A/N: God I'm very busy lately…-.-'

So very sorry it's taken me so long to post this chapter. Plus, I'm like trying to watch Constantine at the same time, and believe me, it's very distracting…!

To my reviewers:

Snow: Oh… gimme a break. Read the following A/N's VERY carefully… k? You'll understand why I do what I do then.

Manwathiel: You have spectacular foresight, my friend! 0.o ;)

animelover:gasp: I hated Sirius's death too! Lol! And I like Lupin also! I always imagined they'd both be kinda hot… heheh… and Lupin in the quiet way. .

And laura: :)

Thanks, all of you, for enjoying this! Really, I only write this to ease my mind off of things sometimes; I really usually write serious stories… Thus I know that this story may be not the best-written one in the world, and so I have to say: wow, it's so great that you guys all like it. Lol!

p.s. All the -- signs mean that what I'm saying right there is in current time, as you'll find that I'm answering questions in this chapter, and then what follows is the memory that answers the question/thought/whatever. Ok? Ok.

7/26/05- Putting the Cards on the Table (or aka "Getting Things Straight")

--Ok, so by now, you probably have all been wondering many things. Like, did Legolas eat dinner last night at my house, then? And breakfast? And did he use my shower? My bathroom, rather? Did my parents see him? Did they flip if they did? How did Legolas really come into my house? How come I'm so lucky? And most importantly, where did he sleep? (Haha… excuse me for being pervy…;)

So I shall take the time now to explain these things to you all.

Okay, so you recall that after I had sent the bumbling police officer away, I had then gone up into my room to think of a death threat. However, I did not have much success. Well, I then realized I was hungry. Looking at the clock revealed that it was 8:00 p.m.; and I began to wonder where my parents and brother were. They had gone out to do some shopping… and should have been home by now. I mean, my parents are the ones who make dinner; so how could they have left a poor little girl to starve at home all by herself? But at least there was one good thing about my parents being gone for the moment; you see, I had not yet been able to think of a good way to go up to them with Legolas when they came back and tell them, "Oh hey, Mom, Dad, Art… this here is Legolas and I think he will be living with us for the rest of his life… or rather, our lives, as he's immortal and we're not. And so don't flip or call the FBI or something, because he is only after all a 3000-year old handsome blonde elf prince (or maybe older, seeing as its not even the Fifth Age anymore) who just happens to own some lethal knives and arrows and a longbow that's strapped to his back. And so like yeah, in short; LEGOLAS is here." ……snort:… Yeah right. If I had said that, the FBI would surely be at our doorstep the next thing I know and trying to arrest poor Legolas.

But anyways, being extremely hungry, I flounced into the kitchen, looking for something to eat. There, I found that Legolas had resumed running water in the sink. Curious, I poked my head around to look at what he was doing.

"Um…" I said, looking at him holding my hamster's water bottle, "why are you holding my hamster's water bottle?"

"Hmm?" he said absent-mindedly, not bothering to turn around and look at me.

"Why are you holding my hamster's water bottle?" I repeated.

"Oh." He said, turning off the water and turning around to face me, the bottle full. "Why?" He suddenly frowned at me. "Why? Adriel, why? Did you not notice how dirty the water was in the bottle? What are you trying to do, poison the poor creature?" He frowned even more at me. "I thought you loved animals, Adriel. I thought they were your friends. Tell me, when was the last time you changed the water in this bottle?"

"I… um…" I stuttered, completely unhooked by Legolas's sudden scolding. I mean, the water dirty? I remembered seeing the water crystal-clear just hours before! In fact, I had only just- "I changed the water this morning." I answered, finding my voice.

"Well, you should change it in the afternoon then, too," Legolas replied before he went off to put the bottle back in the cage.

Bewildered, I watched him walk off. Then, suddenly, an idea hit me. (Light bulb time!) I dashed over to where my computer was still open, and pulled out Chapter-something in my Adriel story. Scrolling down, I finally found it. There, it read: "Adriel could understand the ways of many animals; sometimes even what they say. After all, she had been living with them for more than 2000 years." Backing away from the computer, I racked my brain rigorously. Wait- okay, so in real life, I'm not really an animal lover. Hamsters and dogs and cats are okay, but not really anything else. MEANWHILE… Adriel was an animal lover. At least, that's how I had written her in my story. But okay: so here was Legolas, suddenly in my house out of the blue, calling me Adriel and reminding me of Adriel characteristics. Wtf?

