Chapter Twelve: Making Plans
Things had taken an unexpected turn lately. For the past two weeks Artemis had found himself in a role reversal with Matt. Now the British boy was being antisocial one and Artemis was one trying to make him open up.
Matt had been avoiding his friend like the plague the incident with Tomoe. Though Artemis could hardly blame him, he had pretty much shattered any innocence the boy might have had in regard to him, he knew he couldn't just leave matters as they stood. Over the past few months Artemis had somehow begun to grow fond of Matt, maybe even consider him a friend. He had enjoyed the time they spent together and had occasionally even felt almost like a normal fifteen-year-old boy when in Matt's company. Artemis wasn't one to delve into and analyze his own emotions if he could help it but he certainly wasn't going to let what might have been his first human friend slip away.
However this was easier said than done. Artemis didn't want to trap Matt to talk to him but the English boy was becoming increasingly hard to pin down. In an effort to reconnect Artemis had started to actually attend his classes again but whenever the bell would ring Matt would be racing out the door to avoid him and wouldn't acknowledge anyone at his door at any time. After ten consecutive days of this Artemis decided it was time for alternate tactics.
After fifteen minutes of contemplation an obvious answer occurred to him. Relieved to finally have a definite course of action Artemis opened his laptop and began to compose a carefully worded email.
Through the wall Artemis was typing next to Matt was also composing a message. Ever since he had seen Artemis nearly killed and Tomoe actually killed he had felt utterly lost. Before he had implicitly believed everything Artemis had told him no matter what evidence he had to the contrary. Now he could no longer deny that the boy genius had a life more dangerous than Matt could have guessed.
Theo could be a git at times but he always knew just what to when life got tricky. Matt knew that if anyone could help him right now it would be his brother. However, although he wrote about the current shakiness of his relationship with Artemis he didn't say exactly what had happened. Despite it all Matt found he still cared about the boy that had chosen to help and guide him when he had first arrived at St. Bartleby's and he didn't want Artemis to be in trouble because of him.
As he finished his letter Matt felt still felt slightly guilty though. It felt like he was betraying Artemis by writing about him at all.
It serves him right though, thought Matt. We're supposed to be mates and yet he kept such a huge part of his life from me.
Decisively Matt clicked send and began looking for something else to do, anything to distract him from the nagging voice of the back of his head reminding him how he had also been keeping a very large portion of his life from Artemis. But that wasn't a cruel or evil secret. The two things were completely different.
Weren't they?
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It was really remarkable how many different kinds of ice cream people were willing to attempt to create, Theodore mused as he returned to his room.
To celebrate his team's latest victory and the spectacular turnout to their latest game he and his friends had decided to make October 24th their official ice cream day; wherein they would go to as many shops as they could find still selling the delicious dessert and consume only the most unheard-of of flavors.
It had been a good day, the flavors Theo had volunteered for had been of varying quality but had all been good for a laugh. He smiled as recalled the corn, cactus, and wasabi ice creams he had tried and even the dubious "Raw Horse Flesh" (thankfully it hadn't tasted anything like horses). Now however he was ready to relax. He finished off his final cone of the day (pumpkin) and turned on his computer.
Fifteen minutes later his roommate Cecily came in just as Theo was finishing his email. It was a bit unusual for Theodore to actually be receiving emails as he usually insisted on only being written to through regular letters so Cecily took notice. The only reason her roommate even had an email address was in case something important happened that he needed to know right away, at the moment she could only think of one person in Theo's life who might need immediate assistance just then.
"Is something up with Matt?"
Theo sighed, "Yes, I'm not sure exactly what's happened but it seems to have thrown a bit of a wrench in between Matt and Artemis. They both wrote to me for help in fact."
"I guess that's because they know you'll be the panacea to all their problems." Cecily smirked, "I've never known you to have a problem you couldn't solve."
Theo quirked an eyebrow at her and she laughed, "Come on Snooky, I know you've probably already come up with a plan."
"Oh, just a vague idea," he said dismissively. Then his façade fell away and he smirked mischievously, "Do we still have some tickets for our Irish opening?"
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Entry in the diary of Artemis Fowl II, October 25th
In regard to my recent dilemma with Matt I have finally found a ray of hope. Last night I wrote to his elder brother Theodore in the hopes that he might be able to advise me as to how I might be able to reconcile matters. Of course I did not tell him anything about Ms. Kagawa only that Matt had recently discovered a darker side to my nature and that now I have found myself unable to make amends. The response I received was better than I had hoped. Theodore was quite sympathetic to my cause and assured me he would personally assist me by sending me a ticket to his 'Toad Ball' team's first Irish game which he assures me Matt will also be present at. In the meantime he plans to speak with his brother and if all goes according to his plan Theodore says we will soon "have ample grounds for mutual forgiveness". I am not entirely certain what he means by that last statement but I'm willing to put my trust in him if it means I may once again spend time with my British friend.
