Kiss Me, I'm Irish {An Artemis Fowl Fan Fiction}

Chapter 14: Dinner at it's Most Awkward

Hey everyone! I did manage to get this chapter done! It was going to be longer, but I decided to cut it into 3 as opposed to one HUGE one. I hope that's all okay with you! =P Anyhow! I'm going to post this now and let you all enjoy it, and get back to writing more and enjoying the last... 16 hours before my surgery tomorrow. =P Hope you all enjoy!

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Artemis looked in the mirror, straightening his blood red tie. It had been a long day, and he was really not interested in going down to dinner with his family. It was to be the first, as they said, family dinner they had had while in Flint. Artemis was admittedly suspicious of this, as family dinners were not something his parents forced upon him very often, and usually when they did, it involved them scolding him about one thing or another. The boy was certainly anticipating a verbal lashing from his parents for who only knew what.

After taking a deep breath, Artemis stepped out of his room and started to make his way down towards the dining room. Before he even hit the staircase, he could hear voices talking in the foyer. He couldn't quite make them out from the distance he was at but when he finally reached the top of the stairs, he could tell who they were. He looked down into the room below him and saw Butler talking with someone he would've never expected to see while he was in Flint.

Standing just inside the doorway was girl with curly blonde hair. She was wearing a pair of glasses, and was dressed formally as well. Her slight French accent was enough to give away who she was almost instantly. The girl talking aimlessly away to his bodyguard was Minerva Paradizo, someone Artemis was honestly not sure if he wanted to see again.

The last time Artemis had seen the girl, it had been shortly before he had been sent spiraling through time, bringing him three years into the future. Artemis rolled his eyes at the thought. He certainly didn't want to remember the havoc that adventure had caused. He hadn't spoken to Minerva since before the trip through time, although Butler had kept in contact with her and often borrowed books to read from her. Artemis wasn't sure how he should approach this situation.

The boy walked hesitantly down the stairs towards his bodyguard and estranged acquaintance. Minerva noticed him first since she was facing the staircase, and a smile stretched across her face. "Well, well. So you are alive. For a while there I thought Butler might've been pulling my leg," she greeted.

Artemis resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the jibe. "Believe me. I'm very much alive, and have been for quite a while." Artemis found himself mentally irritated at himself for adding the last bit to his response. Minerva certainly didn't need to know about his sort of death about a year or so ago. Though part of him thought that Butler already had told her.

"That's not what I heard," she retorted, something Artemis was afraid of.

He faked a smile before turning to Butler. "May I have a word with you in private?" he asked. Artemis shocked himself with how dark his voice sounded. He knew he wasn't exactly thrilled about what was occurring, but he certainly didn't think he was that irritated.

Butler nodded, unsure of where Artemis was going with this. Artemis led his bodyguard down a nearby hall, pulling him into a nearby room. Artemis cracked the door, hoping it would be enough to muffle his voice from prying ears. "What is she doing here?" he asked blatantly.

"Your mother invited her for dinner," Butler admitted. "She err... thinks you're seeing Minerva."

Artemis' jaw dropped, something that had never happened before. He swore his mother could be so daft sometimes; he often wondered where he had picked up his intelligence. Judging by his parents, it certainly wasn't them. "You have got to be kidding me. I haven't spoken to Minerva in years. Why would she just assume that this is the girl I've been, as she thinks, talking to?"