Alright, this is my first fan fic, and the first time in a long time that I have gotten back into the swing of writing, so....be gentle with me. :unsure:

No, in all seriousness, I am completely open to any type of criticism and or advice. You are the ones that help me grow and become a better writer. Comments (and praise...just kidding) are always welcome. :yes:

Disclaimer: Sadly I do not own or have any type of relationship with any of the LOTR actors mentioned in the story. Any likeness or similarity to the LOTR fellows is completely coincidental, for their attitudes and behaviors are creations of mine. The ladies in the story are loosely based upon some of my girls, who were kind enough to let me take liberties with their personalities to fit my story. Thanks chicas!

Rating: Um...PG-13, maybe PG-15. :huh:

One thing to keep in mind while reading the story...I am including some real life activities (premieres and such) in the story, but I may have messed with the time line a bit to fit into the story. Just a little FYI.

Also, this is not written in the form of traditional chapters, it is more of a free flowing work of art. If you could call it that....

And one more thing before we dive into the story...a big smooch to Amber and Mena for convincing me to post my story. :x

Alright....lets get this show on the road.
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I swear, I have got to have the worst friggen luck in the world. No, I am serious. I tend to exaggerate things, but this is an honest to god truthful fact. Just ask anyone that knows me. Friends, family, co-workers, and even Bert (who happens to be the guy that always works the night shifts at my little local Blockbuster) will agree with me when I say I am the unluckiest person in the world. Heck, the universe. Okay, that is a slight exaggeration.

I’m the kind of person that stands in line for hours for movie tickets for the new summer blockbuster and when I get to the front of the line I have some pimply faced pubescent boy telling me in his squeaky voice that they are all sold out. I am the kind of person that will be walking to work in the worst rainstorm ever and have my umbrella blow inside out five blocks away from my apartment and still have another good six blocks to go to get to work. I am the kind of person that spends days working on a presentation for work, only to have my computer freeze and go to the blue screen of death and subsequently lose all of the saved information the night before. I’m the kind of person…okay, I think you get the idea.

With this information in mind, you will understand when I say that I am very skeptical of good things that happen in my life. Seriously, whenever something good happens, I know that I can expect some horrific (okay, not horrific but unfortunate) event to counter act the happiness. Yes, I know….aren’t I a damn ray of sunshine. Anyway, back on track…so you see, I tend to be leery of unexpected “lucky” events in my life. Needless to say, I was quite scared and shocked when I actually met and became friends with a movie star. Yes, you heard me correctly, I met a movie star and they are now on my list of friends. What is even more bizarre than me meeting a movie star is having the whole incident change my life….in a good way. Yep, for once…something did go my way. But that is not to say that it was not a rocky process. Trust me; it was far from smooth sailing to get from where I was to where I am now.

Now that you are probably confused as sin, let me go back to the beginning and maybe that will help explain things.

******

Let’s go back in time 4 years ago…things were a lot different then.

Before I even start at the beginning, I feel that I should give you some background information. Set the tone, if you will. My name is Isabella, but all my friends call me Bella. I’m a 26 year old pediatric nurse at UCLA Medical Center. I am a Pisces, so yes that means I am one of those over emotional saps. I love Italian food and I am single. Incredibly single. So single that my neighbor, Mrs. Guidocino, tries to set me up with the Mail Man every time he delivers her rheumatoid arthritis medication. Yes, it is that bad. You see, I just really have bad luck with men, along with everything else in my life. I have had a few boyfriends here and there, but they all end up being “Mr. Wrong” or “Mr. Never-In-My-Lifetime” or “Mr. I-Still-Live-At-Home-With-My-Mom-Who-Does-My-Laundry-And-I-Am-35”. I am not sure where my problems with men stem from. I tend to think of myself as a personable kind of gal. Maybe it is because I am rather chatty and I tend to ramble a majority of the time. Hm…maybe rambling is scary. Need to ponder that one. I guess you could say I am average looking, not overly beautiful but it isn’t like I have an arm growing out of my head. Some guys have compared me to the whole “girl next door” ideal. Which I suppose is somewhat true. None of my features are very striking. I have plain long blonde hair, boring blue eyes and freckles. Since when are freckles sexy? Never. I suppose you could say I am cute, but who wants to be cute when all of your friends fit the adjectives beautiful, gorgeous, stunning, and foxy. I swear it is my destiny to be single.

But there is a special someone in my life…my partner in crime who is always up for anything and who just happens to be one of my best friends in the world and my roommate. Convenient, isn’t it? Zoe is my lifesaver. It is like we are soul sisters. Seriously, we have this weird psychic connection. We just fit together. Like two peas in a pod. This is funny, because we couldn’t be more different. I guess it is true, the saying, opposites do attract. Zoe is the epitome of “artsy”, as she should be. She makes her living as an interior designer. That is why our plain hole in the wall flat looks as fantastic as it does. Thank goodness for Zoe! Zoe, unlike me, has absolutely no problems getting dates. In fact, her date book is usually jam packed. Actually, now that I think about, I think there might even be a waiting list, if that is even possible. Guys just can’t seem to get enough of her. Maybe it is her luxurious brown hair that is always styled in the most “fashionable” way. Or maybe it is her deep and soulful amber eyes. Maybe it is just because she is down right beautiful. But that is not all, not only is Zoe painfully beautiful she is incredibly witty, very humorous and always looking for the next big “adventure”. Seriously, I love this girl.

Oh my gosh!!!!
:lmao:
That was seriously so great. You had me cracking up. It's so witty!! I loved it. I can't wait to hear more about Bella and her unfortunate luck. Maybe she'll get some good luck soon? Anyway, post more soon, Babe!
Ciao!
~Stacy~

Yay! My first reply. I feel all warm and fuzzy inside. ^_^

Okay, a bit more because I can't sleep.

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Okay, now that you have a slight idea of what we are like, let’s get this story started. Enough horsing around. Where were we….oh yes, it all started years ago on a bright and sunny Saturday morning in May.

It was just another boring old Saturday morning in the life of Bella. Luckily, I was not on call this weekend. Thank goodness. Things have just been so crazy at the hospital that I relish my weekends off. You know what is ironic, I live for my weekends off, but I never do anything fun or exciting. Oh don’t get me wrong, I am not a hermit or anything. I will venture out of the house and attend a gallery showing at the art museum, or check out a little band at the pub that is just around the corner from our apartment. I will even head out with Zoe and some of the other girls for a night at the club of drinking and dancing like maniacs. But on average an exciting night consists of heading over to Blockbuster where I proceed to have lengthy conversations with Bert on which movies are worth my $4 and which aren’t. Oh…sorry, I digress. So, per the normal Saturday morning ritual Zoe and I head out to Starbucks to get our daily dose of caffeine. It is pretty early, well, pretty early for Zoe. Zoe considers anything earlier than noon on a Saturday to be likened to the butt crack of dawn. I, on other hand, have been up since 7:00AM. We walk through the doors and I am always amazed that a coffee shop could be so deserted at 10:00AM. Apparently everyone else in the world adheres to Zoe’s rule of thumb – “It is a sin to be out of bed and functional before noon.”

