Even Artemis Fowl II Gets Nightmares
I was having my usual dream. I was in the school ballroom and I we were having our annual school dance. Yeah you heard me right. Ballroom not gym. And of course with a school as prestigious as St. Bartleby's School for Young Gentlemen and Ladies this was not your ordinary school dance. We were all in our formal wear, tuxedos and ball gowns and having a blast.
I was the center of attention because this was a dream after all. I was doing crazy back flips combined with the classical waltzing and fox trotting and all those fancy rich people dances. And all the girls in the school were lining up to dance with me, and indeed a few guys too. I was a superstar. The dream was just getting to my favorite part where the most popular girl in school Lena Calhoun starts a cat fight over me with Paul McGauran and a bunch of cheerleaders when I was rudely awakened by a blood curling scream.
Well okay maybe blood curling is a bit of an exaggeration, but there was defiantly some screaming going on.
"Mother! Mother, please be reasonable." A pained voice begged in the darkness.
I sat up in bed and looked blearily at my roommate, my mind still muddled by sleep.
A gasp came from the writhing figure on the bed across the large dorm room.
"Nothing's going to hurt you I promise. They're not real! There's nothing there. Nothing to be afraid of." He continued dejectedly. He was having some kind of nightmare about his mother…
I blinked, fully awake now, as my eyes adjusted to the darkness. The sight before me was shocking. My roommate, the infamous Artemis Fowl II… was crying. He was crying in his sleep. Tossing and turning in his bed. His blanket was tangled around him and his pillows had fallen off the mattress. He was still talking in his sleep too. Talking to the mother in his dream.
"I-It's me! Mother don't you recognize me? I'm your son A-arty!" He choked. I stared at him for a moment longer, frozen. I didn't know what to do. Artemis's tortured form was really heart breaking. I felt like I would start balling my eyes out if I had to watch this any longer. Should I try to wake him up?
"F-father…he's not…." He trailed off. He didn't seem to know what to say to his nightmare mother. I decided enough was enough. I jumped out of bed and walked quickly across the room. When I reached Artemis's bed he was still crying. He was trembling and shaking like a scared little kid. I griped his shoulders and started shaking him. "Artemis wake up!"
He threw his arms over his face defensively.
"He's not dead! I'll find him…" He mumbled against his arms.
"Artemis!" I shouted.
Artemis blinked his eyes open. His mismatched blue and hazel eyes stared at me looking panicked. Then they blinked again in sleepy confusion. He looked around the room with his piercing eyes. Processing and calculating. Then he looked back at me and said rather calmly, "Would you be so kind as to get off me? You're restricting my breathing." I realized with a start that I had sort of climbed on top of him in my effort to wake him up. Blushing slightly I scooted off of him and to the other side of his bed. Then I studied him carefully.
He was slowly controlling his breathing and looking down at the floor in mournful contemplation. Artemis brought a shaky hand to his cheek and felt the wet trail of tears that had run down his face while he was a sleep. Looking disgusted with himself he angrily wiped them awake and scowled at his hands. Artemis Fowl II was not usually the type to display his emotions and he was not happy at all about being caught crying, albeit crying in his sleep.
In the soft moonlight that came from the dorm windows he looked paler then usual and his dark raven hair contrasted with his gaunt face sharply. His hair was tousled and I couldn't help but be a little amazed. I'd never seen Artemis Fowl with bed head before. He usually woke up hours before me perfectly composed, his hair tidy and neat, his school uniform pressed and clean.
When he sat like that his arms on his knees his gaze on the ground looking so sad and thoughtful, I couldn't help but feel a little turned on. He was so beautiful, so mysterious and…. Vampirish.
"It's impolite to stare." He said with quiet contempt and I jumped and blushed furiously. I wasn't usually so obvious. It was creepy how he could catch me even in the darkness. And he wasn't even looking at me! His mismatched gaze was still directed at the dorm room floor.
"S-sorry Artemis." I stammered.
Artemis sighed. "No I apologize. It's just that… It get's trying after a while. All the staring."
I blinked. I'd never thought something like that could bother him. Not Artemis Fowl II. I wouldn't even expect him to have noticed.
Because everyone did stare at him. You can't reappear after three years with no explanation and not be stared at. And even before that he was always worth staring at. He had that commanding presence that just demanded you take notice. And he was a genius after all. It was impossible for him not to draw attention to himself. He would make the teachers look like idiots during lessons. And he'd get all his work done in seconds and then spend the rest of the period ignoring everyone as he read some huge tomb of a book. Nearly everyone hated the kid back then. He was so arrogant and full of himself. And the worst part was he had a right to be.
