OK, so there's this little thing called snow, right? Or, maybe it isn't as little as I'd like… Yeah, well, either way, I don't really like it. I mean, c'mon, no school just because of those tiny little flakes of whiteness? I don't really get how they warrant a day off from learning.

I growled in annoyance, throwing my pillow at the wall. Why was it snowing today? Why? I just want to go to school! Was that too much to ask? I groaned, lying back in my bed lazily. I was sprawled out, my limbs and appendages spread out everywhere. My brown hair was splayed out on my remaining pillow because I was too lazy to actually get up and retrieve my other cushion.

My blue eyes flit to the ceiling, examining every crevice and crack. My ceiling was light blue, like the sky. My walls were painted a nice shade of white, and my door was made from a light brown wood. I glanced back at my clock, which read 6:45. I had learned that it would be a snow day today when watching the news last night.

I had been sitting on the couch, watching TV with my parents. I had been trying to catch up on all the craziness Hyrule had to offer, and, although I prefer newspapers, my parents had already been watching the news on TV, and they dragged me over to join them.

I had been saddened and annoyed to find out that it was going to be a snow day the next day, AKA today. A huge, monster snowstorm had to sweep through the city last night?! I had heard the howling winds all last night, still upset that school was cancelled. I glared at the wall, sitting up in bed again. I took my other pillow and threw it at the wall as well. I folded my arms, annoyed. I had studied for nothing, apparently.

I supposed that my pre-calc test would be the next regular school day. This snow had better disappear by tomorrow, or else I would be even more annoyed. I hate snow…

I rolled out of bed, picking up my pillows and tossing them back on my bed. I walked to my closet, throwing on the first outfit I could find, which happened to be a regular old T-shirt and a pair of distressed jeans. I wore a pair of leggings under my jeans because it was cold, even within my house. I threw my brown hair into a messy ponytail and brushed my teeth in the bathroom adjoined to my room.

I really didn't care about my appearance because I didn't have to go to school, remember? I glanced at my watch: 7:00. Well, it had taken me less than fifteen minutes to get ready for the day – this dreaded snow day. Shudder.

In school, I was considered the "freaky, genius girl" by all my peers. I was at the top of all of my classes, and many of my classmates resented me for it; their nickname was definitely not given out of their love for me. I scoffed at the thought of them actually tolerating my presence, much less loving it.

I padded down the staircase, going from the second floor to the first. I tiptoed from the stairs, through the living room, to the kitchen. I tried to be as quiet as possible because of the very present possibility that my parents were still sleeping. I made myself a quick breakfast of hot chocolate, chocolate-covered toast, and some scrambled eggs. That was always the best way to start the day, but, of course, today had to be a – shudder – snow day.

I bit into my toast, savoring the awesome, chocolaty taste. Yum… I loved chocolate, as you could probably guess. I ate the rest of my meal before placing my dishes in the sink, beginning the whole dish-washing process. I washed all my plates, dishes, silverware, and pans; my parents would be so proud of me… I never washed the dishes because I always forgot.

"Good morning, honey," my mom yawned, appearing at the doorway, which had no actual door, of the kitchen.

"Morning, Mom," I responded, taking my gaze away from the dish I was washing.

"You're washing the dishes, Zelda?" my dad rubbed his eyes, looking surprised. See what I mean?

I blinked. "Um, yeah? Do you not want me to?" I asked innocently.

My mom shook her head quickly. "No, Zelda, sweetie; we're just so proud of you!"

"If you say so, Mom," I shrugged, finishing the last dish and placing it on the drying rack. "I'm gonna go outside, OK?"

"I thought you hated snow, Zelda," my dad rubbed his eyes once more, staring at me incredulously.

I laughed. "I'm just mad that school gets canceled because of snow, Dad. I don't necessarily hate that snow."

My dad's eyes just about popped out of his head. "What is going on? Is the world going insane? Zelda doing the dishes without us asking us, and she admits to tolerating snow?"

I rolled my eyes. "Love you too, Dad. I'm going outside now." I dried off my hands and gave both my parents a hug before exiting the kitchen.

"OK, sweetie; we love you too," my mom called out after me.

I ran to the foyer where I put my shoes and fluffy white coat on. I stepped out of the house – 7:45. I looked across the street at, my best friend, Link's house. I figured that he would be flying out of the house shortly, eager at the thought of a snow day. He loved snow days, contrary to my obvious distaste for them.