We walk up the counter and perform the same ritual. I stare at the menu for a good five minutes and then look over at Zoe. She is doing the same thing.

“Um….what are you having?” I ask.

Zoe grunts in response.

“Okay, didn’t think you could order one of those. Seriously, what are you getting?” I nervously shift my weight from foot to foot. Why does ordering coffee have to be such a huge production is what I want to know.

“I think I have it narrowed down to two things” Zoe replies. “It is between a Venti White Chocolate Mocha with an extra shot of espresso and a Venti Vanilla Latte again with the extra shot of espresso”

I raise my eyebrow and smirk. “Rough night, eh?”

All I get as an answer is a giggle and she turns bright pink. Must have been a damn good night. God, why am I so jealous right now?

“Well, incase you are wondering I was thinking of either a Venti Mocha Malt Frappucino or a Venti Iced Caramel Macchiato. It all depends on whether I want to have a coffee milkshake or something that rots my teeth out in 30 seconds but tastes so yummy.” Again, I wonder to myself, why is coffee so hard to order. You think I would be preparing for a huge medical convention with as much thought as I put into my order.

Fifteen minutes pass and we have finally ordered. Zoe decides to go with the White Chocolate Mocha, as she puts it “I’m treating myself.” I decide to ixnay the tooth decay for one more weekend and opt for the Mocha Malt.

Again per ritual, Zoe rushes off after placing her order to grab the best table by the window while I sit and wait for our drinks. After what seems like an eternity, a young hippie looking barista walks over to the counter and bellows out, “Venti Mocha Malt Frap and Venti White Choc Mocha” in his best stoner voice. I raise an eyebrow as he scans the entire coffee shop even though I am standing right there at the counter. Again, hippie boy starts to ask who ordered the Mocha Malt when I loudly, well, as loud as I could, clear my throat. Nothing. No response. That is it, I must resort to waving. Good lord. Finally, after doing the huge dramatic arm wave, hippie boy realizes that I am standing at the counter.

“Dude, are these your drinks or what?”

I answer with a curt “or what” and grab the drinks before I am forced to say something I regret. Stupidity is something I don’t deal well with.

I am still baffled by the utter stupidity of hippie boy that I am not paying any attention to where I am going. In fact, I am just on auto-pilot. Zoe and I always sit in the same spot so I know I could walk the route from the counter with my eyes blindfolded while on roller skates. Yes, I am that good.

Muttering to myself about dumb people while trying to take a sip of my delicious coffee goodness proves to be a disaster this morning. One minute I am grumbling to myself and the next minute I feel my body colliding with another.

WHAM!

Coffee is flying all over. It is all over the front of me, it is in my hair. I can only imagine what damage I have done to this other person and their articles of clothing. Speaking of clothing, one of the first fleeting thoughts I had before I could even apologize to the other person was….damn…not my new vintage Romones t-shirt.

Coming to my senses, I immediately go into heavy duty apology mode.
“Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! I am so sorry. I can’t believe this happened. I am such klutz,” I gush.

At the same time I am gushing I hear a male voice say, “Sweet Jesus! Sorry about that. I really am. I must have not been paying attention.”

Both of us giggle because while we were both apologizing to the high heavens all that was audible was a bunch of garbled sounds.

Just then I look up and meet the stranger’s eyes and I am immediately at a loss for words. I am staring into the most beautiful set of blue eyes I have ever seen.

Good Lord! :eek:
This, my dear, is a heck of a brilliant story, if you don't mind me saying it. Man! I love it!

You have such a brilliant style, it flows perfectly and really, even if you posted just two "chapters" I can reckon something about the personality of your Bella... and I really like her! She reminds me a bit of my main character, in a way!

And the whole thing about her bad luck is hilarious... just maybe beng so accident-prone could be of some help :lalala:

Ohhhh, I'm so happy you posted! Really! :bow: :bow: :bow:

:heartbeat:

Good Lord, girl! This is one piece of extremely hilarious, witty and dangerously awesome fiction!
I am fascinated by your use of words!

I can so much relate to the main character, because even if I am not a Pisces I too am

Can't really wait for more!

:shine:

Blondie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :hug: I'm so unbelievably excited you decided to post. This story is brilliant, one of my favorites ever. :yes: It just has the ability to complete draw the reader in. The characters are perfection, and the situations always make me giggle.

Not to mention, I feel victorious in convincing you to post. :laugh:

Okay, so keep posting so we can get to a certain scene........

*whispers* and you know which one i speak of*ends whisper*



:loveya:


smooches, ^_^
amber

:bow:
That was awesome!
The whole coffee issue reminds me so much of myself. I always have a hard time deciding which flavor of cappuccino or espresso to get!
^_^

Great chapter!
~Stacy~

WOW! This is really good! Very witty and funny. I can't wait to read more!

*~Steph~*

Awwwww! :blush:

Thank you all so very much for the very kind comments. You are all the very best. :yay:

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Seriously, the depth of the color in his eyes was simply amazing. I must have been staring for quite a while because the next thing I recall was feeling a hand on my shoulder and hearing “Are you okay?”

I snap back to reality and that is when the realization hits me. I am standing face to face with Elijah Wood. The Elijah Wood. Elijah freaking Wood! For the love of god, it is Frodo! Wow. Elijah Wood, one of the most gorgeous actors on the face of the earth. There he is in all of his splendid glory….with coffee, my coffee spilled all over him. Despite the coffee, he looks amazing as ever. He is wearing the cutest white and now coffee stained t-shirt that has the saying “I’m for real” with jeans and of course his blue converse.

My mind is racing a million miles a minute. I am freaking out in my head. Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh is all I am thinking right now. I have always thought that if and when I would run into a celebrity I would play it cool, but that is obviously not happening.

“Hello, earth to blonde girl with coffee all over her! Are you okay?”

I blurt out, “You have the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen.”

Oh no, I did not just say that. Those were not my first words besides apologizing profusely to Elijah Wood. So much for playing it cool.

Elijah just giggled. “Yeah, I get that a lot. Thank you though. I’m Elijah, by the way.”

“Oh I know who you are.” I pause and then add, “Wow, that kind of sounded stalkerish, I am sorry. I just meant…”

He cut me off right there “That is okay, I know what you meant.” More giggles from Elijah. He has got to have the cutest laugh on the face of the earth.

