Thorin couldn't pretend that he wasn't afraid of Smaug. Thinking he wasn't was completely idiotic.

What would he do to him? Smaug was known for his rampages, and many other students were afraid of him. He had wealth, power, and wasn't afraid to use them to get what he wanted, which seemed to be everything. His desire could never be quenched.

Thorin clenched his fists, Bilbo's smiling face flashing through his mind. It scared him, but he knew he had to do it.

It was time to drag Smaug back to the hole that he'd climbed out of and leave him trapped there forever.

Bilbo and Bofur were playing Bifur's old Nintendo Gamecube, their fingers both moving across the controllers. The only thing hotter than Bombur's brownies when they were fresh out of the oven were the video game competitions held between the friends.

"It doesn't look good for you, Bofur," Bombur commented. "Bilbo is really beating you and he normally doesn't even play video games."

Bofur scowled, his hat crooked on his head. He reached up and adjusted it, then just as quickly put his hand back to the controller and began beating his fingers down on it. "Don't remind me, Bombur."

Bilbo laughed, pausing the game. "It's just a game, Bofur."

Both Bofur and Bombur rolled their eyes, and Bofur was sure that if Bifur were there he'd join in. Saying that was both incredibly wrong and just plain stupid.

"You don't understand, Bilbo," Bombur said. "You're too much of a bookworm to understand."

Bofur knew bookworms who were also avid gamers, but Bilbo was purely on the bookworm side. The sad thing was that he was still beating Bofur. Fate was a bitch.

Bofur paused the game, then grabbed some of the chocolate chip cookies on the table that had somehow escaped Bombur's grasp. Bofur threw them in his mouth, crumbs spilling out his mouth and onto his pants. He was really, really mad.

"I'm sorry," Bilbo said, deflating like a poked balloon. "I should've realized how important this was to you."

Bofur flushed pink with embarrassment; now he was the one who felt like an idiot. "Never mind," he said. "Let's just keep playing to see who wins, okay?"

Bilbo nodded.

"And then I get to play," Bombur said. "And when I do, I'll smoke you like a cigarette, Bilbo."

"That was the worst simile that I've ever heard," Bilbo said, "but I will accept your challenge."

Bilbo ended up beating Bofur by a landslide. Bofur got up in frustration and handed the controller to Bombur, giving him a "You better smoke Bilbo like you said you would" look. Bombur gulped, knowing his brother would surely find a way to get back at him if he didn't. He nodded, then plopped down on the old couch next to Bilbo, starting a new game.

The game was a cheap Super Smash Bros. Melee rip off that Bifur has ordered off of the internet to get a good laugh. The controls could glitch every once in a while, but other than that it looked fine. The graphics could be considered decent, and though the characters were rip offs of Nintendo characters, they each had their own defining qualities.

"How are you beating me at this?" Bombur asked, his face red with anger. It contrasted with his bright orange hair, the same shade as his mother's hair had been. "I've played this thing over a million times."

Bilbo propped one of his hairy feet on the old coffee table, relaxing. "I got used to the controls is all."

Bombur groaned. "You can master a video game in a couple of minutes. Ugh, why are you so good at this?"

Bilbo laughed. "I guess I'll get off so that you two can challenge each other. Do you two want to see which one of the brothers will win?"

"Yeah!" the two said in unison.

Bofur hopped on the couch and took Bilbo's controller. The two started a new game.

"Are you ready to lose?" Bombur asked.

"Only if you're ready to spit dust out of your mouth," replied Bofur.

The two began beating their thumbs against the controllers, and Bilbo sat back and watched the two. It was a nice way to relax and forget about his current problems.

If only that feeling could last forever, but he wasn't that lucky.

For a quick moment Bilbo thought back to his mother, who would've been so proud of him for being here. It was still so hard for him to believe that a woman like her could just be dead. Tears stung at the edges of his eyes, and he quickly excused himself to the bathroom, hoping that no one saw him. What would they think he was crying about? Bilbo didn't want to know, and he knew that they wouldn't think it was because of his mother. None of them had ever heard a single word about the wonderful woman who now lay six feet under, another part of her where he was sure that she was happy.

And here he was all alone.

No, he thought. I have my friends. The thought brought a smile to his face.

He imagined his mother, wherever she was now, smiling too.

Bilbo felt a mix of shame and courage as he left Bofur's place. Bofur had grabbed his shoulders when they were alone and quickly leaned in close. Did he think that they could just kiss like it was nothing? Bilbo had promptly thrown him off and left. He had seen how heartbroken Bofur had looked, and though it hurt Bilbo, that didn't nearly justify what he had just done to Bilbo. He was beyond angry, to the point where he imagined smoke coming out of his ears.

His cell phone rang, the familiar ringtone going off. He quickly opened it without checking the number and asked who it was.

"It's Thorin," the voice on the opposite line said. "Is this a good time or should I wait? I can wait."

Bilbo sighed in defeat. Could he ever get a break, just for a few minutes? Or was that too much to ask for?

"No," Bilbo said. "I can certainly make it."

"That's great!" Thorin said, his voice filled with pure joy.

A small smile spread across Bilbo's lips, as impossible as it seemed at that time.

Thorin had requested that Bilbo come over to his place immediately. He could tell that the hobbit was twitchy, shaking in his boots, or hairy feet to be a bit more accurate. Thorin could see sweat on his face, gleaming white in the dim light, highlighting his pale skin. He had to keep himself from reaching out and wiping away the sweat drop by drop.

He hoped Bilbo was sweating because he had been forced to run to get to his place in a reasonable amount of time, but another part of him wanted him to sweat at the sight of Thorin. He wanted Bilbo to marvel at the idea that he was there in front of him, noticing his existence instead of ignoring me like he used to. He also hoped that Bilbo was attracted him, that he really had realized that Smaug just wasn't the type of fit for him. He hoped his dreams were true.

