Chapter 2

Monday afternoon when Allie walked out of her Geology class, she was surprised to see Jack waiting for her.

"Hey," she said with a smile, walking up to him. "What are you doing here?"

"Do I need a reason to see my bonnie lass?" he asked, reaching out and pulling her to him. Allie grinned.

"No. I was just curious." She leaned in and brushed her lips softly against his. He kissed her back for a few moments before Allie pulled away. "Come on. I've got a lot of homework that I need to do." She took his hand and they made their way through the crowd of college students all trying to get to class. Right as they walked up to Allie and Liz's apartment complex, they saw a silver GMC truck pulling away. Liz was standing on the curb, watching as the truck drove out of sight, tears falling down her face.

"Hey, Liz," Jack said as they walked up. "What's wrong?" Allie held up a hand.

"Wait, let me guess--that was Orlando driving away, wasn't it?" she asked. Liz nodded slowly. "When's he coming back?" Allie wanted to know. Liz just shrugged her shoulders, looking completely miserable. Allie held up a finger warningly. "Don't you dare go into another trance on me, Liz. You know that you'll see him again." Liz nodded and sighed.

"I know. It's just hard." She glared at Jack. "Why don't you ever have to go shoot a movie? Why do you always hang around here?" Jack laughed and slung an arm around Liz.

"Because, lass, I'm Captain Jack Sparrow, savvy?" he said with a grin. Liz rolled her eyes.

"How can you be Jack Sparrow, when apparently you, Johnny Depp, have had a bath in the past decade?" Liz asked with a grin.

"Captain Jack Sparrow, Liz. CAPTAIN!" Allie exclaimed. Liz smirked and looked at Jack.

"I don't see your ship, Captain," she quoted. "And you might want to get your arm off of me before Allie decks me." Johnny laughed.

"You're absolutely right," he said, taking his arm off of Liz and walking over to Allie and wrapping his arms around her waist. Liz looked at Allie.

"How was Geology?" she asked. Allie groaned.

"I have so much homework, it's not even funny," she said as they all started up the stairs towards the apartment. "How were the British Isles?"

"The British Isles?" Liz shrugged. "I don't know. All I saw was Lando," Liz replied as they opened the door and walked inside. Johnny sat down on the couch, Liz walked back to her room to unpack, and Allie sat down at the kitchen table and started working on her homework. After a few minutes, Johnny got up and stood behind her, watching over her shoulder as she answered questions from her book. Without saying a word, he started massaging her shoulders. He brushed her ponytail aside, leaned over and placed a small kiss at the base of her neck. Allie's hand paused for a moment, then she continued working. When he started working his way slowly up her neck, however, she put her pencil down and turned to face him.

"As much as I enjoy what you're doing, Jack…" He cut her off.

"Johnny, luv. My name is Johnny now." Allie waved a hand.

"Whatever. Anyway, what I was saying, Johnny, is that as much as I'm enjoying what you're doing, you're not helping." He sighed.

"There's something I need to tell you," he said, pulling a chair over and sitting down next to her. "I got a call from my agent while you were in class. He wants me to go read for a part." Allie shrugged.

"Okay. How long are you going to be gone?" she asked. Johnny thought about it for a minute.

"A few days at the most," he told her. Allie nodded.

"Alright," was all she said, and she went back to work. Johnny just sat there for a few moments, an odd look on his face.

"You're really broken up about this, aren't you?" he asked, somewhat playfully. Allie smiled.

"It's only for a few days. It's not like you're going to be gone for six months." He took her hands in his.

"But I might be if I get this part," he told her gently. Allie shrugged again.

"So I'll deal with that when the time comes. When do you have to leave?" Johnny hid a grin when he realized she had bought it.

"In about two minutes." Allie's eyes grew wide.

"Two minutes?" she repeated. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" He smiled and tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear.

"Because you were in class," he told her. He leaned over and kissed her gently. Pulling away, he grinned. "I'll be back before you know it, luv." He got up and picked up his bag that Allie hadn't noticed he had been carrying.

"Love you," she said as he walked out the door. He stopped and turned around.

"Love you too," he said with a smile, then left.