I decided to put matters aside for the moment, and to fill up my growling stomach first. Rushing into the kitchen, I began emptying out the refrigerator, closets, stove, cupboards- anything I could empty.

"Ahhhh," I said, happily opening up bags of chips, Goldfish, crackers and Chicken Biscuits and then dumping them all together into a huge bowl and mixing them together. "Mmmmm."

(And from here on, this combination of things shall be known as my famous Addie Mush. Don't ask why.)

Anyways, I grabbed my bowl of Addie Mush and walked out, munching happily. There, I found Legolas sitting on my couch, looking rather out of place.

"Are you hungry?" I asked, my mouth full of Doritos.

He looked at me wearily, and seeing me eating like a pig, shook his head.

"You sure?" I asked, my mouth still full.

"Yes." He said decisively, and then turned to reach into a pack on his back. He pulled out several small rolls in a moment, each encased in a separate leafy wrapping. "Or at least, not for whatever you're eating. But you see, I have brought my own food."

And unwrapping one of the rolls (revealing some creamy-looking pastry), he took a bite.

"Ooooh," I said, dropping my Goldfish. "What is that?"

"This," he replied with a smile, "is another new wonder from Galadriel's elves's kitchens. Remember lembas? Yep." He took another happy bite.

Now I wanted some. I mean, how often do you get to eat Elven food? So I said, "How many do you have?"

"Oh," He said, grinning, "a lot. Enough to last a few weeks, I think. Galadriel gave them to me as a gift last week. 'For whenever you may go somewhere new.' She said. 'You'll need it.'" He then shrugged and started on a second roll.

Well, at that moment I was thinking of several things- One, Galadriel has horribly accurate foresight; two, Legolas was wrong; his food wouldn't last a few weeks, and that's because of number three; which is that I will soon steal all these little rolls and keep them for myself. WAAHAHHA!

--But anyways, that answers the question: He didn't eat dinner with us, and since I was too tired to go steal his food during the night, he spent the next day eating his own food too.

Now, after we had had our own separate dinners (mine was junk food! Yaay!) I went and sagged on the couch. "Ohhhh." I said, gripping my stomach. "I'm dying."

Legolas looked at me skeptically. And then he said it: "You're not like how I remember Adriel at all."

That gave me new life. Immediately I jumped up and ran out of the room. Seconds later, I was back, dragging a large coffee table in with me. I pushed it right in front of Legolas.

"Okay." I said, seating myself opposite him. "It's about time we did this. Let's put all the cards on the table."

"What are cards?" He asked me quizzically.

"Never mind. It's an expression. When I say that, I mean "let's get the facts out and straight." Or something like that. But anyways, I want to get many facts out and straight. First of all, why do you keep calling me Adriel? My name is not Adriel. She's my fictional character's name."

Poor Legolas. He looked so confused! "Aren't you Adriel?" He asked carefully.

"No!" I said, annoyed. "Though I like the thought of being Adriel, I am NOT Adriel. I am…" I paused here, unsure of what to say.

"Yeah?" He said, egging me on.

"Just… call me Addie." I replied, deciding I might as well have someone call me something other than my real name.

"Addie."

"Yes, Addie."

"Then you are Adriel!" He said, raising his arms in exasperation. "I call Adriel "Addie" all the time."

I smacked my head. Darn! I forgot I had written that in my story.

"Though you certainly don't act like Adriel…" he said, eyeing me carefully.

"That's because I'm not. Why do you think I am Adriel, and even more; have to act like her?"

"Because… your voice is the same, and you look like her." Aww, my poor little confused prince!

But I decided to leave it at that. After all, having Legolas think that I was Adriel wasn't bad. In fact, it was a dream come true. So shrugging happily, I said, "You're right. I am Adriel. Just call me Addie, though."

"I do already." He said, looking like I was the one who was crazy. "And didn't you say already that you AREN'T Addie?"

"I am, I am," I said hastily. "I really am."

"No, I think YOU are the one who is an impostor." Suddenly, he reached out towards me. I squawked, unsure what he was going to do. Hit me?

"Relax." He said, his hand pointing at my neck. "I just want to see something. It'll prove whether or not you are Adriel. Show me Naryis."

Naryis… Adriel's necklace, a gift from Leggy! Oh no, I didn't have anything like that! Unless I could go to my computer now, and delete all the stuff about Naryis from the story, perhaps I could be saved? That is, if my theory about whatever the computer says becomes true is true.

