A/N: I am startled by how much attention this has recieved in the few days it has been since I've posted it. All of the positive feedback made me determined to post again soon. And here you go: proof of the positive power of reviewing! I'm not insanely happy with how this came out. First of all, it's shorter than I'd hoped it'd be. And secondly, I don't feel like I got the characters' reactions right. We'll see, I guess.

Disclaimer: Hi there! My name is (not) Eoin Colfer and I do (not) own Artemis Fowl.

Chapter 2: Aidan

Holly stared at Artemis. "Twin brother? Twin brother? You have a twin brother named Aidan?" She couldn't believe what she had just heard. Why would he keep this from her? From his best friend?

Artemis shook his head. "I had a twin brother named Aidan. I do not anymore." A small tear fell from his eye.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Holly asked. "I'm you're best friend, aren't I?"

"You are my best friend. I didn't tell you because I wanted to forget myself," Artemis said, a guilty look in his eyes. "I should have told you anyway."

"It's okay," Holly said. "What happened?"

"I suppose that if we keep reading, you'll find out," Artemis said, nodding at the book.

"I'll read if you want," said Holly. "I know this must be hard enough for you without having to reread whatever happened."

"Go ahead," said. Artemis. "Be my guest."

Holly cleared her throat and began to read.

My concerns lie with my twin brother, Aidan. Holly stumbled a bit over the word "twin" slightly. 'Is this actually happening?' she thought. 'Could I be dreaming?'

Aidan too is an unordinary child. However, his unordinary is not the same as my unordinary.

Such a slight child you have never seen. He is extremely thin and very short for his age. His physical appearance isn't what makes him different, though.

Aidan is mentally handicapped. He is hardly more than a shell, little more than a human vegetable. Holly stopped reading.

"Little more than a human vegetable? What… what does that mean, Arty?" An overwhelming sadness sat heavy in her heart. This…this was just terrible, and she didn't know what to say.

"You shall see," was Artemis's response. Holly picked up the book (which she hadn't realized that she had dropped) and continued reading.

Aidan is unable to speak. He can grunt and moan, and once in a while I am able to interpret one of his sounds, but most of the time they are unintelligible.

Aidan cannot walk without the aid of a walker. Most of the time, he is in a wheelchair. Aidan is unable to do most things other people think are easy. He cannot dress himself, brush his teeth by himself, or feed himself. He is even unable to use the bathroom unattended.

Poor Aidan is constantly on oxygen. Even breathing is something he needs help with.

I am not sure what my brother's problem is called, if it has a name. The only way I can tell that he can even acknowledge that things are going on around him is by his eyes. His eyes are bright. I think he may be as smart as me, maybe even smarter, but he cannot express it.

When I look at him, I see a spitting image of myself. An extremely ill image, but someone who looks very much like me all the same. I often think that that could have been me, sitting in the wheelchair, unable to fend for myself.

Sometimes I wonder if it should be me.

Holly stopped again. She had begun to cry. "Oh…oh my gods, Artemis. I had no idea… I'm so sorry, so, so sorry." She noticed that several spots on the page she had just read were discolored. She realized that eight year old Arty had been crying while writing it.

'Sometimes I wonder if it should be me… Sometimes I wonder if it should be me…' The words echoed in Holly's brain. 'I can't believe he actually thought that,' she thought. 'It isn't his fault.'

Holly reached over and grabbed Artemis's hand. "Oh my gods, Arty. This had got to be so terrible for you. I can't imagine going through something like this."

Artemis turned and looked at Holly, surprised. "So you aren't mad at me for keeping this from you?"

Holly's eyebrows shot up. "How could I be mad at you? This is something that I might want to forget, if I were you. But you can't forget. He was your brother."

Tears welled in Artemis's eyes. "It should have been me," he whispered. "Not him… It should have been me!"

"No!" Holly exclaimed. "You can't think like that. I know it seems unfair, but it should NOT have been you sitting in that wheelchair, Artemis. You can't feel guilty about this. It's beyond your control. Nothing you could do could have prevented it."

"But… but maybe I could have. You have to keep reading… Only then will you understand." Artemis began to cry harder than Holly had ever seen him cry.

"There is nothing you could have done," Holly repeated firmly. "Arty, you deserve to be alive. I am most certainly not saying Aidan deserved to die, but I am saying that it isn't your fault. You don't deserve to be dead just because he is."

Artemis reached out and hugged Holly. They lingered in the tight embrace for several seconds, and then finally they pulled apart. Artemis held Holly at arm's length.

"Thank you," he said. He leaned in and kissed Holly briefly on the lips. "But you don't know everything yet."

The kiss still tingled on Holly's lips. Even in the terrible situation, she enjoyed the kiss, even if she had been startled by it.

"I know enough for now," Holly said. "Let's take a break." Then she leaned in and kissed Artemis, a real kiss, and he began to kiss her back. His hands tangled themselves in her hair, and he kissed her like he never had before. This was different than their kiss in the past. It was completely unaltered by the time stream. It was real.

A/N: Excuse my terrible attempt at romance above. I suck at it. Anyway, I was more satisfied with the first chapter, but oh well. The more reviews and feedback I get, the more motivated I am to update! So please, review!