I am sooo sorry that I haven't updated in a while. I have not had access to my computer for a couple weeks, so I was not able to type. Please forgive me, and enjoy this chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of Tolkien's absolutely fantabulous characters, I only own my OC's.
Fili had been sitting on the couch while his brother slept when he heard the girl's door open and close softly. There was a shadow under the door for a brief moment, and then he could hear the person walking off. He figured Jessica was probably up, because she could never rest when something was on her mind. He smiled to himself when he realized that she was just like him in a lot of ways. He had been friends with her long enough to know that something was up, just not long enough to know exactly what. He sighed and got up to stretch, feeling pleased when he heard a loud pop as he leaned backwards. He thought about what had happened earlier at the door, when Legolas had gotten upset. He was frustrated and slightly angry at Legolas, but he wasn't sure exactly why.
'It's not like Legolas did something wrong, right?' he thought to himself. Fili shook his head in confusion and walked twords the door. He figured if he went for a stroll too, it would hopefully calm him down. 'It's certainly better than being cooped up in here.' He laughed to himself. He walked around for a while before realizing that he was completely lost. When he heard the familiar voices of Jessica and Tariel, he went their direction in hopes of maybe getting one of them to point him in the right direction of his room. The voices went silent for a moment as he heard one of them walking away. He picked up his pace so he could catch the other as he heard them muttering to themselves. He stopped abruptly when he heard Legolas' voice talking to the one remaining. At first Fili was just annoyed that the elf prince was even there, but when he heard Legolas repeating what the speaker had said, he became angry. When he heard that it was Jessica still there, he became infuriated for a reason even he did not know. He had always felt as if the elf-boy slightly liked Jessica, and that Jessica liked him. He guessed that part of his anger amounted to jealousy, because he had a big crush on the princess at the time. When he had first met her at the weaponry summer camp, he had liked her. The way she had smiled at him every morning in the camp armory when they picked up their weapons, and the way she stood with her bow and arrow ready to fire another perfect shot looking so regal and defiant. He loved that about her, and the protective dwarf nature inside of him didn't want her alone with Legolas. Not even at all. As he continued walking towards the voices, he heard Legolas asking Jessica if she had an escort to the dance. He froze in surprise and anger at the question and the sight of them sitting on the bench together. He ducked behind a plant and watched as Jessica grew nervous, and turned bright red. She suddenly blurted out that Fili was taking her, and then looked ashamed. The blonde dwarf was surprised at this considering the fact that he wasn't actually taking her, but was pleased that she had chosen him over Legolas. 'Maybe she does kind of like me too after all.' He thought to himself. When Legolas stood up and began to yell at Jessica, it was all Fili could do not to run out and give the elf a piece of his mind. He didn't pay much attention to what exactly Legolas said, but when Jessica yelled at the boy storming off, he made sure to pay attention. When she said she preferred Fili to Legolas, the dwarf's heart soared. He smirked with utter adoration when she called him an ignorant fool, but it instantly turned to a frown when she ran off crying. He moved to go after her and ran straight into Legolas.
"What are you doing here, dwarf?" Legolas said with anger as he noticed who it was.
"None of your business!" Fili said with a sneer. "What I want to know is, who gave you the right to speak to her like that?! She doesn't deserve that from anyone, especially you. Now I can see why she choose me over you." Legolas scoffed and glared at the dwarf.
"What makes you think you're better than me?" Fili clenched his fists, and glared back at the elf.
"At least I treat her with respect," he said calmly, to let Legolas know just what he did wrong. Legolas recoiled with a gasp as the full realization of what he had done hit him like a rock. He looked at the seething dwarf with horror before running in the opposite direction towards his room. Fili stopped himself from running after the boy, and instead decided to head back to his own room.
As Legolas ran through the corridors, he tried to think of why he would let his emotions go over something like that. He slowed down and went into an abandoned hallway. He put his head against the wall, and started pounding his fist on it. When he heard someone approaching, he just turned around and slid to the floor. He opened his eyes long enough to see his mother kneeling next to him with a concerned look on her face.
"Legolas, sweetie, what's wrong? What happened?" The elf-boy shook his head and sighed.
"It's nothing. Promise," he said faintly. The Queen was surprised to see that her son was on the edge of tears, and his voice was laced with anger. She decided to just let him be for the moment, and went to go walk in the gardens. When she arrived, Jessica was sitting on a bench, sobbing loudly. The queen ran up to the girl, and after finding out what was wrong, proceeded to comfort her.
Fili made it back to the room just as Kili came crashing through the door looking frantic. When his deep brown eyes landed on his brother, they filled with relief.
