"Ashley!" My dark eyes widen and I begin to sprint as quietly as I can towards the small closet a few feet away. "You can't hide," the woman says in a dangerous tone. I wince, safely hidden in the closet—you should try holding in a sneeze, it's not easy. "Come out, come out wherever you are." I look through the keyhole, trying to catch a glimpse of the woman chasing me. Okay, so I'll admit I started this whole thing by accidently smacking her forehead, but I don't think I deserve death. The door opens suddenly, knocking me backwards. Andrea's blue eyes show her rage and satisfaction, her hands balled into fists.

"C'mon, Andi, how about you go relax on the couch and I'll fix you a Dr. Pepper," I suggest, standing up with a small hopeful smile curving my lips upward.

"Or I can get my revenge." I bite my lip, contemplating on what to do. That's when my metaphorical light bulb flickers on. "Now, hold still and I won't drag this out too much longer."

Faster than either of us thought possible, I dodge her and run out of the closet shouting," You'll never take me alive!"

"Who's the fastest runner again?" Without turning around I hold up my hand, showing her the finger I'm proudest of. Yeah, if she catches me she's gonna try to break that finger.

"Ah, shut your face!" The front door opens and one of my brothers, Kharl, steps inside, clad in his usual choice of clothing: jeans, white T-shirt, black cowboy boots, and a black trench coat. Well, at least now I'm not totally on my own against the she-devil.

"What are you doing in my house," he asks, dark green eyes showing amusement as Andrea runs into my back, knocking me to the floor where I stretch out like I meant for it to happen.

"Oh, you know, just playing Hide and Seek." I smile innocently as I try to kick Andi as hard as I can.

"Hey, Kharl," Andrea greets, easily catching my foot before it can make contact with her stomach. Kharl rolls his eyes skywards, pointing at the door.

"As glad as I am that Ashley can finally pick a lock, get out of my house before my company gets here," he demands. Kharl looks like a normal twenty-two year old, but he's actually a skilled assassin—only killing people that have done terrible things and got off lightly. A regular Boondock Saint by his standards and a wanted criminal if you ask any cops. Shrugging, I get up and lead the way outside. He'd tell me all about the meeting later.

Halfway to my house Andi opens her mouth," I would've won, you know." She has a good point, but I'm not about to fuel her oversized ego.

"At least I'm not easily amused," I remark.

"You have a short attention span." She smiles, tucking some of her blonde hair behind an ear.

"Okay, at least I have a reason why I'm easily amused." She shakes her head, opening the door to my house with the spare key I gave her two years ago.

"Let's watch a movie." This was normal for the two of us when we are bored. We try to find a movie that the both of us can agree on, but it's a lot easier said than done.

"'Kay, how about Lord of the Rings?" Those movies were safe ground most of the time; safe enough that we didn't have to play bloody knuckles in order to decide, anyway. Stephen King movies on the other hand…

"Sounds good. Do you know who it was that Kharl was expecting?" Andi doesn't exactly know about Kharl's job, something I don't plan on changing anytime soon. I nod, putting the DVD in the player, silently praying that she would let the subject drop. "Who was it?" If only I had a smidge of good luck.

"Well, oh look, it's starting, so go make us some popcorn!" Neither of us notice the movie beginning to fast forward as we walk across the hall to the kitchen. Andi moves for the snack cabinet above my microwave as I move to the fridge, pushing a few bottles of mustard and a container of Vodka-enhanced Capri Sun in order to find what I wanted.

"What'cha gettin'?"

"A pickle." I pull out the jar, a pickle-induced grin on my face as I set it down on the counter and begin the struggle to get it open.

"How do you eat those?"

"They're just cucumbers soaked in evil." By the time the popcorn is done and we get back in the living room, Arwen is rushing Frodo to Rivendell. "Aw, we missed Bilbo!" Andi ignores me as per the norm since snacks forced her to miss one of her favorite parts. I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.

"I can't believe you're wearing black in summer." She was attempting to distract me to get payback by making me miss my favorite part and it works fairly well as I stare down at my outfit when I get comfortable in my chair. I'm wearing a black T-shirt that says Awkward Moments Define My Life, black slacks, and my auburn hair is twisted into a clip. Andi is wearing an orange and white shirt and white basketball shorts with her thick hair hanging freely down her back. The TV makes a loud popping sound that quickly gains my attention, then I feel myself falling asleep, cutting off my witty comeback.