"I um… need to go to the bathroom." I said, ready to dive into my room.

"No, show me Naryis first."

I squeaked nervously.

"Just show me Naryis."

I decided to try crying.

"Oh, by the love of Valar, what are you crying about? Just show me the necklace!" And he lunged at the collar of my shirt.

I screamed. "Nononononono!" I cried, tugging my shirt back.

And he yanked. And I pulled. "Dammit!" I screamed, ready to kick him with my feet.

However, before I could, he let go. Panting, I fell to the ground hard. "Oww!" I groaned, rubbing my butt.

"There," He said breathlessly himself, but holding up something in his hand. Squinting, I saw it was a beautiful silver necklace, and below it, the pink stone Naryis in its glass encasing.

"You just had to hand this over," he said, sounding irritated. "Could have saved much trouble." He threw the necklace back at me.

"Well, how I supposed to know?" I said just as irritably, pulling at my shirt. It was now all floppy and loose at the collar. "I mean, great, thanks. This was a good shirt too." I plucked at it again dolefully. But inside, I was really thinking, OOOOOH, WOW, COOL- I actually had Naryis! WOOOW! …But How?

However, by now, I had learned not to question anything. Clearly, even the impossible was possible. Or it could just be that I am blessed with sudden blessedness, and I might as well not question it.

Thus, I stood up, still patting at my shirt. "I was going to ask you how you happened to come in my house, and how come I look like Adriel, and other things, but you know what? Forget it. No point in asking." Besides, I had another theory. Clearly the stars had something to do with Legolas, etc. And I was determined to try it out on the other 7 stars soon enough. HAHAHAHAHAHA! I AM SO LUCKY! (Wouldn't all the fangirls of the world just kill to be me right now?) And then I broke out into a run towards the bathroom, screaming, "I CAN WISH UPON THE STARS! HAHAHAHAHA!"

Legolas shook his head, and then got up from the couch too.

--And there; I hope I have answered a few more questions. (It is also why he was unsure of calling me Addie in the previous chapter, as I had nearly revealed to him that I am NOT Addie.)

Now, after I had finished screaming with glee, I poked my head out the bathroom door. "Leggy," I sang in a singsong voice. "Time for bed!"

His voice floated up to me from downstairs. "Don't you think I know?" I could imagine him rolling his eyes.

"Well, don't you need to like, wash your face or anything?" I yelled back. Awww, look, already exchanging retorts like a real couple. How sweet… :snort:

"How can I, when you're hogging the bathroom?"

"There are two other bathrooms, you know!" I snapped. "One up here, and another downstairs."

Silence.

"Leggy?" I asked.

"All right, all right, I see." He said, sounding bored.

"Okay," I said sweetly, and then closed the bathroom door. Below me, I could hear doors opening and closing too.

I was just about to run the water and begin brushing my teeth when realization struck me. (Light bulb time again!) Was… Was Legolas about to take a shower or something? OOH, I had to try very hard not to squeal.

Immediately banging open my door, I flew downstairs. There, the bathroom door was closed.

"Are you like, gonna take a bath or something?" I asked, my voice unnaturally high.

Silence.

"Leggy?" I asked again.

A sigh. "What do you think? Do you have any idea how dirty you can get in one day?"

Now I really squealed. "But- but- BUT AREN"T YOU GONNA BE NAKED?" I squeaked. Ooooh, me as Captain Obvious!

Silence. Then, "Nooo, I'm going to wash with all my clothes on."

"You are?"

An exasperated sigh.

"Somehow…" he said, sounding very tired, "I think your brain has diminished, Adriel. Which is really sad, actually. In fact I doubt you're Adriel at all. I mean, Addie."

"Oh." I said, not hearing the insult. "Well, so you're washing without your clothes, right?"

"Ohhh… (groan) Yes. And-" He said, as if he anticipated me squealing again, "-which is why I have locked the door."

"How do you know I haven't got cameras installed in the bathroom?" I screamed hysterically.

"What are cameras?"

"Oh," I said, struggling to regain control over myself. "Never mind."

"Okay." And then the water began running.

--All right, now you see- if I was a real sick pervert, I could have just gotten the keys to the bathroom and then pounced in. But I'm not that crazy; I can wait. (WAHAHAHAAHA :) Besides, I knew how much privacy is important, and so I decided to take this chance to take a shower myself. After all, though I knew Legolas wasn't sick, I would have still felt uneasy taking a bath with him in the house. Thus, I took several calming breaths, and then went up to my original bathroom.

