It was amazing to Liberty that she could know someone only a few mere hours and yet, she and Sean had become the best of friends already. He’d been there when she needed him and she was eternally grateful. She’d had to promise, though, never to thank him again. She’d agreed to stay for the two weeks, glad she could have an actual fun Spring Break instead of going back to Michigan and being bombarded with ‘I told you so’s’. Liberty hated to be wrong. And this time, she was really wrong which made it all the worse.

Liberty was grabbing her jacket when she heard the doorbell ring. Her heart started beating faster. She had never been so anxious to meet anyone before, it seemed. She kept repeating to herself: you don’t know him at all, calm down. So she took a few deep breaths and ascended the stairs as gracefully as she could.

Which meant falling flat on her ass when she only had two more steps to go. All three guys who were standing down there, ran to her side and asked her if she was alright.

“I’m fine. That’s me being graceful,” she laughed, brushing herself off. Her cheeks were hinted with pink, but she wasn’t thoroughly embarrassed yet. It took a lot to embarrass Liberty Crane. When she finally chanced a look at who was there, she smiled.

Standing next to Sean on either side was and lean dark haired guy and a shorter guy with longer brown hair and piercing sky blue eyes. Blue eyes that Liberty felt herself go slightly swoony for. His hair wasn’t that long, but it was kind of fluffy and floppy…and of a chocolate brown color. He was smiling at her in a friendly way, his lips parted slightly revealing a small gap between his two front teeth. Liberty was immediately in love with that small imperfection (if you could even call it that), yet she had no idea why. His smile lit up his bright blue eyes making them, if possible, even brighter. Slight stubble littered his chin which suggested to Liberty that he was older than he looked. He had a boyish face and a definite boyish quality about him. Liberty loved that. His body, she could tell, was quite well defined beneath his loose fitted faded jeans and taught black band t-shirt. Smashing Pumpkins. She smiled brightly, this had to be Elijah. There was no other way around it. Instantly, in her mind he became Elijah even if he wasn’t really. Of course, she knew she’d be disappointed if he weren’t.

“Liberty Crane,” Sean made a big sweeping motion with his hand, “Elijah Wood and Billy Boyd.”

The taller of the two stepped forward, his hand outstretched. “Hey, nice to meet you.” He had a thick Scottish accent and a very easy smile. “I’m Billy.”

“You too,” replied Liberty, smiling at him. She kept glancing at those blue eyes every chance she got. It was like she recognized him, but she’d seriously never heard of him before.

The other, shorter, of the two now took a step forward. She knew, now that he had to be Elijah if the other one was Billy. “Hi,” he said, almost timidly. He definitely had the looks of a semi-young boy and the innocence and venerability to match. She immediately felt attracted to him just because he seemed so pure. She wondered, quickly, how old he was. They shook hands briefly which sent shivers up her spine. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

She laughed slightly, “You too.”

“Alright. All ready?” Sean asked, looking anxious to get a move on.

“Yup, all set.” Liberty followed them out of the house and then out to the car.

“Orlando and Dom should be here momentarily,” explained Elijah once they were standing by Sean’s car. Liberty saw a silver BMW parked nearby and out of the way next to a red Ferrari; she wondered who they belonged to. The house, inside and out, looked differently in the daytime. She found herself loving it even more in the bright LA sunlight. She slipped her glasses onto her eyes and smiled. Her thoughts were interrupted when Elijah’s voice continued. “I told them I’d pick ‘em up, but they weren’t ready.” He turned towards Liberty. “They’re staying at a hotel for a bit because Billy got first dibs on my extra room.”

“You’ve got a second guest room,” offered Billy.

“Yes, but do you think Dom and Orlando want to SHARE it?” Elijah asked, his voice carrying a humorous tone, his eyes sparkling. “Yeah. I thought so. They opted for separate hotel rooms.” Elijah shrugged.

As if on cue, a black BMW rolled up to them, its little horn beeping. A very tall guy with very short, curly dark hair unfolded himself from its tiny-ness while a shorter guy with lighter and longer curly hair jumped out of the passenger side. They all exchanged hugs and many “Dude! What’s up!?” hollers. Liberty stood off to the side admiring the neighborhood of huge very California-ish houses. Well, at least houses she had expected to see in LA. She really had no clue what this place looked like as she’d only seen bits of it at night. She tried to block her memory of the night before but found herself unable to do so.

Elijah stepped up to her. “Hey,” he smiled. “Do you want to meet them? Or, you know, just---stand here?” She knew he was trying to be funny or charming or something like that, but she could also tell that he wasn’t sure if he SHOULD be like that around her. She laughed at him, and saw him visibly relax around her.

