"I was having breakfast with my bodyguard when the angel Gabriel made an appearance and whisked me away to your dimension. On the way here, he explained that you were in need of help and that the only one who could help you was me. I don't know why I'm the only person who can help you and I don't know why you need my help but all I know is that I'm not leaving here until I do something for you."
Quinn stared blankly at him then began laughing hysterically. She stopped abruptly and just stared at Artemis. Artemis shifted uncomfortably in his seat. That's when he noticed the bit of red out of the corner of his eye.
"Could you stop doing that?" asked Artemis moodily. He couldn't help but grimace in disgust as Quinn dug her ragged nails into her skin. It had been annoying enough watching her chew on them during his narrative but he wasn't going to sit back and let her mutilate herself in front of him. Of course he could have ordered her to stop by using his Mesmer but he decided against it. He had to conserve magic until he could perform the Ritual again. Quinn looked up at him through her curtain of red hair and glared.
"I think these," Quinn said, gesturing to her many scars and her fresh one, "are the least of your worries. I'm about ten seconds from calling the cops. Angels. Different dimensions. Holy intervention. How do you expect me to believe all that bull?"
Artemis sighed as he ran a pale hand over his face. At least the girl had stopped clawing at herself and seemed to be in her right state of mind again. Artemis studied her from between his fingers. The overweight twelve year old sat hunched over her lap with her hands between her knees and her red hair falling over her face in a tangled mess.
"I don't expect you to believe me. I hardly believe all of this myself. All I know is that I'm not going anywhere until I help you with this 'problem'. So whether you believe me or not, just tell me what the problem is, allow me to fix it and you'll never have to worry about me again."
Quinn sat up slowly and tried to run her hand through her hair. It got tangled halfway through and she had to fight to free her hand. Artemis chuckled. Quinn just narrowed her eyes at him.
"What I'm struggling with here is the fact that you're supposed to be a fictional character from a fictional world. How are you here? If you really are who you say you are, that is."
"What are you babbling about now?" asked Artemis grumpily. "What do you mean by fictional character?"
"I'll show you," said Quinn before she dashed off to her room. She came back with a golden paperback book that resembled a grandmother's well-used bible. She tossed it to Artemis who caught it deftly and scanned the cover before letting his jaw drop.
"What is this?" Artemis quickly read the first few pages before bolting to his feet and throwing the book back to Quinn. "What is that?"
Quinn smiled smugly at the fact that she had hit a nerve. "That is one of many books describing your various exploits and adventures with the People. New York Times Best-Seller too."
Artemis, for once in his life, began to splutter. "W-What…W-who…W-when…How?"
His biggest secret…blown sky high. His entire life…unveiled for the world to see. His thoughts which he had thought private and safe…not so private and not so safe. He stumbled backwards and fell into his seat, breathing heavily as if he had just run a 10K race.
Quinn cocked her head to the side, studying his reaction. She didn't think his hyper-ventilating was an act and so, took a cautious step forward.
"So you really are Artemis Fowl?"
Artemis scowled. "Yes! How many times do I have to say it?"
"Well, I'll just run with this until further notice. Okay, Artemis. What now?"
Artemis was staring at the golden book clutched to Quinn's chest. "Who is Eoin Colfer?"
Quinn blinked. "An Irish author who is currently working on the sixth book of your series."
"Six," moaned Artemis. "If Holly ever got wind of this…"
"She'd probably snag the closest Neutrino and stun Colfer for exposing the People like that. But I don't think the People have to worry seeing as they're in a completely different dimension and people here still think of them as little more than a bit of someone's imagination."
"Still, it's a bit disorienting to know that there is an entire world out there that knows just about everything about you," pointed out Artemis.
"Oh please! You'll get over it."
"So then…I'm popular in this world?" asked Artemis.
"Yes…in fact, you have legions of fangirls (and some fanboys) who worship the ground you walk on and who dream of doing all sorts of unmentionable things to you. You should read some of their fantasies that they put on online…Which reminds me…"
Artemis blinked and suddenly Quinn's face was inches from his own. Her glasses were sliding off her nose but she didn't try to fix them. Her eyes were narrowed and she was studying Artemis with such an intensity he could do nothing but squirm uncomfortably in his seat.
"Do you like Holly?" Quinn asked.
It took a second for Artemis to process Quinn's question. "What? No…"
"Do you like Juliet?"
"She's like a sister to me. I would never even think about…"
"Do you like Minerva?"
"No. We have too much in common."
"Do you like Butler?"
"WHAT?!?!?"
"My thoughts exactly when I read that steamy fic about you two being stuck in a sauna together."
"Now wait a second…what? Butler and…what kind of sick, twisted, perverse…"
"Do you like anyone in your book…er…your world?"
"No. No one."
Quinn returned to her seat, clearly satisfied about something.
"What?" asked Artemis cautiously.
"Oh…nothing important."
"Alright then…"
"Do you like Opal?"
"NO! Let's stop talking about this, please!"
"Feeling uncomfortable?"
"I do not feel attracted to anyone I know. Now…" Artemis paused to see if there would be anymore interruptions, "about your 'problem'. What do you think Gabriel was referring to?"