“Hello! Just what the heck does a girl have to do to get her coffee that she ordered like a million years ago? Did you forget about me or what?”

Zoe is making her way over to where I am standing with Elijah. She is mumbling the whole time about how thirsty she is and her coffee is probably cold by now when she gets about five feet away and freezes. Zoe’s body tenses up. I can tell she has recognized who is standing next to me.

“AHHHHHHH! Frodo lives!” she shouts at the top of her lungs. Zoe shouts so loud that even the little hippie barista lifts his head to see what is all the commotion.

Oh my goodness, typical Zoe. Only Zoe would shout out “Frodo lives” when meeting Elijah Wood for the first time.

Zoe comes rushing over to Elijah and just about tackles him like a linebacker would during a heated game of football. She stops about fifteen inches away and extends her hand to Elijah. “Frodo. Wow! It really is you. I’m Zoe. Damn nice to meet you.”

Poor Elijah just sits there stunned for a few seconds. Finally he comes back to reality and shakes Zoe’s hand. “Really, you don’t have to call me Frodo. I much prefer Elijah.”

“Oh! Yes, sorry” replies Zoe with a sheepish grin. Zoe is the only girl that can pull off a sheepish grin and still look beautiful.

“I’m afraid that you won’t be getting your coffee anytime soon Miss Zoe. For I fear your friend and I are wearing it. Speaking of friend…” Elijah slowly turns and stares at me. “I still don’t know blondie’s name yet.”

Wow…Elijah Wood wants to know my name. Gah…play it cool. Just tell him your name and it will be okay. And try not to say something stupid this time.
“My name is Bella.” Whew…good. Keep it simple. It is hard to make a fool out of yourself that way.

Elijah has this stumped look upon his face. “Hm…is it Belle as in Belle from Beauty and the Beast or Bella as in Que Bella?”

Zoe and I look at each other and do our best to stifle our fits of giggles.

“What?” Elijah asks. “That is a serious question. Is it Belle or Bella?”

Still giggling I reply, “It is Bella as in Que Bella. But what I really want to know is how do you know that there is a character in Beauty and the Beast named Belle?”

Zoe chimes in, “Yes, inquiring minds want to know. How do you know Mr. Wood?”

“Er…um….well…I thought everyone watched Disney movies. Don’t you?”

“Well, yes, but we are female” Zoe states matter of factly.

“Oh! Well, do me a favor, don’t tell anyone that I let it slip out that I am a sucker for Disney. The guys will never let me hear the end of it. As it is they have enough stuff to make fun of me for.”

“Don’t worry Elijah. This is our little secret” I reply with a huge grin on my face.

How cute is he? He likes Disney. Not only does he like Disney, but he knows the names of characters. I didn’t think it was possible, but Elijah just got ten times cuter in my book.

Wow! That was great. Very funny.... I am really enjoying the story! "FRODO LIVES" hahaha I'll be keeping up with the posts, lady!

~The infamous PEE PEE PIRATE (whispers: and you know who i am!!)

Seriously, great job!! :pirate:

Lovely, lovely! This story is fulfilling all of my expectations, and even more!

*shouts* Frodo lives! :lmao:
Man, I would have killed Zoe for such a thing. :blush:

So, erm...
More? :wub:

I love Disney movies! haha

Great chapter. I loved when Zoe shouted "Frodo lives!" :lmao:

*~Steph~*

Thank you, thank you, thank you. :bow: :bow:

Thank you all for being the best darn readers ever. :wub:

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! :eeeek: Oh my god, it is the infamous Pee Pee Pirate. I literally squealed when I saw your response. And yes, you are right, I do know who you are. ;)2

Alright, here is the next little ditty for you all. Hope you enjoy it. :bloom:

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“So, I take it you guys are huge Lord of the Rings fans, right?”

“Two of the biggest fans you will ever meet” Zoe is quick to reply. “How could you tell?”

“Well, it might have been the fact that you called me Frodo a couple of times” Elijah responded while giggling.

“Oh” Zoe and I both replied.

“Bella here has read the books at least a million times. She digs Tolkien. She even wrote a thesis in college about the philosophical analysis of the ideas of good vs. evil, loyalty and leadership in the Lord of the Rings. Yeah, she is really smart like that” Zoe replied.

Elijah just sat there with this astonished look on his face.

“Yeah, I know, I am a total geek” I offered as I felt my face flushing. Not only do I make a fool out of myself but now Zoe has to go on and on about what a big book nerd I am. Lovely.

“Bella, I think that is really cool. Seriously, that is nothing to be ashamed of. Besides, I am a self-professed geek. We can be geeks together. How does that sound?”

“But what about me guys? What do I get to be?” whined Zoe.

I was quick to answer, “Just that…a whiner.”

“Well, I haven’t had my coffee yet and it is still early, what do you expect. Whining only comes naturally to me.”

“Speaking of coffee, why don’t we all go and place another order. Since Bella and I are now wearing your coffee, I for some reason don’t think it is exactly drinkable” he said. “Unless you are planning on licking it off me” he added with a slight giggle.

Zoe and I just exchanged glances behind his back. Oh lord, if he only knew.

Zoe and I decided to save Elijah the pain and anguish of watching us spend fifteen minutes deciding on what to drink. We made it simple; we just ordered what we had ordered previously.

“Now be careful with these. We don’t want a repeat of what happened earlier, now do we girls?”

Zoe and I shook our heads side to side. No way did we want to loose any more of our precious caffeine.

“Look Elijah, I really am sorry about running right into. I feel really bad that I wrecked your super cute shirt” I said.

“Aw, Bella don’t worry about it. Please, this shirt was an old one anyway. Not a big deal. I’m the one that feels really bad. Gosh, you are the one with a coffee stained Romones t-shirt. That is the real tragedy here” he stated.

Again I blushed. Geez, why was I blushing so much? I am never like this usually. Then again, it isn’t like I meet a super hot movie star, Frodo mind you, all the time. I guess a few blushes here and there is completely acceptable.

While digging around in my purse I say, “Well, at least let me give you some money for your shirt.”

Elijah vigorously shakes his head back and forth. “Uh-uh. No way are you giving me any of your money missy. Your money is not good here. Besides, I am the one that should be buying you a replacement shirt. Or at least let me launder it for you.”

He sat and thought for a second and then responded with a grin, “On second thought, me doing laundry is not such a good idea. I still haven’t mastered that quite yet.”

Zoe and I both laughed at that and agreed that I should probably be the one that tries to launder and salvage my Romones t-shirt.

“Well, I suppose I should be going. Hannah, my sister…”

Zoe and I interrupted him right then and there and said “We know!”