“Yes, I would. I was just waiting until the male bonding was over.” She grinned and let herself be led over to the tall guy who was wearing sunglasses, jeans and an odd swirly shirt. His smile was completely charming and straight forward.

“Oh yeah,” said Sean, putting his arm around Liberty’s shoulders. “This is my stray.” He winked at her to show he was kidding. “Orlando Bloom, Dominic Monaghan, this is Liberty Crane.”

She smiled at them and offered a timid, “Hi.” They both smiled at her.

Dominic stepped forward. “You can call me Dom,” he said, surprising her with his accent as he outstretched his hand. She shook it, smiling, and didn’t mention her love of British accents.

“You can call me whatever the hell you want,” said a British accented Orlando. He laughed and shook her hand. “It’s lovely to meet you.”

“You too,” she nodded. She could feel the smile being glued on her face, these guys were just too funny to not smile at. And cute, said a little nagging voice inside her head. She pushed it away because she didn’t want her hormones guiding her. Even though every time she looked at Elijah, her heart beat sped up and her palms got sweaty. It was the eyes, she told herself. Liberty had always had a thing for blue eyes. They were, to be quite honest, her downfall when it came to guys. Any slob with blue eyes could simply woo her by saying hello. The whole, “You had me at hello” mumbo-jumbo was a constant problem for Liberty, who was very in favor of Woman’s Liberation. She hated that she could have such morals and then fall at any jerk’s feet just because he had nice eyes.

Because of all her confusing thoughts, she didn’t hear Elijah when he asked her twice if she was ready to go. He finally tapped her gently on the shoulder and she jumped a mile back, landing on Dom’s sandaled toe.

“OW!” He yelled, his voice half-humorous. “Damn!” He began to laugh when he saw Liberty’s horrified face.

“I’m SO sor---”

“Don’t apologize,” cut in Sean. He stepped towards Dom and hit him on the shoulder. “Dom is just joking. He’s a jokester.”

Dom shrugged sheepishly. “It didn’t actually hurt. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she replied indignantly.

“I just scared her by tapping her, I guess. Next time I‘ll yell several times before I do that.” Elijah’s voice broke in. He turned towards her and she noticed that he was now wearing dark lensed glasses, she could no longer see his bright blue eyes. A part of her was glad, but another part really wanted to tear the glasses off him. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay. I should have been paying attention.” She shrugged.

“We’re all allowed to space out from time to time,” said Dom, walking towards Sean’s car. He smiled before he tucked himself into the back. Orlando followed suit minus the smile, because he was busy yelling something at Billy. And also, Orlando would be riding by himself in his own car.

“Are you ready?” Elijah asked her, pointing towards Sean’s car. She nodded.

Sean’s car was quite miniscule this morning and she found herself in the back with Elijah and Dom with Elijah in the middle; Elijah was very quiet and so was she. They both seemed to have the same personality type: introverted. At least for now. She seemed to introverted only when she was around him. But she wasn’t sure why he was.

Dom wasn’t that quiet, he was pretty extroverted. The compactness of the car didn’t leave them much arm room so they were a little squished but only when Dom fell over onto Elijah who in turn fell onto Liberty as they took some sharp turns. As Billy put it, Sean was a ‘wild man’ at the wheel which sent Liberty into hysterics because Sean was the most responsible driver she’d ever ridden with. Liberty didn’t actually SAY anything at all, but the laughing lasted for a few minutes.

Halfway there (wherever there WAS), Billy turned around in his seat and gazed at her oddly. “Are you always this quiet? Because all the girls I know never shut up.”

Sean laughed from the front seat and replied, “She’s not. She was quite a chatter box on the plane.”

Liberty blushed slightly. “Sorry. I’m just, you know, in awe.”

“Don’t apologize,” said Billy quickly. “I was just wondering.” He looked at Elijah and then back to her, “In awe of what exactly?”

“Your Scottish accent,” she answered untruthfully. He caught on, though, and laughed. “LA,” she said after a minute. “It’s so beautiful in…some places.”

“Some places. Exactly,” commented Elijah, smiling and shifting in his seat. It seemed that his shyness was slowly ebbing away. Liberty thought maybe it wasn’t shyness, just nervousness but she couldn’t be sure. She did know that his presence made her uneasy because she’d seriously never seen such a good looking guy in real life. He didn’t seem to realize this, though, because he wasn’t an egotistical jerk like she suspected he might be at first sight. He was extremely humble and normal. The eyes continued to bug her (his glasses were perched atop his head), and she still couldn’t figure out why.

