Here's chapter one! You know I can never just put up a prologue. =P

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Artemis awoke in the morning with a killer headache. He attributed this to a side effect of his medication to treat his Atlantis Complex: a multiple personality causing disorder that he suffered from a few years back. It was in remission, and had been since he had been placed in care at the fairy hospital in Haven. But it was better safe than sorry. That was definitely something he didn't want to relive. It was not pleasant by any means. Admittedly, it was the second or third worst experience of his life, following close behind his sort of death not too long back.

He groggily climbed out of bed, holding his head in his right hand. He could just tell today was going to be a long day. He decided to get dressed real quick into a suit just like he normally would at home; typical black pants and jacket, paired with a white button-down shirt and a blood red tie. Artemis quickly combed through his lengthy raven hair and glanced in the mirror before he headed downstairs. He found his parents conversing with his aunt and uncle at the breakfast table. It wasn't too long before his father noticed his presence.

"Well good morning son," he greeted heartily. "You're up early."

"The sun was shining directly in my eyes, father, and it gave me a migraine," Artemis simply mused. "So naturally I assumed I should get up."

Artemis Senior barely nodded to his son's remark. "What do you have planned for today? Going sight-seeing?"

"I thought about it," Artemis admitted. "Perhaps to the museum. At least it will be something that will keep me entertained."

"You should go," his mother, Angeline, assured. "It really is quite interesting."

Artemis pondered the idea. It would give him the opportunity to explore his new surroundings. "Could I drive the Bentley? I wish to venture out alone."

His parents exchanged glances for a moment. "Alright son, just be careful with it," Artemis Senior decided. "Keep us updated as well."

"Will do," Artemis muttered. "The keys?" After Artemis Senior tossed his son the keys to the Fowl's rented Bentley that matched the one they had at home, Artemis made his way outside to the car. Within moments, he was on his way to the museum.

He was unsure of what to expect. Flint was no longer the thriving boom-town it once was. Why they had a museum, theater, and planetarium was beyond him. To add to it, most of the city was in shatters; buildings were falling apart and catching fire faster than anyone could keep count. It was honestly surprising to him there was anything left. The only thing that kept Flint somewhat thriving was its continually increasing amount of college students. Between the four colleges- University of Michigan, Kettering University, Mott Community College, and Baker College- the city had an abundance of students, all trying to better themselves with higher education.

Artemis shook his head as he passed Mott. Who would want to stay in this town for school? he thought to himself. It's positively repulsive.

He studied his surroundings with curiosity. What to see first? Artemis figured he would check out the Sloan Museum first, making his way through the art gallery and planetarium afterwards. He figured he had nothing better to that day. The young adult parked his car in the nearby parking lot and made his way into the museum. Artemis had no trouble paying the admittance fee, and soon found himself looking through the exhibits. The museum seemed to be focusing on dinosaurs at that time; all sorts of fossils adorned the walls and floors of the museum, each with its own unique labeling. Now Artemis was not one who usually found interest in dinosaurs, but he found it to be rather odd that such a small museum was able to get their hands on this exhibit.

Upon examining a Triceratops, Artemis took notice to a group of giggling girls not too far away from him. There were four of them; one blonde, one raven-haired, one was a redhead, and the remaining one was a brunette. They were sitting by a Tyrannosaurus Rex, a couple of them laughing at the brunette girl. He went back to minding his own business, staring at the fossil in front of him. He figured it would be best to ignore them. They were just girls after all.

Artemis wasn't unduly bothered by it, until he heard one of them say, "I bet you won't go talk to him." He turned to see the brunette girl approaching him. Artemis suddenly became nervous. Girls were definitely not his cup of tea. They had always made him incredibly nervous.

The girl stopped in front of him, completely pink in the face and staring quietly at the floor. Artemis was sure she was embarrassed by her friends, if not the whole situation. He looked at her hesitantly for a moment before the girl spoke. "Hey," she muttered.

