Hello everyone. Sorry it took so long for me to update. Just to fill you in, I've been working on a side project with one of my best friends, so I have one more story on my plate. Ummm... my brother's graduation is also this week, as is his party so we have been scrambling to get all that taken care of. I've also been working on getting things in line for my wedding. :) I hope I can get more written here soon, in all of my stories. :)

Had a lot of inspiration for this chapter, from many many people... Kat, Sam, Krystie... and of course I had some motivation from a few good fans too! :) You guys are all amazing. :)

There's a... sort of surprise hidden in this chapter, so you might have to look hard to figure it out. Sam and Kat... keep quiet because you already know it. Pic on the side is Diana's mother; was going to be a slideshow with both parents (her father played by Ralph Fiennes, since they won't let me add another character...), but Photobucket hates me right now. :P Also, I had a song in mind when I was writing this, but the Youtube link isn't working. (Lots of things wrong this technology today!) So... if you feel froggy listen to "I Would Do Anything For You" by Foster the People. :) And sorry for bashing Twilight. I couldn't resist. :P

Anyhow... I hope you all enjoy! :D

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When Artemis stepped onto Diana's porch, he had no idea what to expect. Last time he was here, he had been comforting Diana after that moron broke up with her. Now, he was returning her after she had been kidnapped. Only difference between now and then was that her parents were finally home from their vacation, and admittedly, Artemis was incredibly nervous about meeting them, especially after the ordeal. He wasn't sure what they would think about him, or even if they knew Diana had gone missing in the first place. Either way, Artemis was anxious. He glanced over at Diana who was standing next to him. She had a smile on her face; obviously she was glad to be home. Artemis glanced away from her when she caught his stare.

"You don't have to be nervous, Artemis," she said matter-of-factly. "They're not going to kill you. If anything, they'll be happy that you brought me back in one piece." She paused for a second. "Well, close to one piece, anyways."

"If you say so," Artemis muttered in response.

Diana clutched Artemis' hand in her own, as she opened the door to her home. She stepped inside, pulling the boy in with her, Butler and Juliet following closely behind. Artemis admittedly jumped when he heard a loud "welcome home" chorus through the living room, and found himself being showered with what appeared to be glitter and confetti. As the boy took his hand from Diana's and began brushing himself off, he took notice of the room's occupants. Standing before him were a handful of her friends, her sister, and what appeared to be her parents.

One of them was a middle-aged woman with brown, slightly curled hair piled on top of her head and dark eyes. She wore a loose black dress over her slim frame, and a small smile on her face. She reminded Artemis a bit of a black widow- beautiful in a sense, but was not one to be crossed. He assumed this was Diana's mother considering after only a few seconds she rushed towards the girl, pulling her in a tight hug.

"Oh darling we were so worried about you," she said. "Marisa kept us updated as best she could. I was sure I was going to lose you."

Diana pulled from her mom's grasp after a quick hug. "Yea, I thought I was a goner for a moment there too..." The girl looked back at Artemis for a moment before speaking again. "And without Artemis, I most certainly would've been."

Artemis swallowed hard when the middle-aged man in the background finally noticed him. Although he seemed to have a smile on his face, the light brown hair, blue-eyed man still frightened him. Although Artemis knew that he probably had nothing to worry about, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was about to get a verbal lashing for placing Diana in danger.

"So, you're the boy who has snagged my daughter's attention in our absence?" he inquired, taking a step forward towards Artemis.

Artemis, not knowing what he meant by that, simply nodded. At this point, he assumed Marisa had been filling the parents in on more than he thought she would. How else would they have known that he had been in the picture for more than a day or so? Or that he 'snagged' Diana's attention, whatever that was?

The man offered Artemis his hand, a gesture the boy was all too familiar with. Artemis took the man's hand and shook it firmly. "The name's Ryan," he went on. "I am Diana's father, as I'm sure you've figured out." When they stopped their hand shake, Ryan gestured at the woman only a few feet from him. "And this is Lily, Diana's mother."

"Pleasure to meet you both," Artemis said, feeling a somewhat nervous tremor in his voice. Why was he so edgy about meeting a girl's parents? It wasn't that big a deal.

