A/N: I suck at this "updating regularly" thing, don't I? :I Sorry about that, bros.

Replying to Weasly-Valdez's review: Haha, yup. Frodo's reading Shugo Chara now. XD Trust me, things will get weirder.

Chaos Unleashed: Chapter Six

Erin's POV

I woke up bright and early to the harsh beeping of my alarm clock the next morning at exactly 6:30 AM. Groaning, I rolled over from where I laid in my bed and smashed my hand down on the aggravating piece of black plastic. "Shut UP!"

"Erin?" I heard Legolas' slightly muffled voice through the pillow that was covering my head. "What is that? Is something wrong?"

"Yeah," I mumbled, "my life."

"What?"

"Nothing!" I said louder. I finally got my alarm to shut off and then rolled out of bed. "You can go back to sleep." I ran a hand through my hair and rubbed my eyes.

"What about you?" Legolas was stretched out on the big pile of soft blankets and fluffy pillows that I'd gotten for him. He still wore a couple elements of his original Fellowship ensemble, like the pants and silver-blue undershirt, but his tunic, boots, vambrances, and cloak had all been removed and neatly set on the floor by my closet.

"I have to go to work today," I said.

"So early? It is hardly even light out!"

"I know. It sucks." I sighed. "But I still have to go, so..."

Legolas nodded. "Very well, then. When will you return?"

"In the afternoon," I replied. "I'll be in and out of here while I'm getting ready, though." He nodded again, and I slipped out of my bedroom after grabbing the black GameStop polo, jeans, and other things I'd be wearing today.

Once I reached my destination, I locked the bathroom door behind me and flicked the lights on before glancing in the mirror and cringing. "That's got to be the sexiest bedhead I've ever seen," I muttered as I pushed my messy brown side bangs out of my eyes. "I'm surprised Leggles didn't scream." I snickered as I remembered the origin of the ridiculous nickname for him. Oh, Tumblr. I checked to make sure all my stuff was where it should've been inside the shower, then began the process of peeling my tank top and green shorts off of my small body. As I tossed my pajamas onto the tile floor, my mind started to wander. The first thing I thought about was Jared.

No. We're not gonna start thinking about Jared. Nooooope. Nope nope nope. I hopped into the shower stall and closed the curtain around me, then jumped when I twisted the knobs and got sprayed with icy cold water a second later.

I waited a few moments for it to warm up, letting it wash over me and wake me up a bit while I thought about what my schedule for the day would be. Let's see...work until 12, lunch break, then back to work again until 3...I should really finish up those last three commissions when I get home, too. Although I don't know if Kaia and Kathryn will have anything else planned for us to do with the Fellowship today besides the shopping thing. Kathryn will have to go to work for a couple hours once I get home...but at least Kaia has the day off. Oh wait, didn't she say she had some kind of band meeting this afternoon? Crap. Guess I'll be home alone with them for part of the afternoon. As I continued my little mind ramblings, I reached for my shampoo and started quickly working the suds through my hair. It didn't take me much longer after that to grab a washcloth and clean the rest of myself off, quietly humming little snippets of random songs as I went.

When I finally decided I was done showering about twenty minutes later, I quickly turned off the hissing hot water and shivered from the sudden change in temperature as I stepped out. My soft white towel was wrapped around me a moment later, and I wiped the steam off of the bathroom sink's mirror before grabbing my brush and going to work on my hair. I wish I had off work more...but then again, we're tight enough on money as it is. I plugged in my hairdryer and flicked it on, feeling a blast of hot air in my face a split second later.

A slight frown appeared on my face as I stared at my reflection in the mirror, hair flying everywhere. How in the world are we gonna be able to pay for enough food to feed eight more mouths, though? I sighed before switching the dryer to my other hand to finish the job of drying my hair. Guess I'll have to try and get more people to buy art to make some extra cash...again. Don't get me wrong, I loved being an artist, but...more and more often these days I found myself being bogged down with a bunch of unfinished commissions that desperately needed finished and no time to finish them.

