Artemis Fowl: The Unpredictable Future

Chapter 13: Confusion

As reality set in, Holly got up and placed her hands on her cheeks, looking down. She spoke her words mindlessly and with haste taking no time to filter what was coming out of her mouth. "I'm so sorry about that. Ugh! I blurt something that was the answer that may have been something totally different than what you were going to ask me. You could have asked me 'Do you feel homesick' or 'Have you been missing your friends'. I'm a frickin' idiot." She paced back and forth in the water as she continuously shook her head, still with her hands against her cheeks. "Such an idiot. I feel like a blonde mud girl. One second were having fun then next we-"

Holly was interrupted as Artemis knelt down and barely kissed her lips, not forcing himself onto her. After the momentary surprise, Holly leaned in against his lips, kissing him in return. She felt comfortable. Of all the people in the world and under the world, it was hard for her to believe that Artemis Fowl would be the only being alive who could make her feel like... such a girl. Throughout her years at the police academy, when there wasn't an elf trying to get into her pants, she would portray herself like one of the guys. She refused to show any femininity, even deciding to wear the men's uniform instead of the regulated mini skirt the department asked her to wear. After her twenty years in the academy, she honestly believed that she was just a guy on the inside.

She placed her hands on his hips while he caressed her cheek with the back of his hand. As Holly leaned further into the kiss and pressed her body against his, Artemis stumbled backwards as he was unprepared of her sudden advancement, causing them both to fall back into the water with Holly landing on his chest. Artemis blinked as the magical trance they were in, was suddenly cut short.

Holly blushed bright red as she crawled off of his torso, standing and squeezing the water from her shirt. She kept her gaze to the side as she held her hands in front of herself. "We started acting like fools. I blurted my feelings towards you and now..." She closed her eyes almost angry. "When did things become so complicated?"

Artemis stood and slowly backed out of the water, "I can honestly only blame myself Holly..... I am truly sorry. I know you are upset with me and rightfully so." He let out a sigh before turning around, walking back towards camp. "I'll inform Foaly he can retrieve us when it's most convenient."

Holly looked up to see that he was leaving. She ran over to him and grabbed his hand, pulling him back towards her, "I'm not upset with you Artemis. I'm mad at myself." She looked down at his hand.

Not wanting to turn around and look at her, Artemis let out a deep sigh, "If we were back home..." He paused, "If I never asked you to take this-this ridiculous vacation, we never would've been caught in this situation. I started this ignorant behavior back at the hotel and now... I mean, I could have gotten you pregnant Holly. I've effectively put your very being at risk." He clenched his fist and looked angrily at the ground. "Just stay away from me Holly.... I need... I-I need some time to figure things out." He slipped his hand out from Holly's grasp and ran back to their cave.

She stood there, trying to understand what just happened. In such a short amount of time, they went from friends, to awkward lovers, to possibly nothing. Holly held her arms close together as she slowly walked after him. What would normally have taken mere minutes to return, Holly spent nearly an hour to do so. She wasn't all too excited to be within miles of Artemis right now, let alone in the same breathing space. When Holly finally returned, she could see that he was lying on his bed facing the wall. She turned to look outside, seeing that the sun was barely above the horizon, setting for nighttime.

Without making too much noise, she moved her bed about fifteen feet away from Artemis' and sat down. Just stay away from me, Holly. Artemis' words were repeating over and over in her head, making her internally groan.

Rachel walked over to her with a small paper plate with food and a bottle of water. "I brought you dinner. I offered some to Artemis but he said he wasn't hungry. I cooked it myself." Rachel tried to smile. "Will you try it? I think it's pretty good."

Holly looked up and forced a smile onto her face. "Sure," she said in a sad tone.

Rachel sat down then handed Holly the plate of what looked like rice and beans. She began eating slowly in silence. After a minute or so, Rachel cleared her throat then whispered, "Holly. Why are you avoiding Artemis? And why is he avoiding you?" She looked at her, concerned. "What happened while I was gone?"

"I appreciate that you care Rachel, I really do. But I don't want to talk about it right now. Sorry." Holly looked down and set her half-eaten plate beside her bed. "I'm turning in for the night. Thank you for the food, it was really good." She faked a smile once more before lying down.

Rachel patted Holly's hair lightly, "Good night then, but I'm here if you wanna talk." Holly nodded, not saying anything. Rachel stood up and hovered over to her bed, lying down to sleep.

Holly closed her eyes. I'm such a fool. These were the only words spinning around in her head until she drifted off to sleep.