Finding Neverland in Friends

Chase turned to look at her, "About a day, Artemis." Chase said, laughing, "I don't see what the problem is. The whole time I have been with her she's been extremely nice to me, I can't stop thinking about her. Yes. I do know who she is. Better then you it seems." Chase just looked at her, a dumbstruck look on his face, he couldn't stop thinking about Eden, he loved her, she loved him, that was mattered.

Chase realised Artemis wanted something, "Huh.. Of course I know what I am doing. I love her, she loves me, what else am I supposed to do!? And. I guess we can go swimming." Chase said, he didn't exactly have a swimsuit on him though.
 
Artemis looked at him, dumbstruck. They'd been going out for a day, and he was looking so starry eyed that she wanted to smack some sense into him. She'd been at Hogwarts for three years and had had classes with Eden for long enough to know what sort of person she was. There were always rumours about her goings-on as well (which was fair to say, since there were always rumours about everyone as well, including Artemis). Yet Chase had the gall to suggest that he knew her better than she did! Art shook her head to herself, appalled.

Perhaps Chase had changed her a little. Heaven knew that Art turned into a fluttering fairy whenever Jareth came around. She blushed, looking down at the curled silver flower around her finger, his engagement ring to her. She wasn't quite ready to tell Chase that just was getting married as soon as she and Jareth left school, and decided to keep it to herself for the time being. That was one of the rumours that had been floating around for several days. Her sisters had dismissed it instantly; after all, what kind of thirteen year old became engaged? Art looked guiltily at her feet.

"Yay!" she said to distract herself and pulled him over to the water's edge. Art sat herself promptly on the bank and pulled off her little buckled shoes to test the water. Deeming it perfect, she slid in without hesitation, the pant legs of her overalls ballooning out and buoying her up in the water. "Come in!"
 
Chase couldn't help but laugh at her, "Don't look so shocked, I would've had to get a girlfriend sometime. I'm deeply in love with Eden, so why not her?" Chase asked. Chase followed her gaze, "What's with the ring?" Chase asked, curiously. He thought about it, he thought it could be an engagement ring, but he counted that thought out immediately Well.. Maybe.. Chase thought. Chase chuckled at the thought.

Chase walked up to the water, checked the temperature, removed his shoes, and jumped in. "Wow. This water is great." Chase said. Chase looked at Artemis, "What are your thoughts on Eden and I?" Chase asked.
 
Artemis spluttered when Chase said that he was deeply in love with Eden, but made no other comment on the subject once again. Chase seemed determined to press the matter, and Art was determined to leave it alone. After all, there was nothing she could say about Eden that was good, so there was no point having him hear it from her. "Indeed," she simply mumbled as she began to paddle, often flopping face-first into the water when her pant legs were too filled with air. Chase then asked about the ring on her finger, and Art whipped it behind her back with a splash.

"It's, er. Nothing much really. Jareth-gave-it-to-me," she added in a minute voice. "I just ... um, happened to put it on that finger." Artemis was tomato red, and so dived beneath the cool spring water to calm the rushing blood. When she surfaced he spoke again, and Artemis shook her head at him. "I haven't anything to say about it either one way or another," she said firmly, refraining from comment. "But I am glad to see that you're happy." She bounced herself over to Chase through the water and promptly pushed his head down and dunked him with a grin.
 
Chase chuckled, "You can't hide things from me forever. I told you my secret. I would like to hear yours." Chase said to her, he wanted to know what it was, "If Jareth gave it to you, it must be special, there is only one reason you would have it on that finger anyway." Chase shrugged. Chase then found himself being dunked under the water, he struggled against the little beast, and managed to get himself back above, "You really are a frightening person, aren't you? How can one so young be so annoying?" Chase teased. "And. I am not merely happy. I am delighted to no end." Chase said, laughing.
 
Art bobbed up and down in the water and sighed at last. "If 'ye must know, we're engaged." Jareth was a little younger than her and he felt that this was an appropriate declaration of love. Art thought so too, but neither of them were getting married any time soon. She'd keep the ring forever as a mark of their affections, but until they were older then each other's company would be enough to see them through. "It's not much an engagement as ..." Art searched for the word. "A promise, I suppose. I guess ye're old enough to say when ye're in love or not, and maybe I'm not. But I'm not leaving Jareth any time soon, and if I have my way we'll be t'gether forever." There was a pause and a fond moment as she smiled down at the silver ring, but swiftly pushed the romanticism out of her mind. It made her weaker.