Artemis was confused, and was positive he was probably blushing as well. "Hello," he greeted, rather awkwardly.

"My name is Diana," she continued, offering her hand to him, as to shake it.

Artemis took it, shaking it both firmly and delicately at the same time. "Pleasure to meet you. I'm Artemis, Artemis Fowl."

"I've... never seen you around before," Diana went on. "Are you... new to the area?" She stumbled over the words, as if she was unsure of what she was going to say.

"I'm actually here on vacation," Artemis admitted. "Trying to enjoy my last summer of freedom."

"Starting college I presume?" Diana asked.

Artemis merely nodded. He really was unsure of what to say to the girl. He never really had one talk to him as a real person. The only female interaction he had dealt with mostly fairies and his mother. Why had she come to talk to him in the first place? Artemis hoped by not talking the girl would simply go away. Little did he know, American girls were stubborn.

"Mind if my friends and I join you?" she asked quietly.

Butler's words suddenly echoed through Artemis' head. Don't close the doors before you can see what's behind them. Artemis was unsure of it, but he figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to have some kind of company on his excursion. "Sure, why not," he sighed.

"Awesome," Diana said. She turned to her friends and beckoned them over. The three other girls rushed to their friend's side. "Artemis, these are my friends Alexandra, Constance, and Serena," Diana introduced, gesturing at each of her friends.

He couldn't help but notice the contrast between Diana and her friends. Diana had long brown hair that flowed to half-way down her chest and reddish-brown eyes. She was slim, but had an athletic build to her. Her skin had been lightly tanned he presumed from the summer sun. Unlike her friends, she was dressed in a pair of light colored jeans, and a burgundy Aeropostale t-shirt. None of her friends even came close to looking like her. In fact, Artemis even found it odd that they were friends. They appeared to have little to nothing in common...

"Pleasure to meet all of you," Artemis eventually said, unsure of what exactly he was getting himself into. He was surrounded by girls, giggling ones at that. It made him feel suddenly very self-conscious, something that didn't happen to him often.

"What kind of accent is that?" Serena asked abruptly, cocking her head to the side like a dog causing her black hair to fall to the side. "You sound kind of funny."

Immediately, Artemis was offended by that remark. He knew he had an accent, but he didn't think it was that strong. Did he really sound funny? Before he could get too lost in his thoughts, he noticed Constance smack Serena.

"It's Irish you idiot!" she yelled, before fixing the flower headband in her long, wavy blonde hair. "How do you not know that?"

"And he doesn't sound funny!" Diana defended. "You're just mad you don't have an accent."

Artemis was shocked that these girls defended him like that. No one really had ever stuck up for him before. No one other than Butler and Holly, and they really didn't even count. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. He said nothing to that, and continued to walk around the exhibit. Diana stayed not too far away, her friends still close behind.

An hour or so had passed, and they were getting ever closer to the end of the exhibits. Artemis honestly couldn't be happier about it. The whole way through, Constance was busy reprimanding Serena for her stupidity, which seemed to be a constant thing. He shook his head; maybe she was just... over active today. Alexandra was relatively quiet, but occasionally intervened between the two, telling them to shut up.

After completing the tour of the museum, the small group stopped in the front of the building. Artemis was hoping at this point, he could continue his plans alone. The girls had been almost annoying to him. Diana was about the only one whom he didn't mind, but he figured it was because she wasn't giggling about something. The three others were laughing the whole time, though no one other than them knew why.

"We're heading back to my place," Alexandra announced, adjusting her thick glasses and moving her red bangs from her eyes. "Did you want to come?"

Diana thought about it for a second. "No, I still wanted to hang out around here. I'll catch up with you later, mmkay?"

"Suit yourself," Serena shrugged. The other girls walked away, leaving Diana and Artemis standing there alone. Diana sighed a sigh of relief, seemingly glad her friends had finally left.