ANDREA

Ashley falls to the ground as her TV lets out a series of loud pops and bright flashes. Soon I find myself following her into sweet oblivion. After what feels like hours floating in a black space, I slowly begin to regain consciousness. The first thing I hear is Ashley letting out an evil chuckle. Jesus, just let me sleep.

"Andi, Hobbits are real," she whispers in my ear, after tripping over me. I open my eyes reluctantly and see her sitting on a log with a Hobbit beside her. Hmm, Pippin's shorter in person. Wait, what? My blue eyes go wide as they move from my completely calm best friend to the smiling Hobbit next to her. "What'd I tell you," she mutters, arms crossed over her chest.

"You look a bit pale," says Sam, looking at me curiously, like I am some kind of alien. I feel a little light headed when I stand up, wobbling slightly on my feet. Hey, why do my shorts feel funky? Looking down I notice I'm in a light blue dress that was tight around my chest and stopped around my ankles. At least it's not pink. Ashley does the same, her right eye twitching slightly when she sees she's wearing a pale green dress and black cloak, her dress billowing out at the waist. She's not exactly a dress person, so it makes sense that the wardrobe change pisses her off, but all I want to know is how all this is happening.

"Wow, queasy," I mumble, clutching at my head and blinking a few times to make the woods stop spinning.

"I got that feeling when I woke up too," Ashley shrugs, bouncing her leg rapidly. My eyes narrow in suspicion. She only does that when she's extremely hyper and a hyper Ashley means trouble.

"Did you have Mountain Dew earlier this morning?" Ash isn't supposed to drink that—she's almost impossible to deal with afterwards.

"No..." She shakes her head a little before giving another shrug. "Maybe..." I raise a brow, leveling her with my best spill it look that always works on her. "Yeah."

"Thought so." My eyes scan the heavily wooded area looking for—

"Who are you," questions a tall, great-looking guy with a sword—a very pointy sword that would have no problem in putting a hole in my belly. Yep, that's who I was looking for. King Ellesar, or is it Strider? I eye the man in front of me with interest and fear, gaze constantly drawn to the sword clutched in his hand. "Who are you," Aragorn asks again, talking slower yet no less stern.

"That is Ashley," Pippin answers before I could gain my ability to speak back, pointing to my auburn-haired friend. Aragorn gets a strange look on his face when he sees Ashley, muttering something under his breath that sounded kinda like Larien. His gray eyes were filled with unasked questions and hurt, but he quickly fixed his expression into a mask of caution.

"I-I-I'm," I stutter, eyes never leaving Strider's ruggedly handsome face. Man, can I be less of a Fangirl?

"Andrea," Ashley interrupts," her name is Andrea and she's very pleased to meet you." I nod, still frozen to the spot. I feel like I'm back in high school with a crush on Johnny Depp; well, I still have a crush on him, but I'm more mature now…I think. Strider loosens his hold on his sword.

"Where did you come from," he asks. I look over at Ash to see if she can think of anything. She has a familiar devious look on her face that she only acquires when A: she's doing homework, or B: she's pissed at her old history professor. No matter what though, it's usually never good. She clears her throat before beginning her story.

"You see, my friend and I were in my house when a magician appeared before us. He was dressed entirely in black, fading in and out of my sight mumbling in this weird language. There was a huge flash when he finally stopped talking, a loud pop, and then…well, we woke up here," she finishes, gesturing at the woods surrounding us. Hey, that sounds kind of like Malkalam from the Ranger's Apprentice books.

"Does where you come from have a name," Strider asks, not believing Ash's story for a second, but willing to amuse her for some reason.

"Yes." I raise an eyebrow at her answer.

"Well, what is it?" That's a good question, is she going to make up a name or shall we stick to the usual?

"Twinkie." The usual it is then. She came up with it a couple years ago because her cousin was obsessed with the spongy snack, but it's only ever been believable now since Aragorn apparently doesn't know what a Twinkie is.

"I've never heard of it." She shrugs, standing up and brushing some leaves and dirt off the butt of her cloak. Aragorn looks over to me and I nod along with Ashley's story. Maybe he would believe her if I agreed with it? "Alright. Would you two like to accompany us to Rivendell?"

"Yes, please," I respond hurriedly, trying to be polite to the hot guy with the sword.