Sean pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant; Liberty‘s watch said 12:30 when the engine cut off. “Alright, Lib. Get ready for the most terrific meal you’ll ever have,” he said as he pulled the keys from the ignition.

“Okay,” she laughed as she unbuckled her seat belt. Billy helped her out of the compactness of the car, tugging on her arm in a comical way that sent her flying into him, nearly flattening them both on the ground. Elijah and Sean loomed over them, small grins on their lips. Sean offered his hand to Liberty and when she took it, he hauled her up off Billy.

“I was okay like that,” shrugged Billy, grinning. “I wouldn’t have minded if you’d left us out here.” Liberty laughed and helped Billy off the ground.

As the four of them walked towards Dom and Orlando, Liberty wondered how long they’d been friends. They laughed, joked and talked together like they’d been best friends for years but she somehow didn’t think they had.

“How long have you known each other?” Liberty asked Sean directly as Dom and Billy (with a few comments from Elijah thrown in) entered a very heated discussion on the pros and cons of hobbit feet for everyday foot wear. And, also, how marketing would go; not to mention marketability.

“Not long,” answered Sean, glancing at Elijah. “What? Like, a year and a half?” Elijah nodded. “Yeah. Not long. We met when we did readings for the movie and, of course, we see each other constantly when we’re shooting. So…”

“Instant friendship,” nodded Liberty. Orlando nodded.

“Like ours,” said Sean, smiling.

“If we’re supposed to work together for three years straight, we’d better get along as well as we do,” contributed Elijah. “If we weren’t good friends, we’d have killed each other by now.”

“Well, if I didn’t know better I’d say you grew up together,” replied Liberty, glancing at Elijah and sending him a small smile which he returned.

“Let’s hope that continues,” said Sean, stepping towards the building. Hard Rock Café looked very welcoming and fun when Liberty finally caught on to what it was. She laughed. She’d always wanted to go to one, but never been. She wondered how Sean seemed to know this, though she didn’t bother asking.

The inside of the restaurant was huge. The hostess led them to a secluded table in the back where the guys all agreed they could safely take off their sunglasses. Liberty did so too, tucking hers in her bag. She opened her menu and glanced over the top of it at Elijah, who was across from her. His eyes went up and met hers briefly before returning to his own menu.

“Do you get recognized a lot?” Liberty asked Sean, who was on her right.

“No,” replied Billy, who was on her other side, leaning over and pointing out a good sandwich to Dom. “Well, we don’t. Lijah does from time to time.”

Elijah rolled his eyes and laughed. “Yeah. Well.” The other guys laughed.

“Um…why is that funny?” Liberty asked reluctantly.

“Elijah has been in many more movies than we have collectively. We tease him about being recognized because we never are. Billy‘s sort of well known in Scotland, but Dom and I are basically unknowns. Sean is known for that one movie WAY back when he was still in bloody diapers, so Elijah has the biggest career of all of us so far.” explained Orlando, who sat between Elijah and Sean at the circular table.

“Hmmm,” said Liberty for lack of a better response. She felt really weird suddenly like she should have known that Elijah was a ‘movie star’ but he just didn’t radiate it like she figured one would. He was just like any regular guy, and could have been to her if she hadn’t heard otherwise. In her ‘movie-star’ daydreams back when she was younger, she imagined stars to walk around wearing name tags so they were always recognized. And then more tags on their homes and cars. Stellar tags, an instant give away.

Elijah looked at her, “It’s unfortunate that I get the brunt of the screaming girls because I never live it down.”

“He gets the brunt of the underwear, too,” commented Dom, grinning hugely.

Liberty let out a bark of laughter that she quickly tried to cover with her hand. All five guys stared at her, smiling.

“You don’t believe it?” Billy asked, his smile broadening.

“No, the opposite. I very much believe it. In fact,” she winked at Elijah so that no one else would notice. “I really feel like throwing mine at him right now. And I don’t even know what movies he’s been in. I’ve never heard of him before now…he’s just so damn cute that I think he sends off this radar that just triggers us to want to throw underwear at him.”

Elijah was shaking his head and laughing quietly while the rest of the table erupted in crazy laugher.

Not two minutes after they’d calmed down, a guy with spiked brownish hair came over to them, followed by a young girl in a flowery pink summer dress who looked about eleven.

“Hi, I’m really sorry to bother you,” the guy began, glancing at Liberty and winking. She rolled her eyes and turned towards her menu. Sean raised an eyebrow at her, “But my sister would really like an autograph…if you don’t mind.”

Elijah nodded, “No problem. What’s her name?”

“Susie,” came a timid voice from the very petite little girl.

