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Author of 23 Stories |
'I wonder... How are we going to make this work?'
'I don't know, Artemis. I really don't know. I just know that we'll have to make this work.'
Holly felt relieved once she had told Artemis that. And she knew Artemis felt relieved too. He has never been comfortable with telling his feelings, so he's probably glad that she did that for him. He felt the same way, it couldn't have been more obvious.
'It is quite impossible. A human boy and a fairy.'
'Shut up, Artemis. I was trying to forget that part.'
'Sorry. But still, we have to think about it.'
'No, we don't.'
'Yes, we do.'
'No, we don't.'
'Yes, we...'
Artemis cut off abruptly. It wasn't exactly like he could've said much more, since Holly had decided that moment was perfect for kissing him.
Holly thought back at the previous week. Because it was a week ago today. A week since she and Artemis had told each other that they were in love with each other. After she had made that empty promise, while Butler was being mind-wiped, she hadn't thought that it would be so hard to break it. She never wanted to get together with Artemis, but it turned out you just can't stop certain feelings. On her birthday, Artemis had send her a ring. A claddagh ring, which symbolises love. Holly tried it on. It fitted exactly! Foaly had given her a ticket to go to Ireland. Holly suspected that he and Artemis had discussed that. But still, since the ticket was for the next morning, she went there. Root had generously given her a week off for her birthday, so she'd stay with Artemis for the next week. She couldn't help but feel excited about it. When she had finally arrived, Artemis had looked at her right hand.
'Your ring is facing outward.' He sounded dissappointed.
'Yeah, I know.'
'Shouldn't it be inward?'
'Why?'
'I believe someone did actually capture your heart.'
'Oh, sure, sure. By the way, you're right. Someone did.' She twisted the ring so the design faced towards her body. Artemis smiled.
'Can I know the name of the lucky one?'
'Sure you can. It's Trouble.' Holly laughed when Artemis pouted. 'You are trouble to me, Arty.'
That had been the beginning of a magical week.
'D'you reckon...'
'Are you sure...'
They laughed.
'You can go first,' Artemis said.
'No, you go first,' Holly replied stubborn.
'Ladies first!'
'Fine. I asked whether we should tell your family.'
'You think we should?'
'Yeah, actually I do. You're part of that, you know.'
'But who'd care whether you're seeing me?'
'I know I would, if I was your mom.'
'Holly? That sounded really strange. Don't make me think about that.'
'Fine, then not. What did you ask?'
'Whether you were sure about this.'
'Artemis! How could I possibly not be sure?'
'Well, I don't know. I've just never experienced this before...'
'Me neither. Stop worrying.'
'What if I keep worrying anyway?'
'I'd make sure you pay for that.'
'How?'
'Oh, isn't that obvious?'
Holly sighed and kissed Artemis again.
The sheets were rumpled up by now. Artemis was sleeping, Holly was watching him. She didn't know why she was doing that. She just liked it. The little crease between his eyebrows disappeared when he slept. And she could snuggle up to him real close. He slept deep, not even a cannon could wake him up. And so she did. She remembered the time when she was being stalked. She'd been in the same bed, but the roles had been reversed. She had been the one worrying, and he had been the one comforting her, watching her as she slept. She liked it better this way. She knew Butler wouldn't pose a threat anymore. But she wondered why Artemis worried. It couldn't be just about whether she loved him or not, he knew she did. Artemis stirred, and Holly quickly pretended to be asleep, smiling to herself.
Artemis woke up. He wondered why, normally he slept through everything. He looked at Holly. He knew she wasn't asleep by the smile on her face. She had been watching him, she knew it. Well, while she was pretending to be asleep, he could just as well enjoy it while she did that.
'Holly?' he whispered. She didn't respond. He smiled, thinking of possible things to do. He decided to have a laugh.
'Holly? You know, I never really loved you. I just wanted to know how it feels to have a woman under my control. I'm glad you can't hear this, but I'm going to break up with you tomorrow.' Holly shot up.
'You wouldn't.'
'Hey, you're awake.'
'Of course I am awake!' Artemis laughed at her response. She hit him. 'What's so funny about this?'
'Nothing really. I just tricked you into opening your eyes. I knew you weren't sleeping.' She hit him again. 'Ouch! That was completely unneccessary!'
'Oh, it was.' She punched him again.
'Stop it, Holly.' And again, she hit him. 'What will it cost me to make you stop punching me?'
'Show me you didn't mean it, maybe?' She sounded honest about that. He had hurted her.
'I will. Tomorrow.' He tried to sound tired, not excited. Holly turned her back on him and sighed.
'Goodnight, Artemis.'
As a response, he tickled her. Not many people know it, but Holly's very ticklish. She couldn't help but to laugh.
'Artemis, stop! Please stop!'
'Ok, I will.' He stopped tickling her, but instead pushed himself on top of her, leaning down to kiss her. She smiled and turned off the lights.
Needless to say, after that night, they were both completely exhausted. Artemis ordered Butler to get some breakfast ready downstairs. When Holly tried to get up to eat, he didn't allow her to do that. She was too tired to even ask why she couldn't, but fell back on her cushion and closed her eyes. She dimly noticed Artemis sneaking out of the bed, putting on a very large shirt she never knew he had and going downstairs. When she opened her eyes again, she found Artemis standing at the foot of the bed, carrying her breakfast.
She should've known it was too good to be true. She and Artemis could never be together. But when she started waking up, she held on to this dream tightly, not wanting to let go. It all fell black suddenly, everything had dissappeared. She felt a painful shock in her chest, and then she shot up. She was in a hospital. When a doctor updated her, she heard that she had been in a coma for the last week, because of a car accident. When she heard that, her heart immediately sank. Artemis... When she thought that, though, he just came in the room, carrying a cup of coffee. He dropped that when he saw she was awake. Holly smiled, tears still in her eyes from the painful thought. She remembered her dream, it had felt so real... When she saw Artemis almost faint with relief, she knew it could become reality. So when he stood next to her, she reached up and kissed him.
Who knows whether this is reality?
Who knows whether we can't change our destiny?
Who knows when there might be a turning point?
Yeah, who knows...