During Artemis's three year absence he became a legend. People would talk about all the school counselors and teachers that had quit because of him. Most were said to have fled the school crying hysterically. And kids would gossip and speculate about what had happened to him. Some said he was kidnapped by the mafia taken as a hostage because he was so rich. Then after some genius looked his family up on the internet they started saying that the mafia had killed him as revenge for his successful rescue of his father.
Not that anyone knew exactly how Artemis Fowl I had been recovered from the mafia. It wasn't even proven that he'd been kidnapped really. But everyone knew the boy genius had something to do with it.
There many other rumors but the mafia one was the most widely excepted. Most of the other rumors were really ridicules too. He'd been kidnapped by aliens or he'd been turned into a vampire and shit like that.
In fact most still believe the vampire story. He'd always had a pallid completion and when he'd reappeared he was said to have looked exactly the same age as when he'd disappeared three years previously. Not a day over 15 the media had claimed.
The girls had especially liked that theory. None of them had known Artemis before his disappearance since back then St. Bartleby's was still an all boy school. So they didn't really know that he'd already been that pale. And his high vocabulary didn't help. Some of the dimmer one's were convinced that he was actually over a hundred years old.
I mean how thick can you get? He'd been missing for three years not three centuries. If he'd been turned during that time he'd still be 17 right now. And before the disappearance he'd aged just like any normal boy.
He hadn't only been talked about at St. Bartleby's of course. The story of his disappearance had been all over the news that first year. It seemed that everyone around the world was watching the investigation praying that the poor Fowl heir would be found. And there had been a leak about Artemis Fowl's body guard had going mad with grief. He'd apparently been convinced that his young charge was in limbo saving a family of demons. I don't know how much merit that particular rumor should be given. I mean honestly demons? That body guard would have to be barking mad to believe that.
But after so long without any leads or evidence people lost interest and Artemis was presumed dead.
When Artemis suddenly returned out of thin air the media went crazy again. The paparazzi had camped out at Fowl Manor for weeks just to get a few fleeting pictures of the boy. And everyone wanted to know: Where had Artemis Fowl II been for the past three years?
No one had gotten an answer. When interviewed about it by police and news reporters Mr. and Mrs. Fowl simply said that it was the families business and that they would like their privacy respected. And that was that. End of discussion. But people still spun stories to try and explain what the mysterious boy had been doing.
Now that Artemis was back at school nobody hated him anymore. In fact everyone practically worshiped the ground he walked on. The girls fell over themselves trying to get him to notice him, the guys tried to befriend him, and the teachers and psychiatrists tried to get him to confide his secrets to them. But Artemis Fowl wasn't talking. And he still kept to himself. And he was still an annoying genius git in classes, but at least he wasn't as vicious as he'd once been. He wasn't as cruel.
I often wonder what had changed Artemis. What had he been doing those three years? But you know now that I think about it he had already changed before his famous disappearance. He'd already started getting a little well not nicer, but at least more polite. Just a little more respectful. It just took the disappearance for people to notice.
So now he was the most popular guy in school. Without ever talking to anyone they all loved him. Especially the girls. They were always chasing after him. I think three or four years ago he would have sent those girls away in tears. As it was he mostly ignored them, much to my relief. He would politely rebuff there advances. I knew he wasn't gay, of course I knew. And I wasn't gay either, not really. I like girls just as much as the next guy. I just like guys too. So yeah I'm bisexual if you want to label it.
I knew he was straight because I'd once seen him with his girlfriend. She'd visited him at school once you see. She was blond and very pretty. A petit little French girl who dressed in very expensive cloths that didn't leave a whole lot to the imagination if you know what I mean.
I remember being shocked when I saw her. She had been waiting for Artemis in our dorm room and had jumped into his arms the second we'd walked through the door.
"Artemis!" she had cried. "Oh how I've missed you!" her voice had had a trace of an accent that I was pretty sure was French. I couldn't be sure though since I'd never been to France or meet anyone who was from there.
"Minerva what a delightful surprise." Artemis had responded while awkwardly hugging the excited girl back. I'd thought I'd have a heart attack right there in then. Artemis Fowl awkward? Worse Artemis Fowl hugging someone? And this little French girl to boot! I had still been harboring the hope that Artemis was gay at this point. So seeing him with this girl was like a punch in the gut.
Minerva grinned at Artemis with such radiance you couldn't help but smile. At least a little.
