A/N: Alright, here is the next chapter! Sorry if it took a bit longer, spring semester has finally decided to get hard as all my professors schedule exams and essays in the same week. It makes me a bit nostalgic for my senior high school days. At least I am writing about Taiwan, so it takes me back to those more peaceful days =) Hope you all enjoy this chapter, though!

Why, Why Love

Chapter 17

In the week leading up to winter break—Jin and Melinda became the newest golden couple at both SB and SC, to everybody's surprise. After all, Jin was the overemotional and energetic captain of the football team and Melinda was the sophisticated and usually reserved class president. No one had ever expected them to become a couple, and overnight it seemed as though they had become sort of celebrities. All the students at both schools observed their every movement and the couple became the sole source of gossip.

"This relationship getting to be rather annoying," Artemis sighed as he closed the door to their bedroom in the face of an overeager second year boy wanting to get a glimpse of Jin.

"You aren't even the one who is being followed all of the time," Jin said, grumpily, "you would think that none of these people have ever been in a relationship before".

"Well you and Melinda's relationship is a bit unique," Sam said as she unsuccessfully tried to read a tourism book on Taiwan "so it naturally strikes everyone's curiosity".

"How is it unique?" Jin asked, "it's not like it's something incredible special or weird— like if you and Artemis decided to start dating or something"

Sam blushed furiously at the boy's words and proceeded to bury her face in her book so that Jin wouldn't see anything.

"It's not the fact that the relationship is unique, it is the fact that nobody expected you to end up with Melinda," Artemis said coolly.

"What do you mean by that?" Jin demanded.

"What I mean is that Melinda was obviously quite out of your league," Artemis answered. Jin scowled at him.

"Since when have you started to care about school gossip anyway?" he asked, "I liked it better when you just stuck to yourself"

"As did I," Artemis retorted, "but since you are my roommate, I seem to have gotten drug into this mess as well".

Sam leaned on the side of Jin's couch and sighed a little, putting down her book. Jin looked down at her.

"What's the matter, Sam?" he asked, ruffling the girl's hair.

"Since Melinda is your girlfriend now, are you going to take her to Taiwan instead?" Sam asked, looking up at Jin. Artemis looked at the boy as well—this was a possibility that he himself had been thinking of. Jin smiled slightly

"Sam, Melinda might be my girlfriend, but you are still my best friend," he said, "there is no one I would rather take to Taiwan with me"

Sam smiled, pleased at the answer, and picked up her book once more.

"Hey Jin, can we go to the Shilin Night market when we are there? The book says that it is the biggest of its kind in all of Taiwan!" she asked excitedly.

Artemis shook his head slightly at the scene in front of him. Did the girl think that she was going just to have a fun vacation? Artemis wondered if Sam fully understood the seriousness of the mission. If Jin's father actually found Haven and revealed the existence of faeries, everybody would be in danger.

Artemis turned around and looked at Sam, who was eagerly flipping through the pages of her book with Jin.

I wonder if this girl really knows how important she is to this mission? He wondered, looking back down at his plans.

Finally, the day that Sam and Jin would be heading to Taiwan arrived. Sam woke up extremely early that morning, too nervous to really get any good sleep.

She sat up in her bed and looked over the side of her bunk. Jin was still sleeping like a baby. Sam smiled and leaned back against the wall. This situation reminded her exactly of the morning of the pageant. She had been too nervous to sleep; yet Jin slumbered on as though he had no care in the world. Though, in this case, it did make sense. Jin didn't know the gravity of this trip. He was just expecting to have a fun winter break.

"I wish I could be like that," Sam whispered to herself. She sighed deeply.

"Sam?"

Sam's thoughts were interrupted by a voice from down below. Sam scooted over to the front of her bunk and looked down. Artemis was standing next to his bed, looking up. He smiled ever so slightly when he saw the large pair of emerald eyes peak down at him.

"What are you doing up so early?" Sam whispered.

"I always get up this early," Artemis answered, "plus, I had to go over the plan one more time". Sam frowned.

"You keep talking about this plan, but you haven't told me anything about it," she said, "every part about this trip is worrying me!" Sam groaned and fell back down on the bed.

Artemis stood where he was, looking up at the space where Sam's eyes had been peaking out at him seconds before. Up until then, he had assumed that Sam hadn't given a second thought to the mission at hand. Silently, he berated himself for not trusting in her more.

