Disclaimer: Still don't own anything familiar.
A/N: Sorry for not updating for a really long time. I had writer's block, and then, something extremely horrible happened and I just needed some time to deal with it. But please hang in there! I'm not abandoning this fic! I'm even going to write a sequel!
The song for this chapter is dedicated to Cathryn Lee and Michael F. Borden, whose lives were stolen on Sunday, November 13th.
The Shadow Proves the Sunshine
By Switchfoot
Sunshine, won't you be my mother
Sunshine, come and help me sing
My heart is darker than these oceans
My heart is frozen underneath
We are crooked souls trying to stay up straight,
Dry eyes in the pouring rain well
The shadow proves the sunshine
The shadow proves the sunshine
To scared that I'll run always
Hold fast to the break of day light were
The shadow proves the sunshine
Oh Lord, why did you forsake me?
Oh Lord, don't be far away away
Storm clouds gathering beside me
Please Lord, don't look the other way
Crooked souls trying to stay up straight
Dry eyes in the pouring rain well
The shadow proves the sunshine
The shadow proves the sunshine
To scared that I'll run always
Hold fast to the break of day light were
The shadow proves the sunshine
The shadow proves the sunshine
Yeah Yeah, shine on me
Yeah Yeah, shine on me
Yeah Yeah, shine on me
Yeah Yeah, shine on me
Crooked souls trying to stay up straight
Dry eyes in the pouring rain well
The shadow proves the sunshine
The shadow proves the sunshine
To scared that I'll run always
Hold fast to the break of day light were
The shadow proves the sunshine
The shadow proves the sunshine
Yeah Yeah, shine on me
Yeah Yeah, shine on me
Yeah Yeah, shine on me
Shine on me,
Shadow proves the sunshine
Chapter Six: Chutes and Ladders
Legolas rolled the dice. Eight. He won Chutes and Ladders.
Again.
For the fourth time in a row. And playing Chutes and Ladders four times in a row really hurts your butt. I tried to get him to watch some T.V., but as I flipped through the channels, but once I got to the local news channel, this is what I got:
"…and earlier this afternoon there were some reported sightings of teen heartthrob Orlando Bloom."
Cut to little demon child from park...
"He's so GORGEOUS." She squealed and all her horrid little friends, including flamer boy, giggled insanely. "But his rude girlfriend, who I think he got pregnant-"
That's when I turned off the tube.
Honestly, isn't there something else just a little more interesting than a reported sighting of Mr. Bloom? Like, oh I don't know, drug dealers or shootings or something small like that?
So we played Chutes and Ladders instead. And he kicked my butt EVERY time. I suck at board games.
"Diana?" Legolas said quietly. I could tell where this was going, and I didn't like it. He was definitely going to ask about Jason. But I stupidly just played along.
"Yes?"
"Why does this Jason keep calling you?"
Who called it? I think I did.
"He's obsessed." I rolled a seven. If I got a two, it would be all downhill from here.
"Why?"
"I don't know…" I dropped the dice onto the board. Two. Damn. "He likes to have control. And this baby would be something else for him to control."
"Why don't you tell him to leave you alone?" He asked.
"I just think it would be a waste of time."
"But why?"
"He wouldn't listen." Another freakin' chute.
"You could make him listen."
"How? He's stronger than me. I couldn't do it."
"You can't do it because you're afraid."
He won more than the game that time.
"Well…of course I'm afraid!" I stood up quickly, almost falling over in the process, "But I'm not only afraid for me. I'm afraid for my baby. If Jason ever hurt him, I would never forgive myself."
"Him?"
"Yes, him," I retorted, "Everyone in my family has a boy for their first birth. It's like some unwritten tradition."
"Oh. Well, I still think you should confront him." Did Legolas suddenly get a degree in psychology?
"No. Nothing good will come out of it." I pulled out the comfort food-ice cream- and ate it straight out of the carton.
"If it is really because you're scared," and he looked at me with a really sincere look. I mean REALLY sincere, "I'll be there with you."
And that's when a glob of ice cream dropped onto my pants.
Later that day, Kate, Dave and I decided to take Leggy to the Philadelphia Zoo. As long as he was here, he could at least enjoy himself, right?
We disguised him thoroughly so we wouldn't have another fangirl incident.
"These are parrots." Four multi-colored birds sat on perches, squawking happily. "Parrots are the smartest birds out there."
"Smartest birds!" one of the parrots said.
"They can talk?" Legolas seemed just a little taken aback.
"Not quite." I said, "Parrots just mimic the sounds we make."
"Oh." We walked around and saw all the different exhibits. Legolas was acting strange. I didn't want to say anything though because I didn't want to upset him. And I figured he was still a bit nervous cause of the fangirls.
"It seems cruel for humans to cage these animals up like this." We were leaning on the fence lining the tiger pen. All the tigers were laying around and looking bored.
"Well, most of these animals wouldn't be here had it not been for the zoo." Kate explained, "A lot of the animals here are endangered because of hunters or loss of habitat or something. The people here are just trying to help their kind continue living."
"Yes, I understand that, but why can't they let them just go back to their home?" Legolas started to look really angry. It was the first time I ever saw that look on his face, but it wasn't the last.
"But if they did, then they would die," I said, "They would be hunted down. They wouldn't last…" I suddenly remembered Legolas mentioning how his people were forced to live in caves instead of the forest where they belong. "Maybe we should go."
"What?" Kate looked at me questioningly. "We haven't even-"
"Later." I said through clenched teeth. Dave must've caught my drift because he didn't say anything. We trudged to the car and began the half hour drive home.
"What's with the traffic?" I said impatiently. It had been awkwardly silent.
"Don't know mate." Dave said. He was probably trying to brighten the mood, but I just didn't want to deal with it.
"Hey Dave, can we stop with the-"
My heart stopped and my stomach dropped to my feet.
It was Jason.
We had stopped at a red light and I looked over to the car next to us. And lo and behold, it was Jason. Curiosity kills the cat…
…then resurrects it and strangles it again.
I turned my head around so fast that my neck cracked. Legolas was the only one who heard it though. Stupid elf senses. I could feel Jason's eyes boring into my back and I didn't dare turn back around. I shrunk lower in my seat and tried not to focus who slow the light was. But I couldn't shake off the feeling of Jason watching me. I began to grow impatient until I couldn't take it anymore.
"God, when will the damn light change!" I said irritably. Kate looked at me and arched an eyebrow.
"What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing!" Why wouldn't this freakin' light change? "I just want to get home!" Finally, the light turned green and we drove off. I sighed and held my head in my hands. Would he ever leave me alone?
Once we were in the safety of my apartment, I relaxed a little. But Legolas just had to bring it up. What is it with elves? They're so inquisitive. It drives me insane. But they're so adorable sometimes.
"You saw him, didn't you?"
"So what if I did?" I sounded like a hormonal teenager, but I really didn't care. And then the phone started to ring.
Legolas looked from me to the phone and then back again.
"I'm not answering it." I said. But he just kept staring at me. There's something about the look the he gets on his face that's really persuasive. But I was still not picking up the phone.
"NO."
More staring.
"FINE." I slowly reached for the receiver and brought it up to my ear. "Hello?"
A/N: Sorry bout the cliffie. But I really have no time to write right now. Please review!