"What do you want?" Bilbo asked.

"I need to talk to you about something," Thorin said, wrapping his arm around Bilbo's shoulder and pulling him close. "It's about us."

"Thorin," Bilbo began.

"Bilbo," Thorin interrupted, "I do love you."

Bilbo was looking down at his thumbs and twitching them every few seconds. The sweat was beginning to drop down his body more and more, to where Bilbo could be considered a waterfall.

And then without even thinking it over, Thorin cupped Bilbo's face in his and pulled him close. Bilbo's skin was smooth, like what he'd felt on a baby, and there was no sign that he'd ever grow a whisker. The kiss was quick, partially because Thorin didn't want to go into deeply for the first one, and partially because Bilbo angrily pushed him off that Thorin hadn't known Bilbo had.

Bilbo scowled, then angrily began to leave.

"I'm sorry, it was a stupid decision!" Thorin said, grabbing his friend's shoulders. "Let's just forget I ever did it, okay?" He gave a weak smile, one that felt like it was sloppily glued to his mouth. Even he knew it was fake.

"Of course it was a stupid decision!" Bilbo said, then grabbed the doorknob, knocking Thorin's hand away. "You had no right to do that, you asshole! I'm not here for you to release your pent up desire into! I don't know what I want yet, Thorin, but I'm pretty sure it's not you. I'll probably never want you after this. What made you think you could do that? You may be pretty high up but that doesn't mean you can act like you can do whatever you want with me."

Thorin sighed. "Bilbo, please listen to me."

"I don't need to," he replied with an angry huff. He threw his messenger bag over his shoulder, then opened the door. "You don't need to stand around here wasting your time and breath telling me what I already know perfectly well."

And then Bilbo was gone, leaving Thorin alone in his room. It stung, but he knew that he deserved it. It was the very least that he deserved for what he had done to Bilbo.

Bofur lay on the edge of his bed, wondering what to do. How could he ever rekindle the flame of his friendship with Bilbo now? He should've realized how unlikely it was that Bilbo returned his affections, but he went against what most of his mind was saying and just leaned in like it was natural and kissed Bilbo right on the lips. He couldn't blame the hobbit for hating him now; he'd just been asking for it.

Still, he couldn't just let their friendship die like this. It wouldn't be worth it.

If only an idea would come to him for what he should do to fix things.

The idea never did come to him.

Why did everyone want Bilbo so damn badly? That was the question that Bilbo was left to ponder over. He was too average of a hobbit to interest three people, and yet somehow fate seemed to say otherwise. He should've been happy, but really he was exhausted from all this unwanted and unasked for attention, thank you very much.

He started up a bath and got in, relaxing in the hot water. Oh how he wanted to stay in there all day and never come back out again!

He wanted to apologize for rushing out, but he knew it was wrong. It was his friends' faults for what they did. He sighed, then made the water even hotter. Unlike his friends, his faucet never seemed to release cold water.

He relaxed, closing his eyes with a heavy sigh. He was happy here, halfway in sleep and halfway awake in fear. It was peaceful, a peace that existed for a time but soon would be gone.

When Bilbo woke up, the water had cooled, and he allowed it to drain. He got out and dried, then put on his pajamas. It was only seven, but he was already ready to go to sleep. The day had really taken a good chunk of his energy from him.

His sleep wasn't nearly as peaceful as the one before, this one being filled with nightmares, the faces of Thorin, Bofur, and Smaug dancing through his mind. He was actually quite happy when he woke up.

Thorin's heart broke when he saw Bilbo ignore the group at school. He sat alone, a book propped up in front of him, but it was obvious that he wasn't reading. Thorin could imagine where the halfling's mind was wondering off to, and it made his heart ached. This was all his fault and he could do nothing about it.

Like always, he never let the emotion show on his face. He just ate his lunch, the shitty square pizzas and barely warm carrots, then threw the rest in the trash, unable to stomach any more. His emotions had spread across the table, who were also not lively. Usually they were making a huge ruckus, but today they were so quiet you'd think that they'd lost their voices.

It felt wrong, but there was nothing that Thorin could do about it.

Or so he'd thought.

He had been walking home alone, his head hanging low. It was his fault that this had happened and everyone else was suffering for it.

That was when he saw Bilbo and Smaug.

Smaug had cornered Bilbo, his face in front of Bilbo's and covered with an angry scowl. "Why'd you do it, Bilbo? Did Thorin have anything to do with it?"

"N-No!" Bilbo said. "I just realized that we weren't right for each other, that's all. It has nothing to do with Thorin!"

"And why should I believe you?"

"Because Thorin and I aren't dating!"

Smaug raised a red eyebrow. "And I should believe you why?"

"Because," Thorin said, stepping up to him, "I wouldn't have hated myself for screwing up what we had if we were together." He grabbed Smaug and using strength he didn't know he had (yes, he was strong, but even this was beyond him) and slammed Smaug against the ground, then quickly grabbed Bilbo and pulled him away.

"We have to get out of here!" Thorin said.

Bilbo looked scared, and Thorin gave a weak smile in hopes of comforting him.

"He can beat the shit out of me before he can do anything to me." Thorin said.

A deep sadness filled Bilbo's eyes, but Thorin ignored it. "We need to step up our pace," he said. "I wouldn't want anything to happen to you."

Author's Note: So what does everyone think? If you want to suggest something that you want to happen then feel free to, and I promise I'll try to incorporate it in some way. And hooray, I actually posted this on time! Please, please, please review. *Gives you all puppy eyes*