She then kissed both his cheeks in a very French manner. Artemis actually blushed.
"Please Minerva." He scolded her gently.
"What?" Minerva said innocently. It was at this point I decided to let my presence be known by clearing my throat.
"Oh hello!" The little blond said finally noticing me.
"Er, hi."
"This is my roommate Dale. Dale this is Minerva." Artemis introduced us. I noticed that he didn't call her his girlfriend. Then again he didn't call her his cousin either. And I you wouldn't see Artemis Fowl II hugging just any girl now would you?
It was very awkward for me for the rest of that day. I quickly realized why Artemis was interested in Minerva. She was a genius too. The two of them were soon discussing some scientific theories and other smart gibberish that went way over my head while playing a very slow game of chess and basically ignoring me. She stayed until it started to get dark out. Then she had to sneak out of the dorm. You see girls weren't supposed to be in the guys dorm at all to begin with. And it didn't help that Minerva didn't even go to our school.
I never actually asked Artemis if she was his girlfriend. I was afraid to quite frankly.
While I'd been reliving my meeting with Minerva Artemis had continued sitting silently and staring at the floor. I was still sitting on the other side of his bed looking anywhere but at him.
We continued like that for a few more minutes. Finally Artemis said, "I apologize for waking you." Why did he always have to talk so formally? Why couldn't he just relax?
"It's no problem dude." I assure him. Artemis stops looked up and meet my eyes with his strange ones. They're hypnotic those mismatched eyes. Mesmerizing. I still wonder about those eyes. His eyes weren't like that before. He wears a blue eye contact during the day. I'm the only one who's seen his hazel eye. He told me that he was born with his eyes like that and that he's always worn the contact. I didn't believe a word of it, but then again how would I know? I'd never even spoken to the guy back then. And I liked the fact that he trusted me with this secret. I was the only one who knew and I liked it that way.
"Um… do you want to talk about it?" I ask tentatively.
Artemis's face harden's into that indifferent mask I'm so used to seeing. "No." He answered coldly.
I swallowed nervously. "S-sorry. It's just that… I mean it's none of my business-"
"You're right it is none of your business." Artemis interrupted me.
"I know. But I heard what you were saying. You were talking in your sleep and…" I trail off.
His eyes widen and he sits up ramrod straight, a brief look of panic flashed across his face before he schooled his features and got his aloof mask back in place. I sigh. Why does it have to panic him? Why can't he just open up to me? I'm silent for a moment more as I stare at him. He isn't looking at me again. He's staring straight ahead, expressionless.
"Look Artemis." I try again.
"It was a long time ago." Artemis whispered hoarsely. His voice is so quite that I can just barely make out what he said.
"What was a long time ago?" I whisper back. It's like I'm afraid of scaring him off by being too loud. If I was thinking that I was going to get any more out of him though, I am sadly mistaken. He just shakes his head and presses his lips together firmly, refusing to reveal anymore.
We sit there for another long moment without saying anything else. Then Artemis breaks the silence again. "What time is it?" He asks.
It's such a simple thing to say. I'm surprised to hear it coming out of Artemis Fowl's mouth. But I guess even vampires need their beauty sleep. I look at my digital clock and see that it's already half past four.
"It's four thirty four." I tell him. He sighed again and gets his laptop from the nightstand by his bed. "I might as well stay up then." He decided.
I frowned at this. "You're going to stay up all night?"
"Hardly all night, Dale. I've already gotten some sleep and I normally wake up at five anyway." Artemis replied. My frown deepens. I'd gone to bed particularly late last night, around midnight, and Artemis had still been up. He always goes to bed after me and then wakes up at 5? How much sleep was he getting?
"What time did you go to bed?" I asked him sternly. Artemis raised an eyebrow at my tone. "My sleeping patterns are none of your concern Dale. Now why don't you go back to bed? You still have another three hours left to you before you need to be awake." I hate it when he talks to me this way. He's so condescending. So patronizing. It's bloody enraging.
So I cross my arms petulantly and glare at him. "If you're not going to sleep then I'm not going to either." I say stubbornly. It isn't until after I've said it that I realize how childish I sound.
Artemis gives me an amused grin. But he's too dignified to laugh at me. At least I hope that's the case. I don't think I'd be able to take it if he laughed at me. I'd die of shame and embarrassment.
"Well would you mind staying up in your own bed? Not that mine isn't spacious enough for the two of us, but I'd rather not share it." I quickly scramble off the bed, my face scarlet. I think I hear him chuckle, but it's so quiet and fleeting I can't be sure.