Author's Note: Thanks so much for the reviews, follows, and favorites. Thank you chibichibi98, GoldCleaver, THE WALKING sexy AMC, Lalaithiel, Desert Vulpes Zerda, uno mega, znk99fg7, DepthsOfMySubconsciousness, Shadowsammy, lillalil, PhyreCrystal, helicopter815, Just4Me, YoIt'sThatOneGirlNameBianca, dearreader, TheHobbitFanatic, DwarvenWarrior, Tulipa Negra, maybege, , Vanafindiel, emilyjane138, Guest, SwanInProgress, biddle29, cauldron-of-ceridwen, house of the falling sun, Laurie Jupiter, UKReader, Lulu, and BakaProductions for reviewing! This chapter is dedicated to YoIt'sThatOneGirlNameBianca, this weekend's birthday girl! She's turning twenty ;) One more year until she's twenty-one. Special thanks to helicopter815 for reviewing multiple chapters! Anon responses will be below.
Disclaimer: I do not own "Africa" by Toto.
Chapter Twenty-Four: Africa
Earth felt like Mars―or like Africa.
Somewhere so ridiculously foreign she'd die in one day's time if she ever were stranded there. Okay, so it wasn't like she could get stranded on Mars. But Africa was a complete possibility. For one, it was on earth. The carpet beneath her toes, the wooden desks beneath her arms every day in classrooms, the steering wheel always gripped in her hands, all the blaring gray from city buildings, the roar of traffic, the pressures of social media, and the people were all extraterrestrials. It was frightening that she was terrified of the society she'd been raised and groomed in. So freaking terrified that Rue did the only thing that calmed her nowadays: play her cello.
She sat in her old, cracked wooden chair set-up in her bedroom. Moonlight danced across the window, shooting a shimmering line on the carpet floor. Rue had her bow, plucking at the strings with taut fingers, checking to see if it was in tune. It didn't sound too bad. She had been anticipating tightening a string or two.
Impatience won. Rue started to strum the bow across strings, forming chords as she went, playing a variety of memorized scales.
Swallowing hard, Rue realized her cello was proof of her existence here. Okay, she really hated sounding like a drama queen, but for the last few days, she felt like she had fallen in Middle-earth all over again. This world was no longer her world. It was…alien. Rue's muscle memory was proof she'd been born here, raised here. That Middle-earth wasn't really her home. She bit her lip. Not her home. Then where was home? Because this world―this place―didn't feel like home anymore―
A soft knock resounded on the door. Rue jumped a little in her seat, startled. Great, her selfish ass had probably woken up the Dwarves. Rue should've been more considerate before dragging her cello out her case at midnight.
Carefully, she placed her cello on her bed, heading for the door. Rue opened it, suspecting Kili to complain with a, "Shut up." Thanks to Bad Girls Club, he'd learned how to say a variety of insults. Maybe she'd get to hear a "douche bag?"
What she found instead was…Thorin.
His lips parted before shutting stubbornly. Thorin stood taller, peering in her eyes. Rue blinked, head hanging low as she remembered what had transpired hours ago…
They had almost kissed. No. Rue had to be insane to believe he would want to kiss her. Had she looked at herself in the mirror lately? Thorin was definitely the more attractive one out of them. Not to mention he was an amazing person.
"Hey," she piped up weakly. Rue jerked a thumb behind her. "Sorry about playing right now―I'll put my cello away―"
One of Thorin's hands flew to the doorway, making an unsaid statement: he wasn't going to let her slam the door in his face. Not that Rue was planning to.
"No." He shook his head. "I wish to hear you play."
Rue turned crimson. "Uh…I don't know…"
He awkwardly cleared his throat, his hand dropping from the doorway. Thorin's eyes fell to the carpet regretfully. "I will stand out here and listen."
Rue couldn't do that to him.
"Come in, Thorin. I just―" Rue shrugged, turning fifty shades redder― "My playing isn't what it used to be. The strings keep pinching my fingertips―" A genius plan came to mind― "I have cello music on my laptop we can listen to."
Thorin stepped closer. "I want to hear you play."
"Okay, okay, but it―I'm―"
Awkwardly, she returned to her chair. Thorin remained outside her room, his gaze intent.
"You can come in and sit." She vaguely gestured to her bed, trying not to remember what had happened on that bed.
"I cannot," he said quietly.
"I really don't mind," she insisted.
Reluctantly, he slunk into the room, deliberately leaving the door open.
Rue reached for her cello and bow, sitting down with a distinct harrumph. Thorin remained standing, eyes burning holes into the top of her skull with all their intensity.
She cleared her throat. "This is―the piece I'm going to play is called 'The Chairman's Waltz.' It's from this really good movie called Memoirs of a Geisha. Anyway..."
A long time ago―more like senior year of high school―Rue had saved up money to order the cello part of "The Chairman's Waltz." She had memorized it. This piece always pulled at her heartstrings. Hell no, she couldn't play it like Yo-Yo Ma, but she tried. Damn did she try.
Rue put her cello in playing position, bringing her bow and―
She started playing, the chords coming second nature. Rue was stunned at first, suddenly fascinated by the human's muscle memory. It was awesome that she hadn't played this piece for months, but yet from years of memorization, her fingers moved instinctually―
PINCH.
Crap. Wrong fingering. There was an awkward pinching noise, followed by a weak strum. Rue turned red, embarrassed that Thorin had seen her botch. Suddenly, she imagined how brilliant his blue eyes were in the dark. Almost like candles with blue embers. Blue embers.
