A/N: This didn't take too long, did it? I hope not. I just had enough time before I was going to take a shower and go to the movies with my friends, who'd made up at last! Yay! Has anyone seen "Corpse Bride"? Did you think it was good?

Whatev. Getting off the point here. I hope you like this chapter!

HEY GUESS WHAT? I've actually inspired someone to write their own Legolas-travels-here story! I've never inspired someone before! -squee!- I really hope that works out for you, MusicalCharlatan! And everyone else, thank you SO much for the reviews! You're awesome!

(Did you know that a reviewer really has a friend named Kyla? Hm. I thought I made it up.)

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Disclaimer: It's not mine! We ssswearsss it on the precioussss!

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ch. 7

The next week passed by quickly. Basically, Fran skittered off to work, I woke up at eight (yes, I began getting up earlier! I actually kind of made a game out of it, seeing if I could wake up before Legolas. I always lost.), and Legolas began adjusting quite nicely to our world. We talked quite a lot, learning a bit more about each other, like our preferences of weather, our favored foods, and other small things that were really unimportant compared to real life but part of us nonetheless. We became more comfortable with each other, and before we even knew it, we were trading secrets. I told that elf things that I even kept from Fran, even though she was just about my best friend.

And while I spent more time around Legolas, I tried to solve the puzzle that was him. He was mysterious and unpredictable, and I sometimes found myself surprised by the way he acted or what little he revealed of himself every day. Sometime in the middle of the week, I woke with a start, a loud clap of thunder jolting me from my haze of sleep. I looked at the window, startled, so see another strike of lightning flare, followed by an impressive bang of thunder. It was raining so hard I was nearly afraid it would stab straight through the window.

I sat up and gather my blanket around me, placing my feet on the floor and wandering from my room. I could never sleep during storms like this; not only were they too loud, their ferocity frightened me. I exited the hall and jumped when another lightning flashed, the glow illuminating the entire room as if it were day. In the blinding light, I caught sight of a still silhouette standing by the wide living room window, watching the vicious fray. Wondering if the storm had woken Legolas too, I crept over to his side.

"Couldn't sleep?" I asked, just before another crash of thunder shook the windowpane. Legolas, without taking his eyes from the happenings going on outside, replied,

"Nay. I couldn't pass up the chance to watch this." I cocked my head curiously.

"You like watching thunderstorms?" I questioned. I didn't know how he liked them. They frightened even the marrow of my bones. They were mightily intimidating, with shocking lightning and rumbling thunder. It was simply too much chaos for my liking.

"I find them fascinating," he breathed, wonder clear in his voice. At the next clamor of lightning and thunder, Legolas' eyes followed every streak of light that cut across the sky, reveling in the forces of nature's fury, while I nearly jumped into his arms like Scooby did to Shaggy in the TV show.

"How could you like them?" I asked incredulously, drawing my blanket tighter around myself. "They're so…" I glanced out at the storm, then shuddered, not being able to find the correct word to define my fear. "I'm always afraid of being struck by lightning, or the house catching fire because of it, or a tree falling on the roof, or—"

"Calm yourself, Kyla," Legolas said, smiling at my ramblings. He gently took my hand in his own, and I found myself liking the feel of his warm fingers around mine. He pulled me slightly closer to him, briefly meeting my eyes, then looking out at the rain and wind. "Close your eyes," he instructed me softly, and I hesitantly did as I was told, still flinching when I glimpsed a bright flash outside my eyelids. I don't know how, but I felt vulnerable with my eyes closed, not knowing what the storm was doing or how much it intensified.

"Legolas…" I murmured quietly, my brow wrinkling.

"Hush," he whispered, and I could barely hear him over the sound of the rain pelting the glass window. I felt him brush his thumb gently over the wrinkle in my forehead, smoothing it out. "Relax and listen." He fell silent again, and another round of lightning and thunder rolled by, causing me to flinch. I listened to the hard rain closely, trying to figure out what he was asking of me.

"What am I supposed to be hearing?" I asked.

"The song," he responded laconically. "The rise and fall of the pitch of rain, the drumming of thunder, the clash of lightning…listen closely to it." I tried hard to do as he asked me, but all I could hear was the loud lashing of the storm raging beyond a simple pane of glass. I was tense and anxious about the next crash of lightning, wondering when it would come. When it did, I only tensed my muscles further. "What do you hear?" Legolas asked from beside me.

