"He hated me," Eowyn moaned, as they exited the office of The Palantir.
"No, he didn't," Merry reassured her. "You just surprised him. I don't think he expected a freshman to be so...so...forceful." He grinned up at her. "To be perfectly honest, neither did I. I'm impressed."
"But now he'll NEVER let me write for the paper."
"Yes, he will, Eowyn!"
"Merry, I called him a pig-headed chauvinist within five minutes of meeting him! Did you see how red his face was?" Eowyn groaned.
Merry smiled sympathetically. Eowyn's first meeting with Professor Radagast had been a disaster. It began pleasantly enough, and Merry was very happy to introduce his new friend, and her idea for a story about the fencing team, to the professor. But when Radagast failed to show interest in either Eowyn or her story, she reacted very strongly.
"Eowyn, everything will be fine. The prof will forget about it in a couple of days. You'll just have to lay low until then." Merry chuckled, "He might even decide he likes your spirit and ask YOU back."
Eowyn was unconvinced. "Oh, no! Do you think I got you in trouble?" she fretted. "You're a journalism major -- don't you have to see him everyday?! Some friend I am! You've been nothing but kind to me, and now I go and piss off your faculty advisor."
"Eowyn!" Merry said, much sharper than he intended. He dropped his voice to a calm, level tone. "Don't worry about it. I'll help you, okay? I'll talk to Professor Radagast and smooth things over. In the meantime, you put together some writing samples from your high school paper. Then, we'll work together on a pitch for the story. Okay?"
Eowyn looked at him, tears welling up in her eyes. "Why are you being so nice to me?"
Merry frowned in bewilderment. "Why wouldn't I be? You're my friend."
She exhaled a shuddering sigh.
"Eowyn, is something wrong? You've been so tense today. Did I say or do anything to upset you?"
"No, it's nothing. It's nothing, Merry, really. I'm just feeling a little overwhelmed right now. That's all."
"Anything you want to talk about?"
"No...no, I don't think so."
Merry took one of her hands and gave it a gentle squeeze. "If you ever need someone to talk to, I just want you to know that I'm here. I mean, I know you have your brother here on campus and all, but you have friends, too. Don't forget that."
"Thanks," she said softly, and Merry was relieved to see her smile.
Merry smiled widely in return. "Now then," he said cheerfully, "have you any plans for this afternoon?"
"No," Eowyn replied cautiously.
"You do now," Merry grinned, taking her hand. "We're going to have tea in the student lounge and talk about your bright future in news reporting."
"You don't have to cheer me up, Merry. I'm sure there's a million things you'd rather be doing right now."
"Are you kidding?" Merry exclaimed. "There's nothing I would rather do than enjoy afternoon tea with a beautiful lady." He winked and smiled winsomely.
Eowyn blushed, and smiled shyly in return. "Well...if you insist."
"That's my girl!" Merry enthused, leading her into the student lounge. "You find us a couple of chairs, and I'll see about refreshments. How do you take your tea?"
"A little bit of cream and a lot of sugar."
"Little cream, lots of sugar," he repeated aloud as he wrote on his hand with a ballpoint pen. "Right. I'll be back in a minute."
Eowyn watched Merry dash off towards the cafeteria and smiled fondly. As she sank into a soft couch, she marveled at how quickly she and Merry had become fast friends. He was like no one she had ever met before. She had never known such an openly affectionate boy in her entire life. Certainly, none of the boys she knew from home had ever called her beautiful, even in jest.
Perhaps it's a "hobbit thing," she mused. After all, Merry's friends had welcomed her without question at the Golden Perk several nights ago. Maybe it was merely "hobbit nature" to be gregarious and welcoming of strangers. But then again, none of Merry's friends had winked at her, or smiled at her like that, or called her beautiful. The more Eowyn thought about it, the more she realized that she didn't mind one bit.
She smiled wistfully. So he's a little short. Big deal.
As if on cue, Merry returned, holding two large styrofoam cups in his hands, and a small red apple between his teeth.
"Mmm baa. Djoo miff mee?" he mumbled as he handed Eowyn her tea.
"Pardon?" she laughed.
Merry crunched into the apple and removed it from his mouth with his free hand. "I said," he laughed, "I'm back, did you miss me?"
"Terribly," she grinned, gingerly sipping her tea. "Oh, this is perfect. Thank you, Merry."
"Ah, but wait, there's more!" Merry put the apple back in his mouth and thrust both his hands into his coat pockets. He pulled from his pockets another apple, and six shortbread biscuits wrapped in a napkin.
"Oooh!" Eowyn enthused as she accepted the apple and three biscuits. "Thank you! I'm STARVING!"
"Careful," Merry laughed between bites of apple, "You're starting to sound like a hobbit. I don't want your brother to come after me for corrupting his poor sweet sister!"
Eowyn's smile fell like a stone dropped from the edge of a cliff.
"I'm sorry. Did I speak out of place?" Merry inquired, concerned by his friend's sudden change in mood.
