Disclaimer : I do not own Artemis Fowl.
This is my very first fanfiction. Please review and tell me what you think so I know what to fix and if I should continue or not.
Chapter 1. A Horrible Day
Holly unlocked the door to her cozy little apartment with a click and entered. She threw her bag onto the carpeted floor and slumped herself onto the couch. She had had such a bad day.
At least nothing could make it worse, she thought.
She and Mulch had to chase this dimwitted group of chicken-smuggling fairies all around Haven. But that wasn't the worst part. Right before they got caught, those fairies had released the chickens from their cages. The once Captain Holly Short of the LEP, temporary worker for Section 8, was reduced to chasing chickens too! Luckily Mulch was there too… erm… intoxicate the surface animals to unconsciousness. Then she had to do some paperwork for the rest of the afternoon, seeing as there was nothing else to do.
It wasn't that she didn't like working along side Mulch and Doodah Day in her own business, but it just wasn't the same as her old job. Holly's eyes were closed as she lay fully on the couch. She was trying to calm down and almost fell asleep when she heard the doorbell ring. The elf moaned. She sighed and got up to unlock the door.
"Hey Holly!" said Trouble cheerfully.
She finally smiled when she saw her friend, but couldn't help but still feel a little down.
"Hey."
She returned to lie on her comfy furniture as Trouble entered her apartment. Since she returned from Hybras, many of Holly's friends came to visit daily. Even though it's now been a few weeks, Trouble came to see her every day after work at the LEP. He had been promoted to Commandant after Sool lost the job (Foaly dug up some stuff that convinced the Counsel to fire him. Apparently, he didn't care about a whole colony going missing for three years and had better things to do).
"How's it going?"
"Ugh. I could be better."
"I heard about the chicken incident earlier on today." Holly sighed.
"Please. Don't remind me."
He just chuckled. Then, it struck him as he really saw how exhausted she looked. His friend had bags under her eyes, which had lost their unique glow, her body looked worn-out. Her usually beautiful auburn hair was all in a mess.
"Holly, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Trouble. I'm just a bit tired, that's all." He frowned. What could make her feel better?
"Hey, Short?"
He went to sit on the armchair near the corner of the couch. That made the elf turn immediately to face him. Trouble rarely called her by her last name, unless he wanted her attention or to just plain annoy her.
"Yeah?" He took a deep breath.
"Do you want to go out for dinner tonight? With me?"
"With—what?! With you?" Is he asking me out on a date?!
"Just as friends, I mean! I just thought it might take your mind off of today's events!" he added hastily, making strange hand motions.
"Oh… Uh, yeah, sure."
Well, that was unexpected. Oh, and great! Now he thinks I want to date him!
Since she had first joined the LEP, those two were never really fond of each other. Actually, they hated each other to the core. They were always tying. Both being the best at everything, though Trouble was always praised as the better one. Holly didn't know if it was because he was in the LEP longer than she was, or if it was because she was a female. Maybe it was both. She would do exactly the same thing as he did, but no one would ever say "You almost beat Trouble that time!" or "Good job, Holly!" or anything of the sort. Not that she wanted to hear it, but it would have been nice and encouraging. Later on, that rivalry turned into friendly competition, and before they knew it, became friendship.
"Great, so I'll come back in two hours?" Trouble asked, bursting her thought-bubble.
"Yeah, of course."
Holly didn't know why, but she caught herself blushing.
Why are you blushing? He's just trying to cheer you up! He's just being a good friend. Foaly brought you out for lunch once, and you didn't blush then! Why would I blush if Foaly brought me out for lunch? Why would I blush if Trouble brought me out for dinner?
The elf didn't know it, but she had turned as red as a tomato.
"Um… Holly? Why are you red?"
"Huh? Oh! It's just kind of hot in here, that's all. My cooling system must be broken or something!"
"… No it isn't."
"Oh, well I probably thought it was broken, which made me think it was hot in here, which made me hot, which made me red," she replied, turning a brighter shade of red.
Trouble raised an eyebrow and just shrugged.
"Okay, if you say so. Just make sure you're ready. See you in a few!" he said as he let himself out.
"Bye," she said, still blushing.
Wow, that was awkward!
Trouble laid his back on Holly's door, and then walked down the hall with a smile on his face. He was going to have dinner with Holly tonight.
After Holly took a bath, she had to pick something out to wear. This was going to be hard.
Too stiff.
Too sporty.
Too weird.
Ew! Why do I have that in here? It's pink!
Oh, that's too casual…
She finally found something she thought of as 'acceptable'. She put on white pants and a soft, pale blue t-shirt. Holly clipped a blue rhinestone hairclip through her hair (which had grown out from her previous, short hairstyle).
Just as the elf finished, the doorbell rang through her apartment.
"Coming!"
She rushed to grab her purse and coat and then went to the door.
"Hey Holly!"
"Hi Trubs."
"Don't call me that."
"Trubs." She dared say again.
"Short."
"Kelp."
"Short."
"Grub."
"What?"
Holly started laughing uncontrollably.
"S- s- sorry. I couldn't resist," she quickly said as she helplessly tried to stop laughing.
"Haha."
Suddenly, one of the doors nearby opened.
"Do you two mind? Some people are trying to relax after a hard day's work, you know!" shouted an irritated pixie.
"Sorry." The two said as they left to go downtown Haven.
Please review! Have a nice day!