(A/N) Mayrana, thanks for being my first reviewer. Ah yes, Legolas should be very afraid. BWAHAHAHA! Oh, sorry about that. Just kinda lost control for a minute. Anyway, moving on. The fellowship gets to try pizza for the first time. Oooooh, aaaah, special. Idril Falastari, thank you much for your review. POTCobsessor, thanks for reviewing.
The Fellowship Meets Reality
Chapter 2: Of Pizza and Snogging
Atalanta was drawn away from the mirror by the smell of smoke and the sudden sound of the smoke alarm going off.
"WHAT HAPPENED!" she shouted as she raced down the stairs into the kitchen. Almost immediately she backed out because smoke was billowing up from a pot on the stove.
"What do you people think you're doing! I already ordered the pizza! We don't need to make anything else!""Well, Sam was wondering how we cooked things without an open fireplace so I showed him the stove and the oven. He didn't really get it so I said he could try working with themHe said he wanted to try making some stew so I helped him find the ingredients he needed and watched him work. I think you see the result." Caly explained."And why, pray tell, did you let him? You knew he'd screw it up.""Now wait just a minute!" Sam cried in outrage as he jumped up from his hiding place behind the island in the centerof the kitchen. "I can cook just as well as the next Hobbit. Where do you think Mr. Frodo would be if I couldn't cook for him?"
"I didn't say you couldn't cook. But you've never worked with electricity before. You might have set the house on fire." Atalanta explained angrily.
"I just thought it would be interesting to see what he made of it. I didn't think-"
"No, you didn't. Maybe I should just stay home." Atalanta said with a sigh.
"You can't do that! The pizza is already ordered and your friends will be here any second. Just go. I won't do it again, I promise."
At that moment the doorbell rang, announcing the arrival of Atalanta's friends.
"All right fine. I'll go. But no more episodes like this one." then she turned to give Caly the money for the pizza.
"What are those? Leafy greens? Can I use them to cook with?" Sam asked.
"No. It's money……for the pizza." Atalanta said. She cast one final scared look in the Hobbit's direction as she made her way to the door.
"Don't let him cook the money. And see if you can get them into some normal clothes." Atalanta instructed her sister as she opened the door and stepped outside to meet Mila.
"It's ok. You don't have to worry about a thing." Caly said as she closed the door behind Atalanta.
Just as soon as she heard the sound of the car driving out of the neighborhood, Caly turned from the door and walked into the living room.
"Oooooooooook, wardrobe." she said as she walked over to the T.V. set and switched it off.
"Hey! What did you do that for! I was gonna show them the game!" Aaron cried in outrage.
"Not until we get them into some regular clothes, you're not." Caly said.
"Any suggestions?" Aaron asked as he stood up to join his sister in evaluating their new charges.
"Well, I'm pretty sure the Hobbits and the Dwarf could fit into some of your clothes. But I'm not about to go routing through Dad's closet." she answered.
"You're gonna have to. Because I'm not letting you in my closet. I'll dress the shorter five. You take the other four." Aaron said as he led the said five up to his bedroom.
"All right. You four, with me!" Caly ordered the remaining members of the fellowship.
As she led them upstairs to her parents' room, Legolas spoke to Aragorn behind her back.
"Aragorn, do you think she knows who we are?"
"Well, her sister seems to know us. And this Caly seems to know you." he whispered back.
"But do you think she knows what we are?"
"I'm not certain."
"If she does, then what right does she have to order us around like she does?"
"Legolas, I wouldn't speak that way if I were you. We have no idea what sort of dimension this is. For all we know this girl could have great power here. For now we should keep our silence and learn what we can."
Despite their best efforts to keep their voices low Caly heard every whispered word. She smirked to herself. If Aragorn could get the other eight to think like that then she could really have some fun with these guys.
"No talking in the ranks!" she shouted at them as they came to a stop before her parents closet doors.
"Now, lets see what we can find for you guys." she said as she pulled the double doors wide open and stepped inside.