Eowyn sighed. "No, no, it's fine. It's nothing, really." She forced a smile. "And I'm having a wonderful time with you, Merry. Really. Thank you."
"But...?" Merry asked gently.
"It's nothing to do with you," Eowyn assured him. "I'm just--"
"Meriadoc Brandybuck, I THOUGHT that was you!"
A hobbit girl stood before them, hands on her hips.
"Stel!" Merry exclaimed.
The girl beamed. "Hullo, Merry!"
Merry jumped up from the couch to give the girl an enthusiastic hug and kiss. "It's so wonderful to see you!"
"You never called, you never wrote, I never saw hide nor hair of you all summer!" the girl fussed, "I was beginning to think you didn't love me anymore!"
"Oh Stel, as if THAT could ever happen!" Merry laughed as he embraced her warmly.
Eowyn fidgeted uncomfortably. She nearly gasped in surprise when she noticed that the girl was watching her.
"Are you going to introduce me to your friend, Merry?"
Merry stepped back, but Eowyn noted that his arm remained comfortably wrapped around the hobbit girl's waist. Why am I not surprised? she thought bitterly.
"Of course!" Merry chuckled. "Stel, this is Eowyn. She's from Rohan, and she's going to write for The Palantir. Eowyn, this is Estella Bolger. She's an old friend of mine from home, and my informant on many stories for the paper."
"Nice to meet you, Eowyn," Estella said cheerfully, reaching out to shake Eowyn's hand. "Don't let this rascal give you the wrong idea," she elbowed Merry playfully, "I just know a lot of people around campus, and I see a lot of things that other people don't even stop to notice. Whenever something interesting comes up, I give Mer a heads-up." Estella smiled widely. "I guess I'll be doing that for you now, too!"
"That's very nice of you to say," Eowyn said, "but I don't write for The Palantir."
"Not YET," Merry added quickly. "But you will soon!"
"Of course she will! She'll probably give you a run for your money, you great hack," Estella teased.
Merry sighed melodramatically at this, but couldn't hide a broad grin. Eowyn silently bemoaned the fact that she would never have such a wonderful rapport with Merry, even if she knew him for a hundred years.
"Okay, okay, enough bullshitting for one day," Estella remarked wryly. "Listen," she said apologetically, turning to Eowyn, "I really hate to interrupt, but do you mind if I borrow Merry for a few minutes? I just need to talk to him about something real quick, and then I PROMISE to leave you two alone."
"Uh...no, no, of course not," Eowyn stammered. "Go ahead. Actually, why don't you take your time, so you two can catch up. I should probably get going anyway." She started to collect her things, and stood up.
Merry stepped in front of her. "Please stay, Eowyn. I'll only be a moment. I'll be right back."
"Okay." Eowyn dropped her backpack to the floor and sank back down onto the couch with a sigh, as Estella led Merry away to a corner of the lounge.
***
"Look at you, Mer!" Estella stepped back to examine Merry. "You look great -- you're so tan! What have you been doing all summer?"
"Oh, nothing much," Merry answered nonchalantly, "you know, a little of this, a little of that. I helped my parents…uh…with some work around the Hall. Um...I spent a lot of time out on the river. Nothing notable, really."
Estella flashed an impish grin. "That's not what *I* heard."
Merry frowned. "What did you hear, Stel?"
She leaned in close to whisper conspiratorially. "I heard that you and Pippin Took were in each other's pockets all summer."
Merry blushed. "Where did you hear that?"
"Never you mind where I heard it. Is it true?"
Merry shuffled his feet. "What do you mean, exactly, when you say 'in each other's pockets?'"
Estella hooted triumphantly. "Ha! I knew it! It IS true, isn't it?"
"What makes you say that?"
"Because Pippin reacted exactly the same way when I asked him," she replied smugly. "He blushed and stammered, and answered my questions with more questions, same as you're doing now."
"That doesn't mean anything! Maybe we're just embarrassed by your invasive questions!"
"Merry, he also confessed it was true."
Merry chewed his lip as he silently pondered this revelation. "You're not upset?"
"Why would I be upset?"
"Well, because...you know. Because of our...history."
Estella sighed. "Merry, are you so self-absorbed that you actually think I would fly into a jealous rage if I saw you with someone else?"
"Well, I...I just...I didn't..." Merry took a deep breath. "No, I didn't think that, Stel. Not at all. I just thought you might be upset, since I haven't seriously dated anyone since you, and now..." He ran a hand through his hair.
"Is that all?" Estella laughed. "Merry, we've been friends since we were toddlers. I've been friends with Pippin for nearly as long. You're my favorite hobbits in all the Shire. I'm not upset -- I'm delighted! I've been wondering when you two would finally see that your perfect match was right in front of you."
Merry blinked in confusion. This was not the reaction he had anticipated.
Estella grinned. "You think I couldn't see it? Anyone who loves you can see how crazy you are about each other. It was just a question of when."
"B-b-but how? WE didn't even know! We only just figured this out for ourselves over the summer," Merry stammered in shock.