The blue embers guided her. Rue started playing like this was her last night on earth. For all she knew, it was. Tomorrow, she could wake up in Middle-earth to find out she had been hallucinating. Never again would she feel her cello's strings beneath her fingertips, feel the grasp of the familiar bow in her hand. She swayed, playing and playing…
What if she woke up here to find out everything had been in vain? No Dwarves, no Middle-earth, no Thorin…
Blue embers in the night.
Tricky fingerings nearly tripped her up, but somehow she kept going. Rue's heartbeat sped up with the crescendos. Everything she had been trying not to think about came at her at once, like a whirlwind of emotions. Mom. Would she ever have the guts to call Mom?
She was broken and lost―her only light: blue embers and the feel of her cello.
Don't ever leave her again, Eleanor. Yep, her cello was named Eleanor after "Eleanor Rigby." How original.
The end of the piece was coming. Rue felt herself move like gravity had dissipated. Nothing but she, Eleanor, and blue eyes existed.
Nothing but―
She stopped playing, blinking.
Rue was ashamed when Thorin's eyes found hers. She had messed up. Was supposed to be a music major, but yep―Thorin probably thought she was full of crap.
"Sorry, I know I messed up," Rue squeaked quietly. "I've only played in class and practice rooms since I've gotten back―"
"It was beautiful."
What?
Rue looked up to make sure she had heard correctly.
Thorin was gazing down at her, warmth strumming―pun intended― his eyes. He was standing closer than he was before.
Swallowing hard, she nodded. "Tha―thanks, but you don't have to lie."
Thorin shook his head fiercely. "I am not being dishonest, Ruby. Your playing―" His eyes shot nostalgically to the distance, to the window― "Reminds me of the days long ago when I played my harp in Erebor. I had a harp in the Blue Mountains, but it was not the same. Nothing is the same as your song."
Rue grinned humorlessly. "I would have loved to hear you play your harp."
He refused to meet her eyes, speaking in a gruffer, quieter voice, "I would play for my father, mother, Frerin, and Dis during Durin's Day festivities." Thorin held one hand out to make a point, eyes fixated on his own palm. "They always wished for me to play at dinner, but they did not understand the reasons for my refusal―" His voice dropped to a whisper― "I do not think they would ever understand, for they played no songs on Dwarf-made instruments. Most Dwarves know songs on instruments or by voice, but they did not know such things." Thorin shook his head, a faint smile pulling at the corner of his lips. "You are more Dwarf than you realize."
Rue blinked, stunned. Where to even start with a response? She had no freaking clue.
"T―thank you," she stammered, heart warm and fuzzy. Rue had never received such an awesome compliment in her life. You are more Dwarf than you realize. Wow. She was speechless.
He openly began to marvel at her cello, touching the bow and the strings, appearing like a curious child with big blue eyes.
Rue wordlessly let him hold it. Ultimate trust there. She was letting someone hold what felt like her arm―her Eleanor.
"Your festivities make me think of quinceaneras―uh, my quinceanera. Not that you described anything about your festivities to resemble a quinceanera―" Rue clumsily giggled― "I played my cello at my quince. It was the only good thing about that night―" She rubbed her forearms. Why did she say that?
Thorin placed her cello on her bed, stepping even closer. "What is a…quinceanera? And what do you refer to, 'the only good thing about that night?'"
Timidly, she explained, "A quince is a tradition for Latina women like myself―" Rue nearly snorted.
"Your people…Dominicans?"
Thorin's memory was amazing at times.
"It's a celebration for girls when they turn fifteen. There's a dance, lots of food, and lots of people. Uh…too many people, but uh―"
"What went wrong?"
His question cut through the awkwardness like razor-sharp glass. It made Rue almost jump.
"It's not that big of a deal. I shouldn't have even brought it up." Rue shrugged.
"I want to know," he growled.
"All right, all right―" She leaned back in the chair― "You're going to pity me, but uh―" Rue fumbled with her fingers, eyes on the carpet― "My mom had to pay one of her friend's sons to go with me to my quince. It's embarrassing. So―sorry. The night was really bad. He didn't want to dance with me. Kept acting like I had the plague or something."
"What is the 'plague'?"
"A highly contagious illness."
Rue really wished she couldn't remember that night. It was awful. Really awful. Fred―her "oh-so-suave" date― had practically ignored her the entire night except when it came to taking pictures. He'd made a face every time she had tried to suggest a dance or even attempted conversation. Fred had been embarrassed to be seen with her. And who could blame him? Rue had been an even worse mess back then. Not to mention Mom had almost fist fought Aunt Bessie.
"Your mother gave payment to a man to accompany you to a dance?" Thorin asked, stupefied.
Rue nodded. "Yep." She was beyond humiliated.
He was quiet in contemplation, scowling before saying―
"The foolish man has my pity. Not you. Never you."
A change of topics would be nice. Rue smiled shyly. "So about the Durin's Day festivities…"
Thorin described Durin's Day festivities in details so opulent Rue could imagine herself there. He described the colors of the banners, the dancing, variety of food choices, traditions, and interesting superstitions. There was a superstition that if you met a green-eyed person from the race of Men that all your wealth would be squandered away.
He was being more talkative than usual and was―Rue sniffed the air―sober. Maybe being here was a good thing, especially judging from the book…
Still, Rue couldn't help but ache for the emerald trees swaying in the winds, the starlit, cerulean skies; and the Dwarves and Bilbo. It hurt.
Being here hurt.
Rue yawned, staring at her cell phone, standing in the kitchen by herself. Last night, she and Thorin had talked for hours and now she had big bags under her eyes. Not that she was complaining. She would get bags under her eyes all over again if it meant she could listen to his husky voice―listen to his beautiful words and stories.
