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Oh no! Another Clichéd Love Story!

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"I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best."-Marilyn Monroe

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7. Fools And Genii

"Artemis, I think I'm kind of, maybe, sort of in love with you. Like, all I can think about is how much I want you to be my boyfriend," Cassie said. She nervously played with her fingers.

When he wasn't saying anything she looked up at him.

She took a step back.

His eyes were narrowed into slits and his hands were clenched. Never had she seen him act so scarily. He reminded her of the ice carving of a snake ready to strike.

"I don't expect anything. I just wanted you to know how I feel."

His stance relaxed but there was something off. He didn't look angry anymore. He was looking at her the way he used to look at her in the beginning ; a bug to crush. He was looking at her like she had no worth, like he was thinking of the safest way to dispose her. It broke her heart a bit.

"Artemis-" she reached out to him but he took a step back, disgust rolling off him. She pulled her hand back.

"It's hilarious, really. You must be really delusional to think that I'd want a girl like you in a million years. You are pathetic in everything. Hell, your family is known for their bakery skills and you can't even make a lemonade, much less a cake. You are substandard in studies. How does one manage to fail Maths, anyway?" Artemis' tone was venomous. "You aren't rich or smart or strong. You aren't even nice. You are selfish. Pathetic, useless nobody. You are a nobody. Nobody knows you. You are just a pathetic social climber, clinging to Isabella and Erica's popularity. Isabella is right to treat you like trash-" the last sentence stung because all this time Fowl had been the one who said otherwise.

Cassie' blood went cold and his words scarred her mind forever.

She was 99.99% sure that she'd be rejected but she thought Artemis would be gentle about it. She was so certain that Artemis would be gentle.

Did her very existence disgust him?

She walked away, scared of breaking down in front of him.

Artemis watched Cassie's retreating back. His intuition screamed at him that he had made his stupidest mistake yet.

But he was practical and he sure as hell did not trust his "intuition".

He believed in cold, hard facts.

And Cassie Mess had betrayed his family.

Someone in school had been spreading ill rumors about his grandmother. His grandmother was being described as a self-centered, mentally-disabled crazy lady who dictated over her family.

No one in school but Cass- Mess knew her.

He felt betrayed by the fact that Cas-Mess (why did he keep using the traitor's name?) despite his grandmother's affection and favor, had been spreading such rumors.

He had trusted her. His grandmother had trusted her. Over the summer vacation, they had both grown extremely attached to her.

And she had betrayed them.

And then she confessed to him. It made his blood burn. What manipulative angle was she working on?

He had properly known her for 8 months and he had thought she didn't have one disloyal bone in her body.

He was clearly wrong.

"So Fowl, heard those nasty rumors about your Granny," Isabella popped out of nowhere.

He stayed quiet, his fists clenched.

"You might be arch-nemesis but I'm not the kind to sit around and do nothing while someone spews shit about a sweet old lady. I looked into the matter and its Rachel Raven who's behind the rumors. Apparently she met your Granny in a party, where your Granny went all ballistics on her for mistreating a waiter," Isabella said.

"Rachel Raven?" His voice was low and his blood turned ice. "Cassie had nothing to do with it?"

"Cassie?" Isabella shot him a surprised look. "Cassie's a fool but you know, she's not that kind of girl. It's almost painful to watch her trust people so easily."

It hit him like a ton of bricks.

He had looked for Cassie all over the school campus. He sat in a cafeteria just off-campus.

She had confessed to him and he.. he-

His guilt overwhelmed any other emotion he felt towards Cassie and he couldn't quite shake the feeling that he destroyed something. He felt that his words would bite him in the back someday.

"Artemis," Butler appeared before him.

"Where is she?" Artemis asked.

"I still couldn't find her," he raised an eyebrow, "will you tell me what happened?"

"It is nothing," Artemis lied.

"I haven't seen you seen this worried since your father's-" Butler stopped when he saw Artemis' jaw slacken.

He spotted Cassie talking with Maity Pennypocket. Her former crush. The one whose reputation she wanted to save.

Cassie was looking at Maity with wonder. A look that was supposed to be reserved only for Artemis.

His fists clenched and he immediately tore Cassie away from Maity to a different place. They needed to talk.

"I was talking to Maity, Fowl."

Artemis held her chin and made her look at him. She immediately flinched away from his touch.

He couldn't stand her calling him 'Fowl'. Couldn't stand her withdrawing from his touch.

" It was a misunderstanding. I thought you were spreading rumors about my grandmother and I overreacted. I did not mean a word."

"You thought? Since when did the genius Artemis Fowl come to any conclusion without going through cold hard facts? Did you see me talk bad about Grandma? Did someone tell you that I was the one doing it? No and no. You did not investigate the matter because you wanted me to be the one spreading those rumors. You wanted the slightest excuse to break our friendship because I'm not even worthy of being your friend," Cassie looked away. "You want nothing to do with a bug like me. I lower your status."

"It is not like that-"

"Do you want to even be my friend?" Cassie asked, searching his face. "Look, it doesn't even matter. Just help me fix Maity's reputation and we're done."

"You are my friend." Mine.

"But you didn't trust me." Cassie gave him a pained look. "You've looked down on me since we met, Fowl. I was trying to stick by your side but I'm never going to bother you again. I'm sorry for annoying you so much. Just help me with the Maity thing-"

"Stop calling me 'Fowl', Cassie. Last time I checked you said you were in love with me." He instantly regretted what he said.

She gaped at him and her face quickly turned sour. "Momentary lapse of judgement. All it took me was one conversation with Maity to remind me why I liked him so much."

He didn't know why but it made him feel like someone stole all his gold from him. Something within him roared. Cassie was his. He didn't trust himself to speak. The very thought of Cassie with someone else made his blood boil.

"You know, what? You promised to help me fix Maity's reputation and that's exactly what you're going to do. After that you can go back to Cassie-free life, Fowl."

Maity this, Maity that. And she kept calling him Fowl.

Something in him snapped.

"You're lying," he said, crossing his hands. "You're in love with me. I'm a Fowl, Cassie. I know when someone's lying."

"Don't call me Cassie. It's Mess to you."

"Just a few hours ago you wanted to be a Fowl," Artemis said.

"I wanted to be your girlfriend, not your wife!"

"Same thing."

"Just leave me alone."

"So that you can run back to your prince Maity?"

" Yes!" Cassie stormed off and the sight of her back on him withered something in him.

A/N: sorry for those fake updates from my friend, guys. I hadn't noticed them for a long time. Never ever tell your friend your password. Ever. learnt my mistake. Time traveling ? Wtf. A lot of you noticed something wrong was up. She basically took my unfinished chapter and warped it up. Tell me what you think. Thank you for sticking around. Love you.