Slowly, Artemis climbed up the ladder rungs and sat on the other end of Sam's bed. He looked at the girl, who had buried herself underneath her blankets and smiled. He reached out and pulled the blankets from over her, noting once again the bright, obnoxious yellow of the fabric. It was an annoying color—true. But it was also undoubtedly cheerful. It fit Sam well.

Sam sat up and looked at the boy, head cocked to the side, floppy golden brown hair in her eyes.

"Tell me what you are worrying about," Artemis said. Normally. He wouldn't care about such minute, trivial things. Emotions, especially the emotions of other people, were messy and Artemis avoided them like the plague. But this was Sam, and no matter what it was, if it mattered to her then he would care about it as well.

"First of all, I am going to with Jin to meet his parents—who still think that I turned their son gay. And while this is happening, I am not only supposed to somehow find a way to prove that Jin's dad, one of the most powerful men in Asia, is trying to exploit the fairies but I am also supposed to stop him. And on top of all of that—this will only be the third time that I have ever flown and I am afraid of planes, especially after Mulch piloted one!"

And with that, Sam breathed deeply. She normally wasn't one to unload on or rant to people, but this situation was really the worst that she had ever faced.

Artemis looked at the girl, raising a single eyebrow as she started to spew off her list of worries. Slowly he moved closer to her.

"Sam," he said softly, "you are telling me that you are scared by this mission?'

"Terrified" she answered, truthfully. Artemis gave her a little smile.

"This is coming from a girl who left home, traveled halfway across the globe, enrolled in an all-boys school, and had been dressing and acting like a male ever since," he said, "how could you let a mission frighten you so much?"

"It was more insanity than courage that led me to come here," Sam mumbled. Artemis let out a rare laugh and wrapped an arm around the girl's slight shoulders, in the process, sticking a tracking device behind her right ear without her noticing.

"All you have to do for now is board the plane with Jin and meet his family. Killian and I will follow you on the leer and we'll give you further instructions when we get to Taiwan," Artemis said.

"So you plan on keeping me in the dark until then?" Sam asked, frowning even more. Artemis looked down at her. He had meant his words to be reassuring, not insulting. But then again, he had never really comforted nor reassured anybody before—and even though he was a genius, there were something's that one just needed experience in to get right.

"It is much safer if we all just know our individual parts in the grand plan," Artemis said, "that way we lessen the risk of confusion".

"You can trust me," Sam said softly. It wasn't as though she would mess up everything if she knew all of the plans.

"And you can trust me as well," Artemis said, "you should know that everything I do is to make sure that you will be safe".

'I know," Sam said, leaning against him, "I am just a little worried. I wish that you and Killian could come on the plane with me".

"We'll be right behind you, Sam," Artemis said. Sam knew that everything would be fine, but for some reason she had a pit in her stomach. It really wasn't like her to be this nervous or cowardly—so it was worrying her a little bit.

"But what if something happens before you arrive in Taiwan? Killian said that Chairman Lai is a ruthless man," Sam asked, looking up at Artemis. The boy looked down at her and smiled, something he only did around her.

"Luckily for you, you have a smart boyfriend," he said, "no matter what happens, I will always be able to find you"

Sam couldn't help but smile at his comment. She rested her head on his chest once more. This was the first time that he had referred to himself as her boyfriend. And even though she was still nervous, she couldn't help but feel a bit safer at hearing his words. She did have a smart boyfriend, the smartest- one that wouldn't let anything happen to her.

"Plus, it isn't as though you are a helpless little girl," Artemis continued, "you are rather athletic and have a swift pair of legs, do you not? I am sure you could run away from any trouble you are in."

Sam just shook her head and laughed. Artemis's way of comforting a person was strange, true—but it was completely him, and the girl couldn't help but love it.

So when Sam boarded the plane with Jin hours later, she felt more at ease than she had the whole week. Jin was chattering away as usual, talking about all the places that he would take Sam to go see. Sam looked out the window, wondering what she could do to make sure that she was completely prepared. She knew that Artemis had made the plans, but she wanted to make sure she was as prepared as she possibly could be.

Sam turned to Jin, who was now talking about his old middle school.

"Jin, tell me about your family," Sam said. She was surprised that she hadn't thought to ask the boy about his family beforehand. After all, everything she was going to do in Taiwan centered around his father.

"My family?" Jin asked, confused.

"Yes," Sam said, "after all, I am going to spending the whole break with them, I would like to know something about them"

"I suppose," Jin said, "well… I live Taipei with my family. My mother is actually from Korea—she used to be the most famous actress there, but she quite acting once she had me."

