Arg! buries her head in her hands I am sooooo sorry! Between school, the virus my computer decided to get, the fact that I lost internet service for a VERY long time, and other lame, inexcusable excuses, I haven't had a chance to update! I hope this chapter makes up for it!

EDIT: I just noticed that when this was uploaded, there were several mistakes egarding numbering (on Diamond's list) and other small things like that. I've fixed that now, so hopefully it's easier to read!

Chapter Three

The Start of The List

"Insufferable!" I declared under my breath, folding my arms across my chest. "The both of them - completely insufferable!" I kicked the side of the door in attempts to vent some of my frustration, but recoiled and winced when it actually hurt.

I was currently watching Peregrin and Amethyst stroll off together in the late morning sunshine. The air smelt decidedly fresh from the rain we had received early that morning. As I stared (shamelessly), Amethyst laced her arm through Peregrin's.

Irritation bubbled inside of me. Why? I didn't know, and that merely irritated me more. There was absolutely no reason for me to feel this way. I thought back to the conversation just after breakfast, when Amethyst had informed me that Peregrin (or 'Pippin', as she called him) had invited her on a walk.

"Are you going to go with him?" I asked quickly. She smirked at me.

"Is there a reason you care?" She took the plate I held, and without saying I knew she was afraid I would drop it. I scowled, arms falling limply at my sides.

"No. I don't care," I told her. "Not about him, leastways. I do, however, care about you. And I don't like Peregrin. Perhaps you should be more careful."

She laughed. "There's nothing wrong with Pippin, Di," she told me. "He's perfectly fine and perfectly nice." She shot me a suspicious-looking grin, almost like she was informing me of something without actually voicing it. "And yes, I am going with him. It shall be fun. Would you like to come?"

"Fine," I snapped. "Go with him. But no, I do not want to come." I stormed from the room.

"I don't see why it bothers you so much!" Amethyst called after me. I ignored her. It didn't bother me. I just didn't want someone like Peregrin Took hurting her.

I sighed, scowled, sighed again for good measure, and wandered off to find my mother. I wanted to know exactly much longer Peregrin and his father would be here. I hadn't taken more than a few steps before I almost ran straight into Opal.

"Diamond, dear," she cooed, smiling sweetly. "Have you see Peregrin?"

My mouth opened automatically to say no, but that wasn't the response that came out. Instead I found myself blurting, "He went for a walk with Amethyst."

Opal frowned, looking displeased. "Did he?" she asked in a careless tone, but her eyes said otherwise.

I nodded. "Oh, yes," I said casually. "They left only a few minutes ago, you just missed them."

"Where did they go?" Opal demanded. Her offhand tone was gone, and her eyes narrowed apprehensively.

I shrugged. "I couldn't tell you that, Opal." A small smile tugged at the corners of my mouth and I promptly hid it as I couldn't help but add with a wave of my arm, "Off that ways a bit, arm-in-arm."

Furiously Opal swept off, and I almost laughed. Feeling much more cheerful, I hurried off, completely forgetting where I had been headed in the first place.

-----

"Pippin and I had a lovely time!" Amethyst said (no, 'gushed' was a better word) later that day. I didn't look up, keeping my gaze trained to my feet. They were much more interesting, anyway.

"Wonderful," I replied listlessly. "I'm happy for you."

"Don't you want to know what we did? What we talked about?" There was something in Amethyst's tone that I couldn't figure out. I frowned, a bit puzzled.

"Not really."

"Come on Diamond, I know you're curious."

I wiggled my toes, completely absorbed in the way they moved. "I'm not."

"Oh," Amethyst said innocently. "Maybe you would be if I told you we talked about you..."

My head shot up and I narrowed my eyes dangerously. Amethyst smirked.

"I'll have you know," I started, voice rising defensively. "That I didn't miss a single door today, and I have yet to drop one thing-"

I stopped. Amethyst was laughing. "What?" I demanded. She only shook her head.

"You'll see, Diamond dear. Soon enough, I suppose."

I eyed her cautiously, not sure I liked where this was headed. I figured a change in the conversation would be very much welcomed, for me, at least. "When are they leaving?" I asked.

Amethyst knew exactly who I was talking about. "Oh, I don't know, a week or two," she said lightly.

"A week?" I asked, suddenly feeling very forlorn. "Or two?"

"Probably two," Amethyst said. My head hit my hands and I groaned.

"It can't be all that bad, can it?" a voice asked from the doorway. I shot a glance in the direction of the question and had to bite back another groan. "So long as you stay away from windows..."

"Peregrin," I snapped as he seated himself across from Amethyst, feeling my neck flush at the memory of the previous night. "That was... that was..."

"Graceful," Amethyst supplied.

"Unexpected?" Peregrin asked.

I gave up. Their responses pretty much covered it, anyway.

"And it's Pippin, not Peregrin, if you don't mind," he said cheerfully, flashing me a warm smile. I was careful not to look at his eyes, as I didn't want a repeat of the previous night. Something about how green they were tended to... distract me. "Only my parents call me Peregrin, and even then it's when they are thoroughly disappointed with me."

"Fine, Pereg - Pippin," I said slowly.

"Would you mind if I had a word with you after supper?" he asked, gazing at me... hopefully? No... questioningly.

"I suppose," I responded gradually, ignoring Amethyst's raised eyebrows and silly grin.

"Thank you," he said. I nodded, still a bit uncertain, and excused myself before I ended up doing another foolish thing in front of him, such as falling out of my chair.

Back in my room, I sat on the end of my bed, thinking hard. Or, at least, trying to think and sort some sense into... well, everything. It wasn't working very well, however, since I didn't exactly have that much to think about. Or... did I?

I blinked, confusing myself with my thoughts, or lack thereof. I decided it would be wise to cease before I hurt myself.

The only thing I knew was, based off observations and interactions thus far, was that I did not like Peregrin 'Pippin' Took.

Mostly because I tended to do ridiculous things in front of him that he found extremely humorous. I hate to be laughed at. Even if he did have nice eyes, that didn't make up for it.

I glowered. Again with the eyes.

I resolved to make a list. Perhaps it would help me organize my thoughts. Digging around my cluttered room, I retrieved parchment and ink, made myself comfortable, and began.

Reasons Why I do NOT Like Peregrin Took

1-He thinks it's funny when I mess up, fall, dump things over, or hurt myself. He especially finds it funny to bring the embarrassing situation up later to cause me even more discomfort.
2-He wants me to call him Pippin, and not Peregrin. I do not mind this, nor do I mind this name, but I just think it's annoying. I should be able to call him what I like.
3-He confuses me. Sometimes he's nice and sometimes he isn't.
4-I've only known him a few days and already I do not like him. He's staying for two more weeks. I don't know how I'll cope.
5-His eyes are far too nice and far too green. I like looking at them so much that I hate it.

There. It wasn't much, but it was a start.

Feeling slightly better, I pinned the list to the back of my door so I could remind myself of why I did not like him every time I left the room.

Perhaps as soon as I got a long enough list to justify why I didn't like him to others, I would show it to Amethyst. Then she could see how foolish she was for liking him when, really, he wasn't likeable at all.