Three and a half hours later, Allie was finished with all her homework, and was reading a book when there was a knock on the door. Liz was in the back dancing around to different music, trying to get her mind off of her fiancé.

"Come in!" Allie called. The doorknob jingled for a moment, and Allie laughed. "Sorry," she called, getting up. "I forgot it was lock--" she trailed off when she opened the door.

Orlando was standing there, but he was dressed as Legolas. But what made Allie do a double take was that half of Fellowship was there--Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Elijah (Lij) Wood, Billy Boyd, and Dominic (Dom) Monaghan. Not only were they there, but they were in full costume as well. Allie just stood there, her mouth hanging open in shock. Elijah smiled.

"Um, are you going to let us in anytime soon?" he asked. Allie shook herself and turned a little red.

"Yeah. Sorry," she said, stepping back to let them in. She turned to Orlando. "Hey Lando--I bet you 100 bucks that Liz will acknowledge the hobbits before she acknowledges you," she said with an impish grin. Orlando scoffed.

"You're on. I'm her fiancé." Allie grinned.

"Hey Liz, Elf Boy's here!" Liz's voice came from the back.

"What? Allie, I told you not to call him that!" Allie smirked.

"When the situation calls for it, I'll call him what I will." Liz burst out of her room.

"Allie, what are you talk--" She paused wide eyed and exclaimed, "Hobbits." Orlando's eyes grew as big as saucers.

"HOBBITS?!" he cried.

"Four hobbits," Liz went on, giggling as she turned to her fiancé. Allie grinned triumphantly.

"Ha! Pay up, Elf Boy!" she said. Liz turned to Allie, a confused look on her face.

"What's going on?" she asked. Allie held out her hand towards Orlando.

"I bet Lando 100 bucks that you would acknowledge the hobbits first. And you did." She looked and Orlando expectantly. "Come on, pay up. Wait, do you keep a wallet in those tights?" Both Orlando and Liz glared.

"They're leggings," they said matter-of-factly. Everyone laughed.

"Told you so, Orli," Dominic said, still laughing. Liz whirled on him.

"Don't call him that," she said menacingly. Allie laughed again.

"Beware the wrath of Liz!" she warned, then turned to Orlando again. He sighed, and took off his quiver of arrows. Reaching down to the bottom, he pulled out his wallet. Allie's eyebrows rose.

"So that's where you keep it," she murmured. "That's interesting." Orlando opened his wallet and pulled out a hundred dollar bill. Sighing, he handed it over. Allie looked at him in shock. "You have 100-dollar-bills in your wallet?" Dominic gave her this "are-you-stupid?" look.

"Hello--Orlando Bloom." Allie smiled sheepishly.

"Oh. Right." Allie looked over at Liz, who was still staring at the hobbits. She grinned again as she remembered something that Liz had always wanted to do. "How about I give you a chance to win your money back?" Orlando looked a little skeptical.

"What do you have in mind?" he asked.

"I'll bet you double or nothing that Liz wants to go on a double date with Billy and Dom." Orlando grinned.

"Bring it. But let's make it $300," he challenged. Allie nodded and turned back to Liz.

"Hey Liz, do you want to go on a double date with Billy and Dom?" she asked, smirking. Liz didn't hesitate for an instant.

"Uh-huh." Allie's smirk grew.

"So is that a 'yes'?" she asked, just to clarify. Liz gave her a look.

"Duh." Allie turned back to Orlando, not even trying to contain the smug grin that had spread across her face. She didn't say a word, but simply held out her hand, the others laughing madly in the background. Orlando looked completely bewildered as he handed over the $300. Liz looked around in confusion when everyone started laughing.

"Wait, what just happened?" she asked over the noise. Allie laughed.

"You know how I won $100 off of Lando just now?" Liz nodded. "Well, I bet him double or nothing that you would want to go on a double date with Billy and Dom. The sucker took the bet, plus he raised it to $300. When I asked if you did, you said yes."

"I did that?" When Allie nodded, Liz looked at Orlando, afraid that he was going to be mad at her. "Are you mad at me?" she asked timidly. Orlando smiled softly.

"No, Princess. I could never stay mad at you for long," he reassured her. Liz smiled, then her brow furrowed.