Now she wished she could turn back the hands of time. Rue would choose sitting on her bed, listening to Thorin talk about Frerin and Erebor over calling Mom any day.
Mentally, she prepared herself, wondering if this was how Harry felt before he gallantly marched to his death. All right, she was being overdramatic comparing Mom to the likes of Voldemort. Then again, Mom was pretty out-of-control and her mentally stability was always in question.
If she were going to talk to Mom, it had to be now. The Dwarves were still sleeping. Cruel Intentions was playing in the foyer after Dwalin, Kili, Fili, Gimli, and Nori had watched it last night. And Thorin…
Rue swallowed hard. He had fallen asleep in her chair. She had attempted to move him to her bed after she'd woken up so he'd be more comfy, but the stories about Dwarves she heard in Bree proved true. Dwarves were as strong as stone.
Bringing a finger to her touch-screen, Rue pressed down on Mom. Painfully, she brought the phone to her ear, making a gasp-half-choke noise. The phone was ringing. Crap. She was actually calling Mom.
The wait was dreadful, like sitting in a waiting room of a hospital, waiting to find out about a loved one's critical condition.
Her stomach twisted in knots.
Ring. Ring―
"Hello?"
Rue's tongue swelled, lungs gasping for fraught breaths. Mom's voice was the same. Raspy and wearisome. Nothing had changed. Maybe she could pretend she had butt-dialed her―
Rue shook her head. That was a coward's way out. She was no coward.
Gripping the kitchen counter, fingers trembling, Rue finally answered, voice cracking in fear, "Hi, Mom."
The words created an array of feelings: dead weight on her chest, dead weight being lifted from her shoulders. Dead weight.
"Ruby, why are you calling? What are you calling for? Do you want money?"
Rue was shell-shocked, blinking the tears away. She hadn't even realized she had begun sobbing…
Weakly, she shook her head as if Mom was standing in front of her. "N―no. I'm not calling about money. I'm calling because I―I missed you." The words tasted coppery on her tongue, like blood and lies. Did she really miss Mom? Had she ever missed Mom? The answer was hopeless. Everything to have to do with Mom was never black and white; it was a rainbow of colors, a spectrum of different roads, feelings, and lifetimes of hurt.
Rue's relationship with Mom was by no means "conventional." She wished it were. Damn, she wished it were so freaking bad.
"You missed me?" she spat sardonically. "Is that why you left me? You don't care about what happens to your mother―"
"Don't say that Mom, you know it isn't―"
"I'm here stuck in this hellhole on Wilson Way. All by myself, you little bitch. You don't give a shit about what happens to me. Or about who I have to wake up next to for my fix―"
"Mom, Mom, please…" Rue begged, pulling her hair, hating the disgusting thought of Mom waking up next to God-knows-who for drugs. But she knew this play like football players knew their plays. Mom was going to ask for money. She was. And it broke Rue's heart because eight times out of ten she gave Mom money.
"Maybe if you just gave me some money then I wouldn't have to fuck Casey, Gary, or Joe!" she roared, the shout making Rue jolt from the phone.
Shakily, she brought the phone to her ear. "Mom, I don't know if I have enough…"
"Lying bitch―"
And Rue knew this was headed straight to hell. This time, she held the phone out, knowing Mom was giving her a verbal lashing.
She heard bits and pieces.
"Dumb, useless, worthless bitch. You're ugly and disgusting. Fat troll. Why did I even give birth to you?"
Her shoulders shook as she bawled. Some things just never changed. Rue's heart dropped out from under her. She was going to vomit. She clenched her stomach, wondering how her weight had ever got so out-of-control―
No. No. Rue couldn't let Mom plant those ugly seeds in her head again. The croaky shouts ripped into her eardrums. Rue did the only thing she could: she hung up the phone.
Chest heaving, drawing quick breaths and ugly sobs, Rue pursed her trembling lips shut. After all this time without speaking to Mom, and this was―this was her greeting. Rue huffed and puffed in indignation, torn between falling on the kitchen floor like the complete mess she was or screaming in a pillow.
It wasn't fair. Nothing was ever fair. Mom was a demon―or the closest thing to a demon in human form. But what had she actually expected? For Mom magically to be sober, loving, and caring? For her to act like a real mother? Being whisked away to Middle-earth didn't change a damn thing here. Nope.
It only made the reality so much crueler.
Natalie's second visit went a thousand times better than the first. She had an hour-long conversation with Nori about the effect of drugs on youth. How Nori had become such an expert on Woodstock, Rue was not sure.
Sure, Nat was still her same old self―brash and rude―but she didn't give Thorin the same cutthroat interrogation she had before. Weirdly, Rue craved for some type of interrogation. Maybe she actually missed the indication behind them? It was sweet to think her cousin cared about her to the point of coming off like a maniac. Good times.
Rue and Nat sat on her bed, trading laughter and talk.
"Lately, uh, I've had a hard time getting back to routine of cashing and bagging and even remembering the simplest things," Rue explained with a giggle. "I've done some really lame things this week, like accidentally put an extra zero at the end of a twenty and making it into a 200."
Natalie snorted, leaning back on the bed. "Real smooth, cuz."
"Oh, this coming from you," she said jokingly.
Nat gave Rue a skeptical once over. "Hmm. You said 'going back to routine' like you went somewhere. Did you go somewhere? Don't tell me you let one of your weird music major friends take you gambling for the first time up in Jackson. That was supposed to be my moment. Not theirs."
Crap. Rue blinked stupidly.
She had clumsily let slip her true feelings, her scary-as-hell reality. Damn. Rue had to put a lid on her mouth. Do some quick damage control.