"Loudness," I replied instantly. "It's all just one big drone. I can't hear anything."

"No," he said, and I could feel his hands expertly kneading my shoulders in an effort to relax them. "Try again. There is a melody to the storm; you simply need to locate it." I tried again, focusing my ears on the sounds outside, putting all of my effort into the task. I listened to the rain, the lightning, the thunder…and after a moment or two, I heard it. I found a rhythm within the pitch of rain and every clash of lightning, through the rumble of thunder that followed. It sounded as one large and wondrous song, the melody speaking of enthusiasm and beauty.

With a smile, I opened my eyes to see Legolas studying me closely, a smile of his own flickering across his face. "You heard it," he stated, and I nodded, turning to look at the storm through the window. Suddenly, I didn't find it so intimidating, and though I tensed slightly at the next lightning flash, I didn't jump out of my skin. Legolas followed my gaze, and we remained silent as we watched the dance of rain and wind. We stayed there until the thunderstorm had abated, and I found myself enjoying every second of the power it emanated.

Small moments like that dotted nearly every day that went by, and I enjoyed my times with Legolas. Normally we sat on the couch, talking with one another, as we liked doing, but there were times when we would stay silent, and I realized that I liked those times, too. Legolas became interested in my book collection, and he selected "Eragon", for it told of a world much like his own. We would sit together on the couch, him reading his book while I flipped through a newspaper or magazine. I felt that I found out more about him in these kinds of silences. I'm not sure what it was, but I felt…connected to him, somehow.

He even helped me clean up our computer room after it had been trashed by his arrival. When I told him it wasn't necessary for him to help me, he insisted that he was the one who had caused the mess, therefore he would help clean it up. I appreciated it, for the job went much quicker with the two of us at it. Not only that, I realized just how much crap we had lying around. I actually found a few things I had lost in the rubble littering the floors, and was able to throw more out, things that we didn't need. And, again, it gave Legolas and I the time to learn more about each other.

I might be going on about this, but I found absolutely everything Legolas did fascinating. He had such grace and fluidity to his movements, it was totally obvious that he wasn't human. I sometimes felt like freaking Steve Irwin reporting a documentary, and I could almost hear his voice inside my head whenever I zoned out as I watched Legolas complete the simplest of tasks in the most interesting way. "Ain't 'e a beaut'?" my mind mocked me, and then I would snap out of it before Legolas could catch me staring at him.

"Don't you think he's getting sick of it?" Fran asked me the morning nearly a week after Legolas' arrival. I sighed and closed the magazine I was reading, finally consenting to listen to what my roommate had to say. She'd been bugging me ever since I woke about this matter.

"I don't know," I retorted in frustration, waving my hand in an exasperated gesture. "Why don't you ask him?" Fran leaned again the counter, finishing her bagel.

"Why should I be the one to ask him?" she replied with a question of her own. "You're the one who spends just about every waking moment with him." I threw her a mild glare.

"I do not."

She rolled her eyes and pushed away from the counter. "Right." She went back to packing her lunch, taking leftovers from the fridge. Her back was to me the whole time, and her voice echoed around the kitchen when she said dramatically, "You two wake up, say little more than 'hello' to each other in the morning, then retreat to your separate corners of the apartment, never to speak or see each other's faces until dinner." She turned back to look at me with an incredulous expression. "I'm not stupid Kyla. I can see how close you two have gotten over the past week. He seems to trust you with his very life for some reason. You just get along so well."

I shifted a bit as she went back to the creation of her lunch. "Still," I blurted, "how do you know Legolas is getting sick of this apartment? How do you know whether he wants to go outside or not?" Fran sighed.

"Oy," she muttered, then turned again to stare me straight in the eyes, a buttery knife dangling from her fingers. "Listen to me closely, Kyla. I know everything there is to know about Middle-earth. I know everything there is to know about 'Lord of the Rings'. I know everything there is to know about the races, their customs, where they live, all that jazz." She counted the list off on her fingers, skillfully avoiding the knife she was still holding. "I know what a dwarf's favorite food is, fer cryin' out loud! But there is also the fact that I have studied elves inside out. I practically worship them. So believe me when I say I know what Legolas would prefer and what he generally enjoys."