“Susie,” Elijah repeated, grabbing the piece of paper the brother held out. He handed it to her shaking little hand. “It’s very nice to meet you.” She muttered a ‘thanks’ and then ran off, her brother in hot pursuit.

After everyone had ordered (mostly burgers) about twenty minutes later, Liberty got up the guts to ask Elijah the question she’d been very curious about. “Does that bother you?” She asked so abruptly that his head snapped up from where he’d been looking (his cup). “When people come up and ask for an autograph like that?”

“No,” replied Elijah, shrugging. “Not really. Paparazzi bother me when I’m trying to have lunch or whatever. But not fans. Not non-rabid ones.”

Liberty raised her eyebrow in admiration. “Non-rabid.” She laughed. “Hmmm.”

“So how old are you?” Dom asked a minute later, leaning on the table looking genuinely interested in the answer.

Liberty coughed and took a drink of her ice water making the company of the table think she didn‘t like the question. Which was true partially because she didn‘t want everyone to know she was a lot younger than the rest of them. “Nineteen.”

“So’s Elijah,” commented Billy. “But he’s having a birthday soon.” Liberty raised an eyebrow in curiosity. Even though Elijah looked young, she’d figured he was at least twenty already by the way he acted.

“In January,” responded Elijah, chuckling. “Not soon. It’s April!”

Billy laughed, “That rhymed! No wait. It did not!” He looked perplexed for a minute. “Why did I say that?”

They all joined in the laughter. Liberty had never, ever felt so at ease with guys before. Not like this. It was like they were all friends from childhood. But really, she’d only known some of them a day and some only a few hours. Comfort, though, was the word to describe the easy friendships formed between the six of them.

“Mine’s in January too,” said Liberty once the laughter had died down and they had all gathered breath back.

“What day?” Elijah asked curiously.

“The twenty-eighth,” she answered.

“No way! That’s mine too!”

Liberty laughed, “That’s awesome. You‘re the first person I‘ve met who has my birthday.”

“Born the same day…we think the same way…we are what they call the perfect match,” Orlando sang softly with a guilty smile on his face. Sean hit him, hard, in the chest.

Liberty glanced quickly at Elijah who had a hint of pink on his pale cheeks. “What are you singing?”

“*NSYNC,” muttered Dom, rolling his eyes and making a ‘throw up’ motion. He shook his head.

Liberty couldn’t help but giggle, but she had no idea why he was singing in the first place. “I’d like some hobbit feet for my birthday,“ mused Liberty after a minute. “They seem so practical.”

“How so?” Wondered Billy.

“Protection from the sun’s rays…no sunburns on your feet. Then you’ve got all that hair, so your feet are never cold.”

“She’s got a point,” remarked Orlando, taking a chug of his water. He downed half his huge glass in one swift motion. Liberty, who hadn’t had a meal with a guy in about four months, was a bit taken aback by this.

“You say that only because YOU have never had to wear them,” countered Dom. He turned towards Liberty. “They’re a pain in the buttocks.”

Billy nodded, “Yes, and itchy. And they always fall off at the worse times. We were shooting the scene where we’re on our way to Bree and remember we had to run? Well, mine kept falling off. We did that take about fifty times.”

Liberty shrugged, “That happens with flip flops too. Can’t run in those.”

Elijah smiled and nodded in vigorous agreement. “She is very right, you guys.”

The rest of the lunch went by swiftly and without a hitch. They all just spent time getting to know one another. Or, rather, getting to know whomever they didn’t know already. They discussed filming, fame and other everyday problems. Then, talk turned to what they would do next. Elijah suggested a record store which everyone, surprisingly, agreed on.

Sean paid the bill to much arguing from everyone at the table. Actually, only Liberty objected. It was three o’clock when the six of them left the restaurant and stepped into the early afternoon sunlight of LA. They all slid their glasses up their noses at the same time, which would have been a funny sight to passerby, but at the moment the parking lot was vacant.

“Alright,” said Billy. “I get shotgun again.”

“Switch!” Orlando yelled. “You can’t have shotgun twice in a row. Hobbit rule.”

“What do you care? You’re not a hobbit!” Dom yelled.

“What ARE you?” Liberty asked him.

“An elf. Legolas.” Orlando replied. “I don’t feel like driving.” He tossed his keys to Dom who caught them. “You drive, take Liberty. I’ll hop in Sean’s shotgun. The rest of you sort yourselves out.” He smiled before ducking into Sean’s car.

Dom shrugged at Liberty in an ‘okay?’ motion. She nodded and followed him to the car.