She cleared her throat. "Nah, don't worry. I didn't go gambling, Nat. If I was planning to go wild, you'd be the first one I'd call."
"Awe, thanks." Natalie stretched out on the bed, fingers reaching up in a cat-like stretch as she groaned in relief. "Have you gone to the homeless shelter?"
Rue picked lint off her bed. "No, not lately," she murmured guiltily. Man, she should have gone to the homeless shelter. Do her volunteer duty. She winked teasingly, wanting to change the topic. "So are you still seeing Eddie?"
Natalie made a sour-face, which most likely meant no.
"You still pretending you and Thorin aren't an item?" She teased with a husky laugh. "I saw him walking out your bedroom when I got here, hair suspiciously messy. Did he have bedhead? So―" Suggestively, she wiggled her eyebrows―"Is he well-hung?"
Rue turned beet red, eyes falling to her quidditch blanket beneath her.
Heatedly, she began to deny the untrue, "I've never seen Thorin's―" Rue's breath hitched in her throat, voice becoming a murmur― "Uh, his…his manhood."
"Manhood?" Natalie guffawed. "What are you from Middle-earth or the middle ages? I bet he's got a big penis, huh? He's short, but his hands and feet are ginormous."
Rue blushed fiercely, shaking her head. "No―no."
Several seconds of silence passed, then―
"You know if you've finally lost your virginity and have a sex life now, you can tell me? I'm not going to judge you or do something stupid like blurt it to your mom." Natalie's gaze steadied on the ceiling, eyes alarmingly distant.
Rue swallowed hard. She had unintentionally hurt her cousin's feelings.
Shifting in her seat on the bed, Rue's eyes frantically swept over the door. Thank goodness, it was shut. Hundreds of scenarios unfolded in her head of Thorin or any of the other Dwarves walking down the hall, overhearing their conversation.
"I really haven't slept with him," she admitted what she'd been saying all along. Rue awkwardly picked the lint off her sleeve now. Embarrassing. Being a virgin at twenty-two was pretty darn humiliating. It wasn't like Rue was so desperate to lose her virginity that she'd have sex with any guy, though. Remaining in humiliation was better than venturing into a sex life with a man she didn't trust. Trust was imperative when it came to sex, right? Like she knew.
"I know." Natalie snorted. "I can see it in your eyes that you're such a virgin. Did you and Thorin cuddle then? He seems like he'd cuddle with a chick in private."
"No." Rue shook her head, face growing hot. "He'd never want to cuddle with me." The ugly truth.
"Haha, yeah right. He so wants you. Bet he daydreams about kissing you. The way he looks at you―" Natalie cast a quick glance at Rue before her eyes returned to the ceiling― "I wished a guy would look at me like that. Then I'd be able to have him wrapped around my finger."
Rue couldn't imagine Thorin wrapped around anyone's fingers, let alone hers.
"You know, Thorin really reminds me of someone."
"Who?"
"You."
Natalie sat up with a start―
Suddenly, Rue's cell phone was vibrating obnoxiously loud. She fished her phone out her pocket, seeing―
"Brutus. Mr. Parker," she breathed. No. No. She wasn't ready to talk to him after what had happened days ago. For days, Rue had been trying to gather her wits and guts to call him first. Crap. It looked bad that he had called her first.
Natalie watched with owlish eyes. "He's still being a prick?"
"'Course."
Rue stood up, shuffling her way out her bedroom and into the hall. Quickly, she shut the door, leaving it cracked open. Rue really didn't feel like getting torn from head to toe in front of Nat. Natalie knew the likes of Brutus all too well. She'd been his tenant once, not too long ago.
Answering the phone with a quivering sigh, Rue brought the phone to her ear, preparing for another verbal lashing.
"Hello," she greeted.
"Hi, is this Ruby?"
No. "Yes." Rue leaned against the wall.
"How is married life going?" Brutus wondered, a sardonic lilt in his voice.
"Uh…it's going well," she stammered. "How are you?" Play it cool and maybe he'd forget about the entire thing.
"I'm swell," he spoke, sarcasm dripping off his every word. "I was contemplating our last meeting. I want you to listen to me real clear, Ruby. Are you sitting?"
Rue nodded even if he couldn't see her. "Yes, I am." She leaned further against the wall, breaths thinning. She shut her eyes.
"There's three months until the lease is up. I'm giving you a three-month warning. Appreciate what I'm doing. Most landlords would wait until their tenants are in the crossfire, especially after the kind of tenant you've been so far. Are you listening?"
"Yeah," Rue uttered weakly, heart sinking.
Brutus cleared his throat. "I don't want to extend the lease. I already have several reasons why if you want to take this to court. Clearly withholding crucial information is one of them. I want to do this the easy way. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
She couldn't breathe. For a few moments, Rue thought she was going to pass out. Clutching her chest with one hand and holding her tears in with every last ounce of will, she nodded again like he could see her. Stupid. She was so freaking stupid.
Rue found her voice.
"I understand."
The words were hardly audible to even her own ears. Rue was petrified of him goading her to repeat the defeat. Brutus was going to do it. He was. And there was nothing she could do to stop him.
"Good."
What?
"Have a wonderful day, Ruby. Goodbye."
There was a soft click. Silence.
Rue mulled over his final words. Have a wonderful day, Ruby. Yeah, right. He had just kicked her out her home three months in advance. Rue was a spectacle―a laughingstock―and he was the audience, roaring in laughter.
Nothing sank in her thick skull. Rue just stood there, a deer-caught-in-the-headlight. Words darted across her line of vision. They were a puzzle, reminding Rue of a scrabble board plagued by nonsensical words and meanings.