Once my hair was back to its normal fluffy state, I plugged in my black flat iron and started getting dressed for the day while it heated up. The all-too-familiar black shirt slipped over my head easily, and I patted the GameStop logo where it rested in the upper left corner of my chest. How long have I been working there now? Almost a year, I think. I smirked a bit. Here I am, a high school graduate, and all I do for a living is paint, draw, and sell video games. Go figure. After I finished getting dressed, it was a quick run through my thick, multi-layered, shoulder-length chestnut hair with a brush and the straightener, deep espresso brown eyeliner and mascara applied around my light hazel eyes, and then gathering up all my stuff to haul it back to my bedroom.

I nudged open the slightly ajar door with my foot and slipped in, trying not to disturb Legolas. The elf was still lying peacefully on his back, eyes closed. A glance at my clock told me it was about 7:20. Jared will be here in twenty minutes, then. I got time. I tossed my dirty pajamas into my hamper, making a mental note to do my laundry sometime soon. I walked over to my dresser and started rummaging through my jewelry, trying to pick out the right accessories for the day.

Just as I settled on a small silver cross necklace and a couple thin silver bangles, a voice from behind startled me. "Do women not wear gowns here?"

I jumped a bit and turned around to see Legolas leaning back on his elbows, looking at me curiously. Or rather, my outfit. "Oh! I thought you were sleeping. I'm sorry, did I wake you up?"

He nodded, but smiled anyway. "It is not a problem. Elves are light sleepers. But you did not answer my question. Do most women wear pants in this world?"

Now it was my turn to nod. "Yeah. Actually, women tend to wear pants more than skirts. We have these things called jeans that just about everyone wears, like these." I patted my denim-covered leg. "They're all made of the same material, but you can get them in just about any size, color, and style."

"Interesting," he mused as I clipped my necklace around my neck. "What else do women typically wear?"

I suppressed a laugh at that. "Oh, you'd be surprised." When he frowned at my statement, I exhaled. "Let's just say...women today aren't afraid to show their bodies off."

His eyebrows shot up at that. "Really?"

I nodded. "Yeah. It's kind of annoying, really. You'll see girls walking around in the middle of winter with shorts that stop here." I pointed to my upper thighs.

The look on Legolas' face was actually pretty funny. He looked totally disgusted. "You are serious?"

"Sadly, yes." I slipped my bracelets on and turned around to pick out a perfume. "You'll see what I mean when you go to the mall today, I'm sure. Especially since the weather's getting warmer now." I turned back around, and he still looked disapproving. "But none of us girls living here are like that, I promise," I said. "We at least have some decency."

"Thank the Valar for that."

"Yep." I nodded in agreement, then clapped my hands together. "Well! I'm off to go eat some breakfast before my friend comes to pick me up so we can go to work." I spritzed myself with a tropical, fruity scent before heading towards the door.

"You work with a friend?" I heard him ask.

"Yeah," I called back to him. "His name's Jared. You should meet him sometime!" I paused. "Actually, if you guys come shopping at the mall today, you might be able to stop in and say hi to us." I smiled. "If you get the chance, ask Kaia and Kathryn to take you to GameStop. That's where we work."

Legolas smiled back. "I will try and remember."

"Awesome. See ya!" I gave him a little wave before leaving my room and closing the door behind me. It still felt a bit weird to say that Legolas was in my room...but then again, Legolas was in my room. That was insanely cool all at the same time.

I snuck downstairs and grabbed my house keys from where they sat on a small table in the foyer, along with my phone that I'd left there last night. As I stepped outside to get to the other side of the house, I turned it on to find a few random texts from various people I knew, most of them being friends of mine saying good night.

My bare feet found their way across the front porch and over to the second front door, and from there it didn't take me long at all to reach our kitchen. I grabbed an unfrosted strawberry Pop-Tart and threw it in the toaster, then poured a fresh glass of orange juice to go with it from the fridge, and topped things off by snatching a banana from the fruit basket on the counter top. Once my Pop-Tart was done, I wrapped it up in a napkin and took my breakfast with me as I went back out on the front porch to sit and wait for my ride.