Her doe-eyed look soon turned into a look of absolute devilry when Chase called her frightening. It was the first time anyone ever had, and it was the most flattering thing she had ever been told. Most people weren't a bit intimidated by her, and she struggled to claim her place. But it was moment like these that made it all worth it. Art's attitude did another one-eighty and she splashed her way over to Chase to give him a hug. It made her feel like a little girl, a little sister, all over again. "Well, I'm pleased for yer. I'll punch her lights out if she hurts you," she added menacingly, and her goblin eyes glinted again.
 
Chase couldn't help but laugh at this, "No punching out my girlfriend." Chase said, laughing. He hugged her back when she hugged him, "You're happy that I called you frightening? I better add weird to your list of attributes then." Chase said, laughing. His look turned to one of admonishment, "You and Jareth are going to get married one day? Good for you two! If I don't get to come to the wedding I'll be really angry though. So I had better be invited. What's the use of you getting married if I can't tease you at the alter, aye?" Chase teased. He dived under the water, careful not to let himself get dunked by Artemis again, "You wont get me twice." He said when he emerged.
 
Suddenly Art mellowed slightly, and gave Chase a serious look. "Well, imagine if 'ye were the size of a fire hydrant and just about as noticeable. Fierce isn't exactly the word that'd come to mind." She looked down at the clear water, and sadness filled her eyes. "Y'know, I get teased a lot. When I was younger people used t' hurt me, too. Once I got too angry and I really messed someone up." Art looked away into the trees. "So I had t' learn how to control myself and to pull my punches. Ironically, to learn how to fight so that I wouldn't hurt people." Artemis smiled sadly at Chase and ruffled his hair a little with her tiny hand. "But people still call me names. Jareth's sort of the only one who takes me seriously."

The melancholy feel stayed with her this time, even though she tried harder than usual to change it. Chase began to cheer her up a little with talk of a wedding for, like many young girls, she dreamed of being a bride one day. "It's all good. 'Cause I don't have to wait to tease you!" she laughed. Chase disappeared beneath the water, and Artemis grinned as she sunk beneath the surface. When he arose and spoke, she could still hear his voice above the water, but Art was nowhere to be seen. Seconds later, she tugged on his ankle and pulled him down once more. Art surfaced with a thrill of laughter as she scrambled to get away from his coming wrath.
 
Chase chuckled, "Yes you do. Eden isn't of age yet, either." Chase said. But he immediately took her meaning as he emerged and she wasn't there with him. Chase looked around, swimming in a circle, didn't take him too long to find her, she tugged him under the water once more, he kicked with his legs, just missing her face with one of them. He managed to get free and retreated to the far side of the pond, where he would hopefully be safe from the little monster, "How can somebody so small be such a nuisance!?" Chase asked.

((OOC: Do. Not. Attack. Chase. For. Calling. Her. Small D:!))
 
It seemed that he wouldn’t be. Artemis has been under the water for several long minutes before, without warning, she popped up directly beside Chase at the far edge of the pond. He was in fact very lucky that she had not heard him from deep below the surface, for if she had heard the word ‘short’, she would have flown at him with her fists flying in all directions. She bobbed up and down once or twice as she looked at Chase hard, a strange melancholy stealing over features and making her look older than she ever did before. “How long do ‘ye suppose we’ll be friends?” she asked quietly, not necessarily expecting an answer.

Art tipped herself horizontal to float on her back, the legs of her overalls fanning out around her. To her surprise, a tiny blossom from the overhanging branches fell on her nose, and she snuffled and laughed.

Without warning, there was a strange bubbling in the water around them. Art froze and began to sink down to an upright position, looking at Chase. There was a flash and a sharp thunk as something speared into Artemis head-first. The water pooled with blood around them, and Art cried out. Jammed into her ribs were the horns of a furiously thrashing creature, who was trying to jimmy its head out of her side. Art delivered a firm punch to its head, and its horns broke off inside her. With a screech it turned and fled into the depths, but the curious bubbling began again, this time closer to her and a few near Chase.
“Grindylows! Let’s get out of here!” gasped Artemis, trying to swim in a lopsided fashion as little trickles of red, almost purple blood wound in the water after her.
 