Elijah giggled. “Oh, yes. Of course you guys know. Silly me. Anyway, Hannah has been waiting for me this whole time. We are going shopping. She is probably anxious by now. In fact, I am surprised she hasn’t come looking for me yet.”

Zoe and I walked Elijah to the door of Starbucks like he was a guest at our apartment. Zoe was the first to say something, “Well, Mr. Frodo, I mean, Elijah, it was a pleasure meeting you. Thanks again for the coffee. Sorry my klutz of a roommie had to plow into you.”

“Zoe” I wailed. “I can’t believe you said that.”

“Well, it is true. You are a klutz” she replied.

“I’m going to leave now and let you two bicker in peace. Zoe, the pleasure was all mine. Bella, nice running into you. It is always nice to meet a fellow geek” Elijah said.

Blushing I replied, “Well, thanks again for the coffee and I am really sorry about smashing into you like that. But it was nice meeting you, spilled coffee or not.”

With a smile and a wave he was gone.

I turned to Zoe. She had the biggest grin on her face. Seriously, it was stretched ear to ear. “My goodness, could you smile any bigger?” I asked.

“Um…you should take a look at yourself. You are looking very similar to the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland right this very instance.”

Five seconds pass and then the air is filled with an unbelievable shrill sound. It is the sound of Zoe and I squealing like teenie bopper fan girls.

At the same time be both begin gushing about how hot Elijah is and how we are the luckiest girls in the world.

Just as we were squealing for what seemed like the millionth time in a row the door to Starbucks opened again and Zoe and I were greeted with those same adorable blue eyes.

Immediately we stop squealing and try to act natural. Obviously we didn’t do a very good job of it because Elijah busts out in laughter.

“Sorry to interrupt the fan girl session ladies, but I forgot something very important.”

Elijah steps towards me and says “Here” as he hands me a slip of paper.

I look down and I see Elijah’s name scrawled on an old receipt from a record store along with his phone number.

“Give me a call sometime. I still owe you a new Ramones shirt Bella” he stated.

Next thing I know, he winked at me, waved to Zoe and was out of the door just as fast as he had reappeared.

Aren't you proud? I got the PeePeePirate to join and read your story. She loves it! As do I. As we all should. I told you it was brilliant stuff. ^_^

Innocence still jogs around here, perhaps? :unsure: :laugh:

Oh, and he gave them his number! :cloud#9:
Yeah, that Ramones T-shirt was a real kick.

Need to say I loved it? :yes: :yes:

:mwua: Smooches to all of you for being such kind readers.

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“Come on. Let’s blow this popcorn stand and head home. At least we can squeal in peace there” Zoe said while grabbing my arm and pulling me through the door.

Before I knew it we had reached our apartment building and we were heading up the freight elevator. The walk home was such a blur. Both Zoe and I were on cloud nine and it almost seemed that we had floated home. Either that or we were so preoccupied with gushing over Elijah that we didn’t notice the walk home.

Upon entering the apartment, Zoe rushed towards the refrigerator. “Gimme, gimme, gimme!” she squealed while jumping up and down.

I must have had a puzzled look on my face because Zoe stopped jumping up and down and firmly placed her hands on her hips and replied, “The paper. You know, the little crumpled up receipt that Elijah scribbled his name and phone number on. Yeah, that one.”

Just then I realized that the whole entire time from Starbucks to our place I had the receipt clutched in my hand in what could be described as the death grip from hell. There was no way I was loosing that little piece of paper. I walk over to Zoe and hesitantly hand it to her.

“What are you going to do with it?”

Zoe must have noticed my hesitation for she replied, “Oh, for the love of god Bella. Settle down. I’m not going to eat it or anything. I just wanted to do this….”. With that being said she grabbed the famed heart frame magnet that is reserved for only very special pictures and put Elijah’s phone number up on the fridge. “I believe this qualifies as being special enough for the heart frame magnet.”

I just stood there and nodded. No words were needed.

Who needed a stupid autograph to remember meeting Elijah Wood when instead you could get his phone number scrawled on a receipt that he pulled out of his messenger bag. Hm…maybe my luck was changing after all. I won’t hold my breath….but it is something to ponder.

******

By the time Monday morning rolled around, I had pretty much put the Elijah incident out of my mind. No sense dwelling in the past. Okay, ever so often, I would daydream a little and reenact the whole “crash” meeting but I wouldn’t say I was obsessing over it. Besides, I had other things to deal with. Such as work. After all kids didn’t stop getting sick just because I had met Elijah Wood.

I was just about to head off for my lunch break when one of the receptionist walks up to me and says “Bella, there is someone at the front desk to see you.”

Wondering to myself who could it be, I begin to run through a mental list of all the patients I have been working with today, assuming it is a parent or another coworker. But if it was a coworker why wouldn’t the receptionist tell me who it was? I was still in a complete daze when I heard “Hey there stranger.”

My head jerked upward and my eyes met his. There they were again, those stunning blue eyes.

“How….who….what….” I stammered.

Elijah just chuckled. “Now aren’t I the one that seems to have stalker tendencies?” he said with a huge grin.

Again, nothing from me. I stand there in a stunned silence. Why is it that whenever I am around this guy I go from being the chattiest person in the world to a bumbling idiot that does nothing spew jibberish? You would think the second time around seeing him I would be able to act a lot cooler. Obviously this idea of cool is something that I haven’t quite mastered. Inside my head that little voice is screaming “Say something you retard!”

Finally I blurt out, “I was just going on lunch break. Care to join me for some horrible hospital cafeteria food?”

“Wow. So you do speak. I was beginning to think you had reverted into shocked fan girl mode again.”

I turn every shade of red imaginable and shuffle my feet back and forth. “Sorry, I was just a bit bewildered to see you standing there by the desk. I was expecting someone else.”

“Oh I see how it is. You have gone and met another actor/famous person and now I am chopped liver.”

“Yep, you are right. Last night I ran smack into Ben Affleck and spilled coffee on him at this little diner down the way. And now we are an item. Please, J-Lo has nothing compared to me,” I say as I point to my booty.

Pouting, Elijah replies in a little whiny voice, “But I thought spilling coffee was our thing?”

I giggle. No wonder more the half of the population of women over the age of eight are in love with this guy.

“Come on Mr. Pouty Pants,” I say as I grab his arm. “Let’s make our way to Le Café de Crappy Hospital Food and we can discuss how on earth you found out where I worked, how you knew I was going to be here, just what the heck you are doing here and get some grub. Not necessarily in that order. I’m starving.”