Caly immediately made her way to her dad's end of the closet and searched through his casual outfits. As she pulled out certain pieces of clothing a devious smile made its way onto her face. She beckoned the other four to come into the closet and she divvyed out the clothes. To Gandalf she gave a pair of khaki shorts and a Hawaiian print shirt. She gave Boromir a pair of blue jeans and a t-shirt advertising some kind of beer. Aragorn received a tie-dyed t-shirt and a pair of sweat pants. Then she gave Legolas a pair of jeans and a superbowl t-shirt.
"Uh……do you mind?" Legolas asked Caly before he started to change.
"No." she replied, completely oblivious to what he was really asking her.
But she eventually figured it out.
"Oh……oh, right. Sorry." she stuttered as she made her way out of the closet and shut the door behind her.
But jut as Legolas was pulling off his tunic and undershirt Caly stuck her head in one last time.
"Bye."
Before the Elf could even yelp in shock, she was gone.
"Aragorn?"
"Yes?"
"That girl scares me."
XxX
Ten minutes later Caly lead the foursome back down to the living room. Aaron had beaten them there. When she saw the other five she could barely hide her giggles. All of them were dressed in blue jeans and t-shirts, but the logos on the shirts were the funny parts.
When she looked in Frodo's direction, Gollum glared back at her from the t-shirt. The word "Presciousssssss" was monogrammed across the top. Sam wore a Harry Potter t-shirt with Dobby on it. Merry had Yu-Gi-Oh on his t-shirt. The saying "Believe in the heart of the cards!" was emblazoned across the bottom. Pippin was wearing a Spongebob t-shirt with the words "I'm ready! I'm ready!" right through the middle of it. And Gimli was wearing a Hercules t-shirt with the words "Zero to hero" written across it.
By now Caly was practically rolling on the floor.
"That's rich, Aaron! I love it! I especially love the Dwarf's shirt!"
"Hey! "The Dwarf" has a name!" Gimli shouted indignantly.
"Yeah, I'm sorry Dwar- I mean- Gimli. Sorry."
Just then the doorbell rang.
"Oh, that's gotta be the pizza." Aaron said excitedly as he raced to the door.
"This oughta be interesting." Caly said softly as she joined her brother to pay for their dinner.
XxX
"All right, what's the seating arrangement?" Mila wondered out loud as the group of seven entered the movie theatre.
Monica, the girl who had organized the little get together, pushed her way to the front of the group. She shoved Atalanta away and stood next to Kyle.
"Hey, Kyle, wanna sit with me?" she asked him, batting her eyelashes in a sickeningly flirtatious display.
Kyle hesitated for a moment. He had already promised to sit with Atalanta.
"Well, I'm already sitting with Atalanta, but you can sit with us if you want." he answered.
"Okay, fine." she replied with a small groan.
Atalanta herself groaned inwardly. It was well known that Monica wanted Kyle for herself. Atalanta never declared her feelings so openly but from the beginning Monica had seen her as an obstacle to winning Kyle's affections. And if Atalanta knew anything about this snob of a girl, it was that Monica would be draped over Kyle for the rest of the night and she wouldn't be able to get a word in inch ways. But there wasn't much to be done about it.
So Atalanta sat down at the end of an isle close to the back of the theatre. Kyle came and sat next to her and Monica came and sat next to Kyle.
"Oh, these Lord of the Rings movies are so scary. Those monster guys are so freaky." Monica said in an overly childish voice.
"They're called orcs, Monica." Atalanta said with an exasperated sigh.
"Yeah, that's nice. But I don't know if I'll be able to sit through it. Would you hold my hand Kyle?" she asked coyly.
"Oh, brother." Atalanta muttered to herself as Kyle stared nervously down at Monica.
"Well, this will be an interesting night." Mila remarked as she sat down next to Monica with Meredith, Logan, and Cale. Meredith was another friend of Atalanta and Mila. Cale was her boyfriend. Monica had only invited Meredith because Cale, who was her brother, insisted. Logan had come along because he was Mila's brother and he was driver for the evening.
For now, all Atalanta could do was try and ignore Monica's sick attempt at flirting and enjoy the movie.