Sam nodded her head; she could imagine Jin's mother being a glamorous movie star. The boy had to get his good looks from somewhere, after all.

"My younger brother still lives at home," Jin continued. Sam's eyes widened.

"You have a younger brother?" she asked, surprised. Jin had never mentioned the fact that he had any siblings—and with his over-the-top personality, Sam had always assumed that he had been an only child.

"Yes," Jin said, "Zheng—he's 15, and goes to a high school in Taiwan."

"Ah," Sam said, "well what about your other family members?"

"Other?" Jin asked, scrunching his eyebrows, "Ah! Yes. There is Mei Mei. She's our dog, we've had her for about three years and she is the most adorable thing. You are going to love her, she is great with strangers and she…"

"What about your father?" Sam asked, interrupting Jin's tirade about his dog, "does he not live with you?"

"Oh him." Jin said, his face darkening a little, "he does live with us, but he is a business man so he spends most f his times overseas. We rarely get to see him, which actually isn't too bad of a thing"

"Jin! Don't you think that is a little harsh? He is your father after all" Sam said. Jin shook his head quickly.

"That doesn't mean I don't love him or something like that. It's just that every time I see him, he always liked to remind me that I will have to take over his business one day, even though he knows that I don't want to," Jin said.

"Why don't you want to?" Sam asked.

"Because I want to be a world famous soccer player!" Jin said, "It is my dream to go to the World Cup!"

"Oh, is that it," Sam said, hoping that she could have gotten more information about Chairman Lai.

"Well…" Jin started. Sam looked up at him, anxiously. Jin leaned in closer to her.

"I don't think that my father's business is completely legal" Jin whispered. Sam's eyes grew wide.

"Why would you think that?" she whispered back to him.

"I don't know," Jin answered, "it's just that father is very secretive with his work. A lot of the time he won't tell us where he is traveling or what he is doing. It is a little suspicious. All I know is that I don't want to be involved in that kind of business".

And with that, the boy backed away and slumped down in his seat, frowning deeply, his eyes darkened. Sam looked at Jin in wonder.

Even the always cheerful Jin becomes distraught what he talks about Chairman Lai, Sam thought to herself, her nervousness crawling back up, how evil could this man be?

Meanwhile, Artemis and Killian sat in Artemis's Leer, as Butler piloted the jet right behind the plane that Sam and Jin were flying in.

"Butler, do you still have Sam's plane in sight?" Artemis called out. Butler smiled from the cockpit.

"I haven't lost sight of it since you asked me five minutes ago," the name answered. Butler thought it was amusing to see Artemis act like an eager, nervous five-ear old. Normally, the boy was completely detached from everything—so seeing his teenage boss actually show emotion was quite a new experience.

"I am actually surprised that you didn't book a ticket on Sam's flight," Killian said, looking out the window with a grin.

"I am not a fool," Artemis said, "how could I possibly book a ticket on that flight? The possibility of Jin seeing me would be high".

"But the possibility of saving Sam in case something happens would also be high." Killian said, continuing to look out the window.

"What could happen to her?" Artemis asked, quickly, "we are following right behind her."

"If you are not nervous then why did you plant a tracking device on her?" Killian asked. Artemis looked up at him quickly.

"How did you know about that?" he asked. Killian laughed deeply.

"In case you forgot, genius boy," Killian said, turning towards Artemis, "I am pretty intelligent myself. Pretty perceptive, as well. The GPS tracker you have is pretty cleverly disguised as a cell phone, but I have seen you use your phone before and I know for sure that it looked different. Plus, I knew that you wouldn't let Sam go of by herself with knowing where she was at all times. You care too much about her to do that".

"Whatever goes on between Sam and I is personal," Artemis said coolly, "I do not mix emotions with work. The tracking device is merely there to ensure the mission stays on schedule. If Sam is taken away or if she decides to wander off somewhere, then it would put the mission in jeopardy"

Killian snickered at the boy's statement.

"If you say so, genius boy," Killian said, "though I don't think I have ever heard you say this much to me ever. Why are you suddenly so defensive?"

"I am simply explaining myself to you," Artemis said, his voice and face as reserved as it always was when he wasn't around Sam.

"Or is it because you are just too worried that something will happen to your precious Sam and are trying to reassure yourself?" Killian asked, "After all, this is a dangerous mission. What would you do if something happened to her?"