Did he just―
Had he just―
What was she―
A sob tore at her. Rue's body jolted in spasms. Covering her mouth, she gasped. And gasped some more.
Rue didn't even know how in the hell she pulled herself from the wall, but she did. Stumble. Stumble. Trip.
Rue staggered back into her bedroom. What was she going to do?
Nat saw her, jumping off the bed.
Furrowed eyebrows of concern and a parted mouth replaced the usual scowl that permeated her face.
"Oh, no." Natalie shook her head. "Don't tell me it happened?"
Mustering enough strength, Rue managed to shut the door behind her. Save the humiliation from six pairs of eyes. One pair of eyes was enough to haunt her for the rest of her days.
Meeting Nat's eyes, she completely broke. Painful sobs racked her body.
"It did," she sputtered between snot and blubbering.
Natalie closed the distance between them, wrapping bone-crushing arms around Rue.
She sobbed into her shoulder, mind numb, body screaming in horror. Why?
Why?
Wind whipped across Rue's cheeks, rejuvenating her entire cursed being.
Screw the world.
Okay, so in three months, Rue would have to leave her first home. That was fine. That was okay. She'd be fine. Rue always bounced back. Crazy childhood? Check. Loony mother? Check. Ending up in Middle freaking earth? Check again.
Rue was like a cat. She always landed on her feet. Surmising defeat and taking up self-preservation instead, Rue decided that was a million times better than pity.
They were out the apartment, hours away from the stinkin' confines of one building.
The car windows were rolled down, Rue driving down uncharted ways: unfamiliar roads and highways by the coast. Endless Pacific Ocean dominated the skyline for miles. For years, Rue had wanted to visit the California coast. Too many times, she had decided against it in fear of the unknown. But now, Rue was fearless.
She was a braver Rue. Not King Under the Mountain fearless. Still, Rue was proud of herself for not breaking down today, for handling "move out your home" in three months better than she would have in the past.
Middle-earth had taught her lots. Thorin had taught her lots. How to be brave―how to live free. And that was what she was doing―living free.
"It's beautiful!" Dwalin said from the backseat, the howl of warm winds causing him to shout.
"I know!" Rue grinned, turning the steering wheel slightly as she drove down a steep curve. There was a rail dividing road from a sea of gray―rock―and then true sea below. Driving out here was nerve-racking.
Kili stuck his head out the window like an eager dog, tongue lolling out while he took in the scenery.
Fili cocked one eyebrow at his brother, shaking his head, smirking.
Nori hollered something in Khuzdul, pointing below.
Thorin, sitting passenger seat, turned to face the backseat, answering Nori, "I see the strange beasts in the water. They are unusual."
Rue was about to ask, "What strange beasts," but thought better of it. The Dwarves wouldn't know unless it'd been an animal in a Tumblr gif. Kili had created his own Tumblr and had obsessively been pouring over Tumblr the last two days. Rue had deemed him a "re-blogging whore."
Attempting to drive safe, Rue cast a quick glimpse to the right, eyes falling down on the vivid blue waters where―
"Sea lions!" Rue squeaked, giggling. "Sea lions!" Sea lions sheepishly returned to the sea, belly crawling their way back into the ocean, making a chorus of sea lion cries.
"Sea lions?" Thorin probed curiously.
"They're these sea creatures that are really cute," she explained tardily, smiling from ear to ear.
Out of the corner of her eye, Rue caught a faint grin ghosting Thorin's lips. It was gone too soon, replaced by big eyes and wonder as he peered out the window some more.
Some fifteen minutes or so later, Rue was parking her car on a ridge high above the beach below. There were man-made stairs by the ridge that led to the golden sand blanketing the beach.
Hastily, they were out the car, Gimli complaining about the smell.
"Aye, who smells?" he grunted, stretching his arms above his head, several pops enunciating the gesture.
Kili yawned. "Will we listen to La-dy Gaga on our venture back?"
Kili made the mistake of getting too close to Gimli. Rue groaned in frustration, preparing for the inevitable by deciding to ignore the two and head for the stairs. She gripped the rail with her fingertips when―
"It is you who reeks!" Gimli shouted accusingly.
Rue heard a muffle of shouts and grunts from Kili, then―
"I do not reek!"
"Sorry, lad, but you do," Nori pointed out, being as helpful as always. Rue felt like she was with Bofur for a fleeting moment. There was a painful kick in her heart. Rue sucked up the pain. Why was there always so much pain? All right, now Rue sounded like an emo.
Ignoring the stab of hurt in her gut, she leapt off the last stair, shoes meeting sand. Pilfers of sand billowed around her, and even more as the company descended the last stair.
Rue moved forward, walking between Thorin and Fili. Fili's troubled walking had subsided to only a limp. Regret suddenly plundered through her. Maybe she should've been more considerate and not choose the ocean as their destination. Sand was hard enough to walk on, but walking on it when injured? Yep, she really hadn't been thinking. Again. Determined as ever, Fili walked on, fists clenched by his sides.
"The sea," Thorin breathed, peering at the endless, frothy waves crashing against the shoreline.
Chilling wind kissed Rue's cheeks, blowing strands of her out-of-control hair everywhere. She shaded her eyes with one hand, gawking at the sky. The sky had streaks of pink, blue, and orange shooting opposite directions.
The sight was breathtaking and made her think of Foreigner songs.
Rue awkwardly cleared her throat when Fili caught her staring at the scenery.
"I had to bring you guys out here," she spoke up airily. "Stockton isn't really known for its beauty, so I wanted to show you that parts of my world are beautiful. Even if it's hard to believe." She shrugged modestly.
The Dwarves nodded in agreement, eyes honed in on the distance. She wasn't sure what they were exactly agreeing with: the fact that parts of earth were beautiful or that Stockton was ugly. Rue assumed the latter.
