“Hello Arty. I heard what you said to the girl.”

    Artemis looked up, startled. “How did you get in?”

    “Your bodyguard let me in.”

    “Oh, alright.” He eyes strayed back to his desk. He felt Holly’s eyes burn into him.

    “What?” he asked, looking up. There was incredulous look on her face.

    “You let me call you Arty,’ she said, still staring at him with the same look on her face.

    “Oh, if that was all…”

    “Artemis Fowl. You let me call you Arty. You let me get away with it. That girl is making you soft. Soon, the ‘great’ Artemis Fowl will be no more.”

    “What? Are you out of your mind? I now do not wish to contact the girl. After what she did…”

    “Artemis Fowl. This girl is trying to-”

    ”Holly. Like I said, I will no longer contact her. You may do so but I will not.”

    “But didn’t you-”

    “Yes. I did. But I am Artemis Fowl. I generally do not keep promises. Things like friends are trivial. Why do I need friends? That girl is nothing more than another complication. She is distracting me from my work. I have no desire to have friends or talk to her. Now if you may, Captain Short, I have work to do.” Artemis felt a pang of guilt as he went to his study. Not for Holly, But for Candie.

Some other stories by HS9:

• Two Simple Updates
• Terror at Japan
• ~ I Miss You ~
• Artemis Meets the Suite Life
• Hannah Montana Meets Artemis Fowl the Second