I'm sorry I fell behind in this!
I've just read the last three chapters and they were magnifique!!!
^_^
The whole spilling coffee thing is too cute. I'm surprised they didn't shriek from it being so hot, but I guess if you run into Elijah Wood you wouldn't care much, would you? hehee...

Anyway, awesome job!
:bloom:
~Stacy~

Oh dear, that's just too funny!!

:lmao: :lmao: :lmao:

And, 'Le Café de Crappy '? Priceless!!!! :laugh:

'Le Cafe de Crappy' is awesome! YAY for Franglais! haha

And did you HAVE to mention licking coffe off of Elijah??? :tsk:

More soon please!

*~Steph~*

HAHAHA! I am so loving this story..

"Come on, Mr. Pouty Pants" ..... priceless

Also, i must comment on " the girly shrilling"....LOL, can totally relate! :yes:

Keep it coming lady, awesome job!


~Shanna

:lmao: teehee! Shan and I were discussing the girly shrieks, and how it so defined our lives in high school.......*whispers* and sometimes, even now*ends whisper*

Lij and stalker tendencies. If lij were doing the stalking, it would be super!!!!!

lol

Dude!
This totoally rocks!

I read about Coffee in the title and followed my nose.

*Nods*

Coffee, coffee, coffee.
The one thing that keeps sanity around.

Anyways, this is really great.
You're doing a kick butt job.

Ladies, ladies, ladies!
Thank you all for your kind comments. How you all make me squeal with utter delight. :wub:

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After 15 minutes of walking around in the maze like corridors of the hospital we finally reach our destination. Elijah and I walk up to the counter and stare at all the processed food baking under the scorching heat lamps.

“So…um…what’s good here?” he asks while crinkling up his nose in disgust.

“Well, to be honest with you, not a whole lot. You would think that a hospital would serve somewhat healthy food. Our best bet is to go with one of those prepackaged deli-type sandwiches or a salad” I reply.

“I’m up for some rabbit food if you are” he says with a crooked grin.

“Rabbit food it is, Mr. Wood.”

We gather our food and make our way to the nearest table. Elijah was in the lead and I couldn’t help but notice a few faces staring at us. In fact there were more than a few squeals made audible by some girls. Heck, one of them appeared to be my grandma’s age. I think I might have even heard one or two “lucky bitch” comments and “she isn’t even all that pretty” directed my way. Oh well. What I was most thankful for was no one rushed at Elijah screaming for an autograph. Apparently when you see a movie star at a hospital walking around with someone in scrubs there is an unwritten code of respect. I am utterly shocked and amazed. Maybe there is some good in society after all. Eh…I won’t hold my breath.

“Okay, not that I mind or anything. But just how did you find out that I was going to be here? I don’t remember chatting about professions while the coffee was drying on our clothing.”

With an arched eyebrow and a sly grin he replied, “Oh, I have my ways. I have my ways.” With that he feigned an evil laugh.

“Care to elaborate on that?”

“Nope.”

“Hm…I guess being a mega superstar actor has its perks.”

“Yes and no. In this case, it sure does. Don’t worry Bella, when the time is right, I will tell you all my little dirty secrets” he replied with a wink.

My goodness he has beautiful eyes. Even his eyelashes are gorgeous. In fact, I find myself feeling a tinge of jealousy over how great his eyelashes are. Damn it, I am the girl here and he has longer and more curved eyelashes than I do. The world is a cruel, cruel place sometimes. Anyway, back on track….

We proceeded to enjoy our less than stellar salads, otherwise known as rabbit food, and chat about my job. Elijah is more than interested in what I do on a day to day basis. After we cover all the basic questions he has, yes I get to give shots on a daily basis; yes, I am good at it; yes, I have my own stethoscope; no, I don’t get grossed out by blood or vomit; yes, I have been puked on; yes, I have given enemas and no I didn’t enjoy it, I realize that my break time is quickly coming to an end.

“So tell me about the grossest thing you have ever seen? Have you seen a really bad case of hemorrhoids? I just imagine that to be the nastiest filthiest sight on the face of the earth?”

“Um, as much as I would like to dive right into the topic of hemorrhoids, I am sad to say that my break time is about to end shortly here. As much as I have enjoyed chatting and eating horrible hospital food with you, I have other boys that need my attention much more than you do.”

“Ah-ha! I knew it. You are definitely two-timing me. You are such a player.”

“Huh? Is Zoe around?” I ask as I dramatically scan the hospital cafeteria. “Oh, you were talking to me. I am sorry. I’ve never been called a player. I was a little taken aback by that.”

Elijah just sat there snickering. My goodness, he is quite the giggly little fellow.

“Anyway, I suppose I should let you get back to saving lives and all. I mean, it isn’t like you are doing anything important at work.”

“Now, now Mr. Wood. No need to be a smart ass.”

“Okay, let’s get this show on the road. You have people to give shots to and stuff. Let me walk you back to your station area place.”

“You mean the front desk?”

“Oh...yeah, that place too” he replied while blushing just a wee bit.

Once we had reached the station area place as Elijah calls it, Elijah turned to me and thanked me for a lovely lunch.

“Geez, you make it sound like I just treated you to lunch at one of the finest restaurants in town.”

“Gasp! You mean to tell me that Le Café de Crappy Hospital food isn’t rated five stars? I’m appalled” he said overly dramatically. Now I can see why this kid is an actor. He is good. Damn good.

I playfully punched him in the arm, “You better shut it right now, before you get your ass kicked in a hospital by a nurse wearing a smiley face scrub top. Anyway, thanks for stopping by. That totally made my day.”

“No problem Bella, the pleasure was all mine. Oh yeah, before I forget, the reason I stopped by was to tell you to meet me outside in front of the hospital after work. I’ll be the incredibly handsome guy standing by the Mini-Cooper” he replied with a cheesy grin. “I’m taking you shopping. I owe you a shirt. And I am not taking no for an answer missy!”

“Yes sir!” I reply while saluting him. “I’ll be outside after my shift with bells on.”

“Um…you can skip the bells” he added. “Oh, and you might want to change out of the smiley scrub top too.”

“What? You don’t like this? Come on. Smiley face scrub tops are all the rage in Paris right now Elijah. Duh!” I smile, “Don’t worry. I have “real” clothes with me in my locker.”

“Okay, then it is a date. I will see you later” and with that he turned and headed out of the hospital wing. When he reached the elevator, he turned to wave at me.

I cheerfully returned the wave and slowly walked to the nearest empty patient room. Once inside I properly freaked out. Squeal and all. Good gracious. This is unreal. Stuff like this does not happen to me. But I quickly dismiss any and all negative thoughts and focus on the fact that I will be going shopping with Elijah tonight. Seriously, Zoe is going to freak out when she hears this.