Chase was suddenly serene, he would not let Artemis get hurt, not while he was with her, it would hang on his conscience forever if she was hurt. He didn't want anybody getting hurt while they were with Chase, not Eden, not Artemis, nobody. Chase whipped his wand out, and started loosing Stupefy into the lake, his goal was to scare of the Grindylow, it was working as well, they were scattering, retreating to the lower depths, "Alright, it should be safe now, lets go." Chase said, his face showing no expression. He wasn't at all happy at himself for letting it get that far, she could have been seriously hurt. Chase merely hopped out of the pond and walked away towards the forest.
 
"Bow howdy," exclaimed a shocked Artemis. "Nasty little buggers, ain't they?"
She nodded as Chase suggested that they leave, and proceeded to paddle awkwardly to the bank and scramble up the sides. She couldn't help but be slightly grumpy at the fact that Chase simply trotted off, but he trusted that she would follow her and so she did. All the while that she skipped to catch up, she began digging into her ribs to find the two little pointed horns that were left embedded into her side. It was hard going, but eventually she managed to pull out the Grindylow appendages and toss them to the forest floor with a wince and a wobble of her bottom lip. If it were anyone else, the creature would have jut bruised them, but Art's skin was like paper and was easily punctured. She licked the blood from her fingers and raced to catch up to Chase.

"So, er ..." she began carefully, not wanting to introduce the subject in a hostile manner. "'Ye, er, still goin' ta see her after 'ye graduate?" Artemis queried. The obvious answer was 'Yes', but she was more interested in the 'how'. After all, once he was out of school he probably wouldn't be able to visit all that often except on Brightstone weekends.
 
Chase sighed, "Yes, Artemis. I will. And. Well. For a long time after that." Chase said, shrugging softly. Chase looked at Artemis, a cautious look on his face, "Well. The thing is. Eden and I are now engaged. I would have told you sooner, but, I didn't have time." Chase said, and he took on a faster pace, he did not want to be killed by Artemis today, not after she had nearly been mauled by Grindylows. Chase sighed, and stopped, "Say what you will. But I truely love her, and I trust her, she would never do anything bad to me, I would trust her with my life, and I would appreciate it if you could just trust me on this one." Chase said, shrugging, "I mean, I know she would never hurt me, nor I her." Chase said.
 
Artemis stopped dead in her tracks and watched as Chase moved further on ahead. This time she was not going after him, for she was so irate that to look at his face sideways would make her want to cave it in - and she could if she wanted to. "But 'ye said that 'ye were only boy friend and girlfriend!" she exclaimed, shock and anger making her reel back a few steps. Her mouth was open slightly as though to scream at him but she said nothing more for the time being. How could he? How foolish was he to propose to a fourteen year old girl when he was leaving school in only a few weeks time, right in the palm of Tohoru Koshiba's hand!

Artemis screwed up her face like a squashed tomato. "You big dummy!" she bellowed, tiny fists clenched against her side and her voice making birds cascade from the branches around her and take flight. She wanted to yell further, to say that Eden was a manipulative girl who was mixed up in all things bad for Chase, but yet again she stayed silent. With a huff, Art turned on her heel and began her way back to the cliffs. He's not my mother, and I'll cliff-climb when I please. He can go off and snog that silly goose of his, thought Artemis furiously, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes.
 
Chase sighed, he knew she had a point, but he hated to admit it, "I'm sorry, Artemis. This is different. I truely love her, and she truely loves me. She would never leave me for some slime like Tohoru again, if that's what you think." Chase sighed, and sat down on the grass where he had been standing, "Please, Artemis, forgive me. I can't lose you, you're my best friend." Chase said, sighing softly. He watched her walk towards the cliffs, a sad expression on his face, he could feel tears welling in his eyes, and he just sat there, if anything happened to Artemis, it would be his fault, and he would regret it forever.
 