Quinn shrugged. "Beats me."
"There has to be something wrong with you or I wouldn't be sitting here right now."
"Nothing comes to mind. I'm perfectly happy with my life and I don't think it needs fixing."
It was quiet for a while. Artemis was busy trying to figure out what Gabriel wanted him to do. Quinn was busy trying to think up questions she could ask Artemis. It wasn't everyday that your favorite character from your favorite book came to life. She settled on asking him if he walked on the queer side of the tracks but before she could ask, Artemis' stomach growled fiercely.
"This is what happens when angels interrupt the breakfast of a growing boy," said Artemis drily.
Quinn smiled inwardly. "Well, seeing as I don't have any blood stored away anyplace and I'm not going to let you chow down on me anytime soon, I guess we'll have to settle for takeout. That okay with you?"
Artemis blinked, the joke on his vampire-like looks sailing over his head. "What do you mean by…"
Quinn opened a drawer that was close by and pulled out several fast food menus. "We've got Chinese, Mexican, Caribbean, Italian and Dominican…what are you in the mood for?"
"None of them," said Artemis haughtily. "Those lethal grease traps will put in the grave before my time."
"Hoodwinking Jon Spiro should have put you in your grave before your time but you're still here, aren't you?"
"That's different."
"Whatever," said Quinn. "Unless you've got cash on you, these are our only choices…WHOA!"
Artemis had pulled out his wallet and taken out a large wad of cash. He counted out his Euros and placed them on the table.
"Where can I get my money exchanged?" he asked calmly.
Brian's stomach growled as he caught a whiff of his mother's Mushroom, Leek, Chicken Sausage and Tortellini Soup. He pressed the pause button on his video game and fairly flew down the stairs, his brothers Michael and Jason on his heels. He slid to a halt in the doorway of the kitchen only to knocked off his feet by his brothers. All three of them landed in a heap on the kitchen floor. Brian's sister, Amy decided to complete the mess on the floor and jump on top of all three of them.
Although Brian couldn't see her, he could hear his mother's laughter. When he had finally untangled himself from the mess on the floor, he could see her standing over the stove stirring the soup and smiling. Her brown hair was tied up in a ponytail and she wore her chicken apron with the mother hen leading four chicks across the hem. She looked tired but in high spirits.
"Mom, do you need to help?" asked Brian.
"That would be nice," replied Ms. Bernstein. "Could you set the table?"
The Bernstein dining table had seven seats. It was placed in front of a window so that the family could eat using only natural light. Mr. Bernstein was the one who had thought of that idea. He always sat in the seat facing the window but his seat was empty now. It was the second empty seat at the table. The other seat was the guest seat that never seemed to have been filled before. The Bernstein family never really had too many visitors. Ms. Bernstein and the children filled the six seats in the middle.
Eventually the table was set and Ms. Bernstein was ladling soup into the bowls of her young ones. When she got to Brian's plate however, she paused as if thinking.
"You know, I haven't seen Meredith come back from her date with Robert meaning Quinn must be home alone again. Knowing her, she'll probably order fast food again. She really ought to watch what she eats, that girl."
Brian didn't have to think twice about what his mother was suggesting. "Can I take some of the soup over to Quinn's?"
"I thought you'd never ask," said Ms. Bernstein with a smile. She went to cupboard and pulled down a plastic container with a red top. She ladled some soup into the container and put the container in a paper bag before handing it to her son. Brian didn't comment on the fact that there was enough for two in the bag.
Ms. Bernstein and Ms. Davidson had been friends from childhood. Ms. Bernstein had been psyched to hear that her best friend was moving to her town after two years apart. They lived just four blocks away from each other. Brian and Quinn had been close friends for four years…but that was before Mr. Davidson died and Mr. Bernstein had been packed up and shipped out to a war in a land neither child knew anything about or could pronounce.
Now Brian visited her once in a while. Every time Brian visited her, it was as if she was in her own little world that you needed a special invitation to visit. An invitation he obviously lacked. She hardly ever smiled and usually conversations took two people but with Quinn, Brian had to learn how to make it a one player game. He felt that he was somewhat resented because his father was still alive and her father was not and that in her eyes, he was just an unnecessary reminder of what used to be.
He was only a block away from her house when he saw them walking down the street chatting amiably like old friends. The seventeen year old was drop dead gorgeous and his smile was dazzling although he looked a like a vampire, especially so since it was such a gray day today. He was dressed to impress and looked impossibly neat. Quinn, shabby looking in comparison in her sweats, was talking to him and the boy was nodding.
Brian ducked behind a car and watched the two walk down the street and disappear around a corner. The soup his mother had given him was still warm in his hands. Brian walked the rest of the way to Quinn's house and placed the soup on her stoop before walking away.
I can't exactly say that I was satisfied with this chapter. But then again, I think we all share this kind of displeased feeling toward our work when we're done with it. I think that I went wrong somewhere between Artemis' and Quinn's conversation and bringing Brian into the story. I think that Brian's scene sounded WAY too homey. What do you think? Looking for constructive criticism as well!