I blinked a few times, my eyebrows raised, then blew the air from my mouth. "Okay," I said, making a continuing motion with my hand. "Fill me in. What would Legolas like?" Fran carefully placed the knife on the counter and sat down at the table across from me.

"Elves love nature," she said, getting straight to the point. "They reside always around and within nature. Legolas is from the land of Mirkwood. Basically, he's a wood-elf. Wood-elves take pleasure in being in nature of any kind, since they seem to cherish it more than any other type of elves, but they prefer to be somewhere with leaves over their heads and earth under their feet." She paused to scratch at a stain on the wooden tabletop. "If elves are kept inside for a long period of time, without any contact with nature, they begin to sicken. Not right away," she added hurriedly at my stricken expression, "but gradually. There's no changes in Legolas right now, but it will show if he stays here for too long."

"So…what would you have me do?" I asked her, trying not to think of Legolas becoming ill.

"Take him to a park or something," she said to me. "As long as there's trees and grass, he'll be just fine." I bit my lip uncertainly.

"But wouldn't he…stand out?" I asked hesitantly. "I mean, he's not that hard to miss." It was true, after all. As if his slender build and graceful movements didn't make him stand out enough, he was wearing a dark green tunic and brown leggings, with leather boots that reached the center of his shin. He would certainly stand out among a crowd with that attire, and the long blond hair and pointed ears didn't really help.

"Yeah, but…" Fran tapped the wood of the table in a hurried rhythm with her fingernails. "Well, I could lend him some of Mike's clothes, at least until I could buy him some that fit. If he wants to go out today, he'll have to deal with what Mike can give him."

"He's not picky. I'm sure he'd adjust," I said. "As long as we can get him out of this apartment. I don't want his body to fail him." Fran gave me a curious look, then nodded.

"I can grab a break at lunch, drive to Mike's, pick out some clothes, and come back here."

"All that? Are you sure you'll have enough time?"

"Hey, I'm the Time Sorceress, remember?" she asked me with a smile, and I had to return the gesture. I swear, the woman could pick up laundry at one end of the city, drive to the other to get pizza, and arrive at the apartment six minutes early.

I gave her a good-natured shove out of the kitchen. "Whatever you say, Miss 'Time Sorceress'. Now get going before your ass is late!" She laughed and went to gather her things, me following to the living room. Legolas was sitting peacefully on the couch, still reading the book he had chosen. He looked up when he heard me approach and laid the book face down to save his page, sending me a small smile.

"Hello, Kyla," he said to me, still wearing that charming smile.

"Hello, Legolas," I replied, grinning.

"Now you're off to crawl into opposite corners, just like I predicted, right?" Fran asked with a breathless laugh as she came hustling into the room, nearly four bags swinging from her shoulders.

"Yeah right, Fran," I said, rolling my eyes. She stuck her tongue out at me, then winked at Legolas, who smiled.

"Namárïe, Legolas," she said, waving her hand in an arc.

"Garo arad vain," he replied, nodding his head as I rolled my eyes again. Ever since Legolas had discovered that Fran was fluent in Elvish, they had taken every moment they could to speak it with each other, and it drove me crazy when I didn't know what they were saying.

Fran walked out the door, and I sat down next to Legolas on the couch. There was a moment of companionable silence, and then I finally said, "Legolas?"

"Hm?"

"Would…you possibly be interested in going outside?"

I swear, the room got ten shades brighter when he heard my words. An excited sparkle came to his eyes, and he gave a small smile. "I would very much be interested," he responded. "When would we be able to go?"

"Whoa, slow down," I laughed. "We can go after Fran stops by during her lunch break. She'd have clothes for you to wear."

"Is there something wrong with what I'm wearing now?" he asked innocently, making me smile.

"No, but there are large differences in what you're wearing…" I motioned to his tunic and breeches, "…and what I'm wearing." I gestured to my loose T-shirt and jeans. "We need to get you to fit in as much as possible." He nodded in understanding, but he was beginning to look apprehensive about venturing outside. I took his hand in mine and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Hey," I said softly. "As long as you stick by me, you'll be perfectly fine."

He nodded again and visibly relaxed, which made me feel better than I thought it would.

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OMG he's going outside! How do you think he'll react to everything? Hmm...-ponders- I know how he'll react. Know how? I'm the author! Ha! (Sorry, I'm a whackjob.) Reviews please!

Translations:

Namarie: Farewell

Garo arad vain: Have a lovely day