#or from the vigour of eddie's re-enactment of gandalf slaying the great goblin

[chamomileteainabuttercup]

Steve loves a good story but has never really been able to get into the books his Party friends love. I imagine him a bit dyslexic; he can read but it's a constant mental effort to decode the words that just isn't rewarded by what he can follow of the story. He doesn't want to admit how tiring and confusing he finds it, because nobody else seems to think it's hard, and brushes it off, saying he's waiting for the movies.

Eddie is not having this (he was really rooting for Ralph Bakshi to succeed but after that mess it seems unlikely any decent Lord of the Rings movie will be made in his lifetime). He loves telling stories. He insists on Steve letting him come over to his house and read him at least The Hobbit. Steve agrees to this primarily because it appears to be a nerdy strategy to get him alone for a while and he assumes it'll just mean listening politely for a chapter or so before making out ensues.

He isn't prepared for the sheer charisma and energy of the one-man show he's treated/subjected to. Eddie has distinct character voices and accents for not only Bilbo and Gandalf but all thirteen dwarves. He's written his own tunes for all the songs ("Fifteen Birds in Five Fir-Trees" and "Down in Goblin Town" in particular get the heavy metal treatment). He bounds around the room and climbs on furniture acting everything out. Steve is equal parts baffled and spellbound. Making out definitely needs to ensue, but he'll let Eddie read just one more chapter first.