She leaned back in the chair and gave her full attention to the screen as the first haunting chords of the LOTR theme played out into the auditorium.
XxX
"Thank you." Caly called out to the pizza guy as he walked back to his car. Then she shut the door and turned to carry the pizza boxes into the kitchen. All nine of the Middle-Earthers were gathered there along with Aaron, anxiously awaiting the pizza.
Caly set the two large boxes down on the table and opened them both. Her favorite kind of pizza greeted her sight. It was the large thin crust kind, light on the sauce. Soaked in grease with the pepperoni baked underneath the cheese. She breathed in the wonderful scent and sighed deeply. It was so beautiful.
"Um…Earth to Calypsa. Hello in there! Some of us would like some pizza over here. Can we get with the program!" Aaron snapped at her.
"Oh yeah, sorry." Caly said as she passed paper plates to everyone.
"What are these?" Sam asked as he examined the paper plates.
"Uh…paper plates. You know?"
"What! Plates aren't supposed to be made out of paper. Don't you at least have some decent crockery?"
"Yes, but we don't use that unless there's a dinner party or something. For now we use the disposable ones." she explained.
Sam just grumbled as she put a slice of pizza on his plate.
"So, remind me again, what is this?" Aragorn asked Caly.
"It's pizza. Basically it's tomato sauce, bread dough, cheese, and pepperoni all baked together and smothered in grease. It's good, just eat it."
"What's pepperoni?" Boromir asked apprehensively as he lifted his slice from the plate and watched as the grease dripped off of it and onto his hand.
"It's a type of sausage."
"What's grease?" Merry asked.
"GREASE IS GOOD! EAT!" Caly burst out through a mouthful of pizza.
Legolas reached for one of the napkins on the table to wipe away some of the grease but Caly saw his movement.
"HEY! ELF! No wipe the grease off! You don't wipe grease off of good pizza! No matter how much there is!"
Legolas gulped nervously, about to crack under the girls gaze as he lifted the pizza to his mouth. He closed his eyes tightly as he took the first bite. They remained closed as he savored the amazing taste. There was simply no word for it.
"Incredible! I've never tasted anything like it! Nothing in Middle Earth could possibly compare to it! This pizza should be illegal! It's so wonderful! I must have more!" Having said so, Legolas proceeded to cram the slice into his mouth and practically dove into the box for more.
"Well if the Elf likes it, that's good enough for me." Pippin said as he dove for the box after Legolas.
Within ten minutes both boxes of pizza had been devoured and the Hobbits were hopping around the room like crazy, begging for more.
"Can we have it again tomorrow?" Pippin begged.
"Sam could never cook anything this good!" Merry joined in.
"Hey!"
"No offense meant."
"None taken. I think I'd have to agree with you on that." Sam replied sheepishly.
"Well, now that all the pizza's gone, lets play my Two Towers video game." Aaron suggested.
"I'm not sure that's such a good idea." Caly began as she looked over the fellowship, grease-stained faces and all. "Just look how they reacted to the pizza. It'll take forever to wash the sauce out of those shirts."
"Ah man, who asked you anyway. You said we could play the game after we got these guys dressed. Now they are and we've had dinner so lets play it!" Aaron demanded.
"All right, learn it the hard way." Caly sighed as she plopped down on the couch beside her brother.
When Aaron switched the T.V. on and the game consol began to light up, Gandalf began to ask questions.
"What matter of sorcery is this black box? I have never seen it's like."
"That's probably because you don't have electricity in Middle Earth. Just watch, you'll like this." Aaron said as everyone in the room began to sit down on various pieces of furniture. Just then the game started. The theme for Mordor blared through the surround sound system and the fellowship jumped at the sound of it. Then a game version of Saruman appeared onscreen and began to speak.
"The world is changing. Who now has the strength to stand against the armies of Isengard……and Mordor." he said in a very sinister voice.
Instantly, Legolas, Aragorn, Boromir, Gimli, and Gandalf jumped to their feet. Legolas swiftly drew his bow and fitted an arrow to it. Aragorn and Boromir drew their swords, Gimli hefted his battle Ax and gave a sort of war cry, and Gandalf raised his staff. All of their weapons were aimed at the T.V. screen.
