Friend of Ours

Yeah, for those of you who know (looking at you TTA77) Friend of Ours is a song by Elbow so naturally, it's the soundtrack. This is gonna be so angst-y I'M GONNA CRY! Well, maybe not that sad. But still sad!

'Love you, mate.' Elbow, 'Friend of Ours'

'Fell in your opinion when I fell in love with you.' Florence + the Machine 'Falling'

"Artemis!" Holly leaned over the edge of Koboi Labs roof, bile rising in her throat. She'd just watched her friend fall, no jump, off the building. Holly hadn't taken him seriously when he said that he'd sacrifice himself. This was Artemis Fowl. He didn't do anything if there was nothing in his end of the deal. And there was nothing in jumping off Koboi Labs. Nothing!

Holly watched her friend topple off the huge building. He'll die underground. Not under the stars. He'll never see the stars again. Or the sun. Or daylight. His family. Friends. Butler. Holly had to stop herself when the tears came to her eyes and plummeted after her friend.

I wonder if he's still awake. If he's thinking at all. Holly wanted to snort. Of course he was thinking. He was Artemis Fowl. The boy who never stopped thinking. But who would be thinking about? Her? She didn't know if that would be a good thing or a bad one. Because if he was thinking about her in his final moments, it meant he really cared, but in reality, he was probably thinking about his mother, or Butler, Beckett, Myles, his father. Not her. Not Foaly, Number One, Mulch. He was a human boy with human thoughts.

Why was she even thinking this? Was she so selfish, that she wanted him to think of her over his family? Holly frowned and wiped her eyes on the back of her hand. Deciding that she didn't want to see him hit the ground, broken and pale, she leaned back and walked away from the edge of the building to the centre, where she felt safer. As if she were scared that if she stood on the edge, she'd throw herself off after him.

At this thought, Holly turned and ran, full pelt to the edge of the building and launched her self off after her fallen friend. She knew she'd never catch him in her heart, but she felt like she was abandoning him if she didn't at least try.

She plummeted in free-fall for about five stories and then unfurled her Hummingbird wings and made herself a javelin, racing after Artemis. She was meters from him when air resistance caught under his jacket caused him to flip so that he was facing her. His eyes were closed, not a frown line in sight. He looked oddly peaceful. She was reaching for him, her hands scrabbling and trying to get a hold on his jacket lapels, when he opened his eyes and gave her, of all things, a small, almost sincere looking smile.

"Artemis!"

Being underground, there was no wind to catch her words and they probably reached Artemis' ears. And they clearly did he whispered something incomprehensible to her which just pained her even more.

"What, Artemis," yelled Holly, "what did you say?"

Artemis just smiled at her again and closed his eyes as he braced his eyes for the ground.

Sure enough, the ground came up, stopping the slow motion that their fall had seemed to be in.

Holly quickly swung herself into a almost horizontal position and her wings slowed her down dramatically but the ground seemed to rise up to Artemis, to stop his falling before it was due.

Holly felt her tears come thicker, faster as she watched Artemis hit the ground. It wasn't nearly as graceful as the fall, he slammed into the dirt floor, head lurching forward oddly and Holly supposed that he'd broken his neck, not to mention his spine.

Holly's feet touched the ground lightly and the moment that her feet felt safe on the floor, she was running the short distance to Artemis, laying limp on his side.

"Artemis?" she whispered to her friend, rolling him onto his back. Artemis was still wearing that stupid coy smile. Why was he smiling? Didn't he understand the pain it was causing? It made it seem that he was happy in death.

"Holly?"

Holly's eyes opened wider than it seemed possible when he spoke. Holly would have imagined his voice to be husky or weak, like it came out in movies, but Artemis spoke clearly, as if he weren't in ridiculous pain. As if he weren't dieing.

"Artemis, I can heal you! I can heal you if you let me," Holly sobbed into Artemis' chest. He smiled wider.

"Wouldn't that completely defeat the point, Holly?"

Holly screamed with the sheer disbelief of it all. "Artemis! Please! You're being ridiculous!"

Artemis closed his eyes and his smile shrank back into that, horribly tempting coy smirk that it had been before. "I am not. I'm being, what was the word? Chivalrous?"

Holly didn't smile. She had to know.

"What were you thinking about! When you fell. Who? Tell me, Arty, please!"

Artemis didn't seem to think on the answer at all. "You."

"No! Don't! Think of, I don't know, Angeline, Myles, Butler! Just not me! Please! Arty please…"

Artemis didn't reply, just sighed deeply."

"Artemis! You're not listening!"

The boy remained silent. Holly forced herself to believe that he was being ignorant, not that breath had failed him.

"Artemis…?"

Holly sighed and pulled her human friend into her arms.

"Love you, mate."

'Because falling's not the problem, when I'm falling I'm at peace. It's only when I hit the ground that causes all the grief…'

There. If that's not angst, I don't know what is! This is not finished! So if one of you whines that you don't know what's going on I will personally do something ever so slightly horrible to you. =)