I plopped down on the front step, making sure that both doors were locked behind me first and tucking my keys in one pocket. I pulled my iPod nano out of the other, sticking an earbud in and bobbing my head along to the music as I nibbled on my breakfast. I'd never really been that much of a morning person, but I'll admit that it was nice to be able to sit outside at first light and kind of listen to the world wake up on days like today. Sometimes, if I was feeling really adventurous, I'd wake up extra early just to catch the sunrise before going back to sleep for another half hour.

At 7:38, the sound effect of Mario getting a one-up mushroom rang out from my pocket, and I pulled out my phone to see a new text from Jared. Coming down the street now. C u in ten seconds. I snapped my phone closed and ran back to the kitchen to set my empty glass in the sink and grabbed my large black tote bag I carried practically everything in on the way back out. I stepped outside just in time to see Jared's dark green car pull up out front and smiled as I headed off to start my day.

oOo

Kathryn's POV

"Kathryn, get up."

"Murrrrrr." I reached up to swat away the hand on my shoulder.

"Get up! It's 8:30, and we have to take everyone out shopping and be back in time for you to go to work."

I groaned again before unwillingly rolling over and opening my eyes. Kaia stood beside my bed, still in her pajamas, and I could see Sam and Frodo were also just waking up as well. "Do we have to?"

"Yes, Kathryn, we do," she said. When I didn't respond immediately, she rolled her eyes, reached under my covers, and grabbed my ankles. "Do I have to pull you?"

I saw Frodo and Sam's confused looks from behind her and quickly shook my head. "No," I said, finally kicking my laziness aside and pulling myself upright. "I'm up!"

"Good," she replied, "because I still have to shower, along with Gimli, Merry, Pippin, and Aragorn. And we've gotta make breakfast, too."

I blinked. "Shit. We probably should've woken up earlier."

"Probably," she said with a sigh. "Oh well. I'll run over and get everyone else up while you get dressed and all. Be quick, okay?"

"Got it," I said as I fully got out of bed. "You gonna want breakfast?"

Kaia shook her head. "Nah. I'll shower while everyone else is eating." With that, she walked out of my room, leaving the hobbits and I to ourselves.

I smiled at them. "Morning, guys."

"Good morning, Kathryn," Frodo echoed. Sam smiled back and nodded. "What are we to do again?"

"Kaia and I are going to take all of you guys to this thing called a mall today. It's a really big building with lots and lots of different shops where you can buy clothes, food, books, other stuff for entertainment...everything. So you guys will have to get dressed in your Earth clothes for today, because if you go walking around the mall in your other outfits, people are gonna think you're crazy." I took a breath after my mini-speech. "You guys brought your clothes that I gave you up here, right?"

Sam nodded and pointed to my dresser. "They're sittin' right up there."

"Yay," I said, grinning. "Go ahead and get dressed. If you need help with something, just let me know."

No one moved a muscle.

I stared blankly at the two, wondering why they were looking at my funny. It wasn't until Frodo spoke up again that I figured it out. "...Kathryn? I'm sorry, but weren't you planning on stepping out?"

"OH!" I smacked myself in the head. "Yeah, yeah, I'll leave. Sorry, you guys. Just let me grab my own stuff." I went to my dresser and started digging through the drawers to pull something together. "I didn't even think about that."

"It's all right," Frodo reassured me.

I finally settled on an outfit and slid the drawers shut. "Well bye!" I waved a little before leaving them alone to do their thing. Once I closed the door behind me, I aimed straight for the bathroom, only to hear running water coming from inside. Someone must already be in there. Weird. I didn't even hear them come in. I shrugged and changed my destination to Kaia's room, since I figured she wouldn't be in there.

Once I was alone, I stripped down and tossed my oversized t-shirt and baggy pants onto her bed, then wasted no time in putting on the clothes I'd selected. My outfit today consisted of a grey t-shirt with a slice of watermelon on the front (don't ask), jean shorts, my black Toms, my Shugo Chara lock and key necklace, my dragon necklace, my pocket watch necklace, and a chain link bracelet. While I was in the middle of putting my shirt on, however, I heard the door open behind me. Fearing the worst, I tensed and turned around.

Kaia stood in the doorway, looking at me oddly. "...Care to explain why you're half-naked in my bedroom, Kathryn?"