"Uh…guys, what are you doing?" Caly asked them nervously.
"We must silence him or he may try to put a spell on us." Aragorn whispered as he raised Anduril threateningly towards the television.
"Guys?" Aaron said even more nervously than Caly.
"Gimli, Boromir. Take the Hobbits and the young ones to safety. We will follow in a few moments." Gandalf whispered to the said two.
The Hobbits were just getting to their feet to follow Boromir and Gimli out of the room, when all of the power in the house shorted out.
"Oh, great. This had to happen now didn't it?" Caly said.
"Not so loud, Caly. He might hear you." Aragorn said.
"Who?" Caly asked indignantly.
"Saruman. This is his doing." Gandalf explained.
"Oh, boy. Guys, it's just a black out. They happen all the time." Aaron tried to explain.
"No, you don't understand. The White Wizard has powers beyond your comprehension." Legolas whispered.
"I think it's you who doesn't understand." Aaron tried to say.
"Boromir, Gimli, get them out of here. We will take care of this." Aragorn said softly.
"You just had to play the video game didn't you!" Caly shouted furiously at Aaron as the man and the Dwarf dragged them out of the living room.
XxX
Atalanta sighed deeply. The movie was nearing it's end. Aragorn had just been crowned King of Arnor and Gondor. He was now being approached by the Elves. As he stepped towards them, they parted to reveal Arwen. Aragorn came to her and they shared a passionate kiss. Atalanta sighed again. It was all so romantic.
Slowly her eyes drifted over to Kyle, only to discover that he was looking at her too. His expression was nearly unreadable in the darkness of the movie theatre but even she could see that he was leaning closer to her. And, almost involuntarily, she was leaning towards him. There faces were mere inches apart now. She could feel his breath on her face.
Suddenly Kyle was jerked back to his seat by Monica. She clamped her hand down his arm and leaned into him.
"Oh, Kyle, isn't it so romantic." she cooed.
"Oh my God, this is pathetic." Atalanta said to herself. They had been so close, too.
She continued to mentally kick herself until she realized that the movie was over and "Into the West" was now playing.
"Atalanta, are you coming?" Mila asked her impatiently as the other five filed out of the theatre.
"Oh, yeah, sure." she said half-heartedly.
"All right, what happened?" Mila asked as they followed the others.
"That Monica! We were so close!"
"What do you mean?"
"He was about to kiss me, I know it! Then she had to go and pull him back!"
"Oh, I get it. Well at least we know that he likes you and not Monica."
"How does that prove anything? It could have been the heat of the moment. It was during a kissing scene, after all. Besides, Monica seems to have a way of getting what she wants. No matter what it takes." Atalanta said ominously.
"Stop being so paranoid. You'll get him eventually." Mila reassured her as they joined the others at Logan's car. The other six would be going out to dinner but Atalanta had to go home early to watch her siblings. She had promised her parents and she knew that she would have issues with her guilty conscious if she stayed out late.
As they finally pulled up to Atalanta's house, Mila whispered to her, "Don't worry. I'll make sure Monica stays away from Kyle."
Atalanta climbed out of the car and looked at her house. All of the lights were out. Either they were playing hide and seek or there had been a blackout while she was gone.
As Logan drove off, Atalanta continued to yell at herself.
"Damn! Damn! How am I supposed to compete with that bitch, Monica! She's such a- " Atalanta continued to swear loudly as she made her way to the front door.
When she opened it she found herself staring down the shaft of an arrow straight into Legolas's face.
"What the Hell!" she shouted.
"Keep your mouth shut, or I shall shoot you right between the eyes."
"What do you think you're doing! It's me! Atalanta!"
"Maybe you are and maybe you are not. You might be Saruman in disguise." he hissed in her face.
"Saruman? What are you talk-" Atalanta stopped mid sentence.
"What-did-you-do?" she whispered furiously to the empty air behind Legolas's back.
"It was an accident." came the squeak of her little brother from somewhere down the darkened hallway.
XxX