"Fili! Where have you been, I got so worried when you didn't come back after I woke up. I was starting to think you had gotten in trouble or something and- Fili? Fee, what's wrong?!" At that moment, he realized that his brother was shedding reluctant tears of pure anger. His face was red, and Kili could have sworn that Fili's irises were turning red too if he had only glanced at them. It was very rare that a dwarf cried, especially in public. "Fili what happened? Why are you so angry- better yet, why in the world are you crying?!" Kili was starting to panic as his brother completely disregarded him, and didn't even make eye contact. Fili just walked into the room, and slammed the door in his younger brother's face. Kili just glared at the door, and slowly counted to 5 on his fingers. There was frantic scrambling inside, and then Kili heard Fili yelling.
"Kili! Kili, where are you my brother?! Kee-" Once Kili reached 5, the muffled shouting stopped for a moment, and Kili nodded knowingly.
A couple seconds passed before Kili heard a quiet voice saying, "Oh. Opps." Footsteps were heard coming towards the door, and Fili kept talking. "I am so sorry Kili! I didn't realize-" Fili then opened the door to find a very annoyed looking dwarf standing with his arms crossed. "Kili, sorry, I just didn't register your presence and-" Kili shook his head and unfolded his arms, trying to hide a smile.
"Ya think." He stated as he strode into the room. "You have got to stop doing that to me when you're mad Fee!" Fili closed the door, softly this time, and followed after his brother into their shared bedroom. "Ok, now down to business. Fili, where did you go, and what the heck happened!" Kili sat on the bed, and looked pointedly at his brother. It was now obvious to Fili that he wasn't going anywhere until he had told Kili everything, from when he first left the room until right then. While he talked, he walked back and forth, and Kili sat quietly and listened.
"I think she might like me! She did after all say that she wanted to go with me, right?" He said at the end of his story. Once he had finished, he stopped pacing and turned to his brother. Kili was staring at the wall behind Fili with an expression mixed with awe, shock, and slight admiration.
"Wow Fee. I can't believe you actually did that! And just because she said she would rather go with you doesn't exactly mean she likes you too…" He trailed off and looked down at the bed. He didn't want to tell his older brother about the way Jessica looked at Legolas, and the way the elf-price looked at her. He looked up and saw Fili staring at the ground, looking defeated. "Hey, at least you get to take her to the dance now, right!" Kili said to slightly change the subject. Fili nodded with a slight smile, and looked up.
"Ya, your right. That's my Kili, always thinking on the bright side of things." He smiled even brighter at Kili, and the younger dwarf got up to hug his brother. Just as they pulled apart, they heard knocking on the door next to theirs. They heard faint crying, and the sound of someone comforting the one crying. "That's probably Jessica," Fili said, as he made his way to the door. Kili grabbed his brother's wrist to hold him back, earning him a confused glare.
"Fee, you should probably wait. Let her calm down and wash up. Plus, I don't think either of you want to see each other like this." He said the last part with a slight smile. Fili nodded, knowing his brother was right. When they heard the girl's door open, they snapped their heads back to the door, listening.
"Yes? Oh my lord, Jessica what happened?!" the muffled sound of Nicole's voice was heard. She sounded tired, but also very concerned for her best friend. Jessica let out another loud sob, and there was a few seconds of silence before the brothers heard the door close softly. They heard faintly that sound of the girls talking in their room, but stopped trying to listen when someone knocked on their door. They shared looks of confusion before rushing to the door and quickly opening it, to find the elven-queen standing on the other side looking sternly at them.
"Under no circumstances are you to disturb them until the dance, you understand?" The boys nodded their heads quickly, and she stood there for a few more seconds. When she finally nodded and walked away, the two sighed and quietly shut the door.
As Nicole tried to comfort her friend, she heard Queen Katie telling the boys not to disturb them. She smiled slightly to herself as she hugged her friend.
"Jessica what happened? Why are you crying so much?" Jessica pulled away from her friend and went to sit on the couch. She slowly stopped crying, and let out a few sniffs before she shook her head and laughed softly.
"It's stupid really." Nicole sat next to her friend and put an arm around her shoulders.
"I wouldn't say that. Although, if it has something to do with the trouble makers next door, then I would." Jessica smiled and leaned into her friend.
"No, it's about me and Legolas." Nicole nodded and leaned back, pulling her friend with her.
"Ah, ok. What happened then?" Jessica sighed and started to tell Nicole what had happened, from when she first left the room to when she had arrived at their door. When she finished, Nicole gave her friend a reassuring and crushing hug. "Jess its ok. Hey, I'm sure Fili would be more than happy to take you to the dance, and to be your escort for the week, even if you're not partners. That's what friends are for."