We both started laughing as she stepped in and closed the door behind her. "Oh...I think you know why," I said, making a suggestive face. That only made us laugh harder. "Frodo and Sam are changing in my room, and someone else was already using the bathroom, so I came here."

She let out an over dramatic sigh. "Kathryn, how many times have I told you? You can't get naked in here! I don't let strippers into my room!"

I beamed. "You can't control me, Kaia! It's a part of who I am on the inside!" I put my hand on my heart. "I can't even control myself!"
"Well, you need to!"

I flailed around a bit. "Well, I can't!"

"JESUS, WOMAN! CALM YOUR TITS!" she yelled. We both burst out laughing again, to the point where I doubled over and was gasping for air.

"I'm dying!" I said, still laughing a bit as I stood back up.

Kaia's laughter finally died down, too. "That was perfect."

I wiggled my eyebrows at her again. "Well, I guess if you don't mind me being here..."

"Put your shirt on and get out," she said, still smiling.

"Fine." I did as told, but shot one last wink over my shoulder as I left her room and headed back over to my own.

By the time I got over there and knocked to enter, the hobbits were already done. I walked in and looked them both over, nodding in approval. "You look nice," I complimented. Frodo's striped shirt looked good on him, the black and purple making his eyes stand out nicely. Sam's light blue shirt was a nice color for him, too. The jeans were a bit long, which I kind of expected, but they at least put them on correctly. The only thing they hadn't put on were the flip-flops. "But you guys remember what I said, right? You'll have to put your shoes on when we leave."

They nodded. "How do you wear them?" Sam asked.

"Oh, it's easy," I said. I ran over and grabbed a pair of my own from my closet, pulling my Toms off for a second. "Look, you just slide them on so the straps go in between these two toes."

"Ahh," Sam replied. "I see."

I kicked the simple shoes off and slipped on my original ones. "Well since you guys are dressed, we should probably head downstairs for breakfast now. Come on." I noticed how their eyes widened at the mention of food, and they eagerly followed me as I led them to the kitchen.

When we got down there, I was already surprised to see the majority of the Fellowship gathered at the table. Legolas, Boromir, Gimli, and Pippin were all present and fully dressed, and Pippin's eyes brightened when his hobbit friends appeared behind me. I mentally patted myself on the back for the good job I'd done in picking out clothes for them all. The only things I didn't really like were the grey-blue color of Boromir's shirt, Gimli's cargo pants, and the way Pippin's jeans fit him. It also didn't occur to me until then that I hadn't bought any of them socks, so I took the back-pat back a moment later.

"Hey guys," I said with a wave as I went to the kitchen area. "Hope you're hungry!"

"I'm starving!" Pippin cried. Sam smacked him on the arm.

I just laughed. "Good. Is there anything in particular you guys want?"

Legolas caught my attention. "Any fruit would suffice for me."

"Do you have sausage?" Pippin spoke up. "And biscuits?"

"We don't have biscuits," I said, "but I can cook up some sausage patties for you." The ginger nodded eagerly, and I looked to the rest of the men. "Do you all want some?" They nodded, too.

As I walked over to the fridge, I heard Gimli speak. "What kinds of food do you have here that are special to your world, missy?"

I pulled the box of sausages out of the freezer and glanced over my shoulder at the dwarf. "Oh, tons of stuff. We have this thing called cereal, which is like...well, it depends what kind of cereal you ask for. Some kinds of cereal are flaky, some are round and taste like chocolate, some are shaped like different things and taste fruity...but whatever kind of cereal you get, you pour it in a bowl, and then you pour milk over it, and you eat it like you'd eat a bowl of soup."

"Sounds interesting," said a new voice. I looked up to see Merry walk into the room, his hair still damp. "I'll have some of that, if you please."

I waved him over. "We've got a couple different kinds. Come pick one out." I pulled out all the different boxes and set them on the counter, then opened them for him. "You can just reach in there and pull a little bit out to taste it and see if you like it."

"Can I try that, too?" Pippin asked.

"Sure!" I replied. "Oh, and we've also got these things called Pop-Tarts. Erin likes those."

"What is a Popped Tart?" Gimli asked.

