A/N I decided to experiment with femslash… so don't read if you're offended by it.
Which would be sad, because this one is my favorite. I like the imagery in the first paragraph. O_o;
IV. Juliet Butler
I can't say what exactly about her makes me feel so intense. Maybe it's the scorching look in her mismatched eyes when they're full to the brim with a determination fiery enough to incinerate anything, myself included. Maybe it's the way her full lips curve around the words she speaks, sensually forming sentences that make little sense to a mind intoxicated by the shape of her mouth and the sound of her voice. Maybe it's the contrast between coffee and milk when her hand lingers on mine long enough for my eyes to confirm the reason my skin feels like it's gone up in flames. Maybe it's the tantalizing slopes and curves of her small, slender body – the hollow at the base of her throat, the angle of her cheekbones, the rise of her breasts, the dip of her waist.
Perhaps it's due to how well she understands me – both of us eager to prove to the world time and time again what the female population can do. Both not willing to conform to stereotypes, or let anyone decide what we make of our lives. Perhaps it's because she tries to talk me into being serious when I'm too frivolous, just like she did so many years ago. But then, maybe it's because she usually ends up being equally frivolous herself, when the time is right. Maybe it's because she comprehends my obsession with wrestling, and she knows the pleasure found in intense physical activity. Maybe it's because of her way of making me smile without even trying. Maybe it's the easy manner in which we connect to each other.
Or perhaps it's just because I can't have her. She's the first and only female I've ever felt any form of attraction to, and the only person I've had this amount of passion for, period. I've never wanted anyone or anything as I want her, and the irony is that she's taboo in so many different ways. Starting with the least significant, the reaction towards my loving another girl would probably not be met with too much joy – and anyway, I doubt she likes girls like that. Then again, I didn't either until I knew her. On an even more troublesome level, she and I are from different worlds. Worlds that have hardly any tolerance for each other, much less for flourishing relationships between them. I doubt she would want to be a pariah to her People for anyone – anyone but one person. Our worlds would never have even been reintroduced if not for that same person. Artemis. Artemis, the genius. Artemis, my little brother in a lot of ways. Artemis, who clearly struggles with his own feelings for her. Arty, for whom she would go through impossible lengths to save, or help, or just visit.
Perhaps I'll go through the rest of my life regretting my decision to let her go. But I can't keep someone I love from someone they love, especially if I love that someone as well.
A/N Thus ends The Loves of Holly Short. Aren't you surprised that Artemis is not one of them? (Though he is, indirectly…)