"You dressed up as Legolas?" she asked, noticing for the first time as the excitement of hobbits died down. Allie rolled her eyes.

"I should get an extra 100 bucks for that," she said. Both Orlando and Liz ignored her. Orlando leaned in and gave her a soft kiss. Liz pulled back, giggling.

"What's so funny?" Orlando asked.

"I just kissed Legolas," Liz said, giggling some more. Allie snorted.

"Geez, you're being a ditz today," she said with a grin. The grin died rather rapidly when Orlando unsheathed his swords in the same manner that he did in The Two Towers.

"You know, you're really starting to get on my nerves," he said calmly, looking her straight in the eyes. Allie gulped, and it took her a minute to find her voice again.

"Sorry," she said meekly. As Orlando lowered the swords, she walked back over to the couch, picked up her book, and sat down. She curled her legs up underneath her, and started to read again. Elijah noticed this, and walked over to her.

"Mind if I sit down?" he asked. Allie looked up in surprise. She hadn't expected anyone to notice. People didn't usually notice when she curled up with a book. Well, Johnny did, but he tended to notice everything that she did. She smiled.

"Not at all," she told him.

"What are you doing?" he asked. Allie glanced at the cover of her book.

"I'm reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, when I should be studying for finals," she said. Elijah smirked.

"Really? I happen to be an expert on Huck Finn," he said arrogantly. Allie rolled her eyes.

"And you're so humble about it, too," she said, only half-joking. They continued to talk quietly, while Liz talked with Billy and Dom, but holding onto Orlando's hand to reassure him that she still belonged to the hot elf next to her.

Viggo walked around the apartment looking at the photographs on the wall that Liz had taken. He knew they were Liz's because her name was in the corner of the matting. Viggo was impressed with her eye for a good shot. She had many pictures of various landscapes (old bridges, mountains, sunsets, etc,) groups of people posing and some not paying attention, and even a few of Orlando grinning wildly. While he admired Liz's work Viggo was oblivious to the conversations going on around him.

Sean just sat in the Lazy Boy staring unhappily at his now very large hairy feet ignoring everybody.

"So," Billy continued, looking at Liz, "do you still want to go on a double date with us?" he asked.

"Maybe not a date, but an outing," Liz said, grinning. "Oh, can Brooke come too?" Liz asked, remembering her roommate who loved Lord of the Rings just as much as she did.

"I think we can arrange that," Dom said with a grin. Liz beamed, then realized that she was an engaged woman, and quickly added,

"But only if Lando can come along also." Liz looked at her Legolas, searching his face for some sign of approval. To her delight, he grinned.

"Sounds like fun," he said, giving her hand a squeeze. "Besides, you don't think I'd let you go out alone with these two goobers." Both Billy and Dom staged a look of mock outrage and Viggo laughed startling Liz who hadn't seen him rejoin the group.

"You don't trust us with your girl, Orli?" Billy asked, grinning while putting an arm around Liz's shoulders. Liz immediately removed Billy's arm from off her shoulders and corrected,

"It's Lando." Orlando laughed and explained that Liz wasn't fond of his fangirls' choice of nickname. Viggo laughed once more and then noticed Allie and Lij on the couch lost in conversation. He elbowed Dom and nodded in their direction.

"Hey you two," Dom called over to them. "Come and watch the soap opera. It's quite the hysterical site. Can Pippin steal the girl of his dreams? Will Legolas be able to hold on to his mortal lover? Tune in tomorrow and find out in Middle-earth Madness ," he finished in an announcer's voice.

Allie looked up with a confused look on her face. "Huh?" she asked and then Viggo motioned her to come over and join the group. She got up from the couch and walked over followed by Elijah and Sean. Viggo held out a hand to her.

"Hi. I'm Viggo," he said, introducing himself. Allie shook his hand, not even trying to suppress the huge grin that crossed her face.

"Allie. It's wonderful to meet you." As Allie was introduced to the rest of the cast, Liz pulled Orlando aside.

"Are you sure you're not mad at me?" she asked again.

"Why would I be mad at you, Princess?" he asked, brushing a lock of hair out of her face.