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Dear Mrs. Fowl,
As requested in your last letter I've put together a rough status report of how your son is currently doing at his school.
Educationally: As I'm sure you expected Artemis continues to excel in all of his classes, in nearly all of them he surpasses even the teachers if what he tells me is true, and knowing Artemis I doubt it is anything but true.
Socially: Most likely this is the primary area of your concern. Although Artemis still has little tolerance for his classmates he has shown a marked improvement when it comes to Matthew, the charity student he agreed to act as a guide to last year. He seems to now truly consider the boy to be a friend despite the great differences in their personalities and Matthew also seems to enjoy spending time with Artemis.
However they seem to have recently had a serious argument. I'm not entirely sure what caused the discord but Matthew has been avoiding Artemis for the past two weeks. Artemis has informed me that he now has a plan to set things right though. Apparently Matthew is going to be attending a new type of sporting event on the 29th called 'Toad Ball' in which his brother is a participant. Artemis hopes to be able to make amends then.
If you wish I will inform you of any following developments in few days' time, though I'm sure that Artemis will be able to manage.
-Butler
Angeline finished reading the letter to Artemis Fowl Senior and put it back in its envelope.
"What do you think?" she asked.
Her husband shifted in his chair which was comfortably situated in Fowl Manor's abundant library. "Well we can hardly expect Butler to tell us if Arty is involved in anything dangerous right now but it would be to his advantage to tell us as much of the truth as possible. If our son truly is spending time with a friend and actually enjoying himself it stands to reason that he isn't spending nearly as much time on criminal plots. This could be a very good step towards him giving crime up for good."
Angeline looked at the floor worriedly, she had been surprised and none too pleased when Artemis senior had discovered and told her about the continuing criminal tendencies of their son. She had been in favor of confronting Artemis about them to make him stop once and for all but her husband had reasoned with her, telling her of the positive change that had recently come to Arty's plots and persuaded her that what their son needed was time to gradually leave the criminal world when he decided he was ready. As parents it would be best if they just kept an eye on him and made sure nothing he did got out of hand.
"Well that is good to hear," she said, "but I'm more concerned about his friendship right now. Arty hasn't been able to get along with children his age since he was a baby. I'm worried about this fight of his with Matthew. I know it's normal for friends to fight but two weeks of avoidance? That sounds serious. I think we should visit Artemis and try to help him. I don't want him to be alone again."
Mr. Fowl smiled at his fretting wife and wrapped his arms around her. "Angeline, you know that the last things Artemis needs right now are his parents butting into his life. Butler says our son has a plan and you know that Artemis has a definite way with plans."
"Yes I do know," Angeline sighed. "But I miss being able to solve all of Arty's problems for him, he's growing up much to fast. I just wish we could at least send someone down to him to make sure everything goes alright."
Suddenly the two heard a voice in the hall. "Hello? Is anyone home?"
They left the library and went out into the main hall to see a familiar figure starting up the staircase.
"Juliet!" cried Artemis Senior. "I thought you were in America on your wrestling tour?"
Juliet broke into a grin and came back down the stairs. "I was but Horatio the Huge broke our tour bus's engine when Vicious Vince body-slammed him into it. Tensions have been getting pretty high between them and some other wrestlers so our managers decided it would be a good time for us to go on vacation. I've got the whole week off to catch up with everyone around here."
"Oh that's wonderful Juliet!" said Mrs. Fowl and she gave the girl a warm hug. "I only wish Artemis and Butler were here too, they would love to see you."
Juliet looked slightly disappointed when she found out that her brother and former charge weren't at the manor but Mr. Fowl looked thoughtful and exchanged a meaningful glace with his wife.
"If you wanted to see them," he turning back to the young wrestler, "we were looking for someone to personally check on our son for us. I'm sure we could arrange to send you down to St. Bartleby's. It would be a lovely surprise for them. We'd just want you to make sure everything is going smoothly with Arty right now, would you mind?"
Juliet broke into a delighted grin, "It's no trouble at all Mr. Fowl. I am a Butler after all."
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That Saturday Matt was the only one unaware of any plans around him. He was just planning to spend another weekend essentially locked away in his room but when he was forced to leave for lunch Matt found his brother happily waiting outside his door.
"Oh hello dear brother," said Theo cheerfully, "I was just about to see if you were in."
"Theo!" Matt, glad to see a friendly face after having spent so much time by himself, quickly gave his brother a tight hug of welcome. "Did you come to help me?"
Just then Matt thought he saw a mischievous gleam in Theo's eye but it was gone so quickly he couldn't be sure.