By now Artemis was truly crying, and as the wind grew stronger on the edge of the cliff it tore her tears from her cheeks and flung them into the sky. Shakily she lifted her fists and kneaded her eyes with it, hoping to God in her mind that Chase wasn't there to see her bawl. In her heart, she knew that she was not crying out of frustration for a relationship she did not approve of; Artemis cried because she was losing her best friend. Chase had a girlfriend now, so it was no wonder that they had barely seen each other for weeks. Now she understood that he was enraptured with his fiance, and to know that he would leave with such bad feelings between them was breaking her heart. Art sobbed, the wind drying out her eyes and stinging them red.

Once more, a gust of wind nearly tore her from the edge of the cliff, but Artemis knew better now.She gripped the grass with both hands and held on as she was nearly tossed over the edge, and while she sailed slightly in the air, she could just see Chase's lone form in the distance. Art turned her head away and waited till the dying wind flung her down again, and she flopped down in the grass and cried. I don't want you to leave me alone here.
 
Chase sighed, the look on his face worried for his Best Friends life, he did not want to lose her, and if he did, he would feel terrible, not even Eden would be able to cheer him up. Chase watched as she nearly got flung off the cliff, he got up and ran over to her, he took her hand, and carefully dragged her away from the cliff, "Artemis. Stop. Trying. To. Get. Yourself. Killed." Chase said, the look on his face a mixture of worry and stupidity, he knew she would just get back up there, and she would not stop until Chase left her alone, but he hoped that she would see reason and be able to accept that Chase was engaged to Eden, and she couldn't change that fact.
 
"Gerroff of me!" huffed Artemis, pulling her arm easily out of his grip. Eventually she turned and looked at him with sorrowful eyes. "I'm not trying to get myself killed." Art looked down at her little bare toes and wriggled them at herself. "I just wanted to be alone. I can take care of meself." That much was true. No matter what happened to Artemis and no matter how much she cried, she always managed to bounce back. However, Chase was right. If she fell, she'd only bounce right back into the rocks and dash her tiny body open. She hated being so frail and it made her want to punch something. Tears were threatening to creep their way out of her eyes again and she scrubbed them away fiercely with the back of her hand.

"I'm going back," she mumbled more to herself than Chase. With the tiny bangs flapping in the wind, and turned and began to make her way down the path again and towards the school. She didn't want to look at Chase' face again lest she burst into tears. She would never, never accept Chase and Eden as a couple! she told herself. But in the end, Art just wanted her best friend back. "Please be happy," she whispered to him though he was too far away to hear, taking one last look behind her to the silhouette of Chase.
 
Chase sighed and watched her walk away. Damnit, Chase. Go after her. You cannot lose your best friend like this. Chase stood up and ran after her. Chase thought about what would happen if he lost Artemis, he would feel horrible, Eden would have a tough time cheering him up, but she would try her hardest. Chase finally caught up to her, "Artemis, I am sorry for whatever it is I have done, I should have told you sooner, but, well, Eden does take up a lot of my time, but I am willing to miss out on time with her to spend time with you. You're my friend as well and I want to be with you, you know that it's true, Artemis, else I wouldn't even be here now." Chase said, "We both know I've grown close to you. Don't walk away from me." Chase pleased, he sighed and waited for her answer.
 
Artemis hadn't expected him to come after her, but seeing his face again so suddenly make her scrunch her eyes up and fight back tears. She finally admitted to herself that he did care about her, and wasn't abandoning her for his girlfriend- fiance, she reminded herself. After all the fight she had put up to get him to leave her alone, he still came. Art was sorry. After a long moment, she shuffled around to face him with her head still bowed, unable to look at him. "I know," she said softly, tears pricking the corners of her eyes. "I know. It wasn't fair of me. I know ye'd never..." she trailed off, wiping her eyes heavily. "... never just abandon me 'cause 'ye got someone new in yer life. I just didn't want to lose 'ye, tha's all."

Art looked up at Chase, tall and handsome and feeling in every way like a guardian over her. Sniffing, Artemis moved forward and put her arms around his waist and hugging him with all the gentleness that she possessed. They had made things right again, no more bad feelings between then and graduation. Letting out a breath, Art looked up at Chase and took his hand in her tiny one. "Let's go back." Together, they walked down the graveled path towards Hogwarts, the place that had brought them together.
 
Ignore this, pl0x. :D
 
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