"Well, because I practically ignored you, I made you lose $400, didn't realize you were dressed as Legolas for a good two minutes, and then I asked out two of you best friends, despite the fact that I'm engaged to you," Liz said, ticking each item off her fingers. "I'm a bad person!" she cried, throwing herself at him. Orlando just laughed and shook his head, wrapping his arms around her.

"If you were a bad person, would I have dressed up as Legolas for you?" he asked.

"Probably not," Liz said slowly.

"And if you were a bad person would I have spent weeks arranging to have make-up artists transform my best friends into fictional characters once more?"

"I doubt it." She looked up into his eyes. "Thank you, by the way," she said, starting to laugh gleefully.

"What's so funny?" he asked, poking her in the side.

"Well, my blue eyed elf prince from Mirkwood…your eyes are brown," she said matetr of factly. Orlando looked confused.

"What are you talking about?" he wanted to know. Liz smirked.

"You forgot to put in your contacts." He laughed.

"Yeah, I do that a lot," then he grew serious once again. "I'm sorry I couldn't get everybody here. I wanted the full Fellowship but John didn't want to be put through the agony of the make-up again, Ian is doing a play, and Sean is shooting in Australia. My surprise wasn't as good as I had hoped," Orlando said looking truly regretful. Liz smiled.

"Are you kidding? This is the BEST THING that has ever happened to me." Orlando raised his eyebrows causing his forehead to wrinkle the way Liz thought was so cute.

"The best thing?" he asked teasingly. Liz smiled even bigger this time.

"OK…maybe not the best. But very close." Orlando laughed at her meaning, took her hand, and then started leading her over back to the rest of the Fellowship.

When they got back to the group, Liz looked around at everyone.

"So, you're all staying for dinner, right?" Sean Astin looked cautious.

"Um…only if we can take our costumes off first? I hate these stupid feet!" Liz thought for a few moments.

"I'll make you a deal," she said. "You can take off your costumes after I take some pictures."

"Some?" Allie asked doubtfully, knowing full well it could turn into a few rolls if she didn't stop it soon enough.

"Okay, fine. Only a roll in costumes, and the rest you won't even know have been taken."

"Half a roll," Allie haggled. The Fellowship watched this exchange with interest.

"Do they usually act like this?" Viggo asked Orlando as the front door opened. Johnny walked in just in time to hear what Viggo had said, saw Allie and Liz negotiating and immediately knew what was going on.

"Yeah, this is completely normal," he said, looking at Allie and wondering when she was going to notice that he was there.

"Half a roll?!" Liz was outraged. "A number of the LOTR Fellowship is standing in our living room, in costume, and you expect me to take no more than half a roll of pictures?" Allie held up her hands in defeat.

"All right, all right. Calm down, Liz. Take as many pictures as you want." She turned to go to her room, and spotted Johnny.

"Jack!" she cried. Johnny raised an eyebrow.

"'Jack'?" he repeated, then grinned. "Been watching 'Pirates of the Caribbean' again?" Allie thought back to what she had called him. She grinned somewhat sheepishly.

"Yeah." Then her look turned to one of confusion. "What are you doing here? I thought that you had to go read for a part." He shrugged.

"Not exactly." Allie looked at him doubtfully.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Johnny grinned.

"Well, I didn't have to go read for a part. I went to set something up for the two of us for tomorrow night." Allie grinned.

"Really? What?" Johnny smirked and shook his head.

"Nope. Not telling. You'll just have to wait and see." Allie pouted, and Johnny laughed. "Not going to work. You'll just have to wait." He turned to Orlando. "Finally convinced them, huh?" he said while nodding his head towards Orlando's friends.

"What?!" Allie cried. "You knew about this, Johnny?" Johnny turned back to her.

"Yeah." Allie's eyes widened.

"Well you could have at least told me so that when I opened the door I didn't stand there gawking like an idiot for five minutes until Elijah finally asked if they could come in!" she yelled.

"You stood there gawking like an idiot?" Johnny asked with a grin. Allie blinked.

"Uh…no!" Seeing the doubting looks, she threw up her hands. "I'm going to my room!" With that, she grabbed Huck Finn off the couch, walked off to her room and closed the door. Liz looked around at the other people assembled in the room.

"Um…I'll be right back," she said, and went off in the direction Allie had gone.