Shopping with Elijah!
Goodie! :noangel:
I wonder how many times they will get stopped by people wanting autographs while on their little excursion. ^_^

Nice chapter!
~Stacy~

Shopping with Elijah! Sounds like fun!

That chapter was hillarious as well!

*~Steph~*

Chapters like that are the reason I continuously fall for Lij in this story. You naughty author!

Enjoy.
:hug:

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Before I knew it my shift was over. I quickly ran and changed my clothing. I don’t think I have ever moved this fast in my life. Before leaving I quickly gave myself the once over to make sure I looked presentable. Eh…this is as good as it was getting.

I walk out of the main door of the hospital and sure enough there he was just as promised, the most incredibly handsome guy casually leaning up against his Mini-Cooper.

Elijah notices me and flashes the biggest cheesiest grin and waves at me. I wave and walk over to his car.

“Um, excuse me” I say. “But I am looking for an incredibly handsome young man that said he would be waiting for me outside of the hospital by his car which is a Mini-Cooper. Have you seen someone matching that description?”

“Now who is being a smart ass?” he says. “Come on, get in the car and let’s go. We have some shopping to do.”

“Wow, you are really excited about this, aren’t you? I am a wee bit taken aback. Usually guys avoid shopping like the plague and here you are making the plans and getting excited about it.”

“Hey, what can I say, I have a sister. And she likes to shop. A lot” he replied with a smirk. “I guess, I kind of got used to it and eventually grew to like it. But, let’s keep that on the down low also, okay, Bella. I don’t want to go around ruining my macho reputation.”

I laughed out loud about the whole macho bit. Seriously could this guy be any cuter. Not only does he watch Disney movies but he likes to shop. He is going to make one lucky girl very happy.

Elijah took me to all of his favorite vintage stores and of course we stopped at his favorite record store. He was so fun to watch. He was like a kid at a candy store at all of the locations. I would have expected it at the record store, for everyone knows that Elijah is a music freak. But he was just as excited looking at vintage t-shirts. It was quite adorable really.

Much to my repeated protests, Elijah did end up purchasing a shirt for me. We didn’t find the same t-shirt but I did score a different sweet Romone’s t-shirt. This one, I promised Elijah, I wouldn’t wear to a coffee shop.

The whole time we were together we were chatting it up like we had been friends forever. I finally had mastered the art of keeping my cool around Elijah, so that was a relief. Much to my surprise, Elijah and I actually had quite a few things in common. We found out that we had similar taste in music (we both think Billy Corrigan is a god and that Jack White is a musical genius), like the same types of movies (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was one of the most brilliant films on the face of the earth and we both felt that Pearl Harbor was a less than stellar production, and that is putting it nicely), we both enjoy imports when it comes to beer and we both have the same weird and bizarre sense of humor. I have never laughed so hard when I have been with someone. Zoe does a pretty good job at making me laugh on a continuous basis, but Elijah, man, he made my sides hurt from laughing. I even think my cheeks started to cramp from smiling so much.

After we had finished shopping we decided to go grab some dinner, since our rabbit food was long gone by this time. We just went to a little pub, ordered some greasy bar food and two Heineken’s. Small talk was a thing of the past; we were getting into the deeper more complex conversations. We chatted about our families, how we were raised, political views (yes, we were so bold to talk politics, and surprisingly enough both of us were very even tempered), the health care system (you simply cannot hang out with a nurse for a certain period of time before this subject is breached, besides I like chatting with other people about it, it is a forbidden topic among my friends since I could talk about it for days upon days), and what we want in the future.

“Holy shit Bella! You aren’t going to believe this. It is almost midnight. We have been sitting here forever!” Elijah exclaimed. “I am so sorry. You have to work early in the morning, don’t you? I just got so carried away.”

I grinned, “Oh Elijah, don’t worry about it. You know that old saying, time sure flies when you are having fun or something like that.”

We quickly finished our beers and headed out to his car. “I’m driving you home and don’t even think about saying no. It is the least I can do for keeping you out so late” he replied.

I was not about to say no to an offer like that. The more time I could spend with Elijah the better. That was my motto for the evening.

I gave him directions to the apartment and in short period of time we had arrived to the final destination.

“Well, here we are” he said with a grin.

“Yep, here we are” I replied. Wow, this was kind of awkward. Why I wonder.

“So, I had a really great time tonight Bella. Not to mention I am really happy that I could replace your shirt. That was really bothering me.”

“Really? The shirt thing was bothering you that much? Wow. I don’t know what to say. Thanks again for everything. I had a really wonderful time Elijah.”

Silence. Complete and utter silence. I was fidgeting with my purse and my shopping bag and Elijah was tapping his fingers on the steering wheel.

“Well, I suppose…” I blurted out.

At the same time, Elijah spit out, “Okay, I guess I shouldn’t….”

We seem to have this strange knack for talking really fast at the same time, which then just produces a huge garbled mess, which proceeds to make both of us laugh.

“You first” Elijah says with a grin.

“What I was trying to say before, was I guess I should be going. You still have to drive home and I have to get up early.”

“Yeah, you need all the sleep you can get so you can give good shots tomorrow. Or something like that” he replied with a crooked grin.

More weirdness. Silence.

Finally I just took the matter into my own hands and opened the car door and started getting out. The silence and the weirdness were just getting to be too much. How on earth could I feel so awkward around someone that I had just been spilling my guts to only a short period before?

Just as I was out of the door, Elijah calls my name. I bend down to peer into the car at him.

“So, I was wondering…..if…well, gosh....well, I was wondering if we could hang out together again. I really enjoyed your company and I would love to see you again. Next time we can play video games together, since you claim you can school me.”

“I would love that Elijah” I replied with a huge smile. “Do you need my phone number, or do you have ‘your ways’ to find that out?”

“Why don’t you just give it to me, to be on the safe side? Just incase my connection goes sour.”

With that, I scribbled my phone number on an old business card for a pharmaceutical rep that was lying at the bottom of my purse.

“Alright, I will be looking forward to a phone call. Prepare yourself for an ass-whooping in video games Mr. Wood. I am the video game master” I reply with an air of confidence.

With one final wave, I shut the car door and Elijah was off.

And that my friends, is how it all started. My friendship with Elijah.

Gah!
That was funny and cute and just adorible.

You're doing a wonderful job with this fic, just brilly.

Awww, adorable indeed! Elijah is so damn cute!
You know what I am waiting for, miss... :tsk:
...but honestly I must say I'm enjoying my waiting! :love:

Tee hee. Mena...you silly girl. :lol:

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Who would have ever thought that a friendship could stem from spilled coffee? Weird, I know, but who am I to question it. Just roll with it. Take the good stuff in life when it happens because lord knows it doesn’t happen very often in my life. Anyway, enough mindless rambling.