Rue started quietly, "I was thinking we could go to San Francisco, cut loose a little you know―"
In a flash, Rue realized she was talking to air after―
Thorin had sprinted ahead, racing for the waves crashing against sand. Kili, Fili, and Dwalin were on his heels while Nori and Gimli lagged behind. Stupidly, Rue thought they were being playful until she remembered they were Dwarves from Middle-earth. Not children.
"Thorin!" Dwalin bellowed.
He skidded to a halt, swirls of sand dusting around his ankles. Without hesitation, Thorin bent down, scooping handfuls of water.
Rue's heart beat like a war drum, pounding against her ears.
Faster. And faster she ran until―
"There could be a way back by sea," Thorin said in desperation, pulling up the bottoms of his trousers, preparing to remove his boots so he could go wallow in the sea. From the short spurt of running, Fili was limping now, bending forward to touch his thigh.
Rue reached Thorin, shaking her head. "Thorin, you can―" She stopped herself before saying the dreaded can't and instead said, "Come on, we can walk down the beach. Come on."
She was beckoning him with the wave of her hand. Fili, Kili, Dwalin, Gimli, and Nori surrounded them now. Kili was breathing hard, chest falling up and down in urgency as he checked on his brother. In his eyes―Rue hated, she could read his eyes―she saw fear for his uncle, fear he would never dare speak aloud.
Dwalin nodded encouragingly. "Aye, Thorin, why don't you and the lass walk down the shore?"
Thorin was stark still, palms together as sand poured from his fingers, from where he had begun scooping water and sand in the first place.
Shakily, Thorin nodded. "We shall walk then."
Sighing in relief, she turned to march down the beach, wondering if the rest of her days would always be like this: Thorin searching for a way out.
It was morbidly depressing―being stuck here, Thorin trying to run from her world and from…her.
She looked to the sea and beyond, hoping, praying there was a way back all the while hating herself for it.
By the time, they returned to Stockton, it was nearly midnight. Gimli had fallen asleep in the car, and then Kili had drawn two big hearts on Gimli's cheeks. Real mature, Kili. Dwalin had carried Gimli into the apartment building, up the stairs, and into their home, ignoring all the judgmental stares they got from the passersby lingering in the halls. They just didn't understand Dwarf brotherhood and loyalty. These people were beyond critical. These people? Rue turned scarlet. She was one of them. A human from the race of Men. It wasn't like she was a Dwarf. Rue snorted.
She hated the mood she was in: hopelessness. After the buzz from leaving the city earlier and venturing on the coast, this Rue remained who was nothing but bare bones and misery.
Rue locked herself in her bedroom, with fabulous plans of watching the last Harry Potter film on her laptop.
This day sucked. It really did.
Steeling her nerve, she shut her bedroom door, taking long strides to her bed. Rue was trembling, knees wobbly. Because what she was about to do took guts.
Stop being a coward. She could do this.
Rue gently lifted her pillow, remembering this was the last place she had left her diary. Earlier in the day before Nat had come, Rue had taken it out from her backpack, skimming the entries with bone crushing nostalgia, waiting and pleading to Mahal to take her back. Returning to normality was impossible. Choosing to leave her family was impossible.
She gulped, fingers tensing on the pillow when―
"It's gone," she breathed. "Gone."
Rue touched the empty space on the bed in desperation, only bed sheets were underneath her fingertips.
Her mouth jaw went slack. No. Where was it?
In urgency, she ran for her backpack on the opposite side of the room, yanking it off her desk. The backpack fell on the carpet with a slam.
In a frenzy, she searched the backpack, ripping everything out. Rue dumped the contents on the bed, old clothes and Severus falling in a muddle. No. Rue's heart raced.
It was crazy. The diary had been here earlier.
Suddenly, Rue was running around like a lunatic, searching the closet, under the desk, in the drawers of her dresser, flipping the mattress over, checking under the bed. And still no diary.
She stopped her crazy hunt, panting, sitting on her mattress skewed halfway off the bedframe.
Heartbeats slowing down and mind unraveling the mess of her life, Rue began to think. Truly think.
Rue knew she had it earlier in the day after Thorin had woken up and left her bedroom. Speaking of that incident, he'd been apologetic and angry with himself in spite of only falling asleep in the chair.
Thorin did have a track record of reading her diary, but it'd been in here, the forbidden room in Thorin's eyes. The only times he'd ever came in here anymore were to get a Harry Potter book or ask Rue something about the functions of modern things like the fridge or microwave.
Only one other person had been in here…
Eerily, Rue reached for her cell phone inside her jeans pocket, fishing it out to find―
A New Text Message blared on the screen.
No. Rue shook her head in denial.
She pressed read. Then there it was on screen, the text from Natalie.
It said only four words:
We need to talk.
It felt like she'd been kicked in the heart. Her lungs were collapsing.
Not today. Rue couldn't talk to Nat about everything right now. She was going to accuse her of being "crazy." Rue blinked, stupefied. Her cousin had taken her diary, had read her "Dear Nat" entries. Feeling torn, she pitifully attempted to reason Nat's behavior. The entries were addressed to Nat. Rue should've known better than to leave her diary under the pillow.
Those reasons weren't doing it.
Rue had to get out of the stuffy, overcrowded apartment.
Grabbing her car keys, she headed out her bedroom, knowing there was only one person in the world that wouldn't make her feel like such a mess.
