Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl.
Sorry it's been so long since I updated. I've been sick all week, so this chapter is kind of short. Warning the story is nearing its end. Replies at end of chapter.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
CHAPTER 19: Day 3: More Fresh Air
Artemis stood in his room, glaring. "It's not that funny!"
"Yes, it is," the auburn haired female fell on his bed, doubled up with laughing.
He scowled at her.
"I can just imagine it." She started to cackle.
Artemis smacked her on the arm with the baton and she quieted. "That wasn't nice. If you want me to help later…"
"Fine, I'm sorry, Captain. But do please refrain laughing."
"I'll try, Arty. It's just so hard to imagine you in some of those outfits and being bullied like that by anybody but me."
He grinned wryly in a most un-Artemis-like fashion. "You're telling me. I am not used to that sort of treatment at all."
"Sort of brings your ego down a notch though, doesn't it?"
"I suppose it does. Do you think it would do the same for Foaly?"
Holly laughed again.
There was a knock on the door.
Artemis froze and Holly shielded herself. "Who is it?" he asked.
"It's me. Juliet."
Artemis relaxed and Holly unshielded, "Come in."
Juliet entered, already dressed for wherever they were going. She was wearing jeans and a t-shirt with her swimsuit underneath. "Hey, Holly. Artemis, are you ready to go?"
"No, not yet." He had been so busy talking to Holly that he even hadn't started to get dressed yet.
"Well, I'll take Holly out of your way so you can get dressed."
"Juliet, why did you have to agree with my mother's stupid idea anyway?"
"Because it sounded like fun." Under normal circumstances, she wouldn't have pushed Artemis to the limits that she had today, but having Alyssa around wasn't normal circumstances. The more Juliet thought about it, the more she realized that Artemis needed someone to stand up to him every so often and push him around a bit. Artemis needed someone to remind him that no matter how tough he pretended to be, he was still human like the rest of them. Except Holly of course, she wasn't human, she was an elf.
Artemis glared as the women left (Holly shielding as she passed through the door).
Artemis started to look for something to wear. All he could find was his school swimwear. He was not pleased. A swim meet was one thing but he would not wear this in front of her. He put the Speedo out of sight and searched nearly half an hour before he found an old pair of trunks that he could never remember wearing. They even still had the tags on them. They were a horrid bluish-green but he put them on anyway and pulled out a t-shirt Juliet had gotten him to buy a few weeks ago. He put on the t-shirt.
He glanced at his computer, then at the door. He hesitated, but went to the door and shut it firmly behind him. The computer could wait until he came back.
The Fowls, the Butlers, and Juliet were all gathered at the bottom of the stairs when he came down. He detected a shimmer near Juliet that he perceived to be Holly Kelp.
He smiled slightly as he came down the stairs. Juliet was holding several towels and bottles of water in addition to a few other things (such as sunscreen).
"Well, son," his father said, "Looks like we've got an adventure planned for today."
"Where are we going?" asked Artemis junior.
"You'll see when we get there." Without saying more they walked outside, looked up, and got in the car. Artemis felt an invisible something at his feet. He knew it must be Holly. She must be wearing her blackout suit today or she wouldn't be out here.
The drive lasted an hour, maybe even two. Artemis just rested his head against the headrest and closed his eyes, hardly aware of most of the journey.
Alyssa looked out the window at the countryside as they passed.
When they got to where they were going, Artemis opened his eyes. He hadn't really gone to sleep; he'd just been resting. They all got out of the car.
Artemis senior and his wife led the way through a wooded area and they stopped their hike about a half a mile in, right at the edge of a deeper and rather calm pool part of the river.
"Timmy, we haven't been in years. Not since our twenties at least!"
"I know," he smiled at his wife.
Artemis junior looked around. He was supposed to swim in a river? But there were live things in it. He looked over at Alyssa. She appeared delighted.
