Chapter 55

Confused

Holly's POV:

Dear Diary,

I'm just trying to think of how to describe how I feel right now. I just don't have the words. But the number one adjective that comes to mind would have to be: embarrassed.

I suppose the easiest way to make this random rambling make sense it to go back just a little bit.

My plan for Arty for the day had been to take him around Police Plaza and show him our supply of supposedly mythical creatures that even regular Haven dwellers rarely got to see. And at first, things were going off without a hitch. He met the unicorns, the pegasi, and dragons all while actually enjoying himself for once.

Unfortunately, the last room was a lab which Foaly had been working with Haven's number one problem, the swear toads. And of course I made the huge mistake of telling Arty about this experimenting, and he took on his 'I-must-research-this' persona. Meaning that the boy began to prod and poke every toad, which only served to anger them. Still, things weren't so bad until he tried to pry their teeth open. He got bitten. But somehow he managed to shake it off and into the containment case.

As I looked at Arty's finger. I could see the tell-tale sign in the small rivulet of blood. Ugh, it had broken the skin, meaning that the venom was now in his finger. And when swear toad venom hit's the blood, the affected digits will swell and burn as though they are on fire. Great.

Sadly, when you get to that point, there are only two options. First and most idiotically, one can just let it burn away but all the while one would be wishing for an end that wouldn't come until days later. On the other hand, one could just allow someone else to suck the venom out, and would immediately feel better.

I offered Arty the choice, and his first thought was to automatically reject it. And who could blame him? But at the same time, a sense of intelligence has to come into play at some point. And as expected, he did realize that the latter was the best of the available choices.

This next part is going to sound really… dirty to say the least. Without the slightest hesitation, I put his swollen finger into my mouth and sucked out the venom.

I don't know what was stranger. Perhaps it was the fact that I had my best friend's digit in my mouth. Or it could have been the bitter, salty taste of venom that was setting my tongue alight. I'll be honest, there's nothing quite like that taste. The closest thing that I could compare it to would be the acidic taste of lemon juice mixed with the disgusting bile of swampy salt water.

With every intake of said poisoning, I could feel Arty's relief. His gentle sighs and moans, like music in my ears. The relaxing of his usual stiff posture. I must say, the sensation is nothing like I would imagine. I was happy to help and he was quite responsive; it really was a learning experience. Apparently pain relief can even soothe the soul of a teen genius.

A learning experience which quickly came to an end when I could no longer taste anything. He smiled as I removed my mouth from his finger with a loud 'pop'.

But that's when things became…sketchy. My bottom lip began to burn with the same venom hat I had just extracted from Arty. It was so obvious to me. I had a knick already in my lip and said poison had entered me while I was tending to him. Great, this is what kindness gets me.

Arty quickly understood what was happening and offered his assistance. What was I supposed to say? No would mean physical pain and swelling for two days. But yes… it would cross some invisible line that should be completely impenetrable for friends. And our friendship is the most important thing, right? Nothing should mess with it? Not even pain.

I told him no. But he was a genius. A genius who knows all of my weaknesses and fears. So, he used the one thing that he could to convince me to align myself to his way of thinking. Logic. You may already know what Arty tells you, but the way that he says it always makes you feel like an imbecile in the end. Such an imbecile that the only way to redeem yourself is to do as he wants you to.

I'll be honest: I trust Artemis Fowl. More than I trust anyone else. That's the only thing that I can possibly think of to defend why I allowed him to get that close to me.

He gently took my lower lip into his mouth. The mouth that was even warmer than it had ever been in my dreams. The gentle mouth that could soothe all of my burning.

He began suckling gently, and I could feel the ebb of the burn leaving me. As the pain receded, my sensitivity grew. The warm suckling… I couldn't help but wonder what else his talented tongue could do. And just that very thought elicited a sharp moan from between my parted lips. He continued, moving in ways that were slowly driving me crazy. It took all of my sanity to stop my back from arching and my eyes from rolling backwards.

All too soon, it was over, the burn was gone, and I came back to my senses. After all, we are just friends. The only reason I even thought what I did was because of ecstasy due to a reprieve from pain. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Luckily, Artemis thought it was equally and came up with an idea. We would never ever talk about it again, and I have no problems at all with keeping it quiet. In fact, you're the only other object that will ever know about this.

Our promise was that we wouldn't talk about it, but that won't stop me from thinking about it. Though, thankfully, my thoughts will only be shared between the two of us.

Yours in Confusion

-Holly

A/n:

Well, that's another chapter down! Yay! So, I know I haven't updated in forever. Sorry, I've been stressing over papers and the like, but you'll be happy to know that while I've been away I've actually been busy. So busy that I actually finished writing this story. Thank you. Your love is very much appreciated. ;)

So, I know this chapter was not up to my usual standard. Just be patient. This is really just a filler to give you a glimpse inside of Holly's mind. Be patient and stick with it.

Rest assured that I am working on this story quite a bit. Be patient, I haven't abandoned anything, and don't plan on it. The next chapter should be coming up soon... hopefully. So, in the mean time, you guys should check out my other stories. They're pretty good, I think.

So, yeah, thanks to all of my reviewers and people who added me or this story to favorites. I love you guys. Keep reading and I'll keep writing. Oh and to review. Flames are welcome. They're what keep me warm and toasty at night. ;)

Remember: Reviews = happy camper. Happy camper = quicker updates. Quicker updates = you reading more. It's a cycle. Keep it going!

Yours truly, madly, and deeply,

Einstinette