Rue left the car parked by the curb, which was shadowed by the thin veil of trees lining the lonely street. Tonight was the night. She had a plan: after she was finished moping in the park, she would return home and ask Fili to go to the nearest gas station with her for a candy bar, but instead of the gas station, their destination would be the hospital. It had to happen. Nobody could stand seeing Fili in pain―especially poor Kili.
Thorin and Rue walked through the park, coldness biting her skin. She shivered, hands in her pockets.
"I should've brought my sweater," she said, giggling humorlessly. "But of course I'm dumb. I'm realizing that a lot nowadays." Not that it was a new discovery or anything.
They slowed on a tiny bridge looping over a shallow creek.
"You are not foolish," Thorin spoke heatedly. "Do not call yourself such things."
He stopped walking altogether, leaning his forearms on the rail.
Rue stood next to him, sniveling. Snot ran out her nose. Damn it. She was getting sick and had work tomorrow. Calling in wasn't an option when you were broke, though.
Suddenly, Thorin was removing his coat, draping it over her. Warmness convoyed by Thorin's scent thawed her.
"Thank you," she whispered.
"You do not need to offer your thanks," Thorin growled, gazing out at the creek and the tangles of grass beyond. "You have offered me and my kin free room and board, even going to such lengths as to disobey the rules of the lord of your realm." His intense gaze found hers in the night, bright blue eyes searing Rue's soul. She blushed, timidly meeting his stare. Thorin's voice dropped to a throaty murmur, "Never give me your gratitude again, Rue."
Like always, his words left the silence torrential and Rue's heart in pitter-patters.
She started, "Than―"
"Please, do not say it," he interjected.
Rue blinked. She had been seconds away from saying thanks.
"Sorry," she muttered.
"You have no reason to apologize."
"I'm apologizing because I'm as slow as a snail," she sighed in defeat. Examples: leaving her diary out for her cousin to find.
Thorin faced her. "You speak apologies because you are too kind. There is no wrong in your kindness, Rue."
Rue blushed, stuffing her hands in her jeans pockets. "You're really great at making me feel better."
"As are you." He tilted his head.
"Really, you are," she continued. "You make me feel like my opinions matter, like I'm valued I guess." Shrugging, Rue's eyes roamed everywhere else but him.
Unexpectedly, Thorin gripped her shoulder with one hand, bringing his other to her face. His fingers hardly grazing her chin, he tilted her head so she could see his eyes.
"Your opinions do matter. They are beyond relevant."
Rue grinned.
Thorin's strong fingers tenderly kneaded her shoulder, his orbs all-knowing and expectant. "What troubles you?"
"Lots of things."
He nodded in encouragement.
Rue cleared her throat. "You see…first of all, I'm sick."
At once, Thorin wrapped an arm around her shoulder, nearly closing the distance between them. Eyebrows furrowed in concern, he spoke determinedly, "You should not be outside in the cold. Humans are more susceptible to illnesses than Dwarves are. We should return to your home."
He started to rub warmness into her shoulders with the utmost concern.
"I wish that was the worst of it," she admitted dejectedly. "But um…well you remember how I used to write in that book―my diary?"
Thorin's gaze turned lethal. "I do." Possibly, he was remembering the entry he had read and disliked?
Shutting her eyes, pulse racing, Rue readied to admit the awful truth.
"I'm pretty sure Natalie has my diary and is reading it. It's gone. I can't find it."
For a few passing moments, Thorin looked on in puzzlement. "Are you certain?"
Rue nodded, breaths thinning. "Y―yeah. I had taken it out my backpack before she arrived to the apartment and left it under my pillow. It's gone. I checked my bedroom and―" In desperation, she shook her head― "I got this message from her on my phone that says, 'We need to talk.' I don't think it's a coincidence."
Heavy silence settled.
Awkwardly, Rue turned to face the creek below, too embarrassed to face Thorin. How could she have been so stupid?
"You wrote of the quest," Thorin assumed gruffly. Great. He was going to deem her a traitor.
"Yeah, I did," she mumbled, "but she's most likely going to think I'm mad. So you don't have to worry about news of the quest spreading around or anything like that." Not to mention they weren't in Middle-earth and the "quest" here was considered a children's book called The Hobbit.
"That is not why I worry," he stated hoarsely.
Rue stole a peek at him before flinching away. One of his arms was on the rail while he was halfway turned toward her.
The silence was even more deafening, roaring in her ears until―
"Rue?"
"Yeah?" she squeaked, finally facing him again.
All of a sudden, Thorin interlaced their fingers. They were holding hands. Rue trembled from the cold, inching closer to him for the warmth, or that was what she told herself.
Thorin stood taller, making the impression of towering over her regardless of being the same height as her.
His intense stare found hers, unblinking. "Do not ever think I prioritize the quest over more important things." Thorin refused to meet her eyes now, his grip on her hands tenser.
"Important things…?" Rue prodded innocently. She had no clue what he was talking about.
"Family, my kin," he began in a throaty voice. "And you."
Rue was speechless, mouth hanging open. Eh?
Swallowing hard, she managed to utter, "Me?"
"Yes."
Rue's cheeks were flaming red. It was the cold. Yep, that was it.
All at once, a squeak-half-gasp slipped from her mouth as she felt Thorin wrap both arms around her waist, tugging her closer. Rue found his eyes, shyly letting her arms cling around his neck.
Without warning, he nearly closed the small space between them, allowing his forehead to rest on hers. Rue's breathing hardened.
"Your kindness is extraordinary," he said inches from her lips, hot breath dusting her mouth. "What you have done for your people is―" There was a tickle in the back of his throat, cutting off his words for a few moments as he shut his eyes. Seconds passed. Thorin opened his eyes. "It is astonishing."