Artemis' fist clenched a bit at his side. Though he would never say it, the vamp had hit the nail right on its head. Artemis was a cool, detached boy—he never felt any emotions, especially nervousness. But when it came to Sam, he couldn't help but worry. Killian's question had been exactly right—what if something happened to Sam? What would he do? Artemis couldn't even think of the possibility.

"I wonder if she knows how much she means to you?" Killian asked, once again looking out the window, The interactions between humans were quite fun to witness…

"Foaly, I left in the middle of a meeting and will have to suffer the wrath of Root when I get back; so whatever you called me here for better be important!"

The eccentric centaur looked behind him to see Holly standing there, hands on her hips. He spun back to his computer and pointed at the screen. Holly looked over at it, seeing that it showed some kind of Mud Man map. There was a red blinking dot slowly moving over Ireland.

"What is that?" she asked, interest peaking, "does this have something to do with Artemis and Sam?"

"I had a tracker placed on Artemis' private jet about a year ago, just in case the boy decided to go against us or contact any rouge fairies," Foaly said. Holly looked down at him.

"After what Artemis did for us, you still don't trust him?" she asked. The centaur turned and faced her.

"Holly, answer me truthfully—do you fully trust Artemis Fowl?" he asked. The small fairy just frowned and turned back to the screen.

"So Artemis has boarded his plane," Holly said, shrugging his shoulders, "isn't it his winter break? He is probably just going on vacation somewhere"

"I thought that was a possibility," Foaly said, "but do you really think I would call you over if this was all I had?"

"What else have you found?" Holly asked him.

"Has Artemis reported anything to you about the VAMP pyre we sent him and his classmate to investigate?" Foaly asked. Holly's frown grew deeper.

"He told me that him and Sam had found the reason behind it and that they would take care of it. He also warned me not the get the LEP involved because it would jeopardize his mission," Holly said.

"Well, I think there might be some trouble," Foaly said grimly. Holly turned to him quickly.

"Tell me everything you know," she said forcefully. Foaly turned back to his computer. He pressed a few buttons, and a picture of Killian appeared on the screen, grinning slightly.

"Artemis is traveling in the company of this vamp agent," Foaly said.

"Artemis is traveling with a vamp? Why?" Holly asked. Foaly waved away her question.

"They are very closely following this plane," he said, pointing back the map, where suddenly a blinking blue dot appeared in front of the red one.

"Boarded on this plane," he continued, "is Artemis' classmate, Sam"

"Where is the plane headed to?" Holly asked.

"Taiwan," Foaly answered, sighing. Holly looked down at him.

"Taiwan? What are they going to do there?"

"Accompanying Sam on this plane is this boy," Foaly said, pulling up a picture of a very attractive Asian boy.

"Who is that?" Holly asked, looking at the picture. The boy seemed a bit familiar for some reason.

"This is Jin Lai," the centaur answered. Holly's eyes grew wide.

"Jin Lai as in the son of…"

"Chairman Lai," Foaly said.

"What are Artemis and Sam going to do with Chairman Lai? How do they even know about him?" Holly asked.

"That I do not know exactly," Foaly said, "but that is not the worst part of this all"

"Then what is?" Holly asked. The centaur started to press a few more buttons.

"Well, I was doing some background research about this situation and I found this very interesting piece of information" he said as a new box popped up on his screen.

Holly read the information in the box and gasped.

"D'Arvit" she groaned loudly before turning on her heels and running out of the room.

"Thanks for the lovely show of gratitude," Foaly yelled after her, sarcastically, but the elf was already too far away to hear him.

Holly ran quickly back to the station, straight into Trouble's office.

Trouble looked up and was immediately worried by Holly's frazzled, wild look.

"Holly, what's the matter?" he asked.

"We have to go to Taiwan right now," Holly said, breathing deeply, "Artemis and Sam are in grave danger"

A/N: Alright, there it is. Thoughts? Questions? Comments? I would love to hear all of them. Gracias y besos!

Second Author's Note: As much as I have loved writing "Why, Why Love", this story is quickly coming to an end. I sense that there are going to be around 5 more chapters. And originally I had planned to write another story, one that I had been planning since before this one actually. And I had planned to start publishing that story after this one was completely done-- but I grew a little impatient and posted the first chapter up already. It's a romantic mystery called "Last One Standing". It is a bit darker than this one, but has a better plot (I feel), and I hope you all like it as much as you like "Why, Why Love". Thanks everybody for your support!