Further up the river, Merry and Pippin were ready to cause trouble. They were standing underneath the bridge with two long length of rope. Merry was almost up to his neck in water. Pippin however was quite dry, as he was standing on Merry's shoulders.
"Where do I tie them?" asked Pippin.
"There should be a metal hoop thingy sticking out from the ceiling of the bridge," said Merry. "Tie them round there."
"Will it hold?" asked Pippin.
"Yes!" cried Merry impatiently. "Now hurry up, I'm freezing."
Pippin tied an end of each piece of rope around the metal hoop. He then jumped off Merry's shoulders, soaking himself and getting Merry even more wet. They then waded out of the river and climbed up the bank, taking hold of the loose ends of the rope, so that they could leave them on the bridge.
"Now I'll get the bag," said Merry.
Merry had brought a small bag with him. It had clean clothes inside. They quickly took off their sopping wet clothes and put on the dry ones.
"Turn around," ordered Merry. "I'll tie this on."
Pippin turned his back to Merry, and Merry picked up one of the loose ends of rope. He tied it onto Pippin's braces, and then tugged on it to make sure it was secure. Pippin then did the same to Merry.
"Now we decide who tests it out," said Merry. "Rock, paper, scissors. One, two, three, go!"
Pippin held his hand in a fist to represent rock, and Merry held his out flat, as paper.
"Why do I always lose?" whined Pippin.
"Dunno, Pip," said Merry. "Now stand on the edge of the bridge and fall back."
Pippin stood at the edge of the bridge. But he didn't have the gut to do it, since the bridge was rather high for hobbit standard.
"I can't do it," he confessed.
"I didn't think you'd be able to," said Merry simply, pushing Pippin off the bridge.
Pippin screamed, but the rope reached the limit and Pippin jolted to a stop. He was dangling from his braces about a foot away from the water.
"Pull me back up," Pippin cried.
Merry leant over and grabbed the rope. He then heaved Pippin back up onto the bridge.
"I think it's safe, don't you?" grinned Merry. Pippin said nothing.
~*~
Several hours later, Merry and Pippin were sitting on the edge of the bridge. The rope was still tied to their braces, and they were getting extremely bored.
"Are you sure they're going to come this way?" questioned Pippin.
"I'm positive," replied Merry. "We saw Mel and Frodo on the way here. They didn't look like they were in any hurry to leave, so someone will probably come out looking for them. Lyra and Toni are the most curious, so they'll look for them. And they've gotta come across this bridge to get to them."
Just as Merry had finished explaining, they could hear someone singing, and the voice was unmistakably Toni's. They quickly stood up, as they could see Lyra and Toni coming into view.
"Oh the Princess Pat!" sang Toni. "Lived in a tree. And she sailed across the seven seas. She sailed across the Channel Two. And she took with her a . . ."
"Shut up!" yelled Lyra. "You're giving me a headache."
"Sorry," apologised Toni.
"I don't know how you can get so hyper," grumbled Lyra. She spotted Merry and Pippin standing at the edge of the bridge. "Oh hey guys! Enjoy your time last night with Dracula?"
"Ha ha, very funny," said Merry sarcastically. "We don't care anyway. We can think up better tricks than you guys any time we want."
"I'd like to see you try," challenged Lyra.
Merry and Lyra argued for several minutes about who was smarter. Whilst this was going on, Pippin watched in amusement and occasionally gave the odd statement. Toni kept well out of it and was still singing softly to herself. The argument then changed to bravery.
"I could do any dare you threw at me," boasted Merry. "And so could Pippin."
"Well, so could I," said Lyra. "Dare me to do anything."
"OK then," grinned Merry. "I dare you to lean as far over the edge of the bridge as you can."
"Pah! Easy," smirked Lyra.
Merry and Pippin moved out of the way to give Lyra a space at the edge. They kept their backs turned away from Lyra and Toni, so that they wouldn't see the rope tied to their braces. Lyra leant right out across from the bridge. But she didn't lean out far enough for it to be a danger of her falling off.
"Told you," grinned Lyra.
"That was pathetic," snorted Merry.
"OK then, you try," dared Lyra. "I bet you won't get as far as I did."
"Bet I will," replied Merry. "Come on Pip, you can do it as well."
Merry and Pippin faced Lyra and Toni, and leant backwards across the edge of the bridge. They leant out way further than Lyra did.
"OK, you win." Lyra admitted defeat.
"No, we haven't won yet," said Merry. "We can go even further."
They leant out a little further, and Lyra and Toni started to look concerned.
"Don't," warned Toni. "We believe you, you can do it better than us."
However, they ignored Toni and leaned out even further.
"Stop it!" cried Lyra and Toni simultaneously, starting to panic a bit.
Merry and Pippin grinned and leaned back a tiny bit more. However this time they'd leant too far. They both toppled backwards off the bridge. The rope kept them safe, but Lyra and Toni didn't know that. They reached their arms out and made loud splashing noises in the river.
"NO!" yelled Lyra.
"PIPPIN!" screamed Toni.
Both girls were terrified. None of them even dared to look over the bridge; worried about what they might see.
"Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!" panicked Lyra.
Toni didn't say anything, but crystal tears slid down her face. It was very obvious that Lyra and Toni cared deeply for Merry and Pippin, even though they acted like they didn't.
"We've gotta go and get help," Lyra managed to say.
Toni nodded and made quiet sobbing noises. They both ran back to the Shire as fast as they could. Once they'd gone, Merry and Pippin used the rope to pull themselves back up.
"I don't think that was the right thing to do," said Pippin quietly.
"Neither do I," agreed Merry. "I think one of them was crying."
"Maybe we should go back to the Shire," suggested Pippin.
"Yeah," said Merry.
They both headed back to their house. None of them said a word the whole way.