I reached into the cupboard and pulled out a the box of plain strawberry Pop-Tarts and showed him the box. "It's like a thin sheet of bread with a sweet filling in the middle. Sometimes they have frosting on them, too, but these don't."

He eyed it for a second. "I'll take one of those."

"Okay. So that's fruit for Legolas, a Pop-Tart for Gimli, cereal for Merry and Pippin...and sausages for everybody." I pulled out a skillet and turned the burner on to start cooking. "What do the rest of you want? We've got other Earth food if you want to try something new."

Boromir raised a hand. "Do you have eggs here?"

"Yup. Want some?"

"That would be nice, thank you."

I went back to the fridge and pulled a couple out. "Anyone else want some?"

"I'll take some too, Kathryn," Sam said. "Scrambled, please."

"Got it. How do you want yours done, Boromir?"

"Anything is fine with me."

I pulled out another skillet for the eggs. "Oh! Does anyone want some toast or yogurt?"

"Toast sounds good," Frodo said. "With butter, please."

"Mmhmm." I stuck a Pop-Tart in the toaster for Gimli as I felt a tap on the back. I turned to see Merry and Pippin each holding up different boxes.

"I'd like this one," Pippin said, holding up some Lucky Charms.

"And I'll take this one," Merry said next, shaking the box of Cocoa Puffs.

Ohhh, they picked sugary ones. This can't end well. I smiled anyway. "Excellent choices." Just set them on this counter and I'll get the cereal ready in a minute. I put the other two boxes of Special K and Rice Krispies back where they belonged, then dumped a bunch of small sausage patties into one skillet. I pulled an apple from the fruit basket and a bunch of grapes for Legolas, plopped them on a plate, and took them over to the elf, who nodded his thanks. After that, Gimli's Pop-Tart finished toasting, and I took that over to the dwarf before sticking in some toast for Frodo. After pouring Merry and Pippin some cereal and setting it on the table, I flipped the sausages and cracked Sam and Boromir's eggs, scrambling one of them. "Anyone want something to drink? We have orange juice, apple juice, and milk."

"Is there water?" Legolas asked.

I nodded. "I'll get you some. Anyone else?"

"We'd all like to try the apple juice," Frodo said.

Then Gimli spoke up. "I'd like some milk, Kathryn, to go with this excellent..." He trailed off, forgetting the word.

"Pop-Tart," I finished.

"Pop-Tart! Yes, that's it!" he laughed.

After finishing up the eggs and sausage, I handed the eggs out individually and then just dumped all the sausage onto one big plate for them to split. At that moment, Aragorn walked down. "What is all this?" he asked.

"Breakfast," I said with a smile. "You want something?"

"Yes, please," he said as he took a seat. "Anything will do."

I nodded and produced another egg from the fridge for him, as well as all the drinks. When everything had finally been served, I started brewing some coffee for myself, as well as pouring a bowl of Cocoa Puffs.

It was quiet for awhile as everyone ate until Sam spoke up. "You made all that food awful fast, Kathryn."

I smiled. "I do it a lot. I work at a restaurant not far from here by helping cook in the kitchen."

"It shows," the sandy-haired hobbit replied as he took another bite. "The sausages are excellent."

"Thanks," I said after downing a spoonful of cereal.

It was quiet again for a moment until Boromir spoke. "Kaia said we were going to a mall today. She explained it briefly, but I still don't understand why we are going there."

"We need to buy you all more clothes," I answered. "That way you're not all wearing the same exact thing every day. That's all."

At that moment, Kaia came downstairs and into the kitchen."Hey." She was dressed for the day in a gold-colored tank top, black shorts, black combat boots, her black leather cuff with a bunch of safety pins clipped to it, and an array of random necklaces. Her dark hair was pulled off her neck in its typical messy half-bun, half-ponytail. "Are you ready to go?"

"I'm not," I said. "I still gotta fix my hair and stuff."

"Well hurry, up, woman!" Kaia exclaimed before turning to the Fellowship. "What about you guys?"

"We should be prepared to leave soon," Aragorn replied.
"Cool." Kaia made her way over to the cupboard and grabbed a plastic cup to get herself some coffee. We all talked casually for a few more minutes before the men got up and asked what to do with their dishes. "Just throw them in the sink," Kaia said.

