Pippin and Diamond shared quite a past. He remembered the little jokes he used to pull on her, the ways she would scream at him. But Pippin always had had many girls to pick on, particularly his own sisters, or Diamond's older sisters.
The funny thing was, his jokes were never as mean on her, and she might have been the only girl that he ever took pity on, or helped her get clean after a dirty prank.
She was the only girl who he had found crying that one quiet night by the creek.. Her hair falling against her shoulders. She was the only girl Pippin ever thought both beautiful, smart, and a friend. Pippin chided himself for such thoughts.
'Maybe she was all those things... maybe she was, she most definitely was... but she would never think of me in the same way.'
Pippin never liked his own looks.
He thought himself too skinny or too fat, his hair was always too long or too short, he was maybe now too tall for any hobbit lass to like him. But then he shook these things out of his mind. 'What if...'
It was about seven years ago, after a relative's birthday party. It didn't matter whose, but as usual, Pippin was drunk and barely able to carry himself anymore. Merry and Diamond thought best to take him to the creek and settle him down. "Get him away from the crowds", Diamond said. So like usual, the two carried him down the ways.
He was never much of a burden, always light and not as drunk as to not be able to support himself a bit.
All he remembered was waking up again, about the crack of dawn by a bubbling creek. The most unusual thing was that he never got that expected hangover, he just opened his eyes to the purple sky and the silence of the birds and all seemed fine.
He sat up, half expecting to just fall right over again, but no- he stayed. The trees leaves whistled in the young day's cold wind and the old rotten trees were beckoning the owls once again to peaceful slumber.
He felt so calm and rested... maybe a little warm.
'Must be still drunk', He thought. 'If I was not still drunk, the sky would not be purple.'
Pippin strained his memory to try to recall the night before. He could think of nothing. His eyes wandered to the placid creek in front of him. Just an arms length away, so cool...
He became mesmerized with the bubbling rhythm. He giggled at the imaginary fishies. He leaned toward it-- maybe just a little further and he could feel its mist...
maybe further. Slowly the creek became larger and larger in his sight. 'Just a bit closer and I'll stop'. Suddenly the air rushed past his face and he splashed into the water. The surprising jolt quickly awakened him and in a hasty attempt to remove himself, he ended up completely in the water. The creek never looked so deep from above. Or so cold. He found himself grabbing onto a nearby large rock and pulling himself to it, his head now finally out of the water.
He gasped for air and coughed up water that became trapped in his lungs. The water rushing around the rock seemed to quicken in its pace and his hands slipped from the grasp. As he felt himself getting sucked under again he attempted on final breath of air, but in this attempt he was again sucked under and his lungs were filled with water.
It wasn't until then that he remembered. Drowning was like falling asleep.
He then felt a hand on his own, pulling him out of the creek. 'Death has finally gotten me. Damnit. Stupid water."
He opened his eyes to see the grass again and a tree within arms reach. He stretched for it but was pulled violently in the other direction. He coughed and gasped, spitting up a mixture of creek water and his own blood.
"Pippin, you imbecile!" Diamond yelled. Pippin had no time to reply, he had to find the fishies and save them from the creek, too.
"You scared me half to death!"
Pippin realized who was holding on to him managed to reach his hand to his mouth and wipe away whatever blood and water was still there.
Diamond hugged him closer. Warm arms. Dry arms. No longer dry arms. He tried to stop coughing, but this only drew up more pain and more blood.
"Can't leave you alone for just a minute." She said. It almost sounded like she was crying. Pippin's coughing eased and he was left to just shivering and the occasional sneeze. Her hug lasted very long, and so did the warmth. He forgot all about the stupid fishies and the purple sky.
'That's when I knew I really liked her.' He thought to himself as he slowed his horse to a stop. 'But I don't think she would ever like me back.'
"Pippin" Merry said to him quietly. "We're there"