Holly wondered if Artemis Fowl was sick. He seemed alright enough, yet he also wasn't acting normally. On the other hand, when had Artemis ever been normal? Nothing about their relationship was normal. Expecially since she was an Elf, and he was human. Not everyone in the LEP approved of her relationship with him, for obvious reasons. But they, over time, at least got used to it. They had been dating for over four yearsWhich brings her to now. They had gone out to dinner as usual. Holly laughed to herself as she remembered their first real date. It was extremely awkward for both of them at first. Artemis hadn't seemed to have any earthly idea what to do or how to act. They had gone to a small restaurant and just ate and talked. He had eventually loosened up and when Holly made some comment about the waiter looking like a goblin in a suit, Holly made him laugh for the first time. A real laugh, not a forced one. But now, Holly was confused. Artemis looked like he was hiding something. She had never seen him like this before. He was sweating, shaking, and kept getting tongue tied.
"Artemis." she had said "Are you alright." He had nodded. But Holly wasn't convinced. It was a rare thing for something to scare Artemis Fowl. He had been faced with a lot of stuff over the years; Trolls, goblins, ogres, dwarf gas(Perhapes the scariest) and even a younger version of himself(it's best not to ask). But there was one thing that scared Artemis more then anything. And that thing was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, Holly Short. Her alone could make his heart pound, his knees shake, and his stomach do summer salts. But she didn't scare him because he hated her. She scared him because he loved more then anything else. A few monthes back Juliette, Butlers sister, had gotten married to a sweet, sensitive professional wrestler. They had fallen in love when he had been the only one(Besides Butler of course) who could beat her at arm wrestling. Artemis had of course attended the wedding, and had brought Holly along. He had watched Juliette kiss the groom and proceeded to carry her new husband out of the church instead of the other way around. During the after party, he had watched Juliette in her dress and his thoughts wandered to Holly, who was dancing on the dance floor with everyone else. It was like a slap in the face for him. The thought of marriage had never even crossed his mind. But as he thought about it he realized that he loved Holly, and he couldn't picture his future with anyone else. He Had lost nights of sleep thinking it over. Finally, when he looked at his schelduals and learned that he was spending more time with Holly then he was working, he made up his mind. He was going to ask her to marry him. And that is why he was nervous as hell. Artemis had never been very good keeping secrets. Well, that wasn't true. Big secrets, like the existence of the LEP, he had no trouble with. It was the little ones, like trying to hide the fact that he had a 20,000 dollar ring in his pocket, that he was prone to blurting had never seen Artemis like this. She tried to get him to relax by talking to him about random science stuff she knew he was into. But it didn't really work. His apparent nervousness was rubbing off on her, and she was a bit edgy too.
"Holly," the had been walking through the woods, Hollys favorite place in the human world, When Artemis suddenly grabbed her arm.
"Could you stop here for a moment?" he asked. She nodded. Artemis shifted from foot to foot.
"Artemis! Calm down! What in goblins name are you so nervous about?"
"I..um..I'd like to ask you something Holly." he said "It is very difficult for me to do this...but..." he took something out of his pocket and handed it to her. She opened the little box he had shoved into her hands. Her mouth dropped as she saw the most beautiful emerald and blue diamond ring she had ever seen in her life. She looked up at Artemis, who really did look like he was going to pass out.
"Holly..." he said "Marry me." Hollys heart froze Mid beat before picking up double time. She thought about it. Over the years Artemis and her had been through a lot together. She couldn't remember the exact time she had fallen for the mud boy, only that she had, hard. For a moment, she considered saying no, because they were different species, but looking into his eyes, those blue eyes that had only recently gained light, she knew that there was no way her heart could say no. So she nodded slowly."I..I'd love to." Artemis stared at her before realizing she had said yes. He had to resist the sudden intense urge to dance around like a complete idiot. He attempted to keep some of his dignity, he was a boy genius for god sakes, not a child. Mentally holding himself down, he took Hollys hand and placed the ring onto her finger. Holly looked at it, smiling, sure that she had made the right decision. They continued walking for a moment. Artemis managed to hold himself together for a whole ten minutes of silence before he just couldnt take it anymore. He suddenly grabbed her and kissed her for all he was worth. It felt good too, he'd wanted to do that for a while, but had held back.
"I..I love you Holly." he told her. The words still felt weird in his mouth, but looking at her, he knew they were the right words