Big mistake. Next thing I knew, there was a loud crash as one of our plates was literally thrown into the sink from across the room. My jaw dropped as I stared at Pippin, who looked confused. "What?"

"Pippin!" I shrieked. "You don't actually throw it! She was exaggerating!"

Kaia, on the other hand, was laughing a bit. "Nice shot!"

I glared at her. "Dude! He probably just broke a plate!" As I said this, I noticed Pippin's face completely drop, and I kinda felt bad for shaming him. But even so, I ran to the sink and carefully peeked inside. There were the cracked and broken remains of what had once been a perfectly good ceramic plate. "Awww..."

I turned back around to see Merry smack Pippin, who was looking at the ground in shame. "Look what you did, Pip. Our first day here and you've broken something!"

Surprisingly, Kaia didn't even seem that mad. "Dude, it's just one plate. We have more, and no one got hurt. You don't have to freak out, just don't do it again."

Pippin looked at her worriedly. "Are you sure?" Then he glanced at me. "I'm sorry. I thought she was being serious and that's how Earth plates worked."

"Hey, the more you know, the better," Kaia said with a shrug. "And besides, it wasn't even an expensive plate anyway."

I sighed and began to carefully pick the pieces out of the sink. "Well, that's a great way to start the morning," I said with a laugh. The others laughed, too, breaking the tension. "Guess we'd better finish getting ready now."

"Finish?" I looked behind me at Frodo, who was frowning. "What do you mean, finish?"

"Like, brushing your hair, teeth, and stuff. Well...you guys can't really use our toothbrushes, though...Mouthwash'll work." I tossed the broken plate into the trash. "You four hobbits come with me. Kaia, you can take the rest over to Erin's bathroom."

She nodded. "Let's go."

We all split up from there, and I wasted no time in hurrying up the stairs to the bathroom, grabbing a bottle of blue-green mouthwash. "This is what I'm talking about, okay? It does exactly what the name implies."

"So...we just drink it?" Merry asked.

"No," I said. "You pour some into this little cup, swish it around inside your mouth for several seconds without swallowing, and then spit it out into the sink. Simple." I filled the small plastic cup and handed it to Sam, who did as instructed. "There. That'll have to do until we can buy you guys all some toothbrushes."

"What's a toothbrush?" Pippin asked as Merry took the mouthwash next.

I held up my own fluorescent yellow one. "It's this. You get it wet, then squirt some of this stuff we call toothpaste on it, and just rub it all over your teeth and tongue. We usually do it twice a day; after breakfast and right before bed." I started the process on myself to demonstrate. "See?" I said through I mouthful of bubbles. I spit into the sink and rinsed my brush out. It keeps your mouth clean and makes your breath smell nice." At that statement, I noticed Merry frown and try to check his own breath discreetly. My eyes landed on our toilet next, sparking an idea. "Oh! And if you ever have to go to the bathroom, just go in here." I lifted up the lid. "Once you're once, you wipe with this toilet paper and then flush everything away by pressing down this little handle." I showed them what I meant. "Remember that."

The nodded, taking everything in. "So...what do we do now?" Pippin asked, handing back the Listerene.

"Umm...oh! Why don't you guys go find Kaia and ask her about deodorant? I still have to get ready. You all know your way around well enough, right?" More nodding. "Good. I'll see you in a bit, okay?"

The four of them left the small room after that, leaving me alone for the moment. I plugged in the straightener Kaia and I shared before grabbing a brush to comb through my thick, dark brown hair. It didn't take long for me to untangle my blunt bangs and shoulder-length locks, then smooth it all out with the flat iron. After that, it was the simple task of applying light makeup around my brown eyes and over top of a few unsightly spots on my face, and I was done.

I looked myself over in the mirror, satisfied with how I looked before stepping out of the bathroom. Not five seconds later, my phone buzzed, saying that I got a text from Kaia. We're all outside waiting for you...but no pressure or anything. I rolled my eyes and started for the stairs when I suddenly heard the revving of a car engine, followed by multiple screams. I stopped for a moment, then tripled my speed going down the staircase. What the heck did Kaia do to them now?