Rue realized he was referring to her volunteer days at the local homeless shelter. It wasn't amazing. She considered it something she should be doing. Giving back since she had on-and-off-again been homeless for the majority of her life.
"You're astonishing to, you know." Rue shrugged. "You're a hero. And you're respected and―"
She stopped speaking, flabbergasted by the feel of his hand cupping her cheek. Rue leaned into his touch. This must've been a cruel daydream.
"Menu duyam," he uttered huskily.
Her heart soared, singing. He had just called her his blessing. Again. Wow.
Sheepishly, she leaned closer, her nose bumping into his. For a moment, Rue was horrified, backing away until―
Thorin grinned faintly. "In Dwarf culture, noses touching means the She-Dwarf has commenced the Dwarf is allowed to kiss her." He shut his eyes, sighing heavily and groaning.
Rue suddenly understood his implication. Oh, crap. This was the moment where she could do it. She could kiss him first and ignore the dread hammering her heart. The thought of Thorin ever returning what she felt was hopeless, but she could dream.
In a flash, Thorin's eyes flew open, hooded in unsaid horror.
He shook his head. "I did not mean to be unchaste. Rue, forgive―"
"You said I'm like a Dwarf," she piped up.
"I did," he recalled, a slight tremble in his voice.
"Then…?" Rue trailed off. Bringing her hand to explore his face, her fingers affectionately roamed the planes of his face: his cheek, jawline, and chin. Thorin's thick beard tickled her fingertips.
He groaned again, the sound making the hairs on the back of Rue's neck stand up.
Thorin brought her face closer to his, planting a butterfly kiss on her forehead. It was lingering and chaste, and the most amazing kiss Rue had ever had in her life, even if it was only on her forehead.
"So kind," he murmured against her flesh. Shutting his eyes, his mouth inched closer to hers.
Rue's heart skyrocketed, pounding uncontrollably―
Thorin's eyes fluttered open, his breath catching in his throat. Alarm flickered in his orbs. Out of nowhere, he was shoving Rue behind him.
Rue helplessly peered over his shoulder to find―
A man stood, clad in black, lingering by a nearby tree. He plodded closer, a few feet from the small bridge.
Away from the shadows of the tree, Rue could see he wore a ski mask. No. Quickly, his footsteps grew more frantic and hectic, a flash of silver in his hands. A mugger or robber. Or―
"Rue, go," Thorin spat, arms spread-out protectively.
She shook her head, quivering as Thorin's hand crept for Orcrist's hilt. There was a soft hiss, and then Orcrist was unleashed.
The flash of silver winked at her. It was a―
No. Rue's heart was ready to explode. Goose bumps crawled up her arms. A gun.
The man held up the gun with one hand. "Give me your money."
It sounded more like a plea than a command. His voice was shaky, arms unsteady beneath the weight of the gun.
In the mugger's other hand, Rue saw a sack full of―full of something she suspected was money. Too many questions hounded her head. Had he just robbed a place? Why was he here out of all places? And was he―she gulped―really going to―
"I said now!" He roared.
Rue jolted, searching her pockets for the sparse dollars she had.
But then―
Thorin marched on, his sword at the ready, boots striking the bridge with eerie clunks.
"Thorin, no."
Rue chased after him, heart booming.
Clunk.
"Don't come any closer or I'll shoot!" The mugger warned, finger scaling the trigger.
Clunk.
Thorin didn't listen.
Did he even understand what a gun could really do? Rue should've been a better teacher―
"I said stop!"
No. No―
There was an earth-shattering boom.
BOOM.
Blackness seeped Rue's vision. The last thing she saw was Thorin falling on grass, the world disappearing before―before tunnel vision set in and grass tickled her cheeks.
Author's Note: I realized I just made my story so much more interesting than originally planned. It was a satisfying ending for me at least ;) I apologize for the monster chapter and not covering as much as I originally intended for this story arc. I was wondering if any of you would be interested in a two-shot of their one week on earth? I could add outtakes and show more things I didn't have enough room to fit in here. Please review and let me know what you think, lovely peeps ;) Remember to follow me on my Tumblr, pearlprimrose.
Lalaithiel: Thanks for taking the time to review! I seriously contemplated during both rounds of edits of removing that comment in fear that I would offend someone. But I thought if Rue was a true Hufflepuff-because I totally agree she is! :) that her humility would make her think as a Hufflepuff she is lesser than in comparison to what she perceives to be the "more" important houses. She feels like the qualities she brings to the table aren't enough-like a Hufflepuff would :D I love all the houses and didn't mean to offend. In this case, staying true to my character won over what I thought would offend somebody. It makes me happy you reviewed again to say you didn't mean to sound grumpy :) Sam is the essence of Hufflepuff. Another great example is a character named Edilio from Gone by Michael Grant. Glad you liked the Nori moment LOL.
Dearreader: Thanks for the review! Yep, the suspense was on fire :) Their will be change. But for better or worse? ;) Awe, so many compliments! I'm gushing. Sometimes I feel like my descriptions aren't good enough, so thanks. I attempt to be unpredictable. Like with our most recent cliffie :D
TheHobbitFanatic: Thanks for reviewing! Your neighbor? When did your neighbor come into this? Do they know Gandalf, too haha LOL :)
Guest: Thanks for the review! I give my loyal followers a push-pull pace ;) I like to think of it that way haha. We'll ultimately see the line of Durin's fates in chapter forty-something ;)
Lulu: Thanks for reviewing! Me, too! Thorin should sit naked next to me―will stop being inappropriate for the sake of the younger readers :D More Kili? I thought he was getting enough spotlighting, prancing around in his attempts to mimic Lady Gaga LOL. Awe, ThoRue together forever? I'd like for that to happen, too.