"Merry," Estella snorted, "when are you finally going to realize that I am female and therefore possessing of a superior intellect?"
"An idiot like me?" Merry laughed, "I think I'll need constant reminders." He raised his eyebrows inquisitively. "So...then...we're okay? Us, I mean?"
Estella kissed him on the cheek. "We've been okay for four years now, Merry. The whole dating thing didn't work out for us. What do you expect, we were only kids! You are one of my dearest friends, and that's not going to change just because you have a boyfriend now." She chuckled. "If anything, it's a more satisfying explanation for why things didn't work out between us."
***
Eowyn stole a quick glance across the room, where Merry and Estella were still talking animatedly.
Why do I do this to myself? she thought in disgust. A boy is nice to me, and I automatically assume that he wants to date me? How stupid can I be?
She looked back to the corner, where Estella was now kissing Merry on the cheek.
Of COURSE he has a girlfriend! How could I even think that a guy like him wouldn't have one? And what am I doing, swooning over hobbits, anyway?
She took a sip of her tea, only to find that it had grown cold and bitter.
How appropriate, she thought.
***
Merry sighed with relief. "You have no idea what a load this takes off my mind, Stel. I've been worrying about how to tell you for weeks!"
"How lucky for you that I took care of the hard part!" Estella remarked with a smirk. "Oh! One more thing I wanted to tell you before I go, Merry. This is really important. You remember Posie Bramble and Ivy Proudfoot?"
Merry was surprised by the sudden change of subject. "Of course I do. They were in my dorm last year. A bit quiet, but nice lasses. Roommates, right?"
"The same. Did you hear that they got suspended from school? Their expulsion hearing is in two weeks."
Merry's eyes went wide with shock. "What did they DO?"
"Their RA caught them. Together."
Merry looked at Estella quizzically.
She sighed in frustration. "Do I have to spell it out for you? Posie and Ivy are lovers."
"So?" he frowned. "They're consenting adults."
"Yes, but the university has a rule against cohabitation in the dorms and university-owned apartments. It's 'not compatible with MEU values,' or some other such nonsense," Estella scoffed.
"They still have rules about that? What is this, the First Age?" Merry exclaimed indignantly. "The university has no more right to get involved in the sex lives of students who live together than they do for students who don't live together!"
"Shhh, calm down," Estella soothed. "I know, that rule is an ancient relic, but it's serious. And the whole situation with Posie and Ivy opened a lot of eyes. They only focused on male-female couples before, but I think they're going to be a lot more critical of same-sex couples now."
Merry growled low in his throat.
"I just want you and Pip to be careful, Merry. If you're caught, they can kick you out of school. Most RA's turn a blind eye. I mean, *my* RA's boyfriend has stayed over every night since school started. Some are real bastards about it, though. What's your RA like?"
"Horrible," Merry groaned. "He's had it out for us since the day we moved in."
"Oh, Mer, I'm sorry," Estella said sympathetically. "Is there anything I can do to help? Introduce your RA to one of the girls? Distract him with my feminine wiles?" She grinned wickedly. "Make out with you in a conspicuous public place?"
"Very funny. You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Merry grinned.
"Can't blame a girl for trying," she chuckled.
"Okay, Pip and I were roommates long before we got together. That's got to count for something, right?" he asked desperately. "We didn't start out cohabitating."
"I wouldn't count on it," Estella replied. "Posie and Ivy are in the same situation."
Merry frowned. "I'll think of something."
"Listen," Estella said firmly, taking both Merry's hands and clasping them in her own. "Promise me you'll be careful, okay? I know you and Pip have been getting yourselves in and out of trouble since before you could walk, but this is different. Watch yourselves, and don't do anything rash."
"We WON'T," Merry replied, in the annoyed tone of voice he usually reserved for responding to his mother's nagging.
"Merry, I'm serious!" She punched him in the arm. "I know you. You're stubborn and argumentative, and you don't know how to keep your mouth shut. Please, just lay low, and don't draw attention to yourselves. MEU would be such a dreary place without you two."
Estella glanced down at her watch. "Bugger! I have to run, Mer. I'm late for class."
Merry gave her a quick hug and kiss. "It's good to see you again."
"You too," she smiled, and turned to dash out the door.
"Oh, and Stel?" Merry called after her. "Thanks."
"Anytime, Merry," she yelled over her shoulder.
***
"Estella seems nice," Eowyn commented as Merry sat down next to her on the couch.
"She is," Merry replied with a fond smile.
"Is she your girlfriend? You guys seem awfully close."
"Stel?" Merry chuckled, "No, she's not my girlfriend. Okay, once upon a time, yes, but that's ancient history. I love her dearly," he dropped his voice to a low whisper, "but between you and me, only one person would have come out of that relationship alive, and it wouldn't have been me."
"Not your type?" Eowyn asked hopefully.
Merry laughed nervously. "Uh...no, not my type. Definitely not my type. So, um...anyway, you wanna talk about that newspaper story?"
***
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