I began my snow day by looking around me, gazing at the snow with contempt-filled blue eyes. I glared at it, as if glaring at it would cause it to disappear, allowing school to continue like normal. I heard a door slam from across the street, and Link came, tearing across the street. "Zelda! It's a snow day!" he yelled while running – or wading through all the snow. The snow was literally up to his waist! He had on his green winter coat and a matching green windsock hat. I held in a giggle. He had had that hat for forever. It was just so – so Link-like that it had grown on me.

"No need to rub it in, Link," I chuckled, shaking my head.

"You know you're so glad it's a snow day, Zel," Link tossed a pom-pom hat at me – my pom-pom hat.

"Where'd you find this?" I asked, placing the hat on my head. Besides being my best friend, Link was also my only friend… I live a sad life, don't I? Back to the hat, though – I had lost it last winter, and I had been wondering where it had gone. Eventually, I just forgot about it, and this was the first time I had touched it in a year.

"You left it at my house last year, and I kept on forgetting to take it back to you, but I remembered this time!" Link beamed, proud of himself. I forgot to wash the dishes, while Link forgot everything else.

I giggled. "Oh, Link. Only you," I shook my head laughingly.

"You know you love me," he laughed in return. He was extremely goofy, whereas I was very serious, especially during school. The only people that could break my mask were my parents and Link. No one else had even some close to discovering goofy Zelda.

"I sometimes doubt it," I responded spunkily, sticking my tongue out at him.

Link's mouth went agape, and he suddenly looked sort of – scheming – and, dare I say it – mischievous – This could not be good. "Oh, you will pay for that, Zelda."

My blue eyes went wide, and I began to run – Big mistake – Link was a football player and could run really fast. I, on the other hand, could not. Link caught me playfully, wrapping his arms around my torso from behind. "Link!" I exclaimed breathlessly. How was I breathless this quickly? – Oh, yeah. I remember.

Whenever I was around Link, my heart would always get kind of fluttery, and I didn't really appreciate the feeling. I mean, he's my best friend! I couldn't be in like with him! Yes, I said "in like." I don't think I'm necessarily old enough to be in love with him. I'm just a senior in high school for crying out loud!

Anyways, he was my best friend! He was perfect! – which was exactly why I couldn't be in like with him. He was the popular jock, but, instead of listening to the cliché high school "social spectrum," he was friends with everyone, even people of "low status," like me.

I, on the other hand, was the polar opposite. I was not popular and wasn't liked in general. Oftentimes, I was picked on, and Link would always come to my rescue, telling everyone to leave me alone. Then after school, he would take me to go get some ice cream, which was my ultimate comfort food. It's kind of ironic because I don't like snow.

Link pushed me on the ground and dropped down beside me. "Snow angels!" he exclaimed, beginning to wave his arms and legs about in the white snow, creating the angel shape.

I rolled my eyes, refusing to smile; however, I complied with his wishes and began to move my limbs around as well, creating a snow angel. I shivered as the snow soaked through my jeans, but I honestly didn't care. I was with Link and we were having a ton of fun…

We lay together on the soft bed of snow for some time – I still hate those white things, by the way. Link grasped my right hand in his left, helping me sit up. "Now," he whispered, talking as though we were having a team huddle, "We gotta get up slowly and carefully so that we don't mess up these amazing snow creatures."

We got up cautiously so that we wouldn't mess up our creations. Of course, as was prone to happen, our snow angels messed up anyway, and Link pouted like a little kid. "No!" he exclaimed. "They were supposed to be perfect!" his brows furrowed together in disappointment.

I took the opportunity to grab a handful of snow, molding it into something – useful… I threw it at Link, and it landed in his face. My lips parted in surprise, and I began to try to make an escape. I was wading through the snow that came up to my chest. I hadn't realized how much it had snowed, and the snow plow hadn't come through yet.

I waded to the street quickly, using Link's moment of surprise to my advantage. Link recovered quickly, picking up a handful of snow. He held it in the air, watching me with a scary expression. "Zel," he growled playfully.

My eyes widened, and I tried my best to run in the stupid snow. "Don't you dare, Link!" I exclaimed. I tripped over my own feet multiple times but still remained standing. I felt a snowball hit my back, breaking apart at the contact. My brows drew together, not amused.

Neither of us needed to stoop to pick up the snow because it was up to my chest and Link's waist. I made another snowball, as did Link. We just stood there, watching each other, waiting to see who would make the first move. Link's cobalt eyes taunted me, daring me to throw the ammo. The tension was getting to be too much for me, and I threw the stupid ball of whiteness.