In case you are wondering, Elijah did call me after the night of our shopping trip. And we did get together at his place to play PlayStation2. Also, for the record, I schooled him like no one before. I even took it a little bit easy on him, as not to hurt his feelings. Poor guy just really isn’t that good at video games. Maybe next time I will actually let him win. Or not.

After that it was an ordinary occurrence for Elijah and me to hang out together. He would call me; I would call him, and so on and so forth. We would go check out gallery showings, check out some bands (Elijah had the best connections in the world, seriously), play video games, rent movies, hang at the coffee shop (of course, this after all was our ‘thing’), and do all the other stuff that friends do when they hang out. He would introduce me to his friends and I would introduce him to mine. His friends would have a rather non-excited reaction to meeting me, while my friends on the other hand, did their utter best to not freak out and go all fan girl on Elijah. I found it reassuring that all my friends had a difficult time remaining cool, calm and collected in the presence of Elijah.

One afternoon Friday afternoon while on my lunch break, my cell phone goes off. I look at the screen and see “Frodo” as the caller id. Yes, Elijah’s cell phone number was programmed into my phone as Frodo. Zoe did that. She thought I would get a kick out of it. To be honest, I do.

“Hello.”

“QUE BELLA!” is screamed into the phone in a very humorous and not so good fake Italian accent.

I grin. Elijah has now taken to screaming “Que Bella” in that horrible Italian accent every time he sees me or calls me on the phone. It is cute how he thinks he is the one that started that. To be completely honest, some of my friends have been doing that for ages. Apparently, people just think that is an appropriate response to bellow out whenever they see me. I’m not complaining, it could be worse.

“Hi Elijah! What can I do for you?” I ask sweetly.

“What are you doing tonight? Please tell me you don’t already have plans” he said in a very excited tone of voice.

Playing with him I reply, “Well, Elijah, let me check my day planner. You know I have quite the social life. You know, movie stars calling me up like crazy to hang out.”

“Funny, very funny” he commented dryly. “Seriously, though. Do you have plans or what?”

“Okay, little excited man. Calm down. No, in all seriousness, I am free. Why do you ask?”

“Ah, Bella, I am so excited, as you can tell. One of my friends, who you just have to meet, is in town. I was thinking we could all meet at a club and just chill. There is a really great band playing tonight at this little known club. I think everyone would have a great time.”

“If it involves beer and you, you can count me in” I replied. The phone conversation ended with Elijah giving me directions to some club that I had never even heard of before. This does not surprise me. Elijah is always taking me to places I have never heard of before. This boy sure does have connections.

I didn’t think anything of who this mysterious friend could be. With Elijah, one never could tell. Many times he has called me up excited as all hell about how I need to meet this friend of his. I then would end up meeting his mother’s hairdresser’s daughter or his best friend from his childhood who grew up on the same street. Or there was the time that Elijah introduced me to the kid that used to kick his ass in kickball at the playground when he was a young boy. Now that was a good time.

One thing I did find peculiar was in all this time of Elijah and I hanging out and introducing each other to close friends, never once did I meet any of the Lord of the Rings cast. Wait, I take that back. One night at a bar we met a couple of the stunt double guys, but not one of the main characters. Maybe Elijah was afraid that if I met them I would revert back to scary fan girl mode and either not say anything at all or squeal with giddy delight. Oh well.

Man!
I need to be short, because I just went off the bathub and my hair is dripping water everywhere. If my sister sees me here, I'll be dead. :unsure:

Anyway, Bella is just too funny!
Go girl, beating aboy to videogames is a sort of modern swordplay duel or something, ehe!

I just love her rants to bits.. she reminds me of someone, mmm?? :tsk:

I heart your Blondie avatar!!!!!!!!!!!

I also heart Elijah in this story. Thanks a lot. :wub:

Greatness all around! I"m glad she kicked his ass at videogames! And I'm wondering who this friend of his could be.......hmmm.......

*~Steph~*

TEEHEHEHE!! This story just makes me happy!

Just read the last two chapters! Its hilarious!

I'm nervous/excited about the "friend" ... LOL
:yay:

lol

I love her rlittle rantins!
They're adorible!

This whole story is adorible!
It's gr-r-reat!

My present to you all for being so wonderful. :bloom:

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I hurriedly ran around the apartment trying to finish getting ready. I must have changed my outfit like a million different times. Nothing seemed to look right. Usually I have Zoe here to help guide me through the difficult decision of getting dressed. But alas, she is out of town on business. Stupid business trip. What is more important, helping her best friend find the outfit that will make her look cute as hell, or dumb business? I finally decide on a simple but cute outfit. You can never go wrong with jeans, converse sneakers and a shirt that is a little on the form fitting side. If anything, I might be able to score one or two free drinks. Well, maybe.

I quickly run out of the apartment to the cab that has been waiting impatiently outside for the past 5 minutes. Geez, could the taxi driver be any more impatient. I was only five minutes late and he must have blown his horn at least a thousand times.

It was shortly after 10PM when I arrived at the club that Elijah had given me directions to. Once inside the club I realized that Elijah never told me where to meet him. Usually we work out some type of game plan. Like look for him at some tables, or meet him at the bar. Hm, I guess I am going into this one blind.

I make my way up to the bar which was a feat in itself. This club is packed to the gills. Whatever little band is playing here tonight sure has quite the following. Groupies all over. I finally find a teeny tiny opening at the bar. I slowly but determinedly make my way to that one little spot. By the time I actually reached my destination I was so happy, for I had worked up quite a thirst just making my way to this little area. My god, I am never going to find Elijah here tonight.

I waited another 15 minutes before I even got the attention of a bartender. I know that I should be scanning the club for Elijah and his friend, but to be honest; getting a beer is the only thing on my mind right now.

Just as I grab my beer and bring it up towards my mouth for the sweet nectar of gods I have been craving, I hear someone clear their throat behind me.

I didn’t think anything of it and continued to relish my Heineken.

“Um…excuse me miss.”

Oh great. Just what I need, another friggen looser hitting on me. This always happens when I am sitting at the bar alone. Damn Zoe for being out of town. Damn Elijah and his friend for not telling me where I am supposed to meet them. Maybe if I just ignore him, he will go away. Yes, let’s try that.

I continue to drink my beer.

I hear the guy behind me clear his throat again. “I said, excuse me miss.”

“I have a question for you. Is that a keg in your pants?”

What the fuck?

“'Cause I'd love to tap that ass,” he replies with this incredibly sexy accent.

Sexy accent or not, I am about to give this guy a piece of my mind. Just who the hell does he think he is? Stupid jerk.