"Of course that's what I'm here for, lord knows I couldn't trust you to your own devices to deal whatever Artemis did, you'd probably end up expelled by the time you were through."
Ordinarily Matt would have given his brother a whack on the head for such a statement but today he just didn't care. Upon seeing that he wasn't going to be injured (a sure sign that Matt wasn't doing well) Theo continued with his plan.
"I thought that you could do with a day of recreation, and who better to recreate with than your charming elder brother? I have the whole day planned out ending with you in a front row seat," he pulled out a ticket from his front pocket, "at our very first Irish Toad Ball match!"
Matt was delighted, this was exactly the sort of thing he needed. He had known he could trust Theo to help him out.
"That sounds great!" he said with more cheer than he had shown in the past two weeks. "Let's get going right now!"
A brief look of tension came over Theo's face, "Don't you have to get your shoes or a bag or something first?"
"No," said Matt looking confused, "why do you ask?"
Theo was about to answer when suddenly Artemis came out of his room. For a moment all three boys looked at each other with identical expressions of surprise but before anyone could say anything they might regret Theo stepped in. He moved in front of Artemis and began vigorously shaking his hand.
"Hello again Artemis, I trust you remember me? I'm told that it's often hard for me to be forgotten. Anyway I hope you don't mind but I'm going to be borrowing Matt for the day. I'd invite you to come along but a bloke's got to have some quality time with his brother, I'm sure you understand."
After that the two Burbenshires left it what must have been record time but Artemis wasn't paying attention, he was focusing on the note Theo had just pressed into his hand. He quickly unfolded it and a ticket fell to the ground. After picking it up Artemis looked the message over.
Artemis-
Everything is all set for tonight. Our tickets don't reserve specific seats so it's up to you to try and get close to Matt. Today I'll be talking with him a lot so he shouldn't run away at the game. Remember to keep an open mind when you're talking. The game starts at seven.
-Theo
P.S. It's almost Matt's birthday so if you want add a bit of icing to the cake you could get him a present. Nothing fancy or expensive rich boy, Matt wouldn't like it and the situation is delicate enough as it is.
Artemis checked his watch, it wasn't even noon yet, he supposed that was plenty of time for a bit of shopping.
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Meanwhile Theo and Matt had just gotten outside, the elder still dragging his younger brother along. Matt tried to catch his breath when they finally stopped next to Theo's car.
"What was that about?" he asked.
Theo waved his hand nonchalantly as he climbed into the driver's seat. "It's nothing Matt, I just knew you wouldn't want to be talking to Artemis just then and I thought it for the best that he not know the real reason behind my visit."
Matt still thought that his brother had acted a bit strangely even considering his explanation but decided to let it go. Theo always acted strangely.
"So where are we going?"
"On my way here I saw a lovely restaurant several towns over. Are you hungry?"
Matt smiled again. "I'm starving."
Theo returned the grin. "Wonderful, and while we're on our way I've brought you a present you can open. It's over in the back seat."
Matt eagerly retrieved the package. In all his recent preoccupation he had completely forgotten that his birthday was approaching, he would be seventeen that year. Theo's presents in years past had hardly been things that Matt had put on his wish list but whether it was a giant chocolate penguin or a collection of classic cartoons the gifts were always interesting.
He quickly unwrapped the gift and looked inside. It was a new outfit. That might have seemed dull to some, especially considering Theo's personality but when Matt saw the whole thing he was touched.
He turned to his brother who was still watching the road and shook his head. "Thank you Theo, I love it but you know I can't wear this."
"Of course you can dear sibling. We're going to be far away from St. Bartleby's all day, you'll be perfectly safe. You can change at the restaurant. Think of it as an early birthday present to yourself."
Matt shook his head again but was smiling this time. He didn't know how to thank his brother enough so he decided to avoid it altogether knowing Theo would understand.
"If this is a present for myself," he said impishly, "does that mean you're going to get me something else for my birthday?"
Theo chuckled and the mischievous glint returned to his eye. "Don't you worry Matthew, I've got a much better gift planned for you. You'll see it soon enough."
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A/N: Finally! I was starting to think I'd never get this chapter done. I'm sorry this update took so long but as I warned you it would school has been drastically cutting into my life. I actually had many more plans for this chapter including the actual Toad Ball game but I didn't want to make you guys wait any longer. I'm also sorry that Holly didn't show up here but as followers of my livejournal will know I've decided it would be best to separate the two storylines until they merge. I'll try to update soon, I've already started chapter thirteen. I'd like to again thank my beta Inkheart and my other new beta Elf-lover for their help with the editing of this chapter.
On a side note I want to say that all the flavors of ice cream Theo tried were in fact real. I haven't tried most of them but I highly recommend pumpkin for anyone who can find it. It's quite the treat.