"Pleasure to meet you as well," Lily stated, a smile forming on her face. "We are already too aware of how you met our daughter, so we won't be interrogating you. At least not tonight." She paused. "You can thank Marisa for that later."

"So instead, we decided to throw a... welcome home party for Diana," Ryan went on, "celebrating the fact that someone was kind, and brave enough to bring our baby home to us."

Artemis heard Diana sigh angrily from beside him. "I'm not a baby anymore, dad. I am seventeen."

Ryan chuckled, a smirk appearing on his face. "Seventeen or not, you are still my daughter, and as embarrassing as it is, you will always be our baby."

This of course sent off a chorus of laughter from Diana's friends, whom she glared at. "So if this is a 'party,' where is the food and music?" she asked, looking back at her parents.

Lily smiled at her daughter's question. "The pizza is in the kitchen, and the music is just waiting to be played."

"Good; I'm starving!" Diana exclaimed, pushing past her parents and friends as she made her way into the kitchen. She reemerged a few minutes later with a huge plate of pizza, and a half eaten piece in her hand. The girl plopped down on the love seat, continuing to eat.

"Well, you kids have fun, alright?" Ryan said. "Your mother and I are going to sit outside at the fire. You need anything, let me know." He glanced over at Butler and Juliet. "You two are free to join us, if you'd like."

After exchanging glances, Butler and Juliet shrugged and followed Diana's parents, leaving Artemis standing there with a bunch of girls. He felt someone tug on his hand, pulling him down to the love seat next to him. "Relax, Arty," she suggested, a smile on her face.

Artemis felt a small smile creep onto his face, leaning back a bit into the cushion. Why on Earth he was sitting here so willingly in a room full of girls? Before he could question himself any further, a girl he hadn't seen before sat down on the other side of him.

"I don't believe we've met yet, Artemis," she stated. "I'm Kat, so you know."

"Pleasure to meet you," Artemis said back, silently wondering if this was the last of Diana's friends he had to meet.

Before Kat or Diana had a chance to add anything to what Artemis had said, Serena called out from across the room, "Hey Edward! Lighten up! It's a party!"

That baffled Artemis. Who was Edward, and why was he being called that? "I beg your pardon, but who is this Edward you speak of?" he inquired.

"Sweetie... Edward is that dumb sparkly vampire from Twilight," Diana explained. "She's calling you that because there is glitter on your face." The girl sat down her now empty plate on the arm of the couch, turning to face Artemis. Diana took her hand and wiped it across the Irish boy's face, clearing the glitter clear off his face.

For a moment, their eyes locked, and it seemed for just that moment time stopped. Artemis wasn't sure why, but he felt a strange sensation pass through him, one of nostalgia he had never quite felt before. It was when he realized that for some reason, even though he normally detested party scenes, he was perfectly content with being here with Diana and her giggling friends. Admittedly, Artemis had been living a terribly strange life up to this point, and the girl sitting by his side completely understood that. It wasn't often Artemis had met someone who just realized all of that.

"Yes Artemis?" Diana asked, making Artemis realize he had been staring.

Artemis felt his face flush red as he looked away from the girl. "Nothing," he muttered, quite embarrassed with his behavior. What was he thinking? Staring at the poor girl? What good was that going to do him?

When Diana smiled and looked away, focusing back on some conversation some of her friends were having, Artemis let out a sigh of relief. He was almost certain the girl was going to ask for some kind of explanation for his action, and he honestly didn't have one that was plausible. The only explanation he could've given her, he wasn't quite sure of.

Artemis had been doing a lot of thinking over the past few hours about his recent actions. He had opened up in the past week in ways he hadn't before. Between almost getting himself shot, to actually admitting his life story, to sitting at Diana's bedside while she recovered, Artemis was fairly sure after all this time, his friends were actually right. It had taken him nearly eighteen years of his life, but Artemis was beginning to wonder if he had actually developed feelings for a girl. Normally, he would've been a bit perturbed by this newfound discovery, but not now; things were different, and if there was one thing Artemis was no longer afraid of it was falling love.