I quickly spin on my heel and words just start flying out of my mouth. “Just who the hell do you think you are? Do you think that is cute? If I wasn’t such refined lady I would slug in right in the face. Better yet, I would kick you where the sun doesn’t shine just so you could never produce offspring.”

The guy with the accent and the horribly cheesy pick up line just started laughing. Just then I heard a high pitched giggle coming from behind him. That is when I took a minute and really got a good look at the guy. I was so pissed off before that it didn’t even register. Oh my god! Oh my fucking god! I have got to be the stupidest girl in the world. I just cussed out Dom Monaghan for telling me that he would “like to tap” my ass.

LMAO!! Poor, poor girl!
But hey, not just because he is Dom Monaghan he deserves treats, right? :lol:
And I bet he appreciates girls who speak their minds... or at least I hope so. :unsure:

:love:

Oh God that was great! haha

*~Steph~*

*snorts with laughter* Lookey, Lookey! One of my favorite chapters....tap that ass...boehahahahhaahhaaa!

A bit more before the weekend. Hope you all have a lovely Friday! :yay:

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“Bella! Oh my god! You should have seen your face. That was priceless” Elijah said in between fits of giggles.

“Very funny Elijah. Very funny,” I said in my most sarcastic tone of voice.

Dom turned to Elijah and said, “Wow! She is quite the fiery one. Why didn’t you tell me that she is such a firecracker?” His eyes then turned to me, “You know, you are quite cute when you get angry.”

I am sure my face was red as a beet by this time. The only thing running through my head was the fact that he just said I was cute. No matter how much I hate being referred to as cute; I rather liked it coming from Dom. I looked Dom square in the eyes and said in my most apologetic voice that I could muster, “Oh my gosh, I am so sorry. Its just, well…oh… fuck, I just don’t take too kindly to cheesy pick up lines. I have had some rather horrifying experiences in the past, so I guess I just fly off the handle now.”

I mumbled to myself, “And I wonder why I don’t have a boyfriend.”

“That is okay darling. Just remind me to never piss you off. I got to keep the family jewels in working order so there can be little Monaghan’s ruling the Earth.”

“Dear lord, that is a frightful thought Dom,” Elijah retorted. He turned to look at me, “Bella, please don’t be mad at us. I just thought it would be funny to have Dom go approach you at the bar. I wanted to see your reaction. I had no idea he was going to use such a lame pick up line.”

“Lame pick up line,” Dom said with a sad look upon his face. “Elijah, just to have you know, that line has actually worked for me.”

“Really?” both Elijah and I said in unison.

“Well, maybe once or twice” Dom stammered.

“Actually, now that I can reflect on the moment, it was pretty funny. I just feel bad for Dom. Now he is going to think that I am some crazy bitch that freaks out on every poor unsuspecting male” I said.

“Well, why don’t we start over” Dom replied with a faint smile on his lips.

Dear lord, this man is so unbelievably attractive. The hobbit hair does nothing for him in the movies. He is way hotter in person. And not to mention, he smells absolutely delicious. Must stay focused at the task at hand….pay attention, pay attention, and make sure you aren’t drooling. Gah….snap out of it girl. I shake my head to bring myself back to reality. I don’t need Dom thinking I am some weird space cadet on top of everything else.

“Oh yes, you are absolutely right” Elijah replies. “How silly of me. Let me properly introduce you to each other.”

“Bella, this is my crazy assed friend Dominic Monaghan. But you can call him Dom. We met while filming this little film that you might have heard of, Lord of the Rings. He is quite the cheeky bastard but I still enjoy his company none the less,” Elijah stated as he pointed towards Dom.

“Dom, this is my new found friend Bella. Isabella, but everyone calls her Bella. She decided to get my attention by spilling her frappacino all over me. Needless to say, it worked. She is a total Lord of the Rings junkie, and she is a self professed geek like me. Oh, and one other thing. She is a pediatric nurse. She gives shots on a daily basis. How cool is that?”

As you can see, Elijah is still pretty infatuated with the fact that I get to stick needles in people as part of my living. Silly boy.

Dom and I shook hands and both replied, “Nice to meet you.”

“Okay, now that we are all friends, let’s go find a place to sit or stand so we can listen to the band,” Elijah said.

“Great idea,” I replied. “But I think we should get a refresher beer. Dom, you get to buy this round since you used such a tacky and lame pick up line on me.”

“That’s my girl,” stated Elijah with a nod of his head.

Dom chuckled. “Bella, you are a-okay in my book,” he replied with a wink.

A few minutes later, but it seemed like an eternity, Dom returned with our beers. “Bella, I have been dying to ask you this since ‘Lijah mentioned that you were a Lord of the Rings fan.”

“Shoot,” I said.

“Well, in your humble opinion, who did you think was the hottest hobbit?”

I just laughed. “You want to know who I thought was the hottest hobbit.”

“Yes,” he replied with a serious look.

Elijah chimed in, “Dom, for once I agree with you. Damn good question.”

“Well, nothing like putting me on the spot here guys,” I stammered. “Well to be honest, I always kind of fancied Pippin.”

“Pippin?” both Dom and Elijah questioned.

“Um-hm” I answer while vigorously bobbing my head up and down.

Dom muttered to Elijah, “Obviously, the girl is slightly star struck and just didn’t want to admit to me that she found Merry to be the finest of all hobbits.”

Elijah laughed. “Okay, Dom. Whatever you say.”

“Okay then, so you think Pip was hot. What about who was the funniest of the hobbits?” Dom questioned.

“Oh that is easy,” I replied. “A complete no brainer. Pippin again.”

Dom groans, “You have got to be kidding me.”

“Well, what about between Merry and Pippin, who do you think was the bravest?”

“Pippin.”

“Who had the best smile?”

“Pippin.”

“Who dressed better?”

“Definitely, Pippin. The scarf made the outfit.”

“Who had the best hobbit name?”

“Pippin.”

A sigh of disgust comes from Dom.

“Well, what about….who was the best singer?”

“Pippin.”

Elijah, still chuckling, playfully clapped Dom on the shoulder. “Face it man, she obviously has a thing for Pippin. Just let it go.”

“Sorry Dom,” I grin. “Pippin has always been my favorite character in the book and so it kind of carried over into the movies. I just love how inquisitive Pippin is.”

Dom muttered to himself while looking rightfully wounded, “Merry is inquisitive.”

The band finally started playing so that took Dom’s mind off the fact that I actually liked the character of Pippin better than Merry. Periodically through the night, Dom would shake his head and mutter, “Pippin! I can’t believe she picks Pippin over Merry.” Elijah and I just sat there and giggled at Dom’s disbelief.