“If he tries anything, just kick him in the balls!” Sean shouted. Liberty gave a thumbs up and laughed while Dom unlocked the car door. Billy made like a swan dive to jump into the back of Sean’s car (which Elijah was now driving) but didn’t finish it. He, instead, just tucked himself in the car and closed the door. Sean got in the back beside him. Dom waved and then opened the door for Liberty. She slid onto the car’s cool leather seats and just as soon as Dom was in, the air conditioning flew at them full blast.

“So, Call-Me-Dom, where are you from?” Liberty asked as soon as Dom had pulled out of the parking lot.

He glanced at her and smiled. “England. Where are you from, Can-I-Call-You-Lib?”

“You can if you feel the need to.” She replied, grinning.

“Liberty is extremely patriotic, but I’m sure you’ve heard that one before. Is that used as a line as often as you brush your teeth?”

“Ha. Hardly.” Liberty shook her head. “I don’t get many lines thrown at me.”

“I’m surprised,” replied Dom sounding genuine and not humorous like before. “You’re a good looking fish. Are all the fishermen in your area blind?”

Liberty burst out laughing. “They’re not blind, just uninterested…and have puny ropes.”

“HA ha!” Dom replied, his lips in a full fledged grin. “Seriously, where do you hale from? I’d like to go there and see these guys who obviously do not know how to work their fishing rods.”

Liberty laughed and leaned back in her seat, letting the cool air wash over her warm features. “I’m from Michigan. Lansing.”

“Really?” Dom asked, taking his eyes off the road for just a split second. In the car ahead of them, Billy and Sean had their heads sticking out of the windows like dogs.

Liberty laughed, “Well, I really wouldn’t lie about my hometown.”

“My grandmother is from Lansing. I used to spend the summers there. Love the lakes.”

“Yeah me too. I’ve been swimming since before I could walk according to my mother.”

“Hey, me too.” Dom laughed. “Funny.”

“Is there much swimming over in jolly old England, besides of the pool variety?” Liberty asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Not really, but I lived with my grandmother in Michigan when I was about seven. Then, we moved back to England. My parents are divorced, straight after I was born; I was born in Germany, by the way. So, it was me and my mom and grandmother for a while. Then when we moved Mom got remarried and had my sister when I was ten. She’s 12 right now and her name is Kayleen. I moved out the DAY I hit eighteen and I haven‘t been back since, really. I mean, I go for Christmas and whatnot, but it‘s just not the same anymore. I have a day a month that I spend with my sister, though.”

“That’s really nice you do that for your sister,” was all Liberty could think to say. “Do you see your dad much?” Liberty asked, glancing at him.

He shrugged, “Nah. Don’t remember him at all. Get a card every birthday with five pounds. That’s it. The cards actually stopped when I hit eighteen, so I dunno.”

“Wow,” replied Liberty. “How old are you?”

“Twenty two. What about your family?” Dom asked, pulling some gum out of the glove compartment. “Help yourself.”

“Thanks,” said Liberty, getting some gum and popping it in her mouth before closing the door. “Well, it was just me, my mom and older brother for a while. I’ve lived in Michigan all my life, though. My dad moved out right after mom said she was pregnant with me. They got a divorce, like, a year later or something. I’ve never even met him. No card, no nothing from him ever. My mom got remarried when I was sixteen and I hated her for it more or less. She had my little brother shortly after. I ran away countless times only to be reformed by my brother. I hated my step father and my brother took me when I was seventeen. I’ve just now established the relationship I used to have with my mom and we get along well and see each other often. I don’t see my step father at all though. I still don’t like him much. I can put up with him but that’s it. My older brother is twenty-four and his name is Ezra. My younger brother is just four, he’s a complete devil named Jackson. I hardly see him, though, because I’m off at college and so’s my older brother.” Liberty shrugged.

“I don’t like my step father much either,” stated Dom after a moment’s silence. “He’s kind of a jerk but my mom likes him. Cooks for him, cleans, does laundry. Basically everything. I used to think he only liked her because she did stuff for him. I still kind of wonder, but I stopped saying anything to anybody about it.”

Liberty turned in her seat to face him, “I feel the exact same way.” She smiled. “No one else has ever agreed with me on any of that. Let alone, felt the same way.” She sighed. “Thank you.”

“Oh geez, no thank you. I’m just as glad as you are. You’re the first person I’ve confided in about that in a while.” He shook his head, “Did you take ‘spill your guts’ classes or something?”

“No,” laughed Liberty. “I just listen is all.”

He grinned at her, “Ah, so that’s the secret.”

Liberty laughed and pointed up ahead, “Sean’s turning.”

Dom moved the steering wheel and followed Sean’s car into a large parking lot.