(NOW, before people start throwing eggs at me and screaming, "You idiot! You should have gone in!" BECAUSE I NEVER WOULD HAVE ANYWAYS, let me just tell you- it's not done yet.)

So, jumpy as I was, my shower only took ten minutes and then I was out. (Usually it takes an hour.) When I had dressed and gone downstairs, I found Legolas was still in the bathroom. Looking at the clock revealed it was 10 pm. Where on Middle Earth were my parents? I had decided already that instead of explaining Legolas to them, I would hide him. I already knew where. There was this little cute cupboard, under the stairs… Yes, he could go in there.

I was just about to pound on his door and tell him to hurry up, as my parents could be back any second now, when his water turned off.

I began pacing nervously outside his bathroom door, wringing my hands in a frightened manner.

And then the bathroom door opened, and Legolas came out yelling, "Where-"

BAM. He had not seen me, unfortunately, and meanwhile, I hadn't either, and so when he took just a step out his door I rammed right into him in my nervous pacing.

I found myself stuck flat against his chest, and my eyes grew bigger than bowling balls. He froze, and I did too, and so there we stood, two little frozen figures stuck together, like we had been immobilized with one of those little Freezing Charms.

Finally, a few seconds later (though it seemed like years), I managed to unglue myself from him and then limply fell to the floor. His eyes followed me to the ground. (Really, there was a towel over even his torso, but does that matter? Nooope. I was still dazed enough.)

He huffily pulled his towel tighter around him, then cleared his throat and said, "AS I WAS SAYING, do you have any more towels? This was the only one I could find."

"I- ah, yes," I said, sitting up and shaking my head. Geez! I had to stop getting so dazed every time I even touched him. It's like he was a rare, delicate treasure that NO ONE was allowed to touch. And if you did, you'd suddenly feel like you had just sprouted wings and been the first to fly up to the stars.

…Ok, never mind; I'm rambling.

So I stood up slowly, not looking at him, and began moving away, still rather stunned. "I have towels right here, in this room…"

--Well, it was just my luck. We were just passing before the door that led to the garage when my parents came home. And before I could gather my thoughts and push Legolas into the cupboard under the stairs, my dad had pushed the door open, shedding sudden bright light on me, who walking past wet, followed by an even wetter Legolas, and who was also wrapped in a damp towel.

…I nearly had a heart attack. And behind me, Legolas froze too.

My dad, however, didn't seem to have seen anything. He put a bag of groceries down, and began to walk back into the garage. I, however, took this as like, the silent treatment or something, and immediately ran frantically after him. "Dad, dad, dad, I can explain-"

"Explain what?" asked my mom, coming in. Behind her, my little brother barreled in, making little weird zooming noises with his mouth.

I yelped, and immediately ran after him, as he was headed straight for Legolas. Legolas stared too, and then quickly leapt out of the way. Before I could stop myself, however, I had already tackled my brother, and we both went rolling across the floor in a string of curses.

"What is wrong with you?" my mom chided, looking angry. "Why'd you just tackle your little brother?"

My brother looked at me heatedly. "Moron." He muttered, and then punched me hard in the shoulder and walked away, trying to look dignified. (By the way, he's like what, 7 ½ yrs. old? Yeah.)

"I- uh…" My head was working furiously. Clearly, none of my family seemed to be able to see Legolas. Not even my mom, who was standing right next to him. Deciding to confirm it, I pointed at him. "Do you see anything there, Mom?"

My mom looked at him for a moment, or rather, right through him, and then turned back to me like I was being ridiculous. "See what?" she sighed exasperatedly.

I felt relief flooding into me so fast I almost went limp with it. But I managed to say, "Oh, nothing, Mom," and then stagger drunkenly away, pulling Legolas along behind me. "Let's get you the towel." I muttered, once out of earshot.

Behind us, my family continued unpacking the car. Well, I thought, THANK ERU! Legolas may have to live with us for the rest of his life being invisible, but I least was saved from the uncomfortable prospect of having to tell my mom, "Oh, hey, the man of my dreams has just popped in from Middle Earth and is going to be here with us for the rest of our lives." Yippee!