Alyssa looked at the blue-green-brown water and smiled. She loved the water. Alyssa stood at the water's edge for a moment. Then she peeled off her shirt and shorts, revealing her swimsuit underneath. Artemis's jaw dropped, staring at her with wide-eyes. She jumped in the water, and reemerged, laughing, her very eyes smiling to their fullest.
Her merriment was infectious and even Artemis junior had caught it (having been broken out of his stupor when she jumped in the water). He smiled and sat down at the edge of the bank to dip his feet in the water. He'd taken off his shirt and felt the sun's warmth on his back. Suddenly, something grabbed him by the ankles and he was pulled under the water. When he resurfaced, he saw Alyssa grinning at him. He splashed her to get back at her for doing that and she just laughed again. "I'm already wet, do you think a little water is going to scare me?"
Artemis senior and Angeline were a few yards down. Angeline sat on the bank while Artemis stood in the water. They talked quietly.
"Do you remember this place?" he asked her.
She looked around, smiling. "Of course I do. It's where we met. It's where you took me on our first anniversary as a dating couple. It's where you proposed to me. It's where we came on our first married anniversary." They'd made a promise then, to come back every year on their anniversary (their anniversary being a warm summer month) but after the first couple years, they'd stopped.
"Why did we stop coming here?"
"You had to work. You were too busy to come here anymore with me. We promised to bring our son here one day. Arty hadn't been born yet, but we knew that someday we'd have a son and bring him here. We never did," she finished sadly.
"But he's here now. And so are we." Artemis hugged his wife tightly to him.
Artemis was treading water and he looked at his parents, they looked so happy. He felt someone pull his hair. He turned around to find Alyssa grinning like a maniac.
"Lyssie," he teased.
She dunked his head in the water for using her mother's nickname for her.
He came up sputtering indignantly, "I can't believe you just did that!"
She laughed, and he knew he couldn't stay mad at her. He didn't frolic quite as much as she did, but he still had fun. Butler sat under the tree, reading a magazine. Juliet sunned herself on a blanket. Artemis senior and Angeline talked quietly about old times.
Juliet looked over at Artemis. He was having fun and clearly impressed with Alyssa's appearance. It never occurred to him that his mother had picked that particular bikini out for his girlfriend. Alyssa was the kind of girl who was full of confidence and could walk in anywhere, acting like she owned the place; so it was no surprise that as awkward as she felt wearing what she was wearing (she usually stuck to 1 piece swimsuits), she acted as though everything was normal. Artemis and Alyssa held races. Holly talked quietly to Juliet. Everyone was enjoying himself or herself until the sun started to go down and they knew it was time to leave.
Juliet put her t-shirt and shorts back on and rolled up the magazine she'd been reading. The older Fowls dried themselves off and put their clothing back on over their swimsuits. Artemis put his shirt back on and wrapped a towel around his waist over his trunks. Alyssa pulled her shorts and her shirt back on over her bikini and wrapped a towel around her like a blanket.
Artemis got in the car and leaned his head back against the headrest, closing his eyes. Much to his surprise, he felt a weight against his chest. He looked down without moving and saw Alyssa leaning against him, tired out from her long day. He watched her for a few moments and she soon fell asleep, as did he when he leaned his head back against the headrest again.
Holly smiled from her catlike position curled down at Artemis's feet. She saw Artemis's look of peace and decided, maybe there was some hope for the boy after all.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Thanks. I hope you review and keep reading! Sorry if this chapter was bit odd, the next chapter is The Surprise.
Replies:
CaptainRoseShort—Thanks!
Arwen Evenstar 77—Thanks
Sam—hehe. Thanks.
JewelValentine—Wow!
HappyNutcase1—Yeah, PotC! I love that movie.
SpikeTv58—Well, do you believe it? hehe
Siriusforeva—Was that a good enough response for Arty and the swimsuit?
a aaaaaaaaaaalex—Hope you like this chapter as much ass you liked the last one.
big fan—Thanks.