Link held his arms in front of his face as the ball hit him and broke into white powder. He responded quickly by wordlessly retaliating with a snowball of his own. I had no time to duck or lift my arms or anything, so it hit my face mercilessly. My nose turned red, I was sure, and I was freezing. But I didn't care – I made more ammunition and began pelting them at Link, and he did the same.

After some time, we both stopped, out of breath. We began wading toward each other, meeting in the middle. A smile lit up my face, and Link chuckled. "Your nose is red, Zel," he stated softly, tapping my nose.

The smile was wiped off my face quickly, and I glared at him, unamused. "Really, Link?"

Link chuckled once more. "Yup – But don't worry – You still look pretty."

I hid a blush, still gazing into his cobalt eyes. "Did you study for that pre-calc test?" I questioned instead.

Link's amused expression melted into one of fear. "Oh, gosh, Zel! You are a lifesaver! I completely forgot about that test!"

"Just like how you forgot that you had my hat at your house for a whole year? How you forgot that I hate snow?" I teased, tapping his nose in return.

"Aw, c'mon, Zel. You know that you really love the snow – just like how you love me," Link responded. I froze – Was he in jest? Had he found out? I began to freak out inwardly – What an oxymoron – and Link watched me in amusement.

I gathered myself together, looking up at him. "What do you mean, Link?"

This time, Link turned a nice shade of red. "Well, I kinda – I kinda love you, Zel, even more than I love snow days, actually," he joked, chuckling.

I lifted my azure eyes to meet his cobalt ones. "Are you in earnest, Link?" I asked, searching his eyes.

Link nodded, a grin spreading across his face. "Yeah – Why do you think I've always hung out with you? You're an awesome girl, Zel. You're smart, sweet, and compassionate, and you don't even care about how I always forget everything – And that's something I do a lot," he laughed.

I nodded in agreement. "You sure do," I teased laughingly.

"Hey, Zel! You aren't supposed to agree with me!" he nudged me playfully.

"Well, I'm not about to disagree with the truth!" I shrugged, turning around. This was what I had been waiting for for some time, and Link wasn't about to get off easy for making me wait for so long. I was gonna play hard to get.

"Aw, Zel! I can't do this anymore!" he hugged me from behind, resting his chin on my shoulder. Well, that strategy just went out the window.

I shifted around to face him and wrapped my arms around him as well. "I love you too, Link," I blurted out. Yep – That strategy was definitely out the window – and so was the whole "in like" thing. Oh, well.

He pulled me closer, smiling widely. "I was worried. I mean, you could do so much better," he stated, rocking us back and forth.

"No! You could do so much better! There are girls literally throwing themselves at your feet! And you choose me? That's crazy!" I responded, enjoying the warmth Link provided.

"It's not that crazy, Zel," Link laughed. "But I do love you."

"I love you too," I whispered back. "And I'll help you study for that pre-calc test," I giggled at the last part, and Link chuckled along with me.

We stood together, rocking back and forth, the snow up to both my chest and Link's waist. He held me close, and we shared our warmth on that cold day. I was never alone again, and my hate for snow days slowly dissipated. I looked forward to snow days because that meant they would be spent with Link, whether we had a snowball fight, made snowmen and snowwomen, or even sat together in my living room, drinking hot chocolate, just being together.

He was there, and so was I. Together – in the snow… I love snow days…

Hey peeps! Here's a new one-shot in honor of the first snow here in NYC. Um, yeah – It wasn't a huge, monster storm like how Zelda had. It was actually just a plain old one-inch snow, and I was kinda mad that it snowed… BUT I decided that the snow would make some pretty great inspiration, and I snagged it. :)

While writing this, I listened to "Undefeated" (feat. Jose Altidor) by Jay. I love this song, although I am pretty biased because they're some of my friends. They're kind of like big brothers to me, and they're both professional musicians… Anyways, I love it, and I think you might too. Go check it out. ;)

Zel's wish to not go to school is based on one of my best friend's wish for no snow days because he loves school so much... He's nuts... :P ^^

Anyways, love you all. Next chapter of Scars of a Caged Bird should probably come out tomorrow as scheduled, but, if not, I apologize. I was writing this. :) Bye! ;D

~Elsie

Total Word Count (excluding Author's Notes):

2,654