LOTR: The problems with Thursday - Merry Brandybuck FF

Thursday - Chapter 3

Merry lead her down the gravel path,to the way out of Bywater. Alora looked slightly nervous, but Merry couldn't see as the light wind blew her hair in front of her face. At the end of the path Alora went to speak, but swallowed her words as Merry turned to her. 

"we're nearly there Alora, Hobbiton's just down the road form here, in fact, you can just see the lights from the village!" he said, smiling happily. Alora smiled back at him, soon forgetting her fathers words and getting lost in Merry's eyes. Her heart began to beat faster and she felt herself blushing as she looked down at his hand holding hers gently. 

"so where are we going in Hobbiton?" Alora asked as she spotted some hobbit holes nearby. The full moon was higher in the sky and let out a gentle white light which reflected of the roof tops and windows of the small houses. 

Merry looked round at her once more, slowing slightly so he walked next to her. "I thought we could just take a walk round the outskirts, It's much more peaceful and there won't be as many people around, plus you can get home quicker seen as you have to go early" He replied, a wide smile on his face. 

Alora looked down at his hand for a split second and then into his eyes, 'he'd actually paid attention to what I'd said earlier!' she thought to herself, not many boys did in her opinion. She then looked back down at their entwined hands and smiled.

Merry noticed her looking down and began to blush himself, "oh, erm, sorry" he said, stuttering and letting go of her hand, "i'll erm, stop now..." he murmured. Alora looked up at him, a bit shocked and saddened. 

"No, no! please, I don't mind..." she whispered gently as she reached out and took his hand again. Merry turned a very bright shade of red before he turned his head to look forward. They were now on the edge of Hobbiton, the gravel path growing wider as it lead towards the Market. Merry began to point out different things to Alora, like the library, the black smiths and the market stalls. Alora was fascinated, she hadn't been there is such a long time, nearly 10 years. It still smelt the same to her, freshly baked bread and cut grass. She sighed loudly and looked at the floor, the smell made her think of her mother. 

Merry looked round at her, a slight frown on his face, "are you okay?" He asked, knocking Alora out of her day dream.

She glanced up at him, "what? yeah I'm fine... just thinking." she muttered under her breath. 

"is that something you do a lot?" Merry joked, making her smile again. He looked up "Do you want to sit down over there or?" he asked, gesturing to spot of long grass which was bathed in moon light. Alora nodded her head and followed him over. 

They sat quietly for a while, looking up into the sky which looked like a dark blanket scattered with diamonds. The breeze caused the grass to rub against Alora's feet, whilst it made a sweet whistling sound. After another few moments in silence, Merry went to speak. 

"Nice night isn't it" He choked on his words, smiling as he looked into her blue eyes. Alora raised her eyebrow at him, before she began to laugh out loud. "what's funny?" he asked her, cocking his head to the side. Alora bit her lip, a wide smile on her face. 

"What's with the chat-up line?" she laughed loudly again. Merry looked at her, a bit taken a back. 

"what's up with my line?" he said, scoffing as he said it. 

Alora tilted her head to one side, "a bit cheesy don't you think?"

Merry shrugged, "it was kinda meant to keep you next to me, you know because it went quiet and I didn't want you to walk off" he whispered the last sentence especially quiet. Alora's cheeks burned and she fought the urge to kiss him on the cheek. Another silence fell over them.

Merry looked across at Alora and smiled to himself, he had never seen a hobbit girl quite like her. The way her hair was perfectly curled, her smile that made her cheeks dimple slightly and especially her eyes. Her deep blue eyes that shone and pierced him straight to his soul. The fact she loved to read and also had a passion for maps made her seem perfect to him, just him. He didn't want anybody else to hold her as tightly as he could. He wanted her to feel the same. Then remembered. They had only just met that day, 'how could he feel that way about a girl who was such a stranger to him?' he thought to himself. He sighed loudly and watched as Alora laid back in the grass, the stars glistened in her eyes. 

"Who knew Thursdays could be so good" Alora said, still looking up into the darkening sky. Merry lent on his elbow as he laid down, so he could look at her directly. He stared into her eyes, the world around him falling quiet.

"Why can't Thursday last forever?" He breathed, not realising Alora could hear him. She began to Blush as she looked up at him. Her heart beat grew a bit faster and her stomach tightened. She hadn't felt this way about a stranger before, well, somebody she had only just met apart from when they were small. His eyes mesmerised her and she was finding it hard to resist running her fingers through his golden curls. 

"You should come to Hobbiton tomorrow, If you want to.." Merry said, leaning a bit closer to her. Alora held her breath 

"yeah, can't you wait that long to see me again?" she teased, biting her lip. That made Merry's heart flutter, she was so beautiful. 

"yes, I could show you around the library and find a book I think you might like" he said, getting even closer to her, looking into her blue eyes. 

"I'd like that, I was reading earlier as it so happens" Alora said quietly, she herself began to lean towards Merry. She had a wide smile on her face and she was looking directly up at Merry.  His fringe suddenly fell forward and landed on Alora's forehead, she began to giggle and Merry blushed hard. "sorry about that, what book were you reading?" he asked, his warm breath tickled Alora's cheeks causing her to giggle. 

"I'm reading the novel my mother wrote, It's actually great!" she replied whilst tucking Merry's fringe behind his pointed ears. They both smiled, looking deeply into each others souls through their eyes. Alora had a million thoughts rushing through her head as they touched noses. 'What am I doing? Should I ? What time is it? Oh god! It's Really late!' she said to herself. 

She was just about to lock lips with Merry when she suddenly jumped up, causing him to fall backwards with fright. "what's wrong?" Merry asked, propping himself by his elbows. His hair was now even messier than before and his eyes were wide. "did I hurt you?" he said apologetically, looking down at the floor as he stood up next to her. 

Alora looked into his eyes once more, "I've got to go! It's really late and my father will be wondering where I've gone!" she said as she began to walk away.

Merry watched, a sad look passed over his face. He out stretched his arm as he called after her, "Will I see you again?" he said desperately.

Alora spun round and shrugged at him, "I hope so! I'll meet you here at half ten tomorrow for that library tour!" she called as her silhouette disappeared into the darkness.