Artemis glanced over at the girl standing next to him. She looked back at him, but then quickly looked away. Artemis was guessing she was really shy. He had never seen a girl act like that. It was confusing to him.

"Mind if I join you...?" she asked quietly. "If not I'd understand. You probably want to be left alone-"

"-no," Artemis interrupted. "I don't mind. In fact, I could use a local like you to help show me around."

Diana smiled slightly, and then followed him into the Institution of Arts. They walked in an awkward silence for a bit before Artemis decided he should break the ice about half way through the gallery. He was unsure of how to act, as friends were not exactly his strong point. "So... mind telling me a little about yourself?" he asked.

Diana took a deep breath, almost as if she was afraid of that. She was silent for a moment before she spoke, "Well... I'm seventeen, going into my senior year of high school. I've lived here in Flint my whole life. I... uh, play soccer and volleyball; I guess soccer would actually be football where you come from, huh? I enjoy writing stories, playing video games, and I plan on going into meteorology."

Artemis smiled sincerely. "Yes, it would be." This girl was definitely intriguing. She had a wide variety of interests, and for some reason, he was glad she did. Most people these days were dumb as rocks, and finding someone who actually had goals shocked him.

The two stopped and looked at a painting by Van Gogh. Diana turned away from the painting and leaned against the wall. "Are you going to tell me anything about you?"

Artemis was taken aback by the question. He pondered how he was going to answer the question. "I'm almost eighteen, born and raised on the northern outskirts of Dublin, Ireland. I'm going into my freshman year of college. I don't play sports, as they're not my thing. I enjoy painting, inventing, and will be going into psychology."

"Oooo, psychology," Diana smirked. "That's different."

Artemis shrugged. "Not terribly, but it's something I excel in. I feel there is a lot of work to be done correcting the errors made in the field by some so called experts."

"Well congrats," Diana said. "I'm glad you're doing something with your life. Not a lot of people do nowadays... I don't know how many people I know who have started college and haven't finished, not to mention all the ones who just didn't go to begin with."

Artemis shook his head. "It really is sad that no one cares about their education anymore. I mean... you need a degree to get a decent job in these times. Don't they understand that? Besides, why wouldn't they want to take the opportunity to better themselves?"

"No idea," Diana replied, moving off the wall and following Artemis down the hall to another painting. Artemis watched her carefully out of the corner of his eyes. She walked beside him, but behind him at the same time. It was as if she was admiring him.

"Ah well," he shrugged. "At least some of us are doing what we have to in order to survive." He paused for a second. "What are those friends of yours doing, after high school that is?"

Diana thought about it. "Constance is going into the Navy. Alexandra is already going to Mott, Serena... I have no idea what she plans on doing. And I'll probably stay around here and go to U of M, unless something better pops up for me between now and then."

"You never know," Artemis said, remembering Butler's words. "Opportunities arise all over; you just have to keep your eyes open."

"Thanks Artemis," Diana smiled, as they reached the end of the gallery. "How long are you in town?"

"Two weeks," Artemis answered, pulling out his phone, readying himself to make the call home.

"Perhaps I'll see you again?" Diana asked. Artemis swore she was pouting for a second. It was an odd expression he had only seen Juliet use on Butler. He debated for a moment how to react to it. It was a tactic no one had used against him before.

He laughed slightly. "Of course. I could always use some intelligent conversation." He debated in his head for a moment what he had just said, but shook it off. The two exchanged numbers before Artemis and Diana parted ways. He went back to the Fowl Bentley, his mind drifting back to what had just happened. He had gotten a girl's phone number! Oh if his friends found about it, he was never going to hear the end of it.

Artemis drove to his uncle's home, lost in his thoughts. What had just happened? Had he made a friend? Artemis was beginning to think it was a good possibility. He pulled into the driveway of the vacation home, and went into the house, hoping he was unnoticed. He snuck up to his room, hiding himself away. He really needed to think about what had just happened to him.