--Okay, last question. Where does he sleep? HAHAHAAHA… Now this is THE BIG QUESTION. :snorts again:

Well, okay, after Legolas was all dressed up and my family had checked to make sure I had eaten dinner (they had eaten theirs outside), they went down to sleep. I would have also, but with Legolas sitting in my room I couldn't.

"Okay," I said, crossing my arms over my chest, "the question is, where will you sleep?" I looked around my room, clearly seeing nowhere suitable for him to go.

"Aren't I sleeping with you?" he asked.

(Silence)

--……………………Ahahaha. I wish! Okay, never mind, he DID NOT say that. If he had thought me really Adriel, he might have said that, 0.o, but like I said- by now, he obviously had his doubts about my identity already. And I really don't blame him….

No, what he really said was, "Not in this room, that's for sure." (Darn!) He glanced warily around at the mess on every square inch of carpet.

I nodded. "Yeah, I mean, I would have you sleep on the floor, but to tell you the truth, I would feel just weird."

Well, we both had different reasons for him not sleeping in my room, but whatever.

So I said, "How about the living room?" I walked out my door to look at the big couch. Then, smiling slyly, I added, "I would let you sleep outside, you know, in the trees; you may feel more at home that way. But unfortunately I broke our hammock last year, as I took it for a bungee jump." (Whee!)

He looked at me with an unreadable expression.

"Well, anyways," I said, clearing my throat, "So guess you'll sleep here then. I'll get you some blankets and pillows…" I walked back into my room. "You are all right with sleeping here, right?"

…Well, silence is agreement.

"Here," I said, coming back moments later, and dumped an armful of fluffy pink blankets, Hello Kitty pillows, and a Legolas doll on the couch. "Make yourself comfy."

His face was still unreadable. However, I think, this time, there was certainly much more disbelief than anything on it.

I picked up the Legolas doll and waved it in front of him. "Calling Legolas back to Planet Earth," I sang.

Finally, he sighed and began pushing the assortment of pink things I had just unloaded before him to one side of the couch. Then, flashing me a meaningful look, he unrolled a traveling-blanket (the sort you see Sam carrying all the time) and laid it out on the couch. Then he fluffed up a white pillow and placed it next to the blanket. I watched him do all this in amazement.

"Okay," I finally said, as he crawled into the traveling blanket, "guess you don't need my stuff then. But you can still use it if you get cold or something." And then, giving him my most innocent smile, I skipped back into my room, still clutching the Leggy doll tightly.

Behind me, I heard Legolas sigh again. Poor him, I suddenly thought, perhaps he's rather homesick by now…

But my thoughts were interrupted by a sudden loud squeak coming from the couch. Turning around, I heard Legolas groan as he held up a rubber duckie. Clearly, it had been underneath him. (Lolz!) Sheepishly and trying hard not to giggle, I went over to take it from him. "Good night," I said, fighting hard against the urge to kiss him.

He muttered something inaudible in reply.

Meanwhile, the duckie continued squeaking as I carried it away, ready to deposit it in the bathroom. I tried to quiet it down, but was quite unsuccessful. "Honey," my mom called from her room, completely not sounding like she meant "honey" at all, "please go to sleep NOW and stop playing with your brother's toys, ok? You're too old for that, and besides, do you know what time of the night it is?"

I sighed and threw the duck in the bathtub. "Yes, Mom."

--So there, I have answered all the possible questions I think people can come up with, and- WAIT, hang on sec…

(Sounds of angry shouting can be heard from upstairs, and then my dad can be VIVDLY heard, yelling, "What happened to the bathroom? And why is there a page from your Harry Potter book clogging up the toilet?" Uh oh…)

Okay, gotta go! Oh, but one more thing you might like to know before I do disappear- I have, so far, saved everything that Legolas touched since last night in one already messy corner of my room- the hamster water bottle (I got him a new one), the towels, my pink blankets and pillows, and the rubber duckie. I tried to move the couch into my room too, but it didn't work too well. And oh, I am trying so HARD NOT TO SQUEAL! After all, my parents will wonder why I'm giving off so much excessive squealing. Heehee!

"Dad, stop yelling! You'll make the police come back!"

A/N: okay, aren't you all happy? A long chapter! Yay! Should make up for my 3-day delay. So sorry about that again!

P.S. Perhaps someday my parents and others will see Legolas and co., but I just didn't have that happen today, as I want to think of the best responses possible before I do something like that. Of course, if you'd rather him stay invisible, just tell me! And then I'll make sure that happens. ;) Tla!